THE HOOPOES.

THE Arabs, say, that every race of animals is governed by its chief, to whom the others are bound to pay obeisance. The king of the crocodiles holds his court at the bottom of the Nile, near Siout. The king of the fleas lives at Tiberias, in the Holy Land; and deputations of illustrious fleas, from other countries, visit him on a certain day in his palace, situated in the midst of beautiful gardens under the lake of Genesareth. There is a bird common in Egypt, called the hoopoe, of whose king the following legend is related.-This bird is of the size and shape as well as the colour of a woodcock, but has a crown of feathers on its head, which it has the power of raising and depressing at will. It is a tame, quiet bird; usually to be found walking leisurely in search of its food on the margin of the water. It seldom takes long flights, and is not harmed by the natives, who are much more sparing of the life of animals than we Europeans are.

"In the days of King Solomon, the Son of David, who by the virtue of his cabalistic seal, reigned supreme over genii as well as men, and who could speak the languages of animals of all kinds-all created beings were subservient to his will. Now when the king wanted to travel, he made use, for his conveyance, of a carpet of a square form. This carpet had the property of extending itself to a sufficient size to carry a whole army, with tents and baggage; but at other times it could be reduced, so as to be only large enough for the support of the royal throne, and of those ministers whose duty it was to attend upon the person of the sovereign. Four genii of the air then took the corners of the carpet, and carried it, with its contents, wherever King Solomon desired. Once the king

was on a journey in the air, carried upon his throne of ivory over the various nations of the earth. The rays of the sun poured down upon his head, and he had nothing to protect him from its heat. The fiery beams were beginning to scorch his neck and shoulders, when he saw a flock of vultures flying past. 'O vultures,' cried King Solomon, come and fly between me and the sun, and make a shadow with your wings to protect me; for its rays are scorching my neck and face.' But the vultures answered, and said, 'We are flying to the north, and your face is turned towards the south. We desire to continue on our way, and be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not turn back on our flight, neither will we fly above your throne to protect you from the sun, although its rays may be scorching your neck and face.' Then King Solomon lifted up his voice and said, 'Cursed be ye, O vultures; and because ye will not obey the commands of your lord, who rules over the whole world, the feathers of your necks shall fall off; and the heat of the sun, and the cold of the winter, and the keenness of the wind, and the beating of the rain, shall fall upon your rebellious necks, which shall not be protected with feathers like the necks of other birds. And whereas you have hitherto fared delicately-henceforward ye shall eat carrion and feed upon offal, and your race shall be impure to the end of the world.' And it was done unto the vultures as King Solomon had said.

Now it fell out that there was a flock of hoopoes flying past; and the king cried out to them and said, "O hoopoes, come and fly between me and the sun, that I may be protected from its rays by the shadow of your wings.' Whereupon the king of the hoopoes

answered and said, 'O king, we are but little fowls, and we are not able to afford much shade; but we will gather our nation together, and by our numbers we will make up for our small size.' So the hoopoes gathered together, and flying in a cloud over the throne of the king, they sheltered him from the rays of the sun.

When the journey was over, and King Solomon sat upon his golden throne, in his palace of ivory, where

of the doors were emeralds and the windows of diamonds larger even than the diamond of Jemshid, he commanded that the king of the hoopoes should stand before his feet. 'Now,' said King Solomon, 'for the service that thou and thy race have rendered, and the obedience thou hast shown to the king, thy lord and master, what shall be done unto thee, O hoopoe? and what shall be given to the hoopoes of thy race, for a memorial and a reward?' Now the king of the hoopocs was confused with the great honour of standing before the feet of the king; and making his obeisance, and laying his right claw upon his heart, he said, O king, live for ever! let a day be given to thy servant, to consider with his queen and his councillors, what it shall be that the king shall give unto us for a reward.' And King Solomon said, 'Be it so;' and it was so.

But the king of the hoopoes flew away; and he went to his queen, who was a dainty hen, and he told her what had happened, and he desired her advice as to what they should ask of the king for a reward. And he called together his council, and they sat upon a tree, and they each of them desired a different thing. Some wished for a long tail; some wished for blue and green feathers; some wished to be as large as ostriches; some wished for one thing and some for another;

and they debated till the going down of the sun, but they could not agree together. Then the queen took the king of the hoopoes apart and said to him, 'My dear lord and husband, listen to my words; and as we have preserved the head of King Solomon, let us ask for crowns of gold on our heads, that we may be superior to all other birds.' And the words of the queen, and of the princesses her daughters prevailed; and the king of the hoopoes presented himself before the throne of Solomon, and desired of him that all hoopoes should wear golden crowns upon their heads. Then Solomon said, 'Hast thou considered well what it is that thou desirest?' And the hoopoe said, 'I have considered well, and we desire to have golden crowns upon our heads.' So Solomon replied, 'Crowns of gold shall ye have; but, behold, thou art a foolish bird; and when the evil days shall come upon thee, and thou seest the folly of thy heart, return here to me, and I will give thee help.' So the king of the hoopoes left the presence of King Solomon, with a golden crown upon his head; and all the hoopocs had golden crowns; and they were exceeding proud and haughty. Moreover, they went down by the lakes and the pools, and walked by the margin of the water, that they might admire themselves as in a glass. And the queen of the hoopoes gave herself airs, and sat upon a twig; and she refused to speak to the merops her cousins, because they were but vulgar birds, and she wore a crown of gold upon her head.

Now there was a certain fowler who set traps for birds; and he put a piece of a broken mirror into his trap, and a hoopoe that went in to admire itself was caught; and the fowler looked at it, and saw the shining crown upon its head; so he

day, and every day, the iniquities of our holy things, our wandering thoughts, our cold desires, should, by the cleansing of repentance and confession, be blotted out of Thy book of remembrance, and sanctified to Thee as an evening sacrifice, through the all-prevailing bloodshedding, righteousness and intercession of Thy Son, our Blessed Redeemer and Mediator!

