.nivM - w tn- ii " 120 THE 4 PITTSBUKG-'" DISPATGH,:'SIJin)TrriroTEHBER ISWf .- --vt, .. f55" ' SO" OSHTJA: A STORY OF THE EXODUS. By Greo3?g IE"be:i?s, Author of "UARDA," "SERAPIS," Etc. (NOW FIRST PUBLISHED.) m Wjt: ?TEE XIV. 17 C H disturbed and grieved by such thoughts, as these, Miriam turned her steps homeward to retire to rest: but as she reached the threshold she stayed her steps and listened once more, gazing northward -whence Joshua must come. Nothing was to be heard but the tramp of a watchman and the voice of Hur as he went the rounds of the camp with a company of armed men. He, too, had found it impossible to rest within. The night was mild and bright with stars, the hour meet for silent dreaming under the sycamore. Her seat was vacant under the ancient tree, so, with a bowed head, she made her way to the favorite spot which on the morrow she must quit forever. But she had not reached the b&nch when she sud denly stopped, raised her head, and pressed her hand to her panting bosom. She had heard the tramp of hoofs, she was sure of it, and the sound came from the north. "Were the chariots of Pharaoh hurrying down to Jail upon the Hebrew camp? Should she about to wake the men-at-arms? Or could it indeed be he whom she so passionately longed !or? Tes, yes. It was the step of a single horse, and it must be sotne new ar rival, for there was a stir among the tents, and clapping of hands and shouts of eager talking came nearer and nearer as the horse man approached. It was Joshua, she felt certain. That he should have ridden forth through the night and torn asunder the ties which hound him to Pharaoh and his brethren in arms was a proof of his obedience. Love had steeled his will and lent speed to his steed, and the thanks which love alone can give, the reward which love alone can bestow, should no longer be withheld from him. He , should learn in her arms that,, though he had given np much, it was to earn something sweeter and fairer. She felt as though the sight about her was as bright as noonday, when her ear told her that the rider was making straight for Aminadab's dwelling. By that she knew that it was her call that had brought him to seek her before going to his father, who had found a lodging in the empty, roomy house belonging to his grand son Ephraim. Joshua would gladly Lave flown to her side as fast as his horse could carry him, but it was not safe to ride at too brisk a pace through the camp. Oh, how long the min utes seemed till at last she saw the horse man, till he leaped from the saddle, and his companion flung the reins to another man . who came behind! It was, indeed, Joshua. But his comrade .whom she saw quite plainly, and started at the sight was Hur, the very man who a lew hours since had asked her to be his wife. There they stood, side by side in the star light, the two men her suitors, their figures lighted np by the blazing pine torches which were still bnrning by the carts and litters where they stood ready for the next morn ing's march. The elder Hebrew, a splendid man, was much taller than the younger and no less strongly-built warrior, and the lord of many herds held his head no less high than1 the Egyptian hero. Both spoke with grave de cision; but herjover's voice was the deeper and fuller. 25ow they were so close to her that she could hear what they were say ing. Hur was telling the newcomer that Moses had gone forth to reconnoiter, and Joshua ex pressed his regret, as he had a matter of im portance to discuss with him. In that case he would have to set forth with them at daybreak, Hur observed, for Moses thought to meet the people on the war. Then he pointed to the house of Mi riam's protector, Aminadab, which lay in total darkness, unbroken by a single twink ling light, and desired Joshua to come with Tiim and spend the remainder of the night under his roof, for no doubt he would fain not rouse his father at so late an hour. At this, Miriam saw, her friend hesitated and looked inaniringly np at the women's rooms and the roof, and then, knowing whom he Bought and unable any longer to resist the impulse of her heart, she went forward from under the shadow of the sycamore and warmly bid Joshua welcome. He, too, .scorned to conceal the joy of his heart, and Hur, standing by, saw the reunited pair clasp hands, at first in silence and then with eager words of greeting. ""I knew that yon would cornel" cried Miriam, and Joshua replied with glad emo tion: "That you might easily know. O prophetess, for one of the voices that bid me more calmly: "I hoped to find your brother here with you, for I am the bearer of a mes cage of the greatest importance to him, to -us and to the people. I find all made ready for departing, and I should be sorry if your venerable protectors were roused from their - 'rest and hurried forward to a perilous ad venture which it still seems possible to avert" "You mean ?" asked Hur, and he came Closer. ,"I mean," replied Joshu, "that if Moses persists in leading the multitude forth east ward, there will be much useless bloodshed to-morrow, for I heard at Tanis that the gar-.- risons of Etham have orders not to let a single man pass, much less this countless multitude, whose numbers dismayed me as I rode through the camp. IknowApoo, who commands the place, and the legions who serve under him. There will be a fear ful and fruitless butchery among our un armed and undisciplined tribes in short I must speak strongly to Moses, and imme diately, to avert the worst, before it is too late." "We have not failed to fear all that you can warn us of," replied Hnr, "and it is expressly to avert it thatMoses has set forth bn a perilous journey." "Whither?" asked Joshua. "That is the secret of the leaden of the people." "Among them my father?" "Ha doubt, and 1 am ready to lead you to Him. ui he tmnKs at to miorm yon " "If that is contrary to his duty he will be silent. "Who leads the marching hosts to morrow?" "I do." "You?" cried Joshua in surprise, and the other quietly replied: "You are amazed that a shepherd should he so bold as to lead au army, but the Lord God of Hosts, in whom we put our trust, ii Indeed our captain, and I look for His guid ance." "It Is well." milled Joshnn. "hnl T too fe)Telieve that the God of onr fathers, who caned me hither by the voice of .Miriam, has intrusted me with a message of great im- Vrortnnce. I must find Mosesbefore it is too glate." 