CHAPTER XII.

The Island of Philœ--The Cataract of Assouan--The Burial Place of

Osiris--The Great Temple of Philœ--The Bed of Pharaoh--Shooting in

Egypt--Turtle Doves--Story of the Prince Anas el Ajoud--Egyptian

Songs--Vow of the Turtle Dove--Curious fact in Natural History--The

Crocodile and its Guardian Bird--Arab notions regarding

Animals--Legend of King Solomon and the Hoopoes--Natives of the

country round the Cataracts of the Nile--Their appearance and

Costume--The beautiful Mouna--Solitary Visit to the Island of

Philœ--Quarrel between two native Boys--Singular instance of

retributive Justice.

Every part of Egypt is interesting and curious, but the only place to

which the epithet of beautiful can be correctly applied is the island of

Philœ, which is situated immediately to the south of the cataract of

Assouan. The scenery around consists of an infinity of steep granite

rocks, which stand, some in the water, others on the land, all of them

of the wildest and most picturesque forms. The cataract itself cannot be

seen from the island of Philœ, being shut out by an intervening rock,

whose shattered mass of red granite towers over the island, rising

straight out of the water. From the top of this rock are seen the

thousand islands, some of bare rock, some covered with palms and

bushes, which interrupt the course of the river and give rise to those

eddies, whirlpools, and streams of foaming water which are called the

cataracts of the Nile, but which may be more properly designated as

rapids, for there is no perpendicular fall of more than two or three

feet, and boats of the largest size are drawn with ropes against the

stream through certain channels, and are shot down continually with the

stream on their return without the occurrence of serious accidents.

Several of these rocks are sculptured with tablets and inscriptions,

recording the offerings of the Pharaohs to the gods; and the sacred

island of Philœ, the burial-place of Osiris, is covered with buildings,

temples, colonnades, gateways, and terrace walls, which are magnificent

even in their ruin, and must have been superb when still entire, and

filled with crowds of priests and devotees, accompanied by all the flags

and standards, gold and glitter, of the ceremonies of their emblematical

religion.

Excepting the Pyramids, nothing in Egypt struck me so much as when on a

bright moonlit night I first entered the court of the great temple of

Philœ. The colours of the paintings on the walls are as vivid in many

places as they were the day they were finished: the silence and the

solemn grandeur of the immense buildings around me were most imposing;

and on emerging from the lofty gateway between the two towers of the

propylon, as I wandered about the island, the tufts of palms, which are

here of great height, with their weeping branches, seemed to be mourning

over the desolation of the stately palaces and temples to which in

ancient times all the illustrious of Egypt were wont to resort, and into

whose inner recesses none might penetrate; for the secret and awful

mysteries of the worship of Osiris were not to be revealed, nor were

they even to be spoken of by those who were not initiated into the

highest orders of the priesthood. Now all may wander where they choose,

and speculate on the uses of the dark chambers hidden in the thickness

of the walls, and trace out the plans of the courts and temples with the

long lines of columns which formed the avenue of approach from the

principal landing-place to the front of the great temple.

The whole island is encumbered with piles of immense squared stones, the

remains of buildings which must have been thrown down by an earthquake,

as nothing else could shake such solid works from their foundations.[9]

The principal temple, and several smaller ones, are still almost entire.

One of these, called by the natives the Bed of Pharaoh, is a remarkably

light and airy-looking structure, differing, in this respect, from the

usual character of Egyptian architecture. On the terrace overhanging the

Nile, in front of this graceful temple, I had formed my habitation,

where there are some vaults of more recent construction, which are

usually taken possession of by travellers and fitted up with the

carpets, cushions, and the sides of the tents which they bring with

them.

Every one who travels in Egypt is more or less a sportsman, for the

infinity of birds must tempt the most idle or contemplative to go "_a

birding_," as the Americans term it. I had shot all sorts of birds and

beasts, from a crocodile to a snipe; and among other game I had shot

multitudes of turtle doves; these pretty little birds being exceedingly

tame, and never flying very far, I sometimes got three or four at a

shot, and a dozen or so of them made a famous pie or a pilau, with rice

and a tasty sauce; but a somewhat singular incident put an end to my

warfare against them. One day I was sitting on the terrace before the

Bed of Pharaoh, surrounded by a circle of Arabs and negroes, and we were

all listening to a story which an old gentleman with a grey beard was

telling us concerning the loves of the beautiful Ouardi, who was shut up

in an enchanted palace on this very island to secure her from the

approaches of her lover, Prince Anas el Ajoud, the son of the Sultan

Esshamieh, who had married seven wives before he had a son. The first

six wives, on the birth of Anas el Ajoud, placed a log in his cradle,

and exposed the infant in the desert, where he was nursed by a gazelle,

and whence he returned to punish the six cruel step-mothers, who fully

believed he was dead, and to rejoice the heart of his father, who had

been persuaded by these artful ladies that his sultana by magic art had

presented him with a log instead of a son, who was to be the heir of his

dominions, &c. Prince Anas, who was in despair at being separated from

his lady love, used to sing dismal songs as he passed in his gilded boat

under the walls of the island palace. These, at last, were responded to

from the lattice by the fair Ouardi, who was soon afterwards carried off

by the enamoured prince. The story, which was an interminable rigmarole,

as long as one of those spun on from night to night by the Princess

Sherezade, was diversified every now and then by the fearful squealing

of an Arab song. The old storyteller, shutting his eyes and throwing

back his head that his mind might not be distracted by any exterior

objects, uttered a succession of sounds which set one's teeth on

edge.[10]

[Illustration: (musical notation) AMAAN.

The snow, the snow is melt-ing on the hills of Is--fa--han. As fair, be

as re-lent-ing Am-aan, Am-aan, Am-aan.]

Whilst the old gentleman was shooting out one of these amatory ditties,

and I was sitting still listening to these heart-rending sounds, a

turtle-dove--who was probably awakened from her sleep by the fearful

discord, or might, perhaps, have been the beautiful Princess Ouardi

herself transformed into the likeness of a dove--flew out of one of the

palm-trees which grow on the edge of the bank, and perched at a little

distance from us. We none of us moved, and the turtle-dove, after

pausing for a moment, ran towards me and nestled under the full sleeve

of my benisch. It stayed there till the story and the songs were ended,

and when I was obliged to arise, in order to make my compliments to the

departing guests, the dove flew into the palm-tree again, and went to

roost among the branches, where several others were already perched with

their heads under their wings. Thereupon I made a vow never to shoot

another turtle-dove, however much pie or pilau might need them, and I

fairly kept my vow. Luckily turtle-doves are not so good as pigeons, so

it was no great loss. Although not to be compared to the Roman bird, the

Egyptian pigeon is very good eating when he is tender and well dressed.

As I am on the subject of birds I will relate a fact in natural history

which I was fortunate enough to witness, and which, although it is

mentioned so long ago as the times of Herodotus, has not, I believe,

been often observed since; indeed I have never met with any traveller

who has himself seen such an occurrence.

I had always a strong predilection for crocodile shooting, and had

destroyed several of these dragons of the waters. On one occasion I saw,

a long way off, a large one, twelve or fifteen feet long, lying asleep

under a perpendicular bank about ten feet high, on the margin of the

river. I stopped the boat at some distance; and noting the place as well

as I could, I took a circuit inland, and came down cautiously to the top

of the bank, whence with a heavy rifle I made sure of my ugly game. I

had already cut off his head in imagination, and was considering whether

it should be stuffed with its mouth open or shut. I peeped over the

bank. There he was, within ten feet of the sight of the rifle. I was on

the point of firing at his eye, when I observed that he was attended by

a bird called a ziczac. It is of the plover species, of a greyish

colour, and as large as a small pigeon.

The bird was walking up and down close to the crocodile's nose. I

suppose I moved, for suddenly it saw me, and instead of flying away, as

any respectable bird would have done, he jumped up about a foot from the

ground, screamed "Ziczac! ziczac!" with all the powers of his voice, and

dashed himself against the crocodile's face two or three times. The

great beast started up, and immediately spying his danger, made a jump

up into the air, and dashing into the water with a splash which covered

me with mud; he dived into the river and disappeared. The ziczac, to my

increased admiration, proud apparently of having saved his friend,

remained walking up and down, uttering his cry, as I thought, with an

exulting voice, and standing every now and then on the tips of his toes

in a conceited manner, which made me justly angry with his impertinence.

After having waited in vain for some time, to see whether the crocodile

would come out again, I got up from the bank where I was lying, threw a

clod of earth at the ziczac, and came back to the boat, feeling some

consolation for the loss of my game in having witnessed a circumstance,

the truth of which has been disputed by several writers on natural

history.

The Arabs say that every race of animals is governed by its chief, to

whom the others are bound to pay obeisance. The king of the crocodiles

holds his court at the bottom of the Nile near Siout. The king of the

fleas lives at Tiberias, in the Holy Land; and deputations of

illustrious fleas, from other countries, visit him on a certain day in

his palace, situated in the midst of beautiful gardens, under the Lake

of Genesareth. There is a bird which is common in Egypt called the

hoopoe (Abou hood-hood), of whose king the following legend is related.

This bird is of the size and shape as well as the colour of a woodcock;

but has a crown of feathers on its head, which it has the power of

raising and depressing at will. It is a tame, quiet bird; usually to be

found walking leisurely in search of its food on the margin of the

water. It seldom takes long flights; and is not harmed by the natives,

who are much more sparing of the life of animals than we Europeans

are:--

In the days of King Solomon, the son of David, who, by the virtue of his

cabalistic seal, reigned supreme over genii as well as men, and who

could speak the languages of animals of all kinds, all created beings

were subservient to his will. Now when the king wanted to travel, he

made use, for his conveyance, of a carpet of a square form. This carpet

had the property of extending itself to a sufficient size to carry a

whole army, with the tents and baggage; but at other times it could be

reduced so as to be only large enough for the support of the royal

throne, and of those ministers whose duty it was to attend upon the

person of the sovereign. Four genii of the air then took the four

corners of the carpet, and carried it with its contents wherever King

Solomon desired. Once the king was on a journey in the air, carried upon

his throne of ivory over the various nations of the earth. The rays of

the sun poured down upon his head, and he had nothing to protect him

from its heat. The fiery beams were beginning to scorch his neck and

shoulders, when he saw a flock of vultures flying past. "Oh, vultures!"

cried King Solomon, "come and fly between me and the sun, and make a

shadow with your wings to protect me, for its rays are scorching my neck

and face." But the vultures answered, and said, "We are flying to the

north, and your face is turned towards the south. We desire to continue

on our way; and be it known unto thee, O king! that we will not turn

back on our flight, neither will we fly above your throne to protect

you from the sun, although its rays may be scorching your neck and face.

