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Reminiscences of Cæsarea.
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Sand downs — Brooks — Pine forests.
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Water-spout — Flying fish.
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Nahr Falej — Palsy River.
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AWL ZablIra — River Kanah?
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Plain of Sharon — Roses — Sea-shells.
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Sparrows — Melons — Granaries — Ants.
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Jaffa.
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April 3rd.
Morning
The hurry and hustle of our early start have crowded out our usual morning worship. Let us therefore turn aside and take a lesson from the works and ways of nature, while the gray dawn grows into the full broad day. This is the season and this the hour when poets love to sing,
“Sweet Is the breath of morn, her rising sweet,
With charm of earliest birds.”
The lark is already on high, saluting the first ray that gilds the dappled east with his cheerful matin. All nature hears the call, shakes off dull sleep, and hastens to join the general welcome to the coming king of day; and yonder he comes, over the head of Carmel, “rejoicing as a strong man to run a race.” See! even the vegetable kingdom shares the universal joy. Notice these flowers all around us, bow they turn smiling to his ardent gaze, bend forward in seeming reverence, throw open their pretty cups, and cast abroad their sweetest perfume. This silent adoration of ten thousand thousand flowers is most beautiful and impressive, and nowhere else beheld in higher perfection than among the lilies and roses of this sacred plain of Sharon.
Now this “powerful king of day” is but the faint shadow of his Maker — the Sun of Righteousness; and when He rises “with healing in his wings” (Mal. 4:22But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)), may we be ever ready to meet him with analogous welcome and superior joy. Let us even now listen to the many voices around us calling to prayer.
We have done well to commence our ride with the dawn, for it is the longest, and will be the most fatiguing which we have yet accomplished. “He who goes not to bed will be early up,” says an Oriental proverb; and so it has been with me. I can never sleep in such a place as this, and therefore merely wrapped my cloak about me and sat down patiently to watch our boastful guard; for I never yet found them faithful through a whole night. Talking, smoking, and joking, they managed to stave off sleep until one o'clock, and then all except Hammûd gave up the effort. He held on for nearly another hour, humming to himself more and more drowsily, till finally his head subsided on his chest, and his song into a gurgling snore. Poor fellow! let him sleep and dream of home.
Midnight
Lifting his gun quietly from his knee, I walked out on this ancient causeway, and set myself to count the stars, and listen to the sounds that startle the dull ear of night. I deemed myself familiar with every noise and note that mark the transit of those leaden hours: the surf's low murmur dying out on the shore — the sobbing of the winds among the trees and rocks — the monotonous response of the night-hawk to his mate — the muffled flutter of the circling bat — the howl of the wolf — the jackal's wail — the bark of the fox — and the ban-dog's cross bay from the distant fold. To these and such as these I have listened with the listening stars a thousand times, and again last night. But there was something additional to render my solitary watch upon this old dam strange, and doubtful, and expectant. Above the clattering of mill-stones and the rush of water-wheels there came, every now and then, a loud splash and hollow roar never heard by me before. Did they come from the slimy crocodiles which crawl through this hideous swamp in search of prey? The idea made me nervous. Ere long, however, my musings wandered off to more interesting themes. I recalled the day and night I spent among Cesarean’s broken walls and prostrate columns more than twenty years ago. Fresh from scenes of war, and earthquake, and sickness, and death in Jerusalem, I then felt a mysterious sympathy with these sad and forsaken ruins.
Interest of Cæsarea to the Missionary
Cæsarea is, in some respects, the most interesting site on the earth to the missionary. Here the Holy Ghost was first poured out upon Gentiles as upon the Jews, and thus the middle wall of partition broken down. From this spot the glad tidings set forth to run among the nations north, and south, and east, and west — west, far west — and, after eighteen centuries, from that New World, westward, far beyond the dream of prophet or apostle, returns the herald of that gospel to mingle his tears with the dust and ashes of this cradle of the Gentile Church.
