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THE U8RARV OF 
 CONGRESS, 
 
 Two Cow to Reosived 
 
 SEP. IS 1902 
 
 Copyright entry 
 
 CLASS CCXKc No 
 
 COI«Y 3. 
 
 Copyright, 1902 
 
 By Jamteson-Higgins Co. 
 
 fe 
 
 < . i i , i 
 
 C C C C I <■ 
 
o — 
 
MARY AND THE INFANT JESUS 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Hagar, The Egyptian, ... 11 
 
 II. Rebekah, The Chosen of God, . . 25 
 
 III. The Two Sisters, Leah and Rachel, . 41 
 
 IV. Miriam, The Good Sister, ... 51 
 V. Aehsah, The Daughter of Caleb, . 71 
 
 VI. Jephthah's Daughter, ... 83 
 
 VII. Ruth, The Gleaner, ... 95 
 
 VIII. The Little Captive Maid, . . . Ill 
 
 IX. Jezebel, Child and Woman, . . 125 
 
 X. Queen Esther, .... 135 
 
 XL The Virgin Mary, .... 163 
 
 XII. Salome, The Dancer, . . . 173 
 
 XIII. The Daughter of Jairus, . . . 185 
 
 XIV. Mary and Martha of Bethany, . . 199 
 XV. The Slave Girl of Philippi, . . 211 
 
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that 
 feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. 
 
 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works 
 praise her in the gates.— Proverbs xxxi,30 and 31. 
 
 There is a vision in the heart of each 
 
 Of justice, mercy, wisdom, tenderness 
 
 To wrong and pain, and knowledge of its cure — 
 
 And these embodied in a woman's form. 
 
 — Robert Browning. 
 May you walk, as through life's road 
 Every noble woman can, 
 With a pure heart before God, 
 And a true heart unto man ! — Muloch, 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Girls who live in Christian lands owe more to the Bible than 
 can be easily told. When heathen girl babies are born they are 
 almost always unwelcome. Boys are greeted with joy, but girls 
 are an occasion of grief. If a Hindu woman has a daughter before 
 she has a son she is supposed to have fallen under the severe dis- 
 pleasure of the goddess, Vishnu. Her women friends come to 
 condole with her and often her husband refuses to look at her, or 
 to speak to her, or to notice her in any way for weeks. In China 
 a new-born girl is considered usually only as one more child to 
 be fed and clothed, and is often gotten rid of on that account. 
 Sometime she is killed and sometimes left by a river bank or a 
 roadside to be picked up by a passer-by. Christian missionaries 
 have saved hundreds of these poor babies and have trained them 
 *o be their efficient helpers and faithful servants of the cross. 
 
 It is a significant fact that the first convert to Christianity in 
 Europe was a woman — Lydia, the seller of purple who was bap- 
 tized by St. Paul, the pioneer missionary. Since the time of the 
 "Apostle to the Gentiles" missionaries have accomplished a great 
 part of their work through the agency of women and, in turn, 
 have been always the champions of women and children. 
 
 Hebrew women from the first played a prominent part in the 
 history of their race. Among them were poets, prophets, leaders 
 and saviours of their people. 
 
 Miriam was second only to Moses and Aaron in the councils 
 of the Israelites ; Deborah held the highest political office among 
 the tribes — that of Judge, since there was no king in her day. 
 Moreover, Deborah was a prophetess regarded with especial favor 
 by the Lord. It was Hannah who dedicated Samuel to God, a 
 deed which made her prominent among the mothers of Israel ; 
 and Ruth and Esther have given their names to books of the Bible. 
 
 Women were chosen by Christ to be His friends and were in- 
 
structed in religion as carefully as were the men. The venerable 
 Anna hailed the infant Jesus as the Messiah, and an archangel 
 announced the birth of the Holy Child to Mary, the most blessed 
 of women. 
 
 The stories of the women and girls of the Bible are full of in- 
 terest. Women, good or bad, influenced men to perform deeds 
 from which lessons have been drawn for countless generations and 
 they acted themselves wisely or foolishly; the records of their 
 doings being preserved to be used as warnings or examples. A 
 pillar of salt, which is said to be the identical one which was once 
 Lot's wife, is still shown to travelers in the region of the Dead 
 Sea. Her disobedience made its own monument. These other 
 women live still in their deeds and the stories of their lives* are 
 told as a memorial of them wherever the gospel is preached, as 
 Christ foretold of gentle Mary who annointed his feet with costly 
 spikenard. 
 
 Sometimes, just one act has been recorded, one picture shown. 
 Yet that tells all that it is necessary for us to know, or more would 
 have been written. Pondering over a few verses and reading 
 them in the light of profane history we may find a whole story 
 written between the lines. 
 
 Says Jesus, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think that 
 ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me." 
 
 "Could we with ink the ocean fill, 
 Were all the sky of parchment made, 
 Were every single stick a quill, 
 And every man a scribe by trade, — 
 To write the love of God above 
 Would drain the ocean dry, 
 Nor could the scroll contain the whole 
 Though stretched from sky to sky." 
 
If AGAR, THE EGYPTIAN 
 
1 
 
 Thou, God, seest me. Genesis xvi, 13. 
 
 Sarai, Abram's wife had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose 
 name was Hagar. Genesis xvi, 1. 
 
 Heaven must be very near us, else how can the angels be so 
 near to us and yet so near to God ? — Schonberg-Cotta Family. 
 
 She stood beside the well her God had given 
 To gush in that deep wilderness, and bathed 
 The forehead of her child until he laugh'd 
 In his reviving happiness, and lisp'd 
 His infant thought of gladness at the sight 
 Of the cool plashing of his mother's hand. 
 
 — N. P. Willis. 
 
Chapter I 
 ZiAGAH, T/iE EGYPTIAN 
 
 ONG ago, when the world 
 was young, and there 
 were not anything like 
 so many people in it as 
 there are now, lived 
 Abraham and Sarah, his 
 wife. Abraham was a 
 very good man. He was called the 
 friend of God. God had chosen him 
 out of all the world to be the head of a 
 great people, the children of Israel. 
 These are the people that the Bible 
 tells about, after the time of Abra- 
 ham. It tells about other men and 
 women, also, but chiefly about the 
 children of Israel. Jesus Christ 
 was descended from Abraham. So 
 in Abraham and his children, and his children's 
 children all the world was blessed. 
 
 Abraham and Sarah lived in far-away Asia. 
 Asia was the cradle of the human race, the birth- 
 place of man and woman. It was there that Adam 
 and Eve lived, and Cain and Abel, and Noah and his 
 
 11 
 
12 
 
 HAGAR, THE EGYPTIAN. 
 
 wife. Noah had three sons — Ham, Shem and 
 Japheth. Shem stayed in Asia, and lived there 
 always, but Japheth went to Europe, and he and his 
 children lived there; and Ham went to Africa. 
 
 Abraham was a very rich man. He had great 
 flocks of sheep and vast herds of cattle and camels, 
 and he claimed many acres of land. He and his 
 followers lived in tents; they moved about to find 
 pastures for the flocks and herds. Every time that 
 they went to a new place they took their tents with 
 them. These were made of skins, or of stuff woven 
 of black goats' hair, upheld by poles and ropes. The 
 ends of the tent -ropes were fastened to short sticks 
 or pins which were driven into the ground with a 
 mallet. When it was time to move, the pins were 
 pulled up, the tents were taken down and packed on 
 the backs of camels, and soon only a few holes in 
 the ground and a heap or two of ashes marked the 
 place where the home had .been. The Arabs of to- 
 day live in just such tents as did Abraham, Isaac and 
 Jacob so long ago. 
 
 Sometimes Abraham and Sarah went to other 
 countries to visit. It was while they were in Egypt 
 that Abraham bought Hagar. Probably she was 
 only a child, and she grew up in Sarah's household, 
 almost like a daughter. She learned to cook, to spin 
 and to sew, and to take care of the milk and to 
 make butter. 
 
 The butter of those days was made by shaking 
 milk up and down until the fatty parts left the whey. 
 There is a story that Abraham's servants did not 
 
HAGAB, THE EGYPTIAN. 13 
 
 know how to make butter until they were taught it 
 by accident. They were fleeing before their enemies ; 
 some of the camels were laden with provisions, and 
 the bottles of milk got a tremendous shaking. These 
 bottles were not made of glass like ours, or they 
 would have been broken all to pieces; they were 
 skins. Often the whole of a goat -skin, except the 
 head and the feet, was used for one bottle. The 
 skin was tanned and the hairy part left outside, the 
 openings, except the neck, being sewed up tight. 
 Kid-skins were used for water bottles. When 
 Abraham's servants opened their bottles they thought 
 that the milk was spoiled, but they tasted it and 
 found it good with their bread ; it was butter. After- 
 ward they made butter on purpose. Perhaps they 
 had their camels run back and forth in order to shake 
 up the milk, but in time they must have found a 
 better way of doing. 
 
 In those days a man was allowed to have more 
 than one wife, so, when Hagar was old enough, Sarah 
 gave her to Abraham to marry. Girls marry very 
 young in eastern countries, sometimes at ten and 
 twelve years of age. So, much of their girl -hood is 
 after they are married, and it is probable that Hagar 
 was in her early teens when she became Abraham's 
 wife. Almost everything that is said about her 
 shows her young and thoughtless. It was a promo- 
 tion for her to be married to her master and she put 
 on airs. She believed herself equal to her mistress, 
 which she was not, for there was a great difference 
 between a wife who had been a slave and one who 
 
14 HAGAB, THE EGYPTIAN. 
 
 had been free always. Besides, Sarah was old, and 
 the mistress of the entire household. When Hagar 
 became rude and impertinent, Sarah complained to 
 Abraham, and he told her that Hagar was her maid 
 and that she might do with her whatever she 
 pleased. 
 
 The Bible says that Sarah " dealt hardly" with 
 Hagar. The girl ran away, probably intending to 
 go back to her old home in Egypt. She followed an 
 inland caravan route, over which companies of 
 merchants travelled from Egypt to far-away coun- 
 tries, carrying with them beautiful and costly wares. 
 This was foolish of her, for she would have had to 
 cross deserts and wildernesses infested by robbers 
 and wild beasts, through which even the caravans 
 did not go without being guarded by soldiers. Be- 
 sides, how was she to get anything to eat and to 
 drink? Wells were far apart and hard to find, and 
 when at last she came to one, she sank down ex- 
 hausted. And the Angel of the Lord looked down 
 and saw her alone and unprotected. 
 
 When the Old Testament speaks of the Angel 
 of God, or the Angel of Jehovah, or the Angel of the 
 Lord, we believe that God, Himself, is meant. 
 
 And the Angel of the Lord said: "Hagar, 
 Sarai's maid, whence comest thou?" 
 
 Of course God knew all about poor, tired Hagar, 
 and what she was doing, for he does not forget His 
 children, but He listened to their prayers then, as 
 He listens to them now. 
 
 Hagar must have been very much frightened 
 
HAGAR, THE EGYPTIAN 
 
■ i 
 
HAGAK, THE EGYPTIAN. 17 
 
 when she heard the voice, for although God talked 
 directly with Abraham in those far-away days, she 
 had never heard His voice before. She must have 
 hidden her face and have answered almost in a 
 whisper : 
 
 " I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai." 
 
 This was before Sarah's name had been changed 
 from Sarai to Sarah. Not long afterward the Lord 
 appeared to Abram, as he was then called, and com- 
 manded him to be called Abraham and Sarai to be 
 Sarah. It is by these names that we know them 
 best. 
 
 And the Angel of the Lord told Hagar to go 
 Dack to her mistress and to wait on her and do what 
 she told her. But He gave Hagar a beautiful promise 
 to take with her. She was to have a son who was 
 to be called Ishmael. 
 
 Then Hagar knew that she was in the very 
 presence of God, and she cried : " Is it possible that 
 I can live after seeing God? " 
 
 And she gave the well a new name in memory 
 of the event, calling it "Beer-lahai-roi," which 
 means "The Well of Living and Seeing." Then 
 she went back to Sarah as the Lord had commanded. 
 Perhaps He softened her mistress' heart toward her, 
 but even though Sarah were harsh again, the girl 
 was better able to bear it. She had been comforted 
 by God who was going to give her a son. 
 
 When the boy was born, his father called him 
 Ishmael, as the Angel of the Lord had foretold. 
 
18 HAGAB, THE EGYPTIAN. 
 
 Abraham was eighty -six years old when this son 
 was given him. 
 
 Although Ishmael was Abraham's first child, he 
 was not to be his heir. When Abraham was nearly 
 a hundred years old he was sitting in his tent door, 
 in the heat of the day, when he looked up and saw 
 three men approaching. He ran to meet them, and 
 bowed down to the ground, by way of salutation, as 
 is the custom in the east. And he invited them to 
 stop and rest under the trees near his tent. They 
 consented, so he had some water brought that the 
 strangers might wash their feet, for they wore sandals 
 instead of shoes, and their feet were dusty and 
 warm. Sandals consist merely of leather soles 
 fastened to the feet by straps. 
 
 Then Abraham hastened into the tent and told 
 Sarah to take some fine meal and make some bread 
 quickly. The bread in those days was made in flat 
 cakes which became stale very soon. So fresh ones 
 had to be baked every day. And Abraham served 
 the bread, and some meat, and milk and butter to the 
 men under the trees, and he stood by while they ate. 
 
 And the strangers asked: "Where is Sarah, 
 thy wife?" 
 
 And Abraham answered : 4 ' She is in the tent . ' ' 
 
 Then Abraham was told that Sarah should have 
 a son, and the strangers went on their way. They 
 had been sent by God. 
 
 And it came to pass, as it had been said; the 
 son was born, and he was called Isaac. 
 
 When Isaac was two or three years old Abra- 
 
HAGAR, THE EGYPTIAN. 19 
 
 ham and Sarah gave a feast in his honor. But Ish- 
 mael, who was quite a big boy by this time and 
 was jealous of little Isaac, made fun of the baby and 
 his mother. Perhaps he thought that the feast 
 should have been in his honor, for he was the older 
 son. Sarah was much displeased, not only with 
 Ishmael, but with his mother, Hagar, and she urged 
 Abraham to send both of them away. 
 
 It was not only that Sarah wanted Ishmael and 
 his mother punished, but she was afraid that the 
 father might care as much for Ishmael as he did for 
 Isaac. She was Abraham's first wife, and had been 
 a princess in her own country, and she believed that 
 Isaac should be his father's only heir. 
 
 Abraham was grieved, for he loved both Ish- 
 mael and Hagar, and he was unwilling to send them 
 away. But God spoke to him and told him what to 
 do. He was to grant Sarah's request; Isaac was to 
 be the heir, and from him were to be descended the 
 children of Israel, the great Hebrew nation, but the 
 Lord would take care of Ishmael and make him also 
 the founder of a mighty people. 
 
 So Abraham arose early in the morning and told 
 Hagar that she and her son must go away. He gave 
 them bread to take with them, and a skin of water. 
 Hagar put the food and drink on her shoulder and 
 started off, followed by Ishmael. They wandered 
 in the wilderness, perhaps for days. Soon their 
 water was gone. We can imagine how Hagar had 
 treasured it, making it go as far as possible. She 
 must have felt faint and tired, yet she thought not 
 
20 HAGAR, THE EGYPTIAN. 
 
 of herself but of Ishmael who was so exhausted that 
 he could go no farther. She was afraid that he 
 would die. 
 
 In the great deserts people often die of thirst. 
 Travelers tell us that there is no more terrible tor- 
 ture than that of doing without water. Sometimes 
 this horrible thirst is suffered by ship -wrecked sai]- 
 ors on the ocean. They have plenty of water around 
 them, but it is salt and not fit to drink. In the 
 deserts there is no water except at the oases or green 
 spots, which are few and far between. Some oases 
 are large enough to hold little farms which are 
 carefully cultivated; others are so small that they 
 consist of only a few bushes and a little grass which 
 have sprung up around a spring or a well. The 
 small ones sometimes disappear entirely; the hot 
 sun withers the grass and the shrubbery, and the 
 shifting winds cover the wells with sand. 
 
 When thirst overtook Hagar and Ishmael they 
 were near some bushes, but could not find a well. 
 Hagar felt that she could not bear to see her son die. 
 So she left him under the bushes, in as shady a spot 
 as she could find, and went off, the Bible says, u as 
 it were a bowshot," or as far as an arrow might fly 
 from a bow. And she sat down and began to weep 
 and to cry aloud. 
 
 Grod heard her voice, and he heard Ishmael's 
 also, and He called to Hagar out of heaven : " What 
 aileth thee, Hagar ? Fear not, for Grod hath heard 
 the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the 
 
HAGAE, THE EGYPTIAN. 21 
 
 lad, and hold him in thine hand ; for I will make 
 him a great nation." 
 
 It was not God's purpose to let Ishmael die, for 
 as Abraham had been promised already, Ishmael 
 was to live and to be the father of a mighty people. 
 And God opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw a well 
 of water, and she went and filled her skin and carried 
 • water to Ishmael. We do not know whether God 
 wrought a miracle and made a well, where there was 
 none before, or whether there was one there all the 
 time, and it was his will that Hagar should not see 
 it until it was shown her. 
 
 This time Hagar did not go back to Sarah. She 
 and Ishmael stayed in the wilderness. Hagar was 
 no longer alone and helpless. Ishmael grew strong 
 and tall and he became an archer. In those days 
 there were no guns, and people shot with bows and 
 arrows. They fought with lances and spears in 
 close fights, but an arrow could go farther than either 
 spear or lance. 
 
 Cities were far apart, and there was a great deal 
 of land which belonged to nobody. Poor people in 
 the cities were slaves to the rich, and had to do just 
 what they told them. Their lives and the little that 
 they had was at the mercy of the king and his ser- 
 vants, and there was no law to protect them. When 
 a man wanted to be free, and was strong enough to 
 protect himself against wild beasts and robbers, he 
 went to the wilderness, as Robin Hood did many 
 years later. Even rich men often preferred the life 
 
22 
 
 HAGAR, THE EGYPTIAN. 
 
 in the wilderness, where they and their families 
 were subject to no one. 
 
 When Ishmael became a man, his mother took 
 him a wife out of Egypt, her old country. He had 
 twelve sons, each one a prince, and one daughter. 
 Hagar was very happy in her grandchildren. 
 
 The great nation that was founded by Ishmael 
 was the Arabian, and his descendants occupy Arabia 
 to this day, as well as Turkey in Asia and in 
 Europe. 
 
Rebekah, the Chosen of God. 
 
The Lord shall guide thee continually. — Isaiah Iviii, 11 
 
 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, be- 
 hold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, 
 the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher on her 
 shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon. 
 
 — Genesis xxiv, 15-16. 
 
 Amidst undying things, 
 
 The mind still keeps your loveliness, and still 
 
 All the fresh glories of the early world 
 
 Hang round you in the spirit's pictured halls 
 
 Never to change. 
 
 — Felicia Hemans. 
 
Chapter n 
 RgBEKAHTHE CHOSEN 
 
 ofGqd. 
 
 HILD-NATURE 
 
 is pretty much 
 the same every- 
 where and al- 
 ways. Chinese 
 girls speak a dif- 
 ferent language 
 from American girls and they 
 wear different clothes, but they 
 nurse and dress dolls and play 
 house, just as though their skins 
 were white instead of yellow, and 
 : v\ their eyes round instead of almond- 
 shaped. Chinese boys fly kites 
 and spin tops and shoulder toy guns. They live on 
 the opposite side of this great world of ours, and use 
 chop -sticks instead of forks, and wear funny little 
 pig -tails, but boy hearts are theirs all the same. 
 Even the children of long ago were not very differ- 
 ent from those of to-day. 
 
 Thousands of years ago lived a little girl named 
 Rebekah. Her home was in Mesopotamia in Asia. 
 
 25 
 
26 REBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD. 
 
 She was Abraham's grand-niece — that is, Abraham 
 was her grandfather's brother. Before the Lord 
 called Abraham to follow Him and become the 
 founder of a great people, he and Rebekah's 
 grandfather, Nahor, lived in Ur in the land of 
 Chaldea. From Ur, Abraham went to live in 
 Canaan, and Nahor moved to Mesopotamia. Nahor 
 founded a city which was named after him, the city 
 of Nahor, and there he and his sons lived. 
 
 Rebekah was the daughter of the youngest of 
 these sons,Bethuel, and she had one brother, Laban. 
 She was a beautiful girl with long black hair and 
 lovely dark eyes ; her skin was very fair, the hot sun 
 and the desert winds did not tan or roughen it. It 
 was not because she stayed in -doors all the time that 
 she was fair, for she used to go every day to the well 
 to draw water. This seems to have been her es- 
 pecial task, although her father was a rich man and 
 he had many servants. Rebekah was not brought 
 up in idleness. Probably, like all other little girls, 
 she loved to play. She must have had a doll, for 
 even thousands of years ago there were doll -babies, 
 and of course she played house. Laban was older 
 than she, but he was a kind brother and he must 
 have encouraged her in pranks and fun. But Re- 
 bekah had many things to learn. Prom playing 
 house she was promoted to real house -keeping. She 
 was taught to sew and to cook, to spin and to weave, 
 to take care of the milk and to draw water. Hagar 
 was a slave when she learned these things, but 
 Rebekah was the daughter of a great man and she 
 
KEBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD 27 
 
 learned them also. Then, as now, it was necessary 
 for all girls to know how to keep house. Some girls 
 do not think it worth while to spend time over sew- 
 ing and cooking, dusting and mending, because they 
 have people to do such things for them, but they are 
 not wise. There comes a time when nearly every 
 woman has to wait on herself and others, but should 
 such a time never come, it is well to know how 
 household tasks should be performed. No mistress 
 can direct a servant properly without understanding 
 the work to be done. The present Queen of Eng- 
 land, the beautiful and gracious Alexandra, used, 
 when a girl, to make her own dresses and trim her 
 bonnets, and all of Queen Victoria's daughters 
 learned to sew and to cook. The Empress of Ger- 
 many is a notable housewife, and it is said that 
 Emperor William is proud of her fruit jelly. 
 
 Household tasks were much harder and more 
 numerous even a hundred years ago than they are 
 now. Our great -grandmothers had to spin their 
 own yarn and to weave their own cloth. A hundred 
 years ago there were no matches, there was no gas, 
 there were no ranges and no sewing machines. 
 Most of the world's wonderful labor-saving machin- 
 ery has been invented in this country. Rebekah, 
 thousands of years ago, probably did not have to 
 work so hard as our great -grandmothers did, for in 
 those days living was much more simple than it grew 
 to be as time went on. Yet she had to grind the 
 grain for her bread and to go outside of the city for 
 her water. Not only was there no water piped into 
 
28 REBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD. 
 
 the houses, as it is in cities now -a -days, but there 
 were no pumps or wells in the yards as there are in 
 the country. Every evening the girls of the place 
 went to the well outside of the city and at it they 
 filled their pitchers. 
 
 Rebekah grew tall and straight and strong 
 from her daily exercise, and the skillful carrying of 
 her heavy pitcher made her graceful and supple. 
 By the time she was twelve or fourteen years old she 
 was remarkably attractive, but it was not only her 
 face and her form that were beautiful. She grew 
 up courteous, obliging, affectionate and obedient. 
 So she was truly lovely. A pretty face may not fall 
 to the lot of every girl, but all may acquire beautiful 
 characters. 
 
 Far away in Canaan, Abraham did not forget 
 his relatives. One day he called his chief servant, 
 Eliezer , to him and said : ' ' Thou shalt go unto my 
 country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto 
 my son Isaac." 
 
 But Eliezer did not think that a girl would be 
 willing to leave her own country and journey to a 
 strange land to marry Isaac. And he told Abra- 
 ham so. 
 
 But Abraham had an answer ready. 
 
 u The Lord Grod of heaven which took me from 
 my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, 
 and which spake unto me and sware unto me, say- 
 ing 'Unto thy seed will I give this land,' He shall 
 send His angel before thee and thou shalt take a 
 a wife unto my son from thence." 
 
REBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD. 29 
 
 Abraham was sure that God would help Eliezer 
 in his choice, for from Isaac and his wife were to be 
 descended the great Hebrew nation. It was im- 
 portant that Isaac should have a good wife. Alone, 
 Abraham might not have made the best choice, but 
 he was content to leave it to God. Abraham had 
 long ago chosen to obey God in everything, and God 
 took care of him all through his long life. 
 
 ' Blest was the choice that Abraham made, 
 When he the voice of God obeyed, 
 
 And left his kindred dear. 
 What though he knew not where he went, 
 And passed his days within a tent, 
 
 He knew that God was near. 
 
 ' k And when he saw the heathen round, 
 Beneath each tree, upon each mound, 
 
 Before their idols bend, 
 Could he enough his love express, 
 For him who promised still to bless, 
 
 And chose him for His friend ? 
 
 " The friend of God! The angels fair 
 No sweeter name than this could bear, 
 
 However high their state; 
 Yet may a creature made of clay, 
 Who will the Lord's commands obey, 
 
 Obtain this honor great." 
 
 Eliezer was an important man. Abraham was 
 so old that he needed some one to look after his 
 property, — his flocks and his herds, his slaves and 
 his gold and whatever else he had. And Eliezer 
 did this. He was Abraham's steward, for that is 
 what a man who manages the affairs of another is 
 called. 
 
