After gazing for fourteen days on wide naked plains, without a single tree or shrub to break their dull uniformity, the pleasure may be imagined with which one hails the wide spreading branches of the magnificent walnut, the dense foliage of the plum, the apricot, the pomegranate, the cherry, the fresh cool air loaded with blossoms, and the chirping of the birds from the branches of the trees. Everywhere advantage has been taken of the late rains, and the gardens look fresher and greener than before. ful cultivation is exercised in The most careevery direction, and the ground appears never to be at rest. Pliny in his Natural History, lib. xx. 51, I think mentions that the Syrians were in his time excellent gardeners, and they were so expert in laying out their grounds, that they became a proverb among the Greeks. Groups of women were riding on donkeys, strings of dromedaries pacing along the road, and mounted horsemen curvetting in different directions. These gardens abound in apricot trees; the fruit is dried and exported to all parts of the East, and when boiled, it makes a delicious conserve. The grapes too are very abundant, and of immense size; all those I have seen are the large black grape. The fruit trees consist of the fig, the VOL. II. B B plum, the mulberry, several kinds of the apricot tree, the pomegranate, the cherry, the pear, the quince, the olive, the walnut, the apple, the peach, the hazle-nut, &c., &c.; besides various forest-trees, the sycamore, the willow, the white and black poplar, the cypress, the birch, the plane, the box, the lime, &c., &c. In the gardens underneath these trees are grown beans, parsley, artichokes, lettuces, radishes, gourds, water melons, garlic, celery, cucumbers, parsley, spinach, beet-root, carrots, turnips, sorrel, cauliflowers, endive, kidney and scarlet beans, chichory, &c., &c., and of these delicious gardens and delightful environs truly may it be said, "Ex iis fructus nunquam periit, neque deficit Hyeme neque æstate; toto anno durant sed sane semper, The river, which is the cause of all this fertility, appears to have been called Chrusorroas, or the 66 golden river," by the Greeks*. On entering the city, I found the bazaars unusually lively; auctions were going on; crowds of * Τῶν δὲ ποταμῶν ὁ μὲν Χρυσορρόας ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῆς Δαμασκηνῶν πόλεως καὶ χώρας εἰς τὰς ὀχετέιας ἀναλίσκεται σχεδόν τις πολλὴν γαρ ἐτάρδει καὶ βαθείαν σφόδρα - Strabo, lib. xvi. THE BAZAARS. THE TAILOR. 371 women were bidding, and pale men with one eye were screaming in every direction. I made purchase of some arms, and then, my wardrobe having suffered much during our journey to Palmyra, I wended my way to a tailor, to put his wits to work to make a pair of Frank pantaloons; he examined those I had on me very minutely. Baurek Allah, Good God," said he, after looking at buttons, straps, fastenings, and all their complicated machinery, "where did you get these made?" "That's not to the purpose," replied I, "can you make a pair like them?" "Eiwah," said he, "eiwah-In Allah," "God be willing." "But have you got the stuff?" "No." "Well then," said the tailor, "I must go into the bazaars with you, for our gentlemen here do not clothe themselves in such material as you have on; I have nothing at all like it in my shop, and I am afraid we shall meet with nothing like it anywhere in the city." The tailor, as usual, had only one eye, and had very imperfect vision through the other; as we went along, therefore, he continued to shout to people not to run against him. After parading about half the morning, we pitched upon a certain portion of the Damascene ladies' dress, which the tailor declared would suit the purpose remarkably well, and which he said was abdurrahman, "most excellent." In the course of the morning I passed by the celebrated gate of the great mosque, called Bah Girun; it is described by Abulpheda, the Arabic historian, in his description of Syria. He says, there is a mosque at Damascus of which there is none more beautiful or sumptuous in appearance in the whole land of Islamism, for the walls and the arched roof above the " Al Meckrah," near to the "Al Maksurat," (a separate or distinct place in the mosque, where the great dignitaries are accustomed to sit,) are the work of the Sabeans, whose place of prayer it used to be; afterwards, says he, the temple came into the hands of the Jews and Pagans, in whose time it was that the head of John, the son of Zacharias, was fixed on a pole over the gate of the mosque, which is called Bah Girun. His companions and followers, being Christians, greatly venerated the building on that account, until Islamism began to predominate, when the temple was yielded to the Moslems, who converted it into a mosque. The Moslems, says he, stuck over the same gate Girun, where before was placed the head of John the * Abulpheda Tabula Syriæ.-Lipsia, MDCCLXVI. THE BEDOUIN SHEIKH. 373 son of Zacharias, the head of Hosein, the son of Ali. Afterwards, Walid, son of Abd al Maleki, holding the government of the place, restored and beautified the building; he covered the pavement with marble slabs, he clothed the walls with spotted marble, he clothed all the chapiters of the pillars with gold, and fortified the roof with lead. Some say, says Abulpheda, that he spent the whole revenue of Syria over the work. The Arabic author Al Mohallebita, says that, on a certain stone in the corner of this temple, the inhabitants of Damascus had inserted a tablet with this inscription, "Damascius erected this building for the worship of God." Six, P. M.-We sat down to a sumptuous dinner at Mr. Farren's house with our Sheikh, who handled his silver knife and fork with great ease and propriety; he was in his full Bedouin costume, and conversed with Mrs. Farren with all the ease and address of a perfect gentleman. On being asked how we behaved? he said we were all very good men. Which was the best? all equally good; but looking at me, and reaching across the table, he said in an under tone to Mr. Farren, "He, he, beat his horse." True it was, to my shame, that having had, as before remarked, the worst horse, I had, when I found him lagging behind, occa |