Solomon upon his guard against him. | his possessions. I do not think this so Barzillai and his sons, and the service they had rendered him in the day of his adversity, are all recommended to his friendly consideration; but of Mephibosheth, who had played a part, such as it was, in the scenes of those eventful times, which had called forth, for good or evil, a Chimham, a Barzillai, a Shimei, and a Joab, he does not say a syllable. Yet he was under peculiar obligations to him. He had loved his father Jonathan. He had promised to show kindness to his house for ever. He had confirmed his promise by an oath. That oath he had repeated, 1 Sam. xx. 17. On his accession to the throne, he had evinced no disposition to shrink from it; on the contrary, he had studiously inquired after the family of Jonathan, and having found Mephibosheth, he gave him a place at his own table continually, for his father's sake, and secured to him all the lands of Saul, 2 Sam. ix. 6, 7. Let us, however, carefully examine the details of the history, and I think we shall be able to account satisfactorily enough for David's apparent neglect of the son of his friend; for I think we shall find violent cause to suspect that Mephibosheth had forfeited all claims to his kindness. The certain. Ziba, I suspect, had some reason in what he said, though probably the colouring of the picture was his own. Certain it is, or all but certain, that the tribe of Benjamin, which was the tribe of Mephibosheth, did, in general, take part with the rebels. When David returned victorious, and Shimei hastened to make his peace with him, a thousand men of Benjamin accompanied him; and it was his boast that he came the first of "all the house of Joseph," to meet the king, 2 Sam. xix. 17-20, as though others of his tribe (for they of Benjamin were reckoned of the house of Joseph, the same mother having given birth to both) were yet behind. Went not then the heart of Mephibosheth in the day of battle with his brethren, rather than with his benefactor? David himself evidently believed the report of Ziba, and forthwith gave him his master's inheritance, 2 Sam. xvi. 4. battle is now fought, on which the fate of the throne hung in suspense, and David is the conqueror. And now, many who had forsaken, or insulted him in his distress, hasten to congratulate him on his triumph, and to profess their joy at his return; Mephibosheth amongst the rest. There is something touching in David's first greeting of him; "Wherefore wentest thou not with me, Mephibosheth ?" A question not of curiosity, but of reproach. His ass was saddled, forsooth, that he might go; but Ziba, it seems, had taken it for himself, and gone unto the king, and slandered him unto the king; and meanwhile "thy servant was lame." The tale appears to be as lame as the tale-bearer. I think it clear, that Mephibosheth did not succeed in removing the suspicion of his disloyalty from David's mind, notwithstanding the ostentatious display of his clothes unwashed, and beard untrimmed; weeds which the loss of his estate might very well have taught him to put on for otherwise, would not David, in common justice both to MephiboZiba resheth and to Ziba, have punished the treachery of the latter, the lie by which he had imposed upon the king to his own profit, and to his master's infinite dishonour and damage, by revoking altogether the grant of the lands which he had made him, under an impression which proved to be a mistake, and restoring them to their rightful owner, who had been injuriously supposed to When David was driven from Jerusalem by the rebellion of Absalom, no Mephibosheth appeared to share with him his misfortunes, or to support him by his name, a name at that moment of peculiar value to David; for Mephibosheth was the representative of the house of Saul. David naturally intimates some surprise at his absence; and when his servant Ziba appears, bringing with him a small present of bread and fruits, (the line of the king's flight having apparently carried him near the lands of Mephibosheth,) a present, however, offered on his own part, and not on the part of his master, David puts to him several questions, expressive of his suspicions of Mephibosheth's loyalty: "What meanest thou by these ?-Where is thy master's son ?" 2 Sam. xvi. 2, 3. plies in substance, that he had tarried at Jerusalem, waiting the event of the rebellion, and hoping that it might lead to the re-establishment of Saul's family on the throne. This might be true, or it might be false. The commentators appear to take for granted that it was a mere slander of Ziba, invented for the purpose of supplanting Mephibosheth in have forfeited them by treason to the crown? He does, however, no such thing. To Mephibosheth, indeed, he gives back half, but that is all; and he leaves the other half still in the possession of Ziba; doing even thus much, in all probability, not as an act of justice, but out of tenderness to a son, even an unworthy son of Jonathan, whom he had loved as his own soul. And then, as if impatient of the wearisome exculpations of an ungrateful man, whose excuses were his accusations, he abruptly puts an end to the parley (the conversation having been apparently much longer than is recorded) with a Why speakest thou any more of thy matters ? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land," 2 Sam. xix. 29. 66 Henceforward, whatever act of grace he received at David's hands, was purely gratuitous. His unfaithfulness had released the king from his bond; and that he lived, was perhaps rather of sufferance than of right; a consideration which serves to explain David's conduct towards him, as it is reported on an occasion subsequent to the rebellion. For when propitiation was to be made by seven of Saul's sons, for the sin of Saul in the slaughter of the Gibeonites, "the king," we read, spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul," 2 Sam. xxi. 7; as though he owed it to the oath only, and to the memory of his father's virtues, that he was not selected by David as one of the victims of that bloody sacrifice. 66 Now, under these circumstances, is it a subject for surprise; is it not rather a most natural and veracious coincidence, that David, in commending on his death bed some of his staunch and trust-worthy friends to Solomon, his son, should have omitted all mention of Mephibosheth, dissatisfied as he was, and ever had been, with his explanations of very suspicious conduct, at a very critical hour? considering him, with every appearance of reason, a waiter upon Providence, as such persons have been since called; a prudent man, who would see which way the battle went, before he made up his mind to which side he belonged? This coincidence is important, not merely as carrying with it evidence of a true story in all its details, which is my business with it; but also as disembarrassing the incident itself of several serious difficulties which present themselves, on the ordinary supposition of Ziba's treachery, and Mephibosheth's truth; difficulties which I cannot better explain, than by referring my hearers to the beautiful "Contemplations" of Bishop Hall, whose view of these two characters is the common one, and who consequently finds himself, in this instance, it will be perceived, encumbered with his subject, and driven to the necessity of impugning the justice of David. It is further valuable, as exonerating the king of two other charges which have been brought against him, yet more serious than the last, even of indifference to the memory of his dearest friend, and disregard to the obligations of his solemn oath. But these are not the only instances in which the character of David, and indeed of the history itself, which treats of him, has suffered, from a neglect to make allowance for omissions in a very brief and desultory memoir, or from a want of more exact attention to the under-current of the narrative, which would, in itself, very often supply those omissions. These simple facts I leave to make their own impression. I will not weaken their effect by dwelling upon them longer, but commit them confidently to the consideration of every ingenuous hearer, be his spirit what it may, as testimonies to the general truth of Scripture not to be despised. At the same time, I may be permitted to confess for myself, that, during the course of the investigation of Holy Writ, which I have thus been put upon, into which I have gone by no means delicately, with a desire to follow after truth, lead me where it might; with no heated mind, (if I know myself,) and not without a full sense of the difficulties that occasionally cross the paththat during this investigation, the thought has forced itself upon me very often and very powerfully, How extraordinary an act of presumption, to say the least of it, it is in any man to sport with documents so attested, upon the strength of a cursory, or perhaps of no examination of their contents whatever! and how immense a hazard he is running, who determines to set them aside, live as he lists, and abide the issue! I judge him not; but let not my soul be with his, lest I should find after all, that in that hour, when heaven and earth shall pass away, this word shall not pass away, and I remain "to be confuted by the flames."— Rev. J. J. Blunt. attached to the inner part of the scale, each of one Barren Flowers in a loose cylindrical catkin, numerous, imbricated all round. Calyx a wedgeshaped scale with two minute lateral scales threeflowered. Corolla composed of three equal florets, petal divided into four equal, obtuse egg-shaped segments. Filaments four, shorter than the corolla. Anthers roundish, two lobed. Fertile Flowers in the other. Scales, ternate, concave, each scale containing two embryos. Corolla none. Germen compressed, two celled. Styles two, tapering, parallel, deciduous. Stigma simple. Nut, eggshaped, hard, angular, two celled. Kernel, solitary, ovate, acute. Low trees, with rugged bark, and crooked spreading smooth branches. Leaves alternate roundish, waved, serrate, glutinous, downy at the branching of the waves beneath, with twin deciduous stipules. Catkins terminal, panicled, pendulous; appear before the foliage in March. Grows in moist and wet situations. an oval imbricated catkin, shorter and smaller than "Yon alder, leaning o'er the brook, Methinks does type of love supply; Above, around, nought wins its look, in French it is aune, in German oller, and in Italian alno. There are several species of this tree, though only one is a native of Britain. They are found in most parts of the north temperate zone, and are principally distinguished from one another by variety in the form or colour of the leaves. They all prefer a moist soil, and generally are found by the side of water. Our English species, alnus glutinosa, derives its specific name from the glutinous substance with which the young shoots and buds are covered in the spring. Its average height is forty or fifty feet, though in a rich and damp soil it has been known to exceed sixty feet. The bark is of a blackish colour, and as the tree advances in age, this becomes rough and seems full of clefts: in the spring, while the sap is rising, it is easily separated from the trunk. To this Virgil alludes, "As alders in the spring, their boles extend, And heave so fiercely, that the bark they rend." DRYDEN, The leaves are of a deep bright green, from three to four inches long; before expanding, they are enclosed in a very glutinous pale green sheath. Their margin is deeply and irregularly notched, and in the species before us, is always rounded at the summit. The footstalk is long, and continued under the leaf as a prominent midrib; this diverges into the other veins, and at each angle is a little white downy tuft. The natural colour of the wood is white on being cut, the surface of the wound becomes red; but afterwards it assumes or retains a lighter hue. It is soft, easily worked, and extremely perishable if exposed to the weather. From the clear stream that murmurs by." Mitchell observes: "Stakes of alder will L. A. TWAMLEY. THE alder is one of the largest and most picturesque of our aquatic trees. Its very name points out the situation most congenial to its growth. Some etymologists have traced it to two Latin words, alitur amne, that is, "it thrives by the water." Others again consider it to be derived from the Celtic al, near and lan, edge of water. This latter idea appears the most correct, as the tree is in different places known as the aller, oller, or owler, and the same common origin may be traced in other languages derived from the Celtic. Thus not stand twelve months, nor will the timber do for posts or anything else where it is in contact with the ground, except under water." But in this latter situation it becomes hard and durable as stone, and is generally preferred to any other timber for water wheels, pipes, sluices, piles, and foundations for bridges, or even buildings in low, marshy situations. The famous Rialto at Venice is built on alder piles, and Vitruvius tells us that the morasses about Ravenna were piled with this timber before that city was built. Pliny applies the epithet "eternal" to piles of alder: large plantations of it are grown in Flanders and Holland for similar purposes. Logs of : alder which have lain long in bogs have the colour and appearance of ebony these are much prized in Scotland, and inlaid cups and other small articles are formed by blending veneers of bog oak and alder with the wood of the birch or holly, which are white, and that of juniper, which is of a brownish tinge. The timber of this tree is also applied to many domestic purposes, being soft, homogeneous, and easily worked; such as spinning wheels, trenchers, bowls, dairy utensils, clogs, pattens, kneading troughs, etc. It is also used to line stone carts and wheelbarrows, not being likely to split or shiver by the sharp edges of the stones. Even when young, the wood is valuable as staves for herring barrels ; and in Scotland whole banks of alder are every year cut for this single purpose. The timber of old trees is full of knots, and not inferior in beauty to the maple. It is much valued by the cabinet maker; and being of a rich deep reddish hue, is sometimes designated as Scotch mahogany, and manufactured into chairs, tables, and articles of furniture. It is necessary, however, previously to immerse the wood in water saturated with lime, as it is otherwise liable to the attacks of a small beetle. The bark of the alder possesses astringent properties, and almost every part of the tree is used in dyeing. The young shoots dye red, yellow, or brown, and black when mixed with copperas; the catkins yield green and the young wood a snuff colour. The red dye with which the Laplanders stain their leather garments is obtained by mastication of the bark. In the Highlands, too, where oaks are scarce and stunted, the inhabitants formerly evaded the tax on leather by tanning the hides of their own cattle with alder and birch bark, and thus manufactured their brogues or shoes. Nor is the alder unknown in the herbal. The inner rind, when dried, is employed in decoctions, and if beaten with vinegar, is said to heal cutaneous eruptions, The leaves are detersive, and used for gargles, etc., and Evelyn asserts that, when applied fresh to the foot, they relieve weary travellers. The branches used to be often spread over the fields, and left to decay before ploughing them in as manure; sometimes the sprays are used to fill up drains in a moist soil before they are covered over. They are now princi pally employed as fuel when a slow and not fierce heat is needed, as in brick and lime burning, heating ovens, etc. But the chief use made of the alder is as coppice wood, which is cut every five or six years, and converted into charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder. Large plantations are kept up for this purpose by the proprietors of the Hounslow and other gunpowder manufactories, the charcoal of the alder being considered superior to that of any other tree for this purpose. The alder is the most aquatic tree of the European Sylva, even more so than the willow or poplar. A damp, marshy spot is most congenial to its growth; but though moisture is necessary, a rich soil is equally indispensable. If planted in a dry and elevated situation, it dwindles to a dwarf and stunted shrub. It is then by the standing pool and the dank, cool marsh, the limpid brook, the full deep flowing stream, and in the "cool green shadowy river nook," that we must seek if we would find the alder. With such scenes and spots it has become as it were identified, and its dense shade and bright green foliage well harmonize with the surrounding scene, and invite beneath their welcome shelter the wanderer oppressed with heat, and blinded by the rays of the summer sun. Thus have the poets both of ancient and modern times depicted it. -I looked around, and there, "The Phaethonian alder next took place- The alders at Bishop Auckland, in the bishop of Durham's Park, were some of the largest this country ever produced. The trunk of one of them measured, in 1818, eleven feet in circumference. Gilpin tells us, who would see the alder in perfection must follow the banks of the Mole, in Surrey, through the sweet vales of Dorking and Mickleham. The Mole is "He grown, may have suggested to some bold enterprising spirit the first idea of navigating the watery element, and afforded him the means of achieving the venturous task. If the ancient poets may be considered as authorities, this is no mere chimera. Ovid tells us, "Trees rudely hollowed did the waves sustain, Ere ships in triumph ploughed the watery main;" and Virgil still further corroborates the idea: "When hollow alders first the waters tried," and again, "And down the rapid Po light alders glide." far from being a beautiful river: it is a quiet and sluggish stream; but what beauty it has, it owes greatly to the alder, which everywhere fringes its banks, and in many places forms very pleasing scenes." It is rare to meet with an old alder, as they are generally cut down before they have attained perfection to fulfil some of the various useful purposes to which man applies them, yet in different parts of the country are some which have attained to an extraordinary size. At Woburn is one seventy feet high, the diameter of the trunk four feet, and that of the space shaded by the branches sixty-five feet. Another at Syon, near London, Perhaps the unnumbered annals of heis sixty-three feet in height, the diaroism scarcely present a grander exmeter of the head sixty feet, and that ample of dauntless daring and imof the trunk three feet. At Oxford, portant achievement than that which in the Botanic Garden is an alder from accident or design, first floated on was accomplished by the individual who, tree fifty-five feet in height, though this dangerous element; and it would only planted forty years; and at Belvoir be difficult, nay impossible, to point to Castle, one only twenty-six years old is sixty feet high. These are all of the a single fact in the history of civilization, cut-leaved variety, (Alnus glutinosa la-fraught with more important and benecinata,) so called from the leaves, which are deeply notched or pinnatified. It has been stated that this variety was first discovered in France, and thence propagated over Europe. The alder is propagated by truncheons, cuttings of the root, layers, or seeds; this latter method appears to succeed better than any other, though in each, care is requisite, as the young plants, if not well rooted, are frequently washed away by the stream. It is well calculated for planting in parks and ornamental aquatic scenery, not only from its picturesque form, and the vivid colour and density of its foliage, but the length of time it retains its leaves. It is even useful in such situations, for the shelter it affords is beneficial to the grass beneath it, and grateful to cattle, while they will not touch its leaves, if other food be within reach. Alder coppices are sometimes appropriated for winter grazing of the out-door stock. "The alder, whose fat shadow nourisheth, Each plant set near him long flourisheth." In a former number of these papers, ation. In the alder, then, we have the ficial results to every age and generorigin of that mighty power, which by the directing hand of Him who giveth man knowledge, has triumphed over immeasurable distance, united far-severed regions, made the billowy main a highway to the sons of business, enterprise that fostered her, civilization, wealth, or pleasure, and spread around each spot and knowledge. How many events, big with importance to mankind, have transpired within those frail yet mighty tenements, which, from the light coracle to the stupendous man-of-war, may trace back their origin to "The floating alder by the current borne !" In an ark of gopher wood constructed See 66 are |