last night left the great road; and set off thence at 6.30. Five minutes further down, and just before reaching the bed of the valley, there was a quadrangular ruin, with bevelled stones at the corners; the middle portions of the walls being of less careful work. A paved modern bridge, with pointed arches, crosses the water-bed of the valley. The path immediately ascends a side valley, rocky and narrow; which, at 7.15, brought us out at its head on the border of a tract of table land. Here several points which we had formerly known, came in sight; as Neby Samwil, Tuleil el-Fûl, Beit Iksa, Beit Sûrîk. We now kept along upon the table land; and almost immediately a short shallow Wady on our left descended northwest to the great valley; where, at the junction, on the eastern shoulder, we saw below us the village of Lifteh.

Another shallow Wady now went off south; and then another, now green with fields of grain, in which at 7.25 we saw the convent of the Cross, distant half a mile directly south. Another low swell being surmounted, the Mount of Olives and the Holy City burst upon our view, S. 75° E. In the south was the plain of Rephaim and its valleys; while beyond towered the high ridge west of Beit Jâla, between Wady Ahmed and Wady Bittir. Leaving on our right the cemetery and upper pool, we reached the Yâfa gate at 7.55.

The approach to the Holy City on this side affords no view of the interior; which is hidden both by the slope of the ground eastwards and the high western wall. The view as one approaches from the north is very much to be preferred. As we drew near, some traces of improvement were visible around the city. On the low hill beyond the upper part of the valley of Hinnom, south of the upper pool, a large garden of several acres had been laid off in terraces, and planted with fruit trees; it was said to belong to the Greek convent. The narrow strip of ground adjacent to the western wall of the city, which formerly was open, was now walled in and sown with grain. Just by the Yâfa gate, also, a long narrow structure had been erected against the wall, in which were coffee-houses.

We entered the city, and took lodgings for the day at one of the hotels. We afterwards engaged private rooms in the German Brüderhaus, to which we removed next morning; and remained there during our sojourn in the city. This arrangement was not only much less expensive than living at a hotel; but gave us the entire control of our time. We had our own beds ; and our servants provided our meals, as usual. Our

Is this perhaps the "forsaken church" of Kulônia of which Dr Wilson speaks? Lands of the Bible II. p. 267.

2 Bearing at 7.15: Kustůl 280°. Neby Samwîl 348°. Beit Iksa 342°. Beit Sûrîk 351°. At 7.20: Lifteh N. m.

muleteers went out of the city to find pasture for their beasts; but soon came back with rueful countenances, saying their mules had been pressed for the service of the government. An application from the American consul, who just then arrived from Beirut, speedily set the matter right; but the muleteers did not again venture their animals out of our immediate protection.

We thus reached the Holy City on the twenty-fourth day after our departure from Beirût; a slow rate of travel certainly; but we had explored with some minuteness the middle portions of Galilee, and parts of Samaria, which as yet were little known. We were greatly struck with the richness and productiveness of the splendid plains especially of Lower Galilee, including that of Esdraelon. In these respects that region surpasses all the rest of Palestine. In the division of the country among the tribes, Judah was the largest, and took the largest territory. But broad tracts of its land were rocky and sterile, and others desert; while even its great plain along the coast was and is less fertile than those further north. Zebulun and Issachar, apparently the smallest tribes, had the cream of Palestine; while Asher and Naphtali, further north, possessed the rich uplands and wooded hills of Galilee, still rich and abundant in tillage and pasturage.

Most travellers in passing up from Yâfa and Ramleh to Jerusalem, follow the direct road by Sârîs. On this route they see no scriptural places, except the fortress of Emmaus and Kirjath-jearim; they traverse a dreary and desolate region; and the approach to the Holy City itself presents no feature of interest. I would venture to recommend, (and I know that my companion agrees with me,) that the traveller should take the camel road from Ramleh to Jerusalem; or, rather, the road lying still further north by Beth-horon. In this way he will pass near to Lydda, Gimzo, Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Gibeon; he will see Ramah and Gibeah near at hand on his left; and he may pause on Scopus to gaze upon the city from one of the finest points of view. The distance by this route is somewhat greater; but the traveller will find himself amply repaid, in the better country which he traverses, in the more numerous scriptural associations, and in the far more striking approach to the Holy City.

SECTION IV.

JERUSALEM.

INCIDENTS AND OBSERVATIONS.

As we thus again looked abroad upon the Holy City, after an interval of fourteen years, signs of change and a measure of general improvement were everywhere visible. The city, like the whole country, had long since reverted to the direct sway of the Sultan; and the various civil and political reforms of the Ottoman empire had here also been nominally introduced. A powerful foreign influence had been brought in, and was still exerted, by the establishment of the Anglo-Prussian bishopric and the other enterprises connected with it. The erection of the Protestant cathedral on Mount Zion, as part and parcel of the English consulate ; the opening of the Jewish hospital also on Zion, under the auspices of the English mission; and likewise of the Prussian hospital under the care of the German "deaconesses so called; the establishment of schools, and the introduction of agricultural labour in connection with them; all had served to increase the circulation of money, and to stimulate the native mind to like efforts. The convents had erected several large buildings, and established schools; and there was a process going on in Jerusalem, of tearing down old dwellings and replacing them by new ones, which reminded me somewhat of New York. There were at this time more houses undergoing this transformation in the Holy City, than I had seen the year before in six of the principal cities of Holland. As a natural result, there was more activity in the streets; there were more people in motion, more bustle, and more business.

