of the people to be made. (Luke 2).  We take the census very differently now from what they did then.  We in the United States, by order of the government, send men around from house to house to write down the names; but in Palestine, when they wanted the number of the people, everyone, no matter where he lived, had to go to the city or town where his forefathers had lived and there register his name with all the others who belonged to the same tribe or family.  Now, the forefathers of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin belonged to the little town of Bethlehem (Luke 2); so they had to leave Nazareth where they were then living and go to Bethlehem.  This was shortly before Christmas.  When they got to Bethlehem, they found the place crowded with people who also came to enroll their names.  They went to the inn or hotel to seek for lodging for the night.  The hotels there were not like ours.  They were simply large buildings with small rooms and no furniture; they were called caravansaries.  A man was in charge of the building, and by paying him something persons were allowed the use of a room.  No food was sold there, so travelers had to do their cooking at home and bring whatever they needed with them.  When the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph went to the inn they found all the rooms occupied.  Then they went up and down the streets looking for some house where they might stay.  Nobody would take them in, because St. Joseph was old and poor and had no money, or little, to give.  They were refused at every door, a very sad thing indeed.  What were they to do?  It was growing dark, and the lights most likely were being lighted here and there in the houses.  The old towns were not built as ours are, with houses on the outskirts growing fewer as we advance into the country.  They were surrounded by great walls to keep out their enemies.  There were several large gates in these walls, through which the people entered or left the city.  At night these gates were closed and guarded.  Nearly all the people lived within the walls and the country was lonely and almost deserted.  Only shepherds were to be found in the country, and they lived in tents, which they carried about from place to place, as soldiers do in time of war.  Such was the country about Bethlehem.  As St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin could not find anyplace to stay in the town they were forced to go into the country.  They must have suffered also from fear because the country was infested with wolves and wild dogs, so fierce that they sometimes came into the towns and attacked the people in the streets.  Besides, many robbers were wandering about waiting for victims.  Palestine is a hilly country and there were on the sides of some of the hills large caves in which these robbers frequently took refuge or divided their spoils.  Because the shepherds at times, especially in bad weather, brought their animals into these caves, they are often called stables.  The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph found, we are told, one of these cold, dark places, went into it for the night, and there Our Lord was born.