information at present scattered through many scarce and expensive volumes. With this view, the present volume has been prepared, and is now presented to the public; and it will not be denied that the man who shall successfully execute this idea has deserved well of his country. Such a man is Mr. Vaux. Original views, scientific research, is not to be looked for in such a compilation. Το select, combine, and adjust, weaving up in a clear, continuous narrative, the divers descriptions which travellers have furnished us, is all that was to be expected, and just expectation here will not be disappointed. The present period was specially favourable to such an attempt. The minds of men have of late been strongly attracted and closely fixed on the Babylonic monuments, the stupendous excavations of Layard, Rawlinson, Botta, have wrought wonders; in this way the men of the present century are brought into domestic contact with the inhabitants of the earth thousands of years back. The East has by this means assumed that interest which it possessed in the earlier pages of history when the earth was new and men were young. For a long time the records of oriental nations have, with the solitary exception of those of India, been allowed to sleep in undisturbed slumber; the minds of European students have but too much pursued a course which seldom led them beyond the walls of Rome, and Athens, and classical glory-the time of Greece and Rome-the language of the greatest republic and the mightiest empires, have retained strong and too exclusive hold of the imagination and the labours of the ripe scholar. It was not thus of old; the deeds of our fathers, as Mr. Vaux has well judged, and the oft-repeated though futile attempts to maintain the independence of the Holy City, induced a love for oriental studies which long influenced the mind of Europe, and produced a lasting impression on some of the greatest men of the West. The fall of Constantinople and the consequent revival of ancient learning, for a while succeeded in effacing the interest in the East, and the discovery of Greek MSS. and the invention of printing in the West had the effect on the literary labours of Europe which must have been anticipated. The work before us, then, has for its object the elucidation of two distinct points of history of Assyria and Persia, and as connected with it, that of the Medes, the Jews, and the Chaldees, so far as it can be

VOL. VIII.

ascertained from the Bible, and the works of Classic authors; and, secondly, the results of those modern inquiries, which have been carried on for above three centuries by European travellers. Mr. Vaux has omitted no pains to bring forth these points by the aid of the pen and the engraver. The illustrations are very numerous, and excellently executed. We have here a winged human-headed lion; a winged human-headed bull, men and monkeys, a lion-hunt, a bull-hunt, figures standing before the king, priests, processions, fragments of a king's head, men and camels, the pontiff-king, the Tomb of Cyrus, and many other subjects of interest, as illustrative of ancient story.

Such works as this must be scothing to the pride of the sons of Abraham. All nations are but of yesterday compared with him. All history is the product of the passing-hour, compared with his history. What a blank among men would be its extinction! What a loss to the world, considered simply as history, poetry, and morals, would be the loss of his books! Compared with them, in one volume collected, the loss of every line of Greek and Roman literature would have been as nothing, since they have contributed but little to the moral riches of mankind, and their histories are but novelties.

The present volume will be especially precious to the student of Scripture and of antiquity. The man who has fancy may regale it here; he who has intellect may exercise it here; and it may be interesting to our readers to see how it acted upon the vigorous mind of our countryman, Layard:

"I used," said Mr. Layard, "to contemplate for hours these mysterious emblems, and to muse over their intent and history. What more noble forms could have ushered the people into the Temple of their Gods? What more sublime images could have been borrowed from Nature, by men who sought, unaided by the light of Revealed Religion, to embody their conception of the wisdom, power, and ubiquity of a Supreme Being? They could find no better type of intellect and knowledge, than the head of the man; of strength, than the body of the lion; of ubiquity, than the wings of the bird. The winged human-headed lions were not idle creations, the offspring of mere fancy; their meaning was written upon them. They had awed and instructed races which had flourished 8000 years ago. Through the portals which they guarded, kings, priests, and warriors had borne sacrifices to their altars, long before the Wisdom of the East had penetrated to Greece, and had furnished its Mythology with symbols long recognised by the Assyrian votaries. They may have been buried, and their existence may have been unknown, before the foundation of

the Eternal City. For twenty-five centuries they had been hidden from the eye of man, and they now stood forth once more in their ancient majesty."

