scend Mount Tabor a second
time, but rode along beside its base. To-day I once more visited
all the spots I had seen when I was so ill two days before; in this
pursuit I passed some very agreeable hours.

June 17th.

In the morning, at half-past four, we once more bade farewell to the
worthy priests of Nazareth, and rode without stopping for nine hours
and a half, until at two o'clock we reached

MOUNT CARMEL.

It was long since we had travelled on such a good road as that on
which we journeyed to-day. Now and then, however, a piece truly
Syrian in character had to be encountered, probably lest we should
lose the habit of facing hardship and danger. Another comfort was
that we were not obliged to-day to endure thirst, as we frequently
passed springs of good clear water. At one time our way even led
through a small oak-wood, a phenomenon almost unprecedented in
Syria. There was certainly not a single tree in all the wood which
a painter might have chosen for a study, for they were all small and
crippled. Large leafy trees, like those in my own land, are very
seldom seen in this country. The carob, which grows here in
abundance, is almost the only handsome tree; it has a beautiful
leaf, scarcely larger than that of a rose-tree, of an oval form, as
thick as the back of a knife, and of a beautiful bright green
colour.

Mount Carmel lies on the sea-shore. It is not high, and half an
hour suffices the traveller to reach its summit, which is crowned by
a spacious and beautiful convent, probably the handsomest in all
Palestine, not even excepting the monasteries at Nazareth and
Jerusalem. The main front of the building contains a suite of six
or seven large rooms, with folding-doors and lofty regular windows.
These rooms, together with several in the wings, are devoted to the
reception of strangers. They are arranged in European style, with
very substantial pieces of furniture, among which neither sofas nor
useful chests of drawers are wanting.

[Illustration 5. Mount Carmel. ill5.jpg]

About an hour after we arrived our reverend hosts regaled us with a
more sumptuous meal than any of which I had partaken since my
departure from Constantinople.

In proportion as our fare had been meagre and our accommodation
indifferent at Nazareth and Jerusalem, did we find every thing here
excellent. In an elegant dining-room stood a large table covered
with a fine white cloth, on which cut glass and clean knives, for