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VESTIGES OF ANCIENT TILLAGE.

ain, which are evidently the remains of a considerable ancient edifice. When, according to the testimony of our guides, we were six hours from Hebron, and at about half past one clock, we ascended a rugged limestone mountain, which employed three quarters of an hour. Much of its surface is composed of bare rock; but every intervening spot, unlike the dreary Desert, whether mountain or plain, upon which we had been so long accustomed to look, was covered with an abundance of grass and shrubs, affording rich pasturage for the herds of camels and flocks of sheep and goats, which were seen in great numbers grazing upon the slopes and summits of this and the neighbouring ridges. Cultivation has now wholly disappeared; but the remains of many ancient terraces on the hillsides point to those happier days when this forsaken region gave employment and sustenance to a numerous agricultural population. Even on the most rugged and forbidding parts of the mountain, the fragments of rock have been removed with great labour, apparently for the purpose of planting vines and fruit-trees, to which the situation seems well adapted. The rocks are in many places arranged in regular order, and planted firmly in the earth, forming, no doubt, ancient lines of demarcation between different estates and fields. If this supposition be correct, they show that a very minute division of land prevailed under the Jewish powers, and that a high value was set upon real estate even among these rugged hills. Upon the summit of the mountain is a well excavated in the solid rock, the work of the ancient owners of the soil.

We encamped in Wady Carmel, near a mountain of the same name. The valley is cultivated, and at present clothed with a good growth of wheat. The soil is a reddish clay, very adhesive, and apparently of great fertility. It rained hard some hours before we reached the place of our encampment, which was the first level spot, indeed the first spot of earth of sufficient extent for pitching our tents, which

RUINS OF CARMEL.

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we had seen after ascending the mountain. The rain continued during a considerable part of the night, accompanied with high winds.

April 7. Upon leaving our camp this morning we passed a large tower of a very solid construction, and in a tolerable state of preservation. It is surrounded by a glacis, and the long, narrow windows, resembling loopholes for musketry, would induce the belief that it was constructed since the invention of firearms, if we did not know that the present owners of Palestine seldom engage in works involving so much expense and toil. It is probably a fortress of the Middle Ages, erected during the conflicts between the Saracens and Crusaders. A multitude of strongholds remain in this "hill country of Judah." Several fallen and broken columns lie in front of this castle, and the ruins of a town cover the adjacent ground. In a valley near by is a large basin, at present full of greenish water. It has the appearance of having been constructed in the bottom of a quarry. We also passed some wells, which were probably made to supply the town with water.

These extensive ruins, no doubt, mark the site of the ancient Jewish city which bore the same name. Carmel is enumerated in the fifteenth chapter of Joshua, verse 55, as one of the cities of the tribe of Judah situated in the mountains. It is also mentioned, 1 Sam., xv., 12, as having been visited by Saul after his victory over the Amalekites. "Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place and is gone." This was the expedition in which Saul incurred the Divine displeasure by his disobedience and covetousness in sparing "Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them, but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly." It was this transaction which led to his rejection from the kingdom, and to the immediate consecration of David, of whose romantic ad

68

DAVID AND ABIGAIL.

ventures Carmel and its neighbourhood subsequently became the principal theatre. He spent much time with his troop of outlaws among the mountains and fastnesses of this region, which was probably chosen as a retreat as much on account of these natural advantages, as for the hope of greater security among the people of his own tribe.

Carmel was in the midst of the large estates of Nabal, and here he made the feast for his sheep-shearers, from a participation in which David was repulsed with such contempt and cutting sarcasm. The prudence and address of Abigail in averting the storm which the folly of her husband had so unwisely provoked, led, naturally enough, to the primitive courtship and marriage which followed, with such unseemly haste, the unlamented death of the churlish Nabal. “And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife. And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her, and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife." (1 Sam., XXV., 39-42.)

