came to greet him and receive his blessing, with quite a number of
grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and last but not least the
little great-great-grandchild.

"When my parents looked astonished at the number, one of the daughters
quietly said: 'You see that here we marry our children while very young,
so that the Psalmist's words are very often fulfilled in Palestine, and
nearly everyone has his quiver full.' When all were quiet, our aged
friend repeated a prayer over the wine, and the large silver cup was
passed from one to the other. This was very solemnly and reverently
done.

"After this, our aged neighbour's children who had large families went
to their own homes, while those of his children who had small families
remained to celebrate the Feast with him. When he had washed his hands
before eating and repeated the blessing upon the meal, he took his
youngest great-grandchild on his knee.

"The only thing that saddened the scene was the empty chair beside our
aged friend--his wife had died during the course of the year. The
family all looked at the empty chair and sighed, and the
great-great-grandfather, with tears glistening in his eyes, also gave a
sigh, and then turned with a smile to his large family and said: 'Let us
begin. My little Samuel will start a Brocha,' and the rest listened to
hear how the little one lisped the words after his great-grandfather.

"The following day our aged friend sat like a king in his Succah, while
relatives and friends came to pay their respects to him, and all was joy
and merriment.