Page:The Story of Joseph and His Brethren.djvu/34

Rh she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant which thou hast brought unto me came in unto me to mock me; and it came to pass that as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out" It was natural for Potiphar to believe his wife, notwithstanding it was against so good and wise a servant as he had found in Joseph. "Joseph's master therefore took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison."

And is this the reward and end of Joseph's high integrity and spotless virtue? No, it is not the end; it is only a means to the end. We have here, indeed, a striking instance of the seeming reverse of justice that is not unfrequently found to prevail in this world; the innocent suffer and the guilty escape, and even triumph. To the righteous themselves it sometimes seems as if their virtue were an obstacle to their prosperity; as if reward were for the unprincipled and success for the plotter. So would it often be if this world were our final home. All are not destined to obtain in this