Egypt — The Desert — South of Palestine
“Set thee up way-marks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the high-way, even the way which thouwentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.” — Jer. xxxi. 21.
When about to land, we were told that the plague had that very dav made its appearance in Alexandria. This was by no means welcome news, for we saw that in all probability we should now be subjected to the delay of a quarantine before entering Palestine. Meanwhile, however, having no alternative, we disembarked. The quay exhibited a strange scene of confusion and noise. A crowd of rough half-naked men and Arab boys, some with asses, some with camels, lined the beach, all screaming and quarrelling, determined to press their services on every passenger, and to take no denial. With some difficulty we got our luggage satisfactorily disposed of, and then each of the company mounted on an ass, and guided by an Arab boy, scampei-ed through the gate of the city, and through the narrow bazaar, till we came to a pleasant square in the other extremity of the town. Here we took up our abode in an inn kept by a Frenchman.
With calm delight we were now able to look round upon the land of Egypt, while many scenes of its eventful history rose up before us. It was here that Jacob and Joseph sojourned, with their families, for 400 years. This was the land of Moses and his wondrous deeds. And, more interesting still, this was the land that gave refuge to “the holy child Jesus,” when compelled to flee from the land of Judah. It was the cradle of Israel, and the cradle of Israel’s Saviour, — as it is written, “out of Egypt have I called my son.”
This city Alexandria was the birth-place of ApoIlos,t that pattern of burning zeal, and scriptural eloquence — the city, too, of Athanasius — and the scene of the labours of the seventy translators of the Old Testament. Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Ca3sar, and many other
* Matt. ii. 15. t Acts xviii. 24.
ALEXANDRIA — DRESS OF THE WOMEN.
names, are associated with the name of the once illustrious Alexandria. With still deeper interest we now pondered over the future history of Egypt, as disclosecp in the record of prophecy, and prayed that the time may be hastened, when “Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God” * — When “the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord” — “And the Lord shall “smite Egypt, he shall smite and heal it;” “Saying, Blessed be Egypt my people.” f
(IIay 14.) Every eastern city is infested with dogs that prowl about the streets for food; and during all the night their ceaseless howling reminded us of David’s description of his enemies: “They return at evening; they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.” J Before brealdast, some of us rambled out to Pompey’s Pillar. The only thing remarkable about it is, that the shaft is one stone, a solid mass of red granite, 90 feet Jong, and 9 feet in diameter. The capitat is Corinthian, indifferently carved. The traces of many a traveller’s visit are to be found scratched upon its pedestal. The Mareotic Lake lay east of it, but is now dried up, affording no moisture to water the Mareotic vines that once regaled Cleopatra and her luxurious court. The ground around it swarmed with small lizards, and the surface is broken with innumerable holes made by the jerboa. It was curious for us to observe for the first time women wearing the veil that hides the whole face except the eyes. Some carried the earthen jar upon their head in a very graceful manner. Some also were carrying their children on their shoulders, as referred to by ..^the prophet, when he says of returning Israel, “thy daugh- ters shall be carried on their shoulders.”^ Some carried a^5=£r:r7 them in a still more singular manner, upon their side, a
* Ps. lxviii. 31.
t Ps. lix. 6.
t Isa. XIX. 21, 22, 25.
$ Isa. xlix. 22.
custom also referred to by the prophet, “Ye shall be borne upon her sides.” *
Passing through the bazaar, one of the Pasha’s Beys rode past us, futiy armed, mounted on an- Arab steed. An Egyptian clothed in white cotton ran before him at full speed, clearing the way with voice and arms. This vividly recalled to us, Elijah girding up his loins and running before Ahab’s chariot to the gate of Jezreel.f
In the forenoon we ari’anged our money-matters, and visited several individuals to whom we had letters — especially Mr. Larkins, the English consul, and Mr. Todd, from whom we received great kindness.
In the evening we visited the Frank Synagogue. We were guided up a dark stair in an obscure sU-eet, and through a long narrow ill-lighted passage into a small room, not more than thirty feet long and ten broad. At the door stood the usual box for alms, and another for “niNcS fc-y (shemen limor,) “olive-oil for the lamps.” There were only ten persons present: three of whom were natives of Egypt, dressed in the common oriental costume; the rest from Leghorn, Trieste, and other mercantile towns of Europe. They showed little feeling of devotion; except at one point of the short service, where there was a pause in the reading of the prayers, and all seemed to pray in silence for four or five minutes, turning their faces towards the ark. Before concluding, a box was carried round for contributions. There was not one interesting feature either in the worship or in the place, with the exception of a large frame suspended on the wall bearing these words, — “ii’ips-n’^ moy Trn- jcmn U’D^a mnc3 nnipis’?,” “May the merciful one bring back the service of the house of the sanctuary to its place, speedily, in our days.” This was like one of the groans of Israel for deliverance in “the house of bondage.”
As soon as service was over, the Jews spoke freely to us — opened the ark, and showed us their copies of the law. One of the best of these we spread out for examination on the reading-desk; and out of their own scriptures discoursed to them of sin and atonement for sin. We told them that we had come from Scotland out of love to their souls. We spoke of Messiah, how he came the first time to die for sin, and is coming soon the second time to reign in glory. They said that there are
* Isa. lxvi. 12. t 1 Kings xviii. 46.
about 100 families of European Jews in Alexandria, who have only one synagogue; and that there are about 300 families of native Jews who have two, and these they called the Arab synagogues. One Jew who had resided much at Cairo, told us that in that city there were 300 families of Jews, of whom one-third were Caraites. We afterwards learned from English residents that this information was not very accurate, and that there are more Jews in Cairo than in Alexandria. In the latter, there may be about 1000, and in Cairo about 2000. The Jews of Alexandria are mostly of the third class in trade — the richest of them are all sarafs, or money-changers.
We were occupied all next morning (May 1 5) in preparing for our journey through the desert. The plague having appeared in Alexandria, we could not enter Palestine by Jaffa or Beyrout, without submitting to a long and unwholesome quarantine. We therefore resolved to proceed by the way of El Arish; and to do this without delay, as in the course of a few days, orders were likely to be sent to establish a quarantine at El Arish. The Consul’s trusty janissary, Mustapha by name, born at Thebes, a useful, clever person, busily engaged himself in providing us with needful articles. “We had already furnished ourselves with light dresses at Marseilles, and straw hats at Leghorn — and now we purchased travelling implements. We went to the bazaar, and bought carpets to lie upon at night, and a thick soft coverlet to wrap ourselves in. We next procured with some difficulty two tents, neither of them large, one round, the other oblong. Cairo is the proper place for obtaining such articles. An Indian gentleman’s canteen and cooking utensils, with a stock of remainder provisions, fell into our hands at a cheap rate. Mustapha procured two Arab servants to attend us, Ibraim and Ahmet, the former able to speak Italian and English, the latter only Italian. They had often journeyed through Syria, and Ibraim had been lately there with Professor Robinson of America. When they came to be hired, Mr. Todd said to them in the Eastern manner — “I am as they are,” pointing to us. “Offend them, offend me.” They replied, “Thefr comfort shall be on our heads.” Mustapha added, “If they do not do what is right, they shall never drink water in Alexandria again.”
The two tents cost us 340 piastres (about 3/. 9^.;) for our beds, canteen, and provisions, we paid about 141. Our servants were to accompany us for three months at the cost of 36 dollars each, exclusive of 30 dollars to each on their leaving us, to enable them to return home.
In the afternoon we tried the Turkish bath. The attendant first laid aside our clothes, and put one towel, wrapt like a turban, round our head, and another round our waist. Then he conducted us into an inner apartment, the atmosphere of which we could scarcely breathe at first, on account of the heat and vapour. Our feet, shod with wooden sandals, slid on the smooth marble floors. Next he laid us down on our back upon the smooth marble divan, in the centre of the apartment, washed us with soap, and poured hot water over our heads. All this was done by an Egyptian almost naked, armed with a rough glove of camel’s hair. It was not without a shudder that we felt ourselves in such hands, amidst about twenty others, all Mahometans with shaved heads and black skins. We were then led to one of the side baths, where the hot water was allowed to pour upon us. The pores being abundantly opened under the operation of so many causes, we were conducted back to the room where we had undressed, laid upon our backs, covered over with a warm quilt, and shampooed — the soles of our feet being scraped with an instrument for the purpose, and every joint in our hands and feet made to crack. Lastly, we were offered coffee, and a glass of sherbet; after which we were allowed to dress, and come away, not a little amused, as well as refreshed. The custom of passing from the bath to the dressing-room, during which the feet might easily be soiled, reminded us of the true rendering of the precious woi’ds of our Lord, “He that has been in the bath, needeth not, save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” *
Before dinner we had a pleasant ride to the gardens of the Governor, about a mile from town. Passing out of the gate, we observed that every man who went out showed his hand to the sentinel. This is to prevent desertion from the army, every soldier bearing the Pasha’s mark on his right hand. We passed a grove of palms and observed the flowering pomegranates — vines also and figs, tamarisks and banians.
We stood a little to observe the common manner of drawing water at the wells. A wheel is moved round by oxen or buffaloes, whose neck is yoked to a pole. Every where we saw the slow-pacing animal moving round, and heard the creaking of this clumsy apparatus.
* John xiii. 10.
By the road-side an old sarcophagus was lying in fragments. We alighted and walked through the gardens, laid out with straight walks, after the Egyptian taste. The flowering oranges were beautiful and’lragrant, ano the vines luxuriant. The grapes are said to be watery In returning we visited the site of the lake Mareotis, Pompey’s PUlar, and the Mahometan burying-ground. We then proceeded through the extensive ruins of the old city to Cleopatra’s Needles, two beautiful obeUsks, one lying flat, half sunk in the ground, the other still standing erect. Both are covered with hieroglyphics, fresh and unchanged by time. Near the Coptic Convent we examined with much interest the site and remaining traces of the church of the great Athanasius, who was Bishop here a. d. 32(3, God’s witness for the truth against many kings and people. Some broken pillars and fragments of the foundation are all that remain. Not far fi’om this is the ancient Jewish burying-ground; but the Jews are now forced to bury outside the walls.
In the course of our ride, one of our friends, who had resided long in Egypt, stated a remarkable fulfilment of prophecy. — Scarcely any of those reeds for which the Nile was once famous are now to be found upon its banks. The lotus in particular has disappeared, so that it is nearly unknown; and the papyrus is very rare. Now the words of Isaiah are these: “The waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.”* This has literally taken place. In the days of the prophet there were seven mouths of the Nile; there are now only two; the rest have been wasted and dried up. But farther he predicts,! “They shall turn the rivvers (?. e. the canals) far away, and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper-reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.”y: These words have come to pass, while at the same time it is interesting to remark, that Egypt is as famous for its melons and cucumbers, its leeks and onions, and garlick, as it was in the days of Moses. The reeds were commanded to wither, and they have fled away; the other productions against which no word of threatening went forth, are as
* Isa. xix 5. t Verses 6, 7.
X Some have rendered verse 7 — “Nakedness on the river, on the mouth of the river,” which would be a striking reference to the five dried-up branches •>^M^ c Sy nN’-S;) nn;; Num, xi. 5.
luxuriant as before. The shelving banks of the river, down which Pharaoh’s daughter went with her maidens to bathe, have been much elevated, owing to the vast deposite of alluvial soU which the Nile is making every day.
We returned about sunset, — one of the Moslem hours for prayer, — and observed for the first time the Mahometans bending to pi’ay on the deck of the ship, the retired corners, and even in the streets. The same evening, in the Bazaar, we met two of our Jewish friends who had sailed to Egypt with us. They were kinder than ever, and told us that they were going to sail for Beyrout.
Next morning (May 16), before dawn, we were awakened by the arrival of the asses and drivers, that had been engaged to convey us as far as Damietta, the sand of the desert being so far hard and suitable for the asses’ feet. Notwithstanding the continued knocking of these drivers, we refused to start so early; and it was not till seven that we were fairly mounted on the nimble little animals, our carpets serving the purpose of a saddle. Our train consisted of sixteen asses. Our servants Ibraim and Ahmet rode by our side, and ten Egyptian lads ran beside the asses that bore the luggage. Soon after, our ti’ain received the addition of two more asses, one to carry the water-skins, and another to be ready for service in case of any of the rest becoming exhausted. We soon passed through the Rosetta gate, and bade farewell to Alexandria.
It was the morning of the day on which our General Assembly was to meet in Edinburgh, an assembly in which the important question of the Spiritual Independence of our Church, and the privilege of its Christian people, were likely to be keenly discussed. As we rode along the sands, sometimes meeting the palm-tree, sometimes a cluster of lowly shrubs, with flocks of goats browsing near, we spoke to each other of the day, praying that the crown might be set on the head of the Anointed One, and that the dry land of our parishes might be turned into water-springs.
We thought of the Judges of Israel riding on asses, * and of the many references to this custom in the Bible. We remembered above all that Zion’s King came thus to Zion, “Meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of anass.”t The palms seemed frequently to spring
* Judg. V. 10. t Matt. xxi. 5.
up immediately from out of the sand,tlieir root no doubt being nourished by unseen moisture. Does the Psalmist I’efer to this circumstance, when he says, “The righteous shall flourish as the palm-tree T’ * At all events, there is reference to its regular, steady gi’owth, year after year, marked by a new circle upon the bark. The beautiful waving of the branches also, when moved by a passing breeze, showed us how they came to be so frequently used in triumphs; a custom alluded to in Revelations, t where the great multitude who have overcome all their enemies and stand before the throne, are clothed in white robes and hold “palms in their hands.” Lizards were every where basking in the heat of the sun; and sometimes in the distance a group of camels were seen feeding on the stunted shrubs of the desert; while the only sounds that broke on the ear were the cries of the driver, “rwac/;,” “get on,” and “uzbel” “stop;” or sometimes the voice of the older men calling “waled,” “boy,” to the younger lads. The boys took great delight in teaching us “the Arabic for the nmnbers one, two, three, &c., and for some of the common phrases of life, interpreting them by signs. Dr. Keith engaged himself in questioning our servant and guide Ibraim about Petra; for he had been there with Dr. Robinson of America. From him we learned that a rough, hairy animal, which we understood to be the porcupine, abounds in Wady Mousa, and that the Arabs call it” kangfud,” which is evidently the Hebrew tis,”) (kippod), the word used in Isaiah, though translated “bittern” in our version.
Our course lay across the head of the ancient Lake Mareotis, and some other salt-lakes, now dried up by the sun. A white crust of salt often covered the hard sand. In the distance, we observed the well-known phenomenon of the mirage, to which the prophet Isaiah is supposed to allude, “The parched ground shall become (really) a pool.”^ At one time, we saw what seemed to be a calm flowing water, reflecting from its unrufHed surface trees gi’owing on its banks, while some object in the background assumed the appearance of a splendid residence amidst a grove of trees. At another time, there appeared castles embosomed in a forest of palms, with a lake of clear water stretched between us and them. Generally
* Ps. xcii. 12. t Rev. vii. 9. t Isa. xxxiv. 11.
$ Isa. XXXV. 7. The Hebrew word (3-1;:’) employed in this passage for “parched ground,” is exacdy the Arabic name for the mirage, viz. serah the mirage may be known by its continually shifting the view, and by the hazy movement of the atmosphere over the apparent waters.
Suddenly we came upon the Bay of Aboukir, and were refreshed by the cool breeze from the Mediterranean. This bay is famous in the warlike annals of our country, and here the Canopic mouth of the Nile used formerly to empty itself into the sea.
About one, we rested, taking shelter from the heat under the walls of a wretched khan, which was so small that we preferred putting up our tent, while the Arabs opened their sacks and gave the asses provendei-, — reminding us of Jacob’s sons.=^
At three, we resumed our journey, enjoying the pleasant air from the sea till toward evening, when we left the shore. The road was now marked by pillars, composed of heaps of brick, at distant intervals. The Arabs called these “■Ahmoud,’” that is “pillars.” They are peculiarly useful to the traveller, for it is as easy for one to find his way amidst drifted snow that has covered the tracks and lines of a road, as to find it in this sandy desert; — and no doubt, to these allusion is made by the prophet, t “Set thee up way-marks, make thee high heaps.” When a hurricane has passed over the desert, the traces in the sand are easily obliterated, which may be alluded to by the prophet,t “O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy (swallow up) the way of thy paths.”
We descried Rosetta about two hours before we reached it, at the extremity of a long flat valley of sand. The rays of the setting sun gave a red tinge to the surface of the desert, and as we approached the town, we entered a beautiful grove of palms, growing luxuriantly out of sandy hillocks. Some of our attendants had got before us, and were waiting for us, in eastern style, at the gate — ‘’El Bab Rashid” the gate of Rosetta, as they said. All was now truly oriental, and the scenery of the Ai’abian Nights occurred vividly to our mind, as we rode through streets silent as the grave, with not even a solitary lamp to cheer the eye. The houses seemed nothing else than lofty walls of brick or red granite. Many of them appeared to be wholly deserted, though sometimes a turbaned head was dimly seen at the narrow windows
* Gen. xlii. 27.
+ Jer. xxxi. 21. The Hebrew word isannon, “obelisks or columns.”
t Isa. ill. 12.
of these ominovxs-looking dwellings. The darkness of evening, the gloom of the buildings, and the silence of the town, made our entrance into Rosetta peculiarly sombre.
We lodged at the Latin Convent, wearied with our journey, having travelled thirty or forty miles in nine hours. This Convent was erected about thirty-five years ago, chiefly with the view of accommodating travellers, and is a large brick building, in the form of a square, with a court in the midst, like all eastern houses. We were guided by the aid of a lantern up a dark irregular stair to the highest story, where we found the apartments for strangers, far from being either airy or clean, but very acceptable after a day’s jommey in the wilderness. There are about fifteen Roman Catholics in the town, and a superior (who was absent at Jerusalem) generally resides in the Convent; but at the time of our visit, there were no inmates except a solitary Monk, — an amiable Italian, with a little native boy attending him.
