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culture, in consequence of the unsettled state of society and the insecurity of property.

The patriarchal age furnishes us with many most interesting pictures of pastoral life. We see Abraham roaming about with his flocks and herds, just like a modern Bedouin chief, wherever he could find a sufficiency of herbage :-" And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, . . . and Lot also... had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great. . . . And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle. . . . And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere. . . . Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre " (Gen. xiii.). We find Jacob sending forth his flocks under charge of his sons, and remaining ignorant of their movements for a considerable period:- "And (Joseph's) brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said unto him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks, and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan" (Gen. xxxvii. 12-17). We read of Job,

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that::"His substance was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household (Job i. 3). In these as well as in other passages the general characteristics of the modern Bedouin life, as portrayed in the following passages, are brought before our minds. "The Bedouins are essentially a pastoral people-their only riches are their flocks and herds; their home is in the wide desert, and they have no local attachments; they seldom remain above one month in one spot, but wander about the deserts from well to well. When their flocks have eaten up what little verdure there is in one place, they strike their tents, and set out for another."-MADDEN's Travels. To-day they pitch their tents among the mountains, to-morrow in the plain; and wherever they plant themselves for the time, all that they have on earth-wife, children, and friends-are immediately around them. In fact the life of a Bedouin, his appearance and habits, are precisely the same as those of the patriarchs of old. Abraham himself, the first of the patriarchs, was a Bedouin; and four thousand years have not made the slightest alteration in the character and habits of this extraordinary people. Read of the patriarchs in the Bible, and it is the best description you can have of pastoral life in the East at the present day."."-Incidents of Travel.

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Among the barren and desolate mountains there is frequently a small space of ground, near some fountain or deposit of water, known only to the Arabs, capable of producing a scanty crop of grass to pasture a few camels, and a small flock of sheep or goats. There the Bedouin pitches his tent, and remains until the scanty product is consumed; and then packs up his household goods, and seeks another pasture ground."-Incidents of Travel.

"The Grecian poets, Homer and Hesiod, do not speak of gold and silver money: they express the value

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of things by saying they are worth so many oxen or sheep. They estimated the riches of a man by the number of his flocks, and that of a country by the abundance of its pastures and the quantity of its metals. These observations throw great light upon the patriarchal history. The patriarchs occupied the rank of chiefs, or princes; their substance consisted in their flocks and herds; and in the occupations and duties of the families of the Turcoman and Bedouin chiefs of modern times we have an exact transcript of their domestic manners.

"A sheikh, who has the command of five hundred horse, does not disdain to saddle and bridle his own, nor to give him barley and chopped straw.

"We beheld the plain before us covered with an immense multitude of Arabs, with their flocks and camels. They had come from the plains far distantfrom the extensive tracts which extend towards Babylon and Bagdad, the pastures being scanty, or else partially exhausted this season. They had journeyed hither with all their flocks and herds, for the sake of the superior pasturage the Syrian plains afford. Their tents were spread over an immense space of ground before us, those of the sheikh being distinguished by their superior size. Groups of camels were standing in some parts, and groups of their masters beside them, and herds of cattle, and goats, and horses were dispersed over all the plain, mingled with parties of Arabs, who watched and attended them.

"We came in sight of an Arab camp pitched near a rivulet of water in the midst of the plain, and flocks of cattle were feeding on the rich pasture. The large tent of the sheikh was conspicuous in the midst, and we resolved to trust to their hospitality. Having passed the line of tents, we stopped at the door of the chief, and alighting from our horses, entered. The Arabs gave us a kind and friendly reception. We sat down on the floor, and in about half an hour a repast was

brought of boiled rice, cakes of bread, and fresh butter. The encampments and journeyings of these people probably present a vivid picture of those of the patriarchs, who, with their flocks, and herdsmen, and camels went on their journeys until they pitched their tents in a place that had water, and was rich in pasture."-See Appendix to CARNE'S Letters, and the Letters, p. 369.

"When at the northern end of the Gulf of 'Akabah,” Dr. Robinson writes, 66 we met a large caravan of the Haweitât (an Arab tribe) coming from the Eastern desert, whence they had been driven out by the drought. They were now wandering towards the south of Palestine, and had with them about seventy camels and many asses."-Researches, i. 162.

"He told us that his master the chief sheikh (of Dura) was the owner of five male and six female slaves, two hundred sheep, three hundred goats, twenty-one neat cattle, three horses, and five camels." -Ibid., ii. 214.

"In July, 1846, there were upwards of twenty thousand camels and more than fifty thousand goats grazing there;* as the fine pastures of the surrounding plain attract immense numbers of the 'Anezah Arabs thither during the summer months."-WILSON's Lands of the Bible.

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"We calculated that all together we could not have passed fewer than thirty-five thousand animals. We could not look upon them, without having recalled to our remembrance the passage of Isaiah, The_multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord." "-WILSON'S Lands of the Bible.

"The state and equipage of the Arab sheikhs is maintained by means of revenue derived from a

* Dr. Wilson was travelling through some fine-pasture land.

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tithe which they exact for all the cattle, the camels excepted. This tenth of the innumerable herds and flocks yields the chiefs a very handsome income."IRBY and MANGLES, p. 485.

The office of the shepherd in these countries was of a more arduous nature than with us. It was his duty not only to find pasture for them, but to lead them regularly to the watering, to protect them from the attacks of wild beasts, and from thieves, to search after them if any had wandered from the fold, and in their journeys from place to place to take special care of the young and weary. Hence the numerous metaphorical allusions to the shepherd's office, descriptive of the care of God for His people :"Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron (Ps. lxxvii. 20): "He made His own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. And He led them on safely, so that they feared not; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies" (Ps. lxxviii. 52, 53): "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young" (Is. xl. 11): "In the cities of the mountains shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them" (Jer. xxxiii. 13): “I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown" (Ez. xxxiv. 14, 29): "Feed (marg. rule) Thy people with Thy rod, the flock of Thine heritage (Mic. vii. 14).

The following extracts illustrate the passages quoted:"It was a pleasing sight to see (the Arabs) bring in their flocks at night, which always slept close to the tents of their owners, several Arabs together, with numerous dogs, remaining outside as guards. The