mm u^ « Uy ™ mto wm !Z 'P$t$ & .y.w YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Gift of BERNHARD KNOLLENBERG Hon. M.A. 1938 JTRAMGE TO FETRh." EDOM. CB&M-X1.IX.W. TWO HUNDRED PICTORIAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HOLY BIBLE, CONSISTING OF VIEWS IN THE HOLY LAND, TOGETHER WITH MANY OF THE REMARKABLE OBJECTS MENTIONED IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS; REPRESENTING SACRED HISTORICAL EVENTS, COPIED FROM CELEBRATED PICTURES, PRINCIPALLY BY THE OLD MASTERS : THE LANDSCAPE SCENES MADE FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES, TAKEN ON THE SPOT, WITH INTERESTING LETTER-PRESS DESCRIPTIONS, CHIEFLY EXPLANATORY OF THE ENGRAVINGS, AND OF NUMEROUS PASSAGES CONNECTED WITH THE HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, NATURAL HISTORY, AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES. BY ROBERT SEARS. TENTH EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED. NEW YORK: ROBERT SEARS, 122 NASSAU STREET. BOSTON : SA'XTON & PIERCE, 133i WASHINGTON STREET. PHILADELPHIA: R. S. H. GEORGE.— BALTIMORE : W. N. HARRISON. Hartford, Ct., Spalding & Storrs ; New Haven, S. Babcock ; Providence, R. I., Isaac H. Cady ; Albany, N. Y., W. C. Little; Utica, Bennett, Backus, & Hawley ; Hamilton, Griggs & Grant ; Lane Seminary, Ohio, Samuel Hall ; Louisville, Ky., J. Eliot & Co. ; Charleston, S. Babcock & Co. ; Penfield, Ga., W. & W. C. Richards ; New Orleans, J. F. Curns & Co. ; Halifax, N. S., C. H. Belcher ; St. John, N. B., W. Reynolds, William L. Avery, Nelson, Fraser, & Co., and G. & E. SeaiJs ; and sold by Booksellers generally. f - 1841. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S40, By ROBERT SEARS. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. STEREOTYPED BY 3, 5. REDFIELD. PREFACE "Another Picture-Book!" — exclaims the reader, as he casts his eyes upon our frontispiece and titlepage. Some good people, we know, object to pictures, especially in religious works ; assigning as a reason, that they only amuse the reader, while others object to them on the score of their expense. Without entering into a lengthy controversy, we would simply remark — while we have labored in this way to make the present volume attractive, we intend much more. They are all desin-ned to he strictly illustrative of the work — many are new and beautiful — and they are introduced under the idea that visible represent ations are in many cases better, to convey correct impressions, than written descriptions, alone, can be. We go a slep farther, and say — that engravings of a superior character, may be even made to do something more than merely illustrate — we believe they may be made to cultivate the mind, chasten the imagination, develop taste, and benefit the heart. Shall the teachers of vice find engravings an important aid in accomplishing unworthy ends — in vitiating the taste and imagination 1 and shall the teachers and professors of a Holy Eeligion, neglect to turn them to a good account, in the promotion of useful knowledge, and the, best interests of man 1* * Objections have also been made to the pictures commonly introduced into our Bibles, as being mere creations of fancy and the imagination, often unlike nature, and frequently conveying false impressions. This objection, however, cannot, in truth, ba urged against our pictorial illustrations. In the language of a celebrated divine — " Here the fine arts are made subservient to utility, the landscape views being, with out exception, matter-of-fact views of places mentioned in Scripture, as they appear at the present day ;" thus, in many instances exhibiting in the most forcibla manner to the eye, the strict and literal fulfilment of many remarkable prophecies. The cities of Babylon, Nineveh, Petra, &c, in their present ruined and desolate con dition, are astonishing examples, and so completely exemplify, in the most minute par- ticulars, everything which was foretold of them, in the height of their prosperity, that no better description can now be given of them, than a simple quotation from a chapter and verse of The Bil-le, written two or three thousand years ago. 4 PREFACE. The object of this publication is not to lead the mind from, but to, the study of The Bible. Some of the embellishments require but little or no comment. With the Sacred Text to refer to, they speak for themselves. Of such a character, are the "Views of Petra," and the " Cartoons of Raf'faelle." Our duty is to " search out of the book of the Lord, and read;" — to employ our best faculties and capacities, and bring every means of intellectual ex citement and improvement, to draw from this inexhaustible store house of heavenly knowledge and holy delight. We know that from Revelation, mind has derived its strength, science its utility, and the arts their refinement. From The Bible the astronomer has moralized his demonstrations, and the geologist borrowed his clew and solution. Nay, it is from the inspired page, that the orator, poet, and artist, have received models of their respective arts ; and all that is sublime, venerable, or pathetic, in the produc tion of human genius, has been durable only, as it imbodied the spirit and genius of those perfect prototypes. Psalm cxi. 2- 4. Proverbs hi. 13-17. Philippians iv. 8. The numerous, urgent, and oft-repeated requests of eminent Ministers and private Christians, have induced the publisher, at his leisure hours, to compile the following work. He hopes that, to the Biblical student and Sabbath school teacher, it will be found useful as a book of reference. It is also designed as a valuable and cheap Present, for parents and teachers to put into the hands of youth committed to their care. Particular attention has been paid to the character of the literary portion of the work. We have prepared such matter as is best calculated to be generally and permanently useful, rather than the light and frivolous creations of fancy, and without any reference to sect or party. Nothing sectarian or controversial has been ad mitted. It is proper to remark, that we are indebted to several English publications, for many of the engravings, the editor of one of which says, that " several distinguished travellers have offered him the use of nearly three hundred original sketches of Scripture places, made upon the spot." Having been able to enrich the present volume with subjects of - deep interest and lasting worth, the publisher has much satisfaction in presenting to the Christian reader the Bible Illustrations — and trusts that it will prove acceptable to every lover of the Sacred Scriptures. R, S. New York, 1841. A LIST PRINCIPAL ENGRAVINGS AND GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS, WITH THE CHAPTER OF THE BIBLE TO WHICH THEY EACH REFER. CHAP. 1 Frontispiece. GENESIS. S Adam discovering the dead body of Abel. Andrea Sacchi . 4 3 Syrian Dove. ( Turtur risorius) 8 4 Olive (Olea Europeea) 8 5 Mount Ararat 8 6 Birs Nemroud (Babel) 11 7 Syrian Ox, Camel, and Ass 12 8 Plain of Jordan 13 9 Land of Edom— Mount Seir in tbe dis tance 14 10 The Flight of Lot with his Daughters. GuidoReni 19 11 Four-horned Ram 22 12 Abraham offering Isaac. . Rubens 22 13 Sepulchral Caves in the Cliffs of Wady Mousa (in Mount Seir). From ia- borde 23 EXODUS. 14 Brick Pyramid of Faioum 1 15 Mounts Sinai and Horeb, -with the Con vent of St. Catherine, from the North 3 16 "Jewels of Gold, and Jewels of Silver." Composed from Egyptian Drawings and Sculptures in the British Museum 3 17 Locusts -. .. 10 18 Moses at the Passage of the Red Sea. N. Poussin «-. 14 19 Suez viewed from the Northeast 14 20 The Red Sea, viewed from Ras Moham med, on the Southwest Coast of Arabia Petra 14 21 Miriam celebrating the Deliverance of Israel. Jordcens 15 22 Wild Date-Palm, found in the Sinai Mountains 15 23 Gathering the Manna 16 24 Valley and Convent of Sinai. From La borde... 19 25 Probable form of the Ark of the Cove nant 25 26 Probable form of the Table of Show- Bread 25 LEVITICUS. 27 The Camel, and Camel's Foot 11 28 Scape-Goat and young Bullock— Goat and Kid of Goats, for Sin-offering. . . 16 NUMBERS. 29 Standards of the Tribes. De Louthcr- bourg 2 30 Ancient Persian Standards 2 31 Egyptian Standards 2 32 Roman Standards 2 33 Modern Oriental Standards 2 34 Thrashing Floor. From " Description de l'Egypte" 18 35 Mount Hor— Aaron's Tomb. From La- bor.de 20 36 The Brazen Serpent. Rubens 21 DEUTERONOMY. 37 Ebith (Akaba). Laborde 2 38 Arabic Door, inscribed with passages of the Koran 6 CHAP. 39 The Giraffe (Chamois) 14 40 Battlement of Roof 22 41 Egyptian Ploughing with Ox and Ass. . . 22 42 Shoes— Egyptian Sandals j verse 5 29 43 Oriental Water-Carrier. From "De scription de l'Egypte" 29 44 Writing Materials and Implements. From Paintings at Herculaneum 31 45 Youth with a closed Roll 31 40 Girl with a Tablet-Book. 31 47 Female reading, with a Box of Rolls. ... 31 48 Female reading a Roll 31 49 Fragment of an Egyptian Papyrus Roll.. 3] BOOK OF RUTH. 50 Ruth and Naomi 1 FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 51 Young Samuel. Reynolds 2 52 Male, Female, and Young of the Wild Goat of Syria and Egypt 24 53 Saul and the Witch of Endor. Saluator Rosa 28 SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 54 Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. Cassas 5 55 David dancing before the Ark. Domeni- chino 6 56 Portrait of Futteh Ali Shah, late King of Persia 8 FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 57 General View of the great Temple at Edfou 6 58 Plan of Solomon's Temple 6 59 Oriental Ewer and Basin (II Kings) 3 THE FIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES. 60 Arab Huts and Sheep-Cotes at Busheir. . 17 61 Beards (undressed) of a Syrian Jew, an Arabian, and a Persian 19 62 Beards (diessed) of a Turkish Shiek, a Mameluke, a Turkish Officer, and of Turkish Gentlemen 19 63 The Plague. Poussin 20 THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES. 64 The Pomegranate 4 65 Palmyra — General View of the principal Ruins. Cassas JOB. 66 Toinb at Petra. From Laborde 3 67 Interior of a Tomb at Petra. From La- borde 3 68 Washing Hands, Oriental method of . . . . 9 69 Engraved Rocks in the Ouadi Mokafte. From Laborde 19 70 Group, illustrating the use of the Style, &c. From Montfaucon, "Palffigra- phiaGraeca" 19 71 Modern Utensils used in Painting the Eyes - 42 72 Ancient Vessel and Probe, for Painting1 the Eyes 43 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. PSALM. THE PSALMS. 73 Various Forms of the ancient Lyre 43 74 Muse, with an early form of Lyre, taken from a Grecian statue 43 75 Summit of Mount Zion, with the Mosque of David. From an original drawing 48 76 Davirl with the Head of Goliath. Guido 78 77 " The days of our years are three-score yenrs and ten." Canova 90 78 Trumpets or Funeral Pipes. From an ancient Tomb at Troy, and from Her- culaneum 98 79 Ancient Trumpet. From Calmet 98 80 Idea (not on ancient authority) of a Le vitical Trumpeter 98 81 Ancient Cymbals. From Herculaneum 150 CHAP. PROVERBS. 82 Oriental Gate 17 83 Egyptian House 21 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 84 Rose of Sharon 2 85 Costume of the " Spouse" and Atten dants. Collected from the StaLe Dresses of ancient Egypt 7 ISAIAH. 86 Isaiah. From the Frescoes by Michael Angelo in the Sistine Chapel 1 67 "Cauls." Lady adorned with the Sufa, showing also the Turban ur Bonnet. . 3 88 The Ckumarah. . .. 3 89 Ancient Egyptian Necklace 3 90 Various Forms of Drops or Pendent Or naments, collected from ancient Egyp tian Sculptures 3 91 Forms of Ear-rings. Collected from an cient Egyptian Sculptures 3 92 Ancient Egyptian Necklace 3 93 The Ckoosah, or jewelled Head-Band of ' modern Egypt 3 94 The Khizam, or Nose-jewel of modern Egypt . 3 95 Ladies of modern Egypt, showing the common Face Veil, with one Form of the Walking Wrapper. 3 96 Another Form of the Walking Wrapper 3 97 Woman wearing the Tob 3 98 Hood- Veil of an Arab female 3 CHAP 99 Indoor Dress of a modem Egyptian lady, showing the Black Veil, and the Mantle 3 100 Dancing Woman of Cairo, &c 3 JEREMIAH. 101 Jeremiah. From the Frescoes by M. Angelo in the Sistine Chapel 1 102 Mode of Painting the Eyes and Brows, and Tattooing the Face, Hands, &c, in mot'ern Egypt 4 103 Oriental .Barber 16 EZEKIEL. 104 Ezekiel. From the Frescoes by M. Angelo in the Sistine Chapel 1 105 Persian Instruments of Writing 9 106 Modern Egyptian Case and Writing In struments 13 107 " Broidered Work." Specimen of an cient Egyptian Embroidery 16 108 Modern Egyptian Embroiderers 16 109 Fine Lime-grinding Mill at Cairo. ..... 13 110 Stick-Book of the ancient Britons 37 111 Runic CI ng- Almanac. From Dr. Plott's " History of Staffordshire" 37 112 Saxon Reive-Pole 37 113 Exchequer Tally 37 DANIEL. 114 Daniel. From the Frescoes by M. Angelo in the Sistine Chapel 1 115 Ancient Egyptian Flutes, &c 3 JOEL. 116 „oel. From the Frescoes by M. Angelo in the Sistine Chapel 1 117 Valley of Jehoshaphat — Brook Kedron, with the ancient Tombs. Cassas..., 3 JONAH. 118 Jonah. From the Frescoes by Michael Angelo in the Sistine Chapel 1 ZEPHANIAH. 119 Temple of the Sun, at Nineveh 2 ZECHARIAH. 120 Zechariah. From the Frescoes by Jlf. Angelo in the Sistine Chapel 1 THE NEW TESTAMENT. CHAP. MATTHEW. 121 The Plain of Jordan 3 122 Christ in the Storm. Rembrandt 8 123 Christ and the little Children. Over- beck 19 124 Jerusalem, with the Mount of Olives. From Light's "Travels" 24 125 Marriage Procession of a Hindoo Bride groom 25 126 Marriage Procession of a Bride in Leba non 25 MARK. 127 Jericho 10 128 Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem 16 LUKE. 120 Miraculous Draught of Fishes. Raf- footle's Cartoon 4 130 Peter denying Christ. Poussin 22 CHAP JOHN. 131 Mary anointing the feet of Jesus. Se bastian Ricci 12 132 Charge to Peter: "Feed my Sheep." Cartoon of RaffaeUe 21 ACTS. 133 Peter and John curing the Lame Man. Cartoon of RaffaeUe 3 134 Death of Ananias. Cartoon ot" RaffaeUe 5 135 View of Damascus 9 136 Elymas the Sorcerer. Cartoon of Raf faeUe 13 137 Paul and Barnabas at Lystra. Cartoon of RaffaeUe 14 138 Ancient Rotundo at Thessalonica 17 139 Paul Preaching at Athens. Cartoon of RaffaeUe 17 Together with a number of Miscellaneous Engravings. INDEX. Page Ancient Custom 65 Alexandria 75 Agriculture (Egyptian) 115 Arab Tents and Sheep-Cotes 116 Ancient Egyptian Embroidery 137 Ark of the Covenant 246 Athens as it once was — the Parthenon— the Temples— Columns of Adrian— Athens as it now is 384 Ancient Books and Writing Materials 148 Ancient Shoes and Sandals 180 Affectionate Daughter- in -Law 191 Ass, Description of the Wild 242 Ascension, the b 304 Ananias, Death of. 349 Ancient Rotundo at Thessalonica 376 Babylon 34 Beards 124 Beetle (Egyptian) 130 Balbec 384 Books of Nature and Revelation 235 Bible, the 364 Broosa, the City of 373 Church of the Holy Sepulchre 297 Camel, Description of. 211 Children of Israel — the Journeying and En campments in the Wilderness 40 Costume of an Egyptian Bride 105 Custom of Painting the Eyes Ill Crocodile 133 "Consider the Lilies, of the Field" 261 Christ blessing little Children 328 Cartoons of RaffaeUe 343 Christ's Charge to Peter t 343 David and Goliath 236 Death of Abel 60 Dove, the 69 "Down to Jericho" 166 Dead Sea 196 Deliverance of Israel 217 Damascus 321 Edom (Petra), Description of. 9 Engraved Rocks 28 Egypt. — Ancient Monuments, Buildings, &c. 70 Edfou, Description of. 78 Egyptian House 88 Egyptian Schools. .- , 144 Elymas struck with Blindness 363 Frontispiece, Description of. 23 Footstool, Description of. 240 Flight of Lot and his Daughters 228 Grand Cairo 75 Goat, the 176 " Going up to Jerusalem" 166 Giraffe, or Cameleopard 267 Horned Head-Dresses, Description of. 100 Hindoo Temples 235 Jewels, Description of, worn by Egyptian Females JJg Jewish Rites of Sepulture 1^7 Jerusalem, History of. 290 Approach to 29J Entrance to 297 . Ancient Tombs in 307 , Remarkable Cemetery in 308 The Jews in 312 Jews, Statistics of the 313 Page Jericho, the Plain of. 317 Jordan, tho River 317 Locusts in the East 257 Mary anointing the Feet of Christ 335 Manna 227 Mount Ararat 66 Music, Camel fond of. 81 Manners and Customs of the East 94 Mummies, Manufactures, &c 127 Mount of Olives.. 299 Mummies and Embalming 128 Music and Musical Instruments 199 Mosque of David 308 MiracleB 322 Miraculous Draught of Fishes 358 Nineveh 33 Oriental Houses 87 Oriental Gate 88 Orientals washing Hands 119 Oriental Barber 123 Oriental Water-Carrier 147 Olive-Tree, Description of.. 298 Oriental Marriage Processions 367 Palestine, Scenery of. 394 Pyramid of Faioum ;. 82 Pyramids, a Scene of extreme Horror in the 82 Pompeii, Account of the Destruction of. . . . 392 Paul Preaching at Athens 344 Plagues, Chronological List of. 262 Palmyra, or " Tadmor in the Desert" 141 Pomegranate 214 Peter Denying Christ 336 Peter Curing the Cripple 357 Rama 175 Rome 383 Rose of Sharon 241 Rice in the East. 249 Reflections' on Ancient Ruins— Illustrated with Engravings 378 Samuel 186 Sepulchral Caves 24 Suez 75 Shaving the Head 120 Serpents, the 250 Scriptures, a Chronological List of different Versions and Editions of the 368 Sacrifice at Lystra.... ..* ; 353 Saul and the Witch of Endor 245 Scarcity of Water in the East 143 Standards, History of. 218 Solomon's Temple 233 Scape-Goat 258 Table of Show-Bread 59 The Climate of Egypt 75 Temples of Egypt 76 The affectionate Father, &c 69 The Prophets :— Isaiah 272 Jeremiah.. 279 Ezekiel 279 Daniel 280 Joel 280 Jonah 280 Zechariah 289 Wild Date-Palm 271 Wind Instruments 206 Works of the Lord 235 Women, Condition of, in Palestine 326 BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS, &c VIEWS IN EDOM— (petra). The prophecies concerning Edom are very remarkable. It was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah, that " Edom should be a deso lation" (xlix. 17.) ; and the wild and desolate scenery delineated in our engraved frontispiece, sufficiently attests the fulfilment of this prediction. "From generation to generation, it shall lie waste ; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it ; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it, and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness," &c. See also Isaiah xxxiv. 5, 1&* 17 ; also, Jeremiah xlix. 7-10 ; 12-18 ; Ezek. xxv. 13 ; xxxv. 1, &c. 'Joel iii. 10; Obad. ver. 1, 2, 8, 9, 17, 18; Mai. i. 3, 4. The following extracts, respecting "Petra, the excavated citj," are taken from " Stephens's Travels," an extremely interesting publi cation. We doubt not, that the reader will acknowledge here the utility of good engravings, without which we should have but a faint idea of the subject and scenery, which the author has so happily described : — " Petra, the excavated city, the long-lost capital of Edom, in the Scriptures and profane writings, in every language in which its name occurs, signifies a rock; and, through the shadows of its early history, we learn that its inhabitants lived in natural clefts or excavations made in the solid rock. Desolate as it now is, we have reason to believe that it goes back to the time of Esau, ' the father of Edom ;' that princes and dukes, eight successive kings, and again a long line of dukes, dwelt there before any king ' reigned over Israel ;' and we recognise it from the earliest ages, as the central point to which came the caravans from the interior of Arabia, Persia, and India, laden with all the precious commod ities of the East, and from which these commodities were dis tributed through Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, and all the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, even Tyre and Sidon deriving their purple and dies from Petra. Eight hundred years before 10 VIEWS IN EDOM (PETRA). Christ, Amaziah, the king of Judea, ' slew of Edom in the valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Selah (the Hebrew name of Petra) by war.' Three hundred years after the last of the prophets, and nearly a century before the Christian era, the 'king of Arabia' issued from his palace at Petra, at the head of fifty thousand men, horse and foot, entered Jerusalem, and uniting with the Jews, pressed the siege of the temple, which was only raised by the ad vance of the Romans ; and in the beginning of the second cen tury, though it's independence was lost, Petra was still the capital of a Roman province. After that time it rapidly declined ; its history became more and more obscure ; for more than a thousand years it was completely lost to the civilized world ; and, until its discovery by Burckhardt in 1812, except to the wandering Be douins its very site was unknown. " And this was the city at whose door I now stood. In a few words, this ancient and extraordinary city is situated within a natural amphitheatre of two or three miles in circumference, en compassed on all sides by rugged mountains five or six hundred feet in height. The whole of this area is now a waste of ruins — dwelling-houses, palaces, temples, and triumphal arches, all pros trate together in indistinguishable confusion. The sides of the mountains are cut smooth, in a perpendicular direction, and filled with long and continued ranges of dwelling-houses, temples, and tombs, excavated with vast labor out of the solid rock ; and while their summits present Nature in her wildest and most savage form, their oases are adorned with all the beauty of architecture and art, with columns, and porticoes, and pediments, and ranges of corridors, enduring as the mountains out of which they are hewn, and fresh as if the work of a generation scarcely yet gone by. " Nothing can be finer than the immense rocky rampart which encloses the city. Strong, firm, and immoveable as nature itself, it seems to deride the walls of cities, and the puny fortifications of skilful engineers. The only access is by clambering over this wall of stone, practicable only in one place, or by an entrance the most extraordinary that Nature, in her wildest freaks, has ever framed. The loftiest portals ever raised by the hands of man, the proudest monuments of architectural skill and daring, sink into insignificance by the comparison." " For about two miles it lies between high and precipitous ranges of rocks, from five hundred to a thousand feet in height, standing as if torn asunder by some great convulsion, and barely wide enough for two horsemen to pass abreast. A swelling stream rushes between them ; the summits are wild and broken ; in some places overhanging the opposite sides, casting the darkness of night upon the narrow defile ; then receding and forming an open ing above, through which a strong ray of light is thrown down, and illuminates with the blaze of day the frightful chasm below. Wild fig-trees, oleanders, and ivy, were growing out of the rocky VIEWS IN EDOM — (PETRA). 11 TBS "#*1iIiiiii'I iw \ 'Mi ii Sililli **7 wlSBIRIft \ iii imII'iIi i IffllllM'.'™ VIEWS IN EDOM — (PETRA). 13 sides of the cliffs hundreds of feet above our heads ; the eagle was screaming above us ; all along were the open doors of tombs, forming the great Necropolis of the city ; and at the extreme end was a large open space, with a powerful body of light thrown down upon it, and exhibiting in one full view the fagade of a beautiful temple, hewn out of the rock, with rows of Corinthian columns and ornaments, standing out fresh and clear as if but yesterday from the hands of the sculptor. Though coming direct ly from the banks of the Nile, where the preservation of the tem ples excites the admiration and astonishment of every traveller, we were roused and excited by the extraordinary beauty and ex cellent condition of the great temple at Petra." " The whole temple, its columns, ornaments, porticoes, and porches, are cut out from and form part of the solid rock ; and this rock, at the foot of which the temple stands like a mere print, towers several hundred feet above, its face cut smooth to the very summit, and the top remaining wild and misshapen as Nature made it. The whole area before the temple is perhaps an acre in extent, enclosed on all sides except at the narrow en trance, and an opening to the left of the temple, which leads into the area of the city by a pass through perpendicular rocks, five or six hundred feet in height. " It is not my design to enter into the details of the many monu ments in' this extraordinary city ; but, to give a general idea of the character of all the excavations, I cannot do better than go within the temple. Ascending several broad steps, we entered under a colonnade of four Corinthian columns, about thirty-five feet high, into a large chamber of some fifty feet square, and twenty-five feet high. The outside of the temple is richly orna mented, but the interior is perfectly plain, there being no ornament of any kind upon the walls or ceilings ; on each of the three sides is a small chamber for the reception of the dead ; and on the back wall of the innermost chamber I saw the names of Messrs. Legh, Banks, Irby, and Mangles, the four English travellers who, with so much difficulty, had effected their entrance to the city; of Messieurs Laborde and Lmant, and the two Englishmen and Ital ian of whom I have before spoken; and two or three others, which, from the character of the writing, I supposed to be names of attendants upon some of these gentlemen. " These were the only names recorded in the temple ; and, be side Burckhardt, no other traveller had ever reached it. I was the first American who had ever been there. Many of my coun trymen, probably, as was the case with me, have never known the existence of such a city ; and independently of all personal consid erations, I confess that I felt what I trust was not an inexcusable pride, in writing upon the innermost wall of that temple the name of an American citizen; and under it, and flourishing on its own account in temples, and tombs, and all the most conspicuous places in Petra, is the illustrious name o[ Paulo Nuozzo, dragomano 14 VIEWS IN EDOM — (pETRA). " Leaving the temple and the open area on which it fronts, and following the stream, we entered another defile much broader than the first, on each side of which were ranges of tombs, with sculptured doors and columns ; and on the left, in the bosom of the mountain, hewn out of the solid rock, is a large theatre, circular in form, the pillars in front fall en, and containing thirty- three rows of seats, capable of containing- more than three thousand persons. Above the corridor was a range of doors opening to chambers in the rocks, the seats of the princes and wealthiest inhabitants of Petra, and not unlike a row of private boxes in a modern theatre. " The whole theatre is at this Sectional view of the Temple of Khasne. day in such a state of preser vation, that if the tenants of the tombs around could once more rise into life, they might take their old places on its seats, and listen to the declamation of their favorite player. To me the stillness of a ruined city is nowhere so impressive as when sitting on the steps of its theatre ; once thronged with the gay and pleasure-seeking, but now given up to solitude and desolation. Day after day these seats had been filled, and the now silent rocks had echoed to the applauding shouts of thousands : and little could an ancient Edom- ite imagine that a solitary stranger, from a then unknown world, would one day be wandering among the ruins of his proud and wonderful city, meditating upon the fate of a race that has for ages passed away." " All around the theatre in the sides of the mountains were ranges of tombs ; and directly opposite they rose in long tiers one above another. Having looked into those around the theatre, I crossed to those opposite ; and, carefully as the brief time I had would allow, examined the whole range. Though I had no small experience in exploring catacombs and tombs, these were so dif ferent from any I had seen, that I found it difficult to distinguish the habitations of the living from the chambers of the dead. The facades or architectural decorations of the front were every where handsome ; and in this they differed materially from th« tombs in Egypt ; in the latter, the doors were simply an opening VIEWS IN EDOM (PETRA). 15 in the rock, and all the grandeur and beauty of the work within ; while here the door was always imposing in its appearance, and the interior was generally a simple chamber, unpainted and un- sculptured. " I say that I could not distinguish the dwellings from the tombs ; but this was not invariably the case ; some were clearly tombs, for there were pits in which the dead had been laid, and others were as clearly dwellings, being without a place for the deposilo of the dead. One of these last particularly attracted my attention. It consisted of one large chamber, having on one side, at the foot of the wall, a stone bench about one foot high, and two or three broad, in form like the divans in the East at the present day ; at the other end were several small apartments, hewn out of the rock, with partition-walls left between them, like stalls in a stable, and these had probably been the sleeping apartments of the different members of the family ; the mysteries of bars and bolts, of folding doors and third stories, being unknown in the days of the ancient Edomites. There were no paintings or decorations of any kind within the chamber ; but the rock out of which it was hewn, like View of an unfinished tomb. the whole stony rampart that encircled the city, was of a peculi arity and beauty that I never saw elsewhere, being a dark ground, with veins of white, blue, red, purple, and sometimes scarlet and light orange, running through it in rainbow streaks ; and within the chambers, where there had been no exposure to the action o[ 16 VIEWS IN EDOM (PETRA). the elements, the freshness and beauty of the colors in which these waving lines were drawn, gave an effect hardly inferior to that of the paintings in the tombs of the kings at Thebes. From its high and commanding position, and the unusual finish of the work, this house, if so it may be called, had no doubt been the residence of one who had strutted his hour of brief existence among the wealthy citizens of Petra. In front was a large table of rock, forming a sort of court for the excavated dwelling, where probably, year after year, in this beautiful climate, the Edomite of old sat under the gathering shades of evening, sometimes look ing down upon the congregated thousands and the stirring scenes in the theatre beneath, or beyond upon the palaces and dwellings in the area of the then populous city. " Farther on, in the same range, though, in consequence of the steps of the streets being broken, we were obliged to go down and ascend again before we could reach it, was another temple, like the first, cut out of the solid rock, and, like the first too, hav ing for its principal ornament a large urn, shattered and bruised by musket-balls ; for the ignorant Arab, believing that gold is con cealed in it, day after day, as he passes by, levels at it his murder ous gun, in the vain hope to break the vessel and scatter a golden shower on the ground. " But it would be unprofitable to dwell upon details. In the ex ceeding interest of the scene around me, I hurried from place to place, utterly insensible to physical fatigue ; and being entirely alone, and having a full and undisturbed range of the ruins, 1 clambered up broken staircases and among the ruins of streets ; and, looking into one excavation, passed on to another and another, and made the whole circle of the desolate city. There, on the spot, everything had an interest which I cannot give in description ; and if the reader has followed me so far, I have too much regard for him to drag him about after me as I did Paul. I am warned of the consequences by what occurred with that excellent and patient follower ; for before the day was over he was completely worn out with fatigue." ********** " Where are ye, inhabit ints of this desolate city1? ye who once sat on the seats of this theatre, the young, the high-born, the beautiful, and brave ; who once rejoiced in your riches and power, and lived as if there was no grave 1 Where are ye now 1 Even the very tombs, whose open doors are stretching away in long ranges before the eyes of the wondering traveller, cannot reveal the mystery of your doom : your dry bones are gone ; the robber has invaded your graves, and your very ashes have been swept away to make room for the wandering Arab of the desert. " But we need not stop at the days when a gay population were crowding to this theatre. In the earliest periods of recorded time, long before this theatre was built, and long before the tragie muse was known, a great city stood here. Wh-in Esau, having sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, came to his portion VIEWS IN EDOM — (PETRA). 17 Vol. I.— 3 VIEWS IN EDOM — (PETRA). 19 MO •-9o » a>• H ;? O X f >¦MO H t)M 22 VIEWS IN EDOM — (PETEA). Temple of Khasne. VIEWS IN EDOM — (pETRA). 23 among the mountains of Seir ; and Edom, growing in power and strength, became presumptuous and haughty, until, in her pride, when Israel prayed a passage through her country, Edom said unto Israel, ' Thou shall not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.' " Amid all the terrible denunciations against the land of Idumea, ' her cities and the inhabitants thereof,' this proud city among the rocks, doubtless for its extraordinary sins, was always marked as a subject of extraordinary vengeance. ' I have sworn by myself, 6aith the Lord, that Bozrah (the strong or fortified city) shall be come a desolation, a reproach, and a waste, and a curse, and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual waste. Lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men. Thy terri- bleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart, oh, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rocks, that holdest the height of the hill ; though thou shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.' — Jer. xlix. 13, 16. ' They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing ; and thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof, and it shall be a habitation for dragons, and a court for owls.' — Isaiah xxxiv. 14, 15. " I would that the skeptic could stand, as I did, among the ruins of this city, among the rocks and there open the sacred book, and read the words of the inspired penmen, written when this desolate place was one of the greatest cities in the world. I see the scoff" arrested, his cheek pale, his lip quivering, and his heart quaking with fear, as the ruined city cries out to him in a voice loud and powerful as that of one risen from the dead ; though he would not believe Moses and the prophets, he believes the handwriting of God himself, in the desolation and eternal ruin around him: We sat on the steps of the theatre, and made our noonday meal ; and our drink was from the pure stream that rolled down -at our feet." Our Frontispiece represents the Entrance to Petra by a hollow way, leading through magnificent ruins to the temple of Khasne, excavated out of the rock, which is exhibited on the opposite page. A glimpse of the temple appears in the distant back-ground. This way is a natural gorge or chasm between perpendicular rocks, and is lined with magnificent sepulchres. 24 SEPULCHRAL CAVES, ETC. SEPULCHRAL CAVES, &c. In the twenty-third chapter of Genesis, and the nineteenth verse, we find the phrase "Me cave of the field of Machpelah." This chapter affords the earliest notice of the practice, which was formerly very prevalent in the East, of depositing the dead in natural or artificial caves, great numbers of which are still to be found in Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and Persia. In the mountainous country of southern Palestine there are abundance of natural caves in the rocks, which might easily be formed into commodious sepulchral vaults ; and where such natural caves were wanting, sepulchres were hewn in the rock for such families as were able to incur the necessary expense ; for this was the mode of sepul chre decidedly preferred by those who could obtain it. The arrangement and extent of these caves varied with circumstances. Those in the declivity of a mountain were often cut in horizon. tally; but to others there was usually a descent by steps from the surface. The roofs of the vaults are commonly arched ; and sometimes, in the more spacious vaults, supported by colonnades. These rocky chambers are generally spacious, being obviously family vaults, intended to receive several dead bodies. Niches, about six or seven feet deep, are usually cut in the sides of the vault, each adapted to receive a single corpse; but in some vaults, small rooms are cut in the same manner ; and in others, stone slabs of the same length, are fixed horizontally against the walls, or cut out of the rock, one above another, serving as shelves on which the corpses were deposited : in others, however, the floor itself is excavated for the reception of the dead, in compartments of various depths, and in the shape of a coffin. Some of the bodies were placed in stone coffins, provided with sculptured lids ; but such sarcophagi were by no means in general use ; the bodies, when wound up in the grave-clothes, being usually deposited without any sort of coffin or sarcophagus. The vaults are always dark, the only opening being the narrow entrance, which is usually closed by a large stone, rolled to its mouth ; although some of a superior description are shut by stone doors, hung in the same manner as the doors of houses, by pivots turning in holes, in the architrave above, and in the threshold below. Some of these vaults consist of several chambers, one within another, connected by passages. The innermost chambers are usually deeper than the exterior, with a descent of several steps. When there is more than one chamber, the outermost seems to have a sort of anteroom, the walls being seldom occupied with sepulchral niches or shelves. This cave of Machpelah became, after the purchase by Abraham, the family sepulchre of the Hebrew patriarchs ; and it is reasonable to conclude that it was of superior size, and contained more than one apartment. The Spanish Jew, Benjamin of Tudela, visited the place about six hundred and fifty years ago ; and as his ac count is precise and interesting, we quote it from " Purchas, his sepulchral caves, etc. 25 COW?o<=! t-1 oa P3 o o i !!! o r1 > a oB3DM ll'i't- I sepulchral caves, etc. 27 Pilgrimes," 1625 : — " I came to Hebron, seated in a plaine ;, for Hebron, the ancient metropolitan citie, stood upon an hill, but it is now desolate. But in the valley there is a field, wherein there is a duplicitie, that is, as it were, two little valleyes, and there the citie is placed ; and there is an huge temple there, called Saint Abraham, and that place was the synagogue of the Iewes, at what time the country was possessed by the Ismaelites. But the Gen tiles, who afterwards obtayned and held the same, built sixe sepul chres in the temple, by the names of Abraham, Sara, Rebecca, lacob, and Lia [Leah]. And the inhabitants now tell the pilgrimes that they are the monuments of the patriarkes ; and great summes of money are offered there. But surely, to any lew coming thither, and offering the porters a reward, the cave is shewed, with the iron gate opened, which from antiquitie remayneth yet there. And a man goeth down with a lampe-light into the first cave, where nothing is found, nor also in the second, until he enter the third, in which there are the sixe monuments, the one right over against the other ; and each of them are engraven with characters, and distinguished by the names of every one of them after this manner : — ' Sepulchrum Abraham patris nostri, super quern pax sit ;' and so the rest after the same example. And a lampe perpetually burnetii in the cave, day and night ; the officers of the temple con tinually ministering oyle for the maintenance thereof. Also, in the self-same cave, there are tuns full of the bones of the ancient Israelites, brought thither by the families of Israel, which even until this day remayne in the self-same place." This curious ac count agrees pretty well with the above general description. The word "Machpelah" means double, applied rather to the field con taining the cave than to the cave itself. Benjamin's mention of the two valleys forming, as Purchas translates, " the field of du plicity," explains the application which has perplexed Calmet and others. Sandys, who was there early in the seventeenth century, and who describes the valley of Hebron as " the most pregnant and pleasant valley that the eye ever beheld," mentions the "goodly temple" built by the emperess Helena, the mother of Constantine, and afterward, changed into a mosque, as a place of much resort to Moslem pilgrims. John Sanderson was there in the summer of 1601, and the account he gives agrees, as far as it goes, with that of the Spanish Jew ; but access to the cave was more restricted than it seems to have been in the time of the latter. He says : — " Into this tombe not any are suffered to enter, but at a square hole, through a thick wall, they may discern a little light of a lamp. The Iewes do their ceremonies of prayer there with out. The Moores and Turkes are permitted to have a little more light, which is at the top, where they let down the oyle for the lampe ; the lampe is a very great one, continually burning." For upward of a century, only two or three Europeans have been able, either by daring or bribery, to obtain access to the mosque and cave. Ali Bey, who passed as a Mussulman, has given a description of it; but his account is so incompatible with 28 engraved rocks. all others, and with the reports of the Turks, that it is difficult to admit of its accuracy. According to all other statements, the sepulchre is a deep and spacious cavern, cut out of the solid rock ; the opening to which is in the centre of the mosque, and is seldom entered even by Moslems ; but Ali Bey seems to describe each separate tomb as in a distinct room, on a level of the floor of the mosque. These rooms have their entrances guarded by iron gates, and by wooden doors plated with silver, with bolts and padlocks of the same metal. He says : — " All the sepulchres of the patri archs are covered with rich carpets of green silk, magnificently embroidered with gold ; those of their wives are red, embroidered in like manner. The sultans of Constantinople furnish these car pets, which are renewed from time to time. I counted nine, one over the other, upon the sepulchre of Abraham. The rooms also which contain the tombs are covered with rich carpets." We can only reconcile this with the other statements by supposing that the Turks have put these monuments upon the level of the floor, immediately over the supposed resting-places of the patri archs in the cave underneath ; and that, instead of conducting them into the "crypt, these tombs above ground are shown to or dinary visiters. ENGRAVED ROCKS. Wady Mokattah is a valley entering Wady Sheikh, and border ing on the upper regions of the Sinai mountains. It extends for about three hours' march, and in most places its rocks present abrupt cliffs, twenty or thirty feet high. From these cliffs large masses have separated and lie at the bottom in the valley. The cliffs and rocks are thickly covered with inscriptions, which are continued, at intervals of a few hundred paces only, for at least the distance of two hours and a half. Burckhardt says, that to copy all of them would occupy a skilful draughtsman six or eight days. The inscriptions are very rudely executed, sometimes with large letters, at others with small, and seldom with straight lines. The characters appear to be written from right to left ; and although not cut deep, an instrument of metal must have been required, as the rock is of considerable hardness. Some of them are on rocks at a height of twelve or fifteen feet, and must have required a ladder to ascend to them. The characters are not known. The superior of the Franciscans, who visited the place in 1722, ob serves, "Although we had among us men who understood the Arabian, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Armenian, Turk ish, English, Illyrian, German, and Bohemian languages, there was not one of us who had the slightest knowledge of the characters engraved in these hard rocks with great labor, in a country where there is nothing to be had either to eat or drink. Hence it is probable that these characters contained some profound secrets, ENGRAVED rocks. 29 W aw a t-1is.M OWO .:-- '.. mrMmtirt'1'-^-' A' I ¦fcj &*¦ 32 NINEVEH. E- < SE M aH I* O S H NINEVEH. 33 which, long before the birth of Jesus Christ, were sculptured in these rocks by the Chaldeans or some other persons." This ac count excited profound attention in Europe : and it was thought by many that the inscriptions might have been framed by the Is raelites during their stay in this region, and probably contained irrefragable evidence for the truth of the Mosaic history. Hence copies of them have been anxiously sought and secured. But, with the exception of a few in Greek, the character and language remain unknown. " Before they can be all deciphered," says Laborde, "greater progress than has yet been attained must be made in the paleography and ancient languages of the East. The most general opinion is that they were the work of pilgrims who visited Sinai about the sixth century." This seems to us very doubtful. The Greek inscriptions and the crosses on which this conclusion chiefly rests, may indeed have been of that or a later age ; but it does not follow that those in the unknown characters necessarily were so too. However, this is of no consequence for our purpose, which is merely to illustrate by example, the practice of charging the living rock with inscriptions ; and that example is the more interesting from being taken from a region of so much scriptural interest, and not far from the land of Uz. Although these inscriptions should prove not to be of high antiquity, and only to record the names and prayers of Jewish and Christian pilgrims to Sinai ; the rude manner in which they are exhibited, may well be supposed to be such as belonged to the time when men first began to inscribe on rocks their abiding memorials. It only remains to add that among the inscriptions appear sometimes extremely rude figures of men and animals (camels, goats, &c), some of which seem to be of the same date as the original char acters, while others seem to belong to a more recent period. NINEVEH. Nineveh, the mighty capital of the Assyrian empire, was a yery extensive and populous city. Its walls were 100 feet in height, 60 miles in compass, with 1,500 towers, each 200 feet high. This " exceeding great city" having repented at the preaching of Jonah, its destruction was averted for a time ; but relapsing into iniquity- it was swept away, so that there are now but slight vestiges of it to be seen. The Assyrians grievously oppressed the Israelites, took Samaria, and carried the ten tribes into captivity, 2 Kings xvii. 5, 6 ; xviii. 10-13, 34 ; Ezra iv. 2. They took also all the fenced cities of Judah, and exacted a heavy tribute from the Jews. But the glory and the power of Assyria, and of its capital city, are departed ; like that of the mighty host of Sennacherib, its king, •when smitten, in a night, by an angel of the Lord. A Greek historian, who repeatedly alludes to an ancient prophecy concerning it, as known to the Ninevites, relates that the Assyrian 3 34 BABYLON. army was suddenly assaulted by the Medes in a time of festivity, when unable to resist the enemy. A great part of them were de stroyed ; and the river, having increased to an unexampled height by rains, broke down a great extent of the wall, opened an entrance for the enemy, and overflowed the lower part of the city. The king, in his desperation, and deeming the prediction was accom plished, heaped an immense funeral pile, and having set fire to it, and to the palace, was consumed with his household and his wealth ; and the Medes carried away many talents of silver and gold to Ecbatana. "While they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. With an overflowing flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof. The gates of the rivers shall be opened. Nineveh is of old, like a pool of water. The gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies : the fire shall devour thy bars. Fortify thy strongholds — there shall the fire devour thee ; take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold ; for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture," Nahum i. 8. 10 ; ii. 6, 8, 9 ; iii. 13-15. The utter destruction and perpetual desolation of Nineveh were foretold. " The Lord will make an utter end of the place thereof. Affliction shall not rise up the second time. The merchants of Nineveh, who were multiplied above the stars of heaven, and even her crowned, who were as locusts and great caterpillars, they flee away, and their place is not known where they were. He will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness," Nahum i. 8, 9 ; iii. 16, 17; Zephaniah ii. 13-15. The very site of Nine veh was long unknown. It has, of late, been visited by different travellers. It is now an extended waste, interspersed sparingly with heaps of rubbish. The principal mounds are few in number ; in many places overgrown with grass. The appearance of other mounds and ruins, less marked, extend for ten miles, but there is not one monument of royalty, nor one token of splendor ; the place is not known where they were. There are not even mate rials of buildings discernible in the principal mounds. The very uuins have perished; it is less than the wreck of what it was. BABYLON. Babylon rivalled Nineveh in its greatness and wickedness. And now the ruins of these once hostile cities, which vied with each other, and both of which oppressed and led captive, the one the Israelites, the other the Jews, show that each of them has borne its predicted "burden," and that the vision which the prophets of Israel saw respecting them is true. The accounts are now as ample, and the witnesses as numerous, of its present desolation^ as of its ancient greatness. Several of the best Greek and Roman writers describe the an cient greatness of Babylon at different periods. All agree in re- BABYLON. 35 lating its wonderful magnificence. Herodotus, who lived about 250 years after Isaiah, wrote from what he saw and examined. The walls of Babylon, before their height was reduced to 75 feet by Darius Hystaspes, were above 300 feet high ; they were 75 feet broad, and 34 miles in compass. The temple of Belus, 630 feet in height ; the artificial hanging gardens, piled in successive ter races as high as the walls, the embankments which restrained the Euphrates, the hundred brazen gates, the palace built by Nebu chadnezzar, eight miles in compass ; and the artificial lake, the circumference of which was far more than a hundred miles, and its depth, by the lowest account, 35 feet — all displayed many of the mightiest works of mortals concentrated in a single spot. The great Babylon was the glory of kingdoms, and the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, the golden city, the lady of kingdoms, and the praise of the whole earth. The Scriptures, which thus describe it, mark minutely every stage of its fall, till it should be come what it now is — a complete desolation. Concerning the siege of Babylon, Herodotus and Xenophon re late, in exact accordance with what Isaiah and Jeremiah had fore told, that the Medes and Persians, united under Cyrus, prophesied of by Isaiah, above 100 years before he was born, came against Babylon and besieged it ; that the Babylonians, enclosed within their walls, remained in their holds and forebore to fight ; that Cyrus turned the waters of the Euphrates, which flowed through the city, into the lake, whereby a snare was laid for Babylon ; that the waters of the river, being thus lowered so as to allow men to go over, the enemy entered by its channel ; that, from the negli gence of the guards, the gates, leading from the river to the city, were not shut ; that the Median and Persian army thus entering, as if by stealth, designedly during the night of an annual Babylo nish festival, Babylon was taken when it was not aware ; that its princes, captains, and mighty men, reposing after their feasts, and drunken, were suddenly slaughtered ; and that Babylon, which had never been conquered before, was thus taken without resist ance in a moment, unknown to the king and the inhabitants, who were not aware of their danger, till one messenger ran to meet another, with the tidings that Babylon was taken, Isaiah xxi. 2 ; xiv. 27 ; xliv. 1 ; Jer. 1. 