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It will afford you pleasure to know that your kind
epistle, dated at your palace in Nineveh four weeks since,
reached me three days ago. The intelligence of your
continued health and the prosperity of your kingdom is
very gratifying to me, as well as the reception of so large
and interesting a letter written with your majesty's own
hand.

The portion thereof which relates to the beautiful
daughter of Isrilid, I can not permit to pass without allusion
to. My silence respecting her is not because
I have become less interested in her, but because she has
been absent from the kingdom for several months, having
been taken by her father to Tadmor in the Desert, the
queen of which, in failing health and leaving no heir to
the throne, having written him a letter desiring to see
him in order to confer upon his daughter as the next
heir, the crown and sceptre! She had been gone three
months when I returned here from my imprisonment in
Egypt, and although I have been here nearly three
months the invalid guest of the hospitable soldier Joab,
(your majesty will remember my first meeting with him

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near Jericho,) I have had no tidings of her or her father.
Thus my silence respecting her, my dear Belus, is accounted
for; and not owing to indifference to one who so
profoundly interested me, and whom I still regard as the
sincerest friend I have among her sex.

Your majesty is pleased to say that you trust, if I
marry her, I shall not delay to present my beautiful Hebrew
bride to your court. If, O Belus, I had harbored
sentiments of this nature for her, while I believed her to
be only the daughter of the lord of Jericho, I fear I shall
have to dismiss them from my bosom, when I am compelled
to contemplate her as the proud and powerful Queen of
Tadmor in the Desert. A prince, who like your Arbaces
has his chief fortune invested in his armor and camp
equipage, can hardly, if he is becomingly modest in his
aspirations, hope to find grace in the eyes of a coroneted
dame, who has beauty enough to tempt even Belus of
Assyria to lay his crown and sceptre at her feet!

Your majesty is very kind to thank me so graciously
for my long letters, which, you say, give you so clear
and connected a history of the interesting Hebrew people,
that you read them with the greatest pleasure. You desire
me to continue to send them to you without abatement
of details. I will endeavor to obey you, and now
proceed to answer your inquiries in reference to the
wonderful Prince David, who at this moment sits on the
throne of Saul, though not yet recognized by the whole
nation as their king, Prince Ishbosheth, at the death of
his father, having, by the advice of Abner, boldly proclaimed
himself king in his father's stead!

Your majesty will remember that David, after being
dismissed from the camp of Achish in order to appease

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the jealous rivalry of his lords and captains, retired into
Philistia. He had not reached its borders ere news came
to him that Ziklag, the fortified town in the south which
the King of Gath had given him as a residence for himself
and his family and the families of his six hundred
warriors, had been taken by the Amalekites and burned,
and the women and children carried away captives. By
forced marches he reached his city on the third day, and
found its ruins smoking and desolate. The Hebrew
chief, with so small a force, hesitated before pursuing an
army of six thousand fierce robbers of the desert, all
mounted on fleet horses or fleeter dromedaries, men whose
life was war. In this extremity his piety came to the
aid of his valor. Abiathar the Priest was with him, and
he besought him, in virtue of his sacred office, formally
as High Priest to consult the divine Oracle! The Ark
was at this time at a place called Baale of Judah, whither
it had been retaken after the destruction of Nob; as
formerly it had been there many years. But Abiathar
wore the divining ephod, and held possession of the Urim
and Thummim; that is, retained, with the hereditary
authority, the chief insignia of the Hebrew Pontificate;
for Saul, in transferring the sacerdotal dignity, after the
sacrilegious massacre at Nob, to a priest called Zadoc of
the co-lateral princely family of Eleazer, could only confer
upon him an empty title; for the priesthood really
was vested only in Abiathar, representing the pontifical
family of Ithamar, and the royal line of the priesthood
from Aaron.

That Abiathar might “enquire of God” in due form,
David erected in a few hours with four ranges of sixty
spears a temporary tabernacle, enclosing it with curtains;

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and also constructed an inner sanctuary supported by
javelins, and covered with Tyrian tapestry and white
linen. Into this place, secret from all eyes, entered the
priest, clad in his stately robes of office and wearing the
ephod; and consulted the oracle. Very different was the
result from the consultation of Saul's High Priest, the
want of success with whom drove the wretched king to
the sorceress of Endor. No sooner had Abiathar asked
of his God the words, David, who stood reverently waiting
in the outer tabernacle, put into his mouth to say,
than a glory filled the place from the sudden splendor
emitted by the Urim and Thummim, and the voice of
God answered the inquiry, “Shall I pursue this troop?
Shall I overtake them?” with this audible response:

“Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and
recover all without fail!”

In this condescension of God, David was not only
confirmed in his trust in God, but was assured that the
Oracle and the Priesthood, which had failed the king,
was with himself. Having refreshed his men, he pursued
his spoilers, and on the third day came into the
desert, but a great wind had obliterated the trace of the
retiring army. At this crisis David beheld a man lying
on the ground famished. He saw by his features and
costume that he was an Egyptian. When he had commanded
food and water to be given to him, and great
care to be taken of him, the man was at length able to
reply to David's inquiries, and to make known the direction
taken by his foes, their number, and all the circumstances
of the attack upon Ziklag. The man had been
left behind to perish by his companions, because he had
been taken ill; and now their cruelty in deserting him

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was about to be punished by the very one who had been
its victim. If they had been humane persons, they
would have escaped safely with their spoil to their own
country, but one act of inhumanity caused their destruction.

