or reading on the shady side of another tent; muleteer and
camel parties I could observe mounting or falling with the rises and dips
of the Hebron road; and the jingle of bells or the singing of the men was
audible or alternately lost according to the same circumstances. I lay
watching the progress of sunshine or shadow around the Frank mountain as
the hours rolled on; then as evening approached the Egyptian groom took
down the Egyptian mare to water at the spring, followed by the foal of
pure Saklawi race, that never till the preceding day had had even so much
as a halter put across his head,--a Bashi-bozuk soldier with his pipe
looking on,--the Abyssinian lad carrying pitchers of water to the several
tents, and the pools of bright blue becoming darker blue when rippled by
the evening air. All this was food for enjoyment of the picturesque, but
at the same time God Almighty was leading us into deep trials of faith in
Himself, and bringing out the value of that promise,--"When thou passest
through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee."

As the autumn advanced, some slight sprinkling of rain fell--dews at
night were heavy--mists rose from below--mornings and evenings became
cooled--new flowers began to appear, such as the purple crocus, and
certain yellow blossoms belonging to the season, the name of which I do
not know. We therefore began to take farewell rides about the
neighbourhood, as to places we were never to see again. One of these was
to a very archaic pile of rude masonry, deeply weather-eaten, at a ruined
site called _Bait Saweer_, through green woods and arbutus-trees, glowing
with scarlet berries; a place which had only recently been brought to my
notice, and of which no European had any knowledge.

The old building, whose use we could not discover, was composed, not of
ordinary blocks of stone, but of huge flat slabs, unchiselled at edges or
corners, laid one over another, but forming decidedly an intentional
edifice. It is well worth further examination. At the time we had with
us no materials for sketching, and never had an opportunity of going
thither afterwards.

It lies among the wild green scene west from the Hebron road, near where,
on the opposite, or east side, is the opening of the Wadi 'Aroob, with
its copious springs.

Then we went to _Marseea'_, beyond the _Dair el Benat_--equally unknown
to Europeans--and, lastly, to the green slopes a