INSTRUCTIVE 
 
 AND 
 
 CURIOUS EPISTLES, 
 
 FKO.M 
 
 CATHOLIC CLERGYMEN 
 
 OF THE 
 
 gotiety of Segue, 
 
 IN 
 CHINA, INDIA, PERSIA, THE LEVANT, AND EITHER AMERICA ; 
 
 BEING 
 
 SELECTIONS OF THE MOST INTERESTING 
 
 OF THE 
 
 "LETTRES EDIFIANTES." 
 
 WITH AN APPENDIX, 
 
 SLIGHTLY ILLUSTRATING THE PRESENT SITUATION OF THE 
 COUNTRIES DESCRIBED. 
 
 TRANSLATED 
 
 BY THE 
 
 V , villi ■! 1% 
 REV. THOMAS AUGUSTUS POTC^jfe ' WW V 
 
 •' 
 
 -^^ 
 
 " Qua* regio in terris nostri non plena laboris ?"— ViRGitT" \ (IJ '-"-> •' 
 
 "Mere reading is the best education that !,r,, * " ,1Q 3E£e-*.«Sw»?jo*"»i. , lrtra ; ^ 
 
 Marquis of Normanby. 
 
 any one^5*errreceivecf.''—Tii3 ^Ssl 3 " 
 
 BOSTONCOLLEGELIBRARt - ?. 
 
 > CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. ( Y) r v€^ 
 
 DUBLIN: OLLV^ 
 
 T, O'GORMAN, 35, UPPER ORMOND-QUAY. 
 
 1839. 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRAE 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 
DUBLIN : 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM WARREN, 140, CAPEL-STREET, 
 
 66285 
 
TO THE 
 
 VERY REV. DR. MEYLER, V. G. 
 
 ETC. ETC. 
 
 THE FRIEND OF MEN OF LETTERS ; 
 
 AS A 
 
 TOKEN OF PROFOUND AND AFFECTIONATE 
 
 RESPECT, 
 
 THIS VERSION IS INSCRIBED 
 
 BY HIS DEVOTED SERVANT, 
 
 THE TRANSLATOR. 
 
THE 
 
 TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 Presenting such varied scenes — the gorgeous 
 splendor of the East — the naked and natural sub- 
 limity of the West — the crowded capitals of China, 
 and the wigwam on the wild Savannah ; — those 
 invaluable volumes, the t; Lettres Edifiantes," 
 have equal, and, I imagine, irresistible attractions 
 for the Christian, the merchant, and the man of 
 letters. They present one of the most illustrious 
 chapters in the history of the Church, and form 
 one of the most glorious monuments of the Society 
 of St. Ignatius. Upon the Continent their name 
 is eulogy — without them no library is perfect — no 
 reading extensive. The accomplished, erudite, 
 and polished Jesuit will be always found alike 
 instructive, edifying, and interesting, as well in 
 the hovel of the savage, as beneath the splendid 
 domes of Oriental majesty — in the cabin of the 
 Red man, as in the Palaces of Pekin, and beside 
 the " thrones of Ind." Mingled with the sybarites 
 of European courts in elegance — in exquisite 
 delicacy, as well in moral as in physical refine- 
 
 A3 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 ment, they were not to be distinguished from the 
 most polished courtiers : they were the very men 
 who rivalled the penitents of India in their fright- 
 fullest austerities ; they were the very men, who 
 were worthy to carry the gonfalon of the cross to 
 the remotest, the most distant limits of this created 
 universe. 
 
 Their intimacy with savage life exceeded that of 
 all other travellers. Having had the very highest 
 education — for they themselves, reader, need I tell 
 you, were the mightiest masters of the science — 
 having had the very highest education, those bright 
 intelligences, enriched with all the Greek and all 
 the Roman gave — men to whom nothing was un- 
 known, those gifted, elegant, and cultivated spirits, 
 have spent 40 years among the savages. Oh, what 
 a sacrifice was that ! they who might have shone 
 in the courts of European kings, and eclipsed the 
 lustre of the brightest, they have been content to 
 accompany the red man in his dismal expeditions 
 in pursuit of game ; they have been content to 
 light the calumet of ever-durhig peace in the 
 councils of the savage red skin ! Yes, their vir- 
 tues were sufficient to win her from the skies, her 
 habitual refuge from the violence of man, and per- 
 suade her to inhabit in the wigwam of savages! 
 
 Historians of earth have not hailed them in their 
 annals; they have taken little trouble to emblazon 
 their endeavours ; but have they not been written 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 by the angels of heaven, and of human nature, 
 with pencils of steel, and on tablets of adamant to 
 outlast the world ? 
 
 Yes, a thousand, and a thousand times, human 
 nature, suffering and degraded in the red man's 
 cabin, has cried to heaven, in a voice louder and 
 more penetrating than the roaring cataracts, for 
 blessings on the heads of those friends of human 
 nature ; and though blood-stained monarchs and 
 their marshalled myrmidons, never heard the cry, 
 it produced more joy in heaven, than evening 
 trumpets sounding over fields of bloody victory; 
 and all who sympathise with man, wherever he 
 is miserable — all who groan beneath the European 
 burden of commercial tyranny, and all who feel 
 for them, doubtless find its echo in their heart- 
 strings. They whom they would have deified in 
 ancient Athens, whose statues they would have 
 placed amongst their gods, amongst the most ele- 
 gant creations of the Grecian chisel, and in their 
 loveliest fanes, have been only hunted by the howl 
 of anti-Christian bigotry in our times. They who 
 went forth into the forests, exhibiting the wisdom 
 of primeval sages, to found those felicitous repub- 
 lics, which, embosomed by the aged oaks coeval 
 with mankind, which swayed by true philosophers, 
 bloomed on the savannah, have only proved in all 
 its bitterness, " the base ingratitude of low 'man- 
 kind." Summon your philosophers of modern 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 times! have they done anything compared to this? 
 Tine, they assisted in destroying states — did they 
 ever found one ? When did they assemble the 
 children of the desert, find call them, like the 
 visionary bones in the valley of the prophet, to 
 life, and make them a community? With the 
 " delusive Locke," they have speculated truly on 
 imaginary happiness, and aided in the birth of 
 real evil, but can they boast of any thing compared 
 to this ? 
 
 They did not meet them in the prison-ships of 
 Turkey, nor in the Bagnio of the Grand Signior : 
 when the spirit of the pestilence breathed his 
 samiel breath upon those dens of misery, and the 
 serene children of Ignatius encountered the pest 
 with calm imperturbability, like those gigantic 
 oaks that groan amid the storm, but defy its 
 violence, when roaring and horrent forests are 
 strewn upon the earth by the whirlwind around 
 them. 
 
 " Talk they of morals, oh thou bleeding love, 
 The true morality is love of thee." 
 
 But why should I traverse the remoter regions 
 of the world, when I have a precedent at home. 
 The Catholics of Ireland still remember Beattie ; 
 he who cam? to give testimony of the light — who 
 was fit for the apostleship of the universe, and 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 who shone over the desert of those melancholy 
 times, like the pillar of celestial fire over the 
 refugees of Misraim. Oh ! hearts that have bled 
 so frequently as ours, have suffered too much to 
 forget him ; — suffice it to say, that the Jesuits 
 were such as he. 
 
 As Ossian stood in the presence of Patricius, 
 that monarch, mid a thousand bards, the compa- 
 nions of whose youth were all departed, the 
 mighty men who learned from his lyre to give 
 themselves to glory, and the colossal bard ex- 
 claimed such as I, were the gigantic Feni so 
 We saw the last of those evangelic giants, " full 
 of grace and truth, and he dwelt amongst us." 
 
 They had faults, it is frequently alleged ; their 
 solitary fault was their love of our religion. 
 Loving her too well, labouring too well, serving 
 her too well, " the head and front of their offend- 
 ing hath this extent — no more." Hear the founder 
 of the Presbyterian Church, the murderer of 
 Servetus, Calvin the sodomite ! 
 
 " As to the Jesuits, they are our greatest 
 
 adversaries : we must put them to death, or, if 
 
 that cannot be done, we must expel them : at 
 
 least we must overwhelm them with lies and 
 calumnies" Jesuitse vero, qui se maxime oppo- 
 
 nunt nobis aut necandi aut si hoc commode fieri 
 
 non potest ejiciendi aut certe mendaciis et calum- 
 
 niis opprimendi. — " Mode of propagating Calvin- 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 ism" — De modo propagandi Calvinismum, apud 
 Becwv Aphor 15., 
 
 " II n'y a rien de plus essential," writes aCal- 
 vinist of some celebrity in France : " que de miner 
 le credit des Jesuites. En les ruinant on ruine 
 Rome, et si Rome est perdue la Religion se 
 reformera d'elle-meme" — " Nothing is so impor- 
 tant as the destruction of the Jesuits ; by destroy- 
 ing them we destroy Rome, and when Rome falls 
 the Reformation must go on of itself." — (His- 
 toire du Cone, de Trente par Pierre Francois 
 Courrayer, Amsterdam edition, 1751, page 53.) 
 Courrayer forgot the celebrated dictum, When 
 Rome falls, the world will fall!* "It is cer- 
 tain," exclaims Bayle, in the article Loyola, 
 " that all that is said against the Jesuits is believed 
 with equal certainty by all their enemies, as well 
 Catholics as Protestants ; yet, whoever examines 
 with impartiality the innumerable apologies which 
 the Jesuits have published, will find a justification 
 sufficient to induce an enemy to withdraw the 
 accusation." 
 
 We will see, in every page of the Lettres Edi- 
 fiantes, the rich, the cultivated, the accomplished 
 mind glowing with every variety of literature, 
 like some fecund field which is perfectly " in 
 heart" — like some golden mine which is peren- 
 nially " crumbling away from its own intrinsic 
 richness." 
 
 * See Chikle Harold. 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 Whatever faults may be discerned in the fol- 
 lowing production, credit me, reader, they are all 
 mine ; such faults are many. Few can be so 
 conscious of those faults as I ; but from an un- 
 practised pen, tis promise, not perfection, which 
 the judicious will anticipate. 
 
 " He who expects a faultless piece to see," 
 expects what never was, nor is, nor shall be ; 
 besides, the mighty truth should ever be remem- 
 bered, " Nature's great masterpiece is writing 
 well." Nature, in the old age of the world, gave 
 us a Napoleon, a Watt, &c. ; see you not that 
 'tis easier far to produce such men than to give 
 birth to a Thucydides. In sober sadness, the voca- 
 tion is so difficult, that I fear me there is less mirth 
 than melancholy in the interrogation' of the poet — 
 
 " What sins to me unknown. 
 
 Dipp'd me in ink, my parents' or my own ?" 
 
 From an Irish Catholic clergyman — one of the 
 " surpliced ruffians" of the Times — some faults 
 must be expected. 
 
 It may be useful to state, that I am no disciple 
 of Loyola; would that I were worthy to loose 
 the latchets of his shoes, let alone to be his son ! 
 The very narrow compass of my reading limits 
 all my knowledge of the Jesuits. I believe I may 
 safely aver, that, with a single exception, as my 
 sight is not the best, I never saw a live Jesuit. 
 
INSTRUCTIVE 
 
 AND 
 
 CURIOUS EPISTLES. 
 
 A LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE COUNT OF 
 PONTCHARTRAIN, UPON THE PRESENT CONDITION OF 
 THE MISSIONS IN GREECE. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Constantinople is a universe containing 
 an immensity of Christians. They reckon at least two 
 hundred thousand Greeks, and the Armenians perhaps 
 are eighty thousand, amongst the permanent inhabitants, 
 omitting those that come and go, whom commerce and 
 the court circulate. The plague affords a striking proof 
 how populous this city is. I have seen, myself, two 
 hundred thousand people mown down by the mortality. 
 The dead that passed the portals to be inhumed outside 
 the city, gave us the means to make this calculation. 
 And yet the streets were as full of living people a few 
 weeks subsequently, as if nobody had died. 
 
 Many families that inhabited the town in the time of 
 the Genoese,, are still at Pera and Galatea ; they amount 
 
2 THE SLAVES. 
 
 to about four hundred persons ; they are the ambas- 
 sadors' interpreters ; while some are doctors, a profession 
 from which they derive consideration, and free admis- 
 sion to the Turkish lords, without even excepting the 
 seraglio. 
 
 The retinue and households of the several ambassadors 
 and the merchants of their nations, in all almost three 
 thousand persons, are the most distinguished of the Chris- 
 tian Franks. The crowd is increased by the Christian 
 vessels, and the streets near the shore are often to be seen 
 thronged with their newly-landed. 
 
 The Catholic slaves of Constantinople, who are working 
 the ships, or chained to the gallies, or imprisoned in the 
 bagnio of the Grand Seignior, are 5,000 ; there are 
 20,000 others in possession of his subjects. A native of 
 Ragusa, M. R. Galani, a Dominican, and titular arch- 
 bishop of Ancyra, a gentleman of great regularity of life, 
 and who is strictly attentive to his duties, is ecclesiastical 
 superior to all these Catholics. The situation of our 
 house is such, that we can easily assist this population. 
 At the centre of Galatea, near the sea, in the thorough- 
 fare of all that come from the bottom of the harbour, 
 appears the finest church in Turkey. The pillars that 
 support, the balustrade that terminates the vestibule, and 
 hems the staircase that conducts to it, these are all of snow- 
 white marble. It possesses the prerogative of mosques, 
 a cupola, and a covering of lead. The nave is decorated 
 by sepulchral monuments of ambassadors of France and 
 of Princess Tekeli ; you will find her mother's mausoleaum 
 in a separate chapel. This pious and courageous princess 
 died at Nicomedia. To render her the services which 
 for several years she had received at Constantinople, the 
 
THE PROCESSION. O 
 
 Jesuits considered it a duty to visit Nicomedia as long as 
 she resided there. A mission had commenced at Nico- 
 media, which, impracticable without a plausible pretext, 
 such as a visit to this princess, expired when the lady 
 died. 
 
 Divine service and the sacraments, preaching, confe- 
 rences, and catechism, could never be performed in 
 Christian cities with greater freedom. The sermons are 
 delivered in Turkish and Italian, in Greek and French . 
 Men and women of the several rites, Armenian, Greek, 
 and Frank, assist successively : the men are in the body 
 of the chapel, and, in the Oriental manner, the women 
 have a place apart, hemmed in by lattices. Though 
 established for infants only, the Greek and Turkish 
 catechism is of use to the old, who are always present. 
 
 Our Superior, Father Portier, a truly apostolic man, 
 established, for every Monday, two Turkish lectures ; a 
 morning one for Armenian maids, who, in their parents' 
 houses, pass their lives in piety, wholly consecrated to our 
 Saviour ; the other in the afternoon for many young 
 Armenian deacons, who arm against error in this confe- 
 rence, and to whom the principal points of the Catholic 
 religion, and of a priest's professional duties, are exhi- 
 bited, and who will be themselves, one day, excellent 
 missionaries when they have been made vertabiets, or 
 clergymen. On Sundays, merchants congregate and 
 compose a confraternity, which is dedicated to the holy 
 sacrament, in which great good is done. The Latins of 
 Pera have a society of St. Anne, which has subsisted 
 since the Genoese ; they perform pious exercises in a 
 chapel of our church. They make a general procession 
 
2 THE SLAVES. 
 
 to about four hundred persons ; they are the ambas- 
 sadors' interpreters ; while some are doctors, a profession 
 from which they derive consideration, and free admis- 
 sion to the Turkish lords, without even excepting the 
 seraglio. 
 
 The retinue and households of the several ambassadors 
 and the merchants of their nations, in all almost three 
 thousand persons, are the most distinguished of the Chris- 
 tian Franks. The crowd is increased by the Christian 
 vessels, and the streets near the shore are often to be seen 
 thronged with their newly-landed. 
 
 The Catholic slaves of Constantinople, who are working 
 the ships, or chained to the gallies, or imprisoned in the 
 bagnio of the Grand Seignior, are 5,000 ; there are 
 20,000 others in possession of his subjects. A native of 
 Ragusa, M. R. Galani, a Dominican, and titular arch- 
 bishop of Ancyra, a gentleman of great regularity of life, 
 and who is strictly attentive to his duties, is ecclesiastical 
 superior to all these Catholics. The situation of our 
 house is such, that we can easily assist this population. 
 At the centre of Galatea, near the sea, in the thorough- 
 fare of all that come from the bottom of the harbour, 
 appears the finest church in Turkey. The pillars that 
 support, the balustrade that terminates the vestibule, and 
 hems the staircase that conducts to it, these are all of snow- 
 white marble. It possesses the prerogative of mosques, 
 a cupola, and a covering of lead. The nave is decorated 
 by sepulchral monuments of ambassadors of France and 
 of Princess Tekeli ; you will find her mother's mausoleaum 
 in a separate chapel. This pious and courageous princess 
 died at Nicomedia. To render her the services which 
 for several years she had received at Constantinople, the 
 
THE PROCESSION. 3 
 
 Jesuits considered it a duty to visit Nicomedia as long- as 
 she resided there. A mission had commenced at Nico- 
 media, which, impracticable without a plausible pretext, 
 such as a visit to this princess, expired when the lady 
 died. 
 
 Divine service and the sacraments, preaching 1 , confe- 
 rences, and catechism, could never be performed in 
 Christian cities with greater freedom. The sermons are 
 delivered in Turkish and Italian, in Greek and French . 
 Men and women of the several rites, Armenian, Greek, 
 and Frank, assist successively : the men are in the body 
 of the chapel, and, in the Oriental manner, the women 
 have a place apart, hemmed in by lattices. Though 
 established for infants only, the Greek and Turkish 
 catechism is of use to the old, who are always present. 
 
 Our Superior, Father Portier, a truly apostolic man, 
 established, for every Monday, two Turkish lectures ; a 
 morning one for Armenian maids, who, in their parents' 
 houses, pass their lives in piety, wholly consecrated to our 
 Saviour ; the other in the afternoon for many young 
 Armenian deacons, who arm against error in this confe- 
 rence, and to whom the principal points of the Catholic 
 religion, and of a priest's professional duties, are exhi- 
 bited, and who will be themselves, one day, excellent 
 missionaries when they have been made vertabiets, or 
 clergymen. On Sundays, merchants congregate and 
 compose a confraternity, which is dedicated to the holy 
 sacrament, in which great good is done. The Latins of 
 Pera have a society of St. Anne, which has subsisted 
 since the Genoese ; they perform pious exercises in a 
 chapel of our church. They make a general procession 
 
4 OBSEQUIES. 
 
 ill the open street* on holy Saturday evening, in which 
 they bear the relic of the holy thorn, when all Galatea 
 and Pera are present. On Easter Sunday, the succeed- 
 ing 1 day, with the elevated cross and chanting hymns, 
 their procession proceeds through the principal streets of 
 Galatea. They have had this permission from the ear- 
 liest period. Such Turks as they encounter are the first 
 to pause and testify respect. — With the express permis- 
 sion of his majesty's ambassador, the Germans celebrate 
 their ceremonies at our church, having no church of their 
 own. The count Caprara, one of their ambassadors, is 
 buried there, and there they performed the funeral solem- 
 nities of their two last emperors, in the presence of two 
 hundred thousand persons. Such obsequies are termed 
 by the Greeks katarthion, while the Armenians call them 
 kavaran, meaning purgatory. The mourning, the masses, 
 the perpetual prayers, abundant alms and funeral orations, 
 and all we practice for the peace of the departed and the 
 memory of princes, produced an extraordinary effect on 
 them, and many were converted by these public proofs of 
 our belief in purgatory. Though there are numbers of 
 the nation in Pera and Galatea, all the noble and distin- 
 guished Greeks reside in the imperial city, or beyond the 
 port in Constantinople, but the most distinguished dwell 
 in the district called the Phanal, or Patriarchate. Some 
 of these have issued from the ancient emperors, and others 
 are allied to the Beys of Moldavia and Wallachia. The 
 Scarlati, to whom that Alexander appertained who was 
 known by the name of Mauro Cordato, by whom the 
 
 * Had they done so in Dublin at the period, they should be dra- 
 gooned. The Turks, it appears, were more tolerant than Irish 
 Protestants. 
 
THE PATRIAECH. 7 
 
 lustre of its original brightness was bestowed on it, is t. t 
 most distinguished at the present day. Cordato left two 
 sons, of whom one is imperial drogueman, and the other 
 Bey of Moldavia. We are well received of all these 
 gentlemen. The last was taught the Latin tongue by 
 Father James Piperi, and now requests a Jesuit to teach 
 it to his son. We are also on excellent terms with the 
 patriarch of the Greeks ; we pay him frequent visits ; he 
 is very kind to us ; he speaks his mind upon religious 
 subjects, and, without quitting the limits of respect, we 
 tell him what we think. 
 
 I had conceived some magnificent ideas of the majesty 
 of this patriarch, but on my first visit I was quite sur- 
 prised at seeing him served with the last simplicity. His 
 chamber is poor and naked ; his establishment consists of 
 two valets and a few clerks. He pays visits upon foot, 
 and in dress he no way differs from religious Greeks. 
 He is surrounded by a few prelates, as simple as himself 
 in their habiliments, which alone renders him remarkable. 
 He is generally preceded by a priest or deacon, with a 
 crutch or wooden cross ornamented with ivory and 
 mother of pearl. I have seen him still more simply 
 attended, with a suite of two or three persons ; never- 
 theless, the title of Universal Patriarch is taken by this 
 prelate without ceremony ; he must not be called Most 
 Holy Father, but Holy Panosiotatos. When the Greeks 
 speak of their other prelates, they do not say as we do, 
 bishop or archbishop, but the Saint of such a city, as the 
 Saint of Heraclea, &c. 
 
 The good understanding that we keep up carefully 
 with the patriarch and prelates of the Greeks, gives the 
 people a tendency to hear us. The children are sent with 
 
PATRIOTISM. 
 
 : willingness to our schools and eatechistical instructions. 
 A Bey of Wallachia has sent his sons to us. I know a 
 number of Greeks in Constantinople, whose dispositions 
 are the best, but it is not in this city, speaking generally, 
 that vast conversions can be hoped for. 
 
 Melancholy, humiliating, prostrate though it be, the 
 sight of their ruined grandeur inflames the spirits of these 
 fallen people with patriotic feelings of a lofty nature, 
 which you must perforce commiserate and sympathise 
 with. You would easily suppose that the city was still 
 their own. Though they do not understand their Holy 
 Fathers, and diurnally depart even farther from their 
 doctrine, or give it the most pitiable explications, they 
 will not admit that they are better understood by the 
 Westerns, nor that the latter come from the ends of the 
 earth to indicate the real meaning. I have often been 
 told by a virtuous Greek, the most intellectual amongst 
 them, with a naivete I never shall forget, that in order to 
 conversion, the Greeks required poverty and humiliation. 
 " Heaven who knows us well, and wished to save us," he 
 continued, " hath made us quaff the ' cup of trembling' 
 for 300 years. Our wealth and splendour in the ancient 
 times had ruined us. I am very much afraid lest a cer- 
 tain vapour in the head that still remains to us, complete 
 not our destruction." 
 
 The Armenians are not in a safer way, nor better 
 doctors than the Greeks, but are much more docile, and 
 have more anxiety for information. It is not sufficient, 
 as in France, to speak of religion for an hour. After two 
 or three hours of continual attention, they are ready to 
 listen for as long again, and invariably complain that we 
 are too compendious. Thirty or forty of their families 
 
THE JESUIT. 7 
 
 who are famous for their rank, exhibit a degree of fervour 
 worthy of the early ages of Christianity. 
 
 The parents, the children, and even the domestics 
 respire nothing but charity and zeal for God's service. 
 The heads of some of these families, who, for the faith; 
 have lost their property, deem it an insult if you pity 
 them. What do you talk of, they exclaim; is not our 
 Saviour's word explicit — lie who shall lose his life and all 
 for Jesus Christ, shall find them in the Lord. Nothing 
 can be possibly more edifying than to see these virtuous 
 men, surrounded by their children, married and not 
 married, approaching the altar every eight days, and after 
 them their spouses, in the middle of their daughter's. 
 They perform this devotion with such modesty and fer- 
 vour, that your soul cannot fail to be affected by it. 
 