How wonderful the ways of God! In this place the greatest missionary that ever lived was shut up in prison two whole years, and at a most critical time in the history of the Church, when his presence and preaching seemed indispensable. One cannot help feeling that Paul made a mistake when he came here from Acre en route to Jerusalem. He should have listened to Philip's four prophetic daughters, and to Agabus, who took Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle” (Acts 21:8-118And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. 9And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. 10And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. (Acts 21:8‑11)). But the lion-hearted apostle could not be persuaded. “What mean ye,” saith he, “to weep and to break my heart? for I am ready not only to be bound, but to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And speedily and right nobly did he redeem his pledge.
His Captivity
Having escaped terrific mobs and horrible conspiracies at Jerusalem, he was brought back to this place in chains, and here held prisoner by Felix, that corrupt and tyrannical governor. How often he must have dragged his chain to the top of the castle during those two long years, and gazed on the green hills of Palestine, and out upon the blue sea over which he had sailed many times on messages of mercy to heathen nations along its distant shores. One longs to know something of the musings and occupations of that wonderful man during the tedium of those many months. But inspiration is silent, and even tradition fails us. The supposition that he superintended the writing of Luke's Gospel is a mere guess, with no historic basis.
Here we are again within Cæsarea's prostrate walls. Doubtless some of these mounds of rubbish mark the exact site of Paul's prison, and from this sandy margin of the harbor he stepped on board that ship of Adramyttium in which he sailed for Italy to prosecute his appeal before Cæsar (Acts 27:22And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. (Acts 27:2)). Repeatedly have I passed over these same seas, and followed the apostle step by step in that tedious and unfortunate voyage. They evidently had a pleasant run to Sidon, where they touched the next day, and Paul was allowed to go on shore and refresh himself among his friends. The wind must have then hauled round to the west, for the ship could not pursue the direct course to Italy south of Cyprus, but ran north between the island and the Syrian coast, and then west over the Sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia; working westward in the teeth of the wind, it was a tedious and dangerous passage. But we may not follow that celebrated voyage any further at present, nor longer linger here at Cæsarea,; so take your last look at these remains of the city, and harbor, and sandy suburbs, and let us hasten after our luggage, now far ahead of us.
Road to Jaffa
In passing through from Caesarea to Jaffa, we do but follow the example of ancient geographers and itineraries. They stretch their lines from the one to the other, as though there were nothing worth attention in the twelve intervening hours. Nor were they much mistaken, for there is, perhaps, no ride of so many miles in any other part of Palestine more solitary and barren of historic interest. Strabo says, “After Strato's Tower there is a great wood, and then Joppa.” The Roman road was evidently carried east of these sandy downs which lie along the shore, both to avoid them and also to find suitable places to throw their bridges over the rivers which enter the sea. Following that route, we should first pass through a dreary wood of dwarfish pines and entangled bushes, and then down the long plain of Sharon direct to Lydd, the Diospolis of the ancients. But, as this would be much longer, we shall keep to the coast, although the sand is deep and heavy.
Before taking leave of this interesting site, let us examine these traces of a city on the south of it, whose remains appear to be much older than those of Cæsarea. Those inlets along the rocky shore, I suppose, were the harbor of that primitive city which was called Strato's Tower before and at the time of Herod; but this could scarcely have been its original name. It was somewhere in this vicinity, south of the city and near the sea, that Herod built his great amphitheater, and these half-buried foundations may have belonged to that vast edifice.
Land of the Philistines
We have now taken leave of Phœnicia and entered the territory of the Philistines. These people came from Egypt, and we shall see, as we go south, that even the present inhabitants approach more and more closely to the Egyptian type, in physiognomy, in costume, language, manners, and customs.
A People From Egypt
Dr. Kitto has a long and labored article to prove that they were the “shepherd kings” expelled from Egypt. Others more competent must decide whether or not he makes good his hypothesis, but the mere supposition adds fresh interest to this people and to the country which they occupied.
What are these high tells ahead of us, overhanging the sea?
Cliffs of Abu ZabûR
They are one hour from Cæsarea, and are called Abu Zabûr. The encroachment of the sea has worn them half away, but on the top of this first one are some half dozen very large columns of bluish marble, which must have formed part of a temple, or possibly of a mausoleum. The spot is still used as a burying-ground by some of the Arab tribes in this region. It commands a noble view of the sea westward, and of Strabo's “ingens sylva” in the interior. This wilderness is covered by shifting sand, which has overflowed the country, and whose presence is easily explained. The rock of the shore is a loose friable sandstone, constantly washed to pieces by the waves, and driven inward by the west winds. This holds good along the entire coast wherever loose sand encumbers the plain, but here it is unusually abundant and troublesome; and we shall have high hills of it on our left, and this soft beach to wade through for two full hours yet, therefore let us be patient, and plod steadily onward.
