Dialeds of the Aramic Language. 
‘to the tawny fons of Barbary ; while the 
“elouds rolling beneath our feet enveloped 
“in thade the mountainous coaft of Anda- 
lufia, Beneath us on our right, the fons 
of commerce fheltered their fea-worn barks 
in the bay, and on the other fide, the 
billows of the Mediterranean laved with 
‘hollow murmurings the adamatine bafe of 
the rock. Contiguous to the {pot where 
we ftood every object affumed the molt 
favage afpect; the wild boar eyed us 
with terrific glance as he ruftled through 
the thorny vegetation, and hurried then to 
the gloomy recefles of the rock. The 
ape, with her young clofe clinging, leapt 
the precipices, inacceflible te man, and 
grinned defhance to him on their utmott 
verge. Half way down the fteep, the 
cormorant built her folitary neit; the 
¢averns return a harfh and melancholy 
echo to the difcordant notes of the fea 
fowl that hover over the deep. At St. 
Michael’s cave we joined our companions, 
who anxioufly expected us; after re- 
cruiting our ftrength, we put on our 
jackets and trowlers, lighted our candles 
and flambeaux, and proceeded to explore 
the fecrets of this furprifing cavern. Firit 
we defcended a fteep declivity, which was 
exceedingly flippery from the humidity of 
the place, till we approached a lofty 
column, or rather clufter of columns, that 
{hot up to a prodigious height, and feemed 
to fupport the roof of that part of the 
cavern. ‘Twenty yards further, amidit 
large clumps of cryitallized rocks, was a 
fpring of molt delicious water, fo perfectly 
pellucid, that when poured intoa tumbler, 
it was with difficulty diftinguitfhed from 
the glafs that contained it. From this 
{pring, with cautious ftep and curious eye, 
we trod the devious paths, fearful that 
fome yawning gulf might entomb us in 
its immeaturable aby{s, when fuddenly 
the way became fo narrow as to render it 
difficult, éven for one to pafs at a time. 
On one fide a frightful chatm, which none 
have yet been able to fathom, threatened to 
enclofé us in eternal night ; on the other 
fide, ftupendous rocks railed their ponder- 
ous maffes to a height far beyond the 
reach of our feeble lights, and were loft, 
with the roof they {ipported, in im- 
_ penetrable gloom ; before us one only way 
prefented itfelf, and through a narrow 
fillure, to which we were forced to climb 
over rocks of a conical form, that were fo 
perfectly fmooth, that they appeared to 
be polifhed by the hand of art ; here forne 
of our cotnpany were ata ftand, and de- 
termined to re inquifh the defign of pe-_ 
nétrating farther, “The reft however were 
245 
refolved to proceed, and one of the boldeft 
of the failors was the firftthat entered the 
fiflure; in a moment he difappeared ; a 
chill of horror crept through the pullé of 
every one prefent; haggard looks. and 
deep filence marked the interval that 
elapfed, till he was heard to exclaim, 
“ T am not hurt; but my lightyis out.’ 
With alacrity we entered the fiffure, and 
lifting up our lights beheld him ftanding 
at the bottom of. a fteep but fnooth 
declivity, polifhed like the conical rocks 
before mentioned. In an inftant we joined 
him, and congratulated him on his taftty. 
The place we were in, appeared the 
fanctuaiy of fupernatural beings ; here 
the airy {pirits of the Roficrufian fyftem 
feemed to weave their magic fpells. As 
the bats fitted through the dun mit that 
filled the lofty concave, imagination 
pictured them as bearing on their dutky 
pinions neyriads of filmy gnomes to their 
feveral occupations. Finding by our 
watches that it was almoft fun-fet, we 
hurried from the cavern, and fortunately 
reached the gates a moment before they 
were to be fhut. Adieu, remember me 
particularly to, &c. &c. and believe mie, 
dear Sir, your’s fincerely, Bi Ce 
TLL ' 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
Concerning Two DiaLecrs of the 
ARAMIC LANGUAGE, 
Pee was formerly the common 
name of all the countries included 
between the Mediterranean and_ the 
Vigris, as well as of the peninfula in- 
cluded between the Perfian Gulf and the 
Red Sea. Thus we meet with Aram 
Damaiced, as a defignation of the diitrict 
about Damaicus, and with Aram Naha- 
raim (Syria ot the rivers), as a defignation 
ot Metopotamia; and the three Avabias 
{till retain a denomination direttly {pring- 
ing from this root. ‘The.original tide of 
population feems to have diffuied ittclfé 
over this country from the diftrict called. 
Eden, fituate at its northern extremity: 
Whencefoever the fhepherds of Mefo- 
potamia firft derived their language, it 
was very early divided into at leatt twe 
dialeé&ts, an eaftern and a weftern,.. Fhe 
family of Abraham, whith was (Gene 
fis xi. 31.) of Ur (between the Mygdo- . 
nius and the Tigris), {poke a. different 
language from the family of Laban, 
which was (xxix. 4.) of Haran (between... 
the Chaboras and the Euphrates). .ja- 
cob calls, by the Hebrew word Galecd 
(xxxi. 47.), that which Laban calls Fehar 
Jabadutha, Xt is evident then, that the 
Hebrew 
