consideration came and conversed with him, placing his arm CHAP.XVIII. upon the velvet saddle-cloth which covered his horse's haunches. This, we knew, would be sufficient to commu

nicate the plague to every one of us; therefore there was no alternative, but to insist instantly upon the young grandee's immediate dismissal. However, when our resolutions were made known to him, he positively refused to leave the party upon this, we were compelled to have recourse to measures which proved effectual; and he rode off, at full speed, muttering the curses. usually bestowed on Christians, for our insolence and cowardice. We reached the great gate of the Convent of the Nativity without further accident; but did not choose to venture in, both on account of the danger, and the certainty of beholding over again much of the same sort of mummery which had so frequently put our patience to the proof in Jerusalem. Passing close to its walls, we took our course down into the deep valley which lies upon its north-eastern side; visiting the place where tradition says the angel, with a multitude of the heavenly host, appeared to the shepherds of Judæa, with the glad tidings of our Saviour's nativity'; and,

Descent to the Valley.

(2) Bernard the Monk, who visited Bethlehem in the year 870, speaks of a monastery in this place, which he describes as a mile distant from the town. We saw nothing of the monastery alluded to by him; neither does the place here mentioned agree with his distance. "Miliario denique uno à Bethleem est monasterium sanctorum Pastorum, quibus Angelus Domini apparuit in nativitate Domini." Vid. Itinerarium Bernardi Monachi, apud Mabillon. Act. Sanct. Ord. Benedict. Sæcul. 3. Pars ii. p. 525. Lut. Paris, 1672. Doubdan saw the ruins of a church, built, he says, by Helena, mother

of

CHAP.XVIII. and, finally, halting in an olive-plantation at the bottom of the valley below the convent and the town. We found it, even here, necessary to station an armed guard upon the outside of the olive-ground, which was fenced with a low wall, in order to keep off those whom curiosity attracted towards us; and who expressed their astonishment at our fear of them, having withdrawn, they said, from the town, expressly to avoid the contagion, and therefore considered themselves as little likely to communicate infection. The Arab soldiers of our escort were, however, of opinion that we should do well to keep them at a distance, and therefore we did not allow them to come within the wall. There was a well, stationed upon the outside of our little rampart, near the spot'; and as it was necessary to send to this place for water to boil our coffee, we fixed upon a single individual for this purpose, upon whose discretion we could rely.

Bethlehem, written Bethlechem by Reland, is six miles from Jerusalem. This distance, allowed by almost all authors, exactly corresponds with the usual computed

measure

of Constantine (Voy. de la T. S. p. 167. Paris, 1657.) but his description of their situ
ation answers to the place where we halted. "C'est une petite campagne pleine et unie au
fond du vallon une terre labourable fermée d'une petite mur
&c. &c."

(1) See the view of Bethlehem, and of the Convent covering the Cave of the Nativity, taken from a drawing made by the Author upon the spot, during the interval in which the party halted in the valley. It will be found as accurate as the limited circumstances of time and talent would admit. The rocks are all of grey limestone; the descent from the Convent being of that rugged and stony nature which is so common over all Judæa, (2) Palæst. Illust. tom. II. p. 642. Utrecht, 1714.

CHAP.XVIII.

Examination of a Passage in Josephus.

measure, by time, of two hours. Some inaccuracy might therefore be acknowledged to exist in the printed text of Critical Josephus, describing the interval between the two cities as equal only to twenty stadia'. Jerom, who passed so many years at Bethlehem, and therefore was best qualified to decide this point, together with Eusebius, Sulpitius Severus, and Phocas', all agree in the distance before stated. But Reland, with his ordinary critical acumen, observes, that the apparent inaccuracy of the Jewish historian arises only from a misconstruction of his words; that he is speaking of the distance from Jerusalem to the camp of the Philistines in the valley between the two cities, and not of their distance from each other. There is at present a particular reason for wishing to establish the accuracy of Josephus in this

part

(3) Τῆς δὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν παρεμβολῆς ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι κειμένης, ἣ μέχρι πόλεως Βηθλεὲμ διατείνει, σταδίους Ἱεροσολύμων ἀπεχέσης εἴκοσι. “ Castris vero hostium in ea valle positis quæ usque ad Bethleem urbem pertingit, viginti stadiis ab Hierosolymis distantem." Josephi Antiq. Jud. lib. vii. cap. 12. tom. II. p. 402. Edit. Havercampi, Batav. 1726. (4) Hieronym. in lib. de Locis Hebraieis.

(5) Ἡ δὲ Βεθλεὲμ πόλις ἀπέχει τῆς ἁγίας πόλεως ὡσεὶ μίλια ἕξ. σε Urbs vero Bethleem à sancta civitate sex fere mille passibus distat." Phocæ Descript. T. S. apud Leo. Allat. in Zúpu. Colon. 1653.

(6) Sed error hic non est Josephi, verùm ex verbis ejus male intellectis natus, Inspice verba Græca. Illud ἀπεχέσης refertur ad πόλεως Βηθλεέμ, sic ut sensus sit urbem Bethleem distare 20 stadiis ab urbe Hierosolymitana. Sed refer illud ad vocem Tapeμßoλns, et hostilem exercitum : atque ita Josephus scripsit castra inimicorum, quæ erant in valle se extendente usque ad urbem Bethleem, abfuisse Hierosolymis 20 stadia; non ipsam urbem Bethleem Hierosolymis abfuisse 20 stadiorum intervallum. Peccant itaque versiones quæ Josephum ita loquentem inducunt." Reland. Pal. Illust. lib, ii. c. 9.