BOSTON CHURCH, LINCOLNSHIRE. THE tourist through England cannot fail to be impressed with the remarkable difference existing in different localities with respect to the character of the religious edifices. Mr. Gilbert White, referring to those of Hampshire, for instance, speaks of the striking contrast between the humble dove-cot places for divine worship, and the value of the livings in which they are situated; and the writer can bear full testimony to the truth of the remark.

No such fault certainly can be found with the Lincolnshire churches, where decidedly noble specimens of parochial ecclesiastical architecture abound; and none can be more grand than that which presents itself at Boston, situated in that portion of the county of Lincoln called Holland. This place, said to be the Icanhoe of Bede, was once named Botolph's town, from a Saxon saint of that name, who, according to Bede, founded a monastery here about A.D. 870; besides which, it had formerly four friaries, a priory, and three colleges, the lands of which were seized by Henry VIII.

From various pieces of antiquity dug up, little doubt can remain as to its having been a Roman station.

The town is situated on the banks of the river Witham, which divides it into two wards, east and west, connected by an iron bridge of one arch, erected under the direction of Mr. Rennie, in 1807.

The parish church is unquestionably a very fine one. Its foundation was laid in 1309 by dame Margery Tilney, who contributed 57. to the sacred edifice. John Truesdale, vicar, and Richard Stephenson, merchant, bestowed each the like sum. The tower is the noblest part of the church; the nave and chancel not being answerable to so lofty a structure, which is 300 feet high, and is ascended by 365 steps. The view from the top is extensive over the surrounding flat.

VOL. XX.

It is difficult to describe the slim elegance, and at the same time compactness, of this tower. It is seen distinctly at a distance of forty miles, and serves as an useful sea-mark, and was regarded as such in Queen Anne's reign, when an act was passed for assessments to keep the church in repair. The lantern on the top is a splendid octagon, from which formerly issued the guiding, or saving light, for the mariners in the Boston and Lynn deeps during the night. There was here a prodigious clock-bell, which could be heard six or seven miles round, on which were inscribed many old verses; but which was knocked in pieces in 1710, the inscription not having been taken.

Within the church are monuments of sir John and lady Tilney.

Boston suffered a fearful calamity in the reign of Edward I. The following account is given by Camden: "When bad and ruffian-like behaviour ruffled at that time over all England, certain military lusty fellows having proclaimed here a justs, or running at tilt, at a fair-time, when there was much resort of people thither, came apparelled in the habit of monks and canons, set fire on the town in most places thereof, brake in upon merchants with sudden violence, took away many things by force, burnt a great deal more; insomuch, as our historians write, that-as the ancient writers record of Corinth when it was destroyedmolten gold and silver ran down in a stream together. Their ringleader, Robert Chamberlan, after he had confessed the act, and what a shameful deed had been committed, was hanged; yet. could he not be brought, by any means, to disclose his complices in this foul fault. But happier times raised Boston again out of the ashes; and a staple for wool here settled did very much enrich it, and drew thither merchants of the Hanse society, who had here their guild."

The population of Boston at the last census was 12,942. It has a chapel of ease, besides the parish church.

In the neighbourhood are several remains of an

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tiquity. Among these may be mentioned Rochfort, or Kyme tower, one of the possessions of the family of Kyme, a family allied to many of the oldest baronial houses of the kingdom. This tower, situated nearly two miles north-east of Boston, is square, with an octagonal turret on its south-east angle. The top is covered with lead, and enclosed with an embattled parapet: smaller turrets crown the three other angles. The moat may still be traced; and at the distance of a quarter of a mile from each angle was formerly a considerable mound: three of these are now remaining.

The Kymes are distinguished in ancient English history; and in later times they maintained their consequence, one of them having married the princess Cicely, a daughter of king Edward IV.

Their estates afterwards fell to the crown; and the name has now perished from the vicinity. Their descendants, however, continued to occupy Kyme tower, with lands belonging to it, till the year 1816, when, unfortunately, on the death of the occupier it passed into other hands. The blood, however, of that noble house is not extinct.

THE MOUNTAINS OF THE Bible.

No. II.

BY DR. WILKINSON.

LEBANON.

