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over me, said that he blessed me, and gave me absolution for all the homicides I had ever committed, or ever should commit, in the service of the apostolical church. Upon quitting him I again went up to the battery, and continuing to keep a constant fire, I scarce once missed all the time; my drawing, my elegant studies, and my taste for music, all vanished before this butchering business; and if I were to give a particular account of all the exploits I performed in this infernal employment, I should astonish all the world; but I pass them by for the sake of brevity."

It was the fortune of Benvenuto Cellini, at a subsequent period, to become a prisoner in the fortress where he had performed these prodigies of gunnery. He contrived upon this occasion to employ his skill in effecting an escape, the particulars of which he has detailed with considerable minuteness in his memoirs. He succeeded in descending from the battlements of the castle undetected and unhurt; but in attempting to scale one of the outer walls, he fell, and became insensible. On recovering his senses, he imagined he had been beheaded, and was in purgatory. Notwithstanding the injury he had received, he contrived to crawl away; and though the pontiff, Paul the Third, had himself, in his youth, made his escape from the same confinement; he caused Cellini to be again committed to the prison, where he suffered incredible hardships, and witnessed still more incredible visions.

The castle of St. Angelo received the appellation which it now bears in the pontificate of Gregory the Great, who, in crossing the bridge of St. Angelo as he went to offer up prayers for the deliverance of the Romans from a pestilence with which they were afflicted, beheld, according to the story, on the summit of the Moles Hadriani, the figure of an angel sheathing a sword. In commemoration of this vision, the brazen statue which still crowns the castle was erected, and the building, as already stated, received the name by which it has since been distinguished. It has been long used as a public prison, and contains about four hundred wretched criminals, who have been sentenced to the galleys. The

upper apartments, which present little worthy of notice, are used as prisons for the confinement of state criminals. In the principal saloon is exhibited a bust of Hadrian; and this apartment was used as a theatre for the representation of a tragedy during the fifteenth century. From the summit of the castle a fine view is presented of the windings of the Tiber; except for the purpose of ascending to the summit to enjoy this view, the interior of the castle is scarcely worth a visit.

As a fortress the castle of St. Angelo is now almost worthless. "Since the modern improvements in artillery," says Sir John Hobhouse, "it is clear that a castle, commanded as it is by all the neighbouring hills, could never resist a cannonade. It was surrendered during the late war in 1814, after an idle menace from the French captain that the angel on the top should sheathe his sword before the garrison would capitulate."

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On Easter Monday there is a splendid display of fireworks from the castle of St. Angelo. Mr. Galiffe speaks of it in high terms. "If my expectations," he says, disappointed in the illumination [of St. Peter's], the fireworks far surpassed everything that I had ever seen or imagined. The signal for their commencement is given by a cannon-shot, a little after ten, which is instantly followed by the simultaneous explosion of three thousand sky-rockets, expanding in their flight in the form of a sheaf of corn. I had seen an explosion of fifteen thousand at once in the gardens of Peterhoff; but they did not produce the twentieth part of the effect of this one-fifth of their number, thus skilfully managed, and shooting upwards from the summit of the grand castle of St. Angelo. A beautiful cross-fire of all sorts of fire-works ensues, and the scene terminates with another flight of three thousand skyrockets, similar to that with which it commenced. certainly is the grandest exhibition of the kind that I have ever seen. The windows facing the castle, on the other side of the Tiber, are in great request on these occasions, and let at high prices.

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THE SHORES OF THE LOWER LAKE-THE TOWN OF | importance to the general effect of the scene, from KILLARNEY-The Castle AND GAP of DUNLOн.

