In two hours and a half from the Jordan we came to our halting-place, at a spot called _Cuferain_, ("two villages")--the Kiriathaim of Jer. xlviii. 23--at the foot of the mountain, with a strong stream of water rushing past us. No sign, however, of habitations: only, at a little distance to the south, were ruins of a village called _Er Ram_, (a very common name in Palestine; but this is not Ramoth-Gilead;) and at half an hour to the north was an inhabited village called _Nimrin_, from which the stream flowed to us.--See Jer. xlviii. 34: "The waters of Nimrin shall be desolate." We had a refreshing breeze from the north which is justly counted a luxury in summer time. The shaikhs came and had coffee with me. They said that on the high summits we shall have cooler temperature than in Jerusalem, which is very probable. After dinner I sat at my tent-door, by the rivulet side, looking southwards over the Dead Sea, and to the west over the line of the promised land of Canaan, which I had never before had an opportunity of seeing in that manner, although the well-known verse had been often repeated in England-- "Oh could I stand where Moses stood, And view the landscape o'er, Not Death's cold stream nor Jordan's flood Should fright me from the shore." I then read over to myself in Arabic, the Psalms for the evening service--namely, liii., liv., and lv. About sunset there was an alarm that a lad who had accompanied us as a servant from Jerusalem was missing ever since we left the Jordan. Horse-men were sent in every direction in search of him. It was afterwards discovered that he had returned to Jericho. At about a hundred yards south of us was a valley called _Se'eer_, (its brook, however, comes down from the north)--abounding in fine rosy oleander shrubs. During the night the water near us seemed alive with croaking frogs. Last night we had the sand-flies to keep us awake. _Friday_, 11_th_.--Thermometer 66 degrees before sunrise. My earliest looks were towards Canaan, "that goodly land"--"the hills, from which cometh my help." How keen must have been the feeling of his state of exile when David was driven to this side the river! Before breakfast I bathed in the Se'eer, among bushes of oleander and the strong-scented _ghar_--a purple-spiked flower always found adjoining to or in water-beds. Then read my Arabic Psalms as usual. Before starting, young 'Ali and his party asked us all for presents, and got none. We gave answer unanimously that we meant to give presents to his father when we should see him. Strange how depraved the Arab mind becomes on this matter of asking for gifts wherever European travellers are found!--so different from the customs of ancient times, and it is not found in districts off the common tracks of resort.