ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BIBLE FROM THE

MONUMENTS OF ANTIQUITY

No. XV.

THE MURMURINGS OF THE CHILDREN
OF ISRAEL

NOTWITHSTANDING the stupendous miracle by which God had delivered his chosen people from Pharaoh and his mighty host, the ungrateful Israelites, in the first moment of difficulty, broke out into almost open rebellion.

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: and the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full: for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. (Exodus xvi. 2, 3.)

The gracious Jehovah miraculously supplied them. with manna from heaven, but even of this they became weary.

The mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely: the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: but now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. (Numbers xi. 4-6.)

Hence it may be inferred that the Egyptians were a luxurious people, and that they used meat more freely than most other oriental nations. This is very fully confirmed by the monuments; we see in their kitchens large joints of beef and venison, with a plentiful supply of poultry. The "flesh-pots" mentioned by the sacred historian were enormous caldrons in which several joints were frequently boiled together. Indeed, from the profusion displayed in the representations of the royal kitchens, we are led to conclude that the daily supply of provision for the Pharaohs was not inferior to that which Solomon required. The Book of Kings informs us thatSolomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and three-score measures of meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowl. (1 Kings iv. 22, 23.)

This might appear incredible if we did not recollect that oriental sovereigns are generally surrounded by a vast multitude of retainers, who require little remuneration for their services beyond their daily support. The Israelites dwell with great earnestness on "the bread," with which they assert that they were plentifully supplied, and this is not improbable, because, as we have already shown, Egypt produced vast quantities of corn; and bread, and various kinds of pastry, formed the principal part of their food; but the ingratitude and injustice of the Israelites is particularly shown by their demand for flesh, because it is not likely that they would have been able or permitted to use such an expensive article of food, when they were held in bondage by the cruel Pharaoh. Fish was more easily procured, and we have in a former paper shown that the fisheries of Egypt, both in ancient and modern times, were so very productive as to support very heavy imposts. Vegetables are still very abundant in the valley of the Nile, particularly the leeks and onions which the Israelites mention with such fondness. Fruits were also very plentifully supplied both by the date-palm and the sycamore-fig. We find, indeed, that monkeys were employed to collect the fruit of the latter, and it will be seen in the engraving that these crafty animals are not unmindful of their own interests, for they are manifestly helping themselves without

MONKEYS GATHERING FRUIT.

scruple. We find that the Israelites did not forget this important fruit in one of their many murmurings against Moses. Shortly after Korah's rebellion, unwarned by the fearful punishment which had overtaken those who joined that discontented leader, They gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. (Numbers xx. 2-5.)

Figs were not only eaten fresh, but were preserved by being pressed together into a cake, and in this way they may be kept for several years. Such cakes must have been a common article of food, for Abigail, anxious to atone for the avarice of her husband Nabal, sent two hundred cakes of figs to David and his followers; (1 Sam. xxv. 18;) and it was with part of a cake of figs that David satisfied the hunger of the Egyptian who guided him to the camp of the Amalekites and enabled him to rescue his two wives, (1 Sam. xxx. 12.) Figs appear also to have been used medicinally, at least as an outward application, for it was by the application of a poultice of figs that the ulcer which threatened the life of Hezekiah, king of Judah, was healed. Isaiah said, "Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered." (2 Kings xx. 7.)

In consequence of its utility, the fig-tree was highly valued; it is mentioned with particular honour in Jotham's parable of the trees resolving to elect a king.

And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? (Judges ix. 10, 11.)

In all descriptions of fertility, the fig-tree is usually associated with the vine; thus Moses declares to the children of Israel that their promised Canaan was A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil-olive, and honey. (Deut. viii. 8.)

We also find the most common proverb for describing the tranquillity and fertility of a country was, that " every man should sit under his vine and his fig-tree." The Assyrian ambassador Rabshakeh, made use of this image when he endeavoured to

persuade the Jews to revolt against their pious sovereign, Hezekiah;

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern. (2 Kings xviii. 31.)

Another frequent subject of murmuring with the Israelites was the want of water, and this must have been very severely felt by persons who have been accustomed to drink from the delicious streams of the Nile, but having already described the reverence which the Egyptians had for that noble river, it is unnecessary to dwell further on the subject now. shall, therefore, turn to the flagrant act of idolatry, in which not only the mass of the Israelites, but Aaron himself, the brother of Moses participated.

We

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up cut of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden ear-rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. (Exodus xxxii. 1-6.)

