this ancient river falls into the sea. From this first footstep on the lonely shore, covered with the ruins of Seleucia, what a career of industry, intelligence, and prosperity may be expected to arise! Steam navigation and rail-roads traverse the silent plains and the famous but forsaken rivers: not Cleopatra in her bark of purple and gold on the Cydnus, excited more surprise than will follow the first steam-boat on the Orontes, - the herald to the admiring people of a new era in their condition, in knowledge, in comfort, in faith! The general diffusion of instruction among a people, from whom it has been so long, and so utterly withheld, will be the gradual but certain result of the rapid facilities of intercourse with England: the great valley of the Orontes, from the vicinity of Damascus to that of Aleppo, is full of a modern as well as ancient interest; there are several large and wealthy towns, where manufactures might be introduced, and a regular commercial intercourse established: the cultivation of some districts is excellent, and most are capable of it: but the people are a prey to indolence and apathy they want a new stimulus. And this stimulus will be felt when new sources of trade, of enjoyment, of energy, shall be opened to them. The improvements and changes introduced by the conqueror, Ibrahim Pasha, may benefit his coffers, not his subjects. Rail-roads and steam-carriages will be the greatest blessings to these rich and beautiful countries: on their rapid wheels devolve greater changes than on the march of armies. From Suadeah to the Euphrates, and down its waters to the Persian Gulf, will no longer be the painful and interminable journey, that most undertake from necessity- few for pleasure: in a few years, the traveler, instead of creeping on a camel at three miles an hour, wasted by sun and wind, may find himself rolling along the plains of Babylon with the speed of thought, while mounds, towers, and tumuli vanish by, like things seen in a dream: the man of science, who lingers among the dim ruins- the merchant who tarries to buy and sell may no longer dread the plundering Kurd or Bedouin, when his country's flag heaves in sight far over the plain, 'on that ancient river Euphrates,' as daringly as when

'Her march was on the mountain wave,

Her home was on the deep.'.

The same publishers have in progress a series of American views, in the same style, from drawings by Mr. BARTLETT, who is now with us, which we cannot doubt will be received with decided favor in this country. The American agency for these views is at 156 Broadway, late DISTURNELL'S.

THEODORE S. FAY, ESQ. We perceive, with pleasure, that THEODORE S. FAY, Esq. has been appointed Secretary to the American Legation at the Court of Saint James, and that as such, he was recently presented in form to the King, in company with the new American minister, Mr. STEVENSON. Mr. FAY is a gentleman of whom it is not too much to say, that he possesses a pure heart, pleasing manners, modest pretensions, and decided talent. His accession to a station formerly filled by WASHINGTON IRVING, the duties of which he is well qualified to discharge, will be a source of gratification to his numerous friends in this country, who know and appreciate his many excellent qualities.

HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. - Under this title, Mr. B. R. CarROLL, of South Carolina, is about to edit and publish a very valuable series of narratives, relating to the early and hitherto unedited history of that State. In this collection, are enumerated, in addition to many other tracts not less rare than valuable :

I. A description of the present state of Carolina. 1 vol. 4to. London, 1682.

II. John Archdale's Description of that pleasant and fertile Province Carolina. 1 vol. 4to. London, 1707.

III. John Lawson's New Voyage to Carolina, in 1700-containing a Description and Natural History of that country, and a Journal of One Thousand Miles, through the Indian Nations; with their Customs and Manners. 1 vol. 4to. London, 1709.

IV. Dr. Milligan's Description of the Province of South Carolina, with an account of the air, weather, and diseases at Charleston. 1 vol. 8vo. London, 1770.

V. Dr. Hewat's History of South Carolina and Georgia. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1779. VI. Map of South-Carolina-containing the names of Indian Tribes, Settlements, etc.; being the most full and accurate Map of the State ever published. 1771.

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In addition to this copious and valuable matériel, the editor will furnish an introductory discourse, comprising a great deal of scattered history, together with an exact summary of the early Spanish, French, and English voyages of discovery to Carolina. He consults, for this purpose, the various libraries, foreign and domestic, which afford any light to his undertaking; and we may, as a consequence of his industry, expect a very valuable accession, not less to our national literature than to our national history. It is to be hoped that the example thus set by a citizen of South Carolina, will be followed up by some enterprising citizen in every State of the Union. Our libraries need these works, without which no American collection, public or private, can be held complete.

The 'Historical Collections' are now in the press of the BROTHERS HARPER.

