miles; and the castle of Assalt is also seen, bearing north-west, about fifteen miles in a straight line, and from five to six hours of brisk walking pace on horseback.

On the low ground to the south of the town, and about half a mile from the foot of the hill on which it stands, is a large reservoir for water, constructed of good masonry, and not unlike the cisterns of Solomon, near Jerusalem, to which this is also nearly equal in size. If Hhuzbhān be the Heshbon of the Scriptures, of which there can be little doubt, as it agrees so well, both in name and local position, these reservoirs may probably be the very fish-pools of Solomon, to which that monarch compares the eyes of his love, in the Canticles, ch. vii. v. 4.

Descending from the summit of this hill to the north-east, we saw a sculptured cornice among a heap of ruins, from which I copied the following fragment of an inscription:

ΓΕΚΕΧΕΟΕΙΛΙ.

It was about an hour after noon when we quitted Hhuzbhān, from whence we gradually descended to a lower level, and went in a north-west direction. In an hour after setting out we rode through a narrow pass in the rocks, called Bab-Hhuzbhān, or the Gate of Heshbon, which led to a deep valley called Wadi-Hhuzbhan; the town being of sufficient importance to give its name to these two spots in its vicinity. In the descent beyond the pass we saw the remains of what appeared to me to have been a fort or an elevated mound; and reaching the foot of the hill over a steep declivity, we came to a fine stream of water, which has its source to the eastward of this, and runs westerly into the Dead Sea. On the banks of the stream were several pieces of sloping walls, as at Zerkah, and portions of aqueducts encrusted with petrifactions, as at Tyre; with the remains of a small stone bridge, and broken pottery extending along its edges for upwards of a mile; so that there appeared good reason to regard this as the site of some ancient town.

As we ascended on the opposite bank of this stream, we had on our right a ruined village, called Khallet-el-Sumia, and on our left an apparently new building, called Shufammer, resembling exactly the central enclosed building of Shufammer seen in the road from Acre to Nazareth; this on the east of the Jordan being, however, uninhabited.

After ascending for about two hours, and enjoying, through the whole of our way, the most romantic scenery that mountain, wood, water, rock, and glen could furnish, we came to the summit of the hill up which we had directed our course, and from thence again descended into a valley called Wadi Esseer. Over the rocky cliffs to the north of us, and close to our path, was a waterfall, the only one I had ever seen in these parts. Its stream was small, and the whole descent, which was repeatedly broken, about thirty feet. It fell into the stream now before us, and ultimately discharged itself into the Dead Sea. As the view that opened upon us here presented several new positions, we halted for a moment, while I alighted to take the following bearings by compass, and the distances, in a straight line, as well as the eye could estimate

Continuing to descend from hence, we reached the foot of the hill, over an extremely abrupt declivity, after an hour's ride, and then halted to wash and refresh. From hence we again went up, over a steep hill; and after passing through some of the finest woods that could be seen, we came to a deep glen, in which some

ancient caves were pointed out to me as we rode along. The entrances to these caves were by large square apertures, unquestionably hewn out with great care; and the interior of each was said to contain stone sarcophagi and inscriptions. I had the strongest desire to visit these, if only for a hasty glance; but as this fertile glen is a scene of constant contention among the shepherds who feed their flocks here, and each encroach on the other's supposed prior right, nothing that I could say would induce my guide, Abu Fārah, to consent to my turning a foot out of our path, and accordingly, to my great regret and vexation, I was compelled to relinquish my desires, and submit to forego their gratifi

cation.

From the summit of the hill we again saw the castle and town of Assalt, as well as the head of the Dead Sea; and descending for about an hour over corn land, now cultivated, we came to the modern tomb of Mar Georgis, or St. George, the tutelar saint of the neighbouring town of Fahaez :—the structure has nothing remarkable in it, being like the ordinary tombs of Mohammedan saints, so plentifully seen over every part of the East.

In a quarter of an hour after this we came to Mahuss, a large ruined village, and in half an hour more, passing over cultivated grounds, we reached Fahaez; the valley of the Jordan, and the head of the Dead Sea, being always in sight on our left as we rode. From hence we descended by the steep hill over which we came on our way out, crossed the Wadi Lizerack, where we observed grottoes in the rock, and remains of walls of stone; and, lastly, ascended again to Anab, where we alighted to take some food.

Our route of return from hence to Assalt was the same as that by which we had first come from that town to Anab; and, proceeding briskly on, we reached it about sunset. On approaching it from the eastward, the huge castle looking doubly large through the haze of the smoke ascending from the town, the small dwellings barely seen by the glimmer of the lights burning in them, and the aid of a faint moonlight, the hum of population, the barking of

dogs, and the general effect of the surrounding scenery, all combined, was powerfully impressive.

We were well received by our friends at Assalt; and, as the adventures of our excursion formed an object of general interest, we were kept up by visitors till a late hour in recounting them.

ASSALT, Sunday, March 4.-It was necessary to remain at least a day at Assalt, for the purpose of giving my horse some repose, as well as to think of what steps it would be most advisable to pursue under existing circumstances, and how I could best further the ultimate object of my journey.

It being a day of freedom from business, (though to me, at least, far from a day of rest,) as soon as the morning service of the church was over, which was at an early hour, the house in which I lodged was filled with visitors; some professedly to know the reason of our return; others probably out of a desire to see us, and ascertain that we were well; and some, certainly, because they had nothing else to do, and thought it the least tedious method of passing away a tiresome day of idleness and gossiping.