those of the ancient Bethsaida. This is of Chorazin and Bethsaida; but if the the point where the Jordan enters the country is ever to be restored, it must be lake, and across that river on the other by the appliances of modern civilization side the rich level lands stretch beyond and if the condition of its present ocTell Hum, the position probably of the an-cupants is ever to be improved, and a cient Capernaum. Passing Khan Minyeh preparation made for more, it can only be on the western side, we come upon the accomplished under the stimulus of commost productive plain of all-that of Gennesereths now the property of a wealthy Moslem proprietor who lives at Acre, by whom it has been recently purchased, but who allows its magnificent resources to remain undeveloped. One has only to ride through the luxuriant, wild vegetation -or rather to attempt to ride through it, for it is an impenetrable jungle of long grass and weeds in places to see what this plain is capable of producing, watered as it is by three everflowing streams, and by several springs celebrated in history. The proximity of Arabs, the oppression of the government officials, the extortion of money-lenders, the poverty and sparseness of the population, and the expense of transport, all combine to keep this fertile lake-shore a desert; but once let the scream of a locomotive be heard along it, and enterprise and capital will soon follow-the effects of which will make themselves felt, alike on the predatory Arab and the no less predatory official, as the land passes from the hands of the degraded fellahin into those who are better able to protect themselves, whether they be wealthy foreigners or wealthy natives. When the Lake of Tiberias and the rich country round it is brought to within two hours' distance by rail of the best port in Palestine, the first step will have been made towards the redemption of this part of the country. The owners of the firman under which the railway is about to be built, looking forward to the development of this region, have also obtained the right to put steam-tugs on the lake; and there can be no doubt that the produce of the country from some distance in the interior will be brought down to it. The plateau of Jaulan, to which the line will ascend, is one of the finest grazing tracts in the world: it was here that Job kept his countless herds, and it was celebrated in Scripture for being a good, place for cattle. I rode across it four years ago in April, when the streams were tolerably full, and the rich grass was up to my horse's bells. To some it may seem a sort of sacrilege to anticipate a day in the near future when locomotives will whistle within sound of Capernaum and steam-tugs puff across the sea with produce grown amid the ruins mercial enterprise. If the Jews are ever to become an important and industrious element in the population, it will only be under such auspices as these. I found in Tiberias several Jewish families who had been landed proprietors, and would under any other circumstances have done well as farmers, but who were unable to make head against the extortion and unjust taxation to which they were subjected. At the period of my visit, a garden near Hattin, which had been presented by Sir Moses Montefiore to the Jews of Tiberias, was in the occupation of a force of zaptiehs, who had destroyed the fences and devastated the garden because pay. ment of an exorbitant tax had been refused. As the matter affects English protected subjects, it is one in which justice may ultimately be done; but our protection of those whom we pledged to protect when they fled from Russia to this place during the Crimean war, has become of so vague and shadowy a character, that we are only at present laying ourselves open to a charge of bad faith, and confirming the impression here, which is becoming general in more countries than one, that it is a principle of the policy of Great Britain to repudiate her moral ob ligations as soon as they become irksome. This question of an illegal occupation by Turkish police of property owned by British-protected subjects, has now been pending between the British and Turkish governments for many months. Its history, which is too long to go into here, would enable those who suppose that Jews cannot cultivate the land profitably in Palestine, because they are not agricul turists, to estimate more accurately the real causes of their want of success in this respect. I observed not long since in the Times a project, which has of late been occupying public attention to some extent, for cutting a canal through the desert intervening between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Akaba, and flooding the whole valley of the Jordan to its source, with an outlet to the Bay of Acre across the Plain of Esdraelon. This project, however, is absolutely impracticable from an engineering point of view, unless a tunnel be resorted to; as south of the Dead Sea the E 1 valley rises gradually for about sixtyeight miles to the water-parting, which, at a distance of fifty-two miles from the Red Sea, and an altitude of seven hundred and eighty-one feet, separates the waters of the Dead Sea from those of the Gulf of Akaba. This water-parting, which links the Desert of Țih to Arabia, is, according to Mons. Lartet, a cretaceous barrier, separating in a most complete manner the two slopes of the district. The creta ceous strata are covered with their own débris, and show no trace of any watercourse in the direction of the Red Sea, and this altitude very nearly coincides with that of M. Luynes, who makes it seven hundred and eighty-eight feet, and M. Vigne, who makes it seven hundred and ninety. Besides this there would be an elevation of two hundred and ten feet to be cut through to get from the sea-level in the then flooded Jordan valley to the Mediterranean. Apart from this, the letting in of the sea upon a tract of arable land, nearly ninety miles long and from four to five broad, and capable of supporting a large