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SECTION VIII.

HISTORY.

CANAAN.

This country, so celebrated in sacred story, was settled by the posterity of Canaan, the son of Ham. The sons of Canaan mentioned in scripture were these: Sidon his first born, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. All these were born before the Dispersion. "Afterwards," says scripture," were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha."

SYRIA.

The Canaanites were divided into tribes, seven in number according to some, but nine according to others. These were the people on whom rested the Divine malediction uttered by Noah against Canaan which malediction they were made to realize when the Israelites took possession of their land, as will be seen in its place.

Syria is a country containing lofty mountains, ferthe summits of its mountains are stiffened with frost or tile plains, noble rivers, and dreary deserts. While crowned with snow, other portions of the country languish with sultry heat. But this diversity, these extremes of heat and cold, produce in the intermediate parts an agreeable temperature. Refreshing breezes play among the hills situated at the bases of those

;

The Canaanites appear to have been shepherds, hus-mountains, and following the courses of the rivers, bandmen, soldiers, artisans, merchants, or sailors, acinvigorate and exhilarate the inhabitants of that decording to the nature and condition of the portion of lightful region. the country which they chanced to inhabit. Each tribe was governed by a king; although the tribes collectively appear to have formed a general confederacy. The kings were rather of the patriarchal, than of the despotic kind. Public affairs were regulated in public assemblies of the people themselves. As to their religion, the knowledge of the true God was preserved amongst them for no inconsiderable period; for even in the time of Abraham, Melchizedec, the king of Salem, was a priest of the Most High God.

The primitive Syrians were the descendants of Aram, the youngest son of Shem; although in time they were intermingled with several families of the Canaanites, who sought among them an asylum from

the sword of the Israelites.

But little, however, can be expected in the historical line, relative to the infant period of this or any other of those early nations. They were too inconsiderable in population, and in every other respect, to make any great figure on the stage of the world. The most that can be done is, not to lose sight of them, but to trace them from their origin down to a period when they acted a more conspicuous part. We will therefore leave the Canaanites for the present, with this very brief notice, and turn our attention for a few mo

ments to

PALESTINA.

The Philistines were descendants of Ham. Philistim, from whom they derived their name, was a son of Casluhim, one of the sons of Mizraim, the son of Ham. There is some reason for supposing that the Philistines were a colony from Egypt.

The chiefs of this people had at first but very limited power, their government being a kind of aristocracy, and not a monarchy. Their chiefs were elective. The invention of the bow and arrow is attributed to them. Among them were giants, or men of extraordinary stature. Like other nations at their outset, they had some knowledge of the true religion, which they received from their fathers, who had opportunities of conversing with Noah and his sons. This knowledge they retained for some time, as appears from the fact that in the time of Isaac, Abimelech, the king of Gerar, so feared God as to be deterred from taking Rebecca, Isaac's wife, from him.

VOL. II.

Palestina was most charmingly situated. On the coast it was level; but as it receded thence, it rose gradually into fertile hills and mountains, from whose summits spread out to the eye landscapes of exquisite beauty. From these mountains descended numerous rivulets, which watered the plains below. The climate was mild and temperate. In short, nothing seemed wanting to render it one of the most delightful countries on the earth. It derived the name of Palestine from its inhabitants, the Philistines; which name has been finally applied to the whole country occupied by the Jews as well as by them.

And indeed, this appears to have been the case with Syria was at first divided into petty kingdoms. almost all the countries inhabited in those early times. A kingdom in those days would hardly constitute a province of the smallest kind in our own. In fact, it would seem that a city, or more properly, a town or village, was sometimes denominated a kingdom.

The Syrians from the very first were noted for efthan the male sex, both in deportment and practice feminacy and imbecility, resembling more the female This feature in their character is partly attributable to their climate, and partly to their system of religion, which was one of the most profligate and debauching ever known. But more on this point in its proper place. We will next consider

PHOENICIA.

