This page has been validated.
CONTENTS.
xiii
Jerusalem.—Visit to ancient ruins.—Strange way of viewing a landscape.—Our Alowîn guides.—Character of the Arabs.—Ruins of Lebrusch.—Gorgeous effects of colour.—New disappointments and fresh surprises.—Arrival of party of Arabs from Cairo with letter from the Consul-General.—Christmas Day in the Wilderness.—Depression of the mental barometer.—Mr. Laurence entertains the Arabs with electrical experiments.—Christmas dinner.—Visit of Sheikh Arari of Petra.—Arrival of horses and mules from Jerusalem.—Peremptory orders to proceed to Gaza for quarantine.—Preparations for an early start for the opposite side of The Ghôr.—We part with Sheikh Ali pages 108-128.
March from Es Safieh, and cross the Slimy Plain.—Jebel Usdum; its beds of rock salt.—Hart and Laurence explore the upper surface.—Mr. Hart's account of the structure of Jebel Usdum.—Evidences that the waters of the Salt Sea are still receding.—Wâdy Muhauwat.—Barometric reading by the shore of the sea.—The Wâdy Zuweirah.—Difficult pathway.—Ancient bed of the Salt Sea filling in old valleys in the limestone.—-Ancient ruins.—A march in darkness.—Camp at Wâdy el Abd.—Our Arabs entertain us to coffee.—Flocks of the Jâhâlin Arabs.—Large cairn.—Remarkable view therefrom.— The Wilderness of Paran.—Camp at Tel el Milh (Moladah).—Evidences of former habitations.—The ancient wells.—Arrival at Beersheba.—Abraham's Wells.—Captain Conder's discovery.—Traces of extensive ruins.—Desolation of the land.—Tel Abu Hareireh.—Camels used for ploughing.—Great extent of cultivated land.—New formation of sandstone.—Geological structure of Western Palestine.—Old sea-beds with shells.—Major Kitchener leaves the party for Egypt.—"The Lily of the Field."—Incident at Khurbet el Baha.—The Sheikh of the Tîhyaha.—Large herd of gazelles.—First view of Gaza and of the Mediterranean.—Arrival at our quarantine camp.—Mr. Schapira's kind offices.—We communicate with Lord Dufferin pages 129-143.
Amongst the Philistines.—Arrival of the medical officer.—Telegram from Lord Dufferin.—Release on the fifth day.—We square accounts with the doctor.—Start from Gaza.—Ancient olive-grove.—Extensive sand-hills and their devastating effects.—Camp at El Medjet.—Large olive trees.—Ashdod (Asdûd).—The great highway of Philistia.—Arrival at Jaffa.—Take up our quarters at the Jerusalem Hotel.—Natural breakwater.—Calcareous rock in course of formation.— Start for Ramleh.—Pretty gardens and remarkable tower.—A group of lepers.—The Lepers' Hospital at Jerusalem.—Bab-el-Wâdy good botanical ground.—Remarkable features of the central table-land of Judæa.—Effects of cultivation.—Kûlonieh (or Emmaus).— We enter the Gate of Jerusalempages 144-151.
