of the magnificence of the Seffi family, the threshold of which was regarded as sacred, is now deserted, and only now and then a solitary individual is seen to pass negligently through it. The evidences of that splendour, so minutely and exactly described by Chardin, are still to be traced; fine marble remains, and the grand and elevated dome, are yet left undemolished. At the Ali Capi gate of the old palace, which is described as one of the most perfect pieces of brickwork to be found in Persia, used to sit Shah Abbas and review his cavalry, galloping and skirmishing, or witness the combats of wild animals. In former times the view from this spot was undoubtedly splendid; but at present, with the exception of the palaces in the gardens, the whole mass below is one continued succession of ruinous houses and mosques, and shapeless structures, formerly the mansions of the nobility, broken by groups or lines of tall trees, which once made part of the gardens belonging to the buildings now in ruins. The freshness of these structures is said to be particularly striking to a European, or the inhabitant of any comparatively humid country, in which the atmosphere cherishes a vegetation of mosses, lichens, and other cryptogamous plants, which we therefore associate in our minds with the spectacle of decay.

Sir W. Ouseley says, "I explored the ruins of villages, scattered over the plain in all directions near our camp; and some must have been considerable in size and respectability, from the handsome houses which they contained. Although pillaged and depopulated by the Afghans almost a century ago, many of their chambers yet remain, with vaults and staircases but little injured; yet no human being is ever seen within their walls, except some traveller, who wonders at finding himself alone in places which might be easily rendered habitable, situated not above a mile from the walls of a great metropolis. It must be confessed that these ruins, comVOL. I.-B B

posed of sundried brick and mud, appear, like many edifices in Persia, to much greater advantage on paper than in reality."

Morier, in his second journey into Persia, says, "The great city of Isfahan, which Chardin has described as being twenty-four miles in circumference, were it to be weeded (if the expression may be used) of its ruins, would now dwindle to a quarter that circuit. One might suppose that God's curse had extended over part of this city, as it did over Babylon. Houses, bazars, mosques, palaces, whole streets, are to be seen in total abandonment; and I have rode for miles among its ruins without meeting with any living creature, except, perhaps, a jackal peeping over a wall, or a fox running to its hole.

"In a large tract of ruins," Mr. Morier goes on to observe, "where houses in different stages of decay are to be seen, now and then an inhabited house may be discovered, the owner of which might be assimilated to Job's forlorn man, 'dwelling in desolate cities, and which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.'* Such are mark as this must have arisen from scenery similar to that which parts of Isfahan present; and, unless the particular feeling of melancholy which it inspires has been felt, no words can convey any idea of it."

JERUSALEM.

"How doth the city solitary sit, she that was full of people! How is she become a widow, that was great among the nations! Princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tear is upon her cheek; She hath none to comfort her among all her lovers; All her friends have betrayed her; they became her enemies." Lamen., i., 1, 2. "In the whole universe," says Mr. Eustace, "there were only two cities interesting alike to every mem* Job, chap. xv., ver. 28

ber of the great Christian commonwealth, to every citizen of the civilized world, whatever may be his tribe or nation-Rome and Jerusalem. The former calls up every classic recollection, the latter awakens every sentiment of devotion; the one brings before our eyes all the splendour of the present world, the other all the glories of the world to

come.

Palestine, or the land of Canaan, originally extended nearly two hundred miles in length from north to south, and from eighty to fifteen in breadth from east to west. Its southern boundary was formed by the desert of Beersheba, the Dead Sea, the river Arnon, and the river of Egypt, or the Siehor; on the north it was bounded by the mountainous ridge called Antilibanus, on the east by Arabia, and on the west by the Mediterranean. Though rocky and mountainous, it was one of the most fertile provinces of the temperate zone: a land, according to the authority of the sacred penman, of brooks of waters, of fountains and depths, that spring out of valleys and hills: a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates: a land of olive-oil and honey: a land wherein bread might be eaten without scarceness, whose stones were iron, and out of whose hills might be dug brass.