"To Thee belongeth forgiveness that Thou mayest be feared!" Truly, O FATHER, in rendering

-

Thee heartfelt thanks for these and all Thy mercies, especially in calling to mind the rich spiritual blessings, and great and precious privileges in which we have been called to participate this day; we should ponder over them with fear and trembling lest through unfaithfulness and ingratitude on our part they be turned to our condemnation! Let us fix the thought of Thy Presence in our hearts, and ask ourselves as in Thy sight have we not "loved to wander," and not "refrained our feet from evil?" have we not in Thy House of Prayer been giving Thee the sacrifice of fools: "rash with our mouths". "hasty with our hearts?" doing despite to the Spirit of grace, by trampling under foot the Love of God, and profaning the Blood of the covenant as an unholy thing? O God! "we would lay our hands on our mouths," for "if Thou, Lord, shouldest be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it?" and yet, praised be THY NAME, Thou art not "as a man astonished". 66 as a mighty man that cannot save!" Thy gifts, promises, and callings, are without repentance; and as our FATHER, WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, Thou art ever ready to remodel and cleanse our unfaithful, vile hearts, by the infusion of Thy Holy Spirit, remembering we are frail flesh, and continuing and increasing in us Thy

| gifts of grace and mercy; washing away our offences through the Blood of Thy covenant; giving us the comfort of Thy help again; stablishing us with Thy free Spirit; and perfecting all that is lacking in us, through more knowledge of Him Who first called us out of darkness into His great and glorious light!

Oh! Thou Creator, Upholder, and Perfecter of all things! let us Thy children seek Thee, and in seeking Thee find our home in Thee, our rest in Thee, our all in Thee! Thou art pitiful and of tender mercy, praised be THY NAME: Thou wilt not despise the day of small things. May we therefore with boldness plead, that if it should have pleased Thee in any manner to sanctify and glorify THY NAME in us, or through us, on this Thine Own especial day, Thou wilt nail to the Cross such tokens for good!-that if through the softening influence of Thy Spirit any measure of love and desire after Thy Holiness hath been kindled in our hearts, or they have in any way been touched by a sense of the blessedness of communion with Thy Church, and preciousness of covenant grace, and so the voice of thanksgiving put into the unthankful and broken-hearted; that Thou wilt accept, for Thy great NAME'S sake, all such emotions, as earnests of a week to be dedicated by fresh vows to Thy glory, and kindle, and with great might carry on Thy work; that so each succeeding Sabbath may find us in greater preparedness for Thine everlasting Sabbath yet to come! And, Ŏ God! what is Thine everlasting Sabbath yet to come? Truly, if we would be "numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting," must we learn to respect our joys while on earth, no further than as they reflect Thy glory; and seek Thy help to see the deceitful sweetnesses, fruitless labours, perpetual

fears, and dangerous honours of this world in the light in which Thy glorious Gospel and shadows of unseen things have revealed them to us this day! finding Thee in those very things wherein we lost Thee, and rising converted by those very things whereby we fell perverted; the drossy nature purged from our hearts, and all that destroys the freedom of a new-born creature winnowed and sifted away, to the HALLOWING OF THY NAME, and glorifying and magnifying of Thine Almighty Power on earth, as it is in HEAVEN, through peace and rest in Jesus Christ our Lord!

:

O FATHER, WHICH ART IN HEAVEN Bless and sanctify to me this evening's meditation on the HALLOWING OF THY NAME! Lying low and looking high, may we all have grace before we go to rest this night, so to realize our strength and our weakness at the same moment, that we may lift up hearts, hands, and voices, to Thy Throne of grace, for such diligence of purpose, and unity of aim; in firmly resolving, speedily beginning, and continually persevering, each one in the spirit of his calling, as may through Thy Divine Power secure us all things that pertain unto life and godliness; and that so Thy power, Thy glory, and the mightiness of Thy kingdom may be known unto men, through increased knowledge of Him Who first called us to glory, and virtue, and meetness for Heaven; where alone we shall perfect praise; and HALLOW Thy great and glorious NAME for ever! Thou through Him receiving us, Who through Thee redeemed us!

For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

BOOKS.

The Churchman's Companion.-It is now about four years since this work was commenced. We very well recollect the first number, and the coldness with which it was received by some who have lived long enough to see the work survive the frost, and become a hardy half annual, welcomed also as one of our most pleasing monthly companions; and,

THE PENNY POST" always excepted, we do not know of any work that we could better recommend for instruction and amusement than the "CHURCHMAN'S COMPANION." The volume before us, the eighth, contains a variety of tales, some pleasing poetry, church news, including some from abroad, and a number of shorter pieces, making it altogether a valuable work for the school, village, or juvenile library.

Parochial Papers, No. 1. Hints for the Formation and Improvement of a Church Choir (I. H. Parker) seems very practical, and we should think would be of much service to those clergy and others who are commonly obliged to get up a choir from very rough materials.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Received. Rev. W. B. Barter; W. W, Islington; W. E. H. Southend; J. E. W, Clifton; Rev. C. P; T. H. G-; R. K; A. D, Chichester; D. C-, Bath;

Replies." Rev. C. P—.”—Perhaps the Attorney-general can tell you, though it is not so clear that the framers of the Bill fully realise its effect." A Mother" and "John Jackson," ask your parish clergyman.-D. C. may send.

Our correspondents will be kind enough to understand, that when we do not reply to them in this place, we either mean to write to them, or have no answer to give.