them to be so comparatively modern, we may also admit that the history of them must have been well known in the time of Herodotus, which accords very sufficiently with the minute information which he gives about Cheops and Mycerinus. This evidence is not very satisfactory to any critic, and still less so to those who have a preconceived opinion of the high antiquity of the pyramids; but unsatisfactory as the evidence is, it is all that we have, except the authority of Manetho's Catalogue, which attributes the great pyramid to Suphis, (the Cheops of Herodotus,) the second king of the fourth dynasty; and the building of the third to Queen Nitocris, of the sixth dynasty. If Herodotus has given us the kings from Sesostris downward in their right order, we have a reasonable probability that the age of the pyramids, as assigned by him, is not very far wrong: if he was deceived by the priests, or if he mistook what was told him through an interpreter, his series of kings prior to Psammetichus is of no value, and the antiquity of the pyramids, so far as his authority goes, must remain unsettled. For the preceding observations on the name and date of these remarkable works we are indebted to Mr. Long's work on the Ancient Egyptians, considering them to be much better than any others that have been offered. The Temple, the talls, and Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Yielding his soul, the Babylonian framed WORDSWORTH. THE TEMPLE, THE WALLS, AND HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON. "Behold where grandeur frown'd; The remnant of its fame. Monarchs and conquerors there That marks their shock is past." MOSES, in the tenth chapter of the Book of Genesis, tells us that Nimrod, one of the grandsons of Noah, was a mighty hunter, and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, in the land of Shinar. There is no doubt that this first postdiluvian city of which we have any record, was the original of that great city on the Euphrates, which afterward acquired such fame as the capital of the Babylonian empire. The name of Nimrod signifies a rebel, and according to Armenian and European accounts, the land where he erected his kingdom was in the allotment to the sons of Shem; and his revolt and violent encroachment upon the territories of others form the basis on which we with good reason affix to him the evil character he bears. Whatever consequence this first city had acquired, there is no doubt it was lost after the confusion of tongues. The same sacred volume also informs us, that the people began the building of "a mighty tower whose top may reach unto heaven." Whether there was any or what bad intention in this erection, has af forded much matter for discussion, into which it is not necessary here to enter; but we may inquire what became of this famous tower in after-times. There is no statement that this great work sustained any damage at the confusion; it is simply said that the building of the city, and doubtless of the tower also, was discontinued. It is generally admitted that the fabric was in a considerable state of forwardness at the confusion, and it is highly probable it could have sustained no great damage at the time when the building of Babylon was commenced. The city of Babylon, the capital of the Babylonian empire, was situate on the River Euphrates, about fifty miles south of Bagdad. Its origin is lost in the obscurity of early times. It is rather remarkable that Herodotus gives us no intimation respecting its founder; and from this we may fairly conclude that its antiquity was so great, and ascended so high, that he could not satisfy himself concerning it. We learn from this generally accurate writer, that it was the most celebrated city of Assyria, and that the kings of that country made it their residence after the destruction of Nineveh, and he very clearly describes the appearance of the city when he visited it. It was situate in a great plain, and was in form of a perfect square, each side one hundred twenty stadia |