Esther retained her humility of spirit after her elevation of circumstances; for she "did the commandment of Mordecai like as when she was brought up with him." She was one of the very few that resist the allurements of splendour--that cherish kindness for their poorer relatives--and remember with gratitude the guardians of their youth. Mordecai, having detected a conspiracy against the king, mentioned it to Esther, who named it to her royal consort; by which means the traitors were soon brought to execution. This circumstance rendered the faithful Jew known to his sovereign. It was attended, indeed, by no immediate recompense; but he felt a satisfaction in having done his duty, incomparably more grateful to an unambitious mind. The danger to which the great king of Persia was exposed by the machinations of his domestics, shows the counterbalancing disadvantages which attach even to the most prosperous condition of human life; the conduct of Mordecai, on this occasion, teaches the allegiance we all owe both to our lawful king, and to the Sovereign of the universe; and the circumstances of the whole transaction, though for the present otherwise unnoticed, being "written in the book of the Chronicles before the king," reminds us of the "Lamb's book of life," that faithful register of the pious services of his people, which, if not in this life, shall be fully requitted in another. Great princes often act capriciously, and advance to the highest stations those whose personal insignificance or baseness must otherwise have rendered them contemptible. Thus Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the Agagite, to the place of his prime minister; who received that homage from the multitude, which persons of rank and eminent station usually secure in all countries, but which is peculiarly exacted under arbitrary governments. The flattering incense of the king's servants was accepted by Haman as a fragrant offering, while his vanity feasted itself most luxuriously upon popular admiration.