Israelites (xv. 20), which it is not unlikely he made tributary to the Syrians. The Syrian monarch afterwards invaded Israel, but was defeated in a pitched battle with very great loss, 1 Kings xx. 29. He was compelled to propose a peace with Ahab, which was agreed to by the latter, and a personal interview followed, which ended in a complete reconciliation between the two kings. The sacred writer informs us that "Benhadad said unto Ahab, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore, and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away," 1 Kings xx. 34. The phrase thou shalt make streets in Damascus has given rise to various conjectures among commentators. "Some," says Stackhouse," suppose that courts of judicature are meant, in which Ahab was to maintain a jurisdiction over Benhadad's subjects. Others think that they were public market-places, where commodities were sold, and the toll of them paid to Ahab; but the most general opinion is, that they were citadels or fortifications, to be a bridle or restraint upon this chief city of the Syrians, that they might make no new irruptions into the Land of Israel. This was a great privilege, and such that Benhadad refused to comply with it when set at liberty." Another writer (Harmer, in his "Observations on some Passages of Scripture," 1715) suggests that the expression may mean, that "Benhadad proposed to grant in Damascus a quarter for Ahab's subjects to live in, where he should enjoy the same jurisdiction as he did over the rest of his kingdom. Ahab's father, it is here mentioned, had given to the Syrians such a privilege in Samaria; and it was an expression of very abject adulation in Benhadad to propose to give Ahab a like power in Damascus. It appears from the relation of William of Tyre, that it was in the time of the Crusades the custom to assign churches and to give streets in the towns and cities of the Holy Land to foreign nations, together with

great liberties and jurisdictions in those streets. Thus, he tells us that the Genoese had a street in Accon, or St John d'Acre, together with a full jurisdiction in it; the Venetians also had a street in the same city, where, among other privileges, they had the power of judging causes for themselves, together with as complete a jurisdiction over all that dwelt in their street as the king of Jerusalem had over the rest."

We find the Prophet Elisha at Damascus about B.C. 885, at that time a great and magnificent city, and the capital of the powerful kingdom of Syria. Benhadad happened to be confined to his palace by indisposition, but the arrival of Elisha was soon known in the city, and he was told that "the man of God," the usual designation of the Prophet, had "come hither." The king ordered Hazael, his principal general, to take presents, according to the custom of the East, and wait upon Elisha, for the purpose of inquiring whether he would recover. Hazael on this occasion took a present with him "of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden," 2 Kings viii. 9, and returned to his sovereign, to whom he only communicated a part of the Prophet's reply, and on the following day he murdered him, and usurped his throne. It is to be observed, that previous to and after this period the kings of Damascus were generally called Benhadad, which became a kind of royal title, like Pharaoh in Egypt, or Cæsar at Rome. Jeroboam II., king of Samaria, reduced Damascus, 2 Kings xiv. 28, but after the death of that prince the Syrians recovered their independence. Rezin assumed the title of king of Damascus, and entered into an alliance with Pekah, the usurper of the throne of Israel; and their conjoined forces made great havoc in the territories of Ahaz, king of Judah, whom they besieged in Jerusalem. Ahaz, convinced that he was unable to oppose or overcome them, sent to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, who, glad of the opportunity to interfere, promptly marched against the Syrian and Israel

itish invaders, whom he completely defeated, slew Rezin, took Damascus, and carried its citizens captive to Kir in Media, 2 Kings xvi. 5-9. Ahaz thus delivered from his enemies, went to Damascus to meet the Assyrian king, where his attention was arrested by a new idolatrous altar, a model of which he ordered to be made, and introduced into Jerusalem: "For," says the inspired writer, "he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help me, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me," 2 Chron. xxviii. 23. The conquest of Damascus by Tiglathpileser was predicted by Isaiah in the reign of Ahaz:- "The head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son: Before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria,” Isa. vii. 8, 9, viii. 4, xvii. 1, 2, 3. The Prophet Amos also predicts the conquest of this celebrated city (i. 3, 5).

