iblical history, but being of interest on account of the
great stones to be seen there. No record has been preserved as to the
origin of the city, but coins of the first century of the Christian era
show that it was then a Roman colony. It is situated in the valley of
the Litany, at an elevation of two thousand eight hundred and forty feet
above the sea. The chief ruins are in a low part of the valley by the
side of the present town, and are surrounded by gardens. Within the
inclosing wall are the remains of the temple of Jupiter and the temple
of the sun. The hand of time and the hand of man have each had a share
in despoiling these ruins, but they still speak with eloquence of their
grandeur at an earlier date. The wall is so low on the north that it is
supposed to have been left unfinished. Here are nine stones, each said
to be thirty feet long, ten feet thick and thirteen feet high, and they
are closely joined together without the use of mortar. Just around the
corner are three others still larger, and built in the wall about twenty
feet above the foundation. Their lengths are given as follows:
sixty-three feet; sixty-three feet and eight inches; and sixty-four
feet. They are thirteen feet high and about ten feet thick. Some may be
interested in knowing how such large building blocks were moved.
McGarvey says: "It is explained by the carved slabs found in the temple
of Nineveh, on which are sculptured representations of the entire
process. The great rock was placed on trucks by means of levers, a large
number of strong ropes were tied to the truck, a smooth track of heavy
timbers was laid, and men in sufficient number to move the mass were
hitched to the ropes." Some of the smaller stones have holes cut in
them, as if for bars, levers, or something of that kind, but the faces
of these big blocks are smooth. "A man must visit the spot, ride round
the exterior, walk among the ruins, sit down here and there to gaze upon
its more impressive features, see the whole by sunlight, by twilight,
and by moonlight, and allow his mind leisurely to rebuild it and
re-people it, ere he can comprehend it."--_McGarvey_.

There were some of the native girls out by the ruins who tried to sell
me some of their needle work, but I was not disposed to buy. One of them
attempted to make a sale by saying something like this: "You're very
nice, Mister; please buy one." I told her there was a little girl in
America who thought that, too, and we