160 SYRIA.

skeletons of hearses were still scattered by the road side. This pass is also a favorite haunt of robbers; par­ticularly at a spot where a bridge crosses a dry chan­nel which winds through the bottom of the valley--Siste viator. This channel, now dry, but covered by a considerable stream in winter, is that from which David selected pebbles for his sling when going to meet Goliah; I believe however, this event occurred some distance further down. We passed this bridge on our return an hour before daylight; and, as we approached, an officer of the Pasha's household who accompanied us, made the party halt and form into compact order; and then had the bridge reconnoitred before he allowed us to proceed. There was no one there, but further on, at the battle ground, a strange horseman rode up and passed us several times, as if scrutinizing our company, and others were seen on the other side of the glen; but apparently they did not like our equipment, as they gave us no further trouble.

Having crossed this bridge, we were now in con­stant expectation of getting sight of Jerusalem; and as we approached the summit of a long hill, our caterer, Lieutenant S--, made the officers in the van fall back, so that Mrs. Patterson might be the first to advance and catch a view of the sacred city. But we were to be disappointed; it was not in sight, and these disappointments occurred so often, that at length we grew less earnest in our look out ahead. Evening was fast approaching, and just as distant

FIRST VIEW OF JERUSALEM. 161

objects were beginning to grow indistinct, a sudden rise on the road brought to view some white buildings far off, and a little to our left. A sudden cry of  “Jerusalem" burst from the foremost, and all hurried forward to enjoy the welcome sight; again, however, we were mistaken. But, a few minutes after this,         while we were gazing at the objects just described, and debating whether they were the sacred city or not, a long white wall, with battlements and towers, pre­sented itself suddenly right before us; and then arose a general cry of joyful surprise--for this we knew

to be Jerusalem. I believe there was not one of us who was not affected with powerful emotions; and among these feelings was generally a sensation of pleasing surprise at the imposing appearance of the city; for whether it was owing to its contrast to the small group of houses we had been looking at, or to the manner in which it bursts upon us in a dreary desert, or whether there was sufficient cause for this in the city itself, I cannot say; but the first impres­sion was certainly a very favorable one.

The city, as viewed from the west, presents a stretch of wall about two thirds of a mile in length, battlemented and strengthened with numerous towers, and, at the Jaffa gate, which is midway along, fortified with heavy castles. South of this gate, the walls stand on the edge of a ravine or valley sixty feet in depth and two hundred feet wide, and at this part, particu­larly, the effect is very bold and striking. As we

162 SYRIA.

approached, battlement and turret were here thrown out into strong relief against the clear evening sky.

This was our first view and first impression of Je­rusalem. To myself, however, little time was given for observation. The Commodore called for me; and telling me that as this was a city in the line of my profession, they must look to me to provide quarters for the company--said he wished me to ride forward rapidly, and see where we could find accommodations. So I changed my humble donkey for a spirited steed, and taking for interpreter a young Arab officer who had accompanied us from Jaffa, set forward at a pace that made us look more like crusading knights at a tilt than peaceable pil­grims. The gates, which are usually closed at sun­set, we found were kept open in expectation of the arrival of our party, and a large number of citizens were standing in groups without. On our drawing up and inquiring the way to the house of Mr. Nicho­layson, the missionary from England, he himself stept (sic) forward and gave us a hearty welcome. His house he immediately placed at our disposal, but on his in­quiring how many there might be in the party, and receiving my answer, "I think about seventy," he stood aghast. A company of seven or a dozen, the number as he had supposed our company, he could readily accommodate, and his house was cordially at our service for as many as it would hold; but where to find accommodations for seventy he could not tell, some of the monasteries, the usual resort

DIFFICULTY IN PROCURING QUARTERS. 163

of pilgrims, being now, he said, in quarantine on ac­count of the plague. We turned into the city, how­ever, to make an effort; and crossing an irregular open area, and then winding down some dark nar­row streets, stopped at length at a low gate in the face of a high massy wall. It admitted us into the chief Latin convent; but the Prior, on our being presented, said that nearly all the building was in quarantine, some of the monks having recently died of the plague, and that an adjacent establishment be­longing to his order was in a similar situation. Foiled here, we proceeded on a little further, and on applying, though with reluctance, at the Greek con­vent, were successful; their large building, forming a hollow square with a court in the centre, being given up to us. We returned forthwith, and found that our company had already entered the city, and in attempting to follow us, had got jammed up in one of the narrow streets, where a scene of vexatious and yet amusing confusion was just commencing; the baggage mules with their broad panniers and pro­jecting loads sticking fast between the opposite houses, and, in their efforts to extricate themselves, taking little note of rank or office; while torches glancing here and there upon pistol and cutlass, and the dusty, and jaded, and sometimes disconsolate looking features of our companions, mixed up with the wild and curious gaze of the natives, assisted in making up a singular scene.  They had just learned the result of our application at the Latin convent;

164 SYRIA.

and to a wearied man, the idea of passing the night in such rough and odoriferous streets as these, could not be a pleasing one. They were highly gratified to find that we had at length been able to procure quarters. The Commodore and his family were in­vited to the house of Mr. Nicholayson, where, among the kind and agreeable members of his family, they soon found themselves in a pleasant home; while the rest of us, passing through the low strong portal of the convent, and emerging by and by from the dark narrow passage, into the enclosed court, turned to see what species of accommodation we were to have. The prospect seemed melancholy enough. Around the court was a range of buildings, three fourths of which were given up to us, the remaining fourth being occupied by the Prior's rooms and offices of the church, and by the church itself. The lower part of our portion of the edifice was occupied as stables, kitchen, granary, &c.; and gave also ac­commodation to some of our party. Ascending from this by a large stairway, we entered on a platform passing around three sides of the court, with a para­pet along its interior edge, while on its opposite border was a range of cells, which we found on in­quiry were to be our dormitories. Tired as we were, we recoiled from the sight of them. They were usually about eight or nine feet square, and so low that a person could scarcely stand upright in them; a broken door, a hole for a window, a stone or mortar floor, and a thin reed mat, and dust in the

OUR LODGINGS IN JERUSALEM. 165

greatest abundance--this was the sight that presented itself as we came to examine our domicils. Some joked, some took it all in quiet, and some said "it was really too bad." But uncomfortable as these abodes appeared to us, other creatures did not seem to think them so, for they were really well tenanted; and when our lights were extinguished, and we had wrapped ourselves each in his blanket, and had stretched ourselves on the stone floor, we soon dis­covered how far from solitary was the life of our friends the monks. Our chambers were alive with lillipu­tians, which immediately commenced an attack on us. As D., and S., and myself, were lying in our little room, we first heard some notes of distress on the outside, and occasionally an exclamation of  “Hollo, are you out here too?" and then there was a general cry—“I can't bear this any longer;" and we rushed out to the platform to which we found every cell ejecting its inmates. We did not get asleep until nature, towards morning, was absolutely worn out, when the fleas, having worried us into utter ex­haustion, were allowed to gorge themselves at their leisure. The reader may perhaps think that I might have spared him this scene, which is not a pleasant one, and must jar on the feelings of one who would come with other sensations, and be occupied with other thoughts, in this city of solemn and touching associations; but my impression is, that he would like to see the modern city as it is, and I wish also, as far as possible, to make him also a traveller, and

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carry him along with us; this is no exaggerated pic­ture of our first night, and may be taken as a sample of the rest. Jerusalem, however, is not alone in this; but the whole of this region, from the cataracts of the Nile to Constantinople, is teeming with fleas. We thought, however, that this city was peculiarly infested with them, and were informed that in the most cleanly houses, no care could keep any part of the building free from them.

The night passed away at length, and ushered in a brilliant dawn, such as is not often seen except in these eastern countries, where the thin and scanty exhalations are just sufficient, without obscuring any portions of the landscape, to tinge all with roseate and purple hues.           

167

CHAPTER XIII.

Morning view of the city. Glance at the localities. Question with regard to the place of the Crucifixion. Its practical nature. Scene usually sketched in the mind. The event probably more humiliating in its attendant circumstances. Traditions forced upon the visitor to Jerusalem. Their effect on the mind. Danger of such visits to those who will not separate truth from error. "El Devoto Peregrino." Dr. Clarke.

I AROSE early on the morning of the 16th ; the sun was shining bright, and the atmosphere had a freshness and a balminess quite exhilarating. Having made a hasty toilet, I placed a ladder against our range of cells, and climbing to the flat roof, by which they were covered, gazed around; and now, for the first time, felt that I was really in Jerusalem.

Immediately east of the city, and separated from it by a narrow valley or ravine, was a mountain large enough to command our respect by its vastness, and yet not too large for gracefulness and beauty. I knew it at once to be the Mount of Olives. It has three summits, one in the centre and one at each extremity; they are of nearly equal height, and when viewed from the city present for their outline a gentle and beautiful curve. A large part of it is covered with olive trees, particularly the central and northern summits and declivities; and they still form so striking a feature, that if the mountain were now

168 SYRIA.

to be named, we should be apt to call it the Mount of Olives.