 Were we not obliged to portion out our time amongst 
 oJier indispensable employments, the seven days of the 
 ^eek would hardly be sufficient to content the avid piety 
 or these good people. He who has received the rarest 
 talent for the salvation of Armenian souls, is Father 
 Iacques Cachod, of Fribourg, in Switzerland. Before 
 his dedication to the missions of the Levant, and during 
 he recent war, he was for many years a missioner at 
 -iribourg, in Brisgau. Numbers of our officers who still 
 srvive did him the honour of their confidence, and in his 
 h^ds it was that the celebrated M. du Fai desired to 
 die This father, in a single year, convinced 400 schis- 
 macs, and heard the confessions of 3000 persons, and 
 thei have been twice as many schismatics converted in 
 the )ar just passed. His maxim is seldom to appear, 
 and instantly to act. He has several zealous and saga- 
 cious vtholics constantly at hand, who spread themselves 
 
8 A MARTYR. 
 
 on every side, and who conduct per sons, who are inclined 
 to conversion, in silence to the priest. Several priests 
 and orthodox vertabiets exceedingly contribute to main- 
 tain the faith. These are the overseers of their nation, 
 ever ready to run where their services are necessary. 
 Since justice was inflicted by the Grand Seignior on the 
 sanguinary Ali Pacha, whose death was regarded by the 
 Turks themselves as a necessary penalty of his persecuting 
 the Armenians, the tranquillity of the catholics in this 
 quarter has seldom been interrupted. The blood of the 
 Armenian Dergoumidas* seems to have extinguished the 
 fire of persecution. There are only now and then some 
 transient efforts by the heretics which solely serve to 
 purify the virtue of the faithful. 
 
 If all Constantinople may be credited, the graces 
 received by the intercession of Dergoumidas every da^ 
 make his memory rise in the veneration of the people* 
 The spirit of faith which seems to have assumed nek 
 vigour in the breasts of the Armeniaus, despite the bloody 
 persecution they have recently endured, is most commonly 
 attributed to his mediation. Far from annihilating our 
 religion, as the Mahometans anticipated, the violent tem- 
 pest by which it has been visited hath caused it only t 
 send forth new shoots and fructify more generously. 
 
 The Catholics of Constantinople have increased by o 
 half; their number is about 12,000. They increased 
 other cities in a like proportion. Messire Melchou a 
 pupil of the Propaganda, bishop of Mardin in the Diarkk, 
 a very virtuous and learned prelate, has almost mad his 
 
 * This holy priest was condemned to death by the Vizer Aly ac ha 
 the 5th November, 1707. 
 
SLAVES. y 
 
 diocese entirely catholic. It has occasioned him, it is true, 
 penalties and perils without number ; but he triumphed 
 over these, and succeeded in the end. Last year he had 
 the courage, in order to consolidate his edifice, to repair 
 to Constantinople to ask the Vizier for a firman which 
 should protect his people and his person from the perse- 
 cutions of the Pacha of Mardin. Not finding any one 
 who was willing to risk his safety by the pleading of so 
 delicate a cause, he proceeded to the fall divan to state 
 his case himself, and such efficacy was given to his 
 eloquence, that it was publicly decided by the Grand 
 Vizier, that the Pacha of Mardin had ceasod to reign, and 
 that he should be put in prison till his peculations were 
 refunded. 
 
 Our missioners are much employed in attending to the 
 slaves in the bagnio of the Grand Seignior at Constanti- 
 nople. Its name is derived from the Italian of a bath, and 
 it really contains one. Girt with strong and lofty walls, 
 the bagnio is a vast enclosure, which has but a solitary 
 entrance, for ever furnished with an armed guard. Ima- 
 gine in the middle of this vast enciente, two great square 
 buildings, one less than the other, of which the great is 
 called the larger and the little is the smaller bath. The 
 light comes in through iron bars of no small thickness, 
 which compose the windows, and are at a great elevation 
 from the ground. The Christians taken by the Turks 
 in war or in ships at sea are incarcerated here. The 
 officers have little cells where two or three reside 
 together ; the commoner prisoners sleep uncovered on a 
 wooden guard bed which skirts the walls, where each has 
 only space sufficient for his body. They have contrived 
 
 a double chapel in a portion of the bath, one for the 
 
 b 5 
 
10 SLAVES. 
 
 slaves of the ritual of Rome, the other for the Greek 
 rite. Each of these chapels has its altar and its poor and 
 scanty ornaments apart. They had some good bells at 
 one time, but six years since they were taken from them 
 by the Turks, as the angels had their slumbers broken 
 by these bells, they said, who, alighting nightly on the 
 summit of a- neighbouring mosque, sought repose upon 
 the cupola. 
 
 A little church dedicated to St.. Anthony, sufficiently 
 well supplied with altar furniture, and which even has 
 some plate, has been built by the donations of the faith- 
 ful, very near the smaller bath. This is the church of 
 the ailing and the officers. Annually, a prefect of the 
 bagnio is elected by the slaves, and a sacristan under- 
 neath him, to whom all the articles are reckoned out, to 
 be transmitted in the same condition to the persons who 
 shall succeed them. Chains are attached to the person 
 of the slaves even in the bagnio — chains that never are 
 removed. Early in the morning, they are led along the 
 streets to the arsenal or public works, chained together 
 two and two in troops of thirty or forty, and this on 
 every day in the year, the four solemn festivals excepted. 
 For all his nutriment, each slave has two black loaves 
 a-day, the quality of which is bad. The Turks bring 
 their slaves back at sunset, but those who have satisfied 
 their overseers are separated from each other, and go 
 one by one. Those that they desire to punish are left 
 enchained, which occurs before they quit the works ; 
 then a cry is raised to return to the bath. They no 
 sooner return and are reckoned, than the keepers secure 
 them with a double lock, till the succeeding morning. 
 When they are sick, they cannot be removed from the- 
 
SLAVES. 1 1 
 
 bagnio; they remain in the prison with their gyves upon 
 them, which are only taken off when they are corpses. 
 However, Turkish cruelty is not limited by death. Before 
 they are carried to the public cemetery, the corpses are 
 arrested at the great portal ; there they lie extended, 
 side by side, while they are pierced repeatedly from belly 
 to belly with long iron spits, in order to be certain that 
 existence is extinguished. 
 
 The service that we render these unhappy people con- 
 sists in assisting them in sickness, procuring them the 
 solaces which charity affords them on the part of the 
 faithful, keeping up their faith and fear of God, and aiding 
 them to die well. If we are necessarily involved in much 
 pain and subjugation, in this labour, consolations on the 
 other hand are attached by Heaven to these services. 
 Besides our visits in the week, on sabbath days and fes- 
 tivals, two Jesuits attend them. In the evening they go 
 there, and during that night they are imprisoned with 
 the slaves. The Father of each bagnio has a little nook 
 apart, whither he retires when no sick are to be visited. 
 Imagine all those victims in their gyves, and the father 
 watching over them. When this multitude of sufferers 
 have taken some repose, and have ate their little bread, 
 the signal is given for the prayer. We begin by blessing 
 water and by a general aspersion. The prayer is then 
 repeated in a lofty voice : the five points of the examen 
 and the act of contrition are reiterated by the people and 
 the priest. Next he makes an exhortation on some 
 touching subject which is closely connected with their 
 present disposition, and this for the space of half an hour. 
 Then ho spends some hours in the confessional, and unless 
 he have to watch some dying man, having finished the 
 
12 THE SLAVES. 
 
 confessions he reposes for a moment. At five o 'clock in 
 winter, and at three o'clock in summer, all the inmates of 
 the prison are awaked for mass, at which the priest 
 explains the gospel. The mass concluded when the com- 
 municants return thanks, he takes his stand beside the 
 chapel door, and distributes alms to every one that passes. 
 Then the gates are opened with a great explosion, and 
 every slave makes haste to place himself beside a fellow, 
 in order to get chained to him, and, Sunday though it be, 
 they thus proceed to labour. 
 
 When the pestilence prevails, as the priest must be 
 always at the elbow of the sick, and the number of the 
 missioners is never more than five, the portal is passed 
 by a solitary Jesuit, who seldom repasses it alive ; but who 
 devotes himself entirely to the service of the sick, and 
 remains in the bagnio while the pestilence prevails. When 
 this priest has obtained the superior's permission ; being 
 prepared by a previous retreat he bids a final farewell to 
 his brothers, as if he were about to die ; — sometimes he 
 escapes the danger. The last Jesuit who died in this 
 exercise of charity, was Father Vandermans, a Belgian 
 by nation. The pest was very violent at that time. 
 The multitude of sick he assisted infected him in less 
 than fifteen days. He apprised his superior immediately, 
 asking as a favour the permission to expire near his 
 brothers. There is a little habitation situated at the 
 extremity of our garden, whither we transported him, 
 and having confessed himself anew, as well as taken the 
 viaticum, replenished with a sweet and quiet joy, he died 
 full of gratitude to God for the signal favour thus 
 bestowed on him. No one has been stricken by this 
 mortal malady since, save Father Peter Besnier, whose 
 
THE PLAGUE. 13 
 
 fine and brilliant genius made him so well known. 
 Towards the termination of his days, he consecrated his 
 existence for the second time to the mission of Constan- 
 tinople, to which he had already rendered services the 
 most essential. He was bearing- the confession of a 
 patient when he became the victim of the plague. The 
 other priests of this mission were preserved by Provi- 
 dence ; for it was only when the father had expired that 
 the signs of the pestilence appeared, and during the con- 
 tinuance of his illness they had been perpetually with 
 him. 
 
 But if any one should die of this disease, it is Father 
 Iacques Cachod, of whom I have already spoken ; who 
 is known by the name of the father of the slaves, he has 
 been employed for the last ten years in all such works of 
 mercy as are imminently perilous ; sometimes in the 
 bagnio and sometimes in the gallies of the Grand Seignior. 
 As they have an understanding with their keepers, the 
 slaves, who never can go out, contrive to get him in. I 
 received the following letter from this father ; I was at 
 Scio when he wrote ; 'twas a season when the scourge 
 was so appalling, that a third of the citizens were stricken 
 dead in Constantinople. 
 
 Now a day I am placed superior to the terror which 
 contagious maladies inspire, and after the dangers I have 
 run with the help of heaven, I shall never die of dis- 
 eases of these kinds. I've emerged this moment from 
 the bagnio, where I have closed the eyes of eighty per- 
 sons, who are all that died in three weeks' time in a place 
 so exceedingly decried, while in the city, in the open air, 
 thousands perished. I was unvisited by horror in the day 
 light ; it was only in the darkness, in the little sleep 
 
14 SMYRNA. 
 
 allowed me, that frightful ideas filled my mind. The 
 greatest danger which I ever ran or ever shall perhaps, 
 was in the hold of a Sultana of two and eighty guns. 
 The slaves, in concert with the keepers, had introduced 
 me in the evening, to hear confessions in the night, and 
 to celebrate the service in the morning. We were all, 
 as usual, secured with double padlocks. During that 
 tremendous night, I heard the confessions and administered 
 communion to two and fifty slaves, of whom twelve were 
 sick, and of whom three expired before I left the hold. 
 There was no aperture whatever to this crowded dun- 
 geon ; so you may suppose that the air was insalubrious. 
 Well I know that God will save me from many other 
 dangers, since he delivered me from that. 
 
 I fear, my Lord, that I have trespassed on your patience 
 with these trifling details. I intended their suppression, 
 but they told me that your Lordship loved such minutiae. 
 I shall only add, that were there fifteen Jesuits instead of 
 five, we should find for them more work in Constanti- 
 nople than they could perform. 
 
 In Smyrna, there are only four of this society, of whom 
 two are more than eighty, and yet Smyrna is a mission 
 where the spiritual harvest is of great abundance. Father 
 Verzeau, the superior, it is true, does quite as much as 
 many missioners. 
 
 In a handsome street, which is half a league in length, 
 reside the consuls of England, France, Venice, Holland, 
 and Genoa, with the merchants of their several nations ; 
 it is called, on that account, the street of the Franks. 
 There are 20,000 Greeks in Smyrna, while the Arme- 
 nians may amount to 7,000. The former are not quite 
 such impracticable people as in Constantinople. We 
 
PERSIAN CARAVANS. 15 
 
 entertain an amicable intercourse with the principal per- 
 sons of the city. They bring us their children, that we 
 may mould them early to letters and religion. Including 
 their clergy, many make confessions to us, and frequent 
 our church as freely as the Latins. The Armenians are 
 much the same as in Constantinople ; but the tone of 
 such as are heretical is more subdued. The Consul of 
 France, M. Fontenu, is able to confine them in the limits 
 of respect. There are many very regular and fervent 
 Catholics among the Armenians, many merchants of 
 Persia, amongst others ; especially those from the pro- 
 vince of Nakivan, a district which Dominicans have cul- 
 tivated for four hundred years : almost all the people of 
 the province have embraced the Latin rite. 
 
 At the arrival of the caravans, which are commonly 
 very numerous, and which travel three or four times a 
 year, the eagerness with which the Catholics approach 
 the sacraments is a source of solace and delight. Our 
 house and church are sometimes so replete with these 
 travellers, that no one else can get admission. At 
 Christmas and Easter, the presence of a priest is required 
 at Guzzel Hissar, a town built upon the ruins of the old 
 Ephesus, as well as at Thyatira, and at other places where 
 commerce congregates Armenians. The father never 
 fails to make a convert upon these occasions. We shall 
 extend these missions to many cities of importance in the 
 vicinity of Smyrna, when we shall have more mission- 
 aries. Were it possible for one of us to travel with the 
 caravans, we should gain many souls to God upon the 
 road. 
 
 Smyrna may be considered as being an annexation to 
 the missions of the Levant. Those interminable gradens 
 
16 THE EARTHQUAKE. 
 
 that surround the town are almost exclusively the pro- 
 perty of Christians, Greeks, and Latins, from the isles of 
 Scio, Naxos, Paros, Santorin, &c, all susceptible of infor- 
 mation, and who knew us in their native isles. Poverty 
 expatriates a multitude of females, who repair to Smyrna 
 from the isles of Greece ; it being an opulent emporium 
 where every thing abounds. All the ardour and zeal of 
 the missioner, and all his sleepless vigilance, are scarce 
 sufficient to restrain this multitude within the limits which 
 Christian severity prescribes. 
 
 The town of Smyrna is smitten sometimes with pesti- 
 lences, so appalling, and such furious earthquakes, that 
 they pale the checks of persons the least susceptible of 
 fear. Two years ago, the town was emptied of 10,000 
 persons, and the maladies they left behind them were as 
 dangerous as pest. However, as the Catholics were 
 cautious, very few of them were smitten. The only one 
 with whom the malady was mortal was Messire Daniel 
 Duranti, their bishop. He was a good prelate, and more 
 than eighty years of age, and his amiability and virtue 
 were such, that he was universally regretted. 
 
 As to the earthquake, you neither can foresee it nor 
 secure yourself against it ; it may surprise you in the night 
 as well as in the day : It comes so suddenly sometimes, 
 that your only resource is to purify your conscience and 
 put your trust in God. In the middle of the summer, if 
 the sea be very calm, it is said to be a certain forerunner 
 of the earthquake ; it has shook the earth however, when 
 the sea was greatly agitated, in my own experience ; and 
 when it was as smooth as glass for days together, no 
 earthquake followed. 
 
THE SEA. 17 
 
 The total destruction of the town of Smyrna, in 1 688, 
 was occasioned, 'twas imagined, by the mighty masses of 
 stone of which the houses were constructed, which having 
 no elasticity to suit the series of joltings to which they 
 were subjected, the earthquake entirely overturned them. 
 In rebuilding the city, they have remedied this incon- 
 venience. The first story is of stone to fifteen feet or so, 
 but all the superior part is interwoven wood; they employ 
 baked clay in which a little lime is mingled, with which 
 to fill the interstices. Earthquakes have since occurred 
 that have agitated everything, making the universal city 
 dance and shiver with much more furious and violent 
 concussions than in 1688, when Smyrna was destroyed. 
 The houses have been sadly shaken, but scarcely any of 
 them fell. 
 
 The city is situated at the basis of a mountain, which 
 confronts the whole breadth of the bay, whose entrance is 
 protected by a little fortress at four leagues' distance 
 from the town. Creditable persons have informed me, 
 that when the town was overturned, the agitation of the 
 earth came from the direction of the deep and from under 
 the sea, which, as it advanced, it caused to bellow, boil, 
 and roar with a loud and horrible noise, and so causing 
 the fortress to fall before the city. On the anniversary 
 of this disaster, the memory of which makes the citizens 
 of Smyrna tremble, they observe a solemn fast, and expose 
 the blessed sacrament. There is invariably a great con- 
 gregation at this festival, and numerous communicants 
 surround the altars. The superior of this mission at the 
 period, Father Francis Lestrhigant, whom they drew 
 from underneath the ruins of his house, apparently a 
 corpse, always implores permission, though he is very old, 
 
18 THE SLAVES. 
 
 to preach the sermon of this anniversary. No man has 
 a better right to know, he says, the nature of the matter 
 than himself, and few can be fuller of the subject. 
 
 Our house and church have been rebuilt, and are much 
 more spacious and commodious than they were. For 
 this we are indebted to the gentlemen of the chamber of 
 commerce of Marseilles, to whom the Jesuits owe many 
 obligations. The church is very neatly and even elegantly 
 kept : Sermons are delivered in four languages on sabbath 
 days and festivals. After the last mass, instructions are 
 given in the Greek in the court yard of the chapel to the 
 poor of the city. After these instructions, the alms are 
 distributed amongst them, which the father never fails to 
 procure them in the previous week. The father explains 
 the Christian doctrine to groups of Grecian girls, who 
 assemble with their servants at one o'clock on Sundays. 
 
 We have a fervent fraternity of merchants, moreover? 
 known by the name of the conception of our Lady. They 
 assemble upon Sundays with an assiduity and devotion 
 which edify the city. The prefect and the merchants 
 make donatives profusely, for the redemption of the 
 slaves and the solace of the poor. 
 
 There is no bagnio for the slaves at Smyrna ; never- 
 theless, four gallies spend the winter in the bay. They 
 seldom suffer any one to go on board to administer the 
 rights of religion to the Christian slaves. It is only by 
 the dint of importunity, and sometimes by administering 
 a bribe, that these people get permission to repair in 
 their shackles to the church, with their drivers behind 
 them, who never lose sight of them. But then we visit 
 and instruct the sailors who cannot come to land in the 
 merchantmen of France and Italy, and teach the cabin- 
 
THESSALONICA. 19 
 
 boys their catechism ; persons who have seldom made 
 their first communion, though they are often more than 
 fifteen years of age. 
 
 For the renewal of our mission in Thessalonica, one 
 of those which we cultivated anciently, we are deeply 
 indebted to your Lordship's sedulity in sending Jesuits as 
 chaplains to the consuls of France, by which an illimitable 
 field has been opened to their labours. 
 
 Thessalonica is one of the greatest and most famous 
 towns of European Turkey. Like Constantinople, it has 
 an Eptapyrgion or seven-towered castle. The Greeks are 
 numerous in Thessalonica, and the Armenian merchants 
 are many in the city ; yet all these Christians scarcely 
 make 10,000 souls, while the Jews are nearly 12,000 in 
 number. The last are said to be exceedingly industrious. 
 Two several viziers took it in their head, some time since, 
 to make these Israelites imitate our cloth manufactures, 
 to render Turkey independent, as they said, of other 
 countries ; but whatever expences they have gone to, or 
 trouble they have taken, they have never been able to 
 succeed. During the seven years he has been here, 
 Father Braconnier has won golden opinions from the 
 Greeks by his amiable manners, and his singular talent in 
 convincing them of the folly of their errors in a friendly 
 way. The Armenians likewise receive the pious impres- 
 sions which he makes upon their minds with astonishing 
 plasticity. As the current of their commerce continually 
 carries them from country to country, as they are a peo- 
 ple perpetually moving, he has the opportunity of suc- 
 cessively instructing a considerable number. They make 
 use of the chapel of the merchants of France. French 
 society is not very numerous at Thessalonica, but it is 
 
20 ISLES OF GREECE. 
 
 exceedingly select. Mr. Boesmont the consul, is respected 
 and beloved. Supported by the credit of the Count des 
 Alleurs, ambassador at the porte, his continued represen- 
 tations have induced the Grand Seignior to allow a public 
 chapel to him and his nation. Of the two missionary 
 Jesuits, one constantly remains for the service of the 
 chapel, the other goes at Easter to la Cavalla and Scopoli, 
 where there are vice-consuls and several other French- 
 men, but no one to administer the sacraments to them. 
 Scopoli is a populous and pleasant isle, fifty leagues from 
 Thessalonica. It is the principal of many which compose 
 an archipelago on the coasts of Macedonia. 
 
 La Cavalla is a Turkish fortress which derives its name 
 from the figure of a horse, which the rock on which it 
 stands is thought to resemble ; it lies 30 leagues by land 
 north-eastward of Salonica, but 'twould be 100 by sea, 
 the route is so circuitous. Thasso is perceptible from 
 La Cavalla, a very handsome island, which is 30 leagues 
 in circuit. I suspect it to contain 8,000 souls, which are 
 divided into fifteen villages. Missioners are civilly 
 received in all these places, which have been visited 
 repeatedly by Father Braconnier. He has sojourned for 
 a time in the monasteries of Mount Athos,* Negrepont, 
 and Lemnos, and in all these places, the fruits of his 
 labours have been abundant. Nothing more is necessary 
 save zealous and laborious missionaries to make the islands 
 
 * How blest the life of godly eremite, 
 Such as on lonely Athos may be seen, 
 Watching at eve upon the giant height 
 That looks o'er seas so blue, skies so serene, 
 That he who there at such an hour hath been 
 May wistful linger on the hallow'd spot, 
 Then slowly tear him from the witching scene 
 Sigh forth one wish that such had been his lot, 
 Then turn to hate a world he had almost forgot. 
 
THE PLAGUE. 21 
 
 on these beautiful and extensive shores amazingly pro- 
 lific. Father M. Piperi, in his turn, has made excursions 
 to the Greek inhabitants of Olympus, and to the environs 
 of Pelion and Ossa. Between these two mountains, the 
 river Peneus flows, which forms, while meandering, the 
 vale of Tempe. Wherever he proceeded, the people 
 whom the priest discovered were of gentle dispositions ; 
 but with reference to religion they were perfect savages. 
 Were there more of us in Greece, Ave should establish a 
 mission to Scopoli, where the people of the isle are anxious 
 to possess us, and where the generous nature of the 
 fruitful soil wins Frenchmen to reside who live and die 
 without religious aid. We could, a second time, establish 
 that mission at Negrepont, which the war of Venice and 
 the frequent pest, and the want of priests, compelled us to 
 relinquish till we should meet conjunctures more propi- 
 tious. True it is, that the plague successively deprived 
 us of six of our society, whose merits might not easily 
 be paralleled, and whose memory is still in benediction in 
 the country. 
 
 But by attending to the town in winter, in which we 
 have a house and chapel, and by visiting the villages in 
 summer, in which, while raging in the town, the malady 
 is seldom prevalent, the mission might escape destruction. 
 There are nearly 200 villages in Negrepont, and its cir- 
 cuit is 100 leagues. There is nothing to j>revent us from 
 passing, when we please, to the main land of Macedonia, 
 which is very near the isles where the fields are full of 
 Christians, having nobody to tell them of the things of 
 God in a proper manner. Larissa alone, though a soli- 
 tary canton, would occupy two Jesuits during half the 
 year. It is next to Thessalonica, the most frequented 
 
22 PERSECUTION. 
 
 town in these districts and one to which Christian strangers 
 commonly resort. 
 
 The isles of Thassos, at the other extremity of Mace- 
 donia, on the northern side, would likewise be a very pro- 
 per station for missions, which could be made with ease 
 into the part of the province that approaches Thrace, 
 which is equally populous and quite as fine, and where 
 Frenchmen are received with more civility than in any 
 other part of Turkey. They regard the Venetians as 
 people who have recently been reconciled, with whom 
 they have peace to-day but war to-morrow ; while the 
 French are considered as perpetual friends, who, time out 
 of mind, have been only known by traffic, and benefits be- 
 stowed upon the country. With your protection, I expect, 
 my Lord, and from our missionaries' zeal I presume to 
 promise, that this illustrious province, Macedonia, the 
 name of which alone awakes in the soul such lofty associ- 
 ations, will speedily resume that ancient fervour, at least 
 in some measure, which was lighted by the labours of 
 St. Paul, and by his epistles to the Thessalonians and 
 Philippians. 
 
 Scio is a mission which your Lordship, in like manner, 
 gave existence to, in which, but for you, the Catholic 
 religion were annihilated. Venice extended her invading 
 arm over the territory of this isle in 1691, and then, relin- 
 quishing her hold, left it to the mercy of a Turkish army, 
 who, on their return, committed the most horrible dis- 
 orders. Some malignant Greeks accused the Catholics 
 of Scio of having invited the Venetians. The assertion 
 was sufficient to rouse the ferocious fury of the Turks. 
 All the rabid rancour of their animosity was directed, 
 like a stream of scalding lava, upon these shrinking and 
 
PERSECUTION, 23 
 
 defenceless victims : churches were levelled with the 
 ground, made into mosques or given to the Greeks ; their 
 dwelling houses gutted, and their most precious property 
 divided between the Greeks and Turks, the plunderers. 
 Such complete and howling desolation no one ever saw 
 before. 
 
