But now the sounds of population fail: To pick her wintry faggot from the thorn, There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose, The village preacher's modest mansion rose. Unskillful he to fawn, or seek for power, More bent to raise the wretched than to rise. Near yonder copse, where once the garden He chid their wanderings, but relieved their smiled, pain: And still where many a garden flower grows The long-remember'd beggar was his guest, Whose beard descending swept his aged breast; wild, The ruin'd spendthrift, now no longer proud, Claim'd kindred there, and had his claims allow'd; The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay, were won. Pleased with his guests, the good man learn'd to glow, And quite forgot their vices in their woe; Careless their merits or their faults to scan, His pity gave ere charity began. Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, And e'en his failings lean'd to virtue's side; But in his duty prompt, at every call, He watch'd and wept, he pray'd and felt for all: And, as a bird each fond endearment tries To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies, He tried each art, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way. Beside the bed where parting life was laid, And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns dismay'd, The reverend champion stood. At his control, Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul; 66 OLD COSTUMES IN MODERN USE. "THE of th to their shaven heads men," says the London Athenæum, "still occasionally visible in the streets, is that of the Elizabethan boatmen, even to the brass badge which was then worn by every retainer. The Blue-Coat boys rejoice in the semi-monastic robes of the age of Edward VI., the young founder of their school; and the plain mob-cap and long white gloves of Queen Anne or the earlier Georges. The University dress of the present year varies little from that worn soon after the Reformation, except that the square cap has stiffened and widened, and the falling collar has been clipped into traditionary bands. The judge's coif is a curious absurdity borrowed from the silk cap worn by monkish from the draughts of the courts. wigs introduced from France by Charles II. are retained by the same judges, by our barristers and coachmen. Our footmen still exult in that powder which gave a heightened lustre to Reynold's beauties. The gipsy hat of the same period is worn by the market-women in the west of England. Laborers now wear the deepflapped waistcoats and knee-breeches of the Third George, and the smock of a very early age; and one is sure to meet in a day's walk in London the Hessian boots so fashionable during the youth of the Regent. The beef-eaters at the Tower wear the costume of Henry VII.'s body guard, and our grooms the doublet of James I." THE DEAD SEA. THE DEAD SEA. ter of a ravine on the western side of WITHOUT going into unnecessary de- spent the night. Rising at dawn on the tails as to the traditional associations of the Dead Sea, we shall proceed at once to exhibit the results of the various attempts that, of late years, have been made to explore and describe its region. In order to popularize the subject as much as possible, we shall distribute such information as we can compress within the limits of this paper under the following sections:-(1.) A brief historical sketch of the various travelers by whom the Dead Sea has been recently visited and delineated; (2.) A supposed excursion around its shores; (3.) A sail upon its waters; and (4.) An examination of some of the hypotheses that have been entertained respecting its probable origin. I. One of the first in the enlightened band of travelers who, during the early part of the present century, have done so much to unvail this mysterious region to the This inChristian world, was SEETZEN. trepid man visited the Dead Sea en route to Kerak and Petra, at a time when traveling in Palestine was far more hazardous than it now is. To increase the chances of safety, he assumed an oriental disguise, and chose a sheikh as his companion and confidant. As they were obliged to make their observations by stealth, and conceal the papers containing their scanty records, the information derivable from this source is necessarily brief and imperfect. On a fine May morning, in the year 1818, a considerable party might have been seen emerging from the gate of Hebron, and taking the south-eastern road, that led through Bethlehem and the wilderness of Tekoa to the southern end of the Dead Sea. The principals in the equestrian company consisted of Captains Irby and Mangles, and Messrs. Legh and Bankes, accompanied by both Frank and Arab attendants, all of them being attired in the picturesque costume of the Bedouins. The Englishmen, to carry the disguise still further, were addressed by fictitious oriental names. About mid-day the travelers obtained from an eminence a fine view of the southern extremity of the sea. Stimulated by the spectacle, they pressed on with ardor, and reached the great southern plain by six o'clock; in the shel following morning from their rocky couch, After this expedition, seventeen years Only three years elapsed from the occurrence of this melancholy event, before the shores of the lake were trod by the feet of two eminent pilgrims from the New World, urged on by scientific and religious We allude to the well-known motives. American travelers, Messrs. Robinson and Smith. The fruits of their noble mission of research and discovery in Bible lands are in the hands of most of us, and need no commendation. It was on the 17th of July, 1837, that Dr. Robinson left NewYork, with the intention of accomplishing the fondly-cherished dream of his early manhood. Having spent a short time in England, taking counsel with some veterans in oriental travel, and wandering for two or three weeks in the classic lands of the Levant, he took ship for Egypt. While |