already heard, at some distance, the stroke of one solitary axe, resounding from hill to hill. On reaching the spot, we found a peasant, whose labour had been so far successful, that he had felled his tree and lopped the branches. He was now hewing it in the middle, so as to balance the two halves upon his camel; which stood patiently by him, waiting for his load. In the days of Hiram, King of Tyre, and subsequently under the Kings of Babylon, this romantic solitude was not so peaceful: that most poetic image in Isaiah, who makes these very trees vocal, exulting in the downfall of the destroyer of nations, seems now to be almost realized anewYea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

Isaiah lii. 2, 10.

The use of the Oriental dress, which I now wear, brings to the mind various Scriptural Illustrations, of which I will only mention two.

The figure in Isaiah lii. 10, The Lord hath made bare his holy arm, is most lively: for the loose sleeve of the Arab shirt, as well as that of the outer garment, leaves the arm so completely free, that, in an instant, the left-hand passing up the right arm makes it bare; and this is done when a person

-a soldier, for example, about to strike with the sword-intends to give his right arm full play. The image represents Jehovah as suddenly prepared to inflict some tremendous, yet righteous judgment-so effectual, that all the ends of the world shall see the Salvation of God.

The other point illustrated occurs in the second verse of the same Chapter: where the sense of the last expressions is, to an Oriental, extremely natural-Shake thyself from the dust ―arise-sit down, O Jerusalem. It is no uncommon thing to see an individual, or a groupe of persons, even when very well-dressed, sitting, with their feet drawn under them, upon the bare earth, passing whole hours in idle conversation. Europeans would require a chair; but the Natives here prefer the ground. In the heat of summer and autumn, it is pleasant to them to while away their time in this manner,

under the shade of a tree. Richly-adorned females, as well as men, may often be seen thus amusing themselves. As may naturally be expected, with whatever care they may, at first sitting down, choose their place, yet the flowing dress by degrees gathers up the dust: as this occurs, they, from time to time, arise, adjust themselves, shake off the dust, and then sit down again. The captive daughter of Zion, therefore, brought down to the dust of suffering and oppression, is commanded to arise and shake herself from that dust; and then, with grace and dignity and composure and security, to sit down; to take, as it were, again, her seat and her rank amid the company of the nations of the earth, which had before afflicted her, and trampled her to the earth.

It may be proper to notice that Bishop Lowth gives another rendering-Arise, ascend thy lofty seat-and quotes Eastern Customs, to justify the version: but I see no necessity for the alteration, although to English ears it may sound more appropriate. A person of rank in the East often sits down upon the ground, with his attendants about him.

Matt. vi. 3. and Prov. vi. 13.

The manner in which the Samaritan Priest (see p. 201) desired me, on parting, to express our mutual good-will, was by an action, than which there is not one more common in all the Levant. He put the fore-finger of his right-hand parallel to that of his left, and then rapidly rubbed them together, while I was expected to do the same, repeating the words, Sw; that is, "right, right;" or, in common acceptation, "together, together." It is in this manner that persons express their consent on all occasions; on concluding a bargain, on engaging to bear one another company, and on every kind of friendly agreement or good understanding.

سوي سوي

May not this serve to explain the phrase in Matt. vi. 3: Let not thy left-hand know what thy right-hand doeth? that is, "Let not thy heart consent to its own good thoughts, with a sinful self-applause." So much is said, in the Old Testament, of speaking with the eyes, hands, and even feet, that it is scarcely understood by Englishmen. They should see the

expressive and innumerable gesticulations of foreigners when they converse: many a question is answered, and many a significant remark conveyed, by even children, who learn this language much sooner than their mother-tongue. Perhaps the expression of Solomon, that the wicked man speaketh with his feet, (Prov. vi. 13.) may appear more natural, when it is considered that the mode of sitting on the ground in the East brings the feet into view, nearly in the same direct line as the hands; the whole body crouching down together, and the hands, in fact, often resting upon the feet.

Matt. xxvi. 23. and John xiii. 25-27.