We were refreshed by a draught of the water of the Nile. It is certainly peculiarly sweet and soft — very palatable at any time, and not less so after the heat of the day. Perhaps the peculiar pleasantness of these waters is referred to by Jeremiah, “Now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor]”*
We had scarcely sat down when we heard the sound of music and mirth, and running to the window observed the glare of torches in the street. We were told that it was” the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride.”t Some of us instantly set out to witness the spectacle of an Eastern Marriage. We wished to see the parable of the Ten Virgins illustrated, and our wish was gratified. The bridegroom was on his way to the house of the bride. According to custom, he walked in procession through several streets of the town, attended by a numerous body of friends, all in their showy eastern garb. Persons bearing torches went first, the torches being kept in full blaze by a constant supply of ready wood from a receiver, made of wire, fixed on the end of a long pole. Two of the torch-bearers stood close to the bridegroom, so that we had a view of his person. Some were playing upon an instrument not unlike our bagpipe, others were beating drums, and from time to time muskets were fired in honour of the occasion. There was much mii’th expressed by the crowd, especially when the pro-
* Jer. ii. 18. t Jer. xxxiii. 11.
cession stood still, which it did every few paces. We thought of the words of John, “The friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice.”* At length the company arrived at the entrance of the street where the bride resided. Immediately we heard the sound of many female voices, and observed by the light of the torches, a company of veiled bridesmaids, waiting on the balcony to give notice of the coming of the bridegroom. When they caught a sight of the approaching procession, they ran back into the house, making it resound with the cry, “Halil, halil, halil,” and music both vocal and instrumental commenced within. Thus the bridegroom entered in, “and the door was shut.” We were left standing in the street without, “in the outer darkness.” In our Lord’s parable,! the virgins go forth to meet the bridegroom with lamps in their hands, but here they only waited for his coming. Still we saw the traces of the very scene described by our Lord, and a vivid representation of the way in which Christ shall come to his waiting Church, and the marriage supper of the Lamb begin. In India and other parts of the East, it is the custom for the friends of the bride to go out to meet the company.
There are a few Jews in Rosetta, but no synagogue. The whole population of the town consists of 6000 inhabitants, and about 3000 soldiers. The ancient Canopus stood near the site of the town, but Rosetta is believed to be the ancient Bolhotine, and the branch of the Nile that flows past Rosetta is the Bolhotinicum ostium.
The Monk in the Convent proved very affable. His name was Jeremiah Galazzo, a Franciscan, from Italy. He had never read the New Testament in any language but Latin; and when we offered it to him in Italian, received it with a smile of delight. Shortly after he came back to us, and asked if we really meant to make the book his own; and then requested us to write our names upon it, mentioning that it was our gift to him. This we gladly did, and also left some Italian tracts in his library. Perhaps the Lord may some day make these seeds of divine truth spring up in his heart, as they did in Luther’s within the walls of a monastery.
At one end of the room where we slept, there was a small library, containing such books as these: —” OJflcia
* John iii. 29 t Matt. xx 1.
Sanctorum;’’^ “Corpus Christi;’^ ‘■’■ Scopa;” “Grammatica Francese;” Jerome’s Epistles in Latin; “La Dottri7ia” of Bellarmine; Antoine’s “TVieolog-ia Moralis;” “Pictavii Compendium Historiae Universalis.” There was a work on the Incarnation, in Arabic; a copy of Bellarmine’s “La Dottrina“’ in Arabic and Latin, and Missals in abundance, two large folio copies in Latin, and one in Arabic; — but no Bible among all! In the corner of the room was a small cupboard, neither neat nor clean. On the table stood a tinder-box, a vessel of olive-oil, and some cups. On the wall hung a rosary, with the image of the Virgin, bearing this inscription, ‘■’■Maria conceptasenza peccato originale precate pro noi vhc a voi recoriamo;” i. e. “Mary, who wast conceived without original sin, pray for us who betake ourselves to thee.” On the back of a chair hung a monk’s brown, dirty dress; and a skull cap lay on a shelf above.
(“May 17.) Next morning when we rose we gazed for the first time upon the rrver Kile; and in the” forenoon walked along its banks, drinking of the “water of Sihor,” those pleasant waters that were once turned into blood. The fact that these waters were so highly prized must have made that amazing miracle to be the more deeply felt, and gives singular force to the words, “The Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river.”* So much is the water esteemed down to the present day, that the Turks say, “if Mahomet had tasted this river, he would have prayed for a temporal immortality that he might enjoy it for ever.”
We visited a rice-mill which is in the course of erection; and found that the principal woi’kmen in it were four Americans employed by the Pasha. They were very happy to meet with us, and invited us to their lodging. One of them begged us to leave any English books which we could spare, as they had read over all their store. They said they kept the Sabbath every week, for when engaging with the Pasha, he allov.-ed them this privilege, that they might take either their own Sunday or the Mahometan Friday for rest. We next went to the Bazaar, a strange scene of filth and wretchedness. The shops were pooily supplied, except in the article of cucumbers; but the miserable objects that lere crawling about, — sore-eyed children perched on their mother’s shoulder, with faces half devoured by flies, — old men half blind, — and all filthy in the extreme, presented a * Exod. vii. 18.
scene that cannot be described. Water is universallycarried in skins of animals, sewed up in the form of a bottle. The women always carry their burdens, however light, upon the head.
At twelve o’clock, the Muezzin, who were standing on the minaret of the Mosque, called the people to prayer, for it was noon. The deep-toned and prolonged cry of these watchmen is heard over the whole city, and if it were a call to the worship of the true God, would have a solemn effect. It is repeated at set hours every day, and is to be heard in every Mahometan town. Did Mahomet think un the words of the Psalmist when he instituted this practice, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall’hear my voice]”* As it was Friday the Mosques were all open. Looking into one of them, we observed a row of turbaned worshippers all kneeling at the same time. On approaching too near the door, we were warned to withdraw. Looking into another, we observed a man in a kind of pulpit, addressing the worshippers, who were seated in a row upon a marble floor, with their eyes directed towards the preacher. The attitudes of devotion in the East are singularly beautiful.
In returning to the Convent, we had an opportunity of witnessing the procession that takes place upon the event of a circumcision. The Ai’abs, with a reference to their progenitor Ishmael, circumcise their children when thirteen years old, and perform the ceremony with great pomp.f The boy, on whose account the ceremony was to be performed on this occasion, was handsomely dressed, and seated upon a white horse, with his head garlanded with flowers. The attendants stopped every now and then, and were entertained with music, firing of muskets, and merriment of various kinds, as in the marriage procession. The women wearing the veil seated themselves on the ground, and sang with shrill voices, sometimes they threw a fragrrant liquid over the boy, reminding us of the woi’ds of the Psalmist, “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of” the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.“f We observed more narrowly the bracelets and ornaments on the forehead worn by the women, and their eyes painted with stibium, and also the silver anklets worn by the children. The men together played at single-stick, keeping time to the music in a very dexterous “manner
Ps. Iv. 17. t Gen. xvii. 25. I Ps. xlv. a
At four in the afternoon, we took leave of Rosetta and of our friendly monl<, and crossed the Nile, which is here 18(J0 feet broad. We and our servants were a sufficient load for one small boat; our luggage occupied another; and our asses a third: — and thus we floated slowly to the other side. A rice-field was near the spot where we landed; the rice was springing up through the water, which still drenched its surface. We saw a man ploughing with oxen; — the plough seemed nothing more than a piece of wood, shaped so as to be capable of piercing
the ground. Some of the women of the villages were using the distaflf, and the children were gathering mulberries.
We had now a pleasant ride down the right bank of the Nile, among very rich gardens of melons and cucumbers, with figs and mulberry trees, and the finest palms we had yet seen. The croaking of frogs in all the rice-fields was incessant, and the pigeon, caTled by the Arabs Tur, was cooing among the trees. From time to time we had to cross little canals formed to carry water from the Nile, and supplied by the oxen turning round a wheel. Into one of these one of our baggage asses was pushed headlong by his fellow; and the patient animal lay quietly at the bottom till it was lifted out.
One of our attendants went to drink at a tank by the roadside. At all these tanks there is a small pitcher for the accommodation of travellers; sometimes fastened by a chain, and sometimes without it, but even if left loose it remains untouched. The villages are wretched. The people seem almost naked, and excessively dirty; most of them, too, are old people; very rarely did we meet any healthy young men. The reason is, that all such are obliged to enter the army; and Egyptian villages and lands are left to the care of women and old men. It seems still the case that taskmasters rule over Egypt — it is a “house ofbo7yduge” at this day. God remembers how Egypt kept his chosen Israel 400 years in slavery, and therefore has poured out upon it the fulfilment of that humiliating prophecy, “It shall be the basest of l<^ingdoms.”* If God fuliils so accurately the threate/ung against the enemies of Israel, will he not as literally fulfil the blessing which he has promised to the friends of Israel ] And has he not said, “Blessed is he that blesseth thee ‘?” t
About sunset, we left the rich banks of the Nile, and entered again upon the pathless desert. We could not observe so much as one foot-print of man or beast upon the smooth sand. Soon we came upon the sea-shore, and rode along the margin, the waves washing the asses’ feet, while the moon rose to light us on our way. At one point, our drivers being weary, proposed encamping for the night; but Ibraim advised us to advance a little further. Upon this the young Arabs proceeded without a murmur, and in order to cheer the way commenced a native dance and song. One of them, advancing a little before the rest, began the song, dancing forward as he repeated the words, when the rest, following him in regular order, joined in the chorus, keeping time by a simultaneous clapping of hands. They sang several Arabian songs in this way, responding to one another, and dancing along the firm sand of the sea-shore, in the clear beautiful moonlight. The response, the dance, and the clapping of the hands, brought many parts of the word of God to our minds. We remembered the song of Miriam at the Red Sea, when “the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances; and Miriam answered them,” that is, “Miriam sang responsively to them;” J and also the song of the women of Israel after David’s victory over the giant, “They answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” The words of the Psalmist we’re likewise brought to mind, “O clap your hands, all ye people; Shout unto God with the voice of triumph;” H and again, “Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together” IT — ?. e. in full choir. The responsive form of the 136th Psalm, and others of a like kind, was fully illustrated by this interesting scene.
* Ezek. xxix. 15, “Basest of kingdoms,” is every where seen fulfilled in the fact, that Jiative Egyptians have none of the power or wealth of the land. Every appearance of power or greatness in it belongs to its foreign governor and his officers, not to natives. The Pasha is the gulf in which the produce of Egypt is swallowed up.
t Numb. xxiv. 9. t Exod. xv. 20. ‘J 1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7.
II Ps. xlvii. 1. If Ps. xcviii. 8.
We slept this night on the sea-shore. And in putting up our tents, we began to understand better the circumstances attending this manner of life. We learned how to “enlarge the place of the tent”* by “stretching out the curtains.” We saw how by “lengthening the cords,” we drew wider the covering; and as we drove in the pins “or stakes” into the sand, we learned the necessity of “strengthening the stakes,” if they were to endure the tugging of the wind and weight of the canvass. Israel is yet to dwell at large, under a tent widely spread; but not a temporary abode, shifted at next morning’s dawn. Jerusalem is to be “a tabernacle that shall not be taken down, not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.”! There may be a reference to the falling of the tent when its cords are loosed, in Job, “He hath loosed my cord and afflicted me.” And perhaps also in the Epistle to the Corinthians, “If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,” where the original word is Karaxm, “loosened.” Then verse 4th has this meaning, “We groan, not to be left without a tabernacle altogether, but to have the glory enveloping our tent, to have an additional and far more glorious covering.” Jael’s tent-nails and hammer could not fail to occur to us. When Zechariah says, “out of him came the nail,” he refers to the fixing of the tent. And when another prophet says, “the nail that is fixed shall be removed,” he may allude to the tent-pin pulled up when the tent is shifted.
(May 18.) We started early next morning, and were soon on our way. We had already learned how natural were the words, “Take up thy bed and walk;” ff our simple beds costing us no trouble, and serving us for a softer seat on the asses’ back.
About one o’clock we reached the lake Bourlos, anciently lake Buteo, where the Sehennetic branch of the Nile once discharged its waters into the Mediterranean. It is a fine expanse of water, communicating with the sea by a narrow outlet. Multitudes of large porpoises were swimming about, whose playful motions amused us as we sailed across. They repeatedly darted out of the water in pursuit of smaller fish. The fishermen on shore were using the af.’<filncTpov, a net resembling the poke-net used in the isles of Scotland. It is circular, and
* Isa. liv. 2. + Isa. xxxiii. 20. X Job xxx. 11. The Heb. is »in» $ 2 Cor. V. 1, 4. II Judg. v. 26. 1i Zech. x. 4.
Isa. xxii. 25. The nail is in Heb. in-. ft John v. 8.
weights are placed round the circumference. The fisherman holds it by the centre, gathers it up in his hand, and casts it into the water; lie then draws it slowly to shore by a line fastened to the centre. This is probably the very kind of net used by the disciples.*
Leaving Bourlos, we rode through a pleasant wilderness abounding in palm-trees. Passing a garden of melons and cucumbers, we observed “the lodge” in the midst of it, a small erection of four upright poles, roofed over with branches and leaves, under which a solitary person may sit and watch the garden. To this desolate condition the daughter of Zion has come as the prophet foretold, “The daughter of Zion is left as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers.” f In two hours we arrived at a paltry village named Balteen, whose wretched houses appeared externally to be masses of brick or of mud. They are built in squares, and the windows look inward. Several families occupy one of these square edifices. At this spot our guides refused to go on, because they said that there would be no more water till four hours more of our journey, and the road was too bad for travelling in the dark. Without any altercation, therefore, and being glad to rest, we pitched our tents in the middle of this village about seven o’clock. The day had been exceedingly sultry; and the faces of some of us were blistered by the hot wind and glowing sands. We had scarcely sat down in the tent-door to enjoy the cool air of evening, when our attention was painfully arrested by the screams of one of our drivers. We rushed to the spot in time to save the poor fellow from a repetition of the unmerciful blows which the chief driver had been inflicting on his head with a staff. Some disobedience in drawing water was the cause of quarrel. We took him into our tent, and Ibraim applied some coffee to the bleeding wound, laughing all the time at his piteous cries. Truly the tender mercies of the heathen are cruel.
(May 19.) This morning was the Sabbath, and we rested according to the commandment. After worshipping together, we spent the forenoon in a grove of palms. The heat was great, the thermometer being 84 0. We soon left the shade of the palm, and seated ourselves under the deeper shade of the fig and tama- -risk. A fox started from his lair at our approach, and
* Matt. iv. 18. We saw the same afterwards at the lake of Galilee. t Isa. i. 8.
the native pigeons hovered around us. A thrashing-floor was in sight; — for our resting-place was on a rising ground — and here the men were busy bruising out the corn, with an instrument which we afterwards found very common in the East. It was no more than a flat board teethed with rows of sharp stones, on one end of which sat the man driving the oxen round and round over the straw. It brought to mind, “Neither is the cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin,” and “Break it with the wheel of his cart.”*
Some of the villagers found us thus seated. About twenty half-naked, wretched-looking people, gathered round, to gaze at us and our clothing. We felt it painful to be among these ignorant, miseraljle people, and not able to tell them in their own tongue one word of the great salvation. It stirred us the more to cry, “Thy kingdom come!” They kindly offered us some fresh garlick, and then their long pipe to smoke. One of them brought a vessel of water, and tasted it first himself to induce us to drink with confidence.
In the evening, the Sheikh or Governor of the place came down to our tent, attended by his Secretary — whom we found to be an Arabic Christian — and by his Pipe-bearer. They drank tea and ate sugar with great good humour, and seemed delighted at the attention paid them. They gladly accepted a pencil-case and knife, and promised to Dr. Keith to take Arabic tracts if he would send them. The Governor’s brother was next introduced, that we might heal him of blindness. We found that one of his eyes was obscured by cataract, which we assured him it was beyond the reach of our skill to remove. Upon their leaving us, we received a hint to give a small hacshish, or present, to the Pipe-bearer, as a token of respect to the Master for the honour he had done us in visiting our tent.
(May 20.) Owing to the I’estless impatience of our guides and servants, we were obliged to strike our tents at midnight. The moon was nearly full, and the sky without a cloud as we travelled onward for some hours through a much richer and more undulating country than that which we had passed. The palms and other trees of the desert gave beauty to the scene, while the hoarse croaking of the frogs told us that water was plentiful. Sometimes we came upon Arab huts made of branches of the helach or palm, and were saluted by the angry howl of dogs. Arriving at the sea, we rode along the * Isa. x.wiii. 27, 28.
ASSOUM — SENNA — PASHA’s TROOPS, 65
shore, the waves frequently washing the asses’ feet. We now felt great difficuJty in preventing ourselves fi-om falling asleep, and were often on this account precipitated to the sand, to the great amusement of our Egyptian attendants. Frequently we were roused by the livid flashes, of lightning, which played beautifully from the bosom of the dark clouds above the sea.
After riding ten hours in this manner we came to Assoum, an unsheltered village, consisting of a few wretched huts, and with very bad water. To save time, our tents were not erected; but we cast ourselves down, wearied and sleepy, upon our mats, under the shelter of the coverlets thrown over us, and tried to find a little rest under a scorching sun and upon glowing sand. It was easy now to understand the murmurings of the children of Israel in the desert; for heat, thirst, and a long journey over burning sands, made us experience feelings of misery which we had not known before. After two hours of repose, a dip in the sea, and a sparing meal of rice and dates, we resumed our journey, being anxious to reach Damietta this evening. About three o’clock, as we left the sea-shore, the Minarets of the town appeared in the distant horizon. We rode through an undulating pass of low sand-hills, the air resembling that of an oven. Coming in sight of a well, our guides i-an to quench their burning thirst. To us, however, this only afforded a trial of patience, for the water was so muddy that we could not drink. In a little time we arrived at Senana, a village on the west side of this branch of the Nile, where the Pasha has barracks for some thousand troops. The troops were exercising as we passed by: — some were in drill, and some shooting at a mark. They wear a white cotton dress, with a deep red sash, and are far from being a bold-looking set of men. The Nile here is 800 feet broad: and this was anciently called the Phutnitic or Bucolic branch. We sat down upon the bank, and drank fi-eely of the water, which, when passed through a filter, was pure and delicious. An Egyptian officer brought us out chairs, and sat down with us in the shade of his house. He spoke with deep admiration of Mehemet Ali, and told us anecdotes of his unwearied activity.