38 ; li. 11, 27, 30, 36, 57. The gradual decline of Babylon is also traced in the prophecies, Isaiah xlvii. 1. Babylon ceased to be the seat of government; it rebelled against Darius, was taken by him, and farther humbled, Jeremiah li. 44, 47, 52. Xerxes seized the sacred treasures, and plundered or destroyed the temples and idols of Babylon, Jer. li. 8, 9. Alexander the Great attempted to restore Babylon to its former glory. But his death, when in the prime of life, put an end to the work : she was not healed, Jer. Ii. 9. About 130 years before the Christian era, a Parthian conqueror destroyed the fair est parts of Babylon ; and many of the inhabitants were removed into Media. The neighboring city of Seleucia also drained it of a great part of its population. 36 BABYLON. After the commencement of the Christian era, Babylon became gradually more and more desolate, till, in the fourth century, its walls formed an enclosure for wild beasts, and the site where the golden city had stood, which reigned over the nations, was con verted into a hunting-place for the Persian monarchs. A long interval succeeded without any record concerning it, and the progress of ages has brought it at last to that utter desolation which the prophets testified that it would finally become. The ruins of Babylon, the site or situation of which has been completely ascertained, have been visited and described of late, by several British travellers. There is some diversity of opinion as to what particular palace, or edifice, of ancient Babylon, is now a particular mound or heap, but the greatness of the desolation admits no dispute. For, from being the "glory of kingdoms," Babylon is now the greatest of ruins ; and, after 2,400 years, it exhibits the precise scene defined in prophecy ; and it could not now be described in more appropriate terms than the following : — " The name and remnant are cut off from Babylon. There the Arabian pitches not his tent ; there the shepherds make not their folds; but wild beasts of the desert lie there, and their houses are full of doleful creatures, &c. It is a possession for the bittern, and a dwelling-place for dragons, a wilderness, a dry land and a desert, a burnt mountain, empty, wholly desolate, pools of water, heaps, and utterly destroyed, a land where no man dwelleth, every one that goeth by it is astonished," &c, Isa. xiii. 19, &c. ; xiv. 22, &c. ; Jer. 1. 13, 23, 39, &c. ; li. 13, 26, &c. Dread of evil spirits, and terror at the wild beasts among the ruins of Babylon, restrain the Arab from pitching his tent, and shepherds from making theii folds there. The princely palaces and habitations of Babylon are now nothing but unshapely heaps of bricks and rubbish ; along the sides, or on the summits of which, are now caverns, where porcu pines creep, and owls and bats nestle ; where " lions " find a den, and "jackals, hyenas, and other noxious animals, an unmolested retreat :" from which " issues a loathsome smell ;" and " the en trances to which are strewed with the bones of sheep and goats." Though utterly destroyed, " their houses are full of doleful crea tures, and owls dwell there, and satyrs dance there. The wild beasts lie there, and cry in their desolate houses, It shall no more be inhabited for ever," &c. On the one side of the Euphrates, the canals being dry, and the crumbled bricks on an elevated surface exposed to the scorching sun, these " sun-burnt ruins" cover an " arid plain," and Babylon is a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. On the other, the embankments of the river, and with them the vestiges of ruins over a large space, have been swept away ; the plain is, in general, " marshy, and in many places inaccessible " •especially after the annual overflowing of the Euphrates; "no so'n of man doth pass thereby ; the sea, or river, is come unto Babylon ; she is covered with the multitudes of the waves thereof." At that season, also, large deposites of the waters are left stagnant between the ruins, verifying the threat, " I will make thee a possession for 38 BABYLON. oS piw M BABYLON. 39 the bittern, and pools of water." The abundance of the country is gone as clean away, as if the besom of destruction had swept it from north to south, Isa. xiv. 23. There are, on the ruins of Bers Nemroud, or the temple of Belus, large fragments of brick-work that have been "completely molten," which must not only have been subjected to a heat " equal to that of the strongest furnace," but which, being vitrified all around, "bear evident proof" that the ruin resembles what the Scriptures prophesied it should become, a burnt mountain, Jer. li. 25. It is still a relic of Babylon the great, for, though a mass of ruins, it is still 235 feet high. From the summit is a distinct view of the heaps which constitute all that now remains of ancient Babylon ; a more complete picture of desolation could not well be imagined. The eye wandered over a barren desert, in which the ruins were nearly the only indication that it had ever been inhabited. It was impossible not to be reminded how exactly the predictions of Isaiah and Jeremiah have been fulfilled, even in the appearance Babylon was to present, that she should become heaps ; that her cities should be a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness. The walls of Babylon were so broad, that, as ancient historians relate, six chariots could be driven on them abreast. They ex isted for more than a thousand years after the prophecy was de livered. They were numbered among " the seven wonders of the world ;" but now it can scarcely be determined with certainty that even a vestige of them remains. Modern travellers have totally failed in discovering any trace of the city walls, and say, that "the Divine predictions against Babylon have been so literally fulfilled in the appearance of the ruins, as to give the fullest signification to the words of Jeremiah, ' The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken,' Jer. li. 58." And when we see the proudest works of man thus brought to the dust, where is the human strength, or wisdom, or beauty, or greatness, in which any ought to glory, and whose name alone is it that ought ever to be feared, and that shall be exalted for ever, but that of the Lord, who hath performed his every purpose against Babylon 1 And seeing that the glory of kingdoms is thus -.fallen, what earthly possession or privilege deserves to be prized like the citizenship of that kingdom which alone can never be moved ; and how worthless in comparison shall they all at last prove, even as the dust of fallen Babylon ! And what other stay need the true Christian seek, or what human fear need he dread, while he puts his trust in that God according to whose word the broad walls of Babylon have been utterly broken 1 And if the life on their lips, and the breath in their nostrils, and the graves of their brethren and forefathers, cannot teach the worldly, the careless, and the nominal Christian, that pride was not made for man, let them go and look for the walls of Babylon, and look on the blasted ruins of the temple of Belus. There they may learn, visibly illustrated, the truth of that word of God, " All that is in the world, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the 40 JOURNEYINGS AND ENCAMPMENTS OF ¦ world. And the world passeth away, and the fashion thereof." O that all such would remember, " He that doth the will of God abideth for ever." And now, Christian reader, on a careful review of all the proph ecies relative to Petra, Nineveh, Babylon, and all the adjoining territories, is it not a certain fact, which can admit of no disputa tion, and which needs no argument to support it, but which rests on the testimony of unbelievers, no less than that of Christians, that the fate of all these cities and countries, in reference to their past history and present state, demonstrates the Truth of the prophecies concerning them, and that all these prophecies, ratified by the events, give the most decisive proof that those holy men of old, who all testified of Jesus, " spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." No word can be more sure, in regard to past and present things, than theirs in regard to the future. The desolations were the work of men, and were all effected by the enemies of Christianity. The prediction of these literal facts, in all their particulars and minuteness, infinitely surpasses human foresight. The ruin of empires, while it proves the truth of every tittle of these predictions, is thus a miraculous confirmation and proof of the Inspiration of the Scriptures. " A glory gilds the Sacred page, Majestic like the Sun ; It gives a light to ev'ry age — It gives — but borrows none." JOURNEYINGS AND ENCAMPMENTS OF THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. illustrated with engravings. The country which lay in the route of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan stretches, in the form of a peninsula, between the two gulfs of the Red sea — that of Suez, and that of Akaba. It is 70 leagues in length, and 30 at its greatest breadth. This space is covered by barren mountains, consisting like those of Syria, with which they are connected, of calcareous stone, which becomes granite toward the south — Sinai and Horeb being enormous masses of that material : hence the name of the country, Arabia Petra. The products of the soil, which is of a dry gravel, are acacias, tamarisks, firs, and a few scattered shrubs. There are but few springs, and of those some are sulphureous and thermal, as at Hamman-Faroun ; and others brackish and nauseous, as at El-Naba opposite Suez. The whole country partakes of this saline property, and in the north are mines of fossil-salt. In some of the vales, as that of Gerandel, in which there are groves of trees, the soil, though scanty, is capable of cultivation THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 41 ". •• s- ¦¦ 3S JOURNEYINGS AND ENCAMPMENTS OF THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 45 The above answers to the description by Volney,* who, "albeit he meant not so," has offered an undesigned corroboration to the general features of the peninsula given by Moses, and serves to illustrate the account of the passage of Israel through the desert. The journeyings and encampments of the Israelites are neces sarily involved in much obscurity. The direct route from Goshen to Canaan lay northward by the shores of the Mediterranean, and occupies only eight stations ; but God was pleased to guide his people, by the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez, almost to the very angle of the peninsula before he turned their faces northward to Canaan. When Jehovah appeared to Moses at the burning bush on Horeb, he gave as a token that he had sent him, " When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain" (Ex. iii. 12) ; and in the 18th verse he commanded him to request of Pharaoh "to go three days' journey into the wilderness for sacrifice" (v. 3). The reason, wherefore " he led them not through the land of the Philistines," although "that was near," he himself gave, "lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt" (Ex. xiii. 17). This sufficiently accounts for the direction taken — the more so, as Jehovah was pleased miraculously to confirm it by his pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night. It would be well ever to bear in mind that in this, or in any other part of the journey, Moses was never left to lean to his own understanding, but was guided in every step of his way by the Divine hand. It is remarkable, that the error into which so many writers and travellers fall, of attributing the several movements of the Israelites to the wisdom and conduct of Moses, resembles that of the Israel ites themselves, who, in their seasons of rebellion, continually ascribed their position and circumstances to Moses and Aaron, without any reference to the Divine guidance. " Ye have brought us into this wilderness to kill us with hunger." Hence the rebuke of Moses — " What are we 1 your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord. Why chide ye with me 1 wherefore do ye tempt the Lord 1" (x. ; xvi. 3, 8 ; xvii. 2). Is there not something of the " same evil heart of unbelief" among us, when we attribute that to man which belongeth to God only 1 If so, we are not without warning ! (Heb. iii. 12). From Sinai, God led them northward to the borders of Canaan ; and when they permitted their fears to overcome their faith, they were turned back to wander in the country for a space of forty years, during the greater part of which little is recorded beyond the names of their encampments, which names were generally given by themselves, and had relation to particular circumstances. The direction of tneir journey was irregular, and their stay at the different encampments varied ; both being determined by Jehovah without any other apparent object than the filling up of the appointed time. As, however, the general features of the Arabian peninsula • Volney's Travels, vol.ii.,p. 341. 46 JOURNEYINGS AND ENCAMPMENTS OF correspond with the scriptural account, some of the situations enumerated in Num. xxxiii. are readily identified, and by them a general idea of the route may be obtained with sufficient accuracy. And, as Calmet observes, " it is better to offer the actual state of our knowledge, than to mislead, by affecting certainty where we ought only to mark conjecture."* The first day's journey of the Israelites was from Rameses to Succoth, where they seemed to have halted, probably to afford time for the whole 600,000 with their children to assemble. This may have been a place four leagues eastward from Cairo, called Birket-el-Hadgi, or the Pil grim's Pool, where the caravan to Mecca actually halts at the present day for that very purpose ; the spot being convenient for supplies of water and vegetation. Thence they proceeded to Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. So far was in the direct route to Canaan. Here, however, at the Divine command, they turned again, or took a southern course ; and, instead of rounding the head of the gulf, which would have brought the Red sea be tween them and their enemies, they came to Pihahiroth, over against Baalzephon (or Suez), between Migdol (or the tower) and the sea, at the entrance of one of those ravines which intersect the mountains on the eastern bank of the Nile. To Pharaoh this must have appeared extreme madness ; and he was encouraged to pursue, supposing they were " entangled in the land — the wilder ness had shut them in." After crossing the sea, they encamped at Shur, and then went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah, where they found wells of brackish water. Thence they came to Elim (Ex. xv. 27 ; Num. xxxiii. 9), on the skirts of the Desert of Sin, " where were twelve wells and threescore and ten palm-trees." Respecting the place of passage of the Israelites, and the positions of Marah and Elim, there is considerable diversity of opinion. Some contend, that the Israel ites crossed near Suez ; that, passing by the Ayoun Mousa, or springs of Moses, they came to Howara, three hours' distant from Gharendel (Corondel), and fifteen hours from Ayoun Mousa ; which, at the slow rate at which such a body would have marched, may well be considered a journey of two days, or part of three days. At Howara, where there is a well of bitter water, they would place Marah, to which there is such a resemblance in name, that early travellers speak of it under the name Marah. At Wady Gharendel, which is full of palms, acacias, tamarisks, and other shrubs, and which abounds in water, though not the purest, they place Elim. Such is Burckhardt's view. Dr. Shaw and others fix the passages of the Israelites opposite the Desert of Shur. He supposes they passed through the Valley of Baideah, which signi fies miraculous, and is still called Tiah Beni Israel, the road of the Israelites. He accordingly places Marah at Gharendel, and Elim near Tor, where is a spot generally answering to the description. In the Wilderness of Sin was the miracle of manna; and, pas^ * Calmet, vol. iv., p. 114. M14Q a Eda H The Red Sea, viewed from Ras Mohammed, on the southwest goast of Arabia-Petra. 50 JOURNEYINGS AND ENCAMPMENTS OF THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 51 sing by Dophkah and Alush, the Israelites came to Rephidim, where the people chode with Moses on account of a scarcity of water, and God brought water out of the rock : whence the place was called Massah and Meribah. Rephidim was on the southwest of Sinai, and bordering on the country of the Amalekites ; they were attacked by the latter, whom, through the prayers of Moses, they overcame. Here Moses was visited by Jethro, who suggested some hints to lighten his judicial labors. They then encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai, where they stayed nearly a year, during which was the solemn delivery of the law, with the events which followed — the mournful example of idolatry on the part of the people, and of contempt of sacred things by the sons of Aaron (Ex. xxxii. ; Num. iii). The direct route " from Horeb to Kadesh- Barnea by the way of Mount Seir was a journey of eleven days" (Deut. i. 2) ; but Jehovah was pleased to take them a more west erly course, through the Desert of Faran by Taberah and Kibroth- hataavah, which names (signifying a burning, and the graves of lust) call to mind the particular judgments with which the peo ple were visited at those places. At Hazeroth, the next station,. Moses was withstood by Aaron and Miriam ; which affair being settled, they encamped farther on in the wilderness of Paran tow ard Kadesh-Barnea, at Rithmah. Hence Moses sent to " spy out the land;" and here he awaited the report. When from their unbelief they were not permitted to enter the promised land, the command came — " To-morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea" (Num. xiv. 25).. The people, however, were determined to make an attempt contrary to admonition, and were discomfited by the Amalekites and Cana- anites even to Hormah. From their leaving Rithmah in Paran, till their return to Kadesh-Barnea, was a period of thirty-seven, years, during which we read little beyond the enumeration of their seventeen encampments. It is probable that the rebellion at Korah (Num. xvi.) took place soon after they had commenced their re turn; and that, from that time till they again drew toward the attainment of their hopes, and the old generation had passed away,, there was no other flagrant instance of disobedience. The tradition of the journey of the Israelites is preserved in the present name of El Tyh (or the wandering), applied to the whole desert and the mountains between it and Sinai. Their encamp ments during this period are given Num. xxxiii. ; those that are best determined are the following. By Rimmon-parez, after leav ing Kadesh, they came to Libnah, probably the same mentioned Josh. x. 29, 30 ; xxi. 13 ; 2 Kings, viii. 22 ; xix. 8 ; all which places represent it " extremely south in Judah, or extremely north in Edom."* Rissah, to which they next came, was probably El Arish on the Mediterranean. The country between this place and Mount Sephar — probably the same as Mount Cassius or Cat- jeh, which is a huge mole of sand almost surrounded by the sea — • Calmet, vol. iii., p. 119. 52 JOURNEYINGS AND ENCAMPMENTS OF is described as the most inhospitable part of the desert — of a fine white sand filled with nitrous particles, flashing back the glare of the sun, without the shelter of a rock. Hence they seem to have pursued their route toward Suez, whence their stations may be in some respects best deter mined by following the regular track of the caravans to Mecca. No wells, however, are to be found at Bene-jaakan (or the chil dren of Jaakan), but Jotbathah is a station of good water, and answers to the description Deut. x. 7, a land of rivers or streams. Ebrona was the last station before they reached the head of the gulf, and may be therefore supposed to have been at Sat-el-Acaba, where is good water. There can be no doubt that Elath is the same as the Eloth, which gives a name to the gulf; and that Eziongeber was nearly adjacent to it. These latter are all stations of the caravans to Mecca ; and as water would be the great in ducement to encamp in the desert, there is every reason to believe the stations of the Israelites would correspond. Thence through the Wilderness of Sin, or of Kadesh, they reached Mount Hor, upon the borders of Edom, where Aaron died. In Deut. x. 6, Aaron is said to have died at Mosera, near the Beeroth of Bene-jaakan, which is probably some mistake of transcription. As the Israel ites approached the south of Canaan, in consequence of the hostile movements of King Arad, and the Tefusal of the Edomites to allow them a passage through their borders, they were commanded to take a southwest course to the head of the Red sea, and thence to compass the land of Edom, and so by its eastern boundary to advance toward Moab. Their stations at that side were Salmo- nah, Punon, (where was the plague of fiery serpents,) Oboth, and Ije-Abarim ; but the exact positions of these places are unknown. The Moabites they weTe not permitted to attack, for "I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession" (Deut. ii. 9). They therefore marched through the Valley of Zared to Dibon-gad, and so to the river Arnon, the boundary-line between Moab and the land of the Amorites. Passing through the wilderness of that country, they came to the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo, where they seem to have made five several encampments ; and, being refused a passage through the land of the Amorites, gave battle to Sihon at Jahez, and defeated him. They then took possession of his kingdom ; and a detachment having turned by the way of Bashan, Og the king of Bashan came out against them with his people, and was put to the sword at Edrei. The camp continued at Pisgah till removed to the plains of Moab, near the banks of Jordan, over against Jericho (Num. xxii. 1) ; and it ex tended from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim. While here, Barak king of Moab sent to Pethor, in Mesopotamia, for Balaam ; who, though constrained by Jehovah to bless, afterward, by his evil advice to Balak, brought great trouble upon Israel (Num. xxv.). Here also then-umber of the people was taken — of men of 20 years -"" and upward, 601,730 — of Levites of a month old and upward, 23,000. The daughters of Zelophehad succeeded to the inherit- THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 55 ance of sons. Hence, a thousand of each tribe were sent against Midian — the whole country was conquered, and Balaam was among the slain (Num. xxxi.). The combined territory of Midian and the Amorites was, at their request, assigned to Reu ben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Moses then having divided the land of Canaan to the different tribes, and having ex horted and blessed the people, went up to the top of Pisgah, on Abarim, where he died, and was buried in the valley over against Beth-peor (Deut. xxxiv. 6). With the death of Moses closed the wanderings of the Israelites ; in a few days they crossed the Jor dan, the waters of which miraculously " rose on a heap" to allow the people to go over " dry shod ;" and, headed by Joshua, they advanced to the possession of the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed for ever. When contemplating the conduct of the Israelites in their pas sage through the desert, a species of sentimentalism has been in dulged in by some writers, as if the trials to which they were exposed, offer an apology for their acts of disobedience ; leaving, perhaps unintentionally, the impression upon the mind, that the judgments visited upon them were harsh and severe. "Since the world was created," says Mr. Carne, " there never were resi dences so fearful and wearying as those in which the Hebrews were doomed to dwell, month after month, and year after year, without any change, without the faintest vestige of the softness of nature. No streams, or shade, or green thing, ever came in their path, but endless and gleaming oceans of sand gathering eternally around them. Is it any wonder, amid this void of the senses, if people longed at times for an additional enjoyment, to vary the utter monotony of all things around 1. or if a repast of meat, or any former indulgence, were desired intensely 1 . . . What solace or amusement existed for their several families, com pelled to dwell and pant within the enclosure of their tents, or to go forth into the pitiless heat 1 ... Is it any wonder that men's hearts at intervals forgot their fidelity, and broke into discontent and rebellion 1 . . . Amid the horrors of extreme thirst, was faith sufficient to conquer pain and despair 1 Was the sight of the hourly miracle of the pillar and flame of force to fill the soul, ' that was dried up within them,' with hope and confidence 1 It is not in human nature to achieve such triumphs ; and the disorder and misery of soul that so often broke forth in the camps of Israel, would have been felt by any other nation who had been similarly tried."* Such observations little accord with that reverence wherewith Jehovah's dealings with his people ought ever to be regarded. It is very possible, " that the greater part of mankind, in the same situation, would have exhibited a similar conduct." We will even admit, that the whole race of man would have acted similarly, if Ifift to the natural workings of unbelief. But where do we find • Carne's Recollections of the East, pp. 273, 278. 56 JOURNEYINGS AND ENCAMPMENTS, ETC. in Scripture, either national or individual disobedience excused on account of its being natural % Man's natural state is enmity with God ; and Israel could no more claim commiseration in her rebellion, because it was natural, than a son might excuse an act of disobedience against his earthly father, by the plea that he hated him. Besides, no just comparison can be drawn between the sin of the Israelites, and that involved in the repining of in dividuals under ordinary circumstances. For were they not in a peculiar and miraculous manner under the guidance of Jehovah 1 Were they left to gather food from an herbless desert, and water from the thirsty sands 1 Did he not give them water from the flinty rock, and rain upon them angels' food 1 Did their garments wax old upon them 1 Had they not proof enough, that if they wanted " meat, or any former indulgence," they had to do with One who would withhold from them no manner of thing that was good 1 And what can be more idle than to talk of the want of " solace and amusement," when they had the source of all bles sedness in the midst of them 1 Their sin was proportioned to the privileges they despised. Had they been less favored, they had been less severely punished. And if we would derive profit from their history, we ought to avoid, on the one hand, an ignorant and uncharitable reprobation of them for sins, the seeds of which are in our own breasts ; and, on the other, a sentimental sympathy with their trials, inducing us to palliate what God has deemed worthy of the severest judgments. The great practical conclu sion is presented by St. Paul, in Cor. x. 5-11; in which passage there is not a word of pity for their privations, or excuse for their sin, or deprecation of their punishment ; but the solemn warning, that " all these things happened to them for our ensamples, and were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."* Scripture warrants a comparison between the external circum stances of the children of Israel up to this period, and the spiritual condition of Christ's Church. Their state of hard and afflictive bondage in Egypt typifies the far heavier yoke of sin. Their de liverance "by a mighty hand and outstretched arm," with the overthrow of their enemies, represents in like manner the great act of redemption, whereby the spiritual Israel was delivered, and the power or head of the serpent bruised (Luke, i. 68-79). Their painful journey in the desert, and their repining and occasional acts of rebellion, form a picture of the Church's travail, infirmities, and sins, while in the waste howling wilderness of this world. The wonderful deliverances they experienced, the chastisements and acts of long-suffering which marked the conduct of Jehovah toward them, the manna by which they were fed, and the water * How constantly are the remarks of travellers upon such subjects referrible to a want of due acquaintance with Scripture ! To Mr. Carne " it is inconceivable how the tender and delicate could have marched on foot through burning and yielding sands." With God all things are possible ; and he so ordered it, that Moses could appeal to the whole multitude, at the close of their journey, that for forty years their foot did not swell ! Deut. viii. 4. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 57 S oaa?3 6O w I o3 o S3 B THE TABLE OF SHOWBREAD. 59 from the rock of Horeb, are all emblematic of the Divine dealings with his redeemed church. Christ was the bread of life, and that rock was Christ (John vi. 33-38 ; 1 Cor. x. 3, 4 ; Rev. xxii. 17). The brazen serpent with its healing virtue represented Christ (John iii. 14) ; all the sacrifices and ceremonial observances point ed to the great truth, " the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin ;" and the Canaan, to which their longings were directed, was the type of that "rest which remaineth for the people of God." " Blessed are the people that are in such a case, yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God !" THE TABLE OF SHOW BREAD. At the time of the conquest of Spain by the Arabs, the Moslem general, Taric, found near Toledo, a rich precious table, adorned with hyacinths and emeralds. Gelit Aledris, in his description of Spain, calls this remarkable piece of antiquity, " The Table of Solomon, Son of David." This table is supposed to have been saved by the Jews, with other precious and sacred vessels, from the pillage of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, and brought with those fugitives who found their way to Spain. Indeed, some wri ters do not hesitate to assert, that there is little doubt of this hav ing been the original " Table of Showbread," made by Solomon, spoken of in the Book of Kings, and by Josephus ; and which, with the candlestick and the altar of incense, constituted the three wonders of the temple. That table which Titus brought with him in his triumphal return to Rome, was clearly not the same : for when the city and temple, after the first destruction, were rebuilt by the order of Cyrus, the sacred vessels were made anew; similar, indeed, to the old, but of inferior excellence. 60 DEATH OF ABEL. DEATH OF ABEL. To the broad earth's farthest verge, Me the Almighty's curse has driven ; My crime pursues me everywhere, And " Vengeance ! vengeance '." cries to Heaven. Wo is me !' my brother's blood Echoes through the wild seashore ;. It murmurs in the hollow blast — ^f It thunders in the torrent's roar. Whitehodse. To the contemplative mind, it must needs be a source of pleas ure to survey the earth when newly created by Almighty power. It was designed by infinite wisdom, intended to illustrate the divine benevolence, and was built for the residence of man, one of the noblest works of Jehovah. It presented beauty and glory ; its completion was celebrated by the songs of angels ; and its great Creator pronounced his work " all very good." Man, in a peculiar and complete sense, was happy. The earth and its diversified scenery charmed his sight ; the various sounds of its inhabitants were melody in his ears ; and its fruits were pleasant to his palate. The companion whom God had created for him, was all he could wish her to be, and, what was better than all this, he was on terms of friendship with his Maker, and held constant communion with him. But, alas ! while we indulge ourselves in the contemplation of this delightful scenery, we are reminded of the awful change that has taken place. Man has offended God by rebelling against his laws ; and, now the divine favor is withheld, angels look at us with pity, and devils with triumph ; the earth is cursed for the sin of man, while its various inhabitants rise up in opposition to him, and man himself is awfully degraded, the energies of his mind are con tracted, and his prospects of future glory are obscured. Unless a Mediator is found, to reconcile him to God, he must perish without hope ; and except his soul undergoes a new creation, he cannot dwell in the future paradise of bliss. The awful consequences of the fall of Adam were soon seen in the barrenness of the earth, the wildness of the brute creation, and the bad passions, the diseased bodies, and the dying frames, of the human race. The firstborn of our parents is introduced to our notice as a sinner and a murderer. Let us enter on the short and affecting history, and be concerned to derive improvement from it. It is perfectly natural, when parents are blest with children, to entertain the highest hopes of their future excellence and happi ness. When our first parents had sinned, Jehovah graciously promised a deliverer ; and when her firstborn entered the world, Eve imagined that he was the promised Messiah. It showed her faith in the promise of God ; but she did not then know that, be- DEATH OF ABEL. 61 DEATH OF ABEL. 63 fore the Saviour appeared, it was necessary that the awful nature of sin should be made fully evident and that the providential ar rangements of Jehovah would take four thousand years to accom plish his designs, and bring " the fulness of time" for the appear ance of Christ. She could not suppose that her beloved child had brought into the world a depraved heart, which would lead him to rebel against God, distress his parents, and murder his brother. Well might the wise man check inordinate joy at the birth of a, child, and ask — " Who knoweth whether he will be a wise man or a fool!" There can be little doubt but that Cain and his brother Abel were both instructed in the knowledge of God, so far as their pa rents themselves knew him. But, valuable as is a religious edu cation, and powerful as are its restraints, it does not always preserve its possessors from the most awful crimes. Depravity is deep- rooted and inveterate ; and when all may appear amiable and prom ising without, dispositions of the most sinful nature may be rankling within the heart. Cain presented an offering to the Lord. He did not slight the forms of religion ; but, alas ! that offering was not composed of the proper materials, nor was it accompanied with suitable feelings. Hence, while the offering of Abel of the firstlings of his flock, presented in humble expectation of, and de- pendance on, the promised Messiah, was accepted, the sacrifice of Cain was rejected by that jealous Being, who not only requires us to pay him homage, but expects it to be done in the way of his own appointment. Persecution, or opposition, to those who serve God in an accept able manner, seems inherent in the human heart. As men, since the fall, are naturally haters of their Creator, they must dislike those who enjoy his favor, and are concerned for his honor. When the fire from Heaven descended, and showed the divine ac ceptance of Abel's offering, and the same token was withheld from Cain, it called into exercise all his strong feelings of jealousy and hatred toward his brother. The affection he owed him by nature seemed to have fled, and revenge, however unreasonable, to have taken its place ; and as he could not show his opposition to God in any other way than injuring his brother, he selected the most hateful methods in which to manifest the malice that reigned in hia bosom. It has often been remarked, that religious disputes rise higher than any other ; and we see it exemplified here. True., Abel has imbibed much of the spirit of that world to which he is rapidly hasting, and he shows the meekness and affection which adorn the saintly character ; but this spirit increases the rage of Cain, who is only influenced by Satan. His anger knows no bounds, and he is careless as to the consequences of showing that disposition. Wearing the mask of friendship, he invites Abel to the field, where they had probably often held brotherly intercourse ; and there, his smothered rage bursting forth, and strengthened by its appa rent suspension, he deprives him of his life. 04 DEATH OF ABEL. What a series of reflections rush into our minds as we contem plate this awful fact ! Perhaps death had never before entered our world ; and how affecting the thought, that the first departure of a human being from our earth was occasioned by a murder, and that murder the result of eminent piety in the person of its sub ject ! What must have been the feelings of our first parents, as they looked upon the remains of their beloved son ! Well might they call him Abel, and mourn ; well might they say thai " man, at his best estate, is vanity." On the supposition that Abel was the first who entered the realms of felicity from our world, we cannot but imagine that feel ings of delight would fill the breasts of each of the angels on his account ; while they would, if indeed it were possible, feel a mo mentary horror at the means by which he was dismissed from earth. But his sufferings are now over, and he shall for ever en joy an infinite reward for his attachment to the service of God ; angels hail him as delivered from the sufferings and persecutions of a sinful world, and as being their companion for ever ; and Jesus must view him with holy delight, as being the first fruits of that harvest of immortal souls given him as the reward of the suf ferings he had engaged to endure. But what are the feelings of the wicked fratricide 1 Who can describe the agonies of his conscience, or represent the horrors of which he is the subject 1 The scene is viewed with an awful interest by the Supreme Governor of the Universe ; and it is not long before he calls the sinner to account for his crimes. Cain acts the hypocrite even before his Mazer, denies a knowledge of Abel, and impudently asks — "Am I my brother's keeper 1" We are shocked at such conduct on his part ; but do we never exem plify his spirit 1 Do we never profess that before God which we never felt 1 Do not we willingly remain ignorant of misery which we could readily relieve 1 Do not we sometimes cherish the spirit of Cain toward perishing sinners, and make but little exertion for their salvation 1 And will not God surely visit us for these things 1. The despair of Cain, when he was sentenced by Jehovah as ac cursed, and to be a vagabond in the earth, was indescribably awful. The Supreme Governor, by some mark, distinguished him from all other men, and threatened the most tremendous punishment to him who should take away his life. Thus did he long continue him in the world, showing men the dreadful consequences of trans gression,, by his suffering the vengeance of divine wrath. What distinguishing mark he bore, we cannot say ; perhaps it was, as Saurin suggests, a garment different from those worn by others ; possibly it was some mark on his forehead, as some have thought; or might it not have been the agony of despair depicted in his ¦ countenance 1 His feelings must be most acutely harassed, or he would not have exclaimed, " My punishment is greater than I can bear!" The question has been asked, " Who could take vengeance on Cain for the death of Abel, when we read not of his having anv DEATH OF ABEL. 65 other relatives, his father and mother excepted 1" A moment's consideration must convince the inquirer, that, though Moses has not mentioned the fact, there must have been many inhabitants on the globe beside them. A very learned writer, referred to by Saurin, supposes the melancholy event to have occurred in the year of the world 128 ; and shows, that by that time, there might have been descended from our first parents not less than 421,164 persons. Among such a number Cain might well imagine there were many who would be disposed to revenge the death of such a man as " righteous Abel." We will not attempt to describe the misery which Cain felt through the remaining part of his life. He travelled from place to place ; then attempted to drive the load from his mind by en gaging in the building of a city, and employing himself in busi ness : but all was in vain. He endured a life of misery, and is exhibited as an object of infamy to the end of time. " His life is an oppressive load, That hangs upon him like a curse ; For all the pleasure — thoughts that glowed, And now extinguished by remorse ! And death ! oh, death ! 't is worse ! 't is worse ! How dreadful in the grave to lie, Yet sleep not ! — evermore to nurse The worm that will not, cannot die !" Let it ever be the concern of each of my readers anxiously to guard against those risings of anger which are displeasing to God, and which lay the foundation of unhappiness to ourselves and others ; — let us learn the impossibility of concealing sin from the eye of Omniscience ; and may the consideration that all our ac tions and thoughts are open to his view, preserve us from trans- fressing his law ; — let us reflect on Abel as a type of the holy esus, who manifested the spirit of love and of meekness when murdered by his enemies; — let us see that sin will be followed by the reproaches of conscience, the faithful witness for God in every human breast ; — and may we ever recollect that Jehovah will avenge himself on every transgressor. The day of punishment may be long deferred, but a period will come when we shall re ceive the reward of our doings before an assembled universe. The last great day will bring to light many transactions that have been hitherto concealed from human view, but which the Judge of all will fully disclose. " For there is nothing hid that shall not then be revealed." Anciently it was customary to wash the feet of strangers com ing offa journey, because generally they travelled barefoot, or wore sandals only, which did not secure them from dust or dirt. Jesus Christ washed the feet of his apostles, and thus taught them to perform the humblest service for one another. 66 MOUNT ARARAT. MOUNT ARARAT. The name of Ararat occurs only twice in the Old Testament, Gen. viii. 4, and Jer. li. 27, and in both places denotes a country, being one of the fifteen provinces of Armenia. t The ark of Noah, when the flood subsided, is said to have rested " on the mountains of Ararat," and that name has been given by the moderns to the principal mountain in the district, as being probably that on which the ark rested. The Rev. Eli Smith gives the following lively account of this celebrated spot : — " We passed very near the base of that noble mountain, which is called by the Armenians Masis, and by Europeans generally Ararat ; and for more than twenty days had it constantly in sight, except when obscured by clouds. It consists of two peaks, one considerably higher than the other, and is connected with a chain of mountains running offto the southwest and west which, though high, are not of a sufficient elevation to detract at all from the lonely dignity of this stupendous mass. From Nackhchewan, at the dis tance of at least a hundred miles to the southeast it appeared like an immense isolated cone, of extreme regularity, rising out of the valley of the Araxes. Its height is said to be 16,000 feet, but I do not know by whom the measurement was taken. " The eternal snows upon its summit occasionally form vast avalanches, which precipitate themselves down its sides, with a sound not unlike that of an earthquake. When we saw it, it was white on its very base with snow. And certainly not among the mountains of Ararat or of Armenia generally, nor those of any part of the world where I have been, have I ever seen one whose ma jesty could plead half so powerfully its claims to the honor of having once been the stepping-stone between the old world and the new. I gave myself up to the feeling, that on its summit were once congregated all the inhabitants of the earth ; and that, while in the valley of the Araxes, I was paying a visit to the second cra dle of the human race. Nor can I allow my opinion to be at all shaken by the Chaldee paraphrasts, the Syrian translators and commentators, and the traditions of the whole family of Syrian churches, which translate the passage in question — mountains of the Kurds. The Septuagint and Josephus, who support the He brew original, certainly speak the language of a tradition quite as ancient. Not to urge the name of places around Mount Masis in favor of its claims, as I think in the case of Nackhchewan might be done with some force, there is one passage of Scripture of some importance, which I do not recollect to have ever seen applied to elucidate this subject. In Gen. xi. 2, where the movements of the descendants of Noah are first alluded to, it is said, that they jour neyed from the east, and came into the land of Shinar. Now, had the ark rested upon the mountains of Kurdistan, they would natu rally have issued at once into Mesopotamia, and have made their E-iOf ¦< us ->> H £> O S -- ¦-¦ ^/il, &l ¦L Mount Ararat. MOUNT ARARAT. 69 way down to Babylon from the north ; nor would they have been obliged to go so far to find a plain. But in migrating from the valley of the Araxes, they would of course keep on the eastern side of the Median mountains, until they almost reached the par allel of Babylon, before they would find a convenient place for crossing them. Such is now the daily route of caravans going from this city to Bagdad. They go south as far as Kermanshah, and then making almost a right angle, take a western direction to Bagdad ; thus making their journey some ten or twelve days longer than it would be were they to take the more mountainous and dif ficult road by Soleymania. It has been objected to this location of Mount Ararat, that there are now no olive-trees near enough for Noah's dove to have plucked her leaf from ; and perhaps this opinion gave rise to the tradition in favor of the Kurdish mount ains, which are so near to the warm regions of Mesopotamia. In fact, there are no olive-trees in the valley of the Araxes, nor of the Cyrus, nor in any part of Armenia we have seen, nor yet, as we have been told, on the shores of the Caspian. They are to be found no nearer than some of the warm valleys of the province of Akhaltzikhi and the basin of tbe ancient Colchis. We mentioned this objection in a circle of learned monks at Etchmiaxin. They shrewdly replied, by asking if it would be very hard work for a pigeon to fly to Akhaltzikhi and back again. Their explanation was in fact satisfactory. The distance in the direction taken by caravans, is about one hundred and thirty miles, and in a straight line must be less ; a distance which, according to some recent ex periments made upon the flight of carrier-pigeons between London and Antwerp, might be easily passed over twice in a day by that bird." And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made : and he sent forth, a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth- Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were aba ted from off the face of the ground ; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face ot the whole earth -. then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days ; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark ; and the dove came into him in the evening ; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive-leaf plucked off: so Noah knew the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed- yet other seven days ; and sent forth tho dove ; which returned not again unto him any more. — Gen. viii. 6 — 12. 70 EGYPT. EGYPT. ANCIENT MONUMENTS, BUILDINGS, Etc. ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS. We intend to devote a considerable space to the above subjects. Already we have given several engravings of the ruins of Petra. It is in this way, the beauties of art become immediately subser vient to the interests of religion. Where, very recently it was difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain a single fact, and where only indirect evidence could be obtained, men may now, as it were, look upon " the cities of the East," and see how the lines of con fusion and the stones of emptiness have been stretched over- them. And we may now, in like manner, look upon the ruins of the chief city of Edom, of which the very existence was, till lately, entirely unknown. Every view of these cities and monuments, seems to attest their vast magnificence, and the almost incredible and in conceivable labor, continued as it must have been from age to age, prior to the days of Moses, and later than the Christian era, by which so great a multiplicity of dwellings, tombs, and temples, were erected ; and, in many instances' (take Petra for an example), excavated from the solid rocks. Egypt, a celebrated country of Africa, is about 500 miles in length, and 250 in its greatest breadth. It is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean ; on the east by the Red sea, and the isthmus of Suez ; on the south by Nubia ; and on the west by Barbary. Egypt is divided into three parts, called the Upper, Middle, and Lower, which last comprehends that part called the Delta. This country is particularly noted for having been the seat of the arts and sciences, from which Greece and other nations received them. The principal cities of ancient Egypt were Mem phis and Thebes ; the former stood about 100 miles from the mouth of the river Nile, near the place where Grand Cairo, the present capital, now stands. Thebes, long celebrated for its hundred gates, was seated about two hundred miles above Mem phis, below which stood Coptos. Near Memphis, stood the famous pyramids, which have always ranked among the wonders of the world. These buildings are still wonderful ; three of them now remain, and are supposed to be the burial-place of the ancient Egyptian kings. The largest of the pyramids, at the base, covers ten acres of ground, and is above 500 feet in perpendicular height, and 700 if measured obliquely. The stones with which this enor mous edifice is built are thirty feet in length. One hundred thousand workmen were constantly employed for thirty years, in carrying on this amazing structure, during which time, more than two hundred thousand pounds of our money in value was expended for their maintenance. Near the pyramids stood an enormous sphinx, now almost sunk in the sand, so that the top of its back only is visible : its head Suez viewed from the northeast. 74 EGYPT. Egyptian Obelisk at Alexandria. EGYPT. 