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injuries of the air." The Sheking, one of the vene-assembled on this solemn occasion, by an exhibition of rated ancient books, says:—

her superior skill in swimming. The bridegroom is a hearty mariner of Newport. He was elegantly dressed for the occasion, in a blue jacket and white trousers. He swore that the lovely Kingatara alone was fit to share the hammock of a Yankee sailor; and said that if the masters complained that he was unskilful in his business, whaling, they could not deny that his wife, at least, is a whaler.-Philad. Intel.

When a daughter is born,
She sleeps on the ground.
She is clothed with a wrapper,
She plays with a tile.

She is incapable either of evil or good."

JOHN HANCOCK.

This last assertion is explained thus: "if she does ill, she is not a woman; and if she does well, she is not a woman; a slavish submission is her duty and her highest praise." At the present day, as well as anciently, the female infant is often an object of disgust to its parents, and of contempt to all the inmates of the family. As she grows up, her feet are so confined John Hancock was born at Quincy, near Boston, in and cramped that they can never exceed the size of Massachusetts, in 1737. He graduated at Cambridge infancy, and render it impossible for her ever to walk college in 1754, after which he became a merchant, with ease and safety. Small feet, that badge of bon-under the patronage of his uncle, who adopted him, dage which deprives them of the power of locomotion, and left him heir to his princely fortune. A great confines them to the inner apartments, except when crisis was now approaching in the affairs of the colopoverty forces them to earn their livelihood abroad nies, and Mr. Hancock became a politician. He was by labour, which they render exceedingly difficult and first elected a selectman of the town of Boston, at that painful. time a dignity second to none in the gift of a free Females of the higher class seldom leave the house, people. He was next sent to the general assembly of except in sedan chairs. Their lives are but an honour the commonwealth, where by his urbane and gentleable captivity. They have few or no real enjoyments; manly behaviour he acquired an extensive popularity. are ignorant of almost every thing-very few of them In 1774, he delivered an oration on the massacre of being able to read; and live and die little more than 1770, which, from the bold and daring manner in which mere ciphers in human society, Pale and emaciated, he spoke, considerably raised his reputation. Soon these spend the greater part of their lives in emafter this, he was president of the provincial congress; bellishing their persons; while females of the poorer nental congress at Philadelphia. He presided over and, the next year, was made president of the conticlasses, whose feet are necessarily permitted to grow to the size which the God of nature designed, perform that body with impartiality and dignity, and was the all the drudgery of husbandry and other kinds of work. first signer of the Declaration of Independence. When These last are in general very industrious, and Mr. Hancock retired from the continental congress, he to be helpmates to their husbands. Being remarkable did not leave public life; for he was a member of the for their good and sound understandings, they manage convention that formed the constitution of Massachutheir families with a great deal of care and prudence: setts, under which he was elected governor, from 1780 and so far as industry and economy are concerned, to 1793, with the exception of one year, when he they are exemplary mothers. Notwithstanding the declined a re-election. The person of Mr. Hancock degradation in which they are held, they are generally was fine, his manners elegant, and his hospitality far superior in intellect to the common cast of Asiatic unbounded. He died of the gout, which was herediwomen. They are very ingenious in their needle-tary in his family, the 8th of October, 1793, in the 55th work, and the like; and to be a good mother, in the year of his age. estimation of this class of the Chinese, a woman must be a weaver. But it is to be regretted that they have very little regard for the cleanliness of either their persons or houses. Their children crawl in the dirt,

prove

POETRY.

and the few articles of furniture in their dwellings are SUMMER EVENING AT A SHORT DISTANCE FROM Icovered with filth.

THE CITY-Alonzo Lewis.

Infanticide of females is not unknown among the Chinese. They are far from regarding this crime with the horror it deserves. "It is only a female," is the answer generally given when reproved for it.

Chinese Repository.

MARRIAGE EXTRAORDINARY.

"At Otaheite, Society Islands, Capt. Charles Spooner, of whale ship Erie, of Newport, to Miss Kingatara Oruruth."

