214 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



Hope, and which has neither stem nor leaf 

 only a flower that produces a large round and 

 excellent fruit; but I really have not time 

 to describe any more of these interesting little 

 scraps, for my aunt says I must go out and 

 walk. 



26th, Sunday. My uncle read to us this 

 morning the history of Balaam's expedition with 

 Balak, in order to curse Israel. This produced 

 a long conversation ; and I shall endeavour to 

 give you an outline of what my uncle said. 



" It appears from Scripture that there were 

 two countries called Midian. That to which 

 Moses had fled from the Egyptians was on the 

 Red Sea \ the other was on the River Arnon, 

 near Moab ; and as it was peopled by the 

 descendants of Abraham and Keturah, we may 

 suppose that the knowledge of the true God 

 had been preserved there, though mixed with 

 idolatrous corruptions. We know that in the 

 days of 'Abraham, and long afterwards, there 

 Was a priesthood amongst the Canaanites, who 

 preserved in great part the true worship. 



In the age of Joseph, there was a priest 

 of On, and in the time of Moses, Jethro, a priest 

 of Midian, whose daughters they married ; and 

 it cannot be supposed that either Moses or 

 Joseph would have been allowed to connect 

 themselves wUh idolaters. 



