El Reno Weekly Globe. (El Reno, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 37, Ed. 1 Friday, November 8, 1895 Page: 2 of 8
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A LULLABY.
Sloep. tny darling, sweetly sleep.
"Wanderiag homeward stray the sheep;
From the dell,
Hear the bell.
Tinkling to the llcld farewell;
Sleep, my darling, sweetly sleejx
Sleep, my dear one. gently sleep,
Hear the little birdllngs peep,
In the nest.
Safe at rest.
Warm beneath the mother's breast;
Sleep, my dear one. p ly sleep.
Sleep, my loved one. calmly sleep,
Waves are hushed upon the deep;
Ills labor done.
The crimson sun,
Weary, seeks the rest he won;
Sleep, my loved one, calmly sleep.
Sleep, my baby, dreamless sleep.
Lengthening shaddows eastward crcep;
From the sky,
Oh. so high.
Peeps a star—an angel's eve;
Sleep, my baby, dreamless sleep.
Sleep, my Jewei. peaceful sleep,
Winds without have ceased to weep;
On every tree
In harmony
Crickets chant their hvmns for theo;
Sleep, my Jewel, peaceful sleep.
Sleep, mv darling, safely sleeps
Angels guard about theo keep;
No alarm
Or thought of harm
Need disturb you safe and warm;
Sleep, my darling, safely sleep.
—Pittsburgh ( ommcrclal-Ga/ett«.
work I am doing1, though I fear it is ] Oretovrn united in one common deter
not appreciated in some quarters."
It was now John Wliitford's turn to
l e disagreeable.
"No, sir," he Interrupted, "an', if
you'll excuse me for saying so, you are
on a fool's errand that is likely to
end with more kicks than ha'pence.
What do a passel o'
want wi' readin* an'
don't educate a cow
be discontented with
I call it th in' i' th* fac
dence to teach sichlike t<
rough miners
writin'? You
or it would
u clover fleld.
of Provi-
let at defi-
A growl of discontent rang round
.filiation to crush the viper they had i the room, and more than one rough
nourished in their bosoms, the young | orator rose in clamorous protest, but
anarchist who had brought this evil | the schoolmaster, with a wave of his
state to pass. I hand, stilled them, and said sternly:
m
cdu <y&ia$/y.
CoPYfiiCHT IS9S ^
CHAPTEIt II.—C'oNTiMjnn
Tho young man drew his chair to the
casement, and sat gazing upon the
panorama of beauty that lay before
him, thoughtfully watching the sun go
down behind the hill ami the shadows
of the trees lengthen as the orb of day
sank slowly out of view.
Suddenly, in the dusk, his attention
■was attracted to a figure that stood
prominent in well-delined outline on
the top of one of the hills—the form of
a stout man, who for some time stood
peering with his face turned in the
direction of the Whitford house.
Presently the fir trees at his back
were parted, and another person joined
the first comer. The manner of these two
was peculiar. They were apparently
engaged in earnest conversation, and
what struck Grey as most singular
was that the stout man again
and again pointed at the window of his
chamber, though, of course, at that
distance it was absurd to suppose they
could even be aware of his presence
there.
This continued gesticulation aroused
in the breast of the young school-
master an anxiety he could not dispel—
a sort of coming-evont-cust.s-its-shndow-
before-it feeling he could not express.
•'Please, Mr. Grey, mother says,"
called a pleasant voice, as the door of
the room gently opened, "are you ready
for supper now?"
"Come here, Elsie," eagerly request-
ed the young man. "Can your bright
eyes make out who are those persons
on yonder hill?"
The girl stood bv him, with his hand
resting on her shoulder, peering out
into the gloom.
Yes, her eyes were very bright, anil
her face was like the chiseled sweet-
ness of some beautiful statue, as she
btood motionless beside him.
"One of them," she said at last, "is
Wixon—Capt. Wixon."
"And the other?"
"I do not know. A stranger."
The round face of Mrs. Whitford
tiow appeared in the doorway, and, as
she noticed the familiar attitude, there
was a ring of unwonted harshness in
her voice:
, "Elsie, coom t' supper dlrce'ly. IHin-
na stan' gawpin' into th' gloamin' i'
that feckless fashion."
The girl started like a wounded fawn,
a deep blush spreading itself over her
cheeks and neck, for probably the
the giki. stoop ny him.
woman's rough tone woke a chord in
the breast of the maiden, and for the
first time she felt the innocent shame
of shocked womanly modesty.
