ascent to Sebasté is very steep after passing the valley. The present village is small and poor, the desolate remnant of the once proud and opulent city of Samaria. On the south side of the hill, which is a very beautiful exposure, stands the remains of a stately colonnade : sixty columns still stand in a row. These are probably the relics of some of the magnificent works of Herod the great. It is pleasant for the traveller to contemplate the desolate remnants of any place rendered famous by its mention in Scripture. When we muse over the relics of ancient grandeur, we cherish no common feelings, the most enlivening recollections arise in our bosoms. I would not here be charged with superstitious veneration; for rock-like would be that heart which could cherish such an apathy as would not delight to pause on the fragment which "tells the tale of other times." In the twenty-eighth chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah, there is a very accurate account of its situation, and a very pointed reference to the destruction of Samaria. "Woe to the crown of pride, (alluding to its being built round the summit of a hill) to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of

with wine.

the fat valleys: of them that are overcome The crown of beauty, the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under foot.” The overflowing scourge shall pass through, shall be trodden down by it."

ye

JERUSALEM.

Jerusalem is frequently styled in the Holy Scriptures, "the Holy City," because the Lord chose to place his name there. There was his temple and his worship, "whither the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the Lord, for there were set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David." Jerusalem has been for many ages past, the scene of the most remarkable events, and such delightful associations are connected with it, that we shall attempt to describe it somewhat at large, its situation, the appearance of the country around it, and some of the most splendid and famous edifices. Jerusalem is especially dear to Christian feelings, for the most miraculous and important transactions, which have occurred there. Nor less so to the Jews, who in their desolation

and dispersion have never forgotten it, nay sooner would their right hand forget its cunning, than they would lose the recollection of what it once was to their fathers, or abandon the hope of again seeing its walls rebuilt. The ancient city was built on a hill, and was surrounded by a group of hills (called mounts in scripture) in the form of an amphitheatre, which situation rendered it serene from the earthquakes which appear to have been so frequent in the Holy Land. On the east stood the mount of Olives, fronting the temple, of which it commanded a noble prospect. This mountain, so frequently mentioned in Evangelical history, is about a mile in length: it is consecrated by the tears of Jesus, who, with awful severity, mingled with ineffable tenderness, pronounced the sentence of desolation upon the city. "O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that were sent unto thee: how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate." At the foot of the mountain is an olive plantation, its present appearance is very miserable; yet such is the natural aptitude of the soil to the growth of olives, that many fine trees yet

flourish on this forsaken spot. This is generally supposed to be the garden of Gethsemane! Previous to the time of Nehemiah, we have no particulars recorded of the fortifications, though such there undoubtedly must have been from the sanctity of the city as a metropolis. Josephus tells us, that before the fatal wars of the Jews with the Romans, the city of Jerusalem was surrounded by three strong walls, except on such parts as were encompassed by impassable vallies, where there was only one wall. Numerous towers constructed of solid masonry, were erected at certain distances: in the third wall there were ninety, in the middle wall forty, and in the old wall sixty, some of these pre-eminent for their height, massive architecture, and beauty of workmanship. The circumference of Jerusalem, when Josephus wrote, was four miles and a half; but a late traveller states, that at present it cannot exceed three miles. During the time of Christ, Jerusalem was adorned with many splendid buildings, civil and religious. Its chief glory was the temple; "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion." The temple was first built in the reign of Solomon on mount Moriah. Seven years and six months were occupied in the erection

of that superb and magnificent building; and it was dedicated with great pomp and solemnity to the worship of the Most High, who honoured it with the Shechinah, or visible manifestation of his presence! It retained its pristine splendour for thirty-four years, when Shishak, king of Egypt, took Jerusalem, and carried away its sacred treasures: and after it had undergone subsequent profanations and pillages, this stupendous edifice was burnt by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar, in the year of the world 3419. After the captivity it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, but with inferior glory and splendour. Antiochus Epiphanes profaned it, and caused the daily sacrifices to be discontinued, and erected on the altar of burnt offering the image of Jupiter Olympus. It continued in this condition three years, but Judas Maccabæus restored the sacrifices and the true worship. Some years before the birth of our Saviour, the gradual rebuilding of the temple was undertaken by Herod, who for nine years employed 18,000 workmen, and no expense was spared to render it equal, if not superior, in magnitude and grandeur to the former. The Jews were continually augmenting it, and for forty-six years it was receiving