 For upwards of a century the Jesuits had held a college 
 and a church at Scio, from which the public derived no 
 inconsiderable advantages. As at the approach of the fleet 
 despite reiterated solicitations from Constantinople, and 
 the disheartening example of the clerics who precipitately 
 fled the island, the Jesuits did not wish to fly, our church 
 and dwelling house remained erect, while many others 
 were devasted. The Seraskier, or general of the Turkish 
 army, Oglo, bestowed praise on these priests for their 
 firmness and constancy, and gave them a guard of soldiers 
 for their security till the effervescence of invasion had sub- 
 sided ; but the Greeks, to deprive the Latin ritual of 
 every resource, breathing fiery wishes for its extirpation, 
 worked their way so well by means of money, that persons 
 approached our house a few days afterwards for the pur- 
 pose of setting fire to it. The roof of our church came 
 down immediately. With one hand the fathers were 
 dragged from their chambers by infuriated soldiery who 
 wounded them with the other. When the walls were 
 naked, the college and the church were presented to a 
 Turk who made them a caravanserai, or house of hire. 
 A prohibition, under pain of death, of professing the reli- 
 gion of the Pope, was published in the city, and the Latins 
 were enjoined to pray in the churches of the Greeks. A 
 document was dispatched to the Grand Seignior, which 
 informed his highness that there were no longer any 
 
24 GREEK LADIES. 
 
 Franks at Scio, as coercion had turned them into Greeks. 
 Nevertheless, though solicited on all sides, the Jesuits 
 could not be induced to quit the island and forsake 5,000 
 Catholics, who, in these disastrous times, had no one in 
 the world to console them but themselves. As their 
 habit was prohibited, they assumed a different apparel, and 
 went from house to house administering the sacrament s 
 and saying Mass, exhorting the faithful to die a thousand 
 deaths rather than permit their faith to be affected. A 
 single circumstance will show how firm they were, and 
 how resolute to suffer. To cry down the Latin ritual 
 for ever, and to diffuse terror through the Franks, the 
 schismatics requested and procured, by proffering gold, 
 the death of four distinguished Catholics, of whom two 
 were of the house of Justiniani. These four nobles, who 
 could be reproached with nothing but their creed, and 
 were the worthiest characters in Scio, proceeded to the 
 scaffold with the utmost cheerfulness, rejecting, with a 
 firmness which was altogether Christian, the establish- 
 ments which were offered them on condition that they 
 would change their creed. The day after their death, 
 their ladies conquering their timidity, and summoning 
 resolution, proceeded to the Seraskier, with their children 
 by the hand. Drowned in sorrow as they were, they 
 addressed him in a tone of voice that did not tremble in 
 the least : — " Yesterday you caused our Lords to die be- 
 cause our spouses were Catholics; do as much at present 
 for these innocents and for us, as we too are Catholics, 
 and determined never to change our faith." The Seras- 
 kier himself was affected by this spectacle : gold embroi- 
 dered handkerchiefs were distributed by his orders to 
 the ladies, and he said to them, in accents of compassion, 
 
TRANQUILLITY. 25 
 
 " Impute not to me the destructions of your husbands, 
 but to them," and he pointed to the Grecian Primates. 
 
 Matters remained in this melancholy state for almost 
 a year, when the envoy of the King at Constantinople, 
 M. de Castagneres, moved by the sufferings inflicted on 
 so many faithful Catholics, and the danger incessantly 
 menacing the missionaries who risked destruction in 
 assisting them, sent to the Sieur de Ryan, the consul of 
 the King at Smyrna, to despatch his vice to Scio, to whom 
 he should appoint Father Martin, of the society of Jesus, 
 as chaplain. 'Twas his object to open an asylum to reli- 
 gion by the countenance which a French chapel should 
 afford it ; and by the assistance and support which the 
 Jesuits should receive from one of their society, over 
 whom the Turks had no authority to procure them 
 freedom for their ministry. My Lord, you were so good 
 as to second this proposal on receiving the request which 
 the ambassador presented you, and moreover by letters 
 patent of the King, expedited to the Jesuits, it pleased 
 you to confirm it. We may venture to assert, that, next 
 to providence, 'twas this that saved the catholic religion 
 in the isle of Scio ! Such a multitude of people, above 
 all the poor, could never have withstood assaults so 
 violent for any length of time : some began to stagger, 
 half seduced already ; others left the isle, and things 
 would have returned to the same condition as in the 
 neighbouring isles, where the Latin rite, though para- 
 mount at one time, is now extinguished. But thanks to 
 your piety, My Lord, and his Majesty's protection, no 
 sooner did they see a chapel open under the auspices of 
 France, than they ceased to think of any other church. 
 The eagerness with which they hurried to hear the word 
 
26 TAXATION. 
 
 of God and to receive the sacraments, is quite incredible. 
 Besides the public and ordinary prayers for you and for 
 the King, particular prayers in private families have been 
 instituted, which, for twenty years, have never been 
 omitted. 
 
 If the Latins were delighted to see the consul's chapel 
 supply the places of their fallen churches, the schismatics 
 considered the circumstance with animosity. They saw 
 the portal opened for the re-establishment of the ritual 
 of Rome, which, as they believed, was dead and buried. 
 Incarceration, burdensome taxation, ceaseless citation to 
 the presence of the judges, calumnies and accusations, 
 nothing was omitted to weary out the patience of the 
 miserable Latins, or disgust them with the exercise of 
 their religion. They even went to such extremities as 
 to solicit urgent orders of the Grand Signior for their 
 banishment to Brussus, as dangerous people who could 
 not be left in a place so exposed as Scio with security. 
 Whether exile was commuted for pecuniary penalties, 
 or that these orders were issued in reality, as was then 
 the belief, 14,000 crowns were extorted from the Franks, 
 excluding the avanies they had paid already. With all 
 this cash, they could not purchase peace : snares were 
 laid by their malicious adversaries for their " unblest 
 feet ;" among which the most insidious was to entrap 
 them into an avowal, in a court of justice, that they kept 
 up a constant connexion with the pope. You know that 
 the Pope is held in abhorrence by the Turks, who deem 
 him more inimical to Mahometanism than all its other 
 foes. But his holiness was hated at Scio more heartily 
 than any where else ; for his gallies had been seen assist- 
 ing and mingling with those of the Venetians, when their 
 
BOSTON COLL EGE L 
 CHESTNUT HILL.' MASS. 
 
 THE QUESTION. 27 
 
 armament assaulted the island. Profiting maliciously by 
 this contingency, the schismatics hugged the hope of 
 overwhelming the Catholics, by compelling them to a 
 public juridical confession. With great expense and 
 much intriguing, they contrived to cause a general 
 assembly of the agas of the isle and of the people of the 
 law, who were to congregate before the cadi. The 
 leading persons of the Latin families, the Jesuits of Scio, 
 the vicar-general, who, with some of his clergy, had 
 recently arrived, were all cited to appear. But the egis 
 of heaven was extended over innocence, and iniquity was 
 overwhelmed with confusion. Distinguished Turks, their 
 former friends, informed the Franks in a secret manner, 
 that for them it would be highly dangerous to talk of the 
 pope in this assembly ; that, in a word, his name would 
 be the signal for their extirpation. They profited by 
 this advice. The cadi could extort no other answer: 
 turn them what way he would, and however cunningly 
 he questioned them, save that their King was his christian 
 majesty, and they repeated perpetually that they repaired 
 to his chapel to pray to God ; that their mode of faith 
 and pious exercises differed in nothing from the King's, 
 and that the chief of their law and the religion they pro- 
 fessed were precisely the same as his. These questions 
 continued for an hour, during which it was impossible to 
 elicit any thing but this. At length a friend of the 
 Franks, a commander of a galley, who was laughing in 
 his sleeve at their maneuvering, rising up, exclaimed, 
 " I shall always put more trust in those who believe as 
 the Franks believe than in fellows who follow the 
 faith of the Muscovites ;" designating the Greeks 
 thereby, who were obliged to be silent, though stung to 
 
28 TOLERATION. 
 
 "the inmost core. Their project proved abortive : there 
 was no judiciary document drawn up, and having given 
 in a hundred crowns, the Latins were discharged. 
 Nevertheless, our persecutors were relentless still, and 
 for four years and a half their fury raged with unabated 
 vehemence. Weekly they discovered some new source 
 of terror and vexation, and still during this season of 
 suffering, none of those cenobites returned whom the first 
 rupture of the storm had dispersed to the four winds. 
 Sustaining in their solitary strength so many people, and 
 such difficult contingencies, like the " oak laden with 
 stormy blasts," no one can do justice to the sorrows and 
 fatigues of Father Martin and his brother Jesuits. It 
 caused the death of two of them. viz. Fathers Ignatius 
 Albertin and Francis Ottaviani. The voice of God at 
 length rebuked the winds, and there came a great calm : 
 things were re-established on their ancient footing, and 
 one by one the friars alighted upon the shores. They 
 were all received by Father Martin with the utmost joy 
 and gratulation in the chapel, as in the common church 
 of the Roman Catholics. Ever since that happy day, 
 nine or ten masses have been said diurnally, as well high 
 as low, accompanied by an uninterrupted course of con- 
 fessions and communions. 
 
 The divine office and diurnal preachings, congregations 
 of the confraternity of the Virgin Mary, composed of 
 upwards of 500 persons, the forty hours, and the exposi- 
 tion of the blessed sacrament : under the sanction of the 
 Sovereign's name, are all performed with an ardour and 
 a concourse which serve to revive the radiant recollec- 
 tion of those palmy days when our Catholic religion was 
 in flower* 
 
FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES. 29 
 
 To supply, to the best of our abilities, the breaches in 
 our college ranks, the fathers Stanislaus d'Andria and 
 Antonio Grimaldi, have individually opened two well- 
 attended classes, and the sons of the most inimical Greeks 
 are as sedulously sent thither as are those of the Latins. 
 The perseverance of the priests to mould their pupil's 
 minds, is quite as much undiminished as before they had 
 suffered such inhuman persecution at the hands of their 
 parental relatives. The public are probably much edified 
 at this, and haply look upon it with as mnch admiration 
 as at any of their former toils. Although experience 
 should have taught them how unrelaxing the tenacity of 
 the attachment with which Roman Catholics adhere to 
 their religion, and though the delusion was no longer 
 tenable of shaking the persecuted people in their creed, 
 their tormentors were untiringly and diligently busy in 
 disturbing them, as well as in imagining all manner of 
 means that might coerce them to relinquish their religion. 
 Their darling object was to melt their substance, as it 
 were, upon a slow fire, to reduce them to ruin by con- 
 tinual expenses caused the Catholics upon all occasions. 
 A new pacha or a new cadi never yet arrived at Scio, 
 without levying an avany on the Latins, now under one 
 pretext and now under another. The most ordinary- 
 pretext is afforded by religion. On the arrival of those 
 officers, preparations are immediately made by the 
 Catholics to pass some time in prison and in irons. Two 
 years ago, the persecution was pushed farther. Four 
 chiefs of the first families, and with them Father Stanis- 
 laus of Andria, laden with gyves, were flung into a galley 
 which carried them to Rhodes. 'Twas after an agony of 
 four months, and a fine of a hundred crowns, that the 
 
30 SUFFERERS RETURN. 
 
 sufferers were permitted to return. When these good 
 Catholics arrived, I was in the isle of Scio, and I saw 
 them, on their landing, pale, meagre, and attenuated, 
 when their object was not to see their families, but to 
 hasten to the church, and on their knees to thank the 
 benignant deity, with their foreheads on the floor, for 
 his mercy in having deemed them worthy of suffering 
 a little for the glory of his name. The Latins of Scio 
 have made many applications to the Porte, requesting a 
 judicial trial, and imploring to be punished should they 
 be found guilty, or their innocence declared if nothing 
 could be proven. Ali Pacha, the fiercest of the late 
 Viziers, to whom they had the courage to address them- 
 selves, sent them away with gentle words, such as scarce 
 might be expected from a man so rude. Two years sub- 
 sequently they received some services from Numan Kap- 
 rogli, but so short was the vizierate of this Pacha, he 
 could not carry out his purposes. 
 
 It is a prevalent impression, that religion will never be 
 established at Scio, with solidity, unless by the intermis- 
 sion and authority of France ; and if any Latins of the 
 Levant deserve this intervention, it is assuredly those of 
 Scio, as well by their sincere attachment to the nation, 
 as by their inclinations, which are altogether French. 
 Their number is perennially augmenting in spite of per- 
 secutions. It amounts to something more than 7,000 
 souls at present. Like the captive Jews, they seem to 
 be passed over by the pestilence, which scourges Scio as 
 often as the other provinces of Turkey. Every year it 
 only deprives them of a few, while the Greeks and Turks 
 are slain by hundreds. Earthquakes commonly occur at 
 Scio. Our chapel is a wide and lofty hall ; three solid 
 
RURAL GREEKS. 31 
 
 vaults, side by side, which buttress one another, sustain 
 it. During- the celebration of our sacred mysteries, I 
 have often seen it shiver from the summmit to the ground, 
 and yet no accident occurred, though in that high and 
 spacious hall 2,000 persons were assembled. There are 
 in the isle of Scio, the most populous of all the isles of 
 Greece, upwards of 100,000 Christians. The rural Greeks 
 are far less malignant than the citizens, and of the latter 
 all are not equally hostile to the Latins. In the fury of 
 the persecution, when the Turks cried havock, and all 
 the anger of the islanders was loosed against the Latins, 
 many embraced our religion of themselves, and looked 
 upon exiles, and alienation of their goods, with folded 
 arms and christian equanimity. 
 
 Several others, though reluctant to relinquish the 
 ritual of Greece, which is assuredly good and holy in itself, 
 persist in frequenting the confessionals of confessors of 
 the catholic religion, from which, by refusing them com- 
 munion, the schismatics have frequently endeavoured to 
 divert them : but this has profited them nothing. In the 
 country, the people have a tendency to virtue. They 
 heard me with joy when I spoke to them of God, and 
 invariably several confessed themselves on such occasions. 
 If we had the liberty enjoyed in other islands of making 
 regulated missions through the villages, and could matters 
 subside into a calm, many excellent Christians should be 
 produced. The greatest opposition is not that which is 
 offered by the Turks, who naturally esteem and love the 
 Latins, and more especially the French. It comes entirely 
 from the superiors of the Greeks, with whom it is difficult 
 to decide whether ignorance or prejudice is paramount. 
 As to the Turks, they are whatever you require them to 
 
32 A COMPARISON. 
 
 be ; nothing* in the world is wanting but to pay them 
 well. Were the Latins as malignant as the Greeks, and 
 desirous of turning their tyranny against their foes, the 
 Turks would decidedly do whatever they desired at only 
 half the cost. They express themselves to this effect. 
 They have an inclination towards the Latins as being 
 noble, or Beyzadez as they say, while they designate the 
 Greeks as the populace, or Ta'if. The Jesuits are espe- 
 cially respected by the Turks. During the long abode 
 ''hat I made in Scio, I had frequent and public proofs 
 of this from the Pachas and distinguished agas of the isle. 
 The present possessor of om* former house and church 
 proposed to give them up to us for what they cost him, 
 which amounted to no more than eighty hundred purses, 
 or four thousand crowns ; and we should have resumed 
 this property long before now, could we but procure 
 this sum for him. The commanders of the gallies apper- 
 taining to the island, are prodigal of favours, and permit 
 us, without any impediment, to administer the rites of 
 religion to their slaves. One day I was surprised at 
 receiving reiterated invitations from a bey to come on 
 board his galley, with the book with which I blessed the 
 holy water, because his slaves, as this grave man assured 
 me, saw spirits in the night time, which troubled their 
 repose. The Latins in the gallies are about 1,200, and 
 consist of Germans, Spaniards and Italians, and haply a 
 hundred French. Three years since, Father Richard 
 Gorre, my successor, expired among the slaves. They 
 were making preparationsjfor departure to the Black Sea, 
 and the plague was in the gallies. It was Easter ; he 
 hastened to those children of his choice, who apprehended 
 death without the sacraments, and supplicated the com- 
 
THE GALLIES. 33 
 
 munion. He was entire days amongst them, having pity? 
 as he said, upon so many souls so utterly abandoned- 
 Ultimately, a malignant fever struck him down in eight 
 and forty hours. Every soul in the city was present at 
 his obsequies, lamenting his ashes as a father, invoking 
 his spirit as a saint. 
 
 If we ever have the happiness of seeing our religion 
 enjoy a few halcyon days at Scio, and should we collect, 
 as before the Venetians made themselves masters of the 
 isle, eight or ten Jesuits, we should be able to re- open 
 the missions of Metelene, of the Mosconisses, and of 
 Samos. I have visited these islands : the natives are an 
 amiable people. Whenever I harangued them on the 
 truths of Christianity, they hung upon my words with 
 attention and respect. At Metelene, through which I 
 travelled thrice, I was endowed by the archbishop with 
 all his powers, in the three towns and twenty-four villages 
 of his dependency. " Sir Priest, bring three or four of 
 your French clergy hither," he exclaimed, with a fami- 
 liar and open air, " and you may preach to my people as 
 often as you please. You will do no trifle, if you make 
 them honest men ; for I find it very difficult to reform 
 them." 
 
 I have been twice at the Mosconisses ; it is a multitude 
 of little isles to the east of Metelene, of great fertility in 
 wine and oil, and very near the coast of Anatolia. A town 
 is contained in the largest isle, consisting of 600 houses, 
 where they entreated me to live, for ever promising to do 
 whatsoever I should bid them. When last I was there, 
 they were afflicted with the plague, and I was earnestly 
 entreated by the terrified inhabitants to pacify the anger 
 
 of the Lord immediately. Judging from appearances, 
 
 c 5 
 
34 THE DEPRECATION. 
 
 they had not the most distant idea of applying to their 
 papas. Over against the town of Mosconissa, a town of 
 double size appears upon the mainland, which latter 
 forms a curve round about the oriental point of Metelene ; 
 following this curving of the coast, the extent of which 
 is forty leagues, you meet with many lovely shores 
 sprinkled here and there with human habitations, whose 
 inhabitants are quite as unacquainted with religion as the 
 Indians of America. Upon these shores, as well as on 
 the inland farms, many Latin slaves are to be met with, 
 who, unhappy people ! hardly know they have a soul. 
 The most important places on the curve are Adramit 
 and Elea, ancient towns, but which are, at the present 
 day, completely ruined. Many little places may be met 
 with here and there thinly strewn along the shore. 'Tis 
 a very lovely country, but utterly unknown, where inva- 
 luable souls are perpetually perishing without any one 
 enquiring if they so much as exist. We may say the 
 same of all that part of Anatolia as you penetrate the 
 terra firma. There are only some footsteps of the faith 
 among the Greeks, who have lost even the language of 
 the country : the shreds of the service which they still 
 preserve are offered up in Turkish. There is another 
 mission at the portals, as it were, of Scio — the lovely isle 
 of Samos ; it contains 1,800 houses, and near 15,000 
 souls, and perhaps three villages. The bishop and the 
 chief ecclesiastics invited us to visit them. I sojourned 
 in the isle for three weeks' time, delivering instructions, 
 and preaching in the public places and the churches, as 
 much as I desired. Of all the natives of the Isles of 
 Greece, I have seen none more intellectual than those of 
 Samos; they stand in the utmost need, however, of 
 
SAMOS. 35 
 
 zealous missioners. I expect these ancient missions will 
 speedily put forth new flowers and fruits, when that of 
 Scio (as it were their centre) is once re-established. 
 Atk March, 1714. Tarillon. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT, IN THE FORM OF A JOURNAL, OF A 
 NEWLY-FORMED ISLE WHICH HAS ISSUED FROM THE 
 SEA AT SANTORIN, OR SANTERINI. 
 
 It is not in our days only that the Gulf of Santorin 
 hath become famous from the new and extraordinary 
 isles to which it has given birth. According to Pliny, 
 lib. 2. cap. 82, the isle Santerini, whose ancient appella- 
 tion was Theramenen, or Thera, itself issued from the 
 profound ; but, be that as it may, two other isles, which 
 are adjacent, have certainly had this origin. That 
 which was known as Hiera in anterior times, because it 
 was consecrated to Pluto, is designated now the great 
 Cammeni, or Big-burnt-island. It was in the 145th 
 Olympiad, according to the historian Justin, that is 196 
 years before the birth of Christ, that the waves revealed 
 it. These are the words which the historian uses : — 
 Eodem anno inter insulas Theramenen et Therasium 
 medio utriusque ripoe et maris spatio terra? motus fuit in 
 quo cum admirations navigantium repente ex prof undo cum 
 calidis aquis insula emersit. 
 
 The other, called the Little Cammeni by the people of 
 the country, or Little-burnt-island, to discriminate this 
 isle from the other which is greater, was born of the 
 ocean, (according to the account of the very oldest peo- 
 ple, who had heard it from their ancestors) in 1573 
 
 Inhabitants reside upon these two isles, or rather these 
 
36 JOURNAL OF A NEWLY-FORMED ISLE. 
 
 two rocks — the great Cammeni being the elder isle 
 — shews a little verdure after rains. The Little- 
 burnt-island, which is nearer Santerini, is always black 
 and sterile. It is between these two islands, but 
 much nearer the smaller than the greater, that the 
 island has emerged which this narrative relates to. 
 The isle of Santorin, whose name is so frequently 
 repeated in this account, is amongst the most sou- 
 thern of all the isles of Greece, and is a hundred miles 
 per haps from Candia : its circuit is from twelve to fif- 
 teen leagues. The soil is very dry, and barley and 
 cotton are said to be the only produce, though abundant 
 figs and valuable wines"are likewise found there. Horror 
 is inspired by the repulsive aspect of the side that 'con- 
 templates the two Cammeni, and the novel isle, black 
 rocks and dismal precipices, which fire appears to have 
 consumed for ages, compose it exclusively. Upon the 
 island there are five walled towns, pretty well defended, 
 which are called castles, and of which Scaro is the most 
 considerable. Scaro is constructed on a little cape pro- 
 truding in the sea to a considerable distance. It is the 
 nearest to the recent isle of all the castles, being only 
 three miles distant from the latter- At one of the ex- 
 tremities of the island, on a mountain called San Ste- 
 phano, some ancient ruins of white marble may be seen. 
 Medals had been stricken in Santorin at one time, and 
 many are found with the heads of Marcus Aurelius, Lu- 
 cius Verus, Septimus Severus, and of his family, &c. 
 On the reverse, they have all the word Thereon, or 
 Theraoin, an ancient name for the isle of Thera. 
 
 On the dawn of day, on the 23d of May, 1707, they 
 perceived the initials of the novel isle, which was issuing 
 
THE VISIT. 37 
 
 from the deep, between Big-burni-is!and and the smaller 
 Cammeni, at the distance of three miles from Santo - 
 rin. May the 18th, at noontide, two little jolts had 
 
 been felt at Santorin — tremblings of an earthquake 
 
 They were at the time unattended to, but persons had 
 subsequently reason to suppose that it was at that iden- 
 tical instant, that the novel isle commenced its separa- 
 tion from the bottom of the sea, and began to lift its 
 head above the surface of the deep. Be that as it may, 
 certain it is, that very early in the morning, certain ma- 
 riners having discerned across the surge the pinnacles, or 
 points of the nascent isle, without being able to ascer- 
 tain their nature, resolved that these were the relics of a 
 shipw T reck which had happened, they imagined, the 
 preceding night. In this idea they pulled for the isle 
 with the utmost energy, in the hope of being the first 
 that should profit by the wreck. 
 
