the decay of the animal matter that held together the particles of carbonate of lime in the stony corals, and these are consequently set at liberty in a finely-divided state, and fall to the bottom in a form which, if dry, would constitute chalk. Thus we may trace, very distinctly, the mode in which the three principal kinds of limestone rocks may have taken their origin in coral formations.. Now, the mountain limestone, as it is termed a rock very abundant in Britain, extending over large areas beneath the coal-fields, and sometimes exhibiting a thickness of nearly 3000 feet-is in some parts evidently composed of accumulations of shells, stems of encrinites, &c. But in many others, the remains of corals are very distinct; and these are so blended with the neighbouring rock as to make it appear probable that the latter also was once in the state of coral, but was gradually changed by the process just described. Further, the collections of other animal remains are just such as we should expect to find on the margin of a coral reef or island existing at that epoch; and a similar process of fossilization is taking place on the shores of those existing at the present time; the imbedded series of animals only being different. The great thickness of the beds of this rock may be very well accounted for, in the same manner as the depth of the coralline masses of recent formation. There are observed, in rocks of more recent formation, appearances which still more clearly indicate that they too were originally formed by coral-polypes. These are often found only within narrow limits, as if they had been reefs or islands of small size. Thus we find a stone called coral-rag in Oxfordshire; and very distinct coral beds in the crag of the eastern coast of England. It is interesting to remark, that the remains of coral which are found in the older limestones, all correspond with those at present abounding near the equator, and exhibit the lamelliform character; while they are gradually replaced in the newer strata by species more allied to those at present existing in temperate climates. This is one of the many facts which tend to prove that this part of the earth had at some former period a much higher temperature than at present. We see, then, that vast as are the works of the existing species of this class, they are probably far surpassed by the accumulations of former ages, which constitute, in some form or other, a large proportion of the solid rocks of our terrestrial surface. And thus we see the exemplification of a principle which has frequently come under our notice that in the economy of Nature nothing is insignificant; and that the most gigantic effects may be produced by the multiplication even of the humblest among the living inhabitants of the globe. CLASS XXIII.-PORIFERA. diate forms, presenting a regular gradation of increasing complexity of structure and variety of function; and there are certain movements, both in the adult and in the undeveloped Sponge, which are more analogous to those seen in higher animals than to any observed in plants. On the whole, however, the evidence for the animal character of the Sponges seems to preponderate; and they will be accordingly considered here. Still there is no doubt that, if they are included in the Animal Kingdom at all, the lowest place in the scale should be assigned to them. The common Sponge is a sufficiently characteristio form of this class, to serve as the foundation of a general look account of the structure which prevails in The interlacing fibres, of which the walls of the large canals, and the spongy tissue between them, are alike composed, entirely consist (in the common sponge) of a sort of horny animal matter, as is shown by burning a small portion of them. But in other species we find spicula, or needle-like crystals, of silex or of carbonate of lime, disposed among these, giving to the structure much greater firmness, but depriving it, more or less completely, of that elasticity which is so useful in the common sponge. The substance known as sponge is, however, but the Of all the beings usually known under the designation skeleton of the being; when alive, this fibrous network Zoophytes, the Sponges and their allies, constituting the is clothed, within and without, by a thin gelatinous subclass Porifera, appear to have the best claim to the title; stance, very like the white of an egg. This lines all the since they present so complete an admixture of the cha- passages, and covers the exterior; but it drains away racters of plants and animals, that it is difficult to say to when the sponge is removed from the water. In this which division of the organized world they properly be- the peculiar vital endowments of the being appear to relong. Like plants, they are fixed to one spot during the side. These are manifested, not only by its slow but whole of their lives, subsequently, at least, to their first regular growth, but by a curious circulation of