Beyroot, Oct. 23d, 1836.
We left Nazareth by the same road that we entered it; but on reaching the top of the ridge north of the town we took a north-west direction into the plain which we had left, which is here broken with hills, and can hardly be said to be continuous. Some of these hills are very much covered with rocks. After a few miles we passed, on the top of a hill on our left, the ruins of Sefora, which was at one time a place of note. There is more natural growth on these hills than on those more to the east. This district is stony; but appears to have had more labour bestowed on it than most of those that are better adapted for cultivation. The plain of Zebulun, a little farther on, is separated from the great plain by some hills, which are, however, not very high. It is a most lovely and fertile district. On one side of it were many olive-trees, and a part of it was cultivated with cotton. The cotton appeared to have had but little labour bestowed on it, and promised a corresponding small return, notwithstanding the fertility of the plain. Between this place and the plain on the coast, and lying between Acre and the hills, we crossed a considerable distance that was hilly; the hills were not very high, but spread pretty generally over the face of the country. Most of them have more or less rocks on thesurface, but, as a general thing, they are not so rocky as the country about Jerusalem. From this low hilly district we entered the plain which lies east of Acre, and spreads along the coast. This is a noble plain of considerable extent, and is generally exceedingly fertile. On entering this plain we saw Acre, nearly before us, on the shore of the sea. A little to the right of the city, and out near the middle of the plain, were some good-looking buildings with gardens about them, and others partly finished. I have seldom seen a finer set of orange and lemon trees. There is an aqueduct that brings water from the hill, across the plains, to Acre. This water is used for watering the gardens, which, we were given to understand, belong to Ibrahim Pasha. At some distance to our left, we had the north end of Mount Carmel in view, with the Latin monastery on the top of it. Between us and that point was a fine spread of plain, which might be called either the plain of Acre or the plain of Esdralon. This plain, as I have before stated, crosses the whole district from the lake of Tiberias and the Jordan to the Mediterranean. It comes to the coast directly at the north end of Carmel, and there the plain is a wide and noble one. The plain of Esdralon, on the eastern side, is higher, except at the south-east corner near Gilboa. It lies toward Safet, a high, rolling table land, most of which is exceedingly rich. The Lebanon, or rather the Anti-Lebanon, (for I think the Lebanon may be considered as terminating north of the river Leantes, which comes out of the Bokar near Soor,) lowers down at the high points near Safet, and spreads its still lowering ridges towards the middle and western part of the plain, between the lake Tiberias and the Mediterranean. There are various hills, rather separated from each other, on the plain, which may be considered asbelonging to it,—the Tabor, the mount south of it, and the hills near Nazareth; but the terminating ridges are more continuous, north and north-west of Nazareth, and run down south, so as to narrow the western side of the plain of Esdralon. I doubt not, indeed, that the mountains which rise south of the plain, and cover the whole middle district, from north of Sebaste to south of Hebron, forming the hill country of Israel and Judah, may with propriety be considered as the southern continuance of the great Lebanon chain. It is there lowered down much, and is more spread out, and more like an elevated table land, with many low hills covering its general surface.
It would have been highly satisfactory to me could I have proceeded to the north of Safet, far enough at least to see the southern end of the plain of the Bokar, and ascertain how the mountains, Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, dispose of themselves and their branches at that place, and in their further progress south. I am inclined to think, that our usual maps are not very accurate in their delineations of this northern district.
Acre stands on a sandy point which projects out in the Mediterranean. It is strongly fortified, having a most stupendous wall, and a deep ditch. It is a place of great strength, and is under the keeping of a considerable body of the Pasha's troops. There was some shipping there, but not much. The city is much crowded together; and to be comfortable ought to be spread over twice or thrice as much ground—the streets narrow and filthy—the bazaars poor, and badly supplied with goods. There is a large open square within the city, which appeared appropriated for the use of troops and cavalry. A new bazaar was pointed out, which was said to have been put up by the present pasha. It was, compared with the others,pretty good; but needed that comparison to make it pass muster. Acre is interesting from its location on the coast—has a fine back country, and, under a proper government, might become a place of some importance. A great effort was made by the French, under Buonaparte, to take this place. He attempted several times to carry it by assault, and it was mainly owing to the efforts of Sir Sidney Smith that he failed. The name of Smith is still held in great respect by the natives of this region. They say of him, that "his word was like the word of God—it never fell to the ground," that is, he always did what he said he would do. So true is it, that while people tell falsehoods themselves—and the people of this country have no little propensity that way—they still have a regard for those who are known to adhere strictly to the truth. This place was long held by the Crusaders, and was one of the last places in Palestine that was wrested from them; and there may be, and no doubt are, ruins in the town and vicinity that may be referred to the period of their power. I had not time, however, to make much research respecting them. The pasha has some public works going on here. We saw a good deal of timber in an open square, but did not learn the use it was intended for—probably for the building of a vessel, from its size and appearance. We lodged in the Latin convent, which is a place of some size, and would contain many persons, though much out of repair. We found only two or three monks, and a lay brother, who appeared to act as steward, servant, factotum, &c.
From Acre we went along the coast, towards Soor, the ancient Tyre, which lies about twenty-five miles to the north. The first part of our route was over the noble plain by which Acre is bounded on the west. It is, as to its general character, good; and ought, and would, if properly cultivated,richly supply Acre with bread-stuff and many other necessary articles. Much of it, however, lies in a neglected state. In several places there are small districts, that are more improved—a few garden spots that are beautiful, and several elevations near Acre that have buildings or ruins on them, and were, probably, in the days of warfare, places of much more importance than they now are. About three hours' travel brought us to the termination of this beautiful plain, and we began to ascend a high promontory called Capo Blanco, or White Cliff, from the whiteness of the rock of which it is composed. This is made up of the softest limestone I have ever seen, interspersed with nodules of flint. It was well for our nerves that a barrier had been left between us and the precipice, for sometimes there was a perpendicular descent from the road above, to the sea below, which was dashing and foaming at its base. From this point, or ridge of hills, we entered the plain of Soor. This plain is narrow at first, but gradually spreads out, and presently has a wide extent, with a gentle rising of its eastern side into hills, with mountains towering beyond. The soil is rich and productive. There are some villages, on the hills, but none of any size. We passed several places near the shore where there had evidently once been villages; in one or two of these there were remains of walls and other relics of former habitations. As we approached Soor, the mountains and hills fell back, making a kind of amphitheatre; rising more or less, as it approached the mountains; but forming a rich and valuable back country to this former mistress of the sea. Night came on before we could reach Soor, and a small part of the district nearest the town, was, of course, not subjected to that close inspection which, under other circumstances, it would have received. We passed a fine flow of water, onwhich there appeared to be mills or other buildings; but it was too dark to allow us a clear view of what they were. There are, it is said, several remains of ruins on the south of the town, which the darkness prevented our seeing. As we approached the town, there was a much wider border of sand along the coast.