The houses and mosques of Damietta looked very beautiful in the evening sun on the opposite bank of the river, — a sad contrast to the filth, poverty, and guilt, to be found within. This is the ancient Tamiatis; it occupies a fine situation, and has well cultivated lands in its vicinity. We had sent Ibraim across the river with a letter to the Vice-Consul, the only representative of England in this place, to make known our arrival. He returned with a message from the Vice-Consul inviting us to his house; upon which we immediately embarked, and were soon rowed across the gentle stream, and up one of the canals, till we landed in Damietta, immediately under the Consul’s garden. We were received into a large hall, with a stone floor, and a broad divan at the far end. In the one corner, * which is the place of state, we found the Vice-Consul, a smart-looking Egyptian, in a Greek dress of dark green, with yellow slippers. He received us very graciously, and made us sit beside him on the divan. Long pipes, highly ornamented, were immediately brought to us by the attendants. We felt it not a little teazing, after all our fatigues and sleeplessness, to be compelled, out of politeness, to go through these eastern formalities, and to recline with him for nearly two hours, until a repast was prepared such as he thought suitable for British travellers. However, we were “deeply interested by observing many eastern customs, which we had read of from our youth. We were introduced also to the Consul’s brother and nephew; the latter a fine-looking young man, with a pointed moustache, who had singular command over his features. He spoke to us in the Italian very freely; told us with great sangfroid of the poverty and misery of the inhabitants of Damietta; and when we informed him that we were Ministers of Christ, said that he admired our religion very much, because it appealed to reason. An old Bedouin sheikh was brought before VIS, who promised to do his best to procure camels for our future journey through the desert. At last the repast was served up. It was much after the English fashion, our host shewing us the greatest kindness. After all was over, we were guided by the janissary, carrying a silk lantern, through the dark streets, to rooms belonging to the British consulate. Our mats were spread upon the floor, and we slept soundly, although the mosquitoes annoyed us not a little. A locust also dropt in at one of the lattices of the room. Our chamber was fitted up in the true oriental style, for the part of the room assigned for the bed was about a foot higher than the rest of the floor. We saw the meaning of”” going up to the bed.”! The windows were completely shaded by a wooden lattice-work on the outside, which we found universal in *.’imos iii. 12, and Zech. x. 4. t Ps. cxxxii. 3.
Egypt. It is probably the same thing that is spoken of by Solomon, “shewing himself through the lattice.”*
(May 21.) Early next morning, we settled accounts with the Egyptian donkeymen who had brought us thus far on our journey. Soon after which the Consul’s janissary, dressed in white, with red shoes, came to invite us to our forenoon’s repast. We then found that it is the custom in the East, to send for the guests when the feast is prepared, saying, “Come, for all things are now ready.”f The Consul was sitting as usual in the corner of his divan, along with some Egyptian friends, among
whom was the Governor of the province — a rough- looking man, with a grisly beard, snow-white turban and
rr.
hi
W/%
‘^’*’/?|
Songii 9.
Luke xiv. 17. Esther vi. 11.
68 DAMIETTA — DIN-NER AT VICE-CONSUL’s.
piercincr eye. He was very kind to us, and examined all our clothes, even the pockets and lappets of our coats, our watches, outside and inside, with uplifted eyebrows, adding “Buono, buono” at every discovery. The collazione was in the English fashion for our sakes, and the Governor for the first time, as he told us, attempted the use of the knife and fork. After the repast, the servants carried round a brazen basin, and out of a jar poured water on the hands of every guest. We remembered Elisha pouring water on the hands of Elijah.*
Returning again to the hall, and squatted once more upon the divan, coffee was brought in very small cups, each cup being enclosed in a small silver case. The long pipes were next carried in by six attendants. Each servant stood at a reverent distance, and kept his eye fixed upon the hand of the guest whom he was serving, watching the slightest motion. This vividly recalled the allusion in the Psalms, “Behold as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters.”! While we were thus seated, a tall old man came in with a petition in his hand. He took off his shoes, and approached the Governor barefoot.J The great man glanced rapidly over the paper, and without speaking a word, gathered his brows into a terrible frown; whereat the poor man I’etii’ed as if from a serpent.
At parting, we were invited to return to the evening meal. No hour was fixed; but towards evening, we were sent for by the secretary, whose name was Salvator Strigelli, an intelligent young Italian, fantastically dressed,“witli long black hair curling upon his shoulders. We asked him when his master usually dined; he said, “About half an hour after sunset,” which proved to be half-past seven. We had an opportunity of speaking to this secretary very directly on the necessity of a persona! interest in Christ. He seemed, however, to have a strong leaning to scepticism, and was of a romantic turn of mind.
At the door of the Consul’s house were many poor and diseased, hanging about in expectation of getting help from those who visited him. We remembered Lazarus laid at the rich man’s gate. 5 At dinner we were still more interested in observing a custom of the country. — In the room where we were received, besides the divan on which we sat, there were seats all round the walls. Many came in and took their place on those
* 2 Kings iii. 11. t Ps. cxxiii. 2. t Exod. iii. 5. $ Luke xvi. 20.
ILLOSTRATIO^•S OF JEWIdH CUSTOMS. 69
side-seats, uninvited and yet imchallenged. They spoke to those at table on busuiess or the news of the day, and our host spoke freely to them. This made us understand the scene in Simon’s house at Bethany, where Jesus sat at supper, and Mary came in and anointed his feet with ointment; * and also the scene in the Pharisee’s house, where the woman who was a sinner came in, uninvited and yet not forbidden, and washed his feet with her tears, f The chief dish at the table was a highly-seasoned pilau of rice; but the Consul pressed us much to another, which he described as a dish peculiar to Egypt, made of an herb like clover, called melahieh. It has a saltish taste, as its Arabic name indicates. Several armed Arabs were serving us, but the favourite attendant was Hassan, who was always srunmoned into the room by a loud call ‘^ ffa-hassan,” accompanied by clapping the one hand very sharply on the other. The conversation was of a more serious cast than pi-eviously. The Consul, whose name is Michael Suruff, is by birth an Egyptian, and his father was a native of Damascus. He is a Greek Roman Catholic, but so liberal, that he declared he believed our Protestant worship to be much nearer the form which Christ would approve. He thought that there were no traces in Scripture of any such orders in the church as their bishops. At the same time he reckoned it a disgrace for any man to change his religion. (Wednesday, May 22.) In the pleasant air of moniing the flat roof of our house afforded us an opportunity of realizing Peter’s position in Acts x. 9, and of imitating his example. Immediately below our apartment was the Graeco-Romish chapel, a very small apartment, filled with the fragrance of incense. Two priests stood at the altar and two monks were reading the Arabic serxice.. T wo little boys also were assisting; but we were the only auditors. The half of the population of Damietta is pro-
* John xii. 1 — 3.
t Luke vii. 3& — 38. We afterwards saw this custom at Jerusalem, and there it was still more fitted to illustrate these incidents. We were sitting around Mr. Xicdayson’s table, when first one and then another stranger opened the door and came in, taking seats by the wall. They.’eaned forward and spoke to those at table. A’ow, in the case of the woman that was a sinner, Christ is dinmg at a Pharisee’s table. As the feast goes on, the door opens, and a woman enters and takes her seat by the wall just behind him. The Pharisee eyes her with abhorrence; but as custom permits it, he does not prevent her coming in. After a little time, as Jesus is reclining, with his feet sloped toward the back of the couch, the woman bends forward, pours her tears on his feet, and anoints them with precious ointment.
fessedJy Christian, but most of these belong to the Greek church. In one of the streets we were attracted, by the sound of bawhng voices, to a native school. Eight children were seated on the floor, with their books placed before them, not on a desk, but on a sort of hurdle. The children kept up an incessant rocking motion of the body backward and forward at every word they repeated, and all seemed to speak at once at the pitch of their voices. At the corner of another street we were attracted by a similar sound to a school up a stair, attended by about thirty children, with two teachers. They sat in regular rows on the floor, with their books, which were all Arabic, in their hands; their shoes had been left in a heap at the door. Three repeated their lesson at once, rocking to and fro. Quickness and loudness of utterance seemed to be aimed at as the chief excellence of the scholars.
We visited the Consul once more, to thank him for all his kindness and bid him adieu. The common salutation at meeting and parting is to put the hand first on the breast and then on the lips, as if to intimate that what the lips utter the heart feels.* But no custom of the East struck us more than their manner of squandering away time: drinking coffee, smoking, and sitting indoleiitly on a couch, seem to occupy many hours of the day.
In the forenoon, our arrangements for traversing the desert being completed, we set out for the lake Menzaleh, about a mile from Damietta. Many of the people whom we passed on the way were preparing chopped straw and camel’s dung mixed with earth for fiiel.t Many of the children were “absolutely naked. Reaching the lake, we embarked in a large open boat, spread our carpets on the floor, and formed an awning with our mats. A large sail was raised, and a gentle breath of wind carried us slowly along; the sail and ropes were well patched, and would have fared ill in a gale. Lake Menzaleh is the ancient Mendes, and is in general four or five feet deep. The bottom appeared to be a very rich alluvial soil, and were the lake drained would form a splendid plain. The banks are all cultivated for rice. In the middle of the deck of our boat stood a large earthen jar with water, of which the sailors drank fi-om time to time. The Bedouin sheikh, Haggi Mater, sat beside us. He was an
* See Job xxxi. 27, “My mouth hath kissed my hand.” t This may explain what is said in Ezek. iv. 14, 15.
elderly man, of a very mild and pleasant countenance, and yet it was easy to trace beneath the numerous folds of his turban the cunning of his nation. He was in great good humour when we gave him dates and other fruit, and still more in the evening when we offered him tea and sugar. The thermometer was 74’^ under our awning, and the vessel moved very slowly, so that we found it pleasant to bathe in the lake. We sailed past two villages that lie close to each other, Ugbieh or Menzaleh, and Maturieh. The former is on the neck of land, and both had a lively appearance, presenting the aspect of more industry than any Egyptian town or village we had yet seen. There were many boats at the quay; some carrying lime, others rice, others fish. The Mosque, rising over the houses and palm-trees, and seen against the deep blue sky, gave a truly picturesque effect to this quiet but busy spot. Towards evening, we observed the shore covered with immense reeds, from ten to twenty feet high; the water-fowl, and the fish leaping out of the water, seemed to be innumerable. The unbroken stillness of the evening scene was strangely solemnizing, and after singing the 23d and 121st Psalms, we committed ourselves to repose in the bottom of the boat.
(May 23.) We were roused before sunrise. Our boat had reached during the night a narrow embankinent, which divides this part of the lake from the next. The part we had sailed over was anciently the Mendesian branch of the Nile: and the part we were now to enter upon was the Tanitic or Saiiic branch, now called Moes. The place was called Sid, perhaps a remnant of the ancient Sais.
While the men were transporting the luggage over the slender isthmus, we wandered along the shore. It was a beautiful morning, and the air was soft and balmy, — just such an atmosphere Joseph used to breathe when he was governor over the land of Egypt. We came upon two Arabs sitting by a smouldering fire of camel’s
dung. The quern or hand-mill, made of two granite
MODE OF DRAWING WATER — ZOAN.
stones, was lying by a large cruise of water, and a round iron plate for baking. As we sailed on, the banks on either hand presented fields of ver)’ large onions watered by human laboui-. A half-naked Egyptian stood by a well, into which he dipped a bucket, which was attached to a transverse pole. By means of a weight at the other
end of the pole, the bucket was easily raised and emptied nito the ditch, which conveyed it over the field.* There were also many “sluices and ponds for fish,” similar without doubt to those referred to by Isaiah.f which were once numerous on all the branches of the Nile.
Al)out ten o’clock a. m. we landed at the village of San, anciently called Tunis, and in Scripture Zoan, one of the most ancient cities in the world.t The fine alluvial plain around was no doubt “the field of Zoan, “5 where God did marvellous things in the days of Moses; and it is by no means an unlikely opinion, that the well-known Goshenll was in this region. We pitched our tents upon the bank to shelter ourselves from the rays of an almost vertical sun, while the wild Arabs came round, some to gaze upon the strangers, and some to offer old coins and small images f(«- sale. In the cool of the day we wandered forth for sohtary meditation, and ]Mr. Bonar, passing over some heaps of rubbish a few minutes’ walk from the
* Some such custom is alluded to in Deut. xi. 10: “Not as the land of Egj’pt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot as a garden of herbs.”
t Isa. xix. 10. t Numb. xiii. 22
§ Ps. Lxxviii. 12, 43. 11 Gen. xlvi. 29. village, started a fox from his lair. Following after it, he found himself among low hills of loose alluvial matter, full of fragments of pottery, while beyond these lay seve-
Ul
s.
^4 ZOAN — FULFILMENT OP PROPHECY.
ral heaps of large stones, which on a nearer inspection he found to be broken obelisks and ruins of what may have been ancient temples — the relics of a glory that is departed. But darkness came on, and obliged him to return to the tent. It was a lovely moonlight night, and very pleasant it was to unite in prayer and in singing psalms amid the wild Arabs, in the very region where God had wrought so many wonders long ago. We read over Isaiah xix, “The burden of Egypt,” in our tent, and when we looked out on the paltry mud village of San, with its wretched inhabitants, we saw God’s word fulfilled before our eyes. “Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish:” “IVIiei-e are they 7 where are thy icise men?” “The princes of Zoan are become fools”* The people of the modern village are extremely filthy and ignorant, famous for pilfering, and not to be trusted. Our sheikh and servants were a little afraid of tjiem, and insisted on making one or two discharges of fire-arms, to instil a salutary awe into the villagers. They also kept watch round our tents the whole night, (one of them with a naked sabre, which lay by his side gleaming in the moonlight,) keeping one another awake by a low Arab chant.
(May 24, Friday.) At sunrise we took a full survey of all that now remains of ancient Zoan. We found that the large mounds of alluvial matter which cover the ruins of brick and pottery, extend about two miles from east to west, and one mile and a half from north to south. The whole country round appeared to be covered not with sand, but with soil which might be cultivated to the utmost if there was water. The most remarkable relics of this ancient city lie at the western extremity. We came upon immense blocks of red granite lying in a heap. All had been hewn, some were carved, and some were still lying regularly placed one above another. Here probably stood the greatest temple of Zoan; and there seems to have been an open square round it. Possibly also a stream flowed through the very midst of the city, for at present there is the d”ry channel of a torrent. Further to the north, we found ten or twelve obelisks, fallen and prostrate, and two sphinxes, broken and half sunk into the ground. The finest of the obelisks was thirty feet long, the culmen unbroken, and the carving unimpaired. All were covered with hieroglyphics. Seve- * Isa. -xix. 11 — 13. ral had the symbol of Isis, others of Anubis and Osiris. One of the spliinxes was thir- ,^
teen feet long, and nearly perfect, the other was a fragment.
Towards the south were the
remains of two colmnns having
capitals of the Corinthian order,
though in the form of the shaft
there seemed to be an imitation
of the lotus-leaf Among the
mounds we could clearly trace
buildings of brick, the bricks
still retaining their original
place. The remains of pottery.
however, were most remarkable, consisting of jars of the ancient form, without number, all broken into fragments, many of them bearing the clearest marks of the action of fire, showing that God has hterally fulfilled the word of the prophet, “I will set fire in Zoan.” *
Returning to our tents, we found eight camels waiting for us, ach attended by a Bedouin. This was our first trial of “the ship of the desert.” The loading of the camel is a singular scene. At the word of command the animal sinks down upon the sand with its limbs crouched under it. A wooden frame is fastened on the highest part of the back, to which a net-work of ropes is commonly attached, for the convenience of enclosing luggage. A carpet and covering are then placed above, and form a soft saddle, upon which the rider must sit either astride or sideways, without stirrup or bridle, and balance himself according to the best of his ability. The camel often moans sadly during the time of mounting, and sometimes tries to bite. When it rises there is much danger of being thrown over its head, and then of being thrown the other way; and the Arabs are very careless
Ezek. XXX. !-v See Dr. Keith’s Evidences of Prophecy, p. 380, last ed in warning, for they say no one is hurt by a fall from a camel. AH things being ready, we proceeded forward at the slow rate of somcnvhat less than three miles an hour. The long step of the camel causes a constant monotonous rocking of the body, which is very fatiguing at first, and our patience was tried by their incessantly bending down their swan-like necks to crop the dry prickly herbage of the desert. The Sheikh presented us with some fresh cucumbers to keep us from thirst, and we listened with interest to the short plaintive song of the Bedouins, who responded to one another while they urged on their camels. We passed a small hovel in the sand, where the Arabs made a curious sound expressive of superstitious reverence. They told us it was the dwelling of a dervish. Coming upon the dead carcase of a camel, which two men were flaying for the sake of its flesh and skin, our guide remarked that, besides these, the hair also is valuable, being used in making rough cloaks for the Bedouins. No doubt these are the same as the hair)’^ garment worn by Elijah,* and the “raiment of camel’s hair” worn by John the Baptist.f All the Arabs wore also a broad “leathern girdle about their loins.”
We frequently experienced an interesting illustration of a passage in the prophet Isaiah. J Alout midday, when the heat was very oppressive, a small cloud, scarcely observable by the eye, passed over the disc of the burning sun. Immediately the intense heat abated, a gentle breeze sprung up, and we felt refreshed. “Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers (enemies) as the heat in a dry place (a sandy desert), even the heat with the shadoio of a cloud; the branch (the palm branch waved in supposed triumph) of the terrible ones shall be brought low.” The immediate relief afforded us by the interposition of a small and almost imperceptible cloud, taught us the lesson of the prophet — with what divine ease and speed God can relieve his suffering church and bring low her proudest enemies. Again and again in the course of our journey we had occasion to quote the words, and in the spirit of Bunyan’s pilgrim when refreshed, said one to another, “He bringeth dov,m the heat in a dry place with the shadow of a’cloud.”
In four hours and a half we arrived at Menaghee, a poor village, where every house was built entirely of mud, j but
* 2 Kings i. 8. t Matt. iii. 4. X Isa. xxv. 5
§ Perhaps Ezekiel refers to such mud walls as these, xiii. 10; and our Lord, Matt vi. 19 (Greek), “where thieves dig th’-ough and steal”
where there was a wood of fine pahn-trees and three wells of good water, so that as we pitched our tents we were reminded of Elim.*
The evening was pleasant, and we bathed in a part of the old PeLusiac branch of the Nile. The river no longer flows to the sea, and its reeds are “withered, di-iven away, and are no more.”t We concluded that we must be near Sin or Pelusium, the key of Egypt in ancient days. Beside this stream, we saw great numbers of ravens, called by the Arabs ourab,X and many a vulture, called daiah, hovered over us as if desirous to feed upon our flesh. A fine moonlight night succeeded. The Arabs and camels farmed a circle round our tents. They fed the camels with chopped straw and bran; in reference to which common food, Isaiah speaks of a better time that is to come, when the provender shall be “winnowed with the shovel and the fan.”|| Talking to Ibraim about the Bedouins, we asked if the Arab sheikh could read. “No, no, (said Ibraim), Bedouin-man neither read nor write; Bedouin-man just like donkey.” There was something in this rude testimony that irresistibly reminded us of the word of God concerning Ishmael, “He wUl be a wild man” — or more literally, “He will be a wild ass man.” IT
(May 25, Saturday.) We were mounted on our camels by sunrise, and bade salaam to the old sheikli and his black attendant, who now took leave of us in a very kind manner, committing us to the care of the Bedouins. The sunbeams glanced along the level plain of the wilderness, scorching our hands and faces, for we were jom-neying nearly due east. Every hour it became hotter and hotter, and this, along with the slow rocking motion of the camel, often produced an irresistible drowsiness — a feeling indescribably painful in such cii:cumstances. About half-past nine o’clock, a loud cry fi-om the guide aroused us all. Our friend Dr. Black had fallen suddenly from his camel. We immediately slipped down fi’om our camels and ran to the spot. For some time he remained nearly insensible, but by the use of such restoratives as we had, at last began gradually to recover. It was a truly affecting scene, which we can never forget. Far from our kindred, in the midst of a vast soli-
Exod. XV. 27. t Isa. xix. 7. X Heb. aij. (oreb)
§ No doubt the Hebrew dnt (daiah). II Isa. xxx. 24.
