599 Description of Nazareth, Mount Tabor, Cana, &c. -Hume himself was sensible of the consequences which must necessarily result from the continuation of such an argument, and drops it, therefore, abruptly, without pressing it forward to its extreme; 'lest it should lead us, as he observes, into reasonings of too nice and delicate a nature.' (To be concluded in our next.) DESCRIPTION OF NAZARETH,—FROM A RECENT VISIT. On the following day we arrived at Nazareth, which we could not perceive till we were at the top of the hill directly over it, as it stands on the foot and sides of a kind of amphitheatre. Its situation is very romantic; the population amounts to about twelve hundred, who are mostly Christians. The Spanish Catholic couvent, in which all travellers are accommodated, is a large and excellent mansion, though the number of monks is reduced to less than one half, on account of the poverty of the establishment, from the failure of remittances from Europe. The church of the convent is rich, and contains a fine organ. Below the floor, and entered by a flight of steps, is the cave, or grotto, where the angel Gabriel is said to have appeared to Mary; a granite column was rent in twain by the appearance of the angel,-the lower part is quite gone, but the upper part, which passes through the roof, is suspended in the air. The priests tell you that it has no support from above, and that it is an everlasting miracle. There is a handsome altar in this grotto. 费 We next visited a small apartment, which is shewn as the workshop of Joseph; this stands at a short distance from the church; part of it only remains, and is certainly kept very neat. Not far from this is the school where our Lord received his education, and which looks much like other schools. But as curious a relic as any, a large piece of rock, rather soft, about four feet high, and four or five yards long, its form not quite circular on this, our Lord is said to have often dined with his disciples. A About a mile and half down the valley is shown a high and perpendicular rock, as the very spot where our Lord, according to St. Luke, was taken by the people to be thrown over the precipice. About midway down, in the face of the rock, is the spot where his descent was arrested, and the marks of his hands, and part of his form, are shown, where he entered into the rock and disappeared. The good fathers 600 do their cause little good by such sad tales. But of far higher interest than traditions and relics is the scenery around Nazareth; it is of the kind in which one would imagine the Saviour of mankind delighted to wander, and to withdraw himself when meditating on his great mission;-deep and secluded dells, covered with a wild verdure; silent and solemn paths, where overhanging rocks shut out all intrusion. No one can walk round Nazareth without feeling thoughts like these enter his mind, while gazing often on many a sweet spot, traced, perhaps, by the Redeemer's footsteps, and embalmed by his prayers.→→→→ Carne's Letters from the East, vol. i. p. 288. MOUNT TABOR, Cana, &c. The next day we rode to Mount Tabor, about six miles distant; it stands alone on the plain, and is a very small and beautiful mountain, rising gradually on every side: about the fourth part of the ascent towards the summit is covered with a luxuriance of wood. The top of Mount Tabor is flat, and not of large extent; the view from thence is most magnificent. At the foot is shown the village, amidst a few trees, that was the birth-place of Deborah, the prophetess. Herman stands in the plain about six miles off, and at its foot is the village of Nain. ין We next proceeded towards Cana by a narrow and rocky path over the mountains. This village is pleasantly situated non a small eminence in a valley, and contains two or three hundred inhabitants; the ruins of the house are still shown, where the miracle of turning the water into wine was performed. The same kind of stone water-pots are certainly in use in the village: we saw several of the women bearing them on their heads as they returned from the well. The young women are said to be handsome.fio abar do ba nun " As the light was fading, we returned to the convent, and enjoyed our comfortable cell and repast. Here for the first time we ate of the delicious fish caught in the lake of Tiberias; they are very much of the size and colour of mullet. Being admitted to an audience of the emperor, the old man bewailed bitterly the dreadful degeneracy of the age, and departure from the faith, as shewn particularly in the revolution of New Spain, whereby the revenues of the convent were so reduced; the Devil, he said, was active and powerful beyond belief in the present day. What grieves the monks the most is, that they cannot live half so well 4 VISIT TO THE CITY OF JERUSALEM. By moonlight next morning, we were on the way to the sacred city; for about three hours it led over the plain, and then ascending the hills, became excessively disagreeable, in some parts so narrow, that only one horse could proceed at a time, and that not always with safety, as the rains had made the rocky paths much worse than usual. At the end of nine hours, however, as we proceeded over the summit of a rugged hill, we beheld Jerusalem at a small distance before us. Its aspect certainly was not magnificent or inspiring, but sad and dreary. 