Peutinger Table to guide him, Dr. R. knew where to look for the ancient stations; and it was from such data as these, combined with the traces of the ancient names still distinguishable by an educated ear in the native appellations, that he discovered the probable remains of Lysa, Eboda and Elusa,-showing by their ruins, that Roman greatness once dwelt here amid the appliances of luxury and the strength of military power.

Our limits compel us to pass over much in these volumes that is of great interest to the biblical geographer. The travellers were six days passing from Sinai to Akabah, and seven from thence to Beersheba. The site of this ancient place seems to have been forgotten for centuries together, and during the last five, no western traveller appears to have found it until the visit of Robinson and Smith.*

On the 14th April, the travellers arrived at Jerusalem, and found a grateful repose in the houses of their countrymen, the Rev. Messrs. Whiting and Lanneau, missionaries of the American Board.

"The feelings of a Christian traveller on approaching Jerusalem can be better conceived than described. Mine were strongly excited. Before us, as we drew near, lay Zion, the Mount of Olives, the vales of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat, and other objects of the deepest interest; while, crowning the summits of the same ancient hills, was spread out the city where God of old had dwelt, and where the Saviour of the world had lived and taught and died. From the earliest childhood I had read of and studied the localities of this sacred spot; now I beheld them with my own eyes; and they all seemed familiar to me, as if the realization of a former dream. I seemed to be again among cherished scenes of childhood, long unvisited, indeed, but distinctly recollected; and it was almost a painful interruption, when my companion (who had been here before) began to point out and name the various objects in view." Vol. I. p. 326.

Here a boundless field of investigation was open before them, and diligently did they explore it. They were almost constantly employed in exploring or taking bearings and measurements; while the intervals of field labor were occupied with

*See Vol. I. p. 300, also Dr. Robinson's "Brief Report," Am. Bib. Repos. April 1839, p. 309.

the comparison of ancient topographical authorities. We cannot, of course, even name all the results at which they arrived. The following are merely specimens.

They traced the origin, course and depth of the hollows and ravines, and the elevation and shape of the hills in and around Jerusalem. This laid the foundation for fixing many other points, since these physical causes must have had a bearing on the dimensions of the ancient city and the sites of its structures. They discovered or identified various remains of the ancient city, as it was before the days of Herod; such as the courses of immense stones in the walls of the area of the temple. They found the lower part of the tower of Hippicus, left standing by Titus; and were able to determine the position of the first wall, as well as the probable courses of the second and third walls. They proved that the area of the mosk of Omar is the same with that of the ancient temple, including the space covered by the castle Antonia; and that the reputed pool of Bethesda is probably but the remains of the trench which separated Antonia from the hill Bezetha. They investigated the internal resources of the city in respect to water, and ascertained how it was that in a rocky limestone region, almost destitute of water, the inhabitants were able, by means of reservoirs and cisterns, to sustain the privations of long sieges, while their enemies were greatly distressed with thirst. They suggest the probability of an ancient connection between the pools on the western side of the city, and the wells under the area of the mosk, and between these latter and the fountain of the Virgin, in the valley of Jehoshaphat. They personally explored and measured a subterranean passage cut in the solid rock, 1750 feet in length from the pool of Siloam to the fountain of the Virgin. They discredit the tradition which assigns to the church of the Holy Sepulchre the site of Calvary, and show that the tombs around the city have no title to the names applied to them, etc. etc.

Of all the researches of Dr. Robinson in Jerusalem, there is none which better illustrates the superiority of independent personal investigation above the blind credulity which trusts to the convents, than the discovery of an arch of the bridge which formerly connected the temple court with the Xystus, on Mount Zion. In one of his visits to the S. W. corner of the area of the mosk of Omar, he had observed several of the large stones jutting out from the western wall, which at first sight appeared to be the effect of some violent convulsion. The circum

stance attracted just notice enough at the time to be remembered; and on mentioning it afterwards to the missionaries, it was found that they had noticed the same apparent displacement; and the remark was dropped that the stones had the appearance of having once belonged to a large arch. "At this remark," says Dr. Robinson,

a train of thought flashed upon my mind, which I hardly dared to follow out, until I had again repaired to the spot, in order to satisfy myself with my own eyes, as to the truth or falsehood of the suggestion. I found it even so! The courses of these immense stones, which seemed at first to have sprung out from their places in the wall in consequence of some enormous violence, occupy nevertheless their original position; their external surface is hewn to a regular curve; and being fitted one upon another, they form the commencement or foot of an immense arch, which once sprung out from this western wall in a direction towards Mount Zion, across the valley of the Tyropoeon. This arch could only have belonged to THE BRIDGE, which according to Josephus led from this part of the temple to the Xystus on Zion; and it proves incontestably the antiquity of that portion of the wall from which it springs.

