{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44601/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44601","id":"gutenberg_44601","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44601","summary":null,"tags":["Bible stories, English -- Old Testament","Category: Historical Novels","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Novels","Elisha (Biblical prophet) -- Juvenile fiction","Naaman, the Syrian -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"The Little Maid of Israel.\n\nBY\n\nEmma Howard Wight.\n\nSECOND EDITION\n\n    ST. LOUIS, MO., 1910\n    PUBLISHED BY B. HERDER\n    17 SOUTH BROADWAY\n    FREIBURG (BADEN)      LONDON, W. C.\n    GERMANY       68, GREAT RUSSELL ST.\n\n\n\n\n    Copyright, 1900, by Jos. Gummersbach.\n\n    -- BECKTOLD --\n    PRINTING AND BOOK MFG. CO.\n    ST. LOUIS, MO.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LITTLE MAID OF ISRAEL.\n\nBY EMMA HOWARD WIGHT.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nIn the Land of Israel, not a great distance from the city of Samaria,\ndwelt Ezra with his wife, Sarah, and their two children, Isaac and\nLeah. The sun was sinking behind the hills as Ezra and Sarah sat before\nthe door of their humble dwelling resting after the labors of the day.\nOn a couch in the doorway reclined a youth with a pale, sickly face and\nemaciated limbs. Isaac, the eldest-born of Ezra and Sarah, had been\na cripple from birth. His eyes, dull and languid from constant pain,\ntired and sad, were fixed eagerly upon the wide white road stretching\naway in the distance until it was lost among the hills.\n\nAt length, with an impatient sigh, he turned his pale, wan face towards\nhis mother and said:\n\n\"See, mother, the sun has nearly set; why tarryeth Leah so long? 'Twas\nbut sunrise when she did set out for Samaria, surely she should have\nreturned ere this.\"\n\n\"Thou dost forget, my son, that thy sister had much to do in Samaria,\"\nreplied Sarah, soothingly. \"First to dispose of the fruits and then to\npurchase necessities for our household; also the ass of our neighbor\nbeing old and stiff, can travel but slowly.\"\n\n\"All that thou urgeth be true, mother,\" exclaimed the lad, petulantly.\n\"But my sister has ever the same tasks, still she always returned\nfrom Samaria before the setting of the sun. I fear that some ill hath\nbefallen her,\" and his lip quivered with pain while his large, soft\neyes dilated with fear.\n\n\"How now, lad! why dost thou frighten thy mother with thy sickly\nfancies?\" cried Ezra, impatiently, as Sarah's cheek grew pale. \"What\nill could have befallen thy sister?\"\n\n\"She may have fallen into the hands of the Syrians, whom thou knoweth\ndo make raids into our country and carry off captives,\" answered the\nlad, tremulously. \"Oh, if I were only as other lads these burdens\nshould not fall upon the weak shoulders of a maiden. 'Twould be I who\nwould journey into Samaria with the fruits,\" and tears of bitter pain\nand humiliation filled his eyes.\n\nSarah leaned forward and gently smoothed back the dark, curling hair\nfrom his white brow.\n\n\"Speak not thus, my son,\" she murmured, with infinite tenderness. \"Thy\nmother loveth thee but the more tenderly because of thy affliction,\nand well dost thou know how thy sister's heart yearneth over thee.\"\n\nA faint smile touched the lad's pale lips.\n\n\"Ah, mother,\" he said, \"it is wicked of me to repine at my affliction\nwhen thou and my sister, Leah, do love me so well. But, oh, mother, if\nI were but strong and whole,\" and, covering his face with his hands, he\nsobbed aloud.\n\n\"Look up, lad, and dry thy tears, for yonder cometh our Leah,\" cried\nEzra.\n\nWith an exclamation of joy, Isaac obeyed, and, lifting himself eagerly\nupon his elbow, watched with joyous eyes, the slow approach of an ass\nupon which was seated a maiden.\n\nEzra went forward and lifted her to the ground.\n\n\"Leah! sister! thou art come at last!\" cried Isaac.\n\nShe ran to the couch and bent over him; his weak arms clasped her neck,\nhis eyes looked lovingly into her face.\n\nThe brother and sister had the same fine-cut features and beautiful,\nsoft, dark eyes, but the lad's face was white and wan, while the rich\nbloom of health colored the cheeks and lips of the maiden. Her dark\nhair, curly and silken, fell to her waist; she was slenderly built, but\nerect, graceful and quick of movement.\n\n\"Why didst thou tarry so long, my child?\" asked Sarah. \"Thy brother has\nsorely fretted, fearing that some ill had befallen thee.\"\n\n\"I am sorry that thou didst fret, brother,\" said the maiden, bending to\nkiss his pale brow.\n\n\"Hadst thou trouble in disposing of the fruits, maiden?\" asked Ezra.\n\n\"No, dear father,\" replied Leah, turning towards him with a smile. \"I\nwas but a little while selling the fruits and making the purchases for\nmy mother.\"\n\n\"Then it was the slowness of our neighbor's ass which did delay thee,\"\nsaid Ezra.\n\n\"I will tell thee, father, why I did tarry so long in Samaria,\" said\nthe maiden. \"They were talking in Samaria of the wonders wrought by the\nprophet, Elisha, and I lingered to listen. 'Twas of his last miracle\nthat they did speak. Father, mother, brother, knoweth thou that the\nprophet, Elisha, hath power to raise the dead to life?\"\n\nShe paused and turned her eyes upon the helpless form of the cripple\nlad while the color deepened upon her cheek and her breath came\nquickly. Isaac spoke not, but, as his eyes met his sister's, they\nlighted with passionate eagerness and a long, panting sigh left his\nlips.\n\n\"What sayeth thou, maiden, that the prophet, Elisha, hath power to\nraise the dead to life?\" cried Ezra, wonderingly and incredulously.\n\n\"Yes, father,\" answered Leah. \"Listen, and I will tell to thee what\nI heard in Samaria. There is a woman in Shunem who didst bear to her\nhusband in his old age a son. This woman, who is charitable and good,\nis well known to Elisha. Indeed she had prepared a chamber for him\nin her home where he did rest and take refreshment when he travelled\non foot from place to place. One morning, when the woman's child was\nbut five years of age, he went into the field where his father was\ngathering in the harvest, and, there, he suddenly sickened from the\nheat of the sun. They carried him to his mother, she held him in her\narms and, after some hours, he died. She took him up to the little\nchamber where the prophet had rested and laid him upon the bed. Then,\ncommanding the servant to saddle an ass, she set out to seek Elisha who\nwas at Mount Carmel.\n\n\"Elisha, standing upon the summit, near the altar of Jehovah, saw her\na-far off, for he sent his servant to inquire if all were well with\nher. But the woman would herself speak with the prophet, and, falling\nat his feet, did tell him that her son was dead. Elisha then returned\nwith the woman to Shunem and shut himself into the room with the dead\nchild. After a little while he called his servant and told him to\nsummon the mother, and, when she did come into the room, Elisha said to\nher, 'Take up thy child,' and the child was risen from the dead.\"\n\nThe little maid ceased speaking, and throwing herself on her knees\nbeside the couch, put her arms gently about Isaac's frail form.\n\n\"Sister,\" murmured the lad, touching tenderly with his thin fingers the\ncurling hair which fell upon her shoulders, \"I know the thoughts in thy\ntender heart. Thou art thinking that if this great prophet hath power\nto raise the dead to life, then also hath he the power to make strong\nand straight these poor limbs of mine. Tell me, dear sister, are not\nthese thy thoughts?\"\n\n\"Yes! ah, indeed, yes!\" cried the maiden, in a voice of passionate\ntenderness and yearning. \"But I did not wish thee to know what was in\nmy heart until I had spoken with our parents.\"\n\nShe arose and turned towards Ezra and Sarah. Both regarded her in\nsilence; Ezra, pale and grave, Sarah, with tears in her eyes.\n\n\"Father, wilt thou give me leave to seek the prophet, Elisha, who\ndwelleth in Samaria that I may beg of him to heal my brother?\" asked\nthe maiden.\n\n\"Dost thou believe, maiden, that the wonderful things they relate of\nthis Elisha be true?\" asked Ezra.\n\nInto the maiden's soft eyes there crept a troubled look.\n\n\"Oh, dear father speak not thus,\" she cried, imploringly. \"Surely thou\nknoweth that unless we have faith, nothing will be granted unto us. Why\nshouldst thou or I doubt the wonders imputed to Elisha, for is he not a\nholy man of God?\"\n\n\"Thou art only a maiden, but thou speaketh words of wisdom which do\nrebuke thy father,\" said Ezra. \"Tell me, my son,\" turning to Isaac,\n\"dost thou also believe that this man, Elisha, hath power to heal thee,\nwho art from thy birth a cripple?\"\n\nThe lad looked, smiling, up into his father's face.\n\n\"Yes, father, I do indeed believe that Elisha hath power to heal me,\"\nhe replied. \"Even though he had not raised the dead to life still would\nmy faith in him be great, for, as Leah sayeth, he be a holy man of God.