sent off to Antony, and cruelly put to death. Herod repaired the city, embellished it with many public monuments, and rebuilt or rather enlarged the temple at Jerusalem.

Archelaus, the son of Herod and Marianne, succeeded his father; while Herod Antipas, another of Herod's sons, held the tetrarchates of Galilee and Pera. It was this last who gave orders for beheading John, and who sent back Christ to Pilate. He was exiled by the emperor Caligula to Lyons.

Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, next obtained the crown; but Herod his brother, king of Calcis, had absolute authority over the temple and kept possession of the sacred treasures. After the death of Agrippa, Judea was reduced to a Roman provinces Titus, son of Vespasian, besieged and took the capital, and the temple was destroyed thirty-eight years after the crucifixion of Christ, about A. D. 70. On the ruins of the city of David, Adrian built a new town which he called (from his own name, Ælius,) Ælia Capitolina. The figure of a swine was carved over the gate leading to Bethlehem, and the Jews were prohibited entering the city under pain of death.

Jerusalem which had become a pagan city, at length acknowledged the God she had renounced; Constantine and his mother threw down the idols and sanctioned the Christian worship. Julian made a fruitless effort to rebuild the temple; balls of fire issued from the foundation, dispersed the workmen, and caused the design to be altogether abandoned. Jerusalem was once more taken by Cosroes, king of Persia, A. D. 613. Heraclius vanquished Cosroes, A. D. 627, and nine years afterwards, the Calif Omar, the third in succession from Mahomet, took Jerusalem after a siege of four months; Omar was assassinated, A. D. 643. After many contests the Fatimite caliphs possessed the Holy city till A. D. 1099, when Godfrey of Bouillon, attended by Baudouin his brother, and Peter Hemitt, marched to the Holy Land with 1,300,000 men; Jerusalem was soon taken, Godfrey died at Jaffa (Joppa,) and was succeeded by his brother Baudouin.

The second crusade preached by St. Bernard, and conducted by Louis VII. of France, took place in the reign of Baudouin III. At length Saladin proceeded against the Christians and became successful. He died soon after the capture of Acre.

In the year 1242, the Emir of Damascus obtained possession of Jerusalem, and surrendered it to the Latin princes. A succession of Mameluke chieftains afterwards became masters of it, till in A. D. 1263, Bibars-Bondoc-Dari assumed the title of Sultan. He ravaged that part of Palestine which had not previously submitted, and repaired the capital. Kelaoun, his heir, chased the Christians from fortress to fortress, and his son Khalil wrested from them Tyre and Acre. At length, in 1291, they were entirely driven from the Holy Land.

The victorious Sultans kept possession of their conquest till 1352, when the Mamelukes of Circassia usurped the government of Egypt, and gave a new form to the administration of Palestine. At length Selim put an end to these series of revolutions, by assuming in 1716 the sovereign power in Egypt and Syria.-Joliffe's Letters from Palestine. B.-V.

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED.

THE DAY'S-MAN.

Job ix. 33. "Neither is there any day's-man (or arbitrator) betwixt us that might lay his hand upon us both,"

Laying hands on both parties signifies a coercive power to enforce the execution of certain decrees. This no one could have over the Almighty: it was in vain therefore to contend with him. In some of the northern parts of England any arbitrator, umpire, or elected judge, is commonly called a diesman, or day's-man. Dr. Hammond says, Heb. x. 25. the word day, in all idioms, signifies judgment.

Lay his hand upon us both." Herodotus mentions a custom among the Arabians, when they enter into covenants and agreements with each other: that a man stands in the midst of them, and, with a sharp stone, cuts the inside of the hands of the covenanters, near the larger fingers. He then takes a piece out of each of their garments, and anoints with the blood seven stones which lie between them. While he is doing this, he calls on a deity, and when the business is finished, the covenant maker goes with his friends to a host or citizen, if the affair is transacted with a citizen, and it is reckoned a righteous thing to keep the covenant."

Blessed be God we have a day's-man, "for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," through whom we can have access to the Father, and although we cannot answer divine justice, or come together in judgment trusting in ourselves, and relying on our own merits, yet in and through the beloved Son, we are pronounced righteous, and admitted to the enjoyments and immunities of heaven. And hence Jesus is called the mediator of the new covenant, in whom all the promises of salvation centre, "for all the promises of God in Him, are yea, and in Him, amen, to the glory of God by us."

Possessing him, I all possess,

Wisdom, and strength, and righteousness,
And sanctity complete :

Bold in His name I dare draw nigh

Before the ruler of the sky,

And all his justice meet.