Water Spouts
There is always something to amuse and instruct in this country. Look at those clouds, which hang like a heavy pall of sackcloth over the sea along the western horizon. From them, on such windy days as these, are formed waterspouts, and I have already noticed several incipient “spouts” lengthening downward from their lower edge. These remarkable phenomena occur most frequently in spring, but I have also seen them in autumn. They are not accompanied with much rain, and between the dark stratum above and the sea, the sky is clear and bright.
ILLUSTRATION
Waterspout Described
Here and there fragments of black vapor, shaped like long funnels, are drawn down from the clouds toward the sea, and are seen to be in violent agitation, whirling round on themselves as they are driven along by the wind. Directly beneath them the surface of the sea is also in commotion by a whirlwind, which travels onward in concert with the spout above. I have often seen the two actually unite in mid air and rush toward the mountains, writhing, and twisting, and bending like a huge serpent with its head in the clouds and its tail on the deep.
Noise of Waterspouts Meeting
They make a loud noise, of course, and appear very frightful. “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts; all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me,” said David, when his soul was cast down within him (Psa. 42:77Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. (Psalm 42:7)). But, though formidable in appearance, they do very little injury. I have never heard of more than one instance in which they proved destructive even to boats, though the sailors are extremely afraid of them. As soon as they approach the shore they dissolve and disappear.
That kind of water-spout which bursts on the mountains, generally in the dry months of summer, does immense mischief. In a few minutes the wadies along its track are swollen into furious rivers, which sweep away grain, olives, raisins, and every other produce of the farmer. I have frequently known them to carry off and drown flocks of sheep and goats, and even cows, horses, and their owners also.
Flying Fish
This is one of those days when the sea is just sufficiently disturbed to set the flying-fish in motion; and I have already seen several flocks of them frightened out of their proper element to try their glossy wings in the air. They are generally supposed to do this to escape some ravenous fish that is pursuing them; but there are no voracious dolphins in this sea, and they often start up in shoals before Arab boats. Their flight is always short, spasmodic, and painful; and when their web-wings become dry, they instantly collapse, and the poor little aeronaut drops into the water like a stone. I have had them repeatedly fall into my boat when attempting to sail over it.
Desolation of the Coast
How melancholy is this utter desolation! Not a house, not a trace of inhabitants, not even shepherds, seen everywhere else, appear to relieve the dull monotony. I wonder if it was thus when Peter came along from Joppa to Cæsarea?
The coast itself was doubtless what it is now, but the road could not have been so utterly deserted. Cæsarea was then a great capital and a grand commercial emporium, and this now solitary track was crowded with multitudes hastening to the grand center of business, pleasure, and ambition.
Did Paul travel this route to and from Jerusalem?
I suppose not. As I said before, the Roman road, even to Joppa, went inland from Caesarea, and no doubt it united with the great highway which came down by Sindiany, and continued along the plain southward to Lydd, Ramleh, Eleutheropolis, and onward into the desert toward the Red Sea at Akabah. A few miles further down, a branch went off to the southeast through the mountains to Jerusalem; and we know that Paul was brought down that way by the Roman soldiers, and this was the direct route which he always pursued unless turned aside by some special call. Antipatris lies between Cæsarea and Lydd; and its site, restored to its original name, Kefr Saba, is now well known.
ZabûRa
Here we come to what is called Minet Zabûr, or Harbor of Zabûra; and around this small inlet was once a village of some size, as is indicated by the quantity of broken pottery scattered over the surface. This is an infallible sign of an ancient site. If there ever were any but mud hovels here, however, every stone has been carried away, or has dissolved to sand and dust. The Riber Abû Zabûra enters the sea a short distance ahead of us, but, as this has been a remarkably dry season, we can doubtless cross on the beach, though, when I passed this way in 1833, I had to make a long detour into the interior over these sand hills, and finally got across with great difficulty. It is celebrated for quicksands and bottomless mud; and it was partly to avoid such impracticable rivers that the Romans carried their highways down the interior; for it was their system never to make a road where they could not construct bridges.
