beautiful solitudes of Samaria, which the fugitive prophet had just quitted! It is difficult not to be struck with the different manner and appearance of the Divine miracles, according to the land in which they were vouchsafed:-in Palestine, these visitations were mild and gentle, though resistless; the power of the elements was seldom used to aid the impression on the spirit and senses; but in this savage wilderness, this land of terrors, the tempest, the fire, and the earthquake usually accompanied the messages of God. SCENE AND KHAN ON THE LIETTANI, NEAR DJOB DJENNEIN. This is a view on the route from Damascus to Der-el-Kamar; it here passes over a long bridge on the Liettani, the stream that rises a little above Balbec, and runs past the ruins. The plain of Balbec is very thinly cultivated, but rather better than usual around this spot. The costume of the peasant is seen, and the oxen treading out the corn, and Druse women, on their head the silver horn, over which the veil falls. The khan on the eminence on the right, is of considerable extent, and is often well filled, as there is much traffic on the line of road from the Druse country to Damascus. It is no great distance from this spot to the base of Mount Lebanon, over which a toilsome pass conducts to Barouk. The stream of the Liettani adds a great beauty to the ruins of Balbec, through which it flows. The belief that this great structure, as well as that of Palmyra, was erected by king Solomon, appears not to be without a just foundation. Mr. Wood, in his account of the ancient state of Balbec, remarks, "When we compare the ruins of Balbec with many ancient cities which we visited in Italy, Greece, Egypt, and other parts of Asia, we cannot help thinking them the remains of the boldest plan we ever saw attempted in architecture. Is it not strange then that the age and undertaker of works in which solidity and duration have been so remarkably consulted, should be a matter of such obscurity?" It has been too long supposed that the ancient Hebrews possessed but little knowledge, at any period of their history, either in the arts or the sciences: they had, however, risen to a high pitch of perfection in both, many ages before either the Greeks or the Romans. Josephus refers the dispute on the subjects of arts and learning, in his books against Appian, to the test of the then existing monuments. As to the point in competition, he observes, "The reader has no more to do but to consult our antiquities for a satisfaction." It is the opinion of Mr. Prescot, in his ingenious remarks on the architecture, sculpture, and zodiac of Palmyra, which he lately visited, that both these magnificent ruins are, in fact, the remains of Tadmor and the House of the Forest, built by king Solomon. His remarks on the zodiac of Palmyra, with a key to the inscriptions, are extremely curious and interesting. The earliest mention on record of Tadmor, is made by the sacred historian in the eighth chapter of the second book of Kings, where it is stated that "Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it; and he built Tadmor in the wilderness." The account of Josephus, in the sixth chapter of the eighth book of his Antiquities, written about 1,000 years afterwards, is this:-" Solomon went as far as the desert above Syria, and possessed N himself of it, and built there a very great city, which was distant two days' journey from Upper Syria, and one day's journey from Euphrates, and six long days' journey from Babylon the Great. Now, the reason why this city lay so remote from the parts of Syria which are inhabited, is this--that below, there is no water to be had, and that it is in that place only that there are springs and pits of water. When he had therefore built this city, and encompassed it with very strong walls, he gave it the name of Tadmor; and that is the name it is still called by at this day among the Syrians, but the Greeks name it Palmyra." Even now, at the end of nearly 2800 years from its foundation, its present inhabitants know it by no other name than that of Tadmor: they say, "Solyman Ebn Doud (Solomon the son of David) did all these mighty things by the assistance of spirits." When it is considered that the Arabs have been in constant possession of the desert during a period of at least 3400 years, and that no people on earth are more attached than they are to their ancient traditions and opinions, the latter are entitled to some little respect. Mr. Wood, in his account of Balbec, says: The inhabitants of this country, Mahometans, Jews, and Christians, all confidently believe that Solomon built both Balbec and Palmyra. The evidence is feeble that either the Greeks or Romans had a hand in the foundation of these august edifices at so very remote a period, though they probably beautified them, or added monuments and columns after their subjugation in a subsequent age. If we look to some other quarter for a prince or people supposed to have leisure, power, wealth, and genius equal to such an herculean undertaking, we are unable to find these requisites among the Babylonians, Persians, or Greeks: we are compelled to look to king Solomon, who, according to sacred history, was a man of peace, and the wisest prince that ever lived before, or that should come after him. While history and tradition point him out as the man, it may not be hard to shew that the architectural forms prove it. Josephus, in giving an account of the great undertakings accomplished by this prince, describes another of his palaces, namely, the House of the Forest, as having been built of white marble; that the stones were of an immense size; he mentions the pillars, and the Corinthian work, the inimitable flower-work, all of which precisely agree with Mr. Wood's description and fine plates, and with the present state of the remains. The style of the architecture here is everywhere the same as that of Palmyra, but the marble is of a finer quality. Is it not highly probable, that the order termed Corinthian was introduced into architecture by Solomon? Is it not indicated in 1st Kings, chap. 9th, ver. 19th? "And the chapiters (capitals) that were upon the top of the pillars in the porch, were of lily-work, four cubits." A capital of four of the lesser Hebrew cubits, that is, about seven feet eight inches, would be suitable for the shaft of a pillar about sixty-nine feet in height. The shafts of the great palace of Balbec are about six feet shorter. It is only necessary to compare the petals of a full-blown lily with the artificial leaves of a Corinthian capital, to be convinced of the close resemblance to each other. If we believe, according to the Scripture, that God himself instructed Moses, David, and his son in architectural plans, "All this," said David, "the Lord made me understand in writing, by his Spirit upon me, even all the works of this pattern," it ought no longer to surprise any one, that the works of |