with instruments of a form more simple, and per- limits. The conscription for the army has been haps more ancient, than those in the tombs of one of the greatest hardships they have suffered. Bruce. The dresses, the manner of carrying bur- We saw many villages in succession, where the dens suspended from the end of a stick placed only inhabitants were old men, women, and childupon the shoulders, the way of guiding boats by ren. To prevent themselves from being pressed, an oar instead of a rudder, are exact representa- they subject themselves to all kinds of mutilation: tions of the present customs of India, proving the the boatmen of the canja in which we sailed were similarity of manners in the early ages, and the one morning busy in pulling out each others teeth, antiquity of the usages of India, where to say "it and when we inquired the reason, they said it was to is customary," is thought a sufficient excuse for prevent their being taken to serve as soldiers when acts in themselves the most absurd. The sooner they arrived at Cairo. The pacha has caused proa mission is commenced for the preservation of vincial assemblies to be formed, with a central asthese and other relics of antiquity, the better, assembly that is composed of deputies from all the they would throw great light upon many passages provinces, and has regularly met in the capital of the Bible, and every successive day adds some- since 1829. He has divided the country into dething to the destruction of these valuable records. partments, and has promulgated a penal code. A In some of the same caves the pillars are cluster- newspaper has been established at Cairo in Turked with ribs bound round by a cord near the capi- ish and Arabic, and another at Alexandria in tal, and a wedge driven within the cord to render French, in which some interesting papers have it tight; the whole cut out of the rock, as if to re-appeared on the present state of Egypt and Syria, present the clustering of the stems in the wooden pillars then used in the common houses. In the same way, it has been supposed that the arch and clustered pillar of Gothic architecture have been taken from the view presented by a vista of palms. 1 have often been struck with this idea whilst walking through a grove of young cocoa-nut trees by torchlight, and have almost fancied myself to be treading the aisles of some ancient monastery or cathedral.

the Nile, the pyramids, the Druses, &c. There is religious toleration; the pacha is known to have read parts of the Scriptures, and is supposed to be favorably disposed towards Christianity. Several schools are in vigorous existence, in each of which are more than a thousand boys, educated, clothed, and fed, at the expense of government. Telegraphs and steam-boats are in active operation, and gas has been introduced into the palace at Shoobra. In some of the hospitals there are acThe present aspect of Egypt is not more inte- commodations for upwards of a thousand patients; resting to the moralist, the man of science, and and connected with them there is a school of anathe biblical student, than it is to the politician and tomy, and a vaccine establishment. The quaranthe philanthropist. The pacha has thrown off the tine laws are not a mere nominal restraint, as the yoke of the sultan; his son Ibrahim has conquer-plague was last year kept out of the country, ed Syria; and it was only the interference of the though it was brought by the pilgrims, and numChristian powers that prevented him from enter-bers died of it in the lazaretto at Alexandria. The ing the gates of Constantinople. Mahomet Ali, pacha has erected large cotton manufactories in though upwards of 60 years of age, retains all the all the principal towns; at Cairo he has extensive vivacity of youth, and is as restless, as active, and manufactories of cannon, fire-arms, swords, gunas attentive to business, as at the time when he en-powder, calico, and cotton prints; the granaries tered upon his first intrigue. He was indefatigable at Alexandria are the most extensive I have ever in raising supplies for the army of his son. He ap- seen; and the dock-yards exhibit a scene of acpears not only to sustain by his own single strength tivity not often to be equalled. He has many artthe whole machine of government, but also to pay ists, engineers, and mechanics in his employ, from personal attention to the progress of every separate England and other parts of Europe, who are libemovement. I saw him in his dock-yard, where he rally paid, and the latest inventions are immehad a temporary place erected to which he daily diately adopted. Several youths have been sent resorted to superintend the building of three ships to England and France to receive instruction in of the line, then upon the stocks. There is nothing the arts and sciences. The canals have been imof majesty in his appearance, and there were no proved, and the cutting of the Machmoudieh from ornaments about his dress: he is low in stature; the Nile to Alexandria, is in itself sufficient to imhe has a grave, care-worn countenance, with a mortalize his name. Every facility is offered to long gray beard, and a sinister expression about the establishment of a steam navigation with Inhis eye, which must be keen and piercing when dia; wells have already been dug in the desert; lighted up with interest or flashing with the fire of and it is intended soon to fit out an expedition to anger. There are dark spots in his character, discover the sources of the Nile. It is not allowbut when compared with any other of the pachas ed that any article shall be imported that can poswho have for a time successfully braved the pow-sibly be made in the country, and its resources are er of the Sublime Porte, such as the djezzar of Acre, or the robber of Ioannina, he deserves our praise, and almost commands admiration. The provinces under his command are ruled with vigor, and in what does not concern his own advantage, the inferior chiefs are required to execute justice without partiality, and to defend the people from oppression. To Egypt he has been a Scourge, and the restlessness of his ambition has brought grief into almost every family within its