T Gen. xvi. 13. canN KiCtude, no living being near except our little company of Arabs, not knowing what might be the extent of the injury received, we felt how completely our times were in God’s hand. The Arabs cheerfully erected the tent, and though the water in the skins was scarce and precious, they sprinkled some over the tent to keep it cool — for the thermometer stood at 89^ in the shade. The camels couched on the sand under the burning sun, and each of the Bedouins made a little tent of his cloak and lay down beneath. We were thanlvful to be able to resume cm- journey, and proceed onwards to the next stage towards the cool of the day, intending to spend the Sabbath there. The desert now presented an unvaried circle of sand as far as the horizon, sometimes gathered into little hillocks, sometimes covered with stunted thorns, “the heath in the desert” of which Jeremiah speaks.* The sun went down in the same manner as at sea, and bright moonUght followed. Very weary we arrived at Gomatter about ten o’clock at night. A small fort, or post-house of the Pasha, and a deep well of cold water, were the only objects of interest in this desolate spot, where we pitched our tents and sought rest,
(May 26, Sabbath.) The Sabbath dawned sweetly upon us, but soon it became very hot, the thermometer being 92° in the shade. We rested in our tents, and found many of the Psalms, such as the 63d, full of new meaning and power.
Dr. Keith went up to the post-ofRce, and finding the master very friendly, sat down with him in the shade of his house. Our Arab attendants also seated themselve.s beside him, while he read several passages of the Bible, Ibraim being interpreter. They hstened with the utmost attention, putting in a note of approbation again and again. But in the midst of his occupation, Ibraim could not refrain from making his remarks on the Bedouins. Pointing to one man who was staring with an unmeaning countenance, he whispered, “Look, look, now, is not Bedouin-man just like donkey?”j In the evening we invited the Governor to visit o’ur tent, and seated him on our best carpet in the corner, the Bedouins being all gathered round the tent-door. Dr. Black was so far well as to be able to address this interesting congregation. He went over several Scripture narratives, and ended by reading pai’t of John iii. He spoke in Italian, and Ibraim interpreted, but evidently not so willingly as
* Jer. .xvii. 6. t Vide p. 77.
CONVERSATION WITH IBKAl.-M AND AHJIET. 79
in the forenoon. The constant remark of the auditors — often, it is to be feared, out of mere courtesy — was “Taih, Taib,’’’ “good, good,” or “Saheia, Saheia,’’’ “very just.” Ibraim and Ahmet spoke to us when the rest were gone. One of their great stumbHng-blocks seems to be the profligate and irrehgious conduct of professing Christians. Ibraim related the shameful manner in which a gentleman at Cairo had treated him. Ahmet started some speculative questions regarding Providence, and mentioned some Frenchmen who believed in no God. We explained the difference between nominal and real Christians; and Ibraim remarked that he had met with good Christians, mentioning with great affection and respect Professor Robinson’from America, with whom he had travelled about two years ago. Both of them had met with Joseph Wolff in Mr. Gliddon’s house at Alexandria, and remembered him with much interest.
When left alone we were led to meditate on that happy time when Israel shall “arise and shine,” and the sons of Ishmael, the untamed wanderers of the desert, shall share in the blessing. “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come;” “all the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto “thee.” *
(May 27.) We were up with the sun, and soon on our way. Ibraim told us that we were not many days’ journey from Mount Sinai; and remarked, that the desert of Sinai (which he traversed with Dr. Robinson) is verydifferent fi’om that which we were now travelUng, for it has trees every now and then. He described” a tree very common there, of which the Bedouins make charcoal, and which grows in clusters, called Santah. May this not be the Shitta-tree, or Shittim-wood of the Sbriptures 1 t
This is the extreme part of the desert of Shur, where-
Isa. Ix. 6, 7.
t Exod. XXV. 5, 10. Isa. xli. 19. The Dagesh in the n of rips’ (shittah) evidently points to a letter which has been dropped, which may be the mm of Santah. By the way we asled Ibraim many questions about the names of objects round us. He pointed to onions and said the name was “basd” which resembles very closely the Hebrew Sx3 (batsel); garlick he called loum, which is the same as the Hebrew n^Di::’ (shoumeem), with only a change of the sibilant. The melon is in Arabic hotiach, an abbreviation of n^BaK (abatiahh). All these are mentioned together in Numb. xi. 5, “We remember the fih which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick.”
m Hagar wandered.* It is still overspread with stunted bushes and shrubs; and it was no doubt imder one of these that she cast her child, f The most common bush is called “atel” or “athle” “the tamarisk.”
Not far from this point of the road stood in ancient days Tahpanhes, or Duphne, and Migdol, whither the rebellious remnant of Judah carried Jeremiah after the destruction of Jerusalem by the King of Babylon. At a distance on the left, we saw ancient remains, which the men said were the ruins of a city. The infallible word of God has been flilfiUed. “At Tehaphnehes (Tahpanhes) also the day shall be darkened;” “a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.” 5 We met the Pasha’s droiiiedary-post, travelling at the rate of six or seven miles an hour. We were told that, if he be a few hours beyond his time, he is in danger of losing his head. A little after we met some Bedouins travelling on foot. Our guides recognised them, and they kissed each other several times with great affection, reminding us of the meeting of Jacob and Esau. II Before midday we came to a resting-place called Duadahr, which means “the Warrior,” and our camels kneeled down beside a fine well, out of which the water is drawn by a large wheel. This resting at wells called vividly to mind many Scripture events. Jacob found Rachel, and Moses found Zipporah at the well.lT It was by a well of water that Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, “made his camels to kneel down at the time of the evening;” and many a time did we realize that scene.
On resuming our journey, the character of the desert was altered. Instead of a level plain, our route lay over sand-hills, with considerable valleys between. The setting-sun, casting his rays on these, had a peculiarly pleasing effect; and especially when the palm-trees adorned the heights, a mild desolate beauty was added to the landscape. We understood that we were approaching the range of desert mountains, anciently called Mount Casius. The moon rose in clear, unclouded splendour, and under its light we often seemed to be journeying over drifted snow. Late at night we reached Catieh,”very weary, having spent about twelve houi’s on the camel’s back.
* Gen. xvi. 7. t Gen. xxi. 15. t Jer. xliii. 7; xlvi. 14.
$ Ezek. XXX. 18. II Gen. xxxiii. 4. Gen. xxix. 2; Exod ii. 15.
Gen. xxiv. 11.
Catieh is the ancient Casium, and not far from the sea. Like Elim it has many wells of water, and many pahn-trees; though very sandy, we thought it the most engaging spot we had yet seen in the wilderness. Some have supposed that several of the stations of the wandering Israelites were along this track. For example, they say, that Rissah was probably EI Arish, and if so, Kehelathah must have been near this place.*
(May 28.) In the morning, while we were seated at breakfast, the postmaster, Osman Effendi, visited our tent. He willingly drank tea, and asked for a little to present to his wife, who, he said, had learned how to make it. Seeing that our bread was very old, he sent for some new bread from his own house, and presented it to us. He gave us also a quantity of salted milk, which, however, we could not drink. We afterwards visited him in return at his house, and found him seated on the ground among some of his younger servants, teaching them to read. His whole manner and appearance recalled to mind the patriarch of the desert. He inquired very kindly into Dr. Black’s fall from the camel, and asked if he should order the Bedouin to be bastinadoed. When we told him that we had no such desire, and that our friend had recovered from the accident, he said that when we ariived at the first town, our friend should give something to the poor out of gratitude to God, without letting any one know. While we were thus seated with him, he had ordered his wife to bake some very nice sweet cakes, which he presented to us with coffee in truly patriaixhal style. It reminded us of Sarah making cakes upon the hearth, for her three heavenly visitors.! He told us that he received from the Pasha twelve dollars a-month, sufficiency of provisions, and perquisites. His house was wretched, the floor being loose sand, but the cool shade of the stone walls was pleasant. We remembered with fresh interest the words of Isaiah, “the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”|
Near this spot are two monuments raised over the graves of two Marabout Sheikhs. The bodies of dead saints are entombed within, and a shell of a building with a white cupola is erected over them; within this the friends of the departed frequently meet for prayer. These are the” whited sepulchres, which appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and
* Num. xxxiii. 22. t Gen. xviii. 6. t Isa. xxxii. 2.
ax JOURNEY IN THE DESERT — “HILLS OF SEIR.”
all uncleanness.”* The only remnants of antiquity here are a marble pillar lying in fragments among palm-trees, and several heaps of brick. The extensive ruins of Tel Faramah lie about three hours’ journey from this station, and near to the Salt Lake. We noticed here that most of the green patches in the sand are the production of the beetle’s industry. The beetle with amazing labour drags the camel’s dung into its hole in the sand, and thus a fruitful soil is formed ready to receive the seeds of plants. To this small insect probably we owe the greater part of the verdure of the wilderness.
We had rested the first part of this day in order fully to recruit our strength. Towards evening we were again mounted, and bade farewell to Catieh. Our last view of our kind friend Osman Effendi was when he was kneeling upon the sand near the tombs, and praying with his face towards Mecca.
The desert was now of a more verdant character; and as we proceeded, many flocks of goats were feeding by the way, some of which had sheep mingled with them; forcibly reminding us of our Lord’s parabolic account of the great day.f At present, the thoughtless and the hypocrites feed side by side with the children of God in the pastures of this world’s wilderness, but the day is coming when He shall separate the righteous from the wicked, “as a shepherd divideth his “sheep from the goats.” The long curling hair of these goats was of a beautiful glossy black, showing us at once the beauty and propnety of the description in the Song, “Thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Mount Gilead.”J;
Sometimes our way was through “a salt land and not inhabited. “5 The face of the desert in these places was white with the incrustations of salt. This made us understand the expression, “He turneth a fruitful land into barrenness,” hterally “into saltness.”!] After six hours’ journey we encamped at Beer-el-abd, “the well of the slave,” a desolate spot.
Next morning (May 29) we saw at a distance a range of hills running north and south, called by the Arabs Djebel Khalil. They form part of “the hills of Seir.” After wandering so many days in the wilderness,
* Matt, xxiii. 27. t Matt. xxv. 33. t Song iv. 1.
§ Jer. xvii. 6. ll Ps. cvii. 34.
with its vast monotonous plains of level sand, the sight of these distant mountains was a pleasant relief to the eye; and we thought we could understand a little of the feeling with which Moses, after being forty years in the desert, would pray, “I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain and Lebanon.” *
Before noon the sudden sight of the sea, or rather of the famous Serbonian lake, and the sea beyond it, made us cry to one another (in language we had learned from our guides,) ‘’El Bahr, El Bcifir” “the sea, the sea,” like the joyful shouts of the ten thousand Greeks, “SiaXaaaa SoXao-c-a.” The lake is referred to by Milton,
“A lake profound, as that Serbonian bog
Betwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old,
Where armies whole have sunk.”t
The lake is connected with the sea, but the drifting sands keep it in the state of a morass, a sandy morass. It was very shallow at this place: and at the time we bathed in it the water was tepid. When we came out, the salt of the water appeared on our bodies in the form of a thick crust.
Returning to our tent, we gathered specimens of the few flowers of the desert, and in our search found the ground overrun with lizards and beetles. While seated at our midday meal, a company mounted on camels came past us from another quarter of the desert. One of them rode up to us, his face scorched with the sun and his mouth parched, his only cry being, “Moie, moie,” “Water, water.”
Towards evening we journeyed forward through a more verdant part of the desert, cheered by the view of the distant hills, and by the chirping (for there was little song) of the little birds which, for the first time, we observed among the bushes. The moon rose upon us in glorious brightness, and late at night we pitched our tents in a place called Abugilbany.
(May 30.) In the morning, the desert was really enlivened by the chirping of bfrds. As a single note of a sweet song will often revive a sad heart, so it seems as if the lively notes of these birds, in a place so desolate and far from the dwellings of men, were a kind arrangement of Providence in order to refresh he weary traveller.
* Deut. iii. 25. t Paradise Lost, B. ii.
JOURNEY IN THE DESERT.
We found the heat more oppressive this day than we had yet experienced it. The hillocks of sand, between which we were slowly moving at the usual camel’s pace, reflected the sun’s rays upon us, till our faces were glowing as if we had been by the side of a furnace. The hills of Seir occasionally reappeared, and on the left the lake stretched out in full view. At one time a fox started from the bush and fled before us. It was to such an animal the prophet Ezekiel referred,” O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the desert,’^* hungry and anxious to find a prey.
Our track now lay amidst unusual plenty of herbage and tufts of verdant plants, a change which became the occasion of considerable annoyance; for the camels were continually bending down their long necks to crop the shrubs, especially some species which seemed peculiarly succulent. We saw in this an illustration of the description given of the wild ass, “He searcheth after every green thing.” f Here, too, the sand was occasionally covered with a crust of salt, as if a salt-lake had once been there. This also is mentioned in the same passage as a feature of the scenery, ““Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land (in Hebrew ’ the salt place’) his dwelling.”
Our guide now directed us by a road a little nearer than that by the sea-side; though much more irregular, and over endless hills of sand. We found the way to be a gradual ascent, and saw the minute correctness of the Scripture narrative, “a chariot came up and went out of Egypt.” And again, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness?” 1| In like manner, when we met any travellers going the other way, they were, like Joseph’s brethren, ‘■’■going down to Egypt.” IT Perhaps it was through this part of the desert of Shur that Hagar wandered, intending to go back to her native country;** and it may have been b)^ this way that Joseph carried the young child Jesus when they fled into the land of Egypt.ft Even in tender infancy the sufferings of the Redeemer began, and he com.plains, “I am afflicted and ready to die from my j’outh up.” tj Perhaps these scorching beams beat upon his infant brow, and this sandladen breeze dried up his infant lips, while the heat of the
* Ezek. xiii. 4. t Job xxxLx. 8. % Job xxxix. 6.
$ 1 Kings X. 29. II Song viii. 5. IT Gen. xJii. 3; xlvi. 4.
Gen. xvi. 7. t+ Matt. ii. 14. Ps. lxxxviii. 15.
curse of God began to melt his heart within. Even in the desert we see the suretyship of Jesus.
All this day our guides would not suffer us to pitch our tents. They were anxious to reach the first town on the Syrian frontier before nightfall, and our store of provisions being now exhausted, Ibraim urged us forward, in spite of heat, fatigue, and faintness. One half hour alone we rested, and sought shelter under some of the low bushes of the desert, while we satisfied our hunger with a few raisins and a morsel of Arab cheese. The heat was very oppressive. Even the Bedouins begged us to lend them handkerchiefs to shield their faces from the rays of the sun; and often ran before and threw themselves beneath a bush to find shelter for a few minutes. How full of meaning did the word of the prophet appear, “There shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day-time from the heat.“* And again,” A man shall be as the shadow of a great rock in“a weary land.”t
In the afternoon, we came in sight of three wells, situated in a lonely valley. On getting near the spot, there was a general rush down the slope to reach the water. The camel-drivers ran forward to be first there, and we all followed, and even the patient camels came round the wells eager to drink. But to us, the water was Mar ah; we could not drink it, lor it was muddy, and bitter too. We tried to get a draught by straining it through a handkerchief, but all would not avail. Thus sadly were the Israelites disappointed, for when, “they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah for they were bitter.”| The Bedouins seemed to care nothing for the impurity of the water, for they drank largely and greedily. We imagined that thus eagerly Israel rushed forward to the clear, cool waters of .the Smitten Rock. 5
We now passed over a sandy soil, in which small shells abounded, and occasionally heaps of stones that appeared to be ruins of ancient buildings. In these stones also small shells were imbedded. It was near this that Ostracine once stood, an ancient town, so calledil from the circumstance of the shells found in the soil. The setting sun was pouring its last rays upon the bare and desolate sand-hills, as if in vain attempting to clothe them with beauty, when we came in sight of El Arish, the frontier town between Syria and Egypt, the spot we had so
* Isa. iv. 6. t Isa. xxxii. 2. % Exod. xv. 23.
5 Exod xvii. 6. II From oarpaMv a shell.
anxiously desired to reach before any quarantine should be established to delay our progress. We passed the remains of an old city, the foundations of which we could distinctly trace, though half-buried in the sand. This we supposed to be the ancient Rhinocolura. In a little while after, our camels knelt down outside the gate of the small town of El Arish. We encamped under a tree, with a cluster of palms near, and not far from the burying-ground on the N. W. of the town, and on the road to Gaza. The town is situated on the gentle slope of a sand-hill about two miles from the sea. The castle, a square building, not very formidable to an enemy, stands on the highest part, and the, houses, dingy, monotonouslooking buildings, with flat roofs and scarcely any windows, slope down from it. The population of the town cannot be more than COO inhabitants, many of whom were enjoying the cool breeze of evening on the roofs of their houses. The quarantine established here for all who come from S3’-ria going down into Egypt, prevents the increase of traffic, “people being unwilling to come to it from Syria, since they must tarry so long in the Lazaretto near its walls. We were told that, at one time, EI Arish was surrounded with beautiful gardens, but these have been completely covered by the desolating sand, and now the only remains of fertility is a grove of young palms which shelter the eastern side of the town. We were rejoiced to find that the quarantine was not yet established for those going to Syria, so that we had attained the object of our journey through the desert. This was a new and special call upon us to give thanks and praise, especially now when we were in sight of the Promised Land, and our eyes rested on some of the hills given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
We were outside the wall, but we heard the call to prayer from the Mosque, whose minaret rises conspicuous above the comnion dwellings. The cry of the Muezzin was louder that evening, and more prolonged, because it was Thursday, the commencement of the Mahometan Sabbath. The Mahometans begin their Sabbath, like the Jews, at six o’clock in the evening, and Friday is the day which they keep sacred. The call to prayer is certainly one of the most solemn and affecting parts of their worship; but the Mahometans themselves seem not at all affected by it. Indeed, their whole religious services appear to be empty forms, all voice and gesture, and no feeling.