But, if Elsie's cheeks were deeply dyed
in blushes, the Imperturbable school-
master showed no discomposure as he
followed them into the dining-room.
It was a most uncomfortable meal.
John Whitford was out of sorts and
more than half-repentant of his confi-
dential disclosures to his wife; Elsie was
in a state of uncomfortable nervous-
ness; Mrs. Whitfield was cross and dis-
agreeable, and Grey was wrapt in con-
jectures as to what that man
Wixon and the stranger could have
meant by their peculiar conduct,
and why they should have made
auch constant gestural allusion tohim-
Helf. What did it mean? He was con-
fidedt that he had formed the topic of
their conversation.
"Be ye goin' to the schule-house to-
night?" Mrs. Whitford asked, unable to
retain her morose demeanor any longer.
"Yes,"said the schoolmaster, decisive-
ly; "that night school for the miners
cnust not be neglected. It is the best
ance their pastors an'masters. Besides,
the bosses won't stand it. There's a
bitter feelin' against you already, an',
mark my words, if you go foolin' around
much more with your night schools an1
liberary clubs an' fal-lais, you'll find
Oretown too hot a place to hold you."
"Perhaps so; but meanwhile I will do
my duty."
This word duty appealed to the old
soldier's best instincts, and in a more
modified manner he continued:
"Yes. duty's duty, an' England ex-
pects every man to do his duty, which
also 1 suppose this United States of
America likewise demands; but, sir,
there's an overdoin' of even one's duty.
A ship captain asked my captain to
send a royal marine to holystone a
deck. 'No, sir,' says he. 'The sailors
have their duty, an' the royal marines
have their duty; an' the duty of the ma-
rines isn't to do the duty of tho sailors.'
lie was tried by a court-martial and
they did their duty an' acquitted him."
"Very good, but—"
"Your duty is to teach tho boys an'
gals. There's nothln' in your oommis-
sion about drillin' a squad of adults in
letters 'an Aggers, an' pot-hooks an'
hangers. So you just stick to your or-
ders an' let others do likewise."
"I know you mean well, my friend,'•
said Orey, wearily; "but you do not
understand the question. You have
old world notions. The prosperity of
this great land is an illustration of the
good policy of educating the musses.
Right here in this northern peninsula
of Michigan, where crude English
thought is dominant, we are behind
the times. Where would the United
States have been if such men as Wixon
and the other members of our school-
board had been at the head of its af-
fairs?"
"Well, I'd mind my own business, if
I was you an' let—"
"Set me the example, Mr. Whitford.
Mind your own affairs and you will
not get beyond the depth of your
understanding."
With this dignified rebuke the young
man left the room, and Mrs. Whitford
solaced her spouse with the suggestion
that those who played with edged tools
often cut their lingers.
This night school was a sore bone of
contention in Oretown.
A little more than a year ago the
bosses ruled like feudal barons, and
now their sway was threatened by a
whippersnapper of a boy who had come
among them, nobody knew whence nor
cared, and by this and other such base
means had alienated tile allegiance of
their vassels, who were actually be-
ginning to dare to think for themselves.
And thus it came about.
There was a barn-like building which
had been used as a saloon and dunce-
house, but had attained such evil repu-
tation that the by no means fastidious
morals of Oretown were shocked at its
gross orgies, and by popular consent it
had been closed.
The process of ejectment had been
in accordance with the custom of the
locality. A mob of infuriated women
and mischievous boys had gathered one
evening and "cleaned out" the pro-
prietor, smashing his furniture aud
fixtures and pouring his liquid poison
into the gutter.
On this ruin of vice and squalor
Frank Grey built his great work of so-
cial reformation.
With his own hands he tidied up the
place, mended the windows, put in
rough tables and chairs, and boldly an-
nounced that he would, without re-
muneration, teach adults reading,
writing and arithmetic three evenings
a week.
The local journal gave the powerful
aid of the press to the enterprise in
this bright paragraph: "The young
man who slings the ruler at the Ward
school house is opening a night school
for adults. Guess he'll have his hands
full before he's got through."
The minister refused to cooperate
with him, the storekeepers laughed at
him, the bosses treated him with open
ridicule.
Ilut the class grew—from five to five-
and-twenty; to forty, to a hundred-
till at last he had to close his dixirs
against the crowd of applicants.
