St. Tammany farmer., 1905-09-30

Sts As..<. H. missed nlm BILL
echoed and re
echoed through his heart. When he
had departed from home and his "a
ther had charged him to take wife
|of the daughters Of his mothers
brother, he had thought little Of it; In
fact his mind had been so filled with
the fear Of his brothers threat that
his going was prompted by anxiety
for his own safety rather than the
sentimental one Of marriage.
Once or twice on the long journey to
Haran his fathers last words had re-
CURED to him and hts cool, calculating.
grasping nature had led him to scheme
how the taking Of q wife might betohls
advantage. No thought Of love orsenti-
ment. Such feelings seemed quite for
eign TO his nature. He approached the
subject OF marriage just rs he might
have considered trade in cattle or
sheep, or the purchase Of a. new mantle
or rug from some Egyptian trader. How
could he get the best Of tho bargain?
How could he make the most out Of it
for Jacob? Such had besn his feelings
prior: to his coming to Haran and meet
ing the fair Rachel And now the sehem-
Ing, crafty, grasping Jacob had given
place to new Jacob. with real alhsart
Of desh and blood.
He arose and passed out into the night.
The soft glow Of the moon, the cheery
flashing Of the myriad stars. the gentle
murmur Of the breezes, and the content
I'd chirping and buzz Of the insects, all
seemed to be In friendly harmony with
his own thoughts and spirit. A newsym-
patty seemed to awaken In 4is heart to
the nature about him, and as he drew
near the place where the night before
he had SO Unexpectedly met Rachel he
paused and exclaimed fervent1y:
How beautiful It all is. How delight
full Is this place
He threw himself on the ground at
the feet OF the tree, where he had nat
the night before. It almost seemed he
could feel again the touch Of RachePs
hand, and hear her softly spoken
words Of welcome.
u She shall be mine,' he broke out, as
though in answer to the yearning of
his heart. 4 will ask Laban for her
hand In marriage on the morrow.
But" he continued, as his brow cloud
ed. what have to offer? No treas
ure OF gold or silver or precious stones.
No cattle.
And his mind went back to the album
dance which his father possessed.
oh, why did they send me empty
away? Why, II they wished me to
take wife, did they not provide suit
able gifts? Must ! come like beg
gar?" And Jacob, now thoroughly
miserable In the face Of the new din
Guilty, arose impatiently and paced
back and forth. He could not go back
home, for fear Of Esau., What could
he do? Must he give up his Rachel?
AT that moment 4 commotion ii the
direction Of the sheepfold caught his
attention. Instantly all the instincts
Of the careful. faithful shepherd we're
aroused within him. Tie emotions Or
his heart and the troubles which con-
fronted him were forgotten In the face
Of the peril to the sheep. The terrified
bleating coming from the inclosuYe
spurred Kim on, and - he ran he
picked up big stick over which he
stumbled. The bright moonlight
showed him where the beast had
broken through the walls OF the cor
raj, and he knew that only the power
ful blows Of some giant beast could
have made such q hole.
With the sheep in peril lie never
gave : thought to the danger to him-
SELF, but sprang into the Enclosure,
white he took fresh grip upon his
club. Already three sheep lay bsaed-
Ing on the ground, and the tawny form
of the lion could be seen on the other
eide dercely tearing at o fourth and ]
sucking its life's blood. Its tail
swished back and forth on the ground
deiantIy, and its blazing eyes. lii; alls
of fire, watched Jacob as he f. ass.
u advanced. With an angry ii 4
5prang into the air to meet il aew
foe. Jacob braced himself nd
swinging his knotted club with his
might he caught the beast on Of
It's forelegs. breaking It and sw ug
its great body to one side juste gh
b miss striking him. With at ,se
howl Of rage and pain It turne, nd /
ID spite OF its disabled leg It in
capped forward. Again the sw Of
he club sounded, and this tin re-
lin was truer and Il came crs agI
lown upon the skull of the lion hi
;uch tremendous force that the Ell
yas shattered. But the blow wa ,tI
uficient to check the momentu ,fI
he huge body. and before Jacob al
pring TO one side Il struck him, dt
i fell to the ground, with the Ho n
op of him That was the last 5bsi
new until he found himself lyi7 onI
he cot Ii his tent, with the O.. GUS
aces of the family bending over MI
Feeling better now?" Laban ed,