numerous and not less interesting than those given to the Father of the Faith- Promise ful, when the Lord said, "Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee." It is given to me also, and I mean to make it mine from Dan to Beersheba before I leave it.

" 2

Doubtless; and so every young enthusiast in trade means to make his fortune. But do you expect to gain such an inheritance as this in a few months? Abraham himself never set foot on one-tenth of this territory, and Moses only got a bird's-eye view of it-not a bad one, though, if the day was as intensely clear as ours is. One seems to look quite to the bottom of heaven's profoundest azure, "where the everlasting stars abide ;" and how sharply defined is every rock and ravine, and tree and house on lofty Lebanon. That virgin snow on its summit is thirty miles off, and yet you could almost read your own name there, if written with a bold hand on its calm, cold brow. Through such utter transparency did the Lord show unto Moses, from the top of Mount Abarim, “all

[1 Beirût was included in the Land of Promise, but hardly in the land of possession, being one of the sea-ports of Phoenicia-a country that continued, after the settlement of the Israelites, to be inhabited by the remarkable people to whom it gave its name. The great size and importance of Beirût are quite modern, attained, indeed, within the last thirty years. They are due to its foreign commerce, there being regular steam-commuuication with France and Austria, and occasionally with Britain. It is the most thriving commercial city of Syria, and is the residence of the British consul. It is not mentioned in Scripture, at least under its present name.-ED]

2 Gen. xiii. 17.

PART

I.

the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the utmost sea, and the south, and Views of the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar." 1 Nor need Palestine. there have been any miracle in the matter. Though an hundred and twenty

From

Lebanon.

years old, "his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated."2 And I can guide you to many a Pisgah on Lebanon and Hermon from whence the view is far more extensive. It was through such an atmosphere as this, I suppose, that the old Phoenicians first saw Cyprus, and called it Chittim, a name afterward applied by Hebrew poets and prophets to the islands of the Mediterranean in general. I have heard it denied, both in and out of Palestine, that Cyprus could be seen from Lebanon; but from many a stand-point up yonder I have often beheld that favourite isle of the Paphian Venus glowing in the golden light of our summer evenings. More distinctly still is Lebanon visible from Cyprus. There is a splendid view of it from the mountain of the Cross, a few miles back of Larnica; and many years ago, when travelling through the island, I climbed, with infinite toil, the northern range of mountains to a giddy pinnacle, not far from the ruined but romantic castle of Bûffavento, and from it the higher half of Lebanon looked like a huge snow-bank drifted up against the sky. Beneath my feet rolled the sparkling seas of Cilicia and Pamphylia, over which Paul sailed on his way to Rome; while, far beyond, the glaciers of Taurus flashed back the setting sun. Through such an atmosphere, objects are visible to a distance quite incredible to the inexperienced. You will find yourself deceived in this matter a hundred times before you have travelled a week in Syria. And now we are abroad, shall we ramble on ala bab Allah (towards God's gate), as our Arabs say when they neither know nor care where they are going?

Just my case at present. Where all is new, and every prospect pleases, it matters little what path we take, and, for the moment, I am thinking of what is not seen rather than what is.

Looking for an omnibus, perhaps, or expecting the cars to overtake us ?

Not just that. I know that such things are not yet found in Syria; but I am greatly surprised at the absence of all wheeled vehicles, and look round at every fresh noise, expecting to see a cart, or dray, or waggon of some kind or other, but am always disappointed.

And will be. There is nothing of the sort in Syria; neither is there street or road for them in any part of the land. How do you account for this? travelling and chariots at a very early age.

Modes of

It was not always so. We read of carriages Joseph sent waggons for the wives and little ones of his father's family.3 Jacob's funeral was attended by chariots from Egypt to Hebron.4 The Canaanites had chariots in the time of Joshua. Judah could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron. Jaban had nine hundred,7 and the Philistines thirty thousand (?) in the

I.

Chariots

reign of Saul.1 Isaiah rebuked the children of Israel because there was no end cHAPTER to their chariots;2 and thus it continued down to the time when Philip joined himself to the chariot of the eunuch on the road to Gaza. Throughout all this long period there were countless carriages in this country, and, of necessity, roads for them. How is it that now there is neither the one nor the other? Natural enough, and very appropriate. The first inquiry of a sensible traveller in a strange land will have reference to the means of locomotion. As to your question, however, the natives will tell you that carriage-roads cannot be made in Syria. But this is a mistake. They might be constructed, at a Roads in moderate expense, in nearly all parts of the country. Their total disappear- Syria. ance can easily be explained. When the wild Arabs of the Mohammedan desolation became masters, wheeled vehicles immediately sunk into neglect, and even contempt. Accustomed only to the horse, the camel, and the ass, they despised all other means of travel and transportation. Good roads were not necessary for them, and, being neglected, they quickly disappeared from the land, and carriages with them. Nor will they ever re-appear till some other race than the Arab predominates, and a better than the Turk governs. Even the Christian inhabitants of Lebanon, where good roads are most needed, have no adequate appreciation of them, and take no pains to make them. They drive their loaded camels, mules, and donkeys along frightful paths, and endanger their own necks by riding over the same, from generation to generation, without dreaming of any improvement. You must educate your nerves into indifference in this matter, and get ready as fast as possible to flounder Loaded over all sorts of break-neck places in the course of our pilgrimage.