Damascus soon recovered from its misfortunes. Calmet supposes that it was again taken and plundered by Sennacherib when he marched against Hezekiah. Ezekiel, in describing the riches and commerce of Tyre, represents it as a flourishing city:-"Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches," Ezek. xxvii. 18. Jeremiah threatened it, with those nations which were to experience the resentment of Nebuchadnezzar:-" Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her; anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad," Jer.

xlix. 24-27. After the return from the Captivity, Zechariah foretold various calamities which were to befall it and the Syrians, in common with other nations (ix. 1), which were probably fulfilled when it was taken by the generals of Alexander the Great. The Roman generals Metullus and Lælius seized Damascus during the war between Pompey and Tigranes, about sixty years before the Christian era, and it was under the jurisdiction of the Romans during the events recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Obodas, father of that Aretas whom St Paul mentions, 2 Cor. xi. 32, governed the city in the reign of Augustus, subject to the Romans. Aretas succeeded him, and was the "king of Damascus" at the time St Paul eluded the governor, who was on the watch to apprehend him, by being lowered down from an aperture of the wall in a basket; and the ruins of the place are still pointed out whence he effected his escape during the night.

Damascus is celebrated in the history of the Acts of the Apostles. While St Paul was "breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," he went to the high priest, and "desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way (meaning converted Jews), whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem,” Acts ix. 1. Josephus tells us that the number of Jews in the city amounted to ten thousand, and such a population specially required to be looked after, lest any should have embraced the Christian religion. The reader will also recollect that the Jewish Sanhedrim had not only the power of seizing and scourging offenders against their law within the bounds of their own country, but, by the connivance and favour of the Romans, they could send unto other countries where there were synagogues that acknowledged a dependence on the Council of Jerusalem, and apprehend them. It was while on this expedition, and when near Damascus, that a sudden light from Heaven astonished the zealous Jew and his military companions,

and the voice of Him who spake as never man spake addressed the prostrate persecutor, while "those who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man," Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Every Christian knows the history of that great event, immortal in the annals of the church, the last visible manifestation from heaven witnessed by a company of individuals, and so admirably in unison with the extension of the gospel to the Gentiles, for it was the calling of him who was to receive in a peculiar manner the illustrious appellation of the Apostle of the Gentiles. It has employed in its delineation the mighty genius of the most renowned painters and sculptors of every age, since the zealous Saul, trembling and astonished, arose from the earth, and was led by the hand into Damascus, "for when his eyes were opened, he saw no man." That city to which he was proceeding, armed with the mandates of the high priest at Jerusalem, to persecute and imprison the followers of the "Lord and his Anointed," was to become one of the first places wherein he sowed the seeds of that faith which has since changed the world. Dr Hales informs us that this great event happened, according to tradition, where a Syrian village, which was called Caucabe, from cochab, a star, was afterwards built in commemoration; but Dr Richardson, who was at Damascus, in 1819, in the suite of the Earl of Belmore, gives a very different account. "About a quarter of a mile," he says, "before we came up to the gate of the city through which he entered, we were shown the place where Saul, arrested in his wicked career by a light from Heaven, fell to the earth; the very spot on which he alighted is shown; and from being a persecutor of the Christians, he afterwards became the most zealous of all the Apostles. This memorable spot is on the side of the old road, near the ruined arch of a bridge, and close beside it are the tombs of some devout Christians. There is no house or decoration upon it, only the road turns a little aside, that this part may remain

