M ANCI1 ESTER: 
 
 J. AIXS WORTH, S7 & 93, riCCADlLLY.
 
 BIBLE 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY; 
 
 CONTAINING A 
 
 ;>KSCRIPTIOX OF QUADRUPEDS, BIRDS,' TREES, PLANTS, INSECTS, ETC.. 
 
 MENTIONED IS 
 
 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 
 
 BY THE REV. F 0. MORRIS, B. A. 
 
 MoMHKK OP THE ASHMOI.EAN SOCIETY. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY COLOURED ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 MANCHESTER: 
 
 J. AINSWORTH, 87 AND 93, PICCADILLY. 
 18-56.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Adder. 
 
 71 
 
 Cormorant . 
 
 . 223 
 
 Algum Tree . 
 
 . 19;-) 
 
 Corn Cockle . 
 
 . 199 
 
 Almond. 
 
 . 87 
 
 Cotton 
 
 . 129 
 
 
 163 
 
 
 233 
 
 Anise . 
 
 58 
 
 Crocodile 
 
 . 143 
 
 Ape. 
 
 . 10f> 
 
 Cucumber. 
 
 . 299 
 
 Apple . 
 
 . 191 
 
 Cuckoo. 
 
 . Ill 
 
 Ash Tree 
 
 . 109 
 
 Cummin . 
 
 . 311 
 
 Asp 
 
 2_:.-> 
 
 Cypress . . 
 
 147 
 
 Ass, White . 
 
 . 309 
 
 Deer, Fallow . 
 
 . 229 
 
 Ass, Wild . 
 
 97 
 
 Dog, Syrian 
 
 . 115 
 
 Badger . 
 
 . 221 
 
 Dromedary 
 
 . 197 
 
 Balm . 
 
 . 279 
 
 Eagle 
 
 13 
 
 
 21/5 
 
 Ea^le Sea 
 
 . 281 
 
 Bat . 
 
 . 18o 
 
 Ebony. 
 
 . 207 
 
 
 . 259 
 
 Elephant. 
 
 , 15 
 
 Bean. . 
 
 . 283 
 
 Elm Tree . 
 
 . 235 
 
 Bear 
 
 . 277 
 
 Fig ... 
 
 . 239 
 
 Beetles. 
 
 . 257 
 
 Fishes. 
 
 . 241 
 
 Bird's Nest . 
 
 . 261 
 
 Fkx. . 
 
 . 67 
 
 Bittern. 
 
 . 109 
 
 Flies . 
 
 . 319 
 
 Boar, Wild . 
 
 . 45 
 
 Fox ... 
 
 . 253 
 
 Box Tree . 
 
 . 227 
 
 Frog . 
 
 93 
 
 Bramble . 
 
 . 125 
 
 Garlic 
 
 . 287 
 
 Brier . 
 
 . 121 
 
 Giraffe 
 
 19 
 
 Buffelo . 
 
 . 209 
 
 Goat, Syrian . 
 
 . 301 
 
 < 'ainphire . 
 
 . 231 
 
 Gourd. 
 
 . 243 
 
 Camel 
 
 . 65 
 
 Grapes . 
 
 . 271 
 
 Cane . 
 
 54 
 
 Grasshopper. 
 
 . 211 
 
 Caper 
 
 . 91 
 
 Greyhound, Syri.-ii) . 
 
 . 173 
 
 Cassia . 
 
 . 167 
 
 Hare, Syrian 
 
 . 157 
 
 Caterpillar 
 
 . 154 
 
 Hawk . 
 
 . 145 
 
 Cat, Wild . 
 
 . 181 
 
 Hawk, Night 
 
 . 161 
 
 Cedar 
 
 . 31 
 
 Hazel . 
 
 . 247 
 
 Chameleon . 
 
 . 153 
 
 Hen and Chickens. 
 
 . 213 
 
 Chamois . 
 
 . 289 
 
 Heron 
 
 . 35 
 
 Chesnut 
 
 83 
 
 Hippopotamus 
 
 39 
 
 CSnnamon. 
 
 . 295 
 
 Hoopoe . 
 
 . 55 
 
 Cock . 
 
 85 
 
 Horse . 
 
 33 
 
 Coney . . . 
 
 . 51 
 
 Horseleech 
 
 . 285 
 
 2000214
 
 uu.N TESTS. 
 
 llyuuija . . 
 
 . 69 , 
 
 Pomegranate . . 
 
 . 103 
 
 Hyssop . 
 
 . 53 
 
 Porcupine . 
 
 . 273 
 
 Ibex 
 
 89 
 
 Quail 
 
 . 203 
 
 Ibis . -. . 
 
 . 139 
 
 Quince 
 
 . 315 
 
 Ivy . - . 
 
 . 251 
 
 Ram, Four-horned . 
 
 . 131 
 
 Jackal 
 
 . 23 
 
 Raven 
 
 41 
 
 Jerboa 
 
 . 313 
 
 Reed . 
 
 . 137 
 
 Kite 
 
 . 09 
 
 Rhinoceros . 
 
 27 
 
 Ladanum 
 
 77 
 
 Roe 
 
 . 75 
 
 Leopard . 
 
 . 7 
 
 Rose, Asiatic 
 
 37 
 
 Lily . 
 
 43 
 
 Rue. 
 
 . 267 
 
 Lion. 
 
 . 1 
 
 Saffron 
 
 . 255 
 
 Lioness 
 
 3 
 
 Satyr 
 
 . 29S 
 
 Lizard 
 
 . 165 
 
 Scorpion 
 
 . 101 
 
 Locust. 
 
 . 269 
 
 Serpent . 
 
 . 135 
 
 Locust Treo . 
 
 . 159 
 
 Sheep, Fat-tailed 
 
 . 189 
 
 Mallow 
 
 . 155 
 
 Snail 
 
 . 201 
 
 Mandrake. 
 
 . 187 
 
 Soap . 
 
 . 151 
 
 Manna. 
 
 . 133 
 
 Sparrow . 
 
 . 47 
 
 Mint 
 
 . 307 
 
 Spider 
 
 . 102 
 
 Mole . 
 
 . 305 
 
 Spikenard 
 
 . 57 
 
 Moths . 
 
 . 119 
 
 Storax. 
 
 . 141 
 
 Mulberry . . 
 
 . 263 
 
 Stork . 
 
 . 25 
 
 Mule . 
 
 245 
 
 Swallow 
 
 . 107 
 
 Mustard 
 
 99 
 
 
 193 
 
 Myrrh . 
 
 . 171 
 
 Swine 
 
 . 237 
 
 Myrtle 
 
 08 
 
 Sycamore 
 
 . 03 
 
 Oak 
 
 . 73 
 
 Tares . 
 
 . 117 
 
 Olive . 
 
 . 175 
 
 Teil Tree. 
 
 . 275 
 
 Osprey . 
 
 . 21 
 
 Thistle 
 
 . 179 
 
 Ostrich 
 
 9 
 
 Thorn . 
 
 . 303 
 
 Owl of the Desert . 
 
 . 317 
 
 Tiger . 
 
 . 205 
 
 Owl, Screech 
 
 29 
 
 Turtle-Dove . 
 
 . 01 
 
 Ox. ... 
 
 . 217 
 
 Vine . 
 
 . 219 
 
 Oyster, Pearl 
 Palm Tree . 
 
 . 265 
 . 291 
 
 Vulture, Egyptian . 
 Vulture, Griffon 
 
 5 
 . 249 
 
 Partridge 
 
 . 127 
 
 Weasel . 
 
 . 149 
 
 Peacock . 
 
 . 17 
 
 Whale. 
 
 . 123 
 
 Pelican 
 
 79 
 
 Wheat . 
 
 . 183 
 
 Pigeon, Carrier 
 
 . L'!7 
 
 A\ illow 
 
 95 
 
 Pigeon, Rock 
 Pine Tree 
 
 . 177 
 . 49 
 
 Wolf, Syrian . 
 Wormwood . 
 
 . 81 
 
 88 
 
 Plane Tree. 
 
 118 
 
 /cbra 
 
 11
 
 TO 
 
 HIS GRACE 
 
 THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, 
 
 PRIMATE OF ENGLAND AND METROPOLITAN, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 
 is 
 
 BY HIS GRACE S PERMISSION 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY HIS OBLIGED SERVANT 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 BIBLE NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE LION. 
 
 "The lion hath roared, who will not fear?" AMOS, iii. 8. 
 
 FREQUENT allusion is made to the lion in the 
 Scriptures. The prophet Nahum speaks of the dwelling 
 of the lions, chap. ii. 11, 12. Solomon pronounces the 
 lion the strongest among beasts. 
 
 The lion has been called the 'king of the forest/ 
 because of its strength, activity, and boldness. The 
 length of the largest of these animals is about eight 
 feet; the upper part of the head, chin, neck, and 
 shoulders, are covered with long shaggy hairs, like a 
 mane; and from which, its appearance derives much of 
 its majesty. It can carry away an ox, after it has killed 
 it; by one stroke of its paw it will kill a horse; and by 
 a sweep of its tail, throw a strong man to the ground. 
 
 The roaring of the lion is very loud and fearful; 
 but when it is irritated its cry is shorter, repeated 
 more suddenly, and is still more terrible than its 
 roaring; at such tunes it stamps with its feet, beats its 
 sides with its tail, shakes the hair of its head and 
 mane, and shews its teeth. The aspect of the lion is 
 then impressively grand.
 
 2 THE LION. 
 
 The lion is an inhabitant of most parts of Africa, 
 and some, of the hot parts of Asia, such as India and 
 Persia; a few are still met with in the deserts between 
 Bagdad and Bassorah, on the banks of the River 
 Euphrates. 
 
 The lurking-place of the lion is generally chosen near 
 a spring, or by the side of a river, where it has an 
 opportunity of surprising such animals as resort to the 
 water to quench their thirst. When hungry, it will attack 
 any animal that presents itself; for this purpose it 
 crouches on its belly in some thicket till its prey 
 approaches, and then, with a prodigious leap, seizes it 
 at the first bound. Should it miss its object, it desists 
 from further pursuit, and goes back step by step, and 
 again watches another opportunity. 
 
 It is fond of attacking the horse; and will sometimes 
 follow travellers very great distances, in order to take 
 advantage of a favourable opportunity to seize its prey. 
 Dr. Spannan relates an anecdote of a lion: "Lucas Van 
 Vunsen, a Vee boor, was riding across the open plains 
 near the little Fish River in South Africa, one morning 
 about day-break, and observing a lion at a distance, he 
 endeavoured to avoid it by making a wide circuit. 
 Lucas soon perceived that it was not disposed to let 
 him pass without further parlance, and that it was rapidly 
 approaching to the encounter; and being without his 
 rifle, and otherwise little inclined to a closer acquaintance, 
 he turned off at right angles, and galloped for life. 
 But it was too late; the horse was fagged, and bore 
 a heavy man on its back. The lion was fresh and 
 furious with hunger, and came down upon him like a 
 thunderbolt. In a few seconds it overtook him, and 
 springing up behind Lucas, brought horse and man in
 
 THE LION. 3 
 
 an instant to the ground. Luckily the poor boor was 
 unhurt ; and the lion was too eager in worrying the horse 
 to pay any immediate attention to the rider. Hardly 
 knowing how he escaped, he contrived to scramble out 
 of the fray, and reached the nearest house in safety." 
 
 The LIONESS is strikingly distinguished at the first 
 glance from her royal mate by the absence of the flowing 
 honours of the mane, which invest him with an air of 
 such superior dignity and gravity; and is also remarkable 
 for her smaller size, her more slender and delicate make, 
 and the superior agility of her movements. Her temper 
 is also rather milder, till she becomes a mother, when 
 she exhibits the beautiful but appalling picture of maternal 
 tenderness combined with savage ferocity, each in their 
 utmost intensity. At such a time, wo to the wretched 
 intruder who may unwarily approach her sanctuary. 
 
 A lion and a lioness were sent as a present from the 
 Bey of Constantine, to the King of France, and were 
 placed in the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris. Their keeper 
 used to walk into their cage whenever he pleased; speak 
 to the male or female alternately with great kindness; 
 flatter them by gentle arts, pat and kiss them. At his 
 command they would separate, and each retire to the 
 distinct place allotted to it, or they would lie down on 
 their backs, stretch out their paws, and allow him to 
 shew their immense claws to the bystanders; or upon 
 his giving them a sign, they would instantly open thei* 
 huge jaws and display their formidable teeth. 
 
 The mode of hunting the lion has been well described 
 by Mr. Pringle. On one occasion he relates an attempt 
 to beard the lion, when, with no other warning than a 
 furious growl, forth he bolted from the bush. Mr. Pringle's 
 defenceless companions, with empty guns, were tumbling
 
 4 THE LION. 
 
 over each other to escape the clutch of the rampant 
 savage, when in a twinkling he was upon them, and with 
 one stroke of his paw, dashed the nearest to the ground. 
 "The scene was terrific! There stood the lion with his 
 foot upon his prostrate foe, looking around in conscious 
 power and pride upon his numerous assailants, and with 
 a look the most noble and imposing that can be con- 
 ceived. It was the most magnificent thing I ever 
 witnessed. The danger of our friends, however, rendered 
 it at the moment too terrible to enjoy either the grand 
 or the ludicrous part of the picture. We expected every 
 instant to see one or more of them torn in pieces ; nor, 
 durst we fire for their assistance. One was lying under 
 the lion's paw, and the others scrambling towards us in 
 such a way as to intercept our aim at him. All this 
 passed far more rapidly than I have described it. But 
 luckily the lion, after looking at us for a few seconds, 
 turned calmly away, and driving the snarling dogs like 
 rats from among his heels, leaped over the adjoining 
 thicket like a cat over a footstool, and retreated towards 
 the mountains. Our rescued comrade sustained no other 
 injury than a slight scratch on the back, and a severe 
 bruise in the ribs, from the force with which the animal 
 dashed him to the ground. The party now renewed 
 the chase with Hottentots and hounds in full cry, and 
 the poor lion was at length killed in a glen. He proved 
 to be a full-grown lion, and measured nearly twelve feet 
 from the nose to the tip of the tail. His fore leg below 
 the knee, was so thick that I could not span it with 
 both hands; and his neck, breast, and limbs appeared 
 when the skin was taken off, a complete mass ol 
 sinews."
 
 1
 
 THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 
 
 "There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's 
 eye hath not seen." JOB, xxviii. 7. 
 
 THIS vulture was held by the ancient Egyptians in 
 great veneration, was numbered among the sacred animals 
 of Egypt, and is often accurately represented on their 
 monuments. Hence the appellation of Pharaoh's Chicken. 
 The appearance and habits of these birds are extremely 
 filthy and disgusting, yet they are of almost indispensable 
 utility to mankind in those countries where they are 
 found. They may be considered the scavengers of hot 
 climates. In conjunction with the pariah dog and other 
 animals of similar appetite and propensities, they clear 
 away, by devouring them, all the remains of animal 
 substances which otherwise would be left to putrefy, and 
 would infect the air with the most noxious effluvia. In 
 Cairo and other towns in Egypt, it is contrary to law 
 to disturb or kill these birds; and from being never 
 molested, they become confident and familiar; they may 
 be seen quietly perched on the tops of the houses, in 
 the most noisy and populous parts of the town, secure 
 amidst crowds, who regard them with respect, and even 
 pleasure. It was no doubt from a sense of the utility 
 of this bird, in freeing the crowded cities of Thebes and 
 Memphis, in past days, of putrid offal, that the priests 
 held it sacred, like the ibis, and taught the people to 
 hold it in reverence. 
 
 From the nature of its food, the Egyptian vulture, 
 while living, emits a most offensive scent; which is
 
 6 THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 
 
 communicated to the hands and dress of any person who 
 may come in contact with it. When at rest, it sits 
 with its long wings drooping heavily; and its whole 
 appearance gives the idea of sluggishness and indolence. 
 When gorged with food, it is, notwithstanding the length 
 and power of its wings, scarcely able to elevate itself 
 into the air; and having flown with difficulty to its 
 accustomed perching place, it rests almost motionless 
 till its meal be digested. 
 
 Bruce, the African traveller, who was well acquainted 
 with this bird, and who noticed its abundance in Egypt, 
 observes, that it is there, as also in Barbary, called 
 rachama, a name referring to the mixture of black and 
 white, of its plumage. The name rahama, from which 
 the word rachama is derived, is applied to a peculiar 
 race of sheep, distinguished by their piebald dress, 
 common in certain parts of Arabia. In the opinion of 
 Bruce, however, the term rachama is derived from the 
 Hebrew rechem, a word denoting the attachment of the 
 female to her young; and in proof he instances, that 
 the rachama, or vulture, in ancient times, was sacred to 
 Isis, and regarded as an emblem of parental affection. 
 It is stated indeed, that this species displays the most 
 lively solicitude for its progeny. The young continue 
 during four months, under the immediate care of the 
 parent-birds, by whom they are fed and protected. The 
 rechem was among the unclean birds enumerated by Moses. 
 
 The present bird is one of the most widely distributed 
 of the vulture family; it is now as abundant in Egypt, 
 as it was in ancient days, and it is common in Spain, 
 and the southern parts of Europe. In size it rather 
 exceeds the raven. It builds its nest on rocks, and lays 
 three or four eggs.
 
 THE LEOPARD. 
 
 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?* 1 
 JEE. xiii. 23. 
 
 THE leopard, under the name of nimr, which it still 
 retains, is frequently mentioned in Scripture, which 
 shews that it was in ancient times not uncommon in the 
 country from which it has not yet disappeared. From 
 its fierceness, it is often found with the lion; and, from 
 the same character, emphasis is given to the description 
 of the blessedness of a coming time by the declaration, 
 that then 'the leopard shall lie down with the kid.' 
 
 There are allusions to its lying in wait near towns 
 and beside the public ways, to surprise unwary trav- 
 ellers; as well as to the acuteness of the animal, and 
 to its spots. Solomon speaks of the 'mountains of the 
 leopard;' and in the Scriptural topography of Palestine 
 several names occur, which, being formed from the' name 
 of leopard (nimr,} appear to intimate that the localities 
 indicated were the peculiar haunts of these animals. It 
 is even not unlikely that 'the mighty hunter,' Nimrod, 
 derived his name from this animal. 
 
 The leopard is an inhabitant of the thick and gloomy 
 parts of the forests of Africa and Southern Asia. It 
 has a fierce and cruel look, a restless eye, a rough tongue, 
 strong and pointed teeth, a cry similar to an enraged 
 dog, and is very nimble in its movements. It is dis- 
 tinguished from all other species by its gracefulness and 
 elegance, the vividness of its colouring, and beauty of 
 its markings. Antelopes, monkeys, and the smaller
 
 8 THE LEOPARD. 
 
 animals constitute its usual prey, upon which it darts 
 forth from its secret stand, and which it pertinaciously 
 pursues even upon the trees where they may have taken 
 refuge, climbing after them with surprising agility. When 
 famished, it will attack, but by stealth, the human race. 
 It may be tamed, but can never be entirely trusted. A 
 female leopard in the Tower, 1829, allowed herself to 
 be patted by her keepers, but discovered a strange pro- 
 pensity for snatching umbrellas, parasols, hats, muffs, 
 and other articles of dress, and tearing them in pieces, 
 to the great astonishment of the visitors. 
 
 One kind of leopard is trained for hunting antelopes 
 and other animals; great caution, however, is necessary. 
 It is conveyed to the field in a carriage, shut up in a 
 cage, the door of which is thrown open when the hunters 
 get in sight of the game. Springing from its cage at 
 the prey, at three or four bounds it seizes it. But should 
 it miss its aim, it becomes furious, and sometimes attacks 
 its master, who, to prevent this hazard, carries with him 
 pieces of flesh, or a live kid, which he throws to it, to 
 pacify its rage. 
 
 Some years ago, a male and female, with three young 
 ones, broke into a sheep-fold at the Cape of Good Hope. 
 They killed nearly a hundred sheep, and drank their 
 blood. After which the two parent leopards tore a sheep 
 into pieces, and gave a portion to each of the young 
 ones: they then took each a whole sheep, and were 
 going off with their booty; when, the owners of the 
 sheep having discovered them, they were set upon, and 
 killed.
 
 THE O S T R 1 <" H .
 
 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 "Gavest tliou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and 
 feathers unto the ostrich? JOB, xxxis. 13. 
 
 THE ostrich is in Scripture made the symbol of cruelty 
 and forgetfulness, on account of its leaving its eggs in 
 the sand to be hatched by the heat of the sun, and being 
 neglectful of them, and of her young; at night, however, 
 she sits on them, and even in the day-time keeps near 
 to them. It is however certain, that she is not so 
 careful of them as other birds are of theirs she forsakes 
 them, and even her young ones, on hearing the least 
 noise; and the Arabs often find the poor little young 
 ostriches straggling about, and moaning after their 
 mothers. It must be a cruel mother who forsakes her 
 children; but there are such in the world, and there is 
 an excellent and noble institution the foundling hospital, 
 in London, where children who have been left and 
 forsaken by their unnatural parents, are taken care of, 
 and well brought up. A good motto for such a place, 
 would be the text in the Bible "when my father and 
 my mother forsake me, then the Lord taketh me up;" 
 for it is God who puts it into the hearts of persons to 
 be kind and charitable, and to do good every good 
 thought and good action, comes only from His Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 The ostrich inhabits the great deserts of Africa and 
 Arabia, and is so exceedingly swift, that it can only be 
 overtaken by a man on horseback; and could not even 
 then, though the Arabian horses are famous for their
 
 10 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 speed, were it to run in a straight line; but it keeps 
 going round and round, which enables its pursuers to 
 overtake and shoot it. 
 
 The ostrich cannot fly, its wings being so small, but 
 it uses them to assist it in running. The feathers of 
 the wings are valuable, been much esteemed for head 
 dresses and other purposes, and are often dyed different 
 colours. It is seven or eight feet high, very strong, and 
 can easily carry one or two men on its back; and one 
 of them has been known to kill a man with a single blow. 
 It often kills jackals and tiger-cats which have come 
 to attack its young by night. Its eggs are very good 
 to eat, but if it finds that they have been disturbed, or 
 any of them taken, it breaks the rest; so that the Arabs 
 take them away with the greatest care with a long stick, 
 and cover over their own footsteps in the sand; and if 
 they succeed in not being observed, the hen ostrich 
 continues to lay eggs for some time. 
 
 It is said that when the ostrich is overtaken, it buries 
 its head in the sand, as if thinking that because it 
 cannot see its enemies, they cannot see it; but it is 
 probable that this is caused by the force and speed with 
 which it falls to the ground. This may, however, remind 
 us that we cannot escape the all-seeing eye of God. 
 The mountains if they fell on us, or the hills if they 
 covered us, could not shut us out from Him. "Can 
 any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see 
 him saith the Lord."
 
 Jl 
 
 THE ZEBRA. 
 
 *TJie wilderness and the barren land is his dwelling; he scorneth 
 the multitude of the city." JOB, xxxix. 6, 7. 
 
 THERE are four different species of wild ass named 
 in the Scripture, of which it has been considered that 
 the zebra may be one. The description given of this 
 animal by travellers and naturalists, agrees with what is 
 there said of the wild ass, so called by the translators 
 of the sacred volume: the habits of both are alike. 
 
 The zebra is rather larger than the tame ass, at least, 
 than the size it attains to in this country ; for in Spain 
 and elsewhere, it grows very much larger and finer than it 
 does here, being doubtless far better treated than it is 
 oftentimes with us: yet there is no animal which ought 
 to meet with more compassion, for there is none more 
 patient, and, to treat it ill, is therefore, not only cruel, 
 but cowardly; as indeed, it is, to ill use any dumb 
 animal, which can never speak to us, to tell us what 
 it suffers, and often cannot resist. 
 
 The zebra is a strikingly elegant animal; the ground 
 colour is milk or cream white, beautifully striped with 
 black or dark brown all over its body, head, and legs, 
 even down to the hoofs, in the most symmetrical order. 
 The ears are long, the neck short and thick, the mane 
 short, and the tail has but little hair. It has a kind of 
 de\vlap under the throat. It inhabits the mountainous 
 parts of southern and south central Africa, and is called 
 the Wild Paarde, by the Cape colonists. They live in 
 troops, away from the haunts of man, and are wild,
 
 12 THE ZEBRA. 
 
 savage, and untractable, and very difficult to be obtained, 
 both from their swiftness, and the nature of the parts 
 that they inhabit. They also seem scarcely satisfied 
 with these natural advantages for their security, but, as 
 is the case with many other kinds of animals and birds, 
 appoint one of their number to keep watch as a sentinel, 
 posted on some good point for observation, from which 
 he is able to see any approaching danger a long way 
 off; and giving the herd notice of it, they all provide 
 for their safety, by a hasty retreat, and either gallop 
 off entirely out of sight, or resort to some still more 
 secure and wild place, where it would be more difficult 
 to pursue, or at all events, to overtake them. 
 
 I have said that the zebra is extremely wild and 
 untractable, it is however possible, though very hard, 
 to tame them. Ducrow, the celebrated equestrian, had 
 two or three which he had broken in, and which were 
 said to have been so thoroughly tamed, as to be as 
 quiet as the common ass. If zebras could be made 
 common, and be used as horses, they would certainly 
 look exceedingly handsome in carriages. The Hotten- 
 tots use the flesh of the zebra for food, but they are 
 a people who are not particularly nice in their tastes; 
 and as the proverb says, that 'fine feathers do not make 
 a fine bird,' so neither does a fine skin, even such a 
 one as the zebra's, make an animal good to eat. 
 Outside accomplishments are never to be valued in 
 comparison with inward worth 'handsome is that 
 handsome does.'
 
 THE EAGLE.
 
 13 
 
 THE EAGLE. 
 
 u As an eagle stirreth up Tier nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeih 
 
 abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings" 
 
 DEUTEBXXN'OMY, xxxii. 11. 
 
 THE eagle is frequently mentioned in Holy Scripture, 
 and is generally alluded to in regard to its noble qualities 
 which have gained for it the appellation of 'Royal.' It 
 is a very powerful and spirited bird, and in many of 
 the mountainous parts of the world, where it is 
 common, it commits great havoc among the flocks of 
 sheep and lambs, and other moderate sized animals, such 
 as fawns and roebucks. Its nest, which is placed on 
 some high and inaccessible place, is called an eyrie, 
 and in one of these in Germany, the remains of three 
 hundred ducks and forty hares were found; these it could 
 carry away in the air, the larger animals it must have 
 left behind, after feasting on them at the time and place 
 where they were killed. It has been known to carry 
 away children, and probably has often done so in instances 
 that have never been recorded possibly not ever known 
 of. One little child a year old, was carried away by 
 an eagle in the Orkney islands, to its nest four miles off, 
 but the mother being aware of her loss, followed it all 
 the way, and by God's mercy, succeeded in recovering 
 her infant how thankful she must have felt! Another 
 child, in the Isle of Skye, having been left by its mother 
 in a field, was carried off by an eagle, but it alighted 
 on the ground with it on its way to its nest, and some 
 labourers who happened to be near, hearing the infant
 
 14 THE EAGLE. 
 
 cry, ran to rescue it, and succeeded in saving it 
 unhurt. 
 
 The eagle is very careful of its own young, and 
 will attack with the greatest courage, any one who 
 attempts to injure them. This is one of those particulars 
 for which it is honoured in the Bible, by God's com- 
 paring to it, his care for his people; and in Exodus, 
 xix. 4, we find the deliverance of the Israelites from 
 Egypt, described as if they had been borne on eagle's 
 wings, that is, securely out of the reach of their 
 enemies. 
 
 The golden eagle, so called from the golden red 
 feathers about the head and back of the neck, is in 
 length about three feet; and its breadth from the 
 tip of one wing to the other, when stretched out, 
 eight feet. The female is rather larger than this. The 
 age to which the eagle reaches is certainly very great: 
 one lived at Vienna, even in captivity, for a hundred 
 and four years. 
 
 Sir Humphrey Davy saw two eagles on Ben Nevis, a 
 high mountain in Scotland, teaching their young ones 
 to fly; at first, they took some short flights round the 
 top of the mountain, and then the young ones did the 
 same; they then took a larger, and then a larger circle 
 still each time rising towards the sun; and then the 
 young ones followed their example, and did the same; 
 until they flew well and strongly up info the air, and 
 became 'by degrees beautifully less,' until he could see 
 them no longer. Children who are teachable, will always 
 find that it is for their advantage to follow their parents' 
 instructions.
 
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 THE ELEPHANT.
 
 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 "Moreover, the Icing made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it 
 with pure gold." 1 KLNGS, x. 18. 
 
 THE elephant's name is not found in the sacred 
 writings; but, as ivory, which is formed from its tusks, 
 is frequently mentioned in the book of Kings, this animal 
 must have been well known in the days of Solomon. 
 
 The elephant deserves to take the first place among 
 animals, not only for his vast size, but, more especially, 
 for his wonderful sagacity, which perhaps more nearly 
 approaches the reasoning powers of man, than does that 
 of any other animal. His temper, too, is very fine, 
 and when tamed, he becomes exceedingly useful. The 
 native haunts of the elephant are in the vast forests of 
 India and Africa, but the species which respectively 
 inhabit each of those countries are different. They 
 prefer those forests which border on rivers, as one of 
 their chief enjoyments is bathing. When thus amusing 
 themselves, they make a loud noise, something like the 
 roaring of a bull, or the blowing of a whale. The shape 
 of the elephant is uncouth, but his great size gives him 
 a grand and majestic appearance. His most remarkable 
 feature is the proboscis, which is an elongation of the 
 upper lip and nose, and which he uses to procure food, 
 and also to drink with; by means of it, he collects the 
 herbage on which he feeds, and takes up the water that he 
 requires to quench his thirst, and which he then puts 
 from it into his mouth; it is a wonderful organ, and is 
 used also as occasion requires, both for the exertion of
 
 16 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 this animal's great strength, and for taking up even the 
 most minute objects. 
 
 Nothing can be conceived more grand than to see a 
 herd of wild elephants at large in the recesses of their 
 native forests. If we could behold them without being 
 seen, we should perceive them rooting up trees, to get 
 at the topmost boughs, and using their ponderous tusks 
 as levers for this purpose, plucking off the smaller 
 branches with their trunks, bathing in the wide secluded 
 river, fanning themselves with large boughs to drive 
 away the flies, or casing themselves in mud, to keep 
 off stinging insects, or the heat of the sun, which is 
 extremely great in those torrid climates. 
 
 Captain Marry at relates an interesting anecdote of an 
 elephant he saw in India. It was engaged in fanning 
 itself with a large branch, to drive off the mosquitoes, 
 which are insects that sting very severely. While thus 
 employed, its keeper brought a little Indian baby, and 
 laid it down before the elephant, and said to it, 'watch 
 it.' The good tempered animal immediately turned all 
 its attention to the child, and drove away the insects 
 from it, whilst entirely neglecting itself, and continued 
 to do so for more than two hours, until the keeper 
 returned, and took the child away again, perfect care 
 having been taken of it all the time. I am afraid that 
 some nurses, and even some mothers, do not take so 
 good care of their children; and that many Christians 
 do not shew so much self-denial. 
 
 A volume might easily be written in description and 
 praise of the noble elephant.
 
 
 PEACOCK.
 
 THE PEACOCK. 
 
 "Oavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?" JOB, YTTI'T. 13. 
 
 THE peacock, or peafowl, has always been much 
 admired for its beauty by those nations to whom it has 
 been known. It is very common in a domestic state 
 in England, but is not a native of these islands. It 
 is found wild in India and Persia, and is often seen in 
 very large flocks: on one occasion, as many as about 
 fifteen hundred were seen at the same time, hi one 
 wood it must have been a splendid sight to see such 
 a number of these dazzling and magnificent birds 
 together, with the sun shining on them. Perhaps if you 
 were asked whether the peacock had a fine tail or not, 
 you would say that it had, but this would not be correct ; 
 its tail is short, and the long feathers which are over 
 it, and look like a tail, grow in reality, out of its 
 back. The peacock has the power of raising up these 
 feathers straight over its back, something hi the shape of 
 a large fan. It has been imagined that the tail of this 
 bird, so to call it, has been given to it not only for 
 ornament, but also to frighten off its enemies, by suddenly 
 raising it up in the manner just spoken of; and when 
 the hissing voice from the head, which seems to be in 
 the centre of it, and looks something like that of a 
 serpent is heard at the same time, it may easily be 
 imagined likely to frighten any moderate assailant. The 
 peacock is, however, itself a timid bird. Its flesh was 
 formerly reckoned a delicacy, and it is sometimes still 
 served up at grand entertainments, but a common fowl 
 
 c
 
 18 THE PEACOCK. 
 
 is much better eating. The peahen is a smaller bird, 
 and is as plain in its plumage as the peacock is hand- 
 some. He certainly does present a magnificent appearance, 
 either with his tail raised, or trailing after him, walking 
 about with his crested head erect. He is not however, 
 altogether perfect: his legs are ugly, and his voice is 
 harsh. 
 
 He is also quarrelsome, and looks as if he was proud. 
 The peacock, like other birds of the game and poultry 
 kind, lives chiefly on corn, and is said to prefer barley. 
 It will however, as they also do, eat worms and insects 
 of various kinds, and, as is but too well known, is very 
 destructive in gardens, from its habit of picking off the 
 young buds of shrubs and flowers, seemingly for no 
 reason, as it does not eat them, but drops them on the 
 ground. The peahen lays five or six eggs, which she 
 hatches in from twenty-seven to thirty days. The young 
 bird comes to its full plumage in the third year, and, 
 if it meets with no accident, may attain the age of 
 twenty-five or thirty years. 
 
 Some learned men have imagined that parrots are 
 intended by the Hebrew word, which we have translated 
 peacocks; and others, again, have thought that the long- 
 tailed monkey is meant. It seems, however, on the 
 whole, to be considered most probable that the peacock 
 is the bird spoken of as having been brought to 
 Solomon, together with other rarities, by his sailors. 
 
 The peacock reads a useful lesson to all against pride, 
 on account of handsome dress or appearance. The 
 Italians have a proverb to express his bad character, and 
 outside show. "The ornament of a meek and quiet 
 spirit, is in the sight of God of great price."
 
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 19 
 
 THE GIRAFFE, OR CAMELOPARD. 
 
 "The chamois." DETTTESOXOMT, xiv. 5. 
 
 THE animal which our translators of the Bible have 
 called the chamois, has been by some supposed to be 
 the giraffe, as it certainly cannot be the former, which 
 is not found so far south as Syria ; but it is still more 
 probable that some other species of the goat kind may 
 be intended, as the giraffe is so rare in that part 
 that we can hardly imagine it to have been forbidden 
 as an article of food. The word in the Hebrew language, 
 means, to crop branches, which is exactly in accordance 
 with the character of the giraffe, for which its remarkably 
 long neck gives it a special facility. 
 
 The giraffe, which is also called the camelopard, is 
 described by Denham, in his account of his travels in 
 Africa, as not being a swift animal, but as having an 
 awkward appearance in running, from being so low 
 behind. But as we must not expect perfection in any 
 human being, still less so must we look for it in any 
 animal. By others, however, it is described as being 
 exceedingly swift, and only to be overtaken by the fastest 
 Arab horses. The giraffe is of a very striking appearance, 
 and elegant in some points, but is much exceeded by 
 many other animals in others. 
 
 Though the camelopard is a native of the hottest 
 parts of Africa, yet some which have been brought to this 
 country have been kept alive and in good health, for 
 several years, in the gardens of the Zoological Society of 
 London, and have even reared their young there : so much
 
 20 THS GIRAFFE. 
 
 may be done with animals by care and kind treatment. 
 
 The camelopard is a mild and gentle looking creature, 
 and its skin is handsomely spotted with light brown. 
 It has two projections from the head, generally called 
 horns, but which in reality are elongations of the bone 
 of the skull. There is a shorter one between them. 
 Tt goes in small herds of five or six, and is most 
 frequently found on the south side of the great desert of 
 Africa, but sometimes also in the north. It is however 
 so extremely shy, that it keeps out of the way of man, 
 and but little, comparatively, is known of its habits. 
 
 Africa is the only part of the globe in which it is 
 found. Some naturalists have thought that there are 
 two species, but there seems to be but little doubt that 
 they are only varieties. In its native wilds, the 
 camelopard fears no animal except the lion, which 
 occasionally surprises it when drinking, and seizes on it 
 before it has time to escape; but sometimes the lion is 
 beaten off by the force of the kicks of its hind legs- 
 God having given to it this mode of defence. 
 
 The general appearance of the camelopard, so much 
 higher in front than behind, has given rise to an idea, 
 that its fore legs are longer than the hind ones, but this 
 is not the case, the apparent difference being caused by the 
 shape of the body, which is much deeper over the former 
 than the latter. The height of the giraffe is fifteen or 
 sixteen feet. It is not known whether it has any peculiar 
 voice or cry, as it has never been known to utter any. 
 It is fond of society, and would seem to be of an 
 affectionate disposition, as it is related of one which was 
 sent to the Zoological Gardens, that it shed tears when 
 it could no longer see its companions, or the person who 
 had been in the habit of attending upon it.

 
 21 
 THE OSPREY. 
 
 "The osprey." LEYITICUS, xi. 13. 
 
 THIS is by some supposed to be the black eagle, or 
 the sea eagle. It has been well observed by a com- 
 mentator on the Bible, that it is now almost impossible 
 to speak with certainty of the different animals spoken 
 of in it. 
 
 The osprey is of the falcon, that is, the eagle or hawk 
 kind. It feeds on fish, and generally builds its nest, 
 which is composed of sticks and sea-weed, and such 
 kind of material, on the ledge of some rock overhanging 
 a lake ; or, if it can meet with such a place, on the top 
 of some island rock rising out of the middle of it, so 
 as to be as secure as it can make itself against the 
 attacks of any enemy. Man, however, is superior to it, 
 as God gave him dominion over all creatures, and either 
 by a boat, or by swimming, manages to reach his 'tower 
 of strength wherein he trusted.' 
 
 It is a truly beautiful sight to see the osprey when 
 sailing over the lake, and looking out for its prey, dart 
 down in an instant from a great height, with the quickness 
 of an arrow from a bow, and seize its victim, sometimes 
 even below the surface. It rarely, if ever, misses its 
 aim, but sometimes it has struck its talons into a fish 
 too large for it to rise with; and being thus hooked by 
 the fish, whose fate is generally to be hooked, is carried 
 down by it, and the poor bird is drowned the bodies 
 of the fish and the hawk, thus fastened together, have 
 been sometimes found on the shore, where they have
 
 22 THE OSPREY. 
 
 been washed up. When the osprey has risen with the 
 fish it has struck, it first shakes itself to get rid of the 
 wet from its feathers, as a dog does after coming out 
 of the water, and then flies off to the land to feast on 
 its capture. A fish was once taken from an osprey, or 
 fishing hawk, which is another name for the same bird, 
 and though it had already eaten part of it, the remainder 
 weighed six pounds. 
 
 The osprey has also been called the balbuzzard. It 
 is common enough in many parts both of Europe and 
 America, and is also widely dispersed throughout Asia, 
 but is everywhere a bird of passage. It feeds solely on 
 fish, and is never known to attack any birds or animals 
 even when the lakes and rivers are frozen up, and it must 
 therefore be very difficult for it to procure a supply of 
 its natural food. It arrives in North America in the 
 month of March, and though it has been said that two of 
 a trade never agree, yet the fishermen there welcome its 
 arrival, and are very careful not to allow it to be 
 molested. It feeds on the food which they are anxious 
 to catch, but they seem to honour it for its industry 
 in fishing, in which it sets them a good example, and 
 for the fearlessness with which it builds its nest in their 
 immediate neighbourhood. It does them no harm, and 
 its arrival is the harbinger of the arrival of the shoals 
 of fish, which both it and they are anxious to catch. 
 
 The Egyptians considered this as a sacred bird; but 
 the Jews held it to be unclean; and it was right for 
 them to do so while the Mosaic dispensation lasted but 
 all these ceremonial distinctions have been done away 
 by the coming of Christ; and God told St. Peter, by 
 the vision, that he was not to consider anything common 
 or unclean.
 
 23 
 
 / 
 
 THE JACKAL. 
 
 "They shall le a portion for foxes. 1 " PSALM, Ixiii. 10. 
 
 THIS is considered to be the animal which is called 
 in our translation of the Bible, the fox. The jackal 
 is very common in those countries in which it is met 
 with far too much so for the comfort of the inhabitants. 
 It is as large as a good sized dog, and has a long bushy 
 tail, like a fox, and resembles that animal in its thievish 
 propensities, and also, somewhat, in appearance. It has 
 a very voracious appetite, and will eat almost anything 
 that it can steal, even leather harness, if it can find 
 nothing better in the stables which it prowls into. It 
 is particularly fond of grapes, and therefore we find it 
 written in the Song of Solomon, ii. 15 "Take us the 
 foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines 
 have tender grapes." It feeds also on roots, fruits, and 
 vegetables; in fact it may almost be said that nothing 
 comes amiss to it. It inhabits various parts of India 
 and Africa. There are several species of this animal: 
 the one called the shual in the Scriptures is probably the 
 same as the common one, of which we are now speaking. 
 
 Jackals hunt in large packs of from twenty to a 
 hundred, and thus by the power of numbers, they verify 
 the proverb, that "union is strength," and master even some 
 of the larger animals. The lion, sometimes, hearing their 
 cry, follows after them, and when they have overtaken 
 the animal they were pursuing, rushes in upon them 
 and disperses them, and takes possession of it for itself. 
 Hence the jackal has been called the lion's provider,
 
 24 
 
 and some witty townspeople, once gave the name to the 
 schoolboys of a master whose name was Lyon. 
 
 The jackal makes a great noise at night, which gave 
 rise to one of the names by which the Jews called it, 
 which means 'howler.' An old traveller, by tame 
 Busbequius, says of them "At night, I heard a great 
 noise, as if it had been men who mocked and jeered 
 us. I asked what was the matter, and I was answered 
 that it was only the jackals. They are a sort of wolves, 
 and go in flocks, and get their food more by stealth 
 than by open force. Their manner is to enter tents 
 and houses, and devour what they meet with; but they 
 often discover themselves by the noise they make, for 
 while they are busy in the house devouring their prey, 
 if any one of their herd out of doors chance to howl, 
 they all set up a howling likewise, and are discovered." 
 Those travellers who have described the shriek of the 
 jackal, say that it is quite terrific a kind of unearthly, 
 dismal howl, which being heard as it often is, from the 
 midst of tombs and graveyards, in the stillness of the 
 hours of darkness; the voice of one troop being taken 
 up and answered by another, startles and alarms the 
 traveller who may chance to be benighted in the vicinity 
 of their melancholy abodes. 
 
 The jackals burrow holes in the ground, and it is 
 in allusion to such as these that our blessed Saviour 
 says "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have 
 nests, but the Son of man bath not where to lay his 
 head." "Though He was rich, yet for our Fakes He 
 became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be 
 made rich."
 
 STORK.
 
 25 
 
 THE STORK. 
 
 "The stork in the heavens knoiceth her appointed time.'* 
 JEBEMIAH, viii. 7. 
 
 THE name of the stork is derived from a Greek word, 
 which means 'natural affection/ for which this bird used 
 to be considered remarkable. The apostle St. Paul, 
 speaks of those who are "without natural affection," and 
 he gives it as his command to children, that they should 
 "requite their parents" for the kindness they have 
 received from them. 
 
 The stork builds its nest either on high trees, "as for 
 the stork," says David, "the fir trees are her house," 
 or on the roofs of houses, and the towers of churches 
 in towns. It is very common in Holland, and various 
 other countries of Europe, such as France, Germany, 
 Poland, and Sweden; but is very rarely seen in England: 
 perhaps it may have been more numerous in former 
 times, when the country was not so well drained, and 
 when there were therefore more places suitable for it 
 to sojourn in. 
 
 Great flocks of storks pass t the winter in Egypt, and 
 other parts of the north of Africa, and return in the 
 spring to the different countries of Europe, in which 
 they build and rear their young; when the inhabitants 
 gladly welcome them back, and they sometimes become 
 almost tame, from being so constantly familiar with the 
 company of man. 
 
 The traveller, Belon, gives an account of a vast flight 
 of storks, which he saw in Abyssinia, in the month of 
 
 D
 
 26 THE STORK. 
 
 August; they had just then arrived from some of the 
 northern countries, having come to spend the winter in 
 Africa. As soon as they reached the shore of the 
 Mediterranean sea, they separated into smaller flocks, 
 and dispersed in different directions. Dr. Shaw also 
 describes a flight of storks, which he saw when he was 
 travelling over Mount Carmel. He says that each flock 
 was half a mile wide, and took three hours in passing 
 over him. They generally make no noise while flying, 
 but if any supposed danger attracts their attention, they 
 strike their hills together, and produce a clattering sound, 
 which is heard to a great distance. 
 
 The long legs of the stork give it the appearance 
 of walking on stilts. It wades in shallow waters and 
 morasses, in quest of fishes and eels, frogs and other 
 reptiles, which are its principal food ; but it also destroys 
 the young of water-birds, which it meets with in those 
 situations which it frequents, as well as insects and 
 small animals, such as moles, rats, and mice. It is 
 strictly protected in those countries of which it is a 
 denizen, on account of the great use it is of in towns, 
 by consuming so much refuse, which would otherwise 
 decay, and become prejudicial to the comfort and health 
 of the inhahitants. 
 
 The stork is somewhat larger than the common heron, 
 being about four feet high*, and three feet and a half 
 in length, from the bill to the tail. Its general colour 
 is pure white, excepting the quills, and a few of the 
 wing feathers, which are black. When resting or sleep- 
 ; ng it stands, like the crane, on one leg, with the neck 
 bent, and the bill resting on the breast. There is 
 another species, which is black.
 
 27 
 
 THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 "Canst thou bind the unicorn?" JOB, xxxix. 10. 
 
 ONE species of the rhinoceros has a single horn about 
 three feet and a half long, rising from the front of its 
 head; and it is therefore thought that it may be the 
 animal intended in Scripture by the name of the unicorn, 
 which means in Latin, 'one horn.' 
 
 The rhinoceros is a very remarkable looking animal, 
 bulky and unwieldy. It is eleven or twelve feet long, 
 and six or seven feet high. Its hide is so very hard 
 and thick, that it will in some parts turn a musket 
 ball, and resist the blow of a sword. The skull must 
 also be extremely hard and thick, for v one of these 
 animals which was to be seen a few years since, in the 
 gardens of the Zoological Society in London, used to 
 run with all its force against the sharp edges of 
 the strong oak beams, of which its cage was made, 
 without appearing to hurt itself in the least. The 
 rhinoceros is naturally a quiet animal, and is tameable 
 to a certain extent; but if attacked in its wild state, 
 it uses its tremendous power with great impetuosity 
 against any assailant. Its general appearance gives one 
 the idea of a large overgrown hog, which it also some- 
 what resembles in the smallness of its eyes, and the 
 shape of its head and ears; in some respects, however, 
 it is more like the hippopotamus and the elephant. Its 
 food consists of large plants, prickly shrubs, and 
 branches of trees. 
 
 The African rhinoceros is larger than the Indian one:
 
 28 THE RHINOCEIIOS. 
 
 the latter is the species which has only one horn, and 
 may therefore be denominated the unicorn: the former 
 has two horns, the second being about half the size 
 of the larger one, and placed close behind it, farther 
 up the forehead. The sense of smell in this animal 
 is exceedingly acute, so that it perceives the approach 
 of man at a great distance, if favoured by the wind; 
 the hunter therefore endeavours to approach it against 
 the wind, and advances with all the cautiousness and 
 care that he can, so as to get within gun-shot without 
 being observed. Sometimes, if the rhinoceros perceives 
 him, it becomes, in its turn, the assailant; and its 
 attack would be fatal if the hunter did not, after the first 
 shot, quickly turn aside, and instantly re-load his gun, 
 before the infuriated animal can again turn to the charge. 
 
 The rhinoceros lives to the age of seventy or eighty 
 years. He is of a dull nature, and is not ferocious 
 or hurtful, if left undisturbed; but if he be molested, 
 his great strength makes him a most formidable enemy : 
 otherwise, while he does not fear the larger beasts, he 
 does not attack the smaller ones; but lives quietly and 
 at peace with all. There are but too many who might 
 with profit learn a lesson from this dumb animal. The 
 Scriptural precept is "live peaceably with all men;" 
 and if it were more attended to, how much happier 
 would the world be. 
 
 It has been asserted by some travellers, that the 
 horns of the African rhinoceros are moveable, and that 
 it has the power of rattling them together; but this 
 is quite a mistake, as they are firmly fixed in the bone 
 of the skull.
 
 29 
 THE SCREECH OWL. 
 
 "The screech owl also shall rest there." ISAIAH, xrxiv. 14. 
 
 THE owl, of which there are many species, is a bird 
 of very singular appearance.. Its body is in reality very 
 small compared with its apparent size. It looks much 
 larger than it really is from the quantity of large soft 
 feathers with which it is covered ; and this is particularly 
 the case about the head and neck, which latter looks, 
 from this cause, nearly as wide as the rest of the bird. 
 It flies in a quiet, stealthy, and noiseless manner, so 
 as to pounce by surprise on the field-mice and small 
 birds, which, as well as insects, form its food. The note 
 of the owl, which is called its hooting, is of a peculiar 
 and melancholy sound, yet not unpleasant. Its ears 
 are large, with an external orifice, which is not the case 
 with any other birds; and its sense of hearing is 
 therefore probably very acute. Its eyes are very large 
 also, and as it only flies in the twilight, its sight must 
 likewise be very good, to enable it to capture its prey at 
 that time. It cannot, however see well in the day-time, 
 for it cannot bear a strong light, but blinks its eyes, 
 to avoid it and shut it out. There is one who can 
 see equally well both by night and by day: "Yea, the 
 darkness is no darkness to Him, but the night is as 
 clear as the day the darkness and the light to Him 
 are both alike." How careful then should we ever be 
 to remember, "Thou, God, seest me;" and endeavour, 
 by His Holy Spirit's help, to "do those things only 
 which please Him."
 
 30 THE SCREECH OWL. 
 
 The owl is very useful to the farmer, as it kills so 
 many mice, which would otherwise be hurtful to him; 
 and it is therefore a great mistake to destroy them, as 
 if they were injurious, as some ignorant people do 
 
 It builds its nest in the hollows of old trees, and in 
 church towers, and other old buildings, and in chimneys. 
 Its eggs are clear white, and three or four in number. 
 Sometimes the hen owl lays eggs a second time, before 
 the young birds have left the nest. 
 
 The white owl is held sacred by the Mongolian and 
 Calmuc Tartars; and the following account is given of 
 the origin of this circumstance: It is said that the 
 founder of their empire, Jenghis Khan, was on one 
 occasion surprised by his enemies when absent from the 
 bulk of his army, and consequently unable to offer 
 resistance. No course was open to him but flight, and 
 he reached a wood where he lay concealed. He \vas 
 closely pursued, but before his hiding-place could be 
 discovered, an owl also took refuge in the same retreat, 
 and happened to alight on a tree immediately over him. 
 This proved the means of his safety, for it was never 
 supposed that a bird, and particularly one of so shy a 
 nature, would remain near a man, and consequently his 
 pursuers did not even approach the spot at all. In time 
 they left the wood, and he succeeded in escaping from 
 them and reaching his own army in safety. In gratitude 
 therefore to the owl for being thus instrumental in saving 
 their prince, the inhabitants of the above-named coun- 
 tries have ever since paid great honour to this bird, and 
 have worn a plume of its feathers on certain occasions, 
 as a mark of distinction and ornament.
 
 C K D A H.
 
 31 
 THE CEDAR. 
 
 "The cedar in Lebanon" PSALM, xcii. 12. 
 
 THE cedar tree is frequently mentioned in Holy 
 Scripture. It is a very large and stately evergreen. 
 It towers up high into the air, and spreads its branches 
 wide around it, affording a useful and extensive shelter 
 and shade against storm or sun, to man and beast. 
 The wood of it is also very valuable, being not only 
 of a handsome colour and a peculiar and agreeable 
 scent, but considered to be incorruptible; which, if so, 
 is perhaps owing to its aromatic smell, and bitter taste, 
 which make insects avoid it; or to the resin it contains, 
 which preserves it from being injured by the air or 
 weather. How should this humble us, when we think 
 that our bodies are so corruptible as they are, and have 
 a natural tendency to decay. Far are they exceeded in 
 durability by a thing so low in the scale of creation, 
 as a tree of the forest. But yet, even in respect to 
 this, we still exceed it, paradoxical as it might seem 
 to one who was ignorant of the immortality of the soul. 
 The corn of wheat that moulders away under the soil, 
 does not in reality die, but shoots upwards far more 
 beautiful than when it was committed to the earth. We 
 shall rise again, and with our bodies, but the cedar 
 never will, when once it has fallen: "as the tree falls 
 so it lies." "There is a natural body, and there is 
 a spiritual body;" and the word of God teaches each 
 of us to look for our resurrection from the dead with 
 our immortal and glorified body. that we may for
 
 32 THE CP.DAH. 
 
 Christ's sake, rise in it to "eternal life," and not to 
 "shame and everlasting contempt." 
 
 Perhaps you may think that but little is to be said 
 about the cedar that one can have scarce anything to 
 say of a tree; quite the contrary, it would take a long 
 time, and many pages to write all that might be men- 
 tioned about it. It is spoken of in Holy Scripture as 
 the Cedar of Lebanon, that being the mountain which 
 is its native locality. It is most probable that in the 
 time of king Solomon, there were large groves or forests 
 of this tree there. The ark of the covenant and many 
 parts of the temple were made of it. It is not found 
 growing wild elsewhere, although it has been, and may 
 be cultivated in various other parts of the world. 
 Travellers to Palestine, to the north of which Mount 
 Lebanon is situated, may yet see cedars growing 
 there, some of them of vast size, and, doubtless, of 
 extreme antiquity; there are also younger ones, of all 
 ages and sizes; so that there is no probability of its 
 becoming extinct. They do not, however, cover much 
 ground, there being at the present time only one or two 
 clumps of cedars left. No other trees are visible for 
 several miles. The appearance of those by themselves 
 in the deep solitude of the mountains is described as 
 being very striking. There are said to be twelve prin- 
 cipal trees, larger and older than the others, several of 
 them measuring above forty-five feet in circumference. 
 
 "Let a man," says one writer, "after a long ride, sit 
 down under the shade of a cedar, and contemplate the 
 exact conical form of its top, and the beauty of its 
 branches, and he will no longer wonder that David 
 compared the people of Israel, in the time of their 
 prosperity, to the goodly cedar."

 
 33 
 THE HORSE. 
 
 "He delighteth not in the strength of the horse." PSALM, czlvii. 10. 
 
 THE earliest notice of the horse that we meet with 
 in the Holy Bible, is about six hundred and fifty years 
 after the deluge, when, we are told, the Egyptians brought 
 their cattle to Joseph, who "gave them bread in exchange 
 for horses, and for the flocks;'' and, shortly afterwards, 
 when the body of Jacob was taken by his son Joseph 
 from the land of Egypt into Canaan to be buried, we 
 read that there "went up with him both chariots and 
 horsemen." 
 
