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length. The former portion, as might be expected, is richer in imagery, the naturalistic element of poetry; the latter, in deep and holy feelings, movements of a heart stirred to its depths by God's law.-Speaker's Commentary.

PROVERBS XXXII.,

THE LAMP OF THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN.

18.-"She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night."

THIS has generally been taken as another proof of the activity of the Eastern lady who is here depicted, that she actually prolonged her toil into the night when others reposed; which would have been an unusual circumstance, since with the Orientals, still more than with us, it is customary to cease labour at sunset. As this good housewife rose very early, her late hours were less called for, and there may be another explanation. Her candle (i.e. lamp) goes not out; that is, all that belongs to it, both wick and oil, are properly arranged or duly replenished; whereas the lamp of the careless mistress is likely to flicker or become extinguished while the family are in need of it. And it might be added that she is called "virtuous" in the old sense of the word; she was not merely moral, she was also strong to will and to execute.

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST SPEAKS MERCY, NOT VENGEANCE. HEBREWS xii. 24.-" And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”.

To us it seems a slight, and therefore a strange commendation of the blood of the great sacrifice to say it speaks better things than vengeance. But to Hebrews who had shed their brother's blood the case was widely different. Of the men who in the madness of their persecuting zeal had said concerning Jesus, "His blood be on us, and on our children,” imagine some brought afterwards to feel what they had done, what more natural apprehension in their awakened conscience than that their brother's blood should cry for vengeance against them, as Abel's blood cried against his murderers? It has been so. The Hebrew nation is a living

Cain. Their brother's blood crieth against them. То the penitent believer, therefore, how needful, and how suitable, and how satisfactory, was the apostle's assurance! His death in their hands was indeed the murder, but by the hand of God it had been turned into a mercy.-REV. HUGH MCNEILE, D.D.

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"CHAMBERS OF IMAGERY."-INTERIOR OF THE PORTICO OF THE GREAT TEMPLE OF DENDERAH.

Oriental Illustrations.

EZEKIEL viii. 7, 10.-"And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about." Chambers of Imagery." Here begins the description of the idolatries which the Hebrews borrowed from their neighbours. The first was unquestionably taken from the Egyptians. How exactly it describes the inner chambers and sanctuaries of the Egyptian temples, the tombs, and mystic cells, must be obvious to any one who has read the various descriptions and seen the representations which modern travellers have supplied. The walls are covered with representations, sculptured or painted in vivid colours, of sacred animals, and of gods represented in the human form, and under various circumstances, or in various monstrous combinations of the animal and human forms. These things now appear even more conspicuously in the tombs than in the temples, perhaps because the decorations of the latter have suffered more from the hand of man. And although the illustration to be derived from the existing temples is abundantly adequate to the elucidation of the prophetical description, that to be obtained from tombs is not to be regarded as something different and distinct; for we are to recollect that the Egyptian tombs and temples appear to have been closely connected in their origin, and that those of royal persons often formed in fact cells of the temple, being within its sacred inclosure; and there is every probability and some authority for the conclusion, which is also supported by the character of the decorations which many of them exhibit, that they were not merely tombs, but cells for the celebration of the darker mysteries and idolatries of a most debasing superstition. pious traveller, the Rev. W. Jowett, who visited Thebes, quotes the present text as furnishing an exact description of the tombs found there, adding, 'The Israelites were but copyists, the master sketches being to be seen in all the ancient temples and tombs of Egypt.' Having already noticed the idolatries of Egypt (Deut. iv.), and given the figures of many of their monstrous idols; and having also frequently had occasion to allude to the paintings of their tombs and temples, no particular description appears to be now necessary. We may, however,

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quote a passage in which Mr. Salt enumerates in verse the forms of creeping things, abominable beasts, and idols, which are portrayed upon their walls,—

"And of such mystic fancies, in the range

Of these deep-cavern'd sepulchres are found
The wildest images, unheard of, strange,
Striking, uncouth, odd, picturesque, profound,
That ever puzzled antiquarian's brain;
Prisoners of different nations, bound and slain,
Genii with heads of birds, hawks, ibis, drakes,
Of lions, foxes, cats, fish, frogs, and snakes,
Bulls, rams, and monkeys; hippopotami,
With knife in paw, suspended from the sky;
Gods germinating men, and men turn'd gods,
Seated in honour with gilt crooks and rods;
Vast scarabæi, globes by hands upheld
From chaos springing, mid an endless field
Of forms grotesque-the sphynx, the crocodile,
And other reptiles from the slime of Nile."-

"EGYPT," in Hall's "Life of Salt,” vol. ii. p. 416.