\"\n\nEzra moved forward and laid his hand on the maiden's dark head.\n\n\"Thy brother also hath great faith,\" he said. \"Thou shalt seek Elisha\nin Samaria and make known to him thy desire.\"\n\nLeah caught her father's hand and raised it to her lips.\n\n\"I thank thee, my father,\" she murmured.\n\n\"Dost thou think that Elisha will harken to thy request?\" asked Ezra.\n\n\"I am sure that he will, for Elisha never turneth a deaf ear to the\nsorrowful and the afflicted,\" answered Leah. \"Father, when may I\njourney to Samaria and seek the prophet?\"\n\n\"Nay, nay, have patience, maiden,\" said Ezra. \"We will talk of that\nlater, now 'tis time to prepare the evening meal. Assist thy mother,\nwhile I go forth and feed our neighbor's ass.\"\n\nHe turned away.\n\nThe sun had set, but a faint flush of crimson still lingered in the\nwest. The ass stood patiently, with drooping head.\n\nA light flashed out from the low doorway. Ezra, as he fed and watered\nthe tired beast, could see his wife and daughter moving about within;\nalso the form of the cripple lad stretched upon the couch. Would that\nwan cheek ever glow with health? mused Ezra. That weak body be upright\nand sturdy, those helpless limbs strong and straight?\n\n\"From his birth hath he been a cripple, sickly and helpless,\" murmured\nEzra. \"But surely this man who hath power even to raise the dead to\nlife can heal a cripple lad.\"\n\n\"Father! father!\"\n\nLeah stood in the doorway, her cheeks the color of roses, the night\nbreeze lifting her heavy curls, her soft eyes gazing forth into the\ngathering shadows.\n\n\"Come, dear father, the evening meal is ready,\" she said.\n\nThe day's tasks were done. Isaac, exhausted with the emotions and\nexcitement of the day, slept heavily upon his couch. Ezra and Sarah sat\nin the doorway and the little maid lay upon the ground at their feet,\nwith her curly head resting against her mother's knee.\n\n\"Art thou fatigued with thy journey, maiden?\" asked Sarah, touching\ncaressingly Leah's rose-flushed cheek.\n\n\"Fatigued!\" repeated the maiden, with a smile. \"No, dear mother, thy\nLeah is young and strong; 'tis only the poor old ass that is weary.\"\n\nEzra sat buried in thought. Now and again the little maid glanced\nwistfully up into his face. She longed passionately to learn when it\nwas his will for her to seek the prophet in Samaria, but it never\noccurred to her to question her father or manifest any signs of\nimpatience.\n\nA silence fell upon the three. Sarah thought that the little maid had\nfallen asleep, so still she lay, but, as Ezra suddenly roused himself\nand spoke, Leah, sat upright, her eyes eagerly seeking his face across\nwhich the light from within fell.\n\n\"Maiden,\" said Ezra, \"I have been considering the matter of thy seeking\nthe prophet, Elisha, in Samaria. When ten days have passed the fruits\nwill again have ripened; then will I borrow the ass of our neighbor\nand thou shalt journey to Samaria. When thou hast sold thy fruits thou\ncanst seek the prophet, Elisha.\"\n\nLeah's eyes filled with tears, her lips quivered, she was bitterly\ndisappointed. To wait ten days when she hoped and longed to start with\nthe coming dawn for Samaria.\n\n\"Thou didst hear me, maiden?\" said Ezra, as she did not speak.\n\n\"Yes, my father,\" she replied, as she wiped away her tears. \"'Tis thy\nwill that I again journey to Samaria when ten days shall have passed.\"\n\n\"Such is my will,\" said Ezra.\n\nThe little maid laid her head again upon her mother's lap and looked,\nwith longing, wistful eyes, into the darkness towards Samaria.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\n\"Sister, how many days have passed since thou didst return from\nSamaria?\" asked Isaac, as Leah, her morning's work completed, seated\nherself beside his couch.\n\n\"Five, brother,\" replied the little maid. \"So but five more remain and\nthen I shall again journey to Samaria.\"\n\nThe lad sighed deeply.\n\n\"Every day that dawns is long and dreary to me,\" he said; \"but these\nlast five days have seemed indeed the longest and dreariest of all my\nlife. Leah, sometimes during the long, pain-racked hours of the night,\nmy heart hath risen in bitterness against my father that he so long\ndelayeth thy journey to Samaria.\"\n\n\"Nay, dear brother, speak not thus,\" said the little maid, gently. \"Our\nfather knoweth best.\"\n\n\"But, Leah,\" cried the lad, his eyes lighting eagerly, a faint flush\nstaining the pallor of his cheek, \"if our father had permitted thee to\njourney at once to Samaria, perhaps, when the fruits were ripe it would\nhave been I who didst carry them to Samaria.\"\n\n\"Be patient a little longer, dear brother,\" said Leah. \"And promise me\nthat thou wilt not again cherish bitter thoughts against our father,\"\nshe added, earnestly.\n\n\"I promise thee, sister,\" answered the lad. \"Poor father, 'tis a heavy\nburden upon him that his eldest-born and only son should be a cripple;\nthat while he toileth I lie here helpless, unable to give him a helping\nhand, to lighten his labor. But, oh, Leah, sister, how happy I shall\nbe when the prophet, Elisha, hath made me whole. How proudly shall I\nlabor by my father's side; and thou shalt journey no more to Samaria;\nthou shalt stay at our mother's side while I carry the fruits to the\ncity and purchase necessities for our household. Sister! Sister! what\ndid the woman of Shunem when Elisha raised her child from the dead?\"\n\n\"She fell in gratitude at the feet of Elisha,\" answered the little maid.\n\n\"I shall also fall in gratitude at the feet of Elisha when he hath made\nme whole,\" said Isaac.\n\n\"Thou must not forget to offer up prayers of gratitude to the great\nJehovah from whom cometh the power of Elisha,\" said Leah, gently.\n\nEzra was at work in the fields when he saw his wife, Sarah, approaching.\n\n\"What seeketh thou, Sarah?\" he asked, as she drew near.\n\n\"I would speak with thee, Ezra,\" replied Sarah.\n\n\"Of what wouldst thou speak, Sarah, that thou seeketh me in the fields\nat my labor?\" asked Ezra. \"Canst thou not wait until the day's toil be\nended?\"\n\n\"Nay, or I would not seek thee at thy labor,\" answered Sarah. \"I would\nnot speak with thee of this before our children lest they think that\nthy wife hold but lightly her husband's judgment. Ezra, the hearts\nof our children are sad that thou delayeth the maiden's journey to\nSamaria.\"\n\n\"Our children be young and knoweth not patience,\" said Ezra.\n\n\"Nay, Ezra, our son and eldest-born hath never known youth,\" sadly\nanswered Sarah. \"Youth is sturdy of body, light of limb, joyous of\nheart. Isaac knoweth naught of these things. Impatient, sayeth thou,\nEzra? Ay, and thou also would be impatient, even with the years of\nwisdom upon thy shoulders, if thou wert crippled from birth, and when\nthe light of hope shone, for the first time, across thy dark pathway,\nthou wert bidden to wait.\"\n\n\"'Tis but a few days until the fruits shall have ripened,\" muttered\nEzra.\n\n\"Ay, thou art right,\" said Sarah, \"'tis but a few days, but a little\nwhile ago I did hear our son say that the five days of waiting had been\nthe longest and dreariest of a life in which every day is long and\ndreary.\"\n\n\"Thou art but a woman, Sarah, and the softness of thy heart doth steal\naway thy wisdom,\" said Ezra.\n\n\"'Tis not so much the woman's heart as the mother's that doth plead\nwith thee, Ezra,\" replied Sarah, the tears filling her eyes.\n\n\"Go back to thy children and thy work, woman,\" commanded Ezra. \"And\nwhen the day's toil be ended we will speak of this again.\"\n\nSarah turned obediently away, but her heart was light, for her husband\nhad not said her nay.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"Come hither, maiden,\" said Ezra.\n\nThe evening meal was over and the night shadows were falling. Leah\narose from beside her father's couch and approached Ezra.\n\n\"Little maid,\" said Ezra, \"maketh thyself ready, for to-morrow, at the\ndawning of the day, our neighbor will bring his ass and thou shalt set\nforth for Samaria.\"\n\nThe maiden's lips parted eagerly with surprise and joy. The lad, lifted\nhimself upon his elbow, and gazed upon his father with radiant eyes.\n\n\"But, father, the fruits are not yet ripe,\" faltered Leah.\n\n\"That is true,\" replied Ezra. \"But we shall not wait until the fruits\nhave ripened. Art thou not eager, maiden, to seek the prophet, Elisha,\nin Samaria that thou mayest beg of him to heal thy brother?\"\n\n\"Yes, yes, dear father,\" cried the little maid, with shining eyes and\nflushing cheeks.\n\n\"Then make ready to start upon thy journey at the dawn of day,\" said\nEzra.\n\n\"I shall be ready, dear father,\" replied Leah.\n\nShe turned and went back to her brother's couch. She knelt down beside\nhim and slipped her hand in his. He lifted the little hand to his lips\nand kissed it reverently and tenderly.