more than a day, but becomes putrid and breeds maggots. It is described as a small round substance, and is brought in by the Arabs in small quantities mixed with sand."* It would appear from these very interesting facts, that this exudation, which transpires from the thorns or leaves of the tamarix, is altogether different from the manna of the manna-ash. We cannot doubt, from the entire coincidence in every respect, that the manna found in the wilderness of Sinai by the Arabs now, is identical with that of the Scriptures. That the minute particulars recorded should be every whit verified by modern research and discovery, is worthy of great attention. As Moses directed Aaron to "take a pot and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, (in the ark,) to be kept for the generations of Israel," as a memorial; so the remarkable phenomenon remains in evidence of the truth of the narrative. The miracle, however, remains precisely as it was. There is sufficient to appeal to, as an existing and perpetual memorial to all generations. The MIRACLE, from which there can be no appeal, and which allows of no equivocation, consisted in its ample abundance, in its continued supply, and its complete intermission on the sacred day of rest. Nutritious substances have fallen from the atmosphere in some countries; such, for example, was that which fell a few years ago in Persia, and was examined by Thenard. It proved to be a nutritious substance referable to a vegetable origin. We have before us, at the moment of writing these pages, a small work, printed at Naples in 1793, the author of which is Gaetano Maria La Pira; it is entitled, "Memoria sulla pioggia della Manna," &c.: and describes a shower of manna which fell in Sicily, in the month of September, 1792. The author, a Professor of Chemistry, at Naples, gives an interesting account of the circumstances under which it was found, together with a variety of interesting particulars, some of which we shall select, and we do so to prove that a similar sub * History of the Jews, vol. I. p. 92. stance may have an aerial origin, though carried up in the first instance, it may be, by the process of evaporation; this would considerably modify the product. On the 26th September, 1792, a fall of manna took place at a district in Sicily, called Fiume grande; this singular shower lasted, it is stated, for about an hour and a half. It commenced at twenty-two o'clock, according to Italian time, or about five o'clock in the afternoon : the space covered with this manna seems to have been considerable. A second shower covered a space of thirtyeight paces in length, by fourteen in breadth. This second shower of manna, which took place on the following day, was not confined to the Fiume grande, but seems to have fallen in still greater abundance in another place, called Santa Barbara, at a considerable distance: it covered a space of two hundred and fifty paces in length, by fourteen paces in breadth. An individual, named Giuseppe Giarrusso, informed Sig. G. M. La Pira, that about half-past eight o'clock, A. M., he witnessed this shower of manna, and described it as composed of extremely minute drops, which, as soon as they fell, congealed into a white concrete substance; and the quantity was such, that the whole surface of the ground was covered, and presented the appearance of snow: the depth, in all cases, seems to have been inconsiderable. This aerial manna was somewhat purgative, when administered internally; and the chemical analysis of it seemed to prove, that its constituents, though somewhat different from that obtained from the ornus rotundifolia,* did not materially differ from the latter in its constituents. We give Sig. La Pira's description of its appearance: being of a white colour, and somewhat granular or spherical, it seems to have had some resemblance, externally, to that of the Scriptures; but it is not stated * Also the oak, ilex, chesnut, &c., though less abundant and more rare than on the leaves of the manna-ash. The ordinary manna collected in Sicily, comes from districts in the Val Demone and the Val di Mazzara, at some distance from the localities where this aerial manna fell. that it became corrupt on being preserved: "Questa sostanza zuccherina nella massima parte è caduta in forma di minutissima arena bianca: Osservata colla lente non vi si ravvisa alcuna forma regolare, ma vi si scorge una figura il più delle volte sferoidale, e talora anche perfettamente sferica: I grani maggiori non eccedono di linea di diametro: Posti sul vetro ed osservati colla lente si veggono semi-trasparenti: Non hanno alcun aspetto grasso o umido, ma bensì un' apparenza del tuto secca, ed alquanto polverosa; da