With

In a former article we have described the great skill of the Egyptians in metallurgy, and noticed the richness of the golden ornaments worn by the women; we only refer to the subject here for the purpose of showing that Aaron could obtain a sufficient supply of the precious metals to form an idol of considerable size, and that the art of working gold was so well known, that he could have no difficulty in preparing an image. The idol was moulded into the shape of a calf, or young bullock, which was worshipped in Egypt under the name of Mnevis, at On, or Heliopolis, as a symbol of the sun. this form of idolatry the Israelites must have been familiar, because the city of On was in the land of Goshen, and because Joseph, the head of their nation, was connected by marriage with the principal priestly family in Heliopolis. The accompanying engraving is a representation of the Egyptian deity Mnevis, taken from the coffin of a mummy preserved in the museum of Turin; the orb of the sun is represented between his horns, surmounted with ostrich feathers, the symbols of justice, the whip which he carries is emblematic of power, and the serpent before him is supposed to represent the spirit of the gods.

THE SACRED YOUNG BULLOCK.

We have now shown, from the indisputable evidence of the monuments, that the murmurings and rebellions of the Israelites in the desert display characteristics which could only have been manifested by a people which had just come out of Egypt, and have thus given an entirely new series of historical proofs which demonstrate the truth of the wondrous deliverance recorded in the Book of Exodus.

It appears that Aaron intended this idol to be an emblem of Jehovah, for he proclaimed its dedication as "a feast to the Lord;" his sin was, therefore, precisely similar to that committed in many Romish churches, where emblematic figures of the Trinity are constantly worshipped. But the worship of the idol was celebrated with heathenish rites and with heathenish abominations. The Israelites feasted, sung and danced, as the monuments show us that the Egyptians used to do in their religious festivals, and it is probable that they proceeded to very improper and unseemly lengths in their festivities, as we know that the persons whom they imitated frequently practised licentious ceremonies. The noise and shouting reached Moses as he descended from

EARTHENWARE.

THERE is scarcely any manufacture which is so interesting to contemplate in its gradual improvement and extension, as that of earthenware, presenting as it does so beautiful a union of science and art, in furnishing us with the comforts and ornaments of polished life. Chemistry administers her part by investigating the several species of earths, and ascertaining as well their most appropriate combinations, as the respective degrees of heat which the several compositions require.

Art has studied the designs of antiquity, and produced from them vessels even more exquisite in form than the models by which they have been suggested. The ware has been provided in such gradations of quality as to suit every station, from the highest to the lowest. It is to be seen in every country, and almost in every house, through the whole extent of America, in many parts of Asia, and in most of the countries of Europe. At home it has superseded the less cleanly vessels of pewter and of wood, and by its cheapness has been brought within the means of our poorest housekeepers. Formed from substances originally of no value, the fabrication has produced labour of such various classes, and created skill of such various degrees, that nearly the whole value of the annual produce may be considered as an addition made to the mass of national wealth.

The abundance of the ware exhibited in every dwelling is sufficient evidence of the vast augmentation of the manufacture, which is also demonstrated by the rapid increase of the population in the districts where the potteries have been established.Quarterly Review.

PLANTS exist in themselves: insects by, or by means of, themselves: men, for themselves. There is growth only in plants; but there is irritability, or, a better word, instinctivity in insects.-COLERIDGE.

CORONATION ANECDOTES. No. III.

HENRY III.

AFTER the death of John, London being in possession of the French prince, Louis, an assembly of the principal authorities was convened at Winchester, under the presidency of Gualo, the papal legate. The principal persons who attended the council were, Peter, bishop of Winchester, Jocelyn, bishop of Bath, Ranulph, earl of Chester, William, earl of Pembroke and earl marshal, William, earl of Ferrers, and Philip of Albany, together with a great number of abbots, priors, and other ecclesiastics. They unanimously resolved that the young king should be crowned on the 28th of October, A. D. 1216. The ceremony was performed in the cathedral of Winchester, by the bishop of that see, aided by the bishop of Bath. The papal legate compelled Henry to do homage to the holy Roman church and Pope Innocent for his kingdom of England and Ireland; he also made him swear that he would pay an annual tribute of one thousand marks to the papal see, as his father had stipulated to do, when he was absolved from the sentence of excommunication. In return for this submission, Gualo excommunicated the French prince, and all his adherents in England. The ceremony of coronation was repeated by Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, as Holinshed informs us : "Moreover, in the yeare of our Lord 1220, and upon the seaventeenth day of Maie, being Whitsunday, the king was eftsoones solemnelie crowned at Westminster, to the end it might be said that now after the extinguishment of all seditious factions, he was crowned by the generall consent of all the estates and subjects of his realm."

