the battle!

The battle was on Mount Gilboa.

The Philistines conquered, and many of the Israelites were slain on the fleld.

Then the Philistines followed on after Saul, and shot him with their arrows, and sorely wounded him. Then he knew that his enemies would soon come and kill him. He called his armor-bearer, and asked him to kill him, that he might not be put to death by the cruel Philistines. But the armor-bearer was afraid to kill Saul; so Saul took a sword, and fell upon it, and died. When the armor-bearer looked at Saul, and saw that he was dead, he, too, took a sword, and fell upon it, and died.

And the Israelites saw that Saul and his sons were dead. They ran from their cities, and left their houses; and the Philistines came and took possession of them. The next day, when the Philistines came to look at the field

of battle, they found Jonathan, and his brothers, and Saul all lying dead upon the ground. The cruel Philistines cut off Saul's head, and took away his armor, and sent home the news of their victory, shouting for joy. They nailed Saul's body to a wall; but the people who lived in Jabesh-Gilead were kind to their king, and honored him; and took his body, and his sons' bodies, and buried them under a tree, and mourned for them many days.

And all this time David was still in Ziglag. After the battle a messenger came to David from Saul's camp. His clothes were rent and dust was upon his head; and David knew that he had bad news to tell. "Who has gained the battle?" he asked, " and what has happened to Saul and Jonathan?" The messenger said, “The people are fled from the

battle, and many are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan are dead also."

Then David asked him how all this happened, and the messenger told him that he had seen Saul on Mount Gilboa in great distress, pursued by the Philistines, and that Saul had asked him to slay him. "So," the man said, "I stood on him, and slew him, and took his crown, and his bracelet; and I have brought them here to thee." And was David pleased? No; he wept for Saul, and for his dear friend Jonathan. He was even angry with the man who told him of their death; for David thought the story was all true.

KING DAVID.

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.

-Longfellow.

And now David was to be king! For such had been the prophecy told long years before.

But Jonathan, his friend, was dead; it was only through his death that David could become king over Saul's kingdom

and

David's heart was so filled with grief and loneliness that kingship was to him but cold recompense for what he had lost. So there was little joy in David's heart at the thought of being king. Then, too, he still mourned