a cistern of rain-water excavated in the rock. Here our course back bore W. N. W. and Taiyibeh, now about upon the same level, N. by E.

We came out here upon a somewhat narrow ridge of high table-land, between the two vallies above mentioned, which here run nearly parallel to each other towards the N. W. and into both of which we could look down almost perpendicularly to a great depth. This plateau we found after a short distance to be well tilled; its surface being occupied by fields of grain, olive-groves and vineyards. The bottoms of the two deep vallies on each side were also in high cultivation.

Pursuing the same general course and gradually ascending, we reached Teffûh at 11 o'clock; an old village on a higher and broader part of the same ridge. It contains a good number of inhabitants, and lies in the midst of olive-groves and vineyards, with marks of industry and thrift on every side. Indeed many of the former terraces along the hill-sides are still in use; and the land looks somewhat as it may have done in ancient times. Several portions of walls, apparently those of an old fortress, are visible among the houses; and seem to attest the antiquity of the place. The large stones of which they are built, are soft; and the edges being worn away by the weather, the chinks are everywhere filled in with thin pieces of stone, which give to the whole a more modern aspect than really belongs to it. The name Teffûh marks this as the site of the ancient Beth Tappuah of the mountains of Judah, not far from Hebron.'

1) Josh. xv. 53. Another Tappuah lay in the plain of Judah, apparently in the vicinity of Zanoah, Jarmuth, Socoh, ete. Josh. xv. 34. Which of these was the place conquered by Joshua, it is difficult to say; Josh. xii. 17, comp. x. 36.

From here Neby Nûh,

Eusebius and Jerome seem to refer the names Tappuah and Beth Tappuah to one and the same village, and to place it more towards Egypt; Onomast. arts. Bethaphu, Thaffu.

the Wely near Dûra, bore S. 41° W. Taiyibeh N. 17° W.

After a stop of three quarters of an hour, we set off again at 12 o'clock, still ascending gradually along the ridge on a course E.S. The direction of the deep vallies on each side is here more from E. to W. and for a time, our way led along the steep declivity overhanging that upon the South, among slippery rocks, which rendered the path difficult and dangerous. The bottom of the valley, far below us, was highly cultivated and full of vineyards. The Sirocco wind which we had felt all day, now increased to a violent tempest, bringing up the dust and sand from the desert, and filling the air so as to obscure the sun. The whole atmosphere became of a deep dun or yellowish hue, such as we had seen before in the desert near Ruhaibeh. As we approached the height of land, a few drops of rain fell, and left upon our clothes spots of mud, as if we had been spattered from a puddle. The guide said immediately, this would blast the grain; he thought the mud had a saltish taste, which we could not perceive; nor did we afterwards hear of any damage to the crops.

At 1h 10' we reached the top of the whole ascent, the height of land and water-shed between the vallies behind us and the branches of that in which Hebron lies. The town itself here came in sight down a valley, S. 65° E. fifty minutes distant. Descending gradually for ten minutes, we came to the head of the fine open valley north of the town. Here in a field on our left, was a very large and beautiful oak tree (Quercus ilex, Arabic Sindiân,) which passes among the Muhammedans for the tree of Abraham, where his tent was pitched. Towards the city followed fine vineyards and fields of grain, occupying most of the valley, all now in high verdure. At 2 o'clock we reached He1) See Vol. I. pp. 287-289.

bron, and selected a spot for our tent on the grassy slope west of the town, not far above the lower pool, and near the straggling cemetery which covers a part of the open ground. We found great difficulty in pitching the tent, as the Sirocco had now become almost a tornado; the ropes were several times broken, and had at last to be doubled on the windward side. The air became dark, almost like night, from the sand and dust. After a short time, however, the tempest abated; and we had at evening a fine cool wind from the N. W. The actual heat was not unusually great; the thermometer rose only to 86° F.

We here dismissed our trusty muleteers and our guide; with all of whom we had been well satisfied, and indeed much pleased. We too were able to satisfy all their expectations; and they returned with light hearts the same evening to their homes near Jerusalem.

