New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-01-23
LOVE STORIES OF ISRAEL.
THE OLD TESTAMENT IS FULL OF SUCH
STORIES, SAYS MRS. HOUGHTON.


THE LOVE OF JACOB AND RACHEL. THE sHuLAM-
TIE. DAVID AND MIcHAL RUTH AND NAOMI.
Mrs. Louise Seymour Houghton gave the sixth
lecture OF her series THE Literary Study OF the
Bible yesterday morning at the home OF Mrs
Julius Seymour. No 3O4 West ty-sixth-st. Her
subject was THE Love Stories Of Israel.
THE Old Testament is full of love Stories" she
said. mot only Of husband and wife. but OF father
and daughter. mother and son. friend and friend
All the and women OF Israel lovers
sometimes pure and fawless to be types Of
the divine love. and sometimes only broken lights
of that reality.
I'VE to this study" she continued "in a
rather unsympathetc frame OF mind. many OF
our illusions the subject having been destroyed
by the erotc novel and the scientific study OF hui
man relations. but 1t is all the more profitable on
that account Our researches into the history OF
ancient peoples have shown that marriage
among them merely question Of barter and
sale pursuit and capture. and 1t is therefore par
ticuarly refreshing to ind in a past remote as
that OF our Oldest records pictures of welded love
perfect that they used TO figure the divine
favor. 1t all tyranny and sensuaty for
Jacob served years for Rachel. and they
seemed 10 MIN but n few days for the love he had
to her: Rebecca went OF her own free will to her
unseen lover. and Elkanah comforts his childless
wife with the words. Am not better to thee
than sons? while in the Song OF Songs which
a perfect ideal of love, strong as death and tri-
umphing over all Obstacles
Regarding the Song Of Solomon. Mrs. Hough-
ton said that in her Judgment II was drama. the
disregard Of time sequence being OF no consequence
as that IS characteristic Of all Hebrew literature
and is to be in the Hebrew drama OF to-day
The plot Of the drama she conceives to be as fol-
lows:
THE LOVE STORY
in he Shulamtte
is set by her half brothers. who are not particularly
fond OF her. to keep their vineyards. My MOTH
ers children angry with me-. she says; tney
made me the keeper OF the vineyards But she -
very happy there for she is visited by ner Shepe'u
lover and they are perhaps. married. one day
when she is dancing in her garden from pure hsht-
ness of she has the misfortune to be seen by
King Solomon. He Immediately becomes charned
with her. has her Kidnapped and placed In the
charge Of the women OF his harem. THESE women
are addressed in the drama as daughters OF Jeru-
salem" Now place In the kings harem was con-
sidered to be the highest honor 10 which an Orisn
tai woman could attain, but II had no charms Ior
the shuaite Amid all the baadishmen,s Oh e .ne
and at last her royal lover relents and SENDS her
In the mean time her brothers have realized that
they have been very careless Of their sisters wei,
fare They thought she would be perfectly SAFE IN IN
was grown up. They said they would build wall
around her and n ren Wn wh eeshng
display of spirit that she is her own wall In other
words she was quite as capable Of taking care or
herself in the future she had done IN the past
The story has always been supposed 70 nave a
symbollca significance, but Mrs. Houghton dld not
enter into that. she said we were not concerned
with It when studying the Bible as literature
DAVID AND MICHAL.
Other love stories mentioned In the lecture were
those of David and Michal. the boy and girl love-
of David an: Abigail. the deep affection OF ma
turitv and of Ruth and Naomi. the love OF two
women 1t was only among the Israelites. Mrs;