Fair to Look Upon

Fair to Look Upon, by Mary
Belle Freeley,

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Fair to Look Upon, by Mary Belle
Freeley, Illustrated by W. L. Dodge
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Fair to Look Upon
Author: Mary Belle Freeley

Release Date: December 31, 2006 [eBook #20236]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAIR TO
LOOK UPON***
E-text prepared by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Diane Monico, and the
Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net/c/). Special thanks to Legacy Books II, Louisville,
KY, for generously providing the vignette on pg. 13.

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which
includes the original illustrations. See 20236-h.htm or 20236-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/0/2/3/20236/20236-h/20236-h.htm) or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/0/2/3/20236/20236-h.zip)

FAIR TO LOOK UPON
by
MARY BELLE FREELEY
With Original Illustrations by W. L. Dodge

[Illustration: "I HUMMED A GAY LITTLE TUNE FOR HIS
BENEFIT."]

Chicago Morrill, Higgins & Co. Copyright: Morrill, Higgins & Co.
1892

CONTENTS.
A RIPPLE OF DISSENSION AND WHAT CAME OF IT, 11
THE STORY OF EVE, 19
THE ABRAHAM-HAGAR AFFAIR, 29
ISAAC'S WIFE, 47
A WOMAN'S MONUMENT, 67
ANOTHER OF THE WOMEN OF OLD, 83

ALL NAUGHTY, BUT FAIR, 97
STORY OF SOME WOMEN AND A BABY, 107
ANOTHER OF "THE MISTAKES OF MOSES," 123
SOME MANAGING WOMEN, 135
ANOTHER GROUP OF THEM, 151
THE FAMOUS WIDOW OF MOAB, 163
HE GAVE IT UP TOO, 175

ILLUSTRATIONS.
I hummed a gay little tune for his benefit, Frontispiece.
He held my milk-white hand in his, 13
Our first parents, 17
While Adam was idly, lazily sunning himself in the garden, 25
The Serpent did tempt me, 28
And the men watched to see her go by, 33
And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house, 37
Abraham entertaining the three angels, 41
And he sent Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness, 43
And Abraham went down to Egypt, 44
Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher, 55

I will go, 58
Two little boys played marbles, 59
Esau cheated out of his blessing, 62
And Rebekah was--a woman, 64
And there came two angels to Sodom, 69
And Lot went out and tried to pacify them, 71
Lot's wife looked back, 75
Look not behind thee, 80
Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted up his voice and wept, 87
And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, 89
She hoped he would excuse her for not arising, 94
Put up his hands in welcome and said "Ah, goo! ah goo!" 115
And every kiss strengthened her determination, 119
They clasped hands lingeringly and said a soft good night, 129
Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, 132
What would'st thou? 139
She let them down from the window of her house, 143
She smote the nail into his temples, 145
Cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, 147
And she betrayed him, 149

Turned her pretty head aside and blushed, 170
And Boaz and Ruth were married, 173
And I said-- 180

A RIPPLE OF DISSENSION AND WHAT CAME OF IT.

[Illustration: (He held my milk-white hand in his.)]
A RIPPLE OF DISSENSION AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
I was about to be married. My numerous charms and attractions had
won the affections of a young man who was equally charming with
myself.
We were sitting on a luxurious divan and he held my milk-white hand
in his. I do not make that statement as a startling announcement of an
unusual occurrence, but simply as a matter of fact.
We had been conversing about the culinary and domestic arrangements
of our future home when matrimony had made us "one flesh;" or, to use
English, we had been wondering what under the canopy a good
cooking stove would cost, when he asked suddenly and irrelevantly,
"And you will love me, always?"
"Of course," said I, a little impatiently; for when one is deep in a
mathematical problem such a question is a little annoying.
"And you will honor me always?" he next inquired.
"As long as you deserve to be honored," I replied, with the habitual
good sense of my age and sex, mentally wondering if granite-ware
stewpans went with a cooking stove.

"And you will obey me?" he queried next, in a tone that plainly
indicated that I'd have to. I left the mathematical problem for future
solution and said, hesitatingly:
"Yes--if--I--can."
"If you can?" he said, in sternly questioning tones; and a cloud no
bigger than a man's hand appeared upon the heaven of our love.
"I don't believe