querors of earlier days and allure them to its bowers. On this beautiful peninsula, laved by two majestic rivers, Seleucus Nicator, successor to Alexander the Great, built a city in honor of his queen, and in the ancient annals the city is called Aspamea. And from the days of the Macedonian queen, the place has never been uninhab ited. It is now called Kurnah, and is not only a large military station held by the Turks, but is the home of two thousand people who represent many nations. And, as a link connecting the present with the past, the telegraph-wires are here stretched across the Euphrates; and from the Garden of Eden I could send a telegram to any part of Christendom.

At no other point in their long and winding course can the two great rivers that meet here be viewed to better advantage. Having their source in the same mountainous region, they flow southward through a val ley densely populated, rich in natural productions, and grand in historic associations. With its source in the mountains of Armenia near Ezroom, and not far from the shores of the Euxine, the Euphrates unites three impor tant seas, which, without it, would have no water communication. Seventeen hundred and eighty miles long, its breadth varies from ninety to four hundred yards. In some places it spreads out into a noble lake, but in the Lemlûn marshes it is not eighty yards wide. Ordinarily the current is three and a half miles an hour, but in the flood the velocity is increased to six. It abounds in fish, and is so pleasant to the taste that the people fondly call it "The Water of Desire." Boats have ascended ten hundred and thirty miles above its mouth. It is now navigable to Baulus, and the Turks have found it profitable to place thereon a line of steamers. Were it the possession of a Christian nation, it would soon be

come the channel of an immense trade. Its banks are dotted with towns, among the most important of which is Hillah, in the south, and Birijik, in the north.

The two principal sources of the Tigris are in the southern slopes of the Anti-Taurus range in Northern Armenia. Eleven hundred and forty-six miles in length, its average breadth is six hundred feet, and its average velocity is four and a half miles per hour. It is sometimes navigable for rafts from Diarbekir to Mosul, a distance of two hundred and ninety-six miles, and at all seasons of the year from Mosul to the sea. In the flood-time the distance is made in four days, and the people have christened it "The Cheap Camelier." Vessels drawing from three to four feet of water can ascend as far as Tekrit, and boats properly constructed might reach Mosul, opposite ancient Nineveh. Two lines of steamers are now running from Busrah to Bagdad, a distance of five hundred miles, and connect at the former place with steamers from British India. Chief among its many tributaries are the Jaab, below Kurnah; the Adhuen, above Bagdad; and the Great and Little Zab, near Mosul, all of which are the channels of a large inland trade. The Turkish Government, which neglects every thing but the collection of taxes, has so far neg lected to keep the banks in repair that the river has be gun to desert its bed, and is now forming vast swamps over the low country, which was formerly rescued by the Babylonians by the construction of immense lakes.

Resuming our voyage, we were now on the Tigris, and had the current of one river less against which to contend. We were bound for Bagdad, the "City of the Caliphs," five hundred miles to the north-east. For two miles we had still in view the groves and tents of Kurnah; but at the end of that distance there is a canal sep

arating Eden from the rest of the peninsula, and uniting the waters of the Tigris with those of the Euphrates. The land north of the canal is a trackless desert of many miles in extent, alluded to by the Prophet Joel: "The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness."*

During the morning we passed vast sections of land covered with water, wherein the cattle stood knee-deep, and from which the shepherds had taken refuge to some high, green knolls. Beyond and on our right were villages surrounded with rice fields, and rich pastures in which the herds were browsing. On our left was the mud tomb of Abu Khalkhal, shaded by a few palms, and which is a shrine to which the Moslems make an annual pilgrimage. At noon we steamed along a dreary region, dotted with sand-hills, with here and there clumps of thick bushes. Hundreds of jackals were running in every direction, frightened by the whistle of our steamer. Their color is that of the fox; their form is that of the dog. Over and around us flew flocks of crows, with white bodies and black wings. Wild boars were now seen in large numbers-five, six, and ten in a herd-running pell-mell to all points of the compass. Their movement was exceedingly violent, and their motion a tumultuous leap. Armed with rifles, we shot two of one herd -one was shot through the hind-quarters, and sunk down. at once; the other was shot through the shoulder, and turned a somersault. The latter rose and ran for a pond of water, on the margin of which he defiantly stood for a few seconds, and then gradually sunk down. A boat was sent ashore to secure the game; but as our men ap proached the latter, he rose and offered battle, for a

* Joel ii., 3,

wounded boar is a desperate antagonist, and will fight to the death. But another shot ended his career, and both were brought on board the steamer. They were enormous creatures; in form like our swine, but larger, stronger, and with coarser bristles of an iron gray. The head of each was elongated, the snout was pointed, the tusks were large, and were a deadly weapon: "The boar out of the wood doth waste it."* That night we had

boar flesh for dinner, and the roasted spare-ribs were excellent, though the odor was a little strong. As my share of the spoils of the hunt, I claimed the jaws with their enormous tusks, to illustrate the above Psalm, and to adorn my cabinet of Oriental curiosities.

As we advanced, there was on either side a boundless. view over rich prairie-lands, whereon were numberless

* Psalm lxxxviii., 13.

flocks of sheep, and goats, and black buffaloes, and many reed tents, the dwelling-place of the shepherds. This is one of the richest sections of all the East, abounding in wild and domestic animals, and in a variety of birds. Swans, ducks, geese, snipes, pigeons, bitterns, and birds. of the ortolan species, were seen in abundance, while a sight of the flying-fox, of gazelles, of boars, tigers, and lions, was a common occurrence.

Not far from the Tomb of Ezra occurred one of the most daring and successful lion-hunts that have ever taken place on the banks of the Tigris. In the dim twi light of the morning, three full-grown lions were discov ered on the eastern bank of the river, and about a mile. ahead of the steamer. The alarm was given, and in a moment intense excitement prevailed on board. The captain was notified, the speed of the steamer was lessened, guns and rifles were instantly loaded for the coming encounter. Attracted by the approach of the steamer, the lions had stopped, and one, more daring than the others, with a bound leaped into the river, and attempted to reach the vessel. The sight paralyzed with fear many of the natives on board, but a rifle-shot, fired by the supercargo, proved mortal to the courageous beast, and the launch was immediately sent to secure the carcass. Frightened by the report of the rifle, the other lions turned and ran along the margin of the river. Under a full head of steam, the City of London soon came up abreast with the fugitives, who halted, and boldly stood their ground, ready to receive their pursuers. But a shot fired by the captain killed one instantly, and a second shot wounded the other in the leg. With a thundering roar that shook the earth, the wounded beast sprung over the dead body of her companion, and, with open mouth, turned her head toward the boat, and challenged