Another hour brought us to _Asdood_ (_Ashdod_) of the Philistines, with
_Atna_ and _Bait Duras_ on our left. I do not know where in all the Holy
Land I have seen such excellent agriculture of grain, olive-trees, and
orchards of fruit, as here at Ashdod. The fields would do credit to
English farming--the tall, healthy, and cleanly population wore perfectly
white though coarse dresses, and carried no guns, only the short sword
called the Khanjar. We rested in an orchard beneath a large
mulberry-tree, the fruit of which was just setting, and the adjacent
pomegranate-trees shone in their glazed foliage and bright scarlet
blossoms, the hedges of prickly pear were bursting into yellow fruit,
palm-trees rising beyond, the sky was of deep sapphire brilliancy, and
the sun delightfully hot.

Here then had been the principal temple of the fish-god Dagon, which fell
nightly in presence of the Israelitish ark. Not the only temple,
however, for there is still a village near Jaffa with the name of _Bait
Dajan_, and another still further north, in the same plain, but in the
Nabloos district. Strange that this temple of Dagon at Ashdod should
have survived and preserved its worship so late as nearly to the
Christian era, when it was burnt by Jonathan the Jerusalem high priest,
(Josephus Ant., xiii. 4, 4; Macc. x. 84.)

Ought not Gath to be sought between this, and Ekron, according to 1 Sam.
v.? See also 2 Chron. xxvi. 6.

Soon after remounting we arrived at the ruin of a fine old _Khan_, one of
the numerous establishments of the kind upon the camel road from Damascus
to Egypt, but now every one of them is broken and unfit for use. There
was a noble column of granite lying across the gateway, and two Welies
close adjoining.

Reached _Hhamameh_ at 11 A.M., from which we turned aside through lanes
of gardens, and over deep sand towards _'Ascalon_, leaving _Mejdal_ on
our left, with its lofty tower rising over an extensive plantation of
olive-trees. This tower is believed to be of Moslem erection. Passing
another village on our left, we at length came to _Jurah_, a wretched
brick hamlet, stuck as it were against the ancient walls of 'Ascalon.

We were on the sea-beach at noon. Upon this beach lie stupendous masses
of overthrown city wall, and numerous columns of blue-gray granite of no
very imposing dimensions. A great number of these have been at some time
built horizontally into those walls, from which their ends protrude l