Soor stands on the point of a projection that runs out, it may be, a half or three quarters of a mile into the sea. Its outer part is broader and less covered with sand than the neck of land that joins it to the main land. About half way from the main land to the extreme point, a wall crosses the isthmus, and through a single gate in that wall, you enter the village which stands on the extreme point. The site of old Tyre was, as we learn from history, on the main land. When hard pressed, the inhabitants, availing themselves of their shipping, moved their more valuable articles to this point, which was then an island, and there built a town, and escaped the capture which threatened them. This first capture of Tyre, and the escape of the people with their riches to the island, is referred to in Ezek. xxix. 18; where the army of Nebuchadnezzar is said "to have served a hard service, and yet to have got no wages"—failed to obtain the wealth of the captured city. The new city was also taken in after-times by Alexander the Great; and his army had a hard service. Being on an island, and having command of the sea through their vessels, they braved the power of the Grecian king for a time. But he resorted to a stratagem which was successful. He constructed a wide causeway from the main land to the island, and thus made a way for his soldiers, who soon took the city. For centuries past, as all travellers during that period assure us, it has been almost completely desolate. The old site on the main land is so now—not one house, and scarcely a vestigeremains to mark the spot. It is scraped as a rock, and probably was thus treated by Alexander, to get materials for the stupendous causeway he made. The city, on what was once an island, was also almost wholly forsaken, as many travellers assure us, and thus the prophecy has had its fulfilment. There is, however, a new village growing up on its site. It has much increased within a few years. There may be between one and two hundred houses, the quarter part of them very miserable things, but a few tolerably good for this region. The pasha has established some factories here, and the place is evidently reviving. Three or four of the European powers have consuls residing here, and the Americans have a consular agent. The old harbour, which once contained the first trading ships in the world, lies on the north side of the town, and was once surrounded by a strong wall, some small fragments of which still remain. The harbour is much filled up, so that only vessels of small burden can come within it. It does not, indeed, appear to have much trade of any kind. The water at the extreme point of the island is very shallow—a considerable space barely covered with water. There are some ruins on a part of this, and some fallen pillars—whether it was once covered with houses, I am unable to say. To the south, the water is deeper, but still so shallow as to oblige vessels to lie off at a considerable distance from the shore. The neck which joins the island to the main land is little else than a bed of sand. The part next the village, and without the wall I have mentioned, is full of old walls, mounds, cellars, and all the indications of having once been covered with houses. There are, indeed, one or two huge old buildings still standing on it. The part of this neck adjoining the main land is so low as to have considerable pools of water in it. We passed a number as wecoasted along the edge of the sand from the south, on approaching the village. There is all the appearance that the water once came out to the steep bank at the edge; but the passage between the island and the main land being stopped, the sand, both to the north and south, has been thrown up so as to form a wide, flat beach, extending out near the island as far as what was formerly the east side of the island. The whole space here shows great changes.
The most remarkable and interesting relic of antiquity which I saw at Soor, was the remains of the church of Origen. It stands at the south side of the village, and makes part of the wall at that place. Much the larger part of it is fallen and removed. The remaining fragments show that it has been of very great size. There are a few small huts on the ground on which that part of the church that has been removed stood. There is some richly-wrought stone in the walls and about the stairs that run up at one part of the building. The stone is the soft spongy limestone which abounds on this coast, and I may add, through most of Palestine. It is a stone that works easily, but wastes away under the action of water, and is especially liable to be saturated with water, and to form damp walls. No part of the ruins of this old and celebrated church more interested me, than the stupendous granite pillars which were once connected with it, but now lie on the ground, and some of them almost buried in it, and by the ruins which covered this quarter. These pillars were of the fine Egyptian granite, of great length and thickness. They formed masses of stone of a most enormous weight. We seldom saw pillars of a larger size. There must have been some regard for Christianity at Tyre when its citizens erected this splendid edifice. But oh! what changeshave passed over these lands since those days, when Origen ministered here, and raised his voice to the thousands which this church was capable of holding. A deep darkness now rests on all these regions—the Moslem rules, but his pride is humbled—his strength broken—and he appears conscious that the day of his glory is past, and not likely again to return! The few Christians that are now found in these regions have lost the spirit of Christianity. It is with them a body without a soul—a form, and a greatly altered form, without the spirit and power which makes it a transforming principle among mankind. But the darkness is passing away—rays of light are breaking upon these regions—and we doubt not the day is not far remote when the religion of Christ will, in its enlightening and transforming power, revisit these regions, and make them revive and flourish like the garden of the Lord.
From Soor we made our next stage to Saida, the ancient Sidon, which is so often mentioned in connection with Tyre—"Tyre and Sidon." It is a day's travel distant. We found the northern part of the plain of Soor not much different from the southern, which we have already described. In many places along this coast, there are old mounds of rubbish, or piles of stones, that bespeak former buildings. On the whole, ancient Tyre had a fertile district adjoining it, and was, no doubt, more or less the seaport for the lower part of the great valley of the Bokar, through the passage on the borders of the river Leantes, which flows out of that valley and passes into the sea a little north of Soor. The district of mountains that border the plain must also have contributed its share to the market of this port; for in these countries and among these nations, the mountain districts are often better cultivated than the plain, and are occupied by a more enterprising and efficient people. Aboutmidway from Soor to Saida, a ridge of hills comes into the shore, much like the one between Acre and Soor. The plain is superseded by a rough and hilly district. It is, for a short distance, exceedingly rough and rocky, and for a still greater space, the level along the shore is narrow and much covered with sand. Gradually the plain opens, and spreads out to a considerable extent, and becomes one of the finest plains, when taken in connection with the low ridges of hills that bound it, and from the rising ground towards the mountains, that I have seen on the coast. The several ridges of low hills that lie between the level space along the shore and the high mountain range, are finely covered with a soft, rich soil; and have scattered over them more trees than we usually see on this part of the coast. The plain about Soor was rather barren of trees—this was one of its greatest defects—that of Saida is much better furnished. We passed several streams of water and some small villages, on the low hills to our right. The mulberry-tree, which we had but seldom seen to the south, here made its appearance. We passed some considerable districts covered with them. This shows the limits of the silk-making district. The culture of the mulberry, and raising the silkworm, is a main business all through these mountains about Beyroot; how far north it may extend, I am not able to say; but we had ample proof in our tour that it is not much, if at all attended to in the land of Palestine, properly so called.
