CHAPTER IX.

GENERAL REMARKS UPON THE PRESENT STATE OF THE CITY OF JERUSALEM.

In the previous chapters I have put forward the results of my researches upon the topography, antiquities, and principal edifices of Jerusalem. I now proceed to give a general idea of those things which a person intending to reside there, or even to visit it, would wish to know; and I commence by giving some information which may be useful to the traveller. Jaffa is the seaport at which most persons, who intend to visit Jerusalem, land. The distance between the two places is about 28-1/2 miles. The mournful aspect of the former city generally drives away visitors after they have made a short stay and hastily traversed a few filthy streets; but those who wish to spend a longer time and carefully examine the antiquities of the place, or repose after their voyage, will find two tolerably comfortable hotels. Besides these, the Latin convent of the Franciscans entertains gratuitously all who apply without regard to their religious opinions. Nor do the Greeks and Armenians refuse to receive strangers, though they are established especially for the members of their own communities. An inn or the Latin convent is most convenient for a European. Consular agents of different nations reside in the town, and shew the greatest courtesy and attention to travellers; and through their dragomans or _cavas_ (consular guards), or through the servants of the convent, one can obtain horses without fear of being cheated. A three hours' ride along an excellent road takes the traveller to Ramleh, a town without any inns; but where he can pass the night in either the Latin, Greek, or Armenian convents, and on the morrow pursue his course with the same horse to Jerusalem, where he will arrive after a journey of eight or nine hours. I do not mention the price of the bridle, saddle, and other necessaries of the journey, as these vary with time and circumstances.

In Jerusalem there are two inns kept by honest people; those, however, who prefer availing themselves of the hospitality of the convents can do so; but should of course make an offering before leaving, according to their circumstances. This, however, is never demanded; nor will the person who does not choose, or is unable to present it, be the less kindly treated on that account. From the instant of his arrival the traveller is pestered with interpreters and _ciceroni_. These it is imprudent to engage without previous enquiries at their Consulate, or from the Head of the religious community to which they belong; so too with those who offer themselves to take charge of a caravan, or act as escorts on journeys to the Jordan or Dead Sea, or other parts of Palestine. The bargain should be struck with responsible chiefs alone, at the Consulate, and all the conditions of the engagement should be clearly stated in writing, so that no disputes may afterwards arise. Persons who let out horses are not slow to offer themselves; but I recommend the traveller to make good use of his judgment before hiring a horse for a long period. After carefully examining it and its harness, it is necessary to put down on paper all the terms of the agreement, in the presence of two witnesses, to avoid having constant recourse to the Consul's office. Generally, however, oral evidence is more esteemed in the East than documentary, because the sense of words in a writing can be easily altered.

In case the traveller wishes to change money, let him beware of the petty money-changers in the bazaars, and go to the banks recommended by his Consul, or by the Head of his religious community. In buying anything from Arab dealers, unless accompanied by an honest guide, the stranger is always liable to be cheated, and to pay double the proper value, because it is usual for his conductor to receive a percentage on what his master spends. Most of all, distrust the itinerant dealers who call at private houses, or who are found in the lobbies of convents, hospices, and inns, or in the court before the Church of the Resurrection.

Any one who wishes to make a long stay at Jerusalem, and to hire a house, should not treat with a _factotum_, but with some person in whom he can place confidence. He will then get what he requires much more cheaply. Before signing the contract he should ascertain the state of the cisterns and their contents, the conduits, and the offices, unless he wishes to find himself without water, or with leaky drains that will make his house smell like a sewer. Let him also beware of foes, that lie hid by day, but issue forth by night to murder sleep. Take care that all defects observed in the scrutiny are at once repaired, for as soon as the rent is paid, the proprietor will hold himself free to do nothing, and will find a thousand pretexts to save himself from spending a farthing, even though he be ordered to do it by the authorities. The terrace-roofs are always in bad repair, so they must not be forgotten. Let not a mistaken notion of economy induce the visitor to take an old house; for in that case it is necessary to be always erecting barriers against the rats and snakes, which the Arabs call the friends of the house, and many other invaders. No one should hire a servant without a character from a person of credit; and constant watchfulness is necessary, especially when the domestics have the purchase of provisions in their own hands: adulterated goods of all kinds are common enough in Palestine, even to the refinement of black stones in sacks of coal, and pebbles in soap. In a word, keep your eyes wide open, for the Arab is omnivorous, and steals slowly, but steadily. Weights and measures are not wanting in native shops, but such weights and measures! Every dealer has a double set, and uses the just or the unjust according to circumstances. The government officers appointed for this purpose do not fail to visit the shops (politely giving notice of their intention beforehand), and of course everything is then in order. Now and then a victim is necessary, and the offence is denounced; but before the offender is put in prison, it is made out to be a mistake on the part of the police-officer, who is excused on the score of excess of zeal. These things continually happen, and the evil is irreparable. With the European dealers there is no danger of being cheated.

The butchers are great rogues, and cheat in every possible way. The tariffs sanctioned by the Government are not observed, and whoever wants good meat must pay the butcher's price. Only those who are in authority, and can make their complaints heard, are supplied according to the tariff. The rest of the people suffer, and can get no redress from the badly-paid subordinates of the Government, who are bribed to be blind and deaf; and not unfrequently the complainant, if unprotected by one of the Consuls, is maltreated by the vendors and the vigilant guardians of the peace.

The shops kept by Europeans are so well provided with the products of that continent, that the stranger might easily forget that he was in Palestine. Food and liquors of various kinds, clothes, and other necessaries, come from England, Marseilles, and Trieste, and from many parts of the East; so that any one of moderate means may supply his wants sufficiently, but simply; and without these he can live on the produce of the country at a cheap rate.