Early in the year 1236, Henry married the Lady Eleanor, daughter to the earl of Provence, whose beauty is celebrated by all the chronicles. Langtoft says:

Henry kyng our prince at Westminster kirke

The Erly's douhter of Province, the fairest mayb o life
Beyond the se that word, was non suilhe creature.

The ceremony of her coronation was performed with extraordinary pomp on the 22nd of January. Holinshed's account of it will no doubt gratify our readers :

"At the solemnitie of this feast and coronation of the quene, all the high peeres of the realm both spirituall and temporall were present, there to exercise their offices as to them apperteined. The citizens of London were there in great arraie, bearing afore hir in solemn wise, three hundred and three score cups of gold and silver, in token that they ought to wait upon hir cup. The archbishop of Canturburie (according to his dutie) crowned hir, the bishop of London assisting him as his deacon. The earle of Chester bare the sword of St. Edward before the king, in token that he was earle of the palace, and had authoritie to correct the king, if he should see him to swarve from the limits of justice; his constable of Chester attended him, and remained where the presse was thicke, with his rod or warder. The earle of Pembroke, high marshall, bare the rod before the king, and made roome before him both in the church and in the hall, placing everie man, and ordering the service at the table. The wardens of the Cinque Ports bare a canopie over the king, supported with four speares. The earle of Leicester held the bason when they washed. The earle of Warren in the place of the earle of Arundell, bicause he was under age, attended on the king's cup. M. Michael Bellet was butler by

a Church.
b Maiden.
Of life, i. e. alive.
That were beyond the sea, i. e. among all foreign nations.
© No such,

office. The earle of Hereford exercised the roome of high marshall in the king's house. The lord William of Beauchamp was the almoner. The cheefe justice of the forrests on the right of the king removed the dishes on the table, though at the first he was staied by some allegation made to the contrarie. The citizens of London served out wine to everie one in great plentie. The citizens of Winchester had oversight of the kitchen and larderie. And so everie person according to his dutie exercised his roome, and bicause no trouble should arise, manie things were suffered, which upon further advise taken therein were reformed. The chancellour and other ordinarie officers kept their place. The feast wished. Moreover in Tothill fields roiall justes were was plentifull, so that nothing wanted that could be holden by the space of eight daies together."

This account is fully confirmed by Matthew Paris, who adds, that "such was the multitude of peers and peeresses, such the crowd of ecclesiastics, such the assemblage of the lower orders, and such the concourse of minstrels, morrice-dancers, and buffoons, that the city of London could scarcely contain them." And of the coronation feast he says, that "it displayed all the world could produce for glory or delight.”

This is the first coronation in which we read of tourna

ments being introduced, but the most valuable part of Holinshed's description is the reason he assigns for the sword of state being borne by a palatine peer, namely, to show that the palatine nobles had the right of restraining the sovereign when he violated his royal duties.

EDWARD I.

On the 15th, or, as other authorities say, the 19th of August, 1274, Edward I., and his queen Eleanor, were crowned at Westminster by the archbishop of Canterbury, aided by other prelates. We prefer the latter date, because it is that expressly stated by Langtoft, who was a cotemporary.

In the yere folowand that I rekened here Edward com to land, als prince of grete powere The next Sonenday after the assumpcioun Of Mari moder & may, Sir Edward had the coroun. In the kyrke of Westmynstere, at the abbay solempnely The bishop of Canterbere, Robert of Kilwardeby Corouned Edward thoreb, biforn alle the clergy And Dame Helianore corouned quene & lady Was never at St. Denys feste holden more hy Ne was of more pris, ne served so redyt Was never prince that I writen of fonde More had treief & teres than he had for his lond. Holinshed adds some remarkable particulars of this coronation:

d

"At this coronation were present, Alexander, king of Scots, and John, carle of Bretaine, with their wives that were sisters to King Edward. The king of Scots did homage unto King Edward for the realme of Scotland, in like manner as other the kings of Scotland before him had doone to other kings of England, ancestoures to this King Edward. At the solemnitie of this coronation there were let go at libertie (catch them that catch might) five hundred great horsses by the king of Scots, the earles of Cornewall, Glocester, Pembroke, and others, as they were allighted fro their backs."