Back of Saida, among the low hills that border the foot of the Lebanon range, Lady Hester Stanhope has her residence. She was engaged to be married to Sir John Moore, who fell near Corunna, in the Peninsular war, in the contest which the English had with the French. That Lady Hester Stanhope felt the affliction most deeply, maywell be supposed; other matters tending to alienate her affections from England, she came to the East, and has for many years made her home in the mountains near Saida. She has gained the affections of the native population, and has had great influence over them formerly; her power is now on the wane. She is occasionally visited by foreigners, but does not see all who would call on her, as some of them have made statements about her that gave her displeasure.
Saida, like most of the towns on this coast, stands on a sandy point that projects out a short distance into the sea. It is surrounded with gardens, and has more fruit trees about it, and a greater extent of groves, than any of the towns on the coast south of this, that I have visited. The plain about it appears peculiarly adapted to fruits. The town is walled, and has a garrison of soldiers. The houses are old, as you may suppose; the streets narrow, crooked, and dark, from the fact that many of them are, in many places, arched over; so much so, that you are nearly one half of your time passing under arches, which shut out all the light but that which comes in from the end of these narrow, crooked streets. I have often mentioned narrow, crooked streets, and once more repeat it, with the addition ofdark. The bazaars and markets are much as those at Soor and Acre, poor, and badly supplied. On the whole, while the outside of the town had a most lovely appearance, the inside was the reverse. The harbour appeared mean, and not such as would give any recommendation to the place. The distance from Saida to Beyroot is between twenty and twenty-five miles. For some miles north of Saida, the road is much covered with sand, and the whole district, until near Beyroot, resembles that already described, some parts rocky, and others good, and well adapted totillage. A few small villages are scattered along the coast. As we approached Beyroot, we took a road through the olive-grove, and not by the sands. This gave me a more perfect knowledge of the extent of the plain, south-east of Beyroot, and of the large orchards that lie in that quarter, covering miles, and bordering the lower part of the hills. The plain is more fertile, and more thickly settled, than I had at first supposed.
We found our friends at Beyroot well,—the mission families had returned from their summer residence on the mountains, and were engaged in carrying on their various operations in and about Beyroot. At first view it appears a rather untoward circumstance that they have to resort to the mountains during a part of each summer. It must, no doubt, in some degree interrupt the thread of their operations; but the climate makes it necessary, especially until they are well acclimated. The evil, however, is not so great as might be expected. The mountains are full of villages; indeed, the mountains of Lebanon are the most populous districts in these countries. The missionaries take their station in some of these villages, and when their number will admit they occupy two or more. There they usually open schools, mix with the people, distribute the Scriptures and other books, talk and preach, as the nature of the case will admit. Thus village after village becomes personally acquainted with the missionaries, and persons are brought within the hearing of the truth who might never be reached by the sound of the gospel were the missionaries always to remain in Beyroot. Thus what in one respect may seem an evil and a drawback to their work, in another is beneficial, and contributes to the furtherance of the gospel.
I have much reason to bless God for his kind care overme during the tour I have now finished, and hope that I shall be led by it more and more to realise that it is only His hand that keepeth me, and maketh me to go out and come in in safety.
Beyroot, December 18, 1836.
I think I have mentioned in several of my letters, that the mulberry tree is much cultivated in this region, principally for the raising of the silk-worm. At times vegetables are raised on the same lot, but generally nothing else is allowed to grow among them, and the weeds are carefully removed. The trees are planted in rows, and the plough is passed among them several times in the year. I now find that the tree serves another purpose, and one of some importance, though secondary to the making of silk. They gather the leaves from the trees in the fall and beginning of winter, to feed their sheep and cows. The first crop of leaves is eaten by the silk-worms; by the time the worms begin to spin their silken shrouds, the trees are nearly bare; the branches are then all cut close to the body of the tree, and used for fuel. In a few days new branches shoot out, which are soon covered with leaves. They gather the leaves with their hands, put them in baskets, and give them to their sheep and cows. They appear, indeed, to be the chief food of these animals for many months in the autumn and beginning of winter. The entire absence of rain during the long hot summer burns up what grass may have been on the ground in the spring and early part of the summer, but the mulberry trees, which have much care taken of them, and watered, when it can be done, bya channel from a stream, or by the hand, retain their greenness, and serve the important purpose of food for the cattle. So far as I have observed, they were always fed with the green leaves, at least I have not seen any dried and preserved in that state, excepting the fibres of the new leaves, that the silk-worm rejects, which are carefully collected and preserved for the animals. The mildness of the climate causes the leaf to retain its freshness much longer than it would in the northern and middle parts of the United States. We have entered on the month of December, and yet the leaf of the mulberry is as green and fresh as it was in midsummer; true, most of the trees near us are nearly bare, not, however, by the fall of the leaf, but by their having been gathered for the animals. The horses, mules, and donkeys, are fed with barley and straw, which is cut fine by their mode of threshing out the grain. For a few weeks in the spring of the year they are kept on the green barley. I have generally seen the camel fed on weeds, which are gathered for that purpose.
