divinity was distinctly enunciated.

At that very time the temple of Augustus, erected by Herod, was in its
freshest beauty; the votive inscriptions with the name of Agrippa were
newly chiselled; and the priests of Pan were celebrating sacrifices and
incense, together with rustic offerings, upon his altar; the worship,
too, of Baal was still in existence, under some modifications, upon the
mountain overhead. At such a place, and under such circumstances, was
the Church universal promised to be founded on the rock of faith to which
Peter had given utterance.

It may be here observed that at that period this Caesarea Philippi was
not a secluded spot, as commentators generally make it, because Banias is
so now; but the town was one of notoriety, adorned, as we have just seen,
with expensive public edifices.

* * * * *

On returning to the tents, the shaikh of the village came, attended by
some of his relatives belonging to Hhasbeya, begging for some quinine
medicine: I gave him eight of my twelve remaining pills. On the adjacent
plain there must needs be fever and ague; in fact, so unwilling was I on
account of malaria to remain longer at Banias, that we resumed our
travelling by night.

At three o'clock, A.M., we were mounted--there was a little rain at the
time, and clouds that threatened more of it obscured the setting moon;
there was lightning also in the same direction. I even altered my plan
of going on to "the bridge of the daughters of Jacob," (the thoroughfare
between Safed and Damascus,) in order to escape from the plain as quickly
as possible. For this purpose we turned westwards, and had to struggle
through marshes and rough ground by starlight and lightning. Most
unwisely we had neglected to take a meal before starting, not expecting
the district to be so plashy and unwholesome as it proved to be. The
plain, north of the Lake Hhooleh, is traversed by innumerable channels of
water, among which rice is grown, of which I gathered a handful as a
trophy to exhibit in Jerusalem. And there were lines of tents of the
poor Ghawarineh Arabs upon dry ground, besides small scaffolds standing
in the rice marshes, from which elevations the people watch the crops and
fire upon wild beasts that come to injure or devour the crops; dogs
barked as we passed, and fires were visible in several directions.

Arriving at the bridge of _El Ghujar_, my companion and I both felt sick,
and h