the morning sun, I returned it was dying upon its stalk; the grace of the form of it was gone: its loveliness was vanished away; its leaves were scattered on the ground, and no one gathered them again. A stately tree grew on the plain; its branches were covered with verdure; its boughs spread wide, and made a goodly shadow; the trunk was like a strong pillar; the roots were like crooked fangs.. 2 I returned; the verdure was nipped by the east wind; the branches were lopped away by the axe; the worm had made its way into the trunk, and the heart thereof was decayed; it mouldered away, and fell to the ground. I have seen the insects sporting in the sunshine, and darting along the streams; their wings glittered with gold and purple; their bodies shone like the green emerald; they were more numerous than I could count; their motions were quicker than my eye could glance. I returned: they were brushed into the pool; they were perishing with the evening 3 breeze the swallow had devoured them; the pike had seized them; there were none found of so great a multitude. I have seen man in the pride of his strength; his cheeks glowed with beauty; his limbs were full of activity; he leaped; he walked; he ran: he rejoiced in that he was more excellent than those. 1 returned he lay stiff and cold on the bare ground; his feet could no longer move, nor his hands stretch themselves out; his life was departed from him; and the breath out of his nostrils. There4 fore do I weep because death is in the world; the spoiler is among the works of God; all that is made must be destroyed; all that is born must die; let me alone, for I will weep yet longer. I have seen the flower withering on the stalk, and its bright leaves spread on the ground. I looked again;—it sprung forth afresh; its stem was crowned with new buds, and its sweetness filled the air. I have seen the sun set in the west, and the shades of night shut in the wide horizon: there was no color, nor 5 shape, nor beauty, nor music; gloom and darkness brooded around. I looked: the sun broke forth again upon the east, and gilded the mountain tops; the lark rose to meet him from her low nest, and the shades of darkness fled 6 away. I have seen the insect, being come to its full size, languish, and refuse to eat it spun itself a tomb, and was shrouded in the silken cone it lay without feet, or shape, or power to move. I looked again: it had burst its tomb; it was full of life, and sailed on colored wings through the soft air; it rejoiced in its new being. Thus shall it be with thee, O man! and so shall thy life be renewed. Beauty shall spring up out of ashes, and life out of the dust. A little while shalt thou lie in -the ground, as the seed lies in the bosom of the earth: but thou shalt be raised again; and thou shalt never die any more. Who is he that comes to burst open the prison doors of the tomb; to bid the dead wake; and to gather his redeemed from the four winds of heaven? He descends on a fiery cloud; the sound of a trumpet goes before him; 7 thousands of angels are on his right hand. It is Jesus, the Son of God; the Savior of men; the friend of the good. He comes in the glory of his Father; he has received power from on high. Mourn not, therefore, child of immortality! for the spoiler, the cruel spoiler, that laid waste the works of God, is subdued. Jesus has conquered death: child of immortality! mourn no longer. Shall I be left abandoned in the dust, When fate relenting bids the flower revive? Bid him, though doomed to perish, hope to live? With disappointment, penury and pain? No! Heaven's immortal spring shall yet arrive; And man's majestic beauty bloom again, Bright through the eternal year of Love's triumphant reign.-Beattie. LESSON LXXIV Mohammedan Prayers.-ANONYMOUS. FOUNTAINS are common in Mohammedan towns; and besides the ordinary use of assuaging the thirst of the passers-by, they, with an adjoining platform, and with an erect stone to indicate the way the worshipper should tur his face, constitute so many oratories for the use of those whom the call to prayer surprises at a distance from the mosque, or who prefer to perform their devotions.in the open air. It is obligatory on all Mohammedans to pray five times a day; but it is only on the Friday that they are expected to attend at the mosque for the purpose: and in general, when a Moslem hears the call to prayers, or 2 knows that the hour is arrived, he will perform his devotions at any convenient place near that where he happensto be at the time, after he has executed the required ablutions. These consist in washing the hands three times successively, as well as the face, the arms, the head, the neck, and the feet; and also the inside of the mouth, of the ears, and of the nostrils. It is for the purpose of these ablutions that fountains are so abundantly provided. In places where no water is to be had, the ablution may be made with earth or sand. This practice is followed by 3 persons travelling in the deserts; and with regard to persons at sea, who have no such substitutes, and cannot afford fresh water, they effect their ablutions by rubbing themselves with their hands alone, after having placed them on a stone. Sea-water is considered impure, and entirely unfit for the purposes of ablution. These washings are generally performed in a very slight way. In consequence of its being necessary to wash the arm up to the elbow, the Moslems have the sleeves