LAKE OF TIBERIAS.

This inland sea, or more properly lake, which derives its several names, the Lake of Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, and the Lake of Gennesareth, from the territory which forms its western and southwestern border, is computed to be between seventeen and eighteen miles in length, and from five to six in breadth. The mountains on the east come close to its shore, and the country on that side has not a very agreeable aspect: on the west, it has the plain of Tiberias, the high ground of the plain of Hutin, or Hottein, the plain of Gennesareth, and the foot of those hills by which you ascend to the high mountain of Saphet. To the north and south it has a plain country, or valley. There is a current throughout the whole breadth of the lake, even to the shore; and the passage of the Jordan through it is discernible by the smoothness of the surface in that part. Various travellers have given a very different account of its general aspect. According to Captain Mangles, the land about it has no striking features, and the scenery is altogether devoid of character. It appeared,' he says, 'to particular disadvantage to us after those beautiful lakes we had seen in Switzerland; but it becomes a very interesting object, when you consider the frequent allusions to it in the Gospel narrative.' Dr. Clarke, on the contrary, speaks of the uncommon grandeur of this memorable scenery. 'The Lake of Gennesareth,' he says, 'is surrounded by objects well calculated to heighten the solemn impression' made by such recollections, and affords one of the most striking prospects in the Holy Land. Speaking of it comparatively, it may be described as longer and finer than any of our Cumberland and Westmoreland lakes, although perhaps inferior to Loch Lomond. It does not possess the vastness of the Lake of Geneva, although it much resembles it in certain points of view. In picturesque beauty, it comes nearest to the Lake of Locarno in Italy, although it is destitute of anything similar to the islands by which that majestic piece of water is adorned. It is inferior in magnitude, and the height of its surrounding mountains, to the Lake of Asphaltites.' Mr. Buckingham may perhaps be considered as having given the most accurate account, and one which reconciles in some degree the differing statements above cited, when, speaking of the lake as seen from Tel Hoom, he says-that its appearance is grand, but that the barren aspect of the mountains on each side, and the total absence of wood, give a cast of dulness to the picture; this is increased to melancholy by the dead calm of its waters, and the silence which reigns throughout its whole extent, where not a boat or vessel of any kind is to be found.

There were fleets of soine force on this lake during the wars of the Jews with the Romans, and very bloody battles were fought be tween them. Josephus gives a particular account of a naval engagement between the Romans under Vespasian, and the Jews who

had revolted during the administration of Agrippa Titus and Trajan were both present, and Vespasian himself was on board the Roman fleet. The rebel force consisted of an immense multitude, who, as fugitives after the capture of Tarichæa by Titus, had sought refuge on the water. The vessels in which the Romans defeated them, were built for the occasion, and yet were larger than the Jewish ships. The victory was followed by so terrible a slaughter of the Jews, that nothing was to be seen, either on the lake or its shores, but the blood and mangled corses of the slain, and the air was infected by the number of dead bodies. Six thousand five hundred persons are stated to have perished in this naval engageinent and in the battle of Tarichæa, besides twelve hundred who were afterwards massacred in cold, blood by order of Vespasian, in the amphitheatre at Tiberias, and a vast number who were given to Agrippa as slaves.

Of the numerous towns which formerly flourished on the shores of this lake, few traces now remain, and there is some difficulty in determining even the sites of those whose names have come down to us. About an hour and a quarter to the northward of Tiberias, following the course of the lake, is a small Mahommedan village called Migdal, (which signifies in Hebrew a tower,) where there are considerable remains of a very indifferent castle, that may possibly have given its name to the place. It is seated near the edge of the lake, beneath a range of high cliffs, in which are seen small grottoes or caves. The rums consist of an old square tower and some larger buildings of rude construction, apparently ancient. It is generally supposed that this is the Magdala of the Gospels, and the Migdal of the earlier Scriptures.

THE VALE OF NAZARETH.