It was a mutual aid association, those
who could read and write a little help-
ing those who could not. "No sweur-
ing" and "No tobacco" were the only
written rules; while the class kept its
own order, and absolute order, tin), as,
for instance, when Mike Donovan, the
rough of the place, made a wager that
he would break up the school one even-
ing and proceeded to use insulting- lan-
guage ti) the teacher, a dozen strong
hands sent him crashing through the
window into the street below, and for-
ever put a stop to his further pursuits
in the fields of literature.
Then another grievance. Out of the
night school grew u club—a harmless
affair, where tobacco was allowed, and
coffee and numerous newspapers, and
out of this club sprouted a branch
which bore the deadly poison of rank
socialism—at least, so said Capt. Petti-
grub Wixon. This was the Talking
club, as Grey had christened it, at
whose meetings were discussed simple
questions of social or political interest.
From bad they got to worse, until one
Saturday morning—for the Talking
club held its meetings on Saturday
evenings—it was whispered abroad
that the delicate questions as to wheth-
er it was right for the miners to pay
the bosses' store one dollar for a forty-
cent article, whether the capitalist*
could lawfully'compel them to take
their remuneration in store pay. and
whether they were obliged to give a
month's credit for their labor, would be
discussed.
With these revolutionary projects
confronting Ihem, the uppertendom of
CHAPTER III.
TnK GKEAT NI0IIT SCHOOL OF OBKTOWN.
Mr, Commissioner Eaton, in his elab-
orate reports from the Washington
bureau of education, condescended not
to notice the night school of Oretown.
Yet here was a great and curious factor
in the educational elements of the coun-
try.
Inside the gaunt building were gath-
ered some hundred miners, chiefly Eng-
lish and Swedes, with here and there a
native American. They were formed
My friends, let us make haste slow-
ly. Let us deliberate before we express
ourselves."
"That's so!" cried the prospector.
"Then to put things into shipshape, I
move that we meet again on Monday
night to discuss the question."
A unanimous "Aye! aye!" settled the
matter, and the meeting dispersed.
"Jiefore you go," said Wilders to
Grey, "I have a word to say. Have you
counted the cost? Sitting square down
on a hornets' nest won't he a circum-
stance to the fix you'll find yourself in.
into classes, some spilling in ponder- .f you j,,, ahead in this business."
"I shull do my duty."
"Well, I'm with you."
"Hut, Jack, I ain assured that you
exaggerate the state of affairs. It is
incredible that such tyranny can exist
in this free land."
"Why, bless your innocent heart, this
free and independent country is full of
ous earnestness easy words, some wrest-
ling manfully with the mysteries of
arithmetic, some laboriously poring
over the page of a primer, and some
ompelling their unpliant fingers to j
guide a pen over the mazy page of a
child's copybook, but all strangel}* and !
sternly in earnest. j
Eight or ten teachers were scattered : unwholesome as this cesspool
around the room. They were miners, if un Ori.town, When capital gets la-
who had little learning, or who had
themselves been pupils of the school.
One was exceptional.
lie was a broad-shouldered, strong,
athletic fellow, better dressed than the
rest, but rough and uncouth in his
manner. This man, Jack \\ ililers, was
Frank Grey's mainstay, or, as he him-
self styled it, "the professor's right
bower."
Jack was by profession a "prospect-
or," who had traveled in the service of
the companies every acre of that wild
region in search of ore, and having in-
vested his hard-won wages most advan-
tageously, now found himself at thirty-
five years of age in an independent po-
sition.
Jack was no sybarite. He was a hard
drinker and a rough liver, but down in
the depths of his heart was a refining
spot that leavened his whole nature—
an intense love for his little bright-
eyed wife and his curly-headed boy < f
five years. It was through an accident j
that befell this latter idol of his affec-
tion that, to use his own words, he
"caught on" to the schoolmaster.
One day little Willie Wilders was at-
tacked by a big angry cur belonging- to
'f an Oretown
bor by the throat, justice squeals."
"What a grand lot would be his who
had the power of tongue and pen to re-
deem this mass of corruption," Grey
said, with a hungry look in his eyes.
Wilders grinned.
"Not a bad move, I see. Start a
paper, go on the stump, give the mo-
nopolies an all-fired raking out, and
you'll end in a trip to Washington and
a hatful of greenbacks."
