your disposal I shall deliver him.' (B. 1; c. 210.) Moreover HERODOTUS styles DARIUS, 'the son of HYSTASPES, the governor of Persia ;' and adds, that at the time of the conspiracy against the Magian impostor, he had come to Susa, the royal residence, on pretence of business from his father to the king, but in reality to slay the usurper, which having accomplished, he obtained the throne by a stratagem. (B. 3; c. 70; 87.)

It is worthy of remark that DARIUS calls himself the ninth king of his race; and so far his account of himself agrees better with ESCHYLUS than with HERODOTUS; as any one who will take the trouble to read the speech of the ghost of DARIUS in 'the Persians' may see. ESCHYLUS, however in the main, agrees less with the tablets than does HERODOTUS; for he places many kings between DARIUS and CAMBYSES, whereas DARIUS, as will be shown in the following extract, asserts that he killed the Magian usurper. In our version CAMBYSES' brother and his 'counterfeit presentment,' are both called SMERDIS; the Persian writing calls neither by that name, and gives each a separate appellation. DARIUS, it will also be observed, says that CAMBYSES slew his brother before he went to Egypt; while HERODOTUS avers that the monarch despatched PREXASPES from Egypt for that purpose, and PREXASPES arrived at Susa, and destroyed SMERDIS, some say by taking him aside while engaged in the diversion of the chase; others believe that he drowned him in the Red Sea.' (B. 3; c. 30.) The reasons, too, for the murder are as diverse as the accounts:

Says DARIUS the King: This is what was done by me before I became king. He who was named CAMBYSES, (KABUJIYA) the son of CYRUS of our race, he was here king before me. There was of that CAMBYSES a brother named BARTIUS; he was of the same mother aud father as CAMBYSES. CAMBYSES slew this BARTIUS. When CAMBYSES slew that BARTIUS, the troubles of the state ceased which Bartius had excited. Then CAMBYSES proceeded to Egypt. When CAMBYSES had gone to Egypt, the state became heretical; then the lie became abounding in the land, both in Persia, and in Media, and in the other provinces.

'Says DARIUS the King: Afterward there was a certain man, a Magian, named GOMATES. He arose from Pissiachátà, the mountains named Arakadres, from thence on the fourteenth day of the month Viyakhna, then it was, as he arose, he said: 'I am BARTIUS, the son of CYRUS, the brother of CAMBYSES.' Then the whole state became rebellious; from CAMBYSES it went over to that (BARTIUS) both Persia, and Media, and the other provinces. He seized the empire; on the ninth day of the month Garmapada then it was he thus seized the empire. Afterward CAMBYSES, unable to endure his (misfortunes) died.

'Says DARIUS the King: That crown or empire of which GOMATES, the Magian, dispossessed CAMBYSES, that crown had been in our family from the olden time. There was not any one bold enough to oppose him; every one was standing obediently around GoMATES until I arrived. Then I abode in the worship of ORMAZD; ORMAZD brought help to me; on the tenth day of the mouth Bagazadish, then it was, with the men who were my well-wishers, I slew that GOMATES, the Magian, and the chief men who were his followers. The fort named Siktakhotes, in the district of Media, named Nissa, there I slew him; I dispossessed him of the empire. By the grace of ORMAZD I became King; ORMAZD granted me the sceptre.

Says DARIUS the King: The crown that had been wrested from our race, that I recovered, I established it firmly, as in the days of old; thus I did. The rites which GOMATES the Magian had introduced, I prohibited. I reinstated for the state the sacred chaunts and (sacrificial) worship, and confided them to the families which GOMATES the Magian had deprived of those offices; as in the days of old; thus I restored that which had been taken away. By the grace of ORMAZD I did this. I labored until I had firmly established our family as in the days of old. I labored by the grace of ORMAZD (in order) that GOMATES the Magian might not supersede our family.'

It is not my intention to quote in detail from the tablets; but so much of an extract is necessary to prove the assertion that they and HERODOTUS are greatly at variance. The quotation is also made for another purpose: that of introducing the name of CAMBYSES; which, it is believed, has never before been discovered upon any of the Persian monuments. It will also be observed that DARIUS, in this genealogical account, does not reckon CYRUS and CAMBYSES among his immediate progenitors, although he distinctly shows that he succeeded to the throne after CAMBYSES,' the son of CYRUS, of our race,' and that he considered himself to have a claim to do so. Neither can the names of any of the persons enumerated as having been 'kings

from antiquity,' be converted into those of CYRUS and CAMBYSES. The Persian word for CYRUS, as deciphered by Major RAWLINSON, is Khurush; (WESTERGAARD spells it Qurus;) that of CAMBYSES, Kabujiyà; whereas the names in the second paragraph of the tablets are, Vashtaspa, (HYSTASPES ;) Arshama, (ARSAMES ;) Ariyaram(a)ne, (ARIYARAMNES ;) Chispaish, (TEISPEUS.) These, however, even with the addition of ACHEMENES, would give DARIUS but five predecessors on the throne; it is therefore reasonable to suppose that he was a lineal descendant of these five kings, and that three others, of a collateral branch, two of whom were CYRUS and CAMBYEES, had intervened between him and his direct ancestors. It is obvious that much remains to be discovered and deciphered among the ruins of DARIUS's extended kingdom, before any great degree of accuracy can be attained in this matter; but sufficient has been already brought to light, through the genius and sagacity of Major RAWLINSON, to upset our preconceived opinions upon this portion of the annals of Persia, and to weaken our faith in the stateinents of the Father of History.'

