SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 387 



road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. At a little distance, in 

 the same plain, and nearer to the mountain, probably Gerizim, we 

 saw another building resembling the tomb of an Arab sheikh, and 

 said to be Jacob's Well. At the top of the hill we opened a fine 

 olive grove, with a stream of water in front of it. Here being 

 anxious to have a view of Jacob's Well, we proceeded across the 

 field in that direction, but had not advanced far .before we were 

 assailed by prohibitory calls from a smali fort on the side of the 

 hill; to which, however, as we did not understand them, we, at 

 first, paid no attention ; but the calls were speedily followed by the 

 discharge of a musket fired across our front. This arrested our 

 progress, and drew our attention to the place from which it came. 

 Upon this the calls were redoubled, and our guide coming up in- 

 formed us, that we were addressed by the guard who was placed 

 there to keep the pass, and that we could not proceed to Jacob's 

 Well. We had previously been informed that the Arabs around 

 Nablous were in arms against the governor; but this is the only 

 specimen of Turkish vigilance that occurred to us on the road. 

 We saw no symptoms of rebellion among the Arabs.' 



Here again the question presents itself, Is this the well of the 

 patriarch whose name it now bears? Who gave it this name, the 

 natives or the Christians? Dr. Clarke, who can be sometimes in- 

 credulous, but at other times very confiding, says, that 'this is allow- 

 ed by all writers' to be the spot referred to, John iv. 6, where our 

 Saviour had the memorable conference with the Samaritan wo- 

 man* The concurrence of *all writers' cannot throw the least 

 light on; the fact ; as one after another has but repeated the le- 

 gend handed down from the days of that ' great and devout patron- 

 ess of the Holy Land,' as honest Maundrell slyly calls the empress 

 Helena, who is said to have built a church over the well of which 

 4 a few, foundations ' were then remaining. This faithful traveller, 

 however, notices as a difficulty, the distance at which this well is 

 situated from the modern city. * If it should be questioned,' he 

 says, ' whether this be the very well that it is pretended for, or no, 

 seeing it may be suspected to stand too remote from Sychar for wo- 

 men to come so far to draw water, it is answered, that probably the 

 ity extended further this way in former times than k does now, 

 as may be conjectured from some pieces of a very thick wall still 

 to be seen not far from hence. These pieces of wall are but a sor- 

 ry voucher for the suppposed extension of the city eastward, so far 

 beyond the present walls ; and they are quite as likely to be the 

 work of the said empress. The simple circumstance of the dis- 

 tance of this well from Sychar (above a mile), would not, however, 

 disprove its identity, were there no springs nearer the town, or 

 were there no other reason for hesitation. But Mr. Buckingham 

 states, that, on inquiring of the inhabitants for the Bir (or Beer) el 

 Yakoab, he was told by every body that this was in the town. As 

 this information did not correspond to the 'described place of the 

 well,' it led to further explanation ; and, 'at length by telling the 

 *tory attached to it, we found,' he says, 'it was known here only by 



