of modern travels can fail to be familiar with the ruins of Petra -whose temples, theatres, and tombs are not built, but hewn in proper proportions out of the solid rock, which encloses the curious valley in which the city is situated.

Ephesus, which is now a paltry village, was once one of the most celebrated cities of Asia Minor. It had its theatres, circus, aqueducts, and temples, and other costly structures, among which was the celebrated temple of Diana, regarded by the ancients as one of the seven wonders of the world. This magnificent building, according to Pliny, was 425 feet long and 220 feet broad. It was adorned on the outside and inside with 127 columns of the most exquisite marble-curiously carved, and 60 feet in height of which thirty-six had ornaments in bassorelievo. Two hundred and twenty years were spent in the building of this wonderful temple, whose beams and doors were of cedar, and the rest of the timber cypress. It was burnt by Herostratus, 356 years before Christ, through no other motive, as he himself confessed, than to immortalise his name.

Another curious structure in Asia Minor, and one which formed the fourth wonder of the ancient world, is the Mausoleum of Artemesia, built by that queen in honour of her husband Mausolus, king of Caria. Aulius Gellius says, she, being so affected at her husband's death, had this built to his memory. The stone of the whole structure was of the most costly marble, of 411 feet in circumference, and 25 cubits in height; it had twenty-six columns of fine stone, and was open on all sides, with arches 73 feet wide. To such a length was her love carried for her husband, according to the ancient historians, that she caused his bones to be beaten to powder, and drank them with her drink, that herself might be the sepulchre, not expecting to live till the mausoleum could be finished; which was the case.

TEMPLES AND STATUES OF INDIA.

Passing to India, we find there also numerous temples and erections, which may justly be regarded as curiosities of human art. The most wonderful of the Hindostanee erections were the dams and water-courses necessary for irrigation in a tropical country, and of which vast remains still exist in Ceylon and other provinces. Next to these were their forts and templesthe latter often of gigantic proportions, and ornamented with columns, statues, and other sculpture. That of Elephanta, on a small rocky island of that name, on the coast of Bombay, has been long regarded as the chief. The temple is situated well up the island, and all its compartments, pillars, and statues are hewn out of the solid rock. The entrance," says Mrs Grahame, "is 55 feet wide, its height 18, and its length about equal to its width. It is supported by massive pillars, carved in the solid rock; the capital of these resembles a compressed cushion, bound

with a fillet; the abacus is like a bunch of reeds supporting a beam, six of which run across the whole cave; below the capital, the column may be compared to a fluted bell, resting on a plain octagonal member placed on a die, on each corner of which sits Hanamam, Ganesa, or some of the other inferior gods. The sides of the cavern are sculptured in compartments, representing persons of the mythology; but the end of the cavern, opposite to the entrance, is the most remarkable. In the centre is a gigantic trimurti, or three-formed god-including Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva-sculptured with all their ornaments and attributes. On each side of the trimurti is a pilaster, the front of which is filled up by a figure, 14 feet high, leaning on a dwarf. To the right is a large square compartment, hollowed a little, and carved into a great variety of figures, with all their appropriate symbols. The upper part of the compartment is filled with small figures in the attitudes of adoration. On the left side of the trimurti is a compartment answering to that I have just described, but appropriated to other deities. All these figures are in alto-relievo, as are those of the other sides of the cavern. On the right, as you enter the cave, is a square compartment with four doors, supported by eight colossal figures; it contains a gigantic symbol of Maha Deo, and is cut out of the rock, like the rest of the cave. There are several other more secret chambers and smaller recesses, to which there is no outlet; these are lighted from above, the whole thickness of the hill having been cut through for that purpose. This temple, and other equally wonderful caverns in the neighbourhood, must have been the labours of a people far advanced in the arts of civilised life, and possessed of immense wealth and power."

