Some streams were supposed to have more efficacy in these respects than others. Hence, nearly all religious nations had their "Holy Rivers," "Holy Water," "Sacred Pools," etc. The Hindoos resorted to the "Holy Ganges," the Egyptians to the "Holy Nile," the Chaldeans and Persians to the "Holy Euphrates," the Greeks to their "Holy Lustral Water," the Italians to the river Po, and the Jews and Christians to their holy river Jordan. If Jordan was not called "holy," it was undoubtedly considered so, else why did Elisha order Naaman to wash seven times in that stream instead of Damascus, which was much nearer and more accessible? And why was Christ baptized in Jordan? "And all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, were baptized in Jordan, confessing their sins." (Matt iii. vi.) Why, as several streams were handier to a large portion of the candidates, simply because Jordan was considered to be "more holy." And Christians had their sacred pool of Bethesda, as the Hindoos had their Sahar. The rite of baptism was at first generally practiced in caves--as were also other religious rites; and as these caves were often difficult of access, and their mouths, doors or gates narrow and difficult to enter, they fully exemplify Christ's declaration, "Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life." (Matt. vii. 14.) And when he declared, "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven" (John iii. 5) he was only seconding the exhortation of the priests to enter these subterranean vaults and be baptized after the oriental and Jewish custom. Thus originated baptism by water in the form of dipping, or immersion. BAPTISM BY SPRINKLING. Owing to the scarcity of water in some countries, and its entire absence in others, and the fatal effects sometimes resulting from the practice of baptizing infants and invalids by immersion, a new mode of baptism eventually sprung up, now known as "sprinkling," in which sometimes water and sometimes blood was used. Virgil, Ovid and Cicero all speak of its prevalence amongst the ancient Romans or Latins. We are informed that the ancient Jews practiced it upon their women while in a state of nudity, the ceremony being administered by three rabbis, or priests. But the custom finally gave way to one more consonant with decorum. Blood, being considered "the life thereof" of man, was deemed more efficacious than water, and hence was often used in lieu of that element. The Greeks kept a "holy vessel" for this purpose, known as the Facina. The Romans used a brush, which may now be seen engraven upon some of their ancient coins and sculptured on their ancient temples. The Hindoos and Persians used a branch of laurel or some other shrub for sprinkling the repentant candidate, whether water or blood was used.