population; the submergence of the Lake of Tiberias, with its extensive ruins covering historic sites, and its fertile plains, and the expulsion of its existing population, the conversion, in fact, of nearly a sixth part of Palestine into an inland sea, seems to me to be scarcely compensated for by the advantages anticipated, even if the scheme were otherwise feasible. This is leaving out of account altogether the political difficulties, which at the present juncture are quite insuperable, not merely on the part of the Porte, but also of France and Russia, who have vested rights in holy places in these parts, which, considering the political value that they possess, they would never allow to be submerged, either morally or materially. The whole Jewish population of Tiberias, to the number of about three thousand, is under the protection of some foreign power or other, and these would all have to be settled with when the question of pecuniary compensation for flooding the people out of house and home came up. Of all the many visionary schemes which have been proposed affecting the destiny of the Holy Land, this seems to me the most vision ary. Among other sources of future profit in the neighborhood of Tiberias, if they were properly managed, must undoubtedly be reckoned the baths, which are frequented during the year by thousands of persons, but are at present in so filthy and mismanaged a condition that a dis ease must be very serious, and faith in the efficacy of the waters very great, to induce any one to undertake the cure. When I visited these baths they were, however, crowded — the only accommodation for the patients being tents, which they pitched on the lake-shore. The principal bathing-room contained a circular pool of sulphur water, which was full of diseased patients, who were also lolling naked on the moist stone floor in an atmosphere of fetid steam. There are baths which can be taken privately, but the accommodation is of the roughest, and there is no guarantee that the water has not been bathed in already. There is another bathing-house a little higher up the hill, which was built by Ibrahim Pasha; and an enterprising speculator proposed to the government not long since to purchase the whole establishment, build lodginghouses, and introduce comfort and reform generally; but the government refused to part with both the present bathing-houses, and as a monopoly was the only condition under which these valuable waters could be turned to profitable account, the nego tiation has quite recently fallen through. Traces of old walls reach from the baths to the top of the hill behind, and skirting it, sink again to the walls of the modern town; but whether these walls enclosed the city that Herod built about the time of the birth of Christ, or whether this city, which attained so much importance during the early centuries of the Christian era, was not built upon one of still anterior date, is difficult to determine. In those days, we may judge by the Biblical record, the fisheries of the lake constituted an important industry; and there can be no doubt that they could be made so again, for the fish, with which the lake swarms, are comparatively undisturbed. There are two sailing-boats in existence, and these are used more for the transport of passengers than for fishing. It is difficult to realize, looking down upon these now silent waters, that they were actually once the scene of a great naval battle between the Jews and the Romans, and that Tiberias itself was attacked by a fleet of no fewer than two hundred and thirty ships, which had been collected by Josephus for the purpose. In these days Galilee, of which this city was the capital, formed a separate province, and was densely peopled, as probably it will be again. Nine large cities adorned the shores of the lake; and though the estimate formed by Josephus of from four to five millions for the whole province was probably exaggerated, it conveys some idea of what the natural resources of the country must have been. Of late years the Jewish population of Tiberias has largely increased. At present the greater part live on the Haluka; but efforts should be made to induce the young and able-bodied to seek employment on the railway during its construction. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon Western Jews, who are now burdened by contributions for the purpose of supporting their co-religionists in Palestine in idleness, that the more they co-operate towards developing the material resources of the country, by encouraging agricultural pursuits and honest manual labor among the yearly augmenting Jewish population, the sooner they will obtain relief from a tax which must become intolerable, if the immigration into the country increases. The Jewish population of Palestine now exceeds forty thousand, who might all be industriously employed, if public works were undertaken and enterprises entered upon, which could scarcely, notwithstanding government obstructiveness, fail to be remunerative. It is a remarkable circumstance, that in spite of Western apathy, both among Jews and Christians, on the subject, no province in Turkey has progressed so much during the last few years as the Holy Land; indeed, nearly all the others, with the exception of the Lebanon, have retrograded. As I stood amongst the old stone records of the Christian occupation of Tiberias by the Knights of the Cross some seven hundred years ago, it occurred to me that the time had surely come for a new crusade not to be undertaken with the modern Christian weapons of Krupps and Gatlings, in the name of a creed to cover a political purpose; but with steam-ploughs and locomotives, by farmers and mechanics, of a temper more consonant with the spirit of that religion which, while it claims Palestine as its birthplace, finds its full and only legitimate expression in service to humanity at large. From All The Year Round. ALONG THE SILVER STREAK. IT was a fortunate chance that separated the passengers