Vegetables are scarce and dear, but annual supplies, in a preserved state, are sent from France. Beef and veal are seldom offered for sale, and are not good. There is plenty of mutton, sheep and goat, and sometimes of camel flesh; but the last two, with the inferior kinds of the former, are only bought by the poor. The European also finds pork, wild boar, hares and gazelles. Fowls, turkeys, ducks, and pigeons, are plentiful in the market, which is sometimes supplied with partridges and other game, and with fresh fish from Jaffa. Eggs and milk are plentiful; cheese and butter are imported, only because the peasants do not know how to make them, and will not take the trouble to learn. Oranges, lemons, pomegranates, cucumbers, melons, figs, almonds, and grapes, are very abundant; dates and bananas, the produce of the country, are less plentiful. There are also peaches, apricots, plums, pears, and apples, and many other fruits too numerous to mention. The wines of the country are made at Hebron, Bethlehem, and S. John: these are very good, but rather strong; and as they are insufficient for the wants of the place, and those of France are very dear, Cyprus wine is much used. The bread during the last few years has become pretty good, and that made by the Jews is very fair, and would be still better if they had proper mills to grind the wheat; those worked by horses and asses and by the hand all belong to private owners. A single windmill, erected by Sir M. Montefiore, has greatly improved the quality of the bread. The grain of the country, when properly ground and prepared, makes excellent bread; but many European families use flour imported from Trieste, which is very good. The Arab bread, on which most of the people live, is abominable, being badly made and full of grit. It is needless to observe that the dealers pay no regard to the orders of the government, and sell loaves either of light weight, or adulterated with cheaper materials. When Surraya Pasha inspected the shops in person, on which occasion I accompanied him, twelve offenders against the law were imprisoned; and many others only escaped by having no more bread to sell; that is to say, they had heard of the Pasha's coming, and had hidden their stock.

There is no lack of watchmakers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, tailors, bootmakers, and cabinetmakers, who can supply not only the necessaries, but even the luxuries of life. There are excellent building materials to be obtained, and good quarrymen, stonecutters, and masons. Wood is rather scarce in the country, but can be got from Egypt or Beyrout, where the yards are overstocked by the supplies from Trieste and Lebanon.

The French, Austrian, and Turkish posts facilitate intercourse with Europe and the East. The steamers also of the French Messagerie Impériale and of the Austrian Lloyd arrive at the port of Jaffa on alternate weeks. The Turkish post is very badly managed; for the courier is often robbed of his mail-bag, and when it arrives in safety, the distribution of its contents is conducted so carelessly, that the first comer may possess himself of any letter he pleases; so that nothing valuable should be entrusted to it.

The commerce of the city is on a very small scale, nor are there many merchants who speculate; and such as there are, except the Europeans and some few of the inhabitants, are more to be feared than the Bedouins who infest the open country. The value of money changes from one moment to another, according to the bankers' caprice, without the Government taking any notice of the matter. The legal rate of interest is 10, and sometimes 12 per cent., but this is disregarded; the usurers, who are numerous, demand 25 and even 30 per cent. Business in Jerusalem is transacted slowly, not only owing to the nature of the inhabitants, but also because Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, are the days of rest to the Mohammedans, Jews, and Christians, respectively; not to speak of the other numerous festivals which each community keeps holy during the course of the year.

If a European wishes to remain in good health, he should wear flannel, and avoid using linen, because the mornings and evenings are damp, and the temperature is frequently liable to considerable changes. When he is obliged to expose himself to the sun, he should cover his head with white cloth, and thus he will escape unhurt. When on a journey, and exposed to great heat, he should wear white clothing, and eat and drink very sparingly, not taking much water while _en route_.

It is well to be aware that all the gates are shut at sunset, excepting the Jaffa Gate, which remains open an hour longer; so that the traveller who arrives too late may be obliged to sleep in the open air, unless he have taken the precaution to furnish himself with an order from the Commandant.

Whoever goes out into the streets by night must carry a lantern, not only because it is so ordered by the authorities, and a person breaking this rule is liable to be arrested by a patrol or by the police, but also because it is otherwise impossible to avoid stumbling in some ill repaired part of the road, or being attacked by the packs of dogs, who guard and infest the streets of the city.

Having thus given some general information and advice, I proceed to make a few remarks on the present state of the city. A walk through the streets, when undertaken without a special purpose, is more oppressive than refreshing. They are narrow and dark, frequently arched over, and almost deserted. They are paved with stones, ill joined and uneven. These are not easy to walk on, as their surfaces are smooth and slippery, especially in the rainy season; and on horseback they are very dangerous, as I experienced myself the first time that I saw them. As the city slopes from west to east, the streets generally fall in the same direction; so that the upper are less filthy than the lower, which in the rainy season are horribly foul, since the dirt all lodges in them, and no one takes the trouble to remove it. Surraya Pasha issued strict orders to the street police, and frequently inspected them himself; but it is very hard work to keep the Arabs from their beloved mud. In the more frequented parts of the town the shops are generally mean in appearance, and disgust rather than amuse the spectators. The houses are built with small stones, some black with age, the rest light grey. Most of them have no windows outside, and those which have resemble prisons or monasteries, as the apertures are small and barred. This produces a very dull and oppressive effect, until the eye becomes accustomed to it. The entrance-doors are generally low and narrow, and I recommend the stranger not to form his opinion of the internal arrangements from what he sees on the threshold. The houses have terrace-roofs, many of which are covered with slabs of stone well united; but the generality are formed of small pieces mixed with cement, beaten into a solid mass, which however does not possess much power of resistance, as it cracks with the heat of the sun, and admits the water in rainy weather; consequently many of the houses are damp, and their inhabitants liable to fevers. These terrace-roofs are surrounded by a wall five or six feet high, serving as a parapet. It is formed of small earthenware tubes, making it look like the side of a dovecot; but by this means the women, by whom the roofs are used as places for exercise and amusement, can see, without being seen.

Heaps of ruins and filth are seen in the public places, and no one frequents them for business; beggars crave an alms, lepers exhibit their sores, vagrant curs snarl over their booty. Camels crouched down await their burdens, and fill the air with a disgusting odour, caused by the ointment with which they are smeared to cure skin-diseases. Disgust, fear, hypocrisy, slavishness and distrust, are the common expressions in the faces of the men, shewing the different races of which they are composed; opposed one to another in religion and fortunes, victors and vanquished, jealous and distrustful one of the other. The women are generally covered with a white cloth, looking like ghosts, or if uncovered, would look better veiled. If wearied with the dullness within, we go outside the walls, we find a few olive-trees on the north-west, a few young plantations on the west, and the rest barren and desolate. Everywhere deep valleys or steep hills, stony and rocky roads, impracticable for carriages, difficult for horses, and painful for foot-travellers. Wherever we go the memorials of the dead are before our eyes; for the cemeteries are the places of general resort. Escaping, however, from the city, from its bad smells and loathsome and importunate beggars, we can ascend the hills, and contemplate a panorama, where every stone is a witness of God's revelation, and every ruin a monument of His wrath. On these bare summits high and ennobling thoughts fill the mind, bringing a calm that is found with difficulty in bustling and crowded cities. He who is careless or unbelieving, he who travels only from curiosity or to kill time, had better take my advice, and avoid Jerusalem. There he will have no amusement beyond taking a ride, or smoking and drinking bad coffee in an Arab _café_; watching the languid passers by, or listening to Arab songs accompanied on tuneless instruments. He, however, who has a family or business to care for, or is occupied in studying the inexhaustible riches of the soil, will live in Jerusalem as agreeably as in any other place.

