152 



Tiaciileuiii's Letters to Cuiiucu from Africa. 



[March J, 



to fho Diuifjhter of Sioii, and by the 

 Poo! of (Jibron, Bnth -boron, Succotb, 

 the Valley of Rophaim, Azekah. Eni- 

 niaus, Anadiofb, the country of Jere- 

 miah placed against Modin, (he (ilory 

 of the Miccabees. and by Arainathaea, 

 passing Sharon, I .stopped at Joppa, 

 whieli still boasts of its rocks warm 

 with the tears of Andiomeda. Here 

 arrived the Tyriau ships, bearinir 

 tlie precJons stores and purple which 

 the son of Abibal sent to the sapient 

 king, and here, too, daily arrives 

 the pilgrim, led from afar to pay the 

 vow. 



From Jo]ipa Iwent by the shore to 

 Ekron, Ashdod, which kept the ark a 

 prisoner, to Ashkaion. now destroyed, 

 and having retnrned to Joppa,! ascen-led 

 the inheritance of E|)hraim to the Se- 

 pnlchres of IJenjamin and Simeon; to 

 Sicheni, whence we monnted Ebal and 

 Gerizini, to the M'ell of Jacob, and the 

 sepulchre of Joseph ; and meeting with 

 the Al)be de Maznre, a warm panegyrist 

 of France, and measnrer of Judea. I 

 went with him to Siloa, n])on the road 

 that leads from Jer\isalera toNeapolis. 



Neapolis, or Napolosa. lies \\\nm the 

 ruins of Sidiem, and here, returning 

 from Siloa. I fomnl the ancient Sama- 

 ritans, or Cuteans, who were praying 

 from error, by a well, believed to hi' 

 Jacidi's. I taught them the (ruth, 

 which doctrine excited against me no 

 small disturbance ; so far, that the said 

 Samaritans, thinking me one of their 

 brethren, wished by all means to retain 

 me in the country ; and what is more 

 singular, exacted that I should promise 

 marriage to a woman of their sect. 



The Christians of Napolosa took up 

 my defence: whence, geiting off at my 

 own hazard, foreseeing the favour of 

 the former, I took shelter in Samaria, 

 where there is no vestige of the impor- 

 tunate Samaritans. I wrote to you, 

 that, with the exception of some co- 

 lumns, (here is nothing interesting iu 

 Sebaste. 



On leaving Samaria the tribe of Issa- 

 char presented themselves to me in 

 Galilee, with the fountain of Israel, and 

 plain of Esdiae'on, over which the eye 

 cannot reach ; Eudor, at the foot of the 

 second Hermon, known by the victory 

 of Dcborali and Barak. Sophos, the 

 native place of James and of the friend 

 of his master; Cana, the country of 

 Simon and Natbanael; Tab;))-, termi- 

 nating with Heaven ; beautiful parts of 

 Zabulon ; Bethsaida, the country of 

 Peter and Andrew on the shores of that 



water, abundant in the deeds of the 

 Divine Instructor of virtue. 



Returned to Tibrrias, I undertook 

 the analysis of those mineral waters; 

 and in the city where lives, in retired 

 delight, that deserving man of society, 

 the noble gentleman Raphael de Pici- 

 otto, consul-general of Austria in Syria, 

 whose roof and whose fortune never de- 

 nied to anj' one a constant sacred hos- 

 pital i(y. 



And you must know, a-propos^ that, 

 amongst the Hebrews dispersed in the 

 various regions of the glohe, and 

 amongst those of Asia and of Africa 

 particularly, there exists an ancient 

 custom of coming to finish their days 

 n}K)n the spot, be(hnved by tin; sweat ot' 

 their ancestors. Such a sentiment glad- 

 dens their heart from the most fender 

 vears of youth, and hence it is moving 

 to see arriv(! in the ports of Palestine, 

 the aged Israelite, who,leaning upcm the 

 shoulder of his old consort, apj)roaches 

 with her amidst the cheers of hope, to 

 deposit his ragged spoils in the sepul- 

 chre of their forefathers. 



The heals suffered upon the lake of 

 Gennesareth having moderated, I revi- 

 sited the tribe of Issachar, and having 

 ascended Carmel I dropped down to 

 He])na, to Dora, to Cesarea, to Manas- 

 seh; and, passing in the 'I'ribe of Aslier 

 over the space of Seiueron and the 

 ^\'aters of Cenderia, I continual after- 

 wards theUelus to Ptolemais, still dyed 

 with that blood which the cruel Djezar 

 caused to flow in torrents. 



Thus following the course of the 

 Plmniician shore, every moment ap- 

 peared to me an age which interfered 

 with that which should show me in a 

 miserable rock, surrounded with water 

 and with sand, that once powerful mis- 

 tress of the seas. 



The Greek Archbishop, D. Cirillo 

 Debbas, received me cordially in his 

 house, and causing to be prepared a 

 frugal i-epasf. placed on the ground after 

 the fashion of the East, and setting him- 

 self down beside me, spt)ke as follows : 

 — " Eat with good-will, that God may 

 preserve it to thee. I receive thee neg- 

 ligently after the manner of the apos- 

 tles, and this scanty food I consume 

 wi(h thee in good-will, as I do daily 

 with the other guests. If I had moie 

 I would give thee more, but my only 

 income, which is that of the Arch- 

 bishoprick of Tyre, does not produce 

 me annually above 20t) crowns (schdi) 

 of thy country, the half of which I cm- 

 ploy to nourish flie [»oor of my diocese. 

 Besides 



