LETTERS 
 
 FROM 
 
 PALESTINE. 
 
Hughes, Printer, 
 Maiden Luie, Covent Garden. 
 
NORTH ASPECT OF THE HOLY SEPl LCRE. 
 
 taken in August 1817. 
 
 Londcn.hii'Ufhed bv Ja-^ Black i Tcu'L'tocA-Sovct.l'ox ent tfardert. 
 

 FROM 
 
 PALESTINE, 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE OF A 
 
 TOUR THROUGH GALLILEE 
 
 AND 
 
 JUDiEA, 
 
 WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF JERUSALEM 
 
 Kt/\/(i> myw Tov iriQov^ (og fitj /j,6vo dpyeiv ^OKoiijy ev 
 TOffovrotg '-epya^ofjiivoig, LUCIAN. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 PRINTED FOR JAMES BLACK, 
 
 TAVISTOCK-STREET, COVENT-GARDEN. 
 
 1819. 
 
^^^. 
 
J"? 
 
 TO 
 
 THOMAS SAMUEL JOLLIFFE, ESQ. 
 
 OP 
 
 AMMERDOWN, 
 
 IN THE COUNTY OF SOMERSET, 
 
 LATE REPRESENTATIVE IN PARLIAMENT 
 
 FOR THE BOROUGH OF PETERSFIELD, 
 
 THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 AS A TRIFLING TESTIMONY OF GRATITUDE, 
 
 BY HIS MOST OBLIGED 
 AND AFFECTIONATE HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 THE EDITOR. 
 
 F)3/a5vo 
 

 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
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 A LETTER from a distant country is gene- 
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 and it not unfrequently happens, that the 
 partiality of a friendly circle, predisposed to 
 receive with kindness even the commonest 
 observations, so far operates to blind their 
 better judgment, that they are induced to 
 imagine the public might also feel some in- 
 terest in the perusal. 
 
 The amour propre is seldom unsuccess- 
 fully appealed to; but, in the present instance, 
 the good-natured reader is entreated to be- 
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 ^s^mmt 
 
Vlll ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 and that in venturing to submit any part of 
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 mately yielded to representations, which he 
 could no longer with propriety resist. 
 
 It may be necessary to state, in expla- 
 nation of the abruptness with which the 
 letters begin, that they are selected from a 
 series written during the years 1816-17, and 
 that none have been admitted* but what 
 relate exclusively to a country, which may 
 eventually become an object of anxious re- 
 search, though for many ages seldom visited 
 by European travellers. 
 
 London, July 21, 1819. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 To Sir G. E , Bart, 
 
 Acre, Aug. 7th, 1817. 
 
 Dear E- 
 
 We left Tripoli on the first instant, soon after 
 mid-day, and, at eight in the evening, arrived at 
 Patrone, the only place, within the compass of a day's 
 journey from thence, where accommodations of any 
 kind can be procured. The route is not distinguished 
 by any features of striking interest, but has the re- 
 commendation of being carried in a regular progression 
 almost entirely by the margin of the water. 
 
 About three or four miles on the northern side 
 of Patrone, we entered a valley in the highest degree 
 picturesque such, indeed, as a writer of romance 
 might dehght to feign: the village, at its extremity, 
 consists only of a few mouldering tenements, and we 
 had some difficulty in finding room for ourselves and 
 
2 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 baggage, which we at length contrived to deposit in 
 the upper story of a ruined building, and passed the 
 night without interruption. 
 
 We quitted our gloomy abode between six and 
 seven the next moniing, and, in the course of three 
 hours, arrived at a town of some importance, called 
 at present Gibile, but known formerly by the name of 
 Byblus. Here we breakfasted, and were plentifully 
 supplied with fruit of various kinds, cakes, and honey. 
 Pursuing our route along the beach, we came in little 
 more than an hour to a clear and rapid stream, rather 
 shallow, but of considerable width ; this is imagined, 
 and with sufficient probability, to be the river called 
 after Adonis. At certain seasons, the waters are 
 tinged with a vermilion hue, arising from a stratum of 
 red earth, particles of which are periodically washed 
 by the violence of the rains into the current. The 
 superstition of the ancients, unable or unwilling to 
 account for an alteration of the surface by natural 
 means, ascribed it to a sympathy on the part of the 
 stream with the favourite of Venus ; the catastrophe 
 which occasioned his death having taken place in this 
 district, as he pursued the chase over the mountains 
 from whence the water issues. 
 
I 
 
 II 
 
 IP" 
 
 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 3 
 
 In something less than two hours after losing 
 sight of the river, we reached Jeune, a place now 
 almost entirely neglected, though possessing an ex- 
 tensive bay, and other conveniences for navigation. 
 Here the Pachalic of Tripoli terminates, just at the 
 entrance of the harbour, and the district of Sidon 
 commences. The only khann, or inn, which the town 
 afibrds, presented nothing beyond the meagre ac- 
 commodations of an oriental caravansary ; but the 
 deficiency was in some measure supplied by the atten- 
 tions of the proprietor, who welcomed us with many 
 expressions of hospitality, and made the best arrange- 
 ment he could on a sort of platform projecting in front 
 of a building, which overhung the sea. 
 
 We left Jeune the next morning, soon after eight, 
 by a route, which lies over a rugged, and rather steep 
 pass, near the shore. In the course of an hour and a 
 half we came to a stream, which the old charts describe 
 as the river Lycus ; the modern name I could not 
 distinctly ascertain, but it has not the least resem- 
 blance in sound to the ancient appellation. The 
 current flows through a ravine formed by two moun- 
 tains, lofty and precipitous ; the depth is such as to 
 be easily fordable ; but a very handsome bridge, of 
 
4 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 four or five arches, is thrown across the channel at a 
 little distance up the valley. On reaching the oppo- 
 site bank, we found a road sufficiently wide to admit 
 three horses abreast, cut through a stratum of the 
 cliffs, running in a direction nearly parallel with the 
 winding of the coast, but avoiding its sinuosities. 
 This was accomplished under the direction of the 
 Roman Emperor Antoninus, as is attested by an 
 inscription engraven on the rock by the road side. 
 The characters are much mutilated, but their purport 
 may be traced with some degree of accuracy. 
 The tablet imports, that the Emperor, 
 " c^sar, m. aurelius antoninus, 
 pius, felix, augustus, 
 parth: max: brit : germ: maximus 
 pontifex maximus, 
 montibus imminentibus, 
 
 LYCO FLUMINI C^SIS VIAM DILATAVIT." 
 
 The whole extent of this causeway, whose 
 formation is thus circumstantially recorded, does not 
 exceed an English mile. It is now much neglected, 
 and out of repair. 
 
 An hour's gentle riding from this place brought 
 us to another river, the name of which our guides 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 5 
 
 were totally unacquainted with, nor could I find it 
 noticed in any of the ancient charts. It is stated 
 to have been the scene of the famous combat between 
 that mirror of chivalry, St. George, and the redoubtable 
 dragon : the personal achievements of this right reverend 
 champion are equally appreciated by all ranks, sects, 
 and conditions, and the defeat of his antagonist has 
 been commemorated by the united efforts of sculpture 
 and painting in almost every Christian edifice, which 
 we have visited in Syria. 
 
 Barutti is not more than an hour's distance from 
 the plain, through which the stream flows, and we 
 arrived there about noon. The English Consul 
 received us with distinguished courtesy, and we passed 
 the remainder of the day very pleasantly in his mansion. 
 The plague had recently appeared in the town with 
 symptoms of considerable violence; but no " accident"^ 
 having been reported for some days, I ventured to 
 stroll through the principal places just before the 
 evening set in. The streets are mean, narrow, and 
 impure, like those of most other provincial towns 
 subject to the Ottoman government; but the buildings 
 
 1 An affected term, used to denote the death of an in- 
 dividual occasioned by pestilence. 
 
6 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 are rather extensive, and supposed to contain above 
 six thousand inhabitants. The ancient name was 
 Berytus ; under the Roman Emperors it became a 
 sort of Inn of Court for the study of jurisprudence 
 in the East, and is styled by Justinian the mother and 
 nurse of the lazes. By whom the academy was in- 
 stituted is not accurately known, but there is sufficient 
 authority for fixing its date anterior to the age of 
 Diocletian. It had the honour to furnish two dis- 
 tinguished civilians, Dorotheus and Anatolius, selected 
 by Justinian to assist in composing the celebrated 
 digests. In more modern times, the city has been 
 remarkable by the residence of the Emir, Faccardine, 
 who flourished during the reign of Sultan Morat. He 
 was the chief of the Druses, a tribe who are imagined 
 by some writers, to have descended from the scattered 
 remnants of the crusaders. This people, whatever was 
 their origin, after having long remained pent up in 
 the mountains, grew into temporary importance by the 
 talents and courage of their leader, who extended his 
 power from the regions about Barutti to the plains of 
 Acra. They were, however, subsequently driven back 
 within their ancient limits, by the forces of the Grand 
 Signior. The palace of the prince was at the north- 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 7 
 
 east of the town; formerly a very capacious edifice, 
 with extensive gardens, but now totally ruined. 
 
 We took leave of our host soon after seven in the 
 morning. The lanes which form the outlet to the 
 city in the direction of Saida, (the ancient Sidon,) are 
 cool and well shaded, the banks being thickly clothed 
 with the prickly pear, whose fruit is now in a state of 
 maturity. In less than an hour we quitted these 
 umbrageous valleys, and entered on a large sandy 
 plain, which is continued for several miles in a gra- 
 dual descent to the beach. In the course of six hours 
 more we arrived at a miserable looking khann, near a 
 ruined village, called Djee, or Jee ; we remained here 
 a short time while the guides procured some refresh- 
 ment, but the perversity of the sumpter mules 
 occasioned so much vexatious delay, that it was past 
 seven in the evening before we entered Sidon. 
 The city, as it exists at present, rises immediately 
 from the strand, and, seen from a slight distance, 
 presents a rather imposing appearance. The interior, 
 however, is most wretched and gloomy ; a melancholy 
 contrast to the gaiety of the gardens and mulberry 
 grounds adjoining the walls. The gate had been 
 closed a short time before our arrival, in consequence 
 
8 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE, 
 
 of some religious ceremony, and we were detained 
 nearly half an hour, till the necessary explanations 
 had taken place. The portal is very massive, and has 
 an air of military importance; but the instant it is 
 unbarred, the delusion vanishes. As there is no Bri- 
 tish agent at Saida, we were directed to the residence 
 of the French Consul, Signor Ruffini, who received 
 us with the politeness instinctive to the French nation. 
 
 Lady E. St e had for some time established her 
 
 residence about a day's journey from the coast, when 
 the report of a pestilence compelled her to a tempo- 
 rary retreat several miles further in the interior. Her 
 absence appears to be universally regretted ; she has 
 indeed distributed her largesses with such address, as 
 to have acquired a very considerable degree of popu- 
 larity. " Point d'argent, point de Suisse," is a maxim 
 by no means exclusively applicable to Helvetia ; and 
 " Mi laddi " * is reported to have given very expensive 
 proofs of her conviction, that there is no happiness, 
 even in Arabia, like that which is purchased. 
 
 Some faint traces are still discoverable of the 
 ancient lustre of Sidon, in the broken columns, and 
 
 1 The title by which this lady is kjiown, throughout a 
 considerable portion of Syria. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 9 
 
 architectural ornaments, which lie neglected at a 
 little distance from the modern walls ; and in one of 
 the neighbouring gardens, there is a reputed relic of 
 antiquity, which the Jews affect to hold in extraordi- 
 nary veneration. This object of their regard is alleged 
 to be the tomb of Zebulon : the monument, if such it 
 may be called, is extremely simple, consisting solely 
 of two stones, which are supposed to have been 
 placed at each extremity of the body ; a conjecture, 
 by the bye, which is somewhat extravagant, unless the 
 patriarch was of gigantic stature, for the blocks are 
 more than three yards distant from each other. 
 
 Pliny attributes the invention of glass, or at least 
 the original manufacture of it, to the artisans of this 
 city,* as it was here only that the sand brought from 
 the coast of Tyre was believed to be susceptible of 
 fusion. The modern proprietors have either lost the art, 
 or do not any longer find it a lucrative branch of trade. 
 
 The possessions of the tribe of Ashur, as enu- 
 merated by Joshua,^ comprised Zidon in their limits. 
 We were now, therefore, entering on the confines of 
 The Holy Land. 
 
 Nat. Hist. cap. xix. lib. 6. Sidon artifex vitri. 
 2 Chap. xix. V. 28. 
 
10 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 The house in which the French Consul resides 
 is extremely spacious, but in the arrangements of 
 Signor Rufhni there does not appear to have been 
 any provision for a casual visitor ; we were therefore 
 reduced to the necessity of sleeping sub dio in one 
 of the outer courts. We arose very early the next 
 morning, and after a ride of ten hours arrived within the 
 walls of Tyre. Our route for the most part was on 
 the sands of the sea-shore, where there are few objects 
 either natural or artificial calculated in any degree to 
 interest the attention of the traveller, or arrest his 
 progress. About half a mile from the coast, and at 
 four hours' distance from Sidon, a village hangs near the 
 summit of the hills, which it is conjectured was the 
 ancient Zarephath, or Sarepta, celebrated in the sacred 
 writings for the residence of the prophet Elijah, and 
 his miraculous restoration of the widow's son. 
 
 Our guides wished us very much to avoid Tyre, 
 and strongly recommended our passing the night under 
 a large tree at a small village a few miles to the east; 
 but we were too desirous of visiting the ruins of a city, 
 whose fortunes occupy so important a page in the 
 history of nations, to listen an instant to their sugges- 
 tions. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 11 
 
 The modern town became visible at a considerable 
 distance, from one of the elevated points be^^ond Sidon, 
 and as the declining sun threw his beams over the 
 lofty turrets of the citadel, they appeared clothed with 
 a radiance, which exceeded the most splendid illumi- 
 nation. In these precincts the sacred writings are the 
 best vade mecum : 1 make no apology, therefore, for 
 extracting the follovying passages, as descriptive of 
 Tyrian magnificence. 
 
 '' O thou that art situate at the entrance of the 
 *' sea, a merchant of the people for many isles, thus 
 " saith the Lord God ; O Tyrus, thou hast said, 1 am 
 " of perfect beauty. Thy borders are in the midst of 
 " the waters, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. 
 *' They have made all thy shipboards of fir-trees of 
 '^ Senir ; they have taken cedars of Lebanon to make 
 "masts for thee of the oaks of Bashan have they 
 " made thine oars : the company of the Ashurites have 
 " made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles 
 " of Chittim. Fine linen with broidered work from 
 " Egypt was that which thou spreadedst forth to be thy 
 '' sail ; blue and purple from the isles of Elisha was 
 " that which covered thee. The inhabitants of Zidon 
 " and Arvad were thy mariners all the ships of the 
 
12 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 *' sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy 
 " merchandize. When thy wares went forth out of 
 *' the seas, thou fiUedst many people ; thou didst enrich 
 " the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy 
 *' riches and of thy merchandize. 
 
 " Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God* 
 " Every precious stone was thy covering ; the sardius, 
 ^' topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and 
 " the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the car- 
 " buncle, and gold : the workmanship of thy tabrets 
 " and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day 
 " that thou wast created. 
 
 *' Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, 
 " thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy 
 " brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will 
 ^' lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 
 
 " By the multitude of thy merchandize they have 
 " filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast 
 '^ sinned therefore, I will cast thee as profane out of 
 " the mountain of God : I will destroy thee, O cover- 
 " ing cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.'' 
 (Ezek. chap. 27, 28.) 
 
 Of this once powerful mistress of the ocean there 
 now exist scarcely any traces. Some miserable cabins^ 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 13 
 
 ranged in irregular lines, dignified with the name of 
 streets, and a few buildings of a rather better descrip- 
 tion occupied by the officers of government, compose 
 nearly the whole of the town. It still makes, indeed, 
 some languishing efforts at commerce, and contrives to 
 export annually to Alexandria cargoes of silk and tobacco, 
 but the amount merits no consideration. " The noble 
 dust of Alexander traced by the imagination till found 
 stopping a beer barrel,^' would scarcely aiford a stronger 
 contrast of grandeur and debasement, than Tyre at the 
 period of its being besieged by that conqueror, and 
 the modern town of Tsour, erected on its ashes. 
 
 The ancient capital of Phoenicia was seated on a 
 rocky island, separated from the main land by a strait 
 of a few hundred paces. ^ Nebuchadnezzar, who was 
 made the instrument of its destruction, connected the 
 
 1 Pliny states the island to have been but seven hun- 
 dred paces from the continent. There are three distinct 
 epochs to mark the existence of Tyre that of Tyre on the 
 continent, or Palaetyrus : ^Tyre on the island : and Tyre on 
 the Peninsula, after it was joined to the main land. It had 
 two havens, one looking towards Sidon and the other towards 
 Egypt. The city, including old Tyre, was 19,000 paces in 
 circumference, but alone, only twenty-two stadia, or scarcely 
 three of our miles. 
 
 The small shell fish, which formerly supplied a tint 
 to adorn the robe of kings and magistrates, has either 
 
14 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 city with the continent, but the industry of the Tyrians 
 subsequently demolished this barrier, and enabled them 
 to re-edify the town. The degree of strength, which 
 it acquired on its revival, may be estimated by the 
 labour, time, and carnage, which it cost Alexander 
 to reduce it. 
 
 Within half a mile of the coast, is a place called 
 by the Turks Roselaine, remarkable chiefly for the 
 reservoirs, known by the name of Solomon^s cisterns. 
 The propriety of this appellation has, however, been 
 
 totally disappeared, or from the facility of procuring a dye 
 by another process, become an object of comparatively little 
 value. I have observed in several places on the Asiatic 
 coast of the Mediterranean, something resembling a muscle, 
 which on being pressed, discharged a pink fluid; but the 
 colour was not of that brilliant hue which is described as 
 peculiar to the shell-fish on the coast near Tyre : the liquor 
 in these was contained in a small white vein placed near the 
 centre of the jaw. The colour of the fluid was not universally 
 red ; on the African coast it was of a dark violet, and hence 
 possibly arose the indiscriminate application of the term 
 purple. Sandys derives the word scarlet from this fish. " Near 
 " Tyrus the colour resembled a rose, or rather our scarlet, 
 " which doth seem to be derived from it. Tyrus was called 
 " Sar, in that it is built upon a rock, which gave a name unto 
 " Syria (as the one at this day Sur^ and the other Suria) by 
 " the Arabians, they pronouncing Scan for San, and Scar for 
 " Savj and the fish was likewise named Scar in their lan- 
 " guage." Sandi/s' Travels. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 15 
 
 questioned b}' modem travellers, who contend that it is 
 impossible these reservoirs should have existed before 
 the invasion of Alexander, because the aqueduct, which 
 conveys the water from them to the city, crosses the 
 isthmus constructed by that prince when he gained 
 possession of the place : and as it is reasonable to 
 conclude, that the cisterns were not completed so long 
 before the aqueduct which could alone render them of 
 f^ any service, so it is quite clear that this last must be 
 of a date subsequent to the formation of the ground 
 on which it is erected. The current tradition is, 
 notwithstanding, that they are filled by a subterranean 
 river which the king of Israel discovered, and which 
 gave him the idea of the undertaking. The aqueduct 
 is now in great measure ruined, but its extent and 
 direction may easily be traced. 
 
 The surrounding country has an air of wildness 
 and desolation; the soil, though not naturally bad, is 
 much injured by negligent tillage, and the total absence 
 of pasture and woodland leaves the surface in all its 
 naked deformity. An extensive plain stretches out 
 behind the city in a north-eastern direction, terminated 
 by a range of mountains, over which Lebanon towers 
 pre-eminent. 
 
16 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 A lodging was procured for us in a small convent 
 annexed to a Greek see, where we were received with 
 much hospitality. In the course of the evening the 
 archbishop presented himself to pay us a ceremonious 
 visit, clad in a purple robe, and bearing a sort of offi- 
 cial wand. He appeared to be a pleasant, well-man- 
 nered, intelligent old gentleman, and spoke the Italian 
 language with much ease and fluency, having passed 
 several years at Rome during the pontificate of Gan- 
 ganelli. A residence in the south of Europe seems 
 to have weakened his attachment to the habits and 
 institutions of his native country, and he evidently 
 conversed with reluctance on any subject, which had 
 reference either to the ancient or present fortunes 
 of Tyre. He stated the inhabitants to be very little 
 short of 5000; but this account should be received with 
 great caution, for I have universally observed a strong 
 disposition in the individuals of any given district to 
 magnify the amount of their population. 
 
 As we were assured that the distance to this 
 place would engage us at least ten hours, it became 
 necessary to leave our Tyrian hosts very early. The 
 bishop called to give us his valedictory blessing soon 
 after five o'clock, and reiterated his best wishes for 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 17 
 
 our safe arrival in the capital of Judaea, though he 
 scarcely disguised ^n opinion that we should find little 
 to repay the fatigue and danger of the journey. The 
 expression of such a sentiment lowered him very 
 greatly in the estimation of a Greek servant, who had 
 followed us from Corfu, and who was sufficiently 
 disposed by national habit to shew every outward 
 denotement of respect to the dignitaries of his own 
 communion. On quitting the convent garden the guides 
 were a little embarrassed as to the particular road they 
 ought to select from three which were presented to 
 their choice: Spero without any ceremony halloed 
 to the prelate to come and point out the route. Hollo, 
 Padre! venite qui, mostrateci la strada! '^ You rascal," 
 said I, "is that the way to address a bishop ? Go up 
 to his Grace, and inquire if he has any commands for 
 Nazareth." The bishop was not of an irritable tempe- 
 rament, and by no means disturbed by the flippancy of 
 a lively young fellow, though in the garb of a lacquais. 
 He obeyed the summons with as much alacrity as if it 
 had been issued by a patriarch, and very good hu- 
 I mouredly explained the nearest pass to our attendants. 
 
18 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE, 
 
 LETTER II. 
 To Sib G. E , Bart. 
 
 Acre, August 7th, 181 7' 
 Dear E , 
 
 This town was anciently called Accho, and is 
 recorded by the author of the book of judges* for 
 its successful resistance to the incursions of the Ashe- 
 rites. In after ages, being much augmented by Pto- 
 lemy the First, it received in compliment to that prince 
 the name of Ptolemais, and is distinguished as such in 
 the account given of St. Paul's passage to Cesarea.^ 
 The Turks, however, have no great partiality for Egyp- 
 tian appellatives, and when the place fell into their 
 possession, it resumed something of its original title, 
 Acre being easily derived from Accha and Acra. 
 The situation is one of the most advantageous that can 
 be desired. An extensive and fertile plain stretches 
 out towards the north and the east; the waters of 
 
 1 Chap. i. ver. 31. * Acts xxi. vcr. 7. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 19 
 
 the Mediterranean flow round the west; and on the 
 southern side a capacious bay spreads from the city 
 walls to the base of mount Carmel. 
 
 The residence of the English Consul, Signor 
 Malagamba, is very slenderly furnished with accommo- 
 dations ; but our host has testified an anxiety to remove 
 many of the inconveniences, or at least to mitigate their 
 pressure. As the extreme heat of the season operating 
 on a frame " subject to perpetual dissolution and 
 thaw," totally disqualifies him for discharging the office 
 of Cicerone, we have been left to find our way through 
 the intricacies of the streets, and to explore what ves- 
 tiges of antiquity are yet remaining, with a far less 
 intelligent guide. Among these the principal objects 
 are a few mutilated arcades, supposed to have formed 
 part of the cathedral church of St. Andrew : there 
 are also the nominal ruins of the church of St. John, 
 the Patron Saint of the town, and the convent of the 
 Knights-hospitallers. I regret to add, that we could 
 discover no distinctive trophies of the gallantry of 
 Richard ; but tradition has preserved a record of his 
 heroism less perishable than the tablets of brass or 
 marble. The modern fortifications are said to have 
 been more frequently added to and renewed, than those 
 
20 LETTERS PROM PALESTINE. 
 
 on any other part of the Syrian coast, and are, 1 believe, 
 at present considered by the inhabitants to be nearly 
 impregnable. The successful resistance of the garrison 
 to a division of the French army, commanded by Bona- 
 parte in person, is a sufficient evidence of the strength of 
 the ramparts, and of the skill with which the besieged 
 repelled the attacks of the assailants. To an 
 Englishman, the contemplation of this event is a 
 subject of no common interest : the share which Sir 
 Sidney Smith took in the management of the defence 
 will be memorable in the history of the age, as the first 
 example of an effective check to the career of Napo- 
 leon; though the political extinction of that chieftain 
 may now moderate any excessive exultation at the 
 result. If the conduct of Xerxes in his generous 
 treatment of a voluntary captive has not, under peculiar 
 circumstances, been considered a fit precedent for 
 imitation by our rulers, it is still abhorrent to every 
 feeling in the English character, wantonly to insult over 
 a fallen adversary: the national sentiment is still un- 
 debased ; the people have not yet learned to practise 
 the dastardly movements of the Grecian soldiery, and 
 lacerate the corpse of Hector,^ whose living image 
 
 1 Iliad, lib. xxii. v. 369. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 21 
 
 scared them to their fleet, and " the nodding of whose 
 plume dismayed whole armies." 
 
 The Governor of Acre, Suleyma Pasha, is in 
 great measure independent of the Porte. He is now 
 extremely old, and his disposition, mild and unener- 
 getic, is little calculated to win the respect of his 
 subjects, who unless they fear, usually despise. If 
 a question were proposed to a Turkish ruler, whether 
 it be better to be loved than feared, or feared than 
 beloved ; he would probably reply, that both would 
 be convenient; but since it is extremely difficult 
 to reconcile these conflicting emotions^ it is better 
 and more secure for the governing powers, if one 
 only can be obtained, to inspire fear than love. 
 Arguing from the examples of inconstancy, ingratitude, 
 and hypocrisy, with which his official situation has 
 made him familiar, he would infer that the great mass 
 of the people have far less hesitation in resisting the 
 ordinances of such as wish to acquire the affections of 
 their subjects, than of those who appear desirous of 
 being dreaded : since love is fastened only by the weak 
 ligament of obligation, which the slightest incentive of 
 profit or personal advancement will frequently burst 
 asunder; but fear is founded in an apprehension of 
 
^2 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 i 
 
 punishment; a feeling too intense to be ever totally 
 subdued. You will remember that I give these as the 
 sentiments of a Mussulman, The fortunes of Suleyma 
 have been more extraordinary than those which usually 
 attend a character distinguished by so few prominent 
 features. He was originally a slave, and purchased by 
 Djezzar Pasha when very young. After long enjoying 
 the protection and favour of his master, he was suddenly 
 dismissed his service, from some feeling of unaccount- 
 able caprice. 
 
 When a great man discharges his favourite, it is a 
 pretty expressive hint to all, who are within the sphere 
 of his influence, that they too are to withdraw from him 
 the light of their countenance. Suleyma thus wan- 
 dered about in distant regions, a prey to all kinds 
 of privations; till being reduced to the utmost extremity 
 of want, he resolved on returning once more to Acre, 
 where presenting himself at the saloon of his former 
 patron, he intreated him either to relieve his indigence 
 by some pecuniary largess, or terminate at once his 
 sufferings by giving orders for his instant execution. 
 Djezzar felt some compunctious visitings at the wretched 
 condition of his former proteg6, he raised him from 
 his suppliant attitude, and reinstated him in his affec- 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 23 
 
 tions; and having procured from Constantinople the 
 necessary insignia of three horse-tails, contrived to have 
 him sent as his proxy in the annual visit to the shrine at 
 Mecca, and ultimately adopted him as successor in the 
 Pachalic. It was not, however, till after many severe 
 contests and several turns and revolutions of success 
 and defeat, that he became firmly established in his 
 government. He is now above eighty years of age. 
 
 We propose taking the cool hour of the evening 
 for the ride to Nazareth, which I calculate to be about 
 sixteen or seventeen miles from hence. 
 
 I trust to the activity of Signor Malagamba to find 
 a conveyance to Europe for this letter, and two others, 
 dated at Tyre. It will probably be some months before 
 I have another opportunity of sending you any account 
 of our movements ; you may be assured, however, that 
 I shall eagerly seize the first which presents itself. In 
 the mean time, I remain with much truth and regard, 
 &c. &c. 
 
^4 LET-yERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Nazareth, August lOth, 1817- 
 
 Bear E- 
 
 The intensity of the heat making it almost imprac- 
 ticable to travel during the day, we set out from Acre a 
 little before sun-set, and arrived at the Franciscan monas- 
 tery in this place between one and two in the morning. 
 The route runs for about two miles by the edge of the 
 bay of Acre, at the N. E. extremity of which the river 
 Belus discharges itself into the sea. The moderp name 
 of this stream is Kardanah : it derives its source, ac- 
 cording to Pliny, from a lake called Candeboea, which 
 is at the other side of the hills that bound the plains of 
 Acre and Esdraelon. It is to an accidental occurrence 
 on the banks of this river, that the invention of glass has 
 has been attributed.* The crew of a merchant vessel 
 
 1 Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xxxvi. chap. 26. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 25 
 
 freighted with iiitre debarked on the shore to prepare 
 their dinner, but not finding any stones at hand to 
 support the culinary vessels, they brought for that pur- 
 pose some balls of nitre from the ship. The action of 
 the fire incorporating thes.e with the sand, produced a 
 transparent fluid, which the sailors did not fail to 
 remark, and thence furnished a hint for the ingenuity of 
 their country's artists. 
 
 Not many miles from hence is the course of " that 
 ancient river y the river Kishon !" As it was not within 
 the range of our route, and the night was beginning to 
 close in, we were forced tore^t satisfied with a transient 
 survey of the district through which it flows. At this 
 season of the year tfie stream is very inconsiderable; but 
 in jthe rainy months the greater part of the waters which 
 are collected on mount Carmel, are discharged in 
 a variety of small torrents into this channel, which 
 being insufficient for such augmentation, the current 
 overflows its banks, and carries away every thing within 
 its reach. It was probably during one of these perio- 
 dica} jimin,dations, unless we may conclude that the 
 stars ^ had a preternatural influence on the occasion, 
 
 * Judges V. 20. 
 
26 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 that the host of Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, 
 with his chariots and his multitude, were swept down 
 as they attempted to force a passage. 
 
 The country we had previously passed over was 
 chiefly waste and neglected, though apparently of a 
 rich soil; near the village of Sepphoris it assumes a 
 more dressed appearance, and the surface is more 
 irregular. St. Anne is supposed to have resided in 
 this place, and there are the ruins of a Gothic church 
 erected over the spot, which her dwelling formerly 
 occupied. 
 
 The city of Nazareth consists in a collection of 
 small houses built of white stone, and scattered in 
 irregular clusters towards the foot of a hill, which rises 
 in a circular sweep so as almost to encompass it. The 
 population is chiefly Christian, and amounts to 12 or 
 1400 : this is indeed rather a vague estimate, but the 
 friar from whom I received it had no accurate means 
 of ascertaining the exact number. The convent in 
 which we are lodged is a spacious well-built edifice, 
 and capable of afibrding excellent accommodations for 
 a numerous society ; at present however it has not 
 more than eight tenants. The church consecrated to the 
 service of these religious is preserved with extraordinary 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 27 
 
 neatness ; but it has no architectural embellishments, 
 and the painting and tapestry which clothe the walls are 
 such as bespeak a great want of proficiency in the arts. 
 The building comprises within its extent the ancient 
 dwelling of Joseph of Arimathea, and tradition has 
 preserved the identity of the spot where the angel 
 announced to the Virgin her future miraculous con- 
 ception. 
 
 The mother of Constantine, who made a pilgri- 
 mage to the Holy Land, when she had passed her 
 eightieth year^ employed every means which her exten- 
 sive influence supplied, to rescue from oblivion the 
 records of the holy places. At so advanced a period 
 of life, it is probable that her credulity was frequently 
 the prey of interested imposture ; but many objects 
 of veneration, obscured or only partially known, were 
 confessedly brought to light by the timely exertions of 
 her zeal and munificence. 
 
 The scene of the interview between the angel 
 Gabriel and the wife of Joseph is marked by an altar, 
 erected in a recess a few feet below the principal aisle 
 of the church. Behind this are two apartments, which 
 belonged also to the house of the reputed father of the 
 Messiah. Their appearance is sufficiently antique to 
 
28 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 justify the date, and there is no great violence to pro- 
 bability, from the nature of their situation, in the 
 account delivered of their former appropriation. But 
 the monk who attended to point out the different 
 objects usually held sacred, injured the effect of his 
 narrative by intermixing a fabulous statement of the 
 flight of one part of the edifice to Loretto ! He assigned 
 as the motive for the disappearance of this chamber, 
 the necessity of its avoiding contamination from the 
 presence of the infidels, who were then in military 
 possession of the country. There are indentures in the 
 wall to designate the space the apartment occupied, by 
 which it appears to have been extremely small, not 
 exceeding twelve or fourteen feet in length, and eight 
 in breadth. 
 
 The place where Joseph exercised his art is about 
 one hundred yards from the church ; it was originally 
 circular, but a segment only remains, the greater part 
 having been demolished by the Turks : an altar 
 is erected near the entrance. Not far from thence 
 is the school, where Christ received the first rudiments 
 of his education from the Jewish masters ; and near to 
 this last, but in an opposite side of the road, is a small 
 chapel, enclosing the fragment of a rock, on which our 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 29 
 
 Saviour is supposed, on some occasion, to have spread 
 his fare and shared it with his disciples. An inscrip- 
 tion* affixed to the walls intimates it to have been 
 consecrated by the presence of Christ, both before 
 and subsequently to his resurrection. The form of this 
 table is an irregular ellipse : it appears originally to have 
 been rectangular, the extreme length is about four 
 yards, its greatest breadth three and a half. 
 
 In a Greek church, about two furlongs from this 
 spot, there is a fountain where the mother of Jesus 
 was accustomed to resort ; the water is pure and of 
 sweet flavour. These are the chief objects which 
 engage the attention of the native and stranger at 
 Nazareth. At a mile and a half distant from the 
 town, we were conducted by a pleasant <valk, winding 
 through the acclivities of the mountain, to the pro- 
 jection of a cliff, from whence the J6%s att6mpted 
 to precipitate Christ after his exposition in the 
 
 I Traditio continua est, et niinquam interrupta, apud 
 omnes nationes oi ientales, hanc petram dictain mensa Christi, 
 illam ipsatn esse petram supra quam Doniinus Noster Jesus 
 Christus cum suis comedit discipulis ante et post suam resur- 
 rection em amortuis! Theii follows the grant of a plenary 
 indulgence for seven years, on the sole condition of the party 
 repeating a Pater Noster and Ave Maria, " dummodo sit in 
 statu GraticB.^' 
 
30 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 synagogue of a remarkable passage in the prophet 
 Esaias.* 
 
 Under a beneficent government, sufficiently enlight- 
 ened to understand that its own interests were identified 
 with the subject's prosperity, Nazareth, whose present 
 appearance justifies the sarcasm of Nathanael, might 
 become the centre of a healthful and opulent district. 
 But the reflective mischief of the Turkish system is 
 infinitely multiplied in its operations : wherever its 
 baneful influence extends, no salutary plant takes root, 
 no verdure quickens. The ground adjoining the town 
 is now waste and neglected, the industry of the natives 
 not being sufficiently protected to induce any effort 
 at cultivation, though the soil is light and of easy 
 tillage, and capable of being subdued so as amply to 
 repay the labour of the husbandman. 
 
 According to Dr., Clarke, the word Nazareth 
 signifies in the Hebrew language a,Jlower^ a term which 
 surely would not have been given to any place noto- 
 riously deficient either in natural beauty or fertility. 
 Earlier in the season, a scientific herbalist might pos- 
 sibly discover many interesting specimens, which elude 
 common observation ; at the present advanced period, 
 
 Luke iv. 16. 
 
LETTEKS FROM PALESTINE. 31 
 
 there are few of any description visible, and those for 
 the most part are herbs without taste, and flowers 
 without fragrance: there is certainly nothing of that 
 endless variety of beauties which decorate the banks 
 and meadows of England. The sacred writings con- 
 tain few allusions to these embellishments of rural 
 scenery ; the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley 
 are almost the only flowers which I recollect being 
 particularized. There is another charm, which from 
 the silence of the scriptures, I suspect to be wanting 
 throughout Palestine; I mean that natural melody, 
 that concenttis avium, in which our woods are so rich. 
 
 To-morrow we propose visiting the sea of Gal- 
 lilee, the river Jordan, and mount Tabor. 
 
32 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Nazareth. 
 
