Father is represented as an old man, in an extraordinary posture, with outstretched arms. Our guide understood the picture as it most naturally appeared, and informed us that it was Joseph! Just below this, is a smaller painting of our Saviour, of beautiful execution. In the aisle, priests were performing mass, and carrying a huge crucifix up and down, among a number of children, who were squatting on the floor, screaming in dolorous harmony to their chanting. What they were all doing here, it is difficult to say, and probably, they themselves would have a difficulty in telling us. It was after dark, that we were disturbed by the same set of children (I suppose) rushing in a body down towards the green, where we were encamped, shouting and screaming; and there they remained playing about till a late hour. I fancy it must have been a school under the care of the monks, as almost the entire population of Nazareth is Christian. We did not care to go and see the other traditionary places-such as Joseph's carpenter's shop, and the house where stands the table, at which our Lord was accustomed to eat with his disciples. We rather turned to what no traditions could affect or injure—the general features of the place itself, and the scenery about, which can never have undergone much change. Passing through a grove of cacti, we came to the well of the Virgin, which bears marks of very great antiquity, and it is very likely that some of the stone work is eighteen hundred and forty-eight years old. Here a group of women were busily employed in filling their water jars, aud washing their feet in the trough, into which the water flows.* *It is always the woman's business to draw the water. So it was in the most ancient times. (Gen. xxiv. 15. John iv. 7.) A man is never seen with a jar of water in his hand; and it is very doubtful if many of them ever make use of water at all, for they always look most excessively dirty. The women congregate in small parties, filling their tall-necked jars, and carrying them home on their heads. This is what makes their admirable figures, which they certainly possess. Passing on, we observed on the slope of the hill on which the town is built, a kind of deep quarry, with its side against the hill, perpendicular, to the height of twenty or thirty feet. This may, in all probability, have been the "brow of the hill," from which our Lord was on the point of being precipitated by his townspeople. The fall no doubt has been greater, as part at the bottom appears to have been filled up with rubbish. No other spot any where near the town seems to be more likely. The monks make out the place, to be more than a mile to the south of the town, forgetting that their theory would have the effect of damaging the credibility of all their present loca sancta. For it is expressly said that the Jews of Nazareth, led our Lord " to the brow of the hill on which their city was built." Now the spot of the monks cannot be said to be on the same hill on which their city is built; added to which, is it likely that the Jews would have taken all the trouble, whilst in an evident state of fury, to conduct our Lord more than a mile in order to destroy him, when they might have effected their purpose at a much shorter distance? Winding round the hill directly above the town, we gained the top, and were immediately rewarded with a most extensive and interesting panorama. Beginning with the promontory of Carmel towards the west, there was the broad Mediterranean, and Acre on its shore; then to the north lay the range of Jebel-esh-Sheikh, almost enveloped in clouds. Mount Tabor, again, stood towards the east; the view from its summit is not more extensive than what we were now enjoying;-and then towards the south was spread before us the whole plain of Esdraelon, dotted with all those interesting places of antiquity which we have noticed before-Nain, Endor, Taanach, &c. Confining your vision to a much less circle; on one side was a low undulating country in which lay Safariyah, the reputed residence of the family of the Virgin Mother; and on the other side, nestled Nazareth close under the hill. O! how often have those holy feet trod these paths, and his eyes viewed these very scenes, he who was indeed as a man among us, despised, and rejected of other men-still so vainly worshipped on earth-though adored by all the hosts of heaven! One place we looked into on our return from the mountain - that which is said to be the synagogue in which our Lord "stood up for to read, on the Sabbath-day." Is it this? March 18. On our way to Tiberias, we came along, not through the village, but on the outside of it, amongst hedges of the tall, prickly cactus, which flourishes so much about here. It is, I fancy, of the same genus as those which we see in our conservatories, only that in the East it grows to a size such as to form a most impracticable hedge.* It is curious to observe that the leaves themselves (if you can call them such,) turn into wood, and form the trunk and branches of the tree. So that the tree has not the usual cylindrical form of other trees, but preserves, in a great measure, the form of the leaf, and appears to be a series of thick leaves, each with the stalk of the one attached to the point of the other. When the leaves are decayed, they leave a strong, but most elegantly and delicately-worked fibred skeleton. Passing again by the fountain of the Virgin, we ascended the hill which bounds the valley of Nazareth on the north. Here we had a somewhat similar view, as that from the heights we climbed the day before. We then descended into a broad valley, whose course we followed the whole way to Tiberias. About an hour after leaving Nazareth, we passed through a little village, Kafr-el-Kana, supposed to be the Cana of Galilee, the scene of our Lord's first miracles. Here, our mules-which are the most curious animals, so knowing-looking, and yet so perverse persisted in making their way into an old woman's hovel. The frightful screeches that met them, very soon drove the surprised animals away, and we were presently assailed in return by a crowd of female remonstrants, who assembled to avenge their injured dignity. In the disturbance one of the impudent animals tripped up, and fell, borne to the ground with canteens and pormanteaus; it took us nearly half-an-hour to uncord him, and do him up again. Soon after, we met with a large body of pilgrims from Damascus― all making for Jerusalem. We were glad to hear better accounts of the place they had left, that it was not quite in such a disturbed state as we had been led to expect at Jerusalem. This was a considerable ease to our minds. Our plain seemed to rise towards the north-east; its soil was of a much darker and richer character than what we had previously seen; the cultivation seemed much better; large tracts were under the plough. We went a few hundred yards out of our way on the left, to visit a small remnant of antiquity; it is a reservoir encased with stone, in the vicinity of some massive foundations. Halfan-hour from Tiberias, we reached the edge of the hill overhanging the valley of the Jordan, and caught the first glimpse of the wooded and deeply-green cliffs on the other side of the lake. Then appeared the dark blue lake itself, immediately below Jebel-esh-Sheikh-Mount Hermon-stood straight to the north, a huge giant, clothed in white snow. Safed, "the city set on a hill which cannot be hid," a day's journey to the north-west, among the mountains. It is a town placed on a most remarkably high position, so that wherever you are, you must almost necessarily get a sight of it. At length we approached Tabaryiah—the ancient Tiberias. And as we rode underneath its embattled walls, we almost fancied ourselves in the crusading times, a party of armed pilgrims. We passed round the back of the town to the south side, near the lake, and proceeded to look about for a good halting-place, for we had to stay a whole day here. us. But such was not so easily found, as every thing was either ploughed, or ruins. With great difficulty we discovered a piece of tolerably level and hard ground; but as it was, there were the remains of an old wall immediately behind us, under every other stone of which lay hid a scorpion.* As we raised up each, the little reptile yawned in the middle of its long dormant sleep, and crawled away most reluctantly. It is very unpleasant to meet with these creatures, and yet I believe that their sting is not so bad as has been represented; though we never had occasion fortunately to try the experiment. They have a predilection for two places besides stone walls-the inside of your boots, and of your clean clothes. The former you may often find so tenanted in a morning; and in numberless instances they arrive from your laundress, as part of your dress. The centipede is a much more disagreeable, as well as a more dangerous creature than the scorpion. If ever you were inclined to faint at the sight of any animal, you would require sal volatile over this. It is about six inches long, with a jet black shining scaly body, about the diameter of a very thick drawing pencil; and then there are its hundred legs. It is a most disagreeable looking animal, to say the least of it, curled up as you see it, in the crevice of an old wall. It tortures you, by forcing all its hundred legs into you at once, after the manner of surgical cupping; and then inserting its venom, refuses to leave you—whilst driving you halfmad with pain. It generally has to be forcibly cut away. Tabariyah has evidently once upon a time been a strong and important place. But about ten years ago a terrible earthquake occurred, which shattered all its fortifications, cracked the walls, threw down the battlements and towers, and destroyed almost all the houses. Since this, the inhabitants, with an excess of prudence, have declined rebuilding any thing, lest it should some time or other all be thrown down again. So they live in wooden houses; and the city walls, * Amos v. 19. though they still look imposing and strong, are of no use whatever, and on a fine night, every now and then, the Arabs, for the sake of a little variety, burst in upon them through some gap, and make away with what they can get. It is to be wished that, in the present European republican spirit, they would make away also with the king of the fleas, whose metropolis this is, and whose court is here. It is the most notorious place in the country for them. Though we might have had accommodation in the town at the house of a Jew, we preferred being among scorpions to being amongst fleas. March 19. We are situated on one of the most lovely spots that nature ever formed: on the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret. There, opposite, on the eastern side, is a range of lofty cliffs, eight or nine hundred feet high, deeply furrowed with numerous chasms, all vividly green down to the water's edge, and speckled in places with still darker green foliage; then the ever-changing lake, now silvery and placid, now blue and rippling, now white and foaming-chameleon-like, all colours, at one time green, then blue, then silver, or purple; and the rich plain to the north, backed by the white snows of Hermon ;-and all this seen in the evening, by the crimson glow of an Eastern setting sun; and afterwards, when this has gone, by the light of the pale, full moonis one of the most lovely things in the world-one of the most beautiful things that ever met my eyes. And yet how tastes differ! Irby and Mangles note it down in their book as being a lake of no pretensions to beauty-rather the reverse! It may be, that, as we are advancing north, it approaches more to the freshness of our European scenes, and so strikes us more; but I think there must be something of beauty in it; or it would never enchant us so much. It is in It may probably be that the Arabs have already as many as they can do with. For the amount of live population that a prince of the Desert, a Bedouin Sheikh, carries about with him, is perfectly incredible; different species of the insect tribe, of all shapes and sizes! deed most fortunate that tastes do differ, that ideas disagree of what is beautiful and what is not beautifulwhat is pretty and not pretty. For if all men had the same ideal standard, what a confusion the world would be in; one half of the world would be left disregarded, whilst we were all fighting for