population were hoping that the
Allies would push their victory and land troops in Syria and Palestine;
for though they hated the infidel, they loved the Turk not at all, and
the country was exhausted and the blockade of the Mediterranean by the
Allies prevented the import and export of articles. The oranges were
rotting on the trees because the annual Liverpool market was closed to
Palestine, and other crops were in similar case. The country was short,
too, of petroleum, sugar, rice, and other supplies, and even of matches.
We had to go back to old customs and use flint and steel for fire, and
we seldom used our lamps. Money was scarce, too, and, Turkey having
declared a moratorium, cash was often unobtainable even by those who had
money in the banks, and much distress ensued.

As the defeated army was pouring in from the south, I decided to leave
Beersheba and go home. The roads and the fields were covered with dead
camels and horses and mules. Hundreds of soldiers were straggling in
disorder, many of them on leave but many deserting. Soon after the
defeat at the Canal several thousand soldiers deserted, but an amnesty
was declared and they returned to their regiments.

When I arrived at Jerusalem I found the city filled with soldiers.
Djemal Pasha had just returned from the desert, and his quarters were
guarded by a battery of two field guns. Nobody knew what to expect; some
thought that the country would have a little more freedom now that the
soldiery had lost its braggadocio, while others expected the lawlessness
that attends disorganization. I went to see Consul Glazebrook. He is a
true American, a Southerner, formerly a professor of theology at
Princeton. He was most earnest and devoted in behalf of the American
citizens that came under his care, rendering at Jerusalem the same sort
of service that Ambassador Morgenthau has rendered at Constantinople. He
was practically the only man who stood up for the poor, defenseless
people of the city. He received me kindly, and I told him what I knew of
conditions in the country, what I had heard among the Arabs, and of my
own fears and apprehensions. He was visibly impressed and he advised me
to see Captain Decker, of the U.S.S. Tennessee, who was then in Jaffa,
promising to write himself to the captain of my proposed visit.

I went to Jaffa the same day and after two days' delay succeeded in
seeing Captain Decker, with the further help of Mr. Glazebrook, who took
me w