 Dear E- 
 
 TiBERiAS is distant from Nazareth nearly twenty 
 miles. About half an hour's slow riding brought us 
 within view of a village called Rana, pleasantly si- 
 tuated at the edge of a hill : it is inhabited exclusively 
 by Arabs. After an interval of two hours from 
 thence, we traversed the spot, near the little town of 
 Toraam, which the peasants, I know not on what 
 authority, assert to have been the scene of the miracle 
 of the loaves and fishes :* its position is near the base 
 of a mountain, and a plain spreads out before it to a 
 considerable extent. The gospel narrative repre- 
 sents this transaction to have been accomplished in 
 ** a desart place belonging to the city called Beth- 
 saida.'"^ But as that city was subject to the juris- 
 
 1 Luke iv. 16. t,uke ix. 10. 12. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 33 
 
 diction of Philip, the tetrarch of Iturea, its situation 
 must have been to the east of the river Jordan. 
 Josephus expressly states, that the Jordan falls into 
 the lake of Gennesareth, behind the city Julias, which 
 was the name Philip gave to Bethsaida, in compli- 
 ment to the daughter of Augustus, after he had 
 surrounded it by a wall and embellished it with 
 public works. Between this place and Rana, on a 
 slight elevation above the valleys, is the village of 
 Cana,* distinguished by the first exertion of Christ's 
 miraculous powers. 
 
 About mid-day we reached the summit of the 
 hill, where our Saviour is supposed to have delivered 
 
 ^ There are several places of this name mentioned in the 
 sacred writings. One is recited in the book of Joshua^ 
 chap. xix. ver. 28. as comprised in the territory allotted to the 
 tribe of Asher. 
 
 Fragments of stone jars, apparently large enough to 
 contain several gallons, may be still found in particular parts 
 of Gallilee, although vessels of their description are no longer 
 in use in that district. As relics of antiquity they are entitled 
 to some attention ; but the authenticity of the gospel narra- 
 tive cannot, surely, be affected by any such evidence: the 
 author, even of a work avowedly fictitious, would hardly 
 describe the usages of any known country otherwise than they 
 wfjre universally recognized to exist at the period of his 
 writina:. 
 
34 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 his memorable sermon, inculcating a doctrine of 
 elevated morality which no previous system of ethics 
 had ever contemplated. Prom this eminence, the 
 sea of Gallilee appears spread out in the distant vale, 
 a beautiful expanse of living water : no object can 
 be imagined better calculated to administer refreshment 
 to the eye or the spirits in a climate like this, 
 where the traveller is almost constantly tempted to ex- 
 claim, 
 
 O qui me gelidis in vallibus Haemi 
 Sistat, ct ingenti nimborum protegat umbr^ ! 
 
 The view also comprehends a very magnificent pros- 
 pect of the mountains which rise from the eastern 
 shore of the lake, and stretch out in a northerly and 
 southern direction ; their extreme heights are crowned 
 with snow, which the reflection of a burning sun ren- 
 ders insufferably dazzling. 
 
 The city of Tiberias is built on the western shore, 
 and descends to the water's edge, which serves as a 
 boundary on that side : the three other sides are en- 
 closed by a rectangular wall, flanked with towers. 
 The number of inhabitants is stated to be four thou- 
 sand, two-thirds of which are Jews. The governor 
 
LETTERS FROM PALKSTINE. 35 
 
 of the place being absent on some urgent business, 
 or otherwise inaccessible, we were driven to pass the 
 night in the church.^ In the evening I walked in the 
 environs with the officiating minister: though appa- 
 rently of very humble rank in the priesthood, and 
 having every outward sign of extreme penury, 
 he seemed to enjoy in a very flattering degree the 
 esteem of his fellow-citizens, several of whom, as they 
 passed us, seized his hand, and pressed it to their 
 lips, with every mark of respect and affection. In 
 Palestine, titles and wealth are not exclusively the 
 passports to distinction; they will procure here, as 
 elsewhere, no doubt, much of " mouth honour," 
 but are totally inadequate to secure to the possessor 
 the silent homage of the heart. 
 
 When at some little distance from the town, I 
 was invited by the transparency of the water to bathe 
 in the lake, which I found as buoyant as the Helles- 
 pont. The greatest breadth does not appear to exceed 
 ix or seven miles, and its utmost length cannot be 
 
 1 " The plea was as the case of an extreme necessity ;^' and if 
 there was any thing irreverent in the act, it carried with it its 
 own punishment. Myriads of fleas, larger and more insatiable 
 than those of Nazareth, kept us in incessant torture nearly 
 the whole of the time we attempted to repose. 
 
36 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 more than double that measure;* but as a sheet of 
 fresh water in this arid district, its beauty and value are 
 beyond all calculation. The surrounding scenery pos- 
 sesses many of the requisites of picturesque beauty 
 and sublimity ; the great deficiency is an almost total 
 absence of wood. Chorazin and Capernaum are at 
 the north-eastern extremity. Our ecclesiastical Cice- 
 rone was at some pains to correct my pronunciation of 
 the latter place, which he maintained should be called 
 Caperna-hoom : both towns are at present exclusively 
 inhabited by Arab families. In the rocks facing the 
 water there are some cavities hewn, which may pos- 
 sibly have been used as sepulchres : during the 
 period of our Saviour's mission, it is probable that 
 the wretched maniacs and victims of demoniacal pos- 
 session made these their temporary haunts. (Matthew 
 viii. 28.) 
 
 The next morning, soon after six, we mounted 
 
 ^ According to Pliny, it is sixteen miles long, and six 
 wide: that author describes it as being encircled by delightfui 
 villas, amsenis circumseptum oppidis, (lib. v. cap. 16.) but 
 these have all disappeared so completely, as to leave no 
 traces of their former existence. The lake was called the 
 sea of Gallilee from its situation in that province of Tiberias, 
 from the city erected on its shore. Gennesareth, from which 
 Jt also derived one of its names, is no longer extant. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 37 
 
 our horses with an intention of visiting the southern 
 border of the lake. About a mile from the town we 
 came to a hot spring, considered beneficial in cases of 
 rheumatism and paralytic seizures : here our guide 
 desired us to halt, while he made a personal experi- 
 ment of its efficacy : his dress, consisting simply 
 of a tunic and light turban, was soon thrown off, 
 and in little more than a minute he plunged into the 
 pool, remaining under the water as long as he could 
 hold his breath. Having repeated this two or three 
 times, he emerged, and prepared to set forward, 
 but exhibited such unequivocal symptoms of weakness 
 and exhaustion, that we found it necessary to recruit 
 his spirits with a cordial before he was enabled to 
 proceed. The distance from the bath to the Jordan 
 is about six miles ; the stream, as it issues from the 
 lake, is bright and transparent, about fifty feet wide, 
 and of a depth easily fordable : I filled a small bottle 
 with the water, which has since been sealed hermetically, 
 1^ so that I may hope to bring it to England for your 
 examination in all its purity. 
 
 Captain B. was very desirous of tracing the 
 course of the river from this outlet to its embouchure 
 in the lake Asphaltites ; but we were assured by the 
 
58 LETTERS l-ROM PALESTINE. 
 
 different persons whom we applied to on the subject, 
 that the scheme was impracticable. Not being able^ 
 therefore, to procure a guide, we were forced to re- 
 linquish the idea, and prepared to return to Nazareth, 
 by a route which might comprehend mount Tabor. 
 We arrived at its base in five hours after quitting 
 the Jordan, and were another hour in gaining the 
 summit. The acclivity is extremely steep and rugged, 
 and our horses, although they had previously made 
 their way through passes, which seemed impervious 
 to any animal more bulky than an antelope, were in 
 many parts much puzzlbd to maintain a footing. The 
 view from the summit is extensive, and the situation 
 admirably adapted for the splendid spectacle, which is 
 supposed to have been there exhibited. 
 
 I beg to be understood as expressing myself with 
 extreme diffidence on all points which affect the 
 locality of the transactions recorded in the sacred 
 writings ; but where the description is given in merely 
 general terms, without any minute detail of those 
 circumstances which leave no room for conjecture, there 
 surely may be allowed some diversity of sentiment. 
 The history of the transfiguration, as related by St. 
 Matthew, fixes the scene on a solitary mountain . 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 39 
 
 ele opog v\prj\dv Kar iBiav, which our translation inter- 
 prets, ^^ into a high mountain apart. ^''^ St. Mark's 
 account justifies a different construction of the words 
 Kar l^iay, which seem to refer rather to the persons 
 spoken of, than to the position of the mountain. His 
 expressions are, apa(j)ipei avr^g dg opoe vxprjXor kut i^idv 
 judvhQ, The authorised English version renders the pas- 
 sage thus : " Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, 
 and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain, 
 APART BY THEMSELVES. "2 Literally speaking, 
 mount Tabor is not a high mountain hi/ itself: a hill 
 of considerable altitude rises very near its western 
 base, and, though not of the same degree of eleva- 
 tion, is sufficiently lofty to prevent its having the ap- 
 pearance of standing in a plain, remote from any other 
 eminence. We are assured in the same chapter, that 
 after Jesus had restored the young person, who had 
 suffered from his infancy under the influence of a deaf 
 and dumb spirit, he departed thence with his disciples 
 and passed through GalUlee, and came afterwards to 
 Capernaum : but as Capernaum is in Gallilee, had 
 the moimt of transfiguration been situated in the same 
 
 1 Matthew xvii. 2 Mark ix. 
 
40 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 province, the Evangelist would hardly have described 
 Christ's journey in these terms. 
 
 Dr. Clarke's attendants represented mount Tabor 
 as having on its top " a plain of great extent, finely 
 cultivated, and inhabited hy numerous Arab ' tribes /" 
 This statement is wonderfully inaccurate.' The figure 
 of the hill is that of a cone with the point struck off: 
 the summit is very otherwise than an extensive 
 plain, being only a, very few acres, nearly covered 
 with the ruins of a fortress, without one solitary tenant, 
 and entirely destitute of the slightest symptoms of 
 cultivation. The hills are rugged and precipitous, 
 but clothed with trees and brushwood. It was here 
 that Barak was encamped, when, at the suggestion of 
 Deborah, he descended with ten thousand men, and 
 discomfited the host of Sisera, " So that Sisera lighted 
 oif his chariot, and fled away on his feet." (Judges iv. 
 14, 15.) At a few leagues to the east is mount Her- 
 mon, at whose base the village of Nain is situated, 
 the place mentioned by St. Luke* as the scene of 
 
 1 The writer had not the assistance of Dr. Clarke's Works 
 to guide him in his inquiries; the passage cited above, is 
 taken from an article in one of the Reviews, where the 
 quotation is presumed to be correct. 
 
 a Chap. vii. 14. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 41 
 
 Christ's miraculous restoration of the widow's son. 
 Not far from thence is Endor, the residence of the 
 soothsayer applied to by Saul. South of Hermon are 
 the mountains of Gilboa, and the hills of Samaria, 
 beyond these, terminate the view. 
 
 We returned to this place at five in the after- 
 noon, and shall probably to-morrow " set our faces 
 towards Jerusalem," crossing the plain of Esdraelon 
 to Naplouse ; from whence it is not more than a day 
 and a half to the capital of Judaea. 
 
42 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Franciscan Convent, Jerusalem, 
 Aug. ]6th, 1B17. 
 
 Dear E , 
 
 We took leave of our friends at Nazareth early 
 in the afternoon of the l^th, and in the course of six 
 hours arrived at Ginna, or Jinnin, the frontier town 
 between Gallilee and Samaria. After the first mile, 
 where the road winds down the mountains which en- 
 circle Nazareth, the route lies over a fine and ex- 
 tremely fertile plain, ^ bounded by a range of hills : 
 
 1 The extensive vale interposed between Nazareth and 
 Jinnin has at different times and on different occasions been 
 termed, the phiin of Esdraelon, the field of Megiddo, the 
 plain of Gallilee, and the plain of Saba. It is a portion of 
 the land of Canaan, which even in the present neglected state 
 is still distinguished by the luxuriancy of its produce, and 
 appears to merit the peculiar character of fertility so empha- 
 tically given it in the sacred writings ; though from the higher 
 degree of cultivation to which the Delta is subjected, its com- 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 4.S 
 
 at the base of these Jiniiin is situated. Seen at a 
 distance, it presents the appearance of a handsome 
 city, but the interior is superlatively wretched : some 
 few remnants of former splendour are, however, 
 discoverable ; they consist chiefly in ruined mosques, 
 broken fountains, and mutilated pillars. After much 
 inquiry for a place of shelter during the night, we 
 at length procured admission within the premises of a 
 Greek priest, and shared the court-yard before his 
 hut with some half dozen cows ; that is to say, we 
 slept on a miserable sort of platform, raised ten or 
 twelve feet from the earth, and the cattle lay on the 
 ground-floor. 
 
 parative superiority over the land of Egypt cannot noiv be 
 recognized. But the richness of its surface is not the only 
 claim which this district presents to our attention ; it is cal- 
 culated to excite our interest in a peculiar degree, as having 
 been the scene of those military events, which, in different 
 periods of remote ages, decided the fate of powerful armies. 
 The traveller, however faintly impressed with the convictions 
 of revelation, who traverses Palestine with the scriptures as 
 his guide, can scarcely fail, when he enters on the field of 
 Megiddo, to acknowledge the influence of that local emotion, 
 which Johnson with such truth and eloquence ascribes to the 
 visitor of Marathon. That man, indeed, is little to be 
 envied, who would not feel his patriotism more fervent in the 
 plaiti of Gallilee, or his religion grow purer amidst the ruins 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
44 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 The next morning we rose with the dawn, but 
 were unable to quit Jinnin before six. At about 
 three hours' distance, we passed, on the right, a re- 
 markably strong-built place of defence; the name 
 was so unintelligibly pronounced by the guides, that I 
 do not retain sufficient recollection of the sound to 
 describe it by letters. The situation is commanding, 
 and we were assured that the garrison successfully 
 resisted, during several months, the repeated attacks 
 of a very redoubtable Pasha of Damascus. 
 
 In five hours more, which were occasionally 
 occupied in passing mountainous defiles, but chiefly 
 in traversing a plain distinguished by every symptom 
 of fertility, we arrived at the metropolis of Samaria. 
 The modern name is Naplouse, but the district was 
 anciently called Sichem, or Shechem ; the same which 
 the Psalmist represents the Lord as denouncing in 
 his anger, and threatening with the miseries of par- 
 tition. 
 
 The city of Naplouse is situated between the 
 mountains Ebal and Gerizim,^ the first lying to the 
 north, and the second to the south: at the acclivity 
 
 ^ There is a tradition, that the preparations for the sacri- 
 fice of Isaac took place on the summit of this mountain. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 45 
 
 of the latter the town is built. Few places exceed 
 Sychar in the romantic beauty of its position, the 
 buildings appearing to rise amidst bowers blooming 
 with all the varieties of vegetation, encircled by vene- 
 rable groves, and refreshed by rills of purest water. 
 But, abstracted from considerations of the natural 
 scenery, it is scarcely possible for any one, whose 
 feelings have not been deadened by a false and frigid 
 philosophy, to pass with indifference over the ground 
 that is consecrated by so many interesting recollec- 
 tions that was the scene of those numerous and 
 affecting incidents, which are grafted on the first bud- 
 dings of our infant minds. The sons of Jacob were 
 feeding his flocks in Shechem, when Joseph, then 
 in his seventeenth year, was sent by the patriarch to 
 seek his brothers : it was here that he was seen by the 
 Midianitish merchants, and the company of Ish- 
 maelites, as they were passing from Gilead into Egypt; 
 and here was the commencement of that eventful 
 history, which subsequently influenced the destinies of 
 the whole Jewish nation. ' Just without the city, we 
 were shewn a small chapel, said to be erected over 
 
 * Genesis xxxvii. 
 
46 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 the tomb which the children of Hamor, Shechem's 
 father, sold Jacob for one hundred pieces of silver.* It 
 has nothing in its appearance either to confirm or 
 refute this traditionary statement. The same place is 
 distinguished as having been the receptacle of the 
 bones of Joseph, on their transportation from the ter- 
 ritories of Pharaoh.^ 
 
 The commerce of Naplouse is sufficient to give 
 an air of bustle and activity in the principal streets, 
 which are, however, narrow and dirty, though free from 
 any objects of squalid wretchedness. We were under 
 
 n 
 
 the necessity of personally presenting ourselves to \ 
 the Aga, and of exhibiting not only the firman^ from 
 
 * Genesis xxxiii. 19. 2 Joshua xxiv. 32. 
 
 3 The nature of this indispensable instrument will be best 
 explained in the words of the scroll with which it was 
 enveloped, when forwarded to the writer's lodgings at Pera, 
 by Mr. Frere : " Travelling Firman for * ********** 
 to go with their servants to the Islands of the Archipelago, to 
 Cyprus, Acre, Giaffa, Jerusalem, Syria, Alexandria, to Egypt 
 and Environs, and from thence to Constantinople ; to he treated 
 in the most friendly manner, offered every security, assistance, 
 and protection, according to the imperial capitulations, and 
 furnished, with their own money, all necessary escorts, 
 wherever occasion may required This is merely the leading 
 title ; the thing itself is very finely engrossed, in fair Arabic 
 characters, on a splendid volume, subscribed with the Grand 
 Signior's cypher. 
 
K LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 4? 
 
 Constantinople, but the minor authorities delivered 
 to us at Acre, before we could obtain permission 
 to enter any house. The Aga has a very splendid 
 palace, and we found him in the act of practising some 
 religious ablutions at a fountain in one of the outer 
 courts. When this ceremony was finished, we ex- 
 plained the motives of our visit. His figure was stately 
 and his air unusually pompous : his features, however, 
 became gradually moulded into an expression of 
 courtesy, and his subsequent carriage was extremely 
 aiFable. After questioning us as to the object of our 
 tour, examining our arms, and very much commending 
 the fabric of a double-barrelled pistol, his eulogium on 
 which we were too dull to understand, he gave orders 
 to one of his attendants to procure us suitable apart- 
 ments, and to supply our table from his kitchen. 
 These orders were not, indeed, complied with, till 
 enforced by the rod of a Janissary, and were even then 
 so imperfectly executed, that we appeared to have 
 at length reached the very lowest step in the descending 
 scale of barbarism. 
 
 On retiring to rest we signified to our guides 
 a wish to be called two hours after midnight, that we 
 might reach Jerusalem the next day before the gates 
 
48 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 were closed. This intention was subsequently defeated 
 by a tumult between two rival factions in the town 
 the parties met soon after dark, and I understand 
 several lives were lost. The governor thereupon 
 issued an order, prohibiting any person from leaving 
 the city before eight in the morning; our arrival in this 
 capital was, therefore, inevitably retarded another day. 
 About a mile from the town, near the point where 
 the vale of Sychem terminates, there is a remarkable 
 excavation, known by the name of Jacob's well, and 
 which is conjectured to be the same alluded to by 
 St. John,* as the scene of Christ's memorable conver- 
 sation with the woman of Samaria, when she came for 
 the purpose of drawing water. A person disposed to 
 question the accuracy of such conjecture, might 
 possibly remark that it was somewhat extraordinary 
 that the inhabitants of a city, supplied by many natural 
 springs, should take the trouble of walking so con- 
 siderable a distance, to obtain what was within a 
 few yards of their houses ; but objections of this kind 
 are capable of an easy refutation : there is a marked 
 coincidence in the natural features with the gospel 
 description, and it is extremely probable that the 
 
 1 Chap. iv. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 49 
 
 buildings anciently extended much further in this 
 direction, than the point which constitutes their present 
 limits. 
 
 After riding six hours we halted to bait oiir horses 
 under the projection of a cliff near a deep pool, and 
 towards five o'clock in the morning reached Ramala, 
 a village very pleasantly situated on the summit of 
 a hill, the sides of which are clothed with sycamores 
 and olive trees. As we arrived within a short distance 
 of this place, my friend was suddenly attacked with a 
 seizure, which threatened most alarming consequences. 
 It was probably something of the nature of a coup de 
 soleil : he complained of extreme giddiness, with a vio- 
 lent oppression on the head ; his features became 
 agitated, and his pulse full and rapid. The effect was 
 such as to deprive him of all perception of the peculiar 
 character of the country before us, and to impress him 
 with the idea that we were entering Bourdeaux. His 
 observations partaking of the momentary delusion, 
 were hurried and incoherent, and I listened to them 
 with the most painful anxiety. Independently of the 
 many personal qualities which he possessed, superiorly 
 calculated to win respect and attachment, the loss 
 ^f an associate at such a time, in such a place, and 
 
50 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 under such circumstances, would have been a misfortune 
 beyond all calculation. It was the first time, during the 
 course of our long peregrination, that he had exhibited 
 the slightest symptoms of weakness: his figure, com- 
 bining the elegancies of anatomical proportion with great 
 muscular strength and activity, seemed to bid defiance 
 to fatigue, and his constitution, invigorated by active 
 service in Spain and America, appeared equally quali- 
 fied to resist the ravages of disease. But the hardest 
 substances are sometimes more easily shattered than 
 softer materials. We conducted him by slow and 
 gentle movements to the place assigned us for a lodging ; 
 where having spread our camp beds, he was prevailed 
 on to take a preparation of some medicinal powders, 
 and in a short time I had the pleasure, which it is 
 difficult to express, of finding him sink into a deep and 
 tranquil slumber. He remained in this state almost 
 without interruption nearly seven hours, and in the 
 morning his strength was so completely recruited that 
 he appeared to have scarcely any recollection of the 
 evening's attack.* 
 
 1 Soon after his return to England, the writer, who 
 quitted Europe with four companions, received the melancholy 
 information, that one ol them had fallen a victim to the 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 51 
 
 The inhabitants of Ramala are almost exclu- 
 sively Christians of the Greek communion, and we 
 were received with much civility in the house of the 
 principal minister, where the whole population of the 
 place soon came to see us, and could not be induced 
 to quit the premises till the evening had closed in. 
 Whether it was in consequence of our numerous 
 visitors, or of some other cause inherent in the soil, 
 at no one period since I quitted Europe (and that is 
 saying a great deal) have I been so dreadfully infested 
 with vermin as at this place.* My limbs were literally 
 studded with fleas ; it was absolutely in vain that I 
 attempted, even for an instant, to close my eyes ; but 
 after several hours of unmitigated torture, as soon as 
 
 rigorous system of quarantine, to which he was subjected at 
 Odessa. He perished in the very hloom of life ! Gifted with 
 those endearing attributes which conciliate affection and 
 esteem, his merits claim the warmest tribute which surviving 
 friendship can dictate, or grateful remembrance inscribe. 
 
 1 The writer is half inclined to refract this assertion, 
 from a recollection of the miseries he endured in the South 
 of France, particularly at Orange and Montpelier. The 
 knavery of the postillion carried him to a wretched auberge, 
 at the latter town, called the CAeva/ 6/wc, where the filth of 
 the hotel could only be exceeded by the insolent rapacity of 
 the landlord. 
 
52 LETTERS FKOM PALESTINE. 
 
 the morning dawned, I fled almost frantic from my 
 couch into the wilds below the hamlet ; there I threw 
 off every part of my dress, and after much rubbing, 
 and repeated ablutions, contrived at last to rid myself 
 of these loathsome plagues. 
 
 The route from Naplouse lies chiefly over the 
 mountains of Samaria, the general aspect of which is 
 characterized by a greater degree of wildness and savage 
 grandeur than those we had previously traversed. At 
 one period we were put on the alert by a threatened 
 attack from an ambuscade of Arabs, but passed on 
 without suffering any interruption. 
 
 The morning of yesterday was unusually fresh 
 and brilliant, and we left our habitation in high spirits, 
 in the ardent expectation of arriving very shortly 
 within the view of those walls which we had so long 
 contemplated as the great aim and object of our ex- 
 cursion. At length, after two hours' riding, we caught 
 from an eminence the first distant view of the mosques 
 and minarets, which rise in the centre of the metro- 
 polis of Christianity : 
 
 Ecco apparir Gerusalem Si vede ! 
 Ecco aditdr Gerusalem SiscorgeJ^ 
 
 ^ Canto terzo, stan. 3. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 53 
 
 As we proceeded to descend, the city became 
 gradually displayed in its full extent ; and in the cir- 
 cumstances of its actual condition, as well as in the 
 surrounding scenery, appeared to realize the eloquent 
 description which adorns the opening of the poem on 
 Palestine 
 
 Reft of thy sons, amid thy foes forlorn, 
 Mourn, widow'd queen, forgotten Sion, mourn! 
 J&this thy place, sad city, this thy throne? 
 Where the lone desart rears her craggy stone ! 
 Where suns unblest their angry lustre fling. 
 And way-worn pilgrims seek the scanty spring ; 
 Where now thy pomp, which kings with envy view'd ? 
 Where now thy power, which all those kings subdu'd? 
 No martial myriads muster in thy gates, 
 No suppliant nation at thy temple waits, 
 No prophet bard thy glittering courts among 
 Wakes the full lyre, and swells the tide of song; 
 But cold oblivion, mid thy ruins laid, 
 Folds his dank wing, beneath the ivy shade. 
 
 Palestine. 
 
 We entered the town, by the gate of Damascus^ 
 and rode instantly to the Latin Convent, where we 
 were kindly and hospitably received. 
 
54 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem, August, 1817. 
 
 Juvat integros aceedere fontes 
 Atque haurire. 
 
 LUCRET. 
 
 Dear E , 
 
 Every species of information, whether derived 
 from books or the minuter accuracy of verbal narra- 
 tive, is insufficient to convey to a native of Europe 
 any adequate idea of a country, which has been con- 
 stituted on principles essentially diflferent from Euro- 
 pean usages ; the mind having no comparative 
 standard to refer to on a subject so totally new, is at 
 a loss how to frame its conceptions^ and it almost 
 inevitably happens, that the reality has a very faint 
 correspondence with the image prefigured. This ob- 
 servation applies with peculiar force to the traveller 
 who visits the Holy Land. His arrival on the coast 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 5S 
 
 of Syria introduces him to objects that have no re- 
 semblance to those with which he has been hitherto 
 associated : the vegetable kingdom, the brute creation, 
 and even his own species, are in appearance greatly 
 dissimilar, and seem to point out that he is alighted 
 on a new and distant planet. 
 
 The first sensations, therefore, which fill the 
 visitor of Palestine, are those of lassitude and dejec- 
 tion ; but as he progressively advances in these sacred 
 precincts, and perceives an interminable plain spread 
 out on all sides, those sensations are eventually suc- 
 ceeded by feelings more exalted. A mixed emotion 
 of surprise and awe takes possession of his faculties, 
 which, far from depressing the spirit, elevates the 
 mind, and gives vigour to the heart. The stupendous 
 scenes that are every where unfolded, announce to 
 the spectator, that he surveys those regions which 
 were once the chosen theatre of wonders. The burn- 
 ing climate, the impetuous eagle, the blighted fig- 
 tree all the poetry, all the painting of the sacred 
 writings, are present to his view. Each venerable 
 name reminds him of some mysterious agent ; every 
 valley seems to proclaim the warnings of futurity 
 every mountain to re-echo the hallowed accents of 
 
56 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 inspiration! The dread voice of' the Eternai^ 
 HIMSELF has sounded on these shores! 
 
 To tread the ground once trodden by the 
 mightiest of mankind, and to read the history of na- 
 tions in the mutilated fragments of those monuments 
 which were consecrated to their glory, has been often, 
 and with justice, stated as a source of the sublimest 
 pleasure; but if considerations merely human can 
 create these sensations, if the philosopher and histo- 
 rian feels himself overpowered with the weight of 
 his reflections, as his eye glances on the spot " where 
 Romulus stood, where Cicero spoke, and where 
 Cassar fell," with what increased emotions of awe 
 and veneration will the Christian moralist contem- 
 plate 
 
 " Those holy fields^ 
 " Over whose acres walked those blessed feet, 
 " Which" eighteen hundred " years ago were nail'd, 
 " For our advantage, to the bitter cross !" 
 
 (Shakespeare Henry IV. Part I. Act i. Sc. i.) 
 
 Oppressed with the varied movements, which throng 
 and agitate his bosom, he will yield for a while to the 
 heart's impulse, and, seeking religion in her own 
 peculiar sanctuary, bow down before her altars in 
 chastened, fervent adoration I 
 
LETTEHS FROM PALESTINE. 57 
 
 The foundation of Jerusalem took place in a 
 period of the most remote antiquity. It is said to 
 owe its origin to Melchisedech the high-priest, who 
 traced its limits on the hills Moria and Acra, nineteen 
 hundred and eighty-one years before the appearance 
 of Jesus Christ. Its founder gave it the name of 
 Salem, a term expressive of its being designed for 
 the habitation of peace ! But how little its subsequent 
 destinies accorded with the high promise of its title, 
 a very slight survey of the early annals of the Jewish 
 nation will sufficiently explain. Threescore years 
 had scarcely elapsed before it fell into the power of 
 the Jebusites, a tribe descended from Jebus, the son 
 of Chanaan. The new possessors did not neglect the 
 usual means of securing their conquest; they ex- 
 tended its walls, and built a fortress on mount Siou, 
 which they called after their common father, and gave 
 to the city the name it still bears, Jerusalem; the 
 " vision of tranquillity." Joshua, who succeeded to 
 the government established by Moses, led the armies 
 of Israel into the land of promise, and, advancing 
 against the new city, soon made himself master of 
 the lower part. He put to death Adonisedech, and 
 the four confederate princes, the kings of Hebron, 
 
58 LETTERS I ROM PALESTINE. 
 
 Jerinol, Laches, and Eglon. The Jebusites, however, 
 still kept possession of the upper town and the 
 citadel of Jebus^ from whence they were never finally 
 dislodged till the reign of David, eight hundred and 
 twenty-four years after they had established themselves 
 in the city of Melchisedech. David strengthened the 
 fortress, repaired and extended its works, and called 
 them after his own name: the same monarch also 
 built a palace and tabernacle on mount Sion, which lie 
 designed for the depositary of the ark of the covenant. 
 Solomon, his son and successor, adorned the city 
 with many beautiful buildings, enriched it with archi- 
 tectural embellishments, and constructed the cele- 
 brated temple, which the sacred writings so minutely 
 describe, and whose graces its founder has himself re- 
 corded in the rapturous glow of poetic imagery. 
 
 Five years after the death of Solomon, Sesac^ 
 king of Egypt, attacked Rhehoboam, took possession 
 of the town, and delivered it up to plunder. It was 
 exposed a second time to the ravages of an invading 
 army, one hundred and fifty years after, by Joas, 
 king of Israel. Besieged again by the Assyrians, 
 Manasses, the unfortunate king of Judah, fell into 
 the hands of the conqueror, and was carried captive 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 59 
 
 to Babylon. At length, under the reign of Zedekiah, 
 Nebuchadnezzar completed its destruction, by burning 
 the temple, and sending the wretched inhabitants pri- 
 soners to his own capital. 
 
 The first temple was destroyed four hundred and 
 seventy years, six months, and ten days after its 
 foundation by Solomon, in the year of the world 3513, 
 and about 500 before the birth of our Saviour.^ Four 
 hundred and seventy-seven years were elapsed from 
 the time of David to the administration of Zedekiah, 
 and the city had been governed by seventeen kings. 
 After seventy years of captivity, Zorobabel began to 
 rebuild the temple, and to raise the city from its 
 ashes. This undertaking, which was suspended for 
 some years, was finally completed by the successive 
 efforts of Esdras and Nehemiah. 
 
 Alexander the Great entered the holy city in the 
 year of the world 3583, and oflfered sacrifices in the 
 new temple. 
 
 Jerusalem next fell under the dominion of Ptolemy 
 
 1 The writer has followed, very nearly, the dates, as 
 they appear in the Work of the Vicomte dc Chateaubriand. 
 He is indebted to the same distinguished author for the 
 outline of the historical detail. 
 
60 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 the soiiof Lagus; but Ptolemy Philadelphus tempered 
 his authority with the mild attributes of mercy and 
 justice, and adorned the temple with magnificent deco- 
 rations. Antiochus the Great recaptured Judaea from 
 the kings of Egypt, and afterwards restored it to the 
 possession of Ptolemy Evergetes. Antiochus the 
 illustrious sacked and plundered the capital, and placed 
 the statue of Jupiter Olympius in the sanctuary of the 
 temple. The active valour and persevering spirit 
 of the Machabees once more gave freedom to their 
 country, and successfully resisted the incursions of the 
 kings of Asia. Unhappily a contest arising between 
 Aristobulus and Hircanus, the chiefs of that family^ 
 they addressed themselves in an evil hour to the 
 Romans, who by the death of Mithridates, king of 
 Pontus, were become absolute masters of the east. 
 Pompey hastened to Jerusalem, and soon got posses- 
 sion of the temple : the generosity of his character 
 taught him to respect this august monument, which the 
 rapacious avarice of Crassus pillaged without mercy. 
 Hircanus, whose pretensions were seconded by the 
 Roman government, for some time successfully main- 
 tained his position. Antigone, the son of Aristobulus, 
 induced by the followers of Pompey, made war against 
 
SK^, LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 61 
 
 ^H|i uncle, and called in the Parthians to his aid. These 
 made an irruption into Judasa, entered Jerusalem, and 
 led away Hircanus prisoner. 
 
 Herod the Great, son of Antipater, a distinguished 
 officer in the court of Hircanus, assisted by the Romans 
 seized on the throne. In the mean while, Antigone, 
 whom the chance of war had delivered into the hands 
 of Herod, was sent off to Antony. The fate of this 
 unhappy prince is at once a melancholy instance of the 
 capricious decisions of fortune, and a severe lesson to 
 the unreflecting disciples of legitimate monarchy. 
 The last of the race of Machabees, the only surviving 
 descendant of that heroic family, whose courage and 
 conduct had so nobly sustained the sinking fortunes of 
 their nation, the rightful sovereign of Judaea, is seized 
 by the orders of a brutal Roman officer, tied to a 
 stake, scourged with rods, and unmercifully put to 
 death. 
 
 Herod, now become absolute master of Jerusalem, 
 proved himself not altogether undeserving his high 
 office. He set about repairing and beautifying the 
 city, and embellished it with those public monuments, 
 which while they serve to patronize taste and genius, 
 necessarily furnish employment to every description of 
 
62 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 artizan. It was in the reign of this prince that Jesus 
 Christ came into the world. 
 
 Archelaus, tlie son of Herod and Mariamne, suc- 
 ceeded to his father, while Herod Antipas, another of 
 the sons of Herod, held the tetrarchate of Gallilee and 
 Pera. It was this last who gave orders for beheading 
 St. John, and who sent back Christ to Pilate. He was 
 exiled by the emperor Caligula to Lyons. 
 
 Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, next 
 obtained the crown ; but Herod his brother, king 
 of Calcis, had absolute authority over the temple, and 
 kept possession of the sacred treasures. After the 
 death of Agrippa, Judaea was reduced to a Roman 
 province. The Jews having revolted against their 
 masters, Titus, miscalled the " darling of mankind," 
 besieged and took their capital. Two hundred thou- 
 sand Jews are said to have perished by famine during 
 this memorable siege. From the i4thofApriltothe Istof 
 July in the year 71 of our aera, one hundred and fifteen 
 thousand eight hundred and twenty-four human bodies 
 were carried without the walls of thetown. The wretched 
 survivors were reduced to feed on the leather torn from 
 their sandals and shields : they were even driven to the 
 extremity of searching for nourishment in the putrid 
 
LETirERS FROM PALESTINE. 63 
 
 masses, which clogged the drains of the city. The 
 tenderest ties of nature were disregarded, and a mother 
 presented the horrid spectacle of a parent devouring 
 its own offspring. The besieged, with a view either to 
 conceal their treasure, or to disappoint the rapacity of 
 the invaders, are said to have swallowed their gold : but 
 the Roman soldier, apprised of this act of phrenzy, 
 ripped open the bowels of his prisoner, and sought the 
 precious metal in the panting entrails of his victim. 
 Eleven hundred thousand Jews perished in the city of 
 Jerusalem, and two hundred and thirty-eight thousand 
 four hundred and sixty in different parts of Judaea, 
 exclusive of women and children, the aged and infij^m, 
 who fell a prey to famine or other incidental accom- 
 paniments of a siege. Finally there were fiinetj/-nine 
 thousand two hundred taken prisoners, some of whom 
 were condemned to labour in the public works, and 
 the others reserved to swell the pomp of the conqueror's 
 triumph. They were compelled to appear as gladia- 
 tors in the public theatres, and mutually slaughter each 
 other for the diversion of the Roman populace. Such 
 as had not attained the age of seventeen years were 
 exposed to public sale, together with the women. 
 Thirty might be purchased for a piece of silver. The 
 
64 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 blood of THE JUST having been sold for thirty pieces 
 of silver, and the people having exclaimed, " his blood 
 he upon us and upon our children/^ the Almighty heard 
 their imprecation, and for the last time granted their 
 petition ; thenceforth he turned away his face from the 
 land of promise, and chose out a new heritage. 
 
 The temple was destroyed eight and thirty years 
 after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; so that a great 
 number of those who heard the prophetic denunciations 
 of our Saviour, might have witnessed their dreadful 
 accomplishment. 
 
