whole classes, or obliged them to retire into the remote and unfrequented CHAPTER deserts. No doubt, therefore, foxes and jackals were far more numerous in XXXVI. the days of Samson than at present. The second fact is, that, not having fire-arms, the ancients were much more skilful than the moderns in the use of snares, nets, and pits for capturing wild animals. A large class of Biblical figures and allusions necessarily presuppose this state of things. Job, and David, and all the poets and prophets, continually refer in their complaints to snares, nets, pits, etc. We are justified, therefore, in believing that, at the time in question, the commander of Israel could, with no great difficulty, collect even three hundred foxes. He was not limited to a day or a week; and though it may be true that in the whole country there are not now so many killed in an entire year, yet this does not prove that this number could not have been then gathered by Samson from the territories of Judah, Dan, and Simeon, over which his authority more particularly extended. We therefore want no correction of the text to render the whole account credible, nor need we call in the aid of miracles. It was merely a cunning device of Israel's champion to inflict a terrible chastisement upon his enemies. That it was felt to be a most serious calamity is shown by the cruel punish- Philistian ment inflicted upon the indirect cause of it. Not being able to reach Samson, revenge. they wreaked their vengeance upon his wife and all her house, and they destroyed them with the same element which had consumed their harvest. And when we remember that so great is the dread of fire in harvest-time, that the Arabs punish with death any one who sets fire to a wheat-field, even though done by accident, we will not greatly wonder that the Philistines should have thus dealt with the family whose injurious conduct had excited their dreaded enemy to this ruinous exploit. Have you been able to discover any remnants of that famous temple which Samson overthrew with such terrible slaughter of the laughter-loving Philistines? I have never seen them except in pictures, with the mighty man "bowing himself with all his might" between two of the toppling columns. "1 temple of Dagon. The edifice must have been of enormous size, for "there were upon the roof The about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.' It is not easy for me to understand how the tearing of a column or two from so vast a temple could have brought the whole to the ground. The roofs in Gaza were then flat as they are now, and it does not require a very large space for three thousand people, who stand as close as they can be packed. So much for the size of the building. A further explanation may be found in the peculiar topography of Gaza. Most of it is built on hills, which, though comparatively low, have declivities exceedingly steep. The temple Its prowas erected over one of these, beyond a doubt, for such was and is the custom bable posi in the East; and in such a position, if the central columns were taken out, tion. Judges xvi. 27. PART the whole edifice would be precipitated down the hill in ruinous confusion. There is such a steep declivity on the north-east corner of the present city, Temple of near the old dilapidated castle and palace, and the houses in that vicinity have fragments of columns wrought into the walls and laid down as sills for their gates. Somewhere in that neighbourhood, I suppose, the temple stood; and it coincides with this conjecture that the willy of Samson is in a garden a little east of it. Dagon. How overthrown. Wedding. Jcreed playing. Is it not a fair deduction from the story of the overthrow of this temple, that columns large enough to sustain immense roofs were common at that very early day? And may not those which are found in many of the ruined cities of Palestine date back to the same age? Such has long been my opinion; and I am further inclined to believe that the immense roof which rested upon these columns was sustained by arches. If this were so, and the centre columns stood on the brow of the declivity, near the old castle, the whole edifice would be precipitated down the hill merely by tearing away those centre supports. There seems to be an unusual amount of noise and confusion in the street. To what is this owing? Salim says it is a procession in honour of the marriage of the governor's oldest son. Let us take our stand on the roof of the khan, from which we can have a full view of this Oriental cavalcade. Playing the jereed is the most animating spectacle of the whole; but this, I perceive, has already taken place out on the plain, for their panting steeds are still covered with froth and foam. There are a thousand pictures of this sport, but none that does justice to it, and, indeed, it must be seen to be understood and appreciated. The sheikhs and emeers of Lebanon and Hermon are the best jereed-players. Gaily dressed, and superbly mounted, they take their stations at opposite ends of the hippodrome. At length one plunges his sharp shovel stirrups into the quivering side of his horse, and away he bounds like a thunderbolt until within a short distance of his opponent, when he wheels sharp round as if on a pivot, flings his "reed" with all his might, and then darts back again, hotly pursued by his antagonist. Others now join in, until the whole hippodrome resounds with the general mêlée. Many are the accidents which occur in this rough play, and what begins in sport often ends in downright earnest; but, notwithstanding this, the young emeers are extravagantly fond of it, for nowhere else can they exhibit either their horses or themselves to so great advantage; and from every latticed window that looks out upon the hippodrome they well know they are keenly watched by the invisible houris of their midnight dreams. Some of the players perform almost incredible feats of daring and agility. Not only will they catch the "reed" of their antagonist in their hand while on the run, but I have seen them hang to the saddle by the upper part of the leg, throw themselves down so low as to catch up from the ground their own reed, and regain their seat again, and all this while their horse was at the top of his speed. There is always more or less of this jerced-playing at the weddings of the great, and upon all important state occasions. XXXVI. Caval cade. Here comes a new farce: musicians in harlequin attire, with fox-tails CHAPTER dangling from conical caps, blowing, beating, and