(2) Time. That the time of the year is spring has always been supposed, and, indeed, it is so clearly marked as to need no support from rea sonings. The mention of several particulars in the poem demonstrates it. Mr. Harmer has iden tified the month to be April, and, in Judea, we may say of April, as in England has been said of May, that "April is the mother of love." (3) Division. We have supposed it right to divide each day into two parts (morning and evening), because there appears to be such appro priations of persons and sentiments as detach each eclogue from its companion. It should be remembered that the noon of the day is too hot in Judea to permit exertion of body or mind, and that no person of the least degree of respectability is abroad at that time of the day. The Turks have a proverb importing that "only Franks and dogs walk about at noon." And in Europe itself, as in Spain and Portugal, while the natives at noon sleep the siesta, "the streets," say they, "are guarded by Englishmen and dogs." Since, then, noon is the time for repose in the East (see 2 Sam. iv :5), we are not to expect that an eastern poet should depart from the manners of his coun try by representing this part of the day as a fit time for visiting, or conversation, or enjoyment. Neither can we suppose that night is a fit time for visiting or conversation, among recent acquaint ances especially. Whatever our own unhappy man ners may ordain, in respect of encroaching on the proper repose of night, the East knows nothing of such revels, nor of those assignations which, under favor of night, furnish too much occasion for repentance on the morrow. Such considera tions restrict these eclogues to two parts of the day, morning and evening. The morning, among the Oriental nations, is very early; the cool of the day, daybreak, before the heat comes on; and the evening is also the cool of the day, after the heat is over. The mornings of this poem are mostly occupied by conversations of the bride with her female visitors, or with her attendants, in her own apartments. But on the morning of the sec ond day the bride, observing her beloved engaging in a hunting party, is agreeably surprised by a visit from him, and sees him from the upper story of her apartments and through the crossbars of her windows. He solicits a view of her counte nance, but the poem seems to insinuate his further waiting for that till the next morning, when she, being intent on considering his palanquin, suffers herself to be surprised; and the bridegroom com pliments her beauty, which, for the first time, he has an opportunity—not properly of considering— hut merely of glancing at. The evening is the reg ular time when the bride expects to be visited by her spouse; accordingly, he visits her on the first evening; but on the second evening she describes her anxiety, occasioned by his failure in this ex pected attention, for which she had waited even into night, when it was too late to suppoSe he would come, and she must needs relinquish all thoughts of seeing him. On the other evenings lie punctually pays his attendance, and though the import of the conversation between them is usually to the same effect, yet the variety of phraseology and metaphor employed by both parties gives a characteristic richness, elegance and interest to this poem, in which, if it be equaled, it is by very few ; but certainly it is not surpassed by any.
(4) Persons. It is natural to inquire, in the next place, who are the interlocutors in this poem. That it consists of conversation is an opinion derived from the earliest times; from the Jewish synagogue no less than from the Christian church: but opinions have varied as to the persons engaged in this conversation. There evidently arc two principals—first, the lady herself. whom we dis tinguish as the bride, meaning a person betrothed to her spouse, but not yet married to him. She evidently comes from a distant country, and that country south of Judea. and more exposed to the heat of the sun. She is accompanied by her mother, or by a representative of her mother, and by proper female attendants, whom we shall de nominate bridesmaids; the second principal in the poem is the bridegroom, who is described in terms which can agree only with a prince; and this prince is accompanied. on his part, by a number of
companions, with whom lie can be free and who in return can be hearty. In addition to these, as the bride is but recently arrived from a distant land, it is very natural that some of the ladies of her present residence (the Royal Harem) should visit her, no less to congratulate and to compli ment her than to engage a share in her good graces and to commence that friendship which may hereafter prove valuable and pleasant to both parties. The Queen Mother of the bridegroom perhaps heads this group.
Received opinion, founded on a pretty general tradition, has called the prince Solomon. king of Israel, and tradition almost. or altogether equally general, has called the princess, his Egyptian spouse, daughter of Pharaoh. As we acquiesce in this opinion we pass it with this slight mention (b) Place. The place is the city of David. This will follow. in some degree, from the men tion already made of the parties, but further proof may be found in the history of this connection ( t Kings iii:t.) Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh. king of Egypt. and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the City of David. until he had made an end of building his own house. Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh's daughter (t Kings vii:8) : "Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the City of David to the house which Solomon had built for her" ( t Kings ix:24) From these passages it is clear that Solomon lodged his bride in the city of David directly as he received her; consequently at the time described in this poem. Tracing the ancient boundaries of the city (or palace) of David. we find it connects on one side with the city of Jerusalem; on the other side it is surrounded by the open country. the hills, etc., in the neighborhood Its internal distribution. we are not to imagine. was wholly,like that of a city; that is. a series of streets throughout, leading front end to end ; hut comprising the palace of David, its courts and appurtenances. the gardens and pleasure grounds belonging to that place. in various and irregular forms. If there were a few continued lines of houses in it, they might be adjacent to the city of Jerusalem, and further, where the wall of the present city passes, we shall suppose a pile of buildings, the palace of David, having one front toward Jerusalem and another toward the gardens, into which the rest of the ground was formed. These gardens. thus occupying full half the area of the city of David. must be supposed to be amply furnished with the most admired plants, shrubs. trees. evergreens. etc with water in basins, stream!; and fountains: with a smooth-mowed sward of the most vivid green. that is. grass, and with a variety of flowers in pots, vases, ctc.; in short, with whatever of decoration art and expense could procure, and the whole so disposed as to be seen to the greatest advantage from the windows, balconies, galleries, pavilions and internal walks of the palace. Nor is this all. for unless we observe how fitly the risings and hills of Jlount Sion were adapted to communicate pleasure, by views of them (that is, being looked towards) and by the situations they afforded for prospects (that is, being looked from); also, what is implied in these risings, the hollows, dells, etc., their counterparts, which yielded at once both coolness and shadow, we shall lose the satisfaction arising from several of the allusions in the poem; these hillocks, then, the reader will bear in mind. We must add the supposition of various gates around this enclosure, some communicating with the town, others with the country, all of them more or less guarded by proper officers and at tendants. \\'e must also include in our ideas of the palace that King Solomon himself resided in a part of it; and his bride, her mother and attendants, lodged in another part of it. These parts of the same palace may easily be under stood as possessing a ready communication with each other; some of them were surrounded by corridors; others were open pavilions or colon nades, according to the nature and composition of a royal residence in the East. and adapted to the various purposes of the apartments. Add guards. former residents, proper officers, servants, etc.