There is but little pleasant social intercourse in Jerusalem, owing to the jealousies among the rival sects; so that the conversation generally runs upon the failings and faults of the members of the communities which are not represented at the party; and scandalous stories and ill natured remarks are retailed to the visitor, who is soon wearied and disgusted.

Hence it will appear that Jerusalem offers but slight attractions to one who is not contented with the memories of the past, and the love of archæological research. These, however, supply an unceasing field of enjoyment and constant occupation.

Jerusalem is not inhabited by a people; it is a great field wherein are collected members from every nation, brought there by their religious belief, and about to depart when their end is accomplished. No city resembles less a fatherland, none is more like a place of exile. The Turks, after impoverishing and governing the land after their own fashion, give place to new magistrates, and return home with full purses; the Arabs, who acquire there an idea of civilization, depart in search of a place where they can lay out their property to advantage; while those who remain barbarians, after gaining a moderate sum, retire to the desert to end their days. The European missionaries and travellers, after a long stay, desire at length to die in their native land. The Western and Eastern pilgrims make but a brief sojourn, and though many of them bewail leaving the Holy Places, certain it is they never remain. The Jews replace one another constantly, coming to ask leave to die in that fatherland, which in life they have been unable to regain. The few families established at Jerusalem are not ancient. Each speaks of the date of his arrival, but is uncertain of the length of his stay. In the Holy City, therefore, the population is constantly changing, renewed daily by the pilgrims, and oppressed by a disheartening uncertainty caused by the despotism and incapacity of the Government of the Sublime Porte. This of course tends to prevent the formation of intimate friendships and the fusion of the different races.

The greater part of the land does not belong to its occupants, but is the property of the mosques or of the churches, and is therefore called _Wakf_. There is the _Wakf_ of the _Haram es-Sherîf_, the property of the great mosque; the _Wakf el-Tekiyeh_, the property of the Hospital of S. Helena (as it is commonly called); the _Wakf Franji_, the property of the Latin convent; the _Wakf Rûmi_, the property of the Greek convent; and in the same way they speak of the _Wakf_ of the Russians, Armenians, Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics, English, Prussians, Copts, Abyssinians, and Jews. Another part of the ground falls by law to these public bodies in case of the extinction of the families who possess it, or a failure of the male line. These are called _mulk maukuf_ i.e. mortmain. Hence it comes that the smaller part only of the soil is private property (_mulk_); so that, owing to these restrictions, a single small estate belongs to several owners, and there are many difficulties and much danger of being cheated in buying land.

I will now offer a few remarks upon the condition of the different religious sects, premising that they entertain the bitterest feelings one towards another, and are only restrained from greater excesses by the fear that the Turks will profit by their quarrels, and listen to the highest bidder. The Consuls of the different nations have hard work to keep the peace, finding themselves of but little power in allaying strifes; not for want of will and moral courage, but because their authority only extends to small matters, and they are not properly seconded by the spiritual heads of the communities, who rather stir up the disputants and increase the difficulty of restoring peace.

The most wealthy and powerful, and, in times past (and sometimes even now), the most distinguished in these contentions are the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians; and the Turks are never sorry to see them at strife, as they reap a harvest from both the losers and the winners. Scarcely had the tempest of war caused by the Crusades passed away, when these communities began to struggle at the court of the Sublime Porte for the possession of the Holy Places. Each produced _firmans_ given by Mohammed, Omar, Saladin, or various Sultans; and the ministers at the court always decided in favour of the highest bidder, so that the same place was assigned by different _firmans_ to the Latins, the Greeks, or the Armenians. In consequence it has happened that one party, believing itself to be the true proprietor of a particular Sanctuary, has declared the other an impostor, until the sight of a _firman_ of older date has shown the vanity of its claims.

The enmity of the clergy has descended to the people, and frequently, upon the most futile pretexts, the churches and Holy Places have been the theatres of fatal encounters between rival nations. The Pashas of former times (now it is different) gladly interfered on these occasions, to impose heavy fines upon the weaker party, and to sell impunity to the strong, who were quite ready to begin fresh disturbances the next day. At one time the Greeks were driven from the Holy Places by order of the Porte; now the Latins were subjected to the utmost annoyance; while the Armenians profited by the discord to establish themselves in the Sanctuaries belonging to one or other of the disputants, whose claims they pretended to be supporting. The Catholic Governments lacked the means, and perhaps the inclination, to interfere directly in such questions. The ministers of France, Spain, Venice, and Austria, in Constantinople, sometimes listened to the complaints of the religious fraternities, to whom the custody of the Holy Places had been confided. But whether their own governments failed to support them, or whether that of the Sultan was not found tractable, certain it is that their applications were seldom heeded; and, in fact, cases occurred of even personal violence being employed against the French Ministers and the Venetian _Baili_, or still more frequently, against their subordinates. Until within a few years past, money was the only way of succeeding in negotiations with the Porte. Hence it may be understood, as regards the Latins, how it is that the guardianship of the Holy Land has been so expensive to Europe[898]. The Franciscans had also the privilege of acquiring real property and disposing of the alms of the Faithful; until the Propaganda began to view with dislike such large sums removed entirely from its control; so in order to inaugurate a fresh system, a Patriarch was established at Jerusalem in 1847, and assigned as his revenue the fifth part of the alms received by the Guardians. This arrangement gave him the right of examining the accounts, and to the Propaganda upon the management of affairs. He was, however, so obstinately opposed by the monks, that he was obliged to make a compromise with them, in which the interests, if not the minds, of the two parties were somewhat reconciled. The Greeks also were reduced to the same situation as the Latins; for a community which is obliged to support its influence at the Turkish Court by the aid of money alone, is compelled to have recourse to expedients of every sort in order to obtain it. Consequently, either from the piety of the faithful or the activity of the monks, the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem has amassed a very large property, consisting of possessions in Wallachia, Bessarabia, Greece, and other countries, besides its estates in Palestine, and especially in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, which are being continually augmented. The secretary of the Greek convent of S. Constantine, the Archimandrite Nicoferus, has purchased in the last few years a number of estates, the value of which is not less than 6,000,000 piastres, or about £48,000. The property of the monasteries is almost entirely derived from the legacies left by the monks, who purchase in their own names, to leave to the convent, which always inherits their possessions, except a small allowance to the parents of the deceased, if they are living. The purchase-money, however, must come from the common chest of the convent, for it is of course impossible that a poor monk should have the means of buying land to such an amount. However this may be, the convent ultimately obtains the property, and thus its rent-roll increases. It still keeps on receiving the offerings of the faithful, which it lays out in the purchase of real property. This the Franciscans are now forbidden by the Propaganda to acquire; they are therefore obliged to subsist, maintain their Sanctuaries, and entertain pilgrims, on the alms which, to a greater or less amount, are sent to them from Christendom.

