.

⚫ on which were embroidered the arms of Jerufalem, being a red cross, furrounded with four smaller.

This being performed, we defcended from Mount Calvary, greatly affected with the folemn manner of their chanting the hymns. The ftatue was alfo brought down to the ftone of unction, where our Saviour's body is faid to have been anointed.

Here the Father Guardian anointed the fuppofed body with fragrant balfams, while the ecclefiaftics perfumed the ftone and audience with the fmoke of their incenfe. After ◄ which one of them preached in Arabic; but as we did not understand him, we thought his difcourfe tedious.

The whole proceffion now followed this anointed ftatue to the holy fepulchre, into which the reprefentatives of Nicodemus and Jofeph carried it, the Father Guardian alfo 6 going in with them. Here a Spanish ecclefiaftic delivered 6 a fermon in his own language, which put a period to this • mournful ceremony, which lafted till after midnight.'

On the fixth day after Eafter, was celebrated a kind of feftival; the Greeks and Armenians being taught to believe, that on that day is to be feen in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, and iffuing out of the grave itself, a holy fire, a folemnity, which, like many others of the fame kind, ⚫feems to owe its original to policy, and to be supported by avarice; for the bifhops not only fuffer the people to remain in this belief, but cherifh it, in order to draw the "greater number of Pilgrims to Jerufalem, and thus enable them to defray thofe enormous expences with which they C are oppreffed by the Turks. Nay, the intereft of the latter is concerned in maintaining this miracle, by reafon of the great profits accruing to them, from the vaft numbers of foreigners, whom curiofity draws hither. Some hours before the folemnity begins, a ftranger cannot but be highly entertained with the ftrange grimaces and gefticulations usual on thefe occafions; and as no pilgrim would fail of being prefent, the church is a fcene of confufion. We were feated in a gallery facing the entrance of the holy fepulchre, with the Fathers of the Romifh church, (who, by the bye, are faid to do all they can to explode this pretended miracle) and fome Turks of the Pafcha's retinue, who alfo came • hither on this occafion.

The whole church refounded with the noife and vociferations of a vaft multitude of people, who seemed fran

⚫tic,

tic, running after one another, and playing such pranks as would be more fuitable at a carnival, and were certainly • quite inconfiftent with the facrednefs of the place, and the ⚫ pretended miracle. Among others, I obferved a man coun⚫terfeiting a dead perfon, poffibly intending to imitate our Saviour, being carried feveral times round the grave. and then disappeared. Some carried others on their shoulders, ⚫ and let them fall on the crowd; others again tumbled about the grave, like tumblers on a stage, performing a thousand ⚫ antics and postures, which continually afforded new fubject ' of laughter and noify applaufe. In a word, nothing can

be imagined more grotefque, wild, and fantastical, than ⚫ what we faw here, in any place, and on an occafion which • fhould naturally have raifed ferioufnefs in those who believed it. At laft the Greek clergy made their appearance, but it was with great confufion, that among this multitude of people, they went through the proceffion. The Armeninians, Syrians, and Coptics, at that time did not join in the proceffion. After this a Greek Bifhop, followed by the Patriarch of Armenia, and the Syrian and the Coptic priefts, • went into the holy fepulchre, near which, at the fame time, the Epitropos, or Vicar of the Greek Patriarch, placed himself, poffibly to inftruct the others how they must act, < or to fecure the door, whilft three or four Turks ftood be⚫fore the holy fepulchre, with whips and ftaves, to keep off the people who thronged for admittance. About half á quarter of an hour after the abovementioned ecclefiaftics • entered, the Greek Bishops came out with a bunch of wax candles tied together, which had been lighted at the holy < fire; then was the height of the tumult, for every one thrusting to be the firft to light his candle at that of the Bishops, they being all firmly perfuaded, that the first fire is the most holy and pure; and that whatever it touches, it ⚫ does not burn.

Whilst every one was thus expreffing his devout zeal for being poffeffed of this fire or light, the Turks laid about ⚫ them without diftinction. But at that time no strokes were felt, the raptures at that time taking away all fenfation; and those who were behind furiously leaped on the shoulders of the foremoft, that they might alfo get their candles lighted. The conclufion was, that fome of the bufy zealots among them, lifted the Bishop on their fhoulders, and thus carried him, with great rejoicings, to their church. • With the Armenian Bishop, or Patriarch, matters did not • fucceed fo well; for he no fooner made his appearance with his wax lights, than the people crowded fo violently about

him,

him, that they all went out, and he was obliged to light them again at the candle of a private Pilgrim. However two men lifted him up, and he was carried away with the fame formality as the other. The Syrians and Coptics made all poffible hafte to carry the holy fire to their chapels, in order to light their lamps with it: and thus, in an inftant, there was a general illumination all over the church; after which every one performed divine worship, according to their refpective rites."

Our Author contradicts, from his own experience, the affertions of those who have pretended, that the vapours arifing from the Lake of Sodom and Gomorrah, or the Dead Sea, were fatal to birds flying over it: having, himfelf, with his fellow Traveller, made the experiment with fparrows, carried thither for that purpofe. At our coming to the margin of the water,' fays he, we ftripped ourselves, and fwam to fome distance from the fhore; but, to our great furprize, we found ourfelves as it were lifted up by the ⚫ water. When I had swam to fome diftance, I endeavoured to fink perpendicular to the bottom, but could not; for the water kept me continually up, and would certainly have thrown me upon my face, had I not put forth all the ftrength I was mafter of, to keep myself in a perpendicular pofture: fo that I walked in the fea as if I trod on firm ground, without having occafion to make any of the motions neceffary in treading fresh water; and when I was fwimming, I was obliged to keep my legs the greatest part of the time out of the water.