(May 31.) In the morning, the place was enlivened by the multitude of little birds that chirped and sung among the trees near our tents. So small is the traffic’existing at present between Egypt and Syria, and so little plenty is poured over the borders of the Promised Land, that no articles of food were to be had in the town, except milk and Arab bread. However, in the midst of our difficulties, Ibraim came to tell us that a man had brought a sheep to the tent-door, wishing to sell it to us. We gladly bought it for twenty-five piastres, about five shillings of our money. Our servants appropriated the skm and wool; and what became of the head and feet we know not, only they were not served up to us as they would have been in Scotland.
A more serious difficulty than want of food presented itself in the want of camels to carry us on our way. Our Bedouins had bargained to carry us to El Arish, and this they had faithfully performed. But nothing would persuade them to carry us farther. In this “dilemma the Governor of the town .sent us word that he would come and visit our tent. There is a degree of real authority suggested by the dress and air and attendants of such a man. He came riding upon a cream-coloured Arab horse, small but fleet, with silvery mane, flowing tail, and rich caparisons. His attendants rode by his side, and even they assumed an air of importance with their ornamented girdles, crooked scimitars, and elegant eastern attire. Their favourite feat of horsemanship was to gallop at full speed along the sand or among the palms, and then suddenly to draw the rein and stop, making the sand fly in all directions. When the Governor was faii’ly seated in the corner of our carpet, he evidently wished to shew his authority and importance, and to get money fi-om us by pretending causes of delay; but aftqr much arguing and annoyance, he at last agreed to arrange with the camel-driver who had brought us thus far, to take us to Gaza for 600 piastres (about j£6 Sterling) — a price double what ought to have been charged, but demanded at present as necessary to remunerate the men who would be kept in quarantine on their return. Part of the price was accordingly paid into the Governor’s hand, and the interview ended. He aftei’- wards sent us a jar of cold water as a present; for “a cup of cold water only”* is a real gift in this country.
* .Malt. X. 42.
In the afternoon he visited us again, to announce that the Bedouins refused to observe the contract, but that he himself would provide us with camels to-morrow. We suspected some fraud in this, but had no remedy. One of the Bedouins on taking leave of us, shewed a good deal of feeling, and while all of them kissed our hands, Ibraim was treated in the true oriental style, being kissed on the cheek half a dozen times ere they parted. The sight of these poor ignorant Arabs, often deeply impressed us with wonder at God’s kindness to ourselves. Here is election; — sovereign grace alone makes us to differ from them!
Although our desert wanderings had delayed us longer than we could have wished, yet we could see a kind Providence leading us this way to the land of Israel. We were made to sympathize far more than we had ever done with the trials of Israel in the wilderness, and to understand better how they were so much discouraged because of the way, and how they were so often tempted to murmur against God.
How great a blessing “the pillar of the cloud” must have been! Towering’over the camp, it cast a delightful shadow upon the sand over which they moved. But still more, what a gracious pledge it was that their heavenly Guide would lead them in the right way to the place of rest.
Now, too, we were taught the meaning of “dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob.” * Such a life is one of constant dependence and faith. In the morning when the tent is struck, the traveller never knows where he is to pitch it at noon or evening; whether it is to be beside the palm and springs of water, or in solitude and sand. The description of the joyful state of the redeemed given in the Apocalypse,! seems to be formed in reference to such a life as this. There shall be no more hunger, thirst, nor burning sun, bitt green shady pastures and living fountains of water, and the Lamb shall dwell as in a tent J among them. And all this because they have reached the promised inheritance; — their desert life has ended, and the Promised Land begun.
We noticed that when camels are sent out to feed they often stray over a wide surface. At the place where we now were, the reason alleged for keeping us till next day was that the camels had been sent out to feed and could
Ilcb. xi. 9. t Rev. vii. IG, 17. t (TKrivioaanot be found. A man had been sent upon a dromedary to look for them, but could not discover what direction they had taken. This circumstance reminded us of Saul being sent to seek his father’s asses, in days when the pastures of Israel may have been equally free.*
The evening was beautiful. Indeed, morning and evening here, day after day, have a brilliancy such as we never see more than once or twice in a year at home. The flood of light that pours out of the clear, unclouded skies, reminds “us of the last words of David, where he compares the reigning of the coming Saviour “to a morning without clouds,” f and also of the language of the Psalmist, “Day unto day poias out speech.” J
The heat having abated, we wandered towards the town. We observed two very deep wells, arched over to keep out the sun and the sand. Two marble columns were built into one of them, and broken pieces of marble pillars of the Doric order were lying scattered in various places near the town. To the “east a kind of garden, surrounded with a hedge of prickly pear, and planted with palms, aloes, and melons, seemed to struggle with the sand for existence. In the town several women in the streets wore the anklet, “the tinkling ornament about their feet.” J We heard its sound as we passed along. Most of their children had their heads adorned with pieces of money. The Eff’endi’s child was carried at the side, having six or eight gold coins, called harieh, strung together round the front of its cap. Most of the houses are built completely of mud. At present they are as hard and as dry as stone, but we could readily imagine how easily the overflowing shower would destroy them, and the stormy wind rend the wall.H The roofs of the houses are all flat, and communicate with one another. Often they are made of the branches of the palm and other trees, with the leaves remaining on them, and coated over with mud. If the house mentioned by MarklT had a roof of this description, how easy it would be to break it up. In the court of one of the houses (for every house, however
* 1 Sam. ix. 3. t 2 Sam. xxiii. 4.
tp’J’ (yabbia.) Ps. xix. 2. Keble expresses the idea when he says, that day after day is a” gushing fount of praise.” $ Isa. ill. la II Ezek. xiii. 11. IT Mark ii. 1 humble, has its court,*^ we examined the Arab oven, a rude and sim[)le conti ivance. It is made of clay like their houses, (juite dry and hard. The lower aperture is to admit the fire, a few cindei s of charcoal, or some heated stones. Over the fiie there is a floor of cl.iy, where the dough is fned. The upper aperture is for putting in the dough w hen it has been lneaded and “’ divided into cakes. The loof of the whole, sunounded by a parapet, affords a conlenient place for the biead gradually to cool. The kneadmg tiuugh is a large wooden bowl, not unlike that used in our own country. In the middle of the town there is a very fine well, the water of which is drawn up by a wheel. We drank freely for the first time since entering the desert. No one who has not wandered in arid regions, can imagine the delight which cold water gives to a thirsty soul.f Toward” sunset, two of our number crossed the hills of sand which enclose El Arish, till we came to the ancient bed of a broad river, about half a mile east of the town. The channel is about two hundred yards in breadth, distinctly marked by banks on either side. The bed was perfectly flat and dry: but in other days, when Judah’s rivers flowed with water, it must have been a majestic stream, not unworthy to form the boundary of the land, if indeed (which is doubtful) this was “the river of Egypt” so ofl:en referred to as the limit of Israel on the south. J A little way further inward, the channel seemed to be filled up by sand drifl;ed from the hills: but from the spot where we were, down to the sea, a distance of two miles, we could distinctly trace its ancient course. We stretched ourselves under one of the bushes that still overhang its banks, and remembering with gratitude that we were now within the border of the Promised Land, united in prayer for Israel, our Church, our distant flocks, and our own souls. We then wandered homewards, that is, to our tents — our only home in this strange land. The hills of El Khalil were full in sight, and toward the sea the Lazaretto attracted our notice by the * 2 Sam. xvii. 18. t Prov. x.xv. 25. Gen. xv. la patches of verdure round it. A few palms, fis-trees, aloes, and bushes of prickly pear, also relieved the eye. Darkness came on before we reached our encampment.
Next morning (June 1), we found that our patience must be still further tried, no camels having arrived. We visited an Arab school, and found it very clean, being all white- washed within, though built of mud. Nineteen boys were present, dirty and ill clad, several of them affected in the eyes, and one blind. Two or three had Arabic books in MS.; the rest sat in groups, ci’osslegged, upon the ground, rocking to and fro as they bawled out in one shrill voice words and syllables, which they were reading from a board held in their hand. No master was present, and all went on repeating without any one superintending. One boy brought in a jar of water, from which all in turn drank greedtly. On the wall were slates of tin with Arabic trac-ed upon them.
This being Saturday, we remembered in looldng across the bed of the ancient river, that on the other side in former days, Israel would have been keeping their Sabbath, and Egypt would hear the praises of Jehovah floating across the stream.
Entering the Fort, we examined an old trough of very hard granite, quite covered with Arabic writing, well engraved. At midday, we went to the gate to” enjoy the coolness. The arched roof affords a complete shade at all times, and often a pleasant bi-eeze passes through. Under such a gateway probaljly Lot was seated, for coolness’ sake, when the angels came to Sodom ;* and for the same reason, the people of old used to resort to it, and it became the market-place.f We saw how the gate became the seat of judgment,| when a little after the Governor and his Effendi appeared. His attendants having sprea’d a mat and a carpet over it, and a cushion at each corner, he took his seat, inviting us to recline near him. We took off our shoes and sat down. Our conversation was very limited, as Ibraim was not with us to interpret, but we partook of coffee together, served up in little cups, which are every where “in use. The Governor was interrogating a native Christian who stood by. This man was a Christian Cojrt. He told us in broken Italian that he was rejoiced to meet us, because, being almost the only Christian in the place, he is much
Gen. xix. 1. t Ruth iv. 1, 11. Ps. lxix. 12. Jcr. xvii. 19.
t Job V. 4. Jer. xxxvifi. 7: xxxix. 3. Amos v. 15. Matt. xvi. 18.
despised. He wore “a writer’s inkhorn by his side,” * wliicli intimates that tile person is so far superior to the generality that he can at least read and write. The inkhorn has a long shaft which holds the reeds, and is stuck into the girdle, while the place for the ink forms a head at the one end. At our request the Copt took out his reeds and wrote very elegantly. On one of his arms, he showed us the figure of Christ on the cross and the Virgin Mary, punctured apparently either with henna or gunpowder. This is a remnant of an ancient custom (common even among heathens), by which men would show their anxiety to keep a beloved object ever in mind. There is no doubt a reference to this custom in the beautiful words, “Behold I have graven thee on the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before ine;”f and also when it is said, “Another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord,” or more literally, “Another shall write upon his hand. To the Lord,”X — words intended to express the complete surrender which a believer makes of soul and body to the Lord who bought him.
Tills day we experienced the effect of the wind raising the sand. The wind was not remarkably strong, but the sand was so fine that it penetrated every where. No tent nor portmanteau could shut it out. Our clothes, our food, the water we drank, all were filled with sand. At length eight camels arrived. We joyfully struck our tents, and were conveyed to the Lazaretto close by the shore.
In our way down we passed the rude booths of palmbranches which we had elsewhere seen, and heard the sound of the mill-stone, coming fi-om one of them, it being now near siuiset, the time for the evening meal. In the dry channel of the river many fine palm-trees were growing, and several luxuriant plants, cultivated in holes dug for the purpose. Several gardens also were laid out with small canals intersecting them, so
* Ezek. ix. 2. t Isa. xlix. 16.
t Isa. xliv. 5. nvn”? n’ 2r2> tJiat the streams of water might be conducted to the different beds when - needful. These are the “rivei-s of water” mentioned by the Psalmist.* Nearer the shore we saw rushes, a proof that the bed of the ancient river is still occasionally moistened with water. The Governor of the Lazaretto, a pleasant Arab, wearing the hyke or wide mantle, came and conversed with us.
We now exchanged the camels which had brought us from the town for seven camels and a dromedary belonging to the quarantine. The camel and dromedary resemble each other in appearance, but the difference between them is not, as commonly stated, that the one has two hunches on its back and the other only one. It is like the difference between a heavy cart-horse and a swift riding-horse. The dromedary is much hghter, swifter, and quicker in its motions; but the Arabian camel and dromedary have both only one hump, though the camel of Bactria and other regions is said to have two. One of our camels had a young one running by its side. Under the conduct of Mustapha — another Bedouin with fine Eastern features — Mahommed, and a boy, we proceeded across the bed of the river, and ascended the opposite bank, entering with joy the Land of Israel.
The country was now very different from the desert. A range of low sand-hills lay between us and the sea-shore, ready to fulfil God’s work of desolation on the land within; but the valley through which we were passing had verdure and pasturage, and opened into other valleys of the same character.” The ground was full of holes, which we were told were made by the jerboas. Darkness soon came on, and we rested a short time at the command of our Bedouin, who wished to feed his camels. We kindled a blazing fire in the manner of the Bedouins, whose fires we saw in several places roand about us. The moon rose most splendidly as we proceeded, and the birds in the bushes round about began to twitter and sing, as if mistaking the bright moon for the rising sun. Though much oppressed with sleepiness, and often in danger of falling from the camel’s back, yet the pleasantness of the air,” the change of scenery, and the knowledge that we were now traversing the portion of the tribe of Simeon, made our journey comparatively easy. We arrived at Sheikh Juide, once a village, now only a station and a burying-place, marked by the white
* D’D ‘jSd Ps. i.?’■ Also Prov. .xxi. 1.
94 STATION or SHEIKH JUIDE.
tomb of a Mahometan saint. It has a good well, some fields of tobacco, and several palm-trees. We pitched our tent under a ?!a/>6ofc-tree, resembling a plane-tree, and felt how naturally it is recorded, “Deborah dwelt under the palm-tree,” * “Saul tarried under a pomegranate-tree;”t and of Abraham, who had received the three angels into his tent, that “he stood by them under the tree.”! We spread our mats and fell asleep, thinking over the Promised Land, and how in some part of this very country, God had said to Jacob, as he was stretched out for rest with a stone for his pillow, “The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it.”§
(June 2, )Sabbatlu) Awaking, we felt the solemnity and privilege of spending a Sabbath-day in the land of Israel. We had worship together in the tent, and sang with joyful hearts,
“In Judah’s land God is well known,
His name’s in Israel great,” &c.|l
With what appropriateness we could look round on every plain and hill within our view and say,
“There arrows of the bow He brake!
The sword, the shield, the war — More glorious thou than hills of prey,
More excellent art far.”
We had leisure to meditate on those portions of Scripture that peculiarly refer to God’s wonders done here. Between us and the range of hills to the east, we had reason to believe, lay the valley of Gerar, the valley where Abraham dwelt, IT the land where Isaac sowed, and received in the same year an hundred-fold, and where he digged so many wells.** In this region, too, the Avims d’welt till they were destroyed by “the Caphtorims out of Caphtor,”tt the ancestors of the Philistines, who in turn yielded to Judah and Simeon. This is the highway down into Egypt; so that by it the Ishmaelites would carry youthful Joseph into Egypt, with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh,’!;]: and by this way Jacob would come down with the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him.^^ This tractVas in the portion of Simeon. Seventeen cities with their villages are recorded as belonging to it.|||l But, where
* Judges iv. 5. t 1 Sam. xiv. 2. % Gen. xviii. 8.
$ Gen. xxviii. 13. II Ps. lxxvi. 1. IT Gen. xx. I.
Gen. xxvi. 12, 18. tt Dcut ii. 23. Gen. xxxvii. 25, 38.
$5 Gen. xlvi. 1. Illl Josh. xix. 1 — 9.
are they now] The answer is to be found in the words of Jeremiah, “Oh, thou sword of the Lord, iiow long will it be ere thou be quiet J Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the seashore? there hath he appointed it.”*
The day was very warm, but far pleasanter than in the desert; the breeze not having that dry, scorching feeling which is so overpowering amid the sands of the desert. We observed fields where barley had been cut down, and found ten or twenty stalks which appeared to grow out of the same root. We learned that this is the way in which they frequently sow the barley, making a hole and putting in many seeds together.
When the heat of noon abated, we walked to a grassy eminence to the eastward, and found that the country rose into a series of gentle elevations, bounded by a range of hills running parallel to the sea. Herds and flocks of goats and asses were feeding in several places. It was pleasant to think of Isaac and his herdmen having wandered here. We came upon an immense colony of ants, all busily employed. They had made a highway from their dwelling of about forty yards in length, and this was literally covered with a black dotted line of these moving insects. Those going out carried nothing, but hurried along with great’speed. Those returning carried a seed or piece of straw. Another band were employed in carrying out a grain of the soil from the camp, making room for the new supply. The Arabs call them by the Hebrew term nimla. We read over Proverbs vi. 6-11; and thus got a Sabbath lesson applied with power even in the wilderness — a lesson of constant untiring diligence in the work of the Lord. We prayed together, feeling that the land was fitted to make us ask much, for from these heavens the Holy Spirit had descended on many a prophet and many a saint. May such men be raised in our day, and Israel be so blessed again, and the same Spirit who visited them visit our land! The evening closed calmly round us in our tents.
(June 3.) We left Sheikh Juide before 6 a. m., pleasant clouds veiling the sun. Our course lay northward on the road to Gaza. The same low sand-hills were still between us and the sea, but there was considerable verdui’e on the undulating plains through which we passed. The road is not like a king’s highway with us, made be- * Jer. xlvii. 6, 7.
ROAD TO GAZA — KHAN0UNE3.
fore it is travelled, but is made by the feet of the animals that travel it; and as camels generally follow one another, it consists of many narrow paths in one broad way. We counted fifteen or twenty of these narrow paths
mingling with each other, in a breadth of thirty or forty yards. Verdure and wild genista often occurred between the paths, so that the camels were fi’equently bending their long necks to feed as we jotu’neyed. We notice this, because it seems to illustrate the description of wisdom in Proverbs, “She standeth by the way iti the places of the paths* Hence also the expression. “Hold up my goings in thy paths;’” and in the 23d Psalm, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness;”! and the declaration, “Broad is the way which leadeth to destruction,” 5 hints at its many paths. The country we passed through this day was a Light pasture land, with plains and straths of vast extent. We observed all the animals mentioned in Scriptiu-e |! as belonging to the original inhabitants, — sheep, oxen, asses, and camels. In some places the divisions of the fields were marked out; a bunch of broom tied up formed the landmark. Some fields had been ploughed in a very slight manner. These signs of approaching cultivation were pleasant as we came up fi-om the wilderness.
Our guides pointed out the site of Rapha, the ancient Raphia, on our left near the sea, hid from om* view by mounds of sand.
At midday we arrived at Khanounes, the ancient Jenysus; — its Scripture name is unknown. We had expected to find rest and refreslunent here, but a complete hurricane of wind blew the small dry sand ftill in our faces for about an hour. It ‘as vain to attempt putting up the tent, so that we were forced to shelter ourselves
* Prov. viii. 2.
$ Matt vii. 13.
t Ps. x-ii. 5.
II 1 Sam. ..wii. 9.
t Ps. xxiii. 3.
from the combined heat and storm of the sirocco, bywrapping ourselves in our carpets, and lying on our faces at Ihe roots of some large sycamore-trees, till it abated. We thought of Isaiah, “A man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest;” * and “a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall,”f An old Arab took special charge of us, asking our names, and leading us through the town in a most friendly manner.