 It would seem most probable that it was from this 
 part of the world that they were first obtained in a wild 
 state no wild horses are now to be met with, there 
 seems reason to believe, in any quarter of the globe, 
 for the large herds of untamed horses which scour over 
 the plains of South America, called the Pampas, are 
 doubtless the descendants of some that had been imported 
 there by the Spaniards in former years, having either 
 escaped from shipwrecked vessels, or from their owners 
 after they had been lauded, or having been set at 
 liberty. In like manner, there are numerous herds of 
 wild horses on the plains of Tartary, but these have 
 likewise to be assigned to importation, and are not to 
 be considered as indigenous there. 
 
 Horses vary very greatly in size, form, and colour. 
 How different in appearance is the racer from the dray 
 horse, the carrier's galloway from the hunter, the Shetland 
 pony from the carriage horse; how unlike the piebald,
 
 34 THE HORSE. 
 
 the black, the brown, the white, and the grey! 
 
 In the winter, the coats of horses become thick 
 nature providing them with this addition of covering to 
 guard them from the cold; but if kept in stables, they 
 become finer and more sleek in the coat, from being 
 clothed and warmer. 
 
 The horse is an animal of very great and eminent 
 sagacity. It is related of the German horses that they 
 will slacken their pace when they perceive the sparks 
 flying from the pipes of their riders when trimming them, 
 to give them the better opportunity of doing so; and 
 every one must have observed the great docility of this 
 animal, in attending with such perfect regularity to any 
 command of the driver to whom it has been accustomed, 
 and even to the same orders when given by a new 
 master. 
 
 It has been observed that the coat of the horse emits 
 electricity. Some more so than others. Mr. John Davidson 
 in his account of his travels in Africa, says, that this was 
 remarkably the case with a horse which he received 
 from the Emperor of Morocco. In England, a gentleman 
 riding on his horse between Norwich and Bungay, observed 
 a luminous appearance on its ears ; and Professor Silliman 
 has recorded a similar instance observed in America. 
 
 The following lines by the poet Thomson, would seem 
 to have been suggested by some such occurence either 
 observed by or mentioned to him 
 
 "Sent by the better genius of the night, 
 Innoxious, gleaming on the horse's mane 
 The meteor sits; and shows the narrow path, 
 That winding leads through pits of death, or else 
 Instructs him how to take the dangerous ford."
 
 H K H
 
 35 
 THE HERON. 
 
 "The Hei-on." DEUTEKOXOMY, xiv. 18. 
 
 THE heron is a shy bird, and frequents retired rivers 
 or lakes where it can meet, in quiet security, with a 
 supply of the prey which is natural to it. It always 
 wears a melancholy appearance, and never seems to get 
 fat like some other birds. Formerly the flesh of the heron 
 was esteemed a delicacy, and was served up at Royal 
 tables, but now it is entirely despised as an article of food, 
 being of a rank and fishy taste. This bird is about 
 three feet in height, and the expanse of the wings is 
 about five feet. It flies often at a considerable elevation, 
 and always when flying, has its legs stretched out 
 straight behind it, looking like a longer tail than in reality 
 it possesses. The bill is long, as are also the legs. The 
 plumage is of a bluish grey colour, and on the back of the 
 head is a crest oi: black feathers, 'the heron's plume,' 
 formerly highly valued, and worn as a mark of distinction. 
 
 Although the heron frequents the lower grounds, yet 
 it builds its nest on the highest trees small flocks of 
 them build together, and this collection of birds and 
 nests is called a heronry. There were many of these 
 in former times in various parts of England, but at present 
 they are very 'few and far between,' and but one here 
 and there still exists in the country. The proper food 
 of the heron is fish, but it also devours frogs and 
 rats, and almost anything that comes in its way that 
 is at all eatable it is a hungry bird, and never seems 
 satisfied. When looking out for prey, it stands patiently
 
 36 THE HERON. 
 
 in the water in the shallow part of the stream or pond, 
 frequently on one leg, with the head and neck drawn into 
 the shoulders, and the former turned a little on one side, 
 so as to give it the best view of any fish that may pass 
 by. The first that comes within reach is instantly pounced 
 upon with an unerring aim, and quickly transferred from 
 its native element to the maw of its successful captor. 
 Like other fishers, the heron requires a great degree of 
 patience, a quality than which there are not many more 
 valuable, and in which we shall do well to imitate him. 
 Perhaps he is not always successful in meeting with fish, 
 which may account for his being so lean; and some 
 fishermen are perhaps more like him in this respect than 
 in the quality I have just before been speaking of. 
 
 A gentleman in England had some tame herons, and 
 being curious to know how many fish one of these birds 
 would devour, he put a number of small roach and 
 dace into a tub, and found that it ate about fifty a 
 day; at this rate a single heron would consume no fewer 
 than eighteen thousand fish in the space of a single 
 year. 
 
 When hawking was formerly practised in this country, 
 the heron was very frequently the game selected to be 
 flown at; but, though still continued in some foreign 
 countries, it is a pursuit which is no longer followed 
 in England. Nevertheless the post of Grand Falconer 
 to the Queen is still maintained, and is hereditary in 
 the family of the Duke of St. Albans.
 
 & '.'**? 
 
 ASIATIC R '
 
 37 
 THE ROSE. 
 
 "The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." ISAIAH, xxxv. 1. 
 
 THE rose, in all ages, and in all countries in which 
 it grows, seems by universal consent to have had, and 
 to have the first place among flowers assigned to it. 
 Some may exceed it in gay colouring, others in scent, 
 some in size, others in delicacy of tinting, but 'take 
 it for all in all,' and every one is disposed, even 
 if his admiration has for a moment been attracted from 
 it to some new favourite, to recur to it with renewed 
 pleasure, and say with the poetess 
 
 "Hose, thou art the sweetest flower." 
 
 It is the pride of all our gardens, both of rich and 
 poor, and also similarly, the glory of the gardens 
 of the east. A Persian poet, by name Hafez, has said 
 of it that "when the rose comes into the garden, the 
 violet prostrates itself before it with its face to the 
 ground." 
 
 The damask rose comes, as its name imports, from 
 Damascus. The hills about Joppa, are described as 
 abounding with a profusion of red and white roses, and 
 those of the gardens of Rama are said to exhale a 
 peculiar fragrance. The plant spoken of in the Holy 
 Scripture, and translated the 'Rose of Sharon', is by some 
 supposed to be not in reality a rose, but a species of cistus, 
 with which the valley of that name, as well as various 
 other parts of Judea, is plentifully adorned; but we must 
 not forget what learned men our translators of the Bible
 
 38 THE ROSE. 
 
 were. Rose trees also grow in abundance among the 
 ruins of Bozrah, beyond Jordan, and they are cultivated 
 in the gardens of Mount Sinai. Great quantities of their 
 flowers are carried to Jerusalem, where rose water is 
 manufactured from them. 
 
 The rose has furnished the moralist Sadi, with the 
 following beautiful apologue: "One day, as I was going 
 to the bath, my friend put into my hand a piece of 
 scented clay. The fragrance was so delicious that I 
 addressed it, saying, "what art thou, and where is thy 
 sweetness? art thou of musk, or is thy substance 
 ambergris?" It answered, "alas! of myself I am but 
 a piece of worthless clay; but I was long the companion 
 of the rose, who hath breathed her sweetness into me." 
 Surely young persons may here draw a moral from 
 the moralist. Do they derive virtue and excellence 
 from those whose instructions and conversation they have 
 the advantage of? If not, are they not even condemned 
 by the senseless clay? 
 
 The inspired writers have by no means neglected to 
 allude to the rose as a beautiful type of excellence in 
 the Song of Solomon, the mystical church is described 
 under the emblem of the 'Rose of Sharon;' and Isaiah, 
 in his most beautiful description of the future reign of 
 Christ our Lord on the earth, which Christiar.s look 
 forward to with believing hope, prophesies thereof, saying, 
 "the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." Let 
 us all strive to hasten that blessed time by our own 
 holiness, and endeavour to do good to others, and we 
 ourselves shall be flunrishing trees in the 'garden of 
 the Lord.'
 
 39 
 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 "Behold now behemoth, which I made with iheeT JOB, xl. 15. 
 
 THIS animal is supposed to be the behemoth of Holy 
 Scripture. 
 
 It is, as the specific name given to it denotes, of an 
 amphibious nature, that is, it has the habit of living 
 partly on land, and partly in the water. It is an inhabi- 
 tant of the central and southern parts of the great 
 continent of Africa, and is sometimes found on the coast. 
 It seems that it enters the sea as well as rivers, for 
 one was met with by Captain Belcher, off the south-west 
 end of Yomber island, which was covered with barnacles, 
 a sea shell-fish which adheres to ships, or any other 
 substance that it meets with in the water. Different 
 specimens of the hippopotamus, which is also known by 
 the name of the river-horse, vary much in size. The largest 
 on record is one described by Dr. Rtlppell, which he found 
 to measure the great length of thirteen French feet and 
 a half, from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail ; 
 and he says that a full grown one weighs as much as 
 four or five oxen. It is an inoffensive animal when not 
 molested, but if attacked, it becomes exceedingly ferocious, 
 and as it can run very fast on the land, and swim with 
 great dexterity in the water, and its war cry or alarm 
 of danger calls all its companions to its aid, it is very 
 dangerous to run the risk of an encounter with it on 
 either element. During the day the hippopotamus remains 
 in or near the rivers, but at night it comes on land 
 to feed, and often does great damage to corn fields, not
 
 40 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 only by the great quantity it devours, but by the still 
 greater quantity which it wastes by trampling on it. Its 
 mouth opens to the width of three feet and a half, and 
 it is related by Dr. Ruppell, that when he was in Dongola, 
 one of the huntsmen who was with him was crushed 
 to death by a gripe of the jaws of an enraged animal 
 of this species, before he could throw his harpoon at it. 
 
 The flesh of the hippopotamus is said to be very good 
 eating, if tolerably young; indeed most parts of it are 
 useful the fat is esteemed a great delicacy by the Cape 
 Colonists the tusks are considered extremely good ivory ; 
 as they do not turn yellow and the hide, which is 
 excessively tough and thick, is made into whips, shields, 
 and other articles which require such a material. 
 
 When the hippopotamus opens its mouth it takes in 
 a large quantity of water, and often amuses itself by 
 spouting it out again through its nose, in the same way 
 as the whale does. Its food consists of grass, rice, sugar- 
 canes, and other vegetables that grow in the parts which 
 it inhabits; making its resting-place among the reeds 
 on the sides of the rivers. It measures about twelve 
 feet in circumference; its legs are short and thick, 
 and its eyes small. Its colour is a light shade of 
 Indian Ink. 
 
 How striking is the prophet Job's description of the 
 behemoth: "Surely the mountains bring him forth food, 
 where all the beasts of the field play. He lieth under 
 the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. 
 The shady trees cover him with their shadow, the willows 
 of the brook compass him about. Behold, he drinketh 
 up a river and hasteth not, he trusteth that he can draw 
 up Jordan with his mouth."
 
 - ! - ' 
 
 HA V
 
 THE RAVEN. 
 
 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which neither 
 have storehouse nor larn, and God fecde.th them." ST. LUKE, xii. 24. 
 
 THE raven is the largest of the crow kind. It is a 
 very hardy as well as a very cunning bird, and is found 
 in all parts of the world r both in the hottest and the 
 coldest climates. It strongly partakes of the general 
 character of the vulture, and performs a similar useful 
 part in devouring all sorts of dead creatures, which 
 would otherwise remain and impregnate the air with 
 poisonous effluvia. 
 
 The Rev. Gilbert White, the well known and interesting 
 naturalist of Selborne, in Hampshire, thus describes the 
 nest of a pair of these birds: "In the centre of a grove 
 stood an oak, which, though shapely and tall on the 
 whole, bulged out into a large excrescence about the 
 middle of the stem. On this a pair of ravens had fixed 
 their nest for such a series of years, that the oak was 
 distinguished by the name of the raven's tree. Many 
 were the attempts of the neighbouring youths to get at 
 the eyrie: the difficulty whetted their inclinations, and 
 each was ambitious of surmounting the arduous task. 
 But when they arrived at the swelling, it jutted so in 
 their way, and was so far beyond their grasp, that the 
 most daring lads were awed, and acknowledged the 
 undertaking to be too hazardous. So the ravens built 
 on, nest upon nest, in perfect security, till the fatal day 
 arrived on which the wood was to be levelled: it was in 
 the month of February, when they usually sit. The saw
 
 42 THE RAVEN. 
 
 was applied to the trunk, the wedges were inserted into 
 the opening, the woods echoed to the heavy blows of 
 the mallet, and the tree nodded to its fall; but still the 
 dam sat on. At last, when it gave way, the bird was 
 flung from the nest, and though her parental affection 
 deserved a better fate, was whipped down by the twigs, 
 which brought her dead to the ground." 
 
 The raven is generally said to be black, and at a little 
 distance he does appear to be so, but when seen more 
 nearly it will be perceived that his feathers are of a 
 glossy blue. His length is about two feet. 
 
 The following curious fact illustrative of a more than 
 ordinary degree of memory in this bird, is recorded in 
 the "Zoologist": The writer says, "when I was at 
 Llandilo academy, one of my schoolfellows, while we were 
 taking our usual half-holiday walk in Dynevor Park, 
 climbed up a lofty elm tree, and captured three young 
 ravens which were just about leaving their nest: two of 
 them were given away, but one we kept in our play-ground, 
 where we erected a shed and a perch for him, about 
 three feet from the ground: we had him several months, 
 but when he became quite familiar, and a general favourite, 
 his existance was terminated by a stone hurled at him 
 by one of the town boys, whilst pluming himself upon 
 the wall. This bird after he had satisfied the cravings 
 of his not small appetite, used to conceal the remaining 
 pieces of food under several loose stones, which were 
 close to his shed; and when hungry, repeatedly have I 
 and other boys watched him going straight to the place 
 where he concealed his first morsel, and so on to each 
 stone in rotation. I was amused at the time, but now it 
 astonishes me."
 
 L 1 I, f
 
 43 
 THE LILY. 
 
 "Consider the lilies how they grow." ST. LUKE, xii. 27. 
 
 THE lovely and graceful lily is a native of Palestine 
 not indeed, perhaps, the same snow-white flower which 
 adorns many of the peaceful valleys and quiet woods of 
 England, but another species of the same genus, which 
 is said to grow abundantly in the fields of the Levant 
 in autumn, and is described as being one of the most 
 striking and imposing forms in the whole of the vegetable 
 world. Happy was our blessed Saviour's selection of this 
 plant, for the beautiful lesson he conveyed through it to 
 his disciples, and which He still conveys to us, even though 
 we have not the flower immediately before us as they 
 had. "Consider," He said, "the lilies, how they grow; 
 they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto 
 you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed 
 like one of these." At the time He spoke these words, 
 our Divine Lord was seated on Mount Tabor, which is 
 still a verdant hill, and round which the lily springs up 
 at every step, so that His hearers could not but 
 immediately glance at the beautiful and stately flower, 
 and remark its purity of colour and delicacy of texture, 
 far more beautiful than the finest of painters could 
 imitate, or the most subtle of weavers fabricate a 
 re emblance of, even though they were to exert first- 
 rate talents to the utmost, with the object of pleasing 
 and adorning the greatest monarch that ever lived. Eigh- 
 teen hundred summers and winters have come and gone, 
 and eighteen hundred generations of this annual plant
 
 THE LILY. 
 
 have therewith grown up and withered, since the Lord 
 Christ spoke these ever memorable words; but the lily 
 'still remains' to 'point a moral' for all who are disposed 
 to profit by it, and to furnish all with an object of 
 praise to the wondrous architect of the universe, whose 
 almighty power is equally shown in the most huge 
 mammoth, and the smallest microscopic insect, in the 
 trees and flowers of the earth, and the winds of Heaven, 
 "the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea, and 
 whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea." Well 
 may we say and sing with the inspired writer "0 Lord, 
 our Governor, how excellent is thy name in all the 
 earth." 
 
 But let us never be satisfied with mere feeling, howeve? 
 good, nor with a tribute of admiration, however sincere. 
 Our Saviour did not utter these blessed words for 
 nought they were meant to show us what cause we have 
 for humility, and what reason to depend upon the 
 guardianship of our Heavenly Father. Though we never 
 can of ourselves deserve His favour, yet let us endeavour 
 in all things to. please Him, and we may then always 
 rest satisfied that 'He careth for us.' 
 
 The lily held a conspicuous place among the ornaments 
 of the temple. It was with imitations of its blossoms 
 that the brim of the molten sea was wrought. The 
 tops of the pillars, and the chapiters upon them were 
 adorned with similar carved work. In the east, as well 
 as with us, this flower is an emblem of purity and 
 goodness. The lily of the valley grows wild in some 
 woods in Yorkshire, as well as in other parts of England.
 
 45 
 THE WILD BOAR. 
 
 "The boar out of tlie wood doth waste it." PSALM, Lxxx. 13. 
 
 THE wild boar is the parent stock from which all our 
 swine have been derived. Very different, however, are 
 the animals in their natural and in their domesticated 
 state, so that one would, at first sight, hardly suppose 
 them to be the same. The tame ones are generally 
 white, and the wild ones black, and the latter are 
 extremely savage, and very dangerous, if attacked. In 
 France, Germany, India, and other countries, the hunting 
 of the wild boar is a very common and favourite pursuit; 
 they are chased by men on horseback, and speared when 
 they are overtaken. This is, however, not often done 
 without imminent risk, and sometimes severe and fatal 
 injuries to horses and men, are the results. This animal 
 is still found in the Holy Land: large herds have been 
 seen near the banks of the River Jordan. Their natural 
 abode is in the depths of the forest, where they live 
 on roots, acorns, and other fruits. In searching for the 
 former, they plough up the earth with their tusks, as 
 if it had been done with a ploughshare, and thus often 
 cause much injury in gardens, when they get into them, 
 as well as by eating the fruit, in endeavouring to obtain 
 which., the}' will root up the trees themselves, if small, 
 such as vines. To this habit it is that the Psalmist 
 alludes, when speaking of the Church oppressed by her 
 enemies, in the verse at the head of this article, thp 
 only one in which this animal is mentioned in the Holy 
 Scripture.
 
 46 THE WILD BOAR. 
 
 The wild boar was formerly common in Britain, but 
 in consequence of the spread of population it has long 
 since been totally extirpated. In the feudal times, they 
 were preserved as animals of the chase, and there were 
 many severe penalties inflicted on any persons who killed 
 them. It is a very happy thing that those severities are 
 no longer even thought of, under our present free and 
 noble constitution. 
 
 Hogs are found in a wild state in large troops in 
 some parts of America, but as in the like case of the 
 herds of wild horses already mentioned, there seems to 
 be no doubt that they are the descendants of some 
 introduced by the Spaniards after their conquest of that 
 country. 
 
 In St. Matthew, vii. 6. we have the injunction "Give 
 not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye 
 your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under 
 their feet and turn again and rend you." The proper 
 way of reading this, as Dr. Adam Clarke and Bishop 
 Jebb have pointed out, is "Give not that which is holy 
 unto the dogs, lest they turn again and rend you; neither 
 cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them 
 under their feet." The meaning of the passage is, that 
 the elevated truths of the Gospel are not to be injudiciously 
 put before despisers of them.
 
 47 
 THE SPARROW. 
 
 ''Ye are of more value than many sparrows." ST. LUKE, xii. 7. 
 
 THIS, if not the most numerous species of birds, 
 is most widely, and all bat universally, dispersed. 
 Wherever men build, it builds, taking advantage of their 
 habitations wherein to form its own. Some indeed 
 assert that it is only found among those nations of the 
 earth which grow corn, and in proof of this say, that it 
 has followed this progress of civilization in Russia, being 
 now naturalized in districts which have lately become 
 cultivated for the growth of wheat, and in which, before 
 this was the case, it was unknown. If this be so, we 
 can only wish that the sparrow may soon become an 
 inhabitant of the whole world. 
 
 An individual of this species has furnished an illustration 
 of the way in which people may be deceived by giving 
 way to groundless alarm: One evening at about eight 
 o'clock, a loud tapping was heard at the window of a 
 room in a house in which two ladies were, at the time, 
 the only persons. They were afraid to enter the room 
 to try to discover the cause of the sound, but one of 
 them summoned sufficient courage to go into the garden 
 from the ground floor, the noise being in a room on the 
 first floor. On looking up to the window she could 
 see nothing, but still the tapping continued. The gentle- 
 man of the house returned at about nine o'clock, and 
 lost no time in procuring a ladder, by which he ascended 
 to the window, where he found a common house-sparrow 
 steadily knocking with its beak at one of the panes (we
 
 48 THE SPARROW. 
 
 are reminded of the fable of the mountain bringing forth 
 a mouse.) He took the little bird in his hand, brought it 
 down, and put it into a cage for the night. In the morning 
 he took it out, supposing that it must have been hurt, 
 from having allowed itself to be taken in such a manner; 
 but on the opportunity being given to it, it flew away, 
 and was never seen or heard again. No one can account 
 for the circumstance; and what makes it more curious, 
 is, that there was no light in the room, which often is 
 an attraction to birds, fishes, and insects. 
 
 The sparrow is by some considered injurious to the farmer, 
 but there is no question that it consumes countless 
 numbers of insects, which would otherwise multiply to 
 an extent that might be much more prejudicial to him. 
 "Sparrows feed on grain, seeds, and sometimes on insects 
 and caterpillars. Of the latter they are very fond ; and 
 it has been calculated that a pair of these birds, during 
 the time they have their young ones to feed, destroy 
 at the rate of three thousand three hundred and sixty 
 caterpillars every week, thus ridding the farmer of a 
 large number of insects which would seriously damage 
 his grain." 
 
 The sparrow makes itself equally at home under the 
 eaves of the poor man's cottage, and the ornaments of 
 a nobleman's house, and it often chooses very strange 
 places to build in. A pair of these birds once made their 
 nest on the mast of a ship, which at the time was lying 
 in harbour, and when it sailed out, they did not forsake 
 it, but ued to come down to the deck to pick up the 
 crumbs which the sailors put there for them. Another 
 p?iir built in the mouth of the stone lion, on the Duke 
 of Northumberland's house, at Charing Cross, in London.

 
 PINE TREE.
 
 49 
 
 THE PINE TREE. 
 
 "The pine" ISAIAH, xli. 19. 
 
 THERE are few things in nature more grand and imposing 
 than an extensive pine forest. Persons who have not travelled 
 can form no idea, from the small woods and groves of 
 England, of the deep solemnity of an extensive pine 
 wood. As far as the eye can reach, nothing but the 
 same monotonous colour, if one may be allowed the 
 expression, is to be seen: from horizon to horizon extends 
 an unvarying mass of dark green foliage. Nothing again, 
 is more striking and impressive than the sound of the 
 wind through the leaves; it is not to be forgotten when 
 once heard, and, though melancholy, is pleasing and 
 attractive, at least to some persons. A friend of the 
 writer's was in the habit of going up to the top of a 
 wild moor in Yorkshire, on winter nights, for the sake 
 of the pleasure of listening to the wind sighing and 
 howling through a fir wood. Perhaps some people 
 accustomed to live in towns would be afraid to go out 
 alone at night, or even by day, to so lonely a spot; 
 but this would be very foolish, for God can take care 
 of us just as well in one place as in another; and if 
 we have His love in our hearts, we may be sure of all 
 needful protection wherever we go, and at all times. 
 
 The remark already made about the uncertainty which 
 does and must exist, as to the exact species of plants 
 or animals spoken of in the Holy Scripture, applies among 
 so many others, to the one I am at present describing. 
 The words which we translate 'pine,' occur out in three
 
 50 THE FIXE TREE. 
 
 places in the sacred volume, namely in Nebemiah, viii. 
 15; Isaiah, xli. 16; and Isaiah, Ix. 13. In the first 
 of these passages the Hebrew sentence literally means 
 'branches of oily or gummy plants.' The septuagint 
 version interprets it to intend the cypress, while another 
 author says, that he prefers to consider it as the jasmine, 
 'on account of its verdure, its fragrance, and its flowers, 
 which are highly esteemed/ In the two passages referred 
 to in the prophet Isaiah, it was the opinion of Luther, 
 the celebrated reformer, that the elm was meant; and 
 Dr. Stock renders it the ash. "After all," says Dr. Harris, 
 in his learned 'Natural History of the Bible,' "it may be 
 thought advisable to retain the pine. La Roche, descriptio 
 Syriae, page 160, describing a valley near to Mount 
 Lebanon, has this observation "La continuelle verdure 
 des pins et des cheres verds fait toujours sa beaute." 
 The great family of pines is widely, one may almost 
 say universally, distributed over the earth. So far south 
 as the temple of Ammon, in Africa, and in the forests 
 of Mount Atlas, cone bearing trees, akin to the pine, 
 are found. The real pines grow in vast abundance in 
 Russia, and even in the immediate vicinity of the north 
 and south poles; and are plentiful in various other parts 
 of the continent of Europe, such as England and Italy, 
 finding a subsistence in the sterile soils of the mountainous 
 districts. The wood of the pine tree is exceedingly 
 valuable to man, being of a soft grain, and therefore easily 
 worked. The masts of some large ships are made of 
 this tree; and many vessels are built entirely of it.
 
 '-^ _ 
 
 1 \ x . 

 
 51 
 
 THE CONEY. 
 
 " The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they tlieir house* 
 in the rocks" PEOTEBBS, xix. 26. 
 
 IT is generally considered that the animal intended 
 by the Hebrew word, which we translate 'coney,' is of 
 an entirely different kind, being most probably a species 
 of hyrax the ashkoko, or daman israel, as it is called 
 in Syria. The rabbit, though so abundant in Europe, is 
 said not to be found in Asia, and it does not make its 
 habitation in rocks, but in soft or sandy earth, where it 
 can easily burrow holes for itself. The contrary is however 
 mentioned of the animal which our translators have 
 rendered the coney, in two of the four passages in which 
 only it is spoken of in the Holy' Scripture. Of the 
 ashkoko, Mr. Bruce, the celebrated traveller, writes, "It 
 is, above all other animals, so much attached to the 
 rocks, that I never once saw him on the ground, or 
 from among large stones in the mouths of caves, where 
 is his constant rendezvous. He lives in families or flocks. 
 He is found in Judea, Palestine, and Arabia, and conse- 
 quently must have been familiar to Solomon. David 
 describes him very pertinently, and joins him to other 
 animals perfectly known. "The hills are a refuge for 
 the wild goats, and the rocks for the saphan;" the word 
 which our translators render conies. And Solomon says 
 that "they are exceeding wise," that they are "but a 
 feeble folk, yet make their houses in the rocks." And 
 this, I think, very obviously fixes the ashkoko to be the 
 saphan, for his weakness seems to allude to his feet;
 
 52 THE CONEY. 
 
 and how inadequate these are to dig holes in the rock, 
 where yet, however, he lodges. For their tenderness 
 they are very liable to be excoriated or hurt; notwith- 
 standing they build houses in the rocks, more inaccessible 
 than those of the rabbit, and in which they abide in 
 greater safety, not by exertion of strength, for they have 
 it not, but are truly, as Solomon says, 'a feeble folk,' 
 but by their own sagacity and judgment, and are therefore 
 justly described as wise. Lastly, what leaves the thing 
 without doubt is, that some of the Arabs say, that 
 the saphan has no tail ; that it is less than a cat ; that 
 it lives in houses or nests, which it builds of straw; in 
 contradistinction to the rabbit, the rat, and those animals 
 that burrow in the ground." 
 
 Others have imagined that an animal called the oueber 
 in Palestine, is meant, which is described as being "entirely 
 destitute of a tail, and has some bristles at its mouth, over 
 its head, and down its back, along the courses of which, 
 there are traces of light and dark shades. In its short 
 ears, small black and naked feet, and pointed snout, it 
 resembles an hedgehog." 
 
 There is another species besides the Syrian one, called 
 the Cape hyrax. Both are similar in their habits. They 
 are easily tamed, but when first taken, inflict severe 
 wounds with their formidable teeth. 'The stony rocks' 
 are not only their refuge, but their favourite and natural 
 haunt at the present time, as in former ages. Numbers 
 of them may often be seen sitting upon the great stones 
 at the mouths of the caves in the mountains, warming 
 themselves in the sun, or playing about in the cool of 
 the evening.
 
 53 
 HYSSOP. 
 
 "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean." PSA.LM, xli. 7. 
 
 IN this instance, the Hebrew word esob, is probably 
 rightly translated into our word 'hyssop:' there have, 
 however, been various opinions on this subject, and one 
 author, Celsius, has written no fewer than forty-two pages 
 in the endeavour to remove difficulties about it; occasioned 
 by the conflicting opinions of the Talmudical writers. 
 
 Under the Jewish law, this plant was used in purifi- 
 cation, for the purpose of sprinkling it was applied to 
 this purpose in the case of recovered lepers. When the 
 people of Israel came out of Egypt, they were commanded 
 to take a bunch of hyssop, and having dipped it in the 
 blood of the paschal lamb, to sprinkle therewith the 
 lintel and the two side-posts of the doors of their houses. 
 It was with this plant, that the vinegar was applied to 
 the dying lips of our adorable Redeemer, when He hung 
 upon the cross for our sins. 
 
 The hyssop is described as growing to about the height 
 of a foot and a half, and as being very abundant on the 
 mountains in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. It has a 
 bitter taste, but an aromatic smell. The stalks are bushy, 
 and the flowers of the different varieties are of different 
 colours. Solomon, who was very fond of the study of 
 natural history, wrote a work on botany, in which he 
 described plants "from the cedar in Lebanon, to the 
 hyssop which springeth out of the wall."
 
 54 
 CANE. 
 
 "Thou hast louglit me no sweet-cane with money." ISAIAH, xliii. 24. 
 
 OF whatever species the plant here spoken of was, it 
 is alluded to as having been costly, and applied to sacred 
 uses. By some the aromatic cane is supposed to be 
 intended in this passage, as well as in that in the prophet 
 Jeremiah the only two in the Holy Scripture where this 
 plant is mentioned; and by others the sugar-cane. Both 
 are natives of the East the latter has been cultivated in 
 that part of the world from time immemorial, but it was 
 not known in Europe until a comparatively modern 
 period. The Arabians introduced it into Sicily, .and the 
 southern parts of Spain, from whence the Spaniards and 
 Portuguese transplanted it into the Azores, Madeira, and 
 the Canary and Cape de Verd islands, soon after the 
 discoveries they made in the fifteenth century. The soil 
 and climate of these countries, particularly those of 
 Madeira, suited it extremely well; and in 1506, it was 
 ordered by King Ferdinard, to be farther transplanted 
 to the island of St. Domingo, from whence it has spread 
 into so many parts of the then newly discovered world 
 of America. 
 
 The aromatic cane is a plant of a different species. It 
 is so essentially fragrant, that it not only scents the air 
 while growing, but when cut, withered, and dried, it is 
 used as an ingredient in making the richest perfumes.
 
 .
 
 55 
 THE HOOPOE. 
 
 "The lapwing." LEVITICUS, xi. 19. 
 
 IN point of gay colouring, this bird is excelled by 
 very many, but there are few which are of a more 
 graceful and elegant shape. The body is small, being 
 not much larger than that of a thrush, though in general 
 appearance the hoopoe seems much larger. The bill 
 is long, slender, and curved downwards. The legs are 
 rather short and black. The plumage is for the most 
 part, of a beautiful light fawn colour; the back, wing.*, 
 and tail, being barred or crossed with streaks of black 
 and white. The head is surmounted with a very 
 handsome crest, of an orange brown colour, tipped with 
 black, which the bird raises and lowers at pleasure, 
 particularly when excited in any way. The hoopoe is a 
 native of Egypt, and other parts of the north of Africa; 
 and is frequently met with in Spain, and the south of 
 France, as well as in Holland, the northern parts of 
 Germany, Denmark, and even as far north as Sweden; 
 but has very rarely, though occasionally, been seen in 
 England. It derives its name from the resemblance its 
 note bears to the word 'hoop', which it repeats in a low 
 tone. It builds its nest in various situations, such as 
 old hollow trees, ruinous buildings, and the holes of rocks. 
 Its food is chiefly composed of insects. It lays about 
 five eggs of a grey colour. 
 
 There seems to be no room for any question, but that 
 the hoopoe is the bird really intended by the Hebrew 
 word which our translators have rendered the 'lapwing.'
 
 56 THE HOOPOE. 
 
 The septuagint version calls it 'epopa,' and the vulgate, 
 upupa, and the Arabian interpreters agree with this. 
 The Egyptian name of the bird is kukuphah, and the 
 Syrian, kikuphah, which evidently much resembles the 
 Hebrew word, dukiphath. The note of this bird is the 
 origin of the name which we have called it by, after the 
 .Greek and Latin, and probably the source of all these 
 just enumerated. 
 
 Montagu, in his ornithological dictionary, makes 
 mention of a pair of these birds which began to build 
 a nest in Hampshire, but were, unfortunately, disturbed, 
 and in consequence forsook it, and removed elsewhere; 
 and Latham, in the supplement to his general synopsis, 
 refers to a young hoopoe, shot in the month of June 
 in this country, and which therefore, probably, had been 
 bred here. 
 
 In the winter the hoopoe returns to Asia and 
 Africa, from various other countries into which it had 
 migrated in the summer months. It is a permanent 
 resident in Egypt, being known to breed there; and it 
 is a curious fact, that those individuals which remain 
 there throughout the year, are not associated with by those 
 which have indulged in wandering habits, who frequent 
 more remote places, while the former inhabit the towns 
 in numerous flocks.

 
 SPIKENARD. 
 
 "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, 
 and anointed the feet of JESUS, and wiped His feet with her 
 hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the 
 ointment." ST. JOHN, lii. 3. 
 
 IN various countries of the East, this plant, which 
 grows from the ground something like an ear of wheat, 
 was in ancient times, and is still, used as an ingredient 
 in making perfumes. These ointments were kept in 
 boxes made of alabaster, or some other valuable material, 
 and one of these it was that the pious woman spoken 
 of in the verse quoted above, used as there described. 
 There were indeed two species of this plant, the one 
 a native of India, and the other of Syria: the former 
 was by far the more valuable, and it is it of which St. 
 John speaks above, as "ointment of spikenard very 
 costly," and also in xii. 5, mentions a pound of it as 
 being worth three hundred pence, that is, three hundred 
 Roman pence, or denarii, each being about the value 
 of v ten pence of our money; this, by the way, may serve 
 to explain the seeming smallness of the sum given by 
 the good Samaritan to the host of the Inn, for taking 
 care of the traveller who fell among thieves. We find 
 that he "took out two pence" and gave them to him; 
 this, as just said, would be equivalent to twenty pence, 
 or one shilling and eight pence of our money; and taking 
 into account the difference in the value of money in that 
 age, and in the present, it would in reality be worth 
 a much larger sum.
 
 58 
 
 ANISE. 
 
 "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay 
 
 tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the 
 
 weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" 
 
 ST. MATTHEW, xxiii. 23. 
 
 THE seeds of this plant having an aromatic smell, a 
 warm taste, and a carminative quality, are made use of 
 in the East as a perfume, and also in England, medicinally. 
 One species of it grows in this country, but it is not 
 nearly so much esteemed as the foreign, and a large 
 quantity is therefore yearly imported from the island of 
 Malta. The species which is a native of that island, is 
 also cultivated in England, but it would appear that it 
 does not thrive or succeed so well in a soil or climate 
 which is foreign to it, as in its own, for it is not valued 
 so much as that which is imported from thence every 
 year, for the use of the apothecary and the distiller. 
 
 The anise is an annual umbelliferous plant; but it 
 seems to be conclusively established that it is not the 
 plant thus called, but the 'dill,' which is meant by the 
 word which has been translated by the former name. 
 The two words, though so different in our language, are 
 very much alike in the original Greek, ('anethou/ and 
 'anisou,') which is thought to have been the cause of 
 the error which our translators would seem to have made. 
 No other version but the English one has fallen into the 
 mistake.
 
 59 
 THE HY^NA. 
 
 "My heritage is unto me as a speckled bird."*- JEEEMIAH, xii. 9. 
 
 THERE are three species of hyaena, the spotted, the 
 villose, and the striped: the habits of all are much alike. 
 Specimens may frequently be seen in menageries and 
 museums. The last named is beyond doubt the one 
 mentioned in the Holy Scripture, if, as is supposed, the 
 above text refers to this animal, the former being 
 peculiar to Africa. 
 
 The hyaena is very savage and voracious; it will eat 
 almost anything living or dead that it can procure in 
 the shape of an animal, and its jaws are so extremely 
 strong, that it breaks with the greatest ease very large 
 bones, and swallows them, as well as the flesh. It is 
 about the size of a large dog ; in colour, a greyish 
 brown, with dark stripes. The back has a sort of 
 mane all along it of coarse and strong hair, and the 
 tail is short and bushy. The head is wide and flat, 
 and the countenance has a savage expression, not 
 to be forgotten by those who have once seen it, as 
 most persons have had the opportunity of doing even 
 in this country. When feeding, its aspect is most fierce 
 its eyes glare, it sets up the bristles on its back, and 
 shows its strong teeth ; so that altogether it has a most 
 malevolent and hideous appearance. Its voice also is 
 extremely dismal, its howl resembling the cry of a person 
 in distress, and it is said even to have the power of 
 imitating such for the purpose of luring prey within its 
 reach : sometimes it sounds like laughter, and it has, on
 
 60 THE HYJENA. 
 
 this account, been called the 'laughing hyaena.' 
 
 In Major Denham's account of his travels in Africa, 
 he says, "The hyaenas, which are everywhere in legions, 
 grow now so very ravenous, that a good large village, 
 where I sometimes procure a draught of sour milk, had 
 been attacked the night before my last visit, the town 
 absolutely carried by storm, notwithstanding defences 
 nearly six feet high of branches of a prickly tree; and 
 two donkeys, whose flesh these animals are very fond 
 of, carried off, in spite of the efforts of the people. 
 We constantly heard them close to the wails of our town 
 at night; and on a gate being left partly open, they 
 would enter, and bear off any animal that they could 
 find in the streets." "One night," says Mr. Bruce, "I 
 went out of my tent, and returning immediately, I 
 perceived two blue eyes glaring at me in the dark; I 
 called my servant to bring a light, and we found a 
 hyaena standing near the head of the bed, with two or 
 three large bunches of candles in his mouth, by keeping 
 which, he seemed to wish at that time no other prey. 
 I was not afraid of him, but with a pike struck as near 
 the heart as I could. It was not until I had done this 
 that he showed any signs of fierceness, but upon feeling 
 his wound, he dropped the candles, and endeavoured 
 to run upon the shaft of the spear to arrive at me; 
 so that I was obliged to draw a pistol from my girdle, and 
 shoot him; and nearly at the same time my servant 
 cleft his skull with a battle-axe." 
 
 The hyaena and the dog are mortal enemies, and this 
 enmity was proverbial in ancient times. We find the 
 author of the book of Ecclesiastes asking, "what 
 agreement is there between the hyaena and the dog?"
 
 TURTLE-DOVE.
 
 61 
 
 THE TURTLE-DOVE. 
 
 "Oh, that I had winys like a dove! for then would I fly away, 
 and be at rest." PSALM:, lv. 6. 
 
 THERE are a great many species of pigeons, one of 
 which is the turtle-dove. It is a bird which has always 
 been a favourite, not only by reason of its pleasing 
 exterior, but still more so for the apparent gentleness 
 of its disposition. Its note is peculiarly plaintive, soft, 
 and melancholy, and was observed on this account in 
 the most ancient times, as well as at present thus we 
 find King Hezekiah Faying, when speaking of the illness 
 from which it pleased God to restore him, "I did mourn 
 as a dove." Our common house pigeon is not descended 
 from this bird, nor even from the wood pigeon, or 
 wild pigeon, as it is often called, but from a small kind 
 called the rock pigeon, which frequents cliffs by the sea, 
 where it builds with the seagulls, and other birds of the 
 ocean. The proof that it is from this bird, and not from 
 the wood pigeon that our domestic race is derived, is 
 that it has a small patch of white on the back near 
 the tail, which the wild pigeon has not, but which may 
 be observed in every individual tame pigeon, no matter 
 what its colour or colours may be, and its varieties are 
 endless. It is certainly very curious that when every 
 other part of the plumage is thus formed to vary so 
 much, this one spot should still always remain the 
 same ; but so it is, as every one may see on examination. 
 
 The turtle-dove was often used in the Jewish sacrifices. 
 Those who could not bring a more valuable offering
 
 62 THE TURTLE-DOVE. 
 
 were allowed to give a dove. God, we are told, accepts 
 us, "according to that a man hath, and not, according 
 to that he hath not." We must give with a willing 
 mind, and according to our ability, as the poor woman 
 we read of, who threw into the treasury, in faith, the 
 whole living that she had, "two mites which make a 
 farthing." It is to be observed with regard to these 
 sacrifices, that it was not the ferocious or the noxious, 
 the subtle or the unclean animals, that were to be offered ; 
 but the docile, the gentle, and the pure the lamb and the 
 dove types of the Blessed Saviour, who offered Himself 
 "as a lamb without blemish, and without spot;" "holy, 
 harmless, undefiled," "who knew no sin." Let us endea- 
 vour to imitate His spotless example in all things, that 
 we may be numbered with the "sheep of his pasture." 
 In the New Testament the dove is made an emblem 
 of the Holy Spirit, whose fruit, we are told, is "love, 
 joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, and goodness." If 
 we do not exhibit these "fruits of the Spirit" in our 
 lives, we are "none of His." 
 
 There is also another quality for which the dove is 
 very remarkable, at least one species of this bird, and 
 in which we shall likewise do well to imitate it, namely, 
 its fondness for home, for it is to this that its wonderful 
 flights from a strange place to that to which it has been 
 accustomed, must be attributed. 'Home' is 'sweet home' 
 to the dove, as well as to every one whose mind is 
 rightly constituted; but in the instinctive power to regain 
 it from a distant absence, the latter is far exceeded by 
 the former. We may well say with the Psalmist, quoting 
 reverently the passage which applies to a different subject, 
 "such knowledge is too wonderful for me, I cannot 
 attain to it."
 
 
 SYCAMORE.
 
 63 
 
 SYCAMORE. 
 
 "A.nd he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree 
 to see Him.' 1 ' 1 ST. LUKE, xix. 4. 
 
 THIS tree, also called the sycamine, is very common 
 in the Holy Land, and the adjacent countries. In King 
 Solomon's time, we are told that he made cedars "to 
 he as the sycamore trees that are in the vale for 
 abundance." It must be an extremely durable wood, 
 as the cases of the mummies brought from Egypt, and 
 various other articles of the same material, and which 
 have lasted so many thousand years, were made of this 
 tree. We must not, however, suppose that it is the same 
 species as that which is seen so commonly in England. 
 It is altogether different, and bears a kind of fig in 
 great abundance. It does not grow to a great height, 
 but its trunk is thick, and its branches spread to a 
 wide extent. Its leaf resembles that of the mulberry 
 tree. Its name is derived from two Greek words, sycos, 
 a fig tree, and moros, a mulberry tree. The inhabitants 
 of some parts of Egypt eat the fruit of this sycamore as a 
 common article of food, and we are told that they think 
 themselves well off "when they have a piece of bread, a 
 couple of sycamore figs, and a pitcher filled with water 
 from the Nile." How thankful we ought to be for the 
 many and great comforts and luxuries we enjoy so 
 abundantly in this highly favoured country. No nation 
 can compare with our's in this respect, but I am afraid 
 that our thankfulness is not always in proportion to the 
 cause we have for it.
 
 64 SYCAMORE. 
 
 The leaves of the sycamore of which we have been 
 now speaking, are in colour of the same glossy green 
 as those of the pear tree. The fruit, which as before, 
 said, it produces very abundantly, grows upon the main 
 branches, and even upon the trunk itself: several harvests 
 of it are yielded in the year, and it is related that the 
 ancient Egyptians and Cretans were in the habit of using 
 a sort of iron rake to scratch the figs when young, so 
 as to admit a small black fly into them, which it seems 
 was supposed to have the effect of making the fruit 
 ripen more quickly; and it is very probable that it really 
 was so, for Tournefort informs us that a practice of a 
 somewhat similar kind is still followed by the moderns. 
 
 On account then of the great value of its fruit, we 
 may readily imagine that this tree was much valued in 
 former times; and this is shown to have been so in 
 Judea, for when David was succeeded in the Kingdom 
 by Solomon, we find an officer especially appointed to 
 be over the "sycamores that were in the low plains," 
 and in the forty-seventh Psalm, in describing the evils 
 brought upon a rebellious people, David says that the 
 Lord "destroyed their sycamore trees with the frost." 
 
 It was into a tree of this species that Zacchaeus climbed 
 up to be able to see our Blessed Lord, when He was 
 expected to pass near to where he was, as mentioned 
 in the verse in St. Luke, placed at the head of this 
 article.
 
 65 
 
 THE CAMEL. 
 
 "When she saw Isaac, site lighted off the camel." GEN. xiiv. 64. 
 
 THOUGH the camel is of no actual use to us in this 
 country, yet it is as useful to the inhabitants of those 
 countries where it is domesticated, as any animal 
 that we have in ours is to us. Without his camel 
 what would the Arab do? It is all in all to him his 
 very life itself; for oftentimes he would miserably perish 
 "in the dry and sandy desert, where no water is," were 
 it not for the invaluable aid afforded him by this truly 
 wonderful animal, provided for his wants by the most 
 plain and evident ordering of Providence. Sometimes 
 the journey he has to travel extends to several hundred 
 miles, but with the camel for his companion he undertakes 
 it, and in most cases arrives at his destination in safety; 
 his own life having often been saved at the expense 
 of the sacrifice of that of his faithful animal. In those 
 vast and trackless deserts, excepting an oasis, or patch 
 of verdure at few and far distant intervals, nothing is 
 to be seen to break the monotony of the unvaried expanse 
 of sand the boundless horizon reveals nothing else to 
 the view. Sometimes the anxious travellers are lured 
 out of their way by what seems a lake of water; even 
 the images of trees apparently growing on its banks 
 seeming to be reflected in it; but, alas! when he has 
 toiled towards it, he finds that he has been pursuing 
 a phantom that he has been the victim of a mere 
 delusion that the hoped for reality does not exist where 
 he had fondly hoped to find it. Who can imagine
 
 66 THE CAMEL. 
 
 his feelings as he turns away, almost in despair, and 
 again attempts to 'plod his weary way' through the wild 
 waste by which he is hemmed in on every side. Are 
 we as thankful in happy England as we should be for 
 freedom from such distresses? Sometimes, again, the 
 whole caravan of travellers is overtaken by the tempest, 
 called the Simoom of the desert. Its approach is but 
 too clearly marked by the cloud, or rather bank of sand, 
 raised up by the wind, which is driven on towards them 
 with irresistible fury. They see it corning, but flight 
 is impossible where should they flee to? Where could 
 they flee to in time? They fall flat on their faces, and 
 hold their breath, to avoid what would be otherwise 
 immediate and inevitable suffocation by the sand. The 
 storm which came on so fast, is gone as rapidly are 
 they alive? Too often the whole company of Arabs and 
 their camels are lifeless. Not one has survived to tell 
 the tale, and the whitened bones of men and animals 
 alone mark the spot where the destruction came upon 
 them, and form their tombstone, to record their fate to 
 those who at some future time may travel the same 
 dreary road. Whole armies have thus been destroyed 
 
 "Say all devouring sands, for well ye knew, 
 Whence came the blasts that Persia's hosts o'erthrew?" 
 
 The most curious fact among the many curious ones 
 in the natural history of the camel, is that it is only 
 known in the domesticated, and not in the wild state, 
 nor is there any record of the history of its first change 
 from the former to the latter.
 
 /
 
 67 
 
 FLAX. 
 
 "Smoking flax shall He not quench." ST. MATTHEW, xii. 20. 
 
 THERE seems to be no doubt but that in this case the 
 plant thus rendered, is the same as that which is properly 
 known by the same name. Of the many productions 
 of the vegetable world which are directly useful to man, 
 this is perhaps the most so. The country of Egypt 
 was peculiarly celebrated for the manufacture of flax, 
 from the earliest ages. When wrought into linen garments, 
 it constituted the principal dress of the inhabitants, and 
 the only one which the priests ever wore. Even to the 
 present day, the manufacture of it is carried on in that 
 country. The "fine linen of Egypt," is more than once 
 mentioned in the Holy Scripture, and in like manner, 
 the Greeks highly praised it. They however had no 
 flax of their own, and its merit was only a comparative 
 one. It was coarse compared to the linen fabrics of the 
 present day. The fine Holland linen is far before it 
 for delicacy of texture. This may at once be seen by 
 the remains of the former material still extant about the 
 mummies so wonderfully preserved through so many 
 thousand years, even to these times; and as those 
 who were so embalmed, were persons of the highest rank 
 and consideration, there cannot be a doubt but that the 
 best and most expensive materials would be used. It was 
 therefore called 'fine,' in comparison with the other 
 manufactures from the same plant, which were so much 
 coarser; as, for example, the sails of their ships which 
 were made of matting.
 
 MYRTLE. 
 
 "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of 
 the brier shall come up the myrtle tree. ISAIAH, Iv. 13. 
 
 THE myrtle is very common in Judea, and grows 
 sometimes to the size of a small tree. Its trunk sends 
 forth a great number of small branches, which are furnished 
 with leaves like those of the box, but smaller, and 
 narrower in shape. They have a very sweet smell, and 
 are of a beautiful green colour. The flowers, which are 
 snow white, with an edging of red or purple, have a 
 most exquisite appearance among the luxuriant foliage, 
 and the scent which they emit is more sweet than even 
 that of the rose. The fruit, or berry, which succeeds the 
 blossom, is of an oblong shape ending in a sort of crown. 
 In the Eastern and warmer countries, the myrtle blooms 
 in the month of May, but in colder climates, from July 
 to August. Its highly ornamental character rendered it 
 as great a favourite with the ancients as it is with the 
 moderns, and it was also much used by the former for 
 making garlands and chaplets. 
 
 In the verse above, the Prophet refers to the happy 
 state of the Jewish nation, after their return to their own 
 land from the Babylonish captivity; but beyond all doubt, 
 the prophecy has a further view, namely, to the happy time 
 yet to come to all the 'Israel of God,' when the kingdom 
 of Christ shall be set up in the earth, and He shall reign 
 supreme 'over all, blessed for ever.' Let us be mindful 
 of what we are asking for when we pray and say 'Thy king- 
 dom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.'
 
 THE KITE. 
 
 "The kite after Ms kind" LEYITICUS, ri. 14. 
 
 THE bird described under this name in our translation 
 of the Holy Bible, is supposed rather to be the merlin; 
 the former being one of the largest of the hawks, and 
 the latter one of the smallest. The former is also 
 distinguished for its want of courage, for which quality 
 the latter is remarkable. In another passage, namely, 
 in Job, xxviii. 7, the same word is rendered 'vulture;' 
 the sharp-sighteduess of the bird being the faculty for 
 which it is alluded to ; and in Isaiah, xiii. 29, and xxxiv. 
 14, and in Jeremiah, i. 39, Bochart has imagined that 
 jackals are intended. This seems to shew, what has 
 already been mentioned more than once, in speaking of 
 other animals, how uncertain must be our conjectures in 
 determining the different species of them spoken of in 
 the sacred volume. We may, however, be assured that 
 this can be of no real consequence, or it would have been 
 differently ordered. All the main and essential doctrines 
 of the Bible are plain and easy to be understood, so 
 that 'he that runs may read;' and if people who have 
 it in their hands, or heads, or houses, 'go on still in 
 wickedness,' it is not for want of light, which they 
 might have if they would. 
 
 I copy the following description of the kite from 
 Bewick's" British Birds: "The kite is easily distinguished 
 from the common buzzard, and indeed from all the rest 
 of the tribe, by its forked tail. Its length is about two 
 feet; bill, horn colour, furnished with bristles at the base;
 
 70 THE KITE. 
 
 eyes and cere, yellow; the feathers on the head and 
 neck are long and narrow, of a hoary colour, streaked 
 with brown down the middle of each ; those on the body 
 are reddish brown, the margin of each feather pale; 
 quills, dark brown; legs, yellow; claws, black. It is 
 common in England, where it continues the whole year: 
 is found in various parts of Europe, in very northern 
 latitudes, whence it returns towards Egypt before winter, 
 in great numbers : it is said to breed there, and return 
 in April to Europe, where it breeds a second time, contrary 
 to the nature of rapacious birds in general. It lays 
 two or three eggs of a whitish colour, spotted with pale 
 yellow, of a roundish form. Though the kite weighs 
 somewhat less than three pounds, the extent of its wings 
 is more than five feet; its flight is rapid, and it soars 
 very high in the air, frequently beyond the reach of 
 sight; yet from this distance descends upon its prey with 
 irresistible force: its attacks are confined to small 
 quadrupeds and birds; it is particularly fond of young 
 chickens, but ' the fury of their mother is generally 
 sufficient to drive away the robber."
 
 71 
 
 THE ADDER. 
 
 "Like the deaf adder, that stoppeth Tier ear; which will not 
 
 hearken to the voice of charmers, charming nev?r so wisely" 
 
 PSA.LM Iviii. 4, 5. 
 
 THE adder is mentioned five times in the Holy Bible, 
 but without sufficient authority from the original. All 
 travellers of note who have been in the Levant, have 
 spoken of the taming, or charming, as it is called, of 
 serpents, as being not only possible, but a thing actually 
 done, and what they had themselves witnessed. The 
 'deaf adder' may either mean a serpent of a species 
 naturally deaf, or one deaf by accident, or called so on 
 account of its seeming, by its actions, to be so. Whichever 
 of these is intended in the well-known passage placed 
 at the head of this article, it is spoken of in the poetical 
 language which the Holy Bible so continually employs, 
 as stopping its ear, that is, as being proof against all 
 the efforts of the person who has power to charm others 
 of its kind by means of sound musical instruments being 
 employed for the purpose. In like manner wicked careless 
 persons disregard the Holy instructions and commands of 
 those who are wiser and better than themselves, and 
 even those of God Himself, and thus render themselves 
 more truly debased than even the most earthly of all 
 animals. 
 
 The following account is given in the Penny Magazine: 
 "I had often desired to ascertain the truth of the report 
 as to the effect of music upon snakes. I therefore 
 enquired for a snake-catcher; I was told that there was-
 
 72 THE ADDER. 
 
 no person of the kind in the village; but after a little 
 enquiry, I heard there was one in a village, distance three 
 miles. 'l accordingly sent for him, keeping a strict watch 
 over the snake, which never attempted to escape, whilst 
 we, his enemies, were in sight. About an hour elapsed 
 when my messenger returned, bringing a snake -catcher. 
 This man wore no covering on his head, nor any on his 
 person, excepting a small piece of cloth round his loins; 
 he had in his hands two baskets, one containing tame 
 snakes, and one empty ; these and his musical pipe were the 
 only things he had with him. I made the snake-catcher 
 leave his two baskets on the ground at some distance, 
 while he ascended the mound with his pipe alone. He 
 began to play: at the sound of the music the snake came 
 gradually and slowly out of his hole. When he was 
 entirely within reach, the snake-catcher seized him 
 dexterously by the tail, and held him thus at arm's 
 length, whilst the snake, enraged, darted his head in all 
 directions, but in vain: thus suspended, he has not the 
 power to raise himself so as to seize hold of his 
 tormentor. He exhausted himself in vain exertions; when 
 the snake-catcher descended the bank, dropped him into 
 the empty basket, and closed the lid; he then began 
 to play, and after a short time, raising the lid of the 
 basket, the snake darted about wildly, and attempted 
 to escape; the lid was shut down again quickly, the music 
 always playing. This was repeated two or three times ; 
 and in a very short interval, the lid being raised, the 
 snake sat on his tail, opened his hood, and danced as 
 quietly as the tame snakes in the other basket, nor did 
 he again attempt escape. This having witnessed with 
 my own eyes, I can assert as a fact."

