tory of triangular shape, having one side towards the south' resting on the Sea of Marmora; a second facing the northeast, which runs along the western shores of the Golden Horn, a deep inlet from the Bosphorus, which forms the harbour; while the third side faces the west, and is defended by a double line of high and strong walls, flanked with towers, which were erected by Theodosius II. The southern side of the city is five miles in length. The north-eastern side is upwards of three miles long; and the western side, from the Menagerie to the Seven Towers, has a length of four miles. The walls on this last side were formerly pierced by seven splendid gates, but none of them now exist.

Many of the mosques, of which the city contains upwards of 300, are distinguished by grandeur and beauty. There are fourteen chief or imperial mosques, all lofty, and magnificent in their general dimensions, and built from base to dome of enduring materials, chiefly of white marble, slightly tinged with grey. Some of these have two, some four, and one has even six of those light, thin, arrowy, lofty, and most graceful towers called minarets.

The mosque of the Sultan Achmet is deemed the grandest edifice in Constantinople. The colleges and hospitals, which are generally attached to or near the great mosques, offer no striking architectural features; but some of the detached chapels or sepulchres, where sultans and other great personages repose, are handsome. The spacious barracks may be reckoned among the public ornaments of the city and subúrbs.

them are

The public baths, of which there are 130 within the walls, with their very low and small flat domes, do not contribute to the beauty of the city externally, though within, many of exceedingly handsome and spacious. The public fountains are numerous; some of them, with their pure white marble fronts and elaborate ornaments, and Chinese roofs, are most beautiful objects. All the water, the daily consumption of which is immense, is conveyed by subterranean aqueducts from artificial lakes, ten or twelve miles distant from the city. With the exception of one very long street, which traverses the city nearly from the high walls of the Seraglio to the gate of Adrianople, the streets are narrow, winding, and uncommonly dull and deserted. The projecting windows are latticed and closed; and many of the houses have no windows at all towards the street, but only a low narrow dingy door. All the life and activity of the interior of the city is in the bazaars. Towards the evening, the coffee-houses, which are excessively numerous, are much thronged. There are no amps or lights of any kind in the streets at night.

The

Turks retire to there homes at sunset, and never stir abroad till next day, except in case of a fire, when they carry a large paper lantern, which if they are found without, they are taken up by the police and fined.

The dogs of Constantinople are among its wonders. They belong to no individual, but are supported by all; their litters are never destroyed, and they act as scavengers, feeding upon the offal thrown into the streets, and upon the carcasses of men and animals washed ashore. Each dog belongs to a district of his own; should he trespass upon a neighbouring territory, he is immediately driven off by the dogs that occupy it.*

sive smokers in England, fall far short of the Turks. The luxurious Turk, furnished with his pipe of enormous length, often keeps it in his mouth the entire day, and is almost continually enveloped in clouds of tobacco smoke. He seems to exist for nothing but indolence and smoking. The engraving before us represents the costume and prevailing habit of this

* Turkey, by T. G. Horton.

singular people. We need scarcely remark that the Turk is a follower of the imposture of Mahomet. Let us pray that the day may soon arrive when the true light of the gospel shall shine through all the Turkish dominions, and the people be led to forsake the Koran and the Crescent, and embrace the Bible and the Cross of Christ.

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED.

ON THE JEWISH PRIESTS.

"For such a High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's; for this he did once when he offered up himself."

OUR engraving represents the different dresses worn by the Jewish priests; and a few words on the nature of their office, and how they were types of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, will, we think, be interesting to our young friends.

The priests were the descendants of Aaron, and were chosen from the tribe of Levi, to discharge the higher duties of the public service. They prepared the victims and offered the sacrifices; they kept up the fire on the altar, and attended to the lights in the golden candlestick, and made the loaves of shew-bread. Every morning and evening a priest, appointed by lot, brought a censer of incense into the sanctuary, kindled with fire from the altar. The ark of the covenant, in the wilderness, and in the times of the Judges, was

especially under their charge. The priests vere divided by David into twenty-four classes, which order was retained by Solomon, Hezekiah, and Jehoshaphat. Descendants from only four of these classes returned from the Babylonish captivity, Ezra ii. 36-39; Neh. vii. 39-42. These were subdivided into the same number as before, of twenty-four classes, distinguished by the original names, and each class was subdivided into three ranks. The chief of each class appointed an entire family to offer the sacrifices of each day; at the close of the week they all united together, and on the sabbaths the next class begun to officiate. The members of each family drew lots for the offices they were to perform, which will be described when we notice the daily service of the temple. But the services of the priests, like those of the Levites, included other duties beside the rites of the temple.

