Verse 5. As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.-The form of this strongly-marked contrast would lead us to conclude that a magnificent state-tent belonging to Solomon is here intended by the word rendered curtains and opposed to the black goats'-hair tents of the Kedarene Arabs. The Oriental kings usually possess one or more rich tents, to be used when occasion requires. In the Arabian romance of Antar (iv. 575), there is a description of one, which the hero received as a present from the king of Persia, and which he caused to be pitched upon the occasion of his marriage with Ibla. When spread out it occupied half the land of Shurebah, for it was the load of forty camels; and there was an awning at the door of the pavilion, under which four thousand of the Arabian horse could skirmish. It was embroidered with burnished gold, studded with precious stones and diamonds, interspersed with rubies and emeralds, set with rows of pearls; and there was painted thereon a specimen of every created thing-birds, and trees, and towns, and cities, and seas, and continents, and beasts, and reptiles: and whoever looked at it was confounded by the variety of the representations, and by the brilliancy of the silver and gold; and so magnificent was the whole, that when the pavilion was pitched, the land of Shurebah and Mount Saadi were illuminated by its splendour.' This is of course an exaggerated poetical description, particularly as to the size of the pavilion; but yet the exaggeration is not so great as might be imagined. Marco Polo describes Kublai Khan's tent as being so large that ten thousand soldiers might be drawn up under it, without incommoding the nobles at the audience: and others are mentioned capable of holding two thousand persons. At the famous marriage-feast held by Timur Beg (Tamerlane) at Canighul, the royal tents were gilt, and adorned with precious stones. Each tent had twelve columns of silver, inlaid with gold: the outside was scarlet and seven other colours, and were lined with satin of all colours. Their curtains were of velvet, and their ropes of silk. At the encampment of the same conqueror, in the plain of Ourtoupa, the pavilions were richly ornamented, and hung with curtains of brocade covered with gold flowers. At other times we read of tents covered with cloth of gold and tartaries full nobly;' and at the grand encampment at Minecgheul, the tent of Timur was under a canopy supported by forty pillars, and was as spacious as a palace; in the middle of it was a throne, so ornamented with precious stones that it resembled the sun (see Rankin's Historical Researches, passim). More recently Nadir Shah, the conqueror of India, had a superb tent, covered on the outside with scarlet cloth, and lined within with violet-coloured satin, ornamented with various figures of animals, flowers, etc., formed entirely of pearls and precious stones. The contrast between such tents and those of the Arabian shepherds is great indeed.

6. Because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me.'-In countries like Palestine, where the summer heat is strong and of long duration, a great difference exists in the complexion of the women. Those in good circumstances seldom go abroad, and being shaded from the sun at all times with great care, their complexions remain fair and beautiful. But women in the lower ranks of life, such as those of the fellahin (peasants), and still more of the Bedouins, being, from the nature of their employment and manner of life, more exposed to the sun, contract a swarthy or tawny complexion. Under such circumstances a high value would necessarily be set by the Eastern ladies upon the fairness of their complexions, not only as a mark of superior beauty, but of their high condition. Self-abased therefore by the consciousness of the difference between her brown complexion and the clear hue presented by the high-born daughters of Jerusalem who were attendant at the royal marriage, the bride breaks forth into this deprecation, and assigns as the cause of her mean appearance that she had been exposed to the labour of the fields.

They made me keeper of the vineyards,' etc.-The bride complains of the severity of her relations in ex

posing her to the mean employment by which her fair complexion had been embrowned. She says, in effect, as Fry paraphrases, 'You see me discoloured by the sun; it arises from my having been employed in the labours of husbandry; not that I myself have reaped any fruits from my industry. I was cruelly reduced to be the slave of others, and they alone have received the profits of my toil and labour.'

7. Tell me.... where thou makest thy flocks to rest at noon,' etc.-This, it seems, she wants to know, that she, who has a separate charge of a flock of kids, as appears by the next verse, may drive her flock thither also, and enjoy the period of noontide repose, when the flocks rest in the shade, in his society. The answer is, that in case they should be separated, she may discover his noontide resting-place by following the traces of his flock.