River KâNâH?
I have an idea that this Abû Zabûra is the River Kânâh, which formed the southwestern border between Ephraim and Manasseh. The country on the north of it belonged to Manasseh, that on the south to Ephraim (Josh. 17:99And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea: (Joshua 17:9)). Dr. Robinson, however, thinks he has identified this river with a wady now called Kanah, west of Nablûs, which, he says, “turns southwest, joins the Aujeh, and so enters the sea near Jaffa,” But I can scarcely believe that the lot of Manasseh reached so far south. The text in Joshua intimates that the border followed the River Kanah to the sea; which it may have done if this Abû Zabûra is it, but not if the River Kanah became swallowed up in the 'Aujeh. The Doctor may possibly have been misled in regard to the final direction of his Wady Kanah, for nothing is more eccentric than the course of the streams after they enter these plains. Kitto makes the river of Arsûf, which enters the sea between Em Khâlid and El Haram, to be the Kanah of the Bible; and this is certainly far more probable than that the Aujeh is, but even this seems to carry the border of Manasseh too far south.
Solitude of the District
We must allow our horses to drink at the ford, for it is a long stretch to the next brook. Here is a shepherd with some cattle, to relieve this utter solitude. Hammûd exclaimed, when he saw this wild Arab shepherd,
“El hamdu-lillah shûfna ensân — Thank God, we have seen a man!” He may be thankful, also, that the Bedawy is one and that we are many, for every denizen of these wild downs is a robber by profession.
Geology of the Cliffs
These cliffs, below which we have been trailing our slow and weary march since crossing the Zabûra, are very singular geological specimens — absolutely perpendicular — composed of very thin strata, piled up like dog-eared pasteboard in a bookbindery — not horizontal, but crumpled, twisted, and bulging out in all possible angles and shapes.
Yes, and the same extraordinary formation continues almost to Jaffa. This long line of cliffs is called Durb el Kheît — road of a chord — probably because they stretch in a straight line for so many miles. But our horses are becoming quite exhausted with this deep sand; let us, therefore, strike out into the country, and pass over these sand hills to a village called Em Kt-Mid, forty-five minutes to the southeast of us. There has been a fight there this week between the villagers and the Arabs, as I was told at the mills last night; but we are a strong party, and they will not venture to molest us. There we shall find water, take our lunch, and refresh our weary horses.
Field Sparrows
What sort of birds are these which make such a noise among the trees and bushes?
They are field sparrows, and this is the largest congregation of them I have ever seen. The trees and even the shrubs are stuffed full of their nests; and these hawks, which are soaring about seeking for prey, cause all this alarm and hubbub among the sparrows. You remember we saw something like this on the Hûleh, only the birds are ten times more numerous here; in fact, they seem to be without number. They live upon the wild oats which cover these sand hills as if they had been sown by man.
Splendid View
Now we have gained the summit, see what a splendid prospect opens upon the eye. The great plain of Sharon stretches southward quite beyond the range of vision, while the mountains of Manasseh and Ephraim, crowded with villages, picturesquely perched upon their many-shaped declivities, bound the horizon in that direction. Below us, to the southeast, is Em Khâlid, and most welcome to man and beast, for we have been riding five hours, and at a rapid pace.
Twenty-three years ago I arrived at this village from Tantûra, and slept under this identical old sycamore, which the west wind has forced to spread its branches down the hill to the east. How little of the romance of that first journey through Palestine can I now get up, with all the appliances and luxuries of modern travel! Without tent, canteen, or even cook, sleeping under trees, hedges, or rocks, as it happened, I passed from Beira to the Dead Sea, and back through the interior by Nablûs, Nazareth, and Tiberias. But there was more romance than common sense in the matter, and before that first summer was over I lay on my bed for many weeks, consumed by that low, nervous, Dead Sea fever, which has proved fatal to so many Syrian travelers.
Watermelons
This Em Khâlid is famous for water-melons beyond almost any village in Palestine, and vast quantities are taken by boat to Beira, and other towns along the coast.
