covering, and well stocked with fleas, constituted the furniture, whilst numerous holes in the floor gave free access and egress to the rats. In the evening, when supper was announced, we were in hopes of a splendid repast, and as we had not tasted anything since our early breakfast of dried fruit, we entered the room with our appetites very sharp set. Great was our disappointment when we found nothing but rice and cabbage, our host observing that it was "Giorno della Penitenza." We slept in the saloon, and got unmercifully bitten by the fleas. Next day we received some scraps of meat, but the old consul took care first to fill us so full of rice, that we could hardly find room for the better part of his feast. Jaffa, situated on the sea-coast, is a small fortified town; the defences were in a very ruinous state, but the Aga was busily employed in repairing them. Vessels were arriving from the northward daily, with stones, &c., and he himself superintended the operations constantly. The Christian and Mahommedan inhabitants were obliged to work alternate days, the parties being changed every morning at sunrise by the sound of the drum. We saw the place where the French entered the town on their advance into Syria, and the hospital where Buonaparte poisoned his sick, on his retreat, to prevent their falling into the hands of the Turks. This place is now the Armenian convent, and one of the priests, who was in the town at the time, says there were only thirty-five men thus poisoned. About a mile without the town the French army was encamped, and it was here that Napoleon inhumanly massacred the inhabitants in cool blood, after the town was fully in his possession. The number thus slain is uncertain, but many people now in Jaffa attest the truth of the story. Our camel-driver being bound to Jerusalem, we sent the heaviest part of our baggage to that place by him, and endeavoured to purchase horses to continue our route in Syria. As we found great difficulty in procuring them, we sent to request the Aga would lend us a soldier to assist us, as old Damiani, the consul, was of more harm than good in the business. Instead of doing so, the Aga very kindly said he would lend us government horses for nothing, as he had also done to Colonel Stratton, and that we might keep them as long as we pleased: he added, that an Englishman, to whom he had granted the same favour, had three years afterwards sent him a spy-glass in return. This observation savoured a little of self-interest, but he was a kind-hearted man, as the following incident shows. Our Maltese interpreter, twenty years ago. had been in a better situation of life, and, whilst trading in a small way in cotton, became acquainted with this Aga; on some occasion he had given him a watch as a present; they never again met till the other day, when the Maltese, travelling as interpreter to Colonel Stratton, was recognised, at Jaffa, by the Aga, who, seeing him in reduced circumstances, forced him to receive a sum of money, saying, it was now his turn to give a present. The Maltese, who is an honest man, declined accepting the cash, but the other forced him to take it. This is one, amongst other instances we have met with of the disinterested generosity of the higher class of Turks. Jaffa is the ancient Joppa: Hiram, king of Tyre, sent Lebanon cedars by sea to Joppa, for the building of Solomon's temple; and the latter had them removed by land to Jerusalem (see 2 Chronicles, c. ii. v. 16). The scene of St. Peter's vision was near Joppa (Acts, x.). October 15.-At 9 A. M. we left Jaffa. We had not slept in a house, or under any cover since we departed from Cairo; as yet we had found no incouvenience from this; but as we were going to the northward, and the winter was fast coming on, we thought it advisable to equip ourselves in a thick Arab garment, made of a sort of coarse wool or sackcloth; it was very heavy, and, although of the best quality, cost only ten piastres, little more than five shillings; a pair of coarse white Turkish breeches, and red worsted turban completed our costume. The sun in the desert had browned us to a good standard colour, which according well with our dress, we thus avoided the curiosity of the natives, who before used to flock round to gaze at us as if we had been wild beasts. For five piastres we purchased a woollen mat to do duty as a bed; and thus furnished, and with four good hack horses, we felt quite independent. As to provisions, we always had a staple of bread, cheese, and onions, which served for breakfast, dinner, and supper, unless we were fortunate enough to meet with a fowl. Our road led along the seabeach, and we shortly crossed the nahr El Petras. In the afternoon we passed through a wild but pretty country, and crossed the nahr Arsouf, leaving the village of that name (the ancient Apollonia) on our left. The following morning we set out very early, and crossing the nahr El Kasab arrived at Cesarea. Here we stopped two hours, examining the antiquities. A small part of these are inclosed within the ruins of an old wall and ditch, which appeared to be