Sir Joseph

“ Yet thou seest them not!
Joseph. [Eagerly] I see the fairest.
Asenath. [Demurely] The Shepherd of Dothan is soft of speech.
Joseph. [Starting back] The Shepherd of Dothan—! Alas! I had forgotten.
Asenath. [Coming towards him anxiously] What had Joseph forgotten?
Joseph. I had forgotten I am a bondman to Potiphar; a stranger in Egypt; a slave; a straw, blown by the wind; a leaf floating on the water. Mine eyes are the eyes of a slave, and must see nought; my tongue is a slave's tongue, and must utter no sound [Passionately] though here—here—a man's heart be beating. ”

“ Joseph, and a boundless confidence in him; I have often thought that he must have known a multitude of things about our Lord which no one has ever known.” O St. Joseph! remember those who invoke you in exile. What an admirable existence! What a long poem from the day when the rod of the carpenter blossomed in the Temple to that when Joseph expires in the arms of Jesus and Mary, the two whom every Christian would wish to have by him when on his death-bed! Never did any man receive a mission more divine than was entrusted by the Almighty to St. Joseph. ”

“ Exeunt SIR JOSEPH AND RELATIVES. BOAT. Ah! Sir Joseph's true gentleman; courteous and considerate to the very humblest. RALPH. True, Boatswain, but we are not the very humblest. Sir Joseph has explained our true position to us. As he says, a British seaman is any man's equal excepting his, and if Sir Joseph says that, is it not our duty to believe him? ALL. Well spoke! well spoke! DICK. You're on a wrong tack, and so is he. He means well, but he don't know. When people have to obey other people's orders, equality's out of the question. ”

“ Joseph my son, where art thou, and where hast thou been drawn? arouse, arouse from thy place, and come and see my grief for thee, O my son Joseph.
26 Come now and number the tears gushing from my eyes down my cheeks, and bring them up before the Lord, that his anger may turn from me.
27 O Joseph my son, how didst thou fall, by the hand of one by whom no one had fallen from the beginning of the world unto this day; for thou hast been put to death by the smiting of an enemy, inflicted with cruelty, but surely I know that this has happened to thee, on account of the multitude of my sins. ”

“ Quite different are my feelings toward Joseph. Joseph has taken possession of my mind. He retains it, he holds it captive, he obsesses it. He disturbs me, bewitches me, and frightens me, by turns. Certainly, he is ugly, brutally, horribly ugly; but, when you analyze this ugliness, you find something formidable in it, something that is almost beauty, that is more than beauty, that is above beauty,—something elemental. ”

“ The next morning Joseph, without declaring his purpose, drove to Coventry Forge to consult Philip. Mr. Blessing and Julia, remaining at home, went over the shining ground again, and yet again, confirming each other in the determination to secure it. Even Joseph, as he passed up the valley in the mild March weather, taking note of the crimson and gold of the flowering spice-bushes and maple-trees, could not prevent his thoughts from dwelling on the delights of wealth,—society, books, travel, and all the mellow, fortunate expansion of life. ”

“ And Josephine rushed into Ralph's outstretched arms.
"She's the figure-head of my ship of life—the bright beacon that guides me into the port of happiness—the rarest, the purest gem that ever sparkled on a poor but worthy fellow's trusting brow."
The crew burst into tears at this lovely speech and sobbed heavily. It had quite a different effect on Sir Joseph who, forgetting all his dignity, danced about the deck in a blind fury. ”

“ I’m not referring to you, of course, Sir Joseph. Greates’ respect for you. Ever’body has. You have done all you could to overcome the fatal error of your parents. You’re a splen’id gen’l’man. Your ’xception proves rule. Even Germans can’t all be perf’ly rotten.”
“Thank you, Marquess, thank you,” said Sir Joseph, with a natural embarrassment.
22
Marie Louise noted the slight difference between the English “Thank you” and Sir Joseph’s “Thang gyou.”
Then Lady Webling’s eyes went around the table, catching up the women’s eyes and forms, and she led them in a troop from the embarrassing scene. ”

“ For behold, you should not have feared man more than God, although men set at nought the counsels of God, and despise his words; yet you should have been faithful and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble. Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware, thou wilt fall. ”

“ And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. ”

“ We have to picture Francis Joseph, mounted on a snow-white horse, ascending the ancient hill, and brandishing his sword to the four points of Heaven as a sign that he would confound his subjects’ enemies, whether they came from north, south, east, or west; a very different experience truly from that of the days when Milan had received him and the Empress, with their heads covered, in stony silence, and the people of Venice had shunned the Archduke Maximilian and the Archduchess Charlotte as if they were lepers who had escaped from quarantine. ”

“ Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary as thy wife: for she has conceived of the Holy Spirit; and she will bring forth a son, whose name shall be called Jesus. He it is who shall rule all nations with a rod of iron. Having thus spoken, the angel departed from him. And Joseph rose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord had said to him; and Mary abode with him. ”

“ At this point a message was brought to the Captain by Lieutenant Hatchway, that the ship's barge was approaching with Sir Joseph on board, accompanied by his two plain sisters, his three ugly aunts, and ever so many pretty cousins, their daughters. Sir Joseph was a gentleman of great refinement, who was very easily shocked, and as he knew that
the society of charming ladies had the effect of making everybody polite and considerate, he never travelled any great distance without them. ”