 The steward made his preparations for the jour- 
 
30 REBEKAH, THE CHOSEN. OF GOD. 
 
 ney without troubling his master. He took ten 
 camels and a band of men and set out, carrying with 
 him beautiful presents for Abraham's relatives. 
 Camels seem especially made for traveling across 
 deserts, and are used to carry both people and goods. 
 They are sometimes called the ships of the desert. 
 They can go a long time without eating and drink- 
 ing. Each hump is a store of fat from which the 
 camel can draw when it needs food. On a journey 
 the owner of the animal generally feeds it very lit- 
 tle, often only a few beans or dates, and not those if 
 there are any shrubs on which it can browse. As 
 for water, the camel has two stomachs, and in one 
 of these, which is called the honeycomb bag, are 
 great masses of cells which store up water and keep 
 it for a long time. When pressed by thirst Arabs 
 sometime kill a camel for the sake of the water in 
 this bag. A camel has keen sight and smell, and 
 can discern water at a great distance. Its eyes are 
 furnished with long eyelashes to protect them from 
 the glare of the burning sun, and it can close its 
 nostrils at will to keep out the drifting sand. Its 
 feet have thick soles which protect them from the 
 hot sands over which they have to travel, and there 
 are also tough places on the chest and the joints of 
 the legs, useful when the patient beasts kneel to re- 
 ceive their loads. A camel can carry twice as heavy 
 a load as a mule; its motion is jolting and disagree - 
 ble to those who are not used to it. 
 
 Eliezer and his camels and his men crossed the 
 desert and came to the city of Nahor. How he found 
 
BEBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD. 31 
 
 a wife for Isaac is simply and beautifully told in the 
 twenty -fourth chapter of Genesis . 
 
 "And he made his camels to kneel down with- 
 out the city by a well of water at the time of the 
 evening that women go out to draw water. And he 
 said, ' O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray 
 Thee send me good speed this day and show kindness 
 unto my master Abraham. Behold I stand here at 
 the well of water ; and the daughters of the men of 
 the city come out to draw water ; and let it come to 
 pass that the damsel to whom I shall say "Let down 
 thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink;" and she 
 shall say, " Drink, and I will give thy camels drink 
 also:" let the same be appointed for thy servant 
 Isaac; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast 
 shewed kindness unto my master.' 
 
 "And it came to pass before he had done speak- 
 ing, that, behold, Rebekah came out with her pitcher 
 upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair 
 to look upon ; and she went down to the well, and 
 filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant 
 ran to meet her, and said, ' Let me, I pray thee, 
 drink a little water of thy pitcher.' And she said, 
 'Drink, my lord:' and she hasted, and let down 
 her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 
 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, 
 4 1 will draw water for thy camels also, until they 
 have done drinking.' And she hasted, and 
 emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again 
 unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his 
 camels." 
 
32 EEBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD. 
 
 The steward was delighted with her ; she was 
 so beautful and so gracious and kind. He stood ad- 
 miring her while she drew the water and wondered 
 whether she was really the girl meant for Isaac's 
 wife. As soon as the camels were through drinking, 
 he gave Rebekah a lovely gold ear-ring and two 
 heavy gold bracelets, and he asked: "Whose 
 daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there 
 room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?" 
 
 Rebekah replied that she was the daughter of 
 Bethuel, the son of Nahor and his wife, Milcah. 
 Also, she said that her father had plenty of room 
 and plenty of food for the stranger's camels and his 
 men. 
 
 Eliezer was over-joyed, and he bowed down his 
 head and thanked the Lord who had led him straight 
 to the home of Abraham's own people. 
 
 Rebekah ran home and told her mother and her 
 brother what had happened, and she showed them 
 the ear-ring and the bracelets. Then Laban went 
 to the well, and there he found the steward waiting 
 with his camels. 
 
 And Laban said: "Come, thou blessed of the 
 Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have 
 prepared the house, and room for the camels." 
 
 And Eliezer went home with Laban, gladly, and 
 his camels were unharnessed and fed, and he and all 
 his men were given water with which to wash their 
 feet. Then food was set before the men, but the 
 steward would not eat until he had told his errand. 
 
 "I am Abraham's servant," he said, u and the 
 
REBEKAH AT THE WELL 
 

REBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD. 35 
 
 Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is be- 
 come great; and He hath given him flocks, and 
 herds, and silver, and gold, and men servants, and 
 maid servants, and camels, and asses." 
 
 Then he went on to tell how the Lord had given 
 Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age, and how 
 that son, Isaac, was to inherit everything that Abra- 
 ham had ; and how Abraham had made him swear 
 that he would seek a wife for Isaac in Abraham's 
 old home, among his relatives, and how he had found 
 Rebekah at the well, and that he believed that the 
 Lord had showed him Rebekah in answer to prayer. 
 
 Bethuel and Laban listened attentively to the 
 steward's story, and when it was finished they said : 
 " The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot 
 speak unto thee bad or good. Behold Rebekah is be- 
 fore thee, take her and go, and let her be thy 
 master's son's wife." 
 
 When Abraham's servant heard their words, 
 he bowed down to the ground and thanked God. 
 And he unpacked jewels of gold and jewels of silver 
 and beautiful clothing, and gave them to Rebekah 
 as presents from Abraham and Isaac, and to her 
 mother and to Laban also, he gave precious things. 
 Then they all ate and drank, and Eliezer and his 
 men stayed all night at the house of Bethuel. 
 
 In the morning the steward was impatient to be 
 off. "Send me away unto my master," he said. 
 
 But Rebekah' s mother and brother wanted to 
 put off parting with her. 
 
 Let the girl stay with us a few days, at the 
 
 u 
 
36 REBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD. 
 
 least ten," they said, " after that she shall go." 
 
 " Hinder me not," said Eliezer, "seeing the 
 Lord hath prospered my way ; send me away that I 
 may go to my master." 
 
 " We will call Rebekah and ask her," said the 
 mother. 
 
 So the girl was called. " Wilt thou go with 
 this man," she was asked. 
 
 And she said, "I will go." 
 
 So Rebekah and her nurse and her servants 
 went away with Abraham's steward and his men. 
 They all rode upon camels and journeyed for nearly 
 two weeks. 
 
 Rebekah had never been away from home be- 
 fore, and she enjoyed the strange sights that met 
 her view. She would have been lonely if it had not 
 been for her good old nurse, Deborah, who had been 
 with her ever since she was a baby. 
 
 By and by, they drew near Isaac's home. It 
 was late in the afternoon, and Isaac was walking 
 in the field, thinking about the steward's journey 
 and the wife that he was to bring. And he lifted 
 up his eyes and saw the camels approaching. Re- 
 bekah saw him and she said to the steward, "What 
 man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?" 
 
 "It is my master, Isaac," answered Eliezer. 
 
 Then Rebekah felt shy, for she knew that it 
 was Isaac who was to be her husband. And she 
 drew her veil over her face and alighted from the 
 camel. 
 
 In eastern countries women generally wear veils 
 
REBEKAH, THE CHOSEN OF GOD. 
 
 37 
 
 which cover their faces. Little girls put them on 
 when they get to be about twelve years old, and 
 after that have to wear them whenever they go out 
 doors. It is evident that the rule about veil -wearing 
 was not strict in Rebekah's day, for she had ridden 
 unveiled until she saw Isaac. 
 
 Isaac hastened to meet Rebekah, and he took 
 her into the tent which had been his mother's. 
 Since his mother's death he had been lonely, but 
 Rebekah became his wife, and he loved her, and 
 was comforted. 
 
I 
 
The Two Sisters, Leah and Rachel. 
 
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. — Psalm xxiii, 1. 
 
 And Laban had two daughters : the name of the elder was 
 Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. — Genesis xxix y 16. 
 
 " Jesus says that we must love him; 
 Helpless as the lambs are we; 
 But He very kindly tells us, 
 That our Shepherd He will be. 
 
 Heavenly Shepherd, please to watch us, 
 Guard us both by night and day; 
 Pity show to little children, 
 Who like lambs too often stray . 
 
 We are always prone to wander, 
 Please to keep us from each snare; 
 Teach our infant hearts to praise Thee 
 For Thy kindness and Thy care." 
 
 Two sisters, dwelling under one roof, loving and beloved, 
 careless of the future, which in its beauty and freshness, like an 
 unclouded morning just opening upon them, gives no hint of the 
 darkness which may gather, or the tempests which may lower 
 before the day is done; — such are Leah and Rachel, when on the 
 sacred page they are first presented to our view . 
 
 — Mrs. S. G. Ashton. 
 
Chapter III 
 
 The two sisters Leah 
 
 and Rachel 
 
 IN course of time Isaac and 
 Rebekah had two sons, 
 Esau and Jacob. They were 
 twins, but they were not at 
 all alike. Esau was rough 
 and hairy, while Jacob 
 was smooth -skined and 
 and they were even more 
 
 Esau was 
 
 o> 
 
 fair, 
 
 unlike in disposition, 
 wild and lawless, caring little for 
 the hopes and feelings of others, 
 fond of hunting and of out -door 
 life, while Jacob was quiet and 
 gentle, spending most of his time 
 around the tents, taking care of the 
 flocks and the herds, and even helping with house- 
 hold tasks. Rebekah loved Jacob better than she 
 did Esau, but Isaac was fonder of Esau. 
 
 When Isaac was old and blind, Jacob covered 
 himself with hairy skins so that his neck and his 
 arms would feel like Esau's, and he deceived Isaac 
 so that he got the promises and the blessing that 
 
 41 
 
42 THE TWO SISTERS, LEAH AND RACHEL. 
 
 were meant for Esau. The blessing was a sacred 
 thing, once given it could not be taken back. 
 
 Esau was very angry, and he said: "After my 
 father is dead, I will slay my brother, Jacob." 
 
 Then Rebekah sent for Jacob and bade him flee, 
 telling him to go to her brother, Laban. But Jacob 
 could not go without his father's permission. So 
 Rebekah advised Isaac to send Jacob to her brother's 
 country, there to get a wife. And Isaac did so. He 
 called Jacob, and blessed him again, and sent him 
 to the land from which Rebekah had come. 
 
 Laban had two daughters, Leah and Rachel. 
 Leah was the older; her eyes were weak and she 
 was not nearly so pretty as Rachel. 
 
 Laban had a great many sheep and Rachel helped 
 take care of them. Her name means "a sheep." 
 
 Rebekah must have known just where Jacob 
 would find her brother and his family, for Jacob in- 
 stead of going to the city in which Rebekah had lived, 
 went to some pasture land quite far from the city. 
 
 "And he looked, and beheld a well in the field, 
 and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; 
 for out of that well they watered the flocks ; and a 
 great stone was upon the well's mouth. And thither 
 were all the flocks gathered." 
 
 Jacob said to the shepherds, "Do you know 
 Laban the grandson of Nahor?" 
 
 " Yes," they said, "we do." 
 
 And Jacob asked, " Is he well?" 
 
 And the shepherds answered, u He is well; and 
 here comes his daughter, Rachel, with the sheep." 
 
RACHEL 
 
i 
 
THE TWO SISTERS, LEAH AND RACHEL. 45 
 
 Jacob was glad to hear this, for Rachel was his 
 cousin. He looked up and saw her approaching, and 
 he thought that he had never seen anyone so lovely. 
 He ran to meet her and kissed her, weeping for joy. 
 
 The shepherds had been waiting for Rachel and 
 her flock to come before they watered the sheep. The 
 well was locked and Rachel brought the key. Jacob 
 ran to the well and rolled away the stone. Rachel 
 eyed him shyly. She did not know who he was 
 until he told her; then she went for her father, leav- 
 ing her sheep with Jacob. 
 
 Laban was very glad to hear of Jacob's arrival. 
 He hastened to the well to greet him, and welcomed 
 him cordially, and took him home with him. And 
 Jacob told his uncle what had happened in the long 
 years that had passed since Rebekah went away to 
 be Isaac's wife. He told him about himself and his 
 brother, Esau. He must have felt ashamed when 
 he recounted how he had cheated Esau out of his 
 father's blessing, and that he had run away from 
 home on that account. 
 
 Jacob stayed with Laban as a visitor for a 
 month, and during that time he helped with the 
 flocks, and made himself as useful as he could. At 
 the end of the month Laban offered to pay Jacob for 
 his work. 
 
 " I will serve thee seven years for Rachel, thy 
 younger daughter," said Jacob, for he had fallen in 
 love with Rachel at first sight, and after a month in 
 the family found her lovelier than ever. His father 
 had sent him to Laban 's house to get a wife. Surely, 
 he could do no better than to marry Rachel. 
 
 In those days men had to give presents to the 
 
46 THE TWO SISTERS, LEAH AND RACHEL. 
 
 fathers of the girls whom they married. Jacob pro- 
 posed to give seven years of his life for Rachel. 
 Laban was very fond of Rachel, and he did not wish 
 her to marry at all, but he said to Jacob, "It is bet- 
 ter that I give her to thee, than that I should give 
 her to another man; stay with me." 
 
 At that time Rachel may have been only a little 
 girl, much too young to marry. Extreme youth is a 
 fault that time soon remedies. In seven years 
 Rachel changed from ten or eleven to seventeen or 
 eighteen years of age, growing more beautiful all the 
 time. Like Rebekah, she had a fair skin and long 
 dark hair and eyes and a fine straight figure. After 
 events show that she was jealous, high -tempered, 
 haughty, and petulant, but she must have been kind 
 to Jacob, for the Bible says, "Jacob served seven 
 years for Rachel ; and they seemed unto him but a 
 few days, for the love he had to her." 
 
 He took good care of the sheep ; often he had to 
 sit up with them at night to keep away wild beasts, 
 for sometimes he took them far from home in search 
 of fresh pasturage, and out on the plains there were 
 lions, wolves, panthers and bears. Sometimes 
 shepherds had hand-to-hand encounters with 
 hungry beasts who tried to steal a fat meal. In the 
 book of Samuel we read of David's killing a lion 
 and a bear. He tells of it himself. He is only a 
 boy, but he has made up his mind to try to slay the 
 Philistine giant Groliath, who is terrorizing the 
 armies of Israel. 
 
 Says he to King Saul: " Thy servant kept his 
 father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, 
 and took a lamb out of the flock : and I went out 
 
THE TWO SISTERS, LEAH AND RACHEL. 47 
 
 after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his 
 mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him 
 by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy 
 servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this 
 Philistine shall be as one of them. The Lord that 
 delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of 
 the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the 
 hand of this Philistine." 
 
 And Saul said unto David, " Go, and the Lord 
 be with thee." 
 
 And the Lord was with David and with His 
 help he slew the great Philistine giant. 
 
 A shepherd life was a fine thing for making men 
 and boys hardy and strong. Fresh air and exercise 
 it furnished in abundance. Jacob must have never 
 known what it was to be ill, although the days were 
 hot and the nights were cold, and he got but little 
 sleep. 
 
 At the end of the seven years, Jacob demanded 
 Rachel of Laban. Laban made a great wedding 
 feast, but instead of Rachel, Leah was the bride. 
 Both Rachel and Leah loved Jacob, and perhaps 
 Leah, who had never been asked for in marriage, 
 hoped that after she was Jacob's wife he might love 
 her as he had loved Rachel. In the east brides are 
 veiled so that their faces cannot be seen, and not 
 until after the wedding was over did Jacob know 
 that Laban had given him Leah instead of Rachel. 
 Then he was angry. 
 
 " What is this that thou hast done to me," he 
 said to his uncle . ' 4 Did I not serve thee for Rachel . ' ' 
 
 Then Laban began to excuse himself, saying 
 that in that country it was not the custom for a 
 
48 
 
 THE TWO SISTERS, LEAH AND RACHEL. 
 
 younger sister to be married before an older. How- 
 ever, lie said, if Jacob would serve him yet another 
 seven years he might marry Rachel as well as Leah. 
 
 Jacob agreed, and for seven more years he took 
 care of Laban's flocks. He must have remembered 
 how he had cheated Esau, and perhaps he took it as 
 a just punishment that he himself should have been 
 deceived. 
 
 Rachel was veiled and she, as well as her sister, 
 became Jacob's wife . Jacob was kind to Leah, but he 
 always loved Rachel far more than he did her sister. 
 
 A man may not have two wives now, but in 
 those far-away days he might have two, or even 
 more than two. 
 
 God blessed Leah with many children, but 
 Rachel had only two. One of Rachel's sons was 
 Joseph, who became a very great man. 
 
 6^ «fc*" 
 
Miriam, The Good Sister. 
 
If God be for us, who can be against us? — Romans viii, 31. 
 
 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to 
 him. — Exodus II, Iv. 
 
 Great deeds cannot die; 
 
 They, with the sun and moon, renew their light 
 
 Forever, blessing those that look on them. 
 
 — Tennyson. 
 
 THE SONG OF MIRIAM. 
 
 A song for Israel's God! — Spear, crest, and helm. 
 
 Lay by the billows of the old Red Sea, 
 
 When Miriam's voice oe'r that sepulchral realm 
 
 Sent on the blast a hymn of Jubilee; 
 
 With her lit eye, and long hair floating free, 
 
 Queen-like she stood, and glorious was the strain, 
 
 E'en as instinct, with the tempestuous glee 
 
 Of the dark waters, tossing o'er the slain. 
 
 A song for God's own victory! — O, thy lays, 
 
 Bright Poesy! were holy in their birth; — 
 
 How hath it died, thy seraph note of praise, 
 
 In the bewildering melodies of earth! 
 
 Return from troubling bitter founts — return, 
 
 Back to the life-springs of thy native urn! 
 
 — Felicia Hemans. 
 
Chapter IV 
 
 Mn$H the good Sister 
 
 «j\ JAWPIRIAM, who is per- 
 
 I i^ / JH|j haps the most famous 
 
 Nkwl of Bible girls ' was 
 
 I ^111/ I the daughter of Am - 
 
 I I ^^ ran, a prince of the 
 
 J|L JHL ^ r ^ e °^ ^evi, an( i 
 
 the sister of Moses, 
 the great law -giver, and of Aaron, his 
 older brother. She was born in the 
 land of Goshen in Egypt, where the 
 Israelites had then dwelt for many 
 years. 
 
 God had promised the land of 
 Canaan to the children of Abraham, 
 Isaac and Jocob; that is to their great, great-grand- 
 children. Jacob was given another name by God; 
 it was Israel. His sons were called the children of 
 Israel, and that came to be the name of their child- 
 ren and of their children's children. Grown-up men 
 and women, and boys, and girls, and little babies, they 
 were all called the children of Israel, or the Israelites. 
 It was in the time of Joseph that the Children 
 of Israel were invited to Egypt. There were not 
 
 51 
 
52 MIBIAM, THE GOOD SISTEE. 
 
 many of them then, and it was the king, himself, 
 who asked them to come. Joseph was the son of 
 Jacob and Rachel. He was carried into Egypt when 
 he was quite a boy. At first he was a slave and a 
 prisoner, but he pleased the king and became a great 
 man. He saved the whole land of Egypt, at the 
 time of a famine, when there would have been 
 nothing to eat, had it not been for Joseph. For 
 seven years a great deal of corn and other grain 
 grew, then for seven years none grew at all. During 
 the seven years of plenty, Joseph, who had been 
 warned by God, saved food enough to last all through 
 the seven years of famine, and during that time he 
 fed the people, and made much money for the king 
 by selling corn to their starving neighbors. People 
 came from hundreds of miles away to buy bread in 
 Egypt, for the famine was in all the land. 
 
 The king was so grateful that he urged Joseph 
 to send for his father and his brothers, and their 
 wives and children, all to come and live in Egypt. 
 They came, and the king gave them a beautiful and 
 fertile part of the country for their own. They not 
 only brought their families, but their flocks, and 
 their herds, and all of their belongings. The land 
 that the king gave them pleased them so much that 
 they settled there and did not go away. 
 
 Joseph lived to be an old man, but at last he 
 died. And the king, his friend, died also. But Grod 
 blessed the children of Israel and they grew rich. 
 They had many children and grandchildren, and 
 their children and grandchildren, each had many 
 
MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER. 53 
 
 children and grandchildren, until there was a vast 
 number of them. 
 
 By and by there came to the throne a king who 
 knew nothing about Joseph. He had either never 
 heard or had forgotten how much Joseph had done 
 for the Egyptians. So he asked himself what all 
 these foreign people were doing in his country. He 
 saw that they were peaceable and quiet, but he was 
 afraid that they might change. If they wanted to 
 raise an army they could get together a large and 
 powerful one, he thought. Then everything began 
 to be different for the Israelites. The king could 
 have things his own way, and instead of treating 
 them kindly, he used them as slaves. 
 
 The Egyptians were great builders. They built 
 mighty palaces and magnificent tombs, which endure 
 to this day, and grand monuments in memory of 
 the battles that they won. They needed many slaves 
 to do all this work, for it was heavy and severe. 
 When they took prisoners in their wars they set them 
 to building, and generally the poor captives did not 
 live long. Such hard work in the burning sun used 
 them up, for it is very hot in Egypt. Every few 
 years it was necessary to put new men in the places 
 of those that had been working and had died. The 
 king did not care how many died so long as their 
 work was done. 
 
 Here was a way of killing off the Israelites, 
 thought Pharaoh, the king. So he set task mas- 
 ters over them, and made them build whole cities. 
 But the work did not seem to hurt them : the more 
 
54 MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER. 
 
 cruelly they were treated, the more they grew in 
 numbers and in strength. 
 
 Then they were made to serve in the brick- 
 yards and in the fields, as well as on the public 
 works, and wherever they served they were given 
 the hardest tasks and the longest hours. But still 
 they increased and, strangest of all, more boys were 
 born than girls. 
 
 Then the king told the nurses of the Israelite 
 babies to kill all the little boys as soon as they came 
 into the world. But the nurses were good women 
 and would not do so dreadful a thing. 
 
 When Pharaoh found that the nurses hid the boy 
 babies, he told the Israelites themselves that they 
 must throw into the river every son that was born to 
 them, but that they might save the girls. He was 
 not afraid of the girls, only the boys could become 
 soldiers. 
 
 Miriam was quite a little girl when Moses was 
 born, but she was very clever. Hebrew tradition 
 says that she foretold that he would do wonderful 
 things for his people. We know that after he was 
 grown she was a prophet, or one who foretold what 
 was going to happen, and it may be that she was 
 able to see into the future, as soon as she could talk. 
 
 She begged her mother and her father not to 
 throw the dear little baby into the river, where fierce 
 crocodiles and deadly serpents might eat him. You 
 can imagine that Jochebed felt even worse than 
 Miriam. She just could not throw her beautiful 
 baby into the water, either to drown or to be 
 
MIRIAM AND THE INFANT MOSES 
 
MIBIAM> THE GOOD SISTEB. §7 
 
 eaten alive. For three months she hid him, but he 
 grew fast and his cries become stronger. Every 
 time that he cried Jochebed trembled lest the king's 
 spies should come and take him away, and the whole 
 family be killed as well as the baby. Miriam was 
 a careful little nurse, and she helped her mother. 
 When Jochebed went out, as she had to do some- 
 times, it was she who took care of the boy. Per- 
 haps they dressed him as a girl and called him by a 
 girl's name so that no one would know that there 
 was a boy -baby in the house. Yet they might have 
 been found out at any time. 
 
 At last Jochebed felt that she could hide the 
 little one no longer. He was large and beautiful, 
 and her heart ached over him when she felt that she 
 must take him to the river. Miriam was not so 
 troubled as her mother ; she felt that God meant the 
 baby to live and to grow to be a wonderful man, the 
 saviour of his people. I think it was she who sug- 
 gested to Jochebed what to do with the child. Close 
 by the river there grew bulrushes and reeds which 
 were like very high, thick grass. They took some of 
 these and made a covered basket, plaiting them to- 
 gether so that it was light and strong, shaping it like 
 a boat. It could float, too, like a boat, but it was 
 not waterproof. So they daubed it with pitch until 
 it was snug and tight. Then they lined it with soft 
 fleecy things, making a nest for the tiny man. 
 
 Miriam did not cry when her baby brother was 
 put in his little ark or boat. She watched her mother 
 cover him carefully, leaving a place for him to 
 
58 MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER. 
 
 breathe, and listened reverently to her prayer, as 
 she confided him to the care of God. Then she fol- 
 lowed Jochebed to the water's edge and saw her put 
 the basket on the brink of the river, where it was 
 almost hidden by tall grasses and bulrushes. This 
 was not the place where the Israelite babies were 
 thrown, but a quiet spot overshadowed by the 
 king's palace. 
 
 Jochebed went away. Her heart was sore, and 
 she prayed to God to save the baby. Miriam ling- 
 ered to see what would happen. Perhaps she 
 thought an angel would come down from heaven to 
 care for the little boy, perhaps she did not know 
 exactly what to expect, only that he would be saved. 
 
 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to the 
 river to bathe, as was her habit. There were no 
 crocodiles here, and the water was clear and cool. 
 She was as beautiful as the noon -day sun and was 
 dressed in purple and in gold. Her lovely plaited 
 hair hung down her back, except one large lock 
 braided with gold, which fell from her left temple 
 to her waist. This lock was a sign of her royal 
 birth. Her crown was a ring of gold with a horned 
 serpent in front, shining with rubies. She was 
 cooled and shaded by waving fans carried by lovely 
 maidens who attended her to the bath. As they 
 drew near the water's edge, Miriam shrank back 
 behind the rushes. 
 
 The princess and the maidens walked by the 
 river side. Presently, Pharaoh's daughter spied 
 the basket in which the baby lay quietly asleep. 
 
MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 59 
 
 Her curiosity was aroused, and she wondered what 
 the strange object might be. Her maidens saw it 
 also, but they waited for their mistress to speak. 
 
