The women here wore no horns, and their veils were of white cloth, one part covering the forehead to the eyes, and another wrapped across the mouth, after the Turkish or Constantinople fashion.

From hence we went down into a second valley, and ascending it on the other side came on a larger plain, in which were several marshy pools, filled with frogs. We saw from hence the villages of Ain Towry and Keferrsal, in the valley on our left; and the larger one of Eden on the brow of the hill above these to the north, distant about a mile. The whole of the ground here, both valley, hill, and plain, was cultivated with great industry, and promised a harvest of abundance.

In about an hour we reached the brink of a deep chasm, seemingly the head of that in which the convent of Mar Antonius is situated, as it winds that way. In the very bottom of it stood a large village called Bisherry, and close by it is the source of the Nahr-el-Meloweea, which runs through Tarabolus. The spring is called Nebbeh-Ain-Beit, and its stream is even here considerable, besides which it receives several others in its course.

Leaving Bisherry on our right we ascended for an hour over light snow, until we came to the Arz-el-Libenein, or the cedars of Lebanon.

These trees form a little grove by themselves, as if planted by art, and are seated in a hollow, amid rocky eminences all around them, at the foot of the ridge which forms the highest peak of Lebanon. There are, I should think, at present about 200 in number, all fresh and green.* They look on approaching them like

* It is commonly thought that the box, the ebony, the cypress, and the cedar wood are everlasting, and will never be done. An evident proof thereof, as touching all these sorts of timber, is to be seen in the temple of Diana at Ephesus, for the most skilful architects of all Asia set their helping hand to this temple, and the rafters, beams, and spars, that were used in the construction of the roof, were chosen by all of them to be of cedar, for its great durability. There was also a famous temple of Apollo at Utica, where the beams and main pieces of timber, made of Numidian cedars, remained as whole and entire in the days of Pliny, as when they were first set up, which was when the city was first founded, and that by computation was then

a grove of firs, but on coming nearer are found to be in general much larger, though the foliage still keeps its resemblance. There are about twenty that are very large, and among them several from ten to twelve feet in diameter at the trunk, with branches of a corresponding size, each of them like large trees extending outward from the parent stock, and overshadowing a considerable space of ground.*

From the cedars our ascent became exceedingly steep, so much so that it might be said we were obliged to climb up the brow of the mountain. We met here a party descending, who advised our returning to Bisherry to sleep, and attempting it early in the following morning, that we might have the whole day before us. As we were thus far advanced, however, we determined to proceed, and our perseverance was crowned with success. The snow was of an unknown depth, as, although our horses were always up to the belly, and frequently so buried that it cost us much

1188 years. The image of Diana at Ephesus was said to be made of the vine wood, by the choice of Carretias, who carved it, and this was never altered or changed through seven successive destructions and rebuildings of that temple; but it was said to owe its preservation to its being embalmed within with spikenard, which was thought to nourish it; and the historian gives it as his opinion, saying, "Howbeit this we may resolve upon, that the more odoriferous any wood is, the more durable also it is and everlasting." Plin. Nat. Hist. b. xvi. c. 40.

tre.

* The greatest tree that had been ever seen at Rome was one brought there for rebuilding the bridge of Naumachiaria. Tiberius Cæsar had it open to public inspection, and intended it to remain as a singular monument, on account of its great size, to all posterity. It remained entire and whole until Nero built his stately amphitheaIt was the trunk of a larch tree, and was 120 feet in length, and two feet in diameter from one end to the other. There was also a most extraordinary fir-tree, that formed the mast of the vessel which, in the time of the Emperor Caligula, transported out of Egypt into Italy, the obelisk which was set up in the Vatican hill within the circus there, as well as the four large stones used as supporters to it. This mast was of a height above all others; and certain it is, say the ancients, that there never was known a more wonderful ship to float upon the sea than this was. She received 120,000 modii of lentils for the very ballast; she took up in length the greater part of the left side of Hostia harbour, for Claudius the emperor caused it there to be sunk, together with three mighty great piles or dams, founded upon it, and mounted to the height of towers, for which purpose there was brought a huge quantity of earth or sand from Puteoli. The main body of this mast contained in compass four fathoms full. Plin. Nat. Hist. b. xvi. c. 40.

pains to extricate them, yet we never saw the earth at the bottom. This fatiguing exercise frequently repeated, added to that of ascending ourselves the whole of the way on foot, almost exhausted our strength. From the united effects of the constant glare of the snow, the lightness of the air, the height of our point of view, and the fatigue of the ascent, I experienced a giddiness similar to that of a drunken man, and found it difficult to walk in a straight line. It occupied us nearly four hours from the cedars to the summit, where we stretched ourselves out upon the snow, and lay there for nearly an hour, to recover breath and repose.