"You mistake me."
"Not I you're green now, but if you
hang on to politics, you'll soon get your
eyes skinned."
"I will study this great problem of
social life, and balance my actions by
reading the experiences of the great
leaders of modern thought."
"And you've made up your mind to
raise Cain in Oretown?"
"1 have counted the cost. Dear friend,
good night."
[to be continued.]
HIS GAME GOT AWAY.
"ME AKD TOM BINGHAM H*AS GOT THE
SACK."
Wixon, when Grey, who happened to
be passing, came to the rescue, and
saved the child from anything worse
than a wound in the leg. \\ liile the
little sufferer lay crying on his bed the
father, all tenderness, was his constant
nurse. He never left the child s couch,
save when, gun in hand, he went to
Wixon's house and shot the dog dead
on his master's doorstep.
From that day Wilders was Grey's
friend. That was how he came to be vice-
principal of the Oretown night school.
Usually when the exercises were over
the men departed quietly, but this
night they remained in their seats, and
when Grey looked inquiringly, and old
greybeard rose and said.
"Mr. Grey an' mates: Me and Tom
Hinghatn has got the sack, an' for no
other reason than because we told
Capt. Wixon we warn't goin' to leave
off 'tending this here school, an' we
wor agoin' to vote the republican or the
demycratic ticket, just as ve set our
fancies, on 'em."
"There must be some mistake," (Jrey
said, rising hurriedly and speaking
nervously. "Capt. Wixon cannot have
understood our efforts, and as for at-
tempting to restrain in this free and
enlightened country the liberty of a
man's conscience, his political birth-
right, his—"
Hut a roar of bantering laughter
stayed the speaker's eloquence.
"Hoys, listen to me." It was Wilders
who spoke now. "I've been watching
the run of things for some time, and
I've come to the conclusion that we've
got to have a change. It was bound to
come. They don't want no light of
education let into this region. They
don't want no brains. They want
strong arms an'stout loius as will toil
an' get money for them. They'll do all
the thinking for you. They appoint
their own township and county officers,
they own the newspapers, they send
one of themselves to congress, and if
some poor devil of a ministi as some-
times happens, dares to open his lips
against the system, he quickly finds his
supplies cut off. Now, what are you
going to do about it?"
Just at this moment a knock came to
the door, and a boy handed a letter to
Grey, who, casting his eyes over it,
seemed for the moment lost in thought.
"My friends," he said, after a mo-
menta reverie, "I hold in my hand
here a letter from the proprietor of this
building giving me notice to quit pos-
session on Wednesday next, though our
agreement stipulated for three months'
notice—and saying that, if he had
known we were going to teach com-
munism, he would never have let it to
us. What does it mean? If we have
taught communism, it has been from
tho text books these very men have
placed in the hands of your little ones."
"Il means," roared the prospector, as
he smote with mighty hand the desk
before him, "that you shall grovel in
your ignorance all the days of your
lives, and that the bosses of Oretown
won't have nothing that Interferes
#ith their running things their way
and doing all your thinking for you."
A Raw fcportHmun In Treated to a I-lt-
tlo SnrpriHp.
A rabbit is so extremely sensitive and
nervous an animal that it has been
| killed without being hit at all, as many
hunters know. The concussion of the
! near discharge of a gun, the shock
j caused by the animal's skin being
I merely grazed by a shot, or some such
circumstance, may frighten the sus-
ceptible creature to death. A story
I based on this peculiarity of the rabbit
kind is related by a gentleman who
does not pretend to be a mighty hunter.
This gentleman had been invited to
go on a hunt with several city compan-
I ions and accepted, feeling confident
I that, since he remembered killing sev-
j eral squirrels and partridges when he
was a boy, he could nodoubt do as well
in the ripeness of his age.
However, when he reached the woods,
some faculty which he possessed when
a boy must have deserted him, for he
could see very little game, and could
hit nothing that lie did see.
Hut near the end of the day lie came
upon a superb rabbit in a wood path,
lie whistled, and the animal sat up a
couple of rods distant and looked at
him, all ears.
The hunter blazed away, and had the
satisfaction of seeing the rabbit make
a convulsive leap and fall to the ground.
The delighted sportsman immediate-
ly seized the rabbit and thrust him into
his hunting-bag. Soon after all the
members of the party reassembled at
the railroad station on their way back
to town.
