and wrote to those that were charged with the overfight of the royal palace, and the taking care of his children, and confequently of foram's expected fucceffor; when Jehu, I fay, wrote to them, and called them to ftand upon their defence, they trembled and declared themselves ready to bow down before him as his fervants, according to the prophetic hiftorian, though expreffed in fomewhat different terms. "Look even out the best and meet" est of your mafter's fons, and fet him on his father's throne, and fight for your "master's house. But they were exceedingly

afraid, and faid, Behold, two kings stood "not before him: how then fhall we ftand? "And he that was over the houfe, and he that

was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, fent to Jehu, "faying, We are thy fervants, and wilt do "all that thou fhalt bid us; we will not "make any king: do thou that which is good "in thine eyes.

There is, my reader will obferve, a near connexion between these two clauses, as they are accordingly closely joined together by Solomon, the keepers of the house, and the strong men that are kept in an Eastern palace, but diftinctly mentioned, it should feem, to point out two different effects of old age: weakness of the hands united with paralytic tremblings, and the bending of the back when the body is

2 Kings 10. 3, 4, 5.

enfeebled

enfeebled by age. They are both most certainly attendants on old age, and I think may both be faid to be pointed out in other places of Scripture, which I believe will be found fufficient to direct us to all the symptoms and complaints of old age here, without having recourse to medical writers: and if it will, fuch a popular account must be allowed to be most natural, and confequently most probable.

The ftooping, or bending of the back, before old age brings on death, is mentioned in Scripture: "Therefore he brought upon them "the king of the Chaldees, who flew their

young men with the fword, in the house of "their fanctuary, and had no compaffion on young man or maiden, old man or him that ftoopeth for age," 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17. The weakness of the hands, which is frequently attended by paralytic tremblings, is fuificiently expreffed in the beginning of the 30th chapter of Job, amidst all the obfcurity that spreads itself over the laft clause of the 2d verfe." But "now they that are younger than I, have me "in derifion, whofe fathers I would have dif"dained to have fet with the dogs of my "flock. Yea, whereunto might the strength

of their hands profit me, in whom old age "was perished?" Perhaps the true meaning of the laft clause may be, "in whom old age "had made it (the ftrength of their hands) "to perifh;" but, whether the laft claufe is fo to be understood or not, it is evident that Job fuppofes the strength of their hands was gone

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in these old people. It is to be confidered then as one of the infirmities of old age; and as we find this debility of the hands is frequently attended with paralytic tremblings; fo we find the Scripture fpeaks of fear as producing both effects: trembling is defcribed as one of the confequences of fear, Pf. cxix. 120, Dan. v. 19, Mark v. 33, &c; as weaknefs and lofs of ftrength is in other places, Jer. vi. 24, &c. Matt. xxviii. 4, seems to join them together, as we often find them to be by what we obferve in the world, "For fear "of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men"-lofing all their ftrength.

Since then Solomon plainly represents the human body under the notion of a great house or palace, and allegorically describes the decays of old age agreeably to this notion in the first part of his account of them, or in other words in the 3d verfe, and beginning of the 4th, nothing can be more natural than to understand the shaking of the hands, and the bending of the back, previous to the approach of death the king of terrors, by the trembling of the guards of an Eastern palace when a ftronger than he that inhabits it approaches, with a force they know to be irresistible, and the bowing down of the frong men that are entertained there for fupport with great fubmiffiveness, when he that will affuredly conquer draws nigh.

This explanation of these two kindred claufes is fo obvious, that, I apprehend, it is

generally,

generally, if not univerfally, embraced: it is certain these symptoms of old age are naturally introduced; and the allegorical manner of fpeaking of them quite in the Eastern tafte. The reference to Oriental occurrences is indeed all that is new thus far under this article.

The next article relates to the female flaves, whose business it was to grind the corn, fpent in great quantities by the mafters of Eastern palaces, in the time of youthful jollity and high health, but which employment was wont to decrease in the time of old age. "And the grinders (in the feminine gender) "cease because they are few," or, as the words are tranflated in the margin, "The

grinders fail, because they grind little."

To which may be added a claufe from the 4th verfe, which has a good deal of relation to this; "And the doors fhall be fhut in the "ftreets, when the found of the grinding is "low."

There is a relation between these two claufes, but not fuch a famenefs as to forbid the making them diftinct parts of this celebrated defcription.

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The firft of thefe two claufes feems to relate to a bitterness of this time of declining life, which the aged Barzillai fpeaks of in a very feeling manner. "I am this day four"fcore years old: and can I difcern between good and evil? Can thy fervant taste what I eat, or what I drink?" 2 Sam. xix. 35.

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I have in a preceding volume fhewn', that the Eastern people are wont to grind their corn every day, as they want it; and that it is done at home by the meaneft of their female flaves, by fmall hand-mills; and that a great part of their food confifts of farinaceous preparations, which they diverfify by various methods, that the palate, under every alteration and change of taste the full-fed are apt to feel, (according to those words of Solomon elsewhere, "The full foul loatheth an honey"comb; but to the hungry foul every bitter thing is fweet",") may find fomething it may eat with relifh and pleasure. The. paring a mere sufficiency of food fully to fupport nature would not do; but when a prince, or even a man of Barzillai's wealth, had loft the powers of tafte, and an ability to diftinguish between the different flavours of what was placed upon the table, fuch a variety of preparations became needlefs, and one fort of food would do as well as fifty, on which account there would be much less occafion for grinding corn in his house, than in the earlier days of fuch a man's life. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, when the powers of tafting shall be loft, on which account the grinders fhall ceafe their labour much fooner than beforetime, because. they want to grind but little.

Rice, if it was known anciently at all there,