or baths, and of a bridge, cast over a rivulet, are to be seen, and as the soil is dotted with fragments of white marble, bricks, and red pottery, there can be little doubt but that this was the site of the town attached to the port and castle. Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort remarks, in his "Karamania " (p. 299), upon the abundance of fine turtles to be seen in the sands of Ayas Bay, between the castle and the mouth of the Pyramus. Some, he says, were so powerful as to escape with two heavy fellows lying on their backs. Lieutenant Murphy, R. E., Mr. Taylour Thomson, now Persian ambassador, and the writer, being engaged in a series of bearings with the theodolite on the sands, the time occupied (over an hour) with great quiet, seduced the turtles into such a state of security, that several were easily turned over before they could reach their element. If a line of railway was carried from Constantinople to Alexandretta, a railway from Ayas, if otherwise recommendable, would tap the main line within a very short distance; but it is only about ten miles less distance from, say, Famagusta, in Cyprus, via Cape Andrea, to Ayas, than to Seleucia. The distances are about as follows: From Famagusta to Ayas 110 miles, to Seleucia 120 miles, and to Alexandretta 150 miles. The terminus might, under circumstances, be just as well at Merzin, Mezetli, or any other available point on the coast, adjacent to Cyprus, as it would tap the Constantinople line at Tarsas or Ardana. Mr. Haddan expresses this belief that the old port of Ayas could be enlarged, as has been argued of the port at Selencia Pieria, without the use of masonry of any sort, but by simple dredging, so as to hold the whole British navy. We bow to the dictum of a competent engineer, but, from personal impressions, the port was by no means ever so capacious as that of Seleucia. Unfortunately the late Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, who was engaged in the survey of this part of the coast, having, as before said, been severely wounded by some fanatics at this place, while he notices Ayas bay or estuary, and speaks of the shattered remains of a port and artificial pier (" Karamania," p. 300), has left no admeasurements. But, be this as it may, the terminus at Alexandretta or Iskandrum being objectionable, on account of the great elevation of the pass of Baylan, it only adds to distance and expense to remove the proposed terminus to Ayas, and that especially, when the Bay of Antioch is just as near, where the Mr. Consul Barker saw the Egyptian fleet ride out one of the severest storms that ever visited the coast, and where the Euphrates Expedition landed its material, and which, with or without an artificial harbour, presents the only real opening eastwards that divides the limitrophal mountain chains of Syria. Since writing the above we have seen a letter in the Times objecting to the "Bay of Ayas" as an open roadstead, &c. Mr. Haddan's arguments do not apply to the Bay of Ayash in any way whatsoever, but to the old "galley harbour" of Ayas. THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN NEW GUINEA. THE discovery of gold in a new region is in itself of little importance, but it becomes so when looked upon as an incentive to exploration, and even ultimate colonisation, or the introduction of agriculture and herds in new arable and pastoral lands. There are not, indeed, wanting those who look upon such incentives created by the presence of precious metals and stones, such as diamonds, as a means by which Providence works out the population of neglected and little-known lands. Mr. Andrew Goldie, employed by a large nursery firm in London to collect in New Guinea, has, in the course of his explorations of a river, which he has named the Goldie, and which is a tributary of the Usborne that runs into the Redscar Bay, found gold in the black sand "at every prospect," and the bed of the river was scattered with quartz, bearing gold and mundic, attesting to the presence of the former in sitû, as well as in alluvial detritus. Some of Mr. Goldie's experiences are very curious. The natives on the coast were friendly, but those of the interior are almost invariably hostile to strangers. There were mangrove swamps succeeded by a wild country, densely covered with natural grasses-splendid food for horse and cattle, and their steep hills covered with bush. The natives build their houses on the top of the wild mountains, yet even there life is so insecure that they often sleep in the bush, for fear an unfriendly tribe should attack them in the night. Mr. Goldie's party was only saved from such an onslaught by a dog that gave timely warning. The tracks of a large land animal were distinctly seen. The tracks had the appearance of horse-hoofs, with shoes on quite as large, but with this difference, there was the impression of four toes. "We know well," says Mr. Goldie," the foot-prints of the crocodile, and they do not in the slightest resemble them; it must be a heavy animal, as we saw the impression where it had been lying in the sand, and the natives (who showed great terror at the indication) informed us it lived in the bush, not in the river."- Proceedings of the Roy. Geo. Soc. for May 9th, 1878. A SONG OF JUDAH. "By the rivers of Babylon, where we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harp upon the willows."-PSALM CXXXVII. WHEN our fathers had sinned, the wrath of the Lord Gave them prey to the heathen, his bow and his sword, They were like unto men who dream 'mid the living Their mouth filled with laughter, their tongue with thanksgiving Sinned yet more in spirit, were blacker in deed. Long time in the visions of prophets of old, They laughed Him to scorn, they scoffed at His name: shame. They cried: "Let us slay Him?" Oh Calvary, thou And we are their offspring through pitiless years Our meat has been mingled with blood and with tears; From land unto land, and from shore unto shore. Since the strong curse went forth, the dread doom was sealed, We have been but a nation "scattered and peeled.” Oh, bitterly now we remember that word Which dropped in such grief from the lips of the Lord, "Nay, weep not for me: for yourselves ye should weep." Nor has He forever in wrath hid His face. Remember, O, Lord, Thy compassions untold To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of old, And think on their children, and make them once more A great and a glorious name as of yore." Lo! forth from God's throne even now comes a voice, Rejoice, O, ye children of Judah, rejoice! Break forth into singing, Beloved, and cry, Our bondage is past, our redemption draws nigh. God comforts His people and dries up the tears Which flowed down their cheeks in the anguish of years. We shall go up to Zion with praise on our head, Where our kings shall bear rule, our offspring increase. Who, long though He tarry, forgets not His word. Once more shall they see her bright star in the East; They shall look on her youth and beauty and pride, MATTHEW SETON. |