75 rises twenty-seven feet above the sand The whole of Upper Egypt is described as having been very populous. The govern ment of ancient Egypt was monarchical. Among the natural curiosities of Egypt, the most remarkable is the river Nile, which is described in a separate article. The present population of Egypt is about two millions and a half ; and when a Roman prov ince, it is supposed that it contained upward of seven millions. The French invaded this country in 1798, under Bonaparte, who defeated the Egyptians in several engagements ; but after his de parture a strong British force arrived to aid the country, and the French were expelled, 1801. The climate of Egypt is very hot, and in general, unhealthy : rain in this country in summer is considered a phenomenon. The plague frequently visits its inhabitants. But during the autumn and winter, Egypt is considered one of the most delightful and pleasant countries in the world. Grand Cairo, the capital, is a large and populous city, containing about 300,000 inhabitants. The castle of this place is said to have been built by the celebrated Saladin, in which are the remains of the most noble monuments ; but the greatest part of this once majestic building is now in ruins. Alexandria, once the seat of learning and royal magnificence, lies now, for the greater part, in ruins. This city was built by Alexander the Great, B. C. 332, and was long the seat and capital of the Ptolemys. According to Josephus, Alexandria was esteemed the finest city in the world, Rome only excepted. At Alexandria was the celebrated library, consisting of 700,000 volumes, which was begun to be collected by Ptolemy Philadelphus, and com pleted by his successors. This library is said to have been de stroyed by the Saracens, at the command of the calif Omar. Alexandria now contains about 6,000 inhabitants. The most re markable antiquities near Alexandria are two obelisks, commonly called Cleopatra's Needles, covered with hieroglyphics, Pompey's Pillar, and the ancient Tower of Pharos. Cleopatra's Needles are about 60 feet high, and consist each of a single stone, seven feet square at the base. One of them is now overturned, broken, and lying under the sand, the other is represented by the annexed engraving. Pharos,, a watchtower, so celebrated in antiquity, was reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. It was 400 feet high, and was destroyed by the Turks. Suez, formerly a place of great trade, is now a small town, and gives name to the isthmus that joins Africa to. Asia. Near this city, the children of Israel are supposed to have entered the gulf, when they crossed the Red sea. The Egyptians are of a tawny complexion. They display little of that love for science and literature for which their ancestors were so renowned. Here it was that geometry was invented, and it is generally supposed, that it was of the Egyptian priests that Pythagoras acquired the knowledge of the " True System of the World." 76 EGYPT. Among the many monuments of antiquity which the destroying hand of time has spared for the admiration of posterity, there is none more wonderful than those found in Egypt — " The land of the Pharaohs." In many respects it is the most interesting coun try on the face of the earth ; we continue our remarks with a de scription of the " Northern gate of Dendera or Tentyra." The ruin is described inRussel's interesting " View of Ancient and Modern Egypt." He remarks : — " Dendera, which is commonly identified with the ancient Tentyra, presents some very striking examples of that sumptuous architecture which the people of Egypt lavish upon their places of worship. The gateway in particular, which leads to the tem ple of Isis, has excited universal admiration. Each front, as well as the interior, is covered with sculptured hieroglyphics, which are executed with a richness, a precision, elegance of form, and variety of ornament, surpassing in many respects the similar edifices which are found at Thebes and Philoe. The height is forty-two feet, the width thirty-three, and the depth seventeen. 'Advancing along the brick ruins,' says Dr. Richardson, 'we came to an elegant gateway, which is also sandstone, neatly hewn, and completely covered with sculpture and hieroglyphics, remarkably well cut. Immediately over the centre of the doorway is the beautiful Egyptian ornament usually called the globe, with serpent ' and wings, emblematical of the glorious sun poised in the airy firmament of heaven, supported and directed in his course by the eternal wisdom of the Deity. The sublime phraseology of Scrip ture, " the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings," could not be more emphatically or more accurately repre sented to the human eye than by this elegant device.' The tem ple itself still retains all its original magnificence. The centuries which have elapsed since the era of its foundation have scarcely affected it in any important part, and have impressed upon it no greater appearance of age than serves to render it more venerable and imposing. To Mr. Hamilton, who has seen innumerable monuments of the same kind throughout the Thebaid, it seemed as if he were now witnessing the highest degree of architectural excellence that had ever been attained on the borders of the Nile. Here were concentrated the united labors of ages, and the last effort of human art and industry, in that uniform line of construc tion which had been adopted in the earliest times. " The portico consists of twenty-four columns, in three rows ; each above twenty-two feet in circumference, thirty-two feet high, and covered with hieroglyphics. On the front, Isis is in general the principal figure to whom offerings are made. On the archi trave are represented two processions of men and women bringing to their goddess, and to Osiris, who is sitting behind her, globes encompassed with cows' horns, mitred snakes, lotus-flowers, vases, little boats, graduated staffs, and other instruments of their emble matical worship. The interior of the pronaos is adorned with sculptures, most of them preserving part of the paint with which EGYPT. 77 they have been covered. Those on the ceiling are peculiarly rich and varied, all illustrative of the union between the astronomical and religious creeds of the ancient Egyptians ; yet, though each separate figure is well preserved and perfectly intelligible, we must be more intimately acquainted with the real principles of the sciences, as they were then taught, before we can undertake to explain the signs in which they were imbodied. " The sekos, or interior of the temple, consists of several apart ments, all the walls and ceilings of which are in the same way covered with religious and astronomical representations. The roofs, as is usual in Egypt, are flat, formed of oblong masses of stone resting on the side-walls ; and when the distance between these is too great, one or two rows of columns are carried down the middle of the apartment, on which the huge flags are support ed. The capitals of these columns are very richly ornamented with the budding lotus, the stalks of which, being extended a certain way down the shaft, give it the appearance of being fluted, or rather scolloped. The rooms have been lighted by small per pendicular holes cut in the ceiling, and, where it was possible to introduce them, by oblique ones in the sides. But some idea might be formed of the perpetual gloom in which the apartments on the ground-floor of the sekos must have been buried, from the fact, that where no side-light could be introduced, all they receiv ed was communicated from the apartment above ; so that, not withstanding the cloudless sky and the brilliant colors on the walls, the place must have been always well calculated for the mysterious practices of the religion to which it was consecrated. On one corner of the roof there was a chapel or temple twenty feet square, consisting of twelve columns, exactly similar in figure and proportions to those of the pronaos. The use to which it may have-been applied, must probably remain one of the secrets con nected with the mystical and sometimes cruel service in which the priests of Isis were employed, though it is by no means unlikely that it was meant as a repository for books and instruments collected for the more innocent and exalted pursuits of practical astronomy. " The western wall of the great temple is particularly interesting for the extreme elegance of the sculpture, as far as Egyptian sculpture is susceptible of that character — for the richness of" the dresses in which the priests and deities are arrayed, and even of the chairs in which the latter are seated. Here are frequent rep resentations of men who seem prepared for slaughter or just going to be put to death. On these occasions, one or more appear with their hands or legs tied to the trunk of a tree, in the most painful and distorted attitudes. " The grand projecting cornice, one of the most imposing features of Egyptian architecture, is continued the whole length of this and the other walls ; a moulding separates it from the architrave ; and, being carried down the angles of the building, gives to the whole a solid finished appearance, combined with symmetry of parts and chasteness of ornament. 78 EGYPT. " In a small chapel behind the temple, the cow and the hawk seem to have been particularly worshipped, as priests are fre quently seen kneeling before them, presenting sacrifices and offerings. In the centre of the ceiling is the same front face of Isis, in high relief, illuminated, as it were, by a body of rays, issuing from the mouth of the same long figure, which, in the other temples, appear to encircle the heavenly bodies. About two hundred yards eastward from this chapel, is a propylon of small dimensions, resembling in form that which conducts to the great temple, and, like it, built in a line with the wall which sur rounds the sacred enclosure. Among the sculptures on it, which appear of the same style, but less finished than those on the large temple, little more is worthy of notice than the frequent exhibition of human slaughter by men or by lions. Still farther toward the east, there is another propylon, equally well preserved with the rest, about forty feet in height, and twenty feet square at the base. Among these sacred figures on this building, is an Isis pointing with a reed to a graduated staff, held by another figure of the same deity, from which are suspended scales containing water- animals ; the whole group, perhaps, being an emblem of her in fluence over the Nile, in regulating its periodical inundations. "The enclosure, within which all the sacred edifices of Dendera, with the exception of the last propylon, are contained, is a square of about a thousand feet. It is surrounded by a wall, which, where best preserved, is thirty-five feet in height, and fifteen feet thick. The crude bricks of which it is built, were found to be fifteen inches and a half long, seven and three quarters broad, and four inches and three quarters thick. There have been, at certain in tervals, projections of the wall or towers ; but it is difficult to say whether for purposes of defence or strength. "Dr. Richardson observes, in reference to the sculptures on the temple of Dendera, that ' the female figures are so extremely well executed, that they do all but speak, and have a mildness of feature and expression that never was surpassed.' Everything around appears to be in motion, and to discharge the functions of a living creature ; being, at the same time, so different from what is ever seen in Europe, that the mind is astonished, and feels as if abso lutely introduced to personages of the remotest ages to converse with them, and to witness the ceremonies by which they delighted to honor their gods. The temple of Dendera, says this authoT, is by far the finest in Egypt ; the devices have more soul in them ; and the execution is of the choicest description. " Edfou, the Apollinopolis Magna of the Greeks (of which we here give an elegant and correct engraving), presents several architectural remains worthy of notice. There are two temples in a state of great preservation ; one of them consisting of high pyramidal propyla, a pronaos, portico, and sekos, the form most generally used in Egypt ; the other is periptoral, and is, at the same time, distinguished by having, on its several columns, the appalling figure of Typhon, the emblem of the evil principle. EGYPT. 79 o<3 EGYPT. 81 " The pyramidal propylon which forms the principal entrance to the greater temple, is one of the most imposing monuments extant of Egyptian architecture. Each of the sides is a hundred feet in length, thirty wide, and a hundred high. Many of the figures sculptured on it are thirty feet in height, and are executed in so masterly and spirited a style, as to add considerably to the grand effect of the building. In each division there is a staircase of one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty steps, which conducts the visiter into spacious apartments at different elevations. The horizontal sections of each wing diminish gradually from one hundred feet by thirty, to eighty-three by twenty, as will appear to the eye from the accompanying plate ; although the solidity and height of the propylon give it more the aspect of a fortress or place of defence than of the approach to a religious edifice. As an explanation of this peculiarity, we are told, that the addition of these gateways to a temple was permitted as a favor to such of the ancient kings of Egypt as, for their pious and beneficent actions, became entitled to perpetuate their names in the mansions of their gods. The Ptolemys, who claimed the right of sovereignty from conquest, indulged in the same magnificence, and built por ticoes, propyla, and even temples. Cleopatra, in her misfortunes, is said to have removed with the most valuable part of her property to an edifice of a very extraordinary size and structure, which she had formerly erected near the fane of Isis. Most probably, as Mr. Hamilton thinks, it was a propylon of the kind just described. Nothing could be better adapted for her purpose ; inasmuch as the variety of apartments offered every convenience that could be desired, and when the small door at the bottom of the staircase was closed, it was perfectly inaccessible. " In no part of Egypt are more colossal sculptures seen on the walls of a public building, than on the larger temple at Edfou. These, we are told, are extremely well executed, and in some cases the colors are still completely unchanged. Priests are seen paying divine honors to the Scarabaeus, or beetle, placed upon an altar — an insect which is said to have been typical of the sun, either because it changes its appearance and place of abode every six months, or because it is wonderfully productive. We regret to find that both the temples, though well preserved, are almost concealed among heaps of dirt and rubbish ; indeed, the terrace of the larger one is occupied by several mud-cottages belonging to the villagers, and the interior chambers of the sekos are indis criminately used as sinks, granaries, or stables." The Camel. — According to the testimony of naturalists, the camel is fond of music, and has a very correct idea of time. A writer says, that, when the conductor wishes them to perform ex traordinary journeys, instead of chastising, he encourages them with a song, and that, although they had stopped, and refused to proceed any farther, they then went cheerfully on, and much quicker than a horse, when pushed by the spur. •6 82 PYRAMID OF FAIOUM. PYRAMID OF FAIOUM. The structure represented in our engraving, which is copied from the great French work on Egypt, represents a pyramid of sun-dried bricks in Faioum, the ancient Arsinoe. The large bricks of which it is formed are made of black, loamy, friable earth, or Nile-mud, compacted with chopped straw, in the same way that such bricks are still made in Egypt and elsewhere in the East. There are other such pyramids at Dashour and Saccara, differing little except in size and degree of preservation. The pyramid at Faioum stands on an elevated, sandy plateau ; and its base is a square of a hundred and twenty-two yards, its present height being a hundred and ninety-seven feet. This and the other brick pyra mids have not obtained the degree of notice they deserve, the attention of travellers having been too exclusively engrossed by the pyramids of Ghizeh. The French, however, discovered a sub terraneous passage to this pyramid, and found within a sarcopha gus and also a salt spring. It will be seen that, in common with most of the other structures of the same material, it has lost much of its pyramidal form, and approaches to that of a mound ; and if the reader turns to the engraving of the Bers Nemroud and compares the two, with the recollection that the material of both is sun-dried bricks, he will be led to conclude that there was much resemblance, if not identity, in form and intention between the now ruined mounds of Babylonia and the existing pyramids of Egypt. It is a remarkable confirmation of this view that Herodotus, who describes the Tower of Babylon as a pyramid with graduated stories diminishing with the ascent, mentions the pyramids of Egypt as being similarly constructed, with stories or platforms diminishing in size as they rose in height, and is understood to state that they were afterward completed to a smooth surface, by being coated with blocks of stone, which filled up the interstices between the different stories so as to obliterate the graduated by a sloping appearance. Observations on the pyramids have con firmed this account of their construction. A Scene of Extreme Horror in the Pyramids of Egypt. — Some French travellers attempted to explore the vaults of the Egyptian pyramids, and had already traversed an extensive laby rinth of chambers and passages ; they were on their return, and had arrived at the most difficult part of it — a very long and wind ing passage, forming a communication between two chambers ; its opening narrow and low. The ruggedness of the floor, sides, and roof, rendered their progress slow and laborious, and these diffi culties increased rapidly as they advanced. The torch with which they had entered became useless, from the impossibility of holding it upright, as the passage diminished its height. Both its height and width at length, however, became so much contracted, that the party were compelled to crawl on their bellies. Their wan- pyramid of faioum. 83 co OS A "V ., m m jl I **m& m&8fflM\ wm. >a i Egyptian Lime Grinding. ORIENTAI HOUSES. 87 derings in these interminable passages (for such in their fatigue of body and mind they deemed them) seemed to be endless. Their alarm was very great, and their patience already exhausted, when the headmost of the party cried out, that he could discern the light at the exit of the passage, at a considerable distance ahead, but that he could advance no farther, and that, in his efforts to press on, in hopes to surmount the obstacle without complain ing, he had squeezed himself so far into the reduced opening, that he had now no longer sufficient strength even to recede ! The situation of the whole party may be imagined : their terror was beyond the power of direction or advice ; while the wretched leader, whether from terror, or the natural effect of his situation, swelled so that, if it was before difficult, it was now impossible for him to stir from the spot he thus miserably occupied. One of the party, at this dreadful and critical moment, proposed, in the intense selfishness to which the feeling of vital danger reduces all, as the only means of escape from this horrible confinement — this living grave — to cut in pieces the wretched being who formed the obstruction, and clear it by dragging the dismembered carcass piecemeal past them! He heard this dreadful proposal, and con tracting himself in agony at the idea of this death, was reduced by a strong muscular spasm to his usual dimensions, and was dragged out, affording room for the party to squeeze themselves by, over his prostrate body. This unhappy creature was suffocated in the effort, and was left behind a corpse. ORIENTAL HOUSES. The roofs of Oriental houses are always flat. They are gener ally composed of reeds, branches, and twigs, laid over the rafters, the whole trodden into a somewhat compact mass, and covered externally with earth, clay, or plaster, moTe or less tempered in different countries, and sufficiently calculated, with proper ¦ care, to keep out the infrequent rains of climates naturally dry. As the roof is much resorted, to by the people on various occasions, par ticularly to enjoy the cool of the evenings, and to sleep in the open air during the summer nights, a parapet, to prevent the dan ger of a fall, is evidently necessary. In fact, most eastern houses have parapets, built with brick or mud, and of various heights, from three to six feet, which not only prevent this danger, but secure some degree of privacy to this open bed-chamber. The latter would indeed seem to be the primary object, as the side of the roof that overlooks the inner court of the house itself is gen erally less guarded than that toward the street. The danger of a fall is equal either way, but the writer has known it very common for roofs to have a high wall toward the street, without any fence toward the court-yard. As the former is almost never omitted, and the latter often is, we incline to think that the present direc- So EGYPTIAN HOUSE. tion applies particularly to the necessity that there should be a defence toward the interior area of the house itself. The latter, when it does exist, is usually either a wooden balustrade or a parapet, much lower than that on the exterior wall of the house. The houses of the ancient Greeks and Romans were also built with flat roofs, so that we read of their walking and taking the air upon them, and also standing there to see the show and public processions. Indeed, the custom of sleeping on the housetop was not unknown, or the danger from their being without parapets. The accident which happened to Elpenor, in Homer (Odyssey, x.), wnight easily occur in an Oriental house wanting a proper defence on both sides of the roof. This person — -" Seeking cooler air, which, overcharged With wine, he needed, on the palace-roof Of Circe slept, apart from all the rest. Awakened by the clamor of my friends Newly arisen, he also sprang to rise, And, in his haste, forgetful where to find The deep descending stairs, plunged through the roof. That shock his neck-bone, parting at the joint, Sustained not, and his spirit sought the shades." — Cowfek, EGYPTIAN HOUSE. Our engraving represents an Egyptian house, such as is met with at Alexandria and Cairo. Many of the houses have slight constructions upon their roofs, made of wickerwork of bamboo stalks and leaves, forming little closets in which they severally sleep. These closets afford privacy for their beds, and defend them from the copious dews which frequently fall. In the engraving it will be observed, that an open court surrounded with high walls, fronts the dwelling. Within this court, all the domestic duties of the household are performed, hidden from public view. In Lima, and several other of the South American cities, the houses are similarly constructed, with this difference — instead of one in dividual house being furnished with an exclusive court, it is but an open area, around which the separate dwellings of several families are arranged, having but a single entrance from the street. ORIENTAL GATE. The oriental houses do not front the street, but the entrance thence leads to a court, which frequently communicates with a second court, beyond which is the entrance to the main building. In those countries, where the will of the ruler is law, the appear ance of wealth is dangerous ; and hence it is seldom that any in dication of the wealth or rank of an individual can be gathered from the appearance of the outside gate or entrance. Travellers EGYPTIAN PLASTERERS AT WORK. 89 a ?a Ui HWSJHW 3owM liii ¦ ¦ ^Bs-i^^^^ II i||ii|||i|||| H I ''!|1 IH1I.*J ,'91 .A-iSlffli illtt ill EGYPTIAN HOUSES. 91 Battlement of Roof. mL mm* HRffW' BSSHJEyk Egyptian House. ORIENTAL GATE. 93 assert that these gates, when leading to the dwellings of the most opulent, in which splendor of every kind is displayed, are fre quently nothing more than a roughly constructed door of unpaint ¦ ed wood. Sometimes, however, the vanity and conceit of the opulent, cause them to trust to their popularity with the people, and to make a public display of their wealth. But they generally repent of such folly. Such was the case with a wealthy Mahometan of the city of Bagdad. Trusting to his great popularity, he ven tured to erect a splendid gate at the entrance of his dwelling, of which the following cut is a representation. " One day," says the editor of the Pictorial Bible (who relates the fact, and gives the accompanying sketch), " when riding through the streets in which we lived, he was dragged from his horse, near our door, and put to death on the spot, by order of the pacha, who immedi ately took possession of all his property !" Such gates, and such dangers, existed in the time of Solomon, who says in Proverbs, xvii. 19, " He that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction." Oriental Gate. 94 MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ETC., OF THE EAST. MANNERS, CUSTOMS, &c, OF THE EAST ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS. " Within the last few years, the extension of commercial pursuits, and the researches of industrious travellers, have developed the history, the manners and customs, and the natural history, both ancient and modern, of Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and Judea, to an extent hitherto unparalleled ; and the attention of the general reader is very frequently called to those countries of the East, whose very existence has seemed almost fabulous. Ever since the French army penetrated into Egypt, and the great work concerning the history and antiquities of that country was published by the Em peror Napoleon, European travellers and scholars have made that and the adjoining countries the theatre of their studies and re searches ; and yet, till within ten years past, very little information, interesting to the general reader, has been given to the public in a form that put it within the reach of those of humble station to procure. But now, books of travels, histories, natural histories, and scientific works, all in cheap form, are frequently issuing from the teeming press, and we are becoming quite familiar with the land of the Pharaohs, the wildernesses of Arabia, and the in teresting country of Palestine. The interest awakened in the public, by lectures and published records of travel, has rendered all knowledge concerning the orientals very acceptable. Under the impression that such is the case, and believing that we shall render our readers an acceptable service by dispensing such information, we propose to give descriptions of the manners, costumes, and customs, of the people of the East, illustrated with numerous en gravings. We commence with the personal dress and ornaments of the Egyptians. Our engraving No. 1 represents a modern Egyptian female, adorned with a head ornament, called sufa. This is sometimes a beautiful network, hanging down upon the back, and filled with jewels of various kinds. But the manner in which this ornament is generally made, is by dividing the hair into a number of braids or tresses, and attaching to each tress three silken threads. All of these threads have small gold ornaments or jewels appended to them, and usually terminate with a small gold coin. At a little distance it has a mailed or reticulated appearance, as is shown in the engraving, and gives a most brilliant effect. Mr. Lane, a late traveller, remarks : " The sufa appears to me the prettiest as well as the most singular of the ornaments worn by Egyptian ladies. The glittering of the burck, and their clinking together as the wearer walks, have a peculiar, lively effect." A similar ornament was worn by Egyptian females in the time of Isaiah, who called them cauls. See Isaiah iii. 18. The eastern ladies wear various kinds of veils, some intended for walking in the open air, and others to be worn within doors. MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ETC., OF THE EAST. No. 1 — Sufa and Turban. 2.— Face, Veil and Walking Wrappeb. No. 3. — Another form of Dress. No. 4. — Woman wearing the Toe. 98 MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ETC., OF THE EAST. 6.— Hood Veil of an Arab Female. In-door Dress of modern Egyptian Ladt. No 7 — Dancing Woman of Cairo. No. 8, — Greek Flute-Platers. MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ETC , OF THE EAST. 99 The engraving No. 2 represents the long one used in walking with the wrapper. The veils of the women of Egypt and Syria are long strips of fine linen or lace, sometimes ornamented, but usually plain, fastened by bands to the head, and descending nearly to the feet. This veil does not cover the eyes. The Turkish women cover their whole face with a veil of horsehair, through which they can look out distinctly, but the gazer cannot look within. The Persians wear a tight white veil, with a piece of network to cover the face, through which they can see without being seen. Such veils of lace and crape as are used in this country and Europe, are unknown ; and from the fact that veils are never seen in ancient paintings and sculptures of the Egyptians, it is evident that they are a comparatively modern invention. Another kind of walking wrapper is a species of hood, that falls down from the head nearly to the feet, and enveloping the whole figure in walking. It is like a sheet, and is plain, black, white, striped, or plaid, according to the taste of the wearer. Nuns wear a similar garment, and in the south of Italy, and upon the island of Malta, a similar article of outdoor dress is used. It is supposed that this is the same kind of veil worn by Ruth (iii. 15), in which she carried away the six measures of barley which Boaz gave her. Under the wimple or wrapper above described, the ladies of rank of the East, usually wear a capacious silk robe, called iob, with long and loose sleeves. The women of the lower order wear the same kind of garment for an outer covering, but made of coarser mate rials, as represented in the engraving No. 5. The hoods worn by both the Egyptian and Arabian females, are similar to the wimples just described, except that they are much shorter, and only fall down to the middle of the back, covering the shoulders. It is a large handkerchief or shawl, of linen or muslin, usually black or of a dark color, which covers the head and back. The corners are brought round in front to cover the throat and bosom, and the lower part of the face to the tip of the nose. This is usually the only veil worn by the Arab women. The head-veil worn by the ladies of western Asia and Egypt, when within-doors, is described as a remarkably graceful article of dress. It is usually made of a strip of white muslin, neatly embroidered with threads of colored silk and gold. Sometimes it is made of colored crape, ornamented with gold-thread and spangles. It is made to rest upon the head, and fall down grace fully upon the back. When the tob is worn as the outer robe, this kind of veil is a part of the external walking-dress, sometimes forming, as represented in engraving No. 7, a broad mantle. This engraving shows a woman with a shawl girdle, a short white face veil, and a black back veil forming a mantle. The shawl girdle is often worn*by the Asiatic women, and when prop erly put on appears exceeding graceful. It is generally folded wide, and put loosely around the waist, with the corner hanging down behind or before. Our illustration shows them before, or- 100 MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ETC., OF THE EAST. namented with fringes. This female is seen playing upon an in strument of the tambourine or drum kind. In all the harems of the East, dancing girls are employed, who, with their music and pantomime, serve to amuse their masters and their friends, or to while away their time, which would otherwise hang oppressively heavy upon those listless idlers. A stranger is often entertained for hours by these dancing women, when invited into the houses of the opulent. One fact is remarkable, and is noticed by all travellers, that many Eastern nations, and especially the Bedouins in the Idumean desert, retain many of the customs in vogue in the time of the Scripture patriarchs and prophets. Such being the case, we shall have occasion to frequently allude to the sacred volume. A re markable coincidence of this kind is exhibited in the horned head dress, pictured in our engraving. In 1 Sam. ii. 1, Hannah, in her Erayer and thanksgiving exclaims, " My heart rejoiceth in the iord ; mine horn is exalted in the Lord." To the biblical reader, this last expression is extremely ambiguous, unless he is acquaint ed with a custom prevalent at the present day among the Druses of Lebanon, the Christians of Tyre and parts of Syria, Egyptian cavalry, and in some parts of Russia, bordering on Persia. They wear horns, constructed of silver or tin, either as a female orna ment, or a head defence in battle. Dr. Macmichael in his "Jour ney," says : " One of the most extraordinary parts of the attire of their females (Druses of Lebanon) is a silver horn, sometimes studded with jewels, worn on the head in various positions, dis tinguishing their different conditions. A married woman has it affixed to the right side of the head, a widow on the left, and a virgin is pointed out by its being placed on the very crown. Over this silver projection the long veil is thrown, with which they so completely conceal their faces as to rarely have more than an eye visible." The horn worn by females is a conical tube, about twelve inches long. Colonel Light mentions the horn of the wife of an emir, made of gold, and studded with precious stones. The two male figures in the engraving, represent Abyssinian chiefs with horns. They are worn by them in military reviews, or on parade after a victory. They are much shorter than those of the females, and are about the size and shape of a candle-extinguisher, fastened by a strong fillet to the head, which is often made of metal : they are not easily broken off. This peculiar kind of horn is undoubtedly the kind made by the false prophet Zedekiah for Ahab, to whom he said, when Ahab was about to attack the enemy, " With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou hast conquered them." Our engraving of " Jewels of Silver," is copied from one made up from Egyptian sculptures and real ornaments, in the British Museum, and may be considered a fair representation of a group of Egyptian belles in the time of the Pharaohs. We have in this engraving nearly all the varieties of ornaments :— the head-dress, ear-rings, armlets, wristlets, necklaces, &c. MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ETC., OF THE EAST. 101 Horned Head-dresses. Jewels of Gold. 104 COSTUME OF AN EGYPTIAN BRIDE. mm mm ' % t • . v> ¦ _¦¦ An Egyptian Bride. COSTUME OF AN EGYPTIAN BRIDE. 105 COSTUME OF AN EGYPTIAN BRIDE. Our engraving is intended to represent an ancient Egyptian bride — one of the royal family — with her attendant. The picture of which this is a copy, was made up from facts concerning the state-dresses of ancient Egypt, as put forth in various works on the antiquities of that country, and may be relied on as a correct representation of the general appearance of an Egyptian princess arrayed in her bridal robes. On her head is a cap of a reticulated appearance, from beneath which her hair hangs loosely over her shoulders, and profusely studded with gold and precious stones, giving the whole an appearance similar to the sufa or caul, as worn by the modern Egyptian females. Over her under-robe, which was made of the finest white linen, was a shorter garment, extending from the waist to the knees, and made of the most costly material. Around the waist was a zone of gold and gems, and extending downward therefrom about twelve inches was a sort of mailed work, the scales of which were formed of golden threads, interwoven with colored silk. The lower part of this robe was covered with the feathers of birds of splendid and various plumage, and around the bottom was a row of small bells, similar to those upon the pontifical robe of the Jewish high-priest. Her shoulders and breast were covered with a cape, formed also of the same costly material, and pending from the right side, was a half- mantle of scarlet cloth. On her feet were jewelled sandals, around her wrists bracelets of precious metals and stones, and pendent jewels graced her ears. Such was the appearance of the " spouse," of whom Solomon, in his " Song" says, " How beautiful are thy feet with shoes (sandals), oh, prince's daughter !" &c. JEWELS. The ancient as well as the modern Egyptian females, were re nowned for the quantity as well as for the costliness of the jewels with which they adorned their persons, and especially the head. The Ckumarah. 106 JEWELS. Having considered the dresses of the females of the East, we pro ceed to notice in detail the various kinds of small ornaments worn by them. The ckumarah, which signifies moon, is a splendid ornament worn by the women of western Asia in front of their head-dresses. It is usually made of gold, set with precious stones and pearls. They are sometimes made of the crescent form, but the most common are such as the engraving represents. They often have Arabic characters inscribed upon them, and sometimes a sentence from the Koran is used by the Mahometan women of Arabia Felix- Mahomet forbade the use of rings, and other personal ornaments by men, except they were made of silver. The words of his prohibition were these : " Whosoever likes to put into the nose or ear of his friend a ring of hell-fire, tell him to put on a gold ring ; and he who wishes to put on the neck of his friend a chain of bell-fire, tell him to put on a chain of gold ; and he who wishes to put on rings to his friend's wrists of hell-fire, tell him to put on golden ones : wherefore, be it on you to make your ornaments of silver." This prohibition extended to the women also at first, but finally they were allowed to use jewels of gold. The Khizam, or nose-jewel of modem Egypt. The "ring of gold" for the nose, mentioned in Mahomet's prohibition, was doubtless similar to such ornaments now in use among the Egyptian females of wealth and rank ; indeed, they are worn also by the lower classes, but of a material consistent with the means of the wearer. They are made of gold, silver, coral, mother-of-pearl, and even of horn. Some are set with a ruby be tween two pearls, and a turquois is very common. These orna ments are always of a circular form, and instead of wearing them suspended from the middle cartilage of the nose, as was once the custom of some of our Indian tribes, they are fastened to the ex ternal cartilage of the right nostril. The Koordish and Bedouin females are often seen with a thin circular plate of gold (some times coin), in the centre of which is a turquois. This is fastened to the nostril by a pin, after the manner of a brooch for the bosom, and makes a very conspicuous appearance. In addition to the ckumarah, and ear and nose rings, the modern Egyptians also wear head-bands of gold or silver, and richly set JEWELS. 107 Form of Ear-Rings. From ancient Egyptian sculpture. with jewels. The specimen which we give is similar to those worn among the higher classes of Europe on the occasion of court drawing-rooms or other fashionable assemblages. Some are also worn by people of wealth in this country, but valuable ones formed of diamonds are rarely seen on this side of the Atlantic. Head-Band. The first of the following figures is the picture of a necklace described in "Description de l'Egypte." Such kinds were formed of gold, silver, coral, and pearl, and were similar in their form and construction to those in common use among us a few years since. The second is from Signor d'Athanasi's collection, and was found in an Egyptian tomb. It is composed of shells similar to those commonly known by the name of' leopard shells. Each shell is beautifully inlaid with a fine red composition, and from between them are suspended ornaments of fine gold. Necklaces and bracelets are in common use among the Arabian females of the present day. In fact, their whole personal wealth usually consists in their ornaments, and according to Stephens and others, it is not uncommon to see Bedouin females of the poorest class wearing gold or silver ornaments. They wear bracelets upon their arms of great weight, when compared to those worn by Europeans ; nor are they content with wearing a single pair, but are seen with several — as many as they are able to buy. 108 JEWELS. Figure 1. Figure 2. Ancient Egyptian Necklaces. Sometimes they cover their arms from their wrists to their elbows. Upon these ornaments depends the permanent consideration of the Arab females ; and the Arab, who cares but little about his personal appearance, is ever anxious to deck his wife in the most extravagant manner, that honor may be reflected upon himself. The poor class of women, who are unable to get bracelets of gold or silver, use copper, horn, and common glass beads. In the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis it is recorded that Eliezer gave to Rebekah " a golden ear-ring (more probably a nose-jewel) of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold." This was a costly present — about five ounces of gold. The bracelets alone weighed four and a half ounces (ten shekels). Our engraving represents the pendent ornaments for the nose and ears, of the full size. These ornaments were not used ex clusively by the females of the East, for in Egyptian sculptures foreign warriors are represented sometimes with rings in their ears. In those of Persepolis, they are frequently seen, and as be fore mentioned, such ornaments were evidently worn by men in the time of Mahomet, or else why his prohibition % As he pro hibited rings of gold, they seemed careless whether they had any or not, and now such jewels are never worn by the men. Among all the oriental nations, a belief in the efficacy of amulets to avert an evil or obtain a blessing, is universal ; and very few persons are seen without one of some form or other. It was a (35o ?J Various Forms of Drops, &c PAINTING THE EYES. I If Hhegabs, or Amulets of modern Egypt. custom among the Hebrews to wear amulets, on which were engraven or written some sentences from the law or from their sacred books. The Eastern ladies of the present day make them answer the purpose also of ornament for the head, neck, or bosom, by being enclosed in small cases of embossed gold or silver. They are often worn upon the neck or bosom, and sometimes the head, but are most commonly suspended at the right side by a silken cord, which is passed over the left shoulder. Anklets, now in common use in the East, were worn in the time of Isaiah, who denominated them "tinkling ornaments" (see Isaiah iii. 18). Mr. Lane says, that anklets of solid silver are worn by the wives of the sheiks and other wealthy persons. Children wear them made of iron, and sometimes they have little bells attached to them; and it was this kind doubtless to which the prophet alludes. The dancing girls of Cairo wear anklets of the latter description, which give a pleasing effect. PAINTING THE EYES. A custom very prevalent among the oriental females, is that of painting the eyes. Large eyes are considered a mark of peculiar beauty, and the painting of black borders around them, gives them an enlarged appearance. The sub joined cut shows the utensils used by the modern orientals in this species of personal adornment. The embroidered bag with tas sels at each corner, contains the powder, which is generally scented with some powerful p srfume. The larger glass vessel is used for mixing this powder with a liquid, and the smaller ones, attached to the bags, the rsceivers for it, when it.is to be used. A late traveller thus describes tne 112 PAINTING THE EYES. operation : " The eye is closed, and a small ebony rod smeared with the composition is squeezed between the lids, so as to tinge their edges with the color. This is considered to add greatly to the brilliancy and power of the eye, and to deepen the effect of the long black eyelashes of which the Orientals are proud. The same drug is employed on their eyebrows: used thus it is intend ed to elongate, not to elevate the arc, so that the inner extremities are usually represented as meeting between the eyes. To Euro peans, the effect produced is seldom, at first pleasing ; but it soon becomes so." The first mention in Scripture, of this custom, is in Kings, where it is recorded that Jezebel " painted her face," &c, when she heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel. The annexed cuts show the form of the ancient implements used for this purpose. In addition to the painting of their eyes and eye brows, the oriental women often tattoo their flesh, upon the hands, face, and bosoms. This is done by puncturing the skin, and inserting a liquid mineral black, giving a similar effect to that which is often observed upon the arms and bodies of sailors. The cut given below represents the manner in which the women of the Levant are fond of exhibiting themselves thus tattooed. 114 EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE. O z,HP o EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE. 115 EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE. Although large portions of Egypt present barren deserts, yet there are sections upon the banks of the Nile, as fertile as any country in the world. The annual overflowing of the banks of this river, caused by the heavy rains in the mountainous districts near its source, deposites upon the land a great amount of rich vegetable compost, rendering the soil fertile to the fullest extent. Immediately after the subsidence of the waters, the inhabitants commence their tilling operations, which are not at all laborious. The natural richness of the soil renders but little preparation necessary for the reception of seed. The ground is so soft that ploughing is slight labor, and the utensil used for this purpose is simple and light in its construction, as may be seen in the engra ving. Oxen and asses are the only animals used in this service, as horses are employed in war and for riding for civil purposes. Sometimes among the poorer class of agriculturists an ox and an ass are seen yoked together in drawing the plough. But such an unequal connexion is rarely to be met with, for the disparity in size and disposition of these animals renders the draught in such a case very painful. That such a custom was practised among the early Hebrews, is evident from the fact that a law, under the head of humanity to animals, was passed against such a connexion. See Deuteronomy, xxii. 10. The culture of Egypt may be divided into two great classes, the one belonging to the lands watered by the overflowing of the Nile, and the other to those sections that are irrigated by artificial means. In the first class is reckoned wheat, barley, spelt, beans, lentils, sesamum, mustard, flax, anise, saffron, tobacco, pumpions, melons, and cucumbers. The latter grow very rapidly, and it is positively asserted that they will gain an inch of volume per hour, for twenty- four hours together. In the second class may be reckoned a species of maize, which forms the staple of food for the lower class, sugar-cane, cotton, rice, and indigo. The kind of maize alluded to, is used in various ways. The grain is often eaten in its green state after being roasted. The stalk is sometimes eaten when green, like that of the sugar-cane ; and it is also used for fuel in heating ovens. The leaf is good food for cattle, and the pith of the stalk, when dry, forms excellent tinder. Sometimes the grain is ground into flour, and made into muffins or crumpets, but in none of its preparations is it agreeable to the taste of the European. Large quantities of wheat are raised in Egypt, particularly near Maraga in Upper Egypt. It is of the best quality, producing a large yield of plump kernels, with but a small quantity of straw. The present mode of thrashing, practised by the Egyptians and other oriental nations, accords with that in use more than thirty centuries ago. The sheaves are spread upon a level spot, over which oxen or other cattle are driven, until by their feet, the ker- 116 ARAB HUTS AND SHEEP-COTES. nels are separated from the stalk. Another mode is to attach a machine to their cattle, as shown in the engraving. This machine is of a sledge form with broad heavy rollers, turning upon axles. On this vehicle the driver rides. Sometimes the rollers or wheels of the thrashing machine are serrated, having sharp edges, and thus the straw is cut up into fodder at the same time that the grain is crushed out, and the two are afterward separated by a winnowing apparatus. The custom of " treading out" grain as we often see practised in this country with horses, is a very ancient one, for in Deut. xxv. 4, we find this injunction, " Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn" (wheat). ARAB TENTS AND SHEEP-COTES. The pastoral tribes of Syria and Palestine, and indeed of all western Asia, may be divided into two classes, the permanent and the nomadic or wandering. These differ in their manner of pro tecting their flocks from both human and beastial marauders. The nomades always have their flocks kept in the open country without securing them at night in folds. Such is not the case with the permanent or settled tribes, when they send their flocks out into the open country to pasture ; for then it is that they are obliged to form protections for them, for the nomades, claiming the open country for their own, think they have a perfect right to depredate upon the property of the intruders. To guard against these depredations, the latter drive their sheep into caves, or build uncovered enclosures of strong materials, impregnable to any force of the enemy. These enclosures are sometimes round towers, and often serve as a place of safety for women and chil dren when hostilities occur between the tribes. Arab huts and sheep-cotes. EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE. 117 ORIENTALS WASHING HANDS. 119 When the flocks are to be shorn, they are driven into walled enclosures, on account of a belief that the sweating and evapora tion which they undergo there, improve the quality of the wool. In poorer villages when flocks are very small, they are generally taken care of by the women and children. At night they drive them home and fold them in enclosures attached to their huts, as seen in the engraving. These pens or cotes also serve as a place for young calves, and like the huts are built of very light materials. They are seldom anything else than bamboo wicker-work, with the interstices sometimes filled with mortar. Our cut represents an Arab village, and may be considered a very good specimen of the architecture of a people just emerging from a migratory to a settled and civilized life. ORIENTALS WASHING HANDS- Orientals washing hands. With the people of the East, especially those of Palestine and Persia, and throughout the whole region once known as Judea, cleanliness is regarded as one of the cardinal virtues ; and with the Mahometans in general, and the Turks in particular, personal cleanliness is made a part of their religion. It is enjoined upon them in the Koran as one of the most important duties, and the Mahometans like the Jews are taught to believe that impurity of the body is so offensive in the sight of Deity that it will be punished with spiritual debasement. 120 SHAVING THE HEAD. The bath is almost universally used daily in the East, and where this luxury is denied, as is the case in the desert regions, the peo ple have frequent recourse to ablutions of the extremities. The Orientals never wash their hands in water standing in the basin, but always, if possible, have it poured upon them from an ewer held by a second person, as shown in the cut. This mode is doubtless much more refreshing and cleanly than the one used by us, and the Europeans in general. In the East, the basin and ewer are gener- Oriental ewer and basin, ally made of tinned copper. The former has a division midway the top and bottom, raised in the centre and perforated with holes like a colander, so that the defiled water, passing from the hands, is concealed by this perforated covering. The ewer has a long spout and narrow neck, with a cover, as represented in the second cut. When the master wishes to wash his hands, a servant approaches with the ewer in his right hand and the basin in his left ; and so tenacious are the Orientals in the observance of this custom, that when a second person is wanting, they will wash in the inconvenient manner of taking up and setting down the ewer frequently, to pour water on their hands. This custom, now so prevalent in the East, was equally so at a very remote period. In the Scripture Book of second Kings, iii. 11, this custom is alluded to in the case of Elijah: "And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah." The incident here mentioned occurred nearly nine hundred years an terior to our era. SHAVING THE HEAD. The tonsorial business in the East is quite different from what it is with us, for there, instead of shaving off the beard and dres sing and curling the. long locks of hair, they dress and curl the beard, and frequently shave the head, as seen in the engraving. A fine beard, carefully attended to, is considered one of the most valuable of the personal ornaments of the males of the East, and they usually spend more time and care in the cultivation of this natural beauty, than in any other decoration of their persons. A custom is still prevalent among many oriental nations, of shaving the head as a sign of mourning. The origin of this cus tom is very remote, for we find it recorded of Job that when he heard of the desolation of his house he " arose, and rent his man tle, and shaved his head." This custom was prevalent with the Jews, though it was inter dicted among the priests. Mahomet forbade the habit, yet his injunctions are disregarded. The ancient Greeks testified their BEARDS. 