other sustains, by the thigh, an* infant, whom the furious monster seems about to destroy. Of the two left hands the uppermost holds a bell, which is constantly used in the religious ceremonies of the Hindoos, and the lower one supports what M. Niebuhr thinks a basin to catch the blood of the infant; but which Mr. Hunter affirms, at the time of his visit, actually contained the mutilated figure of a child, with its face averted from the gigantic figure, and exceedingly bent; so that the head, which is now broken off, must have hung back very low, and have exhibited a horrid spectacle. Each arm of the great statue is decorated with bracelets, and on one of them is a chain of human skulls, which evidently shadow forth the destroying deity of India. Above and below this figure are several smaller statues, all of which have the sensations of distress and horror strongly depicted upon their countenances.

On the opposite side of the cave are the figures of a man and woman sitting, as the people of Hindostan do at present, with an attendant on each side.. At the feet of the male is the figure of a bull couchant; and in each corner of the niche stands a gigantic guard. Opposite is a correspondent niche; but the situation is dark, and the figures are greatly mutilated.

A niche, filled with defaced sculptures, is observed on each side of the entrance. On one side is a male, which appears to have had eight arms; but these are now broken off. In the back part is a figure with four arms, supported by birds; and another with four heads, whimsically elevated. In the opposite niche is a large sitting figure, together with a horse in the back ground, caparisoned according to the present mode of the country.

At the west end of this grand cavern is a dark recess, twenty feet square, totally destitute of any external ornament, except the altar in the centre, and eight gigantic figures which guard the four doors that lead into it. These figures, which are of the enormous height of thirteen feet and a half, are all finely sculptured in alto relievo,

From this circumstance some travellers have supposed this sculpture to have been designed for a representation of the judgment of Solomon; but others, with greater appearance of reason, are of opinion, that it represents the tyrant Cansa attempting the life of the infant god Creeshna, when fostered by the herdsman Ananda,

and appear as if starting from the wall to which they are attached. They have all rich collars round their necks, and their heads are decorated like those of the other statues. Of the striking attitude of one of these figures Mr. Hunter has recorded the following particulars: The whole weight of the statue seems to rest upon the right eg, while the knee of the left is somewhat bent; the right shoulder hangs downward, parallel to the body; the palm of the fore-hand sustains a globe; and the fingers are bent backward in a style that admirably represents the weight of the ponderous body they support. Such are the formidable guardians of a recess which was devoted to the most sacred mysteries of the Hindoo religion; but our Dity and abhorrence are at once excited by the indelicate emblem, called the Lingam divinity, under which they represented, in this pagoda, the power of the first creative energy by whose operations all nature is produced.

Exclusive of the interesting objects that have already been described, there are compartments on both sides, separated from the great cavern by fragments of rock and loose earth, which may probably have fallen from the roof. That on the right is very spacious, and contains several pieces of sculpture; the most conspicuous of which has a human body, but the head of an elephant, and is supposed to represent Ganese, the first-born of a Seeva and the Hindoo god of wisdom.

The opposite compartment contains several figures, and a deep cavity in the rock is filled with excellent water, which, being always shaded from the sun, is deservedly esteemed by those persons whom curiosity leads hither through a scorching atmosphere. J. Goldingham, Esq., observes, that his account of the extent of this cavity, and the commnunication of its waters, by subterraneous passages, with others very distant, was given him by a native of the island; which would make a considerable figure in the hands of a poet.

The same learned gentleman observes, that the striking resemblance, in several particulars, of the figures in the cave to the present Hindoo race, would induce those who from nistory, as well as from observation, have reason to believe they have preserved the same customs from time immemorial, to imagine the ancestors of these people its fabri

cators. But those who are, in a small degree, acquainted with their mythology will be persuaded of it; nor is a much greater extent of knowledge requisite to enable us to discover that it is a temple dedicated principally to Seeva, the Indian destroyer or changer. To deduce the era of the fabrication of this structure is not so easy a task; but it was, no doubt, posterior to the great schism in the Hindoo religion.-SMITH's Wonders.

CATACOMBS AT ROME.

