great pachyderms of systematic zoology. It mtj bf that the peculiar structure of their anterior teeth « convenient for stripping off the seeds of grasset sii tritica, and that these, in part retained in tiie montk^ cause a practice of working the jaws, which, to cg» mon observers, may appear to be chewing the coi In hares and rats a similar appearance is produced I7- a particular firiction of the Incisors isr nippers, whidi,' growing with great rapidity, would soon extod W yond a serviceable length if they were not kept ta their proper size by constant gnawing, and by vorlk ing the cutting edges against each other. This actiotv observed in the motion of the lips of most rodaJi when in a state of rest, caused the belief of Tomis*. tion in the hare, though, like the hyrax, all rodentii are equally unprovided with the several stomacbt, lod want the muscular apparatus necessary to finte tin food back into the mouth for remasdcation at pkasvit, which constitute the leading peculiarities of the tu* tomical structure of the mminantia. But tbev maj possess, in common with pachydermata, like the bone and hog, the peculiar articulation and form of javi which give them the power of grinding their food, md laminated teeth fitted for the purpose. Extemllj the hyrax is somewhat of the size, form, and brown- ish color of a rabbit, and it has short, round esn, sttfiiciently like for inexact observere to mistake tbe
Hyrax 8yHaeu%: 1, From a specimen hi tiie Brltieh MBse* nm; 8, Ordinary appearance in its native haiuita
one for the other. The hyrax is of clumsier stnietnn than the rabbit, without tail, having long bristly bain scattered through the general fur ; the feet are naked below, and all the nails are flat and rounded, save those on each inner toe of the hind feet, which are long and awl-shaped ; therefore the species cannot dig, vA is by nature intended to reside, not, like rabbiti, in burrows, but in the clefts of rocks. This character u correctly applied to the shaphan by David" (Kitto). The total length of the animal as it sits is about om fbot It presents at first sight the idea of a rat rathfr than any other creature. The color is gray, mi-^^ with reddish-brown, and the belly white. Tbev do not appear to have any cry, nor do they stand uprigbt in walking, but seem to steal along as if in fear, «d> vancing a few steps at a time, and then paanng- '* Their timid, gregarious habits, and the tendfncfi of their paws, make them truly ' the wise and feebk folk' of Solomon, for the genus lives in colowes in the crevices of stony places in Syria, Palestine, Ara»»i8, Eastern Egypt, Abyssinia, and even at the Cape of Good Hope, where one or two additional spedcs eziit. In every locality they are quiet, gentie creatures, Ic- ing to bask in the sun, never stirring far fvm their
CONFALON
465 CONFERENCE, METHODIST
ttreata, moving with caution, and shrinking from the ladow of a passing bird, for thej are often the prey r eagles and hawks ; their habits are strictly diurnal, nd they feed on vegetables and seeds" (Kitto). The esh of the shaphan was forbidden the Hebrews, and £ appears that the Mohammedans and Christians of he £ast at the present day abstain from the flesh of he daman. (See farther particulars in the Pmmjf Cy- lopeduMy 8< V. Hyrax; also Bochart, Hieroz, ii, 421 sq. ; toaenmOller, AHerth, IV, ii, 213 sq. ; Shaw, Trav, p. \01 ; Sonnini, i, 98 ; Bruce, vii, 241 ; Hasselquist, p. r77 sq. ; Wilson, BOh Lcmdt, ii, 28; Laborde, Foyo- Fcs, p. 47; Kobinson, Suearchet^ new edit, iii, 887; Thomson, Lcmd and Book^ i, 460; Oedmann, Samml, V, 48 ; Lucas, AUemeusU R. p. 800 ; Oken, Natur- jetch. VII, ii, 889 ; Ehrenberg, Symbol, pkgs, i, flg. 2 ; LadoIf;/>z.^mAar.p.58; ^w^. .<£^Am;}>. lib. 1, c 10, § r5 ; Pe^cron, Lex. p. 814 ; Gesenius, Thu, Beb. p. 1467 ; Hoten. Spec. p. 46 ; Schubert, Beis, iii, 110 ; Gesen. ad Burckhardt, p. 1076; Forskal, Dacr^, amm, p. v; Presnely in the Aiiatic Journal, June, 1888, p. 514; [senberg. Lex. Amhar. p. 122 ; Kitto, Phyt. Hikory <3f Palest, p. ccdzzvi ; Laborde, SyrioL, p. 114.) See Zo-
OLOQT.
ConfiEdon, a fraternity of seculars in the Church of Rome called penitents, established originally by some Roman citizens. Henry III commenced a sim- ilar fraternity in Paris in 1588, and, dressed in the hab- it of a penitent, assisted at a procession wherein the eardinal of Ouise carried the cross, and his brother, the duke of Mayence, was master of the ceremonies. — Hook, Chxrtk IHcHonary, s. v.
Confection (npS, ro'hsch, Exod. xxx, 85), CON- FECTIONARY (nn^'n, rakkxuhah\ 1 Sam. viii, 18), both derived from the root np*1 (rakach^^ to spice, de- note respectively perfm^ and a female^ perfumer, as the passages cited and the kindred terms* derived flrom the same root (and translated "apothecary," ** per- fume,'* *' ointment'*) indicate. See Apothecabt.
Conferanoe, the bringmg together of individual opinions upon any subject of debate : hence applied, peculiarly, to rel^^ious discussions of any kind (GaL ii,6).
CONFERENCE, FREE-WILL BAPTIST. The ecclesiastical bodies among Free- Will Baptists, higher than the congregation, are the Quarterly Meeting, the Yearly Meeting, and the Gkneral Ckmference, The latter meets every three years. See Baptists, Fbbe-