Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-29
A STORY OF EGYPTIAN-ISRAELITISH LIFE.
3Y PROF.. GEORG EBFRs,

ton touched her deeply, should not be sup
planted By any other man in the high place
he filled by right; he must cling to it, if
only because she did not choose to be the
wife of any man who could not assert him
self as the foremost Of the Hebrews after
her own brothers.
Never had this much-Tenerated woman,
who for her part believed, too, in her own
gift OF prophecy, felt so bitter, SO sore and
indignant. She did not own it to herself,
but it was as though the hatred which
Moses had fred in her soul against the
Egyptians, and which no longer had an
outlet, needed some fresh object, and was
now turned against the only man she ever
had loved. But true woman can make a
show OF friendship in word and demeanor to
any one, excepting those she scorns, and
Miriam received her belated guest with
naughty but gracious condescension. and
begged HIM to give her further
details as to his captivity and re-
lease. But she called him by his
old name OF Hosea, and when he perceived
that this was evidently intentional, he
asked her whether she had forgotten that it
was she herself who, as the messenger of
the Most High, had hidden him henceforth
to call himself Joshua. To this she replied
and her features assumed q sharper grav-
ity of expression-that her memory was
good, but she would fain forget the time he
referred to- He himself had rejected the
name bestowed on him by the Lord, mas
much as he had preferred to seek the favor
of the Egyptian King rather than the help
promised him by God. She, faithful to her
old habits, should continue to call him
Hosea.
The simple-hearted soldier was not pre-
pared for such hostile tone; however, he
preserved fittingly calm demeanor. and
replied with composure that he would but
rarely give her the opportunity of calling
him BY any name. Those who were his
friends found no difficulty in learning to
call him Joshua.
To this Miriam answered that she like
wise would be willing to do SO if her hus-
band agreed and he himself insisted on it,
for a mans name was but as garment. With
Offices and dignities it was another matter.
When Joshua then declared that he had
always believed that it was God himself
who had called him by the voice of His
prophecies, herself, to be captain of the
hosts Of Israel, and that be conceded to no
man, save only Moses, the right to deprive
him of that Office, Hur agreed with himSend
offered him his hand.
At this Miriam threw of the self-control
she had hitherto preserved, and exclaimed
with vehement defiance:
TIN this am not of your mind. You
evaded the call of the Most Highi Can you
deny it? And inasmuch as the Almighty
found you at Pharaoh's footStool, instead of
at the head of His people, He deprived
you of the Office to which He had
raised you. He. Himself, the MIghtiest
of Captains, commanded the wind and
waves, and they swallowed up the enemy.
sang hymn of praise to the Lord, and the
people Joined in my thanksgiving. And on
that same day God called another man than
you to be chief of the Hebrew host, and he,
you know, is my husband. And al
though Hur indeed has never learnt the arts
of war, yet the Lord surely guides his arm;
and who is it that giveth the victory but the
Lord Almighty? My husband, tell you
once again-my husband alone is the cap
tain, and though in his excess of generosity
he forgets it, yet he will assert his right to
his Office when he remembers whose hand it
was that chose him; and /, his wife, lift up
my voice to bring it to his mind"
On this Joshua turned to go, to put an
end to this unpleasant discussion, but Hur,
very wroth at his wife's interference between
men, held him fast, assuring him that he
should abide by his renunciation. The
wind might blow away q woman's words of
it must rest with Moses to de- |
clare whom the Lord had chosen to be cap
tain of His people.
As he spoke Hur looked in his wife's face |
with stern dignity, as warning her to re-
feet; and this seemed to have had the de. |
sired effect. Miriam turned first pale and |
then deep scarlet, and she, too, detained |
their guest as thong she desired to make |
amends. beckoning him with q trembling |
hand to come closer to her.
''Yet one thing must say" she began /
with deep breath, 'that you may not mis-
understand me. I call every man M y friend
who dey9tes himself TO the cause of
Israel, and Hur has told me
to our people. 1t was your confidence in
Pharaoh's clemency which came between us,
and know how to value your deep and
decisive breach with the Egyptians. Still,
I only truly understood the greatness of
your deed when learnt that it was not only
lifelong habit, but another and stronger tie
that bound you to the foe."
'What is the aim of such a speech?"
Joshua broke in, feeling quite sure that she
was laying some fresh arrow to the bow
string intended to wound him. But she
paid no heed to the interruption, and went
on with q defiant sparkle in her eye which
belied the moderation of her tongue:
After the guidance of the Lord
had saved ,us from the foe, the sea
cast up on shore the fairest wo-
man we had seen for many a day. bound
up the wounds inflicted on her by Hebrew
woman, and she then confessed that she was
full of love for you, and with her dying
breath spoke of you as the idol of her
heart"
At this Joshua, deeply incensed, ex-
claimed:
IF this were all the truth, o wife ofHur,
then my father would have told me an un-
truth. For, as learnt from him, it was in
the presence of those only who love me
that the hapless woman made the last
confession; not before you. And she was
wise to mistrust your presence, for you
would never have understood herl''
He saw suspicious smile
play on Miriam's lips, but he
needed it not and went on: 'Your wit is
oh, ten times keener than that poor child's
ever was. But in your heart which once
was open to such great things, there is no
room for love. 1t will grow old and cease
to beat before it has learned what love isl
Yea, in spite of your flashing eyes tell you
this: you are indeed more than. q woman;
you are prophecies, and I cannot boast of
such grace. am no more than a man, and
understand the use of thesword better than
looking into futurity, and nevertheless
can foretell one thing: you will cherish the
hatred ofme which burns in your soul. You
will even light up the flame in your hus-
bands heart and strive to fan il with the
utmost zeal, and I know whyl The fiery
ambition which possesses you will not suffer
you to be happy as the wife of a man who
must stand second to any other. You re-
fuse to call me by the name you yourself
gave me. But If hatred and pride
do not altogether choke the one feeling
which unites us, namely, our love for our