121 SHAVING THE HEAD. 123 lip Oriental Barber. grief in this manner, and sometimes laid their hair upon the body of the deceased to be buried or burnt with it, and sometimes it was simply laid upon the grave. When men of high station in the state or army died, it was not unusual for the whole population of cities to be shaved. Purchas gives an account, on the authority of Peter Covillan, of an existing custom in Abyssinia, of an analogous character. The narrative relates to a public mourning for the death of their king. The party alluded to had just received the intelligence. " And because," says he, " it is the fashion of this country, when their friends die, to shave their heads, and not their beards, and to cloath themselves in black apparel], wee beganne to shave one another's head, and while wee were doing this, in came they which brought us our dinner, who, when they saw this, they set down the meate upon the ground, and ran to tell it unto Prete, who suddenly sent two friars unto us, to understand what had fallen out. The ambassadeur could not answer him for the great 124 BEARDS. lamentation that he made, and I told them as well as I could, that the sunne which gave us light was darkened, that is to say, that the king, Don Emanuel (of Portugal), was departed this life ; and suddenly all of us began to make our moane, and the friars went their way." BEARDS. Futteh Ali Shah, King of Persia. The Persians in very early times were accus tomed to give great atten tion to their beards. We are informed by Chrysos tom, that their kings had the beard interwoven or matted with gold thread ; and the accuracy of this information is evinced by the ancient Persian sculp tures, which still remain, in which the common beards are curiously and nicely curled, while those of the throned personages are stiff and matted. In the same sculptures other persons, who, from the offices they are perform ing, appear to be slaves or servants, have the beard in its natural state. The beards, even of Persia, have however undergone fluctuations. During the Suffavean dynasty it appears that only mustaches on the upper lip were common. Europeans who travelled in the country during that period, describe and delineate the Persian face as destitute of beard. Now, however, the ancient zeal for beards has revived ; and the king himself has one of the finest ever seen. It reaches below his waist, and is altogether so rich an appendage that it forms an unfailing theme of admiring talk among the sub jects of the shah, who seem sometimes to feel that, were other claims wanting, his beard would alone entitle him to reign over men. The beards of the Persians naturally attain a larger size than those of the Turks, the Russians, or perhaps any other people. They are mostly of a black color naturally, but the practice of dying the beard, either to strengthen the intensity of the natural black, or to give that color where it does not exist, is universal among all classes. The operation by which this is effected is painful and tedious, and must in general be repeated every fort- in a pi Beabds Dressed.— a, Turkish sheik, beards disposed in locks ; 5, Mameluke, shaved on the chin ; e, Turkish officer shaved under the lower lip ; d, e, Turkish gentlemen ; d, chin and angle of the mouth shaved, leavin" a tuft oi hair under the lower lip; e, chin shaved, and upper lip closely trimmed. ° MANUFACTURES, MUMMIES, ETC. 127 night. It is always performed in the hot bath, as the saturation of the hair, which takes place in bathing, enables it to take the color better. In the first instance a thick paste of henna is plas tered over the beard ; and, after it has remained for about an hour, it is washed away, and leaves the beard of a deep orange color, bordering on that of brickdust. Then another paste, made from the leaf of the indigo, is applied in the same manner, and allowed to remain for two hours. Throughout all the progress of this operation, the man with the beard is obliged to lie on his back, while the die, more particularly in the latter application, causes the lower part of the face to smart and burn, and contracts the features in a very mournful manner. When the patient first comes forth from the bath, the color of his beard is a dark bottle- green, which becomes a jet black only after twenty-four hours' exposure to the air. The operation is one of considerable nicety, otherwise the final result may be a purple or a parti-colored beard instead of a black one. Many of the common people are so much smitten by the fiery red produced by the first application, as to decline to have it changed to black. The meteoric appearance of such beards is very whimsical, nor less so the blue beards which are preferred in Bockhara. All colors but black are, how ever, considered vulgar in Persia. "It is inconceivable," says Mr. Morier, " how careful the Persians are of this ornament : all the young men sigh for it, and grease their chins to hasten the growth of the hairs ; because, until they have there a respectable covering, they are not supposed fit to enjoy any place of trust " MANUFACTURES, MUMMIES. The ancient Egyptians had made considerable progress in several manufactures, to a degree which is really surprising. Their linen manufacture had a perfection equal to our own ; for in many of their painted figures we find the garments represented quite trans parent ; and among the foldings of the mummies, Belzoni observed cloth as fine as our common muslin, very strong, and of an even texture.* It may be worth stating here, that round the mummy of Horsiesi, supposed to be upward of three thousand years old, which was lately opened, and now lies at the College of Surgeons, were found pieces of linen of seven different degrees of texture ; varying from that of sail-cloth to muslin ; and in color, from a deep brown to a pale delicate yellow ; some of the pieces bore evident marks of having been anciently darned. The weight of the linen alone amounted to thirty-one pounds. The Egyptians * Mr Basil Montagu, in his Thoughts on Laughter, states the case of a party against whom an action was brought in 1821, for infringing a patent, defending himself in the following remarkable manner : The question was whether the plaintiff's mode of weav ing canvass was new or not. A witness declared, that it was known and practised more than two thousand years ago ! And he proved his words by referring to the -»r„.0loth of an Egyptian mummy of acknowledged antiquity. 128 MANUFACTURES, MUMMIES, ETC. had also the art of tanning leather, and staining it with various colors, as we do morocco ; and they knew the method of embos sing it. They were skilful in making glass, some of which was of a beautiful black. Pliny proves from this, that glass-making was very anciently practised. Beside enamelling, the art of gild ing was in great perfection among them, and they could beat gold nearly as thin as it is done in the present day. They knew also how to cast bronze and copper, and to form the latter into sheets ; and they had a metallic composition not unlike our lead. Carved works were very common ; and the art of varnishing, and baking the varnish on clay, was so complete, that travellers have doubted whether it could be successfully imitated at present. They also possessed skill in painting, and in the blending of colors, some of which, on the walls of the temples and the lids of the mummy- cases, have a brilliancy and apparent freshness, which betoken no small skill in their composition. Indeed, the more we read and reflect on the works of the early Egyptians, the more we are astonished. Among the ancient tombs, M. Champollion found several highly-interesting drawings, supply ing particulars of the progress of this extraordinary people in the different professions, arts, and manufactures, of the modes they pursued in agriculture, in building, in trades, in military affairs, in singing, music, and dancing ; in the rearing of their cattle ; in portrait-painting ; in games and exercises ; in the administration of justice, and household economy; in historical and religious monuments ; in navigation and zoology. MUMMIES AND EMBALMING. When any person died, says Diodorus, the whole of his family, and all his friends, quitted their usual habits, and put on mourning, abstaining, during the period of lamentation, from the bath, and from the use of wine and other luxuries. They seem to have had a notion, that a time would come when the soul would be re united to the body on earth, and so they endeavored to preserve the frame as a fit residence for its future guest. The expense of the funerals was regulated by three different scales, whicb made them costly, moderate, or cheap. About 250 pounds sterling, it is supposed, would pay for the best style of embalming a body ; the second charge about 60 pounds ; and for the third method a trifling sum was demanded. Thus the various classes of people may be generally distinguished by the mode of their preservation. Among the Egyptians were a set of persons who, like our un dertakers, took upon themselves the whole service of the funeral for a stipulated amount. Proper officers were then employed to perform their respective parts. The duty of the first was to mark out how the dissection was to be made in the left flank for the purpose of embalming : this was executed by another officer with a sharp Ethiopian stone ; and the task, as seeming to imply disre- MANUFACTURES, MUMMIES, ETC. 129 Spect and cruelty toward the dead, was so hateful and degrading, as to oblige the dissector instantly to fly as if he had committed a crime, those about pursuing and assailing him with stones : — a superstitious practice, by which they probably thought to com pound with their consciences for an act considered sinful in itself. At the disappearance of the dissector, the embalmers came for ward. They were a kind of caste hereditary in Egypt, were held in high respect, looked upon as sacred, and permitted to have ac cess to the temples, and to associate with the priests. They re moved from the body of the deceased the parts most susceptible of decay, washing the rest with palm wine, and filling it with myrrh, cinnamon, and various sorts of spices. After this the body was put into salt for about forty days. When Moses, therefore, says that forty days were employed in embalming Jacob, we are to understand him as meaning the forty days of his continuing in the salt of nitre, without including the thirty days passed in per forming the above-mentioned ceremonies ; so that, in the whole, they mourned seventy days in Egypt, according to the words of Moses. It is always valuable and interesting to perceive ancient customs, as handed down by general historians, illustrating the inspired rec ords of Holy Writ. The passages alluded to are curious, and obviously refer to the point before us : " And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father : and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him ; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed ; and the Egypt ians mourned for him threescore and ten days." Gen. 1. 2, 3. And again, at verse 26, " So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old ; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt." After swathing the body in a fine lawn bandage, glued together with a thin but powerful gum, they spread over it the richest per fumes. The precious trust was afterward returned into the hands of the relations, so entirely preserved, that not only the figure and lineaments of the face appeared unchanged, but even the eye-brows and eye-lashes were not disturbed. Thus some of the Egyptians kept the bodies of their ancestors in their houses, in open cases, or with glass before them, " not thinking it right that the features of their dead relations should be unknown or forgotten by their own kindred." For the prevalence of this strange custom at a certain period, there is the authority of Diodorus, who wrote about fifty years before the Christian era : and Lucian (A. D. 150) men tions his having been present when mummies were placed on seats at table, as if they had been alive. It is fair to conclude, however, that the bodies, instead of remaining in this way above ground, were generally swathed round in folds of cere-cloth, strongly saturated with asphaltum, or a bituminous pitch ; that they were then deposited in a chest or coffin, according to the rank or wealth of the party, and consigned to the silent tomb. There is a considerable difference in the appearances of the va rious cases or coffins which contain mummies. These were usu- 9 130 MANUFACTURES, MUMMIES, ETC. ally made of sycamore, unlike our sycamore ; some of the large cases contain others within them, either of wood or painted plaster. The inner cases are sometimes fitted to the body, others ate only covers to the body. Many of the outer cases are plain, others slightly ornamented, and some literally covered with well-painted figures. Of the latter description is that represented to the left of the reader in the engraving on the opposite page. The original (which may be seen in the British Museum, Eighth Room, Case 3) was found by some Arabs in one of the fields of the dead at Sakara, near Cairo, and sent to England by Captain Lethieullier in 1722. The inscription, when read according to the principles of Dr. Young and Champollion, tells us that the person whose body it originally contained was named Arouni, or Arouini, the son of Sarsares, or Sarsaris ; for as there are no vowels in the middle of the words, the names cannot be determined with perfect exactness. He appears to have been of royal blood : for the inscription in the centre begins with the words, " Royal Devotions to Phtah-Sokari," like the Papyrus of the Bubastite Princes, given in Champollion's Precis, xv. The mummy with the gilt face, which is in the adjoining case, No. 2, appears not to have originally belonged to this coffin, although it was taken out of it : for it is the body of a priestess, whose name was Tsennofre.* The paintings on the coffins generally refer to the entrance of the deceased into his new state of existence. Thus, in one of the compartments of the coffins of Horsiesi, a priest of Thebes, whose mummy was lately opened by Mr. Pettigrew, at the College of Sur geons, there is a remarkable group, emblematic, one might imagine, of a future trial. The god Osiris, with his usual high cap on his head, and sitting on his throne, receives a person, probably the deceased, who is introduced by a hawk-headed deity. Behind the throne stand two female figures, the foremost supposed to be Isis, the wife of Osiris, in attendance on the god. Below these are two pairs of female forms in separate rows, with ample wings ex tending from their arms, the lower pair having the faces of birds. Above, as well as below all these devices, appears the Scaraams, or sacred beetle : an air of extreme absurdity is given to one of these insects, by its having the head of a hawk. The beetle was considered by the Egyptians to represent the sun ; and one, formed of stone or baked earth, is frequently found, next to the skin, on the breast of the human mummy. Such is the case with that of Horsiesi, a stone beetle, of a pale yellow, being still attached to the body ; and above it round the mummy's neck, are six or seven small pieces of different-colored pottery strung together, probably for amulets. The body looks dark and charred, as if burnt ; and its general appearance would lead, as in other in stances, to the opinion, that it had been violently heated when the bandages were applied. The latter appear to have been put on • II is well known that the Arabs, when in search of gain among the tombs, have, on returning the mummies, frequently put them into wrong cases. MANUFACTURES, MUMMIES, ETC. wet. False eyes of enamel have been inserted in the sockets. This latter peculiarity Belzoni often observed in the mummies of priests ; who always appeared folded in a most careful manner, such as to show the great respect in which their office was held. Their arms and legs, he remarks, were not enclosed in the same envelope with the body, as in the common mode, but were band aged separately, even the fingers and toes being thus preserved distinct. Belzoni saw some mummies with sandals of colored leather on the feet, and bracelets on the arms and wrists. He tells us that the coffins were always placed horizontally, in rows, within the sepulchres. He entered some tombs, which contained the mum mies of inferior creatures (mingled with those of human beings), such as bulls, cows, monkeys, dogs, cats, crocodiles,* fish, and birds ; and one tomb was filled with nothing but cats, carefully folded in red and white linen, the head covered by a mask, repre senting the cat within.f For a specimen of these instances of " solemn mockery," we refer to the prints on the following page ; they are taken from the engravings which illustrate Belzoni's trav els, and represent the embalmed bodies of some of the animals held sacred in ancient Egypt. Enough has now been stated, to convey some general informa tion on these curious and interesting points. But we cannot con clude without remarking, that, ancient as was the custom of em balming the human body, that of interment is certainly the most ancient, and religious. It restores to the earth what was origi nally taken from it. And surely we can never dwell on the besot ted ignorance and superstition of heathen people, without a feel ing of gratitude for the blessings we enjoy as Christians. We are thus reminded, also, of the reasonableness, nay, the necessity, of that distinct Revelation which God made to man. For here we observe that, with all their boasted skill, a mighty people " became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed * The crocodile was held sacred at Thebes, Ombos, in the environs of Lake Moeris, end in other parts of Egypt. At Arsinoe, the priests nourished one, to which the name of Suchus was given ; it was fed upon bread, flesh, and wine, offered to it by strangers ; it was preserved in a particular lake, and, while reposing, the priests ap proached the animal, opened his mouth, and put the food within its jaws ; after his re past, it usually descended into the water, and swam away, but it would suffer itself to be handled ; and pendants of gold and precious stones were placed about it. Strabo relates that his host, a man of consideration, conducted him and his companions to the lake, and there he saw the crocodile at the border ; that one of the priests to whom was intrusted the care of the animal, opened his mouth and placed within it a cake, another a portion of flesh, and a third poured in some wine. The repast thus made, the animal passed over to the other side, to receive from other hands similar marks of attention. — Pettigrew. t Innumerable heaps of cats, in an embalmed state, have been discovered in certain districts. " The carcasses of dead cats," says Herodotus, " are removed into sacred apartments, and after they have been embalmed, they are reverently entombed in the town of Bubastis. This animal was held by these idolaters sacred to the moon." If a cat was killed, either designedly or by accident, the unfortunate offender was pun. ished with death. They must have had plenty of these animals. ¦ How strange it seems, that at a city in Egypt, in the reign of Tiberius, 7,000 Romans were killed by the Egyptians, in a tumult, because a Roman soldier— had killed a cat ! 134 MANUFACTURES, MUMMIES, ETC. s*?^ iSUflrlS-) IWWutoSws z Mg td o uMlW Egyptian Embroidery. MANUFACTURES, MUMMIES, ETC. 137 the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to cor ruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." How important, then, how necessary, were the divinely vouchsafed means of " casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God." The Jewish rites of sepulture were not very dissimilar to those of the Egyptians, from whom they seem originally to have been derived. The Egyptian manner differed from the Jewish princi pally in the circumstance of their embowelling their dead, the va rious methods of performing which are minutely described by Herodotus. The funeral honors paid by the Jews to their deceased friends, particularly to persons of fortune and distinction, appear to be tbe following : after washing the corpse, they embalmed it by laying all around it a large quantity of costly spices and aro matic drugs, in order to imbibe and absorb the humors, and, by their inherent virtues, to preserve it as long as possible from pu trefaction and decay. Thus we read that Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight, to perform the customary office to the dear deceased. This embalming was usually repeated for several days together, that the drugs and spices thus applied might have all their efficacy in the exsiccation of the moisture, and the future conservation of the body. They then swathed the corpse in linen rollers, or bandages, closely enfolding and enwrapping it in that bed of aromatic drugs with which they had surrounded it. Thus we find that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took the body of Jesus, and wrapped it in linen clothes, with the spices, as the manner of the Jews, is to bury (John, xix. 40). This custom we behold also in the Egyptian mummies, round which, Thevenot informs us, the Egyptians have sometimes used above a thousand ells of filleting, beside what was wrapped about the head. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN EMBROIDERY. Our engraving represents embroiderers of Cairo at work, not in forming such large objects as tapestries, but in embellishing shawls, handkerchiefs, and stuffs for turbans. Silk is now gener ally used in the East, in embroidery, except 'for large works, in which case they usually employ worsted. It has been a matter of dispute, whether silk was known at all to the ancient inhabi tants west of the Ganges, for China is allowed to be the native country of the silk-worm and the mulberry. As it was not known to the Romans till the time of Augustus, many argue that it could not have been used by the people of western Asia prior to that time, or it would certainly have been known to them. Silk con tinued to bear an astonishingly high price,- down to a very recent period. Tiberius issued an edict prohibiting silk from being worn 138 EMBROIDERY. by men, even the richest ; and the emperor Antoninus, who came into possession of a silk robe, caused it to be sold, on account of the high price it would bring. The greatest luxury to which Heliogabalus was addicted, was the wearing of a silk robe ; and the emperor Aurelian refused to buy a silk dress for his wife on account of its extravagant cost. Embroidery was known among the in habitants of the East, at a very remote pe riod, especially that kind of curtain cover ings for walls, called tapestry. These were woven of rich materi als (now of fine wool and silk), and raised and enriched with gold and silver, rep resenting figures of men and animals, landscapes, historical subjects, &c. Generally, among the ancients, they selected for this pur pose the most gro tesque compositions of men, animals, and plants, and by a com bination of a heter ogenous mass of subjects produced an effect peculiarly striking. Such was the case particularly at Tyre and Sidon, where it originated, and whence tht art was carried into Egypt and Greece. The Persian and Babylonian tapestries which found their way into Greece at a period when she was about forming her system of theology, contained grotesque compositions, such as the body of a horse, with the head of a man ; the body of a lion with the head and wings of an eagle, &c ; and ¦ft MmmKnBSllM General View of the Ruins of Palmyra. PALMYRA. 141 it was from these that the Greeks drew their half-fabulous crea tures called centaurs, griffins, et cetera. But when the art of embroidery received the attention of the- more refined people of Greece, and was fostered with the same- care that advanced the other fine arts toward perfection, its char acter changed, and the improved taste of Athens could not tolerate those grotesque compositions which formerly covered their tapes tries. These subjects were driven to the borders, and the centres were filled up with representations of objects, drawn with truth according to the symmetrical proportions of nature. Nor were tapestries for their temples and other public places, the only kind of embroidery employed by the Greeks, but the robes of their divinities (when they were dressed) were beautifully embroidered, as were also the mantles of those who were eminent for learning or prowess, or were victors in the games. Minerva at Athens (not in the Pantheon) was covered with a kind of white linen stuff", on which was embroidered in gold, a representation of the memor able actions of that goddess. The robe of Jupiter, though sculp tured, had representations of embroidered work upon it ; and we read that as early as the time of Priam, fourteen hundred years B. C, Helen and Andromache embroidered tapestries. Ezekiel mentions the "broidered work," with which the Tyrians were clothed. PALMYRA. It is surprising that one of the most interesting relics of ancient grandeur and magnificence, is to be found in the midst of a vast desert of sand, devoid of vegetation, and traversed only by wan dering tribes of Arabs. But such, nevertheless, is the fact. The city of Tadmor or Palmyra, so long celebrated for its extensive ruins, the wonderful remains of its former splendor, was situated near the centre of the great Syrian desert, and according to the best authority, in latitude thirty -four degrees and twenty- four minutes north, and longitude thirty-eight degrees and twenty minutes east. It was built upon a small oasis or fertile spot, spread out like a green island in the midst of the ocean, and cover ed in the days of its glory with stately palms, from which it re ceived its name. This city which is still known in the East by its ancient name, Tadmor, appears to have first risen to importance in the days of Solomon. The wise and powerful king of Israel, having connected himself in commercial enterprise with Hiram, king of Tyre, at that time the most opulent and commercial monarch in the world, carried on an extensive trade with the tropical regions of Asia and Africa, whence, according to the Scripture account, he imported "gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks." This trade was carried on at great hazard and expense, the ships employed in it 142 PALMYRA. being absent for three years, and the merchandise brought through the eastern arm of the Red sea, by the ports of Elath and Ezion- Geber, and thence over land through a steril and desert region of several hundred miles to the Jewish capital. The mind of such a man as Solomon, who seems to have been endowed with faculties to master the most gigantic enterprise with the greatest ease, readily discovered the advantages of opening a communication to the East, through the Euphrates and Persian gulf. But in order to this, it was necessary to secure a convenient resting-place for his caravans in crossing the Assyrian desert, and hence it was, undoubtedly, that this great and enterprising king, in the language of Scripture, " built Tadmor in the wilderness." Palmyra, thus begun, soon became the channel of the entire trade passing from the East to Judea, Tyre and the shores of the Mediterranean, and grew at once to importance. It would seem, that, from being the mere resting-place of the caravans, it soon became a general depot where these caravans met, deposited, and exchanged goods, and where were consequently assembled the wealthiest and most enterprising of the sons of traffic who sent from it, as from a common centre, merchandise to all parts of the world. An exuberance of wealth invariably manifests itself in luxuriance and splendor : and Tadmor, though in the midst of a barren desert, devoid alike of agricultural productions and maritime advantages, became one of the most opulent and magnificent cities in the world. Indeed, the inhabitants seem to have vied with each other in the splendor and costliness of their dwellings, which were uniformly built of stone as white as the new fallen snow, and wrought with the greatest labor into all the beautiful moulds of Greek and Roman architecture. Even at this day, though the tooth of time has been preying for ages upon this wreck of former grandeur, and vast masses of its gorgeous sculpture are entirely buried in the earth, may still be seen, according to the accounts of travellers, forests of Corinthian columns erect and fallen — broken triumphal arches — dilapidated temples — decayed palaces — half buried porticoes and heaps of sculpture and statuary strewed over an area of miles, and present ing to the beholder a faint picture of what it must have been in the days of its greatness and its glory. " In the space covered by these ruins," says Volney, " we some times find a palace, of which nothing remains but its court and walls ; sometimes a temple whose peristyle is half thrown down ; and now a portico, a gallery, or triumphal arch. Here stand groups of columns, whose symmetry is destroyed by the fall of many of them ; there we see them ranged in rows of such length, that similar to rows of trees, they deceive the sight, and assume the appearance of continued walls. If from this striking scene we cast our eyes upon the ground, another, almost as varied, presents itself; on all sides we behold nothing but subverted shafts, some whole, others shattered to pieces or dislocated in palmyra. 143 their joints: and on which side soever we look, the earth is strew ed with vast stones, half buried, with broken entablatures, muti lated friezes, disfigured relics, effaced sculptures, violated tombs, and altars defiled by dust." It does not appear that this, the " petrified city," as it is some times called, was long retained by the Hebrews, who, after the time of Solomon, were engaged in intestine broils, which quenched their commercial spirit, and gave their distant cities into the hands of their more fortunate or powerful neighbors. Still its importance continued for many years. It was among the conquests of the great Alexander ; and after ward, during the visit of Marc Antony to Syria, its great wealth excited his cupidity, and he led against it the Roman cohorts ; but the inhabitants eluded his power by transferring their sub stance beyond the Euphrates. In the time of Pliny, it continued to be the emporium of the eastern trade, and is mentioned as absorbing the wealth of the Romans and Parthians, who, though hostile to each other, agreed in coveting the luxuries of India, which still came almost exclusively through this channel. Palmyra seems, to have been greatly favored by the surrounding nations, and especially the different emperors of the great Roman empire, under whose protection it arose to the zenith of its glory about the second century, and one thousand two hundred years after it was founded by Solomon ; soon after which, in an attempt to shake off its dependance on the empire under Zenobia, it was, after a brief period of great splendor as an independent city, laid waste by Aurelian, and from that time its importance has dwindled, until it has become a widespread ruin, remarkable only for its broken remains of its former opulence and grandeur. Our engraving represents a view of the General Ruins of Palmyra, with the ground beneath strewed with broken shafts, carved capitals, and massive stones. In the distance are seen other portions of the ruin which still rise into view, as far as the eye can reach, giving a faint idea of the extent and magnificence of this city of merchants. From the time of Solomon, it retained its ancient name of Tadmor, until it was captured by Alexander, when it received the name of Palmyra, by which it was known for several ages, but on falling into the hands of the Saracens, its ancient name was restored, and it is still known at the East as the city of " Tadmor in the wilderness." In consequence of the scarcity of water in the East, travellers are careful to stop as often as possible near some river, fountain, or well ; this will account for Jacob's halting with his family at the ford Jabbok (Gen. xxxii. 22) ; for the Israelites assembling their forces near the fountains of Jezreel (1 Sam. xxix. 1) ; and for David's men, that were unable to march with him, waiting for him by the brook Besor (1 Sam. xxx. 21). 144 EGYPTIAN SCHOOLS. EGYPTIAN SCHOOLS. Schools are very numerous, not only in the metropolis, but in every large town; and there is one at least in every considerable village. Almost every mosque, sebee'l (or public fountain), and hho'd (or drinking-place for cattle) in the metropolis has a koota'b (or school) attached to it, in which children are instructed for a very trifling expense ; the sheykh or fick'ee (the master of the school) receiving from the parent of each pupil half a piaster (about five farthings of our money), or something more or less, every Thursday. The master of a school attached to a mosque or other public building in Cairo also generally receives yearly a turboo'sh, a piece of white muslin for a turban, a piece of linen, and a pair of shoes ; and each boy receives, at the same time, a linen scull-cap, four or five cubits of cotton cloth, and perhaps half a piece (ten or twelve cubits) of linen, and a pair of shoes, and, in some cases, a half-piaster or piaster. These presents are supplied by funds bequeathed to the school, and are given in the month of Ram'ada'n. The boys attend only during the hours of instruction, and then return to their homes. The lessons are generally written upon tablets of wood, painted white ; and when one lesson is learned, the tablet is washed, and another is written. They also practise writing upon the same tablet. The schoolmaster and his pupils sit upon the ground, and each boy has his tablet in his hands, or a copy of the Koran, or of one of its thirty sections, on a little kind of desk of palm-sticks. All who are learning to read recite their lessons aloud, at the same time rocking their heads and bodies incessantly backward and forward ; which prac tice is observed by almost all persons in reading the Koran, being thought to assist the memory. The noise may be imagined. The boys first learn the letters of the alphabet ; next, the vowel-points and other orthographical marks ; and then the numerical value of each letter of the alphabet. Previously to this third stage of the pupil's progress, it is customary for the master to ornament the tablet with black and red ink, and green paint, and to write upon it the letters of the alphabet in the order of their respective nu merical values, and convey it to the father, who returns it with a piaster or two placed upon it. The like is also done at several subsequent stages of the boy's progress, as when he begins to learn the Koran, and six or seven times as he proceeds in learning the sacred book, each time the next lesson being written on the tablet. When he has become acquainted with the numerical val ues of the letters, the master writes for him some simple words, as the names of men, then the ninety-nine names or epithets of God ; next the fa't'hhah (or opening chapter of the Koran) is written upon his tablet, and he reads it repeatedly, until he has perfectly committed it to memory. He then proceeds to learn the other chapters of the Koran : after the first chapter, he learns the last ; then the last but one ; next the last but two ; and so on, in inverted EGYPTIAN SCHOOL. 145 H 10 ORIENTAL WATER-CARRIER. 147 order, ending with the second, as the chapters in general succes sively decrease in length from the second to the last inclusively. It is seldom that the master of a school teaches writing, and few boys learn to write unless destined for some employment which absolutely requires that they should do so, in which latter case they are generally taught the art of writing, and likewise arith metic, by a ckabba'nee, who is a person employed to weigh goods in a market or bazar with the steelyard. Those who are to devote themselves to religion, or to any of the learned professions, mostly pursue a regular course of study in the great mosque El-Az'har. ORIENTAL WATER-CARRIER. In oriental towns, water is not conveyed to the several streets and houses by pipes or trenches. It must all be brought from the river or the wells. In towns, this is seldom done by the house holders themselves, or by their servants. There are men who make it a trade to supply every day, to regular customers, the quantity of water required. This they carry about in a well-pre pared goatskin, which is slung to the back in the manner repre sented in our cut, the neck, which is usually brought under the arm and compressed by the hand, serving as the mouth of this curious, but exceedingly useful vessel. Persons of larger dealings have an ass which carries two skins at once, borne like panniers : and we have known very prosperous water-carriers who had oxskins carried on a horse. These men, contin ually passing to and fro with their wet bags through the narrow streets, are great nui sances in the towns, from the difficulty of avoiding contact with them. The care taken to avoid them, in some de gree answers to that which people exhibit in our own streets to avoid carriages and carts. In a time of public calamity the water-carriers are the last to discontinue their labor ; and their doing so is a sure indication that the distress has become most in tense and imminent, and is in deed a great calamity in itself. 148 ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS. I. Vegetable Substances. — 1. Wood. Inscriptions on wood aie very ancient, but do not require to be here noticed. Tablets of wood were very early in use, and seem to have been generally employed much in the same way as slates among ourselves : that is, for temporary writing. Sometimes they were single, but fre quently from two to five or more leaves done up into a sort of book, something like our slate-books. The Greeks and Romans usually coated the boards with wax, on which the letters were traced with a style, or pen, commonly of iron, but also of gold, silver, brass, and sometimes ivory or bone. These instruments had one end pointed, to trace the letters, and the other broad and smooth, for the purpose of obliterating what had been written, by spreading back the wax, so as to render it fit to receive other words. In such books, there was in the middle of each leaf a sort of button, to prevent the pages from touching each other when closed. But the greater warmth of their climate prevented the Jews from generally using wax ; they, therefore, wrote on the tables with a, kind of ink, which could be easily sponged out when necessary. Such tablets of wood were in use long before the time of Homer, and Home thinks it highly probable that several of the prophets were upon tablets of wood, or some similar material. They were not wholly disused in Europe until the fourteenth century ; and are still employed in North Africa, Western Asia, and Greece. The leaves of these tablet-books, whether of wood, metal, or ivory, were connected together by rings at the back, through which a rod was passed, which served as a handle to carry them by. 2. Bark of Trees. — The fine inner bark of such trees as the lime, ash, maple, or elm, was early used as a substance for writing. As such was called in Latin liber, this name came permanently to be applied to all kinds of books, and has, in a similar connexion, been adopted into most European languages. These books, like all other flexible materials, were rolled up to render them portable, and to preserve the writing. They were usually rolled round a stick or cylinder ; and if they were long, round two cylinders. Hence the name volume (volumen) — a thing rolled up — which continues to be applied to books very different from rolls. In using the roll, the reader unrolled it to the place he wanted, and rolled it up again when he had read it. 3. Leaves of Trees. — Pliny thinks that the most early substance for writing was the leaf of the palm-tree ; meaning, we presume, the first flexible substance. Be this as it may, the process is cer tainly of very remote antiquity ; and would be naturally suggested by its being perceived how readily particular leaves received and retained marks made by a pointed instrument. At this day, books made with the leaves of different trees are common among the ancient books and writing materials. 149 5 3 K HB 2 r< OB« wswa 152 ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. J*4$#<**^X1J&r\ Fragment of Egyptian Papyrus ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. 153 Indian nations, and specimens of them are numerous in England. The palmyra leaf is that which is most generally used, but others are preferred in some parts, as those of the talipot-tree, in Ceylon, on account of its superior breadth and thickness. The letters are written, or rather engraved, with a fine-pointed style, or sort of bodkin ; and the writing is afterward rubbed over with a compo sition of oil and pulverized charcoal, which renders the characters distinct and permanent. 4. Papyrus. — This was a vegetable tissue, the manufacture of which originated and was, in a great degree, peculiar to Egypt. It is obtained from a bulrush (Cyperus papyrus, Linn.) which grew in the swamps of the Nile to the height of ten or fifteen feet. The parts used in making the papyrus were the thin concentric coats of pellicles that surround the triangular stalk ; those nearest the centre being the best and finest. A layer of these was laid out lengthwise on a board, and another layer pasted over it cross wise, and after being pressed and dried in the sun, the sheet was completed by the surface being polished with a shell, or other hard and smooth substance. A number of these sheets were glued together, to form a roll of the required dimensions. The breadth was determined by the length of the slips taken from the plant ; but the length might of course be carried to almost any extent. The largest that has yet been found is thirty feet long. The writing, as in all rolls of whatever material, is not across the length or breadth of the roll, but in columns, extending in the direction of the roll's breadth with a blank strip between them. Many such rolls have been found in Egypt, in mummy-cases and earthen vessels, and many also in the houses excavated at Her- culaneum. The former, though more ancient, are better pre served and more easily unrolled than the latter, which have suf fered from the action of heat. The superiority of the papyrus to all other materials previously known, brought it speedily into general use, for books, among the western civilized nations ; in deed, it may probably enough have been known to the prophets ; for although the common account makes the discovery posterior to the foundation of Alexandria, this must be an error: since it was extensively used and formed an article of export from Egypt in the time of Herodotus, whose visit to that country was more than a century prior to the foundation of Alexandria. The rush itself is distinctly mentioned by Isaiah (xix. 7) in predicting the confusion of Egypt. Our engravings exhibit an Egyptian roll, and others at Herculaneum, in various illustrative circumstances — some unrolled, two in the act of being read; some closed; and others in the boxes in which they were usually kept, several to gether, deposited vertically, and ticketed at the upper extremity with their titles. (See more largely in "Egyptian Antiquities," vol. ii. chap. 7; and "Pompeii," vol. ii. chap. 13, in "Library of Entertaining Knowledge.") 5. Linen. — The use of linen as a substance for writing on, is allowed to have been long prior to the invention of papyrus. 154 ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. Indeed, it is evident that when men had invented linen cloth for dress, and afterward began to feel the need of a flexible and durable material for writing, it would naturally occur to them, that, if their linen could be so prepared as to receive and retain the characters, it would be more convenient to form a portable book, than any substance previously known. They soon found how to adapt their tissues to this purpose by priming or painting them all over, before they began to write, the writing itself being also rather painted than written, for the inks of antiquity were rather paints than inks, containing no mordant to give them dura bility : resembling, in this, the inks now used in the East. That such writing was known to the ancient Egyptians, we know from the written bandages which are sometimes found on mummies. Linen books are mentioned by Pliny and Vopiscus ; and Livy speaks of such books that were found in the temple of Moneta. The obvious character of the resource, is also indicated by the fact, that the pictorial epistles of the Mexicans were painted on a cotton tissue. The use of linen was certainly known to the Jews in the time of Moses, the priestly robes being principally of that material ; and there are biblical scholars who think that the ori ginal of the Pentateuch, and the other books of the Old Testament, were written on rolls of linen. The question is certainly open to investigation, as rolls only are mentioned in a general sense, without our being informed of what they were composed. II. Metallic Substances. — Tablets, and sometimes several tab lets formed into a book, like the wooden tablets, consisting of plates of lead, copper, brass, and other metals, were anciently used, either to form leaves on which the wax might be spread, or else for the writings to be engraven upon them. The latter pro cess is exceedingly ancient. Writing on lead is mentioned by Job (xix. 24). Pliny mentions that leaden sheets or plates were used for important public documents. This we learn also from other sources ; and brass was also employed for inscriptions in tended to be very durable. What Pliny says on the general sub ject is instructive : " At first men wrote on the leaves of the palm, and the bark of certain other trees ; but afterward public documents were preserved on leaden plates or sheets, and those of a private nature on wax and linen." The order of sequence here is of no weight; we cite it for the facts. Montfaucon purchased at Rome, in 1699, an ancient book entirely composed of lead. It was about four inches long and three inches wide : and not only were the two pieces that formed the cover, and the leaves, six in number, of lead, but also the stick inserted through the rings to hold the leaves together, as well as the hinges and nails. It contained Egyptian Gnostic figures and unintelligible writing. Brass, as more durable, was used for the inscriptions designed to last the longest, such as treaties, laws, and alliances. These public documents were, however, usually written on large tablets. The style, for writing on brass and other hard substances, was sometimes tipped with diamond. 156 ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. Youth with a Roll. Girl with Tablet Book. Female beading, with a Box of Rout*. Female readiho a Roll. ANC'ENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. 157 III. Animal Substances. — 1. Skins. The skins of animals were in use for writing long before parchment was invented. Herodo tus mentions the barbarians as writing or painting on the skins of goats and sheep ; and Diodorus describes the ancient Persian records as being kept on the same substance. The recourse was so very obvious that it has prevailed in most countries. Even in America, the Mexicans had books of skins, and the North Ameri can Indians had maps painted on skins. It was also certainly one of the most ancient, if not the most ancient form of portable writing; and they have great probability on their side who con tend that the books of Moses were written on the skins of sheep or goats. The Jews, then, had most certainly the art of preparing and dying skins, for rams' skins died red made a part of the cov ering for the tabernacle. In connexion with this fact, the follow ing particulars of a Hebrew MS. roll of the Pentateuch, now in the public library at Cambridge, are very instructive. The roll was discovered by Dr. Claudius Buchanan, in the record-chest of the black Jews in Malabar, supposed to be descended from the first dispersion of the Hebrew nation by Nebuchadnezzar. The date of the manuscript could not be ascertained, but the text is sup posed to have been derived from those copies which their ances tors brought with them to India. It is written on a roll of goat skins, died red, and measures forty-eight feet in length, twenty -two inches in breadth. As it wants Levitipus and the greater part of Deuteronomy, it is calculated that its original length must have been not less than ninety English feet. In its present condition it consists of thirty-seven skins, comprehending one hundred and seventy columns, four inches in breadth, and containing each from forty to fifty lines. It is in some places worn out, and the holes have been sewn up with pieces of parchment. See farther par ticulars in Home's account of Hebrew Manuscripts in his " Intro duction," vol. iv. pp. 86-89. We refer to this remarkable roll merely as representing a very primitive manner of writing impor tant documents, without expressing any opinion as to the date of the roll, or value of its text. Dr. Buchanan himself states, in his "Researches," that " the Cabul Jews, who travel in the interior of China, say, that in some synagogues the law is still written on a roll of leather, made of goatskins, died red ; not on vellum, but on a soft flexible leather." 2. Parchment. — This is but an improvement, although a very important one, on the process just mentioned. It was one of the latest, if not the latest of the various processes we have noticed, although some assign it a very early date, for want of adverting to the difference between it and skins less artificially prepared. The improvement is said to have been invented at Pergamos, at a time when Ptolemy Philadelphus prohibited the exportation of papyrus from Egypt, with a view of obstructing the formation of a great library which Eumenes, king of Pergamos, was forming, and which he feared might eclipse his own great library at Alex andria. It is certain that the best parchment was made at Perga- 158 ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. mos, and skins thus prepared were hence called Charta Pergamena, of which our parchment is a corruption. In Greek they are some times called membrana. Parchment came to be employed for legal, sacred, and other particular classes of works ; but the com parative cheapness of papyrus, combined with as much durability as could be required for the more common literary works, main tained it still in general use. The Jews soon began to write their Scriptures on parchment, of which the rolls of the law used in their synagogues, are still composed. 