Along with all this there was a greater influx of Franks, both as residents and travellers. The members of the London

1 Permission to erect the church was obtained only on condition of its being thus connected with the consulate. Herein the Turkish government imitated the policy VOL. III.-14*

M

of the Romish see; which tolerates Protestant worship in Rome itself, only in the house of an ambassador.

mission to the Jews had mostly fixed themselves on Zion, in the vicinity of the Anglican church and near the Jewish quarter. The German residents were chiefly in the same neighbourhood. For the accommodation of travellers there were now two extensive hotels, (a third had been for some time closed,) which furnished plentiful tables and tolerable beds, at about the NewYork prices of that date. There were also several private lodging-houses, nearly upon the London plan, in different parts of the city. The number of Frank travellers was said to have greatly increased; and it was a frequent remark, that there were more visitors from the American States than from Great Britain.

1

The American missionaries, with whom we found a home in 1838, withdrew from the city in 1843; it having been deemed advisable to concentrate the labours of the mission more in Lebanon and northern Syria. The house in which we had lodged was afterwards occupied by Mr Schultz, the Prussian consul; whose lamented decease took place in the autumn of 1851. At this time, Dr Valentiner, the chaplain of the Prussian consulate, was residing in it; the newly appointed consul, Mr Rosen, not having yet arrived. There was now but a single American resident in the city, Dr Barclay of Virginia, with his estimable family; a physician and missionary of the Campbellite persuasion.

Notwithstanding this appearance of change, and in so far of improvement, Jerusalem is still in all its features an oriental city; in its closeness and filth, in its stagnation and moral darkness. It was again difficult to realize, that this indeed had been the splendid capital of David and Solomon, in honour of which Hebrew poets and prophets poured forth their inspired strains; where the God of Israel was said to dwell on earth, and manifested his glory in the temple; where He, who is "Head over all things to the church," lived and taught in the flesh, and also suffered and died as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." Yet it was even so; and from this now inconsiderable place, thus degraded and trodden down, there has gone forth in former ages upon the nations an influence for weal or wo, for time and for eternity, such as the whole world beside has never exerted.

As our time was limited, it was necessary for us to improve every moment. Our observations were of course in a measure desultory; and consisted more in examining again what we had seen before and what others had since brought into notice, than in searching for new discoveries. These latter can hardly be

Mr Whiting was now stationed at Beirut. The health of Mr Lanneau hav

ing failed, he returned home; and is now the pastor of a church in Georgia.

hoped for to any great extent, until there shall be opportunity for extensive excavations. An outline of our proceedings will be in place here; before entering upon what I may have to say further concerning the ancient topography of the Holy City.

We reached the Holy City, as before related, on the morning of Wednesday, April 28th; and after fixing ourselves for the day at the hotel, our first care was to obtain the letters from Europe and America, which had been awaiting our arrival. The perusal of these, with the necessary time for reading and rest, mainly occupied the forenoon.

We sallied forth at last; and paid our respects first to Mr Finn the British consul, residing under the roof of the Anglican cathedral. To him and his accomplished lady we were indebted for many acts of attention and kindness during our stay in the city. In the afternoon we called also on Dr McGowan, who has charge of the hospital for Jews, and passed a pleasant hour. He occupies a new house situated on the northern brow of Zion; and his windows afford one of the best views of the interior city. Dr McGowan's kindness and attentions were afterwards unwearied; and to his exertions and influence among the natives we were indebted for the opportunity of prosecuting some of our most important inquiries. Bishop Gobat was already on his way to England on a visit; and I had to forego the pleasure of making his acquaintance. Mr Nicolayson, whom we saw here on our former journey, was likewise absent on a visit to England. He is now rector of the Anglican church; and his place was temporarily supplied by the Rev. Mr Reichardt from London. A nephew of the latter, Mr H. C. Reichardt, who had already been for some time in the Holy City, gave us much valuable information and aid.

In the course of the afternoon we walked out to examine the remains of antiquity around the southwest corner of the Haram area. We came first to the wailing place of the Jews;1 and then tried to examine the wall between this spot and the remains of the ancient arch. In this we did not succeed. There is in one place a window through the wall, through which my companion had once been able to look in upon the dark interior; but it was now closed by a shutter. In respect to the remains of the arch, I have nothing to add to my former description. But we were both more strongly impressed than ever with the fact, that the architecture of this portion of the wall, and that at the Jews' wailing place, are one and the same

1 See Vol. I. p. 237. [i. 349 sq.1

See Vol. I. p. 287 sq. [i. 424 sq-A view of the arch is given by Bartlett in his "Comparative Views of Ancient

and Modern Jerusalem;" and also by Tipping among his Plates to Traill's Translation of Josephus, Vol. I.