I mentioned that some rain fell, about the time I set out on my tour to Jerusalem. The showers were light, and but few of them. Small showers fell from time to time during the month that I was travelling, but not in such quantities as to give us much annoyance. This was a matter greatly to our comfort, as we had to sleep nearly every night out under the canopy of heaven, and as we wished to travel without much incumbrance, we did not carry a tent with us. During the month of November there was a great increase of clouds and cloudy weather, but not much rain. There were, however, occasional showers, and some of them fell in snow on the upper parts of Mount Lebanon. It was not until the first part of the present month that it began to rain in good earnest, and for some days it hasrained as if the "windows of heaven" were opened; great quantities of water have fallen, and the earth, thirsty from the long, dry summer, seems to drink it in as if it would never say—It is enough. Still, I have not yet seen a long, cloudy period, as we often have in the United States, of many days and weeks, in which the sun is seldom seen. Not a day has past in which it has not contrived to find some opening in the clouds through which to show itself. Indeed, the rain generally comes in showers; large masses of black clouds are driven over us, often with strong winds accompanied with thunder and lightning, and pour down water as if from buckets; then there is an intermission, and possibly the sun shines forth, and then comes another cloud loaded with water, which it pours out and passes away. Thus, "the clouds return after the rain." For a day or two the rains have ceased, and the weather is fine, a little colder and more chilly, as might be expected from the great fall of water, but not to the degree that I expected. The higher parts of Mount Lebanon are covered with snow. They have a singular appearance, two or three thousand feet of the top, especially the highest peak, called the Sunneen, is covered with snow, while the lower parts are bare. Snow may be found at all times on some of these high points, from whence it is brought down during the summer in considerable quantities, for the use of those who will pay the pretty good, though not unreasonable price, that is asked for it. The rains have caused the grass to spring forth, and whole districts that were before dry dust, or stubble, are now fresh with verdure. The face of the land looks like spring, so wonderfully does the rain operate to give beauty and fertility to the earth. The heat without the water will not do it, nor the water without some degree of heat; but when both are united, theymake vegetation spring forth, and give food for man and beast.
The troops which marched from this place to the Houran, a few months since, have returned. It is now said they were sent there to aid in killing the young locusts, which had appeared in great numbers, and threatened to destroy the crops. Last year the troops were thus employed towards Aleppo, and with great advantage to the country. It is, however, a new kind of warfare for a regular army to be engaged in.
It would be inexcusable in me to omit mentioning honey, an article still to be obtained in abundance, and which deserves notice for its delicious flavour. Bees are kept in various parts of the country. Milk can generally be obtained without much difficulty, although it may be said of it, as of honey, that the land does not literally "flow" with it. The Arabs, I think, do not often use milk in a fresh state: they convert it into an article called lebban, not unlike bonny-clabber, and eat it with rice, bread, &c. Some cheese is made, but of an inferior kind; it is generally white, and made in small pieces. A considerable quantity is imported from Cyprus. The process of churning in skins I have before alluded to; most of the butter thus produced is boiled, and thereby converted into more of an oily substance. It is much used in cooking, but the Arabs do not spread it upon their bread, as is our custom. In the spring, the produce of the churn can be procured in Jerusalem and its vicinity without having been boiled; this, by picking out the hairs, washing thoroughly, and salting, can be made very palatable.
The Irish potato, as it is usually called, is grown about Tripoli, and succeeds well. It is of a good size, dry, and of a good flavour. The sweet potato is not known in thiscountry; this is much to be regretted, as there is reason to believe that the soil and climate would suit it, and it would be a most valuable addition to the vegetables already cultivated. I hope that some one will make an effort to introduce it. The principal vegetables are the cabbage, cauliflower, onion, cucumber, lettuce, and radish, which are all of an excellent quality; the coosa, a small kind of squash; beans of an inferior kind; bammey, a mucilaginous pod, which, when cooked with butter and the juice of a lemon or pomegranate, forms a very pleasant article; addice, a kind of bean much used in a dried state; turnips of a diminutive size and an inferior quality; bateinjan, a kind of egg-plant much esteemed by the natives; beets of a superior kind, and tomatoes of a rich and fine flavour. The first notice that I ever met with of the sugar-cane was in the account of the crusaders, who found it on this coast, and it ishere yet. Below Sidon, there are places where it is cultivated, but not for making sugar. When ripe, it is cut and brought from time to time into the towns, and sold in the stalk. The people buy it and chew the stalk; children especially are fond of it. Boat-loads of it are brought up to Beyroot, and sold in the market. Much of the sugar used here comes from France, and is the fine loaf-sugar made from the beet, and is sold cheap; brown sugar, the product of the West Indies, may be occasionally procured. The flour which is used here comes in part from Damascus, but more from the plain that lies between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. Some of the wheat is grown on the mountains, and a good deal comes from about Acre, and from some other quarters. Much of the flour, however, is ground in the neighbourhood, and the bran separated from the flour with a common sieve. I know not that there is such a thing as a bolting-cloth in the wholecountry. Meal made of Indian corn is usually found in the market at Beyroot, and is called smeed. It is much used in the Frank families, not, however, in the form of bread, but in that of hasty-pudding, here called smeed. Very good French flour may at times be had, and sometimes wheat is brought from Constantinople, raised probably about the Black Sea. Rice forms a considerable article of diet, and is brought from Egypt.
The principal meat used is mutton, which is certainly the best I have ever eaten. The beef is poor, and is not much prized by the natives; and pork is an abomination to most of the people in this land. I have seen a few swine, but am told they are kept by foreigners. The chickens are mostly small, and not much encumbered with fat. Geese and turkeys are exceedingly rare. Great quantities of sparrows are found in the towns, and they sometimes visit the houses, and build about them to such a degree as to become an annoyance. The singing of birds is not often heard in Palestine; there are a few species of birds with a gaudy plumage, but their notes are not melodious. The sweet, plaintive note of the nightingale is sometimes heard, but oftener the harsh cawing of the crow. But few wild animals are now found in the country, excepting the jackals, immense numbers of which are found in this vicinity. They are gregarious, and a most noisy animal. They are like a small dog, with short, upright ears, and a short tail; all that I have seen were of a light-brown colour. We often hear them in the gardens and near our houses.
The natives have a taste for flowers; the females cultivate a variety in pots, and are fond of ornamenting their turbans with them. They are generally decked with a profusion of them on their bridal days. They also placethem about and upon the dead bodies of their friends, as mementos of affection. It is a common saying, that, in making their visits, they never go empty-handed. At such times, it is not uncommon for them to take from their pockets, an appendage with which each person seems to be furnished, either an orange, a sweet lemon, a few nuts, a piece of sugar-cane, or something of the kind, and present the person visited. At other times, they will bring you a beautiful nosegay of rosebuds, carnation pinks, geraniums, jessamines, &c., which they arrange and tie together very tastefully. A rich profusion of wild flowers are found in the spring.
