ALEXANDRIA.

Continued from No. 26.

Ancient Alexandria owes its origin to Alexander the Great, who, during his visit to Egypt, (B. c. 332,) gave orders to erect this city between the sea and the Mareotic Lake. The architect was Dinocrates, a Macedonian. A large part, but not the whole of it, was contained within the present walls, which are chiefly the work of the Arabs. One long main street, thirty stadia (miles) in length, ran through the city from the eastern extremity to the Necropolis at the western, and this was intersected by another main street, ten stadia in length, running nearly north, in a direction from the Mareotic Lake. The object of this arrangement was to give the city the benefit of ventilation from the north winds. The main land and the island Pharos were connected by a dyke, called the Heptastadium, in which, at each end, there was a passage for vessels from one port to the other. Over these passages there were also bridges; and we are told that the water was conveyed along the dyke to the island of Pharos, though we do not understand how this was managed, unless the bridges must have been very high. On the rocks now occupied by the present Pharos, a magnificent light-house was constructed by Sostratus of Cnidus, in the reign of Ptolemy Philadel. phus (B. c. 283): its height is stated, though probably with much exaggeration, to have been 400 feet. The point opposite to the Pharos was called Lochias; and as the Lochias itself was prolonged towards the Pharos along some rocks, on which the Pharillon now stands, this prolongation received the name of Acro-Lochias, or the Point of Lochias. In advancing from Lochias towards the obelisks, we traverse the ground where stood the palaces of the Ptolemies, the theatre, and various temples. The port bounded by the two promontories, by the north-east part of the city, and the Heptastadium, was called the Great Port. The other port was called Eunostus (safe return): it contained also a small port called Kibotos, or 'the Chest,' because the entrance could

be completely closed; no traces of it, as far as we can learn, can be made out. A canal which united the lake with port Eunostus terminated in or near port Kibotos, and was nearly the S. W. limit of the city. Still farther S. W. was the Necropolis, (city of the dead,) or great cemetery of Alexandria. This city in its full extent was divided into several quarters, but we cannot assign either the names or the exact limits of each. The court end, otherwise called Bruchion, comprised the part between the Lochias, the site of the Obelisks, and the eastern or Rosetta gate. It contained also the Museum. The Rhacotis bordered on port Eunostus, and contained the great temple of Serapis, which, after the establishment of Christianity, was for a long time a grievous offence to the Christians. Theophilus, the patriarch of Alexandria, obtained permission from the emperor Theodosius (A.D.390) to destroy this edifice; and no one could accuse him of executing the commission imperfectly. A place called Soma, (the body,) in the quarter of the palaces, contained the tomb of Alexander the Great. Besides the canal which united the port Eunostus with the lake, there was also a canal from the lake to the town of Canopus, situated near the mouth of the western branch of the Nile. By means of this canal the city was supplied with river water, which was kept in cisterns. These were so numerous that a Roman writer tells us, (De Bello Alexandrino, cap. v.) 'nearly all Alexandria was undermined, and furnished with subterranean aqueducts to convey the Nile water to private houses, where after a short time it became purified.' Innumerable traces of such constructions are found on the site of old Alexandria.

The city was embellished by the Ptolemies with the spoils of the ancient towns of Egypt, and for several centuries continued to receive accessions and improvements. At one time it was the rival of Rome in size, and the first commercial city of the earth. It became, what Tyre had been before, the point of exchange for the eastern and western world, but with a commerce more widely extended after the conquests

of the Macedonians had laid open the eastern world to Greek enterprise. Diodorus, who visited Alexandria just before the downfal of the empire of the Ptolemies, says, that the registers showed a population of more than 300,000 free citizens.