"Then King Solomon lifted up his voice, and said, "Cursed be ye, O

vultures!--and because you will not obey the commands of your lord, who

rules over the whole world, the feathers of your necks shall fall off;

and the heat of the sun, and the cold of the winter, and the keenness of

the wind, and the beating of the rain, shall fall upon your rebellious

necks, which shall not be protected with feathers, like the necks of

other birds. And whereas you have hitherto fared delicately,

henceforward ye shall eat carrion and feed upon offal; and your race

shall be impure till the end of the world." And it was done unto the

vultures as King Solomon had said.

Now it fell out that there was a flock of hoopoes flying past; and the

king cried out to them, and said, "O hoopoes! come and fly between me

and the sun, that I may be protected from its rays by the shadow of your

wings." Whereupon the king of the hoopoes answered, and said, "O king,

we are but little fowls, and we are not able to afford much shade; but

we will gather our nation together, and by our numbers we will make up

for our small size." So the hoopoes gathered together, and, flying in a

cloud over the throne of the king, they sheltered him from the rays of

the sun.

When the journey was over, and King Solomon sat upon his golden throne,

in his palace of ivory, whereof the doors were emerald, and the windows

of diamonds, larger even than the diamond of Jemshid, he commanded that

the king of the hoopoes should stand before his feet. "Now," said King

Solomon, "for the service that thou and thy race have rendered, and the

obedience thou hast shown to the king, thy lord and master, what shall

be done unto thee, O hoopoe? and what shall be given to the hoopoes of

thy race, for a memorial and a reward?" Now the king of the hoopoes was

confused with the great honour of standing before the feet of the king;

and, making his obeisance, and laying his right claw upon his heart, he

said, "O king, live for ever! Let a day be given to thy servant, to

consider with his queen and his councillors what it shall be that the

king shall give unto us for a reward." And King Solomon said, "Be it

so." And it was so.

But the king of the hoopoes flew away; and he went to his queen, who was

a dainty hen, and he told her what had happened, and he desired her

advice as to what they should ask of the king for a reward; and he

called together his council, and they sat upon a tree, and they each of

them desired a different thing. Some wished for a long tail; some wished

for blue and green feathers; some wished to be as large as ostriches;

some wished for one thing, and some for another; and they debated till

the going down of the sun, but they could not agree together. Then the

queen took the king of the hoopoes apart and said to him, "My dear lord

and husband, listen to my words; and as we have preserved the head of

King Solomon, let us ask for crowns of gold on our heads, that we may be

superior to all other birds." And the words of the queen and the

princesses her daughters prevailed; and the king of the hoopoes

presented himself before the throne of Solomon, and desired of him that

all hoopoes should wear golden crowns upon their heads. Then Solomon

said, "Hast thou considered well what it is that thou desirest?" And the

hoopoe said, "I have considered well, and we desire to have golden

crowns upon our heads." So Solomon replied, "Crowns of gold shall ye

have: but, behold, thou art a foolish bird; and when the evil days shall

come upon thee, and thou seest the folly of thy heart, return here to

me, and I will give thee help." So the king of the hoopoes left the

presence of King Solomon, with a golden crown upon his head. And all the

hoopoes had golden crowns; and they were exceeding proud and haughty.

Moreover, they went down by the lakes and the pools, and walked by the

margin of the water, that they might admire themselves as it were in a

glass. And the queen of the hoopoes gave herself airs, and sat upon a

twig; and she refused to speak to the merops her cousin, and the other

birds who had been her friends, because they were but vulgar birds, and

she wore a crown of gold upon her head.

Now there was a certain fowler who set traps for birds; and he put a

piece of a broken mirror into his trap, and a hoopoe that went in to

admire itself was caught. And the fowler looked at it, and saw the

shining crown upon its head; so he wrung off its head, and took the

crown to Issachar, the son of Jacob, the worker in metal, and he asked

him what it was. So Issachar, the son of Jacob, said, "It is a crown of

brass." And he gave the fowler a quarter of a shekel for it, and desired

him, if he found any more, to bring them to him, and to tell no man

thereof. So the fowler caught some more hoopoes, and sold their crowns

to Issachar, the son of Jacob; until one day he met another man who was

a jeweller, and he showed him several of the hoopoes' crowns. Whereupon

the jeweller told him that they were of pure gold; and he gave the

fowler a talent of gold for four of them.

Now when the value of these crowns was known, the fame of them got

abroad, and in all the land of Israel was heard the twang of bows and

the whirling of slings; bird-lime was made in every town; and the price

of traps rose in the market, so that the fortunes of the trap-makers

increased. Not a hoopoe could show its head but it was slain or taken

captive, and the days of the hoopoes were numbered. Then their minds

were filled with sorrow and dismay, and before long few were left to

bewail their cruel destiny.

At last, flying by stealth through the most unfrequented places, the

unhappy king of the hoopoes went to the court of King Solomon, and stood

again before the steps of the golden throne, and with tears and groans

related the misfortunes which had happened to his race.

So King Solomon looked kindly upon the king of the hoopoes, and said

unto him, "Behold, did I not warn thee of thy folly, in desiring to have

crowns of gold? Vanity and pride have been thy ruin. But now, that a

memorial may remain of the service which thou didst render unto me, your

crowns of gold shall be changed into crowns of feathers, that ye may

walk unharmed upon the earth." Now when the fowlers saw that the hoopoes

no longer wore crowns of gold upon their heads, they ceased from the

persecution of their race; and from that time forth the family of the

hoopoes have flourished and increased, and have continued in peace even

to the present day.

And here endeth the veracious history of the king of the hoopoes.

But to return to the island of Philœ. The neighbourhood of the cataracts

is inhabited by a peculiar race of people, who are neither Arabs, nor

negroes, like the Nubians, whose land joins to theirs. They are of a

clear copper colour; and are slightly but elegantly formed. They have

woolly hair; and are not encumbered with much clothing. The men wear a

short tunic of white cotton; but often have only a petticoat round

their loins. The married women have a piece of stuff thrown over their

heads which envelopes the whole person. Under this they wear a curious

garment made of fine strips of black leather, about a foot long, like a

fringe. This hangs round the hips, and forms the only clothing of

unmarried girls, whose forms are as perfect as that of any ancient

statue. They dress their hair precisely in the same way as we see in the

pictures of the ancient Egyptians, plaited in numerous tresses, which

descend about half way down the neck, and are plentifully anointed with

castor-oil; that they may not spoil their head-dresses, they use,

instead of a pillow to rest their heads upon at night, a stool of hard

wood like those which are found in the ancient tombs, and which resemble

in shape the handle of a crutch more than anything else that I can think

of. The women are fond of necklaces and armlets of beads; and the men

wear a knife of a peculiar form, stuck into an armlet above the elbow of

the left arm. When they go from home they carry a spear, and a shield

made of the skin of the hippopotamus or crocodile, with which they are

very clever in warding off blows, and in defending themselves from

stones or other missiles.

Of this race was a girl called Mouna, whom I had known as a child when I

was first at Philœ. She grew up to be the most beautiful bronze statue

that can be conceived. She used to bring eggs from the island on which

she lived to Philœ: her means of conveyance across the water was a

piece of the trunk of a doom-tree, upon which she supported herself as

she swam across the Nile ten times a-day. I never saw so perfect a

figure as that of Mouna. She was of a lighter brown than most of the

other girls, and was exactly the colour of a new copper kettle. She had

magnificent large eyes; and her face had but a slight leaning towards

the Ethiopian contour. Her bands and feet were wonderfully small and

delicately formed. In short, she was a perfect beauty in her way; but

the perfume of the castor-oil with which she was anointed had so strong

a savour that, when she brought us the eggs and chickens, I always

admired her at a distance of ten yards to windward. She had an

ornamented calabash to hold her castor-oil, from which she made a fresh

toilette every time she swam across the Nile.

I have been three times at Philœ, and indeed I had so great an

admiration of the place that on my last visit, thinking it probable that

I should never again behold its wonderful ruins and extraordinary

scenery, I determined to spend the day there alone, that I might

meditate at my leisure and wander as I chose from one well-remembered

spot to another without the incumbrance of half a dozen people staring

at whatever I looked at, and following me about out of pure idleness.

Greatly did I enjoy my solitary day, and whilst leaning over the parapet

on the top of the great Propylon, or seated on one of the terraces which

overhung the Nile, I in imagination repeopled the scene, with the forms

of the priests and worshippers of other days, restored the fallen

temples to their former glory, and could almost think I saw the

processions winding round their walls, and heard the trumpets, and the

harps, and the sacred hymns in honour of the great Osiris. In the

evening a native came over with a little boat to take me off the island,

and I quitted with regret this strange and interesting region.

I landed at the village of rude huts on the shore of the river and sat

down on a stone, waiting for my donkey, which I purposed to ride through

the desert in the cool of the evening to Assouan, where my boat was

moored. While I was sitting there, two boys were playing and wrestling

together; they were naked and about nine or ten years old. They soon

began to quarrel, and one of them drew the dagger which he wore upon his

arm and stabbed the other in the throat. The poor boy fell to the ground

bleeding; the dagger had entered his throat on the left side under the

jawbone, and being directed upwards had cut his tongue and grazed the

roof of his mouth. Whilst he cried and writhed about upon the ground

with the blood pouring out of his mouth, the villagers came out from

their cabins and stood around talking and screaming, but affording no

help to the poor boy. Presently a young man, who was, I believe, a lover

of Mouna's, stood up and asked where the father of the boy was, and why

he did not come to help him. The villagers said he had no father.

"Where are his relations, then?" he asked. The boy had no relations,

there was no one to care for him in the village. On hearing this he

uttered some words which I did not understand, and started off after the

boy who had inflicted the wound. The young assassin ran away as fast as

he could, and a famous chase took place. They darted over the plain,

scrambled up the rocks, and jumped down some dangerous-looking places

among the masses of granite which formed the background of the village.

At length the boy was caught, and, screaming and struggling, was dragged

to the spot where his victim lay moaning and heaving upon the sand. The

young man now placed him between his legs, and in this way held him

tight whilst he examined the wound of the other, putting his finger into

it and opening his mouth to see exactly how far it extended. When he had

satisfied himself on the subject he called for a knife; the boy had

thrown his away in the race, and he had not one himself. The villagers

stood silent around, and one of them having handed him a dagger, the

young man held the boy's head sideways across his thigh and cut his

throat exactly in the same way as he had done to the other. He then

pitched him away upon the ground, and the two lay together bleeding and

writhing side by side. Their wounds were precisely the same; the second

operation had been most expertly performed, and the knife had passed

just where the boy had stabbed his playmate. The wounds, I believe, were

not dangerous, for presently both the boys got up and were led away to

their homes. It was a curious instance of retributive justice, following

out the old law of blood for blood, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a

tooth.