Nearer to me, and just within the city walls, on the east, was a large open place, and from the centre of this rose an octangular edifice of considerable beauty; I had seen pictures of it, and recognized it as the mosque of Omar, standing on the supposed site of the Temple of Solomon. There at least was undoubtedly Mount Moriah, and my own eyes were gazing upon it.

I turned from it soon, however, to look for a spot of still more absorbing interest. Where was Mount Calvary? Not far from me rose two domes, one somewhat peaked, the other one more obtuse, but very large.            In all directions, however, were domes of various sizes, and the mind was puzzled, though still arrested by the position as well as the magni­tude of these two. A couple of old and venerable looking monks were hanging over the parapet of a neighboring convent watching my motions, and turning to inquire of them, I found my surmise had been correct. This was the church of Mount Cal­vary and of the Holy Sepulchre.--"Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."--"At least," a voice seemed to say to me, “walk here with seriousness and humility; bow thy head, and cleanse thy heart, and tread with meekness the ground trod by Him who was here humbled for thee, and here bore thy sins upon the cross." It was the Sabbath also--this first day of

FIRST MORNING AT JERUSALEM. 169

our visit; and the quiet and healthful influence of that holy season was added to the power which Jerusalem would at any time have exercised upon the heart.

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Imagi­nation in its highest flights has not pictured a scene that will compare in interest, or in deep and search­ing pathos, with the reality here displayed in the re­demption of man. It partakes of the character of all the works of God, combining a simplicity that opens it to the comprehension of all men, with a grandeur and sublimity that must excite the admira­tion of the highest seraphim. I have seen it where I have seen man's proud philosophy quail and shrink into nothingness--in the sick room and by the dying beds I have seen it come gently and quietly, and open the feeble lips in praise, and in utterance of joyful and triumphant hope. I have seen it sustain and cheer those whom the world, and the world's enjoyments and earthly hopes too, had all deserted, and who would otherwise have been left in madden­ing solitude and wretchedness; I have seen it sus­tain them; and while the body was tortured with pains, I have seen it raise the mind superior to bodily feeling, and while the cold sweat was breaking out­ upon the brow, keep that brow calm and serene. The tortured child of clay thought of his Saviour's humiliation and pains, and of the glory wrought out for him; and, in the boundless love that led to the sufferings of Calvary, found assurance that God was

170 SYRIA.

even now a friend closer than a brother, and would not desert him to the last. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ crucified, for it is the power of Cod unto salvation to every one that believeth;"--­and the highest honor of my life was on that day, when I was permitted to walk amid scenes dignified and exalted by the great events of our redemption.

It was, indeed, a day of concentrated interest and gratification, such as I had never experienced before, and do not expect ever to feel again. After break-­fast our large company broke up into smaller parties, and proceeded to visit the various localities. In com­pany with Lieutenant F. I walked over to Mr. Nicholayson's, and, under the guidance of that gen­tleman, we went, with the Commodore and family, first to the church of Mount Calvary and of the Holy Sepulchre.

But is this church really on the site of the cruci­fixion, and of the sepulture of our Saviour? This is a question which it may be well to settle before proceeding further, so that we may know with what feelings to approach spots of such sacred and inter­esting titles. It is a subject on which my own mind is satisfied almost beyond a doubt, and if the reader will for a short time give me patient attention, in a somewhat dry and difficult examination of facts, I think he may find himself rewarded for his labor. It is true that the question with regard to the exact locality of these events is of little consequence, com­pared with the great subject of the redemption itself,

QUERIES RESPECTING MOUNT CALVARY. 171

and the query whether we have, by a living faith, made that salvation ours;, but still it is one not with­out its practical consequences. The mind often tries to picture the scene of the Saviour's sufferings, the uplifted bloody cross, the hours of agony, the tumul­tuous crowds of scoffers below; and our feelings are touched, and the heart is benefitted, by contemplating the price that was paid for our salvation, the obli­gations under which we are placed by it, and the assurance it gives us of the surpassing love of Him who spared not his own Son, but gave him freely for us; the whole scene is often one of pious thought and of pulpit description, and has frequently enlisted the skill of painters, and is a matter of practical in­terest. My impression is, that the scene we sketch is very seldom correct, and that the event itself had a depth of humiliation that our thoughts do not reach; and in this I do not have reference to the condescension of the sufferer, but to circumstances connected with the locality of the suffering. Our thoughts, when they turn to this subject, I believe place before us an eminence of considerable elevation, sloping gradually upward, and crowned at the summit by the crosses of our Saviour and the male­factors, while the slopes are all crowded with the excited spectators. This, I believe, is the picture that is generally presented to our mind; and there is in it a degree of physical dignity, that the event itself, I am inclined to think, did not possess. On the other hand, if my apprehensions are correct, the

172 SYRIA.

crucifixion was attended with every physical circum­stance that could make it humbling as well as pain­ful; instead of being on the summit of a lofty emi­nence, it was on a rocky knoll at the bottom of a natural theatre of hills; on one side, at the distance of five hundred feet, was the city wall; on another, the low and wretched suburb of a suburb; it was in an open place, with dusty roads to various parts of the city passing near it; a thoroughfare, in short, where the spectacle of dust and confusion was broken only by a few gardens, the remains of a larger range of such enclosures, now nearly destroyed by the en­croaching suburb.

Such is the scene which the result of my investi­gations, commenced there, and followed up since my return, places before me. I examined the ground in and about the city as carefully as my time would allow, and with the aid of Josephus, have constructed a map, which is here offered to the examination of the reader. In my younger days, I used to take great interest in maps of Jerusalem, till, finding that each differed from every other one, and that they were filled with the localities of public buildings, some of them evidently placed at random, I lost in a measure my confidence in all the plans, and as they furnished me with no means of judging for myself, I gave them up in despair; and this is probably the case with many other persons.

In this map I have laid down nothing for which we have not authority, and I have in every part

AUTHORITY OF JOSEPHUS. 173

quoted the authorities; so that, if the reader chooses, he can examine and form an opinion for himself. He will find that I have been guided chiefly by Josephus, whose descriptions of the ancient city are, undoubtedly, by far the most correct as well as the most minute that we possess.* If I have not rightly understood them, it has not been from the want of study. I have read him carefully, and compared one part with another, and have seized on every allusion to localities, and have again and again studied and compared, and did not stop till I had a map that would correspond to all such descriptions and allu­sions. He is, I think, deserving of our confidence; for he spent much time in and about the ancient city his duties as an officer in Titus' army led him to examine, and as far as possible to get the admeasure­ments of its walls and towers; he must at this time have been preparing for his work on the Jewish nation, and probably made his records on the ground; and with a little allowance for the pride and prejudices of a Jew, as regards his country, seems to be a fair and candid narrator of events, a large part of which fell under his own observation. In some places he is obscure, and at times appears to contradict himself; but a little study will enable us to understand and

*I have been surprised as well as pleased to see the large number of copies of Josephus that are sold in this city [New-York.] I have attended the book auctions here quite frequently; and have observed that there is no book of its size that meets with such a ready sale, or brings so good a price. The work merits all this--Josephus has not received the praise from literary men that he deserves.

(174 map drawing)

PLAN OF JERUSALEM. 175

reconcile most of these passages; in many parts, par­ticularly in scenes of pathos, there is a simplicity and yet a force, in his descriptions, that are really admi­rable.

In the map* just spoken of, I have sketched also the line of the present city walls, as I found it could be done without producing confusion, and I thought the reader would like to be able to see how much of the ground of the ancient city is occupied by the modern Jerusalem.

*PLAN OF THE ANCIENT AND MODERN CITY OF JERUSALEM.

The castellated lines represent the walls as they existed at the time of the crucifixion.

The zigzag lines mark the supposed course of Agrippa's wall, erected a few years after that event.

The dotted lines represent the walls of the present city of Jeru­salem.

The square figure represents the court of the ancient temple, with the temple in the centre.

REFERENCES.

ANCIENT CITY.                                                                    MODERN CITY.

I. Castle of Hippicus.                                                                a. Jaffa Gate.

2. Gate Gennath, or Gate of the Gardens                                   b. Zion Gate.                                       

3. Tomb of the High Priest John.                                               c. St. Stephen’s Gate

4. Bridge connecting the Temple with the upper city.      d. Damascus Gate

5. Supposed site of the Xistus.                                      e. Reputed Pool of Bethesda.   

6. Castle of Antonia.                                                                 f. Pool of Siloam.

                                                                                                g. Fountain of the Virgin.,

                                                                                                h. Garden of Gethsemane.

i. Monuments of Absalom and Zachariah.

k. Village of Siloa.

l.. Supposed Mount of Corrup­tion.

m. Road to Jaffa.

n. Road to Bethlehem.