'You have been told that till to-morrow. rer even till the day sfter.jhe is'Jieyond our jreacoj even. nunc. win. ..you meanwhile e&m Vws' lEssr e? &' l CHA3 mm speak with Aaron?" "Is he in the camp?" "No; but we look for hii return before the departing of the people that is to say, in a few hours." "Has he the right of deciding questions of importance in the absence of Moses?" "No; be only declares to the people in eloquent words that which his great brother commands." At this the disappointed warrior gazed thoughtfully on the ground, hut after a moment's reflection he eagerly went on: "It is to Moses that the Lord our God declares His will; but to you, too; his noble, virgin sister, to yon, too, the Host High reveals Himself." "Oh, Joshua," the tprophetess broke in, lifting her hands to him with an imploring and deprecating gesture; but the Captain paid no heed to her interruption, and went on in an earnest tone: 'The Lord God charged you to -call me His servant, back to His people. He commanded you to give me the name I am to bear instead of that given me by rny father and mother, and which I have borne in honor for 30 years. In obedience to your bidding I have cast from me all that could make me great among men. It was when I was in the way to face death in Egypt, with my God and your image in my heart, that the message came to me which I am here to deliver, and I therefore believe that it was laid upon me by the Most- High, I am constrained to deliver it to the leader of the nation; so, as 1 can not find Moses, I can do no better Meeting of Joshua and Miriam. than to deliver it to you, who. next to your brother, dwells nearest to God. I pray yon now to hear me; but the words I have to speak are not yet ripe for any third hearer. At this Hur drew himself up. Breaking in on Joshua's speech he asked Miriam whether it was her desire to hear what the son of Nun should say without witnesses, and she replied in a low voice, "Yes." Hur turned to the warrior and said, with cold pride: "I believe that Miriam knows the will of the Lord, and likewise her brother's, and that she is aware of what beseems a woman of Israel. If I am not mistaken it was under this very tree that your own lather, the venerable Nun, re peated to my son TJri the only reply which Moses will give to the bearer of such message as yours." "Do you know it, then?" asked the sol dier, sternly. "No," replied the other, "but I guess its purport See here." He stooped with youthful agility, raised two large stones so that they supported each other, rolled a few smaller stones into a heap around them, and then, in breathless eagerness, he spoKe as follows: "This heap shall he a witness between me and thee, like the heap of Mizpah which Laban and Jacob made when Laban called upon the Lord to watch between him and Israel; so do I now, and I show thee this heap that thou mavest remember it when we are absent one from another. I lay my hand on this heap of stones, and I declare that I, Hnr, the son of Caleb and Ephratah, put my trust in none other but only in the Lord, the God of our fathers, and am ready to do His biding by which He calleth us out of the land of Pharaoh to the land which He has promised us. And thou, Joshua, the son of Nun, doT ask, and the Lord our God heareth thee: Dost thou look for any help other than that of the God of Abraham, who chose thy nation to be His own people? Moreover, thou shalt answer and say whether henceforth thou wilt hold the Egyptians who oppressed us, and out of whose nana theLoru our troa nath promised to redeem us, as the foes forever of thy God and thy people?" " There was a dark look in the warrior's bearded face, and he was Inclined to kick down the heap of stones and dismiss the overbold questioner with a wrathful reply; hut Miriam had laid her hand on the tdp of the heap, and, seizing his right hand, she cried: "He inquires of thee in the sight of our God and Lord who is our witnessl" Joshua was able to control his wrath, and pressing the maiden's hand as he held it, he answered with due solemnity: "He asks me, but I cannot answer him; for 'yea' and 'nay' say little in this case. Yet I call God to witness on my part, and here by this heap of stones you, Miriam, shall hear what I have in my mind and wherefore I am come. And thou, Hur, see here! Like thee I lay my hand on the heap and testify that I, Joshua, the son of Nun, put my trust in none other but only in the Lord God of our fathers. He shall stand between thee and me as a witness and decide whether my way is His way or the way of an erring man. I will walk in His way as He hath declared it to Moses and to this noble maiden. That I swear with an bath, and to thafGod bemy witness." Hur had listened eagerly, and now, per suaded by the gravity of Joshua's Bpeech, lie cried: "The Lord our God hearmine oath! And I, too, by this heap, will take an oath! If the honr should come when, remembering this heap, though shalt give the testimony which thou hast refused me, no wrath henceforth shall come between us; and if it be the will of the Lord I will deliver into thy hands the leadership, for thou in many wars hast learned more skill than I, who have ruled only over herdsmen and flocks. And thou, Miriam, bear in mind that this heap is a witness of the words you twain shall speak here in the sight of God. Call to mind the wrathful words we heard spoken under this tree by this man's father; -yea, and I call God to witness that I would have darkened the life of TJri, my beloved son, who is the joyofjny heart, if he had spoken to the people to persuade them by the mes sage wbicn he delivered to us, for it would have turned away those of little faith from their God. Bemember this, maiden, and again hear this: If thou needest me thon caust find me. The door I opened, come what may, will never be shut" And he turned away from Miriam and the soldier. Something, they knew not what had come oyer them. He, who all through his long ride, beset with many dangers, had longed with burning ardor for the moment which should see him reunited to the maid he loved, stood looking down in confusion and deep anxiety. Miriam, who, at his ap proach, had been ready to bestow on him all that a woman has of best and sweetest to re ward truth and iove withaLhad sunk on the ground in front ot the awful heap of stones close to the sycamore tree, and was pressing her head against its hollow trunk. CHAPTER XV. For some time nothing was to U keardj under the sycamore but the young girl's low sobbing and the impatient step of the war rior, who, while struggling- for composure himself, did not venture to address her. He could not fully understand what this was that had suddenly come like a mountain be tween him and the woman he loved. He had learned from Hur's speech that Moses and his own father had each, severally, rejected all mediation; and yet to him the promises he was empowered to make seemed a grace and gift from Heaven. As yet none of his nation had heard them, and if Moses were the man he believed him, the Lord must of a surety open his eyes and show him that he had chosen Joshua to guide the people to a happier future; nor did he doubt that he could easily win over his father, Nun. It was in fall conviction that he had again sworn that it was indeed the Most High who had shown him this way; and after thinking all this