Bâniâs to Sidon, crossed a bridge over the Lîtâny, near which, he says, on the hill above, was the castle esh-Shukîf. As we then knew of only the bridge Jisr Burghŭz in this region, it was a matter of course to suppose that Mr. B. referred to this latter; and the position of the castle was laid down accordingly. But it now turns out, that the fortress is situated just below the bridge el-Hardely, on the west of Merj 'Ayûn, some twelve or fifteen miles more southwesterly than its position on our map.

I must therefore do Burckhardt the justice, to take back a remark made in correcting an error in his bearing of the castle, as seen from the mountain north of Bâniâs. Its true bearing from that point would probably be about W. by N. as he doubtless intended to write it.3

II. DEPRESSION OF THE DEAD SEA, ETC.

The depression of the great valley of the Jordan, which now turns out to be so immense, has been noticed only within the last six years. Lying parallel to the coast of the Mediterranean at the distance of less than fifty miles, there appears not to have been the slightest suspicion in by-gone centuries, that its bed was not higher than the level of the adjacent seas; although from several points, both the valley and the Mediterranean are alike visible, and the Egyptian climate of the Ghôr might easily have led to the suggestion of some unusual cause.

Nor does the first notice of this depression appear to have resulted from any previous suspicion of it. In March, 1837, Messrs. Moore and Beke, in attempting a survey of the Dead Sea, were led to make observations to ascertain its level, by means of the boiling

in half an hour, he came to the village Jerma. Now, on Maj. Robe's map, the stream Jerma is marked about an hour from Jisr Burghüz, but enters the Lîtâny above the Jisr el-Hardely; while the village Jerma lies on the route from Jisr Burghüz to Sidon, but not on that from Jisr el-Hardely. This seems to show, that, after all, Mr. Buckingham must have crossed the upper bridge at Burghuz.

Bibl. Res. III. p. 351, note.

point of water; and were greatly astonished at the result, which gave a depression of about five hundred English feet. A month or two later, Schubert's barometrical measurement gave it at 598.5 Paris feet. In 1838, Russegger, and also Bertou, made it out by the barometer to be more than one thousand three hundred Paris feet.'

The measurements of the Lake of Tiberias by Schubert and Bertou, were still more diverse and inconsistent in their results. The former made the depression of that lake to be five hundred and thirty-five Paris feet, only sixty-five feet less than that of the Dead Sea; while he made the Jordan at the bridge just south of the Hûleh to be three hundred and fifty Paris feet above the Mediterranean; a difference of eight hundred and eighty feet in the distance of about five miles! Bertou gave the depression of the Lake of Tiberias at about seven hundred feet; and that of the Hûleh itself at about eighteen feet.2

All these different results were utterly inconsistent with each other; and in some respects appeared to us to be equally so with the nature of the country. I therefore ventured, in 1840, to suggest, that "so great is the uncertainty in all such partial measurements and observations, (as evinced in the like case of the Caspian Sea,) that the question can never be decided with exactness, until the intervening country shall have been surveyed, and the relative level of the two seas trigonometrically ascertained."3

The fulfilment of this wish was nearer at hand than I could then anticipate. It was accomplished by Lieut. Symonds, in 1841; and a slight notice of his results was laid before the Royal Geographical Society of London, at their meeting January 24th, 1842; from which an erroneous statement found its way into the newspapers. A full report of his measurements and calculations was afterwards laid before the society by Lieut. Symonds himself; but no further publication appears yet to have been made respecting them. I therefore subjoin the following account, transmitted to me by Mr. Smith under date of Feb. 7th, 1842.

"I am happy to inform you, that the altitude [depression] of the Dead Sea has been ascertained by exact trigonometrical measure2 Ibid. p. 595. 3 Ib. p. 222.

1 Bibl. Res. II. p. 222.

ment. Lieut. Symonds, of the British Royal Engineers, surveyed the greater part of Judea and the region around the plain of Esdraelon by triangulation; and while doing it, carried a double line of altitudes from the sea at Yâfa to Neby Samwil, and thence another double line to the Dead Sea. He found the latter to be thirteen hundred and thirty-seven feet below the Mediterranean! By similar observations he ascertained the Lake of Tiberias to be eighty-four feet below the Mediterranean. These numbers he gave me himself; and at the same time showed me his calculations."

III. JERUSALEM AND ITS ENVIRONS.

The Rev. Samuel Wolcott was among the missionaries sent out to Syria in 1839. He remained at Beirût; and during the bombardment of that place in September, 1840, withdrew with the Rev. W. Thomson to Cyprus; whence, however, they returned immediately afterwards. During the following year, 1841, he was employed at Beirût and in the mountains; where he has shown himself to be an active and intelligent observer of men and things. On the first of December in that year, he arrived in the Holy City, where he spent the winter, occupying himself with missionary labour, and at the same time exploring the environs and antiquities of the place. The two earliest letters now in my hands, from him to Mr. Smith, are dated January 10th and 25th, 1842; and serve to show, at least, that the first six weeks of his sojourn in Jerusalem were not passed in idleness.

