CHAPTER VI. JAFFA, RAMLEH, AND THE HILL COUNTRY OF JUDEA. Is this thy place, Judea, this thy throne, BISHOP HEBER. As soon as we got out to sea, the wind changed, and blew in half a gale from the southward: the boat was undecked, and the sea broke over her at every plunge: the coast was iron-bound, and inhabited by robbers and outlaws, who found shelter in its desolation. At one tack we ran close to the extensive and imposing ruins of Athlit, the Castel Pelegrino of the Crusades; at another, the furid moon revealed the ghastly remains of Cæsarea Philippi. When we neared the shore, the jackal's cry mingled with the wild passionate sobbing of the wind and the roar of the surf, and my poor horse would prick his ears at that familiar though dismal sound. Then the night closed in gloomily, and I fell asleep with the poor brute's head upon my knees, half wakened by every plunge of the creaking boat, and the moaning and struggles of my servant and horse, who seemed to suffer equal terror and distress. Daylight found us far from shore; the wind higher, and the waves wilder than ever, a burning sun burst out upon us, and burnt fierce headaches into our unsheltered and unturbaned brows. We had scarcely a rag of sail set to the storm, but when the gale caught us on the ridge of a wave we were gunwale-under in a moment, and the leaking seams of the labouring boat grated ominously in our ears. The Syrian sailors showed both nerve and skill; standing out bravely against the temptation to run before the wind and regain the port of Caiffa. The weary day past without variety, or any refreshment but hard eggs and muddy water, and night came on as dark as Erebus. There was no compass on board, and we only knew of our course when the roar of surf against the rocks announced to our ears that it was time to tack. The second morning dawned on a long, low, sandy shore, terminated by a small promontory on which stood Jaffa among its green gardens-looking cool, pleasant, and welcoming, contrasted with the surrounding desert, and the foaming sea. Its harbour is a miserable little enclosure of rocks, which breaks the force of the Mediterranean waves, and just enables one to disembark. My horse was lifted out, and lay motionless on the sands, with the spray beating over him; it was an hour before he was able to stand and follow me, which he did like a dog, up the steep streets of this dreary town. Joppa was so called, says the Abbé Geramb, from Japhet, the son of Noah, who, it seems, contracted a taste for maritime pursuits during his long cruise in the Ark. He built a seaport here, from whence Jonah took shipping, when "he fled from the presence of the Lord." "Near here," says St. Jerome, "I saw the remains of the chain wherewith Andromeda was bound to the rock, until delivered by Perseus from the sea-monster [!]" Hither Hiram sent cedar of Lebanon, for the building of the Temple: here St. Peter saw the vision of things common and unclean; and here Tabitha was raised from the dead. The town is a labyrinth of khans, convents, narrow lanes, deserted ruins, and waste places, with a few dingy streets leading from one wretched quarter to another. There are no such things as stables in these parts, so I was forced to put up my horse in a vaulted passage half blocked up by the ruins of a castle. The Franciscan convent is spacious enough to shelter 1,000 men, and at Easter, and other seasons of pilgrimage, is often quite full: it contains an immense number of courts, house-tops, galleries, terraces, and corridors, with narrow, dirty, whitewashed cells for us -pilgrims. In the evening I went out, like all the Joppaites of ancient and modern times, to enjoy the cool breeze upon the house-top; and, looking over the flat-roofed city, saw its various surfaces all alive, and sprinkled with gaily-dressed Syrians, for here even the Christians wear the Eastern habit. The Superior of the convent sat with me for some time, and professed to point out the housetop whereon St. Peter prayed, and saw the great vision of ToleThis establishment, it seems, is merely a hospice, not a convent strictly speaking; it is occupied only by four Spanish Franciscans, whose duty is to receive and cherish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. rance. The next morning, I visited our Consular agent, a civil old Arab, who told me I had better wait for a caravan, or take an escort to Jerusalem, as the road was just then very unsafe. This is an almost invariable observation in Syria, made by every one in authority to every traveller who inquires his way. Having smoked his pipe and declined his offers of service, I rode forth upon my crippled horse, whose native spirit soon flung off his weariness; and stepping out as proudly as ever, he seemed endeavouring to disguise his stiffness. The town appeared much better this morning; the bazaars and markets seemed full of business, and looked very gay with Syrian silks and shining arms, and a profusion of fruit, flowers, and vegetables. The fortifications are rather respectable for an eastern town, consisting of a wide ditch, a covered way, and a glacis, together with bastions and battlements along the walls. Jaffa made an honourable resistance to Buonaparte, and only 3,800 troops were left to surrender as prisoners of war, trusting to the faith of mercy which the deluded infidels supposed was professed by those godless invaders: they were butchered to a man in cold blood upon the following day.