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My Dear Father:—I have had the pleasure to-day, not
only of hearing from you, but of being assured of
your continued welfare. The messages of parental affection
contained in your letter are cherished in my heart.
The costly gifts of your generous love, sent by you with
the letter, and which were safely delivered from your hand
into mine, by your faithful servant Elec, will be worn by
me with all a daughter's pride. I regret to hear of the
death of Rabbi Israel, while I rejoice that the high office
he held with so much dignity, has been bestowed upon you
by the Pro-consul; for though you may not need its emoluments,
dear father, such selection is a flattering proof of
the estimation in which you are held by the Roman Governor.

You need not fear, my dear father, that I shall be carried
away from the faith of Israel by any strange doctrines;
I will take counsel by your wisdom, and be cautious how
I adventure in my inquiries upon too sacred ground. I
have freely written to you for your advice, and I trust
that you will not look upon my inquiries as expressions
of doubt, but as searchings after what is true. I know
you are read in the law above all Jews, and that any
difficulties I may meet with in observing things here in
Jerusalem, especially in the worship and ceremonies of the
Temple, you will remove for me.

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In my last letter, which will not reach your hands for
some days yet, I commenced giving you the narrative of
John, the cousin of Mary, who went down into the wilderness
to see and hear the prophet of Jordan. I will not
take it upon myself to decide or form an opinion upon any
thing yet, dear father, but state facts, and let your wisdom
instruct me into the truths that may grow out of them. One
thing which your letter states gratifies me, and gives me
confidence; it is these words: “Do not fear that the integrity
of the laws of Moses, or of the worship of the Temple,
or the predictions of the Prophets, can be moved by
any investigations that man can make into them. They
are founded in truth, and will abide forever. The worship
of Israel fears nothing from inquiry. But while you ask
and question about sacred things, remember that they belong
to God, and must be inquired into with awful reverence
and profound humility. Any inquiries made into the
prophecies with an eye to search out their day of fulfilment,
are proper and useful; and as this day seems to be
that of fulfilment rather than that of prediction, your studies
may be suggested and directed by heavenly wisdom,
and, if so, they will be guided to their true issue. As I am
so far removed from you, I cannot judge concerning this
prophet your first letter named as being in the wilderness;
yet I should not be surprised if the fullness of time indicated
by Isaiah were near at hand, for the events you enumerated
seem to proclaim its approach, such as the lax
worship in the Temple; the worship of the Roman idols
on Mount Zion; the preparation of the altar; and the
rule of the heathen over the empire of David. Let us fervently
pray, my child, for the fulfilment of the prophecies,

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which promise Messiah to our stricken people! Let us
supplicate for the rising of the Star of Jacob, the Prince
of Peace, who shall erect his throne on Mount Zion, and
whose sceptre shall be a sceptre of righteousness; under
whose wide dominion Israel shall lift up her head and
rule the nations. My daily prayer, with my face towards
Jerusalem, is, that I may live to behold the hope of
Israel, and with my eyes see the splendor of the glory of
Shiloh.”

These words of yours, my dear father, give me courage.
I believe with you that the day of fulfilment of the Prophets
is dawning; and perhaps is nearer than we believe.
When I have completed the history of John's journey to
Jordan to hear the prophet, you will understand why I
speak with such hopeful confidence; and you will agree
with me that this preacher of repentance is not one of
the class of false prophets, against whose chimeras your
letter so properly cautions me.

“We arose at dawn,” said Mary's cousin, in continuation
of his interesting narrative, “and leaving the inn, we
took our way out of the city by the eastern gate, which
we easily found, inasmuch as a quarter of the city was in
motion, and moving in the same direction. Here we were
detained by the Gentile guards for full half-an-hour, till the
multitude had become so immense as to tread one upon
another, and fill the whole street. Nevertheless we had
to wait till the indolent Captain of the Gate chose to be
disturbed in his morning repose, and then bathe his dainty
limbs, and then break his fast, all which he did very deliberately,
before he would suffer the gate to be opened!
Such slaves are we to such masters! Oh, when shall

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arrive the day when, as saith Isaiah, `our gates shall be
opened continually; they shall not be shut day nor night,
that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and
that their kings may be brought captives to our feet.'

