The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-05-13
THE BRIDE OF MOSES.
HOW DECIDED HER
MATRIMONIAL DESTINY.
4 Glorious Example and Inspiration
For vomen of All TImes-GoG Has
Work FOR Young and O1G-Eovv we
Are Called "a Special Labor.

Are Called to Special Labor.
copyright 1898, by American Press
Association.)
Washington, May S.-From the rus
tic Biblc scene DR.. Talmage in his
sermon draws practical and inspiring
lessons for all classes of people. The
text is Exodus iii, ], Now Moses kept
the flock of Jethro his fat~her-in-law,
the priest Of Midian."
In the southeastern part Of Arabia a
man is sitting by a well. 1t is an arid
country, and water is scarce, so that a
we'll is Of great value, and focks and
herds are driven vast distances to have
their thirst slaked. Jethro, a Midianite
sheik and priest, vas SO fortunate as to
have seven daughters, and they are
practical girls, and yonder they come
driving the sheep and cattle and camels
Of their father to the watering. They
lower the buckets and then pull them
up, the water FLASHING on the stones
and chilling their feet, and the troughs
are filled. Who is that man out there
sitting unconcerned and looking on?
Why does he not come and help the
"OIItII III tillo HdId "OIh VI uIdWlHS
water? But no sooner hove the dry lips
and painting nostrils of the flock begun
10 cool a little in the brimming trough
of the well than some rough Bedouin
shepherds break in upon the scene and
with clubs and shouts drive back the
animals that are drinking and alright
these girls until they fly in retreat, and
the fOckS Of these i'll hammered Shep-
herds are driven to the troughs, taking
the places of the other fOcks. 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
a quick temper anyhow, as he demon
Strated on one occasion when he saw an
Egyptian depressing an ISraelite and
gave the Egyptian a sudden clip and
buried him in the sand and as he show
ed afterWard when he broke all the Ten
Commandments at once by ShatterinG
the two granite slabs on which the law
var written. But the injustice of this
treatment Of the seven girls sets him on
fire with wrath, and he takes this shep-
herd by the throat and pushes back an
other till he falls over the trough and
aims a stunning blow between the eyes
of another as he cries, "Begone, you
villains!" and he boots and "Oars at
the sheep and cattle and ormels of
these invaders and drives them back,
and having cleared the place of the
deSpcradOeS he told the seven girls of
this Midianite sheik to gather their
fOcks together and bring them again
to the watering.
Oh, you ought to see a fight between
the shepherds at a we'll in the orient as
| saw it in December, 1890. There were
here a group of rough men who had
driven the cattle many miles, and here
another group who had driven their
cattle as many miles. Who should have
precedence? Such clashing of buckets!
Such hooking of horns! Such kicking
or hOOfS! Such Vehemence in a langu-
age | fortunately could not understand.
Now the sheep with a peculiar mark
across their woody backs were at the
trough and now the sheep of another
mark. 1t was one of the most exciting
scenes | ever witnessed. An old bOOk
describes one of these contentious at an
eastern we'll when it says: "One day
the poor men, the widows and the or
phans met together and were driving
their camels and their flocks to drink
and were all standing by the water
side. 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 a
~Suppliant manner, saying Be 50 good,
Master Dali. as to let my cattle drink.
They are all the property | possess and
I live by their milk. Pity my flock,
have compassion on me. Grant my
request and let them drink Then
came another old woman and address,
ed him: oh. Master Dali, [ am a poor,
weak old woman as you see. Time has
dealt hardly with me. 1t has aimed
its arrows at me and it's daily and
nightly calamities have destroyed all
my men. | have lost my children and
my husband, and since then I have
hnnro IN ornot I;ctrner TInro cINo~
are all that l possess. Let them drink,
for / live on the milk that they pro-
duce. Pity my fOrlorn state. l have
no one to tend them. Therefore grant
my s~upplication and of thy kindness
let them drink But in this case the
brutal slave, so far from granting this
humble request, smOte the woman to
the ground"
THE BRIDE OF MOSES.
A like scrimmage has taken place at
the we'll in the triangle of Arabia be-
tween the Bedouin shepherds and Mo-
ses championing the cause of the seven
daughters who had driven their faith
er'S fiocks to the watering. One of these
girls, Zipporah, her name meaning
little bird" was captured by this he
roic behavior of Moses, for however
timid woman herself may be she al
ways admires courage in a man. Zip
pOrah became the bride of Moses, one
of the mightiest men of all the CEN
turtles. Zipporah little thought that
that morning as she helped drive her
fathers f1ocks to the we'll she vas
splendidly deciding her own destiny.
Had she staid in the tent or house
while the. other six daughters of the
sheik tended to their herds her life
would probably have been a tame and
uneventfui life in the solitudes, but
her industry and fidelity to her fathers
interest, her spirit of helpfulness,
brought her into league with one of
the grandest characters of all history.
They met at that famous we'll, and
while she admired the courage of Mo-
seS he admired the filial of
ZippOrah.
The fact that it took the seven daugh-
ters to drive the flocks to the we'll i'm
plies that they We're immense f1ocks
and that her father was a man OF
wealth. h was the use of Zip
pOrah's b~emeaning herself with work
when she might have reclined on the