Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1853-02-24
The Craflman's Judgment.

Ali tlle 0eIuSdteLl AdlS ull IL ID Ie
cordd ID, that during the building 0
the Temple the illustrloas Solo
mon, King Of Israel, had fire
quent occasion to exercise hi
judgIh hent in deciding cases Of dis
pute, which occasionally arose be
| tween the workmen, and from the
satiSf4 4ction which his decisions inya
riably gave, acquired the surname o
the Wise, a titlelof which he became
SO va in, that the Great Architect Of
the v TorId, by whom, doubtless, he
had b ben inspired, thought fit in his
mercy and wisdom, to reprove him;
for as the Rabbinical writer, Tarasi,
justly observes, "Vanity is serpent
that d deyoureth the core Of wisdom. >
One of the overseers or men en-
trustel Il with the direction Of the
works and the payment of the men,
being summoned to attend a meeting
of his class, called to him two Of the
Crafts men, and placed in their hd ndS a
sum O gold, directing them, if he
did NOT return by the appointed time,
to pay 'the hire Of their fellows In the
usual pecul5a7, and Masonic man per, a
duty which they both promised faith
fully to execute.
AS several hours were wanti hg to
the time Of payment, the two @ RATS
men agreed to bury the treh insure
which they had re dceived, and prp pceed
to their different occupations. They
accordingly souglita a secure p,ac e,and
committed the gold to the guar dian
ship of lis native earth. Abo pt an
b pur before the hour of paying the
people arrived, the oyerseer retJ Jrned
al hd demanded of the Crattsmeh p the
tteasure which he had con6!dd to
them. They told him what they had
dPne with it, a nd conducted hi N to
II be spot where It had been deposited.
On their arrival, they began to dig,
and after removing the soil, foun ID
that the treasure had vanished
The overseer immediately chargeds
tlle two men with the robbery; then
men each accused the other, and fl |
iI4lly we're carried by the soldiers
whom the officer summoned beioreE
tile judgment seat CT the King,
1t ch hanced that. on that day Solo
mon pr esided in royal state, in theE
midst Of his counsellors, to receiveI
tie ambassadors of the different
m onarchs, y1.o, hearing Of his fame,
W ire solicitous cf his alliance. lie!
nd 4turally wished, therefore, to distin-I
gdish himself before them, but it'll
pleased the Architect of all that hisI
pride should be RI ebuked. The tgoI
Craftsmen, on bqing questioned byl
the King, each declared his innocence,
and answered every question With
the utmost ihgeniousness; they we're
examined with til E most subtle skill,
but nothing could be elected. "Theyl
must have been " watched,' exclaimed
their judge, half vexed at the diff
eulties Which pre- scented themselves:
-and the treasure stolen by some rob
Ter; | see no other solution This,
however. the men both declared toll
be impossible. 'INot.a tree or shrub
was in sight said Joel, the first of
the Craftsmen. t'Not shelter for q
said iran, the second; and
then they each began to accuse the
other of the theft. Finding it i'm
possible to come to decision, the
mortified Solomon hastily dismissed
his Council after 6rst remandlng the
men to prison, and then sauntered
forth alone to enjoy an hours reaec-
ton in the Royal Gardens.
1t cha anced that two old Crafts
men, wi DO had been present at the ex-
aminati bn, were seated under cedar
tree, dis 4cussing the affair, and not
p perccivi ing the approach Of the mon
arch, heedlessly continued their con
versation. "The Judgment of the
Ruler seems at fault" observed the |
first, "the wisdom Of the King hath |
f,iled." at is the Divine will, doubt
less" replied his companion, "to re-
prove the vanity Of Solomon, to teach |
him that his power and wisdom are
but the gift of the Most High, or
else he could scarcely have erred in
so simple a matter. "
ThesKing who had overheard the |
last speech, vas highly incensed at
their presumption, and commanded |
bis guards to seize them. To their
antreaties for mercy, he replied; .s1f