IDUMEA. pass gradually slopes downward for about HE North Western portion of Arabia, two miles, the mountain ridge still retain called Nabathea, from its chief tribe; Idumea from the Edomites, or descendants of Esau, who dwelt in it; and Arabia Petrea, from the name of its chief city, Petra. This city, the Bozrah of the Old Testament, was situated in a deep valley at the foot of Mount Hor. The only access to it was through a defile, partly natural and partly cut through the solid rocks, which hung over the passage, and often intercepted the view of the heavens. The breadth of this pass is barely sufficient for two horsemen to ride abreast, and near the entrance a bold arch is thrown across, at a great height, connecting the opposite cliffs. The perspective, a multitude of columns, statues, and graceful cornices burst upon the view, which retain, at the present day, their forms and colors as little injured by time as if they were just fresh from the chisel. The sides of the mountains are covered with countless excavations, of which some were private dwellings and some sepulchres. This impregnable fortress, which was situated in a generally fruitful country, and commanded the great roads by which the earliest commercial caravans traveled, came into the possession of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, while the children of Israel yet labored in Egyptian bondage. A SINGULAR COURTSHIP, OR MINISTER'S SECOND WIFE. At the time of David's accession to the throne the Edomites had considerably extended their territories, being in possession THE of Elath and Eziongeber on the Arabian Sea, whence they carried on an extensive commerce with India and Ethiopia. David's general, Abishai, invaded their country, defeated the army, and rendered Idumea a province of the empire of the Jews. But in the reign of Solomon, Hadad returned from Egypt, whither he had fled when his country was subdued, and commenced a revolt. The Edomites were not, however, totally independent until the reign of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat. Hostilities were almost uninterrupted until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. During the captivity of the Jews they invaded Palestine and conquered the city of Hebron. Those who remained in that city were termed Idumeans, while the others were distinguished as Nabathe ans. Against this latter people Antigonus sent an expedition, under his general, Atheneus. The Nabatheans were away at a fair in the desert, and Antigonus succeeded in surprising Petra, which he sacked. He marched back towards Syria, but the Nabatheans, enraged at the tidings of the calamity, hastily collected their forces and totally annihilated the army of Atheneus, at Gaza. They returned, laden with spoil, to Petra, which they successfully protected against Demetrius, who came to avenge his father's loss. During the wars of the Maccabees the Idumeans took part against the Jews, but were completely subjugated by the heroic leaders of that people (B. C., 130.) They then embraced the Jewish religion, and became so incorporated with the Jews that the name of Idumean was entirely lost, in the first century after Christ. The Nabatheans long maintained their independence, and Petra, the capital, was vainly beseiged by Pompey and Trajan. It sunk by gradual decay, when the commerce was directed into other channels; and its recent discovery, in the loneliness of its desolation, has given a new revelation of its ancient splendor, to the living age. A CHAPTER III. BOUT two months after the occur rences related above, the parsonage at Helferau was the scene of unusual excitement. The new wife, who had arrived only a short time ago, had already brought about an entirely new order of things. The rooms on the second floor, hitherto occupied by Steffenson, his children and the aged housekeeper, were at once taken possession of by herself, an arrangement with which the husband rendered ready compliance, especially since she declared herself unable to reside on the ground floor. Catharine had brought a waiting maid with her, Heliodora by name, who was domiciled in the minister's former study where she appropriated a bookshelf that had been permitted to remain in its place, to the use of her own library. The change thus suddenly brought about was, it may well be imagined, singular enough. The shelf in question which had hitherto contained, in addition to the Bible, the pastor's manuscript sermons, now exhibited a brilliant array of neatly bound and gilt edged volumes of other authors, such as: 68 Select Stories of Knights and Bandits, by Spies, Cramer, Leibrack and other celebrities," "Dr. Albright's Art to Please," "Fifty Prescriptions for the Preservation of Beauty," "The Lover's LetterWriter," "The Sixteenth Edition of the Rules of Etiquette," "Baron Knigge's Intercourse with Men," which, however, was not yet bound and cut open, and as a sort of compensation, "Witchel's Morning and Evening Devotions," bound in black velvet and adorned on its back with gilded morish-work, but free from any marks of its being used. The apartment of the young wife the largest and handsomest in the house, pre sented an altogether different appearance. | how beautiful!" This over, she would in There was arranged in accustomed order the most magnificent furniture, consisting of divans, escritoir, two mahogany cardtables, and chairs with embroidered seats; the floor was covered with soft and beautifully flowered carpet; the rarest flowers and plants were arranged along the windows; green silk curtains depended in graceful folds from the ceiling to the