splendour, vying with or surpassing all others of ancient or modern times, never enumerated among their sources of enjoyment the imitation of the scenes of many-coloured life by the combined efforts of several individuals. Yet in Greece and Italy on the one side, in Hindostan and China on the other, the theatre arose in every city and town of eminence. Even the simple islanders of the South Sea had a rude pantomimic mode of representing the events and the business of actual life. It would be perhaps idle to seek to point out any general cause of this fact; for what argument would apply to the state of society in ancient or modern Persia, or Egypt, that would not be of equal force in the case of India or China? But as, under every form of society, man seeks to be entertained and interested, we may justly inquire what has, with these nations, supplied the place of the drama and we at once find our reply the story-teller. numerous as to cities, they are so But the art is not confined to the story-teller by profession. Private individuals, particularly in the camps of the Arabian deserts, often excel in this talent; and when the cool of evening approaches, the Bedoweens crowd around a member of their society who is so gifted, to drink in with eager ears the tales of romance and wonder that flow from his eloquent lips. The celebrated orientalist just quoted gives, on another occasion,an animated and picturesque description-and highly valuable as taken immediately from nature—of a Bedoween audience and narrator ; of which description we shall attempt to convey some notion. Rude nations, such as were our Gothic sires, the Huns of Attila, and the old Romans, according to Niebuhr, used to divert their leisure, after the feast, by listening to the deeds of their fathers sung in measured language to the accompaniment of the harp or pipe, by the poet or minstrel. Fictitious heroes and fictitious events, where magic lent its aid to increase the interest, were also sung; and gradually these essays ripened into the drama. But in the east, by the skill of the narrators, the art of story-telling was brought to a high To form an accurate idea of the degree of perfection; and this per- magic power which tales of spirits haps it may have been that prevent- and enchantment exert over the burned the growth of the scene and thea- ing imagination and stormy feelings The story-teller, in fact, is of the Arab, one must have heard what Matthews is, compared to the them delivered by the lips of an exregular companies of Drury Lane pert narrator to a circle of Bedowand Covent Garden. In his own eens, a race who, as their prophet person he combines the talents of many; and his power of interesting and detaining an audience is fully equal to theirs. tre. Accordingly, throughout the Mahommedan East, the story-tellers are everywhere to be met; and in the describes them, delight in hearing, seeing, and acting. One must have seen these collected and closely crowded circles, not only in the midst of cities and in the coffeehouses, where idle auditors, effeminately reclined on sofas and pillows, slowly sipping the juice of the berry he comes back victorious and crownof Mocha and the smoke of tobacco, ed with glory, from the conflict,resign themselves to the impressions loud cries of Praise God, the Lord with which the eloquence of the nar- of Hosts! rend the air. Descriprator soothes the ear by well-round- tions of the beauties of nature, and ed periods, and by the magic of neatly especially of the spring are received cadenced prose, richly interspersed with a many times repeated Taib! with verse. One must also have seen taib! Well! well! And nothing circles of Bedoweens crowd with can equal the pleasure that sparkles close shoulders around the narrator in their eyes when the narrator lei of the desert, when the burning sun surely and con amore draws a full has sunk behind the sandhills, and length portrait of female beautythe thirsty ground sips up the cooling They listen with silent and breathless dew. No less eagerly do they devour attention, and when at length the the tales and fables which they have story-teller concludes his description already perhaps heard a hundred with the exclamation, Praised be times, but which, nevertheless, thanks God, who has created beautiful vo to the mobility of their imagination man! they all cry out in full chorus, and the skill and talent of the narra- with the inspiration of wonder and tor, still operate upon them with all gratitude, Praised be God who has the strength of novelty. One must created beautiful woman! Forms have seen these children of the des- like this, frequently interspersed in ert; how they move and act; how the course of the discourse, and they melt away in tender feelings, and lengthened out with well-known pro kindle up in rage; how they pant in verbs and periphrases, answer merely anxiety and again recover their for resting-places to the narrator, breath; how they laugh and weep; by means of them to spin on the how they participate with the narra- thread of his narrative quietly and tor and the hero of the tale in the composedly, without any new expe magic of the descriptions and the diture of memory or imagination. madness of passions. It is a real Where the narrator in a European drama, but one in which the specta- circle would merely say, And now tors also are actors. Is the hero of they continued their journey, the the tale threatened with imminent Arabian orator says, And now they danger?-they all shudder and cry went over hills and dales, through aloud, La, la, la, Istaghfer Allah. woods and fields, over meads da No! no! no! God prevent it! Is deserts, over plains and trackless he in the thick of the battle, mowing paths, up hill, down dale, from the down, with his sword, the troops of dawn of morning till the evening the enemy?