fluid, development, they seem to possess no ser.sibility, for constantly taking place within the mass. When a they can be torn or wounded in any way without show- sponge is examined in its living state, beneath the water, ing by their movements any indication of being affected a constant current is seen to issue from the vents; being by the injury; and they do not appear to have that made evident by the disturbance of the water, and by power of executing voluntary motions which must be the movement of particles floating in it. It may also be regarded as the distinguishing characteristic of animals. ascertained that a constant flow of water takes place On the other hand, they present a structure which is not inwards through the pores; for small solid particles upon analogous to any thing found in plants, but is similar to their edges are occasionally seen to be sucked in. No that of beings undoubtedly belonging to the animal king-intermission can be detected, during the life of the sponge, dom, with these beings they are connected by interme- in these currents, which evidently have for their object to onvey the nutritive matter contained in the water into | Sponges are not confined to the sea, however; for there he interior of the mass, and also to carry off the parti- is a species which inhabits fresh water. cles which are to be excreted, since thin films detached With the notice of this group we appropriately close from the living tissue are seen to pass out from the vents the subject of Zoology. along with the fluid ejected from them. The relative position of the pores and vents differs much in the different kinds of sponge. Sometimes all the former are on one side, and the latter on the other. Not unfrequently the vents are placed on the summit of little conical prominences, which look like craters of a volcano; and the stream issuing from them, when seen under a microscope, may be likened to a miniature eruption. Sometimes the sponge assumes the form of a hollow cylinder, which hangs at one extremity from a rock; the pores are all upon the exterior surface, while the vents open into the interior cavity, and their united stream rushes out with considerable energy from the lower end of the cylinder. Sponges may be multiplied, like plants, by artificial division, each portion becoming a new individual, but it does not appear that this is their natural mode of increase. They propagate by detaching little round gelatinous bodies, termed gemmules, from their living tissue; which in time develop the original form of the parent. These are produced in the network between the large canals, into which they find their way; when mature, they pass out of the vents in the current which sweeps through them, and by which they are conveyed to a distance. In these gemmules a peculiar motion, like that of animalcules, may be seen for some time; they swim hither and thither; at last they fix themselves, and begin to deposit the horny or earthy particles which are to form their skeleton; and the system of canals gradually shows itself in their substance. When once they have fixed themselves, they seem to lose all power of further movement, and remain during the rest of their lives attached to the same spot. Some kinds of sponges are found on almost all shores; and some frequent deep water, whence they can only be obtained by dredging. It is in this manner that the common sponge is procured from the Mediterranean, the Grezian archipelago, and the other localities it frequents. [BOOKS ON ZOOLOGY. Among the various works which have been published on the subject of Zoology, few are entitled to confidence. The errors of the older writers are numerous, and some of them of a ludicrous character, as, for example, where Gerard, in his Herbal, gravely assures the reader that the Barnacle Goose grows upon a tree, germinating from a barnacle shell adhering to old water-soaked logs, trees, and other pieces of wood cast up by the sea, and called, from this wonderful circumstance, the "Goose-bearing tree." Many of the assertions in Goldsmith's Animated Nature are just as well founded; and yet the delightful style of Goldsmith commends his book to almost universal favour, and will long continue to do so. In Natural History, Linnæus was the great reformer of the last century, as Cuvier was of the present. The minute classifications of the former gave precision to the science, and the researches of the latter in comparative anatomy have given it a simplicity, compactness, and certainty, which leaves nothing to be desired with respect to system. The following out of details will of course continue for centuries The writings of Linnæus and Cuvier are the great classical works of the science. For popular use we commend to the reader the articles on Zoology in the Penny Cyclopædia and the British Cyclopedia of Natural History, and particularly the Pictorial Museum of Animated Nature, published in London, by Charles Knight, in two quarto volumes. It contains the most complete collection of well-figured animals attainable at a moderate price. The works of Wilson and Audubon are invaluable, but rather costly. Nuttall's Ornithology is a first-rate work, afforded at a moderate price. Most of the cheap compends of Zoology copy the errors of the old writers, and of course are of little value as authorities.