 "Bring that basket here that I may open it," she 
 said to one of them. 
 
 The girl who ran to do her bidding found the 
 load rather heavy. The princess bent over the little 
 ark. Still the baby made no sound. But when the 
 cover was removed he began to cry. Perhaps he 
 was hungry after his nap, perhaps the strange faces 
 frightened him, or maybe the hot sun hurt his eyes. 
 Anyway, he wrinkled up his little face and wept. 
 It was the best thing that he could have done. The 
 lovely princess was tender-hearted, and she felt 
 sorry for the tiny waif. 
 
 "This is one of the Hebrews' children" she 
 said, and she felt perplexed, for she longed to save 
 the child, and did not know what was the best thing 
 to do with him. 
 
 Now was Miriam's chance. She came forward 
 respectfully, and stood looking at the pretty baby, 
 until Pharaoh's daughter noticed her. 
 
 "Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the 
 Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for 
 thee?" That is what the wise little sister said. 
 
 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her "go." 
 
 And whom do you think Miriam called? The 
 baby's own mother. 
 
 Jochebed did not have to be told twice what 
 was wanted. She hastened to the river side, and 
 Miriam explained as they went along what had hap- 
 
60 MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 
 
 pened. Their hearts sang with happiness. Gfc>d 
 had answered their prayers. 
 
 And Pharaoh's daughter looked at Jochebed and 
 liked her. She seemed kind and motherly, and the 
 child was content in her arms. 
 
 "Take this child away, and nurse it for me," 
 said the princess, " and I will give thee thy wages." 
 
 The mother took the baby to his own home, and 
 she was paid for taking care of him just as though 
 he had been a stranger. But he was her own little 
 son. How happy she and Miriam were. 
 
 The child grew and he did not need a nurse any 
 longer. Then Jochebed was obliged to take him to 
 the palace to the princess. She was sorry to part 
 with him, but she knew that Pharaoh's daughter 
 could do more for the boy than she. He was good 
 looking and quick, and he pleased the princess. She 
 took him to be her son. And she called him Moses, 
 4 • because, ' ' she said, ' ' I drew him out of the water. ' ' 
 That is what Moses means, drawn out of the water. 
 
 Moses was given wise teachers, and he learned 
 all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Probably he did 
 not see Miriam at all while he was growing up. He 
 and she lived very different lives, but each of them 
 studied and got ready for the things that were to 
 come. 
 
 When Moses grew to be a man the Egyptians 
 were very proud of him. He invented engines and 
 instruments of war, he wrote learned books, and 
 taught the people many things that they did not 
 know before. It is said that he drove the serpents 
 
MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 61 
 
 out of the land, as St. Patrick did out of Ireland 
 long afterward. The Egyptians forgot that Moses 
 was an Israelite or a Hebrew, for was he not the son 
 of Pharaoh's daughter? But Moses did not forget it. 
 He longed to help his oppressed people. When he 
 saw them badly treated, his blood boiled, and his 
 heart was hot within him. At last one day when 
 he was watching the Hebrews at work, he saw an 
 unjust Egyptian taskmaster strike down one of 
 them. Moses looked all around and as there seemed 
 to be no one else in sight, killed the wicked Egypt- 
 ian and buried his body in the sand. He thought 
 no one knew what he had done, but the very next 
 day showed that it was known. Two Hebrews were 
 quarreling together and Moses tried to stop them. But 
 one of the men answered boldly : ' 4 Who made thee 
 a prince and a judge over us? Dost then intend to 
 kill me as thou didst kill the Egyptian?" 
 
 Then Moses was afraid, for if this man knew 
 about the killing, some one else might know, also. 
 In time Pharaoh heard of it and he sought to take 
 Moses' life in punishment. But Moses ran away 
 from Egypt into the land of Midian. Here he was 
 treated kindly. and he stayed until after the king of 
 Egypt died. 
 
 The new Pharaoh was harder than ever on the 
 Israelites, and they prayed to Grod to save them. And 
 God heard them and was sorry for them. He chose 
 Moses to be their saviour, as Miriam had foretold 
 that he would. 
 
 Moses was watching his flocks when the Angel 
 
62 MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 
 
 of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of 
 the midst of a bush. Moses looked at the bush and 
 saw that it was afire ; yet it did not burn. He was 
 astonished and said: U I will now turn aside and 
 see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." 
 
 So he went toward the burning bush, but God 
 called unto him out of the midst of the bush : 
 "Moses, Moses." 
 
 And he said, "Here am L" 
 
 And God said, "Put off thy shoes from off thy 
 feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy 
 ground." 
 
 And Moses took off his shoes and did not dare 
 go nearer for God was in the bush. 
 
 Then God said: "I am the God of thy father, 
 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God 
 of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was 
 afraid to look. 
 
 And the Lord said that he had heard the cries 
 of his people, the children of Israel, and that he had 
 pity on them. He was going to lead them out of 
 the land of Egypt to a good and large land, a land 
 flowing with milk and honey, the land of Canaan. 
 
 " Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto 
 Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, 
 the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt." 
 
 But Moses was afraid. He said, u Who am I, 
 that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should 
 bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt." 
 
 Then God said. "I will be with thee." 
 
 And He was with Moses * and He did such won- 
 
MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 63 
 
 derful things that Pharaoh was afraid not to let the 
 Israelites go. Grod sent ten terrible plagues upon 
 Egypt. 
 
 And the first plague was this : all the water was 
 turned into blood, so that the fish in the rivers died, 
 and the Egyptians had no water to wash with, nor 
 to drink. But Pharaoh would not let the people go. 
 
 And the second plague was this : a host of frogs 
 came up from the river and filled the houses, even 
 the bed -rooms and the kitchens, the beds, and the 
 ovens, and the kneeding -troughs in which the bread 
 was made. Still Pharaoh would not let the Israel- 
 ites go. 
 
 And the third plague was this : all the dust in 
 the land of Egypt turned into lice, tiny insects 
 which covered man and beast. But Pharaoh's heart 
 was hard; he would not let the people go. 
 
 And the fourth plague was this : great swarms 
 of flies came and got into everything so that nothing 
 was clean, because of the flies. Yet Pharaoh would 
 not let the people go. 
 
 And fifth plague was this: all the cattle, the 
 horses, the asses, the camels, the oxen and the sheep 
 of the Egyptians sickened with a dreadful disease, 
 but the cattle of the Israelites did not sicken, neither 
 did they die. None of these plagues came to the 
 children of Israel. Yet Pharaoh would not let 
 them go. 
 
 And the sixth plague was this : boils came upon 
 all the Egyptians and upon their beasts. Still Phar 
 raoh would not let the people go. 
 
64 MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 
 
 u 
 
 And the seventh plague was one of hail and fire. 
 And the hail smote throughout all the land of 
 Egypt," says the bible, "all. that was in the field, 
 both man and beast ; and the hail smote every herb 
 of the field and brake every tree of the field. Only 
 in the land of Groshen where the children of Israel 
 were, was there no hail." 
 
 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and 
 said, "I have sinned this time ; the Lord is righteous, 
 and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the Lord 
 (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty 
 thunderings and hail ; and I will let you go, and ye 
 shall stay no longer." 
 
 So Moses lifted up his hands and prayed to the 
 Lord, and the thunder and the hail stopped. But 
 Pharaoh did not do as he had promised, he would 
 not let the people go. 
 
 And the eighth plague was this : locusts went 
 up over all the land of Egypt, and they covered the 
 face of the whole earth so that it was darkened ; and 
 they ate every green thing that the hail had left, so 
 that there did not remain a single green thing either 
 in the fields or on the trees, not a leaf nor a blade of 
 grass. And Pharaoh begged Moses to take away 
 this plague ; and the Lord sent a mighty wind which 
 blew away all the locusts and buried them in the 
 sea. Yet Pharaoh would not let the people go. 
 
 And the ninth plague was this : for three days 
 there was a thick darkness in the land of Egypt so 
 that no one could see, only the children of Israel 
 had light in their houses. But Pharaoh would not 
 let them go. 
 
MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 65 
 
 Then came the most dreadful plague of all. In 
 every house the Lord caused the eldest son to die, 
 from the first born of Pharaoh to the first born of 
 the lowliest maidservant, but He passed by the 
 homes of the Israelites and slew not one. 
 
 Then all the Egyptians rose in terror in the 
 middle of the night and, from king to slave, they 
 begged and prayed the Israelites to go. The Israel- 
 ites were all ready, for GTod had told Moses what 
 would happen and Moses had warned them to eat 
 their suppers and to be all ready to start at a mo- 
 ment's notice. Miriam was a leader among the 
 women, and we may be sure that she was busy 
 enough in preparing for the journey and in urging 
 others to do so. The Egyptians were willing to do 
 anything to get rid of the Israelites and to hasten 
 their going, so they gave them whatever they asked 
 for. They loaded them with gold and silver and 
 costly clothing. They fairly thrust them out of 
 Egypt, so that the}^ left with their bread unrisen and 
 unbaked, carrying their dough in their kneeding- 
 troughs. But when Pharaoh found that the Israel- 
 ites had really gone, he was sorry and said " Why 
 have we let Israel go from serving us?" 
 
 He thought of the immense amount of work 
 that these people had done for him, and of the work 
 that there was yet to be done, and he determined to 
 force them to come back. So he ordered his chariot 
 or war carriage and the chariots of his captains — all 
 the chariots of Egypt he ordered, and he set cap- 
 tains over every one of them. And they pursued 
 
66 MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 
 
 the Israelites, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, 
 and his horsemen, and his army, and they overtook 
 them where they had camped for the night on the 
 shores of the Red Sea. 
 
 And as the great army of the King drew near, 
 the Israelites became frightened, and cried out to the 
 Lord for help. And they said to Moses, reproaching 
 him, u Are there no graves in Egypt that thou hast 
 taken us away to die in the wilderness? It would 
 be better for us to serve the Egyptians than to be 
 killed here." 
 
 "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation 
 of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day," 
 answered Moses. He was not afraid. "For the 
 Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see 
 them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight 
 for you, and ye shall hold your peace." 
 
 Then Grod told Moses tc tell the Israelites to go 
 forward over the the sea. There was no bridge and 
 the waters are wide and deep, they were even deeper 
 then than they are to-day when great ships sail over 
 them — carrying hundreds of passengers. 
 
 Moses lifted up his rod and stretched out his 
 hand over the sea and the waters were divided, rol- 
 ling back on either side until they formed a high 
 wall on the right and one on the left. Between 
 these walls of water the ground was perfectly dry, 
 and the Children of Israel walked across the bed of 
 
MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER 67 
 
 the sea without wetting even the soles of their feet. 
 The waters on either side must have looked terrible, 
 but the Israelites knew that God had them in His 
 care, and they were no longer afraid. Men, women 
 and little children, with all their cattle, went across 
 fearlessly and safely. 
 
 The Egyptians, already terrified by the wonders 
 God had wrought to free his chosen people, hesitated 
 on the brink. They did not dare to follow until 
 their leaders commanded them to do so and they 
 knew that they must chose between one death or the 
 other. Possibly they might escape the waters, they 
 could not escape from Pharaoh's wrath. 
 
 Although it was night, God had made the way 
 as light as day for His people, but He sent a thick 
 cloud to bewilder the Egyptians. Their chariot 
 wheels became entangled, or sank heavily in the 
 sand, and their horses could scarcely pull the loads. 
 Those behind pressed against those in front, for the 
 drivers could not see where to go. Their state was 
 awful. Plunging into the sea -bed came horses, 
 chariots, riders and men on foot, and in the midst 
 of the confusion Moses stretched out his hand again 
 and the waters came crashing together, burying the 
 whole army, so that not one man nor horse was left. 
 
 So God saved the Israelites from out of the 
 hands of the Egyptians and punished Pharaoh and 
 his hosts. 
 
68 
 
 MIRIAM, THE GOOD SISTER. 
 
 The Children of Israel sang and danced for joy, 
 praising the Lord. First Moses led them in song, 
 singing : 
 
 "I will sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed groriously: 
 
 The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. 
 The Lord is my strength and my song, and He is become 
 my salvation: 
 He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; 
 my father's God and I will exalt him." 
 
 This and much more they sang. Then Miriam 
 took a timbrel or a tamborine in her hand and all 
 the women followed her with their timbrels and 
 they sang and danced, answering the men : 
 
 "Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; 
 The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea." 
 
Achsah, The Daughter of Caleb 
 
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. — 
 Isaiah Iv, 1. 
 
 And Caleb said, he that smiteth Kirjath-Sepher, and taketh 
 it, to him I will give Achsah, my daughter, to wife. — Judges 1,12. 
 
 There is a land of pure delight 
 Where saints immortal reign; 
 Infinite day excludes the night, 
 And pleasures banish pain. 
 
 There everlasting spring abides, 
 And never- withering flowers; 
 Death, like a narrow sea, divides 
 This heavenly land from ours. 
 
 m 
 
 Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 
 Stand dressed in living green; 
 So, to the Jews, old Canaan stood, 
 While Jordan rolled between." 
 
Chapter V 
 AcJiSAH,T/IE DAUGHTER. 
 
 of Caleb- 
 
 C H S A H was born in 
 the wilderness 
 during the wand- 
 erings of the chil- 
 dren of Israel. 
 Her father, Caleb, 
 was a wonderful 
 man, and in order to under- 
 stand Achsah's story it is 
 necessary to know Caleb. 
 
 After the Israelites had 
 entered Canaan, the prom- 
 ised land, they had to fight the heathen people who 
 lived there, and kill them or drive them away, be- 
 fore they could take possession. God was with 
 them and He helped them or they could never have 
 won their battles. 
 
 Hebron was a very fertile part of Canaan, in 
 which there were fine springs and beautiful vine- 
 
 71 
 
72 ACHSAH, THE DAUGHTEB OF CALEB 
 
 yards. Joshua, the commander of the Israelites, 
 gave Hebron to Caleb, the father of Achsah, because 
 God had promised it to him and his children, forty 
 years before the children of Israel entered Canaan. 
 It happend in this way. When God first brought 
 the children of Israel near Canaan, they were afraid 
 to march into it before they knew what sort of a 
 place it was, and what kind of people lived in it ; so 
 God allowed them to send twelve men to examine 
 the land and to bring back an account of what they 
 found there. These men were spies. They spent 
 forty days looking at Canaan ; they saw fields and 
 walled towns ; hills and brooks ; they learned every- 
 thing that they could about the land, and at last 
 they returned to the children of Israel, carrying fine 
 figs and beautiful pomegranates, and a bunch of grapes 
 so large that it took two men to bear it. They told 
 the Israelites that Canaan was indeed a fertile land, 
 one full of milk and honey and fruit, but that the 
 people who lived in it where too strong for them to 
 conquer. All of the spies said this but two, Caleb 
 and Joshua. They were good men, but the other 
 ten were wicked, for they did not trust in God, who 
 had promised to give Canaan to the Israelites. 
 
 Caleb and Joshua said boldly, "Let us go up 
 at once, and possess the land; we are well able to 
 overcome it." 
 
 "We are not able to go up against the people," 
 said the other men, "for they are stronger then we. 
 Some of them, are giants, by the side of whom we 
 felt no larger than grasshoppers." 
 
ACHSAH, THE DAUGHTER OF CALEB 73 
 
 The foolish children of Israel paid no attention 
 to Joshua and to Caleb, nor did they remember God's 
 promises; they listened to the timid spies and 
 trembled with fear. They cried all- night, saying, 
 "Would to God we had died in Egypt! or would to 
 God we had died in the wilderness ! Why has the 
 Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword? 
 We and our wives and our children shall all be 
 killed." 
 
 They never thought of praying to God who had 
 over and over again saved them from perishing, to 
 God who had so wonderfully brought them across the 
 Red Sea and through the desert. Instead, they said, 
 " Let us go back to Egypt," and, because they knew 
 that Moses would not lead them back to Egypt, they 
 planned to make another man captain over them. 
 
 Moses and Aaron were grieved to see the peo- 
 ple so wicked. They fell on their faces and prayed. 
 
 Then up spoke Joshua and Caleb, saying, "We 
 have seen the land; it is an exceedingly beautiful 
 and good land, and God will give it to us. Fear 
 not, the Lord is with us and not with the people of 
 Canaan." 
 
 The children of Israel were so unreasonable 
 that they were going to stone Joshua and Caleb to 
 death, but the glory of the Lord shone so brightly 
 into their camp that they knew that He was angry 
 with them and they were afraid. 
 
 Then Moses prayed to God to pardon the people. 
 
 And God did pardon them, but He punished 
 them also. For forty years they were obliged to 
 
74 ACHSAH, THE DAUGHTEK OF CALEB 
 
 stay in the wilderness, and all of them but Joshua 
 and Caleb died in it. It was their children who 
 entered Canaan, children who became men and 
 women during the long years that the Israelites 
 wandered in the wilderness. Even Moses died; he 
 had been a good man, and he was buried by God, so 
 that no man knew the place of his grave. 
 
 "This was the bravest warrior 
 That ever buckled sword ; 
 This the most gifted poet 
 That ever breathed a word ; 
 And never earth's philosopher 
 Traced with his golden pen 
 On the deathless page truths half so sage 
 As he wrote down for men. 
 
 And had he not high honor? — 
 
 The hillside for a pall ! 
 
 To lie in state while angels wait, 
 
 With stars for tapers tall ! 
 
 And the dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes, 
 
 Over his bier to wave, 
 
 And God's own hand in that lonely land, 
 
 To lay him in his grave! " 
 
 Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. The 
 mighty deeds that he accomplished with the Lord's 
 help are told in the book of Joshua, which is named 
 after him. 
 
 Caleb was forty years old when he entered 
 Canaan with the spies, and he was eighty-five when 
 Hebron was given to him. Yet he said to Joshua, 
 
ACHSAH, THE DAUGHTER OP CALEB 
 
ACHSAH, THE DAUGHTEE OF CALEB 77 
 
 ' ' I am as strong this day as I was in the day that 
 Moses sent me ; as my strength was then, even so is 
 my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to 
 come in." 
 
 Caleb had his reward because he believed in the 
 Lord and his promises. Heaven is called the prom- 
 ised land, just as Canaan was. A happy home, 
 there, is promised to those who believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Only those who believe will reach 
 heaven. Those who do not believe will never get 
 there. 
 
 The following beautiful prayer is by Frances 
 Ridley Havergal : 
 
 Thy Kingdom Come. 
 God of Heaven ! hear our singing ! 
 
 Only little ones are we, 
 yet a great petition bringing, 
 
 Father, now we come to Thee. 
 
 Let Thy kingdom come, we pray Thee, 
 Let the world in Thee find rest; 
 
 Let all know Thee, and obey Thee, 
 Loving, praising, blessing, blessed. 
 
 Let the sweet and joyful story 
 
 Of the Saviour's wondrous love, 
 
 Wake on earth a song of glory, 
 Like the angels 7 song above. 
 
 Father, send the glorious hour, 
 Every heart be Thine alone! 
 
 For the kingdom, and the power, 
 And the glory are Thine owu. 
 
78 ACHSAH, THE DAUGHTER OF CALEB 
 
 AchsaJi must have been very proud of her 
 father. Out of all the hosts of Israel only he and 
 Joshua had been chosen to enter Canaan with the 
 younger generation. Caleb and Joshua must have 
 been the only old men among the Israelites, and 
 their white hairs were a crown of glory to them. 
 
 Before taking possession of Hebron, Caleb had 
 to drive away some of the very race of giants that, 
 forty years before, had frightened the spies. They 
 were called the sons of Anak, and they were large 
 and strong, but Caleb overcame them. 
 
 Then he offered his daughter Achsah in mar- 
 riage to whoever should conquer the inhabitants of 
 the city of Debir or Kirjath-Sepher, as it had been 
 called. 
 
 Achsah was beautiful and young, and she had a 
 great many suitors. Caleb loved her dearly and he 
 wished her to have a brave husband. It required a 
 great deal of courage to go out to fight giants and 
 Caleb could be sure that none but a brave man would 
 try to take Debir. 
 
 Othniel, the son of Kenaz, was a man of great 
 valor, about forty years of age, strong and fine look- 
 ing, and he loved Achsah so dearly that he felt that 
 he could dare more than the taking of Debir for her 
 sake. So Othniel, whose name means the u Lion of 
 God," went against the giants and he captured their 
 city and killed them. Caleb was delighted, and he 
 gladly kept his promise. Achsah and Othniel were 
 married, and Caleb gave them besides Debir, a beau- 
 tiful and fertile tract of south land for their home. 
 
ACHSAH, THE DAUGHTEK OF CALEB 
 
 79 
 
 They were happy, but they wanted something that 
 they did not have. Near them were fine springs of 
 water but they did not have any for their own. 
 Caleb was a kind father, so Achsah mounted her ass 
 and rode to him. When she saw him she alighted 
 and asked for his blessing. 
 
 "What wilt thou, my daughter?" he asked. 
 
 Then Achsah told him how grateful she and 
 Othniel were for the field that he had given them, 
 but that they needed a spring, that there were fine 
 ones near their home, and that they would be glad 
 to have one for their own. 
 
 Caleb must have been happy to be able to grant 
 her request, for he gave her more than she asked 
 for, both upper springs and lower springs. 
 
 So it is with the heavenly Father, He gives us 
 greater things than we ask for. 
 
 Jesus is called the Water of Life. Just as our 
 bodies cannot live without water, so our souls can- 
 not live without Jesus. The heavenly Father says, 
 u Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever 
 will, let him take of the Water of Life freely." 
 
Jephthah's Daughter. 
 
Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacri- 
 fices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is 
 better than sacrifice. — 1 Samuel xxv, 22. 
 
 There is something solemn and awful in the thought that 
 there is not an act done, or a word uttered by a human being, 
 but carries with it a train of consequences the end of which we 
 may never trace. — Samuel Smiles. 
 
Chapter VI 
 EPflTflAtf S DAUGHTER 
 
 MONG the children 
 of Israel was 
 a man named 
 Jephthah. He 
 was brave and 
 strong and a good 
 soldier, but his 
 brothers drove him away from his 
 home, which was in Gilead, and 
 he went to live in the land of 
 Tob. Other homeless men gath- 
 ered around Jephthah, until he was 
 the leader of a daring band. 
 
 The Ammonites, who were 
 cruel and fierce and crafty, got the 
 mastery over the Israelites. God allowed this be- 
 cause the Israelites had been sinning and needed 
 punishment; they had forgotten God, and wor- 
 shipped idols of wood and of stone, like the wicked 
 heathen nations around them. At last they put 
 away their idols and prayed to God again, and He 
 pitied their sufferings. 
 
 And the Ammonites gathered together, and 
 
 83 
 
84 
 
 jepiIthah's daughter 
 
 camped in the land of Gilead. The children of 
 Israel raised an army and camped at Mizpeh, but 
 they had no captain. Said they ; ' ' Who is the man 
 that will lead us against the Ammonites? He shall 
 be ruler over all the people of Gilead." 
 
 But no one offered to be captain, so at last the 
 elders or chief men thought of the brave Jephthah 
 and went to fetch him out of the land of Tob. 
 
 "Come and be our captain," said the elders to 
 Jephthah, "that we may fight againstthe Ammonites.'' 
 
 "Did you not hate me and drive me away? why 
 then do you come to me now when you are in dis- 
 tress?" answered Jephthah. 
 
 None of them had stood up for him and made it 
 easier for him when his brothers had turned him out 
 of their home, but now that they were in trouble the 
 men of Gilead expected him to help them. 
 
 But the elders would not be turned away ; the 
 fame of Jephthah as a fighter and as the leader of 
 his daring band had spread through the land, and 
 they were sure that he was the very man that they 
 needed to lead them against the Ammonites. 
 
 Jephthah asked them whether, if he went with 
 them and fought the Ammonites and the Lord gave 
 him the victory, they would really make him ruler 
 over all the people. And they swore solemnly 
 before God that they would. 
 
 Then Jephthah went with them, and he became 
 their captain. 
 
 Jephthah had only one child, a young and beau- 
 tiful daughter, and he was very fond of her. She 
 
jephthah's DAUGHTER 85 
 
 felt proud and happy when the elders made her 
 father captain over the army. Probably she thought 
 there was no one so fine looking as he, when he had 
 his armour on, and she watched him out of sight as 
 he led his gallant band away. 
 
 And Jephthah sent messages to ask the king of 
 the Ammonites why he had come to fight against 
 the Israelites. 
 
 u Because the Israelites took away my land 
 when they came up out of Egypt," replied the king 
 of the Ammonites. "Now, therefore, restore my 
 land peaceably." 
 
 But Jephthah replied that the land which the 
 Israelites had taken was given them by the Lord, and 
 that they meant to keep it with His help. He said 
 that the children of Israel had done no wrong to the 
 Ammonites but that the Ammonites did wrong to 
 the Israelites in making war against them. 
 
 But the king of the Ammonites did not pay any 
 attention to what Jephthah's messengers said, and 
 Jephthah prepared to fight the Ammonites. Before 
 the battle he made a vow or a promise to the Lord. 
 
 "Then it shall be," said he, "that whatsoever 
 cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, 
 when I return in peace from the children of Amnion, 
 shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up as a 
 burnt offering." 
 
 He meant that should the Lord give him the 
 victory he would sacrifice as a burnt offering what- 
 ever should come out of his door to meet him on his 
 return home. It was wrong to make such a promise 
 
86 JEPHTHAH's DAUGHTER 
 
 for lie could not tell beforehand what would come 
 to meet him; yet he meant to do right. 
 
