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likely to have recovered its former grandeur; namely, when the Emperor Adrian built a new city almoft upon the fpot of the old one, which he called Elia Capitolina, and adorned with walls and other noble edifices; permitting the Chriftians to fettle and live in it. But this was a fhort-lived change; fo that when the pious Emprefs Helena, mother of Conftantine the Great, and, by birth, a British Lady, came to vifit this theatre of the world's redemption, fhe found it in fuch a forlorn and ruinous condition, as raifed her pity into a noble zeal of reftoring it to its antient luftre. To which end, the caufed, with a great deal of coft and labour, all the rubbish that had been thrown upon those places, where our Saviour had suffered, had been buried, &c. to be removed; in the doing of which, they found the crofs on which he died, as well as those of the two malefactors who were put to death with him; and, as the writers of thofe times relate, difcovered, by a miracle, that which had borne the Saviour of mankind. Mount Calvary thus cleared, fhe caufed a magnificent church to be built upon it, which should inclose as many of the scenes of his fufferings, as could be convepiently done; which ftately edifice is ftill ftanding, and is kept in good repair, by the generous offerings of a conftant concourfe of pilgrims, who annually refort to it, as well as the contributions of feveral Christian princes.

THE walls of it are of stone, the roof of cedar; the Eaft end inclofes mount Calvary, and the Weft the holy fepulchre. The former is covered with a noble cupola, fupported by fixteen maffive columns, which were crufted with

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marble. The centre of it is opened on the top, juft over the fepulchre; and over the high altar, at the Eaft-end, is another ftately dome. The nave of the church conftitutes the choir; and, in the infide ifles, are fhewn the places where the most remarkable circumftances of our Lord's paffion were tranfacted, together with the tombs of Godfrey and Baldwin, the two first Christian kings of Jerufalem. Going up an afcent of 22 fteps, we come to a chapel, where that part of Calvary is fhewn on which Chrift was crucified, and the very hole in the rock in which his crofs was fixed. The altar hath three croffes on it, and is richly adorned, as with other coftly embellishments, fo particularly with forty fix lamps, of immenfe vaz lue, that hang before it, and are kept continually burning. Adjoining to this is another fmall chapel, fronting (like this) the body. of the church. At the Weft-end is that of the fe pulchre, which is hewn in that form out of the folid rock, and hath a small dome or lantern, fupported by pillars of porphyry. The cloifter round the fepulchre is divided into fundry chapels, appropriated to the feveral fects of Chriftians who refide there; fuch as Greeks, Armenians, Maronites, Jacobites, Copts, Abyffines, Georgians, &c.; and on the North-west are the apartments of the Latins, who have the care of the church, and are forced to refide conftantly in it; the Turks keeping the keys of it, and not suffering any of them to go out, but obliging them to receive their provisions in at a wicket.

EASTER is the time in which the greatest ceremonies are performed in this place, and which

chiefly confift in reprefentations of our Lord's paffion, crucifixion, death, and refurrection; all which are acted with their concomitant circumftances; though, we are informed by feveral witnesses of undoubted credit, in a manner not altogether fo fuitable to the facredness. of the fubject. At this folemnity, every pilgrim paying a certain fee, is admitted in to assist at the folemn proceffion, and other ceremonies belonging to it; and, at the end of it, is let out again: and of these there is commonly a vaft concourfe, and fome of them that chufe to go in on the eve of Good-Friday, and to ftay till Eafter-Monday.

WE must refer our readers for further par-ticulars of this grand ceremony, and of this and other edifices, built by that pious Emprefs in other parts of this city, to thofe authors who have written of them; and particularly to Radzivil, Thevenot, Sandys, Le Bruyn, Reland, Maudrel, &c. and, amongst them, to the Rev. Dr. Shaw, and Dr. Pococke, who have enriched their account of thefe facred places, with many curious and learned remarks, well worth the reading; but which we are obliged to omit, for fear of running. beyond our bounds.

THE laft thing we fhall take notice of under this article, is an edifice erected on Mount Moriah, on the South-eaft part of the city, called Solomon's temple, and standing on, or near the spot where the antient one did. But, as we are well affured, that the old one was totally destroyed by the Romans, according to our Saviour's prediction, it is not eafy to guess when, or by whom this mock one was reared.

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The entrance into it is at the Eaft end, under an octagon, adorned with a cupola, roof, and lantern; and forward, towards the Weft, is a fair ftrait ifle, like that of a church; the whole furrounded with a fpacious fquare court, walled on every fide. The extent of this place, according to Mr. Maundrel, is 570 common paces long, and 370 broad. In the midft of it, and where the Jewish fanctum fanétorum is faid to have ftood, is erected a Turkish mofque, neither confiderable for its largenefs nor ftru&ture; but which, nevertheless, makes a stately figure, by the fole advantage of its fituation. This place, our author tells us, is held in fuch veneration by the Turks, that a ftranger cannot go near its border, without being in danger of forfeiting his life or religion. It lies over against the mount of Olives, and is parted from it by the Vale of Jehofaphat; and one may eafily judge what an immenfe labour it muft have coft, to level fuch a fpacious area upon so strong and rocky a mountain. Dr. Pococke, who hath taken a more particular view of that edifice, much extols the beauty of the prospect, as well as the materials and workmanship of it; the ftones both without, and, as he was told, within, being cafed with tiles of different colours, but chiefly green; the colonnades being of the Corinthian order, finely wrought, and the arches turned over them; being, as he fuppofes, the porticos leading to the infide of the building, which, he thinks, was formerly a Chriftian church. The reader may fee the farther particulars in that author.

THE city is now under the government of a fangiack, whofe refidence is in an houfe,

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faid to have been that of Pontius Pilate, over against the castle of Antonia, built by Herod the Great; where they fhew the flairs by which our Saviour afcended up to the gallery where the governor expofed him to the people; at leaft they fhew a new fight of them: for, aз to the old ones, called fcala fanca, they are faid to have been carried to Rome. that we shall add concerning this famed city, is, that many of thofe ftately churches, built in memory of fome remarkable gospeltranfaction, have been fince turned into mofques; into fome of which money will procure an entrance, and into others not. Both friers, and other Chriftians, are kept fo poor, by the tyranny of the government, that the chief fupport and trade of the place confifts in providing ftrangers with food, and other accommodations, and felling them beads, relicks, and other religious trinkets; for which they are obliged to pay confiderable fums to the fangiack, as well as to his officers: and thefe are feldom fo well contented with their ufual dues, but they frequently extort fome fresh ones from them, especially from the Francifcans; whofe convent is the common receptacle of all pilgrims, and for which they have confiderable allowances from the Pope, and other crowned heads; befides the ufual prefents which thefe ftrangers generally make to them at their departure.

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