On the morning of Dec. 9th, we rode on donkeys to Bethlehem, six miles from Jerusalem; and, after lunching in a cloister of the Latin Convent, visited a church erected on the spot, where (according to tradition) the manger stood, in which after His birth our Lord was laid. During our stay at Jerusalem, we had opportunities also of visiting the various places of interest for which the city is celebrated. The Via Dolorosa, the Mosque of Omar, (built on the site formerly occupied by Solomon's Temple,) the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (erected, according to tradition, on the spot where our Lord was crucified), Absalom's Pillar, the Pool of Bethesda, the site of Herod's palace, the ruins of the Castle to which Paul was taken, and the Pool of Siloam, were all visited in turn. One of the most memorable places in the city is--"The Wailing Place of the Jews"--where, every Friday afternoon, shortly before sunset, they assemble to bewail the calamities that have befallen their land and city. On Dec. 2nd we saw about 200 Israelites gathered close to some immense old stones--the remains of the Temple it is supposed--which (after praying and bowing repeatedly) with tears in their eyes, they kissed. About one third of the present small population of Jerusalem (28,000) consists of Mussulmans; the rest are Jews, Christians of the Greek, Armenian, and Roman Catholic Churches, and a very few Protestants. There are 25 Convents, 10 Monasteries, and three large Synagogues within its walls. The Jaffa Gate, situated near the Citadel or Tower of David, is one of the principal entrances to the city, and the southern portion of the town (between the ancient Temple and part of Mount Zion) is the quarter occupied by the Jews. In the streets of Jerusalem, day after day, we saw numbers of men, women, and children standing about half-naked, or clothed in miserable rags; and strangers cannot walk a short distance even, without being besieged for alms by the beggars that abound, not a few of whom are lepers. They hold up their disfigured hands and arms, and, pointing to their dreadful sores, follow visitors persistently, entreating them, in piteous, lamentable tones of voice, to have compassion on, and help them. Whilst at Jerusalem, from the windows of our room, we saw many funeral processions pass, when the remains of the deceased were borne along, either in open coffins, or in coffins with glass covers to them; and on Dec. 23rd, the funeral of a child, belonging to the Greek Church, took place outside the city walls, whose body, was lowered into the grave _without_ a coffin.