It is amusing to one not accustomed to the sight, to observe how partial the people are to a sitting posture. You may see the blacksmith sitting and hammering his iron; the carpenter sitting and hewing his wood, or planing his plank; the merchant sitting and selling his goods; and the women sitting and washing their clothes,—not sitting on chairs, or on benches, butá-la-turque, with their feet folded under them.
Having remained in Palestine as long, and even longer than I originally intended, I was about preparing to leave this place for Egypt, when Mr. W. M. Thomson, one of the missionaries, called on me as a committee, in behalf of the station. He informed me that he had held a consultation with Mr. Hebard about carrying on the mission work, and had come to the conclusion that part of it must be suspended for the present, unless I remained to assist them. They had little expectation that Mr. Bird, then in America, from the peculiar circumstances of his family, would be able to return; that Mr. Smith, then in Smyrna, would probably visit the United States before his return to Beyroot, and could not be expected back under a year or two; thathe himself had just begun to preach in Arabic, and that the labour of preparing for it, superintending the press, with other necessary calls, gave him full employment; that Mr. Hebard had the High School to superintend, and wished much to give a course of lectures on natural science, which the opposition now made to the school made it very important he should do; but that he could not do this, and keep up the English preaching, which many circumstances rendered it important should not be suspended; and in this state of things, they laid the case before me, to see if I would not remain and assist them. I considered the case as a strong one; and after looking at the whole matter, I have concluded that I will remain for a time. I may, therefore, write you again from this place.
Beyroot, May 29th, 1837.
On the first day of the new year, (the orientals follow the old style, which is twelve days later,) about four o'clockP.M., while we were assembled at the Mission-house, and engaged in celebrating the Lord's Supper, there was a very severe earthquake; at first a sudden shock, then a momentary pause, then a rocking motion, so that the arms of nearly every person were involuntarily extended to preserve their balance. It was preceded by a dull murmuring sound. The sound and motion seemed to proceed from the north. There had been for several days a haziness of the atmosphere which is unusual; no rain had fallen since the first of December, and the ground had become dry for this season of the year. The haziness increased considerably aboutthe time of the first shock, and part of the sky was covered with a fleecy cloud, in some places of a dark appearance. This was very unusual in the region. There were several slight shocks during the night. It did not do much injury in Beyroot, excepting cracking some of the houses; but Safet, Tiberias, and many other villages were almost entirely destroyed, and many lives lost. A meeting of the Franks was held, to see what could be done for these suffering villages; a collection was made, and Messrs. Thomson and Calman appointed as a committee to visit and aid them. I would gladly have accompanied them, and made observations for myself, but the circumstances of the mission rendered it inexpedient for Mr. T. and myself to be absent at the same time. Slight shocks of earthquakes were frequent for ten or twelve days, and the people were much alarmed. Many have feared to sleep in their houses. A Jew at Damascus prophesied that the whole coast from Sidon to Antioch would be destroyed. The governor, believing, very properly, that he was an impostor, had him confined, and threatened to punish him if his predictions were not fulfilled. Most of the Jews left their houses, and encamped without the city.
The attention of the English government has, for several years past, been much turned to the opening and maintaining a passage from some port in Syria, through the valley of the Euphrates to the East Indies. Two steam-boats, theEuphratesandTigris, were taken across from the Mediterranean Sea, near Scanderoon, to the Euphrates, at Beer. They were carried in pieces on camels, and put together at Beer, and the expedition, under the command of Colonel Chesney, proceeded, on their exploring tour down the river. TheTigris, which was the smaller boat, was lost in a tornado; theEuphratescontinued on herroute, and the river was explored. The matter did not succeed quite as well as some of its more ardent advocates expected, but well enough to prove that it was practicable. Large quantities of bitumen are found in that region, and the experiment was tried of substituting this for coal, as there is not much wood in the vicinity. It would not answer; it melted too rapidly. A person is now engaged in examining whether coal may not exist there. In the meantime Mr. Farren, the Consul-General at Damascus, using the great influence he has gained over some of the Arabs, opened a direct communication with Bagdad through the wilderness. He made use of dromedaries, and the mail passed in six or eight days. Since Mr. Farren's recal, the post is continued under the present consul. There is thus a regular communication from Beyroot to India, viâ Damascus and Bagdad. In a few years, I doubt not that steamboats will run regularly on the Euphrates, and that a great travelling route will thus cross the most interesting part of the great valley of the Euphrates, the ancient seat of early cities, kingdoms, and civilisation. This will, as it may be hoped, prepare the way for the spread of the gospel in the interior of Asia.
