1 A JOURNEY IN THE EAST: 379 



Bedouin sportsman, who was already waiting at my tent. 

 Water was oozing out everywhere, for the ground was like a 

 sponge, and sedge and bushes sprouted up from the swampy 

 soil. Numerous tracks of wild boars and well-trodden runs 

 showed that there was plenty of game'in this locality, while an 

 old Roman column was quite worn by the wild pigs, who, for 

 lack of trees, come to rub themselves against it every evening 

 after their fashion. The Bedouin wished me to hide behind 

 a bush, and wait till the beasts came ; but I felt not the 

 slightest inclination to remain in the malarious atmosphere of 

 the marsh at the dangerous hour of sunset, so I quickly 

 returned to the camp. 



The great caravan had a melancholy appearance horses 

 and mules were lying about dead beat, and the men were in 

 depressed spirits, a state of affairs caused by the unusually 

 long march and the enervating air of this swampy place. 

 After dinner we all retired drowsily to our tents. 



On the 10th of April (Palm Sunday) we were all up at 

 sunrise, and having arranged the large tent as a chapel, and 

 decorated it as well as we could, the Court Chaplain said 

 Mass and then blessed the palm-branches, which were dis- 

 tributed among all the Christian members of the caravan. 



After breakfast we decided on going out to shoot, some of 

 the gentlemen proposing to beat about the country north of 

 the camp ; while the Grand Duke and I, with a band of fine 

 wild-looking Bedouin sportsmen belonging to the place, 

 intended to hunt after wild boar, in the direction of the Jordan. 



Passing through the village we got to the east side of the 

 plateau, and traversing tracts of marsh and bushes, reached a 

 stream, where the steep banks and luxuriant vegetation led 

 us to expect the same sort of sport that we had enjoyed with 

 Salim in the lower districts of the Jordan ; but we saw, alas ! 

 after many vain attempts, that neither the Bedouins nor their 

 dogs would penetrate into the thickets ; so we started on a 



