Narratives and Anecdotes. RECENT DISCOVERIES AT NINEVEH.The veil is gradually falling from one of the sublimest pictures that have been vouchsafed to the inquiring mind of man since he first addressed himself to the investigation of truth in the spirit of daring and heroic importunity. Upon the earth, and above it, proofs of the wisdom and power of Omnipotent God have long been accumulating upon us with a force and swiftness that might well challenge the respect of the sceptic, and put to shame the audacious folly of the atheist. It has been left for our own time to deliver up from the very bowels of the earth evidence equally overwhelming and conclusive of the value and truth of those writings in which the doings of God's chosen people from the earliest times find their only record. It is difficult to speak or to write without emotion of the significant and extraordinary discoveries that have been made upon the site of ancient Nineveh. We have read as children of the devastating wars of Sennacherib, and been subjected to the awe arising from the perusal of events occurring at a period of time which it fatigued even the imagination to reach. We have listened, as children still, to the prophetic denunciations of Ezekiel, and trembled as we reflected upon the dismal fate of the gorgeous city he had doomed-once a city, a barren desert now. We have grown older, and acquired at school some knowledge of those classic times, in which, first Greece, then Italy, stamped the impress of civilisation upon the world,-times so remote as to be themselves buried in antiquity, yet not so near to the still far-off Assyrian epoch as to be conscious of the least remains of its once surpassing glory. As children, as youths, as men, we have thought of Nineveh and Babylon as of the world before the flood,-with interest, with belief, with amazement, and with dread; but, knowing nothing of their history beyond the intimations afforded in the Bible, how could we entertain the hope that their hidden story, kept back from the conquerors of the world two thousand years ago, should be revealed silently, but absolutely, and in all its fulness now? Yet, so it is! What the Greeks knew not we clearly apprehend. Three thousand years have passed over the Assyrian mounds-three thousand years of storm, of passion, of darkness, and of light, and at length the grave gives up its dead. Athens has breathed her beauty upon the world, and expired. Rome has lived to prove the triumph of its institutions and the hollowness of its strength. Yea, the Son of Man has appeared among the nations to teach a heaven-born creed, which, happily for human progress, is taking root in every quarter of the globe. Dynasties have risen and been extinguished. Great countries have dwindled into molehills, and specks of earth have grown into the mightiest empires: and, at the end of all, the crusted earth, beneath which Nineveh has for so many ages been inhumed, cracks, bursts asunder, and reveals, not a miracle, but a petrified verity,—the monumental history of its greatness, the imperishable witness of its once incomparable renown, the marble commentary of an inspired text. It is all there! The other day we had but a glimpse of the treasure,-to-day we discern more, and every hour is adding to the richness and the marvel of the unexpected sight. THE NINEVEH INSCRIPTIONS.— We have spoken of inscriptions found on the bas-reliefs. These inscriptions, written in characters no longer in use among men, and utterly unintelligible to the common eye, are freely rendered in Mr. Layard's volumes, and are made to interpret events and to indicate facts of the most momentous kind. But for such rendering, all the excavations must have been to no purpose, and the sculptured monuments would have been worthless as the dust from which they have been torn. By what splendid accident, then, has it happened that illumi-, nation has been thrown into the heaps, and that art, interred for 3000 years, becomes, when brought to light, in an instant as familiar to us all as though it were but the dainty work of yesterday? How comes it that these arrow-headed, or, as they are more generally styled, cuneiform characters, which bear no analogy whatever to modern writing of any kind, and which have been lost to the world since the Macedonian conquest, are read by our countrymen with a facility that commands astonishment, and a correctness that admits of no dispute? The history is very plain, but certainly as remarkable as it is simple. Fifty years ago the key that has finally opened the treasure-house was picked up, unawares, by Professor Grotefend, of Göttingen. In the year 1802, this scholar took it into his head to decipher some inscriptions which were, and still are, to be found on the walls of Persepolis, in Persia. These inscriptions, written in three different languages, are all in the cuneiform (or wedge-like) character, and were addressed, as it now appears, to the three distinct races acknowledging in the time of Darius the Persian sway -viz., to the Persians proper, to the Scythians, and to the Assyrians. It is worthy of remark, that, although the cuneiform character is extinct, the practice of addressing these races in the language peculiar to each still prevails on the spot. The modern Governor of Bagdad, when he issues his edicts, must, like the great Persian King, note down his behests in three distinct forms of language, or the Persian, the Turk, and the Arab, who submit to his rule, will find it difficult to possess themselves of his wishes. When Grotefend first saw the three kinds of inscription, he concluded the first to be Persian, and proIceeded to his task with this conviction. He had not studied the writing long, before he discerned that all the words of all the inscriptions were separated from each other by a wedge, placed diagonally at the beginning or end of each word. With this slight knowledge for his guide, he went on a little further. He next observed that in the Persian inscription one word occurred three or four times over, with a slight terminal difference. This word he concluded to be a title. Further investigation and comparison of words induced him to guess that the inscription recorded a genealogy. The assumption was a happy one. But to whom did the titles