DAMASCUS, Tuesday, March 27.—The duties of the government being now more pressing than usual, from the powers of the late pasha being exercised by his kihya bey, or lieutenant; and more deliberation being used by a locum tenens than would be thought necessary in one holding the full powers of a pasha by appointment from the sultan; the chief financier, and secret director of most of the affairs of the pashalic, Mallim Yuseff, was required to attend at the palace from sunrise to sunset. It had been intimated to us, therefore, that if we desired to see him in private at his own residence, our visit must be before the sun was up; we had accordingly arranged for a very early visit, in which Dr. Chaboçeau had kindly offered to accompany us, and came

himself, old as he was, to rouse us from our beds even before the day had dawned.

On arriving at the minister's house, which stood in the midst of the quarter exclusively inhabited by the Jews of Damascus, and not far from that of the Christians in which the convent was situated, we were struck with the extreme poverty and meanness of its exterior, although we were aware that this could be only an affectation of humility, to conceal the wealth of the interior, and render it less liable to excite envy in times of tranquillity, so as to escape pillage in times of commotion. We entered the outer enclosure through a small door, which led to a mean and narrow passage, carried along the side of a dead wall, built of earth-dried brick, and without a single aperture to admit either air or light. At the end of this passage was an humble seat, with a dirty carpet and four old cushions that indicated nothing but rags and poverty within. Here we were obliged to wait until the ill-dressed porter, who sat on the seat described, went in and announced our names, condition, and the purport of our visit to the Jew, when a servant of the house was sent out to conduct us to his presence.

Although we had prepared ourselves for the sight of a spacious and commodious house, well furnished with whatever could contribute to the comfort of its inmates, we were greatly surprised at finding not merely this, but a gorgeous display of wealth and luxury, which, concealed as it was from the vulgar gaze by the circumvallation of mud through which we had entered it, seemed to us still too hazardous for any man to possess, even in private, considering that his office, his religion, and the character of the people among whom he lived, all contributed to make him an object of envy and jealousy ; while his wealth would be sure to inflame the cupidity of those who might select him as their victim merely to possess it among themselves. At the opening of the inner door leading from the mean passage and waiting-place before spoken of, we found ourselves transported in a moment into a spacious open court, paved with coloured marbles, arranged in various devices of mosaic work,

cooled by refreshing fountains, and shadowed by citron and orange trees, producing altogether a most luxurious, soothing, and pleasurable impression.

We were received with great politeness by the master of the house, and took our seats beside him in a rich divan, formed beneath an arched recess of this splendid court; and presently after our being seated, we were surrounded by a crowd of servants, to the number of twelve or fifteen at least, each preparing and presenting something for our pleasure or accommodation. We were served with long pipes made of the stem of the jasmin steeped in rose water, and mounted with the richest amber, globe nargeels, with gold embossings on their surface, exquisite candies and preserves from silver dishes, and coffee from beautifully coloured china cups with enamelled stands.

After some general conversation, and a few remarks on the subject of our visit, which were lost amidst the admiration that the sight of this magnificent house had inspired, we were conducted over the whole of the building, the master himself preceding us as our guide, and the servants following. We noticed that as they passed through the doors, they touched with apparent reverence, sometimes a piece of wood, and sometimes a hollow case of tin, which were alternately suspended at that postern of the door which received the lock, and not at that which held the hinges; and as the master apologized to us for the unfurnished state of some of the rooms, by saying that they had been stripped of their ornaments during the late passover, and had not been refitted since, it struck me as highly probable that this ceremony of touching the mark suspended at the lintels or posterns of the doors might have some reference to the mark by which the Israelites were to be distinguished from the Egyptians, in the smiting of their first born ; particularly as it is said in the record of this event, that this should be observed as an ordinance among the children of Israel and their descendants for ever.* A fear of being thought to exercise an

* See Exodus, xii. 21—28.

intrusive or ill-timed curiosity prevented me from making direct inquiries on this subject, and I hoped also for another opportunity, in which it might be done with less risk of being misconstrued.

After wandering for nearly an hour through a number of spacious and splendid apartments, courts, terraces, and galleries, we descended again to the divan to take coffee and refreshments. In the course of our conversation here, we learnt that this house had been built by the father of our present entertainer; and we were assured that during the latter half of his life, or about twenty-five years, there were employed at least fifty workmen of different descriptions, every day excepting holidays, in its construction and embellishment. Long as this period of time may seem for fifty men to be employed on any one building, we were disposed to think it probable, from the multiplicity of minute ornament displayed in every part of it. The pavements were all of variously coloured marbles, ingeniously and carefully arranged; the surbasements of the walls were in mosaic work of the same materials; the friezes, which were from three to six feet in depth, were formed of a series of pointed arch and concave niches, radiated at the top, and gilded, painted, and adorned in such a manner as to appear imposing from a little distance, though not bearing a close examination, being evidently intended for effect from below. The ceilings were as so many broad canopies of gold and brilliant colours, to which were rich additions of sculpture and enamel in fanciful designs. From these hung in many parts the dropping ornament so peculiar to Turkish architecture, which Mr. Bankes considered to resemble the stalactites of caverns, and thought they were meant to represent them; an opinion which appeared to me quite as well founded as many others that assign particular objects of nature as the models for architectural ornament, in which they no doubt had their origin. In the walls were deep niches or recesses, the backs of which were inlaid with mosaic work in marble; and in the centre of almost every apartment was a small but beautiful fountain, so constructed as that by varying some of the

works about it, the form of its streams might be varied every day. The whole of this princely mansion was, indeed, as suited to the abode of pleasure as the most luxurious sensualist could desire, and as gorgeous in its decorations as the most ambitious lover of display could wish.

Our necessary passports being promised to us during the day, we took our leave of Mallim Yuseff at an early hour, and having nothing more important to engage our attention till these should be ready, we were led by the venerable companion of our visit, Mons. Chaboçeau, to call at some of the dwellings of the principal Christian merchants in Damascus, for the purpose of seeing the style and manner in which their abodes were fitted up. The first on whom we waited was a person who had entertained successively various English travellers, during their stay here, among whom Lady Hester Stanhope and Mr. Bruce were named; but whether he felt hurt at our not having come to his residence instead of putting up at the convent, or from whatever other cause a jealousy might have been excited, we could not imagine; yet, certain it was, that he received us both in the coldest possible manner, and with a sullenness that could have arisen from no other cause than a most unfavourable impression, or some supposed offence, of which, however, we were each equally unconscious. His residence appeared to be extremely beautiful and well furnished: but we saw only the room in which he received us, from his not pressing us, and our not asking, to see any other part of it. Notwithstanding the evident ill-humour of our receiver, he yet condescended, though one of the wealthiest merchants in the place, to fill and light our pipes himself, in conformity with the affected humility of Asiatic manners, and when coffee was prepared, to present it to us with his own hands. Even Mr. Bankes's Albanian servant, who was seated at the foot of the sofa on which we reclined, was equally honoured with the merchant's attentions, while he stood before us to receive the cups after we had emptied them. We thought this a very remarkable trait of manners, as belonging