 In those days men offered sacrifices to God. If 
 any man was sorry for his sins, he might bring a 
 goat or a sheep or an ox to the priests and they 
 would burn it for him on the altar. God was 
 pleased with the offering and forgave the man's sins. 
 This was because the innocent animal was meant 
 to represent Jesus, the Saviour, who was coming a 
 long time afterward, to die for men and women and 
 little children that their sins might be forgiven. 
 
 There were also thank offerings. Jephthah 
 meant to make a thank offering, if God gave him 
 a victory over the Ammonites. 
 
 And the Lord was with Jephthah so that he won 
 a great victory over the Ammonites. And the chil- 
 dren of Israel were free. It was not because of 
 Jephthah' s rash vow that the Ammonites were over- 
 come, but because God intended the Israelites to be 
 released from their enemies now that they had re- 
 pented of their sins. 
 
 After the battle Jephthah returned to his home 
 in Mizpeh with great joy, thankful and elated be- 
 cause of the victory. The news of his success 
 reached his people before he did, and his daughter 
 prepared to celebrate his triumph. She gathered 
 her maidens together and they watched for the com- 
 ing of her father and his men. 
 
 Jephthah's daughter saw him first and through 
 the door she led her maidens, dancing and singing 
 a song of rejoicing and praise. Alas, what she had 
 
JEPHTHAHS DAUGHTER 
 
JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER 89 
 
 planned as a glad surprise for her father was a fear- 
 ful blow. His bronzed face grew pale, and he trem- 
 bled as he had never trembled before. He put out 
 his hands as though to push her away, and the girl, 
 awed by his manner, hushed her song and waited 
 for him to speak. 
 
 ■" Alas, my daughter thou hast brought me very 
 low, and thou art one of them that trouble me ; for 
 I have opened my mouth unto the Lord and I cannot 
 go back." Then he told her of his promise to the 
 Lord. 
 
 Jephthah's daughter was as brave as her father. 
 She answered promptly, "My father, if thou hast 
 made a vow unto the Lord, thou must do with me 
 even as thou hast promised." 
 
 But Jephthah ought to have known better than 
 to keep such a wicked promise. It could not be 
 binding. Heathen people offered their children to 
 idols and the Lord punished them for it. "Thou 
 shalt do no murder," said God, but Jephthah had 
 lived among the heathen and he had seen children 
 sacrificed to their gods. He forgot the Lord's com- 
 mandment, and asked himself whether he should be 
 willing to do less for the true God than the heathen 
 were ready to do for their idols. He tore his clothes 
 with grief and cried aloud, for he loved his only 
 child, but he prepared to sacrifice her. 
 
 Some people think that a promise should be 
 kept under all circumstances. -"A promise is a 
 promise," say they, as though all promises, good or 
 bad, rash or well-considered, were equally binding. 
 
90 JEPHTHAH'S DAU0HTER 
 
 A promise is a solemn thing; therefore you 
 should think well before you give your word. Once 
 given, a promise should be kept, if possible. But 
 if, after the promise has been given, you find that 
 in order to keep it you will have to do wrong, the 
 promise should be broken. You must ask forgive- 
 ness for having been hasty or having made a wrong 
 promise, and stop right there, not letting one wrong 
 be an excuse for more. 
 
 A promise should never be lightly made. It is 
 only by being careful about this that you can have 
 people say of you, "His word is as good as his bond." 
 
 Jephthah's daughter asked for two months in 
 which to prepare for death, and they were granted 
 her. She and her maidens went to a lonely place 
 in the mountains and wept and prayed until the 
 time was gone. 
 
 As human sacrifices were not permitted among 
 the Israelites, Jephthah's daughter could not have 
 been put to death on the great altar by the priests, 
 and her father must have offered her up with his 
 own hand. For this reason some wise men think 
 that she was not killed at all, but that she was 
 given to God alive — that she never married, and 
 spent her life in doing good works, nursing the sick, 
 caring for the dying and the dead, and in praying. 
 
 The women of Israel did not forget her but each 
 year for many years to come they sorrowed four 
 days over her fate. 
 
jephthah's DAUGHTER 91 
 
 In his 4 ' Dream of Fair Women,' ' Lord Tennyson 
 has given us some beautiful verses about Jephthah's 
 daughter. 
 
 ' ' I heard 
 A noise of some one coming throu' the lawn, 
 And singing clearer than the crested bird, 
 That claps his wings at dawn. 
 
 "The torrent brooks of hallow'd Israel 
 From craggy hollows pouring, late and soon, 
 Sound all night long, in falling thro' the dell 
 Far-heard beneath the moon. 
 
 "The balmy moon of blessed Israel 
 Floods all the deep-blue gloom with beams divine ; 
 All night the splinter' d crags that wall the dell 
 With spires of silver shine. 
 
 "As one that museth where the broaa sunshine laves 
 The lawn of some cathedral thro' the door 
 Hearing the holy organ rolling waves 
 Of sound on roof and floor 
 
 "Within, and anthem sung, is charm'd and tied 
 To where he stands, — so stood I when that flow 
 Of music left the lips of her that died 
 To save her father's vow. 
 
92 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER 
 
 "The daughter of the warrior Gileadite, 
 A maiden pure; as when she went along 
 From Mizpeh's tower' d gate with welcome light, 
 With timbrel and with song. 
 
 "My words leapt forth: 'Heaven heads the count of crimes 
 With that wild oath.' She render'd answer high : 
 'Not so, nor once alone; a thousand times 
 I would be born and die. 
 
 "Single I grew, like some green plant, whose root 
 Creeps to the garden water-pipes beneath, 
 Feeding the flower; but ere my flower to fruit 
 Changed, I was ripe for death. 
 
 "My God, my land, my father, — these did move 
 Me from my bliss of life, that Nature gave, 
 Lower'd softly with a threefold cord of love 
 Down to a silent srave 
 
 'And I went mourning, 'No fair Hebrew boy 
 Shall smile away my maiden blame among 
 The Hebrew mothers' — emptied of all joy, 
 Leaving the dance and song. 
 
JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER 93 
 
 'Leaving the olive-gardens far below, 
 Leaving the promise of my bridal bower, 
 The valleys of grape-loaded vines that glow 
 Beneath the battled tower. , 
 
 'The light white cloud swam over us. Anon 
 We heard the lion roaring from his den; 
 We saw the large white stars rise one by one, 
 Or, from the darken 'd glen. 
 
 'Saw God divide the night with flying flame, 
 And thunder on the everlasting hills. 
 I heard Him, for He spake, and grief became 
 A solemn scorn of ills. 
 
 'When the next moon was roll'd into the sky, 
 Strength came to me that equall'd my desire. 
 How beautiful a thing it was to die 
 For God and for my sire ! 
 
 'It comforts me in this one thought to dwell, 
 That I subdued me to my father's will; 
 Because the kiss he gave me, ere I fell, 
 Sweetens the spirit still. 
 
94 
 
 jephthah's daughter 
 
 Moreover it is written that my race 
 Hew'd Ammon, hip and thigh, from Aroer 
 On Arnon unto Minneth.' Here her face 
 Glow'd as I looked at her. 
 
 "She lock'd her lips; she left me where I stood; 
 'Glory to God', she sang, and passed afar, 
 Threading the sombre boskage of the wood, 
 Toward the morning-star.' ' 
 
Ruth, The Gleaner 
 
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the ever- 
 lasting arms. — Deuteronomy xxxiii, 27. 
 
 "Insist not on me forsaking thee, 
 To return from following thee; 
 For whither thou goest, I will go; 
 And wheresoever thou lodgest, I will lodge; 
 Thy people is my people, 
 And thy God my God ; 
 Wheresoever thou diest, I will die, 
 And there will I be buried. 
 So may Yahveh do to me, 
 And still more, 
 If aught but death part thee and me." 
 
 The plume-like swaying of the auburn corn, 
 By soft winds to a dreamy motion fann'd, 
 Still brings me back thine image — Oh ! forlorn, 
 Yet not forsaken Ruth ! — I see thee stand 
 Lone 'midst the gladness of 'the harvest band 
 Lone as a wood-bird on the ocean's foam, 
 Fall'n in its weariness. Thy father-land 
 Smiles far away! yet to the sense of home, 
 That finest, purest, which can recognize 
 Home in affection's glance, forever true 
 Beats thy calm heart; and if thy gentle eyes 
 Gleam tremulous through tears, 't is not to rue 
 Those words, immortal in their deep love's tone, 
 "Thy people and thy God shall be mine own! " — 
 
 Felicia Hemans. 
 
Chapter YE 
 
 Rjjth the Gleaner^ 
 
 ^ HERE lived in the 
 city of Bethlehem, in 
 Canaan, a man named 
 Elemelich with his wife 
 and two sons. The wife 
 was called Naomi, and 
 the sons were Mahlon 
 and Chilion. 
 
 And there was a famine in 
 Canaan. Elemelich and his 
 family suffered so much that 
 they decided to go to the land 
 of Moab to stay for awhile, hop- 
 
 V"^T" ing to be better off there. But 
 
 (/ Elemelich was not strong, and 
 
 before long he died. Naomi was left alone to bring 
 up her two sons. 
 
 In the land of Moab there was a dear little girl 
 named Ruth. She became very fond of Naomi, who 
 taught her about the God of Israel. The Moabites 
 were heathen and worshipped idols, and they did 
 many cruel things because they thought that these 
 pleased their gods. Affectionate and tender-hearted 
 
 97 
 
9 8 RUTH, THE GLEANER 
 
 Ruth could find nothing beautiful in the religion of 
 her people, and she listened gladly to the instruction 
 of Naomi. Perhaps she gave heart to the true Grod 
 when she was quite a child, for she became such a 
 good and lovely woman that she must have been 
 a good and lovely little girl. u As the twig is bent, 
 the tree is inclined." 
 
 The name Ruth means "a friend," and Ruth 
 was true to her name. She was a faithful friend to 
 Naomi, as her story shows. 
 
 Did you ever stop to think about the meaning 
 of your name? 
 
 Is it Sarah? Sarah means " princess," and she 
 who is called Sarah ought to be too noble to do any- 
 thing mean, if she wishes to live up to it. Agnes 
 means "pure " ; that is a beautiful name to live up 
 to. Jesus says, " Blessed are the pure in heart for 
 they shall see God." Cora, Margaret, and Rachel 
 teach purity also, for Cora and Margaret mean "a 
 pearl," and Rachel means " a sheep or a lamb " and 
 these are emblems of purity. 
 
 Hannah means "gracious, merciful," and so 
 does Anna. Susanna and Hadassah mean u joy," 
 and Naomi is "pleasant, agreeable." 
 
 A girl who is called Deborah ought to be indus- 
 trious, for her name means "abee," and one named 
 Phoebe should be a veritable sun -beam for that is 
 "shining, bright." 
 
 Naomi's sons grew up and married in the land 
 of Moab. One married a girl named Orpah, and the 
 other married Ruth. But Mahlon and Chilion did 
 
RUTH, THE GLEANER 99 
 
 not live long, soon they both died, and Naomi was 
 in a strange land with only her daughters-in-law to 
 comfort her. 
 
 Naomi, longed to return to her own people, and 
 as she heard that the famine in Canaan was over, 
 she determined to do so. Ruth and Orpah did not 
 wish to part with her, for they had learned to love 
 her, and they insisted that they would go with her on 
 her journey, even though they had to leave their 
 own people. But Naomi felt that it would be selfish 
 to take them away from the land in which they had 
 been born, and in which all their relatives lived. 
 
 "Go back, each of you, to her mother's house," 
 she said, "and I pray the Lord to deal kindly with 
 you, for you have been good to my sons, who are 
 now dead, and to me." 
 
 Orpah and Ruth were troubled at this and they 
 wept. Soon Orpah kissed Naomi and left her, but 
 Ruth would not go. 
 
 "Entreat me not to leave thee," saidRuth, "or to 
 return from following after thee ; where thou goest, 
 I will go; and where thou livest I will live; thy 
 friends shall be my friends and thy God my God; 
 where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be 
 buried." 
 
 Naomi could not help being pleased at this for 
 she was lonely, and she loved Ruth dearly. So she 
 said no more, but let Ruth go with her to Bethlehem. 
 
 If Ruth had stayed in Moab she would have 
 been unknown in the history of the world. As it is, 
 she became famous ; one of the books of the Bible is 
 
100 KUTH, THE GLEANEE 
 
 named after her, and she was the great -grandmother 
 of King David, and from her was descended Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Instead of choosing to worship idols, she chose 
 to follow the true God, and instead of staying in an 
 idolatrous land, she went to Bethlehem. Bethlehem 
 is only a small place, but there is no town whose 
 name is better known. Near it Rachel died and was 
 buried, and there still stands her tomb, near it David 
 watched hik father's flocks, and within its walls was 
 born the Christ child, while hosts of angels sang 
 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
 good will toward men." 
 
 Ruth knew nothing of the wonderful things 
 that were to happen. She followed Naomi because 
 she loved her, and she served the God of Israel be- 
 cause He, only, was the true God. 
 
 " Because right is right, to follow right 
 Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence," 
 
 says Lord Tennyson. We must do right because it 
 is right, and leave the future to God. 
 
 " If only we strive to be pure and true, 
 To each of us there will come an hour 
 When the tree of light shall burst into flower, 
 And rain at our feet a glorious dower 
 Of something grander than ever we knew. 77 
 
 .The journey of Naomi and Ruth neared its end ; 
 weary and travel -worn they came to Bethlehem. 
 The people had not forgotten Naomi, but she was 
 so changed that they hardly knew her. and they said, 
 "Is that Naomi?" 
 
RUTH, THE GLEANER 
 
RUTH, THE GLEANER 103 
 
 Poor Naomi thought of how she had gone away 
 with a kind husband and two sons, and she felt sor- 
 rowful because they were with her no more. 
 
 "Call me not Naomi, which means pleasant," 
 she said, "but call me Mara, which means bitter, 
 for the Lord has sent me great trouble; He has 
 dealt very bitterly with me." 
 
 It was at the beginning of the barley harvest 
 that Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. They 
 looked around to find a way to live, for they were 
 poor. Ruth was ready and willing to work for both 
 herself and her mother-in-law. It was the custom, 
 during the harvest, for poor people to follow after 
 the reapers and to gather up the grain that they 
 dropped. The reapers let some grain fall on pur- 
 pose for the gleaners, for God had told them not to 
 take all away, but to leave a little for the poor. 
 
 And Ruth asked Naomi to give her permission 
 to go into the fields to glean. And Naomi said "Gro, 
 my daughter." 
 
 It happened that Ruth went to the field of a rich 
 kinsman or a relation of Naomi's. His name was 
 Boaz, and he was a great man. And Boaz came to 
 his field to watch the reapers. 
 
 "The Lord be with you," said Boaz to his men. 
 
 And they answered him, "The Lord bless thee." 
 
 Presently, Boaz caught sight of Ruth, who was 
 gleaning industriously. She was beautiful and gen- 
 tle and dignified, and he had never seen another 
 gleaner like her. 
 
104 RUTH, THE .GLEANER 
 
 44 Who is that young woman!" he asked his 
 chief rervant. 
 
 u It is the young woman from Moab who came 
 home with Naomi," answered the man. "She said, 
 'I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reap- 
 ers among the sheaves,' and we allowed her to do 
 it, and she has been in the field from early morning 
 until now." 
 
 Boaz had heard of Ruth, and how kind she was 
 to her mother-in-law, and that she had left a 
 heathen land to come to live in Canaan among 
 strange people, in order that she might worship the 
 (rod of Israel. And he felt kindly disposed toward 
 her. He told his men to treat her well and consid- 
 erately, and he spoke to her himself, telling her that 
 she might glean every day in his field. He said that 
 he had told his young men not to do her any harm 
 but, when she was thirsty to let her drink from the 
 pitchers that they had filled for the workers in 
 the field. 
 
 Ruth was surprised and grateful, and she bowed 
 herself down to the ground before Boaz, as is the 
 custom in the east. 
 
 u Why have I found grace in thine eyes," she 
 asked, "that thou should'st be so kind to me when 
 I am a stranger?" 
 
 Then Boaz told her that he had heard her story 
 and he added : 
 
 u The Lord recompense thy work, and a full 
 reward be given thee of the Lord Grod of Israel, 
 under whose wings thou art come to trust. 
 
 ">•> 
 
RUTH, THE GLEANER 105 
 
 And he told her to come at meal -time and to 
 eat and drink with his laborers. Ruth did so, and 
 Boaz, himself, saw that she got plenty to eat and 
 to drink. 
 
 After the meal, she gleaned again, and Boaz 
 told the men to let fall some handfuls on purpose 
 for her. So she went home with so much barley 
 that Naomi was surprised and asked Ruth in whose 
 field she had been gleaning. 
 
 "The man's name is Boaz/' answered Ruth, 
 and she told her happy story to Naomi. 
 
 Then Naomi answered, "Blessed be the Lord," 
 and told Ruth, what she had not known before, that 
 Boaz was a near kinsman. Ruth said that he had 
 said that she might come every day and glean 
 after his reapers, until the end of the barley harvest 
 and of the wheat harvest, and Naomi told her to do 
 as he had said. 
 
 So the days went by; Ruth gleaned in the fields 
 of Boaz, and his laborers were kind to her, and she 
 ate and drank with them. When evening came, she 
 threshed her gatherings and took the grain home to 
 Naomi, who was well content. 
 
 At last the reaping and the binding were over, 
 and it was time for Boaz to thresh and to winnow 
 his grain. This was done on a level, smooth and 
 hard piece of ground called the threshing floor. 
 First the grain was separated from the long straws 
 on which it had grown. This was done with a flail, 
 a wooden instrument with which it was beaten from 
 the ears. This was called threshing. Then bits of 
 
106 
 
 RUTH, THE GLEANER 
 
 straw and chaff had to be separated from the grain. 
 The reapers threw the grain up in the air, while the 
 wind was blowing, and the wind blew away all the 
 pieces of straw and chaff because they were light, 
 but the grain, being heavy, fell in heaps on the hard 
 floor. This was called winnowing. Such work is 
 done by machinery now-a-days, and it is done much 
 more quickly and thoroughly than it was in the 
 days of Boaz. 
 
 In hot countries as much labor as possible is 
 done at night or early morning before the sun has 
 risen. The sun's rays are so strong as to make it 
 wise to avoid them in the heat of the day. In many 
 southern cities it is almost as quiet at mid -day as at 
 mid -night, for every one who can sleeps for two or 
 three hours, while the sun is at its highest, and the 
 streets are practically deserted. 
 
 One day Naomi heard that Boaz was going to 
 winnow his barley that night. Besides coolness, 
 there was another advantage in choosing the even- 
 ing for his work ; the wind was generally stronger 
 at night than in the day, as it rose toward evening. 
 
 When the psalmist wrote that u the ungodly are 
 like the chaff which the wind driveth away," he was 
 thinking of winnowing. 
 
 Naomi told Ruth to wash and dress herself and 
 go to Boaz and say to him just what she told her to 
 say. Ruth did what Naomi wished; she got ready 
 and went to the threshing floor and waited for a 
 chance to speak to Boaz. After the grain was win- 
 nowed Boaz had a feast, but, by and by, the guests 
 
RUTH, THE GLEANER 107 
 
 went away and he was alone. Then Ruth drew 
 near and asked him to be kind to her for she and 
 Naomi were alone and he was a near kinsman of 
 their 
 
 Boaz answered, "The Lord bless thee, my 
 daughter, fear not ; I will do for thee all that thou 
 needest, for the whole city of Bethlehem doth know 
 that thou art a good woman." 
 
 Then Boaz filled her veil, which was as large as 
 a shawl, with six measures of the newly winnowed 
 barley and she took it home to Naomi. Naomi was 
 grateful, but she was sure that Boaz meant to do 
 more than that for Ruth. So she told her to be 
 patient and to wait and see what else he would do. 
 
 The cities of Canaan had walls around them 
 and in the walls there were gates through which the 
 people went in and out. At these gates were the 
 market-places where things were bought and sold 
 and, there also the rulers held court. If a man 
 wished to tell all the people of his town anything, 
 he went to the gates to do it, for that was the place 
 at which to hear and to tell news for there more 
 people were gathered together then anywhere else. 
 
 The day after Boaz winnowed his wheat he 
 went to the gates and sat down on one of the stone 
 benches that were there, and he called the elders or 
 the chief men to him. Other people gathered around 
 to hear what he had to say. He told the elders and 
 all the people that he was going to marry Ruth, the 
 beautiful and good Moabitess who had come to Beth 
 
108 
 
 RUTH, THE GLEANER 
 
 lehem with Naomi. Said he to the elders and to 
 all the people, u Ye are the witnesses." 
 
 And the elders and all the people answered, 
 "We are the witnesses." And they prayed to God 
 to grant to Boaz and to Ruth the richest blessings. 
 
 So Ruth became the wife of Boaz, and she and 
 Boaz were very happy. Naomi was happy, also, 
 for she loved Ruth and she rejoiced in her good for- 
 tune. The Lord gave Boaz and Ruth a son and they 
 called him Obed. The women of Bethlehem con- 
 gratulated Naomi on her grandson, but they told her 
 that her daughter-in-law, Ruth, was better than 
 seven sons. They could have paid Ruth no greater 
 compliment for the Hebrew women desired sons 
 above all blessings. 
 
The Little Captive Maid 
 
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be 
 pure, and whether it be right. — Proverbs xx, 11. 
 
 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had 
 brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid ; and 
 she waited on Naaman's wife. — II Kings v, 2. 
 
 There is an eastern fable of a boy having challenged his 
 teacher to prove the existence of God by working a miracle. The 
 teacher, who was a priest, got a large vessel filled with earth, 
 wherein he deposited a kernel in the boy's presence, and bade 
 him pay attention. In the place were the kernel was put a green 
 shoot suddenly appeared, the shoot became a stem, the stem put 
 forth leaves and branches which soon spread over the whole 
 apartment. It then budded with blossoms, which, dropping off, 
 left golden fruits in their place, and in the space of one hour 
 there stood a noble tree in the place of the little seed. The 
 youth, overcome with amazement, exclaimed, "Now I know that 
 there is a God, for I have seen his power!" The priest smiled at 
 him, and said, "Simple child, do you only now believe? Does not 
 what you have just beheld take place year after year, only by a 
 slower process? But is it less marvelous on that account?" 
 
 — Krummacher. 
 
Chapter VIH 
 
 TheLittleCapttveMaidi 
 
 HEN Jehoram was 
 king of Israel, 
 there lived in the 
 neighboring coun- 
 try of Syria a great 
 man called Naa- 
 man, who was cap- 
 tain of the army of Syria. Naa- 
 man was a favorite with his mas- 
 ter, Benhadad, the king of Syria, 
 for he had gone to war with his 
 enemies, and had gained the vic- 
 tory over them. Benhadad show- 
 ered gifts and honors on Naaman, 
 but Naaman was unhappy, never- 
 theless, for he had a dreadful dis- 
 ease, leprosy. This disease, which 
 turns a person's skin as white as snow, is not un- 
 common in hot countries, but it is so terrible 
 that no one will have anything to do with a leper, 
 if he can help it, for fear of catching his dis- 
 ease. Leprosy may begin in one spot on the body, 
 but it spreads all over and, by and by, it is so 
 
 in 
 
112 THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID 
 
 horrible that the leper may lose his fingers or his 
 toes by their dropping off. Naaman could not have 
 had a worse disease. Probably it had not gone so 
 far that he could not keep the knowledge of it in his 
 family and his household, but he must have dreaded 
 the time when he would have to resign his honors 
 and leave his people and go off to live by himself. 
 
 Among the servants in Naaman's household was 
 a little maid from the land of Israel. The Israelites 
 had been wicked, and God had allowed their ene- 
 mies to conquer them in war, and to carry off some 
 of them into foreign lands, where they had to be 
 servants and slaves. This little girl was not wicked, 
 however ; it was for the sins of others that she had 
 to suffer. That is a sad thing about wrong -doing, 
 often the innocent have to suffer with the guilty. 
 
 We do not know whether this little maid had 
 been rich or poor in her own land, whether she was 
 stolen away from her parents or whether they as 
 well as she were brought to Syria, but she found a 
 good home with Naaman 's wife, on whom she 
 waited. She grew fond of her mistress and of her 
 master, and she felt very sorry for Naaman when 
 she heard of his terrible disease. She was a thought- 
 ful little girl, and she remembered the things she 
 had seen and heard in her own land. 
 
 There was a great prophet in Israel named Eli- 
 sha, and God was with him, and he allowed him to 
 do wonderful things. Elisha was not stern like so 
 many of the prophets, like Elijah, whose mission it 
 was to rebuke, and who was more feared then loved. 
 
THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID 113 
 
 Elisha "went about doing good" as Jesus did long 
 afterward, when he was on earth. He was gentle 
 and merciful, and he went up and down the land 
 teaching, healing, comforting and prophesying in 
 the name of the Lord. These are some of the deeds 
 he performed : 
 
 The men of the city of Jericho told him that 
 their city was very pleasant, but that their water 
 was not fit to drink and that because of the water 
 the ground was barren, so that nothing would grow 
 on it. And Elisha said "Bring me a new cruse — 
 or jar— and put some salt in it." And when they 
 brought the cruse and the salt to Elisha he went to 
 the spring from which the water flowed and threw 
 the salt into it and, behold, the water became pure, 
 so that people could drink it, and the ground was no 
 longer barren. 
 
