men, musicians, poets, GEN. 4:23, 24, artificers, and chieftains, are either mentioned or their existence implied. After the flood the ordinary term of human life was gradually diminished.

BIRDS OF NOAH.

See here the Raven! Here the Dove!
The bird of prey, and bird of love.

The Raven is a bird of very black plumage; fierce and plundering in its habits, as its name denotes.

THE DOVE.

How gentle Noah's dove!

Sweet, promise-bearing dove!
The dove that plucked the olive-leaf,
The dove whose name is Love...

Come hither, dove, and bring
Thy temper to my breast,
Thy leaf of peace, thy faithful wing,
To flee from strife to rest.

Had I a dove-like heart,

All white and pure and good,
How swift from sin I should depart,
And homeward fly to God.

EXPLANATIONS.

Most of the Hebrew names were of a descriptive character. When first bestowed, the names of persons and places had each a special meaning.

ADAM. This name means red. It refers to the ruddy complexion of the first man, and intimates that he was formed of a reddish-colored earth.

EVE, denotes life. She was the mother of all mankind, and in this sense the source of life.

CAIN, signifies acquired, or obtained. Eve regarded this, her first-born son, as a precious gift obtained from God.

ABEL. This word implies simply breath. It is supposed to allude to the short life of Abel, and may have been given at his birth prophetically; or it may have been a name which became current after his death.

The land of NoD. The word Nod is the same as exile, or banishment. This land was so called because Cain was sent thither as a banished man and a wanderer.

EDEN. This name is said to be derived from one which signifies pleasure. We may, therefore, infer that it means the pleasant, or beautiful land; in other words, the Paradise.

Where was the garden of Eden situated?
This point is not determined.

There are,

however, strong reasons for placing it on some part of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

Who built the first city?

Cain, and called the city Enoch, after the name of his son. GEN. 4:17.

Who was the first pastoral chief, or head of a wander ing tribe?

GEN.

Jabal. "He was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle." 4:20.

Who invented musical instruments?

Jubal. "He was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ." GEN. 4:21.

Who first discovered the art of working metals, and formed them into tools for the service of man?

Tubal-cain. "An instructor of every artificer in brass and iron." GEN. 4:22.

Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain, were three sons of Lainech.

Who was Nimrod?

The Bible says that he founded a kingdom, and was "a mighty one on the earth; a mighty hunter before the Lord." This does not imply any thing criminal, but his name signifies a rebel, and it is supposed that he hunted men as well as wild beasts. He is generally reckoned the first king-the first chief who engaged in war, and a leader in building the Tower of Babel.

THE TOWER OF BABEL.

When men grew bold and multiplied,

Come, let us build a tower !" they cried,

"A temple which to heaven shall go;
A city, our renown to show.
Come on! We'll gather into one,
All nations underneath the sun."

So Nimrod's tower, on Shinar's plain,
Rose, step by step, the skies to gain;
High walls, and palaces of pride,
Grew daily on the river's side.