mented by pilgrims on the road, who were desirous of an escort to the Holy City. The mode of travelling was on horseback, but they experienced great inconvenience from the heat, the season being the month of July, and the thermometer in the shade frequently above 90. They were not free, also, from alarm on the score of the plague, although they learned to be less apprehensive of infection in consequence of hearing many instances of persons attending the diseased with impunity. The force of imagination is supposed to have great influence with regard to this disorder; apprehensive persons being most liable to its attack, while predestinarians, like the Turks, are said often to pass unhurt in the midst of contagion. In the French army, the physicians considered it as a malignant, and therefore dangerous fever, but, with proper precaution, as by no means fatal. Certain it is that the loss of lives by the plague is not so great as we are apt to think. The rumour prevalent around Asiatic towns of the number carried off is always exaggerated; and the Gazettes of Europe publish reports of whole citics being depopulated, when it might be more correct to say that the inhabitants had retired from their crowded streets to pass the season of danger in tents. Were the traveller in Asia to halt or turn back on every rumour of the plague, he would soon find his journey impracticable.-The Christians, or rather those who call themselves Christians, in the Holy Land, are divided into various sects. It is said that no Lutherans are among them; but, be that as it may, the most absurd superstitions are here practised under the name of Christianity. At Nazareth, where the travelling party first arrived, the monks shew a building supported by two stone pillars, one of which is said to stand without a base; as if it were not apparent to a person of observation, that the top is fasten

ed to the roof. The bad effect of such artifices, in impairing the general faith of the devout but often weak persons who visit the Holy Land, is greatly to be lamented. Credulity and scepticism,' says Dr C., 'are neighbouring extremes: whoever abandons the one, is ready to admit the other.'

Nazareth is a small town or village situated on the side of a barren, rocky elevation, facing the east, and commanding the prospect of a long valley. No place throughout Djezzar's territory had suffered more by his tyrannical exactions.-From the windows of their apartment, the travellers saw two women grinding corn into flour, with a handmill, to make bread, exactly in the way mentioned by our Saviour, Matt. xxiv. 41. The two women were seated on the ground opposite to each other, holding between them two flat stones. In the middle of the upper stone was a cavity for pouring in corn, and, by the side of this, an upright wooden handle for moving the stone. As the operation began, one of the women with her right hand pushed this handle to the woman opposite, who sent it back to her companion; thus communicating a circular and quick motion to the upper stone, their left hands being all the while employed iu supplying fresh corn, as fast as the bran and flower escaped from the sides of the machine.

Having left Nazareth, the travellers came to Cana of Galilee, sometimes called Cana Minor, a small village situated on a gentle eminence in the midst of a valley. About a quarter of a mile from it is a spring of delicious limpid water, close to the road, and frequented by pilgrims as the fountain which supplied the water which was converted by our Saviour's first miracle into wine. As they journeyed on, they left the road to ascend the Mount, the supposed scene of Christ's sermon to his disciples. Here, while meditating on the sacred

discourse,

discourse, they cast their eyes around, and enjoyed one of the most interesting prospects in the Holy Land. On one side was the Lake, or, as it is called, the Sea of Galilee; reminding them, by its surrounding mountains, of the Lake of Geneva. The track between them and the lake consisted of fertile plains. To the north appeared many summits, towering beyond a series of intervening mountains, and appearing a part of the great chain of Lebanon. On the highest summit of all, the snow lay, not in patches, but in continued white; a striking spectacle in a climate in which the spectator in the valley is impatient to seek protection from a burning sun.-In an elevated plain north of the lake of Galilee, they discerned the wilderness to which St John retired; and to the south west, at a distance of only twelve miles, Mount Tabor was conspicuous by its conical shape and insulated position on the northern side of the wide plain of Esdraelon.

On coming down from the Mount, the journey lay on a descent all the way to the Lake of Galilee. Here the travellers, turning their view towards the northern shore, saw through a bold declivity the situation of Capernaum, on the boundaries of the two tribes of Zabulon and Naphtali. The town of Tiberias stands close to the edge of the lake, and is fortified by walls, but has no artillery. As the party entered the gate, the Turkish guards were playing at chess. The castle is on a rising ground in the north part of the town. This place, like other Turkish towns, makes altogether a wretched figure within, and has no antiquities, except a very old church of an oblong form. The warm baths, distant about a mile from the town, have long been celebrated. In the middle of the Lake, a current is seen to mark the course of the Jordan throughout its extent. The travellers found it extremely pleasant to

bathe in the Lake; and, to whatever distance they swam, they were able to discern, through the transparent medium, the shining pebbles at the bottom. Leaving Tiberias, they made an effort to visit Mount Taber, but it was abandoned on account of the Arabs, who would have shewn no mercy to travellers escorted by the servants of their bitter enemy, Djezzar Pacha. The top of this mountain was described as a plain of great extent, and well cultivated. The Arabs frequently refusing to pay tribute to Djezzar, the course adopted by that decisive chieftain was to make his troops attack, at a fit opportunity, their herds ofcattle, driving them away, and killing the proprietors when they resisted. The Arabs are, in some degree, favourites with Dr. C., the vices of drunkenness and gaming being unknown among them, and their hospitali ty to strangers being accompanied with kindness to their slaves and inferiors. His observations are, in course, to be considered with reference to the tribes in the Holy Land.---The next town at which the travellers arrived was Napolose, the antient Sichem.