The revenues of the Armenians are chiefly supplied by landed property, by the money which they have out at interest on good security, and by the alms and dues of the pilgrims. They possess the best establishment in Jerusalem, and their revenues are well administered; but in spite of that they would not have so much influence as the Greeks and Latins, were it not for those of their religion who fill high places in the Turkish government.

No part of the population furnishes so many subjects for reflexion as the Jews, who dwell in the land of their fathers, without seeking to imitate their example. A remnant of their nation, they stay in their ancient capital, to pray, to weep, and to die, in the land that should be their own. The greater part live without working, upon the gifts sent by their industrious brethren in Europe and the East. From this circumstance it will be easily understood how it is that misery and indigence prevail among them, because they depend not on labour but on alms, which diminish year by year, on account of the increasing numbers who flock to Jerusalem to share them. When these supplies are distributed slowly, or are scanty, they begin to murmur, and utter the most unreasonable and shameless complaints against their benefactors. The sole source of revenue of the Jewish community is the almsbox; and when its contents diminish, the different congregations assemble and choose persons, who are provided with papers from the Rabbis, countersigned by the Consuls, and start as collectors, returning after long journeys with the fruits of their wanderings. The alms thus obtained are carelessly and thriftlessly distributed, and not applied to any useful purpose, consequently these collections are constantly repeated. Nor are they fairly divided; the truly poor, the sick, the widows and the orphans, too weak to complain or resist, are often neglected and defrauded; they cannot write, and therefore are not feared; but those who can cry aloud and make their discontent heard, who can give trouble or annoyance by complaints and intrigues, are attended to and served. Those too who are appointed to distribute the alms are utterly unfit for the duty, giving no heed and making no endeavours to qualify themselves for it, since they are neither able nor willing to make the best of the means committed to them, and secure its being bestowed on deserving objects. In a word, the Jews at Jerusalem are unfortunate in those who manage their affairs, for they are men who neglect good advice, who are servile flatterers when they hope to gain, and discontented grumblers when they get nothing. Hence it is their own fault that the Jews are degraded and miserable, because they do not attempt to repress the abuses that prevail. If the constant arrival of idle paupers was prevented, the funds would be sufficient for those who really want. Again, most of those who come are aged men, and unable to resist the demands of certain Arabs, who term themselves their protectors. If only the Jews would act with energy against their oppressors, the Government would attend to them; but, rather than claim their rights, they submit to those who rob them of their scanty alms. Formerly they were also oppressed by the Government, which was enough to account for their unfortunate condition; but since 1855 they have had no ground of complaint on this score, for Kiamil Pasha and Surraya Pasha treated them as fairly as all the other religious communities, by affording a ready ear to their complaints, by discomfiting their enemies at Hebron, and making the roads safe which they frequent on their pilgrimage. These Governors have also made laws enforcing cleanliness in the Jewish Quarter, have protected their rights in the purchase of land and houses, have admitted them to their parties, and visited their principal men; so that it is not now the fault of the Pashas if the Jews still live in dirt and degradation. It would be well if there were a Board in Jerusalem, commissioned to investigate the motives which bring settlers into the country, and prevent those from coming whose sole mode of subsistence would be the alms of others. They might also employ part of the money entrusted to them in succouring real misery, and the rest in supporting useful institutions, in purchasing lands, and bringing them under cultivation. Thus might the Jews be rescued from their degradation, and at length rendered happy instead of miserable.

We must also say a few words on the Protestant Mission to the Jews. This was established in 1840, but can scarcely be said to have met with the success that the efforts it has made, and the sums it has expended, deserve. I do not believe that the number of converts, during the 23 years that the Mission has been in operation, amounts to 150; and a very small number of these has been won in Jerusalem. Most of them, after being converted in some part of Europe, come to Palestine to find occupation, which they have lost in their native country from deserting the creed of their fathers. On arriving they are assisted and employed by the Mission; but, were they not thus cared for, I fear that many of them would relapse. In fact, though these converts read their Bibles, and rigorously conform to the observances of their new faith, they do not appear to understand it, and the benefit of the change only shews itself in their children, who have been brought up in the bosom of the Christian Church, and are thus free from the memories of the Synagogue, and not actuated by the interested motives which in some cases have influenced their fathers. Impostors also have contributed to swell the ranks of the converts, who have been excommunicated by the Rabbis, or who wish to avail themselves of some of the advantages the Mission offers, and who, after they have gained their points, return to their former allegiance. Nor do the Missionaries meet with much success among the Jewish residents in the city, or among those who come there to die; their convictions and their interest are opposed to a change of faith. Munk[899], himself a Jew, wrote thus a few years ago: "It is needless to say that the attempts of Bishop Alexander, sent to Palestine under the auspices of England and Prussia, have up to this time met with no success;" and I can assert the same of Bishop Gobat. Truth compels me to state that the Mission has not been successful at Jerusalem, and will not be (in my opinion) if the wealthy Jews in Europe take care that the affairs of their brethren in Jerusalem are properly managed. If the conversion of the Jews be desired, I believe that more success will be obtained among the larger numbers resident in Europe, than among the little band of those more strongly attached to their ancient faith, who are resident at Jerusalem. Since their efforts against Judaism have failed, the Missionaries have attempted to make proselytes from the other religious sects, but with little success. I do not wish to enter fully into the subject, but simply state that the few converts, which have been won from the other Christian communities, have to be maintained at the expense of the Mission, or they would be soon lost; and that the Mission has thus excited the jealousy of the other bodies, and exposed itself to secret and open attacks. True it is that it circulates copies of the Bible in all the languages spoken in the country; but this is not a result of so much value as it appears at first sight to be. Very many volumes indeed are given away, or purchased (and that too at a very low price); but how many of them fall into the hands of men who cannot or will not read, or are bought or taken away by the monks, and destroyed? Many copies in different languages are thus lost, which would be most valuable if distributed among more highly civilized people. It may be doubted, too, whether it is wise to circulate the entire volume, for often the reader comes upon some passage which shocks his prejudices, and so the book is cast away in disgust, because he is not yet able to bear a doctrine so different to what he has always been taught.

