CHAPTER IV.
FROM JERUSALEM TO HÂIFA.
It was our intention to remain only a short time in Jerusalem, but my brother had been detained on consular business, and was appointed to attend Kamîl Pasha on an expedition to Hebron, to quell a serious insurrection there.
I was left in the care of my good friends at the Talibîyeh, where I enjoyed excellent opportunities for improving myself in Arabic, and gleaning information about the people of Palestine. Every day brought some new delight. I visited all the places of interest in the neighborhood, sketching and making notes, and had the privilege of accompanying Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore when they explored the Moslem mosques and shrines on Mount Moriah.
Mr. W. Holman Hunt was then busy in his studio on Mount Zion, and there I watched the progress of his wonderful picture of the "Meeting in the Temple," and with delight looked through his portfolios and sketch-books. On the 21st of August I went to Hebron, and after spending a few days with my brother at the Pasha's camp, I returned to the Talibîyeh; but of these pleasures I will not pause to speak in detail here.
On the 9th of September, at sunrise, a shower of rain fell, the first I had seen in Palestine. It lasted only half an hour, and seemed quite local. Low down among the hills rainbows, one within another, spanned the valleys, and produced a most beautiful effect. Soon after the rain was over, a cloud of birds appeared coming from the north, their strange snapping cries sounding louder and louder as