9. I have compared thee.... to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.' - This comparison seems, to our notions, somewhat uncouth. But we are to observe that the comparison is here not to one particular horse, but to a number of horses; and further, that these horses are such as belong to the costly chariots of Pharaoh, and that the point of the comparison is not, as appears, to the form, action, speed, or docility of these animals, but to their splendid decorations, as illustrated by what follows:Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, and thy neck with chains of gold.' If the reader will take the trouble of comparing the splendid furniture of the horses in the Egyptian chariot in the cut given under Exod. xiv., with the neck and head of the Egyptian princess in the engraving given under chap. vii., he will be at no loss to discover the force and propriety of the comparison. It will be remembered that Solomon's own horses and chariots were Egyptian, and were doubtless decorated and furnished in the Egyptian manner, though perhaps, from the magnificence of his taste, with richer materials than ordinary jewels and gold.

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10. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels.'-Instead of cheeks, it would be better to read brows,' as the original will very well allow. We may here intimate that we shall not in this book notice the various details of female ornaments, as they are more fully enumerated in Isa. iii.. where they will receive the requisite attention. The present text intimates that the ornament of rows of jewels, still much affected by ladies in the East, was thus early in use; indeed, we see them in the dresses of the ancient Egyptian ladies, as, for instance, in the cut given

The CHKOOSAH, or Jewelled Head-band of Modern Egypt.

under chap. vii. Olearius states (and his statement is still applicable) that all the head-dress that the Persian ladies make use of are two or three rows of pearls, which are worn round the head, beginning at the forehead and descending down the cheeks, and under the chin, so that their faces seem to be set in pearls. This head-dress seemed to him to be very ancient among the Orientals, since, he says, mention is made of it in the Song of Songs, for which he refers to the present text. The sultana Hafiten is described by Lady M. W. Montague as wearing around her talpoche, or headdress, four strings of pearls, the finest and whitest in the word.' And if it were only as a royal bride that the lady in the Canticles wore those rows of jewels, this also is illustrated by the later usages of the East; for when the Khalif al-Maimon went to receive Touran Dokht, the Tarikh al-Abbas reports that he found that princess 'seated on a throne, her head laden with a thousand pearls, every one of them as big as a pigeon's egg or large

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nut; and this rich coiffure the Khalif resolved should be assigned her for a dowry.'

12. While the king sitteth at his table,' etc.-This is confessedly obscure; nor is Fry's While the king was in his circuit, much clearer. We prefer the interpretation of Stowe, who translates

Where the prince is on his divan,

Thither doth my perfume send its fragrance;'

and in his note supposes it to convey the very poetical idea that the fragrance of the perfumes is attracted to him.

13. He shall lie,' etc.-Not he,' but it,' that is the bundle of myrrh mentioned in the preceding clause- A cluster of myrrh is my beloved unto me: it shall lie all night in my bosom.'

This simile is, without doubt, derived from the custom which still prevails among the Persian and other Eastern ladies of distinction, who attach to their necklaces, which fall below their bosoms, a box of perfumes, pierced with holes, through which the precious scent issues. For trinkets, these boxes are rather of a large size. They are usually filled with a light black paste made of musk and amber, the scent of which is very powerful.

14. Camphire.'—The Hebrew copher, answering to the Greek Kúpos and the Latin cyprus, is now generally agreed to be the henna of the Arabians, being the Lawsonia alba of Linnæus, including under the specific appellation

LAWSONIA INERMIS.

of alba the inermis and the spinosa, since the shrub is unarmed in youth, but becomes thorny as its age advances. It belongs to the natural family of the Salicaria, and is hence allied to the Lythrum salicariæ of the streams that meander through the parks in this country. It is a smooth-looking shrub: the deep colour of its bark contrasts well with the light green hue of the foliage; and, together with the softened mixture of white yellow, with the red tint of the ramifications which support them, presents a combination as agreeable to the eye as the odour is to the scent. The flowers grow in dense clusters-whence the cluster of camphire' in the text. The grateful fragrance of these clusters is as much appreciated now as in the time of Solomon. The clusters themselves serve as a popular and customary perfume. The women take great pleasure in them. They hold them in their hand, carry them in their bosom, and keep them in their apartments to perfume the air. An extract from them is used in religious ceremonies, and in visits of compliment and gratulation. The leaves of this plant are still more in request. When dried and powdered they furnish the famous dye with which the Orientals give a deep orange tincture to the nails of their hands and feet, to the soles of their feet and the palms of their hands, and sometimes to their hair. Some think that the use of this dye for the nails is indicated in Deut. xxi. 12: and it is not unlikely that the Hebrews had this custom, though it may be doubtful that there is an allusion to it in that text. See the note there.

