Away back in the days when David was fleeing from the face of Saul, there is an interesting story of good housekeeping which has always appealed very strongly to me. You remember that David was at that time an outlaw dwelling among the strongholds of En-gedi, hiding among the rocks of the wilderness in order that he might escape the jealous pursuit of the monarch who had once been his friend, but was now his enemy. David in those days had a following of several hundred young men, outlaws like himself, and they lived as Robin Hood in a later period, and as guerrilla warriors have done ever since, on the country in which they were in ambush. "Now there was a man in Maon whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great. He had three thousand sheep and three thousand goats." The wealth of that day in a pastoral country was always in the number of a man's flocks and herds. This man Nabal was a miser and a churl; but he had a wife Abigail, of whom we are told that she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance. The story, as

told in the Bible, is very graphic. David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men saying, “Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name: And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor i thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants and to thy son David." To this courteous request Nabal answered churlishly and rudely, "Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?" David's little army at this time was composed of no less than six hundred hardy men, and at once four hundred of these girded on their swords and started with David to attack Nabal and make an end of him and his house. In the meantime, however, the lady of the manor, hearing of her husband's churlishness and gruffness, and being told that David and his men had been as a wall of protection and defence around the shearers for months past, determined to take the matter into her own hands. Indeed, her servants said to her very plainly, "Now, therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him." The story goes on to tell that this good housekeeper, Abigail, made herself and took a generous provision with her as she went forth to meet David-two hundred loaves, two bottles of wine-not our modern bottles, but great leathern

bags filled with wine--five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched corn, a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses and thus went to meet the coming foe. We can see the lady riding on her own beast with her escort of retainers going before and surrounding her as she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her and she meets them in the way. Significantly it is said, "She told not her husband Nabal," but she intercedes for him and finds favor in the eyes of the youthful chieftain and saves her husband from destruction. Here in Abigail was exemplified all the qualities of the good housekeeper and the great lady, and one cannot do better than to turn back and read from beginning to end the twentyfifth chapter of first Samuel, and there study her character.

Also in the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs we find set down by the pen of inspiration for all ages and centuries the description of a lady. "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. fine linen and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. to the ways of her household, and eateth not of the bread of idleness."

She maketh Strength and She openeth her She looketh well

In this old chronicle one discovers a prophetic eye turned to the business woman of our own day. The manysidedness of the people is in no way more apparent than in the flashlight it turns from time to time on the possibilities and capabilities of womanhood in every age. This is not the Oriental woman living her slavish life as man's plaything, or her bitter life as his drudge, whom we have seen depicted by the pen of King Solomon of old. This ideal woman and splendid lady is a person versed in all domestic accomplishments and quite able to hold her own in any company, whether composed of men or of women.

While urging upon all women the most thorough and diligent study of the indoor arts, let me say that there is peril that the domestic woman shall be satisfied with her attainments and seek nothing further. This is a common mistake. One should be well aware that it is not enough to take prizes at county fairs, or to

keep a house up to the strictest and highest standard of excellence in its management. Also the good housekeeper must avail herself of the tonic of fresh air; must be able to hold her own with others in society, and must seek for her daughters the beauty and bloom of perfect health as well as the charm of a welltrained mind and deft hands which shrink from no toil. One needs in these days all-around women to make home life ideal.

I cannot close this bit of talk without urging upon parents the propriety of allowing and, indeed, insisting upon their sons being useful and obliging in the home as well as the daughters. There is no reason upon earth why a lad should not use his strength in helping out in household tasks. I have been very much impressed with the manly way in which some of our New England boys take hold and help their mothers and sisters in whatever work is to be done. It is not at all uncommon in Vermont and New Hampshire for the son of the house to take hold pleasantly and assist with the cooking or ironing or dishwashing or whatever the work is for the moment pressing, doing it quite as a matter of coursethe same lad working his way or helping to pay his way through college, coming out after a while an honored man and very likely climbing so high in future life that he sits in the governor's chair or goes to Congress.

It is not a surprising thing at all that a man turning his attention to housework should do it well. There is no housekeeping anywhere that surpasses in thoroughness that of sailors on board a man-of-war. The whiteness of the vessel's decks, the brightness of its brasses and the accuracy about it shames our more careless home housekeeping. Whenever men really master a thing they usually master it perfectly, and if your little son objects to assist you in making beds, or washing dishes, you have only to say to him that soldiers and sailors do that sort of thing as a matter of course. We do not need to be told that men excel in everything which they seriously turn to do. Our choice of tailormade gowns is merely one straw which shows how we appreciate the excellence of a man's fitting and sewing. A friend of mine has a man milliner who comes around at certain times in the year and trims all the bonnets of the household, doing it beautifully, and in India, the missionaries tell me that all their sewing is wonderfully well done by the men, who think nothing of making most beautiful gowns for the English and American ladies; taking them apart, altering them and doing whatever is necessary, with a skill and exactness unknown to our own dressmakers.

Surely in this age of the world we do not need to be told that men and women must stand abreast. That if a man would be wholly fine and noble he must have in him something of the woman heart, and that the woman, to be complete, must share some masculine virtues. Not in vain did our Father in heaven set children together in families-brothers and sisters side by side, that they might all together