 The remnant of the Jewish nation having revolted 
 anew, Adrian completed the demolition of whatever 
 had escaped the destroying arm of Titus. On the 
 ruins of the city of David he built a new town, which 
 he called iElia Capitolina.' The figure of a swine was 
 carved over the gate leading to Bethlehem, and the 
 Jews were prohibited entering the city under the 
 penalty of death. According to Dion, five hundred and 
 eighty-five thousand Jews perished by the hand of the 
 soldier in the war with Adrian, a multitude of slaves of 
 each sex were sold at the fairs at Gaza and Membre, 
 
 * From his own name, ^Elius. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 65 
 
 iftd fifty castles, and nine hundred and eighty-five 
 tillages, were levelled to the ground. A tremendous 
 iggregate ! Let us hope the historian has in this instance 
 been something inattentive to numerical accuracy. 
 
 Adrian placed his city on the ground which 
 it occupies at the present day: its position is not 
 exactly the same with that of the original town, as 
 it includes mount Calvary within the walls. During 
 the persecution of Diocletian, the very name of Jerusa- 
 lem had sunk so completely into oblivion, that when a 
 certain individual who was examined before a Roman 
 magistrate, replied to a question respecting the place of 
 his birth, that he was a native of Jerusalem, the go- 
 vernor supposed he alluded to some new colony secretly 
 established by the rebel Christians. Towards the 
 close of the 7th century, Jerusalem still bore the name 
 of iElia. 
 
 Some partial commotions appear to have taken 
 place in Palestine under the emperors Antoninus, 
 Septimius Severus, and Caracalla. Jerusalem having 
 become a pagan city in her latter years, at length 
 acknowledged the God she had renounced. Constan- 
 tine and his mother threw down the idols which had 
 been reared near the Messiah's sepulchre, and coa- 
 
 F 
 
(>6 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 seciated the sacred places by the creation of those 
 edifices, which are seen there at present. 
 
 Julian assembled the Jews about forty years sub- 
 sequently, and made a fruitless effort to rebuild the 
 temple. The men laboured at the work with instru- 
 ments of silver, and the women carried the earth in the 
 folds of their richest robes, when suddenly balls of fire 
 were seen to issue from the foundation, dispersing the 
 workmen, and rendering it impossible to proceed with 
 the undertaking.! 
 
 A revolt of the Jews took place under Justinian 
 at the commencement of the sixth century. During 
 the reign of this emperor, the church of Jerusalem was 
 raised to the patriarchal dignity. Destined still to 
 
 1 The writer has purposely omitted citing the authorities 
 on which much of the preceding statement is founded; they 
 will easily occur to such as are familiar with ancient litera- 
 ture, and the English reader would probably look on a list of 
 references as an unnecessary incumbrance to the page. But 
 the event which defeated the intention of Julian, is on every 
 account entitled to the fullest examination. It will, perhaps, 
 be not altogether useless therefore to mention a few of the 
 most eminent authors, who have investigated the subject, or 
 collected evidences of the fact. Among these are, Alb. 
 Fabricius, Ammianus Marcellinus, St. Chrysostom, Newton, 
 Mosheim, Warburton, and Moyle. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 6*7 
 
 combat the delusions of idolatry and demolish false 
 religions, Jerusalem was taken by Cosroes king of 
 Persia in the year 6 13. The Jews dispersed through- 
 out Palestine purchased of this prince ninety thousand 
 Christian prisoners, whom they vindictively slaughtered. 
 Heraclius vanquished Cosroes in 627? recovered the 
 cross which the Persian monarch had carried off, and 
 deposited it again in the city. Nine years afterwards 
 the calif Omar, the third in succession from Mahomet, 
 obtained possession of Jerusalem, after a siege of four 
 months, and Palestine as well as Egypt passed under 
 the yoke of the conqueror. Omar was assassinated in 
 643. The establishment of different califats in Arabia 
 and Siria, the downfall of the dynasty of the Ommiades 
 and the elevation of the Abassides, filled Judaea with 
 calamity during the space of two hundred years. 
 
 Milton has asserted that the skirmishes of kites and 
 crows are as much deserving a particular narrative, as 
 the confused transactions and battles of the Saxon hep- 
 tarchy : the factions, which distracted Palestine at the 
 same period, can scarcely therefore possess sufficient 
 interest to merit a succinct account. After a variety 
 of struggles with the chiefs of rival parties, whose very 
 names it would be difficult to transcribe, the Fatimite 
 
68 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 caliphs obtained the ascendancy, and were in possession 
 of the holy city when the champions of the cross 
 appeared on the frontiers of Palestine. 
 
 " Les croisades," says the Vicomte de Chateau- 
 briand, '' ne furent des folies, comme on affectoit de 
 " les appeler, ni dans leur principe, ni dans leur resul- 
 " tat. Si les sujets d'Omar, partis de Jerusalem, apr^s 
 ^' avoir fait le tour d'Afrique, fondirent sur la Sicile, 
 *' sur TEspagne, sur la France meme, oii Charles-martel 
 " les extermina, pourquois des sujets de Philippe P% 
 " sortis de la France, n'aurorient ils pas fait le tour de 
 ** I'Asie pour se venger des descendans d'Omar jusque 
 *' dans Jerusalem ? WaperceDoir dam les croisades que 
 " des pelerins armes qui courent dtlivrer un tombeau 
 ^[ en Palestine^ c*est montrer une vue trts bornee en his- 
 " toire, II s^agissoit non ieulement de la delivrance de 
 " ce tombeau sacre, mais encore de savoir qui devoit 
 " Vemporter sur la terre, ou d'un culte ennemi de la 
 " civilization^ favorable par si/st^me a rignorance, au 
 " despotisme, a Pesclavage, ou d'un culte qui a fait 
 " revivre chez les modernes la genie de la docte anti- 
 *' quite, et aboli la servitude. L'esprit du Mahom6- 
 " tisme est la persecution et la conquete ; I'Evangile au 
 " contraire ne preche que la tolerance et la paix. Oil 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 69 
 
 *^ en serions-nous, si nos peres n'eussent repouss^ la 
 " force par la force ? Que Ton contemple la Grke, 
 " et I'on apprendra ce que devient un peuple sous le 
 "joug des Musulmans. Ceux qui s'applaudissent 
 " aujourd'huiduprogr^s des luraicres, auroient-ils done 
 " voulu voir regner parminous une religion qui a briil6 
 " la biblioth^qued'Alexandrie5quise fait une m6rite de 
 " fouler aux pieds les hommes, et de m6priser souve- 
 " rainement les lettres et les arts ?- 
 
 " Le temps de ces expeditions est le temps lie- 
 " roique de notre histoire; c'est celui qui a donne 
 " naissance d notre po^sie 6pique. Tout ce qui r6pand 
 " du merveilleux sur une nation, ne doit point ^tre 
 '' m^prise par cette nation m^me. On voudroit en 
 " vain se le dissimuler, il y a quelque chose dans notre 
 '* coeur qui nous fait aimer la gloire; Phomme ne 
 " se compose pas absolument de calculs positifis pour 
 " son bien et pour son mal, ce seroit trop le ravaler : 
 '' c'est en entretenant les Romains de reternite de leur 
 " ville, qu'on les a men^s k la conqu^te du monde, 
 *' et qu'on leur a fait laisser, dans Thistoire un nom 
 " eternel/' 
 
 Godfroy of Bouillon, duke of Brabant, presented 
 himself on the confines of the Holy Land in the year 
 
70 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE^ 
 
 1099 ' lie was accompanied by Baudouin, his brother, 
 and several other distinguished nobles, attended by 
 Peter the hermit, who marched at their head with his 
 pilgrim's staff. According to the lowest calculation, 
 1,300,000 men, each bearing the ensign of a piece of 
 red cloth in the figure of a cross on the right shoulder, 
 were employed in this religious expedition. Godfroy 
 and his division soon gained possession of Rama and 
 Emmaus, while Tancred and Baudouin penetrated to 
 Bethlehem. Jerusalem was quickly invested, and the 
 banner of the cross floated on the walls of the citadel 
 on Friday the 15th July, 1099- Godfroy was elected 
 sovereign of the vanquished city by his brothers in 
 arms ; but he refused to place on his brows the brilliant 
 diadem which they offered him, from a reluctance to 
 wear a crown of gold on that ground, where the 
 Messiah had borne one of thorns. The place of 
 Godfroy's decease is not correctly known ; it is pro- 
 bable that he died at Jaffa, whose walls he had re- 
 established. He was succeeded by his brother Bau- 
 douin, who expired in the midst of successes, leaving 
 the government in 1118 to his nephew Baudouin du 
 Bourg. Melisandre, eldest daughter of Baudouin II. 
 married Foulques of Anjou, and towards the year 11 30 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 7J 
 
 carried the kingdom of Jerusalem as a dowry to her 
 husband's family. 
 
 The second crusade preached by St. Bernard and 
 conducted by Louis VII. of France and the emperor 
 Conrad, took place in the reign of Baudouin III. 
 After having filled the throne twenty years, Baudouin 
 left the crown to his brother Amaury, who wore it 
 eleven years : he was succeeded by his son Baudouin, 
 the fourth of that name. It was at this period that the 
 celebrated Saladin appeared on the theatre of action : 
 though defeated at his first onset, he became eventually 
 successful, and triumphantly closed the contest by 
 wresting the sacred places from their Christian pos- 
 sessors. 
 
 The only Christian temple that escaped the fury 
 of the infidels, was the church of the holy sepulchre, the 
 Sirians having secured its integrity by an ample pay- 
 ment in silver. Saladin died soon after the capture of 
 Acre, and Richard, the rival of his glory, on his return 
 to Europe, endured a protracted and rigorous imprison- 
 ment in Germany. This event gave birth to a series 
 of adventures, which have furnished a fruitful subject 
 for the ballads of the troubadours, though history has 
 passed them over for the most part in silence. The 
 
7^ LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 courage of this heroic prince was so renowned, that 
 long after his death it continued to be proverbial; and 
 Gibbon has recorded that on some occasion, when 
 a hprse was seen to start without any observable cause, 
 the Saracens exclaimed, " he has seen the ghost of 
 Richard!" 
 
 In the year 1242 the Emir of Damascus levied 
 war against Nedjemmin the sultan of Egypt, obtained 
 possession of Jerusalem, and surrendered it to the 
 Latinprinces these were subsequently besieged by the 
 above-mentioned sultan, and barbarously massacred. 
 During these events the crown of Jerusalem had passed 
 from Isabelle, daughter of Baudouin, to Henry count 
 of Champagne, her new husband ; and from him to 
 Amaury brother of Lusignan, the fourth husband 
 of Isabelle. His only child dying in its infancy, Mary, 
 daughter of Isabelle and her first husband Conrad, 
 marquis of Montserrat, became the heiress of an ideal 
 territory. John, count of Brien, espoused Mary. 
 IJe had by her one daughter, Isabelle, afterwards 
 married to the emperor Frederic II. This last on his 
 arrival at Tyre concluded peace with the sultan : 
 the conditions of the treaty gave up Jerusalem, in par- 
 tition, to the Christians and Moslemsj and Frederic in 
 
LETTERS FEQM PALESTINE, 73 
 
 consequence took the crown of Godfroy, placed it on 
 his brows, and then returned to Europe. The Sara- 
 cens were probably faithless to their engagement, for 
 twenty years afterwards, in 1242, Nedjemmin sacked 
 Jerusalem, as stated above. Louis IX. of France 
 arrived in the east seven years subsequently to this 
 disaster. A succession of Mameluke chieftains next 
 became masters of the holy city, till in 1263 the famous 
 Bibars-Bondoc-Dari assumed the title of sultan. He 
 ravaged that part of Palestine which had not pre- 
 viously submitted, and repaired the capital. Kelaoun, 
 his heir, chased the Christians from fortress to fortress, 
 and his son Khalil wrested from them Tyre and 
 Acre. At length in 1291 they were entirely driven 
 from the Holy Land. 
 
 The empty title of king of Jerusalem was carried 
 to the house of Sicily, by Charles, the brother of Louis, 
 count of Provence and Anjou, and who united in his 
 own person the rights of the king of Cyprus and those 
 of the princess Mary, who was a daughter of Frederic 
 prince of Antioch. The chevaliers of St. John of 
 Jerusalem, now become knights of Rhodes and Malta, 
 and the Teutonic knights, conquerors of the north 
 of Europe and founders of the Prussian dominions^ 
 
74 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 are the only existing remains of those powerful cru- 
 saders, who formerly made Asia and Africa tremble, and 
 who filled the thrones of Jerusalem, of Cyprus, and of 
 Constantinople. 
 
 The Christians having lost the country in 1291, 
 the victorious sultans kept possession of their conquest 
 till 1382. At that epoch the Mamelukes of Circassia 
 usurped the government of Egypt, and gave a new 
 form to the administration of Palestine. At length 
 Selim put an end to these series of revolutions by 
 assuming in 1716 the sovereign power in Egypt and 
 Siria. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 75 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem, August, 1817. 
 Dear E , 
 
 Our first object was the Holy Sepulchre. 
 The Turkish government, aware of the veneration whick 
 all Christians entertain for every relic connected with 
 the suiferings of the Author of their faith, have con- 
 verted this feeling into a source of revenue; every 
 person, not subject to the Porte, who visits the shrine 
 of Jesus Christ, being compelled, except under cer- 
 tain circumstances, to pay a tax of twenty-five sequins. 
 The firman with which we were furnished at Con- 
 stantinople exempted us from such an impost, and 
 we easily procured admission for ourselves and five 
 attendants. 
 
 In the following description of the '* holy 
 places/' I shall at present confine myself to the nar- 
 
76 LETTERS IKOM PALESTINE. 
 
 rative of the person who was deputed by the guar- 
 dian of mount Sion to accompany us through the 
 town : on some future occasion we may be enabled 
 to examine his statement more at leisure, and perhaps 
 to discuss it more rationally, than when under the 
 influence of a recent impression. 
 
 The tomb of our Saviour is inclosed in a church 
 to which it has given name, and appears in the centre 
 of a rotunda, whose summit is crowned by a radianti 
 cupola. Its external appearance is that of a superb 
 mausoleum, having the surface covered with rich 
 crimson damask hangings, striped with gold. The 
 annexed sketch, though taken under the disadvantage j 
 of frequent interruption, may serve to give you some j; 
 idea of its forni.^ The entrance looks towards the| 
 east; but, immediately in front, a small chapel hasji 
 been erected to commemorate the spot, where the! 
 angel appeared to the two Marys. Just beyond thisi 
 is the vault in which the Redeemer submitted to a 
 temporary interment : the door of admission is vei-y 
 low, probably to prevent its being entered otherwise^ 
 than in the attitude of adoration. The figure of th 
 cave is nearly square, extending rather more than si: 
 
 * See the frontispiece. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE* 77 
 
 feet lengthways, and being within a few inches of the 
 same width ; the height I should imagine to be about 
 eight feet : the surface of the rock is lined with 
 marble, and hung with silk of the colour of the fir- 
 mament. At the north side, on a slab raised about 
 two feet, the body of our Saviour was deposited ; the 
 stone, which had been much injured by the devo- 
 tional zeal of the different pilgrims, is now protected 
 with a marble covering ; it is strewed with flowers 
 and bedewed with rose-water, and over it are suspended 
 four and forty lamps, which are ever burning. The 
 greater part of these are of silver, richly chased; a 
 few are of gold, and were furnished by the different 
 sects of Christianity,^ who divide the possession of the 
 church. 
 
 In an aisle, east of the sepulchre, is the spot 
 where Christ appeared to the Magdalen in the habit 
 of a gardener ; and a few steps further is the scene 
 of his interview with his mother. The pillar to which 
 he was bound, when undergoing the punishment of 
 
 1 Catholics, Greeks, Armenians, Sirians, Abyssines, 
 Georgians, Nestorians, Cophtites, Maronites, &c. &c. Amongst 
 the variety of " persuasions " which are to be seen in Jeru- 
 salem, there are, as yet, no Protestant establishments, strictly 
 so called, of any denomination. 
 
78 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 being scourged, has been taken from the court near the 
 Hall of Judgment, and affixed to the right of an 
 altar, erected in a chapel at the extremity of the aisle ; 
 this chapel, and the altar within the sepulchre, are 
 consecrated to the worship of the Catholics. The 
 place where he was tortured by the crown of thorns, 
 that of the agony of his being affixed to the cross, 
 and the partition of his vesture by lot, are all severally 
 comprised within the limits of the church, which is 
 thus made to include a considerable portion of mount 
 Calvary. Tradition has also preserved the identity 
 of the spot, where the mother of the Messiah stood; 
 a weeping spectatress of the cruelties and ignominy 
 to which he was exposed. 
 
 The irregularity of the surface on which the 
 temple is erected, has been made subservient to the 
 preservation of that particular part of the mount, 
 where the sacrifice of our Saviour was accomplished. 
 The place where the cross was planted retains its 
 orighial elevation, the adjacent ground being merely 
 flattened sufficiently to receive a marble pavement. 
 It is seventeen or eighteen feet above the common 
 floor, and is approached by one and twenty steps. 
 Tlie aperture in which the cross was fixed is below 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 79 
 
 the centre of a Greek altar : it appears to have been 
 perforated in the rock, and is encircled by a large 
 plate of silver, inscribed with bas-relief figures, re- 
 presentative of the Passion and other scriptural sub- 
 jects : thirteen lamps are constantly burning over the 
 altar. 
 
 Not far from this part of the church, but several 
 feet below the level of the floor, is the descent to the 
 well, where discovery was made of the cross and 
 crown of thorns, and the spear with which one of 
 the soldiers pierced our Saviour's side. 
 
 An inscription to the memory of Godfroy and 
 his brother is affixed to the wall, near the steps ; 
 but in repairing the injury which the church suffered 
 from fire about eight or ten years since, the Greek 
 Catholics, who are proprietors of this part of the 
 building, either from neglect or caprice allowed the 
 tablet to be plastered over. 
 
 During the whole of the time that we were en- 
 gaged in examining the objects of veneration, the 
 numerous altars were thronged with votaries of the 
 diflferent sects, exercising, in their respective rituals, 
 the solemnities of religion. 
 
 On quitting the church, we proceeded to the 
 
80 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 mount of Olives : our road lay through the Via 
 dolorosa, so called from its having been the passage 
 by which Christ was conducted from the place of his 
 imprisonment to mount Calvary. The outer walls of 
 what was once the residence of Pilate, are compre- 
 hended in this street ; the original entrance to the 
 palace is blocked up, and the present access is at one 
 of the angles of the court. The portal was formerly 
 in the centre, and approached by a flight of steps, 
 which were removed some centuries ago to Rome, 
 and are now in a small chapel near the church of 
 San Giovanne di Laterano. Very little of this struc- 
 ture is still extant ; but the Franciscan monks imagine 
 they have accurately traced out the dungeon in which 
 our Saviour was incarcerated, as well as the hall 
 where Caesar's Officer presided to give judgment. 
 The place where the Messiah was scourged is now 
 a ruined court, on the opposite side of the street ; and 
 not far from thence, but in a direction nearer to 
 mount Calvary, is the arch which the Latin friars 
 designate " 11 arco d'ecce homor from the expressions 
 of Pilate, as recorded by St. John, (chap. xix. 5.) 
 Upon an eminence between the pillars which support 
 the curvature, the Roman governor exhibited their 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 81 
 
 illustrious victim to his deluded countrymen. Between 
 this place and the scene of his crucifixion, Christ is 
 said to have fainted under the weight of the cross: 
 tradition relates, that he sunk beneath its pressure three 
 times, and the dift'erent stages are supposed to 
 have been accurately noted : they are severally de- 
 signated by two columns, and an indenture in the 
 wall. 
 
 Towards the eastern extremity of the town, not 
 far from the gate of St. Stephen, is the ^^ piscina 
 d' Israel:" this is the pool of Bethesda, which an 
 angel was commissioned periodically to trouble. 
 It appears to have been of considerable size, and 
 finished with much care and architectural skill ; but 
 I was unable to ascertain either the depth or dimen- 
 sions ; for its contiguity to the enclosure, which 
 contains the mosque of Omar, made it rather hazardous 
 to approach even the outer borders ; and our drogo- 
 man entreated us to be satisfied with a cursory view. 
 Near to this place is the church of St. Anna, so 
 named from being erected on the ground where the 
 house of the Virgin's mother formerly stood, and 
 where the Virgin herself was born. Between that 
 structure and Pilate's palace is the Tprre Antoniana, 
 
 6 
 
S% LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 a ruined pile, which has a more striking air of antiquity 
 than any other building in the city. 
 
 Just without the walls is the scene of St. Ste- 
 phen's martyrdom : we passed over it in our descent 
 to the brook Kedron, which flows through the valley 
 of Jehosaphat at the base of the mountain. At 
 present the channel is entirely dry : the breadth is 
 little more than a yard, and the depth scarcely two 
 feet. At a short distance to the left is a cavern, 
 which has been consecrated to the sepulchres of the 
 Virgin, of Joseph, of St. Anne, and St. Joachim. It 
 is a very magnificent vault, spacious, and chastely 
 ornamented, and preserved with great care and neat- 
 ness : the descent includes fifty steps. The several 
 tombs are distinguished by chapels and altars, with 
 the usual accompaniments of lamps and tapers, 
 and embellished with decorations adapted to the 
 respective characters whose virtues they commemo- 
 rate. We had no means of ascertaining on what 
 authority it is asserted that the mother of the Messiah 
 expired at Jerusalem, or that her mortal remains were 
 preserved in such a receptacle. It is worse than useless 
 to apply for information on points of this nature 
 at the convent : any attempt to investigate traditionary 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 83 
 
 Statements, seems to be regarded by our hosts as con- 
 veying an oblique reflection on their own credulity. 
 The date of the sepulchre is totally unknown : the 
 gospel represents the Virgin as being consigned, by 
 the dying injunction of our Saviour, to his beloved 
 disciple, and some authors have conjectured that she 
 closed her earthly existence at Ephesus : yet, what- 
 ever was the original destination of this vault, the cost 
 and labour which must have been expended in its 
 construction, sufficiently entitle it to be classed 
 amongst those objects which claim an attentive exa- 
 mination. Tasso has evidently alluded to its existence 
 in the following passage, though the conduct of his 
 poem did not allow him accurately to describe its 
 situation : 
 
 Nel tempio de Cristiani occulto giace 
 Un sotterraneo altare ; e quivi e il volto 
 Di col^i clie sua diva e madre face 
 Quel volgo del suo Dio iiato e sepolto. 
 Dinanzi al simiilacro accesa face 
 Contlnua splemle : egli e in un velo avvoltft. 
 P^ndono intorno in lungo ordine i voti 
 Che vi portaro i creduli devoti. 
 
 La Gerusalemme Liberata, 
 Canto ii. stan. 5. 
 
 After passing the bridge thrown over the bed of 
 
 the rivulet, a few paces brought us to the garden of 
 
84 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 Gethsemane^ where the Messiah prayed in agony, and 
 the sweat fell from him in drops of blood. Here 
 too was the scene of Judas's treason. This spot, 
 scarcely half an acre in extent, is partly enclosed by 
 a low wall, and contains eight venerable olive trees, 
 which are said to have been growing at the time of 
 Christ's entrance into the city : they have certainly 
 the marks of extreme age ; but Josephus expressly 
 states, that all the trees, which were in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Jerusalem, were cut down by Titus, for 
 the purpose of embankments.^ At the summit of the 
 mountain is fixed the scene of our Saviour's last 
 appearance on earth, and his ascension into heaven. 
 The impression said to have been made by his foot is 
 engraven on the surface of the rock, so as to preserve 
 a record of the Messiah's attitude when he bade adieu 
 to this lower world. It appears from thence, that 
 Christ's left hand was towards Jerusalem, which lays 
 west of the mountain, and that his face was conse- 
 quently directed to the north. ^ The view from this 
 
 1 Bell. Jud. lib. v. cap. xii. 
 
 '^ It is difficult to read with the gravity, which the'subject 
 should inspire, the minute statements and their accompany- 
 ing reflections, in some of the early voyages, descriptive of 
 
 f 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 85 
 
 elevation is grand and extensive, comprehending the 
 valley watered by the Jordan and the entrance of 
 that river into the Dead Sea, which appears like a 
 vast plateau of burnished silver. 
 
 The place where our Saviour dictated the uni- 
 versal prayer to his disciples, is supposed to have been 
 a garden about one hundred yards to the north- 
 west : in an opposite quarter, and farther removed 
 from the apex of the hill, is the cave where the 
 apostles assembled to compose the creed which bears 
 their name. It is a long subterranean recess, sup- 
 ported by twelve arches, but no otherwise an object 
 of curiosity, than as having been the retreat of those 
 illustrious martyrs. 
 
 The Vicomte de Chateaubriand has accompanied 
 his description of this cavern with the following re- 
 flections : " Tandis que le monde entier adoroit k la 
 face du soleil mille divinit6s honteuses, douze p^cheurs 
 
 this miraculous occurrence. Yet, unless to sucli as are in- 
 clined to deny the fact of the ascension alto<|^ether, there is 
 surely no great outrage to probability in supposing that those 
 who witnessed it, anxious to perpetuate a memorial of the 
 event, may have marked the surface with some rude repre- 
 sentation of the impression of a foot, though time has ren- 
 dered the resemblance indistinct. 
 
86 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 caches dans les entrailles de la terre, dressoient la 
 profession de foi du genre humain, et reconnoissoient 
 I'unit^ du Dieu createur de ces astres k la lumiere des- 
 quels on n'osoit encore proclamer son existence. Si 
 quelque Romain de la coiir d'Auguste, passant 
 aupr^s de ce souterrain, edt apergu les douze Juifs 
 qui composoient cette oeuvre sublime, quel mepris il 
 eiit temoigne pour cette troupe superslitieuse ! Avec 
 quel d^dain il e^t parI6 de ces premiers fideles ! Et 
 pourtant ils alloient renverser les templesr de ce Ro- 
 main, d6truire la religion de ses peres, changer les 
 lois, la politique, la morale, la raison, et jusqu' aux 
 pensees des hommes." 
 
 The brow of the mount of Olives presents a 
 complete panoramic view of the city, which being 
 built on an inclined plane, appears to the spectator 
 from this point, with the intersection of the diflferent 
 streets, almost as distinctly as a ground plan. It is 
 from this quarter also that a Christian is enabled, 
 with the least hazard of interruption, to examine those 
 buildings which have replaced Solomon's temple. 
 According to the present compass of the walls, the 
 situation of that celebrated structure seems not to 
 have been peculiarly well chosen. The enclosure 
 
 I 
 
i 
 
 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 87 
 
 begins at the south-eastern angle of the city, ex- 
 tending northways about five hundred paces, and 
 one hundred and sixty in a western direction : the 
 space is partly occupied by two Turkish mosques, 
 one of which resembles a large ill-shapen barn, co- 
 loured with a red wash ; the other is of an octagonal 
 figure, and adorned with many of those decorations 
 which are peculiar to oriental architecture. This 
 last is the celebrated pile erected by Omar in 
 the seventh century. It seems less massive and spa- 
 cious than the mosque of St. Sophia, though far 
 exceeding it in lightness and elegance ; but I think it 
 infinitely surpassed, both in extent and beauty, by 
 the mosque constructed by Achmet II. in the At- 
 meidan at Constantinople. 
 
 If we can make interest to obtain a nearer 
 survey, I will endeavour to be more circumstantial 
 in my description of this singular edifice ; at present 
 I can scarcely offer even an imperfect outline. 
 
88 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem, 
 Dear E , 
 
 We rode yesterday to Bethlehem, which is not 
 more than six miles distant from hence. Soon after 
 we quitted the city gate, our drogoman pointed to an 
 eminence on the south, where the Jews assembled 
 to take council respecting the seizure of Jesus Christ: 
 from this circumstance it is termed, in the language 
 of the Catholics, ** il monte di mal concilio." The 
 route to Bethlehem is over an open, wild, and rugged 
 desart, relieved by scarcely any object, except a few 
 straggling olives, which are almost the only trees in 
 the district. To the right is the valley of Rephaim, 
 celebrated for the victories of David over the Phi- 
 listines. (2 Sam. xxiii. 13.) The passage in the 
 sacred writings, which relates this achievement of the 
 
2Ied ^ th-m Si-^s^ Strarui 
 
 JERUSALEM, 
 
 Drawn in 1817. 
 A 10o'rii.* <^ Me anc^en/ ''a//. 
 
 r ^Ae ^a^ 
 
 yAe i^/zAc <^ . 
 
 f^/^ 
 
 :/Ae f/fv/^-' J,//.a/. 
 
 A 
 
 IUHi-'lu;l /'^ -lo-'BLick i.TavUbu-k St7V<t.lin'ent (harden . 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 89 
 
 king of Israel, has recorded the magnanimous refusal 
 of that monarch, when suffering the agonies of thirst, 
 to taste the water of ^' the well of Bethlehem," which 
 had been procured by the blood of his adherents.* The 
 reservoir, which we were shewn as the place resorted 
 to by the " three mighty men" who on that occa- 
 sion " brake through the enemy's host," appeared to 
 be too remote from the gate, to accord with the scrip- 
 ture narrative. 
 
 About half way, we came to a spacious monas- 
 tery, dedicated to St. Elias ; there is nothing particu- 
 larly deserving attention in the exterior of the building, 
 but our guide desired us, with much solemnity, to 
 notice a cavity in one of the rocky strata which are 
 in front of the gateway. I have frequently had occa- 
 sion to remark an inveterate disposition, very prevalent 
 among the disciples of the Catholic persuasion, to at- 
 tribute to persons supposed to have been eminently spi- 
 ritual, a more than ordinary degree of corporeal gravity : 
 the indenture on the stone, near the entrance to this 
 jonvent, was produced, as we were informed, by the im- 
 
 * A similar exertion of self-denial on the part of Alex- 
 ander is related by Plutarch, in the account of his long and 
 painful pursuit of Darius. 
 
90 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 pression of the saint's body, when on some occasion 
 he was compelled to repose there. 
 
 From this eminence we had a distinct view of 
 the village of Bethlehem, which is situated at the 
 brow of a low mountain : the ground in front is 
 divided into several small enclosures, and planted with 
 olives and fig-trees. The surrounding country is diver- 
 sified by hill and dale, and other requisites of pictu- 
 resque situation; but the soil has few visible claims to 
 the character of fertility, implied in the appellation of 
 Ephrathy by which it was anciently distinguished. 
 M. Volney, indeed, describes the land in this imme- 
 diate vicinage, as superior to any in the district, 
 though he has tempered his eulogium with an obser- 
 vation, which may justify a difference of sentiment : 
 " Mais la culture manque, comme partout ailleurs." 
 
 At a few yards to the right of the road, at some 
 little distance from the monastery of Elias, we were 
 shewn a small square building, surmounted with a 
 dome, which our attendants asserted to be the tomb 
 of Rachel. I could not understand on what ground 
 this assertion is supported : it would be unreasonable 
 to look, at " this day^'' for the distinctive mark 
 which Jacob is recorded to have placed over his wife's 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 91 
 
 sepulchre; (Gen. xxxv. 20.) but the building in 
 question has not the appearance even of moderate 
 antiquity. 
 
 We reached the Franciscan convent about mid- 
 day, and were received with the usual expressions of 
 cordiality. After reposing a short time, we were 
 conducted by the fathers to the different objects of ve- 
 neration : the church connected with this establishment 
 owes its foundation to the mother of Constantine ; 
 and, though still unfinished, offers many proofs of 
 grandeur in the design, and costliness in the decora- 
 tions. The figure is that of a cross ; four rows of lofty 
 marble pillars (forty-eight in number) of the Corinthian 
 order, adorn the principal aisle, and the roof is said 
 to be formed of the cedar of Lebanon. Between the 
 windows there are the mutilated remains of figures 
 in Mosaic, and some half-effaced inscriptions in Greek, 
 from the Evangelists. 
 
 At the extremity of the building, there is an altar 
 dedicated to the Magi ; at the base of which we were 
 desired to notice the representation of a star, com- 
 posed of variegated marble. This star is said to 
 correspond precisely with the point in the firmament, 
 where the heavenly planet became stationary, when it 
 
9'2 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 had conducted the wise men from Jerusalem ! You 
 will, I trust, do me the justice to believe, that in 
 detailing these traditionary statements, I by no means 
 adopt the reasoning of their authors ; I offer them to 
 your attention, as illustrative of the erudition of the 
 age in which they were invented, and as conveying no 
 unequivocal idea of the genius of the Catholic reli- 
 gion.^ Returning from the altar to the point where 
 
 1 About two miles from Jerusalem, our attention was 
 directed to a cavern near the way-side, used as a reservoir 
 for water: " From thencey* said our intelligent conductor, 
 *' arose the luminous spark, which guided Ihe Eastern sages 
 to the place of the nativity." Ashe uttered this, I am afraid 
 the drogoman observed something play on the features of his 
 audience, the expression of >\'hich could not be misunder- 
 stood : he added, in a tone not entirely exempt from bitter- 
 ness, " Cosa volete ? C'e UN miracolo del DioT 
 
 Nothing could be farther from the intention either of the 
 writer or his associate, than any attempt to disturb the tran- 
 quillity of conviction, which seemed to have possession of 
 their conductors. Respecting, as they sincerely did, the fer- 
 vent piety which on all occasions appeared to animate the 
 guardians of the sacred places, they resolved to listen to 
 their legendary miracles in submissive silence, although some 
 of the statements were of a nature to render it almost im- 
 possible to suppress every symptom of dissent. 'J'hese are 
 among the inevitable consequences of a system, which seeks 
 to hoodwink the reason of its followers : if the Catholic 
 religion had not industriously prohibited an unrestrained 
 examination of the sacred writings, absurdities such as that 
 
|h 
 
 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 93 
 
 we first entered the church, we descended several 
 steps, and arrived at what is called the oratory 
 of St. Jerome, adjoining the cell where he translated 
 the scriptures into Latin : the tomb of the saint is not 
 far from this place, and immediately opposite are the 
 monuments of St. Paula and her daughter Eudoxia. 
 Here is also a cenotaph to the memory of Eustathius. 
 Neither of these merit any particular description. 
 
 Pursuing a narrow winding passage, which gra- 
 dually brought us nearer to the surface, we arrived at 
 the point where the Virgin reclined on her first en- 
 trance into the stable : it was only at a few paces 
 from thence, that the Messiah underwent the penal- 
 ties of a human birth. The place is marked with a 
 star, formed of white marble, inlaid with jasper, and 
 surrounded with a belt of silver. 
 
 The rays are encircled vyith the motto, 
 
 HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRIST US NATUS EST. 
 
 above cited, would scarcely have been invented, and cer- 
 tainly could never have been perpetuated by traditional au- 
 thority. If those who appear so anxious to introduce the 
 tenets of the Vatican into England, could personally observe 
 their effect in those states which are peculiarly subject to 
 their influence, we might eventually be spared many a 
 tedious discussion in both houses of Parliament. 
 
94 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 From this point, sixteen steps lead to the level 
 of the ground, so that the stable was ten or twelve 
 feet below the surface : the stables at Jerusalem are 
 constructed on the same plan at the present day. 
 
 An altar is erected over the place of the nativity, 
 and illuminated by lamps, which are never suffered to 
 be extinguished. The manger in which the infant 
 was cradled was fixed a few steps below ; and oppo- 
 site to this there is another altar, to denote the position 
 of the Virgin when the Magi came to offer their adora- 
 tion to the new-born King. 
 
 We now returned to the convent, and, ascending 
 the terrace, surveyed the surrounding scenery. The 
 view comprises many objects mentioned in the gospel 
 history, and amongst others the field where the shep- 
 herds were watching their flocks, when the angel 
 proclaimed the birth of a Saviour. After a slight 
 repast we took leave of our hosts, and set out in a 
 southern direction to examine the piscinej said to have 
 been constructed by Solomon. The royal preacher 
 has been imagined to allude to these amongst other 
 instances of his splendour and magnificence, in the 
 passage where he is arguing for the insufficiency of 
 
LETTEIIS FROM PALESTINE. 95 
 
 rorldly pursuits to procure happiness.* They are 
 iree in number, placed nearly in a direct line above 
 ich other, like the locks of a canal. By this ar- 
 prangement, the surplus of the first flows into the 
 second, which is again discharged into the third : 
 from thence a constant supply of living water is car- 
 ied along the sides of the hill to Bethlehem and Jeru- 
 ileni. The figure of these cisterns is rectangular, 
 id they are all nearly of the same width, but of con- 
 iderable difference in length, the third being almost 
 half as large again as the first. They are still in a 
 certain state of preservation, and with a slight ex- 
 '' pence might be perfectly restored. The source from 
 \vhence they are supplied is about a furlong distant : 
 the spring rises several feet below the surface, the 
 aperture of which is secured by a door, so contrived 
 that it may be impenetrably closed on any sudden 
 danger of the water being contaminated. 
 
 In the pastoral imagery with which Solomon 
 has adorned the poem that bears his name, interpreters 
 have discovered a mystic sense, of which it is not 
 always easy to trace the analogy : there is, however, 
 
 I Ecclesiastes ii. 
 