unaffected by the general thoroughfare of travellers." This account of a spot never to be forgotten is confirmed by a recent traveller in 1832. "We advanced," says Dr Hogg, "to the eastern gate, now walled up, but memorable as being the place where St Paul was 'let down by the wall in a basket. On the opposite side of the road we were shown an ancient tomb, asserted, but I know not on what authority, to be that of the warden, traditionally called St George, who having be-. come a Christian, had allowed the Apostle to escape, and afterwards suffered martyrdom for his zeal and humanity. Near this gate we turned to the left, into a wide open road, and passing through a large uninclosed Christian cemetery, now reached the place, still highly venerated, of the Apostle's miraculous conversion.. The present tract deviates from the straight line, having, a few yards to the right, the precise spot believed to be that where he fell to the earth. This is evidently a portion of an ancient road, consisting entirely of firmly imbedded pebbles, which, having never been broken up, stands alone like the fragment of an elevated causeway. The sides have been gradually lowered by numerous pilgrims, who in all ages have sought the pebbles to preserve as relics. A wide arch-like excavation through the centre of the causeway, produced by the same superstitious industry, has given it the resemblance of a dismantled bridge. Through this aperture it is considered an act of devotion to pass, and one of our attendants performed the ceremony with all due solemnity, rubbing his shoulders against the pebbly sides, while he repeated his prayers with exemplary earnestness." The descriptions of these travellers prove the accuracy of Maundrel's account, who describes the appearance of this interesting spot, when he saw it in 1697, in exactly similar terms, and who adds, "About two furlongs nearer the city is a small timber structure. Within it is an altar erected; there you are told the holy Apostle rested for some time on his way to this city, after his vision."

St Paul was "led by the hand" into Damascus, to the house of a person named Judas, with whom he lodged, and we are told that he was "three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." In this state was the future Apostle of the Gentiles found by Ananias, an eminent Christian residing in Damascus, who had been instructed by "the Lord in a vision," to proceed into "the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus, for behold he prayeth." This last intimation introduces us to the manner in which St Paul was occupied during those three eventful days; he was employed in devotional exercises-he prayeth. Ananias, who had heard of the illustrious convert, and of the "evil he had done to the saints at Jerusalem," although he had never seen him, at first hesitated, from his well-known character, and more especially as he was aware that he had authority from the chief priests; but being assured that he was a "chosen vessel" to proclaim the unsearchable riches of the gospel "before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel," he instantly proceeded as he was directed by Divine power. The interview which took place between Ananias and the future Apostle is given by the inspired historian in an expressive manner. "Brother Saul," said Ananias, putting his hands on him, "the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." Immediately his sight was restored, his faith confirmed, and his commission made known unto him. He was baptized, and the man who a few days before was at the head of a military company, and resolved to pursue with uncompromising zeal his vindictive hostility towards the Christians of Damascus, was now found "preaching Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God." amazement of the Jews at this sudden transition was soon succeeded by the fiercest hatred and malignity. They resolved to assassinate him, and watched

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the gates day and night for that purpose. He escaped in the manner already mentioned by night, being "let down by the wall in a basket," and he immediately proceeded to Jerusalem, where he was introduced to the Apostles by Barnabas. The traditionary story connected with St Paul's escape is previously alluded to in Dr Hogg's description of the spot of the Apostle's conversion. The gate, according to this legend, was guarded by a Christian soldier, an Abyssinian by nation, who being aware of the design of the governor to deliver St Paul to the Jews, pointed out a window like a porthole in the parapet of the great wall, through which he was lowered in the basket. The enraged Jews, informed of what they called the soldier's treachery, caused him to be murdered, and got the window built up, to remain, as they said, a public proof of St Paul's apostacy; and the disciples took the body of the poor soldier, and buried it in a tomb near the scene of the Apostle's conversion, which is visited by both Christians and Turks.

The subsequent history of Damascus to the present time can be given in a brief space. After several revolutions and vicissitudes, during which it continued chiefly subject to the Greek Emperors, and was one of their five arsenals in the East, about A.D. 634, it was taken by the Saracen princes, and became the place of their residence until Bagdad was prepared for their reception. The city was besieged and taken by Tamerlane at the commencement of the sixteenth century, who is said to have greatly destroyed it, and put the citizens to the sword. After experiencing all the disorders of the Middle Ages, it fell before the conquering arms of Selim I., who reduced the whole of Syria, and annexed the country to the Turkish Empire, of which it continued for upwards of three centuries a province. During the French campaign in Egypt and Syria, the Pacha of Damascus was defeated by the French cavalry in 1799, and it was the intention of Bonaparte to have marched to the