Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-24

low the dictates of your heart, as indeed is
most fitting, SO long as you do not forget
what beseems you and your sex"
Miriam's cheeks flushed crimson, for she
felt the stab that was hidden in this speech
with double psng, since it was dealt by
Joshua, How much had she this day been
forced to renounce for her sex's sakei And
how she was to be made to feel that she was
not his equal, that she was but a woman.
In the presence of the heap of stones which
Hur had built up, and on which her hand
at this moment rested, he had appealed to
her Judgment as though she were one of the
leaders of the people; and now he roughly
set her in her place-her, who felt herself
second to no man in gifts and in spirit.
But he, too, had been wounded in his
pride, and her demeanor warned him that
this hour would decide whether in their
future union he or she should get the mas
terry. He stood up in front of her in all his
pride and high determination-never, in
deed, had she thought him so manly or so
desirable. Yet the instinct to fight for her
injured womanly dignity was stronger than
any other impulse, and finally it was she
who broke the painful silence which had
followed his words Of reproof. With
degree ofcomposure which she only achieved
by the exertion of her utmost power of will,
she began:
'But we are both forgetting what keeps
us here at this hour of the night You
were to reveal to me what brought you
hither, and to hear from nv lips the judg-
ment of the Lord-not that of Miriam, the
foolish woman"
81 had hoped to hear the voice of the
maiden in whose love trusted" he gloom
lily replied.
''You shall hear it, she said, taking her
hand from off the heap Of stones. "But 1t
may befall that / cannot consent to the
Judgment OF the man whose power and wis
dom are so far greater than mine, and you
have taught me that you cannot brook
woman's contradiction-not even mine"
'MiriamP he exclaimed, reproachfully,
but she went on more vehemently:
81 have felt it deeply; and as it would be
the greatest sorrow of my life to lose your
heart, you must understand me fully before
you call upon me to pronounce judgment"
"But first hear my message"
"No-no!' she eagerly replied. "The
answer now would die on my lips. First
let me tell you of the woman who, though
she has a loving heart, knows something
which she holds far above love. You smile?
And you have a right to smile till you
know that which 1 will reveal to you"
t'Speak, thenp' he broke in, in tone
which betrayed how hard he felt it to keep
patience.
'Thanks for that" she said, warmly.
Then, leaning against the tree trunk, while
he sat down on the bench and now looked
into her face and, now on the ground, she
spoke:
'I have left childhood behind me, ave.
and my youth will soon be thing Of the
past. While was still but little child 1
was not very different from other girls.
played with them, and although my mother
taught me to pray to the God of our fathers,
still was well content to hear what other
children would tell me of Isis. As often as
1 could would steal into her temple, buy
spices and strip my little garden for her;
would pour oil on her altar and offer her flow
ers. / was taller and stronger than many
maidens of my age, and the daughter of Am
ram to boot, so that the others were ready
enough to obey me and do all 1
When I was years old we
moved hither from Zoan. Before I had
found playfellow here you came to stay
in the house of Gamaliel, your sisters hus-
band, to be healed of a wound from a
Libyan's lance. Do you remember that
time, when you, a young man, made COM
rade of the little girl? I fetched you all
you needed; chartered to you of all 1
knew, and you told me tales Of bloody
fights and victory and described the splen-
did armor and the horses and chariots of
the soldiers. You showed me the ring you
had won by your valor, and when the
wound in your breast was healed we wan
dered about the meadows together.
"Isis, whom you worshiped, had her tenn
pie here also, and how often would I steal
into its courts to pray for you and
carry her my holiday cakes. had heard
30 much from you of Pharaoh, and his
magnifoenee, Of the Egyptians and their
wisdom, skill and luxurious lives, that nv
little heart longed to dwell among them in
the capital; it had moreover come to my
ears that my brother Moses had been treated
with great kindness in the Kings palace,
and had become a. man held in high honor
among the priesthood, could no longer be
content with my own folk, who seemed to
me in all respects far behind the Egyptians.
''Then came the parting from You, and as
my little heart was piously inclined and
looked for all good to come from divine
power, by whatever name it was called. 1
Drayed for Pharaoh and for his army with
which you were fighting.
"My mother would sometimes speak of
The God of our fathers as of q mighty De-
fense who had done great things Of old for
His people, and she told me many fine tales
of Him; still she herself often sacrificed in
the Temple of Set, or carried clover flowers
% the sacred bull Of the sun god. She had
Eind thoughts. TOO. Of the Egyptians, amppg |