In a short time Job was well once more. His pains all left him; and then his friends and all his folks came to see him and they had a good feast. And each man brought him a rich gift, and the Lord blest him more than he had done be-fore, and gave him twice as much wealth. He had great herds of sheep, and cam-els, and ox-en and ass-es, and large fields for them to roam in, and a host of men to care for them. So that he was a great man once more. And God gave him ten chil-dren: sev-en boys and three girls. And when these girls grew up, there were no maids in all the land so fair as they in face and form. And Job had great peace of mind, and dwelt at his ease for long, long years; and when he died he was an old, old man. CHAPTER XII. SAMUEL, THE CHILD OF GOD. 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. [Illustration: SAM-U-EL.] 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. [Illustration: HAN-NAH PRE-SENTS SAM-U-EL TO E-LI.] 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.