They were up long before daybreak—they breakfasted by the light of a weak candle—and, just as the sun was preparing to show himself at the eastern horizon, they mounted their horses, and rode away in the direction of the Holy City.
At the edge of the town they found a row of beggars drawn up at the roadside, or, rather, squatted on the ground, and imploring the travellers for charity. Several were blind, and others had lost their hands or fingers, and held up the mutilated stumps to attract attention. The guide said that some of them were lepers; but the majority had caused their hands to be cut off, or it had been done by their parents, in order to fit them for the mendicant profession.
Frank gave a small coin to one of the beggars, and immediately all that could walk joined in pursuing the travellers, who only escaped annoyance by quickening the speed of their horses. The Doctor said it was one of the misfortunes of thus attempting to be charitable in Syria, that you are immediately beset by all the beggars in sight. The one to whom you have made a donation joins in the assault, and clamors for more, and sometimes he is more persistent than any of the rest. A traveller is apt to have his heart hardened under such circumstances, and, as it is impossible for him to give to everybody, he very soon settles the matter by refusing to give at all. The government has suppressed the beggars of Ramleh by moving them to other localities. The most of them find their way back again before long, and the places of those who do not return are speedily filled by others.
ROAD IN THE FOOT-HILLS.
For three hours the route was much like that of the day before—though, as they approached the mountains, the land was less fertile, and the products of the plain gave place to those of the higher ground. At Bab-el-Wady, or the Gate of the Glen, they entered the mountains, and left the low land of Sharon behind them. Occasionally looking back, they found they were steadily rising, as the land lay lower and lower at each view, and the shining waters of the Mediterranean occupied a larger space in the horizon. The guide pointed out the ruins of a village which tradition asserts was the residence of the thief who became penitent on the cross. The region was once a resort of robbers, and down to the beginning of the present century, and even later, it had a very bad reputation. There is a small hotel at the entrance of the valley. The guide had arranged that luncheon should be served here, and the result of the morning's ride made everybody ready to sit down as soon as the table was prepared.
They were now among the hills of Judea, and during the rest of their journey an abundance of historical events were brought to their notice. Job's Well was pointed out on the right of the road, and beyond it, on the crest of a hill, was a dilapidated building called Job's Monastery. The guide called their attention to the village of Abu Gosh, and said its modern name was given to it in the early part of the present century. According to the historians it is identical with Baalah, mentioned in Joshua xv. 9, and was famous as the place where the Ark of the Covenant was deposited for a long time. There is an old church near the village, but they did not stop to examine it. They were anxious to see the Holy City as soon as possible, and every moment of delay was of great importance.
The road was dreary enough as it wound among the rocky hills; it was so crooked in many places that it could only be made out for short distances in advance of the party, and sometimes the hills seemed to threaten to shut them in altogether. Every little while they came upon narrow valleys, where stretches and patches of arable land were utilized as much as possible for the production of garden vegetables or for miniature plantations of olive-trees. Here and there villages clung to the hill-sides, the houses rising one above another in terraces, and suggesting a series of broad steps on which a giant of the stature of Goliath might take a walk.