out knowing at the moment, whether it had been observed by former travellers or not, instantly suggested to our minds the far-famed fruits 'which grew Near that bituminous lake where This was the 'Osher of the Arabs, the The Ruins of Petra." The character of this wonderful spot, and the impression which it makes, are utterly indiscribable; and I know of nothing which can present even a faint idea of them. I had visited the strange sandstone lanes and streets of Adersbach, and wandered with delight through the romantic dells of the Saxon Switzerland; both of which scenes might be supposed to afford the nearest parallel; yet they exhibit few points of comparisou. All here is on a grander scale of savage, yet magnificent sublimity. We lingered along this superb approach, proceeding slowly snd stopping often, forgetful of everything else, and taking for the moment no note of time. The length is a large mile; we were forty minutes in passing through in this desultory manner. As we drew near the western end, the sun-light began to break in upon the rugged crags before us. Here the Sik terminates, opening nearly at right angles into a similar though broader Wady or chasm, coming down from the south and passing off north-west. "All at once the beautiful façade of the Khuzneh, in the western precipice, opposite the mouth of the Sik, burst upon our view, in all the delicacy of its first chisseling, and in all the freshness and beauty of its soft colouring. 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 surpassed 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. "It was sunset: and we returned to our tent, fatigued, and our eyes for the present satisfied with seeing.' We had obtained, so far as we desired, a general idea of the valley and its wonders. The pencil of Laborde has spread before the world the details of the strange remains, which give interest and celebrity to this valley; but his work presents no correct general idea of the whole. The best written descriptions are still those of the earliest visi. tors; first Burckhardt, and then Irby and Mangles." Arab Hospitality." Being now off the track of all former travellers, (from Jerusalem to Gaza) we came in contact here with oriental hospitality in its pri mitive and genuine form. The villagers supplied us with everything we desir ed; regarding it as an honour, and without expecting a recompence. Such is the custom of all these mountains. The Fellahin never sell food to one another; but every stranger is the guest of the village. Our five muleteers, honest and faithful peasants from the village of Lifta, near Jerusalem, never thought of paying for their food; not for the sake of spunging, but because it was furnished to them as a matter of course. In every village" there is a public room, or more than one, according to the size and ability of the place, devoted to the entertainment of strangers." Mountain of Fossil Salt near the Dead Sea." The whole body of the Mountain of Usdum is a solid mass of rock-salt. The ridge is in general very uneven and rugged, varying from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet in height. It is indeed covered with layers of chalky limestone or marl, so as to present chiefy the appearance of common earth or rock; yet the mass of salt very often breaks out, and ap pears on the sides in precipices forty or fifty feet high and several hundred feet in length, pure crystallized fossil salt. We could at first hardly believe our eyes; until we had several times approached the precipices, and broken off pieces to satisfy ourselves, both by the touch and taste. The salt, where thus exposed, is everywhere more or less furrowed by the rains. As we advanced, large lumps and masses broken off from above, lay like rocks along the shore, or were fallen down as debris. The very stones beneath our feet were pure salt. This continued to be the character of the mountain, more or less distinctly marked, throughout its whole length; a distance of two and a half hours or five geographical miles." "The existence here of this immense mass of fossil salt, which, according to the latest geological views, is a frequent accompaniment of volcanic action, accounts sufficiently for the excessive saltness of the Dead Sea. The position of this mountain at the south end of the sea, enables us also to ascertain the place of the Valley of Salt' mentioned in Scripture; where the Hebrews under David, and again under Amaziah, gained decisive victories over Edom." Taking leave of Jerusalem." If my feelings were strongly excited on first entering the Holy City, they were now hardly less so on leaving it for the last time. As we had formerly approached, repeating continually the salutation of the Psalmist: 'Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces;' so now we could not but add: 'For our brethren and companions' sakes we will now say, Peace be within thee!' Her palaces indeed are long since levelled to the ground; and the haughty Muslim now for ages treads her glory in the dust. Yet as we waited, and looked again from this high ground upon the city and the surrounding objects, I could not but exclaim: Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King!' One long last look; and then turning away, I bade those sacred hills farewell for ever." Sacred place of the Samaritans.