and that the people were too poor to purchase it.

"I then stated, that if this was really the case,—that if there was no prohibition against the sacred volume, that if they would be willing to circulate it, and that really and sincerely there was no other objection than the difficulties arising from the price of the book, that difficulty should at once be obviated: I would myself undertake to obtain from England, through the Bible Society, any number of Bibles that could be circulated, and that they should be sold at the lowest possible price, or given freely and gratuitously to the inhabitants of Rome. I stated that the people of England loved the Scriptures beyond all else in this world, and that it would be to them a source of delight and thanksgiving to give for gratuitous circulation any number of copies of the sacred volume that the inhabitants of Rome could require.

"He immediately answered, that he thanked me for the generous offer, but that there would be no use in accepting it, as the people of Rome were very ignorant,—were in a state of brutal ignorance, -were unable to read anything, and therefore could not profit by reading the Scriptures, even if we supplied them gratuitously."

SCRIPTURE MINERALS AND JEWELS.

ALABASTER.

columns and stumps of trees.* This is the "alabaster grot."

This substance is found in other mountains and caves in Germany, France, Tuscany, Derbyshire, etc. A traveller says, that at Adelsberg there is a cavern where the stalactites have formed themselves like folds of linen, and so thin as to be semi-transparent. Some are like shirt-ruffles, having a hem, and looking as if they were embroidered; and there is one called the "curtain," which hangs in folds like a white sheet of linen.

The

The name alabaster is said to be derived from Alabastron, a town in Egypt, where small vessels were made of a stone found in the mountains near. ancients made vessels for holding perfumes and precious ointments of alabaster, which Pliny says were well adapted for the purpose. These vessels were generally made large at the bottom and narrow at the top, so as to be easily stopped up and sealed. Egyptian druggists, at the present day, keep their perfumes, etc., in vases or boxes of alabaster. Vessels made of other substances, as glass, silver, or gold, were, on account of their shape, frequently called alabaster. Hence Theocritus speaks of "gilded alabasters of Syrian ointment;' Herodotus also, in his enumeration of presents sent by Cambyses to the king of Ethiopia, mentions an "alabaster of

odoriferous ointment."

and

Miss Sedgwick tells us that there is in the museum at Pompeii, "A cup as

of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head as he sat at meat."Matt. xxvi. 6, 7.

To obtain some idea of the nature of alabaster, let us visit in imagination the grotto of Antiparos. From the immense roof thousands of icicles are suspended; and from these hang festoons of leaves and flowers of the same substance. After passing through several passages, we come to the grotto, the sides and roof of which are covered with thick coats of calcareous matter. Stalactites*, ten or twelve feet long, hang down from the ceiling, as thick as a man's waist; and on the floor are large heaps, like broken

* A Greek word, signifying "dropping." These icicles of marble or alabaster are formed by the water which runs from the lime-stone mountains, dropping through the roof of the caves. As soon as the water is exposed to the air, the lime it contains hardens, and by the continual dropping the pieces increase in size.

made of alabaster, with a rim of sardonyx, and on one side a group of seven figures in bas-relief."

The Chinese make vases and figures of alabaster, which, being soft, works up easily into a variety of forms. Similar articles are also manufactured in Derbyshire, and many toys are sold in London made of this substance Miss Morton says, that the image of Diana, which she saw at Ephesus, was made of alabaster.

It was a custom in the east for the master of the house to show his respect, and to honour his guest, by anointing his head with precious perfumes, Psa. xxiii. 5; xlv. 7. "Hence the act of Mary, in anointing the head of her Lord, as he sat at meat in the house of Simon, was agreeable to the established custom of the country, and she did not more on that occasion than what the rules of politeness should

"Caves of the Earth," published by the Religious Tract Society.

have taught Simon to have done to his
guest.
The balsam (for they used
balsam in Judæa at their public enter-
tainments) was contained in a box of ala-
baster, whose mouth was stopped with
cotton, upon which melted wax was
poured so as effectually to exclude the
air."*
The Scripture informs us, (Mark
xiv. 3, Luke vii. 37,) that the woman
"brake the vessel;" this was a mode of
speech for breaking the cement or seal.
Since it was considered in those days an
act of respect to pour perfumed oil, and
that of the most expensive kind, upon the
head of a distinguished guest, how want-
ing in courtesy was Simon, who could
thus refuse to the Saviour this customary
token of regard. How gently did the
Saviour reprove him, by allowing Mary
to come and anoint him!

"Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour,
Let me not ungrateful be;

Let my words and whole behaviour
Prove I love and honour thee."

equal in value to a strong and robust slave.*

It is used in this country for making necklaces, snuff-boxes, and bracelets, etc. And easterns, at the present day, make mouth-pieces to their tobacco-pipes of the same material, which they highly prize. It is sometimes used for money. A traveller writes, "We paid for what we wanted in little coarse pieces of amber."

This substance is found in different parts of the world; but mostly on the shores of the Baltic sea. It is met with floating on the coast, particularly after tempests; and in beds of wood-coal in different parts of Europe,-often in mines far from the sea, and in Birmah. As many as one hundred and fifty tons were picked up in one year on the sea-shore near Pillau, in Prussia.

The ancients used amber as a medicine. How the Hebrews obtained it we are not told. But as the Phoenicians traded with Spain, there is very little doubt but they

AMBER.

"And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself; and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber."- Ezek. i. 4; viii. 2.

Amber (Heb. chasmal, Greek, electron,) is supposed to be a hardened vegetable juice, which is most likely the case, leaves and insects being often found imbedded in it. It is one of the most electric substances known, and, by friction, produces light in the dark. By rubbing a piece of this substance briskly till it became heated, it was found to attract and repel light bodies. This principle was called electricity, from the Greek word electron, amber.

Amber is a substance somewhat harder than resin, transparent, of a yellowish colour, bitter in taste, something like myrrh, and capable of a bright polish; on account of which, the ancients reckoned it among gems of the first class, and employed it in all kinds of ornamental dress. Malte Brun conjectures that the aromalites, or aromatic stone of the aucients, was amber. The colour which resembled wax and honey-yellow was most esteemed by them, not only for beauty, but for solidity. The high esteem in which it is held is shown by the statement of Pliny that, in his days, a small piece of amber was more than

* Paxton,

serts that the Phoenicians brought amber from the Northern Sea.

Learned men are not entirely agreed whether that which we call amber is meant in Ezek. i. 4; viii. 2; or whether the prophet intended a precious metal of gold and silver, which is also called by the Hebrew name. But as he says, "of the colour of amber," there is no great reason why one should not be meant as well as the other, seeing that amber could be so brightly polished.†

AMETHYST.

"And the foundations of the walls of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.”—Rev. xxi. 19.

............

"This," says Mr. King, "is not only a description of what must be exceedingly beautiful in its appearance, but is moreover manifestly corresponding with the mode of building among the ancient Romans, who, it is well known, constructed their walls from the bottom to the top with alternate layers, or rows of bricks, and of white stone, and sometimes of black flints. Each of these layers was always of considerable thickness, or breadth; and while their different colours formed a beautiful appearance to the eye, and were a most elegant kind of ornament, this mode of placing materials of different dimensions and substance in alternate rows greatly strengthened the work." *See Pictorial Bible, + Ibid.

Thus, while the description of the walls of the heavenly city here given is quite in accordance with the eastern ideas of magnificence, purity, beauty, strength, and solidity, in their palaces, it also sets forth by this elegant figure how infinitely transcendent is the splendour and durability of the city which hath foundations," whose Builder and Maker is God.

There are two kinds of amethysts, the oriental and the common. The former is the most valuable, the hardest, and the most scarce; and is generally considered to be the same in every respect as the stone mentioned in Rev. xxi. 19, and as one of the stones in the breastplate of the high priest, Exod. xxviii. 19; xxxix. 12. The common amethyst is plentiful in the Altai mountains, in Siberia, and on the continent. The dark granitic rocks of Sinai also contain amethyst.* This stone is found in masses or rounded pieces; but more generally in crystals, in the form of a six-sided prism, tapering at one or both ends, like a six-sided pyramid. When struck against a steel it will give out sparks in the same manner as the common flint. If broken, it will sometimes be found to contain a cavity filled with water like quartz; and, like it, is infusible with a common blow-pipe.† Its colour is derived from iron and manganese being mixed with it; it is generally considered to be common quartz thus coloured.

The amethyst is in great request for making seals or brooches. Miss Sedgwick that in the museum at Pompeii, says, there is a collection of precious gems, and among them a quantity of amethysts, cut into fine cameos. The Persians had cups and vases made of amethysts, and hence it became a saying among them, that wine taken out of an amethystine cup could not inebriate.‡ The Arabs foolishly believe that the amethyst, by being bound round the body, will dissolve all effects of intoxication.

The JACINTH, or Hyacinth (Uakinthos, Rev. ix. 17), seems to be a variety of the It is found in rivers and amethyst.

streams in the east, along with rubies, sapphires, etc. "The following statement is very nearly true, and will be easily remembered; a certain gem in hardness and brilliancy next to the diamond, was called a jacinth, or hyacinth, by the ancients, when of a violet colour;

* Crichton's "Arabia."

