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chapel are niches belonging to the different religious sects.

In this church I was also shewn the subterranean niche in which
Jesus is said to have been a prisoner; also the niche where the
soldiers cast lots for our Saviour's garments, and the chapel
containing the grave of St. Nicodemus. Not far from this chapel is
the little Roman Catholic church. A flight of twenty-seven steps
leads downwards to the chapel of St. Helena, where the holy woman
sat continually and prayed, while she caused search to be made for
the true cross. A few steps more lead us down to the spot where the
cross was found. A marble slab points out the place.

Mounting the steps once more, we come to the niche containing the
pillar to which Jesus was bound when they crowned him with thorns.
It is called the pillar of scorn. The pillar at which Jesus was
scourged, a piece of which is preserved in Rome, is also shown.

The chapel belonging to the Greeks is very spacious, and may almost
be termed a church within a church. It is beautifully decorated.

It is very difficult to find the way in this church, which resembles
a labyrinth. Now we are obliged to ascend a flight of stairs, now
again to descend. The architect certainly deserves great praise for
having managed so cleverly to unite all these holy places under one
roof; and St. Helena has performed a most meritorious action in thus
rescuing from oblivion the sacred sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and
Nazareth.

I was told, that when the Greeks celebrate their Easter here, the
ceremonies seldom conclude without much quarrelling and confusion.
These irregularities are considerably increased when the Greek
Easter happens to fall at the same time as that of the Roman
Catholics. On these occasions, there are not only numerous broken
heads, but some of the combatants are even frequently carried away
dead. The Turks generally find it necessary to interfere, to
restore peace and order among the Christians. What opinion can
these nations, whom we call Infidels, have of us Christians, when
they see with what hatred and virulence each sect of Christians
pursues the other? When will this dishonourable bigotry cease?

On the third day after my arrival at Jerusalem, a small caravan of
six or seven travellers, two gentlemen namely, and their attendants,
applied for admittance at our convent. An arrival of this kind,
particularly if the new-comers are Franks, is far too important to
admit of