ion. The house of the Virgin is
not shewn here, because, according to the legend, an angel carried
it away to Loretto in Italy. A few steps lead to another grotto,
affirmed to be the residence of a neighbour of the Virgin, during
whose absence she presided over the house and attended to the duties
of the absent Mary.

Another grotto in the town is shewn as "the workshop of Joseph;" it
has been left in its primitive state, except that a plain wooden
altar has been added. Not far off we find the synagogue where our
Lord taught the people, thereby exasperating the Pharisees to such a
degree, that they wished to cast Him down from a rock outside the
city. In conclusion we were shewn an immense block of stone on
which the Saviour is said to have eaten the Passover with His
disciples(!).

In the afternoon we went to see "Mary's Well," on the road to
Tabarith, at a short distance from Nazareth. This well is fenced
round with masonry, and affords pure clear water. Hither, it is
said, the Virgin came every day to draw water, and here the women
and girls of Nazareth may still be daily seen walking to and fro
with pitchers on their shoulders. Those whom we saw were all poorly
clad, and looked dirty. Many wore no covering on their head, and,
what was far worse, their hair hung down in a most untidy manner.
Their bright eyes were the only handsome feature these people
possessed. The custom of wearing silver coins round the head also
prevailed here.

To-day was a day of misfortunes for me; in the morning, when we
departed from Lagun, I had already felt unwell. On the road I was
seized with violent headache, nausea, and feverish shiverings, so
that I hardly thought I should be able to reach Nazareth. The worst
of all this was, that I felt obliged to hide my illness, as I had
done on our journey to Jerusalem, for fear I should be left behind.
The wish to view all the holy places in Nazareth was also so
powerful within me, that I made a great effort, and accompanied the
rest of my party for the whole day, though I was obliged every
moment to retire into the background that my condition might not be
observed. But when we went to table, the smell of the viands
produced such an effect upon me, that I hastily held my handkerchief
before my face as though my nose were bleeding, and hurried out.
Thanks to my sunburnt skin, through which no paleness could
penetrate, no one noticed that I was ill. The whole day long I
could e