 A certain man died suddenly leaving an unpaid 
 debt. He was a good man who had served Grod, and 
 he would have paid the money had he lived, but the 
 widow and her sons were unable to raise money 
 enough to satisfy the man to whom it was due. 
 Then the man threatened to carry off the two sons 
 and make bondmen of them. The woman was in 
 great distress, and she went to Elisha and asked him 
 what she should do to save her sons. "Hast thou 
 anything in the house?" asked Elisha. "I have not 
 anything except a pot of oil," she answered. Then 
 he said to her, "Go and borrow empty vessels of all 
 thy neighbors, and take them into thy house and 
 
114 THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID 
 
 shut the door, and pour out the pot of oil that thou 
 hast into the vessels, and set aside those that 
 are full." 
 
 The woman went and borrowed empty vessels, 
 just as Elisha told her to ; and she carried them into 
 her house and shut the door. Then she poured oil 
 from her one pot into all the vessels, and the oil kept 
 on coming until all were full. And she said to her 
 son, "Bring me another vessel." "There is not one 
 more," he answered. So she went and told Elisha, 
 the man of God, what had happened. 
 
 "Gro, sell the oil and pay thy debt," said he, 
 "and take what money is left over and buy food for 
 thyself and thy children." 
 
 The son of a rich and great woman, who had 
 ^een very kind to Elisha, died quite suddenly. He 
 was out in the field with the reapers when his head 
 began to ache so badly that they carried him in to 
 his mother, and he sat on her lap until noon and 
 then died. The mother mounted an ass and went 
 for Elisha. When the man of Grod came to the 
 house he found the child dead, lying on a bed. He 
 went into the room and shut the door and prayed 
 to the Lord for power. 
 
 And he got on the bed and lay upon the child, 
 and he put his mouth upon the child's mouth, and 
 his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his 
 hands ; and he stretched himself upon the child, and 
 the child's flesh grew warm. Then Elisha left the 
 room and walked up and down in the house. And 
 
THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID 115 
 
 he went back and stretched himself again upon the 
 child, and the child sneezed seven times and opened 
 his eyes, and he lived! 
 
 "The man of God came forth, and led the child 
 Unto his mother, and went on his way. 
 And he was there — her beautiful — her own — 
 Living, and smilig on her — with his arms 
 Folded upon her neck, and his warm breath 
 Breathing upon her lips, and in her ear 
 The music of his gentle voice once more !" 
 
 These, and many more wonderful things Elisha 
 did, and they were much talked of in the land of 
 Israel. And, now, the little captive maid, far from 
 home, remembered the merciful prophet, and she 
 believed that he could cure her master of his leprosy. 
 This would not be more difficult than other things 
 which God had done through him. 
 
 "Would that my master were with Elisha, the 
 prophet," she said to her mistress, u for he would 
 cure him of his leprosy." 
 
 Naaman's wife asked her many questions about 
 the prophet, and the little maid told her all that she 
 knew about him. These were strange stories, and 
 words came to the ears of Benhadad, the king. 
 
 The king was very anxious for Naaman to be 
 cured, so he said, "I will send a letter to the king 
 of Israel, and with it Naaman, my servant, that he 
 may recover him of his leprosy." 
 
 So Namaan went to the land of Israel with the 
 
116 THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID 
 
 letter. And he took with him much silver and gold, 
 and ten fine suits of clothing to give as a present to 
 the man who should make him well. 
 
 When Jehoram, king of Israel, had read Ben- 
 hadad's letter he was greatly troubled. He rent his 
 clothes and cried aloud, "Am I God, to kill and to 
 make alive, that Benhadad doth send this man for 
 me to cure him of his leprosy? See now, how the 
 king of Syria is seeking an excuse to quarrel with me . ' ' 
 
 Men in eastern countries, wear loose garments 
 which are fastened around the waist with belts or 
 girdles. When in distress they sieze their coats and 
 tear them from neck to girdle in order to show their 
 sorrow. 
 
 When Elisha heard that the king had rent his 
 garments he sent to him saying, "Why hast thou 
 rent thy clothes? Let Naaman now come to me 
 and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." 
 
 So Naaman went with his horses and his chariot 
 and stood at the door of Elisha' s house. And Elisha 
 sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in 
 the river Jordan seven times and thou shalt be well." 
 
 Then Naaman was angry. He did not like be- 
 ing treated with so little ceremony, for he considered 
 himself a mighty man. Was he not captain of the 
 army of the king of Syria? 
 
 " I thought that the prophet would surely come 
 out to me," he said, "and put his hand upon me, 
 and pray to the Lord, his God, to make me well. Are 
 not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of my own country, 
 better than all the waters of Israel V And he turned 
 and went away in a rage. 
 
THE LITTLE CAPTIVE WARD 
 
THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID 119 
 
 But his servants were really fond of him, and 
 they wanted him to be made well. They could not 
 bear to see him throw away the chance that was be- 
 fore him. Said they, "My father, if the prophet 
 had bidden thee do some great thing, wouldest thou 
 not have done it? How much easier then it will be 
 to obey him when he says to thee only, ' Wash, and 
 be clean.'" 
 
 Then Naaman went down and dipped himself 
 seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying 
 of Elisha, and his flesh became as clean and as pure 
 as that of a little child, and he was well. 
 
 And he and all his men returned to the house of 
 Elisha, and he said, "Behold, now I know that 
 there is no God in all the earth but the God of 
 Israel." And he said to Elisha, " I pray thee take a 
 present from me . ' ' But Elisha replied, ' 'As the Lord 
 liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none." 
 Naaman urged him to take it, but he would not. 
 
 Elisha felt that it was God who had wrought 
 the miracle and that He alone was to be thanked. 
 
 ' 'Hereafter I will worship no God but the Lord, ' ' 
 said Naaman. Elisha blessed him saying, u Go in 
 peace." And Naaman returned to Syria. 
 
 What wonderful things the little captive maid 
 had helped to bring about ! If she had not believed 
 in God and remembered his prophet, the king would 
 not have sent Naaman to Israel. In Israel, Naaman 
 was not only healed of his leprosy, but he learned to 
 worship the true God. The little girl must have 
 felt very happy when she saw her master come home 
 
120 THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID 
 
 well. Naaman may have given her rich presents as a 
 reward for what she had done for him, but whether 
 he did or not, she was amply repaid, when she saw 
 him worship God. 
 
 No one is too small or too weak to serve the 
 King of Heaven, and he sometimes uses a little 
 child to do mighty work. 
 
 It was only a boy who gave Jesus the bread and 
 the fish with which he fed the five thousand. The 
 boy had brought five barley loaves and two small 
 fishes, for his luncheon, probably. When the disci- 
 ples looked to see if the multitude had any food they 
 found this scant provision. Suppose the lad had 
 refused to give it up when asked for it. Suppose he 
 had said, "It is so little, only enough for one or two. 
 It won't do you any good, so I will keep it." Even 
 Andrew, one of the disciples said, "What are they 
 among so many'?" But Jesus took them and not 
 only fed five thousand people '-but, after all had 
 eaten, the disciples filled twelve baskets with the 
 fragments of the five barley loaves. 
 
 Jesus could have done this without the boy's 
 bread and fishes, but he chose to use them, and how 
 delighted the boy must have been to have assisted 
 in the miracle, though ever so little. If he lived to 
 have children, he must have told them the wonder- 
 ful story, over and over again. Perhaps grandchil- 
 dren climbed on his knees and clamored for the tale. 
 
THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID 
 
 121 
 
 'Oh, not in strange portentous way 
 Christ's miracles were wrought of old, 
 The common thing, the common clay, 
 He touched and tinctured, and straightway 
 It grew to glory manifold. 
 
 The barley loaves were daily bread, 
 Kneaded and mixed with usual skill; 
 No care was given, no spell was said, 
 But when the Lord had blessed, they fed 
 The multitude upon the hill. 7 ' 
 
Jezebel, Child and Woman 
 
Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is 
 old he will not depart from it. — Proverbs xxii, 6, 
 
 The human heart is ever the same — willful, passionate. With 
 many it is often like the storm that will spend itself to the end, 
 no matter how much wreck and ruin is wrought. 
 
 — E. P. Roe. 
 
 Where are the kings, and where the rest 
 Of those who once the world possessed? 
 
 They're gone with all their pomp and show, 
 They're gone the way that thou shalt go. 
 
 O thou who chosest for thy share 
 
 The world and what the world calls fair, 
 
 Take all that it can give or lend, 
 But know that death is at the end. 
 
 — Henry Wads worth Longfellow. 
 
Chapter K. 
 
 Jezebel, Child and 
 
 Woman. 
 
 ID you ever stop to think 
 that Jezebel, that cruel 
 and wicked queen, 
 whose name is often 
 used to describe an evil 
 woman, was once a lit- 
 tle baby, sweet and pure 
 and innocent? The poet, Longfellow, 
 tells us that little children's souls are 
 
 As pure and white 
 
 And crystalline as rays of light 
 
 Direct from heaven." 
 
 The baby had to be named, and they called her 
 Jezebel. No one would name a child Jezebel now, 
 but the name carried with it no unpleasant meaning 
 when it was chosen for the tiny princess. The word 
 Jezebel means pure, and it was a lovely name for a 
 little girl, just as Agnes, which means the same 
 thing, is now. The best known, Agnes lived a beau- 
 tiful life, so pure and good that she is called Saint 
 Agnes, and people like to name their daughters after 
 her, but Jezebel ruined her name. It suited the 
 
 125 
 
126 JEZEBEL, CHILD AND WOMAN 
 
 infant in her cradle, but it was like calling darkness 
 light to call the bold, cruel queen that she became, 
 Jezebel. 
 
 Jezebel was not born wicked ; little by little she 
 became so. She was not taught to control her baby 
 tempers, so they grew to be violent rages ; she was 
 told that she was beautiful, and wealthy, and great, 
 when she was a child, and encouraged to think only 
 of herself, so she grew proud and selfish ; she had 
 her waiting maids severely punished when they dis- 
 pleased her, she struck her nurse, she beat her pet 
 dog, and so she grew cruel and tyranical. 
 
 We are told little or nothing of the childhood of 
 most of the people mentioned in the Scriptures. 
 Yet if we know what kind of a woman a person was 
 it is not difficult to make a pretty shrewd guess as to 
 what kind of a child she was. Surely, Hannah was 
 pious and gentle when she was a little girl ; surely, 
 Rizpah was a good daughter, and just as surely Jeze- 
 bel was ill-tempered, vain and selfish. 
 
 Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, the king 
 of Tyre and Sidon. Ethbaal was priest as well as 
 king, and he served the most fiendish god ever in- 
 vented by man. Instead of being taught to love the 
 true God, who is merciful and full of loving kind- 
 ness, Jezebel was instructed in the religion of Baal, 
 the god who was supposed to demand human sacri- 
 fices and to enjoy wicked deeds. How could Jezebel 
 grow good and pure with such teaching and with 
 such a god? 
 
JEZEBEL, CHILD AND WOMAN 
 
JEZEBEL, CHILD AND WOMAN 129 
 
 Tyre was a very wealthy city with princely mer- 
 chants who sent their ships all over the known 
 world, carrying rich cargoes to be sold to kings and 
 queens. King Solomon sent to Tyre for workmen 
 and cedar wood and precious stones, when he built 
 the magnificent Temple at Jerusalem. From Tyre 
 came the rich purple dye which was used for the 
 robes of kings; it was obtained by a secret process 
 from shell -fish found along the coast. Coral, emer- 
 alds, costly woods, fine linen and embroideries were 
 among the wares of Tyre. Ethbaal was rich and 
 powerful, and Jezebel had every wish gratified. 
 
 Jezebel married Ahab, the son of Omri, king of 
 Israel, several years before Ahab came to the throne. 
 She was very young when she was married, and she 
 had a long life before her in which to do good, had 
 she so chosen, but all her works were evil. She had 
 unbounded influence over Ahab, and he was as a 
 puppet in her hands. 
 
 The Bible says, "And Ahab the son of Omri 
 did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were 
 before him." 
 
 This means that he was the most wicked king 
 that Israel had ever had. Jezebel was largely res- 
 ponsible for his wickedness. One story will serve 
 to show the kind of woman that Jezebel was and how 
 she made Ahab sin. 
 
 " Naboth, the Jezreelite, had a vineyard, which 
 was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab. And 
 Ahab spake unto Naboth, 'Give me thy vineyard, 
 that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it 
 
130 JEZEBEL, CHILD AND WOMAN 
 
 is near unto my house : and I will give thee for it a 
 better vineyard than it ; or, if it seems good to thee, 
 I will give thee the worth of it in money.' And Na- 
 both said to Ahab, ' The Lord forbid it me, that I 
 should give the inheritance of my father unto thee/ 
 
 " And Ahab came into his house heavy and dis- 
 pleased because of the word which Naboth, the Jez- 
 reelite, had spoken unto him : for he had said, ' I will- 
 not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.' And 
 he laid him down on his bed, and turned away his 
 face, and would eat no bread. 
 
 " And Jezebel, his wife, came to him, and said 
 unto him, ' Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest 
 no breads' And he said unto her, ' Because I spake 
 unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, 
 "Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it 
 please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it ; " 
 and he answered, 'I will not give thee my vine- 
 yard.' 
 
 "And Jezebel his wife said unto him, 'Dost 
 thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, 
 and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will 
 give thee the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite.' 
 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed 
 them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the 
 elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwell- 
 ing with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, 
 saying, 'Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high 
 among the people ; and set two men before him, to 
 bear witness against him, saying. Thou didst blas- 
 pheme God and the king. And then carry him out 
 and stone him that he may die." 
 
JEZEBEL, CHILD AND WOMAN 131 
 
 To blaspheme is to speak irreverently of God, 
 and among the Israelites those who blasphemed 
 were stoned to death. Naboth was accused of this 
 sin, and false witnesses testified against him; so he 
 was carried out of the city and stoned until he died. 
 On this charge both the Lord Jesus, and Stephen 
 were condemned to death by the Jews, false wit- 
 nesses swearing against them, as false witnesses 
 swore against Naboth. 
 
 " Then they sent to Jezebel saying, 'Naboth is 
 stoned and is dead.' And it came to pass, when 
 Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was 
 dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, 'Arise, take pos- 
 session of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, 
 which he refused to give the for money: for Na- 
 >oth is not alive, but dead.' 
 
 u And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Na- 
 both was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the 
 vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, to take posses- 
 sion of it." 
 
 Shakespeare, our greatest poet, is supposed to 
 have drawn Lady Macbeth from Jezebel, but Lady 
 Macbeth, although she inspired her husband to 
 murder Duncan for the sake of his crown, was not 
 devoid of all gentleness and womanly feeling, as 
 Jezebel seems to have been. She trembled after her 
 husband ' s crime . Said she : 
 
 ''Consider it not so deeply, 
 These deeds must not be thought 
 After these days; so it will make us mad." 
 
 And the consciousness of "these deeds" did 
 make her mad. Tormented by wretched days and 
 
132 
 
 JEZEBEL, CHILD AND WOMAN 
 
 restless nights she finally destroyed herself. Jez- 
 ebel had no conscience apparently. No scruples, no 
 fears interrupted the course of her wrong -doing. 
 
 Jezebel brought up her children to do evil ; her 
 daughter, Athaliah, was so wicked that of her son 
 (Jezebel's grandson) it is said, "Ahaziah walked in 
 the ways of the house of Ahab : for his mother was 
 his counsellor to do wickedly." Could anything be 
 more dreadful than to have such a mother? 
 
 Girls and boys with good fathers and good 
 mothers, born in a Christian land, and taught to 
 love and to obey Grod cannot be too thankful for 
 their blessings. 
 
 Unless you learn to do right while you are young 
 there is little hope that you will grow to be true men 
 and pure women. 
 
Queen Esther 
 
And it was so, when the king saw Esther, the queen, standing 
 in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight: and the king 
 held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand, — 
 Esther v, 2. 
 
 I cannot forbear to admire God, and to learn hence His 
 wisdom and His justice, not only in punishing the wickedness of 
 Haman, but in so disposing it that he should undergo the very 
 punishment which he had contrived for another; as also, because he 
 thereby teaches others this lesson, that what mischief any one 
 prepares against another, he, without knowing it, first contrives 
 it against himself. — Josephus. 
 
 When in our hour of utmost need 
 We know not where to look for aid, 
 When days and nights of anxious thought 
 Nor help ner counsel yet have brought, 
 
 Then this our comfort is alone, 
 That we may meet before Thy throne, 
 And cry, O faithful God to Thee 
 For rescue from our misery; 
 
 To Thee we raise our hearts and eyes, 
 Repenting sore with bitter sighs, 
 And seek Thy pardon for our sin, 
 And respite from our griefs within. 
 
 For Thou hast promised, graciously 
 To hear all those who cry to Thee 
 Through Him whose name alone is great, 
 Our Savior and our Advocate. 
 
 — C. Winckworth. 
 
Chapter X 
 OlJEEN ESTHERS 
 
 CCORDING to Jew- 
 ish tradition, Eve, 
 Sarah, Rebekah 
 and Esther, were 
 the four most beau- 
 tiful women that 
 ever lived. Esther 
 was called Hadas- 
 sah by her people, the Jews, 
 the name being derived from 
 a word meaning myrtle, a sym- 
 bol of youth and beauty. The 
 myrtle is an evergreen shrub 
 or a small tree bearing white flowers and black ber- 
 ries, and is a favorite in the east. Its praises have 
 been sung by poets of both ancient and modern 
 times. The Persians called Hadassah, Esther, which 
 also means beautiful, being their name for the bright 
 planet Venus. 
 
 Esther was an orphan and was brought up by her 
 cousin Mordecai, who adopted her when she was a 
 small child. The Bible tells us not only the name 
 of her father, but those of her grandfather and her 
 
 135 
 
136 QUEEN ESTHEB 
 
 great-grandfather. She was the daughter of Abi- 
 hail, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish of the tribe 
 of Benjamin. Kish, the great-grandfather of Es- 
 ther, was carried off into captivity from the land of 
 Judah by the great and powerful Nebuchadnezzer. 
 And in a strange land dwelt Kish and his children, 
 and his children's children, one of whom was Ha- 
 dassah or Esther, and another her cousin Mordecai. 
 Mordecai was so much older than Esther that it 
 seemed as though he were her uncle rather than her 
 cousin and she called him uncle. He was as good 
 to her as though he had been her father and she was 
 as loving and obedient as though she had been his 
 daughter. 
 
 Mordecai taught Esther the history of her peo- 
 ple, and taught her to worship the true Grod. She 
 heard with interest and with awe stories of Abra- 
 ham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Moses and Miriam, of 
 Jephthah and his daughter, of Hannah and Samuel, 
 of Ruth and of David, and of many other heroes 
 and heroines of her race. She wished that she 
 might do something heroic herself — something that 
 would make her people proud of her long after she 
 was dead. But she was only a little girl, far away 
 from the land of Canaan, that beautiful country 
 which Grod had given to her people, and from which 
 he had allowed them to be taken because of their sins. 
 Hebrew women had done brave deeds in olden 
 times, some of which were as noble as those of the 
 men, but in Babylon and in Persia women were not 
 highly esteemed. Esther did not boast of being a 
 
QUEEN ESTHEE 137 
 
 Jewess, for her cousin thought it wise for them to 
 seem as much as possible like the people around 
 them, for the Jews were captives, but in her heart 
 she was glad and proud that she was one of the 
 children of Israel. 
 
 Those Israelites who were descended from Ju- 
 dah and Benjamin or, in other words, who belonged 
 to the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, were called 
 Jews. Judges, among whom were Joshua, Othniel, 
 Jephthah, and Sampson, had ruled over the Israel- 
 ites a long time, but at length the people had asked 
 God to give them a king. He had done so, and 
 their first king was Saul. Then came David, who 
 was followed by his son Solomon, the wisest man 
 who ever lived. 
 
 At Solomon's death the kingdom was divided 
 into two parts which were called the kingdom of 
 Israel and the kingdom of Judah. The kingdom of 
 Israel was composed of ten of the tribes of Israel 
 and the kingdom of Judah of two ; Judah and Ben - 
 jamin. The kingdom of Israel lasted two hundred 
 and fifty -four years and during that time nineteen 
 kings ruled over the ten tribes, and every one of 
 these kings was wicked and did evil in the sight of 
 the Lord. Grod allowed all the people of the king- 
 dom of Israel to be carried away from their land, 
 because of their wickedness, and other people came 
 from other lands and took their cities to be their 
 own. We are not told that any of the ten tribes 
 ever went back to Canaan, and we do not know what 
 became of them. The kingdom of Judah lasted 
 
138 QUEEN ESTHEE 
 
 three hundred and eighty-eight years, and during 
 that time nineteen kings and one queen ruled over 
 the people. Of these nearly all were wicked, and 
 almost all the time the people worshipped idols. At 
 last, God sent the people of Judah out of the land of 
 Canaan as He had sent the people of Israel. The 
 people of Judah did not disappear entirely, as did 
 those of Israel, and in time, the name Jew came to 
 be used more than the name Israelite. 
 
 Mordecai and Esther lived in Shushan, a great 
 city which belonged to the Babylonians and after- 
 ward to the Persians, who conquered the Babyloni- 
 ans. The king of Persia made it his capitol, and 
 lived there during the greater part of the year. The 
 water was better than in some other large cities in 
 which he might have lived and Shushan was cooler, 
 because it was nearer the mountains. The palace 
 was very grand. We know a good deal about it for 
 only fifty years ago explorers found and unearthed 
 its remains, which had been buried for a long time. 
 What these men, Sir William Fenwick and Mr. 
 Loftus, discovered corresponds to the description 
 given in the Bible. 
 
 A great group of buildings was raised on an 
 artificial mound, measuring nearly 1,000 feet each 
 way, and rising to a height of about sixty feet above 
 the plain. The principal building was perhaps one 
 hundred and twenty feet high, and rose above all the 
 others. The effect was magnificent, for each build- 
 ing was grand and the chief one was the grandest of 
 all. Beautiful buildings, gardens, trees, fountains, 
 flowers, all were set above the rest of the city. 
 
QUEEN ESTHER 139 
 
 In the third year of his reign King Ahasuerus 
 or Xerxes made a costly feast for his friends, and for 
 the nobles of all the nations of Persia, and for their 
 governors. He wished to show them how rich and 
 great he was. He ruled over one hundred and 
 twenty -seven provinces, from India in Asia even 
 unto Ethiopia in Africa. This magnificent feast 
 lasted one hundred and eighty days, and when it 
 was over he made another for all the people in the 
 palace, both great and small, and this feast lasted 
 seven days. It was held in the court of the garden 
 of the king's palace, where was pitched a vast tent 
 with hangings of white and green and blue, which 
 were fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to 
 silver rings and pillars of marble. The beds in the 
 palace were made of gold and silver, and the pave- 
 ments were of red and blue, and white and black 
 marble. The persons at the feast drank from cups 
 of gold, and the king's wine was given in abundance 
 so that every man might drink as much as he 
 wanted. Moreover, the king sent messengers 
 through the country with orders that the people 
 should cease their work for a time and keep a festival 
 on account of the greatness of his kingdom. 
 
 In the women's part of the palace Vashti, the 
 queen, also made a feast. 
 
 On the seventh day of the king's feast, after he 
 had drunk much wine and was merry, he sent men 
 to bring Vashti before him that the people and the 
 princes might see her beauty, for she was so much 
 more lovely than other women that he was very 
 proud of her. 
 
140 QUEEN ESTHER , 
 
 Vashti refused to come. In Persia the women 
 lived in a separate part of the house by themselves, 
 and never came out before the men unless they were 
 veiled. Vashti thought it would be wrong to appear 
 before the princes and the people without her veil, 
 or with her face uncovered, so, although the king sent 
 for her again and again, she refused to obey him. 
 
 Then Ahasuerus was so angry that he broke up 
 the entertainment and sent for the seven wise men, 
 Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Mar- 
 sena, and Memucan, who were first in the kingdom. 
 He told them that he had been affronted by his wife, 
 Vashti, for although he had sent for her repeatedly 
 to appear at his feast, she had not come once. And 
 he asked what should be done to punish her for her 
 disobedience. 
 
 Memucan answered for all : 4 'Vashti, the queen, 
 hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all 
 the princes, and to all the people that are in the 
 provinces of King Ahasuerus, for all the women of 
 Persia will no more obey their husbands when they 
 hear that King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti, the 
 queen, to come in before him and she came not. 
 Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath. 
 If it please the king, let there go a royal command- 
 ment from him, and let it be written among the laws 
 of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed, 
 that Vashti shall come no more before the king ; and 
 let the king choose another woman for queen who is 
 better than she. And when the king's decree shall 
 
QUEEN ESTHEE 141 
 
 be known throughout the kingdom, which is great, 
 all the wives, both of rich men, and of poor men, 
 will honor and obey their husbands." 
 
 These words pleased the king, and he did as 
 Memucan had advised him. He sent letters into all 
 the provinces throughout the kingdom, each one 
 written in the language of that province, command- 
 ing that every man should be ruler in his own house, 
 and that this law should be made known to all the 
 people. 
 
 Ahasuerus had been fond of Vashti, and he 
 missed her after she had been sent away from the 
 palace, but he could not recall her, although he was 
 a powerful king, for the laws of the Medes and Per- 
 sians could not be altered. There is a saying which 
 has comedown to our own day — "as unalterable as 
 the laws of the Medes and Persians." 
 
