The Adventures of Lot, the Nephew of Abraham

han as a pleasure. They ought to put it off as long as they can. The longer they put it off, the better for them, generally speaking; if they could only be made to believe so.

I have said that Abraham no sooner gave Lot the choice of living in just what part of the country he pleased, than he turned his eyes towards the valley of the river Jordan. It does not appear that he asked Abraham's advice, or consulted him in the least. Had he done so, I do not believe the good patriarch would have advised him to go where he did, and for various reasons. But before I give these reasons, I must describe the country.

The river Jordan, which runs along the eastern border of Canaan or Palestine, is a very considerable river. It rises to the north-eastward of Palestine, in the mountains of Lebanon or Libanus, and running southward through Lake Meron, and the sea of Tiberias or Galilee, empties into the Dead sea. The Dead sea is sixty or seventy miles long from north to south. Thence from the sound end of the