admirable. Would Just think, if every

Admirable, young man, that all men were like you. man were a "Joseph," there would be absolutely no divorces granted, at least in the State of New York. But the fair lady was too fascinated with our young hero and persisted in her seduction, as we gather from the following.

Genesis, Chapter 39, Verse 10.

10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

What a great moral hazard did this young man experience day after day. It seems an almost irresistible temptation to hear the subdued tones and feel the warm breath of a passionate woman tremulously crying, "Lie with me! Lie with me! Lie with me!" But ah! The plot thickens and the dramatic climax is almost at hand.

Genesis, Chapter 39, Verses 11-12.

11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. 12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

Mrs. Potiphar, unable to satisfy her passionate longing with the object of her desire, now seeks to protect herself, in this embarrassing situation, with an explanation to her husband of the affair in the following manner.

Genesis, Chapter 39, Verses 13-16.

13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,

14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:

15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.

16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.

This story has the eternal triangle for its plot, and those who seek narrations where the marriage tie is violated cannot get a more delicious morsel of scandal than this one. There are many points in this story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife that we could dwell upon at length; especially of Joseph running out of the house, after leaving his garment in the hands of Mrs. Potiphar, and what a fine sight he must have been after such a perilous encounter!

And again, there is the awkward position of Mrs. Potiphar standing in all her loveliness, holding Joseph's garment without Joseph! The balance of the story merely relates that Potiphar believed Mrs. Potiphar's version of the story and sent our hero to jail. All this happened, mind you, under the benediction of God as stated in the fifth verse of this chapter. Let me refresh your memory with it. "The Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the field." If the blessing of the Lord produced the results we have just recounted, his blessing would seem to be of questionable value.

But whatever the taste of those seeking this kind of amusement in the reading they select, I wonder if you would give such a story to your son and daughter to draw their moral inspiration from? You fond Parents, who so sacredly fondle the Bible, do you ever stop to think of the probability of your son or daughter reading this story in his or her study of it? Particularly would the story of Joseph be read because the name of Joseph has become celebrated in Biblical history.

CHAPTER VII.

JUDAH AND HIS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW TAMAR.

In my introduction to this book, I warned those who felt that if their sensibilities might be shocked by anything that would be said in the discussion of my subject, not to read this book; and if in the citation of the story to follow you are brought face to face with an obnoxious situation you cannot blame me for the sickening disgust you will feel at the conclusion of this narrative.

It is not my purpose to bring your attention to these immoral stories of the Bible because they are vulgar, but for the purpose of bringing your attention to what an abomination it is to insist that our children read the Bible in order to get a proper understanding of life. My deep concern is to relate the licentious acts of the celebrated characters of this infamous book and bring them parallel to, and into comparison with, our present standard for the same relationship. I quote Genesis, Chapter 38, Verses 1-5.

And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain

Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.

3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he I called his name Er.

4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.

5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.

I do not think it out of place to make mention of the fact that the method and mode of expression used in the Bible to denote the marital relationship and the subsequent birth of a child, is in itself an indelicacy that deserves our condemnation. Would it not have been better to say: "And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah, and he married her and their first child was called Er, and the second Onan and the third Shelah"?

Wouldn't such a description be more conducive to refinement and moral betterment than the expression that "he went in unto her, and she conceived"? Instead of the Bible's avoiding those expressions that are inelegant, particular pains were taken to use them and use them pronouncedly.