This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1862 Excerpt: ...to language that wraps itself, without effort; round the subject--it is at once the language of" the glorious God that made the thunder," and also of Him that said, "Suffer little children to come unto me." But once let writer wander from Holy Writ, or painter, however faithful and devout, endeavour to realize, with mortal pencil, the grand ideas, and an apoplectic cherub, a mediaeval devil, with horns and tail, or something of the same sort, is sure to mar the effect. At the foot of the picture of the Last Judgment, to be seen at Mount Sinai, there was an angel weighing, in a pair of scales, the actions of men, while a devil was endeavouring unobserved to put his foot into one scale, so as to make the sins preponderate. Another devil near was hurling the condemned into the mouth of a huge monster. Close by, Peter shewed us, with great satisfaction, a warmly-carpeted place, "Where," said he, "we can, during service, meditate or take rest, --our worship is long, and this place is very convenient." It was, indeed, no "miserere" spot--I little thought I should take advantage of it, but so it came to pass on the night that followed our ascent of Jebel Mousa. During the day, the third after our arrival, Peter had been in a state of wild excitement; I had obtained from the superior (no monk can leave the precincts of the convent without his permission) leave for him to accompany us to the summit of the Mount of the Law. We had another monk and an Arab as guides, both paid ones (the monk one dollar, the Arab seven piastres), but Peter was overjoyed to come along, and seemed determined to mark the day with white. He told us all the Greek and Arab legends he could think of, of the spots we passed in our ascent, and mu...