Khanounes is beautifully situated amidst many trees, chiefly of the species called “Djumaiz” or sycamore, which bears a fruit very like a fig, while its leaves are like those of the mull)erry-tree. The village is surrounded by fields of tobacco planted by their Mahometan possessors, and this is one of the commonest productions of the Holy Land, showing that it has become the heritage of the heathen, who sow Israel’s fields. The houses were as substantial as mud-brick walls can be supposed to be. The old fort seemed to be a place of distinction, having a long inscription in Arabic round the interior of the porch. The bazaar consisted of a small row of wretched shops; whose owners were squatted each before his door, smoking his pipe, and selling barley, beans, apricots, cucumbers, raisins, charcoal, pipes, and a few trinkets. We sat down in the shade, and all the inhabitants, young and old, gathered round; but unable to speak their language, we could only minister kindness to them, allowing them to examine our veils, straw-hats, and watches, which were subjects of endless wonder. One man wore two or three beads pendant from his forehead. He said it was a charm to keep his eyes from blindness. Another came with a diseased neck, to which he pointed, in silence with his finger, intimating that he desired to be healed. This brought Jesus and his wonders of mercy to mind in a most affecting manner. We assured him that we had no gift of healing. Meanwhile Ibraim had searched the town to find substantial provisions, but in vain; he could not even procure a cake of bread. We were offered unground barley, which a native could have used without much trouble by means of the hand-mill; for we learned by experience that it is the custom in the East to grind morning and evening just as much as serves for daily use. Hence the necessity of the law,” No man .shall take the nether or the upper millstone to * Isa. xxxii 2. t Isa. xxv. 4.
pledge, for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.” * We learned also that this country is not now what it once was, “a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, and not lack any thing in it.”t In the market the people were using stones instead of regular weights, according to the ancient mode.J The writer’s inkhorn was worn by two or three at the bazaar. At the entrance of the town stands the chief object of interest, the public well, at which we drank large and refreshing draughts of delightful water. A camel turned the wheel, and the water was brought up in small earthen jars, which emptied themselves into a trough. This is called the Persian wheel. The well is evidently the rendezvous for idJers, gazers, and talkers, and as much a place of public resort as the market. Old and young, cattle and camels, were gathered thither. The coolness of the spot, and the prospe(;t of meeting others, no doubt induce many to take their seat by the well’s side. A little way out of the town was the burjnng-ground. Some men were digging a grave. One man dug with a pick-axe, then took a basket and with his hands scraped into it the earth he had loosened, and handed up the basket to those above. At the same place, one of our attendants was met by an old acquaintance, a Bedouin. They saluted each other kindly, kissing three times.
After partaking of some rice and ripe apricots, we resumed our journey about six o’clock in the evening. The camels moved on through a very level and broad plain, which retained more of its grassy verdure than any we had yet passed through. The descending sun shone mildly, the stormy wind had fallen, many flocks were browsing on each side of the road, and there was reviving freshness in the evening breeze. About half an hour N. E.
* Dout. xxiv. 6. t Deut. viii. 9.
J Dent. XXV. 13. Prov. xvi. 11. See margin.
nOAD TO GAZA — SYCAMORES. 99
from Khanounes is a small village called Bennishail, built apparently of mud bricks, but embosomed in trees, among which a solitary palm raised its head. The name of the town is taken from the Arabic name of one of the constellations. It stands upon the summit of a rising ground, and the channel of a stream, which at one time had watered its gardens, but is now dry, can be plainly traced. It may occupy the place of some of Simeon’s cities, “Hazar-Susah,” or “Baalath-beer, Ramath of the south.” * Some, indeed, have supposed Khanounes to be “Ramath of the sotcth,’” bixt the word “Ramath” means “high ground,” a name which could not apply to Khanomies, but would suit well the situation of this pleasant village, for the towers (Ramoth) on that slope would glance beautifully in the setting sun, even as do now its figs and solitary palm. The birds were singing very sweetly. Many old and verdant sycamores, with gnarled trunks and branches spreading“^ out toward the east, adorned the plain. If the syc; i i f Zaccheus was like these, we see how easilylie cviud climb it, and how safely he could lie upon its branches, and see Jesus passing beneath.f The height of it, also, (for it is among the highest trees in Palestine,) may have afforded another reason for his choice. It is said of Solomon, that “he made cedars to be as the sycamore-trees that are in the vale for abundance,”]: which shows that in his day the sycamore grew in great plenty, probably in this very plain along the Mediterranean. At present they are far from being abundant. Indeed, trees of any kind are
* Josh. xi.x. 8 t Luke xix. 1 — 4. t 1 Kings x. 27.
100 VILLAGE or DAIR — THE BROOK BESOR.
few in the Holy Land. The palm especially occurs only here and there, for it requires cultivation, and has therefore gradually decreased in a country where it was no more attended to. The emblem of triumph has withered away from the land of Judah! The terebinth also (generally rendered oak in our version) is very rare.* “All the trees of the field are withered, because joy is wi,thered away from the sons of men.”t ‘We met several of the Bedouin Shepherds riding on asses, driving home their cows, sheep, and goats. Our guides tokens that in all this region they drive their flocks home at evening, because of the many wolves, which would render it hazardous to leave them in the open fields during night. In this way the prophecy is fulfilled, “And the sea-coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks.”| A little after we heard for the first time the loud painful cry of the wolf not far off. Passing up a gentle ascent, there was a village on our left, called Dair or Adair, conjectured by some to be the Adar of Scripture,^ but as darkness had come down upon us, we could only hear the barking of its dogs.
We had already crossed the dry beds of two torrents, and now came to a third, broader than any of the rest, but quite as dry, called Wady Saiga. Perhaps this may be the brook Besor, memorable in the history of David, as the place where 200 of his valiant men remained behind when he pursued the Amalekites. In comparing the narrative of that pureuit with the features of the country, there are minute coincidences worthy to be observed. The young Egyptian said to David, “I will bring thee doicn to this company.”ir The reference here is evidently to those gentle ascents up which we were travelling. David and his men were coming from the north, hence it is truly said that they were “brought down.” Again, it is said of the Amalekites, “Behold they were spread abroad upon all the earth.” They were scattered over those open fields and plains, carelessly enjoying themselves. Some hours after we crossed another bed of a river, which the Arabs called Wady Gaza. The banks were steep and the channel broad at the point where we crossed. When we met with so
* Rosenmueller supposes that the rareness of this tree may be accounted for. It produces turpentine; and if incisions are not made during summer in its bark, the resinous matter accumulates, swells the bark, cracks the stem, and then exudes in such quantity that the tree is often destroyed. t Joel i. 12. t Zeph. ii. 6. Josh. xv. 3.
II 1 Sam. XXX. 10. % 1 Sam. xxx. 15. lb. verse 16.
many dry channels of streams in the sonth of the Holy Land, we remembered with interest the prayer of Israel, “Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.’” * These have no water within their banks, except when the rain descends; they wait for rain, like the souls of the men of Israel!
We encamped at midnight upon the sand-hills, within j
half an hour of Gaza. I
In the morning (June 4) we were told that the plague j
was raging within the walls of Gaza, and that fifteen j
persons had died that week. Our camel drivers now 5
refused to carry us any farther, having completed their I
contract; and as there had been neither camels nor j
mules to be had in Gaza for thirty days, the plague having suspended all intercourse with other places, we had to make up our minds to remain here all day. Our ser- i
vant Ibraim was despatched to lay our case before the
Governor, and try to get an arrangement made. The i
Governor behaved with great politeness, only regretting
that we had not a firman from the Pasha of Egypt, in which case he could have compelled the men to carry us forward. This was almost the only instance where we had any reason to regret the want of a firman. As it was, the Governor, finding that we had no other hope of getting away, took it upon him to command the camel-driver to arrange with us and go forward next morning. Meanwhile, we wandered over the sand-hills on which we had pitched our tents, that we might view the town and adjoining country. Beneath us on the north-west lay the high road to Gaza, the same as in ancient days, but lonely” and still, except when the shepherds and their flocks passed by. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away, few men are left.“t Whether the Ethiopian eunuch had” come thus far or not, it was this tract of road he was traversing: and it may have been, while his chariot moved heavily and noiselessly over these sands, that Philip had the opportunity of running up to him, and speaking the words of eternal life.| We sat down on the northern extremity of the mounds of sand, a spot which beautifully overlooks the modern town of Gaza. The evening sun shone sweetly through the beautiful gardens, fine old figs and sycamores, and curious hedges of prickly pear. The minarets and other buildings rose above the trees, and we listened with delight to the soft
Ps. cxxvi. 4. Josh. xv. 19. t Isa. xxiv. 4, 6. t Acts viii. 26^ 1] voice of the turtle heard in the land, and the voices of the little children at play. We were told that there are about 3000 inhabitants, though others say above 10,000.
Whilst we gazed upon this peaceful scene, we felt it hard to think that this was a land on which God was “laying his vengeance.” * It appeared at first as if there had been no fulfilment of those distinct predictions, “Gaza shall be forsaken,”! and “baldness has come upon Gaza.”| But when we had completed our investigation, we found that not one word had fallen to the ground.
We selarated in order to obtain different views of this interesting spot. Dr. Black remained to examine more fully the hills of sand. Dr. Keith took the direction of the sea, which is about three miles distant from the modern town, starting the idea, that in all probability these heaps of sand were covering the ruins of ancient Gaza. The ancient town occupied a site much nearer the sea. The rest of us took the direction of the most prominent hill in the landscape lying N. E., and overhanging the modern town. Crossing a wady quite dry, we climbed the hill, which is less than 100 feet high. Wild thyme is the chief plant upon it, loading the air with fragrance, and a torrent forces its way down a ravine in winter. The top is oi’namented with the white tomb of a Mahometan saint. The evening was uncommonly sweet, and the birds were singing among the olive and fig-trees in the gardens that stretch from the town to the base of the mount. From this point, the town appeared much poorer and more wretched than we had supposed. The flat-roofed huts without windows seemed to be all of mud. The four mosques, the ruins of an ancient church, and other edifices among the beautiful trees, were the chief ornaments. Looking to the east, we enjoyed a pleasant view of the undulating pasture-land, not unlike some parts of Dumfriessjiire; while to the north, gardens and olive groves were stretched out as far as what we thought might be the valley of Eshcol. As we stood among .ombs on the top of the mount, we concluded that this was the hill to the top of which Samson carried the gates of Gaza, the two posts, the bar and all,.j a monument of triumph in view of the whole city, whom, as leader of Israel, he had baffled even at the time when his own sins hung heavy upon him. Although it is not high, yet from its top you may see the heights that overhang Hebron,
* Ezek. XXV. 17. t Zeph. ii. 4.
t Jer. .llvii. 5. 5 Judg .xvi. 3.
SO that it is called “the hill that is before Hebron.” The ridge of hills lying to the east, is probably Ramath-lehi, “the heights of Lehi.” *
Returning to our tents, we were now prepared to verify Dr. Keith’s conclusion, of the truth of which he had been fully satisfied, namely, that these hills of sand, where we had pitched our tents, really cover the ruins of ancient Gaza. Each of us had found fragments of polished marble in the flat hollows between the sand-hills, the remains no doubt of “the palaces of Gaza;” and also masses of fused stones, proving that God had “sent a fire on the wall of Gaza.” f We now saw in a manner we had never done before, that God had fulfilled his own word, ‘’Baldness is come upon Gaza.’’’ X We saw that not merely mourning, such as “baldness” indicated in ancient times, but literally and most remarkably the appearance of baldness has come upon Gaza. No sort of verdure, not a single blade of grass, did we see upon these sand-hills. One solitary tree there was, which only served to make the barrenness more remarkable. This barren, bare hill of sand is the bald head of Gaza. 5 How awfully true and faithful are the words of God!
All along the coast of Philistia, we had seen how accurately these words are fulfilled, “I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off” the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea-coasts,” 1| there being now none of all those ancient warriors that used to issue from these coasts and penetrate into the heart of Judah. We saw also the fulfilment of this word, “The king shall perish from Gaza,” H a paltry governor being now its ruler, not engaged in affairs of state, but in helping travellers to find camels for their journey. We were much struck likewise by observmg how truly “the sea-coast had become dwellings and cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks,” for few of the fields are cultivated, and the hills and vales are so completely pastoral, that from one rising ground we counted ten large flocks and herds. One prophecy, however, regarding this region remains yet to be fulfilled, “The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon
* Judg. XV. 17. t Amos i. “?. X Jer. xlvii. 5.
§ See Dr. Keith’s remarks made on the spot, at p. 253 of his Evidence of Prophecy, 23d edition. II Ezek. XXV. 16. IT Zech. ii 5. Zeph. li. 6.
shall they lie down in the evening; for the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.” * Precious ray amidst the gloom! Speedily may the promise come to pass!
During our ramble, we had met with some interesting customs’of the East. A kind Arab came forward from his tent as we passed, offering us the refreshment of a drink of water, saying, “Tcsherbetu moie,” “Will you drink water!” The promise of our Lord,t seems to refer to cases like this, where the individual, unasked, seeks out objects on whom to show kindness. The least desire to bless one who is a disciple shall not lose its reward. At another place we came upon “the tents of Kedar.”]: The tents of the Bedouins are of a dark-brown colour, made of goat’s hair, and rudely stretched on four poles. How striking the contrast between these and “the curtains of tSolomon!” — the splendid hangings of his pavilion, which were no doubt like those of Ahasuerus, “white, green, and blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple, to silver rings and pillars of marble.” § In one of the Arab huts the inmates were grinding at the mill, and we helped them to move roun’d the upper millstone. Again, we came upon an Arab cottage, made of branches of trees, and found the whole family seated on the sand before the door. After the usual salaam, they gave us bread warm from their oven, with a look of great kindness, and refused to take any money in return. In one field, the men were ploughing with oxen. In another under the hill, they were winnowing barley, casting it up to the wind with a sort of wooden shovel or fan. The corn lay in heaps not bound in sheaves.
Returning in the evening through fields of melons, we disturbed ““the keepers of a field,” the same as those mentioned by the prophet. |1 A rude shed made of four upright poles, that supported a covering of twined branches, protected from the weather an old decrepit Arab, who sat watching against any intrusion that might be made by man or beast upon his field. In passing through a large flock of sheep, we remarked how familiar they appeared to be with the shepherd, showing no signs of timidity at his closest approach. Their large heavy tails are also very remarkable. These are chiefly composed of fat, and are particularly referred to in the Mo-
* Zeph. ii. 7. t Matt. x. 42. Song i. 5.
$ Esth. i. 6. II Jer. iv. 17.
saic Law * as the pieces that were to feed the flame of the sacrifice.
(June 5.) Early this morning seven camels arrived from Gaza, and Mustapha again took his place at the head of our caravan; but we had to make the condition that our journey should be direct to Jerusalem, instead of by Hebron, as we had previously intended — the camel-drivers pretending that if they went that way, we would be stopped by the people, because coming from a town where the plague was raging. The policy of Moslems is hard to be understood. “The sun had risen on the earth” ere we left our sandy eminence. Our morning meal was a spare one, a barley-cake and a glass of pure water. We soon passed the foot of Samson’s hill, and then the entrance to Gaza, near the public well, where the women were already assembling with veiled faces to draw water. Our road lay between lofty hedges of prickly pear, enclosing luxuriant gardens. In these no care seems to be bestowed upon flowers, but pomegranate, fig, and olive-trees flourished abundantly. Occasionally we noticed a fig-tree up which a vine had climbed, so that the combined shade “of their vine and fig-tree” f might here be enjoyed together. Several of the houses in the town had tents erected on their flat roofs; which we supposed might be especially intended at present to avoid the infection of the plague. A bury- .ing-ground a little way from the gate had lamps suspended over several of its tombs.
We then entered upon the Grove of Olives, which is laid down in maps. The public road passed through it for about three miles. The trees appear to have been planted at regular distances, — handsome trees with pleasant shade, reminding the traveller of the days of Philistia’s glory. We met many peasants, some riding on asses, some on foot, carrying into town vegetables and fruits. Several women carried baskets of mulberries on their heads. The Bedouins brought us some Of these, and we found them much better than those we got in Egypt. On either side of the road, the ground is covered with verdure, so that the grove is not unlike some nobleman’s domain. The constant chirping of the grasshoppers, though monotonous, was not unpleasant. There is something strongly indicative of health and vigour in the fresh look of a flourishing olive-tree, but especially when a gi’ove of them is seen together, and * Exod. x.lix. 22. Lev. iii. 9 t Mic. iv, 4.
the sun shining on their glossy leaves. The trunk is of a moderate height, and gnarled in a picturesque manner; the foliage is of a deep and peculiar green, and under a passing breeze, the uppermost leaves turn round, and shew a fine silvery liue. Hence the full meaning of the words of the prophet, “His beauty shall be as the olive-tree.“* And again, “the Lord called thy name, A green olive-tree, fair, and of goodly fruit.“t And the Joyful song of the Psalmist,” I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God.” f It is not merely the evergreen verdure gf the tree that is referred to, but its health and vigour. Where could we find a better emblem of the Church in a flourishing condition, than just such a grove of olives as this, with” the peaceful notes of the turtle poured forth from the midst, and the sun’s living light over all, like the Sun of righteousness shining over his peaceful Church!
On emerging from this pleasant grove, the country opens out into’a fine plain. In the fields all the operations of harvest seemed to be going on at the same time. Some were cutting down the barley, for it was the time of barley-harvest, with a reaping-hook not unlike our own, but all of iron, and longer in the handle and smaller in the hook. Others were gathering what was cut down into sheaves. Many were gleaning; and some were employed in carrying home what had been cut and gathered. We met four camels heavily laden with ripe sheaves, each camel having bells of a different note suspended from its neck, which sounded cheerfully as they moved slowly on. Perhaps those bells may be a remnant of the “joy in harvest,” § though this is not the only time when they are used. The practice appears to have been very common in the days of Zechariah, for he makes use of the expression, “On the bells of the horses shall be, Holiness to the Lord,” ii to indicate the holiness that shall pervade the land, descending to the minutest and most ordinary movements of life. The barley on the plain seemed good, but the crop amazingly thin, and the rank weeds so abundant, that asses and other cattle were feeding on the part of the field that had been newly cut.
