if Divine Providence had conformed its physical features on purpose to meet the requirements of the occasion."

We can notice but a few of the points connected with this land of the ancient Samaritans which distinctly confirm the literal veracity of the Old Testament history. Here, then, in the centre of this sacred valley, stood the ark; here knelt the greatest soldier that ever led an army to battle. Here the Levites on Gerizim read the blessings, and the Levites on Ebal read the cursings, to which the vast assembly responded Amen. "What a sublime sight!" exclaims Mr. Mills; a congregation and a service compared with which all other assemblies the world has ever witnessed dwindle into insignificance. Rome is not more full of the memorials of its ancient glory, than Nablous, both in its scenery, its geography, and the unaltered character of its people, of testimonies to the truth of ancient Scripture. It would be as irrational, or more so, to doubt, after a visit to this spot, whether the Old and New Testament histories, so far as Samaria is concerned, are literally true, as it would, after surveying the Coliseum, to doubt whether Rome were the seat of a great people before the days of Attila the destroyer.

For the people are as unchanged as the mountains and valleys among which they dwell. Two thousand years have altered nothing. Their dress is such as it has been for many thousand years, both men and women. Still, as when Moses wrote, there are seven things which are a defilement, namely, those contained in the Law (Numbers xix. 17). And their puri fication is nearly what it was. Then the ashes of an heifer were mixed with running water; now running water only is used. The periods during which the defilements last are still the same. They never eat the flesh of any beast that does not chew the cud and divide the hoof, according to the Law. Swine are expressly forbidden. They eat no poultry forbidden by Moses as unclean, nor any kind of fish that has not both fins and scales. When Mr. Mills visited the temple, his attendant took off his shoes, for it was holy ground; and before they entered the synagogue, all showed the same respect to the house of worship, alleging the command of God to Moses as their reason for so doing. They eat the Passover with ceremonies precisely such as Moses commanded, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, with a kind of rope around the waist, staves in their hands, and their shoes on their feet. They ate it in haste; in less than ten minutes the whole had disappeared. The few fragments that remained were collected, every crumb, together with the bones, were all burnt over a fire kindled for that purpose, and while the flames were blazing, and consuming the remnant of the Paschal lambs, the people returned cheerfully to their tents. The other feasts prescribed by Moses are

observed with the same literal exactness. But here we must pause. That infidelity must be obstinate, or that hardness of heart incurable, which, after a visit to Nablous, can hesitate to subscribe to David's confession-" Thy word is true from the beginning, and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

ور

IV. The fourth book upon our list contains the subject of two lectures delivered before the Royal Institution, on the "Site of the Holy Sepulchre and the Temple at Jerusalem." We cannot well follow the argument from which Mr. Fergusson concludes that the building popularly known as the Mosque of Omar is in reality the sepulchral building which Constantine erected over what he believed to be the tomb of Christ; nor is it necessary for our purpose that we should do

so.

We wish to express our great satisfaction that such questions have now begun to engage the attention of the polite and fashionable. From the circumstantials of religion many may be led to a more deep and solemn consideration of its vast importance. What was begun as a recreation may end in a conversion of the soul to God. The site of the ancient temple Mr. Fergusson places outside the Mosque of Omar. The tabernacle in the wilderness was the model of all the subsequent temples. Mr. Fergusson believes that no one could have described it, so as it is described, without having seen it standing. The temple of Solomon was exactly twice its size, that is, about the size of St. Paul's, Covent Garden; if that building had a flat roof, and its interior was occupied by two chambers, surrounded by a range of cells on three sides, it would mechanically very nearly represent the most celebrated building in the world. Mr. Fergusson throws out several conclusions deeply interesting, and, if their truth can be established, of vast importance. We do not venture at present further than to lay them before our readers as briefly as possible. First, with regard to Solomon's temple, he maintains that most of our London churches (such, for instance, as St. Martin's-in-the-Fields) are, both as to dimensions and lithic ornament, larger and more splendid than Solomon's temple. "The truth seems to be, that it was built in the Bronze Age' of architecture, which preceded the great Stone Age.' Its magnificence consisted in the brazen pillars of its porch, its brazen seats and altars, its 'cedar pillars covered with gold, and generally in its richness and metallic splendour. Those employed to build it were smiths, not masons; and consequently any attempt to compare it with our modern buildings is absurd, and I am afraid every attempt to restore its features by drawing is equally hopeless. No specimen of the brazen architecture of those days has been preserved, and no representation of it is known to exist." So

we must at least wait a little, before we can hope to realize the appearance of this celebrated building. The temple described by Ezekiel has long perplexed our commentators. It seems to have been taken for granted, that it is to be erected, if ever, in some future age, and then, if so, what becomes of the repeated assertions of all the New Testament writers, that Christ having come, sacrifices are all done away, and that for ever? The strangest opinions have been formed, and the wildest theories, upon no other basis than that of Ezekiel's temple, supposed to be still unbuilt. Now, Mr. Fergusson cuts his way at once, with a facility which seems surprising, through all such difficulties. As to its dimensions, he thinks nothing can be plainer; our ignorance of many of the Hebrew architectural terms renders some of the details obscure; but the outline is perfectly clear; it was the model on which, after the captivity, the temple of Zerubbabel was built. The story of these two temples appears to be this:-During the captivity, the prophet placed on record the sacred arrangements and dimensions of the Temple as they had been revealed to Moses and David, and had been carried into execution by Solomon. To these he added such minor suggestions as subsequent experience may have shown to be expedient, or, rather, as the prophetic spirit that was in him suggested to his mind, and such additions as were requisite to complete the beau ideal of a perfect Jewish temple; and when the Jews returned from the captivity, they carried out this specification and these suggestions to as great an extent as their means admitted, in no instance departing from the sacred model thus delivered to them and sanctioned by the Divine authority. Mr. Fergusson shows this to be the case by minute calculations, for which we must refer the reader to his second lecture. We come to Herod's temple, the most interesting of all; first, because of its greater magnificence; but more than this, because it was here that our Saviour taught; and lastly, because its foundations can still be traced, if Mr. Fergusson be correct; and thus it becomes the turning point of all topographical researches at Jerusalem. The house of the Lord itself was only repaired by Herod, but much was added. It was built across the Tyropeon valley; at the end of the bridge which crossed it stood the golden or beautiful gate. The court of the women, and the court of the Gentiles, were now added on a scale of consummate grandeur, to which must be added the wonderful masonry of the terrace wall, still to be seen at the Jews wailing place, the nearest spot to the holy of holies. Josephus tells us that Herod doubled the area of the Temple; but, in fact, he increased it nearly five-fold. The great glory of the outer court was the Beautiful gate or porch. It was six hundred feet long, and one hundred wide, supported by a hundred and sixty-two