We clip the above notice from one of our Eastern "papers. Happily we have received from our attentive correspondents, (that is the phrase,) at Otaheite, an interesting account of the ceremonial.

The bride, Miss Kingatara Oruruth, (says our correspondent) is the daughter of Demslifrgwomldammfr, one of the chiefs of the island, and is connected with most of the noble families of the kingdom. She is about sixteen years of age, of a bright mahogany colour, with her cheeks tattooed in the most lovely manner, and her ears slit in a style peculiarly fascinating. Her eyes are large, and of a greenish colour. Her lovely form, which was almost six feet six inches tall, was gracefully enveloped in an old blanket, and during the performance of the matrimonial rites, the fair bride stood before her happy lover modestly engaged in masticating sugar cane. The young lady is said to be highly accomplished; and delighted the company

And now the city smoke begins to rise,

And spread its volumes o'er the misty sea;
From school dismissed the barefoot urchin hies
To drive the cattle from the upland lea.
With gentle pace we crossed the polished beach,
And the sun sets as we our mansion reach.

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HISTORY.

SECTION XV.

est of enormous columns, adorned all round with beautiful figures and various ornaments from top to bottom; the graceful shape of the lotus which forms their capitals, and is so well proportioned to the columns; the gates, the walls, the pedestals, the architraves, also adorned in every part with symbolical figures in low relief, representing battles, processions, triumphs, feasts, and sacrifices, all relating to the ancient history of the country; the sanctuary wholly formed of fine red granite; the high portals, seen at a distance from the openings of this vast labyrinth of edifices; the various groups or ruins of the other temples within sight: these altogether had such an effect upon my soul, as to separate me in imagination from the rest of mortals, exalt me on high above all, and cause me to forget entirely the trifles and follies of life. I was happy for a whole day, which escaped like a flash of lightning."

"It is absolutely impossible," again exclaims the same indefatigable traveller, in describing his visit to another temple, (Luxor,) "to imagine the scene displayed without seeing it. The most sublime ideas that can be formed from the most magnificent specimens of our present architecture, would give a very incorrect picture of these ruins. It appeared to me like entering a city of giants, who after a long conflict were all destroyed, leaving ruins of their various temples as the only proof of their former existence."

ANCIENT THEBES AND ITS TEMPLES.

The city of Thebes was, perhaps, the most astonishing work ever performed by the hand of man. Its ruins afford the most positive proof of the ancient civil- So far Belzoni: and in this he is borne out by the ization of Egypt. The origin of this famous place is learned Frenchman, Champollion, who speaks of lost in the obscurity of time, it being coeval with the Thebes in terms of equal admiration:-"All that I nation which first took possession of the country. Its had seen, all that I had learned on the left bank, apextent was vast; though its hundred gates, immortal-peared miserable in comparison with the gigantic conized by Homer, and often interpreted as the gates of ceptions by which I was surrounded at Karnac. I the city, may possibly have been the gates of the tem- shall take care not to attempt to describe any thing; ples, or of the palaces of its princes. D'Anville and for either my description would not express the thouDenon state its circumference to have been thirty-six sandth part of what ought to be said, or if I drew a miles; its diameter not less than ten and a half. The faint sketch, I should be taken for an enthusiast, or number of inhabitants was in proportion to these di- perhaps for a madman. It will suffice to add, that no mensions. Diodorus says, that the houses were four people, either ancient or modern, ever conceived the art and five stories high. Although Thebes had greatly of architecture on so sublime and so grand a scale, as fallen from its former splendour at the time of Cam- the ancient Egyptians. Their conceptions were those byses the Persian, it was the fury of this merciless of men a hundred feet high." conqueror that gave the last blow to its grandeur, about 250 years before the Christian era. He pillaged its temples, and carried away the ornaments of gold, silver, and ivory. Before this period, no city in the world could be compared with it in size, beauty, and wealth; and according to the expression of Diodorus, The sun had never seen so magnificent a city.

