e; the former soliciting their official investitures for their
several districts. The house was exceedingly mean and shattered, but
this medley of visitors formed an interesting subject of study.

I next visited the kadi, (judge,) who was holding his court in the open
air, with a canvas screen to shelter his head from the sun, in the midst
of orchards and a flower garden. A cause, in which some women were
vociferating and screeching in Arabic, (to which that language lends
peculiar facility,) was suspended in order to receive my visit, and the
litigants had to remain in silence at some distance till I left,
returning to the tents.

All the people here praise the air and water of Gaza, and declare that
disease of any kind is nearly unknown, except ophthalmia, which, of
course, can be generally prevented. Provisions are said to be cheap; but
the bread, as sold in the market, not so good as in Jerusalem or Nabloos.
Probably their excellent wheat is exported to a distance.

_Saturday_, 5_th_.--Rode southwards on a day's excursion to Khan Yunas,
with my people and an escort of two of the quarantine Bashi-bozuk. One
of these, named Hadji Ghaneem, was a hardy old fellow, encircled by
pistols and swords; his old gun, that was slung at his back, had the
rusty bayonet fixed, perhaps fixed by the rust. The other, Hadji
Khaleel, was an amusing companion, with plenty to tell and fond of
talking.

Started before 7 A.M., passing between cornfields, with numerous larks
trilling in the air.

At some distance we came to a low hill lying on our right hand, all the
ground about being mere sea sand drifted inland. This is called
_Tell-ul-'Ejel_, "the Calf's Hill," so named from its being haunted by
the ghost of a calf, which no one has yet laid hold of, but whenever this
shall be accomplished the fortunate person will come into possession of
the boundless treasures concealed within the hill. Some say that this
good luck will happen to any one that is favoured with a dream of the
calf three times in succession. All our party professed to believe the
local tradition, especially one who had been in Europe, and from whom
such credulity had been less expected; but he was sure that some tales of
that nature are well founded, and if so, why not this? In my opinion, it
is probably a superstition connected with some ancient form of idolatry.

Half-way along our journey we came to a village called _Ed Dair_, (the
convent, perhaps the _