— "One of our first objects at Nâbulus was to visit the Samaritans, that singular and feeble remnant of an ancient people, which to this day has survived the storms of ages and of adverse influences, upon their native soil. Some men formerly from Beirût soon came around us; and an old Christian of the Greek rite undertook to conduct us to the Samaritans, to the summit of Mount Gerizim, and to Jacob's well." "Soon after we passed the castle, towards the south, the guide took off his shoes, saying it was unlawful for his people to tread with shoes upon this ground, it being holy. After a few steps we came to a large naked surface of rock, even with the ground, and occupying a considerable area, inclining somewhat towards a cistern in the western part. This he said was their holiest spot, the place where the tabernacle of the Lord with the ark of the covenant had been pitched. He seemed to have no tradition of any temple here; and although we inquired repeatedly, we could not perceive that he had ever heard of any. Around this rock are slight traces of former walls, perhaps of the ancient temple. We measured them, CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 46. so far as they could be distinguished, fifty-eight feet from N. to S. and fortyfive feet from E. to W.; but we were afterwards not sure whether this latter ought not to be doubled. This spot is the Kibleh of the Samaritans. On whatever side of it they may be, according to our guide, they always turn their faces towards it in prayer; but when upon the spot itself, it is lawful for them to pray in any direction. Near by the same place, he pointed out the spot where they believe Abraham was commanded to offer up Isaac.' Hill west of Nazareth." Seating myself in the shade of the Wely, I remained for some hours upon this spot, lost in the contemplation of the wide prospect, and of the events connected with the scenes around. In the village below, the Saviour of the world had passed his childhood; and although we have few particulars of his life during those early years, yet there are certain features of nature which meet our eyes now, just as they once met his. He must often have visited the fountain near which we had pitched our tent; his feet must frequently have wandered over the adjacent hills; and his eyes doubtless have gazed upon the splendid prospect from this very spot. Here the Prince of peace looked down upon the great plain, where the din of battles so oft had rolled and the garments of the warrior been dyed in blood; and he looked out too upon that sea, over which the swift ships were to bear the tidings of his salvation to nations and to continents then unknown. How has the moral aspect of things been changed! Battles and bloodshed have indeed not ceased to desolate this unhappy country, and gross darkness now covers the people; but from this region a light went forth, which has enlightened the world and unveiled new climes; and now the rays of that light begin to be reflected back from distant isles and continents, to illuminate anew the darkened land, where it first sprung up." Excursion to Bethel." This excursion was to us deeply interesting, and we returned from it highly gratified. It had led us though scenes associated with the names and historic incidents and deeds of Abraham and Jacob, of Samuel and Saul, of Jonathan and David and Solomon; and we had been able to trace out the places where they had lived and acted, and to tread almost in their very footsteps. True, in Jerusalem itself the associations of this kind are still more numerous and sacred; but they are there so blended together, as to become in a measuer 4 M indistinct and less impressive; while here in the country, they stand forth before the soul in all their original freshness and individuality. It was like communing with these holy men themselves, to visit the places where their feet had trod, and where many of them had held converse with the Most High. I hope that in this respect the visit was not without its proper influence upon ourown minds; at any rate, it served to give us a deeper impression of the reality and vividness of the Bible-history, and to confirm our confidence in the truth and power of the sacred volume. "The region through which we passed on the first day was that described by the prophet Isaiah as the scene of Sennecharib's approach to Jerusalem. The route is very distinctly traced, and we were able in a great measure to follow it out. Of the pro bable sites of Ai and Geba I have already spoken; and we ourselves visited Michmash, Gibeah of Saul, Ramah, and Anathoth. Of the other places mentioned, no further trace remains." Preservation of ancient Hebrew names.