THE RUINED CITIES OF PALESTINE, ETC. 



25 



shout and the blast, and then these walls, about 3 feet thick 

 at the base, shared the fate of the Hyde Park railings when the 

 mob in Park Lane threw them over on the grass. I think the walls 

 fell down from the tremendous pressure behind, and that the people 

 of Jericho themselves not only laid the city bare, but filled up the 

 ditch outside. All fell, except the house which was built on the wall. 



By the courtesy of Mr. Arthur Sutton we are able to reproduce 

 four of the slides used ; and perhaps the following notes on them 

 may be of interest. 



The first gives Mr. Sutton's party crossing the Jabbok shortly 

 before its junction with the Jordan. This famous boundary between 

 Sihon, King of the Amorites, on the south, and Og, King of Bashan, 

 on the north, is extremely beautiful, fringed with cane and oleander 

 and bordered with oak-forests. In winter it is impassable, receiving 

 so many tributaries from the mountain behind. The meeting of 

 Jacob and Esau here will be remembered by all. Two principal 

 tributaries, that bring down a great volume of water in the winter,, 

 from Gerasa and Rabboth-Ammon respectively, join it higher up. 

 Respecting the latter, the royal city (2 Sam. xii. 26, 27) of the 

 Ammonites, Prof. T..K. Cheyne takes great exception to its being 

 called " the city of waters," apparently another instance of the 

 danger of criticising statements when one has never visited the 

 locality in question — for an Eastern traveller has pointed out that 

 if he had, he would have seen the appropriateness of the name at 

 once. Amman, which represents to-day the old Rabbath-Ammon, 

 is at the junction of the river with the modern Jerka (Jabbok), 

 and lies all along the waters. It is true the old castle (probably 

 Rabbah) is on the hill above, but in Joab's time the city proper 

 would he as now, in the watered valley : and this would nullify 

 another objection of Prof. Cheyne's. He says, " after Joab had 

 taken the royal city, what was then left for David to take ?" Of 

 course it would be this citadel on the hill. A parallel instance is 

 when Joshua took Jerusalem, but only 400 years afterwards did 

 David take the Jebusite citadel (city of Zion) on the hill Ophel. 



The other stream I have spoken of comes from Jerash. This 

 wonderful city is the subject of the next two illustrations. 

 Gerasa, or Jerash, on the extreme east of Peraea, must not be- 



