Visit to Bethlehem.

The next day they visited Bethlehem. The journal continues;

We went out at Jaffa Gate, crossed the valley west of Mount Zion, ascended a steep rough hill, and then came to a tolerably level road, leading S. S. W. In an hour and a quarter, we came to the Greek convent of the prophet Elias. Thence the road to Bethlehem is a little nearer south. In half an hour from the convent we came to Rachel's tomb; or, at least, to the place which Jews, Mussulmans and Christians, all visit as such. Instead of a simple pillar, which Jacob erected, (See Gen. 55:20.) there is now a stone building, evidently of Turkish construction, which terminates at the top, in a dome. Within this edifice is the tomb. It is a pile of stones covered with white plaister, about 10 feet long, and nearly as high. The inner wall of the building, and the sides of the tomb, are Covered with Hebrew names, inscribed by Jews.

West of this place, at a little distance, is a village, now called Ephratah, which has been called by some, Rama. If this were one of the ancient Ramas, it would be easy to see the force of that glowing description of the scene which transpired at Bethlehem, when Herod sent, and destroyed the young children. The lamentations and wailings of bereaved mothers were so great, that they were heard even in Rama, and Rachel sympathized with them, and wept in her grave.

In half an hour from this tomb, we came to the city, where was born, 1800 years ago, "a Savior who is Christ the Lord," where "the day spring from on high" first visited our world, where the Savior incarnate was first adored by man. As we entered the city, a multitude of little children, dirty and ragged, came out to meet us, and, holding up their little hands to receive alms, they began to sing, "Pilgrims go in peace," "Pilgrims go in peace." The Greek, Catholic and Armenian convents are together, a little east of the village, and encloses the supposed place of our Savior's Nativity.

Here they were introduced by a letter from the Greek convent at Jerusalem. Having passed through the church, they were conducted to the spot, sacred as the birth-place of our Lord, and to the manger, in which he is said to have been laid. A great number of lamps were burning over these venerated places, and the whole wore an appearance of splendor, widely different from that of a stable.

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The field of the Shepherds.

From this place a Greek priest accompanied us to the Shepherd's field. It is twenty minutes ride from Bethlehem, a little south of east. The way to it is rough and stony. Bethlehem itself is on a hill, which seems like a pile of rocks, with here and there a patch of verdure. Between the rocks, however, where it is cultivated, vines, figs and olives appear to grow in luxuriance. On our right as we descended the hill, was a little mean looking village, in which it is believed that the Shepherds lived.

We rode along among the rocks and cliffs, reflecting how David here once tended his flocks, and learned to sing the praises of Jehovah; and how the Prophet Samuel came to anoint him king, and how the Son of David here made his appearance in our world; when, all at once, a delightful valley, covered with green fields, opened to our view. Its beauty was heightened by the barren rocky hills all around it. As we entered it and rode along, it was delightful to imagine how a multitude of the Heavenly Host, came flying down from heaven upon the tops of the mountains, and, hovering over this verdant spot, where the flocks were resting, sung, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." Near one side of the plain is a field of olives, enclosed by a wall, with a subterranean Church in the centre of it. This is pointed out as the very spot where the Shepherds were, when the angel announced to them our Savior's birth. Our guide told us that the Greeks and Catholics had a long dispute about the possession of this place. The case was carried before the Grand Signore, and the Greeks, by dint of money, gained their cause. In this church the Christian Arabs now assemble for worship. Over this church, are the ruins of another church, and of a convent, which stood above ground. Under an olive tree near by, we sat down, and read Luke 2d: sung, "While Shepherds watched their flocks by night," and Hymn 3d, book 1st, and then united in giving thanks to the God of heaven, for the glad tidings which were here announced, and which had come to our ears in a far distant land, and to the ears of our dear christian friends, who were also at this time remembered by us. After this season of devotion we gathered Bethlehem. Many maps and geographies some flowers in the field, and returned to place Bethlehem south-east of Jerusalem. It is in fact west of south.

Conversation with a Rabbi.

May 1. The young Rabbi Isaac ben Shloma and Rabbi Joseph Mareowitz, an

old man of eighty, called on us. asked Rabbi Marcowitz, when he thought the Messiah would come. He looked very wise, changed his position, began to move his body backwards and forwards, and then said there are two things about which it is not lawful to inquire, one is, what took place before the foundation of the world; and the other is, when the Messiah will come. In support of the first point he quoted Job 38:4-6. Here we felt no disposition to dispute him. In regard to the other point he said, "Daniel has declared that the time is sealed up; and what fool will pretend to be wiser than Daniel?" We then inquired, whether there are not Jews, who do endeavor to ascertain the time. He said he would give an answer of great understanding, and then confessed that there are such Jews, but said they are not upright but wicked. We then inquired, whether, in his opinion Shiloh, in Gen. 49:10, means the Messiah. He said Shiloh was the name of a place. Rabbi Isaac said that, in Gen. 49:10, it means the Messiah; and when it means a place, it is spelt differently. The old man seemed angry at this, and said to Isaac, "I have more understanding than you." We then examined more than twenty passages in the Hebrew Bible, in which the word Shiloh is the name of a place, and found the orthog raphy in every place different from what it is in Gen. 49:10. Another Jew came in, and interrupted the conversation by informing the Rabbi of the death of a Jewish woman. During her sickness, Rabbi Marcowitz had tried to cure her by the virtue of the ineffable name. Application had also been made to a wizard to cure her by his enchantments.