Saracenic; and on a promontory which bounds this extremity on the south side, are the remains of a large edifice, constructed apparently upon the ruins of a Roman temple. Many fragments of immense pillars of granite have been used to form a landing-place on the north point of a small bay. The Roman remains extend far beyond the limits of the walls before-mentioned, and to the north of them. Above, and parallel with the sea-beach, are the ruins of some arches, and of a wall, which appears to lead to the hills, which now begin to approach closer to the sea, and to the nahr Zerka, where the water is fresh; this circumstance, and the wells of the town having bad water, led us to suppose that these arches had once been part of an aqueduct. There are also wells on the promontory, but they are now dry. Without the Saracenic walls, to the south, we found a column of marble, with a Roman inscription of the Emperor Septimius Severus, but too much buried for us to take a copy of it. About noon we arrived at Tortura, the ancient Dora (see Judges, i. 27). There are extensive ruins here, but they possess nothing of interest. We left this place at two, and at four reached Athlite, where we re mained for the night. Between Tor tura and Athlite are numerous stone quarries. The village of Athlite is situated on a peninsular-shaped pro montory, and has apparently been constructed from the ruins of an ancient city. It is of small extent, and would seem from its elevated situation, and the old wall which surrounds it, to have been a citadel. There are the ruins of two other walls, one of which incloses a square space, the farther or southernmost end of which juts into the sea. There are three entrances through this wall, two on the east, and one on the south side, and steps in various places to ascend to the top of it. The other wall approaches near to that of the citadel; but the outer one, which we may suppose to have included the remainder of the ancient town, incloses a considerable space of ground now uninhabited. There is a small bay to the south of the promontory, which may have occasioned the construction of a town on this site, as it makes a tolerable haven for small vessels. The most interesting thing within the citadel, is the ruin of a great building, which we were puzzled to make out; the half of the circumference, which is still standing, has six sides. On the exterior, below the cornice, in altorelievo, are heads of men, lions, and sheep. The exterior walls of this edifice have a double line of arches in the Gothic style; the lower row larger than the upper one; the architecture is light and elegant. There does not appear to be any ancient name to this place, and from all the information that we could obtain, the ruins are no older than the time of the crusades, when the town went by the name of Castel Pelegrino. From the commodiousness of the bay, the extent of the quarries in the neighbourhood, the fine rich plains near it, which now are only partially cultivated, it would seem that this place was formerly of much importance, and that the neighbourhood, though now very thinly inhabited, was once populous. October 17.-At day-light we departed through the northernmost of the two passages in the eastern wall. Here the rock has been cut away to form the road, and various circumstances combined, induced us to form an opinion that Athlite is of much greater antiquity than is represented. Passing by the part of the coast formed by the foot of Mount Carmel, we entered the bay of Acre, and in less than three hours from Athlite we were at Caiffa (the ancient Hepha). Here we found the only friar at present belonging to the convent of Mount Carmel, an intelligent man (a Maltese), who, after supplying us with breakfast, attended us to the summit of Carmel, where the convent is situated. This building was formerly fitted up with beds, and every accom-junction with the ocean. modation. It was pillaged and destroyed by the Arabs after the retreat of the French army from the siege of Acre; the latter having used it as a hospital for their sick and wounded, while their operations were carrying on; and in the places where the poor fellows were laid, the numbers by which they were arranged are still visible on the walls. The friar shewed us a cave cut in the natural rock where the prophet Elijah had his altar (see 1 Kings, xviii. 