set the repeated assertions of the guardian of the Mosque, and of the Governor of Jerusalem, (which, as has been seen, are substantially confirmed by the Arab historians,) that no Mussulman has ever entered the cave within the memory of man. Of the staircase and gate described by M. Pierotti, there was no appearance on our visit, though we must have walked over the very spot, being, in fact, the pavement in front of the Mosque. Of the separate apertures for throwing down the petitions we also saw nothing. And it would seem from Finati's account, that the one hole down which he threw his petition was that by the tomb of Abraham.1

of the

The result of the Prince's visit will have been disappointing to those who expected a more direct solution of the Results mysteries of Hebron. But it has not been without Prince's its indirect benefits. In the first place, by His Royal visit. Highness's entrance, the first step has been taken for the removal of the bar of exclusion from this most sacred and interesting spot. The relaxation may in future times be slight and gradual, and the advantage gained must be used with every caution; but it is impossible not to feel that some effect will be produced even on the devotees of Hebron when they feel that the Patriarchs have not suffered any injury or affront, and that even Isaac rests tranquilly in his grave. Even on our return to our emcampment that evening, and in our rides in and around Hebron the next day, such an effect might be discerned. Dr. Rosen had predicted beforehand that if the entrance were once made, no additional precautions need be provided. "They will be so awe-struck at the "success of your attempt, that they will at once acquiesce in it." And so in fact it proved. Although we were still accompanied by a small escort, yet the rigid vigilance of the previous day was relaxed, and no indications appeared of any annoyance or anger. And Englishmen may fairly rejoice that this advance in the cause of religious tolerance (if it may so be called) and of Biblical knowledge, was attained in the person of the heir to

the English throne, out of regard to the position which he and his country hold in the Eastern world.

In the second place, the visit has enabled us to form a much clearer judgment of the value of the previous accounts, to correct their deficiencies and to rectify their confusion. The narrative of Ali Bey in particular, is now substantially corroborated. The existence and the exact situation of the cave underneath the floor of the Mosque, the appearance of the ancient enclosure from within, the precise relation of the different shrines to each other, and the general conformity of the traditions of the Mosque to the accounts of the Bible and of early travellers, are now for the first time clearly ascertained. To discover the entrance of the cave, to examine the actual places of the patriarchal sepulture, and to set eyes (if so be) on the embalmed body of Jacob, the only patriarch the preservation of whose remains is thus described, must be reserved for the explorers of another generation, for whom this visit will have been the best preparation.

General

Meanwhile, it may be worth while to recall the general instruction furnished by the nearer contemplation of this results. remarkable spot. The narrative itself to which it takes us back stands alone in the Patriarchal history for the precision with which both locality and character are delineated. First, there is the death of Sarah in the city of Kirjath-Arba, whilst Abraham is absent,1 apparently at Mamre. He comes to make the grand display of funeral grief, "mourning aloud and weeping aloud," such as would befit so great a death. He is filled with the desire, not Egyptian, not Christian, hardly Greek or Roman, but certainly Jewish, to thrust away the dark shadow that has fallen upon him, "to bury his dead out of his sight." Then ensues the conference in the gate, — the Oriental place of assembly, where the negotiators and the witnesses of the transaction, as at the present day, are gathered from the many comers and goers through "the gate of the city."3 As in the Gentile traditions of Damascus, and as in the ancient narrative of the pursuit of the five kings, Abraham is saluted by the native nhabitants, not merely as a wandering shepherd, but as a

8 Ibid. 10.

"Prince of God." The inhabitants are, as we might expect, not the Amorites, but the Hittites, whose name is that recog nized by all the surrounding nations.2 They offer him the most sacred of their sepulchres for the cherished remains. The Patriarch maintains his determination to remain aloof from the Canaanite population, at the same time that he preserves every form of courtesy and friendliness, in accordance with the magnificent toleration and inborn gentleness which pervade his character. First, as in the attitude of Oriental respect," he stands," and then, twice over, he prostrates himself on the ground, before the heathen masters of the soil.5 Ephron, the son of Zohar, is worthy of the occasion; his courtesy matches that of the Patriarch himself:-"The field give I thee, the 66 cave give I thee; in the presence of the sons of my "people give I it thee." "What is that betwixt thee and "me?" It is precisely the profuse liberality with which the Arab of the present time places everything in his possession at the disposal of the stranger. But the Patriarch, with the high independence of his natural character, (shall we say, also, with the caution of his Jewish descendants ?) will not be satisfied without a regular bargain. He "weighs out "7 the coin. He specifies every detail in the property; not the field only, but the cave in the field, and the trees in the field, and on the edge of the field, "were made sure." 8 The result is the first legal contract recorded in human history, the first known interment of the dead, the first assignment of property to the Hebrew people in the Holy Land.9

To this graphic and natural scene, not, indeed, by an absolute continuity of proof, but by such evidence as has been given above, the cave of Machpelah carries us back. And if in the long interval which elapses between the description of the spot in the Book of Genesis (whatever date we assign to that description) and the notice of the present sanctuary by Josephus, so

1 Gen. xxiii. 6; comp. Lect. I. 11; II. 46. 2 See Lecture II. 30.

8 Gen. xxiii. 6.

4 See Lecture II. 43.

Gen. xxiii. 7-12.

Ibid. 13-15.

7 Ibid. 16.

8 Ibid. 17.

9 Several of the above details are sug gested by an excellent passage on this subject in Thomson's Land and Book, pp. 577-579.

venerable a place and so remarkable a transaction are passed over without a word of recognition, this must, on any hypothesis, be reckoned amongst the many proofs that, in ancient literature, no argument can be drawn against a fact from the mere silence of authors, whether sacred or secular, whose minds were fixed on other subjects, and who were writing with another intention.

2. Seven steps of Adam out of Paradise.

3. Scene of the offering of Isaac, -a trough like that used for the Paschal

Feast.

4. "Holy Place."

5. Joshua's Twelve Stones.

6. "Tomb of Sheik Ghranem," or "Shechem ben Hamor."

7. "Cave where the Tabernacle was built."

8. Hole where the Paschal sheep are roasted.

9. Trench where they are eaten.

10. Platform for the celebration of the Passover. 11 Hole where the water is boiled.