:

der, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

son.

Dare to be true, nothing can need a lie;

A fault which needs it most, grows two thereby.

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee; take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

Old sir, I know

She prizes not such trifles as these are.

The gifts she looks from me are packed and locked

Up in my heart, which I have given already,

But not delivered.

And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister; be thou the

mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

The voice of joy this happy day demands;
Resound the song, and in our God confide:
Beneath His canopy the bridegroom stands,
In all her beauty shines the lovely bride.
O, may their joy still blossom, ever new,
Fair as a garden to the ravished view!

Sing from your bowers, ye daughters of the song,
Behold the bride with starlike glory shine;
May each succeeding day still glide along

Fair as the first, begirt with grace divine:
Far from her tent may care and sorrow fly,

While she o'erjoyed beholds her numerous progeny.

And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said,

a vail, and covered herself.

It is my master: therefore she took
And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

And

Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Across the threshold led,

And every tear kissed off as soon as shed,
His house she enters, there to be a light
Shining within, when all without is night;
A guardian angel o'er his life presiding,
Doubling his pleasure, and his cares dividing!

CHAPTER XX.

ABRAHAM'S DEATH.

A

PROMISE RENEWED TO ISAAC.

A CLOUD lay cradled near the setting sun,
A gleam of crimson tinged its braided snow:
Long had I watched the glory moving on,

O'er the still radiance of the lake below:
Tranquil its spirit seemed, and floated slow,

E'en in its very motion there was rest,
While every breath of eve that chanced to blow,
Wafted the traveller to the beauteous west.

Emblem, methought, of the departed soul,

To whose white robe the gleam of bliss is given,
And by the breath of mercy made to roll

Right onward to the golden gates of heaven:
Where to the eyes of faith it peaceful lies,

And tells to man his glorious destinies.

ND Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, a hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Macpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; the field. which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

Sweet is the scene when Virtue dies! -
When sinks a righteous soul to rest,
How mildly beam the closing eyes!
How gently heaves the expiring breast!
Triumphant smiles the victor brow,
Fanned by some angel's purple wing;
Where is, O Grave! thy victory now?
And where, insidious Death! thy sting?

And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the.Syrian. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Nature may falter, but never God's promise,
Hence did the heir of the covenant plead :
"God of my father, by whom every life is,
Kindly fulfil what Thy love has decreed;

Count, if thou canst, all the sands of the sea-shore,
Tell, too, each star that bestuds the blue sky;
Yet shall thy children outnumber them far more,
Blessing all nations both distant and nigh."

Cease, then, Rebekah, those strange cogitations
Pensively cherished now oft in thy mind;
Voices of nature yield cheering monitions,
Gladness for yearnings full soon thou shalt find!
Embryo nations together are striving,

Germs of renown in the ages to come;

Hush, then, all plaints, for thy day-star is rising,

Pledge of new joys round the hearth-stone of home!

And Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Ye joys, too dearly bought, which time can ne'er renew,

Dear torments of my thought;

1

Why, when ye fled, fled not your memory too?

Alas! of hopes bereft, the dreams that once they were,

Are all that now is left,

And memory thus but turns them all to care!

And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham., And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

True faith will grasp His mercy fast,
And hope bring patience at the last,
Then both within thy heart enshrine,
So shall the heritage be thine,
That pleases God.

A

CHAPTER XXI.

JACOB GUILEFULLY GETS ESAU'S BLESSING.

ND it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; and make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.