sary to cut steps from below; this made our progress a laborious affair, and demanded the full exertion of our strength from the first starting. We soon after came again to the great crack... and about ten o'clock, we found ourselves exactly in the place where we arrived on the former occasion at noon; that is to say, on the great plain of snow which forms the first step downward from the icy head of Ararat... In the direction of the summit, we had before us an acclivity shorter but steeper than that just passed over; and between it and the furthest pinnacle there seemed to intervene only a gentle swelling of the ground. After a short rest, we ascended with the aid of hewn steps, the next slope (the steepest of all), and then another elevation; but now, instead of seeing immediately in front of us the grand object of all our exertions, a whole row of hills had developed itself to our eyes, and completely intercepted the view of the summit. At this, our spirits, which had never fluctuated so long as we supposed that we had a view of the difficulties to be surmounted, sank not a little, and our strength, exhausted by the hard work of cutting the steps in the ice, seemed hardly adequate to the attainment of the now invisible goal. Yet, on calculating what was already done, and what remained to be done... casting a glance at my hearty followers, care fled, and boldly onwards' resounded in my bosom. We passed, without stopping, over a couple of hills; there we felt the mountain wind; I pressed forward round a projecting mound of snow, and behold! before my eyes, now intoxicated with joy, lay the extreme cone, the highest pinnacle of Ararat. Still, a last effort was required of us to ascend a tract of ice by means of steps; and that accomplished, about a quarter past three, on the 27th September, 1829, WE STOOD ON THE TOP OF ARARAT.

"What I first aimed at and enjoyed, was rest; I spread out my cloak and sat down on it. Formed of eternal ice, without rock or stone to interrupt its continuity, (this) was the austere, silvery head of Old Ararat.

(There was a second, and somewhat lower summit, distant from that on which I stood less than a quarter of a mile.) The gentle depression between the two eminences presents a plain of snow, over which it would be easy to go from the one to the other; and which may be supposed to be the very spot on which Noah's ark rested, if the summit itself be assumed as the scene of that event, for there is no want of the requisite space, inasmuch as the ark, according to Genesis vi. 15, three hundred ells long and fifty wide, would not have occupied a tenth part of the surface of this depression...

"Should any one now inquire respecting the possibility of remains of the ark still existing on Ararat, it may be replied that there is nothing in that possibility incompatible with the laws of nature, if it only be assumed that immediately after the flood, the summit of that mountain began to be covered with perpetual ice and snow, an assumption which cannot be reasonably objected to. And when it is considered, that on great mountains accumulated coverings of ice and snow, exceeding one hundred feet in thickness, are by no means unusual, it is obvious that on the top of Ararat there may be easily a sufficient depth of ice to cover the ark, which was only thirty ells high. From the summit I had a very extensive prospect, in which, however, owing to the great distances, only the chief masses, (chiefly consisting of mountains), could be plainly distinguished.. After staying on the summit about three-quarters of an hour, we began to think of returning, and by way of preparation took each a morsel of bread, and some wine. We then went, one after the other, rapidly down the steep, by means of the deep steps cut in the ice during the ascent; yet the descent was still extremely fatiguing, and to me in particular, caused much pain in the knees; nevertheless we hastened on, as the sun was already low, and before we reached the snow-plain it had sunk below the horizon; it was a magnificent spectacle to observe the dark shadow thrown on the plain, by the mountains

beneath us to the west; then the deep darkness which encompassed all the valleys, and gradually rose higher and higher on Ararat, while now only its icy head was illumined by the rays of the sunken orb; but they soon shot above that also, and our path downwards would have been involved in perilous darkness, had not the luminary of night arisen in the opposite quarter of the heavens, to throw a clear and lovely light on our footsteps. About half-past six in the evening, we reached our place of bivouac, where a cheerful fire was made with the wood that remained, a small supper cooked, and the night, as bright and warm as the preceding one, spent agreeably. There also we found our attendants whom we had left behind, together with our things. The next day, about six in the morning, we set off, and about half-past eight, reached the plain where the beasts of burden were waiting for us, and about noon on the 28th Sept., we joyfully entered St. James, as the patriarch Noah, 'with his sons, and with his wives, and with his sons' wives, had, 4000 years before, descended from Ararat. On the day after our return, in our Sabbath devotions, we bore to the Lord the offering of our thanks, perhaps not far from the very spot where Noah built an altar to the Lord, and offered thereon burnt offerings.""-PARROT's Journey to Ararat.

