1957-12-24 — Page 4

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THE CHINA MAIL, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1957.

The Miraculous Moment of Birth

CHAPTER 3

The Day Christ

by

GEORGE

HE squall thickened into storm. Hail spattered down with a sudden fury. The olive trees flincned in the gusty wind. Deep grey clouds gathered in heaped masses about the hills.

They sheltered under an old olive whose grey and twisted trunk was broad enough to stop the wind. The rain and hail stopped, the clouds' thinned, there was some pale yellow sunlight.

Joseph and Mary went on, down into Bethlehem, shining from the rain, running with mud.

A pair of mongrels scavenged around the edges of houses, A handful of children ran out and began, scratching out their hop- neeteh pitch on a piece of waste land.

A evuple of boys ran oui; knocking ball to and fro with their hands.

The rain water, running of the roofs and slopes, had turned the mud and stone streets into a mall stream.

Mary and Joseph stumbled. avolding the wet, trying to walk on the higher stones, moved slowly.

At the inn

The world

was careless,

this was

just one

was born

GALE

They

more birth ... birth and death

were

Rand

JOSEPH was anxious to get back to shelter. The yellow Len bad gone agala: the clouda massed again; again the wind had early rain in it, the Orst

Mi before the scattertruis cloud broke.

Cypresses swang, leaves seat- tered, men on the roofs cowered and caught their cloaks tightly around them,.

Llike They reached the Inn. many other of the houses it won built partly over a cave let to the hillside.

Thus beneath its main room was a chamber where the land-

natural

ford kept his cows in winter, and where in summer

the

children could play, away from

To this chum the harsh heat, ber Joseph Jed Mary.

Joseph prepared the mattress, shaking it out and smoothing it He would be glad when over.

it was all over.

He could be near, he could smooth her brew, or let her

It goes on and on, and it never, never needs winding. Self-winding, shock-protected, antimagnetic. Dial with solid 18K gold figures.

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&

kasau ai pun-uo pur

puvuo.

on and on and on and on, and it never, never nee

Jump-spot sa-

nding,

It goes

on and on

and

en end on, and

it

ABIDING

IN

THE FIELD.

AND THERE. WERE IN THE

WATCH KEEPING

SAME COUNTRY SHEPHERDS,

THEIR FLOCK OVER

BY

NIGHT,

fingers Bite his arm when the pain struck dercest, but he could net share the pain or take it

from her.

He could only smile, and say Noon "I won't be long now; everything will be all right; soon it will be all over."

Weariness

bring her some soup'. he Joseph went away, up the rough brighter room steps into the

overhead.

The inn room was filling up fe, the evening; soon, after the evening meal had been eaten, it would be full. He now washed hls hands before he made the soup.

Mary

narrow window.

ᎠᏂ

-

It ceaselessly moved; " - but above, in the ina room where

the fire, flared and smoked and

tended the carelessly

roof dripped and the large oil buT- ners waved their. lights, it was full of careless noiso. Joseph went up there, leaving the

women.

•

*

The room is crowded now! is the time for relax3= tion. In a corner, left alone, two dark-skinned

and

playing dice. Their helmets Jay on the rough fable, their cloaks by the side,

Ther wore short, rougis unies and their fool were bound with leather thongs twhich held leather Notes b placo.

They were Esypilans, but also soldiers, member of one of Caesar's legions, They talked idly, as they played their dice, of women and the weather, 'of this wretched country Ibay, wore io, of their officers, and of money.

"When are we going to get Dald off with these +new bonuses, eh?” says one.

"Dorri belleva 1," says the all:er.

"Everybody's saying that the Emperor has given bonuses, cash mind you, nat land, crab, to every soldier who has finish-

•ed his turn,”

"Well, I've finished my "turis and nobody's said anything (30 me about cash bonuses,"

"I tell you it's true.”

"I believe it when. I hear it. Come on, your throw; beas that."

An important caravan, had come in. An official was travel- ling south with his guard, and because of the storm had "Had I better get the mid- decided to stop here for the night, Joseph remembered sceing 1lic elaborate horse-drawn wife?" Joseph asked. nodded. It was utmost time. iter in the inn's courtyard; and

Joseph hurried away, down

now the official was lounging now black the capty lanes,

couple of children were feeding except where the lamps shone on the landlord's bed, and a

"Come now, the midwito through the The midwife came almost at him with salt fish from Galilee. once,

called from below to Josepli. First she must get her mix He started and burried down.

