THE SEA OF GALILEE. 
321 
In due time we emerged from the bushes, and came out 
upon the pebbly beach of the lake, not far beyond Ain-et-Tin. 
We rode at once into the clear sparkling water. It was pure 
as crystal, and so calm that the mountains on the other side 
seemed suspended in the air, and the reflection of the sky 
was as rich in quiet beauty as the sky itself. The ruined vil¬ 
lages along the shores presented strange and mystic pictures 
in their inverted shadows ; palm-trees overhung the deep 
with all their mirrored richness of outline ; white ruins of 
mosques glittered in the distance; the naked and craggy 
mountains behind were steeped in an atmosphere of purple ; 
and the waters and the mountains were wrapt in the sub¬ 
limity of repose and the hallowed associations of the past. 
Much of the pleasure we experienced in viewing these 
scenes, it must he admitted, arose from the physical comfort 
we enjoyed in the genial glow of the evening, after our sad 
experience in crossing the snow-capped heights of Jebel-esh- 
►Sheik, and our sufferings in the Mill of Malaha. Apart from 
the scriptural interest so interwoven with every spot around 
the Sea of Galilee, and the gratification of finding some place 
upon which to refresh the eye, after days of travel through 
desert regions of parched earth and sterile hills, there is in 
reality hut little in the natural scenery about the lake, unac¬ 
companied by freshening rains and a glowing sky, to attract 
attention. The valley of Genesareth is certainly a charming 
spot, hut the charm is greatly heightened by the predisposi¬ 
tion to be enchanted in the eye of the beholder. Around the 
shores of the lake the mountains are much the same as all 
the mountains throughout Palestine ; and it is only in certain 
conditions of the atmosphere that they acquire that beauty 
which had so delighted us. This I think it due to the reader 
to state, in order that he may not he disappointed should he 
ever visit that region. 
Continuing along the shores of the lake for a few miles, we 
took to the road again, and soon arrived at the village of 
Medjdel, a collection of miserable huts pleasantly situated a 
short distance from the water, under the brow of an abrupt 
cliff Medjdel is interesting as the birth-place of Mary Mag- 
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