The road was dreary enough as it wound among the rocky hills; it was so crooked in many places that it could only be made out for short distances in advance of the party, and sometimes the hills seemed to threaten to shut them in altogether. Every little while they came upon narrow valleys, where stretches and patches of arable land were utilized as much as possible for the production of garden vegetables or for miniature plantations of olive-trees. Here and there villages clung to the hill-sides, the houses rising one above another in terraces, and suggesting a series of broad steps on which a giant of the stature of Goliath might take a walk. [Illustration: VIEW OF JERUSALEM FROM THE EAST.] As they wound up one of the ascents the guide said they would see Jerusalem from the summit. Everybody was in haste for the view, and it happened that Frank and Fred were in advance when the crest of the hill was reached. Frank rose in his stirrups, waved his cap with a loud hurrah, and his example was followed by his cousin. As they reached the top of the hill they stopped, and in less than a minute their comrades were with them. All gazed in admiration at the Holy City. There it lay, bathed in the sun of Palestine, and crowning the rocky hills where it has stood for many centuries, the wonder of the civilized world and the goal which many a Christian pilgrim has struggled to reach. For several minutes not a word was spoken. The towers and walls, the hills of Israel, the domes and minarets, all were there, and recalled the pictures with which all students of Christianity are familiar. When the silence was broken, one of the party repeated the lines of Tasso which describe the first view of Jerusalem by the Crusaders: "Winged is each heart, and winged every heel; They fly, yet notice scarce how fast they fly, But by the time the dewless meads reveal The golden sun ascended in the sky, Lo! towered Jerusalem salutes the eye. A thousand pointing fingers tell the tale-- 'Jerusalem!' a thousand voices cry; 'All hail, Jerusalem!' Hill, down, and dale Catch the glad sound, and shout 'Jerusalem, all hail!'" It was a ride of less than an hour from the hill-top to the Jaffa gate of Jerusalem. They passed the building of the Russian convent and of the Greek monastery, but had no care for anything else than the Holy City, and to get inside its walls. The gate was open, the Turkish guard did not stop them, and in a few minutes they were at the door of the Mediterranean Hotel. They were weary with their ride, but the excitement of the occasion made the youths forget their fatigue. Frank proposed that they should set out at once for the Temple of Solomon, and he was warmly seconded by Fred. They yielded at once to the suggestion of Doctor Bronson that they had better wait till the whole party could go together, and see the city on a systematic plan.