My Dear Father:

The inquiry you made in your last letter, "What hath become of the prophet of Jordan, since the fame of Jesus hath so eclipsed his own?" I can answer but with sadness. The mission on which John came terminated when Jesus came. Soon afterwards he left the wilderness and entered Jericho, where Herod chanced to be visiting. Here he preached in the public places, and in the market, and on the very steps of the Governor's palace. Now while he was thus speaking to the people, and the officers and soldiers of the Tetrarch's guard, Herod himself came forth upon the balcony to listen. The prophet no sooner beheld him than he boldly addressed him, and sternly reproved him for the sin of having married the wife of his brother Philip, contrary to the law. Now Herod, it is said, did not show resentment at his plain dealings, but, inviting the prophet into his hall, talked much with him, and in parting offered him gifts, which John refused to touch. The next day he sent for him again to ask him some questions touching the Messias of whom he preached. Now Herodia, when it was reported to her, after the return of Herod from Jericho to his Tetrarchy, how that the prophet had publicly spoken against her marriage with Herod, became very angry; and when she found that John was still favored by her husband, she sent for Herod and said that if he would please her he must throw the prophet of Jordan into prison. At length Herod yielded, against his own will, and gave orders for the arrest of the prophet; who, the same night, was thrown into the ward of the castle. For some weeks this holy man, whose only offense was that he had the courage to reprove sin in high places, remained in bonds, while Herod each day sought to find some excuse for releasing him without displeasing Herodia, of whose anger he stood in great fear, being an abject slave to his love for her. At length the birthday of Herod arrived, and he conveyed word to John that in honor of the day he would send and fetch him out of prison as soon as he should obtain the consent of his wife, which he believed she would accord to him on such an anniversary.

Now, after the feast, Philippa, the daughter of Herodia, and of her former husband Philip, came in and danced before Prince Herod; and being beautiful in person and full of grace in every motion, she so pleased her step-father that he made a great oath, having drunk much wine with his guests, that he would give her whatsoever she would ask, were it the half of his kingdom. Her mother then called her, and whispered to her imperatively.

"Give me," said the maiden, turning towards Herod, "the head, now, of John the Baptist in a charger."

The Tetrarch no sooner heard this request than he turned pale, and said fiercely:

"Thy mother hath been tampering with thine ears, girl. Ask half of my kingdom and I will give it thee, but let me not shed blood on my birthday."

"Wilt thou falsify thine oath?" asked his wife, scornfully.

"For mine oath's sake, and for those who have heard it, I will grant thy desire," he at length answered, with a sigh of regret and self-reproach. He then turned to the captain of the guard and commanded him to slay John Baptist in prison, and bring presently there his head upon a charger.

At the end of a quarter of an hour, which was passed by Herod in great excitement, walking up and down the floor, and by his guests in silent expectation, the door opened, and the captain of the guard entered, followed by the executioner, who carried a brazen platter upon which lay the gory head of the eloquent forerunner of Christ.

"Give it to her!" cried Herod, sternly, waving him towards the beautiful maiden who stood near the inner door. The executioner placed the charger in her hands; and, with a smile of triumph, she bore it to her mother, who had retired to an inner room.

All the disciples of the murdered prophet then went where Jesus was preaching and healing, and told him what had been done to John. "When Jesus heard of the death of John, he was very sorrowful," writes John to Mary, "and went away into a desert place apart." In the meanwhile the disciples of John Baptist fled, some into the deserts, while others sought Jesus to protect and counsel them. At length he found himself surrounded by a great multitude, chiefly of John's disciples, besides many who had come to hear him preach and be healed of him. The place was a desert and far from any town. Forgetful of all else, save following Jesus, they were without food. "Which," says John, writing to Rabbi Amos, "we who were his disciples seeing, suggested that Jesus should send them away to the villages to buy themselves victuals. But Jesus answered us, and said quietly:

"'They need not go away; give ye them to eat.'

"And Simon said, 'Master, where can we get bread for so many? We have among us but five loaves and two small fishes.'

"Upon hearing this, Jesus said, 'It is enough; bring them hither to me.'

"We collected the bread and fishes, and I, myself, laid them upon a rock before Jesus. He then said to us, 'Command the multitude to sit down on the grass.' And when they were all seated, he took the five loaves and laying his hands upon them and upon the two fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed them, and then, breaking them into fragments, he gave them to us his disciples, and bade us distribute to the people. As often as we would return for more, we found the loaves and the fishes undiminished, and I saw with wonder how, when this Prophet of God would break off a piece of one of the fishes or of a loaf, the same part would immediately be seen thereon as if it had not been separated; and in this manner he continued to break and distribute to us for nearly an hour, until all ate as much as they would. When no one demanded more, he commanded us to gather up the fragments which lay by his side, and there were twelve baskets full over and above what was needed. The number that was thus miraculously fed was about five thousand men, besides nearly an equal number of women and children. And this mighty Prophet, who could thus feed an army, voluntarily suffered forty days and nights the pangs of hunger in the desert! He seems a man in suffering, a God in creating!"

This wonderful miracle, my dear father, is one that has too many witnesses to be denied. Not a day passes that we do not hear of some still more extraordinary exhibition of his power than the preceding. Every morning, when men meet in the market places, or in the corridors of the Temple, the first inquiry is, "What new wonder has he performed? Have you heard of another miracle of this mighty Prophet?" The priests alone are offended, and speak evil of him through envy.

They even have gone so far as to assert that he performs his miracles by magic, or by the aid of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. "If we suffer him to take men's minds as he doth," said Caiaphas to Rabbi Amos yesterday, when he heard that Jesus had walked on the sea to join his disciples in their ship, and stilled a tempest with a word, "the worship in the Temple will be at an end, and the sacrifice will cease. He draweth all men unto him."

You have asked, dear father, in your letter, "Where is Elias, who is to precede Messias, according to the prophet Malachi?" This question Jesus himself has answered, says John, when a rabbi put it to him. He replied thus:

"Elias has come already, and ye have done unto him whatsoever ye listed."

"Dost thou speak of John the Baptist?" asked those about him, when they heard this.

"John came in the spirit and power of Elias, and therefore was he thus called by the prophet," was the answer of Jesus.

I did not tell you that besides the six disciples whom I have named, he has chosen six others, which twelve he keeps near his person as his more favored followers, and whom he daily instructs in the doctrines he came down from heaven to teach. Of the thousands who never weary of going from place to place in his train, he has also selected seventy men, whom he has despatched by twos into every city and village of Judea, commanding them to proclaim the kingdom of God is at hand, and that the time when men everywhere should repent and turn to God, has come.

It is now commonly reported that he will be here at the Passover. I shall then behold him, and, like the wise men, I shall worship him with mingled awe and love. I will again write you, dear father, after I see and hear him. Till then, believe me your affectionate daughter,

Adina.