A comparatively modern prince in Persia feems to have emulated this piece of grandeur of Solomon, and to have even surpassed it, though by means of a different kind of weapon from either of those I have been mentioning. It feems, according to d'Herbelot, he had two troops of horsemen, confifting of a thousand each; one troop carrying maces of gold, each of which weighed 1000 drachms, or thousand crowns of gold, the fecond, maces of filver of the fame weight. These two brigades ferved him for his ordinary guard, and upon extraordinary ceremonies each of thefe Forfemen carried his mace upon his fhoulder": One tenth part of the number would have been extremely majestic.

OBSERVATION LXXXIV.

The arraying in a rich dress, and making to ride in great pomp and ceremony, were, it seems, the ancient mode of investing with the highest degree of fubordinate power in Egypt, and still remains fo, with a small variation, which may give occafion to some spe

culations.

Thus we find when Pharaoh gave Jofeph all power over Egypt under himself, he, among other things, "arrayed him in veftures " of fine linen. and he made him to

Bibliotheque Orient. art. Jacoub ben Laith, p. 467.

"ride in the fecond chariot which he had; "and they cried before him, Bow the knee: "and he made him ruler over all the land of

Egypt." Gen. xli. 42, 43. On the other hand, in our times, the Hiftory of the Revolt of Ali Bey tells us, that on the election of a new Sheik Bellet, the Pasha who ap→ proves of him invefts him with a valuable fur, treats him with sherbet, and when the Sheik Bellet departs, the Pafha prefents him with an borfe, richly caparifoned. He is treated in like manner when he waits upon a new Pafha when fuch a Pafha firft comes into Egypt, the Pafha gives him a robe of coftly fur, and when the Sheik Bellet departs gives him an horfe richly caparifoned.

Rich vestments, and riding in great magnificence, were anciently practifed; and ftill take place, as to him that is invested with the highest degree of the actual power of government, under the pre-eminence of another, whose power is oftentimes little more than honorary and nominal: but here lies the difference, which is confiderable, and deferves fome notice; Jofeph was arrayed in fine linen, the modern Sheik Bellets in robes faced with coftly furs; the first rode in the

· P. 43.

2 The Sheik of the country we are told the word figni❤ fies, who has the actual government of Egypt, under the nominal government of the Pafha, the reprefentative of the Grand Seignior. á P. 32, 33.

fecond-best royal chariot, the others on horses richly caparifoned.

The veftments of fine linen seem to be cool and airy, and fit for fo warm a climate as Egypt; while furred robes feem more fuitable to the princes of Ruffia and the North, where the feverity of the winter makes such warm garments highly requifite: nevertheless we find they now obtain not only in the dresses of ceremony in Europe, but throughout the East too, which feems to intimate, that the knowledge of thofe animals that furnish out the most magnificent furs had not anciently reached these countries; or at leaft the manner of preparing them elegantly. For fince these things have been discovered, they have every where prevailed, as requifite to make princely habits magnificent, and the robes of those in confiderable, though far inferior stations, fufficiently honourable.

Accordingly not one word of coftly furs in the Scriptures: blue, or purple and fine linen', and habits enriched with threads or wires of filver and gold, are the only things mentioned there, relating to the substances that composed their vestments of pomp*.

As to magnificent riding, chariots are not

Judges 8. 26. Efth. 8. 15. Jer. 10. 9. Luke 16.

19, &c.

Exod. 39. 3. That royal apparel that Herod Agrippa wore, in the theatre of Cæfarea, when struck with death, was, according to Jofephus, of filver, vol. 1, p. 950, ed. Hay.

now

now made ufe of, either by men, or even the fair fex. It may be difficult to say what this is owing to: whether the difficulty of their roads; or the clumfy and immechanical manner of constructing their carriages; or a junction of both caufes. Certain it is, that they are not now used in these countries and the magnificence of the furniture of their horfes makes up the want of pompous chariots. Anciently however chariots were used by the great they were thought moft deadly machines of war'; it was courage in war that in thofe ruder times gave dignity, and feems to have been chiefly looked at in conferring royal honours; it was natural then for their kings to ride in chariots, as their great warriors at that time in common did; which royal chariots were without doubt most highly ornamented. In the most magnificent of all that Pharaoh had, but one, Jofeph, it feems, was made to ride. But when chariots were laid afide in war, their princes laid afide the ufe of them by degrees, and betook themselves to horses, as upon the whole most agreeable, and they endeavoured to transfer the pomp of their chariots to them, and richly indeed they do adorn them.

Joshua 17. 16, 18. Judges 1, 19, ch. 4. 3, &c.

OBSERVATION LXXXV.

The complaint that David made of Joab to his fon Solomon not long before his death, and which was evidently intended, in general, feverely to condemn his conduct, doth not appear to me to have been properly illustrated by commentators, at leaft by none of those whofe explanations are given us in Pool's Synopfis.

The murthering Abner and Amafa was highly criminal; and the more fo as done with treachery, and even hypocrify: but was it any addition to the heinousness of the offence, that fome of their blood happened to be Sprinkled on his fhoes and his girdle, as they seem to fuppofe? Would he not have been equally criminal had not a fingle drop reached him, but all had either fallen on the earth, or ftained the raiment of fome by-stander?

I am inclined to think, the true fenfe of this part of the complaint against Joab is, that he maintained himself in the generalfhip of the army, at the expence of shedding the blood of these two eminent and innocent perfonages.

To make this out, two preliminary remarks are requifite. The firft, that that which is procured at the expence of any man's blood, is fpoken of in the ftrong language of the Old Teftament as that perfon's blood; yea, even