over, as Miriam at length rose, he went toward her with renewed hope. The love in his heart prompted him to clasp her in his arms; bnt bhe drew back, and her voice, usually so pure and full, sounded harsh and husky as she asked him wherefore he had tarried so long, and what it was that he purposed to reveal to her. As she knelt under the sycamore she had not merely been praying and struggling for composure; she had looked into her soul. She loved Joshua, but her heart misgave her that he bad some proposal to make such as TJri's. and old Nun s wrathful words rang in .her ears louder than ever. Her fear lest her lover bad gone astray into an evil way, and Hur's startling proceedings, had lulled the surges of her passion; and her spirit brought back to calmer reflection, now craved above all else to know what could have so long detained him whom she had sent for in the name ot the Lord, and wherefore he had come alone, without Ephraim. The clear sky, glorious with stars, instead of looking down on the bliss of a pair of reunited lovers, was witness only to the anxious questionings of a terri fied woman and the impatient answers of a hot-spirited and bitterly-disappointed man. He began by urging his love, and thathe had come to make her his wife, but she, though she suffered him to hold her hand, implored him to postpone his wooing and to tell her first all she wanted to know. On his way hither he had heard news of Ephraim from a fellow-soldier from Tanis. He was therefore able to tell her that he had gone into the town in disobedience to orders, sick and weary as he was, and moved, it would seem,.by curiosity, and that he had found care and shelter under a friendly root This, however, did not comfort Miriam, who blamed herself as she thonghtof the inex perienced and fatherless lad, who had grown up under her own eyes, and whom she her self had sent forth among strangers, as a guest under an Egyptian's roof. However. Joshua assured her that he would take upon himself to bring the boy back to his people, and when she still was not satisfied he asked her whether he had indeed lost all her trust and love. But she, instead of giving him a' word of comfort began to question him further, desiring to know what had delayed his coming, so he was forced to tell his tale, though greatly disturbed and cut to the heart, beginning in fact with the end of his story. While she listened to him, leaning against the trunk of the sycamore, he, distraught by love and impatience, paced up and down, or else, hardly able to control himself, stood close to her, face to face. At this moment nothing seemed to him worthy to be clothed in speech but the passion and the hopes which filled his being. ' Had he been con vinced that her heart was estranged from him he wonld have fled from the camp as soon as he had unburdened his soul to his father, and have ridden away into the un known in search of Moses. All he cared for wad to win Miriam and to keep clear of dis honor; and important as the1 events and hopes of the last few days had been, he an swered her questions hastily, and as though the matters involved were hut a light thing. He began his tale in broken sentences, and the ofiener she interrupted him the more im patient he became and the deeper the1 frown which knit his brows. Joshua had been riding southward for some few hours, in high spirits and full of blossoming hopes, when shortly before dusk he perceived a large crowd of men march ing on io front of him. At first he had taken them to be the rear guard of the fugi AbmmadaVs Souse. tive Hebrews, and he had hastened his horse's pace. But before he came up with the wanderers some peasantfolkand drivers, leaving their carts and beasts of burden in the lurch, bad flown to meet him with lond shrieks and shouts of warning, telling him that the troop in front were the multitude of lepers. And their warning was but too well justified, for the first who met him with the heart-breaking -cry, "Unclean! un clean!" bore the tokens of those who were a prey to the terrible disease, their dull eyes staring at him from faces devoid of eye brows and covered with the white, scurfy dust peculiar to leprosy. Joshua presently recognized one and another of them, among them here and there an Egyptian priest with shaven head, and Hebrew men and women. He questioned them with the calm severity of a warrior chief, and learned that they had come from the quarries opposite Memphis, their place of exile on the eastern shore of the Nile. Certain Hebrews among them had heard that their people had fled from Egypt to seek a land which the Lord had promised them. On this, many had de termined to put their trust in the mighty God of their fathers and to follow the wandering tribes; and the Egyptian priests even, whose affliction had cast in their lot with the Hebrews, bad set forth with them, fixing on Succoth as the goal of their wandering, whither, as they heard, Moses was the first to lead the people. But every one who might have told tnem the road had fled at their approach. Thusther had gone .too far to the northward,. even almost as far as the fortress of Tabnae. It was at a mile from that place that Joshua had overtaken them, and had counseled their leaders to return forthwith and not to bring misfortune on the host of their brethren. During their parley, a company- of Egvptian soldiers had come ont from, the citidal to meet the lepers and clear the road of their presence; how ever, the Captain, who knew Joshua, had used no force, and the two warriors had persuaded the leaders of the unclean to let themselves be guided to the peninsula of Sinai, where there was already a colony of lepers among the mountains, not far from the mines. They had yielded to this pro posal because Joshua had promised them that if the Israelites wandered eastward they would visit them, and receive all who should be healed; but even if the Hebrews remsined in Egynt the pnre air of the desert would bring' health to many sufferers, and every one who recovered was free to re turn -to his people. All this- consumed much time; and then other delays had occurred, for, as Joshua had been in snch near neighborhood to the lepers, he had been compelled to go. to Tabnae, where he and the Captain of the troops, who had been with him, were sprin kled with the blood of birds, clothed in cleanlinen, and obliged to go through certain ceremonials which he himself had deemed necessary, and which could onlv be tier- formed in broad sunlieht His sauire had not been . suffered .to leave the citadels I .frtf-.ip.rjr jj r b iiSxSONlYF&siffkiP the soft-hearted fellow, seetag AlumkialkhthivtkUiMMjpiiuitmmc, among the hapless wretches, had clasped his hand. , . The cause of this detention was sadden-' ing and sickening, and it was not till he had quitted Tabnae at noonday and turned his face toward Succoth that the hope and joy of