The Arabs have a miserable village upon the roof of the great temple at Edfou; its sanctuary is blocked up with a dunghill; part of the splendid portico is converted into a stable, and the whole interior is so filled up with rubbish that it is deemed impossible to enter. But an old man, to whose family the traveller had afforded medical relief, apprized him of a secret passage, which had never before been made known to any Frank, and through which he undertook to conduct him. "Considerably below the surface of the adjoining buildings, be pointed out to me a chink in an old wall, which he told me I should creep through on my hands and feet; the aperture was not two feet and a half high, and scarcely three feet and a half broad; my companion had the courage to enter first, thrusting in a lamp before him. I followed, and after me the son of the old man crept also; the passage was so narrow, that my mouth and nose were sometimes buried in the dust, and I was nearly suffocated. After proceeding about ten yards in utter darkness, the heat became excessive, breathing was laborious, the perspiration poured down my face, and I would have given the world to have got out; but my companion, whose person I could not distinguish, though his voice was audible, called out to me to crawl a few feet farther, and that I should find plenty of space. I joined him at length, and had the inexpressible satisfaction of standing once more on my feet. We found ourselves in a splendid apartment of great magnitude, adorned with sacred paintings and hieroglyphics." The ceiling, which was also painted, was supported by several rows of pillars. How similar

ORIENTAL ILLUSTRATIONS.

173 to this was the entrance of the prophet, through a hole in the wall,' to a similar chamber of imagery in the Lord's own temple! Our present engraving affords a view of one of the richest and best preserved of those Egyptian 'chambers of imagery' which the Hebrew idolaters imitated.”—Dr. Kitto. MARK vi. 26.-" And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.” Promises by Oath.-It would seem that Oriental monarchs, when highly pleased, were prone to make such oaths or promises, many of which they had afterwards ample occasion to repent.

In Herodotus there is a remarkable anecdote concerning Xerxes, which offers some strong points of analogy to the incident now before us, as combined with the particulars contained in the notes. Xerxes formed a criminal attachment to the wife of his brother Mastites; but she was soon supplanted by her own daughter, Artaynte, who was married to Darius, the son of Xerxes. This lady the king took to his own palace; and one day, in excess of fondness for her, he desired her to ask of him whatever she pleased, and declared with an oath that he would refuse her nothing. He had on at the time a rich mantle, which his queen had wrought with her own hands and presented to him; and this having attracted the attention of Artaynte, became the object of her choice. The king, fearing it might lead to a discovery, begged her to ask of him cities, treasures of gold, or the sole command of an army; but not the mantle. But she persisted, and the monarch, from regard to his oath, but with great reluctance gave it to her. She thenceforth delighted in wearing this mantle, and thus revealed to the queen what Xerxes wished to conceal from her knowledge. The queen blamed the mother rather than the daughter, and against her pointed her vengeance. However, she bridled her thirst for revenge until the king's birthday, when by law the monarch was not allowed to refuse his queen any request she might make. On that day the king anointed his head, bestowed gifts upon the Persians, and gave the royal banquet usual on his birthday. The queen then appeared before him, and demanded that the wife of Mastites should be given up to her. Xerxes, aware of her horrid purpose, and knowing the woman to be guiltless of that which the queen suspected, endeavoured to avert her request; but as she continued to urge it, the king, bound by the law of the day, gave the fatal nod of assent. She immediately sent for the doomed woman, and having mangled her person in a most horrible manner, sent her home. When the unhappy woman's husband, the king's brother, beheld his wife thus mutilated, he fled with his sons to

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