hereafter. At eight, we crossed a hill, and then entered a valley, which we were half an hour in passing. Soon after this we came among the mountains. Here we saw at a distance a camp of Bedouins. As soon as they saw us, one of their horse-men rode on swiftly, as if to intercept our path. He came into the road before us, halted, looked at us, and then rode off. Had we been rayahs (i. e. Christian subjects of the Grand Signor,) he would not probably have left us without money.

"For some time our road lay along the bed of a brook, in a deep ravine, with mountains of rock rising up like pyramids on each side of us. By degrees the ascent became more steep, till we reached the height of these ragged mountains, where we had a good view of the plains between us and Jaffa. It was often with difficulty that our beasts could walk, on account of the badness of the road, and the steepness of the mountains. These mountains are covered with small shrubs, suitable for goats, of which we saw several large flocks. There are no forests, but in the vallies and on the sides of the hills are many olives and fig trees. At a place called Sareen, two or three fierce, armed Bedouins appeared, and began to demand tribute. We rode on very carelessly, bid them good morning, and inquired after their health. They began to talk loudly, and ordered us to stop, but we rode on, and they did not attempt to stop us by force. When the native Christians and Jews pass such places, they have no way to get along, but to satisfy the rapacity of these plunderers.

"Passing what is called the village of Jeremiah, near which we stopped to take refreshments, we pursued our journey over a road impassable for camels, and very difficult for mules and asses. After crossing a high mountain, we passed through a deep valley, where is a small village called Kaloona. The mountains here are of a peculiar formation. They seem almost as if built by the hand of man, and rise gradually,

like a staircase or pyramid. Each step, however, is so fastened into the 'everlasting hills,' as to show you that it was placed there by the hand of Him, who existed before the mountains were brought forth.' On these steps, which are sometimes three or four rods wide, and sometimes only a few feet, you see soil which produces shrubs, and when cultivated, vines, figs, and olives. The country continued the same till we were within half an hour of Jerusalem, when all at once Mount Olivet and the Holy City opened to our view. Thus it often is with the last hours of the Christian. He is obliged to pass over a rough and wearisome way, where he is continually exposed to the attacks of enemies, till near the close of life,-till his feet are about to stand within the gates of the New Jerusalem, and then he is favored with some bright visions of the place he is soon to enter.

"As we drew near the city, we remembered how our dear brother Parsons, when wars and rumors of wars obliged him to leave the place, turned back his eyes, as he ascended the hill west of Jerusalem, and wept, and said, 'If I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again and show me both it, and his habitation.' Alas for us! these words were fulfilled in a much higher sense, than he then anticipated. We cannot for a moment doubt, that he did find favor in the eyes of the Lord; and though he was not permitted to return to the earthly Jerusalem, yet his divine Saviour has given him an infinitely higher felicity, even that of seeing and enjoying the bliss of that Eternal City, in which the divine glory dwells.

"With feelings not easily described, about four o'clock, we entered JERUSALEM. The scenes and events of 4,000 years rushed upon our minds; events, in which Heaven, and Earth, and Hell, have felt the deepest interest. This was the place, selected by the Almighty for his dwelling, and here his glory was

rendered visible. This was the 'perfection of beauty,' and the 'glory of all lands.' Here David sat and tuned his harp, and sang the praises of Jehovah. Hither the tribes came up to worship. Here enraptured prophets saw bright visions of the world above, and received messages from on high for guilty man. Here our Lord and Saviour came in the form of a servant, and groaned, and wept, and poured out his soul unto death, to redeem us from sin, and save us from hell. Here too, the wrath of an incensed God has been poured out upon his chosen people, and has laid waste his heritage."

After a laborious, perilous journey of eighteen days through the "great and terrible wilderness," Mr. Fisk arrived safely at the Holy City, where he hoped to be permanently established, and to be devoted to the service of his Master, in rekindling the flame of primitive piety on the crumbling altars of a long corrupted Christianity.

Among the first communications from this place forwarded by him is the following description of Jerusalem.

"JERUSALEM appears, in a general view, to be situated on the side of a mountain, descending toward the east, where it is divided from Mount Olivet by the valley of Cedron. The summit of the mountain is considerably higher than the city, so that in coming from Jaffa you arrive near Jerusalem before you see it.

"On a nearer view of the city, you perceive that it is built on several hills; viz. Zion at the south-west part, Calvary at the north-west, Moriah at the southeast, and Bezetha at the north-east. According to the ancient descriptions of the city, it included another hill called Acra. This hill it is not now easy to distinguish; at least, we see nothing which corresponds entirely to the description of it given by Josephus. There is a hill between Zion and Moriah, which corresponds well to the east part of Acra. Jo

sephus says, the Valley of the Cheesemongers, which divided Acra from Zion, went out to Siloam. This applies precisely to the hill in question; but Josephus adds, that Acra was in the form of a crescent. This does not apply to the hill of which we speak. Possibly this hill may have been anciently connected with what is now the west part of Zion, and sepated by a small valley from the city of David. Before Titus besieged Jerusalem, it had been captured five times, and once demolished entirely by the Babylonians. Titus spared the west wall and three towers, 'but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground, by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe, that it had ever been inhabited.' And since the time of Titus, Jerusalem has been often plundered, and at least partially destroyed. In the space of so many ages, it is to be expected, that some vallies should be filled up, and some hills levelled. It is also extremely difficult to trace little ascents and descents in an area covered with buildings of various heights. Whether the west part of what seems now to be Zion, was formerly a part of Acra, or not, it is difficult to decide. The Jews at present call the whole hill Zion. We shall therefore speak of it as such, and give the name Acra to the hill which lies between Zion and Moriah.

"The south wall passes over Mount Zion, near its summit, so that a great part of the hill is without the city. South of the hill is the deep valley of the son of Hinnom; the same valley, turning north, bounds Zion likewise on the west. The vallies, which separate it in the city from Calvary on the north, and Acra on the north-east, are not deep. Moriah has on the east the deep valley of Cedron. On the south of it, without the city, is a little elevation which is marked on D'Anville's map as Ophel; thence the descent is steep, till you come to the fountain of Siloah. The vallies north and west of Moriah at present are

not very deep. Calvary was perhaps only a small elevation on a greater hill, which is now the northwest part of the city; but the name is now given to the whole hill. Bezetha is separated from Calvary by a wide valley; and east of Calvary is the dividing valley between Moriah and Bezetha, in which is the pool of Bethesda.

"We have viewed Jerusalem from different stations, have walked around it and within it, and have stood on the Mount of Olives with Josephus' description of it in our hands, trying to discover the hills and vallies as laid down by him near 1800 years ago; and after all our research we compare Jerusalem to a beautiful person, whom we have not seen for many years, and who has passed through a great variety of changes and misfortunes, which have caused the rose on her cheeks to fade, her flesh to consume away, and her skin to become dry and withered, and have covered her face with the wrinkles of age; but who still retains some general features, by which we recognize her as the person, who used to be the delight of the circle in which she moved. Such is the present appearance of this Holy City, which was once 'the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth.'

"Jerusalem, as to general form, may be called a square, or rather a rhomboid, for the north-east and south-west angles are acute, and the north-west and south-east are obtuse. The east wall is nearly straight the whole length. On the north and south sides, the wall makes a bend outwardly, and on the west side it makes an inward bend, so that it would not be very inaccurate to call the city a heptagon. There are, likewise, many little irregularities in the wall.

"We measured the city by paces, and the following is the result:-West side 768 paces; south side 1149; east side 943; north side 1419; total $4279 paces.

"Allowing five paces to a rod, this gives 856 rods, about two miles and two thirds, for the circum