made to tell to their greatest possible extent.

These things would excite our warmest admiration, were the end to which these mighty energies are directed in any way conducive to the happiness of his people; but money and men, with a profusion that knows no bounds, have been sacrificed at the altar of his own ambition, and treasure has been wasted, and blood has been shed, to gain a name among the nations, that may be the wonder of a moment, and then pass out of

penses of the war, proclaim that they are still diminished, and that their land is yet "the basest of the kingdoms." The Christian church is animated in its efforts for the conversion of Egypt by the sure prospect of a brighter day. There were dwellers in Egypt among the three thousand souls who gladly received the word at the first outpouring of the Spirit." In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof unto the Lord..... And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day.....In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria; even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.”— Isaiah. xix. 18-25.

THE HOLY LAND.

oppression, as the pure descendants of the ancient Egyptians do not at present amount to more than 200,000, at the highest computation. It is said by the same prophet, "It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall rule no more over the nations." Ezek. xxix. 15. It is also said, "There shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt." Ezek. xxx. 13: and again, "The sceptre of Egypt shall depart away." Zech. x. 11. The land of Egypt rose to great eminence at an early period; it ranks among the greatest of the nations, and in some respects is to be placed at the head of all. She had no model that she could imitate, no fountain of knowledge previously flowing to which she could resort, her polity was all her own. It is because the records of her deeds are so scanty, that she holds so inferior a place in the pages of the historian: she is obscure from the long vista of years through which alone we can examine her, and only appears diminutive because so distant. Could we trace with minuteness the gradual rise of her kings to the full extent of their power, or the gradual progress of her arts to the erection of the pyramids and temples; could we relate the wars then waged by her warriors, or the triumphis achieved by her men of science; could we peruse the numbers of her poets, or listen to the eloquence of her orators, or attend at the schools of her philosophers; Greece would be robbed of many of its glories, and the majesty of imperial Rome would have a rival to dispute our homage. These distinctions have all passed away, and it is most affecting to contrast its present state with its ancient greatness: no nation so wise as this was once, ever became so base as this is now. The last prince of Egypt purely native was Psammeticus, who died B. c. 500 years: and what is most remarkable, he was the next monarch who ascended the throne after the utterance of the prediction by Ezekiel, if his accession was not indeed previous, as we do not know the exact year in which the prophecy was declared. Thus there has been no native dynasty for the space of more than 2000 years. The land has even been ruled by slaves, but still no native ever dared to oppose their tyranny, and seat himself upon the throne. It has been said that in the early ages the course of things shadowed forth the consequences that ensued, and that a wise foresight, taking advantage of these characteristic indices, ventured to foretell future events, and called its predictions the message of God. But we ask, what mind, however vast its capacity, or I LANDED at this place after a rough_passage of quick its perception, could foresee that for so great three days from Alexandria, Mar. 25, and was a number of years there should be no native king received with great hospitality by the Rev. J. of a country over which a native monarchy had Bird, of the American Board of Missions. It is ruled with absolute power? a circumstance too an ancient city, and though not included within without a parallel among any other people in the the borders of the Holy Land, is supposed to be universe. No mind could have foreseen all this, referred to in Scripture; but there is no other but one that was omniscient; the man who re- authority to identify it besides the similarity of vealed it must have been under the inspiration of sound in a name. The houses are better built Heaven, and the book in which it is contained than those of Egypt, in towns of the same impormust be the record of eternal truth. The victo- tance. The streets of all the Syrian cities are ries recently gained by Mahomet Ali form no ex- narrow, as they are surrounded by walls, and the ception to these conclusions, as the pacha is of inhabitants have been obliged to make, the most foreign birth, and the groans of the Egyptians, in their power with the narrow compass by which robbed of their hard earnings to defray the ex- they are limited. The pavement is of large une

