firm the doubts already entertained by many scholars of the genuineness of the legend which fixes the locality of the crucifixion and the burialplace of Jesus; to show in part what of the remains now existing are Herodian, and what date back to the days of Solomon; to demonstrate that the description given by Josephus of the immense height of the Temple above the valley is not exaggerated; and to give new significance to many of the references which the Scripture contains concerning the Holy City. We have already referred incidentally to the discovery in the débris of some remains of ancient pottery. Less of such materials was found than had been anticipated, but enough to indicate what a more thorough research might disclose. They are of greater interest to the antiquarian than to the general reader; yet no one can fail to feel an interest in these relics of a civilization whose ruins are buried under the débris of centuries, and in looking, as by the artist's aid he may, upon what is, perhaps, in form, just such a vase as that which the woman broke when about to anoint the feet of Jesus as he sat at meat, and upon lamps which, though of a later date probably are the exact counterparts of those which Jesus had in mind PASSAGE IN THE WALL OF THE HARAM AREA. EXAMINING CHARACTERS ON THE WALL. in the parable of the ten virgins. The vase portrayed in the picture, Fig. 3 (page 205), appears to have been used for the importation or preservation of quicksilver, remains of which have been found in the interior. The marks on the handles of vase, Fig. 1, are Phoenician characters; and the fragments so far discovered belong chiefly to four eras-the Phoenician, the Græco-Phoenician, the Arabic, and the early Christian. The movement for the exploration of Jerusalem commenced with a benevolent effort by Miss Burdett Coutts to ascertain whether water might not be procured for the city which the Psalmist had described as "the joy of the whole earth," but which has become one of the most unhealthy places in the world, partly owing to the impurity of the water and the difficulty of obtaining it. Indeed, at certain seasons it is sold at a high price. The result proves that whatever dearth of water there is now, there was formerly no lack of provision. In fact, the whole ground of the Haram Area appears to be honey-combed with a series of remarkable rock-hewn cisterns, in which was stored the water brought by an aqueduct from Solomon's Pool, near Bethlehem. These cisterns appear to have been connected by a system of channels cut out of the rock, so that when one was full the surplus water ran into the next, and so on, till the final overflow was carried off by a channel into the Kedron. One of the cisterns-that known as the Great Sea-would contain two million gallons, and the total number of gallons which could be stored probably exceeded ten millions. Among these ancient water-works of Jerusalem-some of which certainly date back to the time of Solomon-is the subterranean passage which leads from the Pool of Siloam to the Virgin's Fount, both, as the reader will observe by reference to the plan, on the south side of the city. We can not bring this article to a more appropriate close than by quoting from Captain Warren's thrilling though simple account of his hazardous survey of this aqueduct :* was reduced to three feet nine inches, and here we found a shaft leading upward apparently to the open air. This might be made use of to great advantage by the owners of the soil overhead. From this shaft the passage takes a northeasterly direction, and at 600 feet is only two feet six inches high. Our difficulties now commenced. Sergeant Birtles, with a fellah, went ahead, measuring with tape, while I followed with compass and field-book. The bottom is a soft silt, with a calcareous crust at top strong enough to bear the human weight, except in a few places, where it lets one in with a flop. Our measurements of height were taken from the top of this crust, as it now forms the bottom of the aqueduct; the mud silt is from fifteen inches to eighteen inches deep. We were now crawling on all fours, and thought we were getting on very pleasantly, the water being only four inches deep, and we were not wet higher than our hips. Presently bits of cabbage stalks came floating by, and we sud "I have examined and surveyed the rockcut passage leading from the Virgin's Fount to Siloam. We entered from the Siloam end, so as to have as much clean work as possible. For the first 350 feet it was very plain sailing, the height of passage sloping down from six-denly awoke to the fact that the waters were teen feet at entrance to four feet four inches; the width two feet; the direction a wavy line to the east. At 450 feet the height of passage It is necessary to explain that the Pool of Siloam possesses an intermittent character, though the cause of the ebb and flow is a matter of uncertainty. rising. The Virgin's Fount is used as a sort THE RECOVERY OF JERUSALEM. REMAINS OF ANCIENT POTTERY. 