One exhibited half a dozen partridges,
another had eight. All seemed to have
had excellent luck.
"Well, what have you got, John?"
the man of the rabbit was asked.
"Not much," said he, "but what I
have is a beauty. Just look here."
lie opened his hunting bag and was
about to pull out the rabbit, when the
animal itself leaped out. very much
alive, landed on the station platform,
bounded off with a great leap, crossed
the track and ran like the wind across
a field opposite and into the woods,
while the hunter's companion roared
with laughter.
For all the man knows, the rabbit is
running still. The creature had prob-
ably been only stunned by the scratch
of a shot from the gun, and had recov
ered its liveliness in the bag.—Youth's
Companion.
SCHOOL AND CHURCH.
- -There is much excitement in En-
gland over the discovery that iron,
manufacturers have been making idols
for the worship of the heathen of India.
—Gen. Booth has issued a special
ippeal for money and officers for work
ii Germany, where the Salvation
Army has made much gratifying pro-
gress lately.
—The state law of Illinois prescribes
\ four-mile limit to saloons around the
Northwestern university at Evanston,
Chicago. The city authorities were
about to license four saloons within
the limit, but on a protest from Presi-
dent Rogers, the mayor of Chicago
promised that the licenses would be
refused.
—A Greek Catliolir priest in south-
ern Hungary recently forced his whole
songregation to swear in church that
they would not touch liquor for three
pears. The liquor dealers and revenue
collectors thereupon protested against
lis action to the minister of finance
isking him to declare it illegal, lie
tias not answered yet.
—The courts at Stettin recently had
up for settlement a case that can not
be paralleled in the history of the
church. A member of the consistory,
the highest ecclesiastical body in the
province, Dr. Schunier, of Konigsber
ivas arrested and brought before th
ribunal of justice for having fought a
luel with a lawyer. What the punish-
ment consisted in the papers do not
*tate.
—The Woman's Improvement League
• f Minneapolis, Minn., is engaged in
•arrying out plans for the beautifying
f the city, and bettering the condition
of its people. Shade trees have been
set out on several streets; 7,108 school
shildren have been furnished with
flower seeds, with instructions how tc
use them for the best result ! The>
intend also to interest the children in
exterminating the Russian thistle.
The league will soon open cheap bath
rooms with competent persons in
charge.
—Another missionary pioneer hns
gone, Uev, Samuel Hutchings, I). IX,
of Orange, N. J. lie sailed in 1S3«j as
missionary of the American board
for Ceylon, India,was there for a num-
ber of years, and then returned to this
country on account of ill-health. Dur-
ing these years he was pastor of a
number of churches in Massachusetts
and New Jersey, and did a good
deal of literary work,especially in con-
nection with "Chambers' Encyclo-
pedia" and "The Encyclopedia of Mis-
sions." To this latter he contributed
the greater number of biographical
sketches. He was for many years in
feeble health, though always active,"
and died at the age of eighty-nine.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
International I.^-on^r Nov. 10, 1893-
SaulCllown Klng-1 Sam. 10.n--.7-
-ipoclally Arranged from Peloubet* Notes.
Golden Text
earth rejoice.— Psa. 07:1
Tub Section Includes f
of the beginning of the new era of
PARIS READY FOR A SIEGE.
A Hunter** l'erlloim I'nHltion.
While hunting in the Big Horn moun-
tains two men found a narrow path, lit-
tle more than a deer trail, leading up
to the summit. They dismounted and
led their horses, moving very cautious-
ly, for on one side the mountain rose up
like a wall, and on the other sloped
down a thousand feet to the canyon be-
low. Suddenly both horses pricked up
their ears as if scenting a wild beast.
Then there came a shot from the hunt-
er in advance, and the hunter in the
rear found himself hanging over the
cliff. He had been leading the horse
by the reins, and when the horse shied
and upset him, he held on with a death
grip. It was nearly five minutes that
he thus hung on to the slender strap,
while the horse held back with all his
strength. Hut he could not climb up,
und his companion had to haul him up
to a place of safety, and then he natur
ally fainted.—Golden Days.
Never Lout- It.
Wife (severely)—I'd have you know,
sir, that I always keep my temper.
Husband (soothingly)—Of course you
do, my dear; of course you do—-I and
wish to goodness you'd Ret rid of it.—■
Rogersville (Tenn.) Review.