The folly and wickedness of such proceedings were pointed out to them by a reference to 1 Sam 15:23, Exod. 22:18, and Deut. 18: 10,11. Rabbi Marcowitz confessed witchcraft to be wrong but said, "To tell men their duty, when we know they will not do it, is not necessary.'

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May 2. The missionaries visited the church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is not the same building described by Chateaubriand; that was burnt soon after he visited it; this was erected by the Greek Christians a few years since. The journal describes it minutely; and also the ceremonies of the following day-the day preceding Easter Sunday, according to the opinion of the Oriental Christians. After having witnessed these impious scenes the missionaries say; "we felt as though Jerusalem were a place accursed of God, and given over to iniquity. The Jews hate the name of

An unpleasant occurrence.

Lord's-day, May 4. The afternoon was interrupted by an exceedingly unpleasant affair. We went to witness the service in the Greek church, and after the service, while we were conversing with the Metropolitan, a man came to tell us, that a Janifore the Moolah, or Turkish Judge. We zary had come to our rooms to carry us bereturned to our rooms, and inquired of the Janizary, what was the occasion of his being sent. He told us it was in consequence of a complaint from a Dervish in relation to some book. This Dervish was Hadgi Mohammed, who came with us through the desert from Egypt. He was poor, and not well provided for the journey, and we gave him water, bread, coffee and tea, from time to time as he had need. He knew how to read and seemed intelligent, and we therefore often conversed with him, and gave him a copy of Genesis, which he read apparently with interest. One day, in the desert, he showed us a beautiful Persian manuscript. It contained a poem on Mecca, with representations of the temple. We offered to purchase it, and finally agreed with him for three dollars, gave the money, and took the book. He continued with us, till we arrived at Gaza. After that we saw no more of him, till we had been three days in Jerusalem, when we met him in the street, and saluted him as a friend. He, in return, saluted us as friends.

After this he called several times at our rooms. We gave him coffee, according to the custom of the country, and read and conversed with him. One day we showed him a Persian Testament, and he sat on his heels, at least an hour and a half, reading in it. One day he wished to borrow. the book, which he had sold us, in order to copy it. We had some fear that he wished to borrow, and not return again; and therefore invited him to come, and copy it in our room. This morning he called again, and said an Effendi wished to see the book. We told him to invite the Effendi to call on us and see it. He said 'very well,' and went away. We told the Janizary how the case stood, and sent him to tell the Judge, and to say, likewise, that if the

the kindness of Ebed-melech. Jer. 88. Thence they passed over the brook Cedron, by the garden of Gethsemane, and ascended the mountain where David went up weeping, 3000 years ago, and where David's Lord and ours wept, as he beheld the devoted city, in which he was about to suffer.

From Mount Olivet you have a view of the Dead Sea, where Sodom and Gomorrha stood, and of the mountains beyond Jordan, from one of which Moses viewed the promised land.

Descending from the mount on the east side, they came to the spot where tradition says Christ mounted the ass, on which he rode iuto Jerusalem. Near to this are some ruins, that are said to mark the spot where Bethphage stood.

Bethany.

Turning back toward Jerusalem we came to Bethany, the town of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. It is at present a small Mussulman village on the declivity of a hill, and all around is uneven and rocky.

Here, of course, they visited what is called the grave of Lazarus. It is a natural cave, and is in no way unlike many others in the vicinity. The ruins of the house where Lazarus and his sisters lived are yet pointed out, and, from their solidity and venerable appearance "it is easy to believe them as old, at least, as the time of our Savior."

Valley of Jehoshaphat.

With some olive branches from Olivet, and some flowers from the mansion house of Lazarus in our hands, we returned by a winding way around the south of Mount Olivet, till we came to the brook Cedron, where it enters the valley of Jehoshaphat. This valley seems like a frightful chasm in the earth, and when you stand in it, and see Mount Zion and Moriah, towering above it with steep hills and precipices, on your right hand and left, you can easily feel the force of those sublime passages in the prophet Joel, in which the heathen are represented, as being gathered together there to be judged. The prophet seems to represent the Almighty as sitting in his holy temple, or on the summit of Zion, to judge the multitudes in the valley beneath him; and then executing his judgments, while the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining, and Jehovah roars out of Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the

earth shake; and it is thus made manifest, to the confusion of idolaters, and to the joy of the true Israel, that God dwells in Zion, his holy mountain, and is the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

In consequence of not reaching the city till after sunset, when the gates are shut, they were kept waiting without, till a message could be sent to the Governor to gain his permission to have them opened. "This reminded us," they observe, "of their unhappy situation, who will one day be shut out of the Holy City New Jerusalem, without any one to intercede for their admittance, and who must wander among dogs and sorcerers and murderers during an eternal night."

