and a thick coverlet, spread over the whole, lies upon the ground around it, to confine the warmth. The family squat upon the floor, and warm themselves by extending their legs and hands into the heated air beneath it, while the frame holds, as occasion requires, their lamp or their food. Its economy is evidently great. So full of crevices are the houses, that an open fire-place must consume a great quantity of fuel, and then almost fail of warming even the air in its immediate vicinity. The tandoor heated once, or at the most twice, in twentyfour hours, by a small quantity of fuel, keeps one spot continually warm for the relief of all numb fingers and frozen toes. "The house, apparently the best in the village, was built throughout, floor, walls, and terrace, of mud. Fortunately, as its owner had two wives, it had two rooms. The one assigned us, being the principal family apartment, was of course filled with every species of dirt, vermin, and litter; and withal, as they were in the midst of the process of baking, the insufferable smoke of the dried cow-dung which heated the tannoor or cylindrical oven, detained us a long time before we could take possession." Jackson, in his Overland Journey from India, mentions the expertness of the Arab women in baking their bread: "They have a small place built with clay, bread:-"They between two and three feet high, having a hole at the bottom for the convenience of drawing out the ashes, something similar to a lime-kiln. The oven is usually about fifteen inches wide at the top, and gradually widening to the bottom. It is heated with wood, and when sufficiently hot, and perfectly clear from the smoke, having nothing but clear embers at the bottom, which continue to reflect great heat, they prepare the dough in a large bowl, and mould the cakes to the desired size on a board, or stone placed near the oven. After they have kneaded the cake to a proper consistence, they pat it a little, then toss it about with great dexterity in one hand, till it is as thin as they choose to make it. They then wet one side of it with water, at the same time wetting the hand and arm with which they put it into the oven. The side of the cake adheres fast to the side of the oven, till it is sufficiently baked, when, if not paid proper attention to, it would fall down among the embers. If they were not exceedingly quick at this work, the heat of the oven would burn their arms; but they perform it with such dexterity that one woman will continue keeping three or four cakes in the oven at once, till she has done baking." See BREAD; HEARTH. OVERSEER, TD pakid. (Gen. 39. 4; 41. 34.) This word signifies not only an officer who had the superintendence of the household, as Joseph had in that of Potiphar, but also an overlooker of workmen, as those appointed by Solomon. (2Chron. 2. 18.) We read that Pharaoh set task-masters, or overseers, over the children of Israel, who "made their lives bitter with hard bondage," (Exod. 1. 14,) a statement fully confirmed by the monuments, where the taskmasters are uniformly represented armed with cudgels. II. yanshuph. (Levit. 11. 17; Deut. 14. 16; Isai. 34. 11.) In the two first passages, our translators render this "the great owl," which is strangely placed after "the little owl," and among water birds. Since it is clearly mentioned among water-fowl, there is every reason to consider the Septuagint and Vulgate correct in assigning it to the ibis. 66 son, "The common ibis," says Sir John Gardner Wilkin"mentioned by Herodotus, corresponds with the Numenius ibis, or Ibis religiosa of modern naturalists, as Cuvier has shown; but this is not the ibis famed for its attack on the serpents, which was less common, and of a black colour. Those we find embalmed are the Numenius. They are white, with black pinions and tail; the body measures twelve inches, and four and a-half inches in diameter, and the beak about half a foot. The leg, from the knee to the plant of the foot, is about four and a-half inches, and the foot the same length; the wing, from the pinion joint to the extremity of the feathers being nearly ten inches. The Ardea ibis of Hasselquist, which is a small heron with a straight beak, has no claim to the title of ibis of the ancients. The black and the common Egyptian ibis were related to the curlews, both having curved beaks. The Tantalus ibis of Linnæus is indefinite, from its comprehending, as Cuvier says, 'four species of three different genera.' That the ibis was of great use in destroying locusts, serpents, scorpions, and other noxious creatures which infested the country, is readily credited, and its destruction of them led to the respect it enjoyed; in the same manner as the stork was honoured in Thessaly, where it was a capital offence to kill one of these birds. "Bronze figures