602 Judgment, on the south side of the city. How interesting washer aspect, beheld over the deep and rocky valley of Hinnom ! her gloomy walls encompassing Mount Zion on every side; and as yet there was no sound to disturb the silence of the scene. The beautiful Mount of Olives was on the right, and at its feet the valley of Jehoshaphat, amidst whose great rocks and trees stood the tomb of Zacharias, the last of the prophets that was slain: the only stream visible, flowed from the fountain of Siloam, on the side of Zion opposite. It is true the city beloved of God has disappeared, and with it all the hallowed spots once contained within its walls: and keen must be the faith that can now embrace their identity. Yet the face of nature still endures: the rocks, the mountains, lakes and valleys, are unchanged, save that loneliness and wildness are now, where once were luxury and every joy; and though their glory is departed, a high and mournful beauty still rests on many of these silent and romantic scenes. Amidst them a stranger will ever delight to wander, for there his imagination can seldom be at fault; the naked mountain, the untrodden plain, and the voiceless shore, will kindle into life around him, and his every step be filled with those deeds, through which guilt and sorrow passed away, and "life and immortality were brought to light." On reaching the gate of Bethlehem, we were speedily admitted, and, after some research, procured a lodging in the house of a native, not far from the walls, and near the tower of David. We had had enough of convents, and a traveller will find himself much more agreeably situated, and more at his ease, in living orientally, than confined within the walls, and obliged to conform to the hours, of a monastery however, there is no avoiding one's fate. The day had become hot ere I returned I had my divan and coffee, excellent wine to my dwelling, just within the walls. It and music in the evening, and wished only was the most desirable time of the year to to remain in peace. But, in a day or two be at Jerusalem, as the feast of Easter was repeated messages came from the superior about to commence, and many of the of the convent, urging my entry into it: pilgrims had arrived. The streets of the it was so unusual for a traveller to lodge city are very narrow and ill-paved, and the without, and so unsafe in these times, and houses in general have a mean appearance. he would come himself to remonstrate with The bazaar is a very ordinary one. The me; so that I was fain to comply. An Armenian quarter is the only agreeable part unlucky letter from the convent of Constan- of the city: the convent, which stands near tinople, and an unwillingness to lose the the gate of Zion, is very spacious and fees which every traveller pays, were the handsome, with a large garden attached to causes of this civility. They put me there it, and can furnish accommodations for into a little cold cell, with a single chair eight hundred pilgrims within its walls : and table in it, and a small flock bed, as if the poorer part lodging in outhouses and I came to perform a pilgrimage; and the offices in the courts, while the richer find pictures of saints and martyrs on the walls every luxury and comfort, for all the apart. were poor consolations for the substantial ments in this convent are furnished in the comforts I had lost. Here, however, it oriental manner. The wealthy pilgrims was my good fortune to meet with a most never fail to leave a handsome present, to amiable traveller, A. M. G., an Irish gen- the amount sometimes of several hundred tleman, whose companion had just left pounds. If a pilgrim die in the convent, him for Europe. all the property he has with him goes to the order. The church is very rich, and ornamented in a very curious taste, the floor being covered, as is the case in all their religious edifices, with a handsome com The lower division of the cit The morning after my arrival was a very lovely one; and, though it was in February, perfectly warm. I passed out of the gate of Bethlehem, and traversing part of the ravine beneath, ascended the Mount of the east, is chiefly occupied by the Jews; it is the dirtiest and most offensive of all. Several of this people, however, are rather affluent, and live in a very comfortable style; both