any prominent peak; but everywhere from the southern end the snow-capped peak of Hermon is visible, standing out so sharp and clear in the bright sky, that it appears almost within reach; and, towards the north, the western ridge is cut through by a wild gorge, 'the Valley of Doves,' over which rise the twin peaks, or Horns of Hattin. The shore line, for the most part regular, is broken on the north into a series of little bays of exquisite beauty-nowhere more beautiful than at Gennesaret, where the beaches, pearly white with myriads of minute shells, are on one side washed by the limpid waters of the lake, and on the other shut in by a fringe of oleanders, rich in May with their 'blossoms red and bright.'

"The lake is pear-shaped, the broad end being towards the north; the greatest width is six and three-quarter miles from Mejdel-Magdala '-to Khersa -'Gergesa'-about one-third of the way down; and the extreme length is twelve and a quarter miles. The Jordan enters at the north, a swift, muddy stream, colouring the lake for a mile from its mouth, and passes out pure and bright at the south. On the north-western shore of the lake is a plain, two and a half miles long and one mile broad, called by the Bedouins El Ghuweir, but better known by its familiar name of Gennesareth; and on the north-east, near Jordan's mouth, is a swampy plain, El Batîhah, now much frequented by wild boars-formerly the scene of a skirmish between the Jews and Romans, in which Josephus met with an accident that necessitated his removal to Capernaum. On the west there is a recess in the hills, containing the town of Tiberias; and in the east, at the mouths of Wadies Semakh and

Fîk, are small tracts of level ground. On the south, the fine open Valley of the Jordan stretches away towards the Dead Sea, and is covered in the neighbourhood of the lake with luxuriant grass."-Capt. Wilson, Recovery of Jerusalem.

The Lake of Galilee is from 600 to 700 feet below the Mediterranean, but the level varies with the seasons. The water is bright, and except in the neighbourhood of Tiberias, is good for drinking purposes. It is still subject to violent storms, as in the days of the Gospels. Many travellers may like to row on the lake, and it is an enjoyable way of going to Capernaum. Inquiry must be made at Tiberias for boats, and if there is a party, it will be well to send a muleteer ahead to secure them.

From Tiberias on to Tell-Hûm, on our way toward Damascus, the journey may be made: either by boat or by road parallel to the lake shore. The latter is the more usual, but the former, although taking a longer time, is the more interesting, as the views on either side are better seen from the water. Moreover, the heat by the road-way is very oppressive, and on the water what breeze there may be is caught. Of course if the weather is rough, a boat should not be taken.

The road or the lake present, of course, the same features, and the places passed occur in either case, in the following order :Almost opposite Tiberias are Wady Fik, and the ruins of Gamala, where once stood a fortress, garrisoned by Josephus, and taken in A.D. 69 by Vespasian with a loss of ten thousand, half of whom leapt from the walls down the precipices. On the left are some springs, known as 'Ainel-Barideh, then on the left again

is seen the village of Medjel, corresponding with Magdala, where Mary Magdalene was born. Below it is a small plain, and with this the traveller will associate the passage in Matthew xv. 39, where, after recording the miracle of the loaves and fishes, it is said Jesus "sent away the multitude, and took ship and came into the coast of Magdala.'

Across the lake, which here attains its greatest width (six and three-quarter miles), and nearly opposite to Magdala is Khersa (Gergesa). "The site of the ruins is enclosed by a wall three feet thick. The remains are not of much importance, with the exception of those of a large rectangular building lying east and west. On the shore of the lake are a few ruined buildings, to which the same name was given by the Bedawîn. About a mile south of this, the hills, which everywhere else on the eastern side are recessed from a half to three-quarters of a mile from the water's edge, approach within forty feet of it. They do not terminate abruptly, but there is a steep, even slope, which we would identify with the steep place,' down which the herd of swine ran violently into the sea, and so were choked. A few yards off is a small intermittent hot spring.