During the two or three succeeding weeks, they were diligently engaged in such missionary labors as their circumstances would per. mit. With the Jews, Turks, and Catholic and Greek Christians, they had frequent opportunities of free conversations, and of reading and expounding the Scriptures. In some instances, truth seemed to carry, with it at least a momentary conviction to the understanding, but in others it was warmly opposed.

Profaneness is a vice so prevalent, that Mr. Fisk remarks concerning the expression, "By God," "I scarcely meet with a person of any sect or character, who does not thus take the name of God in vain."

Some of the Christians at Jerusalem are disposed to question the propriety of considering the missionaries as Christians at all, because they use neither graven images nor pictures, and contend against them as unscriptural.

It may be proper to state here, that the succeeding part of the journal was prepared by Mr. Fisk at Antoora on Mount Lebanon, while Mr. King was residing at a convent at some distance from him for the purpose of studying the Arabic language.

Turkish exactions.

May 23. The Greek priests of the principal convent told me that since the present war commenced, that is, within two years, the Turks have exacted from that convent more than 3,000 purses. A purse, in the language of Turkey, is 500 piastres, a little more than $50, making a sum total of more than $150,000. As no Greek pilgrims now visit Jerusalem, the income of the convent is cut off, and they are now obliged to borrow money at 12 or 15 per cent interest. Should the present state of

Monastery of the Cross.

May 24. In the morning we walked out to the Greek monastery of the cross, west of Jerusalem. A little way from Jaffa gate we passed a collection of Turkish graves, and a large reservoir for rain water, at present dry. It is said to have been originally the work of David, and has been called by some travellers Gihon. See 2 Chron. 32:30. In 15 or 20 minutes from Jaffa gate we came to the top of the hill which overlooks Jerusalem. It is not, however, high enough to give a fair view of the city. You only see the castle, minarets and domes rising above the wall. Thence we descended to the convent, which stands in a valley about half an hour from the city. It is called the monastery of the cross, "because here is the earth, that nourished the root, that bore the tree, that yielded the timber, that made the cross. Under the high ́altar you are shown a hole in the ground, where the stump of the tree stood, and it meets with not a few visitants, so much verier stocks than itself, as to fall down and worship it." There is an old library in the convent. The books

are heaped together in the utmost disorder. Among them there are some in Greek, Ethiopic, Syriac, and a large number in Georgian. The Superior told us that this monastery was built by the Georgian Christians many centuries ago. There are no persons in it except the Superior and a few domestics. When we came away, they invited us to visit them again, saying, "The convent is yours;" the oriental way of saying, "make yourselves at home."

In the afternoon of the same day they visited several synagogues belonging to the Spanish Jews, and one belonging to the Polish Jews; about 30 persons were present at one of these, and 40 at another. The roll of the law was read by one of the rabbies, and each individual of the assembly, repeated his prayers in a whisper, after bowing. They visited also the synagogue of the Caraites. There are but three families of this sect in the city. Here they were shown a manuscript copy of the Old Testament, said to be 400 years old, and two copies of the law in rolls, one of them said to be of the same age. All these manuscripts are without the points.

Tombs of the Prophets.

May 26. They went to visit what Jews, Turks and Christians call the tomb of Samuel and his mother Hannah at Rama, now called

hours from Jerusalem. There is a mosque over it, and around it are a few stone huts inhabited by Arabs. They also visited, on their return, what the Jews call "the tombs of the last Sanhedrim," and also the spot venerated as the tomb of the prophetess Huldah, (2 Kings 22:14,) and the tombs of the prophets, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Uncertainty hangs over all these traditions.

In a conversation with his Arabic master, Papas Isa Petros, Mr. Fisk stated to him the ecclesiastical usages and religious opinions of Christians in America. To many of the particulars his answer was,-"like the first Christians;” and he afterwards added, that he thought the American churches must be more like the first Christians than any other churches at the present day.

During our residence at Jerusalem, brother Wolff occupied a room on the side of Mount Zion, near the residence of the Jews, with whom he labored almost incessantly. Brother King and I had separate rooms in a Greek convent, where we "received all that came in unto us, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ." The preceding pages will give some idea of the manner in which we labored. We have lately been encouraged by meeting with the Rev. Lewis Way, whose name is well known to you, and the Rev. Mr. Lewis from the university of Dublin, now a missionary from the London Jews Society. Mr. Way has hired, for a year, a building which was erected for a Jesuit's college. I am now residing with him; he has repaired and furnished the house, and hopes it will be permanently a residence for missionaries, converted Jews, and Bible Society agents. He hopes to visit Jerusalem, before leaving the country in order to commence some establishment there. His wealth and his readiness to use it in the service of Christ enable him to do much. When shall we see other rich men ready to leave their palaces, travel abroad, and expend their treasures, not in pursuit of pleasure, but in seeking the restoration of the long lost sheep of the house of Israel?

We have received a continuation of this interesting journal, bringing the account of the labors of our missionaries in the land which was once the inheritance of Israel, down to the 14th of July last. We have not room in the present number for so much of it as we believe our readers would wish to find in our pages, and therefore reserve further extracts to be inserted in our next.