The ascent of Olivet is steep, and was accomplished by some of our party holding on to the horses' tails. It looked a mean proceeding, and taking advantage of the animal when unable to kick, but that didn't count. It is 250 feet to the top, and being but half a mile from the city walls, a view of the whole interior, in a bird's-eye way, is there to be had. That view is greatly helped by the absence of haze in the atmosphere here. Things look nearer at hand than they prove to be, but none the better for that. Olivet is spoken of in the first chapter of Acts as "a Sabbath-day's journey" from Jerusalem. A good Sabbatarian would notice that only a mile of travel was thus allowed on that day.

The summit shows a few stone huts, and a small chapel situated within a paved court, connected with a mosque having the usual minaret. Here, in this court, is shown the imprint of what is said to be a footstep, and the final footstep on earth of One whom I read of in the last chapter of Luke as having journeyed over here to Bethany, at the eastern foot of the mount, before bidding adieu to those with Him, and from there ascending-and not from here. The view from Olivet is very extensive, irrespective of the sight of the housetops of all Jerusalem. Away to the east, beyond Bethany and the Valley of Judea, a glimpse is obtained as of a silver streak. It is the swift-running Jordan, on the far side of which those things like dark clouds are the Moabite Mountains.

Hassan points out all to us with a knowledge that he has acquired from tradition and experience. He shows us a ruin of a house, a little way down the side of the mount that was used by Him who there told of the destruction of the city beneath, and wept over its fate; who told here the parable of the Ten Virgins, and one or more others, and who suffered in that Garden of Gethsemane, just at the foot of this mount, and to which we now descend by a way which, I am told, was taken by David when fleeing from Absalom!

Gethsemane belongs to the Greek Church, which has appropriated the leading shrines both within and without the city. The Romish Church has, however, built a wall outside its

fence, in which are alcoves filled with pictures illustrative of the scene in this garden, and those in the Via Dolorosa that preceded the crucifixion. An attendant in priestly attire unlocks the gates in the wall, and another that of the garden fence. It is garden-like in appearance, with the addition of seven or eight olive-trees, of Methuselah-like age. The attendant is necessary to keep visitors from stripping the garden of every green thing in it-a form of sacrilege that we see first practised in a little pilfering way among the flower-covered graves of our common cemeteries.

On returning we find that another party have come up from the plains in our absence, and have pitched their tents near to ours. A terrible trouble has been so occasioned amongst the cattle. No sooner is the saddle off a horse here than he takes at once to fighting the horse nearest to him, and that as naturally as elsewhere he would look for a nose-bag. A free fight of four is going on, and noise enough for a dozen is being made. The way a horse screams when the teeth of another one are well into his neck or shoulder is something quite alarming. We get peace restored at length, and our tents and the horses again tethered, and so to our evening meal, and subsequent second sleep upon Mount Zion.

We had intended to do ever so much exploration of the Bible after dinner, but the fatigue of the day beat us, and we slept, spite of all the disturbing influences around-the neighing and whinnying of the horses, the braying of donkeys, barking of dogs, and biting of fleas. The fleas were particularly powerful here. We disputed often afterwards whether they were part of the curse that had fallen on the land, or were the livelier and stronger from having escaped it. They get cursing enough anyhow at present, whatever they may have escaped in the past.

There is no occasion for pilgrims to put peas in their shoes in this locality. The stones beneath the sole leather are quite enough punishment, and we even envy the shoeing of our horses; though how they manage to keep their feet, with their completely plated hoofs, is a daily and hourly wonder to us.

We visit now, still outside the walls of the city, for another day, the grotto of Jeremiah-a huge cave, dull and dismal enough in appearance to have of itself inspired the writing of the Lamentations. Further onwards to the south-east we see a group of buildings with a most conspicuous minaret in the centre. In the upper floor of one is shown the room in which The Last Supper look place, and in a lower building or vault is the traditional tomb of King David.

The chamber of The Last Supper is a large hall of about fifty feet long, by one-half that breadth, and is accredited as the assembling-place of the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Its four bare old walls look ancient enough to guarantee it as genuine; but this thing has to be thought of, that none of the writers on the subject of this land and its holy places appear to be unanimous upon anything further than that the Mount of Olives, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea, are where they always were, and look much the same as ever. Nearly everything else is matter of faith, and therefore, unfortunately, of controversy.

David's Tomb here has been plundered by some invaders who made those early raids upon Jerusalem. Herod was the first robber in that matter, and took away the gold and silver treasures. Nothing has been now left in the vault. Ancient customs were not in accordance with our burial service, which says that we can take nothing with us. The deceased in ancient days had gold and silver in quantities, coined and uncoined, buried with them. Whether this was as a provision for beginning another life is not clear, but it was perhaps as sensible a proceeding as any substitute generally followed in the present fashion of the world.

Here is Aceldama-" the field of blood "-the land-purchase made by Judas as an investment of the "thirty pieces of silver." A field has a small meaning here, and this is no field now, but occupied by the remains of a building that has apparently been a large tomb. Tombs are all about and around, in fact. They outnumber the houses as fifty to one, and we now come to a village that may be all tombs or houses for anything identifying that we can yet see. It is the village of Siloam, a

most singular curio of a place. It is on the side of the Kidron at the south-east foot of Olivet, and embedded in the rock of the mount. Its people may almost be called Troglodytes, and said to dwell in caves. Tombs that have been excavated from the rock here have some of them had a rude projecting stone porch added to them, and so make abodes for the livingin which term I include goats, donkeys, and mules that also find shelter here-as a final use to which the resting-places of former greatness may be put.

Three tombs of striking appearance beyond Siloam, and at the foot of Olivet, attract attention, and are said to be those of Zacharias, Jehosaphat, and Absalom, as also of half-a-dozen others, by those wranglers who must differ on everything or die. The tomb of Absalom is quite a temple, thirty feet high, with a conical roof to it. In memory of his bad behaviour to his father, and as evidence that our evil deeds live after us, quite a stony mound is raised hereabout. It is made up of stone flung at this tomb by Israelites, who thus expressed their opinion of David's bad son. Hassan's theory is that it is the pillar reared by Absalom to commemorate himself, he having no descendants, as is detailed in the 18th verse of the 18th chapter of the Second Book of Samuel-"Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance; and he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called unto this day Absalom's Place."

There are quite mansions of tombs in some places hereabout -"the silent halls of death," where those who had chambers have long since mouldered away, or been cleared out by robbers. Of such excavations are the tombs of the Prophets, on the side of Mount Olivet, and the tombs of the Kings, half a mile to the north-east of the city. The entrance to this last many-chambered tomb was hidden by a door fitted to grooves in the rock on each side, and only to be lifted by a lever. That was to be reached only by a subterranean passage, the opening to which was a concealed trap, discovered by accidental digging.