Two other towers, smaller than the one above described, appear upon the heights on the right, at a short distance from the road to Hebron. This mountain range seems to have been considered very important in a military point of view. It is near the frontier, between Palestine and Arabia, and peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the Bedouins, always the active and relentless enemies of civilized men. It is known also to have been a great thoroughfare for trade and travel under the Romans, and at a later, as well as, probably, at a more early period.

YOOTAH-VINEYARDS.

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In a little less than one hour from Carmel we passed in sight of a considerable town, lying on the higher ground a short distance to our left. The Bedouins call it Yotta or Yootah. This is, perhaps, the Juttan of Joshua, xv., 55.

At half past 10 A.M. we came among vineyards and olive-yards. They were enclosed, and looked very flourishing. The olive-trees are large, as are also the fig-trees, which appear in considerable numbers intermingled with the olives and vines. The way was excessively rough, passing along steep hillsides and through rocky valleys. The higher grounds appeared to be formed of solid limestone rock, but every space and break was occupied by a noble olive-tree, and the roughest parts of the mountain yield grass in abundance. It was half past 11 when we reached the valley, and approached the gates of Hebron. We stopped for some time near a large quadrangular basin, well built of squared stones and cement, and nearly full of greenish water. It is in good repair, and is used for watering the flocks which graze upon the fine pasturage afforded by the surrounding mountains.

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APPROACH TO HEBRON.

CHAPTER III.

The Environs of Hebron.-Lodgings. -Our Alouin Guides.-Their Indolence and Meanness.-Sheik Salim.-His Inefficiency and Disappointment.-Parting with the Bedouins.-Travelling on Camels.-My Dromedary. Camel's Furniture.-Oriental Style.-Description of the Camel.-Its Habits.-Waywardness and Powers of Endurance.-Camel and Dromedary.-Adaptation to the Desert.-Tolerance of Hunger and Thirst.-Description of Hebron.-Bazar.-Mosques.-Tombs of the Patriarchs.— Ancient Church.-Interview with a Mohammedan Priest at the great Mosque.-Bigotry of Schoolboys.-Probable Identity of the great Mosque with the Tombs of the Patriarchs.-Sepulchre of Abner.-Christians in Hebron.-The Jews.-Visit to the Rabbi.-Condition of these People in Hebron.-Visit to the Synagogues.-Public Worship.-Manuscript Pentateuch.—Antiquities of Hebron.-The great Mosque.-Cisterns.—Interesting Sight.-Collecting of the Flocks.-History of Hebron.-Population. -Insurrections.-Sack of the Town by the Egyptians.-Manufactures. --Commerce.-Flourishing Agriculture.-Journey from Hebron to Bethlehem, The Roads.-Cultivation.-Ruins.-The Ancient Route.--Timber.-Female Wood-cutters.-Ruins. - Military Works.-Reservoirs.— The Pools of Solomon.-Description of them.-Aqueduct.-Probable Antiquity of these Monuments.-Solomon's Gardens.-Saracen Fortress. -Arrival at Bethlehem.-Serious Accident.-Entrance of the Convent. -Description of Bethlehem.-Population.-Environs.-Flourishing Agriculture.-Insecurity of this Neighbourhood.-The Trinket Trade.— Convent of the Nativity.-The Church of Helena.-Greek and Armenian Chapels.-Grotto of the Nativity.-The Manger.-Altar of the Magi.— Religious Worship.-Irreverence.-Altar of the Innocents.-St. Jerome's Cell.-Tomb of Eusebius. -Remains of the Martyrs.-Occupants of the Convent.-David's Well.-Valley of the Shepherds.-Monkish Traditions.-Their Value.-Place of the Nativity.-Reflections.-Tomb of Rachel.- Convent of St. Elias.-Aspect of this Region.- Valley of Rephaim.-Arrival in Jerusalem.

HEBRON, April 7, 1840. We came in sight of Hebron a little after 11 o'clock. At the moment when that ancient city burst upon the view, we entered a romantic and well-cultivated region, the valleys covered with wheat, and the mountain sides terraced and planted with figs, vines, and olives. The transition was sudden and unlooked for, and the con