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CLIPPINGS FROM THE AA CIENT PRESS
The Story of Haman and
Mordecai.
As it might habe been told by the papers tn the days of old.
PERSIA’S POLITICAL SENSATION.
(From The Jerusalem Journal.)
SUSA.—(Special to The Journal.) —The kingdom
of Persia is in the midst of a political sensation,
the end of which is not in sight. The latest devel
opment was the hanging of Mr. Haman, the king’s
secretary of state, at noon today, upon a gallows
that he had caused to be erected for the execution
of Mr. Mordecai, an old Hebrew, who, he thought,
was lacking in respect for him.
The story is one through which runs a dark and
bloody plot, the frustration of which cost the sec
retary 7 of state his life. The leading figures in the
drama are King Ahasuerus, Queen Vashti, Secretary
Haman, Mordecai, the Jew, and a beautiful young
Jewess, Esther, his cousin.
King Ahasuerus has always had his own way,
and the first act in this tragic drama was caused
when Queen Vashti refused to do his bidding. The
sympathy of the people, in a quiet way, is with the
queen. Her royal husband gave a great banquet
to which the whole city was invited. It was one
of the most brilliant affairs that had ever taken
place in the Persian capital, and wine flowed like
water. When the king was somewhat under the
influence of the wine he had taken, he thought of
his beautiful wife, and concluded to show her off
to his guests. He issued an order that she should
be brought, unveiled, into the banquet hall, that the
guests might gaze upon her beauty. Since this was
against all precedent the queen refused to come.
The king was enraged, and at once called a coun
cil of his leading men. After weighing the matter
very seriously, they agreed that all husbands in
the kingdom would be forced to take a back seat
if the queen’s rebellion was passed over. To pre
serve the dignity of the masculine gender in the
realm, the queen was banished from the palace and
ordered never again to look upon the face of the
king.
This, of course, necessitated the selection of a
new queen, and the officers began a search of the
kingdom to find a woman beautiful enough to stand
before the king. Mr. Mordecai, a captive from the
city of Jerusalem, lived in a plain home on one of
the side streets of the city with his beautiful young
cousin, Miss Esther. He was an old man, and had
reared the girl from childhood, caring for her as if
she had been his own daughter. The girl has been
famous for her beauty in the restricted cir
cles in which she has moved, and her cousin, who was
something of a diplomat, concluded that she ought
to be the new queen. Without letting it be known
that she was a Jewess, he succeeded in having the at
tention of those who were searching for a queen,
drawn to her. She was carried to the palace and put
through the regular course of preparation that was
needed before she could be presented to the king.
The old man managed to keep in constant communi
cation with her, and was overjoyed to learn that, as
soon as she was presented to the king, she was se
lected as his queen.
In mingling with the crowds that thronged about
the palace, Mr. Mordecai learned of a plot that had
been made to assassinate the king. He conveyed the
news to Esther, and she in Airn, informed the
king. Detectives were detailed to work upon the
case, and the ringleaders were arrested and put to
death. A record of this was made upon the books
of the kingdom.
Just about this time, Mr. Haman, one of the head
clerks in the department of state, was promoted by
the king to be secretary of state. He was a
man of low breeding, and his hean was turned
by the authority that was so suddenly given into
his hands. A mad desire to have his power recog
nized on all sides took possession of him. He had
an order issued that everybody should bow down
to him whenever he appeared upon the streets. It
was against, the principles of Mr. Mordecai to bow
The Golden Age for February 21, 1907.
By ALEX W. BEALER
down to any being but the great God he worshipped,
and he failed to do homage to the secretary of state.
His omission was reported to the secretary, and it
hurt his pride very much to see the old man stand
ing erect while all the rest of rhe people prostrated
themselves before him. He knew Mr. Mordecai to
be a Jew, and he shared in the universal prejudice
that prevailed against these people. He was to
tally ignorant of the fact that the queen was a
Jewess, and that she was related, to the old man.
It was beneath the dignity of a man in his posi
tion to let it be known that he was troubled by what
one old Jew was doing. At the same time he knew
the king’s treasury to be in a depleted condition.
He decided that it would be a fine thing to kill all
the Jews in the kingdom, and to confiscate their
property. This would bring in a great sum of
money, part of which he could turn into the public
treasury, and the rest into his own pocket. Going
to the king he told him that there were many Jews
in the kingdom, and that they were disloyal to him
and were bound to make trouble. He offered to
pay into the treasury the sum of two million dol
lars if the king would issue an order to exterminate
the Jews. His royal highness, who never did like to
trouble his head about business, and who wanted
the money, told him to go ahead. The order was
issued and sent all over the kingdom. It called for
the killing of all the Jews on the last day of thfo
year. It created consternation among these people
and the news of it soon reached the ears of Mr.
Mordecai. He and all the other Jews put on sack
cloth and displayed all the other signs of deepest
mourning.
