ENCAMPMENT OF THE PILGRIMS AT JERICHO. 
At Easter the neighbourhood of Jericho is frequented bj Pilgrims, who come to 
purify themselves in the River Jordan. But the land retains its ancient character 
for lawlessness, and the devotees are escorted by a strong military force under the 
direction of the Governor of Jerusalem. 
The principal object in the Engraving is the tent of the Governor, Achmet Aga, 
who invited the Artist to accompany him to the Jordan (April, 1839). The scene 
at tliis juncture was strikingly Oriental. The numerous tents, the Pilgrims of all 
costumes and various countries, occupied in their preparations for the night; the 
officers of the escort galloping in all directions, some amusing themselves with throwing 
the djerrid, and others with firing at marks, at full speed; groups of men, women, 
and children, some at rest, some in sport, and some in prayer, and the whole illuminated 
by a sunset of remarkable vividness, which not merely enlightened the plain, but 
covered the distant mountains with golden and purple fire; formed a coup d'ceil of 
singular and characteristic animation. 1 
Roberts’s Journal. 
