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perceived that they were ascending, and behold, in the morning, the holy company found that they had attained a considerable elevation, commanding a prospect entirely new to them. On the utmost verge of the horizon was a black sea, or river, silently rolling its sluggish, yet irresistible waves, as far as the eye could reach; and on the hither shores thereof was a valley of graves separated in three great divisions. That division to the right was allotted to the followers of Mahomet, and to all those persons who attempt to effect their own salvation by their good works; that to the left was the Hindoo receptacle of the dead, and of all such persons as put their trust in idols, work of men's hands, wood and stone; the centre being the land of Beulah, which signifieth Espoused, where the Christian awaiteth his heavenly bridegroom, expecting till he be called to put off his earthly clothing, and assume the garments of salvation. As the light of the rising sun unfolded the awful scene, the pilgrims were filled with amazement, and being commanded to halt, they stood for a while fixedly intent upon the awful

scene."!

ཉེ་ ་ ི

The burying-ground of the Mussulmauns, spreads ing widely to their right, was filled with tombs: some large, and adorned with many sculptures, with* spacious courts and gateways set forth with jewels and fretwork of ivory; others built of plain stone, but wide and high to receive the livid angels, which are believed to be the examiners of the dead. Four gateways opened from this buryingground towards the four quarters of the world; and over every gateway was written this motto in Arabic and Persian, "They that sleep within these gates shall, at the last day, awake to receive the reward of their deeds, and cursed be that man who shall be weighed in the balance and found

wanting." From the Golgotha, or valley of Hine nom, to the left, arose the stench of many unuried corpses, on which vultures and other unclean nbirds were feeding, and from whence issued the howlings of beasts, and the groans of persons brought thither and left to d die. Here also were many lean cows feeding on the scanty herbage, together with certain small birds of a dark hue, with piercing eyes, and uttering a frightful cry, which inhabited the dwarfish trees and prickly shrubs which grew thereabout.

From these terrific scenes the pilgrims turned their eyes to the land which lay before them, even the land which was to form the last stage of their pilgrimage. It was indeed scattered with ombs and monuments of death; but the glory of the Sun of Righteousness shone upon these tombs, and his seal was set even upon the places which contained the ashes of his saints; and the land abounded with beautiful trees. Then said ther venerable leader, "Here, my children, I am minded d to rest for a few hours; here let us raise our tabernacle, and pour forth our praises; for herea have we matter for much serious reflection, as welbe as abundant reason for thanksgiving, to the Most High God, the Maker and Redeemer of man, the King immortal, invisible, invincible, and all-glos rious. Our pilgrimage, my dear children, now raws near to its close. Just before you, in the horizon, is the great River of Death. Near that point finishes our pilgrimage, together with the course of all men upon earth. There we must lay down our mortal garments, and all that is earthly of us; there the beggar and the king must lie down together in the dust; and there, in the conclusion of the journey of life, the happiness of the Christian will be made apparent above that of all other men. Ye are now come,

my Christian brethren, to the land of Beulah; ye shall no more be termed forsaken of the Lord, but ye shall be called the delight of the Lord. (Isaiah Ixii. 4.) Ye believed in the Lord, ye trusted not in your own works or deservings, therefore ye shall rejoice in the Lord your God, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee; so that ye may boldly say, the Lord is your helper. (Heb. xiii. 5, 6.) Ye must needs pass through death; for this body which has been polluted through sin must be refined in the grave: but we know, my children, that our Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after our skin worms destroy these bodies, yet that in our flesh we shall see God. (Job xix. 25, 26.) Moreover, ye are well assured, my beloved, that when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we also shall appear with him in glory. (Col. iii. 4.) Thus the approach to death in the latter days of our pilgrimage on earth, a period which to all others is gloomy and awful, is rendered delightful to the Christian. Yea, here he finds the beginning of that blessedness in which he hopes to abide for ever." He then proceeded to point out the gloomy prospect which the Mussulmaun has of death, on the one hand; after which he expatiated on the indecent practices and ridiculous fancies with which the Hindoo amuses himself on the other: declaring to certain of the company, who were strangers to the Hindoo doctrine, their unreasonable belief respecting the transmigration of souls; such as had pleased their debtas passing into the bodies of cows, and such as had offended them being doomed to animate the bodies of such little birds as were observed among the bushes and brakes on the hillside; adding, that they had many other vile and gloomy conceits of the same nature.

Nazareenee then spake, "The time was when I believed all these things, and many more abominable things than these."

"Bless the Lord, who has made thee to differ from thy father's household," said the leader.

Then said Parbuttee, "I have an only sister still who believes all these things; of us it may be said, Two women were grinding at one mill, the one was taken, and the other left. O! that it may yet please the Lord to touch the hearts of those of my father's house! This is my daily and hourly prayer."

So the pilgrims erected their tabernacle and their little tents; and having refreshed themselves for some hours, in the cool of the evening they moved again toward the land of Beulah; for so impatient were they to be there, that scarcely could they brook those little delays which their bodily wants and weaknesses required.

T

CHAPTER XIII.

Shewing how the Pilgrims arrived at the Land of Beulah, and pitched their Tents there, in joyful Expectation of the Messenger, who was to summon them to cross the River of Death; with an Account of the glorious Descent of certain of the Company into the River, with what befel them on the opposite Shore.

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plague! O grave, I will be thy destruction!"-Hosea xiii, 14.

Now I saw, in my dream, that, because of the light of the moon, the pilgrims were enabled to go on all the next night without halting or delay. And behold, before the break of day they were in the land of Beulah: for although the morning had not yet dawned, the venerable bishop perceived their situation by the exceeding freshness of the morning air, and the delightful odour of the flowers. Then did he give commandment to the musicians and singers, and they began to sing aloud, so that the whole land rang with the voice of praise. And the words of their anthem were these:-"And the redeemed shall come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their