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of dwelling or worship, from the rude tent of the Bedouin to the beautiful tabernacle-from the lowly hut of earth, wood, or stone, to the splendid temple of Jerusalem, and now we may close the chapter on Caves, in which we have seen the use made of natural or artificial holes in the rocks, with a brief notice of one of the most perfect of these excavations, the beautiful temple called " Khuzneh” at Petra, of which some idea is given in the accompanying woodcuts. Alas! that it should have been the temple of an idol, when the very rock out of which it was hewn was the work of, and bore witness to, the Almighty Creator.

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“The name El-Khůzneh, given by the Arabs to this edifice, signifies the treasure;' which they ascribe to Pharaoh, and suppose to be contained in the urn crowning the summit of its ornamented front, a hundred feet or more above the ground." "Hence, whenever they pass through the ravine, they stop for a moment, charge their guns, aim at the urn, and endeavour, by firing at it, to break off some fragments with a view to demolish it altogether, and get at the treasure which it is supposed to contain. The urn, however, resists all their attacks; and when they have discharged their pieces in vain, they go away, murmuring at the giant king who had the cunning to place his treasure at a distance of a hundred and twenty feet above their heads."

The "Khuzneh" is cut in the rock, and bears at the present day a freshness and beauty as great as when it first was chiselled by the hand of the skilful workmen of Petra. Dr. Robinson remarks, "I had seen various engravings of it, and read all the descriptions; but this was one of the rare instances where the truth of the reality surpasses the ideal anticipation. It is, indeed, most exquisitely beautiful; and nothing I had seen of architectural effect in Rome, or Thebes, or even Athens, comes up to it in the first impression.... Its position as a portion of the lofty mass of coloured rock ...its wonderful state of preservation; the glow and tint

of the stone; and the wild scenery around; all are unique, and combine into a power of association and impression, which takes complete possession of the mind ...I was perfectly fascinated with this splendid work of ancient art in this wild spot. There it stands, as it has stood for ages, in beauty and loneliness; the generations which admired and rejoiced over it of old have passed away; the wild Arab, as he wanders by, regards it with stupid indifference. Its rich roseate tints, as I bade it farewell, were lighted up and gilded by the mellow beams of the morning sun; and I turned away from it at length with an impression which will be effaced only at death."-Researches, vol. ii. pp. 518, 519. LABORDE, p. 176.

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CHAPTER IV.

SEPULCHRES.

EASTERN SEPULCHRES-TOMBS CUT IN THE ROCK-MOORISH BURIAL GROUNDS WHITEWASHED SEPULCHRES - HEAPS OF STONES-SPLENDOUR OF EASTERN TOMBS-HOUSE OF THE DEAD -SHEIKH RUBIN'S TOMB-JEWISH BURIAL-GROUND IN POLAND-RACHEL'S TOMB-TOMBS AROUND JERUSALEM-TOMBS OF THE KINGS-SEPULCHRES IN ASIA MINOR-MUMMY-PITS OF GOURNOU-TOMBS OF THE KINGS OF EGYPT-THE PYRAMIDS -TOMBS IN THE ROCKS AROUND PETRA-TOMBS SOMETIMES USED AS DWELLINGS-NAILS IN EASTERN TOMBS FOR HANGING VESSELS UPON.

GENESIS xxiii. 5, &c. (see whole chapter). "And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, Hear us, my Lord...in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead...And Abraham...communed with them, saying,... Entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah... which is in the end of his field ... And... Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave." (xlix. 29-32;

1. 13.)

XXXV. 19, 20.

"And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave, that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day." (xlviii. 7.)

JOSHUA Vii. 26.

"And they raised over (Achan) a great heap of stones unto this day."

viii. 29.

"And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day."

1 SAMUEL XXv. 1.

"And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah."

2 SAM. Xviii. 17.

"And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him and all Israel fled, every one to his tent."

1 KINGS ii. 34.

"So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him (Joab), and slew him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness."

2 KINGS Xxiii. 16-18.

"And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount; and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them...... Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah... And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones."

"Yet shall he

watch in the heap.

JOB XXI. 32.

be brought to the grave, and shall (Margin.)

Xxx. 23.

"For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.'

PSALM XXviii. 1.

"If thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit." (Prov. i. 12.)

ISAIAH xiv. 15, 18.

"Thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.... All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house."

xxii. 16.

"What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock ?"

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“Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw ; and behold, every form of creeping things and abomin

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