Byeways in Palestine | Page 5

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 degrees 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, Luwayeh, 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 Heshban.
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 Ghor 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