Autograph Letter Signed ('H B Swete') by the English biblical scholar Henry Barclay Swete, giving detailed advice 'to an intending fellow traveller in the Holy Land', with a description of his 'own route'.

4pp., 12mo. On two bifoliums. Good, on lightly-aged paper. To an unknown recipient. The letter begins: 'Dear Sir | I shall be glad to be of any service to an intending fellow traveller in the Holy Land.' In eight numbered paragraphs, discussing: dragomans ('I was fortunate enough to secure a trustworthy native servant at Jaffa, who had all the knowledge & experience of a dragoman, without the insolence & extravagance which is common to the class. His name was Abdullah of Bethlehem. [...] He charged me on an average £1. 10 a day, including tent, horses, food & every thing'), accommodation, 'perils by the way' ('I met none, & was not armed in any way. But a revolver might happen to be of use, if you understand when and how to use it.') and money ('Baksheesh depends very much on your own choice: the less the better except in case of any real service'), languages ('Italian the most useful of all. But English will do, with such fusion of Arab words as you can acquire on the spot.'), medicines ('The best medicines [...] are Gregory's powder & Quinnine [...] A brandy flask kept filled is invaluable'), dress ('I wore the usual dress of an English Priest, [...] to dress like a native is a vast mistake, unless you can speak Arabic perfectly'), guides ('If you can spare room, take also Smith's Dictionary of the Bible 3 vol. & perhaps, Robinson, or the compendium of Biblical Geography in Clarke's library') and his own route. Of the last he writes: 'Allow me to recommend to you my own route, from which I would hardly after 5 years' reflection wish to have swerved in the least point. From Jaffa along the Philistian sea coast to Gaza: tehnce via Hebron & Bethlehem to Jerusalem: (one week). [...] & so back to Beyrout & home. A month will suffice for this: in all six or eight weeks ought to give you a good general idea of all Palestine W of the Jordan. Of the East Side, I do not speak, because I do not know.' He concludes by stating that the 'cheapest way' is to go with Thomas Cook: 'but that is to relinquish all chance of independent examination of the country'. Postscript: 'If you can, go in the spring: & start before the end of February, returning in May.'