Pursuing them by the route pointed out, David came
up with them far to the south, encamped in a plain,
feasting and making merry, wholly abandoned to pleasure,
thinking they were safe beyond pursuit, knowing
Achish to be in the far north fighting with Saul. Like
a clap of thunder heard in the sky in a cloudless day,
fell the shouts of the six hundred Hebrews upon their
ears! Ere they could seize their arms, and put on their
armor, David and his little band were upon them! The
battle lasted the whole day, for the Amalekites were a
great host; but by the time the sun went down, not a
man escaped, save four hundred young men that fled
from the field on dromedaries, and whom he could not
pursue. Every thing they had taken was recovered, with
the wives, and daughters, and little ones of the victors.
Abigail, David's beautiful wife, Nabal's widow, was restored
to him, and also a second wife he had brought with
him to Ziklag; for, though it is not the custom of the
Hebrews to have more than one wife, yet it is not regarded
as an infringement of the divine law. It is an
innovation where it occurs, and imitated from the customs
of the kings and people around them. Indeed, a
Hebrew informed me that the greater number of wives,
horses, (though the Hebrews are forbidden in the laws
of Moses to have a multitude of horses,) slaves, and servants,
a great man has, the higher is his dignity; that
kings and lords ought to marry many wives, in order to

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strengthen themselves by alliances with numerous powerful
families. It was, doubtless, this policy which led
David to take two wives, as the other belongs to one of
the most warlike and opulent families of the land!

The conquerors returned to Ziklag, and camped before
the ruinous walls, for there were but few dwellings for
the families to occupy they had recaptured; and prepared
to rebuild their stronghold.

David in the meanwhile was filled with anxiety to
learn the result of the battle on the plains about Mount
Gilboa, between Saul and the King of the Philistines.
On the third day, as he was standing on a part of the
wall looking northward for any tidings, for he knew that
a battle must ere then have been fought, he beheld a
man advancing with haste, yet wearily, his clothes rent,
and earth upon his head, like one who bears evil tidings.
When he came near David, he did obeisance before him,
as to a king.

“From whence comest thou?” demanded David
anxiously, fearing the answer would convey some ill
news to him.

“Out of the camp of Israel, my lord! I am escaped
only with my life!”

“How went the battle?” demanded David quickly.
“I pray thee, tell me.”

“The Philistine king hath overthrown King Saul and
his hosts. Many ten thousands have fallen in the fight,
and are dead! Saul and Jonathan his son are dead
also.”

“How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son
are dead?” asked David, doubting, yet fearing the response.

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And the young man answered,

“As I happened, by chance, upon Mount Gilboa, behold
I saw Saul lean upon his spear as if sore wounded;
and the chariots and horsemen of King Achish pressed
hard upon him; and looking about he saw me, and called
unto me, and I hastened to him, and answered, `Here
am I, O king!'

“And he said unto me, `Who art thou?'

“`An Amalekite is thy servant,' I answered the king.

“He then said, `Stand, I pray thee, upon me and slay
me: for I would not die by the hand of these Philistines!
'

“So I stood upon King Saul, my lord, and slew him,
because I was sure that he could not live after that he
was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head,
and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought
them hither unto my lord.”

When David heard these words, and beheld the crown
and the bracelet, and recognized them to be King Saul's,
he knew that Saul was dead; and when he inquired
more closely, he was assured that his noble friend, the
brave and generous Prince Jonathan, was also fallen in
the fight. In his anguish he rent his clothes, in token
of his deep sorrow, and wept for his friend and for his
king, the manner of whose death greatly affected him;
and when his followers heard the tidings, there was
manifested the greatest sorrow in all men's faces.

“Whence art thou, young man?” at length sternly demanded
David.

“Thy servant, my lord, is the son of a stranger—I
am an Amalekite.”

“How, thou son of a stranger! wast thou not afraid to

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stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?
By the sword of Saul! thou shalt die the death! Come
hither,” he called to the captain of his body-guard;
“draw thy sword and hew this Amalekite in pieces!
Thy blood be upon thine own head; for thou hast testified
against thyself, saying, `I have slain the Lord's
anointed!”'

Uriah, the captain of the guard, without hesitation,
lifted his sword, and smote the sacrilegious and boasting
Amalekite to the earth; who, hoping to ingratiate himself
with David, whom he doubtless heard that rumor
had asserted would succeed Saul, had invented the lie
for which he was justly rewarded with death. This
young man, your majesty, was the same who stood near
Saul, and whom Saul would not ask to slay him; but
who, after his death, and that of Doeg by his own hand,
robbed the king's helmet of the “war crown,” which was
secured thereon by a band or plate of gold. This Amalekite
was even the son of Doeg, by an Amalekite wife;
and had been told by his wily father, if the king fell, to
hasten with the crown to David in Ziklag, as he was to
be king.

Little did the unhappy Amalekite understand the true
character of David. Instead of beholding his face
brighten with joy at the news of Saul's death; instead
of seeing him seize the golden crown, and vainly put it
upon his head; instead of being rewarded with a purse
of gold, a rich robe, and given a place of honor, lo!
weeping took the place of rejoicing, in the generous and
unselfish David; the crown lay untouched at his feet; and
he was rewarded with an ignominious death for touching
with his hand a consecrated king. How beautiful, your

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majesty, is this character so admirably developed by
David, at a moment which would test all men, and show
what was in them! Here were no ambitious hopes
awakened, no unfit joy manifested at the death of his
persecutor and enemy! All the wrongs he had suffered
from the man, were buried in oblivion, as he thought
upon the humiliating end of the consecrated king! The
mighty Saul to be slain by a base Amalekite! The noble
traits of Saul he recalled, and also his great sorrows, the
loss of Samuel's friendship, of the favor of God, the evil
spirit possessing him: all these recollections rushed upon
his mind, as apologies for all his conduct, and he wept
bitterly, that he was no more! But what pen can portray
his heart's deep sorrow for the death of Jonathan!
He shed tears for Saul, and the grief passed away; but
he mourned long and sore for Jonathan.