This famous country of olden times was a fertile tract of country, stretching along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, and enjoying every possible advantage for commerce. Its harbours were numerous, spacious, and secure. Lebanon supplied timber in abundance for the building of ships. And its position in relation to the various commercial countries of the Mediterranean was all that could be desired to facilitate commercial intercourse. No wonder, then, that in process of time, Phoenicia should become the commercial bond of connexion between the three quarters of the world.

Sidon, one of the chief cities of Phoenicia, was built by Sidon, a son of Canaan. He was its first sovereign. But it was not till a period later than we are now considering, that this city or any part of Phonicia attained to notoriety worthy of the historic page. We therefore merely introduce it here, and leave it for future notice

We have already traced the patriarchal line from | to Cxford from Fort St. George, are written on leaves Adam downward to Peleg, in whose time the earth of the ampana or palma malabarica. Hermanus gives was divided. We will now continue this genealogy an account of a monstrous palm-tree, called codda to Abraham. pana, or palma montana malabarica, which, about the 35th year of its age, rises to be sixty or seventy feet high, with plicated leaves nearly round, twenty feet broad; with which they commonly cover their houses, and on which they also write; part of one leaf sufficing to make a moderate book. They write between the folds, making the characters the outer enticle. In the Maldore islands, the natives are said to write on the leaves of a tree called macaraquean, which are a fathom and a half long, and about a foot broad. But the most remarkable is the cagua, which has something on it extraordinary; its leaves are so large, and of so close a texture, that they cover a man from top to toe, and shelter him from the rain, and other inclemencies of the weather, like a cloak; and from the innermost substance of these leaves, a paper is taken; being a white and fine membrane like the skin of an egg, as large as a skin of our vellum or parchment, and nothing inferior for beauty and goodness to the best of our papers. Paper is chiefly made among us of linen or hempen rags, beaten to a pulp in water, and moulded into square sheets, of the thickness required. But it may also be made of nettles, hay, turnips, parsnips, colewort leaves, or any thing that is fibrous. The Chinese paper is so fine, that many of the Europeans have thought it was made of silk; not considering, says Du Halde, that silk cannot be beat into such a paste as is necessary to make paper; but it speaks of a paper, or parchment, made of the balls of is to be observed, that the same author afterwards silk worms; and the like we are assured by others is the moderns have derived from the art of printing done at Cathay. The incalculable advantages which would have been only imperfectly known, but for the invention of linen rag paper. A more plentiful and economical substance could not be conceived than the tattered remnants of our linen worn out, and otherwise incapable of being applied to the least use, and of which the quantity every day increases; nor could a more

CALL OF ABRAHAM.

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*Now the Lord said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him: and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abra took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their sub-ready operation be imagined, than a few hours' titulathat the despatch of the processes of paper-making is tion in a mill. It has been observed by a French writer, ficient paper for the labour of 3000 transcribers. so great, that five workmen in a mill may furnish suf

stance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran: and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came."

Peleg was born 101 years after the Flood. At the age of thirty, he had a son born to him by the name of Reu; and having attained to the age of 239 years, he died. Reu was thirty-two years old when his son Serug was born, and died at the age of 239. Serug was 30 years old at the birth of Nahor his son, and died at the age of 230. Nahor was 29 years of age when his son Terah was born, and lived to the age of 148. At the age of 70, Terah had three sons, Abram (or Abraham,) Nahor, and Haran. Thus it appears that Abraham was born 192 years after the Flood, which was 1848 years after the Creation, and 2156 before Christ.

Terah, the father of Abraham, dwelt at Ur of the Chaldees. Here he continued with his family till after the death of his son Haran, who was the father of Lot. Abraham took a wife by the name of Sarai, who was his half-sister; and Nahor also married one named Milcah, the daughter of Haran his brother.

In process of time, "Terah took Abram his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there." In that place Terah spent the remainder of his days, and died at the age of 205 years.

Having reached this point, which limits the historical period that we are now considering, we will conclude at this time by introducing the following notice

of Abraham from Berosus the Chaldean historian.

"After the Deluge, in the tenth generation, was a certain man among the Chaldeans renowned for his justice and great exploits, and for his skill in the celestial sciences."--Euseb. Præp. Evan. lib. 9.

