xecuted as the contiguous
moulding upon the same stone; but the other two inscriptions (those upon
the facade of the building in the village, and that upon the broken
column in the field below Jish) are put irregularly upon any vacant space
that happened to be unencumbered. I am convinced that, in the latter
instance, the sculpture and the writing have nothing to do with each
other.

The surest demonstration, however, to my mind, lies in the evident fact
of animal figures having been originally upon the same lintel where the
writing now is. Although their relief-projection has been chiselled
down, the outlines of the figures are unmistakable. These, I feel
certain, were coeval with the buildings, while the inscriptions are only
coeval with their being defaced.

Next day we travelled southwards towards Jerusalem. On leaving the town
we passed the ruins of an old church, which they call "The Church of the
Forty Martyrs," (this seems to be a favourite traditional designation, as
there are other such about the country) and in half an hour reached a
stream in the midst of a wood of neb'k trees, where an Arab, riding a
fine mare and carrying a long spear decorated with black ostrich
feathers, was driving a cow across the water--very probably plundered
from some neighbouring village.

At _Yakook_--the dirtiest place in the world, I suppose, there was a
large Arab encampment, the men sitting apart from the women, and cooking
going on--thence to _Hhatteen_. The volcanic stones of this region are
far blacker than elsewhere; the district resembles some dismal coal
district in the north of England. Thence out of the common road to
_Nimrin_, by _Lubieh_, _Tura'an_, to _Cuf'r Cana_, the old and true Cana
of Galilee.

At this village of peculiarly scriptural interest, the women and children
were spreading cotton pods, just picked, on their house-roofs to dry.
Here is a square-built cistern filled from a spring within it, and the
cattle were drinking from a beautiful sarcophagus. Losing our road again
we came to _Meshhad_, rather west of the usual road. Clouds lowering and
frowning over Carmel. At the village of _Raineh_ I noticed a man
harrowing a ploughed field by dragging a bunch of prickly-pear leaves
after a yoke of oxen. Arrived at Nazareth.

Next day, across the plain of Esdraelon to _Jeneen_ and _Sanoor_, where
we slept. Then by a new road, untraversed by Europeans. After _Jeba'_,
we got into the plain of Shar