I conclude this subject by declaring that, in the above remarks, I have not been actuated by any party spirit, but by the desire of speaking the plain truth; and I confidently appeal to those who are acquainted with the real state of affairs at Jerusalem, to bear me out in what I have felt it my duty to say.

A few words must also be devoted to the Turks and the Arabs. The former govern the country; the latter endure their rule, and frequently rebel against their authority. As slaves they thoroughly hate their masters, still they are frequently reconciled by common interests, when there seems a chance of conjointly extorting money from the Christian communities. It should, however, be said, that there has been a great change for the better since 1857, owing to the excellent rule of Surraya Pasha; but still the Mohammedans are a hindrance and an evil in the country. This is not so much due to any fault in individuals, as to the bad administration of the Turkish Government at Constantinople. Their appointments are often bestowed upon the highest bidder, and again taken away when a higher appears; consequently the man who obtains a governorship of a province, a judgeship, or any other post, has invested a portion of his capital in the quest, and comes to his duties with every intention of refilling his coffers as quickly as possible, since he cannot reckon upon his stay in office. The subordinates too are miserably paid, and have hardly a shilling for the necessaries of life; consequently they have greedy palms, and so oppression, venality, injustice, and all kinds of evils, are perpetrated. The religious communities, however, do not suffer as they once did, owing to the zeal and moderation of Surraya Pasha, the energy of the Consuls, and the resistance which some of the Ecclesiastical Dignitaries have offered to grasping cupidity and unjust demands. Among these, however, we cannot reckon the Orientals, who still submit slavishly, and pay whatever is demanded, as they are dependent upon the Sublime Porte, and so must comply with the custom of the country. In conclusion, I may add, that money is all-powerful with the Turks and Arabs in Jerusalem: gold calms fanaticism, humbles the proud, renders justice uncertain and the police blind, opens the prison-doors; in a word, in that city everything has its price. The effect of this is that self-interest, as I have already said, prevents any outbreak of fanaticism against the Christians or the Jews, as the Mohammedans know full well that by this means they would be greatly the losers.

A few words must also be said about the proselytes among the different Christian sects. The insane rivalries among these, far more than true conviction, produce the greater number of converts from one party to another. Of this there are many sad examples in Jerusalem. Whenever a person (I do not refer to Europeans) thinks he is wronged by his own community, he turns to another, and goes where he expects to find the greatest advantages. No one can form an idea of this commerce in religion who has not lived some time at Jerusalem and seen it for himself. The most trivial matters are enough to make a man change his creed; but happily the Missionaries and Convents are beginning to open their eyes to the true state of the case, and do not so readily admit the new converts into their church, without making previous enquiry into their character, and the reasons which have produced the change.

One of the things which excites commerce and brings a little money into Jerusalem is the system of pilgrimages; and on these I purpose to say a few words, without entering into details--an endless matter. The European pilgrims are not so numerous as those from the East, and most of them are poor, so that they bring more expense than profit to the Franciscans, in whose convents they are lodged and fed, and by whom they are conducted to the spots consecrated by the events of the Old and New Testament. For this the monks ask nothing, though they accept any gift that is offered; consequently the presents are unfrequent, and seldom compensate for the expense that the donor has caused. Every pilgrim is allowed to remain a month in the hospice at Jerusalem, without any other recommendation than his passport and three days in the others in different parts of Palestine, provided he be in good health. When he is ill, according to his rank, he is nursed in the hospice, or in the hospital, without anything to pay for doctors, druggists, or attendants. It is plain, therefore, that this philanthropic undertaking of the Franciscans is on too large a scale, and is a burden to the convents, besides encouraging knaves and vagabonds, who go on pilgrimages to pass away the time and live in idleness. A judicious reform of this unlimited hospitality, and a careful scrutiny of the papers of such as appear to be vagrants, would be a beneficial change. Those who think that the pilgrims supply, in great part, the revenues which enable the Fathers of the Holy Land to bear these heavy expenses, should know that these come mainly from the different Christian nations, with whose alms the churches, schools, and houses in which the pilgrims are lodged, are maintained, and the poor and pilgrims supported. In order to give an idea of the number of the pilgrims who have availed themselves of the hospitality of the Franciscans during the last ten years, I print the following extract from the Archives of the Convent of S. Saviour:

Year. | No. of Pilgrims | Length of their | received. | stay (days). | | 1850 | 3611 | 16373 1851 | 3797 | 28580 1852 | 5696 | 20109 1853 | 5574 | 21364 1854 | 4620 | 18144 1855 | 6874 | 23522 1856 | 5470 | 21302 1857 | 7196 | 26280 1858 | 5809 | 25800 1859 | 7116 | 27792

Therefore in these ten years 55,763 pilgrims have been admitted into the different convents in Palestine, who were supported during 229,346 days, and their offerings cannot have been enough to entertain them for a third part of their stay, so that the Friars cannot be said to derive any advantage from them.

The Latin Patriarchate, though its revenues are small in comparison with the expenses it has to support, practises largely the virtue of hospitality, and knows well how to succour the poor and destitute.

The Protestant Mission relieves the poor, but does not offer to travellers or pilgrims of its own faith the same advantage as the heads of the Latin community, who bestow their benefits upon members of other religious sects with as much care as upon their own.

The Jewish community relieves its pilgrims from the moment of their arrival, admitting them into houses appointed for that purpose; but if the strangers are without means of their own, they have no great cause to praise the welcome and hospitality they receive.