MONASTERIES OF THE LEVANT.

PART II.

JERUSALEM AND THE MONASTERY

OF ST. SABBA.

1834.

[Illustration: Plan of the Church

of

THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.

The Holy [symbol: cross] Sepulchre.

1. Entrance to the Church.

2. The Stone of Unction.

3. Where our Saviour was nailed to the Cross.

4. Mount Calvary [3 cross symbols]

5. Chapel of the Sacrifice of Isaac.

6. Chapel of the Altar of Melchisedec.

7. Stairs up to Mount Calvary.

8. Stairs down to the Chapel of St. Helena.

9. Stairs down to the Chapel of the Invention of the Cross.

10. Place where the three Crosses were discovered.

11. Chapel of the Division of the Garments.

12. Prison of our Lord.

13. Greek Choir, in it [symbol-omphalos], the center of the world; on

each side are the Stalls for the Monks.

14. Latin Choir.

15. Where Mary Magdalene stood.

16. Where our Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene.

17. The Pillar of Flagellation.

18. Rooms of the Latin Convent.

19. Chapel of the Maronites.

20. Chapel of the Georgians.

21. Sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea.

22. Chapel of the Copts.

23. Chapel of the Jacobites.

24. Chapel of the Abyssinians, over which is the Chapel of the

Armenians.

25. The spot where the Blessed Virgin and St. John stood during the

Crucifixion.

26. Steps before the entrance of the Holy Sepulchre.

27. Ante-room to the Holy Sepulchre. In the center is the stone where

the Angel sat; on either side the two windows from whence the Holy Fire

is delivered to the multitude.

28. The Iconostasis, or Screen before the Greek Altar, which, as in

English Churches, is called the Holy Table--ικονοsτασις.]

CHAPTER XIII.

Journey to Jerusalem--First View of the Holy City--The Valley of

Gihon--Appearance of the City--The Latin Convent of St.

Salvador--Inhospitable Reception by the Monks--Visit to the Church

of the Holy Sepulchre--Description of the Interior--The Chapel of

the Sepulchre--The Chapel of the Cross on Mount Calvary--The Tomb

and Sword of Godfrey de Bouillon--Arguments in favour of the

Authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre--The Invention of the Cross by

the Empress Helena--Legend of the Cross.

"Ecco apparir Gerusalem si vede,

Ecco additar Gerusalem si scorge,

Ecco da mile voce unitamente,

Gerosalemme salutar si sente.

* * * *

E l'uno all'altro il mostra e in tanto oblia,

La noja e il mal della passata via.

* * * *

Al gran placer che quella prima vista,

Dolcemente spirò nell'altrui petto,

Alta contrizion succese mista,

Di timoroso e riverente affetto,

Ossano appena d'inalzar la vista

Ver la città, di Christo albergo eletto:

Dove mori, dove sepolto fue;

Dove poi riveste le membre sue."

TASSO, _Gerusalemme Liberata_, Canto 3.

We left our camels and dromedaries, and wild Arabs of the desert, at

Gaza; and being now provided with horses, and a tamer sort of Yahoo to

attend upon them, we took our way across the hills towards Jerusalem.

The road passes over a succession of rounded rocky hills, almost every

step being rendered interesting by its connexion with the events of Holy

Writ. On our left we saw the village of Kobab, and on our right the

ruins of a castle said to have been built by the Maccabees, and not far

from it the remains of an ancient Christian church.

As our train of horses surmounted each succeeding eminence, every one

was eager to be the first who should catch a glimpse of the Holy City.

Again and again we were disappointed; another rocky valley yawned

beneath us, and another barren stony hill rose up beyond. There seemed

to be no end to the intervening hills and dales; they appeared to

multiply beneath our feet. At last, when we had almost given up the

point and had ceased to contend for the first view by galloping ahead;

as we ascended another rocky brow we saw the towers of what seemed to be

a Gothic castle; then, as we approached nearer, a long line of walls and

battlements appeared crowning a ridge of rock which rose from a narrow

valley to the right. This was the valley of the pools of Gihon, where

Solomon was crowned, and the battlements which rose above it were the

long looked-for walls of Jerusalem. With one accord our whole party

drew their bridles, and stood still to gaze for the first time upon

this renowned and sacred city.

It is not easy to describe the sensations which fill the breast of a

Christian when, after a long and toilsome journey, he first beholds

this, the most interesting and venerated spot upon the whole surface of

the globe. Every one was silent for a while, absorbed in the deepest

contemplation. The object of our pilgrimage was accomplished, and I do

not think that anything we saw afterwards during our stay in Jerusalem

made a more profound impression on our minds than this first distant

view.

It was curious to observe the different effect which our approach to

Jerusalem had upon the various persons who composed our party. A

Christian pilgrim, who had joined us on the road, fell down upon his

knees and kissed the holy ground; two others embraced each other, and

congratulated themselves that they had lived to see Jerusalem. As for us

Franks, we sat bolt upright upon our horses, and stared and said

nothing; whilst around us the more natural children of the East wept for

joy, and, as in the army of the Crusaders, the word Jerusalem!

Jerusalem! was repeated from mouth to mouth; but we, who consider

ourselves civilized and superior beings, repressed our emotions; we were

above showing that we participated in the feelings of our barbarous

companions. As for myself, I would have got off my horse and walked

bare-footed towards the gate, as some did, if I had dared: but I was in

fear of being laughed at for my absurdity, and therefore sat fast in my

saddle. At last I blew my nose, and, pressing the sharp edges of my Arab

stirrups on the lank sides of my poor weary jade, I rode on slowly

towards the Bethlehem gate.

On the sloping sides of the valley of Gihon numerous groups of people

were lying under the olive-trees in the cool of the evening, and parties

of grave Turks, seated on their carpets by the road-side, were smoking

their long pipes in dignified silence. But what struck me most were some

old white-bearded Jews, who were holding forth to groups of their

friends or disciples under the walls of the city of their fathers, and

dilating perhaps upon the glorious actions of their race in former days.

Jerusalem has been described as a deserted and melancholy ruin, filling

the mind with images of desolation and decay, but it did not strike me

as such. It is still a compact city, as it is described in Scripture;

the Saracenic walls have a stately, magnificent appearance; they are

built of large and massive stones. The square towers, which are seen at

intervals, are handsome and in good repair; and there is an imposing

dignity in the appearance of the grim old citadel, which rises in the

centre of the line of walls and towers, with its batteries and terraces

one above another, surmounted with the crimson flag of Turkey floating

heavily over the conquered city of the cross.

We entered by the Bethlehem gate: it is commanded by the citadel, which

was built by the people of Pisa, and is still called the castle of the

Pisans. There we had some parleying with the Egyptian guards, and,

crossing an open space famous in monastic tradition as the garden where

Bathsheba was bathing when she was seen by King David from the roof of

his palace, we threaded a labyrinth of narrow streets, which the horses

of our party completely blocked up; and as soon as we could, we sent a

man with our letters of introduction to the superior of the Latin

convent. I had letters from Cardinal Weld and Cardinal Pedicini, which

we presumed would ensure us a warm and hospitable reception; and as

travellers are usually lodged in the monastic establishments, we went on

at once to the Latin convent of St. Salvador, where we expected to enjoy

all the comforts and luxuries of European civilization after our weary

journey over the desert from Egypt. We, however, quickly discovered our

mistake; for, on dismounting at the gate of the convent, we were

received in a very cool way by the monks, who appeared to make the

reception of travellers a mere matter of interest, and treated us as if

we were dust under their feet. They put us into a wretched hole in the

Casa Nuova, a house belonging to them near the convent, where there was

scarcely room for our baggage; and we went to bed not a little mortified

at our inhospitable reception by our Christian brethren, so different

from what we had always experienced from the Mahometans. The convent of

St. Salvador belongs to a community of Franciscan friars; they were most

of them Spaniards, and, being so far away from the superior officers of

their order, they were not kept in very perfect discipline. It was

probably owing to our being heretics that we were not better received.

Fortunately we had our own beds, tents, cooking-utensils, carpets, &c.;

so that we soon made ourselves comfortable in the bare vaulted rooms

which were allotted to us, and for which, by-the-bye, we had to pay

pretty handsomely.

The next morning early we went to the church of the Holy Sepulchre,

descending the hill from the convent, and then down a flight of narrow

steps into a small paved court, one side of which is occupied by the

Gothic front of the church. The court was full of people selling beads

and crucifixes and other holy ware. We had to wait some time, till the

Turkish doorkeepers came to unlock the door, as they keep the keys of

the church, which is only open on certain days, except to votaries of

distinction. There is a hole in the door, through which the pilgrims

gave quantities of things to the monks inside to be laid upon the

sepulchre. At last the door was opened, and we went into the church.

On entering these sacred walls the attention is first directed to a

large slab of marble on the floor opposite the door, with several lamps

suspended over it, and three enormous waxen tapers about twenty feet in

height standing at each end. The pilgrims approach it on their knees,

touch and kiss it, and, prostrating themselves before it, offer up their

adoration. This, you are told, is the stone on which the body of our

Lord was washed and anointed, and prepared for the tomb.

Turning to the left, we came to a round stone let into the pavement,

with a canopy of ornamental iron-work over it Here the Virgin Mary is

said to have stood when the body of our Saviour was taken down from the

cross.

Leaving this, we entered the circular space immediately under the great

dome, which is about eighty feet in diameter, and is surrounded by

eighteen large square piers, which support the front of a broad gallery.

Formerly this circular gallery was supported by white marble pillars:

but the church was burnt down about twenty years ago, through the

negligence of a drunken Greek monk, who set a light to some parts of the

woodwork, and then endeavoured to put out the flames by throwing aqua

vitæ upon them, which he mistook for water.

The Chapel of the Sepulchre stands under the centre of the dome. It is a

small oblong house of stone, rounded at one end, where there is an altar

for the Coptic and Abyssinian Christians. At the other end it is

square, and has a platform of marble in front, which is ascended by a

flight of steps, and has a low parapet wall and a seat on each side. The

chapel contains two rooms. Taking off our shoes and turbans, we entered

a low narrow door, and went into a chamber, in the centre of which

stands a block of polished marble. On this stone sat the angel who

announced the blessed tidings of the resurrection.

From this room, which has a small round window on each side, we passed

through another low door into the inner chamber, which contains the Holy

Sepulchre itself, which, however, is not visible, being concealed by an

altar of white marble. It is said to be a long narrow excavation like a

grave or the interior of a sarcophagus hewed out of the rock just

beneath the level of the ground. Six rows of lamps of silver gilt,

twelve in each row, hang from the ceiling, and are kept perpetually

burning. The tomb occupies nearly one-half of the sepulchral chamber,

and extends from one end of it to the other on the right side of the

door as you enter; a space of three feet wide and rather more than six

feet long in front of it being all that remains for the accommodation of

the pilgrims, so that not more than three or four can be admitted at a

time.

