the Jews drove him out, and to the rock where they were about to cast him down. From there we went to the Fountain of the Virgin, where the Greeks have their Church of the Annunciation. When we had seen this we were told that the round of the holy places of Nazareth was complete, unless we wished to see the Mount of the Precipitation,' about two miles away.

"We declined the journey, as there is a great deal of doubt concerning the accuracy of the tradition. Doctor Bronson said we should not miss the view from the hill back of Nazareth, and so we climbed there a little before sunset and had a magnificent prospect.

"The best point for the view was said to be Neby Ismail, and we certainly have seen nothing finer in all Palestine. The hills are less barren than in most other parts of the country that we have visited, and the plains and valleys present an appearance of fertility. Mounts Tabor, Hermon, and Carmel were in the picture, and beyond the latter we had a glimpse of the blue waters of the Mediterranean bounding the western horizon. Then we looked down on the Plain of Esdraelon and on the upper Valley of the Jordan, and lingered as long as time would permit. I cannot begin to tell you of the thoughts and associations that crowded upon us in looking upon the place so intimately connected with the life of the Saviour, and the scenes of so many other events that form a part of our Bible history."

ASCENT OF MOUNT TABOR.-AROUND AND ON THE SEA OF GALILEE.

ON

N Monday morning the party made a good start in the direction of Mount Tabor and the Sea of Galilee. The tents were sent direct to the camping-ground which had been selected for the night, while the travellers made a détour to the summit of the historic mountain.

They looked back from the crest of a ridge on the road, and had a fine view of Nazareth. An hour's ride from this point through a wooded valley brought them to the foot of Mount Tabor, the Jebel-et-Tur of the Arabs, and a famous name in biblical history. Unlike many of the mountains of Palestine it is covered with trees to the summit, and the ruins scattered about its sides show that it has been the home of many people through numerous generations.

"We had a zigzag ride up the side of Mount Tabor," said the youths, in their journal, "and made frequent stoppages for our horses to take breath. When we reached the top we found it was not a peak, but a sort of rounded ridge, half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. All the space on the summit is covered with ruins, and there have evidently been towns, temples, fortresses, and other buildings on this commanding spot. We learn from the Bible (Joshua xix. 22) that Tabor was ocenpied when the Israelites first came into the country, and it is probable that there was a town here at that time. In another place (Judges iv.) we learn that Deborah ordered Barak to gather an army here; and it was from Tabor that the Israelites marched when they defeated Sisera. From that time down to the Christian era Tabor continued to be an important. point, and was the scene of several battles. In the fourth century it was regarded as the scene of the Transfiguration, and many pilgrimages were made to it by the early Christians. Hermits formerly dwelt here in caves, and subsisted on the charity of visitors.

"Several convents and churches were established on Mount Tabor, and the Crusaders built a monastery on the summit, which was afterward destroyed by the infidels. There are two monasteries here now,

but they are not of much consequence; one belongs to the Latins and the other to the Greeks, and, as we did not wish to show any partiality, we visited both of them. There is great hostility between the monks of

the two establishments, and those who visit one are generally excluded from the other. Each party claims that the scene of the Transfiguration was on the spot where its own church stands. Both these statements are generally disbelieved; and it is the opinion of the majority of those who have investigated the matter that the great event occurred elsewhere than on Mount Tabor.

"Our ride from Nazareth had given us a good appetite, and we were quite ready for the lunch which Ali brought for us in his saddle-bags. While engaged in satisfying our hunger we enjoyed the view from the summit of the mountain; it includes Hermon and Carmel--the latter almost hiding the thin strip of the Mediterranean, and itself partly concealed by the nearer ranges of hills. Looking to the east we saw a part of the Lake of Tiberias, and beyond it the chain of the Hauran Mountains; and, as we turned toward the southern horizon, the guide pointed

THE VIEW FROM TABOR.

387

out the mountains of Gilead. Apparently at our feet was the Plain of Esdraelon, with its ancient battle-fields, and on the hills around us were Endor, Nain, and half a dozen other villages of less importance. The deep Valley of the Jordan was revealed for a considerable distance, and we realized more than ever before how great is the depression where the river flows. The top of Tabor is more than two thousand feet above the level of the Mediterranean, while the surface of the lake is six hundred and forty feet below it. Consequently, we looked down nearly two thousand seven hundred feet to the waters on whose banks we were to pass the night.

"While descending Mount Tabor we disturbed several partridges and other birds, and one of us thought we had a glimpse of a fox darting among the trees. The guide said there were several kinds of game here, but nobody paid much attention to it, since it was not easy to get at.

The Arabs sometimes catch hares and partridges in traps, but the foxes are too cunning to be taken in that way.

"Down and down we went, and from Tabor to Tiberias it was a descending road the most of the way. We passed the Khan el-Tujar,

or Caravansary of the Merchants, which is very much in ruins, but was evidently a strong place at the time of its erection, three hundred years ago. It was built by the Pacha of Damascus for the protection of the merchants from the robbers, who frequently plundered the caravans and made the road dangerous. A market is held here once a week, and the

people from Tiberias, Nazareth, and other places in the neighborhood come to sell their wares, but we could not learn that they had much to sell.

"Cana of Galilee, where the water was turned into wine, is off our road, and we had to be satisfied with the indication of its position. It is now called Kefr Kenna, and has a population of five or six hundred, half of whom are Moslems and the rest Greek Christians. The Greeks have a church in which they show one of the jars or water-pots in which the miracle was performed. There is another Kenna or Cana between Nazareth and Mount Carmel, and some authorities think it was the scene of the miracle, and not the one we have been talking about.

"As we rode down the hills we had a full view of the sea or lake of Tiberias, which is also called the Sea of Galilee, and the sea or lake of Gennesaret, and known to the Arabs as Bahr Tabariyeh. It is smaller than you might suppose from its importance in history; it is thirteen miles long and less than seven in width, and in the midst of a region with very few inhabitants. As we looked at it, it seemed little more than a pond, and the hills beyond it were bare and desolate. The fertility of the region must be far less now than it was in the time of our Saviour, and it is