We came here to see the city; and when we behold the churches and cathedrals, the mosques and synagogues, the towers and minarets, rising up here and there above the white stone buildings around them, we are half inclined to believe “Zion” is yet wreathed round with some of her ancient glory. But candor compels me to say that here, as at Constantinople, “distance lends enchantment to the view.” I love a pretty picture, and am always loath to break the mirror of admiration into fragments of analysis; but it now becomes us to descend the Mount of Olives, recross the Kedron, and, entering by the Stephen’s gate, to begin an inspection of the city. [Illustration: STREET IN JERUSALEM.] We find the streets, which are from six to twelve feet wide, paved with round stones, varying all the way from a goose egg to a man’s head. These stones are half buried in filth, the other half being left exposed, and have been trodden over until they are almost as smooth as glass. No wheeled vehicle can enter the city, for the reasons that the streets are too narrow to allow a chariot or wagon to pass through; and if they were wide enough, the stones are too sleek and slippery for a camel to walk on, and, with safety, draw a vehicle. You can follow one of these streets, or lanes, only a short distance without facing every point of the compass. In many places you have to hold your nose, and carefully pick your way through the dirt and filth. These narrow, corkscrew streets (?) are lined on either side by a lot of stalls, from five to ten feet wide, called shops, or bazaars. Traffic seems to be at a stand-still. The people are mostly idle. They produce nothing, and consume—very little! Filth, ignorance, and poverty, those emblems of Mohammedan rule, more unmistakeable than the Star and Crescent itself, everywhere abound! The population of Jerusalem is variously estimated, the estimates ranging anywhere from 25,000 to 45,000. I think the city probably has 35,000 inhabitants, proportioned as follows: 18,000 Mohammedans, 12,000 Jews, and 5,000 Christians, each occupying separate and distinct quarters of the city. All the Christians, except a hundred or more, are Catholics. While there are a few wealthy Jew merchants and bankers in Jerusalem, most of the Hebrews here are mainly supported by a systematic benevolence, Jews in all parts of the world contributing to this object. There are many synagogues here, but only one worthy of special note. The Jews have fifteen or twenty theological students who daily assemble in the chief synagogue, and seat themselves on mats at the feet of their instructor, who sits on a thick, deep-tufted cushion in the centre of the circle. But there is no Gamaliel among the teachers, no Paul among the pupils. [Illustration: WAILING PLACE OF THE JEWS.]