\n\nWhen in the gray dawn of the early morning Leah entered Isaac's chamber\nshe found him sleeping. She pressed a kiss upon his brow and stole\nsoftly out again.\n\n\"Thou didst find thy brother sleeping,\" said Sarah. \"He passed a night\nof pain and restlessness and now sleepeth from exhaustion. But it will\nfret him not to have bidden thee farewell.\"\n\n\"'Tis well that he is resting after his night of pain,\" said Leah.\n\"Tell him, dear mother, that I kissed him as he slept.\"\n\n\"Come, maiden,\" called Ezra from without.\n\n\"Fare-thee-well, dear mother,\" murmured the little maid.\n\nSarah kissed tenderly the sweet, upturned face.\n\n\"Fare-thee-well, my child,\" she said, tremulously. \"God be with thee.\"\n\nThen the little maid passed through the doorway and out into the\ngrayness of the breaking day. Ezra lifted her upon the ass's back and\nshe turned her face towards Samaria.\n\nWhen Isaac awoke he called his mother to him and said:\n\n\"Mother, has my sister started for Samaria?\"\n\n\"Yes, my son,\" replied Sarah.\n\nHis lips quivered.\n\n\"Why didst thou not awaken me, mother, that I might bid my sister\nfarewell?\" he said.\n\n\"Thou wert resting, my son, after thy night of pain,\" answered Sarah.\n\"Thy sister would not have thee awakened, but bid me say to thee that\nshe kissed thee as thou slept. See,\" pointing to a golden gleam of\nsunlight which forced itself through the window and lay athwart the\nbed, \"'tis the first ray of the rising sun; ere it sets thy sister will\nbe again with thee.\"\n\nAnd the lad lay gazing, with a smile upon his lips, at the shaft of\ngolden light.\n\nEzra labored all day in the fields. The sun was sinking low in the\nheavens when he saw approaching the neighbor whose ass he had borrowed.\n\n\"Good-evening, neighbor,\" said Ezra. \"Thou art come too soon for thy\nass; the maiden hath not yet returned.\"\n\n\"I come not for the ass, neighbor,\" replied the man, whose name was\nSimeon. \"I bring thee ill tidings.\"\n\n\"What meaneth thou, neighbor?\" asked Ezra.\n\n\"Ill hath befallen thy little maid,\" was the reply.\n\n\"Ill hath befallen my little maid,\" repeated Ezra, bewilderedly.\n\"Speak, man, what ill?\"\n\n\"She has been taken captive by the Syrians,\" answered Simeon.\n\n\"How knoweth thou this?\" asked Ezra.\n\n\"I will tell thee,\" said his neighbor. \"But a little while ago a\nstranger did come to my house mounted upon my own ass. 'Be this beast\nthine?' he did ask me. Much astonished I replied that the ass were\nmine. 'And the maiden who rode it, was she thy daughter?' asked the\nstranger. I replied that she was not my daughter, but the little maid\nof my neighbor, Ezra. Then the stranger said to me, 'Go to thy neighbor\nEzra and tell him that his little maid hath been taken captive by the\nSyrians; that she will be carried to Damascus and sold into slavery.'\n\n\"It doth appear,\" continued Simeon, as Ezra stood pale and speechless,\n\"that this man was traveling on foot from Samaria when he saw\napproaching from the direction of Damascus, a company of Syrians. They\nwere evidently bent upon plunder, and the man, fearing that they would\ntake him captive, did hide himself. While in hiding he saw the Syrians\nfall in with a little maid mounted upon an ass. The maiden they did\ntake captive, leaving the ass which is old and slow. When the Syrians\nhad departed with the little maid, the stranger came forth and mounted\nthe ass, turning its face in the direction from whence it came. And\nthe ass returned home. It is with sorrow in my heart, neighbor, that I\nbring thee ill tidings of thy little maid.\"\n\n\"Ay, ill tidings indeed!\" murmured Ezra, his head sunk in sorrow upon\nhis breast. \"The hand of the Lord hath fallen heavily upon me and\nmine. How shall I tell the lad, for whose sake she did journey towards\nSamaria, of the ill that hath befallen his sister? Alas! alas! our\nlittle maid captured by the Syrians! sold into slavery!\" and Ezra rent\nhis garments and wept bitterly.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nNaaman, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army, was passing through the\nstreets of Damascus in a magnificent chariot drawn by four snow-white\nhorses. He was a man of great height and superb physique; he wore a\nrobe of royal purple. But upon the proud face there rested a heavy\nshadow, and the dark, flashing eyes, which had looked death in the face\nunflinchingly so many times upon the battle-field, now drooped under\nthe pitying and curious glances bent upon him.\n\nA sigh of intense relief heaved his mighty chest when the chariot\nstopped before the gates of a stately palace. He stepped from the\nchariot and passed within.\n\n\"Say to thy mistress that I desire her presence,\" he said to a servant,\nand then passed on to a splendid chamber.\n\nWith his arms clasped across his breast he paced restlessly up and down\nthe vast length of the chamber.\n\n\"Ah,\" he murmured, \"Naaman, whom all Syria doth call a mighty man of\nvalor, knoweth fear for the first time. My hand doth tremble like a\nwoman's, my limbs are weak. Never have her sweet eyes looked into mine\nsave with tenderness, but now--alas! alas! that Naaman should be so\naccursed.\"\n\nThe heavy silken draperies of the doorway were put aside and a woman\nentered the chamber. She was very beautiful with skin of dazzling\nfairness and hair of wondrous gold color. She was clad in rich garments\nof white, embroidered with gold.\n\n\"Naaman, my husband,\" she murmured, tenderly.\n\nAt the sound of her sweet voice Naaman started, turned, moved towards\nher and then abruptly paused.\n\n\"Thou didst desire my presence, my lord,\" she continued, falteringly,\nfor his face was white and stern, and she remembered how of late he\nhad appeared so cold and changed. As he did not speak, she added, \"I\nfear that some trouble doth sore oppress thee. For some time I have\nnoted the pallor on thy cheek, the shadow on thy brow. I longed to know\nthy trouble that I might comfort thee, but thou art ever silent. Wilt\nthou not confide in me, Naaman? Surely thou knoweth that thy Claudia\ndesireth not alone to share thy riches and thy honors, but thy sorrows\nalso,\" and, moving to his side, she laid her beautiful white hand upon\nhis arm.\n\nHe started back, thrusting her almost roughly aside.\n\n\"Touch me not, woman!\" he cried; \"for I am--unclean.\"\n\nShe stared at him, her eyes dark with horror, the delicate bloom fading\nfrom cheeks and lips. He shuddered and covered his face with his hands.\n\n\"Naaman, what meaneth thou?\" she asked. \"My husband, speak.\"\n\nHis hands fell, he turned and faced her.\n\n\"Claudia,\" he said, \"this morning, as I passed through the streets of\nDamascus, glances of pity and loathing were cast upon me, until, I,\nNaaman, did bow my head in shame. I have riches, fame and honor, but\nthe very beggars in the streets do pity me for I am a--leper.\"\n\nShe shrank back with a faint cry.\n\n\"Ay, 'tis true,\" he continued, bitterly. \"All Damascus doth know what\nI have feared to tell to thee because I love thee; because I did fear\nto read in thy sweet eyes the horror and the loathing with which all\nregard me. The leper is accursed, unclean, whom many loathe, all pity,\nbut none may love.\"\n\n\"Nay, thou art wrong,\" murmured Claudia, tenderly. \"Thy wife doth love\nthee, ay, but the more tenderly because of thy affliction.\"\n\nInto Naaman's haggard eyes there flashed a look of joy.\n\n\"Then Naaman careth not for the pitying and loathing of all Syria since\nClaudia still loveth him,\" he cried.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nClaudia, wife of Naaman, was wandering listlessly through the beautiful\ngrounds which surrounded the palace. Her lovely face was pale, her eyes\nfull of sadness. She rarely went beyond the grounds of the palace,\nshrinking from the compassionate glances bent upon her, and the\nmurmurs which too often reached her ears:\n\n\"See! 'tis Claudia, the wife of Naaman, the leper.\"\n\nSuddenly through the gates of the palace there came a little maid. She\nwas poorly-clad, but, as she drew near, her sweet face attracted the\nattention of Claudia.\n\n\"Who art thou, little one?\" she asked.\n\n\"I am Leah, a slave,\" replied the little maid, while her dark head\ndrooped in shame.\n\n\"A slave!\" repeated Claudia. \"Cometh thou not from the land of Israel?\"\nshe asked.\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Leah. \"I was captured by a company of Syrians while on\nmy way to Samaria, brought to Damascus and placed in the slave market\nwhere I was bought by Eucadeus, a wine-merchant. 'Tis he who hath sent\nme to the palace of Naaman where he selleth his wine.\"\n\n\"Captured and sold into slavery--'tis a hard fate for one so young,\"\nmurmured Claudia, musingly. \"Knoweth thou who I am, maiden?\"\n\n\"I know not who thou art,\" replied the little maid, with a smile. \"But\nI see that thou art very beautiful, and my heart doth tell me that thou\nart good. Thou art also a great lady, for thou weareth rich garments\nand rare jewels.