The heathen authors, from that love of the marvellous, which made them disfigure the truth in order that they might produce effect, have treated us with a romantic story about the peopling of Carthage by a Phonician colony under Queen Dido, who fled from Pygmalion, the murderer of her husband Sicheus, and with a number of faithful followers built the city of Carthage, and founded a state, which was for a long period the most formidable enemy of Rome. This story forms one of the most beautiful episodes in the Æneid. But we have no need of romance to account for the policy of an enterprising commercial people like the Phoenicians, in fixing on such a locality as Carthage for increasing their wealth and extending their influence. They were fully aware of the advantage of such situations as Tunis and Algiers for facilitating their commercial enterprises, and for giving them, in fact, the command of the trade of the Mediterranean. In the enterprising spirit of their Phoenician ancestors, the Carthaginians cast their eyes on Sicily, which brought them into immediate contact with the Romans, and led to a long series of desperate conflicts, which ended in the utter ruin of the Carthaginian power; insomuch, that the industry of man in modern times has not been able to discover where the rival of Rome, the mistress of the world,

once stood.

It only remains to account for the introduction of the Hebrew language into Arabia. Sir W. Drummond, in his Origines, without any reference to the subject of language, states, that Arabia was peopled by the descendants of Ham. This can only be partially true. It would, however, sufficiently account for the Arabians speaking a language which was common to the sons of Noah.

But there is a distinct and simple statement in Scripture, which accounts in a most satisfactory manner for the use of the Hebrew language in Arabia. We read in Scripture, that when Ishmael was driven out along with his mother from the house of Abraham, on the birth of his son Isaac, he went into the desert, which must mean Arabia, as it is described as lying between Egypt and Assyria; and there founded, not only a sovercignty, but established no less than twelve dynasties, under his twelve sons, whose names are mentioned, and by which names, many of the districts in Arabia were afterwards distinguished, such as, Nebaioth, Kedar, Jetur, Dumah, &c. We read repeatedly in Scripture of the tents of Kedar; and some of the first heathen classics speak of Nebaioth, and Jetur or Itur. Ovid, in distributing the winds, refers to this Nebaioth, as a kingdom. And Virgil, in his Georgies, not only alludes to Itur, from whom the country of Iturea had its name, but to a distinguishing feature in the character of Ishmael, his father; and the Scripture says of Ishmael, the father of Itur, that "he went into the wilderness, and became an archer."

Here, then, we find a large part of Arabia peopled by the descendants of Abraham, who spoke the Hebrew language in its greatest purity. But this is not all; Esau, the grandson of Abraham, and a kind of outcast like Ishmael, established an independent sovereignty in Arabia, viz., the kingdom of Edom, or Idumea. The Scripture tells us, that Esau was also called Edom, and mentions eight kings descended from him, who governed the kingdom of Idumea. Need we wonder, then, at the prevalence of the Hebrew tongue in Arabia, when we find that the whole country was parcelled out into dynasties under the government of the descendants of Abraham the Hebrew? And I would farther observe, that the name of Edom explains the epithet of the Red Sea, which travellers have in vain puzzled themselves to explain. This sea was called the Idumean Sea, or the sea of Edom, and Edom in the Hebrew language means red. This is the true origin of the name, and all other explanations are futile and absurd,

Nay, the language of ancient Egypt, which has been so mystified by the hitherto inexplicable character in which it has been written, must have been originally the same as the Hebrew. This is obvious, on the admitted principle that cognate nations must have kindred tongues. Now, Egypt is repeatedly called in Scripture the land of Ham, and wherever the word Egypt occurs in any version of the Bible, the word in the original is al ways Misraim; and Misraim was the second son of Ham, who settled in Egypt, as his elder brother Cush did in part of Arabia, and his younger brother Canaan, in the land which bore his name. Thus, then, we see the whole of Asia Minor, Assyria, Media, Persia, Arabia, Palestine, Phoenicia, Egypt, and the north of Africa where it borders on the Mediterranean, all speaking dialects of the same tongue; whilst we find, in a record entirely above all suspicion, notices thrown out as it were by accident, and apparently of no interest whatever to the general reader, yet explaining what no other record can unriddle, and supplying a link to connect the present race of men with the first generations of the world.