I have attended, by special request, an Arab wedding, the parties being members of the Greek church. The men and women were in separate apartments. In both rooms there was music from a rude drum, and the women kept up a singular hallooing, or kind of shrill cry. I was taken into the female apartment, and introduced to the bride. She was much adorned with gold and gold foil, her face and hands painted in the most fantastic manner; she kept her eyes closed, or nearly so, which she must do for several days. They made her put on cob-cobs, a kind of sandal nearly a foot high, and dance before us, or rather walk veryslowly backwards and forwards, keeping time with the music; her hands were held up by an attendant, to be seen and admired. They then took her into another room to eat, after which the marriage ceremony commenced. The priest read the marriage service, during which he put a ring on the finger of each, with many crossings, and touching the head and breast, and afterwards he changed the rings; he then put a chaplet made of an olive branch with its leaves on the head of each, and after a similar crossing and touching the head and breast, the chaplets were changed; he then took a cup of wine, and made them both drink of it: this, with the priest's blessing, closed the marriage. The bride was then made to follow her husband to the place where the horses were fastened. Her attendants led her, and her walk was as slow as you can well conceive,—a step, then a pause, then a very slow moving of the foot forward; she must show great reluctance, and be forced after her "well beloved." He seemed to give himself no trouble about her, but mounted his horse, and waited with his back towards her, until the signal should be given for starting. At last, by half carrying and half pushing her, the bride reached the horse brought to take her to her new home, and was mounted astride, as is the custom for females to ride here. The signal was given, and the bridegroom moved forward, accompanied by most of the male guests, while the females surrounded the bride, some on animals, others on foot. The music and screaming were kept up, and "the friend of the bridegroom" danced and played all sorts of odd tricks before him. It was his business to make sport for them. A pomegranate was given to the bride, which she breaks as she enters her husband's door, thus showing that she promises to be an obedient and dutifulwife. About dark, a few weeks ago, we were somewhat startled by a discharge of artillery from the castles about the town, one of which stands very near us. We were, however, soon told that it was meant to signify the commencement of the fast of the Rammedan, a fast of the Mohammedans. During the continuance of this fast they are not to eat, drink, or smoke, from sunrise to sunset. They may, however, eat and drink during the night, and they make amends for their abstinence during the day. Many of them turn day into night, night into day, eating at sundown, midnight, and just before sunrise, and after making it a time of great revelry and wickedness. This fast is a moveable one, and passes round to all seasons of the year. When it falls in midsummer it must be a sore trial to abstain from water in these thirsty countries; they have, however, various ways of getting round the law of the fast, and in some degree modifying the deprivations it would cost them. All the systems of religion in the eastern world lay much stress on fasting, and with many it is carried to an idolatrous extent. They make a saviour of them. That this should be the case with systems that do not take God's Word for the rule of their faith and practice, would not surprise us; but that those who call themselvesChristians, and profess to found their faith on God's Word, and appeal to it as their rule, should do so, may well grieve us. It is true, that while the Bible is in a general way acknowledged as the Word of God, they do not appeal to it, but to the authority of the church; they have left the word of God,—have rendered it void, that they may "follow their own devices,"—that they may "keep their own traditions." The fasts of the Christian sects are rather a distinction of meats, an abstinence from animal food, than fasts properly so called. The Greeks,in accordance with all the Oriental churches, observe Wednesday and Friday of each week. The Papists, Friday and Saturday. In addition to these weekly fasts, they have others of many days in succession. During one of forty days' continuance, they are not allowed to eat until after twelve o'clock at noon. It is astonishing with what rigidity even small children observe these seasons.
A few days since, some dervishes, or Mohammedan priests, who have been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, returned. They came back as holy men, and great crowds went out to see their wonders. I was assured by several persons who witnessed its performance, that boys threw themselves on the ground, in a row as close together as they could lie, with their faces to the earth, making a row of forty or fifty yards, and one of the priests paced his horse over them, the horse literally stepping on their backs. The boys jumped up very briskly, though some of them showed what they were unwilling to acknowledge, that they were slightly hurt. The fact may seem strange, but Christians have tried the experiment, and succeeded as well as the Moslems. Some of the priests thrust spears and swords through their cheeks—a most unnatural thing. The people consider such things in the light of a miracle.
I had a very pleasant interview not long since with Dr. Wilson, of Scotland, who has just returned from a tour through Palestine, and who went south as far as Petra. At Hebron he made a special contract with a Sheik, who for about one hundred and fifty dollars took him and his party to Petra and back, and left his own brother as a hostage with the governor, until they returned. Petra is in a very rough district. The El-Ghor is a wide valley, but much more elevated than I had supposed, much more so than the Dead Sea, possibly a thousand feet at the highestpart. It is very destitute of vegetation, and this is especially the case with the country about Mount Hor, and Petra. There is a district more to the south that is more fertile, and has a good many inhabitants on it. The antiquities at Petra are most wonderful; a town hewn out in a sandstone rock, only one house of any size built above ground, and that a church. This building has been slightly injured by the late earthquake. There are most extensive excavations—a considerable town under ground; the tomb of Aaron on Mount Hor is an excavation. The mount is a round sugar-loaf hill, with a small level on the top.
We have had fearful accounts of the prevalence of cholera at Jerusalem, Aleppo, Malta, and some other places; much fear is felt that it will visit us; may the Lord preserve us from its ravages!
A few days ago, a moolah, a Mohammedan priest, died at this place. He was one of those who last spring made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and on his return rode over the boys in the plain outside the town. After his death, the other priests pretended that his body would fly off to heaven, if they did not prevent it. They, therefore, had ropes tied to his body, and fastened them to other things, that the body might not get away. They held on to the ropes as they took the body to the grave-yard. On their way the bearers stopped several times, and would pull this way and that way, as if some invisible power would not let them go forward, and the pretence was, that the dead man was not willing to go that way, or to be buried. They at length, however, got him to the grave, put him in, and made great lamentation over him. This is a sample of the tricks they play to delude the people.
I spent an hour on the 17th of last month, very pleasantly, with Lord Lindsay, who has travelled extensivelyin these countries. From Egypt he passed Mount Sinai and the Elanetic Gulf—visited Petra, Bosrah, Gerash, and most of Palestine and Palmyra. He says there are many ruins about Bosrah; a Roman road thirty feet wide runs from that place towards Bagdad. It is in a good state of preservation, but not used. Lord Lindsay had the affliction to lose a brother, who travelled with him; if I mistake not, he died from what is called a stroke of the sun. Means were used to preserve the body, and he took the corpse with him in the same vessel to England.
Beyroot, October 14th, 1838.
Yesterday I returned with my family from the mountains, where we had been to recruit from the effects of the warm weather. For you must know, that after knocking about in a very extempore way for some time, I concluded it was better to go into partnership, and accordingly we commenced house-keeping for ourselves, early in March last. In doing this, I showed all my partiality for my own country, by passing by all the dark-eyed beauties of the East, and selecting one of the daughters of my own people.
Bhamdoon, the village at which we spent the summer, stands high on the mountains; only on one occasion before had any Franks lived among them. About two-thirds of the people belong to the Greek church. The remainder are Maronites. We found the people friendly, but the Maronites were less disposed to have intercourse with us than the Greeks. We distributed a number of books inthat and the adjacent villages, and almost every night some of the people came in to hear the Scriptures read, and to be present at evening prayers. This was usually followed by conversation, which often lasted an hour or two. Sometimes the number was so great, as to fill the room. Hykel, my teacher, was almost always present, and took part in the conversation; not unfrequently curious and puzzling questions were asked, as what that light was, which is spoken of as separated from the darkness, in the first of Genesis; and how the day and night were measured before the sun was made? They often showed a good deal of intelligence. To vary the exercises, I sometimes gave them tracts to read, and generally very good attention was paid to the reading of them.