\"\n\nClaudia smiled.\n\n\"Thy answer doth please me, little maid; thou hath an apt tongue,\" she\nsaid. \"I am Claudia, wife of Naaman.\"\n\nThe soft, dark eyes of the little maid were lifted to Claudia's face\nwith a swift look of compassion. For a moment Claudia shrank back and\nwas silent.\n\n\"Ah,\" she thought, \"even this slave-girl knoweth that Naaman is a leper\nand doth pity Naaman's wife. Wouldst thou like to enter my service,\nmaiden?\" she asked. \"If so, no doubt, thou canst be bought of thy\nmaster, Eucadeus.\"\n\nLeah's eyes lighted with rapture.\n\n\"Ay, lady, glad indeed would I be to enter thy service,\" she replied.\n\"I am sure thou couldst buy me of Eucadeus, for he loveth gold above\nall things.\"\n\n\"Then I shall send my chief steward to Eucadeus,\" said Claudia. \"Now,\nhasten, maiden, to do thy errand, lest thy master chide thee for\ntarrying.\"\n\nClaudia returned to the palace and, summoning her chief steward, said\nto him:\n\n\"Seek thou the wine-merchant, Eucadeus, and say to him that Claudia,\nwife of Naaman, would purchase of him Leah, the little Israelite maid,\nupon whom he may set his own price.\"\n\nThe chief steward accordingly went to do his mistress' bidding.\n\nEucadeus, a hard, cruel, grasping fellow, who put upon the little maid\ntasks far beyond her strength, was at first unwilling to part with\nhis slave. But, upon learning that it was Claudia, wife of Naaman,\nwho desired to purchase her, and that he might name his own price, he\nquickly changed his mind and bargained with the chief steward for a\nprice just double that which he had paid for the maiden.\n\nThe chief steward, though much disgusted with the old man's avarice and\nextortion, handed over the pieces of gold which he named as his price\nfor the maiden and returned to the palace bringing Leah with him.\n\nClaudia appointed Leah her own hand-maiden and soon became very much\nattached to her; Leah, in return, devotedly loved her beautiful kind\nmistress.\n\nOne day, after she had been some months in the household of Naaman,\nLeah, who had been watching wistfully her mistress' beautiful, sad\nface, said:\n\n\"Ah, my dear mistress, how pale and sorrowful thou looketh. My heart\nacheth for thee; would that I could help thee.\"\n\nClaudia smiled with infinite sadness and laid her hand affectionately\nupon the dark, curly head of her hand-maiden.\n\n\"Thou hast a tender heart, little one,\" she said. \"I am sure thou\nwouldst help me if thou couldst. But no one can do that, not even the\nwisest and greatest in all Syria.\"\n\n\"But there be one in Israel who can help thee,\" said the little maid.\n\n\"What meaneth thou, child?\" asked Claudia. \"Dost thou know what doth\nrender me so sorrowful?\"\n\n\"Yes, dear mistress,\" replied the little maid, \"'tis because Naaman,\nthy husband, whom thou dost dearly love, art a leper.\"\n\n\"Ay, most true,\" murmured Claudia, with a deep sigh. \"Therefore,\nmaiden, why sayeth thou that there be one in the land of Israel who can\nhelp me? Surely thou dost know that no one can heal the leper.\"\n\n\"Listen, dear mistress,\" said Leah. \"The prophet, Elisha, who is in\nSamaria, can heal my lord, thy husband, for he hath done most wonderful\nthings even to the raising of the dead to life.\"\n\nClaudia listened with breathless eagerness and attention.\n\n\"Thou art but a maiden and a slave,\" she said, \"but I shall give heed\nto thy words and repeat them to Naaman, my husband. Go tell thy master\nthat I would speak with him.\"\n\nWhen Naaman entered his wife's presence she turned to meet him with a\nlook in her beautiful eyes that he had not seen there in many months.\n\n\"Thy little hand-maiden didst tell me that thou desireth my presence,\"\nhe said.\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Claudia. \"Oh, Naaman, my husband! this little maid of\nIsrael hath told me most wonderful things. She claimeth that in Samaria\nthere is a prophet called Elisha who hath power to heal thee of thy\nleprosy. Oh, my husband, thou must at once seek this man.\"\n\n\"I must first seek counsel of the king,\" said Naaman.\n\n\"Then go at once and tell to the king what the maiden sayeth,\" cried\nClaudia, and Naaman went from her presence to seek that of Benhadad,\nking of Syria.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\n\"What is thy will with me, good Naaman?\" asked Benhadad, king of Syria,\nwith whom the Syrian general stood high in favor.\n\n\"I am come to seek counsel of thee, my lord,\" replied Naaman. \"My wife\nhath a maid-servant who cometh from the land of Israel, and this maiden\nsayeth that in Samaria there is a prophet called Elisha, who hath done\nmost marvelous things even to the raising of the dead to life. The\nmaiden claimeth that if I seek the prophet, Elisha, he will heal me of\nmy leprosy. What thinketh thou, my lord? dost thou believe that which\nthe maiden sayeth be true?\"\n\n\"I have never heard of this Elisha,\" replied Benhadad. \"He is no\ndoubt a magician, and, if what the maiden sayeth be true, his power\nfar exceedeth that of any magician at my court. Thou shalt journey\nto Samaria, my Naaman, bearing a letter from me to Jehoram, king of\nIsrael. This Elisha is perhaps attached to the court of Jehoram, but,\nif not, the king hath power to make his subjects do his bidding. Take\nwith thee gold in plenty to reward this Elisha.\"\n\nNaaman kissed the hand of the king and went forth from his presence.\nUpon the day following his interview with Benhadad, Naaman, in great\npomp and splendor, set forth upon his journey to Samaria. He carried\nwith him ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold (about\nsixty thousand dollars) and ten changes of costly raiment with which to\nreward Elisha.\n\nThe first blush of the rising sun lay upon the city of Damascus as the\nmagnificent caravan of Naaman passed through its gates. Naaman and his\nretinue journeyed over the uplands of Bashan, through the valley of\nJordan, and upon the fifth day stood before the gates of Samaria.\n\nThen Naaman, ordering the caravan to halt, called one of his servants\nto him and said:\n\n\"Send ahead a messenger to Jehoram, king of Israel, announcing that\nNaaman, the great Syrian general, art approaching with his retinue and\ndesireth audience with him.\"\n\nA fair-haired lad, robed in scarlet and mounted upon a jet-black horse\nof wonderful swiftness, bore Naaman's message to the king. So when the\ncaravan reached the palace, Jehoram was waiting to receive Naaman.\n\nTall and lithe of form, straight of feature was the Israelite king.\nThe long hair, bound by the jeweled crown, was black as the raven's\nwing. There was a flush upon his dark brow and a troubled look in his\neyes as Naaman entered his presence.\n\n\"Thou art Naaman, general in the Syrian Army,\" he said, \"and thou\nseeketh speech with me?\"\n\n\"Yes, I am Naaman,\" replied the Syrian, as he bent his proud head\nbefore Israel's dark king. \"I have journeyed from Damascus, bearing\nthis letter from Benhadad, king of all Syria to Jehoram, king of\nIsrael,\" and taking the parchment from his breast, he presented it to\nJehoram.\n\nThe latter read the letter and his face turned white. Lifting his eyes,\nangry and disturbed, he fixed them upon Naaman.\n\n\"Thou art a leper?\" he said, while a look of loathing passed over his\nface.\n\nA dark red flush of shame and humiliation rose to Naaman's proud brow.\n\"Yes, my lord, I am a leper,\" he replied.\n\nThe king fell into deep thought, his brows drawn together in a frown.\n\nNaaman, standing at the foot of the throne in torturing suspense, noted\nthat the king was greatly disturbed. His thin lips were unsteady, the\nlong, slim fingers, which held the golden sceptre, trembled.\n\nAt length, the king roused himself, and, turning his eyes again upon\nNaaman, he asked:\n\n\"Knoweth thou the contents of this letter?\"\n\n\"Yes, my lord,\" replied Naaman.\n\n\"I must have time to consider this request of Benhadad,\" continued the\nking. Naaman's face paled. He had not anticipated any hesitation on the\npart of Jehoram to grant the wish of Benhadad, knowing how unwise it\nwould be for political reasons for Jehoram thus to act. If the king of\nIsrael noted Naaman's disturbance he gave no sign of it.\n\n\"Seek me to-morrow at this time,\" he said, \"and thou shalt have my\nanswer to the letter of thy king.\"\n\nAs soon as Naaman had departed Jehoram summoned the counselors and wise\nmen of his kingdom and thus addressed them:\n\n\"Benhadad, king of Syria, seeketh a quarrel with me. He maketh a\nrequest which he knoweth it be impossible for me to grant. I fear that\nhe doth this for the purpose of provoking war as his father, Benhadad\nI, before him, did with my father, Ahab.\"\n\n\"My lord, what meaneth thou?\" anxiously inquired one of the wise men of\nthe kingdom.\n\n\"The king hath sent to me Naaman, the great Syrian general, with a\nletter which I will read to thee,\" replied the king. \"'Now when this\nletter is come unto thee, behold I send herewith Naaman, my servant,\nthat thou mayest cure him of his leprosy.' Seeth thou how he seeketh a\nquarrel with me?