now no longer numbers men sufficient to till the ground, nor can the people raise funds adequate for the purpose. Thus does man unwittingly bring about the unerring decrees of the Almighty. In Leviticus, xxvi. 22, we read, that wild beasts were to be sent amongst the people of that land for their iniquities; even that seems well nigh its accomplishment. The monks of Mount Carmel told Lord A― that in consequence of the disarming of the people, and the great decrease of their numbers, wild beasts were increasing on Mount Carmel to an alarming degree. Having occasion to send a man up Mount Thabor on an errand, he refused to go unless we provided him with a gun; at the time we thought this was a mere pretext, and that he intended to steal it and decamp; but we afterwards had reason to suppose that the fear of wild beasts was the real reason of the request*.

* See Appendix B.

EXCURSION TO BAALBEC.

CONTRARY to our expectations, our tour is not yet at an end. The day after we reached Beirout, there was an alarm that the Mountaineers were to attack the town that night. On finding that the English Consul, Mr. Moore, and the Egyptian Governor confidently expected the realization of the report, it was deemed more prudent that we should go on board the Menai. At great personal inconvenience, therefore, for the intelligence only reached us at sunset, and in the darkness of the night, we mounted our horses, under an escort from the Governor, and hurrying to the water's edge, where one of the Menai's boats was in waiting, we hastened on board. The move was very unnecessary, for, as might have been foreseen, it was a false alarm, and no attack took place. The next day was passed on board, winding up our affairs previous to setting sail; and the following, we weighed anchor with not a very fair wind, which in the course of a few hours increased so much, that, as it had become nearly contrary, we determined to put back into Beirout, and take our chance of making a better start. This time, instead of lodging at Assaad's, we betook ourselves to an hotel in the town, where we did pretty well.

It now became a question what we should do. Should we take the chance of sailing again in the Menai, with all the probabilities of contrary winds or calms, both highly prevalent at this season of the year, or should we wait for the more certain conveyance of the Austrian steamer to Smyrna and Athens, and thus make sure of seeing the latter place, and avoid a portion of the Malta quarantine? The voices were in favour of the steamer, but we were only at the 2nd of June, and the steamer was not to start till the 11th. How were we to dispose of the intermediate time? On considering the matter we determined upon an expedition to Baalbec. The revolt, though serious enough, as we hoped, to the Egyptian despot who rules the land, appeared in no way to affect either the safety or convenience of European travellers; and provided we could procure horses or mules to carry our baggage, we resolved to start without further delay, and Assaad was immediately set to work to find the necessary animals for the purpose. They seemed to constitute the only difficulty, as the owners feared their seizure either by one party or the other. Assaad, who certainly has a knack of finding everything one can possibly want, soon produced two or three excellent animals, and we set forth, on a beautiful 4th of June, in high glee, at the prospect of another four or five days' travel.

H

Thursday, June 4th.

CONVENT OF MAR ELIAS.

We began our march this morning at half past seven o'clock. We are very lightly equipped, taking no tents, and as little baggage as possible. We mean to trust to the hospitality of the natives for accommodation. Moreover, we leave the doctor behind, who is scarcely well enough to endure the fatigue of the journey. The ride hither is a very beautiful one, a combination of sea and mountain view, superior to anything I have seen in Syria as yet. The situation of this convent is a splendid one. It commands a view of Beirout roads on one side, and has a magnificent mountain scene on the other. It stands so high as to be all but inaccessible to a horse, and certainly,

none but the horses of the country could make their way up to it. We have been ascending for six hours, so that the height of the place may be judged of. The Superior of the convent (a Greek one) is a friend of Assaad's, and we were received with great kindness, and treated with as much hospitality as the place could afford. But the accommodations of these convents are wretched beyond description. Stones piled up for walls, floors uneven, and for the most part unpaved, and windows without glass. They however gave us beds, which were pretty good, a table, and one or

two wooden chairs.

Moreover, they gave us

plenty to eat, and would have done anything else for us that lay in their power. This part of Lebanon is very thickly planted with monasteries. They might be of great service to the country were the monks better educated, and did they devote themselves to the improvement of the surrounding population, which being almost entirely Christian, a great field is here open for their labours; but unhappily, these monks are, for the most part, an inferior order of men, uneducated themselves, and consequently incapable of imparting knowledge to others; the superior's time is usually spent in looking to the agricultural interest of their convents, the revenues of which, in many cases, are considerable, and mostly derived from their landed property; he thus acts as a mere steward or bailiff; and the occupations of the subordinate monks are confined in general to performing the menial offices of the household, whilst all take their turns in reading, or rather gabbling, over the services of their Church, which are celebrated twice or thrice a day. In some of the neighbouring villages there are small schools conducted generally by the priests. During our stay at Mar Elias, Assaad went to inspect some of them, and has hopes of effecting an improvement in them at a future period; but until the priests themselves are superior in point of education to what they are at present, little good can be