THR country given to the Israelites by the express gift of God, is mentioned in the Scriptures under different appellations, most of which are too obvious in their origin to require explanation.The two names by which it is now most generally known are both of very ancient usage. It is called "Palestina" by Moses, Ex. xv. 14, though this name, in strict propriety of speech, ought to be regarded as referring exclusively to the district inhabited by the Philistines. In the prophecy by Zechariah it is called "the Holy Land," chap. ii. 12. It is situated in Asia, and nearly in the centre of the ancient world. It is bounded on the north by Libanus and Anti-Libanus; on the south by the deserts of Arabia; on the east by the deserts of Syria; and on the west by the Mediterranean sea. In size, it is less than England, being about 170 miles long, and 80 miles broad. It has been calculated that it included about 26,000 square miles at the period of its greatest extent, a space sufficient for the support of several millions of men, if brought under proper cultivation. The kingdom of David and Solomon extended far beyond the limits here named; but this was only a "splendid parenthesis" in the historic page of the Israelites.

BEIROUT.

ven stones, and in the centre is a channel, which present engaged in a severe contest with the Rotakes away from the width of the streets, already man Catholics. The most hopeful of their contoo contracted, though it is conducive to cleanli- verts have been cut off by death, and one of them ness. The facing of the pier is almost entirely may be pronounced a martyr. They are obliged composed of ancient columns. The principal to proceed with great caution, from the extreme buildings are in ruins, but from the solidity of the jealousy of all the sects by whom they are surwalls, and the strength of the cement by which rounded. They have commenced a regular serthey are bound together, it may yet be many years before they fall into complete decay. The use of the arch is so common that there is not a single house that does not contain one in some shape or other its intention is not, as with us, the throwing of an extended span, but the saving of timber. Without the present walls, I traced the foundations of an ancient street, with the channel in the centre, nearly perfect: there are also many ancient cisterns, partly hewn out of the rock, with a small aperture at the top from whence to draw the water. There are several inscriptions in the Greek character, but too much defaced to be read.

Berytus was celebrated under the Greek emperors for the study of the law. It is sometimes called "the happy colony of Augustus." Herod, at this place, accused his two sons before an assembly of 150 judges. It must at that time have been a city of great importance, as it gave 1500 auxiliaries to Varus when he passed through it on his way to Jerusalem. A theatre was erected here by Herod Agrippa, at the dedication of which 700 condemned malefactors were compelled to fight to the death with an equal number of their fellow prisoners.

vice in Arabic, at which the attendance is encouraging. The beggars, who come for alms on one particular morning of the week, are publicly addressed on the great truths of Christianity. The mission-house seems to be considered almost as public property, as the people are permitted to enter it at their will, from the kind wish of its inmates to conciliate them as far as possible, and even the bed-rooms of the ladies are invaded without the least ceremony.