floor and cast an almost magic light over the room, whilst the most punctilious order reigned throughout the entire establishment. Precisely at eight in the morning, Heliodora entered the sleeping chamber of her mistress to receive her commands; after breakfast the hair-dresser was admitted, who with his tender and skillful hand knew how to arrange the silken tresses of the youthful wife into the most captivating curls. Then the announcement was made by the coachman that the carriage stood in waiting, whereupon a span of the fleetest horses carried the minister's spouse to the metropolis, from where she usually returned not till nightfall, and often even not till midnight. Sometimes this careful and tender woman would, in her capacity as step-mother bring with her a large quantity of bonbons and other sweetmeats, which Heliodora was commissioned to divide amongst the children, the young wife not liking to come into personal contact with them, for fear of little Henry touching and soiling with his tiny fingers her rich silk dress. quire whether the programme of the evening performance at the theatre had arrived and if the play was a nice one, which happened almost always to be the case, she would fly upon the wings of joyful anticipation to the city. But Steffenson, what did he do? Alas, as his wife would drive off in her splendid equipage, he would indeed follow her with a look full of sadness, which, however, was the only visible sign of displeasure he allowed himself. Upon her return he would receive her with the most affectionate kindness. It is true, he did not ask her how she had enjoyed herself, for this he felt unable to do, but he also did not, on the other hand, give expression to his disapproval even by a single word. The only opportunity he had of engaging in conversation with her, or rather of hearing her talk was at table, when the inclemency of the weather would prevent her from driving to the city. Upon these occasions she would generally relate whatever news she had seen or heard during her previous visit; then she also would make known her wishes and was withal as cheerful and happy, as a wife whose every desire is gratified well can be. Steffenson on the contrary, was placed into a somewhat unpleasant situation in his congregation. When on Sunday afternoons his members came to him, they complained bitterly of the injurious effects the evil example set by his wife exerted upon the people of the village. The good people, it must be remembered, had been accustomed to see their minister's first wife not only the first to enter church and the last to leave it, but also to be with them during their little gatherings on Sunday afternoon and talk to them like a friend who felt a lively interest in the concerns of their souls. But Catharine had, during her six weeks' residence among them, not attended church even once; the pew of the minister's wife remained empty and desert This agreeable manner of life continued the same on Sundays and week-days, with only this difference, namely, that Catharine, like a good Christian, did make an effort on Sunday to minister to the spiritual necessities of her heart. Between the hour of breakfasting and that set apart for the labors of the hair-dresser, Heliodora read in a loud voice, a prayer from " Witchel's Morning and Evening Devotions," a task which the waiting-maid performed so well, that her mistress was often moved to ex-ed, for the foolish report given out by press her admiration by exclaiming: "O, several old women, that they had twice seen the spirit of their pastor's first wife occupy the pew and listen to the sermon, was after all nothing but a piece of silly invention. Steffenson had considerable trouble in preventing the complaints of his villagers against his spouse from becoming too boisterous and vehement. "Only be patient, my dear people," he would say, "the Lord does nothing by halves. Do not meddle with what he has reserved for himself. The Lord is wonderful in counsel and wonderful in working. Only see to it, that you do not fall into temptation and if you are accustomed to remember in your prayers those, who love the world and the lusts thereof more than the Lord, and will include among these also my wife, you may do so, and may your prayers not return unto you void." In this way six weeks more passed by; the leaves upon the trees turned to a yellowish red and began to drop off the boughs, giving signs of the approach of autumn; in the kitchen-garden behind the parsonage, green pumpkins and yellow cucumbers, left for seed, began to peep out from among the wilted leaves, the houseswallows had already set out upon their migratory journey to Africa, the meadowsaffron had already begun to dot the bare meadows with its unfolded flowers and in some places the little gentian even showed signs of budding. Thus it happened that on a delightful autumnal morning, many issued forth from the city under the pretence of attending divine worship in the open country, but who in reality spent the day in thoughtless gaiety and never once remembered God. On they passed from village to village meeting the simple-minded peasants on their way to church, but themselves passing by the house of God where Steffenson was just preaching about the adoption of the children of God, singing in harmony, "A free and jovial life we lead." Before the parsonage, too, the carriage had already been in waiting for more than half an hour, the bay steeds were impa tiently pawing the ground, their shining necks covered with foam. Heliodora, the waiting maid equally impatient was pacing up and down before the carriage, reading for the fifth time the programme of the theatre. O, what enjoyment was in store for her!