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The traveller to the present city, at least the Pro­testant traveller, is excessively annoyed at every step with traditions in which he cannot believe, and with having localities pointed out in which he can place no confidence whatever; and the effect is bad in a great many ways. It not only disturbs sadly the feelings with which he would wish to walk over the grounds of Jerusalem, but, sickened and disgust­ed, he is apt to run into the opposite extreme of in­credulity, and reject even where there is proper grounds for belief. I have now before me large ex­tracts which I made from a book called El Devoto Peregrino, or "The Devout Pilgrim," published at Madrid in 1654, by P. F. Antonio of Castile, Commis­sary General of Jerusalem for Spain, and Guardian of Bethlehem,* in the last of which places he had spent a number of years. It offers a good specimen of the accounts of places that are thrust on the visitor to Jerusalem, and as it is a book of high authority, I will by and by give some of the extracts at length. In this work he points out edifices, at present stand­ing, and which it must be evident are comparatively modern structures, as the houses of Pilate, of Simon the Pharisee, where Mary Magdalen washed our Sa­viour's feet with her tears, of St. Ann, of the Rich Man, &c. &c.; and this in the face of authentic

­

* “El Devoto Peregrino, viage de tierra Santa, compuesto por el P. F. Antonio de Castillo, Predicador Apostolico Padre dela Provin­cia de S. Juan Baptiste y Comisario General de Jerusalem en los Reynos de Espana Guardian de Belem."

EFFECT OF THEIR TRADITIONS. 177

history, which informs us that the city, when taken by Titus, was, with the exception of a few towers, level­led with the ground, and that a ploughshare was made to pass over it. There is scarcely an event of any description, mentioned in the New Testament as occurring in or about Jerusalem, of which they do not designate the exact locality; and to all this they have added traditions so absurd as to be beyond all belief, to say nothing of their childishness.            All this is repeated to the visitor to Jerusalem, and pro­duce a revulsion of feeling not only disagreeable but dangerous; and men whose faith is not previously settled, or who do not like the trouble of sifting the truth from error, I believe would be apt to be injured by such a visit. And it appears to me that most Protestant visitors, and our missionaries also, have been betrayed by these feelings into an excess of scepticism, which has led them to reject some things against sound and proper evidence. We must not reject all because some is false, any more than we would reject all species of coin because some is spu­rious; a wise man will be led by the fact that there is spurious money, to believe that there is good money some where; and therefore, these tales, instead of provoking utter scepticism, while they make us cautious, should at the same time lead us to suppose that there is ground for belief.

Dr. Clark is the boldest of these modern sceptics; for while others simply doubt, he goes further, and with a feeling bordering certainly on rashness,

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attempts at once to designate other sites for these dis­tinguished events. His boldness is not more surpris­ing than is the small amount of evidence he produces for his localities; and I believe he has had scarcely a single follower, among either readers at home, or travellers to these interesting spots. As he stands quite alone, the subject of wonder rather than of credence, we will not stop to examine his theories; but proceed to notice the old belief, and the doubts of more cautious and moderate men.

179

CHAPTER XIV.

Localities in Jerusalem that are certain. Valley of Kedron. Mount Moriah.

Valley of the Cheesemongers. Mount Zion, its ancient limits. Present remains of its northern boundary. Line of the "Old wall." Acra. Gate of the Gardens. Limits of the city at the time of the crucifixion, Bezetha and the wall of Agrippa. Monu­ment of John. Whither our judgment, unassisted by tradition, leads us as regards the place of the crucifixion. Rocky Knoll. Not called Mount Calvary in the Scriptures. Tradition. Conclusion to which all this leads us. Circumstances and scene of the crucifix­ion. The question with regard to the spot of our Saviour's burial

THERE are a few places in and about Jerusalem, in respect to which there can be no possible mistake. These are, the Mount of Olives; the Valley of Kedron, sometimes called the valley of Jehoshaphat; the brook Kedron; the Valley of Hinnom; Mount Moriah; Mount Zion; and the hill called Bezetha. The Mount of Olives speaks at once for itself, and has never been doubted by any one: it descends by a rapid slope down to the brook Kedron, in summer a dry water-course about nine feet wide, and in the wet season an irregular torrent: with regard to this brook, also, no one has ever had any doubt. This valley of Kedron formed the eastern boundary of the an­cient,* as it does now also of the modern city. Im­mediately after crossing the brook Kedron towards

*Josephus, Bell, Jud. lib. v. cap. 4. § 5. Also, Antiq. lib. xiv. cap. 4. § 1.

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the west, the ground at present commences ascend­ing so rapidly, as to require a zigzag path: at the height of about eighty feet we come to the wall, and to the general level of the present city. This slope is made up of debris, or loose stuff, composed of earth mixed with pottery, fragments of bricks, &c.; and it seems probable that the ancient wall of Be­zetha, standing on the line of the present rampart, had without it a much more precipitous descent.

Mount Moriah is at present a piece of level ground, of the same elevation as those portions of the city immediately adjoining it on the north and west, and is not in any way to be distinguished from them. It is occupied by an open court, about 1500 feet long and 1000 feet in width, surrounded by a wall and planted with trees. In the centre is a large ob­long platform, paved, I believe, with marble, and reached by two or three steps running all around; on this platform stands the mosque of Omar, which is said by the Turks to occupy the exact site of the Temple of Solomon, and is considered by them to be next in sanctity to the venerated Caaba, or holy house at Mecca. So sacred is this place in their eyes, that no Christian is allowed to place his foot within even the large enclosure. There is thus no mountain at present here, and if any one should question whether this was the situation of Mount Moriah, I answer that it is the only place where we can look for it. Mount Moriah was on the eastern side of the city, and adjoining the valley of

POSITION OF MOUNT MORIAH. 181

Kedron;* the valley of the Cheesemongers, which still remains, formed its boundary on the south;†  and as the court of the temple, occupying the whole en­larged mountain, was 729 feet ‡ on each side, we thus get both the northern and the western boundaries, and thus have the exact position and limits of Mount Moriah. It is probable that the Turks are quite cor­rect in saying that their mosque occupies the site of the ancient temple, except that the latter was at a much greater elevation; Mount Moriah having, by artificial means, been raised to a height of about 700 feet. This mountain was at first a rocky precipice, irregular both in shape and surface; it was inclosed by Solomon with a square wall of the dimensions just described, beginning at the bottom of the valleys that bounded it on three sides, and rising on the east and south to the stupendous elevation of 729§ feet; on the west, from the nature of the ground be­low, its elevation was nearly 200 feet less; the in­terval within this was filled with earth, or formed into extensive suites of vaults; and the surface being brought nearly to a level, formed an area for the temple and its various courts.║ At the north-western¶ angle of the temple was a tower or castle, commenced

* Josephus, passim.

† Jos. Antiq. lib, xv. cap. xi. § 5.

‡ Do. § 3.

§ These dimensions seem incredible; but this is a subject that will be noticed by and by.

║ Jos. Antiq. lib. viii. cap. 3. § 9. lib. xv. cap. xi. § 3.

¶  Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. 5. § 8.

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by the kings of the Asmonean race, but enlarged and strengthened by Herod, who gave it the name of Antonia, in honor of Mark Antony, his friend and patron. It was built on a lofty precipice 1450 feet­ in circuit, and consisted of a heavy castle in the centre, with a tower at each angle, that on the south­east being of sufficient height to overlook the courts of the. temple.*

The opening or outlet of the valley of Tyropoeon, or the Cheesemongers, still remains, and is very dis­tinct. The ground begins to decline into it as soon as we leave the court of the mosque of Omar, ad­vancing southward; and at the distance of about 400 feet we come to its lowest part, and the spot where it is lost in the valley of Kedron. This open­ing is opposite a mountain, called now the Mount of Offence, but styled by Josephus “that other hill," and described by him as just south of the Mount of Olives. A short distance up this valley we come to an oblong pool sunk partly in the ground, and wall­ed on three sides, the fourth being broken down; it is called the Pool of Siloam, and very probably oc­cupies the site of the ancient pool of that name noticed in the Scriptures. A few hundred feet above­ this pool the valley enters the modern city, and I believe cannot be traced any further. There can be no doubt that it is the ancient Tyropoeon, and we

* Antiq. lib xv. cap. xi. § 4.

BOUNDARIES OF MOUNT ZION. 183

thus get a portion of the northern boundary of Mount Zion.*

Mount Zion had on the east the valley of Kedron, and on the south and west the valley of Hinnom,† or Gehenna, and these boundaries are now just as de­scribed by Josephus, except that the sides of the val­leys towards the city are now rendered sloping by the vast quantities of debris or loose stuff from the ancient city, instead of being perpendicular as they were in ancient times. That of Hinnom, on its southern and western sides, still presents that appear­ance, a bold perpendicular precipice, which it would be impossible to scale. This valley is described by Strabo (lib. xvi.) as having a depth of 60 feet and a width of 250, which are pretty nearly its present di­mensions. The wall of the ancient city was built on the edge of the precipice, and, according to Tacitus, was, in the parts thus guarded by nature, 60 feet in height; on the northern side of Jerusalem, where the ground offered fewer advantages, it had the prodigious elevation of 120 feet.‡  It was built in a crooked or zigzag line, “so that they might flank the besiegers and cast darts on them sideways."§

We have thus far had what sailors call plain sail­ing, for no one can easily be at a loss as regards the eastern, southern, and a portion of the western boun

­

* Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § 1.

