the summit of the hills which border Ptolemaïs; as we found it on the other side of the hills of Zebulun and of Nazareth; at the foot of Mount Hermon, or Mount Carmel; as we found it, indeed, in its entire breadth and in all its varieties, from the heights which command Tyre and Sidon, to the Lake of Tiberias; to the hills of Samaria and Naplous, and from thence to the walls of Sion.

"In the first place, we have before us the plain of Zebulun. We are placed between two slight undulations of land, scarcely worthy the name of hills,—the vale which lies between them forms the path of our route; this path has been traced by the feet of camels, which have ground the dust for four thousand years, or by the large and deep holes which the pressure of their feet, always planted in the same spot, has dug in the white and friable rock which extends from the Cape of Tyre to the sands of the Libyan Desert. On the right and left, the sides of the hills are shaded here and there, at the distance of ten paces, with tufts of evergreen shrubs; at a greater distance rise trees with knotty trunks, interlaced branches, and a sombre and motionless foliage. They are principally green oaks of a peculiar species, the stem of which is more slight and stately than those of Europe, and whose velvet-surfaced leaves are round, and not indented like those of the common oak of Europe. The carob-tree, the mastich, and, more rarely, the plane-tree and the sycamore, complete the clothing of these hills; there are, besides, many other trees whose names I do not know; some of them have leaves like the fir or the cedar, and others, which are the most beautiful, resemble immense willows by the colour of their bark and the tender yellow hue of their foliage, but infinitely surpassing the willow in extent, in size, and elevation. The most numerous caravans may encamp around their colossal trunks, with their camels and their baggage, and be sheltered under the foliage of the branches. Between the spaces left by these trees, on the sides of the hills, are seen masses of a whitish or blue gray rock, which have pierced the soil, and are devoid of vegetation; but between these blocks of rock is found a deep, light and black vegetable soil, which would produce plentiful crops of wheat or barley, with the slightest care of the husbandman. Other spots are covered with a prickly underwood, wild pomegranate-trees, rose-trees of Jericho, and enormous thistles, the stem of which is as high as the head of the camel. One of these hills thus described, you see them all nearly in their actual forms, and the imagination may represent to itself their effect, when cited in sketching the landscape of the Holy Land. Our Our route lay between these two hills, and we descended on a slightly-inclined plane, leaving the sea and the Plain of Ptolemais behind us, when we perceived the first valley of the Land of Canaan. It was that of Zebulun, the garden of the tribe of that name.

"To the right and left before us, the two hills which we had just crossed opened gracefully in corresponding curves, like two subsiding waves, which part gently and harmoniously to clear a path for the vessel gliding on the deep. The space which they leave between them gradually extends, and becomes a valley of an oval form, the longer extremities of which are shaded by two other lines and hills. This plain seems to be about a league and a half in breadth, and from three to four leagues in length. From the elevation on which we were, at the gorge of the hills of Acre, the eye naturally descended and involuntarily followed the flexible sinuosities, until it lost itself in the bases of the mountains which terminate their view. On the left, the lofty gilded and rugged summits of Lebanon uplifted boldly their pyramids in the sombre blue of a morning sky; on the right the

hill which bore us rose insensibly as it receded, going as it were to unite itself with other hills, and forming various groups of different elevations, some barren, others clothed with olive and fig-trees; a Turkish village adorned the summit, the white minaret of which contrasted strongly with the sombre colonnade of cypress which almost entirely surrounded the mosque. In front, the horizon, which terminates the plain of Zebulun, and which extended before us to the space of three or four leagues, formed a perspective of hills, mountains, valleys, sky, vapours, and shade, altogether blended with such harmony of colours and lines, such a happy symmetry, and varied too by effects so different, that I could not remove my gaze. Recollecting nothing in the Alps, Italy, or Greece, to which I could compare this magic ensemble, I cried, "It is Poussin or Claude Lorraine!" Nothing, in fact, can equal the sweet majesty of this prospect of Canaan but the pencil of those two painters to whom the divine spirit of nature had revealed her beauty. We can only find a similar union of the grand and the gentle, of the strong and the graceful, of the picturesque and the fertile, in the landscapes imagined by those two great men, worthy to emulate these scenes, which the hand of the great Supreme Painter had designed and coloured for the habitation of a people then pastoral and innocent.

