The ordinary amusements of the townsmen are the public readings of romances, the dances of the Egyptian ’Almehs, and games of chess and draughts. Gambling, though considered disgraceful, still is common in towns where low cafés and restaurants exist, but none of these amusements are known in the villages. Once in the Jordan Valley we came across a party of Egyptian dancing girls, journeying from Damascus to their native land, and once in the Lebanon we witnessed the weird performance of some male dancers in female dress, castanets on their fingers, and skirts round their waists, as shown in the illustration taken from a sketch made on the spot; but these performances are very rare, and confined to the wealthier towns, as are also the tricks of conjurers and clowns. The only sport which may be witnessed among the peasants is the mock tournament of the Jerîd, a combat between two bodies of horsemen, who throw darts or sticks at one another. But the riding is, as a rule, so bad that it has but little interest to an Englishman, accustomed to see better horsemanship. There are often men who ride in front of these cavalcades as clowns; they are called Sutâr, and are dressed in caps to which fox-tails are suspended; the clown, indeed, seems to be the only ideal of comedy which Syrian minds can conceive, their general views of festivity being rather inclined to pomp than to real gaiety. The last ceremonials to be noticed are those connected with death. Among the Fellahîn they are very simple. The body is buried almost as soon as the breath has left it. Thus, I have seen a boy killed by falling from an olive, and buried within a quarter of an hour. The graves are so shallow that the hyenas often dig up the corpses, and they are only marked by a few stones. The bier, covered with a green cloth, and with the turban placed on it, is followed by the women with shrill shrieks (Zaghârît), and in one instance, near Ascalon, each woman held a handkerchief in her hand, and waved it at the bier as she followed. Turning next to the ordinary occupations of the Fellahîn, we find them to be an agricultural and pastoral people. The land tenure in Palestine is of three kinds: Miri, or taxed crown-land; Wakûf, or glebe-land, belonging to mosques and other institutions of a religious character; and lastly, Mulk, or freehold. The taxes of the first two kinds are farmed to the highest bidder. The Mulk-land is of four kinds: first, land inherited since the time of the Moslem conquest; secondly, land legally bestowed from the crown-lands; thirdly, land so bestowed in return for tribute; lastly, tithed lands of which not more than half the produce is due to Government. The Mulk-land is held by private individuals in and round the towns, and pays a now fixed tax to the State.