INCIDENTS OF A JOURNEY THROUGH EGYPT

AND THE HOLY LAND.

(Continued from Page 156.)

WITH the shadows that concealed the morning, our fears and fatigue fled away. So like were the hills and plains, and shrubby mountain hollows around Jenîn to scenes at home, that nothing short of the actual presence of an enemy could have inspired us with a sense of danger. By four o'clock the eastern horizon was lighted up with streams of crimson. A curtain of the dew of Hermon softened the severity of the cloudless sky. The sun, though invisible to us, was by this time illuminating the tops of the western mountains. Suddenly his rays scattered the gossamer drapery, and, in seeming haste, his fiery disc appeared announcing another scorching day.

Keen eyed, and early risers, as Easterns proverbially are, the inhabitants of Jenîn, for aught we could see, were all asleep. Not even a dog lifted his tongue to bid us good morning. At no place were we less annoyed by the natives at leaving than here, and excepting a few stragglers who looked on at a distance as we took our departure, we saw nothing of them. This unusual phenomenon led us to conclude that the Turkish courier was a messenger of peace. The governor at Nâblous knowing full well the propensities of his brother at Jenîn, doubtless cautioned him against molesting "di English mi-lords." To this we had not the smallest objection.

A ride of thirty-six miles was before us that day; there were "bad men" in the way, said Moses, and as he seemed anxious to quit Jenîn as quietly as possible, he had the whole cavalcade in motion by a quarter after six o'clock.

The ordinary route of travellers proceeding northward from Jenîn, is the direct road to Nazareth. This course we found from our guide book and maps to be a long, heavy ride, over dreary uninteresting mountains, and we therefore resolved, at the cost of an additional day, to avoid it. Having cleared from Jenîn by the northern highway, the centre of a filthy stream similar to that at Nâblous, and crossed some broken ground, Moses instructed the muleteers to proceed with the baggage animals by the mountain track direct to Nazareth, a dangerous experiment so far as our property was concerned, while we shaped a western course towards the great plain of Esdraelon. This was a dreary ride as well; but we were so far compensated by the ever-memorable scenes over which we passed.

JEZREEL is one of the familiar names in Old Testament history. From it one of the noblest plains in Palestine derived its name, which the Greeks

afterwards softened into its modern designation of Esdraelon. Viewed as a whole, this plain is a great triangle, with its base on the east stretching for fifteen miles between Engannin and Tabor, with its apex at the foot of Carmel-a distance of thirty to thirty-five miles, where the Kishon flows through the plain, and into the Bay of Acre. Excepting the great plain of Calesyria, between the Lebanon ranges, there is no district to be compared to this for extent and fertility within the compass of the Promised Land. Surrounded with battlements of hills, sheltering it from wintry blasts, possessed of a rich loamy soil remarkably free of stones, moistened, so to speak, from its own resources, every inch of it might be cultivated like a garden. Jacob, in blessing his sons before his death, allotted this plain to the tribe of Issachar. "Issachar," said the dying patriarch, " is a strong ass couching down between two burdens; and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant, and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute." And on the actual division of the land by Joshua, the inheritance of Issachar came out by lot" accordingly. This was a striking literal fulfilment of the prediction, but only in part. If the inheritance was a source of wealth, it was also a source of warfare and grief. The extensive meadows, waving corn fields, luxuriant pastures, and abundant waters of Jezreel, were objects of temptation to every invader. Open to the Philistines from the coast, to the Syrians from the north, and the predatory bands of the east, not to speak of internal feuds, this plain was frequently the theatre of bloody battles. Although the children of Issachar submitted to pay "blackmail" to foreign intruders rather than be disturbed in their possessions, they earnestly assisted David to the throne of Israel, in hopes of receiving in return the protection of his military power. "Their knowledge of the times, and what Israel ought to do," may therefore have contained in it as much of worldly wisdom as of any higher principle.

On the plains of Jezreel Barak encountered the hosts of Jabin, king of Hazor, under the command of the valiant Sisera. Barak, encouraged by the prophetess Deborah, mustered his little army on the slopes of Tabor, whence he had an extensive view of the enemy's camping ground. Sisera, a skilled general, rested the base of his operations on the Kishon, and a finer position for an army could not have been desired. His forces consisted of nearly a million of trained soldiers, supported by nine hundred war chariots of iron, armed with scythes-a sort of artillery to which the level character of the country afforded full scope. Humanly speaking, Barak with his ten thousand peasantry had not the shadow of a chance against this Canaanitish host of warriors. Confident in the goodness of his cause, and knowing that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, he marched from Tabor direct to

the field of battle. Meanwhile the elements were mustering their forces as well. "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera." Dark clouds gathered over the mountains, rain poured in torrents down their sides, and the Kishon rapidly swelled into a flood, deluging the plain. The charioteers and horsemen of Sisera would get entangled in the miry ground, and the swollen river cut off the retreat of his footmen. Thus situated, the Hebrews had an immense advantage, and consequently the first onset sent vast numbers of the enemy down the rolling stream. The triumph to Israel was complete. Sisera on seeing that all was lost, lighted off his chariot and fled, and the same day fell a victim by the hands of Jael.

