The Holy Land and the Bible. By Cunningham Geikie. 2
vols. (Cassell and Co.)—" I visited Palestine," writes Dr. Geikie in his preface, "with the intention of gathering illustrations of the sacred writings from its hills and valleys, its rivers and lakes, its plains and uplands, its plants and animals, its skies, its soil, and, above all, from the pictures of ancient times still presented on every side in the daily life of its people." Some such purpose has been in the minds of many writers. Commentators have gone to the scenery and life of modern Palestine for illustrations of the text with which they are dealing ; -while travellers have conversely interspersed with their narratives and descriptions the passages of Scripture which these naturally recall. Dr. Geikie has, so to speak, combined these two methods into a very complete and systematic whole. He begins at Joppa, and devotes his first volume to Western Palestine, ending it with Jerusalem and its environs. To the surroundings of Jerusalem the first three chapters of the second volume are also devoted. From Jeru- salem he naturally goes on to Jericho, thence along the Jordan to the Dead Sea, thence northward to Samaria, the Sea of Galilee, Lake Merom, Lebanon, Damascus, and the Northern Coast. Everywhere he carries out his plan with a careful exact- ness, and often with much felicity of illustration. We note in the descriptions of Carmel, the interesting detail of the perennial spring (its unfailing character being shown by the presence of fresh-water mollusks). This explains how Elijah obtained the great quantity of water which he wanted for his test-offering, without having recourse to the laborious process of fetching it from the sea. This is a sample of the thoroughness and care with which Dr. Geikie has done his work. The result is a work of the greatest interest and value, a perfect treasure-house of Biblical illustration.
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