company.

Among our gentlemen we had a man of fortune and literary attainments, who had been in Algiers, and now amused himself with dispensing with servants or interpreters—speaking some Arabic.  He brought but very light luggage.  This he placed upon a donkey, and drove it himself—wearing Algerine town costume.  The Bedaween, however, as I need scarcely say, did not mistake him for an Oriental.

Moving forward in the afternoon, we were passing over the Plains of Moab, “on this [east] side Jordan by Jericho”—where Balaam, son of Beor, saw, from the heights above, all Israel encamped, and cried out, “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! and thy tabernacles, O Israel!  As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters. . . .  Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee,” (Num. xxii. I, and xxiv. 5, 6, 9.)  This territory is also called the Land of Moab, where the second covenant was made with the people by the ministry of Moses—the one “beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.”

Our ride was a gradual ascent; and after some

time we were met by young ’Ali, the favourite son of the principal Shaikh Dëâb, (Wolf,) with a small but chosen escort, sent on by his father to welcome us.  We saw a good deal of corn land, and people reaping their harvest.  This belongs to two or three scattered villages about there, under the immediate protection of the Dëâb ’Adwân.  The Arabs, however, in this part of the world, do condescend to countenance and even to profit by agriculture, for they buy slaves to sow and reap for them.

In two hours and a half from the Jordan we came to our halting-place, at a spot called Cuferain, (“two villages”)—the Kiriathaim of Jer. xlviii. 23—at the foot of the mountain, with a strong stream of water rushing past us.  No sign, however, of habitations: only, at a little distance to the south, were ruins of a village called Er Ram, (a very common name in Palestine; but this is not Ramoth-Gilead;) and at half an hour to the north was an inhabited village called Nimrin, from which the stream flowed to us.—See Jer. xlviii. 34: “The waters of Nimrin shall be desolate.”

We had a refreshing breeze from the north which is justly counted a luxury in summer time.  The shaikhs came and had coffee with me.  They said that on the high summits we shall have cooler temperature than in Jerusalem, which is very probable.

After dinner I sat at my tent-door, by the rivulet side, looking southwards over the Dead Sea, and

to the west over the line of the promised land of Canaan, which I had never before had an opportunity of seeing in that manner, although the well-known verse had been often repeated in England—

“Oh could I stand where Moses stood,
  And view the landscape o’er,
Not Death’s cold stream nor Jordan’s flood
  Should fright me from the shore.”

I then read over to myself in Arabic, the Psalms for the evening service—namely, liii., liv., and lv.

About sunset there was an alarm that a lad who had accompanied us as a servant from Jerusalem was missing ever since we left the Jordan.  Horse-men were sent in every direction in search of him.  It was afterwards discovered that he had returned to Jericho.

At about a hundred yards south of us was a valley called Se’eer, (its brook, however, comes down from the north)—abounding in fine rosy oleander shrubs.

During the night the water near us seemed alive with croaking frogs.  Last night we had the sand-flies to keep us awake.

Friday, 11th.—Thermometer 66° before sunrise.  My earliest looks were towards Canaan, “that goodly land”—“the hills, from which cometh my help.”  How keen must have been the feeling of his state of exile when David was driven to this side the river!

Before breakfast I bathed in the Se’eer, among bushes of oleander and the strong-scented ghar—a purple-spiked flower always found adjoining to or in water-beds.  Then read my Arabic Psalms as usual.

Before starting, young ’Ali and his party asked us all for presents, and got none.  We gave answer unanimously that we meant to give presents to his father when we should see him.  Strange how depraved the Arab mind becomes on this matter of asking for gifts wherever European travellers are found!—so different from the customs of ancient times, and it is not found in districts off the common tracks of resort.

Our road lay up the hills, constantly growing more steep and precipitous, and occasionally winding between large rocks, which were often overgrown with honeysuckle in full luxuriance.  The Arabs scrambled like wild animals over the rocks, and brought down very long streamers of honeysuckle, Luwâyeh, as they call it, which they wound round and round the necks of our horses, and generally got piastres for doing so.  About two-thirds of the distance up the ascent we rested, in order to relieve the animals, or to sketch views, or enjoy the glorious scenery that lay extended below us—comprising the Dead Sea, the line of the river trees, Jericho, the woods of Elisha’s Fountain, and the hills towards Jerusalem.  The Bedaween have eyes like eagles; and some

avouched that they could see the Mount of Olives, and the minaret upon its summit.  They indicated to us the positions of Es-Salt and of Heshbân.

We had now almost attained a botanical region resembling that of the Jerusalem elevation, instead of the Indian vegetation upon the Jordan plain; only there was ret’m (the juniper of 1 Kings xix. 4) to be found, with pods in seed at that season; but we had also our long accustomed terebinth and arbutus, with honeysuckle and pink ground-convolvulus.  The rocks were variegated with streaks of pink, purple, orange, and yellow, as at Khatroon, on the Jerusalem road.  Partridges were clucking among the bushes; and the bells on the necks of our mules lulled us with their sweet chime, as the animals strolled browsing around in the gay sunshine.

When we moved forward once more, it was along paths of short zigzags between cliffs, so that our procession was constantly broken into small pieces.  At length we lost sight of the Ghôr and the Dead Sea; and after some time traversing miles of red and white cistus, red everlasting, and fragrant thyme and sage, with occasional terebinth-trees festooned with honeysuckle, we came upon a district covered with millions, or billions, or probably trillions, of locusts, not fully grown, and only taking short flights; but they greatly annoyed our horses.  My choice Arab, being at that time ridden by my

servant, fairly bolted away with fright for a considerable distance.

At length we halted at a small spring oozing from the soil of the field.  The place was called Hheker Zaboot—a pretty place, and cuckoos on the trees around us; only the locusts were troublesome.

’Abdu’l ’Azeez proposed that instead of going at once to Ammon, we should make a detour by Heshbon and Elealeh, on the way to his encampment.  To this we all assented.

During the ride forward the old shaikh kept close to me, narrating incidents of his life,—such as his last year’s losses by the Beni Sukh’r, who plundered him of all his flocks and herds, horses, tents, and even most of his clothing,—then described the march of Ibrahim Pasha’s