all descriptions of which were called into requisition on the occasion, speedily found their hopes disappointed. The vehicles which issued from every direction to the line of road leading from London Bridge to Hyde Park Corner, soon rendered it impossible either to ad

the Danish Governor of Serampore had provided themselves with carriages, gave them shelter, and refused to yield to the repeated applications of the Company for their expulsion. Many years have since passed, and now a Danish Princess comes to take up her abode amongst us, and the first man who greets her on her arrival, is the deacon of a Baptist Church, who, in his official sta-vance or retreat, and very few of their tion, as Mayor of Margate, has the hon-occupants accomplished their object, of our of presenting to her an address from witnessing the brilliant splendour which the Corporation of that town, and of lit up that thoroughfare. receiving from her a hearty shake of the hand.

The Birmingham Sunday School Union published a very pretty little Memorial of the Marriage for the perusal of scholars, under the title of "To-day, and a Thousand Years Ago," referring to the conflicts of Alfred with the Danes. We quote the following from it:

"The joy and gratitude of Sunday Scholars are very seemly on this occasion.

They have much reason to thank God for the difference there is between the circumstances of England to-day and of a thousand years ago. They have great interest in the future piety and prosperity of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The children of to-day must think of the Prince and Princess as their future King and Queen, whom they will have to obey and revere and love in the years that are to come. The happiness of the

The happy couple were not allowed much uninterrupted enjoyment of each other's society, as an evening party was announced at St. James's for the 20th March, for the purpose of the Princess of Wales's introduction. Probably so early a day was fixed, to accommodate her royal relatives, who would naturally desire to be present on so interesting an occasion. Even on their wedding-day, the Prince and Princess, while speeding their way to Osborne, the place selected for their temporary sojourn, had to endure the infliction of Addresses at Reading and Southampton; no doubt, greatly to their annoyance, but such is the penalty which attends exalted rank. At length, however, they reached their retirement in safety, while London pre-nation much depends upon the character pared to light up in their honour. The of those who rule in it, therefore the great increase in the population of the Bible teaches us to pray for Kings and metropolis, and the facilities afforded by for all that are in authority, that we may the railways for bringing into it an lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all enormous accession of visitors from the godliness and honesty. In these prayers country, combined to fill all the principal for the future, as well as in thanksgivthoroughfares with an innumerable mul-ings for the past, the voices of children titude. Those who had the resolution to must blend." view the splendid illuminations on foot generally succeeded, after much conflict AMONGST the contributions during the and the endurance of considerable bodily last month to the SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION pressure, in accomplishing their object; COTTON DISTRICTS' RELIEF FUND, We but it is lamentable to have to record notice fifty-six pounds from the Calcutta that, at the cross-ways at Farringdon Sunday School Union, shewing the instreet and the Mansion House, nine terest taken in the subject by the schopersons lost their lives, and about 100 lars and teachers in our Indian metroposerious cases of injury also occurred. lis. The amount received to the present But those who with greater prudence time is £3,063. 14s. 11d.

NABLOUS, or Nâbulus, is a large and flourishing town, containing a population of probably not less than 8,000 inhabitants. It is a place of considerable importance, not only from its relative magnitude, but likewise from the central position it occupies in a country so thinly peopled as Palestine.

It is a great change of scene on coming into Nablous, and contrasting it with the solitary places through which the traveller must previously have passed, from whatever quarter he may have approached the town; and this remark is especially applicable when approaching it from the north, namely, from Galilee. As I rode through the Bazaars, the numerous shops or stalls on both sides of the long narrow avenues, or thoroughfares, through which I passed, appeared to be well supplied with commodities.

The Bazaars here were the most extensive and busy-looking by far of any town I had yet seen in Palestine. Nablous is an ancient town, and here and there might be seen evidences of its antiquity, in a broken column or other fragment of old date. The streets are arched over in some places, and the houses are built over them; thus they form vaulted or covered ways, which wear, however, a

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gloomy aspect, as the traveller passes through them. Nablous is celebrated for the manufacture of a peculiar kind of sweetmeat, called sesame, which is held in high repute. It is so called, from the oil of sesame constituting one of its ingredients. I paid a visit to the Samaritan Synagogue, and saw an ancient MS. copy of the Pentateuch, which the Rabbi, or high priest, brought out and placed on a stand for my inspection: he unrolled the volume a little, and appeared very careful of the treasure committed to his custody. The synagogue is but a small building, though probably of considerable antiquity. The Samaritan community it seems does not now amount to more than 40 or 50 persons; their number too is gradually decreasing; so that the Samaritans will, at no distant period, most likely become extinct as a sect. Four times a year they go up to Mount Gerizim in solemn procession to worship. These seasons are: The Feast of the Passover, when they pitch their tents upon the mountain all night, and sacrifice seven lambs at sunset; the day of Pentecost; the Feast of Tabernacles, when they sojourn here in booths built of branches of the arbutus; and lastly, the great day of Atonement in autumn. They still maintain their ancient hatred against the Jews; accuse them of departing from the law, in not sacrificing the Passover, and in various other points, as well as of corrupting the ancient text; and scrupulously avoid all connection with them. They appear to be the last isolated remnant of a remarkable people, clinging now for more than two thousand years around this central spot of their religion and history, and lingering slowly to decay, after having survived the many revolutions and convulsions, which in that long interval have swept over this unhappy land; a reed continually shaken with the wind, but bowing before the storm.

