WHKKE LS MOUNT SINAI ? 5-9 



much nearer the grouml than uu Jebel-Ma.sa, looks along the 

 whole length of Er-Rahah and sees every inch of it; while from 

 Jebel-j\lusa at an immensely greater height, the spectator looks 

 not along but only across .Sebayeh, of which the greater part is 

 hidden by the swellings of the mountain he is upon, so that he 

 sees only its further fringe. It was from this height and under 

 this disadvantage tliat Robinson and Stanley took their obser^'a- 

 tions, on the strength of which observaiions the one removed the 

 site and the other followed hira. A nianon the roof of St. Paul's 

 looking from the western cupolas would know all about Ludgate 

 Hill which he looks along. What would a man on the top of the 

 dome know about the passage at the east end of the Cathedral 

 which he would only look across V Having fii-st traced the 

 valleys to the north and west and south, and also ascended Jebel- 

 Katerina, we ascended Jobel-Masa ; from there saw the eastern 

 fringe of Wadi Sebayeh, and saw even upon that portion of it 

 Bedouin camps and flocks Avhich 1 am sure no one ever saw in 

 Er-Rahah. This point of contrast between the two was at the 

 moment to me very puzzling. Leaving Jebel-Musa we descended, 

 travei-sed the whole length of the mountain until we reached the 

 base of Sufsafeh, whci-e we had the whole of Er-Rahah spread under 

 our eyes, and so completely were we under the impressions of the 

 Robinson school that there we solemnly read the Decalogue, 

 seeking to realize the scene as written by Mosss ; but I could not 

 help observing " the people may have assembled in Er-Rahah, but 

 encamp there they never would; it is uttei-ly without anything for 

 the flocks and the herds." It was not till after all our other 

 pacing had been carefully done that on the Wednesday we iurned 

 towards Sebayeh, taking note of Stanley's hour's walk from the 

 Convent. For some time after we had passed that point, there 

 seemed to us no room for the peojDle, but everyone who knows 

 either mountain valleys or mountain rivers is aware that, if you 

 follow them up at times, when they seem to promise nothing they 

 may suddenly startle you with their openings ; and I shall never 

 forget when I turned back after Sebayeh had so opened up and 

 shown itself to be much larger than Er-Rahah and meeting Mr. 

 Drew, who was following after me, said, " Don't you feel as if you 

 had been impo.sed upon ? " o,nd he said, " Yes, and it is a shame 

 for men like Robinson and Stanley to profess to inform the public 

 about valleys which they iiave never traversed, but have judged 

 of them from the tops of the mountains." We carefully paced 

 Sebayeh as we had pi-eviously done Er-Rahah, and found it by 