Clement proposed to send over a cardinal to officiate upon the occasion; but Edward rejected the proffer, and prevailed upon the pontiff to grant a commission to the archbishop of York, and the bishops of Durham and London, to perform the office. These prelates refused to sanction such a precedent, and Edward again applied to the pope to remove Archbishop Winchelsey's suspension. Clement assented; but the archbishop, who was out of the kingdom, and confined to his bed by severe illness, delegated his office to the bishops of Winchester, Salisbury, and Chichester. Scarcely was this difficulty removed, when another arose, from the partiality of the weak king for his unworthy favourite, Piers Gaveston; the principal nobles refused to attend the ceremony unless this unpopular minion should be sent out of the kingdom. Edward promised to give them satisfaction on the subject in the next parliament, which he agreed to assemble at the ensuing Easter; but he gave proof of the little reliance that could be placed upon his word, in the council which he held to regulate the procession. Edward disposed of the sceptre, the cross, St. Edward's staff, the spurs, and the swords, with little regard to prudence or precedent; but nothing was more offensive to the nobles than his delivering the crown to be borne by Piers Gaveston, who was dressed finer than the king himself, and outshone everybody in the procession. Gaveston also was appointed to superintend all the arrangements; but he performed his duty so negligently, that, as Holinshed informs us, "There was such presse and throng at this coronation, that a knight, called Sir John Bakewell, was thrust, or crowded to death." The bishops, also, were incommoded, and forced to hurry through the service in a slovenly manner; and yet it was not concluded before three in the afternoon. Great abundance of viands and wines had been provided, but the dinner did not begin until night, and was then badly served; the usual forms of service were neglected, and the whole was a continued scene of confusion, singularly emblematic of the state of the nation, during this monarch's unhappy reign.

PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THE ALGEBRAIC SIGNS + and -.

THE Sign + (plus), indicating addition, was early expressed et (and); the forms of its gradual contraction from the manuscript form (a good deal similar to the early printed forms,) will be apparent from the annexed series of transformations, all of which are easily verified by a reference to existing documents.

&

+ Various contortions of the first symbol of this series may be found in early books and MSS.; but in the one case they are merely for ornamental printing, and in the second for ornamental writing. The spirit which dictated them, still maintains its ground in all parts of the civilized world.

Every one knows that, even in printed books, it was the general custom to omit several of the vowels, and draw a line above the preceding letter, to indicate that the vowel should be read there, or as forming an integral part of the sound of which the marked consonant was the commencement. The same was also done for the m and n. The word minus, (less,) was, therefore, thus written, mns. Brevity and rapidity led to the substitution of the mere line for the word, and hence is derived the itself.--Magazine of Popular Science.

SAINT SWITHIN.

COME not St. Swithin with a cloudy face, Ill-ominous; for old tradition says, If Swithin weep, a deluge will ensue, A forty days of rain. The swain believes, And blesses sultry Swithin if he smiles, But curses if he frowns. So boding dames Teach the fray'd boy a thousand ugly signs, Which riper judgment cannot shake aside: And so the path of life is rough indeed, And the poor fool feels double smart, compelled To trudge it barefoot on the naked flint. For what is judgment and the mind informed, Your Christian armour, gospel-preparation, But sandals for the feet, that tread with ease, Nor feel those harsh asperities of life, Which ignorance and superstition dread? I much admire we ever should complain That life is sharp and painful, when ourselves Create the better half of all our woe. Whom can he blame who shudders at the sight Of his own candle, and foretels with grief A winding-sheet? who starts at the red coal Which bounces from his fire, and picks it up, His hair on end, a coffin? spills his salt, And dreads disaster? dreams of pleasant fields, And smells a corpse? and ever shuns with care The unpropitious hour to pare his nails? Such fears but ill become a soul that thinks, Let time bring forth what heavy plagues it will. Who pain anticipates, that pain feels twice, And often feels in vain. Yet, though I blame The man who with too busy eye unfolds The page of time, and reads his lot amiss, I can applaud to see the smiling maid With pretty superstition pluck a rose, And lay it by till Christmas. I can look With much complacency on all her arts To know the future husband. Yes, ye fair, I deem it good to take from years to come A loan of happiness. We could not live, Did we not hope to-morrow would produce A better lot than we enjoy to-day Hope is the dearest med'cine of the soul, A sweet oblivious antidote, which heals

The better half of all the pains of life.-HURDIS.