"That the meeting of our Lord with the two demoniacs took place on the eastern shore of the lake is plain from Matt. ix. 1, and it is equally evident, on an examination of the ground, that there is only one place on that side where the herd of swine could have run down a steep place into the lake, the place mentioned above. The eastern coast has since been carefully examined by Mr MacGregor in his canoe, and he has come to exactly the same conclusion. A

difficulty has arisen with regard to this locality, in consequence of the different readings in the three Gospels. In Matthew our Saviour is said to have come into the country of the Gergesenes; in Luke and John into that of the Gadarenes. The old MSS. do not give any assistance here; but the similarity of the name Khersa, to that of Gergesa, is, as Dr Thomson points out in 'The Land and the Book,' a strong reason for believing that the reading of Matthew is correct; and we have also the testi-. mony of Eusebius and Origen that a village called Gergesa once existed on the borders of the lake. Perhaps the discrepancy may be explained by supposing that Gergesa was under the jurisdiction of Gadara. There do not appear to be any rock-hewn tombs near Khersa; but the demoniacs may possibly have lived in one of those tombs built above ground which have been noticed under the head of TellHûm, a form of tomb much more common in Galilee than has been supposed. I have entered into this question rather fully, as travellers have alternately asserted and denied the existence of a suitable locality on the eastern shore; and even such a carefully compiled work as the 'Dictionary of the Bible,' has made the extraordinary blunder of placing the scene of the miracle at Gadara, now Um Keis, a place from which the swine would have had a hard gallop of two hours before reaching the lake."- Recovery of Jerusalem.

Just beyond Magdala (left) will be seen the Wady Hamam (Valley of the Pigeons), descending from Khan Lubiyeh and the Horns of Hattin, and a little further on the ruins of Kul'at Ibn Ma an, and the once strongly-fortified caverns of Arbela, where robbers

who were the terror of the country found a retreat, but were dispossessed by Herod the Great, who caused them to be attacked by lowering cages filled with soldiers. The ruins of Irbid, or Arbela, the Beth-Arbel of Scripture, are on the north of the plateau of Hattin. The origin of the name is supposed to be House of Ambush, and it would seem that from a very early date it was famous as a stronghold. "Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman spoiled Beth-Arbel in the day of battle."-Hosea x. 14.

The level tract beyond Magdala is the Land of Gennesaret (Matt. xiv. 34), now called El Ghuweir, or "the Little Ghôr."

The Sea of Galilee is called in the Old Testament "the Sea of Chinnereth" and "the Sea of Cinneroth," from a town which stood somewhere on its margin named Chinnereth. In the New Testament it is called the "Sea of Tiberias" (John vi. 1), from the town of that name; and the "Lake of Gennesaret" (Luke V. 1).

In this region, round about the shores of this sea, our Lord spent the principal part of His public life. Nine cities then stood upon its shores, of which the chief were Capernaum, Chorazin, Tiberias, Magdala, and the two Bethsaidas.

Cast out from Nazareth, Capernaum became henceforth the "home" of Jesus. It was "His own city"; "leaving Nazareth He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which

sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Matt. iv. 13—16). Here He called Peter, James, and John, the three most intimate disciples, the "inner circle," of his chosen band. "And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets" (Luke v. 1). Then He entered into Simon's ship, and taught the people on the shore, and after that He performed the miracle of the draught of fishes, which so astonishing Peter, James, and John, the Master said to them, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to shore, they forsook all, and followed Him.'

From a ship on the waters of this lake, he delivered that marvellous discourse on the kingdom of heaven. Jesus "went out of His house ('His own house') and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered unto Him, so that He went into a ship and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore" (Matt. xiii. 1, 2), and heard those wonderful parables of the sower, the wheat and the tares, the grain of mustard seed, the leaven, and the net cast into the sea.

Here, when "there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with waves. He rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm" (Matt. viii. 24-27). At Gergesa there "met Him two possessed with devils coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.' But He cast out the devils, causing

them to enter into a herd of swine, which ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters (Matt. viii. 28-34). Near here He fed the five thousand, and afterwards seeing His disciples toiling in rowing on the lake, for the wind was contrary, "Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea," and He "performed many mighty works" and "spake many things," and here was the scene of those touching incidents which occurred soon after His resurrection.

"This is a hallowed lake in the glorious Land of Promise and Divine performance-the peaceful scene of the opening career of the Redeemer, the cradle of His teaching, the country of His disciples; His chosen retreat when He hid Himself from His foes; His miracles and His sublime lessons have consecrated these solitudes. The charm of this landscape is felt still in our own day, and is reflected in the simple story of the Evangelists. We are carried back to the life on its shores by the parable of the net, by that of the lost sheep, by the image of the sheep-fold, and the beautiful lesson of the lilies. These flowers, more glorious than Solomon's purple, still abound." -Ritter Erdkunda.