of the "Sew-Mew," and sent some to wander along the coast while others remained on board-fortunate for me, for otherwise I should have had no opportunity of explanation with Hilda; fortunate for the rest, as not a little enhancing the pleasure of the trip. People get tired of each other even in a few days' sail; they quarrel, form cliques, set up grievances. But with fresh arrivals and temporary departures these little symptoms cease. It is pleasant to meet again, to retail little adventures afloat or ashore, to discuss plans for the future. Stéphanie never had appreciated her Alphonse half so much as when she was separated from him by the cruel sea. And yet, in another way, there was disenchantment. With the arrival of the yacht, the Chancellor influence became paramount. Hilda resumed her place as a kind of queen-bee over the swarm. There was a whole budget of letters and telegrams for her. Mr. Wyvern and she were presently discussing business matters earnestly together. That something grave and disquieting had occurred I could see by Hilda's face, but she did not seek counsel of me. Then our director came to the front, taking up a prominent position on the yacht's bridge, and waving his programme energetically. "Ladies and shentlemen," he said when we assembled about him, "I propose that we should take a little historic promenade. We shall visit the battle-field of Formigny." "Connais pas ! 99 remarked Tom, who had picked up a little patois on the way. Things historical had a depressing effect upon Tom, and he naturally fought against them. But the director bristled up indignantly and cried, "Yet, sir, we hear very much of your Crécy, of your Agincourt." "Not from me," murmured Tom, and very justly, for he was quite innocent of any such allusions. The director went on, disregarding the interruption, "Yes, we hear very much of the battles you win, but now I shall like to tell you a little of our battle of Formigny. Come! Here the director dropped his sternness and assumed a wheedling manner. "We shall go to the battle-field, and I shall deliver you one little lecture upon the spot." But people did not respond heartily to the invitation. The place was a good way off-six or seven miles the day was hot, and the means of conveyance primitive. And madame la directrice secretly dissuaded us from the expedition. She had visited the place some years before, and there was really nothing to see. A "Yes, it is very fine to look at," admitted the farmer's daughter, "but rather dull to live in, with the water all round and the trees, and all these great empty rooms; while there is none too much room for the family." little village, with its church, and a broad | entered the court of honor, and admired white road, blazing in the sunshine, with the fine carved windows and doorways; a chapel dedicated to St. Louis, dis- the banqueting-hall, with its carved roof, mantled at the Revolution, but restored where horses and cows were munching by Louis Philippe; and above the chapel their provender. an the hill a modern monument, recording that a battle was fought here, on the 15th of April, 1450, when the English lost heavily, and were forced to abandon Normandy, of which they had been masters since A.D. 1417. But madame had an excursion to propose that was really far more interesting-to the ancient seigneurial castle of Argouges, celebrated on account of its fée, and distant only a short two miles along a pleasant wooded lane. To the director's great discontent the fée carried the day. "And you listen to children's stories rather than the grand facts of history!" But he recovered his good temper when he saw preparations being made for carrying luncheon to the ruins; the sailors gallantly slinging hampers and baskets on their shoulders and starting off at a run towards Argouges. "Aha, a pique nique!" he exclaimed. "Yes, that too is good. I adopt your fée; she married the respectable Sieur Clicquot, and is again a widow." "And the fée ?" asked some one. "Is the fée at all troublesome?" "Oh, as for the fée," said the girl, laughing, "she does not concern herself with people now." It is said that at times the fée may be seen flitting about the deserted rooms, and that her cry "La Mort!" may be heard on stormy nights. they were going out together hawking or hunting, the fairy, not above human weaknesses, occupied an unconscionable time over her toilette. There was a popular saying then in use-sometimes still to be heard in the district when any one was slow about a business that he or she would be good to send to look for death, that being an affair that people are not supposed to want in a hurry. And the knight of Argouges unfortunately hurled this saying at his dilatory wife, who at the word mort gave a despairing shriek and disappeared. According to the story the seigneur of Argouges was one day engaged in mortal combat with a giant and getting the worst of it, when the fairy, who was secretly enamored of him, came to his rescue, and brought him off in safety. The knight, full of gratitude, offered heart and hand to the fairy, who joyfully consented to share his home, but on one condition inspired by a higher power than hers. The The country lane proved cool and pleas- knight must never mention the word ant, with happy-looking homesteads show- "death." A charming wife proved the ing here and there among the trees, and fairy, and the seigneur of Argouges led a sometimes a roadside well, with a vener-happy life with her; till one day, when able-looking superstructure, the stones all covered with ferns and moss - conical structures, like Buddhist topes on a small scale, peculiar, it seems, to this part of Normandy. And presently through the thick foliage, retired and tranquil, appeared the grey old château, with its little chapel all overgrown with trees and shrubs; its placid moat, dark and still, and almost covered with weeds; the low battlemented wall with its platform for culverin or cannon; and its machicolated bastion for the harquebusemen; while