A JEWISH MARRIAGE.

MR FISK, an American Missionary, gives the following account of a marriage ceremony as celebrated among the Jews:

"The gentlemen assembled in a large apartment, in reality the court, but now used as a parlour. We were seated on a divan at one end of the court, where the ceremony was to be performed. Near us stood a large wax candle, and from the ceiling were suspended seven chandeliers. Some of the candles were burning, though it was not dark. All the Orientals have a great fondness for burning lamps and candles in their places of worship, and on all religious occasions. At the opposite end of the court was a kind of gallery, where the bride was making preparation for the ceremony, and in front of which hung stripes of different coloured paper, red, pale red, and yellow, some of them covered with gold leaf. Now and then the bride shewed herself through the lattice or wooden net-work, which stood in front of the gallery. It reminded us of Solomon's Song, ii. 9, My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart; behold he standeth behind our wall, he looked forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.'

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"About five o'clock the high priest (Rabbi Mercado) and five other Rabbis came in, and took their seats on the divan, and the service soon commenced. First, the clerk and people repeated in Hebrew the eighteen Benedictions of the name of God. Then the high priest arose, and said, Blessed are they who dwell in thy House; they shall praise thee for ever.' The people responded, Blessed people whose God is the Lord.' After this the evening prayer was said, in which the name of God occurs eighteen times. Each time this name was repeated, the Rabbis shook and trembled. After this prayer the nuptial torch was lighted. It was a large wax candle, dividing itself into nine branches all of which were burning. This was carried up to the gallery of the ladies, where the bride was waiting, the bridegroom being all the time among the gentlemen below. Boys then began to beat on cymbals, and the bride was conducted down stairs, covered with a long white veil, preceded by three women with cymbals, and led by two others. Several women also followed her, one of whom occasionally uttered a shriek, which we at first supposed a shriek of distress, but were afterwards told it was an expression of joy. The whole court now wrung with cries, shouts, and the noise of the cymbals. The bride being led to the divan, the bridegroom took his place by her side, and both continued standing, while Rabbi Mercado, accompanied by the people, repeated the 45th Psalm, My heart is inditing a good

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matter,' &c. The Rabbi then took a cup of wine, and said, Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who hast created the fruit of the vine.' The people responded, Blessed be He, and blessed be His name.' Rabbi. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who sanctifiest thy people by wedding and by marriage.' People. 'Blessed be He, and blessed be His name.'

"One of the Rabbis then took a ring and put it on the finger of the bridegroom, and then on the finger of the bride, and then gave it to the bridegroom, who placed it on the finger of his bride, saying, Verily, thou art espoused to me by this ring, according to the law of Moses and of Israel.' A large shawl was then thrown over the new married couple, and the Rabbi, twice giving them wine to drink, said, 'Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who hast created all things for thy glory. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who hast created man in thy likeness, and hast prepared for him and from him a house for ever and ever. At the end of each sentence, the people responded, Blessed be He, and blessed be His name.' Rabbi. ‘Rejoice, shout and be merry, thou barren. Thou wilt soon gather thy children about thee in joy. Blessed art thou, O Lord, thou that makest joyful Zion's children. Thou makest joyful with joy a lovely pair, as thou didst make joyful thy creature according to thy image in the garden of Eden of old. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who rejoicest bridegroom and bride! Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who hast created rejoicing and joy, and also bridegroom and bride! The voice of love and affection, cordiality, peace and friendship, shall be speedily heard in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy; the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; the voice of shouting, and of wedding-days, and of marriage, and of feasting-days, and the voice of the music of the youth. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who makest joyful the bridegroom with the bride, and makest them prosper.'

"After this the bridegroom took the cup of wine and tasted it, and then gave to his spouse. Both of them continued standing during the whole service. Then the Rabbi said, Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever. Joys shall increase in Israel, and sorrows shall flee away, and it shall be for a good sign.' As the Jews present offered their congratulations to the bridegroom, they said, 'A good sign.' The nuptial torch was then extinguished, but immediately lighted again, and the bride was reconducted to her chamber by the women with the sound of cymbals.

"While the Rabbis were performing the service, some of the people attended to it with great devotion, but others were talking, laughing, and walking about the room. The Rabbis went through the service in the hurried, indistinct manner, which seems to pervade all religious services in the East."