of their dress with buttons from the elbow to the wrist. The Turks and 4 Arabs generally wear their sleeves loose and unbuttoned, to save the trouble of frequent unbuttoning and buttoning again; but the Persians, who are much less observant of what their religion in this respect requires, are seldom seen but with their sleeves buttoned up. Indeed, every thing that their forms of worship demand, in regard to prayers and ablutions, is seldom performed by any Moslems except those of the higher and middle classes; and in all cases the morning, noon, and evening periods of prayer are the most attended to, while the intermediate ones are compara5 tively neglected. Although Christians are not generally allowed to enter the mosques, the ceremonies of prayer are so much performed in the streets and open places of towns, that the most unobservant stranger soon becomes thoroughly acquainted with all the proceedings. There are no bells in Mohammedan countries; but, at the appointed hours, an officer of the mosque, called the muezzin, mounts upon the minarets and calls the faithful to prayers, or rather notifies that the proper time has ar6 rived. For this office the persons endowed with the most sonorous voices are chosen in preference, and the distance at which they can be heard is such as to become a subject of surprise to Europeans. This notice is not delivered from every mosque, but only from such as are sufficient to afford an equal distribution of the sound over the city. The call consists of a declaration of the Mohammedan profession of faith :- "There is no other God but God, and Mohammed is the Prophet of God!" with many repetitions; then follows the invitation to prayers, to which, in the morning, is added the assurance that "Prayer is better than sleep ;" and the whole concludes with the declaration that God is most great, and most high, and that there is no other God but him. When the call is heard, the devout who happen to be abroad hasten to the fountains and the streams to perform their ablutions: when this is done, if there are many present, one of the number assumes the office of an imaum, or leader, and, placing himself before them, with his face towards Mecca, the rest follow him in his words and 8 postures. Every canonical prayer is composed of an invocation, of different ricauts, and of the salutation. A ricaut consists of a series of seven positions of the body, with each of which a particular prayer or declaration is connected. The worshipper stands for a short time erect, as if endeavoring to fix his attention on the duties he is about to perform, with both the hands raised to the ears, and then repeats the declaration, "God is most great!" He then lets his arms and hands hang down, in one sect, or crosses 9 them on his breast, in another, and in this posture repeats the first chapter of the "Koran." It is short, commencing with praise, and ending in prayer for guidance in the right way. The whole upper part of the body is then bent forward, with the hands resting upon the knees, and they. say, with a loud voice, "God is most great!" Then, rising to their former position, they say, "God listens when praise is given to him." And then they prostrate themselves, with their knees, hands, and faces on the ground, and, in this humblest of postures, declare again that "God 10 is great." This declaration is repeated in all the remaining positions; which are-sitting down with their legs bent under them, so that the weight of the body rests upon the heels, which is a common sedentary posture among the Persians-they then prostrate themselves as before; and, finally, raise themselves upon their feet, if possible without touching the ground with their hands as they rise. This is the first ricaut, and the second is like it, except that, instead of raising themselves upon their feet from the last prostration, they seat themselves upon their heels, and in 11 this posture invoke blessings upon the Prophet, upon themselves, and upon all the faithful. If the prayer is intended to conclude with this ricaut, a longer address than any which preceded is added. It commences with a declaration of faith, and concludes with the invocation of blessings. After this, the worshipper, still sitting, turns his face first towards the right, and then towards the left, repeating each time, "Peace be with you." These two ricauts constitute a complete prayer; and no new words or postures are introduced in the additional ricants, which 12 are required on particular occasions, or which the zealously devout sometimes voluntarily undertake. The arrangement, however, is somewhat varied, When the canonical prayers are completed, the worshipper, if a person of leisure and devotion, does not immediately rise and go away, but remains to count his beads The rosary consists of ninety beads, and a distinct ejaculation is appropriated to each as it passes between the fingers. Each ejaculation generally consists of two words, and declares a name or attribute of God. Almost all Mos13 lems, in the upper and middle ranks of life, carry in their pockets or bosoms a string of beads for this purpose, which they use not only on the occasion we are describing, but while sitting and smoking their pipes, walking in the streets, or even while engaged in conversation. The ejac ulation connected with each bead is more generally understood than expressed. When a Moslem has gone over his beads at the regular |