-they grasp theirs, and came. During modes of speech of spring up as if they would fly to his this kind which flow from his lips u aid. Is he betrayed into the snares consciously, he collects his attenties of treachery and faithlessness?-their and sets forward, the stuff of his nar forehead contracts in wrinkles of an- rative till the sinking night or his er gry displeasure; they cry out, The hausted lungs compel him to break curse of God upon the traitors! off his tale, which would never come Falls he at length beneath the supe- to an end if he were to comply with rior numbers of his foes?-then their the wishes of his auditors. A story bosom heaves forth a long and teller, moreover, never ends his tale glowing Ah-accompanied by the with the evening, but breaks off a usual blessing of the dead, God's one of the most interesting parts mercy be upon him! may he rest in it ;* promising to give the contine peace! When, on the other hand, tion or conclusion of it the nextete of * This will illustrate the division of the Thousand and One Nights, and the artifice of the ingenious sultaness to obtain the respite of another day. ning; and if it really ends in the Art of Poetry hold good for the Arabeginning of the next evening, he bian narrators only in a contrary immediately commences another, of sense; and diametrically opposed to which the continuation is again put the entire spirit and character of an off till the following evening, and Arabian tale is his precept to the thus evening and evening are woven poetic narrator. together by a series of stories. These social rings closed around the story-teller, in which the Bedoween, either listening to, or himself relating, tales, passes half the night, and enjoys, after the burning heat of the day, the refreshing coolness, are called, by a peculiar name, Musamerit, that is, Discourse in bright moon, or starlight nights; and Essemir is the appellation of him who delights or takes a lead in these nocturnal discourses, in which, when the narrative is finished, and not till then, the company converse of it, and its wonderful events. The more wonderful a story is, the surer it is of producing its effects upon the auditors; and the wonderful, be it ever so incredible, or ever so worn out, always finds a welcome reception. .. quodcunque volet, poscat sibi fabula crediand the narrator never runs any danger of any of the auditors checking him with a Quodcunque ostendis mihi, sic incredulus odi in the sense of Horace. In general, several of the precepts in Horace's Non secus ac notas, auditorem rapit ;- bian narrator follows so little this Horatian precept, he attends so much the more closely to the one immediately after. Atque ita mentitur, sic veris falsa remiscet, Primo ne medium, medio ne discrepet imum. The more wonderful and the more varied a tale is from beginning to end, the more it claims the approbation and admiration of the hearers; and hence the great and well-merited fame of the Thousand and One Nights, the mere translation of which was a valuable enjoyment for the genius of Pope, though it could give no relish to the taste of Warburton. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SCRIPTURES.* HE variety of styles employed moreover, are increased by the naby the several writers of the ture of the narrative or subject in Old Testament Scriptures, renders which they occur. The ancient rebiblical learning one of the most ex- cords of religion have frequently a tensive and difficult studies in which meaning and reference which belong a scholar can be engaged. In the to some peculiarity in the system review of particular portions, espe- they were written to develope, and cially, we meet with all those difficul- it is these points which are often ilties which attend the examination of lustrated by the allusions to objects writings, referring to scenes and and circumstances present to the times whose character is altogether writers of the several books. Thus different from those with which we we have not only to search for the are acquainted. These difficulties, frequently hidden and peculiar mean *Scripture Natural History, or an account of the Zoology, Botany, and Geology of the Bible, by William Carpenter. 8vo. pp. 608. Wightman and Cramp. London, 1823. ing of Scripture phraseology, but to examine with the most careful attention the sources themselves from which its metaphors and illustrations have been drawn. There are, in the sacred writings, difficulties of two kinds; the one purely of a doctrinal character, the other common to the Scriptures with all other ancient compositions. A good biblical scholar therefore must be versed in the works of the great and laborious men who have devoted themselves to the elucidation of both these departments of theological learning. But the assistance which a student possesses in the former object of his pursuit, is incomparably greater than what he can obtain in the latter. Commentary upon commentary meets his attention at every step, and the extensive and valuable collections which are published of the old theological critics, furnish him with all the aids which human learning can afford him. The consequence of this, accordingly, is the readiness with which we find the doctrinal parts of the Scriptures explained by those who pay any attention to the subject, and the extreme want of skill manifested by them in unfolding and displaying the beauties of their peculiar phraseology, or in explaining passages in which the meaning depends on local allusions. In one respect, we are afraid, this want of skill, in a very important branch of biblical learning, results from an inadequate idea of its consequence. That which can be at once worked up into a sermon or lecture, is duly valued, because it is of more immediate and practical application; but a knowledge, which is principal ly of importance to the student himself, or which can only be incidentally