UNDER this general name the bible contains many interesting allusions to a magnificent mountain chain of vast extent, whose towering summits formed the northern boundary of the promised land. We are led to imagine their altitude to be considerable: they are represented as containing many barren and uncultivated districts, but interspersed with regions of luxuriant fruitfulness, and adorned with forests of unrivalled beauty: they are spoken of as abounding with inhabitants, and as constituting a most important national rampart against Assyrian invasion. Let us now see what general light has been thrown on these particulars, by the researches of modern travellers, or rather what remains are stated to be still visible of this "glory of Lebanon;" for we must recollect that, like all other parts of that devoted land, these hoary mountains bear upon their scathed and withered brow the but too certain indications of a controversy yet unsettled, and stand forth still "majestic," yet to a great extent in "ruin," as the memorials no less of the righteous judgments than of the powers and loving-kindness of him who "stretcheth forth the mountains, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and saith unto Zion, Thou art my people."

The "Lebanon," or "white mountain"-for such is its signification-consists of two nearly parallel ranges, Libanus and Anti-Libanus: they extend for about seventy miles from north-east to south-west, and include between them a fertile valley, about twelve or fifteen miles in width, and raised about 2,000 feet from the level of the sea, formerly called Colo-Syria, or the hollow Syria, but now Bakaah, or El-bekeh. From the eastern, or Anti-Libanus, another range branches off towards the south-west. This is the Mount Hermon to which David many times alludes.

The entire district probably received the name of "Lebanon," from the whitish aspect of these rocky eminences when they reflect the sun's light. They consist of a hard, calcareous stone, sonorous as free-stone, and dispersed in strata variously inclined. Of this beautiful stone the temple of Jehovah was constructed, as well as the other splendid edifices with which Solomon adorned the capital of his kingdom. From the extensive quarries of Mount Lebanon they brought, at the commandment of the king, "great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone squarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house" (1 Kings v. 17, 18).

We may readily imagine that the whole scenery of this mountainous region, when fertile and highly cultivated, and clad even up to its snowy peaks with rich evergreen forests, must have possessed unusual beauty: "Whatever is comely and majestic, whatever commands reverence and inspires love, whatever is adorned with fruitfulness, or teems with prosperity, is by the inspired writers compared to Lebanon." When Isaiah' accumulates metaphors to depict even the church's coming glory, when the "days of her mourning" shall be brought to a perpetual termination, and she shall be resplendent with the divine favour, his pages bear frequent reference to its surpassing loveliness. He considers it expresses blessings of no ordinary magnitude to say, "The glory of Lebanon shall come to thee, the fir-tree, the pinetree and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious." And again: "The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God" (Isa. XXXV. 1, 2; lx. 13). And the psalmist adopts similar imagery to describe the same period of sudden prosperity: "There shall be an handful of corn on the earth: the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon" (Ps. lxxii. 16). So far-famed were its cedar-crowned beights and fertile valleys in the days of Moses, that they were associated in his mind with all the riches of that promised inheritance, to behold which was the object of his most anxious desire and repeated prayers: "I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, even Lebanon" (Deut. iii. 25). And to this day travellers almost uniformly express their astonishment and admiration at the noble and commanding aspect of these majestic masses, and the scenery they present.

Without the slightest intention of illustrating scripture, we find Volney thus expressing himself: Lebanon presents us everywhere with majestic mountains. At every step we meet with scenes in which nature displays either beauty or grandeur. When we land on the coast, the loftiness and steep ascent of the mountain ridge, which seems to inclose the country, those gigantic masses which shoot into the clouds, inspire astonishment and awe. Should the anxious traveller then climb those summits which bounded his view, the wide extended space which he discovers becomes a

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fresh subject of admiration; but, completely to enjoy this magnificent scene, must he ascend to the very point of Lebanon, or the Sannim. There, on every side, he will view an horizon without bounds; while, in clear weather, the sight is lost over the desert which extends to the Persian Gulf, and over the sea which bathes the coasts of Europe. He seems to command the whole world *he contemplates the valley obscured by stormy clouds with a novel delight, and smiles at hearing the thunder which had so often burst over his head growling beneath his feet:

he winds, he descends, he skirts the hills, he elimbs; and in this perpetual change of position, it seems as if some magic power varied for him at every step the decoration of the scenery." Mr. Bonar speaks of the "majestic Lebanon," "as a noble range of mountains well worthy of the fame it has so long inaintained. It is cultivated in a wonderful manner by terraces, and is still very fertile." He viewed it on the western side, which is by far the most cultivated and numerously inhabited. "We saw," he adds, "on some of its eminences, more than 2,000 feet high, villages, and luxuriant vegetation; and on some of its peaks, 6,000 feet high, we could discern tall pines against the clear sky beyond. At first, the clouds were resting on the lofty summit of the range; but they cleared away, and we saw Sannim, which is generally regarded as the highest peak of Lebanon. The rays of the setting sun gave a splendid tint to the lofty brow of the mountain; and we did not wonder how the church of old saw in its features of calm and immoveable majesty an emblem of the great Redeemer: his countenance is as Lebanon.""*

