CHAPTER VI.
Arrival at Beyrout--Fellahs--Backsheesh--Uncomfortable quarters-- Saida--Tyre--St.Jean d'Acre--Caesarea--Excursion among the ruins-- Jaffa--An eastern family--The Indian fig-tree--An Oriental dinner-- Costume of the women of Jaffa--Oppressive heat--Gnats--Ramla--Syrian convents--Bedouins and Arabs--Kariet el Areb, or Emmaus--The Scheikh--Arrival at Jerusalem.
May 25th.
This morning I could discern the Syrian coast, which becomes more glorious the nearer we approach.

Beyrout, the goal of our voyage, was jealously hidden from our eyes to the very last moment.

We had still to round a promontory, and then this Eden of the earth lay before us in all its glory.

How gladly would I have retarded the course of our vessel, as we passed from the last rocky point into the harbour, to have enjoyed this sight a little longer! One pair of eyes does not suffice to take in this view; the objects are too numerous, and the spectator is at a loss whither he should first direct his gaze,--upon the town, with its many ancient towers attached to the houses, giving them the air of knights' castles-- upon the numerous country-houses in the shade of luxurious mulberry plantations--upon the beautiful valley between Beyrout and Mount Lebanon--or on the distant mountain-range itself.

The towering masses of this magnificent chain, the peculiar colour of its rocks, and its snowclad summits, riveted my attention longer than any thing else.
Scarcely had the anchor descended from the bows, before our ship was besieged by a number of small boats, with more noise and bustle than even at Constantinople.