the port, the surrounding country, and the snow-capped ridge of Lebanon behind us. over us, and we have received health officers. Armed guards are placed already two visits from the We had nothing but the bare walls provided for us, and have to depend on our own resources for household conveniences and comforts. The consul's janizary is our compredor, and he supplies us with whatever the market affords.. Although we are now fairly on the shores of the Levant, I cannot feel that I am yet in the "Holy Land," as all this section of country is improperly styled. I cannot recognise any places as such except those which once were honoured by the personal appearance of our Sa. viour. I must now leave you; and perhaps, the next time I commune with you, I may date from some part of that Holy Land which I so much desire to see. Until then, adieu. LETTER XXII. Pleasant Quarters.-Preliminary Arrangements.-An opportune Arrival.→→→ The Release.-Missionaries. Beyrout, We have now been eight days dwelling "in the tents of Shem," and our abode has been a much pleasanter one than even I at first anticipated; for, instead of a close confinement to our house and garden, we have been permitted to walk and ride over all parts of the neighbouring country, at tended by an armed guard, that we might not come in contact with any of the natives, nor approach the town. PLEASANT QUARTERS. 295 The house we occupy has, in common with all the country houses I have as yet seen in the Levant, a terraced roof, at one end of which is a room enclosed only on three sides, with the fourth entirely open towards the terrace. To this apartment the family retires during the heat of the day, or when a shower obliges them to seek a shelter. On each side of the open apartment is a sleeping room, so that the family may be said to live on the roof of the house, while the offices for the servants are on the ground floor. Although, at the moment of my present writing, it is high noon, and the sun is pouring down his fiercest beams, yet the apart. ment which I occupy being entirely open towards the sea, with windows at the opposite side, there is a delightful cur. rent of air drawing through it, which explains to me the ob iect of these aerial accommodations. A wall about three feet high extends along the front of the terrace, but does not interrupt the view from the sitting apartment, the latter being raised two steps above the terrace. From my divan I have a fine view of the roadstead (for there is no harbour), where about two hundred sail of vessels of all kinds, from two hundred tons down to the felucca of ten, are riding at anchor. Now, while the strong breeze is coming in, the swell rises, and every vessel is rolling her gunwales under water, and seems to me as if she were dancing a hornpipe to the music of the breakers. Their yards assume every imaginable angle, and their topmasts describe a thousand confused curves against the bright western sky-line. At sundown the sea-breeze ceases and the land-wind rises, when the water near shore becomes as smooth as a mirror; every vessel is then as immoveable as though she were on land, and her mast as steady as the trees of the forest on a calm summer eve. We are fortunately favoured with moonlight evenings du. ring our detention. It is delightful to sit upon the terrace and enjoy the bland zephyrs from the Syrian desert, tem pered in their seaward course by the snowy peaks of Lebanon, which are full in sight, with the dancing moonbeams playing round their frozen summits. The only evening sounds we hear are the merry notes of the mariners, while they are weighing anchor for home, and letting fall the flow. ing sheet to the eastern breeze. Every hour during the day numerous white specks are seen in the western horizon, which, gradually rising over the top of the waves, denote a fleet of inward-bound vessels from every quarter of the world except America. I under. stand that our traders have not yet found their way hither, content to terminate their Oriental voyages at the city of figs and raisins. You have read Lamartine, of course. The house wherein he passed his quarantine, and where he lost his beautiful little daughter, is near to us, in an adjoining garden. The inhabitants here speak in the highest terms of him and his lady, and remember them with much grati. tude for their liberality and kindness. To-morrow will be the ninth day of our quarantine, when we expect a scene; for we are determined to follow the example set by the English and Russian consuls of Egypt, and break quarantine in despite of bayonets and bullets, for the season is getting late, and we must be off. These gentlemen on the ninth day walked out of durance vile in despite of the governor and his guards. We have notified his high. ness, through our consul, that we intend to do the same; and it is possible that he may resist; yet we are told that, if we show our colours and assert our liberty, vi et armis, he will probably give way, as in the former cases. Mais nous verrons. The gentlemen several days since had an interview with the chief of the Lebanon muleteers, or moukres, as they are called; and it is only this evening that he has been enabled to complete the number of horses and mules which we shall require for our caravan. The poor fellows dare not ap proach the coast with their animals, for fear of the army contractors, who press them into the government service for little or no pay, to transport provisions to the army of Ibrahim in the interior. We therefore have to get a pro. tection from our consul and a permit from the governor before our horses can make their appearance near the city. We have bargained with one principal moukre to officiate as leader and pilot through the country, for a given sum per diem for each animal, to furnish the requisite number on starting, and to keep it complete as long as we may desire, and to go wherever we choose; each day's journey to be regulated by circumstances and our own will. We have arranged for twenty animals of different kinds, horses for the saddle and mules for burden, and are to pay three quarters of a dollar each per day, the moukre to supply them with keep and drivers. We shall set out as soon as we get pratique, and have paid our respects to the family of the worthy consul, and those of the missionary residents from our own country, who have all paid us a visit in our pleasant quarters. * * * Since writing the above we have had an important and very opportune arrival, both for ourselves and the old gov. ernor, who this day might otherwise have been belligerants. The Governor of Acre arrived here from the seat of war on his way home. We had letters to him, and, by his timely interference in our behalf, at the instance of our consul, our quarantine was peaceably terminated yesterday. As soon as we had received the visit of inspection from the health officer, and been pronounced by him sound and healthy, we were permitted to take our friends by the hand. Our first visit was to our worthy consul, Mr. Chasseaud and his amiable lady. Mr. C. is a Greek from Salonica, and his lady is from France. Mr. C. some years since accompanied throughout the East our countryman, Mr. L. Bradish. We found the town of Beyrout a wretched place, with no one thing in it worth noticing. The resident missionaries are delightfully situated in a fine house, surrounded by a garden, a short distance from the town. We dined with them and visited their school. Mr. Smith is, no doubt, one of the best qualified persons for this important service throughout all the East; his amiable and indefatigable companion is making herself extremely useful by teaching a school of small children. her books and exercises are in the Arabic language. We are all ready to set out on our caravan expedition, and are only waiting for our horses to be saddled and the mules to be loaded. While the gentlemen are engaged in making their final arrangements, I take the opportunity to finish this hasty epistle, begun yesterday. I can scarcely realize that it is probable I shall not sleep under a roof again for several months, and that our house, furniture, beds, wardrobe, kitchen, and provisions are all to be carried on horseback. That we must take up our every night's abode wheresoever we may chance to find water, whether the sun be high or low, or whether we may have been six or sixteen hours on the road. I have, however, no misgivings about my present undertaking, being blessed with high health and spirits; besides, the long journeys I have made for the last two years have rendered almost any amount of bodily fatigue but a mere pastime to me. We are also amply provided with everything calculated to make our journey comfortable; and such are the arrangements made by the gentlemen, in whose savoir faire I have perfect confidence, that the prospect before me is delightful, although there are some uncertainties, which tend to impart a zest to the undertaking, rather than excite much apprehension. I am already summoned to mount; but, instead of having been occupied in assuming my equestrian attire, I have been scribbling to you the while. N'importe, I have become accustomed to these sudden demands upon me, yet have, withal, such indulgent masters, that they consult my time |