Page:Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle.djvu/282



OTWITHSTANDING all the stirring events and anxieties of that period, notwithstanding the frequent threatenings that were directed at the Nazarene and Lazarus, life in the house at Bethany had resumed its usual aspect, and, to all appearance, ran its ordinary course.

One there was, however, whose whole life had undergone a change. Sins in others, that he had before regarded as intolerable, were spoken of with leniency and made only the subject of prayer by Lazarus. High place, his position in the Sanhedrim and as a ruler, not only ceased to have any value in his eyes, but aroused in him a faint sense of wonder that he should ever have desired them; while, somewhat to Martha's dismay, large sums were daily distributed in secret to the poor.

"Thou wilt have nothing left at last," she said to Lazarus one day.

"He hath said that I should give to the poor all I possessed and follow Him," replied Lazarus simply. "When all shall have been given, the Lord will provide more."

And Martha would go away, shrugging her shoulders, but not arguing, as she would have done in the olden days.

But one there was who watched the face of Lazarus