“Having passed out of the gate, my friend of Arimathea
and myself separated a little from the crowd, and
crossed the plain towards Jordan, which was about a mile
and a half off. The morning was balmy; the sun made
all nature glad. The dew reflected a myriad lesser suns,
and the earth appeared strewn with diamonds. For a
little way the road lay. between fields of corn and gardens;
but soon it crossed the open plain, on which were droves
of wild asses, which lifted their small, spirited heads on
our approach, eyed us with timid curiosity, and then
bounded off to the wilderness southward with the speed of
antelopes. As the great body of the people took their way
obliquely across the plain, we knew the prophet must be
in that direction, as it proved, for we at length found him
on the banks of Jordan, full half a league below the landing
and ford, which is opposite Jericho, on the great caravan
road to Balbec and Assyria, that long and weary road
so often travelled by our forefathers when they have been
led into captivity—the road which so many kings have
watered with their tears! We gazed upon it with emotions
of sadness, and with tearful prayers that Jehovah
would return and visit once more the remnant of his
people, and not be angry with us forever! After we had
approached the Jordan some distance above the ford, we
beheld the multitude listening to the prophet far to the
south of us, on the edge of the desert, which approaches in
this quarter very near Jericho. As we traversed the banks

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of the flowing stream, we came all at once upon a pillar
of stones partly in the water. `This,' said my companion,
stopping, `is the Mount of Twelve Stones, which Israel set
up to commemorate the passage of Jordan. Here they
crossed on dry ground.'

“I counted them, and found but nine of them remaining.
What vicissitudes, I reflected, had not Israel passed
through since the hands of our fathers placed that heap
together! Generations of judges and long lines of kings;
captivities succeeding captivities; wars, conquests and
defeats, and subjection, finally, till we are no longer a
people; having a king, indeed, but whose sceptre is a
mockery—a Herod, holding his crown at the courtesy of
the Imperial Monarch of Rome. Alas, with the end of the
reign of such a king, the sceptre will forever depart from
Judah!” he added, bitterly.

“Then will Shiloh come!” exclaimed my cousin Mary,
with animation.

“Yes; Judah must be abased to the lowest step, before
she can rise! and with Shiloh king, her glory will fill the
whole earth,” responded John, with hope once more beaming
in his eyes. “At length we drew near the dark mass
of human beings which we had beheld afar off, assembled
around a small eminence near the river. Upon it, raised
a few cubits taller than their heads, stood a man upon
whom all eyes were fixed, and to whose words every ear
was attentive. His clear, rich, earnest tones, had reached
us as we approached, before we could distinguish what he
said. He was a young man not above thirty, with a countenance
such as the medallions of Egypt give to Joseph of
our nation, once their Prince. His hair was long, and

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wildly free about his neck; he wore a loose sack of camel's
hair, and his right arm was naked to the shoulder. His
attitude was as free and commanding as that of a Caucasian
warrior, yet every gesture was gentle and graceful.
With all his ringing and persuasive eloquence there was
an air of the deepest humility on his countenance, combined
with an expression of the holiest enthusiasm. The
people listened eagerly to him, for he spake like the
Prophets of old, and chiefly in their prophetic words! His
theme was the Messiah:

“`Oh, Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou
hast fallen by thine iniquity,' he was saying, as we came
up, as if in continuation of what had come before, `Take
with you words, and turn unto the Lord, and say unto
Him: Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously.
Behold, He cometh who will heal your backsliding, and
will love you freely! He will be as the dew unto Israel!
He shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as
Lebanon! His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall
be as the olive tree, and his fruit shall be for the healing
of the nations! They that dwell under his shadow shall
return and dwell evermore; and it shall come to pass that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
delivered, for besides him there is no Savior.'

“`Of whom speaketh the prophet these things?' asked
one who stood near me, of his neighbor, and then of me,
for by this time we had taken places as close to the
prophet as we were able; for I did not wish to lose one
word that should fall from the lips of a man who could
thus empty cities, and people the wilderness with their
inhabitants.

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“`Of Messiah—listen!' answered him, a Scribe near, as
if not pleased to have his attention interrupted by his side
talk. `His words are plain. Hear him.'

“`Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, for the day of the Lord
cometh!' continued the prophet, in a voice like that of a
silver trumpet; `for behold, the day is at hand when I
will bring again the captivity of Judah. Put ye in the
sickle, for the harvest is ripe! The day is at hand when
the Lord shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from
Jerusalem.'

“`Art thou not Elias?' asked one, aloud.

“`I am he of whom it is written, the voice of one crying
in the wilderness, make straight a highway for our
God. The day of the Lord is at hand. I am but the
herald who is sent before to prepare the way of the Lord!'

“`Art thou not the Messiah?' asked a woman, who
stood near him, and seemed to worship his very lips.