There are other Brahmin temples, remarkable for their size and for the elaborate manner in which they are sculptured and ornamented; but these we pass by, to give an example of their statues, which, like those of Egypt, were frequently of colossal dimensions. That of Ningydeo is thus mentioned by Colonel Welsh in his Military Reminiscences :-"Estimated as a military post only, this place must ever rank high, from its being almost inaccessible; though all wonder in this respect was speedily lost in our surprise, when, after ascending several neat staircases, we suddenly came upon a large stone building, above which we then first discovered a finely-formed image, carved out of one solid stone, about 70 feet high, and representing a youth with wreaths of laurel winding from his ankles to his shoulders, every leaf of which was so exquisitely laboured, as to bear the closest examination. We were able to contrast the size of this extraordinary colossus with men, monkeys, and vultures, two of the latter being perched upon his head; and the upper part being seven times the height of a middle-sized man, who Stood on the top of the building, with the legs and thighs tatue below. That it was cut out of the solid rock, cannot

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admit of a doubt; for no power on earth could have moved so massive a column, to place it there on the top of so steep and slippery a mountain-so steep, indeed, that we could not see the statue till we had ascended close to it. The legs and thighs are cut out in proportion to the rest, but are attached to a large fragment of the rock behind them, artfully covered by the building, of which it forms the back wall. I never in my life beheld so great a curiosity, every feature being most admirably finished. From the nose inclining to the aquiline, and the under lip being very prominent and pouting, the profile shows it to the greatest advantage; and every part, from top to toe, is smooth and highly polished. I could hardly conceive how the hand of man, and that particularly of a race by no means either intelligent or educated, could have accomplished such a work of labour, and that too on the summit of a sterile rock."

Of a higher order of architecture than what may be regarded as the native Hindostanee, is that introduced into India by the Mohammedans after the time of Timour. It is exhibited in mosques and mausoleums, so remarkable for their beauty and chasteness of design, grace of proportion, and excellence of material and workmanship, as to be entitled to be compared with the finest remains of Greek and Roman art. The most remarkable of these monuments is that known by the name of Tajemahal, situated near the city of Agra, on the right bank of the Jumna. It is a mausoleum, occupying, with its garden, a quadrangle of forty acres; the principal building, with its domes and minarets, being almost wholly of white marble. It was built by Shah-Jehan in the early part of the seventeenth century.

In the Burmese empire there are likewise to be found the remains of several remarkable structures, chiefly pagodas or temples. Of these, the most celebrated is that of Pegu, known as Shoe-madoo, or Great Pagoda. It is an edifice of high antiquity, and is raised on successive terraces, in a manner similar to the religious structures of the Mexicans. It stands, according to Colonel Symes, on an apparently artificial hill, the sides of which are sloped into two terraces, the lower about 10, and the upper about 30 feet high. Each side of the lower terrace is not less than 1391 feet in length, and of the upper 684 feet. The brick walls sustaining the terraces were formerly covered with plaster, wrought into various figures, but they are now in a ruinous state. On the second terrace is the pagoda, a pyramidal building of brick and mortar, without excavation or aperture of any sort, octagonal at the base, each side measuring 162 feet, and diminishing in breadth abruptly, till it becomes of a spiral form. Its entire height from the ground is 360 feet; it is surrounded by two rows of small spires, a great variety of mouldings, ornaments in stucco, &c.; the whole being crowned with the tee, a sort of umbrella of open ironwork, gilt, 56 feet in circumference, and surrounded by a number of small bells.

WALLS AND TOWERS IN CHINA.

