the wonders of the world. The most famous works in and about it were the walls of the city; the temple of Belus; Nebuchadnezzar's palace; the hanging gardens; the banks of the river; the artificial lake, and the canals.

The walls of the city were sixty miles in compass, three hundred and fifty feet in height, and eighty-seven feet thick. In them there were an hundred gates, all of solid brass; between every two of these gates, at proper distances, were three towers, and four more at the corners of the great square, and three between each of these corners and the next gate on either side. From the twenty-five gates on each side of this square, there was a strait street extending to the corresponding gate in the opposite wall, whence the whole number of streets was but fifty, each being fifteen miles long: the houses were three or four stories in height, and beautified with all manner of ornaments.

A branch of the Euphrates divided the city, running through the midst of it from north to south, over which, in the very middle of the city, was a bridge a furlong in length; at each end were two palaces of considerable magnitude and splendour. It is certain that this city was never wholly inhabited, so that even in the meridian of its glory it might be compared to the flower of the field, which flourishes to-day, and to-morrow is no more.

The next great work was the temple of Belus. The wonderful tower that stood in the middle thereof was not his work, but was built many ages before, and is supposed to have been the fåpious tower of Babel.

Next this temple, on the same east side of the

river, stood the old palace of the kings of Babylon, being four miles in circumference. Exactly opposite to it, the outer side of the river, was the new palace built by Nebuchadnezzar, eight miles in circumference, and consequently four times as large as the old one.

But nothing was more wonderful at Babylon than the hanging-gardens, which Nebuchadnezzar made in complaisance to his wife, who, being a Mede, and retaining a strong inclination for the mountains and forests of her own country, desired to have something like them at Babylon. They were four hundred feet square, and consisted of terraces, one above another, carried up to the height of the wall of the city; the ascent from terrace to terrace being by steps ten feet wide. The whole pile consisted of substantial arches upon arches, and was strengthened by a wall surrounding it on every side, twenty-two feet thick. The floors were made so as to retain the moisture of the mould, which was suf. ficiently deep to afford space for the roots of the trees that were planted on the terrace, together with an immense number of shrubs of every kind. Upon the uppermost of these terraces, was a reservoir, filled by an engine with water from the river, from whence the gardens on the other terraces were supplied.

The other works attributed to Nebuchadnezzer were the banks of the river, the artificial canals, and the great lake. The canals were cut out on the east side of the Euphrates, to convey away the waters of that river, when it over. flowed its banks into the Tigris, before they reached Babylon.

The lake was forty miles square, and about

forty

Vol.2 Page 353

Babylon taken, and Nat-onadius stain by the Porsiens.

Published Feb.1.1802, by RPhillips N71. Paul's Church Yard London

forty feet deep; it was originally contrived to res ceive the waters of the river while the banks were building on each side of it. But both the lake and the canal that led to it were preserved after that work was completed, being found of great use, not only to prevent the overflowing, but to keep water all the year, as in a common reser. voir, to be let out, on proper occasions, by sluices, for the improvement of the land.

The tower, or temple, stood to the time of Xerxes, who, returning from the Grecian expe dition, first plundered it of its immense wealth, and then laid it in ruins. Alexander proposed to rebuild it, but the death of that conqueror put a stop to the design. From this time the glory of Babylon rapidly declined, till at length the place on which this monument of human industry and art had reared its stupendous head, was entirely forgotten.

We are now to behold this greatest among mortal princes, in a different and truly melan choly point of view, not only hurled from his throne, but degraded beneath the meanest of the race of mankind, and exhibited as an exam❤ ple of terror to princes, who, swoln with vanity, and drunk with power, would arrogate to themşelves divine honours.

Scarcely had Nebuchadnezzar returned from the wars, before he was admonished by a dream, which none of his wise men could interpret. The prophet Daniel, however, declared that it was prophetic of the sentence denounced by heaven against him, in consequence of which he was to be driven out from the society of men, and become as a bcast, in which state he would remain till he should be brought to a due sense Hh3

of