"In all the charming plains of the country of Canaan, I have since observed mounds or mamelons, bearing the form of quadrangular or oblong altars, and evidently destined to protect the first abodes of a timid and fearful nation. Their destiny, indeed, is so legibly written in their isolated and singular shapes, that the moss alone which covers them prevents our being deceived, and fancying them raised by the people who afterwards built upon them. But how could so small a nation have ever constructed so many enormous citadels of earth, when the whole army of Xerxes could not have elevated one? To whatever faith we may belong, we must be blind not to recognise a special and providential destination for these natural fortresses, elevated at the mouth, and at the issue of nearly all the plains of Galilee and Judea. Behind the mamelon of which we have spoken, and on which the imagination might easily picture an ancient city with its walls, its bastions, and its towers, the first hills gradually ascend from the plain, bearing, like grey or black spots on their sides, bowers of olive-trees and green oaks. Between these hills and the more elevated and sombre mountains to which they serve as bases, and which command them majestically, some torrent doubtless issued in foam, or some deep lake sent up its vapours, warmed by the first rays of the morning for a bluish-white mist extends over the vacant space, and partially conceals, throwing them completely into the back-ground, the second line of mountains under this transparent curtain, which was here and there pierced by the rays of Aurora. More distant, and still higher, a third chain of acclivities, completely dark, display their round but unequal summits, and give to the landscape that tint of majesty and gravity which must necessarily be found in all that is sublime, either as an element or a contrast. From distance to distance there are breaks in this third chain, through which the prospect extends, bounded by a silvery sky tinted with rosy clouds; and behind this magnificent amphitheatre aspire two or three peaks of the distant Lebanon, rising like promontories in the sky, and receiving the luminous shower of the first solar rays suspended above them; they indeed seem so transparent, that one might fancy he saw through them the trembling light that they had hidden from us. Add to this spectacle the serene and warm vault of the firmament, the limpid colour of the

sun;

twilight, the depth of the shadows which characterise an Asiatic atmosphere; image on the plain a khan in ruins, or immense herds of red cows, white camels, and black goats, coming with a slow step to seek water, scanty in its quantity, but limpid and savoury; represent to yourself some Arabs, mounted on their fleet coursers, traversing the valley, their arms inlaid with silver, and their scarlet dresses sparkling in the sun, together with a few women of the neighbouring villages clothed in their long sky-blue tunics, with the ends of their large white sashes falling to the ground, and wearing blue turbans ornamented by bandelettes strung with Venetian sequins; add here and there on the flanks of the hills a few Turkish or Arab hamlets, their walls of the colour of the rocks, and their houses roofless, and scarcely to be distinguished from the rocks themselves; let a cloud of azure smoke rise from distance to distance between the olive-trees and cypresses which surround these villages; not forgetting stones hollowed out like troughs, the tombs of the patriarchs, with some shafts of granite columns, sculptured capitals, &c., lying here and there about the fountains, under the feet of your horses; combine these accessories, and you will have a most exact and faithful picture of the delicious plains of Zebulun, of Nazareth, of Saphora, and Tabor. Such a country, repeopled by a new Jewish nation, cultivated and watered by intelligent hands, fecundated by a tropical sun, producing spontaneously every plant necessary or delightful to man, from the sugar-cane and the banana, to the vine and the corn of the temperate zone; from the cedar to the pine of the Alps; such a country would, I say, again become the Land of Promise, if Providence restored to it a people with the political elements of repose and liberty.”

