XXVI. from them in the beginning of summer by Ibrahim," LETTER but the contest continued thro the autumn, and in November 1834 these asserters of their independence are still unsubdued.72 Besides Isaac and Ishmael, there were six other ever felt in Palestine, destroyed several houses, and threw down that part of the city wall which passes by the Mosque of the Temple. In Bethlehem the convent was rendered uninhabitable, and many inhabitants were buried in the ruins of their houses. For more than ten days, successive earthquakes continued to shake the city, but none were so strong as the first.' Plymouth Herald, November 1834. On 5th June 1834, Ibrahim marched with his troops from Jaffa, to the aid of his besieged garrison in Jerusalem. The Pacha, hearing our situation, hastened from Jaffa, with 5,000 men. There are only 12 hours' march from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and the Pacha was three days and a half before he could relieve us. More than 30,000 Arab peasants had occupied the passes of the mountains; and as the soldiers wound their way thro the narrow ravines beneath, the rebels took murderous aim at them from behind the rocks; and sometimes rolled down on their heads enormous masses of stone; thus, crushing their enemies, and rendering the path impassable to cavalry and artillery. The activity and courage, however, of Ibrahim Pacha overcame every opposition: and he at length entered Jerusalem in triumph. As the Pacha is still waging a bloody war with the Arabs, it is impossible to quit the city. If I quit Jerusalem at present, there is not the least doubt of my being killed by the Arabs.' Letter of 16 July 1834, in the Plymouth Herald. 72 The Austrian Observer has thus mentioned these conflicts: "Ibrahim reached Jerusalem by the way of Bethlehem; but the BEDOUINS of the environs surrounded the city; while others, in numerous detachments, scoured the plain, and plundered and laid waste the whole country between Mount Carmel and Gaza. A regiment which had hastened from Damascus was attacked in Nazareth, and overpowered in the plains of Esdrelon, before it could reach the mountains of Samaria. The loss of the Egyptians in these several actions was estimated at 6,000 men. Lebanon was tranquil, but several ARAB tribes beyond the Jordan had joined those of Samaria. The number of men under arms is stated to be 20,000. Austrian Observer, 24th August 1834. The Ottoman Moniteur of the 11th October 1834, stated, that so far from the hostilities being ended, 'these events have become of such a serious character as to require the Egyptian Pacha to leave his dominions and proceed in person to Jaffa.'-These are the latest notices I have seen of this warfare. LETTER children born to Abraham by his last wife Keturah, XXVI. whom he settled in the eastern countries. There was of course a posterity from these, because the sons of three are mentioned by name. But as nothing is stated of their descendants, except as to one, I will not substitute conjecture in the place of historical fact. This one was MIDIAN. The Midianites are frequently noticed in the Mosaic Pentateuch, and are allowed to have been the descendants of this son of Abraham. They have been called an Arabian people," because after the Augustan age, the name of Arabia was extended to these regions, as it has been to Idumea; but they are distinguished from the Arabs in Scripture." Their country was part of the Arabian desert," and a memorial of their name still remains on the Red Sea." Moses married the daughter of the chief of Midian," and this state became so powerful, as to reduce the Israelites to that subjection from which Gideon delivered them.78 76 73 Philo calls them a most populous nation of Arabs, whose ancient name was Madienei.' De Fortit. 741. So Stephanus in Ethnicis, 'Madieni et Madianitæ, populus Arabiæ.' Midian was not far from Mount Sinai. 74 H. Reland's Palestina, v. i. p. 98. 75 Jerom says, 'Madian and Epha are regions beyond Arabia, fertile of camels, and all the province is called Saba.' Comm. Is. 60. It is undoubted that the Midianites and all that wilderness were adjacent to the Arabian country.' Ib. Ezek. 25. 76 There is a town still called Midjan on the Arabian Gulf, where Ptolemy placed Modianam. Josephus mentions it, The city of Madian on the Red Sea.' Ant. l. ii. c. 5; l. iv. c. 7. 77 Exodus. 