From what we read of "the snows of Lebanon," we are lead to infer that its summits are little below, if not altogether above the line of perpetual congelation, which in this latitude is about 11,000 feet from the level of the sea: "Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon, which cometh from the rock of the field?" (Jer. xviii. 4). And we find, in fact, that they constitute the highest points of land in all Syria.

Dr. Robinson, when at a distance of thirty miles, expresses his admiration at beholding the towering height of Lebanon, "visible in all its majesty with long narrow glaciers, like strips of snow extending down below its icy crown, and glittering in the sun."

The general elevation of Anti-Libanus is inferior to that of the western range; but, at its southern termination, where it divides, to send branches east and west of the Jordan, it rises into the lofty eminence of Jebel Essheik, which is supposed to be scarcely less than 14,000 or 15,000 feet, and overtops every other summit. Dr. Clarke, who saw it in the month of July from the plain of Esdraelon, remarks: "This summit was so lofty, that the snow entirely covered the upper part of it, not lying in patches, but investing all the higher part with that perfect white and smooth velvet-like appearance which snow only exhibits when it is very deep

"The wintry top of giant Lebanon."

Through the greater part of the year snow covers the entire range. On the approach of sum

mer, this for the most part dissolves--the circumstance that supplied the prophet Jeremiah with the above image-and, swelling the numerous springs with which these rocks abound, flows down in pure and wholesome rivulets, to irrigate the lands below, to adorn its fields with verdure, and to refresh and invigorate animal life during the hot season: "He sendeth the springs into the valleys which run among the hills: they give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst" (Ps. civ. 10, 11).

Maundrell describes the bounding delight with which he witnessed the hart and the deer directing their rapid course to the streams descending from these mountains. A similar incident, witnessed by David, when wandering from his unnatural son, most probably prompted him to exclaim, "As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God" (Ps. xlii. 1). Religious ordinances are in themselves valueless, as empty cisterns which hold no water;" but they may be made the blessed means of spiritual communion with God, fruitful channels for the grace of the Holy Spirit, quickening, strengthening, and preparing the thirsty soul for full draughts from those rivers of pleasure which are at God's right hand for evermore." Individual believers, or the church collectively thus privileged, are described in the book of Canticles as "a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters and streams from Lebanon" (Cant. iv. 15).

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But in some parts of scripture Lebanon is spoken of as a region of barrenness and desolation. Such a representation is, however, not at all inconsistent with the glowing descriptions of its richness and fertility in other places. The higher parts of lofty mountains are necessarily wild and sterile; and their stunted vegetation, if such be found, usually corresponds to that of the Arctic regions. Such is especially the case with the Sannim, where vegetation scarcely exists, and on which the art of man can make no impression. We may, therefore, readily seize the prophet's meaning, when he says: "Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field" (Isa. xxix. 17).

How great the contrast between the naked and rocky heights of mountains, and a field enriched with the fairest and most useful products of nature! It has been not inaptly said by Arabian poets, that "Lebanon bears winter upon his head, spring upon his shoulders, and autumn in his bosom; while summer lies sleeping at his feet." The comparatively lower lands are even yet fertile, and furnish ample evidence that they formerly abounded with vegetable and animal life. The less exposed situations are even now adorned with "oliveyards and vineyards and fruitful fields;" and these are interspersed and varied with the myrtle, the styrax, and other odoriferous shrubs, whose perfume is increased by that of the still fragrant cedars, which occasionally crown the heights or beautify the declivities of the mountains. "The smell of thy garments," says the Bridegroom of the church, is as the smell of Lebanon" (Cant. iv. 11); doubtless in allusion to the delicious odours wafted from these aromatic plants; and we find a similar allusion in the book of Hosea, with reference to the final blessedness of Israel: "His branches shall spread; and his beauty