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 Roman 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 
