168 and in others again forming shady walks and bowers. Very many of the large trees, in those warm countries, are loaded with delicate blossoms. As Nebu: chadnezzar passed through the alleys of his gardens, and ascended the steps that led from terrace to terrace, a delightful fragrance doubtless came to him from the multitude of flowers and spicy shrubs that were growing on every side. Chaldea was a very fertile country, and undoubtedly abounded in fruits and flowers. These, of course, were planted in the hanging gardens; and, as Nebuchadnezzar ruled over most of the countries in the southern parts of Asia and the northern parts of Africa, where the heat of the ston brings plants to their greatest perfection, probable that many of the fruits and flowers from those regions also were collected together within the gardens of the palace. Thus might the orange from India mingle its white blossoms with the scarlet flowers of the pomegranate, or the purple clusters of the Persian lilac. The walls which supported the terraces dividing each successively from the one below it, were con