The usual mode of travelling is upon mules, which were then so much in request for the use of the army, that it was with difficulty they could be procured. My servant, after much trouble, heard that there were some at a distance of three hours, and having made a bargain with the muleteer, I obtained, through the consul, a note from the governor to free them from government duty; but when brought to the town they were instantly seized by the sentry at the gate, and we had great difficulty in obtaining their release. I was ready to commence my journey at sunrise, but in the night the animals had again been taken, and there was another delay of nearly three hours, when they were once more returned, after which I had no more annoyance. I travelled in company with The house of Mr. Bird commands an extensive the Rev. W. Thompson, of the American Board, view of the bay: the ships anchor in the winter who had recently arrived in the country, and the season at some distance, near the mouth of a Rev. J. Nicolaison, who has been stationed there small river. It is the principal port to Demascus; some years, and speaks fluently all the languages and if a passage to India could be accomplished required to be known. The mulberry trees ex. by the ancient route, it would soon rise to be a tend only a little way from the town, and we ther place of immense importance. There are a con- came to a desert of sand that is making encroach. siderable number of houses in the suburbs, that, ments upon the cultivation, and threatens in time appearing by themselves, each with its little gar- to overwhelm the city. On our left the ground den, present an idea of comfort and security that gradually declines for some distance, and on the is most rare in these unsettled lands. The prin- opposite side of the valley rises the first range of cipal occupation of the people appears to be the Lebanon. In the low ground olive trees are nuproduction of silk, as the whole country is covered merous, and on the mountain's side are two small with mulberry trees. The branches are cut down villages. The hills then approach nearer the sea, every year, leaving only the stem of the tree, and and are principally composed of bare rock, with the earth between them is dug in furrows, that patches of earth at intervals. We forded the the rain may be carried more equally to the roots. Radhir, or "the treacherous," the bridge over The mountains of Lebanon are seen towards the which is broken down. There are stones near north, rising from the coast with great majesty, the road, that in many places bear evidence of in bold and extended masses. Their summits arrangement, as if there had at some period been were then covered with snow, a sight that afford- a paved way along the shore. After six hours is ed me the greater pleasure, as I had not for nine the village of Naba Yoonas, said to be the place years seen this grand spectacle of nature. It was where Jonah was thrown up by the fish. At a by the narrow pass between these mountains and little less than an hour from Sidon, we crossed the the sea that the first army of the crusaders enter-Owlah, over which there is a bridge and a khan ed the Holy Land, under Godfrey of Bouillon.-near it; the water turns a mill. From this place They afterwards proceeded along the same route to the town the country is occupied by mulberry to Jerusalem that was pursued by myself and my companions.

The mission established here has recently received a valuable reinforcement from America.The missionaries were for a time obliged to flee from the country, owing to its dangerous and unsettled state during the war with Egypt; they have now returned, with additional facilities for the promotion of the great cause. They are at

trees. The season was much later here than at Beirout, as the soil is of a colder description.— The gates of all the towns in these countries are shut immediately after sunset, and I have seldom watched its decline with greater anxiety than I did this day. We were just in time to secure an entrance, and had we been about a minute later, should have had to remain all night outside the walls.

SIDON.

THIS city, now called Saide, is supposed to have been founded soon after the flood, by Sidon, the son of Canaan. So early as the time of Joshua it is called "great Zidon." It flourished during many ages, and became one of the most extensive cities of ancient times. Its inhabitants are said to have been the inventors of crystal glass. "None were skilled to hew timber like the Sidonians," and they assisted Solomon in his preparations for the building of the temple. It is several times mentioned by Homer. The goddess of the Sidonians was Ashtoreth.

