I confess that I gazed upon Mount Carmel with a slight sense of disappointment; but only because it did not quite correspond with the mental picture I had formed from the time that Scripture first made its name familiar to me. The length of the ridge diminishes the sense of height; and it becomes less lofty as it slopes off towards the sea, where the elevation is estimated at from nine hundred to one thousand feet above the sea level. The proper effect of Mount Carmel is however to be felt when occupying its summit, looking over the wide ocean-expanse, and again when seen from the heights of Acre. "The excellency of Carmel," if understood. to have consisted in its luxuriant fruitfulness, certainly appears to have passed away; for though in many parts it yet abounds with the ilex, and is skirted with a fine growth of noble olives, yet the word of the prophet Amos-when he said "The top of Carmel shall wither"—has been realized tr the letter.

We quitted our encampment in the plain at the usual time; and in about two hours reached Khaifa, from whence we obtained a charming view of the sea, and the bay of Acre. This little town has an inviting appearance, and the approach to it is very beautiful-through groves of palm, fig, and olive trees; but, like all Syrian towns and villages, it is wretched and uncleanly within. We passed as rapidly as possible through its crowded and untidy bazaars, and made our way to the Latin Convent a stately building of its kind, occupying one of the finest positions in the world, nearly on the very summit of Mount Carmel, overlooking the sea. The ascent is by an extremely steep road, quite as much as our stout little Arab horses and loaded mules could manage. We were received with the greatest kindness by an intelligent and courteous monk; and nothing could exceed the civility we received during the whole of our short sojourn on this notable mountain. The convent has been entirely rebuilt within the last twelve or thirteen years, and is upon a fine bold scale, and of most substantial masonry. It presents its lengthened front due west, and is three stories in height.

360

LATIN CONVENT ON MOUNT CARMEL.

The church is well constructed; and under the high altar is shown the cave in which the prophet Elijah is said to have dwelt. It may be so; and I dare say the monks believe it. Why should they not? The view from the roof is superb, in the full and real sense of the expression-and the sunset which I beheld was magnificent beyond description. Our accommodations in the convent were really comfortable. The sleeping-rooms are nice, airy, whitewashed habitations, with neat bed furniture, and as many conveniences as are usually afforded in those of an Italian hotel, which most travellers know are rather slender, after all. I could not join my friend and fellow traveller in exploring the mountain heights, on account of a sprain of my foot which happened at the Sea of Galilee, and kept me very much a prisoner, except when on horseback. But-it was enough to be on Mount Carmel— to realize in my mind the transactions of which it was the scene, as recorded in Scripture. It was there that Elijah "cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, Go up now, and look towards the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not "* And certainly, on some part of this mountain range it was, that the prophe gathered "all Israel". . . ." and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four huudred, which did eat at Jezebel's table. . . . . and came unto all the people and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: But if Baal, then follow him' -and there it was that the majesty and honor of the God of Israel were vindicated by a marvellous and miraculous interposition. The recollection of Mount Carmel will not be easily obliterated from my mind.

Next morning we took our leave of the friendly monks. * 1 Kings, xviii. 42-44. † 1 Kings, xviii. 19, &c.

SCHOOLS OF THE PROPHETS-ACRE.

361

and proceeded towards Acre, the fine commanding position of which was very distinctly visible from the heights of Mount Carmel. We descended by a difficult path winding along on the western slope of the mountain, for the purpose of visiting some ancient caves, over and about which, rude buildings have been erected. These are called, and supposed to have been, the "Schools of the Prophets." There is nothing remarkable about them, except the tradition. Again passing through Khaifa, we pursued our way towards Acre, keeping at the very brink of the sea all the time, so that the waves sometimes washed our horses hoofs. On the right was the farstretching plain of Acre, running up northward, and bounded on the east by the hills of Nazareth. This plain is well watered, and capable of great fertility-but alas! barrenness is its sad characteristic. It is indeed a melancholy thing to mark the capabilities of Syria and Palestine, and yet to see an impoverished and miserable population almost starving amidst the sources of abundance.

The bay of Acre is one of the finest things that can be seen. And every step which the traveller takes along its bold and graceful sweep, enables him to look back upon the noble ridge of Carmel, which then assumes its proper character and position. In about four hours we reached the gates of Acre, having crossed the shallow fords of the rivers Kishon and Belus, where they empty themselves into the sea, and are not deeper than the hocks of a small Arab horse. At the ford of the Belus, we met a large and picturesque group of Syrian Christians, male and female, dressed all in their best, and mostly mounted on horses, mules and asses, en route for Mount Carmel, for the purpose of attending a great festival, to be held in honor of the Virgin Mary. The convent was in all the stir of preparation when we left it.

On reaching Acre, what a scene of ruin presented itself! The history of its recent bombardment is fresh in the memory of most of my readers. There was no part which did not bear traces of the scathe of war. Many of its buildings appeared to have been thrown together as if by an earthquake.

362

ACRE-JOURNEY TOWARDS TYRE AND SIDON.

The fortifications were but yawning and tottering rumms; and in the very streets, cannon balls lay scattered about in great bundance. My lameness confined me to the saddle, so that I could not mount the ramparts or explore the ruins minutely; but I saw enough to make me shudder at the immediate consequences of even the most justifiable warfare. Some few efforts at restoration were being made; but they were slow and feeble. Many a year must elapse ere, even under the most favorable circumstances, the lost importance of Acre can be regained. The few bazaars which remain are poor and scanty, and seem to supply only the barest necessaries of life.

We now bent our steps towards Tyre and Sidon; and it was with no small interest that I looked forward to visiting scenes with which the mind forms such melancholy associations, while dwelling on the word of prophecy which has had its most exact fulfilment. We were still upon the plain of Acre, on which are several small villages surrounded with groves of fig trees, under one of which we took our noontide rest, and then passed onwards through several cultivated tracts of ground bearing their abundant crops of melons and cucumbers; while in the midst of the various allotments was to be seen the "lodge in a garden of cucumbers." The prolific character of the soil was very apparent, more particularly when we reached some fine gardens, after the Turkish taste, belonging to Ab'dallah Pasha. They are of great extent, and surrounded by plantations of the stately cypress, going up with its graceful spire, and contrasting its deep tints with the fresh glossy green of the orange and lemon trees which grow in profusion within the borders. Through the gardens runs a delicious stream, coursing its way from the hills eastward, towards the sea. We pitched our tents for the night near a fine spring of water, within about three hours of Tyre, called Ayùn el Masergi; and so near the sea, that on the following day we enjoyed the luxury of bathing. There were t:vo drawbacks upon the comfort of our encampment-the one was an incessantly clamorous chorus of frogs; the other, the danger of scorpions, of the poisonous kind, one of which was