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THE

YOUTHS' MAGAZINE;

OR

Evangelical Miscellany.

DECEMBER, 1842.

TEMPLE AT QUOM OMBOS.

THE sacred buildings of Egypt throw very considerable light on the architectural details of the Bible; for it is notorious that not only the inhabitants of that country, but of almost every other, borrowed the idea of their temples from that of Solomon. Nor is it only in the plans of their religious edifices that we have this marked resemblance; their palaces and other buildings being oftentimes strikingly similar in their construction and arrangement.

The subject of our present cut furnishes an illustration of this last remark, as it elucidates, in an exceedingly interesting manner, the account given in the book of Kings, of "the house of the forest of Lebanon," built by Solomon. The description, which possesses all the accuracy necessary to convey a correct idea of its appearance, independently of any graphic aid, is nevertheless brought out more vividly by a reference to the annexed ground-plan and elevation, copied from Norden, and representing what he calls "Les antiquités de Komonbu," or as it is now more usually written, Quom Ombos.

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The sacred narrative informs us that Solomon "built the house of the Forest of Lebanon: the length thereof was one hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars, and it was covered with cedar above upon the beams that lay on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row; and windows, three rows; and light against light, three ranks; and all the doors and the posts square with the windows, and light against light in three ranks. And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof thirty cubits, and the porch before them and the pillars and the thick beam before them." (1 Kings vii. 2-6.)

Many points of resemblance can be traced between the structure described in these verses, and that represented in our cut. The number of pillars is in both uneven,-a circumstance of very rare occurrence in Egyptian buildings: the length is exactly twice the breadth, and the height, proportionate; the pillars are in three rows, and resting upon them in the Egyptian temple, we may observe as many courses of stones, analagous to the "cedar beams" in the house of the Forest of Lebanon. "Light is against light," and all the "posts" exactly square with each other. The fourth row of pillars mentioned in the first part of the scriptural account, formed, most probably, no part of the house itself, as the cedar roof appears to have only covered the "forty five pillars, fifteen in a row," which are afterwards referred to: it is therefore not unlikely that they answered to those constituting the porch in our cut. For although another "porch" is mentioned towards the close of our text, it seems tolerably clear from the measurements given, that it formed no part of the main building: its length, "thirty cubits," being no aliquot part of that of the house, and consequently not of its subdivisions, so that neither its walls, if it had any, nor its "pillars,” which are specially mentioned, would fall in with the arrangements observed in the principal structure. What is first called the "porch," indeed, seems to have had a porch of its own before it, with pillars, and the "thick beam," answering probably to the deep characteristic cornices of the temples of Egypt.

"TAKE HEED HOW YE HEAR."-MARK IV. 24.

MRS. HOWARD was sitting, one fine summer's evening, at her parlour-window, which opened on a beautiful garden; her two young daughters, Elizabeth and Charlotte, were seated near to her, and as they went on with their needle-work they entered into conversation.

"It is now nearly a year, mamma," said Elizabeth, "since Charlotte and I began to pay for Kate Baring's schooling, and she is very, very much improved; we examine her once, and sometimes twice a week; she can now read any part of the Bible quite fluently, and is by far the best writer in the school. But there is one thing we want to ask you, mamma," added Elizabeth, proceeding to consult her mother about the best way of carrying on this education, "for the young girl has shewn superior talents, and yet her station in life was very humble."

Mrs. Howard listened attentively to these inquiries, and was still answering questions upon the subject put to her by Elizabeth, when Charlotte abruptly called out-"O! mamma, do you know?"

"What is it? my dear," asked Mrs. Howard.

"Only think!" resumed Charlotte, "the Perkins's have got new bonnets; and, of all the colors under the sun, they are trimmed with bright yellow!"

Mrs. Howard made no answer. Charlotte did not observe that she changed countenance, and looked grave, or she would hardly have gone on as she did. "Mr. Perkins himself bought the bonnets when he went to the fair on Monday," she added, "and do you know, he fell from his horse as he came back; he was not hurt, but they say, he would not have fallen if he had not been tipsy. Rogers was pasing by, and he helped him up. Rogers was going after his daughter to bring her home, for she has left her place—she is a saucy girl; I have found that out before now; when she used to come to the Sunday school, she had something to say of every body: even then, she told such tales of the governess, I am sure, if I had believed half of them, I never would have given any of my allowance to send Kate to her school. One thing, however, I must speak of—Mary Rogers told me, that one day—”

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