hended about as much of what Samson said as he did himself, and they had the advantage over him in that they did not even desire to comprehend. They merely came to adore his long curly locks and to contemplate in silent admiration his artistically waxed moustache, which he was always stroking. Samson knew the object of their admiration and was very careful as to how he handled the growth on his upper lip.
But Delilah, too, knew what was his strong point, and although no American prince came to offer her a bribe of a thousand and hundred pieces of silver, she nevertheless, as a matter of precaution, determined on removing his strength from him, in order to eliminate that magnetism which was drawing admirers to him, like moths.
One night, when Samson returned from an anarchistic gathering hungry and weary, Delilah welcomed him with a beaming countenance, placed before him meat and drink, and caressed him very affectionately. He then fell asleep at the table. Whereupon she called her brother, the barber, who was hidden in another room, and he cut off Samson's locks and shaved off his moustache without his knowledge.
In the morning Samson went to work. When he put in his appearance in the "sweatery," his fellow workers met him with a loud and prolonged guffaw. Samson at once entered into a quarrel with them, thinking to vanquish them as of yore, but he knew not that his strength had
The Holy City of Old
SELECTED BY C. SOLIS-COHEN
"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, the city of the great king." Such is the language in which the Hebrew poets delight to celebrate Jerusalem; called also by its ancient name, Salem, and from its great conqueror and beautifier, "the city of David," and from one of its inclosed eminences "Zion." The city was near the centre of the Promised Land, and was so favored in local situation that even modern travellers who have seen it in its decay have confirmed the praises which its native bards expresses so fervently in the days of its glory. The following extract is from the narrative of the United States Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea:
"There is no city in the world that can compare with it in position. It does not, like other cities, present an indefinite mass of buildings, which must be viewed in detail before the eye can be gratified ; but with only its dome-roofs swel-
left him and that his tongue was of no use. Finally he became pugnacious and sought to utilize the weapon with which Adam digged, whereupon all fell to and belabored him soundly, the men especially, who were jealous of him for some time. They then threatened to strike in a body if the boss would not discharge him. The boss had no sentimental reasons for employing Samson, so he discharged him at once.
Broken in limb and spirits Samson returned home and kept to his bed for a few days. His former associates succeeded in gaining a bad reputation for him so that he could not obtain employment.
The proverbial wolf was soon knocking at Samson's door. Finally, Delilah, who was the daughter of a grits-maker of the old country, and understood the processes well, bethought herself of utilizing her knowledge to gain a livelihood for herself and husband. She purchased a handmill and began the manufacture of grits on a small scale.
And Delilah became the buyer of barley and oats and a seller of grits, and Samson was the grinder, just as was his namesake after the Philistines had blinded him. And the saying of our sages: "When a man marries, he places a millstone about his neck," was verified in his case both figuratively and literally.
MOSES SHINEDLING.
ling above the time-stained and lofty walls, Jerusalem sits, enthroned, a queen in the midst of an empire of desolation. Apart from its association, we look upon it with admiration; but connected with them, the mind is filled with reverential awe, as it recalls the wondrous events that have occurred within and around it."
Another says:
"It is still a noble city. The Jebusites certainly chose for their fort one of the finest sites in the world ; and when David took it from them, he might well glory in his beautiful Zion. From this day forward, how dead seemed to me all my former impressions of Jerusalem ! Not of its sacredness, but of its beauty and nobleness. I had never had the slightest conception of that beauty, which now at once enabled me to enter into the exultation of David, and the mourning of Nehemiah, and the generous concern of Titus, and the pride of the Saracen, and the enthusiasm of the Crusader." Martineau's Eastern Life, p. 404. [From Bulfinch's Hebrew Lyrical History.]