 But as soon as they perceived that, in place of floating 
 fragments, they were points of crags and solid land, the 
 terrified mariners returned to publish, with pale faces 
 wherever they came, the nature of their discovery. Fear 
 was at first universal throughout Santerini, w T here they 
 were well aware that lands of this description had never 
 become visible without causing disasters to their isle. 
 Two or three days, however, having passed without 
 anything disastrous occurring, some of its citizens sum- 
 moned resolution, having more hardihood than the others, 
 to contemplate it near at hand. A length of time was 
 spent in circumnavigation ; they went round and round, 
 and pausing before every side, considered its every ap- 
 pearance with attention. Ultimately perceiving nothing 
 perilous, they approached and disembarked. Curiosity 
 
38 THE VISIT. 
 
 caused them to range from rock to rock ; wherever they 
 turned, there appeared a species of stone as white as 
 bread, which could be cut as easily, and so strongly 
 resembling it in form, consistency, taste, and colour, 
 that you would really have taken it for wheaten bread 
 A discovery that caused them more delight, was that of 
 fine fresh oysters, fastened to the rocks, which are 
 exceeding rare in Santerini ; they set about collecting 
 them with great industry. But when they least 
 expected it, and while they were busily employed in 
 depriving it of oysters, a sudden shudder or shivering 
 seized upon the earth. A universal tremor ran among 
 the rocks, and illimitable horror filling the hearts of the 
 fishers as the ground vacillated underneath them, they 
 quitted their prey in consternation, and, springing to 
 their boats, rowed from the isle with the rapidness of 
 lightning. The island increased visibly, self-elevated 
 from the surface of the sea, it grew ! ! and its rocks 
 arose with such rapidity, that in two days' time, it 
 doubled its extent, and attained the height of twenty 
 feet. 
 
 As this upward motion, by which it was increased in 
 breadth and height, was sometimes slow and sometimes 
 fast, the isle did not equally increase every day on every 
 side. It even sometimes sunk in certain places, while 
 it arose and extended itself slowly and laterally in other 
 places. 
 
 One day, amongst others, a rock, remarkable alike 
 from size and shape, issued from the ocean, forty or fifty 
 paces from the isle. For four days I watched this rock 
 with great attention, when it sunk into the sea, and never 
 appeared a second time. But it was not so with several 
 
TWO ISLANDS. 39 
 
 others, which, having arisen, and ranged themselves 
 beside their predecessors, dipped in the deep and then 
 returned, subsided, and then were swallowed by the 
 circling waters, and then emerged and became firm, 
 permanent, and stable. The swaying of such mighty 
 masses shook the Little-burnt-isle, upon whose summit 
 they observed a fissure, cleft or opening, which was 
 never seen before. In the gulf, the colour of the ocean 
 often changed during the time. At one time it became 
 a brilliant green, then a reddish hue came over it ; it 
 then faded to a pale yellow, an insupportable stink 
 accompanying these changes. 
 
 Smoke was seen to issue on the 16th of July, from 
 a chain of black rocks, which, at sixty paces from the 
 isle, had suddenly arisen in a place where bottom never 
 had been found. Two separate isles existed now, one 
 was called the black and the other the white isle ; their 
 union, however, was not long delayed, but so they came 
 together, that the black newly-risen rocks were the 
 centre of the isle. The smoke which issued from these 
 rocks was thick and whitish, such as might emerge from 
 many kilns of lime if united into one. It was borne by 
 the wind upon many habitations, and its volumes were 
 rolled in without doing any harm, as its smell was not 
 very insalubrious. Ruddy tongues of fire ascended 
 from the centre of the smoke on the night of the nine- 
 teenth of July, which, while fear sunk heavy in their 
 hearts, were regarded by the islanders of Santerini with 
 considerate and rueful eyes ; by those more especially of 
 Scaro, the most exposed by their vicinity, for the latter 
 were only half a mile from the fiery isle. Being built 
 upon the point of a promontory which is, comparatively 
 
40 APPREHENSIONS. 
 
 speaking, as narrow as a sword blade, Scaro, half 
 suspended as it hangs above the sea on the summit of a 
 precipice, is exceedingly dangerously placed. At the 
 melancholy sight of fire and smoke which were shooting 
 from the sea so near them, they expected nothing but 
 that they and their very narrow headland should be 
 blown into the sky ; for, as they supposed, there were 
 veins of sulphury matter, which, doubtless communicated 
 from the fiery isle, which like trains of gunpowder, 
 sooner or later would explode, they said, and if this did 
 not happen, assuredly something else would. A tremor 
 of the earth would shake them all down from the summit 
 of their precipice, and drown them with their houses in 
 the deep underneath. Either way they are sped. They 
 resolved to relinquish the castle as they called it, to 
 change their dwellings and remove their goods, or haply 
 to retire to some other island till time should tell what 
 this might end in. Many in reality removed, and it 
 was with difficulty that others were induced to stay. The 
 Turks, who were then at Santerini, to raise the tribute 
 which is levied for the grand Signior, were not the 
 persons who were least affected. Astounded, appalled, 
 and overwhelmed with amazement at seeing fire ascending 
 omnipotently from so deep a sea, the Turks exhorted 
 all the people to repeat their prayers, and to make their 
 children march through all the streets, crying, Kyrie 
 ele'teon, Kyrie eleison, at the tops of their tiny voices. 
 Accordingly, their innocent processions filled the city, a 
 measure recommended by the Mussulmans with emphasis, 
 and for which those serious Turks assigned a solemn 
 reason. Not having yet offended God, these innocents 
 were more proper to appease his wrath than full-grown 
 
A FIERY COLUMN. 41 
 
 people, they said. Nevertheless, the flame that as yet- 
 appeared was but a trifle, since it only issued from a 
 single point, and the column of fire was only visible in 
 the night time. 
 
 Neither fire or smoke appeared upon the white isle ; 
 nevertheless, it failed not to increase continually : the 
 black arose with more rapidity, however, and mighty 
 rocks emerged diurnally, which added at one time to its 
 length, and sometimes to its wideness ; and so perceptibly, 
 that these changes caught the eye from time to time, 
 and you could see it grow. These rocks were united to 
 the isle sometimes, and were sometimes very remote : thus 
 four black islands were formed in a month, which, in four 
 days time, came together, and only one was to be seen. 
 We remarked, moreover, that the smoke was much 
 augmented, and as no wind was blowing at the time, it 
 ascended in one straight column to so great a height, that 
 the mighty mass was seen from Candia, and Naxos, and 
 remoter isles. This smoke appeared to be, at night, a 
 tremendous pillar of fire, — to the height at least of 
 fifteen feet 'twas all fire apparently ; the sea blushed with 
 a reddish froth in some places, while in others it assumed 
 a yellow hue. So infectious was the smell which diffused 
 itself through Santorin, that you might see here and there 
 long pyramids of fire lighted by the citizens, flaming 
 along all the streets, where perfumes were burned to 
 counteract the stench. This infection had continued for 
 a day and a half, when a strong, fresh southern wind 
 swept it all away, clearing the island of the evil, but only 
 to replace it by another ; for the long column of ignited 
 smoke was turned on the island, and, scorching the vine- 
 yards in its course, it burned up the grapes, then nearly 
 
42 THE VOLCANIC ISLES. 
 
 fit forgathering, and it left them in a single night shriveled, 
 dry and useless. Silver and brass suddenly lost their 
 brightness, 'twas observed, and became black and dim 
 wherever the volumes of this smoke were rolled ; it 
 likewise occasioned vomitings and violent head-aches to 
 the islanders. The white isle sank on a sudden about 
 this time, and became ten feet lower than it had been 
 previously. 
 
 July the 31st, smoke was seen gushing from the sea, 
 and its billows were perceived to boil in two places, the 
 one at thirty and the second at sixty paces, from the 
 black isle. These two spots were circular, and in them 
 the water was like oil upon the fire. While this continued, 
 which was upwards of a month, fishes were found dead 
 upon the sea shore. We were startled the succeeding 
 night by a loud, dull noise, like salvos of cannon heard 
 remote, from the centre of the furnace. As quick as 
 lightening, two long lances of flame shot upwards to the 
 heavens ; they were extinguished instantaneously. On 
 the 1st of August, we heard the same dull noise 
 repeatedly — smoke succeeded, not white as before, but a 
 blueish black, which rose right towards the skies, unaf- 
 fected by a fresh north wind, to a prodigious elevation in 
 the form of a column. If it had been night, this pillar of 
 smoke would have been one mass of fire. The noise 
 was not so loud upon the 7th of August, but still it was 
 as loud as if many loads of stones were hurled, roaring to 
 the bottom of some pit of vast profundity. It is not at 
 all improbable, that these were mighty rocks, which, 
 having first arisen with the rising isle, their gravity 
 detached them, and they rolled down that mountain's 
 side. This idea may receive corroboration from the cir- 
 
THE WOULD OF FIRE. 43 
 
 cumstance, that the edges of the isle were eternally in 
 motion during these great noises. The rocks which 
 formed it going and coming, subsiding now, and now 
 appearing. This dull noise had continued many days, 
 when it suddenly became much louder ; and this tremen- 
 dous roaring was so similar to thunder, that when it 
 thundered in reality, which was twice or thrice, the 
 difference was scarce discernible between the salvos in 
 the sky and the noise that issued from the deep. On the 
 21st of August, the fire and smoke perceptibly diminished. 
 There was very little fire in the night time even. It 
 resumed new vigour at the dawn, however, when it 
 exhibited a strength which it never had displayed. The 
 smoke was very red and very dense, and the fire so 
 furious, that the sea which surrounded the black isle 
 boiled and smoked surprisingly. One night, telescope 
 in hand, I perused this world of fire. Besides the fur- 
 nace which burned on the apex of the isle, sixty others 
 were to be seen of the most brilliant red. On the other 
 side of the isle, there were probably as many, which I 
 could not see. I found that the isle was much more high 
 on the morning of the 22nd than it had been when I went 
 to bed. A chain of newly-risen rocks, which had issued 
 from the water in the night time, had added to its breadth 
 by fifty feet ; while the sea was mantled with that reddish 
 scum which I have already spoken of, and the smell of 
 which was insupportable. The fire on the 5th of 
 September found a passage for itself at the end of the 
 black isle, in the direction of Therasia, which was a con- 
 tinuation once of the land of Santerini, but which, they 
 say, was separated by a shivering of the earth, by which 
 the sea was put between them. From this new orifice 
 
44 THE LANCE. 
 
 the fire was seen to issue for a few days, during which it 
 seemed to slumber in the greater furnace. 
 
 We might, if our safety were secure, and had our 
 spirits been relieved from the fardel of inquietude, have 
 elicited amusement from the spectacle before us. The 
 mouth sent forth from its lips of flame three immense sky 
 rockets, of the most beautiful and brilliant fire, three 
 several times. The scene, however, was completely 
 altered the succeeding nights. When the dull rolling 
 of subterranean thunder, which commonly occurred, had 
 roaring, died within the caverns, long sheafs of light 
 appeared over the isle in the air, all over corruscating 
 with myriads of sparkling radiations, and which, following 
 one another, ascended to an amazing height, and then 
 returned in a rain of stars which enlightened all the isle. 
 This play was troubled with a new phenomenon, which 
 some esteemed of evil augury. A lance of fire, that 
 reached from earth to heaven, detached itself in the centre 
 of the rockets, and having hung above the town of Scaro, 
 perfectly at rest, perfectly immoveable, on a sudden it 
 clomb into the skies like a fiery serpent, and piercing the 
 altitude, 'twas lost to human vision. 
 
 The two isles, the white and the black, from continually 
 growing, began to unite on the 9th of September, and to 
 make no more than a single body. That end of the isle 
 lying opposite the south-east ceased to increase in height 
 or length, subsequent to this conjunction. While that 
 which was opposite the west might be distinctly seen 
 perpetually growing longer. Of all the openings of 
 which I have spoken, only four emitted fire. Smoke 
 issued with impetuosity at times from the whole four, 
 while sometimes it emerged from one or two merely — 
 
THE VOLCANIC ISLE. 45 
 
 sometimes with and sometimes without roarings, but 
 almost always with such hissings, that they might have 
 been mistaken for sounds emitted by an organ-pipe, and 
 at times for the roarings of ferocious animals. 
 
 The 22nd of September, the thunder under ground 
 had never been so terrible as on this day and the fol- 
 lowing, though it should have issued with less fury, it 
 was natural to think, from four mouths than from one. 
 Peal upon peal, doubling detonations like universal sal- 
 vos of the heaviest artillery, were at least ten times 
 heard in four and twenty hours, and then from the fiery 
 lips of the larger mouth, red hot stones, of enormous 
 magnitude, were hurled flaming to the sky, soaring as if 
 to burn heaven's concave ; from which, descending 
 towards the earth, they sunk hissing in the sea. The 
 very thickest smoke accompanied these thunders, whose 
 enormous volumes ascended in the shape of waves, which, 
 whenever it was dissipated, clouds of ashes were diffused, 
 of which whirlwinds were carried to Anasi, an island 25 
 miles from Santorin. Some of these ashes were collected, 
 and when placed upon black, their colour appeared 
 whitish, whereas their tinge was blackish when their 
 ground was white. I flung some into the fire to dis- 
 cover the effect, because it was as granulous as gunpow- 
 der, but it only feebly hissed and spit without giving 
 forth the slightest flame. 
 
 September 18, there was a concussion of the earth at 
 Santorin, which, however, did no damage. The isle 
 became conspicuously greater, as well as the accom- 
 panying fire and flame, which on this day issued by new 
 apertures. I had never before seen such sheets of flame, 
 nor heard such resounding peals of thunder underground- 
 
46 THE VOLCANIC ISLE. 
 
 their violence was so extraordinary as to make the houses 
 shake in Scaro. The rattle and the clatter of a universe of 
 stones, which, singing as they went, were whirled through 
 the air with the whirring noise of bullets, and then fell 
 back upon the isle with such a collision as seemed suffi- 
 cient to dissolve the frame of things, penetrated to our 
 ears tlu-ough a mighty mass of smoke, which exactly 
 resembled an inverted mountain. The small cammeni, 
 or the Little-burnt-island, was often covered with these 
 red hot stones, making that black and barren spot 
 resplendant. When first we saw it sheathed in flame, in 
 this way, from the nearness of the isles, we immediately 
 imagined that the fire had passed from one to the other 
 under water ; we deceived ourselves ; it was simply 
 occasioned by sulphureous stones which were burned out 
 in half an hour. 
 
 September the 21st, after one of those tremendous 
 peals, and while the Little-burnt-island was a sheet of 
 flame, three great flashes which resembled lightening, 
 which the crater flung out as if banners of flame traversed 
 in the turn of an eye, the whole horizon of the deep. 
 Instantaneously the new isle trembled through its whole 
 extent. A portion of the crater's lip fell in, and red hot 
 rocks of prodigious size flew flaming to the clouds. We 
 imagined that the mine had spent its energy. For four 
 successive days, all was quiet as the grave : the crater's 
 lips were calm, distinct, and clearly visible, and neither 
 fire nor smoke were belched against the serene skies. 
 
 The fire, however, resumed its fury on the 25th, and 
 the isle became more terrible than ever. Peal succeeding 
 peal, our words seemed extinguished on our lips ; we 
 found it difficult to hear one another, when suddenly 
 
EXPLOSION. 47 
 
 amidst this mighty uproar, one explosion roared so loud 
 that its bellowing seemed to fill the universe, sending 
 every soul in Santerini aghast and speechless to the 
 churches. The solid rock that Scaro stands on shook 
 responsively, and the doors of all the dwelling-houses 
 were flung furiously open. 
 
 For the] purpose of precluding useless repetitions, I 
 shall be satisfied with saying, that things continued in 
 the same condition during October, November, December, 
 1707 ; and January, 1708, there was one eruption of the 
 furnace every day, and sometimes five or six. 
 
 A tremendous tremefaction of the earth occurred at 
 Santerini, on the 10th of February, 1708. There had 
 been a slighter undulation in the night time, which caused 
 us to conjecture, informed as we were by sad experience, 
 that our volcano was preparing us some scene of terror, 
 We were not kept waiting for it very long — fire, flame, 
 smoke, and peals of subterraneous thunder. 5 Twas 
 horrible. Rocks of such a size as never had appeared 
 above the level of the water lifted their ample bulk into 
 the air, and the delirious billowy boilings of the deep 
 augmented so amazingly, that, accustomed as we were 
 to its frantic concussions, the hurly-burly was so horrible, 
 every heart was terror stricken. 
 
 The roaring under ground ceased to intermit as 
 formerly, for now night and day 'twas one continued 
 roar, while the vomiting of fire from the principal furnace 
 was as frequent as five times in a quarter of an hour ; 
 and meantime, its doubling peals of thunder, by the 
 magnitude, the amazing multitude of stones shot, as it 
 were, from the throat of the crater ; by the tottering 
 and tremefaction of the houses, and by the fire which 
 
48 THE NEW ISLAND. 
 
 flamed in the middle of the open day (which we never 
 yet experienced) surpassed the horrors we had hitherto 
 beheld. 
 
 The 15th of April was famous above all other days 
 for the number and the violence of these repeated peals. 
 Seeing nothing for a length of time but flame and fiery 
 smoke extending to the skies, and flights of burning 
 stones filling the air for ever, we were certain that we 
 should not find a fragment of the isle, as it would all be 
 shot into the skies. Nothing of the kind occurred, 
 however, half of the volcano's lip was broken for the 
 second time, but the edge of the crater became higher 
 than before, by heaps of stones and ashes which repaired 
 it. 
 
 From the 15th day of April till the 23rd of May, 
 the anniversary of the birth of the isle, every thing- 
 continued in the same condition. But while the island 
 continued to increase in height, you could remark that 
 laterally it grew no larger. The crater of the greatest 
 furnace grew up to a taller height, and by means of a 
 melted matter, sulphur and vitriol in my esteem, the 
 fabric was kept together until it formed an immense 
 pate to which the declivity or slope was quite enormous. 
 In the end, by imperceptible gradations, every thing- 
 grew gradually calm, the fire and the smoke diminished 
 by degrees, the thunder became tolerable under ground, 
 and though frequent, its reiterated claps were not so 
 frightful. Perhaps the combustibles that fed the fire 
 were no longer so abundant, and their canaliculated 
 passages had been probably enlarged. 
 
 I executed a design I had formed from the first (of 
 visiting the new born isle,) the 15th of July. The sea 
 
A VISIT. 49 
 
 was calm, the sky serene, the fires were very feeble. 
 
 I prevailed upon our Latin bishop, M. L. Francois Crispo, 
 
 together with some priests, to join the party ; we were 
 
 careful to procure a good caique whose seams were 
 
 diligently caulked and sedulously stuffed with a double 
 
 share of tow. Determined as we were to debark upon 
 
 the isle, we rowed right upon a shore where, though the 
 
 sea had ceased to boil, it still was smoking. No sooner 
 
 had this smoke received us, than we felt that we were 
 
 seized by a suffocating heat. Leaning from the gunnel 
 
 of the boat, a member of our party put his hand into the 
 
 tide : it was scalding hot. We were yet five hundred 
 
 paces from our journey's end. As we considered it 
 
 impossible to approach the isle by this way, we turned 
 
 towards the point which was farthest from the great 
 
 volcano, that is, at the end at which the island had increased 
 
 in length. The fire, with which it still was flaming, 
 
 and the billowy boiling of the surges, compelled us to 
 
 describe a semicircle, in doing which we felt the heat. 
 
 I had an opportunity of seeing the space between the 
 
 little Cammeni and the newly-formed isle. It was 
 
 greater than I had anticipated, and judging by the eye 
 
 a galley might pass with a flowing sheet, in the places 
 
 where this frith was narrowest. From thence we proceeded 
 
 to the great Cammeni, where we could consider at our 
 
 ease the isle in its utmost length, and especially that 
 
 side which we could not contemplate from Scaro. It 
 
 was about 200 feet in height, a mile in breadth, and 
 
 perhaps 5000 feet in circuit. When we had spent about 
 
 an hour in considering all its appearances, the propensity 
 
 to visit it resumed its empire over us, as well as to 
 
 attempt to tread upon the shore of that particular part 
 
 d 
 
50 THE FLIGHT. 
 
 known by the name of the White Isle. This place 
 having- ceased to increase for several months, neither fire 
 nor smoke had since been seen there. Having re-embarked, 
 we directed our rowers to convey us thither. When we 
 were distant from the shore, perhaps two hundred paces, 
 I put my hand into the brine, and found that the 
 nearer we approached, the hotter it became. We cast 
 the lead, but there was no bottom to be found with five 
 and twenty fathom. Resting on our oars, we paused to 
 deliberate as to advance or retrogression, when the 
 volcano suddenly resumed its fury, bellowing aloud and 
 belching fire and flame with all its ordinary violence. 
 In order to crown us with disgrace, as a fresh breeze 
 was blowing from the fire, we were powdered by the 
 dust, and buried in the billows of the smoke, which 
 came pouring upon us in enormous volumes. We 
 were in raptures with the wind, since it brought us 
 nothing worse. To see the condition to which we were 
 reduced by this inundation of ashes, Cato might have 
 smiled ; but, however droll the figures which our fellows 
 cut, we all maintained our gravity ; for the only thing 
 we thought of was to hasten our retreat. We were but 
 a mile and a half from the isle, when the hurley-burley 
 recommenced, and a quantity of red hot stones were 
 flung into the place we had quitted. Moveover, when 
 we disembarked at Santerini, our mariners remarked, 
 that the warmth of the water had removed all the pitch 
 from the keel of the caique, whose seams began to gape 
 on every side. 
 
 I remained at Santerini till the 15th of August, 1708; 
 the isle continued, during all this time, to vomit fire and 
 smoke, and burning stones, accompanied with a great 
 
THE KEEP. 51 
 
 rumbling, but which was far inferior to that of the 
 preceding months. From my departure to this 24th of 
 June, 1710, I have received many letters, and put 
 questions to such people as came from Santerini. The 
 isle, I understand, continues still to burn, and the sea 
 in its vicinity to boil ; and there is no appearance of a 
 cessation. 
 
 Extracts from a Letter on the same subject, written from 
 Santerini,* September \Mh, 1712. 
 
 It is now precisely a year since I arrived in Santerini. 
 A few hours subsequent to my arrival, I proceeded to 
 examine, with all possible exactitude, the present situation, 
 and every other wonder connected with the isle, with 
 which you wish to be acquainted. I have had a sufficiency 
 of leisure to reiterate my observations ; for the isle was 
 almost beneath my eyes, being at little more than three 
 miles' distance. I have frequently described a circle 
 round it, but always at a little distance, from the warmth 
 retained by the water, at a quarter of a league from 
 shore. While we impelled the boat with measured 
 strokes, somebody on board kept his fingers in the wave 
 to apprise us of the moment when the water was too 
 warm. Were it not for this, we should be caught in 
 the manner in which many were at first — the pitch 
 disappearing from the bottom of the boats as clean as if 
 fire had removed it from the vessel. Its circumference 
 appeared to be about five miles. Stones, that are burned 
 to the colour of a cinder, are heaped pell-mell over all its 
 surface. Some having fallen on their ends, present, in 
 
 ' Five years subsequent to the first appearance. 
 
52 THE KEEP. 
 
 the middle of the waste, the appearance of a Turkish 
 cemetery. 
 
 On the water's edge, in the newly-formed isle, a 
 natural fabric arises opposite the small Cammeni, more 
 than 400 feet in height, something like a bastioned keep, 
 which arises so stately, majestic, and welT-proportioned, 
 that it was long before I could yield to the belief, that 
 it was not in reality the work of men. The body of this 
 fortress appears to be composed of a greyish clay ; it is 
 open at the summit, and at the sides it is encrusted with 
 a molten matter, which is seemingly a mixture of vitriol 
 and sulphur. This opening, 30 or 40 feet perhaps in 
 diameter, is designated by the natives Gf the country 
 the Great Furnace. In the other side, three apertures 
 appear a little under this opening, resembling embrasures 
 of guns. On the side that fronts the shore, the face of 
 the furnace is perfectly steep, presenting so perpendicular 
 a front, that it could not possibly be clomb. On the 
 far side of the furnace, you may ascend to the summit 
 of the crater, by means of stupendous rocks piled on 
 one another. During a year that I have been here, I 
 only saw the furnace play in a single instance, and that 
 was on the day that I arrived. It commenced at two in 
 the afternoon, and continued until four. 
 