† Ibid.

‡ Tacitus Hist. Lib, v. cap. xi,

§ Ib.

184 SYRIA.

daries of the ancient Jerusalem. The northern limits offer a subject of greater difficulty, and it is one also of greater importance, for on this depends the question whether the spot pointed out as Mount Calvary be really the place of the crucifixion or not. The objectors, including almost all Protestant visit­ors, say it is not and cannot be, since this spot was evidently within the ancient city; and both from the Scriptures, and from the well-known custom of the Jews on such occasions, we know that this event occurred without the walls. This subject we will now examine.

The valley of Cheesemongers, commencing, as we have seen, just south of the temple, took a course to the north-westward, and formed the boundary of Mount Zion on the north, separating this hill from another on the eastward, called Acra,* probably from the Greek word "iD@H, high. Acra was originally a flat† on the summit, except at one part, where it rose

* Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § 1.

† Josephus informs us, that the Jews under Simon, "all set them­selves to work and levelled this mountain; and in that work spent both day and night, without any intermission, which cost them three whole years before it was removed and brought to an entire level with the plain of the rest of the city; after which the temple was the highest of all the buildings. Now the citadel, as well as the mountain on which it stood, was demolished." Antiq. lib. xiii. cap. vi. § 7.

By the words, "to an entire level with the plain of the rest of the city," he cannot mean to a level with the plain of Zion; for in ano­ther place (de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § l.) he says that the upper city, or Zion, was much higher than this; we must understand him to say, that the peak was reduced to the general level of the rest of Acra.

THE TYROPEON. 185

to a peak of sufficient height to overlook the temple. On this Antiochus Epiphanes (B. C. 168.) erected a citadel, strengthened with high walls and towers, which proved such a serious annoyance to the citi­zens, that, under the rule of Simon Maccabeus, (B. C. 143.) not only was the citadel demolished, but, to prevent its being rebuilt, the hill or peak itself was cut down to the level of the adjoining ground. In this way the whole of Acra got to be comparatively low ground,* and, to facilitate intercourse between the Temple and the “Upper City," or Mount Zion, a bridge† was carried from a gate near the S. W. corner of the Temple quite across to the neighbor­hood of the palace of David.

Of the valley of the Cheesemongers after it enters the modern city, there are at present no traces, it having doubtless been filled up at the time when Jerusalem was levelled with the ground by order of Titus; but as Mount Zion was much higher than Acra, we may expect to find some remains of the steep ascent by which they passed from this valley up to Zion, or, as it was called by them, “The Upper City." And of this there are considerable remains. Mr. Nicho­layson's house stands about three hundred feet a little east of south from the Jaffa gate, which is designated on this map by the figure 1, at the place where the roads from Bethlehem and Jaffa meet. Sixty feet eastward from his house is a slope about twenty-

­

* Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § 1.

† Ibid.              lib. vi. cap. vi. § 2, and cap. vii. § 2.

186 SYRIA.

five feet high, and so steep as to make it difficult even for donkeys to ascend. Standing on its edge, we are still able to overlook a large part of the city to the east of it. This slope continues thence to the south­eastward, keeping parallel to some extensive ruins now to be seen there, the remains of a hospital be­longing to the time of the Crusades; the slope being separated from them by a narrow bazaar. This slope is undoubtedly the north-eastern edge of Mount Zion, and I have so expressed it in the map which we are endeavoring to form. I have not been able to trace it further than to the end of this bazaar; but as it passes in the direction of Siloam, or the opening of the valley of Cheesemongers, I have marked it in the map as continuing down to that place, as I have no doubt that it does. This gives us the northern boundary of Mount Zion exactly as described by Josephus, who says that "this city laid over against the temple in the manner of a thea­tre."* At the place where this slope approaches the nearest to the valley of Hinnom, or near Mr. Nicho­layson's, I have placed the tower of Hippicus, which stood at the northern angle of the city of Zion.†

The "old wall," as it is called by Josephus, first erected by David and Solomon, and strengthened by succeeding kings, commences at the tower of Hippicus,

* "For the city layover against the Temple in the manner of a the­atre, and was encompassed with a deep valley along the entire south quarter."     Antiq. lib. xv. cap. xi. § 5.

† Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § 2.

ANCIENT WALLS OF ZION. 187

and had its course on the west and south, directly along the edge of the valley of Hinnom. On reaching the valley of Kedron, it bent to the north­ward, and curving again to the east just below the pool of Siloam, joined the temple wall nearly at its south-eastern angle. On the northern side, starting again at the tower of Hippicus, it kept along the edge of the bank above the valley of Cheesemongers, until curving opposite the Xistus, it here crossed the valley, and passing by the Xistus and the council-­house, joined soon after the western wall of the temple, probably at the south-western angle.*

He does not tell us what is meant by “the Xistus," but it is probably from the Greek word P4FJ@H, "a division" or "separation;" and I sup­pose refers to the branching of the valley of the Cheesemongers, one part keeping along by Mount Zion, and the other just on the west of Mount Moriah; the latter branch, as I have already said, was filled up by the Maccabees. Just south of the temple, on the ground sloping down to the pool of Siloam, was a small section of the city called Ophlas.†

It is probable that a wall separated also Mount Zion from Ophlas; for we find, that when Titus had possession of Acra and the Temple, he had still to bring his engines against the northern wall of Zion;‡

* Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § 2.

† Ibid.  Also cap. vi. § 1.

‡ Ibid. lib. vi. cap. viii. § 1.

188 SYRIA.

which would not have been necessary if he could have passed at once through Ophlas into that city.

Mount Zion was called by David "The Citadel;" it afterwards frequently went by the name of  “The Upper City," in contradistinction to Acra, the latter being frequently styled "The Lower City."*

Acra, we are informed by Josephus, was "in the shape of a moon when she is horned;"† and though he gives no intimation to that effect, I suppose the horns must have been to the northward, for I do not see how it is possible that they could have been otherwise. On the west they certainly could not have been, nor on the south, nor on the east; and there remains only the position which I have given them. The northern wall of Acra, sometimes called "the second wall," commenced at the gate Gennath, (i. e. "gate of the gardens,") and then making a curve,‡ terminated at the castle of Antonia.§ I have placed the gate Gennath about five hundred feet from the tower Hippicus, and, have carried the wall, in the first place at right angles across the valley of the Cheesemongers, and then placing a tower at the angle, have there commenced the course over towards Antonia.   My reasons for this arrange-

­

* Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § 1. et passim.

†  Ibid.

‡  5L68@L:g<@< is the word used by Josephus; Whiston has trans­lated it "encompassed;" L'Estrange, I think, translates it "passes along;" it means simply making a curve, either inward or outward, and so I have used it.

§ Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § 2.

BOUNDARIES OF ACRA. 189

ment are as follows. When Titus had set down with his army before Jerusalem, and came to select a spot for his assaults, he determined to commence at the tomb of John the High Priest, because the outer wall (marked here by the zigzag lines) was weakest of that place; and here, too, he could pass at once to the "old" or "third wall," without the necessity of first taking the second;* which expec­tation “of an easy passage to the third wall" would not have been reasonable, had the gate Gennath and the branching of the northern wall of Acra been nearer to the tower of Hippicus than I have placed them. And when the Romans had taken this outer wall, and the Jews were driven to their next line of defences, they immediately commenced a line of fortification, which seems to have been from the second wall to the tower of Hippicus; for which reason, as well as because it is a more rational way of carrying a wall across a valley, I have made this angle in the outer wall of Acra.

These walls, namely, those of Mount Zion and Acra, are all that were standing in the time of our Saviour. The outer wall, marked here by the zig­zag lines, was erected by Agrippa, not till eight years or more after the crucifixion; a circumstance that seems to have escaped the attention of those who maintain that the spot now marked as Calvary was then within the city. At the time of our Saviour, a

*Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. vi. § 2.

190 SYRIA.

very large suburb extended northward from the temple and the tower of Antonia, occupying a hill called Bezetha, but it was not yet walled in. Speak­ing of this outer wall, Josephus says, “It was Agrip­pa (Agrippa ruled over Judea from A. D. 41 to 43.) who encompassed the parts added to the old city with this wall, which had been all naked before; for as the city grew more populous, it gradually crept beyond its old limits; and those parts of it that stood northward of the temple, and joined that hill to the city, made it considerably larger, and occasioned that hill, which is in number the fourth, and is called Bezetha, to be inhabited. It lies over against the tower Antonia, but is divided from it by a deep val­ley, which was dug on purpose. * * This new built part of the city was called Bezetha, in our language, which, if interpreted in the Grecian language, may be called The New City. Since, therefore, its in­habitants stood in need of a covering, the father of the present king, and of the same name with him, Agrippa, began that wall we spoke of; but he left off building it when he had only laid the founda­tions, out of the fear he was in of Claudius Caesar, lest he should suspect that so strong a wall was built in order to make some innovation in public affairs; for the city could no way have been taken if that wall had been finished in the manner it had been begun; as its parts were connected together by stones twenty cubits (thirty-six feet) long and ten cubits broad, which could never have been either

WALL OF AGRIPPA. 191

easily undermined by any iron tools, or shaken by any engines. The wall was, however, ten cubits wide, and it would probably have had a height greater than that, had not his zeal who began it been hin­dered from exerting itself. After this it was erected with great diligence by the Jews as high as twenty cubits, above which it had battlements of two cubits, and turrets of three cubits altitude; insomuch that the entire altitude extended as far as twenty-five cubits."* De Bel. lib. v. cap. 4. § 2.

