sell her
husband for one night to Leah, for some mandrakes, whatever they were;
and we notice that women held their husbands rather cheap in those
good old days.

You see Rachel and Leah made Jacob a thing of barter and sale and
(without consulting his desires) Leah consummated the bargain, and she
went out toward the field when the harvest was progressing, and met
Jacob as he came from his work tired and dusty, and informed him he
must come with her, "For surely I have hired thee with my son's
mandrakes," and he did not resent the insulting idea that he had been
"hired," but like all the other distractingly obedient men of the
Bible--he went.

Rachel next distinguishes herself as a disobedient daughter and
headstrong wife by "stealing her father's gods" without consulting or
confiding in her husband, for we read that "Jacob knew not that Rachel
had stolen them."

And Laban, Rachel's father, and Jacob had a lively altercation, and
they said exceedingly naughty things to each other in loud voices, but
at last they came to an agreement, and Laban said he would give up his
children, grandchildren and cattle, but he was bound to have his
"gods" or know the reason why. The entire story is a curious mixture
of heathenism and belief in one God.

Then Jacob rose in all the confidence of perfect innocence and told
him he might search the whole camp for all he cared, and he added in
his outraged dignity, "with whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him
not live."

You will observe by that that it was a terrible crime to steal "gods,"
and as it is the first offense of the kind on record, you can infer
what a reckless, ungovernable female Rachel must have been to do so
dreadful an act.

[Illustration: (She hoped he would excuse her for not arising.)]

Well, Laban went like a cyclone "unto Jacob's tent" (notice what
humiliation and disgrace Rachel subjected her husband to, and what a
scandal it must have raised in the neighborhood), and into Leah's tent
and into the two maid-servants' tents; but he found them not. Then he
entered into Rachel's tent.

Now she had hidden the precious little images in the camel's furniture
and sat upon them, and she said she didn't feel very well this
morning, papa dear, or words to that effect, and she hoped he would
excuse her for not arising; and she probably smiled sweetly, put her
arm around his neck, and finally did him up completely by kissing him
tenderly; and of course, as in those