men and women are more attractive in their persons than those of their nation who reside in Europe, and their features are not so strongly marked with the indelible Hebrew characters, but much more mild and interesting. But few passengers, in general, are met with in the streets, which have the aspect, where the convents are situated, of fortresses, from the height and strength of the walls the monks have thought necessary for their defence. Handsomely dressed persons are seldom seen, as the Jews and Christians rather study to preserve an appearance of poverty, that they may not excite the jealousy of the Turks. The population of Jerusalem has been variously stated; but it can hardly exceed twenty thousand; ten thousand of these are Jews, five thousand Christians, and the same number of Turks. The walls can with ease be walked round on the outside in forty-five minutes, as the extent is scarcely three miles. On the east of the city runs the valley or glen of Jehoshaphat; that of Hinnom, which bounds the city, on the south and west; and into these descend the steep sides of Mount Zion, on whose surface the city stands. To the north extends the plain of Jeremiah, the only level space around; it is covered partly with olivetrees. It does not appear possible for the ancient city to have covered a larger space than the present, except by stretching to the north, along the plain of Jeremiah; because the modern walls are built nearly on the brink of the declivities of Zion and the adjoining hill. But the height of this hill is very small, for Jerusalem is on every side, except towards the north, overlooked by hills, higher than the one whereon it stands. When about midway up Mount Olivet, you are on a level with the city walls; and the disparity towards the south is still greater. The form of the town is more like that of a square than any other, and its walls are lofty and strong. There are five or six gates: the golden gate, the gates of Damascus, St. Stephen, and Zion, and that of Bethlehem. Close to the latter is the tower of David, a place of considerable strength. The circumstance that most perplexes every traveller is, to account for Mount Calvary's having been formerly without the city. It is at present not a small way within; and in order to shut, it out, the 604 ancient walls must have made the most extraordinary and unnecessary curve ima ginable. Its elevation was probably always inconsiderable, so that there is little to stagger one's faith in the lowness of its present appearance. The exclusion of Calvary must have deprived the ancient city of a considerable space of habitable ground, of which, from the circumscribed nature of its site, there could have been little to spare. But tradition could not err in the identity of so famous a spot: and the smallest scepticism would deprive it of all its powerful charm. Besides that, the disposition of the former Jerusalem appears to have been, in other parts, sufficiently irregular. The mosque of Omar, the most beauti ful edifice in the Turkish empire, stands, in a great measure, on the site occupied by Solomon's Temple. The area around it is spacious and delightful; and being planted with trees, affords the only agreeable promenade in the city. Christians, however, are never allowed to enter it. Its situation is little elevated above the level of the street, so that Mount Moriah, formerly the highest eminence that joined the city, and where the temple stood, is now shorn of its honours. The loftiest part of the town at present is the western, between the gates of Bethlehem and Zion, where the convents are situated. The sides of the hill of Zion have a pleasing aspect, as they possess a few olive-trees and rude gardens, and a crop of corn was at this time growing there. On its southern extremity, a short way from the wall, is the mosque of David, which is held in the highest reverence by the Turks, who affirm that the remains of that monarch, and his son Solomon, were interred here, and that their tombs still exist. In a small building attached to the mosque, and where a church formerly stood, is the room in which was held the last supper of our Lord and his disciples: we looked into it through some crevices; it had a mean and naked appearance. In an apartment a little on the left of the rotunda, and paved with marble, is shewn the spot where Christ appeared to Mary in the garden. Near this begins the ascent to Calvary: it consists of eighteen very lofty stone steps: you then find your. self on a floor of beautiful variegated mar. ble, in the midst of which are three or four slender white pillars of the same material, which support the roof, and separate the Greek division of the spot from that appropriated to the Catholics; these pillars are partly shrouded by rich silk hangings, At Olivet. 606 the end stand two small and elegant altars; | hills of Judgment and those adjoining over that of the Catholics is a painting of the crucifixion, and over the Greek is one of the taking down the body from the cross. A number of silver lamps are constantly burning, and throw a rich and softened light over the whole of this striking scene. The street leading to Calvary has a long and gradual ascent, the elevation of the stone steps is above twenty feet, and if it is considered that the summit has been removed to make room for the sacred church, the ancient hill, though low, was sufficiently conspicuous. The very spot where the cross was fixed is shown; it is a hole in the rock, surrounded by a silver rim; and each pilgrim prostrates himself, and kisses it with the greatest devotion. Its identity is probably as strong as that of the cross and crown of thorns found a few feet below the surface but where is the scene around or within the city, however sacred, that is not defaced by the sad inventions of the fathers? Having resolved to pass the night in the church, we took possession, for a few hours, of a small apartment adjoining the gallery that overlooked the crowded area beneath. As it drew near midnight, we ascended again to the summit of Calvary. The pilgrims, one after another, had dropped off, till at last all had departed. No footstep broke on the deep silence of the scene. At intervals, from the Catholic chapel below, was heard the melody of the organ, mingled with the solemn chanting of the priests, who sang of the death and sufferings of the Redeemer. This service, pausing at times, and again rising slowly on the ear, had an effect inexpressibly fine. The hour, the stillness, the softened light and sound, above all, the belief of being where He who "so loved us" poured out his life, affected the heart and the imagination in a manner difficult to be described. Hour after hour fled fast away, and we descended to the chamber of the sepulchre. How vivid the midnight lights streamed on every part! the priest had quitted his charge, and the lately crowded scene was now lonely. This was the moment, above all others, to bend over the spot, where "the sting of death and the terrors of the grave" were taken away for ever. The confined situation of the city is redeemed by the magnificent view many parts of it command of the Dead Sea, and the high mountains of Arabia Petræa, forming its eastern shore. This view is towards the south-east, over the valley, between the The strong and commanding position of Mount Zion could have been the only reason for fixing the capital of Judea in so extraordinary and inconvenient a situation. Very many parts of the coast and the interior afford a far more favourable site in point of beauty and fertility, or for the purposes of commerce. The city, of old, was often subject to a scarcity of water; the fountain of Siloam and another on the east side, with the brook Kedron, being the chief supplies without the walls; but the latter, probably, possessed little or no water during the summer heats. It was reckoned as a memorable act in one of the kings, that he made a pool and a conduit, which are still called Hezekiah's, and are at the end of the eastern valley. The whole compass of the ancient city, according to Josephus, was only thirtythree furlongs, so that an extension of half a mile along the plain of Jeremiah to the north would give it its ancient size, and in a great measure, it is probable, its ancient position. The present circumference is, no doubt, correctly stated by Maundrell to be two miles and a half. Josephus distinctly states, "the old wall went southward, having its bending above the fountain Siloam," and this fountain in the side of Zion is not far without the present wall. Again, the historian says, old wall extended northward to a great length, and passed by the sepulchral caverns of the kings," which caverns, or tombs of the kings, are now above half a mile without the walls, to the north on the plain of Jeremiah. But the small valleys which divided the interior of the old city are now filled up, and many of the elevations levelled. The whole surface of the hills on which Jerusalem and its temple stood, of which Mount Moriah cannot now be distinguished, were, no doubt, much loftier formerly, or else the hollows beneath have been partly filled up. The latter, it is very probable, has been the case. "These hills," the history observes, "are surrounded by deep valleys, and, by reason of the precipices belonging to them on both sides, they are every where impassable.” This description does not apply to the pre sent appearance of either; no precipices, either steep or difficult, existing. the But although the size of Jerusalem was not extensive, its very situation, on the brink of rugged hills, encircled by deep and wild valleys, bounded by eminences whose sides were covered with groves and gardens, added to its numerous towers and 7 607 State of the Country in Bengal and Bahar. temple, must have given it a singular and gloomy magnificence, scarcely possessed by any other city in the world. The most pleasing feature in the scenery around the city, is the valley of Jehoshaphat. Passing out of the gate of St. Stephen, you descend the hill to the torrent of the Kedron; a bridge leads over its dry and deep bed; it must have been a very narrow, though in winter a rapid stream. On the left is a grotto, handsomely fitted up, and called the tomb of the Virgin Mary, though it is well known she neither died nor was buried at Jerusalem.