“ PHARAOH. Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than thou. [He rises.] Joseph art thou no more, but I will call thee Zaphenath Paneah, the prince of the days to be. [He comes down from the throne to JOSEPH, who is standing dazed. He draws off his signet-ring and places it on JOSEPH'S finger.] See! I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. ”

“ The mention of his mother always softened Joseph, and in his earnest desire to live so that his life might be such as to give her joy if she could share it, a film of doubt spread itself over the smooth, pure surface of his mind. ”

“ My first impression of Joseph nearly sixty years ago was that he was a true prophet, and I formed a love for him which increased with our acquaintance. I was with him in the state of Missouri during those trying scenes until his imprisonment in Liberty jail, and subsequently in Illinois, and with the bereaved family and thousands of Latter-day Saints shed a tear over his remains as he lay silently in death’s embrace. ”

“ I have always supposed the example of Joseph the more glorious because he flourished as the flower of chastity in a gross and carnal age. Who so pure as he save John the Baptist, that morning star that shone so near the Sun of Righteousness in the transient beauty of his “heliacal rising”? ”

“ She looked into Joseph's face with a smile in which some appearance of maiden shyness yet lingered. A shrewder bridegroom would have understood its meaning, and would have said, "How lovely you are!" Joseph, it is true, experienced a sense of relief, but he knew not why, and could not for his life have put it into words. His eyes dwelt upon and followed her, and she seemed to be satisfied with that form of recognition. Mrs. Blessing inspected the dress with a severe critical eye, pulling out a fold here and smoothing a bit of lace there, until nothing further could be detected. ”

“ There were two pictures on the walls, portraits of a gentleman and lady, and when once Joseph had caught the fixed stare of their lustreless eyes, he found it difficult to turn away. The imperfect light which came through the bowed window-shutters revealed a florid, puffy-faced young man, whose head was held up by a high black satin stock. ”

“ Over this fertile, favored, and civilized nation Joseph reigned,--with delegated power indeed, but with power that was absolute,--when his starving brothers came to Egypt to buy corn, for the famine extended probably over western Asia. He is to be viewed, not as a prophet, or preacher, or reformer, or even a warrior like Moses, but as a merely executive ruler. As the son-in-law of the high-priest of Hieropolis, and delegated governor of the land, in the highest favor with the King, and himself a priest, it is probable that Joseph was initiated into the esoteric wisdom of the priesthood. ”

“ Thus did We plan for the sake of Joseph. He could not take his brother under the king's law, unless Allah pleased. We raise in degree whom We please. And above every one possessed of knowledge is the All-Knowing One.
77 They said: If he steal, a brother of his did indeed steal before. But Joseph kept it secret in his soul, and disclosed it not to them. He said: You are in an evil condition, and Allah knows best what you state.
78 They said: O chief, he has a father, a very old man, so take one of us in his place. Surely we see thee to he of the doers of good. ”

“ I may first mention the general impression which the history of Joseph leaves on the mind,—that the providence of God had a great work for him to do; that the Lord led him through great tribulation as the means of perfecting his character, and finally exalted him to be a prince and a saviour; in which we cannot fail to see a resemblance to our blessed Lord himself, of whom he was so eminent a type. It is true the elevation to which Joseph was raised was only a temporal one. Like our Lord, he saved men's lives ”

“ One day when she was calling him, the king happened to pass by, and hearing her call him thus, asked her: "Why do you call him Truthful Joseph?" "Because he never tells a lie." Then the king said that he would like to have him in his service, and set him to keeping his cows. Every morning Joseph presented himself to the king, and said: "Your Majesty's servant." The king answered: "Good morning, Truthful Joseph. How are the cows?" "Well and fat." "How are the calves?" "Well and handsome." "How is the bull?" ”

“ The woman present at the sale of Joseph, holds her hand in her veil like many a stately figure in Roman art, but the meeting of Joseph with his old father is quite modern in its emotional force, the old man tremblingly totters forward into the arms of his stalwart young son, and one cannot help feeling irritated at the bystanders’ conventional gestures as they gaze on such a touching scene. ”

“ As I looked upon their peaceful, smiling countenances, I seemed almost to hear them say,—"Mother, weep not for us, we have overcome the world by love; we carried to them the gospel, that their souls might be saved; they slew us for our testimony, and thus placed us beyond their power; their ascendency is for a moment, ours is an eternal triumph."
I then thought upon the promise which I had received in Missouri, that in five years Joseph should have power over all his enemies. The time had elapsed and the promise was fulfilled. ”

“ The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
[All stretch their arms out to him in the soft afterglow of the sunset] Joseph. He raiseth the poor from the dust; from the depths He lifteth up the needy. Oh, Lord of Hosts, happy is the man who trusteth in Thee! ”

“ The present course and sufferings of Joseph were the means by which Providence was to work out a higher place and name than he had enjoyed in the house of Potiphar, captain of the guard.
Again abandoned and cast into the lowest depths of misery, even for his virtues' sake, Joseph is not left without succour. He, without whom a sparrow falls not to the ground, allows not this faithful one to fall without a purpose, nor to suffer without His care. "The Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." ”

“ Thus did we stablish Joseph in the land that he might settle in what part thereof he pleased — we overtake with our mercy whom we will, nor do we waste the hire of those who do good; and surely the hire of the future life is better for those who believe and who have feared.
And his brethren came to Joseph, and they entered in unto him and he knew them, but they recognised not him.
And when he had equipped them with their equipment he said, ‘Bring me a brother that ye have from your father; do ye not see that I give good measure, and that I am the best of entertainers ? ”