We landed on Good Friday evening, by moonlight, at Tôr. The harbour is so full of sand, that our vessel was obliged to remain some hundred paces from the shore. A skiff took us to land. Here we were received by the old Greek, Nikola Janni, who had formerly also received Ehrenberg, Léon de Laborde, Rüppell, Isenberg, and other well-known travellers, and who had favourable testimonials to show of his conduct towards them. After a long bargaining with the insolent Arabs, who, as soon as they perceived our haste and impatience, sought every means to take advantage of us, we set off, with as few necessaries as possible, for the land journey, early the day before yesterday from Tôr, and let the ship go on to Cape Abu Zelîmeh to await us there. Our road led in a direct northern direction through the plain El Ge’âh, which is about five or six hours wide, between the sea and the mountains, at the mouth of the Wadi Hebrân. But I made an excursion on the road to the warm wells of Gebel Hammân. These lie at the southern end of the isolated chain of mountains, which, beginning at Tôr, run an hour’s distance to the sea-shore. I met the caravan again by the fountain El Hai, which is pleasantly situated amongst palm-gardens on the road. The land rises gradually from the sea-shore till behind these wells. As soon as we had gained a complete view of the whole plain, and the summit of the high mountain which runs down in a steep and regularly descending chain to the end of the peninsula, I took the bearings of all the most remarkable points, entrances of valleys, and mountain-tops, which the guides were able to name. About half-past five, I arrived at the foot of the mountain. Here already at the entrance of the valley I remarked on the black blocks the first Sinaïtic inscriptions. A little further we came to a streamlet shaded by a few palms, where we encamped for the night. Yesterday we went through the Wadi Hebrán, which divides the Serbâl group from the chain of mountains of Gebel Mûsa, crossed the Nakb el Eg’âui, which forms a division between east and west, and here turning to the south over Nakb el Haui (the wind-saddle) we reached the convent by sunset on Easter Sunday. We were, as all travellers are, drawn up to the entrance in the high fortress-wall, although there is another even with the ground through the cloister garden, which however is never used but from inside. The worthy old prior of whom Robinson writes, died in the same year at Cairo, and has been replaced by another, Demetrios Nicodemos, who has the rank of a bishop. As this convent is a Greek one, instead of arriving during the Easter festival, we came during the strict fast. But, notwithstanding this, the lives and ways of the four priests and the [Illustration: Inscriptions on the north wall of the Convent of Mount Sinai.]