96 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 nothing very forced or improbable in the conjecture, 
 that the author occasionally drew his metaphors 
 from the religious ceremonies of the Jewish ritual, 
 or referred to any work of public utility, which 
 had been executed under his own direction. The 
 guardians of the Holy Land conjecture that the cur- 
 rent which supplies these reservoirs was in the writer's 
 contemplation, when, in describing the unsullied 
 purity of the bride, he exclaims, 
 
 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse ; 
 A spring shut up, a fountain sealed / 
 
 Song of Solomon, iv. 12. 
 
 On our return in the evening to this city, we 
 called on the Turkish governor to signify our inten- 
 tions of making an excursion to the Dead Sea, and to 
 request he would allow us to dispense with the usual 
 escort. This Aga occupies the building which is con- 
 structed from the ruins of Pilate's palace : it serves 
 him as a seraglio and official residence during the 
 day ; the haram, where he passes the night, is in the 
 same quarter, but detached from the chief pile. Our 
 interview was successless; the governor received us 
 indeed with the highest politeness, but asserted the 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 97 
 
 titter impracticability of passing near the plains of 
 Jericho without an Arabian guard : we are therefore 
 under the necessity of proceeding with a military 
 retinue, or of relinquishing the scheme. On quitting 
 the Aga, we made the tour of mount Sion. Pre- 
 viously to entering on that sacred eminence, we 
 passed through the quarter of the city inhabited by 
 the Armenians : it is in this direction that the palace 
 of David was situated, and we were shewn the scite 
 of the tower on which the monarch was placed, when 
 he contemplated the beauties of Bathsheba. The 
 original building partook of the general devastation 
 when the city was destroyed, but a modern fortress is 
 erected on the foundation, and serves as a garrison for 
 the Grand Signior's troops. 
 
 The house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high 
 priest Caiaphas, (John xviii. 22.) was not far from hence : 
 the scite is now occupied by a small convent belonging 
 to the Armenians ; and near to this last, is a very spa- 
 cious structure which originally belonged to the Fran- 
 ciscan catholics, but which was subsequently wrested 
 from their possession, and is at present appropriated 
 also to the Armenians. The building is sufficiently exten- 
 sive to comprise within the enclosure some well-planned 
 
 H 
 
98 LETTERS FROM PALESTTNE. 
 
 gardens. The establishment is indeed on an unusually 
 large scale, and all the appointments have an air of pro- 
 pret6 seldom observed in monastic establishments. The 
 head of the society, who has the style and title of 
 patriarch, received us with all due patriarchal pomp, 
 but with the usual accompaniments of oriental hospita- 
 lity. The church attached to this monastery is erected 
 on the place where St. James suffered martyrdom : it 
 is rather a sumptuous edifice, and considerably larger 
 than any other Christian temple in Jerusalem, except 
 that of the holy sepulchre. The decorations are rich 
 and costly, but the general effect is in some measure 
 injured by the bad paintings which deform the walls : 
 the interior is however preserved with as nmch nicety 
 as an English cathedral. From hence we went to visit 
 the convent erected on the ground where the mansion 
 of the high priest Caiaphas stood. Here our Saviour 
 was incarcerated, and here too was the scene of Peter's 
 denial. The fathers of this convent assert that the 
 stone on which the body of Christ was laid when in the 
 sepulchre, was adroitly taken from thence in a time of 
 civil dissention, by some of their fraternity, and placed 
 beneath the altar of their own chapel. 
 
 There are so many interesting recollections 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 99 
 
 awakened by the name of mount Sion, that one scarcely 
 knows how to reconcile the poverty of its actual exist- 
 ence with the mysterious splendour thrown over it by 
 the prophetic writings. Its elevation above the city is 
 not more raised than the Aventine hill above the Roman 
 forum ; but if the height were to be estimated from the 
 base in the valley of Gehinnon, from which it rises 
 abruptly, it might perhaps be found equivalent to 
 some of the lowest hills which encompass Bath : 
 the surface is a pale white, approaching to yellow, 
 with very little appearance of vegetation : it is at 
 present applied as a cemetry for the Catholic, Greek, 
 and Armenian Christians. The house in which the 
 Virgin expired is supposed to have tfeen on this eleva- 
 tion, and our attendants believe they can point out the 
 precise spot which it occupied. Here also is the 
 church of the Caenaculum, erected on that part of the 
 mountain where our Saviour celebrated the last supper: 
 it is now consecrated to the service of Mahomet, and 
 therefore inaccessible to any but Moslems. The 
 sepulchre of David is also enclosed within the precincts 
 of a Turkish mosque, and consequently invisible to 
 Christians. 
 
100 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 To S. S E, Esq. 
 
 Jerusalem, August 20, 1817- 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Were a person carried blindfold from England, 
 and placed in the centre of Jerusalem or on any of the 
 hills which overlook the city, nothing perhaps would 
 exceed his astonishment on the sudden removal of the 
 bandage. From the centre of the neighbouring elevations 
 he would see a wild, rugged, mountainous desart 
 no herds depasturing on the summit, no forests clothing 
 the acclivities, no water flowing through the valleys ; 
 but one rude scene of savage melancholy waste, in the 
 midst of which the ancient glory of Judaea bows her 
 head in widowed desolation. On entering the town, 
 the magic of the name and all his earHest associations 
 would suffer a still greater violence, and expose him to 
 still stronger disappointment. No " streets of palaces 
 and walks of state," no high-raised arches of triumph, 
 no fountains to cool the air, or porticos to exclude the 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. JOI 
 
 sun, no single vestigie to announce its former military 
 greatness or commercial opulence ; but in the place of 
 these, he would find himself encompassed on every 
 side by walls of rude masonry, the dull uniformity 
 of which is only broken by the occasional protrusion 
 of a small grated window. " From the daughter of 
 Zion all beauty is departed,*' 
 
 The finest section of the city is unquestionably 
 that inhabited by the Armenians : in the other quarters 
 the streets are much narrower, being of a width that 
 would with difficulty admit three camels to stand 
 abreast of each other. The bazars are here, as in 
 other Asiatic towns, confined to a particular division, an 
 arrangement which prevents the increase of artizans 
 beyond a certain limit. The total of inhabitants is vari- 
 ously stated, and the results of course drawn from very 
 imperfect sources. The highest estimate makes the 
 number amount to twenty-five thousand. Of these 
 there are supposed to be, 
 
 Jews from- -3 to 4000 
 
 Roman Catholics 800 
 
 Greeks 2000 
 
 Armenians 400 
 
 Copths 50 
 
 Mahometans --.13000 
 
102 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 This is a very slender aggregate compared with 
 the flourishing population which the city once sup- 
 ported, but the numerous sieges it has undergone, and 
 their consequent spoliations, have left no vestige of its 
 original power. Jerusalem under the government of 
 a Turkish Aga, is still more unlike Jerusalem as it 
 existed in the reign of Solomon, than Athens during the 
 administration of Pericles, and Athens under the 
 dominion of the chief of the black eunuchs. We have 
 it upon judgment's record,^ that ^' before a marching 
 army a land has been as the garden of Eden, behind it, 
 a desolate wilderness!" The present appearance of 
 Judaea has embodied the awful warnings of the prophet 
 in all their terrible reality. 
 
 The extent of Jerusalem, as it exists at this day, 
 may be calculated with some degree of accuracy 
 from the time it takes to make a circuit of the walls. 
 I accomplished the distance in fifty minutes, and, as 
 I walked very leisurely, I should imagine the circum- 
 ference cannot exceed three miles. Anciently the 
 city was encompassed by three ramparts ; the present 
 wall was, I believe, constructed by Solyman the 
 Magnificent, towards the middle of the sixteenth cen- 
 1 Joel ii. 3. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 103 
 
 tury : there are several inscriptions in Arabic cha- 
 racters, at different stages of the circumference, which 
 probably have some reference to the aira of its founda- 
 tion, but neither the drogoman, nor any other person 
 competent to decypher thenij could be prevailed on 
 to accompany me : they excused themselves, awk- 
 wardly enough, under pretence of exhaustion from 
 excessive heat ; the real motive of their repugnance 
 was a dread of exciting some suspicion on the part of 
 the Turks, if seen to assist a Frank while making a 
 transcript from the battlements. I was therefore under 
 the necessity of going without their aid, and as I 
 walked with no apparent object, was suffered to pro- 
 ceed undisturbed and unquestioned. The structure, 
 such as it is, appears in good condition, but I should 
 think must be totally inadequate to offer even a mo- 
 mentary resistance to a European army. Almost 
 every quarter of the town is commanded by the ad- 
 joining hills, and to render it at all defensible, it would 
 be necessary to raise considerable works on the 
 northern side, and to erect a fortress on the mount of 
 Olives. 
 
 The interior of the city is intersected by several 
 lanes and narrow passages ; the principal of these are 
 distinguished by the following names: 
 
d 
 
 104 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 1. 'Tarrek-bab-el-Hammond Street of the 
 gate of the Column. It traverses the city irregularly 
 from north to south. 
 
 2. So UK-EL- Keber The great Bazar j which 
 runs from west to east ; there is also a minor street 
 connected with this, called the little Bazar. 
 
 3. Tarrek-el-Allam Via dolorosa. This is a 
 very irregular street ; it commences at the gate of St. Ste- 
 phen, and, passing by the palace of Pilate, terminates 
 at mount Calvary. 
 
 1. Harat-el-Muslmin TJie quarter of the 
 Turks. 
 
 2. Harat-el-Nassara The quarter of the 
 Christians. It leads from the Via dolorosa to the 
 holy sepulchre. 
 
 3. Harat-el-Arman The quarter of the 
 Armenians. This is west of the tower of David ; 
 the neatest and most agreeable quarter in the city. 
 
 4. Harat-el-Youd The quarter of the Jews: 
 this is rather of an opposite character to the last 
 mentioned. 
 
 * The prefix Tarrek signifies street, in contradistinction 
 to Harat, which answers, in some respects, to the term 
 alley. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 105 
 
 5. Hara T-BAB-HoTTA The quarter of the 
 Temple ; so named from its propinquity to the mosque 
 of Omar. 
 
 6. Harat-el-Zahara Strada Comparita 
 the public quainter; where individuals of all nations 
 dwell promiscuously. This is considered to be the 
 haunt of the most profligate and abandoned of the 
 inhabitants, and here conjecture has assigned the resi- 
 dence of the pharisee in the parable. 
 
 7. Harat-el-Maugrabe I'he quarter of the 
 Tunisians, Of these the number is at present very 
 small : they are supposed to be descendants of the 
 Moors, who were driven from Spain by Ferdinand 
 and Isabella. 
 
 There are six gates, which are regularly closed 
 every evening ; they are named as follows : 
 
 1. Bab-el-Hhaleel The gate of the chosen, 
 or well-beloved. It leads to Bethlehem, Hebron, &c. 
 It is by this gate that the pilgrims enter the city 
 on their route from Jaffa. 
 
 2. Bab-el-Nabi-Dahoud The gate of the 
 prophet David, It is the southern entrance to the 
 city, and opens on mount Sion. 
 
 3. Bab-el-Maugrarbe The Stirquiline gate. 
 
106 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 It was through this portal that Christ, on his appre- 
 hension, was conducted to Pilate : it is one of the 
 least, and the most negligently finished. 
 
 4. Bab-el-Sitti-Mariam The gate of the 
 holy Virgin. It opens towards the east, and leads to 
 the tomb of the mother of Jesus, and the mount of 
 Olives : it is also called the gate of St. Stephen, of 
 whose martyrdom the Virgin was a spectatress. 
 
 5. Bab-el-Hammond The gate of the Co- 
 lumn ; it is also the gate of Damascus. This gate, 
 which is by far the most magnificent, looks to the 
 north, and opens to the road which leads to Sichem. 
 
 6. Bab-el-Zauara Gate of Herod. This is 
 a small gateway, situated between those of Damascus 
 and St. Stephen. 
 
 A few years since it would have been hazardous 
 to appear in the streets in the dress of a European : 
 the wearers were inevitably exposed to all sorts of 
 contumelies; execrations, both loud and deep, pur- 
 sued them from the aged, while by the young they 
 were spit on and pelted with stones. But a marked 
 revolution has taken place in the sentiments of the 
 Turkish population, since the period of the French 
 invasion of Egypt ; and the address and gallantry of 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 107 
 
 Sir Sydney Smith at Acre, and the popularity he 
 acquired during his residence here, have procured for 
 the English a degree of consideration not extended to 
 the individuals of any other Christian community. 
 I liave frequently thrown off my Arabian cloak, 
 and vv'alked through different parts of the city in a 
 light Smyrna hat and common hunting frock, without 
 experiencing the slightest inconvenience.* 
 
 1 When the writer and his companion quitted Tripoli, 
 they were given to understand that their further progress 
 might be attended with some unpleasant circumstances, 
 unless they were provided with the costume of the country. 
 They in consequence procured a complete equipment, and 
 the reader may perhaps be amused with a description of the 
 different articles. 
 
 The most important part of the dress resembles very 
 large trowsers, tied round the waist with a running girdle : 
 the texture is of cloth, linen, or silk, agreeably to the fancy 
 of the wearer; the former description are usually worn 6n 
 horseback, and are iermeA Salual, or Sharroweel ; the latter 
 are reserved for occasions of ceremony, and are called 
 Sintian. Next to these is the Konibos, a sort of tunic with 
 long sleeves, and descending almost to the ancles : it is fas- 
 tened by a rich belt, or sash, called Zennar, in which pistols 
 and other weapons, gaily ornamented, are carried. The 
 Daraben is a short riding vest, worn occasionally over the 
 tunic, ' instead of the cloak called Benis, which is commonly 
 of sonae light fabric, and of a lively colour. But by far 
 the most graceful ornament is the Bornos, a long white flow- 
 
108 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 The administration of Jerusalem, like that of 
 every other considerable town subject to the Sublime 
 Porte, is distributed amongst several agents. The 
 chief of these is the mozallam, or military governor ; 
 
 iiig robe, composed of silk and camels' hair, and bordered 
 with silk fringe. Nothing can exceed the lightness and ele- 
 gance of its texture ; its shape is not unlike the ancient 
 pallium, one extremity being usually thrown over the left 
 shoulder. The turban is extremely simple, consisting of a 
 red cap decorated in the crown with a tassel of blue silk, 
 and having ashawl wound round the circumference. The shawl 
 maybe of any colour except ^reew;* plain white is generally 
 preferred; but pink and light blue are occasionally worn. It is 
 absolutely necessary that the head should be shaved; the 
 heat is otherwise intolerable. 
 
 The shirt is formed of a material indescribably pleasant 
 to the feel: it is composed of silk and fine threads, and cut 
 away so as to leave the throat, neck, and arms perfectly 
 naked. 
 
 While engaged in examining the ruins of Balbec, we 
 were visited by the principal proprietors in the district. One 
 of these, a gay, airy looking personage, and of considerable 
 rank in the place, appeared extremely desirous of compliment- 
 ing the writer with his head-dress ; but he had many reasons for 
 declining the honour, and was at length obliged to hint that 
 certain national habits would not allow him to accept such 
 courtesy. This sort of flirtation is alluded to, as it induced 
 a nearer inspection of the article tendered in exchange, than 
 could otherwise have been made with safety. It should seem 
 from this specimen, that ornaments for the head are objects 
 
 * The peculiar badge of the descendants of the Prophet. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 109 
 
 next to him in authority is the moula cadi, an office 
 corresponding to that of our police magistrates ; then 
 comes the mufti, who is the head of the ecclesias- 
 tical and judicial departments ; a tremendous power 
 in any despotic government, but more particularly so 
 in a state like Turkey, which fetters the will as com- 
 pletely as the person, and which founds its tyranny on 
 the vassalage of the mind. Besides these, there is an 
 agent for the mosque in the court of Solomon's 
 temple ; with the extent of his jurisdiction I am 
 unacquainted; also a soubaski, an employment some- 
 thing like our town-majors. All these, with the 
 exception of the mufti, hold their appointment at the 
 pleasure of the governor of Damascus, to whose 
 pachalic Jerusalem is assigned. 
 
 of peculiar attention, for, besides other decorations, the 
 5'^oung Emir's turban was composed of the most costly silks 
 from Damascus. 
 
 The expense of a handsome suit, and the usual accou- 
 trements, exclusive of pistols, &c. whose value is propor- 
 tioned to the richness of the material with which the stocks 
 are inlaid, need not exceed fifty pounds sterling. 
 
ilO LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Dear E , 
 
 We set out on our excursion to the Dead Sea 
 and the river Jordan, the day before yesterday. There 
 seems to be some understanding between the vagrant 
 Arabs who infest that district, " and the governing 
 authorities here ; for, notwithstanding every represen- 
 tation to the contrary, we found we must either aban- 
 don the idea of inspecting such part of the country, 
 or submit to the imposition of an Arabian escort. 
 The individuals of the existing race have many of 
 those respectable qualities which distinguished their 
 progenitors in the time of Solyman : 
 
 gli Arabi avari, 
 Ladrotti in ogni tempo e mercenari. 
 
 La Gerusalemme Liberata, 
 Canto ix. stan. 6. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 11! 
 
 After much discussion, therefore, with the chief of 
 the tribe, we agreed to take into our pay twenty of 
 these worthies ; besides whom, we were likewise 
 afflicted with the protection of certain Turkish sol- 
 diers. These last rode before us through the streets 
 of Jerusalem with the ensigns of their office, and 
 conducted us in military pomp to the Arabian tents, 
 situated between three and four miles from the city. 
 In our way thither we passed the village of Bethany, 
 memorable as the scene of Christ's restoration of 
 Lazarus from the grave : the rains of the building 
 where this stupendous miracle was wrought are still 
 extant; they consist merely of the outer walls of 
 what appears to have been a very small dwelling. 
 
 At a short distance from hence we arrived at 
 the habitations of the Bedouins, which are composed 
 of tents formed of coarse dark-coloured cloth : about 
 iifty of these were ranged in a circle, the camels, 
 goats, and other domestic animals straying round 
 them. The men seemed above the middle stature, 
 thin, and of elegant proportions ; the features of 
 some were extremely handsome, but marked with a 
 very peculiar expression, and the skin so dark as to 
 amount almost to the hue of an ^thiop. Their teeth 
 
112 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 appeared unusually white, probably from the sim* 
 plicity of their diet;^ perhaps, too, they gained some- 
 thing by a contrast with their complexion. I ob- 
 served a peculiarity in the dress of the females ; each 
 wore a linen mask over the nose, but the rest of the 
 countenance was left uncovered. 
 
 We were detained here nearly an hour, while the 
 chief of the party selected a chosen band of twenty- 
 one, exclusive of himself and lieutenant, each armed 
 with a musket slung across the shoulders, and car- 
 rying a scymetar in the belt : these, with the Turkish 
 soldiers and our own attendants, made our entire 
 force a very respectable aggregate. After the usual 
 preliminary delay, we recommenced our expedition. 
 The moon was just beginning to rise, and, as we 
 wound down the defiles of the mountain, the wild 
 floating drapery and gleaming arms of the Arabs, 
 rendered more conspicuous by their rapid and irre- 
 gular movements, presented a most picturesque and 
 interesting spectacle. 
 
 The scenery, unrelieved by any of those objects 
 which constitute the charm of natural beauty, seemed 
 
 See Genesis xHx. 12. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 113 
 
 very where harsh and gloomy, and the route abrupt 
 ^nd precipitous ; the abysses appearing beyond their 
 real profundity by the projection of the darkened 
 shadows. In the course of six hours we arrived at a 
 large monastic building, dedicated to the Jewish legis- 
 lator, whose memory is held in equal estimation by 
 Turks and Christians, and who is imagined by the 
 former to have been interred in this spot. But the 
 disciples of Mahomet are not very exact chronolo- 
 gists, and have rather a limited acquaintance with 
 geography. The prophet of Israel expired on the 
 mountain of Nebo, without having ever entered on 
 the promised land, and was buried in the valley of 
 Moab, over against Beth-peor ; " hut no man knoweth 
 of his sepulchre unto this day,*' His decease took 
 place towards the close of the fortieth year after the 
 departure from Egypt, Anno Mundi 9,552. This 
 convent was probably erected by some religious person, 
 who had the same name with the brother of Aaron, 
 but who lived many years subsequently to the appear- 
 ance of Jesus Christ. The building, though capa- 
 cious, and supplied with many of the requisites for a 
 large establishment, is almost totally deserted, and 
 
 1 
 
114 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 serves only for the casual residence of a Santon. We 
 entered one of the inner courts, and lay down on the 
 pavement nearly two hours. We then resumed our 
 journey : the night being considerably advanced, the 
 moon was now sunk ; but the clearness of the atmo- 
 sphere and the radiancy of the stars afforded a suffi- 
 cient light to guide us through the rugged and gloomy 
 pass. In another hour and half we approached the 
 shores of the sulphureous lake : here the Turkish guards 
 and the Arabian chief became very earnest in their 
 entreaties that we would suspend our conversation; 
 for a short time we consented to humour their caprice, 
 though convinced that the caution was unnecessary. 
 In this interval, as we proceeded in solemn silence, 
 in the darkness of night and the stillness of solitude, 
 every object around bearing marks of some convulsion 
 of nature, or of Heaven's chastisement, we might 
 seem like a funereal train in their passage through the 
 valley of Death. 
 
 Alfin giuiigemmo al loco, ove gia scesc 
 Fiamma dal cielo in dilatate falde ; 
 E di natura vendico I'ofFese 
 Sovra le genii in mal opr^r si saldc. 
 Fu gia terra feconda, almo paese, 
 Or acquc son bituminose e caide, 
 
X1ETTERS FHOM PALESTINE. 11,5 
 
 E steril lago; e, quanto ei torce e gira, 
 Compresa e I'aria, e grave il puzzo spira.* 
 
 La Gerusalemme Liberata, 
 Canto X. Stan. 61. 
 
 At length we arrived at the water's edge, where 
 our escort desired us to dismount, and wait till the 
 dawn. Here we lay down on the sands for about two 
 hours, and indulged an undisturbed slumber, till 
 aroused by the leader of our party, who aflfected 
 great anxiety on account of some hostile tribe in the 
 neighbourhood : we rose without hesitation, and pro- 
 ceeded to the embouchure of the Jordan, distant 
 about three miles. The stream is here deep and 
 rapid, rolling a considerable volume of waters; the 
 width appears from two to three hundred feet, and the 
 current so violent, that our Greek servant who at- 
 tempted to cross it, though strong, active, and an 
 
 ^ At length we drew to where, in dreadful ire, 
 Heaven rain'd on earth of old a storm of fire, 
 To avenge the wrongs, which nature's laws endur'd, 
 On that dire race to horrid deeds inur'd : 
 Where once were fertile lands and meadows green, 
 Now a deep lake with sulph'rous waves was seen: 
 Hence noisome vapours, baleful streams arise, 
 That breathe contagion to the distant skies. 
 
 HooLE, 
 
116 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 expert swimmer, found the undertaking impracti- 
 cable : had he succeeded, we should have ascertained 
 the exact breadth, as he was furnished with a line to 
 stretch over the surface from the opposite side. The 
 accuracy of the measurement would be a sufficient 
 refutation of Volney's ^ sarcastic remarks on this 
 
 I This author, however deservedly celebrated for the ex- 
 tent and variety of his acquirements, appears to feel an 
 invincible repugnance to allude, otherwise than in a tone of 
 sarcasm, to an}^ event or circumsfauce connected with scrip- 
 tural history. Describing the cedars of Lebanon, he expresses 
 himself thus : " Ces cedres si reputes, ressemblent k Men 
 d'autres merveilles ; quatre ou cinq gros arbres, les sew/s^wi 
 restent, et qui n'ont rien de particulier, ne valent pas la peine 
 que Ton prend a franchir les precipices qui y m'enent." This 
 is far from a correct account: the place distinguished for 
 possessing what remains of the original cedars is called 
 Areze ; the trees are spread over a knoll between three and 
 four acres in extent, and may be visited by any persons at 
 all accustomed to mountainous passes, without diflSculty or 
 personal inconvenience : at all events, such as are induced 
 to pursue their route to the mountain's top, will find them- 
 selves sufficiently repaid for such additional exertion. The 
 surface in some parts is certainly very precipitous, and as we 
 approached towards the summit, an aerial current swept 
 round the ascent, which, though resistless for the moment, 
 was in the highest degree exhilarating in its efl'ects. 
 
 Perhaps no spot on the globe can present a spectacle 
 so glorious as that which is unfolded from the apex of mount 
 Lebanon. A boundless horizon, glowing and radiant, is 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. ]17 
 
 celebrated river, which, by the bye, I strongly suspect 
 he never saw. It enters the northern extremity of 
 the Dead Sea, which takes a south south-eastern direc- 
 
 spread out before the view, and the sight expatiates almost 
 uninterruptedly, from the waters of the Mediterranean to 
 the confines of the Persian Gulf. On such a scene the spec- 
 tator loses for a while all sense of individual weakness ; his 
 faculties feel as it were an enlarged vitality ; and he dwells 
 with a rapturous enthusiasm on the splendours by which he is 
 encompassed, till their united glories torture the imagination, 
 and the " sense aches with gazing !" 
 
 The structure of this mountain is considered to resemble 
 that of every other throughout the extent of Siria. A stratum 
 of lime-stone, white and rather hard, seems to be the chief 
 material, but the layers are dislocated in very irregular direc- 
 tions. Mineral productions of the most valuable kind might 
 probably be discovered, if the inhabitants had either skill or 
 enterprise for attempting the research. The hills of Judaea 
 anciently abounded with iron,* and there is every analogous 
 reason to conclude that this district might be found equally 
 rich in the same species of ore. 
 
 We continued descending, during several hours, through 
 varied scener}^ presenting at every turn some new feature, 
 distinguished either by its picturesque beauty or awful sub' 
 limity. On arriving at one of the lower swells, which form, 
 the base of the mountain, we broke rather abruptly into a 
 deep and thick forest. As we traversed the bocage, the 
 bowlings of wild animals were distinctly heard from the 
 recesses, but I saw nothing larger than a wolf or a jackall. 
 A few hares crossed us, and several coveys of grey partridges 
 sprang up within an easy reach. Two of our attendants 
 
 * " A land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills Ihou mayest dig 
 brass." Deuteron. viii. 9. 
 
118 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 tion, visible for ten or fifteen miles, when it disappears 
 in a curve towards the east. The mountains on each 
 side are apparently separated by a distance of eight 
 miles, but the expanse of water at this point I should 
 imagine cannot exceed five or six : as it advances 
 southwardly it evidently increases in breadth. Pliny 
 states the total length to be one hundred miles, and 
 the greatest breadth twenty-five.* 
 
 were professed chasseurs, but they have no conception of a 
 flying shot : they were, however, very adroit at any fixed 
 mark. Declining nearer towards the bottom, we encoun- 
 tered a very formidable band of locusts, who were marching 
 over the surface in a regular body, devouring the produce, 
 and marking their progress by the traces of devastation. 
 These terrible insects appear in the greatest numbers, when- 
 ever the winter has been more than usuallj- temperate; for 
 the depositaries of their eggs having then suffered no injury 
 from the cold, they burst forth in the spring months in inde- 
 structible myriads. The natives have tried several methods 
 to rid themselves of this noisome plague ; pit-falls are exca- 
 vated, and large masses of wet stubble lighted, so as to pro- 
 duce a suffocating smoke : there is also a particular bird, 
 which makes them his prey, and who for this reason is held 
 sacred by the inhabitants. Unhappily these expedients pro- 
 duce little more than a very slight mitigation of the evil : the 
 only effectual relief is afforded by the south-east wind, which 
 drives them with irresistible violence into the Mediterra- 
 nean, and for a time frees the country from the horrors of 
 famine. 
 
 ^ Hist. Nat. lib. v. cap. xvi. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 119 
 
 Among the fabulous properties attributed^to this 
 lake, the specific gravity of the water has been stated 
 to be such as to be capable of supporting the heaviest 
 material substance.^ I found it very little m^re buoyant 
 than other seas, but considerably warmer, and so 
 strongly impregnated with sulphur that I left it with a 
 violent head-ache and swollen eyes. I should add, 
 however, that where I made the experiment the de- 
 scent of the beach was so gently gradual, that I must 
 have waded above a hundred yards to get completely 
 out of my depth, and the impatience of the Arabians 
 would not allow sufficient time for so extensive an 
 effort. 
 
 The Vicomte de Chateaubriand, following the ge- 
 neral opinion, had described the waters as preserving 
 their serenity even amidst the agitations of a tempest. 
 " Son eau, d'une amertume affreuse, est si pesante^ 
 que les vents les plus irapeteux peuvent k peine la 
 soulever !" A personal examination induced this elo- 
 
 1 Questo e lo stagno in cui nulla di greve 
 Si getta mai, che giunga insino al basso ; 
 Ma in guisa pur d'abete o d'orno leve, 
 L'uom vi sornuota el duro ferro e'l Sasso. 
 
 La Gerusalemme Liberata, 
 Canto X. Stan. 62. 
 
10 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 quent writer to correct the preceding statement.* In 
 fact, a light breeze is more than sufficient to ruffle 
 the surface : the protection of the mountains renders 
 any very violent fluctuation unfrequent, and not the 
 density of the fluid. 
 
 The banks of the Jordan, which were formerly the 
 baunt of lions, at least if the expressions in Jeremiah* 
 are to be understood literally, have long ceased to be 
 infested with any such visitors, and we gathered the 
 reeds from its shore without the slightest molestation. 
 The current, as it enters the Dead Sea, is much disco- 
 loured, but the general appearance of the lake is that 
 of the most brilliant transparency. As we approached 
 the margin of the water, a strong sulphureous odour 
 was emitted, but a few paces distant it was scarcely 
 perceptible. I have filled a large bottle with the fluid, 
 with a design to make the experiment recommended 
 by Pococke, as soon as we reach the coast. The 
 taste is peculiarly harsh and bitter. Certain travellers 
 have attributed to these waters the same powerful 
 
 1 Les merveilles out disparu devant uii examen plus 
 severe, (Itineraire de Paris a Jerusalem, vol. ii, p. 178.) 
 
 2 " Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling 
 " of Jordan, unto the habitation of the strong," (chap. L 
 verse 44.) 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 121 
 
 effect on birds, which Virgil ascribes to the lake near 
 the promontory of Misenum : 
 
 Quam super baud uUae poterant impune volantes 
 Tendere iter pcnnis ; talis sese halitus atris 
 Faucibus effundens supra ad convexa ferebat. 
 
 ^NEiD vi. 239. 
 
 Though unable to negative such report by ocular 
 observation, I feel strongly inclined to question its 
 accuracy : there were several impressions on the sand 
 of birds' feet, some of which appeared as large as the 
 claws of an eagle or vulture ; we did not, however, 
 distinguish any with the formation peculiar to water 
 fowl. If hereafter the Turks allow this sea to be navi- 
 gated, future travellers may eventually arrive at many 
 very interesting discoveries. It is not, perhaps, im- 
 possible that the wrecks of the guilty cities may still 
 be found : w^e have even heard it asserted with confi- 
 dence that broken columns and other architectural 
 ruins are visible at certain seasons, when the water is 
 much retired below its usual level ; but of this state- 
 ment, our informers, when closely pressed, could not 
 adduce any satisfactory confirmation. Strabo reckons 
 up thirteen towns, that were overwhelmed by the lake 
 Asphaltites. The author of the book of Genesis enu- 
 
12a LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 merates only five, and of these Sodom and Gomorrah 
 are alone stigmatized as peculiarly the objects of the 
 Almighty's vengeance. " Then the Lord rained upon 
 Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from 
 the Lord out of heaven." (Genesis xix. 24.) 
 
 I trust you will acquit me of any presumptuous 
 idea of violating the sanctity of a miracle, by ascribing 
 its eff'ects to a merely natural agent; but in tracing the 
 operations of Providence in the secondary causes, 
 which are used as the instruments of Almighty Power^ 
 it may be allowed us to remark, that the buildings on 
 the borders of this lake were most probably constructed 
 from the materials supplied by the quarries in its 
 immediate neighbourhood: these being impregnated 
 with sulphureous particles, were easily susceptible of 
 ignition, and consequently incapable of resisting the 
 continued influence of lightning. Some writers have 
 conjectured that the destruction of the cities was 
 effected by a shower of nitre, accompanied by a vio- 
 lent earthquake ; but Tacitus attributes the conflagra- 
 tion to the stroke of a thunder-bolt. Adopting this 
 conjecture, the brimstone and fire which were rained 
 from heaven may be interpreted to signify inflamed 
 brimstone; and the storm being attended with an 
 
LETTEBS FROM PALESTINE. 123 
 
 earthquake, it naturally happened that the water rushed 
 to the parts where the earth had subsided, and so 
 becoming mixed with the bituminous matter, produced 
 a lake of the peculiar properties by which the sea of 
 Sodom is distinguished. Strabo, Tacitus, Diodorus 
 Siculusy and other heathen writers have recorded thii? 
 prodigy: their narratives are curious and amusing, but 
 certainly not to be implicitly relied on. The description 
 given by Joseph us should also be received with a consi- 
 derable degree of caution ; for this author has not scru- 
 pled to state, that when Vespasian in a lit of capricious 
 cruelty ordered certain of his slaves to be thrown into the 
 deep, with their limbs bound to prevent any effort at 
 swimming, they all floated on the surface as if impelled 
 upwards by a subterranean current ! ! The length of 
 the lake, according to the same historian, is not more 
 than five hundred and eighty furlongs, extending as far 
 as Zoar in Arabia, and its greatest breadth one hundred 
 and fifty. The adjoining territory was formerly dis- 
 tinguished by its fertility and opulence, though at 
 present it exhibits an appearance of the most frightful 
 desolation. He then proceeds to mention the impiety, 
 which drew down the vengeance of heaven, and adds, 
 that there are still some traces of the divine fire per- 
 
124 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 ceptible in the shadows of the five cities. He asserts 
 also in direct terms, that the pillar of salt into which 
 Lof s wife was transformed, existed at the period of 
 his writing, and that he himself had examined it. He 
 does not, indeed, very minutely describe the spot 
 where the transformation was effected ; but as the 
 husband fled with his daughters towards the town of 
 Zoar, the calamity must have befallen her in the dis- 
 trict adjoining that city. Its remote situation at the 
 southernmost point of the lake, in one of the wildest 
 and most dangerous divisions of Arabia, renders any 
 research in such quarter at present impracticable but 
 there is surely nothing irrational in the idea, that a 
 human creature, when struck by lightning and reduced 
 to a state of torpor, might be so completely encrusted 
 and wrapped round with the sulphureous matter, as to 
 be indurated into a substance as hard as stone, and 
 assume the appearance of a pillar or statue. 
 
 We have all heard of the famous apples, 
 " Which grew 
 
 *' Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flam'd." 
 Paradise Lost, Book x. ver. 561. 
 
 Josephus represents them as blooming to the sight ; 
 
 but on the spectator's yielding to the temptation to 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 125 
 
 pluck them, they are said to dissolve instantly into 
 smoke and ashes. A fruit possessing such singular 
 properties would naturally engage the attention of every 
 traveller who visited these regions ; yet amongst the 
 various writers who have noticed its existence, scarcely 
 any two agree in their description ; and some authors 
 appear inclined to treat the whole account as fabulous, 
 or at most to consider it as an allegorical representation 
 of the deceptive pleasures of the world. I own I 
 looked for these apples with unusual avidity, and after 
 making a proper deduction for the rhetorical flourishes 
 of Tacitus and Josephus, I am willing to fancy that I 
 discovered the peculiar fruit mentioned by those wri- 
 ters. They grow in clusters on a shrub five or six 
 feet high, and are about the size of a small apricot : 
 the colour is a bright yellow, which, contrasting with 
 the delicate verdure of the foliage, seemed like the 
 union of gold with emeralds. Possibly, when ripe 
 they may crumble into dust upon any violent pressure, 
 but those which I gathered did not retain the slightest 
 mark of any indenture from the touch. I found them 
 in a thicket of brush-wood, about half a mile distant 
 from the plain of Jericho. 
 
 The mountains which bound the valley of Siddim 
 
1216 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 run in a parallel direction from north to south : thosfe 
 on the Arabian side are far less devastated than the 
 range which forms the Judaean barrier : these last rise 
 from a sandy base of a whitish hue, but the higher 
 strata appear to be of a dark chalk : the summit is 
 more irregular than the eastern chain, and the surface 
 is every where marked by a total absence of vegetation. 
 The impatience of our escort forced us to terminate 
 Our observations rather abruptly, and we were hurried 
 inwards about three miles to drink of the fountain of 
 Elisha, leaving the ruins of Jericho, which indeed are 
 merely nominal, a little to the right. The purification 
 of this miraculous stream is detailed at considerable 
 length by Josephus ; the account of the transaction, as 
 recorded in the book of Kings, is as follows : I extract 
 it from an EngUsh translation of the Bible, which Sir 
 Sydney Smith presented to the library of this convent. 
 
 '* The men of the city (Jericho) said unto Elisha, 
 '' Behold, I pray thee, the situation of the city is 
 " pleasant, as my Lord seeth : but the water is naught 
 *' and the ground barren. 
 
