instrument in bringing such a soul into the world. And as she was childless before his birth, so was she willing to be, in effect, childless afterward if necessary, since the Lord had granted her earnest prayer.

Then flowed from her lips a mingled prayer and song of praise, full of triumph and gratitude, and imbued with the spirit of poetry. This song, which is found in the second chapter of first Samuel, will repay a careful reading by one who is blest with the power of appreciating sublime poetry.

But the great sacrifice she had made in giving her only son to God's service, and freely exiling herself from him, was accepted of the Lord, and appropriately rewarded. There were given to her other children, three sons and two daughters. For the rest of her life she lived in her children, and especially in her great son Samuel: no further mention of her life or any of its incidents, is made in the Bible. But of her life our best judgment is made by a study of the life and character of her oldest son; and judged from that standard, she must pass for almost a perfect woman. She was patient, though deeply sorrowful, under the heaviest affliction that can befall a Hebrew woman, even though Peninnah ungenerously and ungratefully taunted her with her childlessness. She knew that any gift of children that she might enjoy, must come as a special favor from God, and that rebelling against any of His providences and complaining hopelessly of His seeming injustice, would not

bring to her that favor. Therefore she sought it by the only consistent means-earnest prayer. Thus her conquest over the evils which beset. her became complete, and carried with it the mercy and blessings of God.

We cannot help contrasting this sublime faith and patience with the seeming selfishness and spitefulness of Peninnah. She had doubtless been given by Hannah to Elkanah partly because of Hannah's barrenness; and thus the great boon of wifehood and motherhood had been bestowed upon her. Yet, instead of being duly grateful for this distinction, she was, we have every reason to believe, the "adversary" who, by her taunts and insinuations, rendered the affliction of Hannah harder to bear. May it not be that this difference of disposition explains in part why Hannah, and not Peninnah, is rendered immortal by the goodness and greatness of her son? At any rate, we are safe in saying that she who would thus live in her children's fame has the power, to a great extent, of accomplishing this by her early influence over them.

IX. THREE WIVES OF DAVID.

It has already been stated that the lives of Ruth and Hannah are closely associated with the period of transition from the Judges to the Kings of Israel. We are interested in the first of these women, chiefly because her descendant, David, was one of the greatest of the kings; in the second because her son, Samuel, was mainly instrumental in bringing about the monarchy. Unfortunately, we are not made acquainted with the wife of the great prophet Samuel; but some of the wives of David are brought to our particular attention, and form some of the most striking examples of the women of the early period of the monarchy. Three of these, Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba, will be briefly considered here.

David had performed his great labor of slaying Goliath, the Philistine giant, and had done such other deeds of valor as made him the popular hero. Praise was lavished upon him by woman singers, who lauded him far above Saul, the king. Their song with its refrain, "Saul hath slain his thousands and David hath slain his ten thousands," reflected the universal, popular esti

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mate of the handsome young warrior, and tended to arouse the latent envy and jealousy of the king. At first Saul was able to hide this jealousy under a fair exterior, and he promoted David to positions of prominence as chief captain and musician to the king; but we are forced to think that this was done in order that he might the better destroy him. Jealousy is one of the strongest indications of insanity, and it is usually coupled with a sagacious cunning which is used to bring about the ruin of the unsuspecting rival. In Saul's case both of these traits were very prominent; and the openhearted, frank, generous David would have been put at a great disadvantage if it had not been for the love felt for him by two of Saul's children, Michal and Jonathan. It is the devotion of the first of these that is to be spoken of here.

Knowing the

Michal was a younger daughter of Saul. Her elder sister's name was Merab. honor that attached to the marriage of a young man to a king's daughter, Saul determined to use these two girls as snares to entrap David, and bring about revenge for his increasing popularity. First, he proposed a marriage with Merab, his eldest daughter. David seemed willing; but when, apparently, all arrangements had been made, Saul We do not know his gave her to another man. object in this, unless it was to arouse David to resentment, and possibly to rebellion, and thus gain an excuse for bringing about his destruction. But David was either too wise or too passive to

take serious offense at the slight thus perpetrated upon him. Then Saul offered to make reparation by giving to David his younger daughter, Michal, intending to use her as a means of ensnaring his rival. But in the simple words of the record, "Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David," and instead of consenting to his betrayal into the hands of her father, she shielded him on every possible occasion.

Saul demanded that David furnish, as a fitting dowry for his wife, evidence that he and his companions had slain one hundred Philistines. His thought and hope was that David would be killed in the attempt. But David went out with his men and slew two hundred. Nothing could now stand in the way of the consummation of the marriage; but Saul knew now that instead of being a snare to David, Michal would be his devoted friend and protector.

Now commences the pathetic story of Michal's married life, involving devotion, trial, separation, and ultimate childlessness, and showing how the daughter and the wife of two rivals is called upon to suffer for the quarrel between them. Michal was soon asked to choose which of the two she would favor in the conflict. Saul had made a direct attempt on the life of David, who fled to his home and placed himself under the protec‐ tion of his wife. Immediately the servants of Saul came to Michal and demanded that David be delivered up. Anticipating such a request, Michal had