❝ of Benjamin of Tudela, who first revived the remembrance of the ruins, whenever they fancied themselves near the site of Babylon, universally fixed upon the most conspicuous eminence to represent the Tower of Belus. Benjamin of Tudela, Rauwolff, and some others, saw it among the ruins of the old Felugiah; and, fully ⚫ bent upon verifying the words of Scripture, fancied it infested by every species of venemous reptile.' Pietro della Valle seems to have been the first who selected the Makloube as the remains of this celebrated structure, for the reason assigned above, because it was the most conspicuous eminence among those which he had seen, and his opinion naturally remained authority, until some better was produced. Père Emanuel, indeed, saw the Birs, but, as has been said with great truth, from the account he has given, or the clearness of the idea which he appears to have formed of it, he might with equal advantage to the world and himself, have never seen it ' at all.'

"Niebuhr appears to have seen it first from a distance, when he took it for a watch-tower; and subsequently to have been upon the ruin itself, as he describes the little hole in the wall, which cannot be seen from below. After describing the ruin very briefly, he says, Mais en relisaut ensuite ce que Herodote dit (1. i. s. 170) au Temple de Belus, et de sa forte Tour, il m'a paru très vraisemblable que j'en avois ⚫ retrouvé là des restes; et c'est pourquoi j'espère, qu'un des mes successeurs dans ce 6 voyage, en fera de plus exactes recherches, et nous en donnera la description t.'

This was the impression made on M. Niebuhr, in merely snatching a hasty view of the ruin. This was my own impression at the first moment of approaching it, without any recollection at the time of what Niebuhr had written, and this also was the effect produced on Mr. Rich. Previous to visiting the Birs,' says that gentleman, I had not the slightest idea of the possibility of its being the Tower of Belus; • indeed its situation was a strong argument against such a supposition; but the moment I had examined it, I could not help exclaiming:-Had this been on the ⚫ other side of the river, and nearer the ruins, no one could doubt of its being the re'mains of the Tower.'

“The next objection to the identity of the Birs with the Temple of Belus, may be in its situation; as it has been the commonly received opinion, that this temple stood on the eastern side of the Euphrates. The only ground upon which this was assumed by Major Rennel, is a presumption that the Belidian gate, which was known to be on the east side, was so named from its vicinity to the Temple of Belus. This has been so satisfactorily answered by Mr. Rich, as to leave nothing to add to his remarks on this subject §. The difficulty is then reduced to its distance from the river, which is

Memoir, in Les Mines de l'Orient.'

+ Vol. ii. p. 236. 4to. Memoir, in Les Mines de l'Orient,' p. 155.

§ The passage, in which Major Rennel's objection, and Mr. Rich's reply to it, is contained, worth extracting entire. It is this:

'I believe it is nowhere positively asserted, that the Tower of Belus stood in the eastern corner of Babylon. Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny, and Quintus Curtius, do not 'affirm this, but it is certainly the generally received opinion; and Major Rennel says, It may be pretty clearly collected from Diodorus, that the temple stood on the east side ' and the palace on the west. A presumptive proof of the supposed position of the temple, should the words of Diodorus be regarded as ambiguous, is, that the gate of the 'city named Belidian, and which we must conclude to be denominated from the Temple, appears pretty clearly to have been situated on the east side. When Darius Hystaspes besieged Babylon, the Belidian and Cissian gates were opened to him by Zopyrus; and 'the Babylonians fled to the Temple of Belus, as we may suppose the nearest place of ' refuge. The Cissian or Susian gate must surely have been in the eastern part of the 'city, as Susa lay to the east; and by circumstances, the Belidian gate was near it.** Now, I do not think these premises altogether warrant the conclusion. In these countries, as has before been remarked††, gates take the name of the places to, and not from, ** Illustrations of the Geography of Herodotus, pp. 355–357. tt Vide, also, Rennel,

thought so great as to exclude it from the site of the city according to the generally received extent of its area, and its not apparently occupying that central situation in its own division which has been assigned to it by the ancient writers already quoted.”

Vagaries, in Quest of the Wild and the Whimsical. By Pierce Shafton, Gent. Andrews. Bond Street.

This is a collection of tales, essays, and sketches of character, grave, gay, sentimental, satirical, and humorous, interspersed with poetry of a description similarly varied, and held together by a slight chain of story.

The author succeeds better in the humorous and satirical, than in the sentimental or the sublime; but even in the last description of writing, the highest that can be attempted, the reader will find a very successful specimen under the title of " The Wandering Jew."

Much of the poetry is of a high order; and we particularly recommend the following verses to our readers. The last stanza is one" after our own heart," affording a contrast much needed to the miserable puling which is the cant of so many of the rhymesters of the present day.

"MY BIRTH-DAY.

"And can it be my birth-day, this?
The day which in my boyish years,
Came like an April beam of bliss,

Let in upon life's vale of tears?

Is this the same bright day of love and joy?

And, oh! should thoughts like these that happy day employ?

I then was the too favor'd child,

Of those whom 'tis not mine to blame;

Yet had they been less weakly mild,

The woes that with my manhood came,

Would have been more relenting, or unfelt;

For then this heart so soon had never learnt to melt.

