of the happiest scenes that human beings could witness, except the removal of that sense of insecurity which must necessarily be felt by all who live under a confirmed despotism, where no man can be assured that his wife, his children, his possessions, or even his existence, shall be exempt from violation for even an hour beyond the present; as the rising sun may behold him in full possession of happiness, and the setting sun go down upon his misery, and see him stripped of all that rendered life desirable or worth preserving.

It was about noon when we reached the town of Salheyah, and ascending the hill above it towards a Sheikh's tomb, or some similar monument, called Kubt-el-Nasr, we enjoyed from thence a prospect that was truly enchanting. Having, unfortunately, neglected to take with us either a compass, a pencil, or even paper, no sketch was made of the view, which would have so well rewarded the trouble. The inhabitants of Damascus believe that the Garden of Eden, or the Paradise of our first parents, was in the plain below; and they still show to strangers, at a place called El-Roobby, four streams, which they consider to be the four rivers described by Moses as issuing from thence. Tradition preserves an anecdote, which is assigned to Mohammed, the Arabian prophet, though probably belonging to some later personage, but sufficiently indicative of the high estimation in which the local beauty of the country around Damascus is held. It is said that the Prophet, arriving at a spot called El-Koddem, about two miles south of the city, was so impressed with the luxuriant and enchanting view before him, that he turned back from entering it, declaring that there was only one paradise for man, and leaving the print of his foot on the spot where he resolved to leave this earthly paradise in pursuit of the heavenly one, over which spot a mosque is said to be built to commemorate this event. Others mention a similar sentiment expressed by a certain saint as he caught the first view of Damascus from the summit of this hill on the west, from which the view is more commanding and magnificent. But whether both,

or either of these anecdotes be true or not, their existence, as traditionary stories, proves at least how appropriately they are considered by the people of the spot to express the super-eminent beauty of their place of abode; and in this all strangers who have a relish for the charms of landscape must cordially concur.

From this point of view the city of Damascus appeared to extend its greatest length from north to south, being broader at the northern, and tapering gradually away towards the southern end. Its extreme length appeared to be about three miles, and its extreme breadth about two. It stands on the western edge of a fine plain, and a level site, having a chain of hills pressing close upon it on the north-west, and the plain extending away beyond the range of vision to the east. The buildings of the city being constructed chiefly of stone below and light yellow bricks above, while the principal public edifices are painted in the gayest colours, the aspect of the whole is light and airy in the extreme. The castle, with its outer court and massive walls, and the great mosque already described, both of which are nearly in the centre of the city, look imposing by their magnitude, as seen from hence; and the light and tapering minarets that rise in every quarter of the town, give a peculiar character of elegance to the whole. The gardens that surround the city on the north; the fine olive grounds and long avenues of trees to the south; the numerous villages pressing the skirts of the town on the east, and the great suburb of Salheyah, with the thronged public way that leads to it on the west; added to the sombre, but rich and thickly-planted cypresses, the slender poplars, the corn grounds, and the rivers and streams which so abundantly water the whole, give to this charming spot a character becoming a scene in fairy-land, and render it a fit object for the descriptive powers of an Arabian tale. *

*

Pliny says, that the Syrians were excellent gardeners, and took such pains and were so ingenious in the laying out of their grounds, as to give rise to a Greek proverb to that effect.-Nat. Hist. b. xx. c. 51.

Not far from the spot at which we halted to enjoy this enchanting view, was an extensive cemetery, at which we noticed the custom so prevalent among eastern nations of visiting the tombs of their deceased friends. These were formed with great care, and finished with extraordinary neatness: and at the foot of each grave, was enclosed a small earthen vessel, in which was planted a sprig of myrtle, regularly watered every day by the mourning friend who visited it. Throughout the whole of this extensive place of burial, we did not observe a single grave to which this token of respect and sorrow was not attached; and, scattered among the tombs in different quarters of the cemetery, we saw from twenty to thirty parties of females, sitting near the honoured remains of some recently lost and deeply regretted relative or friend, and either watering their myrtle plants, or strewing flowers over the green turf that closed upon their heads.* This interesting office of friends or lovers sorrowing for the dead, is consigned entirely to females; as if from a conviction that their hearts are more susceptible of those tender feelings which the duties of such an office necessarily implies, and their breasts fitter abodes for that

* The custom of decorating graves was once universally prevalent in England, as well as among nations of the highest antiquity. There is an admirable paper on this subject, under the head of "Rural Funerals," in the Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, from which the following passage may be here appropriately introduced : "The natural effect of sorrow over the dead is to refine and elevate the mind; and we have a proof of it in the purity of sentiment and the unaffected elegance of thought which pervaded the whole of these funeral observances. Thus it was an especial precaution, that none but sweet-scented evergreens and flowers should be employed. The intention seems to have been to soften the horrors of the tomb, to beguile the mind from brooding over the disgraces of perishing mortality, and to associate the memory of the deceased with the most delicate and beautiful objects in nature. There is a dismal process going on in the grave, ere dust can return to its kindred dust, which the imagination shrinks from contemplating; and we seek still to think of the form we have loved, with those refined associations which it awakened when blooming before us in youth and beauty. Lay her i' the earth,' says Laertes of his virgin sister;

"And from her fair and unpolluted flesh

May violets spring!" "

pure and affectionate sorrow which is indulged for the loss of those who are dear to us, than the sterner bosoms of men. It is a great advance from savage life to know and to acknowledge this; and where such an admission of the superior purity and fidelity of the female heart and character exists, their ultimate advancement to that rank which their sex should hold in social life cannot be altogether hopeless. For this, as for most other blessings, increased knowledge is the most effectual security; when this shall take the place of ignorance, the domestic slavery of women, which now disgraces the East, will disappear as certainly as that abominable slavery of men which for so many years disgraced the name of Christians in the West.

We prolonged our stay at Salheyah, and in its neighbourhood, until near sunset, and in our return home saw near the gate of one of the pasha's palaces a large oriental plane-tree, of at least fifteen feet in diameter, and about one hundred feet in height, with rich and exuberant foliage, forming altogether the noblest object of the vegetable world that I had ever beheld. In our way we halted at a coffee house in the horse-bazār, where we saw some of the most beautiful Arab horses, mares, and colts exhibiting to purchasers, smoked a nargeel, and chatted with some of the Bedouins who had brought them in from the Desert for sale. We reached the convent in time for the evening meal, and sat up late, recapitulating the agreeable objects we had seen, and the pleasing impressions we had mutually experienced during our excursion of the day.

DAMASCUS, Sunday, March 25.- Desirous of resuming or continuing the task of visiting the principal parts of the city, and making the best use of my short stay here until I could receive my baggage and papers from Seyda, where they had been left by Mr.Bankes, we quitted the convent, after an early breakfast, and, under the guidance of the person who attended us in our ramble of yesterday, proceeded in search of other objects deemed equally deserving a stranger's attention.

Our first visit was to the office of a celebrated Jew, named Mallim Yusef, the brother of Mallim Haim, the great Jew at Acre; each of these men directing all the financial operations of the re