It is impossible by description to give any really adequate idea of the work, which must be examined to be fully appreciated; but it may suffice to say that it is a most valuable compound of all the main facts of this interesting subject. Nowhere is to be found so complete and graphic a sketch of the results of Layyard's discoveries with regard to the history of ancient Assyria as is given in Chapter VIII. This constitutes about one-third, certainly more than one-fourth, of the entire volume; and in thus exhibiting the essence and condensing the main facts of expensive volumes, Mr. Vaux has done an excellent service to the public, and we consider even to Mr. Layard himself. For the sake of such of our readers as may not have read the great excavator's account of his own remarkable performances, we shall cite an extract or two, from which it will be seen that it was no easy matter to do the things he did, under the circumstances in which he was placed. The following cannot fail to interest:

THE HISTORY OF THE REMOVAL OF THE BULL.

"I formed," says he, "various plans for lowering the smaller lion and the bull, for dragging them to the river, and placing them on rafts. Each step had its difficulties, and a variety of original suggestions and ideas were supplied by my workmen and the good people of Mosul. At last I resolved upon constructing a cart sufficiently strong to bear any of the masses to be moved. As no wood but poplar could be procured, a carpenter was sent to the mountains with directions to fell the largest mulberry tree, or any tree of equally compact grain, he could find; and to bring beams from it, and thick slices of the trunk, to Mosul. By the month of March this wood was ready. I purchased from the dragoman of the French consulate a pair of strong iron axles, formerly used by M. Botta in bringing the sculptures from Khorsabád. Each wheel was formed of three solid pieces, nearly a foot thick, from the trunk of the mulberry tree, bound together by iron hoops; across the axle were laid three beams, and above them several cross beams, all of the same wood. A pole was fixed to one axle, to which were also attached iron rings for ropes, to enable men as well as buffaloes to draw the cart: the wheels were provided with moveable hooks for the same purpose. Simple as this cart was, it became an object of wonder in the town; crowds came to look at it as it stood in the yard of the Vice-Consul's khan; and the Pacha's topjis or artillery-men, who, from their acquaintance with the mysteries of gun-carriages, were looked up to as authorities on such matters, daily declaimed on the properties and use of this vehicle, and of carts in general, to a large circle of cu

rious and attentive listeners, But when the news spread that it was about to leave the gates and to be drawn over the bridge, the business of the place was completely suspended. The secretaries and scribes from the palace left their divans; the guards their posts; the bazaarз were deserted; and half the population assembled on the banks of the river to witness the manoeuvres of the cart. A pair of buffaloes with the assistance of a crowd of Chaldæins and shouting Arabs, forced the ponderous wheels over the rotten bridge of boats. The multitude seemed to be fully satisfied with the spectacle. The cart was the topic of general conversation in Mosul, until the arrival from Europe of some children's toys, barking dogs, and moving puppets, which gave rise to fresh excitement, and filled even the gravest of the clergy with wonder at the learning and the wisdom of the infidels. To enable me to move the bull from the ruins, and to place it in the cart in the plain below, a trench was cut nearly two hundred feet long, about fifteen feet wide, and in some places twenty feet deep. A road was thus constructed from the entrance in which stood the bull to the edge of the mound. As the bull was to be placed

...

