169 



burdens; and of Dan, who should judge his people, to a snake — 

 an adder in the path, who biteth his horse's heels so that his rider 

 should fall backward ; of Napthali to a hind let loose "he giveth 

 goodly words ; " Joseph is a fruitful bough, by a well, whose branches 

 run over a wall; and Benjamin — the fierce and warlike Benjamin 

 — he describes as a wolf, "In the morning he shall devour his prey, 

 and at night he shall divide the spoil." 



This subject brings me, by an easy transition, to those 

 wonderful nations with which the history of the Israelites is so 

 much identified, viz., the Assyrians and the Egyptians. The 

 creators and founders, so far as we at present know, of the first 

 great schools of historic, and especially Symbolic, Art. The 

 Assyrian Empire is said to have been founded by Nimrod, and its 

 original seat was Babel or Babylon, about 2,200 years before the 

 Christian era. The Seat of Empire was afterwards moved to 

 Nineveh. It lasted about 1,400 years, when it was divided into 

 two kingdoms, which endured about 200 years longer. During the 

 whole of this long period the history of the Assyrian people must 

 have been the history of the arts and civilization of the world; and 

 I know of no study more interesting than the unfolding of its 

 hidden pages, for, marvellous as it may seem, it is nevertheless true 

 that the mighty volume, after being hidden in the earth over two 

 thousand years, is now being brought to light. Up to 1843 the 

 history of the Assyrians was conjecture and tradition ; now it is an 

 open book, the pages written in huge characters of stone. Even 

 the type of lines and symbols, which seemed a hopeless enigma, 

 has yielded to the untiring industry and ingenuity of those who 

 have devoted themselves to the task of deciphering them. The 

 folios of ancient history are there found, illustrated by artists 

 contemporary with the scenes depicted ; and we find, as in the 

 pages of a mighty " Graphic," the story of the Kings of Chaldea, 

 including many of those, as it is supposed, mentioned in holy writ. 

 One of the latest discoveries is a complete narrative of the history 

 of the Flood, and portions of a great work on Astronomy and 

 Astrology, as well as a history of the Comets, the whole of which, 

 it is hoped, may some day be brought to light. Interesting as are 



