244 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 



ence since the middle of the last century. Their 

 discipline with regard to food and prayer is very se- 

 vere. They all employ themselves in some profes- 

 sion ; and their little fraternity can boast of a cook, 

 a distiller, a baker, a shoemaker, a tailor, a carpen- 

 ter, a candle-maker, a mason, and other handicrafts, 

 each of whom has his workshop, with a stock of 

 rusty utensils, which still indicate traces of the for- 

 mer industry of the establishment. Brandy made 

 from dates is the chief solace these recluses eiijoy ; 

 and. they are permitted, even during their fasts, to 

 indulge in this domestic beverage. They have a 

 library, which contains about 1500 Greek volumes 

 and 700 Arabic manuscripts ; but of this they make 

 little use, as they can read or write no language 

 except their vernacular tongue. Notwithstanding 

 their ignorance, they are fond of seeing strangers in 

 their wilderness, and always receive them with hos- 

 pitality and kindness. As the gate has been long 

 walled up, visiters and provisions are hoisted up by 

 a windlass with a rope and a noose ; a stick being 

 fixed transversely to the lower end, which is let 

 down from a window about forty feet from the 

 ground. 



The only habitual frequenters of the convent are 

 the Bedouins. They are never indeed admitted 

 within the walls ; but they have established the 

 custom, that whoever among them, whether man, 

 woman, or child, comes here, must be supplied with 

 bread for breakfast and supper, which is lowered 

 down in a basket. Scarcely a day passes that the 

 inmates have not to feed thirty or forty persons ; 

 and during the last century the demand was still 

 heavier, as the Arabs had a privilege to call for a 

 dish of cooked meat in addition to their allowance 

 of bread. In consequence of this practice disputes 

 continually happen : if the Bedouins are not satisfied 

 with the distribution of food or fuel, they assail the 

 monks, lay waste the garden, and throw stones, or 