ONE of the chief sources of attraction at Killarney is to be found in the very varied character of the scenery upon the borders of the body of water composing the two lower lakes,-Turk Lake and Lower Lake, as they are respectively called. Its southern and western shores are bounded by the lofty mountains which form so remarkable a feature of the county of Kerry, and which comprise among them the most elevated summits in all Ireland. Very different is the scenery on the other sides. The northern shore is bounded by hills of moderate height sloping gradually down to the water's edge. The part also of the eastern shore, lying contiguous to the northern, is bounded by similar hills; as is likewise that part of it which lies contiguous to the mountains of the southern shore. But throughout the remaining or middle portion of the eastern side, the hills recede considerably, so that for the space of about two miles, a low and level tract intervenes between them and the lake, instead of their coming down close to its waters. This level ground, in itself the least interesting part of the shores of Killarney, becomes of VOL. XI

the striking contrast it offers to the mountains, and the apparent increase it gives to their height.

To the southward this flat commences where the hills adjoining the peninsula of Mucruss terminatethat is to say, at Castle Lough Bay, as that great inlet is called which lies to the north of Mucruss peninsula, and forms the south-eastern corner of the Lower Lake. Near the head of the bay formerly stood the old fortress of Castle Lough on an insulated rock; it was a place of strength at least for its size, but was so completely demolished by the Parliamentary army under Ludlow, (whose capture of Ross Castle we recorded in a former number*,) that not a trace of it can be discovered, except a few fragments of walls scarcely discernible from the rocks on which they stand. The name of Castle Lough is at present given to a private demesne.

As far as the river Flesk, which enters the lake opposite the southern end of Ross Island, the flat forms a part of the demesne of Cahernane, an extensive and well-wooded place, described as interesting and possessing many advantages, notwithstanding See Saturday Magazine, Vol. XI., p. 195.

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the level of the surface. The Flesk is crossed by à bridge graf which Funs the road to the town of Killarney, Bordered by tall lime-trees. From the river Flesk to the road leading from the town to Ross Castle, the flat is occupied by small fields, bare of trees, and mostly divided by stone fences, and on the opposite side beyond the road, are the gardens and pleasure grounds attached to the mansion of the Earl of Kenmare.

These pleasure-grounds are not, however, wholly on a low level surface. The flat ends at the little stream called the Deanagh, which, running from the north and passing almost close to the town, bends suddenly off and empties its waters into the lake. Beyond, or on the north of this river, the ground is diversified with gentle knolls covered with verdure, and adorned with some fine trees, beneath which there are walks commanding very charming prospects of the lake. Upon the low flat which we have thus described as stretching inland for some distance from the eastern shore of the Lower Lake, stands the town of Killarney, about a mile from the water. It is comprised within the parish of the same name, in the barony of Magunihy, in the county of Kerry, and in the province of Munster; it lies to the south-west of Dublin, at a distance of 224 miles; its distance from Cork is only 45 miles. It boasts of two broad streets, called respectively the Old street and the New street, besides several smaller ones, more deserving of the appellation of lanes. The public buildings are not worthy of any particular notice. Mr. Wright mentions à public reading-room, to which strangers are politely invited by a singular announcement, to the effect that none but members or strangers are admitted. The mansion of Lord Kenmare, with its park and grounds, of which we have already spoken, adjoins the town, and generally attracts some of the attention of the visiter. The linen manufacture has made considerable progress under the patronage of the noble proprietor of the town, and the inhabitants derive great benefit from the visits of strangers during the Summer and Autumn.

