soil, and to the want of a distribution of water over it by the aqueducts, the remains of which evince that they were constructed chiefly for that purpose, than to any radical change in the climate or the soil.

On leaving these ruins, we thought that, in their greatest extent, they did not cover less than a square mile; but its remains were not sufficiently marked to enable us to form a plan of it. As we continued our way across the plain to the eastward, the same parched soil appeared over every part of it, until after about an hour's ride at a moderate pace, going over a distance of perhaps four miles, in nearly an easterly direction, we reached the village of Rihhah.

As we rode through this, we perceived it to be a settlement of about fifty dwellings, all very mean in their appearance, and every one fenced in front with thorny bushes, while a barrier of the same kind encircled the whole of the town. This was one of the most effectual defences which they could have raised against the incursions of horse Arabs, the only enemies whom they have to dread, as neither will the horse approach to entangle himself in these thickets of briar, nor could the rider, even if he dismounted, get over them, or remove them to clear a passage, without assistance from some one within.

There was a fine brook flowing by the village, and emptying itself into the Jordan, the nearest part of which river is thought to be about three miles off; and from this brook the inhabitants are supplied with sufficient water for the irrigation of their lands, and for all domestic purposes. The grounds immediately in the vicinity of the village, are therefore fertilized by this stream, and are cultivated with dourra, Indian corn, rice, and onions, the soil and climate here resembling in many particulars that of Egypt.

This place, which is called Rihhah, or " Odour,” in modern Arabic, and " Perfume" in the older dialect, has been thought to be on the site of Jericho, from its retaining nearly the same name, and exactly the same signification as the name of the harlot, who

entertained the spies of Joshua here; Rahhab, in Hebrew, meaning also" a sweet smell."* It would agree in the distance assigned to Jericho from the Jordan, and from Jerusalem, with sufficient accuracy, considering the want of exactness in ancient measurements, had there been any remains to induce an opinion of their being really those of that city; but of this it shows no marks. The only things pointed out here, are a modern square tower, of Mohammedan work, which they pretend to be the house of Zaccheus, and an old tree into which they say he climbed up to obtain a sight of Jesus as he passed. This tree is not a sycamore, however, as the Evangelist describes that to have been, but a thorny one of the acacia family, so common in Egypt.

The population is all Mohammedan, and consists of from forty to fifty families only. Their habits are those of Bedouins and shepherds, rather than of cultivators of the soil; this last duty, indeed, when performed at all, is done chiefly by the women and children, as the men roam the plains on horseback, and live by robbery and plunder, which forms their chief and most gainful occupation. They are governed by a Sheick, whose influence among them is rather like that of a father of a family than of a magistrate; and as even fathers can sometimes play the tyrant, so does this chief, though there is always this check on his conduct, that he owes his authority to the sufferance of his people, and could be not only removed from his power, but even deprived of his life, by declamation, on his surpassing the bounds which fortunately are set even to despotism.

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This place is celebrated by many Mohammedan authors, as the Dwelling of the Giants," and tradition assigns the building of its seven walls to seven separate kings. † Its deliverer, or its destroyer, Joshua, has been held by some among both Jews and Mohammedans, to have been a person elevated above human nature, and partaking

*

plural of ,رياح

ريح

odour, fragrance. Rich. vol. i. p. 488. + Bibliothèque Orientale, tom. i. p. 248.

in some degree of the divine, from the splendour of his victories. They conceive that he was sent by Jehovah to dispossess the giants of this their strong-hold and principal abode. According to the author of the Tarikh Montekheb, this first battle of Joshua in the

Promised Land was fought on a Friday evening. As the night approached, and by the ordinances of Moses it was forbidden to labour on the Sabbath, he implored the Almighty to lengthen out the day, that he might have time to finish the combat. It was then, continues the same pious author, that by the order of the Divine Omnipotence, the sun was stayed in his course, and rested an hour and a half beyond his usual time above the horizon, giving to Joshua ample time to cut in pieces the army of his enemies. He adds, that this day having thus become longer than any other, by an hour and a half, enjoyed by this means a prerogative, which no other day besides itself could presume to; and he assures us, that this was one of the reasons why the Mussulmans had chosen Friday, above all the other days of the week, for their holy day, instead of the Sabbath of the Jews. *

These traditions are preserved here in full force, with some amplifications of detail, as we had an opportunity of noticing in the conversation of the party to whom our guides had introduced us, at the house of the chief. These men, perceiving that we were strangers in the land, were glad to gratify our curiosity, and flatter their own vanity at the same time, by recounting to us the stories of which this place of their abode had been the scene.

The house, in which we had taken up our quarters for the night, was one belonging to the Sheick of the village, but at present it was not occupied by him. The whole male population of the place that was now in it, however, crowded around us to make a thousand enquiries regarding our journey, the motives which led to it, and the end it was to accomplish. We insisted that we were going to Damascus, and assured them that our having taken this

Bibliothèque Orientale, tom. ii. p. 330.

route to go up on the east side of the Jordan, rather than having followed the more direct road of the caravans by Nablous, was in the hope of being less interrupted by the Bedouins of these parts, than by the insolent soldiery of the Pashalics, who were now in great commotion on account of the expected changes in Syria.

Our tale was believed, though our hopes of passing securely were somewhat damped, by learning that, only on the preceding evening, a party of five hundred horsemen, from the Arabs of this same tribe, had halted at Rihhah on their way to the northward, whither they had gone on a plundering excursion, intending to sweep the whole range of the valley of Jordan. Mr. Bankes and his attendants had slept in this same house, and with nearly the same party as were here now, on his return from a visit to the shores of the Dead Sea; and there then seemed to him to have been a consultation among them, about the detention of their guests, either with a view to plunder them, or to obtain a ransom for their liberation. In the present instance, however, they treated us with all the hospitality for which the Arabs are so celebrated; and though our own fears might have conjured up appearances of an unfavourable nature, or given to common incidents an interpretation which they would not, under any other circumstances, have borne, we relied on the pledges of our conductors. After a rude but hearty meal, we stretched ourselves along on straw mats, by the side of the cattle which were driven in among us for shelter, and, surrounded by at least twenty of our visitors under the same shed, we soon sunk to sleep.

JANUARY 29th. We were stirring before the day had clearly opened, and after a morning pipe and coffee, served to us by our entertainers, we mounted our horses at sun-rise, and continued our journey.

On quitting Rihhah, we pursued a northerly course, keeping still on the western side of the Jordan. In our way, we noticed a thorny tree, which abounds in the neighbourhood of Jericho, and is said to be found on both banks of the river. Pococke calls

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