cut down its polluted and blood-stained groves, and crushed the abomination of the heathen. Formerly the refuse and filth of the city were cast into this deep valley by command of Josiah, together with the dead bodies of malefactors and animals. And for the purpose of preventing infectious disease-the natural consequence of such deposits-devouring fires were kept continually burning; whence it was metaphorically called by the Jews, Genenna-the place of eternal torments. Its present Arabic name is Wadey Jehennam.

**

"The Valley of Jehoshaphat and its massive sides are rich in objects of enduring interest. On the eastern side of the brook Kedron, immediately opposite that part of Mount Moriah once occupied by the temple, is the Jewish burial-ground of all ages. It is literally paved with small and roughly-hewn slabs, having Hebrew inscriptions. To lay his bones in the Valley of Jehoshaphat has been ever the object of earnest desire with the devout Jew; and many a weary pilgrimage has been made from the most distant parts of Europe, in order that another and another might have the privilege of sleeping with his fathers in this valley. The Jewish heart clings with infantine freshness to Jerusalem and her sacred precincts. Distance does not diminish the attraction. Sorrow and affliction only heighten it. But is it not an awful, an overwhelming thought, that when every one of those graves shall be opened by the power of Christ's resurrection, and buried ages shall arise and stand before the triumphant Messiah, their eyesthe eyes of them that pierced, shall gaze upon him, and wail because of him, and mourn hopelessly over that rooted unbelief, which obscured every bright vision of bliss in this life, and which will overhang with clouds of despair the morning of their resurrection?

"Advancing northward, with the Mount of Olives still on the right, and the battlemented walls of the city on the left, there are, on the east side of the valley, several sepulchral monuments of considerable antiquity, rendered interesting by being associated with the names of Zechariah, James, Jehoshaphat, and Absalom; in support of which there is, however, little more than a vague tradition. These tombs, for the most part, have the appearance of being constructed by the usual process of masonry; but in reality they are hewn out of the solid rock, and in a style of architecture partaking of the early Egyptian and the Greek-a link (as has been observed) between the Pyramids and the Parthenon.' No entrance, either to the tomb of Zechariah or Absalom, has yet been discovered; and they appear in reality to be solid within. Instead of actually marking the places of sepulture, it seems most probable that these structures are merely cenotaphs, commemorating and committing to tradition the memory of those persons whose names they bear. That of Absalom, who was no doubt buried in the wood where he perished, may possibly be the pillar which he had reared unto himself in the king's dale. There is no doubt that the Jews believe this to be the case; and they express their abhorrence of his name and character by casting a stone at the tomb as they pass. Some persons have argued for the positive antiquity of these tombs, by alleging that the Grecian enrichments have been added in a more

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modern age; and that such is the garnishing' of the sepulchres of the righteous to which our Lord referred, when rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. But Dr. Clarke rejects the idea, and thinks that the proof of their antiquity is seen in the tombs themselves, notwithstanding the admixture of Egyptian and Grecian styles. He observes: The columns are of that ancient style and character which yet appear among the works left by Ionian and Dorian colonies, in the remains of their Asiatic cities; particularly at Telmessus, where even the inscriptions denote a period in history long anterior to the era when such a modification of these ancient structures might have taken place. However, without endeavouring to establish what at the best must be conjectural, it is delightful to find here, under the very walls of Jerusalem, a kind of evidence to prove, that the facts of Scripture history have lived in the memories of men of far distant ages, in complete correspondence with the inspired records.

**

"THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. The Valley of Jehoshaphat, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Mount of Olives, are as familiar to my memory while I write, as the scenes of my early childhood. Scarcely a day passed in which I did not either visit or gaze on them at a distance, while sojourning in the holy city. Of the identity of the Mount of Olives there can be no doubt whatever. Its relative position is distinctly stated in Scripture. It is said to be before Jerusalem on the cast. It was this certainty, in regard to the main features of Judea, that made me more indifferent to those minute particulars on which religious enthusiasts have been wont to dwell, as scen by them through the misty medium of monkish tradition."

Here we must stop, and say that we have derived great pleasure from the reading of this work, which will be found acceptable not merely to the friends of the author, but to every Christian reader. We trust it will go through many editions.

The Editor to the Reader.

THE Reader is informed that in future The Churchman will be incorporated with The Village Churchman: which will contain thirty-six pages 12mo., price 3d. The Literary Department will be entrusted to the Rev. JOSHUA FAWCETT, the original Editor of The Village Churchman, who solicits a continuance of that valuable assistance from his former Correspondents, which he desires most gratefully to acknowledge. This arrangement has been come to in the hope that more extensive good may be done by the Magazines in union than separate. They will henceforth appear under the title of "THE CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE and VILLAGE CHURCHMAN."

London: W. E. Painter, Church and State Gazette Office, 342, Strand.