siege of Jerusalem, prophesied by Our Saviour, and which was the cause of the total overthrow of the Jewish nation."

"Yes, Aunt, I am very glad that we are getting to the famous siege; and I expect to hear of wonderful inventions, like those of Josephus at the siege of Jotapata. But, for all that, I shall be sorry when it is all over, and when my little book is finished."

"Oh! I dare say, Anne, I shall be able to find some new history, even more interesting than this; and if I perceive that you remember this, I may perhaps look out for one even before your next birth-day," said the kind Aunt.

CHAPTER VII.

As Aunt Mary had dropped a hint of an excursion that very evening, our little party lost no time in assembling after dinner to their book and their work. They even gave up their stroll to the bottom of the field; which, indeed, had become almost impracticable, as the weather had very rapidly increased in heat, during the last two days.

Anne, with a look of very great importance, took her station on her little stool, near Aunt Jane, and began to read.

Before we begin this celebrated siege, we must give a short description of the city of Jerusalem itself; a city so favoured and renowned.

"It is in the very centre of Judea, I see, Aunt, in the map," said Anne.

It was built upon two hills, opposite to each other, and divided by a valley, at the entrance of which the houses terminated.

on which the Upper City was

M

One of these hills,

built, was much

higher than the other, and was named by King David, the Citadel. The other hill, called Acra, on which stood the Lower City, was in the shape of a crescent.

The valley, which separated these two hills, had the singular name of the Valley of the Cheesemongers, and extended as far as Siloam, a fountain celebrated for the abundance and the sweetness of its waters.

FANNY. "That is the fountain, Aunt, to which Marian goes every night, to fetch water and fruits for her father, the assassin Simon, when the famine is so dreadful."

AUNT JANE. "You mean, in the poem of the 6 Fall of Jerusalem ?""

FANNY.

66

Yes, Aunt; it is described beautifully there. But please to go on, Anne; I beg your pardon for interrupting you."

The two hills, on which the city was built, were fortified by three walls on every side, except on the sides where the precipices overhung the valley, which being impassable, were guarded only by one wall.

Of the three walls, which guarded the city, the most ancient one, built by King David, and finished by Solomon, surrounded that part of the city in which the Temple stood.