Leaving this hallowed spot, we were conducted first to the place where

our Lord appeared to Mary Magdalen, and then to the Chapel of the

Latins, where a part of the pillar of flagellation is preserved.

The Greeks have possession of the choir of the church, which is opposite

the door of the Holy Sepulchre. This part of the building is of great

size, and is magnificently decorated with gold and carving and stiff

pictures of the saints. In the centre is a globe of black marble on a

pedestal, under which they say the head of Adam was found; and you are

told also that this is the exact centre of the globe; the Greeks having

thus transferred to Jerusalem, from the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the

absurd notions of the pagan priests of antiquity relative to the form of

the earth.

Returning towards the door of the church, and leaving it on our right

hand, we ascended a flight of about twenty steps, and found ourselves in

the Chapel of the Cross on Mount Calvary. At the upper end of this

chapel is an altar, on the spot where the crucifixion took place, and

under it is the hole into which the end of the cross was fixed: this is

surrounded with a glory of silver gilt, and on each side of it, at the

distance of about six feet, are the holes in which the crosses of the

two thieves stood. Near to these is a long rent in the rock, which was

opened by an earthquake at the time of the crucifixion. Although the

three crosses appear to have stood very near to each other, yet, from

the manner in which they are placed, there would have been room enough

for them, as the cross of our Saviour stands in front of the other two.

Leaving this chapel we entered a kind of vault under the stairs, in

which the rent of the rock is again seen: it extends from the ceiling to

the floor, and has every appearance of having been caused by some

convulsion of nature, and not formed by the hands of man. Here were

formerly the tombs of Godfrey de Bouillon and Baldwin his brother, who

were buried beneath the cross for which they fought so valiantly: but

these tombs have lately been destroyed by the Greeks, whose detestation

of everything connected with the Latin Church exceeds their aversion to

the Mahometan creed. In the sacristy of the Latin monks we were shown

the sword and spurs of Godfrey de Bouillon; the sword is apparently of

the age assigned to it: it is double-edged and straight, with a

cross-guard.[11]

In another part of the church is a small dismal chapel, in the floor of

which are several ancient tombs; one of them is said to be the sepulchre

of Joseph of Arimathea. Of the antiquity of these tombs there cannot be

the slightest doubt; and their being here forms the best argument for

the authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre itself, as it shows that this was

formerly a place of burial, notwithstanding its situation in the centre

of the ancient city, contrary to the almost universal practice of the

ancients, whose sepulchres are always found some short distance from

their cities; indeed, among the Egyptians, whose manners seem to have

been followed in many respects by the Jews, it was a law that no one

should be buried in the cultivated grounds, but their tombs were

excavated in the rocks of the desert, that the agricultural and other

daily pursuits of the living might not interfere with the repose of the

dead. It is mentioned in the Bible that Christ was led _out_ to be

crucified; but it is not quite clear from the passage whether he was led

out of the city of Jerusalem itself, or only from the city of David on

Mount Sion, which appears to have been the citadel and place of

residence of the Roman governor. If so, the site of the Holy Sepulchre

may be the true one; and, in common with all other pilgrims, I am

inclined to hope that the tomb now pointed out may really be the

sepulchre of Christ.

Descending a flight of steps from the body of the church, we entered the

subterranean chapel of St. Helena, below which is another vault, in

which the true cross is said to have been found. A very curious account

of the finding of the cross is to be seen in the black-letter pages of

Caxton's 'Golden Legend,' and it has formed the subject of many

singular traditions and romantic stories in former days. The history of

this famous relic would be tedious were I to narrate it in the obsolete

phraseology of the father of English printing, and I will therefore only

give a short summary of the legend; although, to those who take an

interest in monastic traditions, the accounts given in old books, which

were read by our ancestors before the Reformation with all the sober

seriousness of undoubting faith, afford a curious instance of the

proneness of the human intellect to mistake the shadow for the

substance, and to substitute an unbounded veneration for outward

observances for the more reasonable acts of spiritual devotion.

In the middle ages, while the worship of our Saviour was completely

neglected, the wooden cross upon which he was supposed to have suffered

was the object of universal adoration to all sects of Christians; armies

fought with religious enthusiasm, not for the faith, but for the relic

of the cross; and the traditions regarding it were received as undoubted

facts by the heroes of the crusades, the hierarchy of the Church, and

all who called themselves Christians, in those iron ages, when with rope

and fagot, fire and sword, the fierce piety even of good men sought to

enforce the precepts of Him whose advent was heralded with the angels'

hymn of "peace on earth and good will towards men."

It is related in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, that when Adam

fell sick he sent his son Seth to the gate of the terrestrial paradise

to ask the angel for some drops of the oil of mercy, which distilled

from the tree of life, to cure him of his disease; but the angel

answered that he could not receive this healing oil until 5500 years had

passed away. He gave him, however, a branch of this tree, and it was

planted upon Adam's grave. In after ages the tree flourished and waxed

exceeding fair, for Adam was buried in Mount Lebanon, not very far from

the place near Damascus whence the red earth of which his body was

formed by the Creator had been taken. When Balkia, Queen of Abyssinia,

came to visit Solomon the King, she worshipped this tree, for she said

that thereon should the Saviour of the world be hanged, and that from

that time the kingdom of the Jews should cease. Upon hearing this,

Solomon commanded that the tree should be cut down and buried in a

certain place in Jerusalem, where afterwards the pool of Bethesda was

dug, and the angel that had charge of the mysterious tree troubled the

water of the pool at certain seasons, and those who first dipped into it

were cured of their ailments. As the time of the passion of the Saviour

approached, the wood floated on the surface of the water, and of that

piece of timber, which was of cedar, the Jews made the upright part of

the cross, the cross beam was made of cypress, the piece on which his

feet rested was of palm, and the other, on which the superscription was

written, was of olive.

After the crucifixion the holy cross and the crosses of the two thieves

were thrown into the town ditch, or, according to some, into an old

vault which was near at hand, and they were covered with the refuse and

ruins of the city. In her extreme old age the Empress Helena, making a

pilgrimage to Jerusalem, threatened all the Jewish inhabitants with

torture and death if they did not produce the holy cross from the place

where their ancestors had concealed it: and at last an old Jew named

Judas, who had been put into prison and was nearly famished, consented

to reveal the secret; he accordingly petitioned Heaven, whereupon the

earth trembled, and from the fissures in the ground a delicious aromatic

odour issued forth, and on the soil being removed the three crosses were

discovered; and near the crosses the superscription was also found, but

it was not known to which of the three it belonged. However, Macarius,

Bishop of Jerusalem, repairing with the Empress to the house of a noble

lady who was afflicted with an incurable disease, she was immediately

restored to health by touching the true cross; and the body of a young

man which was being carried out to burial was brought to life on being

laid upon the holy wood. At the sight of these miracles Judas the Jew

became a Christian, and was baptized by the name of Quiriacus, to the

great indignation of the devil, for, said he, "by the first Judas I

gained much profit, but by this one's conversion I shall lose many

souls."

It would be endless were I to give the history of all the authenticated

relics of the holy cross since those days; but of the three principal

pieces one is now, or lately was, at Etchmiazin, in Armenia, the monks

of which Church are accused of having stolen it from the Latins of

Jerusalem when they were imprisoned by Sultan Suleiman. The second piece

is still at Jerusalem, in the hands of the Greeks; and the third, which

was sent by the Empress Helena herself to the church of Santa Croce di

Gerusalemme at Rome, is now preserved in St. Peter's. There is indeed

little reason to doubt that the piece of wood exhibited at Rome is the

same that the Empress sent there in the year 326. The feast of the

"Invention of the Cross" continues to be celebrated every year on the

3rd of May by an appropriate mass.

Besides the objects which I have mentioned, there is within the church

an altar on the spot where Christ is said to have appeared to the Virgin

after the resurrection. This completes the list of all the sacred places

contained under the roof of the great church of the Holy Sepulchre.

I may remark that all the very ancient specimens of the relics of the

true cross are of the same wood, which has a very peculiar

half-petrified appearance. I have a relic of this kind; the date of the

shrine in which it is preserved being of the date of 1280. I have also

a piece of the cross in a more modern setting, which is not of the same

wood.

Whether all the hallowed spots within these walls really are the places

which the guardians of the church declare them to be, or whether they

have been fixed on at random, and consecrated to serve the interested

views of a crafty priesthood, is a fact that I shall leave others to

determine; however this may be, it is a matter of little consequence to

the Christian. The great facts on which the history of the Gospel is

founded are not so closely connected with particular spots of earth or

sacred buildings as to be rendered doubtful by any mistake in the choice

of a locality. The main error on the part of the priests of modern times

at Jerusalem arises from an anxiety to prove the actual existence of

everything to which any allusion is made by the evangelical historians,

not remembering that the lapse of ages and the devastation of successive

wars must have destroyed much, and disguised more, which the early

disciples could most readily have identified. The mere circumstance that

the localities of almost all the events which attended the close of our

Saviour's ministry are crowded into one place, and covered by the roof

of a single church, might excite a very justifiable doubt as to the

exactness of the topography maintained by the friars of Mount Moriah.

CHAPTER XIV.

The Via Dolorosa--The Houses of Dives and of Lazarus--The Prison of

St. Peter--The Site of the Temple of Solomon--The Mosque of

Omar--The Hadjr el Sakhara--The Greek Monastery--Its

Library--Valuable Manuscripts--Splendid MS. of the Book of

Job--Arabic spoken at Jerusalem--Mussulman Theory regarding the

Crucifixion--State of the Jews--Richness of their Dress in their

own Houses--Beauty of their Women--Their literal Interpretation of

Scripture--The Service in the Synagogue--Description of the House

of a Rabbi--The Samaritans--Their Roll of the Pentateuch--Arrival

of Ibrahim Pasha at Jerusalem.

Except the Holy Sepulchre, none of the places which are pointed out as

sacred within the walls of Jerusalem merit a description, as they have

evidently been created by the monks to serve their own purposes. You are

shown, for instance, the whole of the Via Dolorosa, the way by which our

Saviour passed from the hall of Pilate to Mount Calvary, and the exact

seven places where he fell under the weight of the cross: you are shown

the house of the rich man and that of Lazarus, both of them Turkish

buildings, although, as that story is related in a parable, no real

localities ever can have been referred to. Near the house of Lazarus

there were several dogs when I passed by, and, on my asking the guide

whether they were the descendants of the original dogs in the parable,

he said he was not quite sure, but that as to the house there could be

no doubt. The prison of St. Peter is also to be seen, but the column on

which the cock stood who crowed on his denial of our Lord, as well as

the steps by which Christ ascended to the judgment-seat of Pilate, have

been carried away to Rome, where they are both to be seen on the hill of

St. John Lateran.

