enty years; who had been the priest of this Maronite village for forty-five years. His house was a large one; and he had twenty-five persons in his family, including women and children. The ground floor was occupied by the family rooms, and stables; and there were other stables around the yard. Dismounting in the court, we entered by a small and low door, and crept up a low and very narrow flight of steps in the wall to the large upper room, which served as parlour and guest-chamber. It occupied the whole upper floor; and was spanned by three arches, on which rested the beams of the roof. It had three windows, but without glass; and the shutters of two were kept closed on account of the wind; thus rendering parts of the room quite dark. There were fires in every room; in ours, the hearth was in the middle of the floor, and was made of clay in the form of a pan or basin. On one side were carpets and cushions, where we, as guests, were seated or stretched; on the other side and around the fire sat our host, the Sheikh of the village, and other neighbours. There was, of course, no thought of our being left alone. They watched rather closely, and with some amusement, the process of shaving; and wondered afterwards at our writing. They all remained while we took our dinner; which our host helped out by bringing us bread, leben, and butter. The latter was from goats' milk; but we also saw a girl milking a cow. In one of the lower rooms was a child's cradle of the usual European form; they were said to be common. We took a walk about the village; and examined the remains described below. It occupies a sightly spot; and its population, Maronites, includes 160 males by the census. The castle of Sa'sa' is in full view in the southwest, half an hour distant by the road, but hardly a mile off in a direct line. It stands on a prominent hill; and has an old look. It was said to be now in ruins; and is supposed by E. G. Schulz to be the 'Castellum Regis' of the crusaders. In the east is seen the village of 'Alma, mentioned by Benjamin of Tudela and other Jewish travellers, as containing the tombs of several holy men. Other places along our former route were also visible.3 At night we once more set up our bedsteads, to prevent intruders. The old priest slept in the room, wrapped in a blanket, with only a thin mattress on the floor. Otherwise we were left to ourselves. The yard at night, as a place of safety, was filled with horses, cows, young cattle, calves, mules, donkeys, dogs, and camels; to say nothing of cats and poultry. The chief objects of interest at Kefr Bir'im are the remains of two structures; which at first were to us inexplicable. One is in the northeastern part of the village, consisting of the front of a building which faced towards the south, with two rows of limestone columns before it belonging to a portico. The front wall is of stones hewn smooth; some of them of considerable size. In the middle is a portal of good size and proportions; with sculptured side posts and lintel; the latter having in its middle a wreath. Over this is a cornice; and then a well formed round arch ornamented with a sort of wreath around it. On each side of this portal is a smaller side door; each with a cornice of different sculpture. Above each of these side doors is a smaller window, capped with an ornamented stone. The columns of the outer or front row are mostly standing. The capitals look at first like Doric; but are formed of rings, that is, are tapered down to the shaft merely by successive smaller rings. Some still bear their architraves. The whole portico is sunk in rubbish. The main body of the building has been torn away; and a hovel, entered by one of the side doors, now occupies a portion of its area. One or two columns are still erect in this area; which seem to mark an inside row or rows of columns. A corner pillar is also standing further back, square on the outside, but on the inside rounded into a double column, like those at Belât. The other ruin is a quarter of a mile distant in the fields northeast. The edifice was obviously similar to that above described; but all is fallen and gone, except the middle portal with its ornamented side posts and lintel. This last is sculptured; has the wreath in the middle; and in a long and narrow space at the bottom, bears an inscription in the common Hebrew letters, or square character. But the letters are so much defaced by the weather, and the wind was so strong and cold, that we could not undertake to copy it. The first word, peace,' and that only, was quite distinct. We had already seen two copies of the inscription, made by Mr Thomson and Mr Van de Velde; but they differed much from each other; and neither Mr Nicolayson nor other Rabbinic scholars had been able to make out the meaning. We afterwards learned from Mr Finn, British consul at Jerusalem, that he had visited the spot in company with the chief Rabbi of Safed, under favourable circumstances; and that the Rabbi could only determine, that the inscription invokes 'peace' upon the founder of the edifice, but without any legible name or date. I examined particularly, whether perhaps the inscription might not have been added at a later period; but there is every appearance of its having been cöeval with the sculpture above it. 1 As these remains were the first of the kind that we had yet seen; and were of a style of architecture utterly unknown to us; we were at a loss for some time what to make of them. They were evidently neither Greek nor Roman. The inscription, if authentic, obviously marks both structures as of Jewish origin; and as such, they could only have been synagogues. We were, however, not satisfied on this point, until we found at Meiron the same species of architecture, in the acknowledged remains of an ancient Jewish synagogue. We afterwards found the ruins of like structures at Irbid, Tell Hûm, Kedes, and perhaps other places in Galilee; all marked with the same architectural peculiarities. The size, the elaborate sculptured ornament, and the splendour of these edifices, do not belong to a scattered and down-trodden people; such as the Jews have been in these regions ever since the fourth century. These costly synagogues, therefore, can be referred only to the earlier centuries of the Christian era; when Galilee was the chief seat of the Jews; and Jewish learning and schools flourished at Tiberias. All these circumstances would seem to mark a condition of prosperity and wealth and influence among the Jews of Galilee in that age, of which neither their own historians, nor any other, have given us any account.2 Kefr Bir'im was for many centuries a place of Jewish pilgrimage. Benjamin of Tudela, indeed, although he speaks of neighbouring places, makes no mention of this spot. But in the Itinerary of Samuel Bar Simson in 1210, Kefr Bir'im is twice spoken of as containing the tombs of Barak, Obadiah the prophet, and of several Jewish Rabbis; and also a beautiful synagogue erected by R. Simeon Ben Jochai, whose tomb is shown at Meirôn. In two later Itineraries of 1561 and 1564, several other sepulchres are likewise specified; among them that of queen Esther. The earlier one speaks also of two synagogues in ruins; while the other relates, that the Jews of Safed made an annual pilgrimage hither at the festival of Purim, and were accustomed on this occasion "to eat, drink, and rejoice." All this has now passed away. Wednesday, April 14th.