1. Vase Handles-Phoenician Inscriptions.-2. Ancient Jar-probably Phoenician.-3. Vase containing Signs of Quicksilver.-4. Vase or Jar of Glass-Arabic.-5. Ancient Dish. At 850 feet the height of the channel trance. The water was reduced to one foot ten inches. was running with great violence, one foot in height, and we, crawling full length, were up to our necks in it. ward the northwest, and the height increased to four feet six inches, which gave us a little breathing space; but at 1050 feet we were rewe were again crawling with a height of only duced to two feet six inches, and at 1100 feet "I was particularly embarrassed: one hand one foot ten inches. We should probably have necessarily wet and dirty, the other holding a suffered more from the cold than we did had At pencil, compass, and field-book; the candle for not our risible faculties been excited by the the most part in my mouth. Another fifty feet sight of our fellah in front, plunging and puffing brought us to a place where we had regularly through the water like a young grampus. The pas-1150 feet the passage again averaged in height to run the gauntlet of the waters. sage being only one foot four inches high, we two feet to two feet six inches; at 1400 feet had just four inches breathing space, and had we heard the same sound of water dripping as I carefully looked backsome difficulty in twisting our necks round described by Captain Wilson, the Rev. Dr. properly. When observing, my mouth was Barclay, and others. At 900 feet we came upon two ward and forward, and at last found a fault under water. false cuttings, one on each side of the aqueduct. in the rock, where the water was gurgling, but I could whether rushing in or out I could not ascertain. They go in for about two feet each. not discover any appearance of their being At 1450 feet we commenced turning to the passages; if they are, and are stopped up for east, and the passage attained the height of six any distance, it will be next to impossible to feet; at 1658 feet we came upon our old friend, clear them out in such a place. Just here I the passage leading to the Ophel shaft, and, involuntarily swallowed a portion of my lead-after a further fifty feet, to the Virgin's Fount. pencil, nearly choking for a minute or two. Our candles were just becoming exhausted, We were now going in a zigzag direction to- and the last three angles I could not take very AT T break of day one September morning nearly sixty years ago the brig Lawrence, flag-ship of Captain Perry's Lake Erie squadron, was riding quietly at anchor in a harbor formed by a group of small islands near the western extremity of the lake. As the heavy shadows which had rested all night long upon the waters of the bay grew less and less dense, and the forms of the surrounding islands began to make their appearance through the morning mists, the usual signs of renewed life became apparent on board the fleet. The shrill whistle of the boatswain could be heard summoning the crews to their morning duties, the watches upon deck were relieved and allowed to go below, and the hum of voices showed that the sleepers had all been awakened and the business of the day begun. Suddenly the sailor upon the look-out at the mast-head of the Lawrence bent forward and hailed the deck. From the elevated position where he stood carefully scanning the horizon a sight startling but not unexpected had met his view. Beyond the intervening islands, and concealed by their wooded shores from the decks, the lifting shadows now revealed six large vessels slowly moving down from the northwest. This was the British fleet, which, under command of Captain Barclay, one of Nelson's bravest veterans, had left the Canada shore upon the previous evening with the intention of settling the disputed question of naval supremacy upon the waters of Lake Erie before the sinking of another sun. The intelligence of its approach was quickly communicated to Perry by the officer of the deck. The promptness with which orders were given for the squadron to get under way, and the activity displayed in their execution, showed that the young commander was not unprepared for the emergency. Anchors were weighed, sails spread, and the small boats lowered and manned with oarsmen prepared to assist the light breeze, which it was feared might not prove strong enough to impel the vessels into the open waters of the lake. As they slowly beat out from the harbor toward the spot where the British fleet lies awaiting them the broad blue battle-flag