 
 73 
 
 THE OAK. 
 
 "Howl ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come 
 down." ZECILLEIAH, xi. 2. 
 
 THE oak has always been, and still is, in this country 
 at least, universally considered as the king of the forest. 
 It is pre-eminent for size, as well as for the extreme 
 age to which, beyond all doubt, if spared, it will reach, 
 as it has reached. It so happens that the writer is 
 engaged in writing these remarks on the 'twenty-ninth of 
 May,' the anniversary of the day, which as long as England 
 continues a nation, will be memorable in her annals for 
 the preservation of King Charles the Second, in the 
 boughs of an oak, into which he had ascended to hide 
 himself from his enemies, who were in immediate pursuit 
 of him, and to whose blood-thirstiness he would doubtless 
 have become a victim, as his sainted father had before 
 him, had he fallen into their hands. But the good 
 Providence of God ordained it otherwise, and a secure 
 shelter was thus afforded him. The hand of Providence 
 is indeed very apparent in his preservation, for at this 
 early season of the year it is but rarely that the 
 oak is in sufficient leaf to aiford a perfect protection 
 as a hiding-place for man. Well may we say in 
 the beautiful words of our Prayer-book, in reference 
 to the restitution of that King and of the Royal Family, 
 and the restoration of the Government after many years' 
 interruption on the same day of the same month, "We 
 yield thee praise and thanksgiving for the wonderful 
 deliverance of these kingdoms- from the great rebellion,
 
 74 THE OAK. 
 
 and all the miseries and oppressions consequent thereupon, 
 under which they had so long groaned." 
 
 On another occasion the oak proved the means of 
 the destruction, instead of the preservation of a royal 
 personage. You will remember how Absalom, the son 
 of David, met with his death, through the like ordering of 
 the Providence of God, by means of a tree of this kind. 
 "Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom 
 rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick 
 boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the 
 oak, and he was taken up between the Heaven and the 
 Earth; and the mule that was under him went away." 
 
 It is sad to think how, almost as one may say in all 
 ages, this noble tree has been perverted to the worst 
 of purposes. It was under the oaks that the Jews offered 
 their idolatrous worship; and in like manner this tree 
 was held sacred by our idolatrous forefathers the Druid 
 Priests of the Ancient Britons. On the other hand, it 
 is eminently serviceable and useful, and as such is 
 worked up for an endless variety of purposes. It is, 
 however, so handsome and imposing a tree, when full 
 grown, that one is tempted to say 'woodman spare that 
 tree,' when the axe is about to be applied to its roots; 
 but we must suppress such a thought in consideration 
 of its value, for its extreme durability makes it the 
 main material of those 'wooden walls,' which are so 
 justly 'Albion's boast,' and with which every 'heart of 
 oak' must always sympathize.
 
 ,
 
 75 
 
 THE ROE. 
 
 "As sicift as the roes upon the mountains." I. CHBOX., xii. 8. 
 
 THIS is the animal called the gazelle a beautiful and 
 lively species of the deer kind. It bounds over the 
 roughest heights with the greatest ease nothing of the 
 sort seems to present an obstacle to it, and it even 
 appears to take delight in the most surprising leaps. Its 
 eyes are peculiarly black and bright; and as it is easily 
 tamed, if taken when young, it becomes a very ornamental 
 domestic animal. Its horns are used in some parts of 
 the East in the same way that we do nails or pegs. 
 They are fixed on different parts of the walls, and on 
 them are hung the bows and arrows, shields and spears, 
 and other such light things of the chiefs. 
 
 Any one who attentively reads the Holy Scriptures, 
 cannot fail to perceive how strikingly happy are the illustra- 
 tions it employs. How indeed could it be otherwise, when 
 the mind of the Eternal Creator Himself had to choose 
 illustrations from His own handiworks? A proof of the 
 truth of this remark is furnished by the following account 
 of the gazelle, from Addison's 'Damascus and Palmyra', 
 "We suddenly came in sight of a large herd of antelopes, 
 which appeared to be of the species called by us, gazelle. 
 The Arabs seized their lances, we drew our pistols, and 
 distributing ourselves in an immense circle, we walked 
 our horses towards them slowly. They heeded us not 
 till we approached near, when they began to hold up 
 their beautiful heads, adorned with slightly curved tapering 
 horns, and trotted up together; then seeing us spurring
 
 76 THE ROE. 
 
 onr horses from behind the little hillocks all around 
 them, they dashed through us with the rapidity of wind ; 
 lances were thrown, pistols discharged, but all in vain; 
 they quickly distanced the fleetest horse, which was a 
 grey Arab " mare. They then stopped, turned round, 
 and looked at us, and then took to their heels again, 
 bounding over the ground in such a way, that they 
 appeared to fly rather than to run." 
 
 Immense herds of gazelles are found on the open plains 
 in those Eastern countries, of which it is a native. The 
 extreme gracefulness of the figure of this elegant animal, 
 the liquid lustre of its eyes, and the elasticity of its 
 movements, have often made it a fit subject for the 
 praises of Eastern poetical writings. 
 
 The flesh of this animal is said to be very good eating, 
 and it therefore was, and is indeed still, an object of 
 chase in Arabia, as well as in Egypt in the most ancient 
 times. Several of their drawings may yet be seen 
 preserved in the British Museum and other places; and 
 they are continually represented on them as being chased. 
 So exceedingly swift however are they, that they cannot 
 be overtaken by a horse, or any dog, not even by a 
 greyhound. They are therefore hunted by means of 
 falcons, which are trained for this purpose, and are 
 taught to attack the head of the gazelle, so as to frighten 
 and baffle it, and thus give time for the dogs to come 
 up and take it. The skin is also made use of to cover 
 a small kind of drum, which is one of the musical 
 instruments of the Syrians. 
 
 The general colour of the gazelle above is a dark 
 fawn, or yellowish brown ; and the under parts are white, 
 divided from the upper by a dark brown or black band 
 along the sides.
 
 LADANUM.
 
 77 
 
 MYRRH LADANUM. 
 
 "Carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, 
 spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds" G-EKESIS, xliii. 11. 
 
 LADANUM, called by the Greeks, ladanon, and by 
 druggists among us, labdanum, is a kind of sweet-scented 
 gum, which is found early in the morning in Arabia and 
 Cyprus, and other parts of the East, on the leaves of 
 several species of cistus, but on three species in more 
 abundance than on others. The cistus is in appearance 
 something like sage, and its blossoms not very unlike 
 those of the common wild rose. Whether the gum is 
 exuded from the plant, or whether it is a sort of dew 
 that descends upon it, in the way that what is called 
 honey-dew does upon rose trees in England, which is 
 itself doubtless produced by some kind of small insect, 
 seems to be undecided different persons thinking 
 differently about it. 
 
 The purest and most valuable ladanum is gathered 
 in the following curious manner: It is found upon the 
 plants early in the morning, and as it dries off as the 
 sun gets up, the herdsmen drive their flocks of goats 
 among the plants in good time, and the gum adheres 
 to the goats' beards, from which it is afterwards removed. 
 The herdsmen also themselves at the same time, are 
 collecting all they can by means of a goat's skin tied 
 loosely to a stick, which they move about among the 
 shrubs. 
 
 Another mode of gathering it, though somewhat similar 
 to the above, is by means of a wooden bow, to which
 
 78 LADANUM. 
 
 woollen threads, each about a yard long, are tied. It 
 is described by some as a kind of rake, to which leathern 
 thongs are affixed. These machines are drawn backwards 
 and forwards among the plants, and the gum adheres 
 to them in like manner, and is thus procured. If any 
 dust, blown about by the wind, has become mixed with 
 it, it is removed by the application of oil, which is then 
 heated. 
 
 Ladanum was formerly used medicinally, both for 
 external applications, and taken internally; but it is now 
 used chiefly for fumigations, its fragrant smell making 
 it well adapted for such purposes. The more liquid juice 
 is manufactured into a narcotic, to produce sleep; 
 and it was this drug which was offered to our Blessed 
 Lord on the cross, in accordance with the usual custom 
 of giving such potions to those in dying circumstances, 
 to render them insensible to their sufferings, but He 
 preferred the cup which He had chosen to drink, and 
 'received it not.' <( The cup which my Father hath 
 given me to finish, shall I not drink it?" 
 
 We have translated the original here, by the word 
 'myrrh.' Another kind of it is procured by making 
 incisions in a tree which grows in abundance in Egypt, 
 Abyssinia, and Arabia. Its taste is extremely bitter and 
 acrid, and it has a peculiarly strong but very unpleasant 
 aromatic smell. This may have been the kind of which 
 our Blessed Saviour's 'bitter cup' was composed, as both 
 were used for the same purpose, but it cannot be said 
 with certainty.

 
 79 
 THE PELICAN. 
 
 "I am like a pelican of the wilderness." PSALM, cii. 6. 
 
 THE pelican is a bird about the size of a swan. It 
 measures from tbe point of the bill to the tip of the 
 tail, nearly six feet ; and about ten or twelve feet across 
 the wings, when expanded. The full-grown bird is 
 entirely white, excepting the quill feathers, which are 
 black: as it advances in age the plumage becomes 
 tinged with light red or yellow. The bill of the 
 pelican, which is about seventeen inches long, is 
 extremely curious the upper one is flat, and has a 
 small red hook at the point, probably to enable the 
 bird the better to hold its prey, which consists of fish. 
 The under bill is divided into two parts, united at the 
 tip, and between them is a large pouch of skin, which 
 the bird has the power of extending or contracting at 
 pleasure. It sometimes draws it up flat under the 
 bill, and at others dilates it to a very wide, or rather 
 very deep, extent. This singular piece of mechanism 
 is, however, not merely a curiosity, but most useful to 
 its owner. It is capable of containing fifteen quarts of 
 water, and the parent bird accordingly fills it with 
 plentiful supplies both of food and water for its young. 
 When full its appearance is very extraordinary. 
 
 There are specimens of this bird in the Zoological 
 Gardens in London, as well as elsewhere; so that any 
 person may have the opportunity of seeing them for 
 himself, without the difficulty and danger of going abroad 
 to do so.
 
 80 THE PELICAN. 
 
 of its own mouth, if so we may call it, into theirs, bj 
 compressing its bill strongly against its breast, which 
 beyond all doubt, was the origin of the ancient fable, 
 that the pelican fed its young with blood from its own 
 breast, which it pierced with its bill for that purpose. 
 'A pelican vulning herself,' that is, wounding herself, is 
 used in heraldry, occasionally, as a coat of arms or 
 crest. 
 
 This bird obtains its prey by darting down upon it, 
 which it does from a height of thirty or forty feet, at 
 which elevation it flies along, until it perceives a fish 
 sufficiently near the surface for it to seize. Sometimes 
 it practices the following method: It is not, strictly 
 speaking, what is called a diving bird, but it often 
 submerges itself for a few moments under the water, on 
 perceiving a shoal of fish, among which it dashes with 
 its bill wide open, and catches them in this curious sort 
 of net. It adopts this mode with great success in the 
 shallow parts which it often frequents; and it may 
 even be witnessed on a small scale, in the specimens 
 already alluded to in the Gardens of the Zoological 
 Society of London. 
 
 Iti some localities, pelicans congregate together in 
 most immense and extraordinary flocks, and often 
 associate with other kinds of water-fowl in perfect amity. 
 
 The eyes of the pelican are small, and its whole 
 appearance is sad and melancholy. The writer of the 
 hundred and forty second Psalm typifies his own grief 
 at being a witness to the desolation of his beloved 
 country, and the overthrow of the altars of religion, by the 
 pitiable aspect of a lonely pelican in the midst of a 
 wilderness.
 
 81 
 THE SYRIAN WOLF. 
 
 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb." ISAIAH, xi. 6. 
 
 THE wolf is an exceedingly savage animal, and is 
 spoken of with reference to this, its character, in various 
 parts of the Holy Bible. It is of the size of a very large 
 dog, and of a greyish colour, but it is so frequently to be 
 seen in menageries, that a more particular description 
 of it need not be given. It is an * inhabitant of 
 many countries, and is exceedingly numerous in those 
 where it is found ; and its rapacious and destructive habits 
 make it a constant source of fear and alarm to persons 
 who have flocks and herds to suffer from its ravages. 
 The species which is represented in the engraving 
 is the Syrian wolf; but there are also two species of 
 wolf in Europe, and one of these was formerly very 
 common in England; so much so, that from the 
 earliest times it was customary to offer rewards for 
 their destruction ; and this being an island, it has happily 
 been possible entirely to extirpate them, which has by 
 no means even yet been the case on the continent. 
 King Edgar, about the year 972, remitted the punishment 
 of many persons, on their producing a specified number 
 of wolves' tongues, and by this plan he succeeded in 
 most materially diminishing their number, though they 
 were not totally eradicated for many centuries afterwards. 
 According to Hollingshed, great destruction of the flocks 
 in Scotland was caused by them in the year 1577. 
 The last wolf in that part of the country is said to have 
 been killed by Sir Edward Cameron, of Lochiel, about
 
 82 THE SYRIAN WOLF. 
 
 the year 1677. In Ireland, the final extinction of this 
 savage animal was not accomplished until so lately as 
 the year 1710, when the last presentment for their 
 destruction is said to have been made in the county 
 of Cork. 
 
 The wolf is so very ravenous and voracious an animal, 
 that it is said to consume, on a moderate calculation, 
 more than thirty times its own weight of food in a year. 
 Men, women, and children, and especially the latter, 
 have been in numberless instances carried off by them. 
 In the year 1814, three grown persons and sixteen 
 children were 'devoured by them in one division alone 
 of the kingdon of Prussia. In winter, owing to the 
 scarcity of food, they become exceedingly savage and 
 ferocious; and the following striking lines of the poet 
 Thomson, in his 'Seasons,' well describes their character 
 ID the 'Winter.' 
 
 "By wintry famine rous'd from all the tract 
 Of horrid mountains which the shining Alps, 
 And wavy Appenine, and Pyrenees, 
 Branch out stupendous into distant lands, 
 Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave! 
 Burning for blood! bony, and gaunt, and grim! 
 Assembling wolves in raging troops descend, 
 And, pouring o'er the country, bear along, 
 Keen as the north wind sweeps the glossy snow. 
 All is tbeir prize. They fasten on the steed, 
 Press him to earth, and pierce his mighty heart; 
 Nor can the bull his awful front defend, 
 Or shake the murdering savages away. 
 Kapacious at the mother's throat they fly, 
 And tear the screaming infant from her breast. 
 The god-like face of man avails him nought. 
 E'en beauty, force divine! at whose bright glance 
 The generous lion stands in softened gaze, 
 Here bleeds a hapless, undistingoish'd prey."
 
 C H
 
 83 
 THE CHESNUT. 
 
 "Tfie chesnut trees were not like his branches" EZEKIEL, xxxi. 8. 
 
 THE chesnut is a very handsome and fine growing 
 tree. Its fruit does not come to so great perfection 
 in this country as in many other parts of Europe. 
 In Spain it thrives extremely well, and very large 
 quantities of chesnuts are exported from thence every 
 year to England. Here they are eaten only as a 
 luxury, but in many of the* southern countries of 
 the continent they are extensively used as an article of 
 food. The wood also is valuable, and is employed for 
 making casks, being of a close grain, and therefore not 
 much affected by the weather. It is a tree which grows 
 to a very great age: there is one 'still remaining at 
 Tortworth, in Gloucestershire, which is said to have 
 been a well-grown tree six hundred and eighty years 
 ago, or more. There were formerly extensive forests 
 of chesnuts in England, but they have given place 
 long since to a far more valuable production to 
 fields of corn, which has well been called the 'staff of 
 life.' The fruit of the tree in this country is but small; 
 but even were it as fine as those which are produced 
 in Spain, I do not suppose that our people would be 
 content with making them a part of their food, as some 
 other people do. We ought to be very thankful that it 
 is not necessary for us to do so. 
 
 In an account of this tree, given in a very interesting 
 volume published by the Society for Promoting Christian 
 Knowledge, it is related that in the year 1846, the crop
 
 84 THE CHESNUT. 
 
 of chesnuts in this country was unusually large; and it 
 mentions in particular that which was produced in the 
 great park at Windsor Castle. His Royal Highness Prince 
 Albert issued an order, that any poor person might, on 
 applying for a ticket of leave to gather these chesnuts, be 
 provided with one, and be well paid for collecting them to 
 be put in store. Accordingly, in the month of October, a 
 very great number of men, women, and children applied 
 for leave, which was granted to them: they were paid 
 for their labour, and the chesnuts when all collected, were 
 given to the overseers of the surrounding parishes, to be 
 sold by them, and the produce in money laid out in 
 the purchase of bread, *or otherwise distributed for the 
 relief o/ the poor. A considerable sum must have been 
 realized by this means, for one poor man and his boy 
 collected not less than three bushels in as many hours, and 
 were paid the sum of eight shillings for their trouble in 
 collecting them. They must have felt very thankful for 
 so kind and considerate an action, and such charity is 
 doubtless well bestowed, for it encourages labour, and the 
 Holy Bible says that "if any will not work, neither should 
 he eat." Some persons are, however, so unfortunate as 
 Dot to be able to obtain work, even when they are 
 willing to labour, and desirous to do so; and it is the 
 duty of all who are better off, to relieve such deserving 
 persons to the best of their ability. 
 
 The principal use that is now made of our English 
 chesnuts, is for feeding deer. In Saxon times they were 
 the food of numerous herds of swine, which were tended 
 in the forests by swineherds, to keep them from 
 straying.
 
 COOK.
 
 85 
 
 THE COCK. 
 
 "And immediately the cock crew." ST. MATTHEW, ixvi. 74. 
 
 THERE are probably few passages of Holy Scripture 
 which are more universally known than the one before 
 us. What Christian is there who has not heard or read 
 of the fall of St. Peter? a warning to all in every age, 
 to be 'not high-minded, but to fear.' "Let him that 
 thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." Whc 
 could be more confident than St. Peter of his fidelity 
 to his Lord, when he vehemently asserted "though I 
 should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise,' 
 and likewise, we are told, "said all the disciples.' 
 Yet Peter fell he had trusted too much, doubtless, tu 
 his own strenglh, and not sufficiently depended upon 
 the grace of God, which His Holy Spirit imparts to 
 all who seek for it. The fall of St. Peter was permitted 
 that he might be humbled, and that blessed object was 
 fully gained. It is related by some of the Ancients, 
 that he could never again hear the crowing of a cock 
 without tears; and it is also traditionally recorded that 
 inasmuch as his denial of his Lord had tended to his 
 crucifixion, he would not consent even uhen afterwards 
 he him?elf was crucified, ("whither I go," said Christ 
 propitiously to him, "thou cannot follow me now, 
 but thou shalt follow me afterwards,") to be crucified 
 in the same way that his Divine Master had been, but 
 was by his own desire crucified with his head downwards. 
 The repentance of the Holy Apostle was indeed sincere, 
 for it was uniform and lasting. It was therefore accepted,
 
 86 THE COCK. 
 
 as such, true repentance alone can be. 
 
 The common cock, though so very abundant in 
 England, is not a native of this country, but, like the 
 pheasant, comes from the East. It is, however, uncertain 
 from what species it is really derived : perhaps from the 
 bird called the jungle cock, or jungle fowl, which is 
 very common in the East Indies. 
 
 The cock is a very spirited and courageous bird. 
 He will attack with the greatest bravery any enemy, 
 even if twenty times his own size, who attempts to 
 injure the hen or her chickens; and he also shews a 
 generous and noble spirit in seeking food for them, and 
 leaving for them the most and the best he can find, 
 going without himself, though he often must be hungry 
 at such times as well as they. Mankind are naturally 
 disposed to be selfish, and therefore children should 
 especially guard against this habit, for fear it should grow 
 upon them. A selfish person is disliked by every one; 
 and even if it were not so, yet God hates this sin, and 
 that ought to be sufficient of itself for us. Let us then 
 not be ashamed of learning a good lesson from the 
 humble bird before us. 
 
 The manner of the cock in walking about would give 
 one the idea that he was vain and conceited, but it is 
 most likely that it is not so in reality, but he only stalks 
 about in the manner that is natural to him, and if so, 
 he is not to be found fault with on this account, as those 
 persons are, who though possessed of reason, which 
 the bird has not, give themselves airs, and while they 
 put on an appearance of importance, are all the while 
 only making themselves ridiculous.
 
 ALMOND. 
 
 "ITuts and almonds" GENESIS, xliii. 11. 
 
 THE Hebrew name of this tree is derived from a 
 word in that language which means 'to awake early/ 
 'to make haste,' or 'to use dispatch in action.' Thus in 
 Jeremiah, i. 2., where we read that the Prophet is 
 shewn the rod of an almond tree, or as it is expressed 
 in the Vulgate edition, 'a waking rod,' it would appear 
 that the Almighty meant to suggest to him by it, that 
 as this tree is before others in budding and blossoming, 
 so would He quickly bring His threatened judgments 
 upon the people for their sins. 
 
 Solomon, when speaking of ati old man, in the book 
 of Ecclesiastes, xii. 5., says, among the other beautiful 
 illustrations which he uses, that then "the almond 
 tree shall flourish," by which it is understood by critics 
 that he means to express the quickness with which 
 old age advances upon men, and also the resemblance 
 between the snow-white blossoms and bare boughs of 
 the tree, and the hoar}* head and withered estate of 
 the aged. To this, if spared by God's good Providence, 
 we must all come. that "that day may not overtake 
 any of us unawares." What more pitiable sight is there, 
 than to see an old person, the sands of whose glass 
 have almost run down, still cleaving to this world, and 
 "minding earthly things?" If we would not that it 
 should be so with us, let us mind religion, and serve 
 God through Jesus Christ, NOW, while yet we are young.
 
 88 
 
 WORMWOOD. 
 
 "Bitter as wormwood'' 1 PEOYEEBS, v. 4. 
 
 WE cannot speak with certainty as to the particular 
 plant intended by the Hebrew word which our translators 
 have rendered 'wormwood.' Certain however it is, that 
 it was one, the effects of which were very disagreeable, 
 and even poisonous. The plant therefore which is called 
 wormwood, may not be that which is here spoken of. 
 It is said by several travellers, that it grows in very 
 great abundance along the shore of the sea near Zidon, 
 and that it is also plentiful in the inland parts of 
 Palestine. Its leaves are of an ash colour, and small 
 in size. Its smell is extremely unpleasant, and its taste 
 bitter. It has a number of small stalks, and produces 
 minute seeds of a yellowish colour. It is usually spoken 
 of in the Holy Bible in connection with hemlock, or gall, 
 the properties of both being similar. The Hebrew name 
 of this plant is 'loneh;' which the Vulgate, as also the 
 Syriac and Arabic versions render 'wormwood;' and the 
 Septuagint usually translates the word by terms which 
 express the sense in which it is figuratively used in the 
 passages in whi^h it occurs.
 
 IBEX.
 
 80 
 THE IBEX. 
 
 " The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats." PSALM c : .7. 18. 
 
 THE original Hebrew word from which the name of 
 this animal is derived, means 'to ascend,' 'to mount uj;' 
 and as the ibex is remarkable for its wonderful swiftness 
 and agility in climbing up the most rugged and dangerous 
 precipices, it has been supposed by some learned writers 
 of the Old Testament, that it is it which is here, and 
 in some other passages intended. It cannot be the 
 chamois, which is also famous in the like respect; for 
 the animal before us, known by the same name to the 
 Arabs, is described by them as having very long horns, 
 which is not the case with the chamois. 
 
 The ibex, otherwise called the rock goat, is an elegant 
 and sprightly animal in appearance, and gentle in its 
 manners. The female is particularly noted for her 
 extreme fondness for her young, and defends them most 
 courageously against even such formidable foes as eagles 
 and wolves; but indeed most females are so: an unnatural 
 mother is happily but very rare, and well it is that it 
 is so, for otherwise how would helpless infancy (and 
 children are the most helpless of all young creatures,) 
 be supported in life? 
 
 The ibex, or wild goat is rather larger than the 
 common tame goat, the general colour is a dusky 
 brown ; and the animal has a^ long tawny or dusky beard. 
 The body is short, as is the tail also; the legs slender: 
 the coat long; a black streak runs down the back; and 
 there is a black spot both above and below the knees. 
 
 M
 
 90 THE IBEX. 
 
 The horns are large in the full grown animal, weighing 
 sometimes as much as sixteen 01 eighteen pounds. The 
 eyes are large, round, and bright, as is generally the 
 case with the stag kind. 
 
 The extreme nimbleness of this species is truly won- 
 derful. It can reach the top of a rock of fifteen feet 
 high at three bounds; and is so exceedingly quick and 
 lightfooted, that it scarcely seems to touch the part on 
 which it alights, as if it were an elastic, and not a hard 
 surface. If it happens to be between two rocks near 
 to each other, and wishes to ascend to the highest point, 
 it leaps first from the side of one rock, to that of the 
 other, and so on from each to the other alternately, 
 until it has gained the summit. It is only the native 
 inhabitants of the mountains, who are themselves most 
 wonderful climbers, being accustomed to such pursuits 
 from their childhood, that have the least chance in the 
 chase of these animals. It requires a person to be able 
 to look down from the most dangerous heights without 
 being dizzy ; to be surefooted in the most difficult passes ; 
 and to be able to endure great fatigue, cold, and hunger. 
 
 The fore legs of this species are somewhat shorter 
 than the hind ones, and consequently they ascend with 
 greater ease than they descend. They keep in the 
 highest parts of the mountains, until the most severe 
 weather forces them to descend into the lower regions, 
 and the first fine days that occur they shew their natural 
 predilection by at once mounting upwards again. The 
 Psalmist seems to have been well acquainted with thi? 
 animal and its habits.
 
 91 
 
 THE CAPER. 
 
 "Desire shall fail; because man gocth to his Inng 
 ECCLESIASTES, xii. 5. 
 
 BY the word 'desire' in this passage, is understood 
 to be meant a stimulant to excite the appetite when it 
 fails; and the particular plant referred to is the caper. 
 It was the custom anciently in the east, and one even 
 still in some degree retained, to hand round to the 
 guests, before an entertainment, some strongly tasted 
 viand, as a means of sharpening the appetite. The 
 flower buds of the plant before us, which have a pleasant 
 and slightly pungent taste, were in particular esteem 
 in those times and countries for this purpose, and are 
 still used in some. The Preacher ' here declares that 
 in old age even this shall fail, for "man goeth to his 
 long home." "If the salt hath lost its savour, where- 
 with shall it be seasoned?" and the same applies to the 
 appetite. How foolish then, as well as wrong, to be 
 over thoughtful about "what we eat and what we drink," 
 seeing how evidently the time will come, if indeed we 
 are spared till then, when the body will no longer be 
 able to enjoy it. "Can thy servant" says Barzillai to 
 King David, "taste what I eat, or what I drink; can 
 I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing 
 \vomen ?" 
 
 We may indeed, and it is right to do so, enjoy the 
 blessings and comforts we are so bounteously favoured 
 with, at the hands of Him who hath "given us richly 
 all things to enjoy," but it must be with moderation, 

 
 92 THE CAPER. 
 
 temperance, and sobriety. The contrary is highly 
 displeasing to God both in old and young; and so 
 much may be done by habit, with the blessing of His 
 Grace, in subduing all inordinate desires, that there 
 need be no offence against the injunctions of His Holy 
 Word in these respects. Even the dumb animals which 
 have no reason to guide them, never, in a state of 
 nature, take more food than is sufficient and good for 
 them; and if those who are possessed of reason do so, 
 they degrade themselves below the level of the "beasts 
 that perish." "Know ye not," says the Holy Apostle, 
 "that drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 
 Be not deceived." It will be impossible for us thus 
 to 'serve sin,' if the "love of God is shed abroad in 
 our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." 
 Let us then begin betimes in the good work of self- 
 denial, "keeping under the body, and bringing it into 
 subjection." 
 
 Let us give Him our best days, and not our worst, 
 or, it may be, none at all. If we do, "the hoary head 
 is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of right- 
 eousness;" but if otherwise, "when the grasshopper shall 
 be a burden, and desire shall fail;" when "man goeth 
 to his long home;" "or ever the silver cord be loosed, 
 or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken 
 at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern; 
 then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and 
 the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." "Vanity 
 of amities," saith the Preacher, "all is vanity; for 
 all fle4i is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower 
 of gr-ss, the grass withereth and the flower thereof 
 fadeth away, but the word of the Lord endureth for ever."
 
 F K O ft.
 
 93 
 
 THE FROG. 
 
 "He sent dicers sorts of flies among them, tchich devoured their; 
 and frogs, ichich destroyed them!" PSALM Ixxviii. 45. 
 
 ABOUT the word which is thus translated, there is no 
 difference of opinion. There are indeed so many species 
 of the frog kind, that it may not be possible to say 
 which is the exact one that is here intended, but that 
 it is one of the genus there is no doubt. 
 
 The frog is a perfectly harmless animal, and will 
 certainly hurt no one who does not injure it, as it cannot 
 even hurt those who do. In France a small one is 
 used as an article of food. Most persons, nevertheless, 
 dislike its appearance, and some are .so foolish as to be 
 afraid to touch it, but if you put one upon your hand 
 to examine it, you will find that it is only anxious to 
 get away. Such groundless dislikes and fears are very 
 wrong, and should be discouraged in all persons, and 
 especially in children. Although, however, this certainly 
 is the case, yet when abounding in the numbers in 
 which as a plague they infested the land of Egypt, when 
 God employed them as an instrument of His punishment 
 of Pharaoh and his people, we may easily imagine that 
 few things could prove more unpleasant. The Almighty 
 could just as easily have sent lions, crocodiles, or 
 wolves to have shewn His power, and punished the 
 enemies of His people; but in His wisdom He chose 
 to employ these small and insignificant animals, and 
 they fulfilled His word.' 
 
 Frogs, when grown to the adult or perfect condition,
 
 94 THE FROG. 
 
 have no tails. The body is wide and short. The limbs 
 are four in number, the hinder legs being very much 
 longer than the fore ones, as well as much more 
 powerful. They impel themselves by means of them 
 with much swiftness and great agility in the water, in 
 which they are aided by their webbed feet. Frogs have 
 teeth, but toads have not. It is wonderful to see the 
 dexterity and quickness with which they catch insects, 
 darting out their tongue and instantly absorbing them 
 in an inconceivably rapid manner, which it is next to 
 impossible for the eye to follow. They never miss their 
 aim. 
 
 The voice of the frog, which most persons have heard, 
 is a kind of croak ; and sometimes, if alarmed or hurt, 
 they utter a shrill cry. They can produce this sound 
 under water as well as above it. 
 
 There is no doubt but that frogs and toads are of 
 use in destroying insects. There is a plain illustration 
 of this in an exceedingly interesting volume, lately 
 published, called "The Nile Boat," an account of a 
 traveller's voyages, in Egypt. There the flies are even 
 now a plague; and what must they have been when 
 miraculously increased in the way recorded by Moses. 
 On one occasion a friend of the writer referred to, told 
 him that while lying in his tent, he had been visited 
 by a numerous company of toads which he immediately 
 drove out from it. One, however, was accidentally left 
 behind, and while lying on his couch, he perceived it 
 darting out its tongue, and busily catching some of the 
 flies, with the swarm of which he was tormented. He 
 immediately got up, and drove all the toads in again, 
 in hopes of obtaining through their aid some diminution 
 of the numbers of the flies.
 
 WILLOW.
 
 THE WILLOW. 
 
 "We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof" 
 PSALM cxxxvii. 2. 
 
 IT is out of doubt, says the learned Dr. Harris, that 
 the word signifies 'willows:' all interpreters agree in it, 
 and the LXX. translate it so. The Arabs call this tree 
 'garabon,' which approaches the Hebrew appellation. 
 
 The willow, of whatever species, flourishes most in 
 the immediate vicinity of water, and its growth in such 
 situations is extremely rapid, more so than that of most 
 other trees. It is a very common and well-known tree, 
 and is abundant in the land of Judea. The waters of 
 the river Jordan still reflect their shadow. One variety 
 of this tree is the weeping willow, so called from the 
 drooping way in which its branches hang down. 
 
 Perhaps no tree is more useful in a number of ways 
 than the willow ; and accordingly large plantations of it 
 may be seen growing in many parts of England. 
 It thrives best in moist watery situations, which would 
 have to be drained before anything else would grow in 
 them. It is very profitable, particularly as it is cut 
 down every few years, and then grows again as rapidly 
 as before. 
 
 The willow is used for making baskets, and the bark 
 as tan for dressing leather. Our forefathers, the Ancient 
 Britons, were accustomed to make boats of it, which 
 they then covered with leather. On the river Severn the 
 same practise is still followed; the little boats, which 
 are called coracles, are very useful for crossing rivers.
 
 36 THE WILLOW. 
 
 The charcoal of the willow is used for making gunpowder. 
 Some parts of the plant yield a salt, much valued as a 
 medicine, particularly in fevers; and the wood is used 
 by cabinet-makers, as it takes a good dye. The Jews 
 made baskets of the willow, to convey their offerings to 
 the temple of the firstfruits of their corn; and they 
 still keep up the custom of presenting branches of this 
 tree in their synagogues, and adorn their tents with 
 them when they observe the feast of tabernacles. 
 
 Well may we say with the Holy Psalmist, "0 Lord, 
 how manifold are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made 
 them all, the earth is full of thy riches." This is 
 literally true, and wonderful it is to think that every 
 thing in nature is both derived from the earth, and 
 supported by it. All the numberless kinds of plants 
 thence receive their nourishment, and mysterious indeed 
 is the way in which, as they increase in size, they 
 seem as it were to grow out of nothing. The same 
 applies to every living creature that hath breath, or that 
 moves; to whom in turn the plants impart that nutri- 
 ment which they themselves have received from the 
 common earth; and so the round of life goes on. 
 Who can trace its beginning, its continuance, or its 
 end?
 
 LD ASS,
 
 97 
 
 THE WILD ASS. 
 
 "He sendeth the springs into the valleys, tohich run among the 
 
 hilk. They give drink to every least of the field: the 
 
 wild asses quench their thirst." PSALM, civ. 10, 11. 
 
 THE wild ass, tjie parent stock of the well-known 
 animal domesticated in so many parts of the world, is 
 very different indeed in appearance from it, as it appears 
 among us. This difference is mainly owing to bad 
 treatment in the case of the latter. In Spain, where 
 the ass is well and carefully treated, it grows to a far 
 larger size than in this country, and is altogether of a 
 more handsome and noble mien. In its wild state it 
 is fierce and intractable, but when tamed it becomes 
 the most gentle of all animals, and exceedingly useful 
 as a beast of burden. Mr. Morier, in the narrative of 
 his second journey through Persia, gives the following 
 
 account of this animal; he says; "On the desert 
 
 in the grey of the morning, we gave chase to two wild 
 asses, which had so much the speed of our horses that 
 when they had got at some distance, they stood still 
 and looked behind at us, snorting with their noses in the 
 air, as if in contempt of our endeavours to catch them. 
 The Persians sometimes succeed in killing them, but 
 not without great dexterity and knowledge of their haunfs. 
 To effect this, they place relays of horsemen and dogs 
 upon the track which they are known to pursue, and then 
 hunt them towards the relays, when the fresh dogs and 
 horses are started upon the half-exhausted animal." 
 
 This animal is common to the whole of Persia, although
 
 98 THE WILD ASS. 
 
 its proper soil is Arabia. It is of a light mouse-colour, 
 with a dark streak over its shoulders and down its back. 
 The head -is large, but it is much more light and lively 
 than the common ass in its gait. It is of a most obstinate 
 nature, and seems to be extremely refractory under any 
 restraint. The wildness and love of liberty which charac- 
 terize this animal are beautifully described by the prophet 
 Jeremiah: "a wild ass used to the wilderness, that 
 snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure;" chap. ii. 24.; 
 and again in chap. xiv. 6., "and the wild asses did stand 
 in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons ; 
 their eyes did fail, because there was no grass." What 
 a contrast do these words and the above description 
 exhibit to that which applies to the same animal in 
 its domesticated condition. What more humble than the 
 tame ass? See the effect of unkind treatment, and let 
 it ever be guarded against by the young, for fear so 
 evil and wicked a thing as cruelty should grow upon 
 them. Let us never forget that an honour has been 
 conferred upon this creature which has never been 
 conferred on any other, in that the Blessed Jesus "rode 
 upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass;" thus, as in all 
 the rest of his life having "humbled Himself, and made 
 Himself of no reputation." Let the cross on the shoulders 
 of the ass remind us of the cross of Christ, which he 
 bore for us, and let us always patiently bear all crosses 
 
 f TT' I > 
 
 tor Him.
 
 r 
 
 ^^w 
 
 
 M V S T A R D .
 
 99 
 
 MUSTARD. 
 
 'The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard-seed, 
 which a man took, and sowed in his field: ichich indeed is the 
 least of all seeds: but tohen it is grown, it is the greatest among 
 herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and 
 lodge in the branches thereof." ST. MATTHEW, xiii. 31, 32. 
 
 THIS is a common and useful garden herb there 
 are several species of it one of them is described by 
 Linnaeus as being so large that its branches were real 
 wood; and an author named Scheuchzer gives a print of 
 one which gro\vs to a height of several feet, and has a 
 number of branches. With regard to the verse before 
 us, Sir Thomas Brown has well observed that though 
 the seed of the mustard plant may not actually be the 
 very smallest of all seeds, yet that it may properly be 
 called so with reference to those whose nature it is to 
 grow into a ligneous substance, and to become a kind 
 of tree. We must also remember that in the eastern 
 and tropical countries, where vegetation is so wonder- 
 fully luxuriant, trees and plants of all sorts attain to 
 a height and size so vastly greater than the same 
 species do in ours and other northern climates, as to 
 make them totally different in appearance from them. 
 We must also remember, as has been truly observed, 
 that "the Bible is not intended as a treatise on natural 
 history; and its descriptions are, therefore, popular 
 rather than scientific, so that any plant large enough 
 to reach a man's head, and having spreading branches, 
 might be familiarly called a tree."
 
 100 MUSTARD. 
 
 There are some learned commentators who do not 
 suppose that it is the plant which we call mustard, that 
 is intended in the passage before us. Among others, 
 Dr. Royle, who has carefully examined into this subject, 
 gives it as his opinion, that another kind of tree which 
 grows abundantly on the banks of Jordan, as also 
 near the sea of Tiberias, and in the neighbourhood of 
 Jerusalem, is the one spoken of. It is not however at 
 all necessary to entertain this supposition, for a recent 
 traveller in the East, Lord Claude Hamilton, mentions 
 his having seen a mustard tree in tipper Egypt as thick 
 as a man's arm, and higher than he could himself reach; 
 and Alonzo de Avallo, a traveller in Chili, another hot 
 part of the world, says "the mustard tree thrives so rapidly 
 that it is as big as one's arm, and so high and thick 
 that it looks like a tree. I have travelled many leagues 
 through mustard groves which were taller than horse and 
 man, and the birds built their nests there, as the Gospel 
 mentions." 
 
 The mustard plant of the East is an annuaL, and not at 
 ;ill unlike the common charlock that grows wild in our 
 fields. It is highly valued in the countries where it grows 
 for its medicinal qualities, and these are said to be very 
 much coincident with those that appertain to our own 
 Durham mustard.
 
 
 
 
 LS-
 
 101 
 
 THE SCORPION. 
 
 "Thou dost dwell among scorpions." EZEKIEL, ii. 0. 
 
 THIS is a poisonous and very dangerous creature. 
 The name is composed of two words, which signify 'to 
 kill one's father.' Pliny and Aristotle both relate that 
 it is the custom of the scorpion to destroy its own 
 parents. Parkhurst however derives it from words which 
 express its habit of holding fast in its claws whatever 
 it has seized for its prey, and which it kills with the 
 sting in its tail. 
 
 The scorpion is from about two to four inches in 
 length in Europe, and in tropical climates it is not 
 unusual to see them as much as twelve inches long; 
 some are yellowish, and others of a' dark brown colour. 
 It is certainly a very unpleasant and formidable looking 
 creature. It is in form not very unlike a lobster, so 
 much so that the latter is called by the Arabs the 'sea 
 scorpion.' There are joints or divisions in the tail, and 
 it is supposed that they are marks of its age; thus, 
 if it has six joints, it is considered to be six years old. 
 The poison of this animal is situated in its tail, and 
 it turns the latter upwards to strike a blow with. Its 
 natural dwelling-place is among stony places, and partic- 
 ularly ruins. In the Holy Scriptures the serpent and the 
 scorpion are generally associated together, on account of 
 the venomous nature of each.
 
 102 
 THE SPIDER. 
 
 "Whose trust shall be a spider's web." JOB, viii. 11. 
 
 THIS insect is only mentioned twice in the Holy 
 Bible, namely in the book of Job, viii., and in the verse 
 at present before us. There is indeed another passage, 
 namely, Proverbs, xxx. 28, in which the word is used 
 in our version, but the original word in the Hebrew 
 being totally different, shews at once that some other 
 creature must have been there intended; and in the 
 opinion of the celebrated Bochart, it is the oewt a 
 species of lizard, that is meant; it is very probable 
 that this may be the case. The learned Dr. Harris, in 
 writing on the subject, says, "Had Solomon intended to 
 de -scribe the spider, he would not have merely said 'she 
 taketh hold with her hands,' but, she spins her thread, 
 and weaves her toils; circumstances assuredly much more 
 worthy of notice; nor would he have said that she takes 
 up her abode in kings' palaces, when she more frequently 
 constructs her dwelling in the cabins of the poor, where 
 she resides in greater security and freedom." The 
 description far better suits the little lizard jnst alluded 
 to, of which the traveller Sonnini says, "A number of 
 little grey lizards loved to approach the habitations of 
 men. They are to be seen on the walls, and even in 
 the houses." This species is common all over Egypt: 
 it is there called 'bourse.' It is an animal which is 
 sacred both among the Turks and Egyptians.

 
 103 
 
 POMEGRANATE. 
 
 "Tin/ temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. 
 
 Tliy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant 
 
 fruits." CANTICLES, iv. 3, 13. 
 
 THIS is' a small kind of tree which grows in Palestine, 
 and other countries of the East, and is common in those 
 parts of the world. It is of a thick and bushy nature, 
 and some of them are thorny: on the whole it is to 
 be considered as a very beautiful tree. The foliage is 
 green, each young shoot being shaded with a lighter 
 hue of the same, and edged with crimson. The flowers 
 are exceedingly lovely, of an elegant red colour, and 
 somewhat resembling a rose in appearance. Its form 
 also was so beautiful that it was copied for one of the 
 ornaments on the bottom of the robes of the high priest, 
 and it was also made the principal ornament in the temple 
 of Solomon, in the adornment of its columns. It was 
 included with other valuable productions, such as wheat 
 and honey, milk and figs, vines, oil-olives and barley, 
 among the rich blessings of the land of Canaan, which 
 the Israelites were encouraged to press onwards to; and 
 it was one of the three kinds of fruits which the spies 
 sent to search the land brought from Eshcol to Moses 
 and the congregation in the wilderness. 
 
 Every part indeed of the pomegranate is formed to 
 delight one or other of the senses. Its fruit is delicious, 
 and calculated, like other summer fruits, to allay thirst; it 
 was accordingly very highly esteemed by the Israelites. 
 The seeds of this plant, when dried, are used as a medicine,
 
 104- POMEGRANATE. 
 
 and considered very valuable for some complaints; the 
 rind also is preferred to almost any other substance for 
 tanning morocco leather, and other fine leathers used for 
 binding books. In Egypt the pomegranate was accounted 
 sacred, and in Persia it adorned the head of the sceptre. 
 Many commentators incline to the opinion that this fruit 
 was worshipped in the idolatrous temple of Rimmon, in 
 Assyria. What is there that foolish men have not 
 worshipped at some time or other in the foolishness and 
 pride of their hearts? a folly forbidden so clearly in 
 Scripture, and even as clearly by the light of nature; for 
 what can be thought more senseless than to worship any 
 created thing? and every thing in nature plainly declares 
 to us itself that it must have been created. Yet, in the 
 words of the Apostle St. Paul, how many have there been, 
 and, alas! how many are there still who are deluded by 
 Satan to 'worship the creature rather than the Creator;' 
 some worship the sun, some the moon, some the stars, 
 others the works which their own hands have made, 'of 
 bra-*, and stone, and of wood.' May God in His gracious 
 i in Try speedily hasten the time when He shall rci-n 
 siij reme in all hearts, 'casting down imaginations and every 
 high thing that exalteth itself against the obedience of 
 Christ;' when every man shall cast his idols which he 
 made for himself to worship "to the moles and to the 
 bats," and shall worship and serve the Lord God, "the 
 one living and true God," "even Him only."
 
 
 
 TH3
 
 105 
 
 THE APE. 
 
 ''For tltc kitty liad at sea a navy of TJiarsJtisJi icitJi tlie nary of 
 Hiram: once in three years came tJie navy of Tharsliish, 
 bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. "- 
 
 x. 22. 
 
 APES, baboons, and monkeys all belong to the same 
 class of quadrupeds, and it was some of these animals 
 which were brought to Solomon by his mariners from 
 the land of Ophir, the situation of which country is 
 however now uncertain. The ancient Egyptians are said, 
 among other foolish objects of worship, to have adored 
 apes ; and hi many parts of India they are still worshipped. 
 How degraded must people be to bow down and pray 
 to such caricatures of mankind themselves. Mafleus 
 describes a most magnificent temple for this idolatry, 
 which had a portico to it supported by seven hundred 
 columns, for the reception of the victims sacrificed to 
 the ape. 
 
 "With glittering gold and sparkling gems they shine, 
 But apes and monkeys are the gods within." 
 
 Of all the animals of the monkey kind, the one that 
 is called the chimpanzee most nearly resembles the 
 human race. A few specimens have been brought to 
 this country, but the coldness of our climate is too 
 great for this class of animals, accustomed to so much 
 hotter ones; and they are therefore peculiarly liable to 
 complaints of the lungs, which in most cases prove fatal 
 to them. The neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, on the 
 western const of Africa, produces a great number of this
 
 106 THE APE. 
 
 species, which are said to go about in troops, armed 
 with sticks, which they wield with great dexterity. Their 
 voice is somewhat similar to that of a human being 
 in distress; and one which in the year 1836, was 
 added to the collection in the Zoological Society's gardens, 
 was said to utter a noise when pleased almost resembling 
 laughter, which has always been considered as exclusively 
 characteristic of mankind. In very many of his actions 
 and manners he also strongly resembled a human being ; 
 as did another of the same kind which was exhibited 
 in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, London, in the year 1831. 
 Neither of these was more than four feet in height, indeed 
 not quite so much. Some species of ourang outang 
 are said in their wild state to attain the great height 
 of six feet: their strength, as also their agility, is very 
 extraordinary. In their natural condition they feed on 
 wild fruits, bulbous roots, insects, birds, eggs, and small 
 reptiles; but in confinement they will readily eat cooked 
 provisions of any kind. Their favourite drink is milk 
 or water, but they will learn to drink spirituous liquors, 
 and even to become fond of them. 
 
 The arms of this species, though long, do not reach 
 much below the knee ; its face is only slightly prominent, 
 the ears are large, and the hand and foot considerably 
 resemble those of a man, but the thumb on each does 
 not bear the same proportion to the other fingers and 
 toes, and is much larger on the latter. All the 
 specimens which have been brought to Europe have 
 been young ones.
 
 THE SWALLOW.
 
 107 
 
 THE SWALLOW. 
 
 "Yen, the sparrow hath found an house, and tie swallow a nest 
 
 for herself, u-here she may lay her young, even Thine altars, 
 
 O Lard of Hosts, my King and my God." 
 
 PSA.LM, Ixxxiv. 3. 
 
 THE swallow, or to speak perhaps more accurately, 
 the marten, one of the species of swallow, has in all ages 
 and in all countries been a great favourite on account 
 of its fondness for building its dwellings on the houses 
 of men. Its annual migrations have also always been 
 the subject of wonder and remark, and after all they 
 remain a mystery which cannot be solved. It would 
 seem that some of those which visit this country travel 
 hither from Spain, and perhaps thither from Africa. 
 One which was shot near Halifax, in Yorkshire, in 
 the month of September, in the year 1845, had an 
 inscription on a piece of parchment attached to one of 
 its legs, "J. Rovina, Barcelona, March 30th., 1845." 
 
 Mr. Jago wrote a beautiful poem on the migration 
 of swallows, in which occur the following elegant lines: 
 
 "Through sacred prescience full well they know 
 
 The near approach of elemental strife; 
 The blustry tempest and the chilling snow, 
 With every want and scourge of tender life. 
 
 Tims taught, they meditate a speedy flight; 
 
 For this, even 'now, they preen their vigorous wing; 
 For this consult, advise, prepare, excite, 
 
 And prove their strength in many an airy ring.
 
 108 THE SWALLOW. 
 
 No sorrow loads their breast, or swells their eye 
 To quit their friendly haunts, or native home; 
 
 Nor fear they, launching on the boundless sky, 
 In search of future settlements to roam. 
 
 They feel a power, an impulse all divine 
 
 That warns them hence; they feel it and obey; 
 
 To this direction all their cares resign, 
 
 Unknown their destined stage, unmarked their way." 
 
 In the "Zoologist," a magazine of Natural History, 
 we find the following interesting anecdote of confidence 
 in the swallow, related by a clergyman. "On one side 
 of the Wellingborough Station, may be called a roofed 
 platform, under which are two lamps ; their height from 
 the platform cannot, I think, exceed eight feet, and 
 yet on the top of one of these a swallow built her nest, 
 and incubation was going on, though hundreds of people 
 must be daily congregated there, whose heads can be 
 little more than two feet from the lamp; when I saw 
 it, she had left her nest, but soon returned, and after 
 wheeling in her flight two or three times just over our 
 heads, settled on her nest without betraying any symp- 
 toms of alarm." A nearly similar instance has been 
 seen by the writer at the Hutton Station, on the railway 
 between York and Scarborough: A pair of swallows 
 built on the inside ledge of the roof of the platform 
 opposite to the station, close above the heads of any 
 persons who might be standing under it, and though but 
 few, comparatively, frequent it, yet probably the birds 
 would have done the same had a larger number resorted 
 to the place after they had commenced b'uilding. It is 
 to be hoped that they may not be molested, but may 
 continue there for many summers.
 
 TH2 ASH TREE.
 
 100 
 
 THE ASH TREE. 
 
 "He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the 
 
 oak, which he strencjtlicnetli for himself among the trees of 
 
 the forest, he plant eth an ash, and the rain doth 
 
 nourish it." ISAIAH, xliv. 14. 
 
 THIS is the only passage of the Holy Bible in which 
 the name of the ash tree occurs, and even in this one, 
 it seems to be thought by those who are most learned 
 in the original language, that it is not it but some 
 other species of tree that is intended by the inspired 
 Prophet. The tree which is known among us by this 
 name is so extremely common a one that any descrip- 
 tion of it is almost unnecessary. It is very hardy, and 
 our climate suits it. It is one of our indigenous trees. 
 It is even more common in the north than in the 
 south of the island, and when cut down springs up 
 again with many shoots, so that except by taking it np 
 by the roots it is not to be eradicated. It is considered 
 to be hurtful to whatever grows beneath its shade, and 
 more so to corn than to grass crops, and on this 
 account wherever agriculture prevails, it is for the most 
 part invariably felled, to the great injury of the appear- 
 ance of the country. Such, however, must not be 
 regarded where the food of the population is concerned, 
 but where it is not necessary, it is a great pity to cut 
 down fine timber, or trees, indeed, of any kind, for 
 nothing is so great an ornament. They are cut down 
 in an hour, but their growth is the work of many 
 years. Even a flat and otherwise uuiiiti-ivsting country
 
 110 THE ASH TREE. 
 
 is rendered beautiful by abundance of wood, and tbe 
 finest mountains are rendered far more attractive to 
 the eye when covered up to their highest summits, a* 
 they are in some parts of the world, with woods and 
 forests. 
 
 The wood of the ash tree is perhaps as useful as 
 that of any other species of timber that grows in any 
 part of the world, being capable of being applied to a 
 vast variety of purposes. It is not of a fine grain, but is 
 very strong and extremely serviceable for all kinds of 
 rough or out-of-doors work. The ash is one of the latest 
 trees in this country to shew its leaves, and also one 
 of the first to shed them; so that where beauty of 
 verdure is wished for, 'it is far better to plant the oak, 
 and still more so the elm, the most handsome tree 
 that England produces, and at the same time a very 
 useful one, and the leaves of which add much by their 
 decomposition to the fertility of the soil. 
 
 As before remarked, it does not by any means seem 
 certain that it is the ash tree which is alluded to in 
 the verse before us. In the Greek Septuagint, and in 
 the Latin Vulgate, the Hebrew word is rendered 'pine 
 tree,' and other versions take it to be the cedar. One 
 species of ash, the manna ash, is cultivated in Syria, 
 but is not known to be a native of that country.
 
 
 
 , 

 
 Ill 
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 "The cuckow" LEVITICUS, si. 16. 
 
 DR. SHAW has imagined that the 'saf-saf,' a granivorous 
 bird is here intended; but there seems more reason for 
 imagining the sea-mew or sea-gull; for we can hardly 
 suppose that a bird of the former kind would have been 
 forbidden as unclean ; while the latter might easily be 
 considered to have been so. No modern writer thinks 
 that it is the cuckoo that is here spoken of. 
 
 The bird so called is one of the most singular in its 
 habits that exists; its practice being to lay its egg in 
 the nest of some other bird, which strange to say, acts 
 the part of a foster-mother to the young cuckoo when 
 hatched, which ill repays her kindness by turning her 
 progeny its own foster-brothers and sisters out of the 
 nest. 
 
 Though the cuckoo is a bird of but very plain plumage, 
 strongly resembling the sparrow-hawk both in colour and 
 in shape, yet it is ever a most welcome visitor to this 
 country, as the harbinger of spring; its note, from which 
 it derives its name, giving us notice of its arrival again 
 among us. It generally arrives in the month of April, 
 and the old ones depart in July, the young ones fol- 
 lowing them in succession, according as they acquire 
 sufficient strength to enable them to accomplish their 
 transmarine flight. 
 
 A cuckoo has once, at least, been kept in England 
 in confinement throughout a whole winter. It was taken 
 out of the nest of a water-wagtail, and was fed with
 
 m 
 
 THE 
 
 lmnl-l,oil,cl ,^s, l.n-nd, milk, and meat AVhe 
 
 * 
 
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 THE PLANE TREE.
 
 113 
 THE PLANE TREE. 
 
 "The chcsnut trees vxre not like his branches." EZEKIEL, xxxi. 8. 
 
