( rf) 



to-morrow. They looked very warlike, and added to 

 the look of the Plain very much. ' 



May ii. (At Beit-Sham.) c A row last night between 

 some of our men and some of the village of Ain-Ata. 

 A suspicious character had been ordered off by the cook, 

 whereupon he struck the cook, who returned it. He 

 was then forcibly ejected from the camp by the Mukirs, 

 but soon returned armed with two pistols and a gun, to 

 shoot the cook. The scrimmage now became general 

 and more serious. The priest was there (Latin Church), 

 a tall, powerful man. He got forcible possession of 

 the gun, and by his gestures appeared likely to smash 

 the delinquent's head with its butt end. Just then down 

 came a sort of posse comitatus from the village, headed by 

 the Sheik of the village, a little energetic man with his 

 head tied up, and looking like a little old lady without 

 crinoline. (He was in reality quite young.) Every one 

 now shouted and spouted and gesticulated in the most 

 frantic way, each to each according to whom he hap- 

 pened to be near, so that to one not initiated it was 

 impossible to tell who was the delinquent, or whether 

 any or all sided with him or with our men. The priest's 

 acts alone were unequivocal : he fixed upon the culprit, 

 brandished the gun before him, stormed and harangued 

 the culprit and the mob alternately, and ended by taking 

 off his hard round turban-shaped clerical head-dress, 

 and dashing it on the ground with tremendous exclama- 

 tions, which I believe were equivalent to an excommuni- 



