have named, and we gladly embraced it. But, as we expected to visit the Dead Sea also, which is not a part of the Greek pilgrimage, we were provided with our own guard. Being joined by the English gentlemen and some other persons in Jerusalem, who availed themselves of our company for safety, we formed a party of some ten or twelve persons on horseback. But it was not merely a company of Christian pilgrims that set out together. It was also the time of the Mussulman pilgrimage to the tomb of the prophet Moses; for, strange to tell, though that lawgiver was never permitted to enter into the promised land, and the Scriptures assure us that " no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day," the Mohammedans have got over all the difficulties, and not only know the spot, and show the sepulchre, but have placed it within the borders of the Land of Promise! Going out of the gate of the city early in the morning, the road presented a most animated scene. Thousands and thousands of people-men, women, and children— were assembled on the steep banks that overlook the valley of the Kedron, to see the pilgrims go forth. The rocky projections, and every available spot, were alive with them, and their variegated dresses and turbans produced a most picturesque effect. It was not like our crowds, where the preponderance of black hats and dark clothes gives the whole a sombre appearance; but all was gay

198

SINGULAR CAVALCADE.

with white, blue, yellow, red, and green, in every direction. Winding our way through this crowd of spectators, we were among the throng of the pilgrims of all ages and both sexes, and every way mounted, upon camels, horses, donkeys, and mules. There were loads of tents and provisions, as the pilgrims would be absent three days, and the country is inhabited by wandering Arabs only. The road led us along the side of Mount Olivet, and then over a broken, mountainous region, which occupies the whole space to the Valley of the Jordan. As we commenced our winding journey, it was a singular sight to see Jerusalem emptied of her inhabitants, and to watch the motley crowd of pilgrims, old men in panniers, on one side of a camel, balancing provisions, or women and children upon the other; winding down the steep descent to cross the bed of the brook Kedron, and then filling all the way along the side of the Mount of Olives. We were in a continuous crowd of men on horseback, armed with guns and pistols, dashing about, shouting and firing, as if they were going out to fight, or were upon a frolic, instead of a serious pilgrimage.

I found myself at first made so uncomfortable by an awkward Turkish saddle, that I should have been obliged to return, and lose this interesting excursion, had it not been for the great kindness of an English gentleman of our party, who, being

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better mounted, and more accustomed to this mode of travelling, exchanged horses with me.

For some distance the road was the same for all the pilgrims; but after a time, when the mixed stream of people came to a certain point, the Mohammedans separated, and turned off down a valley to the right. We accompanied these, as it was our route to the Dead Sea. They had come from all the neighbouring region in processions, with flags flying and drums beating: they frequently showed their hatred to us Christians, by calling upon us to move out of the road; and as they accompanied these objurgations with the firing of their guns and pistols, so as to startle us and our horses as we passed, we were very willing to allow them as much room as possible. They were all armed, which is the case with almost every man you meet in Syria. The road was up and down the sides of the mountains and over the rocks, and was in many places so rough and steep, that you would think it impossible for horses to travel over it. But the Syrian horses are strong and surefooted, and I have been carried by them over the rocks where I should hardly have felt it safe to go on foot. A wild region of barren rocks, a range of mountains, destitute of trees, and almost of grass, the rocks being in many places utterly bare-such was the desolate scenery that surrounded us on our way to the Dead Sea. The landscape is well calcu

lated to fill the mind of the traveller with gloom, and these barren rocks and innumerable caves compel him to remember that they have been in all ages the resort and the dens of thieves and outlaws, who are able to defy the government, and sometimes carry their depredations up to the very walls of Jerusalem. And all this they do in the name of Allah; for they deem it a part of the Divine law that the plunder of the desert is theirs by the will of God. It is the right of the strongest that guides the children of Ishmael, and their hand is not only against every stranger, but against each other also, if one endeavour to defraud another of his lawful share of that property in plunder which Heaven assigns him. In their minds, there is no inconsistency between a high spirit of devotion to the religion of their Prophet and the practice of plunder; but, on the contrary, like the pirates described by the Greek historian, and like the redhaired spoilers of the North, they deem that they exhibit their chivalry and spirit by skilful robbery. Our company was so large, and our guard so strong, that we met with no misadventures of this kind. But every Frank does not escape so comfortably. The author of "The Crescent and the Cross" furnishes us with the relation of an adventure far more amusing to narrate and hear than pleasant to endure: "Shortly before my arrival at Jerusalem, an English traveller had joined himself to one of

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these pilgrimages to the Jordan, for the sake of security as well as of curiosity. When about half-way to Jericho, he happened to linger behind the caravan, and was cantering along the lonely road to overtake it: suddenly his horse was checked by a resistless grasp, and himself thrown to the ground. The moment before, there was no living creature visible in that wild glen; now, on recovering from the shock, he saw an Arab bending over him, with his spear pointed at his bosom; two others stood by, and his horse had disappeared. Not understanding the menacing injunction to lie still, he tried to rise, and was instantly pinned to the ground by the Arab's lance. Seeing that resistance was hopeless, he submitted to his fate, and the two Arabs approached with the request, Cousin, undress thyself, thy aunt is without a garment.' As he displayed considerable reluctance in assisting the wants of his unknown relative, they stripped him with wonderful despatch. They soon left him in a state of utter nudity, and, in reply to all his remonstrances, only returned him his hat, which they looked upon with contempt, and useless even to his unscrupulous aunt.' They even took away the hat-band, and then left him to return as best he might to the crowded metropolis."

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We passed Nebby Mousa, as it is called, or the Tomb of the Prophet Moses. It is a mosque, in a desolate region amongst the mountains, and is built