298 BOYS OF THE BIBLE.

took him to the home of the descendant of an old Jewish
Rabbi who was possessed of a treasure known as “ Ben
Ezra’s Basket.”

Old Lemuel Ezra set great store by this treasure, as
was manifested by the care he took of it. He had a beau-
tiful box of polished olive wood inlaid with silk, in which he
kept this basket, which was a plain, strong, common basket
about two feet long, eighteen inches wide, and about eight
inches deep. But what made this plain, common basket so
precious in the sight of Lemuel Ezra? It was said to be the
identical basket that his honored ancestor, Ben Ezra, carried
when a boy, in his wanderings with his Uncle Philip and the
other followers of Jesus Christ. According to the old man’s
story, Ben Ezra was the only son of Miriam, the sister of
Philip, and she was a widow. Very early in the ministry of
Jesus she had been won to devout and earnest discipleship.
It was a great joy to her that her brother Philip had been
chosen one of the twelve apostles of the Saviour. But above
all things she longed to see her son, Ben Ezra, following in
the footsteps of the Son of God; and these desires she often
expressed to her brother Philip.

Now, it so happened that Philip had charge of those
modest meals in which Christ and his disciples joined in their
seasons of quietude and retirement. It was Miriam’s joy to
arrange for these meals—and what more natural than that
young Ben Ezra should carry the basket of loaves, and fishes,
and fruit? One day the boy went at the appointed time
with these materials for the noon meal, and lo! he saw a
crowd of many thousands. He waited and wondered what
would be done. At last his uncle, after a talk with Jesus
about the hunger of this great multitude, so far away from
home, said: