5. There can be nothing then improbable, not in the leaft, in Mr. King's fuppofition, that this ancient ftrong Jewish tower was built on an eminence, and entered into by a flight of fteps.

6. Nor in the fuppofition, that in such towers, those that kept a city against dangerous enemies, as here against the Syrians, might hold their councils, in which it was requifite that the principal captains should always be present.

7. The inaugurating or proclaiming their kings was wont to be in the most public places, and with folemn mufic, 1 Kings, i, 40.

8. No place then more natural than fomewhere upon, or on the top of the steps afcending the most elevated part of the çaftle of Ramoth - Gilead, in the court of which numbers of people may naturally be thought to be affembled, waiting for the refult of the deliberations of the officers of the army, confulting about the best way of defending the city against the Syrians, in the abfence of King Joram.

The brevity of the ancient Jewish histories neceffarily leaves many circumstances unmentioned, which, at that time, might very well be paffed over in neglect, and which we must fupply in the best manner we are able.

Here it may not be improper to add three other particulars, in which the accounts of facred

facred history agree with Mr. King's account of our old English castles, and may be illuftrated by it.

The one is, that fometimes there was in an old Jewish tower of defence, or caftle, a fmaller building, confiderably ftronger than the larger, anfwerable to the keeps in our ancient English caftles. So Judges ix. 46, in the tower of Shechem, belonging to that town (which town was itfelf capable of making fome refiftance to an enemy) was a very strong hold, to which the people fled when they gave up defending the tower.

The fecond is, that this ftrongest inner building, though comparatively small, might have feveral rooms in it, as the tower in fact appears to have had, in which Jehu was fitting in council. "When thou comeft thither," faid Elifha to the young prophet, "look out there Jebu the fon of Jehoshaphat, the fon of Nimfhi, and go in, and "make him arife up from among

his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber, "(or chamber in a chamber): then take a "box of oil and pour it on his head," &c. And the prophet did accordingly'. So the keep at Connisborough had three rooms, one within the other.

A third thing is, that fuch an inner, ftronger tower might fomehow or other be connected with one or more idols, by having

* 2 Kings 9. 2-II.

a temple

a temple within it, fome room in it appropriated to idolatrous worship; or might, as to the whole of it, be committed to the patronage and protection of fuch or fuch an idol; or might be used for the fafe keeping of the precious things devoted to this or that deity, and it's treasures: fo Mr. King found a nich in each of the two inner rooms of the keep of Connisborough caftle, which feemed to him to be defigned for fome of the deities of our Saxon forefathers; and in like manner the strong hold of the tower of Shechem had fomehow or other a relation to Baal-Berith', Judges ix. 46. " When all "the men of the tower of Shechem heard "that," (that the city was taken, and that they had begun to demolish it, and appeared refolved entirely to ruin it,) "they entered "into an hold of the house of the god "Berith."

These are circumftances of refemblance that engage attention.

⚫ A Syrian idol.

CHAP.

126

CHA P. IV.

Relating to their Diet.

OBSERVATION XXXIX.

R. Ruffell tells us of the Eaftern

D' people, that "as joon as they get up
DR

"in a morning, they breakfast on fried eggs,
"cheese, honey, leban, &c '."
This is an
obfervation I have made in a preceding vo-
lume, but I would here apply it to different
purposes.

We are not to suppose, that when Solomon faith," Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in a morning," Ecclef. x. 16, that he means abfolutely all kind of eating; but feasting, the indulging themselves fuch length of time in eating, and drinking proportionably of wine, fo as improperly to abridge the hours that fhould be employed in affairs of government, and perhaps to disqualify themselves for a cool and difpaffionate judgment of matters.

This is confirmed by the following words: "Bleffed art thou, O land, when thy king

• P. 105.

2 See Prov. 31. 4, 5, which is to be understood fomething after the fame manner: wine certainly not being abfolutely to be forbidden to princes.

8

<< is

is the fon of nobles, and thy princes "eat in due feafon, for ftrength and not "for drunkennefs," ver. 17. They may with propriety eat in a morning, bread, honey, milk, fruit, which, in fummer, is a common breakfast with them', but it would be wrong then to drink wine as freely as in the close of the day.

2.

Wine being forbidden the Mohammedans by their religion, and only drank by the more licentious among them, in a more private manner, it is not to be expected to appear in their breakfasts; but it is used by others, who are not under fuch restraints, in the morning, as well as in their other repafts.

So Dr. Chandler tells us, in his Travels in Afia Minor: "In this country, on account "of the heat, it is ufual to rife with the "dawn. About day-break we received from "the French conful, a Greek with a respect"able beard, a prefent of grapes, the clusters "large and rich, with other fruits, all fresh

gathered. We had, befides, bread and coffee "for breakfast, and good wines, particularly one fort, of an exquifite flavour, called "mufcadell 3.

If they drank then wine at all in a morning, it ought to be, according to the royal preacher, in fmall quantities, for strength, not for drunkenness.

The Eastern people, Arabians and Turks

2 P. 109.

· P. 107.

3 P. 18.

both,