Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-07-03
Mistellanenus 8eaaing.
STORY OF AN ANCIENT FRAUD
How Daniel Confounded the Priests OF
Bel.

This is a story Of the prophet DAME
which is not found in the Bible, but is
told in the Apocrypha, that bundle oi
rejected manuscript which once form
ed part of the Old Testament
There was in Babylon, that great
and wicked city that fiourished like the
green bay tree, a temple to god called
Bel; there every day offering was
made Of six great measures or hne
-four and forty sheep and six vessels pi
wine. These things the priests of Be
declared, the god demanded for his re-
freshment, and unless they were pro-
vided, he would assuredly become an
gry and breathe out destruction upon
the city.
Now, the prophet Daniel stood high
in the counsels of Cyrus Of Persia
who ruled over Assyria in those days
and the king and Daniel were talking
one day concerning gods and the wor-
ship Of them.
A Man-made God.
How does it happen" asked King
Cyrus, that thou being a wise and
devout man dost not worship Bel?"
Because 1 do not worship idols
made with hands," answered the proph-
ct, but only the living God, who hath
created heaven and earth and hath SOW
ereignty over all flesh.'
"Ho," said the king, How canst
thou say, wise Daniel, that Bel is not a
living god? Doth he not devour every
day forty sheep and six fat measures
of flour, and of wine six brimming ves-
sels?"
Then Daniel smiled and answered.:
MY lord the king is brave and a
man of great wisdom, yet herein per-
ceive he is like a little child. Bel does
not eat the flesh and drink the wine,
for he is compounded together of clay
and of BRASS the work Of mems hands;
his eyes do not see, nor is there any
hearing in his ears"
Called for a Test.
Then the kings mind was filled with
doubt and anger, and he called the
priests of Bel, three score and ten, and
told them the things that Daniel had
said.
Prove to me-" said the frowning
king, that this offering is devoured
by your god, or you shall die. But II
you prove the thing, then this man
Daniel, who condemns your god, shall
die"
And Daniel said, 1T is we'll spoken
Then the priests of Bel clustered to-
gether and held consultation, and he
who was their chief, making obesance
before the king, cried out:
20 king, live forever If it please the
king, let the refreshments for the
great god Bel be brought to the tenn
pie today, as the custom is, and let the
king then set his seal upon the doors
of the temple, and in the morning, II
the viands be not gone, then let our
heads be forfeited"
And the thing pleased the king. So
the priests went out from his presence.
Surely" said the high priest OF Bel
to his comrades, "the simplicity of the
mighty is a strange thing and past un-
derstanding."
For there was a passage under the
floor of the temple Of Bel, with a door
covered by an altar, so that the priests
of Bel might pass in and out at will.
Daniels Stratesem.
That day the sheep and the flour ana
the measures Of wine were set before
the staring, brazen god, the king and
Daniel seeing that the thing was done
And at Daniels request, the king sent
away all the rest then, and Daniel scat
tered over the floor thin covering of
ashes.
Then they went out and the king S
seal was set upon the gates or the
temple. And that night, when silence
brooded over mighty Babylon, the sew
enty priests of Bel came with their
wives and their children through the
underground way and devoured the
flour and the meat and drank the
wine, as was their wont, and went
their way again, laughing at their own
cunning and at the guilelessness of the
king.
1T is good to think" said the chief
priest. that tomorrow by this time
the head of the meddler Daniel will roll
in the dust, and his pestilent tongue be
silenced forever"
Great is the god BEL" leered the
priest, who was next in rank, ana
thrust his tongue into his cheek.
The King Convinced.
Now, in the early morning came the
king and Daniel to the temple OF BEL
and they saw that the seals upon the
doors were unbroken.
Break the SEAL" said the king, "and
open the door
AS the great door swung open Cyrus
saw that the food and the wine were
gone.
Great is Bel, the god Of the Assy-
rians," cried the king.
But Daniel laughed, and laying his
hand upon the kings arm held him
back when he would have entered the
temple.
Look on the floor, my lord" he
said, "and tell me what is there
Then the king looked, and then gave
answer:
Il see the footprints of men and of
women; yea, there be also the foot
prints of children"
The brood Of the priests Of Bel is
large" replied Daniel, "and there are
many mouths to be fed
Then Cyrus the king was filled with
rage, and he sent soldiers to take the
priests of Bel, and that day there were
slain three score and ten Of them. And
the temple of Bel he delivered into the
hands of Daniel. who caused it to be
pulled down and the brazen god top
pied from his pedestal and broken with
hammers and inside the coating of
brass they found he was crumblinG
clay.
Make a Noise.
A hen is not supposed to have much
tnn