seeing Mirlan again and of deliver ing so cheerful a message had revived in Joshua's breast Never had his heart been higher with glad anticipation than as he rode on through the night, each step bringing him nearer to his' father and his beloved, and at his jour ney's end, instead of the highest bliss, naught had he found till now but the most (uel disappointment He had related his meeting with the lepers briefly and reluctantly, although ho had done, as he believed, what was best for these hapless folk. Any one of his fellow soldiers would have had a word of praise for him, hut she, whose approbation was dearer to him than all else, ' pointed, as he ended, to a certain spot in the camp, saying mournfully: "They are of our blood; our God is their God. The lepers of Zoan, Phakos and Phibeseth followed the rest at a reasonable distance, and their tents are pitched outside the camp. Those of Succoth likewise they are not many are to Journey with them, and when the Lord promised the people, the land for which they longed it was to great and small and poor alike, and, of a surety, to those poor wretches who now are left in the land of the enemy. Would you not have done better to divide those ot onr race from the Egyptians and bring them hither?" At this the soldier's manly pride rebelled, and his reply was grave and stern: "In war a man learns to sacrifice hun dreds that he may save thousands. Even the shepherd removes the rotten sheep to -save the flock." "Very true," replied the girl eagerly, "for the shepherd is but a man, who knows no remedy against the evil. But the Lord who hath called all His people will not suf fer them to come to harm through obedi ence." "So women think!"retorted Joshua. "Bnt the counsels of compassion .which move them must not be suffered to weigh too heav ily in those of men. You are ready to fol- vAVL :" ALA K Joshua Slays the Exodus of Lepers. low the dictates of your heart as indeed is most fitting, so long as yon do not forget what beseems you and your sex." Miriam's cheeks flashed crimson, for she felt the stab that was hidden in this speech with a double pang, since it was dealt by Joshua. How much had she this day been forced to renounce for her sex's sake! And how she was to he made to feel that she was not his equal, that she was but a woman. In the presence of the heap ot stones which Hur had built up, and on which her hand at this moment rested, he had appealed to her judgment as though she were one, of the leaaersofthe people; and now he roughly set her in her place her, who felt herself second to no man in gifts and in spirit But he. too. had been wounded in his 'pride, and her demeanor warned him that this hour wouia oecioe wnemer in tneir future union he or she should get the mas tery. He stood up in front of her in all his pride and high determination never, in deed, had she thought him so manly or so desirable. Yet the instinct to fight for her injnred womanly dignity was stronger than any other impulse, and finally it was she who broke the painful silence which had followed his words of reproof. With a degree of composure which she only achieved by the exertion of her utmost power of will, she began: "But we are both forgetting what keeps us here at this -hour ot the night You were to reveal to me what brought you hither, and to hear from my lips the judg ment ot the Lord not mat oi miriam, the foolish woman." "I had hoped to hear the voice of the maiden in whose love I trusted," he gloom ily replied. "Yon shall hear it," she said, taking her hand from off the heap of stones. "But it may befall that I cannot consent to the judgment of the man whose power and wis dom are so far greater than mine, and you have taught me that you cannot brook a woman's contradiction not even mine." "Miriam!" he exclaimed, reproachfully, but she went on more vehemently: "I have felt it deeply; and as it would be the greatest sorrow of my life to lose your heart, you must understand me fully before you call upon me to pronounce judgment" "But first hear my message." "No no!" she eagerly replied. "The answer now would die on my lips. First let me tell you of the woman who, though she has a loving heart, knows 'something which she holds far above love. You smile? And yon have a right to smile till you know that which I will reveal to you." "Speak, then!" he broke in, in a tone which betrayed how hard he felt it to keep patience. . , "Thanks for that," she said, warmly. Then, leaning against the tree trunk, while he sat down on the bench and now looked Into her face and, now on the ground, she spoke: "I have left childhood behind me, aye, and myyouth will soon be a thing of the past While I was still but a little child I was not very different from other girls. I played with them, and although my mother taught me to pray to the God of our fathers, still I was well content to hear what other children would tell me of Isis. As often as I could 1 would steal into her temple, buy spices and strip my little garden for her; would ponr oilonheraltarand offer her flow ers. I was taller and stronger than many maidens of my age, and the daughterof Am ram to boot, so that the others were ready enough to obey me and do al I proposed. When I was 8 years old we moved hither from Zoan. Before I had found a playfellow here you came to stay in the house of Gamaliel, your sister's hus band, to be healed of a wound from a Libyan's lance. Do you remember that time, when you, a young man, made a com rade of the little girl? I fetched von all you needed; I chattered to you of all I knew, and you told me tales of bloody fights and victory and described the splen did armor and the horses and chariots of the soldiers. You showed me the ring you had won by your valor, and when the wound in your breast was healed we wan dered about the meadows together. "Isis, whom you worshiped, had her tem ple here also, and how often would I steal secretly into its courts to pray for you and carry her my holiday cakes. I had heard so much from you of Pharaoh, and his magnificence, of the Egyptians and their wisdom, skill and luxurious lives, that my little heart longed to dwell among them in the capital; it had moreover come to my ears that my brother Moses had been treated with great kindness in the King's palace, and had become a. man held in high honor among the priesthood, I could no longer be content with my own folk, who seemed to me in all respects far behind the Egyptians. ''Then came the parting from you, and as my little heart was piously inclined and looked for ail good to come from divine power, by whatever name it was called. I prayed for Pharaoh and for his army with which you were fighting. "My mother would sometimes speak of the God of our fathers as of a mighty De fense who had done great things of old for His people,- and she told me many fine tales ot Him: still she herself often