ABSTRACT
ISth.—DID not go out to-day, but amused myself with noting down in the journal several parallel things between The Desert and The East, which are mentioned in The Scriptures.
" And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two
sticks, that I may go and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die." (1 Kings xvii. 12.) We have in Sahara parallel ideas to all and every part of this simple and affecting discourse. The widow speaks with an oath. When anything particular and extraordinary is to be said or done, the people of Sahara must use an oath. The meal is the barley-meal of our people; the oil is used to cook it as we cook our bazeen. The sticks are gathered from The Desert every day to dress our food. The blank and absolute resignation of the woman is the same with every one here, not excepting those of immoral lives.
