which you descend by two steps, and consists of a block of marble, raised about a foot and a half above the floor, and hollowed out in the form of a manger.

Before it is the altar of the Magi. The chapel is illuminated by thirty-two lamps, presented by different princes of Christendom. Chateaubriand has described the scene in his usual florid and imaginative style :-"Nothing can be more pleasing, or better calculated to excite devotional sentiments, than this subterraneous church. It is adorned with pictures of the Italian and Spanish schools, which represent the mysteries of the place. The usual ornaments of the manger are of blue satin, embroidered with silver. Incense is continually burning before the cradle of our Saviour. I have heard an organ, touched by no ordinary hand, play, during mass, the sweetest and most tender tunes of the best Italian composers. These concerts charm the Christian Arab, who, leaving his camels to feed, repairs, like the shepherds of old, to Bethlehem, to adore the King of kings in the manger. I have seen this

inhabitant of the desert communicate at the altar of the Magi, with a fervour, a piety, a devotion, unknown among the Christians of the West. The continual arrival of caravans from all parts of Christendom; the public prayers; the prostrations; nay, even the richness of the presents sent here by the Christian princes, altogether produce feelings in the soul which it is much easier to conceive than to describe." Such are the illusions which the Roman superstition casts over this extraordinary scene. In another subterraneous chapel, tradition places the sepulchres of the Innocents. From this, the pilgrim is conducted to the grotto of St. Jerome, where they show the tomb of that father, who passed great part of his life in this place; and who in the grotto shown as his oratory, is said to have translated that version of the Bible which has been adopted by the Church of Rome, and is called

the Vulgate. The village of Bethlehem, now called BeitLahm, or Beit-el-Ham, stands on an eminence, on a chalky but fruitful soil; the sides of the hill, as well as its summit, are interspersed with fine vineyards, banked in with stones, which must have cost prodigious labour. The grapes are remarkably large and finely flavoured; and in addition to these, there is an abundance of figs, pomegranates, and olives, on which fruits the inhabitants chiefly subsist. In the valley corn is grown; and the bread made from it is of an excellent quality. The dews, which fall in great abundance, are highly favourable to the vegetation. Bethlehem contains about 300 inhabitants; the greater part of whom gain their livelihood by making beads, carving mother-of-pearl shells with sacred subjects, and manufacturing small tables and crucifixes, all of which are eagerly purchased by the pilgrims. The following notice of this interesting locality, by Dr. E. D. Clarke, will amply repay the perusal :

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"After travelling for about an hour from the time of our leaving Jerusalem, we came in view of Bethlehem, and halted to enjoy the interesting sight. The town appeared covering the ridge of a hill on the southern side of a deep and extensive valley, and reaching from east to west; the most conspicuous object being the monastery, erected over the cave of the Nativity, in the suburbs, and upon the eastern side. The battlements and walls of this building seemed like those of a vast fortress. The Dead Sea below, upon our left, appeared so near to us that we thought we could have rode thither in a very short space of time. Still nearer stood a mountain upon its western shore, resembling in its form the cone of Vesuvius near Naples, and having also a crater upon its top which was plainly discernible. The distance, however, is much greater than it appears to be; the magnitude of the objects beheld in this fine prospect causing them to appear less remote than

they really are. The atmosphere was remarkably clear and serene; but we saw none of those clouds of smoke, which, by some writers, are said to exhale from the surface of the lake, nor from any neighbouring mountain. Everything about it was in the highest degree grand and awful. Bethlehem is six miles from Jerusalem. Josephus describes the interval between the two cities as equal only to twenty stadia; and in the passage referred to, he makes an allusion to a celebrated well, which, both from the account given by him of its situation, and more especially from the text of the Sacred Scriptures, (2 Sam. xxiii. 15,) seems to have contained the identical fountain, of whose pure and delicious water we were now drinking. Considered merely in point of interest, the narrative is not likely to be surpassed by any circumstance of pagan history. David, being a native of Bethlehem, calls to mind, during the sultry days of harvest, (verse 13,) a well near the gate of the town, the delicious waters of which he had often tasted; and expresses an earnest desire to assuage his thirst by drinking of that limpid spring. 'And David longed, and said, O that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!' The exclamation is overheard by three of the mighty men whom David had,' namely, Adino, Eleazar, and Shamnah. (verses 8, 9, 11.) These men sallied forth, and having fought their way through the garrison of the Philistines at Bethlehem, (verse 14,) drew water from the well that was by the gate,' on the other side of the town, and brought it to David. Coming into his presence, they present to him the surprising testimony of their valour and affection. The aged monarch receives from their hands a pledge they had so dearly earned, but refuses to drink of water every drop of which had been purchased with blood. (2 Sam. xxxiii. 17.) He returns thanks to the Almighty, who had vouchsafed the deliver