The account, 2 Chron. xvii. 7, is interesting, of the manner in which Jehoshaphat sent some of his princes, with priests and Levites, as an itinerant ministry, to explain the law, and teach the people throughout all the cities of Judah. Something like this was adopted in England at the time of the Reformation, when, under the sanction of King Edward the Sixth and his council, some of the eminent preachers among the Reformers were sent to travel through the land. Are there not in our days dense masses of ignorant persons who can only be instructed in this manner?

The genealogies of the priests were preserved in the temple, and all who sought the office had to prove their descent from the children of Aaron., Health of body and holiness of life were indispensable. A hundred and forty personal blemishes are enumerated as excluding from the services of the priesthood.

The official dress, as described Exod. xxviii., Lev. viii., was provided at the public expense; and when the articles became old they were unravelled to form wicks for the lamps required at the nightly rejoicings during the feast of tabernacles. The priests' garments were linen drawers; and tunics, or long garments with sleeves, closely fitted to the body, made of linen, which it is considered was wrought in checker work, somewhat like our diaper cloth; and girdles, or long pieces of embroidered linen, encircling the body twice, and hanging down before, which, having woollen mixed in the fabric, might not be worn under other circumstances. They wore mitres, or tiaras; these were turbans of several rolls of linen twisted round the head; they originally were pointed at the top, but in later times were flat.

The high priest was over all the other priests. He was

the final judge in all controversies, and, in later ages, held the next rank to the prince, and at times united both offices in his own person. In the days of the New Testament, all who had filled the office retained the title. When the high priest was infirm, or had committed any crime-for his office did not exempt him from legal control-or if he had been exposed to any pollution, so as to disqualify him for a time, a substitute was appointed to perform his duties. Upon the entrance of the high priest on his office, he was invested with the sacred robes, and anointed with the holy oil, Exod. xxx. 23-25; but, after the captivity, the anointing ceased. From Lev. viii. 23-30, we learn that, in the consecration of Aaron and his sons, they were sprinkled with the blood of the animal sacrificed at that ceremony. This appears to have been imitated and carried further by the heathen. At the consecration of the heathen high priest of Cybele, he was placed in what literally was a shower bath of blood; and when he came forth, with his head and vestments covered with blood, he was considered as so holy that the multitude dared not to approach him.

The robes of the high priest, in addition to those worn by other priests were: 1. The coat or robe of the ephod, made of blue wool. The hem or border was ornamented with seventy-two golden bells, placed alternately with as many pomegranates of embroidered work. 2. The ephod, a vest fastened on the shoulders, reaching to the heels behind, but only a little below the waist in front. It was of fine twisted linen, wrought with gold and purple. On each of the shoulders was a clasp, in which was set a precious stone engraved with the names of the tribes. 3. The breastplate of judgment was a piece of cloth like the ephod, eleven inches square, set with twelve precious stones, also engraved with the names of the tribes. This had something to do with what is called the urim and thummim, two words meaning "lights" and "perfections," about which learned men have been very much puzzled. The general and most probable opinion is, that these words mean the twelve precious stones in the breast-plate. Perhaps the use of it was to be a sign that the Lord would give the high priest an inward light, and make him know the Divine will as to what was inquired after; see Deut. xxxiii. 8; 1 Sam. xxviii. 6; Ez.ii. 63; Neh. vii. 65. 4. The high priest wore a crown or mitre, on the front of which a plate of pure gold was fastened by a blue riband, engraved with Hebrew words, meaning, "Holiness to the Lord." A full description of these robes is given in Exod. xxviii. and xxxix.