3. Ivory. — Tablets and tablet-books of ivory, on the same principle as those of wood and metals, were anciently in use, much as they continue to be so among ourselves. They were written on with that paint-like ink which, as we have already no ticed, might be washed off when necessary. The Burmese have beautiful books formed of ivory sheets, stained black, on which the characters are gilt or enamelled, and the margins adorned with gilding. Of engraving on rocks, lead, &c, we have already spoken. We have also mentioned the pens of iron, and other metals, which were used for inscribing the characters on lead, wax, and other substances, of which the ancient writing-tablets were formed. Some of the forms which they bore are represented in our engraving of the " Group illustrating the use of the style," and which also represents the mode in which they were employed, according to the substances on which they operated. It is at this day customary in Mahometan Asia for sentences from the Koran, and moral sentences, to be wrought in stucco over doors and gates, and as ornamental scrolls to the interior of apart ments. The elegant characters of the Arabian and Persian alpha bets, and the good taste with which they are applied in running scrolls, the characters being usually white, raised on a blue ground, and intermixed with gilding, have a very pleasing effect, particu larly in interior ornament. This custom must have been very an cient. The later Jews have their mezuzolh, or door-schedules, slips of parchment, on which are written passages of Scripture. These slips are rolled up, and on the outside is written the He brew word (shaddai), or "Almighty," one of the names appropri ated to God. This roll they put into a reed or hollow cylinder of lead, in which a hole is cut for the word shaddai to appear ; and the tube is then fastened to the door-post by a nail at each end. As the injunction is in the plural form, they concei'-e that a mezuza should be placed on every door of a house. It is usually fixed to the right-hand door-post ; and those Israelites who wish to be considered particularly devout, usually touch or even kiss it as they pass. The Talmud ascribes great merit to having the mezuza fixed on the door-post, and describes it as a preservation from sin. It is still the custom in the East to carry the ink-horn stuck in the girdle. Scribes carry them constantly in their girdles, and ministers of state wear them in the same manner as symbols of their office. The form of these receptacles is adapted to this ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. ,,Wv».i 159 >Vi> a ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. custom, as will appear by our present engraving. That in most general use is a flat case, about nine inches long by an inch and a quarter broad, and half an inch thick, the hollow of which serves to contain the reed pens and penknife. It is furnished at one end with a lid attached by a hinge. To the flat side of this shaft, at the end furnished with the lid, is soldered the ink-vessel, which has at the top a lid with a hinge and clasp, fitting very closely. The ink-vessel is usually twice as heavy as the shaft. The latter is passed through the girdle, and is prevented from slipping through by the projecting ink-vessel. The whole is usually of polished metal, brass, copper, or silver. The case for pens and ink is worn in the same manner by the Persians, but it is very different in its form and appearance. It is a long case, eight or nine inches long, by one and a half broad, and rather less in depth, rounded at each end. It is made of paper, stiff as board, and the whole ex terior is japanned and covered with richly colored drawings. This case contains another, which fits it exactly, and may be con sidered as a long drawer ; it is of course uncovered at top, and slips into the outer case at one end, so that it can be easily drawn out, wholly or partially, to give access to the contents. These are shown in our engraving, and furnish an interesting exhibition of the utensils required by an oriental writer. First there is the ink-stand, which is so put into the case that it is the first thing that Modern Egyptian Writing Case and Instrument. offers when the drawer is pulled out. It is of brass or silver, the upper surface being sometimes ornamented with mother-of-pearl and other materials ; and is sometimes furnished with a small magnetic needle (as in our specimen) under a glass, to enable the proprietor to find the direction of Mecca when he prays. Then there is a little spoon, from which water is dropped into the ink stand, for the purpose of diluting the ink when it becomes too thick or dry. The case also usually contains four or five pens of reed, whence the whole is called a " pencase," rather than an " inkstand." As these pens are too thick-pointed to be nibbed on the nail, after our fashion with quill pens, a thin piece of horn is provided, on which the pen is laid for the purpose. These are the more essen tial articles, but often a small whetstone is added, and also a pair of scissors for clipping paper. The former we have given, but not the latter. Of these two sorts of " inkhorns," so to call them, the first is best adapted to be worn in the girdle, but the Persian 11 162 ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. is certainly more light and elegant, and at least equally convenient with reference to its proper use ; but neither of them are at all suited for such thin inks as we employ. Saxon Reive-Pole. Exchequer Tally. o -a i ® i | a p : ^— fc • i ... j © ¦* in r • 1 ® y ' a 1 1. • . The use of sticks and pieces of wood for the keeping of accounts, has been re- /tvlM tained much longer than the rest ; and has vj? ill w indeed remained to our own day, in evi dence of the various purposes of this kind to which sticks have been applied. We have seen alphabets, records, books, po ems, and calendars of stick ; and the ac count sticks may be briefly noticed to complete the series. The most perfect and interesting of those which have re mained in modern use appears to be the Saxon Reive-Pole, still, or down to a re cent date, used in the island of Portland, for collecting the yearly rent paid to the sovereign as lord of the manor. The lands of this island are denominated ancient customary demesne and lands of inherit ance, paying a yearly rent, and collected by the reive or steward every Michaelmas, the sum which each person pays being scored on a square pole, as shown in our present engraving. The black circle at the top denotes the parish of Southwell, and that side of the pole contains the ac count of the tax paid by the parishioners, each person's account being divided from that of his neighbor by the circular inden tations between each. The other side of the pole, as seen in the cut, is appropriated to the parish of Wakem, the cross within a circle, being considered the mark of that district. In this, as in other instances, we find ancient methods of proceeding re tained by governments long after they have been abandoned by individuals. This is shown in the present matter, by the Reive- Pole in the island of Portland, and still more by the " tallies" or notched sticks, so long and so recently used in the accounts of the public Exchequer, and which still gives name to the office of certain public functionaries, the tellers (talliers) of the Ex chequer. 164 ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS Persian Instruments of Writing. I, Kahndim, or Cnse for Pen and Ink ; 2, 2, PartB of the same, separate ; 3, Spoon for watering the Ink ; 4, Pen, formed of a Reed; S, Thin piece of Hom, on which the Pen ii mended; 6. Whetstone; 7, Ink-holder, with a Compass. Clog Almanac ANCIENT BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. 165 The ancient Britons used to cut their alphabet with a knife upon a stick, which, thus inscribed, was called Coelbren y Beirdd, " the billet of signs of the bards," or the Bardic alphabet. And not only were the alphabets such, but compositions and memorials were registered in the same manner. These sticks were commonly ¦~>KH l_ 1Ak1a/V> /UAVN HV>v I 4 N> A I vA 0 A I H EIHAfr MATIVW H r-VIO>> XOH \0<< I S r-K HOINr-VH V Syrian Ox, Camel, and Ass. THE CAMEL. 211 great modern composers, Mozart was less confined to this species of composition. His secular airs have given him a fame that will flourish in all the greenness of youth as long as such melodies are esteemed, while the sublime sacred oratorios and anthems of Handel, Haydn, Beethoven, Pleyel and others, will thrill the bosoms of millions yet unborn witb the most elevated of intellectual emo tions. They form the splendid mausoleums wherein these great composers lie embalmed, which will defy the destroying finger of decay so long as there is a chord in the human soul that may be made to vibrate at the inspired touch of the muse of poetry. THE CAMEL. Of all animals, the camel perhaps is most exactly adapted both to those peculiar regions of the earth in which it is principally, if not exclusively, found ; and to those purposes for which it is usually employed by man, to whose wants indeed it is so com pletely accommodated, and apparently so incapable of existing without his superintendence, that while, on the one hand, we find the camel described in the earliest records of history, and in every subsequent period, as in a state of subjugation to man, and em ployed for precisely the same purposes as at the present day ; on the other hand, it does not appear that the species has ever existed in a wild or independent state. With scarcely any natural means of defence, and nearly useless in the scheme of creation (as far as we can judge), unless as the slave of man, it forms a remarkable parallel to the sheep, the ox, and other of the ruminating species, which are also rarely, if ever, found but under the protection of man, and to that protection alone are indebted, indeed, for their existence as a distinct species. Let us compare, then, the form, and structure, and moral qualities of the camel, with the local character of tbe regions in which it is principally found; and with the nature of the services exacted of it by man. The sandy deserts of Arabia are the classical country of the camel ; but it is also extensively employed in various other parts of Asia, and in the north of Africa: and the constant communication that exists between the tribes which border on the intervening sea of sand could only be maintained by an animal possessing such qualities as characterize the camel — " the ship of the desert," as it has emphatically been called. Laden with the various kinds of merchandise which are the object of commerce in that region of the world, and of which a part often passes from the most easterly countries of Asia to the extreme limits of western Europe, and thence even across the Atlantic to America, this extraordinary animal pursues its steady course over burning sands during many successive weeks. And not only is it satisfied with the scanty herbage which it gathers by the way, but often passes many days without meeting with a single spring of water in which 212 THE CAMEL. to slake its thirst. In explanation of its fitness, as a beast ol bur den, for such desert tracts of sand, its feet and its stomach are the points in its structure which are principally calculated to arrest our attention : and its feet are not less remarkably accom modated to the road over which it travels, than is the structure of its stomach to the drought of the region through which that road passes. The foot of the camel, in fact, is so formed, that the camel would be incapable of travelling with any ease or steadi ness over either a rough or a stony surface ; and equally incapable is it of travelling for any long continuance over moist ground, in consequence of the inflammation produced in its limbs from the effect of moisture. It is observed by Cuvier, that these circum stances in its physical history, and not the incapability of bearing a colder temperature, account for the fact, that while the sheep, the ox, the dog, the horse, and some other species, have accom panied the migrations of man from his aboriginal seat in central Asia to every habitable part of the globe, the camel still adheres to the desert. And now observe how its interior structure meets the difficulty of a region where water is rarely found. As in the case of all other animals which ruminate or chew the cud, the stomach of the camel consists of several compartments, of which one is divided into numerous distinct cells, capable of collectively containing such a quantity of water as is sufficient for the ordinary consumption of the animal during many days. And, as opportuni ties occur, the camel instinctively replenishes this reservoir; and is thus enabled to sustain a degree of external drought, which would be destructive to all other animals but such as have a sim ilar structure : nor is any other animal of the old world known to possess this peculiar structure. But if we pass to the inhabited regions of the Andes in the new world, we there meet with several species of animals, as the lama, the vigogna, and the alpaca, which, though much smaller than the camel, correspond generally in their anatomy with that animal, and particularly with reference to the structure of the stomach: they resemble also the camel in docility; and, to complete the parallel, they were employed by the abori ginal inhabitants in the new world for the same purposes as the camel in the old. Of the two species of camel, the Bactrian and Arabian, the latter is that with the history of which we are best acquainted ; and though there is reason to believe, that whatever is said of the qualities of the one might with truth be affirmed of the other also, on the present occasion whatever is said is referrible to the Arabian species.* The camel, then, not only consumes less food than the * The Bactrian species, which has two bosses on its back, is more peculiar to Tar- tary and northern Asia. The Arabian, which has only one boss, is not confined to the country from which it is named, but is the same species with that which prevails in northern Africa. As in the case of all domesticated animals, the varieties of these two species are numerous : and it is a variety of the Arabian species, of a small height, to which the ancients gave the name of dromedary, from its employment as a courier ; but in the magnificent work of St. Hilaire and Cuvier (Hist. Nat. des Mammifires), the term dromedary is adopted, in a specific sense, for all the varieties of the Arabian camel. THE CAMEL. 213 horse, but can sustain more fatigue. A large camel is capable of carrying from seven to twelve hundred weight, and travelling with that weight on its back, at the rate of above ten leagues in each day. The small courier-camel, carrying no weight, will travel thirty leagues in each day, provided the ground be dry and level. Individuals of each variety will subsist for eight or ten successive days on dry thorny plants ; but after this period, require more nutritious food, which is usually supplied in the form of dates and various artificial preparations ; though, if not so supplied, the camel will patiently continue its course, till nearly the whole of the fat of which the boss on its back consists is absorbed ; where by that protuberance becomes, as it were, obliterated. The camel is equally patient of thirst as of hunger ; and this happens, no doubt, in consequence of the supply of fluid which it is capable of obtaining from the peculiar reservoir contained in its stomach. It possesses, moreover, a power and delicacy in the sense of smell (to that sense at least such a power is most naturally referrible), by which, after having thirsted seven or eight days, it perceives the existence of water at a very considerable distance ; and it manifests this power by running directly to the point where the water exists. It is obvious that this faculty is exerted as much to the benefit of their drivers, and the whole suite of the caravan, as of the camels themselves. Such are some of the leading advan tages derived to man from the physical structure and powers of this animal. Nor are those advantages of slight moment which are derived from its docile and patient disposition. It is no slight advantage, for instance, considering the great height of the animal, which usually exceeds six or seven feet, that the camel is easily taught to bend down its body on its limbs, in order to be laden 5 and, indeed, if the weight to be placed on its back be previously so distributed as to be balanced on an intervening yoke of a con venient form, it will spontaneously direct its neck under the yoke, and afterward transfer the weight to its back. But it would be found, upon pursuing the history of the camel, that, while under the point of view which has been just considered, this animal con tributes more largely to the advantages of mankind than any other species of the ruminating order, it scarcely is inferior to any one of those species with respect to other advantages on account of which they are principally valuable. Thus, the Arab obtains from the camel not only milk, and cheese, and butter, but he ordinarily also eats its flesh, and fabricates its hair into clothing of various kinds. The very refuse indeed of the digested food of the animal is the principal fuel of the desert ; and from the smoke of this fuel is obtained the well-known substance called sal ammoniac, which is very extensively employed in the arts ; and of which, indeed, formerly, the greater part met with in commeroe was obtained from this source alone, as may be implied from its very name * • Ammon, an ancient name of that part of the African desert situate to the west o ' Egypt, supplied formerly much of the sal ammoniac of commerce. 214 THE POMEGRANATE. Camel's Foot. The peculiar construction of the foot of the camel, is a principal feature in the useful character of this animal, and its perfect adaptation to the purposes for which it is used and the country of its locality. The great breadth of the foot, makes it operate like the snow- shoe of the Siberian, and pre vents it from sinking deep into the sands of the desert, even when it bears heavy burdens. Beside this great breadth of foot, its elasticity and cushion-like character, enable the camel to pass over the hard, silicious regions which frequently occur in the deserts, without any injury. The cut exhibits the bottom of a camel's foot, with the cushion (a) on which the animal treads, shown as lifted out of its bed. The foot is divided into two dis tinctly marked toes, although not positively cloven, which are fastened to, and rest upon, the elastic pad or cushion. From this circumstance, it has been a nicely balanced question whether the camel, which chews the cud, can be reckoned among the species called cloven-footed. It seems to be a connecting link between those that are, and those that are not. THE POMEGRANATE. The pomegranate is the Punica granatum of Willdenow, a fruit- bearing shrub indigen ous to the south of Europe, and which in the natural system con stitutes an order by it self. The pomegranate, so called from its fruit being likened to an apple full of grain, has The Pomegranate. received its generic name either from the scarlet color of its flowers, or in reference to its Punic habitat, the plant being originally found on the north ern shores of Africa. It has been long an inhabitant of our gar dens, but valued for its fine flowers rather than for its fruit, which never ripen thoroughly in this country. They are usually planteC against south walls, and are easily propagated. 216 MIRIAN CELEBRATING THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL. uAflBL -^ THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL. 217 THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL. Exodus xv. 1-22. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath tri umphed gloriously ; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into tbe sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation : he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation ; my father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war : the Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea : his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them : they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, 0 Lord, is become glorious in power : thy right hand, 0 Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee : thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The ene my said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil : my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea cov ered them : they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, 0 Lord, among the gods ¦? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders 1 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed : thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The peo ple shall hear, and be afraid : sorrow shall take hold on the inhab itants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed ; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them ; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them ; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone ; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the peo ple pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in ; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them : but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand ; and all the women went out after her, with timbrels, and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously : the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur ; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 218 STANDARDS. STANDARDS. History furnishes many instances of the origin and use of stand ards among the various ancient nations, but the invention of them is generally accredited to the Egyptians. It is an undoubted fact, that of all nations, the Egyptians earliest exhibited a strong or ganized military force, and hence the reasonable conclusion that they were the first that made use of ensigns or standards. Di odorus, one of the earlier historians, informs us, that the most prevalent standard among the Egyptians was the figure of some animal at the head of a spear. The early Greeks had a piece of armor at the end of a spear for their standard. Agamemnon, according to Homer, used a purple veil. The Athenians subsequently adopted the olive, the owl, and the figure of their tutelar deities. The Persians had various kinds of ensigns, but the most common was a golden eagle. Quintius Curtius mentions one, as representing the sun, enclosed in a crys tal globe, and made a splendid appearance above the royal tent. Among the sculptures at Persepolis, which are of ancient origin, standards are seen of various kinds : one kind consisted of a short staff, terminated at top by a ring, divided in twain, and having a cross-bar, to which enormous tassels were suspended. Another kind consisted of five globes upon a cross-bar, and were undoubt edly intended to represent some of the heavenly bodies which were anciently objects of worship in Persia. Persian Standards. The use of standards was and is, to form a focal or rallying point for the soldiers, and in most cases their courage remains strong so long as they can see their standard erect, or their flag fluttering in the breeze. Such being the case, it matters not what may be the form or material of the ensign, and it is said, that for several centuries prior STANDARDS. 219 222 STANDARDS. STANDARDS. 223 to the Mahometan conquest of Persia, that the proper royal stand ard of that country was a blacksmith's leathern apron, around which they at one time gathered, in opposition to the tyranny of Zohauk. Such has been the origin of many national standards, when the first thing that presented itself was reared for a rallying point. It is related that the most ancient standard of the Romans, was a bundle of hay ; and thus originated the horse-tail standards, surmounted by a crescent, as used by the Turks of the present day. The ancient Romans had quite a variety of standards. As we have already mentioned, the first was merely a bundle of hay ; af terward they adopted a spear, with a cross-piece at top and sur mounted by the figure of a human hand, and below, a small oval shield, made of gold or silver. On this shield deities were en graven, and after the subversion of the republic, effigies of the emperor were inscribed thereon, and were held in great veneration. According to Dr. Meryck, each division of the Roman army had its peculiar standard. That of a legionry was a silver eagle with expanded wings, surmounting a spear, and grasping a thunderbolt. The place for this standard was in the centre, near the general. The flag of cavalry was a square piece of cloth fixed upon a cross bar at the end of a spear. An infantry flag was red, a cavalry one blue, and that of a consul white. Among the Persians the standard was often borne upon a car, and this usage was introduced into Europe, and continued down to the sixteenth century. The standard of the Saracens was thus borne. It was red, was drawn by eight horses, and so confident of victory were the soldiers so long as they saw it erect, that none would ever leave the field. It is asserted that when the sacred standard of Mahomet was captured by John Sobeiski, the Polish king, that so terrified were the moslems at this unpropitious event, that they threw down their arms and fled in the utmost confusion. Sobeiski was victorious, and left two hundred thousand Turks dead upon the field. The ensign of the Venitians, in the time of the doges, was borne upon a cart, drawn by oxen ; and the main standard of Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt, was thus carried, the car being drawn by horses instead of oxen. The first record of the use of standards, in the Scriptures, is in the second chapter of Numbers, and second verse : " Every man of the children of Israel, shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house," &c. The opposite engraving is a copy of a picture by De Loutherbourg, representing the standards of the twelve tribes of Israel. The artist, unfurnished with data respecting the bearings of the standards of each of the tribes, has ingeniously composed the group, and their several bearings, in ac cordance with the blessing of Jacob pronounced upon his twelve sons. (See Genesis,.chapterxlix.) To those who are unacquainted with the Hebrew, we give the following translation of the names, and by turning to the chapter alluded to, they will see how nearly the artist has portrayed the text. 224 STANDARDS. The Tribes. Standards. Reuben, Running Water. Simeon, Sword. Manasseh, Palm. Judah, Lion. Zebulon, Ship. Issachar, Ass. Dan, Serpent. Gad, Flag Asher, Censer and Frankincense Napthali, Hind. Ephraim, Grapes. Benjamin, Wolf. The Jewish Rabbins, who profess to be very particular in their descriptions of everything relating to their ancient customs, have given minute details of the standards of the tribes, but unfortu nately they themselves differ materially. They agree, however, that these ensigns were flags, having figures upon them emblem atical of the pursuits or character of the several tribes. Some commentators suppose they were distinguished by difference in colors ; others, that each bore a sign of the zodiac ; and others again believe that they were simply flags, with the name of a tribe on each. De Loutherbourg has followed the text of Jacob's blessing, and has probably given us as correct a representation as can be obtained at this remote day. Modern Oriental Standards. 22G MANNA. ,.>sift*^>:: # Jm Hp'~ ' *mBI? i . -- - i < >WiW fr^mm^S??mSH^i^&*: .. nv', ;,.!'!¦ ¦',i:«i.i -Air'; ! : MANNA. 227 MANNA. Referring our readers to Exod. xvi. for an account of the' miraculous supply of this substance, as an article of food, and the- circumstances connected therewith, we shall at once proceed to state what we have collected on the article itself. To describe this substance, the sacred writer states, that it was " a small round thing, as small as the hoar-frost on the ground" (Exod. xvi. 14); that it was "like coriander-seed, white, and the taste like wafers made with honey" (ver. 31); and the color like that of bdellium, Numb. xi. 7. Whatever this substance was, says Dr. A. Clarke, it was nothing common to the wilderness. It is evident the Israelites never saw it before ; for Moses says (Deut. viii. 3, 16), " He fed thee with manna which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know ;"' and it is very likely that nothing of the kind had ever been seen before ; and, by a pot of it being laid up in the ark, it is as likely that nothing of the kind ever appeared more, after the miraculous supply in the wilderness had ceased. It seems, he adds, to have been created for the present occasion ; and like him, whom it typi fied, to have been the only thing of the kind, the only bread from heaven, which God ever gave to preserve the life of man ; as Christ is the bread which came down from heaven, and was given for the life of the world. The Psalmist, referring to this supply of manna and quails^, adopts a phraseology which clearly implies its miraculous char acter : — • He commanded the clouds from above, And opened the doors of heaven ; He rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them of the corn of heaven. Each one ate of food from above ; He sent them meat to the full. Ps. Ixxviii. 23-25. We shall close this article with Mr. Bloomfield's very excellent. note on John vi. 31-33, which passage may appear, at first sight, to contradict the text of the Psalmist : " Our fathers did eat manna in the desert : as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven ; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven : For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." Some maintain that Jesus, by his reply, only intended to refute the Jewish opinion respecting the origin of manna; and thus said that the bread which their ancestors had received from Moses, did not come from heaven, but was only naturally formed. But this would require a different phraseology. It rather seems that Jesus, whose aim it was to remove far more serious errors, even such as respected the morals of men, followed the popular taaaner of speaking ; thus wisely accommodating himself to their 228 flight of lot. harmless opinion, in order to avoid giving them unnecessary offence. The passage may be thus paraphrased : " The bread from heaven, the true celestial bread, Moses did not bestow on your forefathers ; he procured only bread fit to satiate the cor poreal appetite, and appertaining only to this fleeting, transitory life. (See verse 49.) But my Father bestoweth on you, by me, bread which may, in the complete sense, be termed bread from heaven ; such as is adapted to nourish tbe soul, and will confer eternal salvation," verse 33. Jesus calls himself the true celestial bread, inasmuch as, having descended from heaven, he bestows on men the nourishment of the soul, namely, the divine and sa ving truths of his gospel. (Kuinoel.) Since they supposed that the manna was bread from heaven in the proper sense, Jesus cor rects their erroneous notion, by hinting that the true heaven is there used per catachresin for the air, or sky ; as when it is said, the fowls of heaven, i. e., the air: q. d., "As that descending from on high, nourished those who partook of it, so do I. But that was from the air ; I from the real heaven. That nourished the bodies ; but / support and strengthen the souls of men." Our Lord's declaration imports, as Mr. Bloomfield imagines, that it is in a subordinate sense only, that what dropped from the clouds, and was sent for the nourishment of the body, still mortal, could be called the bread of heaven, being but a type of that which hath descended from the heaven of heavens, for nourishing the immortal soul unto eternal life, and which is, therefore, in the most sublime sense, the bread of heaven. THE FLIGHT OF LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS. Genesis xix. 12-22. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides 1 son- in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place : For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord ; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place ; for the Lord will destroy this city : but he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, say ing, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters ; the Lord being merciful unto him ; and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life : look not be- THIS FLIGHT OF LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS. 229 ¦E Ml <-3 wn *¦=! t-i K H O H » o t» a HWPi &s o a 232 Solomon's temple MBS IHHiMiip Solomon's temple. 233 hind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain : escape to the mount ain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord ! Behold, now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life : and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die : Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one : Oh, let me escape thither ! (is it not a little one 1) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither : therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. This magnificent edifice was built upon Mount Moriah at Jeru salem. The foundations were laid in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, which was the second after David's death, the 480th after the exodus, and 1011 B. C. David had made great preparations for building the temple, and had collected a vast quantity of gold, silver, and other metals and materials, before his death. On Solo mon's accession to the throne he immediately made contracts with foreign princes to furnish materials to carry on the stupen dous work; he caused a census to be taken of all the Canaanitish and other slaves in Israel, that he might arrange his labors, and send abroad for the most skilful artificers and the richest mate rials. He found 153,600 slaves ; 70,000 of whom he appointed to carry burdens, 80,000 to hew timber and stone in the mountains, and the remaining 3,600 as overseers. He also levied 30,000 men out of Israel, and directed them to work in Lebanon one month in every three, 10,000 every month, under the inspection of Adoni- ram. These it seems were mere rough-hewers of stone and tim ber ; for afterward the materials passed through the hands of the Tyrian artificers, and were conveyed to Joppa on floats, whence Solomon had them conveyed to Jerusalem. Every piece was finished before it was taken to Jerusalem. The temple was com pleted in seven years. Although the value of the materials, and the admirable perfec tion of the workmanship, rank it among the most celebrated struc tures of antiquity, yet we cannot give credence to the statements of some historians and Jewish rabbins who describe this sacred fabric with all the exaggerations which the most luxuriant fancy can suggest, as a temple as unequalled in extent as it was in gran deur and richness. It was not large, being about one hundred and seven feet in length, thirty-six in breadth, and fifty-four in height. (1 Kings vi. 2.) Indeed, Solomon's house was larger than the temple, for that was one hundred and fifty feet long, seventy- 234 solomon's temple. five feet broad, and forty-five feet in height. (1 Kings vii. 2.) But the temple was exquisitely proportioned, and, together with a grand porch, was most splendidly ornamented. _ The temple faced the east. On the rear or west side was the lower part of the city, and on the south was a valley, and the principal peak of Mount Zion. There was a gate on each side, together with an additional one on the west-southwest side, that led to the king's house or palace, which stood across the valley, and communicated with the temple by a terrace walk. At each of the gates was a guard-house ; at the south gate were two additional houses called Asuppim, where the wardens of the court probably assembled and stored their utensils, arms, &c, and there were similar houses in each of the four corners of the court. In the centre of this court was the priests' court, which was an oblong square of one hundred and fifty feet in length and seventy-five feet in width. There were three doors to this court opening from the north, east, and south. This court was divided by a partition wall through the centre, which made two inner courts of equal extent — the innermost or new court containing the temple, and the outer one the priests' court, containing in its centre the altar of burnt-offerings. A gate opened from this last court directly in front of the grand porch of the temple. This porch, which was in front of the temple, it is said was magnificent. It was thirty- six feet long and eighteen wide. On either side of the entrance was a beautiful brass pillar, splendidly worked, particularly the capitals. The precise height of these pillars it is difficult to deter mine : but they were six feet in diameter. The pillar upon the right was called Jachin, which signifies he shall establish, and the other on the left, Boaz, or strength is in him. On either side of the porch winding stairs ascended leading into the chambers of the temple. Directly in front of the entrance to the porch was the door which led into the main room or sanctuary. This door was made of olive wood, beautifully and heavily carved, and over laid with gold. The mouldings of the door, according to Jose phus, were of brass and silver. The sanctuary was a most mag nificent room ; on which ever side the eyes were turned, no wood nor stone work was to be seen, it was all pure and shining gold. The floor and the ceiling and much of the walls were of cedar, carved with " knops and flowers," but all overlaid with pure gold. The chambers, of which there were three tiers of thirty each, were built in tbe wall of the temple all around both the sanctuary and the oracle. At the extremity of the sanctuary was made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle. It is supposed this partition, which is called the " veil of the temple," was a strong wall with a door in the centre, before which was hung a curtain upon a chain of gold. This opened into the oracle or most holy place, where was deposited the ark of God. This room was thirty feet in length, breadth, and height. The work of the walls and floor was similar to that of the sanctuary, though probably more costly and highly finished. The altar was made of cedar, Solomon's temple. 235 and covered with gold. There were also erected in this room two cherubim of olive wood, fifteen feet each in height, and their wings measuring from tip to tip each fifteen feet. These beautiful and sacred ornaments, whose wings together reached across the temple, were also overlaid with pure gold. The main walks of the temple were marble ; the roof of board, and beams of cedar; the temple was lighted by " windows with narrow lights." At the dedication, Solomon had a brazen scaffold built, upon which he stood and addressed the congregation and prayed. This was before the brazen altar of the priests' court. It seems that after ward he built an ivory throne, and overlaid it with gold ; but whether this throne was situated there or in the temple, we are at loss to determine. If the "pillar" and the throne are one, it was undoubtedly before the altar in the court. This throne doubtless had a covering like the thrones and presidential seats, now-a-days, and this is what is probably meant by the " covert of the sabbath." A monstrous brazen basin or " molten sea," was built in the court, which was fifteen feet from brim to brim, seven feet deep, and forty-five feet in circumference. This was placed on twelve brazen oxen, and was used by the priests to wash in. There were also ten lavers to wash the burnt-offerings in. Ten candle sticks, ten tables, and a hundred basins, all of gold, were arranged in the temple. There were also thousands of other instruments, vessels, and ornaments, all of them of the purest gold, and the finest workmanship, adorning this magnificent structure. The immense cost of this temple, as beautiful in its workmanship as it was rich in materials, we have never seen estimated. Solomon reigned after its completion, about thirty years, unequalled in prosperity, in fame, in wisdom, wealth, and magnificence. But as his glory left him in his latter years, so his gorgeous edifice soon after ceased to exist. It was pillaged by Sesac, king of Egypt, and afterward greatly mutilated on the invasion of the Syrians, and was finally burnt to ruins. The temple was surrounded by an immense wall, which was built with great strength upon the most uneven surface, and ac cording to many writers, was about seven hundred feet square. This furnished a court in which the people were allowed to as semble. The works of the Lord are great — honorable and glorious — sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. — Ps. cxi. 2, 3. The books of nature and of revelation elevate our conceptions and incite our piety ; they mutually illustrate each other ; they have an equal claim on our regard, for they are both written by the finger of the one eternal incomprehensible God, to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 236 DAVID AND GOLIATH. DAVID AND GOLIATH. Of all the monarchs of ancient times, David the son of Jesse holds the most conspicuous rank, whether considered in the light of a military leader, a bright ornament in the galaxy of oriental writers (especially in the department of sacred and imaginative literature), or as a pious and devout servant of the true God. Although his son Solomon exceeded him in the splendor of his kingdom and household, and demands reverence for his wisdom, and admiration for his skill, in planning and causing the erection of the great Jewish temple of worship, yet in the true excellence of character which won David his honors and fame, the " wise man" was sadly wanting. One was but a poor obscure shepherd- boy, the other was born to a kingdom ; the one persevered in his religious integrity till death, the other, enervated in body and mind by debauchery, worshipped false gods ; and while we may derive temporal profit by the perusal of the wise sayings and practical sermons of Solomon, we are elevated morally and spir itually to the highest point, by the glowing pathos, fervent piety, and exalted devotion, which are breathed in every psalm of the " sweet singer of Israel." In reading the history of David, we are struck with the simi larity of customs among the people of that age, and those of the present who inhabit the same section of the world. Persons, then as now, were raised from the lowest to the highest political sta tions by the caprice of temporal or spiritual rulers, and at once received the implicit obedience and homage of the whole people. Like the kings of Europe, previous to the Reformation, who bowed to the supremacy of the pope, the kings, and preceding them the judges among the Jews, were subject to the direction, in a great measure, of the prophets and priests, who held an intermediate place between the civil and religious interests of the people. Thus, when Israel wished for a change in government, and de manded a king, we find the prophet Samuel anointing Saul, and a short time previous to his death, we find the same prophet going into the family of a shepherd, and anointing a stripling of fifteen years the successor to the reigning monarch. This is the first notice we have of David. Shortly after, during the violent war that raged between the Israelites and their imme diate neighbors, the Philistines, David was sent to the camp with some necessaries for his brethren who were there. Having been left at home in attendance upon the flocks, his brethren addressed him harshly, and reproached him with a neglect of his trust. Yet he bore their reproaches with patience, and lingered about the camp till he saw the two armies drawn up in battle array, each upon a hill on opposite sides of a valley. Such manoeuvres had taken place for several consecutive days, and several times a giant warrior by the name of Goliath, belonging to the Philistine army, had come out upon the plain and defied any one of the Israelites DAVID AND GOLIATH. 237 l!i:,iriiiki.»l,liW,lfli,ii.iln,iJ mmsm ¦ IP ¦''IP 11 11 ' David with the Hiad of Goliath. — Guido. DAVID AND GOLIATH. to meet him in single combat.* Young David marked the inso lence of the mighty champion, and regretted the fear of his coun trymen whenever he made his appearance. A secret voice bade him go forth to meet the terrible adversary. He openly expressed his conviction that the warrior might be vanquished, and his words were told to King Saul. The monarch, anxious to try every ex periment to encourage his people and avert the calamity of a de feat, sent for the youth and questioned him concerning his origin, his prowess, and his strength, and the meaning of the words he had spoken concerning the armed warrior of the enemy. David told the king not to fear Goliath, and at once offered to go himself, a beardless youth as he was, to meet the insolent challenger. Saul replied to this bold proposition that he was not able to perform such a deed, because of the disparity of the two. But the young hero felt a confidence in the arm that upheld his, and to convince Saul that he did not lack personal courage, he told him how that a lion and a bear once attacked his flocks, and that he smote and slew both, and rescued the lambs they had stolen.f He also ex pressed his conviction that Omnipotence would give him strength; and Saul at length " put his armor upon him," and with trembling heart bade him go fight the Philistine. David found the armor too cumbrous, and laying it aside, he took his shepherd's staff, the sling which he used as a defence against the approach of wild beasts, and selected five pebble-stones from a brook hard by as ammunition. Thus provided, he marched boldly to the plain, where each army looked upon his temerity with astonishment. Seeing an individual approaching from the ranks of the Israelites, Goliath went out to meet him, but when he came near, and saw that he was but a beardless youth, and unarmed, he was greatly enraged, for he deemed himself insulted and mocked. "Am I a dog," cried he to David, " that thou comest to me with stones 1" And by Dagon and his other gods the angry Philistine cursed the son of Jesse. He threatened him with annihilation, and told him he would give his flesh to vultures and wild beasts. But the heart of David quailed not, and he defied him to combat. More enraged at this defiance, he strode toward the youth to slay him. David prepared his sling with a stone, and when at a proper distance, he hurled the pebble with unerring aim, which sank deep into the forehead of the giant warrior, and he fell upon the ground. To make victory certain, the brave youth took the mighty sword from the warrior's sheath, and cut off his head. Seeing their champion destroyed, the Philistines turned and fled, and were pur- * We find in Roman history a similar account of two warriors from the opposing armies (Romans and Latins), meeting and deciding the victory by single combat. t This exploit of David is very similar to that of the hero in a Bedouinee poem, called "Antar." It is thus: Antar, fond of solitude, used to delight in attending (locks, and in wandering about the desert. One day, when the sun poured down his hot vertical rays, he climbed up among the cool branches of a tree, whence he could overlook his flock. While there a wolf came out of a thicket, caught a lamb, and dispersed the whole flock. Antar pursued him with his staff, killed him, filled his acrip with his head and legs, and returned to his pasture. 240 FOOTSTOOL. sued by the Israelites with great slaughter and the loss of much spoils.* David took the head of Goliath, and conveyed it as a trophy to Jerusalem. The news of his exploits went before him, and as he approached the imperial city, matrons and maidens went forthwith tabrets, and dancing, and with joy. They strewed flowers in his way, and sang the praises of the young hero, saying, " Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." The king hearing these things, became jealous of David's fame, and fearing that the sceptre might depart from him and his family, to the hand of the victor, he contrived plans for the young man's destruction, and among others, offered David his daughter in marriage, if he would bring as a dowry, a trophy of victory from the Philistines. The enterprise was so very hazardous, that Saul felt confident that David would be slain, and thus his wicked designs be accomplish ed. But the same hand that upheld him against the lion and the bear, and the champion of the enemy, sustained him now, and he returned to Saul With his trophy, and claimed and received the hand of his beloved in marriage. We have thus taken a cursory glance at the opening chapter in the history of one of the most celebrated men of ancient times. The reader of the Bible is familiar with his biography ; and who can peruse the events of his life till he was elevated to the throne, ten years after his victory over Goliath, and not be forcibly struck with the frequent manifestations of an over-ruling and special Providence 1 With a few sorrowful exceptions, his whole life af ter his coronation, was one of piety and good example. FOOTSTOOL. ThE common manner of sitting in the Eastern countries, is upon the ground, or floor, with the legs crossed. People of distinction have the floors of their chambers covered with carpets for this pur pose ; and round the chamber broad couches, raised a little above the floor, spread with mattresses handsomely covered, which are called sofas. When sitting is spoken of as a posture of more than ordinary state, it is quite of a different kind ; and means sitting on high, on a chair of state or throne ; for which a footstool was ne cessary both in order that the person might raise himself up to it, and for supporting the legs when he was placed in it. " Chairs," says Sir John Chardin, " are never used in Persia, but at the coro nations of their kings, when the monarch is seated in a chair of gold set with jewels, three feet high. The chairs which are used by the people in the East are always so high as to make a footstool necessary ; and this proves the propriety of the style of Scripture, which always joins the footstool to the throne, Isa lxvi. 1. Ps. c. 1." • This event occurred 1063 year* before Christ. ROSE OF SHARON. 241 ROSE OF SHARON. Our engraving represents a stem and flower of the full double Rose of Sharon, such as are met with in Persia and in Palestine, its native country. Our gardens and ornamental grounds abound with them, but they are frequently single, and have often more the appearance of the flower of the hollyhock than of a rose. In its native climate, blooming in all its beauty, it is one of the loveliest flowers of the field. Indeed the rose has always been celebrated as the queen-flower, and that species called the Sharon rose, ranks among the most beautiful. In all the poems and love-songs of the East, the rose has some share in indicating beauty. Nor is it cultivated for its beauty alone, but in Persia very extensive fields may be seen, where the plant is carefully reared for the production of the most delicious of all perfumes, ottar of roses, or rosewater. The trees there 16 242 ROSE OF SHARON. grow to a size, and with an abundance of flowers, never seen in Europe and America ; and there are whole districts of country where attention is paid by the inhabitants to little else than in their cultivation and preparation for the perfumer. Their variety of color also exceeds anything seen here. Mr. Lane states, that a tree is frequently seen with flowers of three or four different colors upon it. Among the ancients as well as at the present day, the rose was always seen conspicuous in chaplets at festivals, and at Palmyra in the time of Zenobia, there was an annual feast called the Feast of Roses. We often find the rose used in the Scriptures as an emblem of beauty, and when so used, the rose of Sharon is fre quently mentioned. A correspondent of Silliman's Journal, makes some statements concerning the rose of Sharon cultivated among us, which, if true, are important. He says that the branches very much resemble in their construction and material, henequin or hemp, and when the fibres are first detached from tbe stalk, they are very strong, and capable of being divided into small fibres like those of flax. He asserts that the fibres are sufficiently strong and pliant to make excellent cordage or canvass, and might be made a good substi tute for flax, having the advantage of not requiring the exposure to the weather, and the macerating process indispensable in the preparation of flax. He also believes that it is an excellent mate rial for coarse paper, inasmuch as the coat of the rose of Sharon is much softer, thicker, and more silky than hemp. The Sharon rose is robust and healthy in its character, and easily grown in all good soil of this country. It is a perennial plant, produces much seed, and can be raised with less labor and a greater product than hemp or flax. The writer of the commu nication in question sent a specimen of the " raw material" (of the separated fibres) to Mr. Silliman, who stated in a note, that judg ing from the specimens sent, the rose of Sharon deserved all the commendation which his correspondent had bestowed upon it. The Wild Ass. — The wild ass, or para, celebrated by Job, is generally understood to be the onager, an animal which is to this day highly prized in Persia and the deserts of Tartary, as being fitter for the saddle than the finest breed of horses. It has nothing of the dulness or stupidity of the common ass ; is extremely beautiful ; and, when properly trained, is docile and tractable in no common degree. It was this more valuable kind of ass that Saul was in search of when he was chosen by the prophet to dis charge the duties of royalty. " Who hath sent out the wild ass free 1 or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass 1 whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren sand his dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing" (Job xxxix. 