The crowned and winged figure above the heads of DARIUS and the captives, deserves particular attention, as it is similar to that on the bas-reliefs at Persepolis, and on the sepulchral sculpture at Nakshi-Rustam; which latter, Landseer, in his eighth essay, 'Sabean Researches,' calls the bust of the Persian monarch rising from the winged circle.' He inclined, at one time, to believe it was intended as an apotheosis of the entombed king; but afterward came to the conclusion, that as the figure had downward as well as lateral rays, it was descending, and thereby the spectator was 'simply but impressively informed that the deceased tenant of the sepulchre descended from the glorious deity to whom the Persians and the Sabeans in general offer sacrifice.' Sir ROBERT PORTER, also, in his travels through Georgia, Armenia and Persia, refers particularly to these very tablets of Behistun, and observes: 'In the air, over the heads of the centre figures, appears the floating intelligence in his circle and car of sunbeams, so often remarked on the sculptures of Nakshi-Rustum and Persepolis.' Of the writing upon the tablets, unexplained at the time of the publication of his volumes, (1822,) he says:

'FROM SO much labor having been exerted on this part of the work, it excites the more regret that so little progress has yet been made toward the deciphering of this character; and most devoutly must we hope that the indefatigable scholars now engaged in the study of these apparently oldest letters in the world, may at last succeed in bringing them to an intelligible language. In that case, what a treasure-house of historical knowledge would be unfolded here and in the vale of Merdasht! Not only the long-overshadowed annals of this country, sunk in the depths of time, must be enlightened, but these inscriptions might elucidate the true meaning of the hovering figure in the air, and say which conjecture is right; that it is a guardian spirit, or a second self; or in declaring both to be wrong, pronounce its proper signification.'

Major RAWLINSON has caused the tablets of Behistun to speak out their oracles, in confirmation, as it were, of the almost prophecy of Sir ROBERT PORTER. His eradition and astonishing research have opened to the world that which, to use his own expression, has been a sealed letter for at least twenty centuries;' and while this most valuable of all the remains of Persian antiquity gives now no uncertain information upon many historical points, it seems also to render great assistance toward the solution of the problem respecting the identification of the radiant personage' which has hitherto puzzled so many profound scholars. By a careful examination of the inscriptions, it is rational to suppose that ORMAZD alone, the Good Deity of the Fersians, in his capacity of ruler of the universe, arbiter of the affairs of men, the preserver, evincing by his presence that he has been propitious to the monarch, who gratefully acknowledges his divine interference, is intended by the representation.

It will strike any reader of RAWLINSON's translation, that throughout his narrative, DARIUS ascribes his good fortune, in every instance, to the direct interposition of this divinity. By the grace of ORMAZD, I have become King;' ORMAZD has granted me the empire;ORMAZD brought me help; By the grace of ORMAZD, I entirely defeated the rebel army;' By the grace of ORMAZD, I entirely defeated the force of NATITABIRUS,' of PHRAORTES,' of VEISDATES,' etc., etc.

6

There is another thing to be considered; besides the winged figure on the sculptures, the inscriptions of DARIUS HYSTASPES at Persepolis and Nakshi-Rustum, together with those at Hamadan, commence with the following apostrophe: 'ORMAZD is the great GOD, who created this earth, who also created heaven, who created men, who created the fate of men, who made DARIUS king, the only king over many, the only commander over many.' (Translation of LASSEN's Latin copy.) When, moreover, it is borne in mind that these monuments are likewise the records of DARIUS; that on them he ascribes the glory of his greatness and his achievements solely to the power of ORMAZD; and that he purified the ancient Mithratic religion from many abuses; the inference is unavoidably in favor of the position here assumed. This inference would amount almost to conviction, if Major RAWLINSON's restoration of the latter part of the annexed quotation might be adopted without dispute:

'SAYS DARIUS the King: 'By the grace of ORMAZD have I achieved the performance of the whole. Thou whoever hereafter may est peruse this tablet, let it be known to thee, that which has been done by me, that it has not been falsely related.'

Says DARIUS the King: Ormazd is my witness that this record I have faithfully made of the performance of the whole.''

