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they instantly followed me, and an unexpected discharge drove our assailants to seek shelter behind the masses of rock near the cave. A regular skirmish now commenced, in which we kept up a retreating fire, and often exposed ourselves to their shot for the sake of getting to our mules at the foot of the hill. During a full hour of this kind of running fight, none of our own party was hurt. From the first, it seemed evident to us that we had been betrayed by our Deborah guide, and our notion was at length confirmed, by his going over to the assailing party and using his arms against us. Fortunately, and justly too, this man was himself wounded by a ball from my musket, and when he fell shricking on the side of the hill, his companions hastened to his relief, while we profited by the alarm of the moment to continue our retreat, and rejoin our mules below.

Here we drew off at a short distance from the village of Deborah, and, with arms in our hands, being exhausted and fatigued, refreshed ourselves beneath a tree; but we had not yet remounted, when a large party, professing to be from the governor or sheikh of Deborah, a village consisting only of a few huts, came to sequester our beasts for what they called the public service. We treated this with a proper degree of warmth, and threatened death to the first that should dare to lay hands on any thing belonging to us; so that these brave villagers kept aloof.

My Nazarene guide, however, was so sickened by the obstacles which we had already met with, and alarmed at the prospect of new ones, that he declined to proceed any farther, and insisted on our return to Nazareth until more effectual measures could be taken for the safe prosecution of our journey.

In our return, we took what he considered to be a less dangerous route than that by which we had come out, and lying a little to the northward of it. On leaving the foot of Mount Tabor, we ascended rocky ground to the north; and in an hour afterwards, or about four o'clock, we passed close to the village of Ain-Hamil, on a hill. It was about five o'clock when we entered the village

of Cana of Galilee *, which is seated on the brow of a hill, facing the west, and is hemmed in by a narrow valley.

It has a ruined catholic church, with a door-way towards the north, and two pillars built in the front wall, showing their ends outwards. Opposite to it is a small Greek church, all the Christians here being of that communion. There are from fifty to sixty houses only in the whole, and less than half the population are Mahommedan.

Not a vestige of broken water-pots was now to be seen, as stated by some travellers, and thought by them to be a remarkable proof of the identity of the place where water was turned to wine.† We observed, however, an ancient sarcophagus near a well, at the foot of the road leading up to the village, having on its outer side, coarsely sculptured circles or globes, with drapery of festoons in relief. There is a large evergreen tree on the west of the town, and though the ground in the neighbourhood is stoney, it is partially cultivated.

Ascending and descending hills, we came at six o'clock to the village of Renny, similarly situated to that of Cana. We there observed, between two large wells, a sarcophagus exactly of the same description as that already mentioned, and like it used as a water-trough. We had a rocky road all the way from thence to Nazareth; which we entered about eight o'clock, from the eastward, descending a hill so steep and rugged that our mules fell repeatedly, and at every fall satisfied us that there was no long valley in that direction, as had been critically maintained.

* Celebrated for the first of Christ's miracles, at a marriage-feast there, at which he was a guest. St. John, chap. ii. Cluverius, l. v. c. 21. p. 370.

† Dr. Clarke and the Quarterly Reviewers.

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CHAPTER VII.

MOUNT CARMEL, DORA, AND CÆSAREA.

JANUARY 13th. Being obliged to return to the sea-coast, we left Nazareth at nine o'clock, and passed many caves in the rock to the southward of the town. These were no doubt formerly the habitations of the Nazarenes, like the grotto of Mary and Joseph; as, even now, several of them serve as dwellings. When on the hill above the town, we gave this scene a last survey, but still saw no valley opening in any direction from its hollow basin.

At half past nine we first opened a small round vale on the left or west, in which stood the little village of Yaffa, with a few datetrees; and a little further on, in the same direction, was the small village of Samoeeah, on a hill, with the plain of Esdraelon beyond it.

Descending a rocky hill, we came, at half past ten, to the village of Ghierbee. This is also on a hill, with wells at the foot of it, and caves near them, hewn beneath a steep cliff.

