"The name of his wife was Abigail; and she was a woman of good
understanding and of a beautiful countenance."--1 SAMUEL 25:3.
The ground in Carmel is white, not with fallen snow, but the wool from
the backs of three thousand sheep, for they are being sheared. And I
hear the grinding of the iron blades together, and the bleating of the
flocks, held between the knees of the shearers, while the clipping
goes on, and the rustic laughter of the workmen. Nabal and his wife
Abigail preside over this homestead. David, the warrior, sends a
delegation to apply for aid at this prosperous time of sheep-shearing,
and Nabal peremptorily declines his request. Revenge is the cry.
Yonder over the rocks come David and four hundred angry men with one
stroke to demolish Nabal and his sheepfolds and vineyards. The
regiment marches in double quick, and the stones of the mountain
loosen and roll down, as the soldiers strike them with their swift
feet, and the cry of the commander is "Forward! Forward!"