RELIGIOUS SOUVENIR. - Messrs. HALL AND VOORHIES, 118 Nassau-street, will publish, early in September, the Religious Souvenir, for 1837, a work hitherto issued in Philadelphia, and edited, as now, by Rev. CHAUNCEY COLTON, President of Bristol College, Pennsylvania. We have perused a portion of the letter-press, and examined all the engravings, with the exception of one. Both departments are marked with great excellence. Of the plates, 'The Eleventh Hour,' 'The Death of Addison,' 'The Tribunal of the Inquisition,' and 'Promise,' have had no superiors in the annual illustrations of this country.

The subjoined elegiac stanzas, written and in type for this Magazine, will form one of the poetical articles of the Souvenir :

ADVENTURES OF DAVID CROCKETT. Messrs. T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS, Philadelphia, have sent forth a not remarkably beautiful volume, of two hundred and sixteen pages, entitled as follows: 'Col. CROCKETT'S Exploits and Adventures in Texas: wherein is contained a full account of his journey from Tennessee to the Red River, and Natchitoches, and thence across to San Antonio; including his many hair-beadth escapes.' The narrative is brought down by an 'eye-witness' from the death of the Colonel to the battle of San Jacinto, and there is annexed a succinct topographical, historical, and political view of Texas. If the work be not what it claims to be, the record of the gallant CROCKETT himself, it is undeniably from the hand of one who knew him well, and apes him to perfection. We need not say that the book is replete with amusing adventure and entertainment. An excellent likeness of the author prefaces the title-page.

FIELD FORTIFICATIONS. - Nations have not yet ceased to learn war, nor has it yet come to pass, in the United States, that swords have been beaten into plough-shares, or spears into pruning-hooks; and however desirable such a peaceable economy of deadly weapons might be, it is impossible to anticipate it, while wars and rumors of wars are rife in our borders. The work before us, therefore, is not untimely. It is a complete treatise on field fortification, with the general outlines of the principles regulating the arrangement, the attack, and the defence of permanent works. The aim of the writer-Professor MAHAN, of West Point- has been to make a book which should contain all the principles and important details of its subject, and he level to the comprehension of persons of ordinary intelligence- one which the officer can take with him into the camp, and consult at any moment. The volume is illustrated by several plates.

GREAT NATIONAL WORK. - We have heretofore spoken of a work, unparalleled for size and the beauty of its execution, both in its letter-press and pictorial portions, entitled 'A History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of the principal Chiefs,' to be embellished with one hundred and twenty portraits, of the largest class, from the Indian Gallery, in the Department of War, at Washington. We have examined a large number of the portraits, and many of the histories attached, and can cordially recommend them as superior to any thing of a similar kind hitherto issued in this country. The names of the most distinguished citizens of the United States, including Lafayette, and other eminent personages abroad, were early given to the work, and fac similes of these, as well as of the signatures of all the other subscribers, are to be engraved, and presented with the work, when completed. Citizens will, in a short time, find an opportunity of adding their names to the list, at the Astor House, where an agent of the proprietors may then be found.

'LORD ROLDAN.' The HARPERS have published - and have conferred a treat of no mean order upon the public by so doing-a romance under the above title, from the pen of ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. We have perused it with high gratification, and can testify to its power in deeply enlisting the sympathy and feelings of the reader. The style unites a natural ease with richness of diction; the characters are all distinctly marked; and some of the portraitures-those of Jeannie Robson, Mary Morrison, and David Gellock, especially-remind us frequently of SCOTT. Numerous touches of unpremeditated humor, also, and occasional passages opening new and pleasant channels of thought, serve to strengthen this resemblance. We regard 'Lord Roldan' as the best republication of the season, and as such heartily commend it to our readers.

WEBSTER'S BOOKS FOR SCHOOLS. - Messrs. S. BABCOCK and DURRIE AND PECK have recently published WEBSTER'S 'History of the United States,' 'Instructive and Entertaining Lessons for Youth,' and an 'Improved Grammar of the English Language.' The first-named of these works we consider the best extant, for the purposes it is in

tended to serve. It is distinctly arranged - full, though succinct- and well written. The 'Lessons' strike us as displaying taste and judgment in the selection; and the 'Improved Grammar' has passed through several editions.

'TRAITS OF AMERICAN LIFE.'-This volume, from the pen of Mrs. HALE, of Boston, although published three months since, has, through remissness in some quarter, but just reached us. It consists of fourteen stories, all connected with American scenes or incidents, and of a salutary tendency, several of which have appeared in the American Ladies' Magazine, a popular monthly, under the supervision of the author. The publishers might not thank us for a more enlarged notice at this eleventh hour, since the edition is doubtless ere this exhausted.