The mosque of Omar stands on the site of the ancient Temple of Solomon,

which covered the whole of the enclosure which is now the garden of the

mosque, a space of about 1500 feet long, and 1000 feet wide. In the

centre of this garden is a platform of stone about 600 feet square, on

which stands the octagonal building of the mosque itself, the upper part

being covered with green porcelain tiles which glitter in the sun:

below, the walls are paneled with marble richly worked and of different

colours: the dome in the centre has a wide cornice round it, ornamented

with sentences from the Koran: the whole has a brilliant and

extraordinary appearance, more like a Chinese temple than anything else.

This building is called the Acksa el Sakhara, from its containing a

piece of rock called the Hadjr el Sakhara, or the locked-up stone, which

is the principal object of veneration in the place: it occupies the

centre of the mosque, and on it are shown the prints of the angel

Gabriel's fingers, who brought it from heaven, and the mark of the

Prophet's foot and that of his camel, a singularly good leaper, two more

of whose footsteps I have seen in Egypt and Arabia, and I believe there

is another at Damascus, the whole journey from Jerusalem to Mecca having

been performed in four bounds only, for which remarkable service the

camel is to have a place in heaven, where he will enjoy the society of

Borak, the prophet's horse, Balaam's ass, Tobit's dog, and the dog of

the seven sleepers, whose name was Ketmir, and also the companionship of

a certain celebrated fly with whose merits I am unacquainted.

We are told that the stone of the Sakhara fell from heaven at the time

when prophecy commenced at Jerusalem. It was employed as a seat by the

venerable men to whom that gift was communicated, and, as long as the

spirit of vaticination continued to enlighten their minds, the slab

remained steady for their accommodation; but no sooner was the power of

prophecy withdrawn, and the persecuted seers compelled to flee for

safety to other lands, than the stone manifested the profoundest

sympathy in their fate, and evinced a determination to accompany them in

their flight: on which Gabriel the archangel interposed his authority,

and prevented the departure of the prophetical chair. He grasped it with

his mighty hand and nailed it to its rocky bed by seven brass or golden

nails. When any event of great importance to the world takes place the

head of one of these nails disappears, and when they are all gone the

day of judgment will come. As there are now only three left, the

Mahometans believe that the end of all things is not far distant. All

those who have faithfully performed their devotions at this celebrated

mosque are furnished by the priest with a certificate of their having

done so, which is to be buried with them that they may show it to the

door-keeper of Paradise as a ticket of admission. I was presented with

one of these at Jerusalem, and found another in the desert of Al Arisch,

a wondrous piece of good fortune in the estimation of my Mahometan

followers, as I was provided with a ticket for a friend, as well as a

pass for my own reception among the houris of their Prophet's celestial

garden.

The Greek monastery adjoins the church of the Holy Sepulchre. It

contains a good library, the iron door of which is opened by a key as

large as a horse-pistol. The books are kept in good order, and consist

of about two thousand printed volumes in various languages; and about

five hundred Greek and Arabic MSS. on paper, which are all theological

works. There are also about one hundred Greek manuscripts on vellum: the

whole collection is in excellent preservation. One of the eight

manuscripts of the Gospels which the library contains has the index and

the beginning of each Gospel written in gold letters on purple vellum,

and has also some curious illuminations. There is likewise a manuscript

of the whole Bible: it is a large folio, and is the only one I ever

heard of, excepting the one at the Vatican and that at the British

Museum. One of the most beautiful volumes in the library is a large

folio of the book of Job. It is a most glorious MS.: the text is written

in large letters, surrounded with scholia in a smaller hand, and almost

every page contains one or more miniatures representing the sufferings

of Job, with ghastly portraits of Bildad the Shuhite and his other

pitying friends: this manuscript is of the twelfth century. The rest of

the manuscripts consist of the works of the Fathers, copies of the

'Anthologia,' and books for the Church service.

The Arabic language is generally spoken at Jerusalem, though the Turkish

is much used among the better class. The inhabitants are composed of

people of different nations and different religions, who inwardly

despise one another on account of their varying opinions; but, as the

Christians are very numerous, there reigns among the whole no small

degree of complaisance, as well as an unrestrained intercourse in

matters of business, amusement, and even of religion. The Mussulmans,

for instance, pray in all the holy places consecrated to the memory of

Christ and the Virgin, except the tomb of the Holy Sepulchre, the

sanctity of which they do not acknowledge, for they believe that Jesus

Christ did not die, but that he ascended alive into heaven, leaving the

likeness of his face to Judas, who was condemned to die for him; and

that, as Judas was crucified, it was his body, and not that of Jesus,

which was placed in the sepulchre. It is for this reason that the

Mussulmans do not perform any act of devotion at the tomb of the Holy

Sepulchre, and that they ridicule the Christians who visit and revere

it.

The Jews--the "children of the kingdom"--have been cast out, and many

have come from the east and the west to occupy their place in the

desolate land promised to their fathers. Their quarter is in the narrow

valley between the Temple and the foot of Mount Zion. Many of the Jews

are rich, but they are careful to conceal their wealth from the jealous

eyes of their Mahometan rulers, lest they should be subjected to

extortion.

It is remarkable that the Jews who are born in Jerusalem are of a

totally different caste from those we see in Europe. Here they are a

fair race, very lightly made, and particularly effeminate in manner; the

young men wear a lock of long hair on each side of the face, which, with

their flowing silk robes, gives them the appearance of women. The Jews

of both sexes are exceedingly fond of dress; and, although they assume a

dirty and squalid appearance when they walk abroad, in their own houses

they are to be seen clothed in costly furs and the richest silks of

Damascus. The women are covered with gold, and dressed in brocades stiff

with embroidery. Some of them are beautiful; and a girl of about twelve

years old, who was betrothed to the son of a rich old rabbi, was the

prettiest little creature I ever saw; her skin was whiter than ivory,

and her hair, which was as black as jet, and was plaited with strings of

sequins, fell in tresses nearly to the ground. She was of a Spanish

family, and the language usually spoken by the Jews among themselves is

Spanish.

The Jewish religion is now so much encumbered with superstition and the

extraordinary explanations of the Bible in the Talmud, that little of

the original creed remains. They interpret all the words of Scripture

literally, and this leads them into most absurd mistakes. On the morning

of the day of the Passover I went into the synagogue under the walls of

the Temple, and found it crowded to the very door; all the congregation

were standing up, with large white shawls over their heads with the

fringes which they were commanded to wear by the Jewish law. They were

reading the Psalms, and after I had been there a short time all the

people began to hop about and to shake their heads and limbs in a most

extraordinary manner; the whole congregation was in motion, from the

priest, who was dancing in the reading-desk, to the porter, who capered

at the door. All this was in consequence of a verse in the 35th Psalm,

which says, "All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee;" and

this was their ludicrous manner of doing so. After the Psalm a crier

went round the room, who sold the honour of performing different parts

of the service to the highest bidder; the money so obtained is

appropriated to the relief of the poor. The sanctuary at the upper end

of the room was then opened, and a curtain withdrawn, in imitation of

that which separated the Holy of Holies from the body of the Temple.

From this place the book of the law was taken: it was contained in a

case of embossed silver, and two large silver ornaments were fixed on

the ends of the rollers, which stuck out from the top of the case. The

Jews, out of reverence, as I presume, touched it with a little bodkin of

gold, and, on its being carried to the reading-desk, a silver crown was

placed upon it, and a man, supported by two others, one on each side of

him, chanted the lesson of the day in a loud voice: the book was then

replaced in the sanctuary, and the service concluded. The women are not

admitted into the synagogue, but are permitted to view the ceremonies

from a grated gallery set apart for them. However, they seldom attend,

as it seems they are not accounted equal to the men either in body or

soul, and trouble themselves very little with matters of religion.

The house of Rabbi A----, with whom I was acquainted, answered exactly

to Sir Walter Scott's description of the dwelling of Isaac of York. The

outside of the house and the court-yard indicated nothing but poverty

and neglect; but on entering I was surprised at the magnificence of the

furniture. One room had a silver chandelier, and a great quantity of

embossed plate was displayed on the top of the polished cupboards. Some

of the windows were filled with painted glass; and the members of the

family, covered with gold and jewels, were seated on divans of Damascus

brocade. The Rabbi's little son was so covered with charms in gold cases

to keep off the evil eye, that he jingled like a chime of bells when he

walked along; and a still younger boy, whom I had never seen before, was

on this day exalted to the dignity of wearing trousers, which were of

red stuff, embroidered with gold, and were brought in by his nurse and a

number of other women in procession, and borne on high before him as he

was dragged round the room howling and crying without any nether garment

on at all. He was walked round again after his superb trousers were put

on, and very uncomfortable he seemed to be, but doubtless the honour of

the thing consoled him, and he waddled out into the court with an air of

conscious dignity.

The learning of the rabbis is now at a very low ebb, and few of them

thoroughly understand the ancient Hebrew tongue, although there are Jews

at Jerusalem who speak several languages, and are said to be well

acquainted with all the traditions of their fathers, and the mysterious

learning of the Cabala.

There is in the Holy Land another division of the children of Israel,

the Samaritans, who still keep up a separate form of religion. Their

synagogue at Nablous is a mean building, not unlike a poor Mahometan

mosque. Within it is a large, low, square chamber, the floor of which is

covered with matting. Round a part of the walls is a wooden shelf, on

which are laid above thirty manuscript _books_ of the Pentateuch written

in the Samaritan character: they possess also a very famous roll or

volume of the Pentateuch, which is said to have been written by Abishai

the grandson of Aaron. It is contained in a curiously ornamented octagon

case of brass about two feet high, on opening which the MS. appears

within rolled upon two pieces of wood. It is sixteen inches wide, and

must be of great length, as each of the two parts of the roll are four

or five inches in diameter. The writing is small and not very distinct,

and the MS. is in rather a dilapidated condition. The Samaritan Rabbi

Ibrahim Israel, true to his Jewish origin, would not open the case until

he had been well paid. He affirmed that in this MS. the blessings were

directed to be given from Mount Ebal and the curses from Mount Gherizim.

However this may be, in an Arabic translation of the Samaritan

Pentateuch, which is in my own collection, the 12th and 13th verses of

the 27th chapter of Deuteronomy are the same as the usually received

text in other Bibles.

