had belonged to the ancient temple; and every subsequent visit only served to strengthen this conviction. The size of the stones and the heterogeneous character of the walls, render it a matter beyond all doubt, that the former were never laid in their present places by the Mahometans; and the peculiar form in which they are hewn does not properly belong, so far as I know, either to Saracenic or to Roman architecture. Indeed, every thing seems to point to a Jewish orign; and a discovery which we made in the course of our examination reduces this hypothesis to an absolute certainty.

During our first visit to the south-west corner of the area of the mosque occupying the site of the temple, we observed several of the large stones jutting out from the western wall, which at first sight seemed to be the effect of a bursting of the wall from some mighty shock or earthquake. We paid little regard to this at the moment, our attention being engrossed by other objects; but on mentioning the fact not long after in a circle of our friends, we found that they also had noticed it; and the remark was incidentally dropped, that the stones had the appearance of having once belonged to a large arch. At this remark a train of thought flashed upon my mind, which I hardly dared to follow out, until I had again repaired to the spot, in order to satisfy myself with my own eyes, as to the truth or falsehood of the suggestion. I found it even so! The courses of these immense stones, which seemed at first to have sprung out from their places in the wall in consequence of some enormous violence, occupy nevertheless their original position; their external surface is hewn to a regular curve; and being fitted one upon another, they form the commencement or foot of an immense arch, which once sprung out from this western wall in a direction towards Mount Zion, across the Valley of the Tyropoon. This arch could only have belonged to THE BRIDGE, which, according to Josephus, led from this

part of the temple to the Xystus on Zion; and it proves incontestibly the antiquity of that portion of the wall from which it springs. The traces of this arch are too distinct and definite to be mistaken. Its southern side is thirtynine English feet distant from the south-west corner of the area, and the arch itself measures fifty-one feet along the wall. Three courses of its stones still remain; of which one is five feet four inches thick, and the others not much less. One of the stones is twenty feet six inches long; another twenty-four feet six inches; and the rest in like proportion. The part of the curve or arc which remains is of course but a fragment; but of this fragment the chord measures twelve feet six inches; the sine eleven feet ten inches; and the cosine three feet ten inches.. The distance from this point across the valley to the precipitous natural rock of Zion, we measured as exactly as the intervening field of prickly pear would permit, and found it to be 350 feet, or about 116 yards. This gives the proximate length of the ancient bridge. We sought carefully along the brow of Zion for traces of its western termination, but without success. That quarter is now covered with mean houses and filth; and an examination can be carried on only in the midst of disgusting sights and smells. The existence of these remains of the ancient bridge seems to remove all doubt as to the identity of this part of the enclosure of the mosque with that of the ancient temple. How they can have remained for so many ages unseen or unnoticed by any writer or traveller, is a problem which I would not undertake fully to solve. One cause has probably been the general oblivion, or want of knowledge, that any such bridge ever existed. It is mentioned by no writer but Josephus; and even by him only incidentally, though in five different places. The bridge was doubtless broken down in the general destruction of the city; and was in later ages forgotten by the Christian population, among whom the writings of Josephus were

little known. For a like reason, we may suppose its remains to have escaped the notice of the crusaders and the pilgrims of the following centuries. Another cause which has operated in the case of later travellers, is probably the fact, that the spot is approached only through narrow and crooked lanes, in a part of the city whither their monastic guides did not care to accompany them; and which they themselves could not well, nor perhaps safely, explore alone."

Dr. Robinson conceives that some of these remains of Jewish antiquity not only belong to the period of our Saviour's earthly pilgrimage, but that they are not improbably the work of Solomon,-the massive walls, "immoveable for all time," which the Jewish king built as the foundations, on which the stones of the temple were laid.

