that is most revolting to the senses, distracted by incessant uproar, pestered by the crowd of clamorous beggars, and stuck fast in the congregated filth of every description that covers the slippery pavement; so that the time he forces himself to spend in admiring its noble portico generally proves a penance from which he is glad to be liberated, instead of an enjoyment he wishes to protract. We escaped none of these nuisances, except the mud, by sitting in an open carriage to survey it; the smells and the beggars were equally annoying. The Pantheon is said to have been erected by Agrippa, the intimate friend and counsellor of Augustus, twenty-six years before the Christian æra, in memory of the emperor's victory over Anthony, and it was then dedicated to Jupiter Ultor, (or the Avenger,) and all the gods. The term Pantheon itself is a compound of two Greek words, signifying "all" and "God;" but it appears that among the ancients themselves there was a doubt as to the original application of this name. Dion Cassius, writing in the third century, says, "It is perhaps called so because, in the statues of Mars and Venus, it received the images of several deities. But, as it appears to me, it has its name from the convex form of its roof, giving a representation of the heavens." The Pantheon is now known by the name of the Church of Santa Maria ad Martyres, or, more commonly, by that of La Rotonda. It was dedicated by Pope Boniface IV. to the Virgin, "and, as he moved to this place the remains of saints and martyrs from the different cemetries, it received the additional title of ad Martyres." In the year 830 Gregory IV. dedicated this temple to All the Saints, so that now every visitor may find therein an altar raised to his own tutelar saint or angel, as formerly every worshipper could address himself to the culiar God of his own nation or country. It seems to be generally admitted, that the whole edifice was not erected at once; the differences in the materials and in the workmanship, the want of correspondence in the design, and the partial settlements which have taken place, are all adverse to pe the opinion that it was. Mr. Woods refers to a French architect, who seems to have satisfactorily ascertained that the building never could have been originally finished without a portico, as it is commonly supposed that it was. The masses of brickwork which are joined to the circular body of the edifice, in order to bring out a straight line to receive the portico, were carefully examined; but neither on their face, nor on the face of the circular cell itself, were there any traces of the method of completing the building without a portico. The conclusion was drawn, that no finishing ever could have taken place on either, but that the present portico, or something analogous to it, must have existed from the first. Mr. Woods himself inclines to the opinion, that the cell is actually posterior to the portico, instead of the portico being an addition to the cell, and in support of it he mentions two circumstances: "The first is, that the use of unburnt bricks was only recently introduced into Rome in the time of Agrippa, as appears from the manner in which Vitruvius speaks of them, and the first effort would scarcely be one of this magnitude and impor tance. The second circumstance is, that the marble employed in the portico and pronoas is Pentelic, while that within is Carara." The latter specie of marble was not used till much later than the former. The external appearance of the edifice will be best understood by a reference to our engraving. The portico is one hundred and ten feet long by forty-four deep, and is supported by sixteen columns of the Corinthian order. Each of the shafts of these columns is of one piece of oriental granite, and forty-two feet in height; the bases and capitals are of white marble. The whole height of the columns is fortysix feet five inches; the diameter just above the base is four feet ten inches, and just beneath the capitals, four feet three inches. The interior of the rotunda has a diameter of nearly one hundred and fifty feet; the height from the pavement to the summit was originally the same, but the floor has been raised seven or eight, to a level with the pavement of the portico. The light is admitted only by a circular opening in the dome, twenty-eight feet in diameter; through this aperture a flood of light diffuses itself over the whole edifice, producing "a sublime effect," but only showing all its beauties "by permitting every passing shower to deluge its gorgeous pavement. The rain is carried off by a drain to the Tiber, but from the low situation of the building in the Campus Martius, the waters of the Tiber, when it is swollen, find their way up the drain, and flood the interior. Myriads of beetles, scorpions, worms, rats and mice, "joint tenants of the holes in the pavement," may then be seen retreating before the waters, as they gradually rise from the circumference to the centre of the area, which is a little elevated above the rest of it. A beautiful effect, says Dr. Burton, is produced by visiting the building on these occasions at night, when the moon is reflected upon the water through the aperture of the dome. The wall of the rotunda is twenty feet in thickness; six chapels or recesses are formed out of it; each of them is decorated with two pilasters, and two Corinthian columns. There is a seventh recess oposite to the entrance, and entirely open. Above the great cornice, which is of white marble, rises an attic, from the entablature of which springs the great vault of the dome. DAMASCUS. (Continued from p. 81.) the window in the wall thro' which St. Paul was let down in a basket. The window is nothing more than a small aperture, formed by the falling out of a few stones in an old wall, behind an arch, which once may have served as an entrance into the city. On observing to my Cicerone that it was impossible for a man to creep thro' such a hole, he thought the difficulty quite cleared up by saying that St. Paul was a very small man. Not far distant from this is the grave of the martyr George, whom some believe to have been privy to Paul's escape, and who was on watch at the gate on the occasion. So exasperated were the Jews at this act, that they procured his death, and ever since his grave has been held in high veneration by the pious pilgrims who visit Damascus ! The spot where the apostle is said to have seen the vision which led to his conversion, is about three hours distant from Damascus, on the road to Jerusalem. A brief sketch of the history of Damascus. The earliest record of this city is contained in the Holy Scriptures, where it is spoken of as the birth-place of Eliezer Abraham's steward. No further mention is made of Damascus until the reign of David, about the year A. M. 2964, when he subdued the Syrians and took the city from Hadad, its king, who went to the assistance of Hadadezer, king of Zobah against Judah. It was retaken during the latter part of Solomon's reign, and continued under the government of the Benhadads, until Jeroboam II. retook it with Hamath, 810 years B. C. After the death of Jeroboam the Syrians reestablished their monarchy under Rezin, and with Pekah, the usurper of Israel, committed many depredations in the territories of Ahaz and Jotham, kings of Judah, taking from them the strong city of Elath, 2 Kings xvi. 6. In this campaign it is recorded in 2 Chron: xxviii. 6—16. that Pekah slew 100,000 men in one day, and carried away captive to Samaria 200,000 women, sons and daughters, and much spoil. At the interference of the prophet Oded, all the captains were sent back, clothed and shod, and those who were As I felt anxious to visit what are styled the holy places in this city, on account of their relation with the New Testament history, and especially with the life of the apostle Paul, I procured a guide from the Latin convent, who was recommended to me as a great talker, and following his leadings arrived at the corner of a narrow lane in the Christian quarter, where still exists, as some say, the ruin of the house of Ananias. Entering in at a small door, we descended a narrow staircase into two small contiguous apartments, on the floor of which lay two doors, possessing the miraculous virtue of healing any sick persons who might be laid thereon! From this my guide took me totoo weak for the journey were carried on asses to Jericho. After this Ahaz prevailed on Tiglath-pilezer, king of Assyria, to march against Rezin; they succeeded in taking Damascus, slew Rezin, and sent its inhabitants away captive to Kir in Mesopotamia. The Roman army under Pompey took this city from the Assyrians 66 years B. C. and it was retained as a part of their empire until seized upon by the Arabs; it soon however became tributary to Rome. Aretas was governor of Damascus in the time of Paul. In the year 634 it was stormed and taken by the Saracens, under the command of Caled and Aboo-Obeidah. In their first attempt they were repelled with loss, but raising the siege, they encountered the reinforcements of the emperor Heraclius_at Aiznadin, near Emesa, now Hems. The Roman army under Werdan amounted to 70,000, but so panic-struck were they at the display of the strength of Derar, an Arab chieftain, that they made offers of peace, and would have purchased the departure of every Saracen with a rich present. But Caled refused such an offer with indignation, and sounding the signal of war led the imperial army to battle and slew 50,000 of their number. The loss of the Moslems amounted only to 470. they predicted would yield upon their first assault. Deserting the ground they had gained with so much loss of blood, they arrived under the walls, whose strength and height soon convinced them of their mistake. Their provisions failed with their courage, and not daring to repair to their first place of attack, which since their departure had been repaired and strengthened, they returned in disgrace to Jerusalem. In 1401 Damascus was treacherously taken by Timoor or Tamerlane. After seizing upon Aleppo, he led on his victorious Moghuls to the wall of the capital of Syria, where he met with a noble resistance from the inhabitants in the absence of their prince, the Sultan of Egypt. After complying with his request to bestow a gift upon all his army, the Damascenes opened their gates to the Moghul traitor, who most perfidiously violated the treaty by imposing upon the inhabitants a tribute of ten millions of gold. He reduced the city to ashes, and scarcely any escaped the fury of his bloodt-hirsty and fanatical troops. Selim took the city in 1517, and it continued under his successors, the Othman emperors, until surrendered by treaty to Mohammed Ali Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt and Syria. The Bible. A single book has saved me; but that book is not of human origin. Long had I despised it, long had I deemed it a class book for the credulous and ignorant; until, having investigated the Gospel of Christ, with an ardent desire to ascertain its truth or falsity, its pages proffered to my inquiries the sublimest knowledge of man and nature, and the simplest, and at the same time, the most exalted system of moral ethics. Faith, hope, and charity were enkindled in my bosom; and every advancing step strengthened me in the conviction, that the morals of this book are as superior to human morals, as its oracles are superior to human opinions.-M. L. BAUTAIN, Professor of PhilosoStrasburg. In 1148 Damascus was besieged by the army of the Crusaders. Louis VII. and Conrad II. of Germany were at this time in Palestine, and after a consultation at Ptolemais or Acca with Baldwin III. and the two military orders of the Temple and St. John, the siege was determined on. Their attack was made against the west and north, which were not defended by continued walls, but fortified by ditches and towers at frequent intervals. The city seemed to be in their power, but while spending much time in deliberating who should become its governor, Nour-ed-deen and Saphi-ed-deen had intro-phy, duced fresh supplies of troops into the garrison. Together with this, the envy of many of the barons was kindled when Thierri the count of Flanders was chosen as sovereign to the imaginary conquest. They received bribes from the Mussulmans, and persuaded the council to change their plan of attack to the fortified sides of the city, which A PRISON. A prison is a house of care, Sometimes a place for togues and thieves Quarterly subscriptions at 1s. received at No. 98 Strada Forni, and sent to Subscribers in Valetta every Saturday. ST. PAUL'S BAY. [Price 1d. called the Fair Havens, but the owner and master of the vessel persuaded the centurAccording to a tradition of the natives, ion to make for the more commodious harthis is the place where the great Apostle of bour of Phenice, on the south-western coast the Gentiles was shipwrecked, while on his of the same island. In this voyage they voyage from Syria to Rome. The bay is encountered a tempestuous wind, called about three miles in length, and two in Euroclydon, by which the ship was very width at the entrance, gradually decreasing much endangered, and also the lives of the towards the extremity. At this point the crew amounting to 276 souls. "After having beach is sandy, and differs from the general been driven about for fourteen days in the appearance of the coast round the harbour, sea of Adria, about midnight they imaginwhich is rugged and rocky. To the north-ed that they drew near to some country; west of the entrance is a small oblong is- and when it was day, they knew not the land, called Selmone or Selmoon, separated land: but they discovered a certain creek from the mainland by a narrow straight. with a shore, into the which they were A tower and other fortifications in the vicin-minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ity serve to defend the bay, and were raised for that purpose by the Knights of Malta. The only object of interest worth noticing in this place is a small chapel, built upon the supposed site where the inhabitants lighted a fire to warm the shipwrecked crew. It contains a few old paintings, illustrative of the events connected with the landing of St. Paul in this quarter. The apostle Paul having been accused by the Jews at Jerusalem to Felix the Roman Governor of Syria, as "a pestilent fellow, a mover of sedition among the Jews thro' all the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes," and Felix shewing himself more inclined to favour the Jews in order to ingratiate himself with them than to do justice to Paul's cause, he appealed, as a Roman citizen, to the tribunal of Cæsar. After being detained prisoner for a length of time at Cæsarea, he was finally sent to Rome, with a number of other prisoners, in a ship of Adramytium. On their arrival at Myra, a small town on the Caramanian coast, they changed ship, and made for Crete, (now Candia). Having lost much Having lost much time, and the winter approaching, Paul advised that they should winter at a place ship. And when they had taken up the "And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, no doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said he was a god. In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteouly. And it came to that the father of Publius lay sick of a pass, fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary. And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli: where we found brethern, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome." Acts xxviii. As it has been disputed by several writers, whether Malta, or Meleda in the Adriatic sea, was the island where St. Paul was cast away, both which were then called Melita, we shall bring forward the arguments which have been adduced in favour of Meleda, and at the same time subjoin our reasons for maintaining the contrary. The following quotation is extracted chiefly from a Dissertation of the Voyage of St. Paul, written by Dr. Falconer of Bath, containing the most plausible objections to the common received opinion on the subject we have ever met with. "That this island was Meleda, near the Illyrian coast, not Malta, on the southern coast of Sicily, may appear from the following considerations. 1. "It lies confessedly in the Adriatic sea, but Malta a considerable distance from it. 2. "It lies nearer the mouth of the Adriatic than any other island of that sea; and would, of course, be more likely to receive the wreck of any vessel driven by tempests towards that quarter. And it lies N. W. by N. of the south-west promontory of Crete; and came nearly in the direction of a storm from the south-east quarter. 3. "An obscure island called Melita, whose inhabitauts were barbarous," was not applicable to the celebrity of Malta, at that time, which Ciriches, and possessing a remarkable manufacture cero represents as abounding in curiosities and 66 of the finest linen. Orat. in Verrem, iv. § 18, 46. See more fully on this subject, the citation from Diodorus Siculus on p. 4. 4. The circumstance of the viper, or venomous snake, which fastened on S. Paul's hand, agrees with the damp and woody island of Meleda, affording shelter and proper nourishment for such; but not with the dry and rocky island of Malta, in which there are no serpents now, and none in the time of Pliny. 5. "The disease with which the father of Publius was affected, Dysentery combined with fever, (probably intermittent) might well suit a country woody and damp, and probably, for want of draining, exposed to the putrid effluvia of confined moisture; but was not likely to affect a dry, rocky, and remarkably healthy island like Malta. Ver 12 "After a stay of three months, they departed, probably about the beginning of March, in a ship, which had wintered also in the isle, and perhaps from similar stress of weather, and came from thence to Syracuse, where they spent three days, and thence proceeded to Rhegium, on the straits of Messina, and after a day's stay there reached Puteoli, in two days, which was the usual port at which the corn ships from Egypt landed their cargoes. Here, also, Josephus and his shipwrecked companions landed, after they were taken up by a Cyrenian vessel, the year after St. Paul's voyage. (See Hale's Analysis, Vol. I. p. 468, 469.) The argument contained in the first objection is based chiefly upon the word Adria; but Bochart, Beza, Grotius and others have shewn, that at the time in question, was comprehended under that name the whole of the sea between Greece, Italy and Africa; so that it comprised the lonian, Cretan, and Sicilian seas. So Hesychius, "Ionium mare quod nunc Adria." And again, Procop. lib. 1. Insula Gaulus (Gozo) et Melita Adriaticum et Tuscum pelagus disterminant. The first clause of the second objection is entirely hypothetical, and would only |