The first object (says Mr. Barrow,) that catches the eye of the stranger on driving into the town, is the prodigious number of idlers lounging at every corner of the streets. The town itself, at least the main street, is pretty enough, but on either side the lanes and alleys have a dirty appearance, and the people strolling about were not at all prepossessing. There was stirring enough, however, as we drove up to the Kenmare Arms Hotel, where the coach stopped; here I found myself instantly surrounded, jolted, and jostled by a set of hungry-looking fellows, who all at once began to assail me with open mouths. One offered himself and his boat, the best in all Killarney,-another his pony to take me to the gap,-a third slily recommended the other two to get out of that, for shure the gintleman knows what he likes best,' and then confidentially whispering in my ear, Shure, your honour, mine's the best pony in the world to carry you to the top of Mangerton. Escaping from this troublesome group comes a fellow directly in front, with his pockets full of divers-sized packets of Arbutus-seed, which he assures, there's niver the gintleman comes to Killarney that doesn't buy some to take home wid him.' Add to all these some dozen or two beggars, male and female, who fill up the outer circle, and the whole time chime in with their pious ejaculations, blessing, and praying, and preserving his honour's long life, and his honour's father and mother, and his wife and children; and these again are interrupted by a heap of ragged errand-boys, offering to go to the post-office for his honour's letters, or, in short, to do anything in the world for sixpence; and, lastly, come the pressing and polite invitations of the waiters of the respective inns, which, however, is not peculiar to Ireland. From this specimen you may form some slight idea of the hearty and welcome reception a stranger meets with on his arrival at Killarney.

upon Killarney, as Mr. Wright says, is the distance of the town from the lake. It was not possible to have fixed, in all the neighbourhood, upon a worse situation for the site of a village; the backs of the houses are turned towards the lake, the view of which is totally excluded by Lord Kenmare's woods, and but for the supply yielded by a few wells, there would not be any fresh water in the village, although there are rivers at a short distance on every side.

Not far from the town, two small rivers, the Deanagh and the Flesk, fall into the lake. If the town had been built at the mouth of either of these streams, and especially at the mouth of the latter, it would have enjoyed advantages of which it is now deprived, and visiters would have then had little ground of complaint. The inns in the town are generally crowded during the lake season. Mr. Barrow gives an amusing picture of the scene which one of them presented.

I had no sooner (he says) taken my seat in the coffeeroom, than I found myself in the very midst of tourists. In one corner sat half-a-dozen noisy and merry looking fellows, clustered together, with an array of maps stretched out before them, talking over the exploits of the day, and making arrangements for the morrow. In another might be seen some solitary tourist (like myself), poring over a well thumbed "Guide to the Lakes," and ever and anon seeking information of explanation from the waiter. Some were busily employed with their knives and forks, in dif ferent parts of the room; while others were amusing themselves with reading over the names of the numerous visiters contained in the book that is kept for their insertion, and in which may be found what are intended for flashes of wit. I once peeped into this general consignment of experimental efforts of genius, and having discovered amongst some other equally valuable information, "that the port at the Kenmare Arms was," in the opinion of the writer, finer than any port on the lakes," I felt satisfied, and hastily closed the volume.

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On account of its low situation, as well as the intervening woods, the town of Killarney commands no prospect of the magnificent lake scenery; indeed, from no part of the flat in which the town stands, can any considerable portion of the lake be seen. But if the spectator advance inland across the flat and ascend the hills which bound it, he soon obtains some very charming views, perpetually varying in the most striking manner. The contrast between the confined glimpses obtained from the low plain and the broad expanding prospects which the rising hills command, will impress him with increasing force the higher he mounts. From that part of the flat which lies adjacent to the river Flesk, the small patches of the lake which he beholds appear like the windings of that stream. On ascending the rising ground, the wooded islands become more distinct; and the lake, instead of appearing like a dilution of the Flesk, rather wears the aspect of "a majestic navigable river, which received its tributary stream while rolling on through a spacious valley." Higher still on the hills, the view opens wider, and the actual form of the lake is fully displayed. From several positions on the hills, particularly from parts of the extensive deer park of Lord Kenmare, the prospect of the flat shore between the spectator and the water is effectually excluded by the trees on the slope beneath him; his eye therefore looking over his own wooded foreground, and lighting in the distance upon the woods of Mucruss on the one side, and those stretching along the western border of the lake to the river Laune on the other, he might imagine that the shores of the lake were covered with a vast forest from end to end.