displayed, is not likely to be sought for, but by the most diligent and acute inquirers after scriptural truth. It must, however, be confessed, that this, in a great measure, results from a want of works of general reference on these points. The publications of many intelligent Eastern travellers, afford invaluable ma terials for illustrations of Scripture: but these are not always within the reach of a retired theological stu dent; and when they are, they are not fit for immediate reference. Of the works which have been profess edly written on the natural history of Scripture, the greatest and the best is too voluminous and expensive for the ordinary purposes of study. We mean the "Physica Sacra" of Scheuchzer, of which there is a French and a German translation. The "Hicrobotanicon" of Celsius is also extremely valuable; but, in 3 original form, not likely to be c general use. The same may be d of the scientific remains of Forska the Swedish naturalist, who travelled into the East with the celebrated Niebuhr, and died on his journey Bochart, Professor Paxton, and oth ers, might also be named, as having written on the subject of Scripture Natural History, but their works a very little known to the generality of English readers, or even, we be lieve, to many professional one The "Natural History of the Bible," by Doctor Harris, comes under the same observation, and is, in fact, adapted for general circulation. To whatever causes, however, attribute the want of that species knowledge which is required to th perfect understanding of scriptur phraseology, the low state of biblics learning, in this respect, deserves. serious consideration. The wh force and beauty, and, very the most important meaning, of ce tain passages, can only be perceive by a perfect knowledge of the thir to which the writers allude; and circumstances and peculiar char ter of different objects which a mentioned in Scripture, frequently those not likely to stri a are me careless or unskilful observer. should also be remembered, that the language itself, in which the ancie records of our religion are write is of a nature which almost utter forbids its being well understood. without the knowledge of which e are speaking. Simple, and confe th in its vocabulary, its very idiom is metaphorical, and there is scarcely a sentence composed in it, without some allusion being made to the objects of external nature, their peculiar habits or qualities. Convinced, therefore, as we are, that an essential good will be effected by any aid given to the wider diffusion of knowledge on these points, we have taken up Mr. Carpenter's book with considerable pleasure, and we are happy in finding that he has performed his task with much learning and judgment. We give the following specimen of his manner of using the materials be has collected, taken from the zoological part of the volume: "THE ONAGER, OR WILD Ass. his load, The loud-voiced driver, and his urging goad! SCOTT. "This animal, which the Hebrews called PARA, and the Greeks ONAGER, is a much handsomer and more dignified animal than the common or domestic ass. Oppian describes it as handsome, large, vigorous, of stately gait, and his coat of a silvery colour; having a black band along the spine of his back; and on his flanks, patches as white as snow.' But it is to Professor Gmelin, who brought a female and a colt from Tartary to St. Petersburgh, that we are chiefly indebted for our knowledge of the onager, or wild ass. The length of the male, which was something larger than the female, the Professor states to have been, from the nape of the neck to the origin of the tail, five feet; his height in front, four feet four inches; behind, four feet seven inches; his head, two feet in length; his ears, one foot; his tail, including the tuft at the end, two feet three inches. He was less docile and more robust than 43 ATHENEUM, VOL. 9, 2d series. the female; and had a bar or streak crossing at his shoulders, as well as the streak which runs along the back, and which is common to both sexes. On her legs, the female stood higher than the common ass; they were also more slender and elegant in shape. Notwithstanding the state of exhaustion in which she was at this time, the Professor states that she carried her head higher than the ass, her ears well elevated, and showed a vivacity in all her motions. The colour of the hair on the greater part of the body, and the end of the nose, was silvery white; the upper part of the head, the sides of the neck, and the body, were flaxen-coloured. The mane was deep brown; commencing between the ears, and reaching the shoulders. The coat in general, especially in winter, was more silky and softer than that of horses, and resembled that of a camel. The colour of the onager, however, appears to vary, since Sir Robert Ker Porter describes one which he met with during his travels in Persia, the coat of which was of a bright bay colour. "The onager is an animal adapted for running, and of such swiftness that the best horses cannot equal it. From this quality it is that it derives its Hebrew name; and, as it prefers the most craggy mountains, it runs with ease on the most difficult ground. All the ancient writers who mention the animal notice his fleetness, especially Xenophon, who says that he has long legs; is very rapid in running; swift as a whirlwind, having strong and stout hoofs. "To give the reader a correct idea of this animal in his natural state, which is essential to appreciate the fidelity with which the writer of the book of Job delineates his character, we cannot do better than transcribe Sir R. K. Porter's account of the one to which he gave chase. "The sun was just rising over the summits of the Eastern mountains, when my greyhound Cooley suddenly darted off in pursuit of an animal, which, my Persians said, from the glimpse they had of it, was |