responsible office was a Jew, one of the earthly family of Abraham, and one also of his spiritual children, a member of the true Israel, a believer in Israel's long rejected King. Dr. Alexander was, in every respect, fitted for the arduous work to which he was called. Of the manner in which he commenced it, and of his entrance, after a short period of labour, into an everlasting rest, we have the following brief accounts:—

"The Bishop preached his farewell sermon on the 8th November, 1841, in the Episcopal Jews' Chapel, Palestine Place, before an unusually large congregation. He had chosen for his text the following words of Holy Writ And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."

The Bishop's first arrival at Jerusalem is thus described by an eye-witness :

"On the morning of the 20th January, 1842, our little community was much excited by the arrival of a messenger from Jaffa, with the intelligence that the British Consul-General and Bishop Alexander had arrived off that port, and might be expected in Jerusalem on the following day. The Rev. Mr. Nicolayson, the head of the Mission for promoting Christianity amongst the Jews at Jerusalem, immediately started to meet them. The rencontre took place at Ramleh, where they halted to pass the night. On the following day they made their entry into our ancient capital in a procession, which will be remembered by those who saw it to the latest day of their lives. When within five miles of the gate they were joined by the few British and American residents on horseback, headed by Mr. Proconsul Johns, who is architect of the intended church.

On approaching the town the cavalcade was swollen by the junction of the Bey, second in command of the troops, who had been sent with a guard of honour to compliment Colonel Rose on his arrival. Not the least interesting object in the throng was Mrs. Alexander, the partner of the Right Rev. Prelate. A large taterwan, or Oriental litter, had been constructed, which, supported before and behind by stout mules, conveyed Mrs. Alexander and the younger portion of her family over the rocky and precipitous tracks which lead from Jaffa to Jerusalem. The throng passed on, and the scene which ensued at the Bethlehem Gate, by which it entered the town, baffles all description. On the one side were the gray massive battlements of Jerusalem, on the other was the vale that leads to Bethlehem, while the dark line of the mountains of Moab beyond the Dead Sea walled in the prospect. The wild Bedouins, who had been gambolling round the procession at the full speed of their desert horses, contented themselves with firing off their muskets, being now hemmed by the motley throng of citizens, &c.; Mussulmen in their furred pelisses and well folded turbans, and Jews. The party moved on slowly towards the house of Mr. Nicolayson; and just as the new comers turned their heads to admire the Tower of Hippicus, which dates from the time of Herod the Tetrarch, the guns thundered forth a salute on the occasion of one of the greatest festivals of the Mahometan religion. It was singular that the Protestant bishop thus made his public entry into one of the four holy cities of the Mahometans on such an occasion. "On the 23d the bishop preached his introductory sermon- Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations."—See Missionary Labours in Jerusalem, pp. 24—26.

In November, 1845, Bishop Alexander, with his wife

1 Isa. ix. 15.

and eldest daughter, commenced a journey to England on important business. It was his last journey on earth, nor was he permitted to complete it.

"The bishop had greatly enjoyed the Desert, and had, day after day, sung, as they travelled on, suitable hymns, in reference to the wanderings of the Lord's ancient people. The singing sounded peculiarly sweet as they crossed the great desert of Shur. His last act was prayer with his wife and daughter, and he then laid down upon his bed in the tent. His last words were a blessing. Mrs. Alexander then went to sleep, but was awoke by a groan from her husband. She instantly got up, when she saw him sitting up in bed, with his eyes closed. She spoke to him, but received no answer. She touched him, but had no reply, when she gave the alarm. It was death. He had gone off in an instant, and without pain. One groan had been his last.

"It was truly a heart-rending scene. In a tent, in the wild sandy desert, no medical help at hand, to see the widowed wife and fatherless daughter bending over the lowly bed on which were stretched the lifeless remains."

According to the wish of the bishop, expressed in life, his remains were conveyed back to Jerusalem, there to await the resurrection of the dead. But he is gone to the "heavenly Jerusalem, which is free, the mother of us all."

DIFFICULTIES OF A MISSIONARY IN JERUSALEM.

"We still cannot find any house, and the rooms which we live in now are wretched beyond description. There are no windows in them, but only holes, which we are obliged to stop up on account of the cold and rain; but

1 When Mrs. Ewald, the wife of one of the missionaries who accompanied Bishop Alexander to the holy city, was dying, she said, "It is a blessed thought to die in Jerusalem; but I am going to the heavenly Jerusalem, which is free, the mother of us all."

then we have no light, except we open the door, and when it rains we are obliged to shut it, and burn a light. With all this trouble we can only make one room, out of the three we have, habitable, by putting our carpets, &c. into the holes. In this room we and our two children and the maid-servant are living."-Missionary Labours, &c. p. 70.

VALLEY OF HINNOM.

SCRIPTURE NOTICES.

"MOREOVER he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel . . ."-2 Chronicles xxviii. 3.

"And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place."-Jeremiah vii. 31, 32.

[Joshua xv. 8, xviii. 16; 2 Kings xxiii. 10; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 6; Neh. xi. 30; Jer. xix. xxxii. 35.]

This valley is so called in the Old Testament; though more commonly in the fuller form, Valley of the Son of Hinnom. . . It is a deep and narrow dell, with steep rocky sides, often precipitous, . . . and sweeping around mount Zion . . . descends with great rapidity into the very deep valley of Jehoshaphat. . . . Here it meets the gardens, (lying partly within its own mouth, and partly 1 See following pages.

in the valley of Jehoshaphat, or Kedron, and irrigated by the waters of Siloam,) in which Jerome assigns the place of Tophet; where the Jews practised the horrid rites of Baal and Moloch, and "burned their sons and their daughters in the fire." It was probably in allusion to this detested and abominable fire, that the later Jews applied the name of this valley (Gehenna), to denote the place of future punishment, or the fires of hell.ROBINSON'S Researches, vol. i. pp. 324, 402, 404, 405.

"On the south side of the valley of Hinnom, and near its junction with Kedron, is the Potter's Field. It is a small parcel of ground near the top of the bank, with an old ruined house on it. There was a small level spot, thirty feet below the top of the bank, at the bottom of a thick stratum of horizontal rock. Walls have been made enclosing a part of this, the face of the rock forming the south wall of the building. The roof, which is flat, is on a level with the top of the bank, and in it are a number of holes, through which they used to throw the dead bodies. It is not now used as a place of interment, and is, in fact, going to ruin, part of the walls having fallen in. . . .

"At the junction of the valley of Hinnom with that of the Kedron, which is nearly at right angles, the Hinnom running nearly east, and the Kedron nearly west, there is a level space of several acres, laid out in gardens, and well set with trees. These gardens and trees continue up the valley of the Kedron, which is wider than that of Hinnom, for some distance; this rich and beautiful spot, watered by Siloam, is called the King's Dale. These valleys have all steep high banks.” -PAXTON's Letters from Palestine, pp. 122, 123.

"I was told in England that the country about Jerusalem was everywhere barren, rocky, and sandy; but I find this is not exactly the case. The valley of Hinnom,' just outside the Jaffa gate, presents a most lovely,

1 Sometimes called in this upper part, Valley of Gihon.