this sacred charge. His kingdom is from God, and it cannot be moved.

"Are any appalled at the magnitude of the host that is risen up against you? I ask you to call to mind what our fathers have told of the works of Israel's God in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and at the first entrance of the tribes into Canaan. I ask you to call to mind the unfailing help of God in dark and trying days, within the period of your own remembrance. I see around me those who remember the scenes of Keilah and of Ziklag men who can tell the tale of the strong hold of Adullam, and the cave of En-gedi; men who have traversed the deserts of Paran, the forests of Ziph, and the wilderness of Maon. Yes, I see around me the men who drew the sword at the pool of Gibeon. Soldiers! have you forgotten the brave, the generous, the unparalleled Asahel?' His voice trembled a moment; then, raising his eyes, and his clasped hands, he exclaimed, Departed brother, thou art not forgotten! Thy memory is embalmed forever in the soldier's heart!' Many a strong warrior bowed his head and let fall the big tear to the memory of the valiant Asahel.

"After a moment's pause, he went on: 'Call to mind the fields on which you have vanquished the stubborn sons of Moab, the wild and warlike Edomite, the countless hosts of Syria, and the fierce and gigantic Philistines each is an Ebenezer of assurance that the God of your fathers will be with you now.

"Yon rebel host, with a rebel and profligate prince at their head, are now pale with fear, and trembling at the heart. At your attack, they will be scattered like chaff before the whirlwind. The shrewd and crafty

Ahithophel foresaw their doom, and hanged himself, rather than share in their overthrow.' Then, pointing upward his long, glittering sword, and holding it steady at the full length of his extended arm, he exclaimed, 'Trust in that God who divided the Red Sea, rolled back the overflowing tide of Jordan, and stopped the sun and the moon in heaven, that the cause of his covenant people might prevail. King David will yet lead you back in triumph to Jerusalem. You will again see him on the throne, with the sceptre in his hand, and the crown upon his head. His kingdom shall endure; Israel shall be a blessing; Messiah shall come, and the whole earth shall be filled with the name and the glory of Israel's God.'

"Bright weapons, that flashed back the rays of the sun, now waved over all the host, while the soldiers rent the air with reiterated shouts of enthusiasm, that startled the multitude in Absalom's army.

"Joab now looked around. Abiathar,' said he, 'is not here; Jonathan, give to the army the charge which Moses commanded.' Jonathan drew near to the commander, and lifting up his voice, repeated the address enjoined in the twentieth chapter of Deuteronomy: 'Hear, O Israel! Ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'"

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CHAPTER XXV.

THE BATTLE.

"AT the close of the address of Jonathan," said Belial, "a few moments passed in profound silence; then, at a signal from the commander, Abishai and Ittai filed off with their troops to the right and left, and took their appointed stations in front of the standards of Ephraim and of Dan. Joab remained marshalling his men till the other two divisions of the army had halted. He put the Cherethites and Pelethites with the mighty men, in front; next these he placed one thousand veteran warriors, proved and tried in former battles; in the rear of all he put a large body of archers of the tribe of Gad, renowned for strength and skill in handling the bow; each archer was also girded with a sword. His division numbered about twenty-five hundred men. He gave the proper directions, and they moved with quick, but regular and orderly step, towards the foe. When within thirty paces of the centre of Judah's line, the swordsmen and spearsmen dropped on their knees, bending forward, and covering their heads and bodies with their shields: the archers of Gad now brought the bowstring to their ear, and a shower of death was driven over the heads of their comrades right on Judah's thick array. The shriek, moan, and dying cry arose,

mingled with the shrill clangor of the trumpet of Ahimaaz, sounding the onset. The warriors sprung to their feet with the quickness of thought, and charged on Judah with the speed of lightning. It was the descent of the avalanche, rent by an earthquake from the awful brow of a frozen mountain, that uproots the rocks in its course, bends and crushes the tall, strong forest, and overwhelms all before it in undistinguished ruin.

"The standard of Judah was driven back, but not far. Ahimelech, the standard-bearer, was cut down by the sword of Elhanan, one of the mighty men, who seized the standard and dashed it to the earth; while prince and peasant, officer and soldier, fell on every hand, like ripe corn, in the harvest field, before the reapers.

"Abishai, in like manner, carried all before him, at the first onset. Ephraim and Benjamin fled, after a very feeble resistance. But the sons of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, animated by the presence of Absalom, fought more obstinately. The watchful eye of Absalom had marked the arrangement of David's army. A deserter had told him of his father's charge, that none should do him injury. He knew this charge would be regarded by the Gittites, but he doubted Joab and Abishai. He was anxious to avoid, in the battle-field, an encounter with either of the sons of Zeruiah. On seeing the Gittites planting themselves before the sons of Dan, he resolved to give his personal influence there. He was eloquent, brave, and not unskilled in war. Cheered by his presence, and encouraged by his eloquence, the Danites were fighting hand to hand with the men from Gath. Though greatly inferior in dis

cipline, they were equal in courage, and far superior in numbers. Absalom was in the foremost rank, exhorting, commanding, and promising rewards. Yet none of the Gittites would do him harm, such was their veneration for David.

"The perfect discipline of the Gittites carried all before them at each charge; but at the call of Absalom, the sons of Dan would rally and return to the fight. The solid body, headed by Ittai, had ploughed through their thick array again and again; and again and again, exhorted by Absalom, they had returned and renewed the attack. When Absalom, seeing at a distance a powerful Danite chief, with a fresh body of troops, called him by name, 'Zuri! advance with your men, and turn the fortune of the day.' He came like the fierce panther, raving and furious, and sprang upon the foe. Absalom threw himself by his side, hoping much from this assault; but the spear of Jashobeam, the Tachmonite, met Zuri as he rushed on, and ran through shield, breastplate, and body, and came out half a cubit's length behind his shoulders. With one frightful scream, he leaped high from the earth, then fell in the struggles of death at the feet of Absalom's mule. Frightened at this, or from some unknown cause, it dashed off with uncontrollable fury, through the confused multitude, towards the point from which the hosts of Judah had filed. A huge oak was there, with horizontal branches, that ran out some distance from the trunk. Under this the mule rushed at full speed: Absalom's neck was driven in between two limbs up to the fork. He was hung by the head, and the mule, careless of its rider, left him, and continued its flight.