what it must have cost in transcribing, there is every reason to think that it was in the hands of but few private Jews. A copy was probably deposited in every synagogue, and it was perhaps to be found in the possession of some of the rabbies and principal men; but it must have been beyond the reach of the great body of the people.

In consequence of the peculiarity of the language, the singular nature of the Jewish polity, the mutual antipathy of Jews and Gentiles, and the little intercourse which subsisted among the ancient nations, the Old Testament remained for ages locked up from the rest of the world, and was scarcely known beyond the confines of Judea. In preparing the world for the dispensation of the gospel, infinite wisdom saw meet to extend the knowledge of this portion of the inspired record, some time before the Christian era. The captivities and migrations of the Jews had contributed to make the neighbouring nations partially acquainted with the God of Israel, and the law of Moses; but these accidental circumstances could not be expected to produce any permanent effects. It was of vast importance that the sacred books of the Jews should be known through the medium. of some common language. The Greek was then the most extensive and polished in the world; it was admired and cultivated by strangers, and was the principal channel of intercourse among all who pretended to learning and science. The five books of Moses were translated into this language about 280 years before the birth of Christ, partly for the use of the public library of Ptolemy Philadelphus at Alexandria, but principally for the sake of the numerous Jews who were scattered through Greece. This translation was called the Septuagint, or LXXII., either from the supposed num

ber of translators, or because it was sanctioned by the Jewish Sanhedrim. The other books of the Old Testament were translated afterwards, by different persons, and at different times. It is supposed that the whole was finished about 130 years before Christ; and in the time of the Apostles it appears to have been in general use. This version was first printed in the Complutensian Polyglot, in 1515.

The Jews, during their long captivity in Babylon, had in a great measure acquired the language of their conquerors, so that on their return home, the great body of the people were no longer familiar with the Hebrew of the Scriptures, Neh. viii. 1-8. To supply this deficiency, translations, or paraphrases, of different parts of the Old Testament, were made into the Chaldaic tongue, between the time of the captivity and the birth of Christ. We have still three Chaldee translations of the Pentateuch, one translation of the Prophets; another of the books of Job, Psalms, and the Proverbs; another of Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Solomon's Song, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah; second translation of Esther, and one of the Chronicles. Of the other historical books no Chaldee version is now known to exist. The translation of the law by Onkelos, and of the Prophets by Jonathan, are the most ancient, and the most valuable, and were first printed in Bomberg's Bible, Venice, 1518.

As there was a continual resort of learned foreigners to Greece, for the purpose of studying its laws, religion, philosophy, and arts, many of them would probably become acquainted with a book (to which they could then easily have access,) which contained the most ancient history, and the most singular code of laws in the world. In this

way, some of the interesting information given in the Bible, might be carried to Rome, and other parts of the western world. As Chaldea was the seat of the eastern philosophers, through the medium of that language and the dispersion of the Jews, the theology of the Old Testament might be communicated to many parts of the East. Thus Divine Providence excited that general expectation of a deliverer, which prevailed over a great part of the world before the birth of Christ;— many of the ancient philosophers obtained some of the best and most correct ideas to be found in their writings;-and a way was paved for the reception of still brighter discoveries, in the promulgation of the gospel by the apostles of Christ. Thomson and Orme.

The Balloon.

So, on the shoreless air the intrepid Gaul
Launch'd the vast concave of his buoyant ball;
Journeying on high the silken castle glides,
Bright as a meteor, through the azure tides;
O'er towns, and towers, and temples wins its way,
Or mounts sublime, and gilds the vault of day.
Silent, with upturn'd eyes, unbreathing crowds
Pursue the floating wonder to the clouds:
And flush'd with transport, or benumb'd with fear,
Watch, as it rises, the diminish'd sphere.
Now less and less !—and now a speck is seen !
And now the fleeting rack intrudes between!
The calm philosopher in æther sails,

Views broader stars, and breathes in purer gales;
Sees, like a map, in many a waving line
Round earth's blue plains her lucid waters shine;
Sees at his feet the forked lightnings glow,
And hears the harmless thunders roar below.

Darwin.

51. Month of February.

Now shifting gales, with milder influence, blow,
Cloud o'er the skies, and melt the falling snow;
The soften'd earth with fertile moisture teems,

And, freed from icy bonds, down rush the swelling streams.

THE earlier part of this month may still be reckoned winter, though the cold generally begins to abate. The days are now sensibly lengthened, and the sun has power enough gradually to melt away the ice and snow. The hard weather generally breaks up with a sudden thaw, attended by a south wind and rain, which all at once dissolves the snow. Torrents of water then pour from the hills, every brook is swelled into a large stream, which rushes violently into the rivers; the pavement of ice, with which they are covered, now breaks up in every direction with the noise of thunder; and the floating masses, dashed against barges and bridges, force down every thing that obstructs their passage: the bed of the river becomes unable to carry off this vast accumulation of water; it swells over its banks, floods the bordering fields, and sweeps away cattle, mills, haystacks, gates, trees, and, in short, almost every thing that it reaches; the manure is carried off from the fields, high banks with the trees upon them are undermined and give way, and, in the space of a few hours, very great losses are sustained.

The frost, however, usually returns for a time, when fresh snow falls, often in great quantities, and thus the weather alternately changes during most part of this month.

Various signs of returning spring occur at different times in February. The wood-lark, one of our earliest and sweetest songsters, often renews

his note at the very entrance of the month; not long after rooks begin to pair, and geese to lay. The thrush and chaffinch then add to the early music of the groves; wood-owls hoot; near the close of the month partridges begin to couple, and repair the ravages committed on this devoted race during the autumn and winter. Gnats play about, insects swarm under sunny hedges, and some of the earliest of the butterfly tribe make their appearance; for though by far the greater proportion of many species of insects perishes at the close of autumn, yet several individuals, probably those that are the latest in their birth, are only rendered torpid by the cold; and the moderate warmth of a bright winter's day, is sufficient to rouse them into activity.

Many plants spring from under-ground in February, but few flowers as yet adorn the fields and pastures. Snow-drops are sometimes fully opened from the beginning of the month, and often peep out amidst the snow.

The alder-tree discloses its flower-buds; the catkins of the hazel are seen in the hedges; young leaves are budding on the gooseberry and currant trees, about the end of the month; and those causes are now in full activity, which produce the springing of plants, and the renewing of vegetable life.

The first vital operation in trees, after the frost is moderated, and the earth sufficiently thawed, is the ascent of the sap, which is taken up by the small vessels or tubes composing the inner bark of the tree, and reaching to the extremity of the fibres at the roots; the water thus taken in by the roots is there mixed with a quantity of sugary matter, and formed into sap, whence it is distributed in great abundance to every bud. The amazing quan