In the midst of this highly favoured region stood the city of Jerusalem, which, according to the Jewish chronology, was founded by their high-priest Melchizedec, in the year of the world 2032. It was then called Salem, a word signifying peace.*

* From the time that Solomon, by means of his temple, made Jerusalem the common place of worship to all Israel, it was distinguished from the rest of the cities by the epithet Holy, and in the Old Testament was called Air Hakkodesh, i. e., the city of holiness, or the holy city. It bore this title upon the coins, and the shekel was inscribed Jerusalem Kedusha, i. e., Jerusalem the Holy. At length Jerusalem, for brevity's sake, was omitted, and only Kedusha reserved. The Syriac being the prevailing language in Herodotus's time, Kedusha, by a change in that di

Joshua is supposed to have destroyed Jerusalem; that town, though not mentioned, being considered one of those that fought against Gibeon, the king of which was Adoni-zedek.*

It was afterward rebuilt by David, and surrounded by fortifications, extending inward from the low grounds called Millo to the summit of the mountain, on which he erected a citadel, destined alike to be the great fortress of the nation and the sumptuous residence of its kings. The rich work of the tabernacle, and the splendour which characterized many of their ceremonies, had long tended to inspire the Israelites with a taste for the elegant arts. David's palace, we accordingly find, was a palace of cedar. In this structure, the timber of Tyre and the superior skill of its artificers were employed, to ensure its beauty and stability. When completed, the grace and majesty of the pile reminded the monarch that, in taking up his abode in such a building, he should be more splendidly lodged than the ark and visible emblem of Jehovah itself. With this idea, he resolved to erect a building for the service of God, which should be as worthy of its destination as the ability and piety of man could make it.

David not living to carry his design into execution, it was followed up and completed by Solomon his son. From the reign of Solomon to the final destruction of the city, it underwent many vicissitudes, some of which we shall notice. In the fourth year of Solomon's son Rehoboam (B.C. 971), it was besieged and taken by Sesac, king of Egypt, who car

alect of sh into th, was made Kedutha; and Herodotus giving it a Greek termination, it was written Káduris or Cadytis.PRIDEAUX'S Connexion of the Old and New Testament, vol. i., part i., p. 80, 81, 8vo edit.

* And Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings; he left none remaining; but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded.-Joshua, ch. x., ver. 40.

ried away the treasures of the Temple, as well as those of the royal palace.

In 826 B. C. the Temple and palace were plundered by Jehoash, and the walls of the city demolished. In 608 B. C. it was taken by Nechao, king of Egypt. It was next besieged by Sennacherib, king of Nineveh. That prince, returning from Egypt, which he had ravaged, laid siege to Jerusalem with a vast army. The city appeared to be inevitably lost, being without resources, and even without hope from the hands of man. But it had, says the historian, a powerful protector in Heaven, whose jealous ears had heard the impious blasphemies uttered by the King of Nineveh against his sacred name. In one single night 185,000 men of his army perished by the sword of the destroying angel."

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Jerusalem was soon after besieged by Nebuchadonosser and taken, when the conqueror caused Jehoiakim to be put in chains, with the design of carrying him to Babylon; but, being moved at his affliction, he restored him to his throne. Great numbers of the Jews, however, were carried captives to the Assyrian capital, whither all the treasures of the king's palace and parts of the temple were likewise transported. From this epoch is dated the captivity of the Jews at Babylon.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem rebelling some time afterward, the Assyrian king besieged them anew. The siege lasted nearly a year. At length the city was taken by storm, and a terrible slaughter ensued. Zedekiah's two sons were, by Nebuchadnezzar's orders, killed before their father's face, with all the noblemen and principal men of Judah. Zedekiah himself had both his eyes put out, was loaded with fetters, and carried to Babylon, where he was confined in prison as long as he lived. As to the city and Temple, they were both pillaged, and then burned, and all the fortifications were demolished.

The kings of Persia soon after permitted the Jews