"Penny Cyclopædia." The Greek word signifies "unintoxicating."

an amethyst, when of a rosy red; a sapphire, when blue; and an emerald, when green.' Zircon is the principal ingredient of the hyacinth.

The following is an ancient poet's enumeration of the precious stones, with reference to various passages of Scripture, and their general colour:

"'T is thus rapacious misers swell their store,
To diamonds diamonds add, and ore to ore:
Turquoises next their weaker minds surprise,
Rich, deeply azured, like Italian skies.
Then are the fiery rubies to be seen, t

And emeralds tinctured with the rainbow's green,‡

Translucent beryl, § flame-eyed chrysolite,||
And sardonyx, refresher of the sight. T

With these the empurpled amethyst combines, **
And topaz, veined with rivulets, mildly shines.

BDELLIUM.

"There is bdellium and the onyx stone."-Gen. ii. 12. "The manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium."-Num. xi. 7.

Critics are not agreed as to what stone is here intended. In the Septuagint, the word in Gen. ii. 12, is translated Anthraka, a carbuncle; and in Numb. xi. 7, Krustallon, a crystal. Some read the Hebrew word Bedolah, berolah, a mistake which may easily occur, the letters d and rin Hebrew being much alike. It is very probable, however, that the bdellium of Gen. ii. 12, was some precious stone. And perhaps it was, as Dr. Hill thinks, a species of beryl-crystal, like small pieces of ice, such as it is described in Exod. xvi. 31; Numb. ix. 7.

That which we call bdellium is a gummy, resinous substance like wax, bitter in taste, and fragrant in smell, somewhat resembling myrrh, with which it is often mingled. It is of a dusky colour. It abounds in the eastern countries.

Pliny tells us that the best is to be obtained in Bactria, where the tree that yields it is of a black colour, of the size of the olive. Its leaves are as large as those of the oak; and its fruit like the pieces of various sizes, some of which caper. It is also found in Arabia, in

When are as large as the hazel-nut. fresh it is of a very softening and cleansing character.

*"Illustrated Commentary."

"Nazarites more ruddy in body than rubies." -Lam. iv. 7. Rev. iv. 3. Rev. xxi. 20.

§ Ezek. xxviii. 13; Dan. x. 6. Rev. xxi. 20.

** Exod. xxviii. 19.

BERYL.

"The appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone."-Ezek. x. 9.

The beryl (Heb., Tarshish. Greek, Berullos,) is a compound of glucina,* with silex, alumina, lime, and oxide of iron. It is transparent, and very nearly allied to the emerald, but harder. It

varies in size from that of a small tare to a bean or walnut, and is found in the largest and most perfect state in India; it is also obtained in Peru, China, and Silesia, and the mountains of Dauria. Its colour varies from a bluish-green to the palest sea-water; hence our jewellers call it aqua-marine. It is considered by some to derive its Hebrew name from its resemblance to the sea; and the word is so translated, Psa. xlviii. 7: "Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish (of the sea) with an east wind."

This stone was one of the precious gems in the breastplate of Aaron, Exod. xxviii. 20. Solomon, in describing the beauty and grace which is in Christ Jesus, says, "His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl," Sol. Song v. 14. The easterns often adopt this figurative method of conveying their ideas. For instance, to describe a beautiful female they will say, “Her skin is the colour of gold; her lips are as coral; her teeth are like beautiful pearls."-"Behold that youth, his eyes are like sapphire set in silver." (See Dan. x. 4-6). When an Egyptian hails an acquaintance, he says, "May your days be white," and the only reply is, May yours be like milk."

66

This

seems to be a figure for pleasurable or joyous days. The idol Vishnoo is said to be surrounded with a sea of milk, and washing with milk is very agreeable and refreshing. This stone is also used among other symbols by the prophet Ezekiel, (i. 16; x. 9) to represent the purity and harmony of the providential dealings of God: "The appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl-stone.' It is again used in the description of the New Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 20. How condescending of the Almighty to human weakness to employ figurative language to convey to our minds instruction of the highest importance! "I have used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets."

* Glucina is an earth, of a sweet taste, infusible with fire and insoluble with water; but combining

BRIMSTONE, OR SULPHUr.

"The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire."-Gen. xix. 24.