of the ibis represent it attacking snakes; which, if not of ancient Egyptian, but of Roman time, suffice to show the general belief respecting it; and Cuvier actually found the skin and scales of a snake, partly digested, in the intestines of one of these mummied birds. The food of the common ibis also consisted of beetles, and other insects; and in the body of one now in the possession of Sir Edwin Pearson, are several Coleoptera, two of which have been ascertained by Mr. Hope to be Pimelia pilosa, and Akis reflexa of Fabricius, common in Egypt at the present day. "Insects, snakes, and other reptiles, appear to have been the food of both kinds of ibis. There is no animal of which so many mummies have been found, particularly at Thebes, Memphis, and Hermopolis Magna. In the former, they are enveloped in linen bandages, and are often perfectly preserved; at Memphis they are deposited in earthenware vases of conical shape, but nearly always decomposed; and at the city of Hermes, in wooden or stone cases of an oblong form. Both kinds of ibis mentioned by Herodotus were doubtless sacred to the Egyptian Hermes. "The ibis is rarely found in Egypt at the present day, though said sometimes to frequent the lake Menzaleh, and occasionally to be seen in other parts of the country. Cuvier and others have made considerable researches respecting it; and that celebrated naturalist brings forward a curious proof of its having been domesticated, from the discovery of a mummied ibis, whose left humerus had been broken and joined again." For, he observes, 'It is probable that a wild bird whose wing had been broken would have perished before it had healed, from being unable to pursue its prey, or escape from its enemies."" III. p kippos. (Isai. 34. 15.) This, according to the old translators, is rendered "hedge-hog." But this animal is described as laying eggs and brooding over its young, which description does not apply to the hedgehog. Bochart thinks it to be that species of serpent OWL- -OX. which is called in Greek akovTtas, and in Latin jaculus, from its leaping or darting on its prey. But the prophet alludes to making a nest, and laying and hatching eggs, which is a strong reason for retaining the reading of our authorized version, "the great owl." | 977 which is the more remarkable, as this bird has been chosen in many countries as the emblem of a deity, or connected with some mysterious notion. Its constant occurrence on the monuments of Egypt, (where it stands for the letter m, and bears the sense of in,' 'with,' and for,') together with the eagle, vulture, hawk, chicken, and swallow, led to the name 'bird-writing' which has been applied to hieroglyphics by the modern Egyptians. There is no reason for supposing the owl to have been an emblem of the Egyptian Minerva, as some have imagined. And if it obtained any degree of respect for its utility in destroying noxious animals, the return for those benefits was thought to be sufficiently repaid by the care with which it was embalmed after death. Several mummies of owls have been found in the Necropolis of Thebes." See IBIS. IV. ♫ lilith, (Isai. 34. 14,) rendered in our version, "screech-owl." According to the Rabbins, the word denotes an apparition in the shape of a welldressed woman, which lies in wait at night, particularly for children, and destroys them. Disregarding this idle fable, the word seems to denote some creature of the night, and so far as authority goes, our translation is well supported in referring it to a species of owl. We might perhaps refer it to the eagle owl, or Bubo maximus, which is found in many parts of the world, and haunts old ruins and other places where it is not liable to interruption. Like others of its tribe, it remains silent in its solitude during the day, but comes forth at night from OX, the male of horned cattle of the beeve its retreat, adding, by its strange appearance and dismal kind, called collectively in the Hebrew p baker, tones, to the gloom of the scenes which it delights to separately 8 alluph and shor, Those under frequent. The ground colour of its plumage is brown three years are styled niby agloth, by aglim; and mingled with yellow, diversified with wavy curves, bars, those over three years 2 par, 17 parah, 5 parim, and dashes of black. Its length is about two feet; the paroth, and also 8 abirim, which last, howlegs are feathered to the toes, and the iris of the eye ever, is rather an epithet of strength. These animals exhibits a bright orange colour. are generally smaller in Oriental countries than among us. Although chiefly employed in agriculture, oxen were not, in old times, (Gen. 24. 25; Job 1. 3,) as now, excluded from the possessions of the nomades; herdsmen were, however, deemed inferior to the keepers of flocks. The oxen and bulls of Bashan, which were not only well fed, but strong and ferocious, are used as the symbols of ferocious enemies. (Psalm 22. 