You perceive that in order to obtain greater strength, the walls are not perpendicular, but somewhat slanting, so that with the ascending nature of the ground in the courts above, the whole structure has somewhat of a pyramidal form. The stones of which it is composed are of prodigious size, yet are fitted together with the greatest care, and in addition to the security afforded by their magnitude, are strengthened internally by means of iron clamps. This wall is above 730 feet in length on each side; it forms an exact square, and the whole interior space being filled up, we have thus a vast mountain raised by human labor, a stupendous structure that must excite the astonishment of all succeeding ages. But this is only the ground work, the substructure for the great Temple and its sacred courts. Look upward now; you see along the edge of this wall, far up at its giddy elevation, where the brain reels as it attempts to measure the depths below, you see a cloister or ornamented colonnade, on the outside ornamented with architectural embellishment, and yet more remarkable still for massiveness and strength, as if to guard from the assaults even of the wildest fancy the sacred precincts of the Temple. This cloister is 55 feet wide, and consists on the outside of a range of chambers, and within or towards the Temple, of a double row of marble columns 46 feet in height, each column consisting of a single block of white marble; the entablature gives to the whole cloister or colonnade an elevation of more than 60 feet. At the southern end, instead of two, are four rows of columns, each column six feet in diameter and 27 in height; the heaviness of the shaft being relieved by fanciful flutings at the base, and by rich leaf-shaped capitals, like those which we consider as belonging to the Corinthian order. This end is called Solomon’s Porch;[66] it consists of a nave, if I may use the term, 45 feet wide, and in height 100 feet, with side aisles, each 30 feet wide, and 50 in height. It is an enchanting spot, and fanned at that high elevation with a perpetual breeze, and is a favorite resort; but, indeed, where, in this whole colonnade, forming a complete circuit of 2900 feet, is a spot that is not marked by exceeding beauty and magnificence? At each angle you perceive towers of elaborate architecture, crowned with turrets or pinnacles, where, gazing downward, the senses recoil with horror from the frightful depth.