The

on its back, the unsculptured side of the slab having to be lowered upon rollers, I removed the walls behind it. . . . An open space was then formed large enough to admit of the sculpture when prostrate, and leaving room for the workmen to pass on all sides of it. principal difficulty was of course to lower the mass: when once on the ground or on rollers, it could be dragged forwards by the united force of a number of men, but during its descent it could only be sustained by ropes. If, not strong enough to bear the weight, they chanced to break, the sculpture would be precipitated to the ground, and would, probably, be broken in its fall. The few ropes I possessed had been expressly sent to me across the desert from Aleppo, but they were small, From Baghdad I had obtained a thick hawser made of the fibres of the palm; in addition, I had been furnished with two pairs of blocks and a pair of jackscrews belonging to the steamera of the Euphrates expedition. These were all the means at my command for moving the bull and lion. The sculptures were wrapped in mats and felts to preserve them as far as possible from injury, in case of a fall, and to prevent the ropes chipping or rubbing the alabaster. The bull was ready to be moved by the 18th of March. The earth had been taken from under it, and it was now only supported by beams resting against the opposite wall. Among the wood obtained from the mountains were several thick rollers. These were placed upon sleepere or half beams, formed out of the trunks of poplar trees, well greased, and laid on the ground parallel to the Eculpture. The bull was to be lowered upon these rollers; a deep trench had been cut behind the second bull, completely across the wall, and consequently extending from chamber to chamber. A bundle of ropes coiled round this isolated mass of earth served to hold two blocks, two others being attached to ropes wound round the bull to be moved. The ropes by which the sculpture was to be lowered were passed through these blocks; the ends or falls of the tackle, as they are technically called, being led from the blocks above the second bull, and held

by the Arabs. The cable having been first passed through the trench and then round the sculpture, the ends were given to two bodies of men. Several of the strongest Chaldæans placed thick beams against the back of the bull, and were directed to withdraw them gradually, supporting the weight of the slab, and checking it in its descent, in case the ropes should give way. My own people were reinforced by a large number of the Abou Salman. I had invited Sheikh Abd-ur-rahman to be present, and he came attended by a body of horsemen. The inhabitants of Naifa and Nimroud, having volunteered to assist on the occasion, were distributed among my Arabs. The workmen, except the Chaldæans who supported the beams, were divided into four parties, two of which were stationed in front of the bull, and held the ropes passed through the blocks; the rest clung to the ends of the cable, and were directed to slack gradually as the sculpture descended. The men being ready, and all my preparations complete, I stationed myself on the top of the high bank of earth over the second bull, and ordered the wedges to be struck out from under the sculpture to be moved. Still, however, it remained firmly in its place. A rope having been passed round it, six or seven men easily tilted it over. The thick ill-made cable stretched with the strain, and almost buried itself in the earth round which it was coiled. The ropes held well. The mass descended gradually, the Chaldæans propping it up with the beams. It was a moment of the greatest anxety. The drums and shrill pipes of the Kurdish musicians increased the din and confusion caused by the war-cry of the Arabs, who were half-frantic with excitement. They had thrown off nearly all their garments; their long hair floated on the wind; and they indulged in the wildest postures and gesticulations as they clung to the ropes. The women had congregated on the sides of the trenches, and by their incessant screams and by the ear-piercing tahlehl, added to the enthusiasm of the men. The bull once in motion, it was no longer possible to obtain a hearing. The loudest cries I could produce were lost in the crash of discordant sounds. Neither the hippopotamus-hide whips of the kawasses, nor the bricks and clods of earth with which I endeavoured to draw attention from some of the most noisy of the group, were of any avail. Away went the bull, steady enough as long as supported by the props behind; but as it came nearer to the rollers the beams could no longer be used. The cable and ropes stretched more and more. Dry from the climate, as they felt the strain, they creaked and threw out dust. Water was thrown over them, but in vain, for they all broke together, when the sculpture was within four or five feet of the rollers. The bull was precipitated to the ground. Those who held the ropes, thus suddenly relaxed, followed its example, and were rolling one over the other in the dust. A sudden silence succeeded to the clamour. I rushed into the trenches, prepared to find the bull in many pieces. It would be difficult to describe my satisfaction when I saw it lying precisely where I had wished to place it,-uninjured! The Arabs no sooner got on their legs again, than, seeing the result of the accident, they darted out of the trenches, and seizing by the hands the women who were looking on, formed

