Year: 1866

.nineu 10 wait Tor the arrival of certain


festival during which the whole population


were wont to engage in drinking and reyel.


ihg' and then silently in the dead of night


10 tern the water Of the river and make his


attack. All fell out as he had hoped and


wished. The festival was even held with


greater pomp and splendor than usual; for


Deishazzar, with the natural insolence of


youth, to mark his contempt for the besieg-
ing army, abandoned himself wholly to the
uenghts OF the season, and himself entertain.


ed a lot lords in his palace. Elsewhere the
rest OF the population was occupied in feast


ing and dancing. Drunken riot and mad
excitement held possession of the town; the
siege was forgotten ordinary precautions


were neglected. Following the example of
their king, the Babylonians gave themselves
up tor the night to orgies in which religious
frenzy and drunken excitement formed
strange and revolving medley.


Meanwhile, outside the city. in silence and
darkness, the Persians watched at the two
points where the Euphrates entered and left
the walls. Anxiously they noted the grad
uai sinking OF the wafer in the river bed
stlll more anxiously they watched to see if
those within the walls would observe the
suspicious circumstance and sound an alarm
through the town. Should such an alarm


be gwen, all their labors would be lost
But as they watched, no sounds
OF alarm reached them only a confused
noise OF revel and riot which showed that the
unhappy townsmen were quite unconscious
OF the approach of danger


AT last shadowy forms began to emerge
from the obscurity of the deep river bed, and
on the landing places opposite the river gates
scattered clusters of men grew into solemn
columns-the undefended gateways were
selzed-a war shout was raised-the alarm
was taken and spread-and swift runners
started Off to show the King of Babylon
that his city was taken at one end In the
darkness and confusion of the night a terri
BILE massacre ensued. The drunken jewellers
could make no resistance The king. par
alyzed with fear at the awful handwriting
on the wall, which too late warned him of
his peril, could do nothing even to check the
progress of the assailants, who carried all
before them everywhere. Bursting into the
palace a band of Persians made their wav
to the presence of the monarch and slew
him on the scene of his impious revelry.-
When morning came, Cyrus found himself
undisputed master of the city,"


In regard to Nebuchadnezzar, the most
illustrious monarch of Babylon, we are
told:


He even surpassed in achievements and
magnifcence the mightiest monarchs of the
illustrious Sargonid dynasty of Assyria-
His genius shone forth alike at home and
abroad. Again and again he marched his
armies up the right bank of the Euphrafes
(which river was the frontier of the Median
kingdom), subduing all the upper part of
the valley which lay to the west of that
river, and advancing victoriously into Syria,
subjugating Judea and Damascus as we'll as
the more important coast region of Phonicia,
overthrowing the armies of Egypt, and ex-
tending his suzeranity even to the distant
banks of the Nile. AT the same time he
added greatly to the magnificence of Baby.
lon and to the prosperity of his people,
Bringing back with him from his military
expeditions droves of captives, he employed
them in the erection of grand palaces and
fcrtifcations for his capital, and also in the
of irrigating canals, which
wldened the cultivable area of Babvlonia-
Greatest among these latter works was the
royal river broad and deep canal con-
Meeting the Euphrates with the Tigris. He
built the great wall of Babylon, and the
Hanging Gardens-two of the seven wonders
of the ancient world. He dug vast reser-
voir for irrigation near Sipparah, 140 miles
in circumference and $50 feet deep. He
built quays and breakwaters along the
shores of the Persian Gulf, and founded a
city on its shores. Although stricken by
strange disease, a madness during which he
fancied himself a beast in the field, vet
health and prosperity returned to him, and
the closing year of his reign were as glo.
rious nc the first -