going in which direction for about half an hour, we began to descend the steep range of hills by which Nazareth is bounded on the south. Dismounting here, we reached the foot of it in another half-hour, and came out on the Plain of Esdraelon, very near to the ravine on the west side of which is the mountain of the precipita. tion, before described. At the foot of this hill were now some Bedouins' tents, and a few flocks grazing, but the soil and its produce was so burnt up by the long drought, that every species of animal suffered the want of food.

Continuing in a southerly direction across the plain, we reached at noon the small village of Mezra. This, from its being enclosed by walls with loop-holes in them, and having only one gate of entrance, appears to have been once a fortified post, though of the weakest kind. It is at present destitute of any other inhabitants than the herds of cattle which are driven within the enclosure for shelter during the night. Near its southern angle are two good wells, which are still frequented, and we observed here several sarcophagi of a grey stone, of the common oblong form, extremely thick, and rather larger than the ordinary size. Though all of these were much broken and defaced by the action of the atmosphere, the sculpture on the side of one

was still distinct, representing pillars, festoons, and wheels.

Continuing over the plain in the same direction, we passed at one o'clock, under the village of Fooli, leaving it a little on our left. We observed here the fragment of a large building still remaining, whose wall seemed to be of Saracenic structure, and at the wells without the village we saw two pent-roofed covers of sarcophagi; one of which was ornamented with sculpture, the raised corners being the same as those at Geraza, and at Gamala, except that here the edges of them were sculptured, and that all the covers at the two former cities, as far as we observed, were plain.

On the west of this village, about a mile, is Affouli, built like this on a rising ground, and containing only a few dwellings. On the east of it, about two miles, is the larger village of Noori, surrounded with olive-trees, and there are besides several other settlements in sight from hence, all inhabited by Mohammedans.

We now kept in a south-easterly direction, having shut in Mount Tabor, and passed Mount Hermon, which we kept on our left, and at three o'clock we reached the village of Zaraheen. This is larger than either of the former, and is peopled also by Mohammedans. It is seated on the brow of a stony hill, facing to the

north-east, and overlooking a valley into which the plain of Esdraelon seems to descend; and through the openings of which the mountains on the east of the Jordan are visible. It has a high modern building in the centre, like that at Shufammer, and perhaps about fifty dwellings around it. We saw here also several sarcophagi, both plain and sculptured, corresponding in size, form, and material, to those seen before.

To the east of this place, in a vale, is another village, and a smaller one is seen in the same direction on the peaked top of a high hill. Of these our guide knew not even the names; but all of them, he said, were peopled by Moslems.

At four o'clock we came to a ridge of stony ground, interrupting the general line of the plain, and passed another deserted village, called Makhaebly, leaving it on our right. It has a ruined mosque in its centre, and a white-washed tomb of some saint a little to the left of it. From hence we continued again in a southerly direction, over uneven, and generally stony ground, until at five we came in sight of Jeneen.

The approach to this town from the northward is interesting, as it is seated at the southern edge of a small but fine plain, cut off from that of Esdraelon only by the stony ridge of low land just passed over. Behind it is a low range

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of grey hills, and in front some woods of olives give great relief to the picture. The minareh and dome of a mosque are seen rising above a mass of flat-roofed dwellings, and from the gallery of the former the call to evening-prayers was heard as we entered the town. It does not appear to possess more than a hundred habitations in all, but it is furnished with a bazar and several coffee-sheds. The ruins of a large Gothic building are seen in the centre of the town near the mosque, and around it are several palmtrees, which, from their rarity here, struck me as more beautiful than I had ever thought them before.

Jeneen is governed by a Sheikh, who is tributary both to Acre and Damascus, as it is considered to be the frontier town between these two pashalics. It has, however, no military stationed there, and its inhabitants are all Moham medans. Without the town, to the northward, are several saints' tombs, and in the hills to the southward are many rude grottoes. The range of hills, at the northern foot of which the town of Jeneen is seated, may be considered as the southern boundary of the great plain of Esdraelon, and as the limit between Galilee and Samaria; for between it and the range on which Nazareth stands, there are only a few interruptions of rising ground here and there, without