a large circle, and yelling their war-cry with redoubled energy, commenced a most mad dance. The musicians exerted themselves to the utmost; but their music was drowned by the cries of the dancers. Even Abd-ur-rahman shared in the excitement, and throwing his cloak to one of his attendants, insisted on leading off the debkhé. It would have been useless to put any check on these proceedings. I preferred allowing the men to wear themselves out,--a result which, considering the amount of exertion and energy displayed both by the limbs and throat, was not long in taking place. I was now prepared by the aid of Behnan, the Bairakdar, and the Tyari, to move the bull into the long trench which led to the edge of the mound.

"The rollers were in good order; and as soon as the excitement of the Arabs had sufficiently abated to enable them to resume work, the sculpture was dragged out of its place by ropes. Sleepers were laid to the edge of the trench, and fresh rollers were placed under the bull as it was pulled forward by cables to which were fixed the tackles held by logs buried in the earth on the edge of the mound. The sun was going down as these preparations were completed. I deferred any further labour till the morrow. The Arabs dressed themselves, and, placing the musicians at their head, marched towards the village, singing their war-songs, and occasionally raising a wild yell, throwing their lances in the air, and flourishing their swords and shields over their heads. The night was of course looked upon as one of rejoicing. Abd-ur-rahman and his brother dined with me; although had it not been for the honour and distinction conferred by the privilege of using knives and forks, they would rather have exercised their fingers with the crowds gathered round the wooden platters in the court-yard. Sheep were, as usual, killed, and boiled or roasted whole; they formed the essence of all entertainments and public festivities. They had scarcely been devoured before dancing was commenced. There were fortunately relays of musicians, for no human lungs could have furnished the requisite amount of breath. When some were nearly falling from exhaustion, the ranks were recruited from others; and so the Arabs went on until dawn. It was useless to preach moderation, or to entreat for quiet. Advice and remonstrances were received with deafening shouts of the war-cry, and outrageous antics, as proofs of gratitude for the entertainment and ability to resist fatigue.

"After passing the night in this fashion, these extraordinary beings, still singing and capering, started for the mound. Everything had been prepared on the previous day for moving the bull, and the men had now only to haul on the ropes. As the sculpture advanced, the rollers left behind were removed to the front, and thus in a short time it reached the end of the trench. There was little difficulty in dragging it down the precipitous side of the mound. When it arrived within three or four feet of the bottom, sufficient earth was removed from beneath to admit the cart, upon which the bull itself was then lowered by still further digging away the soil. It was soon ready to be dragged to the river. Buffaloes were first harnessed to the yoke; but although the men pulled with ropes fastened to the rings attached, and to other parts of the cart, the animals, feel

