THE Plain of Moab, east of the Jordan, is, in character of soil and state of cultivation, very much like the Jericho plain described in the last chapter. The Plain of Moab is bounded on the east, as before stated, by a wall of rock which lifts itself up at some places almost perpendicularly, several hundred feet above the valley. From the top of this mountain ridge there stretches far away toward the east, a broad, elevated table-land, sloping gently as it recedes. This table-land is traversed here and there by deep wadys and narrow ravines, most of which have a general westwardly, direction, and empty their waters into the Jordan and Dead Sea. This goodly land of Moab is about fifty miles long by twenty broad, and this rolling plateau, though 3,200 feet above the sea level, is remarkably rich and well watered. The country only needs a wise head and an energetic hand to make these plains once more blossom as the rose. In order to enter the promised land, it was necessary for the Israelites to pass through this delightful region of country. Accordingly Moses “sent messengers unto Sihon, King of the Amorites, saying, Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s highway, until we be past thy borders.” A reasonable request this; but instead of granting it, “Sihon gathered all his people together” and went out to fight against Israel; went out to meet Moses and—death! Having routed the foe and possessed the land, Israel marched into Heshbon, the imperial city. Heshbon, now called Hasban, is situated among the hills of Moab, a little to the north, and about eight miles to the east, of the Dead Sea. The ancient city, as the present ruins clearly show, was situated on two high hills some distance apart, east and west from each other, and on the saddle connecting the two. The inhabitants of this fair land ought to be gentlemen living like kings and princes. But instead of that they are separate, independent, and lawless clans or tribes of Arabs who live now, as in ancient times, not altogether, but chiefly, on plunder and the spoils of war. These clans east of the Jordan are now, and have always been, a curse to Palestine. Frequently at night they swoop down like eagles upon the inhabitants west of the river, rob them of their grain, and drive away their camels, their flocks and herds. This practice frequently becomes so common that the government is forced to protect the people by keeping an armed body of soldiers along the river.