sacrificed in the Temple of Set, or carried clover flowers to the sacred bull of the sun tod. She had whom onr Moses, her pride and Joy, had risen to such high honor. "Thus I came to be 15 years old and lived happily with the rest In the evening, when the herdsmen came home, I sat round the fire with the young ones, and it pleased me when the sons of the great owners pre ferred me above the others and paid court to me; but I rejected them all, even the Egyptian captain who commanded the guard in charge of the storehouse, for' I always thought oi you, the companion of my child hood. The best X had to give wonld not have seemed too much for .a magio spell, when at high festivals I danced and sang to the tambourine, and the loudest praise was always for me. Whenever I sang before other I thought of you; and as I did so I poured out all that filled my heart as a lark might, so that my song was to you and not to the praise of the Most High, to whom it was dedicated." At this a fresh glow of passion possessed the man to whom his beloved confessed such gladdening trnth. He sprang np and held out his armsto her, bnt she forbade him with stem severity, that she herself might remain mistress of the longing which threat ened to be too much for her. Her deep voice had a different ring in it as she went on, at first quickly and softly, but presently louder and more Impressively: "And so I came to be 18, and I could en dare Succoth no longer. An unutterable yearning, not for you only, came over my soul. Things that had formerly brought me joy now seemed empty, and the monotony of life here, in this remote' frontier town, among flocks and herdsmen, seemed to me dreary and wretched. "Eleazar, Aaron's son, had taught me to read, and brought me books full of tales which could never have been true, but which nevertheless stirred my heart Many of them contained praises of the gods and ardent songs, such' as lovers sing one to another. These took deep hold on me, and when I was alone in the evening or at mid day, when all was still and the shepherds and herdsmen were away at pasture, I would rehearse these songs or invent new, mostly hvmns in praise of the Divinity, in honor of Amon, with his ram's head, or of Isis, with the head of a cow; bnt often, too, of the Almighty Lord who revealed Himself to Abraham, and of whom my mother spoke more often as she grew older. And this was what I loved best to think in silence of such songs of praise, and wait for visions in which X saw uod a greatness and glory, or fair angels and hideous demons. From a merry child I had become a pensive maiden who let her life go as it might There was no one to warn or hinder me; my parents were now dead and I lived alone with my Aunt Bachel, a misery to myself and no joy to anyone else. Aaron, my eldest brother, had gone to dwell with his father-in-law, Aminadab, for the old home of Amram, his inheritance, was too small for him, and he had besto wedjit on me. . My companions even avoided me, for all glad ness had departed from me, and I looked down upon them in sinful scorn because I could compose songs and see more in my visions than ever they saw, "Now I was 19. and on the eve of mv birthday, which no one remembered save Milcah, Eleazar's daughter, the Lord for' the first time gave me a message. .He ap peared in the form oi an angel and bid me set the house in order, for a guest was on the way whom 1 loved greatly. "It was very early in the morning and I sat under this tree; so I went into the house and with old Bachel'a help I set the house in order and made ready a bed, and pre pared a meal with wine and all that we wel come a guest withal. But noon came, and the afternoon and the evening became night, and the night morning, again, and still I waited for the guest However, as the sun was getting low that day the dogs began to baric loudly, and when I went forth to the gate a tall man came hurrying toward me. His hair was gray and in disorder, and he . wore a priest's white robe all in tatters. The dogs shrank from him whining, but I knew him for my brother Moses. "Onr meeting again after such a long time brought me more fear than pleasnre, for Moses was fleeing from his pursuers be cause he had slain the overseer. But this you know. "Wrath still flashed,-from his sparkling eyes. He appeared to me to Tesemble the god Set. and each of his slow words were engraved on my mind as with a hammer and chisel. He remained three times seven days and nights under my roof, and since I was alone with him and deaf Bachel for he had to remain hidden no one came be W. Hur ZrecU a Monument to Bear Testimony to Sis Words. tween us, and he taught me to know Him who is the God of onr fathers. I listened to his burning words with fear and trembling, and his weighty speech fell, as it seemed to me. like rocks upon ray' breast when he im pressed on me what the Lord God expected of me, or wnen ne described tpe wrath and the greatness of Him whom no mind can comprehend, and whose name none may utter. Yes, when he spoke of Him and o'f the Egyptian gods, it appeared as though the God of Israel stood forth like a giant whose brow touched the heavens, while the other gods all pronched at his feet in the dust like whimpering hounds. "He also taught me that we alone, and no others, were the Lord's chosen people. Now, for the first time, I was filled with pride that I was a scion of Abraham and that every Hebrew was my brother, and every daughter of Israel my sister. Now, too, I understood how cruelly those of my own kindred had been tortured and op pressed. I had hitherto been blind to the anguish of my people, bnt Moses opened my eyes and sowed the seeds of hatred in my heart a great-hatred of the tyrants of my brethren; and from that hatred grew love for the oppressed. I vowed that I would cling to my brother and wait on the voice of the Lord, and, behold ! He did not tarry; the voice of Jehovah spoke to me as with tongues. "About that time old Bachel died, and by Moses' desire I did not live alone, but fol lowed the bidding of Aaron and Aminadab and became a guest under their roof. Still, even then I lived a life apart Nor did tbey hinder me; and this sycamore ia their field became, as it were, my place. It was under its shade that God bid me call thee and name thee Holpen of Jehovah and thou, Joshua, and no longer Hosea, hast done the bidding of the Lord thy God and ot His; prophetess. At this point the soldier interrupted the damsel's tale, to which he had listened ear nestly, though, with growing disappoint ment "Yes," he said, "I obeyed yon and the Lord God! What it cost me to do so you care not to inquire. You have told all your story down to the present hour, bnt you have nothing to say of the days you.spent with us as our guest at Ta'nis after my mother's death. Can you forget what yonr' eyes first told me' there, and then yonr lips? Has the day pi oar partlsg vsniehed ireat "?i 2301. -V, vhim; Jl . .