“O! weep for thou that wept by Bethel’s stream,
Whose shrines are desolate, whose land’s a dream;
Weep for the harp of Judah’s broken shell;
Mourn— where their God hath dwelt the godless dwell.”
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In the deep valley below, between Moriah and Olivet, are the remarkable and massive tombs of Zachariah, St. James and Absalom. They are not properly excavations, but large monuments, having vaults within, and from which the surrounding rock has been hewn away. The “Pillar” of Absalom has considerable architectural beauty, marred somewhat by the natives’ throwing stones upon it in contempt of the rebel son. Adjourning this is the tomb of Jehoshaphat. Above these hail monuments that have probably not materially changed since the days of our Saviour, an extensive Jewish Cemetery occupies a portion of the slope of Olivet. The graves are masked by flat stones laid over them. For may centuries the sons of Abraham have sought this spot as their last resting place. Many of them have journeyed from the ends of the earth that they might die in the Holy City and have their dust laid here in the valley of Jehosaphat, where they believe