From hence the view was, as may be easily imagined, grand and magnificent. To the west we had a prospect of all the side of Lebanon down to the plain at its foot, and, beyond, a boundless sea, the horizon of which could not be defined, from its being covered with a thick bed of clouds. The town of Tarabolus could not be distinguished from hence, but the high cape of Ras-el-Shakkah was distinctly seen, looking like a small projecting point.

To the east we had the valley of the Bukhāh, which we could see from hence was on a much higher level than the sea; the descent to it on the east, appearing to be about one-third less in depth than the descent to the plain at the foot of Lebanon on the west, and scarcely more than half of that to the line of the sea. The range of Anti-Libanus, or the Jebel-el-Wast of the Arabs, which forms the eastern boundary of the Bukhāh, was also covered with snow at its summit, but not so thickly as at this part of Libanus where we were, and which seemed to us the highest point of all.*

We could distinguish that from the northward towards Bālbeck, the Jebel-el-Wast was one even range, without pointed summits like this, and that from thence there extended two forks to the southward, the eastern or principal one ending in the Great Jebel-el-Sheick, or Jebel-el-Telj of the Arabs, the Mount Hermon of the Scriptures; and the western or lesser one in the point

* The range of Libanus was generally placed by ancient geographers in the middle of Syria; and the hills are said, in the exaggerated language of the old writers, to reach up to the very clouds. Plin. Nat. Hist. b. vi. c. 28.

which I had passed in going to Banias, the valley between them being called Wadi Ityne, as before remarked. The range of AntiLibanus, though of less height than this, completely intercepted our view of the country to the eastward of it; although, as before said, we were on the highest point of view which it admits. Mr. Volney, therefore, must have imagined the unlimited view, which, he says, this mountain affords across the eastern desarts to the Euphrates; and, indeed, from his description altogether both of the mountain and the cedars, there is reason to believe that he travelled but little over it.

Before we descended I took from hence the following bear

The distances were estimated by the eye, and in a straight line, without taking into account the windings of the roads.

We now descended on the eastern side of Libanus, having taken a specimen or two of the stone on the summit; and our way was equally as steep as before, though less fatiguing to ourselves. It was near three o'clock when we reached the foot of the steepest part, where we halted at a fine spring, called Nubbeh-Ain-Eaty, and parting with our guide there, we mounted our tired horses and proceeded alone. We had now to cross a lower range of hills covered with trees, and following the road which led through their winding valleys, we came in about three hours to the edge of the plain by a small village, called Deer-el-Akhmar. We noticed here some rude sepulchres in the rock, and some old stone quarries. The village was small and peopled by Christians, and in it was a large building constructed apparently from former ruins, as some of the blocks near the foundation were very large. Its north-western front was also built of large stones of a reddish tinge, which probably gave the name of Deer-el-Akhmar, or the Red Convent, to the village itself.

From hence we went straight across the plain towards Bālbeck, passing a tract of loose red soil mixed with gravel, covered with brush-wood in some parts, and sown with oats in others. In an hour we passed a ruined Roman arch with indefinite remains of some old work there, and continued our way along a marshy ground, near which was a small lake with frogs and a slow and sluggish stream.

In another hour we reached a single column standing isolated in the plain; it was of the Corinthian order, its mutilated capital still remaining, and appeared to be about sixty feet in height and five in diameter. It stood on a high pedestal, formed of four ranges of steps all around it, and its shaft was composed of fifteen blocks. A tablet for an inscription, of a small size and rude form, was still visible on its northern face, but no letters could be traced there.

It was now sunset, and we saw large flocks of dusky grey sheep collecting by their herdsmen, who were Koordi, and scarcely understood Arabic. They come from Koordistan, north of Aleppo, in the spring, and live without women or tents, sleeping in the open air, and feeding chiefly on bread bought in the villages, and the milk of their own flocks.

It was quite dark when we passed through a small village called Yead, where we saw large blocks of stone, as if of older and better works, and a full hour from this before we reached Balbeck. We entered at a ruined gate through which a stream of water flows, and wandered about for more than half an hour among ruined houses before we could hear a voice or see a light; the barking of dogs at length led us among the living, when we found our way to the Greek church, and were there received.

I found a letter here from Mr. Bankes *, who had halted for a day at Balbeck, and had since gone into the Haurān; and after a light supper I retired early to a hard bed, which fatigue rendered

a welcome one.

• This letter will be given in the Appendix with other documents.