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thrown over her by the Khatib, who pronounces the bridegroom's 
name. Various ceremonies are gone through for three days, 
and then she is taken home to her husband’s house. Death— 
The corpse is washed, a little bag of corn placed beside it, 
and it is then lowered into the grave; certain prayers being 
said over it, the grave is filled, and a feast is held. The 
women bewail the dead with loud cries. 
The Arabs are not an irreligious race, though less demon- 
strative than other eastern races in their observances. Their 
prayers were described by Mr Palmer, who repeated one of 
them. They believe that the monks of the Convent can bring 
rain. They believe in a general resurrection, when the world 
shall melt; the good will rise with their hands above their 
heads, the wicked with their hands by their sides; vultures 
come, the former can drive them away, but the latter have 
their eyes pecked out. They believe that snakes may be seen 
fighting for a stone, which, if secured, gives immunity from 
snake bites. Several curious superstitions about the Convent 
were related. Arab tradition, though influenced by monkish 
legend, contains independent evidence of the Exodus. This is 
the legend of the departure from Egypt: Moses and Pharaoh 
having quarrelled, the former fled with the Israelites; the 
Egyptians followed and were drowned much as described in 
the Bible, save that the Hammam Pharown was supposed to 
be formed by Pharaoh’s drowning struggles. The name of 
Moses was attached to many spots in the peninsula. Among 
others, the Arabs point out a rock as struck by Moses, and 
severed by his sword because it impeded his path. The 
rock at Rephedim is an invention of the monks, but in Wady 
Feiran they shew a rock from which they say Moses obtained 
water, when the Israelites were athirst. Another rock is said 
to have had water drawn from it. The primitive dwellings 
are called Mosquito houses, said to have been raised to pro- 
tect the Israelites from a plague of mosquitoes. They point 
