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Captain Blisset walked over the ruins with William, for he always was anxious to make him take as much interest in his travels as he did himself. He reminded him that this was the place which once deserved the name of the golden city, the glory of kingdoms, abundant in treasures, and the praise of the whole earth; and he then read for him the 13th chap. of Isaiah, verses 19, 20, 21, 22, and chapter xiv. verse 23, as follows:-

"And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild

beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures, and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it withs the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts."

"Well," said William, "I shall never think of Babylon without remembering how awfully just are the punishments of God against the

wicked, and that I have been on the spot where King Nebuchadnezzar reigned." "But, William," added he, "the sight of Babylon should remind you also that here was the scene, not only of Nebuchadnezzar's wickedness and power, as a King, but of Daniel's faith, as a true servant of God; and you know how that faith supported him in the hour of danger." "Yes, Sir," said William," I never have read the account without being taught that 'The Lord never forsakes the man who puts his trust in him.'"

Hlaving visited these interesting ruins, Captain Blisset proceeded on his journey; sti!l advancing in a southerly direction, in order to reach the shore of the Persian Gulf, and to take shipping from thence, for he purposed to sait down it, as far as some port in Arabia, from whence, he meant, if possible, to enter the interior of that interesting peninsula.

Our travellers now, indeed, began most ear. nestly to look forward to this part of their expedition; longing for a sight of the broad ocean, after a journey, which had led them, for so many hundred miles, from one dreary town to another, and across barren sandy plains; and who but a sailor can tell the pleasure of re. turning to his own element, after a long series of weeks and months of land travelling.

They pursued their course along the western bank of the Euphrates, and found the country

sandy and barren as heretofore; and, having passed through the town of Koran, which is situated at the junction of the Euphrates and the Tigris, they continued their route still in the same course, until, at length, they approached towards the town of Bassora, which stands upon the river, about fifty miles north of its mouth; and having of late visited so many decayed and ruined cities, it was with pleasure they entered this thriving and populous city, one of the principal commercial towns of Persia.

The first thing that impresses a stranger on entering Bassora, is its strong substantial walls, twenty-five feet in thickness, and high in proportion, five miles in circumference, and well mounted with cannon. It is entered by five gates, and surrounded by a deep broad ditch, which is filled with water from the river. A large proportion of the interior of the town is occupied by gardens and plantations, intersected with numerous canals, which are cleansed by the tide flowing into them twice every day, to the height of nine or ten feet. The city is indifferently built; the streets are irregular, and, notwithstanding the advantage of the canals, are kept in a very dirty state. Bassora is inhabited by a variety of different nations, led hither by the advantages this town holds out to them for commerce-Arabians, Turks, Per sians, Armenians, and Europeans are

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mingling together in the streets. Among the former, are found some of the most wealthy of the inhabitants; but the majority of them are extremely poor; and these labour very hard for small wages: the simplicity of their fare, which consists of a few dates, with bread and water, enabling them to subsist themselves at a very small expense.

The commerce of this city is extensive ; from the various parts of Hindostan, Bassora receives silk and cotton manufactures, various kinds of metals, and a great variety of sandal wood and indigo; and from the same quarter, and likewise from the East India islands, it receives pearls, spices, and, what is prized more thau every thing else, European commodities, especially British manufactures. Her trade with

other towns in the interior of Persia is carried on by means of caravans, and there are also a vast number of well appointed merchant vessels belonging to the port, for the river is navigable even for vessels of considerable burden, from hence to its mouth; so that Bassora may be reckoned to possess all the commercial advan tages of a seaport town. It is situated two hundred and ten miles south of Ispahan, and lies in east longitude forty-four degrees, and in north latitude thirty degrees.

Our travellers had now seen every thing remarkable in Bassora, and in a few days began to make preparations for their departure from

Persia. It is necessary, therefore, to give a brief and concise account of the geography of Arabia, the country they were about to visit.

-Arabia is that great peninsula lying between the 34th and 12th degrees of south latitude, and 33d and 59th degrees of east longitude. It is bounded by the Red Sea on the west, by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Persian Gulph on the east, and a line drawn from the point of the Persian to that of the Arabic Gulph on the north. It forms an irregular quadrangle, computed to be thirteen hundred miles long, and about as many broad; and has been aptly compared to a coat of frieze, with an edge of gold-lace; the borders alone being furnished with towns, and bearing marks of cultivation, while the interior is principally composed of a vast sandy desert, interspersed here and there with a few fertile spots, which, it may be well supposed, are more beautiful from contrast, and intersected about the centre by a range of moun. tains, supposed to stretch from the shores of the Red Sea on the west at Mecca, to those of the Persian Gulph or the east.

Arabia has been generally considered as di vided into three parts, from the supposed quality of the soils:-Arabia the Desert, on the east;-Arabia 'the Happy, which lies to the south-east and south; and Arabia the Stony, comprehending all that country lying to the west on the shores of the Red Sea, which is

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