which still retain many vestiges of ancient magnificence; such as the remains of a noble Gothic cathedral, formerly dedicated to St. Andrew; the church of St. John, the titular saint of the city; the convents of the knights hospitallers; and the palace of their grand master. The remains of Sebaste, the ancient Samaria, though long ago laid in ruins, and great part of it turned into arable land, exhibit some marks of those sumptuous edifices, with which it was adorned by king Herod. Towards the north side is a large square piazza, encompassed with marble pillars, together with the fragments of strong walls at some distance. But the most remarkable object is a church, said to have been built by the empress Helena over the place where St. John the Baptist was beheaded, the dome of which, together with some beautiful columns, capitals, and mosaic work, prove it to have been a noble fabric.

Jacob's well is highly venerated by Christian travellers, on account of its antiquity, and of our Redeemer's conference with the woman of Samaria. It is hewn out of the solid rock, about thirty-five yards in depth, and three in diameter, and is at present covered with a stone vault.

The pools of Solomon, supposed to have been made by order of that monarch for the supply of his palaces, gardens, and even the metropolis it

But now those works are overthrown, and their fragments appear like a succession of huge rocks. About half a mile east of the town is a curious pyramidal hill, so improved by art, that its steepness renders it altogether inaccessible, except on the south-west side. On this eminence the bashaw commonly pitches his pavilion, when he takes this town in his circuit.

self,

self, still appear to have been a work of immenso cost and labour. Such are also the sealed fountains immediately opposite. These pools are three in a row, one over the other, and disposed in such a manner that the water of the uppermost may fall into the second, and from the second into the third. They are all quadrangular, and of an equal breadth, viz. about ninety paces; but in length they differ, the first being one hundred and sixty paces, the second two hundred, and the third two Înundred and twenty; they are all of a considerable depth, walled and plastered, and contain a large quantity of water. At the distance of one hundred and twenty paces is the spring which supplies them. The aqueduct is built on a foundition of stones, and the water runs in earthen pipes about ten inches in diameter. This work anc.ently extended several leagues, but at present there are only some fragments of it to be found. The gardens of Solomon have also been long destroyed, and the ground is said to appear almost incapable of cultivation.

The targous pools of Gihon and Bethesda may be ranked among the most stately ruins; the former is situated about a quarter of a mile from Bethlehem-gate westward: its length is a hundred and six paces, and its breadth sixty-seven, It is lined with wall and plaster, and contains a considerable store of water. The other, at Jerusalem, is one hundred and twenty paces long, forty broad, and eight deep; but at present dry.

In the city of Bethlehem they pretend to show the stable and manger where the adorable Messiah lay at the period of his nativity; and exhibit a grotto hewn out of a chalky rock, in which they

affirm the blessed virgin concealed herself and holy child from the persecution of Herod.

At Nazareth is a magnificent church under ground, said to occupy the very cave where the Virgin Mary received the angel's salutation, and where two beautiful pillars of granite are erected in commemoration of that interesting event. At a small distance are some fine remains of a larger church, supposed to have been erected in the time of the empress Helena. But this is much inferior to the great church built over our Saviour's sepulchre by the same empress, and called the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The last class of artificial curiosities worthy of notice is that of the sepulchral monuments, which are scattered all over the country; and of which the most remarkable are selected for the reader's gratification.

The tomb of the holy virgin, situated near Jerusalem, in the valley of Jehoshaphat, to which there is a descent by a magnificent flight of steps, has on the right hand side the sepulchre of St. Anna the mother, and on the left, that of Joseph the husband of Mary. In each division are altars for the celebration of divine worship; and the whole is cut out of the solid rock.

The monument of king Jehoshaphat is divided into several apartments; one of which contains his tomb, adorned with a stately portico and entablature. That of Absalom, two furlongs distant from Jerusalem, is about twenty cubits square, adorned below with four columns of the Ionic order, with their capitals, and entablatures to each front. From the height of twenty to forty feet it is somewhat less, and quite plain, excepting a small fillet at the upper end; and from forty to

the

the top it changes into a round, which tapers gradually to a point, the whole cut out of the solid rock.

A little further westward is the tomb of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, who is said to have been slain by the Jews between the temple and the altar. This structure is all cut out of the natural rock. It is eighteen feet high, as many square, and adorned with Ionic columns.

But the most curious and magnificent pieces of antiquity of this kind are the royal sepulchres without the walls of Jerusalem: they are all hewn out of the solid marble rock, and contain several spacious and elaborate apartments. On the eastern side is the entrance leading to a stately court, about one hundred and twenty feet square, neatly wrough; and polished. On the south side of it is a sumptuous portico, embellished in front with a kind of architrave, and supported by columns; and on the left of the portico is a descent into the sepulchral apartments.

The first of these is a handsome room, about twenty-four feet square, formed with such neatness and accuracy, that it may justly be styled a beautiful chamber, hollowed out of one piece of marble. From this room are three passages leading to other chambers of a similar fabric, but of different dimensions; in each of which (the first excepted) are stone coffins placed in niches, that were once covered with semicircular lids, embellished with flowers, garlands, &c., but now broken to pieces. The doorcases, hinges, pivots,, &c., are all of the same stone with the other parts of these rooms, and even the doors appear to have been cut out of the very piece to which they hang. Why these grots are honoured with the appellation

of

of the sepulchres of the kings is not exactly known, but whoever views them with any degree of attention must be induced to pronounce them a royal work, and to regard them as the most authentic remains of the old regal splendor, that are to be met with in the neighbourhood of Jeru salem.

Subsequent to this general description of Falestine, it may be proper to give a concise account of the several lots and countries assigned to the Israelites, beginning with those of the two tribes and a half, seated beyond Jordan; proceeding to the nine and a half on this side, styled more properly the Holy Land; and concluding with a topical description of the contiguous countries, the history of the inhabitants of which, who either mingled with, or bordered upon the Jews, has been already given in the preceding chapters.

The kings of Bashan and of the Amorites being vanquished by the children of Israel, their territories were settled by the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, with half of Manasseh. Reuben, who was the eldest, had the southern part of the new conquest, extending from the north-east coasts of the Asphaltite lake along the eastern banks of the river Jordan; divided on the south from Midian by the Arnon; on the north from the tribe of Gad, by another little river; and bordered on the east partly by the Moabites, and partly by the Ammonites; while the Jordan parted it on the west from "The Land of Promi.e." It exhibited three famous mountains, viz. Feor, Nebo, and Pisgah, and was every-where extremely fertile in corn, wine, fruit, and pasturage.

To the north of Reuben was fixed the tribe of Gad, having likewise the river Jordan on the

west,