braying any amount of discordant music. Following them is a company of dancers at sword-play. They Harlequin are fierce-looking fellows, and their crooked Damascus blades flash around musicians their heads in most perilous vehemence and vicinity. This, I suppose, is the first time you have seen a real shield, or heard its ring beneath the thick-falling blows of the sword. The next in this procession are genuine Bedawîn Arabs, with their tremendous spears. This is because Gaza is on the borders of the desert, and the governor finds it to his interest to court the sheikhs of these powerful robbers. And now comes the governor and suit, with the bridegroom and his friends-a gay cavalcade, in long silk robes; some of them are olivegreen, and heavily loaded with silver and gold lace. Such is high life in Gaza. The whole night will be spent in feasting, singing, dancing, and rude buf- Dancing foonery, in the open court by the men, and in the harem, in equally boisterous girls. games and dances, by the women. These are great occasions for the dancing PART III. girls; and many, not of the "profession," take part in the sport. We see little to admire in their performances. They move forward, and backward, and sideways, now slowly, then rapidly, throwing their arms and heads about at random, and rolling the eye, and wriggling the body into various prepos terous attitudes, languishing, lascivious, and sometimes indecent; and this is repeated over and over, singly, or in pairs or groups. One thing is to be said in their favour: the different sexes do not intermingle in those indecorous sports. In my opinion, the dances spoken of in ancient Biblical times were in most points just such as we have been describing.* Road to rin. I AM now more than ready to leave this rude and fanatical city. What sort of country have we before us to-day? Beautiful in itself, but monotonous-wheat, wheat, a very ocean of wheat. Our road to Beit Jibrîn leads diagonally across the whole territory of Philistia, and offers an opportunity to become familiar with its physical features and its present productions; but there is not a single sight of much importance along the entire distance. This I shall not regret, for I am almost disgusted with ruins, and fatigued by the effort to trace out the history of extinct races and magnificent cities among mud hovels and semi-savage Arabs. Give me for one day the open country, and soil unpolluted by these vulgar people, and unencumbered with shapeless heaps of unmeaning rubbish. I cannot promise freedom from Arabs, not even from Bedawîn robbers, for we ride along the very borders of their desert homes, and they frequently make inroads quite beyond our track. Neither is the country anything like what we mean by virgin soil in America. It has been ploughed for thousands of years, and probably very much as it is at present; but in one very remarkable respect it is not what it once was. There was doubtless a time, long, long ago, when it was covered with dense primeval forests, and there have been ages of prosperity and peace since then, when it was crowded with towns and * [The author must allude here to such dancing as that of the daughter of Herodias before Herod. The dancing which sometimes accompanied worship must have been very different. ED.] villages, enclosed in and surrounded by beautiful gardens and orchards. But, CHAPTER ever since Moslem rule began, the land has become the property, not of the XXXVII. cultivator, but of the government; and while this ruinous régime lasts, this Insecurity splendid country will remain as it is. No man will plant orchards and make of the improvements on land not his own; but give him a secure title, and, under country. the crude husbandry of even these ignorant peasants, Philistia will quickly be studded with villages, and beautified with vineyards, olive-yards, and orangegroves. This, however, will never be realized until a strong government subdue or drive back the Bedawîn to their deep deserts. Neither vineyards, nor fig orchards, nor vegetable gardens can exist, while these people are allowed to roam at will with their all-devouring herds and droves of camels. The first time I came into this region I was agreeably surprised to find it not a flat, barren country, approaching to a sandy desert; but one must go much further south to encounter anything resembling that. From the distant mountains it indeed has the appearance of a level plain, but the view is so vast that even very considerable hills are lost to the eye. In reality, Philistia closely resembles some of the most beautiful regions of our own glorious West. True, it lacks our fine forests, and one misses our charming country-houses, with their orchards; but that is owing to the inhabitants. The country is Beauty equally lovely and no less fertile than the very best of the Mississippi Valley. tility of Nay, owing to something in the nature of the soil, or of the climate, or both, Philistia the sources of its fertility are even more inexhaustible than in any part of our own land. Without manure, and with a style of ploughing and general culture which would secure nothing but failure in America, this vast plain continues to produce splendid crops every year; and this, too, be it remembered, after forty centuries of such tillage. and fer In what part of this plain was Gerar, where Isaac resided so many years? Gerar. It seems to have been extremely fertile, for he reaped a hundred-fold in that valley: "And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great," "1 —as any other farmer would who reaped such harvests. The site has not yet been discovered; but I doubt not it can and will be, just so soon as it is safe to travel in that region. It must be somewhere to the south-east of us, and not above fifteen miles distant. According to the "Onomasticon," it was twenty miles to the south of Eleutheropolis. Beginning, therefore, at Beit Jibrîn, and going southward about seven hours, the traveller encounters the great Wady Sheriah, called by some Wady Gaza; and in it, or in one of its fertile branches, there is little doubt but that the lost site will be found. Arabs who frequent Gaza from that neighbourhood speak of a ruined city somewhere there, which careful examination may yet decide to be the ancient Gerar. Isaac went there from Beersheba, the site of which is now known to be a few hours to the east of this region. There was a Wady Gerar in ancient times, which no doubt took its name from the 1 Gen. xxvi. 12, 13. |