The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1859-11-23
King Sole Blacks NTH.
A SENSIBLE LEGEND.

A SENSIBLE LEGEND.
AND it came to pass when Solomon,
the son of David, had finished the tenn
pie of Jerusalem, that he called unto
him the chief architects, the head ar
tifcers and cunning workmen in silver
and gold, and in wood, and in ivory,
and in stone-yea, all who had aided
in rearing the temple of the Lord, an d
he said unto them, "Sit We down at
my table I have prepared feast for
all my chief workers and cunning arti-
fcers. Stretch forth your hands, there
fore, and eat and drink and be merry.
Is not the laborer worthy Of his hire !?
Is not the skillfu1 artifcer deserving
of honor? Muzzle not the OK that
treadeth ont the corn"
And when Solomon and the work
men were seated, and the fairness Of the
land and the oil thereof were set upon
the table, there came one who knocked
loudly at the door and forced himself
even into the festal chamber. Then
Solomon the king was wroth, and said
What manner of man art thou p"
And the man answered and said /;
"When men wish to honor me they
call me Son Of the Forge +; but when
they desire to mock me they call me
blacksmith and seeing that the toll
of working in the fire covers me. with
sweat an smut, the latter name, 0 king,
is not inapt, and, in truth, thy servant
desires no better"
But" said Solomon, "why came
you thus rudely and unbidden to the
feast, where none save the chief work
men of the temple are invited 20
Please ye, my lord, / came rudely,"
replied the man. !" because thy servant
obliged me to force my way bnt /
came not unbidden. Was it not pro-
claimed that the chief workmen of the
temple were invited to dine with the
King of Israel 2"
Then he who carved the cherubim
said: T Ta&
"This fellow is no sculptor !" U
And he who inlaid the roof in pure
gold said
'"Neither is he workman in fine
metals" N"
And he who raised the walls said:
He is not a cutter of stone" i4l
And he who made the roof cried
out
He is not cunning in edar-wood F;
neither knoweth he the mystery of uni
ting pieces of strange timber together. "
Then said Solomon: jaaa
(" What hast thou to say, Son of the
Forge, why | should not order thee to
be plucked by thy beard, scourged with
scourge, and stoned to death with
stones 2"
And when the Son of the Forge
heard this he was in no sort dismayed,
but advancing to the table snatchad
up and swallowed a cup of wine, and
said: as ~
80 king, live forever The chief
men Of the workers in wood, and gold,
and stone have said | am not of'them
and they have said truly. [ am their
superior; before they lived was / crea-
ted. I am their master and they are
all my servants. :" II
And he turned him around and said
to the chief of the carvers in stone :4
Who made the tools with which
you carve 2"
And he said " The blac ksmith."
And he said to the chief of the ma
sons :gaj 'Tf
"Who made the chisels with which
the stones of the temple were squared z"
And he said 4 The blacksmith. Y
And he said to the chief of the work
ers in wood:
"Who made the tools with which
you hewed the trees of Lebanon, and
formed them into pillars and roof of
the temple 2"
And he said "The blacksmith"
Then he said to the artifcer in gold
and in ivory
/. Who makes your instruments, by
which You work beautiful things for
my lord the king? 4" aa
(" Enough! enough!'' said Solo
mon; ''thou hast proved that | in
yited thee, and that thou art all mems
father in art Go wash the smut of
the forge from thy face, and come and
sit at my right hand. The chief of my
workmen are but men-thou art more !"
Soft happened at the feast of Solo
mon, and blacksmiths have been hon..
ored ever since H
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