THE BROOK CHERITH.

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Cherith, that is before Jordan." Now, this word before, taken in its ordinary English sense as meaning in front of, or opposite to, would be descriptive of no one particular locality whatever. Every tributary that falls from either side into the Jordan, from Hermon to the Dead Sea, must, in that sense, be before Jordan. But in Old Testament Scripture, when used to describe the position of one place with reference to that of another, this term before, signifies to the east of that other place, or, in other words, in the direction of the rising sun. Besides, when Elijah fled from the presence of Ahab to seek this hiding-place, the Lord said—"Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward." But the WadyKelt is not eastward but southward from Jezreel, where Ahab was. And further still, when the brook Cherith at length failed, and Elijah had in conséquence to remove elsewhere, the Lord commanded him saying-" Arise, get thee to Zarephath which belongeth to Zidon." Now, to pass from the neighbourhood of Jericho to Zarephath would almost unavoidably have led Elijah right through Ahab's kingdom of Samaria, and have thereby exposed him to the very danger it was his object to shun. If, on the other hand, the true Cherith lay eastwards from Jezreel, and beyond the Jordan,-somewhere, it may be, in the hill country of Golan or Bashan, he would simply, on leaving it, have to cross the country along the north border of Galilee, by a short and almost straight line, in order to reach the sea-coast at Zarephath, in the country of Zidon. In making such a movement he would be altogether out of Ahab's reach. Upon the whole, therefore, I am not disposed to accept the Kelt as the Cherith of Elijah.

There seems less reason to doubt that the Wady-Kelt is the valley of Achor, where Achan, for his trespass at the taking of Jericho, was stoned to death. It was in a valley adjacent to the fallen city, where that stern deed was done; and there is no other valley so notable as this near it. There is a passage, moreover, in the book of Isaiah, where a little light is thrown indirectly upon this question, and it is of a kind to favour the same

idea. In one of the prophecies of that book, when speaking of a period of future and distinguished blessing as being in store for Israel, it is said, among other things descriptive of this happy era, that the valley of Achor shall be "a place for the herds to lie down in" (lxv. 10). This expression evidently implies that, in connection with the conspicuous change that was to pass upon the land, Achor should become a place of safety, if not also of fertility, which is precisely the kind of contrast that would be applicable to such a valley as the Wady-Kelt, which from Isaiah's days until now would seem to have been a proverb for both danger and barrenness.

As we rode slowly up the steep and rugged bridle-path that winds, now along the bottom of the pass, now far up the side of the beetling cliffs that wall it in, it was impossible not to feel how utterly helpless one must be if attacked in such a place. It is the natural home of the eagle and the brigand. No one who has seen it will wonder to read, in our Lord's parable of the traveller that went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, that "he fell among thieves." In our Lord's time, when so many persons must have been daily passing through this valley, the robber's trade could hardly fail to have been a thriving one. Even now, when travellers are so few, the Bedouin still contrive to do a little in the old line-enough at least to preserve the ancient reputation of the place.

As for us, however, we met with no adventure of any kind in the Wady-Kelt. With regard to the peculiar character of its scenery, its utter loneliness and savage grandeur would, no doubt, have struck us more had we not, on the preceding day, become familiar with scenery of a similar sort in the gorge of Mar-Saba, and in the Nakb-Kaneitarah, when descending from the wilderness of Judah to the shores of the Dead Sea.

About midway between Jericho and Jerusalem, where the valley, narrowing and becoming shallower and tamer as it ascends, begins to lose itself among the hill tops, there are ruins by the wayside of an extensive building-probably a castle or

THE GOOD SAMARITAN'S INN.