“What shall I do with these, my lord?” asked the
ever richly attired Ahithophel, placing the crown and
bracelet of the king before him, as he sat in his tent.

“Take away the crown!” said David, sorrowfully.
“Give it to Abiathar to keep. Alas!” he added, as he
took the silver bracelet in his hand, in which was framed
a band of inscribed parchment; “here is the poor
king's phylactery which, of late years, he has worn bound
upon his wrist.”

“Yes,” said the cynical Ahithophel, with a slight
tone of bitter sarcasm; “the king, the deeper he sinned,
the broader made his phylacteries, and the ampler was
the blue ribband upon his fringes. He grew, like all
transgressors, superstitious in his late years, and what
piety was lacking in his life, he bound it in sacred verses
upon his brow as frontlets, and upon his hands as

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bracelets. Doubtless, as he went into battle with this, he regarded
it as a potent charm or amulet, which would
make him invulnerable. Behold! It was upon his left
hand. That was the king's sword-hand, by virtue of his
being of the tribe of Benjamin. It was a bad omen.”

“This language is an offence unto me, Ahithophel,”
said David. “He who regards my favor will speak courteously
and kindly of the fallen king.”

The next day, David called a solemn fast for the death
of King Saul, and when the people were assembled together,
and had paid due honors to the king's memory,
he took his harp before them and struck it to the chords
of lamentation for Prince Jonathan in the following
hymn:

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This last refrain, taken up by the warriors and the women,
was heard like the waves of the sea lifting up their
voices to the wailing of the winds.

The days of lamentation for Saul and Jonathan being
ended, David, although he knew that it was ordained
that he should be king in Saul's stead, would take no
steps without humbly consulting the Oracle of his God;
thus evincing that modesty, prudence, and piety which
are marked features in his noble nature. He, therefore,
waited upon the High Priest, Abiathar, and desired him
to enquire of the Lord what he should do, whether to go
into the land of Judah and to Hebron, therein, where
Saul had dwelt; or whither should he go?

The answer of the Oracle was, with the usual brevity
of divine revelations,

“Go up to Hebron!”

David, therefore, prepared at once to go eastward into
the land of Israel, before the return of the conqueror Achish
should place any barrier to his departure. He took with
him all his followers with their families and his own, and
also many servants of the Amalekites and Ethiopians,

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which he had captured in the desert when he avenged the
burning of Ziklag.

What were his emotions, when after five days' slow
march, during which he crossed the field where he had
slain Goliath, he came at the head of his long procession
in sight of the battlements of Hebron, from which, three
years before, he had fled by night from the fierce wrath
of King Saul! As he looked up at the window of the
palace, from whence Michal, his young wife, had let him
down over the wall, he could not but recall all the scenes,
so varied and adventurous, through which he had passed
since that desolate night. Flying a fugitive without
where to lay his head, he was now returning a king with
the power and authority of Saul himself. His six hundred
followers were increased by the thousands of the
men of Judah, who crowded along the way he came to
join him and hail him as their king, and when he entered
the gates of the city he had an army of twelve thousand
men, while all the valley of Mamre, before Hebron, was
thronged with multitudes who had gathered there to
behold and receive their young king, and escort him to
his throne.

When he reached the palace of King Saul, and was
tendered the keys of the grand chamberlain, pride and
power were not the emotions he felt at such a moment
of triumph over his enemy, but sadness! The absence
of Saul, of Jonathan, of his other dead sons, of Michal,
left desolate vacancies in corridor and chamber, throne-room
and festal hall. Having thanked the chief men,
lords, and elders of Judah who had escorted him thither,
he desired to be left alone, and for a while gave himself
up to the painful and solemn reminiscences of the past.

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The next day he gave audience to the principal persons
of the tribe of Judah, of which Hebron was the
chief city, who came formally to ask him to receive the
solemn rite of consecration as king, some of these old
men having been present when, a few years before, he
had been anointed in his father's house, at Bethlehem,
by Samuel. That that anointing was royal and prophetic
of his reign after Saul's death, of late all Israel
had understood, and this knowledge at length afforded
the people the true key to Saul's jealousy against one
whom he feared and hated as the man who would supplant
his family.

Alas! Jonathan, the prince royal, was now where
earthly crowns were valueless! Only the youth Ishbosheth
of all Saul's family remained, save his wife and
concubines and their sons. Thirty days after the entrance
of David into Hebron, the citizens of which had
received him with great joy, (for he had been well
known to them when he dwelt there with Saul,) he was
consecrated and crowned king of Judah, with ceremonies
more august and imposing than ever had been witnessed
in the land. The High Priest, in full sacerdotals,
after solemnly anointing his head with holy oil at
the foot of the throne in the presence of the seventy,
the seven elders of the city, the lords of the towns, the
high captains and officers of his army and of the palace,
led him up the steps of the throne, and seated him thereon.
Then receiving the state crown of Saul from the hands
of two priests, he placed it upon his head amid the acclamations
of the people, and the sound of trumpets, cornets,
dulcimers, and all kinds of instruments of music from a
choir placed in the gallery at the west end of the

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throne-room. The one thousand brilliant guards without, in
homage lowered their standard of the “Lion of the tribe
of Judah,” and paid with depressed spears the martial salute
to their new-crowned king, and, crossing their swords,
in one voice they swore safely to guard his body “by
watch and ward, by day and by night, with their hearts
and with their lives!” The intelligence that the king
was crowned was communicated to the multitudes in the
streets, whose shouts gave information to the warders
upon the walls, who made it known to the thousands
who could not get within the city, and who filled the
valley. These, repeating the shouts of joy, conveyed the
glad tidings to the hills, and the hills to the populous
vales beyond these, to fortress, tower, and city, still farther
off; until the tide of sound rolled like waves over
all Judah, died away in the mountains of Carmel in the
south, of Ephraim in the west, and of Tabor in the north,
and were echoed back by the dark hills of Moab beyond
Jordan.

