before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, let us not kill him: and Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again."

"And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it."

"And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes, and looked, and behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels, bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

"And Judah said unto his brethren, what profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph

to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.'

"And Reuben returned unto the pit; and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?"

"And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood. And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, this, have we found; know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.'

"And Jacob knew it, and said, it is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him: Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down unto the grave, unto my son, mourning. Thus his father wept for him."

"And the Midianites sold Joseph into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard."

• The company was apparently what is now styled a Caravan, composed of both Ishmaelites and Midianites; spices, balm, and myrrh were much used in Egypt for embalming the dead.

To rend or tear the clothes, was a customary mode of expressing grief, and still continues to be so in Persia and other Eastern countries.

In this sad history we see the dreadful consequences of family disunion and strife. Joseph's brethren were jealous of the preference which their father showed him, and Jacob was certainly wrong in showing this preference so strongly as he did; but this was no excuse for their conduct. Joseph was their brother, and they ought not to have allowed themselves to hate him. We can always conquer such bad feelings when we choose, for we know that we may pray to God, who will give us the strength we need, if we really strive ourselves. But we must begin at once, while our feelings are only a little wrong, or it will be too late. When bad feelings are indulged, they become stronger, until they lead us on to crimes we should once have deemed it impossible to commit. Thus Joseph's brethren began by disliking their brother, and taunting him; they perhaps thought they should never do anything worse; but they proceeded to sell him as a slave! And this was not all; they suffered their aged father to mourn Joseph as dead, and were become so hardened that they could witness his misery, and yet persist in the wicked falsehood they had framed to deceive him. Let their history be a warning to all to avoid the first beginning of sin.

CHAPTER X.

JOSEPH CAST INTO PRISON.

THE DREAMS OF THE CHIEF BUTLER AND BAKER.

JOSEPH was sold by the merchants to Potiphar, a captain of the -guard of the king of Egypt. "And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him; and Potiphar made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And Potiphar left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat."

But Joseph had farther trials to undergo. Potiphar's wife was a depraved woman, and she accused Joseph of being wicked and unfaithful to his master when he was absent, however good and upright he might appear in his sight; Potiphar believed her false accusation, and he cast Joseph into prison. Joseph was, however, innocent, and the blessing of God followed him in prison, as it had in Potiphar's house. The keeper of the prison soon discovered his virtuous

H

character, and did not keep him guarded, but allowed him liberty to go over the whole prison, and even committed the other prisoners to his

care.

Amongst these prisoners were the chief butler, and the chief baker, to Pharaoh the king. One morning, when Joseph entered their prison, he found them sad; and when he enquired why they were sad, they said they had each had a dream, and there was no interpreter to tell them the meaning of their dreams. Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God ? tell me them, I pray you; and the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him,”

"In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: And Pharaoh's cup was in my hands; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hands:"

“ And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days; Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place; and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me, when it shall be well with thee; and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh,