power in the sea, and she shall be devoured with fire. Possibly the expression of the prophet Isaiah (doubtless alluding to the most ancient Tyre,) might be thought to weaken the remark, that the insular town was not necessarily to be considered as identical with the old city-Be still, ye inhabi tants of THE ISLE. (ch. xxxiii. 2,6.) But Bishop Lowth translates this passage-Ye inhabitants of the sea-coast. This is very learnedly discussed by Reland. Poole and Vitringa both accord with The same is noted by Carpzovius, who refers to this source a similar picture of a heathen deity: Ceterum inde fluxit insanus Gentilium error, qui Bacchum suum, maxime in expeditione Indica, cornutum tradiderunt; sub cujus nomine Mosen this rendering. Ancient Tyre is by Strabo reeos coluisse Vossius, Huetius, aliique demonstra runt." The Tantoor of Mount Lebanon is evidently intended for splendor, while the horn worn by the Abyssinian chiefs was significant of strength. Whether the version of St. Jerome-" Quod cornuta esset facies ejus"-first gave rise to the painting of Moses in that manner, and thus led to the adoption of the costume; or whether, on the other hand, the closeness of his rendering may indicate that such a costume already existed in Syria when he wrote, so that his allusion would, in that era and in that country, seem nothing forced or strange, may be left to conjecture. I should incline to the latter opinion; and, consequently, imagine that the costume is as ancien, at least, as his time. C. ON TYRE. It might perhaps be thought that the aqueducts and Solomon's cisterns are an exception to the remark at p. 39, that not a vestige of an ancient city appears on the site of the first Tyre. These structures seem, however, to be fairly laid out of the question by the following criticism of Maundrell, (Journey, March 21, 1697)-who, noticing the TRADITION, that these cisterns were part of the recompense made by Solomon to King Hiram for the materials sent toward the building of the temple, shrewdly remarks-"They are, doubtless, very ancient; but yet of a much later date than what this tradition ascribes to them. That they could not be built till since Alexander's time, may be conjectured from this, among other arguments; because the aqueduct, which conveys the water from hence to Tyre, is carried over the neck of land, by which Alexander in his famous siege of this place joined the city to the continent. And as the cisterns cannot well be imagined to be ancienter than the aqueduct; so one may be sure the aqueduct cannot be older than the ground it stands upon." presented to be what would seem considerably south this writer says, (Geography, Book xvi. under "Syria") "Tyre is distant from Sidon not more than two hundred stadia. Between them is a city named Ornithon; (oixvov, Opvil dis Asyouevn called the city of birds?) After this, near Tyre, a river disembogues itself. After Tyre is Palæ-Tyrus, thirty stadia distant." Thirty stadia would be nearly four miles English. The impression made on my mind, after consulting various authorities, is one which entirely concurs with both the prophetic writings and the actual view of the spot-namely, that between Modern Tyre, and Khan Nahoura, (though much nearer to the former,) existed Pale-Tyrus; being built to the water's edge: which would explain Ezekiel xxvii. 3. D. STATE OF THE JEWS AT SAFET. From what we learned at Safet, it is evident that affairs are there much worse with the Jews, than they were at the time when Basnage described them. The reader may compare with the statements given at pp. 50, 51, the following account of Safet, in book vii. chapter 24, section 1, of Basnage's History of the Jews. Having remarked that the zeal of the Jews toward the Holy Land is much cooled, he adds, that, of the cities to which they resort, "Safet is the most peopled, and the most celebrated among them. They there enjoy many advantages. For first, this city, situated in the tribe of Naphtali, at a distance of nine miles from Bethsaida, upon a mountain with a tripple ridge or summit, is extremely difficult of access. It is thus protected from the incursions of the roving Arabs, who pillage and desolate whatever cities they can enter. Secondly, I know not whether it be that the Turks are unwilling, by ill-treating the Jews, to occasion the depopulation of the town, or whether it is the mildness of the Ottomans that attracts the Jews thither; certain it is that they are more numerous at Safet, and that they are more kindly treated here, than in all the rest of the Ottoman empire.....A third of the inhabitants are Turks: the other two-thirds are Jews." E. TIANS. To the denunciations of the prophet Ezekiel ENMITY OF SAMARITANS TO JEWS AND CHRISagainst Tyre, may be added the brief but energetic prediction of Zachariah, (ch. ix. 3, 4) of the ruin of that devoted city-Tyrus did build herself Mill, in his "Dissertationes Selectæ," has one a strong hold: and heaped up silver as the dust, entire Dissertation, (the xivth) "On the Causes and fine gold as the mire of the streets. Behold, of the Enmity between the Jews and the Samarithe Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her tans." In reference to the exclusive regard of the Samaritans to their Pentateuch, noticed in the Superior-his sister-the Superior of the monastery of St. Saba-and two or three poor Greeks or Anatolians; who seem hardly to know either how to live here, or how to get away, or what place to go to. H. RIGOR OF THE ADVENT FAST. The rigor of the Lent which is kept during the four weeks of Advent began before I left Jerusa lem. Among other persons who were suffering under it, was the aged sister of the superior of Mill further relates, that the enmity of the Sa- the convent of Mar Michael. I had given the sumaritans has not been less bitter against the perior some medicine, which he found very beneChristians; quoting, in proof, the following passage ficial; on which his sister applied to me for similar from Eutychius: "In the twenty-first year of the relief. On making inquiry into her diet, I found reign of Justinian, the Samaritans, having made that she was so impoverishing her constitution by an incursion into Palestine, destroyed all the fasting, that, at her advanced age and with her churches, and cast fire into them: they likewise infirmities, I doubted the safety of administering killed many Christians, cruelly tormented others, medicine of sufficient power to remove her indisand murdered the bishop of Nablous. Hearing position. Her illness was, in fact, entirely owing of this, Justinian the emperor sent a large army, to bad and low food. She complained that she and slew a great multitude of Samaritans." The had lost all appetite; I recommended her to take consequence of this war was, that the Christians a little meat to strengthen her stomach, or at least would not admit into the bosom of the church any some broth. At this she grew outrageous-walkSamaritan who was desirous of becoming a Chris-ed up to me, as if she was about to quarrel-and tian, under less than two years' probation.-Millii Dissertationes Selectæ, p. 435, & p. 453. F. POPULATION OF JERUSALEM. In addition to what is said, on the population of Jerusalem, it may be remarked, that in reference to the holy city, (as, indeed, all places in the Levant,) the most various statements are to be found in different writers. There can be little doubt, however, that Hasselquist has committed a very great error, when he says, "Jerusalem has amongst its inhabitants 20,000 Jews." (Voyages in the East, "Jerusalem.") It may be agreeable to the reader to hear a more moderate estimate, certainly more near the truth, by the late Professor Carlyle: "The population," he says, "consists of 9,000 Mohammedans, 3,000 Jews, 2,000 Greeks, 600 Latins, 200 Armenians, 100 Jacobites or Syrians, and two or three families of Copts or Maronites." (See Walpole's Memoirs, p. 187.) This would make a total of about 15,000; which is the utmost that the author conceives the city would contain, in ordinary circumstances. G. NUMBER OF CONVENTS IN JERUSALEM. The number of Christian convents in Jerusalem was stated to me thus:-thirteen Greek convents; of which some are for monks, others, for nuns three Armenian; two for monks, and one for nuns -two Coptic-one Abyssinian-one Latin; with another religious house attached to it. This would give a total of twenty-one monastic establishments; but some of them are very poor and mean, and, except during the season for pilgrims, scarcely tenanted. In the convent of Mar Michael where we lodged, there were, besides ourselves, asked whether I wished her to neglect her religion and her duty to God; this she would never do! I applied some simple arguments, but they only served to irritate and I, therefore, desisted. She afterward, several times, complained to my servant, because I had not sufficient skill to restore the tone of her appetite, without disturbing her fast. I. JEWS IN ABYSSINIA. Concerning a people so interesting as the Jews and a country so interesting as Abyssinia, it is desirable to collate every possible kind of information, both new and old. The very imperfect account obtained from the Abyssinian priest whom I met at Jerusalem will receive further light from the history of Ludolf, with the commentary; in which the state of the Jews up to the period of 1691 is recorded. The following extract is from the history: "Besides the men of Abyssinian extraction, various other nations inhabit this country; namely, Jews, Mohammedans, and very many Gentiles mixed with the rest. The Jews formerly held many and ample regions-nearly all Dembea; as also, Wagara and Samen, among the rocks of which they stoutly defended themselves, till driven out by Susneus. Formerly, they inhabited those regions by their own right; from whence, probably, arose the fable, that somewhere under the dominion of Prester John, or near it, they still possessed power under some Jewish king. They now dwell scattered; and many yet remain in Dembea, who support themselves by making clothes, and by smith's work, in which they are particularly skilful. Others, passing beyond the boundaries of the kingdom, westward, betook themselves to dwell among the Caffres, near the Nile; and these are called by the Ethiopians of the world, it would tend to shake the prophecy Falashan,' that is, Exiles.' Very many still of Jacob in Genesis xlix. 10. That passage, have their synagogues, and their Hebrew Bibles, however, is to be regarded as having reference to and use a corrupt Talmudical dialect among them- the entire polity of the kingdom and priesthood of selves. Did not the fathers of the society of the Jews, and that in the land of promise likewise, Jesuits make research, when, or on what occasion namely Palestine: nor do the Jews themselves these Jews first came into Ethiopia?-whether understand it otherwise."-Ludolf Comment. in they belong to the Karaites, or to any other Jew- Hist. Ethiop. No. ci. pp. 198, 199. ish sect?-what sacred books they use, with or without points?-whether they possess other books, especially historical; or, at least, traditions concerning their nation and that of Abyssinia?the knowledge of which particulars would, doubt REMARKS OF SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. less, prove most grateful to literary men; since it ON THE NATURAL, CIVIL, AND RELIGIOUS STATE is by no means improbable, that they are in possession of ancient books, having so long resided securely in such well-defended places."-Ludolf Hist. Ethiop. Lib. I. c. 14. sub finem. The following more particular confirmation of the preceding account of the Abyssinian Jews is given by Ludolf, in his second work, entitled"The Commentary," and printed ten years after the history. "We noticed in the History,' that the Jews resided formerly in Dembea and Samen, by their own right. This had been already related by Benjamin de Tudela, under the head of Abyssinia, in his Itinerary; only he names the province, Telsar, with which I am unacquainted. In that province,' he says, 'there are great mountains, inhabited by very many of the Israelites. Neither is the yoke of the Gentiles upon them; for they have cities and fortified places upon the tops of the mountains.' NATURAL STATE. THE author has reserved for this section a variety of notes, which he made in the course of his journey, but which have not found a place in the more regular narrative. In the arrangement of them, he has aimed at giving the reader a connected, though necessarily a rapid and imperfect, sketch of a country rendered most deeply interesting to all Christians, as comprehending the scenes of the larger part of Scripture history. The circumstances of the NATURAL condition of this land-its soil, culture, produce, &c.—are described nearly in the geographical order of the author's tour. From Sidon to Tyre is generally one continued plain, varying from 300 to 1000 yards in width. Nearer to Tyre it becomes considerably wider; and forms, to the east of that ancient city, on every side, a rich and pleasing country: about Ras el Ain, in particular, the meadows, variegated by streamlets, are very picturesque, and capable of being rendered highly productive.* "Constantine l'Empereur, in his notes on this passage, treats the account as a fable. Never,' he says, will the Jews be able to prove that they inhabit cities and regions on such terms, as not to be subject to others.' Yet B. Tellezius, whom we have followed, plainly holds it to be so: The Jews,' he relates, formerly possessed many and ample regions, nearly all the kingdom of Dembea, Having crossed the line of mountains lying and the provinces Wagara and Samen; but they half-way between Tyre and Acre, a noble proswere, at length, ejected by the Abyssinians.' He pect of rich plain lies extended beneath your feet; adds, In Samen, however, they defended them- the boundaries of which are the line of sea-coast selves most bravely, being aided by the exceeding to the west, reaching to mount Carmel; and, on ly high and rugged nature of the mountains. the east, the hill-country on the way to Nazareth. Nevertheless the emperor Sultan Seghed (Sus- All this land is fine soil for cultivation. At its neus) in later years subjugated them.' Thus south or south-east angle, it communicates with writes Tellezius: from which it is evident, that the vast plain of Esdraelon, hereafter to be nothey did not obey the emperor of the Abyssinians, ticed. In the month of December, as I found and that Benjamin de Tudela was not incorrect. much to my inconvenience, the plains both of Besides which, the history of Dunawasi is noto- Tyre and Acre are abundantly saturated by the rious that he, being a Jew, possessed the king- rains. It may be difficult to fix, with exactness, dom of the Homerites, and thus the Jews possess the dimensions of the plain of Acre: from north ed power under him. The patriarch Andrew to south, however, it appears to the eye to vary in Oviedo thus writes to Sebastian, King of Portu-length from twelve to eighteen miles; while, in gal: The Jews have possession of the tops of the breadth, it may average nearly ten miles. mountains, with many other regions which have Proceeding eastward from Acre, we enter, after been taken from the Christians; nor can the king going about ten miles, on a long valley, commencregain them on account of the rugged rocks, and ing nearly at Abilene; which, in various parts, the smallness of his forces.' In the years 1607 is well planted, and probably in all parts might be and 1608 the Jews were still strong and powerful, so, with olives. It abounds also with low wood, warlike, and formidable to the king of the Abyssi- fit for burning. nians, on account of the inaccessible mountains which they inhabit. "That excellent man, Constantine l'Empereur, formerly my kind preceptor, was fearful, that if he admitted the autocracy of the Jews in any corner * It appears, however, from Acts xii. 20, that the inhabitants of this region drew, in the time of Herod, their principal sustenance from the southern parts of Palestine. Opening out of this valley is another plain, which we crossed somewhat diagonally on the way to Sephoury. This must be part of the plain of Galilee; and, from the view which we subse quently had, at a distance, of the central object, the castle of Sephoury, when entering upon this plain at the eastern end of it, on coming from the lake of Tiberias, the extent of this fertile portion of Galilee must be very considerable: it may, perhaps, be computed to be nearly twenty miles long; and, in width, varying from one or two to five or six miles; I am more doubtful of the estimate of its width, than of that of the length. It is also interrupted by some low hill-country. Its richness and suitableness for corn-land is equally apparent with that of the other plains; or, perhaps, more so. Between Sephoury and the hills of Nazareth we remarked many herds of cattle, in the midst of verdant and well-watered pasturage. Josephus reports Nazareth to have been the principal station in Galilee. From that place to Tiberias, the road lies over hilly country, of gentle ascent and descent; leaving Tabor and Hermon on the right hand: the soil generally bears either olives, or the valena-a species of oak, the acorns of which are used in tanning; though I did not learn whether they are much employed in the country, or whether they furnish exports. The last hill, leading down to the lake of Tiberias, is very precipitous here the country seems very dark, adust, and dry. From Tiberias to Safet, the road is, at first, by the side of the lake, on the north-west of which is a small plain of great freshness and verdure, very beautiful to the eye. There is a dyeing mill near this part, which was established a few years ago by a Neapolitan in the service of the Pacha of Acre: he has been dead some time. The greater part of the road to Safet is up a long ascent of four hours; the ground rocky, yet intermixed generally with good soil: much of this tract, which, when we passed it with a bleak north wind in our faces, appeared to us a dreary waste, might be made productive in the winter months: in summer it is probably burnt for want of water. Around Safet, where are several springs. there are beautiful spots of garden and orchard ground, with extensive olive yards. From Safet to Hattyn, the first part of the road is generally on the descent, through a rocky and uncultivated tract, on the western side of an irregular and bold ravine, which appears to extend from Safet nearly to the foot of the Mount of the Beatitudes. The latter part, however, of this tract, as far as to Hattyn, round which is excellent land, is, generally, soil capable of cultivation, with gentle slopes, and partially watered by brooks, which run in the valleys. Ascending to the top of the line of hills, at the end of which is the mountain of the Beatitudes, we have an extensive view before us of an elevated plain: it reaches nearly all the way to Cana of Galilee toward the left and toward the right, the castle of Sephoury, at a considerable distance, seems to mark that this plain, with some variation of hill and dale, communicates with that which has been already described as lying between Abilene and Sephoury; forming, all together, the plain of Galilee. From Cana to Nazareth, rocky and improveable soil alternately appears. It is to be observed, however, that, even in those ruder parts which appear among the mountains, the fig-tree, and other fruit trees may be reared, all contributing to the sustenance of man. Although the quantity of corn-land is that which mainly constitutes the wealth of a country, yet in this eastern climate, fruit is far more considered. in the light of a valuable produce than it is in England. I have noticed, in fact, that there is, in various parts of the Levant, a kind of contempt felt for every sort of tree which does not give fruit. A tree merely for ornament would, in most places, be regarded as an incumbrance or at best fit only to shade a Molrammedan burying ground. Trees for timber, where such grow, as on Mount Lebanon, have, of course, their merited honor. I know not whether this estimate of the value of trees may not have been in the mind of the Psalmist, when writing that passage in which he calls upon mountains and all hills, fruitful trees, and all cedars, to praise the Lord. (Ps. cxlviii. 