tribes of Judah and Benjamin, twelve youths from either side fought with such ardor that they all fell dead (2 Samuel ii., 16).

In Gabaon also, Solomon sacrificed to God full a thousand men. Here the Lord appeared to him in a dream, promising to fulfil the wish of his heart, and to Solomon's desire for wisdom, joined riches and glory. Near here is the celebrated valley of Bethhoron, where the Israelites, under. Joshua, vanquished the Amorites. He applied to the Lord, and cried out before the whole of Israel, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon" (Joshua x., 12). And the sun stood still and the moon stayed till Adonizedec, King of Jerusalem, was vanquished.

8. Gideon's Spring.

The rocky cavern whence issues water of the fountain, clear as crystal. Near this place a celebrated battle was

fought; Gideon with his three hundred warriors vanquished the host of the Midianites. At this spring he tried the

bearing of his warriors by taking those only with him in his dangerous night expedition who, on coming to the spring after the hard day's march, drank water with the hands, and not those who bowed on the knees and drank with the mouth only.

It was night, and the Midianites were asleep. "The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the East lay along in the valleys like grasshoppers for multitude, and their camels were without number as the sand by the sea-side for multitude. . . . And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers" (Judges vii., 12, 16). So he drew near the camp of the Midianites. And at the moment the trumpets were blown and the pitchers broken, the Israelites holding the lamps with their left hands and the trumpets with their right, fell upon the panic-stricken foe with the cry, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon" (Judges chap. vii.).

9. The Valley of Ezdraelon.

This celebrated valley often witnessed the Israelitish struggles. On the right is Mount Gilboa, where Saul and his three sons were killed. On the left of Gilboa are the ruins of Jezreel, the residence of Ahab and Jezebel, where the latter was thrown from a window to the dogs. On the left of the small study one may see little Hermon, where the Philistines pitched camp before the battle against Saul; the Israelites occupied a position under Gilboa, near Gideon's spring; their position was bad, because the ground slopes towards the fountain, and thus gave the advantage to the Philistines. These put the Israelites to flight at once, so that the chief slaughter was probably on the heights, where the following day the bodies of Saul and his sons were found.

10. The Cave Endor.

Before the battle, as we know, Saul went to consult the Witch of Endor. His mission was not without danger, as the village of Endor is on the north side of little Hermon, at the foot of which was the camp of the Philistines. Saul turned to the right, and so could reach Endor "in two

hours' time." The witch predicted to the King his defeat and death. "And to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me:" (said the spirit of Samuel to the King), "the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hands of the Philistines" (1 Samuel xxviii., 19).

In the now very dirty village of Endor there are many caverns possibly one of these was inhabited by the witch. Before the entrance of the cave here represented, traces of a threshold may be seen; inside is a large room and another smaller beyond.

II. Beisan (Beth-shan).

The small green hill, seen in the distance, was the acropolis of an inaccessible fortress of the Philistines, the only one which the Israelites could never capture. The citadel

stood on the summit of the hill, and from a near point of view appears to be naturally of uncommon strength. Deep ditches and a wall surround it. The principal gates, now almost in ruins, may still be seen on the north side, and it is not improbable that on these very gates were suspended the bodies of Saul and Jonathan, killed on the adjacent heights of Gilboa. "And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa. And they cut of nis head and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols and among the people. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan" (1 Samuel xxxi., 8-10).

12. Beisan (Beth-shan) Theatre.

The same hill forms one side of a Roman theater, now completely overgrown with bushes, but the doors and passages are still well preserved. The building is semi-circular and entirely built of blocks of basalt. A great number of Christians, especially during the reign of Julian, were torn to pieces here by wild beasts.

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13. Solomon's Wall.

The six lower ranges of these splendid stones are beyond doubt of the time of David and Solomon, the next rows may be attributed to Herod, while the upper and smallest date from the Mohammedan period. This part of the great wall which surrounded the Temple is called The Wailing Place, because the Jews for a long time past have been in the habit of coming hither at first once a year on the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem (on payment of a heavy tax to the Mussulman authorities), and in more recent days as frequently as they wished-to bewail their past greatness and present dispersion. Seldom can anything more touching be seen. The Jews of both sexes and of all ages arrive from all parts of the world to pray and weep with loud cries, and literally to wash with their tears the sacred stones! On Friday the place is quite full of people from Palestine, Central Asia, India, Europe and especially from Russia-all praying in the most plaintive tones, beating their breasts, rocking their bodies to and fro, or leaning motionless against the stones and weeping, weeping, weeping!

The Jews seem to bring all their sorrows and misfortunes to this place. A woman approaches with unsteady gait, throws herself against the wall, and in an agonized voice implores God to give her back her dead child. Farther on two Jews, wearied with praying, are talking business. "Have you bought? What have you paid? Too dear!" and so on. After this interl ide they recommence praying and weeping.

An old rabbi is sitting in his corner on a stone or an empty wine box with the inevitable "Bordeaux" mark, and with eyes full of tears reads in his book: "O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps.