have been preserved from generation to generation to the present time. It
has been recently proposed to open this tomb, by digging under it from the
side. If the body of Joseph was actually deposited here, there are, no
doubt, some traces of it remaining. It must have been embalmed, according
to the Egyptian custom, and placed in a coffin of the Indian sycamore, the
wood of which is so nearly incorruptible, that thirty-five centuries would
not suffice for its decomposition. The singular interest of such a
discovery would certainly justify the experiment. Not far from the tomb is
Jacob's Well, where Christ met the Woman of Samaria. This place is also
considered as authentic, for the same reasons. If not wholly convincing to
all, there is, at least, so much probability in them that one is freed
from that painful coldness and incredulity with which he beholds the
sacred shows of Jerusalem.

Leaving the Tomb of Joseph, the road turned to the west, and entered the
narrow pass between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. The former is a steep, barren
peak, clothed with terraces of cactus, standing on the northern side of
the pass. Mount Gerizim is cultivated nearly to the top, and is truly a
mountain of blessing, compared with its neighbor. Through an orchard of
grand old olive-trees, we reached Nablous, which presented a charming
picture, with its long mass of white, dome-topped stone houses, stretching
along the foot of Gerizim through a sea of bowery orchards. The bottom of
the valley resembles some old garden run to waste. Abundant streams,
poured from the generous heart of the Mount of Blessing, leap and gurgle
with pleasant noises through thickets of orange, fig, and pomegranate,
through bowers of roses and tangled masses of briars and wild vines. We
halted in a grove of olives, and, after our tent was pitched, walked
upward through the orchards to the Ras-el-Ain (Promontory of the
Fountain), on the side of Mount Gerizim. A multitude of beggars sat at the
city gate; and, as they continued to clamor after I had given sufficient