NOTHING gives so high a polish as truly religious feelings: they shrink into nothingness all those minor objects which create asperities between man and man: they give, from the habit of self-examination, an insight into the heart, a quickness of perception that knows every tender point, and avoids touching it, except to heal, whether its delicacy spring from the virtues, the infirmities, or even the vices of our nature. The Christian cannot be proud, vain, or negligent, except in the inverse of his religion: as the sun of righteousness shines out in his heart, these clouds melt away.

The courtesy of Christianity is equally visible in health and sickness, in retirement as in a crowd, in a cottage as in a palace. Those sudden gusts of adverse or prosperous fortune, so fatal to artificial pretensions, do not throw it off its guard. Like the finest porcelain of the East, when broken in a thousand pieces, every fracture displays new smoothness and polish; and, in its shivered state, it best shows the superiority of its beautiful structure, over those coarser kinds which are" of the earth, earthy."

The courtesy of Christianity is equally solicitous to avoid offending the poor and low, as the rich and great; recollecting that to the poor the Gospel was first preached, and that the Saviour of the world ennobled their situation, by choosing it for his own. -MRS. TRENCH; Thoughts of a Parent on Education.

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who would labour to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the destinies of men and citizens. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion; reason, and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.-WASHINGTON.

THE MICROSCOPE. No IV.

In several of the preceding volumes of the Saturday Magazine, we have given representations of many natural objects, which, when viewed under the microscope, have presented singular and beautiful appearances. In the present selection of objects we shall confine ourselves to an account of the organization of some of our common flowers, because they are the more easily referred to.

Fig. 1.

Fig 1, is a section of the blossom of the gooseberry. Between the petals or flower-leaves are the stamens, each consisting of filament with an oval anther at the top, of a fine golden colour; the cup from which these grow is the calyx, in the centre of which are the stigma, and immediately under the cup is seen the ovary or seed-case, which forms the future gooseberry. All this beautiful arrangement of parts is for the purpose of perfecting that simple fruit.

D

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

B

The common wild heart'sease, if the leaves are removed and the inner parts exposed, exhibits the appearance shown in fig 2.

The growth of a hazel-nut is well worth noticing. In the spring of the year many of the small branches are covered with two kinds of blossom, fig. 3; one kind is easily discovered, hanging like so many little yellow tails, shining beautifully in the sunbeams; these are called catkins, but it is not from these that the nut is produced. A closer inspection will enable you to discover near to the catkins, numerous small flower or rather fruit buds, of quite a different. nature, consisting of a small group of scales, from the centre of which a number of very fine red filaments proceed. If we dissect this little bud, we find that these filaments are arranged in pairs, each pair being attached to an ovary or seed-vessel, containing two small seeds, one of which only comes to perfection. The left-hand figure B, is the catkin, D one pair of the filaments with the ovary, and surrounded by a small jagged calyx, containing, when partly grown, the two seeds as shown at E.

We should hardly expect so curious a structure as the following in plantain, broad leaved rib-grass, see fig. 4.

that it never flowers, but if it be attentively observed on a warm day in June or July, little straw-coloured specks will be discovered, and the leaf on which one of these specks is found, presents the appearance of fig. 5, when highly magnified; the flower being embodied in the substance of the leaf, and just protruding from a slit in its side. If this is carefully opened, the flower itself can be detached, and will appear like fig. 6. The blossoms and the stem of nearly all the grasses are worth noticing, and present to the view a very beautiful arrangement of parts.

We have already described that curious flower the vegetable fly-trap *, and the singular property of its leaves. The complicated construction of these leaves is most beautiful when seen under the microscope. In order to exhibit this arrangement, cut a very thin slice off one of its leaves through its entire thickness, and in the direction of its veins; place a portion of this in water under the microscope, and viewing it as a transparent object, it will present the following

I HAVE known what the enjoyments and advantages of this life are, and what the more refined pleasures which learning and intellectual power can bestow; and with all the experience that more than three-score years can give, I, now on the eve of my departure, declare to you, (and earnestly pray that you may hereafter live and act on the conviction,) that health is a great blessing,-competence obtained by honourable industry a great blessing,-and a great blessing it is to have kind, faithful, and loving friends and relatives; but, that the greatest of all blessings, as it is the most ennobling of all privileges, is to be indeed a Christian.-COLERIDGE.

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