a gentle gale; the songs of birds were again heard in the neighbouring forest, and the sunbeams sparkled in the drops that hung from the leaves. We saw, through the aperture, how all nature was reviving, after the wild war of elements which had so recently taken place; but the contrast only made our situation the more horrible. We were in a grave, from which there was no deliverance; and a monster, worse than the fabled Cerberus, kept watch over us. The tiger had laid himself down beside his whelps. He was a beautiful animal, of great size and strength; and his limbs, being stretched out at their full length, displayed his immense power of muscle. A double row of great teeth stood far enough apart to show his large red tongue, from which the white foam fell in large drops. All at once, another roar was heard at a distance, and the tiger immediately rose and answered it with a mournful howl. At the same instant, our Indians uttered a shriek, which announced that some new danger threatened us. A few moments confirmed our worst fears; for another tiger, not quite so large as the former, came rapidly towards the spot where we were.

The howls which the tigress gave, when she had examined the bodies of her cubs, surpassed every thing of horrible that we had yet heard; and the tiger mingled his mournful cries with hers. Suddenly her roaring was lowered to a hoarse growling, and we saw her anxiously stretch out her head, extend her wide and smoking nostrils, and look as if she were determined to discover immediately the murderers of her young. Her eyes quickly fell upon us, and she made a spring forward, with the intention of penetrat ing to our place of refuge. Perhaps she might have been enabled, by her immense strength, to push away the stone, had we not, with all our united power, held it against her. When she found that all her efforts were fruitless, she approached the tiger, who lay stretched out beside his cubs, and he rose and joined in her hollow roarings. They stood together for a few moments, as if in consultation, and then, suddenly went off at a rapid pace, and disappeared from our sight. Their howling died away in the distance, and then entirely ceased.

Our Indians descended from the tree, and called upon us

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to seize the only possibility of our yet saving ourselves, by instant flight; for that the tigers had only gone round the height to seek another inlet to the cave, with which they were, no doubt, acquainted. In the greatest haste the stone was pushed aside, and we stepped forth from what we had considered a living grave. We now heard once more the roaring of the tigers, though at a distance; and, following the example of our guides, we precipitately struck into a side path. From the number of roots and branches of trees with which the storm had strewed our way, and the slipperiness of the road, our flight was slow and difficult.

We had proceeded thus for about a quarter of an hour, when we found that our way led along the edge of a rocky cliff, with innumerable fissures. We had just entered upon it, when suddenly the Indians, who were before us, uttered one of their piercing shrieks, and we immediately became aware that the tigers were in pursuit of us. Urged by despair, we rushed towards one of the breaks, or gulfs, in our way, over which was thrown a bridge of reeds, that sprang up and down at every step, and could be trod with safety by the light foot of the Indians alone. Deep in the hollow below rushed an impetuous stream, and a thousand pointed and jagged rocks threatened destruction on every side. f Lincoln, my huntsman, and myself, passed over the chasm in safety; but Wharton was still in the middle of the waving bridge, and endeavouring to steady himself, when both the tigers were seen to issue from the adjoining forest; and the moment they descried us, they bounded towards us with dreadful roarings. Meanwhile, Wharton had nearly gained the safe side of the gulf, and we were all clambering up the rocky cliff, except Lincoln, who remained at the reedy bridge to assist his friend to step upon firm ground. Wharton, though the ferocious animals were close upon him, never lost his courage or presence of mind. As soon as he had gained the edge of the cliff, he knelt down, and with his sword divided the fastenings by which the bridge was attached to the rock.

He expected that an effectual barrier would thus be put to the farther progress of our pursuers, but he was mistaken; for he had scarcely accomplished his task, when the

tigress, without a moment's pause, rushed towards the chasm, and attempted to bound over it. It was a fearful sight to see the mighty animal suspended for a moment in the air above the abyss; but the scene passed like a flash of lightning. Her strength was not equal to the distance: she fell into the gulf, and, before she reached the bottom, she was torn into a thousand pieces by the jagged points of the rocks. Her fate did not in the least dismay her companion; he followed her with an immense spring, and reached the opposite side, but only with his fore claws; and thus he clung to the edge of the precipice, endeavouring to gain a footing. The Indians again uttered a wild shriek, as if all hope had been lost.