 I know not how to express what I heard and saw. In 
 two hours' time, with a noise which equalled the report 
 of a park of artillery, seven explosions succeeded one 
 another with such rapidity, that one hardly waited for 
 the other, while red hot rocks of twenty feet in length 
 were sent to an amazing height, and then fell flaming in 
 the sea at two miles' distance. The dense smoke by 
 which they were accompanied, which was nearly as thick, 
 
ECHOES. 53 
 
 white, and palpable as cotton, stretched sublimely to the 
 sky in the form of a column. Indifferent to the wind 
 that was blowing very freshly, this smoke, without the 
 slightest declination, ascended like a tower perfectly per- 
 pendicular. While these were emitted from the loftiest 
 aperture, the orifices underneath vomitted streams of 
 melted matter, which were violet, red, or orange colour, 
 and which glistened as they ran. After the louder claps 
 of the volcano, followed by the emission of the rocks, 
 echoes might be heard below which absolutely seemed to 
 resemble drums and trumpets ; while the shrill neighings 
 of innumerable horses, the yelling tones of hounds, and 
 the bellowing of bulls, seemed to the pale listeners to 
 resound in the bowels of the land. Since that eventful 
 day, which was, as I declared, the 14th of last September, 
 the furnace has neither vomited fire nor bellowed 
 thunder. From time to time, the three embrasures of 
 the furnace puff out volumes of a thick smoke, which 
 cannot tower from the upper orifice, unless when it 
 happens to be more abundant. When rain is very heavy, 
 smoke ascends from the body of the furnace, which spits 
 and hisses from the falling rain just like red hot iron when 
 water happens to be thrown on it. At present, I am 
 employed in making out a plan of the new island, not 
 indeed with geometrical exactitude, but with as little 
 error as may be. I have not been able to assume a 
 sufficiency of courage ; if better, it be not temerity to 
 repair with some of the inhabitants of Santerini, to debark 
 upon the isle in those situations where its heat is least 
 intolerable, but from which, in all the instances, the 
 visitors retreated with such velocity, as utterly to eclipse 
 the rapidness with which they had approached it ; their 
 
54 SHOES. 
 
 shoes being burned to the very flesh, and their vessel 
 overflowing with the tide, though two persons were 
 employed to bale it out, as well as to stop the apertures 
 occasioned by the heat. 
 
 The adventurers brought home stones of purified 
 sulphur, with a congealed and solid substance, looking 
 very like a mixture of bitumen and vitriol. A liquid 
 matter, of a reddish colour, but which is sometimes yellow, 
 and very often green, issues from an angle at the foot of 
 the volcano, though it fail to vomit fire. This liquor 
 comes from underneath the earth, and, for four or five 
 miles in every direction; the deep is discoloured by its 
 junction. The newly-formed isle has ceased to grow. 
 In proportion to its augmentation, since its emission from 
 the ocean, has the Little-burnt-isle decreased, and the 
 latter daily continues to diminish. A lapse of six or 
 seven feet has taken place in the side of Santerini, which 
 is opposite. Certain marine magazines are on a level with 
 the water, where the caique now enters with a flowing 
 sheet, while previously to the appearance of the isle they 
 were five feet above the surface of the sea. 
 
 I cannot imagine how all this will end, but the sight is 
 indeed very far from being agreeable. The great horse 
 shoe which constitutes the bay of Santerini, in which three 
 new isles appeared at intervals, the traditions of the 
 country aver, was dry land at one time that sunk into the 
 sea. Perhaps the other side of Santerini, like the arm 
 of a balance, with its towns and castles, shall descend in 
 the deep, now that this side hath ascended. What would 
 seem to confirm my conjecture is, 1st, that earthquakes 
 commonly occur in Santerini ; hence that there is fire in 
 the foundation of the isle, is not improbable, which, slowly 
 
THE FLYING FIELDS. 55 
 
 consuming the basis of the island, on some fine day the 
 latter may suddenly subside when least expected ; as along 
 the lofty scarp that fronts the sea, from time to time, tremen- 
 dous rocks detach themselves from the steep, and descend 
 into the surge : one moonlight night, some years ago, in 
 this way, one half of our garden slipped away from us. 
 
 2nd, The isle substantially consists of pumice-stone, 
 which is simply a stone that has been subjected to the 
 action of fire, and in which the inhabitants of Santerini 
 hollow habitations with facility. Ere the basis of the 
 isle could thus be calcined, it must have been completely 
 penetrated by igneous exhalations. 
 
 3d, In the champaign country, as well as in the vine- 
 yards, the soil is simply fine light ashes, at a few feet 
 under which the pumice-stone is found. This soil does 
 not fail to be fertile, such as it is, especially in rainy 
 seasons ; when the season is dry, however, the country 
 is desolate. He who has a field to-day may have nothing 
 but the naked stone to-morrow, as the soil may have 
 quitted him and flown to a neighbour, and haply from 
 him to some one else ; being transported by the winds 
 from place to place. 
 
 4th, The wines that are grown in Santerini have the 
 colour and the taste of sulphur, and are, speaking gene- 
 rally, exceeding strong, proving that they are impregnated 
 with the spirit of fire. In a word, I compare Santerini 
 to a mighty laboratory, where corn and wine and all 
 commodities are created by the agency of minerals and 
 fire. The isle has already lasted many years, God grant 
 that it may still continue, and that the fires which seem 
 operating beneath it may not penetrate the solid basis of 
 the isle, and, flaming to the heavens, overwhelm Santerini 
 in combustion. 
 
THE 
 
 MISSION OF ST. JOSEPH AT ANTOURA, 
 
 It can never be forgotten by the mission of Antoura, 
 that its establishment is owing- to Signior Abuneufel, the 
 most distinguished of all the nobles of the Maronite 
 nation. He was not only our protector throughout the 
 whole course of his valuable life, he was the benefactor of 
 the Jesuits ; it may be said of him with truth, that his 
 nation is indebted to this nobleman for all those works of 
 charity which heaven has deigned to operate by the 
 ministry of the missioners whom he established, main- 
 tained, defended. 
 
 Antoura is a village in the Anti-Libanus, situated 
 between Beiroot and Gibal, or Giblos, being five French 
 leagues from either village. The cedar wood was carried 
 to the latter town, which was hewn upon the heights of 
 Libanus, for the temple of Solomon ; it was fashioned in 
 the town of Giblos, and carried upon chariots to Jerusalem 
 at the fiat of Hiram, King of Tyre. 
 
 In Arabic, Antoura signifies the rocky fountain ; for 
 it stands beside a craggy mountain, from which a limpid 
 fountain issues which meanders through the town. 
 
 In this town it is that Signior Abuneufel procured us 
 an establishment — an advantageous establishment ; for 
 when they return to this house, overwhelmed with fatigue 
 from the rude missions of the mountains, our brethren 
 
GARDEN. 57 
 
 are speedily restored to health in its salutary air. More- 
 over, as the country is Catholic and Christian, we are 
 always certain of a safe asylum here, should sudden 
 revolutions at any time drive us from our other missions. 
 Such is the situation of Antoura, too, that our missioners 
 can make evangelical excursions into any given quarter 
 of Lebanon, where our spiritual aid may be eminently 
 needed, with great conveniency. 
 
 Though our house is small, it suits our purposes : a 
 little garden, which accompanies it, supplies us with 
 legumes. They are watered by the waters of the foun- 
 tain which I spoke of. At a little distance from our 
 house, we have a chapel, which was built and ornamented 
 originally by one of our Society, a skilful architect ; it 
 was dedicated to Saint Joseph, by our earlier missioners, 
 who conferred upon tlie mission the name of this puissant 
 protector, whose credit with our Saviour we frequently 
 experience. We are obliged at the present time, for 
 particular reasons, to rebuild this little chapel ; we intend 
 to make it more commodious for our disciples and our- 
 selves — an enterprise we never should have undertaken, 
 had not certain noble ladies of Lorraine benevolently 
 assisted us. Even ornaments were provided by those 
 ladies for the church, and sent out to us ; a tabernacle 
 has been recently received from them, in which our 
 Saviour's body will repose with decency. 
 
 Missions to the remotest mountains of Lebanon, and 
 
 Anti-libanus, and the villages of the Kesroan, succeed 
 
 one another without interruption. We take different 
 
 seasons of the year for them ; for the remotest missions, 
 
 we select the times when the Maronites keep lent; and 
 
 the Maronites keep four. Thev keep one in common 
 
 d 5 
 
58 THE HERMITS. 
 
 with all other Catholics previously to Easter, another is 
 our Advent, and those of the Assumption of the Virgin 
 and of St. Peter and St. Paul, (these two last of fifteen 
 days' duration) constitute the others. Between these 
 lents the intervals are spent in missions to the villages 
 around us, composing the Kesroan, which consists of 40 
 villages, considerably peopled. These villages are visited 
 successively, whose curates, who are neither so learned 
 nor so well acquainted with the curial duties as those of 
 Europe, and who are quite as desirous of our coming as 
 are their congregations, receive us with affection. The 
 profit they derive from their presence at our exercises, ren- 
 ders them much more useful to their flocks. Besides, there 
 are many little monasteries scattered through the moun- 
 tains, hermitages rather, of Greeks and Maronites, who 
 recognise St. Anthony for their patriarch. These hermits 
 are covered with a garment of goat's hair, and wear upon 
 their heads a little black capouche ; their feet are naked, 
 and they are constantly employed in manual labour or in 
 prayer ; they relieve one another all the night time in 
 singing a Syriac version of the psalms. They live upon 
 legumes, and water is their beverage. They repose upon 
 the floor, and observe unbroken silence all the day time. 
 We are wonderfully well received when we visit these 
 recluses : we maintain them in the Catholic religion, in 
 the frequentation of the sacraments, in attending to their 
 duties, and we and they hold conferences together. An 
 eight days' retreat, such as St. Ignatius recommends, is 
 found most efficacious by the missioners as a means of 
 reviving a religious spirit, and of establishing purity of 
 faith and manners amongst the monastics. 
 
HAMLETS. 59 
 
 The following is from a missioner amongst them : — 
 u Father Mole and myself have recently returned from 
 an evangelic expedition in Kesroan. I had served an 
 apprenticeship, some years before, under the egis of a 
 missioner of much experience in reaping the harvest of 
 the gospel in the vallies of Kesroan and the mountains of 
 Lebanon. 
 
 Father Mole and I having been destined to continue 
 it, we commenced our visits by the villages which are 
 found along the margins of the Dog, and we penetrated 
 subsequently to the hamlets that are deeper in the bosom 
 of the land. We prolonged our sojourn in the these 
 villages in proportion to their population, for some are 
 scantily and others densely peopled ; but whether the 
 inhabitants be few or many, they invariably need in- 
 struction. However, it is a pleasure to impart instruction, 
 when the persons you approach for such a purpose, receive 
 you with the gratulations with which we have been 
 honoured in every instance, in these sequestered hamlets. 
 
 As soon as we had arrived in any village in which 
 there was a church, a species of bell which is used 
 universally in Kesroan, and which is not made of metal 
 like its European brothers, but more a clapper than a 
 bell, its material is wood, apprised the people of our 
 coming, who immediately gather together, simultaneously. 
 The sacred ceremony of mass commenced our exercises; 
 a discourse on the general duties of a Christian, on those 
 of their particular condition, and on preparations for a 
 good communion followed. Their untiring attention 
 gives us animation in instructing them. One of our 
 party dedicates himself to teaching the children their 
 catechism. We find them uninformed generally, because 
 
60 THE BEAUTIFUL. 
 
 their parents and priests are much more occupied with 
 household cares, and the cultivation of their farms, than 
 with the instruction of their little ones. 
 
 We next became acquainted with the number of poor, 
 and of the ailing, and with the dissensions and divisions 
 which so often distract the people of the same place, and 
 sometimes suspend fraternity in families. We dedicate 
 a section of our afternoons to visitations of the sick, 
 and in many instances, the gates of heaven revolve upon 
 their hinges through the sacred aspersive rite to infants, 
 who, but for these visits, would have died without it. 
 To the spiritual succours we bestow upon the sick, we 
 join the solace of the remedies we get from France. 
 They are frequently successful, but still more so are our 
 efforts in recalling concord to families from which it had 
 been exiled. 
 
 The vicinity of certain self-called Christian nations, 
 has introduced superstitions and disorders, from which 
 it is especially incumbent on the missionaries to disengage 
 the people ; one of which comes from their commerce 
 with the Druses, whose principle it is to cover the capital 
 points of their religion with the veil of silence, and from 
 whose contagious example, their neighbours never 
 converse on the Catholic religion. Another is the want 
 of devotional feelings in the females, especially the 
 beautiful, who distinguish themselves, they imagine, 
 from the commonality by an absence from the churches, 
 except upon the solemn festivals, such as Easter and 
 Christmas. Hence they receive no instruction from their 
 pastors, who indeed are shamefully indifferent. They 
 attend our instructions with the utmost freedom, during 
 the continuance of our mission, and profit by them 
 however. 
 
THE COMBAT. 61 
 
 Another crying sin, learned from persons who have 
 no religion, is the crime of usury ; which, unfortunately, 
 is exceedingly commodious. They think that the practice 
 is permitted them, because no horror of the sin is exhibited 
 by those whose business it should be to prohibit and de- 
 nounce it. Usury gives rise to injustice, and sometimes to 
 violence ; deplorable effects which the thirst of money 
 never fails to produce. With patience, gentleness and 
 charity, with fervid and with frequent prayer for the 
 assistance of the arm of the Lord, only, may the missionary 
 hope for victories over these infernal foes of human felicity. 
 Such are the celestial weapons with which we arm us, 
 when giving " testimony of the light." For His having 
 mingled in the combat, for having descended and shewed 
 himself on our side, we return our thanksgivings to the 
 Godhead every day without excepting one. Numbers 
 of sinners have confessed themselves, and those infallible 
 marks of the penitents' contrition, reconciliations, restitu- 
 tions, have frequently followed such confessions. Their 
 profound devotion at the table of the Lord, excite our 
 feelings to such a degree, as despite us, to elicit some 
 natural drops from our eyes. 
 
 From such examples, we discern with facility that 
 between Catholics and Catholics, there is no small diffe- 
 rence, that is, between those who, full of faith, approach 
 our mysteries, and those whose faith is cold, and languishing 
 to extinction. 
 
 Each mission is concluded by the last-named exercises, 
 relinquishing which, we set out for an another. 
 
 It is needless to tell you, my Rev. Father, that the 
 regret which we cause in a hamlet when we quit it, can 
 be only equalled by the joy elicited by our arrival in the 
 
62 THE MISSIONARY. 
 
 next. You yourself have frequently experienced this in 
 the missions you have made in your own person in 
 Kesroan. 
 
 We have visited Geita, Touy and Keral ; considerable 
 places upon Dog's Stream, and when these visits were 
 ended, Father Bonamour and I entered on the missions 
 of the villages of Cabral, Algiton, &c, which lie 
 between Antoura and the Nahr Ibrahim. In all these 
 places we had much to do, great opportunities of doing 
 good, and very many disorders to correct. 
 
 In order that the fruits of our mission might continue 
 to bloom, though the labourers were absent, we estab- 
 lished public prayers for the dead in the populous villages: 
 we have been taught by experience how salutary are 
 such establishments. 
 
 I feel so strong an inclination for the missions of the 
 champaign, as to solicit your permission to resume them 
 when I return from Jerusalem, to which you allow 
 me to repair, to view those sacred monuments which 
 were once incarnardine with Jesus' blood. 
 
 In your holy sacrifices be all my sins remembered." 
 
 While giving an account of the missions of the 
 champaign, this letter is an eulogy on the zeal, courage, 
 and solid piety of the exemplary missionary who 
 wrote it ; whose life, like a lamp, was consumed, by the 
 light it shed over the savage rocks and rugged recesses 
 of Lebanon, for when the pilgrim returned from Jerusalem, 
 he came back to Antoura, the object of his affection, 
 and without giving a moment to repose, resumed the 
 rural missions with more fervency than previously, but 
 alas, his strength was not commensurate with his generous 
 devotion : he was fated to succumb. When next we 
 
F. C. NERET. 63 
 
 saw him a fever was preying on his frame ; while diffusing 
 life, the missionary had contracted death, a few days 
 merely passed over him, then alas ! his footsteps peren- 
 nially ceased to be seen. Our mission of Antoura, 
 which looked upon him as one of those winged messengers 
 of God, who sometimes trod the earth in holier times, 
 has embalmed his memory in the innermost shrine of 
 the heart ; our tears will long water the palms that grow 
 over him. His gentleness, his modesty, his prepossessing 
 air, his temper ever equal, his affection for the poor, 
 won him golden opinions from every one who knew him; 
 the Maronites especially, who never speak of Father 
 Neret without tears. Father Gravier, Father Cordier, 
 Father Henre went before him, Father Nicholas Treffons 
 followed him, all alike devoted to the Missions of the 
 Mountains. We must admit that these are very hard, 
 for in order to arrive there, pathways must be clomb, 
 acclivitous and narrow, on which lie blocks of granite 
 of huge dimensions, which completely interrupt those 
 mountain passes. When you come before them, you must- 
 take your shoes off, and mount the masses barefoot to 
 have a firmer footing ; in doing which their angles often 
 cut the feet, besides you are either burned by the scorching 
 sun of summer, or treading on the crunching snows of 
 winter, with your chapel on your back, that is, every thing 
 necessary for celebrating Mass, and medicines, chaplets, 
 &c, staff in hand, and laden thus, the missionary pilgrim 
 travels frequently from morning to eve, uninterruptedly. 
 Having arrived in a village in which a mission is to 
 be established, he immediately commences it ; we 
 are always welcome among the gentle docile Catholic 
 Maronites, who love prayer and the word of God. 
 
64 THE REPAST. 
 
 i 
 
 During 1 the mission, the missionary is occupied in 
 prayer and exhortation, in giving- assistance to the sick, 
 and in hearing 1 general confessions. As the rectors 
 commonly content themselves with asking at the solemn 
 festivals, if the crowd of penitents who present themselves, 
 are sorry for their sins, and administer absolution without 
 farther ceremony, on receiving an affirmative, general 
 confessions are extremely necessary. The exercises of 
 the morning being finished by a Mass, some one of the 
 inhabitants invariably invites us to take our meal with 
 him ; in lent this meal is uever taken till the sun has set ; 
 and frugality presides at the board. Olives, onions, rice, 
 and roasted corn, constitute the feast. On state days 
 and on solemn occasions, they dine more sumptuously, 
 for a dish of oil is added to the meal, in which every 
 person present dips his bread, but this is solely on state days 
 and solemn occasions ; the bread, by the way, resembles 
 pasteboard, it is perfectly flat and very insipid. These 
 materials of the feast are placed upon the floor, 
 while a carpet or a mat, which lies beneath them, serves 
 instead of table, plate, or napkin. Even in the intervals 
 between their lents, they do not know what the taste of 
 meat is, though it is not by any means prohibited to the 
 Maronites ; their wine is good, but it seldom blushes 
 at the board. 
 
 Our time is passed in catechising children, holding 
 particular conferences, and other missionary duties after 
 dinner. Evening returned, we repair to our hosts, where 
 we find their friends and families assembled, who expect 
 new lectures from the guests, for the Maronites never 
 weary of instruction. We draw the matter from the 
 ancient Testament, and the lives of Saints whose names 
 
THE GOOD NIGHT. 65 
 
 they know. At last, when the day is done, we say a 
 public prayer, and every one retires to repose. Inclining 
 their persons, and placing their hands upon their heads, 
 they extend them to the earth and salute us in the oriental 
 fashion. May a balmy sleep descend to seal your eye-lids, 
 and refresh your frame, we supplicate the Lord ! may 
 your good angel guard you through the night, may the sun 
 more brilliant than he ever rose before, ascend the shies 
 to-morrow to illume your way. 
 
 The labour of the day, assuredly, requires the slumbers 
 of the night, but a miserable carpet made of goats' hair 
 laid upon the floor, being your only bed, incessantly 
 disturbed as you are, by the querulous complainings of 
 the infants, and the interminable attacks of whole hosts 
 of fleas, who mount to the assault incessantly, in such 
 incalculable numbers, that such forces met not, nor so 
 vast a camp, when Agrican and all his northern powers 
 besieged Albracca, as romances tell. Added to all these 
 foes of slumber, the smoke of an half extinguised fire, 
 roams around a chamber that never knew an aperture, 
 seeking whom it may suffocate, which, of course, are 
 those who are unaccustomed to it — strangers, visitors, and 
 guests. Groaning under all these evils, we yearn for the 
 dawn impatiently, when we must resume the labours of 
 the mission, and continue them till every village has 
 been visited. Though these missions of the mountains 
 in the lenten season be excessively fatiguing, I assure 
 you, sir, that the disposition of the Maronites is so 
 benign, and the fruits that we gather so worthy of the 
 seed, as to render our toils not tolerable merely, but 
 consolatory. I shall conclude with a history which is 
 
66 ROMANCE 
 
 stranger than fiction, which, if we did not know the actors, 
 we should never believe. 
 
 The chevaliers of Malta found a young- and handsome 
 Turk, who was only 13 years of age, and a native of 
 Damascus, on board a saique which they had captured ; 
 they gave him to a nobleman, who took him home to 
 Spain, and so engaging was the blooming infidel, the 
 Spanish master conceived an affection for the Turkish 
 stripling, he taught him the truths of the Catholic 
 religion, and induced him to embrace it. 
 
 Being obliged to serve the Spanish Crown in Flanders, 
 the master, some years subsequently, took his young 
 convert to the wars ; the virtuous qualities of this young 
 man, and those especially which war requires, the latter 
 of which were possessed by the youth in an eminent 
 degree, caused the Spanish officer at the end of the 
 campaign, to request a company of cavalry for this young 
 Turk. He succeeded in obtaining it, and the new 
 captain, who at this time was five and twenty years of 
 age, repaired to the winter quarters of his regiment, 
 which happened for that season to be Brussels. 
 
 From the captain's reputation as an officer of merit, he 
 was received in the best circles in the city with distinc- 
 tion. The house of a lady, a widow of much wealth, who 
 had come from Amsterdam, her native town, with a 
 charming daughter, to pass some time in Brussels, was 
 honored in a more especial manner by his visits. 
 
 The mother and the daughter were very pious Catholics: 
 pleasure sparkled in their eyes at the visits of this officer, 
 whose fascinating manner and elegant demeanour — whose 
 politeness, wit, intelligence, and wisdom, first won their 
 esteem, and then ri vetted their friendship : the ladies knew 
 the value set upon him by his brother officers. 
 
OF REAL LIFE. 67 
 
 The winter having passed, and the season for active 
 service returned, our Turk, who was always considered 
 as a Spaniard, thought, from the reception with which he 
 had been honored in the widow's house, that he might 
 demand the daughter's hand without impropriety. 
 
 Already prepossessed in favour of the chevalier, the 
 proffer excited no displeasure in the mother. She imagined, 
 from the merit which she knew him to possess, that the 
 soldier could not fail to push his fortunes in the service, 
 meanwhile his qualities of heart and head, she thought, 
 would make her daughter happy. 
 
 These reflections of the mother, and the daughter's 
 partiality, made the ladies simultaneously consent to the 
 espousals. The marriage was solemnised in Brussels, 
 with the approbation of the city. The husband and the 
 wife lived ten years together, and only had a single son 
 at the end of that period. 
 
 Some time afterwards, the chevalier, whether what is 
 called the home sickness was preying upon his heart, or 
 he had tired of his trade, or was influenced by some secret 
 motive, which then it was his interest to hide, he opened 
 a desire to his wife, which he said, he fervidly felt, of 
 repairing to Jerusalem to visit the sepulchre : he should 
 subsequently bring her back to Spain to see his family, 
 he said, and shew her certain castles, which, he assured 
 her, he possessed in his native land. The young Dutch 
 lady, whose affection for her spouse was undiminished, 
 consented to the pilgrimage. They resolved to say 
 nothing of the subject to any one whatever, more espe- 
 cially to the mother, whose acquiescence in a purpose so 
 extraordinary was not to be looked for. They contrived 
 their embarkation in so secret a manner, in a vessel bound 
 
68 ROMANCE OF REAL LIFE. 
 
 for Italy, that it was only when they were gone that the 
 mother was informed of it. 
 
 You may easily suppose that her surprise was extra- 
 ordinary. When the lady was first acquainted with the 
 circumstance, she repudiated the fact, and refused to 
 believe it for a length of time. A strict search was insti- 
 tuted at her instigation, but the truth was so obvious in 
 the end, as to compel her to admit it. 
 
 While the mother in the Netherlands was weeping for 
 her child, the vessel which contained that lady, sailing off 
 the coast of Africa, encountered two or three corsairs, 
 who attacked it. The Spanish cavalier recognised them 
 by their language, and desired, with their leave, to speak 
 with the captain who commanded them, never doubting 
 but that if they knew his birth he should be civilly received. 
 The event answered his expectations ; he shewed the 
 rover when he got on board him, that he was anything 
 rather than a Spaniard ; he recounted his adventures, and 
 imparted his design of returning into Turkey to renew 
 the exercise of his religion there in liberty. He conjured 
 the captain, at the same time, to assist him to execute his 
 purposes. A native of Damascus was, luckily for him, 
 on board the Turkish vessel, who knew his family, and 
 gave credit to his statements. This was quite sufficient 
 to induce the captain to espouse the interests of his 
 visitor. He offered to receive him in his ship : the 
 difficulty was, to give good reasons to his wife to persuade 
 her to consent to this arrangement. He resolved, mean- 
 time, to propose it to her, by giving her to under- 
 stand that their passage to Jerusalem would be performed 
 with more speed on board a vessel of the powers 'of 
 Barbary, than in the one of Holland, as the latter should 
 
THE TURK. 69 
 
 delay in Italy, while the rover would sail direct for 
 Syria. 
 
