Wed. 17. [17 January 1900] Fine and delicious. Went out after
breakfast with Baby Dickson to gather narcissus in the fields.
Dripping wet with dew. I made an Arab carry her across. The
Dicksons then drove out and I sat on their balcony drying myself.
Pastor Bˆttcher arrived and Mr Sedgewick and later AuzÈpy and Mr
Yacovlew. We all went to see the Russian hospiz enclosure and at
11.30 Charlotte and I rode down to the Jordan. 3000 pilgrims, chiefly
Russian but also Bulgarian, Greek, native and many onlookers.
Tents, a wooden chapel in which a long ..... was going on, the pilgrims
having inscribed their names and paid a fee for the right of baptising
themselves. Booths and food-sellers of all kinds. Found the Mudir,
the Sheikh of Abu Dis. We lunched in the thorn thickets and returned
to the Jordan where I photographed the people in their shrouds. Most
of them praying with lighted candles in their hands. Awfully muddy.
Appeared Bˆttcher and we rowed across the river and established
ourselves on willows, leaving all the Consuls on the other side. At
3.15 the priests came down to the river and blessed it by laying a
cross 3 times on the water, with a great firing of guns all the white
shrouded pilgrims descended into the water and when it had been
blessed, proceeded to dip in it. We saw also many private baptisms,
the monks throwing their clients backwards into the stream. The
Greek consul and his wife, Yacovlew and some priests were in a boat
in mid stream. We then returned home and had tea. Maroum and
Tallancier arrived on a shooting expedition. Merry dinner after which I
talked to Maroum. The Mudir also came in. Then sat in the Dicksons'
sitting room and ate sugar cane. Mr Sedgewick also there. It had
begun to rain and felt most delicious, but I decided not to go down to
the night function.