CHRISTIAN TREASURY. Lawfulness of Amusements.-In judging of the innocence or immorality of prevalent amusements, you will do well to keep before your minds the three following questions as so many tests. 1. Can you make them the subject of believing prayer? Supposing you have ventured to engage in them, can you ask the blessing of God to accompany them, for your benefit? and on returning from them, perhaps at the hour of midnight, can you offer up thanks to him for having given you the opportunity of joining in them? If you cannot, be assured they are amusements which cannot endure the scrutiny of an enlightened conscience, or the eye of a boly God. 2. Can you indulge in them without having your religious feelings impaired or weakened? Can you return from them with an increased wish for the study of divine truths, and the enjoyment of devotional duties? Can you say, after ruminating on the

impressions they have left on your hearts, that they have stimulated and strengthened your gracious affections and spiritual desires? If you cannot, you have reason to pause, to consider, and to ask yourselves whether or not you are "keeping yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life"-whether or not you are "seeking those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." 3. Enquire farther whether the pursuit of them will afford you comfort in the immediate prospect of death. Will they help to assuage the sorrows of dissolution, and dissipate the gloom of the grave? Will they contribute to sustain the confidence, the courage, and the hope of the departing soul, and to embolden her approach upwards to the tribunal of the Judge? Or are they calculated rather to leave a sting in your awakened conscience, to plant a thorn in your dying pillow, and to cast an additional shade on the dark valley. Ah! my young friends, these are so many criteria by which you may judge of the character and tendency of fashionable amusements, and discover the duty and importance of " choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season."

I most readily grant that periods of relaxation are necessary to refresh and invigorate the powers of our minds. But it does not follow, that we are at liberty to fritter away valuable portions of time either in abject sloth or frivolous recreations. As moral beings accountable to God for the use to which we apply our passing hours, and awaiting an immortal existence beyond the skies, we should see whether there may not be found recreations that combine utility with relaxation. It is by no means necessary, as the popular notion is, that the change should be from an employment that is useful to one that is useless; but the object may be even better accomplished by a change that shall keep the mind still employed to advantage. If your ordinary employment is one that lays your faculties under severe contribution, that to which you resort for amusement ought undoubtedly to require but moderate mental exercise; and in cases of great exhaustion from intellectual effort, it may be proper to give the mind, for a season, an entire dispensation from the labour of connected thought. But in all ordinary cases, you will find that in unbending from severe exertion of mind, with reference to renewing that exertion with greater success, you need not yield to positive inaction, or occupy yourself with any thing that is trifling, but may still be doing something for the benefit of yourself or your fellow-creatures. If you regulate your amusements by a regard to this principle, you will find it a most effectual means of redeeming time, and will have the pleasure to reflect " that even your hours of relaxation are hours of usefulness."-MACINDOE.

The Love of Christ.-Comparisons can give but a very imperfect view of this love which passeth knowledge. Though we should suppose all the love of all the men that ever were, or shall be on the earth, and all the love of the angels in heaven, united in one heart, it would be but a cold heart to that which was pierced with the soldier's spear. The Jews saw but blood and water, but faith can discern a bright occan of eternal love flowing out of these wounds. We may have some impression of the glory of it, by considering its effects. We should consider all the spiritual and eternal blessings, received by God's people for four thousand years before Christ was crucified, or that have been received since, or that will be received till the consummation of all things; all the deliverances from eternal misery; all the oceans of joy in heaven; the rivers of water of life, to be enjoyed to all eternity, by multitudes as the sand of the sea-shore-we should consider all these blessings as flowing from that love, that was displayed in the cross of Christ.-MACLAURIN.

SACRED POETRY.

ON MUNGO PARK'S FINDING A TUFT OF GREEN MOSS IN THE AFRICAN DESERT.

