passed them over for the most part in silence. The courage of this heroic prince was so renowned, that long after his death it continued to be proverbial; and Gibbon has recorded that on some occasion, when a horse was seen to start without any observable cause, the Saracens exclaimed," he has seen the ghost of Richard!"

In the year 1242 the emir of Damascus levied war against Nedjemmin the sultan of Egypt, obtained possession of Jerusalem, and surrendered it to the Latin princes-who were subsequently besieged by the above-mentioned sultan, and barbarously massacred. During these events the crown of Jerusalem had passed from Isabelle, daughter of Baudouin, to Henry count of Champagne, her new husband; and from him to Amaury brother of Lusignan, the fourth husband of Isabelle. His only child dying in its infancy, Mary, daughter of Isabelle and her first husband Conrad, marquis of Montserrat, became the heiress of an ideal territory. John, count of Brien, espoused Mary. He had by her one daughter, Isabelle, afterwards married to the emperor Frederick II. This last on his arrival at Tyre concluded peace with the sultan : the conditions of the treaty gave up Jerusalem, in par

tition, to the Christians and Moslems, and Frederick in consequence took the crown of Godfroy, placed it on his brows, and then returned to Europe. The Saracens were probably faithless to their engagement, for twenty years afterwards, in 1242, Nedjemmin sacked Jerusalem, as stated above. Louis IX. of France arrived in the east seven years subsequently to this disaster. A succession of Mameluke chieftains next became masters of the holy city, till in 1263 the famous Bibars-Bondoc-Dari assumed the title of sultan. He ravaged that part of Palestine which had not previously submitted, and repaired the capital. Kelaoun, his heir, chased the Christians from fortress to fortress, and his son Khalil wrested from them Tyre and Acre. At length in 1291 they were entirely driven from the Holy Land.

The empty title of king of Jerusalem was carried to the house of Sicily, by Charles, the brother of Louis, count of Provence and Anjou, and who united in his own person the rights of the king of Cyprus and those of the princess Mary, who was a daughter of Frederick, prince of Antioch. The chevaliers of St. John of Jerusalem, now become knights of Rhodes and Malta, and the Teutonic knights, conquerors of the north

of Europe and founders of the Prussian dominions, are the only existing remains of those powerful crusaders, who formerly made Asia and Africa tremble, and who filled the thrones of Jerusalem, of Cyprus, and of Constantinople.

The Christians having lost the country in 1291, the victorious sultans kept possession of their conquest till 1382. At that epoch the Mamelukes of Circassia usurped the government of Egypt, and gave a new form to the administration of Palestine. At length Selim put an end to these series of revolutions by assuming in 1716 the sovereign power in Egypt and Syria.

LETTER VII.

TO SIR G. ET, BART.

Jerusalem, August, 1817.

DEAR E

OUR first object was the HOLY SEPULCHRE. The Turkish government, aware of the veneration which all Christians entertain for every relic connected with the sufferings of the Author of their faith, have converted this feeling into a source of revenue; each individual, not subject to the Porte, who visits the shrine of Jesus Christ, being compelled, except under certain circumstances, to pay a tax of twenty-five sequins. The firman with which we were furnished at Constantinople exempted us from such an impost, and we easily procured admission for ourselves and five attendants.

In the following description of the "holy places," I shall at present confine myself to the nar

rative of the person, who was deputed by the guardian of mount Sion to accompany us through the town: on some future occasion we may be enabled to examine his statement more at leisure, and perhaps to discuss it more rationally, than when under the influence of a recent impression.

The

The tomb of our Saviour is enclosed in a church to which it has given name, and appears in the centre of a rotunda, whose summit is crowned by a radiant cupola. Its external appearance is that of a superb mausoleum, having the surface covered with rich crimson damask hangings, striped with gold. annexed sketch, though taken under the disadvantage of frequent interruption, may serve to give you some idea of its form. The entrance looks towards the east; but, immediately in front, a small chapel has been erected to commemorate the spot, where the angel appeared to the two Marys. Just beyond this is the vault in which the Redeemer submitted to a temporary interment: the door of admission is very low, probably to prevent its being entered otherwise than in the attitude of adoration. The figure of the cave is nearly square, extending rather more than six

1 See the Frontispiece.