- I1 j WMMinUUSBUVHVMlupJWJn I when yoa bid ae set say hopes on ye aad remember yon? Did the hatred which Moses implanted In your heart exclade all, else, even love?" "Even love?" cried Miriam, raising her tearful eyes to his face. '"Oh, nol How could I ever forget that time when Moses came from the desert to redeem the people from bondage by the command of the Lord it was three months after' your departing from that day I have lost all count of years and months, days and nights." "And you will forget this night?" asked Joshua, bitterly. "Nay, not so," said Miriam, looking be seechingly in his face. "The love which grew up in the child's heart and did not fade in the girl's can never die" Here she suddenly broke off, raised her hands and eyes to heaven as if wrapt in ecstaoy, and cried aloud: "Thon art nigh to me, great f God Almighty, and canst read my heart! Tbou khowest wherefore Miriam counts no more by days and years, and asks only to be Thy handmaid until Thou bast granted to her people, who is this man's people, that which Thou hast promised I" While the maiden was uttering this pray er, which came from the very bottom of her heart a light breeze had sprung up, the herald of dawn, and the thick, lealv crown of the sycamore tree whispered above her- neao. Joshua devoured her tall, majestic figure with his eyes as she stood half lighted and half shrouded In the doubtful gleam of dawn, for the things he saw and heard seemed to him as a 'miracle. The tidings of great joy to' which she looked forward for her people, and which must be accom plished before she would allow herself to follow the desires of her heart, he believed himself to be the bearer of in the name of the Lord. Carried away by the high flight of her spirit, he hastened to her side, seized her hand and cried with hopeful excite ment: "The hour has come when you may once more tell day from night and hearken to the wishes of yonr heart For I. Joshna. no more Hoses, came at the message of the Lord, and the message I bear brings new happiness to the people whom I will learn to love as yon love them, and, if it . be the will of the Most High, a new and better land." Miriam's eyes flashed with gladness. Car ried away by thankful joy she cried t "Are yon, then, come to lead us to the land Jehovah hath promised us? Oh, Lord, how-great are .Thy mercies! He he comes as Thy messenger."' "Yea, he comes; he is here!" cried Joshua, rapturously, and she did not pre vent him as he clasped her, to his breast With a thrill of joy she returned his ardent kiss. CHAATEBXVX Frightened at her own weakness, Miriam presently freed herself from her lover's arms, but she was ready to listen with eager .gladness to his tale of a fresh mercy-vouch safed by the Most High and his brief ac count of all he had done and felt since he had received her call. First ae described how terribly he had been divided in his mind; how then he had found entire faith, and in obedience to ike God of his nation and to his father's appeal had gone to the palace, facing the risk of imprisonment or death, to be released of his oath. Next he told her how graciously the mourning sovereigns had received aim, and how finally he had taken upon himself the office of appealing to the leader of his peo ple and persuading him to take the Hebrews only a short way into the desert, and then bring them home again to Egypt, where a new and splendid province should be grant- r ed them on the west ot the N;ie. Hence forth no Egyptian overseer should oppress them; their own elders should be permitted to rule them) and a man of their own choos ing should govern them. To conclude, he observed that he himself was minded to become the captain of the Hebrew fighting men, and also to mediate and smooth matters between them and the Egyptians whenever it might seem needful. Happily united to her in that new home, he would extend his care to the humblest of .his brethren; On his way hither he bad felt as though, after a furious fight the blasts of the trumpets proclaimed victory. And, in deed, he had a right to believe himself a messenger and ambassador from the Lord. Here, however, he interrupted himself, for Miriam, who at first had listened to him with anxious ears and flashing eyes, had heard him as he proceeded, with a more and more anxious and troubled mien. And when he spoke of his hope that they might together do much for their people, she drew away Her hand, gazed with terror into his handsome face glowing with glad excite ment and then cast down her eyes as if striving for self-control; Unsuspicious of what had moved berthas, he went closer to her. He deemed that it was maidenly shyness that held her silent at having yielded a first favor to the man she loved. Bnt when she shook her head dis approvingly at his last words, announcing his commission as God's messenger, he was almost beside himself with cruel disappoint ment and exclaimed vehemently: "Then do yon believe that the Lord hath defended me, as by a miracle, against the wrath of the mighty, and give me grace to win for His people, from the haacrof the great King, such boons as never before did the strong vouchsafe to the weak, only to trifle with the happy trustfulness of a man whom He Himself called to serve Him?" At this she interrupted, him iaawoful voice, with difficulty restraining her tears:' "The strong to the weak! If this is your thought you force me to ask you ia your own fathers woros: -wuo, tnea, is tae mightier, the Lord our God or that poor creature oa the throne, whose first bora has perished at a sign from the Host High as grass is cut down and withered?' Oh, Hoses, Hosea!" "Nay, Joshua," he wildly exclaimed, "Do you refuse me the name which your God has bestowed on me? I trusted ia His hid when I entered the palace of the great King; I sought redemption and release for the nation under God's gaidaace, aad I found them, and you yoa " "Moses and your father, aye; and all the faithful leaders of Israil, seek .no redemp tion at the hand of. the Egyptians," she re plied, with flattering breath. "All that they can bestow mnst bring destruction oa Israel; the grass that we have sown withers where the Egyptian treads.' And yba, whose' honest soul they have but mocked at yoa are the lure sent forth by the bird catcher to enticejhe birds into the net You are, are as it were, the hammer in .their hand to rivet the fetters withal more firmly than ever, which we, by God's help, have broken. With the eyes of the spirit I see " "Enoughl Too bhcIi!" cried the'warrior, grinding his teeth with rage. "Hatred has clouded your clear soul. And if the bird catcher, as you would have it is of a truth using me as his lure, and mocked at me aad led me astray, it was from you, yes you, that he has learned it. Zoeoaraged by yoa, I built on yonr. love and faithfulness; of