The slope which I have noticed as near Mr. Nicholayson's house, and as showing, southward from that, the outline of Mount Zion, does not however terminate at the site of the tower Hippicus. It there bends to the eastward, and again, near the present Latin convent, turns to the northward, but is at that place reduced to an elevation of only five or six feet. For a reason to be seen in Josephus, de Bel. lib. v. c. 7. § 3, as well as on account of the ground, I have made Agrippa's wall, which started from the tower Hip

­

*In Antiq. lib. xix. cap. vii. § 2. is a short passage that seems to be opposed to this. It is probable that his predecessors contemplated such a wall, and made a commencement in one or two places; both Pompey (B. C. 63) and Herod (B. C. 37), when they came to attack Jerusalem, found this place quite naked, and made their assaults at once on the temple and the second wall at Acra. Tacitus, Hist. lib. v. cap. xii. has a passage bearing on this subject. "Moreover the covetous temper that prevailed under Claudius gave the Jews an opportunity of purchasing for money, leave to fortify Jerusalem; so they built walls in time of peace as if they were going to war, they being augmented in number by those rude multitudes of people that retired thither on the ruin of the other cities." Claudius reigned from A. D. 41 to 54.

192 SYRIA.

picus,* keep along the upper edge of this slope, and have placed the tomb of John at the angle; the reasons for which may be found also in the above reference. Thence the course of this wall is uncertain; we only know that it proceeded far to the northward, and en­closed the suburb of Bezetha; but, though the course which I have drawn corresponds, as far as I can judge, with the data given us in Josephus, those data are too few to furnish us with any thing positive. I think, however, the outline cannot be far from the truth.

But, as I have just remarked, this wall was not existing at the time of our Saviour's crucifixion. If I am correct in the conclusions which have just been laid before the reader, the castellated walls on the map, together with the temple, were the only portions then enclosed. This would make a small city; but the extensive suburbs around would make up for the deficiency of room. Vienna is an exam­ple in our own times, similar to this, where “the city" or fortified portion is of very limited extent compared with the vast stretch of suburb attached to it; these castellated parts of this map have, indeed, just about the extent of the Burg, or city proper of Vienna.

The suburb of Bezetha at that time, though stretching a considerable distance to the north, seems not to have extended much to the west of Antonia,

* Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. iv. § 2.

PLACE OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 193

for, in addition to the intimation to that effect in Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. 4. § 2, we are informed that the wall of Agrippa, when erected afterwards, was left weaker at its south-western extremity than in the other portions, "the builders neglecting to build the wall strong where the new city was not inhabited."* The dense portions of this appendage to Jerusalem were on the higher ground lying di­rectly northward from the temple, the ground over towards the spot which I have marked as Calvary having a few scattered dwellings, and those of the meanest order. The ground west of this suburb was probably taken up with great roads, and such thoroughfares as are usually to be seen in the neigh­borhood of a populous city.

And now, if we had no tradition whatever as re­gards the spot of our Saviour's suffering, and were left simply to the guidance of our own judgment, I think I should look for it somewhere in this angle between Hippicus and Bezetha. Public places are usually selected for such occurrences, and in this instance the enemies of the sufferer would be apt to seek for every circumstance that would add to his humilia­tion. We are told by the Scriptures (John xix. 20.) that the place was near the city; and as it is not pro­bable that they would select a spot on the other side of the valley of Hinnom or of Kedron, and the hill Bezetha was covered with houses, we have left only this angle immediately north of Acra; and in

* Jos. de Bel. lib. v. cap. 6. § 2.

194 SYRIA.

Matthew xxvii. 39, we are informed that "they that passed by reviled him," which seems to intimate that the cross was adjoining some public roads or thoroughfares.

Our search then is restricted to a narrow compass; and now, if upon this ground we should find a rocky knoll about twenty feet or more in height, it would appear to us that this would be, in all probability, the spot selected for such an occasion. It would elevate the sufferers to a height sufficient to expose them to the eyes of all the multitude, and would in all respects be adapted to a spectacle like this. Just such a rock is existing at this day, and is the one built into the present church of the Crucifixion. The place is in Scripture no where called Mount Calvary; but simply Calvary, or "Golgotha, that is, a place of a skull," and we have no reason given us there to look for a larger eminence. Indeed this seems just such an one as would be selected for such a purpose, and corresponds, both in elevation and ex­tent, to its ignominious title.

In these remarks it will be observed, I have been guided entirely by the judgment, and have endea­vored to see whither it would lead us, without any reference to traditions on this subject. As we have seen, it conducts us exactly to the spot that tradition has always pointed out as the place of the cruci­fixion. This tradition I will now proceed also to notice.

It is not probable that the early Christians would

EARLY TRADITIONS. 195

soon forget a spot of such tender and deep interest to them; for, as I observed at the beginning of this chapter, the subject is also one of some practical character. It was rather to be feared that they would attach to it a reverence that would degenerate into superstition, than that they would entirely forget it. If at our day the idea of the bare possibility of visit­ing Mount Calvary sends a thrill through the whole system, with what feelings must they have regarded the place when the memory of this event was fresh among the Christians, and when they were able to converse with those who had themselves witnessed the ignominious death of their Lord and Saviour. It does not appear to me at all probable that such a place would be forgotten; and we have a proof of the respect in which it was held, in the fact that Hadrian erected on the sepulchre a statue to Jupiter, and one to Venus on Mount Calvary. This could have been done only to mock their feelings and dis­tress them, by desecrating places held by them in high regard. The fact that he placed these statues on these spots, at all events shows that they were at this time (about one hundred years after the events themselves) considered as the places of the cruci­fixion and the sepulture of Christ.   Helena, the mother of Constantine, two hundred years subse­quently to this, erected on the spot a Christian church, which, with some changes not affecting the locality, has continued ever since. There is, there­fore, a chain of evidence with regard to these localities

195 SYRIA.

of a very satisfactory kind; and as the judgment finds no difficulty in the case, but, independently of tradition, is led to the same conclusion, my own con­victions are clearly and decidedly in their favor.

Let us then examine into the circumstances of this affecting event. The place of the crucifixion was about six hundred feet from the city wall, to which the ground from this place had a gentle descent; on the east were the low and straggling outskirts of the large suburb of Bezetha; on the west, the ground, at the distance of a few hundred feet, sloped upward rapidly for a short space, and then stretched off in a long ascending plain; on the northward it also as­cends gently for the distance of more than a mile. The rock of Golgotha or Calvary is now about six­teen feet in height, though as the ground around it has been elevated by the ruins of the old city, it was probably at that time a few feet higher. It was of sufficient altitude to bring the sufferer into distinct view before all the crowds that probably at this time covered the walls and houses and the upward slopes of the hills, and to make him visible to those “afar off."* A few gardens were near; but most of the space around this rocky knoll was open, and traversed by the dusty thoroughfares to the populous city.

It was now the Passover, and more than two mil­lions of people had come up to Jerusalem;† the city, the suburbs, were crowded, the country around was

* See Luke xxiii. 49.

† Jos. de Bel. lib. vi. cap. 9. § 3.

SCENES ATTENDING THE CRUCIFIXION. 197

covered with the dense multitude; and the ceaseless hum of men, even in their calmer moments, was like the deep hollow roar of the ocean.--And now the multitudes are agitated, and the stormy passions are at work amid the countless throng.--He who had excited the wonder of the Jewish nation, and the rage of the priests and of the stately Pharisees, had been brought forward before the judgment-seat of the high-priest and the governor of Judea, and had been condemned for blasphemy.--He, for blasphemy! The good, the benevolent, the Godlike! who had given sight to the blind, and had caused the lame to walk, and had healed the sick, and had brought the dead to life; who had led their thoughts to heaven, and taught them pure and holy doctrines; and had been among them in his miracles with the power of the Divinity himself. He, for blasphemy? Yes, he had publicly, before their council, declared himself to be the Christ, the Son of God, and that they should see him sitting on the right hand of power, and coming from heaven in majesty; and he had foretold that of their glorious temple, the object almost of their idol­atry, not one stone should be left upon another; and had been accused of saying that he himself would destroy it. The passions of the dense multitudes rise; and rumor, with her exaggerations, excites them to phrensy.--And now comes forth the sufferer, bearing his cross; his back lacerated with thongs, his brow dropping blood from the crown placed on it in mockery. Though sinking under fatigue and pain,

198 SYRIA.

he meets no commiseration, but is driven on with tauntings and scorn; and they come to the place of public execution, and the victim is nailed to the cross, and between two malefactors is raised up to be a spectacle to man; and wherever he turns his agonized eyes he sees only rage and scorn; and his ears hear only bitter tauntings;--"he saved others; himself he cannot save." "If he be the king of Israel let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him." "He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God."