 THIS tree is said to derive its name from the 
 circumstance of its bark peeling off of its own accord, 
 and leaving the trunk plain or bare. It is the opinion 
 of St. Jerome, and also of the LXX., that it is it and 
 not the chesnut which is intended in Genesis, xxx. 37, 
 and in Ezekiel, xxxi. 8; the only passages in the Holy 
 Bible in which the word is used. In the Apocrypha, in 
 the book of Ecclesiasticus, xxiv. 14, we find the son of 
 Sirach saying, "I grew up as a plane tree by the water." 
 
 In the "Scripture Herbal" it states, "There is perhaps 
 no tree more beautiful than the oriental plane, even when 
 transplanted to our northern regions. The smoothness 
 of the trunk, the elegance of its growth, and the beau- 
 tiful hue of its broad palmate leaves, casting a deep, 
 but not a gloomy, shadow around, justly entitle it to the 
 preference which the Syrians have from time immemorial 
 given it, as the principal ornament of their gardens. 
 
 In our time the luxurious Persian loves to spread his 
 carpet by the pool or stream overshadowed by the plane 
 tree ; and to sit listening there to the song of the minstrel, 
 or gathering instruction from the wisdom of the moral 
 story-teller. 
 
 Even the Romans, when their conquests had extended 
 to 'far Euphrates' bank,' partook of the native admiration 
 and love of the plane tree. Pliny tells us of a Roman 
 consul, who, being governor of the Asiatic provinces, 
 chose an ancient plane tree in Lycia, which overhung
 
 114 THE PLANE TREE. 
 
 a fountain of pure water, sometimes for his banqneting- 
 room, and sometimes for his bed-chamber. The trunk 
 was hollow with age, while its numerous branches like 
 so many young trees, overshadowed the neighbouring 
 meadow ; and he loved to hear the rain dropping upon 
 the leaves above, while he sat securely sheltered in the 
 heart of the tree. 
 
 Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor still abound in plane 
 trees, but they no longer adorn the gardens of Jerusalem; 
 for there the pools are dried up and the streams are 
 cut off, and the platanus must now be sought in the 
 distant valleys, where the well heads are yet moist. 
 
 The new world can boast of a platanus almost as 
 beautiful as that of the East. The timber of all the 
 planes is valuable, and near the root extremely beautiful, 
 scarcely yielding in variety of tints to the bird's eye 
 maple, to which it is even preferable for frames for 
 prints, and some other ornamental purposes. 
 
 In "Ainsworth's travels in Asia Minor," mention is 
 made of a magnificent tree of this species, which 
 measured eight yards in circumference, and was lofty 
 and wide-spreading in proportion to the bulk of its 
 bole, so that its whole appearance was most striking 
 and imposing. In this climate trees are but as shrubs 
 in comparison with the height that some kinds attain 
 to in tropical countries; but even here how extremely 
 beautiful is a tall tree in the prime of its life which 
 has had room to spread itself out to its proper and 
 natural dimensions, and has not been cramped and 
 unnaturally drawn up by having been planted close to 
 other trees.
 
 
 
 THE SYRIAN DOG.
 
 115 
 
 THE SYRIAN DOG. 
 
 "And the Philistine said unto David, am I a dog, that thou 
 comcst to me with staves?" 1 SAMUEL, xvii. 43. 
 
 THE dog was accounted an unclean animal by the 
 Jews, and was held by them in great contempt. There 
 are many varieties of the dog kind, but so very different 
 as they are, they appear hardly to constitute distinct 
 species, and improbable as it at first sight may be thought, 
 yet there seems no reason to doubt but that even the 
 greyhound and the bull-dog are all derived from one 
 and the same original stock. It is, however, the opinion 
 of some, that dogs of the domestic kind are descended 
 from the wolf, the bnansu, the anthus, the dingo, and 
 the jackal; those of the greyhound 'race from the dhole, 
 or a thoa; and mastiffs and others either from some 
 lost, or some undiscovered species allied to the hyaena. 
 
 The varieties of the dog that now exist are very 
 numerous, comprising the dingo or Australian dog a 
 half-wild and half-domesticated species; the Irish grey- 
 hound, the greyhound, the Italian greyhound, the spaniel, 
 King Charles's spaniel, the large water spaniel, the 
 small water spaniel, the blood-hound, the old southern- 
 hound, the fox-hound, the harrier, the beagle, the 
 pointer, the setter, the coach-dog, the turnspit, the pug- 
 dog, the shepherd's dog, the colley, the cur, the lurcher, 
 the cocker or springer, the water-dog, the poodle, the 
 shock, the comforter, the terrier, the bull-dog, the 
 mastiff, the St. Bernard's dog, the Newfoundland-dog, 
 the Thibet-dog, the Esquimaux-dog, and numerous
 
 116 THE SYRIAN DOG. 
 
 varieties of many of these. 
 
 The first place among animals both for sagacity and 
 nobleness of disposition, must probably be assigned to 
 the elephant, but most certainly the dog comes next 
 in the scale of intelligence. Innumerable are the 
 anecdotes, many of them of the most interesting, and 
 others of the most astonishing kind, which relate to 
 dogs. There is, however, perhaps, no species in which 
 sagacity is more developed than in the sheep-dog, and 
 they are also the most faithful of animals. One which 
 the writer had, found its way back to its previous 
 master, after having been chained up for several days, 
 though the distance was more than thirty miles. It 
 did so a second time after having been fastened up for 
 a still longer period, and it must have been caught by 
 its chain, which it carried off with it, and detained by 
 the way, for it did not reach its original home for 
 about a week. After this, he became just as much 
 attached to his new master, and on one occasion having 
 gone with him to a gentleman's house, and waiting 
 outside the front door, at which he had seen him go 
 in, and not seeing him go out, which he did, the back 
 way, nothing could make him leave the spot where he 
 was, but he remained there until the next day, when he 
 was sent back by force. Poor Laddie was a great and 
 deserved favourite, and he can never be replaced by 
 any other dog. 
 
 The skill evinced by sheep-dogs in keeping their mas- 
 ter's flocks together is perfectly astonishing. Various most 
 remarkable instances of it are on record. Even when 
 another flock of sheep meets the one of which a dog of 
 this kind has the charge, he will not allow a single one of 
 his own to get mixed with the stranger's.
 
 ----- 
 
 y 
 
 TARES.
 
 117 
 
 TARES. 
 
 u-Jiile men slept, his enemy came, and sowed tares among 
 the wheat, and went his ivay." ST. MATTHEW, xiii. 25. 
 
 As the word which we have translated 'tares' occurs 
 only in the thirteenth chapter of St. Matthew, it is 
 extremely difficult to know the precise plant intended. 
 As this gospel was first written in the Syriac language, 
 and not in the Greek, it is most probable that it is 
 some word pertaining to that language. Parkhurst 
 and Dr. Campbell render it the 'darnel.' Mr. Forskal 
 says of it, "It is well known to the people at Aleppo. 
 It grows among corn. If the seeds remain mixed with 
 the meal they occasion dizziness to those who eat of 
 the bread. The reapers do not separate the plant, 
 but after the threshing, they reject the seeds by means 
 of a van or sieve." 
 
 A plant called 'zizania' and which grows plentifully 
 in Greece and other parts of the East, is considered to 
 be the same. The allusion to it in the Gospel exactly 
 agrees with the account given of it by naturalists and 
 travellers. According to Johnson, in his "Herbal," the 
 darnel is the most prejudicial of all hurtful weeds. The 
 grains of its seed have but little husk, and are there- 
 fore easily intermingled among the grains of corn that 
 are sown, and so it grows with it until both are 
 reaped together again. Its leaves somewhat resemble 
 in appearance those of wheat or barley, but are more 
 rough in their growth. The seeds are separated as well 
 as they can be from the corn by meaus of a fan or
 
 118 TARES. 
 
 sieve, but, as before remarked, it is not at all easy to 
 do so completely. The following is the account given 
 by Johnson, of the darnel: "It bringeth forth leaves 
 like those of wheat or barley, yet rougher, with a long 
 ear, made up of many little ones, every particular whereof 
 containeth two or three grains lesser than those of 
 wheat; and scarcely any chaffy husk to cover them with ; 
 by reason whereof they are easily shaken about, and 
 scattered abroad. They spring and flourish with the 
 corn ; and in August the seed is ripe. Darnel is called 
 in the Arabian tongue, 'zizania.'" 
 
 Parkhurst, taking Castell as his authority, denies the 
 accuracy of this last assertion, and gives it as his 
 opinion that the word which we translate 'tares' ought 
 to be rendered 'darnel;' but it is to be observed that 
 in some of the northern counties of England both names 
 are applied to the same weed; so that the one trans- 
 lation would appear to be as good as the other. 
 
 In the "Scripture Natural History," published by the 
 Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, we read, 
 "The following incident tends, I think, to explain a 
 parable of our Lord, in St. Matthew, xiii." The wife 
 of religious ministers is styled in Greece, Mrs. Priestess. 
 On one occasion I observed Mrs. Priestess and her 
 children, during my stay in their house, appear very 
 much indisposed, and inquired the reason. 'Sir,' said 
 she, 'we have eaten some zizania.' This is the word 
 translated 'tares' in the Gospel of St. Matthew. They 
 had unwittingly eaten this deleterious grain as genuine 
 corn, and I observed that headache and sickness were 
 the result."
 
 MOTHS.
 
 119 
 
 THE MOTH. 
 
 "When Thou icith rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, Thou 
 
 makcst his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely 
 
 every man is vanity." PSALM, xxxix. 11. 
 
 THERE are several thousand different species of moths, 
 all of which, like butterflies and other kinds of insects, 
 go through several changes or transformations; first the 
 egg, then the caterpillar, then the chrysalis, then the 
 perfect insect, which in the case of the butterfly was 
 called by the Ancients, 'psyche,' the same word that 
 meant the soul; the wondrous change from the 
 grovelling caterpillar to the gorgeous butterfly being 
 well adapted to represent as an image the still more 
 incomprehensible change which we shall all undergo 
 from a mortal and corruptible to an immortal, incorrup- 
 tible, and glorified body. For various critical reasons 
 it seems to be considered that the verse in the translation 
 in our version of Job, xiii. 28, is to be transposed, 
 and read after the second verse in the next chapter, 
 as follows: 
 
 3 [an born of a woman 
 
 Few of days, and full of trouble 
 
 Springeth up as a flower, and is cut down 
 
 Flitteth as a shadow, and remaiiieth not 
 
 AVasteth away like that which is decayed, 
 
 As a garment which the moth consumes. 
 
 How strikingly beautiful is the language of Scripture, 
 even in a translation, and how wondrously powerful must 
 it be in the original, especially in the poetical books of
 
 120 THE MOTH. 
 
 the Old Testament, were it vernacular to us, and not 
 only foreign and acquired. 
 
 The particular kind of moth spoken of in the verse 
 placed at the head of this article, is the clothes moth; 
 of which indeed there are several species: not that it 
 is the moth itself that does the damage, but the caterpillar. 
 The caterpillar of those kinds feeds on cloth and other 
 such substances, and is very prejudicial wherever it has 
 established itself. The little moth itself does no harm, 
 and probably requires little or nothing for the brief period 
 of time that it lives in that its perfect state. Some moths 
 do indeed sip the juice of flowers, but others seem to 
 take nothing at all, but continue in a half-dormant state 
 until they have laid their eggs, when they soon die. 
 
 How fragile a creature is the poor moth, and how apt 
 an illustration does it therefore afford of the nature of 
 man. How weak, how worthless, nay even how injurious, 
 how shortlived, how insignificant in the eyes of his Great 
 Creator! How merciful is He to have compassion upon 
 us and to pity us as He has done from first to last, and 
 above all "in the redemption of the world by our Lord 
 Jesus Christ," "by the sacrifice of Himself." "Lord what 
 is man that thou visitest him, and the son of man that 
 thou so regardest him?"
 
 
 
 '\'\ 
 
 i
 
 BRIER, 
 
 "Instead of Hie thorn shall come uj) the fir tree, and instead of the 
 brier shall come up the myrtle tree." ISAIAH, Iv. 13. 
 
 ALTHOUGH it is allowed to be impossible now to 
 determine with certainty what particular species of shrub 
 is intended by the word translated 'brier ; ? yet there can 
 be no doubt whatever but that some kind of prickly 
 tangled plant is meant. Several different words are 
 used in the original, all translated by the same word 
 'brier.' In Ezekiel, ii, 6, and also in Hosea, iv, 6, it 
 seems to be certain that a stinging gadfly is spoken of. 
 In other passages however, as for instance in the one 
 before us, some species, or perhaps any species of brier 
 is intended. 
 
 The thorn and the brier it should by no means be 
 forgotten, fulfil God's word in thus overrunning the land 
 where once the goodly fruits of the earth were produced 
 in rich abundance: but as the truth of this prophecy 
 has been thus declared, so, on the other hand, do we 
 now look for its fulfilment in the contrary way, when 
 the words before us of the prophet Isaiah shall be accom- 
 plished. This sentiment is well expressed in a "Narrative 
 of a mission to the Jews:" "For hours together this 
 day we travelled through fields of weeds, briers, and 
 thorns, such as we never saw anywhere else. Sometimes 
 the weeds were as plentiful, and stronger than the barley 
 among which they grew: often there was nothing but 
 weeds. All these things appear, without contradiction, 
 to be a literal fulfilment of the word of God: "upon 
 
 Q
 
 122 BRIER. 
 
 the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers, 
 until the spirit be poured upon us from on high." We 
 felt the same in traversing the vast plain of Esdraelon, 
 the greater part of which is covered over with almost 
 impenetrable thickets of weeds, thorns, briers, and thistles. 
 Some time after, when sailing up the Bosphorus, con- 
 versing with a gentleman whom we had met in Palestine, 
 who appeared to be a man of the world, we asked him 
 if he had climbed Mount Tabor, to obtain the delightful 
 view from its summit. His answer was 'No: why should 
 I climb Mount Tabor, to see a country of thorns?' He 
 was thus an unintentional witness to the truth of God's 
 word." "Dr Keith, observing one of the adjoining hills 
 to be very verdant, and not very steep, set out for 
 the purpose of climbing it. After a short absence, 
 however, he returned to tell us that he had failed in 
 his attempt. He found the surface overgrown with strong 
 briers and thorns, through which he tried to make his 
 way, but without success. We felt a secret joy in 
 beholding the deserted terraces and fields overrun with 
 thorns; for when we saw the word of threatening so clearly 
 fulfilled, our unbelief was reproved, and we were taught 
 to expect without the shadow of a doubt, that the promised 
 blessing would be as full and sure."
 
 
 THE WHALE.
 
 123 
 
 THE WHALE. 
 
 "Thou art as a iclmh in the seas" EZEKIEL, xxxii. 2. 
 
 EXCEPT possibly in Psalm, civ, 6, where it may be 
 the tunny fish that is mentioned, it seems certain that 
 either the crocodile, or some species of shark is spoken 
 of in the inspired volume. The latter would seem to be 
 the kind of fish within which the prophet Jonah was so 
 miraculously preserved for three days and three nights. 
 The story of his preservation was so widely spread as 
 to have reached in the earliest times even to Greece, 
 the same fact being related of Hercules ; thus we find 
 Lycophron speaking of him as "That famed three-nighted 
 lion, whom of old Triton's charcharian dog with horrid 
 jaws devoured." This Bochart explains as referring to 
 his having been swallowed and retained for three nights 
 by the kind of shark, called by naturalists by these two 
 very names, sent by Neptune, the so-called God of the 
 sea, for this purpose. This tremendous fish has a mouth 
 and throat so enormously large that it can swallow a 
 man whole without the slightest difficulty, and a very 
 large one was carried about some years ago and exhib- 
 ited, the jaws of which were lined with green baize, and 
 people entered into it as if into a small room. 
 
 The length of this species is about twenty-five feet. 
 The head is wide and flat, and the eyes large and capable 
 of turning in any direction. Its enormous mouth is 
 armed with several rows of sharp-pointed teeth, which 
 lie flat when the shark is at rest, but bristle up when 
 he is about to seize his prey. In swimming it is
 
 124 THE WHALE. 
 
 considered one of the swiftest of fish, and can dart up 
 suddenly from a great depth to seize any one who may 
 be so unfortunate as to be within its reach. 
 
 The whale, which is not a fish, but an animal, is the 
 largest of all created beings. Its length is often as much 
 as sixty or seventy feet; and they are said formerly, before 
 they were so much sought after as they are now, on 
 account of the oil which their fat yields, to have attained 
 the length of an hundred feet. These monsters are 
 however very harmless if unprovoked. Their young 
 are born alive, like those of other animals, and are not 
 produced from eggs as is the case with fishes. They 
 have lungs with which they breathe the air, fins instead 
 of fore-hands, no hinder feet, and no perceivable neck, 
 the head being joined on immediately to the body. 
 The head is very large, being in some species a third, 
 and in others as much as half the length of the whole 
 body. 
 
 The narwal is a very curious species of this family. 
 It has a long straight horn growing out of its head, to 
 the length of about seven feet; the length of the animal 
 itself being about twenty-two. In June 1648, one of 
 these animals was cast ashore on the Isle of May, and 
 another is recorded by Dr. Fleming, on the authority of 
 Sir Joseph Banks, to have been found at Frieston, near 
 Boston, in Lincolnshire, on the fifteenth of February 1800. 
 Sometimes there is the rudiment of a second horn, but 
 it is very seldom developed. The narwal is sometimes 
 called the sea unicorn, from its resemblance in this 
 respect to the fabulous animal of that name.
 
 BRAMBLE.
 
 125 
 
 BRAMBLE. 
 
 "For of thorns men do not gather Jigs, nor of a bramble lush 
 gather they grapes." LTTKE, vi. 44, 
 
 THE different kinds of brambles are all species of 
 prickly shrubs, and it seems to be considered that the 
 sweet-brier is intended where the word occurs in the Old 
 Testament. This kind grows in Palestine as well as in 
 England, where it is well known as a hardy and ever- 
 green shrub of a very pleasant scent. The blossom has 
 no smell, it is the leaves that are endowed with this 
 fragrance. Its angular, prickly, and weak stem trails 
 along the ground, or supports itself upon other plants. 
 Its fruit is agreeable, but has little flavour; and though 
 there is something graceful in its bunches of white 
 flowers, succeeded by clusters of bright black berries, 
 the bramble has been always looked upon as a nuisance 
 both in the field and in the garden. 
 
 There is one species of thorn, a native of Judea, 
 which is traditionally said to have formed the crown 
 that was placed in mockery on our most Blessed 
 Saviour's head. It is therefore known by the name of 
 the 'Thorn of Christ.' Hasselquist says "this plant is 
 very fit for the purpose, for it has many small and sharp 
 spines, which are well adapted to give pain: the crown 
 might be easily made of these soft, round, and pliant 
 branches, and what in my opinion seems to be the 
 greater proof is, that the leaves very much resemble 
 those of the ivy, as they are of a very deep glossy 
 green."
 
 126 BRAMBLE. 
 
 There are various other kinds of thorny shrubs in 
 those eastern countries, many of which bear thorns of 
 an immense size. Burchell, when travelling in Africa, 
 approached one for the sake of cutting oif a piece as 
 a specimen, though warned by his Hottentot attendants 
 not to do so, and was caught by it so firmly that he 
 could by no means release himself without tearing 
 every part of his clothes, and two of his attendants 
 had to cut away the boughs with a hatchet. 
 
 In the "Scripture Herbal," there occurs the following 
 passage, with reference to the kind of shrub at present 
 before us: "It is enough for solemn consideration, that 
 the thorn formed part of the original curse wherewith the 
 earth was cursed for the sake of Adam's disobedience; 
 and that He who redeemed us from the consequences 
 of Adam's sin, wore on His brow a crown of thorns, 
 when He bowed His head, and pronounced that the 
 great work of salvation was FINISHED."
 
 THE PARTRIDGE.
 
 127 
 
 THE PARTRIDGE. 
 
 "As irJ/en one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains" - 
 1 SAMUEL, xxvi. 20. 
 
 THE species of partridge alluded to here is supposed 
 to be a red-legged kind common in Arabia and other 
 countries of the East. Some, indeed, have imagined 
 that some bird of the woodcock or snipe kind is meant 
 in the Prophet, but most opinions are in favour of 
 its being the partridge. 
 
 The common partridge is known all over Europe, 
 and is abundant in our own island. The colour is a 
 mixed cinereous brown and black, with a dark rufous 
 crescent-shaped mark on the breast. Partridges make 
 but little or no nest, and lay as many as from twelve 
 to twenty eggs, so that the destruction of the species 
 on account of its being so much prized as an article 
 of food, is continually being made up for. 
 
 The affection of both the old birds for their young 
 is very strong. They often sit close beside each other 
 to cover their brood Mith their wings and keep them 
 warm, and if disturbed by the approach of any intruder, 
 the male flutters away along the ground, as if wounded 
 and unable to escape, to decoy the enemy from the 
 nest. Sometimes, if there be any possibility of coping 
 with an invader, they bravely attack him. A person 
 working in a field once saw some birds bustling together 
 in a most extraordinary manner on the ground, and on 
 coming up to them he found that they were two 
 partridges vigorously contending with a carrion crow,
 
 128 THE PARTRIDGE. 
 
 which had doubtless been endeavouring to destroy their 
 young ones. So intent were they upon the contest 
 with their opponent that they held him fast until the 
 man came up and took him from them. The young, 
 newly hatched, were found at a short distance concealed 
 in the long grass. 
 
 Varieties of the partridge not very unfrequently occur 
 more or less marked and mottled with white; some- 
 times they are entirely of a cream colour. 
 
 The red-legged partridge, which is a common bird in 
 France, Italy, and other countries of Europe, has of late 
 years been introduced into England, where it thrives 
 and increases in the same way that the common 
 partridge does. It is larger than the latter; of a 
 reddish brown on the upper part of the body; the 
 breast, bluish ash colour; the throat, white; and the 
 legs, red. It is more easily tamed than the common 
 species. The mountain partridge is another species of 
 this bird, which has derived its name from its being 
 more frequently found in hilly than in low situations. 
 It is entirely of a reddish brown colour, and is sometimes 
 therefore called the red partridge. 
 
 The late Bishop Stanley has remarked, in his very 
 entertaining volume, called "A Familiar History of Birds," 
 that from the earliest ages the partridge seems to have 
 been a favourite food, and the pursuit of it to have 
 afforded amusement. The hunting of the partridge on 
 the mountains is alluded to in the Scriptures, and the 
 Arabs of the present day are addicted to it, though the 
 mode now adopted by them is different from that which 
 was customary in ancient times.
 
 ,-.' 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 COTTON.
 
 129 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 "Where n-ere white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cord* 
 of fine linen ami purple to silver rings." ESTIILB, i. G. 
 
 THOUGH the word cotton does not occur in the sacred 
 volume, yet it is conjectured that the hangings spoken 
 of in the verse above quoted were of cotton. 
 
 Cotton is a white substance of a woolly nature, con- 
 tained in the bud of a shrub, the leaves of which 
 resemble in appearance those of the sycamore tree. 
 This bud is about the size of the egg of a pigeon, 
 and when ripe it turns black, and divides at the top 
 into three parts. "The cotton," says Calmer, "is as 
 white as snow, and swells to the size of a hen's egg." 
 
 A considerable quantity of cotton is grown in Syria, 
 where it is used for the same purposes as with us, 
 namely, for making various articles of wearing apparel. 
 The seed is also bruised and used for feeding different 
 domestic animals, such as bullocks, asses, sheep, and 
 camels. They soon become very fond of it, and it is 
 found very efficacious for fattening them. In a work 
 called "Discoveries in Africa," we find the following 
 account of the manner in which this valuable substance 
 is converted into cloth: "Cotton after it ip gathered from 
 the shrub, is prepared by the careful housewife, or a 
 steady female slave, by laying a quantity of it on a 
 stone, or a piece of board, along which she twirls two 
 slender iron rods, about a foot in length, and thus dex- 
 terously separates the seeds from the cotton wool. The 
 cotton is afterwards teased, or opened out with a small
 
 130 COTTON. 
 
 bone ; women then spin it out of a basket upon a slender 
 spindle. The basket always contains a little pocket- 
 mirror, used at least every five minutes, for adjusting 
 or contemplating their charms. It is now sold as yarn, 
 or made into cloth. The common cloth of the country 
 is only three or four inches broad. The weaver's loom 
 is very simple, having a fly and treadles like ours, but 
 no beam; and the work, fastened to a stone, is drawn 
 along the ground as wanted; the shuttle is passed by 
 the hand. When close at work, they are said to weave 
 from twenty to thirty fathoms of cloth a day." 
 
 Vessels that have had cargoes of cotton on board, 
 coming from America, from whence we receive the 
 supply of that staple for our manufacture, have some- 
 times taken fire in an extraordinary and apparently 
 unaccountable manner. It seems, however, that such 
 accidents are to be referred to what is called spontaneous 
 combustion, that is to say, the burning of a thing by 
 some latent heat in itself, without the application of any 
 fire externally to it. The bales of cotton have sometimes 
 exuded or given out a sufficient quantity, of oil to pro- 
 duce this curious effect, the fire bursting out as soon 
 as air has been admitted to it, for it smoulders until 
 then, and the consequence has been the destruction of 
 the ship.
 
 FOUR-HORNED !
 
 131 
 FOUR-HORNED RAM. 
 
 "Rams'* skins dyed red." EXODUS, xxv. 5. 
 
 THE phrase which occurs in this passage, means 
 literally 'the skins of red rams/ and such sheep, 
 according to many travellers, are often to be met with 
 in various countries of the Levant. Ancient writers also 
 as well as modern, speak of the same thing. Thus we 
 find Homer describing the rams of Polyphemus 
 
 "Strong were the rams, with native purple fair, 
 "Well led, and largest of the fleecy care." 
 
 It is possible that the ancient fable of the golden 
 fleece may have had its origin in some fact of this 
 kind, though other suppositions brought forward have 
 also a shew of reason on their side. The word^j in the 
 verse before us, may, however, have reference to the 
 skins of rams as coloured after being tanned and 
 dressed. 
 
 In the well-known passage in the book of Genesis, 
 xxii. 13, Abraham, when about to offer up his only son 
 Isaac, in obedience to the command of God, is said to 
 have seen behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his 
 horns, which, after his faith had been thus tried and 
 approved, he was commanded by the Angel of the 
 Lord to offer up in the stead of his son. It is 
 impossible now to fix and determine with certain 
 accuracy, what particular species of sheep it was that 
 was thus provided in the Providence of God for the 
 relief of his servant Abraham, the 'Father of the
 
 132 FOUR-HORNED RAM. 
 
 Faithful,' but there are not wanting conjectures on the 
 subject, and conjecture is in truth all that we have 
 about it. Doubtless, if it had been of any importance 
 for us to know more certainly, God would "have revealed 
 even this unto us." It has been supposed that it was the 
 four-horned ram. 
 
 On the probability of the four-horned ram being that 
 caught in the thicket, one writer remarks, "If we would 
 suppose that the ram in this instance had four horns, 
 like some occasionally seen among the Asiatic races, 
 his liability to be caught by the horns in a thick-grown 
 tangled underwood, must have been very great. It is 
 easy to see by a contemplation of the figure, that a 
 bunch of horns so variously twisted, would have involved 
 the animal in fresh difficulties whichever way he turned 
 to endeavour to extricate himself." 
 
 There are a great many species, or rather varieties 
 of sheep, for it is extremely difficult to say what ori- 
 ginal stock each of them has been derived from. Some 
 naturalists consider the mouflon of Corsica to be the 
 parent of all European kinds, and the argali of Siberia 
 that of those of the East. In addition to our common 
 domestic sheep, may be named the dwarf sheep, the 
 Wallachian or spiral-horned sheep, and the many-horned 
 sheep. 
 
 The common sheep is too well known to need any 
 description. It is a mild and gentle creature, and always 
 referred to as an emblem of innocence and gentleness. 
 
 If we would belong to the fold of Christ and the 'sheep 
 of His pasture,' we must endeavour by the Grace of God 
 to cultivate those dispositions, and that mind which was 
 in CHRIST JESUS, on account of which He is ever known 
 by the title of the 'Lamb of God.'

 
 133 
 
 MANNA. 
 
 " Wherein was the golden pot that had manna." HEBREWS, ix. 4. 
 
 THERE is a tree called tamarisk or tarfa, which is 
 an abundant species in the neighbourhood of Mount 
 Sinai, and other parts of the East, and produces a 
 substance which is now called manna. In the month 
 of June this manni, as it is called by the Bedouin 
 Arabs, drops from the thorns of the tree upon the 
 fallen leaves and small branches which always strew the 
 ground beneath it. It is collected before the sun rises, 
 at which time it is in a more hard state, but when the 
 sun shines upon it it melts away. The Arabs carefully 
 clear away the leaves and earth which have adhered to 
 it; and having boiled and strained it through a piece 
 of coarse cloth, put it in leathern bottles, and by this 
 means succeed in preserving it until the following year, 
 and use it in the same way that they do honey, to 
 pour over their unleavened bread, or to dip their 
 bread into. In some years no manna at all is pro- 
 duced, dry seasons being unfavourable to it, but in 
 rainy years it occurs. It is of a yellowish colour, and 
 its taste is agreeable, and sweet like honey. The 
 Bedouins consider it to be the greatest delicacy that 
 their country produces. There are therefore, we see, 
 many points of resemblance between this substance, and 
 the manna which was furnished for the table of the 
 Israelites in the wilderness; and several writers have 
 hence supposed that it was the same. 
 
 There are, however, several good reasons, which have
 
 134 MANNA. 
 
 been well put forward by the learned Abarbinel, to prove 
 that the two were distinct. The common manna now 
 produced, falls only in the spring, whereas that which 
 was provided for the Israelites fell all the year round. 
 The ordinary manna keeps without difficulty till the 
 morning; the other did not. This can be ground or 
 beaten in a mortar, so as to make cakes; that could 
 not. It fell in a double quantity on the sixth day, but 
 nothing of the kind, of course, takes place with that 
 of which we are now treating. The manna which the 
 Israelites fed on followed them into all places wherever 
 they pitched their tents, and it ceased at the very time 
 of the year that the common manna begins to fall, 
 namely, in March or April, when they arrived in Gilgal. 
 It is clear also, as an additional reason, that the Israelites 
 had never seen it before, for Moses says, Deuteronomy, 
 viii. 3, 16, "He fed thee with marma, which thou 
 knewest not, neither did thy fathers know." 
 
 There is a curious mistake made in our translation 
 of the Bible in respect to this substance. The word 
 'man' in the Hebrew language is merely an interrogative 
 particle, answering to our 'what.' The passage therefore 
 "when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to 
 another, it is manna, for they wist not what it was;" 
 should be rendered more properly, "they said one to 
 another, what is it? for they wist not what it was." 
 
 I may mention, in addition to what has been above 
 said, that the manna which the Israelites eat of, is 
 expressly said to have come down from Heaven, namely, 
 from the sky, or rather the clouds, the firmament of 
 Heaven; so that it is at once distinguished from that 
 which exuded from the trees of the earth.

 
 135 
 
 THE SERPENT. 
 
 "Now the serpent icas more subtle tlian any least of the field 
 which the Lord God had made.'" GENESIS, iii. 1. 
 
 THE word translated 'serpent,' is in the original Hebrew 
 language, a general term applicable to any creature 
 whether belonging to the land or the water, that glides 
 along without the aid of feet or fins. In the book of 
 Numbers, a 'fiery serpent' is spoken of, so called probably 
 from the burning sensation caused by its bite. The 
 ancient author, Plutarch, speaks of some creatures of 
 this kind, which he says tormented the people who lived 
 in the neighbourhood of the Red Sea, in a strange 
 manner which had never been known before. Little 
 dragons, he says, bit their arms and legs, and fixed 
 themselves to their flesh, and their bite was intolerably 
 powerful, and like fire. The most sandy and barren 
 deserts were generally considered to produce the most 
 venemous and deadly kinds of serpents. 
 
 At one time, on account of their sins, the people of 
 Israel were afflicted with a plague of serpents, by which 
 they were grievously bitten, and great numbers died. 
 Moses was divinely led by God to make a brazen imi- 
 tation of one of these, and to raise it up on a pole, 
 that any who were bitten by the serpents, might look 
 up to it, and be saved through this act of their faith. 
 Our Blessed Saviour informs us that this was a type 
 or foreshadow of His being raised up on the Cross 'for 
 the healing of the nations', that "As Moses lifted up 
 the serpent in the wilderness, even so should the Son
 
 136 THE SERPENT. 
 
 of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life." The 
 author of the Book of Wisdom gives a most beautiful 
 turn, says Dr. Harris, to the means of deliverance appointed 
 by God, namely, looking up to the brazen serpent, that 
 the offending Israelites might be healed of the wounds 
 made by these fiery serpents, "for when the horrible 
 fierceness of beasts came upon these Thy people, and 
 they perished with the stings of crooked serpents, Thy 
 wrath endured not for ever: but they were troubled for 
 a small season, that they might be admonished, having 
 a sign of salvation to put them in remembrance of the 
 commandment of Thy law. For he that turned towards 
 it was not saved by the thing that they saw, but by 
 Thee that art the Saviour of all. And in this, Thou 
 madest Thine enemies confess that it is Thou that 
 deliverest from all evil; for them, the bitings of grass- 
 hoppers and flies killed, neither was there found any 
 remedy for their life, for they were worthy to be punished 
 by such : but Thy sons, not the very teeth of venomous 
 dragons overcame; for Thy mercy was ever by them, 
 and healed them. For they were stung that they should 
 remember Thy words, and were quickly saved; that not 
 falling into deep forge tfulness, they might be continually 
 mindful of Thy goodness."
 
 HERD.
 
 137 
 
 REED. 
 
 "Thou trust est upon tlie staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on 
 
 ichich if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: 
 
 so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him." 
 
 2 KINGS, xviii. 21. 
 
 THERE are several different kinds of reeds, and some 
 of them, though they seem such humble plants, and 
 devoid of great beauty, yet are extremely useful in 
 various ways. Of the leaves of one kind the Egyptians 
 made ropes, and floats for fishing of the stem. The 
 roots of another kind are the main cause of the forma- 
 tion of a great portion of the soil of the laud of Egypt, 
 for they are the means of keeping together the mud 
 which is brought down by the Nile, which would other- 
 wise be carried down into the sea. The same thing 
 takes place in Holland the roots of the bulrush bind 
 together the dykes by which the land of that country 
 is kept from being overflooded; and its use is so great 
 in this respect that public officers are appointed to act 
 as conservators of it. 
 
 .The species of bulrush mentioned in the book of 
 Genesis, as being that of which the ark of Moses was 
 formed, is that usually known by the name of 'papyrus,' 
 the Latin name for paper, and from which, in fact, our 
 word paper is derived. It was used in ancient times 
 for writing on, and indeed is so still, to some extent. 
 "The trunk of this plant is composed of several coatings, 
 lying one on the other, which are taken off with a 
 needle : they are afterwards spread on a table, so much
 
 138 REED. 
 
 of which is moistened, as is equal to the size which it 
 is intended the leaves of the papyrus shall be. This first 
 bed of leaves is covered with a layer of fine paste, or 
 with the muddy water of the Nile warmed; then a 
 second bed of paper leaves is laid upon this paste, and 
 the whole is left to dry in the sun." Such was the 
 Egyptian papyrus, whence our paper takes its name, 
 though the composition is so very different. 
 
 Some reeds are used still in the East, as they were 
 universally in former times, for writing with. They then 
 became superseded, for the most part, by quill pens, 
 and these again by steel ones. 
 
 Sugar-canes are another kind of reeds, which, though 
 formerly cultivated on the plain of Jericho, are now 
 no longer to be seen there. In the times of the 
 Crusades, this plant was unknown in Europe; but it was 
 found by the Crusaders in many parts of the East, and 
 most probably they were the means of its first becoming 
 used in their own countries, when they returned to them. 
 
 There is again another species of reed, which is used 
 for making arrows and fishing-rods. 
 
 Rushes are frequently mentioned in connection with 
 reeds, as they both grow in the same sort of locality, 
 namely, in low, marshy situations. In ancient times, 
 indeed not more than two or three hundred years ago, 
 the floors of rooms in England were strewed with rushes, 
 instead of being covered with carpets. Rush mats and 
 rush-lights are also made of this plant, and rice paper 
 of the pith of a kind which grows in India, on the banks 
 of the Ganges. How much more valuable is this humble 
 weed than many a gaudy flower; and in the same way, 
 how much more honourable is a useful man, than one 
 who has merely a shewy exterior.
 
 THE IBIS.
 
 139 
 THE IBIS. 
 
 "Great mvl" (or ibis.) LEVITICUS, xi. 17. 
 
 THIS is another of the creatures to which divine 
 honour has been paid by sinful man , it tfas one of the 
 objects of worship of the ancient Egyptians. Their priests 
 used to treat these birds with the greatest care, aod keep 
 them in their temples ; and if any oue killed an ibis, 
 even by accident, he was punished with death. Yet the 
 Egyptians were an enlightened people in many respects, 
 and famed for their learning and knowledge of various 
 arts and sciences; so that we see that the mere possession 
 of learning is not enough, as it will not keep men from 
 the grossest folly, and the greatest cruelty. If there be 
 not religion as the foundation, it often proves a curse 
 instead of a blessing. 
 
 Even when dead, divine honours were still continued to 
 this bird. It was embalmed in the same way and manner 
 that their greatest kings were, with every mark of respect 
 and veneration. Small cases are even yet found in some 
 of the tombs in Egypt, in which mummies of this bird are 
 still preserved. How truly has the Sacred Writ described 
 these wretched idolaters, and all such: "They became 
 vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was 
 darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became 
 fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into 
 an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and 
 four-footed beasts, and creeping things." 
 
 There are two species of this bird, of which the one is 
 larger, and the other smaller. The 'sacred ibis,' that is
 
 140 THE IBIS. 
 
 the one so called from having been the object of the 
 worship of the Egyptians, as before described, is the small 
 kind, and is about the size of a hen in body, but its neck 
 and bill are very long. The plumage is for the most part 
 white ; the neck and the tips of the quill feathers of the 
 wing are shining black, with a tinge of violet-colour, and 
 some of the others have a dark silky appearance, and hang 
 over the wings and tail in the manner of a plume. The 
 bill is curved like that of a curlew. 
 
 These birds are generally found in small flocks of eight 
 or ten. They fly sometimes at a height in the air, and 
 utter their note, which is harsh. AYhen they alight on the 
 ground, they are said to tap the earth with their bills, so 
 as to bring the worms to the surface, that they may be 
 able to seize them. They also feed on small fish, serpents, 
 and various insects; so that they are very useful; and 
 this may have been the origin of the veneration paid to 
 them by the Egyptians. 
 
 This is supposed to be the bird mentioned in the verse 
 at the head of this article, by the name of the 'great owl,' 
 as also in Deuteronomy, xiv. 16. It was no doubt well 
 known to the Israelites during the time that they sojourned 
 in the land of Egypt, and it would seem probable that one 
 reason for its being placed among the unclean birds, was to 
 keep the people from falling into the idolatry of which the 
 Egyptians were guilty respecting it. 
 
 The ibis is not, properly speaking, a native of Egypt, 
 but arrives there in the spring, at the time that the waters 
 of the Nile begin to rise ; and as the waters increase, so it 
 also increases in numbers.
 
 3 T O R A X .
 
 141 
 
 STORAX. 
 
 "A company of Ishmeelites came from Gttead, with their camels 
 bearing spicery." GENESIS, xxxvii. 25. 
 
 IT has by some been supposed that the drug called 
 'storax' is meant in this passage, as also in Genesis, 
 xliii. 11, by the word which in our version of the Holy 
 Bible is translated 'spices.' 
 
 The tree which produces this drug is small in size. 
 It has a smooth bark, and the leaves are of a deep 
 green colour, and lined with a kind of white down. 
 The flowers are white, and the whole appearance of this 
 little tree is described as being very pretty. 
 
 The drug storax is produced from a resinous gummy 
 substance, which is obtained by making incisions in the 
 branches of the tree. In colour it is a sort of red; its 
 scent is agreeable, and it is considered useful in the 
 pharmacopoeia, as a remedy in cases of cough, asthma, 
 and other complaints. The tree grows plentifully in 
 Palestine, Syria, Greece, and other countries of the 
 East. 
 
 It is only io the two passages quoted above, that 
 the word which is supposed to mean 'storax' occurs. 
 Two other words of the original are translated in the 
 same way, by the word 'spices/ but they appear not 
 to refer to any particular substance, but to be merely 
 general terms for any production of the kind, with so 
 many of which the eastern countries abound; so much 
 so as from the earliest times to have formed an im- 
 portant branch of commerce.
 
 142 STORAX. 
 
 In the account we have given to us in the Gospel 
 of St. John, of the burial of our Lord, we find it stated 
 that Nicodernus ''brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, 
 about an hundred pounds weight." Hereby was fulfilled 
 the prophecy uttered so many hundred years before, 
 that "He should make His grave with the wicked, and 
 with the rich in His death;" for as the former part of 
 the prediction was fulfilled in His being crucified between 
 the two thieves, so was the latter part of it in this 
 way also. And yet how improbable was it beforehand, 
 humanly speaking, that two such incongruous circum- 
 stances should jointly take place with regard to the same 
 individual person. The seeming difficulty was solved 
 as it only could be solved by God himself. Not "one jot 
 or one tittle" that He has said, but shall "surely come 
 to pass." "The counsel of the Lord, it shall stand." 
 
 It was not the custom of the Jews to embalm the 
 bodies of any deceased persons, but those who had been 
 distinguished for great wealth, or in some other way. 
 Our Blessed Saviour was distinguished for the want of 
 worldly wealth, and of all those things which are most 
 "highly esteemed among men;" but He was indeed 
 distinguished in every way that God regards with favour, 
 and honour was justly put upon Him who was emphatically 
 the 'Pattern Man.' 
 
 Some learned men have supposed that gum tragacanth, 
 and not the storax, is intended in the passages cited 
 in the former part of this account.
 

 
 143 
 
 THE CROCODILE. 
 
 "Canst tliou draw out leviathan with an Jiook? or his tongue with a 
 cord which thou lettest down? Will lie speak soft words unto theef 
 Canst thou Jill his skin with barbed irons? His scales are his pride, 
 shut up together as with a dose seal. One is so near to another } that 
 
 no air can come between them. In his neck remaincth strength, 
 
 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: Sharp stones 
 
 are under him : He maketh the deep to boil like a pot ; he maketh 
 
 the sea like a pot of ointment. He maketh a path to shine after him ; 
 one would think the deep to be hoary. Upon earth tliere is not his like } 
 who is made without fear." JOB, xli. 1, etc. 
 
 IT might be supposed, without consideration, that 
 poetry must be in rhyme, but this is far indeed from 
 being the case. There is at least as much poetry in 
 what is called blank verse as in rhyme, nay there may 
 easily be imagined to be more, as the author is less 
 confined in the choice of words. 
 
 There is no finer poetry to be found in the world, 
 than in the book of Job, and in the prophet Isaiah. 
 
 What can be more striking than the description here 
 given by the holy Job of the crocodile, which is with 
 the most reason considered to be the animal intended 
 by the word 'leviathan,' though others have supposed 
 that it meant the 'whale.' 
 
 There are several species of crocodile, which occur in 
 various parts of the world : those found in South America 
 are called alligators, a .corruption, by English sailors, 
 of the word 'ligarto,' a lizard, applied to them by the
 
 144 THE CROCODILE. 
 
 Portuguese settlers there, and properly so, as they belong 
 to that tribe of reptiles. 
 
 All the different kinds of these animals are extremely 
 savage and voracious; and in some parts of the world 
 they are very numerous, so that their ravages are very 
 dreadful, and cause great alarm. In Africa, especially 
 oil the banks of the Nile in Egypt, this is particularly 
 the case. They often have carried off men, women, and 
 children, and are even said to be so numerous in some 
 parts, as sometimes to stop small troops of travellers. 
 Various methods are resorted to to destroy them, by 
 digging pits to trap them in, catching them with large 
 baited hooks, and even spearing them when asleep. It 
 is little use to shoot at them with guns, for the skin on 
 every part of their bodies, except underneath, is so 
 exceedingly hard that it will turn even a musket ball. 
 
 The length of this most formidable of all reptiles is 
 about twenty feet, and its breadth about five feet. It 
 has an immense mouth, and in it nearly eighty sharp 
 and strong teeth. Its voice is frightful a loud, hollow 
 growling; and it is extremely expert in swimming, and 
 can run fast on the land in a straight line, but is said 
 not to be able to turn quickly, and that by this means 
 people may sometimes baffle it, and effect their escape. 
 
 The flesh of the crocodile is said to be white, and 
 palatable to eat, but its goodness may probably depend 
 greatly upon the appetite of those who may have 
 occasion to partake of it.

 
 145 
 
 THE HAWK. 
 
 "Doth the hawk fly ly Thy wisdom, and stiftch far wings to the 
 south?" JOB, xxxix, 26. 
 
 THERE are a very great many different kinds of hawk. 
 They are all rapacious birds, and prey upon other birds, 
 small animals, reptiles, and insects. They are exceedingly 
 swift on the wing, so that very few others can even 
 occasionally escape them. Their name in the Hebrew 
 language i< derived from a word which means 'to fly.' 
 
 Birds of this kind were formerly trained to the pursuit 
 of other ones, and the art was called falconry, or 
 hawking. It has, however, been all but totally super- 
 seded in these days by the discovery of gunpowder, and 
 the manufacture of guns, though some few persons still 
 keep it up as a relic of the olden time. 
 
 The Greeks consecrated the hawk to their god Apollo; 
 and the Egyptians esteemed it in as great veneration as 
 the ibis; but by Moses, that is by God speaking by the 
 mouth of His servant Moses, it was forbidden to be eaten 
 by the Israelites, as being, says Dr. Harris, cruel in its 
 temper, and gross in its habits. 
 
 Some of the larger and swifter kinds of hawks are 
 called falcons, and any of these may be intended where 
 the word is used in the Holy Bible. 
 
 Many of the hawks are birds of passage, and therefore 
 Job refers to it as giving an instance of that truly won- 
 derful power, through which these creatures are guided by 
 an unerring instinct from one part of the world to another, 
 without any guidance but that of God, unseen by man, 
 
 T
 
 146 THE HAWK. 
 
 and inscrutable, 'past finding out.' 
 
 The common translation does not give the full force 
 of the passage "doth the hawk fly by Thy wisdom?" The 
 real meaning is, "doth she know, through Thy skill or 
 wisdom, the precise time for taking flight, or migrating 
 and stretching her wings towards a southern or warmer 
 climate?" Sandys has well rendered it thus 
 
 "Doth the wild haggard tower unto the sky, 
 And to the south by Thy direction fly?" 
 
 There are several species of hawk which are stih 
 rather common in England, namely, the kestrel, the 
 sparrow-hawk, the merlin, the peregrine, the hobby, the 
 hen-harrier; and others which are but very unfrequently 
 met with, such as the jer-falcon, the swallow-tailed kite, 
 and the goshawk. The jer-falcon is a very noble and 
 handsome looking bird, and when old its whole plumage 
 becomes perfectly white.
 
 
 Li E S S .
 
 147 
 
 CYPRESS. 
 
 ''He Jieweth him doivn cedars, and talceth the cypress ami the oak, 
 which he strenytlicneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he 
 planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it." ISAIAH, xliv. 14. 
 
 THE cypress is one of the trees which are called 
 evergreens, from their not shedding their leaves in the 
 autumn, but keeping them in winter the same as in 
 summer. It is of a very elegant shape, growing to 
 a considerable height, sometimes as much as fifty or 
 sixty feet, and tapering upwards into a spire. It seems 
 to have been in all ages connected in some way or other 
 with the dead ; possibly, as has been suggested, its shape, 
 pointing upwards, like the spire of a church, to Heaven, 
 may have been thought to convey the same idea that 
 it is imagined to point, to direct the thoughts of the 
 living to the place of departed spirits, and be a means 
 of bringing them to prepare for their own departure. 
 Even the Heathen were accustomed to make their funeral 
 piles of the wood of this tree; and it has been a custom 
 in the Christian Church for many ages, if not from the 
 very earliest times, to plant the cypress, the yew, and 
 other evergreen trees and shrubs in their churchyards, 
 either with some such symbolical and emblematical 
 meaning, or for the purpose of furnishing the means of 
 decorating their churches at Christmas time, when flowers 
 and summer loaves could not be procured. It is also 
 mentioned by some of the heathen writers, that the oldest 
 idol statues were made of this wood, no doubt on account 
 of its solidity and durability. But nothing that is of the
 
 148 CYPRESS. 
 
 earth is everlasting things that last the longest come to 
 an end; nothing is eternal in this world but the soul 
 of man the body will indeed hereafter live with it for 
 ever, but it must first 'see corruption;' 'return to its dust,' 
 in obedience to the prophetic command of the Almighty, 
 "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." 
 
 The cypress tree derived its name from the island of 
 Cyprus, where it grows plentifully, as well as in several 
 parts of the Levant. It also is met with throughout 
 Syria, as well as in Palestine. 
 
 It has by some been supposed that it was the wood 
 of this tree which is called gopher wood, and of which 
 the ark of Noah was built by command of God. This is, 
 however, only a conjecture. The Ancient Egyptians used 
 it for making the coffins of the mummies; and as it is 
 a hard and sweet-scented wood, it is used also by the 
 Greeks of the present day for the coffins of their dead. 
 
 The Romans were very fond of this tree as an orna- 
 mental one; and the modern Italians have inherited the 
 same taste, and extensively plant it in their gardens, 
 and around their villas. 
 
 It is considered probable that the general term 'cypress' 
 in the sacred volume, comprehended not only the tree 
 which we distinguish by that name, but also the savine, 
 a species of juniper which nearly resembles it; or indeed 
 any species of evergreen. This tree grows in England, 
 but does not produce seed in this climate. Its wood 
 too, like that of the cypress is very hard and durable.
 
 149 
 THE WEASEL. 
 
 "T/te iveasel." LEVITICUS, xi. 29. 
 
 THIS is the only passage in the Holy Bible in which 
 this word occurs. Most versions, and many commentators 
 have coincided in rendering the Hebrew term by our word 
 weasel; but the learned Bochart thinks that it is the mole 
 which is meant; the Syriac, Arabic, and Turkish words 
 for this animal having a very striking resemblance to that 
 which our translators of the Holy Bible have here inter- 
 preted by the name of the weasel. It will be as well 
 to consider that the latter is the one intended. 
 
 There are a great many kinds of the weasel tribe, 
 inhabitants of various parts of the world. They are 
 amazingly quick in their motions along the branches of 
 trees, and also run at a considerable speed on the ground. 
 They are long and slender in shape, their ears are small 
 and rounded, and their fur is for the most part sleek, 
 and that of some species is extensively used for making 
 warm and ornamental dresses, and is therefore much 
 sought after in various countries of the world, as an 
 article of commerce. The white-cheeked marten is M 
 native of Nepaul, in the East Indies only two living 
 specimens of this animal seems to have reached Europe; 
 one of them the property of the Zoological Society. 
 The common marten is found plentifully in most ooantriea 
 of Europe and America. Its general colour is brown, 
 (he throat and breast white. It is very useful as a 
 destroyer of rats, mice, and moles. The pine marten is 
 a native of the North, and lives in the vast pine forests,
 
 150 THE WEASEL. 
 
 from whence it derives its name. It is most abundant 
 in Siberia and North America. The sable dwells in the 
 same parts of the world. The tails of this species have 
 been sold at from four to eight pounds a hundred. The 
 polecat or fitchet is a native of England, as well as of 
 most of the other countries of Europe. Its home is in 
 the woods, but in the winter it often leaves them to 
 carry off poultry from the farm-yard. It also will catch 
 and eat fish. The ferret, according to the opinion of 
 Dr. Fleming, is only an albino, or white variety of this 
 animal. The common weasel is the smallest of the 
 group, being only about seven inches in length. It often 
 makes great havoc among the chickens of the poultry 
 yard, as also among eggs; but it, in some degree, com- 
 pensates for the mischief, by killing many rats and mice. 
 The ermine or stoat is common both in Europe and 
 America. The fur becomes white in the winter, and is 
 then much valued for making ermine tippets, and other 
 articles of dress. The ichneumon is another kind. It 
 abounds in Egypt, and all the southern parts of Asia, and 
 also at the Cape of Good Hope. This is a very useful 
 creature, as it is a most determined enemy of the crocodile, 
 by devouring its eggs, and ^ven the young ones before 
 they can reach the water. It is a courageous little 
 animal, and attacks in the most fearless manner the dog, 
 the cat, the vulture, the viper, and all sorts of serpents. 
 The civet, the Javanese civet, the genet, the skunk, and 
 the glutton, are other species of the weasel tribe. The 
 last-named is common in Lapland, Siberia, and all the 
 countries that border on the North Sea.
 
 ' 

 
 151 
 
 SOAP. 
 
 "But who may abide the day of His coming? and u7w shall stand 
 
 when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner s fire, and like 
 
 fuller's soap." MALACHI^ iii. 2. 
 
 THE soap which is here spoken of, as also in Jeremiah, 
 ii. 22, and otherwise called the 'herb of the washers/ is 
 not the same kind of substance as that which we make 
 use of, but a substitute for it, the produce of a plant, 
 which the Arabs obtain by pounding it when dry between 
 stones, and then mixing it with the water in which they 
 wash their clothes. It is a species of salsola, or salt- wort, 
 which grows in some places very abundantly; both in 
 Africa and Asia. About the shores of the Dead Sea it is 
 found in immense quantities, especially at the southern 
 extremity. It is burned by the Arabs in the same way 
 that sea-weed is in the north of Scotland, to make kelp. 
 It is called by them 'kalli,' from which our words kali 
 and alkali are derived, or indeed one might rather say that 
 they are the same. The Hottentots in southern Africa 
 call it 'canna,' and nearly all the soap made for the use 
 of the Cape colony is produced from it. The leaves are 
 very small and thick, and surround the branches or stems 
 of the plant. "It grows" says Barrow, "in such abun- 
 dance, that supposing, if cut down and burned, it were 
 reproduced in five years, the quantity of soda or barilla 
 that might annually be made from the ashes, would be 
 sufficient, beside serving the colony, for the whole 
 consumption of Great Britain." 
 
 This substance is also used in the manufacture of
 
 152 SOAP. 
 
 glass; and it forms an article of commerce to the various 
 tribes of Arabia, who collect it for sale. 
 
 There is also an unctuous kind of earth called 'stealites,' 
 or soap-earth, which is in much esteem in the East 
 for cleansing and softening the skin. It has been con- 
 jectured that of this kind were the 'two mules' burden 
 of earth,' spoken of in 1 Kings, v. 13; but it may have 
 been common earth for the purpose of offering sacrifice 
 upon, to the Lord God of Israel.
 
 CHAMELEON. CAT
 
 153 
 CHAMELEON. 
 
 "T/ie chameleon" LEVITICUS, xi. 30. 
 
 THIS is a very curious little animal of the lizard tribe, 
 and it had long been supposed to live only on air. This 
 mistaken notion probably originated from their habit of 
 perching on the ends of the branches of shrubs, from which, 
 holding on by their prehensile tails, they catch the flies 
 as they happen to come within reach of their out-stretched 
 tongues. 
 