The delightful vale of Nazareth is described as a circular basin encompassed by mountains. 'It seems,' says Dr. Richardson, 'as if fifteen mountains met to form an enclosure for this delightful spot: they rise round it like the edge of a shell to guard it from intrusion. It is a rich and beautiful field in the midst of barren mountains: it abounds in fig-trees, small gardens, and hedges of the prickly pear; and the dense, rich grass affords an abundant pasThe village stands on an elevated situation, on the west side of the valley. The convent stands at the east end of the village, on the high ground, just where the rocky surface joins the valley.

ture.

Nassara, or Naszera, is one of the principal towns in the pashalic of Acre. Its inhabitants are industrious, because they are treated with less severity than those of the country-towns in general. The population is estimated at 3000, of whom 500 are Turks; the remainder are Christians. There are about ninety Latin families, according to Burckhardt; but Mr. Connor reports the Greeks to be the most numerous: there is, besides, a congregation of Greek Catholics, and another of Maronites. The Latin convent is a very

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spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repaired and considerably enlarged in 1730. The remains of the more ancient edifice, ascribed to the mother of Constantine, may be observed in the form of subverted columns, with fragments of capitals and bases of pillars, lying near the modern building. Pococke noticed, over a door, an old alto-relief of Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes. Within the convent is the Church of the Annunciation, containing the house of Joseph and Mary, the length of which is not quite the breadth of the church, but it forms the principal part of it. The columns and all the interior of the church are hung round with damask silk, which gives it a warm and rich appearance. Behind the great altar, is a subterranean cavern, divided into small grottoes, where the Virgin is said to have lived. Her kitchen, parlor, and bed-room are shown, and also a narrow hole in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself from his persecutors. The pilgrims who visit these holy spots, are in the habit of knocking off small pieces of stone from the walls, which are thus considerably enlarging. In the church a miracle is still exhibited to the faithful. In front of the altar are two granite columns, each two feet one inch in diameter, and about three feet apart. They are supposed to occupy the very places where the angel and the Virgin stood at the precise moment of the annunciation. The innermost of these, that of the Virgin, has been broken away, some say by the Turks, in expectation of finding treasure under it ; so that,' as Maundrell states, 'eighteen inches' length of it is clean gone between the pillar and the pedestal.' Nevertheless it remains erect, suspended from the roof, as if attracted by a loadstone. It has evidently no support below; and, though it touches the roof, the hierophant protests that it has none above. All the Christians of Nazareth,' says Burckhardt, 'with the friars of course at their head, affect to believe in this miracle, though it is perfectly evident that the upper part of the columns is connected with the roof. The fact is,' says Dr. Clarke, 'that the capital and a piece of a shaft of a pillar of grey granite have been fastened on to the roof of the cave; and so clumsily is the rest of the hocus pocus contrived, that what is shown for the lower fragment of the same pillar resting upon the earth, is not of the same substance, but of Cipolino marble. About this pillar, a different story has been related by almost every traveller since the trick was devised. Maundrell and Egmont and Heyman were told, that it was broken, in search of hidden treasure, by a pasha who was struck with blindness for his impiety. We were assured that it separated in this manner, when the angel announced to the Virgin the tidings of her conception. The monks had placed a rail, to prevent persons infected with the plague from coming to rub against these pillars; this had been for many years their constant practice, whenever afflicted with any sickness. The reputation of the broken pillar, for healing every kind of disease, prevails all over Galilee.'

Burckhardt says, that this church, next to that of the Holy Sep

ulchre, is the finest in Syria, and contains two tolerable good organs. Within the walls of the convent are two gardens, and a small burying-ground: the walls are very thick, and serve occasionally as a fortress to all the Christians in the town. There are at present eleven friars in the convent; they are chiefly Spaniards. The yearly expenses of the establishment are stated to amount to upwards of 900l., a small part of which is defrayed by the rent of a few houses in the town, and by the produce of some acres of corn-land: the rest is remitted from Jerusalem. The whole annual expenses of the Terra Santa convents are about 15,000l., of which the Pasha of Damascus receives about 12,000l. The Greek convent of Jerusalem, according to Burckhardt's authority, pays much more, as well to maintain its own privileges, as with a view to encroach upon those of the Latins.

MOUNT TABOR.

