43 



BccUcfs rnitW, Bctb^, 



By George Bailey. 



HE earliest record of a well is that of which we read in 

 Genesis (ch. xxi, v. 19). Water from this well preserved 

 the life of the founder of that race which is now one of 

 the principal factors in the " Eastern question." The 

 well still remains, and associated with it is one of the oldest love 

 stories of which any record has come down to our time. Isaac 

 dwelt by this well, Lahai-roi, and it appears to have been his 

 custom to stroll out at eventide towards this well engaged in 

 meditation ; and on one of these occasions he first saw Rebecca. 

 From their union is descended another great race, whose preser- 

 vation is no slight difficulty for people who do not believe in 

 miracles. Ancient grave-mounds and ancient wells are the two 

 most ancient things left to us of the early works of man, and both 

 are threatened in these commercial days. It used to be con- 

 sidered that the man who had dug a well was a public benefactor, 

 for wells were a necessity ; and so it came to pass that to these old 

 wells some name or other was given, such as that of its original 

 digger. The earliest of them, Jacob's well, still exists ; and not 

 far away is the burial-place of the patriarch and of his son Joseph. 

 These wells were the usual places of meeting for conversation or 

 gossip, and served, too, as resting-places for the tired traveller. 

 The mouths of wells were often surrounded by a wall wide enough 

 to form a seat ; though in others the contour was entirely of one 

 block of marble pierced through its centre, and richly sculptured 

 on the sides. Some of these well tops have found their way to 



