About two hundred more, and among them several of the most obnoxious, found an asylum in the houses of the missionaries, and in the house of a native helper of the mission, which, being in the centre of the Maronite quarter, was crowded with refugees.

Mr.Thomson ventured out in the midst of the tumult, and succeeded in getting a guard of Druzes and Greeks whom he could trust, placed around this house, and thus the people with their goods were secured.

The palace was in danger of being taken by storm, and the people within it all massacred; when the leaders of the Druzes, to avoid this, requested Mr.Thomson to carry a flag of truce, with offers of safety and permission to retire whenever they might choose.

This was done at some risk, as the battle was still raging.

After the surrender, Dr.Van Dyck dressed the wounded Maronites in the palace, and brought several of them to his own house.