THE MOUNTAINS OF ABOO, IN GUZERAT. * MAJOR TODD, in his comments on a Sanscript inscription, says, that "the Olympus of India, the celebrated Aboo, is the source of the tribe of Chaham Rajpoots. There are no temples in India which can, for a moment, compete with these, whether in costliness of materials, or in beauty of design. "The height of Aboo may be judged by the variation of temperature. In thirty-six hours I passed from that of 108° in the plains of Marwar, to 60° on the summit of Aboo, under a vertical sun. The barometer indicated a height of near five thousand feet above the sea." Describing the same scene, Captain Grindlay adds, "Secured from intrusion by the difficulty of the mountain passes, and the untamed ferocity of their inhabitants, the region became a safe and almost inaccessible retreat to the votaries of the Hindoo religion, during the earlier ages of their persecution under their Mahometan conquerors. While the richly sculptured temples on the plains were destroyed, and used as materials for the foundations of Mahometan mosques and cities, most of these mountain shrines have escaped the desolating hand of bigotry, and display only the slow influence of time and a benign climate, which has rather increased than impaired their beauty." ABOO. AN Indian paradise! a gorgeous land! Where giant mountains as thy guardians stand, Where fairy clouds in softest beauty lie. A fairer, lovelier scene ne'er shines upon; * Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 1. part i. p. 138. Bright skies above with richer colours glow, Wafted by winds that love thy sweets to share, And richest perfumes from thy flowers to bear. There Bramah's temples lift their heads on high; But Time his hoary mantle o'er them flings, When Mecca's prophet, in his iron car, That holier name thy echoing vales shall hear, A brighter paradise then thou shalt bloom, A land of glory! girt no more with gloom. THOMAS AVELING. MRS. HEMANS. THIS amiable and highly gifted woman, whose name will be held in grateful admiration so long as refined and elevated genius retains its just place in our estimation, was born in Liverpool, on the 25th of Sept. 1793. Her father, we are informed, was a merchant of some eminence, who, having become involved, retired, with his family, into Wales. Her mother, stated to have been of Italian descent, is described as an accomplished and excellent woman, whose judicious and affectionate endeavours were assiduously employed for the moral and intellectual benefit of her children. To the example and early instruction of such a mother, it is but just to suppose, that Mrs. Hemans owed much of that devotional tendency of mind, which gave to her poetical effusions their highest charm; and, throughout her after life, diffused a holy calm over feelings otherwise too easily excited. How beautiful and touching is the testimony of the poetess herself, not only to the character of her mother, but to her own early impressions,-derived from the book of life. "TO A FAMILY BIBLE." "What household thoughts around thee, as their shrine, My mother's eye upon thy page divine Each day were bent; her accents, gravely mild, Some secret nest. To some lone tuft of breathing spring-flowers wild, |