journey,
we passed the grave of the patriarch Jacob. Had our attention not
been particularly drawn to this monument, we should have ridden by
without noticing it, for a few scattered blocks of stone are all
that remain. A little farther on we enter the Samaritan territory,
and here is "Jacob's well," where our Saviour held converse with the
woman of Samaria. The masonry of the well has altogether vanished,
but the spring still gushes forth from a rock.

Nablus, the ancient Sichem, the chief town of Samaria, contains four
thousand inhabitants, and is reputed to be one of the most ancient
towns in Palestine. It is surrounded by a strong wall, and consists
of a long and very dirty street. We rode through the town from one
end to the other, and past the poor-looking bazaar, where nothing
struck me but the sight of some fresh figs, which were at this early
season already exposed for sale. Of course we bought the fruit at
once; but it had a very bad flavour.

A number of soldiers are seen in all the towns. They are Arnauts, a
wild, savage race of men, who appear to be regarded with more dread
by the inhabitants than the wandering tribes whose incursions they
are intended to repress.

We pitched our tents on a little hill immediately outside the town.
Few things are more disagreeable to the traveller than being
compelled to bivouac near a town or village in the East. All the
inhabitants, both young and old, flock round in order to examine the
European caravan, which is a most unusual sight for them, as closely
as possible. They frequently even crowd into the tents, and it
becomes necessary to expel the intruders almost by main force. Not
only are strangers excessively annoyed at being thus made a gazing-
stock, but they also run a risk of being plundered.

Our cook had the good fortune to obtain a kid only three or four
days old, which was immediately killed and at once boiled with rice.
We made a most sumptuous meal, for it was seldom we could get such
good fare.

June 13th.

The morning sun found us already on horseback; we rode through the
whole of the beautiful valley at the entrance of which Nablus lies.
The situation of this town is very charming. The valley is not
broad, and does not exceed a mile and a half in length; it is
completely surrounded with low hills. The mountain on the right is
called Ebal, and that on the left Grissim. The latter is celebrated
as being the meeting-place of the twelve