Page:Travels from Aleppo, to the city of Jerusalem, and through the most remarkable parts of the Holy Land, in 1776.pdf/15

 is under a rock near the same.37. The fountain of Siloa, by which is a cistern, wherein formerly the pilgrims used to wash, but now ruin’d and filled with mud, yet is its water still accounted good for the eye-sight; and near this is Golgotha; they say Adam was buried here, but it is certain that Jesus was crucified.38. Near the bottom is a well, wherein they say Nehemiah hid the holy fire, when the children of Israel were carried captive, and when they returned forty years after, they say they found the same fire in the well.39. AseendingAscending [sic] up the mount, we came to the tombs of Annas and Caiaphas, who were high priests. 40. And near is the place where the apostles hid themselves; entering a streight passage we came into a room under ground, out of which there gose-veral ho'es, wherein they say the apostles lay.41. We then came to Acceldema a grot, now held by the Armenians for a burying place; it is said to be the potter’s field, which was bought with the thirty pieces of silver, which was given by the Jews to Judas to betray our Saviour; and it is said the earth thereof will consume the body of a man in forty eight hours; there are several vents on the top to set out the smell. We went down under a rock, to a place where we could look into it, and there saw the form of a man entire, he being only new laid in, but not covered with earth.42. We came to the fountains of Beersheba, at the bottom of mount Sion, in which there is little water, we being forced to tarry a quarter of an hour for one draught.

Having seen all that was remarkable in these parts, we made towards the convent, having got a great deal of credit with father Tomaso, that we should be such zealous pilgrims, as to walk from five in the morning till mid-day; but to encourage us would still go foremost, and told us always there was some place more worth our seeing than any before; and tho’ he was old, and the weather hot, yet at the going up of a hill he would run, that he might be foremost, and gave all the g osgood [sic] words that could be, to encourage us Protestants, who never hop’d or thought that we merited any thing by it; but at length we came to the convent again well wearied, every one retiring to his lodgings.

June 3. We reposed at the convent; after dinner one of the fathers came and told us, that the father guardian would wash our feet; which honour we accounted too great for us, and desired to be excused; but we were forced to comply with the orders of the convent; the bason, which was as big as a tub, was placed by a chair, there were rose leaves and herbs put into the water; the fathers stood in a row, singing godly hymns. We sat down, and the father guardian wrapt a towel about our knees, to save our cloths; then they began to scrub our legs and feet, being masters of their art; there were two fratres attending, one on one leg, and another on the other;