There is a punishment somewhat similar to this of crucifixion, that until lately was practised in Algiers and in various parts of Turkey. The criminal was thrown from the top of a wall and caught by large hooks projecting from its side, and there left to perish. His torments were frightful. A fever seized on the body, and excruciating pains coursed through the whole system; the eyes became blood­shot and glaring, and starting from their sockets; the sufferer was burnt up by a scorching thirst, and begged piteously for drink, and after many hours died in frightful agonies.

Death upon the cross was probably similar to this, for the nails were driven through the hands and feet, where are congregated an unusual number of deli­cate nerves; and by them the whole weight of the body was suspended. The agonies were probably even greater than those I have been describing.

PLACE OF THE SEPULTURE. 199

Such was the price of our redemption. "He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

The question with regard to the place of our Sa­viour's burial is in a measure dependent on that into which we have just been examining, and will there­fore not require more than a few minutes' attention. St. John (xix. 41, 42.) tells us that “in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein never man was yet laid. There laid they Jesus, therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day, for the sepulchre was nigh at hand." We are therefore to look for this spot close in the neighborhood of Calvary; and I think that the merriment in which Protestant visitors sometimes have indulged on finding the spot pointed out for the sepulchre, so near that of the crucifixion, to be quite out of place. It certainly is in bad taste; for whatever these places may be, they bear sad and solemn names, and have been regarded by Christians from time immemorial as really the places of our Saviour's bloody death and burial, and glorious resurrection. However, then, we may be dis­posed to regard their genuineness, we should ap­proach them with solemn feelings; and levity or sarcasm in such a place becomes us very ill.

For myself, I believe that as regards the place of our Saviour's crucifixion, there is no just ground for

200 SYRIA.

disbelief, nor can I see much as regards also that pointed out as the place for burial. It is about 110 feet from the rocky knoll, and is not at all too near to have a garden wall intervene, and make this a proper place for Joseph of Arimathea to hew out a sepulchre.         Gennath, the name of the gate opening from the Upper City to this place, means gardens,* and it is probable that much of this space was origi­nally occupied with gardens. We find also that it was a place of tombs; for the monument of the high ­priest John was near this, as were also probably “the monuments of king Alexander."† The circum­stances of the case are, therefore, in favor of this spot; the Scriptures in some measure give it their sanction, and tradition from the earliest years has been uniform on the subject. Hadrian over it erected the statue of Jupiter, and here also Helena built a church; and among the rival sects of the Greek and Latin church, which soon after sprung up, and which have been endeavoring to appropriate, each to itself, as much as possible of the holy places, no one has ever attempted to designate another spot.

I confess I take pleasure in believing that the spot pointed out to us as that of our Saviour's sepulture, is the true one; and that, to the scene of his deep hu­miliation and his agony for us is in close proximity the scene of his triumph over hell and the grave; and though it can be no argument, confess there

* חכג Esther i. 5, &c,   

† Jos. de Bel, lib. 5. cap. 7.§ 3.

THE TOMB AND CALVARY. 201

seems to me to be a fitness of things where we are allowed to stand where stood the cross of Christ, and look down on the empty tomb, and say through him, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

202

CHAPTER XV.

Commencement of our visits.    Hospital of the knights of St. John. Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Reputed tomb of the Saviour. Marble sarcophagus. Effect of this visit on us. Question whe­ther this is the real tomb, or only a representation of it. Re­moval of the floor two centuries since. Greek chapel "the centre of the world." Origin of the various incredible traditions. Charity to be exercised. Cave where the cross is said to have been discovered. Fissure in the rock. Tradition about the head of Adam. Calvary. Holes for the crosses. Another fissure in the rock. The humiliation in the tomb, and resurrection.

WE were glad, on arriving at Mr. Nicholay­son's, to find the ladies of the Commodore's family quite recovered from the effects of the preceding day's severe fatigue. Mrs. Nicholayson herself was in a feeble state of health, occasioned by her watchings over Mrs. Thompson's couch, and expo­sures during the earthquake, and the subsequent fighting in the city; their house, as has already been observed, having been used as an advanced point of attack on the citadel. The presence of ladies speak­ing her own language had immediately an astonish­ing effect on her spirits, and she became rapidly convalescent.

Impatient, and with feelings almost in a nervous state, we soon found ourselves out, and winding along the narrow lane that leads from Mr. Nicholayson's

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 203

to the slope by which we descend from Mount Zion to the lower city. Standing on the edge of this, we looked down on the ruins of a great edifice erected for the knights of St. John at the time of the Crusades. It is a very large building, I should think near six hundred feet in length by two hun­dred in width; but the lower story or basement is all that now remains. This forms a suite of vaults, which are now occupied as stores for grain and merchandize; a street of shops forming a kind of bazaar passes along the western side of it, and on the south is the principal bazaar of the city, the exte­rior range of vaults answering very well for stores. The place where we were then standing was about the spot where I suppose the gate Gennath to have been.

Descending from this eminence, we entered a street which passes along the northern side of this ruin, and is lined with fruit shops and houses, some­times one, sometimes two stories in height, of stone, the windows small and the exterior very plain. This street is about one thousand feet in length. At its further extremity on our right was an edifice dis­tinguished by its size and massiveness, but present­ing on the exterior only a bare wall pierced with a few narrow windows. This was "The Church of the Holy Sepulchre." It forms altogether a block of masonry about one hundred and sixty feet by one hundred in width, in which are included the chapel of the Crucifixion, the church of the Sepulchre, some

204 SYRIA.

small chapels, and a monastery, the cloisters of the monks occupying the portions of the building next the street. Just before coming to this building, we entered a low door in a stone wall, and then, having descended along a narrow alley, we turned pre­sently to the left, and had before us the court and grand entrance to the church. On our left was the church tower, but without bells, as, with the single exception of Mount Lebanon, bells are not allowed to Christian churches in Turkey. The height of this tower has also been reduced, from a similar feeling of jealousy on the part of their Turkish masters. Three sides of the court were formed by a mass of buildings of irregular shape, while the fourth, or that looking towards the west, was open; in the central part was an arched portal ornamented with columns of verd-antique, and sculptures of the Norman style of architecture; it was open at the time of our visit, and I believe is so daily for an hour or two in the morning. After this it is closed, the key is returned to the Turkish governor; and admit­tance during the rest of the day, if desired, must be purchased from him. The monks, therefore, are prisoners in their monastery, except during this short interval, and intercourse with them must be held through a square hole in this door, where also provisions and other necessaries are taken in. We visited the place once in the afternoon, and were allowed to enter after waiting nearly an hour, and at the cost of a dollar or two.

STONE OF UNCTION. 205

Passing through this door, the visiter finds him­self in a hall or vestibule, about forty feet long by twenty in width; and in front of him, on the floor, a slab of reddish marble, with huge candlesticks and candles at either end; they call it the stone of unction, and say that on it our Saviour's body was anointed previous to interment. And here com­mences a series of legends and fictions, dealt out unsparingly to the visitor, which often produce dis­gust, and always jar on the feelings of the pilgrim whose mind is not steeped in the grossest cre­dulity. I could fill a book with them, but have no relish for such a task; and during this visit gave but little attention to them, as I wished to keep my feelings free from the effect of such puerilities; and I shall at present trouble the reader with them only so far as to give him an idea of this blot on Christianity at Jerusalem. By doing more, we should only stir up emotions that cannot harmo­nize with the place, and which will prevent us from feeling the influence of that which is real and true.

Turning now to the left we came, at the distance of about twenty feet, to a large door-way which admitted us into a circular church, quite lofty, and about fifty feet in diameter.*

The lower part of this is lined with a range of pilasters, between which are arched openings into a

*All these dimensions, I wish the reader to understand, are not by actual measurement, but as nearly as I could judge by the eye; I think they are sufficiently accurate to serve as a guide in the present case, but I do not affirm them to be strictly accurate.

206 SYRIA.

dozen chapels, some used by the Copts, Greeks, and Armenians, and some occupied by altars connected with the legends which have just been noticed. Above these runs a corridor, and the whole is sur­mounted by the large dome which had drawn my attention when on the top of our monastery. In the centre of the area of this church is a structure of masonry, about eight feet wide, eight or nine in height, and about twelve in length; at one end is a marble platform, raised about twelve inches from the floor, with steps quite around, and bordered part of the length with a low marble wall or parapet on either side; the other end of this structure, instead of being square, has three faces, in which are very small chapels for the Copts, Abyssinians, &c. The structure itself is faced with the richest marbles, in compartments, and enriched with mouldings, and has on the summit a little tower like a lantern, used, I believe, as a vent for the smoke from some lamps within the tomb.        Yes, this, they tell us, is the tomb of our Saviour, hewn originally in the solid rock; but that the exterior rock has been cut down so as to form a kind of shell, in the shape of a chapel, with its exterior surface enriched in this manner with marble. If this be so, they have sadly disguised the place, for, being lined with mar­ble also in the interior, it has now not the least resemblance to what the Scripture account of it would lead us to expect. The entrance is at the end towards the east. We ascended the marble platform, and entering by a low door found our-

THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 207

selves in a chamber about six feet wide and five in depth, in the centre of which is an upright column irregularly shaped, about two feet in height. They say it is the stone on which the angel sat when he announced the resurrection to Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome. At the further end of this room, at the corner on the left, is a low door; and there, stooping down, we entered another chamber about six feet square. One half of this latter apartment was occupied by a marble sarcophagus; and in this, they say, was deposited the body of our crucified Saviour.

