blocked up with stones, thrown in, according to an Arab fashion, of execrating the memory of David's ungrateful son ; and by the same means a sepulchral cavern behind, styled the tomb of Jehoshaphat, is hidden from view. The date of these structures is unknown. Their architecture, however, indicates that they belong to the period of the Roman occupation of Judæa. No one can reasonably suppose that the tomb which bears his name is identical with the pillar of Absalom's grave, in the King's Dale. Still, it is not impossible that it may stand on or near the site of that memorial; for by the King's Dale probably is meant the valley in which this remarkable structure is placed.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.

Those who have made the tour thus far can continue by foot-path beyond the Pillar of Absalom, up the Mount of Olives, and near the top turn to the right a few steps, and visit the Tombs of the Prophets. They are on the western part of the Mount of Olives, and constitute catacombs, winding in a semicircular form, with numerous loculi on the sides. Probably the catacombs here were at first natural, and were then extended and adapted by art; and, like some of the catacombs at Rome, they have been left in an unfinished state. The place must have been disused before completed, and is perhaps of comparatively modern date; still, it appears to be essentially Jewish in its arrangements. It has no sarcophagi, or shallow loculi, nor any architectural mouldings. Indeed, it has nothing to indicate a foreign origin.

We do not propose to detail here every traditional site on the Mount of Olives, the holiest of all holy places round about Jerusalem.

Assuming that the traveller will continue his walk as far as to Bethany, he will find the following extract from Stanley to give a vivid description of the sacred scenes around him, and take him back to the days of

yore:

"In the morning He set forth on His journey. Three Pathways lead, and very probably always led, from Bethany to Jerusalem; one, a long circuit over the northern shoulder of Mount Olivet, down the valley which parts it from Scopus; another, a steep footpath over the summit; the third, the natural continuation of the road by which mounted travellers always approach the city from Jericho, over the southern shoulder, between the summit which contains the Tombs of the Prophets and that called the Mount of Offence. There can be no doubt that this last is the road of the Entry of Christ, not only because, as just stated, it is, and must always have been, the usual approach for horsemen and for large caravans, such as then were concerned, but also because this is the only one of the three approaches which meets the requirements of the narrative which follows. Two vast streams of people met on that day. The one poured out from the city, and as they came through the gardens whose clusters of palm rose on the southern corner of Olivet, they cut down the long branches, as was their wont at the Feast of Tabernacles, and moved upwards towards Bethany, with loud shouts of welcome. From Bethany streamed forth the crowds who had assembled there on the previous night, and who came testifying to the great event at the sepulchre of Lazarus. The road soon loses sight of Bethany. It is now a rough, but still broad and well-defined mountain track, winding over rock and loose stones; a steep declivity below on the left; the sloping shoulder of Olivet above on the right; fig-trees below and above, here and there growing out of the rocky soil. Along the road the multitudes threw

down the boughs severed from the olive-trees through which they were forcing their way, or spread out a rude matting, formed of the palm-branches which they had already cut as they came out. The larger portion-those perhaps who had escorted Him from Bethany-unwrapped their loose cloaks from their shoulders, and stretched them along the rough path, to form a momentary carpet as He approached.

"The two streams met mid-way. Half of the vast mass, turning round, preceded; the other half followed. Gradually the long procession swept up and over the ridge, where first begins the descent of the Mount of Olives,' towards Jerusalem. At this point the first View is caught of the southeastern corner of the city. The Temple, and the more northern portions, are hid by the slope of Olivet on the right, what is seen is only Mount Zion, now for the most part a rough field, crowned with the Mosque of David and the angle of the western walls, but then covered with houses to its base, surmounted by the Castle of Herod, on the supposed site of the palace of David, from which that portion of Jerusalem, emphatically The City of David,' derived its It was at this precise point, as He drew near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives ""—may it not have been from the sight thus opening upon them?-that the hymn of triumph, the earliest hymn of Christian devotion, burst forth from the multitude, Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom that cometh of our father David. Hosanna

name.

6

peace Glory in the highest!' There was a pause as the shout rang through the long defile; and, as the Pharisees who stood by in the crowd complained, He pointed to the 'stones' which, strewn beneath their feet, would immediately cry out if these were to hold their peace.'

"Again the procession advanced. The road descends a slight declivity, and the glimpse of the city is again withdrawn behind the intervening ridge of Olivet. A few moments, and the path mounts again; it climbs a rugged ascent, it reaches a ledge of smooth rock, and in an instant the whole city bursts into view. As now the dome of the Mosque El-Aksa rises like a ghost from the earth before the traveller, so then must have risen the Temple-tower; as now the vast enclosure of the Mussulman sanctuary, so then must have spread the Temple-courts; as now the grey town on its broken hills, so then the magnificent city, with its background long since vanished away of gardens and suburbs on the western plateau behind.

"Immediately below was the Valley of the Kidron, here seen in its greatest depth as it joins the Valley of Hinnom, and thus giving full effect to the great peculiarity of Jerusalem seen only on its eastern side-its situation as of a city rising out of a deep abyss. It is hardly possible to doubt that this rise and turn of the road, this rocky ledge, was the exact point where the multitude paused again, and He, 'when He beheld the city, wept over it.'

"Nowhere else on the Mount of Olives is there a view like this. By the two other approaches above mentioned, over the summit and over the northern shoulder of the hill, the city reveals itself gradually; there is no partial glimpse, like that which has been just described, as agreeing so well with the first outbreak of popular acclamation; still less is there any point where, as here, the city and Temple would suddenly burst into view, producing the sudden and affecting impression described in the gospel narrative. And this precise coincidence is the more remarkable, because the traditional route of the Triumphal Entry is over the summit of Olivet, and the traditional spot of the lamentation is at a

place half-way down the mountain, to which the description is wholly inapplicable, whilst no tradition attaches to this, the only road by which a large procession could have come, and this, almost the only spot of the Mount of Olives which the Gospel narrative fixes with exact certainty, is almost the only unmarked spot-undefiled or unhallowed by mosque or church, chapel or tower-left to speak for itself, that here the Lord stayed His onward march, and here His eyes beheld what is still the most impressive view which the neighbourhood of Jerusalem furnishes, and the tears rushed forth at the sight.

"After this scene, which, with the one exception of the conversation at the Well of Jacob, stands alone in the Gospel history for the vividness and precision of its localisation, it is hardly worth while to dwell on the spots elsewhere pointed out by tradition, or probability, on the rest of the mountain. They belong, for the most part, to the 'holy places' of later pilgrimage, not to the authentic illustrations of the sacred history."-(Stanley.)

A short distance north of the Tombs of the Prophets, on the Centre Summit of the Mount of Olives, is a small modern village. The large building, belonging to the Mahomedans, stands on a site which, from the earliest date, has been shown as the place from whence Our Lord ascended to heaven. There is a large courtyard, and in the centre a small octagonal chapel, with a footprint of Christ. There is a remarkable echo in this chapel, and a hymn sung softly with the proper harmonies, produces an extraordinarily beautiful effect. The great interest, however, of the place is the View from the Minaret, which ought to be seen again and again.

Very briefly the chief items of the view may be thus summed up :- The Holy City lies like a map before us. In