The view of this place, says Dr Clarke much surprised us, as we had not expected to find a city of such magnitude in the road to Jerusalem. It seems to be the metropolis of a very rich and extensive country, abounding with provisions, and all the neces sary articles of life, in much greater profusion than the town of Acre. White bread was exposed to sale in the streets, of a quality superior to any that is to be found elsewhere through out the Levant.'-'The reader who wishes to know the various names possessed by this city, at different pe riods of its history, must be referred to the learned Reland.'-' So long ago as the twelfth century, the elegant and perspicuous Phocas, himself visiting the place, and describing the city, speaks of it as "Sichar, the me tropolis of the Samaritans, afterwards

callęd

called Neapolis." According to the ancient Hebrew text of Genesis, and the book of Judges, it should be written Schechem. The traveller directing his footsteps towards its ancient sepulchres, as everlasting as the rocks wherein they are hewn, is permitted, upon the authority of sacred and indelible record, to contemplate the spot where the remains of Joseph, of Eleazar, and Joshua, were several ly deposited. If any thing connected with the memory of past ages be calculated to awaken local enthusiasm, the land around this city is pre-eminently intitled to consideration. The sacred story of events transacted in the fields of Sichem (Genesis xxxvii.) is remembered from our earliest years with delight; but with the territory before our eyes where those events took place, and in the view of objects existing as they were described above three thousand years ago, the grateful impression kindles into ecstasy. Along the valley we beheld" a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead," as in the days of Reuben and Judah," with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh."

The principal object of veneration, among the inhabitants, is Jacob's Well, over which a church was formerly erected. This is situated at a small distance from the town, in the road to Jerusalem, nd has been visited by pilgrims of all ages; but particularly since the Christian æra, as the place where our Saviour revealed himself (John iv.) to the woman of Samaria.'

We left Napolose one hour after mid-night, that we might reach Jerusalem the same day. The road was mountainous, rocky, and full of loose stones: yet the cultivation was every where marvellous, and afforded one of the most striking pictures of human industry which it is possible to behold. The limestone-rocks, and stony valleys of Judæa, were entirely covered with plantations of figs, vines,

and olive-trees; not a single spot seemed to be neglected. The hills from their bases to their upmost summits were entirely covered with gardens.-Among the standing crops, we noticed millet, cotton, linseed, and tobacco; and occasionally small fields of barley.-Instead of the depressed and gloomy looks of Djezzar Pacha's desolated plains, health, hilarity, and peace, were visible in the features of the inhabitants. Under a wise and a beneficial government, the produce of the Holy Land would exceed all calculation. Its perennial harvest; the salubrity of its air; its limpid springs; its rivers, lakes, and matchless plains; its hills and vales;

all these added to the serenity of its climate, prove this land to be indeed "a field which the Lord hath "blessed."-The first part of our journey led through the valley lying between the two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim. We passed the Sepulchre of Joseph, and the well of Jacob, where the valley of Sichem opens into a fruitful plain, watered by a stream which rises near the town.This is allowed by all writers to be the piece of land mentioned by St John, which Jacob bought "at the the hand of the children of Emmor," and when he erected his altar to" the God of Israel." Afterwards, as the day dawned, a cloudless sky foretold the excessive heat we should have to encounter in this day's journey; and before noon, the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer, in the most shaded situation we could find, stood at 102.

At two o'clock P. M., we halted for a little repose near a well, beneath the shade of a ruined building. Here, upon some pieces of mouldy biscuit, a few raw onions, (the only food we could find upon the spot,) and the water of the well, we all of us fed with the best possible appetite.-At three P. M. we again mounted our horses, and proceded on our route. No sensation of fatigue or heat could counterbalance

