THE

JORDAN AND THE RHINE;

OR,

The East and the West.

BEING THE RESULT OF

FIVE YEARS' RESIDENCE IN SYRIA,

AND

FIVE YEARS' RESIDENCE IN GERMANY.

BY THE

REV. WILLIAM GRAHAM,

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY; HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ARABIC
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SYRIA; MEMBER OF THE ARCHEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF THE RHINE, ETC.

Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς χθὲς καὶ σήμερον ὁ αὐτὸς, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.
"ER ALLEIN! ER ÜBERALL! ER IMMER!"

LONDON:

PARTRIDGE, OAKEY, AND CO., 34, PATERNOSTER ROW;

AND 70, EDGWARE ROAD.

1854.

OXFORD PRINTING PRESS, PADDINGTON.

21,432

TO MY WIFE,

THE FAITHFUL PARTNER OF ALL MY JOYS AND SORROWS,

BOTH IN THE EAST AND THE WEST,

THIS BOOK

IS, WITH DEEP THANKFULNESS TO GOD FOR HIS GIFT,

INSCRIBED.

PREFACE.

I. The name of my book is intended to symbolise the two great divisions of the human race, whose customs, manners, and civilisation are so different from one another. The Jordan is associated with the deepest, holiest feelings of our nature, and is interwoven with the religion, the psalmody, and the devotion of the whole Christian world; it is the river of sacred story, on whose banks have been transacted the greatest events recorded in the history of our race-the redemption of mankind, and the wars of the Crusades. How instructive the voice of its waters! Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are at home on the Jordan. And oh, how various the events, how wonderful and glorious the chain of Divine Providence, ever one, though diverse and many-coloured as the rainbow which bespans the world. How numerous the sages and wise men, the kings, priests, and prophets. the saints, warriors, and heroes, who, from Melchisedec the King of Salem, to Gobat the Bishop of Jerusalem, have illustrated history and glorified or degraded humanity on the banks of the Jordan! But the Rhine! The Rhine is, without doubt, the noblest, most celebrated, and most historical river of the West. It lives in the thousand legends of the olden times of brave knights, fair ladies, and enchanted castles; it is named in the ten thousand patriotic songs of Fatherland; it is synonymous with many healthful and delicious wines; and, from the legions of Varus to those of Napoleon, it has been associated with the victories