ciò nasce quel panno, che si forma sulla superficie interna delle bottiglie di cristallo nelle quali ci conservano.' At the rock, in Horeb, called Meribah, Moses miraculously supplied the people with water. He smote the rock, and an abundant stream immediately issued: this extraordinary source of supply is now dried up, but there is still left sufficient evidence to confirm the fact. It will suffice for our purpose that we quote, in corroboration, the description of an eye-witness and recent traveller: "We came to the celebrated rock of Meribah. It still bears striking evidence of the miracle about it; and it is quite isolated in the midst of a narrow valley, which is here about two hundred yards broad. There are four or five fissures, one above the other, on the face of the rock, each of them about a foot and a half long, and a few inches deep. What is remarkable, they run along the breadth of the rock, and are not rent downwards; they are more than a foot asunder, and there is a channel worn between them by the gushing of the water. The Arabs still reverence this rock."+ Dr. Clarke only spoke the truth when he asserted that the BIBLE was the best itinerary that the traveller in Palestine could possess. * " Memoria," &c. In Napoli, 1793, p. 23. † Letters from the East, 2 vols. Lond. Second Edit. 1826, vol. I. p. 226. TABLES OF STONE-ELEVATION OF THE BRAZEN AFTER the promulgation of the law from Sinai, in order that it should be stamped by Divine authority, and have all the sanction of a signet from heaven, we are informed, at the close of the thirty-first chapter of Exodus, that GOD “ 'gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of GOD." In a subsequent part of the narrative, we are supplied with a more circumstantial detail: "the tables were written on both their sides, on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of GOD, and the writing was the writing of GOD, graven upon the tables."* It becomes us not to speculate on this sublime transaction, nor to pry, with too curious an eye, into the more immediate intercourse of Deity with his creature; but it cannot be out of place, to endeavour to obtain a more just and accurate conception of this autograph of heaven than may be generally entertained, provided it be in harmony with the Sacred Text. We are possessed of a small fragment of Hebrew granite, brought to this country by the late Burckhardt from Sinai; and if we are correctly informed, it obtains in that celebrated mountain. To this singular and beautiful species of granite we have already alluded. * Exodus xxxii. 15, &c. If a We are told, that not only were the tables the work of God, but the writing was the writing of GOD. conjecture may be hazarded on a subject so sacred, we may suppose, that these tables were composed of Hebrew granite, the "work of God," in the sublime fiat of creation. The linear arrangement of the crystals of quartz, and their beautiful parallelism, are very striking features; and, as we are told that "the tables were written on both their sides," it may perhaps tend to elevate our views above common place ideas, to suppose that these crystals, which have a striking resemblance to Persepolitan or Babylonian characters, under the Almighty fiat became expressive of his law in the arrangement of the decalogue. Granite is a primitive rock-one of the original rocks of creation or foundation stones of the globe. These heavenly characters being constituent parts of the granite, would thus appear on both sides of the tables of stone, and could not be obliterated but with the destruction of the stone itself. Granite is a durable and adamantine rock, and thus the whole became a symbol of the permanence and stability of the sacred characters of the law of God. That "not one jot nor one tittle should pass away” until "the mountains be removed and there be no place found for them." In reference to the awful manifestations of the DIVINE BEING on mount Sinai, Mr. Milman observes: "The mountain seems to have shewn every appearance of a volcanic eruption: blazing fires, huge columns of smoke, convulsions of the earth." This author has wisely added, "yet a most philosophical observer has decided, from the geological formation of the mountain, that it has never been subject to the agency of internal fire." We may further state, that a granitic mountain is not that description of rock in which we may reasonably expect to find volcanic agency. Passing over much that is of sublime interest in the ornaments of the tabernacle, which were moulded and arranged agreeable to the "pattern shewed in the mount," together with the rites and ceremonies enjoined by the Levitical laws and ordinances, and the ministra |