were so sacred as to make it improper to weigh them. The tāli, on which is stamped a representation of a deity, though made of gold, is not weighed: so also the javelin or spear of Scandan, and the other gods, are deemed so sacred as to make it unlawful to weigh them. Idols of silver and gold are never weighed to find out their value. 1 CHRONICLES. CHAP. X. verse 9.-"To carry tidings unto their idols." After Saul had fallen on Mount Gilboa, his enemies "stripped him, and took off his head, and sent the tidings to their idols." When the heathen of the present day gain a victory over their enemies, they always take the tidings to their idols. There is the king, and there his general, and troops, and priests, and people marching in triumph to the temple. Then they relate to the gods all their proceedings; how they conquered the foe, and that to them they have come to give the glory. But this practice is had recourse to, also, in the common affairs of life. A man delivered from prison, or any great emergency, always goes to his gods, to carry the joyful tidings. Hear them relate the story: "Ah! Swamy, you know Muttoo wanted to ruin me; he therefore forged a deed in my name, and tried to get my estates; but I resisted him, and it has just been decided before the court, that he is guilty. I am therefore come to praise you, O Swamy!" XVIII. 9, 10.—“Now when Tou, king of Hamath, heard how David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer, king of Zobah. He sent Hadoram his son to king David, to enquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him." (2 Sam. viii. 9.) Here, again, we have a beautiful and simple picture of Eastern manners. Tou, the heathen king, sent a messenger to compliment David on his success over his enemies. Who, in the East, has not witnessed similar things? Has a man gained a case in a court of law; has he been blessed by the birth of a son; has he given his daughter in marriage; has he gained a situation under government; has he returned from a voyage or a journey, or finished a successful speculation;-then his friends and neighbours send messengers to congratulate him-to express the joy they feel in his prosperity; "so much so, that, had it come to themselves, their pleasure could not have been greater." XXII. 19. 66 Bring the ark of the covenant the holy vessels of God." and In all heathen temples, there are numerous vessels of brass, silver, and gold, which are especially holy. Those, however, of the highest castes, may be allowed to touch, and even borrow them for certain purposes. Thus, a native gentleman who is going to give a feast, borrows the large caldron for the purpose of boiling the rice; should his daughter be about to be married, he has the loan of the silver salvers, plates, and even jewels; which, however, must all be purified by incense and other ceremonies when returned to the temple. "The ark” finds a striking illustration in the keadagam of the Hindoos, a model of which may be seen in the house of the Royal Asiatic Society.* In it are placed the idols, and other sacred symbols, which are carried on men's shoulders. XXVI. 13, 14, 15, 16.-" And they cast lots, as well the small, as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate. And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward. To Obed-edom, southward; and to his sons, the house of Asuppim. To Shuppim and Hosah, the lot came forth westward. (See on Proverbs xviii. 18.) Thus the gates were assigned to the different officers by lot. * 14. Grafton-street, Bond-street. On the death of a parent, the whole of his fields and gardens are often divided amongst his children, and great disputes generally arise as to whom shall be given this or that part of the property. One says, "I will have the field to the East:" "No," says another, "I will have that:" and it is not till they have quarrelled and exhausted their store of ingenuity and abuse, that they will consent to settle the matter by lot. The plan they take is as follows; they draw on the ground the cardinal points thus: they then write the names of the parties on separate leaves, and mix them altogether a little child is then called, and told to take one leaf and place it on any point of the compass he pleases; this being done, the leaf is opened, and to the person whose W N name is found therein will be given the field or garden which is in that direction. I think it, therefore, probable, that the lots eastward, westward, northward, and southward, which fell to Shelemiah, Zechariah, Obed-edom, and Shuppim, were drawn something in the same way. XXIX. 24. "Submitted themselves unto Solomon the king." The Hebrew has, for submitted, “Gave the hand under." To give "the hand under," is a beautiful Orientalism to denote submission. See the man who wishes to submit to a superior; he stands at a short distance, then stooping, he keeps moving his hands to the ground, and says, "I submit, my lord." "You recollect having heard that Kandan and Chinnan had a serious quarrel?"—"Yes, I heard it.”— "Well, they have settled the matter now, for Chinnan went to him last evening, and 'gave his hand under.'" "The Mo * Leaves of the Palmirah or Cocoa-tree. |