you I hoped everything. And that love where is it? Yoa have spared me nothing that could wound me, and T, likewise will not spare myself, but confess the whole truth. It is not alone because the God of my fathers bid me, but. because it was' through yoa and my father that the ealieasM to ma. that I obeyed, Ybuaasdre altera land, ia th far unknown, pfeaieaa, bj she lard. X te ay petal i aa way so a eertaia Miriam's Vision. apaaaa for whet haw ay people iw deae kste? Bat above all jtfest I Bight dwell there' wit! yea, whom Hove, and with ay old father; sad you, whose sold heart knows net lore, wlth-'my kiss on yoar lip, yoc reject the boon I otJer oat of hatred for the hand that has "bestowed it oa me. All your thoughts and deeds have become, as those ot a man, and all ttfat other wemea prize most highly you spurn from yoa with your footl" At this Miriam could beV no more.. She clasped her hands over her quivering m, sobbing bitterly. By this tiiaa the sleeping tribes were awakening in tke growing dawn. Serring mea and women came forth from, the houses of Aminadab and Nahsion. AH, as they woke to a new day, aasde their way to the well or the drinking tronghs, bat sae heeded them not How her heart had leaped aad rejoiced when her lover had declared to her that he had come to lead them to the land which the Lord had promlsed.to His people. She had rested so gladly oa his bosom, to know for a moment that highest bliss, bat how sooa had it been turned to disappointment! While the aornlag bree-w had rnstled through the thick foliage of the sycamore, and while Joshua was telling her of Pharaoh's promises to the people it had seemed to her that the voice of God in Hk wrath was murmuring in the tree tops. -or that she heard once more the angry speeeb of old Nnn. He had stormed at TJri like thunder and lightning, and wherein did Joshua's proposal differ from TJri's? ' lhe people, as she had heard from Hoee himself, were lost if they failed in truth to their God and yielded to Phaxaeh's entice ments. To ally herself with a man who had come to aado all for which her brothers and his own father had Uvea and straggled would be base treason. And yet she loved Joahaa, and instead of repalsiae him harsh ly, how willingly, ah, how gladly, woald she again have laia oa the heart which, as she knew, longed for her so ardently. Bat the murmur in the boughs still went oh,' She oonld fancy it was echoing Aaron's words of warning, and she vowed to remain true, strong as the impulse was' that drew her to her lover. The whispering in the tree was ot a surety the voice of God, who had chosen her to be His handmaid. "When Josaaa had declared in his passionate ex citement that the desire to possess her was what had prompted him to aetUa. on behalf of the people who to him were as indiffer ent as to her,they were dear, she hod sud denly kit her heart stand still and she donld set forbear sobbing in her taental anguish. ' Heedless of Joshua or the awakening multitade, she flung herself again at the foot of the sycamore, with arms upraised to heaven, staring wide-eyed at the boughs, as thoagh expecting torn fresh rev elation. The morning air sighed among the leaves, and saddealy it seemed as though a bright radiance shone, not only ia her soul, bat all about her, a always happened when a vision was granted to her prophetic eye. And in the midst of the light, behold a figure, whose aspect terrified her while his name was whispered by every trembling leaf; and the name was not Joshna, but that of another whoa her heart coald not desire. He stood ia the Mase of glory before her mind's eye, a tall, noble form, and with a solemn geetare. laid his hand oa the heap of stones he had made. To he Continued. 5A8I ISALS AT PLAT. Cat Little FetsWUe Have Bee Ktasjht MT IsterasHsa Triofcs. JKovemBer Wide Awake. I made the other day a eall oa a aaiqae household. My., eafertaihers were se'vsa young seals, reeeaUy Matured. I believe they are to be haiasd, fcat at present they are ia a pwely aataral state, and, to my mind, maeh store iaterestiajr. tfcaa they will be after they have been faaght to eeaat, to shake hands, to play the has jo, etc Theyarekeptiaapeaiawaieai the tide ebbs and flews. Then is aaspla saase to swim, and the pea iaeleees a pertfoa of a reeky ledge ape whlafc, at lev tMsy a seals'caa eoae up astd sleep. "We eliatbed over the barriers of the. pea, aad satapea these rooks a leas; time, wateaiae; tttesa at play. One only dealised to gassWL Ha lay moUofiless oa the sarfaee of the water, sending out aa oeeasioaal maarafal little cry. He was hemesMk, said the keeper, far his mother, aad he tboaght he might let Mm out and I beared that be woald: far these seals were nana of them mere then 2 months old men babies, set yet weaaed. Indeed, if they had sot been sa yang , tstey would net have beea eaacbtln the net sat for them. UMkesper said the old. seals were wary, kept away thesaeelvef , from the nets, aad preveated their yeans; from going near, so far m they eeald. He said he had known a seal-mother te tearhis act ia tatters in order to release her baby. They also follow their yeuat; te the pea, aad call them from outside, while the baby seals reply with plaintive eries. This they do day after day, bat finally retire, dieoragd. i With the exception of ta homesick one, the small seals' seemed hippy, aad played and tumbled about- throwing their flippers around eaeh other like children. ABTI-BB&GLAR IKBI1ASCI. A Kevel Beheia IhShh Frteol Xatrs. draeeil la Great Brtsals. NeTrTortCoffloUlATertler.J ' Now every wsmaa will wish that she lived ia England,.! there they have a barglar lasaraaea eempaay. For a very (mall premium oae asm .leave his hease without all the worry aad anxiety nsaally felt by those wha oaaaot leave aaybne la charge of their, haatos whea oat of town. The' new iasaraaee aas, toe, aaetaer recom meadatiea. "Xerroae pes-pl who are al ways fancying that seat oae k ia the house, need act leave thair warm bed to explore cold rooms and draagaty oerriders. bat can nimnlv lixk tbir bedroom door and sleet) on," says the Fall MM, "knowing that if tBereis any Burgling gatag eatney win oe folly resompenaed. for whatever loss they mav have sastaine'd." This is all well aad good while the burglar stays down stairs, eat what is to prevent-au .burgling in one's own bedroom? The does: to. one's nerves is as great whether he has a barglar insnraaoe policy in his safe or aat It ae is net a aerveas man aa wn say "Saagle year went sir. so long as yea aVsa't disturb ae. I-aavsaaiasaraacepeiieytaat eavsrsaataaayaaeaa earry away." I see a great fatnre for Ae barglar 1st ads bow iasaraase. 