\" cried the king, as he rent his garments. \"Am I God to\nkill and give life that Benhadad sendeth to me a man to be cured of his\nleprosy?\"\n\nThe wise men and the counselors of the kingdom looked silently and\napprehensively into one another's faces, for they knew not what to say\nto the king.\n\n\"It doth appear that Benhadad mocks me,\" said the king, \"for well he\nknoweth that no man hath the power to heal the leper.\"\n\n\"My lord, what answer hast thou given to Naaman who brought to thee\nthe king's letter?\" asked one of the wise men.\n\n\"I have given him as yet no answer,\" replied Jehoram. \"I did send him\naway, bidding him return to-morrow. In the meanwhile, I have summoned\nthee, my counselors and wise men, that we may confer together.\"\n\n\"Thinketh thou, my lord, that this Naaman, who cometh in such pomp and\nsplendor to Samaria, be in truth a leper?\" asked one of the counselors.\n\n\"Truly I know not,\" answered the king. \"But when I didst ask him if\nhe were a leper, his face flushed with shame and he replied, 'Yes, I\nam a leper.' He is a man of magnificent form and stately bearing, he\nis evidently of great wealth and high in favor with Benhadad, Syria's\nking. He is also a soldier and a man of valor. But why waste we time in\ndiscussing this Syrian. Let us rather take counsel as to what answer\nwe shall send to his king.\"\n\n\"My lord, what answer canst thou send to Benhadad, king of Syria, save\nthat thou art not God and, therefore, hath not the power to heal the\nleper?\" asked one of the wise men.\n\nThe king frowned.\n\n\"Thus would I do as Benhadad wisheth--give him pretext to make war upon\nme,\" he cried, impatiently. \"Thou speaketh with scant wisdom, Mahab.\nBenhadad knoweth well that it be not in the power of man to heal the\nleper. But I would temporize with him, not thus openly give him pretext\nto make war upon Israel.\"\n\nAt that moment one of the king's servants entered and said:\n\n\"My lord, a servant of the prophet, Elisha, is without and desireth\nspeech with thee.\"\n\n\"He must seek me later,\" cried the king, impatiently. \"I am engaged at\npresent with the counselors and wise men of my kingdom upon a matter of\ngrave import.\"\n\n\"Pardon thy servant, my lord,\" persisted the servant, \"but this man bid\nme say that his master hath sent him to speak words of counsel that\nneither the wise men nor the counselors of thy kingdom could give unto\nthee.\"\n\nThe king started.\n\n\"Ah!\" he exclaimed, \"now I do remember that this Elisha be a great\nprophet and a holy man of God. Go, bring hither his servant.\"\n\nThe servant withdrew, returning in few moments with a man simply clad\nand grave of mien.\n\n\"My lord,\" he said to Jehoram, \"my master, Elisha, the prophet, bade me\nseek thee and say, 'Why hast thou rent thy garments? Sendeth to me this\nNaaman of Syria that he may know there is a prophet in Israel.'\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\nAt the appointed time, upon the day following, Naaman again presented\nhimself before Jehoram, king of Israel.\n\nThe latter had assembled about him his courtiers, counselors and wise\nmen. He appeared no longer troubled nor disturbed. He looked with\nserene eyes upon Naaman, into which, however, there flashed a look of\nloathing as he remembered that the man before him was a leper.\n\nThe courtiers, counselors and wise men of the Kingdom also looked with\naversion upon Naaman, notwithstanding the nobility of his form, his\nhandsome, proud face and the magnificence of his raiment, for in Israel\nthe leper is an object of intense aversion, and, had Naaman been an\nIsraelite, he would have been banished in spite of his rank, wealth and\nthe services he had rendered to his country.\n\nThe king of Israel and those of his court were deeply incensed that\nBenhadad, king of Syria, had sent into their midst, to the person of\nthe king himself, a man afflicted with leprosy.\n\nNaaman stood, with folded arms and grave face, waiting for the king to\nspeak.\n\nFor some moments Jehoram was silent, pondering the wisest and most\njudicious manner of making known to Naaman his wish regarding him.\nThe king was perfectly sure that Elisha would extricate him from his\ndifficulty, for had not the prophet bade his servant say, 'Why hast\nthou rent thy garments?' which meant literally, 'Why art thou troubled\nand of so little faith?'\n\nBut the king, laboring under an erroneous idea as to Benhadad's motive\nin sending Naaman to him, wished so to act as to leave Benhadad no\npretext for making war upon him. Benhadad had in reality desired to\nbe complimentary in the wording of his letter in order to propitiate\nJehoram, so that the latter would command Elisha to heal Naaman.\n\n\"Naaman of Syria,\" said Jehoram, \"I did promise thee an answer to the\nletter of thy king. Go thou to the house in Samaria of the prophet,\nElisha, and say unto him, 'I am Naaman of Syria, a leper, who hast come\nto thee to be made whole.' Then will Elisha heal thee of thy leprosy.\"\n\n\"My lord, I know not where dwelleth this Elisha,\" said Naaman.\n\n\"I will send a servant to guide thee,\" said the king.\n\nSo Naaman entered his chariot, and with all his retinue, started for\nthe home of the prophet. The king's servant led the way on foot. The\nmagnificent caravan passed through the streets of Samaria, wound among\nthe hills and stopped before a small and lowly dwelling.\n\nLifting himself from among his silken cushions, Naaman called\nimpatiently to one of his servants,\n\n\"Why hast the caravan come thus to a halt?\"\n\n\"At the command of the king's servant, my lord,\" was the reply.\n\n\"Send to me the king's servant,\" cried Naaman, angrily.\n\nIn a few moments the servant of the king stood beside the chariot.\n\n\"Why hast thou thus stopped the caravan of Naaman?\" asked the Syrian\nnobleman, angrily.\n\n\"My lord, I am but fulfilling the orders of the king, my master,\" was\nthe reply.\n\n\"Thou speaketh falsely,\" cried Naaman, with increasing anger. \"Thy\nmaster didst command thee to conduct me to the house of Elisha, the\nprophet.\"\n\n\"My lord, I have obeyed the order of my master,\" said the servant.\n\"This is the house of Elisha, the prophet.\"\n\n\"'Tis impossible!\" cried Naaman, incredulously. \"A great man like\nElisha must surely dwell in a palace. This is the abode of a man,\nhumble, obscure; Elisha is rich and famous.\"\n\nThe king's servant regarded Naaman wonderingly.\n\n\"Pardon me, my lord, but thou dost know little regarding the prophet\nElisha,\" he said. \"'Tis true that his fame hath gone forth over the\nland, but Elisha hath not riches; he is a man, poor and humble; he\ndwelleth not in a palace, this is his home.\"\n\nNaaman, perplexed and wondering, waved the servant of the king\nimpatiently aside and summoning one of his own servants, said to him:\n\n\"Go thou into the house of Elisha and say to him that Naaman, general\nin the Syrian Army, high in favor with Benhadad, king of Syria, doth\ndesire speech with him.\"\n\nThe servant passed into the house of Elisha. In a short while he came\nforth alone.\n\n\"Is not the prophet, Elisha, within?\" asked Naaman, impatiently.\n\n\"Yes, my lord,\" was the answer, \"but I saw him not. The servant of\nElisha did carry the message to his master.\"\n\n\"And what answer sendeth Elisha?\" asked Naaman, with eagerness.\n\n\"Elisha desireth to know, my lord, what is thy will with him,\" replied\nthe servant.\n\nNaaman's brow darkened with displeasure.\n\n\"Is it thus that the great and rich Naaman of Syria is received by the\npoor and humble Elisha?\" he cried. Then, remembering the errand upon\nwhich he had come, he controlled his indignation, thinking, \"I must\nhumor this man if I would have my will of him: Go thou again into the\nhouse of Elisha,\" he said, \"and bid the servant say to his master, that\nNaaman of Syria hath journeyed from Damascus that Elisha may heal him\nof his leprosy.\"\n\nThe servant turned away and passed into the house. In a few minutes he\nreturned with the servant of Elisha who, approaching Naaman, said:\n\n\"My master, Elisha sayeth unto Naaman of Syria, 'Go thou and bathe\nseven times in the Jordan and thy flesh shalt recover health and thou\nshalt be clean.'\"\n\n\"Dost thy master mean to mock me that he treateth me as though I were\nbut a common outcast leper?\" cried Naaman. \"I did think that he would\nhave come out to see me, and, touching with his hand the place of the\nleprosy, would have invoked the name of Jehovah, his God, and healed\nme. Go wash seven times in the Jordan? What marvelous power doth the\nJordan possess? But enough of this folly. Thy master doth but speak in\njest. Go say to him that Naaman of Syria came not to be mocked, but to\nbe cured of his leprosy, and that he bringeth with him a great treasure\nwith which to reward Elisha.