“`He who cometh after me is mightier than I, whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear!' he responded, in the
deepest humiliation of manner. `He who cometh after me
hath his fan in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his
floor and gather the wheat into the garner; but will burn
up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Therefore, repent ye,
repent ye, take words and return unto the Lord your God.
Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins;
for the day cometh which shall burn as an oven, and take
heed that ye be not consumed! The axe is laid at the
root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth
good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.'

“`Master,' said a Levite, `dost thou speak these things
to us, who are of Israel, or to these Gentiles and

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Samaritans?” for there were not a few Roman soldiers among the
multitude, drawn hither by curiosity, and also many people
from Samaria, nay, even from Damascus.

“`Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saith the Lord,
for my people hath committed two evils; they have forsaken
me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them
out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. The
Lord hath made me this day an iron pillar and brazen
wall against the whole land—against the kings of Judah,
against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and
against the people of the land! and yet thou sayest, O
Israel, thou hast not sinned! Thine own wickedness shall
correct thee, and thy backsliding shall reprove thee.
Repent and do works meet for repentance, every one of
you, for ye have polluted the land; neither say, where is
the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt?
I am provoked to anger every day by your hardness of
heart and stiff-neckedness. Amend, amend your doings!
Trust not in lying words, saying, The Temple of the Lord,
The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord! Ye
have made it a den of robbers! Your sacrifices therein
are become an abomination to the Lord!'

“`This would touch us who are priests, masters,' said
a priest, with a crimson brow. `We are not robbers.'

“`Thus saith the Lord,' answered the youthful prophet,
as if it were God himself, speaking from Horeb, so that we
trembled as we heard him: “Woe be unto the pastors
that destroy my sheep; I will visit upon you the evil of
your doings. How is the gold become dim—how is the
most fine gold changed! The precious sons of Zion, comparable
to fine gold, how are they esteemed? Her priests

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were purer than snow! they were whiter than milk; they
were more ruddy in body than rubies; their polishing was
of sapphire! Their visage is blacker than coal; they feed
the children of my people with ashes for bread! Woe to
Zion, for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her
priests! Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
and seek in the broad places thereof, saith the Lord,
if you can find a man that executeth judgment, that seeketh
truth! Though they say the Lord liveth, surely they
swear falsely. Hear ye this, O priests, and harken, ye
house of Israel! Woe unto you, ye priests, for ye have
transgressed. I have seen in the prophets of Jerusalem a
horrible thing; they commit adultery and walk in lies, saith
the Lord. My people have transgressed for lack of knowledge!
Therefore I will reject thee, saith the Lord; thou
shalt be no priest to me since thou hast forgotten the law
of thy God. Like people, like priests! Therefore doth
the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein languisheth.
Therefore do swearing and lying, and killing
and stealing, and committing adultery, break out in the
land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge
of God in the land. Woe unto you, ye priests!' Many
of the Levites then turned and left him, and went away
greatly murmuring; and they would gladly have done the
prophet a mischief, but they feared the multitude, who
said he had spoken only the truth of them. `But the
elders of Israel, who are not priests, and who spring from
Abraham, shall be saved by Abraham, master?' asserted,
or rather inquired, a rich ruler of our city, after the tumult
caused by the withdrawal of the Levites had a little subsided.
The youthful prophet rested his dark eyes, like two

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suns, upon the old man's face, and said impressively,
`Begin not to say within yourself, we have Abraham to
our father, for I say unto you,' he added, pointing to the
pebbles at his feet, `that God is able of these stones to
raise up children unto Abraham. He is of Abraham who
doeth righteousness; therefore repent, and bring forth
fruits meet for repentance.'

Here was heard some murmuring among a group of
many Pharisees and Sadducees at these words, when, sending
his lightning glance towards them, as if he could read
their very hearts, he cried:

“`O generation of vipers! Who hath warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? The day cometh when he
who is to come shall sit as a purifier by his furnace.
Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance. Wash
thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved
And ye, daughters of Judah, repent you of the vain
thoughts that lodge within you,' cried he, addressing many
females in rich apparel and plaited hair, `gird ye with
sackcloth, lament and howl; put away these abominations
out of my sight, and fear the Lord. Though thou clothest
thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thyself with
ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting,
in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; for I hear the
voice of the daughters of Zion bewailing themselves, and
spreading forth their hands in the day when they are
spoiled and despised for their iniquities. Repent ye, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

“`Hear, O Israel! Am I a God at hand and not a
God afar off, saith the Lord. Hear ye the message of the
Most High, for the day hath come when Jehovah shall

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once more visit the earth and talk face to face with his
creatures. Behold the day hath come, saith the Lord,
that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a
king to reign and prosper, who shall execute judgment and
justice on the earth.