Abner, Saul's brave general, was walking on the battlements
of the walled town of the ancient fortified camp
of Mahanaim, east of the river Jordan, whither he had
fled, attended by four hundred Benjamites, with Prince
Isbosheth after the death of Saul. All at once he heard
shouts afar off: vine-dressers calling to the keepers in the
towers of the olive-fields, and these to the reapers of
barley under the walls, and these again to the sentries
over the city-gate; each man sending on the news which
had crossed Jordan on the wings of human voices flying
through this populous land.

“What call they?” he asked of a foot-soldier, a man
of the tribe of Gad, who stood by.

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Before the man could reply, a warder, upon a turret
above the gate, catching clearly the words which were
shouted across the valley, cried aloud to Abner,

“David is crowned! The son of Jesse is King of
Judah! Hosanna to the anointed of God!”

These words caused Saul's general to start as if he
were suddenly wounded by an arrow, instead of by a
voice. His great brow grew black as night. He commanded
the warden to keep silence, and without delay hastened
to the palace of the governor of the city. As he
entered the reception hall, he beheld the young Prince Ishbosheth
seated there, attired with that exquisite taste which
characterized him, his flowing robes richly fringed with
gold thread, his phylacteries gorgeously worked with the
needle in floss of gold; the blue silken bands of the
border, instead of being plain ribband according to the
law, were magnificently embroidered with scarlet pomegranates
and vine leaves intermingled. His tunic was of
Tyrian purple, worn with a graceful air, and confined
at his slender waist by a cincture, sparkling with emeralds.
A collar of pearls encircled his round, handsome
neck, and his wrists were decorated with bracelets, one
of which enclosed a verse of Holy Script, each letter
ornamented after the style of the Phœnicians, who love
to intertwine sentences among flowers, intermingled with
shells and fanciful scrolls. His hands glittered with jewelset
rings, and the royal seal ring of King Saul, his
father, was worn, as is the custom, upon the thumb of his
left hand. His dark hair, of which he was very proud,
flowed about his shoulders in shining masses; and upon
his head he wore a sort of sparkling tiara. He was
seated upon a richly lined chair, a slender Idumean

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hunting dog crouching at his feet, one of his decorated,
sandaled feet resting upon his glossy hide. Upon his
wrist was perched a beautiful Arabian bulbul, which he
was teaching to imitate a warlike air he was whistling
to it.

Altogether it was a striking picture. Near him sat
the governor's daughter, a mere child, but with those
great radiant Hebrew eyes, at once so full of innocence
and intelligence. He was amusing her with his remarks
upon the dullness of his plumaged pupil. On his handsome
olive-brown and heartless face, there was visible no
trace of grief for the fate of his father and brothers, who
scarcely two months before had fallen at Mount Gilboa.
Not far distant from him on the other side of the room
sat the Governor of Mahanaim, reading out of the book
of the criminal law, in reference to a case which he was
to decide that day.

Abner entered with a quick, heavy tread, like a man
in earnest, and who has something earnest to say; the
ring of his iron heel starting the prince, frightening the
bulbul from his wrist, and causing the dog to hide behind
his master.

“What, my lord!” he cried, “art thou dallying there
when the times call for thee to buckle on thy sword and
do battle for thy father's crown? The son of Jesse was
this day (for the winds have quickly brought the evil
tidings) crowned King of Judah in Hebron! This must
not stand! Sir governor, call the city together! I will
proclaim the Prince Ishbosheth King of all Israel before
the sun go down! and defend his right to the crown of
his royal sire with my good sword.”

Abner faithfully fulfilled his purpose. The same hour

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he rode through all the city at the prince's bridle, attended
by a glittering array of men-at-arms, and preceded
by a royal trumpeter, who sounded the trumpet
before him, while Abner cried,

“Bend the knee! Ishbosheth, son of Saul, is this day
proclaimed King over Israel!”

From Mahanaim the prince and his general rode to
the cities of Gilead, to the towns of the Ashurites, to
Jezreel, to the strongholds of Ephraim, and the lands of
the sons of Simeon, who wield their swords with the left
hand, and over all Israel east of the Jordan. These all
accepted and hailed the prince as their king; and when the
ambassadors of David came among them a few days afterwards
to give in their allegiance to him, they imprisoned
or drove them from their cities, refusing allegiance
to any save to the son of Saul; a devotion which had its
origin many years previous, when these people east of
Jordan being conquered by Ammonites, and Moabites, and
others, were promptly delivered from the hands of their
enemies by the prowess of King Saul. They now gratefully
returned the favor by adhering to his son.