The river Laune is the only outlet of the Lakes of Killarney, their superfluous waters flowing through The greatest inconvenience, however, chargeable its channel into the Atlantic at Dingle Bay. Its

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source, or rather commencement, is at the north- mountains on each side rise perpendicularly. At a western corner of the Lower Lake, whence it runs short distance within is a little wild romantic glen, in a rapid course between the end of the hills on containing a small lake, the waters of which, from the northern bank, and the end of the vast moun- the shade cast upon them by the enormous mountain tain mass which lies on the western bank. Soon which hangs above, assume a peculiarly dark hue. after leaving the lake it is crossed by a bridge; As the visitor penetrates further into the defile, his near which stands Dunloh Castle, the remnant of an admiration of the wild and savage scenery which ancient fortress, which seems to have been originally surrounds him gradually gives way to a feeling of erected for the purpose of guarding the river, and a awe. At one point the defile becomes so narrow that defile in the great chain of mountains. It stands on there is space merely for the scanty road and the the summit of a small conical hill, whose apex has little dark gloomy lake beside it; on either side are been cut away to afford a more convenient space for steep precipitous crags, while in every direction are building; and its position must have rendered it, enormous masses which have been detached until the introduction of cannon into modern warfare, from the body of the mountains. Such, indeed, is place of great strength. It suffered considerably the fearful sublimity of the pass at this particular in the wars of the Earl of Desmond, during the reigns spot, that instances have been known in which persons of Henry the Eighth and Queen Elizabeth; but it became so paralyzed with terror on reaching it, that was rebuilt about the period of Sir George Carew's nothing could induce them to advance further and administration in Munster. Subsequently, when the brave the apprehension which had seized them, that forces of the Parliament came into this part of the mountain might fall and overwhelm them. There Ireland, the castle was again attacked, and a great are two small bridges thrown across the stream which part of it demolished by a bombardment. The only runs through the defile, at the narrowest parts of the part of the edifice now standing is a square tower, channel; they are of very simple though solid strucwhich constituted but a small portion of the original | ture, and are in good keeping with the character of fabric; this has been converted into a dwelling-house, the scenery. One of them situated at the head of a "which affords more room and convenience than cascade, and resting at each end on a single stone, could be expected from the exterior aspect." Owing has a very romantic appearance. The object of the to the extraordinary thickness of the woods covering bridge is to carry the road from one side of the defile the hill upon which the building stands, no part of to the other, where the obstacles on the former happen the lake or of the surrounding country is seen from to be insurmountable. The road itself has been the area in front of the castle, and even the windows formed with considerable skill. In some places it afford but a very confined view; the battlements, passes along the edge of precipices where the way however, command a noble prospect of the lake, and has been with difficulty cut through the solid stone e; of the windings of the river Laune. Our engraving in others between immense detached rocks which represents the castle as it appears from the banks of have fallen from the mountain, and which are just the river; in the distance appears the defile or open- sufficiently separated from each other to admit a ing in the mountains already mentioned. single carriage, thus affording a natural passage that could not have been opened elsewhere without prodigious labour and expense. At one particular part of the pass the road runs along the margin of a black pool," and is so unprotected as to inspire the equestrian traveller with fears that should his horse trip he might be precipitated into the lake."

This defile, which lies between Tomies Mountains and Macgillicuddy's Reeks, is called the Gap of Dunloh. The entrance is formed by the Holly Mountain and the Bull Mountain, which are shoots from the two larger masses above mentioned.

Amidst the vast mountainous region on the western side of the county of Kerry, there is no scene which exhibits a more varied and sublime combination of the boldest features of uncultivated nature than the Gap of Dunloh. By some terrific and mighty operation, the chain of mountains at this place seems to have been abruptly severed, and the stupendous rocks of which it was formed rent asunder and dispersed in wild disorder through the chasm. On the brow of the mountain which guards the entrance on the right hand, immense projecting masses of stone, suspended in their lofty beds, overhang the pass, threatening destruction to all who approach this savage solitude; and the vast fractured stones which are observable at the base of the cliff, plainly indicate that the danger has not always been imaginary.

One almost shudders at thinking of the horrible crash which must have been produced by these ponderous stones Tumbling all precipitate down dashed, Rauling round loud thundering to the moon, whilst the echoes in the still of retirement repeated the tremendous sound through the windings of the vale. A clear stream at the bottom of the defile winds amongst the rocks,

.......now rapid and now slow,

Now murmuring soft, now roaring in cascades.

This stream forms a communication between a chain of small lakes, some of which are very deep, but others seem only to be a dilatation of the stream, where it has been obstructed in its course by the accumulated ruins of the impending precipice.

The entrance to the gap is very narrow; and the

But a scene of this description (says Mr. Wright), defies the address of the most expert tourist and the pencil of the ablest master: it must be seen to be understood. Those who have visited the passes of Borrowdale, in Cumberland, may form a faint idea of the chilling dreary grandeur of Dunloh; but the pass of Llanberris in North Wales, bears a still greater resemblance, and he who has seen the Gap of Dunloh will not be over-awed by the sublimity of Llanberris, nor will the deep-rooted image of Dunloh be eradicated by the combined beauty and grandeur of Borrowdale *.

The defile is three miles in length, and at the termination of it a view of the Upper Lake is to be had. It opens into the vale of Comme Duff, through which the road proceeds. Nearly opposite the termination of the gap is a beautiful waterfall of considerable height, and always plentifully supplied. The waters of this fall flow into a succession of small lakes, occupying the whole length of the valley; in some of these are islands bearing shrubs on their surface and decorated with water-lilies.

"The scenery," says Sir R. C. Hoare, "is truly Alpine, and on a grand scale: the track rugged, but well worth the trouble of ascending. The horrors of the black surrounding rocks are much heightened by their reflections in the different lakes at their base. The scenery resembles that of the Pass of Llanberris under Snowdon in North Wales, but the vegetation amongst the rocks is much more luxuriant. This valley and pass afford many good subjects for the pencil, and are highly worthy the artist's attention."

Ir is the virtue of few words, to render plain that which thousands have obscured; as one glass will transmit a bright image of the sun, where hundreds produce but darkness and confusion.MACCULLOCH.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BIBLE FROM THE
MONUMENTS OF ANTIQUITY.
No. IX.

EARLY HISTORY OF MOSES.

MANY readers of the Bible are confused by finding the same name given to very different persons; in the earlier ages of the world proper names were not applied with the same regularity that they are now, titles of rank were frequently used in their place, and more especially the national titles of sovereigns. Pharaoh was the Egyptian designation of a king, and hence we find it given as the name of the monarch who received Abraham, of him to whom Joseph was minister, and of the foreign conqueror who so cruelly persecuted the Israelites. This usage has not quite disappeared; in works of modern history we find the term Sultan, employed to designate the ruler of Turkey, without the addition of his proper name; and the name of the Great Mogul similarly applied to the emperor of Delhi; and some writers omitting to mention changes in the succession have frequently led historical students into serious errors. To avoid such mistakes, we shall designate the Pharaoh who persecuted the Israelites, Pharaoh the Third, not because he stands third in the order of succession, but because he is the third mentioned in Holy Writ. Pharaoh the Third found that the severe tasks he imposed on the Israelites did not prevent the continued increase of their numbers, "The people multiplied and waxed very mighty." (Exod. i. 20.) The tyrant, therefore, had recourse to the barbarous expedient of extermination, and ordered all the male children to be slain. Several sceptics have sneered at the improbability of such cruelty, though it is far from being without a parallel even in modern history. We have shown that Pharaoh the Third was the sovereign of an intrusive race of conquerors, whose position in relation to the native Egyptians and the Israelites was very similar to that of the Turks with respect to the Greeks and the Armenians. It is not generally known that, though Turkey in Europe contains more than eight millions of inhabitants, the Turks themselves do not amount to half a million, but their position as a dominant caste enables them to rule over fifteen-sixteenths of the population. Turkish sultans have been as much alarmed by the increase of their hostile subjects as Pharaoh the Third, and though they never have completely adopted his plan of extermination, they have sanctioned partial massacres, and more than once prepared to follow the system of destroying the Christian males to its fullest extent. When we read of the massacres perpetrated by the Spartans on the Helots, whenever the increase of their numbers rendered them formidable, we cannot doubt that a dominant caste, such as that which ruled Egypt under Pharaoh the Third, will hesitate at no act of cruelty, however atrocious, to ensure and continue its superiority.

