SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. PALESTINE, the land of Israel, the kingdom of David and Solomon, the most favored and the most guilty country under heaven; during between two and three thousand years, the only section of the earth where the worship of the true God was perpetuated,— 'Over whose acres walked those blessed feet Which eighteen hundred years ago were nailed, this most interesting of countries is a small canton of Syria, included within the limits of the Turkish empire, and governed by the pashas of Acre and Damascus. In the map, it presents the appearauce of a narrow slip of country, extending along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean; from which, to the river Jordan, the utmost width does not exceed fifty miles. This river was the eastern boundary of the land of Canaan, or Palestine, properly so called, which derived its name from the Philistines or Palestines originally inhabiting the coast. To three of the twelve tribes, however, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, portions of territory were assigned on the eastern side of the river, which were afterwards extended by the subjugation of the neighboring nations. The territory of Tyre and Sidon was its ancient border on the north-west: the range of the Libanus and Antilibanus forms a natural boundary on the north and north-east; while in the south it is pressed upon by the Syrian and Arabian deserts. Within this circumscribed district, such were the physical advantages of the soil and climate, there existed, in the happiest period of the Jewish nation, an immense population. The men able to bear arms in the time of Moses, somewhat exceeded 600,000; which computation, when the Levites (20,000) and women and children are added, will give nearly two millions and a half as the amount of the population-as large as that of Sweden. The kingdom of David and Solomon, however, extended far beyond these narrow limits. In a north-eastern direction, it was bounded only by the river Euphrates, and included a considerable part of Syria. At the time of the Christian era, Palestine was divided into five provinces; Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Perea, and Idumea. On the death of Herod, Archelaus, his eldest son, succeeded to the govern ment of Judea, Sainaria, and Idumca, with the title of tetrarch; Galilee being assigned to Herod Antipas, and Perea, or the country beyond Jordan, to the third brother, Philip. But in less than ten years, the dominions of Archelaus became annexed, on his disgrace, to the Roman province of Syria, and Judea was thenceforth governed by Roman procurators. Jerusalem, after its final destruction by Titus, A. D. 71, remained desolate and almost uninhabited, till the emperor Hadrian colonized it, and erected temples to Jupiter and Venus on its site. The empress Helena, in the fourth century, set the example of repairing in pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to visit the scenes consecrated by the gospel narrative, and the country became enriched by the crowds of devotees who flocked there. In the beginning of the seventh century, it was overrun by the Saracens, who held it till Jerusalem was taken by the crusaders in the twelfth. The Latin. kingdom of Jerusalem continued for about eighty years, during which the Holy Land streamed continually with Christian and Saracen blood. In 1187, Judea was conquered by the illustrious Saladin, on the decline of whose kingdom it passed through various revolutions, and, at length, in 1317, was finally swallowed up in the Turkish empire. Palestine is now distributed into pashalics. That of Acre or Ak ka extends from Djebail nearly to Jaffa ; that of Gaza compreliends Jaffa and the adjacent plains; and these two being now united, all the coast is under the jurisdiction of the Pasha of Acre. Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablous, Tiberias, and in fact, the greater part of Pales tine, are included in the pashalic of Damascus, now held in conjunction with that of Aleppo, which renders the present pasha, in ef fect, the viceroy of Syria. Though both pashas continue to be du tiful subjects to the Grand Seignior in appearance, and annually transinit considerable sums to Constantinople to ensure the yearly renewal of their office, they are to be considered as tributaries, rath er than subjects of the Porte; and it is supposed to be the religious supremacy of the sultan, as caliph and vicar of Mahommed, more than any apprehension of his power, which prevents them from declaring theinselves independent. The reverence shown for the firmauns of the Porte throughout Syria, attests the strong hold which the sultan maintains, in this character, on the Turkish population. The pashas of Egypt and Bagdad are attached to the Turkish sovereign by the same ecclesiastical tie, which alone has kept the illcompacted and feeble empire from crumbling to ruin. The present mixed population of Palestine consists of Turks, Syrians, Bedouin Arabs, Jews, Latin, Greek, and Armenian Chris tians, Copts, and Druses. In western Palestine, especially on the coast, the inhabitants are stated by Burckhardt to bear generally more resemblance to the natives of Egypt than to those of northern Syria; while, towards the east of Palestine, especially in the vil lages about Nablous, Jerusalem, and Hebron, they are evidently of the true Syrian stock in features, though not in language. The Syrian physiognomy, assumes, however, a cast of features charac teristically different in the Aleppine, the Turkman, the native of Mount Libanus, the Damascene, the inhabitant of the sea-coast from Beirout to Acre, and the Bedouin. Dr. Richardson, on entering the country from Egypt, was struck at the change of physiognomy, as well as of costume, observable even at El Arish, which is in the pashalic of Egypt: the people are much fairer, as well as cleaner and better