26

Private Wells.

[Book I.

place only there are springs and pits (wells) of water.” Pliny makes thesame remark, and speaks of its “abundance of water.” Nat. His. v, 25.Bonnini, in his ‘ Syracuse Antichi,’ remarks that most of the Sicilian citiestook their names from the fountains they were near, or the rivers theybordered upon. The deep well in the Cumean Sybil’s cave, gave its namehilybe, both to the cape and town near it. Breval’s Remarks on Europe , 19and 39. The same may be said of other European cities. Bath in Eng-land derived its name from the springs near it. It was named Caer-Badon,or the place of baths, before the Roman invasion. The city of Wells ,also, was named after the wells of water near it, especially the one nowknown as St. Andrew’s Well. Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary. Manyothers might be named.

Private wells were, however, very common in ancient times. Abrahamand Isaac constructed several for the use of their own families and flocks.David’s spies were secreted in the well of a private house. “Waterout of thine own cistern and running waters out of thine own well,” isthe language of Proverbs, v, 15 ; and in the 2d Book of Kings , xviii, 31,we read of “ every one drinking waterout his of own cistern or pit as itis in the margin; a term often used by eastern writers, synonymously withwelk In the plans of private houses at Karnac, it appears that the ancientEgyptians arranged their houses and court yards (Grande Description,tom. iii, Planche xvi,) in a manner very similar to those of the Romans,as seen at Pompeii , and like these, each house was generally furnishedwith a round well and an oblong cistern. Lardner’s Arts of the Greeksand Romans, i, 44. “ If I knew a man incurably thankless,” says Seneca,

“ I would yet be so kind as to put him on his way, to let him light a can-dle at mine, or draw water at my well.” Seneca on Benefits; L’Estrange’sTrans. The story of Apono, an Italian philosopher, and reputed magi-cian, of the 13th Century, indicates that almost every house had a well.He, however, had not one, or it was dry, and his neighbor having refusedto let his maid draw water from his well, Apono, it was said, by hismagic caused it through revenge to be carried off by devils. Bayle.

Numerous wells of extreme antiquity are still to be seen in Egypt .Van Sieb notices several. Besides those in some of the pyramids, there areothers which are probably as old as those structures. Mr. Wilkinson men-tions one near the pyramids of Geezer. An. Egyp. vol. iii. Among theruins of Nineveh, a city whose foundations were laid by Ashur, the sonof an antediluvian, is a remarkable well, which supplies the peasants ofthe vicinity with water, and who attribute to it many virtues. a CaptainRieh named it Thisbe’s Well. The immediate successors of that Pharaoh who patronized Joseph erected stationsto commandthe wells, (which werepreviously in use, and probably had been for ages,) at Wadee Jasous, andthese same wells still supply the port of Philoteras or iEnnum, on the RedSea , with water, as they did four thousand years ago. b

The building of stations to protect wells "was common in ancient times,on account of robbers laying in wait near them. There is an allusion tothis in Judges , “ They are delivered from the noise of archers in the placesof drawing water.” Chap. v, 11. It was atthe public fountains that thePelasgi attacked the Athenian women. Near the ruins of an EgyptianTemple at Wady El Mecah, is an enclosure, in the centre of which is awell. “ All round the well there is a platform or gallery raised six feet.on which a guard of soldiers might walk all round. In the upper part

“Narrative of a residence in Koordistan, and on the site of ancient Nineveh , byC. J. Rieh, Lon. 1836. Vol. ii, 26 and 34, b An, Egyp . Vol i, 46.