17, and following verses). In front of this are the remains of a handsome church in the Gothic style, built by the Empress Helena at the time she made her pilgrimage to Jerusalem. From Mount Carmel there is a beautiful view of the bay of Acre, the mountains inland, and the Mediterranean. Near the convent are some prostrate columns. We found an immense scorpion amongst the rubbish in the court. There is a well of excellent water. The mount is of very inconsiderable height, and quite barren, though at the north-eastern foot of it are some pretty olive-yards. On mentioning to the friar our suspicions of the ruins of Athlite being partly Roman, he suggested the idea that it might have been called Athla, as the present name Athlite resembles that word much in sound. We returned from Mount Carmel, and leaving Caiffa at three in the afternoon, followed the coast of the bay of Acre, and shortly passed over to the right of the brook Kishon, where Elijah slew the worshippers of Baal after he had proved to them the existence of the true God, by the miracle he had wrought on Mount Carmel. We soon after crossed the mouth of the river Kishon, and subsequently the river Belus, and reaching Acre at sunset, were shown to the house of Signor Malagamba, the British agent. All the rivulets we have hitherto passed in Syria are fordable in the Autumn, close to their junction with the sea, where the counteraction of the rapid streams of the rivers, and the surf, form sand-banks or bars. The water is generally fresh close to their October 13.-We found Signor Malagamba more useful to us than Damiani: but as he had no room to lodge us in, we took up our quarters in the convent, where we were kindly received by the "Padre Superiore." We ate our meals with the worthy consul, whose house is in the same khan as the convent. Acre is a strong fortified town. Since the French siege, in 1799, the Turks have doubled the walls which inclose the town. We were shewn the breach made by the French army, now entirely repaired, except the spent shot-holes. The situa tion of Acre is delightful. The principal objects of interest in the town are the mosque, the pasha's seraglio, the granary, and the arsenal. A great religious festival was solemnised by the Turks while we were here. The mosques were brilliantly illuminated at night. The next day we went to see the pasha's finest horses: they were splendidly caparisoned with gaudy trappings of leopards' skins embroidered with gold and silver; but the animals themselves were ill made and good for little, the whole affair being more for show than use. Acre was the Accho of the Old Testament, which, together with Achzib, Dor, Sidon, and some other places of the sea-coast of Syria, were never completely subdued by the Israelites (see guished the Echinus moulding. The material used in these buildings is the natural stone of the country, which is calcareous and very porous. Beyond these ruins we distinctly traced the remains of the ancient paved way towards Tyre, and we afterwards ascended what is called the ladder of the Tyrians; it is a picturesque spot, the road being cut in the side of the perpendicular cliff on the sea-shore, to the height of several hundred feet above the level of the water. This, according to Maundrell (page 52), was the work of Alexander the Great. After descending from this elevated spot, we passed the ruinous heaps of another ancient city and some pic Judges, i. 31). Gaza, Ekron, and Ascalon, further to the southward, were subjugated (same chap. i. v. 18). We here procured a firman from the pasha, having travelled thus far without any authority from the Syrian governments. This firman was worded very strongly in our favour; it was addressed to all the Agas in the pashalic of Acre, and our horses were ordered to be furnished with fodder, &c. free of expense wherever we might go. October 20.-At one in the afternoon we quitted Acre. Our route lay across the plain of that name, in which there was nothing remarkable to be seen except the extensive aqueduct by which the town is supplied with water. We stopped at Zib, the ancient Ach-turesque rivulets, and arrived at Tsour zib (see Judges, i. 31). The inhabitants were dressed for the Mahommedan feast, and crowded round us, and all their sick came for medical aid, but we had nothing to give them but the balsam of Mecca, which had been so useful at Ashdoud. Amongst our patients was the sheikh's son, who had burnt his hand most terribly. He evinced much gratitude for the assistance we rendered to him and the rest of the villagers. He offered our interpreter a considerable sum of money, which he refused. A small medicine chest, with Reece's or some other book on the subject, would be a truly valuable article in the trunk of a traveller in these countries, and would be the surest means of conciliating the natives. October 21.-We were mounted and on our route at daylight, and in about an hour's time reached Cape Blanco. The descent on the north side reminded us, in its numerous windings, of the mountain roads of Switzerland; and the sea dashing against the rocks below us had a fine effect. The road was execrable. About three hours before we reached Tsour, the ancient Tyre, we stopped to visit some ruins on a small eminence on our right; they consisted of the remains of a large city, and the ruins of a temple in a most dilapidated state. Only two columns are standing. In the lower part of the capital of one we distin at one in the afternoon. Here we put up at the house of an Arab, who called himself a Christian archbishop; he was not at home, and, at first, his wife, daunted by our rough Arab attire, was unwilling to receive us, but our conductor assuring her that we were Englishmen travelling for pleasure, she treated us with great civility and attention. The establishment was a very humble one, as might be expected in so mean a place. The prophecies of the fall of Tyre in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, seem to be fulfilled in the present appearance of Tsour, there being no vestige remaining, but mere rubbish, of the ancient city (so called from Tiras the son of Japheth). The city, formerly built on an island, is now on a peninsula; the isthmus, which Alexander caused to be made for the prosecution of his attack on the city, has now the appearance of natural ground. The walls and castle are visible, but I should strongly suspect they are not the same which existed at the time when Tyre was in its glory, and the port is much choked up with mud. October 22.