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The Cabbala is properly the oral law 

 of the Jews, delivered down by word of 

 mouth from father to son ; and it is to 

 these interpretations of the written law 

 that our Saviour's censure is to be appli- 

 ed, when he reproves the Jews for mak- 

 ing the commands of God of none effect, 

 through their traditions. 



C ABBALISTS, the Jewish doctors,who 

 profess the study of the cabbala. In th 

 opinion of these men, there is not a word, 

 letter, or accent in the law, without some 

 mystery in it. The Jews are divided into 

 two general sects ; the Karaites, who re- 

 fuse to receive either tradition or the tal- 

 mud, or any thing but the pure text of 

 scripture ; and the rabbinists, or talmud- 

 its, who, besides this, receive the tradi- 

 tions of the ancients, and follow the tal- 

 mud. The latter are again divided into 

 two other sects; pure rabbinists, who ex- 

 plain the scripture, in its natural sense, 

 by grammar, history, and tradition ; and 

 cabbalists, who, to discover hidden mysti- 

 cal senses, which they suppose God to 

 have couched therein, make use of the 

 cabbala, and the mystical methods above 

 mentioned. 



CABECA, or CABESSE, a name given to 

 the finest silks in the East Indies. 



CABIN, in the sea language, a small 

 room or apartment, whereof there are a 

 great many in several parts of a ship, 

 particularly on the quarter-deck, and on 

 each side of the steerage, for the officers 

 of the ship to lie in. The great cabin is 

 the chief of all, and that which properly 

 belongs to the captain or chief comman* 

 der. 



CABINET, the most retired place in 

 the finest part of a building, set apart for 

 writing, studying, or preserving any thing 

 that is precious. A complete apartment 

 consists of a hall, anti-chamber, chamber, 

 and cabinet, with a gallery on one side. 

 Hence we say, a cabinet of paintings, cu- 

 riosities, &c. 



CABIITET, in natural history. This term 

 is applied, with some latitude, to any small 

 or select collection of natural curiosities, 

 without regarding whether the articles it 

 comprises be contained within a cabinet 

 or not. Thus, for instance, it is not un- 

 frequent with us to speak of cabinets of 

 animals, cabinets of birds, offishes, rep- 

 tiles, and other similar articles, as a mode 

 of expressing such an assemblage of natu- 

 ral history, as may not be of sufficient im- 

 portance to deserve the epithet of a mu- 

 seum. The word cabinet, in its usual 

 acceptation with the naturalist, is not 

 therefore confined solely to the boxes, 



press, or chest of drawers, in which arti- 

 cles of curiosity are contained, but im- 

 plies at once both the repository itself, 

 and the articles arranged in it. 



Cabinets of fossils, shells, and corals, 

 have the drawers sometimes divided for 

 this purpose into small compartments, by 

 means of an inner frame work, that let 

 into the bottom of the drawer; but trays 

 of various sizes, made either of card or 

 pasteboard, have a much neater appear- 

 ance, and are preferred by many, as being 

 more commodious, and more easily shift- 

 ed from one part of the drawer to another, 

 as the addition of new acquisitions in any 

 particular tribe or genus may require. 

 Nothing can be more desirable than to 

 have the cabinets well made, that the 

 drawers may slide with perfect ease in 

 their proper recesses in the press. The 

 drawers should fit so close, when shut 

 up, as to preclude the entrance of dust 

 of any kind. The cabinet itself should 

 be also placed in a dry situation, as 

 there are few articles of natural history 

 that are not affected in a greater or less 

 degree by an excess of damp, or even 

 heat. The drawers are uniformly made 

 shallow, the bottom of each is lined with 

 cork, and the top is covered with glass, 

 through which the insect may be seen, 

 without being exposed to the air, or 

 accidents that would arise from their 

 being touched by the incautious specta- 

 tor. 



Cabinets for insects are built of vari- 

 ous sizes, from those which contain ten 

 or a dozen drawers to others that include 

 above a hundred. They are usually of 

 mahogany, but it is immaterial whether 

 they be made of mahogany or wainscot ; 

 some have them of cedar, bwt seldom of 

 deal, or any other wood of a soft texture. 

 The drawers may be from fifteen to thir- 

 ty inches in length, the same, or nearly 

 the same, in breadth, and about two or 

 three inches in depth. The cork with 

 which the bottoms are lined must be cho- 

 sen as free from cracks and holes as pos- 

 sible ; it should be ulso glued into the 

 drawers, to prevent its warping, and be 

 filed or cut very level ; and after this the 

 irregularities on the surface of the cork 

 should be rubbed down with pumice- 

 stone, till the whole is rendered perfect- 

 ly smooth, before the paper is pasted 

 over it. The paper should be of a fine 

 smooth and even grain, but neither very 

 stout nor highly stiffened with size, lest 

 it should turn the points of the pins, 

 when placing the insects in the drawers. 

 The top of every drawer must be cover- 



