BOYS OF THE BIBLE. 167

This strange and tender story is one of the obscure
stories of the Old Testament that we are more or less apt
to overlook, simply because they lie a little out of the beaten
path of popular biblical study.

Boys who have been brought up in the country know the
difference between “the highway” and “a by-way.” The
highway is the common road along which all the people
travel. In the old world, especially in European lands, the
highway is often called “the king’s highway,” and these roads
are kept in good order at the expense of the government
for the most part, so that if war should arise there need be
no difficulty in moving vast armies speedily from place to
place. If it should be your good fortune to travel through
Italy, you would be greatly interested in these well kept
royal roads, along which tens of thousands of soldiers have
marched during the wars of the last hundred years. Hap-
pily for us, our highways have been almost entirely highways
of peace. So may they be to the very end of time.

Every boy who knows anything of the country, knows
that the highways are almost always dull and dreary, com-
pared with the green, cool beauty of the by-way, the meadow
and the lane. The traveler, who never wanders from the
broad highway, but keeps straight on and never ventures
‘“‘across lots,” misses a thousand mossy dells and peaceful
glades, charming to the sight and refreshing to every sense.

It is not wise to hurry through a country. Least of all
is it wise to hasten through these sacred Bible lands. The
more leisurely we wander through these “blessed fields,” the
more carefully we examine every nook and corner, every
vale and glen of ancient Israel, the richer will be our
reward.

This tale of Rizpah’s matchless devotion to her slaugh-
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