'LETTERS ABOUT THE HUDSON.'- A small, neat volume has recently appeared, entitled 'Letters about the Hudson River, and its Vicinity.' They were written for the American Traveler, a popular tri-weekly journal, published in Boston, in 1835-6. The work is unpretending in its style, which is well suited to the large amount of valuable information it aims to convey in a brief space. The book will supply a desideratum to the traveler, and form an excellent accompaniment to the convenient Maps of the Hudson, which have been issued by Mr. DISTURNELL.

"THE LADIES' WREATH.' - Under this pretty title, Mrs. SARAH J. HALE is about to publish a selection from the female poetical writers of England and America - embracing the writings of twelve ladies of each country. We have no doubt that the work will become what, proceeding from the hands of the author, it may well be expected to be decidedly popular.

Messrs. SAUNDERS AND OTLEY have in press, and will soon publish, simultaneously in London, Paris, and New-York, the following works. Their titles are certainly attractive: Memoirs of the Marquis LAFAYETTE; Memoirs of Prince LUCIEN BONAPARTE, written by himself; and Mr. CHORLEY'S 'Memorials of FELICIA HEMANS.'

THE BROTHERS HARPER will soon issue the works of MACKENZIE, author of 'The Man of Feeling,' in a handsome volume, uniform with 'Tom Jones' and 'Humphrey Clinker.'

The same publishers have in press a volume from the ever-welcome pen of Miss SEDGWICK, entitled The Poor Rich Man' and 'The Rich Poor Man.'

whether in all

We submit it—not in the way of boasting, but to enforce what we have to say respects we have not only fulfilled, but greatly exceeded, all our engagements with the public? To the quality of the matter which has been presented, from the pens of many of the most eminent writers in this country, as well as in Europe, our subscription-list bears the best and most satisfactory testimony. That we have been liberal in the quantity furnished, may be inferred from the three hundred and sixteen pages, additional to the number promised, which have been given in the last twelve numbers of this Magazine; while two engravings, from the hands of the first artists in America, for which we had given our subscribers no reason to hope, must go to strengthen the correctness of our assumption. Now we would ask, if we have not valid claims upon each subscriber to this work for a prompt fulfilment on his part of the contract into which he enters with us, when his name is recorded on our books? Punctuality,' says an old saw, 'is the life of business;' and we may add, that in none is it more indispensable than in ours. We allude, for the first time, to this matter, that all who are interested may- in a spirit of mere justice and common honesty - obviate the necessity of a reference to the same topic in future.

FROM the earliest periods of history men have believed in extraordinary mutations of our world. They have ever speculated on its origin and its duration, and the various conclusions to which they have arrived form one of the most amusing, if not instructive, portions of history. Strange and inconsistent as have been their theories, however, a uniform opinion has prevailed that fire and water were the two great agents by which all signal revolutions had been affected. This result, though not then based on known physical laws, science has since shown to be in conformity with natural phenomena. But the modus operandi, and the character of these universal agents, gave birth to innumerable speculations, which, if they did not approximate truth, indicated an innate disposition in man to believe in the marvellous. On no subject, perhaps, have the opinions of men been more various, and on none more free and bold, than on that of our earth's origin and history.

It is not unnatural to believe, that the character of supposed terrestrial mutations with their design and effect seemed to an ignorant people, wrapped in mystery and doubt; nor will the faith or opinions originating from these great natural events, be supposed to have much authority during succeeding and more enlightened periods of the world. The notions of philosophers respecting organic remains could not have been less crude, or more unphilosophical, than those entertained in earlier times, on the causes which deposited and upheaved them; still, the people of antiquity possessed a better knowledge of the origin and nature of these bodies, and of the earth's duration, than many in modern days. Men's opinions, it will be seen in this, as in most branches of science, have been a strange compound of truth and error, of reason and of folly, from the beginning to the end of their history.

It has been said, and with justice, that modern times have given neither form nor feature to any truth that has not been sketched by ancient philosophers. Be this as it may, we find the causes assigned by them for the deposite of fossil relics vastly more consistent with fact than those believed during the past century. In speculating on natural causes, they had their errors, as well as those of the present times, and the reasons why they were more liable to error than ourselves, are sufficiently obvious. But, with the blaze of science diffused and diffusing throughout civilized society, it will hereafter appear a problem why we, with all the experience of former ages superadded, remained unconscious of its effulgence, and unconvinced by the truths which it developed. The bright and steady light which our subject sheds on the past history of our

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