 . . '' And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt 
 ^' therein : and they brought it to him. 
 
 *' And he went forth unto the spring of the waters 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 127 
 
 ^* and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the 
 '^ Lord, I have healed these waters ; there shall not be 
 *' from thence any more death, or barren land. 
 
 ^' So the waters were healed unto this day, ac- 
 *' cording to the saying of Elisha which he spake.'' 
 (2 Kings ii. 19.) 
 
 In this instance salt was the remedy employed to 
 remove the impurity : on a former occasion, when the 
 people of Israel murmured against Moses at Marah, 
 we read that he cried unto the Lord, who shewed him 
 a tree, " which, when he had cast into the waters, the 
 '^ waters were made sweet,'' (Exodus xv. 0,5.) Pliny 
 mentions a species of wood, whose natural properties 
 produce a similar effect. 
 
 The current which issues from this fountain is 
 clear and sparkling, and of a most agreeable flavour : if 
 applied to the purposes of irrigation, for which the posi- 
 tion of the adjoining ground is extremely well adapted, 
 it might easily be rendered a very profitable instrument 
 of husbandry : but the proprietors of lands in these 
 regions have an insurmountable horror of every species 
 of innovation ; any practice in agriculture, however 
 simple and obvious, which was unknown to their pro- 
 genitors, is regarded with scorn or jealousy, and they 
 
128 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 willingly consign to chance and destiny the task 
 renewing an exhausted soil. 
 
 Immediately above the somxe commences the 
 ascent of the mountain called Quarantina, which, on I 
 know not what foundation, has been imagined to be 
 the scene of our Saviour's interview- with Satan, when 
 he tempted him with a display " of all the kingdoms of 
 " the earth." The view from this elevation is much 
 too confined to justify such a conjecture. The summit 
 of Lebanon would have been far more suitable to the 
 scheme of the tempter, even if he had limited his ex- 
 pressions to the sense in which the term " world" is 
 used by the author of the Epistle to the Romans, 
 (chap. iv. ver. 13.) From that eminence he might 
 have directed the attention of his auditor to the east, 
 where lay the once powerful kingdom of Persia, and 
 the kingdom of Arabia, rich in gold, in frankincense 
 and myrrh: towards the south, he might have beheld 
 the confines of Egypt, 
 
 " Nurse of sciences, 
 Mother of gods, and land of miracles. ^^ 
 
 Turning to the west, he might have pointed out Tyre 
 and the subject isles, abounding in all the strength and 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 129 
 
 riches of comiuercial greatness ; and thence extending 
 his imagination to Rome, have taught him to contem- 
 plate the queen and empress of the world ! while on 
 the north his view would have comprised the former 
 kingdom of Antiochus, whose profanation of the 
 temple, and severity to the Jewish tribes, might justly 
 be supposed to awaken every sentiment of indignant 
 patriotism in the breast of their descendant. ^ 
 
 The height of the Quarantina is very insufficient for 
 so comprehensive a range of vision : its greatest eleva- 
 tion commands a view of the land of the Amorites, of 
 Gilead, and of Basan ; beyond those plains are the 
 hills of Abarim, the northern limits of the territory of 
 Moab. It was from this range of mountains, on whose 
 summit are the promontories of Pisgah and Nebo, 
 that Moses surveyed the promised land, before he was 
 ^ gathered to his people/' (Numb, xxvii. 12, 13.) 
 
 After a slight repast in a natural arbour, which 
 
 1 Milton supposes the interview to have taken place on 
 that part of mount Taurus, which separates Armenia from 
 Mesopotamia. (See Paradise Regained, Book iii. ver. 251.) 
 The poet, Trom respect to the silence of the Scriptures on this 
 point, has forborne to name any particular elevation, but his 
 description has been remarked to agree precisely with the 
 -account given by Strabo of that mountain. 
 
ISO LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 grew at a short distance below the spring head, we 
 prepared to return to Jerusalem. It was now past 
 three o'clock, and the heat began to be considerably 
 abated. Our progress had hitherto been so tranquil, 
 that the Arabian guards, having no foreign tribe to 
 contend with, as if unwilling that so much warlike 
 preparation should have been assumed for no purpose, 
 commenced a civil affray among themselves. We 
 were accompanied in our excursion by a French 
 Ganon, attached to the Embassy at Constantinople, and 
 who availed himself of the privileges of that situation, 
 to explore certain districts of the Holy Land. His 
 zealous and intrepid character qualified him in many 
 respects for such an undertaking, and his obliging and 
 conciliatory manners secured him a hospitable reception 
 in whatever quarter he presented himself. A young 
 Arab, apprized of his accommodating disposition, had 
 fastened to his horse furniture a large goat-skin, filled 
 with water from the fountain of Elisha, designing it, 
 probably, for an offering to his mistress, or the elders 
 of his own family. It is, I fear, common to all socie- 
 ties, savage as well as civilized, to be afflicted with 
 certain individuals, who are never so much at unity 
 with themselves, as when they have set the rest at 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 131 
 
 variance. As we were climbing a very steep ascent, 
 one of these well-disposed characters suddenly sprang 
 towards the Canon, and tearing the treasure from his 
 steed, fled off with the prize amongst the intricacies of 
 the cliffs. This was immediately resented by the pro- 
 prietor, and a scuffle ensued which threatened to 
 involve the whole corps. In an instant, sabres were 
 unsheathed, muskets pointed, and all the authority of 
 the chief was scarcely sufficient to repress the disorder. 
 It terminated, however, without any injury, except to 
 one person, who received a deep gash in the sword 
 arm, from whence the blood streamed most profusely. 
 I bound up the wound with my handkerchief, and re- 
 commended the bandage to be kept on till the morning, 
 conceiving the blood to be the most efficient plaster : 
 for this slight effort at surgery, I received a collection 
 of wild flowers gathered from the brow of the moun- 
 tain, and wove into a rude garland. 
 
 We reached the city between nine and ten o'clock; 
 the gates had long been closed, and we were obliged 
 to make a circuit of three-fourths of the walls, so as 
 to enter by the gate of Damascus, which our Turks 
 summoned by discharging their pistols. 
 
132 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Dear E- 
 
 This afternoon we examined the vestiges of 
 antiquity immediately without the city. Passing the 
 valley of Gehinnon, I observed several excavations, 
 which were probably the receptacles of the dead, 
 though they want the distinctive marks of sepulchres. 
 Further up the acclivity, there are some whose desig- 
 nation is less equivocal ; but our drogoman was more 
 than usually embarrassed by enquiries, of a nature sel- 
 dom contemplated by his employers in the convent; 
 and we were hurried on to those places with whose tra- 
 ditionary histories he was far better informed. The 
 whole of this ascent is iu great measure nezo ground 
 for the research of the antiquarian ; and if the con- 
 tinuance of peace, by the facilities it may aiFord of 
 exploring these remote regions, should induce future 
 
 t 
 
I LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 13S 
 
 travellers to make Jerusalem an object of patient in- 
 vestigation, it is here probably that they will find the 
 amplest scope for the exercise of their various eru- 
 dition. Proceeding northerly, but keeping on the 
 eastern side of the brook Kedron, we arrived at three 
 structures, which are generally described as the tombs 
 of Jehosophat, of Absalom, and of Zechariah. The 
 lirst mentioned of these is believed to have contained 
 the ashes of the monarch, from whom the valley has 
 received its title. It is a kind of grotto, very little 
 raised above the surface ; the entrance is very low, 
 and the proportions are extremely ungraceful, but the 
 portal is adorned with an elegant frieze : the other 
 two are hewn out of the rock, and appear as if de- 
 tached from the mountain, of which they still con- 
 stitute an integral part. Their height is from eighteen 
 to twenty feet, and the breadth about eight : the lateral 
 walls are square masses, relieved by pilasters crowned 
 with Ionic ^ capitals. The roof of that which is 
 
 1 The Vicomte de Chateaubriand describes these co- 
 lumns as being of the Doric order : his descriptions in every 
 other instance were found to have been so minutely correct, 
 that it was not till after repeated examination, confirmed by 
 the observations of his friend, that the writer could prevail on 
 himself to note them as Ionic. 
 
134 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 usually assigned to Absalom is of a very singular 
 form, resembling a broad phial with a narrow neck, 
 the lower part of which is decorated with a light and 
 graceful wreath. The other pile is also square, and 
 relieved by the same number of pillars, which if not 
 purely Ionic, have a greater resemblance to that than 
 to any other architectural order: the roof is pyramidal. 
 There is no visible mark in either to authorize the 
 conclusion that they were actually constructed as 
 repositories for the remains of the deceased, whose 
 names they bear ; they appear like single blocks of 
 stone; that which stands most to the north has indeed 
 been perforated and found to be hollow, but the other 
 is considered to be perfectly solid. Between these 
 monuments there is a large excavation containing two 
 or three smaller caverns, where the apostles are sup- 
 posed on some occasion to have sought a temporary 
 shelter. Immediately above the cave, and resting on 
 a projection of the rock, there are the remains of two 
 columns of the Doric order; tradition will have it 
 that St. James retired to this grotto after the passion 
 of our Saviour, and that the Messiah appeared to him 
 in this place subsequently to his resurrection. 
 
 The scene of Isaiah's death and sufferings is on 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 135 
 
 the western side of the valley, almost in front 
 of these monuments : a venerable tree designates- 
 the spot where the prophet was tortured by the 
 command of Manasses. About one hundred yards 
 to the north is the source of the fountain Siloa, whose 
 waters were applied by Christ as the means of re- 
 storing sight to the blind : the stream is clear, but of 
 a .harsh and unpleasant flavour. From hence we 
 proceeded in a northern direction between one and 
 two miles, when we arrived at a gentle descent, on 
 whose acclivities there are several caverns, sculptured 
 with inconceivable skill and labour from the rocky 
 stratum. These excavations are generally supposed, 
 though I could not learn on what authority, to have 
 been prepared as sepulchres for the judges of Israel: 
 the peculiarity of their structure probably suggested 
 the idea that they were some national undertaking; 
 their number, costliness, and magnificence, appearing 
 to exclude the supposition that so extensive a ceme- 
 try should have been designed for any private family, 
 however distinguished by rank or opulence. The 
 principal vault has the portal decorated by a triangular 
 cornice, of a rich but chaste design : the entrance con- 
 ducts to a square chamber, from whence other cells 
 
136 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 diverge, in which receptacles for the dead are ranged 
 above each other in successive gradations : the other 
 caverns are all finished on the same plan, differing 
 only in their respective dimensions. The aera of their 
 foundation has never been ascertained, and conse- 
 quently the traditionary account of the uses to viliich 
 they were applied is not supported by any credible 
 attestation. 
 
 The sepulchre of the kings is about half a 
 mile distant, in a direction nearer to the city. Our 
 drogoman assigned no other reason for the royal ap- 
 pellative by which this cemetry is distinguished, than 
 its pre-eminence in size over any of the tombs of the 
 judges, and the superior art and labour displayed in 
 the sculptural ornaments. The first entrance to this 
 chamber is lofty and spacious ; the different com- 
 partments are not like the tombs of the judges, dis- 
 persed in detached grottos, but concentrated in a 
 single excavation at the south extremity of a square, 
 some feet below the natural surface. Over the portal 
 are the remains of a very elegant and highly-finished 
 cornice, in which the execution is so perfect that one 
 laments the poverty of the material : a considerable 
 portion is effaced, but what is still extant appears in a 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 137 
 
 state of good preservation ; and it may be noticed as a 
 singularity, that the artist seems to have studiously 
 avoided any allusion to those natural objects, which 
 are usually considered as emblematic of mortality. A 
 light chain of leaves, enriched with fruitage, runs in a 
 line parallel to the frieze, and descends perpendi- 
 cularly on each side of the entrance. Having passed 
 the portal, a small aperture at the extremity opens into 
 a moderately-sized chamber, from which a similar 
 egress leads to three others of nearly the same dimen- 
 sions : the access to these apartments was originally 
 closed by doors, carved from the rock, and suspended 
 on hinges of the same material ; they were hewn into 
 the resemblance of pannels, and though much less 
 than common doors with regard to length and breadth, 
 surpassed them considerably in thickness. None of 
 these are now hanging, but I observed two or three on 
 the floor amidst the mutilated relics. 
 
 Niches to receive the body are disposed rather 
 differently from those in the sepulchres of the judges ; 
 they are less numerous, but of equal simplicity in their 
 formation, exhibiting no traces of ornamental sculp- 
 ture except in the covering of one recess, which is in 
 the figure of a half column, the convex part being 
 
138 LETTERS FROM FALESTIxNE. 
 
 richly garnished by grotesque representations of 
 flowers. 
 
 At the present day it is perhaps impossible to 
 discover who were the individuals that peopled these 
 sepulchres nor is the question very important : there 
 is a probability that they may have been designed for 
 the immediate family of Herod the Tetrarch, whose 
 circumstances previously to his banishment by Cali- 
 gula were sufficiently affluent to enable him to found 
 two cities. The grounds for this conjecture rest 
 chiefly on a passage in Josephus : the Jewish histo- 
 rian, describing the wall with which Titus surrounded 
 the city to compel its surrender, speaks of it as encom- 
 passing Herod's monument. His expressions are 
 these : *' Titus began the wall from the camp of the 
 Assyrians, where his own forces were entrenched, and 
 extended it towards the lower part of Cenapolis ; 
 thence it passed through the valley of Kedron to the 
 mount of Olives, where it took a southern direction, 
 and enclosed the mountain as far as the rock Periste- 
 reon and the adjacent hill, which overlooks the valley 
 opposite to Siloam. At that point it turned towards 
 the west, and descended to the valley of the fountain, 
 where it again ascended by the monument of Ananus 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. ISQf 
 
 the high-priest. After encompassing the hill where 
 Pompey formerly pitched his camp, it returned to the 
 NORTH SIDE OF THE CITY, and was carried on to a 
 certain point called the house of the Erebinthi : thence 
 it proceeded to surround Herod's monument, and 
 terminated in the east at the quarter where it began."* 
 
 We read in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, 
 that " Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried 
 " him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of' the sons of 
 " David ; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jeru- 
 " salem did him honour at his death, and Manasses 
 '^ his son reigned in his stead." (2 Chron. xxxii. 33.) 
 But this account is far too general to be by any means 
 conclusive with respect to the vaults at the north of 
 the city. The Vicomte de Chateaubriand is of opi- 
 nion that the architecture of these monuments refutes 
 the idea of their having been completed in the earlier 
 periods of the Jewish history : Were it necessary, 
 adds this distinguished traveller, to fix the epoch in 
 which these mausoleums were constructed, I should 
 assign their date to the age in which an alliance was 
 formed between the Jews and Macedonians, under 
 
 1 Bell. Jud. lib. v. cap.xii. 
 
140 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 the first of the Maccabees. The Doric was then the 
 prevailmg order in Greece, the Corinthian not having 
 been universally introduced till nearly half a century 
 later, when the Romans began to extend their in- 
 fluence both in the Peloponesus and in Asia. But in 
 naturalizing at Jerusalem the architecture of Corinth 
 and Athens, the inhabitants blended the peculiarities 
 of their own style with the graceful proportions of that 
 which they adopted. The monuments in the valley of 
 Jehosaphat, and more particularly the royal sepulchres 
 at the north of the city, present a striking instance of 
 the union of the Egyptian and Grecian orders : there 
 resulted from this connection that indecisive anoma- 
 lous character, which forms the link between 
 THE Pyramids and the Parthenon.* 
 
 ' " II resulta de cette alliance uue sorte de monumens in- 
 decis qui forment, pour ainsi dire, le passage entre les Pyra- 
 mides et le Parthenon." 
 
 Itineraire, vol. ii. p. 310. 
 
I.ETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 141 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Dear E , 
 
 We this morning made a fruitless eflfort to gain 
 admission to the citadel : our ill success is to be 
 ascribed to a neglect of certain formalities, which are 
 frequently more an object of attention even than the 
 jealousy of ceremonial distinctions in fact we omitted 
 to propitiate the governor ; an omission which in this 
 country carries with it universally its own punishment. 
 The Aga complained of our carelessness, in terms of 
 such strong resentment, to the drogoman, that we felt 
 very little disposed to repair our negligence: it is 
 however always advisable for a traveller to conform to 
 established usages, whenever the observance does not 
 compromise a sense of honour, or affect his personal 
 character. The custom of sending presents to persons 
 
142 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 in authority is as old as the time of Saul,^ and any 
 departure from so venerable a practice is viewed as 
 an affront to the official dignity of the individual in 
 power.* 
 
 ' 1 Samuel ix. 7. 
 
 * It is of course totally impossible to prescribe either the 
 quality or pecuniary value of the offering, which it may be 
 proper to present : these must necessarily be left to the taste 
 and circumstances of the traveller, who will naturally take 
 into consideration the rank and ojffice of the individual to 
 whom he addresses himself. The observations of Alcumena 
 and Mercury on the cup presented to the former by Jupiter in 
 the disguise of Amphitryon,* are a short but very expressive 
 commentary, which it may be proper on these occasions al- 
 ways to bear in mind. A want of attention to this point was 
 productive of much embarrassment to all parties, when a short 
 time since a very distinguished visitor from England had an 
 interview with the Pasha of Jaffa. 
 
 Generally speaking, the most acceptable presents consist 
 in such articles as are not supplied by native ingenuity: it 
 would be very idle, for instance, to carry owls to Athens / 
 For a similar reason, all silks, or embroidered scarfs, the pro- 
 duce of European manufactories, are here held in little esti- 
 mation ; but any superior specimens of cutlery would be very 
 favourably received. The universal excellence of the Da- 
 mascus blades has rendered other sabres comparatively of little 
 value; a finely-tempered cavalry sword would however be 
 justly appreciated. A double-barrelled pistol is an instrument 
 almost unknown in Judaea; the locks are always ill-finished, 
 
 * Alcumena. Ecaator condignum donum ! quali 'st qui ilonam dedit; 
 Mekcurius. Immo sic condignum donum, quali 'st quoi done datum est. 
 
 Ampbyt. Act i. sc. 2. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 143 
 
 While we were discussing the point at the en* 
 trance of the fortress, our attention was suddenly 
 called to a very singular spectacle : a young man of 
 an elegant figure, and possessing a considerable degree 
 of muscular agility, placed himself on the drawbridge 
 in a state perfectly naked, and threw himself into a 
 variety of fantastic attitudes ; bounding with a sort of 
 
 the chief attention of the artist being employed in ornament- 
 ing the stock : here, therefore, is another article, which would 
 not fail to conciliate the party to whom it was presented. A 
 telescope is an instrument much prized in this country, and 
 a stranger would do well to be provided with eye-glasses, 
 spectacles, &c. adapted to different ages. Thermometers and 
 weather-glasses, with the gradations marked in Arabic cha- 
 racters, would also be very favourably received. 
 
 A modern traveller, whose sentiments have deservedly 
 great authority with the public, has given it as his opinion 
 that the distribution of presents rather defeats than advances 
 the intentions of a stranger, as a reputation for munificence 
 serves only to invite the rapacity of its objects. But this 
 gentleman prosecuted his travels under very peculiar advan- 
 tages, both from an intimate acquaintance with many of the 
 oriental languages, and from having submitted to the initiatory 
 RIGHT of Mohammedism. What is recommended above is, 
 however, only to be acted on as circumstances arise, or the 
 exigencies of the case may require : it is by no means intended 
 to inculcate the necessity of its being universally practised, 
 or that a traveller should bribe away with both hands, as 
 candidates were formerly supposed to do, on the eve of a 
 contested election. 
 
144 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 wild energy, which the spectators mistook for the 
 effect of inspiration. This person, who is one of 
 those characters which the Turks esteem sacred, and 
 who are termed Santons, roams through the streets of 
 Jerusalem in the condition above described, without 
 exciting from either sex any expression of disgust or 
 astonishment : on the contrary, he is frequently re- 
 garded with peculiar marks of attention, as partaking 
 in an extraordinary degree the attributes of sanctity ! 
 Such is at present the intensity of darkness in a city, 
 whence formerly issued those rays of light and glory, 
 which have illumined a benighted world. 
 
 From the citadel we proceeded to the Jewish 
 synagogue : nothing can more forcibly represent the 
 extreme humiliation of these wretched people, whose 
 fortunes seem darkened over with one thick and 
 oppressive cloud of unbroken misery. The " gorgeous 
 palace and the solemn temple" are substituted by a 
 decayed hovel and gloomy court; the approach to 
 these is formed by a narrow descent of eight or ten 
 steps, at the bottom of which, in a small area partly 
 covered by the projection of a tattered shed, we found 
 the descendants of the patriarchs in the exercise of 
 their religious duties. The service was rehearsed in 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 145 
 
 Spanish, and heard with the most respectful attention. 
 The congregation consisted almost entirely of persons 
 very advanced in life, and there was an air of mournful 
 anxiety thrown over the melancholy group, which 
 rendered their appearance in the highest degree im- 
 pressive and affecting. They seemed like a venerable 
 band of patriots keeping guard over the embers of 
 their faith and national glory, as Hagar is recorded to 
 have watched the waning life of her infant " amid the 
 fountainless desert." 
 
 In the afternoon we took a second survey of 
 the sacred places, included in the Church of the Holy 
 Sepulchre. 
 
 The stone on which the body of Christ was laid 
 to be anointed, is immediately in front of the entrance : 
 eight lamps are suspended over it, and at each 
 extremity there are three large wax tapers, several feet 
 in height. The distance from the sepulchre to the 
 place where the cross was erected, does not exceed 
 forty of my paces: Captain B. made the distance 
 forty- three yards ; his measurement is probably the 
 most accurate. From the tomb to the place of 
 Christ's appearance to the Magdalen, the distance is 
 sixteen yards and a half. 
 
 L 
 
146 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 The exterior of the sepulchre is covered with 
 white satin, variegated with broad leaves embroidered 
 in red silk, and striped with gold : the vestibule is 
 lined with crimson silk, worked with flowers and 
 surmounted by a dome, beneath which three rows of 
 silver lamps are kept constantly burning. A tripod sup- 
 ports the stone on which the angel is believed to have re- 
 clined ; its surface is only one span and a half long, and 
 one broad. The sepulchre is lined with marble, and co- 
 vered with light blue silk, powdered with white flowers. 
 J ust over the part where the body was deposited is a 
 small painting, apparently well executed : it is the 
 production of a Spanish artist, and represents our 
 Saviour's emersion from the grave. The entrance to 
 this hallowed grot is by a low door six spans and a half 
 in height, and three in width. 
 
l.tlTTEllS FROM PALESTINE. 147 
 
 LETTER XIIL 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem, 
 Dear E , 
 
 I ' The difficulties and hazards inseparable from an 
 excursion to the Holy Land, have almost exclusively 
 confined its visitors to the different sects of religious 
 pilgrims. From these it would be useless to expect 
 any information derived from enquiry or personal 
 research; they naturally approach the sacred places 
 with an imagination overawed and controlled, and 
 acquiesce in the legendary narratives, with the humbk 
 confidence which suppresses curiosity. 
 
 The sepulchre which was recognized, during 
 several ages, as the undoubted receptacle of the cotse 
 of the Messiah, has lately had the propriety of its 
 claims to that distinction questioned, by a writer of 
 great acuteness and erudition. As I am not in 
 
148 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 possession of the work in which this subject is formally 
 discussed, I may hope to escape the charge of arro- 
 gance, if I appear to hesitate in subscribing to the 
 sentiments of the author. It has been inferred from 
 the gospel narrative that the crucifixion must have 
 taken place in some public cemetry ; such being the 
 legitimate interpretation both of the word Golgotha 
 and the equivalent term Calvary. The favourite 
 disciple of Christ, whose authority is that of an eye- 
 witness, has expressly stated that his master " went 
 ^^ forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is 
 *^ called in the Hebrew Golgotha.'' (John xix. 17.) 
 And he adds, towards the close of the same chapter, 
 " in the place zohere he teas crucified there was a 
 " garden, and in that garden a new sepulchre, wherein 
 " was never yet majilaid" "There laid they Jesus 
 " therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day ; 
 '^for the Sepulchre was nigh at hand." (John 
 xix. 41, 42.) I 
 
 The relative situations of the grotto said to have | 
 been the tomb of our Saviour, and the alleged scene | 
 
 of his crucifixion, are not, I think, so circumstanced I 
 
 i 
 as to militate with this account ; but there are suffi- I 
 
 cient reasons for arguing against the probability that ! 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. T49 
 
 what is now called mount Calvary was ever set apart 
 as a place of public interment. Cicero has quoted a 
 clause from the twelve tables, which enacts that all 
 sepulchres should be excluded from the city : Hominem 
 mortuum in urhe ne sepelito neve urito} If we are 
 to conclude from hence that the practice of inhumating 
 bodies without the city walls was universal wherever 
 the Roman authority extended, there will be great 
 difficulty in arranging the form and dimensions of 
 Jerusalem so as to avoid comprising mount Calvary 
 within its ancient limits : the eminence which bears 
 that name is not far from the centre of the present 
 town; its exclusion from the walls would therefore 
 occasion such a reduction in the city's extent, as must 
 have rendered it very insufficient for the vast multitudes 
 which composed the population. As to any enlarge- 
 ment that might have taken place on the side of mount 
 Sion, the irregularity which such a capricious distribu- 
 tion of the buildings must have produced, would 
 scarcely be counterbalanced by the advantages of a 
 more elevated position. To make this something more 
 intelligible, I annex a rough sketch of the outlines of 
 
 1 Cic. de Legibus ii. 23* 
 
150 LETTERS TROM PALESTINE. 
 
 the city, as it appears from the mount of Olives : tlic 
 line marked A. A. A. will represent the course which 
 the walls would have taken, on the supposition that the 
 ground occupied by the church of the holy sepulchre 
 was not originally received within them : mount Sion 
 is at the point B. and Calvary, with the church, at the 
 letter C. 
 
 I should not omit to mention a tradition, very 
 generally received here, that the head of Adam was 
 discovered in a cleft of the rock near the base of mount 
 Calvary : such a tradition, whether true or false, might 
 very naturally give title to the spot where the discovery 
 was supposed to be made, and thus Golgotha is not 
 necessarily synonimous with a common repository for 
 bones and skulls : this must however depend on the 
 date of the tradition. Had the scene of our Saviour's 
 crucifixion been the visual place of criminal executions, 
 it would probably have been described as such by 
 the apostles : the particular designation of Golgotha 
 seems to imply a departure in his case from the 
 ordinary practice. The Gospel is decisive as to the 
 fact of the sepulchre being in the place of crucifixion, 
 otherwise there would be less difficulty in supposing 
 that an open space within the ramparts, like the square 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 151 
 
 jtii Tower-hill, might have been purposely selected 
 ^y the ruler of the Jews, on this occasion, as calcu- 
 ited from its commanding situation to give greater 
 iblicity to an event, which was evidently designed to 
 a terrible example to such of his own nation as 
 light feel inclined to adopt the principles of the suf- 
 jrer. It is not however to be doubted that a faithful 
 jcord of every transaction, connected with the death 
 rf their Divine Master, would be anxiously preserved 
 )y his disciples ; and the scene of his death and suffer- 
 ings must have been the objects of their peculiar 
 attention; these indeed were so well known in the 
 time of the Emperor Adrian, who reigned only one 
 hundred and twenty years subsequently to our Saviour's 
 birth, but who was not a convert to the new religion, 
 tiiat he ordered an image to be dedicated to Jupiter 
 over the place of the resurrection, and a statue of 
 Venus to be erected on the highest point of mount 
 r Calvary : the idols were afterwards removed by the 
 piety of the mother of Constantine, to whose zeal and 
 munificence the temples by which they are replaced 
 owe their foundation. 
 
l02 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 Mv dear Chevalier, 
 
 A MARRIAGE was Celebrated in the convent this 
 morning at a very early hour. The ceremony began 
 with the first blush of the dawn, and its conclusion 
 was announced by a burst of joyous exultation from 
 the friends of the bridegroom, who rushed through the 
 galleries and public areas of the monastery shouting 
 and singing, in a tone rather less musical than the 
 chimes of a cathedral, but infinitely surpassing them in 
 violence. 
 
 The ecclesiastical proceedings observed on this 
 occasion were precisely those of the Catholic church 
 as exhibited in Europe. You shall not, therefore, be 
 wearied by any detail on such subject ; I will only add 
 a few observations on the bride's dress. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 153 
 
 The female costume of Palestine is not particu- 
 larly graceful. The outward robe consists of a loose 
 gown, the skirts of which appear as if hanging from 
 the shoulder-blades ; the arms, wrists, and ankles, are 
 bound with broad metal rings, and the waist is encir- 
 cled by a belt, profusely studded with some shining 
 substance, intended, probably, to resemble precious 
 stones : but the bosom, " that part of a beautiful 
 woman, where she is perhaps most beautiful," is so 
 entirely neglected as to be suffered to fall nearly to 
 the stomach. The crown of the head is covered with 
 a compact sort of net-work, interwrought with plates 
 of gold and silver, so arranged as to conceal a part 
 only of the hair, which flows in profuse ringlets over 
 the neck and shoulders : yet even this natural ornament 
 is much injured by a custom, very prevalent, of inter- 
 weaving the extremities with silk ribbons, that descend 
 in twisted folds to the feet. The supplemental tresses 
 would inevitably trail on the ground, were it not for 
 the high clogs, or rather stilts, on which women of 
 condition are always raised, when they appear in 
 public ; many of these are of an extravagant altitude, 
 and if the decorations of the head were of correspon- 
 dent dimensions, a lady's face would seem as if fixed 
 
154 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 in the centre of her figure. The impression made on 
 a stranger by such an equipage is certainly very 
 ludicrous; but a European habit would probably 
 appear equally preposterous to them ; for the fashions 
 and customs, which climate, constitution, or government 
 may have given to one state, are seldom estimated with 
 impartiality by another founded on dift'erent principles. 
 There is, indeed, a whimsical fantasy here, almost 
 universal in its application, which seems utterly irre- 
 concilable with all ideas of female delicacy. Not only 
 are the cheeks plastered with vermilion, the teeth dis- 
 coloured, and the eye-brows dyed, but the lips and 
 chin are tinged Mith a dark, indelible composition, as 
 if the fair proprietors were ambitious of the ornament 
 of a beard ! ! ^ 
 
 1 The practice of staining the features with a view of 
 inspiring the opposite emotions of love and terror, seems to 
 have been as ancient as any of those fanciful peculiarities^ 
 which the records of history, or poetry, have preserved. Par- 
 ticular industry appears to have been exerted in giving a 
 black tinge to the lids of the eye, with a design, probably, to 
 render that organ more languishing, and to heighten the 
 brilliancy of the complexion. It was to some such art that 
 Jezebel had recourse, on the entrance of Jehu into Jezreel { 
 after the slaughter of her son Jchoram ; for the original j 
 expression which our translation has rendered paint, is inter- j 
 preted by Hebraist^ to signify literally a mineral substance, \ 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 155 
 
 Yet these deformities, harsh and outre as they 
 appear, are more than counterbalanced by the absence 
 of those restrictive laws, which confine the modes 
 of dress to one unchangeable ordinance. Indivi- 
 duals of the Christian community are indulged in 
 habits of personal freedom, which are inexorably denied 
 
 a kind of ochre resembUng black lead of very fine loose parts. 
 The custom is more expressly alluded to by Ezekiel, (chap, 
 xxiii. ver. 40,) where the Holy City is described under the 
 image of an adulterous female: " Ye have sent for men to 
 *' come from far, for whom thou didst w ash thyself, paintedst 
 ' thy eyesy and deckedst thyself with ornaments." This species 
 of foppery was not exclusively confined to women at least 
 Juvenal has mentioned it amongst the efifeminate practices of 
 certain of the Roman oflRcers: 
 
 Ule supercilium madida fuHgene tactum 
 
 Obliqui produit acu, pingitque trementes 
 
 AttoUens oculos. Sect. ii. ver. 93. 
 
 Allusions of a similar kind may be found, indeed, in a 
 variety of authors, and amongst others, in the writings of 
 some of the Fathers of the Church. But it may be sufficient 
 to notice the expressions of Pliny: tanta est decoris ajffectatio 
 uttingantur oculi quoque. (Nat. Hist. lib. xi. cap. 37.) 
 
 The Romans are said, on one occasion, to have set up 
 the image of Venus Barhata, with a comb in her hand and the 
 masculine appurtenances to the countenance but this was 
 expressly designed to commemorate the miraculous interpo- 
 sition of the goddess on a very peculiar emergency, and by 
 no nieans considered as a precedent for imitation, even by 
 the most extravagant of her votaries. 
 
156 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 to such as regulate their conduct by the precepts of the 
 Koran. It is a principle with the Turks to depress 
 the fairest part of the creation, far below that just 
 standard, which seems to have been assigned it by 
 Providence, and guaranteed by reason; woman has 
 with them no rank whatever in society. The sanctions 
 of religion are appealed to, to justify the degradation in 
 which females are held ; and in spite of the glosses 
 with which the sentiment is attempted to be varnished 
 over, a young Turk believes, as devoutly as we deny, 
 that 
 
 " Heaven's dread minister, whose awful volume, 
 Records each act, each thought of sacred man, 
 Surveys their sex with inattentive glance, 
 And leaves the lovely trifler unregarded." 
 
 Irene. 
 
 The education of women is suitable to their sup- 
 posed incompetency, and few are taught any accom- 
 plishment except embroidery or needle-work, in which 
 they are said indeed to arrive at very great excellence. 
 In the decoration of their persons they frequently ex- 
 hibit the utmost skill and taste, and it would be difficult 
 to imagine any style of dress more admirably contrived 
 to heighten all the graces of natural beauty. I speak 
 on this subject with some degree of confidence ; for an 
 
LCTTERS FROM PALESTINE. 1.57 
 
 lionest Effrendi invited me on some occasion, during a 
 residence in one of the principal towns of the Ottoman 
 Empire, to pass the evening at his palace, for the 
 avowed purpose of displaying the treasures of a female 
 wardrobe. You will imagine the exhibition to have 
 been extremely curious ; many of the objects defy 
 description; and you may, perhaps, be surprised to 
 hear, that the expressive emblem of superiority, which 
 in England is worn only metaphorically by the beau 
 sex, constitutes in Turkey a very indispensable item in 
 the catalogue of a lady's paraphernalia: they are 
 usually of the finest silk, varying in colour according 
 to the fancy of the wearer, but being generally of pink 
 or white. The waistcoat is peculiarly splendid, made 
 of the richest damask, bordered with gold and fastened 
 with gems. A silk robe, opening in front, so as par- 
 tially to discover the trowsers, is confined by a cestus 
 composed of satin and refulgent with jewels. The 
 head-dress is superiorly magnificent, the hair being 
 tastefully braided, and either bound with wreaths of 
 diamonds, or studded with different coloured gems, 
 disposed in a manner to resemble groups of flowers. 
 
 But however lovely a Turkish female may thus 
 appear in the full blaze of unveiled beauty, all her 
 
158 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 radiancy must be confined to the precincts of her own 
 mansion. If ever she stir abroad, she is concealed in 
 a disguise the most complete and impenetrable. The 
 face is almost entirely covered wath a linen mask, 
 leaving only a small aperture for the eyes : the person 
 is wrapped in a large cloak resembling a domino, and 
 the legs are encased in coarse yellow boots. You may 
 judge what extravagant notions a young Lothario, just 
 let loose from restraint, must entertain of the mystic 
 power of beauty, from the sight of which he is thus 
 most absurdly debarred, and for whose existence he 
 has no other assurance than the vague and fanciful 
 descriptions of poetry. A female, as seen in the 
 streets of Constantinople, seems an object purposely 
 contrived to excite aversion : a large unwieldy form, 
 without either feature, complexion, or symmetry. Is 
 it possible, under such a barbarous regulation, that 
 love, pure, disinterested, ardent, sublime, and tender, 
 as it ought always to be, and as it certainly is felt in 
 many other countries, should have any existence in 
 this ? In the gloomy and unsocial code of Mahomet 
 there is no allowance for any of the playful varieties of 
 whim and caprice, of tenderness and gaiety, the " dolci 
 durezze e placide querele,'' which constitute so resist- 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 1,59 
 
 less a charm in the refinements of European gallantry : 
 the passion is debased, almost inevitably, from senti- 
 ment to appetite ; and the creature, who has received 
 the loveliest impress from the Deity, is degraded to a 
 condition little superior to that of the brute.* 
 
 In some of the remote provinces these principles 
 are apparently beginning to lose their influence. While 
 we were at the Court of Veli Pacha in Thessaly, the 
 
 1 In some respects their situation is, perhaps, more 
 pitiable : 
 
 Non licait thalarai expertem sine crimine vitam 
 Degere more ferae, tales nee tangere curas? 
 
 ^NEID iv. 550. 
 
