340 EXTRACTS FROM 
riding full tilt into the courtyard, and I had forthwith to 
give them a full account of my sporting experiences of 
the last few hours. Count Caboga gave us an excellent 
lunch, after which we set out on our short journey to Beth- 
lehem, some of us driving and some riding along the 
rough stony road, which kept winding down-hill among 
old walls, olive-yards, and ruinous houses towards the steep 
hillside on which lies that famous town, the birthplace of our 
Saviour. 
The white stone-built houses with their flat roofs, the domes 
of the church, and the terraces of the monastery make this 
sacred place look much larger than it really is. After passing 
its outskirts one reaches a narrow street, where the first things 
that strike the traveller are the rough pavements, latticed 
woodwork, gloomy walls, and the perpetual up- and down- 
hill. 
Leaving the street one comes toa square surrounded by 
thoroughly Oriental houses, on one side of which is the great 
Church of the Virgin and the buildings attached to it. The 
most important of the sacred places are under one roof, and 
belong to the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians in common. 
The church is very fine and extremely old, both the main 
building and the chapels being Byzantine, and therefore 
dating from the earliest Christian times. Atter taking leave 
of the Greek and Latin clergy we left the town and went 
along the hillside between walls and olive-yards to our camp, 
which was pitched on some open ground near the uncom- 
monly dirty but picturesquely-situated village of Betsahur. 
Its inhabitants pressed round us most inquisitively, and the 
Turkish gendarmes had difficulty in keeping the camp clear. 
Everything was already unpacked and arranged, so we soon 
settled ourselves comfortably. 
Two sportsmen now appeared, offering their services ; they 
were a fine-looking pair of brothers, citizens of Bethlehem, 