I stood for a brief dizzy time,

Exalted in my youth's first pride;

But my bold spirit, in its prime,

Fell with the earliest hope that died,

And I was left, self-doomed and self abased,

To sigh after the shade I had so vainly chased.

' which they lead. The gates of Babylon are instances of this; and the very gate next the Belidian was called Susian, from the town to which the road it opens upon leads; so that, if the Belidian gate really derived its appellation from the temple, it would have been a singular instance, not only in Babylon, but in the whole East, at any period. It is, consequently, much easier to suppose there may have been a town, village, or ' other remarkable place without the city, the tradition of which is now lost, which gave 'its name to the gate, than that such an irregularity existed. As to the inhabitants, in ⚫ their distress, taking refuge within the precincts of the temple, it is probable they were induced to it, not from its proximity to the point of attack, but as the grand sanctuary, and, from its holiness and great celebrity, the one most likely to be respected by the ' enemy.'-Memoir, in Les Mines de l'Orient.'

I am scarce yet of manhood's age,
And yet am aged in my woe;
I have felt passions in me rage,

And meaner follies lay me low;

And whatsoe'er of good or ill there be

On earth, is as a tale more than twice told to me.

But let my spirit from its sleep

Waken and work while yet 'tis day;

For man was never born to weep,

And sigh and languish life away:

It is a gem which, howsoe'er bereft,

Has worth and beauty still, in every fragment left."

In addition to their intrinsic merits, the " Vagaries" are compressed in an exceedingly pretty volume, which is exactly in appearance, as well as in contents, what we should have liked some thirty years ago, when we were making love, to have had handsomely bound and presented to Myra. Previous to the author printing his second edition, which we foresee he will soon do, we shall send him notice of some slight errors in grammar, which have shocked our critical senses; but, in spite of these peccadilloes, we think "Pierce Shaf"ton" deserves to be a great favorite wherever he appears.

Second Letter from a Dog in the Country to his Friend in Town. Wilson, Royal Exchange.

Late events have certainly corroborated, in a very signal manner, the inferences drawn by the author of the pamphlet, alluded to in our number for February, regarding the probable state of the public sentiment in Portugal. Another letter has since appeared from the same hand, in reply to the Edinburgh Review. Like the last, it derives its chief merit from that simple logic which appeals directly to the judgment; being otherwise deficient both in point of arrangement and language.

The author does not contend step for step, against the regularly trained forces of the Reviewer, but maintains a sort of Guerilla warfare, which the able position of his adversaries, and probably a consciousness of inferior generalship on his own part, would naturally suggest. After exposing, we think successfully, the unsoundness of the view taken by the Edinburgh, with regard to the rights of succession, he makes the following very pertinent remarks:

"It is to be remembered, that the abdication of John the Sixth was not a voluntary act, but a necessary consequence of the declaration of the independence of Brazil; or, in other words, the declaration of the incapacity of one monarch to reign both in Portugal and Brazil. And if John the Sixth were thus expressly declared incapable of holding both these crowns, is it not a manifest contradiction to assert that Don Pedro, as the representative of John the Sixth, may yet succeed to both? Is it not a most flagrant absurdity to maintain, that the same circumstance which constituted the incapacity of John to reign over both, should not equally affect the claim of his heir to succeed to both?"

Some strong reflections on the author's want of candor appeared in the Morning Chronicle of the 12th ult.; but they are really so little borne out by a reference to the pamphlet itself, that if they had not purported to proceed from the Reviewer, we should have passed

them unnoticed. In the first place, the error which it was the purpose of those remarks to expose, had been previously corrected and explained by the author himself; the faulty copies being recalled, and others supplied in their place. Secondly, there does not appear any such extraordinary regard to accuracy in those remarks themselves, as would entitle their author to assume a dictatorial tone on that head. For instance, he says that "the answerer informs us that "Don Miguel is detained at Vienna; that he has there taken an "extorted oath, and that he thinks there could be no doubt of that "Prince being released from it by a dispensation from the Pope."

We own that it occasioned us no inconsiderable surprise that an observation like this, having no other foundation than what it may derive from the following passage, should proceed from the individual who immediately before had laid it down, with the authority of a censor, that "a disregard of accuracy is a disposition very near akin "to intentional falsehood." The author, p. 15, Second Letter, says

"It argues something like ignorance of the human character, as well as of the most evident principles of moral obligation, to insist, as this writer does, on the probability that Don Miguel will pay any very scrupulous regard to his oath of fidelity, &c. Whatever may be our general view of the obligation of an extorted oath, there can never be any question between natural and voluntary obligations in any case where they may be opposed to each other. If a man lay under an engagement to resign the direction of his family to another, who might betray their interests, no one would be inclined to dispute the paramount nature of his obligation to defend them. And if this is a case perfectly applicable to that of Don Miguel; we may go on to conclude, that if any weakness of mind should still raise doubts and scruples on his part, the very same weakness of mind would suggest a ready means of dispersing them, by a simple dispensation from the Pope."