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khan, or, perhaps, partly both-which may have been the old half-way house of this somewhat perilous road. The parable of the good Samaritan implies that there was an inn somewhere in this neighbourhood; and there is nothing at all unlikely in the supposition that it may have stood on this very spot. There is a fine well close beside it-deep, and evidently old-which coincides with the same idea. We dismounted near it, at a turn of the road where "the shadow of a great rock" afforded the only shelter we had met with from the oppressive heat and glare of the sun, since leaving Jericho, in that "weary land." There we enjoyed a half-hour's delightful rest, rendered still more refreshing by copious draughts of water, perfectly pure and cold, from the adjoining well. Beyond this point the hills, though still brown and bare, were less arid and rocky than we had found them near Jericho. We had now the Mount of Olives in sight; and as we approached it traces of cultivation began to appear in the open upland valley, along which our path kept winding still onwards and upwards among the hills. At the head of this upper valley we came to the well-known fountain, sometimes called the Well of the Apostles, from some tradition that they drank of its waters as they came up with their Divine Master from Jericho to the Holy City. It is the fountain spoken of, in the early part of this chapter, as being held by some to be the En-shemesh of Judah's north border, and whose claims to this distinction I ventured to dispute in favour of the other fountain, some miles to the south of it, on the way to Mar-Saba. The Arabs call it Ain-el-Haud.

From this fountain, which discharges itself from under a little Saracenic arch into a stone trough in front of it, the road rises all at once, by a very sharp ascent, out of the valley, and passing over the rocky ridge above, drops down upon the sweet sequestered village of Bethany, which lies in a hollow on the opposite side. We were only too happy to have this opportunity of paying a second visit to the village of Mary and Martha; the favourite resort of our blessed Lord. At this point we fell, of

course, into the same road along which we had traced His sacred steps, less than a week before. Round the shoulder of Olivet we now again took our way, crossed the valley of Jehoshaphat at Gethsemane, and re-entering the city by St. Stephen's gate, we found ourselves, about mid-day, once more established in our clean and comfortable quarters in Max's private hôtel. The afternoon was devoted to the writing out of my notes on this glorious excursion. In the evening, accompanied by my friend Mr. Stevenson, the only other individual of our company who had any strength remaining, I joined a large party, to which we had been all invited, at the bishop's. In conversation there with Dr. Macgowan, Dr. Valentiner, and others, whom the party included-able and accomplished men, long resident in Judea, and thoroughly acquainted with it-I was glad to have the opportunity of talking over the scenes I had visited, and the opinions at which I had arrived; and of getting my views on doubtful points either corrected or confirmed. When at length the party broke up, both my fellow-traveller and myself were so thoroughly worn out that we could with difficulty drag our limbs after us, as, guided through the dark streets by the glimmer of the paper lantern carried before us, we made our way home.

PREPARING TO LEAVE JERUSALEM

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CHAPTER VIII.

Preparations for leaving the city-Hiring of horses and signing of contracts -Delays-Trials of patience-A weary night—At length all is readyThe long cavalcade defiles at sunrise through the streets-Issue forth by Jaffa gate-Ascend Scopus-Farewell view of Jerusalem-Reflections-Territory of the tribe of Benjamin-Its aspect and characterIts cities, Nob, Gibeah, Ramah-The Gibeonites and their townsBireh, the ancient Beeroth-Bethel and Ai-Ain-Yebrad, its fertilityThe country improves on entering territory of Ephraim-Sinjil-Seilân, the ancient Shiloh-Lubbân, or Lebonah-Its ruined khan and rich plain-First sight of Gerizim and Ebal-The plain of Mukhna-Enter the valley of Shechem in the dark-Camping ground outside of Nablouse -A Sabbath at Jacob's Well and Joseph's Tomb-The Samaritans of Nablouse-Their synagogue and sacred books, and old antipathies— -Nablouse and its people-Samaria-Jeba-Sanûr-An unexpected military escort and their mimic fights-Dothan identified-Kefr-Khud, and the deep defile beneath it-Jenin, the ancient En-gannim, and its turbulent people—The plain of Jezreel —Threatening affair with the Bedouin in crossing it—Arrive at Nazareth.

HAVING engaged to meet our friend Mr. Tennent on a given day at Damascus, the time was now come when we must prepare to leave Jerusalem. Gladly should we have turned days into weeks, had this been possible, that we might visit and revisit, over and over again, the countless scenes, so full of sacred interest, with which the city and its environs abound. Had our leisure been greater, our labour would certainly have been less, though it may, perhaps, be doubted whether, in that event, we should have accomplished much more than we actually did. At any rate, we had made the most of our opportunities and For myself I felt it to be an ample recompense for all the exhausting labour of the busy week that had passed since

means.