e son of Jerubbaal."

The site of Tubas is elevated. It is still a considerable village, and
possesses that decided evidence of all very ancient sites in Palestine--a
large accumulation of rubbish and ashes.

I was told that here, as well as in several of the villages around, there
are scattered Christians, one or two families in each among the Moslems,
without churches, without clergy, without books or education of any kind;
still they are Christians, and carry their infants to the Greek Church in
Nabloos for baptism. What a deplorable state of things! Since the date
of this journey the Church Missionary Society's agents have in some
degree ministered to the spiritual destitution of these poor people by
supplying some at least with copies of the Holy Scriptures.

Here my principal kawwas, Hadj Mohammed es Serwan, found the fever, which
had been upon him more or less for the last three days, so greatly
increased, that it was not possible for him to proceed farther with me.
The fever he attributed to his having, on arrival at Nabloos, indulged
too freely in figs and milk together. The general experience of the
country warrants this conclusion.

Poor fellow! after several times dismounting, and renewing his efforts to
keep up with me, he was at length totally disabled; and our Protestant
friends, who were now about to return home, engaged to get him into the
village, and have him carefully attended to, there and at Nabloos, till
he should be able to return to his family at Jerusalem. I left him under
a large tree, gazing wistfully after me, and endeavouring to persuade me
not to go down to that Gehennom of a place, Beisan. {94}

My forward journey lay through fine olive-grounds and stubble-fields of
wheat. In an hour we passed _Kayaseer_, a wretched but ancient place,
with exceedingly old olive-trees about it. Then going on for some time
among green bushes and straggling shoots of trees, we descended to the
water-bed of a valley. Once more upon a Roman road, on which at twenty
minutes' distance was a prostrate Roman milestone, but with no
inscription to be seen; perhaps it was on the under side, upon the
ground. Then the road, paved as it was with Roman work, rose before us
on a steep slope, to a plain which was succeeded by the "Robbers'
Valley," (Wadi el Hharamiyeh,) in which we met two peasants driving an
ass, and inquired of them "Is the plain of the Jordan safe?"--meaning,
Are there any wild Bedaween abo