of that
patriarch. All the other captives were rescued also, and Lot, returning
with his friends, continued to dwell in Sodom as before.

We hear no more of him for a considerable time. During the interval
Abraham has a child by Hagar. Ishmael, with the rest of the patriarch's
household, is circumcised. And finally the Lord visits Abraham again to
tell him that, notwithstanding their advanced ages, he and Sarah shall
yet have a son. What happened during the interview properly belongs to
the life of Abraham, but we shall here consider so much of it as relates
to the fortunes of Lot.

The Lord complained that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was "very
grievous," and said that the great cry of it had reached him in heaven.
Being much concerned about their "goings on," he had resolved to drop
down and see for himself if they were realty as bad as he suspected.
"If not," said he, "I will know." In the Old Testament, God, who knows
everything, is always seeking information.

Abraham surmised that the Lord meant to play the devil with the
Sodomites, and he was anxious about Lot who dwelt with them. So he
began a parley. "Now, my Lord," said Abraham, "you surely don't mean to
destroy indiscriminately; you, the judge of all the earth, must act on
the square. Suppose there are fifty righteous men in Sodom, won't you,
just for their sake, spare the place?" Knowing that there were nothing
like fifty righteous men in Sodom, the Lord promptly acceded to
Abraham's-request; so promptly indeed that Abraham smelt a rat, and
determined to drive a closer bargain. So he asked the Lord to knock off
five. "Very well," was the reply, "if I find forty-five righteous men
I'll spare the city." Abraham was still suspicious. He knew that Jehovah
loved a bit of destruction, and was not easily moved when he had once
made up his mind to indulge himself. So he returned to the charge. "I
beg pardon," said he, "for troubling you so, but do you mind knocking
off another ten, and making thirty of it?" "Not at all," answered the
Lord, "we'll say thirty." Abraham felt there-was something wrong. This
amiable readiness to oblige thoroughly perplexed him. If the Lord had
haggled over the thirty, he would have known that there was about that
number of righteous men in the place; but in the actual condition of
affairs, he felt that he had considerably overshot the mark. The-game
was very dangerous, but he decided to renew it. "My Lord," he began,
"I'm a dreadful