-Am. Ed.] Great Pyramid of Cheops, in its present condition. ANCIENT HISTORY usually commences with an account of the creation of the world, as narrated by Moses -the subsequent dispersal of mankind over the earththe flood of Noah-and the re-settling of the human race in Asia, Africa and Europe, after that disastrous event. But to the annals of these early times it is unnecessary here to advert. We take up the history of antiquity at a period less remote, or from 2000 to 1000 years before Christ, when Egypt and the adjacent territories were illumined with the light of science and the arts. It is important, at the outset of our sketch, to call attention to the fact, that the whole of ancient history refers to a limited cluster of countries on or near the shores of the Mediterranean. By a glance at the accompanying map, it will be perceived that Egypt, also the country of the Carthagenians, in Africa; Syria and Palestine, (including the country of the Phoenicians,) Arabia, the country of the Chaldeans, Babylonians, Medes, Persians and Assyrians, in Asia; and Greece, Italy, and other countries of the Gentiles, in Europeall lie upon, or at no great distance from the Mediterranean. To the countries, therefore, adjacent to this inland branch of the Atlantic ocean, the knowledge of the ancients was chiefly confined, or at the utmost did not extend in an easterly direction beyond Hindostan, VOL. II.-60 or the country of the Moguls. In consequence of this limited knowledge of geography, as well as the natural but very erroneous notion that the world was only a great stretched-out plain, the Mediterranean sea received the name it now bears, which signifies the sea in the middle of the earth-the central ocean round which the human race had been planted. The world, as thus known to the ancients, may be described, in general terms, as a region extending from the 10th to the 50th degree of north latitude, and from the 1st degree west to the 70th degree of east longitude, and comprehending only limited districts of Africa, Asia and Europe-the whole composing a most insignificant portion of the globe. As far, however, as is learned from the records of sacred and profane history, it was in some spot within this anciently settled territory that science, learning, and the arts originated, and spread over the earth; and as thus forming the cradle of modern civiliza tion, the region is invested with an interest due to its former greatness. Yet the political history of the empires and kingdoms which anciently flourished in this once favoured territory, is on the whole unworthy of lengthened study. Time is only thrown away in the vain endeavour to unravel the vague and offensive details of kingdom warring against kingdom, tribe against tribe, and each in its turn assailing and overpowering its more feeble neighbour. Thus, the Chaldeans in the south-east of Arabia were overpowered by their neighbours the Babylonians, the Babylonians by the Assy-. rians, the Assyrians and Egyptians by the Persians, the Persians by the Greeks, and the Greeks by the Romans, while these latter, who had swallowed up the whole of their predecessors, were in their turn overpowered by barbaric hordes from the north of Europe, or by nearly equally savage tribes from the east. In this manner the bulk of ancient history is little else than a record of oppressions, conquests and crimes, and in the main exhibiting few facts which are of value either for amusement or instruction. Ancient history is indeed only interesting where it throws light upon the origin and progress of our religion, or upon the primeval state of learning, philosophy, and the arts; as a chronicle of mere wars and conquests, it is utterly valueless. Whatever may have been the extent of knowledge in 2 R 2 473 tetters, science, or the polite arts, gained by the ancient Chaldeans, Babylonians, or other Asiatics, it is generally understood that it fell short of what existed about the same period (2560 to 1000 years before Christ) among the inhabitants of Egypt, from which certain kinds of learning spread to Greece, from Greece to Rome, and from Rome over western Europe, including the British islands, and all other modern countries. By a clear line of descent, therefore, we trace the rudiments of modern civilization to Egypt, a land which is deserving of our notice, not only on this account, but on that of its magnificent remains of art, which till the present day astonish the mind of the traveller. As thus interesting from their connection with modern civilization, or with our religion, we offer sketches of the history of Egypt, Palestine, Greece, and