man's happiness such an incalculable instrumentality? Can we wonder that men should be in haste to adopt a model parish upon principles which they believe, if universally carried out, would be fraught with such general benefit? We may not be able to comprehend how such a parish can be framed, but shall we not give our hearty good wishes to the undertaking, and do what in us lies to promote it? In the meanwhile its promoters are at work to do what they can to regenerate existing parishes with temperance principles, specially having an eye to the clergy and the schools, and aiming to impress them with the advantage of abolishing hazardous drinking usages, and adopting habits which shall tell beneficially throughout the various classes of society. Or can we wonder that men catching the faintest glimpse of the Scripture testimony regarding the age that is most assuredly coming, and connecting the vision with the warm impressions they have received of the extensive benefits that would assuredly accrue from the general adoption of temperance principles, should be somewhat in advance in their expectations of good to be realized? And yet the author of "The Age that's Coming" must not be regarded as forming anticipations independent of religion : "does it "How wrong," he says, seem to desire the exclusion of religious education from the MODEL! To me it appears most monstrous. Do these men believe the prophets? Yea! I know that they believe. What then said the greatest of all prophets? 'Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness.' As followers of Christ, then, we must see that religion be the basis of our plan for a Model Parish; and let "all other things be ADDED thereunto.' Man is born unto ETERNITY. And religion must be at the bottom of all his undertakings, or he can never know real happiness. Without it, a Model for Parishes would be a Model Humbug. The perishable animal would be studiously provided with the bread that perisheth, but the imperishable spirit would be unprovided with the bread which is essential to life everlasting." Nor can we wonder that the artist should catch so imposing an infection, and that a Cruikshank should be induced, under the impulse of his benevolence, to consecrate his talent to so hallowed a cause. We cordially wish well to our indefatigable brother, Mr. Wight; and we heartily thank Mr. Burne for his powerful appeal. Mr. Cruikshank's 66 Bottle," we trust, will find its way into many a dwelling where unhappily an ignorance of such scenes does not render the suggestion of them hazardous. These are all efforts in a right direction, and we trust that thousands, who may not be able to go to the same lengths of sanguine expectation, will nevertheless be hereby stimulated to put forth a wholesome practical influence in favour of temperance. SHORT NOTICES. Original Thoughts on Various Passages of Scripture, being the Substance of Sermons preached by the late Rev. R. Cecil, M.A. Edited by CATHARINE CECIL. 8vo. Pp. 692. EVERYTHING that conveys even the slightest faithful record and recollection of this great and good man, cannot fail to be welcomed. They who were acquainted with Mr. Cecil's preaching cannot fail to recognize his originality throughout this volume. It will be found exceedingly useful to young ministers as well as to general readers. Cottage Lectures on the Pilgrim's Progress. By the Rev. CHARLES OVERTON, M.A. 12mo. Pp. 394. Seeleys. A VERY valuable addition to Village Libraries, as well as for Cottage Readings. Scriptural Teaching. By the Rev. Wм. BLACKLEY, B.A. 12mo. Pp. 420. SOUND, good Sermons. A VISION. EZEKIEL XXXVII. (Lines written on hearing a Sermon preached in Casterton Chapel on Sunday, October 8, 1848.) THE shades of death were brooding dimly pale, For, scattered o'er, men's bones were whitening there, All tombless on the rock and bare. Lifeless all, for many a year they'd lain, And moons had waxed full oft and waned again Or judgment's stroke, as doomed Gomorre- But, hark! a voice soft whispers on the gale, Awake-arise-the time is rife- See! ah see! dark shapes are passing by, Mark ye th' array? for fear doth dim my eye, Death seems to have loosed his chains, his prisoners free, 66 Faint forms appear, their limbs I see Oh, fear hath dimmed my eye-ah, me! Fear not," it whispered, "child of Adam's race, But bid the winds, whose boisterous pace The raving clouds do feel and flee away, Low swept a murmur sighing o'er the plain Deep moved, I gazed upon the wondrous sight, I saw, and then the truth I knew, Who the slain, and whose the hand that slew. In death of sin these captives long had slept, Far, though from bliss, yet grieved they not, nor wept, And gilds with joy the rosy day. But Jesus breathed His quickening Spirit down, S. E. NOTES OF A JOURNEY IN THE HOLY LAND. CHAPTER V. (Continued from page 462.) March 7. TO-DAY, we made our expedition to the Jordan and the Dead Sea. We had ordered our animals the night before, and they early made their appearance at our door, some for riding, others for carrying our tents and baggage. A couple of good Syrian horses (what a delightful change from the camels!)