ELIJAH AT THE BROOK CHERITH.

THE circumstances which led to the event indicated in the accompanying engraving, will be readily remembered by our readers. The people of Israel, by their religious delinquencies, had incurred the displeasure of Jehovah, and He determined to inflict upon them some terrible chastisement. At this juncture, an extraordinary prophet-Elijah the Tishbite-suddenly appears before the guilty nation, as the messenger and minister of God's retributive justice. He stalks into the palace of Ahab, the patron and ringleader of the idolatry and apostasy of the times, and declares, with an awful abruptness and sententiousness, "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain upon the earth these years, but according to my word." This was equivalent to the proclamation of a famine, with all its attendant horrors and sufferings, and which should affect, more or less, every family in the land.

Having delivered this prophetic burden, the stern man of God at once retreated from the capital, in order to escape the vengeance of the wicked king, and his more infamous consort, Jezebel. He journeyed eastward, and on reaching the brook Cherith-generally supposed to be on the other side of the river Jordan-he discovered a solitary and unfrequented nook, where he might find a safe asylum from the enraged Ahab. There, with the blue sky for his roof, the bare rocks for his walls, a rough stone for his seat, a shady thicket for his bed-chamber, and, awhile, the grass for his couch, was the appointed dwelling of Israel's mightiest prophet. There he sat, in his hairy mantle, silent and reflecting; and whenever solitude became wearisome, or the distant roar of the lion or the hissing of serpents excited emotions of passing dread, he would remember for his comfort that he was imprisoned there for the Lord's sake, and with his deep spiritual insight he would not fail to trace the footsteps of his God among the rocks, or to hear his reassuring voice amidst the trees of the glen.

But how was Elijah to be supported in this secluded wild? "Thou shalt drink of the brook," said the Lord to his servant; "and the ravens shall feed thee there." "It is enough, Lord," would be the response of his trustful soul. And, accordingly, while fields and woods, unrefreshed by rain or dew, were becoming more and more parched and scorched by the blindless fiery sun, and the waters were everywhere wasting away, Elijah continued, from week to week, and from season to season, to drink of the crystal stream which God had supplied for him. The ravens also fulfilled their office. Their natural instincts controlled, and their proverbial voracity restrained, by a Divine power, these ravenous birds performed their mission of disinterested kindness towards the man of God. No sooner did the morning dawn in Cherith's rocky vale, than their hoarse yet welcome cry was heard aloft in the trees, and when Elijah awoke, he beheld the morning meal lying beside him; and when the shades of evening began to fall, these "black livery servants," as Krummacher has styled them, again appeared, laden with meat and bread. And this astonishing mode of supply was maintained unfailingly, from month to month, until the brook became at length absorbed by the thirsty soil, or exhaled by the unmitigated heat, and Elijah was compelled to change his hiding-place.

Some persons have been curious to know where these winged waiters procured these provisions, and of what the supply consisted; since the natural food of the raven was such as an Israelite could not partake of without ceremonial pollution. Some ingenious commentators have suggested that the birds may have regularly stolen the food from Ahab's kitchen; while others have surmised that it was obtained from the provision made by the good Obadiah for the persecuted prophets whom he hid by fifties in caves.

It is right to mention, however, that there have been many able and devout-minded biblical critics who think that the word translated " ravens," admits of other renderings. Among these is the judicious Dr. Kitto, who dis

cusses the point with equal learning and candour, both in his "History of Palestine," and in his Daily Bible Illustrations." In explanation, we may remark that in the Hebrew text, as originally written, there are no Vowels. These were not added, or authoritatively fixed, until the seventh century after Christ. Now the manner in which the meaning of a word would be affected, by the affixing of the vowel points, may be illustrated by the word, GRN. According as the vowels are supplied to these consonants, it becomes either grain, groan, or grin : hence it will be seen that, in translating from the Hebrew, the true rendering of the sense of a passage depends very much upon the judgment of the translator. the original Hebrew word rendered "raven," is exposed to this difficulty. According to the position assigned to the vowel points, it becomes either ārob, a gad-fly; ǎrāb, Arabian; ērěb, the woof; ěrěb, evening; or oreb, raven. The latter was fixed upon in preference to either of the others, by the Masorete doctors, though why, Dr. Kitto is at a loss to understand. But this interpretation was given in an age when the Hebrew mind had gone astray after prodigies, and when the more marvellous of two or more senses was usually chosen.

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Dr. Kitto inclines to the rendering of "Arabs," instead of "ravens," thinking it highly probable that a company of these wanderers of the eastern deserts might have been encamped in the neighbourhood of Elijah's hidingplace, to avail themselves of the water of the brook. From their condition and habits of life, they were the people, of all others, to whom the secret of his retreat might be most safely entrusted. Besides, having once eaten of their bread and meat, the great law of Arabian honour made him secure of continual support, and safe from betrayal. Under these views, it seems to the learned doctor that, "I have commanded the Arabs to feed thee there," is, under all the circumstances, a more probable and natural interpretation than, "I have commanded ravens to feed thee there." Still, whether by the one or by the other, the fatherly care of God is equally exemplified.

THE YOUTH OF A PHILOSOPHER.

AMONG the constellations of the intellectual heavens, there has not shone, during our times, a more brilliant luminary than M. Arago. The highest scientific and literary honours which his country could confer, were showered upon him. He was at once a Member of the Institute of France, perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Science, and Director of the Observatory at Paris. M. Arago played a very conspicuous part in the exciting scenes of 1848, when the people of France cut themselves from their old political and social moorings, and were once more drifted upon the tempestuous sea of revolution. They sought to escape the ills of which they were then conscious, but, in doing so, flew to others they knew not of. Disappointed with the attempt at republican government, M. Arago turned himself entirely from public affairs, to watch the starry heavens, and to help on the further conquests of science.

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The repose of these ennobling pursuits, however, was not allowed long to endure, as the Government of Louis Napoleon demanded of him the oath of fidelity to the new sovereign. While other public functionaries were taking this oath as a matter of course, the astronomer considered himself exempted by law from the obligation, as his office at the Bureau of Longitude was an appointment for life. He was now undeceived; and the question resolved itself to his mind into the simple alternative, either to take the oath and retain the directorship, or to refuse and probably to be exiled! However, on the 10th of May, 1851— the very day on which, by his solemn oath, Louis Napoleon should have fallen back into the rank of private citizenshipM. Arago addressed a letter to the Minister of Public Instruction, requesting him to appoint a convenient day for him to quit the establishment which had been occupied by him for nearly half a century. That now noble institution had been raised from a state of decay to one of prosperity, through the energy and perseverance of this distinguished philosopher. Its magnificent instruments had been constructed mainly under his own eye. Very gracefully and delicately did he allude to these facts, as also to other services rendered to his country, and prosecuted amid untold