on arrived in England on the 8th November 1882, after the
close of the Egyptian war, little thinking how closely that war would
affect him. After a short stay at Southampton he left on December 28th
for Palestine, and nearly the whole of the year 1883 was spent in
Palestine. Writing from Jerusalem he says:--

"Everything looks small and insignificant, but quite meets the idea
I had of the _worldly_ position of the Jews and of our Lord. In
fact, the Scriptures tell the story without any pretence that
either the country, people, or our Lord were of any great
importance _in the world_. They are expositors of how very low
the position to which He, the Lord of lords, descended. You can
realise the fact as well in England as here, by substituting a
Scripture-reader of dubious birth and humble parents, exposing the
fallacy of a ceremonial church-going religion, and pointing out how
impossible it is to please God by such religious formalities....

"The Temple of Solomon was fine for those days, but, setting aside
its Divine significance, it was only about six times as long as the
room you are in, and not much wider--60 cubits = 90 feet = 30 yards
long, by 20 cubits = 30 feet = 10 yards wide. You could walk round
the city in less than an hour; it is not quite three miles
round....

"The ravines round Jerusalem are full of the dust of men, for over
a million bodies must have been slain there. What a terrific sight
the resurrection there will be! I suppose there is no place in the
world where so many bodies are concentrated....

"It is nice sauntering about, conjuring up scenes of days gone
by--real scenes, actions on the stage of life; all gone! It quiets
ambition!

"I came back from Gaza yesterday, after a ten days' sojourn there,
returning through Askelon, where there are very fine ruins,
enormous columns, marbles, &c, lying in all directions: it is a
wonderful place. Like all the coast, it is most dreary, yet one
sees that all the country was once thickly populated. Sand from the
shore is creeping in steadily, and makes it mournful. Napoleon I.,
Alexander the Great, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, and a host of
great men passed by this route. Titus came up by Gaza to Jerusalem.
Richard Coeur de Lion was years at Askelon. All gone, 'those old
familiar faces'!"

The supposed sites of the holy pl