After Karnac and Luxor, the next grand building at Thebes was Memnonium; that is the tomb or palace or one of the Pharaohs, whom the Greeks supposed to be the same as Memnon. In the middle of the first court was to be seen the largest figure ever raised by the Egyptians-the statue of the monarch, seventyfive feet high. Behind it, there was an entrance which led into a second court, surrounded by porticoes supported by fifty other colossuses; and at the end of several porticoes and different apartments was the celebrated library, at the entrance of which was an inscription, signifying, "The medicine of the mind."

The temple of Karnac, the most considerable monument of ancient Thebes, was not less than a mile and a half in circumference. It is not intended here to furnish an account of this extraordinary building, from the still mighty ruins of which we may gather evidence of what it once was; but we may observe, as the most striking circumstance connected with the place, that a portion of the structure is considered to be more than four thousand years old, or 2272 years before the coming of Christ.

Speaking of this magnificent edifice, and of the enormous sphinxes and other figures, into an avenue of which he had entered, Belzoni says in his enthusiastic style: "I was lost in a mass of colossal objects, every one of which was more than sufficient of itself to attract my whole attention. I seemed alone, in the midst of all that was most sacred in the world; a forVOL. II.-15

Belzoni, in his travels, gives a most interesting account of his discovering and opening the great tomb of Psammuthus at Thebes. He made on the spot draw ings of all the figures, hieroglyphics, and ornaments in the sepulchre, and took impressions in wax-a most laborious task, which occupied him more than a twelvemonth. The personal vigour of this enterprising traveller, guided by uncommon intelligence and energy, enabled him to accomplish objects which had before never been thought of, or had been attempted in vain. On his arrival in England, he constructed, and exhibited, a perfect fac-simile of the tomb,

I

EGYPT.

In the days of discovery and research, Egypt and its Antiquities have received no small share of attention from travellers, and from those who, in the spirit of quiet and earnest investigation at home, are still throwing light on what has hitherto been obscure. Though it would be idle to deny the learning of the Egyptians, it has been very much like a sealed book, with regard to whose contents conjecture has been thoughtfully employed. Judging, however, of the mighty undertakings of that extraordinary people, from what we now see of their relics, but left in the dark as to the mode in which they executed their operations on so grand a scale, we may fairly conclude, that certain inventions and improvements in arts and manufactures, which we call modern, were practised by them; and that on the other hand, many valuable attainments familiar to the Egyptians, have become, by lapse of years, wholly forgotten, and are therefore concealed from us.

which some of our readers will, doubtless, recollect having seen.

SCULPTURE,

THE ALABASTER SARCOPHAGUS.

The

It was in the tomb of Psammuthis, in the centre of the saloon, that Belzoni found the beautiful Alabaster Sarcophagus. This magnificent remnant of ancient days, which, most probably, once contained a royal mummy, has not its equal in the world. It is of the finest Oriental alabaster, nine feet five inches long, and three feet seven inches wide; and, though of considerable thickness, is highly transparent: this may be proved on placing a light within. It is minutely and richly sculptured, inside and outside, with several hundred figures, of about two inches high, and at the bottom, within, is a graceful form, carved in outline, of the human shape and size, supposed to represent of the head, and upper part of the body, of a colossal one of the numerous deities worshipped by the nations figure, brought from the Memnonium, and thence proof early Egypt. This rich treasure is in the posses-bably called, by mistake, the "Younger Memnon ;" sion of Sir John Soane, in his Museum in Lincoln's while the statue of the genuine Memnon, famous for Inn Fields, and remains altogether unrivalled in beauty his concert of Music at sun-rise, still exists at Thebes. and curiosity. The fragment, however, to which we have adverted, is well worthy of inspection, conveying a remarkable instance of preservation as a relic of art, and, at the same time, of the simple and pleasing expression of the Egyptian countenance.

