respect, and the conversation is soon closed. Should there be any thing of a particular nature, on which he desires the sentiments of his elder brother, he sends a friend to converse with him. The younger brother will not enter the door at the same time with the elder; he must always follow. Should they both be invited to a marriage, care will be taken that the oldest shall go in the first. The younger will never approach him with his wooden sandals on; he must take them off. He will not venture to speak to the wife of the senior, except on some special occasion.

When the father thinks his end is approaching, he calls his children, and, addressing himself to the eldest, says, "My strength, my glory, my all is in thee."

From this may be gained an idea of the importance which was attached to the "birth-right."

Nor a lawgiver from between his feet.-Verse 10.

This figure is used in poetry and riddles. Veeramāran, says he, himself came from between the feet.

His teeth white with milk.-Verse 12.

To say, "A man has abundance of milk," is tantamount to "He has great riches," because it at once shows that he possesses numerous herds. Milk is greatly valued in the East, because it is believed to be very cooling and strengthening. It is often taken with fruit, and in the hot season is made into tire, or "curds." Few presents are more acceptable amongst the natives than milk. It is also valued because it comes from the cow, which is a sacred animal; and they would as soon think of killing a child, as this their "mother, that gives them milk."

It is said of a man who has abundance of this article, "His mouth smells of milk."

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall.-Verse 22. See the remarks on Isaiah xiv. 19.

All this falls very naturally on an Eastern ear. Joseph was the "fruitful bough" of Jacob; and being planted near "a well," his leaf would not wither, and he would bring forth his fruit in his season.

Great delight is taken in all kinds of creepers, which bear edible fruits; and the natives allow them to run over the walls and roofs of their houses.

The term "branches" in this verse, is in the margin rendered "daughters;" and it is an interesting fact, and one which will throw light on some other passages, that the same term is used in the East to denote the same thing. "That man has only one chede, that is, branch, or daughter." "The youngest chede (branch) has got married this day.""Where are your branches?" "They are all married." "What a young branch to be in this state!-how soon it has given fruit!" When a mother has had a large family, the remark is, "That branch has borne plenty of fruit." A husband will say to his wife, who is sterile, "Of what use is a branch which bears not fruit?" The figure is much used in poetry.

But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.)-Verse 24.

Of a strong man it is common to say, "Ah! look at the hands of his arms." "How powerful are the hands of his shoulders!"

To call a person "a stone," in the East, signifies that he has been sent or thrown at some one, to do him an injury. A king once asked a messenger, who had been sent to him by his wife, "What! are you the stone which my wife has hurled at me?" "Whose stone are you?" asks a man who has received an injury from an unknown hand. "What

fellow has thrown a large stone at me?"

Jacob speaks of Joseph as being able to fight his enemies; mention is made of his bow being "in strength," and of the arms of his hands being "made strong by the mighty God of Jacob." He was then able to be the shepherd.

Shepherds in the East carry their sling and stones, to drive off the wild beasts, and other animals; also to correct any of the cattle which are troublesome.

And who was this "shepherd, the stone of Israel, who was thrown at his enemies?" was it not the Messiah, "the good Shepherd," the stone hurled at our enemies, death and hell? From Him are all the blessings "unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.”

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.-Verse 25.

A heathen once stood up before me, and pronounced many blessings on me; amongst the rest, that of the latter part of this verse was particularly noticed.

Reuben, "unstable as water."-Verses 3, 4. Simeon and Levi.-Verse 5. Judah "couched as a lion."-Verse 9. "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea."-Verse 13. "Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens."-Verse 14. "Dan shall judge his people. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, that biteth the horse-heels."-Verse 16. "Gad, a troop shall overcome him.”Verse 19. "Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties."—Verse 20. "Naphtali a hind let loose."-Verse 21. "Joseph is a fruitful bough."-Verse 22. "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf."-Verse 27.

Some learned divines, that cannot be classed among those who wilfully impugn the doctrines of revelation, or who perversely explain away and distort the facts which it unfolds, have attempted, in their observations on the interesting subject of this chapter, to discover a recondite meaning, which finds no support either in the analogy of faith, or in the canons of legitimate criticism. They have indulged in the fanciful conjecture, that the patriarch, in the dispositions attributed to his twelve sons, had a reference to the nature of the animals or things represented in the twelve signs of the zodiac. It is not, however, pretended that their propensities or dispositions would in all particulars agree with those of the crcatures represented in these signs; though there might be a general resemblance, sufficient to induce Jacob, who had the same number of children, to make the allusions, had he not been under the immediate influence of divine inspiration in declaring "unto his sons that which should befall them in the last days,"-a scriptural description of his prophetic address which certainly destroys all occult reference to the personal qualities of his children, except as they furnished him with familiar and appropriate figures under which to shroud the mind of the Holy Spirit respecting them.