 Though the project was repugnant to the young Dutch 
 lady, she deemed it her duty to commit herself entirely 
 to her husband's wisdom, who should know more than she. 
 
 The commander, who had all the mystery of the matter 
 in his mind, received the father, the mother, and the infant 
 with civility. After sailing for some days, they cast 
 anchor at Algiers. The young Dutch lady, who knew 
 not the name of this strange place, could not imagine 
 where she was, but she was speedily aware that she was 
 
 # 
 
 living among Mussulmen. Though exceedingly surprised, 
 her astonishment was greater at perceiving, as she did, 
 that her husband was perpetually among the Turks ; and, 
 what was even more extraordinary, was present at their 
 prayers. She did not dare at first to communicate her 
 trouble to her spouse, believing him a Catholic in heart ; 
 but, as she feared, (from his commerce with the Turks,) his 
 eventual perversion, she pressed him fervently to quit 
 Algiers, the sooner to attain the termination of their pilgri- 
 mage Jerusalem ; persuaded, as she was, that her husband 
 would be better any other place than there. 
 
 Her spouse, the Spaniard, who, on his side, thought of 
 nothing but of shaking off the shackles which Belgium 
 had imposed on the free profession of his faith, took 
 advantage of the hurry of his wife, to conduct her into 
 Turkey in a vessel which was ready to depart for Egypt, 
 They embarked together with their infant son ; but with 
 very different projects in their breasts. They landed in 
 a little time in Alexandria, and her spouse, the Spanish 
 captain, who sought to secrete his practices from his lady's 
 vigilance, was accustomed to repair in a private manner 
 
70 THE SOLDIER'S WIFE. 
 
 to the mosques, and to associate with Mussulmen in 
 secret. 
 
 The poor Dutch lady, in spite of the precaution of the 
 simulated Catholic, ascertained her husband's conduct 
 with horror, astonishment, and grief. Not knowing what 
 to think, she had recourse to tears, without presuming to 
 reveal the reason of her sorrow. The fictitious Spaniard, 
 (whose esteem for his lady's worth was equal to his love for 
 her beauty) felt convinced that he could not play the coun- 
 terfeit much longer. He sought the means of making the 
 discovery for a length of time in vain, though he could not 
 disguise from himself the melancholy consequences which 
 might follow such a revelation. Happening to come into 
 her room one day, he found the sorrow of his lady so 
 extreme, her desolation so excessive, 'twas so impossible 
 to comfort her, that truth was wrung from his reluctant 
 lips ; and he confessed his birth, his religion, the reason of 
 his quitting Brussels, and the cause of his imaginary 
 voyage to Jerusalem. She should enjoy, wherever they 
 sojourned, he assured her, the most unrestricted liberty 
 with reference to religion ; that as for him, he should 
 never have any other object upon earth except to make 
 her existence as happy as the day was long. He should 
 find in the land of his nativity the means of making her 
 felicitous, as there he should inherit his paternal property. 
 His lady listened to these words in silence, for her feelings 
 were of such a nature that her tongue refused to speak, 
 but we may easily imagine the melancholy images that 
 occupied her breast and mind, and each of them sadder 
 than its antecedent drowned her in affliction. Banished for 
 ever from her native country, the woman of a bearded 
 Turk, she was doomed to wear away her life, amid an alien 
 
THE CHRISTIAN WIFE. 71 
 
 people, whose repugnant customs and religion, were 
 diametrically opposed to all that makes life dear ; in a 
 single instant, a thousand ties were severed, that were 
 precious as her hearts strings, and her desolate bosom 
 bled at every pore. 
 
 Having passed some days in these heart-rending 
 reflections, the best course she thought she could adopt 
 in her present situation was, to repose her sorrows on 
 the benignant bosom of Eternal Providence, who never 
 abandons his creatures when they are faithful to Him 
 Full of this reflection, she suffered herself to be entirely 
 led by him, who had been hitherto so unfortunate a guide, 
 but whose cares became unceasing, to anticipate her wishes 
 and to lighten her chagrin. From Egypt he led her 
 into Syria, and thence to Aleppo, where his friends 
 resided. 
 
 The story of the spouses had been bruited in Cairo ; 
 in the town of Alexandria, they were talked of univer- 
 sally, and their story went before them to Aleppo. On 
 their entering Aleppo, the citizens assembled to see the 
 gentle lady wedded to the Turk, whom she had mistaken 
 for a Spanish officer, who had castles of much eminence 
 in Spain. The personal merit of this gentle lady, which 
 was speedily diffused, excited the compassion of the 
 Catholics especially, who rivalled one another in their 
 efforts to console her ; her misfortunes, however, were 
 not terminated yet. Rumour circulated in Aleppo, that 
 the Spaniard was as rich as Croesus, and this was quite 
 sufficient to awaken the cupidity of robbers, as they 
 termed them, who thirsted for his gold. Let that be as 
 it may, it is certain that the Turk was discovered in 
 his chamber, a mutilated carcass, and that the perpetrators 
 
72 THE CHRISTIAN WIDOW. 
 
 of the murder could never be discovered. Quickly 
 acquainted with this new calamity, which filled up the 
 measure of her adverse fortune, the affliction of the 
 widow was excessive. She saw her infant and herself, 
 who were equally defenceless, and equally ignoring" what 
 in the world should become of them, deprived of all 
 subsistence in a country of Turks. But when the tale 
 of bricks was doubled, Moses came. Some Maronite 
 women who had visited Aleppo, invited her to Libanus, 
 to which they were returning ; in a country almost 
 altogether Catholic ; they told her she should enjoy the 
 exercise of her religion, and there too all her wants should 
 be supplied. These hopes in her present situation, 
 induced her to go with them. The Maronite women led 
 her to the hamlet of Antoura. A widow the best provided 
 for of all the villagers, took her to her house, and took 
 care of her. 
 
 It was at Antoura that we became acquainted with 
 her : her conduct has been always extremely edifying 
 and exemplary. In speaking of her misfortunes, she 
 expressed such resignation to the will of Heaven as drew 
 tears from the eyes of the people who surrounded her. 
 Virtues of so rare a character, gained her such golden 
 opinions from the Maronites in general, that they rivalled 
 one another in endeavouring to render her every service 
 in their power, and laboured to make her forget her sad 
 adventures. 
 
 One of our missioners was honoured with her confidence, 
 who took particular care of the education of her child. 
 
 After the mother and the son had spent some years at 
 Antoura, a propitious opportunity presented itself for 
 their return to their father land. The ladv resolved to 
 
THE CHRISTIAN WIDOW. 73 
 
 improve the occasion. Our missionaries, far from 
 dissuading her, were aiding in her embarkation on hoard 
 a good vessel, persuaded as they were, that in the bosom 
 of her family she should find more solace for her indivi- 
 dual afflictions, and a better education for her son, than 
 in a country in which she was a stranger, and where, iu 
 spite of all attentions, most of the comforts of European 
 life were unattainable. We have had no news of her 
 since then, but we have reason to believe that heaven, 
 ever faithful to the souls who submit themselves to 
 Providence, has brought the friendless mother and her 
 infant son to the haven for which the exiles yearned so 
 frequently. 
 
 I have related what our archives acquaint us with, 
 concerning the establishment of our mission at Antoura. 
 We still continue to cultivate this soil, once irrigated 
 with the blood of Jesus Christ, with all the consolation 
 it is capable of yielding. The contagious malady which 
 emptied the principal towns of Provence of our brethren 
 of Jesus, when they calmly, fearlessly, and generously 
 exposed their lives in the service of the plague-sick, has 
 not spared us in the Levant ; their zealous charity, in 
 succouring the victims of the plague, hath caused them 
 to merit, in many instances, the crown of martyrdom. 
 Sir, in sending missioners to every quarter of the 
 christian universe, forget not our missions of the Levant, 
 those of Syria, and Palestine especially, which were 
 infinitely dear to St. Ignatius, and which deserve your 
 special protection, were it only upon this account. 
 
 The mission of Damascus, which I have quitted recently, 
 so eminently merits my making you acquainted with it, 
 a compendious account of the state in which I left it, with 
 
 E 
 
74 DAMASCUS. 
 
 the present situation of that great and famous city, cannot 
 fail to interest you. The flourishing- condition of religion 
 in Damascus, in former times, cannot possibly be recalled 
 without the bitterest regret ; for alas ! nothing remains 
 now but ruins of that greatness ! excepting Jerusalem. 
 At the birth of catholicity, it was the first that was watered 
 with Christian blood. Thither St. Paul was conveying 
 their sentence of proscription, when, suddenly enveloped 
 in an effulgence of celestial light, he was hurled prostrate 
 on the earth, prone and blind. They shew the locality 
 of the fall and apparition, which is very near the city, as 
 well as the mansion of the faithful Ananias — the cave to 
 which, in time of persecution, he retired — the gate at 
 which the evasion of St. Paul was effected by the faithful. 
 These can be all pointed out by assiduous ciceroni at the 
 present time. These primitive persecutions only heralded 
 in the triumphs of religion. Damascus, in succeeding 
 ages, became, as it were, the theatre of Christianity, where 
 she maintained a lofty attitude with no small glory, till 
 those disastrous times, when, fostered by Imperial sun- 
 shine, Schism raised its serpent head in her bosom. The 
 Arians, the Macedonians, the Nestorians, the Eutychains, 
 but Mahometanism above all, dusked the splendor of this 
 church, and made its lustre disappear. Nevertheless, 
 some gleams of her original radiance continued hanging 
 round her in resplendant festoons in the times of the 
 Saracens and of St. John of Damascus. But since the 
 Turks obtained the mastery, that is, during the last 200 
 years, Damascus has become simply a vast assemblage of 
 conflicting sects, raging around — rending religion just 
 like so many monsters. The superstition of Mahomet 
 is the most potent, and most prevalent of these. We 
 
DAMASCUS. 75 
 
 may venture to describe it as absorbing all the otliers ; 
 for, favouring as it does the brutal passions of the human 
 heart, it is incessantly attracting the severed disciples of 
 the schisms which subdivide Christianity in this country. 
 Of schismatic Christians, three several nations are recog- 
 nised in this place. The Greeks maintain the error of 
 Marcus the Ephesian, a follower of Photius ; the Surians, 
 that of Dioscorides ; the Armenians, the errors of Nesto- 
 rius. Unconducted by the light of true religion as they 
 are, at the test of persecution, they all delapse alike into a 
 precipice, which is infinitely more frightful than their first 
 condition, and passing easily from error into infidelity, 
 they join the sectaries of Mahomet ; insomuch, that 
 amongst half a million of inhabitants, perhaps ten thousand 
 Christians was our utmost number. 
 
 Such was the state of religion in Damascus, when, a 
 hundred years ago, our missioners arrived there. Three 
 catholic families was all we counted, the Maronites 
 excepted, who form a very petty nation, and who have 
 always been conformed to the faith of Rome. This was 
 not from any want of missioners of zeal. There were 
 Cordeliers and Capucins in Damascus, anterior to our- 
 selves. But they had not succeeded in extending the 
 labours of their mission any farther than the Maronites ; 
 they had not, in reality, presumed to undertake it. They 
 served in the capacity of rectors to the Maronites, when 
 the patriarch was pleased to permit them that privilege. 
 We began our toils simply by establishing a public school, 
 in which little children are taught, of whom the fathers 
 and mothers were in time instructed by their infants, and 
 in the course of years profound prejudices, engraved in 
 
76 DAMASCUS. 
 
 their heart by their hatred of Franks, insensibly disap- 
 peared. 
 
 Human respect, and the dread of persecution, retained 
 many in their errors for a length of time, or even caused 
 them to apostatise at a period subsequent to their acces- 
 sion to the true faith. And it was not until that 
 patriarch's days, whom the Grecians call Civile, who 
 occupied the office five and thirty years ago, and who 
 shewed favour to the Catholics — it was onlv under the 
 government of this person that the Christians began to 
 declare themselves decidedly in favour of religion. But 
 when this patriarch was dead, and persecutions were 
 imposed on the shepherds, one part of the flock was 
 scattered, the other compelled to prevaricate. The 
 missionaries never discontinued their exhortations to the 
 Catholics during those stormy times, sometimes publicly 
 and sometimes privately to stand fast and not to stagger 
 in the faith. Even to our own times, in which, to our 
 surprise, by an order of the Porte which dismissed the 
 schismatic, we beheld the prelate of the Catholics elevated 
 to the patriarchal see. He only held the seat a single 
 month, and even then by proxy. The schismatic received 
 a countermand which was precisely opposed to the pre- 
 ceding, and by which he was established in Damascus. 
 The Catholic patriarch, finding it thus imperative upon 
 him to retire, removed to a monastery of Greek religious 
 to reside, where, on the mountain of anti-Libanus, near 
 Seyde, he continues to abide. 
 
 This novel revolution afforded a convincing argument 
 in favour of the schismatic, but triumphant party, in the 
 opinion of the weak, by which party the latter were 
 
DAMASCUS. 77 
 
 speedily absorbed. Those who remained firm sought 
 concealment in their domiciles, where they watched till 
 heaven should give to our affairs a more favourable aspect. 
 The aid of Heaven Avas not long withheld. He who 
 holds in his hand the hearts of great men, disposed the 
 bosom of the bashaw who governs the country in favour 
 of the Catholics, as well as of the mission ers, insomuch 
 that the churches of the latter were permitted to be 
 opened, and Christians permitted to frequent them — an 
 event perfectly unparalleled ever since the Turks 
 obtained dominion of the country. He annulled a con- 
 tract, moreover, which was passed by the Catholics in 
 spite of them during their incarceration, by which they 
 were engaged to give 30,000 crowns as a forfeit for every 
 time they should listen to the missionaries. Since that 
 time, that is to say, in three years' space, the rapid pro- 
 gress of the Catholic religion has been quite incredible. 
 I can assure you, in my own regard, that no single year 
 hath hitherto elapsed, in which I have not had the conso- 
 lation and felicity of seeing a hundred persons, at least, 
 returning to the bosom of the truth. Not that we have 
 not had to bide the pelting of pitiless storms in the absence 
 of the Bashaw ; for, as four months at least are annually 
 spent by him in conducting the caravan of pilgrims to 
 Mecca, this time was always employed in periodically 
 persecuting us. But we have emerged with victory from 
 these difficulties, in consequence of the measures we 
 adopted. 
 
 The species of persecution inflicted on the Christians, 
 by the Mussulmen, is neither death nor torment, so much 
 as pecuniary penalties, which they please to call Avanies. 
 When Christians are accused with reference to religion, 
 
78 DAMASCUS. 
 
 ? tis a custom here to seize and bastinado such personages 
 as happen to be paramount amongst the countrymen of 
 the accused, a contribution is then required of them, which 
 is impartially and strictly levied upon all the nation, 
 whether they be Syrians, or Greeks, or what you will. 
 For some consecutive years, when the Bashaw had 
 departed on his pilgrimage to Mecca, they invariably 
 accused the Catholics of having become Francs, and of 
 praying with the latter, and so enormous an avanie was 
 imposed upon the Catholics in consequence, that the state 
 of indigence to which it reduced them, was absolutely 
 more appalling than death. In order to remedy so great 
 an evil, I had the honour of writing to his Excellency 
 the French Ambassador, requesting his protection of the 
 persecuted Catholics, as well as that he by his influence 
 at the Porte, might procure us an order, by which, not 
 the Catholics alone, but that all Christians indiscriminately, 
 might be the subjects of all such future avanies, as it 
 should please them to impose on us. His Excellency 
 was pleased to promise in the answer with which he 
 honoured me, that with reference to the Bashaw, no 
 stone should be left unturned, which possibly could bring 
 my project into operation, and that he should second his 
 petition, with a present of a nature which was very 
 likely to insure success. 
 
 The schismatics, according to their custom, having a 
 little after accused the Catholics of being Francs, an 
 avany amounting to many purses,* was imposed upon the 
 latter. 'Twas then in pursuance of my project, that I 
 prevailed upon the principals to require that this fine 
 
 * £62 10s. constitute a purse. 
 
DAMASCUS. 79 
 
 should be indiscriminately levied upon all the Christians, 
 since after all, no difference is ever made between Christian 
 and Christian by the Turks, who, as to whether you be 
 Syrian, or Frank, Catholic, or Greek, put no interroga- 
 tories. In this way the schismatics have been disarmed 
 of the instrument they used so frequently, and with so 
 much success, to injure and impede the Catholics. We 
 anticipate the continuous subsistance of this law, at least 
 as long as the administration of the present Bashaw shall 
 endure. 
 
 Befriended by a rule so pacific and auspicious, we 
 exercise our ministry, we preach in our church, and 
 celebrate our sacred mysteries within it, not only as we 
 do in Tripoly, or in Said, in which we are protected by 
 the Gonfalon of France, but precisely as we should 
 perform them at Paris, hence, like water from a well, 
 it flows as a necessary consequence that schismatics are 
 converted, and the sacraments received — hence, public 
 and private instructions are bestowed, producing wonder- 
 ful effects in hearts that hunger for the word of God. 
 
 At our sermons and at the explanations we give them 
 of the Gospel, how often do we see them moved by a 
 touching word to tears ; how much are we affected in 
 hearing them so frequently striking their bosoms and 
 sobbing during Mass, especially at the consecration, 
 and at the communion of the Priest. The schismatics 
 themselves, who are sometimes present, are frequently 
 affected to conversion. Should these happy times continue 
 for a few years more, the few rebels who remain will be 
 unable to resist us. But in cultivating a mission such 
 as this, the labours and the cares incumbent on the 
 missioners are indescribable ; resolving the important 
 
80 DAMASCUS. 
 
 questions with which the Catholics continually ply them, 
 instructing and refuting the heretics, causing to come to 
 an amicable end those various lawsuits, which are some- 
 times agitated amongst the faithful, and in which they will 
 take no judges but ourselves, hearing the general con- 
 fessions of the converts during the course of the week, 
 and the confessions of the others the live-long day, on 
 the eves of sabbaths and of festivals. Such is an 
 abridgment of labours, which keep the missionary's mind 
 for ever on the stretch. The mission of Damascus is 
 peculiarly painful, because without counting the Catholics, 
 who are good souls, crowds are continually coming in 
 from their want of missioners at home, from the villages 
 and towns in the vicinity. 
 
 In giving a succinct description of Damascus, I shall 
 content myself with telling you, that it is quite as large 
 as Paris, and the third city in the Turkish provinces ; 
 perhaps it would be wealthier still, were it under the 
 dominion of a Christian king ; it has several mosques of 
 surprising beauty, above all one surpassing all the others, 
 and quite amazing for its magnitude, which is ornamented 
 magnificently with marble of a snowy whiteness, and 
 which was erected by the early Christians ; it was the 
 metropolitan church originally. 
 
 The situation of Damascus is perhaps one of the finest 
 in the world. The city rises in a noble plain, sloping 
 sufficiently to give its pellucid waters currency. And so 
 abundant is this limpid water, that we may aver, no city 
 in the world is better watered than Damascus. A 
 chrystal fountain mingles with the glistening stream, that 
 descending from the neighbouring mountains, enters the 
 plain, in that part which lying towards the rising sun, 
 
DAMASCUS. 81 
 
 is lost in the remote horizon. This confluence of waters 
 constitutes a river. Where this enchanting plain com- 
 mences, Damascus elevates its pinnacles. Pausing before 
 it ventures to the town, the noble river is separated into 
 seven branches, one of which accommodates the city, 
 the others irrigate the plain. 
 
 When I first saw the spot from which the river dira- 
 mifies, I was stricken with astonishment : viewing the 
 solidity and art which the work exhibits, I was ravished 
 into admiration. 
 
 But of all the people I interrogated, there was no 
 one that could inform me as to the period, or the person 
 by whom this marvel was constructed. By means of 
 this, so copious quantity of water, every abode is abun- 
 dantly supplied ; it is so husbanded too, that from the 
 bosom of resplendent basins, like columns of silver it 
 shoots up in a thousand glistening fountains, in the 
 interior and exterior of the several dwellings. It was 
 requisite to construct subterraneous canals, at incalculable 
 cost, to conduct it to the different departments of the 
 town. These canals, if we may so express ourselves, 
 are covered roads of sufficient magnitude, to suffer two 
 or three persons to walk side by side. 
 
 The other rivers which wind in semicircles through 
 the plain, irrigate a world of orchards, so profuse of 
 fruit, that no where is the quantity more abundant, no 
 where can the quality be more delicious. 
 
 A Christian cannot possess a single inch of earth 
 throughout this vast, this magnificent campaign. His 
 solitary resource is in his industry, in carrrying on com- 
 merce, and in manufacturing silks : with reference to 
 
 this, the Turks are accustomed to reason very seriously, 
 
 e 5 
 
82 DAMASCUS. 
 
 we do not suffer you, they tell the Christians, to possess 
 any landed property whatever,* one third of your time 
 is consumed in festivals and sabbath-days, on which you 
 never labour ; we compel you, excluding the avanies, 
 to pay large sums of money for permission to make 
 wine, as well as for the great privilege enjoyed by you, 
 of praying in a church. In spite of the pains which we 
 take, with regard to you, your houses are as good, your 
 diet is as excellent, and your garments perhaps are more 
 sumptuous than ours, yet we pay no taxes and have 
 landed property, and but one or two festivals that interrupt 
 our labours ; how in the world is this miracle effected ! 
 
 The only answer that the Christians give them is, that 
 an overwatching providence is the giver of increase, 
 That the Master whom we have the felicity of serving 
 is emphatically a good Master, who even in this world, 
 often recompences us for such tribulations as we endure 
 for him. 
 
 * A century ago, the Catholics of Ireland were similarly circum- 
 stanced. 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF A 
 
 JOURNEY TO MOUNT LIBANUS, 
 
 SENT TO FATHER FLEURIAU. 
 
 My Rev. Father, — I do myself the honour of sending 
 to you now the account which you required of my journey 
 to Mount Libanus. Other missioners of ours, I know 
 full well, previously performed the journey, who, doubt- 
 less, did not fail to send you a recital. My desire to do 
 you pleasure, makes me heartily hope that they omitted 
 some particulars which you may find in the following. 
 Be that as it may, my obedience will plead with you, and 
 quite extenuate my want of merit. 
 
 Accompanied by Father Bonamour, your correspon- 
 dent quitted Tripoli the 13th of October. Three Maro- 
 nites from Mount Libanus conducted us, and for four 
 successive days we continually advanced, till, on the vigil 
 of the fifth, we arrived by the moonlight at the foot of 
 Mount Libanus. 'Twas 10 o'clock at night when we 
 entered a village denominated Argos, situated at six 
 leagues distance from the cedars. We were obliged to 
 pass the night upon an earthen floor, incessantly assailed 
 by a keen wind, extremely strong and bitter, which came 
 through the interstices of a cabin, or rather cage, com- 
 posed of reeds. We resumed our route two hours before 
 
84 MOUNT LIB AW US. 
 
 the dawn. The road selected by our leaders was full of 
 inequalities, in which our progress was little, our labour 
 great. 
 
 We were passing by a village entitled Antour'n, when 
 the lord of the village, who had seen us at a distance, 
 invited us to dine with him : half a league from his house, 
 we repented our refusal. Gelid showers of icy rain, the 
 coldest and most copious we had ever witnessed, accom- 
 panied by hail and rolling thunder, poured upon us for 
 two continuous hours, during which we could find nothing 
 like a refuge to shield us from its violence. 
 
 Our clothes were penetrated instantaneously. We 
 plunged, at every pace, into mud that rose above our 
 knees, or were compelled to ford the mountain ravines, 
 in which the rapid torrents, descending with impetuosity, 
 threatened our destruction every instant, as we strug- 
 gled with their fury, just like so many feeble reeds. 
 The rain, which composed a river at our feet, was con- 
 verted into snow upon the neighbouring mountains. 
 After enduring inexplicable fatigues, we came at length 
 to the Carmelite convent of Marserkis. In that deplorable 
 condition, whatever we required was cordially supplied to 
 us, and you may conceive how acceptable such succour must 
 have been in a plight so pitiable as ours. It stands at 
 the foot of a rock which rises above it to a height so 
 frightful, that no human foot has ever pressed its apex ; 
 the eagles or vultures that retire to its recesses or sail 
 round its stupendous altitude being the only animals 
 that rise so high. Grottoes have been burrowed in the 
 basis of this rock, and these constitute a portion of the 
 monastery. Nature and art combine to make this 
 monastery commodious. Imagine our being led into a 
 
MOUNT LIBANUS. 85 
 
 round little bedroom, of which the concave ceiling was 
 the solid stone forming the foundation of the peak. 
 The chapel is a grotto of considerable size, which, though 
 fashioned by the hand of nature, is as perfect as if 
 chiselled by some skilful excavator. An ever-flowing 
 fountain of the purest water which issues from the rock 
 after passing through all offices that need the lymph 
 waters a garden of legumes. A sojourn in Marserkis is 
 delicious in summer, six months in the year are 
 spent there by the Carmelites ; but the snows and winds 
 that come pouring from Mount Libanus make the winter 
 so insupportable, that those gentlemen retire at the 
 first appearance of frost, remaining in Tripoli till Easter. 
 