-" "While very many of the ancient Hebrew names have perished, there exists at the present day a class of names, which, although not occurring in the Scriptures, are nevertheless probably of Hebrew origin, and have come down from the earliest times. Thus, I apprehended that all (or nearly all) those appellations in which the Arabic word Beit appears as a component part, are only the successors of ancient Hebrew names with Beth (house), whether found in the Scriptures or not. Many of these indeed do thus occur, as Bethlehem, Bethel, Beth-horon, and the like; but a still larger number exist at the present day, of which the Bible makes no mention. Such are Beit Hanîna, Beit Iksa, Beit Unia, Beit Jala, which have been already noticed, and very many others. The same is true of names like el-Hizmeh, Tell Asûr, 'Atâra, and others similar; which, although apparently of Hebrew origin, are not distinctly found in connection with the district in which they now exist. That such should be the general fact is not surprising; although, so far as I know, it has never been distinctly brought into notice. The Bible does not claim to be a geographical work, nor to enumerate all the towns and villages of the Promised Land. Indeed, in most of the recorded lists of Hebrew cities, we find the express addition of their villages,' and sometimes of their towns and villages,' of which no names are given. Among these unknown names were doubtless many of those which have survived to our time." We have proceeded at great length with our remarks and extracts; it having been always our plan when we have any matter in hand which appears to us both valuable and entertaining, and which might not elsewhere meet the eye of our readers, not to cut it short, and turn to something else, for the mere name of variety. There are other points of disquisition which we might have raised in passing through these volumes, but the above samples are sufficient. We must not, however, close Dr. Robinson's pages without adverting to one subject, both of Christian and international importance. Our American brethren, much to their honour, have for many years exhibited a zealous interest in behalf of Syria and the surrounding lands, both as regards the Mohammedan population and the fallen Christian churches. They had indeed been preceded by several British Societies; pecially the Christian Knowledge, the Bible, and the Church Missionary; all of which, according to their respective objects, had by means of books, Scripture translations, and the visits and researches of their agents, endeavoured to open a way for the propagation, or revival, of the Gospel in those interesting regions. Of late years the conductors of these institutions have specially directed their attention to these localities, and with hopeful results; though, for want of pecuniary means, and amidst the multiplicity of other claims, not with all the strength and concentration which were due to so momentous an object, and which we trust will yet be brought to bear upon it. The Society, also, es for the Conversion of the Jews has for many years had a mission in Jerusalem, and its labours have justly commended themselves to the warm affections of British Christians; and it gives us great pleasure to add, that this Society having adopted resolutions similar to those lately resolved upon by the Church Missionary Society, the Archbishop of Canterbury has patronised the institution, and a bishop has been appointed to Jerusalem, for which office his Grace has selected the Rev. M. Alexander, who himself was one of the Society's converts from Judaism. But it is due to our American brethren to notice their very extensive and beneficial labours in this field, which we trust is whitening to an abundant harvest. The mission of the American Board of Missions at Beyrout has for many years been in a state of great efficiency, and its labours have not been in vain in the Lord. We mention this in connexion with the volumes before us, because though Dr. Robinson is not himself a missionary, his fellow traveller is; and Dr. Robinson had the pleasure of seeing assembled together, on one occasion, in the Holy Land, five of his former pupils who were labouring as missionaries in the East. He disclaims in the most decisive manner, as do Dr. Grant and his colleagues among the Nestorian Christians, (as we mentioned last month,) all effort or wish to proselyte the Oriental churches to sectarian opinions. They wish, by God's blessing, "to awaken them to a knowledge and belief of Gospel-truth, in the purity and simplicity of its original scriptural form," without interfering with their views of ecclešiastical government. We cordially express our conviction that the missionaries of the American Board have sincerely endeavoured to act upon this principle; but with equal frankness we repeat what we said last month, that as congregationalists, holding opinions, and adopting practices, at variance with those which have prevailed from the first in episcopal churches,-and such we believe all churches to have been in apostolic times, and downwards to modern ages, they are not the fittest missionaries for the Eastern churches; for though they may not preach against episcopacy, or