 If it had been the wish of the legislator to produce a dis- 
 taste for the fair sex, he could scarcely have devised a law 
 better calculated to effect such intention. Woman, as she is 
 made to appear in public throughout Turkey, is the most 
 unattractive object that can be imagined ; while the young 
 men are dressed in a manner, which, at the age of eighteen or 
 twenty, gives them an appearance altogether feminine. Their 
 features are frequently very beautiful, and their complexions 
 fair and shining: the throat and arms, often of a dazzling 
 whiteness, are left bare, and the head decorated with an 
 elegant turban; while the part of the tunic which covers the 
 bosom, being applied to receive the handkerchief, acquires a 
 resemblance to the breast of a girl. To this circumstance, 
 possibly, may be attributed the existence of that dreadful 
 depravity, said to be so prevalent in many eastern countries, 
 " of which ^nodesty reject's the name, and nature abominates 
 the idea." 
 
l60 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE, 
 
 prince made frequent allusions to the social intercourse 
 which exists in Christian states, and expressed his 
 regret that the restrictions of his own country did not 
 allow him to introduce us to any female society. Far 
 from regarding the other sex with the coarse feelings 
 entertained by those, who contemplate a beautiful 
 woman merely as an instrument of pleasure, he ap- 
 peared to have adopted the delicate and dignified sen- 
 timent of polished life, which surrounds them with an 
 undefined protection, and while it gives even to their 
 weaknesses an elevated consideration, softens down 
 the rougher passions of our nature with undiminished 
 power. 
 
L-ETTERS FROM PALESTINE, 1^1 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem, August 25, 1817. 
 
 Dear E- 
 
 In obedience to the wishes of one of the principal 
 performers, we repaired this morning soon after six 
 o'clock to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to assist 
 at the ritual of the f^te de St. Louis. The choral 
 part of the service, which is extremely long, was per- 
 formed in the chapel where the relics of the cross are 
 said to have been identified. Mass was afterwards 
 solemnized on the tomb of our Saviour, and the pro- 
 ceedings terminated by a very eloquent harangue from 
 
 Monsieur D m s, in which the virtues pacific 
 
 and warlike of the monarch in whose honour the cere- 
 mony was instituted, were set forth with many of the 
 graces of impassioned eloquence. The orator con- 
 cluded with a fervent eulogium on the character of the 
 British nation I 
 
 TSL 
 
^6JB LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 I have purposely avoided offering any detailed, 
 account of the different architectural embellishments 
 which are comprehended in this extensive pile; for, 
 except to such as are actually on the spot, it is almost 
 impossible, by any description merely verbal, to convey 
 an intelligible statement. The most sumptuous part 
 of the building is that which has been assigned to the 
 possession of the Greeks. Every thing is here pre- 
 served with extraordinary care and neatness, but the 
 decorations are almost all in extremely bad taste. The 
 altars are loaded with childish ornaments, and the 
 figures of the Holy Family, which deform the walls, 
 appear for the most part to be executed in a style 
 below the standard even of monastical paintings. ^ Ar- 
 tists generally succeed much better in their ideal 
 portraits of the Virgin than in any attempt to convey a 
 
 1 Several of the Italian states imagine they are in pos- 
 session of a portrait of the wife of Joseph, taken by ^Sif. Luke!! 
 'J'hese productions defy the ravages of time, and are still in 
 high preservation : one of them is exhibited, with the most 
 decorous solemnity, in a chapel belonging to the Cathedral 
 Church at Bari. The Evangelist's celebrity as an artist is 
 indeed proverbial in many parts of Italy, where it is not un- 
 common to express approbation of any performance, supposed 
 to be more than usually excellent, by saying it is executed 
 after the manner of St. Luke. 
 
THE MOUJVT OF OI.IVES, 
 
 Drawn in 1817. 
 E rJAe -UoMAs^n. o^ -QelA^mu^n^ . 
 
 ^<^'^1ori.PuhU,!fialbyJa1la^k2.7in'isb>ckStreet.(hventaaiyI^. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. l63 
 
 Tcsemblance of the Messiah. On the latter subject, 
 they have, I think, universally failed. Applying lite- 
 rally the expressions of Isaiah, " He hath no form nor 
 ^' comeliness, and when %e shall see him, there is no 
 ** beauty that ze should desire him f they usually 
 present an assemblage of coarse repulsive features, 
 that seem impressed with the character, which phy- 
 siognomists assert to be the index of an abject spirit. 
 And can such be an appropriate delineation of the 
 glorious Being, who claimed affinity with the God- 
 head ? The Gospel does not contain a single expres- 
 sion to support the idea that Christ was at all deficient 
 in personal attractions : as an emanation from the 
 Creator, clothed in the garb of mortality, we might 
 more rationally infer that his appearance was superiorly 
 beautiful *' a combination and a form indeed," irra- 
 diated with celestial graces. 
 
 There is said to be preserved in the Yatican a 
 letter to the Roman Senate, from a public officer in 
 Judaea, who was cotemporary with our Saviour, which 
 I contains a minute description, both of his figure and 
 countenance. The authenticity of this curious docu- 
 ment will scarcely be admitted at the present day ; but 
 if, as some expositors contend, the passage in Isaiah 
 
164 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 was meant to designate the son of Hilkiah rather than 
 the descendant of Joseph, there is no internal evidence 
 in the statement attributed to Publius Lentulus suffi- 
 cient to disprove its truth, or even to render its accu- 
 racy questionable. The manuscript may, doubtless, 
 be easily seen on a proper application. I pretend to 
 have had access to nothing beyond a French transla- 
 tion, which is, however, considered to have faithfully 
 interpreted the sentiments of the original. The fol- 
 lowing is the concluding paragraph : " Ses yeux sont 
 pleins de vivacite. II corrige avec dignit6 et exhorte 
 avec douceur ; mais soit qu'il parle, soit qu'il agisse, 
 il le fait toujours avec elegance et gravite. Jamais on 
 ne Ta vu rire, mais on Ta vu souvent pleurer. II est 
 tres temperant, tr^s modeste, et tr^s sobre. Enfin, 
 c*est un homme qui par sA parfaite beaute et ses 
 perfections divines, surpasse tons les fils des hommes."' 
 
 1 Mahomet has also been described by different writers 
 ill terms the most opposite and contradictory. The learned j 
 Quaresmius expresses himself on this subject in the following' 
 manner: Circa annum Domini 600, vcl circiter, Heraclioj 
 imperante, exorlum est HORRrBLE monstrum, quod multas 
 provincias, vel ab idolatria, vel a \ero Dei cultu, ad impiam 
 sui imitationem brevi et faciliter pcrtraxit Mahometes in- 
 quam. (Elucidatio terrae Sanctae, cap. Ixi.) 
 
 Sandys, who drew his ideas from such unprejudiced 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. \65 
 
 There are no monumental inscriptions at present 
 visible in any part of this capacious structure, the tomb 
 raised in honour of Godfroy and his brother having 
 been removed in consequence of the tire, which a few 
 years since nearly destroyed that part of the building. 
 Near this spot was the commencement of the ceremony 
 observed on consecrating the Knights of the Holy 
 Sepulchre, an order once very prevalent throughout 
 Europe, but subsequently brought into discredit by the 
 venality of its patrons. Latterly it has resumed some- 
 source, gives this description of the Saracen legislator: " Mean 
 of stature he was and evil proportioned, having a scald head, 
 which, as some say, made him wear a white sash continually." 
 With these unfavourable representations it is somewhat 
 amusing to contrast the fanciful portraiture exhibited by 
 Mr. Gibbon. The Roman historian thus delineates the son 
 of Abdallah: 
 
 "According to the tradition of his companions, Mahomet 
 was distinguished by the beauty of his person, an outward 
 gift which is seldom despised, except by those to whom it has 
 been refused. Before he spoke, the orator engaged on his 
 side the affections of a public or private audience. They 
 applauded his ccmimanding presence, his majestic aspect, his 
 piercing eye, his gracious smile, his flowing beard, his counte- 
 nance that painted every emotion of the soul, his gestures 
 that enforced each expression of the tongue." (vol. ix. p.25f5.) 
 
 The rapid extension of Mahomet's influence might war- 
 rant a conjecture that Gibbon had produced the most correct 
 likeness. 
 
166 LETTERS FROM PALESTlxNE. 
 
 thing of its original lustre, and was conferred with 
 appropriate solemnity on Monsieur de Chateau- 
 briand. The usages observed on the creation of a 
 new member are in the highest degree impressive, 
 graced as they are by the accompaniments of religion^ 
 rendered more than usually awful by the sanctity of 
 the place. This order was originally instituted by the 
 Kings of France, towards the close of the eleventh 
 century, who granted to the companions several immu- | 
 nities : the decoration is a miniature representation 
 of what has since been called the Jerusalem Cross, 
 consisting of five cross gules, designed to typify the five 
 wounds, which lacerated the feet, hands, and side of 
 our Saviour, 
 
 The statutes ordain that none shall be considered 
 eligible to this degree who are not of the Catholic 
 communion, and the aspirants are expressly required 
 to be persons of birth, and possessed of sufficient 
 property to support the rank of a gentleman without 
 engaging in commercial speculations. Each individual 
 solemnly engages daily to hear mass, unless preventec 
 by circumstances over which he has no controul to 
 give his personal service, or provide a substitute, in alj 
 wars undertaken against the infidels, and to oppos 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. l67 
 
 with his utmost energy every species of hostility di- 
 rected against the church. The members further bind 
 themselves to avoid all unjust motives of litigation, to 
 eschew fraudulent gain, and to abstain from private 
 duels ; to refrain from imprecations, perjury, murder, 
 rapine, blasphemy, sacrilege, and usury; to flee all 
 suspected places, to shun the society of infamous per- 
 sons, and to LIVE chastely and irreproachably; 
 evincing at once by their actions and conversation, that 
 they are not unworthy of the rank to which they have 
 been elevated. Finally, they are required to employ 
 their best offices in reconciling dissensions, to defend 
 the fatherless and widow, and to ameliorate, as far as 
 in them lies, the condition of their species ; using their 
 best efforts to extend the glory of God, and promote 
 the welfare of mankind. 
 
 This oath being taken, the candidate for knight- 
 hood kneels before the entrance of our Saviour's tomb, 
 where the Father Guardian, laying his hand upon his 
 head, exhorts him to be " loyal and virtuous, beiitting 
 *' a valorous soldier of Christ, and an undaunted cham- 
 " pion of that Holy Sepulchre."* With this adjuration 
 
 1 Glo. Good counsel, marry, learn it, learn it, marquis. 
 
 Rich. III. Act i. sc. 4. 
 
 This order is frequently conferred on members of the 
 
168 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE- 
 
 he delivers to him some spears and a drawn sword, the 
 same which is supposed to have been worn by God- 
 froy, and he is admonished to use it in his personal 
 defence, as well as in asserting the rights of the church 
 and in opposing the oppressive tyranny of the infidels ; 
 the scymetar is then sheathed, and the noviciate is girt 
 with that ancient weapon. At this part of the cere- 
 mony he quits for a moment his suppliant attitude, 
 and having returned the sword to the Guardian, pros- 
 trates himself at the foot of the sepulchre, and reclining 
 his forehead on the vestibule, receives the accolade of 
 chivalry, accompanied by these expressions : " I ordain 
 " thee a Knight of the Holj/ Sepulchre of our Lord 
 ^^ Jesus Christ, in the name o/* the Father, and 
 " OF THE Son, and of the Holy Ghost.*' 
 The Guardian then kisses his cheek, and hangs 
 around his neck a chain of golden links '' links 
 of every virtue and of every grace.'* From this 
 
 Catholic Priesthood, who wear the decoration on tlie left 
 breast. If the ministry of other persuasions were admissible 
 to a similar distinction, and bound to an observance of certain 
 regulations, whose infringement would be visited by the 
 penalties of degradation, their profession might be eventually ' 
 rescued from much of that disesteem, which is said of late 
 years to have greatly increased, which, it may be feared, is 
 still increasing, but which every well constituted mind must, 
 unaffectedly, wish to see diminished. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 169 
 
 chain the cross is dependant. The new chevalier 
 then arises, and having reverently saluted the sepul- 
 chre, closes the ceremony by restoring his orna- 
 mental investment to the hands of its venerable pro- 
 prietor. * 
 
 1 The writer has dwelt on this subject more at length, 
 as some slight services, whose importance was greatly over- 
 rated, which he had the good fortune to render to certain 
 individuals of the Catholic community, induced the leading 
 authorities of that establishment in Jerusalem to consider him 
 not undeserving some mark of their approbation. But the 
 statutes were found to be imperative in requiring that the 
 companions of this order should be o^tlie Romish Faith. An 
 English traveller was therefore ineligible. Yet a Protestant 
 of the nineteenth century might abate something of his habi- 
 tual sternness, while contemplating an institution with which 
 so many reverential feelings are associated. " Que Ton songe 
 que Jetois a Jerusalem, dans rFglise du Calvairc, a douze pas 
 du tombeau de Jesus Christ, a trente du tombeau de Godefroy 
 de Bouillon ; que Je venois de chausser I'eperon du lib^rateur 
 du Saint-Sepulcre, de toucher cette longiie et large ^pee de 
 fer qu'avoit maniee une maine si noble et si loyale; que Ton 
 se rappelle ces circonstances,ma vie aventureuse, mes courses 
 sur la terre et sur la mer, et I'on croira sans peine que Je 
 devois kre imu." (Itineraire de Paris a Jerusalem, par F. A. 
 de Chateaubriand, tome troisierae, p. 39.) 
 
170 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jerusalem, August 6, 1817. 
 
 Drar E , 
 
 We have taken measures for quitting this city 
 to-morrow, and shall proceed to Joppa by a route, 
 which may comprise the fortress of Modin, an eleva- 
 tion anciently distinguished by the splendid sepulchres 
 of the Maccabees. (Lib. L cap. ii. ver. 70.) Before 
 I close this part of my narrative, let me claim your 
 indulgence for the very imperfect manner in which 
 much of the preceding statement has been sketched ; 
 a considerable portion was written, on my bed, amidst 
 interruptions and embarrassments of various sorts ; and 
 although it may be preferable in many respects to 
 record an observation, while the impression is fresh in 
 the memory, one is frequently too much exhausted by 
 the labour of examining the different objects, during the 
 heat of the day, to sit down at its close circumstantially 
 to detail them. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 171 
 
 Our accommodations in the convent have been 
 the best which the society could furnish, but there are 
 some evils inseparable from the climate and the present 
 state of the country. The chamber reserved for the 
 use of pilgrims was assigned exclusively to my friend 
 and me our servants have slept in an adjoining apart- 
 ment both rooms are totally destitute of any kind of 
 furniture, except a broken table and a couple of chairs; 
 they are, however, tolerably spacious, and open into an 
 extensive and airy terrace. The names of many of our 
 predecessors are carved on the door and wainscoting, 
 but we looked in vain for those of Monsieur de Cha- 
 teaubriand and Dr. Clarke; they had, probably, no 
 great relish for such vehicles to immortality but each 
 has since left a record of having visited the Holy City, 
 as imperishable as the language in which the history of 
 his travels is preserved.^ 
 
 1 Monsieur de Chateaubriand has, on another occasion, 
 expressed his sentiments on a practice similar to that above 
 alluded to, in the following terms. (At the time of his arrival 
 in Cairo, the Nile was not sufficiently retired to admit of the 
 Pyramids being approached by land, and the canals were too 
 scantily supplied with water to allow a passage for a boat:) 
 " II fallut done me resoudre a ma destinee, retourner k Alex- 
 andrie, et me contenter d'avoir vu de mes yeux les Pyramides, 
 sans les avoir touchees de mes mains. Je chargai M. CafFe 
 
172 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 The refectory of the convent is well supplied, 
 and our table has been rather sumptuously furnished ; 
 the purveyor attended regularly every morning to 
 receive directions respecting dinner, and the hour at 
 which we would wish to have it served. Many of the 
 dishes, of which there is always a sufficient variety, 
 are as highly seasoned as if the cuiseniere had been 
 specially instructed in the composition of ragouts, qui 
 piqueraient la sensualite: it is, however, but justice to 
 the Friars to observe, that they have none of the 
 externals of what has been mistakenly called epicurism ; 
 the greater part of them are men of spare forms, grave 
 
 d'ecrirc mon noni sur ces grands tombeaux, selon I'usage, a 
 la premibre occasion : Ton doit remplir tous les petits devoirs 
 d'un pieux voyageur. N'aime-t-on pas a lire, sur les debris 
 de la statue de Memnon, le nom des Romains qui I'ont en- 
 tendue soupirer au lever de I'aurore? Ces Romains furent 
 comme nous etrangers dans la terre d'Egypte, et nous passe- 
 rous comme eux." Tltineraire de Paris a Jerusalem, tom. iii.) 
 When the writer of this narrative ascended the Great 
 Pyramid, he sought with avidity for some proof that M. Caffe 
 had not been inattentive to his charge but as no traces were 
 visible, he was anxious to supply the omission, and engraved 
 the name of de Chateaubriand, in large characters, on the 
 north point of the apex. On his return through France he 
 had an opportunity of assuring the Vicomte, to whom he is 
 indebted for many civilities, that he had thus far contributed 
 de remplir les petits devoirs d'un pieux voyageur ! 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 173 
 
 and solemn in their air and carriage, and to all appear- 
 ance, deeply impressed with a reverential feeling of 
 the sacred functions they have been destined to as- 
 sume. 
 
 Provisions, generally speaking, may be considered 
 extremely cheap in comparison v^'ith European prices : 
 they are very much inferior also in quality. Lamb 
 and kid are almost the only flesh known here, veal 
 being seldom dressed, and beef and pork alike 
 disused : fowls are in great plenty, but these are the 
 only poultry. The bread is much coarser, and I think 
 far less nutritive than ours ; their cheese, if it deserve 
 the name, seems a totally different composition from 
 what is made in England, and butter they appear to 
 have no conception of. The honey, though not equal 
 to what is produced in Greece, or the south of France, 
 is bright and welUflavoured, but very difficult to pre- 
 serve in any other than a fluent state. All the fruits 
 here are excellent in their kind ; there is not, indeed, 
 any great variety, but such as there are surpass in rich- 
 ness any that I have elsewhere met with. The grapes 
 are superiorly excellent ; the figs also are larger and 
 less insipid than those of Europe, and in addition to 
 these the olive, pomegranate, and water-melon, may 
 
174 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 be mentioned as unusually fine. These, however, are 
 almost the only species at present known, though the 
 vegetable productions of any other climate might * 
 flourish here in wild luxuriance, without any cultivation. 
 I was astonished to find no effort had been made to rear 
 any sallad herbs, and suggested to one of the monks 
 the propriety of introducing some of the common 
 garden plants ; but the Catholic religion does not 
 inculcate habits of industry the proposition seemed 
 to awaken only a train of insurmountable obstacles. 
 
 The labouring classes here, and in other parts of 
 Siria, are frugal and wonderfully abstinent ; yet their 
 strength seems fully equal to the peasantry of other 
 countries. Objects of disease and penury are, I think, 
 far less numerous than in many European states, and 
 we have scarcely met a single beggar in any of the 
 towns between Tripoli and Jerusalem. Clothing and 
 lodging are necessaries, the privation of which is much 
 less acutely felt here than in northern climates, and the 
 daily hire of a labourer is rather above than below the 
 average price in England. Nothing can be more 
 simple than the common diet, which consists almost 
 entirely of rice and maize. This last, which in France 
 is called Turkey corn, and in England Indian wheat, is 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 175 
 
 a grain of nearly the size of a pea ; it grows on a sort 
 of husk in ascending rows, some of which are so pro- 
 lific as to produce seven hundred grains. The husk 
 is above an inch thick, and almost seven or eight in 
 length ; it is enveloped in several coats or thin leaves, 
 which protect it from the avidity of the birds. The 
 stalk is frequently of the same dimensions, the leaves 
 of which are more than two feet long, and the internal 
 surface fluted, or channelled, so as to collect the dew, 
 which is dispersed at sun-rise, and trickles down the 
 stem in sufficient quantity to afford the requisite mois- 
 ture to the roots. The flower is at the extremity, 
 which sometimes rises to eight feet ; five or six ears are 
 usually found on each stock. 
 
 The grain is eaten in many different modes : the 
 most common is to make it into a kind of gruel, by 
 mixing it with water or strong broth. It is also 
 kneaded into cakes, and placed over the fire in an iron 
 plate, and sometimes the grains are parched. A light 
 and black earth, is, I believe, considered better adapted 
 to this vegetable than a strong or rich soil. 
 
 The culture of the water-melon, of which we 
 have heard so much, and which is here known by the 
 name of pasteche, is extremely simple, and very unlike 
 
 I 
 
176 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 the cautious process so necessary in rearing this species 
 of fruit in England. A light soil on an acclivity is 
 usually selected, in which holes are dug from two and 
 a half to three feet in diameter, and distant every way 
 fifteen : in each of these five or six seeds are deposited, 
 and as soon as they spring up and have put forth five 
 or six leaves, the four most promising are chosen, and 
 the remaining two plucked out, to prevent their starving 
 each other. At this period only they require watering, 
 nature alone performing the rest. When ripe the green 
 rind becomes discoloured. The other descriptions of 
 melon are raised much in the same manner, with the 
 exception that the holes are not so far separate. 
 
 The wines of Jerusalem are most execrable, but 
 the water is the purest that can be imagined ; such at 
 least is the spring which supplies this monastery ; and 
 in a country where every species of vinous liquor is 
 strictly prohibited, by the concurrent authorities of law 
 and gospel, a single fountain may be considered of infi- 
 nitely greater value than many wine-presses. 
 
 The coins in circulation here are paras, piastres, 
 and sequins ; the first of these is equal to about half a 
 farthing of our money, the second to about ten-pence, 
 and the third is something less than two shillings. The 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 177 
 
 money changers are chiefly among the Jews and 
 Greeks, who, however opposite in national habits, are, 
 as to commercial transactions, pene gemelli. A Turk 
 is usually very fair and upright in all money concerns, 
 but there is so much apathy and indolence in his mode 
 of conducting business, that it becomes irksome to 
 apply to him. The Greek, on the contrary, is ex- 
 tremely lively and supple, but wonderfully addicted to 
 fraud. I shall not easily forget my reception at the 
 house of a merchant of that nation, upon whom I called 
 when at Constantinople, to discount a bill, which had 
 been given me by a negoci^nt at Joannina. The 
 Stamboline trader was no less knavish than his Albanian 
 correspondent, who was in like manner a correct copy 
 of his prototype at Corfu ; to which last I carried a 
 letter from the bankers at Naples. All these fellows 
 evince an indomitable disposition to cheat. They 
 begin with a solemn assurance that they have not the 
 requisite sum by them, and then appoint you to call 
 again at an interval, which they have previously dis- 
 covered will be peculiarly inconvenient ; thirdly, they 
 propose to make the payment in a species of coin, of 
 all others the most unmanageable ; and when they 
 have thus sufficiently played on your impatience, they 
 
 N 
 
178 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 very deliberately offer to furnish the money imme- 
 diately, regardless of appearing self-convicted liars, 
 provided you allow them an increase of profit. By 
 the adroitness and activity of a gentleman who sailed in 
 the same vessel with us from Smyrna, and who ap- 
 peared to feel peculiar pleasure in performing any act 
 of disinterested kindness, I was eventually rescued from 
 at least one half of the plunder with which those most 
 obscene harpies threatened me.^ 
 
 1 'J'o render these gentlemen all possible justice, they do 
 not affect an indifference to their customers; they at least 
 appear sensible of the obligation, which gives them an oppor- 
 tunity of practising a very profitable branch of their trade, 
 and are ready at all times to assist the stranger with advice 
 or information. In this respect they infinitely surpass many 
 of their European fraternity: those who have bad any inter- 
 course with the banking shop of Peregaux and Lafitte at 
 Paris, may recollect the disgusting insolence of the man, who 
 is employed exclusively in attending to the applications of 
 the English. The conduct of this person would be only 
 ridiculous, if it was not connected with the power of creating 
 much vexation, and harassing delay. 
 
LETTEKS VROM PALESTINE. 179 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jaffa, Aug. 28, 1817. 
 Dear E , 
 
 We arrived here this afternoon, having left Jeru- 
 salem early yesterday morning in company with the 
 zealous ecclesiastic, who attended us to the Dead Sea. 
 Being desirous of examining the ruins at Modin, we 
 made some deviation from the usual route, and in 
 rather less than two hours came to the monastery of 
 St. John, a religious edifice erected on the place where 
 the precursor of the Messiah was born. 
 
 We passed on our way a ruined structure called 
 Santa Croce, from the circumstance of its supposed 
 situation on the precise spot formerly occupied by the 
 tree which furnished materials for the cross. At some 
 distance from this point we traversed the elevation 
 where the ark of the covenant is said to have rested, 
 
180 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 and thence descended through vhieyards to the little 
 town named after the Baptist. The inhabitants of the 
 convent are at this moment held in a state of impri- 
 sonment by the population, who being threatened with 
 an armed force to exact the accustomed tribute, have 
 seized on the defenceless monks, and detain them as 
 hostages for the Aga's forbearance. 
 
 Our Canon, in the plenitude of his zeal, had 
 conceived the extravagant idea, that two Milords,* 
 protected by a firman from the Grand Signior, might 
 have sufficient influence to procure their release. Ac- 
 cordingly he began with much fervour to descant on 
 the peculiar hardship of their situation, addressing 
 himself by means of an interpreter to the rebel chiefs, 
 whose tyrannical proceedings he censured with great 
 boldness ; clearly demonstrating " by right grave au- 
 thority," that their conduct was in the highest degree 
 unjust and atrocious. But whether his arguments 
 were too recondite for the audience, or whether they 
 were prejudiced by considerations more cogent, the 
 
 1 Should the peace continue a few years longer, this 
 term will be as popular in Greece and Arabia as it was for- 
 merly in France. The writer and his friends were described 
 in the Buyrouldis of Ali Pasha, a^ Evyevsig lyyxl^^oj, MiXo^hi. 
 
i 
 
 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 181 
 
 orator had not advanced half way towards his con* 
 elusion before the inner court of the monastery was 
 tilled with an enraged multitude, who in loud tones 
 and menacing gestures insisted on their right, not only 
 to detain the monks, but hinted in very unequivocal 
 terms, the possibility of extending their jurisdiction to 
 the redoubtable Milordi themselves. Our position 
 now became rather critical ; nevertheless the Canon's 
 zeal and courage were unshaken ; and I am of opi- 
 nion that in such moment of elevation, he would 
 have gone to the stake without shrinking. 
 
 The fathers conducted themselves, during the 
 uproar, with calm resignation : they probably con- 
 sidered it a part of their professional duties, to submit 
 without repining to the oppressive contumely of the 
 powers of this world. One of them assured me, with 
 much deliberate solemnity, he had been confidentially 
 informed that the head of the rebel district, who was 
 apprised, some days since, of our intended visit, had 
 set a price of a thousand piastres on our heads ! We 
 departed, notwithstanding, without injury to a single 
 hair. 
 
 The convent is spacious, and in many respects 
 appears to be well arranged. The chapel is several 
 
182 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 feet below the surface, the great object of the fouit- 
 dress, Helena/ being to comprehend in this conse- 
 crated structure that part of the rock which anciently 
 belonged to the dwelling of Zechariah, and which was 
 distinguished as the birth-place of St. John. Its sup- 
 posed situation is designated by an altar, beneath 
 whose centre there is a circular slab of marble 
 enriched with bas-reliefs, and encircled with the 
 motto, 
 
 HlC PRECURSOR DOMINI CHRISTl NATUS EST, 
 
 Leaving the monastery and its religious inhabi- 
 tants, whom we were unable to assist with any aid 
 more powerful than good wishes, we proceeded 
 through a succession of hills and narrow vales, and in 
 rather more than an hour arrived at the elevated point 
 on which the citadel of Modin was placed. Very 
 little of the original structure is now remaining, but its 
 
 1 The mother of Constantino was far too advanced in life, 
 at the time of her visiting Palestine, to survive the completion 
 of the numerous religious edifices which have been ascribed 
 to her munificence. The funds for their erection were pro- 
 bably supplied by her bounty, and possibly the plans of the 
 most important were submitted to her approval ; but many 
 were evidently constructed at a period long subsequent to her 
 decease. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 183 
 
 extent and figure, which appears to have been octa- 
 gonal, may be traced with some degree of accuracy : 
 the walls were extremely massive, the blocks that 
 formed the principal gateway being of such solid 
 materials as defy mutilation. It was here that Simon 
 raised the splendid sepulchre to his family, after the 
 murder of his brother Jonathan by Tryphon. The 
 commanding eminence, on whose summit this monu- 
 ment was reared, made it visible at a great distance ; 
 and the magnificence that reigned in every part of the 
 structure, whether in regard to the grandeur of the 
 design, or the costliness of the materials, seems to 
 have infinitely surpassed every other mausoleum, of 
 which any record has been preserved in the annals of 
 the Jewish nation. It appears to have been formed 
 chiefly of white marble, highly polished, and enriched 
 with the choicest efforts of sculpture, which the 
 artists of that age could furnish. The last surviving 
 son of Matathias caused seven pyramids to be raised 
 |, round the principal tomb, two of which were inscribed 
 |r to the memory of his parents, four to his brothers, and 
 one was reserved as a memorial of himself. The 
 whole, according to Josephus,^ who speaks of the 
 
 1 Antiq. lib. xiii. cap. 6. 
 
184 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 fabric as existing in his time, was surrounded with a 
 sumptuous portico, the arches of which were sustained 
 by marble pillars of one entire piece : the summit was 
 adorned with shields and warlike instruments, and en- 
 graved with the figures of ships. 
 
 The apocryphal narrative is told with greater 
 simplicity, but the description perfectly accords with 
 that of the Jewish historian. 
 
 " Then sent Simon, and took the bones of Jona- 
 " than his brother, and buried them in Modin, the 
 " city of his fathers. 
 
 " And all Israel made great lamentation for him, 
 " and bewailed him many days. 
 
 " Simon also built a monument upon the sepul- 
 " chre of his father and his brethren, and raised it 
 ** aloft to the sight, with hewn stone behind and 
 " before. 
 
 " Moreover he set up seven pyramids, one against 
 " another, for his father, and his mother, and his four 
 " brethren. 
 
 " And in these he made cunning devices, about 
 " the which he set great pillars, and upon the pillars 
 " he made all their armour for a perpetual me- 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 185 
 
 " mory, and by the armour ships carved, that 
 " they might be seen of all that sail on the sea.^ 
 
 " This is the sepulchre which he made at Modin, 
 " and it standeth yet unto this day." 
 
 (I Maccabees, xiii. 25 30.) 
 
 Our progress during the morning led us through 
 the valley of Elah,* and across the torrent where 
 David selected the five smooth stones with which he 
 defeated the champion of the Philistines. Inde- 
 pendently of the interesting recollections awakened by 
 the RELiGio LOCI, the natural scenery has many 
 claims to arrest the observation. From their secluded 
 
 1 A similar feeling appears to have influenced the Grecian 
 army, in selecting a place for the tomb of their departed hero. 
 
 ToT?, ol' vvv yiya.a,<Tty koX o'i f^BroTTia-Qsv e<rovrai. 
 
 Odyss. xxiv. 83. 
 
 But the mound raised over the ashes of Achilles is far less 
 noble in its position, being very little elevated above the 
 shores of the Hellespont, and within a furlong of the water's 
 edge. 
 
 2 The Septuagint interprets the word Elah, a Terebmth 
 IreCf and renders this expression the valley of the Terebinth. 
 It has also been sometimes translated an oak: there are 
 few of either description of trees growing in the valley at 
 present. 
 
186 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 position, the resident population appear to have been 
 hitherto little influenced by the progressive change, 
 which is evidently beginning to force itself into less 
 retired districts. A group of peasants bounded 
 by us, near a natural amphitheatre, (where their herds 
 were depasturing,) all of whom appeared impressed 
 with the character of health, and that peculiar expres- 
 sion of gaiety, which competency and independence 
 inspire. One of these seemed pre-eminent above his 
 companions, as well in the commanding symmetry of 
 his form, as in the radiancy of his complexion and the 
 beautiful expression of his features : he might have 
 sate for the picture of the youngest of the sons of 
 Jesse.* 
 
 The route from Modin to Rama may be described 
 as very otherwise than irksome, being carried through 
 a succession of vineyards till it reaches a village si- 
 tuated on an acclivity, distinguished by some unusual 
 efforts at cultivation, and plentifully supplied with 
 water. From that point we recommenced climbing, 
 
 I Waterland and Houbigant render the passage, which 
 describes David's person, in these terms: " Now he was very 
 fair, and had lovely eyes, and was of a beautiful aspect ; his 
 hair was yellow, his face beautiful, and his form elegant." 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 187 
 
 and in the course of an hour arrived at another collec- 
 tion of houses, the name given to which was so diffe- 
 rently pronounced by the different parties who were 
 applied to, that I do not attempt to transcribe it. Soon 
 after quitting this hamlet we entered a romantic defile, 
 where the descent is marked with many of those 
 striking features, which Salvator Rosa was fond 
 of selecting as subjects for his pencil. Much of the 
 character of Apennine scenery is here thrown out in 
 all its wild grandeur, and many a weary pilgrim has 
 probably found some of the most terrible of the 
 painter's imaginations embodied in the living forms 
 of banditti for the recesses of the cliffs afford as effec- 
 tual a shelter to the modern Arab, as to the ancient 
 Philistine. To the personal character of the Pasha, 
 who governs this district, and the peculiar state of the 
 country at this moment, we were indebted for an un- 
 molested passage. The ravine terminates in an exten- 
 sive plain, apparently very fertile, and of easy tillage : 
 Indian corn, sesame, wheat, cotton, and barley, were 
 scattered over different parts of the surface, in the 
 highest state of luxuriant vegetation. We entered 
 Rama at ten o'clock : the fathers of the monastery 
 were retired to their cells for the night, but we had no 
 
188 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 difficulty in procuring admission, and were shewn into 
 apartments, far exceeding in all the circumstances of 
 accommodation any we have found since we quitted 
 the island of Cyprus. 
 
 Rama appears pleasantly gitualed on a gentle 
 elevation, in the centre of a champagin country : it is 
 conjectured to be the same with the ancient Ariraa- 
 thea, the present name being merely a corrupt abbre- 
 viation of the original. In the Hebrew writings it is 
 sometimes called Ramah, and Ramathath an expres- 
 sion signifying literally a high place but in a moun- 
 tainous district many other towns may lay claim to a 
 similar appellation, and hence it has arisen that several 
 of the same name have been confounded with each 
 other. St. Jerome assigns to the city mentioned by 
 the evangelists, an intermediate position between Joppa 
 and Lydda, and his account applies exactly to the 
 situation of the place I am now describing. Whatever 
 was the aera of its foundation, there are very few re- 
 mains of ancient architecture, though almost every 
 quarter can present some vestiges of premature decay. 
 From the resident friars we were unable to derive any 
 information respecting its history ; they almost always 
 evince a strong reluctance to discuss such enquiries ; 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 189 
 
 and as for the natives, they have no more knowledge of 
 antiquity, than they have antiquity of knowledge. The 
 most venerable ruins are some mutilated arcades, said 
 to have formed part of an extensive building erected by 
 Helena : to the exhaustless piety of that sainted 
 queen, the Christians in this district are indebted for 
 their convent, which comprehends in its spacious en- 
 closure the dwellings that are supposed to have been 
 inhabited by the person who entombed our Saviour, 
 and the Jewish ruler who visited him by night. The 
 monastery, though very spacious, has at present not 
 more than three or four inhabitants; the apartments 
 are universally neat and clean, and almost entirely 
 exempt from those loathsome insects which invariably 
 infest more numerous societies. The plan of this 
 building is, I think, superior to that of any religious 
 establishment in which we have been received during 
 our progress through Palestine : there is here nothing 
 of monastic gloom, and its squalid accompaniments : 
 the long galleries, which connect the distant points of 
 the structure, are light and airy, and open into a ter- 
 race, w^hich commands an extensive view of the 
 surrounding country : the prospect from thence looks 
 dressed and riant; immediately adjoining the town, 
 
190 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 which though formerly more than two miles in circuit, 
 is now scarcely one-third of that compass, there is an 
 appearance of something approaching to verdure ; and 
 instead of the everlastingly-recurring olive, the vegeta- 
 tion is relieved by different kinds of forest trees, in 
 addition to the palm, whose graceful and decorative 
 foliage contributes in a very striking manner to the 
 embelHshment of the scenery. 
 
 The distance to this place not exceeding ten or 
 twelve miles, the morning was far advanced before we 
 resumed our journey : the route lays across part of 
 those extensive plains, which stretch out from mount 
 Carmel as far as Gaza. About half way we passed 
 the well, which has been noticed by most travellers, 
 though its peculiar claims to notoriety are not so pro- 
 minent but that they might sometimes escape observa- 
 tion. Not far from thence are the ruins of a mosque, 
 erected on the spot where, according to the loose 
 tradition of the pilgrims, the Virgin and Joseph 
 sought a temporary shelter at the period of their flight 
 into Egypt. 
 