12; 68. 20; Isai. 34. 7.) Oxen were not only employed in drawing carts and ploughs, (see AGRICULTURE,) but the nomades frequently made use of them for the purpose of carrying burdens, as they did camels. With the Hebrews the nostrils of unruly cattle were perforated, and a ring made of iron, or twisted cord, was thrust through, to which was fastened a rope; which impeded respiration to such a degree that the most turbulent might be easily managed. (2Kings 19. 28; Job 40. 24; Isai. 37. 29; Ezek. 19. 4.) By this ring also camels, elephants, and lions taken alive were rendered manageable. When bulls became old, their flesh was unsuitable for aliment; for which reason they were left to die a natural death, for the old age of these animals, which had been their companions in labour, was treated by the Hebrews with kindness. Whence it is said that, in the golden age, the slaughter of an ox will be equally criminal with the slaughter of a man. (Isai. 66. 3.) Owls which form a family, styled Strigida, of rapacious birds, are well known in almost every climate. The species are rather numerous, but the general character of all is the same, and they differ principally in size. The species found chiefly in Syria and Egypt at the present day are the great owl, (Strix bubo,) the common barn owl, (Strix flammea,) and the little owl, (Strix possemia.) The Great Owl. Roberts says, "The owl is one of the most ominous birds of the East. Let him only alight upon the house of a Hindoo, and begin his dismal screech, and all the inmates will be seized with great consternation. Some one will instantly run out and make a noise with his areca nut-cutter, or some other instrument, to affright it away. I recollect one of these creatures once flew into the house of a lady when she was in the pains of parturition; the native servants became greatly alarmed, and ran to me lamenting the fearful omen. I had it driven from the house; and notwithstanding the malignant influence of the feathered visitor, and the qualms of the domestics, all things went on well. On another occasion I shot one of them which had troubled us on the roof night by night; but as he was only wounded in the wing, I took him into the house with the intention of keeping him, but the servants were so uncomfortable, and complained so much at having such a beast in the house, that I was obliged to send him away." Sir John Gardner Wilkinson says, "The horned and white owl are frequently represented in the sculptures; but there is no evidence of their having been sacred, Of the various breeds of cattle among the Hebrews we know little, but the varieties of the ox represented in the Egyptian sculptures are three, and exhibit the principal distinctions of short-horned, long-horned, and one with the Indian hump. The two last do not exist now in Egypt, but are found in Abyssinia and Upper Ethiopia. Herodotus describes the Egyptian mode of treading out the grain by oxen, in which he is fully borne out by the sculptures of the tombs; and these inform us that they occasionally, though rarely, employed asses for the same purpose. This was also the custom of the Jews, and like the Egyptians, they suffered the ox to tread out the corn unmuzzled, according to the express command of Moses. "The ox and cow," says Sir John Gardner Wilkinson, were both admitted among the sacred animals of Egypt. All, however, were not equally sacred; and it was lawful to sacrifice the former, and to kill them for the table, provided they were free from certain marks which the priests were careful to ascertain before they "The Indian, or humped ox, was common in former times, and is abundant in Upper Ethiopia, though no longer a native of Egypt. Like other cattle, it was used for sacrifice as for the table; and large herds were kept in the farms of the wealthy Egyptians, by whom the meat, particularly the hump on the shoulder, was doubtless esteemed as a dainty. It is sometimes represented decked with flowers and garlands on its way to the altar; but there is no appearance of its having been emblematic of any deity, or of having held a post among the sacred animals of the country.” permitted them to be slaughtered. When this had beenings, dancings, and rejoicings practised on the occasion, done, the priest marked the animal by tying a cord of were doubtless in imitation of a ceremony they had the papyrus-stalk round its horns, fastened by a piece of witnessed in honour of Mnevis, during their sojourn in clay, on which he impressed his seal. It was then pro- Egypt. nounced clean, and taken to the altar. But no man, on pain of death, could sacrifice one that had not this mark. All the clean oxen were thought to belong to