—took us rapidly up the street past our house, and out of the city at the Damascus gate. Then turning to the right, we passed under the walls of the city, through the Mohammedan burying ground; then through that of the Jews, a little further on, near Absalom's pillar, and at length we came to the tomb of the Virgin, at which our escort of Arabs was waiting for us, afraid probably, to approach nearer the town, lest they should be laid hold of by the Pacha, for some misdemeanour or other. Along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, travellers now, as formerly, are very apt to fall among thieves; so that a guard of some kind is absolutely necessary. When the great body of pilgrims go to the Jordan at Easter time, half a regiment of Turkish horsemen escort them; and even then, many stragglers are cut off and robbed. However, the Arabs are not a blood-thirsty people, they seldom do more than deprive you of everything you have save your life. Our dragoman, some years ago, travelling along this road, loitered behind his party, for the purpose of filling his zam-zummia at a spring of water, when a dozen Arabs were immediately down upon him, and he was stripped of every thing but his shirt. They then threw him down on the ground, and would have made an end of him at once, had there not been some difference of opinion on the subject amongst his NOVEMBER-1848. aggressors. He escaped with his life and his shirt, glad enough to get away as he was. They would not have threatened him in this way, had they not recognized him to be an Egyptian; and Ibrahim Pacha having then possession of Syria, and holding in the Arabs with a rein rather too tight for them, they were in the habit of revenging themselves on every one who appeared under Egyptian protection. Our escort was composed of some of the thieves of the roadthe Arabs themselves that roam about here. We paid them so much for not robbing us; and they not only engaged not to rob us themselves, but to prevent any other parties from attacking us. There were about a dozen of them, a strange, wild set, not half so aristocratic and civilizedlooking as our Towarah Arabs. There was the Sheikh himself, on a beautiful little Arab mare, with his long spear over his shoulder. And all the other men were provided with spears, swords, or matchlocks-all ready for use, I observed. And their dress, though simple in form, was composed of such a variety of colours, that I cannot pretend to describe it. Under this conduct we advanced; and up the Mount of Olives our pathway lay, over the lower end of it towards Bethany. It was the route also of David probably, when he fled out of the city for fear of Absalom; and came weeping up the Mount of Olives, on his way over the Jordan, to his more loyal subjects on the other side. The country here is very much broken up into deep precipitous vallies, all running down towards the plain of the Jordan. The hills nearer Jerusalem were tolerably fertile and well tilled; but by degrees, they became more and more barren, till they were almost desert. The last valley 2 K along the edge of which we passed, just before we descended into the plain, is supposed to be the course of the brook Cherith, where Elijah hid himself for some time during the famine in the reign of Ahab. It is a curious fact, that some critics, in the passage, "and the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning,' &c., (1 Kings, xvii. 6.) translate "Arabs" instead of "ravens." And Elijah is considered by the Mussulman Arabs to have been one of a set of holy men, of which only one is living at one time; but, dying at a great age, transmits his sanctity and some other properties to his successor. The one living at present, is very rarely visible; but has his dwelling-place either somewhere in the desert, or behind one of the city gates in Cairo, where he is often looked for. This valley of the brook Cherith is now called Wadi-el-Kelt, and is of very great depth, though narrow; in the rainy weather there are splendid cascades to be seen rushing down its steep rugged sides. A number of wild flowers appear about here; the road was in places, strewed with mignionette and scarlet anemonies. The path the whole way is very rough and bad, ascending all the hills, and seldom keeping the course of the yallies. The final descent into the plain of the Jordan is exceedingly rapid, for it lies a great depth below the surrounding country. It is a most extraordinary fact, that the surface of the Dead Sea is more than 1300 feet below the Mediterranean! Jerusalem is placed on hills 2000 feet above the Mediterranean, so that into the valley of the Jordan, from the Holy City, you have a descent of more than 3300 feet! As might be expected, the climate in this deep plain is excessively close and hot, and the season is usually nearly a month in advance of that of the rest of Syria. Were it not for the running water, indeed, it would all be a burnt, parched-up desert. But the Jordan waters it, and another small stream, which render it partly, wonderfully green and fertile. It is most curious to see the land, every where near where these streams flow; the vege tation is most luxuriant, often rank and overgrown; but it extends only