 When the king's servants and friends saw that 
 he was unhappy, they advised him to forget all about 
 Vashti and his love for her, and to send officers to 
 all the provinces of his kingdom to gather together 
 the most beautiful young women that they could find, 
 in order that the king might take the one that he 
 liked best to be queen in Vashti's place. This advice 
 pleased Ahasuerus, and he followed it. 
 
 The king's officers got together a great number 
 of beautiful maidens from every part of the kingdom, 
 and among them was Esther, who was very young 
 and the most beautiful of all. The young women 
 were put in charge of an officer named Hagai, who 
 was called the keeper of the women. Hagai was 
 
142 QUEEN ESTHER 
 
 pleased with Esther, and he gave her a present and 
 appointed seven maidens to wait on her. Esther did 
 not make it known that she was a Jewess, for Mor- 
 deeai had told her to keep it to herself. 
 
 When King Ahasuerus saw Esther he found 
 her the most beautiful of all the maidens, and he 
 loved her, so he set the royal crown on her head, arid 
 made her queen instead of Vashti. The marriage 
 was celebrated by a great feast that was called 
 Esther's feast, messengers being sent into every 
 province of the kingdom with orders that the people 
 should keep a feast because of the marriage. 
 
 Mordecai went every day. to the palace and asked 
 after Esther, for he loved her as though she had been 
 his daughter. He was in the service of the king, 
 and the Bible says that he sat in the king's gate. 
 Wise men who have studied the ruins of the palace at 
 Shushan tell us that the gate in which Mordecai sat 
 was a square hall, measuring a little more than one 
 hundred feet each way, and with a roof supported by 
 four pillars in the center, and that this hall stood at 
 a distance of one hundred and fifty or two hundred 
 feet from the northern entrance to the great hall of 
 the palace, in which were held religious ceremonies 
 on grand occasions. 
 
 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's 
 gate, two of the king's officers, Bigthan and Teresh, 
 of those who kept the door, were angry, and sought 
 to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. As Mordecai sat 
 in the hall he overheard these door-keepers laying 
 their plans to take the king's life, for we are told 
 
QUEEN ESTHER 143 
 
 that "the thing was known to Mordecai." He told 
 Esther of the wicked plot and Esther told the king. 
 When the door-keepers were examined their guilt 
 was found out and they were both hanged. What 
 Mordecai had done to save the king's life was written 
 down in a book in which an account was kept of all 
 the principal things that happened in the kingdom, 
 but for some reason the king gave him no reward. 
 
 There was at the palace a man named Haman, 
 the son of Hammedatha, and the king made him a 
 great man, setting him above all the princes who 
 were at the palace with him, and all the king's serv- 
 ants bowed down and did reverence to Haman, 
 for Ahasuerus had commanded that honor should be 
 paid him. Mordecai thought that such reverence 
 paid to a man was too much like worship, and was 
 against the laws of God, so he would not bow down 
 to Haman. The king's servants said to Mordecai, 
 "Why dost thou disobey the king's commandment?" 
 Mordecai told them that it was because he was a 
 Jew. After they had spoken to Mordecai a good 
 many times and found that it did no good, they told 
 Haman of his conduct, saying that he was a Jew. 
 
 When Haman found that Mordecai did not bow 
 down to him nor do him reverence, he was very 
 angry. Said he, "The Persians who are free men 
 worship me, but this man who is a slave will not 
 bow down before me. Does he, then, think that he 
 is so much better then anyone else?" And he made 
 up his mind te punish Mordecai. It seemed to him 
 to small a thing to request the king to punish one 
 
144 QUEEN ESTHER 
 
 man, so he determined to wipe out the whole nation 
 of Jews. He was by birth an Amalekite and his 
 nation had been destroyed by the Jews. This was a 
 chance for revenge. 
 
 So Haman spoke to the king against the Jews. 
 Said he: "There is a certain wicked nation, and it 
 is scattered all over thy kingdom ; a nation separate 
 from others, unsociable, neither worshipping the 
 same gods that others do, nor using laws like the 
 laws of others; differing with thy people and with 
 all men, both in their manners and practices. Now 
 if thou wilt be a benefactor to thy subjects, thou wilt 
 give orders to destroy them utterly, and not to leave 
 the least remains of them, nor preserve any of them 
 even for captives and servants." 
 
 The Jews were different from other people, of 
 course, for they alone worshipped the true Grod.and 
 obeyed His laws, but malicious Haman gave the 
 king an entirely wrong idea of them. And in order 
 that the king should be willing to part with the 
 money that the Jews paid him every year in taxes, 
 Haman offered to give the king ten thousand talents 
 of silver out of his own purse, if he would command 
 that the Jews be killed. 
 
 The king was glad to please Haman. He took 
 his ring from his hand, and gave it to him, the Jews' 
 enemy. And the king said to Haman, "The silver 
 is given thee and the people also, to do with them 
 as it seemeth good to thee." 
 
 The ring was what the king used when he made 
 a law or a decree; he sealed the writing with his 
 
QUEEN ESTHER 145 
 
 ring instead of signing his name, as we do now, and 
 the seal made the writing a law which could not be 
 changed. With the ring in his hands Haman might 
 write what he pleased and seal it, and the decree 
 would have to be carried out just as though the king 
 himself had made it. 
 
 Haman called the king's writers together, and 
 they wrote for him a decree that upon the thirteenth 
 day of the twelfth month all the Jews should be 
 killed, young and old, men and women and little 
 children. He gave permission to whoever should 
 kill them to take possession of their houses, their 
 lands, and all of their money and other belongings. 
 Haman sealed this writing with the king's ring and 
 sent copies of it by messengers into every one of the 
 one hundred and twenty -seven provinces over which 
 king Ahasuerus ruled. Each writing was in the 
 language of the people of the province to which it 
 was sent. 
 
 The messengers went in haste to the different 
 provinces, and soon all over the kingdom there was 
 mourning among the Jews. They wept and fasted 
 and prayed ; they took off their usual clothing and 
 dressed themselves in rough sackcloth and sprinkled 
 ashes on their heads to show how badly they felt. 
 Mordecai, also was filled with sorrow, and he rent 
 his clothes and put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes 
 on his head, and went out into the streets and 
 cried with a loud and bitter cry. He went even 
 before the king's palace and cried out, but he could 
 not enter, for no one dressed in sackcloth was 
 allowed to go through the king's gate. 
 
146 QUEEN ESTHEE 
 
 Queen Esther had not heard the decree, but her 
 servants came and told her that Mordecai was going 
 up and down the streets clothed in sackcloth. She 
 was troubled, and sent him beautiful new garments, 
 urging him to take off the sackcloth and to put them 
 on. But Mordecai would not do so, and the servants 
 went and told Esther. The queen was greatly dis- 
 tressed, and wondered what grieved her uncle so 
 deeply. She sent a man called Hatach to question 
 Mordecai and to find out what had befallen him. 
 And Mordecai told Hatach of all that had happened 
 to him, of how he had angered Haman, and what a 
 terrible revenge Haman was going to take, and he 
 gave him a copy of the decree which had been pub- 
 lished against the Jews, bidding him to take it to his 
 mistress. Also, he charged Esther, who* was still in 
 the habit of obeying him, although she had become 
 a queen, that she go to the king and implore him to 
 save her people. 
 
 Hatach repeated faithfully to Esther all that 
 Mordecai had said, and gave her the copy of the 
 decree. The queen wished to obey Mordecai, but 
 she was afraid to do so, for in Persia there was a law 
 that none of the king's people should approach him 
 without having been called. As he sat on his throne 
 he was guarded by men with axes in their hands, 
 and these men stood ready to strike down those who 
 ventured into his presence without having been 
 summoned. Yet if the king were willing to save 
 anyone he held out his golden scepter to him and he 
 was spared. 
 
QUEEN ESTHER 147 
 
 So Esther sent word to Mordecai saying, "All 
 the king's servants, and the people of the king's 
 provinces, do know that whosoever, whether man or 
 woman, shall come unto the king into the inner 
 court, who is not called, there is a law of his to put 
 him to death, except such as to whom the king shall 
 hold out the golden scepter, that he may live. But 
 I have not been called to come in unto the king these 
 thirty days; how then can I go and speak with 
 himf 
 
 When Mordecai heard Esther's message he did 
 not change his mind as to what ought to be done. 
 He sent again to her saying, "Do not think because 
 thou art queen, that thou shalt be spared when our 
 enemies kill all the Jews. If thou wilt neglect this 
 opportunity, there will certainly arise help to thy 
 people from God in some other way, but thou and 
 thy relatives shall be destroyed. Who can tell 
 whether thou hast not been made queen on purpose 
 for this time, so that thou mightest save thy 
 people?" 
 
 Then Esther replied, "Go, gather together all 
 the Jews that are in the city, and let them fast for 
 me, neither eating nor drinking for three days, night 
 or day; I also, and my maidens, will fast, and then 
 I will go in unto the king, which is not according to 
 law, and if I be put to death, I am willing to die." 
 
 So Mordecai went and called all the Jews 
 together, and they did as Esther commanded. And 
 she, herself, and her maidens, wore mourning dress 
 
148 QUEEN ESTHER 
 
 for three days, and fasted, she praying to God to 
 have mercy upon her and to incline the king's heart 
 toward her. 
 
 The learned Jewish historian Josephus gives a 
 more detailed account of Esther's interview with the 
 king than the Bible does. 
 
 "When Esther had used this supplication for 
 three days, she put off those garments, changed her 
 habit, and adorned herself as became a queen, and 
 took two of her handmaids with her, the one of 
 which supported her, as she gently leaned upon her, 
 and the other followed after, and lifted up her large 
 train (which swept along the ground) , with the 
 extremities of her fingers. And thus she came to 
 the king, having a blushing redness in her coun- 
 tenance, with a pleasant agreeableness in her behav- 
 ior, yet did she go in to him with fear ; and as soon 
 as she was come over against him, as he was sitting 
 on his throne, in his royal apparel, which was a gar- 
 ment interwoven with gold and precious stones, 
 which made him seem to her the more terrible, 
 especially when he looked at her somewhat severely, 
 and with a countenance on fire with anger, her 
 joints failed her immediately out of the dread she 
 was in, and she fell down sideways in a swoon. But 
 the king changed his mind, which happened, as I 
 suppose, by the will of God, and was concerned for 
 his wife, lest her fear should bring some very ill 
 thing upon her, and he leaped from his throne and 
 took her in his arms, and recovered her, by embrac- 
 ing her, and speaking comfortably to her, and 
 
QUEEN ESTHEE 149 
 
 exhorting her to be of good cheer, and not to suspect 
 anything that was said on account of her coming to 
 him without being called, because that law was 
 made for subjects, but that she, who was a queen, 
 as well as he a king, might be entirely secure. As 
 he said this, he put the scepter in her hand, and laid 
 his rod upon her neck, and so freed her from her 
 fear. And after she had recovered herself by these 
 encouragements, she said, u My lord, it is not easy 
 for me, on the sudden to say what has happened, for 
 as soon as I saw thee to be great, and comely, and 
 terrible, my spirit departed from me, and 1 had no 
 soul left in me.' " 
 
 Esther meant that her daring in going to the 
 king uncalled for, and the sight of him in his gran- 
 deur, on his throne, had frightened her so that she 
 had fallen down as though dead. It was with diffi- 
 culty and in a low voice that she managed to say this. 
 When the king saw her trembling, he was much dis- 
 tressed for he was fond of her, and had not meant 
 to frighten her. It was habit that had made him look 
 so angry when she approached. He was used to 
 being obeyed in every little thing, and it was natural 
 for him to show rage when a law was broken. Now 
 he felt sorry that he had caused the roses to flee 
 from her cheeks and tried to bring them back. He 
 was ready, he said, to grant her whatever she wished, 
 even to half of his kingdom. 
 
 But Esther put off telling what she wanted, 
 promising to do so the next day, if the king and 
 Haman would come to a banquet which she would 
 prepare. 
 
150 QUEEN ESTHER 
 
 The king agreed, and sent word to Haman, 
 commanding him to be present at the queen's ban- 
 quet. Haman was much flattered by this command 
 and he came joyfully. The king remembered that 
 Esther had invited him because she wished to ask 
 some favor of him, and as they sat at the banquet 
 he asked, "What is thy desire? It shall be given 
 thee, even to the half of my kingdom." 
 
 Esther still put off her request. Said she, "If 
 I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it 
 please the king to grant my request, let the king and 
 Haman come to another banquet which I shall make 
 ready for them to-morrow, and then I will tell the 
 king what it is I would ask of him." 
 
 The king promised, and then he and Haman 
 went away. Haman felt proud and happy because 
 he was to be honored a second time. As he went 
 through the king's gate he sawMordecai sitting there 
 as usual. Every one but the Jew bowed down before 
 Haman, but Mordecai did not move. This made 
 Haman very angry and spoiled his satisfaction. He 
 went home to tell his wife and his friends about the 
 banquet, but he could not get the thought of Mor- 
 decai's lack of respect out of his head. When 
 Zeresh, his wife, and his friends were gathered 
 together, Haman boasted of his riches and of his 
 greatness. He told them how the king had set him 
 above all the princes in the palace and above all his 
 servants, and that Esther, the queen, had allowed no 
 man but himself to be present at the banquet which 
 she had given the king. And this was not all ; he 
 
QUEEN ESTHER 151 
 
 was invited to aD other banquet which was to take 
 place the next day. "Yet," said he, "all these things 
 do not make me happy, as long as Mordecai, the Jew, 
 sits in the king's gate, and fails to do me reverence." 
 
 "That is a little thing, easily remedied," thought 
 Hainan's friends. "The king thinks so much of 
 Haman that he will do much to please him." Said 
 they, "Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and 
 to-morrow ask the king to let Mordecai be hanged 
 on it. After that, go thou merrily in to the queen's 
 banquet." 
 
 Haman was pleased with this advice, and he told 
 his servants to prepare the gallows, and to stand it 
 up in tbe court -yard of his house. They did as he 
 commanded, and in imagination Haman saw his 
 enemy already hanged. Mordecai had done nothing 
 to harm Haman, but Haman was preparing to destroy 
 not only Mordecai but a whole nation. Haman was 
 Mordecai's enemy, but he felt as though Mordecai 
 were his. It is often that way. A man injures an- 
 other and his conscience tortures him so that he 
 begins to think that the man whom he has hurt has 
 done him an injury, while, in fact, the second man 
 is entirely innocent. 
 
 That night Grod took away the king's sleep, and 
 as the king was not willing to lose the time of his 
 lying awake, he thought he would spend it in some- 
 thing that might be of advantage to his kingdom. 
 He commanded a servant to bring him the chroni- 
 cles of the former kings, and the record of his own 
 actions ; and when he had brought them and was 
 
152 QUEEN ESTHER 
 
 reading them, one man was found to have received 
 a country on account of his excellent management 
 on a certain occasion, and the name of the country 
 was set down ; and another was found to have had 
 a present made to him on account of his faithfulness 
 to the king. Then the scribe came to Bigthan and 
 Teresh, the officers who had planned to kill the 
 king, and whose plot Mordicai had discovered, 
 thereby saving the king's life. When the scribe read 
 no more about Mordecaiandwas going on to another 
 history, the king stopped him and asked whether it 
 was not added that Mordecai had had a reward given 
 him. The scribe answered, "There has been noth- 
 ing done for him." The king commanded that the 
 reading be stopped and asked what time it was. He 
 was told that the night was over, and that it was 
 day. 
 
 Haman was outside in the court waiting to be 
 summoned, for he had come very early to see that 
 Mordecai might be hanged on the new gallows. 
 
 The king's servant said, " Haman stands in the 
 court." 
 
 "Let him come in," answered the king. 
 
 So Haman came in and bowed down before the 
 king. He could not speak until the king spoke to 
 him. Ahasuerus was thinking of Mordecai and that 
 he ought to have been rewarded for saving the 
 king's life. 
 
 u What shall be done to the man whom the king 
 delighteth to honor?" he asked. 
 
QUEEN ESTHER 153 
 
 Haman said to himself. "The king means me, 
 for lately there is no one whom it pleases him to 
 honor so much as myself," and so he gave advice to 
 suit his vanity. 
 
 "Let the royal robes that the king wears, and 
 the horse that the king rides, and the crown that is 
 set upon his head be brought to the man whom the 
 king delighteth to honor, by one of the king's princes, 
 and let the prince dress him in the royal robes, and 
 mount him on the king's horse, and place the royal 
 crown on his head, and lead the horse through the 
 streets of the city crying, 'Thus shall it be done to 
 the man whom the king delighteth to honor." 
 
 So spoke Haman supposing that all this honor 
 would be paid to himself. The advice pleased the 
 king, and he set about having it put into effect at 
 once. There stood Haman, who was at that time 
 the greatest, man in the palace except the king. He 
 should attend to the matter." 
 
 "Make haste and take the robes and the horse 
 and the crown to Mordecai, the Jew, that sitteth in 
 the king's gate and do all that thou hast said. Leave 
 nothing undone," commanded the king. 
 
 Haman was almost dumf ounded and overcome 
 with anger and shame, but he did not dare to dis- 
 obey the king. He took the royal robes and the 
 king's horse and the royal crown to Mordecai and 
 dressed him in the robes and set the crown on his 
 head and caused him to mount the horse, and then 
 he led the horse through the streets and proclaimed 
 before him "Thus shall it be done to the man whom 
 the king delighteth to honor." 
 
154 QUEEN ESTHER 
 
 Mordecai must have been very much astonished 
 at this proceeding. It is hardly likely that Haman 
 said much to explain it. He, who had so lately 
 worn sackcloth and ashes, now wore kingly gar- 
 ments and a crown, and was led through the streets 
 by his enemy, while all men did him honor. He 
 was not puffed up, though, and after the ride was 
 over, he went back and sat down humbly in the 
 king's gate. As for Haman, he was so full of shame 
 that he covered his face as he hurried home, hoping 
 that no one would recognize him. As he was tel- 
 ling his wife and his friends what had happened, a 
 messenger came from the king to summon him to 
 Esther's banquet. 
 
 While the king and Esther where at the ban- 
 quet, the king said again to Esther, "What is thy 
 desire? It shall be given thee, even to half of my 
 kingdom." 
 
 Esther answered, u O king, if I have found 
 favor in thy sight, and it please thee, let my life be 
 given me and the lives of my people. For evil hath 
 been spoken against us, which is not true, for we 
 have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, 
 to be slain and to perish. If we had been sold into 
 bitter servitude I should have held my tongue for 
 that could have been born, but I and my people are 
 to be destroyed." 
 
 Then said Ahasuerus, "Who is he, and where 
 is he that has dared to do these things'?" 
 
 "Our enemy is this wicked Haman," an- 
 swered Esther. 
 
QUEEN ESTHER 
 
QUEEN ESTHEE 157 
 
 Then Haman was afraid before the king and 
 queen. The king arose hastily from the banquet 
 and went out into the garden in great anger. When 
 he returned Haman was on his knees before Esther 
 begging for his life. 
 
 Just then one of the king's servants thought of 
 the gallows in Hainan's court -yard; he had seen it 
 when he had gone to Hainan's house to summon 
 him to the banquet. The king allowed him to speak, 
 and he told of the gallows, adding that it had been 
 prepared for Mordecai. Then the king was angrier 
 than ever. His command was brief, u Hang him 
 upon them." 
 
 So they hanged Haman upon the gallows that 
 he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king's wrath 
 was pacified. Ahasuerus sent for Mordecai that very 
 day and gave him the ring which he had before given 
 to Haman, and he gave Haman' s house to Esther, 
 the queen. Esther told the king that Mordecai was 
 her cousin, and that he had always been as kind as 
 a father to her, and with the king's approval, she 
 made Mordecai ruler ever the house that had be- 
 longed to Haman. 
 
 But there was still the decree which Haman 
 had caused to be written, and had sealed with the 
 king's ring, and had sent into all the provinces, tell- 
 ing the governors and the people throughout the 
 kingdom that on the thirteenth day of the twelfth 
 month they should kill the Jews in every city and 
 take possession of whatever had belonged to them. 
 So Esther went again to the king, although he had 
 
158 QUEEN ESTHER 
 
 not called her, risking death a second time for the 
 sake of her people; and she fell down at his feet 
 and wept. Ahasuerus held out his golden scepter 
 toward her and she arose, and stood before him. 
 She was not so afraid as she had been the first time, 
 and found words to beg that the decree of Haman, 
 which had been sealed by the king's ring, might be 
 changed, for, she said, u How can I bear to see all 
 my people destroyed?" 
 
 The king, himself, could not take back Haman' s 
 decree because no law or decree of the Medes and 
 Persians could be changed. He sent for Mordecai 
 and told him and Esther that, although he had all- 
 ready hanged Haman and given them his property, 
 he was willing to do still more to please them. They 
 might write whatever they wished concerning the 
 Jews and seal it with the king's ring. So Mordecai 
 called together the king's writers and commanded 
 them to write another decree, giving the Jews per- 
 mission on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, 
 to gather themselves together in every city and to 
 kill all who should try to harm them. This decree 
 was copied into every language, and sent in haste to 
 all the provinces. The messengers rode out of Shu- 
 shan on mules and on camels. 
 
 The king gave Mordecai blue and white clothes 
 such as kings wore with a robe of purple and fine 
 linen, and he set a great crown of gold on his head. 
 Josephus says that Mordecai went forth in a public 
 procession wearing these garments and with a gold 
 chain around his neck. When the Jews saw him in 
 
QUEEN ESTHEE 159 
 
 such favor with the king they were very glad for they 
 felt that it was no longer a reproach to be a Jew. 
 The rejoicing was great both in the cities and in the 
 country. Where there had been mourning and fast- 
 ing, there was now gladness and thanksgiving. On 
 the thirteenth day of the twelfth month the Jews 
 gathered themselves together in every city. Armed 
 with their swords, they fought for their lives, and 
 God gave them the victory over all that came out 
 against them. On the fourteenth and fifteenth days 
 they rested and rejoiced. They gave presents to one 
 another and sent gifts to the poor. Queen Esther 
 sent letters to all the Jews telling them to hold a 
 feast on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the 
 twelfth month every year in memory of their deliv- 
 erence from their enemies, and this feast, which is 
 called the feast of Purim, is celebrated to this day. 
 
 Esther was very young when she saved her peo- 
 ple from destruction, and she accomplished her great 
 deed by the exercise of simple virtues. She obeyed 
 Mordecai, loved her people, and had faith in God. 
 
 Our God, our help in ages past, 
 Our hope for years to come, 
 Our shelter from the stormy blast, 
 And our eternal home! 
 
 Before the hills in order stood, 
 Or earth received her frame, 
 From everlasting Thou art God, 
 To endless years the same. 
 
160 
 
 QUEEN ESTHER 
 
 A thousand ages in Thy sight 
 
 Are like an evening gone, 
 
 Short as the watch that ends the night 
 
 Before the rising dawn. 
 
 Time, like an ever-rolling stream, 
 Bears all its sons away; 
 They fly, forgotten as a dream 
 Dies at the opening day. 
 
 Our God, our help in ages past, 
 Our hope for years to come! 
 Be thou our guard while troubles last, 
 And our eternal home. 
 
 —Isaac Watts. 
 
 < 
 
The Virgin Mary 
 
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 
 
 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 
 
 For he hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden ; for be- 
 hold, from henceforth, all generation shall call me blessed. 
 
 For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy 
 is His name. 
 
 And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to 
 generation. 
 
 He hath shewed strength with His arm; He hath scattered the 
 proud in the imagination of their hearts. 
 
 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them 
 of low degree. 
 
 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He 
 hath sent empty away. 
 
 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of His 
 mercy ; 
 
 As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed for- 
 ever.—^. Luke i, 46-55. 
 
h 
 
 Chapter M 
 
 TSi^roun Mary. 
 
 ifr 
 
 HE most illus- 
 trious of women, 
 the most highly 
 honored by God 
 and by man, is 
 Mary, she who 
 was the mother 
 of Christ. 
 Innumerable girls bear her 
 name and countless others have 
 borne it. There are Marys tall 
 and short, dark and fair; Marys 
 speaking many different languages 
 and living in vastly different 
 Aj ways; and, among all these, only 
 
 those who are loving and pure are 
 worthy of the name. 
 The Virgin Mary was 
 
 " In every look, word, deed and thought, 
 Nothing but sweet and womanly. " 
 
 The Biblical account of Mary is extremely simple 
 and concise when contrasted with the legends that 
 have grown up around her. There are legends of her 
 birth and of her childhood and of her father and her 
 
 163 
 
164 THE VIRGIN MARY 
 
 mother, long before she was born. The evangelists 
 tell us almost nothing of her antecedents, except that 
 she was of the tribe of Judah and of the line of David. 
 
 According to the legends, the parents of Mary 
 were Joachim and Anna. They lived in Nazareth, in 
 Galilee, but before her marriage Anna dwelt in Beth- 
 lehem. They were religious people and very charit- 
 able, for they divided their property into three por- 
 tions, giving one to the service of the Temple, another 
 to the poor, reserving only a third for themselves. 
 For twenty years they lived quietly and piously, but 
 they had one great grief. They had no children. 
 At the end of that time Joachim, who was sorely 
 distressed because of his childless state, went into the 
 wilderness and fasted and prayed for forty days and 
 forty nights. He felt that his name would be blotted 
 out from Israel if he left no child behind him when he 
 died. The Hebrews desired children above all bless- 
 ings. Says the Psalmist: 
 
 " Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord. 
 
