There was a man of Is-ra-el who went up each year from the town of Ra-mah to a place called Shi-loh to pay his vows to the Lord of hosts. And his wife, whose name was Han-nah, went with him. The man's name was El-ka-nah.

E-li was the high-priest at that time, and as he sat in the Lord's house he saw Han-nah on her knees with her eyes full of tears.

And he spoke to her in a kind voice, and said: May God grant thee what thou dost ask of him. And Han-nah was glad at the high-priest's words, for she had asked God to give her a son.

And the Lord gave Han-nah a son, and she called his name Sam-u-el, which means "Asked of the Lord."

Sam-u-el was quite young when Han-nah took him up to the house of the Lord at Shi-loh. And when they brought the child to E-li, Han-nah said, I am the wo-man that stood by thee here and prayed to the Lord. For this child did I pray, and the Lord heard me and gave me what I asked for. So I have brought him to the Lord; so long as he lives shall he be the child of God. For this was the vow she made if God would give her a son.

And Sam-u-el was left to stay with E-li in the Lord's house.

Now E-li had two sons, and they were priests in the Lord's house. But they were not fit for the place, for they were bad men, and broke God's laws. And by their sins they kept men from the house of the Lord.

But Sam-u-el, though a young child, did what was right and pleased the Lord. And his moth-er made him a coat, and brought it to him each year when she and her hus-band went up to Shi-loh. And E-li spoke kind words to them, and asked the Lord to bless them for the sake of the child whom they gave to him.

Now E-li was an old man, and when he heard of all the things his sons had done, he did not drive them out of the Lord's house as he should have done, but let them go on in their sins. He cared more to please his sons than he did to please the Lord.

One night when E-li and Sam-u-el lay down to sleep, the child heard a voice speak his name. And he said, Here am I. And he got up and ran to E-li, for he thought it was his voice, and he said, Here am I, for thou did'st call me.

E-li said, I did not call thee, my son. Go back, and lie down. And the lad did so.

In a short time he heard the same voice say, Sam-u-el—Sam-u-el.

And he rose at once and went to E-li, and said to him, Here am I, for thou did'st call me. But E-li said, I did not call thee, and sent the lad back to his bed once more.

Then Sam-u-el heard the voice a third time, and went to E-li and said, Here am I, for thou did'st call me.

And E-li knew it was the Lord who spoke to Sam-u-el. And he said to the lad, Go, lie down, and if he call thee, say, Speak, Lord, for I hear thee.

And Sam-u-el went and lay down. And the Lord came for the fourth time, and called, Sam-u-el—Sam-u-el!

And Sam-u-el said, Speak, Lord, for I hear thee.

And the Lord told Sam-u-el all that he meant to do to the house of E-li. He had let his sons go on in their sins, and they were to be put to death in a way that would make men fear God.

Sam-u-el lay still till day-light. Then he rose, but did not dare to tell E-li what God had told him.

But E-li called him and said, What did the Lord say to thee? I pray thee hide it not from me.

So Sam-u-el told E-li all that the Lord had said. When E-li heard it, he said, It is the Lord, let him do what he thinks is best.

And Sam-u-el grew, and the Lord was with him and blest him, and it was known to all that he was one of God's saints, who could fore-tell things that were to take place. Such wise men were some-times called seers.

The words which God spoke to Sam-u-el came true; for the chil-dren of Is-ra-el went out to fight the Phil-is-tines, and a host of them were slain.

Those who came back said, Let us take the ark out with us to save us from our foes.

Now God had not told them to take the ark, and it was a sin for them to touch it. They should have put their trust in the Lord, and looked to him for help.

But they sent to Shi-loh for the ark, and E-li's two sons came with it. When it was brought to the camp the Jews gave such a shout that the earth shook with the noise.

And when the Phil-is-tines heard it, they said, What does it mean? And they were told that the ark of the Lord had been brought to the camp of Is-ra-el.

And they were in great fear; for they said, God is come to the camp! Woe un-to us, for this is the first time such a thing has been done!

And they said, Let us be strong and fight like men, that we may not be slaves to these Jews!

So they fought once more with the Jews, and slew a host of them, and the rest fled to their tents. And the ark of the Lord fell in-to the hands of the foe, and E-li's two sons were slain.

And the same day a man ran down to Shi-loh, with his clothes rent, and bits of earth on his head to show his grief.

E-li sat on a seat by the way-side, where he kept watch, for he was in great fear lest harm should come to the ark of God. And when the man came through the crowd and told that the ark was lost, all cried out with great fear. And when E-li heard the noise, he said, What is it? What do those sounds mean? For his eyes were dim with age, and he could not see.

And the man ran up to E-li and said, I am he that came out of the fight, and I fled from there to-day.

And E-li said, What word hast thou, my son?

And he said that Is-ra-el had been put to flight with great loss, his two sons were dead, and the ark of God in the hands of the Phil-is-tines.

When the man spoke of the ark of God, E-li fell off the seat by the side of the gate, and broke his neck, and died there. And he had been a high priest and a judge in Is-ra-el for two-score years.

And the ark of God was with the Phil-is-tines for more than half the year, and to each place where it was sent it brought great grief.

So at last they sent for their wise men, and said to them, What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? To what place shall we send it?

And the wise men told them to make a new cart, and tie two cows to it, but to bring the calves home with them. Then they should put the ark on the cart, and let the cows draw it where they would.

If the cows should leave their calves and go down to the land of Is-ra-el, it would be a sign that the Lord was their guide, and that he had sent these ills on the Phil-is-tines for their great sins.

But if the cows did not take the ark, it would show that the Lord did not want it back, and that all these ills they had to bear had come by chance, and were not sent from the Lord.

So the Phil-is-tines did as their wise men said. They took the two cows and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. And they laid the ark on the cart, and let the cows go where they chose.

And the cows took the straight road to the land of Is-ra-el till they came to a place called Beth-she-mesh.

The Jews who dwelt there were out in the wheat fields. And the cows brought the cart to the fields of a man named Josh-u-a, and stood there by a great stone.

Then some of the men of Le-vi came and took the ark and set it on the stone. And they broke up the cart, and burnt the cows as a gift of praise to the Lord.