the other half! It is a constitution of things not to be slightly overlooked. It gives us one little peep into the design, so evident in the world. But besides all the beauty of the scene, the associations connected with it render it doubly more interesting. How much used our Lord to be about here; how often has he glided backwards and forwards on those blue waters; how every inch of ground about the shore has been under his foot; how every little rise of land has heard the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth! Intensely interesting was it all to us, and thank ful were we that we were able to pass a quiet Sabbath on so sweet a spot. This was one of the most frequented places of our Lord's ministry. Here he passed a great part of his time; on that lake he had a boat of his own, manned by his own disciples, Peter and Andrew; and on that mountain beyond, he fed the five thousand with the five loaves and few small fishes. Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida too were once there, at the end of the lake; but where are they now? "Woe unto thee Chorazin! woe unto thee Bethsaida! ye that were exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell!" And now no one knows their sites; their names are no longer recognized in their own country; they and their history are but reserved in the book of the word of God, as a warning to all warned sinners. How strikingly is their fate penned by the poet for this day, (2nd Sunday in Lent.) 'Tis even so; the sovereign Lord of souls We were able to wander down to the water's edge, and see the land on the other side; but no boat is now here to take a traveller across. We preferred sitting at the open door of our tent, and from our low position to look upon all before us. It was not long after reading the Scripture account of the storm on this lake, (Luke viii. 23.) that we had an opportunity of witnessing something quite similar, shewing most evidently how suddenly these squalls do arise. All the morning, the air was perfectly still, and the water so glassy that the opposite hills were most distinctly reflected in it. We were watching this, and admiring it, about noon, when suddenly it began to blow, the lake appeared rippling, and gradually roughened, till the water was all in motion, and the waves were rising and foaming with great violence. The wind went down, the sea calmed, and in another hour all was as quiet and as glassy as before. Some travellers have pretended to perceive the current of the Jordan running right through the lake; and we almost fancied we saw it; but I think it can only be partial ripples; I do not think that any force with which the Jordan can come, could send it right through the water, any distance, much less the whole length of the lake, with an impetus perceptible. And another thing which seems to go to disprove the same point, is, that the Jordan enters muddy and discoloured, but leaves it clear as crystal, evidently shewing that the water which leaves, is the water of the lake, and not immediately that of the Jordan as it enters. There are many volcanic appearances in various parts of the country about here; and these are confirmed by the late earthquake. Numerous hot springs run down from the mountains on both sides, into the lake. Some of them supply baths built by Ibrahim Pacha; the water is too hot to keep one's hand in. The lake is about fifteen miles long, and on an average about four or six broad. The fish in it are very numerous, both in variety and in quantity; but some that we tasted were not particularly excellent. In the vicinity of Tiberias are many Roman remains-broken shafts and capitals of columns. It is one of the holy places of the Jews, who number 800 out of a population of 2000. It was about nine o'clock on this night, that we were sitting inside our tent, just thinking of retiring to bed, when the door was gently pushed aside, and in walked our dragoman, with a great look of alarm, and a face as pale as an Arab's could well be;"Gentlemen, gentlemen, come see what matter with moon -all red, all blood!" We immediately rushed out to see what was the matter with it, and soon recognized the interesting phenomenon of a total eclipse. But Selim was not so easily satisfied as ourselves, nothing would persuade him that there was not something dangerous in the thing. And certainly it did look rather awful to see the moon, usually so very bright here, such a dark red against the black blue sky. The people of the town were equally alarmed with Selim. As soon as they got to know what was the matter, they collected all the sonorous materials they could lay their hands onall the pots and pans, all the guns, pistols, and matchlocks, and rushing out of the walls, began to make the most discordant noises yellings, clangings, and firings, with the intention of putting a stop to the eclipse. For these people account for it in a very philosophical way; they consider that an evil spirit has taken possession of the moon; and the most obvious way of getting rid of him, is to frighten him out! He was a long time in going, for they continued their unearthly disturbances the greater part of the night; and no doubt, when the moon became herself again, our intelligent friends thought that perseverance will sometimes do a great deal, since in the present case, it had positively, after a whole night's hard work, sent the spirit outfrightened, or shot through-it is difficult to say which! (To be continued.) THE COMFORTER. If OH! the promised Comforter. his influence was so great as to make it expedient and desirable for the disciples to lose the personal presence of their Lord, because, otherwise, the Comforter would not come, how much more should we think it sufficient to make amends for the removal of any mere creature, however dear! Can our attachment be stronger to our friends than that of the disciples was to their dear Lord, who conversed with them so kindly, was their Teacher, Friend, and Provider ! Yet, when they saw him ascend, they departed rejoicing. If they could be comfortable and happy without him, cannot the same Comforter make us so, though we no longer see wife, or child, or friend, whom we loved?-Newton's Letters to Bull. |