LITERATURE.

HISTORY AND MANUFACTURE OF WRITING PAPER. Various are the materials on which mankind, in different ages and countries, have contrived to write their sentiments; as on stones, bricks, the leaves of herbs and trees, and their rinds and barks; also on tables of wood, wax, and ivory; to which may be added, plates of lead, linen, rolls, &c. At length the Egyptian papyrus was invented; then parchment, cotton paper, and lastly, the common or linen paper. In some places and ages they have written on the skins of fishes; in others on the intestines of serpents; and in others on the backs of tortoises. There are few sorts of plants but have at some time been used for paper and books; and hence the several terms, biblos, codex, liber, folium, tabula, tillura, sheda, &c. which express the several parts on which they were written. În Ceylon, for instance, they write on the leaves of the talipot. And the Bramin manuscripts in the Telinga language, sent

of three divisions, viz. the preparing of the rags, the The operation of making paper (among us) admits forming of the sheets, and the finishing of the paper. The succession of the several processes is as follows: 1. The rags are washed, or dusted, if they are dirty; then sorted into many qualities, proper for different purposes. 2. The rags are bleached, to render them white; but this operation is sometimes deferred to the next stage of the process. 3. The washing engine of the paper mill is employed to grind the rags in water till they are reduced to a coarse or imperfect pulp, called half stuff, or first stuff, in which state the bleaching is performed; or at other times it is bleached in the washing engine during the grinding. 4. The half stuff is again ground in the beating engine, and water added in sufficient quantity to make a fine pulp, which being conveyed to the vat, the preparation of the rags is completed, and the pulp or stuff is ready for making the sheets. 5. This is done by a workman who takes up a quantity of pulp upon a mould of fine wire cloth, through which the water drains away, and the pulp coagulates into a sheet of paper. 6. Another workman takes the sheet of paper off from the wire mould, and receives it upon a felt; he then covers it over with a second felt, evenly spread out; and continues this operation, which is called couching, till he has made a pile of sheets called a post, containing six quires. 7. The post of paper, with the felts, is placed in the vat-press, and the whole is subjected to a strong pressure, to press out the superfluous water, and give

the paper a solidity and firmness it would not otherwise have. 8. The pile of paper is removed from the vat-press, the felts taken out from between the sheets, and they are pressed again by themselves, for a certain time, in a screw-press. 9. The sheets are taken from the press, and hung up, five or six together, on lines in the drying loft, till dry. The paper is now made, and only requires to be finished; but it should be observed, that the greater number of the processes of finishing are only performed upon fine writing paper, common printing paper being ready for packing up when dried. 10. The paper, in five or six sheets together, is dipped into a tub of fine size, and afterwards pressed to force out the superfluity; it is then dried again in the drying loft: but in printing papers this process is rendered unnecessary, by sizing the stuff whilst in the engine, and adding certain ingredients. 11. An examination of each individual sheet of paper is made, all knots and burs are removed, and the bad sheets are taken out. 12. A very large pile of paper is made, and pressed with immense force, to render the sheets flat and smooth. 13. The pile is taken down sheet by sheet, and another made without turning the sheets over; by this means new surfaces of the sheets are brought in contact with each other, and the pile being again subjected to the press, the surface of the paper is improved. This operation is called parting, and is repeated two or three times for the best papers. The paper is now counted into quires, folded, and packed up into reams for market. Thus the most filthy article is made the most beautiful and delicate, and many a lady would faint at the sight of that which by art is made to bear her fair hand, either to trace the beauties of nature, or convey her tender sentiments. A sheet of paper may now be made to any length. But the modern process of bleaching is very detrimental to the arts; for some of the finest books now published will, in the course of thirty or forty years, perish, on account of the saccharine particles or substance of the paper being destroyed by this system.-Lond. Mirror. MYTH

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THE NYMPHS.

The nymphs are divided into three classes: the celestial, the terrestrial, and the marine. In addition to this, each individual nymph has her own name.

"The celestial nymphs were those genii, those souls and intellects, who guided the spheres of the heavens, and dispensed the influences of the stars to the things of the earth.