Professor Robinson, in describing his ascent of the tower of Ramleh, (see ARIMATHEA,) the altitude of which is supposed to be about one hundred and twenty feet, remarks, "From the top of this tower there is a wide view on every side, presenting a prospect rarely surpassed in richness and beauty. I could liken it to nothing but the great plain of the Rhine by Heidelberg; or better still, to the vast plains of Lombardy, as seen from the cathedral of Milan and elsewhere. In the east, the frowning mountains of Judah rose abruptly from the tract of hills at their foot; while on the west, in fine contrast, the glittering waves of the Mediterranean Sea, associated our thoughts with Europe and distant friends. Towards the north and south, as far as the eye could reach, the beautiful plain was spread out like a carpet at our feet, variegated with tracts of brown, from which the crops had just been taken, and with fields still rich (June 8,) with the yellow of the ripe corn, or green with the springing millet. Immediately below us the eye rested on the immense olive-groves of Ramleh and Lydda, and the picturesque towers, and minarets, and domes of these large villages. In the plain itself were not many villages; but the tract of hills and the mountain side beyond, especially in the northeast, were perfectly studded with them; and as now seen in the reflected beams of the setting sun, they seemed like white villas and hamlets among the dark hills; presenting an appearance of thriftiness and beauty which certainly would not stand a closer examination. We lingered upon the tower until near sunset, enjoying the surpassing beauty in which the mountains of Judah and the plain of Sharon revealed themselves before us.”

MOUNTAINS.

Palestine is eminently, as described by Moses, "a land of hills," a circumstance that has given rise to much of the peculiar imagery of the prophetic writings. Its

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mountains may be most conveniently described by beginning on the east of Jordan with those of Gilead, sweeping round the south of the Dead Sea with those of Seir, and then proceeding northward until we arrive at the boundary chain of Lebanon.

Mountains of Gilead. These are situated east of the Jordan, and extend from Anti-Libanus, or Mount Hermon, into Arabia Petræa. The northern part is called Bashan, and was celebrated for its oaks and pastures. The middle was denominated Gilead in the stricter sense. In the southern part were the mountains of Abarim, a range of rugged hills, forming the northern limits of the territory of Moab, which are conjectured to have derived their name from the passes between the hills of which they were formed, or, perhaps, from the Israelites having passed the river Jordan into the Promised Land, opposite to these mountains.

Mr. Buckingham, describing this district, remarks, "We continued our way to the north-east, through a country the beauty of which so surprised us, that we often asked each other what were our sensations; as if to ascertain the reality of what we saw, and persuade each other, by mutual confessions of delight, that the picture before us was not an optical delusion. The landscape alone, which varied at every turn, and gave us new beauties from every point of view, was of itself, worth all the pains of an excursion to the eastward of the Jordan; and the park-like scenes that sometimes softened the romantic wildness of the general character as a whole, reminded us of similar spots in less neglected lands."

Mountains of Seir. This name applies to a mountainous tract extending from the southern extremity of the Dead Sea to the gulf of Akaba or Ezion-Geber. The whole of this tract was probably before called Mount Hor, and was inhabited by the Horites, the descendants of Hor, who is not otherwise known, and whose name is now only retained in that part of the region where Aaron died. Mount Seir rises abruptly on its western side from the valleys of El Ghor and El Araba; presenting an impregnable front to the strong country of the Edomite mountaineers. To the southward of this place Burckhardt observed an opening in the mountains, where he supposed the Israelites to have passed. The mean elevation of this chain cannot be estimated at less than four thousand feet. In the summer the district produces most of the European fruits, such as apricots, figs, pomegranates, olives, and peaches; while in the winter, deep snows occasionally fall, with frosts to the middle of March. See HOR; SEIR.

These mountains of Seir are not to be understood as a single range of high hills; but as an extensive mountainous region, from ten to twelve leagues in width, forming a rocky belt separating the Stony Arabia from the eastern deserts of sand. On first viewing these mountains from the southern part of the valley of Araba, high rocks of granite appear as if fractured into a thousand different forms. These rocks of granite formation extend almost as far northward as the Wady Gharûndel, which is almost half-way between the gulf of Akaba and Petra; they then begin to be covered with chalk and limestone, which extend five leagues to the north and north-east, and then disappear amidst rocks of sandstone veined with oxide of iron, and presenting more fantastic shapes than any other parts of the mountain. The exterior aspects of these mountains viewed from the valley are unusually stern and dark. Lord Lindsay speaks of them as "the black mountains from which the Edomites looked down;" and Mr. Stephens, standing on the shore of the northern extremity of the Ælanitic gulf, saw before him the broad sandy valley of Akaba,

as has usually been represented; and, on this side, it is surrounded and shut in by other mountains of nearly equal altitude. It stands out almost insulated upon the plain, being connected with the hills in the north-west only by a low ridge. Across this ridge, on the left of Tabor, we could again see the lofty peak of the distant Hermon; and could now distinguish the ice upon its summit glittering in the mid-day sun."