 Another curious property this little creature has, is the 
 changing of the colour of the skin of its body into a 
 resemblance to that of whatever substance it may be on. 
 This power, however, is not peculiar to the chameleon it 
 is also possessed by trout. Those which are caught in a 
 river, the bed of which is dark are of a dark colour, and 
 those which are caught in one whose bed is lighter coloured 
 are correspondingly lighter themselves. Even when caught 
 and placed in a basket, it may be perceived that the side 
 which is downmost becomes quite dark, while that which 
 is uppermost does not. 
 
 The chameleon has four feet; its tail is long and flat, 
 by which it is assisted in holding on by it to the branches 
 of trees. It has no neck, but the head is joined on 
 directly to the body as in fishes. It has not, either, any 
 ears, and the eyes turn both ways without any movement 
 of the head, and sometimes it turns one of them a different 
 way from that in which the other is looking.
 
 154 
 
 CATERPILLAR. 
 
 "That whidi tlie cankenooi-m hath left, liath the caterpillar tab- it.'' - 
 
 JOEL, i. 4. 
 
 THIS is another of the words, the certain sense of 
 which, as to any particular species, is in obscurity. Per- 
 haps indeed no single one may have been originally 
 intended, but any insect consumer of the fruits of the 
 earth. The ancient interpreters are far from being agreed 
 as to what particular species the Hebrew term signifies. 
 The Septuagint and the Vulgate on 2 Chronicles, vi. 28, 
 and Aquila on Psalm, Ixviii. 46, render it the 'cockchaffer.' 
 From the Syriac version, Michaelis supposes that it means 
 the 'mole-cricket,' which, as also indeed the caterpillars 
 of various species of moths, beetles, and other insects, 
 are very injurious to the roots of corn and other 
 vegetables. 
 
 Even in our own country, some kinds of caterpillars 
 do great harm occasionally in gardens and in the fields. 
 That of the common white butterfly is well known as 
 being very injurious to cabbage plants, on the leaves of 
 which it feeds. At certain intervals, though apparently 
 uncertain in the short-sighted calculations of man, these 
 insects appear in astonishing numbers. No one knows the 
 cause that has called them into existence, nor can any 
 one tell when they will again re-appear in like profusion, 
 or by what means they will be preserved in the egg 
 state to do so.
 
 i\ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <\~ 
 
 \ \- \ ** 
 
 MALLOW.
 
 155 
 MALLOW. 
 
 "TT7w cut up maUoics ly the bushes" JOB, xsx. 4. 
 
 THIS is one of the mucilaginous plants, as the) 7 are 
 called, and it affords food to the people of the East. 
 It is cultivated very extensively in the beautiful gardens 
 of the town of Rosetta, in Egypt, and forms a useful 
 culinary vegetable both for the rich and the poor. It 
 is however, a very different thing to eat a vegetable in this 
 way, and as a sole means of sustenance. A person who 
 was travelling in Syria in the year 1GOO, when on his way 
 from Aleppo to Jerusalem, halted for a time at a village, 
 and during his sojourn walked into the fields. He relates 
 that while there, he "saw ninny poor people gathering 
 mallows and three-leaved grass, and asked them what 
 they did with it; and they answered that it was all their 
 food, and that they boiled it and did eat it. Then we 
 took pity on them and gave them bread, which they 
 received very joyfully, and blessed God that there was 
 bread in the world, for they had not seen bread the 
 space of many months." 
 
 It is to be feared, indeed it is, alas! the case, that 
 many poor persons in every country of the world, are 
 constrained by poverty to eat insufficient, and often 
 unwholesome food. There is no one thing about which 
 there can bo so little doubt, as that it is the duty 
 of all who have it in their power, to "provide for the 
 s*k-k and needy," and to give of their abundance, ua, 
 H'-en of their own want, to relieve the neces/iti- 
 iiiose who require help that they can give them. The
 
 156 MALLOW. 
 
 voice of nature itself, which is in truth the very word 
 of God Himself speaking within us, tells us our duty 
 in this respect, and the voice of Inspiration, which is 
 also His word, clearly prescribes it in like manner, and 
 promises a blessing abundantly to all who follow and 
 obey its dictates in this respect. 
 
 Galen says that the tops of the mallow when young, 
 are used for food: and in the streets of Bagdad, quan- 
 tities of this vegetable, says Serapion, are hawked about, 
 those who carry it crying 'molochia, molochia,' which 
 is nearly the same as the Hebrew word, 'maluach;' 
 which again somewhat resembles our word mallow. 
 
 Different kinds of orache, saltw r ort, and goosefoot, all 
 occasionally eaten as food, have been by different authors 
 supposed to be the mallow mentioned by Job. There 
 is also a plant called the fig-marigold, which has been 
 conjectured to be it. This species is frequently used 
 as an article of food by the Hottentots. It spreads over 
 the desert in large patches, and produces in abundance, 
 and at all seasons of the year, a fruit about the size 
 of a small fig, which when ripe, is of a pleasant 
 acid taste. The outer rind of this plant partakes, as 
 do other plants of the desert, of the salt nature of the 
 soil they grow in, and must therefore be peeled off 
 to make the fruit palatable. It requires to be ripe 
 also, or it is tainted altogether with the same saline 
 taste.
 
 157 
 THE HARE. 
 
 "The hare." DEUTERONOMY, xiv. 7. 
 
 THE hare does not here require any very particular 
 description, as it is an animal which is so well known. It 
 is found not only in England, hnt in most countries of 
 Europe also. It is a very defenceless, and therefore timid 
 creature; but the providence of God has endued it with 
 great quickness both of sight and hearing, to enable it 
 to detect in good time the approach of an enemy; and 
 also with great fleetness, to enable it to escape their 
 pursuit. In northern countries too, these animals assume 
 a white colour, so that by their likeness to the snow, 
 they may the better escape observation. 
 
 In Russia and other cold countries, it is said that the 
 hares collect together in the autumn large supplies of 
 herbs and grass, which they store for winter food; the 
 piles of these provisions are sometimes as much as nine 
 feet round, and five or six feet high. 
 
 The hare was pronounced an unclean animal by the 
 Levitical law, and we should be thankful that all ceremo- 
 nial prohibitions of this kind are done away with under 
 the Christian Dispensation, and that we have the command 
 of the inspired St. Paul, 'whatsoever is sold in the sham- 
 bles, that eat;' and the record of the divine instruction 
 to St. Peter, that 'he should not call anything common 
 or unclean.' 
 
 The hare so strikingly resembles the rabbit, that it 
 is at first difficult to persuade oneself that the latter is 
 not the young of the former.
 
 J5S THE HARE. 
 
 There are two species of hare in Syria, which differ: 
 the larger is called the Turkman hare, and chiefly 
 frequents the plains; the other is the common hare of the 
 desert: both species are very common there. 
 
 There seems to be no doubt but that the animal 
 here spoken of is the hare, for it seems that the Jew<;, 
 as is mentioned by the historian Plutarch, abstained 
 from eating it, and Clemens Alexandrinus records the 
 same thing. There is indeed a difficulty in the way of 
 this supposition, namely that Moses speaks of the animal 
 he is intending as chewing the cud, which our hare 
 does not, but on the other hand it may be remarked that 
 Aristotle relates the same fact, and classes it, from it's 
 construction, with the ruminating animals. Interpreters 
 also generally consider that it is the hare that is meant. 
 
 The name is derived, according to Bochart and others, 
 from one Hebrew word, which signifies to crop or browse, 
 and another which means the produce of the ground; 
 and these animals, ai is universally known, and as farmers 
 too often experience to their cost, are pre-eminently 
 remarkable for devouring young plants and tender 
 herbage. The learned Dr. Harris is of opinion that the 
 difficulty may be removed by imagining that the animal 
 here spoken of is a variety of the species ; Mr. Hornier, 
 however, thinks differently, and says, "our translation is 
 evidently suited to our circumstances in England, where 
 hardly any other of the wild quadrupeds of the smaller 
 sort are eaten, but hares and rabbits, rather than to 
 Asiatic customs, and the beasts that reside in the 
 Arabian deserts."
 
 
 r . 
 
 LOCUST, OR CAROB TREE.
 
 159 
 
 LOCUST TREE. 
 
 "Aii:l lie ivould fain have filed his belly with the husks that the 
 swine did eat" ST. LUKE, xv. 10. 
 
 IT seems to be thought that the locust tree is that 
 which is intended in the passage before us. 
 
 This tree grows to a considerable size, and affords a 
 useful shelter. It is a common species in Syria, Egypt, 
 and Greece, and all the other countries of the south of 
 Europe, as also in the northern parts of Africa. The 
 seeds, which are shining in appearance, are produced in 
 long slender pods, in shape somewhat like a sickle, 
 and about eight or ten inches long, and half-an-inch 
 wide. The common people eat them for food, and for 
 want of better sustenance are contented with them, and 
 even like them. They form in fact an extensive article 
 of food in those parts of the world, and when steeped 
 in water afford also a pleasant drink. It is truly won- 
 derful to think how bountifully the God of Nature supplies 
 all the creatures He has made, in even 7 part of the 
 world, with 'food convenient for them.' Those who are 
 accustomed to one kind of nutriment, think at first that 
 it would be next to impossible for them to be able to 
 live on another; but universal experience teaches us that 
 the habit of doing so is not only to be acquired, but 
 that, when acquired, it is found more pleasant to con- 
 tinue it than otherwise. 
 
 This tree is also known by the name of the carob 
 tree. The blossom from which the fruit is produced, is 
 described as being of a deep crimson colour. Thus in
 
 160 LOCUST TREE. 
 
 numberless instances we see how the beautiful Creator 
 of all not only gives things that are necessary for sup- 
 porting the life of man, but at the same time makes 
 them subservient to the gratification of his senses of 
 seeing and hearing. 
 
 In general appearance the locust tree is said to 
 resemble an apple tree. It has been by some supposed 
 that it was the fruit of it that formed food for John 
 the Baptist, when in the wilderness , but it seems to be 
 with more reason thought that it was insects of this name 
 that sustained the holy man. The locust tree however 
 does to the present day abound in the wilderness of 
 Judea, in which he preached the doctrine of repentance, 
 the necessary preparation for a right faith in Christ, so 
 that it might perhaps be saying too much to assert that 
 it could not be the tree that is spoken of. 
 
 Although a taste for the fruit of the locust tree may 
 be so far acquired as to prevent its being unpalatable, 
 yet it is by no means a food which would be preferred if 
 any other could be had. It contains but little nutriment, 
 and its principal use is to feed swine and cattle. It is 
 frequently mentioned in the Talmud as supplying the 
 ordinary food of animals. In the south of Europe the 
 pods are very generally given to horses; and they formed 
 the principal sustenance of the cavalry of the British 
 army in the war of the years 1811 and 1812. They 
 are sometimes sold in London ; and vessel loads of them 
 are conveyed from Palestine to Alexandria, and from 
 thence to Constantinople, for the supply of the shops 
 which deal in articles of the kind.
 
 161 
 THE NIGHT HAWK. 
 
 "The night hawk." DEUTERONOMY, xiv. 15. 
 
 THE name of night hawk is given to a bird of the 
 heron tribe, but in the passage before us, as also in 
 Leviticus, xi. 16, it is thought that the original word 
 refers to some bird of the owl kind, as being voracious, 
 and flying by night. Dr. Harris is of this opinion, and 
 thinks that a species is perhaps meant which Hasselquist 
 thus describes: "It is of the size of a common o\vl, 
 and lodges in the large buildings or ruins of Egypt 
 and Syria, and sometimes even in the dwelling-houses. 
 The Arabs settled in Egypt call it 'maassa/ and the 
 Syrians 'banu.' It is extremely voracious in Syria; to 
 such an extent, that if care is not taken to shut the 
 windows at the coming on of night, he enters the 
 houses and kills the children; the women, therefore, are 
 very much afraid of him." 
 
 I do not however, think that the latter part of this 
 account is at all likely to be true. It is probably only 
 a popular superstition of that country, similar in its want 
 of foundation to the many foolish notions which are 
 but too prevalent in our own, and in every country, 
 and which we shall do well to guard against at all 
 times, and particularly in childhood: they have often 
 done great harm, even to the loss of reason, and of 
 life. 
 
 There are about sixty species of owls known to 
 naturalists in various parts of the world: we have nearly 
 a dozen that have been met with in England. One
 
 162 THE NIGHT HAWK. 
 
 of these is called the hawk owl, and some of them 
 approach very closely in exterior form to those of the 
 hawks which are called harriers, so close and wonderful 
 are the links by which the whole chain of nature is 
 united together. It is often very difficult to say where 
 one so-called genus ends, and another begins; or to 
 which some particular bird or other creature may belong. 
 
 The eagle owl is the largest of all the tfibe, and 
 measures as much as two feet in length. It is a very 
 striking and noble looking bird, of a handsome rich 
 brown colour, mottled with darker and lighter shades, 
 and with very large yellow eyes, and strong talons like 
 an eagle. It feeds on many small animals, such as fawns, 
 hares, rabbits, rats, mice, and moles, and also on reptiles 
 and birds. It builds its nest in the clefts of the mountains, 
 or in old castles, in the most wild and savage districts, 
 and there its harsh and startling voice may be heard 
 breaking the silence of the night a sure sign that it 
 has left the repose in which it had been indulging all the 
 day, and is scouring over its haunts in quest of some 
 unlucky animal to make its prey. It is a native of 
 many parts of Europe, being found in the great forests 
 of Russia, Germany, and Switzerland. It is seldom met 
 with in France or England, but a few specimens have 
 occurred in this country. 
 
 All the owls are shy birds, and like their own society 
 the best. You may remember the lines in the beautiful 
 poem of Gray, the "Elegy written in a country church- 
 yard : 
 
 "Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower, 
 The moping owl does to the moon complain, 
 Of such as wandering near her sacred bower, 
 .Molest her ancient solitary reign."
 
 ALOES.
 
 163 
 
 ALOES. 
 
 "As t/ie trees of lign aloes tvhich tlie Lord hath planted." 
 NUMBERS, xxiv. 6. 
 
 THE common aloe is a plant of a large size, which 
 has broad and strong leaves, nearly two inches thick, 
 prickly and chamfered. It grows to a height of two 
 or three feet. There are however, many species of this 
 plant or tree^ that which is called the lign aloe, or tree 
 aloe, was long unknown to the naturalists of Europe. It 
 was at length discovered in India and the islands of the 
 East, by merchants and missionaries, and in the years 
 1809 and 1810, some young trees which had been 
 brought, to the Botanic garden at Calcutta, produced 
 flowers and fruit. This tree grows to the great height 
 of a hundred and twenty feet, and its trunk measures 
 as much as twelve feet round, so that it may well be 
 spoken of in terms of admiration, as hi the verse at 
 the head of this article. The wood is white, and very 
 light and soft ; neither it, nor the leaves, bark, or flowers, 
 have any smell. The fruit is a berry of a pale green 
 colour; it contains two cells for seeds, one of which 
 is often empty. 
 
 A perfume is produced by a laborious process from 
 some trees of this species, but it is only when the tree 
 is in a fit state; and many trees do not contain any 
 of it. "The people employed in cutting it go two or 
 three days journey into the hilly country, and hew 
 down, without choice, all the trees young and old, 
 fresh and withered; the latter being much preferred.
 
 164 ALOES. 
 
 In order to find the fragrant part, the moment a tree 
 is felled they chip off the hark, and cat into the wood, 
 until they find some dark-coloured vein, which generally 
 encloses, in the very centre of the trunk or branch, a 
 hollow wherein is deposited the oily suhstance sought for. 
 This dark portion of the tree sinks immediately in water, 
 and is sold at a high price. That which is next, and 
 retains some of the perfume, sinks, but not deep; and 
 there are still two other portions of different degrees 
 of scent, which are saleable, though they fetch only 
 one-sixteenth of the price of the first." 
 
 It seems to be thought the most probable that a 
 species of aloe called the Syrian aloe, or of Rhodes, 
 and of Candia, otherwise called aspalatha, is that 
 which is here intended. It is a small shrub covered 
 with prickles, of which the inhabitants of these countries 
 use the wood, having first peeled off the bark, to give 
 a consistency to their perfumes, which would otherwise 
 be too thin and liquid. Levinus Lemnius says that it 
 very much resembles the Indian lign aloe, and 
 Cassiodorus observes that it is of a very sweet smell, 
 and that in his time they burned it before the altars 
 instead of frankincense. 
 
 The fragrant kind of aloe mentioned in the Holy 
 Bible, must not be confounded with the substance sold 
 by pur druggists under the same name; the bitter 
 quality of which is so well known. Our drug is the 
 thickened juice of a species of the aloe genus, and there 
 seems no doubt but that the one spoken of in the 
 Scripture, was the sweet-scented resinous substance 
 which is found inside the trunk of one or more sorts 
 of a tree of the tribe called agallochum, which grows 
 in India and other parts of Asia.
 
 165 
 THE LIZARD. 
 
 "The lizard." LEVITICUS, xi. 30. 
 
 THIS is the only passage in the sacred volume in 
 which the word thus translated occurs; and all interpre- 
 ters agree that it signifies some species of lizard. In 
 the opinion of the learned Bochart, it is a small kind 
 which is of a reddish colour, of a venomous nature, 
 and lies close to the earth. 
 
 There are a great number of different kinds of these 
 animals, some of them large and others small; some 
 of the latter are extremely beautiful, their colours being 
 very bright, and their motions quick and agile. The 
 island of Guernsey produces some peculiarly bright- 
 coloured ones. Those in England are of dull sober 
 colours, but they are all pretty, graceful, and very 
 harmless little animals. Some kinds of them live in 
 water, and these are generally called efts or newts. 
 
 These creatures are almost accounted sacred by the 
 Turks and Egyptians; and we read "The veneration 
 which they entertain for them is doubtless connected 
 with the exercise of that hospitality which is so gene- 
 rally adopted in the East. They are unwilling to injure 
 harmless and innocent animals which approach man 
 with confidence, and which seem to take up their abode 
 with him solely for the purpose of purging his habitation 
 of a swarm of insects, which constantly torment him in 
 those countries where the excessive heat renders them 
 more numerous, and more troublesome than in other 
 places."
 
 166 THE LIZARD. 
 
 Animals of this class are vastly different in size. The 
 huge crocodile, and the little chameleon, both already 
 described, are so widely separated in this respect and 
 there are others even smaller than the latter ; that one 
 would at first be indisposed to think of their being of the 
 same family; but so it is, and far more strange things 
 meet the view of the student of the page of nature. 
 
 There are some large animals of the class of reptiles, 
 the remains of which are found in the present day in a 
 fossil state, that is, embedded in stone into the substance 
 of which they have themselves been turned. Some very 
 fine specimens of these wonderful relics of former ages 
 have at various times been found in the cliff's near Lyme 
 Regis, in Dorsetshire, and Whitby, in Yorkshire, as well as 
 elsewhere, in the kind of clay called blue lias, of which 
 those cliffs are composed. It is a very common thing 
 indeed to find parts of them scattered here and there in 
 loose stones which have been dislodged from their original 
 deposit, and have fallen down with portions of the cliff 
 from time to time, in consequence of their crumbling 
 away under the influence of the weather and internal 
 streams. The sale of the specimens thus procured affords 
 a livelihood to many persons, who dispose of them to those 
 who are anxious to buy them for their own private collec- 
 tions, or for public museums. Those who collect them 
 have been facetiously called 'antediluvian fishmongers.' 
 
 It is indeed a thing to excite our wonder, to see thus 
 before our eyes the very animals that existed on the 
 earth so many thousand years ago, many of them now 
 totally extinct. The ways 'of God are indeed "past 
 finding out."
 
 -
 
 1G7 
 
 CASSIA. 
 
 "All thy garments smell of myrrli, aloes, and cassia." PSALM, xlv. 8. 
 
 THERE are two kinds of cassia; and as the word is 
 used three times in the Holy Scriptures, namely, besides 
 the passage above mentioned, in Exodus, xxx. 24., 
 and in Ezekiel, xxvii. 19.; it is of course uncertain 
 whether or no both kinds may be alluded to in it. 
 The English names of these two kinds are cassia-buds 
 and common cassia. The former grows in many parts 
 of the Eastern hemisphere in China, India, and the 
 various islands of the Indian Archipelago, and produces 
 the buds and flowers which are used as an article of com- 
 merce. The other kind the common cassia, is a large 
 tree which sometimes attains the height of forty or fifty 
 feet, and grows in Arabia and Egypt. Its pod, which is 
 round, is the drug, as also the seeds which it contains. 
 The former is about one foot eight inches long, and is 
 separated internally into divisions between which the seeds 
 are placed. The taste is very sweet, so that it is used 
 for making comfits, which formerly used to be imported 
 into Europe as a medicine, and it is still made use of 
 as a perfume in the countries in which it is produced. 
 The pods are collected by the Arabs into heaps, which 
 they pile up and spread out for a certain number of 
 days, until they are dried and so prepared for sale. 
 
 This cassia formed an ingredient in the ointment which 
 Moses was directed by God to make for the tabernacle; 
 and it is mentioned by David among the choice perfumes 
 of the spiritual bride, in the verse at present before us.
 
 168 CASSIA. 
 
 Ezekiel speaks of it also, including it in the account of 
 the merchandise brought to Tyre, and mentioning it in 
 connection with the sweet cane and bright iron; "all 
 three the produce of India, where the Hindoos, with 
 their very small furnaces, prepare iron with a perfection 
 we have not attained." 
 
 This drug is mentioned by Herodotus, the most ancient 
 historical profane writer; as also by Theophrastus arid 
 Pliny; and they all place it in connection with myrrh, 
 frankincense, and cinnamon, and say that they all come 
 from Arabia. Dr. Harris speaks of it as the aromatic 
 bark of an oriental tree of the same name, and as not 
 much unlike cinnamon. In the account of the propor- 
 tions of the ingredients to be used for making the holy 
 anointing oil, there is a difficulty about the quantity of 
 drugs to be put into so small a quantity of oil, which 
 would render the liquor much too thick, and make' 
 merely a thick paste; but it is pointed out that it is 
 to be observed that the word 'shekel' is not expressed 
 in the original, so that some have supposed that the 
 gerah was the weight intended. The adoption of the 
 word gerah instead of shekel would give a proportion 
 of thirty five ounces and a half of the drugs, to one 
 hundred and twenty three ounces of oil, or three and a 
 half to one.
 
 o-- -v-a 
 
 THE BITTERN.
 
 169 
 THE BITTERN. 
 
 "T/ie bittern shall possess it." ISAIAH, xxxiv. 11. 
 
 THE bittern is a kind of bird of which there are 
 several species: they belong to the family of the herons. 
 They frequent marshy places, and whether this exact 
 bird is the one meant in this prophecy, and other kindred 
 ones, or not, yet the word of God has been abundantly 
 fulfilled, for those places which were once filled with 
 crowds of busy men, have long since been overrun with 
 water, and become the natural resort of all those crea- 
 tures which desire such situations for their habitation. 
 See what a thing sin is: not only is it a "reproach to 
 any people," but it is, sooner or later, if persevered in, 
 their destruction. "The counsel of the Lord, that shall 
 stand," and sin is His enemy, and must be destroyed 
 by Him. 
 
 The bittern is a shy and solitary bird. It is pretty 
 frequently met with in England, but is no where very 
 common in this country, as it has become comparatively 
 so well drained, that there are few places left suitable 
 for its habits. It is a bird of much courage and spirit, and 
 even the hawk is afraid of it. Its bill is very long, pointed, 
 and strong, and with it it strikes at the eyes of its foe, and 
 makes use at the same time of its claws, throwing itself on 
 its back. Its plumage is very handsome, being a mixture 
 of brown of various shades and black. It is a migratory 
 bird to England arriving from warmer climates in the 
 month of April. 
 
 The bittern is most remarkable for its note, which is
 
 170 THE BITTERN. 
 
 very strong and hoarse, and is called its 'boom.' Its 
 dismal voice may be heard in the evening, sounding out 
 of the gloomy morasses in which it delights to dwell. 
 It is described as resembling the bellowing of a bull, 
 is said to be as loud as the report of a musket, and 
 to be capable of being heard at the distance of more 
 than a mile. What a wonderful sound from a bird not 
 very large! 
 
 The bittern, as may be supposed from the nature of 
 the parts that it inhabits, feeds on fish, aquatic animals, 
 and reptiles. Its legs are long, for the purpose of wading 
 in the water, and its claws and neck are also long: the 
 middle claw is notched to enable it to hold fast its slip- 
 pery prey. In former times its flesh was esteemed a 
 delicacy, but it is not much thought of in these times. 
 It is said to resemble that of the hare. 
 
 It has been, however, considered by some modern 
 travellers that the Hebrew word which we have translated 
 'bittern,' does not mean a bird, but a porcupine. Some 
 travellers relate, "We were informed that a rough hairy 
 animal, which we understood to be the porcupine, abounds 
 in the Wady Mousa, (Mountain of Moses,) and that the 
 Arabs call it 'kangfud,' which is evidently the Hebrew 
 
 word used in Isaiah Dr. Keith tried to ascertain from 
 
 the Bedouin chief the fact of porcupines being found in 
 Petra. He asked him what the kangfud was, when the 
 Bedouin immediately imitated the cry it uttered; and 
 when shown a porcupine quill, at once recognised it as 
 belonging to the kangfud." "It must not be forgotten 
 that when the translation of our English Bible was made 
 in the year 1611, but little knowledge was possessed of 
 the natural history of the East."
 
 MYRRH.
 
 171 
 MYRRH. 
 
 "Oil of myrrh." ESTHER, ii. 12. 
 
 THE Hebrew word thus translated seems to be the 
 root of the Greek word from which again our English 
 word is formed, all being somewhat alike in spelling and 
 in sound. 
 
 Myrrh is a precious kind of gum obtained by incision, 
 and sometimes spontaneously from the trunk and the 
 larger branches of a tree which grows in Egypt, Arabia, 
 and Abyssinia. Its taste is extremely bitter, but its smell, 
 though strong, is not unpleasant, and it was highly 
 esteemed by the ancients as a component part of the 
 most costly ointments. It was also used as a perfume, 
 for the purpose of scenting garments, and was carried by 
 ladies in little caskets, as vinaigrettes are made use of 
 at the present day. David, in the book of Psalms, thus 
 speaks of it in connection with this custom, "All thy 
 garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia." 
 
 Myrrh is also mentioned in St. John, xix. 39, among 
 the articles which were brought by Nicodemus for the 
 purpose of anointing the body of OUR LORD; and we 
 find from the historian Herodotus, that this gum was one 
 of the principal ingredients used in the embalming of 
 the dead. 
 
 In the book of Genesis, xxxvii. 25, we find myrrh 
 mentioned in our English translation, but the Hebrew 
 word used in the original is a different one; and it seems 
 to be considered as certainly proved, that what is there 
 meant is the substance already described under the name
 
 172 MYRRH. 
 
 of 'ladanum,' or 'ledum.' Although the taste of myrrh 
 is by most persons now considered unpleasant, yet there 
 was a time when it was greatly esteemed throughout 
 Europe as a medicine ; and one fanciful person, by name 
 Von Helmont, went so far as to believe that if by any 
 means myrrh could be fully dissolved in the liquids of 
 the human frame, it would render man immortal. But 
 vain are all such speculations. "Death passed upon all 
 men, for that all have sinned," and nothing but the will 
 and word of God Himself can reverse the universal 
 decree. He indeed can, if He pleases, make even mor- 
 tal man immortal, as He did Elijah, but no power of 
 man himself can take the work of God out of His 
 hands: "He can create, and He destroy." In one sense, 
 however, man is already immortal, the soul never dies, 
 never will, never can die, and if we would that eternal 
 life should be life indeed to us, and not death, we must 
 "live the life that we now live in the flesh by the faith 
 of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave Himself 
 for us." He Himself said, if we thus live we shall 'live 
 for ever.' "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my 
 blood hath everlasting life;" "the bread that I will give 
 is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." 
 "He that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." "I 
 am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in 
 me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and he that 
 liveth and believeth in me shall never die." "Believest 
 thou this?"
 
 173 
 SYRIAN GREYHOUND. 
 
 "A greylumnd." PROVERBS, xxx. 31. 
 
 THIS is a veil-known and very handsome species of 
 dog. It is remarkable for its slender and elegant shape, 
 and for its extreme nimbleness and agility, it hunts by 
 sight, and not by scent. If all dogs, as is supposed, are 
 derived from one common stock or origin, it is certainly 
 a very curious, and very difficult question to be answered, 
 how some have the faculty of hunting by scent, and others 
 not; as well as other such entirely different qualities. 
 
 Daniel in his "Rural Sports," says that though a first- 
 rate horse would outstrip a greyhound on a flat road, )-et 
 that on a hilly one the contrary would be the case. He 
 also records that in Lincolnshire, a brace of greyhounds 
 hunted a hare for upwards of four miles, in the short space 
 of twelve minutes; and there were of course many turns 
 during the chase, which made it even longer than the 
 measured distance: the hare was exhausted and dropped 
 dead before the greyhounds reached her, or they would no 
 doubt have gone on longer in the pursuit. 
 
 The Irish greyhound is a very large dog, a variety of 
 this kind, supposed to be derived from the ordinary grey- 
 hound and the Danish dog. It was in ancient times very 
 highly prized in Ireland, for its use in hunting the wolves 
 which at that period used to be a serious evil there as well 
 as in this country. In the year 1780, Lord Altamont tiad 
 eight of these fine animals, the largest of which measured 
 five feet and an inch from the end of the nose to the tip 
 of the tail, and the latter itself was one foot five inches
 
 174 SYRIAN GREYHOUND. 
 
 long. Its height from the top of the shoulder to the 
 ground was two feet four inches and a half. 
 
 Another variety of this animal, and which is still very 
 frequently to be seen, is the Italian greyhound. It is as 
 remarkable for its smallness as the one just mentioned 
 for the largeness of its size. 
 
 It is frequently kept by ladies as a companion, and is 
 considered an ornament to the drawing-room. It is of a 
 very neat and slender make, and its coat is short and 
 smooth. It is remarkable for the constant trembling of 
 its whole body, which arises probably from some nervous 
 susceptibility. The common greyhound is also similarly 
 affected if pleased by being taken notice of, and its heart 
 may at the same time be perceived to beat in a violent 
 and irregular manner. 
 
 The Italian greyhound is a very watchful little animal, 
 quick and lively in its movements, and timid and 
 gentle in its disposition. It is a great pity, and indeed 
 very wrong to spoil it or any other animal by petting and 
 pampering them in the way that some persons foolishly 
 do.

 
 175 
 OLIVE. 
 
 "The mount of olives." ST. MATTHEW, xxi. 1. 
 
 WE read in the Scripture of only the wild and the 
 cultivated olive tree, but Tournefort mentions as many 
 as eighteen kinds. 
 
 The cultivated olive grows very plentifully in Spain, 
 Italy, and other countries of the South. It blooms in 
 the month of June: the blossoms are white, and grow 
 in clusters each of one piece, widening towards the 
 top, and dividing into four parts. The fruit is of an 
 oblong shape and rounded: at first it is green, then pale- 
 coloured, and when quite ripe becomes black. There is 
 enclosed inside a hard stone, which is filled with oblong 
 seeds. The trunk of the tree is knotty; the bark smooth 
 and of an ash colour; the leaves also oblong, resembling 
 in appearance those of the willow, of a dark green colour 
 on the upper side, and whitish below. The wood of the 
 olive is hard and of a yellowish colour. 
 
 This tree is remarkable for the great age it attains 
 to, so that the Italians have a common proverb, "If you 
 wish to leave a lasting inheritance to your children's 
 children, plant an olive;" and there are even at the 
 present day olive trees growing near Terni, in Italy, 
 which are believed to have existed in the time of Pliny, 
 about eighteen hundred years ago. Some of those which 
 grow on the mount of Olives are supposed to be even 
 so much as two thousand years old individuals of them 
 measure six yards in circumference. The garden of 
 Gethsemane used anciently to be called "the garden of
 
 1 76 OLIVE. 
 
 the oil press;" and the French writer Chateaubriand, 
 has ingeniously inferred the identity of some of the trees 
 which at present exist there, with those from which it 
 derived or maintained its name. ''They are," he says, 
 "at least as old as the times of the Eastern empire, as is 
 demonstrated by the following circumstance: In Turkey, 
 every olive tree found standing by the Mussulmans, when 
 they conquered Asia, pays one medina to the treasury; 
 while each of those planted since the conquest is taxed 
 only half its produce. The eight olives of which we are 
 speaking are charged eight medinas." 
 
 What thoughts does the garden of Gethsemane recall; 
 or, what thoughts should it not recall to every Christian 
 mind! Here did our most blessed Saviour and adorable 
 Redeemer utter the words of anguish, "My soul is 
 exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." Mount Calvary 
 too, and the Mount of Olives! "This," says Lamartine, 
 "was the Mount of Olives; and these were the olive trees 
 themselves old witnesses written of on earth, and in 
 heaven; watered by Divine tears, by sweat of blood, 
 and so many other tears, shed since that night, which 
 rendered them so sacred." 
 
 "It is a curious and interesting fact," says Carne, "that 
 during a period of little more than two thousand years, 
 Hebrews, Assyrians, Romans, Moslems, and Christians, 
 have been successively in possession of the rocky moun- 
 tains of Palestine, yet the olive tree still asserts its 
 paternal soil, and is found there at this day." 
 
 "The tree he still remains!"

 
 177 
 
 THE ROCK PIGEON. 
 
 Who are these that //// '<.s cloud, and as dons to (heir windows." 
 ISAIAH, Ix. 8. 
 
 THIS bird has been already alluded to in a previous 
 article, as being the original stock of all the varieties of 
 the tame pigeon. 
 
 The rock pigeon, or rock dove, inhabits, as its name 
 imports, the rocky cliffs on all sid* j s of our island, and 
 breeds in their ledges, or in the innermost recesses of the 
 caverns with which they so often abound. They may be 
 seen in Yorkshire, among the cliffs around the well-known 
 promontory called Flamborough Head, the name of which 
 is said to be a corruption of Flame borough, from the 
 light-house which has been continued on it from time 
 immemorial. 
 
 These birds, from the nature of the localities they 
 frequent, are found in company with seagulls and other 
 ocean denizens; their flight is very peculiar; they dash 
 about in an extraordinary manner, so that they cannot 
 easily be mistaken for any other species. 
 
 There are upwards of a hundred species of birds 
 of the pigeon tribe, known and described by naturalists. 
 The carrier pigeon has been used from time immemorial 
 in the East, for conveying messages from one place to 
 another; from whence 'its name. Its power of tracking 
 its way for immense distances with unerring certainty, 
 is one of the most wonderful things in nature, and wrapped 
 in impenetrable mystery. However we may account 
 for the fact, we cannot account for the power oi the
 
 178 THE ROCK PIGEON. 
 
 bird to find its pathway from the great distance from 
 which it has been known to wend its return to the 
 'old familiar spot/ from which it had been taken, in 
 all probability without having been at all able to see 
 the way even for the single time during which it had 
 been so carried. 
 
 In some parts of the East large round towers are 
 built, with as many as a thousand orifices left as pigeon- 
 holes, each of which serves as a nest for a pair of 
 doves. This will serve to shew us the allusion made 
 to the flight of these birds in the verse before us. 
 
 Audubon, the great naturalist, gives us a most 
 wonderful account of the almost incredible numbers in 
 which pigeons congregate together in masses in some 
 parts of America; he says, "As the period of their 
 arrival drew nigh, preparations were made to receive 
 them. Some of the people had iron pots with sulphur 
 in them, others had torches of pine wood, many were 
 with long poles, and the rest with guns. All eyes 
 were gazing on the clear sky ; suddenly there burst 
 forth a general cry of 'Here they come!' The noise 
 which they made, though yet distant, reminded me of 
 a hard gale at sea, passing through the rigging of a 
 close-reefed vessel. As the birds arrived and passed 
 over me, I felt a current of air that surprised me. 
 Thousands were soon knocked down by the polemen. 
 The birds continued to pour in, and the fires \vere 
 lighted. They alighted every where, one above another, 
 until solid masses, as large as hogsheads, were found 
 on the branches all around. Here and there the perches 
 gave way under their weight, with a crash, and falling 
 to the ground, destroyed hundreds of the birds beneath. 
 It was a scene of uproar and confusion."
 
 179 
 
 THISTLE. 
 
 "Thorns also and thistles shall it briny forth to thce." GENESIS, iii. 18. 
 
 THIS is a common and well-known weed; we might 
 be disposed to say too common; but this cannot be; 
 every thing in the world is ordered by the all-wise 
 Providence of God, and therefore must be best, and 
 for the best. Not a sparrow falls to the ground with- 
 out His permission. "Behold the lilies of the field, 
 how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin, and 
 yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his 
 lory, was not arrayed like one of these." "Behold 
 the fowls of the air, they sow not, neither do they 
 reap, nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father 
 feedeth them." All are the works of God; all are verily 
 His 'handiwork;' all must be good and appropriate in 
 its place; and there is, and every lover of nature feels 
 it to be so, perfect beauty of its kind in even the 
 humblest and smallest of the wonders of creation. "All 
 things," says the author of the book of Ecclesiasticus, 
 "are double one against another, and God has made 
 nothing imperfect." 
 
 Contradictory as it may at first sight seem, one use 
 that thistles may be of, is their very uselessness, or 
 worse than uselessness. It was part of the original curse 
 passed upon Adam for his sin, that the ground should 
 be cursed for his sake, and as the consequence thereof, 
 "thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;" 
 and as even in the garden of Eden his work was "to 
 dress the garden and to keep it ;" so much more now when
 
 180 THISTLE. 
 
 it was to be "in the sweat of his face" that he was to 
 eat his hread, it became his necessary duty to keep 
 under the weeds, which if not weeded out would choke 
 the good seed, by which the life of man is supported. 
 In some parts of the East, where the land is left to 
 itself and gone out of cultivation, thistles have been 
 seen as much as ten or twelve feet high; and the 
 plains which at a distance seemed to be covered with 
 crops of rye and wheat, were found when approached, 
 to be in reality overrun with rank ^ luxuriant grasses, 
 even taller than wheat, and this for miles and miles of 
 a rich country, but left without inhabitant, and conse- 
 quently without cultivation. 
 
 It is a common saying that "ill weeds grow apace," 
 and the proverb is a true one. It is true even hi a 
 moral sense. How naturally do evil thoughts, the 
 fruitful seeds of evil w r ords and actions, spring up in 
 the soil of the human heart. These weeds must be 
 kept under, and eradicated as much as possible. If not 
 checked, they will prevail against the good seed, and 
 hinder its growth, or even totally destroy it. And what 
 says the Holy Scripture? "Whose end is to be burned," 
 at the day of judgment; the command to the Holy 
 Angels, the reapers, will be, "gather ye together first 
 the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but 
 gather the wheat into my barn."
 
 
 '<V\ 
 -."\' v ^ 
 
 i& 
 * 
 
 " ( // 
 
 % 
 
 'jf^w 
 
 1 
 
 ' 
 
 v 
 
 THE WILD CAT.
 
 181 
 THE WILD CAT. 
 
 "Wild beasts of the desert." ISAIAH, xiii. 21. 
 
 IT is the opinion of the learned Bochart that the wild 
 cat is intended hy the animal spoken of in this passage, 
 as also in the xxxiv. 14, Jeremiah, L. 39, and Psalm, 
 Ixxiv. 14. Bishop Louth is of the same opinion, and 
 translates the word 'mountain cats,' as also Dr. Blaney, 
 who renders it 'wild cats;' other commentators, however, 
 have translated it by 'bats,' and others again by 'serpents.' 
 
 The wild cat, which though uniform in its own colour, 
 is the parent of all those of the domestic race, which 
 vary so much in theirs, is found in woods and desert 
 places in many countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
 Its food consists of such animals as hares and rabbits, 
 and of such birds as it can surprise asleep or off their 
 guard, partridges, and any other smaller ones. It is even 
 said sometimes to destroy lambs, and it is extremely 
 probable that it may do so, as it is a very ferocious, 
 powerful, and formidable creature. Instances have been 
 known where wild cats have attained to the length of 
 five feet from the end of the nose to the tip of the 
 tail, even in this country. Its coat is very handsome, 
 being elegantly striped after the form of that of the 
 Bengal tiger, to which race of animals it belongs. It 
 will not voluntarily attack man, but if assailed by him, 
 will spring upon him, and bite and scratch him in a 
 severe and dangerous manner. 
 
 The cat, when tamed, is a very useful animal in 
 keeping under the numbers of rats, mice, and oth-r
 
 182 THE WILD CAT. 
 
 vermin, which are apt otherwise to increase upon us to 
 an injurious extent. It was held in high esteem, and 
 even veneration, by the Egyptians; and we are informed 
 by Herodotus, that when a cat died, the owner of the 
 house used to shave his eyebrows, and mourn for it as 
 for a child. They used also to embalm the bodies of 
 their cats, and afterwards carried them for burial to a 
 particular city. To kill a cat was accounted a heinous 
 offence, and was punished by the imposition of a fine. 
 The Egyptians of the present day do not carry on these 
 absurd customs, but they still treat their cats with great 
 care and kindness, their example in which respect it 
 would be well if all in England were to follow. 
 
 The following curious and interesting circumstance is 
 narrated in Fennell's "History of British Quadrupeds:" 
 "Near High Melton, a village six miles west of Don- 
 caster, in the county of York, is a wood of some 
 extent, and which from time immemorial has been a 
 favourite haunt of the wild cat, and the badger. A 
 young man, in passing through this wood, discovered a 
 wild cat's nest in a hollow tree, and purloined the con- 
 tents, which consisted of three kittens. He had not 
 proceeded far, before on turning round, he beheld the 
 mother mounted on the top of a stile, which he had 
 quitted but a moment before. Her ferocious aspect and 
 appalling cries rendered him fearful, and he dropped one 
 of the kittens, which she instantly seized and conveyed 
 out of sight. The man then proceeded at a quick pace, 
 but in a very short time the affectionate parent was 
 again at his heels, and he was obliged to drop another: 
 with the third the man escaped."
 
 
 'V 
 
 WH EAT.
 
 183 
 
 WHEAT. 
 
 "And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up in 
 one stalk, full and good. GEKESIS, xli. 22. 
 
 THIS invaluable production of the earth has ever been 
 esteemed, as in truth it is the 'staff of life.' What 
 indeed should we do without it? There is no one 
 article of food of which we can partake so long without 
 being tired of it; unless it be rice or potatoes, both of 
 them also most valuable vegetables, as wheat when 
 ground into corn. How bountiful a Providence super- 
 intends the life which He at first breathed into the 
 nostrils of man! "What is there that we have not 
 received?" What is there that we have not freely 
 received; "wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and 
 oil to make him a cheerful countenance, and bread to 
 strengthen man's heart." 
 
 In the travels of Irby and Mangles, they speak of 
 some wheat having been brought to them of an unusual 
 size; one of them exceeding in dimensions two of the 
 ordinary sort, and on one stalk : it had not at the time 
 arrived at maturity, or it would have been larger. Some 
 seeds of it were procured and brought to England, and 
 were said to have succeeded very well. 
 
 What a beautiful object is a field of wheat in every 
 stage of its growth; at first so delicately green, and 
 at last FO richly ripe. "The earth bringeth fruit of 
 li erse ]f__fi rs t the blade, then the ear, after that the full 
 corn in the ear." How weak and tender too is the 
 young plant of the com at first; bending to every brec/r,
 
 134 WHEAT. 
 
 and trodden uuder-foot into the earth, and yet what 
 elements of strength it has in it, for by it is man 
 nourished. 
 
 It has by some been imagined that wheat, oats, and 
 barley, are all one and the same grain, varied only by 
 continual cultivation, but the contrary seems rather to 
 be the fact. 
 
 Robinson says in his "Researches," writing of the 
 country about Jericho, "It was a truly Scriptural scene, 
 where the reaping and the threshing go on hand in hand ; 
 it brought up before our eyes the scenes of the book of 
 Ruth. The people we found were old acquaintances 
 who had come down to the Ghor in a body, with their 
 wives and children to gather in the wheat harvest. The 
 wheat was beautiful; it is cultivated solely by irrigation, 
 without which nothing grows in the plain. Most of the 
 fields were already reaped. The grain as soon as it is 
 cut is brought in small sheaves to the threshing-floors 
 on the backs of asses, or sometimes of camels. The 
 little donkeys are often so covered with their load of 
 grain, as to be themselves hardly visible one sees only 
 a mass of sheaves moving along as if of its own accord. 
 A level spot is selected for the threshing-floors, which 
 are then constructed near each other, of a circular form, 
 perhaps fifty feet in diameter, merely by beating down 
 the earth hard. Upon these circles the sheaves are 
 spread out quite thick, and the grain is trodden out by 
 animals. The whole process is extremely wasteful, from 
 the transportation on the backs of animals, to the treading 
 out on the bare ground."
 
 THE BAT. 
 
 "The bat." LEVITICUS, xi. 19. 
 
 THERE seems to be no doubt but that the bat is the 
 creature here spoken of, and it concludes the catalogue 
 of unclean animals in the book of Deuteronomy, xiv. 18. 
 
 The bat is one of the most curious of creatures, com- 
 bining the qualities both of an animal and a bird. It 
 belongs, however, only to the former class, being in fact a 
 sort of mouse with a web between its legs, which answers 
 the purpose of wings. The learned Scaliger gives a 
 striking description of this singular animal, of which the 
 following is a translation: "Truly this is an animal of 
 wonderful conformation; a biped, a quadruped, walking 
 without feet, flying without wings; seeing without light, 
 blind in the light; out of the light it uses the light, in 
 the light it wants light; a bird with teeth, without a bill, 
 with milk, carrying its young in its flight." 
 
 The Hebrew name of the bat is compounded of two 
 words, which together mean 'the flyer in darkness.' Thus 
 the Greeks also called it 'nycteris,' from 'nyx' the night; 
 and the Latins 'vespertilio/ from vesper the evening. 
 
 Some kinds of bats in foreign countries are very large, 
 powerful, and injurious. The vampire, which is found in 
 the island of Ceylon, is of very great size, and sucks the 
 blood of people when asleep, the fanning of its wings 
 being very pleasant in those hot climates, and keeping 
 them from waking. 
 
 The bat walks by means of the fore part of its 
 wings, which are in reality its legs, having a sort of 
 
 "
 
 186 THE BAT. 
 
 hook on the ends of these to assist it in doing so, and 
 also to enable it to hang by when it roosts, as it does 
 against the sides of trees or old buildings. In the winter 
 it conceals itself in its hole or other place of retreat, as 
 also during day-time in the summer, for it is only in 
 the twilight that it flies. The Rev. Gilbert White, 
 however, the well-known and popular author of the 
 "Natural History of Selborne," records one instance of 
 a bat having been seen in the pursuit of insects during 
 sunshine, on the 27th. of July. The swallows were 
 observed to strike at it, in the same manner that they 
 do at owls, which shewed that it must have been some- 
 thing uncommon. Mr. Gould, also, the very celebrated 
 author of the "Birds of Europe/' "Birds of Australia," 
 and other great works, saw one flying in the middle of 
 a bright frosty day just before Christmas; and Dr. T. B. 
 Salter says, that on the 6th. of March, 1838, during a 
 bright sunshine, at one o'clock, he saw one on the wing 
 flying about in search of food in a garden at Poole, in 
 Dorsetshire. 
 
 The common bat which is seen so frequently in 
 England, flying about in the fine summer evenings, is 
 two inches and three-quarters in length, from the head 
 to the tail, and eight inches and one-third in width, from 
 the tip of one membrane to the other. The Rev. Leonard 
 Jenyns says that in young specimens the fur is entirely 
 of a dusky brown or brownish grey colour, and without 
 any of the red which afterwards appears, and which 
 becomes more prevalent as the animal advances in age.
 
 / 
 

 
 187 
 MANDRAKE. 
 
 "The mandrakes give a smell." CANTICLES, vii. 13. 
 
 INTERPRETERS have expended a vast amount of time 
 and labour in the endeavour to ascertain what is intended 
 by the Hebrew word translated as above. Some think 
 that the word means 'flowers,' or 'fine flowers' in general; 
 others the citron ; others the fruit of the lote tree ; others 
 cherries; others the Indian fig; and others again the 
 mandrake, a species of melon. It grows in Tuscany 
 and other parts, as well as in the Holy Land. The 
 fruit ripens in the beginning of May, and is described 
 as being of the size and colour of a small apple, very 
 ruddy, and of a pleasant smell. The orientals cultivate 
 this plant in their gardens for the sake of its smell. 
 The flowers are purple. The plant grows low like the 
 lettuce, which its leaves resemble in appearance, except 
 that their colour is of a darker green. 
 
 The mandrake belongs to a family of plants, many of 
 which contain the most deadly poisons, and it is itself 
 said to be very deleterious. The root is large and soil, 
 and for the most part forked, and used formerly to be 
 thought to have some resemblance to the human form, 
 and many most fanciful and absurd notions were enter- 
 tained respecting it. Though the fruit has so fragrant 
 a smell, the leaves and flowers have a most unpleasant 
 odour. 
 
 Hasselquist found this plant growing in abundance in 
 a valley near Nazareth. "I had not the pleasure," he 
 syys, "to see this plant in blossom, the fruit now hanging
 
 188 MANDRAKE. 
 
 ripe to the stem, which lay withered on the ground; 
 but I got several roots, which I found difficult to procure 
 entire, as the inhabitants had no spades, but a kind of 
 hoe, or ground axe; with this they cut up the earth, 
 and hurt the root, which, in some plants, descended six 
 or eight feet under ground. From the season in which 
 this mandrake blossoms and bears fruit, one might form 
 a conjecture that it was Rachel's dudaim. These were 
 brought her in the wheat harvest, which, in Galilee, is 
 the month of May, or about this time, and the mandrake 
 was now in fruit. This plant grows in all parts of 
 Galilee, but I never saw or heard anything of it in 
 Judea."

 
 189 
 
 FAT-TAILED SHEEP. 
 
 /tan- nuj voice, ami I l;u<nr (hem, and they follon: >/<-." 
 ST. JOHN, x. 27. 
 
 THERE are two varieties of sheep in Syria: the one of 
 these, called the Bedouin sheep, resembles our own 
 common kind in general appearance, but the tail is 
 somewhat longer and thicker: the other, which is much 
 more common there, is chiefly remarkable for the extra- 
 ordinary bulk of its tail, which no one can travel in 
 those parts without at once remarking. It is of a 
 substance between fat and marrow, and is often used 
 instead of butter, and considered in some degree as a 
 delicacy. This part of the animal is referred to in 
 Exodus, xxix. 22., and in Leviticus, iii. 9., where the 
 fat and the tail were commanded to be burnt on tin' 
 altar of sacrifice. In some instances, where these sheep 
 attain a large size, the tail weighs as much as om-- 
 third of the whole weight. 
 
 A traveller once remarked to a Syrian shepherd, th;it 
 he thought it was the dress of the shepherd, which 
 the sheep knew and attended to, and not his voice. 
 The shepherd maintained the contrary opinion; and to 
 decide the question, they exchanged clothes, and went 
 among the sheep. The traveller in the garb of the 
 shepherd, called to the sheep, but they took no notice 
 of him, they "knew not his voice;" he was a stranger 
 to them, and him they "would not follow." AVh.-n 
 their own shepherd called them, they knew him at 
 once, though disguised in a dress which they did not
 
 190 FAT-TAILED SHEEP. 
 
 know, and obeyed his voice. Thus too in Africa, the 
 native shepherd with his crook in his hand goes before 
 his sheep to lead them to a fresh pasture, and when he 
 calls out to them in a loud voice, but slowly, 'hot! hot!' 
 the origin, as I should suppose, of the name Hottentot, 
 they move on after him, nibbling the grass as they go. 
 
 Our Saviour is called "the good Shepherd" "the good 
 Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep," and He "gave 
 Himself for us." He says of His sheep that "they know 
 His voice, and will follow Him," and of Himself, that 
 "He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them 
 out." 
 
 The Rev. John Hartley, in his "Researches in Greece 
 and the Levant," records the following illustration of some 
 of our Saviour's words: "Having had my attention 
 directed last night to the words in St. John, x. 3, I 
 asked my man if it was usual in Greece to give names 
 to sheep. He informed me that it was, and that the 
 sheep obeyed the shepherd when he called them by their 
 names. This morning I had an opportunity of verifying 
 the truth of this remark. Passing by a flock of sheep, 
 I asked the shepherd the same question which I put to 
 the servant, and he gave me the same answer. I then 
 bade him call one of his sheep. He did so, and it 
 instantly left its pasturage and its companions, and ran 
 up to the hand of the shepherd, with signs of pleasure, 
 and with a prompt obedience, which I had never before 
 observed in any other animal. The shepherd told me 
 that many of his sheep were still wild, that they had not 
 yet learned their names; but that by teaching they would 
 all learn them. The others, which knew their names, 
 he called tame."
 
 APPLE.
 
 191 
 
 APPLE. 
 
 "The apple tree among the trees of tlu>. wood." CANTICLES, ii. 3. 
 
 APPLES are rare in Jnclea, and but very indifferent 
 the chief part of those which are used there are 
 imported. 
 
 The citron is strongly conjectured to be that which 
 is spoken of in the Holy Scripture. It is an evergreen, 
 much resembling the orange tree in its leaves, and also 
 in the colour of its fruit, namely, that of gold; and this 
 is it most probably that is spoken of in the book of 
 Proverbs, xxv. 11., "A word fitly spoken is like apples 
 of gold in pictures (baskets) of silver." 
 
 The citron tree grows to a considerable size, and the 
 leaves are very beautiful. It is considered that it exactly 
 accords with the description given in the Holy Scripture, 
 of that which has been rendered 'apple tree' in our 
 translation. It is supposed also that the 'goodly tree' 
 mentioned in Leviticus, xxiii. 40, means the citron, for 
 we are informed by the Jewish historian Josephus, that 
 at the feast of Tabernacles every one was obliged to 
 have boughs of citron trees and palms in their hands. 
 
 Some of the finest citrons, of which lemons and limes 
 are varieties, are as much as eight inches in length. 
 In China they are placed in china dishes, for the pur- 
 pose of spreading their fragrance through the rooms. 
 The Jews at the present day use the fruit, or a preserve 
 made from it, at their feast of tabernacles. This was 
 found to be the case among the Jews of Moldavia, by 
 Mc.Cheyne and Bonar, who write as follows respecting
 
 1 92 APPLE. 
 
 the custom: "We took up our lodging at an inn, not 
 far from the river-side, kept by a Jew, who had erected 
 a booth before his door of the willows that grew by the 
 river-side, the next evening being the beginning of the 
 feast of tabernacles. He afterwards shewed us his palm 
 branch, called 'lulab,' and his fine fruit, called 'ezrach,' 
 supposed to be the 'fruit of a goodly tree' spoken of in 
 the law. It is a fruit like a lemon, and grows to 
 maturity only once in three years. It is brought from 
 Italy and from the Holy Land; and sometimes more 
 than a hundred dollars are paid to obtain one for the 
 feast. This man had paid four rubles for his, a sum 
 equal to one pound sterling. The Karaites are not so 
 particular: they use an orange, or any fine fruit. This 
 man had also slips of myrtle wrapped up in the leaf 
 of the palm." 
 
 It is a common belief, though it is difficult to say 
 what may have been the origin of it, that the apple 
 was the fruit of which Eve eat in disobedience to the 
 command of the Almighty in the garden of Eden. At all 
 evonfs there is no foundation whatever in the records 
 of the Sacred History for such a supposition. 
 
 The shaddock, which is somewhat of the same kind 
 of fruit as the citron, is often sold in the shops of 
 London and elsewhere, under the name of the forbidden 
 fruit. We may well grieve at the sin of our first parents, 
 and we may also wonder at it; but let us see to our 
 sorrow and self-abasement, how prone we are to "fall 
 away after the same example."
 
 193 
 
 THE SWAN. 
 
 "TJie swan." DEUTERONOMY, xiv. 1G. 
 
 IN Leviticus, xi. 18, this \vord also occurs, at least 
 in the English translation, for in the 30th. verse of the 
 same chapter the same word is translated 'mole,' where 
 whatever is intended is classed among reptiles. The 
 LXX. render it the 'porphyrion' or 'purple rail,' or as 
 some think the 'flamingo.' In the former of the two 
 verses quoted above it is classed among water-fowls, and 
 rendered the 'swan,' but others make it to mean the 
 'bat,' on account of some supposed affinity between the 
 two creatures, as in both passages the Hebrew word is 
 the same. Parkhurst, however, shews that the name is 
 given from the breathing of the creature in a strong and 
 audible manner; and Michaelis conjectures that in the 
 verse placed at the head of this article, as also in Leviticus, 
 xi. 18, it means the goose, which, as is universally known, 
 makes a strong breathing or hissing when approached. 
 
 The swan is one of the largest, and at the same time 
 most handsome and most noble looking of birds. It is 
 a native of this country, at least is occasionally met with 
 here in its wild state in hard winters; but it is in its 
 tamed condition that it is much the most frequently to 
 be seen. There is hardly a river or lake in England 
 in which swans may not from time to time be seen, 
 so great an ornament are they considered to be. They 
 become very tame so as to come readily to be fed frorr 
 the hand, but they never lose their natural disposition, 
 and are occasionally very savage, and by no means safe 
 
 2 B
 
 191 THE SWAN. 
 
 to come near. It is said that a single blow of a swan's 
 wing will break a man's leg. They are therefore, like 
 most quarrelsome or angry people, best at a distance; 
 and too great a familiarity with them is by no means 
 to be cultivated. "How far," says the late Bishop 
 Stanley, speaking of the great strength they are said, as 
 above, to possess, in his very amusing and instructive 
 volume entitled "A Familiar History of Birds," "this may 
 be strictly true, we cannot say, but having once seen the 
 pinion of an old swan laid entirely bare to the very bone, 
 and feathers and skin stripped off, by an angry stroke 
 on the gunwale of a boat, which it fiercely endeavoured 
 to board, we think it not impossible. At all events a 
 blow of its wing can be inflicted to good and fatal effect, 
 in case of necessit5 T , as a crafty fox, wishing for a feast 
 of swan's eggs, found to his cost. The female was 
 sitting on her nest on one side of the river, when she 
 observed a fox swimming from the opposite shore : rightly 
 judging that she could encounter the enemy with much 
 better chance of success on water than on land, instead 
 of retreating, she boldly advanced to meet him, and, 
 dashing forwards, so battered him with her wings, that 
 he was soon killed, in the sight of several persons who 
 saw the combat."

 
 A L G *J id T R S B .
 
 195 
 
 ALGUM TREE. 
 
 "And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the houso of the 
 
 Lord, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for 
 
 singers." 2 CHRONICLES, bi, 11. 
 
 THESE trees are also spoken of in 1 Kings, x. 11, as 
 having been brought by the navy of king Hiram, from 
 Ophir; and are believed to be the same as those which 
 are spoken of in the book of Revelation, xviii. 1 2, under 
 the name of 'thyine wood ;' and Jerome and the Vulgate 
 render it to the same effect; and the Septuagint as 
 meaning 'wrought wood.' Some critics understand it as 
 meaning a gummy wood, but, as Dr. Harris observes, a 
 wood abounding in resin must be very unfit for the uses 
 to which this is said to be applied. Dr. Shaw supposes 
 that the algum or almug tree was the cypress, and he 
 says that the wood of this tree is still in common use 
 in Italy and other countries, for making harpsichords, 
 violins, and other stringed instruments. Michaelis thinks 
 that it is some sort of wood which is entirely unknown 
 to the moderns. Josephus, however, gives a particular 
 description of it. He writes as follows- "The ships 
 from Ophir, brought precious stones and pine trees, 
 which Solomon made use of for supporting the temple 
 and his palace, as also for making musical instruments 
 the harps and psalteries of the Levites. The wood 
 which was brought him at this time was larger and 
 finer than any that had ever been brought before; 
 but let none imagine that these pine trees were like 
 those which are now so named, and which take their
 
 19G ALGUM TREE. 
 
 denomination from the merchants who so call them, 
 that they may procure them to be admired by those 
 that purchase them; for those we speak of were to the 
 sight like the wood of the fig tree, but whiter and more 
 shining. Now we have said thus much that nobody may 
 be ignorant of the difference between these sorts of wood, 
 nor unacquainted wit'i the nature of the genuine pine 
 tree, and the uses which the king made of it." 
 
 Another modern account says that this tree is still 
 met with in the north part of Africa, under a different 
 name, the wood of which is of a dark brown colour,, of 
 a close grain, and a very fragrant smell. The Romans, 
 it is said, had tables made of this wood in their halls 
 of entertainment, and they valued it, in the same way 
 that we do other woods at the present day, according 
 to the knots and grains by which they are variegated. 
 The emperor Tiberius had a table made of this wood, 
 which was plated all over with one of the precious metals. 
 It is said to have been used in the building of the temple 
 at Jerusalem, and it is mentioned by ancient writers as 
 of great durability, and therefore suitable for the purpose. 
 St. John, in the book of Revelation, mentions the wood 
 of the thyine tree as one of these precious commodities 
 which, when the judgments of God are 'abroad in the 
 earth,' will no longer bring merchants to the then fallen 
 Babylon. 
 
 We are told in the Divine Word, that when the 
 judgments of God are thus poured out upon the earth, 
 "the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."
 
 197 
 
 THE DROMEDARY. 
 
 "The multitude of camds sludl cover thee } the dromedaries of 
 Midian and Ephah." ISAIAH^ Lx. 6. 
 
 THE dromedary is one of the two species of camel ; the 
 difference between them being principally that the one 
 lias one hump only on its back, and the other has two. 
 That which has only one hump is the dromedary* 
 
 The speed of the dromedary, as well as the length of 
 the journeys it can go through, is very extraordinary. 
 It is wonderfully adapted by the all-wise Providence 
 of God for the use of man in the vast and trackless 
 sandy deserts of Africa and Arabia. They live also on 
 the plainest and commonest kind of food, so that the 
 cost of maintaining them is very little. A handful of 
 beans, a cake of barley bread, or a few dates, together 
 with the prickly shrubs which it finds in most parts of 
 the desert to browse on, will suffice for all the wants 
 of this wonderful animal. It can go for a long time 
 without water, and in general the mere dew of the herbs 
 is sufficient fot it. 
 
 In the "Scripture Natural History," published by the 
 Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, to which I 
 have before alluded, there are various interesting par- 
 ticulars related of this singular and curious animal. "Over 
 the arid and thirsty deserts of Asia and Africa, the camel 
 affords to man the only means of intercourse between 
 one country and another. The camel has been created 
 with an especial adaptation to the regions wherein it 
 has contributed to the comfort, and even to the very
 
 1 98 THE DROMEDARY. 
 
 existence of man, from the earliest ages. It is formed 
 to endure the severest hardships; its feet are made to 
 tread lightly upon a dry and shifting soil; its nostrils 
 have the capacity of closing, so as to shut out the 
 driving sand, when the whirlwind scatters it over the 
 desert; it is provided with a peculiar apparatus for 
 retaining water in its stomach, so that it can march 
 from well to well without great inconvenience, although 
 they be several hundred miles apart. And thus, when 
 a company of Eastern merchants cross from Aleppo 
 to Bussora, over a plain of sand which offers no 
 refreshment, the whole of the journey being eight hundred 
 miles, the camel of the heavy caravan moves cheerfully 
 along, with a burden of six or seven hundred-weight, 
 at the rate of twenty miles a day; while those of greater 
 speed, that carry a man without much other load, go 
 forward at double that pace and daily distance. Patient 
 under his duties he kneels down at the command of 
 his driver, and rises up cheerfully with his load; he 
 requires no whip and spur during his monotonous march; 
 but, like many other animals, he feels an evident pleasure 
 in musical sounds, and therefore, when fatigue comes 
 upon him, the driver sings some cheering snatch of his 
 Arabian melodies, and the delighted creature toils for- 
 ward with a brisker step till the hour of rest arrives."
 
 CORN COCKLF.
 
 199 
 
 CORN COCKLE. 
 
 "Let thistles grow instead of wlieat, and cockle instead of barley."- 
 JOB, xxxi. 40. 
 
 THE plant which in England is known by (his name 
 is an extremely pretty wild flower, which grows among 
 corn, from whence its name. There is a common weed 
 in Palestine and Egypt and those parts of the world, 
 the hoary nightshade, which is supposed by Hasselquist 
 and Dr. Royle, to be the one meant in the passage 
 before us, but the latter says that the black nightshade 
 will suit the passage equally well. Others however have 
 considered it to be the blackberry bush, others the poppy, 
 other* the dwarf elder, and others the white aconite, 
 which last-named plant is very common in Syria. 
 
 The berry of the hoary nightshade is somewhat like 
 a grape in form, but possesses narcotic and even poisonous 
 qualities. The Arabs accordingly give it a name which 
 signifies 'wolf grape.' It grows also in vineyards, and 
 the plant itself resembles a vine. In another passage 
 in the sacred volume the same word is translated '\vild 
 grapes,' as we read in Isaiah, where he says, describing 
 the people of Israel under the parable, that God made 
 a vineyard, "and He fenced it, and gathered out the 
 stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, 
 and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a 
 wine-press therein; and He looked that it should bring 
 forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes." The 
 Holy Prophet then goes on to say what would be the 
 way in which God would deal with so unprofitable a
 
 200 CORN COCKLE 
 
 vineyard, and it reminds us of the similar moral taught 
 us by our Blessed Lord Himself, in His parable about 
 the unprofitable fig tree: the end of each will be the 
 same the end denounced against all the ungodly "cut it 
 down, why cumbereth it the ground." 
 
 The passage in Job, placed at the head of this article, 
 is the only one in the Holy Bible in which the word 
 'cockle' occurs. By the Chaldee version the original 
 Hebrew word is rendered 'noxious herbs;' by the Septu- 
 agint, the 'blackberry bush;' by Symmachus, 'plants of 
 imperfect fruit;' by Celsius, 'aconite;' by Castalio, 'dwarf 
 elder;' and by Bishop Stock and Mr. Good, the 'night- 
 shade.' The very learned Michaelis, in his supplement to 
 the Hebrew lexicon, expresses his opinion as coinciding 
 with that of Celsius, namely that the 'aconite' is the plant 
 intended a poisonous plant which grows in abundance 
 on the sunny sides of hills, such as are made use of for 
 vineyards. "He says," writes Dr. Harris, "that this inter- 
 pretation is certain, because, as Celsius has observed, the 
 word in the Arabic denotes the aconite, and he intimates 
 that it best suits Job, xxxi. 40., where it is mentioned 
 as growing instead of barley."
 
 ? N A r L.
 
 201 
 THE SNAIL. 
 
 "7 Vie snail." LEVITICUS, xi. 30. 
 
 THE snail is truly a well-known creature, and there 
 are a great number of different species of it: some of 
 them are elegantly striped, and the-ir colours often very 
 bright. 
 
 It is a curious thing to see from the fossil remains 
 that have come down to us, preserved in this marvellous 
 manner from the most remote ages, that while there 
 were then some creatures which are now entirely extinct 
 and unknown except in this way, there are others which 
 are yet familiar to us the ancestors of the same kinds 
 that now surround us. The remains of insects, animals, 
 birds, and plants, of many kinds, especially ferns, many of 
 them of gigantic and now unknown sorts, of great beauty 
 and of most singular forms, are found in the coal, oolite, 
 and other formations, and also shells in great numbers, 
 many of them of the snail or helix kind. 
 
 We find the word 'snail' but in two places in the 
 Holy Bible, the one of them the verse before us, where 
 it is said that a lizard must be intended, and the other 
 in Psalm, Iviii. 8, where it has been amply demonstrated 
 by Bochart from the most ancient Jewish writers, that 
 the word is rightly translated. At every forward motion 
 it seems as it were to leave part of itself behind, in 
 the moisture which remains, and in the same manner 
 the evil actions of wicked men tend surely, even if slowly, 
 to their destruction. The snail carries with it a sort of 
 protection in the shell on its back; and in like manner 
 
 2 c
 
 202 THE SNAIL. 
 
 wicked persons think themselves safe under a false secu- 
 rity, and retire into what they deem their place of refuge 
 when any danger threatens; but however confidently they 
 may trust to their own resources, and put from them all 
 fear of injury, the elements of their destruction are 
 within themselves, "whose judgment now of a long time 
 lingereth not, and their damnation tarrieth not." 
 
 The name of the snail means in the Hebrew language 
 the 'path -maker,' in allusion probably to the track it 
 leaves behind it as it moves along. Some snail-: live 
 on the land, others in the water. They are produced 
 from eggs, and when they are first hatched, they have 
 a very little shell on their back, which "grows with their 
 growth, and strengthens with their strength." At first 
 it only has one ring, but as the animal advances in age 
 and size they increase in number, but are never more 
 than four and a half. Occasionally snails are found with 
 these spiral lines turning the contrary way from that 
 which is natural to them, and these being rare are 
 considered valuable. 
 
 The snail has four horns, which it pushes out or 
 draws in at pleasure; at the end of these are its eyes, 
 which are black; underneath the two shortest of these 
 horns is its mouth, which contains eight sharp teeth, 
 with which it devours the green leaves on which it lives. 
 When winter comes on it buries itself in the earth, or 
 hides itself in some sheltered corner, sometimes with 
 several companions, where it lies in a torpid state until 
 the warmth of the returning spring calls it forth again 
 to its usual habits.
 
 203. 
 
 THE QUAIL. 
 
 "And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails 
 from the sea, and let them fall by the camp." NUMBERS, xi. 31. 
 
 THE quail is not a very uncommon bird in England, 
 and is a sort of miniature of the partridge. It is very 
 good eating, and is considered a game bird. It is the 
 smallest of the poultry kind, being only about seven 
 inches long. 
 
 Most of tbe learned men who have written upon the 
 subject have been of opinion that the quail is the creature 
 intended by the Hebrew word which we have so translated 
 in the passage before us, and in Exodus, xvi. 13. The 
 Septuagint, Josephns, Philo, Apollinarius, and the Rabbins 
 among the Ancients, and Bochart, Hasselquist, Shaw, 
 Harmer, and most other commentators among the mo- 
 derns are agreed that our translators are in the right. 
 On the pther hand, Bishop Patrick, Scheuchzer, and 
 Ludolph, have thought that locusts are intended. 
 
 The former interpretation would seem, however, to be 
 the correct one; for in the passage in .the Psalms where 
 David speaks of the wonderful supply of the wants of 
 the Israelites in the wilderness by the miraculous Provi- 
 dence of God, it appears that he writes of birds as being 
 the means employed. There we read, Psalm, Ixxviii. 
 26, 27, "He caused an east wind to blow in the Heaven: 
 and by His power He brought in the south wind. He 
 rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls 
 like as the sand of the sea." 
 
 The quail is a bird of puss.-iiii', and it has been shewn
 
 204 THE, QUAIL. 
 
 by numerous authorities to be very abundant in the 
 deserts of Arabia, through which the Israelites passed in 
 their journeyings from the land of Egypt into the promised 
 land of Canaan. It arrives in vast numbers at a certain 
 season of the year on the shores of Italy as many as 
 a hundred thousand have been caught in one day. In 
 some parts of Russia also they abound to so great an 
 extent that they are caught by thousands, and sent in 
 casks to the principal cities, where a sale is easily 
 procured for them. 
 
 How ungrateful of the Israelites to murmur against 
 God when He so mercifully provided a table for them 
 in the wilderness, and as justly were they punished 
 until they repented. Well would it be for all if they 
 would do so in good time that would be the way to 
 avert the threatened visitations of the Almighty, who, 
 as He spared the guilty Ninevah when it repented, so 
 would he have spared even Sodom and Gomorrah if there 
 had been even ten righteous men found within their 
 walls.
 
 205 * 
 
 THE TIGER. 
 
 "I will also send wild beasts among you" LEVITICUS, xxvi. 22. 
 
 THE word 'tiger' is said by Franzius to be Armenian, 
 and to mean originally an 'arrow.' Hence it was, he 
 says, that in ancient times there was a river called by 
 this name because it ran so swiftly, and hence its 
 application to the animal at present under consideration. 
 
 The tiger inhabits both the main land and various of 
 the great islands of the East Bengal, Tonquin, Sumatra, 
 and Java. It is one of the most formidable of animals, 
 and innumerable persons, both old and young, have in 
 all ages been destroyed by it. From the tip of the 
 nose to the end of the tail, it is as much as nine feet 
 long, and its strength is prodigious; no animal but the 
 lion, the elephant, and the rhinoceros, approaches it in 
 this respect; sometimes, indeed, in battle between the 
 lion and the tiger the latter proves the conqueror. He 
 can even carry off a buffalo, which is equal to an ox 
 in size, and is scarcely hindered by it from his usual 
 speed. Its mode of taking its prey is not by a regular 
 pursuit, but by lying in ambush, and seizing it as 
 opportunity offers. 
 
 The following very remarkable instance of presence of 
 mind and courage was exhibited by a man who was 
 attacked by a tiger in India, in the year 1823. It shews 
 how valuable a possession presence of mind is, and how 
 it should be encouraged and increased by resisting from 
 childhood all foolish fears: "A party of \vood-cutters, 
 under the protection of five armed Burgundauzes, were
 
 206 THE TIGER. 
 
 proceeding to their work, when, being in a very thick 
 part of the jungle, they perceived a large tiger at a 
 short distance approaching them slowly in a crouching 
 attitude. On the alarm being given the whole gang 
 immediately fled, excepting two brothers (slender up- 
 country men,) who were in advance of the others, and 
 either saw the inutility of following their example, or 
 judged it safer to oppose the tiger; one of them accord- 
 ingly levelled his piece, and fired at the moment when the 
 animal was in the act of springing. The ball pierced 
 the tiger's breast, and caused him to drop on his knees 
 for a second, but instantly recovering, he rushed forward 
 and threw himself on the Burgundauz. At this critical 
 period the tiger must have been in a dying stale, for 
 the man declared that he retained his standing j oxition, 
 and instinctively grasping the fore legs of the tiger he was 
 able, by exerting all his strength, to bend the head and 
 shoulders towards the ground, and his brother, who was 
 at hand, gave the 'coup de grace' with his fixed bayonet. 
 The man received some scratches about the face, neck, 
 and breast, but none of the wounds were very serious, 
 and he recovered entirely in a fortnight." 
 
 Though the tiger may be one of the wild animals 
 spoken of in the Holy Scripture without any particular 
 designation, yet it is not certain, and in fact probably 
 various others may be intended at one and the same time. 
 
 The wild cat is of the same tribe of animals as the 
 ti<zer, and of precisely the same sort of character: its 
 habits too are the same. She frequents the same sort of 
 retired places, and issues forth in the same stealthy 
 manner, springing unawares upon any victim she can 
 surprise.
 
 EBONY.
 
 207 
 
 EBONY. 
 
 "The men of Dedan were thy merchants: many isles were the mer- 
 chandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of 
 ivory and ebony" EZEKIEL, xxvii. lo. 
 
 THIS is a tree the wood of which is proverbial for 
 its extreme hardness and consequent durability. This 
 is the only passage of the Holy Scripture in which the 
 word occurs 
 
 Ebony wood was much valued in ancient times, even 
 as it is now for its valuable properties; and being men- 
 tioned here in connection with ivory, it would seem as 
 if it was used as now, inlaid with the latter for ornament. 
 
 Ebony is the solid interior of the trunks of different 
 species of the same genus of trees, which are known by 
 the name of 'date-plums;' the fruits of some of them 
 resemble the date; of others the medlar; but all of them 
 require like it to be kept a long time before they are fit 
 for use. 
 
 The species which is considered to furnish the real ebony 
 is a magnificent forest tree which grows on the island of 
 Ceylon. Its trunk is described as being lofty and slender, 
 and spotted with white; it shoots up to the height of 
 twenty feet before it branches out. Other kinds of this 
 genus of tree are found in various parts of the south 
 of Asia, as also in Africa, and the West Indies. One 
 sort grows in Italy, and produces a fruit which resembles 
 a date, and is almost as sweet. Others of them also 
 produce fruit of different sizes, some as large as a peach, 
 and others as small as a cherry; one, a native of the
 
 208 EBONY. 
 
 . 
 
 island of Japan, is like an apricot: several of them 
 are very good and sweet. That which grows in Italy 
 is supposed to be that which in the ancient fables was 
 said to rival the waters of the fabulous river Lethe, in 
 the power of causing forgetfulness of all past events. 
 
 The Greek name of this tree is derived from two 
 words, which mean 'heavenly fruit,' or 'fruit of Jove.' In 
 former times the Ethiopians used to make a present to 
 the kings of Persia of two hundred logs of ebony every 
 year. 
 
 The branches of this tree are stiff and many in 
 number; the wood of it, which is so highly-prized, is 
 of a jet-black colour in general, but some kinds are 
 green. 
 
 How short-lived is man, in comparison with other 
 creations of God even in this world. Well may we say 
 with the inspired penman "God hath chosen the foolish 
 things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath 
 chosen the weak things of the world to confound the 
 things that are mighty; and base things of the world 
 hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring 
 to nought things that are."
 
 209 
 THE BUFFALO. 
 
 "The wild ox." DEUTEKONOMT, xiv. 5. 
 
 THE buffalo is an animal of the ox kind, of which 
 there are many species, and still more varieties. The 
 common domestic buffalo, properly so called, and which 
 is to be seen in various parts of the world, has probably 
 been derived originally from Asia. The American buffalo 
 is a species of bison; and the animal which in England 
 is known by this name is the Brahmin ox. 
 
 The African buffalo is found in the southern districts 
 of that continent. It is not larger than an ox of the 
 ordinary size, but is much heavier, stronger, and more 
 stoutly made. It is a very ferocious and savage animal, 
 of which its aspect affords ample indication, heightened 
 by its habit of holding its head on one side, which gives 
 it a most sinister appearance. Its speed also is so great 
 that the hunter is frequently obliged to run for his life, 
 and not unfrequently he falls a victim to the impetuous 
 attack of the infuriated beast. 
 
 The musk ox is a native of the North American 
 continent, being found as far as Melville island, and the 
 barren track which lies to the westward of the rocky 
 mountains. It is rather a small animal, being about 
 the size of the common cattle of the Scotch Highlands. 
 Its general colour is brown, grizzled about the shoulders, 
 and it is entirely covered with long shaggy hair, which 
 hangs down nearly to the ground. 
 
 Captain Franklin says that "the musk oxen associate 
 in herds, and generally frequent barren grounds and 
 
 2 D
 
 210 THE BUFFALO. 
 
 rocky places during the summer months, keeping near 
 the rivers, but retire to the woods in winter. They seem 
 to be less watchful than most other wild animals; and 
 when grazing are not difficult to approach, if the hunters 
 go against the wind. When two or three men get so 
 near a herd as to fire at them from different points, these 
 animals, instead of separating or running away, huddle 
 close together, and several are generally killed; but if 
 their wounds are not mortal they become enraged, and 
 dart in the most furious manner at the hunters, who 
 must be very dexterous to evade them. They can defend 
 themselves by their powerful horns against wolves and 
 bears, which, as the Indians say, they not uufrequently 
 kill." 
 
 The buffalo of the East is, as before remarked, a very 
 savage animal in the wild state; but it is capable of 
 being tamed, and then becomes extremely useful as a 
 beast of burden. It is common in Egypt, being kept 
 there both for that purpose, and also for its milk. Its 
 horns stand out straight from its head, so that, seen in 
 a line, they look like a single horn ; and this has caused 
 some to imagine that it may have been the animal 
 formerly intended by the unicorn. 
 
 "In India, buffaloes form the riches and food of the 
 poor, who employ them in their fields, and make butter 
 and cheese of their milk."
 
 ORA88HOPPIR.
 
 211 
 
 THE GRASSHOPPER. 
 
 "And the grasshopper after his kind." LEVITICUS, xi. 22. 
 
 THIS is a well-known insect, of many species, and 
 of wide distribution: it is of the same natural family as 
 the locust. It is extremely active, its long and strong 
 hind legs giving it an extraordinary power of leaping, and 
 it can also fly, having stiff wings concealed under the 
 cases for them, M'ith which it is furnished after the 
 manner of the beetle tribe. 
 
 The grasshopper makes a stridulous chirping noise, 
 which is believed to be made by rubbing its legs or 
 wings together. Some of the larger kinds make a very 
 loud noise indeed, which, though harsh, is not unpleasing, 
 been heard in the tranquil summer evenings, in the 
 finest weather, so that it is associated with pleasant 
 thoughts. This latter kind is found in the south of 
 England, being almost, if not entirely unknown in the 
 north. 
 
 The same Hebrew word in the Holy Bible is trans- 
 lated both locust and grasshopper. The former translation 
 is used in the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the 
 temple, 2 Chronicles, vii. 13; but the latter in Ecclesi- 
 astes, xii. 5, where, in describing the low estate of old age, 
 says that then the "grasshopper shall be a burden." Dr. 
 Hodgson, in reference to the custom of eating locusts, 
 imagines the meaning to be that luxurious gratification 
 will at the time be no longer able to please; and Bishop 
 Reynolds, which would seem to be the more general inter- 
 pretation, that then "the lightest pressure of so small a
 
 212 THE GRASSHOPPER. 
 
 creature shall be uncomfortable to the aged, as not being 
 able to bear any weight." Other commentators think that 
 the meaning is that the chirping noise of the grasshopper 
 will be disagreeable to the aged and infirm, who will have 
 come to prefer quiet, and be unable to bear any sound. 
 Grasshoppers are in truth noisy creatures if one begins, 
 others join in the concert becomes general, and at last 
 the whole seem to join in a chorus, not of the most 
 softened kind. 
 
 The prophet Isaiah, xl. 22, makes use of the grass- 
 hopper as a similitude, to point out the grandeur of 
 God, as contrasted with the nothingness of every thing 
 and every creature in this world. "Jehovah sitteth on 
 the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants are to him 
 as grasshoppers;" on which Dr. Harris well observes, 
 "what atoms and inanities are they all before Him, who 
 sitteth on the circle of the immense heavens, and views 
 the potentates of the earth in the light of grasshoppers, 
 those poor insects that wander over the barren heath 
 for sustenance, spend the day in insignificant chirpings, 
 and take up their contemptible lodging at night on a 
 blade of grass." 
 
 The common cricket which is so often heard 'chirrup- 
 ing on the midnight hearth' belongs to the family of 
 the grasshoppers. There are many species of them to be 
 found in the fields in the south of England, but they 
 are far from having any beauty of appearance.
 
 ( / -'. ; ': ;
 
 213 
 
 HEN AND CHICKENS. 
 
 U Jerusalem, Jerusalem, vMdi Tallest the prophets, and sternest them 
 
 that are serit unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy 
 
 children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under 
 
 her vnngSj and ye uxndd not." ST. LUKE, xiii. 34. 
 
 IN this passage our Blessed Lord alludes prophet- 
 ically to the judgments of God, with which the Jewish 
 people were about to be afflicted for their "manifold sins 
 and wickedness, which they from time to time most 
 grievously had committed, by thought, word, and deed, 
 against the Divine Majesty;" and which they completed, 
 when they "filled up the measure of their iniquity" in 
 crucifying the "Lord of Glory," the Heavenly husbandman, 
 whom God the Father "sent last unto them," saying, 
 "they will reverence my son ;" "Hear Him." It is thought 
 that JESUS alluded in this verse to the Roman Eagle, 
 which was the standard of their armies, and which He 
 elsewhere foretold of, saying, "wheresoever the carcase 
 is, thither will the eagles be gathered together," meaning 
 here that He would have protected the Jews from every 
 danger, as a hen does her chickens from that which 
 she may see approaching them, but they "would not." 
 
 Every one must have seen what we may call this 
 trait in the character of the hen, her maternal courage 
 in defence of her chickens, and her attentive care of them 
 at all times. She leads them to wherever she thinks 
 they will be most likely to find food; she picks out the 
 best for them, neglecting herself; and has a variety of 
 notes to call them to her, or to warn them of the
 
 214 HEN AND CHICKENS. 
 
 approach of danger. 
 
 The hen is also a most useful bird, the eggs being 
 a very valuable article of food, and available not merely 
 for consumption themselves, but also in the composition of 
 various other viands. A single hen, well supplied with 
 food and water, has been known to lay as many as two 
 hundred eggs in a single year. This is one instance out 
 of many, or rather out of the universality of proofs that 
 exist, of the fulfilment of the Divine benediction on the 
 creatures He at first made, "be fruitful and multiply, 
 and replenish the earth." How truly thankful, "not with 
 our lips only, but with our lives," should we be, for all 
 the numberless proofs we are favoured with of the loving- 
 kindness and mercy of our God. 
 
 Plutarch, the ancient author, in his book, "De 
 JPhilostorgia," which means the natural instinct of affec- 
 tion for offspring, points out the parental attachment of 
 the hen to her brood, and her care of them, as follows: 
 "Do we not daily observe with what care the hen protects 
 her chickens! giving some shelter under her wings; sup- 
 porting others upon her back; calling them around her, 
 and picking out their food; and if any animal approaches 
 that terrifies them, driving it away with a courage and 
 strength truly wonderful."
 
 h A K L E
 
 215 
 
 BARLEY. 
 
 "And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for oH 
 that came unto If ing Solomon's table, every man in his month: 'they 
 lacked nothing. Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries 
 brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man ac- 
 cording to his charge." 1 KINGS, iv. 27, 28. 
 
 THE earliest mention of barley in the Holy Bible, 
 and therefore in the world, is in the account of the 
 judgments of God upon Pharaoh, king of Egypt, for his 
 'hardness, and impenitent heart.' At the time that the 
 hail storm was sent upon the land, we are told that 
 'the barley was in the ear,' which was, as is still in 
 that country about a month earlier than the wheat, which, 
 as we likewise read in Exodus, ix. 31, was not then 
 yet grown up, that is, not to any height above the ground, 
 so that it did not derive any damage from the storm which 
 devastated the other crops which were more forward. 
 
 Barley was much cultivated in ancient times by the 
 Greeks and Romans, and various other nations of the East. 
 We find frequent mention of it in the Sacred Scriptures. 
 It was in the barley harvest that Ruth went out to 
 glean, and the Israelite of the army of Gideon saw in 
 his dream a cake of barley-bread failing into the host 
 of Midian, which foreshewed by its fulfilled interpretation 
 the overthrow of their forces. Our Blessed Saviour too, 
 we must not forget, wrought one of His wonderful 
 miracles with "five barley loaves and two small fishes," 
 with which He fed a multitude of five thousand people. 
 
 Mc'Cheyne and Bonar give the following account of
 
 216 BARLEY. 
 
 the fulfillment of prophecy which they observed and 
 remarked from a field of this grain: "Approaching nearer 
 to the brow of the hill of Zion, we found ourselves in 
 the middle of a large crop of barley. The crop was 
 very thin, and the stalks very smaii, but no sight could 
 be more interesting to us. We plucked some of the 
 ears to carry home with us, as proofs addressed to the 
 eye, that God has fulfilled His true and faithful word, 
 'therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a 
 field,' Micah, iii. 12. The palaces, the towers, the 
 whole mass of warlike defences, have given way before 
 the word of the Lord, and a crop of barley waves to 
 tiie passing breeze, instead of the banner of war."
 
 '211 
 
 THE OX. 
 
 ox laioweth his owner } and the ass his master's crib: but Israel 
 doth not know, my people doth not consider." ISAIAH, L 3. 
 
 THE ox is so well-known an animal that any description 
 of it here is unnecessary, and I therefore avail myself of 
 the following interesting particulars from "Fennell's History 
 of British and Foreign Quadrupeds:" "In those parts 
 of Africa where the Hottentots retain an independent life, 
 the keeping and tending of sheep and cattle still form 
 the chief employment of their lives; and under their 
 management the ox is taught to display an extraordinary 
 degree of docility and courage, on any occasion where either 
 of these qualities may be necessary. Besides their ordinary 
 oxen, which are employed as beasts of burden or draught, 
 they have saddle oxen, which they use for riding, and 
 war oxen, which have been taught to guard the herds 
 and flocks, and to attack invading armies. These horned 
 warriors, called 'backeleys' or 'bakely-osse,' are chosen 
 from the most courageous of the herd, and permit 
 themselves to be governed with ease. When their leader 
 sets them loose on the advance of the enemy, they rush 
 impetuously upon the ranks of the latter, overthrow the 
 men, toss them, gore them, kick and trample them to 
 death. Kolben says that when they are employed in 
 guarding the flocks, they will, at the least sign from 
 their masters, hasten to bring back the cattle that are 
 straying, and keep them herded together; and they rush 
 with fury upon strangers, especially Europeans. 
 
 Le Vailliant assures us that a hyaena, however hungry, 
 
 2 E
 
 218 THE OX. 
 
 will never approach a flock guarded by two of these 
 formidable animals, and that a number of them will 
 even attack a lion. Burchell and Latrobe speak of the 
 Hottentots calling their oxen by name ; and in Le Voyage 
 de la Campagnie des Indes de Holland (tome i. p. 490,) 
 it is stated that in Terceira, one of the Azores, the 
 oxen are the largest and finest of all Europe, and more- 
 over so gentle and docile, that although a thousand may 
 be together, any one will immediately come to its owner if 
 he calls it by name, for they are all distinguised by 
 particular names. In some parts of Essex and Hampshire, 
 it is still usual to suspend tinkling bells to the necks 
 of the kine that are permitted to roam in the woodlands, 
 that the straying cows may be more easily found at 
 milking time. Those lovers of nature who have strolled 
 quietly through the woods and forests, and have heard the 
 simple music of these unpretending bells, and caught 
 glimpses of the cattle in their leafy seclusion, will not 
 readily forget the charm which these simple incidents 
 imparted to the scenery. In Switzerland, however, this 
 pretty custom is most common; and there only those 
 cows that are remarkable for their superior beauty, sagacity, 
 or good temper, are permitted to bear the bell, and 
 very sensible do they seem of the honourable distinction. 
 While a cow wears it, she is gay, good-humoured, and 
 frolicksome; but should she so far forget herself as to 
 be guilty of straying, commit any vicious trick, or other 
 misconduct, she is not beaten, but her bell is taken away 
 from her; and her now sulky and gloomy air seems to 
 be expressive of deep regret, and a consciousness of 
 disgrace."
 
 VINE. 

 
 219 
 
 VINE. 
 
 "And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a 
 vineyard." GENESIS, ix. 20. 
 
 THE vine, so called from the Latin word 'vinum, 
 whence our wine, is a well-known tree or shrub. Its 
 early history, however, is involved in obscurity^ so that 
 like corn among plants, and the camel, the horse, and the 
 dog, among animals, its original source cannot be with 
 certainty determined. The land of Canaan indeed, the 
 land promised to the children of Israel for a possession, 
 was declared to be "a land of wheat, and barley, and 
 vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates," but it is not said 
 that it was in the first instance a native of that country. 
 
 The vine must have been cultivated in Egypt from 
 a very remote period, as we find paintings of it on the 
 tombs preserved to the present time, and the different 
 processes in the manufacture of wine are also shewn. 
 At the present day wine is not made in Egypt, but still 
 the vine is extensively cultivated there, its nature being 
 suited to a sandy soil, so that it grows luxuriantly and 
 with a remarkable fragrance. 
 
 The expression which we meet with in the Holy Bibie 
 of "every man sitting under his own vine," has allusion 
 probably to the Eastern arbours which were partly com- 
 posed of vines. They are common now in Egyptian 
 gardens, and there is a figure of an ancient one in the 
 Praenestine pavement. 
 
 There are several species of vine, and some of them 
 are poisonous. Moses, to distinguish the true vine, calls
 
 220 VINE 
 
 it, in Numbers, vi. 4, the 'wine vine,' as is shewn in 
 the marginal reading. 
 
 There are many excellent vineyards in Palestine, of 
 which the Sacred Scriptures mention those of Sorek, 
 Sebamah, Jazer, and Abel. Heathen writers also speak 
 of those of Gaza, Sarepta, Libanus, Saron, Ascalon, and 
 Tyre. 
 
 We see by the verse before us, that after the deluge 
 Noah planted the vine, and he is supposed to have been 
 the first who cultivated it, at least for the purpose of 
 making a fermented liquor. Some, indeed, are of opinion 
 that wine was in use before the deluge, and that the 
 Patriarch only continued the cultivation of the vine, which 
 had been known before; but others think that though 
 known before and cultivated, it was only as a fruit, and 
 not as a source of an intoxicating liquor. 
 
 Wine is one of those luxuries which God in His great 
 mercy has given to the sons of men, for their comfort 
 in this life; for we read in His word, in connection with 
 the principal article of human food, "Wine that maketh 
 glad the heart of man, and oil to make him a cheerful 
 countenance, and bread to strengthen man's heart." How 
 ungrateful then, and worse than ungrateful, to abuse the 
 good gifts of God to men, this, or any other of them, 
 by an immoderate, instead of a proper and lawful use, 
 and thus be degraded below the "beasts that perish," 
 who fulfil exactly the part allotted to them in creation. 
 
 May God give all His grace to keep them from "sur- 
 feiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life," lest "that 
 day come upon them unawares." 


 
 221 
 
 THE BADGER. 
 
 "Badgers' skins." EXODUS, xxv. 5. 
 
 THOUGH the word 'badger' itself might not be used, 
 yet the mention of badgers' skins would be sufficient 
 to prove that this was the animal intended in the passage 
 before us, and in the others in which the same Hebrew 
 words are used. But in truth, though the word is thus 
 translated, it seems not only extremely uncertain that 
 such is the case, but far more probable that it is not. 
 
 Some have thought that it is only a colour that is 
 spoken of, and no version except the Chaldee, from 
 which we have borrowed our translation of the word, sup- 
 poses that it is the badger that is intended. Others have 
 imagined different animals, but the opinion that it is the 
 seal seems the most to be depended on. 
 
 The badger is found in many parts of England and 
 Scotland, and other countries of Europe. It frequents 
 thick woods, and the coppices which cover the sides of 
 hills. 
 
 The badger is about two feet and a quarter in length, 
 or two feet and three quarters to the end of the tail. 
 It varies in weight, according to the season of the year, 
 and the individual, from fifteen to thirty pounds; the 
 nose is long; the head, white, with a black band on 
 each side, dividing the cheek from the forehead; the rest 
 of the animal is principally a dark grey. It has five 
 toes armed with strong claws, for the purpose of digging 
 and burro\viug. The flesh of the badger is much used 
 in China, as also in Italy and Germany: the hams arc
 
 222 THE BADGER. 
 
 thought to be very good. The hair too is valuable, being 
 long and soft, so that it is useful for making fine brushes. 
 The skin, dressed with the hair on, is converted into 
 the pouches worn with the Highland kilt, and also into 
 pistol cases. 
 
 The badger is a very harmless, inoffensive animal, and 
 doubtless has its use in the all-wise economy of nature. 
 If attacked it bites very severely, but if unmolested it 
 will hurt no one. 
 
 The food of the badger consists of fruits, roots, frogs, 
 and insects; and occasionally it catches a young rabbit, 
 or robs a bird's nest. It forms a winding passage under 
 the ground by burrowing, at the end of which it places 
 its nest, which it makes very comfortable and warm, and 
 also keeps very clean an example well worthy of imita- 
 tion by all. 
 
 The American badger is less than the European one, 
 and its fur longer, softer, and finer. There is another 
 species found in the island of Java, which is different 
 from both these. 
 
 The badger is unknown in the desert of Arabia, 
 which seems to make the supposition above-mentioned 
 probable that it is not the animal intended in the passage 
 placed at the head of this article, and which we may 
 call our text.
 
 CORMORANT.
 
 223 
 THE CORMORANT. 
 
 "Tlie cormorant" LEVITICUS, xi. 17. 
 
 THE cormorant is another of those birds which was 
 reckoned as unclean by the Israelites; Moses having so 
 instructed them by the inspiration of GOD. It is a large 
 water-bird, and may be seen on every part of the sea-girt 
 coasts of England, and in considerable numbers in those 
 rocky places which are suitable for it to breed in 
 
 This bird is about the size of a goose; its neck is 
 large, and its feei are webbed, it being an inhabitant of 
 the ocean, and therefore adapted by the Providence of 
 God for diving after its prey, which it procures in that 
 element. It is very voracious, and eats, when it can 
 catch them, as much as three or four pounds weight of 
 fish every day, which is about half its own weight. 
 
 It is a most dexterous diver, and darts down in an 
 instant, in a manner very interesting to observe, when it 
 perceives any prey that it can catch, or when alarmed by 
 pursuit, or the appearance of any danger, for which it 
 has a peculiarly quick eye, being a very shy and wary 
 bird. 
 
 Occasionally it makes its way up rivers from the sea, 
 having perhaps entered them in pursuit of some fish ; but 
 this is an unusual circumstance, and not its natural habit. 
 
 The fishing propensities of this bird have been turned 
 to good account, by that singular and ingenious people 
 the Chinese. On some of the rivers in that country 
 people keep a number of cormorants, trained to catch fish 
 for their owners: they place collars on their necks, to
 
 224 THE CORMORANT. 
 
 prevent them from swallowing the fish they may catch, 
 and then let them* go into the water to hunt for them. 
 When they have caught one they bring it to the boat, 
 and it is taken from their bills. They generally succeed 
 in procuring some, being more clever and successful than 
 some fishermen are, and thus are very valuable to those 
 who make a livelihood by them. After they have caught 
 enough, a small fish is given to them for their own 
 share. It is said that this custom prevailed formerly 
 in England, and that among the officers attached to the 
 royal household, was one styled the 'master of the cor- 
 morants.' A few are even still trained to the pursuit, 
 but only as a matter of curiosity. One was brought 
 recently to the famous Driffield trout stream, and caused 
 much interest by its dexterity in catching the fish it 
 dived after. The stream is so peculiarly clear, that all 
 its motions underneath the water could be seen as dis- 
 tinctly as if it had been on the dry land. 
 
 The cormorant is easily tamed, and becomes indeed 
 very familiar. It was classed among the unclean birds 
 by Moses; and is referred to by the sacred writers as 
 associated with ruin and loneliness. 
 
 One of these birds was shot on the steeple of St. 
 Martin's Church, Ludgate Hill, London ; and it is a very 
 curious fact that others have at different times been 
 found in similar situations, for the cormorant is in 
 general seen flying very low and close to the water.
 
 ASP,
 
 225 
 
 THE ASP. 
 
 "Their wim is the poison of dragons, and tJie cruel venom of asps. 
 DEUTERONOMY, YYYU. 33. 
 
 THE creature here spoken of under the name of 'asp,' 
 is some kind of venomous serpent, whose poison is so 
 powerful that it proves fatal in a few hours. 
 
 It seems probable that in the verse in the Psalm, (xci. 
 13,) "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the 
 young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under 
 feet," the asp or some species of serpent is spoken of, 
 and not a lion. Nicander has mentioned some sort of 
 serpent by the name of the 'spotted lion;' and in like 
 manner, the name chameleon, which is a creature of the 
 sort of animals that the dragon was considered to be of, 
 is composed of two Greek words, which mean the 'ground 
 lion.' The name might be given to it from its being 
 imagined to leap on its prey after the manner of a 
 lion; and for the same kind of reason, the name above 
 mentioned, might be given to the species of serpent 
 spoken of by Nicander; and also to the lion-lizard, a reptile, 
 says Dr. Harris, spoken of by Catesby, in his "History 
 of South Carolina." Bochart observes that the most 
 ancient interpreters the Septuagint, the Vulgate, St. 
 Jerome, Apollinaris, the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic 
 versions, render the Hebrew word which our translators 
 have in this passage translated the 'lion,' the 'asp;' and 
 he gives it as his own opinion, that the Psalmist is in 
 the whole of this verse speaking only of serpents. In 
 the former part also of his own very learned work, the 
 
 2 F
 
 226 THE ASP. 
 
 same writer informs u, that the chameleon is by more 
 than one of the Arabian poets called 'bakira,' the lioness. 
 On this supposition Dr. Harris points out that we may 
 imagine the sense of the whole passage to be thus: 
 
 "Behold the asp whose boiling veins, 
 Had half the poison of the plains 
 Imbibed, before thee vanquished lie, 
 And close in death his languid eye: 
 Go, fearless on the dragon tread, 
 And press the wrath-swoln adder's head." 
 
 And he thereupon observes that to give the highest 
 probability to the accuracy of this translation, it need 
 only be remembered, that to walk upon a lion seems 
 quite improper, as men do not in walking tread upon 
 lions, as they do upon serpents. 
 
 The asp is spoken of as of the same venomous and 
 malevolent character as the scorpion, of which some 
 account has been already given. Happily the latter is 
 not common, and it even seems to be destructive of its 
 own species, so that by this means its numbers are 
 sometimes thinned. It is related by Goldsmith, that 
 Maupertius having put about a hundred of them into a 
 glass together, they instantly attacked each other, so 
 that in a few days only fourteen remained, all the rest 
 having been killed and devoured by their fellows. Nay, 
 they are even still more cruel and unnatural; the female 
 scorpion will destroy her own young. One was enclosed 
 by the writer just mentioned, in a glass, and as soon 
 as the young were born, she devoured them all except 
 one, which took refuge on her back, and she herself 
 was in turn stung to death by it.
 
 
 BOX,
 
 227 
 
 BOX TREE. 
 
 "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, 
 
 and the lox together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary ; and 
 
 I will make the place of my feet glorious." ISAIAH, Ix. 13. 
 
 THIS is a very well-known shrub, being much used 
 for edging for borders in flower-gardens, for which pur- 
 pose it is extremely well adapted, being thick and 
 strong in its growth, small in size, and easily cut with 
 a pair of hand shears, so that it looks very neat. There 
 are two or three kinds or varieties of it in this country- 
 one called the dwarf box, which grows to but a very short 
 height; another of larger growth; and the variegated box. 
 
 In many of the countries of Asia, the box tree grows 
 wild, particularly in Persia, and on Mount Caucasus, 
 where it often attains the height of sixteen feet; the 
 stem however is slender in proportion. It grows best 
 in chalky, mountainous soils. The wood of the box tree 
 is very valuable, being of an extremely close and fine 
 grain, and very hard, so that it is much used for 
 engraving on, and for other purposes in which hardness 
 is desirable. The Romans used to cultivate it for the 
 sake of its wood, which they used for cabinet work, 
 and inlaid with ivory. It is asserted by Pliny, that no 
 animal will touch its seeds; and the celebrated natur- 
 alist, Gmelin, also says that the camel will not eat it. 
 
 The box is an evergreen, and the Hebrew word which 
 has been thus translated, implies perpetual greenness. 
 It is used in connection with the mention of other trees
 
 228 BOX TREE. 
 
 of the forest the pine and the fir; which has led some 
 to think that a more stately tree must be intended in 
 the original. 
 
 Some have thought that the wood spoken of in the 
 Holy Scripture, by the name of Ashur wood, is the 
 same as that which is intended by the word which our 
 translators have rendered the box tree. The word 
 occurs in the prophet Ezekiel, xxvii. 6, "Of the oaks of 
 Bashan have they made thine . oars ; the company of 
 Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory." 
 
 Occasion has before been taken to remark, how difficult 
 it necessarily is to speak now with any certain precision 
 on many of these points. We may however content 
 ourselves with thinking, that all is made known which 
 is necessary to be made known; and that if some of 
 these doubtful points, even though of minor importance, 
 were cleared up, the result would be to shew us even 
 yet more decisively how exactly according to truth, 
 every word of inspiration is, as the "word of God," the 
 word of the "God of truth," who "cannot lie."
 

 
 229 
 THE FALLOW DEER. 
 
 "Fallow deer" DEUTERONOMY, xiv. o. 
 
 THE animal spoken of here, and also in 1 Kings, iv. 
 23, is riot the fallow deer, but some other animal of the 
 deer tribe. The Septuagint and Vulgate versions so 
 render it, and Bochart has proved the same by a refer- 
 ence to the meaning of the old Greek translation of 
 the word. 
 
 The fallow deer is by some supposed to have been 
 introduced into Europe from Bengal, by others from 
 Barbary. It is about three feet high to the top of the 
 shoulders, and about five feet in length, inclusive of the 
 tail, which is about seven inches and a half long. In 
 summer its colour is a light fawn-colour, speckled and 
 dappled with white; but when it sheds its coat, which 
 it does every year in the autumn, these white spots dis- 
 appear, and in the winter it becomes blackish brown. 
 The tail is black above and white beneath. 
 
 The fallow deer is a great ornament to the various 
 parks in which it is kept; and its flesh, so well known 
 as venison, is considered a delicacy. There are a great 
 number of these animals in Richmond Park, the New 
 Forest, and other such places, as well as in the grounds 
 of many noblemen and private gentlemen. 
 
 The horns or antlers, as they are called, do not 
 reach their full and ornamental growth until the third 
 year. In the second year they are very short and plain, 
 and in the first year do not make thc-ir appearance 
 at all.
 
 230 THE FALLOW DEER. 
 
 The venison of the fallow deer is thought to be better 
 eating than that of the red deer. The skin too is val- 
 uable, being converted into gloves and various other 
 articles of apparel and use. 
 
 The roebuck is another species of the deer family, 
 allied to the preceding one, but distinct from it. It is 
 now very scarce in England, but is still plentiful in the 
 highlands of Scotland. It is the smallest of the three 
 kinds of deer that inhabit Britain. Its venison is but 
 little esteemed, and there is but very little fat upon it, 
 even when in the best condition. 
 
 The length of the roebuck to the end of the tail from 
 the nose, is about three feet ten inches; and its height 
 at the shoulder two feet three inches. They vary very 
 much in colour: some are of a general brown tint, others 
 brownish grey, others dusky, and some have parts here 
 and there white, besides the chin and the inside of the 
 ears. There is also a white spot on each side of the 
 mouth; the nose is brown. The antlers are round, 
 rough, and consist at most of three pointed extremities. 
 
 The roebuck, like others of the deer kind, is noted 
 for its extreme agility. One has been known to bound 
 with apparent ease across a road nearly twenty feet wide. 
 In Sir Walter Scott's "Cadyow Castle," we find the 
 following allusion to this animal: 
 
 "From the thick copse the roebucks bound, 
 The startling red deer scuds the plain, 
 For the hoarse bugle's threatening sound 
 Has roused their mountain haunts again." 
 
 They often leave their favourite places of resort early 
 in the morning to browse on the corn and pease grow- 
 ing in the cultivated fields.
 
 CAMPHOR..
 
 231 
 
 CAMPHIRE. 
 
 "As a cluster of campliire in the vineyards of Engedi." 
 CANTICLES, i. 14. 
 
 THE camphire is supposed to be identical with the 
 herma, a plant which is found in various countries of 
 the East. The leaves somewhat resemble those of the 
 myrtle, or still more nearly those of the privet, so that 
 in fact the plant was long known in England by the name 
 of 'Egyptian privet.' The henna plant has been held in 
 high esteem in Eastern lands, even from the earliest ages. 
 The flowers are white, and are produced in clusters. 
 Their scent is exceedingly strong, so ouch so, that 
 it is quite oppressive to those who have not been accus- 
 tomed to it. The ladies of the East however prize them 
 very highly; and it is said that a nosegay of them is one 
 of the most acceptable presents that can be offered by 
 one friend to another. The Egyptian ladies carry this 
 passion to such a ridiculous extent, that they are even 
 jealous of seeing those flowers worn by Jewish or Euro- 
 pean women. 
 
 A dye is made from the henna plant, which is in 
 great request in the East, for staining the hands and 
 feet, and the nails. This absurd custom is universal in 
 all those countries of that part of the world which lies 
 between the Mediterranean sea and the Ganges. In some 
 places the men also colour their hair and beards with 
 it, and even the manes and tails of their horses. The 
 women of Egypt would as soon think of going about 
 without their veils, which are there universally worn, as
 
 232 CAMPHIRE. 
 
 without the henna dye. The very poorest female would 
 never think for a moment of appearing with her nails 
 and feet uncoloured by it. 
 
 So unnatural a custom, it is still more surprising should 
 have continued so long, for it is a remarkable fact that 
 the nails of the mummies, which have been preserved 
 for so many thousands of years, are stained with- this 
 dye ; and the learned Dr. Harris is of opinion, that it is 
 probable that the expression made use of in the Jewish 
 laws, "to pare the nails," means properly "to adorn the 
 nails." 
 
 In an entertaining little volume, published by the reli- 
 gious tract society, which has furnished the above 
 particulars, it is added, "the gardens about Rosetta are 
 rendered delightful by the clusters of the henna flowers, 
 such as charmed the inspired writer, when he wrote 
 of the clusters of camphire in the vineyards, or rather 
 gardens of Engedi. Burckhardt admired the numerous 
 henna trees that grew at the Wady Fatme, about a day's 
 journey from Mecca, which rendered this resting-place 
 of the pilgrims a most odoriferous retreat. The henna 
 of this valley is prized so highly, that this traveller men- 
 tions that it is sold to the pilgrims, who carry it home 
 as a present to their female relatives."
 
 
 THE CRANK.
 
 233 
 THE CRANE. 
 
 "Like a crane or a simlloiu, so did I cJiatter." ISAIAH, xxxviii. 14. 
 
 THE crane, though a bird very rarely seen in this 
 country, is a very abundant species in various other 
 ones; and well it is that in the Providence of God 
 it is so, for it performs a most useful part in the all- 
 wise economy of nature destroying vast numbers of 
 insects, snakes, and decaying substances, which would 
 otherwise prove injurious to the life or health of the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 The allusion in the verse before us, is to the loud 
 wailing note of this bird, to which the good king 
 Hezekiah likened his voice of distress, in the time when 
 the hand of God lay heavy upon him. In another 
 passage in Holy Scripture, namely in Jeremiah viii. 7, 
 the crane is mentioned, as it is here, in connection with 
 the swallow; and in the latter instance, in allusion to 
 its migratory habit, that most wonderful power utterly 
 unknown by man, which God has given to these two 
 kinds of birds, and to various others, by which they track 
 their way with unerring certainty to distant countries, with 
 nothing but their own inward instinct to guide them. 
 Thus swallows have often been seen crossing the Atlantic 
 Ocean, at vast distances from land: occasionally they seem 
 fatigued, and alight on the rigging of ships, but what 
 is very extraordinary, and shows how strong must be 
 their instinct, even when they have been known to have 
 accompanied ships for long distances, they will not, though 
 ever so fatigued, seek rest on the land they may have
 
 234 THE CRANE. 
 
 approached, even if only ten or fifteen miles from if, 
 but steadily pursue the course which they have set 
 before them. - We shall do well to imitate them in this 
 respect, in our travelling over the troubled waters of life; 
 and persevere until we reach the "better land" the shore 
 where we would be the "haven of eternal rest." 
 
