SAMSON GRINDING.


 THIS is a strange picture. That man is blind; he is
a prisoner; there are chains on his feet, on his wrists,
fastening him to a strong bar. It is in a prison: see the
stone walls and stone archway over the entrance to the
prison. The man leans over as if those sinewy arms and
legs were tired; and they must be, for dragging those
heavy brass chains, he has to walk round and round on
that stone floor, stepping just so far in his blindness, and
pushing round and round the bar that turns the great
upper stone of the mill.
 A man is behind it pouring in the grain to be ground,
and by his side a bag holding more grain. See that girl
pointing to him and laughing, and those other faces peer-
ing in. He cannot see them, but he can hear their
words and laughter. Who is he?
 That is Samson, the strongest man that ever lived.
Like Samuel, he was a child of prayer: he grew and the
Lord blessed him." An angel had told his mother that
his hair must never be cut, and she promised that no
razor should come on his head. He was a Jew, and a
people called Philistines were the Jews' enemies; but God