9
e e Mah Brookah Monday morning Sept 20.
My dear Fanny, The birds came fluttering and singing about in our
canvass during the twilight this morning. The water sea became
more paler, and more like vulgar floods, a sign the land is
near. The sun rose before us as usual, but now a low
shore with a central mountain intervened. This is Asia, I
look down upon Asia for the first time, Asia the cradle of
the human race. Asia where Art science religion, and government
civilization in fact has run its active career, educating the
Western world and the to an imperfect standard and then
exhausted with the effort required in so vast an achievement
has fallen into to the earth, lifeless powerless for self preserva-
tion lifeless. The part of Asia that I see first, what is
it but a sandy coast, rising from the sea, into a fertile ver-
dant ridge ^terrace^ with a mountain dominating over it. The ancient
Land of Canaan. On the terrace I see a village fruitful e-
nough in its semi barbarism, as all the Arab towns are, but
it is nevertheless the identical Gaza and a few miles
beyond it along the sea shore the eye draws in the a vision of
Askalon and Az Ashdod The mountain is Mount Sampson.
Here then already the scenes of Jewish adventure, trial and
conflict open before me. But all of all the mighty treasure &
times ^here^ which the Sacred Historians and prophets wrote and sung
there remains no relic, monument, no relic, only "The local habitation"
and the "name".
Every thing here seems to harken of the reactionary spirit.

10
which has reduced the land of the Philistines to its primeval her-
barium. Although Jaffa is the only port at which we can
enter, and although it is ^only^ sixty miles off, yet the wind has
died away, the sails are flapping against the masts, the movements
and countenances of crew & passengers all manifest equal content
and composure. The breakfast the great event of the f morning has
passed. It would amuse you to see the morning repast on board
our ship. First comes the toilet of my English companion and myself.
I rise from my mat bed on the deck, wash in a bucket
of sea water, and shave. I am the only person on board
who plies a razor. Then my the Englishman dresses with fresh
water. Then we sit down on the deck with a half barrel
between us for a table. We indulge in luxuries, Tea, cold
boiled eggs, Bologna sausage, and bread. Our breakfast re-
moved, the others begin. The Christian crew have pea sausage
with bread and all eat with ^wooden^ spoons from a common
dish. The two Turks, without knife fork or spoon – breakfast
from one dish of lentils or beans and rice boiled ^with garlic^ together, using
their fingers with crusts of bread for spoons. The old Turkish
Arabic matron feeds on bread. The Algerian Jew with his
pretty boy Anastatis eat sweetmeats and bread, No without
implements of any kind. Our three teacups & saucers, Knives forks
and leaden spoons are the only table furniture of the ship.
But the Arabs Turks & Jews surpass us in the luxury of personal
ornament. They wear turbans, tassels and gymp embroidery
profusely. All the nails on their hands and feet are painted
with henna — and their fingers covered with golden rings.

Sunset, Monday evening.
I close my journal of the Cruise of Mah Brookah. A fine
breeze filled our sails at noon, we set in towards shore
and are hugging the coast. The shore is one long stretch of
low sand hills. The desert of Arabia of which I saw
the Western border at Cairo comes near to the shore
of the Mediterranean and fills the space entering between
the Delta of the Nile in Egypt and Gaza, the ancient
Gath in Syria, formerly Canaan. We passed that place
at too great a distance to see it distinctly, but I could
see in the distance the mountains which separate the
Desert from Canaan. I looked for Pisgah, but it is too
far South. We are just now passing Askalon which
is in full sight, and about six miles from us. I can
trace the walls, and distinguish houses and
groups of trees. There are now no Goliathsor
Sampsons there. If there were I could see them from
the ship. Ashdod only lies between us on the
long white coast and Jaffa our destination
which we expect to reach in the night. The ship
and her crew have become intolerable. There has been
a general stripping off to the skin of fine exterior
garments, and a search of them and the skin for
vermin. Behind the sandy shore is a long range of
the mountains of Jordan. They are blue in the distance
but whether wooded or not I cannot be certain.