Little Mount Hermon. Beyond Mount Tabor, five miles to the south-west, a range of hills extends for several miles from east to west. This range is of no considerable elevation, and is fertile and suitable for pasturage. At its foot there are some natural caves, formerly used for sepulchres, but in which the Arabs now stable their horses. The range claims to be noticed, as it is commonly regarded as the "Mount Hermon" which the Psalmist celebrates for its pastures and abundant dews. (Psalm 42. 6; 89. 12.) It is, therefore, called the Little Hermon, to distinguish it from that snowcapped range of Anti-Libanus, to which also the name of Hermon has been applied.

Mountains of Israel. These, called also the mountains of Ephraim, occupy nearly the centre of the whole country; to the south of them are the mountains of Judah. Both ridges are fruitful, excepting those parts of the mountains of Israel which approach the district of the Jordan, and those also which extend from the Mount of Olives to the plain of Jericho. These tracts are rough and uneven, and abound in hiding-places for robbers. The highest peak in the mountains of Israel or Ephraim appears to be what was formerly called the Rock of Rimmon, (Judges 20. 45-47,) but now called Quarantania, from its being traditionally said to be the scene of Our Lord's forty days' fasting.

Mountains of Gilboa. These form a lengthened ridge, rising up in peaks about eight hundred feet above the level of the road, six miles distant from Scythopolis or Bethshan. Utter solitude reigns on every side of these mountains, which afford no dwelling-places for men, except for the wandering shepherd, whose search for pasturage must often be in vain; as a little withered grass and a few scanty shrubs, dispersed in different places, constitute the whole produce of the mountains of Gilboa. Lebanon. Northward from Tabor and Gilboa extend numerous small mountain chains through the whole region until they are confounded with Lebanon. Though we have already described that chain and its cedars, we here avail ourselves of a few additional observations made by Professor Robinson in his Biblical Researches in Palestine..

“What interested me most of all, perhaps, was the view of the towering heights of Lebanon, so rich in delightful associations drawn from Scriptural history. As its ridges here present themselves to the eye, there is no difficulty in accounting for the name Lebanon, signifying, in Hebrew, the White Mountain.' The whole mass of the mountain consists of whitish limestone; or at least the rocky surface, as it reflects the light, exhibits everywhere a whitish aspect. The mountain teems with villages; and is cultivated more or less almost to the very top. Yet so steep and rocky is the surface, that the tillage is carried on chiefly by means of terraces built up with great labour, and covered above with soil. When one looks upwards from below, the vegetation on these terraces is not visible; so that the whole mountainside appears as if composed only of immense rugged masses of naked whitish rock, severed by deep wild ravines running down precipitously to the plain. No one would suspect among these rocks the existence of a vast multitude of thrifty villages, and a numerous population of mountaineers, hardy, industrious, and brave.

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The great number of convents scattered over Lebanon is likewise deserving of notice.