belong? With no clue whatever to help him, how should he decide? By an examination of all the authorities, ancient and modern, he satisfied himself at least of the dynasty that had founded Persepolis, and then he tried all the names of the dynasty in succession, in the hope that some would fit. He was not disappointed. The names were Hystaspes, Darius, and Xerxes. Although the actual pronunciation of these names had to be discovered, yet by the aid of the Zend (the language of the ancient Persians), and of the Greek, the true method of spelling was so nearly arrived at that no doubt of the accuracy of the guess could reasonably be entertained. The achievement had been worth the pains, for twelve characters of the Persian cuneiform inscription were now well secured. Twenty-eight characters remained to be deciphered before the inscriptions could be mastered. Grotefend here rested. The next step was taken by M. Bournouf, a scholar intimately acquainted with the Zend language. In 1836 he added considerably to the Persian cuneiform alphabet by reading twenty-four names on one of the inscriptions at Persepolis; but a more rapid stride was made subsequently by Professor Lassen, of Bonn, who, between the years 1836 and 1844, to use the words of Mr. Fergusson, the learned and ingenious restorer of the palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis, "all but completed the task of alphabetical discovery." While progress was thus making in Europe, Colonel Rawlinson, stationed at Kermanshah, in Persia, and ignorant of what had already been done in the west, was arriving at similar results by a process of his own. He too had begun to read the Persian cuneiform character on two inscriptions at Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana. This was in 1835. In 1837 he had been able to decipher the most extensive Persian cuneiform inscription in the world. On the high road from Babylonia to the east stands the celebrated rock of Behistun. It is almost perpendicular, and rises abruptly to the height of 1,700 feet. A portion of the rock, about 300 feet from the plain, and still very perfect, is sculptured, and contains inscriptions in the three languages already spoken of. The sculpture represents King Darius and the vanquished chiefs before him-the inscriptions detail the victories obtained over the latter by the Persian monarch. This monument, at least 2350 years old, deciphered for the first time by Major Rawlinson, gave to that distinguished orientalist more than eighty proper names to deal with. It enabled him to form an alphabet. Between the Major and Professor Lassen scholastic investigation, another practical visit to the ancient mounds, and the decipherment will be complete! Fortunate Englishmen! Enviable day labourers in the noblest vocation that can engage the immortal faculties of man! What glory shall surpass that of the enterprising, painstaking, and heroic men who shall have restored to us, after the lapse of thousands of years, the history and actual stony presence of the world-renowned Nineveh, and enabled us to read with our own eyes, as if it were our mother tongue, the language suspended on the lips of men for ages, though written to record events in which the prophets of Almighty God took a living interest! At AN EASTERN APOLOGUE.-Jeremy Taylor concludes his apology for christian toleration with an eastern apologue. It is here. Reader, note it well! "When Abraham sat at his tent door, according to his custom, waiting to entertain strangers, he espied an old man stooping and leaning on his staff, weary with age and travail, coming towards him, who was 100 years of age; he received him kindly, washed his feet, provided supper, caused him to sit down; but, observing that the old man eat and prayed not, nor begged for a blessing on his meat, he asked him why he did not worship the God of Heaven. The old man told him that he worshipped the fire only, and acknowledged no other God. which answer Abraham grew so zealously angry, that he threw the old man out of his tent, and exposed him to all the evils of the night, and an unguarded condition. When the old man was gone, God called to Abraham, and asked him where the stranger was? He replied, 'I thrust him away, because he did not worship Thee.' God answered him, 'I have suffered him these 100 years, though he dishonoured me, and wouldest thou not endure him one night, when he gave thee no trouble?' Upon which, saith the story, Abraham fetched him back again, and gave him hospitable entertainment and wise instruction." "Go, then," adds Taylor, "and do likewise, and thy charity will be rewarded by the God of Abraham." 66 FOREIGN. Baptisms. UNITED STATES.-If you think the whole, or part, of this extract of a letter I have just received from a brother of mine in America, will be interesting to your readers, it is at your service.-J.S. Greenville, South Carolina. I shall feel much regret in leaving this place, particularly as we enjoy the blessing of a good faithful ministry, and the Lord is giving testimony to the word of his grace, and the members of the churches, by what I have seen, walk worthy of their profession. We had two of the most interesting sights here lately that I ever witnessed. I am sure you would have enjoyed it. The first was the baptism of twelve men and eleven women; the second was the baptism of twenty men, one woman of colour, aud three other females, in the Ready river, just below where we live, at the same place and by the same minister that baptized my wife and daughter, which I informed you of in my last. The mode of administration may appear rather novel to you. The deacons go down into the water with two of the candidates at a time, and at a distance of ten or twelve yards, Mr. Furman, the minister, stands to receive them. The females come out of the water as soon as they are baptized, and are conveyed home in private carriages; but the meu, as they are baptized, form a half circle behind the administrator, until all are immersed; then, with the deacons, 'they come up out of the water' two and two, and go to a house nigh at hand; where they change their clothes, and afterwards proceed to the chapel. The whole of them are dressed in white gowns, both men and women. I think there were at least seventy or eighty private carriages on the banks, and three thousand attentive spectators. The service commenced about nine o'clock. Each morning was beautifully fine. The baptists have bought one of the most desirable plots of ground in the town, and have commenced building a spacious place of worship, the old one being much too small for their increasing congregation. They have upwards of 10,000 dollars collected for the building. They have a college here with more than two hundred students, and are erecting LONDON, Surrey Tabernacle, Borough Road.