Jerusalem was at this time (1834) under the dominion of the Egyptians,

and Ibrahim Pasha arrived shortly after we had established ourselves in

the vaulted dungeons of the Latin convent. He took up his abode in a

house in the town, and did not maintain any state or ceremony; indeed he

had scarcely any guards, and but few servants, so secure did he feel in

a country which he had so lately conquered. He received us with great

courtesy in his mean lodging, where we found an interpreter who spoke

English. I had been promised a letter from Mohammed Ali Pasha to Ibrahim

Pasha, but on inquiring I found it had not arrived, and Ibrahim Pasha

sent a courier to Jaffa to inquire whether it was lying there; however

it did not reach me, and I therefore was not permitted to see the

interior of the mosque of Omar, or the great church of the Purification,

which stands on the site of the Temple of Solomon, and into which at

that time no Christian had penetrated.

CHAPTER XV.

Expedition to the Monastery of St. Sabba--Reports of Arab

Robbers--The Valley of Jehoshaphat--The Bridge of Al Sirat--Rugged

Scenery--An Arab Ambuscade--A successful Parley--The Monastery of

St. Sabba--History of the Saint--The Greek Hermits--The Church--The

Iconostasis--The Library--Numerous MSS.--The Dead Sea--The Scene of

the Temptation--Discovery--The Apple of the Dead Sea--The

Statements of Strabo and Pliny confirmed.

As we wished to be present at the celebration of Easter by the Greek

Church, we remained several weeks at Jerusalem, during which time we

made various excursions to the most celebrated localities in the

neighbourhood. In addition to the Bible, which almost sufficed us for a

guide-book in these sacred regions, we had several books of travels with

us, and I was struck with the superiority of old Maundrell's narrative

over all the others, for he tells us plainly and clearly what he saw,

whilst other travellers so encumber their narratives with opinions and

disquisitions, that, instead of describing the country, they describe

only what they think about it; and thus little real information as to

what there was to be seen or done could be gleaned from these works,

eloquent and well written as many of them are; and we continually

returned to Maundrell's homely pages for a good plain account of what

we wished to know. As, however, I had gathered from various incidental

remarks in these books that there was a famous library in the monastery

of St. Sabba, in which one might expect to find all the lost classics,

whole rows of uncial manuscripts, and perhaps the histories of the

Preadamite kings in the autograph of Jemshid, I determined to go and see

it.

It was of course necessary for every traveller at Jerusalem to "_do his

Dead Sea_;" and accordingly we made arrangements for an excursion in

that direction, which was to include a visit to St. Sabba; for my

companion kindly put up with my aberrations, and agreed to linger with

me for that purpose on our way to Jericho, although it was at the risk

of falling among thieves, for we heard all manner of reports of the

danger of the roads, and of a certain truculent Robin Hood sort of

person, called Abou Gash, who had just got out of some prison or other.

Abou Gash was vastly popular in this part of the country: everybody

spoke well of him, and declared that "he was the mildest-mannered man

that ever cut a throat or scuttled ship;" but they all hinted that it

might be as well to keep out of his way, and that, when we went

cantering about the country, poking our noses into caves, and ruins, and

other _uncanny_ places, it would be advisable to keep a "good" look-out.

For all this we cared little: so, getting together our merry men, we

sallied forth through St. Stephen's gate. A gallant band we were, some

five-and-twenty horsemen, well armed in the Egyptian style; with tents

and kettles, cocks and hens, and cooks and marmitons, stowed upon the

baggage-horses. Great store of good things had we--vino doro di Monte

Libano, and hams, to show that we were not Mahometans; and tea, to prove

that we were not Frenchmen; and guns to shoot partridges withal, and

many other European necessaries.

We tramped along upon the hard rocky ground one after the other, through

the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and looked up at the corner of the temple,

whence is to spring on the last day, as every sound follower of the

Prophet believes, the fearful bridge of Al Sirat, which is narrower than

the edge of the sharpest cimeter of Khorassaun, and from which those who

without due preparation attempt to pass on their way to the paradise of

Mahomet will fall into the unfathomable gulf below. Gradually as we

advanced into the valley, through which the brook Kedron, when there is

any water in it, flows into the Dead Sea, the scenery became more and

more savage, the rocks more precipitous, and the valley narrowed into a

deep gorge, the path being sometimes among the broken stones in the bed

of the stream, and sometimes rising high above it on narrow ledges of

rock.

We rode on for some hours, admiring the wild grandeur of the scenery,

for this is the hill country of Judea, and seems almost a chaos of rocks

and craggy mountains, broken into narrow defiles, or opening into dreary

valleys bare of vegetation, except a few shrubs whose tough roots pierce

through the crevices of the stony soil, and find a scanty subsistence in

the small portions of earth which the rains have washed from the surface

of the rocks above. In one place the pathway, which was not more than

two or three feet wide, wound round the corner of a precipitous crag in

such a manner that a horseman riding along the giddy way showed so

clearly against the sky, that it seemed as if a puff of wind would blow

horse and man into the ravine beneath. We were proceeding along this

ledge--Fathallah, one of our interpreters, first, I second, and the

others following--when we saw three or four Arabs with long

bright-barrelled guns slip out of a crevice just before us, and take up

their position on the path, pointing those unpleasant-looking implements

in our faces. From some inconceivable motive, not of the most heroic

nature I fear, my first move was to turn my head round to look behind

me; but when I did so, I perceived that some more Arabs had crept out of

another cleft behind us, which we had not observed as we passed; and on

looking up I saw that from the precipice above us a curious collection

of bright barrels and brown faces were taking an observation of our

party, while on the opposite side of the gorge, which was perhaps a

hundred and fifty yards across, every fragment of rock seemed to have

brought forth a man in a white tunic and bare legs, with a yellow

handkerchief round his head, and a long gun in his hand, which he

pointed towards us.

We had fallen into an ambuscade, and one so cleverly laid that all

attempt at resistance was hopeless. The path was so narrow that our

horses could not turn, and a precipice within a yard of us, of a hundred

feet sheer down, rendered our position singularly uncomfortable.

Fathallah's horse came to a stand-still: my horse ran his nose against

him and stood still too; and so did all the rest of us. "Well!" said I,

"Fathallah, what is this? who are these gentlemen?" "I knew it would be

so," quoth Fathallah, "I was sure of it! and in such a cursed place

too!--I see how it is, I shall never get home alive to Aleppo!"

After waiting a while, I imagine to enjoy our confusion, one of the

Arabs in front took up his parable and said, "Oh! oh! ye Egyptians!" (we

wore the Egyptian dress)" what are you doing here, in our country? You

are Ibrahim Pasha's men; are you? Say--speak; what reason have ye for

being here? for we are Arabs, and the sons of Arabs; and this is our

country, and our land?"

"Sir," said the interpreter with profound respect--for he rode first,

and four or five guns were pointed directly at his breast--"Sir, we are

no Egyptians; thy servants are men of peace; we are peaceable Franks,

pilgrims from the holy city, and we are only going to bathe in the

waters of the Jordan, as all pilgrims do who travel to the Holy Land."

"Franks!" quoth the Arab; "I know the Franks; pretty Franks are ye!

Franks are the fathers of hats, and do not wear guns or swords, or red

caps upon their heads, as you do. We shall soon see whether ye are

Franks or not. Ye are Egyptians, and servants of Ibrahim Pasha the

Egyptian: but now ye shall find that ye are our servants!"

"Oh Sir," exclaimed I in the best Arabic I could muster, "thy servants

are men of peace, travellers, antiquaries all of us. Oh Sir, we are

Englishmen, which is a sort of Frank--very harmless and excellent

people, desiring no evil. We beg you will be good enough to let us

pass." "Franks!" retorted the Arab sheick, "pretty Franks! Franks do not

speak Arabic, nor wear the Nizam dress! Ye are men of Ibrahim Pasha's;

Egyptians, arrant Cairoites (Misseri) are ye all, every one of ye;" and

he and all his followers laughed at us scornfully, for we certainly did

look very like Egyptians. "We are Franks, I tell you!" again exclaimed

Fathallah: "Ibrahim Pasha, indeed! who is he, I should like to know? we

are Franks; and Franks like to see everything. We are going to see the

monastery of St. Sabba; we are not Egyptians; what care we for

Egyptians? we are English, Franks, every one of us, and we only desire

to see the monastery of St. Sabba; that is what we are, O Arab, son of

an Arab (Arab beni Arab). We are no less than this, and no more; we are

Franks, as you are Arabs."

Upon this there ensued a consultation between this son of an Arab and

the other sons of Arabs, and in process of time the worthy gentlemen,

knowing that it was impossible for us to escape, agreed to take us to

the monastery of St. Sabba, which was not far off, and there to hear

what we had to say in our defence.

The sheick waved his arm aloft as a signal to his men to raise the

muzzle of their guns, and we were allowed to proceed; some of the Arabs

walking unconcernedly before us, and the others skipping like goats from

rock to rock above us, and on the other side of the valley. They were

ten times as numerous as we were, and we should have had no chance with

them even on fair ground; but here we were completely at their mercy. We

were escorted in this manner the rest of the way, and in half an hour's

time we found ourselves standing before the great square tower of the

monastery of St. Sabba. The battlements were lined with Arabs, who had

taken possession of this strong place, and after a short parley and a

clanging of arms within, a small iron door was opened in the wall: we

dismounted and passed in; our horses, one by one, were pushed through

after us. So there we were in the monastery of St Sabba sure enough; but

under different circumstances from what we expected when we set out that

morning from Jerusalem.

Fathallah had, however, convinced the sheick of the Arabs that we really

were Franks, and not followers of Ibrahim Pasha, and before long we not

only were relieved from all fear, but became great friends with the

noble and illustrious Abou Somebody, who had taken possession of St.

Sabba and the defiles leading to it.

This monastery, which is a very ancient foundation, is built upon the

edge of the precipice at the bottom of which flows the brook Kedron,

which in the rainy season becomes a torrent. The buildings, which are of

immense strength, are supported by buttresses so massive that the upper

part of each is large enough to contain a small arched chamber; the

whole of the rooms in the monastery are vaulted, and are gloomy and

imposing in the extreme. The pyramidical-shaped mass of buildings

extends half-way down the rocks, and is crowned above by a high and

stately square tower, which commands the small iron gate of the

principal entrance. Within there are several small irregular courts

connected by steep flights of steps and dark arched passages, some of

which are carried through the solid rock.

It was in one of the caves in these rocks that the renowned St. Sabba

passed his time in the society of a pet lion. He was a famous anchorite,

and was made chief of all the monks of Palestine by Sallustius,

Patriarch of Jerusalem, about the year 490. He was twice ambassador to

Constantinople to propitiate the Emperors Anastasius the Silent and

Justinian; moreover he made a vow never to eat apples as long as he

lived. He was born at Mutalasca, near Cæsarea of Cappadocia, in 439, and

died in 532, in the ninety-fifth year of his age: he is still held in

high veneration by both the Greek and Latin churches. He was the founder

of the Laura, which was formerly situated among the clefts and crevices

of these rocks, the present monastery having been enclosed and fortified

at I do not know what period, but long after the decease of the saint.

