The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1905-11-03

. 10 ~
over the back OF the ass and started
10 return to the camp.
Over and over again the next day
as they continued the journey and al
last in the afternoon entered the city
TINS thought was uppermost In the
boys mind, and instead of giving way
TO his loneliness and grief ne studi'
Ously set himself TO see and hear n
learn all that he could. 1t was his
first sight Of a great city, and he
found himself maryeling at the beauty
and grandeur OF the buildings, the
temples, the great statues, and the
lofty obelisks. which seemed to him
to reach farther towards the blue OF
the cloudless sky than the beloved
mountains of Hebron.
In the market place, whittier they
directed their course, they found the
motley throng which had filed the
court all day long beginning to dis
perse. The traders after displaying
their wares all the day were now
packing them up and preparing for
the night which was then not far of,
for the sun was just dropping be
hind the lofty tahlelands OF the
Libyan desert. The new arrivals com
ing at that late hour did not attract
much attention, and they soon found
a place for their camels and asses,
aud quickly began to make themselves
comfortable for the night, while the
leader fastened OF, eager to find
Puhor and arrange with him for the
purchase of Joseph.
Better take him with me-" he nut.
tered TO himself, abruptly turning and
~retracing his steps; "one sight of the
youth will be better than all the fair
praise which | can speak"
Now it CHANGED that very day that
Puhor, who was a man of violent tenn.
per, had for a trivial offense struck
n of the slaves with the heavy
staye which he always carried when
supervising the work of the garden,
and had so badly injured him that
ne was incapable of further service.
That evening the king was to hold
a garden party and when too late he
had realized that he was short-handed
and was quite in despair what to do,
for he needed a slave to attend to
the lamps near the main banqueting
table. It was at this juncture that
Joseph and his master were admit
ted to the garden and the attendant
came and notified Puhor that a party
waited without to see him.
Let him wait" he muttered, churl.
ishly. This is a pretty time of day
to come" And turning he again
dropped into a sullen study over the
problem which confronted him. Had
he known who 1t was awaiting him
at the gate he would not have been
so slow to respond.
Voices on the far side OF a clump
beautiful rose bushes drew Joseph's
attention while he stood waiting, for
the words spoken were in Aramaic.
1t was two of the slaves of the gar.
den and one was telling the other
what Puhor had that day done to
one of the servants.
No n is safe in his presence"
he ended by saying, and as they
moved off Joseph caught the words of
the other:
THE gods pity the wretch who is
found to fill his place.
Joseph's heart sank within him.
Was this the kind of a master into
whose hands he was to be sold? Was,
this to be his lot? Was he to be
in daily fear of his life and suffer
humiliation and cruel blows? A bit.
ter struggle began within his heart
and the few brief moments he stood
seemed an age to him in which
doubt and distrust of God sought to
gain the mastery, But at last a silent
prayer rose from his heart and he
found himself pleading for help, and
as though by way of answer there
stealing into his heart a new
confidence in God.
Abraham trusted God when in
he thought, and God de.
livered him from his perils. Will He
not be as gracious to one OF Abraham's
An exclamation Of surprise and
pleasure aroused him and he looked
up to see the Egyptian officer who had
accosted him at the river the after.
before standing watching him
with a gratiaed smile, and he heard
say to the Ishmaelite trader:
Thou dost seek a purchaser?
would be possessed of the youth.
Name thy price and Potiphar, the
of the kings guard, will pay
It. Had not the urgency Of my mis-.
sion required haste | should have tar.
ried yesterday and sought to buy the
youth from thee"
But | had purposed to sell him to
who would pay a goodly sum.
He is always in need of fresh Slaves"
the cautious trader.
yea, that he is. But Puhor will
not thy palms with gold as will
Potiphar. See" and thrusting his
hands within the folds of his man.
lie, he drew forth a pouch of ample
proportions from which when he had
1t there came the CLEAN of
gold that caught the greedy eye of
he trader, and o the bargain was
completed.