Epaphus,' who was the same as the god Apis. Herodotus says that a single black hair rendered them unsuitable for this purpose; and Plutarch affirms that red oxen alone were lawful for sacrifice. But the authority of the sculptures contradicts these assertions, and shows that oxen with black and red spots were lawful both for the altar and the table in every part of Egypt. The origin of the worship of the bull was said to be its utility in agriculture, of which Clemens considers it the type, as well as the earth itself; and this was the supposed reason of the bull being chosen as the emblem of Osiris, who was the abstract idea of all that was good or beneficial to man. "Though oxen and calves were lawful food, and adapted for sacrifice on the altars of all the gods, cows and heifers were forbidden to be killed, being consecrated, according to Herodotus, to Isis; or rather, as he afterwards shows, and as Strabo, in perfect accordance with the sculptures, states, to Athor. This was a wise regulation, in order to prevent too great a diminution in the cattle of the country; and the prohibition being ascribed by the priests to some mysterious reason, was naturally looked upon, in process of time, as a Divine ordinance, which it would be nothing less than sacrilege to disregard. According to Strabo, many, both male and female, were kept in different towns in and out the Delta; but they were not worshipped as deities, like the Apis and Mnevis, which had the rank of gods at Memphis and Heliopolis. Nor did they enjoy the same honours that were paid to the sacred cow at Momemphis, where Venus was worshipped. "Mnevis, the sacred ox of Heliopolis, was honoured by the Egyptians with a reverence next to the Apis, whose sire some have pretended him to be. He too was dedicated to Osiris, and represented of a black colour, like the god himself, by whom his worship was instituted; and though inferior to Apis, the respect shown him was universal throughout the country." "In the coronation ceremony at Thebes, he appears to be introduced under the name of the white bull," which is specified by the same character used to denote silver, or, as the Egyptians called it in their monumental inscriptions, white gold.' If this really represents the Mnevis, Plutarch and Porphyry are mistaken in stating its colour to be black; and from what the latter says of the hair growing the wrong way, it seems that he had in view the Basis, or black bull of Hermonthis. Ammianus, Porphyry, and Ælian suppose that Mnevis was sacred to the sun, as Apis to the moon. Macrobius states that Mnevis, Apis, and Basis, were all consecrated to the sun, and Plutarch considers Mnevis to be sacred to Osiris. Strabo merely says, 'In the Heliopolitan præfecture is the city of the Sun, raised on a lofty mound, having a temple dedicated to that deity, and the bull Mnevis, which is kept in a certain inclosure, and looked upon by the Heliopolites as a god, like the Apis in Memphis. The bull of Heliopolis appears to have been called, in the hieroglyphic legends, Mne. It had a globe and feathers on its head; but though found on the monuments of Upper Egypt, it is evident that it did not enjoy the same honours as Apis beyond the precincts of its own city. "It was from this, and not the Apis, that the Israelites borrowed their notions of the golden calf; and the offer The form of the ox entered largely into all the ancient idolatrous systems. Thus Baal, or the sun, was worshipped under the form of an animal of the ox or beeve kind; for we read of the heifer Baal in Tobit 1. 5; and Moloch had the head of a calf or steer. The ox appears as one of the cherubic emblems in Ezekiel's vision, (1. 10,) and the same seems to have been copied in a perverted way among the heathen. The Gauls worshipped a brazen bull, and the Temple of Juggernaut, in India, has in the middle of it an ox cut in one entire stone, larger than life. The ox has always been the symbol of agriculture; and Abarbanel says, "Therefore Jeroboam chose the appearance of an ox from the chariot of the cherubim, because it is the sign of abundance of corn and blessing of the nations." It is likewise so represented on Greek coins; an ox with an ear of corn, or a plough, denotes the fertility of the country. In illustration of the words of Our Lord in the parable of the great supper, (Luke 14. 19,) "And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them, I pray thee have me excused," Roberts observes, "This was not such a trifling affair as some have supposed, for it should be remembered it is with oxen only the Orientals perform all their agricultural labours. Such a thing as a horse in a plough or cart among the natives I never saw. A bullock unaccustomed to the yoke is of no use; they therefore take the greatest precaution in making such purchases, and they will never close the bargain till they have proved them in the field. Nor will the good man trust to his own judgment; he will have his neighbours and friends to assist him. The animals will be tried in ploughing softly, deeply, strongly, and they will be put on all the required paces, and then sent home. When he who wishes to purchase is fully satisfied, he will fix a day for settling the amount and for fetching the animals away.” In Jeremiah 31. 