"The celebrated cedar-grove of Lebanon is at least two days' journey from Beirût, near the northern and perhaps the highest summit of the mountain, six or eight hours north of Jebel Sunnin. It has been often and sufficiently described by travellers for the last three centuries; but they all differ as to the number of the oldest trees; inasmuch as in counting, some have included more and some less of the younger trees. At present the number of trees appears to be on the increase, and amounts, in all, to several hundred. This grove was long held to be the only remnant of the ancient cedars of Lebanon. But Seetzen, in A.D. 1805, discovered two other groves of greater extent; and the American missionaries, in travelling through the mountains, have also found many cedars in other parts. I mention the subject here chiefly in order to add the testimony of Professor Ehrenberg to the same fact. This distinguished naturalist spent a considerable time in Lebanon; and informs me, that he found the cedar growing abundantly on those parts of the mountain lying north of the road between Ba'albek and Tripolis. The trees are of all sizes, old and young; but none so ancient and venerable as those usually visited. To say nothing of the rich mines of discovery in physical science, still to be explored in Mount Lebanon, the mountain well deserves further examination in a matter of historical import. I refer to the various ancient temples found in several parts of Lebanon, on both sides; some of them high up, in places where it must have been difficult to build; and exhibiting a style of architecture similar to the wonderful structures of Ba'albek. The site of one of these temples was visible from our windows, near the village Beit Niory, half-way up the mountain, at the distance of three hours from Beirût. It is called Deir-el-Kŭľah; and was described as built up of immense hewn stones without cement, with large columns in front; which, as well as the walls, are now mostly overthrown. Burckhardt visited not less than four other like temples in different parts of the mountain; and a sixth is marked by Mr. Bird at Husn-esSufiry in the district of Ed-Dunnîyeh, north-east of Tripolis. Not improbably more exist in various other places."

VALLEYS AND PLAINS.

Palestine is traversed, as has been before stated, by two chains of mountains, having a general direction from north to south. Between these chains are found numerous valleys, mostly of limited extent, but, in some cases, spreading out into plains. Proceeding from the northward, we first notice, immediately within the hills skirting the coast between Cape Nakhoora and Acre, the Valley of Abilene, which is long and narrow, and bounded by low hills covered chiefly with oak.

The Valley of Zebulun lies to the south-east of this, and is the first vale immediately from the plain of Acre. It is of somewhat an oval figure, and between three and four miles in length and one in breadth. Although now under very partial cultivation, the natural fertility of its soil is evident in the abundance of plants, field-flowers, and herbs which spontaneously grow in it. The inclosing hills are beautifully wooded, chiefly with the carob-tree, and a sort of oak with whitish leaves, and the pasturage is considered among the finest in the Holy Land.

The Vale of Sepphoris is designated from a city of Galilee of that name. It is separated by hills from the valley of Zebulun, which is to the west of it. It is about the same length, and forms a very fine plain. Its verdure in spring is most striking, being abundantly

enamelled with an endless variety of flowers, among which tulips of every colour are most conspicuous. The small Vale of Nazareth is a kind of hollow, or basin, formed by inclosing mountains of no great height. "It seems," says Dr. Richardson, "as if fifteen mountains met to form one inclosure for this delightful spot; they rise around it like the edge of a shell, to guard it from intrusion. It is a rich and beautiful field in the midst of barren mountains. It abounds in fig-trees, small gardens, and hedges of the prickly pear; and the dense grass affords abundant pasture."

Behind the hills which bound the lake of Gennesareth on the west, there are some valleys, which tradition points out with some probability as the scenes of some of the transactions in the history of Our Lord. One of them is that in which he is supposed to have multiplied the seven loaves and fishes. This valley is long and of moderate width. The extremity, which advances towards the Lake of Gennesareth, is between Tiberias and Bethsaida. It is a fine valley, with green and abundant grass, and well capable of containing seated thereon a great number of people. Ransom.

Plain of Esdraëlon. Southward of the hills of Galilee, and between that province and Samaria, lies the Plain of Esdraëlon, known in Scripture as the "Plain of Megiddo." It measures about thirty miles in length from east to west, and eighteen in breadth from north to south. It is bounded on the north by the mountains of Galilee, and on the south by those of Samaria; on the east by Mount Tabor, the Little Hermon, and Gilboa, and on the west by Carmel, between which range and the mountains of Galilee is an outlet through which the Kishon winds its way to the bay of Acre.

Professor Robinson describes the impression of the first view of the great plain of Esdraëlon as almost overpowering. "Just below us, on the left, was a lovely little basin, or plain, a recess shut in among the mountains, and separated on the north from the great plain only by a slight ridge. I looked eagerly for the round summit of Tabor, but it was not visible; the mountain of Duly, the Little Hermon, rose in desert nakedness between, and shut out Tabor wholly from the view. Further west, the mountains rose boldly along the north side of the great plain; and the precipice S. by E. of Nazareth, to which an ecclesiastical tradition gives the name of the Mountain of the Precipitation,' was conspicuous, bearing N. 7° E.

