Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.

They stood on the sea-shores , on the great plains , and on the mountain tops JvJjMOtmi ^ find heat , and rain have wasted them into dust . No vestige of these temples now remains . Constructed by Tyrian and by Greek , brothers of the men who built the tower of David , and the temple of Athemo , they are not the less all gone . The masons of Cyprus had to build in limestone , not in granite , not in marble . At the present hour no Phoenician , no Egyptian , no Greek edifice stands above the ground , even iu a state of ruin—all are dust . The only ruins that exist are graves ; and these are dust outside , whatever treasures of gold work , terra cotta , bronze , or bone , they may conceal within their silent caves . Unlike PalestineCyprus has levelled the Crusaders' lines and works . Even the later efforts of the Lusignian

, princes and Venetian governors are iu ruins ; bigger and nobler , yet but little more enduring , than the Turkish konak in the town is the Turkish blockhouse on the coast . It is not surprising , therefore , that my asylum , though the oldest dwelling in the neighbourhood , dates no further back than forty or fifty years . Garden , water-wheel , and house are evidently of the same age ; aud from the size of the great apricot tree , in the pleasant shade of which . I write these words , I have no hesitation in setting down the date . "

From the foregoing extract it wdl be seen that it will be in vain to search for any noble rehcs of the handiAVork of our ancient operative brethren in Cyprus , so far at least as the once magnificent temples erected by them are concerned . HoAvever pobticians may disagree about the value of the island as a British possession in the Mediterranean , —a subject I cannot discuss in the Masonic Magazine , where everything having the least appearance of party or of sectarianism would be quite out of place , —the island

is evidently not the miserable desert Avhich some of our writers and public speakers , through ignorance or prejudice , have represented it to be . Rest assured that the ancient Greeks AA'ould never blunder so much as to specially assign a wilderness to the goddess of love ancl beauty ! How many a poor "Britisher , " who dare scarcely pluck a blackberry from the hedgeroAv of a fanner , nor even a crab from a tree overhanging the queen ' s highAvay , AVOUICI be glad "of apricots" to " have their fiE ! " and "on eA'ery

side " to have only to put their hands out , and " draw in " what they want , according to their taste ; " green grapes , dark coloured figs , pomegranates " —of which the majority of us English Freemasons know Ettle more than that from the exuberance of their seed they have been wisely chosen as the emblems of plenty— " ripe and ripening limes—so Avelcome to the parched and fevered lips , " ancl the delightful oranges in their season , — the only thing almost of AA'hich poor invalids in this country seem never to be

disgusted Avith , hoAveA'er diseased then digestive apparatus may haA'e become . Really Mr . llepworth Dixon almost makes one ' s mouth Avater in hopes that Mr . Cook may soon favour us with cheap trips to Cyprus , where proper drainage and cultivation will soon free us from all fear of fever : —

'' Beyond the courtyard drones the watenvheel , Avhich keeps the adjoining gardens green and fruitful . Of the primitive Persian type , worked by a mule , which -vvalks his endless circle from dawn of day till after sunset , this wheel resembles the machines by which the ancient patriarchs raised and scattered their supplies of water . " Wells are semi-sacred in the East ; and the diggers of deep wells , even though their names may be forgotten , are remembered in the daily prayers of those who drink and live . The fluid from this wheel is carried along the adjacent garden by a system of canals , as simple , roundabout , and shallow as the ducts by which an Arab peasant entices the Nile into his cotton field and melon yardThe water trickles from tree to treeround bole is hollowed outforming

. ; every a cup , a _ tiny basin , so that every root is fed with moisture . Five or six acres of ground are covered with vines , olives , pomegranates , figs , karobs , apricots , grapes , peaches , limes , and oranges . The jewel of the garden , an enormous apricot tree , stands in the centre , spreading its branches like an English oak , and offering welcome shade to any number of sun-burnt pilgrims . AVhen the fruit is ripe , this tree is said to be at once a blessing and nuisance . People who are fond of apricots have their fill ; but over-ripe apricots dropping in blobs and splashes on your face as you recline iu the shade may be a little overmuch for the greatest icures in the fruitThe of boughs is like that of secluded nook

ep . canopy more a jn an English wood than anything you might expect to find in a country too dry and hot for grass . Cactus and oleander peep at you through every opening in the leaves ; on every side you put your hand out and draw in what you want , according to your taste ; green grapes , dark coloured figs , pomegranate ,-- , npe and ripening limes—so welcome to the parched and fevered lips . The time of oranges has not come , but they are hereabouts , with promise to be ready when their season comes . This cool and verdant paradise is peopled by no obnoxious creatures , though at times some vermin from the outer Avorld , ome snake or foxcontrives to break the covertand to off innocent chickThe creatures

, , carry an . P P * ° the garden are innumerable larks , which break into their song and twitter at the break of day , ; ™ enaselves in their nests almost as soon as men are up and at their toil , to wake again as day is going down , and fill the evening air with resonance and song . Bees swarm about the garden , laying up li ' ' St ?' ° ^ k ° y for a winter not too long . In a land which gives no milk , and therefore knows no 'tter , honey is an object of man ' s "rcatest cave ; but bees , like Xegroes , Bedouins , and other thriftless