 This extraordinary power, "far beyond our thoughts," 
 is one of the "hidden things of God" which are "past 
 finding out." 
 
 When the cranes are about to take their departure, 
 they first rise up very high in the air, as if to scrutinize 
 their course, and then arrange themselves, in the way 
 that wild-geese and some other birds do, the better, 
 as it would seem, to cut through the opposing air. They 
 never miss their way, and if it might be said that old 
 birds remember the course they have to take, how \vas 
 it with those who first went, and how is it with those 
 young ones who go for the first time? Great and 
 marvellous are THY works Lord GOD Almighty! 
 
 The crane is one of the long-legged wading birds, 
 three or four feet high, and five or six in length. Its 
 general colour is dark grey, with black on the top of 
 the head, and the front of the neck.
 
 
 ELM TRKK.
 
 235 
 
 THE ELM TREE. 
 
 "They sacrifice upon tJie tops of the mountains, and burn incense 
 
 upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the 
 
 sliadow thereof is good." HOSEA, iv. 13. 
 
 The elm is the handsomest tree that grows in England, 
 and in the height that it attains it much exceeds the 
 oak generally considered the monarch of our forests. 
 The elm is very common in most parts of this country, 
 growing, as it were, spontaneously, but doubtless produced 
 from the remaining roots of others, which have been 
 cut down. Its wood is valuable for common purposes, 
 but not for fine work, being coarse in the grain, and 
 not very hard. The leaves, which are very abundant, 
 produce a rich manure, which makes the land propor- 
 tionably productive; they are of a dark green colour, 
 and their verdure adds greatly to the richness of the 
 scene, in localities where these trees are abundant; and 
 as the elm is a much faster growing tree than the oak, 
 it is desirable to plant it extensively where beauty of 
 landscape is desired. 
 
 No tree is more handsome, and of a more commanding 
 appearance if only it be left single, and be not prematurely 
 drawn up by being planted too close to others of its 
 own or of any different kind: the same remark indeed 
 applies to ail trees and shrubs. Many persons are 
 ulraid of thinning them out in good time, if already 
 planted too thickly together; and in the end they find 
 that they have made a great mistake, and have nothing 
 but bare poles, instead of what should deserve the name
 
 23( THE ELM TREE. 
 
 of trees. Judicious thinning should be had recourse to 
 in good time, and if it be, it will always be found that 
 one tree, while it not only will grow in such case to 
 its own proper and natural size and shape, will fill up 
 a space equal to that which it would otherwise have 
 required a number to do, and an equal mass of foliage 
 will be obtained. Add to this, that trees thus unnaturally 
 forced, do not send down a proportionate quantity of 
 roots to support such a great height, and the consequence 
 is, that when some more than ordinary gale of wind 
 strikes against them, they are easily overthrown, if those 
 whose nearness before protected them have been removed, 
 and sometimes even despite them, if they have not. 
 
 Thus should the Christian be firmly rooted and planted 
 in the holy faith, in which he has been baptized, that 
 when the storms of adversity and of temptation arise 
 against him, they may not prevail, but that he may 
 abide stedfast, and endure successfully even unto the 
 end. 
 
 It is considered that the word which in the passage 
 at the head of this article is translated 'elm' should be 
 rendered 'terebinth tree.' The terebinth tree is a large 
 tree common in Palestine, and very famous for its 
 extreme longevity. Josephus, the Jewish historian, who 
 lived since the Christian era, relates an old tradition of 
 one of this species, which was living in his time, arid 
 was said to be as old as the world. It grew at Mamre, 
 where the Heavenly messengers conferred with Abraham; 
 the tree indeed lived long after this, and was in existence 
 so lately as the year 1640, only two hundred and ten 
 years ago, when it was unfortunately destroyed accidentally 
 by fire.

 
 237 
 
 SWINE. 
 
 "Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the twine: 
 
 and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, 
 
 and were choked." ST. LUKE, viii. 33. 
 
 MUCH description of this animal in its domesticated 
 state is certainly not required, but in its wild condition 
 it is very different from that in which we see it. 
 
 The wild boar, which is the parent stock of the tame 
 breed, is still found in its natural state in many parts 
 of Europe, Asia, and Africa. There are also so-called 
 wild boars in America, but they are not indigenous there, 
 having descended from some which were introduced 
 by the Spaniards, soon after their conquests on that 
 continent. 
 
 Some writers consider that the species which are found 
 in the three old quarters of the world are different, but 
 most naturalists hold them to be identical. 
 
 The wild boar was formerly common in Great Britain, 
 though one would think that as this is an island, it 
 must have been originally imported here also; but be 
 that as it may, it has long since been totally extirpated, 
 and only exists in ancient records. The spread of popu- 
 lation, and the consequent cultivation of the country, has 
 gradually, but surely diminished their numbers, and not 
 one now remains in any part of England, Ireland, Scot- 
 land, or Wales. 
 
 The swine was ranked among the unclean animals 
 by the Jews, being forbidden by the law of Moses; yet 
 we find that whole herds were fed in the time of our
 
 238 SWINE. 
 
 Saviour, on the borders of Galilee. The avarice f some 
 of the people led them to this sin of disobedience, in 
 contempt of the Mosaic prohibition, for the sake of the 
 gain to be acquired by selling them to the neighbouring 
 idolaters for their sacrifices. Hence the permission of 
 Christ to the devils, to drive the herds to their destruction, 
 as a just punishment upon their ungodly owners. 
 
 The general colour of the wild boar is a rusty black, 
 or blackish brown; its skin is very thick, and covered 
 with bristles. It attains its full size in five or six years, 
 t)ut some individuals are larger, and others smaller, ac- 
 cording to the goodness and quantity of the provisions 
 they have fed on. They feed on acorns, of which they 
 are particularly fond, chesnuts, nuts, maple mast, beech 
 mast, the roots of fern, and various other plants; as also 
 on snakes and other such food. 
 
 The hunting of the wild boar was formerly a favourite 
 pastime in this country, as it is still in various others. 
 Hoel Dda, who lived in the tenth century, forbad his 
 grand huntsman from chasing the wild boar at any 
 other time in the year, than between the middle of 
 November, and the beginning of December; and William 
 the Conqueror, in the following century, enacted most 
 severe laws against any who should be found guilty 
 of killing the wild boar, the stag, or the roebuck. We 
 ought to be very thankful that there are no such "game 
 laws" as these in our own highly-favoured times.
 
 no.
 
 239 
 
 FIG. 
 
 "AnJ seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if haply 
 
 He -.night find any thing thereon: and ichen He came to it, 
 
 He found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was 
 
 not yet." ST. MARK, xi. 13. 
 
 THE fig tree was very common in Judea. It is there 
 a shady, spreading tree, so that it affords a pleasant relief 
 from the heat of the sun. Thus we find in the Old 
 Testament, pleasing descriptions of every man sitting 
 in peace under his vine, and under his fig tree; and in 
 the New Testament likewise, we read of Nathaniel being 
 under a fig tree when our Lord saw him. 
 
 The fruit of the fig tree is produced from the trunk 
 and the larger branches, and not from the smaller shoots, 
 as is the case with most other trees. It is very sweet 
 and nourishing, and when thoroughly ripe of an agreeable 
 flavour, particularly when dried and preserved, and in 
 that state forms an important article of commerce. 
 
 The flowers of the fig tree are contained inside the 
 fig itself, and they ripen within it into seeds. It was 
 the shooting forth of the figs from the branches of the 
 tree, to which our Lord alluded whtn He said, "Behold 
 the fig tree and all the trees ; when they now shoot forth, 
 ye see and know of your own selves that summer is 
 nigh at hand." 
 
 In reference to the verse before us, the Jewish writers 
 raise an objection and say, "Why did Christ expect to 
 find fruit, when, as we read, 'the time of figs was not 
 yet/' The answer is, in the first place, that the fruit
 
 240 FIG. 
 
 of the fig tree appears before the leaves, and conse- 
 quently this tree being seen from a distance to have 
 leaves, it might reasonably be expected that it would 
 also have fruit; and secondly, that even although the 
 full and proper time for figs to be ripe was not yet 
 arrived, that some few might at least be looked for, 
 as in the case of all other fruits, some few are ripe, 
 occasionally even a considerable time, before the bulk of 
 the crop. The time that the narrative relates to was at 
 the period of the Passover, and the ordinary time for 
 the summer figs to be ripe in those countries is in June; 
 and in early seasons, some few are ripe even so soon as 
 March and April. When, however, our Blessed Lord 
 came to the tree here spoken of, he found none, not a 
 single one, which shewed that the tree was altogether 
 barren and unproductive, or at all events, not in so for- 
 ward and advanced a state as there was reason to expect 
 that it might have been a fit and proper illustration of 
 the outside shew of the profession of holiness made by 
 the Pharisees, to which their works, in Scripture 
 language, their 'fruits,' did not correspond. "Even so, 
 ye likewise appear indeed beautiful outward," said our 
 Lord to them, when He condemned them for all their 
 inward badness. 
 
 It is furthermore also to be observed, that the fig tree 
 produces three crops of figs in the year, so that even if 
 the proper time for the second or the third crop had 
 not then come, yet it was by no means unreasonable 
 to expect that some few of the preceding first cr second 
 crops might have remained.
 
 241 
 FISHES. 
 
 " We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt." NUMBERS, xi. o. 
 
 FISHES are frequently mentioned in the Holy Bible, 
 but very few are described by any particular Hebrew 
 names. In the book of Leviticus, xi. 9-11, Moses says 
 in general, that all kinds of fish, both those which are 
 inhabitants of the sea, and those which live in rivers, 
 might be eaten, provided that they had scales and fins ; 
 any others were to be considered as unclean. St. Barna- 
 bas, in his epistle, quotes, as if from some ancient 
 authority, the interdiction, "You shall not eat of the 
 lamprey, the many-feet, (that is, creatures of the polypus 
 tribe,) nor the cuttle fish." 
 
 Fish was the common food of the Egyptians, and ail 
 authors, both ancient and modern, are agreed as to the 
 abundance and excellence of the fish of that country; 
 hence we see how distressing was the infliction, well 
 described as one of the plagues of Egypt, under which, 
 the waters of all their rivers and ponds were turned into 
 blood; by which necessarily all the fish were destroyed. 
 The waters of their sacred stream were at the same 
 time polluted, and rendered totally unserviceable for 
 either drinking or bathing in, or for any other of the 
 various uses to which they were superstitiously devoted 
 by that debased people. 
 
 There are a vast number of species of fish, but 
 few comparatively of which are to be met with along 
 the shores of Great Britain and Ireland. Their shapes 
 and their sizes, as well as their habits, are as various 
 
 2 ii
 
 242 FISHES. 
 
 as they are extraordinary. Some of them, especially in 
 the seas of the tropical parts of the world, are of the 
 most wonderfully beautiful colours, and those svho have 
 seen them in the clear and perfectly transparent waters 
 of the ocean in those parts in fine weather, describe it 
 as a most striking sight to see the various fishes that 
 there abound, of an infinity of hues bright and prismatic, 
 and many of them of the most singular and fantastic 
 shapes, threading their way among the mazes of the 
 coral rocks themselves a natural wonder which have 
 #rown up into submarine mountains, the work of minute 
 auimalculae. 
 
 Some fishes are extremely dangerous and savage, as 
 the different kinds of shark, by which many a human life 
 has been lamentably sacrificed; others are pre-eminently 
 serviceable to man, such as the herring, the cod, the 
 mackerel, and a host of others which might be named; 
 the myriads also of the eggs laid by various species of 
 fish is altogether overwhelmingly astonishing, and re- 
 minds us of the verity of the word of God, who, when 
 He had "created all things," and among others, the 
 "fishes of the sea," gave His blessing to the work of 
 His hand the creatures He had made, and all for 
 the service of man, and bade them increase and 
 multiply, saying, "be fruitful and multiply, and fill 
 the waters in the seas." Well may we join in the 
 adoration of the pious son of Jesse, in praising the 
 Great Creator of all, both on land and in the sea, 
 "in which are things creeping innumerable, both small 
 and srreat bpasts."
 
 
 GOURD.
 
 243 
 
 GOURD. 
 
 "The Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over 
 Jonah, that it miglit be a sJtadow over his head, to deliver him from 
 his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God 
 ,.i-> pared a, worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote 
 the gourd that it withered." JOXAH, iv. 6, 7. 
 
 WHO has not heard of Jonah and his gourd? 
 
 There is perhaps no one plant in the Scriptures 
 that has given occasion for such great and strong dis- 
 cussions as this. The early fathers of the church disputed 
 hi even a violent manner on the question; and those 
 who came later did not profit by the experience thus 
 afforded them, of the folly and vanity of such contentions. 
 Augustine maintained that the gourd was the true ren- 
 dering; and Jerome, though, as it would appear against 
 his own judgment, and through a weak and wrong 
 yielding to the prejudices of his age, affirmed that it 
 was the ivy that lent its brief shelter to the mourning 
 prophet. The translators of the English version of the 
 Holy Bible have given us the word 'gourd' as that 
 intended in the original; but the marginal reading, as 
 may be seen by a reference to the passage, gives the 
 plant as that known by the name of the 'palma christi,' 
 or 'palm of Christ;' otherwise known by the name of 
 the 'castor-oil tree.' This is a totally different plant 
 from the real gourd, and seems to be remarkable for 
 the sudcleness of its decay; from which circumstance, in 
 addition to its leaves affording a most delightful shade, 
 it has been conjectured as most probable, that it is thar
 
 244 GOURD. 
 
 which was really intended. 
 
 In this country it grows as a herbaceous annual, but 
 in those hot countries which are its native soil, it becomes 
 a magnificent tree, and lasts for several years. It is 
 remarkable for the rapidity with which it attains its 
 size. Its seeds afford an oil, which was in ancient times 
 much used for burning, as being particularly pleasant 
 for that purpose; and it is still used by the Jews for 
 their Sabbath lamps, as it is one of the five kinds which 
 were prescribed by their traditions. 
 
 This plant is very abundant about Egypt, and the 
 following account of it is given by Mr. Ramsay, who 
 accompanied Lord Lindsay in his travels: "A very 
 beautiful plant, which we saw a good deal of to-day in 
 the fields, is the castor-oil tree. I never saw such a 
 diversity of appearances in one plant at the same time; 
 two totally different flowers on the same stalk, one red, 
 the other white; berries, buds, and fruit, something like 
 horse-chesnuts, but more delicate; the young leaves also 
 were of a deep purple, and the old ones of bright green, 
 thus beautifully variegating the foliage with the vernal 
 and autumnal tint of our seasons."
 
 '245 
 
 THE MULE. 
 
 " Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: 
 
 ichose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come 
 
 near unto thee." P.SALM, xxxii. 9. 
 
 THIS is a variety derived from the horse and the a*s, 
 and possessing in some degree the qualities of each. In 
 this country it is by no means so fine an animal as in 
 some others, where it is better and more properly treated. 
 Thus in Spain, where it is in very common use, it grows 
 to a larger size, and is altogether much finer and 
 handsomer than with us; and when fully and tastily 
 caparisoned, is very shewy and stately, and is ridden by 
 grandees of the highest rank. How different is the case 
 with us, in too many instances, though not, happily, in 
 all. The like has had already to be noticed in writing 
 of the ass, and the like has to be remarked of the horse. 
 Thus, if both these are but indifferently treated, what 
 can the poor mule expect? In Ireland it was formerly 
 the custom to harrow with a rope tied to the horses' 
 tails, and this absurd custom is said to be still continued 
 by the Ennis farmers, who contend that the horse does 
 not mind it, and that it saves harness! 
 
 The wild horse has no intermediate pace between a 
 walk and a gallop: how curious the variety of paces 
 introduced by its domestication the amble of the mule, 
 the trot, the canter. 
 
 The horse is an animal of very great and eminent 
 sagacity. Thus it is related of the German horses, that 
 they will slacken their pace when they perceive, the sparks
 
 246 THE MTJLE. 
 
 flying from the pipes of their rider*, when trimming them, 
 to give them the better opportunity of doing so; and 
 every one must have observed the singular docility of this 
 animal, in attending with the most perfect regularity to 
 every command of the driver to whom it has been accus- 
 tomed, and even to the like orders when given by a 
 new master. 
 
 The mule, which is also sometimes known by the 
 name of the 'moyle,' is as large as a full-grown horse 
 when in its perfection, attaining often the height, in 
 Spain, of sixteen hands, and is so strong as to be 
 able to carry seven or eight hundred pounds weight. 
 They are extremely useful in that country, being patient, 
 instead of, as with us, the consequence of bad treatment, 
 obstinate even to a proverb, indefatigable, and wonder- 
 fully sure-footed; "and these excellencies," says Mr. 
 Fennell, in his very entertaining "History of Quadrupeds," 
 already alluded to, "render them most valuable beasts 
 of burden in mountainous countries; and the caution and 
 precision with which a drove of them, walking with great 
 regularity in a single line, will cross over the stupendous 
 and awfully narrow passes, and ascend or descend the 
 almost perpendicular steeps, have excited the astonish- 
 ment of many a tourist."
 
 HAZEL.
 
 247 
 
 HAZEL. 
 
 "Take of the lest fruits of the land in your vessels, and can't/ down 
 
 tJie man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and 
 
 myrrh, nuts and almonds." GENESIS, xliii. 11. 
 
 THE hazel tree is very common in this country, being 
 that which produces nuts. It is, however, most probable 
 that this is not the species of which the fruit is spoken 
 of in the verse we have before us. The word in the 
 original language which is here translated 'nuts,' has 
 been by various commentators rendered 'pine-nuts, dates, 
 or walnuts;' and it is the opinion of Dr. Royle, that the 
 'pistachio-nuts,' which are very highly esteemed in the 
 East, are the fruit which is intended. 
 
 The word 'hazel' occurs in Genesis, xxx. 37, when 
 we read "And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, 
 and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white 
 strakes in them, and made the white appear which was 
 in the rods." Here, however, it seems to be considered 
 certain that it is not the hazel, but the almond tree 
 that is spoken of. 
 
 The pistachio tree is found in various countries of the 
 East, in greater or less abundance. The nut is of a 
 pleasant flavour, being sweet and delicate, and is either 
 eaten with sweetmeats, or cooked in different ways by 
 itself. It has a light-coloured shell, and the kernel is 
 of a pale green colour, even when ripe. The tree itself 
 sometimes grows to the height of thirty feet, and appears 
 to flourish best in a dry soil. The colour of the bark 
 of the stem, and of the old branches of the tree, is a
 
 248 HAZEL. 
 
 dark russet, but that of the younger and more tender 
 branches is a light brown. They are furnished with a 
 sort of winged leaves, which are composed of either two 
 or three pairs of lobes, terminated by an odd one. The 
 lobes are themselves somewhat of an oval shape, and 
 their edges are turned backwards. The flowers grow 
 out of the sides of the branches in loose bunches or 
 catkins. The nuts, which in due time succeed these, 
 are in shape and size like those of the hazel tree, only 
 that they are a little angular, and one side is higher 
 than the other. They have two shells, an outer and an 
 inner one; the latter is smooth and brittle, the former 
 is also brittle, and of a reddish colour when ripe. 
 
 There is again another species of nut, a terebinthus, 
 which has been supposed to be the one spoken of in 
 this passage, in the book of Genesis; the Arabic word 
 'beten' having a considerable resemblance to the Hebrew 
 one 'batanim,' which is here translated nuts. From this 
 nut an oil is extracted, which, as it has in itself neither 
 taste nor smell, is used by the orientals in the extraction 
 of the essential fragrance of the rose, the jasmine, and 
 other sweet-scented herbs. An unguent is thus com- 
 pounded, with which the lovers of perfumes anoint the 
 head, the face, and the beard.
 
 1H3 G3.IFFON VULTURE.
 
 249 
 
 THE GRIFFON VULTURE. 
 
 "Titere shall the vultures also be gathered, every one loith her mate" 
 
 ISAIAH, xxxiv. 15. 
 
 i 
 
 IT is not by any means improbable that this species is 
 the vulture so often alluded to in the Scriptures. At all 
 events it is common in Jtidea, and agrees with the 
 descriptions to be met with in the holy volume. 
 
 The griffon vulture is an inhabitant of various parts 
 of Europe, Asia, and Africa; seemingly regardless alike 
 of cold and heat. It is met with in Turkey, Greece, and 
 Silesia; on the Alps, the Tyrol, and the Pyrenees. In 
 Europe, however, it appears to be merely a summer 
 visitant, passing over into Africa as the colder season 
 advances; hence at certain periods flocks of forty or fifty 
 are seen to cross the straits of Gibraltar, many having 
 made the rock itself their temporary residence. 
 
 Like the rest of its congeners, this bird feeds on 
 carrion, and thus performs a useful part in the economy 
 of nature. Occasionally it will attack weak or sickly 
 animals, but this is only as a 'dernier resort,' and when 
 it cannot supply its appetite by the resources which are 
 more natural to it. Thus 'vice versa,' the eagle, whose 
 congenial prey is the living animal, will, when forced 
 by the extremity of hunger, put up with that food which 
 under other circumstances it rejects, and leaves for the 
 less dainty vulture. 
 
 When the griffon meets with a plentiful supply of 
 carrion, it continues feeding on it, if not disturbed, which 
 it easily is by even the minor animals, until quite gorged, 
 
 2 i
 
 250 THE GRIFFON VULTURE. 
 
 and then remains quiescent until digestion has taken 
 place: and if surprised in this condition, is unable to 
 escape by flight, and becomes an easy capture. It feeds 
 its young, not by carrying food to them in its talons, 
 as is the habit of eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls, but 
 by disgorging from its maw part of what it had swallowed. 
 
 This species, also, like the rest of its kindred, possesses 
 great powers of flight, though it is not rapid on the 
 wing, and often soars upwards, almost always spirally, 
 until it has become invisible to the human eye: it descends 
 in the same manner in circles. It builds its nest on the 
 highest and most inaccessible rocks, or sometimes on lofty 
 trees; but in the winter, it frequents more the lower and 
 open grounds. It lays two or three eggs, rather larger 
 than those of a goose, of a dingy white colour, sometimes 
 marked with a few pale red blots. 
 
 The length of this bird is about three feet eight inches, 
 and eight or nine feet in the stretch of its wings. The 
 general colour of the adult is a deep rufous grey, becoming 
 black on the quill feathers and tail. The head and neck 
 are not entirely bare, but are covered with short close 
 down, which, as well as the beautiful ruff encircling the 
 lower part of the latter, are pure white. 
 
 The young birds are of a bright fawn colour, and do 
 not acquire their mature livery until the close of the 
 third year.
 
 IVY.
 
 251 
 
 IVY. 
 
 'The Jews t'.-tjre compelled to go in proccmon to Bacchus, 
 C'ii'i'ijln<j icy." 2 MACCABEES,, vi. 7. 
 
 THE ivy is a well-known plant, but, though common 
 and humble in appearance, is useful- in a many ways. 
 There are different species of this plant, but that which 
 is probably the most common, as being in the greatest 
 request, on account of the rapidity of its growth, is the 
 Irish ivy. It increases and spreads so quickly, that it 
 very soon covers a wall or side of a house, and becomes 
 a great ornament, not only to old buildings, churches, 
 castles, and ruins, but also to new ones. It is the opinion 
 of many persons, that instead of being prejudicial to 
 buildings as some suppose, the ivy is beneficial to them, 
 by excluding the wet, which cannot penetrate through 
 the thick mass of foliage that it presents. 
 
 As much need not be said about a plant so universally 
 known in this country as the ivy, it may not be out 
 of place to introduce here the pretty words written in 
 its praise, which although, perhaps, being so popular, 
 most persons may be already acquainted with them, yet 
 others may not. 
 
 THE IVY GREEX. 
 
 OH, a darling plant is the Ivy green, 
 
 That crawls on the broken 
 Of the ruiii'd Abbey or Fort I ween, 
 
 Or the Baron's dismantled hail.
 
 252 IVY. 
 
 How bleak soe'er the Convent aisle, 
 
 Or dark the Castle keep, 
 He fervently hugs the mould'ring pile, 
 
 Though all around him sleep. 
 
 Creeping where bold hearts have been, 
 A fine old plant is the Ivy green. 
 
 Though pensive he dwells in the gloomy wreck 
 
 Of the Monk's or Chieftain's tow'r; 
 Yet smiling in verdure he'll fondly deck 
 
 The joyous and festive bow'r. 
 He clings to the church and the tombs we adore, 
 
 Whose spirits are gather 'd above; 
 The Squire's proud mansion, the Cottager's door 
 
 He circles in friendship and love. 
 
 Creeping where no strife is seen, 
 A fine old plant is the Ivy green. 
 
 Since time first began his stealthy career, 
 
 How many his victims have been; 
 But the Ivy yet lives without sorrow or fear, 
 
 And is still ever hearty and green. 
 The warrior shall perish, his fortress shall fall, 
 
 And the beauty relinquish her charms; 
 But the Ivy will triumph over them all, 
 
 And flourish in ruins and storms. 
 
 Creeping on to times unseen, 
 
 A fine old plant is the Ivy green.
 
 253 
 
 THE FOX. 
 
 Samson icent and cavjjld three hundred foxes, and took jiiv- 
 In-an-h, I'li'l turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst 
 between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let 
 them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both 
 the shock*, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and 
 
 0//4?M." JflHJES, XV. 4, O. 
 
 THERE are few animals better known than the fox, 
 so that any description of its form and colour would 
 be quite superfluous. In all ages it has been proverbial 
 for cunning, and ./Esop has turned this, its quality, to 
 good account in his familiar fables. One was known, 
 when being hunted by the Duke of Beaufort's hounds, 
 and hard pressed in the chase, to take refuge in a pond, 
 where for some time it could not be discovered, but 
 was at last found completely immersed in the water, his 
 nose only being ont to enable him to breathe, and by 
 it he held on to the bough of a willow tree. 
 
 There are various varieties, or species, of the fox found 
 in different countries, but it seems not to be certainly 
 determined whether they are the former or the latter 
 whether really distinct, or merely affected by the difference 
 of different climates: some are white, others grey, and 
 others reddish brown the colour of the English one. 
 The common fox is also called 'the tod;' there is a 
 variety of it called the greyhound fox; there is also the 
 arctic fox; and the North American black or silver fox. 
 
 These animals feed on almost every description of food: 
 nothing seems to come amiss to them, except it be the
 
 '254 THE FOX. 
 
 flesh of birds of prey. They even kill sheep, as also 
 lambs, hares, rabbits, moles, rats, field-mice, partridges, 
 poultry, frogs, worms, cockchaffers, and other insects; 
 and even crabs, mussels, and other kinds of shell-fish, 
 and marine creatures. The following curious story is 
 related with reference to the latter species of its food: 
 "On some of the sea lochs, on the west of Rossbire, 
 the fox has been observed to descend on the shore at 
 night to feed upon mussels, particularly upon the larger 
 basket-mussel, or yoggs, as the Shetlanders call them. 
 One morning, some years ago, a man perceived a fox 
 on the shore, and though the tide was coming in, seemed 
 heedless, and busily engaged with something. The man, 
 after observing him for a little time, went to his hut for 
 his gun, and forthwith down to the shore, and shot the 
 fox, which was as careless of hi* approach, as that of 
 the coming tide. On going to pick him up, he was 
 found to be held fast by the tongue between the shells 
 of one of those large mussels, which are sometimes seven 
 inches long, and adhere firmly to the crevices of rocks, 
 or larger stones below the sand, by means of a strong 
 byssus, vulgarly called a beard. Had the fox not been 
 shot by the man, it would probably have been drowned 
 by the no less merciless tide."
 
 SAFFRON.
 
 255 
 
 SAFFRON. 
 
 a.-t'l s<.(;fi-u, t ; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of 
 frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices." 
 CAXTICLES, iv. 1-t. 
 
 THIS is the only passage in the sacred volume in 
 which the name of this plant is mentioned. 
 
 The saffron is an early plant, produced from a bulbous 
 root. The stalks which spring up bear a bine flower, 
 and in the middle of each of these blossoms are three 
 little yellow or golden-coloured threads, which are known 
 among druggists by the name of saffron. The flower 
 is more commonly known by the name of crocus, to 
 which, it may be observed, the Hebrew name of this 
 plant, 'carcom,' has some resemblance. 
 
 It must be observable to every one, as proved abun- 
 dantly by the sacred writings, how very highly perfumes 
 were esteemed by the ancient Hebrews, and how 
 extensively they were used by them. .In the verse 
 quoted above we see various perfumed substances enu- 
 merated, and, not to multiply other instances, we may 
 call to mind the breaking, or rather unsealing, of the 
 very costly and very precious alabaster box of ointment, 
 in reference to our Saviour, on which occasion we read 
 that the "house was filled with the odours of the ointment," 
 and how also "sweet spices" were taken by the pious 
 women, who loved our Lord, to the place where He 
 lay, "as the manner of the Jews," was in honour of 
 the departed. 
 
 The Arabic name of this flower is 'zafran/ from which
 
 256 SAFFRON. 
 
 word have been formed all the various European names 
 of it the English saffron, the Spanish azafran, the French 
 and the German saffran, and the Italian zafiano, as also 
 the Moorish safra. 
 
 The crocus, which produces the saffron, is the same 
 as the common purple one which grows in all our gardens. 
 Its native country, that at least in which it grows wild 
 in the greatest abundance, is Asia, and it is there also 
 extensively cultivated, as well as in the south of Europe. 
 Some persons consider, however, that it is indigenous 
 likewise in several parts of Europe, but, at all events, it 
 seems to be certain that its first repute as a medicine 
 was gained in the countries of the East. In the Western, 
 its reputation is almost lost. 
 
 The Ancients used to strew saffron over the floors 
 of their theatres and halls of entertainment, and they 
 were also accustomed to flavour their wine with it. It 
 is still very much used in the culinary art in the East, 
 as indeed it also is, to some extent, with us. Its colour 
 is yellow, and its flavour not unpleasant. 
 
 It was employed also at weddings, in connection with 
 which, Sir John Chardin gives the following account: 
 "They sprinkled them upon those who were glad in white; 
 but gave them into the hands of those who wore coloured 
 raiment, because their garments would have been spoiled 
 by throwing it over them, which was done in the following 
 manner: They threw over the body a bottle of rose-water, 
 tinted with saffron, in such a manner that the clothes 
 would have been stained with it. I was thus perfumed 
 with saffron in many great houses of this country, and 
 in many other places. This attention and honour is a 
 universal custom among the women who have the means 
 of obtaining this luxury."
 
 BSBTLiS.
 
 257 
 
 BEETLES. 
 
 ''The beetle after his kind" LEVITICUS, xi. 22. 
 
 THIS is the only passage in tho sacred volume in 
 which this word occurs, and it is the opinion of some, 
 that even here it is a species of locust that is spoken of. 
 
 On the other hand, Mr. Molyneux, in the "Philosophical 
 Transactions," referring to the superstitions worship paid 
 as is well known, by the Egyptians to the beetle, says, 
 "it is more than probable that this destructive beetle 
 we are speaking of, was that very kind of scarabaeus, 
 which the idolatrous Egyptians of* old held in such 
 high veneration, as to pay divine worship unto it, and 
 to frequently engrave its image on their obelisks, as we 
 see at this day. For nothing can be supposed more 
 natural than to imagine a nation addicted to polytheism, 
 as the Egyptians were, in a country frequently suffering 
 great mischief and scarcity from swarms of devouring 
 insects, should, from a strange sense and fear of evil 
 to come, (the common principle of superstition and 
 idolatry,) give sacred worship to the visible authors of 
 these, their sufferings, in hopes to render them more 
 propitious for the future. Thus, it is allowed on all 
 hand'*, that the same people adored as Gods, the ravenous 
 crocodiles of the Nile; and thus the Romans, though 
 more polite and civilized in their idolatry, used to tear 
 fever, with a view to its being less hurtful to them, and 
 to worship it in their various temples." 
 
 While, however, we avoid the absurd veneration of 
 the Egyptians, let us not run into the other extreme, 
 
 2 K
 
 "258 BEETLES. 
 
 and treat this poor insect with any unnecessary cruelty- 
 A humane person will always avoid any needless 
 destruction, even of so humble a creature as a common 
 beetle; for, although the words of Shakspeare may not 
 be quite true, that "The poor beetle that we tread 
 upon, in corporal sufferance, feels a pang as great as 
 when a giant dies;" yet, doubtless, they have some degree 
 of feeling; and inasmuch as we do not know how much, 
 we shall do well to avoid the possibility of doing what 
 in such a case is certainly a sin, and must be displeasing 
 to God. 
 
 The number of the species of beetles is very vast: 
 there are several thousands of different kinds even in 
 our own country, and, of course, they are but a small 
 proportion of the whole. New species too are being 
 continually discovered, so that it need not be doubted 
 but that many more are at present unknown. Some 
 are very large, as much as three or four inches long, 
 and others again, exceedingly minute, so that they can 
 hardly be discovered by the naked eye; some are like- 
 wise of the most extraordinary and singular shapes; some 
 of beautiful colours, and exceedingly elegant; and others 
 of as unpleasing an appearance. Their habits too are as 
 diversified as their numbers: some feed on vegetable, 
 and others on animal food; some are long-lived in 
 comparison with others which are less so; some are 
 noxious and hurtful; others are perfectly harmless and 
 innocuous; some are useful to man in the composition 
 of colours and of medicines; and others are not known 
 to be of any use; which does not, however, by any 
 meiins prove but that they might be so if our knowledge 
 was more extensive.
 
 BAY TREE.
 
 259 
 
 BAY TREE. 
 
 "I have seen the wicked in great poiver, and spreading himself like 
 
 a green Lay tree. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not: yea, 
 
 I sought him, bat he could not be found." PSALM, xxxvii. 35, 36. 
 
 THE bay tree is only mentioned in the above passage; 
 and some think that the laurel is intended, and others, 
 again, that the original word may merely mean a 'native 
 tree,' that is, a tree which has not been transplanted, 
 but which continues to grow in the same place in which 
 it had first been planted, or had sprung up. 
 
 A similar metaphor to that of the verse before us, is 
 made use of by Shakspeare, in setting forth the uncer- 
 tainty of the continuance of any human happiness, and 
 the certain end of all worldly ambition 
 
 " Such is the state of man! 
 
 To-day he puts forth tender leaves of hope; 
 To-morrow blossoms, 
 
 And bears his blushing honours thick upon him; 
 The third day conies a frost a killing frost, 
 And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely 
 His greatness is a ripening, nips his root, 
 And then he falls, never to hope again." 
 
 The bay tree is a common and well-known species: 
 its being an evergreen must always render it valuable 
 to us as a garden shrub. The green bay tree is not 
 very common in Judea, though it is to be found in the 
 ancient gardens of Tyre and Sidon. The rose bay, or 
 oleander, is very abundant in that part of the world, 
 and its numberless red blossoms form a beautiful contrast
 
 260 BAY TREE. 
 
 to the arid and sterile rocks among which they are 
 produced. 
 
 It has been thought that it is to this tree that David 
 refers in Psalm, i. 3, when, in speaking of the righteous 
 man, he says, "And he shall be like a tree planted by 
 the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his 
 season; his leaf also shall not wither." 
 
 The leaves of the bay tree have a peculiar and agree- 
 able flavour, and are, therefore, often used in the culinary 
 art. How wonderful are the properties of various plants- 
 nothing in nature is more astonishing, arid the mystery is 
 also as great to understand how these properties could in 
 very many cases have been first discovered by man: 
 the same remarks apply to various minerals. It is not 
 by any means too much to attribute the acquirement of 
 knowledge by man in these respects to the immediate 
 gift of God, for certain it is that in no other way can 
 we now account for many of the applications of plants 
 and minerals to medicine and to science. The origin of 
 their discovery is lost in obscurity as well as in distance. 
 How inconceivable would it seem, did we not, by expe- 
 rience, know the fact, that a minute atom of powder, 
 produced from a plant or an earth, would act as a deadly 
 poison, and be destructive of the life of the strongest 
 man or animal. How nutritious, on the other hand, are 
 numberless vegetables; how useful many minerals. Nay, 
 in all probability every plant and every mineral has some 
 peculiar property of its own, which, if its use were 
 known, would prove, not only as it is at present, 
 indirectly, but directly beneficial to man.
 
 
 g^
 
 BIRD'S NEST. 
 
 "Atid Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes, and link of tfe 
 
 air have nests; but tJie Son of man hath not ichere 
 
 to lay his head."--ST. LUKE, ix. 08. 
 
 THERE is probably no one who has not seen a bird's 
 nest, and most persons have seen numbers: much descrip- 
 tion therefore is unnecessary, and in fact, to describe 
 one, might by no means, be a sufficient description of 
 another, for they are almost as various as the birds 
 themselves which make them; and some are as different 
 from others as almost any two things that can be ima- 
 gined, in form, material, and manner of construction. 
 
 The following lines will accordingly be appropriate to 
 the subject before us: 
 
 "It wins my admiration, 
 To view the structure of that little work 
 A bird's nest. Mark it well within, without; 
 Xo tool had he who wrought; no knife to cut; 
 No nail to fix; no bodkin to insert; 
 No glue to join: his little beak was all. 
 And yet how neatly finished! What nice hand, 
 With every implement and means of art, 
 And twenty years apprenticeship to boot, 
 Could make me such another? Fondly, then, 
 We boast of excellence, whose noblest skill 
 Instinctive genius shames." 
 
 And again, 
 
 "Some to the holly hedge 
 Nestling repair; and to the thicket some:
 
 202 BIRD'S NEST. 
 
 Some to the rude protection of the thorn 
 
 Commit their feeble offspring: the cleft tree 
 
 Offers its kind concealment to a few; 
 
 Their food its insects, and its moss their nests 
 
 Others apart, far in the grassy dale, 
 
 Or rough 'ning waste, their humble texture weave j 
 
 But most in woodland solitudes delight; 
 
 In unfrequented glooms or shaggy banks, 
 
 Steep and divided by a babbling brook." 
 
 The variety of birds' nests is, as before remarked, 
 very great. Some birds build theirs on the ground, others 
 in rocks, others in trees, and others against the walls of 
 houses. Some in holes in banks, and others again sus- 
 pend them from the branches of trees. Some birds 
 make use of the old or deserted nests of others, while 
 some display the greatest ingenuity and perseverance 
 in the construction of their own. The chaffinch makes 
 a singularly beautiful nest, and the long-tailed titmouse 
 and the penduline titmouse are also eminent for the 
 wonderful fabrics which they respectively compact. 
 
 The Chinese make use of one kind of bird's nest as 
 a material in making a soup, and consider it a great 
 delicacy; but the idea seems a strange one to our notions. 
 It is, however, foolish to judge or condemn other nations 
 or persons for habits or customs at variance with those 
 to which we have ourselves been accustomed. Doubtless 
 many of ours must seem quite as strange to them.
 
 
 MULBBKEY.
 
 263 
 
 MULBERRY. 
 
 "And the Philistines came up yet ayain, and spread themselves in 
 the valley of liephaim. And when David inquired of the Lord, He 
 said, Thou sluilt iwt go up; but fdch a cor, pass lehind them, and 
 come upon them over against the, mulberry trees. And let it be, when 
 tliou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, 
 that then thou shalt bestir thyself" 2 SAMUEL, v. 22, 23, 24. 
 
 THE mulberry tree is not uncommon in this country, 
 and is an ornamental one, bearing a quantity of leaves, 
 and a small fruit, which, when ripe, is of a red colour, 
 and is much liked by some persons, though others 
 consider it very insipid. 
 
 Some suppose that by the word here translated 
 'mulberry tree,' a species of pear is intended, while 
 another opinion is, that it is a large shrub still called 
 baca by the Arabs that is meant, which produces fruit 
 of an acrid taste, and would appear to have given its 
 name to the valley so called, and of which we have 
 mention in the Psalms. 
 
 There are two kinds of mulberry the white and the 
 purple. The white is by no means equal to the purple 
 as a fruit, but the tree which produces it is much the 
 handsomer of the two. It is, however, for the most 
 part, prevented from attaining its proper size and shape 
 in those countries where it flourishes, by being continually 
 lopped and pruned, for the purpose of making it produce 
 more leaves for the sustenance of the caterpillars of the 
 silkworm moth, which, as is so well known, feed on 
 them.
 
 264 MULBERRY. 
 
 In many parts of Palestine, mulberry trees are planted 
 in groves, with this object in view, and some of these 
 groves are described as being very pretty. On the 
 mountain sides they are planted in terraces, but in the 
 plains in rows, and their tops are lopped every year. 
 They flourish best in the neighbourhood of the coast. 
 
 The cultivation of the mulberry tree is the chief 
 employment of the inhabitants of those countries. In 
 Mount Lebanon almost every head of a family is a 
 small proprietor of land, and they generally arrange with 
 other persons to take care of the silkworms, and reel 
 the silk off the cocoons, namely, the outside cases which 
 enclose the chrysalides, and give them one-fourth of the 
 silk for their trouble. They also have to provide the 
 sheds in which these cocoons are kept. There is not 
 much to be feared from rain in the silkworm season, 
 and therefore they are made open on the top, and only 
 enclosed on the sides, and a covering can be easily thrown 
 over them if necessary. 
 
 The mulberry tree is of very slow growth, and at the 
 same time very long-lived, which is probably the case 
 with all slow-growing trees. It is said that King James 
 the First, of England, tried to introduce the white mul- 
 berry tree into this country, with a view to the production 
 of silk as a national article of trade, but he did not 
 succeed in the endeavour to bring it to perfection. 
 
 The juice of the purple mulberry is mixed, in Judea, 
 with water and sweet violets, and makes a very pleasant 
 drink. The bark of the tree was also formerly used 
 as a medicine.
 
 i' E A H L OYSTER.
 
 265 
 
 PEARL OYSTER. 
 
 "No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls ; for the price 
 of wisdom is above rubies." JOB ; xxviii. 18. 
 
 IN the New Testament the word 'pearl' occurs several 
 times, but iu the Old Testament only once, namely, in 
 the passage before us, and which we may call our 
 text. 
 
 The pearl is produced within the shell of the oyster, 
 and is not peculiar to any one species, or to those of 
 any particular place, but may be found in all. It is, 
 however, but very seldom that any are found in this part 
 of the world. They are mostly procured in the Persian 
 Gulf, where a regular fishery for them is carried on by 
 the natives of the adjoining country, who are trained to 
 the work of diving. It is, however, as may readily be 
 supposed, very prejudicial to the health to remain so 
 long under the water without taking breath, as the 
 pursuit obliges them to do; and it is said that these 
 poor people seldom sustain the employment more than 
 five or six years, even if they have in the mean time 
 escaped the perils to which they are continually exposed 
 of being devoured by the sharks, dashed against the 
 rocks, or drowned by accident. 
 
 Pearls are sometimes found not only in oysters, but 
 also in muscles, and they seem to be the result of 
 some disease of the shell, but it is not at all known 
 to what immediate cause they owe their formation. That 
 species which has more particularly obtained the name 
 of the pearl oyster, from its being more especiallv 
 
 2 L
 
 266 PEARL OYSTER. 
 
 productive of these excrescences, is of a large size, has 
 a strong whitish shell, rough on the outside, and smooth 
 within, and of a silvery colour. Oysters grow in what 
 are called beds, at the bottom of the sea, generally in 
 bays. They are for the most part procured by dredging, 
 that is, by dragging a small heavy net, of a suitable 
 construction, after a ship or boat. British oysters were 
 famous in the latter times of the Romans, when they 
 had become so luxurious that the whole world had to 
 be searched to provide for their entertainments. 
 
 There is a bird called the oyster-catcher, which is 
 not uncommon on some parts of the British coast, and 
 which has derived its name from its habit of opening 
 oysters, limpets, muscles, cockles, and other shell-fish, 
 with its long bill, by which means it procures its food. 
 It is also called the sea-pie, and is a very handsome 
 bird, the head, neck, and upper part of the body, being 
 black, the lower part white, and the sides black and 
 white; the tail black at the tip, and white at the base; 
 the bill bright orange-colour, and the legs also orange- 
 colour, but not so bright. The male bird measures 
 seventeen inches in length, and weighs about a pound. 
 
 How little would the bird regard the finest pearl that 
 it might find in an oyster! no more than the cock we 
 read of in ^Esop's fables did the beautiful diamond it 
 found upon the dunghill. How foolish to put a great 
 value upon such ornaments, merely because they are 
 somewhat rare, and especially, when one considers the 
 injury that accrues to human life in procuring them.
 
 267 
 
 RUE. 
 
 -toe. V'lio you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and ad 
 manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God : 
 tlicse oifjht ye to have done, and not to leave the other 
 undone." ST. LUKE, xi. 42, 
 
 Tins is ihe only passage in the Holy volume in which 
 this word occurs. 
 
 Rue is a small plant or shrub, common in gardens. 
 It has a strong, unpleasant smell, and its taste is sharp 
 and bitter. It grows wild on Carmel and Tabor, 
 and other mountains of Palestine, and was known so 
 long ago as the time of Hippocrates as a medicine. It 
 is indeed still retained in the pharmacopoeia by the 
 faculty^ 
 
 This plant has several peculiar properties its flavour 
 has already been spoken of the dust on the anthers of the 
 flowers, called pollen by botanists, if the eye be touched 
 with it by accident, produces inflammation; the fresh 
 leaves will, if applied to the skin, produce a blister; and 
 sometimes the mere handling of the plant in a careless 
 manner will have that effect, and an injudicious use of 
 the plant itself has been known to have been attended 
 with the most dangerous results. It is valued in country 
 villages as a tonic, and may still be seen growing in 
 cottage gardens, where its green leaves and yellow 
 flowers are ornamental. It used to be called by old 
 herbalists, the 'herb of grace.' 
 
 Pliny had a strange notion that the rue throve best 
 if planted under a fig tree, and he observes, "Certe^
 
 268 HUE. 
 
 we find that in old time rue was in some great account, 
 and especial reckoning above other herbs." 
 
 With regard to the Pharisees having paid tithe of rue, 
 as mentioned in the verse quoted at the head of this 
 article, it has been observed by Rosenmtlller that it is 
 to be inferred from its mention by our Saviour, that at 
 that time it had become an object of culture, not having 
 been so originally, but though used for culinary pur- 
 poses, not having been a garden herb. It was therefore 
 declared free from tithe; the Talmudical law being, that 
 "everything eatable, and which is taken care of, culti- 
 vated and nursed in gardens, or in ploughed fields, and 
 which has its growth in the earth, is subject to tithes;" 
 but, though the rue was thus exempt, yet the Pharisees 
 in their over scrupulousness made it tithable. In this, 
 as our Lord told them, there was nothing wrong, but 
 their sin consisted in neglecting "the weightier matters 
 of the law judgment, mercy, and faith." "These," 
 said He, "ought ye to have done, and not to leave the 
 other undone." 
 
 On account of its strong scent, rue was formerly 
 valued, as being thought to be useful in the dispelling 
 of infection, and it is indeed still used for the same 
 purpose, being strewed about the floors, in the same 
 way that other disinfectants are.
 
 269 
 
 THE LOCUST. 
 
 "And the Lord said unto Moses, stretch out thine hand over the 
 land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land 
 of E'jypt, and eat every Jierb of tfie land, even all that the hail hath 
 left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over flie land of Egypt, and 
 the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all 
 that niglit; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the 
 locusts." EXODUS, x. 12, 13. 
 
 LOCUSTS belong to the general tribe of insects, to 
 which the various common species of grasshopper also 
 belong. There are a great number of kinds, both of 
 the former and the latter, and they vary very much 
 both in size and colour. 
 
 The different sorts of locusts are chiefly remarkable 
 for the vast and almost incredible numbers in which 
 they sometimes appear in those eastern countries which 
 are exposed to their ravages. The Hebrew name for 
 this insect is probably derived from a word which means 
 to multiply to become numerous; and this is referred 
 to in Psalm, cv. 34, Jeremiah, xlvi. 23, and li. 14, Joel, 
 i. 6, and various other passages. 
 
 The common brown locust is about three inches in 
 length, has two antennae or horns, as they are popularly 
 but erroneously called, about an inch long, and large 
 wings, protected, when they are closed, by strong elytra 
 or wing covers. The head is brown, as are also the 
 antenna?; the mouth of a bluish hue; the upper side of 
 the body and the wing cases, brown, the former spotted 
 with black, and the latter with dusky spots; the wings
 
 270 THE LOCUST. 
 
 are nearly transparent, and of a light brown, tinged with 
 green. 
 
 Some locusts, of one sort, have occasionally been met 
 with in England, driven over, apparently, by the long 
 continued prevalence of easterly winds; but these visits 
 are unfrequent, their numbers but very limited when 
 they do come, and they may, on the whole, be considered 
 rare. 
 
 In foreign countries, when the locusts take the field, 
 they are said to follow a leader, whose motions they 
 instinctively obey. They often migrate from their native 
 country, in quest, as is supposed, of a better supply of 
 food; and when this is the case, they assemble in such 
 countless numbers as literally to darken the air. These 
 flights are very frequent in Barbary, a country on the 
 north coast of Africa, and they generally occur the latter 
 end of March, or the beginning of April. Wherever they 
 settle, they devour all before them, consuming every 
 green thing that the earth produces, and they are alto- 
 gether so destructive, that the effects of their ravages 
 continue for several seasons. 
 
 Some species of locust are more prejudicial than 
 others, but all are exceedingly destructive. Bochart 
 enumerates ten different kinds, which he thinks are all 
 mentioned in the Holy Scripture. 
 
 One writer thus speaks of these insect plagues: "The 
 Tartars themselves are a less destructive enemy than these 
 little animals. One would imagine that fire had followed 
 their progress. Wherever these myriads spread, the ver- 
 dure of the country disappears; trees and plants stripped 
 of their leaves, and reduced to their naked boughs and 
 stems, cause the dreary image of winter to succeed in 
 an instant to the rich scenery of the spring."
 
 GRAJ E3.
 
 271 
 
 GRAPES. 
 
 "And they came unto tJie brook of Eshcol, and cut doion from thfnce 
 
 a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two 
 
 upon a staff; and tJiey brouyht of the pomegranates, and of 
 
 the figs." X UMBERS, xiii. 23. 
 
 THE grape is otherwise called in Holy Writ the 'fruit 
 of the vine, and it is produced in perfection in that 
 land to which the verse before us refers. Abundance 
 of writers have satisfactorily narrated the great size to 
 which grapes grow in those regions; and Doubdan informs 
 us that in the valley of Eshcol, clusters of grapes were 
 to be found weighing as much as ten or twelve pounds 
 each. 
 
 It may, however, be observed, that in the account 
 given of the bunch of grapes spoken of as being brought 
 from thence to the camp of Israel, at Kadesh-barnea, 
 between two men on a staff, it is not said that it was 
 on account of its great weight or size that it was so borne ; 
 but, though doubtless, the fruit was unusually large, it 
 may have been in order to carry it safely and well, and 
 without being bruised, so that it might be produced as a 
 fair specimen of the effect of the fertility of the soil. 
 
 In the book of the Prophet Jeremiah, xxxi. 29, we 
 read of the Jews complaining against God, that "the 
 fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth 
 are set on edge," which would seem to be a carrying 
 out of the threatening of God, as declared in His second 
 commandment, that he would "visit the iniquities of the 
 lathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth
 
 272 GRAPES. 
 
 generation of them that hate Him;" but it must be 
 observed, as pointed out by Bishop Blaney, that "in 
 those future times, of which the Prophet was speaking, 
 no regard of any kind should be had to the sins of 
 others, but that every man should bear his own 
 burden, and suifer simply and solely for his own trans- 
 gressions." So in Ezekiel, xviii. 2, 3, we read, "What 
 mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land 
 of Israel, saying, the fathers have eaten sour grapes, 
 and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, 
 saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more 
 to use this proverb in Israel ;" on which passage 
 Archbishop Newcombe observes, "The Chaldee explains 
 the proverb rightly 'The fathers have sinned, and the 
 sons are smitten.' In the second commandment, it is 
 expressly declared that the children should be punished 
 in this life for the idolatry of their fathers. Idolatry 
 was high treason while the theocracy subsisted, and 
 was to be restrained by the severest sanctions, under 
 a dispensation appointed for these among other purposes, 
 to preserve the Israelites from the general taint of 
 idolatry, and to maintain and propagate the knowledge 
 of the one God."
 
 273 
 
 THE PORCUPINE. 
 
 "The bittern shall lodge in ilie tipper lintels of it." 
 ZEPHAXIAU, ii. 14. 
 
 THE common, or crested porcupine, called in 
 Shakspeare the 'porpentine,' as the hedgehog, which 
 somewhat resembles it is still in some parts of England 
 called a porpin, is a native of the southern parts of 
 Italy, Spain, Sicily, and Barhary, in Africa, as also at the 
 Cape of Good Hope, and other countries. In the latter- 
 named place, the flesh of it is eaten by the inhabitants; 
 and it used to be sold in the markets of Rome. 
 
 The length of this animal is about two feet, and some 
 of the longest of its spines or quills are even more than 
 a foot long. They are used for making handles for 
 camel-hair brushes for drawing with, also for floats for 
 fishing with ; their variegated colours of black and white 
 giving them a very ornamental appearance. 
 
 The general colour of the porcupine is a grizzled 
 dusky black, the result of an intermixture of different 
 shades of black, brown, and white. On the crown of 
 the head is a sort of crest, which is capable of being 
 raised or depressed at pleasure, and in like manner, when 
 the creature is enraged or frightened, it sets up its quills, 
 which gives it a very strange and formidable appearance. 
 What a variety of methods, and many of them most 
 curious and extraordinary, has God provided the crea- 
 tures He has made with, to use for their self- protection. 
 In allusion to this, we read in Shakspeare 
 
 2 M
 
 274 
 
 THE PORCUPINE. 
 
 "I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word 
 Would make thy knotting and combined locks to part, 
 And each particular hair to stand on end, 
 Like quills upon the fretM porcupine." 
 
 It was thought in former times that these quills were 
 darted by the porcupine at its assailants, but there is 
 no real truth in the story, though it is probable that it 
 may have had its origin in the fact of the quills, which 
 are not affixed very tightly, having occasionally fallen, or 
 been forced out in an encounter, and in that case having 
 possibly stuck in its adversary. 
 
 Even now, the use of this armature does not appear 
 to be well understood: the most probable supposition, 
 however, is, that it is merely for defence, as, like the 
 hedgehog, it has the power of rolling itself up in a ball, 
 and thus presenting a phalanx of spears on every side, 
 that renders the attack of most animals fruitless. 
 
 The porcupine feeds principally on roots, fruits, and 
 other vegetable substances: it inhabits holes or subter- 
 raneous retreats, which it is said to form into several 
 compartments or divisions, leaving only a single hole or 
 entrance. It seldom leaves its burrow during the day, 
 but makes its excursions for food by night. It is a 
 solitary animal, and becomes torpid during winter.
 
 
 1 
 
 T I E L TREK.
 
 275 
 
 TEIL TREE. 
 
