MISSIONARY ACTIVITY 533 



But with all her zeal the agricultural missionary had only 

 one convert to work under her, with his son. Their tenure 

 of the land was quite patriarchal ; Hooker * witnessed ' the 

 drawing of lots between owner and tenant for the upper and 

 lower half of the property. 



The conclusion drawn from all these activities is : * more 

 money spent on Jerusalem in charity than any other place of 

 size — ^no proportionate good done, especially to Jews.' 



The plain of Jericho and the Moab Hills left an impression 

 of great beauty ; the Dead Sea was * very grand ' with shores 

 much bolder and promontories more rocky than he expected 

 and no visible white incrustation at the end. In camp on the 

 supposed site of Jericho, ' At night the village Arabs, a scoun- 

 drelly set, came and performed an Arab war dance. Three 

 Sheiks attitudinised with swords, and a dozen or two men 

 crouched and grunted Hke camels and sang before them — 

 utter barbarity.' Reascending the heights on the way back, 

 he notes the * curious effect of rising to level of plants of level 

 of Mediterranean.' 



At Hebron, 



turned off road to visit Abraham's Oak, about one mile 

 out of town ; a very fine tree, acorns larger than of the 

 usual surrounding stunted Oaks, — probably not 300 years 

 old, no dead twigs — 24 ft. girth. 



As to the reverence with which this tree was regarded he 

 notes later : 



Dragoman says that he bought fallen limb of Abraham's 

 Oak at Hebron for £1 from Mr. Finn [the consul], but that 

 superstition so strong that any one cutting it would lose 

 his first-born son that no one would cut it for a long time : 

 it was load for 7 camels and cost £10 in all to transport. 



To Charles Darwin 



December 2 [?], 1860. 



I paid particular attention to your query about the 

 sudden appearance of plants on ascending Lebanon and 

 made a good many observations to the effect that the more 



VOL. I 2 m 



