NINGS with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures."* Compared with these sublime dictates of inspiration, the most eloquent and energetic descriptions of uninspired bards appear poor and vapid. Even the poetry of Virgil, the prince of Roman poets, suffers greatly by comparison with the chaste and lofty style of the Prophets. Let the following lines be read in connexion with the passages just cited, and their inferiority will immediately appear : "Atque hæc ut certis possimus discere signis, Georg. lib. 1. v. 351, et seq. "And that we may discern by certain indications both heats and rains, and cold-bearing winds, Father Jove himself has appointed what the monthly moon should betoken; with what signs the south winds should fall; and by what common observations the husbandman should learn to keep his herds nearer their stalls." WATERSPOUTS. "Waterspouts are not unfrequent along the shores of Syria, and more especially in the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel. Those observed by Dr. Shaw appeared to be so many cylinders of water falling down from the clouds; though, by the reflection, it might be, of these descending columns, or from the actual dropping of the fluid contained in them, they would sometimes, he says, appear at a distance to be sucked up from the The theory of waterspouts in the present day, does indeed admit the supposition here referred to; that the air, being rarefied by particular causes, has sea. * Jer. x. 13. I its equilibrium restored by the elevation of the water, on the same principle that the mercury rises in the barometer, or the contents of a well in a common pump."* IGNIS FATUUS. Another atmospheric phenomenon sometimes observed in the East, is the ignis fatuus or deceptive fire. Dr. Shaw states, that travelling by night, in the beginning of April, through the valleys of Mount Ephraim, he was attended for more than an hour by an ignis fatuus, that displayed itself in a variety of extraordinary forms. It was sometimes globular, and sometimes pointed like the flame of a candle; then it spread itself so as to involve the whole company in its pale inoffensive light; after which it contracted, and suddenly disappeared. But in less than a minute, it would begin again to exert itself as at other times; running along from one place to another with great swiftness, like a train of gunpowder set on fire; or else it would expand itself over more than two or three acres of the adjacent mountains, discovering every shrub and tree that grew upon them. The atmosphere, from the beginning of the evening, had been remarkably thick and hazy; and the dew, as felt upon the bridles, was unusually clammy and unctuous. SEASONS. Six several seasons of the year are indicated in Gen. viii. 22; viz. seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter; and, as agriculture constituted the chief Palestine, p. 420. Shaw's Travels, vol. ii. p. 134. employment of the Jews, we are informed by the rabbinical writers, that they adopted this division of the seasons by which to regulate their rural operations. It is still observed by the Arabs and other nomadic tribes of the East. A brief notice of the natural phenomena which characterize each of these seasons will enable us to form a more correct idea of the transitions to which this climate is subjected. 1. SEED-TIME-comprised the latter half of the Jewish month Tisri, the whole of Marchesvan, and the former half of Chisleu, that is, from the beginning of October to the beginning of December. During this season the weather is variable, very often misty or cloudy, with mizzling or pouring rain. Towards the close of October or early in November, the autumnal rains begin to fall in copious and frequent showers. At this time the Jews were accustomed to plough their lands, and sow their wheat, and gather the latter grapes. Barley was put into the ground about two months. later. The air at this season is usually warm, sometimes even hot in the day-time; but at nights, the cold is often so intense, as to freeze the heavy dews; especially towards the close of it, when snows begin to fall, and the trees lose their foliage. 2. WINTER-included the latter half of Chisleu, the whole of Tebeth, and the former part of Sebat; that is, from the beginning of December to the beginning of February. At the commencement of this season snow rarely falls; the ice is thin, and melts as soon as the sun ascends above the horizon. As the season advances the north wind sets in, and the cold, especially on the mountains, which are now covered with snow, is intensely severe, and sometimes even fatal. But however severe the weather occasionally is, there are intervals, even in the depth of winter, when |