Quitting Samaria, and entering Galilee, the plain of Zebulon brought him to Gathhepher, the birthplace of the prophet Jonah; and thence he proceeded through the land of Naphthali to Thisba, where in ancient times the prophet Elijah, and more recently the pious Tobit,[128] had been born. But neither beautiful scenery nor the gratification of beholding the places where eminent men had lived, could efface from Helon’s mind the painful feeling that every step which he took carried him further from Jericho. His pride in the consciousness of fulfilling a duty became less and less able to support him; he thought that he had carried his obedience a point too far, and was angry with Selumiel, with Elisama,—with himself. He was therefore rejoiced when he saw in the distance Antilibanus, the southern branch of a chain of mountains, of which the other branch lay in Phœnicia. This was consequently the boundary of the promised land. Its name, Lebanon, was derived from the whiteness of its rocks and peaks, especially from the perennial snow[129] which covered the head of Hermon, its highest summit. The morning sun was shining on its brilliant peak, as Helon crossed the lesser Jordan, and entered Dan, the frontier town of Judæa on the north. He inquired his way to the caravansera, and had just halted before it with his horses and camels when Myron came out and embraced him. ----- Footnote 128: Tobit, i. 2. Footnote 129: Jer. xviii. 14. ----- Helon joyfully returned his salutation. “And you will be ready,” said he, “to-morrow, to set off for Jericho?” Myron burst into a laugh. “It is true, I see, what the Galilean said, on his return, of the good fortune which has befallen you there. My own good star has brought me to be the witness of your nuptials. Receive my hearty congratulations. How does my venerable Elisama? But our first care must be to give your beasts rest and shelter.” The Grecian levity of Myron’s manner was a relief to Helon. They entered the court of the caravansera; in the middle of it was a large cistern of water, from which the horses and camels drank; the baggage was deposited in rooms behind the portico, and fodder for the beasts, with a scanty supply for themselves, was to be purchased of the attendant in the caravansera. When these things were done, Myron and Helon seated themselves in a corner of the portico, where they should be most free from interruption, and Helon related to his friend his adventures since they separated. When his narrative was ended, Myron said, “After you left the caravan at Gaza, I had a melancholy life in the midst of my merchants, none of whom had a single thought in common with me. My freedom of speech was perpetually involving me in disputes, out of which I sometimes found it difficult to extricate myself. I remember particularly at Joppa”—