5-8). 244 SAUL, AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR. S^UL AND THE WiTCH OF ENDOR.— SaLVATOR RoSA. SAUL, AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR. 245 SAUL, AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR. From the most remote ages of antiquity down to the present time, a belief in the exercise of supernatural powers by human beings, has prevailed to a greater or less extent, among all nations. When science in all its various forms was but a sublime mystery, known only to a few, that few exercised it to their own aggran dizement, and strengthened their hold upon the credulity of their dupes by a use of some of the mysterious agents of nature, either appertaining to the world in general, or to individual persons. Those who arrogated to themselves the possession of supernal powers, assumed a singularity of manner and appearance to render themselves conspicuous. In former times, their influence was felt in the court, the camp, and in the domestic circle, exciting hope and fear, joy and sadness, alternately as would best suit their pur pose. And it is an astonishing fact, that the wisest and best of men have bowed reverently to the astrologer, the seer, the dervish, or the witch, begging them to lift the veil of the future, and point out to them the result of circumstances in which they were in volved. From the time of Moses, when the enchanters of Egypt were called to oppose him in miracles, down to the days of Cotton Mather when witches by scores infested his parish (as he and many good people thought), men of sense — men who had climbed the hill of science to its pinnacle, and drank of the fountain of philosophic truth — have passively submitted to these charlatans, and allowed them to drive judgment from its throne. Then why should we listen with indignation to the tales of bitter persecu tions carried on by the vulgar against old women suspected of witchcraft 1 We should rather pity them, and deplore the weak ness of poor human nature. There has been considerable dispute and speculation concerning the character of the Witch of Endor, mentioned conspicuously in the Book of Samuel. These speculations have been among those who are unwilling to admit that in the apparition of Samuel there was any interposition of, or miracle performed by, the Deity. A larger class of these disputants give it as their opinion, that Sam uel did not really appear, and that the woman was possessed of the powers of ventriloquism. This latter conjecture is strength ened by the fact that the word witch, or consulter of familiar spir its, as used in the eighteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, in the original Hebrew, signifies " a consulter of Ob." Ob signifies a bottle or hollow vessel, and all Jewish writers agree in under standing it to denote a person that was master or mistress of a spirit or demon, which entered them and spoke in a deep hollow voice from the belly or chest, as from a bottle, in a manner similar to that of the priestesses at Delphos, through whom Apollo deliv ered his oracles. The class here mentioned suppose the witch of Endor to have been a woman of' considerable knowledge, and well versed in public affairs. That when Saul told her to fear not, she 246 THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. at once guessed the tall stranger before her to be Saul, and at once undertook the task of deceiving him, knowing him to be very su perstitious. They suppose also, that Saul did not actually see Samuel, but trusted to the evidence of the woman that she saw him ; for the king asks, " What sawest thou % And the woman said unto Saul, I saw the gods ascending out of the earth" (1 Sam. xviii. 13). The king then asked her what was his form, and the witch replied that he was an old man, covered with a mantle. Then it was that Saul perceived that it was Samuel. It does not say that he saw him, and it is hereon that this class of the dispu tants found their theory that Saul trusted to the truth of the wo man's assertion that she saw Samuel ; and also that the words to Saul, attributed to Samuel, were pronounced by the ventriloquial voice of the woman, imitating that of the dead prophet. A large class of commentators and biblical readers at the pres ent day, backed by the implication of the text, the belief of the an cient Jewish church, and the authority of Josephus, believe that the appearance was real, not produced by any agency of the evil spirit, but by the Lord's permission. As a reason for this permit ted appearance, Dr. Hales gives the following : — 1. " To make Saul's crime the instrument of his punishment, in the dreadful denunciation of his approaching doom. 2. To show to the hea then world the infinite superiority of the Oracle of the Lord, in spiring his prophets, over the powers of darkness, and the delusive prognostics of their wretched votaries in their false oracles. 3. To confirm the belief in a future state by ' one who rose from the dead,' even under the Mosaical dispensation." The artist was undoubtedly an advocate of thereat appearance party. THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. The ark (see Exod. xxv. 10) was a chest or coffer, in which the two tables of the law, written with the finger of God, were to be honorably deposited, and carefully kept. This chest was about fifty-two inches long, thirty-one broad, and thirty-one deep. It was overlaid within and without, with thin plates of gold. It had a crown or cornice of gold round it, with rings and staves to carry it with. The tables of the law are called the testimony, be cause God did in them testify his will. This law was a testimony to them, to direct them in their duty, and would be a testimony against them, if they transgressed. It was covered with a covering of massy gold, which was called the propitiatory, or the mercy-seat. This ark was placed in the holy of holies ; the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled, and the incense burnt before it, by the high-priest, and above it appeared the visible glory which was the symbol of the Divine presence. This was an evident type of Christ in his sinless human nature, which saw no corruption, in personal union with his Divine nature; the ark of the covenant. 247 Jillmm 9HpiI !il M'Jm 1 Jf I Us THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. 249 magnifying the law, and covering our transgressions of it, by naving it in his heart, obeying it in his life, and atoning for our sins against it by his death ; through the sprinkling of his blood, and the intercession which, as our High-Priest, he makes in the true holy 'of holies. God appears to sinners with mild glory, upon a mercy-seat, and accepts the services of those who believe in him, dwells among them, and abundantly blesses them. The cherubim of gold were fixed to the mercy-seat, and spread their wings over it. It is supposed that these cherubim were de signed to represent the holy angels, who always attended the She- chinah, or Divine Majesty, particularly at the giving of the law ; not by any effigies of an angel, but some emblem of the angelical nature ; probably, some one of those four faces spoken of, Ezek. i. 10. Whatever the faces were, they looked one toward another, and both downward toward the ark, while their wings were stretched out so as to touch one another. The apostle calls them cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy-seat, Heb. ix. 5. It de notes their attendance upon the Redeemer, to whom they were ministering spirits, their readiness to do his will, their special presence in the assemblies of saints, Ps. Ixviii. 17, 1 Cor. xi. 10 ; and their desire to look into the mysteries of the gospel which they diligently contemplate, 1 Pet. i. 12. God is said to dwell, or sit between the cherubim, on the mercy-seat, Ps. lxxx. 1 ; and he here promises thence, for the future, to meet with Moses, and to commune with him. There he would give the law, and there he would give audience, as a prince on his throne ; and thus he manifests himself willing to be reconciled to us, and to keep up communion with us, in and by the mediation of Jesus Christ. In allusion to this mercy-seat, we are said to come boldly to the throne of grace, Heb. iv. 16 ; for we are not under the law, which is covered, but under grace, which is displayed. Many heathen nations have had arks or chests which they used in their sacred rites, probably imitated from the ark of the Israelites. TIice forms the staple commodity of India, and is, when grow ing, very much in appearance like our barley ; there are a great many sorts of this grain cultivated, some much larger and coarser than others ; the smaller is generally used at the table of Europe ans, and the larger by the low caste natives. The most prolific crops are those which have been planted while the fields have been overflowed with .water, affording, I think, some illustration of FSccles. xi. 1, " Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days ;" as when the waters go off, the tender blade is seen advancing in growth, and soon comes to maturity. The most profitable and sure method of obtaining a large crop, is to sow some rice very thickly upon a well-cultured spot, and when the plants are risen a few inches, to take them up carefully, and, forming a little ball of earth around each root, to drop them regularly into the wa ter ; this secures their descent to the earth, and growth afterward. 250 the serpents, THE SERPENTS. Numbers xxi. With fiery serpents greatly pained, When Israel's mourning tribes complained, And sighed to be relieved ; A serpent straight the Prophet made Of molten brass, to view displayed : The patients looked, and lived ! — Anon. It should ever be the delight of those who are blessed with th-e powers of reason, to review the dealings of the Great Jehovah with mankind in every successive age. Such a retrospect will in struct us in the knowledge of the Divine character, the nature of the claims he makes on our love and obedience, and tend to de liver us from the temptations to which we are exposed from Satan and the world. To assist us in this profitable duty, the God of wisdom and mercy has given us the sacred volume, which we do well to regard as a light shining in this dark world, to lead our feet into the ways of peace. The events to which we would now invite the attention of the reader, happened in the immediate neighborhood of Edom, or Idumea, on the borders of the land of Canaan, about the year of the world 2553, nearly forty years after the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, a little before they entered into possession of the land of Canaan, and about one thousand four hundred and fifty-one years before the incarnation of the Messiah. It will be remembered by our readers, that the Israelites display ed a very awful degree of rebellion against the law and authority of the blessed God ; that they frequently murmured at his govern ment and Providence ; and that, as the consequence, the Divine anger was often manifested against them. To punish them for their sins, and to accomplish other important designs of Jehovah, their stay in the wilderness which lay between Egypt and Canaan was pro tracted to the very long period of forty years. At the time, how ever, to which we now have reference, they were brought nearly to the borders of the promised land, and expected to have passed directly through Idumea, and have taken possession of it. But, disappointed by Infinite Wisdom of their hopes, wearied with their journey, depressed in their spirits, and, above all, under the influ ence of satanic agency, they found fault with the conduct of their heavenly Benefactor, murmured against his servant Moses, and disapproved of the provisions which he, in a miraculous manner, had given them, without labor on their part, during their long pil grimage. It was not to be expected that a. Being so holy and powerful as Jehovah, would allow them thus to sin, without manifesting marks of his displeasure. The goodness he had shown, and the honor he had put upon them in making them his people, would awfully in crease their guilt ; and we shall now find that his anger was dis- •SHE BRAZEN SERPENT. jit51 THE SERPENTS. 253 t>layed in a way which must have convinced all of the cause of their sufferings, and the inevitable consequences of sin. The wilderness in which the Israelites now were, according to the accounts furnished us by highly respectable travellers, was, and indeed continues to be, infested by great numbers of serpents, of a brilliant, fiery color, whose bite produced considerable inflam mation, and an acute pain, similar to that inflicted by fire, which generally proved fatal to those who were unfortunately wounded by them. The Supreme Being allowed these serpents to increase in great numbers among the people, and to make, by their fatal ravages, many thousands of them monuments of his displeasure. It would be very difficult for us to form a correct and full idea 6f the mischief effected by these destructive creatures among a body of several millions of persons. Multitudes rose in the morn ing in their accustomed health, rejoicing in their connexions, and pleased with the hope of soon surmounting their present trials, and entering the land described to them as flowing with milk and honey. But, alas ! stepping to the door of the tent, perhaps to gather up their allotted portion of manna for the day, or to trans act business with an acquaintance, they are bitten by one of these reptiles ; poison is infused into the blood ; the part affected is swollen; and in a very few hours they lie cold and stiff in the arms of death. Thus thousands, and probably tens of thousands, in a very few days, fell victims to an incensed Deity, and proclaimed to future ages, " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Who shall describe to us the confusion and sorrow which now universally prevail 1 In this tent lies the corpse of a be loved and only child, the hope and solace of its parents ; but it is gone, and they weep; refusing to be comforted : there the be reaved husband is seen bending over the inanimate body of her who but yesterday was the blooming beauty, and the lovely bride ; yonder is the interesting female bedewing with her tears the life less remains of one to whom she, but a few hours ago, hoped to be united for many years to come ; and at a little distance we may see the aged couple, bending under the weight of years, commit ting the prop of their age to the silent dust ; and as they are en gaged in this act, they themselves have the mortal bite inflicted on them. Oh, sin ! how dreadful are thy ravages ! It is easy to bring on ourselves merited punishment ; but, alas ! we cannot dis miss, as we would, the consequences of our transgressions. It is well when our trials lead us to reflection and humiliation. The Israelites, thus visited with a painful dispensation, losing their beloved connexions, seeing thousands of their kindred changed to corpses, and assured that no human arm could save them, very properly applied to Moses, their leader, and the friend of God. They knew that his prayers had power with Jehovah, they hoped that his mediation with him would now be accepted, and they felt it to be right to acknowledge their sins both against Heaven and Moses. 254 THE SERPENTS. Happily for Israel, Moses was a man eminently distinguished for meekness ; and when they consulted him he did not reproach them with their past crimes : but seeing proofs of repentance, and feeling an ardent desire for their deliverance and happiness, he bowed before the throne of Jehovah, and used his mighty influence in their favor. Nor was his intercession in vain, for the Lord heard, and at once prepared a remedy. A thousand times has it been seen, that, in order to accomplish his purposes, the Governor of the Universe employs different means to those which would be selected by his creatures. "His ways are not as our ways, neither are his thoughts as our thoughts." We should have supposed that a council would have been convened of those who were most eminent for medical skill, and that their combined wisdom might have discovered some method of cure. But Jehovah resolved on a remedy which in itself possessed no virtue ; but which, owing its efficacy solely to its being his appointment, should impress the people with a sense of their entire dependance on him, and ensure to himself the whole glory of their recovery. Moses was directed to make a serpent of brass, to elevate it on a pole in the midst of the camp, to proclaim that whoever had been bitten might look upon it, and that, though dying, such persons should instantly recover. What a display was this of infinite mercy : what a remarkable interposition in favor of Israel ! We can easily imagine the suggestions of infidelity on the one hand, and the triumphs of faith on the other, on this occasion. It is quite probable that when the proclamation was made through the camp, some persons would begin to reason on the improba bility of the remedy, and would argue, that, as looking at a ser pent made of brass could possess no medicinal virtue, it could noi, be the appointment of Jehovah : and it is quite possible that with these views some might refuse to look, and die. Others, however, smarting under excruciating pain, reduced to despair as to all hu man help, and just ready to expire, would joyfully listen to the declaration of the acknowledged servant of God, would exult in the provision of a remedy so free, simple, and efficacious ; and would earnestly look and thus derive life. How fondly does the fancy dwell on the happy scenes thus produced, by the blessing of Jehovah, on the means he had appointed for the recovery of his people ! How much happiness would be diffused through numer ous families, by the happy recoveries which took place among them ! While the justice of the Deity was manifested by punish ing in this awful manner those who rebelled against him, his mercy was at least equally displayed by the recovery of those who exercised faith in his word. How striking an illustration does this narrative afford us of the way of salvation by Christ Jesus ! Twice, at least, did the Saviour refer to it in this way ; when he said to Nicodemus, " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever believeth in him should not MOSES. JSt} Moses. — B. West. LOCUSTS in the east. 257 perish, but have eternal life :" and when he afterward said to his disciples, "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." He is the appointed remedy to whom perishing and dying sinners can alone look for life and salvation ; the way of obtaining mercy is by the belief of the truth concerning him, and placing a simple reliance on his favor ; thousands are found to despise his mercy, and they perish for ever ; others are constrained to look unto him and they are saved. May it be equally the happiness of the writer and his readers to believe in this great Deliverer, and to experience the blessings of his infinite grace. LOCUSTS IN THE EAST. Such a visitation as a swarm of locusts, indicative of the ven geance of an Almighty power, can only be conceived by those who have witnessed their sweeping and dreadful ravages. Indeed, in some countries the calamity reaches to such an extent, as actually to compel the inhabitants to lay in stores of provisions, lest they 6hould suffer famine in consequence of their visit. I once hap pened to be near a cloud of these insects, which darkened the sun, and extended for several miles. The whole ground was literally covered with them. They leap like grasshoppers, making at the 258 the scape-goat. time a hissing noise. It is asserted that they have a government similar to bees. They follow the wind, and when the king rises, he is attended by a host of them, which proceed in one compact form, similar to a disciplined army on a march in the same direc tion. They come chiefly with the east, wind. That they have a royal leader, however, is contradicted by Solomon (Prov. xx. 27). The Arabs eat them in a fried state with salt and pepper ; and they were unquestionably permitted as food under the Jewish dispensa tion (Lev. xi. 22), at which time there were different species of them. These insects are also mentioned in the description of the ruins of the city of Nineveh (Nahum, iii.). Solomon also alludes to them in connexion with " dearth, sickness, and pestilence," in the sublime prayer offered at the consecration of the temple (2 Chron. vi. 28). Their grand objects of attack are vines and fig trees, which they so completely strip of their leaves as to convert them in a moment into an image of winter ; and the husbandman, at the "rising of the sun," joyfully beholding his fruitful fields, promising bountiful crops,' beholds, before its " going down," his hopes blasted, and the fair landscape become a desert. This is exactly agreeable to their practice of old (Exod. x. 15), where we are told, " Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in ; for the locust shall consume it," (Deut. xxviii. 38). The swarms of locusts arise from immense tracks of waste land, which affords them shelter from the heat. THE SCAPE-GOAT. The opposite group of animals consists of a scape-goat, and young bullock, goat and kid of goats, which were used by the high-priest of Israel, for a sin-offering. See Levit. xvi. 10, et seq The scape-goat is the large white one, with a riband or fillet tied around his horns. "Let him go for a scape-goat into the wilderness." A comment ator holds the following language on this text : — " The Rabbins inform us, that after the lot had been taken, the high-priest fastened a long fillet, or narrow piece of scarlet to the head of the scape-goat ; and that after he had confessed his own sins and those of the people over his head, or (for we are not quite certain about the point of time), when the goat was finally dis missed, this fillet changed color to white if the atonement were accepted by God, but else retained its natural color. It is to this that they understand Isaiah to allude when he says: — 'Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool' (Isaiah i. 18). After the confession had been made over the head of the scape goat, it was committed to the charge of some person or persons, previously chosen for the purpose, and carried away into the wilderness ; where, as we should understand, verse 22, it was set THE SCAPB GOAT, ETC 259 ¦ 1 1 1 THE SCAPE-GOAT. 261 at liberty ; but the Rabbins give a somewhat different account. They inform us (speaking with a particular reference to Jerusalem and the temple service), that the goat was taken to a place about twelve miles from Jerusalem where there was a formidable rocky precipice ; and they add, that for this occasion a sort of causeway was made between Jerusalem and this place, and that ten tents with relays were stationed at equal distances between them. On arriving at the precipice the goat was thrown down from its summit, and, by knocking against the projections, was generally dashed to pieces before it had half reached the bottom. It is added that the result of this execution was promptly communica ted by signals raised at proper distances, to the people who were anxiously awaiting the event at the temple. It is also said, that at the same time a scarlet riband, fastened at the entrance of the temple, turned red at this instant of time, in token of the divine acceptance of the expiation ; and that this miracle ceased forty years before the destruction of the second temple. We do not very well understand whether this fillet is a variation of the ac count which places one on the head of the goat, or whether there were two fillets, one for the goat and the other for the temple. If the latter, we may conclude that the change took place simul taneously in both. However understood, it is very remarkable that the Rabbins, who give this account of the fillets, assign the cessation of the miracle by which the divine acceptance of this expiation was notified, to a period precisely corresponding with the death of Christ— an event which most Christians understand to have been prefigured by atoning sacrifices, which they believe to have been done away by that final consummation of all sacri ficial institutions. The assertion of the apostle, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Heb. ix. 22), renders the account of the Rabbins, that the goat was finally im molated, rather than left free in the wilderness, far from improba ble, were it not discountenanced by verse 22. It is however pos sible that the Jews may have adopted the usage described when they settled in Canaan, and could not so conveniently as in the wilderness carry the goat to a land not inhabited. But they allow that it sometimes escaped alive into the desert, and was usually taken and eaten by the Arabs, who, of course, were little aware of what they did." " Consider the Lilies of the Field." — In this passage Jesus Christ is commonly supposed to have referred to the white lily, or to the tulip ; but neither of these grows wild in Palestine. It is natural to presume that, according to his usual custom, he called the attention of his hearers to some object at hand ; and as the fields of the Levant are overrun with the Amaryllis lactea, whose golden lilaceous flowers in autumn afford one of the most brilliant and gorgeous objects in nature, the expression of " Solomon in all his glory not being arrayed like one of these," is peculiarly ap propriate. 262 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PLAGUES. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PLAGUES B. C. 78 Plague in Rome, 10,000 died in ©ne day. 67 A great plague over all the known world. A. D. 762 Great plague in England. 777 Again, 34,000 died. 778 " " 954 Plague in Scotland, 40,000 died. 1025 Plague in England. 1094 Again, very severe. 1111 " very severe ; attacked men, cattle, and fowls. 1247 Again. 1345 " 1348 Plague in Germany ; 90,000 died. 1367 Great ravages by plague in London and Paris. 1379 Plague in London. 1407 Again ; 30,000 died. 1477 it 60,000 1499 u 30,000 1500 a 50,000 1548 a 1594 (t 1604 u one foi one fourth of the inhabitants died. 1611 Plague in Constantinople; 200,000 died. 1631 Plague in London ; 35,000 died. . 1632 Plague in Lyons, France ; 60,000 died. 1666 Great plague in London ; 68,000 died. 1691 Plague in England ; 11,000 died in the city of York in one month. 1743 Plague at Messina. 1755 Plague at Algiers. 1773 Plague at Bassorah in Persia ; 80,000 died. 1784 Plague at Smyrna ; 20,000 died. 1784 Plague at Tunis; 32,000 died. 1786 Plague in the Levant ; dreadful mortality. 1791 Plague at Alexandria. 1792 Plague in Egypt ; 800,000 died. 1793 Plague in Barbary ; 3,000 died daily. 1799 Plague in the kingdom of Fez, Barbary ; 247,000 died in one month. 1800 Plague in Morocco ; 200 died daily. 1804 '6 Plague in Spain ; great number died. 1817 to ' 32 inclusive, Cholera carried off in various parts of the earth, an estimated aggregate of 100,000,000 of persons. THE PLAGUE. 263 266 THE GIRAFFE. THE GIRAFFE. 267 THE GIRAFFE. The first and most striking characteristic of the giraffe is its lofty stature, which far exceeds that of every other known animal in the wide range of creation. Its next, and still more wonderful pe culiarity ,'is the clustering union in which it appears to possess some trait or traits of a multiplicity of other animals, of the most varied and opposite attributes. In this respect, indeed, many of the fabulous creatures of the poets would be less remarkable in reality, and are less incredible in description. The fanciful naturalist who con tends for the primary existence of microcosmical centres, or sources of diversified beings, might be pardoned for pointing to the giraffe as a living exemplar of his theory. If other animals are considered connecting links between species, a little farther license of fancy might deem this creature a common ring, or com pendious circle, in which many such links unite. When the good bishop Heliodorus described its hinder parts, from the loins down ward to the tail, as resembling those of the lion, he might have added that its tail also resembles that of some species of the lion, and that its mane may claim affinity to some tribes of the zebra- Its head, says the bishop of Sicca, in form, was like that of the camel — far more delicately moulded, however,, and tapering with much of the symmetry of the antelope. Some graceful traits of the ostrich and the swan must have been mirrored in the mind of its ancient describer, or he would scarcely have alluded to crea tures so remote in their character. These traits will be sketched in the imagination, at least, of every observer. The points in which it somewhat resembles the camel, are the length of its neck, and some callous appendages on the knees and the sternum. The points in which it shows affinity to the horse and the antelope, are its legs, and some outlines of its haunches. The feet also agree with those of the horse in being without the spurious hoofs which mark most of the ruminant animals ; but here the similitude abruptly closes — for the hoofs are divided like those of the ox, with scarcely any other similarity of structure, and are altogether unlike those of the camel, which are less firm in texture and less adapted for speed. The height of a full-grown giraffe varies from eighteen to twenty feet, although some specimens, in their natural state, have been seen exceeding this by several inches. One half of this ele vation, consists of the neck, from the ears to its junction with the projecting angle of the chest; and the other half consists of the fore legs, ascending to the same point. Casual observers are apt to suppose that the fore legs of the giraffe are very dis'proportion- ably longer than its hind legs ; yet they are in reality of equal length — the apparent difference arising from the height of the shoulder, or rather, perhaps, from the great length of the spinous processes of "the scapular vertebral, which descend in an angle of inclination nearly equal to the back of a stag thrown upon its 268 THE GIRAFFE. haunches or rising from its lair. And this effect is so much en hanced by the dorsal protuberance above the shoulder, that few persons are undeceived but by deliberate inspection. The front view of this singular animal is unique and rather uncouthly gro tesque. Its neck appears too thin, mounting lankly aloft, as it does, from a capacious orbicular, duo-convex chest — like a tall iron crane from the box of its wiLdlass. And the tout ensemble of this, in connexion with the very long, thin legs, which perpen dicularly sustain so odd a superstructure, is not unlike the front aspect of a real ornithological crane, as it sometimes stands for lorn on the margin of a pool, innocent of eels, and bolt upright in its excursive meditations. Yet no animal exhibits a more grace fully majestic attitude and richly flowing outline than this other wise uncouth giraffe, when beheld in its side view, cropping the topmost leaves of high branches, or lifting its airy, vivacious head, attentive to distant sounds. Its aspect is then a charm to the eye of taste, and excites the admiration of the most indifferent spec tator. It differs from all other animals in the singular structure of those cylindrical prominences which grow upon its frontal bone, and which are, in fact, cellular enlargements of that bone, of nearly equal size unto their abrupt extremities, which are sur mounted by tufts, of short bristly hairs. These singular appen dages are not peculiar to either sex, and, being of the same sub stance as the scull, of course are never shed ; although, in the young specimens, they are united to the scull by a distinct suture. They are not horns, nor used as such, either in attack or defence ; but, as though this creature were designed to be at once similar and dissimilar to every other, it has a third prominence, or bud ding horn, broader, but not nearly so projecting as the others, articulated on the forehead, midway between them — as though its owner had some slight notion of becoming a unicorn. Beside these, it has two bony tubercles, or rudiments of horns, on each side of the main, on the occiput. The shape of the ears is pecu liarly beautiful — and they are moved with brisk and spirited ex pression toward sounds often unheard or unheeded by the specta tors whose attention has been attracted to the movement. The eyes of the giraffe are singularly large, full, and clear, soft and rich as the famed gazelle's, and fringed with very long lashes. They are situated so prominently on the sides of the head, as to excel, in advantage of position, those of the hare ; and it is sup posed that the giraffe can command a wider view of the horizon than any other creature. The surface of its skin is smooth, the hair being short, close, and flatly laid. The ground color is a dull white, warming to a rich cream-teint, and deepening with age to a very faint-red brown. The spots are of a much darker brown, and of so generally regular a form and arrangement as to give the hide the appearance of being cross-barred with whitish stripes. When young, the sexes are scarcely distinguishable by their color; but, as they advance in age, the male becomes of a darker 270 THE WILD DATE-PALM. Thb Wild Date-Palm, found in the Sinai Mountain; THE WILD DATE-PALM. 271 brown, and the lighter stripes are somewhat less clear; but the female retains more of her original rust-colored hue, and may be known by this contrasted teint. There is, however, some very slight variation of color in specimens of the same age, and in the same individuals at different seasons of the year. Another singularity in the giraffe is, that it has neither a muzzle nor lachrymal sinuses. It has no incisors in the upper jaw, but twelve grinders : in the lower jaw it has twelve grinders and eight incisors. The female has four mammae, situated in the groin, and she gestates twelve months with foal. But the most instructive singularity in the physiology of the giraffe, and the one which, above all others, determines its geographical insulation and scarcity, is the remarkable adaptation of its tongue to the food which it chiefly prefers and seeks. The organ, in some specimens, is about thirty inches in length, opening nearly to a sharp point, and endowed with greater contractility, extensibleness and flexi bility, than the tongue of any creature but the ant-eater. It is coated on the upper surface, and round its point with a skin so hard and impervious, that it cannot be cut or pierced even with a sharp knife, without great pressure. The food on which the giraffe principally subsists, in its natural state, is the foliage and juicy branches of a species of the mimosa or acacia, called by the natives kameel-doorn, which is said to be peculiar to the valleys in which the animal is only known to have been seen, and to con stitute their almost exclusive vegetation. This variety of the acacia abounds with very long and exceedingly sharp spines, whose puncture is as subtile as that of a needle. Yet protected by its wonderfully impermeable covering, the flexible tongue of the giraffe securely threads its way through the foliaged danger, winds around the branches amid the spines, culling each particular leaf with more than manual dexterity, and incurring neither punc ture nor laceration. THE WILD DATE-PALM. The wild date-palm is the Phmnix dactylifera of Linnssus. This is one of the most useful of the palms, and yields every year great crops of fine rich fruit, forming not only a valuable part of the food of the lower orders of society, but a vast surplus for ex portation to other countries. Persia, Palestine, and the northern states of Africa, appear to be the most congenial climates for the successful culture and growth of the date-tree. In some of those countries there are extensive groves of them, furnishing employment and wealth to the general ly indolent natives. The stem is not so lofty as some of the other palms, but it is comparatively much thicker, and very rugged from the persisting bases of the fallen fronds. When the fruit are ripe, they are shaken from the pendent spadis by one man, while others 272 THE PROPHETS. hold a cloth, extended below, to receive the falling fruit. These are afterward sorted and prepared for packing in jars or boxes for sale. Young date-trees may be raised from the stones of the imported fruit ; and as they have much divided and persisting foliage, they add an interesting variety to the stove collection. If planted in a tropical conservatory, and allowed time and space, there is no doubt but they would flower and fruit in this country, which would, at least, be a great curiosity to our botanists. The date-palm is one of the noblest trees that adorn the solitary waste, and the most useful that man has converted to the purposes of nutriment and comfort. In the forest the eye recognises the lofty palm, while the remainder of the vegetable creation lose their individuality in the confusion of varied teints and forms. The presence of the palm is an unerring sign of water ; hence the weary Israelites in their journeyings through the wilderness, found water where they found palm-trees. THE PROPHETS. Isaiah. — Like nearly all the other Jewish prophets, the history of Isaiah is enveloped in obscurity, and we know him only through the feeble aid of tradition and the transcendent beauty and sub limity of his prophetic poetry. If we may rely upon tradition, supported by a few Scriptural facts, it appears probable that he was the grandson of Joash king of Judah, and nephew of King Uzziah. He performed the prophetic office during tl reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, embracing a period of about forty-eight years. Some, both Jews and Christians, have traditions and believe, that he lived till the time of the " bloody Manasseh," and suffered martyrdom at his hands by being sawn asunder. If this be true, then Isaiah performed the duties of a prophet for up ward of sixty years. He flourished about seven hundred years before Christ. Isaiah has been termed the prince of prophets, and he may be justly ranked among the most eminent poets of antiquity. Bishop Lowth says, " Isaiah, the first of the prophets, both in order and dignity, abounds in such transcendent excellen ces, that he may properly be said to furnish the most permanent model of prophetic poetry. He is at once elegant and sublime, forcible and ornamented ; he unites energy with copiousness, and' dignity with variety. In his sentimentsthere are uncommon eleva tion and majesty ; in his imagery, the utmost propriety, elegance, dignity, and diversity ; and notwithstanding the obscurity of his subjects, a surprising degree of clearness and simplicity. To these we may add, there is such sweetness in the composition of his sentences, that if the Hebrew language is at present possessed of any remains of its native grace and harmony, we shall chiefly find them in the writings of Isaiah." THE PROPHETS. 273 Isaiah.— Fhom the Fkescoes, bv Michael Anoelo, in the Sistine Chafel. 18 THE PROFHETS. 275 .i,Hi''l,,illi;:l1llli;Plill!lllii!l;ii,|'"il;l;!!;;;;i' sliv ii! 8ll'|.'i';,'i:i!i,i , Jeremiah.— From the Frescoes, bt Michael Anoelo, in the Sisttne Chafel. THE PROPHETS. 277 K9PH Ezekiel.— From the Frescoes, bt Michael Anoelo, in the Sistine Chafel, THE PROPHETS 279 When Jehovah was pleased to command Isaiah the prophet to make a public proclamation in the ears of the people, what was it, think you, he was ordered to announce 1 Was it some profound secret of nature, which had baffled the inquiries of philosophers, or some great political convulsion which was to change the des tiny of empires 1. No ! these are not the sort of communications most suited to the grandeur of his nature, or the exigencies of ours. " The voice said, Cry ; and he said, What shall I cry 1 All flesh is grass, and all the goodness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it ; surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; but the word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isaiah xl. 6, 7, 8). Instead of presenting to our eyes the mutations of power, and the revolution of states and kingdoms, he exhibits a more awful and affecting spectacle — the human race itself withering under thebreath of God's mouth, per ishing under his rebuke ; while he plants his eternal word, which subsists from generation to generation, in undecaying vigor, to console our wretchedness, and impregnate the dying mass with the seed of immortality As the frailty of man, and the perpetuity of His promises, are the greatest contrast the universe presents, so the practical impression of this truth, however obvious, is the be ginning of wisdom, nor is there a degree of moral elevation to which it will not infallibly conduct us. Jeremiah. — Jeremiah was a native of Anathoth, a city of the tribe of Benjamin not far from Jerusalem and devoted to the use of the priests. His father was a priest named Hilkiah (not the high-priest of that name). Jeremiah was very young when called to the prophetical office, in which he was engaged during a period of forty-two years. He early predicted ruin to his country, and lived to see his predictions fulfilled. During the troubled reign of Josiah, the Jews, contrary to the remonstrance of the prophet, withdrew into Egypt, and took him with them. There he exer cised all his characteristic zeal, in reproving them for their idola tries into which they soon fell, when coming in -contact with the heathen ; and there is an old tradition, that his freedom and zeal cost him his life, the Jews at Tahphanes taking such offence at his rebukes, that they stoned him to death. Alexander the Great, it is said, when there, visited his tomb, and was induced to remove his remains to Alexandria, where he erected over them a magnifi cent monument. This assertion rests upon the authority of tra dition alone. Jeremiah flourished about six hundred years before Christ. Ezekiel. — Ezekiel was of the sacerdotal race, and was one of the captives carried away to Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar, at the same time with King Jehoiaehim. He began to prophesy in the fifth year of his captivity, and continued his labors for about twenty-two years. He prophesied in Mesopotamia, contempora neously with Jeremiah in Judea. A few miles southeast of the ruins of Babylon, is a tomb which 280 THE PROPHETS. for ages has been pointed out by the resident Jews, as the resting- place of the mortal remains of Ezekiel. It is well ascertained that he lived upon the banks of the Khabour or Chebar, and it is gen erally believed that he died while on a visit to the capital. The alleged tomb of Ezekiel is still looked upon with great reverence by the inhabitants of Western Asia, especially the Bedouins and other dwellers in the desert and upon its borders. The Jews have a synagogue near it, and upon the sepulchre of the prophet they formerly kept a lamp continually burning. Daniel. — Daniel was considered by the Jews, as one of the most renowned of all the prophets, and they even gave him the name of Prince of Prophets. He was in the first band of Hebrew captives that were carried to Babylon about seven years before Ezekiel was taken thither. He is supposed to have been about twenty years of age when that event took place, soon after which time he com menced prophesying, and continued his labors in that field for more than seventy years. Of the parentage of Daniel, nothing positive is known, but it is generally believed by the Jews that he was a descendant of King Hezekiah. He was chosen to attend upon the person of the Bab ylonian monarch, and received instruction in all the varied learn ing of the Chaldees. Unlike the other prophets, his life was one of temporal prosperity and honor, marred only by a few trials caused by the malicious envy of courtiers. It appears that he was in great favor at the court of the Assyrian and of the Persian, from the time that he interpreted the hand-writing upon the wall, in the banqueting chamber of Belshazzar till his death, which event occurred when he was about ninety years of age. He survived the period of the captivity of the Jews, but it does not appear that he returned with them to Jerusalem. It is not agreed by the Rab bins, where the prophet died, some asserting that it was at Baby lon, others at Susa. The history in detail of this prophet may be found in the book that bears his name. Joel. — This prophet was of minor rank, yet highly esteemed by the Jews. Total obscurity veils his history so far as a certain knowledge is concerned ; though it is reported on rather doubtful authority, that he was of the tribe of Reuben, and a native of Be- thoron. He prophesied much earlier than any of the other proph ets, except Jonah, who preceded him about half a century. Jonah. — Jonah was a native of Gath-hepher, a town of Zebulon. He lived and prophesied in the reign preceding that of Jeroboam about eight hundred and fifty years before Christ. He is consid ered the earliest of all the other prophets (Samuel excepted) whose time can be accurately ascertained. His labors in the prophetic vineyard do not appear to have been very extensive, and we have no account of him after the transactions recorded in the book that bears his name. Some suppose that after his mission to Nineveh, he returned to his own country, and soon after died there ; but the people of Mesopotamia contend that he died at Nineveh, and a tomb situated near the site of that ancient city, is alleged to be THE PROPHETS. 281 IT Daniel. — From the Frescoes, bt Michael Anoelo, in the Sistine Chafel. THE PROPHETS. 283 Joel, — From the Frescoes, bt Michael Anoelo, in the Sistine Chafel. THE PROPHETS. 285 Jonah.— From the Frescoes, bt Michael Angelo, in the Sistine Chafel. 288 THE PROPHETS. Zechariah. — From the Frescoes, bt Michael Anoelo, in the Sistine Chafel. THE PROPHETS. 289 that of the prophet. In the time of Jerome, a tomb claimed to be that of Jonah, existed at a place near Sepphoris on the road to Tiberias, and this, other eminent Christian writers and travellers claim to be the real one. Near this spot, the moslems (who have a version of Jonah's prophecy in the Koran, and who venerate his name) built a mosque. In several places in the Koran, Jonah or Jonas is mentioned as a bright example. Zechariah. — Zechariah was one of that body of captives who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, about five hundred and twenty years before our era. It is not known to what tribe he belonged, or whether he was of royal or sacerdotal descent. He was contemporary with the prophet Haggai, and the object of his prophecies seems to have been the same as that of the other prophet, to stimulate the returned captives to a renewal of their ancient religious ceremonies, to rebuild the temple, and again es tablish their temporal and spiritual kingdom. Although Zechariah is one of the most obscure of all the pro phetic writers, yet so nearly did the Jews conceive that his style approached to that of Jeremiah, that it was their belief that the spirit of the latter had passed into the former. Bishop Lowth characterizes his style as generally prosaic ; " but," says he, " tow ard the conclusion of the prophecy there are some poetical pas sages, and those highly ornamented ; they are also perspicuous, considering that they are the productions of the most obscure of all the prophets." It is not positively known where Zechariah died and was buried, or to what age he attained. Traditions state that he was buried near Jerusalem ; and with this concurs the existing belief which finds, in a remarkable monument in the valley of Jehoshaphat, the tomb of Zechariah, as represented in our engraving of the " valley of Jehoshaphat, ancient tombs," &c. The tomb surmounted by a pyramid, on the left of the engraving, is the one which tradition assigns to Zechariah. It is thus described by Buckingham: "It is a square mass of rock hewn down into form, and isolated from the quarry out of which it is cut, by a pas sage of twelve or fifteen feet wide on three of its sides ; the fourth, or western side being open toward the valley and to Mount Moriah, -the foot of which is only a few yards distant. This square mass is eight paces in length on each side, and about twenty feet high in front, and ten feet high at the back, the hill on which it stands hav ing a steep ascent. It has four semi-columns cut out of the same rock on each of its faces, with a pilaster at each angle, all of a bastard Ionic order, and ornamented in bad taste. The architrave, the full moulding, and the deep overhanging cornice which finishes the square, are all perfectly after the Egyptian manner ; and the whole is surmounted by a pyramid, the sloping sides of which rise from the very edges of the square below, and terminate in a finished point." 19 290 JERUSALEM. JERUSALEM. Vast as is the period, and singular as are the changes of European history, since the Christian era, Judea still continues to be the most interesting portion of the world. Among other rea sons, it may be for the purpose of fixing the general eye upon this extraordinary land, that it has been periodically visited by a more striking succession of great public calamities, than perhaps any other region. With less to attract an invader than any other conspicuous land of the East, it has been constantly exposed to invasion. Its ruin by the Romans in the first century did not pre vent its being assailed by almost every barbarian, who, in turn, assumed the precarious sovereignty of the neighboring Asia- After ages of obscure misery, a new terror came in the Saracen invasion, which, under Amrou, on the conquest of Damascus, rolled on Palestine. A siege of four months, which we may well conceive to have abounded in horrors, gave Jerusalem into the hands of the calif Omar. On the death of Omar, who died by the usual fate of eastern princes — the dagger — the country was left to the still heavier misgovernment of the moslem viceroys — a race of men essentially barbarian, and commuting for their crimes by their zeal in proselytism. The people, of course, were doubly tormented. A new scourge fell upon them in the invasion of the crusaders, at the beginning of the twelfth century, followed by a long sue cession of bitter hostilities and public distress. After almost a century of this wretchedness, another invasion from the desert put Jerusalem into the hands of its old oppressor, the Saracen ; and in 1187, the famous Saladin, expelling the last of the Christian sovereigns, took possession of Palestine. After another century of tumult and severe suffering, occasioned by the disputes of the Saracen princes, it was visited by a still more formidable evil in the shape of the Turks, then wholly uncivilized — a nation in all the rudeness and violence of mountaineer life, and spreading blood and fire through western Asia. From this date (1317) it remained under the dominion of the ottoman, until its conquest, a few years ago, by that most extraordinary of all mussulmans, the pacha of Egypt — a dreary period of 500 years, under the most desolating government of the world. It is equally impossible to read the scriptural references to the future condition of Palestine, without discovering a crowd of the plainest and most powerful indications that it shall yet exhibit a totally different aspect from that of its present state. Enthusiasm, or even the natural interest which we feel in this memorable nation, r"ay color the future to us too brightly; but unless language of the most solemn kind, uttered on the most solemn occasions, and by men divinely commissioned for its utterance, is wholly unmeaning, we must yet look to some powerful, unquestionable, and splendid display of Providence in favor of the people of Israel. JERUSALEM. 