The old priest of the village was blind, and there was a monk assisting him, who was better informed than any of that order that I have met with. He visited us frequently, and read portions of the New Testament with us, and commented on them. He often gave exhortations, or preached to the people. He, as well as the people, seemed to consider this as a matter that did him some credit. My knowledge of the language was not sufficient to enable me fully to understand all he said, but from what I could understand, I thought he was fond of giving curious and far-fetched interpretations. Both he and the people seemed to rest on the outward form of religion, and to be strangers to its inward and spiritual power. The Greek church stood near our house, and we often saw travellers in passing the church ride up to it, touch it with their hand, put that to their heads, cross themselves, and then pass on. The same was done by the villagers, and they would often kiss the stones a number of times. I witnessed a rite in this church that was new to me. I had been informed by oneof the leading men, that our friend, the monk, would preach the next morning. I considered the information as a kind of invitation to attend, which I did. His sermon, as far as I could understand it, was not very instructive, but rather of the spiritualizing kind. It was, however, delivered with earnestness, and listened to with attention by a full house. At its close, prayers were read, and some bread produced and broken into very small pieces, and handed to the people in a plate. It was sought for with great eagerness, and many of the little boys were particularly pressing to receive it. I supposed at first that it was the Lord's Supper, but was told afterwards that it was not, but a representation of the body of the Virgin Mary.
I made a second very pleasant trip to Baalbec with Mrs. P. and our two little girls. We had many opportunities of distributing books and tracts along the road. In most instances, as soon as it was known that we had books, our tent was surrounded by persons importuning for them. As soon as one was supplied, he would withdraw to a little distance, and set himself to reading in good earnest. The success of some encouraged others, and each had some particular reason to urge, why he should be supplied before the others. We were absent five days, and on our return, were welcomed with great joy by our good friends in the village.
Bhamdoon is surrounded with vineyards. The vines are, for the most part, allowed to lie on the ground. In a few places peculiarly situated, they are trained on supports, which raise them several feet above it. The grapes are of various kinds, most of them white and large. We are supplied with them most generously and munificently by the people. There are several houses that seem to be common property, where they express the juice of thegrape. They have, along one side of the house, a row of large vats, into which the grapes are thrown; and beside these, stone troughs, into which the juice flows. Men get in the vats, and tread the grapes with their feet. It is hard work, and their clothes are often stained with the grape. The figures found in Scripture, taken from this, are true to the life. "I have trod the wine-press alone;" "I will stain all my raiment;" "The wine-press was trodden without the city." The juice that was extracted when I visited the press, was not made into wine, but into what is called dibbs. It resembles molasses. They take the juice from the troughs, put it into large boilers, and reduce it to one-half, possibly one-third of the original quantity. It is then removed to large earthen jars, and subjected to a process, not unlike churning, which is repeated for a few days, until it thickens. When properly churned, or beaten, but little separation of the particles takes place. It forms a very pleasant article for table use, and is decidedly preferable to molasses.
We witnessed the process of making raisins. The grapes are collected and dipped in a weak ley, with which a small quantity of olive-oil has been mixed. They are then spread out on the ground, and several times a day this mixture is sprinkled over them. This is continued, for six, eight, or ten days, according to the dryness of the atmosphere, until the raisins are cured. They are then taken up, and while warm from the sun, put into jars and pressed down hard, and thus preserved for use or sale. There is, however, but little wine, raisins, or dibbs exported. Most that is made is kept for family use.
The salutations of these people are very similar to those of ancient times. In passing persons at work, as in cultivating their vineyards, or thrashing out grain, the usualform is "Salam-a-laykoom," Peace be unto you; and the answer is, "A-laykoom-issalum," Upon you be peace. On entering a house, it is Peace be upon you, or "Olloh makoom," God be with you. In giving orders to servants, or requesting favours of friends, the answer generally given is, "A-lah-rass-ee," On my head be it. The women, in taking a quantity of flour from their store for a batch of bread, will precede it with a "Bismillee," In the name of God. As a general thing the Arabs may be said to be a polite people. The morning and evening salutations are always passed among the inmates of the same house; they will seldom pass you in the road without some kind word. When lights are brought, the servants will say, "Good evening to you," and the company will say the same to one another. They have a great variety of salutations, forms of expression, and compliments suited to all the various circumstances of life, and these are familiar to all; to the youngest and the poorest, as well as to the prince.
Several bands of gipsies at different times visited our village. They came in companies of from ten to thirty, men, women, and children, mostly mounted on donkeys. They encamped in a thrashing-floor near by, which gave us an opportunity to observe their motions and learn their habits. They carry with them a few utensils for cooking, and a few articles with which they cover themselves at night. They will occasionally put up a rude tent to shelter them from the sun. Some of them manufacture a few things, which they dispose of in their rambles. Attached to each company are two or three who play on musical instruments, and amuse the people with their feats of jugglery. They have a language of their own, with which they converse among themselves, but are familiar with Arabic. They are great beggars, and notorious thieves.The people are careful to secure their chickens and donkeys when the gipsies are in the neighbourhood. They do not remain long at one place,—here to-day and gone to-morrow. They stroll over the mountains in the summer, but remove farther south in winter.
April 18, 1838.—On the first Sabbath of the present year, a Druse family was baptised by the missionaries at this place. They had for two years been attentive to the instructions of the missionaries, and both the parents gave evidence of piety. They, with their six children, were baptized at the mission-house at the close of the Arabic service. It was an interesting occasion, and excited a good deal of interest among those who are in the habit of attending the Arabic preaching. There are several other Druses, who are constant in their attendance at the Sabbath school and Arabic preaching, and profess a great desire to become Christians.
You are, no doubt, familiar with the account of Asaad Shidiak. I have learned several things about him lately, which to me, at least, had a considerable degree of painful interest. I have seen several persons who, as they declare, saw him during his imprisonment, and one who saw him after his death. He was of the Maronite church, and from his intercourse with the missionaries he came to understand the corruption of his church, and the nature of true spiritual religion. This brought on him the displeasure of the dignitaries of that church. He was a man of learning and talents, and, with the truth on his side, he was too much in argument for any of them. After various attempts to bring him back to their corrupt system in vain, he was seized and imprisoned, and subjected to much cruel treatment. He held fast to the truth which he had learned. His faith was built on the Bible. One of the individualsfrom whom I gained information about him said, he had a long conversation with him while in prison. He was shut up in a small room only a few feet square, the door walled up so as to leave but a small opening, like a window. He was loaded with chains, and his food handed to him through this small opening. He assured this person that his religious faith rested alone on the Bible.
