As may be inferred from this description, the environs of Jerusalem present an appearance of wretchedness and desolation, that cannot fail to strike the eye of the traveller: and the feeling of melancholy is further increased by the thought that the Holy City itself is surrounded by tombs which are daily being opened, and that the inhabitants have only cemeteries for their public promenades. The memories of the past alone are able to attract the traveller and the pilgrim to Jerusalem,--not its present condition; for the miserable spectacle presented by the monuments still existing above ground would certainly not repay the trouble and fatigue of so long a journey. But those memories, together with the subterranean remains, afford ample recompense to any one possessing imagination and religious feeling, who wishes to study the Bible in its own peculiar country, where its use will inevitably lead him to the truth. During the past few years several buildings have been erected in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, more especially on the north-west. Of these, the most remarkable, both for their extent and for their site, which commands the city on every side, are those belonging to Russia. This great nation, though the last to establish a mission here, has been the first to choose a fine situation and erect suitable buildings upon it. The occupants have also the advantage of escaping from the bad smells of the city. I was the first to offer this site to Cyril, Bishop of Melitopolis, and head of the Mission, but it was declined. I renewed the offer to His Excellency M. de Mansouroff, who at first refused it, but afterwards gave orders that the purchase should be made. We will now proceed to a survey of the city itself. The whole _terrain_ slopes sensibly in an easterly direction; its highest point is at the north-western angle of the walls; but between this position and the highest part of Sion to the south the difference of level is not so great as to forbid us to conjecture that it was originally one hill. The accumulations of soil have so much altered the surface of the ground that it is impossible to recognize ancient localities in the modern city without making excavations: this I have done to an extent that enables me to speak confidently on the point. Believing that in an undertaking of this kind it is useless to form an opinion without an accurate investigation of the soil and a careful study of the subject, I could not be content to remain merely a few days in the country.