'ROO ICS f - s" THE UNITED STATES EXPEDITION TO TUE DEAD

SEA.* MR. LiNC108 an officer of the United States Navy, who cembines great professional energy and the "gorahead " habits of his countrymen with fervent religious feelings. After the taking of- Vern 'Cruz in the late Mexican war; he saw that further prospects of warlike exertion in the field were over. He therefore made a proposal to the United States Government to conduct an expedition for the exploration and survey of the River Jordan- and the Dead See. 'This offer- was immediately accepted ; and sufficient preparations were made, as is altdvin' by the stiocessful 'results. The most efficient means -were two metal boats, 'capable of being taken to -pieces, one of copper, one of galvanized iron, with-proper carriages to admit Of being drawh from the coast of the Mediterranean to the Sel of Galilee. To these boats, and theinshing enterprise of the eamniander.and his men, the.suceess of the expedition was.owing; dime no-wooden boat would have borne the blows. from the-shallows and vas of the Jordan : in fact, a boat bought at Tiberias settled the matter By

experiment. - • • -

" The Uncle Sam ' had sunk, notwithstanding all our exertions to keep her afloat.. Built of wood, she was less elastic . than our Metallic boats, Madthe -thumps upon. the rocks which only 'indented thelast shattered her. Thus ended- -ell our hopes of transporting the tents froffi place to place along the 'Dentt See; 'and thereby,preteet the party from the-dews of 'night. In every evil;_ litrWever,` there is.an antidote; and we now but conclusive proof of the superior qualities of metallic boats for such service. Frame bads, constructed even in the stroegest manner, would sooner or later have shared the fate of the ' Uncle Sam.' "

. . .

The narrative of Mr. Lynch embraces various_ subjects: He gives "en

account of Ids outward voyage from New York to Smyrna, in the store- ship Mader his command, and of a steam-trip thence to ConstauithoPiti in order-to procure through the American Ambassador afirman from the Sublime Porte -permitting the exploration 'and directing the 'Provincial authorities to assist the expedition. He also tells the story of his. journey from Acre to Tiberias, and Of several other ineidental excursions by ,sea and land, including a visit to Jerusalem. These, however, differ from other voyages and travels over the same ground merely -in the modes of observation. and narration; deriving their character, irr, fact, frora the character of the writer's mind. The sojourn at Tiberiae, the trip on the Sea of Galilee, the descent of the river Jordan thence to the Dead Sea,-the account of the...voyage on its waters, the exploration of its shores and the country in its neighbourhood, have the interest of discovery, with- the peculiar attraction-which the region and its various associations; Serfp7 - tural and historical, create; Part of the-shorea of the Dead Sea, antiall0 description of its waters as may be gained from a bath and a bottiefali have often. beets -given ta,-the world ; but Lientenaut Lynch and party skirted the ,shores in the boats, crossed the waters in several direceieliri .tooktilinecessary soundings,. and lauded-whenever any object attracted ab: tention. The descent ofthe.Jordan has in like Manner be& partially ae2. eomplished by Lieutenant Molyneaux, -and both Molyneaux and Costigan examined the Dead Sea ; but they each died before they could give to the world the results of their observations—victims to fatigue, exposure, and the peculiar atmosphere Of the region, though the favourers of tradition attributed their deaths to- the nature of their attempt, as similar persons ascribe the death of BUreldiardt to his having passed through Edom.-.

The descent of the Jordan, for a great part of the way, was a comb:mom

series of -struggles and cautions daring, owing to the number of rapids, -cascades, and rocky impediments with which its channel abounded : itt fact, none but Canadian voyageurs and British or American seamen could have attempted it With any prospect of success. The absolute danger might not be great, because the river was rarely very deep, the men-were provided with life-preservers and the party' was guarded by an escoEt sufficiently powerful; but had the boats, been lost, there was an end of the expedition, and the men must have been exposed to.a riskful land,- travel -under depressing circumstances, • The following is a specimen of

the navigation. , • . .