9.) Certainly these two descriptions are the most common and the most desired in these parts: but particularly fruit-trees; as olives, vines, figs, pomegranates, &c. Cotton is also grown in Galilee. But to resume our excursion. To the south of the chain of hills on which Nazareth is situated, is the vast and ever-memorable plain of Esdraelon. We computed this plain to be at least fifteen miles square; making allowance for some apparent irregularities, such as its running out, on the west, toward Mount Carmel, and, on the opposite side, toward Jordan. We passed rather on the eastern side of the middle of the plain, in our way to Gennyn. Although it bears the title of "plain," yet it abounds with hills, which, in the view of it from the adjacent mountains, shrink into nothing. On this noble plain,* if there were perfect security from the government-a thing now unknown for centuries-twenty-five good towns, where we saw but five miserable villages, might stand, at a distance of three miles from one his page with the following brilliant passage from The author cannot resist the temptation to adorn the travels of the lamented Dr. Clarke. It is a full and rapid sketch of the martial events which, during a period of thirty centuries, have occupied unquiet man upon this spot. "Here it was," he observes, "that Barak, desending with his ten thousand men from Mount Tabor, discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron; and all the people that were with him, gathered from Harosheth of the Gentiles, unto the river sword, and there was not a man left. Here also it of Kishon; when all the host of Sisera fell on the was, that Josiah, king of Judah, fought in disguise against Neche, king of Egypt, and fell by the arrows of his antagonist. It has been a chosen place for encampment in every contest carried on in this country, from the days of Nebuchodonosor, king of the Assyrians, (in the history of whose war with Arphaxad it is mentioned as the great plain of Esdrelom,) until the disastrous march of Napoleon Buonaparte from Egypt into Syria. Jews, Gentiles, Frenchmen, Egyptians, Persians, Druses, Turks Saracens, Christian Crusaders, and Anti-Christian and Arabs, warriors out of every nation which is under heaven, have pitched their tents upon the another, each with a population of a thousand their state in the days of Israel's prosperity, when Before reaching Nablous, there is some very high and dreary mountainous country-the mountains of the heighth of Israel. Yet, even here, strips of valley with rich soil repay the toil of the sower; while the sides of these ruddy sun burnt hills seem peculiarly adapted for the training of vines. They are, however, almost totally neglected; forming, doubtless, a remarkable contrast to plain of Esdraelon, and have beheld the various This country is now almost exclusively peopled by Mohammedans, which may partly account for the neglect of the vine; yet not wholly; for the Mohammedan, though he may not drink wine, may nevertheless eat of the grape as much as he pleases. Yet, in all this route from Gennyn to Jerusalem, I saw in one place only, on the roadside, a vineyard. This was about four hours north of Jerusalem, at Yabroud; and when, on my return that way, I slept at this village, I noticed the circumstance to the sheik; he immediately produced a large wooden bowl, full of ill-dried raisins, of no very pleasant flavor. Even these, however, the poor villages did not grow for themselves; but sent them as a kind of present or tribute to obtain favor at Damascus, which is their pachalic as though that curse in Deuteronomy xxviii. 30, were inherent in the very soil, and attached to the Mohammedan as well as Jewish occupiers of it"Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather [read, eat,] the grapes thereof." happier population, might, in many parts, become sufficiently productive. The immediate vicinity of Jerusalem is rugged and unpromising; yet, even here, the olive* and wine might flourish, under proper culture. In this general sketch, necessarily limited to the line of actual observation, no notice has been taken of the vale of Sharon and the adjacent country-forming a vast and fertile plain of arable land; and extending, as it has been described to me, nearly one hundred miles, from Mount Carmel to Gaza. How valuable this land must have been to Solomon, when he made his engagement with Hiram-and to Herod, when he marked his displeasure against them of Tyre and Sidon-may be inferred from 1 Kings v. 7-11., and Acts xii. 20. From old inhabitants-in remarking on the quantity of corn now brought from Egypt into Syria-I have heard that they could remember the time, when, on the contrary, corn was carried down into Egypt from Jaffa, and all the region round about that port. But the name, resulting from this description of Oil out of the flinty rock (Deut. xxxii.13) plainly denotes, that it was not in rich land only, that this most valuable tree should grow. So also Poole, in his Synopsis, remarks on this passage, " Olivæ inter |