For a while we were unwilling, and I believe should have been unable, to enter into the inquiry whether this was really so;--so strong an emotion was created by the annunciation that we were in our Lord's sepulchre, and that before us was the coffin where his body had lain, and from which he rose triumphant, leading captivity captive. We stood for a long time silent, gazing on the marble; and I believe it would have taken little to have caused us to shed tears. The place was lighted only by lamps suspended from the ceiling over the coffin; no sounds were heard, except occasionally of our deep breathing, as our emotions became almost too strong to be restrained. And our feelings, I believe, were of a salutary nature.

There was then in our company, one of whom I am allowed here to speak, but whom the shrinking modesty which she always evinced while living, and

208 SYRIA.

which should still be regarded, will allow me barely to notice. She was dear to us all; and although, with such solemn scenes as these around us, it be­comes me to speak with humility of worldly accom­plishments, I may say she possessed them in an unusual degree, and that she was admired and be­loved at home and abroad by every one that knew her. She is now no longer in this world. In the grave, earthly accomplishments, and even earthly love, avail us nothing; but religion does avail; and the religion of the cross of Christ, so full of hope and glory, she was led to adopt by this visit to Calvary and to the sepulchre of Christ. She had been educated by pious friends, and had respected and esteemed the ordinances of the gospel; but this visit, and the scenes here brought before her mind, made her realize as she had not done before, how great was the price paid for her salvation, and how strong are our obligations to give ourselves unhesitatingly to Him who hesitated not to give himself for us. Select­ing a proper time, when the act would be free from ostentation, she took out her Bible, which she had brought to the city, and placing it on the coffin, wrote, as was long after discovered, her name and the date of our visit, with the quotation, "Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord." Not long after her return to the ship she made a meek yet decided avowal of this Saviour as her only hope and trust; and all who knew her witnessed a corresponding exhibition of Christian character. For the change

EFFECT ON THE FEELINGS. 209

which brought the humble and gentle virtues into striking relief, while hope rose higher and became full of immortality, she always referred to this visit as the immediate cause. She was, at that time, ap­parently in excellent health; but youth and health are no guarantee for us in this our earthly home. When our ship, eighteen months afterwards, ap­proached our own shore, it bore her a feeble and exhausted invalid; and when land at length rose to our sight, we scarcely heeded it; for she, our com­panion so long, and so beloved by us, was now a corpse. She had expired suddenly only the evening previous. By her mourning parents in that hour of anguish, I heard this visit spoken of, and they found in its consequences a source of consolation, such as the whole earth could not have afforded them; to her, had she possessed worlds, what would they have been in comparison with her religion?

When we spoke, at length, as we stood by the coffin in this sepulchre, it was involuntarily in low tones, and in brief sentences; and it was a relief to get out where the feelings were less oppressive. I speak of the sensations of others as well as of my own; for I have since frequently heard them speak of this visit and of its effects on their feelings.

Our feelings however, in this case, led captive by the scene around us, by the silent chamber lighted by a few lamps, the marble coffin, and the tradition that this was our Lord's sepulchre, acted without the con­currence of our judgment; or rather, they suspended

210 SYRIA.

for a while the power of judging or the disposition to inquire. Yet, although for reasons already given, I have little doubt that this was the spot of our Sa­viour's interment, the assertion that this is the sepul­chre itself, wants confirmation; and the marble coffin or sarcophagus, I cannot regard as any thing more than a mere representation of the grave, or the place where the body was deposited; and for this it is by no means happily chosen. This may be the sepulchre, cut on the outside into the form of a little chapel; but as nothing but marble is seen both within and on the outside, the native rock, if it exists, being no where allowed to appear, we have no means of satisfying ourselves that it is so; and the circum­stances are altogether suspicious, particularly when taken in connexion with the many other assertions with regard to sacred places in Jerusalem which are manifestly beyond belief. The coffin is of white marble, slightly marked by a few veins of a light blue color; it is rectangular, six feet long within, about three feet broad, and two feet two inches in depth; being in all respects exactly like the ancient sarco­phagi found all over Greece and in Asia; the cover remains, and the whole exterior has a slight degree of roughness, as if it might once have been exposed to the weather. This is entirely at variance with the ancient tombs still to be seen in great numbers about Jerusalem, and particularly in the district lying north from the present city. They are com­posed sometimes of a single chamber, sometimes of

A TOMB BENEATH THIS. 211

a succession of chambers, cut in the solid rock, with a rectangular cavity large enough for a body, in the floor, at the side of the chamber; in the larger chambers, there are more than one cavity, and in a few cases, instead of being cut in the floor, they form a box against the side, but cut also out of the solid rock.    In no case that I have heard of, has a marble sarcophagus been found within them, none would be needed; and even in the tombs of the kings of some magnificence, northward from the city, the native rock has been exclusively employed. The evidence is altogether against this marble sarco­phagus, and I cannot yield it my belief.

But still, whether it was that I had some lingering doubts on the subject, or whether it was the name it bore, and the silent and lamp-lit chamber in which it is presented, I cannot say; but though I visited this chamber repeatedly, it was always with a feeling of awe mingled with a degree of reverence.

There was in the city, at the time of our visit, an English gentleman, who had become a Roman Catholic, and was now a priest, but was a man of enlightened and liberal views; he had been residing some time at Lisbon, and had now been sent to Jeru­salem with the contribution of the Portuguese churches for this year. He visited us frequently at Mr. Nicholayson's; and we were all struck both with his intelligence and very gentlemanly manners. He informed me that a short time previous to this, when occupied one day in examining the library of the

212 SYRIA.

principal Latin convent, he lighted on an old musty book, written in Latin by the father guardian of Je­rusalem about three centuries since. The author said, that during his residence here it was found ne­cessary to take up the pavement of this church in order to make some repairs; that he watched the pro­cess with deep attention, and that his satisfaction can scarcely be imagined, when, on coming to the native rock, he found, immediately under this spot, a cham­ber cut in the rock, and corresponding exactly to the tombs we find about the city. That on further research among the old records of the convent, he (the father guardian) found it stated, that in ancient times the sepulchre had stood open and exposed; and was beginning to be greatly mutilated by pilgrims, each one being desirous of carrying away some por­tion of the sacred rock. In order to preserve it, a strong railing was built around; but that now, the visitors being debarred from touching the sepulchre, votive offerings, rags,* &c. were thrown in by them in such quantities that the place soon become offen­sive; and that finally, to prevent this new evil, the tomb was filled up, and a small chapel was erected over it, with a sarcophagus, as a representative of the real sepulchre beneath.

*Such a custom still prevails in the east. In Turkish burying grounds, we frequently see bits of rags suspended about the tombs of the dead whom they regard with reverence. The monumental enclosures in Pere la Chaise, near Paris, are often rendered offensive by the heaps of decaying garlands within them, the offerings of friends.

GREEK CHURCH--CENTRE OF THE WORLD. 213

            The account of the father guardian has the appearance of probability, but the reader is left to take it for what be may consider it worth.          I tried to get sight of the book; but as the convent was in quarantine on account of the plague, could not succeed; and I regret to say that I have forgotten its title.

The light which we can gain from the Scriptures on this subject, joined with the uniform tradition, lead me to suppose that this is the spot; whatever may be the fact with regard to the sepulchre itself, whether it is now beneath the structure going by its name, or whether it has been  cut away to make room for a heathen temple erected by Hadrian, or for the present church.

The little chapel of the Sepulchre stands in the centre of the great church, facing the east. Directly in front of it is a large opening into a church owned by the Greeks, and no wise remarkable, except for a ball suspended from the ceiling, and a plate beneath it, on which is an inscription, telling that this is the center of the world.

The authority for this is in Ps. lxxiv. 12. “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midth of the earth;” and here I must warn the reader that his feelings will sometimes be shocked in the course of these visits, and I must be allowed to warn him also against allowing his disgust to operate so as to make him reject the truth with the error. This not consistent with the principles of sound judgment, but the contrary. Where truth is, error

214 SYRIA.

will generally come; and error, as I have already remarked, is to a certain degree a proof that there is truth somewhere; for man could not hang up such a mass of fictions if there was not something real to hang it upon; and generally, the more important the truth, the more earnest is error to draw advantage therefrom.

