St. Tammany farmer., 1907-11-16
attendant and confidant Who rode With

attendant and confidAnf who rode Nita
him in the chariot he whispered:
They will soon become used to this
early-morning appearance. Yea, nj
Israel shall know that Absalom sit.eth
at the gate, of the city and thinketh
upon the welfare of the nation
Thou hast the wisdom as We'll as
the beauty of the gods" t1atterinsly
responded the other.
And AbsaIem hath right royal ad-
wiser in thee said the prince, patron
izingly. Was it not thee who first
got an inkling Of the scheming OF
Bathsheba to place her son Solomon
on the throne? And was it not thee
who hinted that the place for the
prince and heir was in the gate of the
city of the king, whittier those from
every tribe in the nation come On
matters of business ?"
That was the beginning of busy DAYS
with Prince Abs2lom. No one loved
ease and pleasure more than he, but
when it came to personal ambition and
the qualification of his pride no hour
was too early for him and no task too
hard for him to undertake. When the
first intsmation had come to him that
plans were being laid whereby the
kingdom should go to Solomon, the
youngest son of David, rather than to
him, the eldest living son and rightful
heir, he was filled with the bitterest
of anger and was for plotting the
death of the young prince, but his
close confidant, seeing at once the fol-
ly and peril of such course, had per-
suaded him to abandon the thought,
and had showed him that if he was to
save the kingdom for himself he must
do it by subtlety. He must turn the
hearts and thoughts of the people to
| himself, and then strike the blow that
would place the throne within his
| grasp. And so it came to pass that
day after day he rose up early and
stood beside the way of the gate and
greeted in gracious manner all who
came thither And when any man that
had a controversy in the town or dis
| trict from which he had come and
| sought the king out for Judgment, Alb
SALON. would draw from him his story,
win his confidence, and then exclaim:
See, thy matters are good and
fight; but there is no man deDuted
of the king to hear thee, Oh, that !
were made Judge in the land, that
every man which hath any suit or
cause might come to me, and | would
do him justice!"
And when any man came nigh TO
him to do him obeisance, he put forth
his hand and took him and kissed him
And in this manner did Absalom to al
Israel that came to the king for iudg
ment, and as the years went by the
fame and favor Of Absalom spread
throughout all the tribes of Israel, sc
that none was SO popular or SO much
talked of as he.
but disquieting word came to hin
one day as he sat in his accustomed
place by the gate. There had beer
secret messengers from the king, SO i
was intimated, mingling with the peo
pie who had come to him for succol
and to do him obeisance, and he feared
lest the matter Of his plotting shoult
reach the ears of the king and brin;
him into trouble ere he had had tim'
to strike the final blow. For thi
reason he quickly gathered his follow
ers together and sent them secretl,
throughout all the land, saying:
LAS soon as ye hear the sound 0
the trumpet, then ye shall say Absa
! lom reigneth in Hebron"
And when he had sent the last ma
: away he repaired to the palace ant
being admitted to the presence of tn
king. his father, he did obeisance, an
said unto him:
2 ~ pray thee. let me go and pay m
S VOW, which have vowed unto the Lor
4 in Hebron. For thy servant vowed
VOW while abode at Geshur in syri;
: saying, If the Lori shall bring m
e again indeed to Jerusalem, then will
+ serve the Lord
S And the king said unto him: Go
), peace
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