THE chapters which compose this volume originally formed a series of
letters, all of which passed through my hands. I prepared them for their
first appearance in print, and corrected the proofs afterwards. Finally,
it was at my suggestion and advice that they were gathered together in a
book.
The deep interest which the land of Palestine possesses for every
thoughtful mind makes us all greedy for fresh and truthful information,
alike concerning its present condition and the discoveries which new
researches add to our knowledge of the past. From this point of view,
many of the pages which follow are of exceeding importance. Every
Christian will read with deep attention the author's description of the
present state of places connected with momentous events of New-Testament
history; and when, as in the present instance, the traveller and
investigator is one whose judgment and whose accuracy may be entirely
relied upon, the value of the report surpasses every careless estimate.
It is with this feeling that I have urged my friend to complete his work
for publication, and with this feeling I earnestly commend it to the
reader. Nor is its interest confined to historical and Biblical
questions alone; the ethnologist examining the races of modern Syria,
and the philosopher contemplating the marvellous processes of Asiatic
transformation, will also find here material which will repay their most
careful study.