Thus not three months after Saul's death, your
majesty, two kings were dividing his kingdom between
them: one chosen before of God; the other, the creature
of the ambition and noble devotion to his royal master's
memory, of Abner the valiant warrior and accomplished
general. Losing his own rank and power at Saul's defeat
and death, this ambitious and proud soldier resolved
to secure their continuance by placing the king's son on
the throne. Perhaps he was ignorant of David's divine
claim to the crown, and regarded him as a daring
usurper, and his natural enemy. Without doubt this

[figure description] Page 435.[end figure description]

stern old veteran, blunt and honest in purpose, despised
the effeminate Prince Ishbosheth in his heart; but he
knew that if he could secure his seat in the throne of his
father, that he, himself, Abner, would be, as his adviser,
the actual monarch! In establishing Ishbosheth in his
father's kingdom, was, therefore, virtually to enthrone
himself!

Abner, therefore, proceeded to raise an army to maintain
the pretensions of the son of Saul to the throne.
This personage was perfectly passive in his hands, willing
to be king, so that Abner would take all the burden
and trouble necessary to make him so, and leave him to
the indulgence of indolence and pleasure. Though effeminate,
Ishbosheth was not a craven. He had inherited all
his father's courage, and he would not have fled from the
face of a lion; but instead of his father's passion for war,
he loved the indulgence of the chase, of the festal hall, of
the scenes of pleasure and of luxury. If Abner had permitted
it, he would have joined his father on the fatal
field of Gilboa, and died fighting by his side, as fearless
of death as his brothers! But he had no warlike ambition.
Honors he would not refuse, but they must be
purchased by the toil of others. Abner thoroughly understood
the prince's character; and with the personal
prize in view, personal to himself, he was willing to do
all the work!

When David heard that Saul's son had been proclaimed
King over Israel, he manifested no anger. His generous
temper at once pardoned an act founded upon the profoundest
impulses of our nature. The sole surviving
prince, was he not the lawful heir, in his own, and in
the world's eye, of his royal father's throne? Were not

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his claims prior and superior to those of a stranger?
What were David's, which should acquit him of the
charge proclaimed against him from Beersheba in the
south, to Dan in the north, of usurping Saul's kingdom?
The secret call of God; followed by the secret anointing
of Samuel; confirmed by the oracle at Ziklag, through
the High Priest commanding him to go and reign at
Hebron! These were evidences to him of his right to
the throne; but was it evidence to Abner, to Ishbosheth,
to Israel, to the world? How could he prove to all these
his undisputed title to the sceptre and crown of Saul?
All that remained for him was to wait the farther revelations
of heaven, that the world might know as well as
he himself, the justice of his claim, founded upon the
gift to him of the kingdom by Him who is King of kings,
and governs the nations of the earth by whom He will!
David therefore did not hasten to commence hostilities,
but waited to see how God would order affairs. Three
weeks elapsed when word came to him that Abner had
crossed the Jordan, and taken Gibeon, near Jerusalem.
He now sent for Joab, his general, who, under such a
soldier and warrior as David had at length become, had
acquired a fierce and sanguinary character; or more
truly, numerous wars had developed a temper naturally
harsh and haughty, into a fierce, almost relentless disposition.

“Thou hast heard the news, my great captain,” said
the king, as the tall warrior entered his presence, his
thick tangled locks, matted upon his square forehead,
and the lines of passion and care, deeply cut in his worn
visage, (for though yet a young man, he looked already
like a veteran,) and the beard upon his lips, curved like

[figure description] Page 437.[end figure description]

two sabres across either cheek. “I have come to but half
of Saul's kingdom. Abner has not only set up Ishbosheth
against me beyond Jordan, and made him king of all the
east, as thou hast heard, but he has crossed the Jordan,
and is at this moment in the heart of my kingdom, having
entered Gibeon, but nine miles from Jerusalem, two
days ago!”

“Then by the sword of Gideon, O King David,” cried
Joab in a voice that growled like a lion's, when he hears
the elephant trumpeting afar off, “I will shorten him by
the head ere two days more are gone!”

“Nay, my brave son of Zeruiah,” answered the king;
“we must deal gently with them. They are in the right,
had not God set Saul aside for a stranger! They must
by and by all come under my rule. Let me not do harm
to my own subjects. Go thou, Joab, and take with thee
seven hundred chosen men, the number he has with him.
When thou comest near Gibeon, send a messenger of
peace to Abner. Begin not any quarrel with him.
Meet thou and the son of Ner as of old, like friends and
courteous brethren in arms. Learn from him his purposes.
Say to him that I have sworn I will not harm
the seed of Saul, nor fight against him and his people.
Offer to Abner son of Ner, from me, terms of honor, and
the command of my armies east of Jordan, if he will
submit to my sceptre; and Ishbosheth his master, for his
brother Jonathan's sake shall dwell in my palace, and
be to me as a friend!”

The next morning the general of King David departed,
and came and encamped before Gibeon, and sending in a
messenger of peace, Abner and twelve Benjamites, sons
of Simeon beyond Jordan, of great stature and valor,

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came forth with him, his army being drawn up in battle
array before the gates. The meeting between these two
mighty men of war was by a fountain near the gate.
Abner heard all the words of the stern Joab, which
David sent to him, and answered graciously, saying “he
would refer the matter to the King of Israel.”

“Who is the King of Israel?” demanded Joab, with
high anger in his voice.

“Ishbosheth, the son of Saul!” answered Abner, with
his usual stately courtesy.

“Now, as the Lord liveth,” cried Joab, striking his
iron sword-handle till it rung again, his nostrils dilating
like those of a war-charger, “I know no King of Israel,
but my lord David of Hebron! I will do thee battle, son
of Ner, on this question—thou and I here between our
armies!”