Greek,

Sulphur (Heb., Gophrith. Theion) is one of the most inflammable substances known; and will melt in fire but not in water. The meaning of the word sulphur is, the burning or fierystone. This substance is obtained in most parts of the world, but is very abundant in volcanic regions. It doubtless helps to feed those terrific fires of the earth, which occasionally burst forth in all their fury, pouring liquid lava upon the valleys beneath, and overwhelming cities

in destruction. The smoke which issues from the craters of volcanoes smells

strongly of sulphur; indeed, this substance is often found incrusted round the mouths of these burning mountains.

Italy and Sicily produce the best and purest sulphur. It also exists in some of our mineral springs, as that at Harrogate in Yorkshire. It is found in the combination of several metallic ores, which are called pyrites, or sulphurets of iron, zinc, copper, lead, etc. By roasting these pyrites we obtain much of the sulphur for our use, which being poured into moulds, forms what is called roll-sulphur. In one of its forms, it exists in some plants and juices; this may be proved by leaving a silver spoon in the mustard, or in the white of an egg; as the colour of the spoon will be changed to a blackish tinge. It is the presence of this principle in assafoetida which causes it to smell so disagreeably. Silver put into the same pocket with sulphur loses its bright

ness.

Sulphur has been applied to a variety of purposes. As a medicine it is very useful. To it we are much indebted for the ease with which we obtain fire for the candle, or the wood and coals. It is also used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, and that most destructive article, gunpowder. There appears to be an allusion to its appropriation for this latter purpose in Rev. ix. 17, 18. Many eminent expositors of the Revelation agree in supposing that the flashes of fire, attended by smoke and brimstone, whereby

66

men were killed," which seemed to proceed from the mouths of the horses, were really the flashes of artillery. The heads of the horses alone would be seen

metal which is the base of this earth is called

glucinum.

in reality the flashes and smoke pro

ceeded from the cannon. The whole appears imagery of a battle scene, and is thought to refer to the Turks, who first turned to account the invention of gunpowder in carrying on their wars.*

"The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire (or burning brimstone)." As these cities were situated in the vale of Siddim, which, as the sacred writer informs us, was full of bitumen pits, many learned men are of opinion that it does not detract from the supernatural character of this awful visitation to suppose that the wonder-working God saw fit to employ natural agencies in effecting the purposes of his will. And it is thought that as sulphur exists in the neighbouring hills, it might have been ignited by lightning and poured down like rain upon the vale below. The quantity of pitch already existing in the vale would be set on fire, and thus the cities would be destroyed and the character of the valleys changed.†

At the same

Be this as it may, the statement of the sacred writer is clear, and we may safely interpret it as implying a shower of inflamed sulphur or nitre. time it is evident that the whole plain underwent a simultaneous convulsion, which seems referable to the consequences of a bituminous explosion. In accordance with this view, we find the materials, as it were, of this awful visitation near at hand. For, at the present day, sulphur is found on the shores of the Dead Sea, which occupies the site of the cities of the plain: and the Arabs obtain enough from the cliffs to make their own gunpowder. Irby and Mangles collected on the southern coasts lumps of fine sulphur from the size of a nutmeg up to that of a small hen's egg, which it was evident from their situation had been brought down from the neighbouring hills by the rain.

The once fruitful plains are now desolate and barren, as is testified by travellers. "The whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning," Deut. xxix. 23. How impressive is the language of Scripture! "And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord; and he looked

towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and behold, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace."

destruction is often referred to in Scripture as an example of Divine wrath against sin, and as typical of hell, the place of everlasting punishment, described by the apostle as the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.*

"Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition," 1 Cor. x. 11.

brimstone : 66

It is well known that a drop of burning sulphur let fall upon the flesh causes great pain, and is very difficult to heal. Hence many passages of Scripture represent the misery and destruction that shall come upon the wicked, by fire and Upon the wicked he shall rain fire and brimstone," Psa. xi. 6.—(See also Isa. xxx. 33; Rev. xxi. 8.) The heathen idolaters, too, use similar language in describing the punishment which their gods will inflict upon the rebellious: "The fiery rain shall descend upon them." Livy says it was a custom among the ancients to burn brimstone in the house of the deceased, as expressive of deep trouble and sorrow. And it may be in allusion to this practice that Bildad, describing the miserable end of the hypocrite, said, "Brimstone shall be scattered on his habitation." H. H.

TALKATIVENESS.

MEN are born with two eyes, but with twice as much as they say; but, from one tongue, in order that they should see their conduct, one would suppose that they were born with two tongues and have observed the least, and obtrude their one eye for those talk the most who remarks upon anything, who have seen into nothing.-Colton.

*"History of the Jews," vol. i.