18, it is said, "I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.” Campbell, in his Travels in Africa, observes, "I had frequent opportunities of witnessing the conduct of oxen when for the first time put into the yoke to assist in dragging the wagons. On observing an ox that had been in yoke beginning to get weak, or his hoofs to be worn down to the quick, by treading on the sharp gravel, a fresh ox was put into the yoke in his place. When the selection fell on an ox I had received as a present from some African king, of course one completely unaccustomed to the yoke, such generally made a strenuous struggle for liberty, repeatedly breaking the yoke, and attempting to make its escape. At other times such bullocks lay down upon their sides or back, and remained so in defiance of the Hottentots, though two or three of them would be lashing them with their ponderous whips. Sometimes, from pity to the animal, I would interfere, and beg them to be less cruel. Cruel!' they would say, 'it is mercy, for if we do not conquer him now, he will require to be OX-PAINT. so beaten all his life. Some oxen would seem convinced of the folly of opposing the will of the Hottentots by the end of the first day; some about the middle of the second; while some would continue the struggle to the third; after which they would go on as willingly and quietly as any of their neighbour oxen. They seemed convinced that their resisting was fruitless as kicking against the pricks or sharp-pointed iron, which they could not injure, but that every kick they gave only injured themselves." In England, the ox is not used so generally as it formerly was in agricultural work. The principle of speed has pervaded and governs every department of animal labour. A modern writer on cattle thus speaks of the system of ox-labour in Devonshire; and every one who is acquainted with the northern part of that county will recognise the accuracy of that description. "A man and a boy attend each team; the boy chants that which can scarcely be regarded as any distinct tune, but which is a very pleasing succession of sounds, resembling the counter-tenor in the service of the cathedral. He sings away with unwearied lungs, as he trudges along almost from morning to night; while every now and then the ploughman, as he directs the movements of the team, puts in his lower notes, but in perfect concord. When the traveller stops in one of the Devonshire valleys, and hears this simple music from the drivers of the ploughs, on the slope of the hill on either side, he experiences a pleasure which this operation of husbandry could scarcely be supposed capable of affording. This chanting is said to animate the oxen somewhat in the same way as the musical bells which are so prevalent in the same county. Certainly, the animals move along with an agility that would scarcely be expected from cattle; and the team may be watched a long while without one harsh word being heard, or the goad or the whip applied." It is singular that a similar practice obtained among the ancient Egyptians, and we have given, under the word LANGUAGE, a specimen of a labour song from Champollion, used by the drivers of oxen in treading out the corn. OX, WILD. The word i tio, in Deuteronomy 14. 5, or Nin toi, as in Isaiah 51. 20, is in our version rendered respectively "wild ox," and "wild bull;" but it more probably refers to an animal of the deer kind. The Septuagint, with Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, read opus; the Vulgate oryx; and the Targums give bos sylvestris. It is therefore extremely probable PADAN ARAM. See MESOPOTAMIA. PAHATH-MOAB, Ni ♫ Two thousand eight hundred and twelve men belonging to this place, supposed to be a city near the spot where Ehud routed the Moabites, returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon; and two hundred more with Ezra. (Ezra 2. 6; 8. 4.) Pahath-Moab was also the name of a man, for it appears that one of that name sealed Nehemiah's covenant of reformation. (Nehem. 10. 14.) PAINT. We have already under the word EYE explained that the passage in 2Kings 9. 