Queen Esther was enjoying to the full her new life
in the palace. She had everything for which her
heart could wish, and every day was a dream of
joy for her. In the midst of all these pleasures she
received a message from her old cousin telling her
of her danger. Ho enclosed a copy of the decree
sent out by the secretary of state telling her that
her own life, as well as the lives of her peo
ple, was in her hands. The king had decreed that
certain death should be the portion of any one who
came unbidden into his presence. Esther was fear
ful of the result, as she had not seen the king in
a month. She knew that if any one approached
him it was a very dangerous thing to do. If lie held
out his scepter it was all right, but if he failed to
do this, it meant death. She told all these things
to Mr. Mordecai. In return he told her that she
must risk going into the king’s presence, as it was
certain death if she stayed away. Esther decided
to seek the king. Arraying herself in her most be
coming robes she walked into the court where ho
was sitting on the throne. He turned his head
as she entered, and as bis eyes took in her beauty
he reached out his scepter, with a smile upon his
face. With a flush of joy mantling her beautiful
face she kneeled before him arjd kissed his hand.
In tender tones, as he stroked her beautiful hair, he
asked her what she desired, assuring her she should
have it, even if it were half of the kingdom.
She the pleasure of the company of the
king and Haman to a little banquet she was going
to give. The king assured her that they 'would be
present, and messengers were sent for Haman to
bring him in to the feast. The vain secretary of
state, his heart all in a flutter of excitement at the
honor conferred upon him, hurried in to the banquet,
not knowing that he was falling into the trap he
had set for others. It was the intention of the
queen to denounce Haman before the king, but her
heart failed her, and she told him that she wanted
him to come the next day and bring Haman 'with
him, and then she would make known her request
to him.
The head of the secretary had grown several inch
es at the compliment that had been paid to him.
and it was very sweet for him to see the people
falling at his feet when he left the palace yesterday
afternoon. But the gall in the sweetness of that
hour was Mr. Mordecai, the old Jew, standing erect
in the midst of the bowing people. He arrived at
his home in a terrible rage, and told his grief to
his wife and a few of his friends. He spoke of the
honor that had been paid to him by the beautiful
queen, an honor that seldom came to any man,
“But,” he exclaimed, “I find no joy in life so long
as I see that miserable old sharp-eyed Jew sitting
in the gate, refusing to honor me.”
“If I were you,” said his wife, “I would settle
him in short order. Build a gallows out there in
the back yard and hang him on it tomorrow. You
can easily get the king to issue an order for his exe
cution. You can see him hanged and then go in to
have a good time at the banquet of the queen.”
In less than an hour Haman had men at work on
the gallows. Before dark it had been finished and
was ready for its victim. Then he retired to dream
of the dead Mordecai and the banquet of the queen.
It so happened that King Ahasuerus could not
sleep last night, and he had his attendants to bring
in the records of the kingdom and road them to him.
Among other things, the attendant read of what
Mordecai had done in revealing the plot against
the life of the king.
“And what,” he interrupted “has been done for
ibis man? What reward has been given to him?
What honors have been paid to him?”
“It appears that nothing has been done for him,
your , most excellent highness,” replied the atten
dant.
“Summon Haman to come before me at once,”
said the king.
Messengers were dispatched to arouse Haman
from his bed. He hurried into the presence of the
king, wondering what new honors were to be confer
red upon him.
As he came in the monarch, with a smile upon
his face, said, “What shall be done for the man
whom the king delights to honor?”
“Who can that be but myself?” thought Haman,
as he felt his head growing still larger, and, hav
ing thought on the things that would please him, and
of which he had dreamed, he replied, “Let the
royal apparel which the king is accustomed to wear
be brought, together with the king’s horse and the
royal crown. Let the apparel and the horse be de
livered into the hands of one of the king’s most
noble princes that they may array the man whom
the king delights to honor, and bring him on horse
back through the streets of the city, and let the
prince cry out, ‘Thus shall it be done to the man
whom the king delights to honor.’ ”
“A splendid idea,” cried the king, “and now the
first thing in the morning I want you, as the man
next to myself in the kingdom, to array Mr. Morde
cai, the Jew, mount him on my horse, lead him
through the streets of the city, and cry out that he
is the man the king delights to honor!”
Haman came near fainting when this order was
delivered to him, and, as he went out to prepare
honors for the Jew, the gallows he had erected for
him arose before his mind’s eye, and his courage
went from him. With the best possible grace he
led the old Jew through the streets of Ihe city,
and many, knowing him to be among those who
had been proscribed, wondered how he came to be
thus honored. As soon as the trying ordeal was over
Haman hastened to his home to pour out his heart
before his wife and a few of iiis intimate friends.
They all agreed that be was in a very dangerous
position, since Mr. Mordecai had been honored, and
he, could hardly hope to stand much longer before
the king.
While he was advising with his wife and his
friends, messengers came to summon him to the ban
quet of the queen. His face was pale and haggard,
but his appearance was not noticed by the ding who
bad eyes only for his beautiful wife. When the
banquet came to an end the king asked Esther what
was her request. With flushed face, flushing eye
and heaving breast, she asked the king to spare het
life and the lives of her people since they had all
been sold for bond-men and bond-women by an en
emy to them and to the king.
“And where is the man,” cried the king in his
anger: “who would dare do such a thing?”
(Concluded on Page 12.)
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