Briggs—I've just stopped smoking,
and now every friend I meet offers me
a cigar.
firiggs—Have they found it out so
soon'.'— ltrooklyn Life.
That*. Knmich.
"Does this roof leak always?"
Agent—Oh, no, ma'am; only when It
rains.—Chicago Inter Ocean.
I'ri-ft«-rvp<! Fnnri Now iti storHsr* SufJW-i.'iit
to l'.tMl tti.- ropulatlon for Many Mouth,.
Taking into account the remarkable
advances that science lias made in the
way of preserving and compressing
food so that it can be stored in an in
finitely small space in proportion to its
nutriment, it is not likely that anv lie-
sieged city in the future will undergo
the horrors of starvation, l'aris lias
I learned a substantial lesson from the
experience she had in 1870 and IS71, I
ivlien the Herman invaders completely
I -.in-rounded the city and prevented
I any food whatsoever from going in.
if, in fact, an attacli should come at
a moment's notice, the Parisians
would now find themselves well sup-
plied and with everything in their
warehouses necessary to support lift*
for an indefinite time. The war de
partment has made the accumulation
of all enormous stock of provisions its
especial hobby. Not only meat, flour,
biscuits, preserved vegetables and
solid soups are stored away in the gov
eminent magazines, hut also milk,
'•Pasteurized," mid petroleum, wood,
chemicals and coal. Kven the horse:1
have been kept in mind, for there at
packed away great stocks of com-
pressed fodder and grass preserved by
the silo system.
That all these supplies can be kepi
on hand in the comparatively small
space the war department has for thf
storing of provisions is not so remark
able when it is remembered that fort}
thousand rations of preserved vege
table--, can be stored in a space ineusur
ing forty inches each way. Milk, the
scarcity of which was n great cause oi
distress during the siege of Paris, i;
now well provided for. I)r. Autefage'f
method of "Pasteurizing" milk, which
the government has adopted, will pre
serve this important necessity of lift
for almost any length of time, render
ing it pure and sweet after months and
even years.
By new chemical methods ice can be
dispensed with in the storage rooms,
and by the use of ammonia machine?
it can be readily made for household
and garrison use. This is extremely
important as regards preserving meat.
One special feature of the policy of the
tvar department is that it hus all it?
arrangements perfected toward imme
diately collecting, in the case of im-
pending danger, hundreds of thousand?
of fowls. In a few hours, almost, the
city could be substantially provisioned
for nearly a year in this regard. He
sides this, thousands of pounds of pre-
served meats are Icept. continually on
hand.—N. Y. World.
Broken Vow,.
"The engagement is broken then?
Her face was drawn anil pale.
A river of pathos surged in eddying
whirlpools about her faltering tones.
Blankly she gazed at the sullen sky,
but. true to its condition, the sky re-
mained sullen and answered not.
The young man shifted uneasily,
standing tirst on foot then on the
other.
"Yes," he faltered, crushing his hat
Into a shapeless mass under the in-
tense pressure of the moment.
"Very well," she said at length, su|
pressing a groan.
"Tell your mother not to disap-
point me next week, Claudius."
With a weary sigh she returned to
the kitchen and proceeded to do the
week's washing alone and unaided.—
N. V. WorW
The Lord relgnetU: lot th®
n—xroa. 97: L .L.
on Includes chapters « to 1-, too
rbolo story of the beginning of the new er.i o
government, and the beginning of baul
'"time -IW 1OT5- twenty years after the
battle ot Ebeaezer In our last^lessoii
must remember that the chronology Is uncer
tain, ami the Judgeship ot SamueUnd the early
D irt ot Saul's relan may have ovetlapped ^
Place. —(> i The great assembly described in
tho last lesson ivas at Mi/.peb. a hill nea
man. ti) Samuol s home was at Kamah tour
or flvo miles northwest ot Jerusalem. (3) The
place where Saul met Samuel first was In the
district of Zuph. not far trom the>
Rachel, which is a mile north of Ilcthlehem.
explanatory.
The Israelites Desire a Kino.-
Chapter 8:1-5. We are now on th.' verge
of a new era of government, it new de-
velopment of the chosen people. W In n
Samuel was about seventy \eais oi,
the leaders of Israel, who formed "tho
popular assembly which seems in all
times to have existed in Israel (Elli-
cott), came to Samuel and asked t hat
he would change the government to a
kingdom, and aid them in finding a
kin#. „
Reasons for Desiring a Kino.—
Samuel was growing old, and could not
well lead their armies against the well-
organized enemies around them.^
There was also a cloud gathering be-
yond Jordan, which threatened to
sweep the Hebrews from the land their
fathers conquered. All saw it coming.
