were materially reduced in number, and their only food was manna, they began to think of the fleshpots of Egypt. They remembered then, that though for a long time they had been oppressed and overworked, yet they had food in abundance, and forthwith they began to murmur against Moses-"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 garlic; but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." No doubt many of the children of Israel had been employed on public works in Egypt, and had been fed at the expense of the royal treasury, and they now looked with longing eyes on the good things of the fertile land of Egypt. The "terrible and howling wilderness," yielded none of those cooling and savoury fruits which had proved so grateful in Egypt, and they would fain have returned and submitted again to the yoke of bondage which they had just escaped. Such, alas! is too commonly the disposition and conduct of many who seem to have been set free from the slavery of sin. For a time they appear to sustain the conflict with the temptations which assail them; but the flesh warreth against the spirit, and unhappily with fatal effect; "the dog returns to his vomit, and the sow to her wallowing in the mire." The sins which had so long kept the soul in slavery resume their ascendancy, and the last state of the apparently repentant sinner becomes worse than the first. There can be little doubt that the Garlic named in the passage quoted is the "shallot" (Allium Ascalo nicum), which is so named by us because it was brought from Ascalon into Europe. We know that it was cultivated anciently in Egypt, and it is mentioned by Herodotus as one of the articles supplied to the labourers engaged in the erection of the Pyramids. He says that sixteen thousand talents were paid for this vegetable food alone. CAMPHIRE, OR ALHENNA. Copher; Heb. Alhenna; Arab. Kypros; Gr. L'henné; Fr. "A cluster of Al-Henna is my beloved to me, "The fragrant Henna, with the nards." CANT. i. 14. CANT. iv. 13. THE two quotations above are from Mr. Taylor's translation of the Song of Solomon, which is rendered very intelligible by the insertion of words here and there, which the translator has conceived to be understood in the original; and, in general, the sense seems to be brought out more in accordance with the feelings with which we ought to enter upon the perusal of this book, so rich in beautiful imagery. It is only in these two places that the Camphire, or Al-Henna, is mentioned in the Scriptures. It is a plant which is held in great estimation in Oriental lands, on account of the delicious fragrance which its flowers diffuse. Authorities are unanimous in the opinion that this plant is intended by the Hebrew word Copher. The Henna plant (Lawsonia inermis) is a tall shrub, growing in great abundance both in Egypt and Syria. It attains to the height of from six to ten feet. The stem and branches are covered with a dark grey bark. The flowers grow at the extremities of the branches, in long clusters. The smaller ramifications of the clusters are of a reddish hue, and opposite, and from the axillæ formed by these at the point of their divergence from the stem, a small and nearly round leaf terminating in a point springs forth; the corolla consists of four petals, curling up, of a light yellow. Between each petal are two white filaments, each surmounted by a golden anther, and one solitary pistil. The pedicle, or footstalk of the flower, tinged with red at the point of its emergence from the branch, shades off into a pale green. The calyx, like the corolla, is divided into four segments, of a delicate green, but tipped with red. The fruit is at first green, becoming darker as it ripens, until it is quite red, afterwards changing to brown when dried. The capsule is divided into four compartments, each containing a browncoloured triangular seed. The leaves of the shrub are of a long oval shape, of a pale green hue, and placed opposite to each other on the branches. The whole shrub is one of those which are most grateful both to the sense of sight and smell. The deep grey colour of its bark, the delicate green of its foliage, the rich blending of white and yellow, with which the flowers, clustered in thyrses like the lilac, are coloured, and the red tint of the ramified branches which sustain them, constitute a combination of the most agreeable kind. These clusters of flowers exhale the sweetest odours, filling the gardens and apartments which they adorn. The ladies delight to decorate themselves with them, and also their dwelling-rooms. They use them as nosegays, and attach them to their dress as bouquets. The Arabs, the Greeks, and the Turks would fain con fine this delicious plant to their exclusive use, and accordingly are displeased when they see Christian or Jewish women sharing it with them. From this account we see the suitableness of Mr. Taylor's rendering: "In my bosom he shall constantly rest: a cluster (a thyrse) of Al-Henna is my beloved to me, (of Al-Henna) from the plantations of En-gedi.” These plantations, or fruiteries, were not far from Jericho. They abounded in aromatic shrubs, including, probably, the famed balsam of Judea. From what is said in Ezek. xlvii. 10, it may be conjectured that Engedi was a watery locality, not far from the river, as well as being also a fountain. This coincides with Dr. Shaw's account of Al-Henna; for he says it requires much water, as well as the palm, for which Jericho was famous, even among the Romans, as Horace celebrates the fat palm-groves of Herod, when speaking of the opposite disposition of two brothers. "Cur alter fratrum cessare et ludere et ungi quodque caput, vultu mutabilis, albus et ater." The leaves of the Henna are dried and pulverized, and this powder is constantly sold in Oriental markets as an indispensable article for the toilet. The females, by the addition of water, make it into a soft paste, with which they dye their nails, their hair, and the palms of their hands. To "dress or pare her nails," in Deut. xxi. 12, seems to have some reference to this practice of staining |