which the Israelites made there on account of the dreadful message they received from God for their disobedience; and the valley of Elah, famous for the defeat of Goliath and the Philistines, by David, and his royal patron Saul.

There were likewise several noted plains in Palestine, viz. the great plain, through which the river Jordan runs; the plain of Jezreel, which extended from Scythopolis to Moant Carmel; Sharon, where the Gadites are supposed to have fed their numerous flocks and herds; Sephelah, which extended westward and southward of Eleutheroplis; Jericho, much celebrated for its palm-trees, balm, shrub, and rose trees; and many others.

The deserts and wildernesses of this country are mentioned in the sacred history; these are not, however, to be understood of places quite barren or uninhabited; for several of them contained cities and villages. The word, therefore, commonly meant no more than a tract that produced neither corn, wine, nor oil, but was left to the spontaneous productions of nature. The most noted of these deserts were Arnon, in which the river of that name runs through the land of Gilead; Ziph, where David sought an asylum from persecution; Cadesh, near CadeshBarneah, on the south side of Judah, mentioned as the place where Moses and Aaron were chastised for smiting the rock; Mahon, on the south of Jeshimon; Tekoah, Bezer, Gibeon, and several others.

Among the woods or forests, mentioned in Scripture, were those of Hareth, whither David withdrew from Saul; Ephraim, where Absalom VOL, IL. received

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received the just reward of his rebellion; Lebanon, where Solomon built a magnificent palace; and Bethol, whence the she bears came and de voured the children who insulted the prophet Elisha.

Of the seas there are commonly reckoned five, viz. the Mediterranean, the Dead sea, the sea of Tiberias, the Samachonite sea, or lake, and the sea of Jazer. The first of these has been frequently described by travellers: the second, called by some authors the Asphaltite lake, is so impregnated with salt that those who dive be neath its surface are immediately covered with a kind of brine; and vast quantities of bitumen are thrown, by its waves, upon the shore: the third is highly commended by Josephus for the sweetness and coolness of its water, and variety of excellent fish: the fourth is famed only for the thickness of its water, from which it is sup→ posed to have derived its name: and the fifth is no other than a small lake in the vicinity of the city of Jazer,

The Jordan is the most considerable of the rivers, and indeed the only stream that merits the name; as the Arnon, Jabbok, Chereth, Sorek, Kishon, Bosor, &c. are but brooks or rivulets in comparison of this, or the Euphrates. It has its source at the famous lake of Phiala, about ten miles north of that of Samachon; its course is mostly southward, inclining a few degrees toward the west; its breadth has been compared to that of the Thames at Windsor; its depth is said to be three yards at the very brink; its rapidity considerable; and the scenery of its banks varied, according to the places which it

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intersects. In ancient times it overflowed about the season of the early harvest, or soon after Easter; but it is no longer subject to this inundation. The plain on both sides, from the sea of Tiberias, to the Asphaltite lake, is extremely arid and unwholesome during the heat of sum mer, and every-where steril, except that part which lies contiguous to the river.

Among the most remarkable curiosities of Palestine may be justly reckoned various petrifactions in the neighbourhood of mount Carmel, which bear the most exact resemblance to citrons, melons, olives, peaches, and other vegetable productions. Here are also found a kind of oysters, and bunches of grapes of the same consistence. Small round stones, resembling peas, have been frequently seen on a spot of ground near Rachel's tomb, not far from Bethlehem. On the same road is a fountain, honoured with the name of " Apostle's Fountain ;" and a little further is a barren, rugged, and dismal solitude, to which our Saviour is said to have retired when he was tempted by the Devil. In this desert appears a steep and craggy mountain, on the summit of which are two chapels. There are also several gloomy caverns in the neighbourhood, formerly the solitary retreat of Christian anchorets.

Under this class must also be ranked the hot and medicinal waters of Palestine; the saline efflorescences observed at the distance of a few leagues from the Dead sea; and the celebrated fruit, called by the Arabs zachone, which grows on a kind of thorny bush, and resembles a small unripe walnut.

Among the artificial rarities may be consi

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dered the ruins of Ptolemais*; or St.John d'Acre, which still retain many vestiges of ancient magnificence; such as the remains of a noble Gothic cathedral, formerly dedicated to St. Andrew; the church of St. John, the titular saint of the city; the convents of the knights hospitallers; and the palace of their grand master. The remains of Sebaste, the ancient Samaria, though long ago laid in ruins, and great part of it turned into arable land, exhibit some marks of those sumptuous edifices with which it was adorned by king Herod. Toward the north side is a large square piazza, encompassed with marble pillars, together with the fragments of strong walls at some distance. But the most remarkable object is a church, said to have been built by the empress Helena, over the place where St. John the Baptist, was beheaded, the dome of which, together with some beautiful columns, capitals, and mosaic work, prove it to have been a noble fabric.

Jacob's well is highly venerated by Christian travellers, on account of its antiquity, and of our Redeemer's conference with the woman of Samaria. It is hewn out of the solid rock, about thirty-five yards in depth, and three in diameter, and is at present covered with a stone vault.

This city had two walls well flanked with towers and other bulwarks; and each wall had a ditch lined with stone. But now those works are overthrown, and their fragments appear like a succession of huge rocks. About half a mile east of the town is a curious pyramidal hill, so improved by art that its steepness renders it altogether inaccessible, except on the south-west side. On this eminence the bashaw commonly pitches his pavillion, when he takes this town in his circuit.

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The pools of Solomon, supposed to have been made by order of that monarch for the supply of his palaces, gardens, and even the metropolis itself, still appear to have been a work of immense cost and labour. Such are also the sealed fountains immediately opposite. These pools are three in a row, one over the other, and disposed in such a manner that the water of the uppermost may fall into the second, and from the second into the third. They are all quadrangu lar, and of an unequal breadth, viz. about ninety paces; but in length they differ, the first being one hundred and sixty paces, the second two hundred, and the third two hundred and twenty they are all of a considerable depth, walled and plastered, and contain a large quantity of water. At the distance of one hundred and twenty paces is the spring which supplies them. The aqueduct is built on a foundation of stones, and the water runs in earthen pipes about ten inches in diameter. This work anciently extended several leagues, but at present there are only some fragments of it to be found. The gardens of Solomon have also been long destroyed, and the ground is said to appear almost incapable of cultivation.

The famous pools of Gihon and Bethesda may be ranked among the most stately ruins: the former is situated about a quarter of a mile from Bethlehem-gate westward: its length is a hundred and six paces, and its breadth sixty-seven. It is lined with wall and plaster, and contains a considerable store of water. The other, at Jerusalem, is one hundred and twenty paces long, forty broad, and eight deep; but at present it is dry.

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