CHAPTER II.

1 The mutual love of Christ and his church. 8 The hope, 10 and calling of the church. 14 Christ's care of the church. 16 The profession of the church, her faith and hope.

I AM the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

2 As the lily among thorns, so is my among the daughters.

love

3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. 'I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

5 Stay me with flagons, 'comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

6 'His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

1 Heb. I delighted and sat down, &c.

2 Heb. palate.

4 Heb. straw me with apples.

5 Chap. 8. 3.

7 'I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

8 T The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, 'shewing himself through the lattice.

10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come

13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. 10

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his : he feedeth among the lilies.

17 "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou 12like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether."

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Verse 1. The rose of Sharon.'-The Septuagint and Vulgate render the original na chabatztzeleth, by ávéos, and flos-a flower; and Sharon they do not give as a proper name, but give its meaning, translating, a flower of the field.' Bishop Percy, whose opinion has been taken by many later commentators, thinks that the bride is not praising herself, by reference to flowers famous for their beauty, but is speaking modestly and detractively of herself; and points this sense by translating, I am a mere rose of the field, a lily of the valley. He justly understands that this gives a new force to the reply of the bridegroom in the next verse.

We believe there can be little doubt that the rose is really intended by the Hebrew word. Even if in the general sense it should mean but a flower, we should still infer that, when applied in a particular sense, it means a rose; for this would be according to the usage of the East. Thus the Persian word gul describes a flower in general, and the rose par excellence; and the Arabic term ward is employed in the same acceptations. This suffices to shew the estimation in which the rose is held in the East. It is the queen of flowers there, as in the West- and there perhaps more eminently. In the Persian language, particularly, there is perhaps no poem in which allusions to it, and comparisons drawn from it, do not occur even to repletion, although diversified by reference to the various species and colours in which that renowned flower appears. The extreme fragrance and great beauty of the rose in some parts of Western Asia have attracted the notice of many travellers. It is also cultivated, not merely as a garden-plant for pleasure, but in extensive fields, from the produce of which is prepared that valued and delicious perfume called rose-water. The size of the rose trees, and the number of the flowers on each far exceeds, in the rose districts of Persia, anything we are here accustomed to witness. In that country the most common sorts are the usual rose-colour, white, red, or deeper red, yellow, and mixed-that is, red on one side, and yellow or white on the other. Sometimes, also, on a rose-tree may be seen flowers of three colours-red, red and yellow, and red and white. How much the rose was esteemed by the classical ancients is well known. It particularly figured in festal chaplets; and so perhaps it did among the Jews; for, in the apocryphal book of Wisdom, the sensualists are represented as saying, Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments, and let no flower of the spring pass

by us: Let us crown ourselves with rose-buds before they are withered' (chap. ii. 7, 8). In another apocryphal book the rose-plants of Jericho' (Ecclus. xxiv. 14) are mentioned with praise.