"At 10.15 a. m,, cast off and shot down the first rapid, and stopped to exa- mine more closely a desperate4oeking cascade of eleven feet. In the middle of the channel was a shoot at an augle,of about 60 degrees, with re-bold,' bluff; threatenin . g rock at its foot, exactly the passage: It would therefore be neaea- sary to turn almost at a sharp angle in descending, to -avoid being dashed JO pieces. This inek was on the outer edge of the whirlpool, which, a , caldron Of foam, swept round and round in circling eddies. Yet below were-two fierce rapids; • each-about 150 yards in lengthorith the points of black rocks peering above the ivhite and agitated surface. Below them again, within a mile were two other ra-

pids—longer but inore'shelving and less difficult. - •

"Fortunately, a large bush was growing upon the left bank,- abbot five feet up, where the wash of the water from above had formed a kind of pthinontory. By swimming across some distance up the stream, one of the men had carried oVer the end-of a rope and made it fast around -the roots of the bush. The great doubt was whether the hold of the roots would be sufficient to withstand the strain; but thete was no alternative. In order not to risk the men, 1 employed some of the most vigorous Arabs in the camp to -swim by the-sithe of the boats; and guide them, if possible, clear of danger. Landing the men, therefore, and tracking the. Fanny -MaS0/1 up stream we shot her across, and gathering n the black of the rope, let her drop to the b i rink of the cascade, where she fairly ereaf= bled and bent in the fierce strength of the sweeping current. - It was-a moment of intense anxiety. The sailors had now clambered along the banks and stood- at intervals below, ready to assist us if thrown from- the boat and swept tovraide -them. One man with me in the boat stood by the line a number of naked Arabs were upon the rocks and in the foaming water, gesticulating wildly, their shouts mingling with the noise of the boisterous rapids, and their dusky forms contrasting strangely with the effervescing flood; and four on each-side, in the water, were clinging to the boat, ready to guide her clear' of the threatening rock if poseible.-

The Fanny Mason in the mean while swayed from side to side of the ma&

torrent, like a frighted steed, straining the line which held her. Watching the moment when her bows were brought in the right direction, I gave the signaVte let go the rope. There was a rush, a plunge, an upward leap, and the rook was cleared; the pool was passed, and,liall fall of water, with breathless velocity, vie • Narrative of the United StatesHipeditiol to HM Hirer Jordin and the Dead Sea, By W. F. Lynch, U.S.N., Commander of the Expedition. With Maps andlinmerona Illiatutleas. Published by Bentley. were swept safely down the rapid., . Such screaming and shouting! the Arabs seemed to exult more than ourselvis. . It Woe iniseeming only they were glad; but we were grateful. Two of the Arabs lost their hold . and were carried far be- low us, but were rescued with a slight iu4ery to one of them.. 'It eaactly tWelre cieloek when we cleared the cascade. Mr.. Auliek soon , folialfed in the Fanny Skinner; and by his bkill and coolness passed crown in pirfeetterfety. ,..Stopping Sufficiently long to give the men and the Arabs who bad assisted us soiniswarraceffeS,,we sta,rted-again at .45,p.m., and at one 9'0134 had c,ompleted the descent bf the third nipulloday. Hard work for all Lancia" The ,navigation of the Dead Sea-had nu,:breath-bnitliug.diffieulties such as the above; but it . had ,difflogRietwpf its °WM. r Among: them was a sudden .sea ptoduced by gusts ,of ,vsittd, and- having a peculiarity from the density of the water. , LicntenaRt Lynch seems to think there was something mysterious about its :featirres; but we see nothing that is not Owing to natural causes. , All large lakes Surrounded by mountains are liable to sudden and violent :squalls, which .rapidlrget.up 4:Sea ; . it sub- sides Mine quickly in the Dead Sea, as Mr. Lynch -explains, on account of the foreigs snbstauoes held in solution; the atmospheric effects are equally explainable ars haittral phscnomena. -Be the Nausea .what_they may, the effects are not free from danger.. This was their first taste of the Dead

Sea. • .-

" At 3.25, passed by the extreme Western point, where the river is 180 yards. wide and three feet deep, and entered upon. the.Dead Sea; the water a. nauseous compound of bitters end sake; : * "A fresh North-west wind was blowing as we rounded the point. We endea- vonretto ether-a little to the North of West, to make a -true West course, and threw the-patent log overboanl..tomeasure the distance;. but-the wind rose an ra- pidly that the,huats.maild 'tot keep bead -to -and -me' were-obliged to Mutt the log in. The sea continued, to eiee with theitheireasing wi.nd; which gradually freshened-tea:gale, and presented aelWed-Soriacia—,i5E-fininaingbrine; the spray,, evaporating as it fell, lett inametatitel'efsalEttiPoP6iii'elbffies; our heeds, and. faces; :and while it conveyed A: ptiliklyditiensatidu Wherever it touched the skin,' was aboye alt exceedinglYaminfuL to titeMeyemL The beets, heavily laden, strug- gled sluggishly at first iihuP.V149.!dil WiP4 fr.eehened in its fierceness, from the density of the water„lt seemed, as if ..e.bews.were encountering the sledge-ham- mers of the Titans, instead o the npposing.mfies Of an angry sea.