To witness the daily family-habits, in the house in which I lived at Deir el Kamr, forcibly reminded me of Scripture Scenes. The absence of the females at our meals has been already noticed. There is another custom, by no means agreeable to a European; to which, however, that I might not seem unfriendly, I would have willingly endeavoured to submit, but it was impossible to learn it in the short compass of a twenty days' visit. There are set on the table, in the evening, two or three messes of stewed meat, vegetables, and sour milk. To me, the privilege of a knife and spoon and plate was granted: but the rest all helped themselves immediately from the dish; in which it was no uncommon thing to see more than five Arab fingers at one time. Their bread, which is extremely thin, tearing and folding up like a sheet of paper, is used for the purpose of rolling together a large mouthful, or sopping up the fluid and vegetables. But the practice which was most revolting to me was this: when the master of the house found in the dish any dainty morsel, he took it out with his fingers, and applied it to my mouth. This was true Syrian courtesy and hospitality; and, had I been sufficiently wellbred, my mouth would have opened to receive it. On my pointing to my plate, however, he had the goodness to deposit the choice morsel there. I would not have noticed so trivial a circumstance, if it did not exactly illustrate what the Evangelists record of the Last Supper. St. Matthew relates that the Traitor was described by our Lord in these terms-He,

that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me: xxvi. 23. From this it may be inferred that Judas sat near to our Lord; perhaps on one side next to him. St. John, who was leaning on Jesus's bosom, describes the fact with an additional circumstance. Upon his asking, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop, Satan entered into him: xiii. 25-27.

B.

THE TANTOOR, A FEMALE HEAD-DRESS IN SYRIA.

The most extraordinary Oriental costume which I have yet seen, is the head-dress worne by many females at Deir el Kamr, and in all the adjacent region of Mount Lebanon. In the cities on the sea-coast it is not so frequently seen. It is called Tantoor; and is set on the forehead, projecting like a straight horn. It is from fifteen to twenty inches long; in its thickness gradually diminishing; having its diameter at one extremity about four inches, at the other about two. It is hollow, otherwise the weight would be insupportable to the stiffest neck; and it is tinselled over, so as to give it a silvery appearance. The end with the larger diameter rests on the forehead, where it is strapped to, by one strap passing behind the head, and another passing under the chin: the horn itself protrudes straight forward, inclining upward, at an angle of about twenty or thirty degrees. Over the farther extremity they throw the veil, which thus serves the double purpose of modesty and shade.

I could hear no account of the origin of this unicorn costume. In its style it differs materially from the horns described by Bruce in Abyssinia, and by other Travellers; which have been considered as illustrating those passages in Scripture, Lift not up your horn on high......Thine horn hast thou exalted, &c. For, here, it is the females that wear it; and not the men, as in Abyssinia: it has no appearance of strength, nor indeed, to me, of beauty; although, doubtless, among the females of Mount Lebanon there may be as much vanity in

their mode of adjusting and bearing this article of dress, as is to be found at any European toilet. Some, indeed, though very few, wear this monstrous ornament protruding from one side of the face, instead of the front: but I could obtain no satisfactory account of this heretical fashion, any more than of the orthodox position of the Tantoor.

It is not worne by the Druse Women only. The servant of the house where I lived at Deir el Kamr wore one: so also did a young woman whose marriage I there witnessed (see pp. 87, 88): several, likewise, of the virgins, that were her fellows, and bore her company, wore this head-dress. All these were Christians. Hanna Doomani told me that it is used chiefly by the lower orders; at least that those who have been brought up at Damascus, or at the principal cities, would not think of wearing it. In other words, probably, it is the true, ancient female-mountaineer's costume; but what is its degree of antiquity, it may be difficult to discover.

In examining various Critics for the Oriental sense of the word "horn," the following passages occurred, which may serve, in a collateral manner, to illustrate the costume of the Tantoor. These passages refer to a drawing, with which almost every child is familiar, who has seen the old picturebooks, representing the person of Moses. By a vulgar error, he is often depicted as having a horn projecting from his forehead, or a ray of glory beaming forth in that form. The origin of this is referred by the Critics to a too servile rendering, in the Vulgate, of the Original Hebrew. Glassius (Philologia Sacra, p. 819.) after giving various metaphorical senses of the word "horn," adds this signification, in conclusion: "In modum cornuum radios diffundere, coruscare,radiare, splendere, significat. Exodus xxxiv. 29, 30, 35. ubi de Mosis facie splendescente sermo est. Chald. Multiplicatus erat splendor gloriæ faciei suæ.' LXX. • δεδόξασαι ἡ ὄψις τῇ χρωτὸς τῇ προσώπε αὐτῇ· ad quam versionem Paulus 2 Cor. iii. 7 respexit. Vulgata: Quod cornuta esset facies sua. Ex qua versione Moses cornutus in picturis quibusdam prodiit."

The same is noted by Carpzovius, (Apparatus HistoricoCriticus, pp. 511, 512,) who refers to this source a similar pic