formed by the bursting of springs were blocked up; and I see, in fancy, the chariot-roads winding round terraced hills, and through vineyards, pleasant gardens, and pasture land in the plains, as they did in the days when such kings as Solomon the magnificent ruled, or when Uzziah the lover of husbandry reigned. (See 2 Chron. xxvi, 10, 11.)
The sun had gone down in red, and gold, and purple splendor when we quitted the tortuous course of the aqueduct. We lost the cheerful sound of the running stream, whose waters were flowing freely toward Jerusalem; and we took a more direct route, turning toward the Convent of Mar Elias. We mounted the hill, and then galloped quickly over the plain of Rephaim, meeting long strings of unladen camels gently jolting along, and numbers of Bethlehem peasants and women, returning homeward, with their empty baskets poised on their heads. They had been selling fruit and vegetables in Jerusalem.
It was dusk when we reached Talibîyeh. We found that some poor Jews had been employed there throughout the day, to make a sort of veranda or shelter of reeds in front of the little stone house, and it proved a very pleasant retreat. The reeds used were from the banks of the Jordan. They are about an inch and a half or two inches in diameter, and twelve or thirteen feet in hight, with a plumy tuft at the top, like a miniature palm-tree. It is very likely that this kind of reed is referred to in the history of the Crucifixion, where it is said, "And straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink." Matt. xxvii, 48.
Thoroughly tired, but well pleased, I went to my tent; and, according to the advice of the Armenian nurse, bathed my feet and arms with milk and vinegar, to allay the irritation caused by the musketoes, which had tormented me in the convent at Bethlehem. It proved an effectual remedy, and I recommend travelers to try it.