The word laura, which is often met with in the histories of the first

five centuries after Christ, signifies, when applied to monastic

institutions, a number of separate cells, each inhabited by a single

hermit or anchorite, in contradistinction to a convent or monastery,

which was called a cœnobium, where the monks lived together in one

building under the rule of a superior. This species of monasticism seems

always to have been a peculiar characteristic of the Greek Church, and

in the present day these ascetic observances are upheld only by the

Greek, Coptic, and Abyssinian Christians, among whom hermits and

quietists, such as waste the body for the improvement of the soul, are

still to be met with in the clefts of the rocks and in the desert places

of Asia and Africa. They are a sort of dissenters as regards their own

Church, for, by the mortifications to which they subject themselves,

they rebuke the regular priesthood, who do not go so far, although these

latter fast in the year above one hundred days, and always rise to

midnight prayer. In the dissent, if such it be, of these monks of the

desert there is a dignity and self-denying firmness much to be

respected. They follow the tenets of their faith and the ordinances of

their religion in a manner which is almost sublime. They are in this

respect the very opposite to European dissenters, who are as undignified

as they are generally snug and cosy in their mode of life. Here, among

the followers of St. Anthony, there are no mock heroics, no turning up

of the whites of the eyes and drawing down of the corners of the mouth:

they form their rule of life from the ascetic writings of the early

fathers of the Church: their self-denial is extreme, their devotion

heroic; but yet to our eyes it appears puerile and irrational that men

should give up their whole lives to a routine of observances which,

although they are hard and stern, are yet so trivial that they appear

almost ridiculous.

In one of the courts of the monastery there is a palm-tree, said to be

endowed with miraculous properties, which was planted by St. Sabba, and

is to be numbered among the few now existing in the Holy Land, for at

present they are very rarely to be met with, except in the vale of

Jericho and the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, in which

localities, in consequence of their being so much beneath the level of

the rest of the country, the temperature is many degrees higher than it

is elsewhere.

The church is rather large and is very solidly built. There are many

ancient frescos painted on the walls, and various early Greek pictures

are hung round about: many of these are representations of the most

famous saints, and on the feast of each his picture is exposed upon a

kind of desk before the iconostasis or wooden partition which divides

the church from the sanctuary and the altar, and there it receives the

kisses and oblations of all the worshippers who enter the sacred edifice

on that day.

The ικονοsτασις is dimly represented in our older

churches by the rood-loft and screen which divides the chancel from the

nave: it is retained also in Lombardy and in the sees under the

Ambrosian rule; but these screens and rood-lofts, which destroy the

beauty of a cathedral or any large church, are unknown in the Roman

churches. They date their origin from the very earliest ages, when the

"discipline of the secret" was observed, and when the ceremonies of the

communion were held to be of such a sacred and mysterious nature that it

was not permitted to the communicants to reveal what then took place--an

incomprehensible custom which led to the propagation of many false ideas

and strange rumours as to the Christian observances in the third and

fourth centuries, and was one of the causes which led to several of the

persecutions of the Church, as it was believed by the heathens that the

Christians sacrificed children and committed other abominations for

which they deserved extermination; and so prone are the vulgar to give

credence to such injurious reports, that the Christians in later ages

accused the Jews of the very same practices for which they themselves

had in former times been held up to execration.

In one part of the church I observed a rickety ladder leaning against

the wall, and leading up to a small door about ten feet from the ground.

Scrambling up this ladder, I found myself in the library of which I had

heard so much. It was a small square room, or rather a large closet, in

the upper part of one of the enormous buttresses which supported the

walls of the monastery. Here I found about a thousand books, almost all

manuscripts, but the whole of them were works of divinity. One volume in

the Bulgarian or Servian language was written in uncial letters; the

rest were in Greek, and were for the most part of the twelfth century.

There were a great many enormous folios of the works of the fathers,

and one MS. of the Octoteuch, or first eight hooks of the Old Testament.

It is remarkable how very rarely MSS. of any part of the Old Testament

are found in the libraries of Greek monasteries; this was the only MS.

of the Octoteuch that I ever met with either before or afterwards in any

part of the Levant. There were about a hundred other MSS. on a shelf in

the apsis of the church: I was not allowed to examine them, but was

assured that they were liturgies and church-books which were used on the

various high days during the year.

I was afterwards taken by some of the monks into the vaulted chambers of

the great square tower or keep, which stood near the iron door by which

we had been admitted. Here there were about a hundred MSS., but all

imperfect; I found the 'Iliad' of Homer among them, but it was on paper.

Some of these MSS. were beautifully written; they were, however, so

imperfect, that in the short time I was there, and pestered as I was by

a crowd of gaping Arabs, I was unable to discover what they were.

I was allowed to purchase three MSS., with which the next day I and my

companion departed on our way to the Dead Sea, our friend the sheick

having, from the moment that he was convinced we were nothing better or

worse than Englishmen and sight-seers, treated us with all manner of

civility.

On arriving at the Dead Sea I forthwith proceeded to bathe in it, in

order to prove the celebrated buoyancy of the water, and was nearly

drowned in the experiment, for, not being able to swim, my head got much

deeper below the water than I intended. Two ignorant pilgrims, who had

joined our party for protection, baptized each other in this filthy

water, and sang psalms so loudly and discordantly that we asked them

what in the name of wonder they were about, when we discovered that they

thought this was the Jordan, and were sorely grieved at their

disappointment. We found several shells upon the shore and a small dead

fish, but perhaps they had been washed down by the waters of the Jordan

or the Kedron: I do not know how this may be.

We wandered about for two or three days in this hot, volcanic, and

sunken region, and thence proceeded to Jericho. The mountain of

Quarantina, the scene of the forty days' temptation of our Saviour, is

pierced all over with the caves excavated by the ancient anchorites, and

which look like pigeons' nests. Some of them are in the most

extraordinary situations, high up on the face of tremendous precipices.

However, I will not attempt to detail the singularities of this wild

district; we visited the chief objects of interest, and a big book that

I brought from St. Sabba is endeared to my recollections by my having

constantly made use of it as a pillow in my tent during our wanderings.

It was somewhat hard, undoubtedly; but after a long day's ride it

served its purpose very well, and I slept as soundly as if it had been

read to me.

At two subsequent periods I visited this region, and purchased seven

other MSS. from St Sabba; among them was the Octoteuch of the tenth, if

not the ninth, century, which I esteem one of the most rare and precious

volumes of my library.

We made a somewhat singular discovery when travelling among the

mountains to the east of the Dead Sea, where the ruins of Ammon, Jerash,

and Adjeloun well repay the labour and fatigue encountered in visiting

them. It was a remarkably hot and sultry day: we were scrambling up the

mountain through a thick jungle of bushes and low trees, when I saw

before me a fine plum-tree, loaded with fresh blooming plums. I cried

out to my fellow-traveller, "Now, then, who will arrive first at the

plum-tree?" and as he caught a glimpse of so refreshing an object, we

both pressed our horses into a gallop to see which would get the first

plum from the branches. We both arrived at the same moment; and, each

snatching at a fine ripe plum, put it at once into our mouths; when, on

biting it, instead of the cool delicious juicy fruit which we expected,

our months were filled with a dry bitter dust, and we sat under the tree

upon our horses sputtering, and hemming, and doing all we could to be

relieved of the nauseous taste of this strange fruit. We then

perceived, and to my great delight, that we had discovered the famous

apple of the Dead Sea, the existence of which has been doubted and

canvassed since the days of Strabo and Pliny, who first described it.

Many travellers have given descriptions of other vegetable productions

which bear some analogy to the one described by Pliny; but up to this

time no one had met with the thing itself, either upon the spot

mentioned by the ancient authors, or elsewhere. I brought several of

them to England. They are a kind of gall-nut. I found others afterwards

upon the plains of Troy, but there can be no doubt whatever that this is

the apple of Sodom to which Strabo and Pliny referred. Some of those

which I brought to England were given to the Linnæan Society, who

published an engraving of them, and a description of their vegetable

peculiarities, in their 'Transactions;' but as they omitted to explain

the peculiar interest attached to them in consequence of their having

been sought for unsuccessfully for above 1500 years, they excited little

attention; though, as the evidence of the truth of what has so long been

considered as a vulgar fable, they are fairly to be classed among the

most curious productions which have been brought from the Holy Land.

CHAPTER XVI.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre--Processions of the Copts--The Syrian

Maronites and the Greeks--Riotous Behaviour of the Pilgrims--Their

immense numbers--The Chant of the Latin Monks--Ibrahim Pasha--The

Exhibition of the Sacred Fire--Excitement of the Pilgrims--The

Patriarch obtains the Sacred Fire from the Holy Sepulchre--Contest

for the Holy Light--Immense sum paid for the privilege of receiving

it first--Fatal Effects of the Heat and Smoke--Departure of Ibrahim

Pasha--Horrible Catastrophe--Dreadful Loss of Life among the

Pilgrims in their endeavours to leave the Church--Battle with the

Soldiers--Our Narrow Escape--Shocking Scene in the Court of the

Church--Humane Conduct of Ibrahim Pasha--Superstition of the

Pilgrims regarding Shrouds--Scallop Shells and Palm Branches--The

Dead Muleteer--Moonlight View of the Dead Bodies--The Curse on

Jerusalem--Departure from the Holy City.

It was on Friday, the 3rd of May, that my companions and myself went,

about five o'clock in the evening, to the church of the Holy Sepulchre,

where we had places assigned us in the gallery of the Latin monks, as

well as a good bed-room in their convent. The church was very full, and

the numbers kept increasing every moment. We first saw a small

procession of the Copts go round the sepulchre, and after them one of

the Syrian Maronites. I then went to bed, and at midnight was awakened

to see the procession of the Greeks, which was rather grand. By the

rules of their Church they are not permitted to carry any images, and

therefore to make up for this they bore aloft a piece of brocade, upon

which was embroidered a representation of the body of our Saviour. This

was placed in the tomb, and, after some short time, brought out again

and carried into the chapel of the Greeks, when the ceremonies of the

night ended; for there was no procession of the Armenians, as the

Armenian Patriarch had made an address to his congregation, and had, it

was said, explained the falsity of the miracle of the holy fire; to the

excessive astonishment of his hearers, who for centuries have considered

an unshakable belief in this yearly wonder as one of the leading

articles of their faith. After the Greek procession I went quietly to

bed again, and slept soundly till next morning.

