excited the envy and hatred of his brethren ; and these were not a little augmented by two dreams which Jofeph had, both feeming to foretell his own future happiness, and his elevation above them.

The first of these nocturnal admonitions prefented itself to his imagination as he was affifting his brethren in gathering in the harveft, he being then about the age of seventeen. In this dream he faw a vifionary representation, which greatly exceeded the appearances that ufually prefent themselves to perfons fleeping. The wheat-fheaf which he had collected, appeared to him to stand upright in the place where he had fet it, while the fheaf of each of his brothers bowed its head, and made obeifance to it. Upon his telling this dream the next morning to his brethren, they pretended not to understand the interpretation of it: they, however, too clearly perceived what it feemed to portend, and entertained a greater enmity against him

on that account.

Some time after, a fecond vifion, more extraordinary than the former, prefented itself to him. He dreamed that the fun, the moon,

and

and eleven stars, came down to the earth, and paid homage to him. Upon his relating this dream to his father, Jacob, who readily comprehended the purport of it, rebuked him, faying, "What is this dream that thou haft dreamed? Shall I, and thy mother, and thy brethren, indeed, come and bow down themselves to thee on the earth?

But notwithstanding the patriarch thus reprimanded his fon for prefuming to entertain such a thought, even in a dream; yet, as he well knew that these uncommon visions came from God, he treasured the dream up in his mind, expecting fome time or other to fee the accomplishment of it; while his brethren, on hearing their father's explanation of it, found their ill-will towards him greatly increased thereby.

To fo great a height was this at length arrived, that on Jofeph's coming to them one day as they fed their flocks in Dothan, they agreed among themselves to kill him, and caft him into fome pit; and when enquiry fhould be made after him, to fay that fome wild beaft had devoured him. From this fanguinary design, however, they were di

verted by his brother Reuben, who, more humane than the reft, reprefented to them the extreme heinousness of imbruing their hands in a brother's blood, and proposed to them to let him down into a pit without any water in it, that was hard by, and there leave him to perish. This propofal Reuben made with a view to preferve the life of his brother, till he could privately rescue him from the pit, and restore him to his father; and on its being confented to, he let him gently down himself with a cord. When this was done, he went to seek fresh pafturage for the flocks.

Here we fee the moft depreffive extreme of Jofeph's fate; and at the fame time we are prefented with a ftriking inftance of the inexplicable proceedings of Providence, which could make fuch an extreme depreffion, where every fpark of hope must be extinct even in the moft vivacious mind, a needful ftep to a future reverfe, no lefs remarkable for its extreme elevation. Well may the poet, fpeaking of the apparent intricacy of the ways of Heaven, and our inability to trace them, fay, that "we fee not with how much art the windings run, nor where the regular confufion ends."

Soon

Soon after Reuben was departed, a company of Arabians happened to pafs by in their way to Egypt with fpices; when, by the perfuafions of Judah, another of Jofeph's brethren, they drew him out of the pit, and fold him to these merchants. In order to avoid any fufpicions that might arife of their delinquency, they took the coat of Jofeph, which they had before ftripped him of, and having rent it, and dipped it in the blood of a kid, carried it to their father, giving him to understand that they had found it near the place where they fed their flocks, without feeing any thing of their brother, to whom it belonged.

Jacob no fooner faw the well-known coat, (for, to fhew his fuperior affection to his favourite fon, he had given him, by way of diftinction, a coat of many colours) and obferved it to be torn and coloured with blood, than he naturally concluded, that fome wild beaft had devoured him; and clothing himfelf in fackcloth, mourned for him many days; nor would he be comforted, notwithstanding all the rest of his family ftrove to adminifter confolation to him. "No," faid the weeping patriarch, " your endeavours to

dry

dry my tears are vain; I will go down into the grave, unto my fon, mourning."

In the mean time, the Arabian merchants. carried Jofeph into Egypt, where they fold him to Potiphar, captain of the guard to Pharaoh, the Sovereign of Egypt, who formed fo favourable an opinion of him, that instead of treating him like a flave, he caused him to be inftructed in all kinds of useful learning, and entrusted him with the direction of his household ;---a custom which still prevails in that country, where the Mamlouks, or young captives, are taken into the household of the Beys, and, after different gradations, fucceed to their title, dignity and power.

In this agreeable fituation, refpected by Potiphar, and enjoying his confidence, Joseph lived for fome time, and by his prudent management caused the concerns of his master to flourish; till at length the wife of Potiphar entertaining an illicit paffion for him, and not finding her love returned, he experienced fecond reverfe of fortune, and exchanged this ftate of eafe and happiness for the inconveniences of a prifon.

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