Surely it would require some exertion of ingenuity to justify such an interpretation of the above passage as that put upon it by the Reviewer. But the way in which, in the article alluded to in the Morning Chronicle, he has endeavoured to stigmatize these pamphlets, is totally unwarranted; they bear throughout evident marks of the author's sincerity and patriotic views. And until something more decisive of the sense of the majority in Portugal, than has yet been afforded by Ministers, shall effectually remove all doubt upon the subject, we shall not permit ourselves to be frightened by the cry of "the apostolicals" into a hasty approbation of the measures of Don Pedro and Mr. Canning. For we believe, to use the words of a late eminent philosopher, that "no system, be it ever so perfect "in itself, can be expected to acquire stability, or to produce good "order and submission, unless it coincides with the general voice of "the community. And he who frames a political constitution upon "a model of ideal perfection, and attempts to introduce it into any "country without consulting the inclinations of the inhabitants, is a "most pernicious projector, who, instead of being applauded as a "Lycurgus, ought to be chained and confined as a madman."Miller on Government, chap. iv, p. 83.

GAIETIES AND GRAVITIES OF THE MONTH,

DIARY OF A P. M.

February 2d. Heard a joke at Whiteball: Captain H, my old friend, met Sir T. L, with whom he is intimate, at the Opera :---" Well, my friend," said the worthy landholder, "were you appointed on Saturday last?" "No," replied the Captain, "I was dis-appointed.”

66

3rd. Went to the Covent-Garden pantomime; like pantomimes. Chesterfield says it is vulgar to laugh in a playhouse; on this occasion there were a good many to keep me in countenance. Liked Grimaldi; he is a bewitching "muscle monger"-What a mouth!--Better actor than Kean, though in the same way. Heard a pun---some one said "he was very pleasant to-night." "Yes," replied another, "but I understand he "is Grim-all-day."---(Very bad---laughed notwithstanding.) Struck with a view of the boxes: the Golden Cross, Bull and Mouth, Cross Keys, and Saracen's Head, had sent all their coachmen: every one in jehu costume.-Perceive the reason---fond of the stage. ---(Not new; but pretty good.) All the tiers in the house were in roars of laughter. Miss Romer a pretty columbine.---Roamer, a good name for a person that runs about so much. Liked Parsloe in the Cat: some one remarked "he was as roguish as a lawyer." "True," replied I; "his character to-night being in the Fee-line."---(Bad; very bad.) When he squalled, asked what singer he was imitating; some one replied, “ Cat-alani.” (Not so bad.) Improved it---" What singer did he look like?" " Cat-aleany." Parsloe, from the school of Mazurier. (Note. I wonder these tumblers are not as brittle as glasses.) A gentleman by my side, lately from the French capital, gave me an interesting account of the mode of Mazurier's taking his rest:---he ties his legs about his neck in a knot, and puts his hands in his mouth.---(Query. Is there a Mrs. Mazurier ?--Query. Why does a pantaloon wear breeches? Ellar, a very gentlemanly gymnastic, as harlequin, kicked Mr. Barnes in his seat of honor, in a manner that would have been creditable in a club-room. Took a peep at the rope-dancers---Very good in their line. Some one observed that "Mr. Wilson displayed some great feat on the cord." Very true: he and his pupil keep good time together; it was quite proper, being ac-corddance.---(Very good.) Took an observation of Miss Bannister through my glass, and mistook her ancles for the calves of her legs. All over---home, and to bed.

--

5th. Dined with my friend Frederick H and talked of politics :---Sheil's affair in Ireland :---always thought that man wrote poetry better than he spouted it: his compatriots bailed him. Asked my friend Fred. his opinion of the Catholic claims. "Why," he replied, "since the Catholics send all us heretics to the Devil in the next "world, they should not grumble if we send all them to the Devil in this."

7th. Went to the Oratorio.---Bad altogether; Braham bawled away as usual the words to the galleries, the music to Mr. Wagstaff in the orchestra. Stephens was away, but Graddon supplied her absence very well. Incited to hear this lady sing from an acquaintance of mine, William Winter, attempting his first funnycism in the following

mannner :--

"Miss Graddon,
Not a bad one."

A young dog, by the name of Baker, yelped away amidst the general howlings of the chorus, with considerable earnestness. Phillips, however, was admirable.

8th. Dined at Long's off a Maintenon cutlet, and heard a dispute at the next table respecting the West India Question. A proposition to satisfy all parties :---PLANTERS TO BE MASTERS ONE YEAR, AND THE BLACKS TO BE MASTERS NEXT.- ―(Excellent: mem. address a letter on the subject to Earl Bathurst.)

9th. Went to the Chinese exhibition: saw two young ladies, by name, I believe, Rum-she and Bam-u. Strong resemblance between them and two females I have the pleasure of seeing every morning, at the bottom of my breakfast-cup. Chinese divinities about the room, nid-nid-noddin a chorus in great glee: no great catch.

10th. Went with the Honorable Tom P to the Opera. Ran against Truefitt's foreman. The benches rather plebeian: the airy-stock-racy, as my friend Fred. calls them, individual and particular. A good English singer here, by the name of Kelly;