30, in reference to Jezebel, rendered in our version "painted her face," should rather be given, “she adjusted or set off her eyes with the powder of lead ore." 979 that the word refers to the oryx, a species of antelope, which inhabits the solitudes of Africa, on the confines of Egypt. According to the authorities quoted by Bochart, it seems to have been properly an Egyptian animal, and familiarly known to the inhabitants of that country. The chase of the oryx is frequently represented in the Egyptian sculptures. They were sometimes hunted with dogs by huntsmen furnished with bows, and sometimes they were caught with the noose or lasso. Sir John Gardner Wilkinson says, "Among the Egyptians the oryx was the only one of the antelope tribe chosen as an emblem; but it was not sacred; and the same city on whose monuments it was represented in sacred subjects, was in the habit of killing it for the table. The head of this animal formed the prow of the mysterious boat of Pthah-Sokari-Osiris, who was worshipped with peculiar honours at Memphis, and who held a conspicuous place among the contemplar gods of all the temples of Upper and Lower Egypt. This did not, however, prevent their sacrificing the oryx to the gods, or slaughtering it for their own use; large herds of them being kept by the wealthy Egyptians for this purpose; and the sculptures of Memphis and its vicinity abound, no less than those of the Thebaïd, with proofs of this fact. But a particular one may have been set apart and consecrated to the Deity, being distinguished by certain marks which the priests fancied they could discern, as in the case of oxen exempted from sacrifice. And if the law permitted the oryx to be killed without the mark of the pontiff's seal, (which was indispensable for oxen previous to their being taken to the altar,) the privilege of exemption might be secured to a single animal, when kept apart within the inaccessible precincts of a temple. In the zodiacs, the oryx was chosen to represent the sign Capricornus. M. Champollion considers it the representative of Seth; and Horapollo gives it an unamiable character as the emblem of impurity. It was even thought to foreknow the rising of the moon, and to be indignant at her presence. Pliny is disposed to give it credit for better behaviour towards the dog-star, which, when rising, it looked upon with the appearance of adoration. But the naturalist was misinformed respecting the growth of its hair in imitation of the bull Basis. "Such are the fables of old writers; and, judging from the important post it held in the boat of Sokari, I am disposed to consider it the emblem of a good rather than of an evil deity, contrary to the opinion of the learned Champollion." Mo came to Jezreel, is in the Hebrew 'painted her eyes. The same is again mentioned in Jeremiah 4. 30, and Ezekiel 23. 40; and the lengthened form of the ancient Egyptian eye, represented in the paintings, was probably produced, as Mr. Lane supposes, by this means. dern travellers frequently refer to this practice, which still obtains in various parts of the East. Waring, in his Tour to Sheeraz, remarks, This is a custom in Asiatic countries to the present day. The Persians differ as much from us in their notions of beauty as they do in those of taste. A large, soft, and languishing black eye with them constitutes the perfection of beauty. It is chiefly on this account that the women use the powder of antimony, which, although it adds to the vivacity of the eye, throws a kind of voluptuous languor over it." Sir John Gardner Wilkinson observes, "Mr. Lane is Dr. Edward Daniel Clarke, when in Syria, says, "We perfectly correct in stating that the expression painted took some coffee in the house of the consul, where we her face,' which Jezebel is said to have done, when Jehu were introduced to the ladies of his family. We were amused by seeing his wife, a very beautiful woman, sitting crosslegged by us upon the divan of his apartment, and smoking tobacco with a pipe six feet in length; her eyelashes, as well as all those of the other women, were tinged with a black powder, made of the sulphuret of antimony, and having by no means a cleanly appearance, although considered as essential an addition to the decoration of a woman of rank in Syria, as her ear-rings, or the golden cinctures of her ancles. Dark streaks were also pencilled from the corners of her eyes along the temples. This curious practice instantly brought to our recollection certain passages of Scripture, wherein mention is made of a custom among Oriental women of 'putting the eyes in painting,' and which our English translators of the Bible, unable to reconcile with their notions of a female toilette, have rendered 'painting the face."" Roberts likewise observes on Jeremiah 4. 30, "This is a minute description of an Eastern courtesan. In Ezekiel 23. 