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continually drained off by evaporation. Some writers, unable to find a discharge for the large body of water which is continually rushing into the lake, have been inclined to suspect, it had some communication with the Mediterranean; but, besides that we know of no such gulf, it has been demonstrated by accurate calculations, that evaporation is more than sufficient to carry off the waters of the river. It is in fact very considerable, and frequently becomes sensible to the eye, by the fogs with which the lake is covered at the rising of the sun, and which are afterwards dispersed by the heat."

How large the common receptacle of the Jordan was, before the destruction of Sodom, cannot now be determined with certainty; but it was much smaller than at present the whole vale of Siddim, which, before that awful catastrophe, was crowded with cities, or covered with rich and extensive pastures, and fields of corn, being now buried in the waters of the lake. The course of the stream, which is to the southward, seems clearly to indicate, that the original basin was in the southern part of the present sea. But, although the waters of the river at first presented a much less extended surface to the action of the sun and the atmosphere, still a secret communication between the lake and the Mediterranean, is not perhaps neccssary to account for their discharge. By the admission of Volney, evaporation is more than sufficient to carry them off at present; and if to this be added, the great quantity of water consumed in the cities, and required by the cultivator, to refresh his plantations and corn fields, under the burning rays of an oriental sun, it is presumed, a cause equal to the effect is provided.

11

Volney's Trav. vol. i, p. 218. Shaw's Trav. vol. ii, p. 157, 158.

This is not a mere conjecture, unsupported by historical facts; for only a very small portion of the Barrady, the principal river of Damascus, escapes from the gardens that environ the city, through which, it is conducted in a thousand clear and winding streams, to maintain their freshness and verdure.",

Intimately connected in sacred story with the Jordan, are Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus. The only river, which in modern times, waters that ancient capital of Syria, is called the Barrady. The water of this river, like the water of the Jordan, is of a white sulphureous hue and an unpleasant taste." It is not twenty yards over ; but rushes down from the mountain with great rapidity, and with so large a body of water, that it abundantly supplies the thirsty fields and gardens around, and the innumerable baths and fountains within the city.

The city itself, is of a long straight figure, extending about two miles, and lying nearly in the direction of north-east and south-west. It is surrounded with gardens, stretching no less, according to common estimation, than thirty miles around; which gives it the appearance of a city in the midst of a vast wood. The gardens are thickly planted with fruit trees of all kinds, that are kept fresh and verdant by the waters of the Barrady. Numerous turrets and gilded steeples, glittering in the blazing sun-beam among the green boughs, diversify and heighten the beauty of the prospect. On the north side of this vast wood, is a place called Solkas, crowded with beautiful summer-houses and gardens.* This delightful scene, and even the city itself, may be

Maundrell's Journey, &c. p. 117. Wells' Hist. Geog. vol. i, p. 152.
Richardson's Trav. vol. ii, p. 499,
* Ibid. p. 474.

considered as the creation of the Barrady, which supplies both the gardens and the city, diffusing beauty and fertility wherever it flows.

The river, as soon as it issues from the disparted mountain into the plain, is divided into three streams, of which the one in the middle, which is the largest of the three, runs directly to Damascus through a large open field, called the Ager Damascenus, and is distributed to all the cisterns and fountains in the city. The other two, which Maundrell, takes to be the work of art, are drawn round; one to the right hand, and the other to the left, on the borders of the gardens, into which they are introduced by little currents, and conducted to every part of the wood. The distribution is so complete, that not a garden but has a fine quick stream running through it, which both waters the thirsty soil, and supplies a number of artificial fountains and other water works, adding greatly to the beauty and convenience of the retreat. This skilful distribution of water is as old as the days of Homer: for he tells us that the gardener, with a spade in his hand, opening the furrow, conducts a stream into every garden and a rill to every plant. But the consequence of the distribution is fatal to the river, which is almost wholly drunk up by the city and gardens. The small part of it which escapes, is united again into one channel on the south-east side of the city; and after a course of about three or four hours, finally loses itself in a morass, without reaching the sea.

The Greeks, and from them the Romans, give to this river the name of Chrysorrhoas; but as for Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, mentioned by the sacred Iliad, b. xxi, 1. 257.

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writer, not even the names are preserved. There must therefore have been only two branches of the Barrady ; and one of them was probably the same stream that runs through the Ager Damascenus directly to the city, which seems by its serpentine course, to be a natural channel. The other, it is now difficult to find; but this will be no matter of surprise, when it is considered how often the Damascenes have altered the course of this river, to suit their own convenience and pleasure.a

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The numerous and important advantages, which the winding streams of the Barrady confer on the city of Damascus and its adjacent fields, sufficiently account for the indignant reply of Naaman the Syrian, to the prophet; "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned, and went away a rage." The haughty Syrian, piqued that the prophet treated him with so little ceremony, considered the command to go and wash in Jordan seven times, as a species of insult offered to his native land; he did not know, or would not consider, that the word of Jehovah imparts efficacy to the most unpromising means.

Richardson's Trav. vol. ii, p. 477.

• Maundrell's Journey, p. 117-132.

CHAP. IX.

OF THE STATE OF THE WEATHER IN PALESTINE AND THE EAST.

Canaan experiences a variety of temperature-Refreshed with frequent and copious rains-Smart showers sometimes in summer—) -Rainy season limited to the autumnal and winter months-Time of harvest generally dry —Winter months often extremely cold and rainy—Time of the first rains differently stated—Rainy season commonly introduced by a gale of wind -Winds variable-A very small cloud, often the forerunner of a hurricane.-Autumn, in those climates a delightful season.-Frost sometimes very severe about Jerusalem, and in the plains.—Storms of hail very violent.-Snow falls in very large flakes-Covers the ground.-Frequently warm in the depth of winter.—Orientals divide their winter into two parts First part lasts forty days-Very rigorous.-Second part so pleasant that the Syrians give entertainments in tents.—In April and May they retire to the gardens. Fields covered with flowers about the middle of February. Coldness of the night in all seasons very inconvenient in the East.—In the rainy season, the rains very abundant and violent.-Former and latter rains.-Copious dews.-Sand rains.—Whirlwinds.-Pillars of sand.Simoom, or hot wind of the desert.—Lightnings, frequent in the autumnal months.-Wisdom of God, displayed in the temperature of an eastern sky.

THE land of Canaan, from the mountainous nature of the country, and its diversified exposure, seems to experience a great variety of temperature. From Tripoli to Sidon, the country is much colder than the rest of the coast farther to the north and to the south, and has a less regular change of seasons. The same remark applies to the mountainous parts of Judea, where the vegetable productions are much later than on the sea coast, or in the neighbourhood of Gaza. The air of Saphet, in Galilee,

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