"The traces of this arch are too distinct and definite to be mistaken. Its southern side is thirty-nine English feet distant from the S. W. corner of the area, and the arch itself measures fifty-one feet along the wall. Three courses of its stones still remain; of which one is five feet four inches thick, and the others not much less. One of the stones is 20 feet long; another 24 feet; and the rest in like proportion. The part of the curve or arc, which remains, is of course but a fragment; but of this fragment the chord measures twelve feet six inches; the sine eleven feet ten inches; and the cosine three feet ten inches.-The distance from this point across the valley to the precipitous natural rock of Zion, we measured as exactly as the intervening field of prickly-pear would permit ; and found it to be 350 feet or about 116 yards. This gives the proximate length of the ancient bridge. We sought carefully along the brow of Zion for traces of its western termination; but without success.

"Here then we have indisputable remains of Jewish antiquity, consisting of an important portion of the western wall of the ancient temple-area. They are probably to be referred to a period long antecedent to the days of Herod; for the labors

of this splendor-loving tyrant appear to have been confined to the body of the temple and the porticos around the court. The magnitude of the stones also, and the workmanship as compared with other remaining monuments of Herod, seem to point to an earlier origin. In the accounts we have of the destruction of the temple by the Chaldeans, and its rebuilding by Zerubbabel under Darius, no mention is made of these exterior walls. The former temple was destroyed by fire, which would not affect these foundations; nor is it probable that a feeble colony of returning exiles, could have accomplished workslike these. There seems therefore little room for hesitation in referring them back to the days of Solomon, or rather of his successors; who, according to Josephus, built up here immense walls, 'immoveable for all time.' Ages upon ages have since rolled away; yet these foundations still endure, and are immoveable as at the beginning. Nor is there aught in the present physical condition of these remains, to prevent them from continuing as long as the world shall last. It was the temple of the living God; and, like the everlasting hills on which it stood, its foundations were laid for all time." Vol. I. pp. 425, 427.

999

The glory of Jerusalem has departed. From her ancient high estate as the civil metropolis of the Jewish commonwealth, and the religious centre of the whole Christian world," the joy of the whole earth," she has sunk into the neglected capital of a petty Turkish province. Dr. Robinson estimates the population as follows:-viz., 4,500 Mohammedans, 3,000 Jews, 3,500 Christians. To these are to be added for the convents and garrison about 500 more, making in all 11,500. This is the lowest estimate we have seen; though it must be acknowledged the data seem to be worthy of reliance.

"The markets are supplied by the peasants from the neighboring villages. There seemed to be no gardens of any importance round about the city; except those below Siloam. Wheat would appear not to grow well around Jerusalem, but is brought from other quarters. In one of our journies northward, we met a small caravan of camels belonging to Bethlehem, loaded with wheat from Nâbulus. The exhausted situation of the country arising from the maintenance of an immense army, the forced export of wheat to Egypt, and the general discouragement to labor and enterprise, have naturally

caused an enormous increase in the cost of the necessaries of life.

"Jerusalem has few manufactories, and no exports, except what is carried away by the pilgrims. The manufacture of soap is one of the principal. For this there are nine establishments, which appear to have been long in existence. The mounds of ashes, which they have thrown out at some distance from the city on the north, have almost the appearance of natural hills. At Easter large quantities of perfumed soap are said to be sold to the pilgrims. Oil of sesame is made to a

considerable extent; for this there are nine presses. There is also a large tannery for leather, just by the eastern entrance to the court before the Church of the Sepulchre. All these establishments are private property, not controlled by the government; and are in the hands of the Muslims.

"The chief articles manufactured by the Christians, both here and at Bethlehem, are rosaries, crucifixes, models of the Holy Sepulchre, and the like, carved in olive-wood, the fruit of the Dôm-palm said to be brought from Mecca, mother of pearl, or sometimes in the species of black shining stone found near the Dead Sea." Vol. II. pp. 95, 96.

After spending several weeks in investigating the antiquities of the Holy City, Dr. R. and his companion entered upon a series of excursions to explore the surrounding region. This might seem unnecessary in a part of the country so often visited; but it was, if possible, the more needful on that account, as great confusion and discrepancy prevail among the books of travels referring to the regions which they were now to investigate. To show the pains which had been taken to turn these excursions to the best account, we need only state that Mr. Smith had begun as early as 1834 to collect the native names of places in those parts which they hoped to visit. These names, being derived from the Arabs and corrected according to the best Arabic orthography, suggested many analogies to the Hebrew, and tended to the discovery or verification of many ancient sites. The value of these lists and the labor of their compilation may be inferred from the fact that they contain some 4000 names, filling eighty-five pages of the appendix.

The Muslim population, being separated from the Christian ecclesiastics both by religion and the want of a common language, have generally retained the ancient names, instead of