ing the weight behind them, refused to move. We were compelled, therefore, to take them out, and the Tyari, in parties of eight, lifted by turns the pole, while the Arabs, assisted by the people of Naifa, dragged the cart. The procession was thus formed: I rode first, with the Bairakdar, to point out the road. Then came the musicians with their drums and fifes, drumming and fing with might and main. The cart followed, dragged by about 300 men, all screeching at the top of their voices, and urged on by the kawasses and superintendents. The procession was closed by the women, who kept up the enthusiasm of the Arabs by their shrill cries. Abd-ur-rahman's horsemen performed divers feats round the groups, dashing backwards and forwards, and charging with their spears. We advanced well enough, although the ground was heavy, until we reached the ruins of the former village of Nimroud. It is the custom in this part of Turkey for the villagers to dig deep pits to store their corn, barley, and straw for the autumn and winter. These pits generally surround the villages. Being only covered with a light framework of boughs and slates plastered over with mud, they become, particularly when half empty, a snare and a trap to the horseman, who, unless guided by some one acquainted with the localities, is pretty certain to find the hindlegs of his horse on a level with his ears, and himself suddenly sprawling in front. The cornpits around Nimroud had long since been emptied of their supplies, and had been concealed by light sand and dust, which blow over the plain during the summer, and soon fill up every hole and crevice. Although I had carefully examined the ground before starting, one of these holes had escaped my notice, and into it two wheels of the cart completely sank. The Arabs pulled and yelled in vain. The ropes broke, but the wheels refused to move. tried every means to release them, but unsuccessfully. After working till dusk, we were obliged to give up the attempt.. Next morning, we succeeded in clearing away the earth, and in placing thick planks beneath the buried wheels. After a few efforts the cart moved forward amidst the shouts of the Arabs, who, as was invariably their custom on such occasions, indulged, while pulling at the ropes, in the most outrageous antics. The procession was formed as on the previous day,-and we dragged the bull triumphantly within a few hundred yards of the river. Here the wheels buried themselves in the sand, and it was night before we contrived, with the aid of planks and increased exertions, to place the sculpture on the platform prepared to receive it, and from which it was to slide down on the raft. The tents of the Arabs, who encamped near the river, were pitched round the bull until its companion, the lion, should be brought down, and the two embarked together for Baghdad. The night was passed in renewed rejoicings to celebrate the successful termination of our labours. On the following morning I rode to Mosul, to enjoy a few days' rest after my exertions."

We

A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. By C. M. Du VEIL, D.D. Edited for the Hansard Knollys Society, with an

Historical Introduction, by F. A. Cox,
D.D., LL.D. Printed for the Society.

THE noble project of our Baptist brethren, we rejoice to see, has so far succeeded. Volume is following volume with regularity, and all got up in the best style. We attach great importance to the present production of Du Veil, a man who, in his day, did not a little to promote the interests of religion. Descended of

Jewish parents, he was educated accordingly, and became thoroughly conversant, of course, with the rites and ceremonies of that remarkable people. He early became a student of the Scriptures, and by a careful investigation of the prophetic parts of the Old Testament, he became the subject of an irresistible conviction that Jesus Christ must be the true Messiah,-a conviction which issued in his bold avowal of his faith in the Christian system; as usual, persecution was the result; even his own father attempted his life, and he was only saved by the prompt interference of bystanders. Thus early visited with persecution, the tendency was to add intensity to his anxiety to ascertain the truth, which led to the further prosecution of his inquiries, the enlargement of his means, the improvement of his mind, and the entire fortification of his convictions as a Christian. Self-taught, or rather taught of God, by means of the Old Testament Scriptures, he knew nothing of sect or party, and naturally passed into the Roman Catholic Church, it is supposed from accidental associations. His talents and energies speedily attracted notice, and he soon took a high place as a leader in that community, for which, however, he was clearly very unsuited in taste, convictions, habits, and studies. At the outset he performed the service which endeared him to the Vatican, by publishing a commentary on the Gospels of Mark and Luke, in which he pleaded for the errors and superstitions of the Church of Rome in a manner which greatly gratified the enemies of the truth. The boon, however, was a doubtful one to the Man of Sin. He was, from his keenness, penetration, and polemic power, pressed to engage the Protestants, and to demolish by his pen the troublesome Huguenots,a task to which he betook himself with promptitude and zeal. But the result was, that instead of refuting them, he refuted himself, and made the most unlooked-for discovery that they were right according to the Scriptures, and