Are these melons the abattachim of Egypt, the remembrance of which augmented the murmurs of the Israelites in the wilderness? (Num. 11:55We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: (Numbers 11:5)). In all probability the same. The Arabic name bŭtteekh is only a variation of the Hebrew, and nothing could be more regretted in the burning desert than these delicious melons, whose exuberant juice is so refreshing to the thirsty pilgrim. It is among the most extraordinary eccentricities of the vegetable kingdom, that these melons, so large and so full of water, should flourish best on such soil as this around Em Khalid. Into this dry sand the vine thrusts its short root, and that in the hottest season of the year. Yet a thousand boat-loads of this most juicy melon are gathered from these sand heaps for market every summer. The leaves themselves must have the power of absorbing moisture from the heavy dews of the night. The villagers are telling our people that, for fear of the Arabs, they have not dared to plant their more distant fields this spring, and therefore there will be few of their melons in the city markets; which bit of information has stirred the wrath of the muleteers, and they are pouring maledictions upon them — upon their heads, their eyes, their beards, and everything else pertaining to them. And really one feels a sort of sympathy with these feelings. I am conscious or a degree of dislike toward these Bedawîn robbers more intense than I allow toward any other of God's creatures, nor have I any patience with them; but let us leave them before I am startled out of all due decorum. Our lunch over, we must ride steadily and fast, for it is yet more than six hours to Jaffa.
Look well before your horse's head, or you may fall into some of these openmouthed cisterns. The whole face of the hill is pierced with them.
I see; but what are they for? Not to hold water certainly, for there is no way in which they could be filled.
Cisterns for Grain
They are wells or cisterns for grain. In them the farmers store their crops of all kinds after the grain is threshed and winnowed. These cisterns are cool, perfectly dry, and tight. The top is hermetically sealed with plaster, and covered with a deep bed of earth; and thus they keep out rats, mice, and even ants, the latter by no means a contemptible enemy.
By the way, I read lately, in a work of some pretension, that ants do not carry away wheat or barley. This was by way of comment on the words of the wise man, that the ant “gathereth her food in the harvest” (Prov. 6:88Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. (Proverbs 6:8)). What have you to say of the criticism?
Ants
That it is nonsense. Tell it to these farmers, and they will laugh in your face. Ants not pilfer from the floor and the granary! — they are the greatest robbers in the land. Leave a bushel of wheat in the vicinity of one of their subterranean cities, and in a surprisingly short time the whole commonwealth will be summoned to plunder. A broad, black column stretches from the wheat to their hole, and you are startled by the result. As if by magic, every grain seems to be accommodated with legs, and walks off in a hurry along the moving column. The farmers remorselessly set fire to every ant city they find in the neighborhood of their threshing floors.
Scripture Allusions to Granaries
Are these Eastern granaries mentioned or alluded to in the Bible?
The custom is doubtless an ancient one, and it extended from this country through the Carthaginians of North Africa into Spain. They seem to be alluded to by those ten men who said to Ishmael, “Slay us not; for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey” (Jer. 41:88But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren. (Jeremiah 41:8)) and thus they saved their lives from the treacherous Ishmael. These cisterns not only preserve the grain and other stores deposited in them from insects and mice, but they are admirably adapted to conceal them from robbers. These ten men had doubtless thus hid their treasures to avoid being plundered in that time of utter lawlessness; and in a similar time I found people storing away grain in cisterns far out in the open country between Aleppo and Hamath; and they told me it was to hide it from the government tax-gatherers. It is quite dangerous to come upon a deserted site full of these open cisterns and wells, especially at night, as I have often found. Frequently they are entirely concealed by the grass, and the path leads right among them.
They must always be dug in dry places; generally, as here, on the side of a sloping hill. They would not answer in a wet country, but in these dry climates stores have been found quite fresh and sound many years after they were thus buried. The farmers also resort to various expedients to keep the grain from injury. One of the most common is to mingle quicksilver with oil, or with the white of an egg, and rub it in well with the wheat. This will preserve it free from insects of all kinds. Joseph in Egypt must have understood how to preserve grain, at least for seven years; and I suppose that in ancient times, when cities and fortresses were liable to very long sieges, it was of the utmost importance to know the best methods of preserving their stores. Askelon is said to have been besieged twenty-eight years, and of course the people must have had immense provisions laid up and well preserved. That this was common is implied in the parable of the rich fool, who built greater store-houses and laid up provisions for many years (Luke 12:18-1918And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (Luke 12:18‑19)). If there had been no such store-houses in the land, and the custom of laying up grain for many years was unknown, the terms of the parable would have lacked verisimilitude, — a defect in construction which attaches to none of our Lord's sayings.