Bet-hanoon, a small village on the right hand, is the first object of interest in this plain. It is composed of brown square huts standing on a rising ground, and sur-
Hosea xiv. 6. t Jer. xi. 16. t Ps. Hi. 8.
lsa.ix. 3. II Zech. xiv.20.
rounded Vvith trees. In I Kings iv. 9, there is mention made of” Elon-betii-hanan,” or “the plain of Beth-hanan,” in the tribe of Dan, a name which resembles this. A wady runs past in a northerly direction, and joins what we believe might be the brook Sorek several miles further on This we conjectured to be the channel of the brook Eshcol. Some have supposed that Sorek is the stream, and Eshcol the tributary, and this agrees exactly with our observation, for in all this plain we crossed only one channel of a river that communicated with the sea. The tributary stream answering to Eshcol must have been Wady Safia, which we crossed soon after. The channel was quite dry, and the road lay through the middle of it for some part of the way. Often the banks were much broken as by a winter torrent, and very deep. Ten or twelve feet of beautiful soil was sometimes laid bare, so that we could not help exclaiming. How fertile this land might yet become, if there were Ijestowed on it the industry of man and the blessing of God! About a mile further on we crossed by a bridge another deep and narrow channel, called by the Arabs Wady Djezed, which runs to the sea, and which we conjectured to be the brook Sorek. Although some fix the position of Eshcol nearer Hebron, yet “there seems good reason to think that this open vale through which we passed is the true valley of Eshcol, where the spies cut down a cluster of grapes so large that they bare it between them upon a staff.* It is easy to imagine that this spacious valley, stretching nearly north and south for many miles, and bordered on either side by gently sloping hills, would form in other days one splendid vineyard, fertile in its soil, and watered by pleasant brooks. Where are its vines now? Vast fields of barley meet the eye; but we saw not a single vine. God seems to have chosen this spot the more’strikingly to draw attention to the fulfilment of another of his predictions, “I will destroy her vines and her fig-trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards which my lovers have given me.”f “I will take away my wine in the season thereof.”]; We afterwards found a few fig-trees, but still not a single vine, in all this valley that once obtained its name from its ripe clusters of grapes. This is only one instance out of a thousand of the manner in which God has bei’eaved Israel of their plentiful fruits in token of his wrath. Every traveller can bear witness, that over the whole land the * Num. xiii. 23. t Hos. ii. 12. t lb. verse 9 words of Joel are fulfilled, “The vine is dried up and the fig-tree languisheth, the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree; even all the trees of the field are withered.”* The fact of the Turks and Saracens being by their religion opposed to wine, was no doubt one of the chief means in the hands of God to prevent the cultivation of the vine in the land. With what certaintymay we anticipate the reversing of the judgment, which the same word has promised, “I will give her her vineyards from thence.”t “And the mountains shall drop sweet wjne, and all the hills shall melt.”t About noon we encamped at the village of Deir-esnait. Our guides remarked that “eZe/*-” means a convent, or some such building. We could, however, find no trace of any ancient building; the houses are all plastered with mud; and the village is surrounded by trees. As we approached, one of the camel-drivers, pointing to a cluster of six large fig-trees, cried out, “Tacht et-teen” “under the fig-tree?” And soon we felt the pleasantness of this shade; for there is something peculiarly delightful in the shade of the fig-tree. It is far superior to the shelter of a tent, and perhaps even to the shadow of a rock; since not only does the mass of heavy foliage
completely exclude the rays of the sun, but the traveller finds under it a peculiar coolness, arising from the air gently creeping through the branches. Hence the force of the Scripture expression, “When thou wast under the fig-tree;”| and the prophecy, “In that day shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig-tree.” |1 — Restored and happy Israel shall invite one another to sit down beneath their embowering shade to recount the glorious acts of the Lord.
Reclining under these six fig-trees we enjoyed a short repose, the servants and cameTs being all gathered round us under the same grateful shade. These immense trees show plainly that the substantial fertility of the soil IS still remaining, but they are almost the only remnants of Eshcol’s luxuriance. A small village was in sight to the right, called Dimreh, its mud-plastered houses halfconcealed by verdant trees. None of the villages we had seen would contain above fifty souls, some not so many, and yet these are spots where Judah and Israel used to be “many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude.“ir But now Isaiah’s words are verified, “The
* Joel i. 12. t Hos. ii. 15 t Amos ix. 13.
$ John i. 48. II Zech. iii 10. II 1 Kings iv. 20.
cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land is utterly desolate with desolation (margin), and the Lord has removed men far away, and there is a great forsaking in the midst of the land.” * And the fulfilment is all the more striking, when the traveller remembers that in these ruined cities and villages not one of even the few inhabitants is a Jew.
While the servants were preparing our simple meal, each of us took a solitary ramble, in order to see more of the features of the land. From the top of one of the neighbouring eminences, we stretched the eye to the north-west, to discover Ashkelon’s uninhabited ruins; but in vain — the sea was distinctly visible, but the low range of sand-hills which line the coast intercepted our view of the shore. Looking to the east, flocks and herds were seen spreading through the undulating valleys. In one place we saw many of them gathered together under a shady tree, waiting till the excessive heat of noon should be abated. At other times, the shepherds gather the flocks beside a well, as we afterwards saw at Lebonah, where many hundreds were lying down around the well’s mouth. We remembered the words of the Song, “Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon.“t The sight of these flocks reclining beneath the shady trees suggested the true meaning of another passage,” I will raise up for them a plant of renown.’’l This plant is some noble shady tree where the flock may find rest and shelter — a wide-spreading covert, renowned for its coolness, under whose protecting branches they shall feed, and be “no more consumed with hunger.” The gi’eat Redeemer is thus represented as giving to his own flock first shelter from burning wrath, and then ’ peace to feed in plenty when they are delivered. When shall Israel come to this Plant of renown ]
After gathering some of the wild flowers and seeds of shrubs, as memorials of the hills of Philistia — among others, seeds of the Poterium spinosum, — we returned to the encampment through fields where some were cutting down the barley, and others gleaning behind them, like Ruth in the fields of Boaz, not far off; while the feet of oxen were treading out what had been cut. In the vil-
* Isa. vi. 11, 12. t Song i. 7.
t Ezek. xxxiv. 29. See the whole conte.Kt, where Israel is compared to a flock of sheep.
lage “the sound of the millstone” met our ears, proceeding from several of the huts. It is a clear ringing sound, conveying an idea of peace and cheerfulness, and is more than once spoken of in Scripture.* In the court-yard of one house, the grinders accompanied their occupation Viith a song.f Before leaving the poor villagers, we partook of the first fruits of the land in the shape of fine ripe apricots, and drank a little of their “Hemat” or “Leban-hemat,” a kind of sour milk, which is very cooling aod pleasant when well prepared. It was this which Jael gave to Sisera,]: — “She brought forth butter in a lordly dish;” the word in the original being the same as that now applied by the Arabs to this simple beverage. It is made by putting milk into an earthen jar, and letting it stand for a day. “The taste is not unlike that of butter-milk, cool and most refi-eshing to a M’eary man oppressed with heat. The Arabs say “it makes a sick man well.”
Leaving this pleasant spot about half-past four, we proceeded northward through the plain, crossing the dry channel of a former brook named Wady-el-Abd. There were many fields of tobacco, barley, and dhura, and clustery of silvery olives, to relieve the eye. The dhura is a species of millet or Indian corn; it grows very rank and strong, bears a heavy crop, and is often roasted and eaten unground. One stalk sometimes furnishes a meal to a native. Perhaps this may have been “the parched corn” which Boaz gave to Ruth,^ and David carried to his brethren. An incidental occurrence here showed us the meaning of EUsha’s command to his servant Gehazi, to salute nonian by the way. IF A Bedouin acquaintance of one of our camel-drivers, meeting him on the road, the two friends occupied no small time in salutation. They kissed each other five times on the cheek, holding the hand at the same time; then asked three or four questions at each other, and not till this was done, did they resume their journey. If Gehazi, a man so well known, had done this to every one he met, he would not have reached- Carmel before his master.. In less than an hour we came to Bet-Car, a small place, composed of one square of houses for villagers and their
* Jer. XXV. 10. Rev. xiii. 22.
t Perhaps this may be alluded to in Eccles. xii. 4, “The sound of the grinding is low.” t Judg. V 25. HNDn See also Job xxix. 6. § Ruth ii. 14.
II 1 Sam. svii. 17. f 2 Kings iv. 29. Also Luke x. 4. flocks, a white tower, arid Sheikh’s tomb, surrounded with some fine trees and hedges of prickly pear. A little after, a village called Barbara appeared at some distance on our left, and then nearer us, beside the dry channel of Wady-um-Gersh, another village called Dia, with a large tamarisk-tree. It has about twenty families, and large flocks and herds were gathering round.
From this point to the ruins of Ashkelon, there was only a single hour’s journey. We would have rejoiced to have seen with our own eyes the fulfilment of the prophecy, “Ashkelon shall not be inhabited;” * and also the place where the remnant of Judah is yet to “He down in the evening;” f but the day was too far gone to admit of our visiting it. The hill country of Judah came in sight this evening. The view was distant, but very pleasing, over the vast plain covered with barley. On the right appeared a village, Bet-ima, or “house of eggs;” and in half an hour after, having crossed the dry bed of Wady Rousad, we came to Doulis, a considerable village, placed upon a rock, and overlooking the open vale through which we had travelled. It stands on the left of the” road, and is four hours distant from our last station. Here we encamped for the night. While the servants were pitching the tents, we wandered through the place, and sitting down by the well, observed the women come to draw water. The well is very deep, and the mode of drawing up the water curious. A rope is attached by one end to a large bucket, made of skin, and’let down over a pulley; while the other end is attached to a bullock, which is driven down the slope of the hill; the skin of water is thus hauled up to the -^ top, where a man stands ready, 3 Ij to empty it into the trough,
jL ^..jrii|i“”0|l fi’om which women receive
— y ^’^^^’Tfl the water in earthen - ware
y — u. — — iii jugs. To us this was a noveJ <£ Ji and amusing sight.
Zech. ix.
t Zeph. 11. 7.
In some parts of the village fragments of marble pillars were lying on the ground; and on the side of the hill there are many deep pits, which may have been used in other days as places of concealment for “hid treasures of wheat and of barley.” * Many large flocks of sheep and goats were coming into the village, and we followed “the footsteps of the flocks,” in order to see where they were lodged all night. We found the dwellings to be merely cottages of mud, with a door, and sometimes also a window, into a court-yard. In this yard the flocks were lying down, while the villagers were spreading their mats to rest within. Small mud-walls formed frail partitions, to keep separate the larger and smaller cattle; for oxen, horses, and camels, were in some of these enclosures. We could not look upon these “folds for flocks,” so closely adjoining the “dwellings and cottages for shepherds,” and this in the very region anciently called “the sea-coast,” without expressing to one another our admiration at the manner in wTiich God had brought about the fulfilment of the prophecy already more” than once alluded to, “The sea-coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.” f
One man kindly invited us to enter his cottage, and sit down on his carpet. He showed us the key commonly used for the door, which is nothing more than a piece of wood with pegs fastened in it, corresponding to small holes in a wooden bolt within. It is put through a hole in the door, and draws the bolt in a very simple manner. It is generally caiTied in the girdle; though sometimes we were told it is tied to something else, and worn over the shoulder in the way spoken of by the prophet, “The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder.” J The large opening through which the key is introduced, illustrates these words in the Song, “My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door.” J It is possible that Doulis may be the remains o Eshtaol, one of the cities of Dan, mentioned in the life of Samson.|| Its situation upon a rock, the deep well, and the pits, all show that it is an ancient place; and the ancient name may be concealed vmder the modern form.
On the way to our encampment, we passed some of the tents of Kedar pitched under a tree outside the village, exactly like those mentioned before — low dark-brown cov-
* Jer. xli. 8 t Zeph. ii. 6. X Isa. xxii. 22
$ Song V. 4. II Josh. xix. 41. Judg. xiu. 25.
erings. The wanderers were crouching beneath, and not far off a fire of wood was sending up its curling smoke.
The women in all this region wear long veils, which in part cover the lower part of the face, but are not drawn close over it as in Egypt. Long veils seem to have been common, and were used for various purposes, often like aprons.*
The incessant sound of the grasshopper both day and night, made us observe how natural was the image used by the spies, “we were in our own sight as grasshoppers,”! for, like us, they must have listened to their perpetual chirping in this very region. Before falling asleep we heard the wild howling of the jackal and the wolf, as if hungry for a prey.
(June 6.) We were awakened before break of day by the voice of Mustapha crying to Ibraim and Ahmet, “Koom, lioom,’” “Rise, rise.” The sleepers answered now and then by a groan, till, wearied out by their refusal, Mustapha resolved on forsaking us, and actually gave orders to his Bedouins to depart. We all started up, and our tents were down in a few minutes. Mustapha’s great anxiety was to get past a certain part of the road, which is infested with’flies, before the sun was hot. We were on our camels before five, and the moon was shining sweetly on Doulis as we departed. Instead of going northward, our route now lay directly eastward. We ascended a hilly pass, adorned with wild flowers and perfumed with fragrant thyme. The birds, too, were filling the morning air with tlieh- sweet voices. Looking behind us, we could see, under the rishig sun, the pleasant village we had left, till we. arrived at the top of the rocky eminence. The slopes on each side were bare and stony, but evidently well fitted for training the vine in the days of Eshtaol’s glory. We supposed that, in Ruth iii. 15. 12 + Num. xiii. 33.
the region northward to us, lay Zorah, where Samson was born; and still nearer us the “Camp of Dan,” where “the Spirit of the Lord began to move him;” and not far off, the vineyards of Timnath, where he slew the lion.* Looking nearly due north, we saw a town upon a conical rising ground, surrounded with trees. This the Arabs called Shdood, the remains of Ashdod, where Dagon fell before the Ark of God.f It is about two hom’s and a half distant. When we were comparing this fragrant’ pass of Dan with some of the mountain scenery in our own Scotland, suddenly we reached the summit, and a splendid prospect broke upon us. An immense undulating plain was stretched before, lying north and south, and of vast breadth east and west. There were few trees, but the plain was covered with fields of yellow grain, and studded with a goodly number of little towns, the remains of other days. Vast tracts appeared to lie uncultivated, and some parts were covered with sesamine, whose white flowers formed an agreeable variety. There were no traces of that arid sandy aspect so characteristic of the country from which we had just emerged. In the background, the beautiful hill country of Judah rose tier above tier, and the sun, which was just rising over them, poured a flood of golden rays into the plain. This is the great plain of Sephela, called “The Plain.”!
As we descended into the vale, we inquired of the Arabs the names of the different villages in sight, making them repeat the name carefully and frequently, that we might not be mistaken. Three villages immediately before us, and not far off, they called Erd Safeen. On the extreme right, under the hill, we were pointed to Aragesh Sueidan, then more to the east to Bet-affa, and farther still, to Karatieh, with a tower, perhaps the ancient Bethcar; the next we were shown was Hatta, the next Oudsir, and still farther across the plain Thitcrin. They pointed also to the situation of Bet Jibrin, believed to be the ancient EleutheropoUs. Ibraim, our guide, had visited it with Professor Robinson, and described to us the curious remains of buildings which they found there. On the extreme left, and nearly north from us, was a considerable village, I3et-daras. A distant hill of a conical form to the north-east, they called El-betune. We now came down upon the three villages of Safeen, situated as it were at the points of a triangle,
* Judges xiii. 2, 25; xiv. 5. t 1 Sam. v. 3.
X Obad. 19. $ 1 Sam. vii. 11.
and about a quarter of a mile distant from each other We halted for a few minutes to break our fast with a little barley-bread and fine warm milk. But now we began to experience the annoyance of which we had been forewarned by Mustapha. The air was filled with swarms of small flies, whose bite was very troublesome, so that we were glad to use every means to cover our faces. The camels also, stung by these insects, became very restive, and for the fii’st time almost ungovernable. A wolf here started across our path, and fled before us.
The last of the three villages has marks of antiquity. There is a large well a little out of the town, from which the water is drawn up in the same way as at Doulis. The women were all busy drawing the morning supply; some were washing their hands and faces, and their feet, by rubbing one foot upon another. There are also many pits for grain here, large stones and mounds of earth, and a pool of water. A wady winds past, called Wady Safeen, at present dry, but it may have been a considerable stream in winter. The situation and the name of these villages at once suggested to us that this is the valley of Zephathah, where Asa defeated Zerah, the Ethiopian, with his host of “a thousand thousand.” * In this vast plain there would be room enough for all that multitude, and ample scope in these level fields for the three hundred chariots. We remembered with fresh interest also, how the ark of God was carried by the two milch kine from the land of the Philistines to Beth-shemesh, across this very plain, probably a little to the north of us.f Nor could we lift our eyes to the hill country of Judah without remembering the visit of the mother of our Lord to her cousin Elizabeth. % Once also Mareshah, Lachish, and Libnah stood in this vast plain.
At nine o’clock we arrived at Kasteen, where was a well and plenty“- of water, pits for grain, and mounds of earth. Upon the roof of the houses the inhabitants were spreading out sheaves of corn to diy. We immediately thought of Rahab hidiiv the spies at Jericho. A solitary palm rises in the midst of the village. On the left side of the road is Hasur, a small village with many trees, perhaps one of the ‘■’■Hazors” of Judah.
Half an hour after we rested at Mesmieh, a village
2 Chron. xiv. 9 t 1 Sam. vi. 12. X Luke i. 39.
$ Josh. ii. 6 II Josh. xv. 23.
1 16 VILLAGE OF MESiMIEH — THRASHING-FLOOR.
surrounded by prickly pear, and inter:spersed with olive-trees. The houses were of a wretched description; but there were deep pits for grain — a large well also at the farther side of the village, and a pool near it, where the oxen were bathing themselves up to the neck to get rid of the flies. We found a scanty shelter under an old decaying olive-tree.
At one o’clock we mounted again, — the great heat, the flies, and the bad water, making us very willing to depart. An interesting and lively scene of rural life here presented itself Close to the village lay a thrashing floor, where twenty or thirty pair of oxen were employed in treading out corn. One peasant attended to each paii-, and another tossed up the straw with a wooden fork, and spread it out again for them to tread. Few of the oxen were muzzled. We remembered the commandment, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn;”* and how Paul says to ministers, “For our sakes no doubt this is written, that he that plougheth should plough in hope, and that he thatthi-asheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.” f The camels, too, were carrying home loads of ripe sheaves, to the sound of the tinkling bell round their neck.
On a rising ground far to the south, stands a village with a kind of fort, which our guide called Assenibba.J Our route now lay by a ruined arch, El-mohrazin. A village stood here a few years ago, but a virulent epidemic cut off” all the inhabitants. Under another archway not far off”, the people were winnowing barley, casting it up to the wind with a wooden fan. A woman passed carrying her child on her shoulder in a cradle.
