Thibodaux minerva. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 18??-1858, 1853-08-13

THE CITY OF SHIR Az.-The recent Intelligence
of the destruction of the Persiancity OF shiraz,
with u 900 souls, has brought out in the Nam
tucket Intelligence the following review Of that
&c celebrated seat of Persian literature
"The completeness of the desolation produced
by this event will be best conceived, when 1t IS
stated that the population has never been esti-
mated beyond 40 900, and has commonly been
supposed but one half as great, 1t was, howev-
er, the second city of the empire, surrounded by
high walls, and profusely adorned with domes,
minarets, and more than sixty tombs. The
more stately of these structures it is true, were
Frustrated by the earthquake of 1924, which
ruined one-third Of the city. The chief archi-
tectural glory of Shiraz, as it recently existed
was its Bazaar, unequaled in the empire. 1t
was lofty, spacious street, quarter OF mile
in length, covered with handsome, vaulted
roof. pierced with numerous sky-lights, and built
of yellow brick. It contained fifteen hundred
shops.
Our own Prescott has spoken of the period
when Moslem love of learning adorned every
principal city of the empire with structures ded-
icated to science and literature. Shiraz once
possessed no less than forty colleges, of which,
not long ago, Maven yet remained. The prin-
cipal contained one hundred rooms, in manylof
which the visitor still saw professors delivering
their lectures to i.quisitive young men, as in the
palmy days Of Arabian learning. Here were
found the highest authorities in Mohammedan
law, reverenced by all orders of magistracyeup
to the Shah himself: and here, also the refined
Soofeeism of Persia had its subtlest and most
poetcal expounders.
The people of Shiraz point out with pride the
tombs of Hafz and Sadi, the two most exquisite
poets of their national literature. On the for
mer are Inscribed two of his most admired odes,
as the monument for Sir Isaac Newton is adorn-
ed with his Binominal Theorem. The tiny stream
of Rocknabad, which Hafz loved to celebrate,
rolling its narrow current near his bones, is cher
ished for his sake.
So famous for its patronage of learning, did
this city at length become, that it is styled on
coins struck within its walls, The Gatesof Sci
ence:' and it was the boast Of Hafz that 'our
Shiraz is superior to Isfahan, .thskaroyal city.
Nor do its people yet cease to#clafm pre-emi-
nence over all Persans esteemihg their lam
guage the most pure, and their pronunciation the
most correct in the Empire.
The Persian languagesis written and spoken
by cultivated persons throngh 0ut Hindosten, for
it Is the language ofsthe eonrtss But when,
forty years ago, the New Testament had been
translated under the auspices Of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, in India. and elaborated
by the painful eleganceof that prodigy Of learn
ing, Henry Martyr, it was still thought neces
sary to submit the work to the inspection Of the
scholars of Shiraz.e The youthful missionary
carried it to that city, and was deeply i'm
pressed by the superior refinement of the higher
classes there that he made, under their guidance,
new translation IA
The DEAD-How seldom we think of the
dead. Although we sit round the same hearth
where they once sat, and read from the same
volume they SO loved to persue, yet we think
not3of them.
%, how the heart throbs with wild, ,1ncontrol
liable emotion, as we stand beside the dying
friend we have dearly loved. We try without
effect, to prolong the precious life; we follow
down to the margin of the dark-howing river );
the spirit of the loved one passes onward alone,
and We are left to linger on the shoffa OF time
We think, as we lay the inanimate 5yrm III che
cold grave, and the damp earth CRATES harshly
over it, that we will neUer forget; that the life
scenes shall ever be fresh to our memory, and
even wonder that the busy multitude can still
move on as before. fID
The sun shines as brightly or the new made
grave. Again we mingle with the busy Jostly
throng. Weeks and months roll on-we visit the
grave less frequenty-we cease to think of the
lost one, save when some incident of by-gone
| IMPRISONED RsPTlLEs.-Not long since, a
number of specimens of mineral and animal
products were received at the Smithsonian
Institute, Washington, from New Mexico,
and among other things was horned liz
zard, accompanied by letter from Judge
Houghton, of that Territory, stating that the
animal was taken alive from block of
stone so solid as to preclude the entrance of
the smallest insect; the lizard lived forty
eight hours after it was released from lis
long imprisonment. The letter states that
this lizard must have been in the position
in which it was found since the commence
ment of the formation of the rocks, and
which, if true must make it very old ami.
NAL indeed. Many stories have been re-
; ported of toads and Lizards having been
liberated alive from solid rocks, and it is a
; prevalent opinion that they were enclosed
while alive by the rock forming over them
We have seen stone ourselves from which
a toad was liberated of this antideluviar
type, but not different III any respect from
the present species. The place from which
the animal was taken was somewhat hollow
and appeared to be snug, strong nest, bu
as part of the rock was broken up before
) we saw it. we could not tell whether there
was or was not some entrance into 1t
Biologists have no faith in toads or lizard:
being enclosed alive in solid rocks-tht
rocks forming over them. On this subject
Dean Buckland, the celebrated zoologist
J remarks -
"There isl he says, "a want of sufficient
ly minute and accurate observation in thos'
I so frequently recorded eases. where toad
are said to be found alive within blocks O
stone and wood, in cavities that had NJ
communication whatever with the externa
air. The first effort of the young toad, a
soon as it has left its tadpole state AM
emerged from the water, is to seek shelte
,, LIN holes and crevices of rocks ami trees
An individual, which, when young, ma.
, have thus entered cavity by some yer.
narrow aperture, would find abundance Q
food by catching insects; which, like Itsei'
. seek shelter within such cavities, a'd may
e have increased so much in bulk IS 10 renje
e ii impossible to go out again through III.
= narrow aperture at which it entered. 4
y small hole Of this kind is very likely to b.
j, overlooked by common workmen who arr
e the only people whose operations on ston
:, and wood disclose cavities in the interior O
e such substances. In the case of toads
d snakes and lizards that occa sionaIlv issu