dressed. The Turks in Palestine, as elsewhere throughout the empire, occupy all the civil and military posts. Greeks form a very numerous part of the population. A considerable number of monks, of different churches and orders, still reside in the Holy Land: there is, indeed, scarcely a town of any consequence, which does not contain at least one convent. The country districts are, to a great extent, filled with nomadic Arabs. The true Arab is always an inhabitant of the desert; a name given to any solitude, whether barren or fertile, and sometimes applied to extensive pasture-lands. The moveables of a whole family seldom exceed a camel's load. Nothing can be simpler in construction than their tents. Three upright sticks, driven into the ground, with one laid across the top, form the frame-work, and a large brown cloth, made of goat's or camel's hair, woven by their women, the covering. The manner in which they secure their animals is equally simple. Two sticks are driven into the ground, between which a rope is stretched and fastened at each end; to this rope the asses and mules are all attached by the feet; the horses also, but apart from the asses; the camels are seldom secured at all. The dress of this peo. ple in the Holy Land consists of a blue shirt or tunic, descending below the knees, the legs and feet being exposed: or the latter are sometimes covered with the ancient cothurnus or buskin. Over this is worn a cloak of very coarse and heavy camel's hair cloth, (the sackcloth of the Scriptures,) consisting of one square piece, with holes for the arms, but having a seam down the back. This appears to have been the dress of John the Baptist, as well as of the ancient prophets. The cloak (or hyke) is almost universally decorated with black and white stripes, passing vertically down the back. The head-dress is a small turban, resembling a coarse handkerchief bound across the temples, one corner of which generally hangs down, and is often fringed with strings in knots, by way of ornament. The usual weapons of the Arab are a lance, a poniard, an iron mace, a battle-axe, and sometimes, a matchlock gun. The u sual veil worn by all the females in Syria, except the Jewesses, is a large white handkerchief or shawl, which covers the head and face, and falls over the shoulders. It is astonishing, remarks Dr. Richardson, what a light and cheerful air this costume imparts coinpared with the dull funeral drapery of the Egyptian dames. In the dress of the pastoral Arabs, we probably have preserved the most faithful representation of the ancient Jewish costume. The usual size of the hyke is six yards long, and from five to six broad; and as the Arabs sleep in their raiment, as the Israelites did of old, it serves as a bed or blanket at night. The toga of the Romans, and the plaid of the Highlanders of Scotland, are garments of the same kind. The habits of the Bedouin natives have probably undergone as little change as their costume. 'Abraham,' remarks Dr. Richardson, 'was a Bedouin; and I never saw a fine venerable-looking sheikh busied among his flocks and herds, that it did not remind me of the holy patriarch himself.' NATURAL HISTORY, CLIMATE, &c. The geographical aspect of Palestine is not less diversified than the appearance of its motley population. Its prevailing character but imperfectly corresponds to its ancient fertility; but this is chiefly owing to the miserable state of vassalage in which its inhabitants are held, together with the devastating effects of perpetual wars, and probably some physical changes. Those writers, ancient and modern, who have represented it as barren, must be understood, however, as referring only to the mountainous districts round Jerusalem. Abulfeda describes Palestine as the most fertile part of Syria, and the neighborhood of Jerusalem as one of the most fruitful parts of Palestine. An Oriental's ideas of fertility differ sufficiently from ours, to explain in part this assertion; for to him, plantations of figs, vines, and olives, with which the limestone rocks of Judea were once covered, would suggest the same associations of plenty and opulence that are called up in the mind of an Englishman by rich tracts of corn-land. The land of Canaan is characterized as flowing with milk and honey, and it still answers to this description; for it contains extensive pasture-lands of the richest quality, and the rocky country is covered with aromatic plants, yielding to the wild bees, who hive in the hollow of the rocks, such abundance of honey, as to supply the poorer classes with an article of food. Wild honey and locusts were the usual diet of the forerunner of our Lord, during his seclusion in the desert country of Judea; from which we may conclude that it was the ordinary fare of the common people. The latter are expressly mentioned by Moses as lawful and wholesome food; and Pliny states that they made a considerable part of the food of the Parthians and Ethiopians. They are still eaten in many parts of the East: when sprinkled with salt and fried, they are said to taste much like the river cray.fish. Honey from the rocks is repeatedly referred to in the Scriptures, as a delicious food, and an emblem of plenty. Dates are another important article of consumption, and the neighborhood of Judea was famous for its numerous palm-trees, which are found springing up from chance-sown kernels in the midst of the most arid districts. When to these wild productions we add the oil extracted from the olive, so essential an article to an Oriental, we shall be at no loss to account for the ancient fertility of the most barren districts of Judea, or for the adequacy of the soil to the support of so numerous a population, notwithstanding the comparatively small proportion of arable land. There is no reason to doubt, however, that corn and rice would be imported by the Tyrian merchants, which the Israelites would have no difficul |