CHAPTER VII.
THE COUNTRY OF GALILEE.
Departure from Nazareth — A Christian Guide — Ascent of Mount Tabor — Wallachian Hermits — The Panorama of Tabor — Ride to Tiberias — A Bath in Genesareth — The Flowers of Galilee — The Mount of Beatitude — Magdala — Joseph's Well — Meeting with a Turk — The Fountain of the Salt-Works — The Upper Valley of the Jordan — Summer Scenery — The Rivers of Lebanon — Tell el-Kadi — An Arcadian Region — The Fountains of Banias.
"Beyond are Bethulia's mountains of green,
And the desolate hills of the wild Gadarene;
And I pause on the goat-crags of Tabor to see
The gleam of thy waters, dark Galilee!" — Whittier.
Banias (Cæsarea Philippi), May 10, 1852.
We left Nazareth on the morning of the 8th inst. My companion had done so well under the care of Fra Joachim that he was able to ride, and our journey was not delayed by his accident. The benedictions of the good Franciscans accompanied us as we rode away from the Convent, past the Fountain of the Virgin, and out of the pleasant little valley where the boy Jesus wandered for many peaceful years. The Christian guide we engaged for Mount Tabor had gone ahead, and we did not find him until we had travelled for more than two hours among the hills. As we approached the sacred mountain, we came upon the region of oaks — the first oak I had seen since leaving Europe last autumn. There are three or four varieties, some with evergreen foliage, and in their wild