The greatest architectural curiosity which China affords is undoubtedly the frontier wall, built by the Chinese to prevent the frequent incursions of the Tartars. When this amazing barrier was first commenced is not known with accuracy, but the time of its completion was about three centuries before the Christian era; so that, at all events, it has withstood the wind and weather of two thousand years. It is called by the inhabitants "the Great City Wall, a thousand le in length," and bounds the whole north of China, along the frontiers of three provinces extending from the shore of the Gulf of Pe-chele to Se-ning, 15 degrees west of Pekin. It is in general about 20 feet high, and broad enough for six horsemen to ride abreast on it; and throughout its whole length it is fortified at intervals with strong square towers to the number of three thousand, which, before the Tartars subdued the country, used to be guarded by a million of soldiers. Its whole length, with all its windings, is computed at 1500 miles-running over mountains 5000 feet high, across valleys, rivers, and marshes, and along sandy hollows, which seem incapable of admitting a foundation for such a weighty structure. The body of the wall, according to Captain Parish, who accompanied Lord Macartney's embassy, is an ele vation of earth, retained on each side by solid brickwork, and terraced by a brick platform furnished with parapets. The total height of the masonry is 25 feet; the basis of it is of granite, projecting about 2 feet beyond the brickwork, the height of which is irregular. The thickness of each retaining wall is about 5 feet, and the entire thickness of the whole work is 25 feet. In many places there is a fosse or ditch beyond the foundation. The towers are about 100 yards distant from each other, and are furnished with embrasures and loopholes, but vary much in their dimensions. The bricks used in the construction are kiln-dried, and well-moulded, and are cemented by a strong mortar of white calcined lime. Besides the great barrier, there is an additional inner wall near to Pekin, which was built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty, for the purpose of enclosing a portion of the province between it and the old wall. These vast erections, which far surpass the sumtotal of all other works of the kind, are now of little or any use, and are viewed by the people with indifference.

Without the gates of several cities in China lofty towers or pagodas are erected, which, according to Davis, are of a religious nature, and, like the steeples of churches, were at first attached to temples. The most remarkable of these is that of Nankin, called the Porcelain Tower, from the roofs of its different storeys or stages being covered with porcelain tiles beautifully painted. It is of an octangular figure, contains nine storeys,

and is about 200 feet high, raised on a very solid basis of brickwork. The wall at the bottom is at least 12 feet thick; and the building gradually tapers to the top, which forms a sort of spire, terminating in a large golden ball. It is surrounded by a balustrade of rough marble, and has an ascent of twelve steps to the first floor, from whence one may ascend to the ninth storey by very narrow and incommodious stairs. Between every storey there is a kind of penthouse or shed on the outside of the tower, from the eaves of which are suspended little brass bells, diminishing in size as they approach the top, and set in motion by the wind. Each storey is formed of strong beams of timber well boarded; the ceilings of the rooms are adorned with paintings; and the light is admitted through windows made of grates or lattices of wire. There are likewise many niches in the walls filled with idols; and the variety of ornaments

that embellish the whole, render it one of the most beautiful structures in China.

STRUCTURES OF GREECE AND ROME.

Turning to the western world, we pass from the huge and wondrous structures of the Orientals to the less gigantic but more elegant and equally surprising efforts of Greek and Roman architecture. Few of these now remain entire; but contemporary writers describe them, and this description, aided by a study of their ruins, leaves us in little doubt either as to their extent or their matchless elegance and splendour.

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In Athens, the temples of Minerva, Neptune, Theseus, and others, have long been subjects of admiration-their columns, external sculptures, and statues within, or what remains of them, still serving as models to the sculptor and architect. The Athenians could also boast of their public institutions-their theatres, baths, and monumental trophies-most of which were formed of the finest Pentelic marble, and erected in the most classic styles that the fertile but chaste imagination of Greece could produce. "The chief glory of the Acropolis," says a modern writer, undoubtedly that of the Parthenon, or Temple of Minerva. It was a peripteral octostyle, of the Doric order, with seventeen columns on the sides, each 6 feet 2 inches in diameter at the base, and 34 feet in height, elevated on three steps. Its height from the base of the pediments was 65 feet, and the dimensions of the area 233 by 102 feet. The eastern pediment was adorned with two groups of statues, one of which represented the butt of Minerva, the other the contest of Minerva with