Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1849-04-20

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and civilization of the race of Assur; OF
the great people who preceded the rise and
fall OF Babylon; who were the first lradi
tlonary conquerors Of Western Asia; who
appear at the height of power. PROBABLY un.
der one Of their latter dynasties in the bib
llcal histories; are denounced in the full
ness of their pride and glory by two al
least OF the ancient seers of Israel, Isaiah
and Nahum; and described as utterly raised
from the earth by another (EzekieI.) prob
ably an eye witness of their total desola-
tom r-r su .-
The limits of newspaper article forbid
us to make any lengthy extracts, or even
very many short ones. We feel at a loss
therefore where to select. Such of our
readers, however, as are at all interested
In such subject land who are not?) will be
! pleased with the following extract contain
ing an hypothesis in regard to the cause Of
Nineveh' s immense size, which, according
to the prophet Jonah, "was an exceeding
great city of three days Journey" For
several leagues along the banks of the III
gris, as Rotlech observes, is seen a range of
hills or high mounds, one of them large
enough for village to be built upon it, is
also accounted for in this extract.
There seems no doubt from Mr.. lay
ards subsequent and successful excavation
IN the mound of Kougunjik-one of the
mounds opposite TO Mosul-as we'll as
those made by him at Nimrod, and by NJ.
Botta at Khorsabad, that each of all these
places, and Others adjacent or intermediate,
where the same great mounds appear, were,
II not parts of one vast city, the successive
Localities occupied or comprehend by MIN
even under its successive dynasties. AS
though unquestionably in very much more
extensive period of time,) Babylon, Sede-
ucia, Otesiphon, Bagdad, succeeded each
other on sites at no considerable distance,
so as to be loosely described as the same
city; in like manner from that imperial ca
price which seems almost 10 be charac-
terstic of great eastern sovereigns each
proud of being the founder of his own cap
ltaI, the temples or palaces which is mann
fest stood on every one Of these cities, diff
lerng as they apparently do in age, and in
certain extent in the character of their
art, may each have been the Nineveh of
its day, the chief dwelling place and centre
of worship of the kings and of the gods of
Assyria and so no one of these absolutely
destroyed, but deserted only, and if we may
so speak. gone out of fashion; this aggregate
of ctles-this cluster of almost contermin-
Gus capitals-may have then gone as the
proverbial name, the city of three DAYS
Journey, just as Thebes of the Hundred
Gates; or the poetic hyperboe of the book
of Jonah may be taken to the strict letter;
and the prophets first days slow and inter-
rupted pilgrimage through the streets may
not have led him to the palace of the king.
In this con lecture, which occurred to us on
reading the earlier part of this work, we re-
Joice 10 find that we anticipated the concIu-
sion of Mr.. Layard. The hypothesis seems
10 us the only one that can account for the
vast number of magnificent edifces which
unquestionabiy existed within a circuit TOO
extensive for single city, butnot for a cap
itaf which had thus grown up out of many
cities !"
For an account Of the difficulties against
which Mr. Layard had 10 contend in making
his excavations, we shall, for wan; of room,
have TO refer the reader To the Review itself;
and for the same reason we shall have to
pass over the interesting sketches, by the
reviewer, of the HISTORIAN Christians, and
the Zezids or Devil Worshippers, on the
doctrines and practices of both of which he
throws considerable light. Commenting
the review to our readers, and Scott d Co.
for their enterprising spirit in furnishing to
the American public Il republication OF these
most interesting and valuable British Re-
views, we close this sketch with two eX-
tracts--the first in the language of Mr..
Lavard, the second in that of his reviewer.
ION the morning | rode to the encamP-
ment of Sheikh Abd>ur-rahman, and was
returning to the mound, where | saw Two
Arabs of his tribes urging their mares 10
the top Of their speed Hasten, o Bey,'
exclaimed one of them-'hasten To the Dig
gers, for they have found Nimrod himself.
Walah, it is wonderful, but il is true! we
have seen him with our eyes. There is no
god but God;' and both joining in this pions
exclamation, they gaIlopped off without
further words, in the direction of their
tents.
ION reaching the ruins, descended into
the new trench, and found the workmen,
who had already seen me as | approached
standing near a heap Of baskets and cloaks.
Whilst Awad advanced and asked for
present to celebrate the accession, the Arabs
withdrew the screen they had hastily con-
structed, and disclosed an enormous human
head sculpmred in full out of the alabaser
of the country. They had uncovered the
upper part of figure, the remainder of
which was still buried in the earth. saw
al once that the head must belonged To
winged lion or bull, similar 10 those at
khorsabad and Persepolis. II was in adj
mirable preservation was calm, yet males>
tic, and the outline Of the features showed
freedom and knowledge of art scarcely
| TO be looked for in the works of so remote
a period. The cap had three horns, and,
unlike that of the human headed bulls hith-
eric found in Assyria was rounded and
without ornament at the top.
II was not surprised that the Arabs had
been amazed and terrified at this appara-
ton. 1t required no stretch OF imagination
to ccnjure up the most strange iancies.-
This gigantic head; hlanched with age, thus
rising from the bowels of the earth, might