Which brightened those evenings that vanished too soon, The regions where moon and where stars no more shine; I think on those evenings, and feel, with warm glow, MENIE'S DYING EXPOSTULATION. BY THE REV. JAMES G. SMALL. He gazed upon her faded cheek— And look sae wae on me? "Is't that ye see this wastin' form Melt like the drifted snaw,— This heart that braved the roughest storm, Sink in the calm awa'? "Is't that ye see this frame, that bore Fu' mony a wintry blast, "Is't that a sair and throbbin' stoon Gaes through your sinkin' heart, "And think ye, Willie, when I'm gane,— "O mind there's Ane that's luvit you "Keep close to Him; to him gie up And heal your bosom's smart. "O weel I ken what you maun feel "When severed frae a dear loved one, O weel I ken the heart is prone To murmur and repine. "But oh! how wondrous is that grace! "Yes! though I gang awhile before, And care and grief will a' be o'er "There's something tells me, Willie dear,— I kenna how it is, There's something says the time draws near "It's may be that your clear blue e'e, "But, Willie, yet I may be wrang; "But be it soon, or be it late, "Twill be when He kens best; It's no the dart o' chance or fate That then will pierce your breast. 1 Hemat the form fari esimirs the precincts of time: Im her wars v zaporous glow; Ten Sand wherever I go. The Fire mids as rich treasures of thought, Yes, Scotland! thy hills and thy mountains so high, Thy valleys productive, and cottages too, Thy sons and thy daughters warm-hearted and true; Thy popalous cities, so noble and fair, How often I think on the stars and the moon, Which brightened those evenings that vanished too soon, The regions where moon and where stars no more shine; I think on those evenings, and feel, with warm glow, MENIE'S DYING EXPOSTULATION. BY THE REV. JAMES G. SMALL. He gazed upon her faded cheek Her cheek so pale and mild; "Is't that ye see this wastin' form Melt like the drifted snaw, This heart that braved the roughest storm, Sink in the calm awa'? "Is't that ye see this frame, that bore Fu' mony a wintry blast, "Is't that a sair and throbbin' stoon Gaes through your sinkin' heart, And something tells ye that fu' soon We maun for ever part? "And think ye, Willie, when I'm gane,— Gane to my home above, That ye'll be left on earth alane,— Robbed o' your only love. "O mind there's Ane that's luvit you "Keep close to Him; to him gie up And heal your bosom's smart. "O weel I ken what you maun feel When we at last maun part; O weel I ken how ill to heal That anguish o' the heart. "When severed frae a dear loved one, Though by a hand divine, O weel I ken the heart is prone To murmur and repine. "But oh! how wondrous is that grace! That soon in one prepared place "Yes! though I gang awhile before, And care and grief will a' be o'er "There's something tells me, Willie dear,— I kenna how it is, There's something says the time draws near When we shall meet in bliss. "It's may be that your clear blue e'e, "But, Willie, yet I may be wrang; "But be it soon, or be it late, "Twill be when He kens best; It's no the dart o' chance or fate That then will pierce your breast. Daily Bible Illustrations. By JOHN KITTO, D.D., F.S.A. Evening Series. Isaiah and the Prophets. April-June. Edinburgh: Oliphant and Sons. 1852. 16mo. pp. x. 485. of theology, to him are evidently habitual sources of life and joy. We wish to render it impossible that any of our friends should overlook the existence of this work, and to accompany our introduction of it to their notice with our warmest recommendation. Let the young people of our families be imbued with such knowledge and habits of thought as these volumes impart, and we shall not fear that sophistry will seduce them into either infidelity or A MORNING Series of Bible Illustrations for every day of the year by Dr. Kitto has recently been completed, and has called forth general expressions of approbation from the lovers of biblical literature. It affords us pleasure to announce now the commencement of an Evening Series, similar in spirit and design but not in any degree superseded by the foregoing volumes. The publications of the author having become numerous, it might be feared that some symptoms of exhaustion would be perceptible; but we do not find it so. He not only retains the qualifications as an illustrator of oriental scenery and diction which he originally brought to the work, he has continued to read and meditate in a manner conducive to his own improvement in those branches of knowledge for which he was distinguished; and it is increasingly apparent that his heart is under the influence of those truths with which his daily pursuits render him familiar. Those parts of the scriptural system which are the least welcome to a self-sufficient