On the Way to Damascus.

From Tiberias I rode along the Brook Kishon, where Elijah slew the priests of Baal, to Mount Carmel, and was received at the Monastery near the summit overlooking the sea. I was also kindly entertained by the British Consul at Hepha, where a German settlement has been formed, whence I travelled along the shore by St Jean d'Acre to the ruins of Tyre and the still existing city of Sidon to Beyrout, which is the principal port on that part of the coast of Syria. Beyrout is a well kept and almost modern town, beautifully situated on the plain at the base of the Lebanon Mountains. It is the headquarters of American Christian Missions, where excellent schools are maintained. It is also the starting point for the very ancient and still important city of Damascus, to which a railway is now completed, page 55 but in my time a good horse and sufficient bodily strength were needed to bear the traveller over both ranges of the Lebanon Mountains to the rich plains of the "Rivers of Damascus." On my way I stopped to see the majestic ruins of the great Temple of Baalbee, and after many hours of hard riding through miles of deep snow on the summit of the mountains, I came in sight of the "Pearl amidst emeralds," to which this most ancient of cities has been figuratively likened. A refreshing Turkish bath enabled me to explore the streets, gardens, fountains, and architectural remains that tell of former grandeur and also of the present wealth and commerce of Damascus. On my return journey over the mountains to Bey rout the heavy snow had melted and revealed one of the most fertile and charming scenes of mountain life; for the slopes of the Lebanons are richly cultivated and peopled by industrious races of Maronites and Druses, who, after much warlike contention, are now living quietly under the shade of their vines and fig trees. The descent by a winding road towards Beyrout discloses the most enchanting views both of mountain scenery and the waters of the Levant, shining like gold under the setting sun.