It was in a phial her He borrowed a pot from the ture.

face now shone with Mary's and made a barley own extract from herbs mixed swent. WOMEN talk of joy in carry- landlady

The Landlord's wife, with wine. It had been proved

"Hold her with me," said the Ing children, but there is soup.

midwife. The cows stood care. Glways weariness, and the hovering around him, asked him time and time again. discipline had been harsh. after his wife's condition.

Jers; above, the soldiers and the he said. "Any time now,"

Rirl Bad the official and the For nine months now Mary

"but she is hungry,"

villagers were careless, Itud not been able to have a

landlord's

The night and the wind were "Here," said the hot bath, for the rule was

Rome was strict; hot baths cause mis- wife. She'll like this."

HIS was no magle philtre, careless, Augustus She Kave

him some small it a simple lessener of careless; so me was Herod, The carriages, and all Jews wished always to have children, pieces of mullon, ready cut up pain. It would help; she had world was careless;

He tossed them in the soup, and always used it. The last tlate just one more birth and there, The rules, too, had said that

the open she had used pot over she must not cat green vege- held the

or fat for stove. tables, salt food,

He rubbed some garlle day when these, it was thought, might round the edge. harm the unborn child,

She had, instead, to cut aut

The bread fish and also mustard, these.

wife went being thought healthy. All this THE landlord's had been tiresome, and fulely away and returned with also her body had became bowl of raisins and figs and dates. There was no suger then; fruits like this they use for sweetening:

heavy.

Jusepl went uway and brought her some cold water, She washed. She slackened

And

Mary.

also she

brought a

Relief

t

this was

was the other were thousands being born this thlet had been manute and thousands dying. dying from crucifixion and the pain bad been too great, so then She had given him some.

nor was the

Birth and denth were natural and life was cheap and there. was a thin and reedy ery In the cellar.

that was thought to

The manger

She was a shrewd old woman The midwife bathed the and had no time for absurd infant In the warm water practices. She was glad when Joseph had prepared, to wash it she got to Mary that Mary had clean.

She rubbed it over with the no dead scorpio tled in crocus green cloth around her waist, salt, for

midwife one of toughen the skin. who belleved that the cloth girdle around her leather jug of pale white wine thote walst. She had taken off her and a loaf of lumpy bread. powdered ivory drunk in water heavy, unsleoved cloak, and

Joseph returned below 17 made for an cusy birth, now she iny down,

He held her shoulder The midwife went to Mury. Joseph also took off his cloak as she sat up. She broke the made her comfortable. and laid both cloaks over her bread into pleces. It was so "We will want some water It now was getting very dark baked that by tearing a piece and some salt," she said

off and folding it, it was made Joseph. He know that, and that His legs grew straight and inside the basement cave.

No one ever slept in the dark, inio n kind of spoon. for fear. Joseph went off amul returned with a lamp, a simple pot with a spout and a lid. He had lit it from the landlord's cows fire and this he now placed on a ledge by her side.

Sho said to him that she would rest awhile, and would

ما

THEN

THEN she bound Him all over

with strips of cloth. That, she thought, would see

also he had the long strips of strong cloth ready to wrup the child twisted,

End not weak and

With this she ate her soup.

There was a feeding trough The lamp light flickered in the in.

the One of the landlord's servants 10 hand which Joseph had uttensy wind, shining on

flanks and

down steaming came

to mi

the her Mary twisted on straw. This dark basement was cows, warm with animals, and the mattress. Outside it was now smell was half sweet and half quite dark and in the hilts there sour,

was only the noise of the wind in a manger."

washed and Aled with straw

and covered with a shirt.

And Mary "wrapped Him in waddling clothes and laid fini

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Prince Philip begins his plan to bring. Buckingham Palace up to date. Red plush upholstery is abolished, electric lighting is Installed and Muggeridge is appointed to delville's jola

PROPHECIES FOR 1958 World Copyright by arrangement with the Manchester Guardian