Mount Tabor, having been pitched upon as the scene of the Transfiguration, ranks among the sacred places to which pilgrims repair from Nazareth. It is minutely described by both Pococke and Maundrell.

The road from Nazareth lies for two hours between low hills; it then opens into the Plain of Esdraelon. At about two or three furlongs within the plain, and six miles from Nazareth, rises this singular mount, which is almost entirely insulated, its figure representing a half-sphere.' 'It is,' says Pococke, 'one of the finest hills I ever beheld, being a rich soil that produces excellent herbage, and is most beautifully adorned with groves and clumps of trees. The ascent is so easy, that we rode up the north side by a winding road. Some authors mention it as near four miles high, others as about two the latter may be true, as to the winding ascent up the hill. The top of it, which is about half a mile long, and near a quarter of a mile broad, is encompassed with a wall, which Josephus built in forty days: there was also a wall along the middle of it, which divided the south part, on which the city stood, from the north part, which is lower, and is called the meidan, or place, being probably used for exercises when there was a city here, which Josephus mentions by the name of Ataburion. Within the outer wall on the north side, are several deep fosses, out of which, it is probable, the stones were dug to build the walls; and these fosses seem to have answered the end of cisterns, to preserve the rainwater, and were also some defence to the city. There are likewise a great number of cisterns under ground, for preserving the rain-water. To the south, where the ascent was most easy, there are fosses cut on the outside, to render the access to the walls more difficult. Some of the gates also of the city remain as the gate of the winds, to the west; and the arched gate, a small one to the south. Antiochus, King of Syria, took the fortress on the top of his hill. Vespasian also got possession of it; and after that, Jose

phus fortified it with strong walls. But what has made it more famous than any thing else, is the common opinion, from the time of St. Jerome, that the transfiguration of our Saviour was on this mountain. On the east part of the hill are the remains of a strong castle; and within the precinct of it is the grot, in which are three altars in memory of the three tabernacles which St. Peter proposed to build, and where the Latin fathers always celebrate on the day of the Transfiguration. It is said, there was a magnificent church built here by St. Helena, which was a cathedral when this town was made a bishop's see. There was formerly a convent of Benedictine monks here; and, on another part of the hill, a monastery of Basilians, where the Greeks have an altar, and perform their service on the festival of the Transfiguration. On the side of the hill, they show a church in a grot, where they say Christ charged his disciples not to tell what things they had seen till he was glorified.'

ROUTE TO NABLOUS AND TIBERIAS.

For some hours after leaving Jerusalem, the route to the north lies over a rugged and mountainous country, which, though susceptible of cultivation by being terraced, now presents an aspect of frightful nakedness and sterility. The road, if it may be called such, is rough and stony; and no object of interest occurs before the traveller arrives at Beer, which is three hours and a half (about ten miles) from Jerusalem. The name of the place is derived from its well, which Beer signifies. It seems, Dr. Richardson says, to have been once a place of considerable consequence; and Maundrell supposed it to be the Beer referred to, Judges ix. 21, to which Jotham fled from the revenge of Abimelech. 'It is supposed also,' he adds, ‘to be the same with Michmash, 1 Sam. xiv. 5.' But Reland, on the authority of Eusebius, places Michmas near Jerusalem, in the direction of Rama. Close to the well, which is at the bottom of the declivity on which stands the village, are the mouldering walls of a ruined khan; and on the summit of the hill, two large arches still remain of a ruined convent-Maundrell calls it an old church, and says it was built by the empress Helena, in commemoration of the Virgin's coming as far as this spot in quest of the child Jesus, as related Luke x. 24! A little beyond Beer two roads meet: that on the right conducts to Nablous. After two hours' travelling along the same rocky path,' says Dr. Richardson, we passed the village of Einbroot, which is finely situated on our left, on the top of a hill. The adjoining valley is well cultivated, and the sides of the hills are raised in terraces, and planted with the olive, the vine, and the fig-tree. On approaching Einbroot, the guide of the caravan called out for us to march in close order. Here it was reported that we were in danger of being attacked by banditti, and that the muskets were seen pointed at us over the stones; but upon the guide, who rode considerably in advance,