phenomenon in an antediluvian world, its
recurrence after the deluge could not have been a symbol of security,
since, though the spectacle had been already witnessed, the deluge had
supervened; but it was a _new_ phenomenon, the consequence of the altered
condition of the atmosphere, and was perhaps the result of a _super-added
law_. The design implies stipulations of a somewhat similar description,
and even pagan testimony might be cited as concurring in this view of it.

[Greek: En nephei staerixe teras meropon anthropon.][5]

"Jove's wondrous bow of three celestial dies,
Plac'd, as a sign to man, amidst the skies."

_The Fall of Manna._

This remarkable and providential supply is thus described: "When the dew
that lay was gone up, behold _upon the face of the wilderness_ there lay a
small _round_ thing, as _small as the hoar-frost_, on the ground." We are
further told, that "_when the sun waxed hot it melted_;" and when
preserved until the following day it became corrupt, and "_bred worms_."
To preserve the extra measure which they collected on the sixth day, Moses
directed that on that day of the week they were "_to bake and seethe_"
what should be required on the morrow, as on the sabbath none should fall.
It is further added,--"And the house of Israel called the name thereof
_manna_: and it was like coriander-seed, _white; taste of it was like
wafers made with honey_." Such are the curious and interesting particulars
supplied by the Sacred Text. It is well known that a substance is used in
medicine under this name, chiefly obtained from the Calabrias, and is
collected from the leaves of the _ornus rotundifolia_, (fruxinas ornus, of
Linnaeus,) and a somewhat similar substance obtains in the onion; but from
its purgative qualities, it is sufficiently obvious that the manna of the
Scriptures is altogether different. According to Seetzen, Wortley Montague,
Burckhardt, and other travellers, a natural production exudes from the
spines of a species of tamarix, in the peninsula of Sinai. It condenses
before sunrise, but dissolves in the sun-beam. "Its taste," it is added,
"is agreeable, somewhat aromatic, and as sweet as honey. It may be kept
for a year, and is only found after a wet season." The Arabs collect it
and use it with their bread. In the vicinity of Mount Sinai, where it is
most plentiful, the quantity collected in the most favourable season does
not exceed six hundredweight. The author of the "Histor