that he and the Romanists were wrong! Having made his mind fully up to this conclusion, he was not disobedient to the heavenly monition, but publicly avowed his change of sentiment, deeming it at the same time prudent, a second time, to flee for his life,-for as his father met argument by steel, so the Papists would have made short work of the renegade. The noble man escaped to Holland, where he abjured Popery, and hastened to England, where he met with a kind reception from many of the excellent of the earth, clergymen and gentlemen of the Established Church, into which he entered as a clergyman, and became chaplain and tutor in a noble family. Thus confirmed in the faith, and free from danger, he still prosecuted his studies, revised his commentary on the Gospels, gave an exposition of Solomon's Song, as also of the minor Prophets. He now got into favour with the then Bishop of London, to whose library he had constant access, and there meeting with some writings of the English Baptists, he was led to study the subject of Baptism; and the result was a disturbance of his convictions upon that point. In the house of the Bishop was a young woman, a servant, a member of the Baptist body, who was not a little contemned by her fellow-servants on the ground of her peculiaritics. This young woman was soon discovered by Du Veil, and with the womanly intelligence which is ofttimes found to characterise young dissenting females in that capacity, she obtained for Du Veil an interview with the celebrated Hansard Knollys at the house of a nobleman where that eminent individual was accustomed frequently to resort. The result was his renunciation of Pædobaptist views, and his junction with the Baptist Community. This discovery, and its consequent change, subjected him for the third time, to a species of persecution; though, in the last instance, less perilous than the former. All his Episcopalian friends, however, with the noble exception of Tillotson, forsook him, and he was left to seek for labour and bread where he might find them. But he was not to be disturbed.

Right

or wrong, he had got the habit of cleaving to what he deemed true, reckless of the consequences, and for all fresh troubles he sought consolation in the Scriptures; plunging into the depth of hard labour, he forgot his troubles. On the present occasion be betook himself to

A Literal Explanation of the Acts of the Apostles," in which he discussed, and

attempted to vindicate the principles and practice of the Baptist. Such is the history of the volume before us, a volume which comprises much independent thought, and not a little learning, and a great deal of honesty.

Notes, Critical, Explanatory, and Practical on the Prophet Isaiah. With a New Translation, and Introductory Dissertation. By ALBERT BARNES. Edited by INGRAM COBBIN, A.M. In Two Volumes. Partridge and Oakey. MR BARNES has now become a plant indige. nous to the soil of British mind. There is scarcely a school where he has not a place, and not many religious individuals of intelligence and inquiry who have not heard of him. The recent edition of his work on Isaiah is an excellent one; and we presume the carrying of it through the press was among the last contributions to biblical knowledge of the excellent man who has now passed from the midst of us -Ingram Cobbin. It deserves notice, that Barnes himself has been a party to the present edition. He has asked that the publication might be from his own revised edition, and accordingly it is so. He considers this edition of his work greatly improved. The distinguishing features of the present publication are al

leged to be its unparalleled cheapness, the great

care bestowed in correcting the references, in collating the Hebrew and Greek, in its pictorial illustrations, and, lastly, the important emenda

tions of the Author. In the revised American edition the new translation was omitted, to save the room; but, in compliance with the wish of the Author, it is here restored.

Gospel Reminiscences in the West Indies. By LEONARD STRONG. Binns and Goodwin. THIS little work is divided into three parts, each part setting forth, in a striking manner, the effects of the missionary's labours in the West Indies. Its Author appears to be one of that noble class of men who go forth with their lives in their hands to preach the Word in fardistant climes, and the Reminiscences he has here presented are of a character the most touching and interesting. The first part of the volume records the missionary exertions of John

Meyer, in connection with his wife, who is

described "as a no less devoted labourer" than her husband, and the labours conjointly of several other excellent and disinterested brethren. In 1840, John Meyer, we are told, having left Switzerland in company with his wife and some other friends in the missionary cause, arrived at Demerara. The incidents in connection with their tour are of singular interest, and cannot fail to excite the deepest emotions. The narrative is well written, and affords a striking example of patient and persevering endeavours, under seasons of peculiar difficulty and trial. The second part of the volume contains the account of Old Nanquios, the Negro Driver; who for many years having followed his calling, and having, during that period, been the inflictor of an incalculable amount of oppression and cruelty, was, by a singular and providential circumstance, led to give an attentive ear to a mid