At eleven we entered the plain of Esdraelon, and continued over it until twelve, when we ascended a gentle hill, passed a deserted village, and entered on a second plain, leaving on a hill,

Josephus, in his account of Herod's actions, says, " And he passed on to Sepphoris through a very deep snow, while Antigonus's garrisons withdrew themselves, and had great plenty of provisions. He also went thence and resolved to destroy those robbers that dwelt in the caves, and did much mischief in the country. So he sent a troop of horsemen, and three companies of armed footmen against them. They were very near to a village called Arbela. Ant. 1. xiv. c. 15. 4. Q

about a mile on the left, a village, the name of which we could not learn.

From hence we ascended again, and coming in sight of the bay of Accha, entered at one o'clock on the extensive plain which leads from hence southerly to the sea, on the north, and from the foot of the range of Mount Carmel westerly till it joins the plain of Zabulon on the east. Between the hills over which we came down upon it and the range of Carmel, is a pass coming out from the plain of Esdraelon, through which the river Kishon finds its way. We soon crossed the bed of this river, now dry from the failure of the winter rains: it is called here Nahr-el-Mukutta, and winding its course through the plain, it discharges itself into the sea near Caypha. * On the left we had the small village of Sheikh Ibrahik, and a little further on we passed between Arbay † on a hill to the right, and Yajoor, under Carmel, to the left.

We again forded the river under that range, and at three reached the village of Belled-el-Sheikh, where we drank at a well from the pitcher of some handsome Syrian women, and observed again some boys playing at cricket. We saw the river Kishon now full and winding; and at four, continuing still along the foot of Carmel, reached Caypha, where we were kindly received by Padre Julio, of Malta, a carmelite friar. In his poor habitation we enjoyed a frugal supper and slept in the church, which was a small room not more than fifteen feet by eight, containing an humble altar and a profusion of gaudy ornaments surrounding an ill-executed picture of the Virgin.

14th. We arose early, and walked around the town of Caypha. It is walled and badly fortified, having two gates opening to the north and south, with only six cannon mounted on the ramparts. It was also entirely without guards, as the troops had all departed

Pliny describes the river Belus as coming out of the lake Ceudivia, at the foot of Carmel, (Nat. Hist. b. v. c. 19.) but, as we have seen before, Belus was nearer to Ptolemais, and he must have confounded this stream with the Kishon.

+ Probably the Arbela mentioned in the preceding note.

for Damascus. The population was estimated at about a thousand souls, and these chiefly Mohammedan, the rest being made up of Catholic and Maronite Christians, and Druses. The women of this last class here wear a horn pointing backwards from the crown of their heads, which distinguishes them from those of the other sects of religion, as well as from the Druses of Mount Lebanon, who wear a similar horn pointing forwards.

There are two mosques, one of which was formerly a Christian church; besides the small chapel for the Catholics and Maronites, who both attend worship together in the room in which I had slept on the preceding night; and all parties are said to live in harmony.

Caypha is thought to be the old Calamon, which in the Jerusalem itinerary is placed at twelve miles from Ptolemais *; and Sycaminos, which is only three miles from this in the way to Jerusalem, is placed by Ptolemy in the same latitude as Mount Carmel. † This is to be distinguished, however, from the Calamos, in Phonicia, of Strabo and Pliny; as Polybius furnishes us with details which fix the site of that place on the northern coast of Syria, between Ladikea and Bairoot. ‡ Caypha is said to derive its present name from "Hepha" or "Kepha," expressive of the rocky ground on which it is built. It is called Cayphos in the old histories of the crusaders §, the name which it still retains.

Quitting Caypha at seven o'clock, and walking along the plain between the eastern foot of Carmel and the bay, through thicklyplanted olive-trees and cultivated ground, we ascended to the summit of the mountain, while the mules went round the common path-way encompassing the promontory by the sea-shore.

• Pococke's Description of the East, vol. i. p. 55.

+ Cellarius, Geog. Antiq. lib. iii. c. 13. p. 809.

"Antiochus arriving now at Marathos, was met there by the people of Aradus. He then entered Syria along the mountain called Theoprosopor, and came to Berytus; having taken Botrys in his march, and set fire to Calamus and Triers." Polybius, 1. v. c. 6. s. 10.

Hakluyt's Collection, vol. ii. p. 47. 4to.

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