Ancient Subterranean Gateway under the Mosk el-Aksa. The first information as to the existence of this gateway, and also the first definite account of the adjacent vaults under the area of the Haram, were given to the public in the Biblical Researches, from the statements and drawings of Mr. Catherwood. The vaults, indeed, are mentioned by Breidenbach and Fabri in 1483, and by Baumgarten in 1507; and Maundrell in 1697 relates, that he saw them from without, and describes them as consisting of two aisles extending one hundred feet or more under Mount Moriah, etc.2 But how he could thus have seen them was to us inexplicable;

1 Biblical Researches, I. pp. 446– 452.

2 Ib. p. 446. Maundrell's Journey, Lond. 1810, p. 135.

unless at that time there might have been a breach in the wall. The following extracts from Mr. Wolcott's letters, go to clear up the whole difficulty. Under date of January 10th, he writes as follows:

"On reading of the ancient vaults under the temple-area (or the present Haram) seen by Maundrell and other early travellers from a garden within the city wall on the south, I felt at once the difficulty suggested by Prof. Robinson, from having just observed the extreme solidity and antiquity of all the lower part of the southern wall of the Haram inclosed within the city. I visited the spot again soon after, for the purpose of examining this point. It is obvious that the wall lies in its massive original strength, unmoved and immovable. At the point where the city wall meets it, or, rather, connecting this with that of the Haram, you will recollect, is a large irregular building, now unoccupied. Its lower rooms, adjoining the garden or field within the city, are accessible from it. I entered the one adjacent to the Haram, whose wall forms one of its sides, and exhibits the same appearance as without; excluding up to this point the supposition of any breach in it, since its foundation.

"My attention was now arrested by another object. The arch which forms the ceiling of the room, as it rises from its eastern wall, twelve or fifteen feet above the floor, cuts off the square corner of a sculptured stone, projecting several inches from the solid wall of the Haram, with its side and front profusely ornamented, though now blackened. It struck me at once, that this was a portion of the ancient gateway discovered by Mr. Catherwood, and described in the Researches.2

"I now went round by St. Stephen's gate to examine the part without the wall; remarking, as I passed the Golden Gate, that the architecture which I had just seen was of the same florid character. I found a room in the exterior building, east of the one in which I had been, the entrances to which were closed. But it evidently did not embrace the whole width of the ancient gateway,

1 Described in the Bibl. Res. as a low, square tower, forming a gateway or entrance to the city, now closed. Vol. I. p. 387.--ED.

2 I have a distinct recollection of

having in like manner noticed this sculptured stone; but as we then had no suspicion of the existence of the gateway, this led to no further results.-ED.

the eastern part of whose ornamented arch, with other relics, still remained in the wall outside. In the summit of this arch is a window, which the accumulation of rubbish here has left not more than ten feet above the ground. I climbed up to this window, on the wall, and looked through the iron grating. I found myself directly over the gate, (or over the eastern part, for it was double,) and the broad passage [aisle] leading down to it, extending, with a row of columns in the middle, as far as I could see. I observed a door near the bottom of the passage opening to the east.

"I found here, unexpectedly, a solution of the difficulty which I had felt. Here were the vaults' which Maundrell saw. They could have been no other; and the 'two aisles' of these and their general appearance accord with his description. The same may, perhaps, be said of the other travellers referred to. In their day, the outer building probably did not exist; and the passage-way was visible from an opening in the city."

The very next day, Jan. 11th, Mr. Wolcott again visited, with Mr. Tipping, the English artist, the western room first above described, in which he had noticed a portion of the gateway.

"We were making," he says, "some further examination, when a dumb boy, who had followed us, beckoned us to a dark part of the room, and pointed to the wall. At first we could see nothing; but were soon able to distinguish clearly a hole in the wall opening into the eastern room. I examined it soon after, and found what I had been seeking. This hole led directly into the room into which the western half of the double gateway opens." Passing through it, they entered the avenue under the Mosk, and traversed its aisles, taking then but a cursory view. Under date of Jan. 25th, Mr. W. writes as follows:

"I have again visited the passage and gateway under the Haram for a more particular examination. The evidences of its antiquity are unquestionable. Connected with each gate are two marble Corinthian columns, indicating, as Dr. R. has observed, a Roman origin; and there are also marks of Saracenic work of a still later date. But the foundations are Jewish; and both walls of the passage are composed in part of smooth, bevelled stones. The arches. are of hewn stone, and are the noblest that I have country. As I walked through the broad aisles, in a stillness

seen in the