name is frequently attached to it in the -vmtings of "W'ilUam of Tyre and Jacob de Vitry (see quotations in Kobinson, Bib. Res. ii, 107). This error is perpetuated in the Greek Church to tlie present day; and the bishop of Fetra, whose otiice, as representative of the patriarch, it is to produce the holy fire at Easter in the Church of the Sepulchre at Jerusalem (Stanley, S. and P. p. 467), is in reality bisliop of Kerak (Seetzen, Reisen, ii, 358 : Burckhardt, p. 387)" (Smitli). The first person who visited tlie place in modern times was Seetzen, who Bays, '• Near to Kerak tlie wide plain terminates which extends from Kabbah, and is broken only by low and detached hills, and the country now becomes mountain- ous. Kerak, formerly a city and bishop's see, lies on the top of the liill near the end of a deep valley, and is sur- roiuided on all sides with lofty mountains. The hill is very steep, and in many places the sides are quite per- pendicular. The walls round the town are for the most part destroyed, and Kerak can at present boast of little more than being a small country town. The cas- tle, -which is luiinhabited, and in a state of great decay, was formerly one of the strongest in these countries. The inhabitants of the town consist of jNIohammedans anil tireek Christians.. The present bishop of Kerak resides at Jerusalem. From tliis ])lace one enjoys, by looking down the wady Kerak, a fine view of part of the Dead Sea, and even Jerusalem may be distinctly seen iu clear weather. The hill on which Kerak lies is composed of limestone and brittle marl, with many beds of blue, black, and gray flints. In the neighboring rocks there are a number of curious grottoes; in those which are imder ground wheat is sometimes preserved for a period often years" (Zach's Monatliche Correspond. xviii, 43-1). A fuller account of the place is given by Burckhardt {Travels in Syria, p. 379-387). by whom it was next visited; and another description is furnished by Irby and Mangles ( Travels, p. 3G1-370). From their account it would seem that the caverns noticed by Seet- zen were probably the sepulchres of the ancient town. We also learn that the Christians of Kerak (which they and Burckhardt call Kerek) are nearly as numerous as the i\Iohammcdans, and boast of being stronger and braver (sec Robinson's Researches, ii, 5GG-571). On ac- count of tlie notoriously savage character of its Moham- medan inhabitants, Kerak has not often been visited by travellers. Lieut. Lynch, of the United States expedi- tion to the Dead Sea, penetrated this fastness of banditti, having boldly seized the sheik and detained him as a hostage for their safety. He describes the town as sit- uated upon the brow of a hill 3000 feet above the Dead Sea. The houses are a collection of stone huts, built without mortar. They are from seven to eight feet high ; the ground floors about six feet below, and the flat terrace mud-roofs mostly about two feet above the streets ; but in many places there were short cuts from street to street across the roofs of the houses. The houses, or rather huts, without windows and without chimneys, were blackened insifle by smoke, and the women and children were squalid and filthy. Kerak contains a population of about 300 families ; these in- clude about 1000 Christians, who are kejit in subjection by the IVIoslem Arabs. The Jloslem inhabitants are wild-looking savages, but the Christians have a mild and hospitable character. The males mostly wear sheep-skin coats, the women dark-colored gowns ; the Christian fe- males did not conceal their faces, which were tattooed like the South Sea islanders. The entrance to Kerak is by a steep and crooked ravine, wiiich is completely com- manded at the summit by the castle. This latter, partly cut out of and partly built upon the mountain top, pre- sents the remains of a magnificent structure, its citadel cut off from the town bj' a deep ditch. It seems to be Saracenic, although in various parts it has both the pointed (iothic and the rounded IJoman arch, the work doubtless of the various masters into whose hands it has fallen during its eventful history. Its walls are com- posed of liea\-j', well-cut stoues, with a steep glacis-wall
surrounding the whole. It is of immense extent, having five gates, seven wells and cisterns, with subterranean passages, and seven arched store-houses, one above an- other, for purposes of defence (see Lynch's Narrative, p. 355-359). Mr. De Saulcy also entered this "den of robbers," as he terms it, and he has added some partic- ulars to the above description {Narrative, i, 302-330, 390). His account illustrates the character of the in- habitants, who have for many years been the terror of the vicinity (Porter, Handbook, p. GO ; Schwarz, Pales- tine, p. 21G ). See also Patter's Erdkimde, xv, 91G, 1215. A map of the site and a view of part of the keep will be found in the Atlas to De Saidcy {La Mer Morte, etc., fcuilles 8, 20). See Moab.
Kirwan. See Murray, Nicholas,
Kir"waii, AValter Blake, an eminent Irish divine, and one of the most celebrated and popular preachers of the last half of the 18th century, was born at tJalway about 1754. He was educated at the college of the English Jesuits at St.Omer; was ordained priest, and was for a time professor of natural and moral philosophy at Lou vain. Having embraced Protestantism in 1787, he became successively minister of St. Peter's Church, Dublin; prebendary of Howth, minister of St. Nicholas Without in 1788, and dean of Killala in 1800. He died in 1805. Few preachers of any age have enjoyed siich popularity as Walter Blake Kirwan. So great was tl;o throng to listen to his sermons that it Avas found neces- sary to defend the entrance of the church where he was to preach with guards and palisades. He was a man of fine feelings, amiable and benevolent, and his irre- sistible powers of persuasion were chiefly devoted to the preaching of charity sermons. It is said that the col- lections taken up after his sermons seldom fell short of £1000. These addresses have been published under the title of Sermons, with a sketch of his life (London, 1814, 8vo). See Darling, Ctjclopcedia Bihlioi/raphica, ii, 1735 ; Allibone, Did. of Enrjlish and Amer. Authors, ii, 1038; Lond. Quart. Rev. xi, 130 sq. ; Lord Brougham, Confrib. fa the Edinb. Rev. (Lond. and Glasgow, 185G), i, 104 sq. (J.H.W.)