above rise the gabled roofs, the mullioned windows richly carved, the corbie-stepped "All this nonsense," cried our director, gable of the high tower, that is half watch-"springs from the fact that the family tower and half grenier. All is ruin and shield bore the motto 'A la fée,' which quiet, soft decay, but wrapped up in such means 'A la foi;' "" at the same time he luxuriant verdure, that it seems as if ruin admitted that there was a certain interest and decay brought their own consolations. in the story, for fairies are not common in But as we approached the ruined gateway, the popular mythology of the northern overthrown and desolate, the loud barking nations, and when they occur, are suggesand baying of dogs announced that the tive of Celtic influences. According to an place was not altogether deserted. One early tradition, indeed, the fairies abanend of the building has been repaired, and doned Normandy when the Scandinavians is occupied by a farmer. A young woman invaded the country, gathering together came forward to calm the fury of the dogs, at the ancient castle of Pirou, on the and to open the gate for us; and so we other side of the peninsula, whence they all took flight over the sea in the form of | ing-place we hoped to find more lively and wild geese. populous than any we had come to as yet. It was hot when we started, with but little air stirring, and, as we reached the more open country towards the coast, we were attacked by swarms of horse-flies. Why these tormenting creatures should have massed themselves at this particular spot it is hard to say. We soon got out of their dominions, but while we were passing they took toll most vigorously. All along the coast is a range of limestone cliffs, and the villages lie back a mile or so from their edge; villages with an entirely agricultural population, thinking as little of the sea as if they lived a hundred miles away from it. And then somebody recited another tale still current in the district. This related to a fé, a male fairy, and these male fairies are not much relished in the popular mythology, and are represented generally as crabbed old men. But this one perhaps is an exception. Anyhow, this fairy fell in love with a pretty peasant woman as she sat spinning in the sunshine, and paid his court to her. The young woman's husband found this out, and resolved on revenge. Dressed in his wife's garments, he seated himself at her wheel, and began to spin, having first made red-hot the baking-pan. The fé approached, but looked dissatisfied. "Where is the fair one of What with the heat, and some little yesterday?" he asked, "who would spin, dust, and the flies, thirst came upon us bespin, spin! but twirled all the time. As fore we were half-way to the end of our for you, you turn, turn, turn; but never walk. We passed sundry cool and shaded twirl at all." The artful peasant made houses, at each of which we cried: "Oh, some excuse for his awkwardness, when if this only proved to be a café!" But no the fé approaching softly demanded the café appeared, and attempts for milk were name of the presumed spinster. "Moi- unsuccessful. If you don't arrive at the même myself," replied the man, and very moment of milking in these parts, springing up he laid the red-hot baking- the milk is put away for butter, and must pan about the fairy, who thereupon flew not be disturbed. The sufferings of the away howling. The fé, being a person of ancient mariner were nothing to ours. consequence in the fairy world, sum- Not only had we the sea to tantalize us moned an assemblage of fairies, showed with notions of big drinks, but there were his burns, and demanded revenge. "Who the cows also diffusing a milky odor in did it?" asked the others, full of indigna- the air; and yet there was not a drop to tion at their comrade's wrongs. "Moi- drink. Then we came to a shady little même," cried the foolish fairy. And upon that he was flown upon, pinched, and kicked by all the fairies present. "And served him quite right," pronounced Mrs. Bacon, who had no patience with people who made mischief between man and wife- nor between engaged couples neither. And here I thought that Mrs. Bacon looked rather fiercely towards me. But then Mrs. Bacon had the old-fashioned habit of always pointing a moral when possible, and on this occasion nobody took any notice of her remark, which indeed was dictated rather by hunger than ill-nature; for when the pique nique, as the director persisted in calling the meal, was served on the grass outside the moat, in the shadow of a fine old barn of solid masonry, and with an interested audience of ducks and geese and poultry of all kinds. then Mrs. Bacon became good-tempered again, and even jolly. In the general expansion of mind caused by our al fresco festivities, the question was mooted, Where should we go next? Not back to Port, it was decided, but along the coast to Arromanches, a water village with an ancient church, but again no café. But there was a jovial-looking shoemaker hammering away in a little open shed, and we put the case to him, and suggested cider. The shoemaker comprehended in a moment. He had a fellow-feeling for us, being, no doubt, himself a thirsty soul. The shoemaker ushered us into a big, roomy kitchen, cool and shaded, with a look-out through the back door into a rich garden, where the bees were murmuring, and everything was growing and ripening as fast as it could in the sunshine. And there he left us to the care of his wife, an anxious-looking woman, who wore a white conical cotton nightcap, and was sitting in the window busily sewing, with two children beside her. There was a bed in the room piled half-way to the ceiling with mattress and eider-down; a clock with a huge brass pendulum; and plenty of rushbottomed chairs. Presently the shoe maker reappeared with a huge jug of cider, gallons of it, cool and fragrant, and with some body in it, too. Tom and I punished that cider badly, for it seemed to evaporate like water poured upon a red |