Tyre.-Prophecies against Tyre.-Fulfilment of Prophecy.-Tyrian Dye. -Maronites.-Sight of a Hareem.-Jewish Pilgrims.-Wells of Solo

mon.

Tyre, -.

BE not alarmed, ma chère, I shall not again entertain you with what Sidon was, nor yet much with what now is Tyre, "that art situate at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the people for many isles."

It is enough for me, "Oh Tyrus," that "the ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market;" that "fine linen, with broidered work, from Egypt, was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail ;" and that "thou hast said I am of perfect beauty;" also, that "thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee;" "and thou hast sinned; therefore cast as profane" "out of the mountain of God.'

How signally have the denunciations of the prophets been realized! "I will make thee like the top of a rock; thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more; for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God." "Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory."

For want of ready materials of my own to eke out the present epistle, I must again make a draught upon one who has been more industrious than myself, and I now extract from a letter written last evening:

"Of the early city of Tyre on the main land, not a vestige is to be seen; harvest fields cover its site. It is interesting, while on such spots, to trace the causes of the rise

of empires, and the physical and moral instruments used by Providence to promote their overthrow and precipitate their downfall. Tyre, like her progenitor Sidon, while she continued to be used by the Assyrian as his carrier to regions beyond the sea, which received the productions of India second hand, with exorbitant profits, from the merchants of Babylon, in addition to the expenses of the caravans of Palmyra and Emesa, so long was she permitted to remain at peace, and wax rich and powerful.

"But her enterprising and sagacious merchants soon discovered another door whereby they could enter the treasurehouse of the far East, and help themselves without the in. tervention of the Queen of the Euphrates, and thereby dispense with the caravans of Tadmor. A bargain was soon struck with the new settlers of the hill country,' and the Israelites, for a small remuneration, permitted a passage through their territory, and granted them the right to build. ships at Elath and Asion Gaber, wherewith to navigate the Red Sea to Ophir. From Petra they established a caravan route of their own across the great expanse of the Arabian Desert, to a convenient point on the Persian Gulf (the Bahareen Isles), where a new Tyre, a rival of Babylon, soon sprang into existence, and 'the wealth of Ormuz and of Ind' was rendered subservient to the mistress of the seas.

"Hiram and Solomon became bound together by the stron gest of all ties, that of interest. The cedars of Lebanon were rafted to the ports of Judea, and thence transported to the hill country,' for the temple of the Lord, and for the house of the forest of Lebanon.' Others were floated from Dan down to the Sea of Galilee, and through the Jordan to the Dead Sea, thence by an easy transportation through the dry bed of its ancient outlet, through Idumea to Asion Gaber. There they were formed into ships of trade or navies for Solomon.

"The Babylonian and Tyrian now met as competitors in

PROPHECIES AGAINST TYRE.

23

the ports of India; history is silent as to their quarrels in those distant regions, or their skirmishes at sea; but we soon see the Assyrian, with a mighty host, coming up in his wrath from the river' unto the coast of the sea, in order to punish the audacity of the merchant princes for thus evading his tribute and supplanting his trade.

"For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, a king of kings from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.

"He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field, and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee; and shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with axes shall break down thy towers.'

66

Tyre was destroyed, and a part of her inhabitants migrated to Africa and Spain, and there founded Carthage, and took refuge in Tarshish; for it was written, 'Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle ;' 'daughter of Zidon, arise, pass over to Chittim; there also thou shalt have no rest.' But Tyre was partially rebuilt, in order that another part of prophecy might be accomplished.

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king.'

"It appears from profane history that Tyre and her commerce were not totally destroyed, for her merchants owned and had always used the island in front of the city, about a quarter of a mile from the shore, as a depôt for merchan. dise, and as a place of safety, as it afterward proved to be ; for the Assyrians, having no fleets, could not reduce it. Upon the downfall of their city, the merchants retired to the island with their families and wealth, and occupied the whole space, while such other citizens as escaped the enemy fled over the sea.

"When the Assyrian power began to decline, or as new

treaties were made for a re-establishment of the overland trade through Babylonia (the new route to India having become precarious, owing to the quarrels of the Phoenicians with the Israelites), Tyre began to come into notice again; and by the time the 'seventy years' had elapsed, she had become once more 'the crowning city,' and continued for ages after to hold the trade of the East, through the medium of Babylon on one hand and Memphis on the other, until the memorable siege of Alexander, so long foretold by the prophet Ezekiel; they shall lay thy stones, and thy timber, and thy dust in the midst of the water.'

6

"The Macedonians, not having a sufficient navy at hand. found it impossible to meet the island queen, the mistress of the sea, on her own element. The generals of Alexander advised him to leave the nest of traders, and push forward in pursuit of the nobler game for which they had left their homes.

"Had he followed their counsel, then, indeed, might he have been styled 'Macedonia's madman.' But, in his headlong chase after the Persian, he forgot not to secure a retreat. He was well aware of the danger of leaving a mar. itime foe unconquered in his rear. His pride also was piqued at the successful resistance of these islanders to his mighty name and power.

"He determined to make a mole from the main which should reach the island; the ruins, 'the stone, the timber, and the dust' of the old city, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, furnished ample materials for his gigantic enterprise. His whole army was employed in transporting them to the shore, and in laying them in the midst of the sea.' As you well know, he perfectly succeeded, and the sceptre passed away from Tyre for ever. Her commerce was divided between other states and the new city of Egypt founded by Alexander.

"How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of sea

FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY.

25

faring men, the renowned city which was strong in the sea.' 'Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days?'

66

Among the fishing huts of Sour,' a few remains of Tyre are yet discernible, but the mole of Alexander remains intact, an imperishable monument, forming a peninsula of what was formerly an island in the midst of the sea.'

"The ruins of a fine old Christian church are to be seen, built, no doubt, upon the site, and perhaps with the materials, of the pagan temple which was the pride of the Tyrians, which they defiled' by the multitude of" their iniquities.'

"The most minute prophecy against the joyous city' is literally fulfilled, for it is even now a place for the spread. ing of nets in the midst of the sea; fishermen's barks are seen drawn up on the strand, and their nets drying on the rocks and ruins.'"

*

As there was nothing to detain us in so disagreeable a place any longer than just to examine its locale, in reference to what it once was, and the extraordinary verification of prophecy in its present state, we retraced our steps across the mole, and sought a shady spot, where we partook of our slight noon refreshment and necessary siesta. After which, a short ride of one hour brought us yesterday to the place where we are now encamped. Though this is dated from Tyre, it is written beside the "wells of Solomon."

Let us now return to where I left you this morning, at our encampment a little south, and in sight, of Sidon.

Leaving our servants to strike the tent and arrange the loads as usual for the day's journey, we took Giovanni and Abdallah, and preceded the caravan. Abandoning our horses for them to lead, we strolled along the beach to seek for shells. We found many pretty specimens ; but nowhere on the coasts of the Mediterranean where I have been are there any considerable quantities, or any rare or beautiful, VOL. II.-C