The great mass of pilgrims to the Holy City comes, every year, from the East, consisting of Russians, Greeks, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, Abyssinians, Maronites, and Mohammedans themselves. The greater part of these arrive at Jaffa in steam-boats or trading vessels, in which they are stowed like merchandise, or like negroes in a slave-ship. Not only men, but also entire families, women, girls, and boys, the aged, the sick, and the maimed, make the long pilgrimage. These all expose themselves to bad weather by sea and land, to great privations, and to all kinds of exactions. They assemble in large companies, carrying their provisions along with them, besides merchandize for driving bargains, together with mats for bedding, and cooking vessels, which they load upon camels, mules, and asses. They, however, in many cases walk, often bare-foot, making short stages, sleeping in the open air, or crowded together in a convent; enduring all these fatigues in order to worship in the places which Christ has consecrated by His sufferings. When they arrive at Jerusalem they betake themselves severally to the convents belonging to their own community, and there, after certain formalities, are distributed into lodgings; where, if Greeks, they are crowded together in heaps; if Armenians, they are more comfortable; and if Russians, they have every comfort. I will not weary the reader by relating what the arrangements of the different communities are with regard to their pilgrims; but will only describe those of the Greeks, as they receive the greatest number of all.

The Greek pilgrims of high rank are conducted into apartments assigned to them, where they are well lodged and nourished, according to their importance and dignity. They are not asked for money, but are given to understand the wants of the community, and the needs of the Church; so that they pay liberally for the hospitality they have received, and for the churches and Sanctuaries they have visited. The common pilgrims, after reposing two days in the great convent of S. Constantine, are presented to the Patriarch, who receives an offering from each, under the name of a contribution to the wants of the churches and convents of his diocese. They are then conducted into the Church of the Resurrection, where they pass a night in prayer, and make other offerings to the Guardian of the Sepulchre for the maintenance of the Sanctuaries. On being brought back into the convent, a plentiful repast is provided for them, and their names are enrolled for the pilgrimages to the Jordan and Nazareth, for which they pay a tax. They are then conducted to their lodgings, or rather dens, in one of the numerous convents in Jerusalem. On taking possession of these, they pay a sum proportionate to the expense of their pilgrimage, amounting only to eight or ten shillings. They must, however, make a present in addition, to the church of the place, to those who have brought them, to the Superior who receives them, and to the laics who assist to instal them in their new quarters. When they are settled, they are taken to visit the Tomb of the Virgin and all the churches of the convents, where they pay. They make pilgrimages to Bethlehem, and all the other remarkable places. They buy relics, ask for prayers and blessings, but always pay; so that after being entertained at their own expense for four or five months, and after having expended their resources, many are obliged to sell their baggage to return to their native lands, taking back with them the articles they have acquired with so much toil, all of which however have received a blessing. That they are crowded together, and may be said to occupy dens rather than lodgings, appears from the fact, that sometimes eight persons are quartered in a room 16 or 18 feet square, who have not unfrequently met for the first time, and are from different countries; so that the reader may easily conceive the inconveniences they suffer, and the maladies that are caused by the straitened accommodation, especially when the winter happens to be more rainy than usual. Notwithstanding all the observations that have been made on this barbarous manner of lodging, they are always tenacious of their ancient customs; but as Russia now provides well for her own pilgrims, it is to be hoped that the Greeks, having more space, will find some better manner of accommodating theirs.

With the Armenians the pilgrims are better cared for in every respect; but they have to pay for everything, as with the Greeks.

The pilgrims of the different communities are on no better terms one with another than the convents themselves; consequently quarrels break out every year, in which, though life is not lost, bruises and blows of sticks are plentifully bestowed. These contests are most frequent between the Greeks and the Armenians; and the monks, instead of attempting to allay the strife, rather excite it.

I conclude by giving a list of the schools, hospitals, hospices, and other establishments, belonging to the different communities in Jerusalem.

The Jews possess:--

8 Schools (now perhaps more). 1 Hospital, bearing Rothschild's name. 2 Houses used as Hospices (now perhaps more). 1 Large building for lodging the poor, called after Sir M. Montefiore.

The Mohammedans:--

1 Military Hospital. 1 Hospice, called after Saladin. 1 Hospice of the Kusbeck Dervishes. 1 Tekhiyeh el-Khasseki-Sultane, where the poor are supported. A number of unimportant Schools. Several ruined buildings in the _Haram es-Sherîf_, in which the poor are lodged. The Lepers' Quarter.

The Orthodox Greeks:--

1 Seminary, called after the Holy Cross. 2 Boys' Schools. 1 Girls' School. 1 Free Dispensary. 18 Convents for accommodating Pilgrims. A number of houses used for the same purpose, and many others for the poor of the community. 1 Printing Press.

The Latins:--

1 Patriarchal Seminary at Beit-jala. 1 Boys' School, kept by the Friars Minor. 2 Girls' Schools, one kept by the Sisters of S. Joseph; the other by the Daughters of Sion. 1 Hospital of S. Louis. 1 Hospice of the Casa Nuova. 1 Hospice, called after the Flagellation. 1 Hospice (the Austrian). 1 Printing Press. 1 Carpenter's shop. 1 Forge. Several houses for the poor of the community.

The Armenians:--

1 Seminary. 1 Printing Press. 1 Boys' School. 1 Girls' School. Magnificent Lodgings for Pilgrims. Houses for the poor.

Protestant Missions:--

1 Boys' School. 1 Girls' School. 1 Girls' School, managed by the Prussian Deaconesses. 1 Hospital under the same care. 1 Hospice (Prussian). 1 Hospital (English). 1 Carpenters' School. 1 Reading Room. Some houses belonging to the Prussians.

Russians:--

1 Hospital. Magnificent Lodgings for Pilgrims.

Copts:--

1 Hospice. Houses for members of their community.

The other communities have only their convents.

In a population of only 20,453 inhabitants, where there are so many schools and so many establishments, it is a great misfortune that no progress is seen, and that there does not appear to be even the hope of obtaining it for a long time to come.

FOOTNOTES:

[898] To show the sums received by the reverend Franciscan Fathers of the Holy Land, I think it will prove interesting if I give the following account published in a pamphlet, _L'Eco Francescano_, printed at Madrid in the year 1854. It is an authentic statement of the sums sent by the Catholic states to the Holy Land between the years 1650 and 1850. I do not add the details of the manner in which the amount was expended, because I have not the necessary papers; but I do not exaggerate when I say that those who have derived the greatest advantage from it have been the ministers of the Ottoman Porte and their dependents.