We

As we were pitching the tent, Elias of Damascus (Elyâs esh-Shâmy) the only Christian resident in Hebron, sent to invite us into the town, and to take up our quarters at his house. We however declined; and he then came himself to repeat and urge the invitation. This he did, not knowing who we were, but supposing us to be some "Milords" or other; probably from the rather showy appearance of our tent. again declined, and positively; for we knew that we should be far more masters of our time and actions in our own tent, than in the house of another person; to say nothing of the inconvenience and vermin to which we should have been thus exposed. The refusal was softened on our part, by accepting a dinner, which he soon after sent us.-Elias had two years before removed hither from Damascus, and occupied the post of secretary or banker (or perhaps both) to the governor of Hebron. It was his ambition to become the agent of a Frank consul; and his applications in this behalf, both to English and American

visitors at Hebron, were unceasing and somewhat burdensome. In the mean time, he was fond of appearing as the host and protector of Frank travellers, expecting thus to gain a sort of consideration in the eyes of his Muslim neighbours. This indeed had been the secret of his ready and somewhat officious hospitality towards ourselves.

Before leaving Jerusalem, we had made arrangements, as we supposed, to have men and camels from the Jehâlîn ready for us at Hebron, so as to be able to set off immediately for Wady Mûsa. We had accordingly expected to find them waiting our arrival; but by some mishap, connected probably with the shutting up of Jerusalem, our orders had never been transmitted to Hebron; and we were therefore compelled, to our great disappointment, to lose the whole of the two following days in waiting for camels. Our chagrin was still further aggravated by the mismanagement of Elias, by which we were led to expect the arrival of the camels at every hour; and were thus prevented from making excursions to various places in the vicinity of the town.

Thursday, May 24th. The general appearance of Hebron, and the impression it made upon us as we formerly passed through it, on our way to Jerusalem, have already been described. It is situated in a deep narrow valley, which having its head in the open country an hour north of the place, passes down S. S. E. at first broad, with many vineyards, and then narrower as it approaches the town, with high hills on either side. The town itself consists of three parts. The main quarter is around and north of the great mosk, upon the slope of the eastern hill; here are the bazars and the chief places of business. Further north,

1) See Mr. Stephens' description of the visit and similar application of Elias to himself; Încidents etc. II. p. 166.—Elias how

ever was not a Copt, as there represented.

2) Vol. I. pp. 314-316.

and separated from this part by an open space of fields, is another smaller cluster of houses, like a suburb. On the slope of the western hill, opposite the mosk and the south end of the main quarter, is also a smaller tract of houses; or rather, perhaps, the main quarter may be said here to extend across the valley and occupy the lower portion of both declivities. The town is without walls; yet at the entrance of one or two of the streets, in coming from the country, there are gates.

Directly overagainst the main part of the town, the high western hill retreats somewhat, leaving a recess with the gentle slope on which we were encamped; while north of this the hill again advances, and the acclivity is thickly covered with olive-orchards of very old trees.The geographical position of Hebron, so far as yet determined, is in Lat. 31° 32′ 30′′ N. and Long. 35°8′20′′ E. from Greenwich.2 The elevation above the sea is given by Schubert at 2664, and by Russegger at 2842 Paris feet.3

In the bottom of the valley, towards the South, where the town extends across it, is the lower pool; a square reservoir, measuring one hundred and thirtythree English feet on each side, built with hewn stones of good workmanship. The whole depth is twentyone feet eight inches, of which the water now occupied not quite fourteen feet. Flights of steps lead down to it at each corner. Just at the north end of the main part of the town is another smaller pool, also occupying the bed of the valley, measuring eighty-five feet in length by fifty-five feet broad; its depth is eighteen

1) Schubert mentions here on the West of the town a number of very old Pistacia-trees (Pistacia vera) with large trunks; Reise II. p. 478. These we failed to notice.

2) An observation for the Latitude by Moore and Beke gives 31° 31′ 30′′; but this does not accord with the distance from Jerusalem, which they also make one minute

too far south; see Vol. I. p. 381, Note 2. Journal of the Roy. Geogr. Soc. 1837. Vol. VII. p. 456. The Longitude is that deduced from our routes to Hebron from Jerusalem, Ramleh, Gaza, and 'Akabah. See Vol. III, First Appendix, pp. 34, 42.

3) Schubert's Reise II. p. 469. Berghaus' Annalen, März 1839, p.

429.