I cannot, however, join in the frequent outcry of imposition, craft and falsehood against the sects who hold these places, and recite these traditions to the visitor. That such things as these are to be found in high and sacred seats, is doubtless true, and that they are sometimes practised here is also very pro­bable; but I can find, for a great many of these tra­ditions, an origin of a more charitable nature, and I believe one more consonant with the real state of the case. We live now in an age of light and know­ledge, and find it hard even to imagine the darkness that once covered Europe and all these lands. We can form only some idea of it from the books of the middle ages--books full of fable and false philosophy on every subject. These fables on medicine, on alchemy, on astrology, and on a multitude of other topics, grew up, we are willing to believe, from men's ignorance; in some cases there may have been deli­berate deception; but in most, their origin was in the gross ignorance of the times; they show the strivings of minds shorn of their strength by diseases heredi­tary and for ages universal; men saw but dimly, and wandered into the ways of error when really and

CHARITY TO BE INDULGED. 215

honestly in search of truth. And if we are willing to extend this charity to the other sciences, why not also to that of religion, where men's feelings are apt to be more warmly affected, and even in a good cause, to warp the judgment, particularly if it be weak, than in any other? In this very city, the Ma­homedans have a great variety of traditions with respect to the mosque of Omar, and some other of their sacred places about Jerusalem, quite as wild as any thing among the Christian sects; yet when we listen to them, we do not at once cry out "craft and roguery," and believe the narrator to be wilfully imposing on us. We are willing to suppose him honest. We look at him; his face is grave; he has the appearance of sincerity; and we attribute the error to the deep and dark ignorance in which these people are known to live. Now I wish to claim for the Christian traditions just what we are wil­ling to give to those of the Mahomedans. The principle of charity may, it is true, be carried too far, but I wish to see it carried further than it is. Let us go among these sacred places cautious, as cau­tious as you choose; but not sneering, or cultivating bitter feelings towards one another; let us pity the ignorance of our brother and commiserate him, but not load him with harsh epithets. Uncharitable insinua­tions are certainly very much out of place in this re­gion, which should excite only humble and tender feel­ings; where, amid tauntings and contumely showered

216 SYRIA.

upon him, the Saviour prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

After leaving the Greek chapel, we crossed to the western side of this circular church; and here entering a narrow winding passage, came presently to a floor of naked rock with two graves cut in it, called the Sepulchres of Joseph of Arimathea and of Nicode­mus. They are just deep enough to contain a body; that of Nicodemus is only about four and a half feet in length.

From this place we were taken to a chapel on the northern side of the church, where, they say, our Saviour appeared to the Virgin after his resurrec­tion; and next, by a winding passage, to a place in the rear of the Greek church, where are altars marking, it is said, the spots where they cast lots for his garments; where he was confined till they had prepared the cross; where occurred the conversion of Longinus, the officer who pierced his side with a spear, &c. Here also we were conducted, by a descent of forty steps, into a large cave, the place where Helena discovered the cross. They tell us that the Jews, in order to stop the adoration of the cross by the early Christians, cast it here into a hole called the "Valley of Corpses," where it remained three hundred years; that Helena, on digging for it, discovered three crosses, and, unable to distinguish which was the one she was searching for, had them carried to the place where is now the chapel of the

RENT IN THE ROCK. 217

Virgin, and where was then a woman at the point of death; and that the sick person being made to touch them, two produced no effect, but the third or true cross restored her immediately to health."

Ascending from the cave and following another dark passage, we came presently into a chapel about fifteen feet square, one side of which is formed by a bare precipitous rock. This is a portion of the rocky knoll of Golgotha or Calvary; and here they showed us a rent or fissure about sixteen inches in width, telling us that it was formed at the time of the cru­cifixion, when the veil of the temple was rent in twain, and with the quaking of the earth the rocks were rent. They tell also a story, which I feel loth to repeat, that here, at the time just spoken of, the head of Adam was discovered; and that when the Saviour's side was pierced, the blood and water flowed down upon it; that, as Adam had been the first to sin, he might be the first to experience the benefit of the redemption.

After giving an impatient glance at these various spots, we passed on; and soon after, emerging once more into daylight, found ourselves in the vestibule, and at the foot of the staircase leading to the sum­mit of Calvary.

I have mentioned, that on entering the vestibule from the outer court, we had before us the stone of unction, and on the left the entrance to the circular

218 SYRIA.

Church of the Sepulchre. On the right, at the dis­tance of about thirty-five feet, is a narrow stairway of eighteen steps, cut in the solid rock, and leading to a platform elevated about sixteen feet above the lower church, and nearly square, having about forty feet on each side. This is Mount Calvary. The surface is now level, and paved with red marbles; and, by a kind of partition formed of two arches with square columns between, is divided into two chambers, one being nearly square and the other oblong. They are surmounted by a dome, more peaked than that over the church of the Holy Sepulchre. When we reached the top of the stairway, we found ourselves in the first of these chambers, or the square one; but were first taken across it into the other, where a large star, formed of marble mosaic work in the pavement, was pointed out as indicating the spot where the Saviour was nailed to the cross. That designated as the place where the crosses stood during the crucifixion is in the first chamber, at its northern side.

Returning to this place, we found there a platform against the wall, running the whole way across the church, and sixteen inches in height by about three feet in width. It was also covered with marbles, and half way across had a large embossed silver plate with a hole in the centre; and this is said to be over the very spot where stood our Saviour's cross. On each side are similar plates, said to be

MOUNT CALVARY. 219

over the holes for the other two crosses; but the holes are so near together, that the arms of the three crosses could not have been in a line, unless, as might have been the case, that of the Saviour was higher or lower than the others. I put my hand several times through the hole in the, central silver plate, and found beneath it a hollow of rough sides, rather large, and about a foot or fifteen inches in depth. Half way between it and the hole on our right, as we stood facing them, is another plate of silver about thirty inches in length, and with a nar­row slit in it, corresponding, they informed us, to a fissure in the rock, the commencement of the crevice which we had seen below. There is something very much like a crack, about two inches wide, the opposite parts of which appear to correspond; but a close examination is prevented by the silver plate above; its direction is across the natural stratifica­tion of the rock. The object of these silver plates is probably to guard these places from violence, as pilgrims or other visitors are much given to chip­ping off fragments from such spots* for friends at home. Whether these are really the holes where the crosses stood, and whether this is a real fracture or "rent" in the rock, it is impossible to say; there can be no doubt, however, that this is really a mass of native rock; and its elevation is just such as

*Many parts of Jerusalem bore testimony to our itchings for such relics; fresh fractures were to be seen in a great many places on the walls and along the streets.

220 SYRIA.

would be desired for the infliction of death by crucifixion. It is now so built around, and so, covered with marbles, that it is not easy to form an ex­act judgment of its original altitude or extent; but if I may venture a rough estimate of the former, I should say it was about twenty or twenty-five feet. It appears to be nearly precipitous at the northern end.

Our feelings while standing on Mount Calvary were of that high-wrought but solemn kind that we had experienced while at the Sepulchre, but not perhaps so strong in degree; for although this was a place of agony and shame, and yet of the highest moral grandeur, there was connected with the other a depth of humiliation, a complete­ness of abandonment, that was extremely affect­ing. The grave had received the body of the sufferer, cold and stiffened in death; the wind­ing sheet was around those mangled limbs, and over the temples where the blood stood on many a wound. Nature that day had sympathized and shuddered,--but this now had passed; the taunters, after praying that his blood might be on them and on their children, had gone their way; the disciples were appalled and had fled; the tomb was sealed up, and the moon threw its mild rays on a scene forsaken apparently of God and of man, except the silent sentry pacing to and fro. The humiliation was now complete; the price of our ransom was paid to the utmost, and then glory

THE RESURECTION. 221

from heaven poured down upon the spot. The God-Redeemer rose, and death, who, though con­queror, had set trembling to see the Creator of all things prostrate and beneath his sway, was now him­self led captive, and made a ministering servant to bring the redeemed to eternal glory.

222

CHAPTER XVI.

Dimensions of the Modern City. Ground within the city, and in its environs. Its picturesque appearance. Continuation of our visits. Via Dolorosa. Sentence of the Saviour from Salignatius. House of Veronica and Picture of the Napkin. House of "the Rich Man." Arch of the Ecce Homo. Pilate's House. Mosque of Omar. The Locked-up Stone. Pool of Bethesda. Place of Stephen's Martyrdom. The Golden Gate. The Emperor Hera­clius in a dilemma.

THE modern Jerusalem is about three fourths of a mile at its greatest length, and about two thirds of a mile in width.* It contains a population of about 20,000 persons; namely, 10,000- Mahomedans occu­pying principally the northern and eastern portions;

* I paced the circuit of the city, taking notes and plans of the whole, and marking the towers; but the paper has been unfor­tunately lost.    

  The following are the dimensions in detail, as furnished by Messrs. Fisk and King:

paces.

From N. W. cor. to the Jaffa gate,        300      }          768 on the western side,

“           thence to the S. W. corner,       468      }

“              “  to Zion gate,                      195      }

“              “  to bend in S. W. wall,        295      }          1149 on the southern side,

“              “  to S. E. corner,                  659      }

“              “  to St. Stephen's gate,         583      }

“              “  to N. E. corner,                 360      }          943 on the eastern side,

“           &nbs