" Affi '50:Pisani pieee of 41411- mid eiat after saw three swallows and

a gull. At4;55ithe Wind fiettelftliat the Boats could make no head- way,' not even the fanny.Skinnerrovitickwas nearento the weather choest and we drifted rapidly to leeward; threw infer. tome of the fresh water, to lighten the hinny Meson, which laboured very much, and I began to fear, that both boats amid Thunder. ."At finding that we were losing every moment, and that with the lapse of each succeeding One the .danger irtereated, kepeawity,fofthe Northern shore, in the Itorie.of being yet able toteachit; our arms, our clothes, and skins, dented: with a greasy salt; and our eyes, lips, and nostrils, smarting excessively.. How. different was the scene.before the submerging of the plain,. which was even- as, the-garden of -the Lord.'

. .

"At times it seemed as if-the dread Almighty frowned upon our efforts to us- - Agate a sea time i e creation of his wrath. There s a tradition among the Arabs that no one can venture upon this sea and live. Repeatedly the fates of Costigan Eked Molyneaux had-been- cited to deter us. The first one spent a few days, the last tOont tweRty hours, and returned to the-place froon_wheneehe had embarked, Withoutlanding upon'its shores. One was found dying upon the shore; the :Write, expired in Wernher' kit, ittettedlately after his rernror,af fever contracted upon "Bat although the sea had assumed-a threatening. aspect,. and the fretted mountains, .sharp and ,incinerated, doomed .terrifio an either side, auct.salt and ashes mingled with its sands, and kaki sulphurous springs trickled down its ra- vines, we 'didnot despair; , awe-struck but not terrified, fearing the worst yet hoping forithe beet, we prepared to spendd-a dreary night upon the dreariest waste

we had fever teen. - ' •

"41-8c38, the wind instantaneously abated,- and with .the sea as rapidly far': the water, from its ponderous quality, settling as sopa as the agitating cause had ceased to act. Within twenty minutes from. the time we .boreaway4rom a sea W hich threatened to engulf us, we were pulling, away it a rapid rate over a placid sheet of water that scarcely rippled beneath us."

The siroeco, depressing at all Imes seems to gain an aggravated effect „ from the bituminous 'character Of the cOuntry and the waters. . "At 235 closein with the Eastern shore, but unable to lead from the

soft bottom and shoalness of the water. At 2 50, a light breeze from W. N. W.; hauled tathe.North.tewards the base of peninsula. A !Nig, narrow, dry marsh, ' with a few scrubby bushes, separated the water from a range of stupendous hills, 1,000 feet high. The cliff of Ea..Nuweiralt(Little-Tigen) lofty and grand, tow- ered above no in borizoutal. strata of brown limestone, and .beautiful rose- eoloured saedstone beneath. . _Clouds io the East, nimbus, seemed to be threaten- ing a get. ,At 3.30, steered N. N. E. along a low marshy flat, in. shallow water. The light wind had sub,sided, and it was oppressively hot; air 97°; water. twelve filches below the surface 90°. A thin purple haze over the mountains, increas- ing every moment, and presenting a most singular and awful appearance; the bazeso thin that it was transparent, and rather a blush than a distinct colour. I apprebende,d a thunder-gust or an earthquake,- and took in the sail. At 3.50, a hot blistering hurricane struck us from the Sonth-east, and for some moments We feared being driven out to ma, The . thermometer rose immediately to .102°. Them'en -closing their eyes to shield them from the fiery blast, were obliged to Pall with all their might to stein the .rising waves; and at 430, physically ex- hausted, but with grateful hearts, we gained the- shore. My own eyelids were blistered by the hot wind; being unable to protect them, from the necessity of

steeling the boat. .

"We lauded on the .South aide of the peninsula, near Wady Humeir, the most desolate spot upon which we had yet encamped. Some went up the ravine to escape fawn the-abiding wind; ,others, driven back by the glare, returned to the boats, and-crouched under the awnings. . One mounted spectacles to protect his eyes, but the metal became so heated that lie was obliged to remove them. Our arms and the buttons on our coats became almost.burning to the touch; and the Inset folds of our garments were cooler than those exposed to. the immediate kunteetaf the Wind. * * * ' k5 heat rather increased thamlesireued after the sun went down.- At eight P:m5. the thermometer WAO. 106°.five.feet from the ground. At one foot from the latter it wail 104°. We threw oirselves upon the parched, cracked earth, among dry stalks sue! caries, which mould before have seemed insupportable from the heat. Some endeavoured to make a screen of One of the boats' awnings, but the fieroewind swept: it over in an instant. It was:more like the blast of a fume& tbetr4iving air. At our feet, was the sea, and on our,right, through the thicket, we wild distinguish -the gleaming of the tires'ind hear the shouts from an Arab

eeiriputeat. .

