Africa.

A writer in the Natal Mercury, un-

der the date of Feb, 2, 1869, says,

when treating of the ‘ruins. of Sim-

baoe : : :

A day’s march: from ;Andowa, be-

tween two hills, at the end of a vast

and fertile valley, are the ruins of Ax-

um. To this incredibie flights of stone

steps conduct the traveler up to the

are found deep grottoes and vast halls,

cut out of the rock and ornamented

with columns. There, according to

tomb of the Queen of Saba. The ad:

joining valley, shaded by majestic trees

is filled by the remains of the city, con-

sisting of huge blocks of stone. Very

little of the debris reveal their former

purpose. There may, however, be dis-

tinguished two groups of fourteen: or

fifteen obelisks, thrown down, Seven

of them are covered with: ornaments,

and are not Jess than thirty six feet in

length. These master-pieces of ancient

architecture reveal to us the fact of an

ancient civilization in the heart of Af:

rica, which has disappeared again

thousands of years since, Neibuhr

tells us of a mighty Abyssinian empire

existing here, me¢ntioning in particular

Saba, and says that it was so powerful

that even the Roman and Partheian

strength could not prevail against it.

‘Dhis last statement was taken from a

Greek inscription found among the

ruins, engraved in stone. On the re-

verse side is another engraving in some

ancient language, which has not yet

been deciphered. The savage tribes

guard these ruins with jealous care.

No living animal is allowed to be

killed in them, no tree permitted to be

destroyed, everything connected with

them being held sacred, as. belonging

either to a good or evil power. A mis-

sionary, who penetrated-within a short

distance of the ruins, writes: “In this

country were also found some very old

guns, in a hole in the mountain. We

got one of the locks of these guns, and

found it to have a wheel outside, with

that they came from these ruins. The

Basutos often tell us, when asked if

they acknowledged God, about the bi

stones in Banyai, where all crea

things are to be seen, even sphinxes,

pyramid-shaped buildings abd cata-

combs,”