"Of the terrestrial nymphs, some presided over the woods, and were called Dryades, from a Greek word which principally signifies an oak, but generally any tree whatever. These Dryades had their habitations in the oaks. Other nymphs were called Hamadryades, for they were born when the oak was first planted, and when it perishes they die also. The ancients held strange opinions concerning oaks: they imagined that even the smallest oak was sent from heaven. The Druidæ, priests of the Gauls, esteemed nothing more divine and sacred than the excrescence which sticks to oaks. Others of those nymphs were called Oreades

vodi jud 194 to for Orestiades, because they presided over the mountains; and Napæ, because they had dominion over the groves and valleys. Others, Limoniades, because they looked after the meadows and fields. And others, Meliæ, from the ash, a tree sacred to them; and these were supposed to be the mothers of those children who were accidentally born under a tree, or exposed there. "Of the marine nymphs, those which presided over the seas were called Nereides or Nerinæ, from the sea god Nereus, and the sea nymph Doris, their parents; which Nereus and Doris were born of Tethys and Oceanus, from whom they were called Oceanitides and Oceania. Others of those nymphs preside over fountains, and were called Naides or Naiades: others inhabit the rivers, and were called Fluviales or Potamides: and others preside over the lakes and ponds, and were called Limnades.

"All the gods had nymphs attending them. Jupiter speaks of his in Ovid:

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Half gods and rustic Fauns attend my will, Nymyhs, Satyrs, Sylvans, that on mountains dwell.nod Neptune had many nymphs, insomuch that Hesiod and Pindar call him Nymphagetes, that is, the captain of the nymphs: the poets generally gave him fifty. Phœbus likewise had nymphs called Agannippidæ and Musa. Innumerable were the nymphs of Bacchus, who were called by different names, Baccha, Bassarides, Eloides, and Thyades. Hunting nymphs attended upon Diana, sea nymphs, called Nereides, waited upon Tethys; and fourteen very beautiful nymphs belonged to Juno:

Twice seven the charming daughters of the main, Around my person wait, and bear my train. Out of all which I will only give you the history of two

"Arethusa was one of Diana's nymphs: her virtue was as great as her beauty. The pleasantness of the place invited her to cool herself in the waters of a fine clear river: Alpheus, the god of the river, assumed the shape of a man, and arose out of the water: he first saluted her with kind words, and then approached near to her: but away she flies, and he follows her; and when he had almost overtaken her, she was dissolved with fear into a fountain, with the assistance of Diana, whom she implored. Alpheus then resumed his former shape of water, and endeavored to mix his stream with hers, but in vain; for to this day Arethusa continues her flight, and by her passage through a cavity of the earth, she goes under ground into Sicily. Álpheus also follows by the like subterraneous passage, till at last he unites and marries his own streams to those of Arethusa in that island.

"Echo was formerly a nymph, though nothing of her but her voice remains now, and even when she was alive, she was so far deprived of her speech, that she could only repeat the last words of those sentences which she heard.

She was a nymph, though only now a sound; Yet of her tongue no other use was found, Than now she has; which never could be more Than to repeat what she had heard before. "Juno inflicted this punishment on her for her talkativeness: for when, prompted by her jealousy, she came down to discover Jupiter among the nymphs, Echo detained her very long with her discourses, that the nymphs might have an opportunity to escape, and hide themselves.

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This change impatient Juno's anger wrought,
Who, when her Jove she o'er the mountains sought,
Was oft by Echo's tedious tales misled,

Till the shy nymphs to caves and grotto's fled. "This Echo by chance met Narcissus rambling in the woods; and she so admired his beauty that she fell in love with him: she discovered her love to him, courted him, followed and embraced him, but he broke from her embraces, and hastily fled from her sight: upon which the despised nymph hid herself in the woods, and pined away with grief, so that every part

the hills.