THE catacombs are a vast number of subterraneous galleries in the neighbourhood of Rome, that appear to have been ancient repositories of the dead; but whether originally dug by the heathens or the primitive Christians has been much disputed by the learned. Each alley or passage is about four feet broad, and six or eight feet high, and are not only carried on in a straight direction to a surprising length, but have others running off every way like so many streets of a city, On the sides of these alleys were the niches or graves where the dead bodies were deposited, lengthwise, three or four rows one over another, parallel to the alley. Each of these graves was just capable of receiving one body, and had its mouth. closed with large tiles, and sometimes pieces of marble, cemented together in a curious manner. On some few of these tiles is found the name of the deceased person; but frequently a palm-tree engraven or painted. In some places, there are little grottos or chapels hewn out of the rock, going off from the common gallery, which have niches all round them, and are sometimes adorned with old mosaic work or painting. These seem to have been the burial places of particular families. As to the opinion of the primitive Christians digging these caves, and not only burying their martyrs there in times of persecution, but assembling in them for the performance of divine worship, it is highly improbable; for, as it is not to be conceived how they could carry on such a vast work unknown to their persecuting governors, considering the multitude of hands that must have been employed, and the mountains of rubbish brought out of these prodigious

caverns, so likewise is it absurd to think they could hold assemblies amidst the annoyance of stench and corruption. It is, therefore, more reasonable to suppose, that the catacombs were originally the common sepulchres of the ancient Romans, and were not used after the custom of burning the dead was introduced amongst them, unless for slaves and the meaner sort of families.

ECHOES.

ECHOES reside, for the most part, in ruined abbeys, in caverns, and in grottos: they reverberate among mountains, whisper in the areas of antique halls, in the windings of long passages, and in the melancholy aisles of arched cathedrals. There is an ancient portico near the temple of Clymenos, in the district of Cithonias, which repeats three times, on which account it is called the Echo. At Woodstock there was one which returned seventeen syllables during the day, and twenty in the night. In the sepulchre of Metella, the wife of Sylla; an echo repeated five different times, in five different keys; and Barthius, in his notes on Statius, relates, that on the banks of the Naha, between Bingen and Coblentz, an echo recited seventeen times. He who spoke or sung could scarcely be heard, and yet the responses were loud and distinct, clear and various; sometimes appearing to approach, at other times to come from a great distance, much after the manner of an Eolian harp.

In the cemetery of the Abercorn family, at Paisley, in the county of Renfrew, there is an echo exceedingly beautiful and romantic. When the door of the chapel is shut, the reverberations are equal to the sound of thunder. Breathe a single note in music, and the tone ascends gradually. with a multitude of echoes, till it dies in soft and most bewitching murmurs. If the effect of one instrument is delightful, that of several in concert is captivating, exciting the most tumultuous and rapturous sensations. In this chapel, lulled by ethereal echoes, sleeps Margery, the daughter of Bruce, the wife of Wallace, and the mother of Robert, king of Scotland.

A singular echo is heard in a grotto near Castle Com

K

ber, in Ireland. No reverberation is observed till the listener is within 15 or 16 feet of the extremity of the grotto; at which place a most delightful echo enchants the ear. Does there exist any one who has not heard of the eagle's nest near Mucross Abbey, on the banks of the Lake of Killarney? This celebrated rock sends forth the most fascinating repercussion. Sound a French or buglehorn, echoes, equal to an hundred instruments, answer to the call. Report a single cannon, the loudest thunders reverberate from the rock, and die in endless peals along the distant mountains.-Philosophy of Nature.

ECHO AT MILAN.

A NOBLEMAN's seat, about two miles from Milan, produces such a surprising echo as can scarcely be equalled in the world. Mr. Addison observes, that upon firing a pistol he heard the sound returned fifty-six times, though the air was then foggy, and consequently not proper for making an experiment to advantage. At first the repetitions were very quick, but the intervals were greater in proportion as the sound decayed. This astonishing echo was probably never designed by the architect, but it is occasioned by two parallel walls of a considerable length, between which the sound is reverberated from one to the other till the undulation is quite spent. Some persons assert, that the sound of one musical instrument in this place resembles a great number of instruments playing in concert. SMITH'S Wonders.

CATHEDRALS

ST. PETER'S AT ROME.

THE cathedral church of St. Peter's, at Rome, is esteemed a master-piece of modern architecture, and strikes the spectator with admiration and pleasing asto