The modern Jew, who still clings, as his fathers did, to the stones and to the very dust of Jerusalem, have long regarded this portion of the walls as specially associated with its ancient glory. The Rev. Mr. Bonar, the Scottish missionary, who visited Palestine subsequently to the researches of Dr. Robinson, thus describes a scene which he witnessed, when proceeding to examine these ancient remains, on which the speculations of the intelligent American traveller have conferred such lively interest :"Towards evening, we visited that part of the old temple wall to which the Jews are allowed to go that they may pray and weep over the glory that is departed. It is a part of the western enclosure of the Haram, and the access to it is by narrow and lonely streets. The Jew who was our guide, on approaching the massy stones, took off his shoes and kissed the wall. Every Friday evening, when the Jewish Sabbath begins, some Jews may be found here deeply engaged in prayer; for they believe that prayer still goes up with most acceptance before God, when breathed through the crevices of that building of which Jehovah said, 'Mine eyes and my heart shall be there

perpetually.' This custom they have maintained for cen turies, realizing the prophetic words of Jeremiah, 'Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.' We counted ten courses of those massy stones one above another. One of them measured fifteen feet long by three broad; another was eight feet square; others farther south were twenty-four feet long. They are bevelled like the immense stones of the mosque at Hebron, and are of a very white limestone resembling marble. Some of them are worn smooth with the tears and kisses of the men of Israel. Above the large stones the wall is built up with others smaller and more irregular, and is evidently of a modern date, affording a complete contrast to the ancient building below. Later in the evening, Mr. M'Cheyne went to visit the same spot, guided by Mr. George Dalton. On the way, they passed the houses where the lepers live all together, to the east of the Zion Gate within the walls. A little farther on, the heaps of rubbish on Mount Zion, surmounted by prickly pear, were so great, that at one point they stood higher than the city wall. The view of Mount Olivet from this point is very beautiful. The dome of the mosque El Aksa appeared to be torn and decayed in some places, and even that of the Mosque of Omar seemed far from being splendid. Going along by the ancient valley of the Tyropoon, and passing the gate called by the monks the Dung Gate, now shut up, Mr. Dalton pointed out in the wall of the Haram, near the south-west corner, the singular traces of an ancient arch, which Professor Robinson had discovered to be the remains of the bridge from the temple to Mount Zion, mentioned frequently by Josephus, and remarkable as a work of the highest antiquity. The stones in the temple wall that form the spring of this ancient bridge are of enormous size. This interesting discovery goes to prove

H

that the large bevelled stones, which form the foundation of the present enclosure of the Haram in so many parts, are really the work of Jewish hands, and the remains of the outer wall of the temple of Solomon. Neither is this conclusion in the least contradictory to the prophecy of our Lord. There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down,' for these dreadful words were spoken in reference to the temple itself, which was 'adorned with goodly stones and gifts;' and they have been fearfully fulfilled to the very letter, for the Mosque of Omar, entirely a Moslem building, stands upon the rock of Moriah, probably on the very spot where the temple stood. The Jewish place of wailing is a little to the north of this ancient bridge. Here they found a young Jew sitting on the ground. His turban, of a greyish colour peculiar to the Jews here, shaded a pale and thoughtful countenance. His prayer-book was open before him, and he seemed deeply engaged. Mr. Dalton acting as interpreter, he was asked what it was he was reading. He showed the book, and it happened to be the 22d Psalm. Struck by this providence, Mr. M'Cheyne read aloud till he came to the 16th verse, 'They pierced my hands and my feet;' and then asked, ‘Of whom speaketh the prophet this?' The Jew answered, 'Of David and all his afflictions.' 'But David's hands and feet were not pierced!' The Jew shook his head. The true interpretation was then pointed out to him, that David was a prophet, and wrote these things of Immanuel, who died for the remission of the sins of many. He made the sign with the lip which Easterns make to show that they despise what you are saying. 'Well, then, do you know the way of forgiveness of which David speaks in the 32d Psalm?' The Jew shook his head again. For here is the grand error of the Jewish mind, ‘The way of peace they have not kuown.'"

Such then is the modern Jew, and the desolate city to