40, similar language is used. The females alluded to adorn themselves with their ornaments, which are described in the third chapter of Isaiah; and having bathed, they rub their bodies with saffron to make themselves fair; and then put on their crimson robes. One kind of paint with which they tinge their eyelids is made of a nut called kaduki, which is first burned to a powder, then mixed with castor oil; after which it is set on fire, and that which drops from it is the paint referred to. Another kind is made of the juice of limes, indigo, and saffron." See EYE. has been altogether derived. It was not to excite the imagination, but to inform the understanding; not to give pleasure, but to convey facts, that painting and sculpture were employed in Egypt. According to Clement of Alexandria, an Egyptian temple was ypaμua, PAINTING. This art appears to have made some progress in the more advanced periods of the Jewish polity. In Ezekiel 23. 14,15, mention is made of " men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all'a writing;' it addressed itself to the mind in the same of them princes to look to." Jeremiah also mentions apartments which were painted with vermilion. (ch. 22. 14.) But as all pictures and images were forbidden by the Mosaic law, (Levit. 26. 1; Numb. 33. 52,) it is most probable that these pictures were copied by the Jews from some of their heathen neighbours after they had been corrupted by their intercourse with them. Among the Egyptians, from the employment of hieroglyphics, it is supposed that the art of the painter was generally associated with that of the scribe. Writing or painting materials were usually carried in a box, suspended from the side by a thong; and it is not unusual to see an artist or scribe with his brush stuck behind his ear, as in the engraving, like the pen of a clerk in a counting-house. From the representation given of two artists engaged on a painting, it will be observed that though the easel stands upright, they had no contrivance to support or steady the hand; hence the Egyptian painters appear to have been very careful in tracing their outlines with chalk, which they effaced if any imperfection were discovered. It is evident that the manufacture of images and painted toys was carried to a remarkable extent, as well as the decoration of mummy cases. There is a portrait in the British Museum of a GræcoEgyptian female, with necklace, ear-rings, and hair-pin, found in a mummy-case, which is supposed to be one of the oldest specimens of the art in existence. It is an article of exceeding interest, viewing it as a faithful resemblance of one of the people of this country at an early period. It is painted on a plank of cedar wood; the colours are all vegetable, and fixed by a strong gluten. The author of The Antiquities of Egypt, in reference to Scripture Illustration, observes, "The purpose of the Egyptians in their use of the art of design was very different to that of the Greeks, from whom modern art manner as a book. And to proceed with the metaphor, the groups of figures which covered it with their hieroglyphic explanations, were the several chapters, or sections, of which the book was composed. So that it was designed to be a written record of the historical facts which led to its erection, and of the mythic fables, in conformity to which it was dedicated. "The paintings in the tombs have also the same design. They represent supposed facts; the events of the life of the deceased, or the adventures of his soul after death. Clearness of idea, therefore, not pictorial effect, was the primary object of art in Egypt. The state of the arts of design among the Egyptians was entirely modified by this circumstance. Their artists made their imitations of nature sufficiently close to convey the intended idea with clearness and precision; and when that was attained, they had no motive for attempting any further improvement. It is the different degrees of accuracy which different objects require, in order that the picture may convey a clear and unequivocal idea to the mind, that doubtless has produced the singular unevenness (so to speak) which characterizes the remains of Egyptian art. For example: but little pains is generally taken with the human figure; its details are given imperfectly and incorrectly; and for an obvious reason. A very rude sketch will suffice to convey the idea, so that mistake shall be impossible; and that was generally all the artist wanted. But in the same column, or group, with these ill-drawn figures, the birds are often executed with a fidelity and spirit which can only be attained by a careful study of nature, and which could hardly be sur passed even by modern artists; and the reason is equally obvious. All this accuracy is required in order to the clear specification of the bird intended. Instances moreover are not wanting of Egyptian statues in which the details of the human form are more carefully attended to; and the Egyptians evidently excelled in |