The enclosure which is surrounded by a double wall flanked with lofty towers, contains the remains of old Alexandria,-an almost shapeless mass of rubbish, in which we see fragments of broken columns and capitals, pieces of wall, cisterns half choked up with earth, bits of pottery, glass, and all the signs of complete desolation. There are five gate-ways or entrances into this enclosure. Of the two granite obelisks, commonly called Cleopatra's Needles, one is still standing; the other is lying near it on the ground. These two obelisks formed the entrance to the temple or palace of Cæsar, as it is called, though there is no doubt that they were moved from some of the ancient cities of Egypt by the Ptolemies. Near the two obelisks is part of a tower called 'the Tower of the Romans,' and probably it may be correctly named.

The cisterns for keeping the Nile water are still in great part preserved They consist of vaulted chambers supported by columns, which form arcades of two or three stories. (See Plans, &c., Egypte, Antiq., vol. v., pl. 37) The interior walls are covered with a thick red plaster that is not permeable to water. The level of these cisterns varies, but some of them are from fifteen to eighteen feet below the level of the sea.

At the time of the French occupation of Alexandria, there were about 308 of these cisterns known to exist, though many more are doubtless buried beneath the rubbish: the number in use at that time was 207.

Having crossed the canal, in going S. W. from the pillar, we come to some catacombs cut in a small elevation of a sandy calcareous stone; and farther south, in the calcareous rock that faces the sea, we find almost countless excavations, in the sides of which niches are cut: these once formed part of the Necropolis, or burial-place of old Alexandria. The most spacious of these, which,

like the rest, communicates with the sea by a narrow passage, is about 3830 yards S. W. of the column, and is near the place called by the inappropriate name of Cleopatra's Baths. In the interior we find a great number of chambers and passages cut in the rock in such a style of decoration as proves their Greek origin. Such a monument could only be intended for a king.

The history of this city is as remarkable as its monuments once were. We can here only indicate its great epochs. From B. C. 323 to B. c. 30, when it fell into the hands of the Romans, it was the residence of the Greek kings of Egypt, the resort of commerce, and of many foreign nations, especially Jews, and also the centre of the scientific knowledge of that day. In the campaigns of Julius Cæsar at Alexandria, B. C. 48, the place sustained much damage.

From B. c. 30 to the Arab conquest under Omar, A. D. 640, Alexandria was still a flourishing city under the Roman emperors, and afterwards under the eastern empire. Alexandria early adopted the Christian religion, and became one of the strong-holds of the true faith. It was also the theatre on which the Christians showed their most determined hostility to all the works of Pagan art.

In 969, the Fatemite caliphs seized on Egypt and built New Cairo, from which time Alexandria declined still more, and sunk to the rank of a secondary Egyptian city; the discovery of the route round the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, tended still further to diminish the commercial importance of Alexandria.

The wise man, says the Bible, walks with God;
Surveys, far on, the endless line of life;
Values his soul, thinks of eternity,
Both worlds considers, and provides for both :
With reason's eye his passions guards; abstains
From evil; lives on hope, on hope, the fruit
Of faith; looks upward, purifies the soul,
Expands his wings, and mounts into the sky;
Passes the Sun, and gains his Father's house,
And drinks with angels from the fount of bliss.
POLLOK's Course of Time.

Our heart will never be quiet until it rests in GOD.- -St. Augustin.

Old Humphrey's Observations.

As it is intended to present to our readers occasionally with some of OLD HUMPHREY'S Observations, it may not be uninteresting to precede them with a few of his introductory remarks.

When a work is acceptable, an extended preface is unnecessary; and when a book is a bad one, a lengthy introduction will not make it better.

I want you, reader, to accept my Observations as the remarks of a friendly old man, who has some affection in his heart for every human being under the canopy of the skies.

You may have observed, for I have observed it myself, a proneness in age to suppose that wisdom and grey hairs, almost of necessity, go together. A consciousness of my own want of knowledge convinces me this is an error.

Old Humphrey is "feelingly persuaded," that if he lived a hundred years, no one would mistake him for a Solon or a Socrates; and could he deceive himself into a contrary belief, it is not likely that he could persuade you to adopt his opinion. He lays no claim to your attention on the score of unusual discernment and intelligence.