At Nablous, I met with Yakoob, or Jacob-esh-Shellabi, a wellknown member of the Samaritan synagogue, and the same individual, who some years ago, descended to the bottom of Jacob's Well, and by that means ascertained its depth.

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A sad occurrence took place here about a year or somewhat more before visit to Nablous. An American missionary it seems was met by a Mohammedan, who begged alms of him, and while doing so, he approached too near the gun which the Missionary carried with him, the consequence was, it accidentally went off, and shot the man, and was the occasion of his death. As it happened altogether unintentionally, no one could regret the lamentable result which ensued more than the Missionary himself. But it excited the rage of the Mohammedan population of Nablous to such a degree, that they were determined to be revenged on the Christians. They

attacked a young man, a servant of the Missionary, and beat him most severely about the head, but by some means or other he escaped with his life, and afterwards went to reside in Jerusalem, where subsequently I saw and conversed with him on the sad affair. The Missionary himself providentially escaped, but much of the Mission property was destroyed.

The present town of Nablous is said to stand near, or on, the site of the ancient city of Sichem, or Shechem, of the Old Testament, or Sychar, as it is called in the New. It was here that God first appeared to Abraham, after his entrance into the land of Canaan; and here "he builded an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him."-(Gen. xii. 7.) The city took its name from Shechem, the son of Hamor the Canaanite; and near to it is the parcel of ground which Jacob bought at the hand of the children of Hamor, "for an hundred pieces of money," and where he erected an altar to the living God.-(Gen. xxxiii. 19, 20.) Hither Joseph's bones were brought out of Egypt to be buried; (Josh. xxiv. 32;) here the patriarchs tended their flocks; (Gen. xxxvii. 12; here, on the entrance of the Israelites into the Promised Land, God commanded six of the tribes to be stationed on Mount Gerizim, and six on Mount Ebal; the former to pronounce blessings on the obedient, the latter to denounce curses against the disobedient.—(Deut. ii. 29; xxvii. 12; Josh. viii. 33.) And here also is Jacob's Well, whereon our Lord, being wearied with His journey, sat down to rest Himself, when He held the memorable conversation with the woman of Samaria.-(John iv.) Shechem fell to the tribe of Ephraim, and was given to the Levites, and was a city of refuge; and here Joshua, just before his death, convened the Hebrews, to give them a solemn charge.

Shechem was twice destroyed; first, by the sons of Jacob, who, in revenge for the violation of their sister Dinah, slew all the male. inhabitants, including Hamor and Shechem, and spoiled their city; Gen. xxxiv.); and again, 500 years after, by Abimelech, the son of Gideon, who slew all the inhabitants of the city, "beat it down, and sowed it with salt": that is, he entirely demolished and razed it to the ground.-(Judges ix.) It appears, however, to have revived before the time of Rehoboam, as that monarch was here proclaimed king over Israel, After the defection of the ten tribes, it was still further improved by Jeroboam, who made it his residence, and the capital of the kingdom of Israel. Shechem did not, however, retain this honour long; the royal residence being successively transferred to Penuel, Tirzah, and Samaria. On the expulsion of the Samaritans from Samaria by Alexander, for their having killed

Andromachus, the governor of Syria, they took refuge in Shechem, which has been their chief seat ever since.

About forty years after the death of Christ, Shechem was considerably enlarged and beautified by the Emperor Vespasian, who gave it the name of Neapolis, (the new city,) which has since been corrupted into Naplous, Nablous, or Napolose, as it is now variously designated. Next to Jerusalem, this is, perhaps, one of the most interesting spots in the Holy Land. It is worthy of notice, that whilst Capernaum, and the other opulent cities on the shores of the Lake of Tiberias, in which the ministry and the mighty works of Christ were rejected, are now in ruins, and these so greatly defaced that it is scarcely possible for the traveller to ascertain their sites, Sychar, where our Lord was kindly received, is still a flourishing town. The charming situation of this place, and the rich beauty of the vale, watered with numerous rivulets, and overshadowed by the twin heights of Ebal and Gerizim, have excited the wonder of all travellers, and furnished them with a theme on which they are never weary of expatiating.

Ismail being ready with the horses, we took our departure from Nablous towards Jerusalem. We went along the valley and passed by Jacob's Well into the fine open plain in which it is situated: this plain took us some time to traverse. Our journey, however, was not all plain sailing, or rather plain travelling: during our ride we had some rough, stony ground to get over in several places. We had some remarkable hills in sight; the plains too claimed notice, on account of their fine even surface, and for the marks of cultivation some of them exhibited.

Palestine is a very mountainous country, and this portion of it through which we were travelling, afforded abundant evidence of the fact. Hill after hill, or rather, mountain after mountain, were passed as we proceeded. Many of these mountain-tops, from the rotundity of their shape, present a great uniformity, as I frequently had occasion to observe; they do not rise into peaks, but are rounded off in a remarkable manner. But there are plains and valleys, as well as mountains and hills to be seen here: "it is a land of hills and valleys."-(Deut. xi., 11:) and these valleys present many interesting features. The retirement and shelter they afford, as they lie deep beneath the mountain sides, and the deep rich soil underlying them, much of it probably having been swept off long since from the mountains by the winds of heaven, are characteristics belonging to them, which ought not to be overlooked; and if they were but sufficiently irrigated and cultivated, if, indeed, the land were again what it once was, "a land of brooks