the Day of Resurrection, to give drink to the true believers. This Sakhrah is the centre of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection the angel Israfil will stand upon it to blow the last trumpet. It is also eighteen miles nearer heaven than any other place in the world ; and beneath it is the source of every drop of sweet water that flows on the face of the earth. It is supposed to be suspended miraculously between heaven and earth. The effect upon the spectators was, however,- so startling that it was found necessary to place a building round it, and conceal the marvel. The Cadam es Sherif, or " Footstep of the Prophet," is on a detached piece of a marble column, on the south-west side of the Sakhrah. It is reported to have been made by Mohammed, in mounting the beast Borâk, preparatory to his ascent into heaven on the night of the " M'iraj." Before leaving the Cubbet es Sakhrah the pilgrim is taken to pray upon a dark coloured marble pavement just inside the gate of the Cubbet es Sakhrah, called Bâb el Jannah ; some say that this is the spot upon which the prophet Elias prayed, others that it covers the tomb of King Solomon. All agree that it is a stone which originally formed part of the pavement of Paradise. A descent into the Maghârah or cave beneath the Sakhrah—a reverential salutation of the " tongue of the rock," a broken column slanting against the roof of the cave—a prayer before the marks of the Angel Gabriel's fingers—and, if he be a Shi'ah, a fervent prostration before a piece of iron bar which does duty as the sword of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib " the Lion of God." These, with a few others of less interest, complete the objects of special devotion in the Cubbet es Sakhrah itself. On issuing forth into the open court more wonders meet his eye. First, there is the beautiful Cubbet es Silsileh* * Also called Malikeniet Da'âd, or the Tribunal of David.