in the centre. The other half appears to comprise the poorer part of the town. It is surrounded with sycamore and date trees. In a ride which I took round the place, I found the houses generally constructed with stone, having domes to throw off the rain. Each side of the lane or street is lined with hedges of the prickly pear. I remarked several fragments of Roman architecture of the Lower Empire. The weather was cloudy, with rain in the morning. On the morning of the 4th we quitted Gaza for Jerusalem, with six camels, for which we were charged at the rate of twenty-one piastres a head. On leaving the town we entered a fine plantation of olive trees.* In several villages which we passed, the inhabitants were actively employed in threshing d'houra, or maize.

At mid-day we rested under a tree, during which refreshment a woman came up and vehemently upbraided us for profaning a burial-place. At a village which we reached about half past three, we were obliged to pass the night, it being the home of one of our camel-drivers, an annoyance which was increased by the myriads of fleas which infested the wretched shed which was the only shelter we could obtain. These were truly "industrious" insects, and might have made a fortune for the happy man who could have imported them into England. Our entomological misery received an addition from the cries of the camel-drivers, who wished to set off in the middle of the night. We were heartily glad when the morning, cold as it was, released us from our tormentors. We proceeded until twelve o'clock, when we rested under an olive tree; here we began to enter the hills, bearing trees of this description-proceeded for two hours longer, when we rested for the night near a village. On the sixth, setting out

* "Not crowded together in such impenetrable masses as in the Ionian Islands, so as to prevent a free circulation of air, and infect the neighbourhood with a noisome damp, but free and open, admitting the cultivation and healthy growth of vegetables and their roots."

At the edge of this grove Dr. Richardson saw a number of storks, a bird held in high veneration by the Mussulmans.

early, we entered a beautiful and verdant valley, which led us among hills covered with a variety of trees, but traversed by an execrable camel-road. On leaving the spot of our noon-day repose, we began to ascend a steep and difficult path, which, when surmounted, gave us a magnificent view of the sea, and the surrounding mountains. Here we passed an ancient building, with a few houses near it, and a large vineyard close by. Half an hour more gratified us with a sight of part of Bethlehem, which we left on our right; the road continued amongst the hills, and was extremely rugged, till we came to a small building called the Convent of St. Elias,* from which I beheld the long-wished-for walls of the Holy City. Through the valley of Rephaim, where David overcame the Philistine, we reached the gates of Jerusalem half an hour after sunset. These we found closed, and were compelled to pitch our tent for the night outside the walls.

Early on the morning of the 7th, having been kept awake by the impatience so naturally felt under such circumstances, we entered the gate of the city. Our first care was to obtain private lodgings; but, after spending some time in an unsuccessful attempt, we applied at the Latin Convent, where we succeeded in engaging two or three rooms.

In the afternoon I took a ride to see the bazaar, and observed several pretty specimens of Saracenic architecture, fountains, and churches. Early

This, which is a Greek monastery, as well as the ruined tower of Siméon, and the tomb of Rachel, are pointed out by the guides. The last is a Turkish oratory with a rounded top, like the whitened sepulchre of an Arab Sheikh; and is superstitiously respected by the Turks as a burial-place.”— Clarke.

It is generally agreed that the road which enters the city by the Damascus gate gives the most imposing approach. The so-much-talked-of view from the Mount of Olives is inferior, as the spectator beholds rather a plan of the place than a prospect.

The magnificent description of the first view of the Holy City given by Dr. Clarke (who saw it under the illusion of a brilliant setting sun) has not been confirmed by later travellers. Chateaubriand, Buckingham, Brown, Jolliffe, Sir F. Henniker, all corroborate the account of Dr. Richardson.

Or of the Giants. The first war David had, after he was made King over all Israel, and fixed his royal seat at Jerusalem, was with the Philistines, who came and spread themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. Samuel, ii., v. 18., also Joshua, xv., 8.

Barnard lithog from a Drawing by FArundale.

MOUNT MORIAH AND THE VILLAGE OF SILOAM. From the Valley of Jehosaphat.

*

in the morning of the 8th, I went, accompanied by Mr. Catherwood, to see the Armenian church, which is the richest, the most magnificent, and the most numerously attended of all the Christian churches. Maundrell describes its two altars, decked with rich mitres, embroidered copes, crosses both of silver and gold, crowns, chalices, and other church utensils without number. In the middle of the church," he says, "is a pulpit made of tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl, with a beautiful canopy or cupola over it, of the same fabric. The tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl are so exquisitely mingled that the work far exceeds the material." Buckingham says that "the church, though small, is of a lofty height, and crowned by a central dome; and, being free of pews or stalls of any description, looks considerably larger than it really is." Although the pictures with which the walls are loaded were in the most atrocious taste, the general effect, from the brilliancy of their colouring, in addition to the gay lightness produced by the brightly-tinted tiles with which the intervals of the walls were faced, was extremely rich and imposing. The colours, too, of the carpets, with which the floor was covered, completed the gorgeousness of the scene.

Hasselquist, though given somewhat to exaggeration, gives a tolerably correct idea of the riches possessed by the Armenian church and convent, which even the Latins, jealous as one sect is of the other, allow to surpass them infinitely in wealth. Pilgrims arrive in immense numbers from Armenia, Egypt, and the Levant, and seldom leave the convent without assistance to a considerable amount. I was much struck by the dignified and almost majestic deportment of the Armenian clergy.

In a small recess in the church you are shown a kind of chapel, or sanctuary, dedicated to St. James; this they pretend is the spot where he was beheaded. The profusion with which sculpture, (in white marble), lamps

* This church was erected by the Kings of Spain for the accommodation of pilgrims from that country. The Armenians afterwards came into possession of it, which they have retained up to the present time.

G