291 APPROACH TO JERUSALEM. 293 The remarkable determination of European politics toward Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, within the last few years ; the not less unexpected change of manners and customs, which seemed to defy all change ; and the new life infused into the stagnant governments of Asia, even by their being flung into the whirl of European in terests, look not unlike signs of the times. It may be no dream, to imagine in these phenomena the proofs of some memorable change in the interior of things — some preparatives for that great providential restoration, of which Jerusalem will yet be the scene, if not the centre ; and the Israelite himself, the especial agent of those high transactions which shall make Christianity the religion of all lands, restore the dismantled beauty of all earth, and make man — what he was created to be — only " a little lower than the angels." APPROACH TO JERUSALEM. Palestine is usually approached either from the sea at the port of Jaffa, the ancient Joppa, or from Egypt by way of the inter vening desert. In both cases the principal object is to obtain a safe and easy route to the capital, which, even at the present hour, cannot be reached without much danger, unless under the special protection of the native authorities. The power of Mehemet Ali, it is true, extends almost to the very walls of Gaza ; and wherever his government is acknowledged, no violence can be committed with impunity on European travellers. But the Syrian pachas, equally deficient in inclination and vigor, still permit the grossest extortion, and sometimes connive at the most savage atrocities. Besides, there is a class of lawless Arabs, who scour the borders of the wilderness, holding at defiance all the restric tions which a civilized people impose or respect. Sir Frederick Henniker, who followed the unwonted track which leads from Mount Sinai to the southern shore of the Dead sea, narrowly es caped with his life, after having been severely wounded, and re peatedly robbed, by one of the most savage hordes of Bedouins. At a short distance from this celebrated port the pilgrim enters the plain of Sharon, celebrated in Scripture for its beautiful roses. The monk Neret informs us, that in his time it was covered with tulips, the variety of whose colors formed a lovely parterre. At present, the eye of the traveller is delighted with a profusion of roses, white and red, the narcissus, the white and orange lily, the carnation, and a highly fragrant species of everlasting flower. This plain stretches along the coast, from Gaza in the south to Mount Carmel on the north, being bounded toward the east by the hills of Judea and Samaria. The whole of it is not upon the same level ; it consists of four platforms, separated from each other by a wall of naked stones. The soil is composed of very fine sand, which, though mixed with gravel, appears extremely fertile ; but, owing to the desolating spirit of Mahometan des potism, nothing is seen in some of the richest fields except thistles 294 APPROACH TO JERUSALEM. and withered grass. Here and there, indeed, are scanty planta tions of cotton, with a few patches of doura, barley, and wheat. The villages, which are commonly surrounded with olive-trees and sycamores, are for the most part in ruins ; exhibiting a melan choly proof, that, under a bad government, even the bounty of Heaven ceases to be a blessing. The path by which the hilly barrier is penetrated is difficult, and in some places dangerous. But, before you reach it, turning toward the east, you perceive Rama, or Ramla, the ancient Ari mathea, distinguished by its charming situation, and well known as the residence of a Christian community. The convent, it is true, had been plundered five years before it was visited by Chateau briand ; and it was not without the most urgent solicitation that the friars were permitted to repair their building ; as if it were a maxim among the Turks, who by their domination continue to afflict and disgrace the finest parts of Palestine, that the progress of ruin and decay should never be arrested. Volney tells us, that when he was at Ramla, a commander resided there in a serai, the walls and floors of which were on the point of tumbling down. The Frenchman asked one of the inferior officers why his master did not at least pay some attention to his own apartment. The reply was, " If another shall obtain his place next year, who will repay the expense 1" A ride of two hours (from Ramla) brings the traveller to the verge of the mountains, when the road opens through a rugged ravine, and is formed in the dry channel of a torrent. A scene of affecting solitude and desolation surrounds his steps as he pur sues his journey, in what is so simply described in the gospel as the " hill-country of Judea." Before him opens the vale of St, Jeremiah ; and in the same direction, on the top of a rock, ap pears in the distance an ancient fortress called the castle of the Maccabees. It is conjectured that the author of the Lamentations was born in the village which still retains his name, amid these sombre mountains : so much is certain, at least, that the melan choly of this desolate scene appears to pervade the compositions of the prophet of sorrows. This was the pastoral country into which the mother of the Redeemer came to salute her cousin Elizabeth. The traveller toward Zion soon arrives at the brook where the youthful David picked up the five smooth stones, with one of which he slew the gigantic Goliath. He pursues his way through a dreary region to the summit of an elevated hill, after which he proceeds across a naked plain strewed with loose stones. All at once, at the extremity of this plain, he perceives a line of Gothic walls flanked with square towers, and the tops of a few buildings peeping above them — he beholds Jerusalem, once the joy of the whole earth ! 296 JERUSALEM, THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. The Holt Sepulchre. (Jerusalem.) ENTRANCE TO JERUSALEM. 297 ENTRANCE TO JERUSALEM. The bright sunny weather we had so long enjoyed had now left us ; dark, driving clouds flitted across the heavens, the wind blew cold, and howled fearfully among the rocks, and we approached Jerusalem through one of the wildest, gloomiest scenes of desola tion I ever witnessed. After riding for nearly three hours through the same dreary and solitary country, throughout which the dwelling of man was no where visible, we ascended a slight eminence, and the landscape then began to unbend and relax a little of its stern and barren as pect. Olive-woods were seen in front, and above a short screen of refreshing foliage appeared a white cupola, which was imme diately hailed as "El Kuds! Jerusalem!" Pushing our horses onward to the summit of the neighboring hill, behind which, in our advance, the small portion of the city had disappeared, we suddenly came upon a scene, imposing, from its contrast with the country we had lately traversed, and certainly one of the most interesting in the whole world. Above the olive-woods in front, seated on the eminence, appear ed a line of houses, domes, and minarets, conspicuous among which, and high above all, were the white cupola of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,* and the dome of the mosque of Omar To the left of these rose the Mount of Olives, a lofty and pictu resque hill, scattered over with olive-trees, and crowned with a mosque and. a Christian church. We descended to the olive-groves,f and after passing several sepulchral excavations in the adjoining rocks, we came to a long range of stone battlemented Saracenic walls, and entered the city • The church is built partly on the low ground and partly on the ascent. It is not entered from the Via Dolorosa : the traveller has to ascend the next street, and then, turning to the left, to proceed along a winding descent, till he arrives at a large open court in front of the church, where he will find everything his heart can wish in tho form of crucifixes, carved shells, beads and bracelets, saints, and sherbet ; all exposed to sale, and the venders seated on the ground beside their wares. The court is bound- ed by the wings of the convent : that on the right contains Mount Calvary, and other supposititious sacred places ; that on the left, the Greek chapel, and anciently the belfry. The door of the church faces the court ; it is on the side of the building. It is open only on certain days in the week, and certain hours in each day. To get it open ed at any other time, it is necessary to have an order of the two convents, the Latin and the Greek, with the sanction of the governor of the city. When open, the door is always guarded by Turks, who exact a tribute from all who enter. Once admitted, the visiters may remain all night, if they please. The crowd pressing for admittance on certain days is immense ; and the Turks, who keep the door, treat them in the roughest manner, notwithstanding that they pay for admission, squeezing and beating them about like so many cattle. " It must be allowed," says Dr. Richardson, " thaj they are often extremely riotous, and conduct themselves in a manner very unbecoming their character of pilgrims." f In the olive-yards of France, the olive-tree generally attains the height of eighteen or twenty-five feet, with a diameter of six inches to two feet. It ramifies at a small keight, and forms a compact rounded summit. The foliage is of a pale, empoverished Teraure, and the general appearance of the tree is not unlike that of a common willow which has been lopped, and which has acquired a new summit of three or four years' growth. Olives are chiefly cultivated fbr the sake of the oil that they produce, which is not a profitable article of commerce, but forms a principal one of food to the inhabitants 298 ENTRANCE TO JERUSALEM. The Olive-Tree. , of Jerusalem by a lofty Saracenic gateway, called the Bab es Scham, ot " the Damascus gate." We then traversed a narrow street, between dark gloomy buildings of stone, which were furnished with a few narrow windows, with pointed arches stuck here and there without any order or arrangement. The dulness of the day, and the gloomy silence and desertion of the streets, presented a most saddening and melancholy spectacle. The rain began to patter upon the stones, and the clouds, chased along by the wind, threw a mournful obscurity over every object. A few Arab women, shrouding themselves under the porch of a mosque, and here and there a solitary Turk gathering his scanty garments tight about his meager person, and seeking shelter from the blast, were the only objects visible in the silent and deserted city. " How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people ! how is she become as a widow ! she that was great among the nations, and princes among the provinces, how is she become tributary !" " How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel!"of the places where these trees are found. This oil is contained in the pulp only, whereas, other fruits have it in the nut or kernel. It is obtained by simple pressure, ' in the following manner. The olives are first bruised by a millstone, and afterward put into a sack, and then into the trough of a press for the purpose, which, by means of turning a strong screw, forces all the strong liquor out, which is called virgin oil. It is received in vessels half filled with water, from which it is taken off, and set apart in earthen jars. Several coarser kinds are obtained afterward by adding hot water to the bruised fruit. MOUNT op olives. 299 Arab of rank. Coffee mountain girl. " The Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and the Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised, in the indignation of his an ger, the king and the priest." "All that pass by clap their hands at thee, saying, Is this the city that men call the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth ?" Truly we may now reply — " The Lord hath done that which he devised ; he hath fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old ; he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied, and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee." MOUNT OF OLIVES. After ascending once more into broad daylight, we crossed over the rocky path leading to the summit of the Mount of Olives, and we then arrived at a square plot of ground enclosed by a low rough wall of loose stones, and overshadowed by eight enormous olive-trees which appear to be of very great antiquity. This is alleged to be the Garden of Gethsemane, " over the brook Cedron, to which Jesus oft-times resoited with bis disciples." A piece of ground, marked off from the rest of the garden, is confidently pointed out as the spot where our Saviour was betrayed by Judas, when the latter, " having Teceived a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came thither with lanterns, and torches, and weapons" (St. John xviii). It is called by the Italian monks "la terra dannata;" or the " accursed ground." 300 MOUNT OF OLIVES. This is certainly a most interesting spot. It is near the brook Cedron, and to the ancient road leading from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, and of all the tales and traditions treasured up among the pilgrims and ecclesiastics, this carries with it the greatest degree of probability. But here, again, the absurd minute ness of identification made use of, only tends to throw an air of ridicule over the whole history. A ledge of rocks at the upper end of the garden is confidently pointed out as the very spot where our Saviour found the disciples " sleeping for sorrow," and "a stone's cast" thence is a small excavation, called the grotto of Gethsemane, which is positively affirmed to be the identical spot where our Saviour "kneeled down and prayed, eaying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me j nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done" (St. Luke). The grotto is covered by a small chapel, the keys of which are kept by the monks of the Latin convent. The olive-trees overshadowing this enclosed plot of ground, appear to be of very great antiquity, and are held in the highest veneration by Christians of all sects, who positively affirm that they are the identical trees which stood on the spot in our Sav iour's time ! The trunks of the largest of these trees are of great 6ize and of immense girt ; they have become splintered and shriv elled with age, and are certainly great curiosities as vegetable productions. View of a Turkish Mosque. HILLS AND WALLS OF JERUSALEM. 301 MOUNT OF OLIVES. 303 Leaving the " Garden of Gethsemane," we traversed a steep path which ascends from the bed of the brook Cedron to the sum mit of the Mount of Olives. Numerous olive-trees were scattered along the sides of the declivity, and around a mosque and convent which crown the lofty eminence. We hurried impatiently to the highest point, and then turning to the westward, a magnificent panoramic view of the whole of Jerusalem and of the surrounding country suddenly burst upon our sight. The present city with its churches, mosques, houses, gardens, and fortifications, lay extended immediately below, and the eye took in at a bird's-eye-view, every house and street, and almost every yard of ground. The scene was certainly very imposing, and the appearance of the city, with its domes and cupolas, and the minarets of the mosques, is from this point of view quite magnificent. The first objects which strike the eye, are the two magnificent mosques occupying the site of Solomon's Temple. The one on the north is the celebrated mosque of Omar ; that on the south, is the mosque El Aksa. They are close to that portion of the city-walls which immediately borders on the Mount of Olives, and with the courts, porticoes, and gardens attached to them, they occupy a fourth part of the whole place, and present a most imposing appearance. The town rises gradually above these, and the most prominent object beyond is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with its two domes of striking aspect ; the one being white and the other almost black. Here and there a lofty tower or a tapering minaret rises above the gloomy stone houses of the natives. Of these, the lofty tower or minaret, said to be built on the site of the house of Pilate, with its galleries and Saracenic decorations, appear most prominently to the eye, and the minarets of Ben Israel, of the Seraglio, and the one said to be placed on the site of Herod's palace. Most of the private dwellings were cover ed with low domes, and my intelligent cicerone pointed out to me the different churches and convents, and a long range of stone buildings surmounted by small cupolas, which he said was a col lege of dervishes. Altogether the city, as seen from the summit of the Mount of Olives, may be ranked as one of the finest of oriental cities in its external aspect. A long line of battlemented walls, with their towers and gates, extends the whole way round the town, and a few cypresses and other trees throw up their lofty branches amid the porticoes and gates of the mosques. After the surprise and admiration which this prospect at first naturally excites have subsided, the bare, rocky, and desolate as pect of the surrounding country, and the solitude and silence of the city itself, most forcibly attract the attention. Neither in the streets, at the gateways, nor along the rocky mule-tracks leading therefrom, is there aught of life or animation. Some solitary woman, with her water-pitcher, climbing the craggy eminence, or some slowly-moving pilgrims, are alone seen. The eye, on a closer scrutiny, disc overs large tracts of open and waste ground 304 THE ASCENSION. within the walls, and many a ruined house and dilapidated build ing. There is none of the bustle and animation ordinarily per ceptible about a large town. No moving crowds traverse the public thoroughfares ; the ear strives in vain to catch the noise and hum of a large city, for such it appears to be ; all is strangely and sadly silent. " The noise of the whip, and the noise of the wheels, and the prancing of horses, and the jumping of chariots," are no longer heard in Jerusalem. THE ASCENSION. Were I to attempt to describe those sensations I experienced when I stood on the very ground trodden by the sacred feet of the Son of God, language would fall infinitely short of it. I can only say, that a glow of delight was kindled in my heart freater than I had at any former period enjoyed. Never shall forget this deeply interesting moment ; and to taste that pleasure, the reader must not only possess a heart sincere in the belief of revelation, but stand on the spot, and be favored with a vivid image of that grand and glorious work of redemption, which was here consummated by Christ before the eyes of those who were the favored witnesses of his glory, when he ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and " opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers." " Heaven's portals wide extend to let him in, Nor all his friends shut out : as some great prince, Not for himself alone proclaims admission, But for his train, it was his royal will, That where He is, there should his followers be." In the centre of three pinnacles on the mount, our Lord is said to have stood ; and in a rock is the impression of the left foot or sandal of a man, ten inches long and four broad, represented as that he left on his ascent to the heavenly regions ; and, after all, it is not improbable that those who witnessed his triumphant de parture might, in their zeal to retain the memorial of so striking an event, trace an outline on the last spot of earth touched by the sacred feet of their Lord. No person, in any degree acquainted with the word of God, can stand on this commanding height, from which Jerusalem appears to be undeT the feet, without reflecting On the boundless field which opens for contemplating the infinite variety of stupendous events that occurred on this chosen part of the earth during past ages. Such considerations, then, are most strikingly calculated to stamp deeply on the soul of man feelings of the most profound veneration. It may be added, that it was on this sacred elevation the Redeemer had sat, and in front of the temple, when his disciples conversed with him as to those signs and calamities which should precede the destruction of what he had foretold (Matt. xxiv. 1-3). i Mm i " w¥Sf II mm 1 13 " mm-. Valley of Jehoshaphat and Brook Kedron, with Ancient Tombs. — Cassas COo 03 55 ancient tombs. 307 ANCIENT TOMBS. Descending this ravine in an easterly direction, we traversed another vast ancient cemetery, which extended to the south and southwest of Mount Zion. Tbe rocks are pierced into innumera ble subterranean excavations, which are fronted with small door ways fitted with grooves for the reception of large stones, which were slipped down the grooves, and thus made to block up the entrances. Most of these grottoes and sepulchral chambers have been torn open, and the contents removed by sacrilegious hands. We crawled on our hands and knees over rubbish and stones, and entered some of the low doorways. Within was a square sepul chral chamber, with receptacles for the dead, rising one above another, like so many cisterns hewn out of the rock. On many of these sepulchres may be perceived faint remnants of Hebrew and Greek inscriptions. Those in the Hebrew char acter appear quite illegible, and those in the Greek carved on the face of the rock only contain the words, " Of the Holy Zion." The rocks bordering the deep ravines which encircle the city to the west, south, and east, are all hollowed out into cells and chambers, the vast mansions of the dead of all classes, variously adorned, from the sculptured tomb of the monarch, with its col umns and the fragments of its marble coffins, to the plain, un adorned, and roughly-hewn grotto, the last resting-place of the humble citizen. In the large ravine on the southeast side of the city, known among other names in Scripture, by the name of " the valley of the son of Hinnom," and " Tophet,"* these sepul chres crowd fast around the footsteps of the stranger : but in common with every tomb around Jerusalem, although evidently originally fastened up with great care and strength, they have been broken open and rifled. Unlike the ancient sepulchres in Egypt, which are thickly strewn with human bones and sculls, not a vestige is here anywhere dis coverable of the dead bodies which once evidently so thickly crowded these innumerable chambers. The silent tombs which everywhere meet the stranger in his wanderings around Jerusalem, are the only remnants of the ancient city, whose utter destruction is everywhere so fearfully foretold in the books of the Jewish prophets. Amid all the denunciations of destruction and desolation which we meet with in the prophecies, Jeremiah thus forewarns the peo ple of Jerusalem, in reference to the sacred groves and the idola trous places of sacrifice, called Tophet, which they had erected in the valley of the son of Hinnom : — • The prophet Jeremiah evidently refers to the Vaixet of Jehoshaphat (of which we present the reader, with a beautiful representation, including the Ahcieht Tombs, &c), under the name of the valley of the son of Hinnom, or the valley of Tophet, the situation being clearly marked as lying by the entry of the East gat«. 308 remarkable cemetery at Jerusalem. "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter ; for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. " Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride — for the land shall be desolate. " At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out tbe bones of the kings of Judah, and' the bones of his princes, and the bones of his priests, and' the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of their graves. " And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served; and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped ; they shall not be gathered nor be buried ; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth." MOSQUE OF DAVID. Passing out by Zion's gate, or as it is more frequently denom inated, tbe gate of David, the first object that meets the eye of the traveller, is a long, dingy-looking Turkish mosque, situated onthe middle of Mount Zion. It is called the mosque of the prophet David, and is said' to be built over his tomb, which is still exhibited in the- interior, and is held in the greatest possible veneration by the mussul'mans. The, Santones, belonging to the mosque in Mount Zion, are the most powerful in Jerusalem. Part of this building was anciently the church of the Crenaculum, where our Saviour ate the last supper with his disciples ; and I was shown into an upper room in the front of the building, which both the Santon and the Ciceroni affirmed to be the identical room in which this memorable event to which the Christian world owes the insti tution of the Holy Sacrament of the supper took place. I should probably have believed them, had I not learnt from higher author ity, that thirty-nme years thereafter, not only the walls, but every house in Jerusalem, had been razed from its foundation, and the ground ploughed up by the Roman soldiers, in order that they might discover the treasures which they supposed the unfortunate Jews had hidden under their feet. REMARKABLE CEMETERY AT JERUSALEM. Having heard a rumor of a tomb that had been lately discovered and opened by the Arabs in this vicinity, and it being reported that some human remains were found in it, I rode out one evening during our sojourn in Jerusalem, to examine the place, accompa nied by two of my companions, Mr.'W. Meiklam, and Mr. Finlay. A little higher up in the cliff that rises from the cavern erected by the Roman empress, within the ground denominated Aceldama, and MOSQUE OF DAVID IN JERUSALEM. 309 W3pf§ft "i V »^: ¦ IIS" : -m^aa^m^^ wBSHK r v ¦ •s »(^i'-^ Will! REMARKABLE CEMETERY AT JERUSALEM. 311 in the neighborhood of the painted chambers, and that excavation called the tomb of Isaiah, some Arabs, when at work in that place, accidentally discovered the door-way of a tomb carved out of the solid rock, which had been concealed by a heap of rubbish, over which the soil had accumulated so as to completely conceal the entrance. Such was the account given to me by credible witnesses in Jerusalem. This entrance, at the time of our visit, was partly concealed by brambles, stones, and dirt, so that but one half of the door-way was visible. ****** The most remarkable circumstances Connected with this fagade was its door, which struck me the moment I saw it, as being to tally different from that of any other tomb that I had ever seen or read of, except one at Petra. It is formed of a simple slab of stone, and moves on horizontal pivots that run into sockets cut in the pilasters at the top, in the manner of a swinging hinge, similar to that which is sometimes seen in the doors of cottages in this country. The lower part of it had been, I Was informed, broken off" by the Arabs in Order to effect an entrance. It is the only outside door of a tomb that I have ever seen, and it differs from all others in not having been formed for concealment, or for being completely closed when the body was deposited within ; but was evidently made for the purpose of being opened occasionally. Having entered beneath this ponderous portal, and lighted our candles, we were greatly surprised to find ourselves within a tol erably-sized hall of an oblong shape, cut with great precision out of the rock, but without ornament or adornment of any kind whatever. Curious to relate, the whole of this tomb afforded a most striking illustration of its appropriateness to describe the character of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees ; and showed the forcible application of the language used by the Saviour when denouncing their hypocrisy : " Wo unto you, scribes and Phari sees ! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." At the end, and on either side of the hall, a number of doors led into the inner apartments. Each of these chambers was a small oblong crypt, about seven feet long ; on either side of which was a trough or sarcophagus, hewn like all the rest of the tomb out of the solid rock, and raised about three feet from the floor, and in all of them were quantities of human bones lying without order or regularity, but in a state of most as tonishing preservation. The edges of these troughs were in many places chipped and broken, as if from long use ; and the whitewash had not only coated these parts, but had actually spotted several of the bones that lay down in the bottoms of the troughs. These bones were piled in layers, and as each trough contained several, the whitewash must have been used subsequently to some of the bodies being placed within them. The whitewash (which is the only instance of the kind that has yet been discovered of that ancient Jewish 312 THE JEWS IN JERUSALEM. custom) was in a most extraordinary state of perfection ; and, from the number of layers that could be seen, on picking it off the wall, it was evident that it had been frequently renewed. Such was the appearance that this tomb presented when we examined it ; and such, I was informed, was its state when discovered. But the most remarkable feature in this catacomb was, that each set of crypts, that is, those on the three different sides, contained the remains of distinct and separate races of mankind, as shown by the sculls found in the trough of each. * # " * # # But although I searched with some care, I could not find a sin gle instance of the sculls of one side being mixed up with those of the other ; all were perfectly distinct, and separated from each other. Now none of these curious heads belonged to the Jewish lace, for not one single European or well-marked Caucasian head could I find among the numbers scattered in the chambers ; and as all who did not belong to that family must have been strangers in Jerusalem, and as these heads belonged to races of mankind that we know did not inhabit Judea for the last two thousand years, they must have been foreigners ; and this has led me to conjecture that this tomb, which is situated in the acknowledged field of blood, may be one of those sepulchres of the actual Aceldama that was purchased by the priests " to bury strangers." THE JEWS IN JERUSALEM Reside chiefly on the edge of Mount Zion, and in the lower part of the city, near the shambles, which, in summer, are dreadfully offensive. Many of them are in rich and comfortable circum stances, and possess considerable property in Jerusalem ; but they are careful to conceal their wealth, and even their comfort, from the jealous eye of their rulers, lest they' awaken their cupidity. In going to visit a respectable Jew in the holy city, it is a common thing to pass to his house over a raised foreground, and up an awkward outer stair, constructed with rough, unpolished stones, that totter under the foot ; but it improves as you ascend, and at the top has a respectable appearance, as it ends in an agreeable platform in front of the house. On entering the house itself, it is found to be clean and well furnished ; the sofas are covered with Persian carpets, and the residents seem happy to receive you ; the visiter is entertained with coffee and tobacco, as is the custom in the houses of Turks and Christians. The ladies present themselves with ease and address, recalling to memory the pleasing society of Europe. The difference of manner arises from many of the Jewesses having resided in Spain or Portugal, where they have rid themselves of the cruel fetters of the East, and, on returning to their beloved land, very properly maintain their justly acquired freedom and rank in society. Some of the Jews, however, are in a wretched state of poverty, and the sight of such in Jerusalem is peculiarly affecting. The heart of this wonderful people, in what- STATISTICS OF THE JEWS. 3 13 ever clime they roam, still turns to it as the city of their promised rest ; they mourn over the ruins, and would lick the very dust for her sake. Jerusalem is the centre around which the exiled sons of Judah build, in airy dreams, the mansions of their future great ness. In whatever part of the world he may live, the heart's de sire of a Jew, when gathered to his fathers, is to be buried in Je rusalem. Thither they turn from Spain and Portugal, from Egypt and Barbarv, and other countries among which they have been scattered ; and when, after all their longings and all their struggles up the steps of life, we see them poor, and blind, and naked, in the streets of their once happy Zion, he must have a cold heart indeed that can remain untouched by their sufferings, or without uttering a prayer that the light of God's reconciled countenance would shine on the darkness of Judah, and the day-star of Beth lehem arise in their hearts. STATISTICS OF THE JEWS. The statistics of the Jewish population are among the most sin gular circumstances of this most singular of all people. Under all their calamities and dispersions, they seem to have remained at nearly the same amount, as in the days of David and Solomon, never much more in prosperity, never much less after ages of suf fering. Nothing like this has occurred in the history of any other race ; Europe in general having doubled its population within the last hundred years, and England nearly tripled hers within the last half century ; the proportion of America being still more rapid, and the world crowding in a constantly increasing ratio. Yet the Jews seem to stand still in this vast and general movement. The population of Judea in its most palmy days, probably did not ex ceed, if it reached, four millions. The numbers who entered Pal estine from the wilderness were evidently not much more than three ; and their census, according to the German statists, who were generally considered to be exact, is now nearly the same as that of the people under Moses — about three millions. They are thus distributed : — In Europe, 1,916,000, of which about 658,000 are in Poland and Russia, and 453,000 are in Austria. In Asia, 738,000, of which 300,000 are in Asiatic Turkey. In Africa, 504,000, of which 300,000 are in Morocco. In America, North and South, 57,000. If we add to these about 15,000 Samaritans, the calculation in round numbers will be about 3,180,000. This was the report in 1835 — the numbers probably remain the same. This extraordinary fixedness in the midst of almost uni versal increase, is doubtless not without a reason — if we are even to look for it among the mysterious operations which have pre served Israel a separate race through eighteen hundred years. May we not naturally conceive, that a people thus preserved with out advance or retrocessionjdispersed, yet combined; broken, yet 314 STATISTICS OF THE JEWS. firm ; without a country, yet dwellers in all ; everywhere insulted, yet everywhere influential ; without a nation, yet united as no na tion ever was before or since — has not been appointed to offer this extraordinary contradiction to the common laws of society, and even the common progress of nature, without a cause, and that cause one of final benevolence, universal good, and divine grandeur"? As this persecuted race, who were formerly continually wasted and destroyed, have lived in a state of tranquillity for a century past, some writers compute their present number at six or seven millions. This people constitute one of the most singular and interesting portions of mankind ; for about three thousand years they have existed as a distinct nation, and what is remarkable, by far the greatest part of this time they have been in bondage and captivity. The calling of Abraham, the father and founder of this nation; the legislation of Moses ; the priesthood of Aaron ; the Egyptian bondage ; the conquest of Canaan ; the history of the Jews to the coming of the Messiah ; and their treatment of this august and in nocent personage ; are facts which the Scriptures disclose, and with which it is presumed every reader is well acquainted. The siege and destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the Roman general, was one of the most awful and distressing scenes that mortals ever witnessed, and the details, as given by Josephus, are enough to make humanity shudder. During the siege, which lasted nearly five months, upward of eleven hundred thousand Jews per ished; John and Simon, the two generals of the Hebrews, who were accounted the ringleaders of the rebellious nation, with seven hundred of the most beautiful and vigorous of the Jewish youth, were reserved to attend the victors' triumphal chariot. The num ber taken captive during this fatal contest, amounted to ninety- seven thousand ; many of whom were sent into Syria and the other provinces to be exposed in public theatres to fight like gladiators, or to be devoured by wild beasts. The number of those destroyed in the whole war, of which the taking of the holy city was the bloody and tremendous consummation, is computed to have been one million four hundred and sixty thousand. For about eighteen hundred years, this wonderful people have maintained their peculiarities of religion, language, and domestic habits, among Pagans, Mahometans, and Christians ; and have suffered a continued series of reproaches, privations, and miseries, which have excited the admiration and astonishment of all who have reflected on their condition. The history of this people certainly forms a striking evidence of the truth of divine revelation. They are a living and perpetual miracle ; continuing to subsist as a distinct and peculiar race for upward of three thousand years, intermixed among almost all the nations of the world — flowing forward in a full and continued stream like the waters of the Rhone, without mixing with the waves of the expansive lake through which the passage lies to the ocean of eternity. 316 PLAIN OF JORDAN. ,J|^^^JJ RIVER JORDAN. 317 THE PLAIN OF JERICHO. The " region round about Jordan" (Matt. iii. 5) comprised the level country on each side of that river, from the lake of Gennesa- ret to the Dead sea. Of this district, the Plain of Jericho, cele brated for its fertility, and the intense heat which prevails there during the hot season, forms a part. From the observations of recent travellers, it appears that this plain has been accurately described by the Jewish historian. In speaking of Jericho, he says, "It is situate in a plain; but a naked and barren mountain of a very great length hangs over it, which extends itself to the land about Scythopolis northward, and as far as the country of Sodom, and the utmost limits of the Lake Asphallitis southward. This mountain is all of it very uneven, and uninhabited by reason of its barrenness. There is an opposite mountain, that is situate over against it, on the other side of Jor dan. This last begins at Julias, and the northern quarters, and extends itself southward as far as Somorrhon, which is the bounds of Petra, in Arabia. In this ridge of mountains there is one called the Iron mountain, that runs in length as far as Moab. Now, the region that lies in the middle between these ridges of mountains is called the Great Plain. It reaches from the village Ginnabus, as far as the Lake Asphaltitis. Its length is two hundred and thirty furlongs, and its breadth a hundred and twenty ; and it is divided in the midst by Jordan. It has two lakes in it ; that of Asphal titis, and that of Tiberias, whose natures are opposite to each other. For the former is salt and unfruitful; but that of Tiberias is sweet and fruitful. This plain is much burnt up in summer time ; and, by reason of the extraordinary heat, contains very un wholesome air. It is all destitute of water, excepting the river Jordan ; which water of Jordan is the occasion why those planta tions of palm-trees that are near its banks, are more flourishing, and much more fruitful ; as are those that are remote from it not so flourishing or fruitful." RIVER JORDAN. The principal river which waters Palestine is the Jordan or 1 an Ban, i. e., the river of Dan. Josephus informs us that the Jordan has two sources, one in the region called Daphne, which supplies the lesser Jordan. This rivulet having passed through a pleasant country, falls into the greater Jordan, a little below where Jero boam set up the golden calves. (Bell. Jud. iv. 1.) " The greater Jordan to appearance flows out of a cave in that part of Mount Lebanon called Paneas, under which Cesarea Philippi formerly 318 RIVER JORDAN. stood, but in reality it comes out of the Lake Phiala, passing thence under ground for the space of fifteen miles till it reaches Paneas. This, Philip the tetrarch first discovered by throwing a quantity of chaff into the lake Phiala, which issuing out of a cave whence formerly the Jordan was supposed to spring, showed clearly the true source of the river. The Jordan issuing from this cave, glides through the lake and marshes of Semechonitis. Then run ning other fifteen miles, falls below the city Julias, into the lake of Gennezar, through the middle of which it passes, and having watered a large tract of desert land, loses itself in the Asphaltites lake." (Bell. iii. 18.) Dr. Shaw in his Travel's (p. 373) describes the Jordan thus: "Though all those fountains and rivulets which I have just now mentioned, together with the Kardeneh, the Kishon, the brook of Sychem, and other lesser ones dispersed over the Holy Land, should be united together, they would not form a stream in any degree equal to the Jordan, which, excepting the Nile, is by far the most considerable river I have seen in the Levant or Barbary. However, I could not compute it to be more than thirty yards broad, though this is in a great measure made up by the depth, which even at the brink I found to be three. If then we take this during the whole year for the mean depth of the stream, which by the way runs about two miles an hour, the Jordan every day dis charges into the Dead sea, six millions tuns of water." " The whole of the plain, from the mountains of Judea on the west, to those of Arabia on the east," says Mr. Buckingham, " may be called the vale of Jordan, in a general way ; but in the centre of the plain, which is at least ten miles broad, the Jordan runs in an other still lower valley, perhaps a mile broad in some of the widest parts, and a furlong in the narrowest. Into this we descended, and we thought the hills of white clayey soil on each side, to be about two hundred feet in height, the second or lower plain being about a mile broad, generally barren, and the Jordan flowing down through the middle of it, between banks which were now fourteen or fifteen feet high, while the river was at its lowest ebb. There are close thickets all along the edge of the stream, as well as upon this lower plain, which would afford ample shelter for wild beasts, and as the Jordan might overflow its banks, when swollen with rains, sufficiently to inundate this lower plain, though it could never reach the upper one, it was, most probably, from these that the lions were driven out by the inundation, which gave rise to the prophet's simile, 'Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan, against the habitation of the strong' (Jer. xlix. 19, and 1. 44). The overflowing is said to have been in the first month, which corresponds to our March, as in the enumera tion of the armies that came to David at Hebron, those are spoken of who went over Jordan in the first month, when he had over flowed all his banks (1 Chron. xii. 15). In the description of the passage of the priests with the ark, while the waters were divided and stood in a heap, as in the passage of the Red sea, it is said too, 320 DAMASCUS DAMASCUS. 321 that 'Jordan oveifloweth all his banks all the time of harvest' (Josh. iii. 15), which would be both in the autumn and in the spring, as there are two harvests here, one succeeding the early, and the other the latter rains." Maundrell says, the water of the Jordan is too rapid to be swam against. Its breadth is about twenty yards, and its depth far exceeded his height. If the reader compare these accounts of the Jordan, with the history of the Israelites' passage through it under the conduct of Joshua, and especially if he attend to the circumstance mentioned above, that they passed at the time the river overflowed all his banks, he will form a proper idea of the greatness of the miracle which God wrought for their passage, stopping the current of so vast and rapid a river, when so full of water. Dr. Macmichael says, the Jordan is annually frequented by many thousands of pilgrims, chiefly of the Greek church, under the protection of the moosillim, or Turkish governor of Jerusalem, and a strong military escort. DAMASCUS. Damascus stands where it stood in Abraham's time — perhaps the most ancient, certainly one of the most interesting cities in the world — lovely in position, renowned in the Old, distinguish ed in the New Testament ; a holy city among the Mahometans ; the seat of romance and poetry. Still Damascus stands in un changed, and, if the word may be allowed with reference to any thing earthly, it may here at least be blamelessly employed — Da mascus stands in unchangeable beauty. The fierce spirit of its inhabitants, once so fanatical, has been moderated by a more tol erant and gentle influence. Jews and Christians mingle without mutual abhorrence. Many of the Damascus Jews carry on an extensive commerce in foreign merchandise. They trade with Great Britain, and with the ports of France and Italy. Among them are some of the richest men in Syria — possessing from one to two millions of piasters, of which one hundred make a pound sterling, or four dollars forty-four cents of American money. They deal largely with the caravans which arrive from Mesopo tamia, Persia, and all the regions of tbe East. Some of them traffic with the Arabs of the desert. In Damascus and Aleppo, commerce has much of primitive and patriarchal character. Mul titudes of camels, asses, and trading travellers arrive, deposite their merchandise in the great khans, or receptacles of the city, and when their commodities are sold or exchanged, they depart in a body to their places of destination. There is no city in the Holy Land, with the exception of Jeru salem, so interesting as this. It is the oldest one on the face of the earth, and stands a solitary, stately monument in the midst of decay. Babylon and Thebes were its contemporaries; but the 21 MIRACLES. former has passed away without leaving a trace of its magnifi cence, and the latter is represented only by its startling ruins. Still Damascus remains, and is now, with the exception of Con stantinople, the largest city of the East. Here are the " Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus," again calling up the thrilling story of the Syrian leper and the Hebrew prophet. Thither Saul, with his relentless persecutions, followed the early Christians ; and near its walls " the voice from Heaven," and the " light above the brightness of the sun," arrested his foot steps. The identity of the spot has been preserved to this day — the early Christians using it as a burial-place. The traveller can still walk through the " street called Straight," and is shown by the credulous monk the very house occupied by Judas, where Paul passed his hours of blindness, and where, at the command of Ananias, the scales dropped from his eyes. So rich is this country in fruits and flowers, that it has been called in all ages the " garden of the world." It is related of Mahomet, that when, after crossing the desert, he saw this lux uriant valley, he exclaimed that he desired but one paradise ; and therefore would not enter here for fear of forfeiting his interest in the paradise he anticipated after death, but turned aside without a close inspection of this tempting scene. Damascus has a peculiar importance in connexion with the progress of Christianity in these parts. It has already been vis ited by the agents of the Bible and Missionary Society. Being the great mart where eastern and western merchandise is ex changed, the general rendezvous of Islam caravans from the north and east in their progress to Mecca, and rendered , comparatively a safe residence by the efficiency of Mehemet Ali, it opens one of the most important and extensive fields of missionary labor. Another Paul may yet preach Christ in Damascus, and the moral aspect of this delightful country may present as cheering an ap pearance as the rich displays of its natural scenery. MIRACLES. When God established what we call the laws of nature, or that order of second causes and effects which was to be continued from the creation to the end of time, he at the same time reserved to himself the liberty of receding from that order as often as he saw that his doing so would answer an end worthy of himself, particularly that of exciting men to give attention and credit to his word. Every instance of his departure from that order, and suspending the laws of nature established at the creation, is a real miracle. Such a miracle it is the prerogative of the Almighty Author of nature to work. " He only doeth wonders " (Psalm lxxii. 18). Angels and sometimes men may do many things that MIRACLES, CHRIST IN THE STORM. 323 4&$ 'wKk Mmm ^B m ?. -i>4 £Mil§^ '^^^^^mmmm fmmmS^^^^&lXmBmBmm^ Christ in the Storm. — Rembrandt. MIRACLES. 