But, unrestrained by any thing he said, the two princes went forth to the battle. More completely to insure his safety, the Israelitish monarch disguised himself, and requested the King of Judah to wear his royal robes, which he accordingly did. But the Syrians had received orders to aim only at the enemy's head and leader, and not to attack the common people. This nearly caused the death of the King of Judah, who wore his friend's conspicuous garments, and who was pursued, and almost slain, before the mistake was discovered. But notwithstanding his precaution in wearing a counterfeit dress, the fated king did not escape. An arrow, shot by chance, struck him in a vital part, and he died. When the death of their lord was known, all Israel fled in dismay, and every man sought the shelter of his own home. We may presume that the true prophet was liberated from his confinement, and that the base and impudent impostor was punished as he deserved. "Are not these kings near relatives of 'the good grandmother?'" said Charlie Bolton. "You are right," replied Mary. "They are her father, Ahab, and her father-in-law, Jehoshaphat. Who was the true prophet, and who the false?" "The true prophet was Micaiah, the son of Imlah; and the other--I think his horns should have been made of _brass_, impudent fellow that he was--was called Zedekiah." Other Bible stories were called for, which were found so interesting, and, as the younger children confessed, so _new_ to many of them, that all agreed to begin a more systematic mode of reading the Scriptures--that treasury of historic truth, of varied biography, and of poetic beauty. John Wyndham remarked that the best thing about the romantic incidents in the Bible was, that you could be sure they had all really happened: and the events were told with so much simplicity, and the characters were so natural and life-like, that even a dull fellow like him, who had no more imagination than a door-post, could see it as if it were passing before his eyes. And another thing that struck him was, that all was related without the exclamations, and the comments upon the incidents and the people, which you find in common books: you were treated as if you had both sense and conscience enough to find out the moral intention of the narrative, and that made you think a great deal more than if it was explained out in full. The young people all got their Bibles, and counting the chapters, formed a plan for reading through the whole book once a year. They found that if they read three chapters a day, and occasionally an extra one, they could accomplish it: and resolved to begin in Genesis, the Psalms, and St. Matthew's Gospel, in order to give more variety. When this point was settled, Amy proposed capping Bible verses: she said they could have their books before them to help them a little, if their memories failed. One was to recite a verse, and the next another, beginning with the letter which ended the