It is not denied, that the patriarch lived in the year of the world 2315; and that the signs of the zodiac were invented by the Babylonians long before that period. Job, who is supposed to have lived between three and four thousand years ago, alludes to them in chapter xxxviii. 31, 32; where see the marginal reference.

Jacob began and proceeded to bless his sons according to their age; consequently the order could not correspond with that of the zodiac.

With the people of the East, astronomy is a most interesting and important science, as it involves much of their system of theology, as well as of astrology, the latter of which is supposed to bear on all the affairs of life. No wonder, then, that they should often refer to the planetary system, as the fruitful source of all their pleasures, or of all their pains. The good or evil star, under which a person has been born, is believed to be the certain regulator of future life. Thus, men of good or evil dispositions are often compared to the planets or signs with which they are supposed to correspond.

Many of the ancient kings of India, from some fancied correspondency of temper or disposition, were named after the signs of the zodiac, either by their parents, or by posterity. There was a king called Kumban, whose name signifies "Aquarius." The great sovereign of Pandium was also named Meenam, that is, the sign "Pisces." The king Kadakkiyan means "Cancer;" and Singam, "Leo," is affixed to vast numbers of the names of the sovereigns of the East. One of the names of the god Raman is "Sagittarius;" and, what is rather strange, his sister Asamugge is called "Aries." The wife of a celebrated hermit was named Macha-Kenthe, "Pisces ;" and females are often called "Virgo."

In the book called Péerapóthaga-Santheróthium, an account is given of a king called Anguvesāran, who had six sons and six daughters, to whom he gave the names of the twelve signs of the zodiac.

When a number of people are seated in a circle, it is common to say of them, "Ah! there they are, like the twelve signs of the zodiac!"

Should a mother have twins, she is believed to have been under the influence of Gemini! An unfortunate person is often called Saniyan, that is, "Saturn." When a child is born under the influence of a malignant planet, the father endeavours to counteract its power by giving to his child the name of a superior constellation. On some occasions, however, he will not give the whole of the name of the predominant sign, but will simply choose one in common use, which

has for its first letter that of the name of the friendly sign. For instance suppose an infant to be born under Scorpio when he is in his evil moods, should Leo be the ruling power, the name of the child will begin with the letter L.

An aged man at the point of death calls together his children; and, beginning with the eldest, he gently notices his failings, his seniority, and consequent power over the rest; and advises him not to oppress them. He then goes through the others, alludes to their failings, and shows how to avoid them.

With these facts before us, we might not have been surprised at the conduct of Jacob in alluding to the twelve signs, and to the corresponding dispositions of his sons, had he been a poor heathen idolater, as all these persons were, and had he not been the subject of a divine and direct afflatus. Besides, it is unwise, on the principles of these theorists themselves, to insist upon the perfect resemblance of each son to one of the signs. How is Gemini to be made out? To do this would require thirteen sons; or to adopt the plan of Dr. Hales, and make Dan stand for Libra and Scorpio. How also does Virgo, a female, correspond with the individual (Asher) who is assigned to her? I think, therefore, it has been an error to force the similitude.

Of Reuben it is said, "unstable as water," which is supposed to refer to the sign. Aquarius. And this certainly includes the Eastern idea of that element. A son at the funeral pile of his father breaks an earthen vessel, that has been filled with water, which sinks into the ground, and cannot be gathered up again. Many of their allusions in reference to uncertainty or instability are borrowed from water. Of the promises of a faithless man it is said, "O, write them in water!" that is, the characters may soon be formed on the surface, but not a trace will be left behind.

Judah is "as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?" This might, with some plausibility, refer to the sign Leo.

Zebulun, "an haven of ships." In the Eastern zodiac, Virgo is represented as sitting in a ship, with a lighted lamp in her right hand, and an ear of corn in her left. This may refer to the assistance which the light would give to find the way, and the ear of corn may relate to the value and importance of her cargo.