counterbalance the eagerness and zeal which animated all our party in the approach to Jerusalem; every individual pressed forward, hoping to be the first to announce the joyful intelligence of its appearance. At length, after about two hours had been passed in this state of anxiety and suspence, a Greck in the van of our cavalcade, ascending a hill towards the south, exclaimed "Hagiopolis!" and throwing himself from his horse, was seen bareheaded, upon his knces, facing the prospect he surveyed. Suddenly the sight burst upon us all. We had not been prepared for the grandeur of the spectacle which the city exhibited. Instead of a wretched and ruined town, by some described as the desolated remnant of Jerusalem, we beheld, as it were, a flourishing and stately metropolis; presenting a magnificent assemblage of domes, towers, palaces, churches, and monasteries; all of which, glittering in the sun's rays, shone with inconceivable splendor. We were conducted to the house of the Governor, who received us in very great state. Being informed of all our projects, he ordered his interpreter to go with us to the Franciscan convent of St Salvador, a large building like a fort ress, the gates of which were thrown open to receive our whole cavalcade. Here, when we were admitted into a court, with all our horses and camels, the vast portals were again closed, and a party of the most corpulent friars we had ever seen from the warmest cloisters of Spain and Italy, waddled round us, and heartily welcomed our arrival.'' The room allotted to our English party, we found to be the same which many travellers have before described. It was clean, and its walls were white-washed. The beds, also, had a cleanly appearance; although a few bugs warned us to spread our hammocks upon the floor. Upon the substantial door of this chamber, whose roof was of vaulted

stone, the names of many English travellers had been carved. Among others we had the satisfaction to notice that of Thomas Shaw, the most learned writer who has yet appeared in descriptions of the Levant. Dr Shaw had slept in the same apartment seventy-nine years before our coming.

A large part of this convent, surrounding an elevated open court or terrace, is appropriated to the reception of pilgrims, for whose maintenance the monks have considerable funds, the result of donations from Catholics of all ranks, but especially from Catholic Princes. Knowing, from long habit in waiting upon pilgrims, the taste of different nations, they most hospitably entertain their comers according to the notions they have thus acquired. If a table be provided for Englishmen or for Dutchmen, they supply it copiously with tea. This pleasing and refreshing beverage was served every morning and evening while we remained, in large bowls, and we drank it out of pewter porringers.'

Friday, July 10. This morning our room was filled with Armenians and Jews, bringing for sale the only produce of the Jerusalem manufactures; beads, crosses, shells, &c.We set out to visit what are called "the Holy Places." These are all amply described by at least an hundred authors. From the monastery we descended to the church of the Holy Sepulchre; attended by several pilgrims, bearing with them rosaries and crucifixes, for consecration on the tomb of Jesus Christ.-We came to a goodly structure, whose external appearance resembled that of an ordinary Roman Catholic Church.Over the door we observed a bas-relief, executed in a style of sculpture meriting more attention than it has hitherto received; upon a nearer view, we recognized the history of the Messiah's entry into Jerusalem,

the

the multitude strewing palm branches before him.-Entering the church, the first thing they shewed to us was a slab of white marble in the pavement, surrounded by a rail. It seemed like one of the grave-stones in the floor of our English churches. This, they told us, was the spot where our Saviour's body was anointed by Joseph of Arimathea. The interior of this strange fabric is divided into two parts. Having entered the first part, which is a kind of ante-chapel, they shew you, before the mouth of what is called the sepulchre, the stone whereon the angel sat; this is a block of white marble, neither corresponding with the mouth of the sepulchre, nor with the substance from which it must have been hewn ; for the rocks of Jerusalem are all of compact limestone. All that can therefore now be affirmed is, that, if the Empress Helena had reason to believe she could identify the spot where the sepulchre was, she took especial care to remove every existing trace of it, in order to introduce the fanciful and modern work which now remains. The place may be the same pointed out to her, but not a remnant of the original sepulchre can now be ascertained.'-- The travel ler is afterwards conducted through such a farrago of absurdities, that it is wonderful the learned men, who have described Jerusalem, should bave filled their pages with any serious detail of them. Nothing, however, can surpass the fidelity with which Sandys has particularized every circumstance of all this trumpery, and his rude cuts are characterized by equal

exactness.'

It is time to quit these degrading fallacies: let us break from our monkish instructors, and, instead of viewing Jerusalem as pilgrims, examine it by the light of history, with the Bible in our hands. We shall thus find many interesting objects of contemplation. If Mount Calvary has sunk beneath the overwhelming influence Dec. 1812,

SCOTTISH REVIEW.

Remarks on the Constitution and Procedure of the Scottish Courts of Law. By James Glassford, Esq. 8v. 1812. 7s. bds. Constable & Co,

THERE is no subject which, situ

ated as this country now is, occu pies so large a share of political importance, as the due regulation of its courts of justice. This forms the only sphere of public life in which the talents and ambition of our countrymen can be exercised. It forms also the circumstance perhaps of all others, on which the general well-being of the people most essentially depends. This branch of public duty, well administered, conduces more to the security and comfort of private life, than any of those which make a more brilliant figure in the eye of the public. The subject has of late attracted a peculiar share of attention, in consequence of the changes which took place in the constitution of the courts.

While that question was under discussion, it excited a wonderful share of interest, not only from its own importance, but because it had become the badge of party distinction. The effervescence thus excited has now ceased; yet the object still re

mains