“`Behold the day hath come, saith the Lord, in which
Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, when I
will set up shepherds over them, which shall feed them,
and they shall lack nothing!

“`Arise! shine, for thy light is come! Hear, O Israel!
for Zion's sake I will not hold my peace; I will not rest
until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness,
and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. Arise,
shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee! Darkness covereth the earth, and gross
darkness the people, as saith Esaias; but the Lord shall
rise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
The Gentiles shall come to his light, and kings to the
brightness of his rising. He shall be called The Lord our
Righteousness, and shall be a crown of glory in the hand
of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to proclaim the acceptable
year of his coming. He hath set me a watchman
upon thy walls, O Israel, and I may neither hold my peace
day nor night, nor keep silence, nor seek rest, till he come,
who hath sent me forth his messenger before his face.
How can I refrain from my message of joy? How shall I
not speak of his fame? His sons shall come from afar,
and his daughters shall be nursed at his side. The people
of the nations shall fly as a cloud, and as doves to their
windows, to behold, fall dawn, and adore him. The isles

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shall wait for his law, and kings shall minister unto him, even
unto the Holy One of Israel. Saith he, I, the Lord, am
thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Say ye to the daughters of Zion, Behold thy salvation
cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before
him. Ho, every one that thirsteth,' he now cried,
raising his voice like the chief of a host, till the farthest
heard, `come ye to the waters; yea, come buy wine and
milk, without money and without price. Incline your ear
and come unto him. Hear, and your soul shall live. Repent,
keep justice and judgment; and prepare a contrite
heart to offer him when thou shalt behold him; for thus
saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place
with him, also, that is of a contrite and humble spirit.
Peace, peace to him that is afar off, and to him that is near,
saith the Lord.

“`Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from
the ends of the earth: for thus saith God the Lord, he that
created the heavens and stretched them out; he that
spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it;
he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit
to them that walk therein: Behold my servant whom I
uphold—mine elect in whom my soul delighteth: I have
put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to
the Gentiles; a bruised reed shall he not break, and the
smoking flax shall he not quench. I, the Lord, saith
Jehovah, addressing the only begotten, I have called thee
in righteousness, and will hold thy hand and keep thee,
and will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light
of the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the

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prisoners from the prison. I am the Lord, that is my
name, and my glory will I not give to another; yet have
I made him my first-born, higher than the kings of the
earth. Look unto him, and be ye saved, all the ends of
the earth; for unto him every knee shall bow, every tongue
shall swear. Our Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is his
name, the Holy one of Israel!'

“All this was spoken with an enthusiasm and fire that
made every pulse bound.

“Such,” said John, “was the extraordinary style of this
mighty prophet's preaching, and to those who read the
books of the Prophets, every word shone with the brightness
of the sun. I fancied I had only to look around to behold
the Messiah! The immense multitude stood awed and silent
when he had ceased. I gazed upon him with the most
adoring reverence. My heart filled with holy joy; for I believed
and knew that God had remembered Zion, and was
about to display his wonders more remarkably on earth
than ever had been witnessed before. Leaving the eminence,
he said, and I thought he fixed his eyes on me, `Ye
who desire to be baptized for the remission of sins, that
your hearts may be cleansed for the visitation of this Holy
One of God, follow me to the river side!' Thousands
obeyed, and I one of the first. I trembled all over with a
sweet pleasure, when he took me by the hand, and asked
me if I believed in Him who was to come, and would prepare
the way for His abode in my heart by being baptized,
which rite also was to be a sign and pledge that when I
should behold the Shiloh rising, I should acknowledge
Him. Not less than one thousand were baptized by him
that day in Jordan, confessing their sins, and hopes of

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pardon through the name of the unknown One, who was soon to
come. Among these were Pharisees and Sadducees, rulers
and lawyers, and one grey-headed Roman soldier. Joseph
of Arimathea was not baptized, as he said he wished to
examine into the extraordinary subject fully before he
could believe.

“After the baptism, the whole company dispersed in
groups, and the prophet returned into the wilderness till
the cool of the evening, where his repast was the wild
honey of the desert, and the locust-berry of the ravines.
When he reappeared, he again spoke to an increased multitude.
In this second sermon, he explained more clearly
the application of the glittering chain of prophecies he had
given utterance to in the morning, to Messias, and thus
enabled me to see more clearly the true character of the
expected Messias than I had before done.”

With this remark of his, dear father, I close my long
letter. I make no comments. I will only say, that my
expectations are actively awake, and that I am looking, with
thousands of others, for the near advent of the Messiah.
Your daughter,