t into the
wilderness.)]

After that Abraham "sojourned in Gerar," and again the seductive Sarah
charmed the great king, and again the Lord had to interfere and settle
the affair.

When Isaac was born Sarah was more exacting and jealous than ever of
Hagar, and said to Abraham: "Cast out this bond-woman and her son; for
the son of this bond-woman shall not be heir with my son."

[Illustration: (And Abraham went down to Egypt.)]

"And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight," but he
"hearkened unto the voice of his wife," like the dutiful and obedient
husband he was, and he sent Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness.
And even to this day the women who are guilty of Hagar's crime are
remorselessly sent out into the wilderness of desertion, despair and
disgrace--and it is right and just!

We are told that "fashions change;" but Sarah inaugurated a fashion
that wives have followed to this day, and will follow till the ocean
of eternity shall sweep the island of Time into oblivion.

And so endeth the chapter of the second prominent woman of "Holy
Writ."

And Abraham was always "obedient," and "hearkened unto the voice of
his wife;" and Sarah was a lawless, crafty, coquettish--but never
obedient woman.

ISAAC'S WIFE.

ISAAC'S WIFE.

And Abraham said unto his servant, "Thou shalt go unto my country and
to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac."

But the servant, who was evidently a student of female character and
knew

"That when a woman will, she will,
You may depend on it;
And when she won't, she won't,
And there's an end on it;"

said: "Peradventure, the woman will not be willing to follow me unto
this land."

Then Abraham, who was a connoisseur in feminine ethics (as he
naturally would be, having had such able instructors as Sarah and
Hagar) and realized the utter futility of attempting to persuade,
bribe or induce a woman to do anything she objected to doing, said:

"And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt
be clear from this mine oath."

So the servant departed and "went to Mesopotamia unto the city of
Nahor."

Now it seems in those days the girls of Nahor went outside the city
gates every evening, according to Oriental custom, to draw water from
a well, and the artful servant of Abraham tarried at the well at
sunset, for he knew the girls would be along presently.

It was a lovely eventide. The wind touched ca