450 
dom. He reigned twenty-three years, 
and was succeeded by his son, Yelubnusr, 
(or Belshazzar.) He had reigned but a 
short time, when he meditated a revolt 
from his liege sovereign; but the. plot 
was discovered, and communicated to 
Bahman by Ahasuerus the Sage. Bah- 
anan loaded him with honours on the oc- 
casion, and wrote a ietter to Darius the 
counsellor, saying, ‘Slay thou the trai- 
tor Yelubnusr, whose kingdom I have 
conferred upon thee; assume thou the 
government thereof. Darius accord- 
ingly put to death Yelubnusr, and 
reigned in his stead with such justice, as 
restored the kingdom to a state of hap- 
piness and prosperity. Bahman rejoicing 
thereat, was heard to say, ‘ ‘These wise 
men merit confidence and promotion ; 
every department of government ought 
to be entrusted to the management of 
men of piety, and of pleasing manners, 
an order that the empire may flourish, by 
their prudent and upright administra- 
tion.’ 
«* Some years after this period, the King 
of Hind and Sind having revolted, Bah- 
man sent against him Ahasuerus, at the 
head of a large army; he subdued the 
King of Hind and Sind, and slew him; 
In return for which services, Bahman 
bestowed on him these kingdoms, Da- 
rius, after having reigned three years 
au Irak, died ; when Babman conferred 
the kingdom on Ahasuerus, command- 
ing him to leave a lieutenant in Hind, 
and reside himself in Irak, the centre of 
his dominions. Ahasuerus, having ac- 
cordingly appointed a lieutenant to rale 
over Hind and Sind, fixed his own resi- 
dence in Irak, where he enjoyed a pros- 
perous reign. 
«¢ Some time after his arrival in Irak, 
Ahasuerus released the children of Israel 
from captivity. He married an Israelitish 
woman, named Aster (Queen Esther 
of the Scripture,) and she bare him a son, 
whom he named Kyrus (or Cyrus.) 
Ahasuerus held in high esteem the 
children of Israel, and gave them free 
access to his person, calling them’ his 
kinsmen, and the descendants of the 
prophets and sages. But for fear of 
offending Bahman, he did not then give 
them leave to return to Jerusalem, 
When Kyrus was fourteen years old, 
Ahasuerus died, and Bahman conferred 
the kingdom on his son. 
“God bestowed the gift of prophecy 
upon Daniel, whose doctrine Kyrus em. - 
braced, and forsook the worshipping of 
fire, but unknown to Balan. In the 
State of the Kingdom of Naples, April, 1809, 
[ Dec. 1, 
thirteenth year of the réign of Kyrus, 
Bahman died, when the former openly 
professed the religion taught by Daniel, 
and encouraged his subjects to listen to 
the words of that prophet, whom he had 
commanded to instruct them in the law 
of Moses. Then Daniel asked permis- 
sion to go himself, to rebuild the city and 
temple of Jerusalem. But Kyrus_ re- 
fused his request, saying, ‘1 stand in 
need of a thousand faithful. counsellors 
and guides, how then can I consent to 
deprive myself of your personal. aid in 
the government of my kingdom.’ He, 
however, permitted the children of Is- 
rael to return to Jerusalem. From the 
time that Bukhtnusr carried away the 
captives, until the death of Kyrus, Da- 
niel had resided in Babylon and Irak 
twenty-two years. After the death of 
Kyrus, he returned to Jerusalem, and 
there spent his life in devotion.” 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
The Present state of the KINGDOM of 
NAPLES,* 
oo formerly approached 
the city of Naples, if possessed of a 
liberal education, felt himself transported 
with a variety of the most agreeable sen= 
sations, On treading and exploring this 
classic ground. 
These pleasing illusions are now yas 
nished; and a very different scene pre= 
sents itself to the eye and the heart of 
the curious traveller. Below the ancient 
Anzur, you observe several military 
piquets, at different.stations; at Cicero’s © 
grave, you may imagine that you still 
hear the loud resounding thunders of the 
siege of Gaeta; and at Baia, the circume 
stance of having been compelled to relin- 
quish Capri, will not afford a friend to 
England, the most agreeable recollec- 
tions. As to the Elysian fields, their once 
celebrated beauties have lost theif pow- 
ers of fascination; before you can reach 
them, you are obliged to pass the gib- 
gets, where the unfortunate Briganti are 
hanging by half-dozens; in short, every 
scene around is so much altered from its 
former poetical character, that you feel 
chilled, and look in vain for those origi- 
nal features, so much adored and be= 
loved by the muses. 
“€ Napoli e’un paradiso abitato da Diu« 
voli,” was the common saying of former 
a a 
* A translation of this letter, written ori- 
ginally in German, in April, 1809, cannot 
fail to prove acceptable tg the generality of 
Buglish readers. 
times, 
