124 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



temperature is generally that of the finest summer 

 weather in England. Then it begins to get a little 

 chilly, and a fire in the evenings is a grateful addition 

 to the natural temperature ; but this is only occasion- 

 ally the case during the rainy weather. The rains of 

 Palestine have become a bugbear, because they pre- 

 vent travelling in tents, and are relatively disagree- 

 able in a country where the days are invariably fine ; 

 but the rainiest winter month here would be con- 

 sidered a fine summer month in England. It does 

 not begin to get really hot till May; and the ex- 

 perience of the colonists, who work out in the fields 

 in all weathers, is, that the climate of Carmel is ex- 

 ceptionally bracing and healthy. But its most power- 

 ful attraction is the charming excursions which may 

 be made in the neighbourhood, and the objects of 

 interest which abound within an easy day's drive or 

 ride, to say nothing of its own beauty of situation, 

 and the lovely view of the Bay of Acre which it com- 

 mands, the fortifications of that town glistening white 

 in the distance, and the circling hills of Palestine, 

 overtopped by snow-clad Hermon, changing in hue 

 with those tender variations of atmosphere which 

 give such an inexpressible charm to Eastern scenery. 

 From these smooth sandy beaches we may bathe at 

 all times of the year without the risk of an impos- 

 sible temperature; and the conchologist would find 

 in the multitudes of shells with which they are 

 strewn, a never-ending interest and delight. Here 



