earliest written record we have of our race; and indeed we are aware of its prevalence, in a greater or less degree, among all early nations. In some instances, in the Bible, the word servant may, and we think does, mean some humble friend, or dependent, or disciple performing servile offices; but the mass of those called servants in Scripture were absolute and perpetual slaves. They generally were either captives taken in war, or were foreigners that had been purchased. They. with their descendants, were considered the property of their masters, and, as such, might be exchanged or sold; nay, among some nations, a power of life and death over his unfortunate slave was confided to his master. Abraham's servants were, we apprehend, slaves: but the revolting circumstances attending slavery in some of its exhibitions, were generally unknown among the early orientals. The slaves were rather deemed, and treated, as humble members of the family; though to this there were doubtless, in some instances, cruelexceptions. Whatever may have been the case, however, as' to the extent of a master's power, servitude of some kind, and a right of alienation, are distinctly declared. The monuments show us the existence of slavery. "From them we find" (says Taylor) "that the mistress of a mansion was very rigid in enforcing her authority over her female domestics. We see these unfortunate beings trembling and cringing before their superiors, beaten with rods by the overseers, and sometimes threatened with a formidable whip, wielded by the lady of the mansion herself." In other cases, the relation subsisting between the mistress and her slaves appears to be of a gentler and more affectionate character. In a tomb at Thebes is a representation, copied by Wilkinson, of a lady enjoying the bath, who is waited on by four female servants, where nothing

appears to indicate any other feeling than that of mutual kindness, and, on the part of the attendants, respectful affection.

5. There was famine in Canaan, and abundance in Egypt.

Egypt in early times was regarded as the granary of western Asia. It owes its fertility to the periodical inundations of the Nile; these are, of course, the consequence of the rains in the remote country in which the river takes its rise, or through which it passes in the upper part of its course; for it is the peculiarity of Egypt that it does not depend for its fertility, as most other lands do, on local rains; of which, as we have already stated, it may be said to have comparatively none. It may therefore be, that a want of local rains in Canaan would produce a scarcity there; while in the adjacent region of Lower Egypt, overflowed by reason of rain in a far-distant and mountainous land, there would be abundance. Such, we believe, is at this day sometimes the case; Egypt is fertile, while local causes occasion more or less of dearth in Canaan.

It sometimes happens, though rarely, that there is want in Egypt; but we will not now dwell on this, as we shall have occasion to speak of it, more particularly, hereafter. The coexistence of want in Canaan, and abundance in Egypt, is thus seen to be in perfect harmony with the natural phenomena of the country.

6. Sarah was fair, and used no covering or veil over her face.

Sarah was a native of Mesopotamia; and from the complexions of different nations as painted on the monuments, we learn that the Egyptians were not so dark as the Nubians and Ethiopians; but were of a browner tinge than the Asiatics. Hence "the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very fair." We read, too, that "the princes of Pharaoh also saw her." Hence she must have been unveiled. This is in accordance with what we learn from the monuments; and, though seemingly a small matter, is yet valuable for the incidental testimony it affords to the fact that the writer of our history, whoever he may have been, knew well the fashions of Egypt in the days of Abraham, and described things as they were. Oriental women generally veil their faces in public; and out of Egypt, such was the custom from the earliest times: but in Egypt, such was not the fashion until after the conquest of the country by the Persians. In the reign of the Pharaohs, as the monuments abundantly show, the women exposed their faces, and were permitted to enjoy as much liberty as the ladies of modern Europe. This was the result of an advanced state of civilization.

We have numerous illustrations on the walls of Egypt, showing the habits of social life among the ancient inhabitants. Thus, in the representation of an entertainment, we may see the ladies and gentlemen sometimes assembled in the same apartment, and mingling together with all the freedom of modern social intercourse. The children also, instead of being shut up in the harem, according to present oriental custom, are introduced into the company, and are depicted as sitting by the mother's side or on the father's knee. In fact, no ancient nation allowed to its females greater luxuries and privileges than were granted to the Egyptian women. Their dresses were exceedingly rich and costly. As has been intimated -by Mr. Taylor, the inventory of female ornaments, furnished by the prophet Isaiah, (ch. iii. 18-23,) might be made from an inspection of the monuments. We see on them "the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires, like the moon; the chains and the bracelets, and the mufflers; the bonnets and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings; the rings and nose-jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping-pins; the glasses (mirrors), and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils." Some of the representations of entertainments, on the monuments, are not a little amusing; and certainly indicate a state of female freedom, quite as liberal as could have been desired. The ladies are sometimes to be seen engaged in an animated discussion on the respective merits of their ear-rings and the arrangement of their plaited hair, and exhibiting a characteristic rivalry. Sometimes, too, may be seen unfortunate ladies paying the penalty of excess in wine, and evidently unable "to carry their liquor discreetly." Sir Gardner Wilkinson supplies us with a representation, from Thebes, and thus describes it. "Some call the servants to support them as they sit, others, with difficulty prevent themselves from falling on those behind them; a basin is brought too late by a reluctant servant, and the faded flower, which is ready to drop from their heated hands, is intended to be characteristic of their own sensations."

A party of Egyptian ladies.— Thebes.

7. Pharaoh wished to place Sarah in his harem.

To this it has been objected, that Herodotus has stated that each Egyptian had but one wife. This was true of the practice of the common people, of whom Herodotus was then speaking; but the law allowed more; as Diodorus informs us that, "among the Egyptians, the priests marry only one woman, but the rest of the men, each one as many as he pleases." The difference is merely between what the law permitted, and what were the usages of the country. Diodorus states the first, and Herodotus the last. The same state of things still exists at the East, for, though polygamy is permitted to the Moslem, yet it is not deemed reputable to have more than one wife. "But," (says Sir Gardner Wilkinson,) "though the Egyptians generally confined themselves to one wife, they, like the Jews and other Eastern nations, both of ancient and modern times, scrupled not to admit other inmates to their harem, most of whom appear to have been