Unfortunately, there is an obliteration or a confusion of characters in this valuable sentence, which Major RAWLINSON has not investigated as thoroughly as he would have done, had his attention been attracted to its importance. He lays no stress upon this, nor upon any particular passage throughout the tablets; his grand object has been to render as correct a reading of four hundred lines of Persian cuneiform writing as it is possible to give, and where an abrasion in the rock occurs he has endeavored to obtain the sense of the lost portion through the medium of the Babylonian and Median characters. It is to be ardently desired, that in the remaining chapters of his important essay he will enter into a complete analysis of the whole document, and publish the results of his scientific labors upon historical and mooted points, as well as upon philological ones. Possibly he has already done so, and his entire work may at the present time be in the hands of all who choose to purchase it, in England. But his first number alone has reached this country, and it is a question whether many of our so-called 'general readers' are aware of the existence of Major RAWLINSON, or of his having achieved the impossible' in the deciphering of the tablets of Behistun. Two copies only of this first number are to be found in New-York; one of which belongs to the Ethnological Society, and the other is the property of Mr. BARTLETT; to whose kindness, and that of Mr. GLIDDON, while he was in the city, the writer of this article is indebted for the perusal, once and again, of that remarkable production.

These observations have been thus loosely thrown together, and committed to the press, with the view of attracting the attention of the curious in such matters, and with the hope of inducing some of the Orientalists among us to make a full investigation of the subject; in short, to provoke them to accomplish en maitre what has here been attempted merely en écolière.

-

'BILVANSNORT, Or Mazeppa TravESTIE.' — We have heard from time to time, within the last three or four years, of a very amusing poetical production of the late ROBERT C. SANDS, entitled ‘Bilvansnort,or Mazeppa Travestie; being a third Edition of John Gilpin;' but until very recently we have never encountered a copy of it. It bears this motto from OVID's Metamorphoses :

'NIL illo fertur volucrum moderator equorum,

Post Phætonteos, vidisse dolentius, igues.'

and is thus dedicated to JOHN NEAL, 'the author of 'Keep Cool,' and 'The Battle of Niagara :'

'DEAR SIR: Here is a ride, which beats all the whirligigs of your imagination. Eagles, stars, rainbows, thunder, lightning, and Lake Ontario, fall incomparably below the sublimity of the subject, and the grandeur of the execution. I hear you have lately broken loose from the Lunatic Asylum; and hope that this performance may get into your hauds; having no doubt, it will yield you that unfeigned delight which such a terrible genius as yourself is alone capable of enjoying, in its mest inaccessible eccentricities. When you are next disposed to make some music, as you found so much difficulty in performing under Niagara Falls, I would beg leave to recommend 'Snake Hill,' the scene of the present discourse, to your serious and devout attention. With sentiments of incomprehensible profundity,

'I remain,

'My dear friend,

'Unutterably and inexpressibly, 'Yours, etc.,

THE AUTHOR.'

In an Advertisement,' Mr. SANDS says: The Tale of Mazeppa, which has been just published, offers so many striking points of resemblance to the adventures of a YOUNG JERSEYMAN, which are well authenticated, and notorious on the other side of the river, that I was induced to throw the latter into the form of a parody. I have endeavored to preserve that familiarity of diction and carelessness of versification which characterizes the model before me. Let no sage critic sing out Eureka,' therefore, if he find that the metre sometimes claudicates; that many rhymes are uncanonnical; and that many expressions are not genteel.' We approach the poem itself without farther prelude; premising only that it was written nearly thirty years ago, when the gifted and lamented author was only nineteen years of age:

I.

It was not very long ago,

When steam-boat stock was rather low ;*
And LYONS in the stable kept,

For want of work, his founder'd tits;

At hours when decent people slept,
And those not decent slyly crept
Abroad, to exercise their wits:

All PowLES-HOOK snor'd, but six, whom fleas

Kept waking loug, and ill at ease;

GRAVES, who takes ferriage at the gate,
Whom to the barn that night had fate

Doleful consign'd upon a block he
Was fain to lay his aching head;
And his stark limbs in straw were spread :
Among their steeds the ostlers lay,
And scratch'd and curs'd by turns till day:
But wiser BILL VAN SNORT, the jockey,

*WE regret to state that BILVANSNORT, who was largely interested in this stock, is reduced to living on his wits and on charity; and is an object worthy of the attention of the police and other benevolent institutions.

From trouble to be out of danger,
Spread his horse-blanket in the manger;
Then generous from his watchcoat poke
A jug of cider-brandy took;

And first, to show it was not bad,

Pull'd three long swills- then sent it round;
The ostlers consolation found,

And GRAVES within his heart was glad.
Then BILL with anxious eye survey'd

A scurvy, broken-winded jade;

A poor blind nag, with staggers blest,
And spavin'd in two legs-at best;
Examin'd all his numerous plasters,
And heav'd a sigh for his disasters.