That cloud was a horde of eastern plun-
derers, led by Xahasli, king of Amnion
(11:1-8; 12:1-). Another cloud in the
southwest was the formidable league of
the Philistine chieftains (9:10). There-
fore they wanted a military leader, one
"to go out before them and tight their
battles" (8:20; 13:13).
It is quite probable that they half-
consciously wanted a king because they
were tired of having their prosperity
depend on their good behavior. The
leaders (iod chose for them could suc-
ceed only when the people turned to
God. lltit a king might conquer by his
skill and organizing power, and they
imagined that tlicy need not be so par-
ticular as to their duties toward (iod.
tVSMl'KI. AMI TUR NEW ERA. 8: 0-22:
This proposal was a great trial to Sam-
uel, and sent him to God in earnest
prayer to know what he should do.
This request seemed charged with in-
gratitude towards their aged leader,
who hail spent a whole lifetime in un-
selfish devotion to their interests.
It is hard to belaid aside, to lay down
the precious work still unfinished and
clet another neglect what has been
(lone, and take up a different and in-
ferior mode of procedure. 1 heir re-
quest was a rejection ot God as their
king. He had given them victory after
victory, always victory and prosperity
when they had obeyed Him so that He
otild bestow these blessings, and now
they could not trust him.
Hence it was a disappointment to
Samuel that the people refused the
splendid possibilities before them,
which he had labored all his life to re-
alize. And they chose only the second
b€8t.
Vs. 1". "Samuel called the people to
Mizpch:" the hill near Kamah, his
home, where the great assemblies were
often held.
10, "By 3'our tribes, and thousands:
as the people were organized.
20. The choice was tirst made by lot,
so that it would be shown to the people
that the king was selected by (iod, and
therefore they could safely accept liiin.
21. "When they sought him, he could
not be found:" Knowing that he had
been Divinely chosen, and therefore
that his name would be drawn in tho
lot, his bashful modesty led him to keep
out of sight. 1 Ie could not know that he
would be received by the people, nor
just what to do if he were accepted.
22. "They inquired of the Lord:"
Probably through the high priest. "Hid
himself among the stuff:" The bag-
gage.
2a. "lie was higher than any of the
people:" This fact impressed the people,
who looked at the outward appearance,
for they could not see his heart and
character.
24. "God save the king:'' These ac-
clamations were the people's accept-
ance of the Divine selection.
25. "Samuel told the people the man-
ner of the kingdom:" lie laid down tho
principles, and limitations of the kingly
power.
20. "And Saul also went home to
Gibeah." In Benjamin, four miles north
of Jerusalem, and about two miles
from Kamah. lie had much quiet
work to do in preparing himself for
his work, and there was no immediate
occasion for his taking any public
part in affairs. "With him a band of
men <R. v., "the host," or "men of
valor,") whose hearts God had touched."
That they should accept him as king,
and be willing to aid him. The highest
prudence and sagacity marked all tho
early period of the reign of the first
king.
27. "But:" There was opposition at
tirst from certain sons of Belial, That
is, "sons of worthlessness," lawless,
worthless, wicked persons.
"Hut he held his peace." He patient-
ly billed his time till he oould prove
himself worthy to be hing.
practical suggestions.
♦Ve often earnestly desire things
which are not best for us. We are too
ignorant of the issues to insist on any
worldly good.
We often refuse God's best gifts, and
then He can only give us the second
best.
It in hard to grow old gracefully; to
see what is assuredly the best, and in
which we have put our whole lives,
failing away, and a lesser and different
good prevailing by other hands.
God sometimes yields to our requests,
because He sees that we are not fitted
for tho higher blessings which Ho
wishes to bestow upon us.
Outward advantages of beauty, fam-
ily connections, wealth, personal at-
tractions arc tho pedestal on which a
man stands; but the pedestal is not a
part of the man. The man nlono should
be measured In a true estimate of his
value
/
( L
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Clute, William A. & Perry, D. W. El Reno Weekly Globe. (El Reno, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 37, Ed. 1 Friday, November 8, 1895, newspaper, November 8, 1895; El Reno, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc165944/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.