230 I CO A- FISHING. 



orthodox creed of Islam, that women will be saved like 

 men, and will all be made young again — except one wom- 

 an. And her story is somewhat interesting. When Jo- 

 seph was viceroy in Egypt he was riding out one dr.y 

 near Memphis, and an old woman seizing him by the 

 knee demanded charity. He turned to look at her, and 

 was so shocked at her appearance, that he involuntarily 

 exclaimed " How terribly homely vou are." 



" Then why don't you pray to your God, who answers 

 all your prayers, and ask him to make me beautiful ?" 



Whereupon Joseph lifted up his hands and prayed for 

 her, and instantly beheld her, standing by him, young and 

 lovely, so lovely that he loved her and made her his wife ; 

 and she grew old and died long after him, and went to 

 heaven and is an old woman there, and the only old 

 woman in heaven, for God makes all good women 

 voung again once, but only once, and she can never 

 be made young again. An Egyptian village perpetu- 

 ates in its name (Badrashain) the story of this wife of 

 Joseph. 



Eternal youth ! Why is it that we are all so fond of 

 this idea of youth, and constantly in our dreams of eter- 

 nal blessedness thinking of ourselves and our friends as 

 there to be young? The youth of heaven is not to be 

 what we call youth here. There is freshness and purity 

 in the young soul, but I fancy we think too much of the 

 body and its vigor and beauty when we picture the joys 

 of heaven. There is a greater beauty, a more stately and 

 impressive and winning beauty, a certain beatitude some- 

 times in extreme old age unknown to the most brilliant 

 youth. Measuring time by our very insufficient stand- 

 ards, we call eighty years old age, but the eternal youth 

 of heaven is youth because eternity stretches forever be- 



