"Alas, my noble boy! that thou shouldst die,- "Cold is thy brow, my son, and I am chill, Like a rich harp-string, yearning to caress thee, "The grave hath won thee! I shall hear the gush Of music and the voices of the young; And life will pass me in the mantling blush But thou no more with thy sweet voice shalt come "And oh, when I am stricken, and my heart Yearn for thine ear to drink its last deep token; To see thee, Absalom! "And now, farewell! 'T is hard to give thee up, He covered up his face, and bowed himself And, as a strength were given him of God, NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS. 14. SAUL AND JONATHAN. SAUL, king of the great Hebrew nation, and Prince Jonathan, his son, brother-in-law and the most intimate friend of David, fell in battle with the Philistines, about the year 1056 B. C. The lament of David is unrivalled in its appreciative regard and tenderness for the fallen heroes, and anxiety lest the honor of the nation should suffer. THY glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, Publish it not in the streets of Askelon, Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph! Ye mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, Neither fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul, as of one not anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan turned not back, And the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions; Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan; Very pleasant hast thou been unto me: Thy love to me was wonderful, Passing the love of women; And the weapons of war perished! 15. SOLOMON, THE WISE KING. (B. C. 1033-975.) SOLOMON, "the wise man," the son and successor of King David, surpassed all contemporary monarchs in wisdom, wealth, and glory. He married a daughter of Pharaoh, King of Egypt; and a cordial alliance with Hiram, King of Tyre, enabled him to enlist the interest of that prince in beautifying his capital, Jerusalem, and its magnificent Temple for the worship of Jehovah. Even the present rulers of Abyssinia proudly count as their ancestor the famous Queen of Sheba, who so freely acknowledged the wisdom and glory of Solomon, and scholars of all ages, including those of Arabia, India, and the farthest East, have made use of his concise maxims for the regulation of national and personal life. SELECTIONS FROM SOLOMON'S PROVERBS. WISDOM is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. KEEP thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. LET thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. PONDER the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. TURN not to the right hand or to the left; remove thy feet from evil. The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble but the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more, unto the perfect day. TRAIN up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 16. THE HEBREW CAPITAL DESPOILED. JERUSALEM was captured and the temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Chaldea, about 588 B. C. Is this thy place and city, this thy throne, No prophet bards, thy glittering courts among, Yet shall she rise; but not by war restored, No more your thirsty rocks shall frown forlorn, BISHOP REGinald Heber. 17. THE DESPOILER DOOMED. THE prediction of the prophet Isaiah, 712 B. C., was subsequently verified with most minute exactness. On the lofty mountain, elevate the banner, That they may enter into the gates of the tyrants. I have given my orders to my consecrated ones [warriors], Hark! The noise of a multitude upon the mountain, Like that of a great nation! The tumult of kingdoms, of trembling nations! Jehovah, God of hosts, mustereth his army for battle. They come from a distant land, from the end of the heaven, Jehovah and the instruments of his indignation, To lay waste the whole country. Behold, I will raise against them the Medes, And as to gold, they regard it not. The boast and glory of the Chaldeans, Be like Sodom and Gomorrah, which God destroyed; |