NOTEBOOK

roamed, here the maidens of Sarah came to fill their,
pitchers. \

Here in these pasture grounds began the strife between
Abraham and Lot's herdsmen and here the old patriarch
made that munificent offer to Lot.

"Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and
me, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we
be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate
thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take to the left
hand I will take to the right, or if thou wilt depart to the
right hand I will go to the left."

Lot looked down upon the beautiful plain of the Jordan
and chose himself a residence among those cities which
now lie buried in the bitter waters of the Dead Sea.

Here the Lord promised this land: "Lift up now thine
eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward,
and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the
land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy
seed forever." So the old man went in and preempted a
county or two.

Time passed on—Abe rested in the cave Machpelah,
and Isaac saw his sons growing up around him. A lone
traveler is seen passing along this valley, his staff in his
hand. (There was no style about Jacob.) He has made a
long journey from Beersheba, 40 miles, and was neces-
sarily pretty well fagged out. Night gathers around him—
he takes a stone for a pillow (Jacob was not particular)—
the hard earth for his bed, hard but roomy and the broad
canopy of the heavens for his covering, with a good deal
of wind under it for comfort on a cold night. Why was he
traveling in that sort of style, and his grandfather so rich?
He had a long journey of nearly 500 miles before him. He
was in the vigor of life and though his fare was scanty,
and his pillow hard, he had a stout heart and was favored
with pleasant dreams. He saw a ladder set upon the earth,
and the top of it reached to heaven! And behold the angels

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