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going before any of these local authorities, he pays them any deference which may imply a sense of inferiority in himself, as he will in that case generally be treated with neglect and arrogance; the deference we pay to each other is not understood here, where every one exacts the degree of consideration he fancies himself entitled to from those around him. Consequently if a man proudly neglects to offer you a seat, you must take one. If he offers you coffee before the chibouk or pipe, you must send it away, and order the pipe. You will then find that his opinion of you is vastly heightened, and he will be ready afterwards to show you all manner of respect, that his own dignity may not be compromised by your taking of your own accord what he has neglected to offer; a piece of presumption which he knows not how to resent. When we arrived, therefore, at the governor's platform, we mounted the steps without hesitation, and seated ourselves on the divan beside him, making the usual salaam, which he returned courteously enough, and we then ordered our dragoman to approach and interpret.

The Pasha's firman was read with due reverence and attention, and we then told the governor that we wanted eighteen or nineteen horses and mules to go to Damascus.

GOVERNOR.-MULETEER.

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Not a word was uttered in reply, and we sat in silence for a minute, when the secretary, shaking his head and stamping a paper with the governor's signet, on which were cut his initials, called to a gaily dressed character with a long cane in his hand, who quickly brought a muleteer charged to execute our orders. The man asked an exorbitant price for his mules, and we appealed to the governor, who informed us that the firman merely ordered him to procure the beasts, but gave him no orders about their price, and, therefore, that he had nothing to do with it. The overcharge no doubt went into his own pocket.

Many of the houses of Beirout present marks of the cannon balls fired at the place when the Greeks landed during the last war. The present population, I am informed by a resident merchant, is about 12,000, of which full one half are Christians.

CHAPTER II.

BEIROUT.-DEPARTURE.-ASCENT OF LIBANUS.-SCENERY.

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CAVALRY.-DEAD BODY.-ARAB LAMENTATION.

Δύο δέ ἐξιν ὄρη τὰ ποιοῦντα τὴν Κοίλην καλουμένην Συρίαν, ὡς ἄν παράλληλα, ὃ τε Λιβανος καὶ ὁ ̓Αντιλιβανος, μικρὸν ὑπερθεν της θαλάσσης ἀρχόμενα ἄμφω

STRABO, LIB. XVI.

OCT. 4th. We have been preparing all the morning for our departure. The awkwardness and stupidity of the Arabs are most annoying. It is now one o'clock, and there is no probability of starting for another hour; two or three men are occupied at a time in loading a mule, one appearing to undo what the others have just done; the court-yard is strewed with rope, hay, boxes, and trunks, and the screaming and shouting are distracting.

Two, P. M.-We are at last all mounted, and

BEIROUT.DEPARTURE.

43

present a long and very curious cavalcade. The van is composed of seven strong baggage mules, well laden; the centre of our eight respectable selves, mounted on broken down chargers and mules; and the rear is brought up by various grotesque figures; a very fat Maltese servant, in a round brim straw hat, on a tall, lean, brokenkneed charger with a high wooden saddle; a pale sickly looking Arab dragoman, in a white turban and long flowing robe, on a mule; a handsome little Greek boy; a black African of Senaar, wheeling about on horseback, with a doublebarrelled gun slung on his back and a scimitar at his side; and last of all, the large English bull-dog, sewed up in a panier, and held on a mule by an Arab, to be kept out of mischief.

As we passed through the gate, the Arab guard drew up, the crowd collected, and when the bulldog, with his tongue hanging out, covered with white foam, was first seen closing the procession, an universal shout of astonishment was echoed on all sides, and the whole guard turned out to witness the extraordinary phenomenon, having never seen so strange an animal before. This bull-dog, having traversed the whole of Russia, through the Caucasus, Circassia, the north of Persia, Turkey, and Syria, fighting dogs, seizing cattle and

sheep, and going through a variety of adventures, at last died at Jerusalem, and was magnificently interred by his kind master under the walls of that city, where an inscription was placed to his memory. We had three muleteers; two were on foot, and the third, who appeared to be the captain of the band, was mounted on a little frisky donkey, and preceded the caravan, regulating its pace. He was dressed in a sort of blue petticoat garment, with a voluminous sash wound round his waist, a dirty turban on his head, and a short cherry-stick pipe in his mouth. His head and legs were constantly in motion, and his high shoulders, long beard, and round face gave him a most original aspect.

The sun was already fast declining in the west. The bright glare from the lofty eminences was gradually softening into the mellow light of evening, and the women, one by one, were beginning to emerge from the houses, each with her accustomed water pitcher, as we left the shady mulberry groves that surround Beirout and crossed over the rich plain to the south-east of the town. The lofty range of mountains, thickly studded with villages, presented a most picturesque appearance.

We shortly commenced the ascent of the chain, enjoying delightful views of the sea and of

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