piece of marble. They had once formed a double colonnade, extending from
the church to a gate on the western side of the summit. Our native guide
said they had been covered with an arch, and constituted a long market or
bazaar--a supposition in which he may be correct. From the gate, which is
still distinctly marked, we overlooked several deep valleys to the west,
and over them all, the blue horizon of the Mediterranean, south of
Cæsarea. On the northern side of the hill there are upwards of twenty more
pillars standing, besides a number hurled down, and the remains of a
quadrangular colonnade, on the side of the hill below. The total number of
pillars on the summit cannot be less than one hundred, from twelve to
eighteen feet in height. The hill is strewn, even to its base, with large
hewn blocks and fragments of sculptured stone. The present name of the
city was given to it by Herod, and it must have been at that time a most
stately and beautiful place.

We descended to a valley on the east, climbed a long ascent, and after
crossing the broad shoulder of a mountain beyond, saw below us a landscape
even more magnificent than that of Nablous. It was a great winding valley,
its bottom rolling in waves of wheat and barley, while every hill-side, up
to the bare rock, was mantled with groves of olive. The very summits which
looked into this garden of Israel, were green with fragrant plants--wild
thyme and sage, gnaphalium and camomile. Away to the west was the sea, and
in the north-west the mountain chain of Carmel. We went down to the
gardens and pasture-land, and stopped to rest at the Village of Geba,
which hangs on the side of the mountain. A spring of whitish but delicious
water gushed out of the soil, in the midst of a fig orchard. The women
passed us, going back and forth with tall water-jars on their heads. Some
herd-boys brought down a flock of black goats, and they were all given
drink in a large wooden bowl. They were beautiful animals, with thick
curved horns, white eyes, and ears a foot long. It was a truly Biblical