1IW Sit SEMEMBmD Mil. AWeaaaXrerFefceMaFlaeeWfceee Mm Ffodsa Saea Baraala. .Kew,Yk; JTenlB- Saa.3 v The fiends of a pretty yeaaa; girl te aaa of the suburban' town are telling aader tfer breath the. follewkr story: The young weaan who Is Bated for her pretty fsee and winaiag ways retaer tnaa for her gifts of aiad, has jast retaraed from a peaesally seadaetod tear of serenl Boatks in Enraae. "Aad you visited Some, el eewse," raid' a friend on her fist moraing eall. "Let ae sec," asased the yeaaa girl deeply, "did we visit Borne?-SfassBMt.did we visit Rom?" . "Why, enlW, 1 eWt jaet meettber, but use te-aa that wa aw; m ae set " "Oh, yss, aaassa," beets' ia the deaaater. "Ihaawaew1. atosaae wadid. Dect't yoa. rom saber Bass? Why, that was ware wa get these kreif esaaa stock iaftf A Xssihiai Bstetseat Bfaaswtsfcr (Ms. ) Triecns. A tody af oar aeqasiatoaee has Wen teaching Iter little bey, net qnite 3 yean old, sasae Bible storisa Bhe told him aboat the (tardea of Xaaa, whiah iatorestoi hia a. niant aaa m aakaa aaassa ass A LAND OF SETJIBEE. f-" The Qnaint, Sleepy Cltr&G! gua in Spanish HofliirMs PBOfLBWHO I BB IiJmM W" rc Climate and Tegetatlon That'foffs41ttt Garden of Eden. A C0U5TEI Will TAB! UMWM&- lcoaaasrosDMrcBoTintoisi'Aes.J vW". COXATAQTA, SPAITISH SCOSVJuijk CmilRAIr AaCEBICA. SaremiSIim charming old Spanish town, lying atleea Jmf& the warm sunlight, surrounded hyfs3vslf i orange trees, whose odorous blosseaHalTtiieVE air with a delicate perfume ftllAe1 jw through, for here spring, sumasftaaiawfo,. and winter are merged fa one daligSfiUlvl . season, and while the ripe fruit glisteaaliSM' gold among he deep green foliage fSSiW tree ltr neighbor will be founa!feriHr& " bloom. ' pKpJf- ( Years ago this Was the most populoa awij prosperous city in Honduras, haviaglt tf' ' ' alleged, not less than 30,000 inhabitantfiV'?" ( since the removal of the capital to TegaciV" galpa the place bos been steadily refrograr ing until, at the present time, the Mpalif& i tioa does not exceed 6.000. - - The long, narrow streets stretch away is? ''' dim perspective, lined with rows of one- " J story adobe houses, manv of Him Ami. ? " and in rains. A dozen or more old churches." i their roofless wallsovergrown withmossaaj' vines, attest the religious fervor of the pee pie in those old, happy days, when the ma, kets were thronged with eager buyers from a hundred interior Tillages, and the plaza echoed the confused sounds of musloaad barter the jargon of tradesmen and disputing muleteers. Now the great square is forsaken, the vast cathedral with its massive towers aad lofty dome seems, a magnificent monu ment erected over a dead aad buried com munity; its glowing white walls rising high , above the adjacent buildings are visible lor miles, a sure guide to the solitary traveler on the plain, I prefer it as it is to-day;: with its drowsy atmosphere, its half-heard sennas,-, the far-away musical hum of beea, fiteia. from flower to flower in the white-wslW ' garden. ' ' VPS . AUi suqlpsx bxpos. - $..!. Here we lay down life's burdens aad.mt; $K I awhile from the consuming cares that ptWr -.'. sue us in, more civilized lands, xae aru&v clal desires that counterbalance the plesMK ares oi cunurea society are nere aaxaews.1 Benora Maria is not dying of envy became csenora xa raz s new bonnet is a da vlassr.r!. than her own from Paris; in faet Seaora uaaria does not give oeaors ra jraa a bsm-. gear a thought, and, to tell the trathSa? nora La Paz has no bonnet; probably never saw one. She wears; a broad-rimmeci straw . hat, just like her good husband's,, tad a' quite satisfied therewith. f , Here is no nerve-distracting shriek of lo comotive, no horrid dia- of contending cab men, no roar of traffic all is peace, qHjet, deep content Comayagua is bailt ia the midst of the great plain of the same name, having aa ele vation of aheat 2,000 feet above tha. ssa: coaseqaeatly eaioys a climate that is ubcbt. " . " J passed. The air is wonderfully pure and. ,,-J exnuarwiHgi tae seeaery grand. 'Ia j hrnftd TtllT ISsetelMC tnr tnr laaraaa " natural -park, the surface gently undulat- ''-"A lag. watered by numerous streams; is dotted '3 witaeraaps naray oats, giaat casts, tree ferns, isolated piles of rock ovens with flowering vines. Over all tower the mountains, vast, dim, cJead erowsed. These rise on every side- to a neightaf 5,000 to T,0M feet like grimseag aels guarding tha lovely plain oa thsir eievaiea steps auaest every lrait aaa Tegs teakkaewBto taatoaaerate aeae assrW arawa saooisarauy. fears, MaejMjWaiMi hsaMsstaawsi msaaaa. while . wheat aa tinted la eoaaeetioa with aalaad riea. fee aad oseea. Ia tha markets wa fid .. mdlRM.aaUut notetaMl MtuBrt.iSMA predaeed ia U States, hat Terr , iea whaa wa oeasHtor the eraae aaaaer of' eat tivatiea. "With, aedera impleaeats aad methods woaderfal results might be real ised. gjuutd roswrsrirms. Tha town is not dead only sleeping. Soaw day it will awaken to the grand possi bilities within iareaea. A railroad will be bailt from San Pedro making her vast researeee available, the toil aad disconteat of a higer civilisation will overcome te new nappy dwellers la this quiet vat.' -" Vaia asnMtiees, envy, hatred, but half eea' eealed. all tha evils of aa "educated and rtm fiaed eeasmaaity will be apon them. Hos t ever, tarn eaassroaae a at laaiaent ih, Headaraaiaaa eeswet. ha harried; noforeeV f9f x sJ -- - aJ sa II llll AdH MAU Uttm beyond their Batoral jilt; ia all thek aeresaeaM therara stew, sedate, stately-; haste is aadicaiSed. . "Craar aaa Tastea-: laaaaea r jsswaHBun aaa" is the asaai apfteOatiea applied to ' v Jiwmktma wha insist oa pasaiif ' tfceir; ;,' schemes with reestlesaptaaptrtada.' '- Yea may set be sara of vea sms4ssss , tUaaerertea here, bat oae stsaasr yaa'eaa' always depend em, that w bitaaa. i kaewa. Oecasieaal steams aaassfssaaa tae piaiaaascanag m aay ssra soaowaas a aa aour; ti frem a to 5 o'eloek ia tha sggf Ceaiayegua irons af tbasa ttAsaaaeaalsmap O. iaAsBsssIi:ttJ' Aa POBsjsjsajfMr a 0OtWaHMV JaJssM vest eaa have the attire tortiHa. Inseparable eoaaaaiea disk Mtseesv ailk, veauoa or pork, eggs aad Tajetrtlss, a large airy roea, au ataaeaSMswefK '"' a day ia this ears eas r, eaasJ toafceatM ceaa laAaeneaa tjt-ut. A. cWicMlai re ,treatfrea the eM Meats at winter or t HvrOs sMaV MsraHv iW sMHN hM vSTSOflB k eter raralyssaTSts a higher toapeiatore tnaa 88 daris tha vansaat suns, orlever' than .78 in winter a toad af perpetaal . A' sariaf, at fevers, Wrea, aasie, saaligaV, ueae. TTffiMii .slew ytk m, As a. esaaeste. it seesas. this net to ba despised. A yeaag weaaa ia aa' elevated ear was overheard the other aeW is firing ttwaUewtacpeiat toafriead. with bar: "04k da yea kaw,"sae said,: "these mates, Jessy winters are splendid fer the eomalexteaT Oar skater told me av astdr ae eat ragatoslyU erery foe; withes miw, we; mt wtthTm WoWsACMEBIacU-f imrUmittl WATERPROOF, SOFT, AMD DUff ABLE. . risk, 6L08ST rwtsfc j a. a iii .ii "" ,2J nn 1,1 T HIT II 1 1,000 J m I i jrVr ' 1' ssWTbsT-i I JfH mTm. Vast I assssssssssssV -assssl' I .SsssBssa mhSB?i Oh IMMfl poKMoaoc rmmmMmer1- ' Mk V-'. Ki' tr'