Sand Downs
Are we to suppose that these vast downs have really been formed by sand blown in from the seashore? All the way from Caesarea we have had them, and here they are three miles broad and several hundred feet high.
Yes; and they continue, with only partial interruptions, far down the coast beyond Gaza toward Egypt. But, extensive as they are, they are all the work of the winds and waves, acting in the same manner through countless ages. The gradual encroachment of the sea is slowly wearing away this underlying rock, as we have seen in the strange cliffs along the shore, and the new-made sand is being driven further and further inland. If this process goes on long enough, the entire plain will be buried under this slow-creeping desolation. There are many parts of the coast where this has actually been accomplished, and the sea now lashes the perpendicular cliffs of the mountains; and along this valley of Sharon are places where the sandy deluge has reached nearly to the foot of the hills, leaving only a narrow strip of fertile soil between them.
Brooks
These shifting banks greatly perplex the brooks which cross the plain. They are not sufficiently powerful to keep their channels open during summer, and hence they are often dammed up at the mouth, and form large marshes along the very margin of the sand. We shall encounter one of these a short distance ahead of us. Strong, permanent streams, like the 'Aujeh, maintain their right of passage at all times, and have done so in all ages. The 'Aujeh, in fact, effects an entire break in this line of sand hills; but, south of Joppa, the weaker and less permanent brooks are constantly shut up during summer, and when swollen by winter rains, flood the country, until they can force open a channel to the sea.
Pine Forests
The plain here has evidently been buried deep under this sand long ages ago, precisely as at Beirût; and here are the usual pine forests growing upon it. These are the finest specimens we have seen in Palestine, though every sandy ridge of Lebanon and Hermon is clothed with them, and often of a much larger growth. They are not seen on the mountains of Palestine, because that peculiar sandy formation is not found there. This tree the Arabs call snubar, and in my opinion it is the Hebrew berosh, concerning which there is so much confusion in the various translations of the Bible. In the English it is generally rendered fir, but many modern critics think that it should be cypress. I, however, suppose that berosh is the generic name for the pine, of which there are several varieties on Lebanon. Cypress is rarely found there, but pine everywhere, and it is the tree used for beams and rafters. Ers is the distinctive name for the cedar, berosh, for the pine.
This tree bears a very large and compact cone, from which is obtained the nut of the market. This cone, when ripe, is gathered by the owners of the forests, and when thoroughly dried on the roof, or thrown for a few minutes into the fire, it separates into many compartments, from each of which drops a smooth white nut, in shape like the seed of the date. The shell is very hard, and within it is the fruit, which is much used in making pillau and other preparations of rice, and also in various kinds of sweetmeats. In the Arabic Bible, the myrrh, which the Ishmaelites who bought Joseph were carrying into Egypt, is called snubar; and if this is in truth the berosh of the Bible, scarcely any other tree is more frequently mentioned; and this would be in exact correspondence with its actual value.
ILLUSTRATION
The variety of pine which we saw on the north of Em Khâlid, and in which the field sparrows have made their nests, is found all over Lebanon, but it never grows tall, and is but little used in building or in the arts; and the same is true of all other kinds in this country, except the stone pine of this grove.
There is your sand-perplexed brook, with its accompanying marsh, I suppose Yes; it is called Nahr Falej — the Palsy River. On the shore near its mouth is Arsûf; and from it the river takes that name on many maps. Arsûf is generally supposed to mark the site of the ancient Apollonia. You observe that the banks of the Falej are shaded with a dense jungle of those mop-headed canes called babeer, which cover the great marshes of the Hûleh. By keeping up the bank for some distance we shall find an easy ford near some old mills, where the river breaks through a ledge of rocks and enters this verdant vale. It has taken an hour and a half from Em Khâlid, and another hour and a half will bring us to El Haram, on a bold cliff overhanging the sea.