78 Judges, vi. 'Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves and strong holds.' Ib. 2. LETTER XXVII. CURSORY OUTLINE OF THE FORMATION, INCREASE, AND DECLINE OF THE JEWISH NATION- AND VIEWS ON THE MY DEAR SYDNEY, XXVII. We now approach, more particularly, the most LETTER deeply-interesting subject which has occurred in the history of Mankind, and with which their Sacred History has been vitally connected. pa Intellectually interesting, from the grand and thetic compositions which are attached to it, and which, on their peculiar subjects, no other ancient literature in any of the past nations of the world either equalled or resembled, it is also that, to which our personal well-being-probably the everlasting continuity of our existence-is inseparably attached; I mean the formation of the Jewish nation, and that gradually-developed, but most momentous train of operations and results which were appended to it, and have issued from it; and which have been destined to be still flowing, with increasing importance, on the human race, and which will never cease to be evolving either to all, or to selected portions of them, till Time itself shall expire, if Time ever can have a terminating period. This, however, will never be. Time cannot end. It is associated with Eternity, and will differ from that, only in being that continued succession of the periods, into which the intelligent beings of every orb, for their convenience, distinguish it, of which Eternity is really composed. XXVII. LETTER Time in this world, is but that portion of the neverbeginning and never-closing Eternity, which has elapsed since human beings became conscious of life and duration; and which they have divided into succeeding periods and chronological sections, and annual, monthly, daily, and even minuter subdivisions, for their own use and arrangements. Time is not therefore confined to this world. It is universal Eternity. It encircles and comprehends the whole infinitude of being, at the same time that we are here marking and parcelling it out, with our peculiar notations, for our own benefit. We should not forget this, altho we are always doing so. We rarely think of this world and of ourselves, but as living members of our globe only. We scarcely ever advert to our larger position and grander relations. Our feet, station and body are on this earth, and we are at all times immediately concerned with the objects, that are at each moment affecting our present senses. But just as the street, or house or field, in which we at any time are standing or moving, is part of a great country, and that a portion of a greater earth, so our globe itself is, in like manner, a similar compartment of a most numerous and most mighty universe, of which we are thereby also an integrant member, and with. which we are in actual copartnership. Our earth, like our house, is but our present local and temporary station. We shall soon move from the one, as we are every day moving from the other. Our real country is the universe; and we pass from this spot of it, but to go into some other region of its vast extension; into other latitudes and longitudes of its grand celestial hemisphere. Our geographical XXVII. parallels and meridians are but those of the heavenly LETTER ubiquity, applied locally to our surface. But this partial application is but an application to ourselves, of the great realities which are marking all space, and embracing all being. As soon as death ends our concern with our earthly soil, our more important relations will then begin with other portions of the celestial chorography. We shall then be in other stations of its longitudes and latitudes. We belong to them, wherever they may prove to be, as certainly, and we shall find as sensorially, as we do now to our present homes and families. We have all two places of abode, of which we cannot divest ourselves; one on this side of our grave, and one thro that, beyond it. This we cannot at present see, as we who live in England cannot see China or the Polar Sea ; but these distant objects exist as assuredly as our London and its island. So is our next home as certainly subsisting somewhere, and awaiting us, altho it is now as invisible to us, as the regions and inhabitants of the moon still continue to be. -- It is the absolute certitude that we are living members of a great universe--that we belong to other worlds, as well as to our own-that we are here but in an assigned station, and only for a limited time-present citizens here, to be future citizens elsewhere that we shall be moved from our globe, in which we have been born, to some other compartment of created space; and that we are at all times subjects of the One, sole and all-ruling Sovereign, whose choice and appointment will decide our future locality, as He has here, for the time being, fixed our present one, which makes all revelations from Him so inexpressibly momentous, and dear to us; and which |