hath given command, by
His servant the Preacher, _If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to
eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink_ (Prov. xxv. 21).
_Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth; and let not thine heart be glad
when he stumbleth_" (Prov. xxiv. 17).

"An enemy born of the house of Israel, not a vile Gentile," muttered
one of the men who were present.

"Is the Lord the Maker only of the Jew; made He not the Gentile also?"
cried Hadassah. "_Thou shalt not oppress a stranger_, saith the Lord,
_seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt_ (Ex. xxiii. 9). Did
not Hobab the Midianite dwell among the people of Israel; was not
Achior the Ammonite welcomed by the elders of Bethura; was not the
blood of the Hittite required at the hand of David, and Ittai the
Gittite found faithful when Israelites fell away from their king? God
said of Cyrus the Persian, _He is my shepherd_ (Isa. xliv. 28), and
Alexander of Macedon was suffered to offer sacrifices to the Lord God
of Jacob. Yea, hath not Isaiah the prophet declared that He, the Holy
One, the Messiah, for whose coming we look, _shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles_ (Isa. xlii. 1), shall be _a light of the Gentiles_
(Isa. xlii. 6), that He will lift up His hand to the Gentiles (Isa.
xlix. 22), so that their kings shall be nursing-fathers, and their
queens nursing-mothers to His people (Isa. xlix. 23)? Ay, a time is
coming--may it speedily come!--when the _idols He shall utterly
abolish_ (Isa. ii. 18), when the Lord's house shall be established, and
all nations shall flow unto it (Isa. ii. 2), when _the earth shall be
filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea_" (Hab. ii. 14).

The noble features of the aged matron kindled as with inspiration, and
as she raised her hand towards heaven, she seemed to call the Deity to
confirm His glorious promises of mercy to the people yet walking in
darkness.

A confused murmur rose amongst the listeners; if Hadassah's appeal had
impressed some, it had stirred up in others the fierce jealousy which
made so many Jews unwilling that the Gentiles should ever share the
privileges of Abraham's race. The captive's life hung upon a slender
thread, and he knew it.

"Hadassah," said the chief, addressing the widow with respect, "do you
then require that we should trust this stranger, when--if he prove
false--so many Hebrew lives will be the forfeit of confidence
misplaced?"

"