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THE
WILDERNESS GLADDENED.
On a sandy plain in the desert of Ziph, were huts scattered, wherein dwelt lepers who had been driven from Jericho and from Hebron. To these lepers, life seemed no longer to be desired, for weariness of body and sorrow of heart were their portion.
Two among them, Jotham who once dwelt in Mamre, and Philip of Jericho, lay on the ground within the hut, and spake mournfully one to the other, while the wintry blast chilled their aching limbs, and groans from without mingled with the sighing of the winds.
“Blaspheme not, my brother!” said Philip. “We have received good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not also receive evil?”
“Am I thy brother?” cried Jotham. “I am brother to no man. I am cut off as if the