His confinement was so close that it had become, with people generally, a matter of doubt whether he was dead or alive. Thus it had been for some time before the Egyptian government took possession of this country. Some of the Franks felt an intense interest in his fate. Immediately after the fall of Acre, which event secured to the Egyptian government the control of this part of Syria, an English merchant of this place by the name of Todd, waited on the Pasha, and made known the case of the imprisoned Asaad, and asked and obtained authority to examine the convent where he was confined, and have him set at liberty if he were alive.
Todd visited the convent, and made some search, but Asaad was not found. He was informed that he was dead, and was shown what was said to be his grave; this confirmed the opinion that he was dead. This movement on the part of Todd was well meant; it may, however, be doubted, whether it was well managed. The news got out that he was about to visit the convent, and search for Asaad. It was known on the mountains before he reached Cannobeen. It is now declared, and pretty generally believed on the mountains, as I am told, that Todd was over-reached in the matter, that Asaad was then alive, but concealed when the examination was made. Todd spent but a few hours in the convent, and that at night, and left the place with the full impression that Asaad was dead.
After this, it is said that the high ecclesiastics, fearing that the matter might be divulged that he was still living, had him destroyed. A sheik, who lives near the place, and who has since had a quarrel with the patriarch, has declared lately that Asaad was destroyed not long after the search by Todd, and that he saw the dead body before it was interred. How much truth there may be in this I know not; for truth is a thing that does not abound among this people. From the fact, however, that a wide-spread opinion on the mountains places his death subsequent to the search by Todd, and ascribes it to violence, there is much reason to believe that it is correct.
His case has evidently made a great impression on the people of the mountains. When I went to Bhamdoon, I was almost immediately inquired of for the little book that told about Asaad Shidiak. I sent to Beyroot, and procured some copies of a small Arabic tract, written by Asaad himself, giving a short account of his change of views, and discussions with the priests, up to near the time of his imprisonment. These were sought for with more eagerness than almost any book I had. The solicitations for it came principally from the Maronites. It is, however, proscribed by their church; still I found that some of them would read it. A good-looking young man, who was evidently a pretty good scholar, would come to my room and read the book by the hour. He would not take it away for fear of the priest. And this reminds me of a case that was rather amusing, that took place not long before we went to the mountains. Some of the Maronite princes were down from the mountains, and one of them procured the tract containing the account of Asaad Shidiak, and a priest saw him reading it. This being strictly forbidden, the prince had a penance assigned him, as didalso the servants who were within hearing at the time the book was read. He was directed to fast so long; make so many prostrations; and pay such a sum of money. The prince replied:—as to fasting, it made him sick, and he could not do it; and as to the prostrations, they gave him the back-ache, and he could not perform them; that the priest might, if he chose, make the attendants do it—and there was some money, throwing down a part of what was called for, which they might do what they pleased with. There are a good many indications that the power of the priesthood over the people is beginning to give way. The time, I hope, is near, when more of the people will dare to think for themselves, and follow the dictates of an enlightened conscience.
A few months ago, a heavy conscription, as it may be called, was raised over the most, if not the whole of Syria; and out of it has arisen the present war in the Houran. This is the name now used to designate an extensive district east of the Jordan. It embraces the country occupied by the tribes that lived east of that river—Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; the country of Bashan, Moab, and a district to the east, that is not much known to Europeans. It is said to be a high country, and abounding with remains of cities. The Egyptian government extends over this, but how far to the east I do not know.
In raising soldiers, the Pasha sent a body of troops out among these towns and villages, to take such as were fit for soldiers. The people, who have much of the Arab character, did not like this, rose on the soldiers, and destroyed several hundred of them. The Pasha then sent a considerable body of troops to destroy the towns and chastise the people. The people left their towns as the soldiers approached, and joined the Arabs of the desert. They werejoined by many from other parts of the country, and in all made a pretty imposing force. Taking advantage of the rough and mountainous districts, they did not allow the troops of the Pasha to bring them to a fair fight; and attacking his army in a situation that gave them the advantage, they have twice beaten his army; and on the last occasion, with a great loss to the Pasha, both of men and munitions of war. The army of the Pasha had to retreat towards Damascus. There is much discontent with the Pasha; and it need not cause much surprise if other movements of a rebellious character should follow the affair of the Houran, especially if it be not soon put down. Some slight indications of the kind have appeared at Damascus; but several, suspected of causing it, had their heads taken off with little ceremony, and the matter seems to be stopped. Should the Pasha subdue the Houran, it will produce a safer state of things to the east of the Jordan than what has heretofore existed, and throw open a vast region that must have peculiar interest to the traveller, from the multitude of ruins that exist there, as well as the connexion which it has with many of the events of ancient and sacred history.
On the evening of the first of April, we witnessed a most wonderful flight of locusts. They came like a dark cloud, filling the air for a long distance. The greater part of them were above the tops of the houses; but many flew lower, and passed through the tops of the mulberry trees. There had been a strong south-east wind for about twelve hours. They came from the east, and must, of course, have crossed the Lebanon. Their course was west; but as they approached the sea, I thought they varied, and passed more south-west, as if not willing to go out of sight of land. For about half an hour the air was full of them; afterwardstheir number decreased, but it was a long time before the last straggler had passed. About three days afterwards, we had them again from the south-west; the wind had changed, and now came from that quarter. They now seemed disposed to stop: the gardens and sands were full of them. They did not seem to eat anything, but were employed in depositing their eggs, which they place in the sands or earth. An acquaintance of mine, who has just returned from Tripoli, states, that all the way from Ji-bail to the river Beyroot, a distance of nearly twenty miles, the locusts are thrown out on the shore in such numbers as to lie from eighteen inches to two feet deep—they have been drowned in the sea. The old locusts do not do much injury; it is the young ones, which will come out in a month or six weeks after the eggs are deposited in the sands, that eat so voraciously, and destroy all before them. I understand the Emeer has issued an order for each person to collect about a quart of their eggs, as a means of destroying them, and thus preventing the destruction which the young locusts would make.