ulder of the
mountain, the view opened grandly to the north and east, revealing the bay
and plain of Acre, and the coast as far as Ras Nakhura, from which we
first saw Mount Carmel the day previous. The two views are very similar in
character, one being the obverse of the other. We reached the
Convent--Dayr Mar Elias, as the Arabs call it--at noon, just in time to
partake of a bountiful dinner, to which the monks had treated themselves.
Fra Carlo, the good Franciscan who receives strangers, showed us the
building, and the Grotto of Elijah, which is under the altar of the
Convent Church, a small but very handsome structure of Italian marble. The
sanctity of the Grotto depends on tradition entirely, as there is no
mention in the Bible of Elijah having resided on Carmel, though it was
from this mountain that he saw the cloud, "like a man's hand," rising from
the sea. The Convent, which is quite new--not yet completed, in fact--is a
large, massive building, and has the aspect of a fortress.

As we were to sleep at Tantura, five hours distant, we were obliged to
make a short visit, in spite of the invitation of the hospitable Fra Carlo
to spend the night there. In the afternoon we passed the ruins of Athlit,
a town of the Middle Ages, and the Castel Pellegrino of the Crusaders. Our
road now followed the beach, nearly the whole distance to Jaffa, and was
in many places, for leagues in extent, a solid layer of white, brown,
purple and rosy shells, which cracked and rattled under our horses' feet.
Tantura is a poor Arab village, and we had some difficulty in procuring
provisions. The people lived in small huts of mud and stones, near the
sea. The place had a thievish look, and we deemed it best to be careful in
the disposal of our baggage for the night.

In the morning we took the coast again, riding over millions of shells. A
line of sandy hills, covered with thickets of myrtle and mastic, shut off
the view of the plain and meadows between the sea and the hills of
Samaria. After three hours' ride we saw the ruins of ancient Caesarea, near
a small promontory. The road turned away from the sea, and took the wild
plain behind, which is completely overgrown with camomile, chrysanthemum
and wild shrubs. The ruins of the town are visible at a considerable
distance along the coast. The principal remains consist of a massive wall,
flanked with pyramidal bastions at regular intervals, and with the traces
of gateways, draw-bridges and t