“Nay, Joab,” answered Saul's general, his large,
brown eyes kindling with the steely gleam of battle, “I
have here twelve men of war. They are more valiant than
thine. If thou hast any doubt, choose ye twelve of your
most valiant young men, let them meet on yonder grassy
space, and at a signal let them play the game of battle instead
of thee and me, and let the conquering side decide
who shall be king, and who are the bravest warriors!”

The fierce and confident Joab did not hesitate to stake
the kingdom on this issue of arms. When the twelve
adherents of Ishbosheth faced the twelve men of Judah,
the two armies looked on, and awaited the signal, which
Abner gave by waving his sword, and crying:

“For Saul and his throne!”

“For God and the king!” responded Joab.

The twofold cries were taken up by the opposing

[figure description] Page 439.[end figure description]

combatants, and the two parties, first casting forward their
javelins, rushed upon each other only with swords. The
twelve Benjamites attempted by their fearful left-handed
strokes to take the men of Judah unawares, but these twelve
men, selected by Joab, had been trained in the army of
David also to fight with the left hand, and parrying the
blows caught their adversaries by the beard and hair, and
run them through the body, the Benjamites at the same
time transfixing each man his antagonist. Thus the
twenty-four combatants fell dead together, every man's
sword sheathed in his fellow's body. At this extraordinary
result, as if the men by mutual understanding had agreed
to die together, leaving the question of valor and right
unsettled, Abner and Joab, at the same instant, moved
by one impulse, shouted the battle-cry for their armies
to close in conflict. In a few minutes the two hosts
were fiercely battling together before Gibeon, and though
Abner fought with superhuman prowess, the dogged valor
and stern purpose of Joab overmastered him. He was
defeated, and all his army put to flight, so that he himself
had to flee away on foot towards the Jordan. Joab
and his victorious soldiers pursued, until Asahel, a young
brother of Joab, and of wonderful fleetness of foot, came
up with Abner, ambitious to take him prisoner. The old
warrior warned him not to come near him, but heedless
of his words he was about to lay hands upon his shoulder,
when Abner, by a back-stroke of his broken javelin,
slew him.

Abner, leaving three hundred and sixty of his men
dead on the field and in the flight, reached Jordan after
retreating all that night, and, crossing that river, regained
Mahanaim, where Ishbosheth remained behind amusing

[figure description] Page 440.[end figure description]

himself. The loss of Joab was but nineteen men besides
Asahel, whose body he conveyed to Bethlehem, his birth-place,
and there buried. Then, returning to Hebron, he
reported to the king the issue of the expedition, from
which David perceived that he could only obtain the
kingdom by an intestine war.

Thus, your majesty, I have brought the narrative of
these warlike events up to the moment at which I write;
for it is yet but fourteen days since the events I have
last recorded transpired, and the return of Joab to Hebron.
Three months ago, when I reached here from
Egypt, David had but recently been crowned, and the
subsequent events rapidly followed in the order in which I
have given them. From Bethlehem, where I am sojourning,
I saw the seven hundred men of Judah, under Joab,
when they marched by, in the valley, on their way to
meet Abner at the pool of Gibeon; and, on their return,
bearing the body of the light-footed Asahel. Joab and
his brother Abishai stopped here one day to bury the
body in the sepulchre of his fathers. From him I
learned all the particulars of the meeting with Abner as
I have narrated it; and also from King David, Joab, and
others, who were intimately connected with the events I
have recorded, have I received the chief details of the
histories which have filled my letters to your majesty.

My health is now so much improved by more than two
months' sojourn in this salubrious region, that I shall,
to-morrow, leave the house of the stern, but hospitable
Joab, and proceed to Hebron, to pay a visit to the king,
in order to take leave of him before departing from his
kingdom. Ever since my return from Egypt, his majesty
has shown towards me the greatest kindness. Upon my

[figure description] Page 441.[end figure description]

arrival by the caravan from the land of the Nile, and,
coming to Hebron, I found that Jonathan's friend held the
sceptre; being too ill to leave the camp outside of the walls,
I sent to King David a message of congratulation on
his accession to the throne. What was my surprise,
the next morning, your majesty, to behold the curtain
of my tent drawn aside, and to see the king enter! He tenderly
embraced me, and insisted that I should be removed
in a palanquin to his palace. He was greatly
changed in three years. His figure was large and manly,
and his air and bearing was that of a warlike chief; for
he had learned to endure the hardness of a soldier's discipline
in the severe school of his persecutor, Saul.
Yet, with his brown cheek, his bearded chin, his martial
voice, and military aspect, his eyes still sparkled with
the soft light of the gentle shepherd's spirit, and his
white forehead was expansive with the radiance of the
highest order of intellect. About his fine mouth played
the light of that divine inspiration which has revealed
itself in some of the most beautiful odes, hymns, and
psalters, which human genius has composed. These this
pious prince loves to sing at his window at the close of
day, when the hills are just fading behind the holy veil
of twilight, or seated upon his palace corridor in the
light of the full moon, accompanying his grand, rich
voice with his harp, producing the noblest harmony.

I remained several days a guest of this most devout and
ingenuous king, and after he had heard of me the history
of all my adventures in Egypt, he, from time to time,
(for he often came to my chamber and remained as long
with me as he could withdraw from his varied and important
affairs,) related to me all the events which

[figure description] Page 442.[end figure description]

transpired in Judea, during my nearly three years' absence
at the court and in the prisons of Pharaoh.

