The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1864-07-22
afI1stellane0us.
Babylon.

A writer in Black wood paints the fol-
lowing picture of the desolation that sur
rounds and enshrouds the once mighty
Babylonian empire:
In the distance, high above the plain,
doomed great mound Of earth. On both
sides of US lay what looks like long paral-
lei ranges Of hills. These lines are pro-
uounced to be the remains of those canals
that once conducted the waters Of the Eu.
pirates over the length and breadth of the
ancient Babylonia. What mighty canals
must they have been, that still showed un.
der the roll of centuries such substantial
traces; now not so much as a drop Of wa
ter; no, not even drop of heavens
pearly dew even glistens, where once ships
must have navigated. These mighty
banks that carried fertility to every cor
ner of the ancient kingdom, are now mere
useless sightess mounds.
No morning mist, moistening the thirs.
ty earth, ever hangs over them. No rain
clouds ever shadow them, tcmperng the
rays of fierce daily returning sun. The
end of her that "dxeleth upon IL any wa
ters' has been brought only too surely
The awful prophecies had been fulfilled,
aud desolaton, in all its nakedness, in all
its drearIness, was around US. After rid
ing some two or three hours we arrived at
the foot of the great mound that we had
seen in the morning. We dismounted
and scrambled to the top, for we had
even arrived at the ruins of Babylon and
the great mound of earth that we were on
was the grave of the golden city.
| believe from the summit, raised some
one hundred feet above the plain, the
walls of the ancient city may be traced
But u hot wind driving burning sand and
the impal pablc dust Of ages into the pores
of our skins, made every effort TO open an
eye SO terribly painful that we gave up
the idea in despair of either tracing walls,
or indeed Of looking about us much any
where.
! remember seeing, away to the west,
lines Of willows, and silver thread wind
ing away, into the distance and nearer,
some unsightly bare mounds, looking as
if volcanic fire had been ut work under.
ueath the smooth surface of the plain, and
had thrown these mounds up ia the spirit
of pure mischief That silver thread was
our first glimpse of the Euphrates, aud
the mounds all that remained of the once
beautiful hanging gardens of Babylon at
least so the conjectures of men of research
has accounted fer them. But so COM
pletely have the prophecies been fulfilled
so completed y has the "usme and the
remnant been cut off, of all pertaining to
the once mighty city, that even the great
bill on which we were standing is only by
conjecture supposed to be the ruins Of
some great building or royal palace that
stood within the walls-possibly the pal
ace of Semiramis.
We descended from too great mound,
and made for these lesser mounds which
are supposed to be the site of the hanging
gardens of Nltocris and Semiramis. IL
one spot-the on y thing We saw in the
shape OF building in state of ruin-was
mass of vitrlfed brick.work, pierre
ing the old soil and debris of centuries,
angle upwards. The bricks were square,
of large size, aud beautiful make the an
gle OF some clear end sharp, as if the brick
had left the kiln yesterday, instead of
nearly twice two thousand years ago.
Turning into hollow way between the
mounds, we came suddenly upon colossal
stone lion Time with its leaden hand
had knocked away all tho sharp angles of
the statue. The features of the lion are
completely oblterated as are also those of
the PROSTATE form that lies 50 helpless, so
utterly and wholly human beneath the
upraised paw Of the king Of beats