Here we came upon a narrow stream of water called by our guide Wady Maruba, an hour and a half from Mesmieh. The water was very muddy, yet the Arabs drank and bathed in it with the greatest satisfaction. This was the first sight we obtained of running water since entering this land, which was once called “a land of brooks of water.“^ We again remembered the prayer of Israel, so applicable at this moment,” Turn again our
* Deut. XXV. 4. t 1 Cor. ix. 10.
t Probably Neit Nuzib described by Professor Robinson, having a r’ned tower; vol. iii. p. 12. The Nezib of Josh. xv. 43. $ Deut. viii. 7.
captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.” * And we recalled with a thrill of interest the clear promise by the mouth of the prophet Joel, “All the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters.”!
Four hours together this day we travelled through fields of weeds, briers, and thorns, such as we never saw any where else. iSometimes the weeds were as plentiful and stronger than the barley amongst which they grew. Often there was nothing but weeds. In ploughing, they plough round about them, and in reaping they take care not to cut down the giant thistles. The variety of thistles was very great. We counted ten or eleven different species in the course of the afternoon. There were also large fields covered with the “hellah” or sesamine, like “hemlock in the furrows of the field. “J Through the whole of the plain the ground is chapped and cracked as if by an earthquake, and to the foot feels hard as iron. All these things appear without contradiction to be a literal fulfihnent of the word of God. “Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers,” “until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high.”y “The rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.” |I “Thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.” IT
We passed along the banks of a brook for a little way, fenced by tall reeds, among which the cattle were enjoying the cooling shade and drinking the waters. A flock of large birds having red bills and legs, white bodies and blackmails, in form like our heron, were stalking along the marshy places. The natives called them the Abusat. Straight before us, though not on our road, upon a point of the hills, stood Jimso,** a village that seemed to have some buildings of limestone from its peculiarly white appearance.
Towards evening we entered among the lower tract of hills, behind which rose the mountains of Judah, which appeared very beautiful in the evening sun, the limestone of which they are composed giving a white appearance to all the mountain tracts. Here we began to notice the remains of terraces. At five o’clock, we passed on our left hand Hulda, a ruined village on the top of a height,
* Ps. cxxvi. 4. t Joel iii. 18. t Hos. x. -1.
$ Isa. xxxii. 13, 15. II Joel i. 20. % Deut. xxviii. 23.
The same as Giimo, 2 Chron. xxviii. 18.
evidently a place of strength and antiquity. An old bridge spans the stream at the foot of the hiJ], and the remains of a massive causeway lead up to the town.
We turned northward, getting deeper into the hills of Judah. Hitherto ai)pearances had indicated fertility in the soil, but now the hills became bare and rocky on each side for about an hour’s ride, though even these showed many marks of former cultivation.” We passed on oyr left a small village, Deir-maheysen, where many of the villagers were assembled under the shade of a large nabbok-tree, the only tree of considerable size within view. We were at some distance, and did not see distinctly how they were employed, but they seemed to be enjoying an evening’s relaxation in the cool of the day.
Wearied with the constant motion of the camel, we sometimes dismounted and beguiled the way by culling a few of the choice pinks and wild mountain flowers that grew among the rocks. Here we overtook an Arabian playing with all his might upon a shepherd’s pipe made of two reeds. This was the first time we had seen any marks of joy in the land, for certainly “All joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.“* We afterwards found that the Jews have no harp, nor tabret, nor instrument of music in the Holy Land. In all parts of it, they have an aspect of timidity and rooted sorrow. So fully are the words fulfilled,” All the merry-hearted do sigh, the mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.” f All the men we met with were strangers; ancient Israel are left “few in number, whereas they were as the stars of heaven for multitude.’’^ We have not as yet met a single child of Abraham in their own land. The threatening of Isaiah has come to pass, “Your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.”^
The hills now opened widei% and our path turned north-east to the village of Latroon, strongly situated on a rocky eminence. “There can be little doubt that this must have been the site of some of the ancient fortresses of Judah. A winding path leads to it from the valley below; and here the traveller may stand and catch a wide view of the surrounding hills, all bearing the remains of ancient terraces, though not a vine is trained upon them.
* Isa. xxiv. 11. t Isa. xxiv. 7, 8.
t Deut. xxviii. 62. $ Isa. i. 7.
There are patches of cultivation round the village, but only to the extent necessary to supply the wants of the villagers and their cattle. The whole scene reminded us of one of the glens in our own highlands. We kept ascending higher and higher by a niountain path till a little after sunset, when we prevailed on our guides to encamp in a stubble field near Deir-Eyub, a small hamlet of two or three houses. The hills around seemed to form a verdant amphitheatre, the terraces of the ancient vineyards having the appearance of seats. There were many patches of cultivation, and a good deal of brushwood. There were also two fine wells of water. We were now many hundred feet above the level of the plain, so that the air was delightfully cool and soft. Dr. Keith, observing one of the adjoining hills to be very verdant, and not very steep, set out with the purpose of climbing it. After a short absence, however, he returned to tell us that he had failed in his attempt. He found the surface overgrown with strong briers and thorns, through which he tried to make his way, but without success: “Every place where there was a thousand vines at a thousand silverings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. With arrows and bows shall men come thither, because all the land shall become briers and thorns.” * Many times this day did the words of Isaiah come into our mind: “They shall lament for the teats ((‘. e. a soil rich as breasts full of milk, the uber cigri), for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers;“t” until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high.”! We felt a secret joy in beholding the deserted terraces and fields overrun with thorhs”; for when we saw the word of threatening so clearly and literally fulfilled, our unbelief was reproved, and we were taught to expect without a shadow of doubt, that the
* Isa. vii. 23, 24.
+ We felt the same in traversing the vast plain of Esdraelon, the greater part of which is covered over with almost impenetrable thickets of weeds, thorns, briers, and thistles. Some time after when sailing up the Bosphorus, conversing with a gentleman whom we had met in Palestine, who appeared to be a man of the world, we asked him if he had climbed Mount Tabor, to obtain the delightful view from its summit. His answer was, — “No. Why should I climb Mount Tabor, to see a countiy of thorns?” He was thus an unintentional witness to the truth of God’s word. “Briers and thorns” include all kinds of thorny growth, whether the common brier, or the thorn, or the thistle, perhaps it might take in even the prickly pear, now so common as a hedge throughout the country. “Thorns and thistles” are specially appropriate in a land under the curse. See Gen. iii. 18.
I Isa. x.xxii. 12 — 15.
promised blessing would be as full and sure. We felt too that it was pleasant to anticipate the time when, as certainly as these thorns and thistles overspread Judea, the Holy Spirit shall be poured out as a flood upon Israel, and both the people and the land shall become a garden of the Lord. As darkness came on, the fire-fly was to be seen moving through the air in all directions. Weary and yet thankful, we committed ourselves to the care of the Shephei’d of Israel, and lay down in our tents to enjoy a shol’t night’s repose.
(June 7.) This day was to be among the most eventful of our lives, as on it we hoped to reach Jerusalem. We therefore rose very early, and were mounted by four o’clock. The morning had not yet dawned, but the moon poured its silvery light up the valley, and enabled our guides to find the track. Even at this early hour, the birds had begun their song from the brushwood on the hill-side, and increased in number and in fulness of song as the sun arose. Perhaps the Psalmist had reference to such a scene when he sang, “He sendeth the springs into the valleys which run among the hills.” “By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.”* At least it was peculiarly pleasant to remember these words in such a spot, so near the place where David learned to sing. We came upon many small mountain streams, on the banks of which grew luxuriant bushes, and from the branches of which the blackbird, lark, and others were pouring forth their lays. About five o’clock we reached the head of the valley in which Latroon is situated, and began to enter a singular mountain defile, called the Pass of Latroon. It is supposed that the “Descent of Beth-horoti’’’ and the” Ascent” is this defile. Other travellers have found the name Betur in a village not far off”, and the entrance is called Bab-el- Wady, or “Gate of the Valley.” The sun rose upon the tops of the mountains soon after we entered this defile, revealing a scene trul)’- wild and romantic. The path is steep androcky, and especially difficult for camels, whose feet are better fitted for the soft sands of the desert, yet they pressed on with wonderful perseverance. Around and above us were rocks of the wildest descripton, yet adorned with the richest vegetation. Trees of considerable size occasionally lined the Pass: the largest were called by the Arabs the halut and halur. IPleasant shrubs and flowers also attracted our eye,
‘I’s. CIV. 10, 13.
among which were the oleander, the cistus, the lavatera, and wild pink. The fragrance diffused by them was truly delightful, and the voice of the turtle saluted our ears again and again. The eastern attire of Mustapha and the rest of our band as they urged on their camels, corresponded well with the character of the scene. A more suitable fastness for banditti could hardly be found, and it was actually so employed in former times. Indeed, the name Latroon is given to the Pass in virtue of a monkish tradition, that it was the resort of banditti of which the penitent thief (tatro) was one.
As the hills opened we began to trace more distinctly the terraces upon their sides, where in former days the vine used to be trained. But we were especially struck with the fact, that on many of the hills these terraces were natural formations; * the industry of man in other places had only followed the suggestions of nature. God himself seems to have so formed these hills, that the natural strata of limestone wind round them in concentric circles, and at regular intervals. On these natural terraces they planted the vine and olive. The God of Israel thus taught them thriftily to use every spot of their fruitful land, and to cover the very rocks with the shadow of their vines.
Frequently when we halted and looked calmly round, we could not discover a single spot, either in the channel of the ravine, or on the mountain side, that was not terraced in some way. Often the natural rock was sufficient of itself to preserve the soil from being washed down. Rough stone-dykes were built with amazing pains along the ledge of rock, but frequently there was no rock, and the terrace was entirely the work of men’s hands. In many of the mountains the terraces appeared to be perfectly entire, and the soil fully preserved to this day, enriched no doubt by having lain fallow for ages. The vines and the inhabitants alone are wanting, and the blessing from above. In the hollows of the ravine we sometimes came upon a small field of barley, often a fine olive-yard, and sometimes an orchard of fig-trees, but not the vestige of a vine did we see during the whole ascent.
At a step or turn of the Pass, near the ruins of a small
* Richardson has noticed these. He first remarks (not quite accurately) that there are no traces of artificial lerructs, and then describes “the horizontal strata, which have exactly the appearance of the stonecourses in a building.”
I’SSfi PASS OF LATROON — RAMLA — SHARON.
building, we looked back and obtained a delightful view of the valley through which we had come. The sight of the terraced hills,with their bright verdure, lighted up by the brilliant beams of the morning sun, made us think how lovely this spot must have been in the days of David and Solomon, when its luxuriance was yet unblighted by the curse of Israel’s God.
At length we reached the plantation of olive-trees, and the ruins of a small fort, perhaps the Modin of many travellers, which mark the summit of this interesting Pass. ‘We had been ascending for four hours and a half from Latroon. From this point we obtained a beautiful glance of Ramla, lying to the north-west, in the plain “of Sharon. Its tower, houses, and minarets were conspicuous. It has long been regarded as Arimathea, the city of the wealthy Joseph, whose noble character is referred to by each of the Evangelists. We felt that perhaps the rich man came by this very route to Jerusalem on the awful day of the crucifixion. Possibly we were in his footsteps, for this is still the Jaffa road. By this route also would Peter* go down to the saints who dwelt at Lydda, which is within an hour of Ramla, when he healed Eneas, and drew the eyes of all in that beautiful plain to the Rose of Sharon.
We now began to descend, and came down upon a beautiful village which the Arabs called Karieh or Kurieh.f It was the residence of a famous native chieftain named Abugush, and still belongs to his family. The houses are solidly built of stone, and there are ruins of ancient buildings, especially a large church or abbey in the Gothic st)de, which Ibraim told us was now turned into a mosque. The ‘tillage is literally embosomed among olives, pomegranates, and very large fig-trees, and a’solitary palm rises above the cluster. The pomegranates were in full bloom, the scarlet flowers shining brilliantly from among their deep green leaves. A flock of goats was browsing beneath the trees. Many of the terraces around were finely cultivated, showing what these mountains might soon become.
* Acts ix. 35.
t Professor Robinson shows that this may be the site of Kirjath-jearim, where the ark of God remained for twenty years. 1 Sam. vii. 1, 2. Perhaps Kur>’et-el-Enab may be a corruption of Kirjath-Abinadab, city of Aoinadab, as Bethany is now called by the name of Lazarus. Richardson calls the place Karialoonah, but the proper name is Kuryet-el-Enab, “city of grapes,” — the woods of the ancient Kiijathjearim having given place to the vine.
Descending’ to the bottom of this delightlul valley, the hills on either side were terraced in still greater perfection than any thing we had yet seen or imagined. These hills are not peaked, but are placed side by side, “like round balls placed in juxta position.” We often counted forty, fifty, sixty, and even seventy terraces fi-om the
bottom of the wady up to the summit of the mountain. What a garden of delights this must have been, when, instead of grass making green the surface, verdant and luxuriant vines were their clothing! Solomon’s vineyard at Baal-hamon* could not have been more noble; and nowhere could we have better understood the invitation, “Let us lodge in the villages; let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth.” t We could understand how the words of Joel shall yet be literally true, “The mountains shall drop down new wine,” J when every vine on these hills shall be hanging its ripe clusters over the terraces. In observing, too, the singular manner in which the most rocky mountains have at one time been made, through vast labour and industry, to yield an abundant retiu-n to the husbandman, we saw clearly the meaning of the promise in Ezekiel, “But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.” J
* Song viii. 11. t Song vii. 11, 12. t Joel iii. 18.
$ Ezek. xxxvi. 8. See Dr. Keith’s remarks, made on the spot, and
given in pp. 110, 120, 121, of the 23d edition of his Evidence of Pruphecy.
There seems to be little doubt that the Psalmist refers to the mode of training the vine over these terraces, when he says, “The hills were covered with the shadow of it.” *
We ascended another rocky path, and when arrived at the summit began to descend again into a pleasant valley, overhanging which is the tower El Kustul, a name derived from the Latin castellum; but its history is unknown. The pathway was very steep, so that it was sometimes safer to leave the camel’s back and walk”; still the faithfial animals never made a stumble. Halfway down this ravine there is a well of fine cold water, from which we drank in a broken sherd. At this point, to our great surprise, a young gentleman in European dress met and passed us riding upon a mule. He saluted us with “Good morning;” the first English words we had heard from a stranger for many a day. He proved to be Mr. Bergheim, the assistant medical attendant of the Jewish mrssion at Jerusalem, on his way to Joppa. Figs and vines were cultivated on many of the terraces here, but when we reached the bottom of the valley, it was one complete garden or rather orchard of fruit-trees. The vines, the figs, pomegranates, peaches, citrons, quinces, and lemons, were all budding or ripening in a most luxuriant manner. The scene afforded a perfect picture of outward peace and prosperity. The vines were twining round the fig-trees for support; and many of the fig-trees were “planted in a vineyard,” recalling to our mind the language used in the parable of our Lord.f A clear brook flowmg down the valley, gave freshness and beauty to every green thing. The Arabs washed themselves in it.
We now entered into what is generally believed to be the Valley of Elah. It is called by the Arabs Wady Bet Hanina; but there is a Wady Aly not far off that seems to retain the ancient name. This is believed by many to be the place where David slew Goliath of Gath, the champion of the Philistines. J Whether it be so or not, the sight of these deep valleys gave us a clear and vivid impression of the memorable conflict. Here were hills on each side, the ravine between being deep and narrow. On the front of these opposing hills the armies were encamped.” The Philistines stood on a mountain
* Ps. lxxx. 10. The Hebrew word for these terraces is found in Ezek. xxxviii. 20, “the steep places,” nu-nrn t Luke xiii. 6. t 1 Sam. xvii. 2.
on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the Other side, and there was a valley between them.” They could not meet each other hand to hand without descending into the ravine; yet they could speak to each other, and hurl their words of defiance across the intervening space. This explained to us how the giant could stand and cry to the host of Israel, defying the’ armies of the living God, and yet not come within reach of thenweapons. But when David accepted the challenge, he descended into this narrow valley, crossed the small running brook, picked up five of its smooth pebbles for his sling, and began to climb the opposite ascent. Goliath sees him, looks down with contempt, and advances to overwhelm him; but David takes his aim at him, and slings the stone into his forehead. The giant falls forward down the slope, and David with his own sword severs his head fi-om his body, and invites the armies of Israel to cross the brook and assail their blaspheming foes.
A small village lay below us in the bottom of the hollow. Its name is Caglione or Kalonie, supposed to be derived from the Latin colonia, but its history is unknown. The voice of the turtle saluted us from its olive-trees. We now ascended a much barer mountain, and by a path the steepest we had yet climbed, yet the camels went up wonderfully. Arrived at the summit, it appeared as if we had left all cultivation behind. A bare desert of sun-burnt rocks stretches to the right as far as the eye can reach. We remembered the” desciiption given by travellers of these mountains, and knew that we were near the Holy City. Every moment we expected to see Jerusalem. Though wearied by our long ride, which had now lasted seven hours, we eagerly pressed on. Mr. M’Cheyne, dismounting from his camel, hurried forward on foot over the rocky footpath, till he gained the point where the city of the Lord comes first in sight. Soon all of us were on the spot, silent, buried in thought, and wistfully gazing on the wondrous scene where the Redeemer died. The distant mountains beyond the city seemed so near, that at first sight we mistook them for the mountains that enclose “the valley of vision,” though they proved to be the mountains of Moab, on the east side of the Dead Sea. As yet we were not sufficiently accustomed to the pure clear atmosphere, so that distances were often very deceptive. As our camels slowly approached the city, its sombre walls rose before us; but in these there is nothing to attract or excite the feelings. At that moment we were impressed chiefly by the fact that we were now among “the mountains that are round about Jerusalem,”* and half unconscious that it was true, we repeated inwardly the words, “Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.” We got a slight view of the Mount of Olives, as we i-ode toward the Jaffa Gate. The nearer we came to the city, the more we felt it a solemn thing to be where “God manifest in flesh” had walked.
The feelings of that hour could not even be spoken. We all moved forward in silence, or interchanging feelings only by a word. While passing along the pathway immediately under the western wall, from which no object of any interest can be seen, and entering the Jaffa Gate, we could understand the exclamation, and were almost ready to use it as our own, “Is this the city which men call the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?”t Its dark walls, and the glance we got of slippery narrow streets, with low ill-built houses, and a poor ill-clad population, suggested no idea of the magnificence of former days. But we were soon to learn, that all the elements of Jerusalem’s glory and beauty are still remaining in its wonderful situation, fitting it to be once again in the latter day, “The city of the Great King.”
* Ps. cxxv. 2. t Lam. ii. 15.
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