My Fellow-traveller was agreeably furprized to find that he could swim here, having never learned. But his cafe • and mine proceeded from the gravity of the water, as this certainly does, from the extraordinary quantity of falt in it, as a perfon is known to keep himself above water in the fea with lefs difficulty than in a river or canal. Yet the water of this fea is clear, and has the appearance of other fea-water. As for its tafte, it is extremely falt, bitter, and naufeous. It is, indeed, commonly faid, that birds flying over the lake drop down dead; and that this deleterious. quality refides in the continual thick vapours ifluing from it.

For a trial of this we had brought with us two sparrows, and plucked out a few feathers from each wing, that they could not fly long. Accordingly, when we had fet them at liberty, after a fhort flight, they fell into, or rather up

• on

on the fea; but fo far were they from dying there, that they both got fafe afhore; though had there been any such * noxious effluvia, they were long enough on the surface of "the water to have felt its deleterious effect.'

It is impoffible for us to trace our Voyager more particularly to the feveral parts of Paleftine, Egypt, &c. nor is it at all needful; as moft of his obfervations are common to those who have vifited thefe countries, with any fhare of understanding or knowlege. His reflections, indeed, do not give us any great idea of his talents, to judge of the various and valuable remains of antiquity, with which these parts abound.

We have heard fome perfons even condemn many of these reflections, as puerile and trivial: and we muft confefs, we, -ourfelves, could hardly forbear fmiling at our Author, as an important and fagacious fickler for the truth, when he takes on him to refute, from his own proper experience, the report, that the Pyramids caft no fhadow.

We cannot help thinking, that notion might have been fufficiently refuted, without any one's taking the trouble of going to Cairo, to know the contrary by experience; especially as our Author learnedly obferves, from Pliny and Laertius, that Thales, the Milefian, meafured the height of the faid Pyramids by their fhadows, near two thoufand years

ago.

As we have not the original of this work by us, we cannot pretend to fay how far the Tranflator has done it justice: but, it is very evident, he is no elegant writer of English; his language being, in many parts of the work, ungrammatical and obfcure, and, in others, totally unintelligible.

MONTHLY CATALOGUE. For SEPTEMBER, 1759.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Art. 1. An Address to the People of England, in which the Conduct of Lieut. Gen. Lord George Sackville is properly confidered; at once to Silence, by the Voice of Truth, the Cries of Falfhood, Scurrility and Dulness. 8vo. is.

T

Burd.

O the intelligent reader, the title page of this pamphlet gives an omen of the nonfenfe and flupidity which is fpread over the whole compofition. The author, indeed, modeftly professes that it is

T

not

not his defign to prove himself a good writer, but an honest man. But we must inform this trifler, that when he prefumes to take pen in hand publicly to addrefs the people of England, it is incumbent on him to thew that he has a good head, as well as a good heart.

This is a profelled antwer to a pamphlet, entitled, A Letter to a late noble Commander of the British Forces in Germany, which this writer attacks in the hackneyed file of ill-mannered controverfy, calling the author hired fcribbler, &c. It would not become us to give our opinion in a difpute of this kind, which depends on facts Not yet properly authenticated, and of which it is every man's duty to fufpend his judgment. But though we do not prefume to decide, with refpect to the noble Commander's conduct, yet with regard to the merits of his accufers and defenders, we muft obferve, that if the former condemn him upon report, the latter justify him upon hearfay. The juftifications likewife, if they deferve that name, which have been hitherto attempted, are fo extremely weak, that had his Lordfhip's enemies dictated to the writers, they could fcarce have fuggefted any thing more to his prejudice.

The illuftrious pamphleteer before us, would, indeed, infinuate that he is in the noble Lord's fecrets, and that what he tells us is nothing but truth: for he affures us that he has more than once had the honour of being in his Lordship's company: what he has advanced, however, has been fometime fince known to every man who mixes with the world; and is, in part, the substance of a narrative privately handed about, which in fact proves nothing in refpe& of the charge exhibited, how juftly we know not, against the noble Commander.

* Vide our last, p. 175, Art. 17.

•Art. 2. Remarks on a Pamphlet lately published, entitled, The Conduct of a noble Lord fcrutinized. By an Officer. 8vo. Is. Thrush.

The defign of this wretched piece, is the fame with that of the foregoing one, and the execution equally contemptible.

Art. 3. A Letter from a P**m**e in Ireland, to a certain Great Man, who was out of Town on the first of Auguft last. 8vo. IS. Dublin printed, Londoa re-printed for Stevens in Pater-nafter-row.

An execrable catch-penny.

Art. 4. A Letter to the most noble John Manners, Marquis of Granby, Commander in Chief of the British Forces under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. From a Member of Parliament. Svo, Is. Pridden,

We more than fufpect, that this author has had the prefumption. to afiume a character, which does not belong to him. If, however, he is a Member, nevertheless, in the capacity of a writer, he cannot plead his privile_e, It may be te nerity in us to determine, what

are