THE KING'S MIRROR 349 



his flesh, so that clothes were not sufficient to keep him 

 warm; Abishag was a young virgin, the fairest maid in 

 the kingdom and of the best and noblest family; she 

 was brought to King David's bed to lie close to him 

 and warm him and cherish him, in the hope that the 

 king might draw warmth from her soft and blossoming 

 form and from his desire for the fair virgin. David loved 

 her highly with a perfect affection, but as a foster- 

 mother, not as a wife. And for this reason Abishag won 

 such great honor that she came to be regarded as the 

 first queen and she ranked above all the other queens 

 in the eyes of the people; and thus her dignity was sanc- 

 tified by David's embraces. But Adonijah had a purpose 

 in seeking this marriage after David's decease, for he 

 hoped in this way to obtain the kingship by deceitful 

 intrigue; inasmuch as all the people would say, if he 

 married Abishag, that he was most worthy to sit on 

 David's throne who was most worthy to mount his bed 

 and lie in the arms which David had hallowed with his 

 very self. He also presumed, as seemed reasonable, that 

 the brothers and all the kinsmen of Abishag would 

 rather have him as king, if she were his, than a man 

 who was not bound to them in this way. Queen Bath- 

 sheba undertook Adonijah's errand and afterwards went 

 to seek an interview with her son King Solomon. As soon 

 as she had entered the royal hall, the king rose to meet 

 his mother and led her to a seat at his side. Then the 

 queen revealed her errand, speaking thus: "I have a 

 little favor to ask of you, but I will not reveal the request 

 before you promise to grant it." The king replied : " You 7 

 are my mother, and I cannot refuse what you wish to 5 