But our admiration of ancient Egyptian skill will increase, when we take into account the nature of the materials on which they worked, in raising their temples, obelisks, and statues. The stones, particularly the granite and the breccia, are extremely hard, and we do not know with what tools they were cut. tools of the present day will not cut granite without much difficulty; and there is a great doubt whether we could give it the fine smooth surface, and sharp clear edge, which we see so perfect in these ancient remains, some of which, in this respect, may be said to look as if they had been finished but yesterday. For an illustration of this, we may refer our readers to an admirable specimen of Egyptian sculpture in the British Museum, ninth room, No. 66. It consists

In considering these astonishing works, we can scarcely doubt the deserved eminence of the ancient Egyptians in the arts and sciences. Indeed, some of the most illustrious characters of Greece; Homer, Pythagoras, Plato, Lycurgus, and Solon, are said to have travelled hither to complete their studies, and to draw from that source whatever was most valuable in every kind of knowledge. But the Holy Scriptures themselves have incidentally given this testimony, when they speak of Moses as being learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and mighty in words and deeds. (Acts vii. 22.) Yet we wonder how the history of a people, which was once so great as to erect these mighty edifices, could be so far obscured, that even their language and method of writing are in a great degree unknown to us.

AN ANCIENT VESSEL.

In making a new sluice to the citadel of Calais, an ancient vessel, 45 feet in length, 12 in breadth, and 8 in depth, was discovered in the ground; it is strongly built, though the measurement does not exceed 80 tons, and has evidently never been covered with a deck. Coins were found in it with the date of 1219, and, as it lay 12 feet below the foundation of the inner wall of the fortifications erected by the Count de Boulogne, it is to be presumed, that the vessel was not discovered at that period. It cannot be ascertained whether it was Much has indeed been done of late, in deciphering ever at sea-but there is reason to believe it was erectHieroglyphics; and with the knowledge of themed before Calais was made a regular port, and when which is now gained, it may be hoped, that ere long, the sea ran far up the present land.-Paris Advertiser. this picture-language of ancient Egypt may be read with correctness and certainty. The labours of M. Champollion in this department are well known. Among Englishmen, Mr. Wilkinson, an intelligent traveller, who has examined the tombs in Thebes, has

HIEROGLYPHICS.

pursued the subject with perseverance, and a gratify ing degree of success. It was clear, that no masterkey to those hidden stores could be obtained, unless some ancient inscription were found, written in Hieroglyphics, as well as in some known language. Now, it so happens, that a stone of this kind actually exists among us; the celebrated ROSETTA STONE, found by the French in digging for the foundation of Fort St. Julian, near Rosetta. It is a large black stone, containing three inscriptions of the same import; namely, one in hieroglyphics, another in the ancient and common characters of the country, and another in Greek. Though imperfect, the stone being broken, the writing is sufficiently ample to form a most valuable guide in further researches. The visiter to the British Museum may see in the ninth room, No. 65, this invaluable specimen, which records a decree of the Egyptian priests, in honour of Ptolemy Epiphanes; the leading events of his reign; his liberality to the temples; his conquests over certain rebellious subjects, his clemency towards some of the traitors; the measures he took against the fatal consequences of an excessive inundation of the Nile, and his generosity towards the College of the Priests. Proceeding upon this and other documents, Champollion published in 1824 his Precis du Systeme Hieroglyphique, a work of high interest and value, as affording light on some of the most intricate points that can engage the attention of the antiquary.

EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING.

A labouring man, finding himself overtaken by a himself under a tree; the lightning struck the tree, and storm in the wood of Mareuil, imprudently sheltered shivered a part of it to atoms. The man did not at first feel any ill effects from it, although his clothes were torn, and pieces of his waistcoat, blouse, and shirt, had been carried to a considerable distance. His right eyebrow was burned, and the epidermus of that side was either torn from him, or stuck to what remained left his shelter-but the first movement brought back of his clothing. As soon as the storm had ceased, he sensibility, and he with difficulty reached a house, where he discovered the full extent of the injury he had received.—Journal de l'Oise.

BUSINESS.