Rome, with some account of these countries, confining ourselves in the present instance to Egypt. EGYPT-ITS HISTORY. The country thus governed, by a course of circum stances unknown to the present age, and which will most likely ever remain hid from our understanding, was among the first on the face of the earth which exhibited any demonstrations of refinement in taste. "This kingdom (says Rollin) bestowed its noblest lahours and finest arts on the improving of mankind; and Greece was so sensible of this, that its most illustrious men-as Homer, Pythagoras, Plato, even its great legis lators Lycurgus and Solon, with many more-travelled into Egypt to complete their studies, and draw from that fountain whatever was most rare and valuable in every kind of learning. God himself has given this kingdom a glorious testimony, when, praising Moses, he says of him, that he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.'" Such was the desire for encouraging the growth of scientific pursuits, that discoverers of any use ful invention received rewards suitable to their skill and labour. They studied natural history, geometry, and astronomy, and, what is worthy of remark, they were so In point of local situation, Egypt possesses various ad- far masters of the latter science as to be aware of the pe vantages.* It lies in the north-east corner of Africa, in riod required for the earth's annual revolutions, and fixed a salubrious part of that vast continent, presenting its the year at 365 days 6 hours-a period which remained northern base to the Mediterranean Sea, and bounded on unaltered till the very recent change of the style. They the east by the Red Sea, which separates it from Asia. likewise studied and improved the science of physic, in Through the whole land, from north to south, a length which they attained a certain proficiency. The perse of 900 miles, flows the Nile, a fine large stream rising in vering ingenuity and industry of the Egyptians are attestthe inland kingdom of Abyssinia, and, from certain pe-ed by the remains of their great works of art, which could riodic floods, of great use in irrigating and fertilizing the country. A large portion of Egypt consists of an alluvial plain, similar to our fertile meadow-grounds, formed by the deposits of the river, and bounded by ranges of mountains on either side. The greatest breadth of the land is 150 miles, but generally it is much less, the mountain ranges on either side often being not more than five to ten miles from the river. Anciently this territory was divided into three principal parts-Upper Egypt, or Thebais (from Thebes, its capital city), which was in the inner or southern part; Middle Egypt; and Lower Egypt, which included what was called the Delta, a low district of land on the shores of the Mediterranean, formed by the mouths of the Nile into the shape of the Greek letter A, or delta. The history of the people who at one time inhabited this remarkable country is carried by their annalists to the very earliest ages; indeed, to a period far more remote than that ascribed by Moses to the creation of the world. When divested of fable, it appears that an Egyptian monarchy was established by Menes, or Misraim, in the year of the world 1816, and that it lasted till the year 3479, when it was destroyed by Cambyses, King of Persia. To Misraim succeeded a line of sovereigns of great power and fame, almost every one of whom seems to have delighted in rearing edifices of extraordinary magnitude and splendour. Extensive and beautiful cities, obelisks, pyramids, and temples, were erected without regard to the toil or resources of the people; and as their remains are till this day extant, and have been described by travellers, we are impressed with the most significant tokens of the taste and knowledge of the ancient Egyptians. Although each of the Egyptian monarchs was distinguished by his own peculiar name as Moeris, Rameses, Sesostris, Pheron, Cheops, &c.-those who reigned for a considerable period, in lower Egypt especially, were designated Pharaoh, a title commonly used in Scripture to express the Egyptian rulers at the time. The Pharaoh who was noted for his oppression of the Israelites, and who flourished 1577 years before the Christian era, was properly called Rameses Miamum, while his son, the Pharaoh under whose reign the Children of Israel departed out of Egypt, and who was drowned in the Red Sea, was entitled Amenophis. • Egypt is called Mazr by the natives. not well be surpassed in modern times; and although their working classes were doomed to engage in the occu pations of their fathers, and no others, as is still the cus tom in India, society might thereby be hampered, but the practice of handicrafts would be certainly improved. The Egyptians were also among the first people who were acquainted with the processes of communicating information by means of writing or engraving on stone and metal; and were, consequently, the first who formed books and