Spanish Reals. Spain sent 146,362,280 The Austrian States (Lombardy and Venice are not distinct) 18,361,680 France 2,499,420 Naples 14,091,560 Portugal 39,685,480 Sicily 5,275,000 Rome 2,205,660 Tuscany 3,290,800 Island of Sardinia 1,137,700 Island of Malta 1,439,360 Piedmont 5,578,120 ----------- Total 239,737,060

About 11,996,883 francs, nearly half a million sterling, of which not a centime remains.

[899] Palestine, p. 653.

NOTES.

NOTES ON CHAPTER I.

NOTE I. See Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. IV. 2 sqq.; and his book on the Martyrs of Palestine, chap. 11; Dio's resumé of the history of the reign of Hadrian; S. Jerome, Letter to Paulinus.

NOTE II. Neby Samwîl (Prophet Samuel) is a village on the N.W. of Jerusalem, at a distance of about three hours from the city. From its summit the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea are visible, and it commands a magnificent view of Palestine to the East and West. This is not the place to say anything of this site in its connexion with ancient topography; I will merely state in passing that I dissent from the opinion of Dr Robinson, who would identify the place with Mizpeh, the frequent meeting-place of the Jews (Judges xx.; 1 Sam. vii. 6, 12, x. 17, 24); I believe it to be Ramah. For here is found the sepulchre of the prophet Samuel, which I have myself seen, and from the earliest times to this day the Israelites have constantly undertaken pilgrimages in order to touch even the outer walls which enclose the tomb. Accordingly I identify the Ramah mentioned in 1 Sam. xxv. 1 and xxviii. 3, and the Ramah of Josephus (Ant. VI. 13, § 5), with the Arab village of Neby Samwîl. In my book on the tombs of Machpelah, Ephratah, and Ramah, this point will be discussed at length.

NOTE III. "He removed thence (from Gabaoth Saul), and came to a place called Scopus; from whence the city began already to be seen, and a plain view might be taken of the great temple." (Josephus, Wars, V. 2, § 3.) Titus himself, with 600 horsemen, had made a reconnoitring expedition before he encamped at Scopus, during which he was intercepted by a body of the Jews, and had a very narrow escape with his life. Scopus was, however, the first place from which the main army obtained a view of the city.

NOTE IV. Above each of the gates of Jerusalem is inserted a stone bearing the following inscription, which was translated for me from the Arabic (Plate VII.): "The Sultan our sovereign, the most potent king, and illustrious monarch, the lord of the nations, the king of the Greeks, Arabs, and Persians, the Sultan Solyman (whose reign may God render happy and immortal!) caused the building of these holy walls, in the year 941;" of the Hejra, that is, corresponding to 1534 of the common era.

NOTE V. I subjoin the following note for the information of travellers, that they may not have to pass the night outside the Jaffa gate, or on Fridays lose valuable time.

The gates of the city are all closed at sunset, the Jaffa gate a little later, that being the one by which all foot-passengers enter the city, and by which the inhabitants of the city go out for their walks. A person reaching Jerusalem after all the gates are closed can procure entrance by the Jaffa gate only, on obtaining a permit from the governor.

Every Friday at the hour of prayer (i.e. from noon to 1 P.M.) all the gates of the city are closed, and it is difficult to obtain permission to have them opened. This is done to allow time to the guards in charge for their devotions.

NOTE VI. The following are the names of the principal streets of Jerusalem:

_Harat bâb-el-'Amud_ (the street of the Column-gate), crosses the city from North to South;

_Souk el-Kebir_ (the street of the Grand Bazaar), runs from West to East, and is the same which in the time of the Crusades was called the Street of David;

_Harat el-Alam_ (the _Via Dolorosa_), starts from the gate of S. Mary, passes to the barrack on Mount Moriah, then after bearing for a short way to the South in the Tyropoeon valley, takes again a Westerly direction as far as the Porta Judiciaria;

_Harat el-Naçâra_ (the street of the Christians), from the Holy Sepulchre to the Latin Convent;

_Harat el-Arman_ (the Armenian street), on the East of the Castle;

_Harat el-Yahud_ (the Jews' street) is situated on the Eastern slope of Mount Sion;

_Harat bâb Hotta_, the street that runs parallel to the Temple in the central valley;

And many others, which are little frequented, and are not worthy of mention.

NOTES ON CHAPTER II.

NOTE I. The drainage system of the city is divided into the Southern, Northern, and Eastern sections, the division of the two former being marked by the street called the Street of David. The keeping in repair of the Southern section is the business of the local governor, and in consideration thereof he receives a fixed annual sum from the Armenians and the Jews, as inhabitants of that quarter. The Northern section as far as the central valley is kept in repair by the Latin and Greek convents, this district containing the quarters of their respective nations. All the drainage on the Eastern side is under the sole charge of the governor. The Arabs very seldom take the trouble to look after their own sewers, but are zealous enough in enforcing the execution of repairs which belong to the Christian communities; and since the latter have them executed with an ill-will, and employ men of no experience for the direction of the works, the drains are choked and flooded almost every year, and are constantly being opened for repairs; a cause of no slight annoyance in the city. It was during these works that, for eight successive years, I had the opportunity of examining their formation, their respective inclines, and directions, from which I found that they all run into the central valley (the Tyropoeon Valley of my map), and thence drain away to the S.E. outside the city, as far as the large pool, now filled up, below the fountain of Siloam.

The Christians have been obliged to accept the performance of these and other foul works since the commencement of the supremacy of the Arabs and Turks, who have submitted them to the most severe humiliations, and to the most vile and oppressive tasks.

NOTE II. On the subject of "cubits" and stadia, I transcribe the remarks of M. Munk, in his book entitled "La Palestine," subjoining an account of my own special observations on the subject.