 The road between Rama and Jaffa appears to be 
 a considerable thoroughfare, and is throughout in very 
 excellent condition. The land on each side seems to 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. IQl 
 
 have been industriously cultivated, and the surface is 
 enriched with a luxuriancy of vegetation seldom ob- 
 served in more inland districts. 
 
 The town at a little distance appeared to possess 
 many recommendations, and the approach through 
 extensive gardens, thickly planted with fruit trees that 
 bent under the weight of their produce, seemed to con- 
 firm the first favourable impression. But on passing 
 the splendid gateway, we were introduced to one of 
 the most impure collection of huts, which even this 
 country can exhibit. The house of the English Con- 
 sul, Signor Damiani, rises from the water's edge : the 
 position is cool and pleasant, but from the state in 
 which we found the principal apartment, our host 
 seems lo regard cleanliness as a very secondary con- 
 sideration. 
 
 We arrived at that time of the day, which the 
 wealthier classes usually pass in slumber : those hours 
 are for the most part held sacred by the Turks; 
 a Mussulman is seldom interrupted with impunity 
 in the season of somnolency ; but our orthodox 
 Consul laughs to scorn the fopperies of Islamism, and 
 suffered his repose to be broke in upon with the most 
 perfect sang froid and good humour. 
 
19^ LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Jaffa. 
 
 Dear E- 
 
 If Pliny's authority is of any value, and in this 
 instance I humbly think it is not worth a great deal, 
 Joppa is to be considered an antediluvian town. 
 The naturalist's account, you will observe, is wonder- 
 fully brief: he alludes to the date of its structure as 
 an admitted chronological truth, and does not con* 
 descend to furnish a single argument in proof of so 
 extravagant an assertion.^ The same writer appears 
 to consider this coast as the scene of Andromeda's 
 exposure to the sea monster ; and a much graver 
 
 1 Joppe Phoenicum antiquior terrarum inundatione, ut 
 ferunt. Insidet colli praejacente saxo, in quo vinculorum 
 Androinedae vestigia ostendunt. 
 
 Nat. Hist, lib, V. cap. 13. 
 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 193 
 
 author (St. Jerome) has deliberately affirmed, that in 
 his time the links of the chain were visible, with which 
 the daughter of Cepheus was bound to the rock ! 
 
 Allusions of this nature may serve to give a mo- 
 mentary interest to the classical tourist ; but the tra- 
 veller who takes the scriptures for his guide, will be 
 much more affected by the recollection that it was 
 from hence that the disobedient prophet embarked 
 for Tarshish, * when expressly commissioned by the 
 
 1 According to Joseplms, Tarshisb means Tarsus, the 
 capital of Cilicia ; but later writers have conjectured it to be 
 the same with Tartessus, the most distant town in the extre- 
 mities of Spain. The land of Israel being, in a certain sense, 
 the immediate residence of God, the prophet who *'rose 
 up to flee from his presence,'' naturally sought a country 
 remote from Judaea, and therefore bent his course to- 
 wards the western borders of the Great Sea. That there 
 are fishes sufficiently large to swallow a human creature, there 
 can, I presume, be no question: the scripture calls that, 
 which was made the instrument of Jonah's suflFerings, a great 
 fish: much, therefore, of the wit and pleasantry which have 
 been exercised on this subject is disarmed of its point. Tra- 
 ditions respecting the place where the priest of Nineveh was 
 discharged from his prison, are various amongst the different 
 tribes of oriental nations : they prove, at least, that a belief 
 in his peculiar chastisement was general throughout those re- 
 gions. It is related, says Josephus, that after remaining 
 three days in the carcase of the animal, he was disgorged on 
 the shores of the Euxine, without having suffered any per- 
 
194 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 Lord to preach repentance to the inhabitants of 
 Nineveh. 
 
 The Arabs pronounce the name of this town 
 as if it were written Yafa, though I believe without 
 any reference to the etymology of the ancient term, 
 which has been interpreted to signify heauty and 
 grace. Jaffa was long the principal sea-port of 
 Judaea^ its distance affording an easy communication 
 with the capital, and its geographical situation opening 
 an extensive trade to all the coasts and islands of the 
 Mediterranean : the harbour has of late years been 
 inaccessible to vessels of large burthen, from an ac- 
 cumulation of sand, propelled in this direction by the 
 
 sonal injury : here he besought the Almighty to pardon his 
 transgression, and having received an assurance of forgive- 
 ness, proceeded to the city of Nineveh, and executed the 
 commission with which he had been charged. 
 
 " As to the assertion," observes Mr. Whiston, " that 
 Jonah's fish was carried by the strength of the current, upon 
 a storm, as far as the Euxine Sea, it is no way impossible ; and 
 since the storm might have driven the ship, while Jonah was 
 in it, near to that Euxine Sea, and since in three days more, 
 while he was in the fish's belly, that current might bring him 
 to the Assyrian coast, and since withal that coast could bring 
 him nearer to Nineveh than could any coast of the Mediter- 
 ranean, it is by no means an improbable determination in Jo* 
 9ephus." 
 
I 
 
 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 195 
 
 prevalence of the north winds ; but the mischief is not 
 entirely irremoveable, and under an efficient govern- 
 ment Jaffa might become an emporium for the manu- 
 factures of Europe, as well as for the corn of Egypt, 
 and the gems and spices of furthest India. 
 
 However deficient in other requisites, the city 
 is abundantly provided with what must be consi- 
 dered of prime importance : there are two fountains 
 within the walls, which afford an inexhaustible supply 
 to the inhabitants, and in addition to these, there are 
 several springs on that part of the coast which is di- 
 rected towards Gaza. M. de Chateaubriand states 
 that a slight excavation made with his hand, near the 
 water's edge, became filled with a pure fluid. From 
 the scrupulous accuracy of that writer I have no doubt 
 at all of the fact ; and the circumstance may indeed be 
 satisfactorily explained by the process of percolation. 
 " Dig a pit," says Lord Bacon, " upon the sea shore, 
 somewhat above the high-water mark, and sink it as 
 deep as the low-water mark ; and as the tide cometh 
 in, it will fill with water fresh and potable. This is 
 commonly practised upon the coast of Barbary, where 
 other fresh water is wanting; and Caesar knew this 
 well when he was besieged in Alexandria : for by 
 
196 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 digging of pits in the sea shore, he did frustrate the 
 laborious works of the enemies, which had turned the 
 sea water upon the wells of Alexandria ; and so saved 
 his army being then in desperation. But Caesar mis- 
 took the cause, for he thought that all sea sands had 
 natural springs of fresh water : but it is plain that it is 
 the sea water ; because the pit filleth according to the 
 measure of the tide; and the sea water passing, or 
 straining through the sands, leaveth the saltness." * 
 
 1 " I remember to have read that trial hath been made 
 of salt water passed through earth, through ten vessels, one 
 within another, and yet it hath not lost its saltness as to be- 
 come potable : but the same man saith, that, by the relation 
 of another, salt water drained through twenty vessels hath 
 become fresh. This experiment seemeth to cross that other 
 of pits made by the sea side ; and yet but in part, if it be true 
 that twenty repetitions do the effect. But it is worth the note, 
 how poor the imitations of nature are in common course of 
 experiments, except they be led by great judgment, and some 
 good light of axioms. For first, there is no small difference 
 between a passage of water through twenty small vessels, 
 and such a distance, as between the low-water and the high- 
 water mark : secondly, there is a great difference between 
 earth and sand ; for all earth hath in it a kind of nitrous salt, 
 from which sand is more free ; and besides, earth doth not 
 strain the w ater so finely, as sand doth. But there is a third 
 point, that I suspect as much or more than the other two ; and 
 that is, that in the experiment of transmission of the sea 
 water into pits, the water riseth ; but in the experiment of 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 197 
 
 A vessel bound for Damietta intending to sail last 
 night, we agreed with the captain to take us and our 
 attendants for ninety piastres. The master asserted, 
 with the most intrepid assurance, that he had not more 
 than seven or eight passengers; and as the bark, 
 pointed out to us at some distance from the coast, 
 seemed unusually large and roomy, I anticipated a 
 pleasant voyage, without any of those inconveniences 
 which are inevitable on a crowded deck. Elated with 
 such expectation, we bade a hasty adieu to our vene- 
 rable host, and eagerly leapt into a small boat about 
 eight o'clock, submitting without a murmur to sundry 
 kinds of extortion, from an apprehension of being too 
 late for the vessel, which appeared to be then on the 
 point of weighing anchor. The rowers pulled lustily, and 
 in less than twenty minutes we reached the bark, whose 
 dimensions seemed most unaccountably to shrink the 
 nearer we approached her. 
 
 transmission of the water through the vessels it falleth. Now 
 certain it is, that the Salter part of water, once salted through- 
 out, goeth to the bottom. And therefore no marvel, if the 
 draining of water by descent doth not make it fresh : besides, 
 I do somewhat doubt, that the very dashing of the water, 
 that cometh from the sea, is more proper to strike off the salt 
 part, than where the water slideth of its own motion." 
 
 Natural History. Century I, 
 
198 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 I do not pretend that Damiani was a party to the 
 imposture, but the cheat was most flagrant : instead of 
 the commodious vessel that was shewn us from the 
 Consul's window, with only seven or eight passengers, 
 we found a miserable chaloiipe, stuffed with more than 
 one hundred persons of different sexes, and all ages, 
 jammed in amongst all sorts of lumber and putrifying 
 compounds, producing altogether the most pestilent 
 congregation of villanous smells, " that ever offended 
 nostril." There seemed to be scarcely a vacant space 
 sufficient to stow a Newfoundland dog; it was quite 
 impossible, therefore, to proceed in such a conveyance; 
 for in addition to other intolerable nuisances, the 
 myriads of vermin which the different parties had 
 brought with them, were enough to drive a European 
 frantic. We were obliged, however, to talk in a very 
 high tone before we could compel" the owner to refund 
 tlie sum we had advanced ; but after a long and very 
 angry discussion returned to the British agent's, with 
 the loss only of our live stock. 
 
 Disappointed in our first efforts, we this morning 
 desired an interview with the Pasha, (Achmet Aga,) 
 as it was absolutely necessary to apprise him of our 
 embarrassments, and to solicit his interference in pro- 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. IQQ 
 
 curing a conveyance over land. The passage by sea is 
 in a manner shut up : the local authorities seize on all 
 the private boats, and press them for transporting ma- 
 terials to repair the fortifications. 
 
 The Aga received us with distinguished courtesy, 
 and mentioned with strong expressions of pleasure the 
 generous conduct of an English naval officer towards 
 one of Djezzar Pasha's adherents. He owed his pre- 
 sent appointment to the former influence of that chief 
 with the government at Constantinople, and avowed 
 himself much gratified in an opportunity of shewing 
 any civility to the compatriots of the individual, who 
 had so essentially served his deceased patron. He 
 appears to be somewhere about the age of forty, is 
 extremely handsome in person, and has an air of great 
 kindness and affability : whatever may be his extrac- 
 tion, he is evidently a gentleman by sentiment. Our 
 interview lasted above an hour, in the course of which 
 he made several enquiries respecting the naval powers 
 in the Mediterranean, and evinced some little uneasi- 
 ness in consequence of a recent misunderstanding with 
 the commanding officer of a French frigate. The 
 conference ended by a declaration that he intended 
 setting out himself to-morrow oii his way to Gaza, to 
 
200 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 which place, if we liked to accompany him, he would 
 furnish us with horses from his own stables, and after- 
 wards procure a supply of camels to conduct us across 
 the desert. We made every proper acknowledgment 
 for this proposal by the mouth of our interpreter, the 
 Consul ; and it is arranged that we are to assemble at 
 the palace to-morrow, soon after mid-day. 
 
 Having sufficient leisure on our hands, we took an 
 opportunity, in the course of the afternoon, of advert- 
 ing, amongst other topics, to some of those extraordi- 
 nary occurrences which marked the progress of the 
 French army in Palestine, and which are supposed to 
 have covered its leader with inextinguishable infamy. 
 Signor Damiani, who was resident here at the period 
 of Buonaparte's invasion, confirms much of the state- 
 ment published by Sir R. Wilson respecting the mas- 
 sacre of the Turks: but the gallant officer, whose 
 writings have since obtained so extensive a circulation, 
 has omitted to mention a very important feature in the 
 history of that transaction, and which, on the authority 
 of the British agent, who was a witness to the pro- 
 ceeding, I will attempt to supply.^ 
 
 I It was obviously the policy of Buonaparte to wintbc 
 
Letters from Palestine. 201 
 
 On the surrender of EI Arisch, the Turkish gar- 
 rison were dismissed on their parole, and furnished by 
 Napoleon with the pecuniary means of retiring to their 
 respective habitations at Aleppo, Damascus, Tri- 
 poli, Acre, &c. &c. ; but it was expressly understood 
 that they were not to appear in arms against the 
 French, during the continuance of the war in Syria. 
 In the mean time, the conqueror, pursuing his good 
 fortune, pushed on towards Jaffa, which in six days 
 afterwards fell into his possession ; it then became 
 evident, that the troops, who were released at El Arisch, 
 had thrown themselves into the town, and by such 
 reinforcement added very materially to its power of 
 resistance. The privates were soon identified by 
 means of their respective leaders, all of whom were 
 severally charged by Buonaparte, in the hearing of our 
 
 affections of the natives to his person ; he would scarcely 
 therefore hazard the general indignation by an act of gra- 
 tuitous cruelty. The conduct of Alexander on the capture 
 of Tyre, or that, in a more recent instance, of Henry at Agin- 
 court, might be cited to shew, that the acts imputed to the 
 French general are not entirely without example; yet in both 
 cases the atrocity of the deed has been often overlooked, 
 and the hideousness of the spectacle veiled, by the robe of 
 conquest, which is stretched over its deformity. 
 
20^ LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 Consul, with this aggravated breach of faith. A coun- 
 cil was immediately held, and, under all the circum- 
 stances, it was adjudged an inevitable necessity to 
 enforce the authorized practice of warfare : the delin^ 
 quents were marched to the sand-hills above the town, 
 and subjected to military execution. It is for officers 
 of long experience to decide, whether in this instance 
 there was such a departure from the principle of 
 martial rigour, as must for ever place the act beyond 
 the reach of palliation. Damiani has some preten- 
 sions to be considered an impartial evidence : he could 
 surely have no motive for vindicating, at the expense 
 of truth, the character of a man by whom he was 
 nearly stripped of his most valuable possessions. The 
 French general promised, indeed, in the event of his 
 ultimately succeeding, not only to indemnify him for 
 his present losses, but to restore their amount four- 
 fold : but the signal discomfiture he received at Acre 
 rendered him incapable of executing such intentions, 
 and the Consul's remembrance must therefore be 
 necessarily embittered by those associations, which con- 
 nect the name of Buonaparte with confiscation and 
 plunder. 
 
 To an enquiry if he had any recollection tyf 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 203 
 
 Napoleon's figure, he replied with much gravity, 
 " Monsieur, il 6toit k cette 6poque comme vous ^tes 
 h present, tr^s leger, actif, et bien fait pour voyager.'^ 
 " Comment !" said I, a little startled by so unexpected 
 a compliment for there is no knowing what a man 
 may grow to, and I have no relish even for imperial 
 obesity " II est maintenant beaucoup plus gros." 
 *' C'est possible," added the Consul, " mais il-y-a 
 vingt ans depuis que je ne Tai vu, et dans ce tems la 
 Monsieur devoit ^tre bien petit.'* 
 
 With respect to the other enormity so repeatedly 
 alleged against the French general the administration 
 of poison to his own troops the Consul professed to 
 know only the common report. If however the 
 charge be true in its greatest extent, it may now be 
 fully substantiated by a disclosure of all the circum- 
 stances ; since the plea of prudence formerly resorted 
 to, Can no longer be urged as an apology for their sup^ 
 pression. In ordinary cases where the proofs are 
 wanting, justice requires that we should withhold the 
 accusation ; but after charges of so dreadful a nature 
 have been industriously sent forth to the world, and 
 insisted ou in a tone of confident earnestness, which 
 
204 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 seemed almost to render questionable the principles of 
 whoever hesitated to receive them, a developement of 
 every fact the most complete and unequivocal is loudly 
 and eagerly demanded. 
 
 The statement of a French writer on such sub- 
 ject, may naturally be expected to vary, in many 
 material points, from any of those accounts which 
 have obtained a currency in England ; but if the narra- 
 tive of Cretelle can be at all relied on, the conduct of 
 Napoleon, at that appalling crisis, was distinguished 
 by the most heroic humanity. This author deli- 
 berately asserts, in his history of the revolution, 
 that when the comrades of those who were attacked 
 with the plague, betrayed an unwillingness to attend 
 the sick, from a dread of becoming victims to the 
 contagion, Buonaparte went himself to the pest-house, 
 and in the presence of the chief of the medical staff, 
 touched the persons of such as were most severely 
 suffering from the disorder, took them kindly by the 
 hand, and addressed them in terms the most consoling 
 and affectionate ; thus setting an example at the 
 hazard of his life, which inspired confidence in others, 
 and enabled the physicians fearlessly to prosecute the 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 205 
 
 only measures that could relieve the diseased, or 
 arrest the progress of the malady. * 
 
 This representation may possibly be overcharged; 
 but it was published amongst a people sufficiently 
 interested in detecting the imposture, and it has many 
 
 1 " Depuis le commencement de la campagne de Syrie, 
 Tarm^e d'Orient etoit en proie aux ravages de la peste. Ce 
 fut imm^diatement aprfes le siege de la ville de Jaffa que les 
 terribles effets de ce fleau se manifesterent avec plus de 
 force. L'inquietude etoit g^n^rale. 
 
 " Le sentiment exag^re de crainte pour cette maladie 
 jctoit I'armee Franpaise dans un d^couragement, que le 
 g^n^ral en chef resolut de faire cesser. II sentit que I'ima- 
 gination causoit un mal plus r^el que le mal lui-m^me. 
 Son genie et son courage Ini inspirerent une idee salu- 
 taire. Ce fut de visiter avec autant d'humanife que de 
 sang froid I'hopital des pestif^r^s k Jaffa dans les plus 
 grands details. Des precautions sanitaires dict^es par I'exp^- 
 rience et le savoir, avoient etd employees pour couper le mal 
 dans sa racine. Mais ces soins de Thumanite obtinrent un 
 succes bien plus assur^ parle devoument heroiqiie du general. 
 Buonaparte arrive dans ce s^jour de la desolation, ou il 
 s'etoit fait pr^ceder des secours de I'art et d'une partie de ses 
 provisions particuliferes ; il brave les remonstrances des chefs 
 de I'armee qui s'inquifetent de lui voir prolonger sa visite, 11 
 encourage, 11 console les malades, touche leurs plaies. Son 
 courage excite celui de Desgenettes et de Larrey, chefs du 
 service de sant^, et ce genre d'heroisme, aussi noveau que 
 sublime, donne a la fois aux malades, et la sante du corps et 
 le courage de I'^me." 
 
 A&REGE del'Histoirede France, vol. ii. 
 
206 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 of the accompaniments of truth ; being set forth with 
 a minuteness of detail, which includes the date of the 
 occurrence, and gives the names of those who wit- 
 nessed the transaction. It was afterwards celebrated 
 by the most distinguished artists of the day ; and I re- 
 member being directed by David, when at Paris in 
 1814, to the attelier of M. Dubois, who had made it 
 the subject of an admired historical painting.^ 
 
 1 Perhaps some apology is necessary for reverting to a 
 topic, which has already lost much of its living interest: the 
 character of the individual chiefly implicated in the discussion 
 may be more properly consigned to the dispassionate conside- 
 ration of history : yet a traveller passing near the scene of the 
 imputed atrocities, would scarcely forbear making such enqui- 
 ries as might be considered necessary to illustrate the fact, or 
 appear capable of conducting him to a just conclusion. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 207 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Gaza, August 31, 1817. 
 
 Dear E , 
 
 We arrived here yesterday in company with the 
 Pasha. Particular circumstances making it necessary 
 to dismiss the interpreter, who followed us from Tri- 
 poli, we engaged in his place one of the Mamelukes 
 that formerly served under Buonaparte, and who was 
 especially recommended by our friend the Consul : he 
 signs himself JusefFe el Tarba is somewhere between 
 thirty and forty years of age seems active and adroit 
 and is sufficiently conversant in the French language^. 
 After much tedious discussion, for it was an affair that 
 could not be speedily dispatched, he consented to pro- 
 ceed as far as Alexandria, at the wages of three 
 piastres a day, exclusive of an allowance for provi- 
 sions; but just as we were preparing to join the 
 
^208 Letters from Palestine. 
 
 cavalcade at the seraglio, a messenger came from his 
 wife, to signify that she could on no consideration ac- 
 quiesce in an arrangement, which must occasion so 
 long an absence ; and he therefore very affectionately 
 resolved to annul his engagement. I thought this 
 rather a clumsy device to extort an advance of salary ; 
 but as it was then too late to procure a substitute, we 
 rode forward to the city gates, where the Aga was 
 already in waiting, encircled by a numerous suite of 
 officers. Having explained, as well as we were able, 
 the embarrassment which delayed us, he instantly gave 
 an order that could not be disputed, and in the course 
 of half an hour Joseph exhibited himself in his travel- 
 ling accoutrements. 
 
 The retinue of the Pasha is extremely splendid : 
 he appeared at the head of a chosen train, 
 
 " All furnish'd, all in arms, 
 All plum'd like estridges, that wing the wind 
 Baited like eagles, having lately bath'd ; 
 Glittering in golden coats like images; 
 As full of spirit as the month of May, 
 And gorgeous as the sun at Midsummer." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 As we were necessarily detained by the absence of the 
 drogoman, an escort was appointed to attend us, and 
 
LETTETIS FROM PALESTINE. 209 
 
 tlie Aga set forward on his journey ; but we rejoined 
 the main body a short time before the evening closed 
 in, and proceeded together, magna stipante catervdf 
 as far as the village of Ybna, where we halted for the 
 night. Carpets were soon spread on the sands, and 
 we sate down to partake of some slight refreshments. 
 During the repast the Pasha put several questions 
 respecting the customs and manners of Europe, and 
 enquired by a circuitous sort of paraphrase into the 
 extent and situation of St. Helena, and its relative dis- 
 tance from France and England. His information 
 upon these and similar points appeared extremely 
 limited, though his observations were frequently ac- 
 companied with a shrewdness of look, which seemed 
 to satirize the simplicity of the enquiry. After an 
 hour's conversation, we left him to his repose. His 
 couch was not long preparing, as it consisted merely of 
 a cushion placed upon a carpet strowed on the ground ; 
 but he appeared so much pleased with the construc- 
 tion of our camp-beds, which were arranged so as to 
 fold up almost into the compass of an umbrella, that 
 he expressed an intention to have some of a similar 
 description made for his children. As we very much 
 doubted the skill of an Arabian upholsterer to effect 
 
210 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 such a contrivance, he was requested to accept otie of 
 ours; but this he most decisively refused, though in 
 terms sufficiently expressive of his sense of the motive, 
 which dictated the offer; and it was not till after being 
 repeatedly pressed, that he consented to a pro- 
 posal on my part to send him one on returning to 
 England.* 
 
 This mode of passing the night in an open wil- 
 derness, surrounded by the guards of an eastern Pasha, 
 had something so unusual in its circumstances, that 
 I was prevented feeling any immediate disposition to 
 sleep: our situation however was not calculated to 
 awaken any uneasy reflections, 
 
 " For we were canopied by the blue sky, 
 So cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful, ^ '--^ 
 
 That God alone was to be seen in heaven." 
 
 Lord Byron. 
 
 About three hours before the dawn we were sum- 
 moned to pursue our journey, and soon after five 
 
 1 The writer took the first opportunity of fulfilling his 
 promise on arriving last year in London : the package was 
 forwarded in a vessel bound to Smyrna, and addressed to a 
 merchant,* who would convey it to Jaff'a ; but he has not had 
 the satisfaction of hearing that it ever reached its destination. 
 
 * See the Appendix. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 211 
 
 arrived at a village called Dsoot, where "we rested a 
 considerable time beneath the olive trees which ad- 
 join the borders. We lingered at this place till near 
 eleven o'clock, when having signified a wish to visit 
 the ruins of Ascalon, the Aga ordered a guide to attend 
 us to the coast, while he himself proceeded on the 
 direct road. In little more than two hours we passed 
 an assemblage of huts, called Hamami, and in another 
 hour from thence arrived at a similar collection of 
 hovels, named Djora ; in this last mentioned place there 
 is an inferior kind of khann, where we halted to take 
 some refreshments and rest the camels. The same 
 appearance of tractability in the soil and slovenliness 
 in the cultivation characterize this portion of the plain, 
 as marked the preceding part of the route. 
 
 The ruins of Ascalon are very near Djora, rising 
 immediately from the beach, and comprehending a 
 circuit of several miles. JusefFe, who was taken pri^ 
 soner by the English, told us he attended some of our 
 officers when they measured the walls, and, according 
 to his account, the ancient boundaries included an ex- 
 tent of three leagues : the visible space, occupied by 
 the existing remains, appears to me much less than 
 a circle of such a compass would comprise. Though 
 
212 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 formerly one of the principal maritime towns in Phi- 
 listia, there is not the smallest vestige of any port ; but 
 the situation is commanding, and the place seems 
 capable of being strongly fortified. It was constituted 
 an episcopal see in the first ages of Christianity, and 
 at the period of the crusades was enriched by many 
 sumptuous buildings; but these have long since been 
 totally demolished ; the Turk and the Saracen are alike 
 regardless of ancient magnificence each being far less 
 intent on those arts which adorn and embellish life, 
 than on those which extend the horrors and multiply 
 tlie means of death. 
 
 The walls close to the beach have by some con- 
 vulsion been so reversed, that broken pillars, inter- 
 mixed with large masses of compact stone work, are 
 thrown into a horizontal position, where they appear 
 like the integral parts of a temple : the masonry is 
 rude, and the materials not of a very durable nature; 
 the cement w^as worked up with shells, and appears in 
 many places to have formed nearly one half of the 
 solid structure. Near the central part of the city 
 there are many mutilated shafts of columns, chiefly 
 of the gry granite ; but there are some of a coarse 
 marble, and we observed one or two of very beautiful 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTrNE. 215 
 
 porphyry. But amidst this scene of desolation, 
 the most extensive and complete which I ever wit- 
 nessed, except at Nicopolis, there is neither base nor 
 capital in such condition as to enable the enquirer 
 satisfactorily to determine to what order it belonged ; 
 the only specimen we could find that had escaped 
 total defacement, seemed to be an imperfect imitation 
 of the Corinthian. This solitary relic was lying near 
 a heap of rubbish, thrown out about eighteen 
 months since by some workmen of the Pasha, who 
 employed several of his people on the spot to assist 
 the researches of an English lady of rank. Their 
 labours did not terminate in any discovery of much 
 importance, having, in fact, produced nothing beyond 
 the disclosure of a single apartment, which seems to 
 have been a gallery appertaining to a spacious bath 
 at least it resembles such in the baths of Caracalla at 
 Rome: it was arched, but without any peculiar: 
 ornament, and is at present several feet below the 
 surface. 
 
 The territories of the Philistines were divided into 
 five districts, of which Gath constituted the northern, 
 and Gaza the southern barrier : the intermediate 
 places were Ekron, Ashdod or Azotus, and Ascalou. 
 
214 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 The last mentioned was situated about three leagues 
 south of Ashdod, and, according to Josephus, ' sixty- 
 five miles west of Jerusalem : it was considered to be 
 the most impregnable of any of the towns on the 
 Philistine coast. Origen speaks of some wells, or 
 cisterns, near the city, which were supposed to have 
 been constructed by the patriarch Abraham : opinions 
 of this nature frequently rest on no better foundation 
 than the most vague and fanciful conjectures ; our 
 guides had certainly never even heard of such tradi- 
 tion, and were equally uninformed respecting the 
 famous lake and its miraculous fishes, which were 
 consecrated to the goddess Derceta.^ It has been 
 imagined that this deity was the same with the idol 
 Dagon' mentioned in scripture, and the etymology of 
 
 1 Bell. Jud. lib. iii. cap. 1. 
 
 2 Ovid Met. lib. iv. ver. 44. 
 
 Diodoius Siculus (lib. iii.) mentions this lake, and has 
 detailed the circumstances which occasioned the transmuta- 
 tion of the goddess into the resemblance of one of its inha- 
 bitants. Pliny has adverted to the same occurrence ; (lib. v. 
 cap. 25.) So also Athenaeus, (lib. viii. cap. 8.) besides many 
 other writers, whom it is unnecessary to name. 
 
 3 The expression in the original is derived from the word 
 ^*^ which means a fish. (Judges :j^vi. 23.) This idol was tjie 
 tutelary deity of the Philistines, and in its lower extremities 
 resembled the animal from whom it received its name de- 
 
LETTERS FEOM PALESTINE. 215 
 
 tbe word appears to justify the conjecture. This city 
 was the native place of Herod, (the most distinguished 
 prippe of tl?at name, from thence sometimes called) 
 Ascalonites,) and also of Semiramis; many of the 
 prodigies which attended the birth of the latter are 
 too extravagant to be repe^ed.: it may be sufficient 
 to allude to the circumstance of her nourishment by 
 doves, who are related to have supplied the infant 
 while deserted by its parent, with milk from the shep- 
 i^ief:ds' tents. To commemorate this miraculous event, 
 the consort of Ninus, on her elevation to the throne of 
 Aj^syria, assumed the name of Semiramis, a term which 
 in that language signifies a dove ; and the figure of 
 tl^j? bird was afterwards borne in the Babylonish stand- 
 ard;* a circumstance which may perhaps explain the 
 expressions of the prophet,^ where he announces the 
 desolation of Judah, and warns the devoted people to 
 fleefrjom the sword of the dove. 
 
 signed possibly, as some interpreters of hieroglyphics have 
 imagined, to represent the fertility of nature, of which the 
 prolific property of fishes might be considered an apt emblem. 
 In the book of Deuteronomy there is an express prohibition 
 against making any graven image, as an object of adoration, 
 in the similitude of a ^A. (Deut.iv, 18.) 
 
 * Ipiod. Sic, lib. iii, 2 Jeremiah. 
 
216 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 We rejoined the Pasha soon after five o'clock,, 
 and proceeded on our route to this place. About ten 
 miles from the city, we were met by a numerous pro^ 
 cession, headed by the governor, who had come out 
 to salute his patron : as soon as he arrived within 
 the distance of a hundred yards, he dismounted from 
 his courser, and shrouding himself in a plain white 
 mantle, advanced on foot to pay his homage ; a cere- 
 mony which he performed by kissing the Aga's hand, 
 and pressing it respectfully to his forehead : he then 
 threw aside his cloak, and resuming his horse, the two 
 Beys rode forward, pari passu, attended by a train 
 the most showy and imposing that I can remember to 
 have any where seen. The order of march was not in- 
 deed confined by those solemn decorous movements, 
 which regulate a European procession ; it was enlivened 
 by an exhibition, that partook of the animated evolu- 
 tions of a tournament. The cavaliers, each brandishing 
 his lance, rode violently forward with the utmost 
 speed their horses could exert; then suddenly halting 
 and wheeling round in short and rapid circles, drove 
 towards each other like fascinated knights, inspired by 
 fame and love. The whole party were successively in 
 motion, darting across the plain in every direction with 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 217 
 
 the Utmost velocity ; now turning and winding in an 
 inconceivably small compass, now flying over the field 
 pursuing and pursued. This exercise continued till 
 we arrived within a short distance of the city, the 
 horses appearing to feel almost as much pleasure in 
 the performance as the riders themselves. Just as the 
 sun set, we entered an extensive grove of olives, near 
 the outskirts of the town ; here the Pasha dismounted 
 to pay his evening's adoration-to the Prophet ; but 
 an officer was sent forward to procure us a lodging in 
 the house of his secretary, who received us with a de- 
 gree of attentive civility, which seemed correctly to 
 interpret the instructions of his master. 
 
218 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Damietta* 
 DearE , 
 
 We found so little to interest our attention at 
 Gaza, that we M'ere glad to leave it after the second 
 day. The ancient town was seated on an eminence, 
 and appears to have been originally encompassed by 
 massive walls flanked with towers. But the strength * 
 of its natural position, however improved by the com- 
 bined efforts of art and industry, was incapable of re- 
 sisting the attacks of Judah,^ though the invaders 
 some time after found the place untenable, and were 
 eventually driven out by the native population, who 
 held undisturbed possession till the time of Samson.* 
 It would be unprofitably tiresome to trace its history 
 through all the fluctuations of fortune from this period 
 to the age of Alexander, who conducted the operations 
 
 1 Gaza is said to be a term expressive of strength and 
 durability. 
 
 ^ Judges i. 18. Ibid. xvi. 3, 
 
LETTEBS FUOM PALESTINE. 219 
 
 in person against the city, and accoi;ding to Plutarch 
 received two wounds in the assault ; afterwards it be- 
 came a prey to the arms of the MacCabees, " who laid 
 siege unto it, and burned the suburbs thereof with 
 fire, and spoiled them/' A place so repeatedly ex- 
 posed to the ravages of contending armies, can pre- 
 sent but few remains of its original splendoMr; in- 
 deed the author of the Acts of the Apostles speaks of 
 it in his time as a desert.* At the present day there 
 are scarcely any vestiges of former magnificence ; all 
 the stately marble columns, enumerated by some 
 writers, have totally disappeared even the very sepul- 
 chres are demolished, with the relics they were in- 
 tended to preserve,^ 
 
 The distance from the coast is probably about 
 two miles ; and, judging from the time we employed 
 
 1 Chap. viii. 26. 
 
 * Muojono le citt^, muojono i regni ; 
 Copre i fasti e le pompe arena ed erba : 
 
 E L'UOM d'ESSER mortal par CHE SI SDEGNI t 
 
 Oh nostra mcnte cupida e superba ! 
 
 JjA GrE^lUSALEMME LiBERATA, 
 
 Cj^nto XV. stan. 20. 
 
 Proud cities vanish, states and realms decay, 
 The world's unstable glories fade away ! 
 Yet mortals dare of certain fate complain ! 
 O impious folly of presuming man ! 
 
 A similar sentiment is expressed by the author of Childe 
 
SfiO LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 on the road, it cannot, I think, be less than fifteen or 
 sixteen from Ascalon.^ A narrow valley opens to the 
 
 Harolde. (Canto ii. stanza 63.) The idea lias indeed been 
 naturalized by many writers of eminence, since the time that 
 Cicero received the consolatory letter from Servius Sulpicius. 
 Yet surely such rhetorical flourishes, however adorned by 
 the graces of eloquence or poetry, are but inefficient instru- 
 ments of consolation. The states and cities whose ruin the 
 mourner is directed to contemplate, were all the work of 
 mavUs liands ; and in their destruction he does not necessarily 
 trace the agency of a power superior to humanity, or view 
 the decay of any order of beings, higher than his own species,^ 
 involved in their fall. 
 
 1 Tasso's description is topographically accurate : 
 
 Gaza fe citta della Giudea nel fine, 
 Suquella via ch'inver Pelusio mena; 
 Posta in riva del mare, ed ha vicine 
 Immense solitudini d'arena, 
 Le quai, come Austro suol Tonde marine, 
 Mesce il turbo spirante ; onde a gran pena 
 Ritrova il peregrin riparo o scampo 
 Nelle tempeste dell' instabil campo. 
 
 La Gerusalemme Liberata, 
 Canto xvii stanza 1. 
 
 Plac'd where Judaea's utmost bounds extend 
 Towards fair Pelusium, Gaza's towers ascend: 
 Fast by the breezy shore the city stands, 
 Amid unbounded plains of barren sands, 
 Which high in air the furious whirlwinds sweep, 
 Like mountain billows of the stormy deep; 
 That scarce the affrighted trav'ller, spent with toil^ 
 Escapes the tempest of th' unstable soil. 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 221 
 
 ast, and beyond this, but in a direction rather north- 
 ward, there is a considerable elevation, supposed to be 
 the hill *^ before Hebron/* where Samson deposited 
 the city gates. L'illusion des noms est une chose pro- 
 digieuse: an object which otherwise would scarcely 
 engage the transient notice of a traveller, when viewed 
 in connexion with any wonderful exertion of the 
 human powers, acquires a degree of interest in the 
 mind of the spectator, that can detain the attention 
 with an almost magic influence.^ Hebron is nearly 
 seven of our leagues from Gaza, and almost at the 
 extremity of the Promised Land. 
 
 The depth of the sands rendering the route ini- 
 
 1 Un voyageur va traverser un fleuve qui n'a rien de 
 remarquable : on lui dit que ce fleuve se nomine Sousonghirii, 
 il passe et continue sa route; mats si quelqu^un lui crie, 
 c'est le Granique ! il recule, ouvre des yeux etonn^s, demeure 
 les regards attaches sur le cours de I'eau, corame si cette eau 
 avoit un pouvoir magique, ou comme si quelque voix extra- 
 ordinaire se faisoit entendre sur la rive. 
 