About half-a-century afterwards, another memorable conflict took place on this plain. The Midianites, Amalekites, and other fierce tribes combined, and pitched their camp for a hostile purpose in the valley of Jezreel. "They lay along the valley like grasshoppers for multitude, and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seaside for multitude." This was more a plundering horde than a disciplined army, but none the less dangerous on that account to the peaceful inhabitants of the country. The Israelites at this time had no king, and were even without a leader. Gideon, a brave, patriotic man, under supernatural guidance selected three hundred men, and by a skilful stratagem fell upon this vast multitude under the darkness of night, and threw them into such a panic and confusion, "that every man's sword was set against his fellow, even throughout all the host." The rest were hotly pursued by the Israelites, and completely routed, and their princes, Oreb and Zeeb, slain. So decisive was the victory, that the land enjoyed peace thereafter for forty years.

Many other interesting events are associated with this district of Palestine, some of which may be noticed as we pass along. On the south-east portion of Esdraelon, there are the considerable ruins of the city of Jezreel, once one of the royal residences of the kings of Israel; to the north of it is Shunem, where Elisha was occasionally entertained by the Shunamite ; and in the same direction the village of Nain, where the Saviour, by a striking miracle, raised to life the widow's son when being carried to the tomb. Some of these places are distinguished on the page of sacred history for what was good, others for evil, but all deeply interesting as portions of the Promised Land. One spot, however, had in a particular degree fixed itself in my mind above all the rest. Long before starting on the journey, I had almost vowed to visit it. It was now in sight-the last battle-field of Saul and Jonathanand could have been reached in little more than an hour; yet circumstances would not permit of the desire being gratified. There on our right, distant about four miles, are the low, dark mountains of Gilboa,

rising abruptly from the plain, and recalling most vividly to my mind one of the most touching and humiliating events in the history of God's ancient people. During the reign of Saul, the Philistines, the implacable enemies of the Hebrews, invaded his kingdom in great force, and encamped in the very heart of it at Shunem, near Jezreel. Saul's army occupied the heights immediately above the eastern arm of the plain. Knowing well that if this impending battle was lost, his dynasty was lost with it, he resolved to lead in person, and to risk his own life and the lives of his sons in the cause. No general, however, was ever placed in a more perilous and hopeless position than was Saul at this crisis. Given up of God, demoralised in mind, impetuous in temper, and rash in action, he reached the climax of desperation by resolving to ask counsel at an evil spirit. In the darkness of night, on the evening previous to the battle, he left the camp in disguise, travelled through a wild country to the village of Endor, distant about fifteen miles, for the ignominious purpose of consulting a witch! That the anointed king of Israel, the father of the brave, noble-hearted Jonathan, should have come to this is indescribably sad! As Saul's road lay close to the left wing of the enemy, he had to return under covert of the night, and, from the nature of the interview he had had with the "familiar spirit," under a still more gloomy state of mind. In such desperate circumstances a coward would have fled and left his army to its fate. But Saul was no coward. Possessed of true nobility of spirit, and endowed with great natural courage and strength, we may be permitted to imagine him buckling on his sword, summoning up his remaining energies, and inspiring his followers, in the words of the poet, for the deadly struggle

"Warriors and chiefs! should the shaft or the sword

Pierce me in leading the host of the Lord,

Heed not the corse, though a king's in your path:

Bury your steel in the bosoms of Gath!

"Thou who art bearing my buckler and bow,

Should the soldiers of Saul look away from the foe,

Stretch me that moment in blood at thy feet!

Mine be the doom which they dared not to meet.

"Farewell to others, but never we part,

Heir to my royalty, son of my heart!

Bright is the diadem, boundless the sway,

Or kingly the death, which awaits us to-day!"

With the break of day the battle began. "The Lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands," great in numbers and undaunted in courage, disciplined in the art of war, and fired with zeal for their country and their gods. While the Israelites-a sorry contrast-with a broken-hearted and utterly dispirited leader, were scattered on the mountains as sheep without a shepherd. One result

was certain. Driven back, and up the slopes of Gilboa, by the fierce and overwhelming hosts of the Philistines, Saul's army was easily and irretrievably defeated. "And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armour-bearer, draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore, Saul took a sword and fell upon it. And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together." David at this moment was in a distant part of the country. Although excluded by dire oppression from taking part in the battle, he trembled for the safety of the kingdom. He revered Saul as the Lord's anointed, and his affection for Jonathan, his son, was unbounded. An Amalekite, in the vain expectation of reward, went and informed David of the result of the battle. Confessing, falsely, to be the murderer of Saul, "David said unto him, how wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed," and he caused him to be instantly put to death. With inconsolable grief, David lamented over the death of Saul and Jonathan. "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. . . . O Jonathan, thou was slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!" The very field of conflict, these bare, bleak, and utterly barren slopes, look, even to this day, as if they held in remembrance the patriots' invocation of the Divine displeasure on a scene so sad. "Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil."

Our road lay along the western margin of Esdraelon. About two hours from Jenîn we reached Ta'annak, the ancient TAANACH, a small village standing on a rising ground close to the hills. Taanach was a royal city of the Canaanites, and fell to the lot of Manasseh. It is mentioned in the triumphal song of Deborah after the battle. "The kings came and fought; then fought the Kings of Canaan in Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo." A few miles to the westward are the ruins of Sejjûn, consisting of the remains of a large khan, and a few remnants of marble columns. These are all that remain of Segio, of the Roman period, and of the once famous MEGIDDO of the Bible. How