mosque at Aleppo, who happened to please him greatly; but the custom existed in those countries long before his time, for Jonathan, as a proof of his tender affection, and the strongest confirmation of his unalterable friendship, "stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle."▾

Persons of rank and opulence in those countries, are now distinguished from their inferiors, by riding on horseback when they go abroad; while those of meaner station, and Christians of every rank, the consuls of Christian powers excepted, are obliged to content themselves with the ass or the mule." A Turkish grandee, proud of his exclusive privilege, moves on horseback with a very slow and stately pace. To the honour of riding upon horses, and the stately manner in which the oriental nobles proceed through the streets, with a number of servants walking before them, the wise man seems to allude, in his account of the disorders which occasionally prevail in society : "I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth."

But while the higher orders in the east commonly affect so much state, and maintain so great a distance from their inferiors, they sometimes lay aside their solemn and awful reserve, and stoop to acts of condescension, which are unknown in these parts of the world. It is not an uncommon thing to admit the poor to their tables, when they

▾ 1 Sam, xviii, 4. See also Calmet, vol. iii. Malcom's Hist. vol. i, p. 454. Morier's Trav. vol. i, p. 299, 300. Richardson's Trav. vol. ii, p. 399. Buckingham's Trav. vol. ii, p. 322.

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give a public entertainment. Pococke was present at agreat feast in Egypt, where every one, as he had done eating, got up, washed his hands, took a draught of water, and retired to make way for others; and so on in a continual succession, till the poor came in and eat up all. "For the Arabs," he says "never set by any thing that is brought to table, so that, when they kill a sheep, they dress it all, call in their neighbours and the poor, and finish every thing." The same writer, in another passage, mentions a circumstance which is still more remarkable, that an Arab prince will often dine in the street before his door, and call to all that pass, even to beggars, in the usual expression of Bismillah, that is, in the name of God, who come and sit down to meat, and when they have done, retire with the usual form of returning thanks. Hence, in the parable of the great supper, our Lord describes a scene which corresponded with existing customs. When the guests, whom the master of the house had invited to the entertainment, refused to come, he "said to his servants, go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and the maimed, and the halt and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out unto the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled."b

Oriental princes sometimes distinguish their favourites by giving them particular names, expressing familiarity and delight, which they do not communicate to others, or use to themselves, except at those times when they honour them with the most familiar conversation. A trace

- Trav. vol. i, p. 57.

a Ibid. p. 182.

b Luke xiv, 16.

of this singular custom may be discovered in the promise addressed to the angel of the church in Pergamos: "To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." 99 C Or, as a name given to any person must be known to others, else it would be given in vain, it intimates, that honour should be conferred upon such a one, which shall only be known to the inhabitants of that world to which he shall be admitted, and who have already received that honour themselves. But besides the secret name of intimate familiarity, the oriental princes frequently distinguished their favourite subjects by a new name, commonly taken from some remarkable occurrence, by which they were to be known in future life. Pharaoh gave a new name to Joseph after he had interpreted the dream, alluding to that circumstance; another Egyptian monarch, when he made Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, turned his name to Jehoiakim; and when Nebuchadnezzar deposed Jehoiachin, and made Mattaniah, his father's brother, king in his stead, he changed his name to Zedekiah. When the Koosas, an African tribe, wish to do honour to any person, they also give him a new name, the meaning of which nobody knows but the person who gives it. This mark of distinction is particularly bestowed upon any white people that come among them, and remain with them for any time. It is incomprehensible how soon a stranger is known throughout the country by his new appellation. The same custom is preserved by the Seneca Indians of North Ame

Rev. ii, 17. Burder 1, ob. 585.

d Leichtenstein's Trav. in South Africa.

rica. To give one a new name, and especially their own, they consider as the highest honour they can bestow, and reserve it for particular favourites. They begin with a speech, in which they explain the reason for naming the person; then they ask him if he accepts the name; and on being answered in the affirmative, chaunt in a very curious manner, the song which they use at naming their children, and when that is finished, they shake hands with the person, and call him by his new name. No reasonable doubt can be entertained, that these customs, which are found to prevail among tribes and nations so widely scattered, and so differently circumstanced, may be traced to one origin.

The kings of Persia very seldom admitted a subject to their table. Athenæus mentions it as a peculiar honour, which no Grecian enjoyed before or after, that Artaxerxes condescended to invite Timogoras, the Cretan, to dine even at the table where his relations ate; and to send sometimes a part of what was served up at his own; which some persons looked upon as a diminution of his majesty, and a prostitution of their national honour. Plutarch, in his life of Artaxerxes, tells us, that none but the king's mother, and his real wife, were permitted to sit at his table; and he therefore mentions it as a condescension in that prince, that he sometimes invited his brothers. Haman, the prime minister of Ahasuerus, had therefore some reason to value himself upon the invitation which he received, to dine with the king: “ Haman said, moreover, yea, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king, into the banquet which she had prepared, but myself; and to-morrow am I invited unto her also with the king."

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d Esther v, 12. Burder's Orient. Cust. vol. ii, p. 183.

The same ambitious minister received another mark of great distinction from his master: "The king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman." This he did, both as a token of affection and honour; for when the king of Persia gives a ring to any one, it is a token and bond of the greatest love and friendship. "Here also," says Mr. Forbes, "we see an exact description of the mode of conferring honour on the favourite of a sovereign, a princely dress, a horse, and a ring; these are now the usual presents to foreign ambassadors, and between one Indian prince and another.e

Oriental females express their respect for persons of high rank, by gently applying one of their hands to their mouths; a custom which seems to have existed from time immemorial. In some of the towns of Barbary, the leaders of the sacred caravans are received with loud acclamations, and every expression of the warmest regard, The women view the parade from the tops of the houses, and testify their satisfaction by striking their four fingers on their lips, as fast as they can, all the while making a joyful noise. The sacred writers perhaps allude to this custom, in those passages where clapping the hand in the singular number is mentioned. Striking the hand smartly

clapping the hands, was

upon the other, which we call also used to express joy, in the same manner as among ourselves; but in the east it appears to have been generally employed to denote a malignant satisfaction, a triumphant or insulting joy. In this way, the enemies of Jerusalem expressed their satisfaction, at the fall of that great and powerful city: "All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss, and wag their head at the daughe Forbes's Orient. Mem. vol. iii, p. 198. f Pitts' Trav. p. 85.