But Wharton, who was nearest the edge of the rock, advanced courageously towards the tiger, and struck his sword into the animal's breast. Enraged beyond all measure, the wild beast collected all his strength, and, with a violent effort, fixing one of his hind legs upon the edge of the cliff, he seized Wharton by the thigh. That heroic man still preserved his fortitude; he grasped the trunk of a tree with his left hand, to steady and support himself, while, with his right, he wrenched and violently turned the sword, that was still in the breast of the tiger. All this was the work of an instant. The Indians, Frank, and myself, hastened to his assistance; but Lincoln, who was already at his side, had seized Wharton's gun, which lay near upon the ground, and struck so powerful a blow with the butt end upon the head of the tiger, that the animal, stunned and overpowered, let go his hold, and fell back into the abyss.-Edinburgh Literary Journal.

SCENERY AROUND JERUSALEM.

The most pleasing feature in the scenery around Jerusalem is the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Passing out of the gate of St Stephen, you descend the hill to the torrent of the Kedron; a bridge leads over its dry and deep bed; it must have been very narrow, though in winter a rapid stream. A few steps beyond the Kedron, you come to the garden of Gethsemane, of all gardens the most interesting and hallowed, but how neglected and decayed! It is surrounded

by a kind of low hedge, but the soil is bare; no verdure grows on it, save five or six fine venerable olive trees, which have stood here for many centuries. This spot is at the foot of Olivet, and is beautifully situated; you look up and down the romantic valley; close behind rises the mountain; before you are the walls of the devoted city. While lingering here, at evening and solitary-for it is not often a footstep passes by-that night of sorrow and dismay rushes on the imagination, when the Redeemer was betrayed, and forsaken by all, even by the loved disciple. Hence the path winds up the Mount of Olives: it is a beautiful hill. On the summit are the remains of a church, built by the Empress Helena. Descending Olivet to the narrow valley of Jehoshaphat, you soon come to the pillar of Absolam: it has a very antique appearance, and it is a pleasing object in the valley; it is of a yellow stone, adorned with half columns, formed into three stages, and terminates in a cupola. The tomb of Zecharias, adjoining, is square, with four or five pillars, and is cut out of the rock.

At the south-east of Zion, in the vale of Jehoshaphat, they say the gardens of Solomon stood, and also on the sides of the hill adjoining that of Olivet. It was not a bad, though rather a confined site for them. The valley here is covered with a rich verdure, divided by hedges into a number of small gardens. The places within the walls of the city, which tradition would render sacred, are innumerable. A small distance within the gate of St Stephen that fronts Olivet, is the pool of Bethesda; it is deep and dry, the sides and bottom overgrown with grass, and containing two or three trees. A wretched street leads from this to the governor's palace, a spacious and rather ruinous building of Roman architecture; it contains some good apartments, the windows of which command an excellent view of the Mosque of Omar and its large area. In the palace the monks point out the room where Christ was confined before his trial; and at a short distance is a dark and ruinous hall, shown as the judgment-hall of Pilate. A little farther on is the arch where the Redeemer stood, as his judge exclaimed, "Behold the man." You then proceed along the street where Christ bore his cross, in which, and in the

street leading up to Calvary, are three places where, staggering under the weight, he fell. These are marked by three small pillars laid flat on the ground. Departing from Jerusalem, and after many dangers, we came in sight of the Dead Sea, whose waters cover the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. On reaching the brink of the precipices which hang over the Dead Sea, the dawn was just appearing; and in the grey and cold light, the lake was seen far beneath, stretched out to an interminable length, while the high mountains of Arabia Petræa opposite were shrouded in darkness. The descent of the heights was long and difficult; and, ere we reached the bottom, the ruddy glare of morning was on the precipices over our heads. The line of shore at the bottom was about two hundred yards wide, and we hastened to the edge of the lake; but for several yards from it, the foot sunk in a black mud, and its surface was every where covered with a greyish scurf, which we were obliged to remove before tasting it. There was not a breath of wind, and the waters lay like lead on the shore. Whoever has seen the Dead Sea, will ever after have its aspect impressed on his memory; it is, in truth, a gloomy and fearful spectacle. The precipices, in general, descend abruptly into the lake, and on account of their height, it is seldom agitated by the winds. Its shores are not visited by any footsteps, save those of the wild Arab, and he holds it in superstitious dread. On some of the rocks there is a thick sulphurous encrustation, which appears foreign to their substance; and in their steep descents there are several deep caverns, where the benighted Bedouin sometimes finds à home. No unpleasant effluvia are perceptible around it, and birds are occasionally seen flying across. For a considerable distance from the bank the water appeared very shallow; this, with the soft slime at the bottom, and the fatigue we had undergone, prevented our trying its buoyant properties by bathing. A few inches beneath the surface of the mud are found the black sulphurous stones out of which crosses are made and sold to the pilgrims. The water has an abominable taste, in which that of salt predominates; and we observed encrustations of salt on the surface of some of the rocks.