The extent to which roses flourished in and near Palestine may be perceived from the testimonies of travellers. The principal species are the white garden-rose (Rosa alba), the damask-rose (R. Damascene), a yellow rose, and the evergreen rose (R. sempervirens). The Syrian origin of the damask rose is indicated by its name, which refers it to Damascus. In the gardens of that city roses are still much cultivated. Monro says that in size they are inferior to our damask rose, and less perfect in form; but that the colour and odour are far more rich. The only variety which exists in Damascus is a white rose, which appears to belong to the same species, differing only in colour. The same traveller (ii. 90) found, in the valley of Baalbek, a creeping rose of a bright yellow colour in full bloom about the end of May. About the same time, on advancing towards Rama and Joppa from Jerusalem, the hills are found to be to a considerable extent covered with white and pink roses (Elliot, ii. 508). The gardens of Rama itself abound in roses of a powerful fragrance (D'Arvieux, ii. 24). Burckhardt was struck by the number of rose-trees which he found growing wild among the ruins of Boszra beyond Jordan (Syria, 236); and the same traveller informs us that roses are cultivated with much success in the gardens of Mount Sinai (p. 583). Mariti found the greatest quantity of roses in the hamlet of St. John, in the wilderness of the same name. In this place the rose-trees form small forests in the gardens. The greatest part of the roses reared are brought to Jerusalem, where rose-water is prepared from them, of which the scent is very exquisite.' According to the Rabbinical authorities, no gardens were allowed within the walls of Jerusalem-seeing that the gardens would require the soil to be manured, whereby the holy city would have been polluted. A few rose-gardens only (which had existed from the days of the prophets) were allowed (Lightfoot, Exercit. upon Matt., xxvi. 36). At present the vicinity of Jerusalem does not appear very congenial to the rose.

- Lily.'—The Hebrew word shoshanna, seems to indicate that the lily of the valley' was one of those plants wherein the number six () predominates in the distribution of their parts, such as the crocus, asphodel,

daffodil, lily, etc. We once felt inclined to think that a species of asphodel was the plant alluded to, since the Asphodelus ramosus covers immense tracts of land in the south, and is said to be good fodder for sheep; 'he feedeth among the lilies.' But in a matter of so much obscurity we prefer to concur with those who think that the Amaryllis lutea may be here intended. The Amaryllis lutea, or yellow amaryllis, bears some resemblance to our yellow crocus, but with a larger flower and broader leaves. The blossom emerges from an undivided spathe or sheath, and is of a bell-shaped contour, with six divisions, and six stamens which are alternately shorter. The flower seldom rises above three or four inches above the soil, accompanied by a tuft of green leaves, which, after the flowering is passed, continue to wear their freshness through the winter. Many acres are often covered with this pretty flower, which is in its prime in September and October. It is a hardy plant, and was introduced into the English gardens by Gerarde in 1596, where it is seen flowering nearly at the same time as the saffron crocus and the colchicum, with which it harmonizes greatly in its appearance. As it is, however, uncertain whether any lily is intended by the Hebrew word here employed, we prefer to reserve our information respecting the lilies of Palestine for Matt. vi. 28, where a species of lily is unquestionably denoted.

3. Apple-tree.'-Instead of this, we have citron-tree;' and, when the fruit alone is mentioned, citron' instead of apple,' in most modern versions. We do not hesitate to acquiesce in this conclusion, when we reflect that all the allusions to it in Scripture agree better with the citron than

"APPLE" OR CITRON TREE (Citrus Medica). with the apple. From the present text we learn that it was thought one of the noblest trees of the wood, and that its fruit was very pleasant: v. 5 seems to intimate that its fruit was proper for those to smell who were ready to faint; ch. viii. 5, more explicitly expresses its fragrance; and Prov. xxv. 11, appears to say that it was of a golden colour. All this is true of the citron, but not so of the apple, which does not attain much delicacy or perfection

in Western Asia. The present writer nowhere, in that region, tasted an apple which an Englishman would praise, except at one place (Gumitch Khona, widely famed on that account) among the mountains south of the Black Sea, where they are very good, and admit of a comparison with some of our best qualities. The name also, En tappuach, signifying to breathe,' may be supposed to express the delightful and powerful fragrance which breathes from every part of the citron-tree. To which we may add, that the fruit is much used by the Oriental ladies to smell to, for which purpose they often have it in their hands, or within reach, and, as its fragrance is considered most reviving, it is employed for much the same purposes as a scent-bottle in this country. We consider this a good illustration of v. 5. The tree grows to a fine large size, and affords a pleasant shade, as the text intimates. It is green all the year, and in due season the snow-white blossoms and golden fruit may be observed at the same time upon the same tree. The foliage is studded with minute glands, which are the depositaries of the odorous juices to which the tree owes its fragrance. Many think that the word is to be understood in the large sense, as including the orange, lemon, and other species of the citrus: as, however, there is much uncertainty in this matter, and as the details seem more applicable to the citron than to any other single species, we have preferred to limit our statement, without being opposed to the larger interpretation.

