378 EXTRACTS FROM 



the other quarters of the globe. A wild boar, also flying from 

 the flames, ran past my horse within a few paces. 



A long hard gallop took us quickly across the steppe and 

 through a region overgrown by tall thistles with long spines 

 which severely punished both ourselves and our horses ; but 

 at the end of a couple of hours the character of the country 

 began to change, for the valley kept getting broader, and in 

 the middle of it rose low green hills, covered with bushes and 

 dwarf oaks. 



To the north the view was closed by fine mountains, and 

 one could see the spurs of Carmel, the hills of Nazareth, the 

 lofty Tabor, with its singular form, the Anti-Lebanon, the 

 snow-clad Hermon, the mountains bordering the Lake of 

 Gennesaret (the Tabariye of the Arabs), and to the north- 

 east the heights of Djebel-Adjlun all standing out in strong 

 relief. 



Our way led us past a little Bedouin burial-ground, where 

 two wonderful and extremely old sycamores gave a still more 

 mournful aspect to the gloomy spot ; and then we gradually 

 drew near the goal of our day's journey, the village of Baisan. 

 The famous springs of this place lie round it in a wide circle ; 

 little watercourses trickle down from the plateau on all sides, 

 and the whole neighbourhood is covered with low thick 

 bushes, high rushy grass, reedy swamps, and tracts of marshy 

 ground, while everywhere one hears the call of the Francolin, 

 here so very abundant. 



We found our camp ready pitched, in the best of order, on 

 a grassy flat at the north side of the village. Close beside it 

 was a steep ravine, at the bottom of which a spring prattled 

 merrily along among rocks, thickets, and wide-spreading 

 sycamores. There we saw traces of Koman baths hewn in the 

 rock. Above the camp to the west of the village was the 

 plateau and the district of the springs. 



Immediately after our arrival I went to the marshes with a 