There is some approach towards magnificence in the distant view of the present city. It has a castle upon a rock in the sea, connected with the main land by a bridge of several arches. There is another castle upon an eminence that commands the town. The harbor is now of little use, and had in it only one vessel. The streets are many of them more like courts, as the houses are built over them after the first story, and the wonder is, not that the plague sometimes effects an entrance, but that it is ever kept out. There is an aqueduct of ancient construction from the river, in most places covered; and near the town the water rises into pillars, from whence it is conveyed to the different streets. The house we occupied has a cistern in the centre of the interior court, into which a small stream is constantly running.There are also several public cisterns in the streets. Near the gate by which we entered, outside the city, we observed a pavement of rude mosaic, perhaps of some house or court; and columns and other remains of ancient buildings are common. The coasts of Tyre and Sidon, though they formed part of the inheritance of Ashur, never appear to have been peopled or governed by the Israelites. In the reign of Solomon, the most powerful of the monarchs of his race, Hiram, king of Tyre, was an independent prince. Our Lord visited these coasts, and here it was that he healed the daughter of the woman of Canaan; but we do not find that he ever entered into either of the cities. Sidon was visited by St. Paul, in one of his journeys towards Jerusalem.

bered that I had been absent from Europe some years. They had on the forehead an ornament made of coins, something resembling the clasps by which the helmets of the military are fastened. The hair of some of the females is of a golden color, and appears as if it was dyed. There is a great profusion of compliments among the people, passed with a gravity that to a stranger is quite amusing. The servant, when he presented the coffee and sherbet, repeated a form, and there was an appropriate reply, and when we drank we had to look at our host and nod, and stroke our breasts, and give thanks. We visited the grave of Wirtibet, an Armenian, one of the converts of the American mission, who died of cholera in September, 1832, a man of great zeal, fervent piety, considerable talent, and valiant for the truth. The old priest we saw in the morning came to our house, and had some further conversation. He acknowledged that the priests of the country are like, the Pharisees: they neither enter in themselves, nor allow others. We had a visit from another priest, a Maronite, who complained that we have no peculiar dress: he said that he did not kiss my hand when he entered, as is the custom, because he could not know that I was a minister. Several persons meet together in the evenings, to read the Scriptures, and the remarks they make give evidence that their eyes are opening to receive the light of heaven. The tracts that were distributed during our stay were received with great thankfulness. There were some Russians here, with a bishop, dissenters from the established church, who live by the labor, of their own hands, but lay too much stress upon tradition. The eccentric lady Hester Stanhope resides in this neighborhood.

TYRE.

THE road from Sidon to Tyre passes through a rich valley, in many places more than a mile wide, which requires only a little industry to render it extremely fertile and the glimpses with which we were favored into the interior, through the breaks in the chain of mountains, convinced us We remained here one day, as it was the Sab- that this valley is not alone in its fertility. Not bath. The place is said to contain 2000 Mahome- far from Sidon we saw a prostrate column, with a dans, as many Christians, and 200 Jews. The Latin inscription: my eye caught the names of Christians are nearly all of the Greek Catholic Septimus and Verus, as we passed, but I had not church. We visited some families upon the hills time to copy it. There are many towers along at a little distance from the town. Mr. N. had the coast, said to have been erected by the emcommenced the building of a house in this direc-press Helena, from Jerusalem to Constantinople, tion, but was ordered to desist by the emir of the mountains, at the instigation of the priests, until permission was obtained from the pacha of Egypt, before whom the case was then pending. The site commands a view of the town, sea, and the valley on each side. Mr. N. had a long argument with an Armenian, in whose heart, we trust, is the beginning of good things. An old priest was present. The houses we entered were clean, with mats upon the floor, and of one story. The roof is hung with dried fruits and herbs, and in one room I observed a clock, a common mirror, and the shelves were ornamented with bottles, glasses, and coarse earthenware. The children appeared to be remarkably pretty, but it must be remem

that the finding of the true cross might be communicated by telegraph, with the least possible delay. We passed over a bridge, the arch of which is composed of only one layer of stones. The site of SAREPTA is near, where Elijah dwelt with the widow woman, blessing her barrel of meal that it did not waste, and her cruse of oil that it did not fail, until the Lord restored plenty to the land. It was the son of the same woman who was raised from the dead by the instrumentality of the prophet. We examined a number of cavities in the sides of the hills, cut out of the rock with much care: they have each two or three little cells, scarcely so long as a man's body, with an arch rising about three feet. We could not find any