into the extremest height of Lebanon,' the forest of its 'park,' and there he had cut down with ruthless insolence the heights of its cedars, the beauty of its fir-trees."a-Dr. Stanley's Sermons in the East, 212-214.

Presentation to the Prince of Wales.-On Friday, March 11th, a copy of the Bible and of the Book of Common Prayer, together with a carved oak Lectern, were presented to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales at Marlborough House, in the names of eight thousand three hundred and ninety-two shilling subscribers. The deputation consisted of the Marquis of Cholmondeley, chairman; the Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G., the Earl of Dalhousie, G.C.B., the Earl of Roden, K.P., represented by George A. Hamilton, Esq., the Earl of Gainsborough, represented by the Hon. G. Noel, the Lord Charles Russell, the Lord Henry Cholmondeley, the Lord Berners, the Lord Calthorpe, the Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, M.P., Sir Brook W. Bridges, Bart., M.P., Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Bart., represented by E. Buxton, Esq., General Buckley, M.P., General Powney, C. N. Newdegate, Esq., M.P., Anthony Lefroy, Esq., M.P., T. B. Horsfall, Esq., M.P., J. C. Colquhoun, Esq., James Bateman, Esq., Richard Nugent, Esq., honorary secretary.

After a few words of introduction and explanation from the chairman, the secretary read the following address :

:

"May it please your Royal Highness,

"The undersigned gratefully accept the permission accorded to them by your Royal Highness of presenting the accompanying offering as an expression of their dutiful attachment. An illustrious English Queen, on the day of her coronation, amongst other costly gifts, was pleased to accept the Holy Bible' as the most precious of them all, declaring it to be the best book.' For, indeed, it is not like other books, which may err; it conveys perfect truth; written with the pen and in the language of men, it declares the mind and the will of God. In like manner, your Royal Highness will, they trust, be pleased to recognize the offering which is now made as most suitable from a body of Englishmen. For the Holy Bible (of which the Prayer Book is a faithful exponent), incorporated into our laws by the wisest of our Saxon kings, has been for centuries the national charter of Great Britain and the basis of our national greatness. To its influence, pervading our institutions and the framework of society, may be ascribed that love of order and submission to law, as well as that love of freedom and the manly energy, which characterize the English people. To it is likewise owing that settled loyalty at which other nations marvel; a loyalty not variable as the changes of human opinion, but stable as the authority by which it is sustained. Under the reign of our gracious Sovereign this loyalty is rendered not simply as a Christian duty, but as the willing service of sincere affection. In the person of our beloved Queen, and in the associations connected with the memory of your illustrious and ever-to-be-lamented father, respect and admiration are so blended with tender sympathy, that her sorrows have become our sorrows,

As in the English version, but it may be "cypresses," or "pines," or even 'young cedars."

her joys our joys, and in her widowhood we have found our own bereavement. The undersigned congratulate your Royal Highness upon your marriage with a princess whom the whole nation has received with one joyous welcome. They ask permission to convey to you the prayers of many earnest hearts, that you may long experience all the blessings of an affectionate union; that when, in the providence of Almighty God, you are called to inherit the crown of these realms, you may also inherit a people's affectionate loyalty; and that when your course of duty here is ended, you may attain to an imperishable crown, in a realm where happiness is perfect, because every heart is loyal to the King of kings."

His Royal Highness replied as follows: "My lords and gentlemen, it is with more than ordinary gratification that I receive the offering you are now pleased to make me. You have reminded me of the expression of an English Queen on receiving a similar present on her coronation day, and I sincerely concur with you in believing that the Bible, and our Prayer Book, its exponent, are so interwoven with our institutions and our love of order and freedom, that the Sacred Book has a peculiar claim on the veneration and affection of Englishmen. I thank you cordially for your present, and gratefully acknowledge your good wishes."

The members of the deputation were then severally presented to his Royal Highness, and withdrew.

The sacred books presented to the Prince were the large edition of "Bagster's Comprehensive Bible," and the Oxford Royal 4to edition of the Prayer Book, both bound in the finest Turkey morocco leather, inlaid with various colours, which harmonize and richly blend together. The sides are embossed with the tudor rose and the passion-flower, raised in relief in the transverse corners, on a royal purple ground. Between the corner sections is the cross, of a brown colour, studded with crimson diaper work; and in the centre, the monogram, A.E., surmounted with the coronet.

