The view in the engraving, showing the north side of the mountain, is taken from the new road to London, at the foot of the Calton Hill, with the houses of the Canon-gate in the valley beneath. PICTURES OF HUMAN LIFE. Not only did the fall bring down a curse upon the head of Adam, but from that hour, sin, as the poet Milton represents in man residing, through the race, His thoughts, his looks, words, actions, all infect. Let us take a view of human nature as it has appeared since that memorable event in the history of mankind. Who is it that lies weltering in his blood, by the side of his altar of earth, on which he has been offering "the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof," to Him who is "of purer eyes than to behold evil"? It is Abel, the second son of him who fell from “original righteousness," and he was slain by his elder brother. Oh, Sin! What hast thou done? Let the punishment of Cain reply. By a righteous retribution he is driven forth : 66 - he, the fugitive of care and guilt, Forsook the haunts he chose, the bowers he built; He found, where'er he roam'd, uncheer'd, unblest, How the woes of mankind-the natural consequence of sin, thicken! The life of man, which numbered centuries for its period, was one continued scene of suffering and wrong. Our first parents saw the race of Cain multiply, but, at the same time, witnessed their kindred spirit to their progenitor. They spurned obedience to their rule, and broke the bonds of nature. Coeval with them existed the righteous race of Seth and Enoch; but righteousness, since the fall, was not an innate principle in the breast of man. The " sons of God" formed connexion with "the daughters of men,” and the issue of their union was "giants," or men noted for lawlessness and outrageous violence. The earth became "corrupt before God”—the earth was "filled with violence." All reverence to their Maker was cast aside, and mankind became either entirely profane and atheistical, or else gross idolaters, so that it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." Gen. vi. 6. What rushing of the mighty waters is this that sounds in our ears through the lapse of ages? The windows of heaven are opened, and pour down torrents of rain, and the fountains of the great deep are broken up, and pour out their watery treasures upon the face of the earth. See how the flood rises! It has already covered the base of the mountains and the tops of the houses-and now it has reached the mountain summits. The green earth is no longer visible; above is the clear blue sky; below, one vast, one overwhelming sheet of water. Where now is the human race? Save eight souls who are riding safely in the ark, which is borne hither and thither by the waters of the deluge, all are swept away. So perished the antediluvian world, by reason of the corruption of human nature! Thus God manifested to all future ages, that sin and punishment are inseparable! Human nature now begins its history on a new page. Yet the testimony of its many volumes, is the same as that given of the antediluvian world, by the inspired and graphic pen of the writer of the book of Genesis. With him it testifies that the earth is corrupt before God, and filled with violence. Mighty as the waters of the deluge were, and all-potent to destroy a guilty world, they could not wash out the inborn corruptions of human nature. The little family in the ark was tainted with the depravity of Adam, which has descended from them to their latest posterity. There is now a sound of war in the earth. Nimrod usurps authority over those who had, hitherto, possessed equal rights and privileges with himself. By his prowess, he deprives his compeers of their liberties and their lives. And what a long list of Nimrods does the page of history unfold, since his period of existence ! Furious with ambition and the lust of conquest, men have passed from one end of the world to the other in order to subjugate their species to their sway. The wide seas, the lofty and almost inaccessible mountains, and the arid deserts, have opposed no barriers to their progress. Nature itself has bowed before them. And, in their onward progress, what ravages have they committed! The fruits of the earth have been trampled under their feet, cities sacked and destroyed by fire, and blood spilt as water on the ground. Witness the triumphs of the four great empires of antiquity the Chaldean, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman. What a sad picture of the effects of the ambition, which man possesses by nature, do they present to our view! In the foreground are conflagrations, slaughter, and death,—in the back, rapine, ruin, misery, and despair. And yet, all this terrific scene is gilded over with a halo of glory. The greatest conquerors are pronounced by the voice of history-which unhappily is the voice of the world-to be the most virtuous, and the most exalted characters among mankind. Men crowd around their chariot-wheels, and greet them on their return to their homes, after a victory, as though they had been conferring blessings on the human race, instead of desolating countries, altars, and firesides. Thus the consuls of old Rome entered the gates of the "mistress of the world:" their captives, led in chains and weeping at their chariot-wheels, and their fellowcitizens, surrounding them with songs and shouts of triumph. How awful is this picture of human nature ! From the field of battle let us resort to the temples men have created. How gorgeous are their exteriors! But let us look within. Alas, what sights meet our wondering gaze! Look for instance at the mystic cells of Egypt. such mystic fancies in the range Of these deep-cavern'd sepulchres are found, |