"WHATEVER way I turned, nothing appeared but danger and difficulty. I saw myself in the midst of a vast wilderness, in the depth of the rainy season, naked and alone, surrounded by savage animals, and men still more savage. I was five hundred miles from the nearest European settlement. At this moment, painful as my reflections were, the extraordinary beauty of a small moss in fructification irresistibly caught my eye. I mention this to show from what trifling circumstances the mind will sometimes derive consolation, for though the whole plant was not larger than the top of one of my fingers, I could not contemplate the delicate conformation of its roots, leaves and capsule, without admiration. Can that Being, thought I, who planted, watered and brought to perfection, in this obscure part of the world, a thing which appears of so small importance, look with unconcern upon the situation and sufferings of creatures formed after his own image? Surely not. I started up, and disregarding both hunger and fatigue, travelled forward assured that relief was at hand, and I was not disappointed."

THE sun had reached his mid-day height,
And poured down floods of burning light
On Afric's barren land;

No cloudy veil obscured the sky,
And the hot breeze that struggled by
Was filled with glowing sand.

No mighty rock upreared its head
To bless the wanderer with its shade
In all the weary plain;
No palm-trees with refreshing green
To glad the dazzled eye were seen,
But one wide sandy main.
Dauntless and daring was the mind
That left all home-born joys behind

These deserts to explore-
To trace the mighty Niger's course,
And find it bubbling from its source
In wilds untrod before.

And ah! shall we less daring shew,
Who nobler ends and motives know
Than ever heroes dream-
Who seek to lead the savage mind,
The precious fountain-head to find

Whence flows salvation's stream?
Let peril, nakedness and sword,
Hot barren lands, and despot's word
Our burning zeal oppose-
Yet, Martyn-like, we'll lift the voice,
Bidding the wilderness rejoice

And blossom as the rose.

Sad, faint and weary on the sand

Our traveller sat him down; his hand
Covered his burning head,
Above, beneath, behind, around-
No resting for the eye he found;
All nature seemed as dead.

One tiny tuft of moss alone,
Mantling with freshest green a stone,
Fixed his delighted gaze—
Through bursting tears of joy he smiled,
And while he raised the tendril wild

His lips o'erflowed with praise.

"Oh, shall not He who keeps thee green
Here in the waste, unknown, unseen—
Thy fellow exile save?

He who commands the dew to feed
Thy gentle flower, can surely lead

Me from a scorching grave!"

The heaven-sent plant new hope inspired-
New courage all his bosom fired,
And bore him safe along;

Till with the evening's cooling shade
He slept within the verdant glade,

Lulled by the negro's song,

Thus, we in this world's wilderness,
Where sin and sorrow-guilt-distress
Seem undisturbed to reign-
May faint because we feel alone,
With none to strike our favourite tone
And join our homeward strain.
Yet, often in the bleakest wild,

Of this dark world, some heaven-born child,
Expectant of the skies,

Amid the low and vicious crowd,
Or in the dwellings of the proud
Meets our admiring eyes.
From gazing on the tender flower,
We lift our eye to him whose power
Hath all its beauty given;
Who, in this atmosphere of death,
Hath given it life, and form, and breath,
And brilliant hues of heaven.

Our drooping faith, revived by sight,
Anew her pinion plumes for flight,

New hope distends the breast,
With joy we mount on eagle wing,
With bolder tone our anthem sing,
And seek the pilgrim's rest.

Larbert.

R. M'CH.

Love of the Bible.-During the time that Dr Kennicott was employed in preparing his Polyglot Bible, he was accustomed to hear his wife read to him in their daily airings, those different portions to which his immediate attention was called. When preparing for their ride, the day after this great work was completed, upon her asking him what book she should now take, Oh," exclaimed he, "let us begin the Bible."

Clear views of a Greenlander.-The following is from a discourse of a Greenland convert :-" How deep our fall must have been, we may learn from the sufferings of Jesus! When God created the visible world, he used only one word,'' Let it be,' and it was; but our redemption could not be accomplished by a word; to restore us poor creatures He had to descend from heaven-live and suffer as man-tremble, and groan, and sweat bloody sweat; and at last expire in torments,-that He might redeem us by His blood. Can any one therefore, refrain from loving our Saviour, and devoting soul and body to His service?"

Wilberforce, the son of the late Rev. Legh Richmond, two hours and a-half before his death, went to bed and laid his head upon the pillow. His father said, "So he giveth his beloved rest." Wilberforce replied, "Yes, and sweet indeed is the rest which Christ gives." never awoke from this sleep.

He

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