JONAH.

CHAP. I. verse 5. "Then the mariners were afraid,

and cried every man unto his god."

Here again we are at home (to speak royally): never was there a more natural description of the conduct of a heathen crew, in a storm, than this. No sooner does danger come, than one begins to beat his head, and cry aloud, Siva, Siva; another piteously shrieks, and beats his breast, and says, Vishnoo; and a third strikes his thigh, and shouts with all his might, Varuna. Thus do they cry to their gods, instead of doing their duty. More than once have I been in these circumstances, and never can I forget the horror and helplessness of the poor idolaters.

7.—" And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us." 15. "The sea ceased from her raging." 16. "Offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows."

In a storm, the heathen mariners always conclude that there is some one on board who has committed a great crime, and they begin to enquire, "Who is the sinner?" Some time ago, a number of native vessels left the roads of Negapatam, at the same hour, for Point Pedro, in the Island of Ceylon: they had not been long at sea before it was perceived that one of them could not make any way; she rolled and pitched and veered about in every direction; but the other vessels went on beautifully before the wind. The captain and his crew began to LOOK! at the passengers, and, at last, fixed their eyes upon a poor woman, who was crouched in a corner of the hold; they enquired into her condition, and found she was in a state of impurity: "Let down the canoe,"

was the order, "and take this woman ashore:" in vain she remonstrated, she was compelled to enter, and was soon landed on the beach. "After this the vessel sailed as well as any other!" When the storm rages, they make vows to their gods; one will go on a pilgrimage to some holy place, another will perform a penance, and a third will make a valuable present to his favourite temple. "Offered a sacrifice:" this is generally done when they get safe to shore, but I have been on board when they have offered cocoa nuts and other articles with the greatest earnestness. To interfere with them is not always prudent; because, were it not for the hope they have from such offerings, they would cease to work the vessel.

IV. 6. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and

made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his

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grief." The margin has instead of gourd," "Kikajon, or Palmecrist!"

Dr. A. Clarke asks, "But what was the Kikajon? the best judges say the ricinus or Palma-Christi, from which we get what is vulgarly called castor oil." The Tamul translation has, instead of "gourd," Amanaku, i. e. the PalmaChristi! It is believed, also, the verb is in the preterperfect tense HAD prepared, which may be another instance of the verb as illustrated under Isa. xxi. 9. The Palma-Christi is most abundant in the East, and I have had it in my own garden to the height of fourteen feet. The growth is very rapid. v. 7. "God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered,” i. e. the Palma-Christi till it withered. This tree, in the course of a VERY short period, produces the "rough caterpillar,” respecting which, I have written under Jer. li. 27., and in one night (where the caterpillars are abundant) will they strip the tree of its leaves, and thus take away the shade. But there is another worm in the East, called the kuruttu

pullu, i. e. blind worm, SAID to be produced by the dew; it begins its devastations at what is called the cabbage part of the palm, and soon destroys the tree. v. 8. "God prepared a vehement east wind." I have already written on that parching, life-destroying wind. But the margin has it, or "SILENT," which probably means CALM. Thus when there

is a lull of an easterly wind, and the sun pours his fierce rays on the head of the poor traveller, it seems as if life must depart birds and beasts pant; there is the silence of death, and nature seems ready to expire.

MICAH.

CHAP. I. verse 7.-" And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot."

Here again we have unalloyed and rampant heathenism: the "sacred" courtezans of the temple give a part of their hire towards the repairing and beautifying of the building; and, also, to purchase idols, or carry on the festivals. At the annual festival of Scandan, which continues twenty-four days, the females alluded to defray the expenses of the last day from the proceeds of their own wickedness.

IV. 4.

"They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree."

The people of the East have great pleasure in sitting or lounging under their tamarind or mango trees in the grove. Thus, in the heat of the day, they while away their time in playing with their children, in taking up the fruit, or smoking their much-loved shroot.

Allusions are often made in the Scriptures to the value of oil; and to appreciate them, it should be recollected, that oil ONLY is used to light the houses, and also, for anointing the body, and MANY medicinal purposes. "Have you heard of the charity of Venase? Why he has given a RIVER of oil to the temple; and Muttoo has given a RIVER of ghee." "Milk! why that farmer has RIVERS of it; and the Modeliar has a SEA."

VII. 3."That they may do evil with both hands.” We have seen that to do a thing with ONE hand, signifies earnestness, and a oneness of consent. Whenever a person has to receive a thing from a superior, he must put out BOTH hands; for not to do so, would be a mark of great disrespect. "Alas! I went to that man with both hands (i. e. held them out to him), but he turned me away." "The greedy wretch eats with both hands," meaning, he is a glutton; because all respectable and decent people eat with the right hand ONLY.

19." Cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." When a devotee believes the guilt of his transgressions has been removed, whether by prayers or austerities, he says, 66 My sins have all fallen into the sea."