and thou fhalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand after the former manner when thou waft butler. But think on me when it fhall be well with thee; and fhew kindnefs, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For indeed, (added Jofeph) I was ftolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here alfo I have done nothing that they fhould put me into this dungeon."

"Now when the chief baker faw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Jofeph, I alfo was in my dream, and behold I had three white baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of baked meats for Pharaoh ; and the birds did eat them out of the basket on my head." And Jofeph answered and faid, "This is the interpretation thereof: thefe three baskets are three days; yet within three days fhall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and fhall hang thee on a tree, and the birds fhall eat thy flesh from off thee."

"And it came to pafs on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birth-day, that he made a feaft unto all his fervants, and he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker as Jofeph had interpreted to them, yet did not the chief butler remember Jofeph."

PART III.

JOSEPH DELIVERED, &c.

POOR unhappy Jofeph! we left him in prison, where I think he must have had a very anxious time, for who could tell whether it might not be his own turn next to be taken out and hanged as the chief baker was! and yet perhaps there might be fome ray of hope that he might, like the chief butler, get out and go back to his office. All fuch hopes, however, foon vanished, for though Pharaoh's birth-day came, "on which he made a feaft to all his fervants," yet it proved no holiday to Jofeph; and though "the chief butler" got fettled in his chief butlerfhip again, and was giving the cup every day into king Pharaoh's hand, yet did not the chief butler remember Jofeph."

Two whole years paffed without any improvement in this poor prifoner's condition: now, in all this time, it feems very ftrange that the chief butler fhould not have contrived to drop a word in his favour; for how wonderfully had Jofeph foretold to the chief butler his restoration to office! how affectingly too had he intreated to be remembered by him when the day of his profperity fhould come! I cannot help here repeating the parting words of Jofeph, for they are very remarkable. "But think of me," faid he, "when it shall be well with thee, and fhew kindnefs, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention

of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this houfe; for, indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they fhould put me into the dungeon.-Yet did not the chief butler remember Jofeph."

Ah! how juft a picture is this of a great part of mankind! We are many of us apt, while we are faring well ourselves, to take no thought about those who are poor, and fick, and in prifon. It pleafes God now and then to let one or other of us rife up in the world, upon which we go away and forget all our old companions, fome of whom perhaps, most exceedingly need a helping hand from us: we are grown gay and merry, or bufily engaged among our new friends, fo that we quite forget our old ones; and then as to any intereft which we have got with the great, we feel fo much in awe of thofe above us, we are fo foft, and smooth, and civil, when we are in their prefence, and fo unwilling to fay any thing which may poffibly give offence, or which may chance to hurt our own intereft, that we dare not speak a word in favor, even of the most injured character, but we difmifs him from our thoughts, just as the chief butler difmiffed Joseph from his remembrance.

"It came to pafs, however, at the end of two full years, that king Pharaoh dreamed a dream -and behold there came up out of the river feven well favored kine, and fat flefhed, and they fed in a meadow. And behold feven other

kine came up after them, ill favored and lean fleshed, and did eat up the feven well favored and fat kine. And Pharaoh dreamed the fecond time, and behold feven ears of corn came up upon one ftalk ftrong and good. And feven thin ears fprung up after them. And the feven thin ears devoured the feven strong and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke and behold it was a dream."

And now what is to be done! the king himself is troubled with a dream. "And it came to pafs," fays the Scripture, "that in the morning the king's fpirit was troubled; and he fent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wife men thereof, and Pharaoh told them his dreams; but there was none that could interpret them to Pharaoh." And no wonder, for it was the purpofe of God to confound by this dream all the magicians of Egypt, in order that the king might be driven to afk an interpretation of it from Jofeph.

"And then came the chief butler and fpake unto Pharaoh, faying, I do remember my faults this day; for Pharaoh was wroth with his fervants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's houfe, both me and the chief baker; and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he. And there was there with us a young Hebrew, fervant of the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. "And it came to pafs as he interpreted fo it was: me he reftored unto mine office, and him he hanged." What joyful intelligence was this to Pharaoh,

Methinks I fee his countenance brighten up a once upon it.

"Then Pharaoh fent and called Jofeph, and they brought him haftily out of the dungeon And he fhaved himself and changed his raiment and came in unto Pharaoh."

When this great eaftern king commands, no a moment is to be lost in obeying him. For two long years had Jofeph been made to wait in pri fon for his deliverance, but Pharaoh would hard. ly wait two minutes before Jofeph, whofe appear. ance had become quite forlorn and wretched, must be brought before him fhaved and dreffed, and fit for the royal prefence.

"And immediately Pharaoh faid unto Jofeph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it, and I have heard fay of thee, that thou canst underftand a dream to interpret it."

Pharaoh feems not yet to have understood by whofe help it was that Jofeph was enabled to interpret dreams. Jofeph had no more skill in thefe matters than any other man, but he was the fervant of God, and it pleased God, for his own purposes, to give to Jofeph by miracle the power of interpreting the dream of Pharaoh. Accordingly Jofeph anfwers Pharaoh by faying, "it is not in me, God fhall give to Pharaoh an anfwer of peace." Thus Jofeph takes none of the glory to himself, as a proud perfon would have been glad to do, but he gives it all to God, to whom alone it was due. Pharaoh then, in a very exact manner, relates his two dreams to Jofeph,