the work of a great artist.

The mortar is of extraordinary hardness; it is easier to break the
bricks themselves, than to separate them from it. The bricks of all
the ruins are partly yellow and partly red, a foot long, nearly as
broad, and half an inch thick.

In the ruins El Kasir stands a solitary tree, which belongs to a
species of firs which is quite unknown in this district. The Arabs
call it Athale, and consider it sacred. There are said to be
several of the same kind near Buschir--they are there called Goz or
Guz.

Many writers see something very extraordinary in this tree; indeed
they go so far as to consider it as a relic of the hanging gardens,
and affirm that it gives out sad melancholy tones when the wind
plays through its branches, etc. Everything, indeed, is possible
with God; but that this half-stunted tree which is scarcely eighteen
feet high, and whose wretched stem is at most only nine inches in
diameter, is full 3,000 years old, appears to me rather too
improbable!

The country round Babylon is said to have been formerly so
flourishing and fruitful, that it was called the Paradise of
Chaldea. This productiveness ceased with the existence of the
buildings.

As I had seen everything completely, I rode on as far as Hilla, on
the other side of the Euphrates. A most miserable bridge of forty-
six boats is here thrown across the river, which is four hundred and
thirty feet broad. Planks and trunks of trees are laid from one
boat to the other, which move up and down at every step; there is no
railing at the side, and the space is so narrow that two riders can
scarcely pass. The views along the river are very charming; I found
the vegetation here still rich, and several mosques and handsome
buildings give life to the blooming landscape.

In Hilla I was received by a rich Arab. As the sun was already very
near setting, I was shown to a beautiful terrace instead of a room.
A delicious pilau, roast lamb, and steamed vegetables were sent to
me for supper, with water and sour milk.

The terraces here were not surrounded by any walls, a circumstance
which was very agreeable to me, as it gave me an opportunity of
observing the mode of life and customs of my neighbours.

In the court-yards I saw the women engaged in making bread, and in
the same way as at Bandr-Abas. The men and children meanwhile
spread straw mats upon the terraces, and brought dishes with pilaus,
vegetables, or some other e