gods into the fire; for those gods were only dumb idols of wood and stone. But now, O Lord, he seeketh to destroy Jerusalem. Save us, I pray Thee, out of his hands, so that all the kingdoms may know that Thou art not like the idols of the heathen nations, but that Thou art the Lord, and that there is no other God beside Thee."

The Lord heard Hezekiah's prayer, and answered, "I have heard the prayer thou hast offered, and I will do as thou asketh. This king shall not come before the city with shields and spears, nor build forts around it, neither shall he shoot an arrow into it. By the way that he came he shall return again; for I will save Jerusalem out of his hand." And these words came true; for that night the Lord sent His angel into the camp of the Assyrians, and the angel slew a hundred and eighty-five

thousand of them. Then the king of Assyria went back with shame to his own land; and while he was worshipping in the house of his own idol, two of his own sons put him to death with his own sword.

THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB.

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen;
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath flown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

For the angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not a breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And their idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!