-The comedy of "Rosa's dowry," and Kotzebue's "Blind Love," had been announced for the evening. Yet her mistress would not come. "Only go on awhile," she had said, "I will follow you directly." But half an hour had already passed and still she did not come. Then it was that the waiting-maid sudderly recollected, that her mistress had for several days appeared so very unlike herself; she had sat for hours without speaking a word and when Heliodora, as was usual, attempted to strike up a conversation by dilating upon the beauties of the play of "the First Lover," she would reply to her in a fretful tone; "only be still about it! This stupid buffoonery is after all only silly!" And after Heliodora had on the previous Sunday finished reading the beautiful autumn-devotion by Witchel, in which the falling of the leaves is so beautifully described, she had even heard Catharine make the singular and as she thought exceedingly strange observation, "this is not doubt all very fine, but yet there seems to me to be something wanting, it does not edify me!" though Heliodora had read the verses with great accuracy, a facility she had acquired by attentively listening to the declamations of Mr. Klingeler, the comedian who personified the character of the First Lover in the play. All this, we say, seemed now for the first time to fill the waiting-maid with surprise. "She must be sick," she mentally exclaimed and was greatly affrighted when the servant brought word that her mistress had ordered the horses back to the stable and that she would not go to the city. Heliodora was terror-stricken; less, it must be confessed out of concern for the health of her mistress, than on account of the sudden frustration of her anticipated enjoyment. Vexed and out of humor on account of her disappointment, she pulled with some violence the boxes containing various articles of dress out of the carriage and hastened to the chamber of her gracious or rather ungracious lady. Upon entering she found her still attired in her neat traveling dress, seated upon the sofa, supporting her head with its neat and elegant curls, upon her left hand. by Mr. August Leibrock, and entitled "Frightful Apparitions in St. Ann Chapel of the convent of St. Clara, in Naples." "Yes, indeed!" she said, "one almost feels tempted to enter the convent forthwith out of pure vexation!" The perusal however of the divine story of the apparition in the nunnery soon produced the happy effect of somewhat calming her ex What is the matter?" exclaimed He- cited feelings. liodora, "Have you taken sick?" "No!" replied Catharine. "I am not sick and yet I feel as if everything ailed me. I feel so uneasy, so sad and depressed, as if some one had greatly wronged me, without knowing who or what." "O this will all go away again,” replied Heliodora soothingly. They are going to perform the comedy of 'Blind Love' to night and that you know is so side-splitting funny. I suppose we will drive to the city ?" But what of her mistress? She remained seated upon her damask divan, in earnest and silent communion with herself, drawing, at times, her hand across her brow and then again laying it on her heart, as if the two were not in proper agreement. She had occupied this disconsolate posture a full hour, when, hearing the people outside returning from church and knowing from this, that the morning service had been concluded, she suddenly formed a resolution. She rose, went down "Only be silent about this," replied the stairs and directed her steps towards her mistress somewhat peevishly. "This buf-husband's study. The nearer, however, foonery at the theatre is too flat, trifling she approached, the more violently palpiand pitiable. It is Sunday to day, and if tated her heart; and she was tempted, to I knew that it would not be too late, I turn back. But she mentally exclaimed, would actually go to church yet. Besides "No! for my peace sake-I must speak to it is altogether inexcusable in me, that I him." have not even heard my husband preach yet." "O that would be entirely too late for to day," exclaimed Heliodora; "and, besides, what would the people say, if we would go now ?" “Alas,” replied Catharine, "the people might think and say the worst and yet not wrong me." Upon entering she found her husband seated in the corner of his sofa, and alone. Steffenson had become somewhat exhausted with the labors of the morning, and took this method of resting himself. "Catharine,” he exclaimed in astonishment, "how you surprise me! I thought you had long since taken your departure for the city." Catharine stood trembling, with her eyes cast to the floor, whilst her whole countenance was suffused with a crimson flush. "Frederick," she at length exclaimed, in a scarcely audible tone of voice and with a beating heart, "I only wanted to ask you at what hour your devotional meetcommences." "Leave me alone," she continued after a pause; when the waiting maid, giving an angry shake of her head left the room of her mistress and entered her own so very much out of humor, that she threw her fan upon the table, got her bonnet strings into a knot and threw herself like an enraged goddess upon her sofa. Fortunately, how-ing ever, her eyes happened just at this point to light upon her library; she rose, examined for some time its contents and finally selected an elegantly bound volume written "At four o'clock in the afternoon," replied he in great surprise. "May I ask, Catharine, why you wish to know this?" She hesitated a moment with her answer, |