'In the early,part of the Di ght there was scarce a moment; that some 0130 was est at the water-breakerer.but. the parphing.thirritomuld met be allayed, for,. although there was urrlierbeptihle perspiratiostriheiflaid.wits.earried off as fast as It was received into the system. At nine the breakers:dime exhausted, and our list ,waking thought was water...-. In ow-disturbed -and feverish slumbers, we fancied the cool beverage purling,dowhourparched and burning throats. The mM4ratoes, as if their stings weraenveuerried by the heat, torinentedus almost to -ffladness; and we spent a miireribli. night,- throughout which We were com- pelled-to lie -encumbered without' arths'while, by turns, we vielltiutlwateh. “We had spent the day initIni.glitraof a Syrian saupby theialomoentain- oF Usdam in the hot blast of the sirocco, and were now bivouacked under the cal- . clued cliffs of .Moali. When the water was- exhausted, all too weary, .Re. BF loko moM,Ii.ijul, if there Were no, Anger br i Surprise, we threw ourselves. n Ilk greattal;--eyes smarting, skiihurning, lips and tongue and throiepare ex , ' dryc lind,w repped the_firiegarieent we could find -around our hiradh,, iii itiprell, " .thestiflarg blast; imd, in nut -brief and broken slumberspdtank'frobtridttal-il

fonetairan - .. ' . . .. , ... ,, . ,,,i

The expedition started to-descendthe Jordan on the 10th of.AprR,:andt ' -the survey of the Dead' Sea was finished by the fith 0, nay.' The,health of the adyenturers-was -well sustained 0 the last week, when, had symptoms exhibited, themselves, -. The figure of each one had.assumed a dmpsioal . 'appearance. The lean bad become stout ...and -the stout.almost corpulent; .• the pale faces had become .florid, and-. those which were florid 'ruddy ; . moreover the slightest scratah.festered, and many of us were covered with smelt pustules. The melt complained bitterly of the irritation of, their sores5 whenever the acrid water of the sea touched them'? It was,:undez such • eireumetanoes that the .following sail upon-the Dead Sea .tdok, place.," The 'fattoy.of the writer -is. sometimes added to the mere description of faeht; • :but in stich,seeriery, -with such associations, imagination war be allowed :a

little room. • • - • - • "- . • • . • - : .... . ..,.- , • `.

"A light .air from the Southieclueed ractoirtandon the ailing and sot :the ... sail, to spare tide Men frora labenting at the oars. .4 light:taptung ths7ripplie, : at the bow, and a fa,hit rule of,foini,,,auctliebbles achee kids, rw aseral indica-7._ iiiii tions that the heat iris ifs Motion. - Thell'arati-Skinner watt ,",a,d4 - all atoned partook Of the Atillnesa of death, The weather *at blind!' lid; and - 'eved the-light air that wed OE airiest insensibly rained blideamethingroppras...., . .sive in its flaws of beat. The sky was unclouded, save by a few faint eirrvin the North,, sweeniag pluettelike, sail the sun hedconsumetlithrrelcuds and ths light .witiff had drifted their asheo. The glitter &ern the Water' With its multitude p1 retreat-Ors, for eriat ripple was a mirror, contributed-tonch'to our disconifott t. yet, :.•_. the Water vrat net transparent, but of 'the colour, of dilated absinthe, -or- tlia` veiling tint lif-et Persianepah i 921th:sun; we .felt; was glaring upiatUnieti tett the ' , eye dared not take cognizance, for the fierce blaze would have -blighted the powerie• , . . of vision, as Semele was consumed-by the unveiled divinity of Jove. , "The black chasm's sad, rough peeks, enabosaed with-gritintess„: were around and above up, veiled in a transparenttnist, like visible mr, that' =kap tom seeJfl. unreal; and 1,.300 feet below, oim'Isounding-lead, had' titruck-upti thaberleditima "of Siddim, shrouded in lithe and silt.- "While busied with .sueli thoughts, my companions had yielded bathe oppres- tiVe droweioess, And now lay ,before me in every attitude Of a sleep that-bad more when we first beheld it; I seemed' to reed the inscription over the gates of Dante's. of stupor in it than of repose. ' In the awful at which this sea. pinsented. . Inferno Ye who 'enter here, leave hope behind.' .' Since then,- habitttateileta mysterious appearances in a journey so replete with them, and ' acenetorned to scenes of deep and thrilling interest at every step of our progress, those feelings ed of awe had been insensibly lessen or hushed by deep interest in the investiga- tions we had pursued. But now, as I sat alone iti my wakefulness; the feeling Of we returned; and, as I looked upon the sleepers, I felt 'the hair of my flesh: stand Up,' as Job's-did, when 'a spirit passed before his face'; for, tainy disturbed imaginal104, there was something fearfulin'the expression of their inflamed and 'swollen visages. The fierce angel of disease seemed hovering over them, and 1 . read the fererunnee of Itia presencain 'their .flushed, and feverish sleep: Some; with their bodies bent and' arms dengfieg Over he abandoned rain, their hands excoriated "with the acrid water, slept -profoundly; ' others, with heads thrriwit' back, and lips cracked and sore, with a scarlet thigh on either cheek' ' seemed '- overpowered by heat and weariness even in sleep; while some upon wItcse faces shone the reflected light from the waterileiduad.gbastly, and dozed with amerverii, . twitching of the limbs, and now and then starting from their sleep, drank cleaply, from a breaker, and sank hick again. te lethargy. The. solitude tile scene,, ay . • , • own thoughts, were too ninth; I felt, 'as I sat thus, steering the 4iveily-menng , boat, as if! were a Charon; ferrying; not the serifs, lint the bodies ohne departed and the damned, over some infernallake,- and could. endure it tie longer; hat, breaking_ from my ..listlessness, .-enlered- the- sails • to -be furled 'and the' -oars resumed--aetle°7eeereed,betteathan such unnatural stupor. . . ..- -- . • ' , "Yrudenee urgeans- to 'proceed no farther, but to stop before soma disaster overtook us; brit time thought of leaving any part of our work undone was toa painful, and I resolved to persevere,- but to be as expeditious as Poseiblei-withrlot

. . . .. 'working the party too hard" -.

- The film of the Sea, as every one knoll's, is an oblongabout fourilates as long as it is broad. At some three fifths 'of its length, from- the North- ern extremity, the breadth is nerrdwed•cOnsiderably by-a projection of land • on the Eastern shore, which almost divides.ther waters-into an upper and lower lake. The lower or Southern:sea is the smallest and shallow, not anywhere exceeding three fathoms 'in depth, and generally Much' less. The larger or Northern arm is very- mnoh'deeper ; being generally from one to two hundred fathoms, and sometimes exceeding two -hundred. We can trace no confirmation of the - tradition that the ruins 9f the cities are still there, in the evidence drawn-from the soundings. The followingHs Mr. Lynch's specific account of results acientifie and Seriptnral. • .

"From the summit of these cliffs, in a line -a little North of West; about sixteen

miles distant, is Hebron, a short distance from which DnItobinson found the dividing ridge between the Mediterranean And this sea. From :Beni .Na'ire,' the. reputed- Lot, upon that ti.dge,..it is supposed. that Abraham 'looked 'toward all the land of the plain; anti beheld the smoke, 'as the sitoOke of a fur-

nace.' - nace.' The inference from the Bible, at this entire chasm was a plain sunk and overwlwinte,d' bythe wrath of sod, seethe to be sustained byliba.extraordi-

nary character of our-soundings.- The bottom of this see consists' of -two sub- , merged plains, an elevated and a depressed one,- the Met averaging ,thirteen, the - former about thirteen hundred.feet helm!, theatniste.e... Through the. Northern and.. largest and deepest One, in eorresponding With the bed of the .JOrdaa, isa ravine, which again ieeme to learrOloosod the Wady el Jeib, or ravine within

a ravine, atthe Smith eat/that& 1i= 70 • "'IT"J " .