\"\n\n\"My lord, it would avail naught for me to carry thy message to my\nmaster,\" said the servant. \"Elisha hath spoken,\" and, turning, he\npassed quietly among the servants of Naaman and entered the lowly\ndwelling of his master.\n\nNaaman sat for some moments in silence. The servant of the king looked\nup at him eagerly and seemed about to speak, but awed, perhaps, by the\nSyrian's white face and sombre eyes, remained silent.\n\nAt length, Naaman roused himself, sprang to his feet, and drawing his\nsplendid form to its full height, cried in a loud voice:\n\n\"Back to Damascus! Naaman hath but come upon a fool's errand.\" Then\nturning upon the servant of the king, he cried, in tones of great\nanger, \"Go to thy master, Jehoram, king of Israel, and say to him that\nBenhadad, king of all Syria, will know how to avenge the insult that\nhath been offered to Naaman.\"\n\n\"But, my lord, the king, my master, didst intend thee no insult,\"\nprotested the servant. \"The ways of Elisha are not like unto the ways\nof other men.\"\n\n\"Stop not to parley with me!\" cried Naaman, furiously. \"Be gone ere I\nbid my servants drive thee hence.\"\n\nThe servant of the king bowed his head and passed swiftly away.\n\n\"Now, onward to Damascus,\" said Naaman, throwing himself wearily back\nupon the cushions.\n\nAt that moment, however, one of Naaman's servants, a white-haired old\nman, approached the chariot and said:\n\n\"Wilt my lord hear patiently old Masrekah whose hair has grown gray in\nhis service and who didst serve his father before him?\"\n\n\"Speak, my good Masrekah,\" answered Naaman.\n\n\"My lord, thou art a mighty man of valor and know not the meaning of\nfear,\" continued Masrekah. \"If the prophet, Elisha, bade thee do some\nact difficult of achievement, thou wouldst have listened and obeyed?\"\n\n\"Ay, most willingly,\" replied Naaman.\n\n\"Then, my master, do not despise this thing that Elisha bid thee do\nbecause it is a simple thing,\" said Masrekah. \"My lord, I do not\nbelieve that Elisha doth intend thee mockery and insult. Didst thou\nnot take heed of the words of the king's servant, 'The ways of Elisha\nare not like unto the ways of other men?' Thou, my lord, didst expect\nto find him in a palace, but instead he dwelleth as do the poor and\nlowly. Thou didst think that he would heal thee with ostentatious and\nimpressive ceremonial, but he sendeth thee word to go to bathe seven\ntimes in the Jordan and thou shalt be clean. My Lord, despise not the\nbidding of Elisha.\"\n\n\"Thou speaketh with the wisdom of years, my good Masrekah,\" answered\nNaaman. \"Naaman will give heed to thy words. I go to bathe seven times\nin the Jordan.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\nUpon leaving the caravan of Naaman, the servant of the king returned to\nthe palace and sought his master.\n\n\"What tidings dost thou bring?\" asked Jehoram. \"Hath Elisha healed\nNaaman of his leprosy?\"\n\n\"No, my lord,\" replied the servant, \"and I bring to thee a message from\nNaaman who is greatly incensed,\" and he repeated to the king Naaman's\nmessage.\n\nJehoram's face grew pale.\n\nThe servant then proceeded to relate how Elisha had received Naaman and\nwhat he had bid him do.\n\n\"What meaneth Elisha?\" cried Jehoram, in fear and anger. \"Does he not\nknow that he will bring destruction upon Israel?\"\n\n\"I did say unto Naaman of Syria that the ways of Elisha, the prophet,\nwere not like unto the ways of other men,\" said the servant. \"But\nNaaman would not give heed to my words, he angrily bade me be gone.\"\n\n\"Go, mount the fleetest horse in my possession and make haste to the\nhouse of Elisha,\" commanded the king. \"Say to him that if Naaman of\nSyria returneth in anger to Damascus, Benhadad, king of all Syria, will\nat once declare war upon Israel. Say to Elisha that Jehoram his king,\ndoth command him to heal Naaman of his leprosy lest destruction come\nupon Israel.\"\n\n\"But, my lord, pardon thy servant for reminding thee that Naaman of\nSyria refused to do the bidding of Elisha,\" said the servant. \"He\nbelieveth that Elisha does but mock him.\"\n\n\"Ah, this worshipper of a false god understandeth not the ways of a\nprophet of the true God of Israel,\" cried the king, scornfully. \"But\nbe that as it may Naaman must not return unhealed and in anger to\nDamascus. So go thou with all speed and deliver my message to Elisha.\nThe caravan of Naaman cannot have proceeded far; thou canst still\novertake it after thou hast seen Elisha. Lose not a moment; go!\"\n\nAfter the departure of his servant Jehoram shut himself up alone in\nhis chamber. He sought not the counsel of the wise men of his kingdom;\nhe knew that no one could extricate him from threatened disaster save\nElisha.\n\nImpatiently the king tossed aside the jeweled crown which rested so\nheavily upon his aching brows.\n\n\"Ah, can all the glory of a king compensate for the cares that lie\nso heavily upon him? Jehoram, king of all Israel, often envyeth the\nhumblest of his subjects.\"\n\nTime passed and the king, restless with suspense, consumed with\nanxiety, awaited the coming of his servant. At length, the servant\nreturned.\n\n\"Speak; what tidings dost thou bring?\" cried the king.\n\n\"My lord,\" replied the servant, \"I did hasten, as thou commanded, to\nthe house of Elisha. His servant admitted me to the presence of the\nprophet and I delivered to him thy message. Elisha heard me in silence,\nthen he spoke. 'Jehoram, king of Israel, hath but little faith,' he\nsaid. 'Go to thy master and say unto him that Naaman will return to\nDamascus healed of his leprosy.'\"\n\nA long sigh of relief broke from the lips of the king.\n\n\"Elisha be a prophet and a holy man of God,\" he said, \"therefore, will\nI believe his words and have faith in him.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n\nAn hour before sunset, upon the day following his departure from\nDamascus, the caravan of Naaman reached the banks of the Jordan. The\nJordan was very different from the beautiful Syrian rivers, Abaha and\nPharpar. Its waters, muddy and discolored, flowed sluggishly between\nunshaded banks covered with coarse grass and rank weeds.\n\nNaaman descended from his chariot and advanced to the banks of the\nriver. He stood, for some moments, frowningly regarding the discolored\nwater as it crept to his feet, then he threw aside his purple robe,\ndisclosing upon his broad chest awful, loathsome sores. He stepped into\nthe water.\n\nIn a few minutes he stood again upon the bank. His great muscular arms\nwere crossed upon his breast, a gray pallor lay upon his face.\n\n\"I have done the bidding of Elisha,\" he cried, \"I have bathed seven\ntimes in the Jordan, but my brain doth whirl, my eyes are dim and\nblurred. Masrekah, faithful servant, 'tis for thee to speak--am I whole\nor am I still a leper?\" and he threw his arms wide apart.\n\nIn silent wonder and awe the servants of Naaman gazed upon their\nmaster. The loathsome, leprous spots had entirely disappeared, his\nflesh \"was like unto the flesh of a little child.\"\n\nBut Naaman knew not that he was healed. His eyes, dim and dazed, were\nfixed upon the old servant. One downward glance would have told him\nall, but Naaman, soldier and mighty man of valor, now knew a coward's\nfear.\n\nMasrekah came forward, and falling at his master's feet, covered his\nhands with kisses and tears of joy.\n\n\"Master! dearest master!\" he cried, \"thou art healed! thou art clean!\nthou art no more a leper.\"\n\nA great tremor shook Naaman's massive limbs. He grew weak as a little\nchild, his lips quivered and tears filled his eyes. His servants broke\ninto shouts of joy and exultation. They threw themselves on their knees\nbefore Naaman, kissing his hands and feet.\n\n\"Arise, my good and faithful servants,\" said Naaman. \"Turn we our faces\nagain towards Samaria. I go to seek the prophet, Elisha.\"\n\nMasrekah laid his hand upon Naaman's arm.\n\n\"My lord,\" he said, \"thou hast forgotten to render thanks to Rimmon,\ngod of Syria, for the great good that hath been done unto thee.\nMasrekah thus presumeth to remind his lord lest the god, being\nangered, should send some calamity upon Naaman.\"\n\nNaaman smiled.\n\n\"Naaman shall not render thanks to Rimmon, god of Syria,\" he said. \"Nor\ndoth Naaman fear the anger of Syria's god. Nay, be not troubled, my\ngood Masrekah, all will be well with Naaman.\"\n\nNaaman then arrayed himself in his purple robe and passed on to his\nchariot. For a moment he stood gazing upon the waters of the Jordan\nto which the crimson glow from the setting sun lent fleeting beauty.\nHis eyes were filled with a great joy, an immeasurable peace. Then he\nstepped into his chariot and motioned for the caravan to proceed.\n\nIt was the same hour, upon the next day, that the caravan of Naaman\nagain stood before the humble dwelling of Elisha. Naaman, calling one\nof his servants to him, said:\n\n\"Go thou into the house of Elisha and say to him, 'Naaman of Syria,\nhaving done thy bidding, bathed seven times in the Jordan, has come\nforth whole. He most earnestly desireth speech with thee, that he may\ntell to thee how his heart has changed, also give unto thee the ten\ntalents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold and ten changes of\nraiment which he brought with him from Damascus.'