 We were conducted next day to the cedars of Mount 
 Libanus. As, after the recent rains, the roads were 
 indifferently dried, we had some difficulty in traversing 
 the league that separates Maserkis from the cedars, which 
 we could see at a distance. 
 
 We contemplated them at leisure. The cedars stand 
 upon a little mountain, w r hose summit is a plain of consi- 
 derable extent. This plain is crowned by domineering 
 mountains which ascend above its head, hoar and lofty, 
 and covered with snow to the skies. 
 
 The cedars celebrated amongst all mankind, stand upon 
 the plain in considerable number. Of this grand family, 
 more of the members are young and small, than great and 
 ancient : I counted but a dozen of extraordinary bulk ; we 
 measured the most thick ; we embraced their rugged 
 rind six times ; their circuit was equivalent to six times 
 the measure of our horizontal arms. Imagine their enormous 
 magnitude ! some, having grown a little from the ground, 
 had then branched into five or six stupendous trees, so great 
 
36 MOUNT LIB ANUS. 
 
 in girt two men could scarce embrace them. But when 
 these trees, a forest in themselves, form a junction at 
 their summits, the enormous extent occupied by their 
 capacious boughs is surprising. Their gigantic elevation 
 is proportioned to their breadth. Some of those travellers, 
 who take such care to grave their name in every place 
 they visit, have made great incisions on the larger cedars. 
 A salutary balm in the form of gum, which is very effica- 
 cious in the drying of wounds, exudes ftom these incisions* 
 
 At the foot of the largest of the cedars embrowned by 
 the shadow of its foliage, four altars are perceived of 
 massive stone. On the day of the transfiguration of the 
 Lord, attended by a train of bishops, priests, and monks, 
 and perhaps 6,000 Maronites, the patriarch is seen 
 repairing to this place to celebrate " the feast of the 
 cedars." Though this feast is celebrated by the Maro- 
 nites on the day of the transfiguration of the Lord, it by 
 no means follows as a consequence, that the Maronites 
 believe, as some presume to tell us, that it was on their 
 mountain that our Saviour was transfigured. Its expressly 
 asserted in their office for the day, that the scene of that 
 marvel was Mount Thabor. That very erroneous notion 
 originated in Thabor's connection with a family of moun- 
 tains, which all possess a common name, viz. Libanus, 
 and anti-Libanus. 
 
 You may see the mountains of Libanus extending 
 from the side of the sea to the sources of the Jourdan : 
 you find them stretching from Carmel, as you travel on 
 till they sink into a flat at two days journey from Damas- 
 cus. The mountain chain of Anti-Libanus advances 
 farther inland ; it is divided from that of Libanus by a 
 flat, extensive plain, which begins at the Balbeck side, 
 
MOUNT LIBANUS. 87 
 
 at two days journey from Damascus. The acclivities of 
 Anti-Libanus receive this appellation, because the kindred 
 chains confront each other, and the latter appears to con- 
 template the opposite. 
 
 The air that circulates upon the plain upon which those 
 giant cedars tower, is so cold and venomous, that no one 
 ever is tempted to fix their residence upon it ; and yet 
 its situation is really enchanting. It is covered with a 
 mantle of medicinal herbage, and there may the traveller 
 cull the rarest simples. 
 
 Game of every kind is common there, the most for- 
 midable foe that wide wilderness — that mute and unpeo- 
 pled solitude affords, is the vulture, and the voracious 
 birds which are a kin to it. The grateful earth would 
 be fertile, were it cultivated. A species of bush, pro- 
 ducing a black barberry of very pleasant flavour, abounds 
 upon the mountain. 
 
 Libanus was at one time clothed with aspiring cedars. 
 However, you will not find any at the present day except 
 on the plain which I have spoken of, and on another 
 mountain which is near Cannobin. All joiners' work 
 is made of cedar-wood in Libanus, the operatives of the 
 place are very skilful workmen. The succeeding day we 
 left the monastary of Marserkis to go about a league to 
 that of Marelicha. The vicar and two others of the 
 monks attended us. The monastery of Marelicha, that 
 is, of Eliseus, is situated at the foot of a tremendous 
 mountain, and on the margin of a river entitled Nahr 
 Gadischa, or the sacred river. It flows through a very 
 narrow valley of exceeding depth, whose sides are orna- 
 mented with tall pines and gigantic oaks and vines, in 
 the depth of whose recesses you may see the rapid waters 
 
88 MOUNT LIBANUS. 
 
 glistening like shining ebony. At 30 paces from this 
 river, you see on either side a chain of mountains rise 
 which form tremendous masses of naked rocks. 
 
 The interior of these mountains have been hollowed,* 
 by the hand of nature, into caves of unknown capacity — 
 cells of solitary Cenobites at one time, who chose these 
 arid rocks, here ascending so sublimely in their naked- 
 ness, as the only worldly witnesses of virtue which was 
 almost unparalleled, and the uninterrupted rigour of 
 perennial penance. The tears of these sequestered saints, 
 which have mingled so often with its waters, have given 
 to the river which we have been speaking of the title of 
 the holy river. Its source is situated in the mountains 
 of Libanus. When looking at these caves, and this river, 
 making its way for ever glistening and gliding through the 
 desert like some sable serpent, feelings of compunction 
 fill the soul — a secret love of penitence is inspired insen- 
 sibly, as well as of compassion for those sensual souls, 
 who, for a few delusive joys, for some feverish transports 
 for fairy wealth, exchange their sterling gold, the glorious 
 " birthright of their hopes in Heaven." 
 
 The superior of the monastery of Elizeus received us 
 in a manner the most cordial. The monastery consists of 
 20 Maronites. They were the only persons that we met 
 with that deserved the appellation of religious. 
 
 They were established here by a pious priest, named 
 Abdulus, five and twenty years ago — a person parti- 
 cularly assiduous in consulting Father Nicolas Bazire, 
 as to the form, constitution, and conduct of this society. 
 He was their first superior. He was taken from his 
 monastary and consecrated bishop, in opposition to his 
 own desire. Our mission of Antoura is established in his 
 
MOUNT LIBANUS. 89 
 
 m 
 
 diocese. His successor in his monastery is Father Gabriel, 
 a man of the utmost modesty, as well as the greatest 
 piety. He is universally esteemed and honored by Turks, 
 Greeks, and Maronites, in consequence of his profound 
 intimacy with Arabic. 
 
 In this monastery of Maronites, the noviceship is two 
 years in length ; flesh is never eaten by the inmates, who 
 are very poorly dressed ; they chant the office in the noon 
 of night, and pass the greater portion of the day upon 
 the fresh and sunny mould, engaged in the wholesome 
 labours of the husbandman. An account of their con- 
 science is given their superior evening and morn diur- 
 nally. They observe their rules with unabated rigour, 
 and, above all, maintain unbroken silence and perpetual 
 fast. Except their brothers of the cloister, they seldom 
 see a human being. The foot of a female has never 
 passed the threshold of their church. If any of the 
 inmates happen to relax in this penitential life, and give 
 the lie to his vocation, he is at once advised by the abbot 
 to retire, though the years of his profession were a dozen. 
 The superior can give a dispensation for conventual 
 vows. 
 
 We departed with our guides on the morning of the 
 20th, to proceed to Cannobin, two leagues from the 
 monastery of Eliseus. We saw, upon our route, the 
 remains of many monasteries, which Cenobites inhabited 
 in anterior times, and which, deserted by the monks, 
 have been ruined by the Metouali, who are a sect of 
 heretical Mahometans. 
 
 Many of these mouldering ruins are perched upon the 
 summit of steep and lofty rocks, at such an alarming 
 elevation, that you cannot comprehend the possibility of 
 
90 MOUNT LIBANUS. 
 
 reaching them. We entered a chapel chiseled in the 
 rock, which had been excavated very skilfully, and in 
 which two altars stood. An image of the Virgin stood 
 on the one, on the other was an image of Saint Antony. 
 We saw some desert cells beside the chapel, in which the 
 situation of the Cenobites must have been very incom- 
 modious. At the foot of these mountains, flows the holv 
 river ; its greatest length is little more than 1 8 miles. 
 
 The patriarch of the Maronites resides at Cannobin. 
 They received us with the utmost hospitality. The monks 
 are few in number, and indifferently lodged, and still 
 greater poverty appears in their clothes and mode of life. 
 The patriarch lives with some Maronite bishops, and with 
 the monks of the house, in the greatest harmony, and 
 with a simplicity and purity of manners perfectly exem- 
 plary. The slightest faults are punished with severity. 
 Strangers are received in a most charitable manner, from 
 a spirit of hospitality, with all this poverty ! The 
 patriarch was clothed in a scarlet-coloured habit, which 
 was turned up with fur, under which he wore a purple 
 soutane : a dress that was remarkable for nothing but its 
 modesty. 
 
 The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary ; its age, 
 the patriarch informed us, was fourteen centuries. The 
 church is a tremendous cave which has been decorated 
 and devoted to the service of religion. It is adorned 
 with pictures of different qualities. The patriarch 
 pointed out to our attention, as we loitered through 
 them, the portraits of Innocent the Eleventh and Louis 
 the Fourteenth. We recited the nocturnal office in the 
 choir, as well as the office for the day, which was said by 
 the sodality with much seeming unction. Their liturgy 
 
MOUNT LIBANUS. 91 
 
 is very ancient. It is written in Syrian, or ancient 
 Syriac, and a very little part in Arabic, which is trans- 
 cribed in Syriac characters, denominated Kerchora. The 
 cells of the monks are grottoes near the church. The 
 Brothers are exposed to the inclemencies of tbe seasons, 
 in passing, as well in summer as in winter, from their 
 grottoes to their church. The patriarch led us to a room 
 designated the Chamber of the Jesuits. These Jesuits 
 were three, Fathers John Baptiste Elien, John Bruno, 
 and Jerome Dandini. The two first were sent by the 
 13th Gregory, to make the Maronites receive the decrees 
 of the Council of Trent, and Clement 8th despatched the 
 third to make the bishops, priests and patriarch, assembled 
 in a synod, renounce the errors of a schismatical council. 
 The Council of Trent was accordingly received, and the 
 schism was proscribed. During our sojourn, we were 
 always honoured by an invitation, on the part of the 
 patriarch, to dine with the religious and himself. Fru- 
 gality was perfectly observed on these occasions. 
 Legumes prepared in oil, beet roots, salt fish, and dry 
 discoloured bread, composed the dinner that they gave 
 us ; but their wine was of a quality so excellent, that no 
 better can be made in France. 
 
 The Patriarch pressed us earnestly, employing many 
 arguments, to induce us to remain some time longer in 
 his monastery, but, the day of our departure being 
 determined on, after saying the nocturnal office with the 
 choir, and celebrating mass, we took our leave of him. 
 We had the honour of receiving from the patriarch his 
 own peculiar ornaments, which, indeed, are exceedingly 
 becoming. We besought his benediction, and departed. 
 
 He gave us his deacon as a guide, for the roads are 
 
92 MOUNT LIBANUS. 
 
 very difficult to follow. At a little distance from the 
 monastery, we visited a chapel dedicated to St. Marina. 
 Filled as it is with the odour of her sanctity, the deepest 
 veneration is retained, and indeed diffused, through the 
 surrounding country by the memory of this virgin. 
 
 No one entertains the slightest doubt in this place as 
 to the circumstances of her life. Inspired by heaven, as 
 historians tell us, the virgin enveloped her beauty in a 
 cowl, and completely concealed her sex in the coarse 
 weeds of a monastic. Girded in this rude habit, the 
 beautiful recluse devoutly served her Saviour for succes- 
 sive years in austerity and penitence. She was accused 
 of an intrigue with a female in the neighbourhood, and 
 condemned to suffer the severest penalty by her supe- 
 rior's sentence, and in that cave, too, which is now a 
 chapel dedicated to her memory. But that highly- 
 exalted, uncreated, and benignant Being whom she 
 served, as alone supremely worthy of her adoration, who 
 always condescends to look with an interested eye upon 
 his servants, made her innocence, when she sunk into the 
 slumber of the grave, as obvious as the day-star when he 
 sinks to the horizon, and distinguished her virtues even in 
 this world by the miracles operated at her tomb. 
 
 Having offered up our prayers at this venerated shrine, 
 we set forward for St. Anthony, which is at two leagues 
 distance from Cannobin. We ascended and descended 
 a mountain, the most rugged I ever had encountered 
 while traversing these intervening leagues. St. Anthony's 
 priory stands upon the coast beside a high perpendicular 
 acclivity. At this time, thirty Cenobites were living in 
 the house, similar in every sense to those whom I have 
 described so recently. Abdulus, the bishop, who, before 
 
MOUNT LIB ANUS. 93 
 
 his episcopacy, was their founder and their first superior, 
 received us with the utmost kindness. That prelate 
 leads the life of a saint in this establishment ; his lodgings 
 are as humble as the simplest religious, and, though the 
 life of his monastics is sufficiently austere, the bishop 
 lives with even more austerity than they do. His only 
 distinction is the colour of his dress, which is invariably 
 violet. 
 
 He kept us in the monastery two successive days, that 
 we might see the house and environs more completely. 
 This convent consists of two separate divisions, and the 
 distance that divides them is by no means inconsiderable. 
 Each division has its church, but of these the greater is 
 selected when they celebrate the office ; in either church 
 its neatness is its only ornament. We were conducted 
 by the prelate to some caves in the vicinity, which are all 
 so many chapels. One, surpassing all the others for its 
 beauty and extent, is dedicated to St. Michael. Three 
 altars stand within it, and for those two religious men 
 who minister at them, there are two little chambers con- 
 tained within the cave. On the face of that mountain 
 which is opposite these grottoes, you see the openings of 
 others, where two hermits lead a solitary life, who never 
 quit these caves, nor speak a word to any one, unless 
 haply to the prior, when opening their consciences to his 
 inspection diurnally. 
 
 No one can be possibly more edified than I was by 
 the sublime series of pious acts which I had seen the 
 religious of this monastery perform. And now, having- 
 spent two days in this establishment, I took my leave of 
 Bishop Abdulus, who gave me what was indispensable, a 
 guide ; for, without a guide in mountains edged with 
 
94 MOUNT LIBANUS. 
 
 precipices of the height I had to cross, it would have been 
 impossible to arrive by unknown roads at Argos. 
 
 Tripoli, the termination of my journey, is only at the 
 distance of four leagues from Argos. The space that 
 separates them is a uniform plain of decidedly the most 
 agreeable description, crowned with graceful olives and 
 with groups of trees of many different species. At length, 
 I happily arrived at Tripoli, from which I had set out. 
 In Tripoli, thank heaven for the favour, I immediately 
 resumed the exercises of our missions; for, at present, 
 contagious diseases increase our occupations. The inse- 
 parable peril of employments, such as theirs, has no terror 
 whatsoever for the high and heroic courage of our mis- 
 sioners. One would be ashamed to fail in imitating them. 
 As we are continually in need of the heavenly assistance, 
 we hope that when diurnally you offer the immaculate 
 oblation, you supplicate heaven in behalf of us. 
 
A LETTER FROM ALEPPO 
 
 ON THE RAMADAN, 
 
 WITH TRAITS OF THE TRAVELS OF THE WRITER. 
 
 My Rev. Father, — I find it obligatory upon me to 
 make you acquainted with all such curious and remarkable 
 occurrences as I happen to encounter in the countries I 
 shall traverse. I have laid down the following plan, in 
 order to fulfill my obligations. I shall be contented with 
 examining attentively the positions of the places, the 
 situation of the cities, the changes in the atmospheric 
 temperature, while merely travelling, but, once become 
 permanent, resident, and stationary any where, the 
 manners of the people, the customs of the country, all 
 that relates to religion more particularly, become my 
 objects for especial study. Any hours of idleness which 
 my more essential duties may leave me, are completely 
 occupied by such a study, a study in my esteem which is 
 not unworthy of a missioner. As you are at once a 
 Frenchman and a Jesuit, you cannot fail to feel pleased 
 in reading my recital. Foreign manners in juxtaposi- 
 tion with the manners of the French, afford a contrast 
 which is excessively flattering to France, and when con- 
 trasted with her rivals, our holy religion invariably tri- 
 umphs, as she always derives new splendour from this 
 parallel or this contrast, as we should call it, so glorious 
 to her sanctity. In my narrative I shall mention nothing 
 
96 WHITE THREAD. 
 
 
 which I have not seen, and with your permission I shall 
 close this letter with a few adventures which shall shew 
 you the extravagancies of superstition, and the patience 
 which the missionary must employ in dealing with its 
 partizans. They will fill you full of pity, for the mise- 
 rable condition of Christianity in Asia, and for the melan- 
 choly fate of so many souls, who with the best disposi- 
 tions in the world, perish daily for the want of help. I 
 shall commence by instituting a comparison between the 
 Turkish and the Christian lents, and the Turkish and the 
 Christian Easter. 
 
 The Grand Ramadan, or Turkish Lent, is a solemn 
 religious observance, which the Koran prescribes. It 
 continues for a month, or a moon, to use the language 
 of the country. It excites no surprise that Mahomet 
 instituted this observance, tinctured with the Christian 
 religion as he was. False religions do themselves the 
 honour of imitating the true, at least in some particulars. 
 The season selected for the fast is generally the winter, 
 you will ultimately see the reason. This year they 
 selected in Aleppo, the moon of January. They fired 
 four canon from the castle, at 3 in the afternoon, the 
 moment the moon of December disappeared, to apprise 
 the Mussulmen that the Ramadan began next day. They 
 fast as follows: to eat, to drink, or smoke tobacco, is 
 prohibited from the hour in the morning in which you 
 can distinguish a white thread from a black thread, until 
 after sun down. This circumstance of the white and 
 black thread, taken literally, gives great advantage to 
 the purblind people, compared to those whose sight is 
 faultless, of which they do not scruple to avail themselves. 
 As soon as the sun is down, the Marabouts, whose 
 
MOON-LIT RAMBLES. 97 
 
 business it is, from the summit of the minarets to call 
 the Mussulmans to prayer, and whose voices serve 
 instead of bells in Turkey, utter frightful cries, from 
 their elevated stations. Every soul in the city at this 
 signal, resumes his pipe and commences eating. This 
 first repast succeeding sun-set, is commonly a light 
 collation ; assemblies succeed and promenades, and diver- 
 sions of every description. The streets are filled with 
 people, a general illumination follows, the gates of the 
 city are lying open, and as they imagine that every 
 thing is permitted them, because they fast, many disorders 
 seemed to be sanctioned by this penitence. Insomuch 
 that the Christians commonly remark, that in the Ramadan 
 the Mussulmen are mad, and the former are then more 
 than ever on their guard, to avoid all collision with the 
 Turks, believing if they suffered any evil at their hands, 
 that they should have very little chance of justice. 
 
 After rambling through the city in the moon light, 
 they eventually return to their houses and sumptuously 
 banquet, and hold high festival for some hours before 
 the white thread can be distinguished from the black one. 
 The viands on their board combine delicacy with abun- 
 dance : The Mahometans reserve their most delicious 
 meats for the period of the Ramadan ; you needs must 
 grant me, that this is a very pleasant mode of keeping 
 Lent. When you ask a Mussuman why he eats 
 such exquisite and costly viands, " 'tis because I'm 
 fasting, he exclaims, " Were not the season penitential, 
 I'd have frugal fare ;" when day is dawning and the feast 
 is done, they go to sleep, not indeed in the interior of 
 their houses, but recumbent upon divans that are laid 
 before their doors, that the world may perceive how 
 
98 THE CADI. 
 
 penitent they are, and unless very urgent business break 
 their slumbers, they are seldom seen in public till the 
 afternoon ; thus the rigour of their penitence consists in 
 turning day into night, and in feasting on the richest 
 viands. You know many men in Europe who practice 
 this austerity the whole year round, but who, unlike 
 the Turks, seldom seek to sanctify themselves by such 
 observances. 
 
 Our fasters of the Levant take no small pains to main- 
 tain the most frightful mask of severity, and melancholy : 
 they walk with a grave pace, with dejected extenuated 
 rueful visages, to which they can give the necessary 
 cast with great facility, for in such grimaces the most 
 aukward Asiatic is certain to succeed. To compliment 
 them then upon their good complexion, or improved 
 appearance, would be dreadfully offensive ; they seem 
 doggedly determined to appear devout, no matter what 
 it may cost. 
 
 Justice is never worse administered than during Lent, 
 offences are attended with impunity in the Ramadan. 
 Having suffered an assault, if you summon the offender, 
 if you denounce and accuse him to the Cadi, that 
 equitable judge replies, he struck you, but poor fellow, 
 dont you see he is fasting, look at his visage, it is 
 pitiable, the slightest punishment would cause his death ; 
 this fasting enfeebles the body and the soul: for my own 
 part I have ceased to be myself, the inanition of the 
 stomach worketh madness of the brain ; this defendant 
 was insane when he treated you in this way. What will 
 you have me do with him ; you yourself may be the 
 judge, you see he is without strength, and scarce capable 
 of standing; justice would visit him at present in the 
 
THE CADI. 99 
 
 shape of destruction, it would be criminal." The accuser, 
 if a Christian, pretends to be persuaded by these reasons, 
 and if he be unsatisfied by this procedure, he has at 
 least the comfort of complaining : if the plaintiff be a 
 Mussulman, the reasonings of the Cadi bring conviction 
 to the hearer, who plays in this very pretty comedy the 
 part of faster. It is thus that law suits terminate in 
 these penitential times, and they terminate in tins way 
 in those instances especially in which the defendant 
 contrives to cause a sum of money to pass unobserved 
 into the judge's hands ; this excites his compassion for 
 his feebleness unfailingly. Persons sometimes appear 
 before the tribunal, however, whose tempers are so 
 stormy that they cannot be convinced by the reasonings 
 of the Cadi, but who are doggedly determined on 
 obtaining satisfaction proportioned to the injury ; but 
 these impracticable people seldom bless their bargain, of 
 which there was an instance in the last Ramadan. 
 
 A Mussulman arraigned a co-religionist, from whom 
 he had received a serious affront, before a public tribunal. 
 The judge who was corrupted had a tendency to clemency, 
 and to have some authority for sheltering the criminal, 
 whom he was resolute to .save, he made great use of the 
 reasons which the fast afforded. The plaintiff turned a 
 deaf ear to these arguments, however. He pertinaciously 
 persisted in repeating that the criminal was able to sustain 
 the punishment deserved, he grew warm with his subject, 
 his voice grew louder, he spoke with fire, vivacity, and 
 energy. The Cadi, who at first was entirely at a loss 
 for some reasonable argument to oppose to so much 
 logic, adopted a singular but effective method of attack. 
 " Your lungs are very strong," he ultimately replied 
 
100 THE CADI. 
 
 addressing- the plaintiff very coolly, " you dont seem to 
 fast ; at least you hardly keep the fast as well as we do, 
 since you speak so vociferously and evince so little of 
 the feebleness which oppresses the defendant : so saying, 
 lie caused him to be laid upon his belly and beaten on 
 the feet, as a heinous violator of Mahometan command- 
 ments, in having failed to observe the Grand Ramadan. 
 There was very little justice in the judge's arguments, 
 but then he was imperative, and the accuser could only 
 answer by his cries. 
 
 These thirty days of penitence are followed by three 
 days of festival, which are announced, like the others, by 
 four cannon shots. You may see these turbaned peo- 
 ple, on the vigil of the festival, that is, on the last evening 
 of lent, employed in the bazaars and public places, in 
 setting up divans and in covering them with brilliant- 
 coloured carpeting and cushions. Recumbent upon these 
 they eat in public — recumbent upon these they receive 
 their visitors, and calmly contemplate the attitudes of 
 those who figure upon ropes, an amusement, which, from 
 its popularity, eclipses every other. There is one very 
 pleasant circumstance connected with these feats, which 
 is, that you pay nothing for beholding them ; besides, the 
 spectator may become an actor, i. e. you may purchase 
 the permission of performing in your turn by the payment 
 of a little coin. 
 
