writer, therefore, seems to allude both to the meanness of a skin bottle, and to its blackness, from the smoke of the tent in which it is placed. And a most natural image it was for him to use, driven from the vessels of silver and gold in the palace of Saul, to quench his thirst with the wandering Arabs, from a smutted bottle of goat skin.

These bottles are liable to be rent, when old or much used, and at the same time capable of being repaired. In the book of Joshua we are informed, the Gibeonites “took wine bottles, old and rent, and bound up." This is perfectly according to the custom of the east ; and the manner in which they mend their old and rent bottles is various. Sometimes they set in a piece; sometimes they gather up the wounded place in the manner of a purse; sometimes they put in a round flat piece of wood, and by that means stop the hole.h

The shepherds are not the only class of people that live in tents; many orientals forsake their villages at the approach of summer, for the more airy and refreshing shelter which they afford. This custom, which may be traced to an antiquity very remote, explains, in the most satisfactory manner, an incident in the history of Jacob, When the patriarch, in consequence of a divine admonition, had formed the resolution to return from Mesopotamia to his father's house, he sent for Rachel and Leah to his flocks, and there informed them of his design; and on their consenting to go with him, he set out upon his journey, so silently, that Laban had no notice of it till the third day after his departure. It appears, however, that he carried all his effects with him, and tents for the accomf Harmer's Observ. vol. i, p. 221.

Josh. ix, 4.

h Chardin's MS. vol. vi.

modation of his family; and that Laban, who pursued him, had tents also for the use of his followers. The reason is, it was the time of sheep-shearing, when the masters and all their retainers commonly lived under tents in the open fields; and had the greater part, if not the whole of their furuiture with them, on account of the entertainments which were given on these joyful occasions. Thus was Jacob equipped at once for his journey, and Laban for the pursuit. It is not more difficult to account for the intelligence not reaching Laban till the third day afafter Jacob's escape. Laban's flocks were in two divisions

-one under the care of Jacob; the other committed to the care of Laban's sons, at the distance of three days' journey; and Jacob's own flock, under the management of his family, were, probably for the same reason, at an equal distance. Beside this, there might be other circumstances which retarded the progress of the messenger, which the sacred historian did not think it necessary to state; the fact is certain, and all the incidents of the story are natural and easy.

The custom of living in tents, was not confined to people in the country; persons of distinction often retired from the towns into the fields, and lived under tents during the heats of summer. Tahmasp, a Persian monarch, used to spend the winter at Casbin; and to retire in the summer, three or four leagues into the country, where he lived in tents at the foot of mount Alouvent, a place famed for its cool and pleasant retreats. His successors acted in the same manner, till the time of Abbas the Great, who removed his court to Ispahan.

Entertainments are frequently given in the country h Harmer's Observ. vol. i, p. 219.

under tents, which, by the variety of their colours, and the peculiar manner in which they are sometimes pitched, make a very pleasant appearance. To this agreeable custom, the spouse probably alludes, in that description of her person: "I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem; as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. The seeming contradiction in the first clause, is easily obviated. The Arabs generally make use of tents covered with black hair-cloth; the other nations around them live in booths, or huts, constructed of reeds and boughs, or other materials, or in tents of different colours. In Palestine, the Turcomans live in tents of white linen cloth; while the Turks in their encampments, prefer green or red, which have a very pleasing effect in the eye of the traveller." It is only the Arabian tents, or the tents of Kedar, which are uniformly black or striped. This is the reason the spouse compares herself, not to tents in general, which are of different colours, but to those of Kedar, which are all covered with black hair-cloth, and have therefore a disagreeable appearance.. These tents are stretched on three or four pickets, only five or six feet high, which gives them a very flat appearance: at a distance, one of these camps seems only like a number of black spots.*

To be black, but comely, involves no contradiction; for it is certain that the face may be discoloured by the sun, to the influence of which the spouse positively ascribes her sable hue, and yet possess an exquisite gracefulness. The Arab women whom Mr. Wood saw among

i Song i, 5.

J D'Arvieux Voy. dans la Palest. p. 99, 100, 173. Pococke's Trav. vol. ii, p. 115, 146. Chardin's Trav. p. 382. Harmer's Observ. vol. i, p. 236, 237.

k

Volney's Trav. vol. i, p. 279.

the ruins of Palmyra, were well shaped; and, although very swarthy, yet had good features. Zenobia, the celebrated queen of that renowned city, was reckoned eminently beautiful; and the description we have of her person, answers to that character; her complexion of a dark brown (the necessary effect of her way of life in that burning climate)-her eyes black and sparkling, and of an uncommon fire-her countenance animated and sprightly in a very high degree-her person graceful and genteel beyond imagination-her teeth white as pearl-her voice clear and strong. Such is the picture which historians have drawn of the beautiful and unfortunate Zenobia; from whence it appears, that a person may be both black and comely; and by consequence, that the description of Solomon, which certainly refers to the moral and religious state and character of the genuine worshipper of Jehovah, is neither incongruous nor exaggerated, but perfectly agreeable to nature.

In this case, however, the duskiness of complexion was not natural, but the consequence of exposure to the rays of the sun; for the spouse anticipates the surprise which the daughters of Jerusalem would feel when they beheld her countenance: "Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me." Females of distinction in Palestine, and even in Mesopotamia, are not only beautiful and well-shaped, but in consequence of being always kept from the rays of the sun, are very fair. This fact is attested by D'Arvieux, who was favoured with a sight of several Arabian ladies of high rank. It is not unworthy of notice, that the Scripture bears the 1 Ruins of Palmyra, p. 37.

m

m

Voy. dans la Palest. p. 214; and Russel's Hist. vol. i, p. 99.

same testimony concerning the complexion of Sarah, of Rebecca, and of Rachel; they were "beautiful and wellfavoured." But the women in general are extremely brown and swarthy in the complexion; although there are not a few of exquisite beauty in these torrid regions, especially among those who are less exposed to the heat of the sun. It is on this account, that the prophet Jeremiah, when he would describe a beautiful women, represents her as one that keeps at home: because those who are desirous to preserve their beauty, go very little abroad.

The spouse proceeds, "As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon." By the last clause may be understood those splendid tents, to which that great monarch, who, by his own confession, denied himself no earthly pleasure, retired in the heats of summer, or when he wished to entertain his nobles and courtiers, or sought the amusement of the chase. Some are of opinion, these curtains refer to the sumptuous hangings which surrounded the bed of the Israelitish king : and their idea receives some countenance from a manuscript note of Dr. Russel's, which states, that Mosquetto curtains are sometimes suspended over the beds in Syria and Palestine. But, since it is common in Hebrew poetry to express nearly the same thought in the second parallel line as in the first; and since it is equally common in Scripture to put a part for the whole, —it is more natural to suppose, that the tents of Solomon are actually meant in this passage; and as we are sure they were extremely magnificent, they might with great propriety be introduced here, on account of their beauty.

The oriental shepherds, when unprovided with tents,

• Russel's Hist. vol. i, p. 144. Harmer's Observ. vol. i, p. 238, note by Dr. Clarke.