"What man has done, man can do." I have all my life been accustomed to the saddle, and like it; and a little danger now and then will impart additional charms to the tour.-What tree is this which over

shadows our path? It is more bushy and thick-set than the apple-tree, for which I at first mistook it, and as we near it, I see that the leaves are longer and of a much darker green.

4

That is the kharûb-the tree that bore the husks which the swine did eat, and with which the poor prodigal would have filled his belly. The "husks"-a mistranslation-are fleshy pods somewhat like those of the honey-locust-tree, from six to ten inches long and one broad, lined inside with a gelatinous substance, not wholly unpleasant to

the taste when thoroughly ripe. I have seen large orchards of this kharûb in Cyprus, where it is still the food which the swine do eat. In Syria, where we have no swine, or next to none, the pods are ground up, and a species of molasses expressed, which is much used in making certain kinds of sweet

camels.

Kharub

tree
"husks."

11 Sam. xiii. 5

Isaiah ii. 7.

3 Acts vili. 28.

4 Luke xv. 16.

PART

I.

The Syca

more.

meats. The tree is an evergreen, and casts a most delightful and refreshing shade to the weary traveller. In this country they do not yield large crops, but in Cyprus, Asia Minor, and the Grecian Islands, you will see full-grown trees bending under half a ton of green pods. The kharûb is often called St. John's Bread, and also Locust-tree, from a mistaken idea about the food of the Baptist in the wilderness. It is the Ceratonia siliqua of Linnæus.

That noble tree before us, with giant arms low down and wide open, must be the Syrian sycamore. I once heard an itinerant preacher in the "back

woods" puzzle himself and his hearers with an elaborate criticism about the tree into which Zaccheus climbed to see the Saviour.1 He and his audience

I.

were familiar only with the sycamores of our flat river bottoms, tall as a steeple, CHAPTER and smooth as hypocrisy. "Why," said the orator, "a squirrel can't climb them." The conclusion reached was that the sycamore must have been a mul- Adapted berry-tree. But nothing is easier than to climb into these sycamores; and, in for climbing. fact, here is a score of boys and girls in this one; and as its giant arms stretch quite across the road, those on them can look directly down upon any crowd passing beneath. It is admirably adapted to the purpose for which Zaccheus selected it.

True; and moreover, it is generally planted by the way-side, and in the open spaces where several paths meet, just where Zaccheus found it. This

sycamore is a remarkable tree. It not only bears
several crops of figs during the year, but those figs Figs.
grow on short stems along the trunk and large
branches, and not at the end of twigs, as in other
fruit-bearing trees. The figs are small, and of a
greenish-yellow colour. At Gaza and Askelon, I
saw them of a purple tinge, and much larger than
they are in this part of the country. They were
carried to market in large quantities, and appeared
to be more valued there than with us. Still they
are at best very insipid, and none but the poorer
classes eat them. This agrees with and explains

an allusion in Amos. He had aroused the wrath of Jeroboam by the severity
of his rebukes, and, being advised to flee for his life, excuses himself by a
statement which implies that he belonged to the humblest class of the com-
munity: "I am no prophet, neither am I a prophet's son ; but I am a herd-
man, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit.” 】 None but the very poor consent to
be herdmen, and only such, at this day, gather sycamore fruit, or use it.

of crops.

The natives say that the sycamore bears seven crops a year. I think it is Number irregular in this matter. Some bear oftener than others, and the same tree yields more crops one year than another. It is easily propagated, merely by planting a stout branch in the ground, and watering it until it has struck out roots into the soil. This it does with great rapidity, and to a vast depth. It was with reference to this latter fact that our blessed Lord selected it to illustrate the power of faith: "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye might say unto this sycamine-tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it should obey you.' Now look at this tree-its ample girth, its wide-spread arms, branching off from the parent trunk only a few feet from the ground; then examine its enormous roots—as thick, as numerous, and Its steadas wide spread into the deep soil below as the branches extend into the air above the very best type of invincible steadfastness. What power on earth can pluck up such a tree? Heaven's thunderbolt may strike it down, the wild

1 Amos vii. 14

2 Luke xvii. 6.

fastness.