wholly incredible. Now we admit that prayer does have a favorable influence upon the mind and heart of the suppliant. No doubt of it. But is this the great benefit of prayer? Is this the main object and end of it, as set forth in the Scriptures? Who believes that the main object of Elijah, in praying for rain, was not to secure the blessing of rain, but to promote his own piety and spiritual improvement? Besides; how long would prayer be offered, and its good influences upon the suppliant be realized, if no other object were aimed at? How long should we continue to pray, if we believed that to petition God was but a form fallacious, but yet wholesome-of preaching to ourselves, and promoting our own growth in grace? -- We mention but another instance in which the teachings of phrenology seem to us to conflict with the Bible. The Scriptures assert that the soul of man is to exist, to be intelligent, conscious and active, while the body is in the grave. Paul expected, while "absent from the body, to be present with the Lord." He tells us that, in the heavenly Jerusalem, dwell "the spirits of just men made perfect." In the visions of Patmos, John saw them there. He beheld their glory, and listened to their songs. But if the whole man is matter, as some phrenologists pretend, then there is no soul to exist while separate from the body. We are all body, and the whole man sleeps together in the dust. Or, if we adopt the opinion of the better class of phrenologists, that, though there is a mind distinct from the body, yet that the brain is the indispensable organ of the mind, without which it cannot think, or feel, or do anything; then, when the brain is dead, must not the mind be dead with it? At least, must not all mental activity cease, and the soul pass into a state of entire unconsciousness? We see not how such an inference is to be avoided, unless we say, with some, that, when the soul leaves this gross body, it enters at once into a spiritual body, rises in it at death, and that this is all the resurrection which is to be expected. But this again is to contradict the Bible, and that in two respects. First, the Bible teaches, that the same body which is laid in the dust is to be raised in the resurrection. The same it which "is sown in corruption, is to be raised in incorruption;" which "is sown in weakness, is to be raised in power;" which "is sown a natu ral body, is to be raised a spiritual body." spiritual body." The Bible also teaches. that this resurrection is to be accomplished, not in the "This is moment of death, but in the morning of the last day. the will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." We here take our leave of the subject of phrenology; having looked at it in various lights, and treated it as largely as time and opportunity will permit. We have shown, first of all, that its fundamental principles are not to be relied upon. They are not supported by appropriate evidence; they are without foundation. We have traced the subject, also, in its social and practical, its moral and religious bearings, and have shown that it is of hurtful tendency in them all. It can never be reconciled with the Bible, or with the best interests of society, more than it can with physiology and the facts of science. It In view of all that has been said, we wonder not that phrenology is a favorite subject with innovators, sceptics, radicals and infidels. We wonder not that such men extol it, lecture upon it, make and read its books, and do all in their power to propagate it through the land. This is acting in character. is just what might be expected of them. But we do wonder that intelligent Christians, members of our churches, who love and honor the Bible, and try to obey it, should be found in such company. We do wonder that such persons should countenance and uphold a system, which conflicts with the Gospel at almost every point, and which, could it have full scope in the earth, would shut the Gospel out of it, and keep it out forever. ARTICLE III. EXCURSION TO THE SUMMIT OF HERMON. By Rev. J. L. Porter, Missionary at Damascus. August 30th, 1852. We left Blûdân1 at 6h. 40m. A. M., descended the hill on the ordinary Damascus road, and crossed the beautiful plain of Zebedâny to the fountain of the Barada. We rode at a fast walk and reached the little lake at 8.30. Having lingered here ten minutes, chasing the numerous wildfowl that were skimming over the surface of the water, we remounted and ascended the rugged and barren slopes to Batrûny, where we arrived at 9.30. From Batrûny we followed the road along the foot of the rocky hill toward the eastern entrance of Wady elKurn; but when, within about one mile of the Wady, we turned to the right, and ascended the mountain by a rugged path. At 10.30 we were on the summit, and had a commanding view of the Alpine scenery around us, with the plains stretching out in the distance. The mountain range, on the top of which we now stood, extends unbroken from Wady el-Kurn to Wady Yahfûfeh, forming the western boundary of the plains of Zebedâny and Súrghâya. Its direction is about N. 25 E. Its greatest elevation is nearly 6000 feet above the sea. From Zebedâny to Wady el-Kurn, the sides are rocky and very rugged, and the top broken and jagged; the northern portion is not so lofty and the sides have a gradual slope to the plains on the east. The elevation decreases gradually toward Wady Yahfûfeh; and at the place where Wady el-Kurn cuts through, it is also somewhat lower. Southward of the latter Wady the ridge extends, but broken and to some extent irregular, to Râsheiya. We have seen no map, and we believe none has yet appeared, on which the Antilebanon range has been laid down with any approach to accuracy. Berghaus places the loftiest ridge on the western side of the plain of Zebedâny, and continues it northward in a straight unbroken line. Now the fact is, that about one hour north of Wady Yahfûfeh, there are no mountains whatever 1 Blûdân is the summer residence of the missionaries at Damascus. It lies on the high ridge east of the plain of Zebedâny.