St Nicholas [serial] . uman being. There wa:particular place to send any one to, saying, Tyou will find shelter and food ; and it see;hard and cruel to say Go to a poor woiwithout telling her where to go. So theman went to bed unhappy and puzzled,—anwonder. But in the night God spoke to him in a dn]as often happened in those times, and toldnot to fear, but to let the mother and child gcHe would take care of them and preserve THE MOTHER IN THE DESERT. 523 ?es, and the boy should grow up to be the fathera great multitude. I do not think, except foris promise of the Lords, that the old man couldv
St Nicholas [serial] . uman being. There wa:particular place to send any one to, saying, Tyou will find shelter and food ; and it see;hard and cruel to say Go to a poor woiwithout telling her where to go. So theman went to bed unhappy and puzzled,—anwonder. But in the night God spoke to him in a dn]as often happened in those times, and toldnot to fear, but to let the mother and child gcHe would take care of them and preserve THE MOTHER IN THE DESERT. 523 ?es, and the boy should grow up to be the fathera great multitude. I do not think, except foris promise of the Lords, that the old man couldve said Go, for he was a just and wise man,d tender-hearted. There is a tradition amonge people of his nation, that he was the first man For, rising with the dawn, he called the youngerwife, filled a bag with bread, tied a bottle of waterto her back, pointed to the desert, and bade her Go. Poor thing, her heart must have beenheavy enough as she turned her face away fromthe tents. She had not been always happy ^2>V WITH A GREAT SOB, SHE WENT AWAY all the world whose beard became white, andt he asked of God, What is this? and thed replied, It is a token of gentleness, my. The old mans beard was very white as hedreaming that night, and his heart had growntie with the blanching of his hair; so that itnot cruelty or unkindness, but faith in theivenly Promise, which, when morning broke,him to comply with his old wifes request. There had been quarrelsome hours and sad hours,—hours of complaining and hours of tears,—but still, the tents were home, there was food inthem and shelter, and the wilderness was desolateand lonely. She went, however.—there was noth-ing else left for her to do. Husbands in those dayswere masters as well, and had power of life anddeath over their wives. There were the barley-loafand the water-bottle ; there was the desert track; 524 THE MOTHER IN THE DESERT [Jra and taking her child by the hand, she walkedaway, going she knew not where or to wh
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Keywords: ., bookauthordodgemar, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookyear1873