Business, says a celebrated writer, is the salt of life, which not only gives a grateful smack to it, but dries up those crudities that would offend, preserves from putrefaction, and drives off all those blowing flies that would corrupt it. Let a man be sure to drive his business, rather than let it drive him. When a man is but once brought to be driven, he becomes a vassal to his affairs. Reason and right give the quickest despatch. All the entanglements that we meet with arise from the irrationality of ourselves or others. With a wise and honest man a business is soon ended, but with a fool and knave there is no conclusion, and seldom even a beginning.

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Athens as it once was-The Parthenon-The Temples Columns | the pillars of the ancient buildings. Among these are

of Adrian-Athens as it now is-Account of the Ruins.

Ancient Athens was divided into the Acropolis, or upper, and the Catapolis, or lower city. The former contained the most splendid works of art, of which Athens could boast. Its chief ornament, however, was the PARTHENON, or temple of Minerva.

This magnificent building, which even in ruins has been the wonder of the world, was 217 feet long, 98 broad, and 65 high. Destroyed by the Persians, it was rebuilt in a noble manner by Pericles, 444 years before Christ. Here stood the statue of Minerva, formed of ivory, 46 feet high, and richly decorated with gold to the value of more than $520,000.

The Propylæum, built of white marble, formed the entrance to the Parthenon. This building lay on the north side of the Acropolis, close to the Erectheum, also of white marble, consisting of two temples; besides another remarkable building, called the Pandroseum. In the circle of Minerva's temple stood the olive tree, sacred to that goddess.

On the front part of the Acropolis, and on each end, were two theatres, built with extraordinary splendor.

In the lower city were the Poikile, or the gallery of historical paintings, the temple of the Winds, and the monuments of celebrated men. But the greatest pieces of architecture were without the city. These were the temples of Theseus and Jupiter Olympus; one on the north, and the other on the south side of the

city.

The temple of Theseus resembled the Parthenon. On this temple, the famous deeds of old heroes and kings were represented. The temple of Jupiter Olympus surpassed all the other buildings of Athens in splendor and beauty. Incalculable sums were spent on it. It was finished by Adrian. The outside of this temple was adorned by 120 fluted columns, 60 feet high, and 6 in diameter. The inside was more than half a league in circumference. Here stood the statue of the god made by Phydias, of gold and ivory.

In the fifth century, the Parthenon was turned into a church of the Virgin Mary. In 1456, when Athens fell into the hands of the Turks, it became a mosque.

This is a brief account of Athens, as it once was. Now, under the dominion of the Turks, and after 2300 years of war and devastation, how changed! Still its ruins excite astonishment.

The Turks have surrounded it with a broad irre

gular wall. With this wall are remains of some of

six whole columns of the Propylæum with gateways between them, eight front columns of the Parthenon,* and several colonnades. Of all the statues with which the Parthenon was adorned, we find only that of Adrian. There are also remains of the temple of Neptune, the Poikile, and the temple of the Winds; and without the city, of Jupiter Olympus, and the temple of Theseus.

On the hill (Mars Hill) where the court of the Areopagus held its sittings, we find steps hewn in the rock, and places for the judges to sit, as well as for the accusers aud the accused. This hill is now a Turkish burying ground. The Pnyx, the place of assembly for the people, is still to be seen, with the place hewn in the rock from which the orators spoke; also the seats of the scribes and officers. The paths for running, where the gymnastic exercises were performed, are yet visible.

ROYAL PASTIME EXTRAORDINARY.

At the Adelaide street Gallery, London, is exhibited a very remarkable stick or weapon recently brought from Portugal, and which belonged to Don Miguel, whose amusement it was to carry it with him when he rode out, for the purpose of killing dogs, and wounding any of his subjects whose demeanor did not appear to him sufficiently humble and submissive. It is about five feet long, of very tough wood, apparently a species of thorn, with a mounting of brass at each end, and the larger end loaded with iron. Miguel carried it between his leg and the saddle, and it bears the marks of the friction thus produced. A piece of thick tape is passed through a hole at the small end, which he put round his wrist when he struck with it, to prevent its slipping or being wrested out of his grasp. A more formidable instrument of the kind can hardly be imagined; and it is said to have been made after instructions given by himself. Its genuineness is believed to be perfectly well established.

