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permit this profusion? But would it have been consistent with the gentle and amiable character of Jesus, to have rejected the pious offering of Mary? Her brother Lazarus had not long before been restored to life, our Saviour had honoured her family with particular marks of his regard, for "Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.” In the warmth of her love and gratitude, and perhaps with melancholy presage of her approaching loss, she had exerted herself to procure the means of expressing outwardly the feelings of her heart. Cold and hard must be the soul of that man, who would wish to see the stream of pure and innocent love repressed by an unkind hand, and turned back, with the chilling influence of rejected affection, to the bosom of grateful Mary. Not such was that meek and holy One, who was all love and gentleness. He received graciously the proffered token, defended the conduct of Mary, and promised that wherever "this Gospel should be preached in the whole world, that which this woman had done should be told for a memorial of her." Yes, Mary, thou shalt still be remembered; and the piety which brought upon thee unmerited rebuke, is now recorded to thy praise. This prediction shall be fulfilled, and thy simple deed of love proclaimed to millions yet unborn. Much has been written about the symbolical meaning of chis transaction, but the only authentic explanation is found in our Lord's

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own words: "In that she hath poured this ointment upon my body, she did it for my burial."

While all this was passing in the house cf Simon, the chief priests and scribes and elders of the people were assembled in Jerusalem at the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest. Here they were consulting upon the best method of seizing Jesus, that they might put him to death. In conducting this hateful enterprise, there was need of great caution, for Jesus was still very high in the esteem of the multitude. There were, without doubt, many now in the city, who had been the subjects of his miraculous cures, and many more who had been eye-witnesses of them; for the feast of the Passover brought the inhabitants of Judea from all directions up to Jerusalem. On this account, those who were plotting against the life of our Saviour, feared to seize him openly on the Feast Day. They were, therefore, consulting that they might take him with subtility and kill him!

While thus debating, Judas appeared for their relief. Who would have looked for the traitor among those whom Jesus had selected for his particular friends, and whom he had distinguished by peculiar marks of confidence and affection? There were only twelve, but of this small number one was a devil. Judas appears to have followed our Saviour in the hope of sharing the advantage of that temporal kingdom which the apostles long

expected. But he was now weary of a service less lucrative than he had hoped, and awaited only a good opportunity to desert it, with some show of an excuse. This was afforded at the supper in the house of Simon. When our Saviour rebuked him for objecting to the pious deed of Mary, he felt the resentment of detected hypocrisy and disappointed avarice. He lost the opportunity of embezzling part of the proceeds of the box of ointment, and saw that our Lord looked through his plausible objection at the dishonest motive. Upon this, he left the house, hastened back to the city, and gratified both his revenge and his avarice by selling his friend and Master for thirty pieces of silver. Thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray him in the absence of the multitude; a deed of darkness, for which the fitting season was night!

Thursday. On the evening of this day, the Paschal feast was celebrated by our Lord and his disciples, and then was instituted the Eucharistic commemoration of the sacrifice of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The occasion had been anticipated and spoken of for some time as one of the deepest interest. "With desire," said our Lord, "I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." In the morning, therefore, while they were yet at Bethany, his disciples came unto him, saying, "Where wilt thou that we and prepare for thee, that thou mayest eat the

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Passover?" Peter and John were accordingly sent to Jerusalem, with instructions as to the place; and our Lord, with the other disciples, probably passed the day in Bethany, or on the Mount of Olives; for there is no intimation of his being in the city until the evening. The two disciples must have gone far before they met the man bearing a pitcher of water, whom they were directed to follow, because his house was in that part of the city most distant from the Mount of Olives. They there found, as they had been forewarned, the guest-chamber; a large upper room furnished. Its site is still pointed out, on that part of Mount Zion which is now outside the walls, at a short distance from the Zion Gate, but the ancient city covered this space. A magnificent church, erected there by the Empress Helena, was laid in ruins by the Saracens. It was rebuilt, however, in process of time, and came into the possession of the Fathers of the Holy Land. In 1561 it was converted into a mosque, and as the tomb of David is within its enclosure, the Turks still hold it in great reverence.

This tomb is guarded with such jealousy, that no Christian may approach it. We were not, however, excluded from the place venerated by the Greek and Roman Christians as the cœnaculum or chamber of the Last Supper. A flight of twenty steps leads to a large hall, with a vaulted roof, supported by two pillars. We could not remain

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there as long as we desired, for a Turkish procession, with banners flying, and cymbals and drums beating, was just entering; and had we approached them in their bigoted zeal, we should have been exposed to insult, if not to injury. While they were engaged in their ceremonies at the tomb, we had time to examine the chamber, and to indulge in brief meditations which it naturally excited. Here, as in other instances, faith and incredulity were wonderfully combined. That this was the actual chamber where our Lord with his disciples assembled upon so august an occasion, we could not for one moment yield up our judgments to believe. But that here may once have stood that very house in which was the guest-chamber, we saw no reason to doubt. We were then near by, or perhaps upon that spot where first was celebrated the feast whose simple viands can never be changed; to which the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, and all the kindreds of the earth, are invited as to a common table, and which shall ever be, to the end of time, a pledge of pardon, a fountain of grace, and a symbol of love between men on earth, and between men and God in heaven.

Was not this, too, that same upper room mentioned in the sacred history as the scene of other events of unspeakable importance to the Church? Was it not here that Jesus, after his resurrection,