His life had been that of a fool; and he died as a fool dieth, lamented by none, not even by the wife of his bosom, who must have felt that her release from the intolerable yoke of domestic despotism was cause of thankfulness rather than sorrow.

During the interval that elapsed between the visit of Abigail to the camp and the death of Nabal, David had doubtless often remembered the beautiful woman whose wit and wisdom had so deeply impressed him, and always with emotions of regret at the fate which bound one so good and lovely to a man who was utterly incapable of appreciating her excellence. The energy and consummate tact with which she had managed the difficult negotiation undertaken by her, strongly touched the heart of the Jewish leader, whose estimate of female character, so far as influenced by his connection with the daughters of Saul, could not have been very favorable. But the conduct of Abigail as a woman and a wife seemed to him so exemplary, and her deportment so full of feminine sweetness and propriety, that David lost no time, on receiving news of the

death of Nabal, in demanding the hand of the young and richly dowered widow.

Matrimonial treaties were more quickly and unceremoniously concluded in those days of primitive simplicity than in our own times, and a woman like Abigail was not likely to detain the messengers of David by any scruples of mistaken dignity or ill-timed delicacy. She admired the person and venerated the character of her noble suitor, and knowing him to be God's selected instrument for the accomplishment of great designs, she esteemed it an honor far beyond her own desert to be the chosen of his heart, even in that hour of adversity when he was a houseless, homeless wanderer on the face of the earth. With a humility doubly beautiful, when we consider the relative position of the parties at that time, she hastened to obey the summons of David, and to present herself before him with a train of attendants suited to her wealth and station, and generously bestowed upon him a hand and heart of more priceless value than the crown and kingdom which awaited his possession.

After this event we hear little of Abigail;

but from her previous history we have ground for the hope that she preserved, amid the splendors of a court and as the consort of a great monarch, the same simplicity, nobleness, and piety that had distinguished the wife of Nabal.

Had David the king possessed no other domestic counsellor than the wise and tender Abigail, much of the wrong and misery that sully the annals of his reign would probably have been avoided, and the name of the sweet psalmist of Israel might have gone down to future generations without a cloud to dim its brightness.

HE cunning complexity of beauty claimeth mind and soul,

Though many coins of base alloy
pass current for the true;

And albeit fairness in the creature
oft coexists with excellence,
Yet many an angel shape hath been

tenanted by a fiend."

It was a festival day in the city of Samaria; mirth and feasting were within its gorgeous palaces, and through the long and crowded streets every face beamed with eager expectation. Flags were flying and banners streaming from the various places of public resort; while about the triumphal arches thrown at intervals across the street, groups of young maidens and children in holiday attire were collected, waiting to strew flowers and palm branches in the path of the brilliant cortége rapidly approaching. Even old age forgot its decrepitude, and gazed with eager delight on the procession that swept proudly by, and vanished beneath the frowning portal of the royal palace; but not until the multitude had enjoyed one glimpse of their liege lady, and with one voice pronounced her the most beautiful princess that ever wore a crown. Splendidly attired, her face flushed with anticipated triumph, and seated on a milk-white Arabian, whose motions she controlled apparently without an effort, Jezebel of Zidon did indeed look every inch a queen ;" and the youthful king of Israel felt, as he gazed upon his haughty