488

RETURN TO JERUSALEM.

tale, and riding up the hill, with a pistol in hand, made direct for the spot. The deceiver, seeing him armed, probably thought that he might be shot before he and his party in ambush had inveigled their prey, and accordingly fled.

It was five o'clock in the afternoon when, after paying a second visit to the tomb of Lazarus at Bethany, we found ourselves once again at the foot of Olivet and re-entered the Holy City by the gate of St. Stephen.

CHAPTER XXXII.

JUDEA. HEBRON, BETHLEHEM, AND JOPPA.

Governor of Jerusalem.-Ancient custom retained.― Leave Jerusalem.-Valley of Rephaim.-Sepulchre of Rachel.Pools of Solomon. -Gardens and spring. - Aqueduct. Wilderness of St. John.-Cave, house, fountain, and locusttrees.-Wild country.-Bedouins.-Palace of Abraham.Hebron.-Idumea.- Jews.- Valley of Eshcol.- Cave of Machpelah. Tombs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. — Turkish mosque.- Tombs of Esau and Abner.- Plain of Mamre. Turpentine tree.-Bethlehem.-Its situation.— View from Latin convent.-Scriptural localities.-Grotto of Nativity.-Chapel.-Star.-Site of our Saviour's birth discussed. Privileges of Christians.-Personal appearance of Bethlehemites.-Return to Jerusalem.-Fever.-Certificate from the "Custode della Terra Santa."- Final departure from Jerusalem. -Culloonea.-Valley of Elah.David and Goliath.-Aspect of country.-Ruin.-Modin. -Village of Abooghoosh.-Predatory Arabs.-Birthplace of Jeremiah.

Monastery.-Murder of monks.- Accom

490

GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM.

modations. Road. Voluntary mutilation. Plain of Sharon.-Rose of Sharon.— Ramla.—Arimathea.― Birthplace of St. George.- Jaffa, ancient Joppa.-Harbour.Ships. Antiquity of Joppa. - Scriptural associations. — Houses of Simon and Dorcas. Fever and detention. Interview with superior of Franciscan convent.-Voyage to Smyrna. Storm.-Shipwreck.-Conclusion.

As the road from Jerusalem to Hebron is as much infested by Bedouins as that to Jericho, it was necessary, before undertaking an excursion in which we could not enjoy the protection of a caravan, to wait on the governor of the city and solicit an escort. Of this individual we saw a good deal during our sojourn at Jerusalem. In his deportment he was pleasing, and exhibited more of the manners of a Frank, with less of the gravity and hauteur of a Turk, than any Moslim of his rank with whom we became acquainted. Still, his conduct and feelings were oriental, and displayed themselves in a way which little accorded with European notions of propriety. During one interview, he made a direct application to me for some English gunpowder; and to the expression of my regret that I had only sufficient for four or five charges, à quantity not worth his acceptance, he replied that a little would be better than none; while a

ORIENTAL CUSTOM.

491

young Greek satellite by his side gave me to understand that a present was essential, if I expected to secure a guard or any other favor. From one of our countrymen the governor had just contrived to obtain a gun, given with some reluctance, when he asked in plain terms what "bukshish" he was to have; and, as something was expected, I presented him with my only remaining European pistol with a detonating lock. Such is the mode of transacting business among Moslims! Neither justice nor favor can be obtained without bribes; and the eastern custom of approaching a superior with a present in hand has remained unaltered since the days of Joseph's brethren† and the wife of the churlish Nabal. Now, as then, "A man's gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men."

The governor promised that a guard should meet us at the pools of Solomon, on the road to Hebron; accordingly, at an early hour, we left Jerusalem by the gate of Al khuleel. In Arabic, Ibrahim al khuleel, or "Abraham the friend" (of God), designates Hebron, the burial-place of that patriarch. This long name is contracted into Al khuleel, which appellation of the father of the faithful is retained + Gen. xliii. 11. 1 Sam. xxv. 27.

*Gift.

492

TOMB OF RACHEL.

with great jealousy by the Mohammedans, who, no less than the Jews descended from his loins, hold him in the highest honor. Passing through the " valley of Rephaim," or the valley of the Giants, where David routed the armies of the Philistines,* we quenched our thirst at the fountain where the magi are said to have seen a second time the star that guided them to Bethlehem.† While the pilgrim is doubting whether he may believe this statement, he is shown the house of Simeon, a tree under which the virgin rested, and, on a rock opposite the handsome convent of Mar Elias on the top of a hill, the impression of a human form made by the body of Elijah who slept there!

A quarter of an hour beyond this is a square building, like a common Mohammedan tomb, surmounted by a dome, and held in great veneration by Jews and Turks as the sepulchre of Rachel. The structure itself is palpably modern; but the site is probably the true one, for it exactly answers to the scriptural description; Jacob and Rachel " journeyed from Bethel, and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath; and Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which * 2 Sam. v. 22, 25.

+ Matt. ii. 9.