325 appear wonderful to us, and above what we know of the laws of nature ; but it does not follow that these effects are above the laws of nature themselves, or that they are to be accounted real miracles. As soon as we attain a thorough knowledge of the manner in which such phenomena are produced, they cease to be wonderful. We ascribe them to certain second causes with which they are usually attended. But the more thoroughly that any real miracle is examined and understood, it is apprehended the more evidently to be such an effect as is far above what the pres ence of any second cause or causes can give us ground to expect according to the ordinary course of nature ; nay, to be such an effect as cannot be produced according to any established law of nature. Thus, how ridiculous would it be for any to suppose that there might be found some law of nature by which the utterance of two or three words, without any other physical or natural means whatever, should make the blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the lame walk, the dead live ! We are not to think that those men to whom God is said to nave granted the gift of working miracles exerted any real effi ciency, even as instrumental causes, toward producing the mi raculous effect. The effect was indeed produced at their presence, upon their uttering some words, or using some sign; but no other power was exerted in producing it than the immediate creating power of God. He made use of the apostles and others in work ing miracles in order to procure them the respect and attention due to them as his faithful messengers. There was a great difference between Christ and the ancient prophets in the working of miracles. The miracles ascribed to Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and others, were wrought in consequence of an express and extraordinary command of God, or in answer to their earnest and importunate prayer. But our Lord Jesus went about working miracles as his ordinary and familiar em ployment. He rebuked the winds ; he said to the sea, " Be still," and there was a great calm. He said to the leper, " I will ; be thou clean ;" and in a moment he was cleansed. A centurion ap plied to him for the cure of his servant who was sick of the palsy. Jesus, having discerned and commended the master's faith, said, " Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee :" and from that instant the servant was healed. He said to the deaf and dumb, "Ephphata;" and instantly his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed. He said to her who was dead, " Talitha Kumi ;" and immediately the maid arose and walked. He said to Lazarus, who was now beginning to putrefy in the grave, " Come forth ;" and without any delay he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with his grave-clothes. The wo man that had the bloody issue no sooner touched his garment in the midst of the crowd, than she was healed of a disorder that had continued twelve years. The miracles which the prophets and apostles wrought were not wrought by their own power, but by the power of God (Acts 326 MIRACLES. iii. 12) ; but Christ wrought his miracles by his own power. In John v. 19, he proves from his works, not only that he was sent by the Father, but that he was equal to the Father. For, says he, " What things soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." He does not only say that the Son does like things, but the very same things likewise, or in the same respect. " For as the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth them : even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." The miracles which the prophets wrought did not display their own glory, but the glory of God ; but the miracles of Christ served " to manifest forth his glory " (John ii. 11). No ancient prophets, such as Moses or Eli jah, could give power and authority to others to work miracles in their name ; but Christ " gave his twelve disciples power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sick ness and all manner of disease" (Matt. x. 1). When he appointed the seventy, he said unto them, " Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy " (Luke x. 19). Nay, those that the disciples were to work " in his name," were in some respect greater than what were wrought by Christ in his own person (John xiv. 12) : as when the diseased were healed, and evil spirits were cast out by the means of handkerchiefs or aprons, brought from the body of Paul, or by means of the shadow of Peter passing by (Acts xix. 11, 12; v. 15, 16). All these miracles were wrought for the confirmation of the doctrine of the gospel: "which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him, God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will " (Heb. ii. 3, 4) ; and that from them, as by an invincible argument, Christ's divine mission and the truth of his whole doc trine might be proved. So he himself often argued (John v. 36, and x. 37 ; Matt. xi. 2, 5). Such was often the sense of the peo ple in general (Matt. xii. 23 ; John ii. 23 ; vi. 2; vii. 31; Luke vii. 16) ; and of the more learned among the Jews, such as Nicode mus, a ruler (John iii. 2). Such was the judgment of the man to whom our Lord had given sight, and who by the solidity of his arguments baffled the proud Pharisees who examined him (John ix. 29). In fine, such was the judgment of the Roman centurion (Matt, xxvii. 54). And after Christ's ascension, the miracles that continued to be wrought by the apostles and evangelists were a great means of bringing such multitudes, without distinction of nation, language, age, sex, or condition of life, to embrace the faith of Christ crucified. Social condition of Women in Palestine. — As the reservoirs and canals which supply Bethlehem, as well as Jerusalem, with water, are in ruins, and dry eleven months in the year, the women are obliged to go a league for what they fetch for household use, SOCIAL condition OF WOMEN IN PALESTINE. 327 and bring it back themselves in skins. Add to this the toil of climbing steep hills under their burden, and then say, dear reader, if it be possible to suppress a painful feeling, especially when you consider that this task has to be performed three or four times a week. A few days since I was taking a walk out of the town with the cure. About three quarters of a mile from it, we met with a young girl returning with her provision. She had set down her skin upon a fragment of rock, and was standing beside it, out of breath, and wiping the perspiration from her face. Curious to know the weight of the skin, I begged her to put it on my shoulders ; my request astonished her not a little ; she never theless complied very cheerfully. It was as much as I could do to take a few steps under the burden. "Poor thing," said I, as I threw it down, looking at the cure, "how old is she! Not more than sixteen, I dare say." — " Sixteen !" said he, " she is not thir teen ;" and, addressing her in Arabic, he asked, " How old are you, my girll" "Twelve, sir." I took from my pocket some pieces of money which I handed to her, and which she accepted with a lively demonstration of joy. But to go so far for water is not the only task of the poor fiethlehemites. The town is desti tute of wood, nor is any to be found nearer than some leagues. It is the women who have to provide this also. But what wrings one's heart, and I confess makes my blood boil, is to see these wretched, worn-down, emaciated creatures, having misery stamped on their faces, sinking beneath their loads, passing in sight of their husbands, listlessly seated in the public square, smoking and chatting by way of pastime ; while not a thought ever enters the head of these heartless, base, and unkind husbands, to relieve his partner of her burden, and carry for her, at least, from that spot to his home what she had to bring whole leagues. Is this all 1 No, my reader. At night, with this wood which has cost such toil, she is obliged to heat the water brought from such a distance — she has to wash the feet of that man, then to cook his supper, then to wait upon him standing — upon him and his eldest son — without taking the least share in the meal, and to wait till they have done before she can step aside to eat by herself what they have left.. * * * The pen drops from my fingers. Is it possible that a sex so worthy of all the attention, of all the affections of man, can be thus treated by man ! Is it possible that she can be thus treated, who carries him in her bosom, who brings him forth with pain, who suckles him with her milk, who warms him on her heart, who rocks him upon her knees, who guides his first steps, who strives by education to transfuse into him all that is gentle and kind, who delights to throw a charm over his life, who shares his sorrows, who best knows how to sooth his woes, to comfort him, to nurse him in sickness and infirmity, to lighten and sometimes to embellish his old age, and to perform for him, until his last moment, services of which any other courage, any other devoted- ness, any other love, would be incapable !. And that at Bethlehem ! 328 CHRIST BLESSING THE LITTLE CHILDREN. CHRIST BLESSING THE LITTLE CHILDREN. Our readers — the youthful portion of them, especially — will, we doubt not, gaze with interest and delight upon the beautiful Illus tration of Scripture here presented, and which we intend shall form the subject-matter of this article. We think no person can look at the opposite engraving, without being peculiarly struck with the natural and appropriate delineation of features in the different objects it presents to our view. The Bible, indeed, is no ordinary book, and must be studied with no common diligence, no slight reverence, and no trivial assistance ; but, when so studi ed, it opens a field alike rich and inexhaustible. It comprises the largest variety of materials, with the closest unity of design, and the most majestic harmony of proportion. All tends to one pur pose, all centres in one object — the glory of God in the salvation of his intelligent creatures. The religion of the Bible, therefore, cordially embraced, and sincerely acted on, is the only sure and steadfast anchor amid all the storms and temptations of this tran sitory life. Reader ! look at the picture, and contemplate, with us, for a few moments, the moral character of our ever-blessed Lord and Sav iour. We have presented you with an attractive portrait. The whole life of Christ on earth, was one continued exercise and manifestation of the compassion of his heart. To his omniscient eye, all the misery and wants, both temporal and spiritual, of those who appealed to his compassion, were unveiled. " He went about doing good." Beneficence and love shone in every part of his conduct, and invested his character with a constant glory. The purest devotion, the deepest veneration, the most cordial love, and the most cheerful obedience to God — the most perfect submission to his will, the liveliest zeal for his glory ; an invincible philan thropy, an untiring beneficence, the noblest magnanimity, the ten- derest friendship, the greatest affability and suavity; the most per fect impartiality, uprightness, discreetness, gentleness, humility, and patience — these are the prominent features in the portrait of the all-surpassing character of our Redeemer. " How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace ; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation."* (Isaiah, Iii. 7.) •Here is a fine piece of imagery. What a splendid scene is here brought to view for the artist to portray. Let us, ourselves, set down, and make the picture. Figure to yourself the principal features of the scene described ; forget, for a moment, the lapse of two thousand five hundred years, and fill up the rapid outlines of the inspired prophet's sketch. We see the few remaining people of God, sitting down and weeping amid the ruins of Jerusalem, their harps unstrung, and their voices untuned to melo dy, bewailing the captivity of their absent brethren at Babylon, and casting a longing look toward the land of their imprisonment, for some little cloud, as it were.no bigger than a man's hand, the indication of the returning consolation of Israel. Suddenly, the desired token is seen to arise on the hills that stand round about Jerusalem. The sound is heard of one that runneth and bringeth good tidings, as he advances toward the Holy City. The heads of those who mourned are lifted from the dust, and every eye is intently fixed on the coming messenger. How beautiful are his feet leaping upon CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 329 CHRIST BLESSING THE LITTLE CHILDREN 331 Having made these few prefatory remarks, we now invite the attention of our readers to a particular view of the compassion of our Saviour, in the case before us. The embellishment now pre sented, is not merely adventitious ornament, calculated to capti vate and delight. Beautiful as it is, it is no less preceptive than descriptive, and speaks more to the heart and the understanding than to the imagination and the eye. In each vivid picture with which the pages of holy writ abound, we recognise the illustra tion of some important article of faith, the development of some holy mystery, the representation of some essential doctrine, or of some edifying truth. It is not, perhaps, too much to assert, that in all the history of the Redeemer's life on earth, as placed before us in the Gospel, there is not an occurrence which speaks more strongly to the best feelings of our nature, which is more congenial to the kindliest sensibilities of our heart, than the simple transaction which our engraving is intended to describe. It appears from the narrative of the Evangelist, that the parents or friends of certain young children, being probably themselves influenced by faith in Christ, or being certainly awakened, if not to a conviction, that he was the long-promised Messiah, who should redeem Israel, yet, at least, impressed to a certain extent with the power of a teacher, whose works attested that he was sent from God, were desirous that those for whose welfare they were deeply interested, should be brought near to him, from past experience of the virtue which was derived by coming in contact with so excellent and so exalted a Being. The disciples, who were then present, animated by a zeal for their Master, which was not according to knowledge, considered that it was derogatory to the dignity of his character to be enga ged in attending to those whose tender years rendered them in capable of deriving essential benefit from his instructions, and they accordingly rebuked what they considered an unthinking ar dor, resulting from natural affection. But in this, as in a variety of other instances, the compassion ate Friend of sinners saw not things as they appeared to those around him : that which his disciples thought beneath his notice, was, in his own Divine judgment, entitled to special attention and regard. His displeasure was awakened by the attempt, and he immediately proceeded to impart to them his heavenly benediction : '" Suffer," said he, who, being without sin, was made sin for us — " suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not : for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not the mountains ! How joyful his voice, as he proclaims aloud, " O Zion, thy God reign- eth '." And who is this herald of joy ? Whose are the beautiful feet ? See in the mes senger the herald of a reconciled Father. Hear in his glad tidings the preaching of the Gospel of grace, the proclamation of peace and salvation, good news of greatjoy, tidings of liberty from the bondage of sin, of free access given^ and an entrance minis tered abundantly into the holy city that is above, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 332 CHRIST blessing the little children. enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." What a variety of interesting considerations is here suggested to our minds ! How many pleasing and grateful emotions are called forth by this transcript of our Redeemer's feelings ! What youthful reader, especially, can fail to dwell with delight and gratitude upon the invaluable evidence here afforded of the dispo sition and character of Him on whom all our hopes depend 1. And here we cannot but remark a striking difference in the manner in which the Evangelists have exhibited the character of the Saviour, and that in which heathen moralists have exhibited the characters of their heroes. The characters portrayed and eulogized by the latter, are invested with a sternness at which the heart revolts ; as eminent for justice and fortitude, but as divested of sensibility and compassion, which they regarded rather as the weaknesses and blemishes of human nature, and inconsistent with true dignity and energy of mind. The men most lauded by them, and held up for imitation as patterns of virtue, are those who themselves en dured sufferings with stoical insensibility, and who beheld with equal insensibility and unconcern, the sufferings and miseries of their fellow-men. With such characters we can feel no sympa thy. On the contrary, when we contemplate the Saviour — see him moved with compassion at the sight of the sorrows of others, we rejoice in him, and feel encouraged to trust in him. Do we behold him healing all manner of diseases ; casting out devils from those possessed of them, feeding, miraculously, in the wilderness, thousands ; giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and restoring to life, and to the embraces of their sorrowing friends, those who had been numbered with the dead 1 Do we behold him shedding tears of sympathy at the grave of Lazarus, "whom he loved ;" weeping over Jerusalem in the prospect of the calamities coming upon that guilty city 1 or do we hear him pronouncing pardon and speaking peace to the mourning penitent at his feet X In these and similar facts recorded in his history, we see and we admire the love, condescension, and compassion, of the Saviour. There is that in such exhibitions of the character of the Redeemer equally to win the affections, and to secure the confidence of the soul. The same Divine word which assures us " that his kingdom ruleth over all," has no less explicitly declared that " in him is neither variableness nor shadow of turning." Man continueth not in one state, he inhabits a transitory world, which shall finally van ish away, as a scroll that is rolled up : but the Son of God, like the heavens, wheTe he dwells in glory, never can be moved ; one with the Father, " he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Youthful reader ! to know God, is the only true wisdom ; to love God, is the only enduring happiness of all immortal and intel ligent beings. How consolatory is it to human weakness to reflect, that it is this good Shepherd who thus regarded the lambs of his flock, that it is this gracious Receiver of little children, this com passionate Regarder of helpless infancy, to whom we also, whose 334 MARY ANOINTING THE FEET OF CHRIST. MARY ANOINTING THE FEET OF CHRIST. 335 more advanced years continually impress the conviction of our own inability of ourselves to help ourselves, are, in all our dangers, and in all our necessities, encouraged to have recourse ; and from whose benign condescension in the instance before us, we may confidently conclude, that if we only approach Him (who was pleased, so signally, to attest his regard for us, and vouchsafes to permit that we should be called his friends, while we prove our love by obedience to his will) with the simplicity of little children, our weaknesses and our infirmities, will not be deemed unworthy of his merciful regard ; we, too, shall participate in his kindness, be en riched with his grace, and be filled with his heavenly benediction ! In conclusion : Let us receive the kingdom of God as little chil dren, and draw near to the Great Physician, by whom alone we can be healed. Then shall our hearts be filled with the love of Him " who first loved us ;" so that, " being no longer conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds," we shall have such an abiding sense of God and heavenly things, as will leave no room for regret at the loss of the ancient paradise, be cause an actual anticipation will be experienced of the time when every pain shall be removed, every doubt dispelled, and every hope realized ; when the loss of things of sight shall be abundantly supplied by the possession of the things of faith, when the natural sun shall indeed be no more seen, but the glorified body shall not need its rays : for, " the Lord God shall give it light," and glory, and peace, for ever and ever. MARY ANOINTING THE FEET OF CHRIST. It was quite an extensive custom among the better sort of Jews, to anoint the head, and sometimes other portions of the body of a principal guest, with a kind of aromatic ointment or oil to which the Romans gave the name of nard or nardum. This unguent was very precious, and hence it was considered a peculiar mark of distinction when a guest was honored with the ceremony. The Rabbins, who cultivated an austerity of character, would never consent to be thus anointed, averring as a reason that it was not consistent for men of their wisdom and influence to set such an example of luxurious indulgence. In the gospel we have records of this honor (as it was deemed) having been extended to Jesus, while he sojourned among the Jews. The first is mentioned in the fourteenth chapter of Mat thew : " And being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster-box of ointment of spikenard very precious ; and she brake the box and poured it on his head." The name of the woman is not mentioned, but from the context we glean evidence that she was a person of wealth. The disciples complained of such a waste of precious ointment, and remarked that " it might have been sold for three 336 PETER DENYING CHRIST. hundred pence and given to the poor." Three hundred Jewish pence was equal to about twenty dollars of our money. The second account, which is evidently a description of a sep arate anointing, is given in the twelfth chapter of John : " Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus," &c. In this case also one of the dis ciples murmured, and said it might have been sold for three hun dred pence and given to the poor. This was said by Judas Iscariot, who carried the money-bag of the disciples ; and it is generally supposed that he cared not so much for the poor, as he did to get the money into his own hands, and under pretence of distributing alms, apply it to his individual purposes. While upon the subject of attention to guests we will mention another custom prevalent among the ancient Jews, as well as the people of the East generally at the present day, who live upon the borders of the deserts. It is that of washing the feet. Servants were kept for that purpose among the higher classes, and the first act of hospitality toward a guest or stranger, was the washing of his feet. The benevolence of this act may be better understood when we consider that sandals were, and still are, in common use among the Orientals, and hence travellers on foot through the sandy regions of Palestine find this custom peculiarly salutary. Stephens mentions the grateful pleasure he felt on his arrival at Hebron, when pure water was brought and his feet were cleansed of the irritating sand that had gathered upon them during the journey. The disciples of the Jewish Rabbins usually performed this ser vice for their masters, but they generally advised them not to do it in public, lest they might be mistaken for menial servants. This gives full force to the asseveration of John when speaking of the superiority of Jesus : " Whose shoes (or sandals) I am not wor thy to bear" — " The latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and loose." PETER DENYING CHRIST. After our blessed Lord, with his disciples, had sung a hymn, and instituted his supper — that great solemn institution which he was resolved to leave behind him, to be constantly celebrated in all ages of the church, as the standing monument of his love in dying for mankind — he left the house where all these things had been transacted, and went with his apostles unto the Mount of Olives (Mark xxvi. 30 ; xiv. 26). There he again put his dis ciples in mind how much they would be offended at those things which he was now to suffer ; and Peter again renewed his resolute and undaunted promise of suffering and dying with him ; yea, out of an excessive confidence, told him that " though all the rest should forsake and deny him, yet would not he deny him." How far will zeal and an indiscreet affection transport even a good man PETER DENYING CHRIST. 337 22 PETER DENYING CHRIST. 339 into vanity and presumption. Peter questions others, but never doubts himself. So natural is self-love, so apt are we to take the fairest measure of ourselves. 0 how hardly are we brought to espy our own faults, or to be so thoroughly convinced of them, as to correct and reform them. While Christ was discoursing to his disciples, a band of soldiers sent from the high-priest, with the traitor Judas to conduct and direct them, rushed into the garden, and seized upon him ; which when the apostles saw, they asked him whether they should at tempt his rescue. Peter (whose ungovernable zeal put him upon all dangerous undertakings), without staying for an answer, drew his sword, and espying one more busy than the rest in laying hold upon our Saviour, which was Malchus (who, though carrying kingship in his name, was but servant to the high-priest), struck at him with an intention to despatch him ; but God overruling the stroke, it only cut off his right ear. Our Lord liked not this wild and unwarrantable zeal, and therefore entreated their patience, while he miraculously healed the wound ; and turning to Peter, bade him put up his sword again : told him that they who unwar rantably used the sword should themselves perish by it ; that there was no need of these violent and extravagant courses ; that if he had a mind to be rid of his keepers he could ask his Father, who would presently send " more than twelve legions of angels" to his rescue and deliverance : but he must " drink the cup" which his Father had put into his hand ; for how else should the Scriptures be fulfilled, which had expressly foretold " that these things must be V Whereupon, all the apostles forsook him, and fled from him ; and they who before in their promises were as bold as lions, now it came to it, like fearful and timorous hares, ran away from him. Peter and John, though staying last with him, yet followed the same way with the rest, preferring their own safety before the concernments of their master. No sooner was he apprehended by the soldiers, and brought out of the garden, but he was immediately posted from one tribunal to another ;* brought first to Annas, then carried to Caiaphas, where the Jewish Sanhedrim met together in order to his trial and con demnation. Peter having a little recovered himself, and gotten loose from his fears, probably encouraged by his companion, St. John, returns back to seek his master, and finding them leading him to the high-priest's hall, followed afar off, to see what would be the event and issue : but coming to the door, could get no admittance, till one of the disciples who was acquainted there, went out and persuaded the servant who kept the door to let him in. Being led into the hall where the servants and officers stood round the fire, Peter also came thither to warm himself, where being espied by the servant-maid that let him in, she, earnestly looking upon him, charged him with being one of Christ's dis ciples, which Peter publicly denied before all the company, posi? * Matt. xxvi. 57 ; Mark xiv. 53 ; Luke xxii. 54 ; John xviii. 12. 340 PETER DENYING CHRIST. tively affirming that " he knew him not ;" and presently withdrew himself into the porch, where he heard the cock crow : an intima tion, one would have thought, which should have awakened his conscience into a quick sense of his duty, and the promises he had made unto his Master. In the porch, another of the maids set upon him, charging him " that he also was one of them that had been with Jesus of Nazareth ;" which Peter stoutly denied, saying that he " knew not Christ ;" and the better to gain their belief to what he said ratified it with an oath. So natural is it for one sin to draw on another. About an hour after, he was a third time set upon by a servant of the high-priest, Malchus's kinsman, whose ear Peter had lately cut off: by him he was charged to be one of Christ's disciples ; yea, that his very speech betrayed him to be a Galilean : — for the Galileans, though they did not speak a different language, had yet a different dialect, using a more confused and barbarous, a broader and more unpolished way of pronunciation than the rest of the Jews ; whereby they were easily distinguishable in their speaking from other men ; abundant instances whereof there are extant in the Talmud at this day : — nay, not only gave this evidence, but added, that he himself had seen him with Jesus in the garden- Peter still resolutely denied the matter ; and to add the highest accomplishment to his sin, ratified it not only with an oath, but a solemn curse and execration, that he was not the person, that he knew not the man. It is but a very weak excuse which St. Am brose and some others make for this act of Peter's, in saying, "I know not the man." — " He did well," says he, " to deny him to be man whom he knew to be God." St. Jerome takes notice of this pious and well-meant excuse made for Peter, though out of modesty he conceals the name of its author, but yet justly censures it as trifling and frivolous, and which to excuse man from folly would charge God with falsehood : for if he did not deny him, then our Lord was out, when he said, that that night he " should thrice deny him ;" that is, his person, and not only his humanity. Cer tainly the best apology that can be made for Peter is, that he quickly repented of this great sin ; for no sooner had he done it,' but the cock crew again ; at which intimation our Saviour turned about, and earnestly looked upon him ; a glance that quickly pierced him to the heart, and brought to his remembrance, what our Lord had once and again foretold him, how foully and shame fully he should deny him. Whereupon, not being able to contain his sorrow, he ran out of doors to give it vent, and "wept bitterly;" passionately bewailing his folly, and the aggravations of his sin ; thereby endeavoring to make some reparation for his fault, and recover himself into the favor of Heaven, and to prevent the exe cution of divine justice, by taking a severe revenge upon himself; by these penitential tears he endeavored to wash off his guilt ; as indeed repentance is the next step to innocence. 342 Christ's charge to peter. 1 a w m oH HO PS ! a o > i *' , j- H H n M » Si ft' CO b. C ° i a AT THESSALONICA. 377 The situation of Thessalonica, on a fine eminence on the Thermaic Gulf, with a slope which exposes it advantageously to the view of one approaching i. by water, renders it conspicuous and attractive from a distance ; but as it lies out of the principal routes of travellers in our day, it is still but seldom visited. The date of this ancient tower, we believe, has never been determined, but is allowed to be very early. The name of the city was Therme, in the time of Herodotus and some subsequent writers, having probably been derived, as well as that of the bay which it overlooks, from warm springs : to which the celebrated pass of Thermopylae owes its appellation. It is also said to have been once caliedHalia. The name of Thessalonica was given by Cassander, in honor of the daughter of Philip, whom he had married. Under the Romans this city became an important port, for the commerce of Asia Minor and the Hellespont, and soon increased to a large city, exceeding all others in Macedonia, and enjoying peculiar privileges. In the first century of the Christian Era, it was a considerable place, though probably inferior to Philippi. The account of Paul's first visit to it, in the 17th chapter of Acts, though brief, is interesting, and shows the spirit with which he was received by many of the inhabitants ; while the Epistles " to the Church of the Thessalonians," prove that some of them had been so improved through his instructions, as to draw many warm expressions of love and approbation- from his eloquent pen, and those animating invitations to exalted lives which are there so much admired : calling them ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia, and saying : " we ourselves glory in you in all the churches of God." The ancient tower we here present, has been the witness of great revolutions in modern as well as in early ages. Thessalonica, after passing into the hands of different masters in successive ages, yielded, with all Greece, to the miserable and degrading rule of the Turks. Among the Greek population who were found there in late years, were several families warmly devoted to national freedom, and possessing a spirit which engaged them in the earli est plans for the liberation of their countrymen. The neighbor hood of the mountains, and their almost inaccessible nature, offered great facilities to such as were inclined to the wild and independ- ant life of the Kleftes ; and among those patriotic men were found some of the best of the Thessalonians. The modern name of the city is Salonica, a very natural abbre viation from the ancient ; and, the accent being laid on the letter i, and that being pronounced e, the American reader may easily determine how the name of the city was probably spoken in former imes. 378 REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. REFLECTIONS ON THE RUINS OF ANCIENT CITIES. ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS. " Fallen pile ! I ask not what has been thy fate ; But when the weak winds, wafted from the main, Through each lone arch, like spirits that complain, Come hollow to my ear, I meditate On this world's passing pageant, and the lot Of those who once might proudly, in their prime, Have stood with giant port ; till, bowed by time, Or injury, their ancient boast forgot. They might have sunk like thee ; though thus forlorn, They lift their heads, with venerable hairs Besprent, majestic yet, and as in scorn Of mortal vanities, and short-lived cares ; E'en so dost thou, lifting thy forehead gray, Smile at the tempest, and time's sweeping sway." Let us here pause awhile, and gaze on the ruins of nations that nave gone before us. Few things are more striking to the imagi nation, and few calculated to convey instruction more effectively, than the remains of empires, the glory of which has departed, and the power of which has long been abolished. There is something deep and mysterious in the relics of a people with whom we be come acquainted only in the silence of their desolation ; there is something appallingly picturesque, frightfully effective, in its in REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. 379 fluence on the spirit, when we stand the lonely spectators of the ruins of ancient cities; it may be, whose potentates swayed sceptres, at the waive of which myriads would bow. The history of the fast may have been painful, and that of the present may bring discouragement, but it is a delightful thought to the Chris tian traveller, that, however far he may wander, whatever land he may visit, every valley and every hill he sees will one day shine brightly with the glory of the Lord, " for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." He hears the still small voice of prophecy in the very desolations around him. Philosophers, when they read the wonders of geology, are not now afraid of being stigmatized as infidels, simply because they entertain notions of the stages of the great work of creation dif ferent from those by which their minds were originally prepos sessed. The suspicion, happily antiquated, that an increasing in timacy with the phenomena of nature and physical objects, might one day prove truth to be at variance with Scripture revelation, is fast yielding to the conviction, even in the minds of the most ig norant and obtuse, that the more Scripture is illustrated by the corresponding commentary of the outward world, the more firmly will its validity be established. We cast our eyes around, and see the wrecks of past ages, the fragments of the finest monuments of mind and genius, lying prostrate and in ruins. We look on the map in vain for the site of cities, and the bounds of kingdoms, that once flourished like the palm-tree ; for giant-handed Time, like the destroying angel, has passed over, and blotted them from his present scroll of his tory. There are no reflections which rise in the mind so affecting as those which are suggested by seeing the shattered remains of a mighty empire. Egypt lifts up a voice interestingly solemn from her dateless tombs. The lamp of knowledge burnt first on her altars — there fore do we hallow her memory. And Egypt was, of all lands, the land of the marvellous. Look at her in any point of view you please, and she was a wonder of the world. Think of the mighty Nile — the grand and mysterious source of fertilization — the as piring pyramids — the hundred-gated city — the sphinx — the obelisk: all these were there, attesting in the midst of idolatry, the presence of genius, and the indications of mind. Where, we may ask, is the proud Nineveh, the golden Babylon — those magnificent and populous cities, ornaments of the earth, on which man had lavished all the cunning of art and device 1 A few stones in the desert point out their fate. Where have gone the mighty workings of Confucius, whose wise laws and maxims, his code of government and jurisprudence, made China what it was in the ancient world, a seat of refinement, civilization, and the arts 1 What has been the fate of Hindoo and Braminical learn ing"! Western lands have yet to laud their skill; for .from them we have derived the essential parts and component principles of a science that has receiver] the encomiums of a.11 ; and wbich, from 380 reflections on ancient ruins. its vast importance, has secured for itself the title of the " Great Art." Reader ! turn to our View of the Ruins of Palmyra. What has become of its stately temples, sacred fanes, and sepulchres 1 Where are its gardens — its wondrous walls — its artificial lakes and canals 1 In the picture we read the answer to these questions. lis glory has departed— we see only the splendid wrecks that faintly indicate their pristine grandeur. Once Palmyra arose like a refreshing fountain in the midst of the arid desert, the pride of Solomon. Now, it consists only of a few miserable huts of Arabs,' scattered amid the courts of its once stately temples and porticoes, exhibiting a humiliating contrast to its ancient magnificence. Throughout the plain that loses itself in the interminable horizon, the eye views antique monuments, pillars, palaces, and sepulchres, splendid even in their fall! — figured capitals, entablatures, and pilasters, all of Parian whiteness, and exquisite workmanship, strew the ground. Balbec is only a receptacle for shepherds, while every column of marble tells a mournful story. A traveller describes it as " a series of chapels, decorated with niches, admirably sculptured friezes, cor nices, and vaulted arches ; all displaying the most finished work manship, but evidently belonging to a degenerate period of art. But this impression can only be felt by those whose eyes have been previously exercised by the contemplation of the pure monu ments of Athens and Rome ; every other eye would be fascinated by the splendor of the forms, and finish of the ornaments. The only fault is too much richness ; the stone groans beneath the weight of its own luxuriance, and the walls are overspread with a lace-work of marble." And the space would fail me, dear reader, to tell you of Ephesus — the illustrious city — once adorned with temples, the wonder of the civilized world, now the habitation of herdsmen, who, find a shelter from the inclement storm beneath the masses of its crumbling ruins — of Thebes, with its hundred gates, which ap pears in its wreck to have been a city of giants ; now a miserable village. Of Tyre, Qn the coast of Phenicia, a highly commercial city, whose merchants the prophet calls princes, and her traders the " honorable of the earth ;" and who assumed the title ot " Queen of the East." How has the bright gold become dim ! The inhabitants are now only a few poor creatures, subsisting chiefly by fishing ; who seem to be preserved in this place by Divine Providence, as a visible argument, how God has fulfilled his word concerning Tyre, that " it should be as the top of a rock, a place for fishers to dry their nets on." Sidon, the most ancient of maritime cities, " the artist of glass," is also in a state of de cay. In adverting to these witnesses of feeble human duration, the names of many cities recur to the mind. Sardis is in dust. CJrjeush, the mighty capital of Karasm ; Busiris, &c. ; are all " shorn of their beams." Jerusalem (the " City of the Great King") presents a melancholy 382 REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. A View in Rome. (Piazza del Popolo.) REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. 383 and interesting theme. Her mighty temple, built by Solomon, was a noble and magnificent edifice, so constructed as to impress the spectator with admiration, and the worshipper with reverence. This was once the most celebrated city of the whole land of Is- Tael ; it was renowned among Christians and Jews ; and was dig nified by the title of the Holy City. But how are her fortunes fallen — how deplorable her present condition ! We are tempted to extract from a recent traveller a striking picture : " No noise arises from her squares or streets ; no roads lead to her gates from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south, except a few paths winding among the rocks, on which you meet half-naked Arabs, some camel-drivers from Damascus, or women from Bethlehem or Jericho, carrying on their heads a basket of raisins from Engedi, or a cage of doves, to be sold on the mor row, under the terribinthuses beyond the city-gates. No one passed in or out ; no mendicant even was seated against her kerb stones ; no sentinel showed himself at her threshold. We saw, indeed, no living object, heard no living sound; we found the same void, tbe same silence, at the entrance of a city containing thirty thousand souls, during the twelve hours of the day, as we should have expected before the entombed gates of Pompeii or Her- culaneum." Rome, a comparatively modern city, abounds in splendid memo rials of the past ; triumphal arches, domes, and amphitheatres. See the wild waste of all-devouring years ! How Rome her own sad sepulchre appears, With nodding arches, broken temples. spread ! The very tombs now vanished with their dead ! Imperial wonders raised on nations spoiled, Where mixed with slaves the groaning martyrs toiled : Huge theatres that now unpeopled woods, Now drained a distant country of her floods : Fanes, which admiring gods with pride survey, Statues of men, scarce less alive than they ! " If a person expects to find at Rome, such magnificent remains as he has read of at Athens," says a recent traveller, " he will be grievously disappointed." It would exceed our limits, and be quite unnecessary for our present purpose, to examine minutely into the sources of that interest with which all civilized men have for ages been accustomed to regard " The great Queen of the Earth — imperial Rome." For even those who have not read at all, know, perhaps, more of the Romans than of any other nation which has figured in the world. We will, therefore, content our selves with giving to our readers, on the opposite page, a beauti ful engraving of the Piazza del Popolo (in Rome), an open irregular space, in the centre of which rises an Egyptian obelisk of granite, nearly eighty feet in height, and from the sides of which branch off* three streets. The middle one is the Corso, the high street of modern Rome ; that on the right is the Ripetta, leading to the banks of the Tiber ; and that on the left conducts to the Piazza di Spagna, the quarter of the hotels, below the Pin- 384 reflections on ancient ruins. cian hills. Corinth and Sparta are mean towns, occupied by the hut of the goatherd ; while Athens presents the appearance of a small modern town — Athens that sent forth the noblest historians, the most eloquent orators, the ablest statesmen, and the greatest military commanders ! Ages and ages did Athens ride in the zenith of glory, till at length she became the prey of the spoiler, despot, and stranger ; long she laid in the dust, grovelling, and wretched — but now having burst her thraldom, a brighter era begins to dawn ; and future historians may perhaps record that Athens and Greece, so long blotted from the roll of nations, may rise from their ashes, like the fabled phoenix of old, to liberty, honor, and glory. A brief description of Athens, inserted in this place, may not be uninteresting to the general reader ; and will, we trust, be read with profit in connexion with the engraving accompanying it. The modern town of Athens, is situated to the north of the Acropolis, and extends from the temple of Thesus, so conspicuous in the vale on the left side of our " View," to the sublime temple of Jupiter Olympus, which has not escaped the ravages of time, nor the rude barbarity of the Turks. The greater part of the houses is concealed from our view by the glorious Acropolis, and by the hill of Mars, separated from it by that narrow valley through which the peaked summit of Mount Lycabettus is seen. Fragments of her stately temples still give a grand, though faint idea of her ancient splendor, and of the perfection to which she carried architecture and sculpture. With the picture before ns, we may easily, in imagination, ascend Mars Hill, that sacred spot, once hallowed by the footsteps of the apostle Paul. Here is still the same flight of steps, which were cut in the rock more than two thousand years ago. Here, in the days of old, the court of the Areopagus used to hold its sittings ; and where Paul ad dressed the most intellectual audience, to whom he ever declared the Gospel of Christ. He was evidently filled with admiration, as well as with sorrow, at the sight of these (then) splendid temples, whose unequalled beauty and elegance are still so con spicuous. "He went about the city, and beheld these sanc tuaries." But what an ardent love of God and man must have animated him ! Surrounded by the very master-piece of archi tecture, he never forgot that idolatry, in whose honor they had been reared, was an insult constantly offered *o the holy Creator of the universe, an unceasing offence against the benevolent Father of mankind, a disgrace to human nature ; a source of in finite wretchedness; a state of guilt and thraldom, carefully main tained by the enemy of God, who WQuld delight in the ruin of his blind and devoted slaves, and whose designs could only be frus trated by a saving faith in Jesus Christ. The spirit of love, which kept alive these impressions in the apostle's mind, while it im parted a tone of mild candor to his feelings, prompted him to im mediate exertion, and inspired him with a noble courage. When Christianity was introduced, the heathen sanctuaries COco *; -tm (- S3 E-< oCO o in View of Athens, 388 REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. 389 were changed into Christian places of worship, of which no less a number than 174 could, in 1820, be pointed out in the city and its immediate neighborhood. How true, then, is the apostle's re mark, that the Athenians were " exceedingly religious !"* With this prospect before him — in the very sight of these temples — under the very frown of the colossal statue of Minerva, the intrepid apostle hesitated not to tell the vain, and elegant, and religious Athenians, that "God dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" and that they ought not to think him like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. He hesitated not to speak of their state as a state of ignorance ; and, in the very place which derived its celebrity from the far-famed wisdom and au thority of their supreme tribunal, he was not afraid to declare that "God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." |^i^HWJ||L ^ SK mMMi ^^^^mMii^^^' IttMtfi miU%g&* View of the Acropolis. Ancient Athens was divided into the Acropolis or upper, and the Catapolis or lQwer city. The former contained the most splendid works of art, of which Athens could boast. Its chief or nament, however, was the Parthenon, or temple of Minerva. Originally this was an elegant structure, supported by one hundred and twenty-eight marble pillars ! and having, over its great gate * See Doddridge on Acts xvii. 22. 390 REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. two horses, sculptured by Praxiteles. This magnificent building, which even in ruins has been the wonder of the world, was 217 feet long, 98 broad, and 65 high. Destroyed by the Persians, it was rebuilt in a noble manner by Pericles, 444 years before Christ. Here stood the statue of Minerva, formed of ivory, 46 feet high, and richly decorated with gold to the value of more than $520,000. The Parthenon, as it once was. The Propylaum, built of white marble, formed the entrance to the Parthenon. This building lay on the north side of the Acropo lis, close to the Erectheum, also of white marble, consisting of two temples ; beside another remarkable building, called the Pandroseum. In the circle of Minerva's temple stood the olive- tree, sacred to that goddess. On the front part of the Acropolis, and on each end, were two theatres, built with extraordinary splendor. In the lower city were the Poikile, or the gallery of historical paintings, the temple of the Winds, and the monuments of cele brated men. But the greatest pieces of architecture were without the city. These were the temples of Theseus and Jupiter Olympus ; one on the north, and the other on the south side of the city. The temple of Theseus resembled the Parthenon. On this temple, the famous deeds of old heroes and kings were repre sented. The temple of Jupiter Olympus surpassed all the other buildings of Athens in splendor and beauty. Incalculable sums were spent on it. It was finished by Adrian. The outside of this temple was adorned by 120 fluted columns, 60 feet high and 6 in diameter. The inside was more than half a league in cir cumference. Here stood the statue of the god made by Phydias, of gold and ivory. In the fifth century, the Parthenon was turned into a church of REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. 391 the Virgin Mary. In 1456, when Athens fell into the hands of the Turks, it became a mosque. This is a brief account of Athens, as it once was. Now, under the dominion of the Turks, and after 2,300 years of war and de vastation, how changed ! Still its ruins excite astonishment. We might fill many pages in dilating upon the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, concealed so many years beneath their cover ing of lava. Strange event — the cities preserve the same form, the same appearance, after a lapse of eighteen hundred years, as when inhabited by the Romans. We have only room here to give a very brief description ot Pompeii, and the calamitous event, by which it was over whelmed. The entrance into Pompeii is through what is now called tho 392 > REFLECTIONS ON ANCIENT RUINS. street of Tombs, of which a view is given in the preceding engra ving. The part which was first cleared is supposed to have been the main street of Pompeii; but this is much to be doubted, as the houses on both sides, with the exception of a few, were evi dently the habitations of common citizens, and were small, and provided with booths. The street itself likewise is narrow : two carriages only could go abreast ; and it is very uncertain whether it ran through the whole of the town ; for, from the spot where the moderns discontinued digging, to that where they recom menced, and where the same street is supposed to have been again found, a wide tract is covered with vineyards, which may very well occupy the place of the most splendid streets and markets, still concealed underneath. The fate of the Pompeians must have been dreadful. It was not a stream of fire which encompassed their abodes : they could then have sought refuge in flight. Neither did an earthquake swallow them up : sudden suffocation wmild then have spared them the pangs of a lingering death. A rain of ashes buried them alive by dkgrees ! Pliny the younger, who was an eyewitness of the memorable explosion of Vesuvius by which Pompeii was overwhelmed, has given an animated description of the scene, in a letter addressed to Tacitus, from which we extract the following passage : — " A darkness suddenly overspread the country ; not like the darkness of a moonless night ; but like that of a closed room, in which the light is on a sudden extinguished. Women screamed, children moaned, men cried. Here, children were anxiously cal ling their parents ; and there, parents were seeking their children, or husbands their wives : all recognised each other only by their cries. The former lamented their own fate, and the latter that of those dearest to them. Many wished for death, from the fear of dying : many called on the gods for assistance : others despaired of the existence of the gods, and thought this the last eternal night of the world. Actual dangers were magnified by unreal terrors. The earth continued to shake ; and men, half-distracted, reeled about, exaggerating their own fears, and those of others, by terrifying predictions." Ruins! they possess a peculiar power. They afford subject- matter for pleasing and instructive thought to all those who have the taste to feel the beauty and sublimity which they so profluent- ly exhibit, and the mind necessary to appreciate their importance. It is astonishing how perfectly the remains of past ages prove the universality of character which God has impressed upon the soul of man. Wherever there has been the seat of extensive power, there we invariably find a similarity of extent in the products of the people ; and in some we find the more perfect exhibition of one trait of mind, and in some of another, yet for grade of spirit there seems to be no difference. Nor is there any re'¦{' \lk\\W'\'\\^»'\\ i!i,:iMi'li;i,iiiii!i!|i!i'i|ii'ii ir'inlH s m , ¦ Vi+'l':;, •<\ TnE days of our years are threescore years and ten." — Psalm xc. 10. — Canova. w ¦¦Mmw~Qi Mm «0»W SiJ I MsswM».yws V m s M\ ^^w ' »'; ^'M,';^