collected libraries. These repositories of learning they guarded with scrupulous care, and the titles they bore naturally inspired a desire to enter them. They were called the "Office for the Diseases of the Soul." and that very justly, because the soul was there cured of ignorance, which it will be allowed, is the source of many of the maladies of our mental faculties. As these repositories of the learning of the ancient Egyptians were all destroyed, and are only known from the records of historians, the works of their sages and poets cannot now be shown; and it is by little else than the inscrip tions on stones found amidst the ruins of pyramids and temples, that we are so much as aware of the nature of the characters employed in their writing. These cha racters were exceedingly curious, consisting chiefly of representations of animate and inanimate objects, each of which stood for some particular idea. The use of emblematic figures seems to have been, as it still is, common among uncultivated races of men, being the first approach towards literature; but the use of an alphabet, by which words are formed by combinations of different characters, was in early times confined entirely to the Egyptians, from whom the invention was communicated across the Mediterranean to Greece, by a person of celebrity called Cadmus, and from thence spread into other European nations. It is also understood that the Israelites, and other Asiatics, received their knowledge of letters from the learned inhabitants of Egypt. The use of rude emblematic figures was not abandoned by the Egyptians as letters became known, but continued chiefly to denote matters of a mysterious or religious tendency. These figures have received the name of hieroglyphus, and are of various kinds, more or less significant of the thing or idea intended to be expressed. For thousands of years the world remained in total ignorance of the manner of deciphering these hieroglyphics, for the Egyp tians left no clue whereby to make the discovery; and it was only in 1814 that, by the researches of some Frenchmen, a key to certain kinds was made known. It was found that, although the figures often signify the thing which they represent-for instance, the figure of a lion signifying that animal-yet that in many instances it does no such thing, but stands simply for the letter L, which is the initial letter in the word lion. The disco very of this mode of deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphics, by reckoning only the initial letters in the names of the things represented, lays open a wide field for the investigation of learned and inquisitive travellers in the ancient territory of the Pharaohs. which he called after his own name; and as it was placed on the sea-coast, at one of the mouths of the Nile, it speedily rose to be one of the largest and most opulent seaport towns in the world. Upon the division of the Persian empire some time later, Egypt fell to Ptolemy Lagus, one of Alexander's generals, who was succeeded by a race of princes distinguished by the name of Ptolemy, in addition to their other appellations; and hence the Ptolemies of Egypt who are spoken of in ancient history. The last royal descendant of this noble Grecian line was Cleopatra, a princess of great beauty and accomplishments; and at her decease, which she accomThe comparative intelligence of the Egyptians did not plished by suicide, the land of Egypt became a province rescue them from the most debasing superstitions in their of Rome, some of whose emperors endeavoured to revive religious faith. They had a great number of ideal gods; in it a love of letters, and enriched it by various improveamong others, Osiris and Isis, which are thought to have ments. Subsequently, Egypt fell into a state of ruinous been the sun and the moon. They also worshipped a distraction, consequent on the troubles and decline of the number of beasts, as the ox or bull (under the name of Roman government, and was at last completely subdued Apis), the dog, the wolf, the hawk, the crocodile, the ibis by the Saracens, who introduced the religion of Mohamor stork, the cat, &c.; and such was the reverence which med, destroyed the libraries, and, as far as possible, the they paid to these animals, that, in extreme famine, they splendid works of art; so that, under their sway, every chose to eat one another rather than feed on their ima- species of barbaric rudeness was made to supersede the gined deities. The Egyptians had a belief, inculcated ancient refined habits of the people. Since that dismal by their priests, that the souls of men, after death, passed epoch, Egypt has, century after century, sunk deeper into the bodies of clean or unclean animals, according to and deeper into a state of perfect neglect and ruin. In the deeds done in the body, and that at a distant period recent times it has been under the immediate rule of of time they returned to the body to which they origin- Mehemet Ali, nominally a pacha