attempt; but it failed. And when I saw that he would go to the king, I made every exertion to prevail on him to make a smooth and flattering address."

"How did you succeed?" inquired he of China.

"You shall judge, when I have repeated his discourse," replied Belial.

"The hour was early in the morning, when the prophet, with unusual solemnity and concern depicted in his countenance, entered the palace and stood before the king.

"Have you a message?' asked the king.

"I have,' answered Nathan. There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which he had brought and nourished up; and it grew up together with him and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock, and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come to him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.' (2 Sam. xii. 1—6.)

"David's anger was now greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan,—

"As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.'

"And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee

king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; and I gave thee thy master's house, and I gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thy house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

"Thus saith the Lord,' continued Nathan: 'Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.' (2 Sam. xii. 1—12.)

"David was aroused by this address of the prophet. His conduct now appeared in a new light. He smote upon his breast, and wept bitterly: then he cried out, 'I have sinned against the Lord.'

"Thou shalt not die,' said Nathan. "The Lord, in view of thy repentance, hath pardoned thy sin. Nevertheless, by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.'

Although David," said Belial, "was assured by Nathan of forgiveness from God, yet it seemed as if he never could forgive himself. Through all the remainder of his life, he had an aching and troubled heart, whenever he thought of the fate of the valiant Uriah. "Not long after this period," continued he, "I suc

ceeded in alienating from David his far-famed counsellor, Ahithophel. The arts I employed for this purpose need not be particularly detailed here; but the rupture was irreparable. This I regarded as a great point gained. The talents of Ahithophel were tremendous, and his long intimacy with the king had furnished him with the means of becoming a most formidable foe.

"When Ahithophel left the court, he retired to his private residence at the city of Giloh. He was a man of too much judgment and prudence to utter noisy threats; but his mighty spirit brooded in awful silence over his imagined wrongs, and meditated schemes of retaliation and revenge.

"The troubles foretold by the prophet Nathan that should arise in David's family, now began to make their appearance. Amnon, one of the king's sons, conceived a strange and unnatural attachment for Tamar, the sister of Absalom. Amnon by violence ravished Tamar. Absalom cherished the hidden vengeance that was in his heart, till occasion offered, and then slew Amnon by the hand of his servants."

CHAPTER XV.

ABSALOM.

"A TRANSACTION is recorded in the fourteenth chapter of the Second Book of Samuel, that strongly illustrates the intellectual eminence of Joab, in the age in which he lived, and how extensively the sway of his powerful mind was felt and acknowledged at the throne, and throughout the kingdom of David. Indeed, I might have mentioned examples of this much earlier. One instance is recorded in the history of Abner. (2 Sam. ii. 18—22.) Abner, in his flight from the battle at Gibeon, was reluctant to smite Asahel, because he wished to be able to 'hold up his face,' in the presence of Joab. Abner was a general of more than forty years' standing. Joab was now but a youth; yet such already was his force of character, and such the power of his presence, that Abner was controlled by it even when flying for his life. Another example follows:

"Absalom, after he had slain his brother Amnon, had fled to Talmai, king of Geshur, his grandfather on his mother's side, and remained there in banishment for three years. The slaying of Amnon was, in the eye of the law, a flagrant crime; but yet the provocation and the injury he had sustained from Amnon were

very great. And many thought that Absalom's part in the matter was somewhat excusable on account of the magnitude of insult and wrong done by Amnon.

"After three years, David became restless and anxious about Absalom's long absence; but being chief magistrate of the nation, and bound to maintain the laws, he saw not how to indulge the feelings of a father. The eagle eye of Joab penetrated the true state of David's mind, before it was discovered by others.

"On a certain day, when the king was in the judgment seat, busied with the affairs of the kingdom, a middle-aged woman, in mourning apparel, came before him, in much distress. Her dress and appearance indicated that she dwelt at some distance in the country, and that her condition was that of one in the middle walks of life. The beamings of a strong intellect appeared in her countenance, mingled with expressions of woe, showing that she was one that had long been mourning for the dead.

"She threw herself down upon the ground before the king, and cried out in a lamentable voice,

"Help, O king!'

"What aileth thee?' asked the king, moved by her distress.

"I am a widow woman,' said she; 'my husband is dead. Thy handmaid had two living sons; and after the death of their father, they were together in the field alone. They quarrelled, they fought, there was none to part them, and one smote the other that he died. And now, my lord, the whole family and neighborhood have risen up against me, and say, Deliver up him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for