\"\n\nThe servant passed into the house of the prophet. In a short time he\nreturned, saying:\n\n\"Elisha will come forth, my lord, and speak with thee.\"\n\nNaaman alighted from the chariot and awaited the coming of the prophet.\nAfter a little while a man stepped through the low doorway of the\nhumble dwelling and approached Naaman.\n\nTall and spare in figure, he wore a dark, coarse, robe, over which\nflowed a long, gray beard. His face was pale and worn, his eyes gentle\nand calm.\n\nNaaman sank upon his knees at the feet of the prophet.\n\n\"Arise, Naaman of Syria,\" said Elisha, in a voice of wonderful\nsweetness.\n\nNaaman pressed the coarse robe of the prophet to his lips ere he rose\nto his feet. Then, calling to his servants, he said:\n\n\"Bring hither the treasure which Naaman brought with him from Damascus\nto reward Elisha.\"\n\n\"Nay, Naaman of Syria must take back with him to Damascus the treasure\nhe did bring,\" said Elisha. \"Elisha desireth not riches nor the praise\nof men. 'Twas not for these things that he didst heal Naaman of his\nleprosy.\"\n\nNaaman, seeing that it would be quite useless to endeavor to force\nreward upon the prophet, signed to his servants to leave undisturbed\nthe treasure. Then, again kneeling at Elisha's feet, he cried, aloud:\n\n\"Elisha, through thee it has been revealed to me that there is no god\nin all the earth but only in Israel. Henceforth, Naaman will offer\nsacrifice only to the true God of Israel.\"\n\n\"Peace be with thee, Naaman of Syria,\" said the prophet, with his\nsweet, gentle smile. \"'Tis indeed well with thee. A greater good has\ncome to thee than the healing of thy body from the foulness of leprosy.\nGo thou in peace.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n\nThe days passed very slowly and wearily to Claudia, wife of Naaman, as\nshe awaited in her palace home the return of her husband. Sometimes her\nheart was filled with hope, then, again, she would be plunged into the\ndeepest despondency, when it seemed madness to believe that any man had\npower to heal the leper.\n\nLeah, the little maid, watched her mistress wistfully, tenderly. One\nmorning, as she sat at Claudia's feet, she looked up into her pale,\nbeautiful face and said:\n\n\"Why art thou so sad, my dear mistress?\"\n\n\"Ah, maiden,\" replied Claudia, \"thou canst not understand the tortures\nof suspense which consume me.\"\n\n\"Suspense!\" repeated the little maid. \"Then thou dost doubt the power\nof Elisha to heal my lord of his leprosy?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" answered Claudia. \"For how can man be possessed of such power?\"\n\nA smile of rare sweetness lighted up the face of the little maid.\n\n\"My own dear mistress, put aside all thy doubts, all thy trouble, for\nmy lord will return healed of his leprosy,\" she said.\n\n\"Child, great indeed is thy faith in this man, Elisha,\" said Claudia.\n\"Hast thou ever seen him, spoken with him?\"\n\n\"No,\" answered the little maid. \"I was on my way to seek him when I was\ncaptured by the Syrians.\"\n\n\"What was thy purpose in seeking Elisha, maiden?\" asked Claudia.\n\nLeah's lips quivered, her soft eyes filled with tears.\n\n\"In the land of Israel I have a brother who has been a cripple from\nbirth,\" she murmured. \"I was on my way to Samaria to seek Elisha and\nbeg of him that he heal my brother.\"\n\n\"But, child, thou art poor, how didst thou propose to reward Elisha for\nhealing thy brother?\" asked Claudia.\n\nThe little maid looked up inquiringly.\n\n\"What meaneth thou, dear mistress?\" she asked.\n\n\"Surely thou knoweth, maiden, that the magicians of the court of\nBenhadad, king of Syria, receive rich salaries,\" replied Claudia. \"But\neven they possess not the power of this Elisha for they cannot heal the\nleper. Therefore, Elisha must be even more richly rewarded than are the\nmagicians of Benhadad's court.\"\n\n\"Dear mistress, Elisha is no magician, but a holy man of God,\" said\nthe little maid. \"He dwelleth not at the court of the king, neither\ndoes he receive aught in recompense for the good that he doeth.\"\n\n\"I--I do not understand,\" murmured Claudia, perplexedly. \"Why, Naaman,\nmy husband, did take with him to Samaria ten talents of silver, six\nthousand pieces of gold and ten changes of raiment with which to reward\nElisha should he be healed of his leprosy.\"\n\nLeah smiled.\n\n\"My lord will bring back with him from Damascus the ten talents\nof silver, the six thousand pieces of gold and the ten changes of\nraiment,\" she said, \"for Elisha will have none of them.\"\n\nClaudia sat for some moments in thought.\n\n\"Perhaps this Elisha is a seeker after fame, and so to win the praise\nof men he uses his power for the poor as well as the rich,\" she said,\nat length. \"But I believe not that he will refuse the treasure which my\nhusband carried with him to Samaria.\"\n\nLeah did not answer. Claudia, after regarding her attentively for some\nmoments, said:\n\n\"Thou seemeth to give no heed to my words, maiden. Dost thou in truth\nbelieve that Elisha will refuse to receive the treasure which Naaman\ncarryeth with him?\"\n\n\"I know dear mistress, that Elisha will refuse to accept the treasure\nwhich my lord carryeth with him to Samaria,\" replied the little maid,\nfirmly. \"Elisha careth not for riches nor the praise of men. He seeketh\nonly to please and serve the Lord who hath given to him his great\npower.\"\n\n\"What manner of man is this Elisha who can inspire such great and\nunswerving faith?\" mused Claudia. \"Is the God of Israel more powerful\nthan the god of Syria, for Rimmon hath given to no man in Syria power\nlike unto that possessed by Elisha?\" she said aloud.\n\nThe little maid looked up earnestly into her mistress' beautiful face.\n\n\"There is no God save the God of Israel,\" she said.\n\nClaudia smiled indulgently.\n\n\"Thou art of the land of Israel, little one,\" she said, \"and,\ntherefore, thou dost believe that the God Israel worships be the only\ntrue God. Perhaps, if thou dwelleth long in Syria, thou will learn to\nworship Syria's god.\"\n\n\"No, dear lady, that could never be,\" replied Leah, earnestly. \"I may\nsee no more my people and my country, but I shall ever remain faithful\nto my God. He dwelleth not alone in the land of Israel, but he ruleth\nover all the earth. 'Tis He, Who through his prophet, will heal thy\nhusband of his leprosy.\"\n\n\"Thou speaketh idle words child,\" said Claudia, a little impatiently.\n\"The God of Israel would not bestow His favors upon a Syrian who does\nworship Syria's god. But, there, enough of this; let us speak of other\nthings. Tell me of thy people. Hast thou brothers and sisters in the\nland of Israel?\"\n\n\"I have but one brother, dear mistress,\" replied Leah.\n\n\"And this brother has been a cripple from birth?\" gently asked Claudia.\n\n\"Yes, dear mistress.\"\n\n\"And thou dost love him very dearly?\"\n\n\"Ah, so dearly,\" murmured the little maid, with quivering lips.\n\n\"Poor child, thy young life has known much sorrow,\" said Claudia,\npityingly. \"And, yet, thou thinketh more of the sorrows of others than\nof thy own.\"\n\n\"My heart is sad at times,\" said Leah. \"But I must not rebel against\nthe will of the good God.\"\n\n\"And is this why thou dost bear so patiently and unmurmuringly\nthe sorrows which have darkened thy young life?\" asked Claudia,\nwonderingly. \"But the gods are wont to send afflictions upon those who\noffend them, thou canst not have offended thy God.\"\n\n\"God, in His wisdom, doth often afflict those whom He loveth,\" said\nLeah.\n\nClaudia smiled.\n\n\"This God of thine is a strange God,\" she said.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n\nWhen fourteen days had passed since his departure for Samaria, the\ncaravan of Naaman again entered the gates of Damascus.\n\nThe little maid, learning of this, made haste to seek her mistress.\n\n\"Dear mistress,\" she said, \"the caravan of my lord has entered the city\nand proceedeth to the palace of Benhadad, the king.\"\n\nClaudia turned very white.\n\n\"And--and what other tidings dost thou bring?\" she faltered. \"Speak,\nchild; keep me not in suspense.\"\n\n\"I bring no further tidings, my mistress,\" answered the little maid.\n\nClaudia sank upon a couch, trembling and faint. Leah knelt beside her\nand kissed her hands.\n\n\"Why dost thou tremble and grow pale, dear mistress,\" she asked. \"I did\ncome to thee at once with the tidings of my lord's return, thinking\nthat thou wouldst rejoice and be happy.\"\n\n\"If I knew that he were healed then indeed would I rejoice,\" said\nClaudia. \"But if he be not healed my heart will be filled with sadness\nand sad indeed our meeting.\"\n\n\"Be at peace, my lady,\" said the little maid, earnestly. \"My lord has\nreturned healed of his leprosy.