The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-05-09
AN ORIENTAL WE'LL.
bR. TALMAGE DRAWS A LESSON FROM
A RUSTIC SCENE.

/ A RUSTIC SCENE.
Work 10 Honorable, and There Should BE
No Idlers, Says the Great Preacher.
How Moses Found His Brido-Learn USE
fulness From the sheik's Daughter.
copyright. 1893 by American Press Asso-
ciation1
WASHINGTON, May S.-From a rustic
Bible scene DR.. Talmage In this sermon
draws practical and inspiring lessons for
all classes of people. Tho text Is Exodus
Ill, 1, "Now Moses kept the flock Of
Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of
Midian."
In the southeastern part Of Arabia
man Is sitting by u well. 1t is an arid
country and water Is scarce, SO that
well is Of great value, and focks and herds
are driven vast distances to have their
thirst slaked. Jethro, Midianite sheik
and priest, was SO fortunate as to have
seven daughters, and they are practical
girls, and yonder they come driving the
sheep and cattle and osnels Of their father
to the watering. They lower the buckets
and then pull them up, the water plash-
Ing on the stones and chilling their feet.
and tho troughs are filed. Who is that
man out there sitting unconcerned and
looking onP Why does he not come and
help the women In this hard work Of
drawing water? But no sooner have the
dry lips and painting nostrils Of the hocks
begun to cool little In the trimming
trough Of the well than some rough Bed
ouin shepherds break In upon the scene,
and with clubs and shouts drive back the
animals that were drinking and alright
these girls until they fly In retreat, and
tho flocks Of these III hammered shepherds
are driven to the troughs, taking the
places Of the other flooks. Now that man
sitting by the well begins to color up, and
his eye flashes with Indignation, and all
the gallantry Of his nature is aroused. 1t
is Moses, who naturally had quick tenn
per anyhow, as he demonstrated on one
occasion when he saw an Egyptian op-
pressing an Israelite and gave the Egyp-
tian sudden clip and buried him in the
sand, and as he showed afterward when
he broke all the Ten Commandments at
once by shattering the two granite slabs
on which the law was written. But the
girls sets him on fire with wrath, and he
takes this shepherd by the throat and
pushes back another till he falls over tho
trough and aims stunning blow between
the eyes Of another as he cries, "Begone,
you villains' and be boots and roars at
the sheep and cattle and camels of these
invaders and drives them back, and, hav-
ing cleared the place of the desperadoes,
he told the seven girls of this Midianite
sheik to gather their fooks together and
bring them again to the watering.
An Oriental Well.
Oh, you ought to SEQ fight between
the shepherds at well in tho orient as
eaw it in December, 1890 There were
here group of rough men who had driv-
on the cattle many miles and here anoth-
er group who had driven their cattle as
many miles. Who should have precedenceP
Such clashipg Of bucketsl Such hooking
of horns Such kicking of hoofs! Such
could not understand! Now the sheep
with peculiar mark across their woolly
backs were at the trough and now tho
sheep of another mark. 1t was one of tho
most exciting scenes ever witnessed. An
old book describes one of these contentious
at an eastern we'll whom it says: Zone day
tho poor men, the widows and the orphans
met together and were driving their CAM
els and their flocks to drink and were all
standing by tho waterside Dali came up
and stopped them all and took possession
of the water for his masters cattle. Just
then an old woman belonging to the tribe
of Abs came up and accosted him in sup
plant manner, saying: Be 80 good, Mas
ter Dali, as to let my cattle drink. They
are all the property possess, and l live
by their milk. Pity my flock; have COM
passion on me. Grant my request and lot
them drink. Then came another old
woman and addressed him: ooh, Master
Dali, l am poor, weak old woman, as
you see. Time has dealt hardly with me.
1t has aimed its arrows at me, and its
daily and nightly calamities have de-
stroyed all my men. have lost my chill
dren and my husband, and since then l
hayo been in great distress. These sheep
arc all that I possess. Let them drink,
for I live on the milk that they produce.
Pity my forlorn state. l have no ono to
tend them. Therefore grant my supplioa-
ton and of thy kindness let them drink
But in this case the brutal slave, so far
from granting this humble request, smoto
tho woman to the ground.'
A like scrimmage has taken place at the
we'll in tho triangle Of Arabia between the
BcdouiD shepherds and Moses champion
Ing tho cause of tho seven daughters who
had driven their fathers flocks to the wa
tering. Ono of these girls, Iipporah, her
name meaning "little bird, " was captured |
by this heroic behavior of Moses, for, how
Dyer timd woman herself may be- She al |
ways admires courage in man. Zipporah |
became tho bride of Moses, one of tho |
mightiest men of all the centuries. Zip |
porah little thought that that morning as
she helped drive her fathers flocks to tho
we'll she was splenddly deciding her own
1estny. Had she staid in the tent or
house while the other six daughters of
tho sheik tended to their herds her life
would probably have been tame and un.
,yentful life in the soltudcs. But her in
1ustry, her fidelity to her fathers inter-
,st, her spirit of hclpfulness, brought her
INTO league with ono Of tho grandest char
lcters of all history. They met at that
,amous well, and while she admired the
courage Of Moses ho admired tho flial be-
1ayior of Zipporah.
Cares Of Home.
Tho fact that it took the seven daugh-
ers to drive tho f1ooks to tho we'll implies
hat they were immense f1ocks and that
Ter father was man of wealth. What
vas tho use of Zipporah's bemeaning her.
'elf with work when sho might have re-
lined on the hillside near her fathers tent
nd pluckod buttorcups and dreamed
ut romances and sighed idly to the
Winds and wept over imaginary songs to
he brooks? No, she knew that work was
onorable and that every girl ought to
ave something to do, and SO she starts
With the bleating and lowing and below
ng and neighing droyes to tho well for
he watering.
Around every home there are focks and
roves of cures and anxictios, and every
aughter Of tho family, though there BIZ
even, ought to DO doing her part to take
ara of the flocks. In many households
ct only is Zipporah, but all her sisters,
Without practical and useful employ
lcnts. Many of them arc waiting for for
unato and prosperous matrimonial ALI
Dco, but some loungor like themselves
Ill come along and after counting tho
lrge number Of father Jethros sheep and