The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-06-29

politics. To Hebron the disloyal
prince rallied all the forces of unrest.
The plot succeeded. David, indulg-
ing his private griefs and tastes in
the s%eclusiOn of the palace, out of
touch with the life Of the country,
was Of this ripening plot Of
the son who owed him only gratitude.
Evidently palace life had enervated
the hardy David who had Outwitted
Saul; for he fled from Jerusalem at
the first rumor of the insurrection.
Panic seems to have seized the king
and the palace.
The Great Kings Flight.
One Of the dramatic passages in lit
erature Is this story OF David'S flight
from Jerusalem. Why a special lesson
| has not been devoted to it in the In
ternational series is difficult to under
stand. It is entirely too full and sug-
gestive for the mere allusion that can
be made to it in the present study.
We see King David weeping on the
Mount Of Olives; even as his Greater
Son wept on the same spot a thousand
years later. We find David rising to
heights of magnanimity even in his
humiliation. He refused to let the
! Ark Of the Covenant be taken forth
with his fleeing party; for he would
not have the cause Of the nations re-
ligion suffer with him.
Heroes emerged at this hour, such
as Ittai the Philistine, who refused to
accept David's dismission, but devoted
his all to the kings support. AL
though deserted by his son, David was
supported by this alien. Hushai, too,
stood by like a hero, and remained
behind at Jerusalem to fight for David
by the subtle and dangerous arts of
diplomacy. Two ons of the fleeing
priests stayed behind. also. as spies.
The dark picture has it's BIRTH spots.
Then as David fled from Jerusalem,
he was cursed from the heights by
Shimet n Of Saul's retainers. The
picture Of the aged king so over
whelmed by a sense of abnegation and
u~nwOrthiness hat he refused to let
his followers slay Shimei, is one OF
the most pathetic in all Israel's his
tory.
When Son Fought Father.
Thanks to the diplomacy of Hushai
and the dread of David's reputation
the battle between the loyalists and
the rebels was not joined until David
was ready for it. Then east of the
Jordan the fight was staged. An over.
whelming victory for David and hi,
hosts was the result.
Amid the scrub oaks, which are still
a marked characteristic of hat re
gion, the fleeing rebels were slain
AbsalOm himself, riding on a roya
mule, sought safety in flight, but hi
much-barbered head was caught il
, the branches of a tree, and there
soldier came upon him. Having hear'
David's injunction to Joab and tn
troops to deal gently with the youni
, man, this soldier refused to STAY tn
! rebel prince. Bloody-minded old Gen
eral Joab had no such scrup1es, an
!, with his own hand he did Absalom t
! death.
David waited by the city gates 70
tidings Of the battle, and his lament
. when news was brought him of tn
. disaster. is one Of the most movin
! passages in literature:
- And the king was much moved, an
went up to the chamber over the gat,
and wept: and as he went. thus h
: said, Q my son Absalon. my son, m
son Absalom! would 1 had died fc
= thee. Q AbsalOm, my son, my SOM"
There was more Of the father tina
of the king to David in this last hou
He cared less for the glory Of h
throne than for the welfare of his sol
I" The consciousness of his w sin an
of the heritage he had impaired
his children, was sorrows crown
-, sorrow in this hour Of political ar
- military victory.