 "But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be 
 
 eaten; a# a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them 
 
 when- they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the 
 
 substance thereof." ISAIAH, vi. 13. 
 
 BY the teil tree in our translation, is intended the 
 lime or linden tree, but the word should properly be 
 translated the turpentine tree, which is another name for 
 the terebinth tree, already briefly referred to in a previous 
 article. It produces the celebrated Cyprus turpentine, 
 which is very pure and transparent, and yields a perfume 
 resembling that of citron. The drug is procured by- 
 making incisions in the bark of the tree in the month 
 of July, and stones are placed beneath, on which the 
 balsam drops as it exudes, and hardening during the 
 night, it is then able to be removed at sunrise in the 
 morning. 
 
 Robinson, in his ''Researches," vol. iii. page 15, gives 
 the following descriptive account of a fine specimen of 
 the terebinth or turpentine tree: "the largest we saw 
 any where in Palestine, spreading its boughs far and 
 wide like a noble oak. This species is, without doubt, 
 the terebinth .of the Old Testament; and under the shade 
 of such a tree, Abraham might well have pitched his 
 tent at Mamre. It is not an evergreen, as is often 
 represented, but its small, feathered, lancet-shaped leaves 
 fall in the autumn, and are renewed in the spring. The 
 flowers are small, and followed by small oval berries,
 
 276 TEIL TREE. 
 
 hanging in clusters from two to five inches long, 
 resembling much the clusters of the vine when grapes 
 are just set. From incisions in the trunk there is said 
 to flow a sort of transparent balsam, constituting a very 
 pure and fine species of turpentine, with an agreeable 
 odour and a mild taste, and which hardens gradually into a 
 transparent gum. This is usually adulterated, and is now 
 seldom found in the shops. In Palestine nothing seems 
 to be known of this product of the turpentine tree." 
 
 It is the opinion of a learned writer, that where the 
 oil tree is spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, (xli. 19,) 
 some species of pine is intended. The word in the 
 original means a resinous or unctuous tree, and he 
 therefore supposes that, as this designation best applies 
 to pines and firs, as they produce resin, pitch, tar, and 
 other unctuous substances, some such must be meant. 
 Pitch is mentioned in the book of Genesis, in the account 
 of the building of the ark, and also in the description 
 of the ark of bulrushes in which Moses was laid. Resin 
 and pitch are both mentioned in the s'ong of the Three 
 Holy Children; and pitch in the history of Bel and the 
 Dragon. Thus it appears that in the earliest times the 
 pine tree must not only have been known, but its products 
 made use of.
 
 WJi 
 
 > s 
 
 ' v<; 
 
 '"\ ^a 
 S ^ ' Ri^ 
 
 , A v% J S -V.- 
 
 ^
 
 277 
 
 THE BEAR. 
 
 "And Jie went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was goiij up by 
 the way, there came forth, little children out of the city, and mocktd 
 him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou laid 
 head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in 
 the name of the Lord. And tlwre came forth two she bears out of the 
 wood, and tare forty and two children of tliem." 2 KINGS, ii. 23, 2-i. 
 
 THERE are several different species of bear the polar 
 bear, which of course cannot be the kind spoken of in 
 the Holy Scriptures, as the scenes of its narratives are 
 the hot countries of the central part of the globe; the 
 labiated bear, a native of Hindostan, which is common 
 in Bengal, on the mountains of Silhet and in the ghaUts 
 of the Deccan, and resides in caverns, caves, or holes 
 which it digs; and the brown bear, which inhabits 
 various parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. 
 
 This species formerly used to inhabit Great Britain; 
 and Plutarch says that they were exported from hence 
 to Rome. 
 
 The length of the brown bear is about four feet, and 
 its height about two feet and a half. Its hair, or rather 
 fur, is long, rough, and shaggy; on each foot it has five 
 claws, which are well adapted for climbing and burrowing, 
 being much curved, and very strong; the tail is very 
 short, and hardly visible, being almost hidden by the 
 long fur of the animal. 
 
 Sometimes this species becomes of a silver}-- white 
 colour, and occasionally black. It not unfrequently 
 attains a very great size. Mr. Lloyd killed one which
 
 278 THE BEAR. 
 
 weighed four hundred and sixty pounds, and as it was 
 in the winter, when these animals are much leaner than 
 in summer, it is considered that it was probably not so 
 heavy by fifty or sixty pounds as it would otherwise 
 have been. The same gentleman was assured by a 
 keeper that he had killed one which was much larger, 
 the fat alone of which weighed one hundred pounds; 
 and Professor Nillson speaks of another which was so 
 bulky, that \vhen killed and slung upon a pole, ten 
 men could only with difficulty carry for even a short 
 distance; and he believed it to have been of the weight 
 of seven hundred and fifty pounds. After it had been 
 fired at several times, and wounded in various places, 
 it dashed at the ring of people who surrounded it, and 
 wounded seven of them one after another; one of them 
 in no less than thirty seven different places. 
 
 A single bear is said to be a match for a dozen 
 wolves. One of Mr. Lloyd's native guides informed him 
 that on one occasion when they were chasing a bear, 
 the dog got out of their sight in pursuit of it, and that 
 on their proceeding farther on, they found that the dog 
 had been killed by a troop of five wolves, as they knew 
 by the tracks; and on subsequently overtaking the bear, 
 which they killed, they then found that his .skin was ren- 
 dered useless by the manner in which it had been torn by 
 the same drove, which he had, however, succeeded in 
 repelling. In this case the bear was victorious, but 
 another Swede mentioned two instances in which bears 
 had been killed by wolves, in one instance the number 
 of the latter being seven, and in the other eleven.
 
 
 EALM.
 
 279 
 
 BALM. 
 
 "A ad their father Israel said unto them, if it must lie so now, do this; 
 
 take <>f the best fruits in the land in your vessels, aud carry doivn 
 
 the man a present, a little bairn, and a little honey, spices 
 
 'and myrrh, nuts and almonds." GEXESIS, xliii. 11. 
 
 BALM, or balsam, is with ns a common name for 
 several of those oily resinous substances, which either 
 flow spontaneously from certain species of trees, or are 
 procured by making incisions in them. The word seems 
 to be used in much the same way in the sacred Scrip- 
 tures, though some suppose that the balm here as 
 well as elsewhere, spoken of, whether called by that 
 name or any other, is the resin drawn from the 
 terebinth tree. 
 
 The balm of Gilead was particularly famous for its 
 costliness, its virtues in the medicinal art, and for its 
 being the product of the land of Judea, and of only a 
 particular spot even there, which Josephus, the Jewish 
 historian, assigns to the neighbourhood of Jericho. He 
 further relates that, according to tradition, the tree was 
 originally brought from Arabia, by the Queen of Sheba, 
 when she came on her visit to Solomon. 
 
 The balm of Gilead spoken of, Jeremiah, viii. 22, "Is 
 there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? 
 why then is not the health of the daughter of my people 
 recovered?" is thought, as also in other passages where 
 the word occurs, to represent our Blessed Saviour, the 
 all-healing virtue of whose atonement is shadowed by 
 the efficacy supposed to be afforded by this plant.
 
 280 BALM. 
 
 In the little volume already referred to "The Plants 
 and Trees of Scripture," it is said, "The Arabs have a 
 tradition that Cleopatra introduced the balsam tree into 
 Egypt, and planted it in the ancient garden of Heliopolis, 
 now called Mataria; a garden which was expatiated upon 
 very largely by an old Arab, as well as by Christian 
 travellers. The ancient writers attached great value to 
 the balm of this orchard or garden, and were very 
 anxious to have a small quantity of it to place in the 
 water used at baptisms. The balm of Mataria was also 
 used at the coronations of sovereigns, throughout Europe. 
 Lord Lindsay quotes a passage from Sir John Mandeville's 
 account of the trees of this 'field of balsams/ which he 
 asserts 'would not bear fruit any where else, nor even 
 there, unless under the culture of Christians.' The 
 garden was, in those days, said to be quite perfumed 
 by the balsam trees, but their gradual diminution in 
 number is recorded, 'whether through carelessness of 
 the gardener, through fraud or envy of the Jews, or 
 through religion or piety being offended, no one can 
 tell.' In our less superstitious days, the first reason 
 will seem sufficient. Certain it is, that after many 
 decreases, one solitary balm tree alone remained, and 
 this perished in 1615, in consequence of an inundation 
 of the Nile."
 
 281 
 THE SEA EAGLE. 
 
 "The ossifrage" DEUTERONOMY, xiv. 12. 
 
 THIS bird, spoken of as unclean in the above passage, 
 is by some taken to be a vulture, and by others the 
 great sea eagle. The Hebrew word signifies 'the bone- 
 breaker.' 
 
 The erne, or sea eagle, seems to be a compound of 
 the characteristics of the vultures, the eagles, the hawks, 
 the predatory gulls, and the raven. It is a bird of 
 imposing aspect, though less striking and handsome than 
 the golden eagle, and not so compact; when excited it 
 throws its head backwards, sets up the pointed feathers 
 of its head and neck, and assumes many elegant and 
 graceful attitudes. Its proper habitat is near the sea 
 shore, or fresh water lakes surrounded by precipitous 
 mountains; it is not, however, confined exclusively to 
 coast localities, for it sometimes has been met with 
 inland in one instance as much as forty miles from 
 the sea; and it occasionally also resorts to the sides of 
 streams, in quest of salmon, trout, and other fish. 
 
 This species is of very frequent occurrence in many 
 parts of the old world, and is in this country far more 
 numerous than the golden eagle. It is the most abun- 
 dant in the northern parts of Ireland and Scotland, and 
 in the Orkney and Shetland islands, but has also been 
 repeatedly met with in England. 
 
 lu flight, the feet are drawn close up, and the neck 
 doubled back, so that the head appears, as it were, to 
 grow from the shoulders. In this attitude, it beats its 
 
 2 v
 
 282 THE SEA EAGLE. 
 
 hunting grounds, the cliffs, or mountain sides, the open 
 moors, or the shores of the ocean or lake, sailing with 
 a gentle and hardly perceptible motion of its wings, like 
 the buzzard; or, if flying off in a straight line to a distance, 
 with regular flappings like a raven. 
 
 The sea eagle preys on various aquatic birds, 
 such as gulls, puffins, and guillemots; occasionally on 
 fawns, young roebucks, and even, though very rarely, 
 on full-grown deer; as well as on sheep and other 
 smaller animals, as lambs, dogs, and cats, as also on 
 straggling domestic poultry; and in default of these, 
 will readily feed on carrion of any kind. 
 
 In the Hebrides, the great damage done by, and 
 therefore feared from Eagles of this species, makes the 
 people interested in their destruction. Various ingenious 
 and yet simple modes of trapping and destroying them 
 have been devised; some requiring great patience, but 
 all at times successful in the end. Sometimes the farmer 
 builds a temporary hut, in which he lies hid within sight 
 of the carcase of some animal, which he has placed at 
 once both within shot, and within view, and after a 
 greater or less exercise of patience, is rewarded by the 
 approach of the eagle, attracted to its quarry, either by- 
 its own immediate perceptions, or from its following 
 other birds attracted to it by the exercise of theirs.
 
 283 
 
 BEAN. 
 
 f( Barzillai the Gileadite of Bogelim, brought beds, and basons, and 
 
 earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched 
 
 corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse" 
 
 2 SAMUEL, xvii. 27, 28. 
 
 THIS is a well-known garden plant, and its use as 
 such seems to have been known from the earliest times, 
 and in the most remote parts of the world in China 
 and Japan, and in the north of Africa. It is said to 
 be indigenous in Persia, but this by some is thought 
 doubtful. It was used as a common article of food by 
 the Jews and Egyptians, as also by the ancient Greeks 
 and Romans. The Romans also fed their horses and 
 other animals upon beans; and it was probably for the 
 sake of provender that they introduced the bean into 
 England. 
 
 On the other hand there was some prejudice enter- 
 tained by the ancients to the bean, but the nature of 
 the ground of it is unknown to the moderns. 
 
 Nothing can possibly be more sweet than the smell 
 of a field of beans, as almost every one must have 
 noticed in passing one. The fields on the shores of the 
 Nile are fragrant with the scent of the beans grown in 
 them; and in the morning the bean-sellers may be seen, 
 says Burckhardt, in the streets, vending the boiled beans, 
 which are a favourite food with the Egyptians and Arabs, 
 for their breakfast, eaten with olive, or stewed with 
 garlic. In Syria also the bean is cultivated, and the
 
 284 BEAN. 
 
 stalks cut down with a scythe, arid bruised, are given 
 as provender to the cattle. 
 
 In some parts of England, the haulm, or dry bean- 
 stalk, is used for fuel, and the poor are as commonly 
 allowed to pull the stubs, as they are called, of a bean- 
 field, as they are to glean in corn lands.
 
 285 
 
 THE HORSELEECH. 
 
 "The horseleech hath tico daughters, crying, give, give." 
 PROVERBS, xxx. lo. 
 
 THIS is also a word which occurs but once in the 
 word of God, namely in the verse before us. 
 
 The well-known habit of this creature makes it an apt 
 emblem of insatiable rapacity, and accordingly various 
 writers have used the name to express that bad quality. 
 Thus Plautus makes some avaricious person say "I will 
 turn myself into a horseleech, and suck out their blood;" 
 and Cicero, in one of his letters to Atticus, calls the 
 common people of Rome ''horseleeches of the treasury." 
 
 The learned Dr. Harris gives the following explication 
 of the meaning of the passage quoted above: "Solomon 
 having mentioned those that devoured the property of the 
 poor, as the worst of all the generations which he had 
 specified, proceeds to state the insatiable cupidity with 
 which they prosecuted their schemes of rapine and 
 plunder. As the horseleech had two daughters cruelty 
 and thirst of blood, which cannot be satisfied, so the 
 oppressor of the poor has two dispositions rapacity and 
 avarice, which never say they have enough, but continually 
 demand additional gratifications." He adds, however, 
 that Bochart is of opinion that the translators have 
 been mistaken in their rendering of the word in the 
 original, mistaking it for another of very similar sound, 
 which means a horseleech, the word itself meaning 
 destiny, or the necessity of dying; which, according to 
 the ancient Rabbins, had two daughters Eden, or
 
 286 THE HORSELEECH. 
 
 Paradise, and Hades, or Hell, the former of \vhich calls 
 to the good, and the latter to the bad, to fill it with 
 supplies, and, as he points out, this interpretation seems 
 to be somewhat strengthened by the observation in 
 Proverbs, xxvii. 20, that "Hell and destruction (Hades 
 and the grave) are never satisfied." 
 
 Leeches, as is so well known, are extremely useful 
 to man, being employed by surgeons for bleeding persons, 
 when bleeding in the other way, by incision, would be 
 injurious. Thankful indeed we ought to be for the 
 innumerable instances we receive, every day of our 
 lives, in some way or other, of the merciful goodness 
 of our all-wise Creator. What is. there that we have 
 not received? what is there that we have not freely 
 received? and great as are the proofs of God's goodness 
 that we receive in Providence, yet far greater are those 
 that we experience in grace, and above all in the Gospel 
 of Christ, in which He is revealed to us as the Saviour 
 of all truly penitent sinners.
 
 O A R L I C.
 
 287 
 
 GARLIC. 
 
 "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the 
 cucumbers, and the melons, and the leelcs, and the onions, and the 
 garlic: but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside 
 this manna, before our eyes." NUMBERS, xi. o, 0. 
 
 As this word occurs only in this passage, some doubts 
 have arisen among the learned as to the particular plant 
 intended. The Talmudist writers frequently speak of 
 the common use of this plant among the Jews, and 
 their great fondness for it. It seems to be uncertain 
 whether it grew in Egypt or not, as authorities on each 
 side differ on the point. Hasselquist says that it did 
 not, but Dioscorides asserts that it did, and was much 
 esteemed both as an article of food, and also of 
 worship. Pliny also relates the same, and says that 
 both onions and garlic were reckoned among the Gods 
 of Egypt, and that the people even swore by them. 
 
 "Then Gods were recommended by their taste. 
 Such savoury deities must needs be good, 
 Which served at once for worship and for food." 
 
 Can anything be conceived more debased, more utterly 
 irrational and absurd, as well as wicked! 
 
 Garlic is much used as a component part of the 
 various sauces which are made for the table. It is a 
 very wholesome plant, and made use of by the inhabitants 
 of Kamtschatka, as a remedy against the complaints 
 which the poverty of their food renders them liable to; 
 and they hail the return of the spring, on account
 
 288 GARLIC. 
 
 of the appearance of the young shoots of garlic out 
 of the ground, which the snow had previously kept 
 back. They also use it as an article of food, first 
 steeping it in water, and then mixing it with cabbage and 
 other vegetables, eaten cold. 
 
 It is supposed that the common shalot of our country, 
 which derives its latin specific name from the town 
 of Ascalon, as being brought from thence, is the garlic 
 of Egypt; and a variety of it, which is extensively 
 cultivated in that country, is commonly known by the 
 name of Egyptian garlic. In ancient times this plant 
 was in great request there, and Pliny mentions its having 
 been one of the articles of food on which a large sum of 
 money was expended, to supply provision for the builders 
 of the pyramids. 
 
 According to the Talmud, many dishes in use by the 
 Jews are seasoned with garlic; and it is still much used 
 by them for the same purpose. In the land of Egypt 
 also, in modern times, the same taste prevails, and those 
 who have travelled in that country, relate that it is one 
 of the things most frequently offered to those who are 
 invited to partake of the hospitality of an host. 
 
 How curious is the preservation, by any nation, for 
 so many ages, of the customs of their forefathers.
 
 
 CHAMOIS.
 
 THE CHAMOIS. 
 
 "The cJiamois." DEUTERONOMY, xiv. 5. 
 
 SOME particular species of mountain goat is supposed 
 to be here intended, if it be not the camelopard, already 
 described. 
 
 The goat is a hardy mountaineer, and delights to dwell 
 on the sides of the most rugged mountains, and among 
 craggy rocks. One kind of goat, the Syrian one, has 
 been already described, and the other also found in those 
 countries to which the Bible narrative refers, is the 
 common species so well known in this country in the 
 domesticated state; and on the mountains of Wales even 
 still in its wild state. 
 
 The hair of the goat, of which there are two kinds, 
 the one fine and the other coarse, is found very useful. 
 From the latter a rough kind of cloth is made, of which 
 the Arabs make coverings for their tents; and from the 
 other, shawls are made, and divers articles of dress 
 woven. In the account given of the furniture of the 
 tabernacle of the Israelites, the curtains are described 
 as being made of goat's hair. 
 
 The most curious part of the natural history of the 
 goat, in its wild state, is its extraordinary power of 
 keeping its footing secure on the very extreme points, 
 and most dangerous declivities of the most inaccessible 
 precipices. It is thus enabled to find its food in situa- 
 tions where other animals could not for a moment 
 venture to proceed; and waste is prevented in the 
 economy of nature. 
 
 2 o
 
 290 THE CHAMOIS. 
 
 The skin of the goat was also much made use of in 
 ancient times for making bottles, before glass was 
 invented, and before it came, after the art of making it 
 was discovered, into common use. Glass, however, if 
 not broken, never wears out; but such was not the case 
 with the leathern bottles of those days: after they had 
 been in use for a long time, they used to wear out, 
 and were in danger of cracking; so that the contents 
 would leak out. Thus our Saviour said, in his parable, 
 "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles," for 
 the fermentation of the wine would cause the bottles 
 to burst. The Psalmist, also, in his affliction, likens 
 himself to "a bottle in the smoke," because bottles made 
 of skin, if exposed to the heat of smoke and fire, 
 would soon become dried up and shrivelled, so as to 
 be unfit for use, and all the more liable to crack, and 
 be broken. He elsewhere speaks of the wretched dried- 
 up state that his body was in from the burning fever of 
 his distressed mind. How wonderful is the connection 
 between the mind and the body! who but God alone 
 can know where it begins and where it ends?
 
 RBE.
 
 291 
 
 PALM TREE. 
 
 "And tJiey came to Elim } wliere were twelve wells of water } and three scat<. 
 
 and ten palm trees; and tliey encamped tliere by the waters." 
 
 Exouos, xv. 27. 
 
 THIS is a very common species of tree in the East. 
 It is otherwise known by the name of the date tree, 
 being that from which dates are produced. It is well 
 known by name among us, though not a native of this 
 part of the globe. 
 
 The common palm tree grows high and straight, but 
 has no branches. The trunk does not increase in size 
 from year to year, as is the case with other trees, but 
 only advances in height; and, therefore, in a grove of 
 palm trees they are to be seen of all heights; some ten 
 feet, and others a hundred, but all of one circumference. 
 The wood is useful for fuel, and in fact the tree, when 
 cut down, is described as seeming more like a bundle 
 of straws or splinters closely compacted together, than 
 like timber. 
 
 The palm tree is exceedingly useful to the natives of 
 those countries in which it grows; and they even say 
 that its various parts may be turned to three hundred 
 and sixty different purposes. Among these, we have 
 mentioned, in addition to firewood, baskets, ropes, mats, 
 drinking-bowls, brooms, walking-sticks, cages for poultry, 
 small bridges for canals, and honey made of its sap. 
 
 The top of the palm tree is surmounted by a spreading 
 crown of leaves, each about four feet long. They never 
 fall off, but continue at all seasons in the same verdant
 
 20 2 PALM TREE. 
 
 and flourishing state. 
 
 In a work entitled "Narrative of a Mission of enquiry 
 to the Jews," we read, ''The palms seemed frequently 
 to spring up immediately out of the sand, their root, no 
 doubt, being nourished by unseen moisture. Does the 
 Psalmist refer to this circumstance when he says, 'the 
 righteous shall flourish as the palm tree?' At all events 
 there is reference to its regular, steady growth, year after 
 year, marked by a new circle upon the bark. The 
 beautiful waving of the branches also, when moved by 
 a passing breeze, shewed us how they came to be so 
 frequently used in triumphs; a custom alluded to in 
 Revelations, where the great multitude who have overcome 
 all their enemies, and stand before the throne, are clothed 
 in white robes, and hold palms in their hands." 
 
 As this is expressly declared to be only the blessed 
 lot of those who have "washed their robes, and made 
 them white in the blood of the Lamb," let it be our 
 case to 'put our whole trust in Him;" and at the same 
 time, the very evidence of our doing so, "do all such 
 good works as God hath appointed for us to walk in," 
 to the praise and the glory of His Holy name. Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost.
 
 '< fr P^A-Ss^r 
 
 s A T Y H .
 
 293 
 
 THE SATYR. 
 
 "But wild beads of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be 
 
 full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs 
 
 shall dance there" ISAIAH, xiii. 21. 
 
 IT seems to have .been conclusively established that 
 goats are here intended. The original application of 
 the word satyr, was to some imaginary creature, sup- 
 posed by the ancients to be partly human, and partly 
 beast. No doubt the appearance in the woods of some 
 large species of monkey, ape, or baboon, first gave rise 
 to the supposition, for in many respects some of these 
 animals approach nearly to the human form. 
 
 The chimpanzee appears to hold a higher place in 
 the scale of creation than any other animal, both as 
 regards its bodily conformation, and its intellectual faculties, 
 if so they may be called. This kind is very abundant 
 in some of the western parts of Africa, and is said to 
 be particularly numerous about the neighbourhood of 
 Sierra Leone. They travel in large troops, armed with 
 sticks, which they hold in their hands in the same 
 way that a man would do; they are extremely vigilant, 
 and give immediate notice of the approach of any 
 supposed enemy, by a noise similar to the voice of a 
 human being in distress. 
 
 There are many other kinds of animals of the 
 monkey tribe, some of them beautiful from their colours, 
 but others of as unpleasing a form and appearance. 
 
 In ancient Egypt apes were worshipped, as they are 
 even still in some parts of India and Japan. The
 
 294 THE SATYR. 
 
 benighted people build temples in their honour, and 
 pay them the homage which is so manifestly due to 
 God alone. They also feed them with the best food, 
 and in some places hospitals have been built for those 
 of them that are sick or aged. To kill one of them is 
 thought a very great and grievous sin. The apes seem to 
 presume upon this excess of kind treatment which they 
 receive, and often come in troops to the towns to receive 
 baskets of rue, which the inhabitants then place in their 
 way: not contented either with this, they enter the 
 gardens, and help themselves, without leave, to whatever 
 they find growing there. In other places however, the 
 people are more alive to their own interests, and con- 
 trive to get rid of the intruders by the following expe- 
 dient: They place baskets of rice in the way of the 
 apes, and lay strong sticks by the side of each of them; 
 when the apes come to help themselves to the rice, they 
 soon begin to quarrel for it, and finding the sticks 
 ready to their hands, they seize them, and beat each 
 other with them, until, in the end, they all retreat 
 again to the woods. A quarrelsome disposition will 
 always be found to punish itself.
 
 r 
 
 C 1 N N :\ M ' 1 N
 
 295 
 CINNAMON. 
 
 "Sweet cinnamon" EXODUS, xxx. 23. 
 
 THIS fragrant and well-known drug is produced from 
 a tree, which is a native of Ceylon and the adjoining 
 islands, so rich in spices of various kinds. The tree 
 grows to the height of more than twenty feet. Besides the 
 aromatic oil contained in its bark, its root yields camphor; 
 its inner bark, oil of cinnamon ; the leaves, oil of cloves ; 
 and the fruit, a peculiar etherial oil. The finest cin- 
 namon is said to be obtained from the middle-sized 
 branches, that of the youngest shoots being of inferior 
 quality, and that of the oldest branches of very little 
 value. 
 
 Sweet, however, as is the scent produced from the 
 cinnamon, it is not at all seasons of the year that 
 it is yielded. The leaves of the tree have no smell, 
 nor have the flowers, and it, therefore, is not until the 
 time for gathering in the spice has come, that any 
 pleasantness is derived from this source. Then, how- 
 ever, a walk through the cinnamon gardens is described 
 as being indeed most truly delightful, and the Cingalese, 
 (the proper name by which the inhabitants of the 
 island of Ceylon are described,) may be seen busily 
 engaged in the gardens in peeling the twigs, which are 
 cut annually for the purpose. 
 
 They make use of a sharp iron instrument, with 
 which, in an astonishingly rapid manner, they peel off 
 the bark, which is then laid in the sun to dry, through 
 which means it is curled up by the heat, into the
 
 296 CINNAMON. 
 
 round wafer-biscuit-like appearance in which we see it 
 in the shops, where it is sold. 
 
 Cinnamon is extremely useful in various departments 
 of the culinary art, for giving a fine and delicate 
 flavour to different sweetmeats. How bountiful are 
 the riches of the goodness of God, who, as His own 
 most Holy word itself tells us, thus giveth us, "all 
 things to enjoy."
 
 
 THE CARRIER PIGEON.
 
 297 
 
 THE CARRIER PIGEON. 
 
 "The dove found no rest for tlie sole of her foot, and she returned 
 unto him into the ark." GENESIS, viii. 9. 
 
 THE carrier pigeon has been in ancient times, as well 
 as in modern, employed for the purpose of conveying 
 intelligence from one place to another in a quick 
 manner; a small billet being affixed to its leg or under- 
 neath its wing, on which communications could be 
 written. Its fondness for its home being so universally 
 known, invariably causing it to return thither from the 
 most distant place could not but be suggestive of this 
 ready and quick mode of conveyance, by taking it to a 
 distance from its home, and then letting it loose to fly 
 back to the place from whence it had been brought. 
 All kinds of pigeons, as well, indeed, as other birds 
 and animals have this natural desire, and also, in many 
 instances, the most extraordinary faculty of being able to 
 retrace their way unerringly to their home, though those 
 who have taken them have purposely endeavoured to 
 puzzle them in taking them away. 
 
 The extraordinary rapidity too of the flight of these 
 birds has been always much to be noticed, and yet, in 
 these days we have come to the knowledge of a far 
 more wonderfully speedy mode of conveying intelligence. 
 What can compare with the electric telegraph? Truly 
 this is indeed a marvellous discovery. The very speed 
 of lightning itself is brought into requisition by the art 
 of man to convey his thoughts in a moment of time 
 from town to town, from city to city, from county to 
 
 2 p
 
 298 THE CARRIER PIGEON. 
 
 county, over the earth and under the earth, over the 
 sea and under the sea, in all seasons, and in all weathers, 
 by night as well as by day. A storm would retard the 
 progress of the carrier pigeon, and a tempest might throw 
 it out of its course, or drive it altogether back, or 
 destroy its life; but not so with the electric fluid. Let 
 such a tempest rage as never yet was known to fall 
 from the firmament, let the night be dark as the 
 darkest that ever shrouded the earth, still its motion will 
 be literally as quick as thought, to however great a 
 distance it or the thought that it is employed to convey 
 may be directed, unerring in its course, heedless alike 
 of light or darkness, true, as the needle to the pole, 
 to the iron-wire along which it is sent, and whose length 
 it will accompany even though it should be stretched 
 round and round the earth. 
 
 What thoughts should this raise in our minds of that 
 Almighty Being of whom the Psalmist has said, "It is 
 the Glorious God that maketh the thunder;" and again, 
 "the thunder of His power who can understand!"
 
 299 
 
 CUCUMBER. 
 
 "The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a 
 lodge in a garden of cucumbers," ISAIAH, i. 8. 
 
 THE cucumber is a common and well-known vegetable, 
 and is still much cultivated in Egypt, as it was in 
 former times. That, however, which grows there is said 
 to be smaller and whiter than ours. Its succulent nature 
 enables it to resist the drought of sandy plains, and it 
 also flourishes in rich soils. 
 
 The cucumber is indeed so well known, and so common, 
 that any lengthened description of it is altogether un- 
 necessary. It is useful in many ways, being eaten both 
 cooked and raw. In the latter case it is, however, 
 considered rather unwholesome, but it is said that by 
 cutting it up some hours before it is wanted for use, the 
 action of the air upon it does away with much of its 
 injuriousness. 
 
 In the instructive little volume already alluded to, 
 published by the Religious Tract Society, entitled "The 
 Trees and Plants of Scripture," the following remarks 
 occur with reference to Numbers, xi. 5: "Alas! for 
 repining Israel. God had, with a strong hand, brought 
 them out of the house of their bondage. He had dried the 
 Red Sea for their footsteps, and guided their way by 
 the fire and the cloud. He had sent water from the 
 rock, and had sweetened too the bitter waters for their 
 refreshment. He had given them manna from Heaven, 
 so that "man did eat angel's food," yet now they for- 
 got all past mercies, and unthankfully exclaimed, there
 
 300 CUCUMBER. 
 
 's nothing but this manna before oar eyes. They 
 remembered only the pleasant fruits of Egypt, and 
 thought not of its bitter bondage. And who is there 
 that is sinless in this respect? How many of us, whom 
 God has guided thus far, are still distrustful of His Pro- 
 vidence, and ready to murmur at present dispensations! 
 To many might the words of Solomon be applied, "Say 
 not thou, what is the cause that the former days were 
 better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely 
 concerning this." The various plants which in this verse 
 are gathered together, formed the common diet of 
 Egypt, so that the Israelites, though fed and treated 
 as slaves, could yet procure them like the Egyptians; 
 and they had become attached to this food in preference 
 to any other. Dr. Kitto mentions, that in the year 1218, 
 when Damietta was besieged, many of the more delicate 
 of the Egyptians pined away, and died for want of the 
 garlic, onions, fish, birds, fruits, and herbs, to which 
 they had been accustomed, though they were well 
 supplied with corn."
 
 
 THE SYRIAN GOAT.
 
 301 
 
 THE SYRIAN GOAT. 
 
 "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall 
 
 separate them one from another, as a shepherd du-ideth 
 
 his sheep from the goats." ST. MATTHEW, xxv. 32 
 
 THIS species is distinguished from some others of the 
 same genus by its long ears, which hang down, and 
 are said to be sometimes as much as a foot in length. 
 
 Its great delight seems to be among the highest and 
 most inaccessible rocks, where it finds a safe and sure 
 footing in places, which, to the human eye, seems to be 
 only fraught with instant and certain destruction to the 
 being that ventures upon them. Boldly and safely the 
 wild goat springs from point to point, from precipice to 
 precipice, from crag to crag, from ledge to ledge. It 
 is related by Dr. Clarke, in his travels, as a corroborative 
 proof of the ability of these animals to stand and go 
 where other animals durst by no means venture, that on 
 his road to Jerusalem, he met with an Arab who had 
 a goat, which he had taught to stand on small round 
 pieces of wood, piled up one upon another. The goat 
 first stood upon one of the pieces, then upon two, then 
 upon three, and so on until the pile was raised to a 
 considerable height, all its four feet being placed together 
 on one point, where it securely kept itself without being 
 overbalanced, or throwing down the uncemented pile on 
 which it was thus raised up. 
 
 The milk of goats is sweet and wholesome, and is 
 often made into cheese. It is thus referred to in the 
 book of Proverbs, xxvii. 27, "Thou shalt have goat's
 
 302 THE SYRIAN GOAT. 
 
 milk enough for thy food." There are many other 
 references to these animals in various parts of the Holy 
 Scriptures. Thus, in Genesis, xxvii. 9, we read that 
 Jacob, by direction of his mother Rebecca, brought "two 
 good kids of the goats," for her to prepare as food for 
 his father, to further the wicked deception which they 
 both practised on him. Afterwards Jacob sent to the 
 same Esau, whom he thus so unjustly supplanted, a 
 present of two hundred and twenty goats to appease his 
 anger, which he had such just cause for fearing; and 
 the Arabians, as recorded in 2 Chronicles, xvii. 11, made 
 Jehoshaphat a gift of seven thousand seven hundred 
 goats. 
 
 The Angora goat is a variety which is found in the 
 province of that name in Asia Minor. Its hair is long, 
 and of a silvery whiteness. If removed from its native 
 country, it is related by Lieutenant Conolly, in a paper 
 read before the Asiatic Society, January 18th., 1840, 
 that "it is with difficulty kept alive, and always deter- 
 iorates, so as to be no longer recognisable. The goats 
 are clipped annually, and yield from one to four pounds 
 of their long soft hair at each clip. It is exported either 
 in the raw state, or in yarn, or manufactured by the 
 women into those delicate stuffs which are well known 
 ill Europe. The weavers reside chiefly at Angora, but 
 there are fewer of them than formerly, and the number 
 of looms does not exceed fifty."
 
 
 
 
 TF. ORN. (REST H A it .
 
 303 
 
 THORN. 
 
 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns spnmg up, and 
 choked them" ST. MATTHEW, xiii. 7. 
 
 IT is very difficult to ascertain the particular plant 
 intended by the word thorn. In our translation of the 
 Scriptures, the same original word is sometimes variously 
 rendered in different places. In Genesis, iii. 18, it seems 
 to be general for all those obnoxious plants, by which 
 the labours of the husbandman are impeded. 
 
 There is one kind of thorn so troublesome, and so 
 difficult to root out of the ground, that it is called 
 the 'rest harrow;' for neither that nor the plough have 
 much effect upon it. It is so common in Egypt and 
 Palestine, that many people imagine it is the thorn 
 particularly intended in the curse of God on the ground, 
 for man's disobedience. 
 
 The butcher's broom, or skewer-wood, is so called 
 because the wood never becomes rough when rubbed 
 either way, neither does it splinter; and all the butch- 
 ers' skewers are made of it. It is very common in 
 Devonshire, and is a very pretty shrub. It is thought 
 that the word atad, in Genesis, i. 10., means this shrub, 
 which is sometimes called the knee-holly. 
 
 The common English thorn is, though not large, a 
 very beautiful and ornamental tree. This is it whose blos- 
 som is so well known by the name of 'May,' coming into 
 bloom, as it does, in that favourite month, so cheering 
 at the end of winter and the cold spring, and the com- 
 mencement of the summer, to which all are naturally
 
 304 THORN. 
 
 inclined to look forward with fresh hope and joyful 
 anticipation, under the influence of the exhilarating 
 feelings which so delightful a season is calculated to 
 produce. The appearance of the thorn is extremely 
 pleasing, its very want of a formal shape suiting well 
 the rustic scenes in which it is unfailingly produced. 
 It is a very hardy tree, and never fails to grow when 
 planted young; and it is, therefore, most extensively made 
 use of for 'quick' or living fences, its thorny nature, 
 whence its name, rendering it peculiarly well adapted 
 to such a purpose. 
 
 Ornamental, however, as the thorn tree may be, both 
 in its shape and in its blossoms, yet it produces no 
 fruit of any value to man; and if we require fruit it 
 is on other trees that we must seek it. Thus our 
 Blessed Saviour instructs us, that the fruit of good works 
 is that by which we have to be known whether we be 
 valuable trees in the garden of the Lord or not. If 
 we are barren and unproductive, we are but fit for the 
 fire, and to be 'cast into the oven,' as the thorns 'whose 
 end is to be burned.'
 
 r
 
 305 
 
 THE MOLE. 
 
 '*/ that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols 
 
 of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to 
 
 the moles, and to the bats." ISAIAH, ii. 20. 
 
 THIS singular little creature is not very often seen 
 alive by common observers, owing to its habit of living 
 underground, in burrows which it makes for itself; it 
 is much oftener seen suspended in the air, caught in 
 the trap, by which, placed in their runs, they are easily 
 taken. Some of these runs are only a few inches from 
 the surface of the ground, while others are some yards 
 deep: in making them it throws up little hillocks in the 
 line of its march, and the difficulty which these place in 
 the way of the mower, by making the ground uneven, 
 added to the unsightly appearance which they cause in 
 the fields, is the reason of the destruction of the mole 
 by the farmer, or rather by the mole-catcher, employed 
 by him for the purpose. Nevertheless, some little good 
 is at the same tiuiy effected, for the s.il being finely 
 powdered, it is of benefit to the land, when strewed 
 over its surface. 
 
 "The length of the mole is about five inches and a 
 quarter; the body is thick, long, and nearly cylindrical; 
 the fur is as soft as silk, short and black, but it - is 
 liable to great variation from its proper colour; some 
 specimens having been found of a white or cream-colour, 
 some of a silvery ash grey, with an orange mark under 
 the lower jaw, and a link of the same colour down the 
 body; some of a perfectly orange-colour, except the 
 
 2 Q
 
 306 THE MOLE. 
 
 head; and others of an orange-colour throughout. All 
 the hairs of the fur grow in a perpendicular position, 
 so that they can be easily made to lie in any direction, 
 and can offer no resistance whatever to the animal's 
 retrograde or forward movement through its burrows; 
 its head tapers to the end of the nose, which is well 
 fitted for boring in the ground, the nostrils being strength- 
 ened by a little bone at the extremity; its fore feet 
 are very strong and robust, admirably constructed and 
 articulated for digging; its tail is nearly an inch and a 
 quarter in length, rather bristly, and is raised or laid 
 over the back when the creature is burrowing. 
 
 Though the mole has no outward ears, but only an 
 auditory aperture on each side of the head, it is 
 remarkably quick of hearing; and Franzius says that if 
 we make a noise down a hole in the earth, "the mole 
 will hear it a great way off, as we hear any one speaking 
 through a hollow pipe, better than in the open air." 
 Its eyelids are only partially open, and its eyes are 
 black, and very small: a slight depression serves as an 
 orbit. There is no optic nerve, but its place is supplied 
 by a branch from the superior maxillary nerve. 
 
 It is very certain that the mole possesses some of 
 the senses acutely enough, for if a person approaches 
 one which happens to be out of the ground, it will 
 escape with astonishing rapidity, beneath the surface, 
 either by burrowing a hole, or entering one already 
 made. Its sense of smelling is also acute, which is one 
 reason why this animal is not very easily taken in some 
 traps."

 
 MINT.
 
 307 
 MINT. 
 
 "Ye pay tithe of mint." ST. MATTHEW, xxiii. 23 
 
 "THERE have been in all times men who are willing 
 to offer God an outward service; men who, while they 
 make to themselves a law stricter than that of Holy 
 Writ, yet withhold that homage of the heart, and neglect 
 that spiritual holiness, without which God cannot accept 
 their service. "Love is the fulfilling of the law," and 
 it was against the form of godliness without the power, 
 that our Saviour uttered his indignant reproof. The rue 
 and mint, and "all manner of herbs," which, being 
 cultivated as food by the Jews, were liable to tithe, 
 were under no such obligation by the law of Moses. 
 This the Jews themselves distinctly recognised, as it 
 was a common saying among them, that the tithing of 
 corn was from the law, but the tithing of herbs from 
 the Rabbins. Seeds and fruits were appointed to be paid 
 by Moses; God as the Sovereign of the Earth, demanded 
 it of his peculiar people, and even an over scrupulousness 
 in paying these tithes, would not have been blamed by 
 our Saviour, had not the Scribes and Pharisees omitted 
 the weightier matters of the law. These, said our Lord, 
 ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other 
 undone. But the Jews had already learned to value 
 the traditions of men above the commands of God. 
 
 The two species of mint which were probably culti- 
 vated in Palestine, were our wild mint, and our corn-field 
 mint; the former is still planted commonly at Aleppo. 
 The warm flavour of the mint is well known, and it
 
 308 MINT. 
 
 is useful in modern days in medicinal preparations. 
 Among the ancient Hebrews, however, as well as by 
 the Greeks and Romans, it was in far more general 
 use than with us; a great number of dishes were flavoured 
 by it, and Rosenmuller remarks, that in the cookery 
 book of the Roman Apicius, the green, as well as the 
 preserved mint, are alluded to in almost every page, 
 and that Dioscorides names it as having been used as a 
 stomachic. The Hebrew synagogues were also strewed 
 with its fragrant leaves."
 
 THE WHITS ASS.
 
 309 
 
 THE WHITE ASS. 
 
 "Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye iluA sit in judgment, and 
 walk by the way." JUDGES, v. 10. 
 
 THERE are, in the interior of southern Africa, herds 
 of wild asses, entirely of a pale yellow colour, which 
 were duly noticed by the celebrated traveller Le Vaillant, 
 and called by the natives the white zebra. There are 
 besides, other animals of the genus, living in a wild 
 state in different parts of the world; and they are all 
 fine, handsome, swift animals, very different indeed in 
 appearance to the poor tame ass, too often but unkindly 
 treated, but whose many good qualities win him with 
 some, as they should do with all, a proper appreciation. 
 
 The ass differs much in size and abilities, according 
 to the different nature of the climate it inhabits; and 
 in some countries it is even more esteemed than the 
 horse; thus in Syria, one ass is reckoned to be of 
 equal value with two horses; and in Bagdad, according 
 to Mr. Frazer, "most of the learned and holy professions 
 prefer the ass, and so do all the ladies. These asses 
 are, I believe, of a particular breed, and from forty to 
 fifty pounds sterling is no uncommon sum for one of 
 great size, good blood, and fine paces. The favourite 
 colour is spotless white: they are magnificently capar- 
 isoned. 
 
 "The bray of the ass is not generally admired, but 
 the author of a scarce tract on "the Nobleness of the 
 Ass," (1595,) after giving us all its sweet notes, concludes 
 by declaring that the continual braying of five or six
 
 310 THE WHITE ASS. 
 
 asses forms a melodious kind of music. The ass is an 
 excellent swimmer: in March 1816, an ass belonging 
 to Captain Dundas, then at Malta, was shipped on board 
 the Ister frigate, bound from Gibraltar to that island. 
 During a storm at sea all the live stock was thrown 
 overboard: the ass swam to shore at Point de Gat, 
 and made his way from thence to Gibraltar, a distance 
 of two hundred miles, through a mountainous country, 
 and at length made his appearance at the door of the 
 stable he had last inhabited." 
 
 "In a wild state the ass feeds chiefly on the most 
 saline and bitter plants of the desert, as the Kalis, 
 Atriplices, Chenopodiceni, etc. Cornelius Agrippa com- 
 pares the domestic ass to a scholar, inasmuch as it 
 not only patiently endures penury, labour, and severe 
 criticism, bnt it lives on little food, and is content 
 with any sort, be it lettuces, brambles, or thistles." 
 Pennant says, it is extremely fond of the plantain. Bryant 
 says, it has the faculty of discovering distant waters bj 
 the smell; but this I apprehend is only when it inhales 
 the saline emanations from those brackish waters which 
 it prefers, at least in the wild state. 
 
 The domestic ass is more particular in the choice 
 of water than food, and water which a horse will 
 gladly drink, is often not clear enough for an ass.
 
 CUMMIN.
 
 311 
 
 CUMMIN. 
 
 (t Doth the ploughman plough all day to saw f doth he open and break 
 the clods of his g round f When he hath made plain the face thereof 
 doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast 
 in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye in their 
 place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him." 
 ISAIAH, xxviii. 24, 25, 26. 
 
 
 
 THE cummin, belonging to the tribe of umbelliferous 
 plants, is of annual growth; it is not very unlike the 
 common fennel, "though smaller, and less branched; 
 the flowers are white or reddish, and grow in clusters. It 
 is mentioned not only in the Old, but also in the New 
 Testament, where, with the mint and anise, it gave 
 occasion to the reproof given by our Saviour to the 
 Pharisees. 
 
 It grows wild in Egypt, and throughout Syria, but 
 is still cultivated, as we see that it was by the ancient 
 Hebrews, who planted it in their fields at a period 
 long before the captivity. The seeds are powerfully 
 aromatic and pungent." 
 
 With reference to the text placed at the head of this 
 article, the following seems to be indicated: "It is not 
 often that the seedsman, as he casts the grain into the 
 ground, remembers that his God teaches him to discretion. 
 He believes, perhaps, that human skill has its origin 
 in the human mind. Yet God gave that mind the power 
 of forethought, and of reflection, and of adaptation, and 
 all that can make human labour profitable." 
 
 An essential oil is obtained from the seeds of this
 
 312 CUMMIN. 
 
 plant by distillation. 
 
 The Jews used to sow it in their fields, and when 
 ripe, the seeds were thrashed out with a rod. In like 
 manner the Maltese do at the present day. 
 
 "In the warm pastoral parts of Jewry, the cattle are 
 particularly afflicted with ulcers arising from the bites of 
 insects, or the worms which come from the eggs deposited 
 in the skin by several sorts of flies; and, as cummin 
 has always been looked upon as a sovereign remedy 
 for all those evils, it may be supposed to have been, 
 next to bread corn, one of the most important grains 
 cultivated by tbe Jews."

 
 313 
 THE JERBOA. 
 
 "Five golden mice." 1 SAMUEL, vi. 4. 
 
 THE author of "Scripture Illustrated" seems to have 
 proved that the jerboa is here intended. There are 
 several species of this tribe of animals. One of them 
 is found in America, and is known by the name of the 
 long-tailed jumping mouse. The common jerboa is a 
 native of most parts of Syria and Arabia, and of the 
 southern deserts of Africa. It appears that those ani- 
 mals of the same species, not only the present one, 
 but others, that inhabit Syria, are lighter in colour than 
 those that are found on the African continent; which is 
 a curious fact, when the sable colour of the human race 
 itself in some parts of that continent, is at the same 
 time taken into consideration. 
 
 The common jerboa is a quiet, harmless, inoffensive 
 little animal, about the size of a rat. It is, when stand- 
 ing upright, on its hind feet, about six inches and a 
 quarter in height: its colour, underneath, is white; and 
 on the upper part, of a shining brown, with a tinge of 
 yellow or gold-colour; and the hair or fur is very smooth: 
 the fore feet have only three toes, the hind feet have 
 four, and a small one behind the heel. The tail is six 
 inches and a quarter in length, half of it being thinly 
 covered with hair of a lighter colour than that of the 
 body; at its end is a handsome tuft or brush of long 
 black and white hairs. 
 
 The jerboa is a burrowing animal, and therefore sandy 
 or gravelly places are most suitable to it, so that it is
 
 314 THE JERBOA. 
 
 to be found in the smooth plains of the desert, wntre 
 such a soil prevails. It generally makes its chamber 
 under the support of the root of some spurge or wild 
 thyme ; as if aware that it would act the part of a roof, 
 and keep the soil from falling in upon it. 
 
 The flat nature of the country in which it dwells is 
 also the most suitable for its jumping mode of progres- 
 sion. It usually stands upon its hind legs alone, and 
 seems to guide itself in some degree with its long tail. 
 
 The jerboa is not a gregarious animal, more than two 
 being seldom seen together. It is good to eat, the flesh 
 resembling that of a young rabbit; and the Arabs accord- 
 ingly make use of it. The speed of the little creature 
 is so great, that it can often baffle even the greyhound 
 in the chase. When running fast the tail is stretched 
 out behind it, but when standing or walking it carries 
 it in the form of the letter S, the lower part touching 
 the ground. In feeding, it sits upon its haunches, and 
 uses its fore-paws as hands, in the same way that the 
 squirrels do.
 

 
 315 
 QUINCE. 
 
 "The apple tree." CANTICLES, viii. 5. 
 
 As before observed, there is, and must at present 
 be much obscurity respecting many of the objects of 
 Natural History spoken of, or alluded to in the Holy 
 Bible. Certain words occur in the original languages 
 in which the sacred volume was written, and these our 
 translators rendered into English in the best way they 
 were able, obliged, in many instances, to form an opinion 
 only from conjecture. 
 
 With reference, therefore, to the subject at present 
 before us, the following remarks occur in "Scripture 
 Natural History," published by the Society for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge: "It is thought by some naturalists 
 that the quince, and not the citron, is intended in these 
 passages, in which the Hebrew word, though rendered 
 'apple' in our version, is tappuach, quince. Before the 
 Israelites entered the promised land, three places were 
 named after it Tappuah, Quince; En Tappuah, the 
 fountain, or spring-head of the Quince; and Beth-Tapp- 
 uah, the well of the Quince. 
 
 The quince of the East far surpasses the harsh quince 
 of our orchards. Of those found hi Arabia Felix, a 
 traveller, writes that they were not rough like ours, but 
 rather to be compared with apples. The quince is not 
 only valued as a fruit, but medicines are prepared from 
 it." 
 
 There appears to be a special reference, in Scripture, 
 to the sweet-scented quince-apple; for in Solomon's Song
 
 316 QUINCE. 
 
 the breath of the beloved is compared to this fruit, 
 which was valued by the ancients chiefly on account of 
 its fragrance; which has a restorative power. Abulfadli 
 says, that the smell of the quince clears the brain, and 
 renews and invigorates the animal spirits; it is also alleged 
 that it even tends to lessen the power of deadly poisons.
 
 317 
 OWL OF THE DESERT. 
 
 "Great owl" LEVITICUS, xi. 17. 
 
 + 
 
 THE owl tribe, however they may differ in their size 
 and plumage, agree in their characteristics of preying by 
 night, and having their eyes formed for nocturnal vision. 
 In the eyes of all animals, the Author of their being 
 has made a complete provision, either to shut out too 
 much light, or to admit a sufficiency, by the dilation 
 and contraction of the pupil. As in the eyes of tigers 
 and cats, that are formed for a life of nocturnal depre- 
 dations, there is a quality in the retina that takes in the 
 rays of light so copiously, as to permit their seeing in 
 places almost totally dark; so in owls there is the same 
 k conformation of that organ ; and though, like us, they 
 cannot see in a total extinction of light, yet they are 
 sufficiently quicksighted at times, when we remain in 
 total obscurity. Besides this, there is an irradiation on 
 the back of the eye, and the very iris itself has a 
 . faculty of reflecting the rays of light, so as to assist 
 vision in the gloomy places these birds are found to frequent. 
 The race of owls presents several varieties, all equally 
 cruel and rapacious; and who add to their savage dis- 
 positions the further reproach of treachery, by carrying 
 on all their depredations by night. Thus, as Goldsmith 
 remarks, there seems no link in Nature's chain broken, 
 Dowhere a dead, inactive repose ; but every place, every 
 season, every hour of the day and night, is bustling 
 with life, and furnishing instances of industry, self-defence, 
 and invasion.
 
 318 OWL OF THE DESERT. 
 
 Predicting the desolation of Iduraea, the prophet Isaiah 
 says, her palaces shall be a resting place for 'the screech- 
 owl,' (Isaiah xxxiv. 14,) whose horrid and terrifying cry 
 would form a sad contrast to the melody of the harp 
 and the tabret, which then resounded within their walls. 
 But to show, probably, the extent and permanency of 
 that desolation which was threatened, the prophet, in 
 the next verse, represents the devoted country as becom- 
 ing the constant abode of birds of prey, among which 
 the one w r e are describing was to be found : "There 
 shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, 
 and gather under her shadow." 
 
 The great owl measures two feet, or more, from the 
 extremity of the beak to that of the tail, and is little 
 inferior in size to the common eagle. The legs are 
 feathered to the toes. In Europe, it is most common 
 in Germany, Russia, and the rocks of Gibraltar; and is 
 sometimes, though rarely, seen in Scotland and England.
 
 \ 
 
 T'RAGOX FI :
 
 319 
 FLIES. 
 
 "Eaal-zebub, the god of Ekron." 2 KINGS, i, 2. 
 
 THE name of Baal-zebub means, the Lord of the 
 fly, and this imaginary deity was supposed to be able 
 to banish these insects, so great a pest in hot countries. 
 Of flies there are a vast variety: the two great and 
 piincipal divisions being into those which have two wings, 
 and those which have four. Of the latter, the largest 
 and the most beautiful, are the insects commonly known 
 by the name of dragon-flies, arid of these again there 
 are a great number of kinds. 
 
 They are creatures of extremely great powers of flight; 
 and as they are at the same time very voracious, 
 preying on other insects, they may be seen hawking 
 about after their winged prey, and darting in every 
 direction. 
 
 Several of the foreign species of these insects are of 
 great size, and of very singular forms, the bodies of 
 some being of an extraordinary length, and even in this 
 country we have a considerable variety, some of them 
 very large, and many of very great beauty; their colours 
 , being brilliant green, blue, crimson, scarlet, white, 
 yellow, black, and brown. The wings, which are trans- 
 parent, and most elegantly veined over with a kind of 
 net-work, stand out at right angles from the body. The 
 great dragon-fly, one of our English kinds, measures as 
 much as four inches in length. 
 
 The larvae or caterpillars of these singular insects 
 live under the water; and are of as unpleasing an
 
 320 . FLIES. 
 
 appearance, as when in the perfect insect state they 
 are handsome. They move with great celerity in the 
 water, and are provided with six feet, the number that 
 all insects have, though the writer once saw a species 
 of bee, which was captured by his brother, which had 
 seven legs, four on one side and three on the other; 
 the only instance, probably, of such a malformation in 
 an insect that has ever been known. The mouths of 
 these larvae are furnished with articulated mandibles or 
 jaws, with which they devour their prey; and as they 
 are as voracious in this their imperfect condition, as the 
 dragon-flies to which they afterwards turn are in their 
 perfect state, they have been termed the crocodiles of 
 water insects, as the latter might be called the hawks 
 and falcons of the insect world. 
 
 Again, previous to their last transformation, they go 
 into the chrysalis state underneath the water; and when 
 the proper time which God has ordained for them to 
 emerge into active being has arrived, they crawl up to 
 a blade of grass, or some such dry spot, and they soon 
 cast off their outer skin, and rise upwards on their 
 beautiful wings, to the glories of what to them is a new 
 world; even as the soul of man ascends, when released 
 from the "burden of the flesh," at the call of God, to 
 be in "joy and felicity," if it has chosen the "redemption 
 that is in Christ Jesus." 
 
 JJ. FA WC KIT, 1'HINTKK AND E.SGKAVEK, UU1FFIKLD.

 
 ft*