student Romanism. Assuming that it will be interesting to the more intelligent classes of our readers to learn what Dr. Kitto's opinions are on any biblical questions which he has examined, we shall devote a few pages to the record of some conclusions to which he has come on topics discussed in these books. Taking up a distinct question every day, he has applied himself to the removal of a great number of difficulties and the decision of a great number of doubts; our report of the result of his investigations must of course be confined to a few. The meditations of the first week bring out the author's reasons for .believing that the book of Job is not, as some have suggested, a work of fiction, but a real history; that it is the oldest book in the bible, excepting perhaps Genesis, and therefore the oldest in the world; that it was probably written by Moses, who communicated it to his brethren on his return from Midian to Egypt, or afterwards in the desert, as a narrative well suited to justify the ways of God to man and sustain them under their trials; that the patriarch probably lived a little earlier than Abraham, and been a female, as is that of Abraham." So also in commenting on the language ascribed to Satan, "Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life," he observes that there are at this day in current use in the East, scores of proverbs which are perfectly intelligible, both in their allusions and application, to those who use them, but which would be utterly inexplicable to an English that his era could not well have been later than that of Abraham's grandsons; that Uz, in which he dwelt, was that land in Padanaram where the elder branches of Abraham's family remained after his departure, a tract of country lying at the foot of mount Taurus; that setting forth the sudden calamities and worldly overthrow of a man eminent for integrity, it discloses the secret intention of this in the counsels of Heaven, show-man. Of many explanations of this sening that there are "divine objects to be accomplished in such dispensations which man cannot discover or take into account, and the possible existence of which ought in all cases to prevent harsh judgments, and to shut the complaining mouth." In the account given of Job's disasters, an instance occurs of the readiness with which Dr. Kitto avails himself of his familiarity with eastern usages to illustrate matters of minor importance. Referring to the tidings brought by the first messenger, he observes that "the cattle and the servants were properly occupied. But of the asses, it may be asked, had they nothing to do but to feed while the oxen laboured? Is not the ass as well as the ox a labouring beast? The answer to this is supplied by a circumstance undesignedly suppressed in our version. The original indicates that they were she-asses, as is distinctly marked in nearly all the versions but our own. The translators probably thought it a matter of no consequence. But female asses, on account of their milk, were much more highly esteemed at all times in the East than the males, a few only of which appear to have been kept for continuing the breed; and hence, perhaps, they are not noticed in the previous account of the live-stock belonging to our patriarch. She-asses, on account of their milk, were also greatly preferred even for travelling: for the ass which Balaam rode is expressly declared (in the original) to have tence which have been given, he thinks, "perhaps the best is that which refers its origin back to the time when trade was conducted by barter or exchange of goods, and when the skins of animals, being a most frequent and valuable commodity, were used in some sort to represent property, as is still the case in many parts of the world. Tributes, ransoms, and the like, used also to be often paid in skins. Under this view it would seem that Satan, after this proverbial allusion to the principle of exchange, or barter, makes application of it in the next clause, 'all that a man hath will he give for his life.' It will then express the necessity of submitting to one great evil to avoid incurring a greater, answering to the Turkish proverb, 'We must give our beards to save our heads.'" In like manner the pensive retrospect which the patriarch takes of his prosperity, at the commencement of the twenty-ninth chapter, is beautifully elucidated by reference to eastern customs. "Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness." For "candle" our author would read "lamp," candles being even now little used in the East, and never for the purpose of burning through the night; but it being usual to have a lamp burning all night in every occupied apartment. "The orientals rarely do anything by artificial light—there is no |