"The plain of Esdraëlon is skirted on its southern side by low hills, running from Jenin in a W.N.W. direction, until they unite with an extension of the ridge of Carmel. Further south, these hills become higher, and form the mountains of Samaria. It is this extension of Carmel towards the S.E., consisting of a low ridge or range of hills, which separates the great southern plain along the coast from that of Esdraëlon. From the knoll on the west of Jenin, we could look out upon this part of the plain and the adjacent southern hills, which are very much lower and less bold than those on the northern side around Nazareth."

The plain of Esdraëlon is partially traversed from east to west by two low ranges of hills, (Gllboa and Little Hermon,) leaving between them a broad valley, supposed to be the Valley of Jezreel. See SAMARIA.

Southward of Mount Carmel, a rich plain extends along the coast of Palestine, the northern part of which was the Vale of Sharon, so celebrated for its beauty and productiveness. This plain continues, with a varying breadth, for an extent of more than one hundred miles, until beyond Gaza it loses its fertility, and sinks into the desert which forms the boundary between Syria and Egypt.

Jerusalem stands upon rocky ground, cut off on three sides from the surrounding country by intervening valleys. Of these the most extensive and important is the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which lies east of the city, between it and the Mount of Olives. It is rather more than a mile in length, but narrow, there being but few places in which its breadth exceeds two hundred yards.

Professor Robinson says, "The deep valley on the east of Jerusalem appears to be mentioned both in the Old and New Testament only under the name of the Brook or Torrent Kidron. Josephus also gives it only the same name. (2Sam. 15. 23; 1Kings 2. 38.) The prophet Joel speaks indeed of a valley of Jehoshaphat, in which God will judge the heathen for their oppression of the Jews; but this seems to be merely a metaphorical allusion to the signification of the name. There is not the slightest historical ground, either in the Scriptures or in Josephus, for connecting it with the valley of the Kidron. (Joel 3. 2,12.) Yet on this slender foundation appears to rest the present name of the valley, and also the belief current among the Catholics, Jews, and Mohammedans, that the last judgment will be held in it. The name Jehoshaphat, however, was already applied to it in the earliest ages of the Christian æra; for it is found in Eusebius, and other writers of the fourth century. There is therefore no good reason why we should not employ this name at the present day. The Arabs, too, have adopted it, under the form of Wady Yehoshafat. It is remarkable that no writer (at least so far as I have been able to discover) has given the topography of the upper part of this valley; nor correctly described either the place of its beginning, nor its course below the well of Nehemiah. One of the latest and most exact travellers has even said that it commences near the N. E. corner of the city." The Professor goes on to describe the region as full of excavated tombs; "and these continue with more or less frequency on both sides of the valley, all the way down to Jerusalem. The valley runs for fifteen minutes directly towards the city; it is here shallow and broad, and in some parts tilled, though very stony. The road follows along its bottom to the same point. The valley now turns nearly east, almost at a right angle, and passes to the northward of the tombs of the kings and the Muslim Wely before mentioned. Here it is about two hundred rods distant from the city; and the tract between is tolerably level ground, planted with olive-trees. The Nabulus road crosses it in this point, and ascends the hill on the north. The valley is here still shallow, and runs in the same direction for about ten minutes. It then bends again to the south, and following this general course, passes between the city and the Mount of Olives.

"The channel of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the Brook Kidron of the Scriptures, is nothing more than the dry bed of a wintry torrent, bearing marks of being occasionally swept over by a large volume of water. No stream flows here now, except during the heavy rains of winter, when the waters descend into it from the neighbouring hills. Yet even in winter there is no constant flow; and our friends, who had resided several years in the city, had never seen a stream running through the valley. Nor is there any evidence that there was anciently more water in it than at present. Like the wadys of the desert, the valley probably served of old, as now, only to drain off the waters of the rainy season."