-On Wednesday evening, Oct. 25, Mr. Wells, our pastor, baptized twentytwo persons, male and female, upon a profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. W. delivered an address at the water-side founded upon the Redeemer's baptism: vindicating believers' baptism only, and exposing the evil influence of the system of infant sprinkling as a delusive doctrine. Mr. Wells baptized, some months ago, during this year, forty-two on one evening. His ministry is well attended. The chapel, which holds about 1500, is crowded on sabbath mornings and evenings, and on Wednesday evenings the body of the chapel is well filled. Mr. W. certainly preaches the gospel that is, he preaches Christ, and no other preaching ever will prove effectual in the salvation of sinners. I do wish there was not so much difference of sentiment among the baptists, and that they were more united; but I know it is the same among the Independents. However, as Paul said, we must rejoice that Christ is preached. I had almost forgotten to mention that before he baptized them, Mr. W. addressed each of the candidates upon their experience and the profession they were about to make. Some of them were the children of deacons and other members. It was a truly solemn and impressive time. J. D. - GLADESTRY, Radnorshire.-On Lord'sday morning, Oct. 22, we were favoured with a truly delightful and refreshing season. Our pastor, Mr. Godson, had the pleasure of leading four youthful followers of Jesus into a certain water near our village, in which he baptized them into the names of the Sacred Three, in the presence of a large and orderly audience. During this service the old church bells mingled their tones with our vocal strains. At the close of the baptism, with few exceptions, the large assembly repaired to our chapel, where a very appropriate sermon was preached by Mr. G.; after which the newly-baptized were received into the fellowship of the church, with two others who had been previously baptized; the whole congregation remaining in the chapel during the breaking of bread. These services were among the most interesting we ever enjoyed; and our hopes are animated respecting the future. One of the candidates, a young man, dates his conversion to open-air preaching. At Old Radnor, a village about three miles hence, a Sunday wake has been held annually from time immemorial; the class of attendants may be conjectured from the nature of the entertainments-drinking, smoking, bowling, ringing, &c.: the wake is held at an inn within a few yards of Old Radnor church. About six o'clock in the evening, Mr. G. paid an unexpected visit to the wake (or as it is now termed the feast), and took his stand in the very midst of the revelry. A large company assembled, and Mr. G. preached on, "God now calleth upon all men every where to repent." Appeals were particularly made to drunkards and sabbath-breakers. The whole was listened to with attention. When Mr. G. retired, the greater part of the company left the scene of dissipation, among whom was the youth already referred to. So deeply was he convinced of sin, that he was led to seek for mercy at the throne of grace; and he is now numbered with the followers of Jesus. To God be all the glory! J. T. WROTHAM, Kent, Borough Green. Four persons were baptized in the presence of a large and attentive congregation, Nov. 5. The services were opened by singing that beautiful hymn by Dr. Ryland: "In all my Lord's appointed ways, Hinder me not, ye much-loved saints, After which Mr. Robinson, our minister, MANORBEAR, Pembrokeshire.-Our minister, Mr. B. J. Evans immersed two believers into the names of the Sacred Three, Nov. 12. One, an aged female, who had witnessed several of her children yield obedience to the same ordinance. The other was a young person, who, to become a disciple of Jesus, had truly to take up the cross; but she had counted the cost. Her father did all he could to prevent her, but she had resolved to obey the command of her Saviour, and nothing could shake her resolution. Finding on that morning that his authority was disregarded, and that she had actually gone to be "dipped," he was very angry, and when she returned he bade her forthwith leave his house. But, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake." Opposition and persecution have never yet harmed us, or the poor baptists in this neighbourhood had long since become extinct. So far, however, from such being the case, we are making some progress. Since the settlement of Mr. Evans amongst us, which is just twelve months ago, he has led “down into the water" thirty-three. Some backsliders also have been restored. We have now other inquirers. May God, who has revived his work in our midst, go on to be gracious! J. T. WALSINGHAM, Durham.-Two believers were baptized into the names of the Sacred Three, Oct. 29, after a discourse by our minister to a numerous and attentive congregation, from the words, "buried with him in baptism." And on the evening of Wednesday, the 8th of Nov., after an address founded on the words, "what doth hinder me to be baptized?" another believer was baptized who had long struggled with her convictions in reference to this important christian duty. She was one of our earliest sabbath school scholars here, and has for some time been a teacher. We look to her with considerable hope of further usefulness, and trust that her decision for Christ will be the means of leading others to follow, who are already fully convinced that the baptism of the New Testament is to be attended to by believers and by believers only. J. A. MELBOURNE, Derbyshire.-On the last Lord's-day in October, four young persons were baptized by brother Gill, all of whom were connected with the sabbath school. J. H. W. |