THE SHEPHERD'S FOUNTAIN.

THERE is in the East a certain range of mountains called the Mountains of the Leopards; this range bears but an evil report, by reason of the fierce beasts which infest its acclivities, which prowl among its valleys, and take refuge in its dens and its caves. Nevertheless, these hills are beautiful to look upon, their loftiest peaks being clad with eternal snow, shining pale and cold in the moonbeam, and gleaming sadly in the hours of frozen winter, but emitting a thousand rays of violet and golden light when the summer sun rises upon them, and the wintry clouds roll away from their summits.

On the sides of these hills grows every variety of tree and herb, from those whose hardy natures can endure the Alpine blasts, to the broad-leafed and fragrant palm, the spikenard and calamus, the aloe and cassia, whose roots imbed themselves in the southern banks at the foot of the range,

Now, in former times, my history tells me not in what age or at what period, there dwelt upon these mountains a certain shepherd called Theogenes, a sort of patriarch, for in his manners and mode of life he was not unlike what we read of Abraham; he was a species of inferior chief; he was not a prince himself, for he held this place under another, and was subject to the dominion of that other; although the subjection was so easy that, as he would often say, he had no other experience of his state as a bondsman than that he was thereby, as the servant of a powerful prince, secured from enemies, who, had he endeavoured to maintain his place in his own strength, would have assuredly proved too powerful for him.

Now this shepherd had his habitation on the ledge of a rock; this rock was hard as adamant, and more pure and white than the far-famed marble of Carara; there was no spot or stain therein, neither had the inclemencies of the seasons, the variations of heat or cold, of damp or dry, power to sully the purity of its surface. Hence it was known, by those living in those parts, by the name of the White Stone, which being seen far and

wide, was as à landmark to the traveller in the valley below, and a sure guide by which many who had lost their way were directed to their course again. Now from this rock there poured a stream of living water; I call it living, because of its pure and sparkling nature; and beneath the rock, within its shade and protection, were many fair pasture-grounds, such as were not found in all the mountains beside; and the stream which poured from this rock meandered through all these meadows, bathing the roots of an infinite variety of excellent trees which produced their fruits in due season, and filled the air with the spicy odour of their blossoms, affording shelter for many birds, whose songs were new every morning. There were bees too in those fragrant fields, which laid up honey in the clefts of the rock, and cisterns wrought in the pure marble, where the blue pigeons which inhabited those regions might be seen washing and pluming themselves at the period of the first dawn of the morning.

Now the water which distilled from the White Stone was called, nay, for aught I know, is still called, the Shepherd's Fountain, to distinguish it from certain torrents and intermitting springs in other parts of the mountain; and the prince, of whom I before spake, when he appointed the place of his servant, the shepherd Theogenes, caused him to fix the curtains of his tent beneath the shade of this rock, charging him that he should never permit the sheep of the flock to drink from any other source than that which proceeded from the rock; for this water, said the prince, is wholesome for the sheep, and it will cause them to grow and to thrive, and to produce wool of the finest description. I know not that he gave other charges to Theogenes, although he put a book into his hand which taught him certain secrets, by which he was enabled to interpret his prince's pleasure from the objects of nature which environed him-a species of instruction which is particularly agreeable and delightful to those who dwell where nature is least perverted by the artificial works of man.

Now Theogenes had a wife called Sophia-she was a woman of extraordinary comeliness; and he was wont to say of her that her price was above rubies. So Theogenes and Sophia dwelt under the shade of that spotless rock, and fed their flocks in the meadows which were watered from the fountain. And this water never

failed: in winter it was not hardened by the cold frosts of the mountains, and in summer it was augmented from the chambers of heaven, and the sheep throve on the banks of the stream; and because they were washed in these fair waters they were always white, and there was a blessing with them, for the lambs came by pairs, and there were none barren among the ewes. They were sheared every year, and their fleeces were such as might be wove into royal garments; there were no such sheep in that country as those which composed the flock of Theogenes. There was also another advantage in the water I speak of; the wild beasts of the mountain loved it not, though ever so pressed with thirst they would not approach it: the old shepherd said that they were alarmed at the rushing sound with which it came down the mountain. Nevertheless, this sound seemed to be agreeable to the sheep, and the shepherd had a story to tell respecting that sound, which was somewhat curious, though I can by no means doubt its truth, it having been confirmed to me by one who cannot lie.John, X., 27.