of the commander, inscribed with the dying words of the lamented Lawrence, is run up to the peak of the flagship amidst the enthusiastic shouts of the men. These are answered by responsive cheers from the crews of the other vessels, as the ensign floats out upon the breeze, and the inscription is revealed to them by the clear light of the morning sun. Before nightfall the thunder of the guns had died away, and the hard-earned victory was won. A great naval battle had been fought, and, along with the entire British fleet, the control of the lakes had passed permanently into the hands of the Americans. The harbor from which Perry set sail at daybreak to meet the foe, and to which he returned after the battle to bury the dead and repair the shattered ships of both squadrons, is formed by a group of about twenty small islands situated near the western extremity of Lake Erie, and has ever since been known by the name of Put-in-Bay. Tradition states that its existence and its superior facilities as an anchorage for the fleet were first pointed out to Perry by a Canadian halfbreed, who had volunteered for the cruise in Sandusky. Its advantages for such a purpose in time of war are certainly conspicuous. Lying well out from the shore, though available for vessels drawing twelve feet of water, Put-in-Bay, unlike the other harbors of the lake, has no bar to obstruct its entrance, and is free from dangerous rocks. Its position, too, is an important recommendation. Looking toward the Canada shore, it adjoins the passage into the upper lakes, while at the same time affording a favorable point for the defense of the neighboring coast of Ohio, and the mouths of the many streams which here empty into Lake Erie. The group of islands encircling the waters of Put-in-Bay has become at the present day a favorite place of summer resort. The opportunities afforded here for boating and fishing are unsurpassed, while the visitor, quite out of sight and hearing of the roar and bustle of the busy world, insensibly forgets its cares, and enjoys the delicious sense of repose which belongs peculiarly to the place. PERRY'S BATTLE-FLAG. vator with its ripened clusters. Not all of the islands, however, are under cultivation. Some of them are steep masses of limestone rock rising abruptly from the water, and worn by the action of the weather into fantastic forms. Others are still covered with a growth of forest trees. The summer idler at Put-in-Bay will often take a boat in the early morning, and repairing to one of these little islets, remain during the heat of the day reading, writing, or reclining under the trees, and looking off over the broad surface of the lake. In such a seclusion he has leisure to listen to the many-keyed voices of nature, which at other times fall unheeded upon the ear. The hum of the bee's wing, the distant song of a bird from some inner recess of the woods, and the rustling of the leaves in the summer breeze, are the only sounds to be heard, and these rather heighten than diminish the feeling of solitude. The cares of life seem as far away as the white wings of the distant ships, which, with hulls invisible, slowly glide along the horizon, and earth's honors and prizes as transitory as yonder gleam in the sunshine where some fish has leaped from the water. There is little in the appearance of the islands to suggest the thought of war, or to recall the fierce conflict which once took place in sight of their shores. The echoes of the great guns have died away, and the smoke of battle no As we turn our gaze toward the neighboring longer hangs over the water. No more warlike shores the mind insensibly reverts to the scenes spectacle is seen there than an occasional rev- of the past. Many of the islands in view still enue-cutter at anchor in the tranquil bosom of bear the names given to them by Perry. Pebthe bay. In place of the blood of heroes, with ble Island is so called from the smooth white which the waters of the lake were crimsoned, pebbles of which its beach is composed. The is only the red juice of the grape, which every one upon which the officers of both squadrons autumn is produced abundantly upon the nu- who were killed in the action are interred is merous islets. Whether owing to the mild called Willow Island, from a sapling planted climate, or to some peculiarity in the nature at the time over their resting-place. This has of the soil, here seems to be the chosen home increased in size with the lapse of years, and of the vine. The Catawba, driven by disease is now a stately tree, with a trunk several feet from the neighborhood of Cincinnati, thrives in diameter. Upon it is an inscription giving luxuriantly, and never fails to reward the culti- the names of the six officers, three Americans |