When, at length, he found that the close confinement
and air of Hebron were uncongenial and unfavorable to
me, he recommended the hills of Bethlehem, his native
place; and Joab, who has a house here, the pleasures
of which, however, he seldom enjoys, being so much
away on duty at the court or with the army, civilly and
very kindly offered me the use of it. I accepted the
kindness, and by the advice of my physician, came
hither.

Though I have occupied my time so much in writing
to your majesty, almost my only solace, yet I have grown
better daily; and am now about to pay a visit to the
king. Through his attention, I have received, in my
convalescence, every luxury. One day, purple grapes
from the famous vineyards of Eshcol, in rich bunches
of a size that would more than fill a helmet, are sent
to me; on another, caskets of ripe figs, both blue and
white, of wonderful excellence, such as no other land produceth;
yesterday, a basket of delicious pomegranates
came by a messenger from the aged Jesse, the father of
the king, who had no sooner been crowned, than he
sent for his venerable parents to return from the court
of the king of Moab to their own home; and to-day,
raisins, apricots, and fruits with names unknown to me,
and of ravishing flavor, with fragrant olives from the
Mountain of Olives, not far distant, are bountifully
poured upon my table; while the rich wines of Idumea,
of Egypt, and Damascus, tempt me to temperate indulgence,
and invite to strength and health.

This land of Judea and of Benjamin, of which Hebron

[figure description] Page 443.[end figure description]

and Bethlehem are the centres, is rich and fertile beyond
conception; beautiful and bold in scenery; abounding in
grains, fruit, and flowers; noble forest trees, and fountains;
and groves, gardens, and thousands of pleasant
and foliage-shaded homes; with numerous snow white
sepulchres, gleaming amid dark groves.

Hebron, Court of King David.

Your majesty will see by the change in the date of
my letter, that I fulfilled my intention to leave Bethlehem,
to visit the king. I was received by the young monarch
in the kindest manner. He expressed his great joy at
my restoration to health, and said that he trusted I
would now make a long visit at his court. With what
pleasure did I meet here on the day of my arrival, Isrilid,
the stately gray-haired lord of Jericho! He was accompanied
by his fair daughter, and they are occupying
the palace in which Abner once dwelt. They insisted
that I should become their guest; and the king reluctantly
gave me up; but as his palace, in this crisis of his
reign, is filled with courtiers, ambassadors from the
various Hebrew tribes, lords of cities, senators of the
Sanhedrim, and war officers, all seeking position and
place, or offering services, or presenting letters of adhesion
to his rule, and congratulations upon his accession,
it was far more agreeable for me to be in a private house:
I therefore accepted the offer of the noble Isrilid, who
at once took me to his home which is not far from the
palace.

On the way thither, he informed me that when he
reached Damascus with his fair daughter, he was delayed
some weeks for the caravan, and arrived at Tadmor in

[figure description] Page 444.[end figure description]

the Desert, after many delays, to learn that the queen
had been dead four months, and that her brother, a
young soldier of Parthian blood, had seized the crown.
“I found him,” said Isrilid, “maintained in his usurpation
by a body of wild barbaric soldiers in steel helmets,
and armed with gigantic bows, that carry steel-headed
arrows five cubits long. It would have been madness to
have made known my errand. I remained at Tadmor
privately lodged a few weeks, during which time I learned
that the new dynasty was hateful to the people, and
that they would aid a leader with an army, to displace
the splendid savage whose yoke pressed heavily upon
them. I therefore, resolved to visit Nineveh, the kings
of which I knew had received for a hundred years triannual
tribute from the kings of Tadmor; not that I
hoped King Belus would overthrow the new dynasty at
my poor solicitation, or, that so long as the tribute was
regularly sent to him, he troubled himself as to who wore
the crown; but I expected, my lord Arbaces,” continued
Isrilid, “to find you at the Assyrian Court, long since
successfully returned from your embassy to Egypt. I
therefore waited for the next caravan, when a company
of merchants of Nineveh arrived, from the captain of
whom I learned that your mission had failed, and you
had been held a prisoner in Egypt by Pharach more than
two years. As I was informed from this veteran captain,
that he was the maternal uncle of your armor-bearer
Ninus, I gave credence to his story, and reluctantly
returned by the first opportunity to Damascus,
when three weeks ago we arrived in Judea to hear of
King Saul's death, and the wise and brave David, the
friend of God, on the throne. Here I learned, O prince,

[figure description] Page 445.[end figure description]

with joy, how you had escaped from your Egyptian
prison, and were in Bethlehem, where, had you not so
opportunely come to Hebron, I proposed to visit you.
As I am no longer lord of Jericho, but a private citizen,
I shall dwell here with my daughter, having taken the
palace of Abner, which Saul, to whom it belonged, though
permitting Abner to occupy it, gave me three years ago
in part security for the talents of gold I loaned to him,
to carry on the war against the Philistines, when Goliath
of Gath and his armies came against him!”

By this time, your majesty, we had reached the gate
of Abner's palace, which stands not far distant from the
“Tabernacle of Shelter,” where the refugees who seek
this city from the avenger of blood are lodged for protection.

Three years had changed the Princess Adora, not in taking
away from her beauty and grace, but developing and
finishing that which was not fully matured in mind and
person. Heretofore she was the opening rose which one
hesitated whether yet to call it a bud or a flower. But
the full-blown rose of Sharon, brilliant with the morning
dews, was not more beautiful than the fair daughter of
the house of Isrilid, as she now appeared when she advanced
to meet me! She extended her hand, partly with
the freedom of an old friend, partly with the affection
of a sister for a brother, partly with a gentle look of
sympathy, (for she had heard of my sufferings in Egypt,)
partly with blushing consciousness that though she might
regard me as a brother, I was not her brother! These
conflicting, embarrassing emotions made her look far
more lovely than my brightest recollections since our
last meeting had ever pictured her.