a little distance on either side the water. From the heights above, you may trace the course of the river, by the long, narrow streak of bright green, winding and meandering through the grey desert. When we had descended from the high ground, we passed over a thinly-grassed plain, on which numbers of camels were feeding. They are sent here by the tribes of the surrounding deserts, to obtain a little sustenance, when their own barren wadis fail them. We pitched close by the stream, near the place where it issues from the ground, called by the Arabs Ain-es-Sultan. The water rises quietly from under the hill, and flows into a large bason lined with masonry; and it afterwards runs purling over its pebbly bed, under the shade of trees and bushes, enriching the land as it bubbles along, in the manner that I have described. This must have been the well whose waters Elisha sweetened, (2 Kings, ii. 19.) for there is none other anywhere about. And somewhere near here, must have stood Jericho-the ancient Jericho that was destroyed by Joshua. For it was some distance from the Jordan, if we may judge from the situation of Gilgal, which was probably the plain between the Jordan and Jericho. And it was most likely not far from the well, as appears from the Scripture account, and also from Josephus. The Jericho of our Saviour's time is placed by most travellers on another spot. Many ruins you see about our halting-place; broken walls, and columns, and remains of aqueducts, but whatt hey have belonged to, it is impossible to say. Monte Quarantana, the traditional place of our Lord's temptation, rises just behind us-pierced with numberless holes and caves, the habitations once, of many a hermit and ascetic. Milton is one of those who hold this tradition respecting this mountain; and his description in "Paradise Regained" of the view of the plain of the Jordan from the summit, is wonderfully vivid and correct: "It was a mountain, at whose verdant feet With herds the pastures thronged, with flocks the hills; The seats of mightiest monarchs, and so large In front of us rose the lofty mountain of Jebel Jelad, a range which extends the whole length of the Dead Sea, and runs up alongside the Jordan, towards the north, a long way. A great mystery lies over this; nobody has yet ventured to explore its recesses, or the country beyond. We heard only that there is an immense extent of lofty table land on the summit, very fertile, and covered with large trees; once the country of Og, King of Bashan. As to Monte Quarantana being the real scene of our Lord's temptation, it seems to be very doubtful; if it be only from this circumstance, that it is not at all in a remote position, but just above Jericho, and not far from the high road between this and Jerusalem. And though it may be said to be in the wilderness or desert, as distinguished from a fertile country, yet it was not so out of the tread of man, as you might suppose the place, where our Lord was taken to have been. What can give one a greater idea of the remoteness and solitude of the place,-"and he was there in the wilderness forty days, and was with the wild beasts"! But the evangelists in their own language, are very particular in mentioning the place; it was not a wilderness, but the wilderness. That is, some particular wilderness; and certainly this part of Judea was not celebrated particularly above any other part. It is much more probable to suppose that "the wilderness," by way of particularity, was generally applied to that "great and terrible wilderness," which must ever have been in a Jew's mind, as connected with the most important part of the history of his nation. It is much more likely that our Saviour was taken to Mount Sinai, and there tempted; remote from habitations; away from men; in company but with the wild beasts; with no possibility of getting food; he must needs have hungered; and had need of angels ministering unto him. Also, the analogy would much favour this idea; as I mentioned before, in speaking of Sinai. Here was Moses and the Law; here was Elijah and the prophetical dispensation; and here might be Christ, and the Gospel scheme. We Towards evening, our party was increased by the arrival of a large caravan from Jerusalem. Mr. Veitch, the bishop's chaplain, and several friends came, intending to pass some days here in their tents. heard afterwards that they had greatly enjoyed themselves; and that some of them had had excellent sport,there being plenty of fishing; and partridge, gazelle, and wild-boar shooting. February 8. At half-past seven, we had our tents on our mules, and were off. Half an hour brought us to Er-Riha, which is thought to be the ancient Jericho of our Saviour's time; and here the house is shewn, which Zacchæus once upon a time occupied ! It now belongs to the principal man of the village. We had to push our way through thick bushes and brushwood, over rank grass, all the consequence of the neighbouring stream. It was so unlike anything hitherto seen in the East, and forcibly brought to our mind the thicket scenery in many an English park. This is the kind of wood that we read of in Scripture. These woods are not in accordance |