days men never dreamed of asking
a woman to do anything she didn't want to do, papa dear did not insist
upon her arising, and so missed his sole and only chance of getting
his "gods."

It was a very serious and perhaps terrible loss to her father, and we
can gather no idea from the scripture why she did it unless out of
pure spite, or else she wanted to use them as bric-a-brac in the new
home to which she was going.

In the history of the "beauteous and well-favored" Rachel and the
"tender-eyed" Leah, we find hatred, deadly jealousy, anger, strife,
dissensions and envy, but none of the forbearance, self-sacrifice,
obedience, meekness and submission that we have been taught that the
ladies of the Old Testament possessed, and we are almost sorry that we
didn't take the preacher's "say so" for it, instead of studying the
Bible diligently and intelligently for ourselves.

ALL NAUGHTY, BUT FAIR.

ALL NAUGHTY, BUT FAIR.

The next young lady whom the Old Testament presents for our admiration
and edification is Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, who set the
passionate but agonizing style of "loving not wisely, but too well,"
and brought about one of the shrewdest military stratagems that was
ever perpetrated, a terrible massacre, and the slavery of many
innocent women and children.

Several other ladies are mentioned casually and then we come to Tamar,
whose father-in-law, Judah, had broken his solemn promise and
defrauded her of her rights. And did she submissively consent to be
deprived of her just dues? Not at all. She simply disguised herself,
and by deception and a thorough knowledge of man's nature, mixed up
with a shrewd business tact, completely out-generaled her dear
papa-in-law, gained her revenge, and by a sagacious artifice protected
herself from the possible consequences of her folly and from future
punishment by persuading Judah to give her, as a pledge of his good
faith, "his signet and bracelets and staff." In short, she was the
original pawn-broker of the world; and Judah left his treasures "in
escrow" until he could redeem them by delivering her a kid in
liquidation of his debt.

And for many days the sun blazed and faded, the stars sparkled and
paled, and the moon rode high in silvery radiance; the winds and birds
and flowers blushed and sang and sighed, and in due course of time
Judah sent a kid to redeem his valuables, but alas! Tamar had slipped
away and left no trace by which