ting sublimities of
nature; and in the same vicinity is Loch Lomond, whose limpid streams
bathe the foot of Ben Lomond, where the tourist is fascinated with one of
the most glorious scenes in nature. The valley of Glencoe, too, is not
far distant, with all its opposite associations of massacre and maurauder,
by its severe and desert aspect, recalling to the traveller's mind the
most elevated defiles of the Alps, and whose massive heaps of rocks
covered with shaggy turf are the only charms to gladden the eye. At
Ardinglass, a few miles from Loch Goil, begins the country of _the
Campbells_, storied and consecrated with some of the most brilliant
epochs of Scottish lore.
The steam-boat on the lake is an attractive object in such a district as
Loch Goil--by associating one of the boasted triumphs of art with the
stupendous grandeur of the sublime.
* * * * *
HILLAH ON THE EUPHRATES.
The town of Hillah lies in latitude 32 deg. 31 min. 18 sec.; in longitude
12 min. 36 sec. west of Bagdad, and according to Turkish authorities, was
built in the fifth century of the Hegira, in the district of the
Euphrates, which the Arabs call El-Ared-Babel. Lying on a part of the
site of Babylon, nothing was more likely than that it should be built out
of a few of the fragments of that great city. The town is pleasantly
situated amidst gardens and groves of date trees; and spreads itself on
both sides of the river, where it is connected by a miserable wooden
bridge, the timbers of which are so rotten, that they tremble under the
foot of the passenger. The portion of the town, or as it is usually
called, the suburb, on the eastern bank, consists of one principal street
or bazaar, reaching from the small defenceless gate by which it is
entered from Bagdad, down to the edge of the water; this is deemed the
least considerable part of Hillah. On the other side, the inhabitants,
Jews, Turks, and Arabs, are much thicker, and the streets and bazaars
more numerous.
From the great central bazaar, well filled with merchandize, branch off
in various directions minor ranges, amongst which are found the fish and
flesh markets. In the former are several varieties, and some of enormous
size, resembling the barbel. The fish in question is from 4 to 5 feet
long, and is covered with very large, thick scales. The head is about
one-third part of the length of the fish. They are said to eat coarse and
dry, but are, never
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