idea that the English are all sectarians, or that they consider as light and trifling the differences which separate members of the Church from the communion of the multiform dissenters from her pale. The late Rev. H. Wimbolt, agent of the London Society for converting the Jews, endeavoured for several years to remedy this defect at Beyroot, where he opened a room for divine service in his own house, and regularly administered the ordinances of the Church. But all this was voluntary; it was no part of his duty, and he continued to act in this double capacity till tired nature was exhausted, and he has since gone to his rest. His place as spiritual guide to the British community at Beyroot is left unsupplied, nor is there any hope of its being filled up, unless some especial effort is made in behalf of the interests of the Church generally in Syria. Aleppo, Beyroot, and Damascus, ought each to be provided with an English priest, whose office it should be to minister to our own people, and to hold friendly intercourse with the native clergy. It would be in the legitimate province of the Anglican bishopric at Jerusalem to further such a plan, and it can hardly be doubted that if properly represented, what with local subscriptions and assistance from the societies in England, funds would be forthcoming for carrying it out. Little is to be expected in an undertaking of this nature from the government at home, and indeed it is not desirable that these chaplains should be hampered with any obligations to act in accordance with the political views of a foreign secretary. Decent places of worship should be built for the due celebration of our ritual, and the incumbents should be empowered to discharge the functions of curates and missionaries under instructions from the Church, and subject to the episcopal supervision of the Anglican Bishop at Jerusalem. My strong conviction is, that a measure such as this would not only do much towards spreading abroad among the native Christian communities a just appreciation of our apostolical faith and discipline, but also lead them eventually to profit by our good example and to reform their errors after the scriptural model of our ritual.
The most interesting relic of antiquity at Aleppo is the Jamaa el-Kbeer, formerly a Christian church, and said to contain the grave of Zechariah, the father of S. John of Damascus. Tradition says that in the belfry, now a minaret, is a diamond