The behaviour of the pilgrims was riotous in the extreme; the crowd was

so great that many persons actually crawled over the heads of others,

and some made pyramids of men by standing on each others' shoulders, as

I have seen them do at Astley's. At one time, before the church was so

full, they made a race-course round the sepulchre; and some, almost in a

state of nudity, danced about with frantic gestures, yelling and

screaming as if they were possessed.

Altogether it was a scene of disorder and profanation which it is

impossible to describe. In consequence of the multitude of people and

the quantities of lamps, the heat was excessive, and a steam arose

which prevented your seeing clearly across the church. But every window

and cornice, and every place where a man's foot could rest, excepting

the gallery--which was reserved for Ibrahim Pasha and

ourselves--appeared to be crammed with people; for 17,000 pilgrims were

said to be in Jerusalem, almost the whole of whom had come to the Holy

City for no other reason than to see the sacred fire.

After the noise, heat, and uproar which I had witnessed from the gallery

that overlooked the Holy Sepulchre, the contrast of the calmness and

quiet of my room in the Franciscan convent was very pleasing. The room

had a small window which opened upon the Latin choir, where, in the

evening, the monks chanted the litany of the Virgin: their fine voices

and the beautiful simplicity of the ancient chant made a strong

impression upon my mind; the orderly solemnity of the Roman Catholic

vespers showing to great advantage when compared with the screams and

tumult of the fanatic Greeks.

[Illustration: LITANY OF THE VIRGIN

Sung by the Friars of St. Salvador at Jerusalem.

Sanc--ta Mat--er Do--mi--ni-- O--ra

pro no--bis. Sanc--ta De--i

Ge--ni--trix-- O--ra pro no--bis.

Sancta Maria--Ora pro nobis.

Sancta Virgo Virginum--Ora pro nobis.

Impeatrix Reginarum--Ora pro nobis.

Laus sanctarum animarum--Ora pro nobis

Vera salutrix earum--Ora pro nobis.

The next morning a way was made through the crowd for Ibrahim Pasha, by

the soldiers with the butt-ends of their muskets, and by the Janissaries

with their kourbatches and whips made of a quantity of small rope. The

Pasha sat in the gallery, on a divan which the monks had made for him

between the two columns nearest to the Greek chapel. They had got up a

sort of procession to do him honour, the appearance of which did not add

to the solemnity of the scene: three monks playing crazy fiddles led the

way, then came the choristers with lighted candles, next two Nizam

soldiers with muskets and fixed bayonets; a number of doctors,

instructors, and officers tumbling over each other's heels, brought up

the rear: he was received by the women, of whom there were thousands in

the church, with a very peculiar shrill cry, which had a strange

unearthly effect. It was the monosyllable la, la, la, uttered in a

shrill trembling tone, which I thought much more like pain than

rejoicing. The Pasha was dressed in full trousers of dark cloth, a light

lilac-coloured jacket, and a red cap without a turban. When he was

seated, the monks brought us some sherbet, which was excellently made;

and as our seats were very near the great man, we saw everything in an

easy and luxurious way; and it being announced that the Mahomedan Pasha

was ready, the Christian miracle, which had been waiting for some time,

was now on the point of being displayed.

The people were by this time become furious; they were worn out with

standing in such a crowd all night, and as the time approached for the

exhibition of the holy fire they could not contain themselves for joy.

Their excitement increased as the time for the miracle in which all

believed drew near. At about one o'clock the Patriarch went into the

ante-chapel of the sepulchre, and soon after a magnificent procession

moved out of the Greek chapel. It conducted the Patriarch three times

round the tomb; after which he took off his outer robes of cloth of

silver, and went into the sepulchre, the door of which was then closed.

The agitation of the pilgrims was now extreme: they screamed aloud; and

the dense mass of people shook to and fro, like a field of corn in the

wind.

[Illustration: image of a bundle of thin wax-candles

enclosed in an iron frame.]

There is a round hole in one part of the chapel over the sepulchre, out

of which the holy fire is given, and up to this the man who had agreed

to pay the highest sum for this honour was conducted by a strong guard

of soldiers. There was silence for a minute; and then a light appeared

out of the tomb, and the happy pilgrim received the holy fire from the

Patriarch within. It consisted of a bundle of thin wax-candles, lit, and

enclosed in an iron frame to prevent their being torn asunder and put

out in the crowd: for a furious battle commenced immediately; every one

being so eager to obtain the holy light, that one man put out the candle

of his neighbour in trying to light his own. It is said that as much as

ten thousand piasters has been paid for the privilege of first receiving

the holy fire, which is believed to ensure eternal salvation. The Copts

got eight purses this year for the first candle they gave to a pilgrim

of their own persuasion.

This was the whole of the ceremony; there was no sermon or prayers,

except a little chanting during the processions, and nothing that could

tend to remind you of the awful event which this feast was designed to

commemorate.

Soon you saw the lights increasing in all directions, every one having

lit his candle from the holy flame: the chapels, the galleries, and

every corner where a candle could possibly be displayed, immediately

appeared to be in a blaze. The people, in their frenzy, put the bunches

of lighted tapers to their faces, hands, and breasts, to purify

themselves from their sins. The Patriarch was carried out of the

sepulchre in triumph, on the shoulders of the people he had deceived,

amid the cries and exclamations of joy which resounded from every nook

of the immense pile of buildings. As he appeared in a fainting state, I

supposed that he was ill; but I found that it is the uniform custom on

these occasions to feign insensibility, that the pilgrims may imagine he

is overcome with the glory of the Almighty, from whose immediate

presence they believe him to have returned.

In a short time the smoke of the candles obscured everything in the

place, and I could see it rolling in great volumes out at the aperture

at the top of the dome. The smell was terrible; and three unhappy

wretches, overcome by heat and bad air, fell from the upper range of

galleries, and were dashed to pieces on the heads of the people below.

One poor Armenian lady, seventeen years of age, died where she sat, of

heat, thirst, and fatigue.

After a while, when he had seen all that was to be seen, Ibrahim Pasha

got up and went away, his numerous guards making a line for him by main

force through the dense mass of people which filled the body of the

church. As the crowd was so immense, we waited for a little while, and

then set out all together to return to our convent. I went first and my

friends followed me, the soldiers making way for us across the church. I

got as far as the place where the Virgin is said to have stood during

the crucifixion, when I saw a number of people lying one on another all

about this part of the church, and as far as I could see towards the

door. I made my way between them as well as I could, till they were so

thick that there was actually a great heap of bodies on which I trod. It

then suddenly struck me they were all dead! I had not perceived this at

first, for I thought they were only very much fatigued with the

ceremonies and had lain down to rest themselves there; but when I came

to so great a heap of bodies I looked down at them, and saw that sharp,

hard appearance of the face which is never to be mistaken. Many of them

were quite black with suffocation, and farther on were others all bloody

and covered with the brains and entrails of those who had been trodden

to pieces by the crowd.

At this time there was no crowd in this part of the church; but a

little farther on, round the corner towards the great door, the people,

who were quite panic-struck, continued to press forward, and every one

was doing his utmost to escape. The guards outside, frightened at the

rush from within, thought that the Christians wished to attack them, and

the confusion soon grew into a battle. The soldiers with their bayonets

killed numbers of fainting wretches, and the walls were spattered with

blood and brains of men who had been felled, like oxen, with the

butt-ends of the soldiers' muskets. Every one struggled to defend

himself or to get away, and in the mêlée all who fell were immediately

trampled to death by the rest. So desperate and savage did the fight

become, that even the panic-struck and frightened pilgrims appear at

last to have been more intent upon the destruction of each other than

desirous to save themselves.

For my part, as soon as I perceived the danger I had cried out to my

companions to turn back, which they had done; but I myself was carried

on by the press till I came near the door, where all were fighting for

their lives. Here, seeing certain destruction before me, I made every

endeavour to get back. An officer of the Pasha's, who by his star was a

colonel or bin bashee, equally alarmed with myself, was also trying to

return: he caught hold of my cloak, or bournouse, and pulled me down on

the body of an old man who was breathing out his last sigh. As the

officer was pressing me to the ground we wrestled together among the

dying and the dead with the energy of despair. I struggled with this man

till I pulled him down, and happily got again upon my legs--(I

afterwards found that he never rose again)--and scrambling over a pile

of corpses, I made my way back into the body of the church, where I

found my friends, and we succeeded in reaching the sacristy of the

Catholics, and thence the room which had been assigned to us by the

monks. The dead were lying in heaps, even upon the stone of unction; and

I saw full four hundred wretched people, dead and living, heaped

promiscuously one upon another, in some places above five feet high.

Ibrahim Pasha had left the church only a few minutes before me, and very

narrowly escaped with his life; he was so pressed upon by the crowd on

all sides, and it was said attacked by several of them, that it was only

by the greatest exertions of his suite, several of whom were killed,

that he gained the outer court. He fainted more than once in the

struggle, and I was told that some of his attendants at last had to cut

a way for him with their swords through the dense ranks of the frantic

pilgrims. He remained outside, giving orders for the removal of the

corpses, and making his men drag out the bodies of those who appeared to

be still alive from the heaps of the dead. He sent word to us to remain

in the convent till all the dead bodies had been removed, and that when

we could come out in safety he would again send to us.

We stayed in our room two hours before we ventured to make another

attempt to escape from this scene of horror; and then walking close

together, with all our servants round us, we made a bold push and got

out of the door of the church. By this time most of the bodies were

removed; but twenty or thirty were still lying in distorted attitudes at

the foot of Mount Calvary; and fragments of clothes, turbans, shoes, and

handkerchiefs, clotted with blood and dirt, were strewed all over the

pavement.

In the court in the front of the church, the sight was pitiable: mothers

weeping over their children--the sons bending over the dead bodies of

their fathers--and one poor woman was clinging to the hand of her

husband, whose body was fearfully mangled. Most of the sufferers were

pilgrims and strangers. The Pasha was greatly moved by this scene of

woe; and he again and again commanded his officers to give the poor

people every assistance in their power, and very many by his humane

efforts were rescued from death.

I was much struck by the sight of two old men with white beards, who had

been seeking for each other among the dead; they met as I was passing

by, and it was affecting to see them kiss and shake hands, and

congratulate each other on having escaped from death.

When the bodies were removed many were discovered standing upright,

quite dead; and near the church door one of the soldiers was found thus

standing, with his musket shouldered, among the bodies which reached

nearly as high as his head; this was in a corner near the great door on

the right side as you come in. It seems that this door had been shut, so

that many who stood near it were suffocated in the crowd; and when it

was opened, the rush was so great that numbers were thrown down and

never rose again, being trampled to death by the press behind them. The

whole court before the entrance of the church was covered with bodies

laid in rows, by the Pasha's orders, so that their friends might find

them and carry them away. As we walked home we saw numbers of people

carried out, some dead, some horribly wounded and in a dying state, for

they had fought with their heavy silver inkstands and daggers.