368 EGYPT. 
it seemed doubtful whether any other country- 
has so regular a supply of moisture from 
above. Even the sands of the desert partake 
largely of " the dew of heaven," and, in a 
certain degree, of " the fatness of the earth." 
Hence it is that we meet with such frequent 
allusion to the copious dew distilled upon 
Oriental territories in the Sacred Writings. Bro- 
therly love is compared by David' to "the dew 
of Hermon.'' The goodness of Judah is described 
as the deiv'^.'" " The remnant of Jacob shall be," 
it is said^ " in the midst of many people, as a 
deiu from the Lord." And the blessings promised 
by the son of Beeri* are to "be as the dew unto 
Israeli In all this sandy district, palm-trees are 
rery abundant, and their presence is a never- 
failing indication of water below the surface : 
wheresoever they are found, a brackish and 
muddy pool may speedily be formed, by digging 
a well near their roots. The natives are chiefly 
occupied in the care of them; tying- up their 
blossoms with bands formed of the foliage, to 
prevent their being torn off, and scattered by 
the winds. Our soldiers were at first ii2:norant 
of the extent of the mischief they occasioned 
(l) Pi. txxxiii. J. (2) Hos. vi. 4. 
(3) Micah V. 7. (4) Hoi. xiv. 5. 