Do you know, I was very suspicious of those Arab horsemen who joined us out of the jungle upon our left. But you seemed to enjoy their society amazingly.
ILLUSTRATION
They had no intention of molesting us. The main speaker was the sheikh of a tribe whose tents are concealed by the bushes to the southeast of us. He was very anxious to hear the news from the Crimea; and, to judge from his talk, you would think him a most zealous partisan of the Sultan and the lngleese (English); but he soon turned from war to discuss the merits of the splendid mare upon which he sat so proudly.
A Sheikh’s Horse
He had heard that the English were buying horses, and was anxious to sell. He only asked the modest sum of 18,000 piasters (720 dollars) for his mare! She is, in reality, a splendid creature, and walks over this sandy soil as if she were built on springs; nevertheless I should be sorry to give 18,000 piasters for her.
Let us quicken our pace to this Haram, for there is something to examine on the north of it. The walls of an ancient city, or immense quadrangular fort, can be traced all round; and on the northwest corner was a citadel overhanging the sea, and cut off from the rest by a deep ditch. It must have been a very strong place. There are also other traces of antiquity in various directions.
What an extensive view this elevation commands! The precipice breaks sheer down to the sea, while to the east the country declines gently over many a mile of this sandy desert. Isaiah says that Sharon shall be a wilderness (Isa. 33:99The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. (Isaiah 33:9)), and the prediction has become a sad and impressive reality. And so these flocks of the Arabs fulfill that other prophecy, “Sharon shall be a fold of flocks” (Isa. 65:1010And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. (Isaiah 65:10)). Why is Sharon always joined with Carmel? Because, as we remarked when turning round the extreme end of it to Caesarea, the broad vale which stretches southward to this distance and a great deal further does actually commence at the base of that mountain. This long plain seems always to have been celebrated for its flocks and herds. David appointed one of his great officers — Shitrai, the Sharonite (1 Chron. 27:2929And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai: (1 Chronicles 27:29)) — over the herds that fed in Sharon.
By the way, we have skirted this plain for so many miles without meeting any of those roses about which Solomon sings so sweetly (Song of Sol. 2:11I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. (Song of Solomon 2:1)).
Roses
There are wild roses enough in some parts, with their ever-accompanying thorny thickets; and, if the Hebrew word Khŭbbaizy may be interpreted by the Arabic Khŭbbaizy (malva), I have seen thousands of Solomon's roses on Sharon; and, before you explode at the thought of degrading the poetic rose into marsh-mallows, let me tell you that certain kinds of mallows grow into a stout bush, and bear thousands of beautiful flowers. However, I will not contend for the identity of Khŭbbaizy and Khŭbbaizy, for that would exclude our favorite rose from the Bible altogether, a calamity which the critics seem determined to bring about at any rate, for some of them maintain that the Khŭbbaizy is the narcissus, others that it is the asphodel, and some translators call it lily.
But come, bid adieu to El Haram, and, for the present, to Sharon also, and slide down this steep declivity to the shore, along which our track lies all the way to Jaffa, a distance of three hours.
Sea Shells
You may go to sleep for the first two, for there is nothing to attract attention except the infinite quantity of shells, of which there are banks many miles long and several feet thick. A whole fleet might be loaded with them.
And now we shall have to wait at this 'Aujeh, and take off the loads from our mules; for I see, by that horseman who is fording it, that the water will come up to the sides of the mules, and wet our clothes and books. I never before attempted to cross at this place; but the people of El Haram said that, owing to the scarcity of rain, it could easily be done; and so it can, by all except the loaded animals. However, we shall quickly pass the things over on the shoulders of the men, then another hour will bring us safely to the biarah of our worthy and hospitable friend Mr. Murad.
Jaffa
Jaffa appears well, bathed in the soft light of sunset. We see almost every house, for they are built on the steep northern declivity of the cape, and the roof of the range below is on a level with the street of those above. The city therefore shows to best advantage from the sea as one comes from the north. The cape itself is merely a sand conglomerate, like the cliffs of Durb el Mien; it is, in fact, the continuation of that ridge, broken up for a short distance by the joint influence of the 'Aujeh and the sea.