and oxen on the thrashing-floor; others were gleaning and weeding in the neighboring fields; and the noisiest and most active were busy loading some kneeling camels with sacks of grain. Assisted by the contemplation of this busy scene, and the remembrance of the incidents of the morning, I could fully realize the beautiful story of Ruth. We crossed a field of Indian corn, to pause for a moment under the shade of the clump of trees, said to mark the spot where the shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night, when the "good tidings" were proclaimed. The place is now called the "Shepherds' Garden," and is in the keeping of the monks of Bethlehem. We rose on to the hill-side again, and peeped into the Milk Grotto, in which tradition says that Mary rested on the eve of her fight into Egypt. It is a cave in a very white limestone rock, and has been undergoing excavation for centuries, on account of the before-mentioned supposed virtue of the stone. Fragments of it are treasured in all parts of Syria, and in many countries of Europe. I have often seen it used successfully. It seems to me, that the mere fact of not being provided with this relic will, in nervous subjects, occasion a deficiency of milk, and in such cases herbs and other medicines, wise women and doctors, are resorted to in vain; but whenever a portion of this crumbling stone can be procured, through the hands of a priest, tranquillity is restored, and favorable results follow. In this way many so-called miracles may be accounted for.
We rode on southward toward Urtâs, passing over terraced hills, where the vines, and olives, and fig-trees grew luxuriantly, and little white stone watch-towers peered out here and there, in commanding positions, from the midst of the thick foliage. Near to the winding bridle-path we saw now and then a cottage or hut made of rough, unhewn stones, and roofed with tree-branches, standing in a garden of cucumbers, or tomatoes, or a choice vineyard. One of these rude dwellings was being clumsily repaired by a group of boys, who had been gathering stones and sticks