Now this was the story:-Once upon a time it seemed that a dog got among the flock, and drove a certain number of the sheep far away into a dark valley where were the dens of many wild beasts, and there the dog left them to perish; when suddenly the breeze which had some time before carried the sound of the fountain in another direction, turned about and conveyed it to the lost sheep, and behold they knew the sound, and obeyed the call, and came running back to their place of rest. Theogenes saw all this himself, and loved to tell this story among many others-all of which had reference to what he had observed in his pastoral life.

Now Theogenes and Sophia were like Job, blessed with a fair and noble progeny, both sons and daughters. There were not in all the East more beautiful children than those of this shepherd and shepherdess; nor can it be questioned but that they endeavoured to lead them in the way they should go, from the moment they were able to totter from their mother's arms. Nevertheless, there was one of these, namely, the youngest son, who had a will determined and set to please himself rather than those who were set over him.

His mother called him Benjamin, because he was the youngest; but Benoni is the name which the history

gives him, by reason of the trouble he gave his parents; for, whereas the wills of his brothers and sisters being submitted to those of their parents,-through the blessing which is from above, their young days passed in peace and joy; but those of their youngest brother were always disturbed and uneasy. When he was determined in that which was evil, his parents could not permit him to go on peacefully in that evil way, and thus he enjoyed neither his own pleasures nor theirs. As he advanced in age, and grew strong in his own strength, he must needs go to his father and say, Father, I am now able to provide for myself; give me my portion of the flock, and I will feed them where I list."

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"The flock is not mine to give," replied Theogenes; "these sheep are the Lord's, and no one can take them out of his hands; besides, I would ask you, where would you feed them? Where can you find pastures such as these? Look upon them, my son, how rich and verdant are those meadows? How tender and fragrant is that herbage, beautiful with flowers springing from the earth, shaded with all manner of stately and fruitful trees."

"There are other pastures and other stately woods upon these mountains," replied Benoni, "and other cisterns cut in the rocks, by those who have gone before us, where I can feed and water my flock, and cause it to lie down and rest at noonday."

"Ah! my son! my son!" replied Theogenes, "would you commit two offences? Would you forsake the Fountain of living waters, and find out for yourself cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Know you not the injunction laid upon us by our prince, when he appointed unto us the office of feeding his flock, namely, that we should cause the sheep to drink of the water which gushes from the White Stone, and should permit them to taste of no other stream?"

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Yes," returned the son, "I am aware of this injunc tion; and I grant that when the shepherds were few, and the flock small, the arrangement was good; but now that the shepherds are multiplied, and the flocks increased, I see not wherefore we should not seek out to ourselves other settlements on the mountains, and wherefore we should not use our natural strength and discretion in availing ourselves of other resources, besides those appointed by the prince.”

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"Will it not be time enough to seek other resources," replied Theogenes, when our water fails, and our herbage becomes scant."-Isaiah, xxxiii., 16.

Benoni heard these last words of his father in sullen silence, for he knew that the water and the herbage had never failed, nay, that both the one and the other seemed to increase with the demands of the flock, and of those who tended them. He therefore turned away from the word of counsel, being resolved in his own mind concerning what he would do, and he watched his opportunity, and one day at noon, being unobserved by his brethren, he drove a small portion of the flock apart from the rest, enticing them with sweet notes from his flagelet, for he had invented to himself an instrument of music.-Amos, vi., 5. And he had provided himself with a dog, which was accustomed to go and come at his call; and this dog was cunning and quick in obeying his master's commands; so when Benoni had beguiled a portion of the flock from the main body, the dog got in between that portion and the rest, and so did what in him lay to prevent their return. So the silly sheep followed their leader, and he beguiled them from their secure pastures, and brought them round a point of the hill into a place among the mountains, where they were no longer under the observation of Theogenes. Now the place into which Benoni brought his flock was exceedingly beautiful to the eye-it was a lofty site commanding all the country round, and there were many fair and shadowing trees scattered upon the height; and there were vines which had climbed up the trunks of the trees, and hung in festoons from the branches; there were clusters of grapes hanging too from these vines, and these grapes were full of juice, luscious, and inviting. And behold there was a cistern formed of brick, which had appertained to the old inhabitants of the hills, and which they had wrought with their own hands, placed on the brow of the height; and Benoni looked thereon, and behold there was water in the bottom thereof, and a stone trough which filled itself from the cistern; and the side of the hill was covered with a thick herbage rank and strong. But Benoni marked not that poisonous weeds were mingled with the grass, so he sat himself down near the cistern, and he took of the grapes and pressed them into the cup which he carried in his shepherd's bag, and he drank of the blood of the grape,