\"\n\n\"Thou hast indeed great faith, child,\" said Claudia, with a faint\nsmile. \"But only when I hear from the lips of my husband that he is\nhealed will I believe. But, come and array me, for whether Naaman\nreturn in sorrow or gladness I will do him honor.\"\n\nThe little maid hastened to put a rich silken robe upon her mistress,\nbinding back her golden hair with a circlet of glittering gems.\n\n\"Come,\" then said Claudia, \"thou shalt await with me the coming of\nNaaman.\"\n\nUpon entering Damascus, Naaman had at once sought the palace of the\nking.\n\nThe latter received him most graciously, saying:\n\n\"What fortune did attend thy journey into the land of Israel, my good\nNaaman?\"\n\n\"My lord, I return healed of my leprosy,\" replied Naaman.\n\n\"Thou cometh indeed with wonderful tidings,\" exclaimed the king.\n\"Marvelous is the power of this magician of the court of Jehoram. What\nsayeth thy wife, the beautiful Claudia? great rejoicing must indeed be\nhers.\"\n\n\"She as yet knows not that I have returned from Samaria,\" answered\nNaaman. \"I did first seek the presence of my king to make known to him\nthe wonders that have been done unto me.\"\n\n\"Ah,\" murmured Benhadad, \"thou art ever faithful to thy country and thy\nking.\"\n\nThe proud eyes of the Syrian wavered and fell under the king's kind\ngaze.\n\n\"Ah,\" he was thinking, \"the king knows not that I have forsaken the god\nof my country for Jehovah Who ruleth over all the earth.\"\n\n\"I will detain thee no longer at present,\" said Benhadad. \"Make haste\nto the presence of thy wife with thy tidings of joy. Meanwhile the news\nshall go abroad over all the land that Naaman has returned from Samaria\nhealed of his leprosy that all Syria may rejoice and offer sacrifice to\nRimmon. Say to thy wife that Benhadad rejoices with her that Naaman\nhas returned healed.\"\n\nNaaman bent his head to kiss the hand of the king and then left the\npalace. As the chariot passed through the streets of Damascus shouts of\nrejoicing were heard upon every side; Benhadad had already sent forth\nthe tidings of the healing of Naaman.\n\nClaudia, awaiting the coming of her husband, heard the shouts and cries\nand turned very pale.\n\n\"What means those cries?\" she asked of the little maid.\n\n\"My lord passes through the streets of Damascus and the people rejoices\nthat he is healed,\" answered Leah.\n\n\"Only when I hear from the lips of my husband that he be healed will I\nbelieve,\" again said Claudia.\n\nThe servants of the palace then took up the joyous cries; Naaman had\npassed through the gates.\n\nA few moments more and the embroidered draperies were put aside and\nNaaman stood upon the threshold of the great chamber. And as she looked\ninto his face Claudia knew how it was with him. She moved forward and\nwas folded to his breast. And the little maid, with tears in her eyes,\npassed out of the chamber, leaving them alone.\n\nAfter a little while, however, she was summoned to the presence of\nNaaman. Claudia, her beautiful face all aglow with happiness, stood by\nher husband's side.\n\n\"Maiden,\" said Naaman, \"Elisha, whose great powers thou didst make\nknown to me, has healed me of my leprosy.\"\n\n\"My lord, my heart is indeed glad that thou hast returned healed of thy\nleprosy,\" said the little maid.\n\n\"And thou, maiden, shall be rewarded,\" continued Naaman. \"Ask of me\nwhat thou wilt and it shall be granted unto thee.\"\n\nThe little maid fell upon her knees at his feet.\n\n\"O, my lord,\" she cried, \"I would return to those who love me and\nsorrow for me in the dear land of Israel. I crave of thee but one\nthing, my lord--freedom.\"\n\n\"It is granted thee,\" said Naaman. \"Thou art no more a slave.\"\n\nThe little maid caught his hand and covered it with kisses. Claudia\nstooped and lifted her to her feet.\n\n\"It grieves me to part with thee, little one,\" she said. \"But I shall\nbe glad that thou art happy with those whom thou dost love.\"\n\n\"I shall never forget thee nor cease to love thee,\" murmured Leah.\n\n\"Maiden, hast thou no further desire?\" asked Naaman.\n\n\"What more could I desire, my lord, since thou hast given me my\nfreedom?\" replied the little maid.\n\n\"Thou art poor,\" said Naaman. \"Hast thou never craved riches?\"\n\n\"Not for myself, my lord,\" answered Leah. \"But I have often wished that\nmy parents were not forced to labor so hard.\"\n\n\"Thy parents shall labor no more,\" said Naaman, quietly.\n\n\"What meaneth thou, my lord?\" murmured the little maid, bewilderedly.\n\n\"Listen to me, maiden,\" continued Naaman. \"I did carry with me to\nSamaria ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold and ten\nchanges of raiment with which to reward Elisha should he heal me of my\nleprosy.\"\n\nLeah smiled.\n\n\"And Elisha did refuse to accept the treasure which thou didst carry\nwith thee to Samaria,\" she said.\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Naaman, \"but the treasure which Elisha did refuse shall\nbe thine.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n\nEarly upon the morning following a servant came to Leah and said:\n\n\"There be a lad outside the gates of the palace who desires speech with\nthee.\"\n\n\"A lad desires speech with me,\" said the little maid, wonderingly. \"But\nI know no lad in Damascus.\"\n\n\"He inquired for the Israelite maiden who is a slave in the house of\nNaaman,\" replied the servant. \"'Tis only a ragged beggar lad,\" and the\nservant turned scornfully away.\n\nLeah passed out of the palace and ran down to the great gates.\n\nBeyond the gates, for the servant had not permitted him to enter, stood\na lad. His coarse garments were soiled and torn, his bare feet were\ncut and bleeding. The golden light from the rising sun fell upon his\ndark curly head.\n\nUttering a cry of joy, he ran, with outstretched hands, towards the\nlittle maid.\n\n\"Leah! sister! I have found thee at last!\" he cried.\n\nShe stood motionless, gazing at him with wide, bewildered eyes.\n\n\"Isaac! my brother! is it indeed thou?\" she cried.\n\n\"Yes, 'tis indeed thy Isaac!\" he answered. \"But, as thou dost see, no\nlonger a cripple for Elisha has made me whole.\"\n\n\"Elisha has made thee whole,\" she repeated.\n\n\"Yes; listen, and I will tell thee all,\" said Isaac. \"I will speak but\nbriefly of the sorrow which did fill our hearts when thou wert captured\nby the Syrians. Had I not been a helpless cripple I would have gone\nforth to seek thee. Then one day our mother called our father to her\nand said, 'Unless thou seeketh help we shall soon have no child, for\nIsaac will die of his grief for his sister.' 'Where and of whom shall I\nseek help?' asked our father. 'Journey to Samaria and seek the prophet,\nElisha,' answered our mother. 'Tell to him how heavily the hand of\nmisfortune has fallen upon our home. Beg of him to return with thee and\nheal our son.'\n\n\"So upon the morrow our father did borrow the ass of our neighbor and\nset forth upon his journey to Samaria. In the evening he returned,\nbringing Elisha with him. That night, sister, while our parents slept,\nElisha came and stood beside my couch. I felt the touch of his hand\nupon my limbs and I heard his voice saying, 'With the sun thou shalt\nrise from thy couch and walk.' Then he was gone and it seemed to me\nI had but dreamed. When the morning had come and the sun had risen,\nElisha was gone, but I did arise from my couch and walk, for I was\nstrong and made whole.\n\n\"Then did I set forth to seek thee. I was many days in reaching\nDamascus. I was often hungry and footsore, but I was happy for I was\nno longer a cripple. But yesterday I did pass through the gates of\nDamascus. There was great excitement upon the streets. The people were\nshouting and uttering cries of joy. I learned that they were rejoicing\nbecause Naaman, a great Syrian general and favorite of the king,\nBenhadad, had returned from Samaria healed of his leprosy.\n\n\"I asked a woman in the crowd who had healed Naaman. 'A great man\ncalled Elisha,' she replied. 'Tis said that Naaman did hear of this\nElisha through a little Israelite maid who is a slave in Naaman's\nhousehold.' Oh, dear sister, how I did rejoice at her words for I knew\nthen that I had found thee. I am come to offer myself as Naaman's slave\nthat I may ransom thee.\"\n\nLeah put her arms tenderly about his neck.\n\n\"Brother,\" she said, \"I am no more a slave; neither shalt thou nor\nour parents labor, for Naaman has made me rich. Oh! dear brother! our\nhearts should indeed be filled with gratitude to Jehovah, Israel's God.\"\n\nEND.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\nObvious punctuation errors repaired.\n\nPage 12, \"widsom\" changed to \"wisdom\" (words of wisdom)\n\nPage 52, \"pesisted\" changed to \"persisted\" (persisted the servant)\n\nPage 68, \"A\" changed to \"An\" (An hour before)","title":"The Little Maid of Israel","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":12281}