The rims and clasps of the Bible are of a Gothic design, with raised bosses to rest the volume upon. The edges are most beautifully illuminated by James West; bearing on the front the text, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," with the monogram and coronet in centre; on the top, "Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord and read;" and on the bottom, "Delight thyself in the Lord," "Fear God and keep His commandments." The insides of the boards are lined with leather tooled in gold to an elaborate design, inlaid with rich crimson watered silk. The vellum fly-leaves at the commencement of the volume are a beautiful feature of the presentation, possessing all the richness of colour found in mediæval illuminations, combined with freedom of design. The first bears the initials in centre, surrounded with the garter, the coronet surmounting it, and on a scroll the text, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life;" the rose, shamrock, and thistle being gracefully introduced. On the second, "This Bible and Book of Common Prayer are most respectfully presented to his Royal Highness Albert Edward Prince of Wales, by gentlemen of the United Kingdom. The Book of God is the only inspired record of eternal truth; the only standard which exalteth a nation; the only solid founda

tion of a throne; which brings light to the understanding, peace to the conscience, guidance to the conduct, and salvation to the soul. The Book of Common Prayer, containing the principles and doctrines of the Holy Scriptures as set forth in the articles and formularies of the Established Church of these realms, presented with the earnest prayer that all the blessings to be derived from both these volumes may rest on his Royal Highness and his Royal Consort through time and eternity."

On the illuminated edges of the Prayer Book are the texts, "Watch and pray," "Blessed is he that watcheth," with monogram in centre; on the first vellum page, the Prince of Wales's plume beautifully rendered, surrounded with a wreath of the rose, shamrock, and thistle; and on scroll beneath, "Wait on the Lord;" on the second, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." The titles are also most chaste, being in white and gold. The Lectern is of carved British oak, of a Gothic design, from drawings by Mr. G. R. Clarke. On the ends are the arms of the Prince, surmounted with the coronet and plume; the finals at the top being formed of a group of beautifullyrendered lily blossoms and buds. The pads are of the richest crimson silk velvet for the books to rest upon. The production of the whole was entrusted to Messrs. Samuel Bagster and Sons, the Biblical publishers of Paternoster-row.

The whole of the subscribers' autographs, in a volume bound in crimson morocco, were also presented to his Royal Highness, with the Bible and Prayer Book.

The Sheik's Harem.-After a little mysterious whispering we were asked if we should like to visit "the house," this being the only term by which it is permitted to allude to the female portion of the family. We gladly assented, though feeling a doubt as to the kind of interview we should have, our Arabic being limited to five words, and of course these ladies speak no other language. At this moment two fine little boys ran into the court, sons of our host, about seven and four years old. They were splendidly dressed, and each had a superb aigrette of diamonds in his fiez; both had their eyes deeply stained with antimony. Our companions and all the other men now went away, and we were left alone with the Sheik, who, opening a door at the end of the court, introduced us into a room far more European in its furniture than any of the others. The floor was covered with a bright coloured velvet carpet; a four-post bed, with muslin curtains, stood in one corner; and over an English fireplace was a looking-glass, and several ornaments of bad French china. Indeed, there was nothing Eastern about the rooms but a long divan under the latticed windows.

The

Two ladies now entered, evidently very nervous and frightened. eldest, the Sheik's wife, looked much older than her husband; she might have been fifty from her appearance, but probably was not thirty, as women in the East age rapidly; the constant use of the hot bath, want of exercise, and the quantity of sweetmeats they eat, making them lose their teeth and their complexions quite young. She was magnificently dressed

in crimson brocaded satin, with a velvet jacket of the same colour, covered with gold embroidery. It was very open in front, shewing a sort of chemisette, which, as well as the under sleeves, were of thin gaze, trimmed with gold lace; round her throat hung several gold chains, with medallions set with pearls, diamonds, emeralds, and other precious stones. Her features were still handsome, though very strongly marked, the eyes much blackened with antimony; otherwise she was not painted, nor were her hands stained with henna. The younger lady, her daughter, was about fourteen. She had fine eyes and a gentle expression of countenance. Her dress was like her mother's in shape, the petticoat only being of velvet brocade and the jacket green. Both ladies wore long violet gauze veils fastened to the head by beautiful diamond ornaments; the hair was cut square to the face, while a quantity of false hair hung behind in innumerable plaits, to which gold coins were fastened. . . . A black woman now brought in an unfortunate baby who had evidently been going through the misery of a toilette. The eyes were painted with antimony, while the tears caused by the operation had washed long streaks of black down poor little cheeks. On its head it had three caps, the upper one being of velvet, perched quite on the top of its head, and ornamented with diamonds. But the grandeur seemed to be reserved for the higher regions, as its legs were rolled up in a sort of muslin rag. This baby belonged to the younger lady; we had seen it before, for a moment, strapped into a most miserable cradle inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