The boat will soon now run into a narrow creek at 'Ain et Tin, or the Fountain of the Figtree. There is a small spring here, inferior, however, to the adjacent Et-Tabigah. A little to the north of the spring is Khân Minyeh, a ruin now, but built, without doubt, for the convenience of travellers to Damascus. Near here are some ruins which Dr Robinson considers to be the remains of Capernaum.

Et - Tabigah. "Westward, along the shore of the lake, a mile and a half from Tell-Húm,

is the charming little bay of EtTabigah, and the great spring which is, without a doubt, the Fountain of Capharnaum mentioned by Josephus as the watering place of Gennesareth."

Tell-Hûm is two miles west of the Jordan, and is a mass of ruins.

On rising ground at the back of these ruins are the remains of the ancient town of Capernaum, where our Lord had His own house.

Chorazin (Kerâzeh).—Two and a half miles north of Tell-Hûm are the ruins which Pococke, as early as the year 1740, identified, from the similarity of the name Gerasi with Chorazin. Leaving Tell-Hûm we proceed by a bad road past the Khân Yubb Yûsef, or Khân of Joseph's Well, where tradition asserts that Joseph was thrown by his brethren.

A beautiful stream, Nahr Hendah, is reached, and on the hill above it are some important ruins of a town named Kasyûn, of uncertain date. The usual place for making a mid-day halt is at 'Ain Mellahah.

Lake of Hûleh (4 miles long, 3 broad, 11 ft. deep, and nearly 300 feet above the level of the sea) is called "The Waters of Merom."

It was here that Jabin, King of Hazor, gathered together all the surrounding kings and their companies, "and they went out, they with them, and all their hosts much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to-morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt

slay their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them. And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel."

About an hour's journey from 'Ain Mellahah there are some capital camping-places, especially near 'Ain Belat, a charming spot, where there are some very old ruins. From here the traveller will have a near view of Mount Hermon.

A journey of about an hour from 'Ain Belat across the plain brings us to Tell-el-Kadi (the Hill of the Judge, or the Judge's Mound), corresponding with the Dan of Scripture.

"The Tell, or mound, is about a quarter of a mile in diameter, and about fifty feet above the plain: beneath it bursts out a beautiful crystal spring, which sends forth its living stream through the plain; while from beneath a wide-spreading terebinth-which marks the site of a Moslem grave on the side of the mound - issue some sparkling rills, which add their contributions to the stream. The mound, with the further mound rising behind it, marks the site of the town and citadel of Dan, the northern frontier of the Holy Land; while the spring at its foot is the Fountain of the Jordan, one of the largest and most important springs of that sacred river. The history of Dan is briefly as follows:-When Abraham pursued the captors of Lot, he "went even unto Dan," and with the few men of his household recovered him and the booty. It was the most northerly city of Palestine, as Beersheba was the most southerly; and the expression, "from Dan to Beersheba," is known to all, both in its literal and metaphorical

sense. It was used in the same way ages ago (see Judges xx. 1; 1 Sam. iii. 20, &c.).

The journey from Tell-el-Kadi, or Dan, to Banias, is short, but exceedingly beautiful, and has been thus described by Santley :

"With Dan the Holy Land properly terminates. But the easternmost source of the Jordan, about four miles distant, is so intimately connected with it, both by historical and geographical association, that we must go forwards yet a little way into the bosom of Hermon. Over an unshaded carpet of turf-through trees of every variety of foliagethrough a park-like verdure, which casts a strangely beautiful interest over this last recess of Palestine, the pathway winds, and the snowy top of the mountain itself is gradually shut out from view by its increasing nearness; and again there is the rush of waters through deep thickets, and the ruins of an ancient town -not Canaanite, but Romanrise on the hill-side; in its situation, in its exuberance of water, its olive-groves, and its views over the distant plain, almost a Syrian Tivoli."

BANIAS, OR CESAREA PHILIPPI.

Banias was known as the Greek Paneas, from the sanctuary of Pan. It was adorned by Herod the Great, who erected a temple over the spring of the Jordan, in honour of Augustus Cæsar. Nothing is known of the ancient history of this place, although it is thought to agree with BaalGad, the northern boundaries of Joshua's victories. "Joshua took all the land, even from the Mount of Halak that goeth uptc Seir, even unto Baal-Gad in the Valley of Lebanon, under Mount Hermon." Baal-Gad is probably identical

with Baal - Hermon (Judges iii.; 1 Chron. v.). But