THE USEFUL AND THE BEAUTIFUL.
The tomb of Moses is unknown; but the traveller slakes his thirst at the well of Jacob. The gorgeous palace of the wisest and wealthiest of monarchs, with cedar, and the gold, and ivory, and even the great Temple of Jerusalem, hallowed by the visible glory of the Deity himself, are gone; but Solomon's reservoirs are as perfect as ever. Of the ancient architecture of the Holy City, not one stone is left upon another, but the Pool of Bethsaida commands the pilgrim's reverence, at the present day. The columns of Persepolis are mouldering into dust; but its cistern and aqueducts remain to challenge our admiration. The golden house of Nero is a mass of ruins, but the Aqua Claudia still pours into Rome its limpid stream. The Temple of the Sun, at Tadmore, in the wilderness, has fallen, but its fountain sparkles in its rays, as when thousands of worshippers thronged its lofty colonnades. It may be that London will share the fate of Babylon, and nothing be left, to mark it, save mounds of crumbling brickwork. The Thames will continue to flow as it does now. And if any work of art should rise over the deep ocean, time, we may well believe, that it will be neither a palace nor a temple, but some vast aqueduct or reservoir; and if any name should flash through the mist or antiquity, it would probably be that of the man, who in his day, sought the happiness of his fellow men, rather than glory, and linked his memory to some great work of national utility or benevolence. This is the true glory which outlives all others, and shines with undying lustre from generation to generation, imparting to works some of its own immortality, and in some degree rescuing them from the ruin which overtakes the ordinary monument of historical tradition or mere magnificence.
CROMWELL'S BRIDGE AT GLENGARIFF.
The village of Glengariff, near Bantry Bay, consists of but a few houses. The only "antiquity" in the immediate neighbourhood is the old bridge, now a picturesque ruin, which, in ancient times, was on the high road to Berehaven; it is called "Cromwell's Bridge." It is accurately represented in the above engraving. History being silent as to the origin of the name, we must have recourse to tradition. When Oliver was passing through the glen, to "visit" the O'Sullivans, he had so much trouble in getting across the narrow but rushing river, that he told the inhabitants, if they did not build him a bridge by the time he returned, he would hang up a man for every hour's delay he met with. "So the bridge was ready agin he come back," quoth our informant; "for they knew the ould villian to be a man of his word."
THE TURBAN IN ARABIA.
A fashionable Arab will wear fifteen caps one above another, some of which are linen, but the greater part of thick cloth or cotton. That which covers the whole is richly embroidered with gold, and inwrought with texts or passages from the Koran. Over all there is wrapped a sash or large piece of muslin, with the ends hanging down, and ornamented with silk or gold fringes. This useless encumbrance is considered a mark of respect towards superiors. It is also used, as the beard was formerly in Europe, to indicate literary merit; and those who affect to be thought men of learning, discover their pretensions by the size of their turbans. No part of Oriental costume is so variable as this covering for the head. Niebuhr has given illustrations of forty-eight different ways of wearing it.
STONEWARE.
Stoneware was made at a very early period in China, and is much used as a basis on which a paste of porcelain is laid, to save the expenditure of the latter material, as well as to give strength and solidity to the piece. Most of the larger pieces of Oriental production are found to be thus formed. The red Japan ware is a very fine unglazed stoneware, and has raised ornaments, which are sometimes gilt. A curious coffee-pot of this ware, imitating a bundle of bamboo canes, and not unlike the Chinese musical instrument called a mouth-organ, from the collection of the late Mr. Beckford, is here represented.