* The gateway was now filled with Turkish soldiers, and opened on a vacant space between it and the drawbridge, presenting a very picturesque appearance: in front is a handsome marble fountain, engraved with many pious Arabic inscriptions, which recommended the traveller, as he quaffed the stream, to bless the Giver of it. An arcade of thickly-clustering vines shaded the enclosure, round which were recesses thronged with a gowned and bearded multitude, smoking and chatting gravely, or playing * Miot (Expeditions en Egypt et en Syrie) and Denon (2d edit.) confirm Sir Robert Wilson's fearful story of this massacre. chess as intently as in that sublime sketch of Retzsch's, where Man gambles away his soul to Satan. Groups of picturesque and dark-eyed girls displayed the most graceful attitudes as they bent to fill their water-jars, or balanced them daintily on their veiled heads. A broad sandy path leads from the town through rich gardens, shaded by cypresses and mimosas, and hedged with gigantic cactus, to another handsome fountain, and an open space sheltered by palms under these several parties of travellers, with their kneeling camels and their little fires, were luxuriously resting. After some three miles, the road opened upon the wide plain of Sharon, sprinkled with the iris, wild tulip, and almost every flower, except its rose. The Hill-country of Judea lay before us in a faint blue ridge; the plains of Ascalon extended on the right; the high tower of Ramleh appeared in the distance; and the next evening we were to rest at Jerusalem! My party rapidly increased-the travellers in advance waited —those in the rear hurried after us,—for there had been several robberies lately on this road, and they found three well-mounted men no inconsiderable addition to their caravan. My own poor steed was led by the guide, whose two baggage-horses followed his own freely, however fast he rode; and I was mounted on a Jaffa hack of indifferent appearance, but indomitable energy. The vast plains that lie between the Hill-country and the sea are very partially cultivated; but the luxuriant corn, and rich grass that grows wild, prove how readily it can bring forth abundance; and that it is the inhabitants, and not the soil, that lie under a curse. Once, twenty millions of people, it is said, dwelt in plenty and prosperity, where now some 1,800,000 find a scanty sustenance. The more I see of Turkish rule, the more admirably does that rule appear adapted to accomplish a denouncing prophecy. Towards sunset, we reached Ramleh, and beat loud and long before we obtained admittance into the Franciscan convent outside the walls this is a similar establishment to that I had just left at Jaffa, equally spacious, and only garrisoned by three Spanish monks. In the various cool cloisters and high-walled courts, shaded by the lemon, the orange, and the palm-tree, the air was delightfully refreshing; for it was now near midsummer, and we had swept the plain of Sharon at a gallop that soon distanced our temporary caravan. When I came down to dinner in a place like a cellar (only there was no wine in it), the fat Superior told me that I had fallen upon a fast-day, but bade me welcome to such fare as the refectory afforded. This consisted of a mass of smashed eggs, by way of an omelette, some cucumbers, and a dish of rice stewed in grease there was good bread, however, with which, together with my own tea, I contrived to practise abstinence, even towards Lenten diet. One of these Franciscan monks appeared to belong to a higher order of birth and intellect than any I had yet met with. He accompanied me to the house-top, where my pipe and coffee were served, and inquired anxiously about the state of Spain, and the war in the Basque provinces, which I told him I had witnessed. He became quite enthusiastic in his nationality when I spoke of the oak-tree of Guernica, and the Fueros of his native country, the Basque provinces; but, when I asked him whether he was Carlist or Christino, he checked himself suddenly, and said with humility, "Signor-son' frate !" Soon afterwards, he left me to myself, and keenly did I enjoy that first evening of my Judean travel. It appeared almost incredible to me that in a few short hours I should stand within the walls of Jerusalem; yet there lay the path to it, opening among the hills of Judah as they rose in beauty from Sharon's varied plains. The setting sun threw a rich glow upon the deep groves in which the picturesque town lay buried; the air was the balmiest I ever breathed; myriads of birds were singing enthusiastically in the palms and olive-branches; the laughter of the village children sounded merrily from their playground; the lowing of cattle, the hum of insects-all was in perfect harmony and keeping. And then the strange, unusual appearance of the town, over whose roofs I looked, Asmodeus-like, from the lofty convent terrace! All the female inhabitants were pursuing their various occupations in the open air, in the courtyards, or on the roofs of their houses, which were all pimpled with little domes rising out |