When nations can subdue their enemies by kind treatment, the instruments of war may be destroyed. *These eight columns of the Parthenon, are seen in the en graving, at the righthand.

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You have heard of the ancient city of Pompeii, I suppose; how in about 50 years after the death of our Saviour, during a terrible irruption of Mount Vesuvius, it was so completely buried under a shower of stones and cinders, that the place where it stood was hardly known, till the year 1755. You have, perhaps, read about its being excavated, since that time; and what curiosities have been found.

Among the rest are the remains of the ancient theatres, and amphitheatres. The latter were oval buildings, in the centre of which, public amusements were held, and round the outside were seats for the spectators. There were ranges or rows of seats, one above another.

The engraving is a plan of the amphitheatre at Pompeii. It had seats enough to accommodate more than 10,000 people, besides room for many to stand. It was 430 feet long and 335 broad.

You will find the word Podium twice repeated, in the engraving. It refers to the parapet or elevation, on which seats were placed. The Arena is the part of the amphitheatre where the amusements or combats took place.

Pompeii was about twelve miles S. E. of Naples. The city was built of volcanic matter, thrown out of Vesuvius; and the streets paved with lava. Herculaneum, another city not far distant, was overwhelmed at the same time with Pompeii, and has recently been excavated in a similar manner.

SAYINGS OF THE ANCIENTS.

When Ptolemy the Second, king of Egypt, looked forth one day from his palace window, afflicted as he was at the time with the gout, the consequence of his luxurious indulgences, and distracted with kingly anxieties, he observed a multitude of his poorer subjects reclining in festal ease on the sandy banks of the Nile-"Miserable fate," said the monarch, "that my fate hath not allowed me to be one of them."

Anaxagoras, the Clazomenian philosopher, and preceptor of Socrates, being asked for what purpose he conceived he had come into the world, answered, "To see sun, moon, and stars!" The same philosopher being utterly negligent regarding the politics of his town of Clazomene, was twitted for his indifference on that subject by some of his most zealous fellow-citizens,

who asked him whether he entertained no concern for his native country? "For my country," replied the sage, "I have always a great concern. My native city," pointing to the heavens, "is perpetually the subject of my thoughts."

Chilon, the sage of Sparta, inquired of Æsop what was Jupiter's employment-what was his regular daily business in the skies? "To humble those that are elevated, and elevate those that are humble," said the fabulist.

Anacharsis, though a Scythian, uttered sentiments as beautiful as those of Plato himself. Among his fine sayings is the one-"The vine bears three grapes: the first is that of pleasure; the second is that of drunkenness; the third is that of sorrow." A certain Greek poet, in a very ingenious distribution, gave the first bowl, or crater, to the Graces, Hours, and Bacchus; the second to other heathen deities; the third to Mischief.

When Mark Antony was fast fleeing from his conqueror, after the battle of Mutina, one of his acquaintances gave as a reply to some person that inquired of him what his master was about, "He is doing what dogs do in Egypt when pursued by the crocodiledrinking and running."

Cresus, king of Lydia, who felt presumptuously proud on account of his power and his riches, had dressed himself one day in his utmost splendor of apparel and royal ornament, and, seating himself on his throne, exhibited his person to Solon, as comprehending within itself the substance and sun of all worldly glory. Have you ever beheld," said he to the Grecian sage, "a spectacle more august ?" "I have," was the answer: "their is neither a pheasant in our fields, nor a peacock in our court-yard, nor a cock on our dunghill, that does not surpass you in glory."

Chambers' Edinburgh Journal.

ATHENIAN SOUP.

The Athenians sometimes had their soups served up in the stewing-pans in which they were made. The form of these utensils resembled that of our tureens, and the material was a kind of porcelain. It appears also from Plato that the spoons were of sycamore, as that wood was thought to communicate a better scent and flavor to the soups.

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