-We left Kefr Bir'im at 7.10 with a guide for Meirôn. We kept along on the high ground above We were not then aware, that this place had been visited in 1839 by Messrs Bonar and M'Cheyne of the Scottish deputation. They heard from both Jews and Maronites, that these were Jewish synagogues; and that the Jews sometimes go there to pray. See their Narrative, June 11th. * See Vol II. p. 391. [iii. 269.]-The inscription is probably one of the earliest specimens of the square character extant. the valley, which we had ascended yesterday; and soon came upon the ridge between it and another valley, Wady Nâsir, running down N. 60° E. to join the great Wady Mu'addamîyeh. This ridge therefore forms the water-shed between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. Here was a glorious view of Jebel eshSheikh, perfectly clear and bright in the morning sun; while Jebel Jermuk on our right was shrouded in clouds; which, however, soon vanished. Sa'sa' was in full view on our right. We reached the bottom of Wady Nâsir at 7.45; and in five minutes more were on the next ridge.' Here we looked down into a second parallel valley, Wady Khilâl Sebâ', coming down from the northwestern side of Jebel Jermŭk, and spreading out into a plain at the northern base of that mountain. It then passes down into Wady Nâsir; and the united Wady enters the Mu'addamiyeh half an hour below el-Jish.2 This village was here in sight; as also Safed on its lofty hill. We now descended into Wady Khilâl; and crossing its bed rose gradually; until at 8.30 we were upon the summit of the low ridge, which here runs out from the northeastern angle of Jebel Jermŭk. The highest peak of all this mountain is here at its northeastern corner; which now rose like a bastion close on our right. In the northwest, but still on the high land that separates the waters of the Hûleh from those of the Mediterranean, is an isolated conical peak, called Jebel 'Adâthir, on the left of Sa'sa', and bearing from Rumeish directly south. It was used by my companion as a landmark during his journey in 1844.' On our left was the fine plain or basin extending towards el-Jish; but drained in its southwestern part towards the lake of Tiberias, through Wady et-Tawâhîn and Wady el-'Amûd. Our road now gradually descended, and led along the eastern base of the mountains; the line of which runs nearly due north and south. At 8.40 Sifsâf, a small hamlet in the eastern part of the plain of Jish, was in sight; it is mentioned in the Talmud.5 We passed first over a very rocky tract; and then through a cultivated region with many very old olive trees. At 9 o'clock a fork of the path led more to the right to Meirôn. The straight road keeps on to Semû'y; and so around the southeastern flank of the mountain to er-Râmeh. It was said to be comparatively level and easy. 1 Bearings at 7.50: Sa'sa' N. 50° W. Schulz as Adater, V. p. 300. Paulus 1. c. Jish E. VII. p. 116. 2 See Vol. II. p. 446. [iii. 370.] Bearings at 8.15: Safed 124°. Râs el-Ahmar 54°. Jebel esh-Sheikh 49°. Sa'sa' 319°. This mountain is mentioned by Steph. The NERODO of the Talmud, near Safed and Meirôn; see Schwarz Palest. p. 190.-Bearings at 8.40: Sifsâf N. 50° E. Jish N. 25° E. Meirôn S. 15° E. We turned up to Meirôn, a very old looking village situated on a ledge of bristling rocks near the foot of the mountain. The ascent is by a steep and very ancient road. Below the village on our right, were sepulchres in the rocks; in one place four arches or vaults excavated side by side in the face of the rock, each with a sarcophagus placed across it, and the vault just deep enough to receive the sarcophagus. One of them had two sarcophagi. These differed from all the sepulchres we had yet seen. There were two other similar ones a little higher up. We reached the village at 9.10. It is small, and inhabited only by Muhammedans. A fine plain lies under it in the east, lower than that towards Jish, and drained off in the southeast to a Wady southwest of Safed. This latter place was in full view, reckoned two hours distant. South of Meirôn in the valley, we were told of a large fountain.1 3 There seems to be no reason for question, but that this place is the Meiron of the Talmud; several times there mentioned along with Gush Halab, now el-Jish. It is also most probably the Mero or Meroth of Josephus; one of the places fortified by that leader in Upper Galilee, in connection likewise with Giscala or el-Jish. It has ever maintained a strong traditional hold upon the affection of the Jews, as containing the sepulchres of some of their most celebrated scholars and holy men. Benjamin of Tudela, in the twelfth century, mentions here in a cave the tombs of the great teachers, Hillel and Shammai, with twenty of their disciples and other Rabbis. The Itinerary of Samuel Bar Simson, half a century later, adds the sepulchres of R. Simeon Ben Jochai and his son R. Eleazer. The annual pilgrimage of the Jews at the present day to this place was alluded to in the account of our former journey." Our object here was not to visit the sepulchres; but being here we went to those below the village on the south. These are surrounded by a square enclosure; the inside of the wall being built up with stalls in the manner of a Khân, for the convenience of men and horses. The tombs are under low domed structures; which are usually shut and locked; and the keys kept at Safed. The enclosure was now open; but we could not enter the tombs. Every thing here was clean, and the domes whitewashed. This is now the chief point of pilgrimage; and here are the reputed tombs of R. Simeon Ben Jochai and his |