columns, bearing some resemblance to the Corinthian order, which divided it into three aisles.

"I know not," says Mr. Fergusson, "what impression these dimensions make on you. Perhaps some of you are disappointed. But recollect, no temple of ancient times out of Egypt surpassed them. The great temple at Palmyra covered about the same area, but was far less magnificent. That of Baalbec was smaller, though, if ever completed, it would have rivalled its splendours. All those of Greece or Rome covered a smaller area, and none were equal in magnificence."

As a frontispiece to the volume, Mr. Fergusson gives us a view of the Temple as it appeared at the time of the crucifixion. It is not a fancy picture, but founded generally upon his studies of a series of Asiatic buildings, beginning with Persepolis, five hundred years before the time of Herod, and ending with the Tâk Kesra, five hundred years after it, and throwing into this that amount of Roman design which must have prevailed at that period. Now, if it be a fact, that the measurements and dimensions are taken from Ezekiel's Temple, it will not be denied that Mr. Fergusson has made out a strong case in favour of his theory. In order to try and realize the whole, he bids us to fancy a building raised on a lofty terrace, and standing in a court surrounded by cloisters and porches ;-to imagine these courts approached by ten great gateways, each in itself a work of vast magnificence. We are to suppose this group to be surrounded by another court on a lower level, one side of which is occupied by a building longer and higher than York Minster, and the other three sides by cloisters more magnificent than any with which we are acquainted; and then this vast pile is supported by terraced walls of such grand masonry that even at this day, and in their ruined state, they strike every beholder with amazement. In short, the design of Herod's Temple, says Mr. Fergusson, may have wanted something of that classical simplicity we so much admire in other buildings of an earlier period, and its details may have been more gorgeous than pure; but take it all in all, so complete a building, rising terrace above terrace, and court within court, must have afforded a variety of perspective and a splendour of effect, which, coupled with its dimensions, must have equalled, if it did not surpass, anything we know of elsewhere.

V. We cannot bring our paper to a close without expressing, in a few words, our extreme gratification with the handsome volume published by the Tract Society. It is meant for the drawing-room table, where it need not be ashamed to take its place by the side of much more expensive volumes. It is handsomely got up, and contains excellent coloured engravings. The letter-press, too, is selected from the best sources. The use of such a work is to suggest conversation, or to fill up

Vol. 64.-No. 332.

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those short fragments of time which often occur through the day, and which no wise man will suffer to run to waste. It is very creditable to the Tract Society; and the public ought to know, that it is by the profit gained upon such works as these that it is enabled to carry on its more serious labours in the publication and dispersion of religious tracts and cheap religious literature.

But we are probably still only in an early stage of our geographical and physical discoveries in the Holy Land. The golden fruit which some have gathered is stimulating others; and in a country where it is almost impossible to turn a sod without laying bare a history, and confirming the truth of some passage in Holy Writ, many excellent persons, it it may be expected, will devote their energies to these resources. We copy the following from the pages of a newspaper :

"PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND.-The Archbishop of York has consented to preside at the first public meeting of the members of this fund, established for the purpose of promoting the investigation of the archæology, geography, geology, and natural history of the Holy Land. Among the distinguished persons who have joined the committee are the Dukes of Devonshire and Argyll, the Earls of Derby and Shaftesbury, the Earl Russell, the Bishops of London, Oxford, and Ely, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir H. Rawlinson, Sir R. Murchison, the Deans of Westminster and St. Paul's, Professor Owen, Dr. Pusey, and several Members of the House of Commons. Mr. R. Hanbury, M.P., and Mr. J. Abel Smith, M.P., have accepted the office of treasurers, and Mr. George Grove that of secretary.

WILBERFORCE AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES: SIR ROBERT HARRY INGLIS, BART.; WILLIAM HEY, ESQ.; THOMAS CLARKSON, ESQ.

WE return to Sir Robert Inglis's life. During his residence, as the head of the Thornton family, at Battersea Rise, after acting for a time as Lord Sidmouth's private secretary, (Lord Sidmouth being then and for many years in the Home Department, under Lord Liverpool's Government,) he obtained the lucrative post of Commissioner on a Commission to settle the affairs of the Carnatic, which was connected with the East India Company; and many of us will remember the rooms at the end of Manchester Buildings, in which he was generally to be found. In 1824, just as Wilberforce, warned by repeated and severe illness, was about to leave Parliament, while Canning was pursuing his brilliant course as leader of the House, Sir Robert Inglis entered Parliament for the Borough of Dun