about her; told the towers thereof, marked well her bulwarks, and considered her palaces;' and rejoice to say with the Psalmist, 'This God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide even unto death.'

"In the evening we ascended to our house-top on Mount Zion, and enjoyed a moonlight view of the city,

-the Mount of Olives and the mountains of Moab in the distance. The sky of the Orient was pure and bright, the moon and stars were shining with celestial beauty, and in the presence of the scene we could not but call to mind the exclamation of the Psalmist, 'When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?'

"We rose early this morning to enjoy the sunrise view from our house-top on Mount Zion. The morning star was in the east, and the dawn lovely with purple and rosy light. Then came the reddening rays as the sun shone glorious over Moab, lighting up Olivet, the minarets of the city, the domes of Omar, and the Holy Sepulchre, flooding the streets with golden light, falling upon Gihon and the mountains of Judea beyond, and filling the entire landscape with new life and beauty. The moon was just sinking in the west as the sun was rising in the east, and the whole formed a scene of transcendent beauty, such as I have never before witnessed in the Orient. In the language of the Psalmist, 'The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun; which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as We then went to visit the

a strong man to run a race.'

tomb of David upon the southern summit of Mount Zion, without the walls. It was formerly a Christian church, now converted into a Mohammedan mosque, and is regarded by Moslems, Jews, and Christians as enclosing the sepulchre of Israel's king. With some difficulty we succeeded in gaining admittance to the room where the tomb stands. It is built in the Mohammedan style, covered over with a green cloth, and filled upon the outer surface with the names of Jews in Hebrew characters, who have been privileged to visit the place. It is greatly venerated by the Jews, as occupying the precise spot where the royal dust of David reposes; and they frequently resort to the next chamber-as near as Moslem bigotry will permit them-to weep over their fallen condition.

"In an adjoining part of the building we were shewn the large 'upper room,' where it is said the Saviour celebrated the last passover with His disciples. They also point to a recess in the wall as the seat occupied by Jesus on that occasion. The room is now used for religious services by the native Christians, and the Moslems also have a praying place here, looking towards Mecca. It is remarkable that Mohammedans hold many of the localities connected with the patriarchs and prophets of Old Testament history in even greater veneration than the Christians and Jews. But they seldom reverence any that pertain to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, though they regard Jesus as the last and greatest of prophets before Mahomed. Upon leaving the mosque, we passed a ruined stone wall, where it is said the Virgin Mary lived with the beloved disciple, John, in his own. house after the crucifixion. It is greatly venerated by

the Latin, Greek, and Armenian pilgrims, and several were here, crossing, prostrating themselves, and kissing the stones of the wall.

Then we visited the American convent near by, which, they tell us, occupies the site of the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where they led away Jesus the night after His arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. The place of the Saviour's imprisonment and mocking is here shewn, also where the Apostle Peter denied his Lord, when the cock crew, and Peter went out and wept bitterly. Likewise behind the altar they have a large, rough block of stone, which is said to be the identical stone that was rolled before the door of the Saviour's sepulchre. The pilgrims kiss it with much devotion, and bedew its surface with many tears. Though Protestant travellers, overcome by the emotions of the place and hour, frequently yield implicit belief in all these sacred relics and localities, I am rather inclined to conclude, that for wise reasons, for the most part, they are entirely lost. Yet one cannot but have his faith strengthened, and devotion quickened, by visiting the precise spots where tradition relates that these scenes of the Saviour's mission upon earth were witnessed.

"Entering Zion gate, we now pass the lepers' quarter, a few miserable hovels near the city walls. They live apart by themselves, are outcasts from society, and are obliged always to intermarry with each other. Consequently, not only themselves but their children are all afflicted with this loathsome disease. No sympathy seems. extended to them, and they are suffered to live and die in filth and wretchedness, the most pitiable objects in the world.

Continuing our walk, we came to the outer walls of the harem, or court of the mosque of Omar. Here we examined the immense stones forming the arch discovered by Dr Robinson, that spanned the valley between Mount Moriah and Mount Zion. They bear marks of great antiquity, and were doubtless connected with the works. of Solomon's temple.

"Then passing through the filthy Jewish quarter, we visited the wailing-place of the Jews opposite the large stones of the old temple wall. Here fifteen or sixteen old men, and as many women and children, were standing opposite the wall reading the Hebrew prophecies, weeping and wailing over the desolation of Jerusalem, and praying that their long-expected Messiah would come and build again the wastes of Zion. They bowed down with their faces to a hole in the corner of the wall, and, as they turned away, their eyes were wet with tears, and their faces filled with sorrow and grief. It was indeed an affecting scene, yet I was more than ever impressed with the stubborn unbelief of the Jews, who still reject the Saviour before the very ruins of the temple whose destruction He predicted eighteen hundred years ago.

Returning thence, near St Stephen's gate, we met with an old Franciscan monk, who walked with us along the 'Via Dolorosa,' and pointed out the various traditional localities connected with the trial and death of Christ. 'Here,' said he, 'stood the palace of Pontius Pilate the Roman governor, where the chief-priests and elders of the people led away Jesus bound from the house Caiaphas, and delivered Him up to be falsely accused and condemned to death. And when Pilate found no cause of death in Him, but would release Him and let Him go, the multi

tude cried out, His blood be on us and on our children; crucify Him! crucify Him!' Just upon our right is the chapel of flagellation, where the soldiers scourged Jesus, arrayed Him in scarlet robes, platted a crown of thorns and put it upon His head, spit upon Him, and mocked, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' An old arch standing across the street is called Ecce Homo, where Pilate said unto them, as Jesus came forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Behold the man! Then he delivered Him unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led Him away, and He went forth bearing His cross. As we walked along this mournful way, 'Here,' said the monk, 'our Saviour cried Salva Mater, and there by that granite column they laid hold upon Simon of Cyrene to bear His cross. This upon our right was the house of Lazarus, and that yonder the palace of the rich man of whom our Saviour spake in parables.' We then ascended the hill to the churches of Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre, both included under the same roof. It is a large and imposing edifice, entered from an open court fronted by two broad towers in the semi-gothic style. The centre is crowned by the dome of the Holy Sepulchre, and upon the right rises the smaller dome of Calvary. We first ascended a flight of twenty-two stone steps to the top of Mount Calvary. The floor is laid with marble; and just in front of an altar dedicated to the Virgin, a hole is cut, through which you see where the cross stood, and also a deep rent in the rock underneath, made by the earthquake at the crucifixion.

"Descending thence by a long passage and another flight of thirty-one steps, we visited a dark chapel dedicated to St Helena, where, it is said, the three crosses