 Itineraire de Paris a Jerusalem. 
 
 Natur^ne nobis hoc datum, an errore quodam, ut cum 
 
 ea loca videamus, in quibus memoria dignos viros acceperi- 
 
 mus multiim esse versatos, magis moveamur qukm si quando 
 
 eorum ipsorum aut facta audiamus, aut scriptum aliquod 
 
 legamus ? 
 
 CicDE Fin. Bon. et Mal. 
 
 Lib. V. c. i. 
 
2di LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 passable by horses, the Aga supplied us with camels 
 and dromedaries. As thi was my first essay with an 
 animal of the latter description, I attempted to leap 
 on his back as he knelt to receive me: such an 
 unusual mode of proceeding was, however, instantly 
 resented, for before I could well balance myself on 
 my feet the beast suddenly rose, and starting fiercely 
 aside, threw me from him with great violence ; but 
 the guide caught me while falling, and I was finally 
 compelled to seat myself as others had done before 
 me. 
 
 The paces of a dromedary are far more rapid 
 than those of a camel, but the motion is singularly 
 harsh and uneasy : the sensation of the rider as the 
 animal kneels for him to dismount, or rises to proceed 
 on his journey, is at first inconceivably ludicrous : the 
 beasts when struck bray out a most dissonant yell, and 
 the untractable disposition of ours made it necessary 
 to subject them almost incessantly, during the first 
 three or four miles, to the discipline of a palm branch. 
 In about four hours we arrived at a village called 
 Deir, where we halted to take in water, and in 
 another hour from thence entered on the Sandy De- 
 sert, leaving on our left the modern fort of Kanunes. 
 
XETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 23 
 
 We continued this monotonous course till near sun-set, 
 when we broke into a part of the plain where the 
 surface was faintly strewed with heath and low brush- 
 wood : here W dismounted, kindled a fire to prepare 
 some coffee, and spread our beds, in the intention of 
 resting till midnight, by which tim^ the moon would 
 be sufficiently high in the heavens to point out a 
 path. The Mameluke, who affected extreme anxiety 
 on account of the Bedouins, kept watch with great 
 perseverance till near twelve o'clock, when I desired 
 be would lay down for an hour, after which we might 
 pursue our journey. In the interval therefore of 
 Joseph's repose, as no one had taken any precaution 
 to secure the camels, two of the oldest set out on 
 their return to Gaza, and were not overtaken till after 
 a pursuit that lasted six hours. At seven o'clock we 
 resumed the route, and about ten reached the outer 
 court of a ruined mosque, beneath the shelter of whose 
 dome we were suffered to prepare our breakfast. We 
 arrived, without any incident worth rehearsing, at El 
 Arisch just as the evening closed in. For some rea- 
 son, which I could not understand, we were not 
 allowed to sleep within the walls ; but the governor 
 sent a detachment to guai*d us near a rising mound, 
 
<224 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 where we passed the night on the sands, about two 
 furlongs distant from the citadel. 
 
 El Arisch is a small collection of wretched 
 houses, within a mile of the sea ; the situation is com- 
 manding, but the town appears to be a place of no 
 strength : it was however so much improved when in 
 possession of the French, that the garrison left by 
 Buonaparte, confident in the fortunes of their leader, 
 and fierce in his name, successfully held out (as we 
 were assured) against the attack of a Turkish force, 
 more than a hundred times as numerous : they after- 
 wards surrendered it to the English without offering 
 any resistance.^ 
 
 1 Buonaparte has described EI Arisch and Alexandria 
 as the two keys of Egypt, and mentions an idea he had con- 
 ceived of forming several redoubts of palm-tree, two between 
 Sallieh and Casties, and two between Casties and El Arisch. 
 One of those between the two last named places was to be 
 raised near the spot where Menou discovered a pool of fresh 
 water.* 
 
 Kleber, who succeeded to the command of the French 
 army, speaks of El Arisch, in his dispatches to the Di- 
 rectory, as a paltry fort, four days' journey in the desert, the 
 
 "Quant aux fortifications, A lexandrie et Ei Arisch, voila les deux clefs de 
 I'Egypte. J'avois le projet de faire etablir cet hiver des redoubles de Palmier, 
 deux depuis Sallieh a Casties, deux de Casties a. El Arisch ; une de ces dernicrg 
 sc seroit trouvee a Tendroit ou Ic General Menou a trouve de I'eau potable." 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 225 
 
 The folly or knavery of the Mameluke prevented 
 our leaving this place till near four o'clock on the 
 following day : at length we resumed our seat on the 
 dromedaries, and descending to the beach, pursued 
 a route for several hours by the edge of the water, the 
 fresh breezes from which were a most welcome relief 
 to the burning heat of the plain. We halted for a 
 short time soon after sun-set, to take in water, which 
 was then becoming very scarce, and of an exceedingly 
 bad quality. As the night closed over us we were 
 compelled to relinquish any further movements, but at 
 the instant of the moon's rising, recommenced our 
 journey. About three in the morning the guides 
 complained of the distress of the camels, and we were 
 forced to wait nearly two hours, before they were^ 
 sufficiently recovered to proceed : after this we again 
 set forward, and continued advancing till nine, when 
 
 extreme difficulty of victualling which would not admit of its 
 being garrisoned with more than two hundred and fifty men.* 
 
 * " El Arisch est un mediant fort a quatre journ^es dans le Desert. La 
 grande diflSculte de Tapprovisioner ne permet pas d'y jetter une garnison de plus 
 de deux cent cinquante hommes. Six cents Mamelukes et Arabes pourront, quand 
 jls le voudront, intercepter sa communication avec Catieh, et corame, lors du de- 
 part de Buonaparte, cette garnison n'avoit pas pour quinze jours de vivres en 
 avance, il ne faudroit pas plus de terns pour I'obliger k se rendre sans coup ferir, 
 
 9 
 
226 LETTER,SJ?RO^]>^ EALB3:T1NE 
 
 we 5j.9{)ped W pji^pare breakfast. The heat by that 
 time had become almost intolerable, aad neither tree 
 Biojf abr;^b, oi^ apj kirjd wa to be found to supply the 
 faintest shelter : in this exigence we formed a sort of 
 canopy with our baggage, beneath which we reclined 
 till the sun had gained a degree 9^ altitude, tljat ren- 
 dered it of no further ser\^ice. Xbe whole of the 
 route from El A^isch k a, <jonjt^y^ed desert of sand, 
 the surface of which, though natuj;ally level, is 
 \^x^. frequently broken by large swelling n^/9nnda> 
 Tj^se^ by, the aptipn^ f^^ t^e. wind), l^e vast heaps of 
 drifted si^pw, 
 
 Tj'he ne3^t morning we set foi;waf4 between three 
 and four o'clpck : ip tj^e cop^se of the day ali onr* 
 provisions were so completely expended, t^hat not^ even 
 ^ single lime or ppmegranate was left. We proceeded 
 l^pwever ia t^e lippe^ of nictating wijth some spring, and 
 just before sun-set arrived at a point near two or three 
 split^ry date trees, which t\\^ qamel driy^ers. assured u& 
 abounded with excellent water : this was most wel- 
 come information, and I eagerly ran to explore the 
 source^ but ifijjtead of the delifiioijjifpunt^ip, which, th^ 
 guides had spoken of with such symptoms of pleasure, 
 we found a miserable puddle, of the colour of putrid 
 
EETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 227 
 
 eheese. There was no alternsitive, but ard application 
 to the camp of the Bedouins for milk ; we decided 
 on having recourse to such expedient, but after an 
 absence of several hours the messenger caime back 
 with* an answer, that our request could not be com- 
 plied with: necessity therefore compelled us to 
 return to the foul pool beneath the dates, and it re- 
 quired all the solicitations of raging thirst to venture on 
 such a beverage. 
 
 A couple of wild deer passed us in the course of 
 the day ; tSiey were shy, and appeared in very good; 
 condition, though without any visible mean's of suis- 
 tenance, except such as is casually supplied by a few 
 straggling bushes. Beetles and creeping insects are 
 very numerous, but we have not yet seen many noxious 
 reptiles, though I have reason to think there is nd, 
 want of either scorpions or adders : lizards we have 
 found of all sizes and hues ; one crossed us early in. 
 the morning nearly as large as a spaniel^ with sonie- 
 thing in its mouth of the size and form of a rabbit : it 
 moved with such rapidity that my friend, who has 
 reduced a pistol shot almost to a certainty, in this in- 
 stance failed of his aim. 
 
228 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 The nights are cool and fresh, and attended with 
 heavy dews, but the heat of the day is dreadfully op- 
 pressive. We rose between two and three, and soon 
 after seven reached the margin of the lake Menzaleh, 
 which it was necessary to traverse in order to arrive 
 at this place. The ruins of the ancient Pelusium have 
 been in some measure replaced by the modern Tineb, 
 distant about three miles from the coast. ^ Between this 
 and Rhinocalura, the frontier city of Palestine, ancient 
 geographers enumerate the following places, which were 
 situated on the shore : Agger-chabrae, Gerra, Pentaschae- 
 nos, and Ostracine. Between the two last mentioned, 
 there appears a low mound of sand, formerly called 
 
 1 Ammianus Marcellinus derives the name of that city, 
 rather fancifully, from the father of Achilles, who he imagines 
 founded it in consequence of an admonition from the gods. 
 Quod Peleus A chillis pater dicitur condidisse, lustrari 
 Deorum monitu jussus in lacu, qui ejusdem civitatis alluit 
 maenia, cum post interfectum fratrem, nomine Phocum, hor- 
 rendis furiarum imaginibus raptaretur. (Ammian. lib. xxii. 
 c. 16.) Dr. Shaw conjectures it to have been so called from 
 the circumstance of its situation in a low marshy soil, nrixea-iov 
 being easily formed from the Grek word niixo?, mud. His 
 expressions are, " Tennis seems to be the same with the 
 Tanis of Egypt, from ftO (Tin) c/a?/ rendered by the Greeks 
 nj?vyriov, from a word of the like signification in their language.'^ 
 
 Shaw's Travels, 
 
L1ETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 229 
 
 ^ount Cassius, where the relics of Pompey are said to 
 have been inhumated.* The humble sepulchre pre- 
 pared for this unhappy chief by the piety of his freed- 
 man Philip, was afterwards greatly enriched by the 
 munificence of the Emperor Adrian, who constructed 
 a sumptuous mausoleum near the scite of the original 
 tomb : of this scarce any vestiges are now extant. 
 
 We were detained on the borders of the lake 
 above five hours, before the messenger whom we dis- 
 patched to procure a boat could effect the object of 
 his errand : he returned at length with intelligence, 
 that a light skiff would be ready at sun-set. We amused 
 ourselves, therefore, with bathing and fishing till night- 
 fall, when we pushed off from the shore, and crossed 
 to an island a few miles distant, where we slept till the 
 dawn. It was past six the next morning before we 
 re-embarked, in consequence of an angry discussion 
 
 Alia riva 
 
 Sterilissima vien di Rinocera. 
 
 Non lunge un monte poi le si scopriva, 
 
 Che sporge sovra '1 mar la chioma altera, 
 
 E i p\h si lava nell' instabil' onde ; 
 
 E I'ossa di Pompeo nel grembo asconde. 
 
 La Gerusalemme Liberata, 
 Canto XV. stanza I5f^ 
 
^130 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE* . 
 
 with the proprietors of the vessel, wUo, thinking us 
 absplutely in thejr power, boldly demanded thirty 
 sequins as tke price of a conveyance. We offered six; 
 perhaps this was in strict justice too little ; they were 
 glad at length t^ <;pflipromise njatters, and receive ten 
 being threatened with a fp^cil^ie seizure of the boat, 
 if they refused to listen to equitable terms. 
 
 The waters of the lake are spread over a very 
 extended surface, but the depth seldom exceeds five 
 feet, and is frequently npt more than three ; so that in 
 the absence of wind we were enabjpd to punt on, at 
 tjie rate of eight or ter) furloijgs an hour. A fresh 
 breeze sprang up at mid-day, and carried us forward 
 seyeral miles very briskly ; it afterwards sunk into a 
 dead calm, which continqed ti|l night, when we made 
 towards a sii^all jsl^t to dres some fish, and slept 
 aropng tjip rpeds tijl the rising pf the moon, The day 
 following, the wind died away so completely, that we 
 were forced again to have recourse to our punt-poles, 
 and had every prospect of passing ^ tl^ircl day, exposed 
 to the severity of a broiling sun, without any possible 
 mode of mitigating the tedium of such a passage. We 
 reached ^h^ stf^nd l^p^yev^r much earlier than our ma- 
 
riners had calculated, and after an hour's ride through 
 most luxuriant fields of rice, planted with date trees 
 and watered by the Nile, arrived in the centre of this 
 very singular town. 
 
232 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 LETTER XXL 
 
 To Sir G. E , Bart. 
 
 Damietta, Sept. 10, 1817. 
 
 Dear E , 
 
 Travellers from all other countries who visit 
 Egypt, seem anxious to disseminate the most exag- 
 gerated idea of its treasures and natural riches. Some 
 of the narratives, which have been published on this 
 subject, are wilder than the fictions of the Arabian 
 Nights ; though as far as regards the productiveness 
 of the soil, if the surface spread over every part of the 
 Delta, resembles that immediately adjoining this city, 
 it would be difficult to say too much in respect of its 
 fertility. The abundance of the annual produce is 
 however necessarily dependent on two causes ; a 
 copious discharge from the river, or what is called a 
 good Nile, and an equal distribution of the water. To 
 effect the latter object, it is absolutely necessary that 
 the canals should be cleaned every year, and the dykes 
 
LiETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 233 
 
 carefully repaired. The general interest exacts, that 
 the sluices should be all opened at the same time; 
 but individual rapacity is seldom influenced by any 
 considerations for the common good ; and you 
 may imagine the confusion and misery produced 
 by a disregard of this principle, in a year when 
 the Nile is but scantily supplied. Whenever that 
 happens, the villages bordering on the river anti- 
 cipate the season for cutting the dams ; a mea- 
 sure which is of course contested by those si- 
 tuated more remote : the inevitable consequence of 
 such a struggle must be to dissipate the stream in 
 useless channels, and to render what was before 
 scarce, totally unattainable. In favourable years the 
 crops are astonishingly great. I am absolutely afraid 
 to mention the amount, raised on a quantity of land 
 equivalent to one of our acres : but the cultivators 
 appear very unskilful or very negligent in cleaning 
 their corn ; for in the principal granaries and store- 
 houses which I have been shewn, on taking a handful 
 of any description of grain, it proved on examination 
 to be nearly one-fourth dust. Their implements of 
 husbandry are also, almost universally, of a very rude 
 and unimproved construction, and the peasants em- 
 
234 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 ployed to till the ground, are appafrehtly not many 
 degriees removed from their fellow -labourers the 
 brotes. 
 
 Bonaparte, in a letter to his brother Joseph, 
 describes Egypt as the richest country on the earthy 
 in wheat, rice, pulse, and cattle : he adds, in his 
 u^al manner, '' barbarism is at its height." What 
 would such a country be then under an enlightened 
 government, capable of calling out its resources, and 
 giving unrestrained activity to agriculture ? Is it too 
 much to suppose, that it might be rendered one of the 
 finest colonies in the world, and become eventually 
 the centre of universal commerce ? 
 
 The Ottoman empire has been long regarded as 
 an old tottering edifice, which must of itself soon fall 
 to pieces, if the mutual jealousies and oppositions of 
 the great powers of Europe, should be insufficient to 
 retard the catastrophe. In such crisis, the geogra- 
 phical situation of Egypt, bounded as it is by two 
 seas and deserts, would seem to point it out as the 
 natural ally of the most powerful maritime nation ; a 
 state who could at all times approach either coast 
 in security, and afford the most complete protection to 
 its extensive trade. There is, I am assured, a con- 
 
LEiPTERS F"ROM PALESTINE. Q35 
 
 skkrabl party among the best informed here, who 
 conteiplate England either as successor to the Porte 
 in this division of its sovereignty, or as the protectress 
 and guarantee of their future independence. Such 
 speculation, whether rational or otherwise, is felt most 
 beneficially by individuals of the English nation, who 
 are every where received with the most attentive and 
 cordial hospitality. An opposite sentiment prevails, 
 at present, in many parts of the European Con- 
 tinent, where a cold, grudging, resentful spirit, seems 
 to influence the public bodies, and a sullen in- 
 difference to actuate private society.* But these 
 
 I According to a profound and eloquent writer, the 
 force of whose expressions, as they are quoted from memory, 
 must here suffer in the recital, though their sense is correctly 
 retained, " The nations are each engaged in healing and 
 nourishing tljeir exhausted strength for future warfare. There 
 is much suspicion, uiuch hate, iQPg memory of wounds, of 
 pain, and loss of sustenance. In the very intercourse of peace 
 they are still at spoil upon each other. In the very barter 
 and exchange of commodities, they are feeding their own 
 and sucking the other's strength. If we travel in the others 
 land, it is not tlie journey of safety or of comfoH, We are 
 afraid ; we feel we are solitary, not connected, not tied in one 
 common interest. We are strangers, a word not much diffe- 
 rent in meaning from a foe, and in one language anciently 
 the same.* We have the heart of a stranger in the hospi- 
 
 Hostis euim apud majores nostros is dicebatar, quem nunc peregrinum 
 dicimus. Cic. de Off. lib. i. c. 12. 
 
Q.36 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 are not the feelings excited by a journey in many 
 districts of the African and Asiatic territories 
 from the shores of the Euxine to the furthest channel 
 of the Nile, the British traveller is universally wel- 
 comed with kindness, and dismissed with regret 
 
 There is a marked superiority in this town over 
 every pther we have visited since we quitted Constan- 
 tinople ; the houses are more spacious and lofty, the 
 avenues wider and more commodious, and the streets 
 laid out with greater regularity ; yet there is in almost 
 every quarter an air of extreme discomfort; every 
 object betraying an appearance of complicated misery, 
 penury, dirt, and barbarism. Dr. Shaw describes its 
 situation as five miles distant from the sea, and about 
 sixty to the N. N. W. of Tineh. I should have 
 
 tality we meet with, and which is itself nothing but the tolera- 
 tion of an enemy, and requires all the laws of pity and of 
 honour to guard and to enforce it. Our ears too are assailed 
 by menaces, which cannot be disregarded, either from the 
 number or the weight of their significance. Their dread echo 
 is always at every point of every frontier ; we pass to each 
 other, even in peace, through gates of brass and armed files, 
 and we never fail to hear it," 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 2^7 
 
 judged it to be much nearer the coast, but it would be 
 idle to dispute the authority of so accomplished a 
 writer.* 
 
 The residence of the English Consul is close to 
 the bank of the Nile, which at this season is turbid, 
 full, and rapid. The buildings which rise from the 
 water's edge, give to that part of the city a faint resem- 
 blance to the principal canal at Venice; though 
 nothing certainly can be more different than the archi- 
 
 1 " It lyeth upon the eastern bank of the Nile ; the brancli 
 that runs by it has been generally received for the Pelusiac, 
 by mistaking, no doubt, this city for the ancient Pelusium ; 
 whereas Damietta seems rather to be a corruption of Tha- 
 miathis, its former name. This branch, therefore, as well 
 from the situation as the largeness of it, should be the 
 Pathmetic, (or Phatnic, as Strabo calls it,) betwixt which and 
 the Pelusiac, were the Mendesian and the Tanitic ; but of 
 these I could receive no information." 
 
 The following extract from Savary has many of the re- 
 commendations of eloquence, but is deplorably deficient in 
 one property, the absence of which can never be atoned by 
 any brilliancy of description, except in a work avowedly ficti- 
 tious. " J'ai voulu, monsieur, vous peindre la nature telle que 
 Je Fai vue raille fois aux environs de Damiette; mais Je sens 
 combien le Peintre est au-dessous du module. Representez- 
 vous tout ce que les eaux courantes ont d'agr^ment, tout ce 
 que la verdure a de fraicheur, tout ce que la fleur d'orange a 
 de parfums, tout ce qu'un air doux, suave, balsamique a de 
 
238 LETTERS FftOM PALESTINE. 
 
 tectural ornaments. There is an air of great activity, 
 on the Quay; vessels continually departing and re- 
 turning from Grand Cairo, laden with different kinds 
 of grain and flax, with cotton, silk, &c. 
 
 The soil is so rich as frequently to produce three 
 or four crops in immediate succession. Yet the inha- 
 bitants seem as wretched, as if the land had been cursed 
 with irreclaimable sterility. The condition of the 
 women appears to be most deplorable : their domestic 
 economy has been often described, but I never under- 
 stood till very lately tb^ disgusting proceedings which 
 regulate the marriage union. The bride can never be 
 seen^ till after the ceremony. A person, feeling an 
 inclination to become a husband, applies to some indi- 
 vidual who is reported to have daughters, and desires 
 to know if any of them are to be disposed of. If 
 the parent replies affirmatively, the aspirant sends 
 one of his female relations, who has already been 
 married, to examine their persons, and report accord- 
 
 volupt^, toutce que le spectacle d'unbeau ciel a de ravissant, 
 et vous aurez une foible id^e de cette langue de terre resser- 
 r^e entre le grand lac et' le coars du Nil." It was probably 
 some such passage which occasioned Volney's sarcastic re- 
 mark: J'ai pcnse que le genre dos voyages appartenait a 
 I'histoire, et non aux romans! 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTfNE. 239 
 
 jngly. Should ker representation be favourable, the 
 future husband pays the father a stipulated sum, and, 
 on an appointed day, all parties interested in the event, 
 assist at the solemnization. The bride then repairs to 
 the mansion of the bridegroom, where she is subjected 
 to a scrutiny, which the language of civilization has 
 no terms* to describe. It is the result of this in- 
 spection which reodevs the contract binding, or com- 
 pletely annuls it. In the eveat of its dissolution, il is 
 at the option of the bridegroom to avail himself of the 
 privileges of a husband, and afterwards to send back 
 the lady to her father with every mark of contumely 
 and disgrace. 
 
 The personal ornaments of the wealthier classes^ 
 are extremely splendid and elegant; but nothing is 
 more revolting than- the appearance of such as roam 
 the public streets. In addition to the squalid rags^ 
 which, clothe the rest of their figure, a linen mask 
 hangs from the nose, resembling in colour and sub- 
 stance the graceful pendants that are occasionally^ 
 borne by the hackneyrcoach horses in London. 
 
 There are some alarming dissenters lately sprang 
 up in the Mahometan church, which are far more 
 likely to prove fatal to the establishment, than any 
 
240 LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 Other of the numerous sects, that indulge in the fren-^ 
 zies of speculation. Soon after our arrival here, we had 
 the honour to dine in company with one of the orthodox 
 party, whose sensitive organs I had the misfortune to 
 excite, in no common degree, by merely alluding 
 to these heretics, and by stating that I had pe- 
 rused with some attention many passages in the 
 Koran. The zealous Moslem instantly started from 
 table with every symptom of horror, affirming with 
 much indignation that so sacred a composition must 
 have suffered deep pollution from the sacrilegious 
 touch of a Christian. Upon being assured that I 
 entertained full as bad an opinion of the Whaccabees as 
 himself, and that moreover I had not the most remote 
 idea of defiling his faith, he suffered himself to be 
 assuaged, and resumed, with becoming dignity, his 
 place in the circle. 
 
 Our host, who has the reputation of being ex- 
 tremely wealthy, is not entirely free from that dis- 
 gusting sufficiency, which is the usual accompaniment 
 of commercial opulence. He is however scarcely 
 turned of twenty, and can therefore be hardly con- 
 sidered as matured. Some ludicrous traits in his 
 carriage are certainly rather prominent ; but every one 
 
LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 241 
 
 who can descend to the practice, may easily find 
 some blemish in another's conduct, to furnish mate- 
 rials for sarcasm. I should mention as a proof of our 
 friend's aspiration for something beyond the ordinary 
 distinctions of riches, that he very early betrayed an 
 attachment to literature, and has actually translated 
 Volney's Travels, from an Italian version, into his 
 native Arabic. 
 
 We have engaged a bark to carry us up the river 
 to Cairo, and hope to reach that capital in three or 
 four days. I will take the first opportunity of writing 
 from thence. In the mean time I leave a large 
 packet with our Consul here, who can easily convey it 
 to Alexandria, where there is a regular communication 
 with the ports of France and Italy. 
 
 Adieu, my dear Chevalier, and believe me ever, 
 with great truth and regard. 
 
 Yours entirely, 
 
 Th. R. J. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 List of British Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Agents in 
 the Levant. June, 1817. 
 
 Aleppo . 
 
 . John Barker, Esq. 
 
 . Consul. 
 
 Alexandria 
 
 . Peter Lee 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Acre 
 
 . Parquale Maiagamba 
 
 . Pro-Consul. 
 
 Athens . 
 
 . Alessandro Logotheti 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Barutti . 
 
 . Pietro Lorella . 
 
 . Pro^Jonsul. 
 
 Cairo 
 
 . . Salt . 
 
 . Consul. 
 
 Cyprus . 
 
 . Antonio Youdiziano 
 
 . Pro-Consul. 
 
 Canea in Cand 
 
 ia Pietro Capogrosso 
 
 . Consul. 
 
 Dardanelles 
 
 . Israel Taragano . 
 
 - Pro-Consul. 
 
 Giaffa 
 
 . Antonio Daimani 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Micone 
 
 . Pietro Cambani . 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Milo . 
 
 . Pietro Michele 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Naxia 
 
 . Nicolo Frangopulo 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Patras 
 
 . John Cartwright . 
 
 . Consul. 
 
 Rhodes 
 
 . StefFano Masse 
 
 . Pro-Consul. 
 
 Smyrna 
 
 . Francis Werry 
 
 . Consul. 
 
 Salonica . 
 
 . Francis Charmaud 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Scanderoon 
 
 . Mr. Fornetty 
 
 . 
 
 Scio 
 
 . Giovani Guiduci . 
 
 . Pro-Consul. 
 
244 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 Santoriiio . 
 
 Gasparo Dclenda . 
 
 . Pro-Consul 
 
 Samos 
 
 Giorgio Civini 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Scalanova 
 
 Gerolamo Crassan 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Sira . 
 
 . Antonio S. Vitali . 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Siftio and Nio 
 
 Nicola di Antonio Gripari 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Tino . 
 
 . Girolamo Scordialo 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Tripoli in Syria 
 
 . Geo. Co. Catziflis . 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 Zea . 
 
 . Nicolo Paugalo 
 
 . ditto. 
 
 
 
 The following are the letters referred to in page 210. 
 The reader may be amused at the measured solemnity of 
 style, with which gentlemen, even of Pro-Consular rank, 
 always expect to be addressed. 
 
 Illustrissimo Signor Console, 
 
 Mi prendo la liberty di scriverle la presente, per suppli- 
 carla di voler far gradire i miii rispetti a cotesto Signor 
 Pascia, e di presentargli a mio nome il letto che m'ha per- 
 messo d'oifrirgli. Spero ch'egli vorr^ accettare <}uesto piccolo 
 omaggio, in segno di riconoscenza per le gentilezze con cui 
 ha voluto favorirmi nel mio passagio cost^. 
 
 Aggradisca, Illustrissimo Signor Console, le proteste 
 della distinta mia stima. 
 
 Non mi resta che di pregarle d'accusarmi la ricevuta 
 
APPENDIX. 245 
 
 della preseiite, e degli oggetti che Taccompagnano, per mia 
 quiete ; sicche mi giova sperare d'essere favorito d'una 
 pronta risposta, all 'addrizzo che trovera in calce. 
 
 [The preceding Note was written to accompany the 
 package ; and the subjoined letter, in French, was sent to 
 apprise the Consul of the sailing of the vessel.] 
 
 Londres. 
 Monsieur, 
 
 Lorsque j'etois a Gaza, dans I'^te de I'annee passee, le 
 
 Pacha de Jaffa me temoigna un grand d^sir d'avoir un lit 
 
 de la ni^me fa^on que le mien; et j'assurois Son Altesse 
 
 qu*aussit6t que je serois arrive a Londres, je ne tarderois pas 
 
 k faire passer chez vous, le meilleur lit de voyage que je pusse 
 
 me procurer dans cette ville. C'est pourquoi je me h^te de 
 
 vous dire, que j'en ai fait embarquer un, abord d'un vaisseau 
 
 Anglais, nonim^ " The Friends," (Les Amis) qui est d^ja parti 
 
 pour Smyrne. J'ai fait consigner le lit, qui est emballe dans 
 
 des nattes, aux soins de Messieurs Purdie, Mildred, et Com- 
 
 pagnie, en les priant de le faire transporter chez vous, le 
 
 plutot possible. Dbs que vous aurez repu le balot, vous 
 
 m'obligerez infiniment de vouloir bien I'envoyer chez le 
 
 Pacha, franc de port, comme une preuve, quelque petite qu'elle 
 
 soit, de ma plus vive reconnoissance de tant de bontes 
 
 et d'honn^tetes qu'il m'a t6moign^es pendant mon s^jour el 
 
 Jaffa. 
 
 En cas que vous le trouviez n^cessaire de payer 
 
46 APPENDIX. 
 
 quelque petite somme pour mon compte, vouz pouvez tirer k 
 votre convenance, sur Messieurs F****n de T****t et Co. 
 negocians a Londres, qui feront hontieur k votre lettre de 
 change, sur le champ. 
 
 Je Ruis, Monsieur le Consul, 
 
 Avec beaucoup d'estime et de respect, 
 Votre tres-ob^issant Serviteur, 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 The answers annexed to the following queries were 
 furnished by an officer in the Artillery, to whom the writer 
 and his friends had the good fortune to be introduced, while 
 at Rome. His name is familiar to the public, but for obvious 
 reasons it is not mentioned on the present occasion. 
 
 1. On embarking at Naples for Alexandria, what are 
 the chief requisites respecting baggage, letters of credit, &c.? 
 
 2. What description of bed is preferable? 
 
 3. If a firman must be procured from Constantinople, to 
 enable us to proceed from Cairo to Jerusalem, will it be 
 proper to write from Rome? and, if so, to whom should ap- 
 plication be made ? 
 
 4. What steps are to be taken on landing at Alexandria? 
 
 5. What wages should an interpreter receive? 
 
 6. \^{^hat are the ordinary charges per day at inns ? 
 
APPENDIX. 247 
 
 7. Is it absolutely necessary to appear in the costume of 
 the country ? In that case, what is the best mode of procur- 
 ing a dress, and the probable cost of a complete equipment? 
 
 8. What is the first object on arriving at Grand Cairo, 
 and the mode of proceeding from thence to Jerusalem ? 
 
 9. To whom will it be proper to apply for lodgings on 
 arriving at Jerusalem? 
 
 10. What is the best route from Jerusalem to Constan- 
 tinople, the time it would require, and the method of 
 travelling ? 
 
 ANSWERS^, 
 
 1. There is no difficulty in transporting baggage from 
 place to place : every thing that can add to your comfort I 
 should recommend you to take. I had a portmanteau, 
 capable of containing twelve shirts, and other things in pro- 
 portion ; a pair of canteens, containing dinner and breakfast 
 conveniences for two ; a saddle and bridle, and small cloak 
 case, similar to that which Dragoons have, to carry a change 
 of linen, on the horse I rode. By all means carry tea. Coffee 
 and sugar are to be purchased in every part of Syria. Take 
 letters of credit on Constantinople or Smyrna. Caleulate 
 your expences at two guineas per day. Herries' bills are 
 payable at Cairo ; but if you draw on Cairo from any other 
 place, the loss is very great. 
 
 2. A common camp paillasse, a single blanket, and a 
 
<i48 APPENDIX. 
 
 pair of sheets, render you independent, though at Alex- 
 andria, Jaffa, Rama, Jerusalem, Acre, and Nazareth, beds 
 will, be provided for two or even three persons ; your beds 
 should roll up, and be carried in a canvas cover.* 
 
 3. Write from Rome immediately, taking the precaution 
 to speak to the English Consul here, that he may certify you 
 are English. Your application must be made to the 
 English Ambassador at Constantinople, requesting the 
 firman for self and suite, may be sent to Cairo, and addressed 
 to. the Consul-General. The communication from Constan- 
 tinople to Cairo is one month. 
 
 4. Call on the British Consul, and do not land your 
 baggage (at Alexandria) till he has sent his attendants to 
 pass it through the Custom House. He will give you the 
 necessary assistance to get to Cairo. I went by land to 
 Rosetta, (30 miles distant from Alexandria, one days' 
 journey,) and thence embarked in a boat for Cairo, a distance 
 of about four days. 
 
 5. A Spanish dollar a day. 
 
 6. There are no inns, ex\)ept one, at Alexandria, and 
 there it cost for myself and servant nearly a guinea a day. 
 Wherever you go there is a Convent or Consul, to whom you 
 should resort. 
 
 7. The Consul-General will be informed of your arrival 
 
 * The writer found a blanket quite unnecessary ; he had two pair of linen 
 sheets, sewed up at each side and at one extremity, as a defence against vermine. 
 These were placed in a leathern case, previously steeped in a preparation used at 
 Naples for resisting contagion. 
 
APPENDIX. 249 
 
 at Alexandria. Send your letters of introduction to him, 
 through the British Consul at Alexandria, and mention when 
 you propose leaving the last mentioned place. Cairo is 1 
 mile and a half from the Nile: it will therefore be necessary 
 to call on him before you land your baggage at the port, 
 called Boulac. Of course he will provide you lodgings, 
 either at his own house, or elsewhere; if at the Convent, you 
 should pay Rhont half a dollar a day for each person, if you 
 are furnished with lodging only; but if supplied with neces- 
 saries for the table, &c. I should regulate the present as the 
 drogomau of the mission, Monsieur Haziz, will direct you, 
 and whom you may trust in every thing relative to your 
 movements. 
 
 8. From Grand Cairo you may either go to Jerusalem 
 across the desert, or descend the Nile to Damietta, and 
 there embark for Jaffa, whence you sleep the first night at 
 Kamla, and arrive the second at Jerusalem. On arriving at 
 Jaffa you should apply to the acting Consul, who will send 
 notice to Ramla and Jerusalem, and provide you with mules 
 for the journey : across the desert it is four days. 
 
 9. You go to the Roman Catholic Convent, and will be 
 furnished with every <hing you want. On quitting Jerusalem 
 you make a present of about two dollars a day, for each 
 person, to the treasurer, and one dollar per diem for the 
 whole party to the drogoman ; besides pecuniary rewards to 
 the servants and Janissaries who attend you to the different 
 holy places. 
 
 s 
 
250 APPENDIX. 
 
 10. The most interesting route is certainly by land, 
 Ihrough Acre, Damascus, Ale|>po. I am uncertain as to the 
 time, but I should suppose six weeks. If I had had time, I 
 should have taken that route, avoiding the neighbourhood 
 of Tripoli in Syria, where there is mal'aria; 1 crossed from 
 Barutti to Cyprus, a voyage of two days, whence, by crossing 
 the island, and then to the coast of Caramania, you get by 
 land to Constantinople in a fortnight. 
 
 n.* Take fine cloth for your beniseli jacket and waist- 
 coat, may be of any colour but green; the benisch is gene- 
 rally of a gay colour, and different from the rest. The 
 breeches, called sharroM^eel, are of great size, almost always 
 blue, requiring about four times as much cloth as common 
 pantaloons. The only advantage of buying the cloth in 
 Europe is, that you get it finer and much cheaper. At 
 Cairo the coarse cloth is dearer than the fine in Europe. 
 Cairo will be the best place to have the dresses made up. 
 1 calculated 50Z. for the dress of myself and servant. 
 
 N.B. The plague usually begins in April and ends in 
 July, in Egypt. In Syria it had begun a second time, tlie 
 same year, in the month of September, 
 
 The writer and his associate had every reason to be 
 satisfied with the attentive kindness, which they experienced, 
 
 This seems more properly to be an answer to the enquiry, No. T. 
 
AI*PEND1X. 251 
 
 almost universally, in the domicils of the British residents ; 
 yet he cannot withhold the friendly advice conveyed to him 
 in a note by an experienced Asiatic traveller, who had ob- 
 served him on some occasion examining, rather too eagerly^ 
 a very formidable collection of coins and medals; 
 
 Pensate d'essere in Arabia. II tutto si fa per denaro, e si 
 tenta ogni mezzo di spogliare i Franchi, edin specie Inglesi. 
 
 Chiamate per drogomano un certo ***, e chi jeri s^ra 
 ha parlato al vostro domestico ; di costui vi potrete servire 
 come drogomano, e come servo all' occasione, e la paga sara 
 di molto minore. 
 
 Se al contrario prenderete il soggetto di cui jeri m'avete 
 parlato, lo pagarete molto, e bisognara farlo servire come 
 Padrone, e giammai contento. 
 
 Le antiche sono furberie per levarvi denari : le potrete 
 trovare in ^Egytto migliori, ed a minori prezzo. 
 
 Aprite gU occhy con tutti, ed in specie coi Vice-Console^ 
 
 FJNIS. 
 
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