 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so 
 are children of the youth. 
 
 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of 
 them." 
 
 At the end of his period of fasting an angel 
 appeared to Joachim and told him that he and his 
 wife should have a daughter and that they should call 
 her name Mary. 
 
 While her husband was in the desert, Anna was 
 very lonely. Her maid Judith, noticing her distress, 
 told her that if she had a child all would be different. 
 At this Anna, already only too conscious of her grief, 
 was overcome with sadness. She went into her 
 

 THE VIRGIN MARY 
 
 »_ 
 
THE VIRGIN MARY 167 
 
 garden and sat down under a laurel tree, bemoaning 
 her childlessness and praying to God to have pity 
 on her. 
 
 Suddenly two bright and shining angels stood 
 before her, promising that she should have a child 
 who should be spoken of throughout the world. 
 
 Joachim returned home joyfully and found Anna 
 equally glad. In time a little daughter was born to 
 them and they called her Mary, in obedience to the 
 angel who had appeared to Jaochim. 
 
 Mary was a most remarkable child. At nine 
 months of age she walked nine steps and she did many 
 other wonderful things which caused people to believe 
 that there was a great future before her. When 
 she was three years old her parents took her to the 
 Temple to dedicate her to the Lord. She walked up 
 the Temple steps without help, and when the high 
 priest placed her upon the third step of the altar she 
 danced. She was so good and so beautiful that every- 
 body loved her. 
 
 Mary remained at the Temple until she was 
 twelve years old, growing in perfection from year to 
 year. At the end of this time the high priest com- 
 manded all the maidens that were in the Temple to 
 return to their homes to be married. Mary refused to 
 do this, for she said that she had promised to live only 
 for the Lord. The high priest thought that she ought 
 to marry, and he asked God to show him who was to 
 be her husband. Then he called together all the 
 marriageable men of the house of David, telling each 
 one to bring his rod in order that God might show a 
 sign through the rods. 
 
 * Several times in the history of the children of 
 
168 THE VIRGIN MARY 
 
 Israel a rod had been used to convey signs from God. 
 Moses' rod had been used in performing the miracles 
 before Pharaoh, and Aaron's rod had budded and 
 blossomed and borne fruit in the wilderness. 
 
 The marriageable men included the widowers, 
 and among these came Joseph, who did not present 
 his rod with the others, for he felt unworthy of marrying 
 the beautiful young Mary. He was no longer young, 
 and had grown children. The other rods were pre- 
 sented and no sign occurred. Then the high priest 
 discovered that Joseph had held back his rod. As 
 soon as Joseph's rod was presented, a dove came forth 
 from it and flew to Joseph, alighting on his head. 
 
 So Mary was betrothed to Joseph, who returned 
 to his home to get ready for the marriage. Mary went 
 to her parents in Galilee. 
 
 Most of the above is legendary. But now we come 
 to what is told of Mary in the Bible. One day when 
 she was alone an angel appeared to her. It was 
 Gabriel, who came from God to announce the high 
 honor and the happiness that were to befall her. 
 
 The legends say that the angel came to her while 
 she was engaged in spinning purple thread for a new 
 veil for the Temple. Seven maidens had been chosen 
 to make this veil, and to Mary it had fallen to spin 
 the true purple. While she was bending over her 
 work the room became suddenly filled with a great 
 light and she looked up and saw the angel. She fell 
 on her knees before him. 
 
 "Hail, thou that art highly favored," said the 
 angel, "the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou 
 among women." 
 
 When Mary saw the angel and heard his gracious 
 
THE VIRGIN MARY 169 
 
 salutation she did not know what to make of it; she 
 did not speak, but waited for the heavenly messenger 
 to enlighten her. 
 
 "Fear not, Mary/' continued the angel, "for 
 thou hast found favor with God. Thou shalt have a 
 son and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, 
 and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the 
 Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David. 
 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; 
 and of his kingdom there shall be no end.' ' 
 1 " How shall this be/ ' asked Mary. 
 
 "With God nothing is impossible/ ' replied the 
 angel. 
 
 Making no protestations of her unworthiness, and 
 with true humility, not questioning God's choice, 
 Mary responded: 
 
 "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto 
 me according to thy word.' ' 
 
 God sent Mary to the house of her elderly cousin, 
 Elisabeth, who was expecting the birth of John the 
 Baptist, he that was to be the forerunner of Jesus. 
 
 Elisabeth rejoiced when she saw Mary, and greeted 
 her as the future mother of her Lord, paying her great 
 deference. This was a reversal of the usual order of 
 things, for the Jews render respect and homage to the 
 aged, and Elisabeth was "well stricken in years/' 
 while Mary was still a young girl, probably about 
 fourteen. 
 
 There is a tradition that Mary had blue eyes and 
 golden hair, which were very unusual among her race. 
 David is said to have been equally fair, and so was 
 Absalom, the beautiful rebel prince. 
 
 Elisabeth was very kind and motherly, and Mary 
 
170 
 
 THE VIRGIN MARY 
 
 stayed with her for three months. The two cousins, 
 the young girl and the wife of many years standing, 
 were both looking forward to great happiness, which 
 in each case had been heralded by an angel. They 
 must have been full of holy joy, and those quiet, glad 
 days spent in the hill country with the venerable 
 Elisabeth must have been just what Mary needed to 
 prepare her for the future. 
 
 Take Joy home 
 
 And make a place in thy great heart for her, 
 
 And give her time to grow, and cherish her; 
 * * * * 
 
 It is a comely fashion to be glad, 
 
 Joy is the grace we say to God. 
 
 — Jean Ingelow. 
 
 
Salome, the Dancer 
 
And she, being instructed of her mother, said, Give me here 
 John Baptist's head in a charger. — St. Matthew xiv.8. 
 
 Ah, wasteful woman — she who may 
 
 On her sweet self set her own price, 
 Knowing he cannot choose, but pay — 
 
 How she has cheapened Paradise ! 
 How given for naught her priceless gift ! 
 
 How spoiled the bread and spill'd the wine, 
 Which, spent with due respective thrift, 
 
 Had made brutes men, and men divine ! 
 
 — Coventry Patmore. 
 
 One deed may mar a life, 
 
 And one can make it ; 
 Hold firm thy will for strife, 
 Lest a quick blow break it. 
 
 Even now from far on viewless wing, 
 
 Hither speeds the nameless thing 
 Shall put thy spirit to the test. 
 
 Haply, or ere yon sinking sun 
 Shall drop behind the purple west, 
 
 All shall be lost — or won ! 
 
 — R. W. Gilder. 
 
Chapter XII 
 
 we tjie Dancer 
 
 F you should please a 
 king and he should 
 promise to reward 
 you with whatever 
 you should ask, 
 there would float 
 before your eyes 
 such a dazzling ar- 
 ray of presents, of gold and silver 
 and jewels, that you would hardly 
 know what to choose. You would 
 shut your eyes, perhaps, and think 
 hard, and end by naming something 
 that you wanted very much; it 
 might be something that would 
 not give you so much pleasure as you thought it would 
 before you got it, but it would surely be something 
 very fine, unless you were like some of the heedless folk 
 in fairy tales who spoke before they thought, and wasted 
 their wishes on foolishness. 
 
 Once upon a time there was a girl, the daughter 
 of a queen and the niece of a king, whose uncle promised 
 her whatsoever she should ask. She was worse than 
 
 173 
 
174 SALOME, THE DANCER 
 
 foolish, she was wicked. Her request made her famous, 
 but famous for evil not for good. At her mother's 
 bidding she asked for the death of a good man and 
 framed her desire in such a way that its execution 
 stands out a blot on history. 
 
 There are many persons who are remembered 
 through the centuries on account of some single deed 
 that they have done. There are noble deeds which 
 have made the names of their performers honored for 
 all time — deeds such as the gallant sacrifice of Arnold 
 Winkelried, who, gathering to his breast the spears 
 of his enemies, made his countrymen a way to victory 
 over his dead body. 
 
 in 
 
 "Make way for liberty/ he cried, 
 Make way for liberty,' and died." 
 
 And there are acts of love such as Mary's an- 
 nointing of Christ's feet, and those of humble self- 
 denial like the widow's gift of two mites and, alas, 
 there are single acts, of wrong like Jonah's running 
 away from God, and Judas' betraying his Master with 
 a kiss, all being their doers chief influence for good or 
 for bad for ages to come. 
 
 Salome, the daughter of Herodias, is remembered 
 for having caused the death of John the Baptist. 
 
 John the Baptist was more honored by God than 
 any other prophet. He has been called the last of the 
 prophets. His birth was foretold by an angel of God; 
 he was the messenger of Christ, sent before Him to 
 prepare the way; he baptized Jesus, and yet he died 
 in prison, at the request of Herodias' daughter. 
 
SALOME, THE DANCER 175 
 
 " God moves in a mysterious way 
 His wonders to perform. " 
 
 In the days of Herod, the king of Judea, there 
 lived a priest named Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth. 
 Elisabeth was a cousin of Mary, afterwards the mother 
 of Christ. She and Zacharias were both old, but they 
 had no children. One day when Zacharias was burn- 
 ing incense in the temple and the multitude of wor- 
 shippers were praying without, there appeared to 
 Zacharias an angel standing on the right side of the 
 altar. When Zacharias saw the angel he was troubled, 
 and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him: 
 
 "Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, 
 thou shalt have a son and thou shalt call his name 
 John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and 
 many shalt rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great 
 in the sight of the Lord, and he shall be filled with 
 the Holy Ghost. And many of the children of Israel 
 shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go 
 before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn 
 the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the diso- 
 bedient to the hearts of the just; to make ready a 
 people prepared for the Lord." 
 
 Zacharias was very anxious to have a son, but he 
 and Elisabeth were so old, and had so long wished and 
 prayed for a child without having one, that he could 
 not help doubting even with the angel before him. 
 Said he : 
 
 " Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old 
 man, and my wife is well stricken in years." 
 
 "I am Gabriel, that stands in the presence of 
 
176 SALOME, THE DANCER 
 
 God," answered the angel, "and am sent to speak 
 unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. And, 
 behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak 
 until the day that these things be performed, because 
 thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled 
 in their season." 
 
 Then the angel disappeared, and Zacharias went 
 out to the people who had been waiting for him and 
 wondering why he had stayed so long in the temple. 
 And it came to pass as the angel Gabriel, had said, Zach- 
 arias could not speak until after his son was born. 
 
 The boy was called John, as the angel had fore- 
 told and, when he was old enough he went to live in the 
 wilderness by himself . His clothing was made of rough 
 camel's hair and he fastened it around his waist with a 
 leathern girdle. His food was locusts and wild honey. 
 
 Many people have thought it strange that John 
 the Baptist should have eaten locusts, but that is be- 
 cause they have not known that locusts are often used 
 for food in Palestine. Sometimes they are ground 
 and pounded and are mixed with flour and water and 
 made into cakes, and sometimes they are boiled or 
 roasted or fried in butter. An English clergyman 
 who has eaten them tells us that they are more like 
 shrimps than anything else. 
 
 When John began preacning in the wilderness, 
 people flocked to hear him, from Jerusalem, and all 
 Judea, and all the region round about Jordan. He 
 cried, "Repent ye! for the kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand." Many repented and confessed their sins and 
 were baptized by him in the river Jordan. 
 
 »• 
 
SALOME, THE DANCER 
 
SALOME, THE DANCER 179 
 
 Jesus came to John and was baptized, not be- 
 cause he had any sins to repent, but to set an example 
 to the multitude. 
 
 "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up 
 straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were 
 opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God de- 
 scending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: 
 
 And, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, t This is my 
 beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased/ " 
 
 John did not hesitate to rebuke his hearers for 
 their sins and, among others, he reproved Herod, and 
 Herodias. Therefore Herod put John in prison. He 
 would have put him to death, but he was afraid to do 
 so because the people knew that John was a prophet. 
 But Herodias was determined that John should die 
 and she watched her opportunity. 
 
 A court festival was held, before long, in honor of 
 Herod's birthday. While the feast was in progress, 
 the beautiful young daughter of Herodias came and 
 danced before Herod and his guests. The king was 
 charmed with her skill and her grace and he swore 
 that he would give her whastoever she would ask. 
 Prompted by her wicked and revengeful mother, 
 Salome demanded that the head of John the Baptist 
 be brought to her on a charger — that is on a dish or 
 a platter. 
 
 Herod did not like to consent to so bloody a deed, 
 but he had given his word to Salome before his whole 
 court and his guests and was ashamed to break it. 
 Yet how much better it would have been to have 
 broken such a promise than to have kept it. 
 
180 SALOME, THE DANCER 
 
 The order was given. Men went to the prison 
 and killed the prophet and his head was brought to 
 the girl. She did not shudder at the ghastly sight, but 
 took the dish and carried it to her mother, who was 
 short-sighted enough to glory in the iniquitous deed. 
 
 John's disciples came and got John's body and 
 buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. They 
 could have done nothing better. He is the one to 
 whom to carry sorrows. 
 
 As for John the Baptist, he has his reward. Often 
 those who seem vanquished are the true victors. 
 
 " I sing the hymn of the Conquered who fell in the battle of life — 
 The hymn of the wounded, the beaten, who died overwhelmed in 
 
 the strife; 
 Not the jubilant song of the victors for whom the resounding 
 
 acclaim 
 Of nations was lifted in chorus, whose brows wore the chaplet of 
 
 fame, 
 But the hymn of the low, and the humble, the weary and broken 
 
 in heart; 
 Who strove and who failed, acting bravely a silent and desperate 
 
 part ; 
 Whose youth bore no flowers on its branches, whose hopes burned 
 
 in ashes away, 
 From whose hands slipped the prize they had grasped at, who 
 
 stood at the dying of day. 
 With the work of their life all around them, unpitied, unheeded 
 
 alone, 
 With death swooping aown o'er their failure and all but their 
 
 faith overthrown, 
 While the voice of the world shouts its chorus, the pean for those 
 
 who have won, 
 While the trumphet is sounding triumphant and high to the 
 
 breeze and the sun 
 
SALOME, THE DANCER 
 
 181 
 
 Gay banners are waving, hands clapping and hurrying feet 
 Thronging after the laurel-crowned victors who stand on the field 
 
 of defeat, 
 In the shadow, 'mongst those who are fallen and wounded and 
 
 dying — and there 
 Chant a requiem low, place my hands on their pale knotted brows, 
 
 breathe a prayer, 
 Hold the hand that is helpless and whisper, 
 'They only the victory win 
 Who have fought the good fight and have vanquished the demon 
 
 that tempts us within, 
 Who have held to their faith, unseduced by the prize that the world 
 
 hold high; 
 Who have dared for a high cause to suffer, resist — to fight, if need 
 
 be, to die.' 
 Speak, History, who are life's victors? Unroll thy long annals 
 
 and say — 
 Are they those whom the world called the victors, who won the 
 
 success of a day? 
 The Martyrs or Nero? The Spartans who fell at Thermopylae's 
 
 tryst, 
 Or the Persians and Xerxes? His judges or Socrates; Pilate or 
 
 Christ. " 
 
The Daughter of Jairus 
 
 
I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, 
 though he were dead, yet shall he live. — St. John xi, 25. 
 
 We may not climb the heavenly steeps 
 
 To bring the Lord Christ down; 
 In vain we search the lowest deeps, 
 
 For Him no depths can drown. 
 
 But warm, sweet, tender, even yet 
 
 A present help is He ; 
 And faith has yet its Olivet, 
 
 And love its Galilee. 
 
 The healing of the seamless dress 
 
 Is by our beds of pain ; 
 We touch Him in life's throng and press, 
 
 And we are whole again. 
 
 Through Him the first fond prayers are said, 
 
 Our lips of childhood frame ; 
 The last low whispers of the dead 
 
 Are burdened with His name. 
 
 Lord and master of us all, 
 
 Whate'er our name or sign. 
 We own Thy sway, we hear Thy call. 
 
 We test our lives by Thine. 
 
 — Johx Greexleaf Whittier. 
 
Chapter Alll 
 TiiEDAUGIlTERpFjAIRyS 
 
 IT is strange how little the Bible 
 tells us about some of the people 
 of whom we should like to know 
 most. One of the most wonderful 
 stories in the Xew Testament is 
 about the daughter of Jairus, the 
 little girl who was dead and whom 
 the Saviour brought to life again. 
 While He was on earth Jesus raised 
 three people from the dead, the son of 
 the widow of Nain, the daughter of 
 Jairus and Lazarus. These lives ought 
 to have been doubly precious to their 
 owners, we thrnk ; and they should 
 have made very good use of them. 
 We should like to know what became of the widow's 
 son and of the ruler's daughter, but the Scriptures are 
 silent. We do not know even their names. 
 
 In his popular book, "The Prince of the House 
 of David/' the Reverend J. H. Ingraham, gives us 
 quite a story about the widow's son, but it is imaginary. 
 He is supposed to be called Samuel and to have been 
 betrothed to a maiden whose name was Ruth. Samuel 
 
 185 
 
186 THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 
 
 had just returned from a journey which had been full 
 of hazardous adventure, when he was stricken with 
 fever and died suddenly. Ruth was prostrated by 
 the blow and she was unable to accompany the bier 
 to the burial place outside the city gates. Her friend. 
 Adina, remained with her in her room. 
 
 "As the funeral train passed the lattice/ ' writes 
 Adina to her father, "it seemed endless, so vast a 
 number of people accompanied the body to do honor 
 to a widow of Israel. At length it passed by, and I 
 was left alone with the motionless Ruth. She seemed 
 to sleep, though every few moments she would murmur 
 the name of the dead. I sat by her, reflecting upon the 
 mysterious ways of God in bringing this widow's son 
 safely home from the thousand dangers to which he 
 had been exposed, from shipwreck and bondage, to 
 gladden her soul with his presence for a few hours, 
 and then to die in her arms ! 
 
 " Suddenly I heard a very great shout. I started 
 and hastened to the lattice. It was repeated louder 
 and with a glad tone that showed me that it was a 
 shout of joy. It seemed to come from beyond the 
 city walls and from a hundred voices raised in unison. 
 I knew that the housetop overlooked the walls, and, 
 seeing Ruth moved not, I ascended rapidly to the 
 parapet, the shouts and glad cries increasing as I went 
 up and exciting my wonder and curiosity. Upon 
 reaching the flat roof and stepping upon the parapet, 
 I saw coming along toward the house, with the speed 
 of the antelope, Elec, our Gibeonite slave. He was 
 waving his hands wildly, and crying out something 
 
THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 187 
 
 which I could not hear. Behind him I saw two 
 youths running also, appearing to be the bearers of 
 some great tidings. 
 
 " I knew something wonderful must have occurred, 
 but could not divine what it could be. On looking 
 toward the gate, from which direction the shouts at 
 intervals continued to approach, I discovered on the 
 hill-side of the cemetery many people crowded 
 together and evidently surrounding some person in 
 their midst; for the whole order of the procession was 
 broken up. The bier I could not discern, nor could I 
 comprehend how the solemnity of the march of the 
 funeral train was suddenly changed to a confused 
 multitude, rending the sky with loud acclamations. 
 The whole body of people was pressing back toward 
 the city. The persons whom I had first seen running 
 along the street now made themselves audible as they 
 drew nigher. 
 
 " 'He is alive! He is alive/ " shouted Elec. 
 
 " 'He has been raised from the dead/ cried the 
 young man next behind him. 
 
 " 'He lives, and is walking back to the city/ 
 called the third to those who, like me, had run to their 
 housetops to know the meaning of the uproar we had 
 heard. 
 
 " 'Who — who is alive? ' I eagerly demanded of 
 Elec, as he passed beneath the parapet. 'What is this 
 shouting, O Elec? ' 
 
 " He looked up to me with a face expressive of the 
 keenest delight, mixed with awe, and said, 'Young 
 Rabbi Samuel is come to life. He is no longer dead. 
 
188 THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 
 
 You will soon see him, for they are escorting him back 
 to the city and everybody is mad with joy. Where 
 is Ruth, the maiden? I am come to tell her the glorious 
 news/ " 
 
 All this seems very real, and there are several 
 pages more about the young man, an eye-witness 
 describing the miracle of his being restored to life. 
 Wonderful as the story is, the Bible allows it only a 
 few verses. So it is with the raising of Jairus' daughter. 
 We must fill in the outlines ourselves. 
 
 Jairus was wealthy and prominent, a ruler in the 
 Jewish church or synagogue. He had but one daughter 
 and she was probably an only child. The father was 
 very fond of her and she was the light of the house- 
 hold. She was dark-eyed and slim, after the usual 
 fashion of Hebrew girls, and had long black hair which 
 shone like silk. She was brought up in luxury and 
 had maidens to wait on her, and beautiful dresses to 
 wear and costly jewels and ornaments with which 
 to adorn herself. Jairus never tired of adding to her 
 store of treasures. He loved to see her beauty set off 
 by his presents and to see her dark eyes sparkle with 
 pleasure when he brought her something new and 
 pretty. 
 
 General Lew Wallace has given us in his descrip- 
 tion of Ben Hur's sister, Tirzah, a sketch which might 
 be applied to the ruler's daughter. Ben Hur's father 
 had been a prince of Jerusalem, and his children 
 belonged to the most favored class of Israelites. 
 
 "As the two looked at each other, their resem- 
 blance was plain. (Ben Hur's eyes and hair were black.) 
 
THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 189 
 
 "Her features had the regularity of his and were of the 
 same Jewish type. They had also the charm of childish 
 innocency of expression. Home life and its trustful 
 love permitted the negligent attire in which she ap- 
 peared. A chemise buttoned upon the right shoulder 
 and passing loosely over the breast and back and under 
 the left arm, but half concealing her person above the 
 waist, while it left the arms entirely nude. A girdle 
 caught the folds of the garment, marking the com- 
 mencement of the skirt. The coiffure was very simple 
 and becoming — a silken cap, Tyrian-dyed; and over 
 that a striped scarf of the same material, beautifully 
 embroidered, and wound about in folds so as to show 
 the shape of the head without enlarging it; the whole 
 finished by a tassel dropping from the crown point 
 of the cap. She had rings, ear and finger; anklets and 
 bracelets, all of gold; and around her neck there was a 
 collar of gold, curiously garnished with a network of 
 delicate chains, to which were pendants of pearl. 
 The edges of her eyelids were painted and the tips of 
 her fingers stained. Her hair fell in two long plaits 
 down her back. A curled lock rested upon each cheek 
 in front of the ear. AU together, it would have been 
 impossible to deny her grace, refinement and beauty.' ' 
 This little Tirzah sang sweetly and accompanied 
 herself on an instrument called the nebel. She doubt- 
 less possessed other pretty accomplishments, and so 
 did Jairus' daughter. We can imagine the latter 
 playing and singing to her father and mother in the 
 cool of the evening, as they sat on the house-top. In 
 the east the hot sun of summer drives people indoors 
 
190 THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 
 
 during the daytime, but evening brings them outdoors 
 for air. The flat roofs are used as places of recreation, 
 being high enough above the ground to catch every 
 passing breeze. In many cases the house-tops are 
 decorated with summer houses and gardens, and during 
 the Feast of the Tabernacles booths were built on 
 them by the Jews. 
 
 When Jairus' daughter was twelve years old she 
 fell ill. The father was in despair, for the physicians 
 could do nothing to cure her. He was wealthy enough 
 to have the most learned doctors, but they did no good. 
 In the midst of his distress he thought of Jesus, the 
 Great Physician. He had heard of Jesus' miracles — 
 how he healed the sick and had even raised the dead — 
 for this was after the bringing to life of the widow's 
 son. Says St. Luke in his Gospel, after relating that 
 marvelous story : 
 
 "And there came a great fear on all; and they 
 glorified God, saying that a great prophet is risen up 
 among us, and that God hath visited His people. 
 
 'And this rumor of Him went forth through all 
 Judea and throughout all the region round about/ ' 
 
 Indeed, such a wonder could not be hidden in a 
 corner. 
 
 So Jairus sought Jesus, having faith that He could 
 cure his daughter. He found Him surrounded by a 
 great crowd of people. He had just returned from the 
 other side of the Sea of Galilee, where he had healed a 
 poor lunatic who had been possessed by a legion of 
 devils. 
 
 Jairus threw himself at the feet of Jesus "and 
 
THE DAUGHTER OF JARIUS 
 
THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 193 
 
 besought Him greatly, saying, 'My little daughter 
 lieth at the point of death. I pray Thee, come and 
 lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she 
 shall live.' ' < 
 
 Jesus went with the ruler and the crowd followed 
 them, the people thronging and pressing against one 
 another. And a certain woman who had been ill for 
 twelve years, and who had spent all that she had hiring 
 physicians to cure her, but who, in spite of that, found 
 herself growing worse instead of better, was in the 
 crowd. She had heard of Jesus and believed that he 
 could make her well. But the poor creature was 
 timid and felt that she dared not lift up her voice and 
 ask Him to heal her. Said she to herself, "If I may 
 but touch his clothes, I shall be well/ ' 
 
 So she drew as near as she could to Christ and 
 reached forth and touched the hem of His garment. 
 Immediately her sickness left her and she was per- 
 fectly well. 
 
 Jesus knew what had happened, and He asked, 
 "Who touched my clothes?" 
 
 The disciples were astonished, for the crowd was 
 so dense that it pressed on every side and every one 
 was more or less jostled. 
 