"Between the Jabokandithis seaMa.-unesepeatielly found a sudden break-down •ill in the bed of the Jordern,.. if there be .a eluallar break in the Illiter,0012113eS to tilt( .South of the sea, accompanied with like volcanic characters, there pair ecaree b0te, doubt that the whole Glaor has sunk froni au*, extraordinary apnvidsiotchpre ceded, most probably,' an eruption of fire,' and a general confiagratifin dr tha. bitumen' whichabounded. in' the regret that

"wel-"irere Authorized to explore the Southern Ober to tinselled:Fee. . 9111

"antail'att.,akler- /lea' !-Ye OF* ii101303 Au4g9 *if "MI, 99r,9**-Fa.tAtirt0); have Immetkaad nielchethigitte thaamtiietiori Ilutb .teur 03 first, theta vionthave ivOrnithen beds in a nal and correhdive lope i— whereas, in. the Northern section...L.:Um part supposed to have been, so deepIP'' engulfed, although a soft biturnitiousnelifoie preitifli, the torrents plunge down ewers' hundred feet, while on both sides of the Southern portion the ravines come downwithout abruptness, although the head of Wady Kerak is more than a thou- sand feet higher than the head of Wady Ghuweir. Most of the ravines too, as reference to the map will show, have a Southward inclination near their outlets; that of Zerka Main or Callirohoe especially, which, next to the Jordan, must pour down the greatest volume of water in the rainy season. But even if they had not that deflection, the argument which has been based on this supposition would be untenable; for tributaries, like all other streams, seek the greatest declivities, without regard to angular inclinations. The Yermak flows into the Jordan at a 1642tritle,anddjaenkvl111on:wits descending course. ; Othrtinga1:whese among

them the isolation of the mountain of Usclam its difference of contour and of range, and its consisting entirely of a volcanic product. "But it is for the learned to comment on the facts we have laboriously col-

lected. Upon ourselves the result ia a decided one. We entered upon this sea with conflicting opinions. One of the party was sceptical, and another, I think, a professed unbeliever of the Mossie account. After twenty-two days close investigation, if I am not mistaken, we are unanimous in the conviction of the truth of the Scriptural account of the destruction of the cities of the plain. I record with diffidence the conclusions we have reached, simply as a protest against the shallow deductions of would-be unbelievers."

The energy of the commander of the expedition and his followers is en-

titled to the highest praise; and the promptitude with which Lieutenant Lynch's proposal was responded to is creditable to the Government of the United States. It is true that circumstances favoured the enterprise. The prostration of the Ottoman power—the manner in which the Sultan has been protected by Western Europe against his rebellious Pacha, and against the enotoachments of Russia—the naval exploits on the coast of Syria, and the diminution of the Mussulman bigotry from whatever causes—have rendered that exploration easy now which would have been impossible without a very large force some years ago. But all these things were as open to the European Powers as to the United States, and there would have been no difficulty in marshalling an expedition better provided with scientific observers than the one whose labours are before Dl. The members of it seem to have had common though not remarkable acquirements; but these are sufficient to skim the cream. In fact, the expedition was not very carefully fitted out : the geologist and physician was picked up en route, as a matter of chance, and the whole was sent off in that unfinished way which is said to be the American characteristic.

However, they have done what no other government cared to do; and

we doubt whether some European expeditions might have made their way so well as Lieutenant Lynch or any other American. There is in him a great deal both of fair and good feeling, with the rough and rapid energy which character-zee his countrymen; but there is also their clownishness, which often, without intending to do so, violates propriety, drives somewhat too plainly towards its objects, exhibits rather too nakedly the selfishness and weakness of mankind in general, and suc- ceeds by unexpected surprises. In opposition to courteous and cus- tomary usage, Mr. Lynch "moored a large float, with the American ensign flying, in eighty fathoms water, abreast of Ain Ghuweir"; as if he were the first discoverer of the Dead Sea, and had both a geo- graphical and a political right "to take possession.' Presents are the custom of the East, and it is usual for governments sending oat travellers under judicious advice to provide stores of gifts for the various persons to whom it is proper to offer them. The Washington Government had no advisers of this kind : the expedition seems to have started with nothing superfluous even in the petty cash way ; and more than one cir- cumstance in relation to the matter of presents occurred, that will not impress the natives of Palestine with a high notion of the free hand of the American Government. The principle of Mr. Lynch was, I will pay fur what I have ; but; as / travel as a representative of the United States, all the authorities shall yield me assistance gratis. There wait rather too much display, too, of that spirit of nationality which men comment upon in the behaviour of Americans at home ; and we suspect the traveller of no other civilized nation would so often put forward the importance of his state. The pushing and (in a social rather than a moral sense) the unscrupulous character of the Americans sometimes appears ; but this served the expedition well. The absence of all hesitation or fastidiousness got Mr. Lynch through difficulties, and procured him aid that we suspect the delicacy of an English gentleman would have lost.