different places, on the rugged surfaces of the living rock. There are, in all, nine sculptured tablets; three bear hieroglyphical, and six cuneiform inscriptions. The three Egyptian tablets (according to Lepsius) bear the cartouches of Rameses II., the Sesostris of the Greeks, about 1351 B.C.; and Herodotus tells us that Sesostris left steles and figures behind him as monuments of his exploits, and that he had seen them. Layard considers the Assyrian tablets to be the work of Sennacherib, whose army was destroyed near Libnah. We know from sacred history that no less than five Assyrian monarchs either invaded this country or passed through it on their way to Egypt: Pul, Tiglathpileser, Shalmaneser, Sargon, and Sennacherib.1

"The epoch of Sesostris," says Robinson, "concluded the last half of the fourteenth century B.C., and was three centuries earlier than the accession of King David. Sennacherib is supposed to have ascended the throne in 705 B.C. Between the tablets of the former conqueror and those of the latter, there intervened a period of not less than six centuries. Looking back from our day, the Assyrian tablets have continued to commemorate the progress of the Assyrian hosts for more than twenty-five centuries; while those of Egypt, if proceeding from Sesostris, have celebrated his prowess for thirty-one centuries. They reach back to hoary antiquity, even to the earliest days of the Judges of Moab, before Jerusalem was known."

England, in like manner, situated on the western verge of Europe, is a link between two hemispheres; and binds Europe to America by its trade and commerce, which are greatly due to its central, commanding, and insular position. If two large circles were drawn, one comprising the land of the eastern hemisphere, and the other that of the western, they would intersect in England. England occupies the position of an axletree, as it were, to both hemispheres; and is the point of convergence for the nations of the world. Hence, Murray's Handbook for Syria and Palestine, p. 303. 2 See chronological note on p. 27.

the central geographical position of England forms an additional analogy with that of ancient Tyre.

II. Another characteristic point of similarity between Tyre and England, is the comparative smallness and insignificance of their islands or country, compared with their gigantic colonies, their immense commerce, and

From Prof. Maspero's Struggle of the Nations, by permission of the S.P.C.K

their wide influence in the earth. Phoenicia was a strip of land on the sea-coast, extending in its palmy days for not more than two hundred and fifty miles in length, and of narrow breadth; yet its influence was felt all over the shores of the Mediterranean, and beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, some two thousand miles distant. Tyre itself, the Capital, the Eye of Phoenicia, was built on a

small island, nearly one mile in length and over half a mile in breadth. Well may we wonder at the mysterious providence of God in placing so much territory and wealth under one small city, and exclaim, "What city is like Tyrus," the strong, the powerful, the rich, the joyous city? The following quotation from Murray's Handbook for Syria and Palestine, bears on this point:-

"The smallness of the site of this ancient city strikes one, as contrasted with its fame and power. Is it possible that this little 'rock' once ruled the seas and dotted the shores of Europe and Africa with its colonies? Its population could never have exceeded 30,000 or 40,000 souls; and none of our ordinary ocean steamers could have entered its harbours. But we must remember that there must be an infancy of commerce as well as of manhood, and we might as well speak of putting a man back into his cradle as of considering the ports of antiquity adapted for the accommodation of modern vessels. Tyre was the cradle of commerce, the illustrious home of its infancy" (p. 393).

England is a small island set in the silver sea; and, like Tyre, wields an influence over the world disproportionate to her size, arising from her shipping, colonies, commerce, and traffic. Here is a little kingdom of 121,390 square miles, with a population of 42,789,552, controlling possessions aggregating 11,391,036 square miles in extent, or nearly ninety-five times her own area, embracing 383,165,494, or nearly four hundred millions of souls. Thus, this small island rules over or influences more than one quarter of the estimated population of the globe; and more territory than is included in the whole of the Russian Empire, from the Vistula to the Sea of Japan, or an area of some nine million square miles. We may enforce this remarkable point by a quotation from the late Cardinal Manning. His Eminence said: "I believe that in these latter days the great British Empire has been built up for us, not by 11S. Indeed, a greater miracle in the whole history of mankind I have never read of than that half a million of the British race should reign over 240 millions of the

Oriental races. So wonderful a phenomenon is not to be found in any record of the world."

12. Another analogy presents itself in the influence which both these nations, the Phoenicians and the English (Tyre and England), have exercised over the Mediterranean Sea. England, up to the present, has been paramount in the Mediterranean, in which she possesses Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus, which may be called the keys of this inland sea. The connection of ancient Tyre and that of modern England with the island of Cyprus, is noteworthy and interesting. Cyprus, situated in the neighbourhood of Phoenicia, was one of the earliest colonies of Tyre; and now, under the protectorate of Britain, it ranks as one of her dependencies. Russia would creep through the Dardanelles and make the Mediterranean a Russian lake, and France has long cherished the desire to convert it into a French lake; but, up to the present time, England has guarded her supremacy by maintaining a Mediterranean fleet, as well as her Channel fleet, which has outstripped the efforts and jealousy of her rivals.

13. A further analogy between ancient Tyre and modern England, is found in that inspired expression where Tyre is called "the crowning city" (Isa. xxiii. 8), and Ezekiel calls her "the renowned city" (Ezek. xxvi. 17). Tyre must have been a wonderful city, to justify such an expression. The Scriptures speak of its towers, its walls, its pleasant houses, its palaces, and its stronghold (Amos i. 10); and this description held good at the time of Ezekiel's vision, about 588 B.C.; and later, before its capture and destruction by Alexander the Great, in 332 B.C. It seems, together with Babylon and Egypt, to have been in the van of wealth, luxury, and civilization; and to have exhibited the most gorgeous concentration of commercial, rather than of political, power, arising from its mercantile marine, its colonies, its commerce, and its wide geographical relations with many foreign countries. Even its present ruins, its foundations and marble columns, that are strewn about and are visible under the blue water of the Mediter

ranean Sea, attest its former greatness and architectural beauty. There still remains one solitary specimen of Tyre's great sea wall-that mighty bulwark which no enemy could overthrow-as a testimony to its ancient splendour. The great reservoirs and aqueducts at Râs el-'Ain, near the supposed site of Palæ-Tyrus, are still the objects of astonishment and interest to travellers.

Tyre must have been par excellence a city of columns and temples. The north end appears to have been one vast colonnade. Some think that during the dawn of the Israelitish kingdom, Tyre was the most splendid city in the world; and that because of her being unrivalled in mechanical skill, in the arts, and in architecture, Solomon chose her as his ally in building his gorgeous temple.

Isaiah's description of her traffickers as being the "honourable of the earth" (Isa. xxiii.), reveals how great was the worldly prestige which Tyre must have enjoyed.

This is also true of England or Great Britain, taken as a whole; and looking at its wealth, its shipping, its geographical relations, its colonies, England might be called the crowning country of the world. But restricting our comparison to one city, and comparing Tyre, as a city, with London; this expression "the crowning city," is peculiarly descriptive of modern London, the capital of the British Empire, and which, from whatever aspect it is regarded, may, for its size and population, for its shipping, for its commerce and wealth, be called the crowning city of the world. Its extent is about fourteen miles in length and ten miles in breadth. The Roman city of London, which originally covered a little more than one square mile, has expanded into a great metropolis. Now, Greater London, including its suburbs, spreads over an area of some 700 square miles, the greater part of which is more or less densely packed; but it also contains several extensive parks, and many small open spaces or gardens in its squares. In this respect, but on a limited scale, it resembles some of the ancient cities, such as Babylon, or Nineveh, which were of very