—Ibid. | p. 296. GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE. A FEW steps beyond the Kedron, you come to the garden of Gethsemane, of all gardens the most interesting and hallowed; but how neglected and decayed! It is surrounded by a kind of low hedge, but the soil is bare; no verdure grows on it, save six fine venerable olive-trees, which have stood here for many centuries. This spot is at the foot of Olivet, and is beautifully situated: you look up and down the romantic valley; close behind rises the mountain; before you are the walls of the devoted city. While lingering here, at evening, and solitary, for it is not often a footstep passes by, that night of sorrow and dismay rushes on the imagination, when the Redeemer was betrayed, and forsaken by all, even by the beloved disciple. Ibid. p. 333. 608 daries, from Zemindar, a landholder, held immediately of government, on payment of a rate which was fixed by Lord Cornwallis, and does not increase with any fresh improvement or enclosure. These lands may be sold or divided by the proprietors, remaining subject to the tax, but cannot be touched by the government so long as the tax is paid. The great Zemindars generally live in Calcutta, or the other cities, where some of them have very splendid palaces, under-letting their territories to dewans, or stewards, answering to what the Scots call taxmen, who, as well as the smaller landholders, generally occupy dingy brick buildings, with scarcely any windows, and looking a little like deserted manor houses in England. Placed in the middle of the villages, whose bamboo huts seem far cooler and cleaner dwellings, they are overhung with a dark and tangled shade of fruit-trees, and surrounded by stables, cowhouses, threshing-floors, circular granaries, raised on posts, and the usual litter of a dirty and ill-managed farm; but the persons who reside in them are often really very wealthy, and when we meet them on horseback on a gala day, with their train of servants, their splendid shawls, and gold and silver trappings, might almost meet the European idea of an eastern Raja. Under them the land is divided into a multitude of tenements, of which the cultivators are said to be often rated very high, though they are none of them attached to the soil, but may change, if aggrieved, to any landlord who is likely to use them better. a Round the villages there are large orchards of mangoes, cocoa-nuts, and plantains, together with many small crofts, enclosed with fences of aloes, prickly pear, and sometimes pine-apples; and cultivated with hemp, cotton, sugar,canes, mustard, gram, (a kind of vetch) and of late years with potatoes, and some other kinds of European vegetables. All beyond this is rice, cultivated in large open fields annually overflowed by the Ganges, or the many canals which are drawn from it, and divided into little portions, or guillets, not laid out like our corn-fields in ridge and furrow, but on a flat surface, the soil being returned to its place after the crop is dibbled in, and intersected by small ledges of earth, both to mark propriety, and to retain the water a sufficient time on the surface. There is no pasture ground. The cattle, sheep, and goats are allowed, during the "FROM all which I have been able to learn, the peasantry and (native) merchants are extremely well content with us, and prefer our government very much to that of any existing Asiatic sovereign. The great increase of population in Bengal and Bahar, the number of emigrants which come thither from all parts of India, the extent of fresh ground annually brought into cultivation, and the ostentation of wealth and luxury among the people, which, under the native princes, no one (except the immediate servants of government) ventured to show, seem still more convincing proofs that they are, on the whole, wisely and equitably governed. The country (as far as I have yet seen, and every body it is the same through day, to pick up what they can find in the all Bengal) divided into estates, gene sally of considerable size, called Zemin orchards, stubbles, and fallows, and along the road-sides, but at night are always |