-E. R. in this line; and, further, the loftiest and principal range of Antilebanon is two hours eastward of the above, running immediately on the west side of the village of Dîmâs, intersected by the Barada at Sûk, the ancient Abila, and forming the eastern boundary of the plains of Zebedâny and Surghâya. Opposite the latter plain, and one hour from the village of Blûdân, is its loftiest summit, which has an elevation of a little over 7000 English feet. From this point its direction is about N. 8 E. with an elevation of about 6000 to 6500 feet. From the point on which we stood we saw the Druze village of Hilwy, on the mountain top on the other side of Wady elKurn, distant about one hour and twenty minutes S. 63 W. Descending the mountain by a path which runs parallel to the Wady, we reached its western entrance at 11.5. Here com mences the oval-shaped plain called Sahil Judeideh, which runs from this point in a direction N. 12 E. about two hours. Its greatest width may be forty-five minutes. It is separated from the plain of Zebedâny by the mountain ridge we had just crossed. On the eastern side of this plain, about the middle, is the village of Ekfair, between which and the plain is a low hill. Crossing the Beirût road where it leaves the Wady and enters the plain, we turned S. W. up a rugged valley whose sides are partially clothed with stunted shrubs and dwarf oak. As we entered it we had on our right, distant eight minutes, but concealed by intervening rocks, the small village Mazria'. Following the valley to its upper end, we emerged at 11.45 on an elevated plateau, wild and rocky in the extreme. On our left ran a range of hills which seemed like some Cyclopean wall rent and shattered to its foundations. Turning a little to the westward they shut in the plateau before us, which is also enclosed on the N. W. by a line of wooded heights. Before us, perched upon the jagged summit of the former range, stood Yuntah. At 12.20 we were beside the village, having passed a small fountain just as we commenced our ascent of the hill on which it stands. From this spot, looking behind us down the valley and across the southern part of Sahil Judeideh, we saw the village of Ekfair, on the mountain side. It was not without considerable apprehension that we approached Yuntah. Its inhabitants, Druzes, we knew to be covetous and bloodthirsty, and its Sheikhs little better than bandit chiefs. Only two weeks before, six of these Sheikhs went in the night to Sûk-Wady-Barada, entered a house there, tore an unoffending young man from the arms of his wife, and almost hewed him to pieces in her presence; and then coolly rode off with money and jewels which they took from the room, to the amount of £2000 sterling. Mr. Wood, the British Consul at Damascus, who was on his way to Blûdân, was in an adjoining house when the bloody deed was committed. Hearing the wailing of women he ran out, and found the young man dead, with a fearful gash across his face, which severed his tongue, his head almost separated from his body, and numerous wounds in other places. The murderers afterwards, with true Arab politeness, apologized to the consul for having committed the deed while he was in the village. The government, urged on by Mr. Wood, sent fifty horsemen to apprehend the Sheikhs; but they assembled their retainers, fired upon them, and drove them back. And, as we write these lines, we learn that another detachment sent since on the same errand, has just returned, defeated, to Damascus, with their leader mortally wounded. Yet these men are in the pay of government as the protectors of the road between Beirût and Damascus. The people are The men we met Our apprehensions were not lessened by a view of the village itself, and of such of its people as we saw. It is built in a strong position on the summit of a rocky ridge, and might be defended by a few resolute men against a large force. like their country, wild and savage looking. at the fountain below, were all armed with long guns and large knives. We saw a number, as we approached the village, peering at us from behind precipices, and from the house-tops above, None, however, either spoke to or interfered with us; and so we passed on, well pleased to have escaped both insult and attention from a gang of murderers and rebels. Descending the hill from Yuntah on the south, we came in fifteen minutes to an elevated and broken plain, having the range on which Yuntah stands on one side and a parallel but higher range on the other. We now travelled in a direction S. 52 W. along this plain. At 12.50 we saw a large village on our right, distant twenty minutes; but our guide did not know its name. It stands on the same ridge as Yuntah, from which it is distant about half an hour. Ten minutes further we reached a large circular pond, partially filled with water, and having on its banks a few stone troughs. Around this the plain is level, and has a |