The King's Cup-Bearer

The King's Cup-Bearer, by Mrs. O. F. Walton, has a contents list that names, among others, The City of Lilies, The King's Table, The Good Hand, To Every Man His Work, The Eighty-Four Seals and The Brave Volunteers. Chapter I, The City of Lilies, opens on the great Rab-shakeh, magnificently attired, walking towards the city gate. The Rab-shakeh walks to the gate of Shushan and spies a caravan of travellers coming along the northern road; Nehemiah finds that it has come from Jerusalem and that among the travellers is his long-lost brother Hanani.

The travellers have a dismal tale to tell, and Neh. i. 3 is cited for the words that the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Hanani and Hananiah, called two rulers, planned out the defence of the city, and the wall was divided amongst all the men in Jerusalem, each man held responsible for the safety of the part nearest his own house. The constant prayer of Nehemiah's heart is given as the question "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"