they tell us, was formerly a ditch at the foot of Calvary, called by the prophet Jeremiah the Valley of dead Bodies*; and that here the Jews threw the cross on which the Son of God suffered, and covered it with filth and rubbish. Here it lay buried till the time of Helena the mother of Constantine, who having had the place pointed out to her by a certain Jew, caused workmen to dig to a great depth, who at last found three crosses; but being at a loss how to distinguish the cross of Christ from those of the two malefactors, it is said the doubt was removed by a miracle; for a sick woman having touched both the crosses of the criminals without receiving the least benefit, was immediately cured of her disease by fouching the real cross of our Saviour. The Jew, who had been the instrument of this discovery, and was an eye-witness of the miracle, became a convert to Christianity, and was afterwards bishop of Jerusalem, his name being changed from Judas to Quiriacus We are told he suffered martyrdom in the reign of Julian the apostate, and was canonized after his death; but how much truth there is in all this fine story, I leave to the judgment of the reader. This is certain, that the third of May, the day on which the Inven tion of the Cross is supposed to have happened, is an ancient festival, and still continues to be observed by the church of Rome in memory of that discovery.

The choir of this church is pretty much like those of our cathedrals. At the West end it opens towards the door of the holy sepulchre, and to the East it terminates in a semi-circle, in which part stands their high altar, richly gilt, and hung round with the pictures of several saints, painted full faced after the

Jerem. xxxi. 40.

manner of the Greeks, to whom the choir belongs. This is separated from the rest of the church by a wall, and has only three doors, one over-against that of the sepulchre, and one on each side towards the high altar. It is surrounded with large pillars, which support a dome of free stone over it, close at top, and rough-cast on the outside. Towards the West end of the choir, at an equal distance from each side of it, is a little hole in the pavement, which the Eastern Christians call the Navel or middle of the world, and really believe it to be so, grounding their opinion on a wrong interpretation of an expression in scripture, of "God's working salvation in the "midst of the earth.*"

The nave or body of the church of the holy sepulchre is round, and has two circular galleries one above another, supported by large square pillars, formerly faced with white marble; but many of them have been robbed of that ornament. Between the top of the upper range of pillars and the extremity of the upright wall, are several Mosaic pictures in concave niches, representing divers prophets, apostles, and saints; and amongst them, on the South-side of the temple, is the effigies of the emperor Constantine, and opposite to it that of his mother Helena, the foundress of this venerable fabric. This part of the church is covered with another dome, sustained with rafters of cedar, having an opening at the top, like that of the Pantheon at Rome, through which it receives all the light it has, and which is full as much as is necessary. Exactly underneath this opening is the holy sepulchre; which, though once under-ground, as before observed, is now hewn into *Psal. lxxiv. 12.

the form of a chapel, and stands considerably above the pavement of the church. Before we enter, this sacred place, we pass over a little elevation, raised about a foot higher than the floor, on each side of which there is a seat or bank of white marble. From hence we pass into the Chapel of the Angel, because there they say the angel sat upon the stone, and told the woman that our Lord was risent; but this stone; which was long preserved here, was conveyed some years ago, it seems, to the chapel of St. Saviour belonging to the Armenians. Out of this place we creep into the chapel of the holy sepulchre, the door of which is three feet high and two feet wide; and the whole grotto, if I may so call it, is about eight feet square, and as much in height, all cut out of the solid rock, but lined for the most part with white marble. On the right hand as we enter, which all do bare-footed out of regard to the sanctity of the place, is the tomb where our Lord was laid. It is also faced with marble, and rais ed in form of an altar almost thrce feet from the floor, extending the whole length and half the breadth of this little chapel; so that there is not room for more than three persons to kneel there without being very much crowded, There are three holes cut through the roof of this place, to give vent to the smoke of the lamps that are kept continually burning; and just over these holes is erected a small cupola covered with lead, supported by six double Corinthian columns, which look like porphyry. When it rains, the water falls through the opening in the dome of the church upon this

Matth. xxvii. 1-6.
Tt

cupola, from whence provision has been made to carry it off. The chapel is surrounded on the outside by ten beautiful pillars of white marble, adjoining to the wall, and sustaining a cornice. The lamps that are always kept burning within make the place immoderate hot; however, the Latin priests endure it so as to say mass at the altar, which, as I observed before, is at present their peculiar privilege.

In the afternoon the congregation assembled in the area before the holy sepulchre, where the friars spent several hours in singing the Lamentations of Jeremiah and afterwards made the usual procession round the church, with which the ceremony of this day was concluded.

The holy sepulchre was set open very early on Easter-Sunday, and the fathers put on a face of joy, as if it had been the very time of our Lord's resurrection. Mass was celebrated in the morning just before the sepulchre, where the father-guardian had a throne erected, and being cloathed in episcopal robes, with a mitre on his head, he gave the host to all Christians that were disposed to received it, ́several Turks standing by as spectators. This being over, a pretty large company, of which we made a part, went out of the church, and dined at the. Latin convent.

After this refreshment, we spent the remainder of the day in viewing some of the remarkable places within the city, accompanied by one of the Latin fathers. We were conducted to see the palace of Pilate, or rather the place were it stood, for its room. is now taken up by an ordinary dwelling-house. It is not far from St. Stephen's gate, which is on the

East side of the city; and from the terrace of this house we have a distinct view of the area where ani ciently stood the famous temple of Solomon. Indeed the only good sight we can get of it is from hence; for the Turks having inclosed it, and built a mosque there, a Christian is not permitted to go within its borders, without forfeiting his life, unless he has a mind to save it by renouncing his religion. To level such a spacious area as it appears to be, up on such a strong rocky mountain, must have cost incredible labour, but perhaps no place in the world is fitter for an august building. It lies on the top of Mount Moriah, over-against the Mount of Olives, the two Mounts being separated by the valley of Jehoshaphat. The Turkish niosque that is built in the middle of it is of an octagonal figure, supposed to stand upon the same ground that was formerly taken up by the Holy of Holies; and, though it is neither a large nor elegant structure, it makes a grand appearance merely by the advantage of its situation. On the South side of the area is another mosque, formerly the church of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.

From this pretended palace of Pilate, which is now the residence of the sangiack, begins what the Christians call the Dolorous Way, that is, the way that our Lord was led from hence to Mount Calvary, the place of his crucifixion, which is about a mile distant. As we come out of the house there is a descent, where was anciently what they call the Scala Sancta, or Holy Stairs, which they say were carried to Rome by Constantine or his mother Helena. They obtained the name from our Saviour's having gone up and down them several times, and