But a man, without being wiser than his neighbours, may do some little good in his generation, by noting down singular occurrences and useful observations and reflections. It is harely possible for any one, with furrows on his brow, to have passed his days without having seen something of a striking kind that another has not seen; without having heard something of an impressive character which others have not heard. Surely these things may be made both interesting and instruc

tive.

When the heart is full of kindness to our fellow creatures, a little thing will make it overflow: I hope it will be found that mine has often been in this situation; and when the heart is filled with gratitude to God, an elephant or an ant-a sunbeam or a butterfly-the visible things of God's glorious creation, and especially the revelations of his blessed word, will dispose it to "rejoice alway," and to "sing of mercy:" I trust that mine has not unfrequently been in this exulting attitude. But enough-I begin to trespass on your forbearance, and hasten, therefore, to subscribe myself, in the bonds of Christian fellowship, Your friend,

OLD HUMPHREY.

HAPPINESS ATTAINABLE AT EVERY SEASON.

A very prevalent cause of the unhappiness of so many in mature life exists from our fixing the thought, wish, passion, and pursuit, on something which is not in our possession, and which we cannot command, or which is really unattainable by the individual who cherishes the desire.

It is the general misfortune not to be content with what we have; not to see or cultivate the sources of comfort which, in our personal circumstances, may be realized; and not to value what we are enjoying, because we have it, and by the

daily use of it become indifferent to it, till we learn its importance by its departing from us. If every one would but study to extract pleasure from their means of pleasure, however humble, and to be as happy as it is in their power to make themselves in their situation, without looking at other means of gratification which are not within their reach, all would experience a comfortable manhood, and learn, from their own sensations, that every one may be in this agreeable condition. The apostle presents to us the true and golden rule on this subject;-"For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." On this principle we shall find that we may all sing with sincerity the sensible old song,

My mind to me a kingdom is,

Such perfect joy therein I find.

Every class of life may, by this means, be the builders of their own happiness here, in a much greater degree than most believe; and we may all make ourselves as joyous in a cottage as in a palace. How often have travellers verified this possibility! And we should all remember, that we journey; our habitations in it our inns, and we are but sojourners and travellers here. Life is a are all moving with various speed to a permanent home, which will be a paradise to every being, if we will take the trouble,-not overburdensome, to make it so to us.

But, is every manhood thus happy? Is it not the complaint and the experience, that it is accompanied with disease, trouble and sorrow, anxieties and vicissitudes? Certainly it has these visitants; and we all, in great diversities of degree and mode, have to receive and to endure them. But there are evils, which arise from the actions and conduct of others, by which we are affected, or by our own mismanagement, or by that state of things which, as man has shaped his social world in disregard or opposition to better laws or principles, he has brought upon himself. We are all living and walking in a labyrinth and entanglement of human things, which human errors and follies have been for ages creating and continuing, and by which the Divine formations and provisions for our benefit, are every day and hour counteracted⚫ by the artificial.The natural is chequered and saddened greatly SHARON TURNER.

WERE we to believe nothing but what we could perfectly comprehend, not only our stock of knowledge in all the branches of learning would be shrunk up to nothing, but even the affairs of common life could not be carried on.-TUCKER.

NOTHING doth so fool a man as extreme passion. This doth both make them fools, which otherwise are not; and show them to be fools that are so. BISHOP HALL.

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No. 28

SYRIA.

Syria, is a fine country of Asia, situated along the most interior coast of the Mediterranean, which bounds it on the west, while on the north Mount Taurus and its branches divide it from Asia Minor, and on the east a vast and trackless desert, stretch. ing northwards from Arabia, and partaking of the dreariest character of that region, separates it at an undefined point from the Persian or independent provinces of Kurdistan and Irak Arabi. On the south it has Palestine. That country, indeed, has been often considered as a part of Syria, the frontier of which would be thus extended to Arabia and Egypt.

There is no country in Asia more celebrated in antiquity, or which recalls more solemn recollections than Syria. In the earliest periods of the Jewish History, we find it already formed into a powerful kingdom, having Damascus for its capital.

Its most remarkable district, however, consisted of the sea coast, entitled Phoenicia, in which commerce first derived its origin, and flourished to a degree unexampled in ancient times, unless in its own colony of Carthage. After the conquests and death of Alexander,Syria was erecìed by his lieutenant, Seleucus, into a separate kingdom, which at first comprehended the whole west of Asia, and even after its limits were reduced, opposed, under Antiochus, a long and vigorous resistance to the Roman army. Even under Rome, Antioch was still the splendid and luxurious capital of the east, and, next to Rome itself, and to Alexandria, the greatest city in the empire. On the rise of the Saracen power, Syria, exposed to their immediate inroads, was among the first to fall under their sway. Soon, however, when the crusading armies poured into Asia, it became the grand theatre of contest between the armies of the cross and the crescent; and its plains, during many ages, were deluged with blood. At length the Moslem force triumphed over armies whose resources were at so great a distance, and whose strength lay only in the romantic enthusiasm with which they were animated. Syria was finally absorbed in the Turkish empire, of which it has formed one of the richest appendages. Its situation, however, is sufficiently distant to make it difficult to be kept in regular subjection. Chiefs have from time to time started up, who have for some time set the power of the Porte at defiance. Among the earliest was Fakhr-ed-deen, emir of the Druses, a well known people, inhabiting the mountainous district of Lebanon. Not contented with reigning over them as a tributary prince, he made himself master of Beyroot, and successively of all the towns on the Syrian coast. He pretended

[Price 1d.

to be only the instrument of the Porte in punishing refractory pachas, and recommended himself by remitting a larger tribute than before. He remained for a considerable time almost absolute master of Syria, till, having abandoned himself to ease and luxury, which he had learned during a visit to Italy, the Porte, whose jealousy was now fully awakened, sent against him a strong force, by which the emir was defeated, taken, and put to death. His posterity, however, continued to administer the affairs of the Druses, but entirely as vassals of the Porte. About the middle of the last century, Daher, a powerful Arabian sheikh, established in Syria a power so independent, that the Porte, in order to preserve any form of allegiance, was obliged first to grant him an annual lease of his dominions, and then to confirm it to his successor; thus rendering him completely an independent sovereign. At length the Porte, determined to vindicate his power, dispatched a large army into Syria; and though Daher, fortified by the alliance of the celebrated Ali Bey, gained repeated victories, he was ultimately overpowered and put to death. During his administration, he had greatly improved the condition of Syria. He made no distinctions in point of religion; and his justice had established among the people a sense of security unknown elsewhere in Turkey. His successor was the celebrated Djezzar Pasha, who soon raised a power almost equally independent, but the savage energy of whose administration was not accompanied by the improving and protecting system of his predecessor. The reign of this chief was rendered remarkable by the invasion of Syria by Bonaparte, when Djezzar, with the aid of British seamen, gave that dreaded commander the first serious check he had received. After the death of Djezzar, the power reverted to the Porte, and Soleiman was appointed pasha. About this time the state of Syria became critical, in consequence of the formidable inroad of the Wahabis, who had entirely blocked np the route to Mecca. They would no longer permit the great armed caravan from Damascus to proceed thither, though they allowed passage to single and unarmed pilgrims. The Porte sent repeated injunctions to the pasha to avenge this insult to the Majesty of the empire. Under this impulse, Abdallah, pasha of Damascus, undertook repeated expeditions, but was always obliged to return without reaching Mecca. He was supplanted by Yussuf Pasha, who made a good governor, and by a just and protecting system, had greatly improved the territory under his jurisdiction; but he was not successful in resisting the Wahabis, who, advancing through the Syrian desert, alarmed Damascus itself. Another deadly sin of Yussuf was the being very