1829.] 



Domesiic and Foreign. 



679^ 



point of the west bank of the river. This 

 Birs Nemroud lias been usually taken for the 

 great Temple of Belus — the Towerof Babel — 

 especially by Niebuhr, and more recently by 

 Rich and Buckinghan; but Captain IMig- 

 nan, apparently on better grounds, concludes 

 for the identity of IMujellibah. Herodotus 

 does not state on which side of the river the 

 temple stood, nor does Diodorus expressly, 

 though he furnishes ground for a fair infer- 

 ence in favour of the east. And certainly 

 if the Kasr be the palace, and either Mujel- 

 libah or Birs Nemroud must be the temple, 

 the former has the fairest claim — Birs Nem- 

 roud is far too much out of the way. The 

 3Iujellibah exceeds the Birs Nemroud in 

 bulk, though not in height — it rises 139 

 feet at the S.W., and slopes unevenly to 

 116. N.E. The north side is 274 yards, 

 the south 25C, the east 220, and the west 

 240 — the base consistingof kiln-burnt bricks, 

 and the upper part of sun-dried. 



The Kasr is close to the river ; and a 

 palace, it is known, was built on each bank, 

 communicating with each other by a tunnel 

 under the river (the Euphrates at this point 

 is from five to six hundred feet). These 

 ruins, though now on the east bank, are sup- 

 posed to be those of the palace of the west — 

 the river having, some how or other, got 

 again into the bed originally dug for it, 

 while the tunnel was constructing. Such a 

 supposition accounts for present appearances 

 — great ruins on the east bank, and scarcely 

 any on the west ; though there, it is known, 

 stood the larger palace. 



Though of immense bulk the Birs Nem- 

 roud is inferior to ^lujellibah. It is of solid 

 kiln-burnt masonry, and has something of a 

 tower-like appearance — it is pyramidal, 722 

 yards round the base, with the remains of a 

 tower at the top — which appearance proba- 

 bly misled — if misled they were — those who 

 have assigned to these ruins the honour of 

 the Tower of Babel. 



The author expresses his obligation to 

 Major Rennel for his a])probation of his la- 

 bours. The major himself patroni/es Mu- 

 jellibah, and Captain Jlignan is apparently 

 somewhat biassed by his friend's opinion. 

 The question is far from being decided. 

 The solution depends upon the identity of 

 the Kasr and the palace, and that, it should 

 seem, is far from dear. Nevertheless, Cap- 

 tain jlignan ha.s furnished the best account 

 of the relics of Babylon that has ever been 

 publi&hcd. 



Talennfmy Time, :ivo/.s., 12wo. ,• 182;». 

 These tales — there arc but two, and nei- 

 ther of them very descriptive of " my time" 



are the handy works of the author of 



Blue-Stocking Hall, a very clever, off- 

 handed sort of person, with strong and even 

 fierce antipathies — troubled with no doubts 

 or misgivings — dealing out damnation 

 against all reformers and radicals in church 

 and state — apt and ready at an invidious 

 imputation, and refusing poor Mr. Godwin, 



the very martyr of opinion, sincerity for 

 sentiments, which, whatever might be 

 thought of their value, besjioke to every 

 person of common candour at least the deep- 

 rooted conviction of the author. The writing, 

 liowever, is often vigorous and effective, ex- 

 hibiting, as the tales develope, no common 

 powers of pathos — great delicacy and pro- 

 priety in domestic scenes, and a warmth of 

 feeling very attractive ; but the construction 

 of the tales, both of them, is miserable, and 

 the sentiments too furiously instructive. One 

 describes a hero over-indulged in childhood, 

 and as he grows up, of course, taking the 

 bit into his mouth, and rushing headlong 

 to his own destruction. The other, though 

 more carefully drilled, yet, on extraordinary 

 excitement, starting from the course, and 

 running wild into politics and philosophy, 

 but happily, plucked, like a brand, from the 

 burning, while his wicked associates, one 

 and all, receive their deserts, some on the 

 rebel field, and some on the inglorious gib- 

 bet — taking to the high-way, when treason 

 no longer thrives. 



The first tale, though professing to rest 

 partly on facts, is a very thread-bare piece 

 of romance — a foundling girl, turning out 

 the daughter of an English earl, by a 

 Spanish lady, legally married, but scan- 

 dalously abandoned. The child, by the 

 treachery of a nurse, falls into the hands of 

 gypsies, who sell the beautifid girl to a fond 

 foolisli mother to be the playtliing of her 

 darling boy. The boy and girl are brought 

 up together at home, under the care of an 

 excellent tutor, and what young master re- 

 fuses to learn, the little docile and lovely girl 

 eagerly seizes. As they grow up, warmly at- 

 tached to each other, embarrassments of 

 course arise, but the mother confides in her 

 own management, and has no fears that her 

 son will degrade himself by a mesalliance. 

 The poor girl is still, nobody knows who, and 

 meets withmortiflcationswhich sink deep into 

 her sensitive bosom, and her protectress has 

 none of the delicacy that soothes and concili- 

 ates — the tutor is her sole consoler. The youth 

 for the first time leaves home on going to 

 Oxford, where he mixes with the titled and 

 extravagant, spends, games, and anticipates 

 his resources — visits the continent, gathers 

 up every folly on his way, and finally re- 

 turns a finished profligate, but still passion- 

 ately attached to his early and beautiful 

 companion. Though shocked at the visible 

 change, Zorilda, too, still fondly clings to 

 liim. The mother, a]ip;ilkd at the prospect, 

 demands of her protegee a written renun- 

 ciation of all desire or intention to marry 

 her son (now become a lord, by his father's 

 accession to a superior title), which she in- 

 dignantly refuses, and the necessity for 

 quitting the house immediately follows. 

 Just at this period she gets a glimjisc of her 

 birth, and on her way to claim the protec- 

 tion of a lady who had anticipated the jiro- 

 bable necessity of it, and promised it, she 

 cncounteis her father—a peer of the realm, 



