lt a city on the western
coast of Spain, called by them Iberian Ethiopia." "And," says a
distinguished writer, "wherever they went, they were rewarded for
their _wisdom_."

THE TOWER OF BABEL--Nimrod, the son of Cush, an Ethiopian, attempted
to build the Tower of Babel (Gen. x. 8-10 xi. 4-9). One hundred and
two years after the flood, in the land of Shinar--an extensive and
fertile plain, lying between Mesopotamia on the west and Persia on the
east, and watered by the Euphrates,--mankind being all of one
language, one color, and one religion,--they agree to erect a tower of
prodigious extent and height. Their design was not to secure
themselves against a second deluge, or they would have built their
tower on a high mountain, but to get themselves a famous character,
and to prevent their dispersion by the erection of a monument which
should be visible from a great distance. No quarries being found in
that alluvial soil, they made bricks for stone, and used slime for
mortar. Their haughty and rebellious attempt displeased the Lord; and
after they had worked, it is said, twenty-two years, he confounded
their language. This effectually stopped the building, procured it the
name of _Babel_, or _Confusion_, and obliged some of the offspring of
Noah to disperse themselves and replenish the world. The tower of
Babel was in sight from the great city of Babylon. Nimrod was a hunter
and monarch of vast ambition. When he rose to be king of Babylon he
re-peopled Babel, which had been desolate since the confusion of
tongues, but did not dare to attempt the finishing of the tower. The
Scriptures inform us, he became "mighty upon earth;" but the extent of
his conquests is not known. (MALCOM'S _Bible Dictionary_.)

The private houses, in most of the ancient cities, were simple in
external appearance, but exhibited, in the interior, all the splendor
and elegance of refined luxury. The floors were of marble; alabaster
and gilding were displayed on every side. In every great house there
were several fountains, playing in magnificent basins. The smallest
house had three pipes,--one for the kitchen, another for the garden,
and a third for washing. The same magnificence was displayed in the
mosques, churches, and coffee houses. The environs presented, at all
seasons of the year, a pleasing verdure, and contained extensive
series of gardens and villas.

THE GREAT AND SPLENDID CITY OF BABYLON.--This city was founded by
Nimrod, about 2,247 y