a liturgy, or any other observance which those churches have preserved from the first ages of the Gospel, yet as they do not themselves hold to them, but account them unscriptural, they must, in proportion as they acquire influence, shake the opinions of the Orientals, or at least cause perplexities among them. We are glad thereforewithout meaning anything unbrotherly-that the American episcopal church has entered upon the Eastern field of labour; though even here we "note a defect," for though they advocate episcopacy, a liturgy, and various primitive rites, they disclaim national church establishments; which it were a grievous matter if the Eastern churches were led to disparage. Upon all grounds, therefore, the Church of England has peculiar advantages in prosecuting this particular department of missionary exertion. We have written freely, as we believed ourselves in duty bound to do, for the purpose of stirring up our fellow-churchmen to consider the solemn obligations, which, by the events of Divine Providence, have devolved upon them, as Christians, as episcopalians, and as Britons, in reference to the backsliding and desolated churches of Asia; but we mean nothing invidious to other communities, national or religious; and Dr. Robinson's volumes afford no apology for jealous discussions, even if we were disposed to protrude them, which assuredly we are not. Indeed he himself urges upon England, as a duty incumbent upon it, to constitute itself the protector of Protestants and Protestantism in the Turkish dominions, as France has long avowed itself to be of the members of the Latin, and Russia of the Greek, church. In the default of England, the United States might warrantably assume that honourable guardianship; but perhaps their national constitution does not allow of it; and to England Dr. Robinson appeals; and England without doubt is specially concerned, by its proximity, its influence, its alliances, and its resources, to discharge the office. In the case of the persecuted Jews its voice was heard and responded to; and it will be strange indeed, if, should exigencies arise, Protestant Christians are not deemed entitled to similar guardianship. The American missionaries, as well as our own countrymen, and converted Jews also, should all feel that the influence of Great Britain in the counsels of Turkey has been manifestly for their advantage; and that instead of losing the very considerable benefits which Mohammed Ali afforded them, they are greatly enlarged and multiplied. Where much is given, as in our case, much will be required, by Him to whom nations as well as individuals are amenable. VIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. WHEN We concluded our last Number, the debate in the House of Commons on the amendment to the address to the Queen, to the effect that the House could not repose confidence in her Majesty's ministers, was not finished; but, as we stated, "there could be no doubt about the result, and the consequent resignation of her Majesty's ministers, and the accession to office of Sir Robert Peel as prime minister, aided by the Duke of Wellington and the chiefs of the Conservative body. We added, "What measures they will propose it were useless to attempt to conjecture; but we have no doubt that Sir R. Peel has the wish and the skill to develop the resources of the country, and to preserve its venerable institutions." We can add little to this, except to say, that what was then matter of anticipation is now matter of history; the late ministry were outvoted by a majority of ninety-one; a new cabinet has been formed; and we must continue for a time to rely, as under the blessing of God we confidently do, upon the wish and the skill" of Sir R. Peel and his friends "to develop the resources of the country, and to preserve its venerable institutions," in the forefront of which we place our national church establish ment; for it would still be "useless to conjecture what measures they will propose," and unreasonable to expect that at so early a period after their accession to office, and under the pressure of extraordinary difficulties, they should have been able fully to digest and mature all their plans, which must embrace the complicated details of home and foreign arrangement; and it were unwise and unfair to ask for partial and isolated developments, which had not ripened into ultimate and consolidated propositions. It has always been our habit, in our brief monthly notices of passing events, to speak rather of facts and measures, than of individuals or political parties. We concur with Addison in the Spectator, who says: "It is not my ambition to increase the number either of Whigs or Tories, but of wise and good men; and I could heartily wish there were not faults common to both parties, which afford sufficient matter to work upon, without descending to those which are peculiar to either." Those who are really "wise and good men" in the highest, and only true, sense, men who "set God always before them;" who receive the divine Saviour both as "a sacrifice for |