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REFLECTIONS.

in motion cease not to exist;" its "waves, raised" by each sound or muscular exertion, perambulate the earth and ocean's surface, and in less than twenty hours every atom of atmosphere takes up the altered movement" resulting to it from that sound or action, "which must continue to influence its path throughout its future existence. The air itself is one vast library, on whose pages are for ever written all that man has ever said or even whispered. There, in unerring and imperishable characters, stand recorded" the jests of the profane, the curses of the swearer, and the scoffs of the infidel, with all the unhallowed tones of revelry and strife by which Christians on this occasion insult the majesty of Heaven around the sepulchre of their risen Lord.

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Bethany. - Tomb of Lazarus.- Fountain of apostles. —

View of pilgrims.
-The "inn.".

Sea.

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Aspect of country. First view of Dead

Atmosphere. - Plain of Jericho. - Its barrenness and insalubrity. - Causes. Jericho. - Present condition. -Modern name.-Stream healed by Elisha.

Appropriation and perversion of foreign words. Anecdote. — Hornets. Remarkable tree. Mount of Temptation.

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Night-scene on plain of Jericho. -Starting of caravan. -Accidents. Want of sympathy.- Arrival at Jordan.Bathing scene.- Winding-sheets. The river. - Bethabara. Spot where Israelites crossed. Proceed to Dead Sea. Turkish name. Soil. Shells. Barrenness. Sulphur. Atmosphere. -Bituminous explosions. Boundaries and extent. Peculiarities of water.. Bitumen.-Bed of lake how composed. Mode of destruction of Sodom. -Avernus.- Birds. Subaqueous remains.— Apples of Sodom. - Ruins of Greek convent. Return to Jerusalem.-Adventure.- Re-enter Holy City.

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OWING to the unsubdued state of the Arabs and their marauding habits, an excursion to

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PILGRIMAGE TO JORDAN.

Jordan and the Dead Sea involves considerable danger, and can be undertaken only under the protection of a large escort. About Easter, the Greek hajees annually make a pilgrimage to the sacred river, when they are accompanied by a body of Turkish cavalry. It is a great advantage to a traveller to attach himself to this caravan, as he thus not only secures his own safety, but at the same time witnesses the most interesting assemblage of persons in the Holy Land.

Having obtained permission from the mootesellim, or governor, of Jerusalem, to join his party, we mounted our horses an hour before sunrise, and proceeded towards one of the southern gates of the city; but the rush of people was so violent that we were glad to escape the pressure and accordingly pursued a circuitous route, making our exit on the opposite side, and rejoined the procession near the gate of St. Stephen. The cavalcade consisted of about three thousand Greek pilgrims from every part of the world where the oriental church has members, together with muleteers, camel-drivers, Turkish and Arab soldiers, and half a dozen Frank travellers, who swelled the number to five thousand.

On these occasions every beast in Judea is

CAVALCADE OF PILGRIMS.

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put in requisition; and horses, donkeys, mules, ponies, and camels, flocking in from all quarters, throng Jerusalem for several previous days. The young and the aged are placed in panniers on either side of a camel: women, who never before mounted a horse, now cross themselves in an orthodox manner, (for their safety depends on the exact mode of forming the sign of the cross!) and stride manfully the saddle: boys and girls are seen riding, two and two, beguiling the length of the journey with an occasional dispute as to which shall sit on the pad, and which on the less comfortable backbone of the beast, sharpened by a perpetual fast. Hundreds who cannot afford to ride, having already bestowed on the priests the earnings of many years, trudge on foot; at first, briskly leading the way; then merged in the equestrian cavalcade; till, at length, they are worn out with fatigue, and their pilgrim-staves bring up the rear. A singular variety of costumes characterizes the barbarous Russian, the sportive Athenian, the patriotic islander, the Greek priest, the austere Armenian, the poor Copt, and the dark-skinned Syian; while all these blend picturesquely with the uniform of the Turkish and Arab cavalry, who gallop their well-trained horses up and down

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among the motley crowd, now urging them to full speed, and now suddenly curbing them with a rapidity that excites as much alarm as admiration.

As this interesting train passed under the walls of Jerusalem, mount Moriah and the mosque of Omar towered above; below, was the stony bed of Kedron in the valley of Jehoshaphat, with the tombs of Absalom and Zacharias, and the cemetery of the ancient and modern sons of Israel. The slope on which the protomartyr breathed out his life in prayer, the garden of Gethsemane, and the foot of Olivet, presented long lines of figures clad in pink and white, and more or less veiled according to the prejudices of Christian, Jewish, or Mohammedan women; for the whole female population of the city had gone out to see the pilgrim caravan. The translucid atmosphere invested every object with a beauty not its own; while each spot, each tree, each stone, was hallowed by its position in a vicinity on which the Scriptures have stamped their interest and eternity its import. It would be difficult, if not impossible, ever to obliterate from the mind the impressions excited by this scene.

A ride of three quarters of an hour brought us to the village of Bethany, where

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