[figure description] Page 446.[end figure description]

It took the hours of three moonlight evenings spent
upon the terrace-like roof of the palace, the soft breeze
from the mountains of Judah laden with the mingled
fragrance of fruit and flowers cooling the air the while,
to interchange our stories. It is wonderful how often
she desired me to describe the beauty of the Egyptian
princess! At length, she said: “I wonder, O prince,
thou didst not marry her! Thou hadst better have sat
on a throne than been chained to the floor of that dreadful
dungeon!” There was a tremor in the tones of her
voice that plainly betrayed she did not mean all she said.

“I had no heart, fair Adora, to give her,” I answered
her.

But here, your majesty, I paused, for I dared not
venture on ground from which, if circumstances should
render it necessary, I might be unable to retire with becoming
self-possession and dignity. From what I leave
unsaid, your majesty will be so kind as not to imagine
there are passages of the interview I desire not to confess.
What the future may reveal, I cannot say. Whatever
it does develope shall not be withholden from thee,
O Belus!

I am now a daily guest at the dinner table of the king.
One after another the Hebrew tribes on this side Jordan
are giving in their adhesion to his royal sceptre; for, to
the people at large the title of David, the son of Jesse,
to reign over them is of the same value (in that it is from
the same high Source of all authority and power, their
God himself) of that by which Saul, the son of Kish,
became their king! Both equally were called of God,
and both were anointed by Samuel! But for the ambition
of Abner, still the firm friend of the dead king, his

[figure description] Page 447.[end figure description]

master, who claims an hereditary right to the throne on
the part of the king's son, the whole nation, both sides
of the now dividing river, would ere this have submitted
cheerfully to his sceptre. So long as Abner lives and
stands by this young and indolent prince, Ishbosheth, so
long will there exist in this nation of one blood a state
of internecine war, but aggressive only on the part of
the adherents to Ishbosheth.

As I was about to close this letter, your majesty, King
David sent for me. Upon presenting myself at the palace,
he said:—

“My dear prince, I trust our long and frequent intercourse
has made us friends. I will, therefore, frankly
commune with you. You inform me that it is your purpose
in a few days to return to Nineveh, contrary to the
advice of your own physicians and those of my court,
who say the heat and exposure of the oriental desert
will bring back your disease, and perhaps forbid a second
restoration to health. Before you incur so great a risk,
I pray you reflect whether you cannot be of more service
to your monarch and to his interests by remaining here,
and represent Assyria in the character of resident ambassador
at my court. It is true my kingdom is yet in
its first estate, and but a fragment of the empire God
will put into my hand. But it is my purpose to enlarge
its borders, and raise it to a rank among the powers of
the earth that the nations shall no more say with derision,
`Your God, whom you call the Lord of the earth,
rules over but a little kingdom without seaports, commerce
by caravan or ship, without treaties, and without
the friendship of a single king of the earth!' Remain
here, O Arbaces, and let me address a letter to your

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king, your account of whom has led me to hold him in
great esteem, asking him to consent to an interchange
of commerce and of royal courtesies. Such a message
I shall direct to Pharaoh of Egypt, to the King of Sheba,
to the Dukes of Idumea, to the Prince of Tadmor, to the
noble young King Hiram of Tyre, and even to the Lord
of Askelon. War is not prosperity, but peace is power!
I shall cultivate amity and friendship with all nations.
With an army of four hundred thousand men, which I
can bring into the field when I have consolidated my
power, I shall be able to command peace in my borders.
The friendship and alliance of the powerful King of
Nineveh will enable me to secure more readily that of
all the others. If you consent, O Arbaces, to remain
at my court, I will despatch a courier with a suitable
escort to your king to be the bearer of my letter, and
of any message you may desire to forward to him.”

When King David had ended this candid revelation
of the policy which should govern him in his reign, I
thanked his majesty for his confidence and royal friendship,
and desired three days to make up my mind.

In coming to the determination which I have done, I
was materially influenced, O Belus, by two words spoken
by the Princess Adora. These words were in reply to a
question which after an hour's interview I addressed to
her; a question founded upon good evidence which I belived
I had of her partiality for me. I said,

“And will you, O Adora, share the residue of my life
with me, if I consent to remain, by my royal master's
permission, resident ambassador at the court of your
king?”

Without hesitation, but with trembling joy, the glory

[figure description] Page 449.[end figure description]

of love resplendent in her radiant gaze, and its sacred
cadences trembling musically on her tongue, she answered,

“I will.”

Therefore, O Belus, do you receive this letter by the
caravan instead of Arbaces in person. Let not my lord
prince be offended. If your majesty will turn a favorable
car to the request of King David for an alliance and
representation, and will confer upon your Arbaces the
position of ambassador, the king will send to you in return,
one of his lords, Ahithophel, a person of great
abilities, scholarship, wit, and knowledge of men, a
nobleman of wonderful sagacity of intellect and penetration,
and with that high personal character which will
command for him your majesty's esteem.

Be assured, O my liege lord and prince, Belus, that I
do not in the least withdraw my allegiance from you,
my lawful king, even in taking the oath of homage (as I
shall do if your majesty accredits me to this court) to
the fair Queen of Tadmor, whose only empire I fear
will be that which she will wield over the loyal heart of

p614-467

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