co-operation. A short time since a European engineer proposed to bring the water from Etham to Jerusalem by cast-iron pipes, which were to start from the Tomb of Rachel, on the Bethlehem road, about four miles from Jerusalem, and bring it up to the summit of the tower, which I call Phasaëlus, in the Castle of David, from which the central valley was to be supplied. I am convinced that this plan is impracticable in Palestine, not only from the great expense, but also because the Government could never consent to turn into water-works a place which would be their chief stronghold in case of an insurrection of the Bedouins or _fellahîn_; besides, the pipes themselves would be eagerly sought after as booty. If it has not been, and is not possible to restore that which now exists, how can anything new be done? Circumstances will alter, and then we may hope that Palestine will advance as Europe is doing; but the good time has not yet come, and still seems to be far distant. Etham was not the only place that supplied Jerusalem with water; for some came from the west, from the Upper Pool of Gihon (the present _Birket Mamillah_[870]). From the words of the Bible[871] we should expect that a fountain was in its neighbourhood; but as the ground near is now converted into a Mohammedan cemetery, it is impossible to make any excavations, and I must therefore content myself with explaining what can be seen above ground. The Pool _Mamillah_ has been excavated in the rock; by whom history does not tell us, but it is certainly older than the time of Hezekiah, for Isaiah met Ahaz 'at the end of the conduit of the upper pool[872],' on the occasion of the prophecy, 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.' This pool occupies a favourable position for collecting the water that drains from the slopes of the neighbouring hills in a rainy season. It formerly supplied not only the Pool Amygdalon in the city (as it still does), but also the lower pool in the valley or _Birket es-Sultan_. Finding the Pool _Mamillah_ dry in the summer-season, I made a careful examination of it, especially on the western side, to see if I could find any mouths of conduits, but could not discover the slightest trace; so that if there ever were any, they have entirely disappeared under the various restorations that the place has undergone. At the present time its waters are unfit to drink owing to the surrounding cemeteries; but this would not render them less useful to the city, if the pool were put in order so as to prevent the waters from being absorbed by the rubbish which thickly covers the bottom, and from escaping through the crevices in the sides, now unstopped with cement, and if the conduit were properly repaired and protected. Were all these works in good condition, the pool would be filled at the time of the rains, and would supply the Pool Amygdalon[873]; and in that case the two would annually furnish the