of the Sultan of Conally belonged. A doctrine so extravagant led their kings stantinople, and by whom, with considerable suffering to to build enormous architectural edifices for the reception the poor inhabitants, certain improvements have been of their bodies, in order that they might, as they thought, effected. repose in safety till they were again to be endowed with a living soul. In this fantastic notion we find a satisfac tory solution of the mysterious practice of inhuming mummies in those huge pyramids, now reckoned among the greatest wonders in the world. In the days of Egypt's ancient glory, it was dignified with two greater and many lesser cities. The two principal were Thebes, the capital of Upper Egypt, and a city of extraordinary extent and splendour; and Memphis, the capital of the middle district of the country. Memphis was built on the west side of the Nile, and has been succeeded by the comparatively modern city of Cairo, on the east bank of the river. On the site of Thebes and Memphis, and in their neighbourhood, are now found the greatest quantity of the ruins of ancient temples and other magnificent erections. In the present day Thebes receives the name of Said. DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. As already mentioned, Egypt consists of the long flat valley of the Nile, from Abyssinia on the south, to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and nominally consists of three divisions, the Delta or lower region, Middle, and Upper Egypt. It is said to contain 200,000 square miles, but only about 16,000 of these are susceptible of cultivation. In ancient times, the country was more generally fertile than in the present day, owing to the encroachment of the sands of the adjacent deserts, and the long period of desolation and mismanagement in the lands are more than usually productive, and yield which it has existed. Still, owing to the inundations, crops of wheat, barley, rice, millet, maize, flax, beans, tables. Of fruits, the citron, lemon, pomegranate, apricotton, tobacco, the sugar-cane, and other useful vegeLike all other distinguished nations of antiquity, uriantly. The palm is cultivated to a large extent in the cot, banana or plantain, and the palm-date, flourish luxEgypt, after a lengthened period of extensive civil power, inundated and irrigated lands, and groves of it, yielding military glory, and dignified learning, suffered a series of reverses of fortune, and finally sank into a state of utter thousand trees. Another celebrated production of Egypt a delightful shade, are to be seen, consisting of several poverty and barbaric ignorance. The proximate causes is the lotus, a species of water-lily, of great beauty, exof this disastrous event were the political distractions of hibiting broad round leaves, amid which the flowers, in the country, and the rise of a greater power in the vici- the form of cups, of bright white and azure, expand on nity-that of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. But the surface of the waters. The roots of vegetables were in this, as in every other instance of national ruin in used as food by the ancient Egyptians. There is also ancient times, the principal causes of the disaster were the ill-balanced condition of society, and the general ig-furnished a material used as paper, before the invention the papyrus, not less celebrated than the lotus, and which norance of the people; the nation did not possess the elements of stability, and became an easy prey to a more powerful and savage neighbour. The country was overrun by Nebuchadnezzar and his hosts, 569 years before Christ, when an immense quantity of its movable wealth was carried off. About forty-four years afterwards, Egypt was again intruded upon by force of arms, and fell a prey to the conquering hordes of Persia under Cyrus, when many of its edifices were destroyed. It now became a distant colony of Persia, which maintained an authority over it for more than 200 years, at the end of which it was seized by Alexander the Great, a monarch of Greece, who shortly afterwards conquered the whole of Persia. Besides settling the government of the country, Alexander improved it in various ways-among the rest of his enterprises, building the city of Alexandria, of that article; it is, like the lotus, an aquatic plant, growing to the height of eight or ten feet amid the swamps of the Nile. The filaments of the plant being whereon writing was executed. (See article PAPERseparated and cemented together in pieces, formed sheets MAKING.) THE NILE. The most remarkable natural object in Egypt is the Nile, which periodically overflows its low banks, and inundates the greater part of the country. The Nile is formed by the union of two streams in the upper country, the Bahr-el-Abiad (white river), and the Bahr-elAzrek (blue river), in lat. 15° 40′ north. The former, rising in Abyssinia, to the south-west of lake Dembea, comes from the south-east, and was considered by Bruce |