heaven? It is worth more to her child than the whole world, with all that it contains.

Have you such a mother? O! love her; obey her; listen to her kind advice; remember all the good instructions she has given you; do all you can to make her happy.

Have you had such a mother? Think of her with the warmest affection. Keep near to your heart the memory of all she did for you; of all her prayers; her admonitions; her warnings; her reproofs.

How are you treating such a mother, if she is still living, or her memory, if she is dead? Can it be that one undutiful, ungrateful, wicked child shall read these pages, and while stopping for a moment, with Joseph, at the tomb of Rachel-not pause, and consider, and mourn over that wickedness of heart which can lead a son or a daughter to forget and despise the prayers, the entreaties, the tears of a pious and affectionate mother?

If living-how does such conduct wring her soul with anguish? If dead-can you endure the recollection of that look and voice of love, and tenderness, and pity, and not be melted into deep repentance before God?

CHAPTER III.

Jacob arrives at Mamre.—Description of Hebron.—Joseph's Character.-Jacob's affection for him.-His brethren envy him.-Sin, if not repented of, increases rapidly.

Not long after this, Jacob arrived at Mamre, and found his aged father, Isaac, still alive, although he was more than one hundred and sixty years old. It must have been a very happy meeting; and Joseph, I dare say, was very glad to see his grandfather, of whom he had heard much, and also the pleasant place in which he lived.

This place was about twenty-seven miles south of Jerusalem, and was afterward called Hebron. Near it, in the cave of Machpelah, which Abraham purchased for that purpose, both himself and his wife Sarah were buried; and in the same cave Isaac, when he died, at the age of one hundred and eighty years, was laid by the side of his father and mother.

Travellers, who have not long since visited that part of Palestine, tell us that Hebron is situated on the slope of a mountain, in a fertile valley; and that the sides of the neighboring hills are covered with the oak, the arbutus, the fir, and a variety of flower

ing shrubs. The adjoining country is better cultivated than that near Jerusalem. The town has a strong castle; abundance of provisions; a number of shops and neat houses; and about four hundred families of Arabs, beside a hundred Jewish houses.

It was, undoubtedly, a flourishing and fertile country in Isaac's and Jacob's time, or they would not have remained there with such large families, and such numerous herds and flocks, as they had.

A principal part of Jacob's business consisted in taking care of his herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats. His sons assisted him in doing this; and the first thing which we read in the Bible, of any occupation in which Joseph was engaged, is, that he was feeding the flock with his brethren, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah.

He was then seventeen years of age, and beloved by Jacob more than any other of his children; for he was the son of his old age, being born when Jacob was ninety years old. Probably, too, Joseph was a youth who conducted well, and showed a degree of wisdom that was remarkable for one of his years. His brothers, with the exception of Benjamin, who was yet quite a boy, seem not to have behaved as well as Joseph did. And we find that the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, with whom Joseph had been while taking care of the flock, either said or did

some wicked thing, of which Joseph felt it to be his duty to tell his father.

Being such a son, it was no wonder that Jacob loved him more than he did his brothers, and probably often spoke of him in their presence, as affording an example which they ought to follow. Joseph wore, also, a very beautiful and costly garment of various colors, which his father gave him as a peculiar mark of his affection, and, not unlikely, to distinguish him from his brothers, and to show that in some respects he was superior to them; for after this we do not read any more of his keeping the flocks, and it is supposed that he stayed at home with his father, to aid him in the care of his family and in his other concerns.

All these things led Joseph's brethren to regard him with great hatred and envy. When they met him they could not speak peaceably unto him. They often passed by him without giving him a single kind look or word; and sometimes they used toward him violent and reproachful language. It is probable, too, that, when alone by themselves, they spoke very disrespectfully of their aged father, complaining of his great affection to their brother, and accusing Joseph of meddling in their concerns, and of informing Jacob of what they said or did.

Have you ever felt so toward any of your bro

thers or sisters, or toward any of your companions at school, because they conducted better than you. did, and received the approbation of your parents or teachers, and had something given to them, while you had nothing given to you? If you have, then you know what envy is, and you ought to know too, and to feel what a base and wicked thing it is to be envious of others. If they are good and happy, and are beloved and esteemed, and have things which you have not, ought you not to rejoice in it, instead of envying them, and wishing to see them deprived of what they have, that you may enjoy it? ought you not to endeavor to imitate their example, and partake with them of their happiness? For parents and teachers have esteem, and love, and other things, enough and enough, to bestow upon all the children who conduct well, and deserve their approbation.

You will see as we go on to the history of Joseph, to what great wickedness the envy of his brothers toward him finally led. Ah! you know not to what your envy toward your brothers and sisters may lead! Sin of all kinds may appear small at first, but it grows very rapidly, and soon becomes dreadful indeed. Did you ever think to what your giving one blow in anger, if not repented of, will lead? If you do not repent of it, and pray to God