usurper was, under whose
chariot-wheels the wicked Jezebel was slain."

"It was Jehu, the furious driver," answered her brother Tom; "the same
eminently pious individual who invited a friend to 'go with him and see
his zeal for the Lord,' when he intended to murder the rest of Ahab's
relations. A fine way of showing goodness, that!"

"And who was the good aunt?"

"You must really let me look for that," said Amy, getting a Bible. "It
was Jehosheba, and her husband, the high priest, was named Jehoiada, and
the little king was Joash, or Jehoash. I'm sorry to see that he was only
kept straight by his uncle: as soon as he died, the young monarch,
appears to have become as bad as any of them."

"And now, Cousin Mary, tell us another story!" said Harry.

"Very well, if you wish it. I'll call this tale

The Prophet and the Fortune-Tellers.

In former times there was a king of Judah, an excellent man, who,
through some unaccountable ideas of policy, had entered into an alliance
with a very wicked king of Israel, and had even encouraged his son to
marry the daughter of his idolatrous neighbor. On one occasion, he was
paying a visit to his ally, when the latter proposed to him that they
should join together in recovering a city which had formerly belonged to
the Jewish nation, from their enemy, the King of Syria. He replied, that
they were of one blood, and had but one interest, and that he should
most gladly aid him; but cautiously added, that it was his particular
wish that God's oracle should be consulted, as he did not like to
undertake any thing without His direction. To gratify this superstitious
whim, as he considered it, the Israelitish monarch collected together
about four hundred false prophets, who were ready to say any thing that
would give him pleasure, and asked whether he should or should not go up
against the city. Of course, they obsequiously replied, "Go up; for the
Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king."

But the King of Judah wag not satisfied. He had seen real, true prophets
of God, and they had neither looked nor acted like these very smooth,
courtier-like men. He mistrusted these pretenders, and said to his
brother-monarch, "Is there not another, a prophet of Jehovah, of whom we
could inquire the Lord's will?"

The latter answered, "Yes, there _is_ another man; but I did not send
for him, for I hate the very sight of his face. Instead of predicting
good, he makes a point of foretelling