IGDALIA.

SAGACITY OF A MULE.

(From Griscom's Year in Europe, America.)

"ABOUT four o'clock we arrived at Martigny, where we were to remain till morning. We walked up the valley, before the sun went down, to observe more fully the great devastation, and the heavy suffering, which this place sustained on the 21st of June last (1818). This event is briefly as follows:A gorge, or valley of a mountain, near St. Bernard, had become closed or dammed by ice, so as to form an extensive lake. It was foreseen that the pressure of the water, in this lake, must ere long break its barrier, and rush down the valley with destructive force. Considerable efforts were made to prevent this disaster, by endeavouring to perforate the icy bank, near the bottom, and allow the water gradually to pass off; but about half-past three in the afternoon the brittle mound gave way, and the body of the lake, bearing away with irresistible fury, rocks, trees, houses, cattle, &c. arrived at Martigny at six, destroyed eighty buildings, and killed at least thirty-four persons, filled the lower stories of the town with water and mud, and piled up to an enormous height wood, trees, and rocks, filling the whole plain with the most

frightful ravages.

It required almost incredible labour to clear the streets of the mud and rubbish, so as to render them passable. Great quantities still remain in them, in large heaps. A more melancholy aspect I never beheld, excepting, perhaps, the remains of an extensive conflagration

"An incident occurred, during the progress of this mighty torrent, which adds another to the many proofs of the wonderful nature of animal sagacity. A gentleman, mounted on a mule, was descending the valley towards Martigny, unsuspicious of danger. Suddenly the animal pricked up its ears, and made an effort to leave the road. The rider neither seeing nor hearing any thing that should occasion this freak, forced the creature back into the path. It still manifested uneasiness, and, in a few minutes after, in spite of resistance, scrambled with all its might up the side of the mountain, carrying its unwilling rider along with it: but in a minute after the roaring of the torrent was heard, and the devastating flood passed, with its awful rapidity, leaving the astonished traveller absorbed in the feelings of surpize and gratitude,"

BIRDS' NESTS.

"Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir-trees are her house." Psalm civ. 17.

Most admirable is that wisdom and understanding which the Creator hath imparted to the birds of the air, whereby they distinguish times and seasons, choose the properest places, construct their nests with an art and exactness unattainable by man, and secure and provide for their young. "Is it for the birds, O Lord, which have no knowledge thereof, that thou hast joined together so many miracles? Is it for the men who give no attention to them? Is it for those who admire them, without thinking of Thee? Rather is it not thy design, by all these wonders, to call us to thyself? to make us sensible of thy wisdom, and to fill us with confidence in thy bounty, who watchest so carefully over these inconsiderable creatures, two of which are sold for a farthing?

Bishop Horne on the Psalms.

* Wesley's Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation,

SALADIN.

THE great Saladin, after he had subdued Egypt, passed the Euphrates, and conquered cities without number. After he had retaken Jerusalem, and performed many great exploits in those wars which superstition had stirred up for the recovery of the Holy Land, he finished his life in the performance of an action that ought to be transmitted to the most distant posterity.

A moment before he uttered his last sigh, he called the herald who had carried his banner before him in all his battles; he commanded him to fasten to the top of a lance the shroud in which the dying prince was soon to be buried“ Go,” said he, "carry the lance, unfurl this banner, and while you lift up this standard, proclaim-This, this is all that remains to Saladin the Great, the conqueror and the king of the Empire, of all his glory!" Christians, (says Saurin) I perform to-day the office of this herald. I fasten to the staff of a spear sensual and intellectual pleasures, worldly riches, and human honors. All these I reduce to the piece of crape in which you will shortly be buried. This standard of death I lift up in your sight, and I cry-This, this is all that will remain to you of the possessions for which you have exchanged your souls! Φιλος.

A TRANSLATION FROM THE ITALIAN. SEE a fond mother encircled by her children: with the greatest tenderness she looks around and her soul even melts with maternal love; one she places upon her knee, and clasps another to her bosom; one she kisses on the forehead, and finds a seat upon her foot for another. And while by their actions, their lisping words, and asking eyes, she learns their various numberless little wishes, to these she dispenses a look, a word to those, and whether she smiles or frowns 'tis all in tender love.

Such to us, though infinitely high and awful, is Providence. So it watches over us, comforting these, supporting those; listening to all, assisting every one; and though sometimes it denies us the favor we implore, it denies but to invite our more earnest prayers, and in denying a blessing for which we are anxious grants us a greater in the refusal. H. W.