-At sun-rise we proceeded on our journey. We saw the remains of the ancient aqueduct, and crossed the mouth of the Kasinia; the banks of this winding river, which proceeds from an extensive valley between the mountains, are very picturesque. There is a bridge with one arch over it, a little below which is a 7 small island. We continued our route through a country nearly barren, very thinly populated, and very uninteresting, with mountains on our right, destitute of either beauty or vegetation. We passed through the ruins of five or six large cities, now mere rubbish, and only distinguishable as sites of towns, by numerous stones much dilapidated, but still showing marks of having been cut square with the chisel, with mortar adhering to them, and here and there were fragments of columns. The only place marked in the map in this quarter is the ancient Sarepta or Zarephath, remarkable by the miracles wrought there by Elijah (see 1 Kings, xvii.) In the afternoon we crossed the dry beds of several torrents, and a river by a bridge of five arches; the banks of all these streams were covered with wild-flowers, amongst which was the oleander, in full bloom and beauty. As we approached Saida we observed that the sides of the hills were covered with vineyards, but their appearance is not at all picturesque. Half an hour before we arrived, we passed the ruins of another ancient city; also a fragment of a granite column, and a Roman mile-stone, like that near Cesarea, and having upon it an inscription of the time of Septimius Severus. The immediate neighbourhood of Saida (the ancient Sidon) is pretty. The place derived its name from Sidon, the firstborn of Canaan (see Genesis, x. 15). The plain at the foot of the hills is entirely appropriated to extensive and shady groves and gardens, with narrow and pretty lanes between them. There is no English consul or agent at Saida, we therefore went to the convent, but found no friars there, and the church was shut up. The French consul had entire possession of all the apartments; he was now on a tour to the Holy Land. We had seen him at Acre; he was then with his wife going to Nazareth. We had some difficulty in obtaining a room in this convent, but at last we got one belonging to one of the absent servants. We were now in the neighbourhood of Lady Hester Stanhope, and as we were entrusted with a letter from Mr. Salt, a packet of English letters from Acre, and a book from Jaffa, we deemed it our duty to wait on her, and therefore set out for her usual residence, an old deserted convent in the mountain, about one hour and half distance from Saida, called Mar Elias Alza; but her ladyship had removed from thence on account of the heat to a more elevated spot in the mountains, called Castle Jeba: we therefore forwarded the letters, &c., together with a note, requesting permission to wait on her. The following morning we received a letter, saying, that she had made her mind up not to receive any more Englishmen, with the exception of officers of the army and navy, "all fine fellows," as she was pleased to express herself; at the same time she strongly dissuaded us from undertaking the trip to Palmyra, and recommended us to make a short tour of fifteen or twenty days round the vicinity of Saida, and then to return and pass twenty days with her in her convent. This, at the present season of the year, with the winter and rainy season fast approaching, would have been the most impolitic plan we could have pursued, and therefore we returned a polite answer declining her civilities with as good a grace as we could. She is always dressed in the Turkish costume as a man; her generosity we heard spoken of in all directions. Saida possesses as few relics of its ancient magnificence as Tyre. The port, although it may once have been extensive, is now small, and nearly filled up with mud. The castle, connected to the main land by a bridge, is an old building, but the same remark which I made on the ancient edifices at Tyre is applicable to those of Sidon, viz., that they are more recent than the time when the city was in its splendour. October 25. At 9 A. M., we left Saida by a wretched rugged road, and through an uninteresting country. We met occasionally with the remains of the ancient paved way. In the afternoon we passed the ruins of an ancient town and burial-ground; here are many stone sarcophagi, some never opened; their lids are high and massy, |