its

Dancing Girls.-On returning in the afternoon we again committed ourselves to Hassein's care before encountering the crowd of ladies in the garden. The festivities were now at their height; there was smoking, laughing, tom-tom playing, and even fighting. On the platform the dancing girls were performing-girls they can scarcely be called, for they were old women looking at least sixty, though probably not more than half that age. To make amends they were very gaily dressed in yellow petticoats, blue and red jackets, and full trousers of spangled muslin, with headdresses of the usual handkerchief arranged with natural flowers. Their arms were covered with bracelets; their ears, pierced in many places, were hung with jewels; and to add to their attractions they had nose rings, or rather little studs fastened into the nose on either side. Their eyebrows, shaved off, were replaced by one thick line drawn completely across the forehead, and their hair, cut square to the face, hung down straight on each side of their cheeks.

We did not think their dancing more charming than their appearance. It consisted chiefly in movements of the arms, which they waved slowly about, and in undulations of the body, and accompanied by constant shuffling of the feet. Their efforts, nevertheless, gave universal satisfaction, judging by the applause that ensued after every dance; and we heard afterwards that they were celebrated in their way. These dancing people are a class quite apart; they intermarry among themselves, and are in general rather looked down upon. The orchestra consisted of two tomtoms and a sort of fiddle, making most discordant music. Our appearance excited as much curiosity as it did in the morning; and as we looked

at the hundreds of faces around us, we thought we had never seen so much ugliness before. Those who go to the East with the idea of finding a great beauty among the women will be sadly disappointed, for the sort of beauty which finds favour in oriental eyes is generally quite opposed to European ideas; still, however, Circassians and Georgians of unquestionable loveliness may sometimes be seen. On the present occasion there could not be two opinions as to the frightfulness of the features before us; every description of ugly nose and mouth was there; and even the freshness of youth was lost by the streak of black supplying the place of eyebrows, and the unspairing use of red and white paint. The only handsome woman was a black slave, whose tall and slight figure had the grace so often found among the Nubians. To judge from a fight we saw going on, the older women seemed very tyrannical to the younger: an old fury had seized a girl of sixteen or seventeen, and was striking at her quite with savage violence, shrieking at the same time with all the force of her lungs; the girl did not attempt to resist, but crouched down in abject terror until another woman came to her assistance and dragged the old woman away. This scene caused neither curiosity nor remark, as if it were simply an affair of every-day occurrence.

Tanith, a Carthaginian Goddess.-After giving a translation of an inscription found upon a Punic votive tablet, Dr. Davis continues thus :"In this inscription four deities are named; the first is Tanah, Tanat, Tanith, or Tanas. By this appellation Sanchoniathon mentions no divinity, and yet this name flourishes upon every inscription in the same pompous terms it does upon this. Quid vero est Tanas? is a question for the solution of which we shall look in vain to the other monuments discovered at Carthage. With a slight variation in orthography, we find this to be a deity among the Persians and Armenians, who patronized slaves. Tanais (so the name of the Persian divinity is written) is supposed to be the same as Venus. Artaxerxes, the son of Darius, was the first who raised statues to her. The same licentiousness prevailed in the celebration of her festivals as did those of the goddess of love. Mr. Franks, of the British Museum, in his paper on my discoveries at Carthage, which I believe he read before the Society of Antiquaries, and which has been printed in the Archeologia, vol. xxxviii., has collected the following particulars respecting this deity:- The name of Tanith occurs on a bilingual inscription found at Athens shortly before the year 1797, and preserved in the United Service Museum. It is on the tombstone of a Sidonian named in the Greek inscription Artemidorus (the gift of Artemis; in the Phoenician inscription his name is Abdtanith the servant of Tanith).

"This shews that when the tombstone was executed, which was probably about three centuries before Christ, Tanith was looked upon as the Greek Artemis, not, however, the goddess of the chase, the Diana of the Romans, but the oriental Artemis, the great goddess of eastern nations. She was no doubt the "Αρτεμις ̓Αναΐτες whom, according to Pausanias, the Lydians worshipped; and she was possibly the "Apтεμis

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* Pausan., iii., 16, 6.