PARTIAL FALL OF ARARAT.

"In the summer of 1840, Armenia was visited by a violent earthquake, which shook Ararat to its foundation. The immense quantities of loose stones, snow, ice, and mud then precipitated from the great chasm, immediately overwhelmed and destroyed the monastery of St. James, and the village of Arguri, and spread destruction far and wide in the plain of the Araxes. The earthquake was first felt in the vicinity of Ararat, about

half-past six in the evening, and continued with alternating shocks and undulatory motion of the earth for two minutes. The monastery of St. James, and the village of Arguri, were buried in the ruins from the mountain. The streams of mud and melted snow poured down from the great chasm, covered the fields and gardens to the distance of seven miles. About seven o'clock the same evening about three thousand houses were thrown down in the district of Sharu, on the Araxes, east of Ararat. The banks of the Araxes gaped in cracks ten or twelve feet wide; these fissures threw out water, with great quantities of sand, to the height, in some cases, of five feet. The bed of the Araxes was in some places left quite dry; in others, the collected waters were kept in continual agitation, as if they boiled. Of the people of Arguri, about a thousand souls, not one escaped. The number of habitations altogether laid in ruins amounted to between six and seven thousand. Had not the earthquake taken place at the hour when the Easterns generally quit the shelter of their roofs to enjoy the freshness of the open air, its effects would have been much more fatal.

"The result of the fall of rocks, ice, and mud from the mountain has been a vast increase in the size of the great chasm, from which the accumulations of ages

have been swept away. The snowy summit of Ararat has sunk considerably, but has not fallen in, as was reported. The meadows around St. James, where thirty families of Kurds, encamped there at the time of the earthquake, perished, are now deeply covered with the deposit of mud."-Appendix to PARROT's Journey to Ararat.

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CHAPTER V.

ASIA MINOR.

ICONIUM.

ANTIOCH IN PISIDIA.-Search for this City by Mr. Arundell - Ruins of the City-Ancient Church.

TARSUS.-The River Cydnus-Cotton.

PATARA.

SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA.

EPHESUS. Thoughts on visiting Ephesus-Village of Aiasalúck-Situation of Ephesus-Ruins-Mounts Prion and Corissus-Quarries—Ruined Church-Desolation of Ephesus-Storks-The Theatre-Reflections. SMYRNA.-Modern City-Priests of Smyrna-Church-Martyrdom of a Greek Christian.

PERGAMOS.-Ancient Library-Citadel-Antiquities-Population-Greek Miller Greek Church and School.

THYATIRA. Approach to the City-Modern Thyatira - Few ancient Remains-Fine Water-Scarlet Dye.

SARDIS.-Temple of Cybele-Notices of Sardis, Ancient and ModernAcropolis-River Hermus-Sad state of Religion among the Greek Christians.

PHILADELPHIA.-Numerous Population-Their Ignorance and Darkness -The Turtle-dove-Bishop of Philadelphia-" City of God"—Antiquities-Testimony of an Infidel.

LAODICEA.-Desolation of Laodicea-Circus-Natural Curiosities-Village of Eski-hissar-Painful Reflections-Thoughts in a Storm. HIERAPOLIS.-Ruins-Hot Waters.

COLOSSE.-Fine Situation-Castle Rock-Extensive Ruins.

TROAS.-Night Scene-Visit to the ancient City-Hot Spring-Wild Beasts.