Paradvxicrua tijpus (Pulm-iuarten).
region, excepting as regards the last mentioned, now known to be a kind of miniature fox {Megalotis zerda, Ham. Smith), or ,/('H«ec of Bruce, who nevertheless con- founded it with Parudoxurtis fi/pun, or an allied species which ecpially fretpients palm-trees; but the/ennfc does not climb. It is equally impossible to point out the cats, tree-cats, and civet-cats noticed by the poet Neme- sianus,who was of African birth, or by the Arabian Da- mir, who makes no further distinctive mention of them. The ckoltd is described in Lev. xi, 29 as one of the small animals which are thrown together under the general designation of "creeping things," and which appear to include the smaller carnivorous and insec- tivorous mammaUa, as well as the four-footed repiilia. The whole category is prohibited as unclean. The
original word, as above seen, is referred by many to the Arabic aiul Syriac, in which it is said to imply a creej)- ing, insidious motion ; and hence peculiarlv ajipropriaie to the Jfiisteiidxe, which, from their remarkablj' long, slender, and vermiform bodies and short legs, seem to glide along the earth more like reptiles than quadru- peds, and insinuate themselves iiUo t lie smallest crevices. Kitto mentions the titchet or polecat {Mimkld putu- riits) as found in Palestine in the neighborhood of the villages, but says that it is rarely seen in towns. The skin is of no value in Syria, as the people have not, as in Europe, any means of divesting it of its uni)leasant smell ( J'/ii/s. //isf. of Paltst. p. 355 ). The common weasel is doubtless found there also, as it is spread over Euroiie; but not the stoat or ermine, the climate being
Polecat {Mustela putorius).
too warm for it. All these animals, but particidarly the first-named, are most destructive to other small ani- mals; and from their depredations in the poultry-yard are held in detestation by the farmer, who, however, does not consider the benefit they do him in the de- struction of myriads of field-mice, house-mice, and rats. Their appetite for blood seems insatiable; their ferocity and courage prompt them to fly at animals larger than themselves; while their carnivorous organization is de- veloped perhaps even more highly than in the typical cats, and they use their powers with the utmost skill and judgment. They prefer the brain and blood of their prey to the flesh. — Kitto; Smith; Fairbairn.
Weather (Q"'^, i/6»i, day, as usually rendered; "fair weather,'' "llT, zahub, Job xxxvii, 22, lit. gold, i.e. " brightness;" evSia, Matt, xvi, 2; "foul weather," •)(tifn!jr, ver. 3, slorm, as elsewhere) in Palestine is, in consequence of the region being greatly diversified by hills, valleys, and plains, quite various in different parts, being hot during tiie summer, especially along the sea- shore (comp. Josephus, War, iii, 9, 1) and in the Jordan gorge (ibid, iv, 8, 3), and cooler on the mountain ridges, especially in winter, but, on the whole, more equable than in Northern and Occidental countries. The length of the day also varies less in diiferent seasons than in higher latitudes, and thus tends to equalize the temper- ature. See Calendar; Palestine; Season.
"Weathercock is a weather vane, on which is the metal or wooden representation of a cock, placed on the top of a spire, which vane turns by the force and direc- tion of the wind.
Weatherford, John, a Baptist minister, was born in Charlotte County, Ya., about 1740. His parents were members of the Presbyterian Church, his father being an elder in the church of which the distinguished Dr. Rice was the minister. Soon after his conversion, his mind began to be troubled on the subject of bafitism. Having conversed on the matter with his pastor, and his doubts not having been removed, Dr. IJice had the magnanimity to say to him, " I perceive, John, that you will be a Baptist. Go, and the Lord be with you." He became a member of the Baptist Church when he was about twenty years of age. He commenced to preach about the j-ear 17(51, and his ministry was so popular that crowds were drawn to hear him. Perse- cution now began to follow him. After preaching on a certain occasion in Chesterfield, Va., he was arrested and thrown into prison, where he was held in confine- ment five months. It is said of him that " his courage
WEATHERFORD
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WEAVING
forsook him not. The love of Christ constrained him. He preached at the door of the prison as long as allowed that privilege. When refused that, he preached through the gratings of the winilow ; hut such determined oppo- sition did he meet that an effort was made by his ene- mies to put a stop to that also. For this purpose they built au outer wall alcove the grating, but Weatiierford devised means to overcome the obstacle. A handker- chief by the congregation was to be raised on a pole above the wall, as a signal that the people were ready to hear. His voice being verj' strong, he could throw- it beyond these impediments, and convey the words of life and salvation to the listening crowds." At last, tlirough the kind interference of Patrick Henry, he was liberated from his bondage, and again, with greater zeal than ever, entered anew on the work of preaching the Gospel. Most of his life-work was that of an evange- list. 'I'owards the close of the century, however, he sustained the relation of pastor to two churches, which are said to have flourished under his ministry. He took up his residence in Halifax County, Ya., in 1813, where he lived about ten years, and then removed to I'ittsylvania, where he died, Jan. 23, 1833, having been a preacher of the Gospel over seventy years. He be- longed to an order of ininisters who accomplished a vast amount of good in a state the people of which had too generally settled down into a condition of formal- ism, and needed to be roused to thoughtfulness by such instrumentalities as were represented by the subject of this sketch. However despised they may iiave been bj' some, they certainly reaped the honor which comes from God only. See Lives of Virginia Baptist Alinis- ters,\>.bb-^\.' (J. C. S.)