 The woman was afraid and she trembled, but she 
 fell down before Jesus and told him the truth. And 
 he answered with infinite compassion, "Daughter, 
 thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace/ ' 
 
 While He was yet speaking, a messenger came 
 from the ruler's house to tell him not to trouble Jesus 
 
194 THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 
 
 further, for his daughter was dead. Yet Jesus said to 
 Jairus, "Be not afraid; only believe/ ' 
 
 When they came to the home of the ruler of the 
 synagogue they found a great noise of weeping and 
 wailing. Hired mourners were already singing the 
 death dirge, accompanied by flute players. It is the 
 custom of the rich in the Orient to so celebrate a 
 death, and preparations for the lament are made in 
 advance so as to have it begin as soon as the last 
 breath is drawn. 
 
 Jesus said, " Why make ye all this ado, and weep? 
 The maid is not dead, but sleepeth." And he put 
 the musicians and the mourners out of the room, 
 allowing only the mother and the father of the girl 
 and His disciples, Peter and James and John, to remain 
 with Him by the bedside. The great company laughed 
 at Him, for they did not understand what He meant to do. 
 
 Peter and James and John were the sole witnesses 
 of some of the chief events in the life of Christ. They 
 were present at the Transfiguration, when Jesus 
 talked with Moses and Elias on the mount, and they 
 alone beheld the agony of Christ in the Garden of 
 Gethsemane. 
 
 Jesus took the maiden by her little cold, white 
 hand and spoke to her. "Damsel, I say unto thee/ 
 arise/ ? 
 
 She arose immediately, and left her bed, and 
 walked. Jesus, thoughtful of her, told her parents 
 to give her something to eat. How glad those parents 
 must have been, and how astonished those unbelieving 
 mourners ! 
 
THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 195 
 
 The poet, Longfellow, tells the story in his "Christus: A mys- 
 tery " : 
 
 Jairus, at the feet of Christus (Christ) : 
 
 O, Master ! I entreat thee ! I implore thee ! 
 
 My daughter lieth at the point of death ; 
 
 I pray thee come and lay thy hands upon her; 
 
 And she shall live ! 
 Christus: 
 
 Who was it touched my garments? 
 Simon Peter : 
 
 Thou seest the multitude that throng and press thee 
 
 And say est thou : Who touched me? 
 
 'Twas not I. 
 Christus : 
 
 Some one hath touched my garments; I perceive 
 
 That virtue is gone out of me. 
 A Woman : 
 
 Master! 
 
 Forgive me ! For I said within myself, 
 If I so much as touch his garment's hem 
 
 1 shall be whole. 
 (Shristus : 
 
 Be of good comfort, daughter ! 
 
 Thy faith hath made thee whole. Depart in peace. 
 A Messenger from the house : 
 
 Why troublest thou the Master? Hearest thou not 
 
 The flute-players, and the voices of the women 
 
 Singing their lamentation? She is dead ! 
 The Minstrels and the Mourners : 
 
 We have girded ourselves with sackcloth ! 
 
 We have covered our heads with ashes ! 
 
 For our young men die, and our maidens 
 
 Swoon in the streets of the city ; 
 
 And into their mother's bosom 
 
 They pour out their souls like water ! 
 Christus, going in: 
 
 Why make ye this ado, and weep? 
 
 She is not dead, but sleepeth. 
 
196 
 
 THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS 
 
 The Mother, from within: 
 Cruel Death 
 
 To take away from me this tender blossom ! 
 To take away my dove, my lamb, my darling ! 
 
 The Minstrels and Mourners : 
 
 He hath led me and brought into darkness, 
 
 Like the dead of old in dark places ! 
 
 He hath bent his bow, and hath set me 
 
 Apart as a mark for his arrow ! 
 
 He hath covered himself with a cloud, 
 
 That our prayer should not pass through and reach him ! 
 
 The Crowd: 
 
 He stands beside her bed ! He takes her hand! 
 
 Listen, he speaks to her ! 
 Christus, within: 
 
 Maiden arise! 
 The Crowd: 
 
 See, she obeys his voice ! She stirs ! She lives ! 
 
 Her mother holds her folded in her arms ! 
 
 O miracle of miracles ! O marvel ! 
 
Mary and Martha of Bethany 
 
Whosoever iiveth and believeth in me shall never die. — St. John 
 xi, 26. 
 
 Our Lord has written the promise of the Resurrection not in 
 books alone, but in every leaf of springtime. — Martin Luther. 
 
 Be Martha still in deed and good endeavor, 
 In faith like Mary, at His feet forever. 
 
 — Coleridge. 
 
 I have not time, like Mary, 
 
 To sit, Lord, at Thy feet, 
 Although to hear thy gracious words, 
 
 And rest awhile, were sweet. 
 
 But who would clothe the naked? 
 
 How were the hungry fed? 
 Lo, some must serve, oh, Master, 
 
 As Thou Thyself, hath said. 
 
 The curse God laid on Adam 
 
 Rests on us for his sake ; 
 Though manna fall from Heaven, 
 
 The bread is still to bake. 
 
 And some must spread the table, 
 
 Or else there were no feast ; 
 Hast Thou not bid Thy servants 
 
 Be faithful in the least? 
 
 And yet I, too, like Mary, 
 
 Would choose the better part, 
 And though my hands must labor, 
 
 Would hearken with my heart. 
 
 — Sara Mathews Handy. 
 
Chapter AlV 
 AaRY AND MaRJHA OF 
 
 Bethany. 
 
 little village of Bethany 
 Mount of Olives/ not 
 from Jerusalem, lived two 
 sisters, Martha and Mary, with 
 their younger brother Lazarus. 
 It has been thought that their 
 father was Simon, a leper, 
 who was either dead or reckoned as 
 dead, for lepers were entirely shut 
 off from any company but that of 
 others having the same dread disease. Martha 
 was the housekeeper of the little family and perhaps 
 Lazarus was the bread-winner. In "The Prince of 
 the House of David" the author assumes that the 
 family was poor, and that Mary and Martha earned 
 money by the exercise of their needles, and that Laz- 
 arus was a scribe who made beautiful copies of the 
 Law and of other writings. But there are reasons 
 for thinking that the three were well-to-do, perhaps 
 wealthy. Certainly the ownership of a private funeral 
 vault points to wealth and social position. 
 
 199 
 
200 MARY AND MARTHA OF BETHANY 
 
 Rich or poor in this world's goods, it does not 
 matter, Mary and Martha and Lazarus possessed 
 inestimable blessings, they were the friends of Christ 
 and He loved them. He used to be an honored guest 
 in their home and, whether that home was lowly or 
 grand, they gladly gave Him their best. 
 
 Martha was so anxious that things should be just 
 right that she spent even more time than was necessary 
 over the meals and other household matters. The 
 Bible says that she " was cumbered with much serving." 
 But Mary left all such things to Martha and, when 
 Jesus was in their house, sat at his feet listening to 
 His words. One day Martha, worried and perplexed, 
 came to Jesus and complained that her sister did not 
 help her. Said this busy housekeeper, "Lord, dost 
 thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? 
 bid her therefore that she help me." 
 
 Mary's defence is well imagined by the poet, 
 Longfellow. Martha has just said : 
 
 " She gives up all to be with Him ; while I 
 
 Must be the drudge, make ready the guest chamber, 
 
 Prepare the food, set everything in order, 
 
 And see that naught is wanting in the house. 
 
 She shows her love by words and I by works. " 
 
 Then Mary replies: 
 
 " O Master when Thou comest, it is always 
 A Sabbath in the house. I cannot work; 
 I must sit at Thy feet; must see Thee, hear Thee ! 
 I have a feeble, wayward, doubting heart, 
 Incapable of endurance or great thoughts, 
 Striving for something that it cannot reach, 
 
MARY AND MARTHA OF BETHANY 201 
 
 Baffled and disappointed, wounded and hungry; 
 
 And only when I hear Thee am I happy, 
 
 And only when I see Thee am at peace, 
 
 Stronger than I, and wiser, and far better 
 
 In every manner is my sister Martha. 
 
 Thou seest how well she orders everything 
 
 To make Thee welcome ; how she comes and goes, 
 
 Careful and cumbered ever with much serving, 
 
 While I but welcome thee with foolish words 
 
 Whene'er Thou speakest to me, I am happy ; 
 
 When Thou art silent, I am satisfied. 
 
 Thy presence is enough, I ask no more. 
 
 Only to be with Thee, only to see Thee, 
 
 Sufficeth me. My heart is then at rest. 
 
 I wonder I am worthy of so much. " 
 
 Said Jesus, "Mary hath chosen the better part 
 which shall not be taken away from her." 
 
 Yet we know that Christ understood Martha and 
 appreciated her service. All people are not alike and 
 some show their love in one way and others in another. 
 He recognized the elder sister 's love as true and we are 
 told that " Jesus loved Martha" as well as "her sister 
 and Lazarus." 
 
 We can picture Jesus when he was weary and 
 travel-worn stopping at Bethany for a brief rest. The 
 little household received him with delight, each mem- 
 ber showing its gladness in its own way. Jesus found 
 in them all that which was worthy of love, but per- 
 haps Lazarus as well as Martha needed to be taught 
 the unimportance of worldly things as compared with 
 the higher life. It has been thought by some that 
 Lazarus was the young ruler who came to Christ say- 
 ing, "Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal 
 
202 MARY AND MARTHA OF BETHANY 
 
 life?" If that were the ease a lesson might have been 
 needed to teach him and his sisters how little their 
 riches were really worth. These conjectures may have 
 arisen from a desire to know more about the young 
 ruler and to feel that he was saved, in spite of his great 
 riches, for Jesus said, "With God all things are possi- 
 ble," and when he raised Lazarus from the dead he did 
 that which men considered the most impossible of all. 
 
 Except for the twelve Apostles, Lazarus is sup- 
 posed to have been the most intimate friend that 
 Jesus had. " The friend of Jesus," is a proud title. 
 
 One day Lazarus sickened with one of the sharp, 
 malignant fevers of Palestine. It was a disease whose 
 progress was very rapid and the sisters sent at once 
 for Jesus, feeling that only He could preserve the life 
 of their brother. They knew that the Master loved 
 Lazarus and were confident that he would respond to 
 the message: "Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest 
 is sick." 
 
 Yet the Saviour did not go to his friends at once. 
 He waited until Lazarus was dead, Then he said to 
 the disciples, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go 
 that I may awake him out of his sleep." 
 
 The disciples did not understand, and they an- 
 swered, "Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well," for they 
 thought that Jesus meant that Lazarus' fever had 
 broken and that he was resting. 
 
 When Jesus and his disciples reached Bethany, 
 Lazarus had been dead four days. When Martha 
 heard that He was coming she went forth to meet 
 Him but Mary stayed in the house. 
 
MARTHA AND MARY OF BETHANY 
 
MARY AND MARTHA OF BETHANY 205 
 
 Martha threw herself at Jesus' feet crying, "Lord, 
 if Thouhadst been here my brother had not died. But 
 I know that even now whatsoever Thou shalt ask of 
 God, God will give it Thee." 
 
 "Thy brother shall rise again/ ' said Jesus. 
 
 "1 know that he shall rise again in the resurrec- 
 tion of the last day/' answered Martha. 
 
 Then Jesus spoke those comforting words which 
 have since been repeated by the graves of millions of 
 those who have died believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 those glorious words which until the end of time shall 
 carry the hope of immortality to sorrowing hearts : 
 
 "I am the resurrection, and the life, he that 
 believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. 
 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never 
 die." 
 
 Jesus sent for Mary, and when she came to him, 
 she fell at his feet, said just what Martha had said, 
 "Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not 
 died/' and she burst into tears. 
 
 The Jews who were with Mary and Martha were 
 weeping also, mourning for the dead and for the sorrow 
 of the living. Jesus looked at them and then at Mary 
 and then, we are told that He, the Holy One, He who 
 had power over life and death, wept. 
 
 The Jews who stood by said, "Behold how he 
 loved Lazarus." 
 
 But we do not think that Jesus wept because 
 Lazarus was dead. Had He not power to bring him back 
 to life? Those sacred tears must have fallen because 
 those who were there, even His disciples, even Mary, 
 
206 MARY AND MARTHA OF BETHANY 
 
 could not understand that he was about to raise Laza- 
 rus from the dead. 
 
 Yet Martha had said, " I believe that Thou art the 
 Christ , the Son of God, which should come into the 
 world. " 
 
 Jesus stood beside the tomb. It was a cave, and 
 a stone was in front of the opening. When that had 
 been taken away Jesus cried in a loud voice : 
 
 "Lazarus come forth." 
 
 Lazarus obeyed. He that had been dead came 
 forth bound hand and foot in his grave clothes ; and 
 his face was bound about with a napkin. 
 
 "Loose him, and let him go, " said Jesus. 
 
 " The face of Christ 
 Shone as He stood, and over Him there came 
 Command, as 'twere the living face of God, 
 And with a loud voice, He cried, " Lazarus ! 
 Come forth ! " And instantly, bound hand and foot, 
 And borne by unseen angels from the cave, 
 He that was dead stood with them. At the word 
 Of Jesus, the fear-stricken Jews unloosed 
 The bands from the foldings of his shroud ; 
 And Mary, with her dark veil thrown aside, 
 Ran to him swiftly, and cried, ' Lazarus ! 
 My brother Lazarus, ' and tore away 
 The napkin she had bound about his head, 
 And touched the warm lips with her fearful hand. 
 And on his neck fell weeping. And while all 
 Lay on their faces prostrate, Lazarus 
 Took Mary by the hand, and they knelt down 
 And worshipped Him who loved them. " 
 
 How soon was their weeping turned into rejoicing. 
 
MABY AND MAETHA OF BETHANY 207 
 
 People flocked to Bethany to see Lazarus and 
 Jesus. 
 
 " From every house the neighbors met, 
 The streets were filled with joyful sound, 
 A solemn gladness even crowned 
 The purple brows of Olivet. v 
 
 Behold a man raised up by Christ 
 The rest remaineth unrevealed ; 
 He told it not ; or something sealed 
 The lips of the Evangelist. " 
 
 They made Jesus a supper and Martha waited on 
 the table. Mary took a pound of very costly oint- 
 ment and anointed the feet of Jesus and she wiped 
 His feet with her long and beautiful hair. The whole 
 house was filled with the odor of the precious ointment. 
 Judas Iscariot, the disciple who afterwards betrayed 
 Jesus, objected to what he considered the waste of the 
 ointment. But Jesus rebuked him for finding fault, 
 saying: 
 
 " Why trouble ye this woman? for she hath wrought 
 a good work upon me. For in that she hath poured 
 this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. 
 Verily, I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall 
 be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, 
 that this woman hath done, be told as a memorial of 
 her." 
 
 Thou hast thy record in the monarch's hall ; 
 And on the waters of the far mid sea ; 
 And where the mighty mountain shadows fall, 
 The Alpine hamlet keeps a thought of thee ; 
 
208 
 
 MAEY AND MAKTHA OF BETHANY 
 
 Where'er, beneath some Oriental tree, 
 The Christian traveler rests — where'er the child 
 Looks upward from the English mother's knee, 
 With earnest eyes in wondering reverence mild, 
 There thou art known — where'er the Book of Light 
 Bears hope and healing, there, beyond all blight, 
 Is borne thy memory, and all praise above ; 
 Oh ! say what deed so lifted thy sweet name, 
 Mary ! to that pure silent place of fame? 
 One lowly offering of exceeding love. 
 
 —Felicia Hemans. 
 
 k^M* 
 
Chapter 2Qf 
 
 TfiE^ Slave Qirjl of 
 
 Philippi. 
 
 3N the City of Philippi, in Mace- 
 donia, there lived a poor slave- 
 girl, who was supposed to be 
 able to tell the future. She 
 made a great deal of money for 
 her masters by prophesying 
 and telling fortunes for the 
 A \\ \ people of Philippi who were very 
 
 iv \ IJ superstitious and who used to consult 
 her. Even to-day, when the world 
 is much wiser than it used to be, there 
 are many people who believe that 
 what is going to happen can be fore- 
 told by certain gifted people or perhaps they have 
 more or less faith in dreams and signs, 
 
 This girl may have been out of her wits and said 
 strange things which seemed to have deep meanings. 
 Lunatics used to be thought to be possessed by spirits 
 or by demons. Indeed, many learned men believe 
 that evil spirits really did take possession of people in 
 ancient times, especially of wicked people who gave 
 themselves over to evil ways of living. Others think 
 
 211 
 
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. 
 The Acts xvi, 31. 
 
 When a man dies they who survive him ask what property he 
 has left behind. The angel who bends over the dying man asks 
 what good deeds he has sent before him. — The Koran. 
 
 &■ 
 
 True-hearted, whole-hearted, faithful and loyal, 
 King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be ! 
 
 Under Thy standard, exalted and royal, 
 
 Strong in Thy strength we will battle for Thee ! 
 
 True-hearted, whole-hearted ! Fullest allegiance 
 
 Yielding henceforth to our glorious King ; 
 Valiant endeavor and loving obedience 
 
 Freely and joyously now would we bring. 
 
 Peal out the watchword, and silence it never, 
 
 Song of our spirits, rejoicing and free! 
 "True-hearted, whole-hearted, now and forever, 
 
 King of our lives, by Thy grace will we be. " 
 
 — Frances Ridley Havergal. 
 
The Slave Girl of Philippi 
 
212 THE SLAVE GIRL OF PHILIPPI 
 
 that when the Bible speaks of people being possessed 
 by devils it is only using the expression of the people 
 of that time and that such possession was like the 
 insanity of our day. Certainly, crazy people act so 
 violently and unaccountably that it often seems as 
 though they were governed by wills stronger than 
 their own. 
 
 Strange superstitions, survivals of the idea of 
 demoniacal possession have come down to our day. 
 Many old-fashioned people say "God bless you/' 
 when anyone sneezes, for sneezing is an act so sudden 
 and so uncontrollable that it has long been looked upon 
 as supernatural. More than two thousand years ago, 
 Greek nurses used to exclaim "Zeus protect thee/' 
 when their little charges sneezed. 
 
 In some parts of the world commending a child 
 is supposed to excite the envy or the malice of evil 
 spirits and it is usual to follow praise by a retraction 
 or a curse in order to divert the attention of the evil 
 ones. A curious superstition attaches itself to yawns. 
 When yawning, the mouth is open so wide that the 
 devil is supposed to have a good chance to jump down 
 one's throat. Therefore, if yawning, one must cross 
 one's self or say a prayer, quickly, in order to avert 
 such a catastrophe. 
 
 Phillippi was the home of Lydia, the Thyratiran 
 seller of purple, who was the first person in Europe 
 to become converted to Christianity. We are told 
 the story of Lydia in the same chapter of the Acts 
 which relates that of the damsel "possessed with a 
 spirit of divination." 
 
THE SLAVE GIRL OF PHILIPPI 213 
 
 Thyratira was famous for k& dyeing works, and 
 Lydia was a seller of dye or of dyed goods. She im- 
 ported her wares from her native town, and sent them 
 out from Philippi on pack-horses, which carried them 
 to the mountain clans living amid the neighboring 
 ranges. 
 
 The apostle Paul went to Macedonia, first, in 
 obedience to a vision. One night a man clothed in 
 Macedonian garments stood by his bed-side and said: 
 "Come over into Macedonia and help us." 
 
 Immediately after he had beheld this vision, the 
 apostle, accompanied by Silas, who was with him, 
 went to Philippi. The Jewish women of that city 
 were in the habit of holding prayer meetings outside 
 the gates on the banks of the river. The walls of 
 Philippi can be traced to-day, and, only 350 feet 
 from the margin of the river, there is an opening in 
 them which is supposed to be the very gate through 
 which the women went to their prayer meetings. 
 
 The Sabbath morning after his arrival in Philippi, 
 Paul went to the women's meeting and spoke to the 
 assembled people about Christ, telling the story of 
 His life, His death and His resurrection. Lydia, 
 listened joyfully to what the preacher said, and be- 
 lieved. She and her household, both children and 
 servants were baptized and, thereafter, Lydia was a 
 good friend of the apostles. She did much work for 
 the Lord. She urged Paul and Silas to stay at her 
 house while they were at Philippi and they consented. 
 
 Day after day, as Paul and Silas went about the 
 streets of Philippi the unhappy slave-girl followed them 
 
214 THE SLAVE GIKL OF PHILIPPI 
 
 crying, " These men are the servants of the most high 
 God, which show unto us the way of salvation. " 
 
 At first Paul, paid no attention to her but, at last, 
 feeling sorry for her, he turned and spoke to the spirit 
 that possessed her, saying, "I command thee in the 
 name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. " 
 
 And immediately the girl was healed and became 
 as sane as though nothing had ever been the matter 
 with her. This was a very good thing for the poor 
 slave but her masters thought not of her but of their 
 pockets. Now that the girl was well she could earn 
 them no more money by soothsaying. When they 
 saw that their hope of gains was gone they were ex- 
 ceedingly angry. They laid violent hands on Paul 
 and Silas and took them before the magistrates in the 
 market place. It is likely that all this happened near 
 the market place for it was the custom of the slave-girl 
 to go thither. There she found people gathered to- 
 gether, buying and selling, and it was easy to obtain cus- 
 tom. 
 
 The owners of the slave girl did not tell the magis- 
 trates about the healing of the girl. Casting out an 
 evil spirit was not an offense against the Roman law. 
 They accused the preachers of disturbing the peace 
 of the city and of introducing new customs at variance 
 with those of the Romans. 
 
 A mob rose up against Paul and Silas and made 
 such a tumult that the magistrates, without waiting 
 for the formalities of justice, caused the clothing of 
 the two men to be torn from them and had them beaten. 
 They then sent them to prison, charging the jailer to 
 
THE SLAVE GIRL OF PHILIPPI 
 
THE SLAVE GIRL OF PHILIPPI 217 
 
 keep them safely. Bruised and bleeding, Paul and 
 Silas were thrust into the inner prison, a dark, foul 
 dungeon, and the jailer made their feet fast in the 
 stocks. 
 
 Says the Latin Father Tertullian : a That gloomy 
 prison was to them what the desert w as to the prophets, 
 a holy retreat; one of those solitary places in which 
 by preference Christ reveals His glory to His disciples. 
 While their body was in fetters, their soul, sublimely 
 free in spite of grating doors and guarded passages, 
 was pressing on the way to God. The flesh feels no ill 
 when the spirit is in heaven.' ' 
 
 They prayed and praised God, rejoicing in being 
 allowed to suffer for Christ. The other prisoners 
 listened and wondered. 
 
 Suddenly, at midnight, there came a great earth- 
 quake which shook the very foundations of the prison. 
 Immediately all the doors were opened and every 
 one's chains were unfastened. 
 
 The shock of the earthquake awoke the keeper of 
 the prison and he sprang from his bed to see what was 
 the matter. When he found that the prison doors 
 were open he was frightened and drew out his sword 
 to kill himself. He thought that all the prisoners had 
 fled and that it was better for him to die than to live 
 dishonored. 
 
 Paul cried to him, with a loud voice, "Bo thyself 
 no harm, for we are all here.' ' 
 
 The jailer's fears were changed to awe and, call- 
 ing for a light, he rushed into the cell of Paul and Silas 
 and fell down trembling at their feet. 
 
218 THE SLAVE GIKL OF PHILIPPI > 
 
 "Sirs," he cried, "what must I do to be saved?" 
 
 The answer was one which has been given to 
 millions of seekers after salvation. 
 
 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt 
 be saved." 
 
 Then Paul told the jailer and all that were with him 
 about Jesus, and the jailer and all his household be- 
 lieved and were baptized that same night. 
 
 The jailer took Paul and Silas into his own house 
 and bathed the stripes which they had received from 
 the lash and made them as comfortable as possible, 
 giving them food and drink and suitable lodging. 
 
 When morning came, the magistrates, having either 
 repented their hasty judgment of the day before, or 
 having heard of the wonderful occurrences of the 
 night, sent to the keeper of the prison saying: "Let 
 those men go." 
 
 The keeper of the prison repeated the message to 
 Paul, saying: "The magistrates have sent to let you 
 go; now, therefore, depart, and go in peace." 
 
 "They have beaten us openly, uncondemnned, " 
 answered Paul, "although we are Romans, and have 
 cast us into prison. Now will they discharge us 
 privately? No, let them come themselves and let us 
 out." 
 
 This was a bold speech for a prisoner to make, 
 but Paul knew what he was doing, and that his speech 
 would make a proper impression on the magistrates. 
 Although a Jew, Paul was a Roman citizen, and a 
 Roman citizen could not be bound or imprisoned with- 
 out a formal trial, still less beaten. Any infringement 
 of the privileges of Roman citizens was visited with 
 severe punishment. 
 
THE SLAVE GIRL OF PHILIPPI 
 
 219 
 
 When the magistrates heard PauPs words they 
 were afraid. They went to the men whom they had 
 treated so badly and besought them to come away 
 from the prison and asked them as a favor to leave 
 Philippi. 
 
 This Paul and Silas were willing to do. They 
 went to the house of Lydia and, after having said fare- 
 well to their converts and their friends departed. 
 
 The church at Phillippi grew and prospered, and 
 became distinguished for its liberality. 
 
 We do not know what became of the slave-girl 
 whom Paul had cured. Perhaps the apostle com- 
 mended her to Lydia and that good woman was able 
 to help her. She still belonged to the men for whom 
 her fortune-telling had earned money, but her spirit 
 was free. Her masters could not prevent her serving 
 the King of Heaven and in her thankfulness she must 
 have given herself to Him. 
 
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