"The measures of length, called _Middoth_, are generally referred to the hand and arm; the following are mentioned: (1) _Eçba_ (Jer. lii. 21), _the finger_, i.e. the breadth of the finger or thumb; (2) _Tephach_ (1 Kings vii. 26), or _tophach_ (Exodus xxv. 25), the _hand-breadth_, i.e. the breadth of four fingers; (3) _Zereth_ (Exodus xxviii. 16), the distance between the tips of the thumb and little finger, or the _span_; (4) _Ammah_, the whole length of the fore-arm, or _cubit_. The relative value of these measures is not indicated in any part of the Bible; to fix it, we must consult Josephus and the Rabbinic traditions. In Exodus xxv. 10, the dimensions of the ark are stated as follows; length 2-1/2 cubits, breadth 1-1/2 cubits, height 1-1/2 cubits. Josephus, in the Antiquities (III. 6, § 5), represents the 2-1/2 cubits by 5 spans, and for 1-1/2 cubits puts 3 spans: hence the span was the half of the cubit. The Rabbins agree with Josephus; according to them the zereth is half a cubit, referring to the mean cubit[A] which contained six hand-breadths, each hand-breadth being equivalent to four fingers. These data may be adhered to as exact, because the same proportions recur in other ancient systems. Thus for example the Greeks had their cubits of 1-1/2 feet, which made six hand-breadths or 24 fingers; Herodotus (II. 149) speaks of a cubit of six hands in use amongst the Egyptians. We have then for the relative values of the Hebrew measures the following table:

_Ammah_ 1 _Zereth_ 2 . 1 _Tephach_ 6 . 3 . 1 _Eçba_ 24 . 12 . 4 . 1

"The knowledge of the absolute value of any one of these would therefore be sufficient to enable us to deduce those of the rest; but since on this point we have no positive datum, in the writings either of Josephus or of the Rabbins, we must be contented with an approximate estimate by the aid of the Egyptian measures, which modern discoveries enable us to fix with a certain precision. It is probable, besides, that the system of the Hebrews was borrowed from that of the Egyptians. The Rabbins determine their measures of length by the breadth of grains of barley placed side by side--a custom which also prevails amongst the Arabs and other Eastern tribes. It is easily seen that there is an uncertainty in this method of measurement, owing to the unequal sizes of the barley-grains. Maimonides, who has made minute calculations on the subject, has found that the Eçba of the Bible is equal to the breadth of seven average-sized grains of barley[B], which gives for the _Ammah_ 168. It is found by calculations sufficiently exact that the Arab cubit, which is estimated at 144 grains of barley (that is, twenty-four fingers of six grains each), when reduced to (Paris) lines and decimal parts of lines, gives 213.050[C], which would give for the Hebrew _Ammah_ of 168 barley-grains 248.564 (about 560 millimetres, or 22 inches). This result is not thoroughly exact, but it will be seen that it does not differ much from the probable value of the Egyptian measures;--at any rate it may serve to establish the connexion which existed between the measures of the Hebrews and those of the Egyptians.

"But another question presents itself. The learned have attributed to the Hebrews more than one kind of cubit[D], and while we reject mere conjectures that have no solid basis, we must at any rate admit two kinds; the one ancient or Mosaic, used for the measurement of sacred things, the other modern, for common use. In the second book of Chronicles (iii. 3), a 'cubit of the first measure,' or ancient cubit, is spoken of as employed for the measurements of the Temple of Solomon,--which implies the existence of a modern or common cubit. The prophet Ezekiel (xl. 5, xliii. 13) in a vision in which he sees the dimensions of the future temple, speaks evidently of a cubit containing a hand-breadth more than the ordinary cubit, from which we may conclude that between the two cubits there was a difference of a hand-breadth. This difference the Talmud interprets in the sense, that the less contained only five of the six hand-breadths of the greater[E]; but it would be more consistent to give them the same ratio as the two different Egyptian cubits had, i.e. that of 7 : 6, approximately. Further, it is probable that each of the two was divided into six hand-breadths; the Talmud speaks expressly of longer and shorter hand-breadths[F]. The old Mosaic cubit was, without doubt, the royal cubit of the Egyptians, and the different scales of this still extant, together with the measurements of several Egyptian monuments, give for its mean value about 525 millimetres[G] (or 20.67 inches). This result appears less doubtful since it differs by only 35 millimetres from that which was found by the very uncertain calculation of the breadth of the barley-grains. Admitting this, we obtain for the value of the ordinary cubit 450 millimetres or 433.5 (i.e. 17.71 or 17.07 inches), according as we take the Egyptian ratio 7 : 6 or that of the Talmud 6 : 5. Each of these two cubits was divided in the same proportion into two spans, six hand-breadths, and twenty-four fingers.

"With measures of length may be classed those of distance, or road-measures; but the old Hebrews measured their roads in a very vague and uncertain manner; and as we shall not need to refer to their measurements in this book, I leave the discussion of them to turn to those which are necessary.

"In the Græco-Roman period the Jews reckoned by stadia and miles; which measures are found in the Old Testament and in the Talmud, as is also the _Sabbath-day's journey_ (Acts i. 12), which was about 2000 cubits."

Josephus also often quotes his measurements in stadia, so I will speak of these. Three principal kinds of stadia are known; the Olympic, equivalent to 184.95 metres (or 606.8 feet); the Pythian, equal to 147.6 metres (or 484.3 feet), and lastly the Philæterian, of 213 metres (or 698.8 feet). Through the whole of this work I have adopted the Olympic, because in the measurements taken in Jerusalem itself, and its environs, I have found that it alone corresponds with all the distances which are cited in stadia by Josephus. That author, speaking of the Mount of Olives, puts it at five stadia from the city, Mount Scopus at seven, the monument of Absalom at two, Herodium at sixty, and lastly, Anathoth at twenty stadia. All these distances I have verified, comparing them with the Olympic stadium, and have always found them exact. Hence it is that I employ this to measure the thirty-three stadia of the city's circumference, and the thirty-nine of the lines drawn round it by Titus, &c. For the sacred cubit of the first measure I have adopted the Egyptian of 20.67 inches, and for the common cubit that of 17.71 inches, as a result of the extended observation and study of measurements that I have made on the old stones which are found in the Eastern wall of the Temple, or of the Haram es-Sherîf; with considerable difficulty I have managed to measure many such which have suffered no mutilation, and have found them to correspond with the ordinary cubits and their aliquot parts of spans, hand-breadths, and digits.

In case the reader should desire to examine more minutely the question of Jewish measures, I refer him to the following works, to which the numerals in the text above relate.

[A] David Kimchi's Dictionary, s. vv. 'Zereth' and 'Tephach;' Maimonides, _Comment. on Mishna_, part 5, tract _Middoth_, ch. 3, § 1,