The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1906-09-21

oileuLly lue peOple SdIhSlSu llleIr
portions of mama, for they noted the
grief-stricken countenance of their
leader, and no man burst ask him
why, for they knew instinctively that
it was the bestial conduct Of the
slumbering Israelites that troubled
him.
Joshua had stood at his s.Ge when
he had tried to arouse one of toe fell
lows without success. The Cnly re.
Spouse he could get was for the fell
low to sweep his arms about as
though in the act OF catching more
quail. and then lifting to his mouth
the half-eaten bird which he still
grasped in his hand and taking an
other bite Of the flesh and munching
it slowly, as he dropped off into anoth-
er deep slumber And Joshuahad acted
the look Of deep aversion and dis
gust with which Moses had turned
away from the scene, and as they
reached the borders of the camp and
began to gather the mama, lying
round and white all about upon the
grass and bushes, he ventured the re
mark:
Shall we destroy them even as ".
did those who turned from God at
Mount Sinai, and would not obey
when the golden calf was destroyed"
Moses shook his head sadly, and
for some minutes did not speak. Then,
turning and sweeping his hand to-
wards the place in the camp where
the people rested amidst the heaps
of birds, he said, slowly:
"God has abandoned them to their
lust, and should we act as judges in
his behalf? Nay, rather must we
abide the time when their lust shall
have come to the full. Verify, the
people will bring upon themselves
some dreadful thing by their inor-
dinate indulgence"
That day and for many days there
after the people were fairly drunken
with the flesh of the quail. No longer
did the people go forth as on former
days for the mama which God so
faithfully provided each morning; all
save those who had not utterly aban-
doned themselves to the lust of the
flesh and had not forgotten that God
would have them eat of his mamma
from heaven.
"Ho, no" they said, "Why should
the slumbers of the morning be
broken by this distasteful task of
gathering the mamma We have tired
of that sickening food, and now we
have flesh to eat, and that in abund.
ance, we will not gather mama,
neither will we eat of it any more"
And so it was that there soon came
to be a marked division among the
people. Those who following the
lead Of Moses went daily to the out
skirts OF the camp, and not only found
the mama, but that invigoratfng fell
lowship which comes from reliance
upon God and doing his will, and
those who gave themselves up to the
appetites and lusts and fed to the full
upon the flesh which they had gath
| cred.
Thus matters stood in the camp of
Israel when one day it was rumored
that sickness had broken out among
the people Moses went out to inveS-
tigate and he found that there We're
indeed those who were i'll, but when
he admonished them to give up their
evil ways and turn to the Lord, they
spurned him, saying:
What would YOU have us do? Re
turn to the diet of mama? Rather
would we die with the quail between
our teeth than starve to death because
we haye nothing but mamma
So it is ever with the soul that has
given itself utterly to the gratifca-
ton of the tleshly desires. 1t does
not seem that anything else can ever
satisfy but that which feeds the gross,
er desires, and so there is the cling.
ing to that which means certain dis.
ease and death, and the turning from
that which would give life and health
and satisfaction.
AS the days went by the sickness
like a scourge swept through the
camp, and the stricken ones, no long
er able to eat of the flesh which now
they loathed, begged succor of those
who daily gathered the mama, but as
each household had only for its own
needs. they were poWerless to help.
Again Moses pleaded with them
that they rise and gather the mama
for themselves, but the people would
not, for as soon as they began to
get better, having refrained from par
taking of the flesh, they again chose
the quail, saying that they could not
eat the mamma and live.
Discouraged and saddened, Moses
withdrew, realizing that it was use
less for him to further appeal to the
people to turn to the Lord but that
he must let the sin of the people run
it's course. Soon death was stalkin,
through the camp of Israel, and with