Vallonia, who holds her empire in the vallies. Hippona, who presides over the horses and stables. Bubona, who hath the care of the oxen. Seia, who takes care of the seed while it lies buried in the earth. She is likewise called Segetia, because she takes care of the blade as soon as it appears green above the ground. Runcina is the goddess of weeding. She is invoked when the fields are to be weeded. Occator is the god of harrowing. He is worshipped when the fields are to be harrowed. Sator and Sarritor are the gods of sowing and raking. To the god Robigus were celebrated festivals called Robigalia, which were usually observed upon the seventh of the calends of May, to avert the blasting of the corn. Stercutius, Stercutus, or Sterculius, called likewise Sterquilinius and Picumnus, is the god who first invented the art of manuring the ground. Proserpine is the goddess who presides over the corn, when it is sprouted pretty high above the earth. We shall speak more of her when we discourse concerning the infernal deities. Nodosus, or Nodotus, is the god that takes care of the knots and the joints of the stalks. Volusia is the goddess who takes care to fold the blade round the corn, before the beard breaks out, which foldings of the blade contain the beard, as pods do the seed. Patelina, who takes care of the corn after it is broken out of the pod, appears. The goddess Flora presides over the ear when it blossoms. Lactura, or Lactucina, who is next to Flora, presides over the ear when it begins to have milk. And Matura takes care that the ear comes to a just maturity. Hostilina was worshipped that the ears of corn might grow even, and produce a crop proportionably to the seed sown. Tutelina, or Tutulina, hath a tutelage of corn when it is reaped. Pilumnus invented the art of kneading and baking bread. Mellona is the goddess who invented the art of making honey. And Fornax is esteemed a goddess, because, before the invention of grinding the wheat, corn was parched in a furnace."

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of her but her voice was consumed, and her bones were turned into stones.

Her flesh consumes and moulders with despair, And all her body's juice is turn'd to air; So wondrous are the effects of restless pain, That nothing but her voice and bones remain ; Nay, ev'n the very bones at last are gone, And metamorphosed to a thoughtless stone, Yet still the voice does in the woods survive; The form's departed, but the sound's alive. "Narcissus met with as bad a fate; for though he would neither love others, nor admit of their love, yet he fell so deeply in love with his own beauty, that the love of himself proved his ruin. His thirst led him to a fountain, whose waters were clear and bright as sil

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Whether the Chinese are right in assigning to their portion of the world a much greater antiquity than we are willing to allow, may be fairly questioned; but certain it is, that in China many arts and sciences have been known at a period when the European nations were sunk in barbarity and ignorance. As one of the many proofs which might be adduced in support of this remark, we may mention that the Chinese were the first to construct chain or suspersion bridges, which have only within the last few years teen introduced into this country from the United States of America.

Of this bridge, which is certainly the oldest of the kind at present known to exist, we this week present our readers with an engraving, and a more romantic scene it is difficult to conceive. This famous bridge is on the road to Yun Nan, in the province of KoeiTcheou. It is thrown over a rap torrent between two lofty mountains, and was const.ucted by a Chinese General, in the year 65 of the Christian era. At each end of the rocky mountain, a gate has been erected between two stone pillars, six or seven feet high, by seventeen or eighteen feet wide. Between these

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pillars four chains are suspended by large rings, and | been so durable. To tae very limited intaron'se the united transversely by smaller chains. Over these Europeans are allowed in the interior of a is tu chains is a flooring of planks of timber which are re- be attributed the circumstance the sa invention wch newed as often as they become decayed. Other chain promises to be of such general ut as chain ridges, bridges have been constructed in China, in imitation of this: but none of them are either so large or have eighteen centuries after it was known in China. was not introduced into this country until upwards of

NATURAL HISTORY.

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THE CAMELOPARD.

"This animal is one of the tallest, most beautiful, | use of its strength; its motion is waddling and stiff; and most harmless animals in nature. The enormous it can neither fly from its enemies in its free state, nor disproportion of its legs (the fore legs being as long serve its master in a domestic one. The species is not again as the hinder ones*) is a great obstacle to the very numerous, and has always been confined to the This is erroneous, as will be seen from Le Vaillant's des- deserts of Ethiopia, and some other provinces of Afcription, which we have added to this article. rica and India. As these countries were unknown to

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