39. And the babe was also beautiful to look upon. And the bosom of the mother yearned over her child, and she called her by her father's name, even by the name of the captain of fifty. 40. And she kissed her child, and wept over it day and night; but the frame and substance of her body were wasted away with perpetual grief, and I saw that the child would die. 41. And, when I saw the countenance that was once beautiful as the morning bathed in tears, as her babe lay at a breast in which there was no nourishment, I was exceedingly sorry even unto death. 42. And lo, I took the child and nourished it; yea I fed it with bread and with wine, with butter also, and with honey and milk from the beasts of the field; and the child was restored. 43. But the mother decayed like a flower that is cut down; for the winds of grief had passed over her, and her spirit was consumed. The summer came, and all the herbs of the field were renewed, but the fairest flower of the land was bending down to meet the clay. CHAPTER IV. 1. And it came also to pass that as soon as I found myself in a land of safety, I wrote many letters to Galli the scribe; for I said, Peradventure he may escape out of their hands. 2. I wrote also to the chief of our order, giving account of the whole matter, and attesting the innocence of Galli the scribe. 3. But no answer came to me, therefore was I sore distressed; for I said, If the mother and babe both perish, what shall become of me? 4. And one day as I sat with the babe on my knee, I beheld, and, lo, the eyes of the mother were fixed mournfully on her babe, and she lifted them to my face, and looked at her babe again. 5. And I could not contain myself; so I lifted up my voice and wept bitterly. 6. But she smiled, and said, Wherefore shouldst thou weep? Behold, am not I in the hand of the Lord? And my child, the daughter of my youth, and of my love, thou also art in the hands of thy Maker. 7. May he lead thee, and guide thee, and keep thee from the snares in which thy mother hath fallen. 8. Though thou hast lost thy father, as I also have lost mine, yet hast thou a Father in Heaven who will not forsake thee. Neither shalt thou altogether lack a father's care here below. 9. And she said to me, Is it not even so? 10. And I could not answer her, for I wept aloud; yea, I even wept until the child grew affrighted, and wept also. 11. And the mother took the graven image from her neck, and from her bosom; and she kissed it, and hung it round the neck of her babe. 12. And she said, It is the image and likeness of thy father, wear it, my child, till the day of thy death. 13. Peradventure thou mayest fall among his people, and among his kindred, for they were men of honour and renown. 14. And she kissed her child, and said, Now shall I be taken from thee, and go to my grave, and they will bury me, my babe, among strangers, and there is none of my people to shed a tear over me.