In the midst of this cruel persecution Moses was born, and was concealed three months by his mother; when she could no longer hide him, "she took for him an ark of bulrushes," or as the words may more properly be translated, "a boat made out of the papyrus," and placed him by the brink of the river. The papyrus*, from which we have derived the word "paper," was anciently named byblus, and is the origin of the word "Bible," which properly signifies a paper book. It is called al bardi by, the modern inhabitants of Egypt, who do not, however, pay any attention to its cultivation. But in the early ages no plant was more important; the soft pith was See Saturday Magazine, Vol. IV. p. 208.

a common article of food, the stem supplied materials for small boats like canoes, and a variety of domestic utensils, while the inner rind of the plant, or, as some think, a certain preparation of the pulp, furnished materials for paper. It is well known that the byblus plant grows also in Europe, though only in one spot, namely, in the rivulet of Cyane, near the ancient city of Syracuse, in Sicily, but there it is produced in great abundance.

The byblus, or papyrus, grows in shallow water, and shoots out a stalk of nine or ten feet high; the trunk is composed of a number of long straight fibres, which produce small flowers; the leaves are like the blades of a sword, and are frequently used to keep wounds open; the ancient Egyptians employed the ashes of the root as a cure for sores, and attributed to it great healing powers. The length of the stalk, the natural hollow when the pulp was removed, and the ease with which it was worked, pointed out the byblus as a proper material for boatbuilding. Herodotus tells us that large boats were formed from planks cut out of the root, which is frequently fifteen feet in length; that the light stem furnished a mast, and the manufactured papyrus supplied ropes and sails. But the smaller boats, or canoes, were probably formed from the light stem, like the wicker cots which are now used on the Upper Tigris. There are many delineations of the Nileboats on the monuments; some are evidently of very heavy burden, and are impelled both by ropes and sails: some are so small that they can only contain one person, who appears to be very careful in adjusting his equilibrium, lest he should overset the frail vessel. In the accompanying engraving the fisherman is represented in one of these boats, which seems to be particularly intended for shallow waters where fish might easily be speared.

The papyrus boat in which Moses was exposed, was daubed with slime and pitch, that is, both with mineral and vegetable substances, to stop the chinks and keep out the water. A mineral tar, frequently employed for this purpose, is produced abundantly on the coasts of the Red Sea, and is so remarkable for its antiseptic properties, that it has been successfully applied to the manufacture of mummies. In the Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society of London, there is a human hand preserved by this mineral tar, so very perfect that the shape of the nails can be clearly seen. When the mother of Moses, therefore, had staunched the boat with this or some similar substance, she had reason to hope that it would float in safety, until some charitable person should take compassion upon the child. But in her immediate neighbourhood concealment was necessary, and "she laid it in the flags by the river's brink." From the monuments we find that the water-plants of the Nile, especially the lotus-lily, grew sometimes to such a height that they formed lurking-places for fullgrown men. We see large nets for catching birds set in the marshes, watched by trappers who hide themselves in the lotus beds, and remain undiscovered until there is sufficient prey in the net. It is very probable that the sister of Moses availed herself of some such place of concealment, where she could watch the fate of the child without danger of detection.

"The daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river;" we can find no examples of baths on the monuments, and it seems probable that ladies bathed as freely in the Nile as they now do in the Ganges.

When the daughter of Pharaoh beheld the weeping child, she had compassion on him and said, "This is

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