Travel to and from Palestine is often impeded by the imposition of quarantines against certain ports. Very much of the time a quarantine of from five to ten days is ordered against vessels from Egyptian ports, and sometimes from other directions. The excuse for the discrimination against Egypt is usually the bubonic plague, sometimes cholera. All vessels from Egypt must proceed to Beirut, or some other port provided with a quarantine station, and pass the required time. If, in returning to Jaffa after the quarantine, severe storms should hinder a landing, and the vessel should proceed southward to touch an Egyptian port again, the quarantine would again be enforced on the ship and passengers, and the same procedure as before be necessary. Passengers have thus been carried by Jaffa more times than once and greatly hampered, even though they had joined the ship at Beirut only, with Jaffa as their destination. These inconveniences are overshadowed by the crippling effect on trade and travel when a state of panic has resulted in the enforcement of quarantine back and forth between different ports, and even different towns and villages within the country itself. The coastwise traffic is carried on by means of several lines of steamships: the Khedevieh Line, under English control; the Russian, the Austrian Lloyd, the French, “Messageries,” and sometimes the German Lloyd. Some of these touch at Haifa as well as at Jaffa and Beirut. There is a little coasting steamboat that plies between Haifa and Beirut, touching at Acre, Tyre and Sidon. This is called the Jolly Boat, but unless one is an extraordinarily good sailor I should advise him not to be beguiled by that name. On the other lines mentioned there are generally three classes of passage tickets. The deck passage is taken by many Orientals, who travel with ample equipment of bedding, food and bottle-pipes, and camp out on the decks day and night. Much of their time is spent in the routine of family duties and religious observances. The rest is devoted to music, stories and games. Mohammedans, Jews, Greeks, Copts, Abyssinians and Armenians are seen at their devotions. Their object may be trade, migration, military service or a religious mission. Many are pilgrims, saving long and tedious land travel by the swifter, safer and healthier journey on sea.