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4. Banqueting-house.'-We have been desirous of senting our readers with a specimen of the style of interior architecture and ornament, exhibited in the more splendid royal halls of Eastern palaces. For this purpose we have been induced to select the very rich and characteristic Hall of Abencerrages, in the famous palace of the Alhambra, built by the Arabian kings of Granada. Its peculiarly Oriental character, its age, and the elaborate finish of all its parts, render it by far the most eligible representation for our purpose that could be obtained. The pillars, the arches, the central fountain diffusing its cooling influence around, the division of the walls with their projections, recesses, and style of ornament, are all in the most approved Oriental style, which probably existed in ages long anterior to the foundation of the Alhambra. The entrance to this hall is from the Court of the Lions, so called from the fountain which is seen in our engraving, and a larger view of which has been given under 1 Kings vii. 23. Murphy, from whose Moorish Antiquities of Spain the illustration is copied, thus speaks of a similar and corresponding apartment (the Hall of the Two Sisters), entered from the same court. The eye is lost in contemplating the rich assemblage of ornaments which appear in every part of this noble hall. From the pavement to the beginning of the arches the walls are decorated with elegant mosaic; the panels between the arches are filled with a very delicate ornament, which, at a little distance, has the appearance of a plain mass; and the ceiling is composed of stalactites in stucco, and is finished in a style of equal elegance. The distribution of the various parts of this noble apartment is truly enchanting. The balconies above were occupied by musicians; below sat the women; while a jet-d'eau in the centre diffused a refreshing coolness through the hall. The windows in the back-ground are finished in a similar manner, and look into a little myrtle-garden.' Nothing can be better in the way of general illustration than what the same author, in his History of the Mohammedan Empire in Spain, says on the general style of interior decoration which this palace exhibits: The Arabesque paintings and mosaics, which are finished with great care and accuracy, give a consequence and interest even to the smallest apartments. Instead of being papered and wainscoted, the walls are covered with Arabesques which had been cast in moulds in a peculiar manner, and afterwards joined together, although no separation appears. The receding ornaments are illuminated in just gradations with leaf-gold, pink, light blue, and dusky purple: the first colour is the

nearest, the last the most distant from the eye, but the general surface is white. A multitude of sculptures of unequal projection creates confusion; an error avoided in this place, where the ornaments are produced by incision, and their boundless number excites an artificial infinity. Externally, where projections are necessary, the line of continuity is uniformly preserved in every distinct series of parts. The domes and arcades are also formed of ornamented casts, which are almost as light as wood and as durable as marble: specimens of the composition of which they are formed may be seen in the early works of the Arabs uninjured after the lapse of ten centuries. The lower parts of the walls, to the height of about four feet, are covered with porcelain mosaics of various figures and colours; and it appears, from a few remaining specimens, that the floors and columns of some of the apartments were also covered with similar mosaics.' Nearly all this applies with equal propriety to the modern palaces of

Western Asia; the principal alteration being in the now frequent use of looking-glass in the interior decorations, and which seems in some sort to supply the place of the porcelain mosaic mentioned above, and which, like that, is employed sometimes to cover even the shafts of pillars, and with an effect which we should undervalue by comparing it with any use of the mirror known in this country. Upon the whole, however, as well as in the use of painted figures and devices, which sometimes occur instead of the rich panel-work, which is still, however, to a great extent retained, the Oriental taste seems to have considerably degenerated. In the East there is perhaps no palace equal to the Alhambra; and this is one reason for the preference we have given to it for the purpose of illustration. See also the notes on Ps. xlv. 8; and Isa. liv. 12.

- His banner over me.'-Harmer, in his Observations, very ingeniously conjectures that the passage in the Psalms (cxxi. 5), The Lord is the shade on thy right