The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-04-12
IF thou, Lord, will without fail de

IF thou, Lord, will without fail de
liver the children Of Ammon into mine
hands, then ii shall be, that whatso
ever cometh forth of the doors of my
house to meet me, when ! return In
peace from the children of Ammon,
shall surely be the Lords, and | will
offer ii up for a burnt Offering"
The battle is over and the triumph
ant army of Jephthah has turned its
face homewards. The fatigue and the
wounds OF the men are forgotten In
the thrill Of Joy that comes with the
consciousness Of duty well done and
victory won and of the rest and com.
fort of home which will soon be theirs
to enjoy. There are wives and chill.
dren and sweethearts awaiting their
return, and everywhere as they pass
through the country they are greeted
with the most joyful welcome,
And now that the exacting ~responsi
bilities Of the campaign are over,
Jephthah has time with the rest TO
think of home. and like the rest there
is one object of special love and ten.
derness with whom he anticipates re.
union. His n thought is of again
folding his beloved daughter in his
arms. He can see her eager face now
as it will look up into his proud eyes;
he can hear her 4" ttient query to tell
her all about the battle. She is all
that he has left, his only child. When
the mother had died years before he
had taken the young girl into his
great heart as never before, and when
he was at home they were i%nsepara.
hearse in her eager ears every detail
Of the adventure which had kept him
from her side. And now he was on his
way homeward once more, and he
knew that she would be far on the
road to meet him. She knew the road
by which he would come, and she
would surely be at her favorite tryst,
ing place there to greet him and bid
him welcome, as she had done before.
"Ah, what stories | will have to tell
her this time he exclaimed half
aloud, as he pressed eagerly forward,
the thought giving new vigor to his
steps. Il am glad of the victory, and
Of the place it has won for me among
my fathers people for her sake he
continued to himself. There will no
longer be any r]eproaches cast upon
her; she will no longer feel the sting
of criticism, for Jephthah has proved
that though the son of a harlot, he is
stlll Il true son of Gilead,' and he
drew himself up proudly as the
thought thrilled him. By this time the
outskirts of Mizpah where he had his
home had been reached and he
scanned the pathway before him Gag.
erly, expecting to see his daughters
familiar form in the foremost ranks
Of the people who came streaming
forth from the city to meet him and
his men. But she was nowhere to be
seen. What cared he for the glad
shouts of welcome of the multitudes
when his beloved daughter was not
there to share in the rejoicing and to
bid him welcome?
Eagerly, a~nxiously he pressed for
ward, all else forgotten save the
thought of again greeting her and
clasping her in his arms.
There was the house noW just visi
BILE through the waving grove of trees
which surrounded it, but still there
was no sign of his daughter.
That morning when the glad tidings
had reached the city that Jephthah
and his victorious army were nearing
the city, his daughter could scarcely
contain herself for joy and her first
impulse had been to rush forth with
the others and meet him far down
the road outside the city. And then
had come the thought that it was more
betting a great general that he
should be received into his own home
; with formal dignity and ~splendor. Sc
; hastily arranging for the music and
; dancing, she awaited his coming, plan
|. ming that she herself should lead the
gay and festive company. And while
she thus prepared for his coming
| Jephthah eagerly pressed on and came
| within sight Of the house.
J As he passed through the grove and
] came into full view Of the house, sud
1 denly there burst from Its doors a
! merry throng. With glad song and
=. the sound Of timbrels, and with light
and dancing feet they swept down the
/ hower-girt path towards him, and lead
ing them, the gayest, the brightest
the most beautiful of all the maidens,
. was Jephthah's daughter.
Enraptured by the beautiful sight
and while yet he was rushing forward
. to meet her, there swept over him like
/. a flash the memory of the VOW he had
made before going forth to battle. He
1 stopped shortl His face blanched,
' His o~utstetched hands closed apd
opened convulsively! And then a
, great and awful cry Of anguish broke
4 from his lips!
4 In the frenzy OF despair he clutched
his flowing robe and with one mighty
2 sweep he rent the heavy garment from
2 bottom to top, and cried:
: ALAS, my daughter! Thou hast
). brought me very low, and thou art one
of them that trouble me, for | have
, opened my mouth unto the Lord, and
/ cannot go back"
0 The song and the music gave place
: to the silence of death, the feet of the
4 dancers are still. Thus they stood for
v a few brief seconds after Jephthah had
ceased speaking, and then silently
opa nv opa thav withdrew laa wine