CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
THE SEA OF GALILEE. 
Soon after leaving the ruins of Khan Jub Yusef, we en¬ 
tered upon a bed of solid rock. It was a perfect picture of 
desolation. Scarcely so much as a blade of glass was in sight. 
All was blanched and barren around for many miles, and 
there was no sign of life save the bleating of a few sheep, 
and the sad lowing of camels from the valley. The pathway 
was marked by holes worked in the rocks by mules and car¬ 
avans. It had been traveled over in the same way for cen¬ 
turies upon centuries past. As we came out toward the brow 
of the hill overlooking the lake there was a change in the 
scene more like some enchanting optical illusion than any 
thing real. There lay outspread before us in the calm of the 
evening the beautiful valley of Genesareth, its green fields 
and groves of olives glistening, after the morning showers, in 
a flood of rich sunshine. The lake was placid and clear, and 
light clouds were sleeping calmly on the tops of the mount¬ 
ains. Bare and desolate were those craggy heights, yet rich 
beyond all the powers of art in the glow of the evening sun. 
Descending by a stony path, we at length entered the valley, 
leaving to the left the village of Tell Hum. We stopped a 
while at an old ruin called the Khan Minyah, where we saw 
a few ragged Arabs sitting out on the roof, smoking their 
pipes, and listening to the traditional romances of some old 
story-teller. A few compliments passed, some questions were 
asked and answered, on both sides, when we rode on through 
the low and well-watered plain, amid groves of fig-trees and 
olives. The air was deliciously soft and balmy. A fresh 
scent of flowers arose from the earth, and around us there 
