And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur[142-1] are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal,[142-2]
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

FOOTNOTES:

[142-1] _Ashur_ is the Assyrian form of our word _Assyria_.

[142-2] Baal was the chief god of the Assyrians.

RUTH

NOTE.--This charming story may be found complete in the book of
_Ruth_ in the Old Testament by those who wish the literal Bible
narrative as it is there given.

Little is known as to the date of the writing of the book of
_Ruth_. Some authorities believe that it was written earlier than
500 B.C., while others contend that it was not written until much
later. As to the purpose, also, there are differences of opinion;
is the book merely a religious romance, told to point a moral, or
is it an historical narrative meant to give information as to the
ancestry of David? Whichever is true, the story is a delightful
one, and we enjoy reading it just as we do any other story, apart
from its Biblical interest.

I

Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled in Judah that
there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem-Judah
went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife and his two
sons. Together they came into the land and continued there; but the man
died, and the wife was left, and her two sons.

And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was
Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth; and they dwelled there about
ten years. Then the two sons died also both of them; and the woman,
Naomi, their mother, alone was left of the family that came into Moab.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the
country of Moab; for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the
Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.

Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two
daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the
land of Judah.

But Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her
mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the
dead, and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest again, each
in the house of her husband."