42.-"The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof."

This metaphor is in common use to show the OVERWHELMING power of an enemy. "Tippoo Saib went down upon his foes, like the sea he swept them all away.” "True, true, the British troops went like the sea upon Bhurtpore, the forts have been carried away."

LII. 11.

"Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon." (1 Sam. xi. 2. Judges xvi. 28.)

The barbarous practice of putting out the eyes of great offenders was common in the East. Some had their eyes plucked out by hooks, but others had the sight destroyed by powerful drugs.

Here, then, we have the accomplishment of the predictions against the Jews: they had wantonly sported with God's mercy, they had outraged all their principles, and had literally dared, by their conduct, Jehovah to do His worst. To their sorrow, they had now to sit down and "weep by the rivers of Babylon," whilst they lamented over their far-distant Zion.

21. "The thickness thereof was four fingers." In the same way do the people of the East thing which is less in measure than a SPAN.

speak of any "What height

are your pepper vines?"-" About two fingers."

« When

the rice becomes five fingers in height we shall want more rain." That which is less than a finger is spoken of as a grain of rice the next gradation is an ellu, i. e. gingelly seed; the next is a mustard seed; and the last an anu, i, e. an atom.

LAMENTATIONS.

CHAP. I. verse 1.-"How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! how is she become as a

widow!"

In

Jerusalem had been sacked by a ruthless foe, and her sons had been carried off to Babylon. "As a widow." When a husband dies, the solitary widow takes off her marriage jewel, and other ornaments; her head is shaved! and she sits down in the dust to bewail her lamentable condition. the book Scanda Purana, it is said, after the splendid city of Kupera had been plundered by the cruel Assurs, "the city, deprived of its riches by the pillage of the Assurs, resembled the WIDOW!" Jerusalem became as a widow in her loneliness bemoaning her departed lord.

11.-" All her people sigh, they seek bread: they have given their pleasant things for meat."

What a melancholy picture have we here! the captives, it appears, had been allowed, or they had concealed, some of their "pleasant things," their jewels, and were now obliged to part with them for food. What a view we also have here of the cruelty of the vile Babylonians! The people of the East retain their little valuables, such as jewels and rich robes, to the last extremity. To part with that, which has, perhaps, been a kind of heir-loom in the family, is like parting with life. Have they sold the last wreck of their other property; are they on the verge of death; the emaciated members of the family are called together, and some one undertakes the heart-rending task of proposing such a bracelet, or armlet, or anklet, or earring, or the pendant of the forehead, to be sold. For a moment all are silent, till the mother

or daughters burst into tears, and then the contending feelings of hunger, and love for their "pleasant things," alternately prevail. In general, the conclusion is, to pledge, and not to sell, their much-loved ornaments; but such is the rapacity of those who have money, and such the extreme penury of those who have once fallen, they seldom regain them.*

17.-"Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her."

What a graphic view we have here of a person in distress! See that poor widow looking at the dead body of her husband, as the people take it from the house: she spreads forth her hands to their utmost extent, and piteously bewails her condition. The last allusion in the verse is very common.

II. 1.

"Remembered not his footstool."

Those who are in favour with the king, or those who obey him, are called his footstool. But the figure is also used in a degrading sense. Thus, do two men quarrel, one says to the other, "I will make thee my footstool." "Ah! my lord, be not angry with me, how long have I been your footstool?" "I be that fellow's footstool! Never! Was he not footstool to my father?"

15. "All that pass by clap their hands."

The vulgar, the low triumph of a victorious party, in the East, is extremely galling; there is nothing like moderation or

* Numbers give their jewels to others to keep for them, and never see them more. I recollect a person came to the mission house, and brought a large casket of jewels for me to keep in our iron chest. The valuable gems were shown to me one by one; but I declined receiving them, because I had heard that the person was greatly indebted to the government, and was led to suspect the object was to defraud the creditor. They were then taken to another person, who received them,-decamped to a distant part of the country, and the whole of the property was lost, both to the individual and the creditors.

forbearance in the victors. No, they have recourse to every contemptuous and brutal method to degrade their fallen foe. Has one party triumphed over another in a court of law, or in some personal conflict, the conquerors shout aloud, "Aha! aha ! fallen, fallen;" and then go close to the vanquished, and "clap their hands."

This figure is taken from a prisoner having a heavy chain to drag as he goes along. Husbands sometimes speak of their wives as a chain. Thus, is a man invited to a distant country; he asks, in reply, "How can I come? my wife has made my chain heavy." "My husband, my husband, you shall not go; my weeping shall make your chain heavy." A man in great trouble asks, who will break this sangale? i. e. chain. My chain, my chain! who will break this chain ?" "Have you heard Viravar's chain is broken? He is dead! Who will make another chain for him?"

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15.-"Hath filled me with bitterness."

"Wicked, wicked son," says the disappointed mother, "I expected to have had pleasure from thee, but thou hast given me kasapu," i. e. bitterness. "Shall I go to his

house to live on bitterness?" "Who can make this bitterness sweet?"

V. 12.-"Princes are hanged up by their hand." No punishment is more common than this in the East, especially for slaves and refractory children. Thus, has a master an obstinate slave; has he committed some great offence with his hands; several men are called, who tie the offender's hands, and hoist him to the roof, till he beg for forgiveness. Schoolboys, who are in the habit of playing truant, are also thus punished. To tell a man you will hang him by the hands, is extremely provoking. See, then, the

lamentable condition of the princes in Babylon, they were hanged up by their hands," as common slaves.

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16.

"The crown is fallen from our head."

Has a man lost his property, his honour, his beauty, or his happiness, he says, "My crown has fallen;" does a father or grandfather reprove his sons for bad conduct, he asks, "Has my crown fallen ?”