 Two Turks are seen coming forward to the centre of 
 the arena ; they support a man upon their shoulders, 
 whom they deposit in a seat, which has three corners ; 
 this triangle swings suspended from the dome by twelve 
 ropes, four at every corner. The moment that it begins 
 to move upward, sonorous trumpets sound, and other 
 
THE FESTIVAL. 101 
 
 instruments of music play, which, mingled with the rolling 
 of the drums forming the base of the music, accompany 
 this ascension. Amid this melody, the man ascends in a 
 few minutes to the very vault, which is as high as the 
 roofs of the loftiest cathedrals in France. Those who 
 have most agility and hardihood, by stretching forth their 
 feet in this position grasp the ropes that extend across 
 the dome. They let themselves down from their elevated 
 seat, and swing by their hands from those lofty cords, 
 where they twist and turn for some time, and then, by 
 the assistance of some other ropes, slowly descend unto 
 the earth : the music ceases the moment they alight, and 
 the people testify their approbation by clapping univer- 
 sally. There are less elevated places for those that have 
 less strength and courage. It only costs the third of a 
 piastre or something less than ten pence English, to shew 
 one's self in public this way. An aga presides, by whom 
 the money is received. Such are the amusements of the 
 more mature, from which the young are not excluded, 
 though the striplings have peculiar pleasures. Imagine 
 for a moment an enormous wheel, so extensive, that it 
 fills the edifice, being only a foot from the ceiling in the 
 highest place and a foot from the floor where it is lowest, 
 being placed perpendicularly. An infinitude of seats are 
 attached to its circumference, which are filled with a 
 multitude of boys and girls. Imagine the mighty revo- 
 lutions of this wheel, which goes round with astonishing 
 rapidity, conveying the chairs which are so suspended as 
 always to maintain their perpendicular, now up on one 
 side and now down upon the other, with the children now 
 passing along the loft and now sweeping along the floor, 
 now under the feet and anon at the very summit of all 
 
102 GAMES. 
 
 the others. Besides these chairs, there are certain little 
 towers composed of horizontal planks which turn on a 
 pivot. In these little towers, or, more graphically, churns, 
 as in so many nests, the children are placed who are less 
 than ten, who, while peeping from their churns, pass 
 quickly in review before the assembly. This is the 
 principal employment of the Mussulmans from 8 in the 
 morning till 10 o'clock at night, during the three days 
 which constitute the Turkish easter. The everlasting 
 hum of such a multitude of people, with their shouts, 
 cries, and exclamations, the creaking, groaning, straining 
 of the vast machines, hammocks, wheels, and ropes, 
 heard above the voices of the crowds perpetually, rather 
 make a spectacle of horror, than of pleasure. Christians 
 keep their Easter in a different fashion. Let us begin 
 with the Christian Lent. 
 
 Living in Aleppo, we are almost at the portals of that 
 celebrated Antioch, where the chair of truth and the 
 Apostolic See were established by St. Peter. This is 
 the primal city in the universe, you are well aware, that 
 saw true adorers in its precincts — 'tis the first city that 
 ever held Christians in its hallowed walls. Submissive 
 to the voice of the Apostles, their spirit was bequeathed 
 to the docile city, which cherished their imperishable ordi- 
 nances. She learned from those sacred lips how to hold 
 the high and solemn festivals of Christianity, as well as to 
 observe every other practice of our creed. The circumjacent 
 cities conformed themselves speedily to the sacred model 
 which Antioch presented, and as Aleppo (which was 
 called HLrapolis in ancient times, and Berea subse- 
 quently) was the most adjacent. Of all the towns in 
 Asia, 'twas the most exact in conforming to the customs 
 
CHRISTIAN LENT. 103 
 
 and traditions which distinguished Antioch. It has even 
 an advantage over every other ; — religion has been unin- 
 terruptedly observed in Antioch, since St. Peter intro- 
 duced it, to the present hour ; in consequence of which 
 its traditions are more certain, its practices more respect- 
 able. Let that be as it may, certain it is that their fasts 
 are exceedingly austere, and that their lenten observances 
 are wonderfully rigorous. 
 
 The custom of the Maronites is that of Catholicity ; 
 while Armenians, Greeks and Surians abstain from every 
 species of sustenance till 3 in the afternoon, and even 
 then the following articles of food — butter, fish, milk, 
 cheese, and oil, are carefully excluded from their lenten 
 repasts. The Armenians are more austere ; together 
 with refraining from these viands, the Armenians abstain 
 from wine, and never dream of dispensations. Old men 
 of 80 and children of ten fast as rigorously as persons 
 in the prime of life. Matrons enceinte, women giving 
 suck, conceive themselves subjected to the same dis- 
 cipline, yet you never see an accident follow this auste- 
 rity. They are perfectly persuaded, that from this obli- 
 gation no human casuality can possibly exempt them. 
 Persons on the point of death, who, in order to sustain 
 expiring nature, are coerced by necessity to take a little 
 food, are careful to exclude the prohibited descriptions. 
 If an egg has been eaten by a schismatic when sick, he 
 trembles to confess it, as he deems it a transgression too 
 deep to be forgiven. Should a doctor, in the beginning 
 of Lent, to preserve his patient's health, prohibit fasting 
 and prescribe flesh meat, he would not make a fortune ; 
 they would regard him as not only a prevaricator, but as 
 a monster, and as a minister of Satan ; they would fly 
 
104 THE ENGLISH. 
 
 from their Physician with the utmost horror. Such is 
 the rigour of the orientalists, as well in opinion as in 
 practice. 
 
 You will enquire of me now how the Protestants 
 behave. As in Holland and in England, the Protestants 
 in Asia observe neither abstinence nor fast ; but every 
 one is scandalized at such a line of conduct. The natives 
 of the country cannot be persuaded that the Protestants 
 belong to the brotherhood of Christians ; they cannot 
 conceive that they come within the pale of Christianity, 
 and even the Mussulmans consider them as destitute and 
 nude of all religion. They are sometimes sensible of 
 these reproaches, and being unable to sustain them, in 
 lenten times consume their meat in secret. Some of them 
 confess that they are perfectly surprised to see that all 
 the religions of the East nearly agree in nothing with 
 that which they profess. We derive a decided advantage 
 from this difference. You wish us to ascend, we some- 
 times say to them, to the earliest epochs of the naissant 
 faith in order to justify traditions — the period you appeal 
 to is the first four centuries. Ask of any or of all of these 
 people who environ you, and will they not tell you that 
 in their observances, which are likewise those of Roman 
 Catholics, they invariably follow apostolical traditions ; 
 traditions which the celebrated Antioch bestowed on them 
 whom they consider as their mother. Our Protestants 
 are considerably embarrassed by these arguments ; they 
 dare not say that lent, confession, fast, and abstinence, 
 purgatory and the real presence, are merely the inven- 
 tion of the Roman See and which have issued from the 
 forge of Satan. With their eyes, with their own eyes, 
 do they see the very contrary. The question is not here 
 
PROTESTANTS. 105 
 
 about Babylon or Anti-Christ ; these, indeed, are words 
 of thundering sound, which, enunciated with that insane 
 hardihood which heresy inspires, are irrefutable arguments 
 in England, but are so utterly inane and null as to signify 
 something less than nothing here. They must attack a 
 thousand Christian nations — they must repudiate antiquity, 
 say anathema to Antioch, and relinquish the apostles. 
 The step is very difficult to take. Those gentlemen, 
 accordingly, are careful to avoid the agitation of a ques- 
 tion which they find is indefensible, and more experienced 
 than in Christendom, on controverted points and on 
 Catholic observances, they maintain a serious silence, 
 being well convinced that the Greek church would not 
 give them her suffrage. This conformity in opinion of 
 the Greek and Latin churches sometimes makes a salutary 
 impression upon persons whose lives are in the right. 
 Some years since, I was very intimate with a minister of 
 Holland. He was a man of much intelligence, and, as 
 he spoke Latin with facility, I frequently conversed with 
 him. He had paid for a birth on board a vessel in the 
 harbour when he told me in confidence, before his embarka- 
 tion, that, in order to consider an affair of much impor- 
 tance he should visit Italy, as his personal experience had 
 elicited reflections by which the complexion of his opinions 
 had been altered. 
 
 Persons of the faith pretendedly reformed would 
 hardly undertake to dogmatise in this place ; they would 
 not, at least, do so with impunity. Some time since, a 
 clergyman of the church of England, whose zeal for his 
 opinions was perfectly quixotical, got a catechism printed 
 • at considerable cost ; he hoped to innoculate the spirits 
 
 of the Christians of the country with the virus with which 
 
 f 5 
 
106 ST. GEORGE. 
 
 he was himself infected ; but it was trodden under foot ; 
 it was torn into pieces, and its separated fragments com- 
 mitted to the flames, before the missioners had time to 
 pay attention to the circumstance. The Christians of all 
 " these countries of the sun" never dream of doubting the 
 real presence in the eucharist ; and they are so devoted 
 to their lenten rides, they'd rather die than break them ; 
 and from their parent in the faith, from their neighhour 
 Antioch, they have learned the practice of praying for 
 the dead. To invoke the saints, St. George especially 
 is so dear a privilege, that the easterns would die a 
 thousand deaths rather than relinquish it. Nothing can 
 be added to the solemn veneration with which the very 
 Turks consider Mary; they term her the mother of the 
 great prophet Jesus, and they revere the Virgin in the 
 quality of mother so profoundly, that in horror they 
 impale the Jews alive who venture to blaspheme her. 
 How contradictory is human nature ! — what strange dis- 
 crepancies mankind exhibit ! Men who are born in the 
 bosom of the faith deny the blessed Lady that respect 
 which even the most implacable antagonists of the name 
 of Christianity concede her. 
 
 The grave respect of the unsmiling Mussulman is by 
 no means limited to Mary. The tomb of the Messiah is 
 one of the termini of his " pilgrim feet." When traver- 
 sing the seas or deserts that encircle Palestine, the Maho- 
 medan pilgrim looks often and often, with an eye of vene- 
 ration, over the waste, for the sepulchre of Jesus, and 
 having returned from that toilsome wayfaring, his tur- 
 baned brethren, when in the ( evening sunset they sit 
 round him with their long chibouks, listen to his recital* 
 with attention, and regard him as a person of exalted 
 
THE HADJEES. 107 
 
 * 
 
 piety ; or, if he happen to pass by them, they exclaim as 
 they point after him, " he is a saint ; he has been at 
 Mecca and Jerusalem." They attach distinction to this 
 double pilgrimage. A merchant of ours who lived a long 
 time in the holy city, and saw these Turkish pilgrims 
 repeatedly, informed me that they trail upon their knees 
 from the portal of the sepulchre ; that they remove 
 from the turban its cesse previously to entering (which 
 is always ignominious when done by force, but a token 
 of respect, if spontaneously performed) ; that finally they 
 incline themselves profoundly, and, prostrate on the 
 earth, touch the flooring with their forehead. " This 
 spectacle," he added, " lias always edified me, and even 
 moved me in some instances to tears." Among the many 
 magnificent and pompous titles which the Grand Signior 
 assumes in mandates emanating from the throne, appears 
 that of preserver and protector of the city of Jerusalem. 
 'Tis a secret solace to the captive Christians to see their 
 haughty masters doing so much honour to the God whom 
 they adore. They implicitly believe in all the articles 
 of Christian faith, while to many Europeans its a mise- 
 rable pleasure to torment themselves and others with 
 affected doubts. I fear I have slightly deviated from my 
 subject-matter, Rev. Father, but you will be so good as 
 to attribute this digression to my zeal. I return to the 
 manner in which Easter is observed by our Asiatic 
 Christians. 
 
 Easter Sunday is entitled the day of the great festival, 
 or simply the feast. Surians, Armenians, Maronites, and 
 Greeks, Catholics, Heretics and Schismatics alike have 
 the same observances in paschal times. Exactly as in 
 Europe, we have three successive festivals, and, as in 
 
108 CHRISTIAN EASTER. 
 
 Europe, the solemnity commences on holy Saturday. 
 They observe no fast upon the easter eve, as they never 
 fast on Saturday. When the sun has gone down, more- 
 over, the Armenians eat flesh meat on holy Saturday. 
 An Armenian had been shrived by our superior, and 
 when he had renounced his schism, he promised to conform 
 to the custom of the Catholics, and eat no meat till Easter 
 Sunday ; but, added the Armenian, I can promise nothing- 
 more ; for I fear my authority is not sufficient to prevail 
 upon my wife to be equally abstemious. 
 
 When they meet one another on the day of the great 
 festival, one tells the other to rejoice, " as Jesus the 
 Messiah has arisen." " Yes," says that other, " He is 
 truly risen." They decorate their houses on this happy 
 day, and put on their most magnificent apparel ; and there 
 is no one in the city but wears something new ; — they leave 
 the church at 10 o'clock, and continue to pay visits until 
 evening. Kindness, cordiality and decency pervade these 
 meetings. Every heart is lighted up by an innocent and 
 guileless joy, and you easily perceive 'tis religion that 
 inspires it. 
 
 On Holy Saturday, the friars and the French visit us 
 and wish us a good Easter ; we receive the same honour 
 from the English and the Hollanders. Do not be sur- 
 prised at these reciprocal civilities. Whether English, 
 French, Italians, or Dutch, we consider one another as 
 compatriots here with reference to the people who environ 
 us, who in turn designate all Europeans by one common 
 appellation, that of Franks. 
 
 The visits we received we returned upon Monday ; 
 we passed by the Iudaide, or the quarter of the Chris- 
 tians. All the streets in this section of the city were 
 
MARONITE BISHOP. 109 
 
 traversed by a multitude of people, natives of all lands, 
 and even by Turks, with baskets full of flowers, which the 
 bearers vended to those who wished to buy those fra- 
 grant wares. Toys were exhibited in all directions. 
 People rivalled one another in exclaiming, when they 
 met, " Rejoice, for Jesus the Messiah is arisen." For 
 three successive days, nothing can be heard but these 
 expressions, suggested by religion to her followers ; and 
 it would seem as if all languages were consecrated to 
 announce the resurrection. 
 
 Our first visit was to the archbishop of the Maronites. 
 A rector received us at the door, by whom we were led 
 to the parlour of the prelate ; it was the room of state, 
 the finest apartment in his lordship's house. Will you 
 credit it, my Rev. Father, this room of state was little 
 larger than a Jesuit's cell, and this, you must admit, is 
 saying little. This clashes with your French ideas, and 
 at first, I must confess, I was surprised myself. Here 
 we were standing in the presence of the prelate, on a 
 piece of carpeting of great antiquity, on which his grace 
 was sitting with his legs across, with his back against a 
 cushion, which, as well as I could judge, was as aged as 
 the carpet. His vicar sat beside him, and some rectors 
 beside him, in the oriental mode. His lordship rose upon 
 our entrance, and when we took his hand to kiss it, he 
 withdrew it. 'Tis the custom of the country for the 
 clergymen to kiss the prelate's hands, while the laics, 
 when they meet them in the streets in the presence of 
 the Mussulmans, confer the same honor on the priests. 
 
 We next paid a visit to the Grecian patriarch, who 
 sat in a saloon as extensive and magnificent as one af our 
 European churches. Do not be scandalised at such an 
 
110 GREEK PATRIARCH. 
 
 alteration from the Maronite's simplicity. This sumptuous 
 apartment was not erected by the pride, but by the piety, 
 of the Greek. The pious prelate has his purposes. His 
 design in building this superb apartment is to make a 
 church of it as soon as may be ; — this is a device which 
 the Christians have recourse to. As the Alcoran prohi- 
 bits them to build new churches, to escape a direct viola- 
 tion of the law they build saloons, which they live in for 
 some years. They subsequently ask permission of the 
 Porte to change them into churches, and they easily 
 obtain it if a certain sum of money b e transmitted to the 
 Grand Vizier. 
 
 Thus the prelate must not only be forgiven, but 
 applauded. He has conformed to the Catholic opinions. 
 The schismatical ascendancy in the city of Damascus, 
 where he then resided, who, after his conversion, did not 
 wish to be of his communion, proceeded to elect another 
 patriarch ; this division has obliged him to settle in 
 Aleppo. He is, physically and morally, as fine a man as 
 you could wish to see ; his manners are polished, prepos- 
 sessing, and engaging. He made us sit beside him on 
 the same carpet with his grace. I will not tell you that 
 with both the prelates they presented us with coffee. 
 Asiatics would deem themselves dishonoured if they 
 omitted to present it, and despised if the coffee were 
 refused. After offering our devoirs to the princes of the 
 church, we visited the principal inhabitants, whether 
 Surians, Greeks, Armenians, or Maronites. We were 
 received in every instance in an ornamented room, where 
 a table is perpetually spread for three successive days to 
 feast the visitors. The viands were the same in every 
 residence — hard eggs, dates, figs, grapes, pestachios, and 
 
CONVERSIONS. HI 
 
 confectionary of various kinds. You make your choice 
 among these different meats, and, when he has eaten, a 
 cup of wine and water is offered to the visitor. You may 
 eat and drink as little as you like, but at every visit you 
 must eat and drink. Were it not for that, these visits 
 would be insupportable ; but, in consequence, they are 
 followed by no inconveniency. 
 
 What I have written will suffice to shew the discre- 
 pancy between the Ramadan and the Lent — between 
 Christian solemnities aod Ottoman observances. Merely 
 to judge by this superficial seeming, the Christian reli- 
 gion must triumph over Islamism in the judgment of all 
 their unprejudiced observers. Piety, innocence, and de- 
 cency, are all upon the side of Christianity. I write these 
 details without fearing to fatigue you — in France they 
 are so avid of the merest trifles introduced to them from 
 alien nations ! Can manners, creeds and customs prove 
 less irritating to their curiosity. 
 
 In all their missions, our Fathers of Aleppo have the 
 same success. One half of the Snrians have already 
 been converted. We have reason to expect that the 
 Surians of Aleppo will be all re-united to the Church of 
 Rome in a very little time. The Armenians and the 
 Greeks are awaking to their errors, and are relinquishing 
 them every day. Do not despise these conquests, Rev. 
 Sir ; the reason they are sometimes rare is, that they are 
 very difficult, and if it happen that any one be tempted 
 to despise them, induce him to remember the opinion of 
 a holy doctor, that you may enlighten millions of idol- 
 aters with more facility, and touch a thousand sinners 
 
112 THE QUESTION. 
 
 with more ease, than persuade a heretic, and that a schis- 
 matic's conversion is a species of miracle. And yet we 
 daily see this miracle performed. 
 
 We have the solace of beholding- daily, converts 
 whose fidelity is firm as the mountains. Not long ago, 
 a Surian, who had recently renounced his schism, was 
 questioned by a prelate of the schism concerning his 
 opinions. " Tell me," said the prelate, " aren't you a 
 Frank," as the term has a very universal meaning, em- 
 bracing all the natives of the Christian countries, as well 
 as the professors of the Catholic religion. The convert 
 considered himself as warranted in saying that he was not 
 a Frank. " But," pursued the prelate, " have you not 
 embraced the religion of the Franks." " The religion of 
 the Franks," the Surian repeated ; " of what Franks 
 pray ?" You should know, to understand the Christian's 
 answer, that the Surian s detest the religion of the Eng- 
 lish, who are not good Franks, they say. To bring his 
 tergiversation to an end, the prelate cried, " Do you not 
 follow the opinions of the Pope and the Church of Rome ?" 
 The question was unsusceptible of ambiguity — dissimu- 
 lation would be treason to his faith. " Oh, yes," replied 
 the Surian ; " I glory in the circumstance." " Know 
 you what you are saying, infidel ?" exclaimed the schis- 
 matic. " Know I what I am saying ? know you, my 
 lord, that already almost all the Surian people participate 
 in my opinions, and that we shall be all reunited to the 
 church of Rome before the world's much older. You 
 have more knowledge than the laity, my lord ; ye are 
 our fathers and our masters in the faith ; why do you not 
 lead us to the truth yourselves ? Is it not a shame that 
 
THE MULE. 113 
 
 we are obliged to go before you, Signior ?" Exaspe- 
 rated by these just reproaches, the prelate repressed the 
 explosion of his anger, and replied, In peccatis natus es 
 totus, fyc, and returned him the six piastres which the 
 bishop had received by way of tithes. The convert, who 
 had no expectation of this present, received it willingly, 
 it was so much saved upon the Surian's side, and. so much 
 lost upon the prelate's, who revenged himself a few days 
 afterwards in a very impotent and foolish way. In pas- 
 sing by the Surian's dwelling, he cursed the house, and 
 interdicted its inhabitant. But, then, was this excom- 
 munication valid ? You may easily conceive how little 
 the new Catholic was troubled by the censure. All that 
 I know is, that he failed to bring him back the six piastres 
 in order to the removal of the interdiction. This was a 
 measure which you would not have advised. 
 
 I promised you, my Rev. Father, to finish this epistle 
 with some of the circumstances of my journey. I am 
 sure that some of the scenes will amuse you much, though 
 they gave me little pleasure at the time I was enacting 
 them. On leaving Tripoli, I was confided to the care 
 of a chief of Muletiers, denominated Soliman. I remem- 
 ber, that while I was making up my little baggage on 
 the day of my departure, Soliman was breakfasting. 
 Soliman was no way scrupulous — my guide was totally 
 untroubled by those qualms of conscience which so often 
 disturb Mussulmans when drinking wine, and as no 
 Mahomedan was near who might interrupt his pleasure, 
 my guide indulged in deep potations. This elevation 
 over local prejudices prepossessed me in his favour. We 
 were hardly in the plain, with its wide expanse before us, 
 when he made me mount my mule, which had neither 
 
114 THE ARABS. 
 
 girth nor stirrups, and was only intended for a sumpter 
 mule. Pricking- up his Rosinante, Soliman set out with 
 great rapidity ; mine had too much spirit to he left 
 behind, but pranced forward with expanded nostrils, in 
 the vain hope, as it seemed to me, of vying with his 
 comrade. The moment that my mule began to move, I 
 was removed from my seat, and pitched upon the ground ; 
 my baggage descended instantaneously, falling on my 
 person with a heavy jog. Though I was left alone, 
 luckily I iwas not wounded. Having risen from the 
 earth, as my guide was out of sight, I called aloud for 
 help. A Turk descended from a neighbouring hill, and 
 spontaneously assisted me in replacing my baggage on 
 my mule, and having kindly enquired if I suffered any 
 pain, good naturedly assisted me to mount my mule. I 
 now proceeded on my journey at a very gentle pace, for 
 I assure you that my unexpected fall had greatly edified 
 me. At noon, I arrived at a ruined castle, where the 
 caravan was destined to assemble. As soon as I descended 
 from my mule, I sat me down upon a river's bank at 50 
 paces from the ruined castle, and opening my scrip upon 
 the sward, with the limpid water running at my feet, pre- 
 pared to dine. Two hard eggs and a little cheese, formed 
 the materials of my meal, but I reckoned upon eating it 
 alone, and at least tranquillity I hoped would be present 
 at my humble repast, when I saw myself approached by 
 two tall Arabs, who demanded their share ! I cannot 
 positively tell from whence they came, but I pleaded 
 eloquently for my viands. For twelve days' march, 
 my scanty store was twelve hard eggs, some nuts, 
 some biscuits, and the half of a cheese. They were deaf 
 to all my arguments, and the mouths of the barrels of 
 
SOLIMAN THE GUIDE. 115 
 
 their muskets were levelled at my person. It was better 
 to fast a little in addition, I thought, than to he killed ; 
 accordingly, I shared with the Arabs a little of my food, 
 and the Arabs were satisfied with a little. 
 
 Having provided for my board so well, my lodging 
 was the next great object. I selected a projection from 
 the wall, a sort of shelf or ledge, something like the 
 the surbase of a chamber, upon which I laid my paillasse. 
 This was in reality a mat (rather than a paillasse), such as 
 they place upon a mule's back, lest his burden gall him. 
 Though it was any thing but good, the place excited 
 envy. A Turk deposited his arms upon this ledge who 
 told me he should keep it, " because," he continued, and the 
 argument was irresistible, "its the most commodious I can 
 find." The sole accommodation which the place possessed, 
 as far as I could see was, that you could see the moon 
 and stars and blue expanse of ocean from this ledge ; I 
 relinquished it reluctantly, and while I disputed the pos- 
 session, the sound of my voice attracted Soliman my 
 guide. Nothing could surpass the civility of Soliman 
 to me, when turning fiercely on my Turk, and assuming 
 a magisterial tone, he told him that he knew me, and 
 that I should in his despite repose upon the ledge, because 
 (and this is an additional specimen of Turkish logic,) I 
 was a doctor of my law and a doctor of the Franks. 
 The title was a thunder-stroke to my adversary, who 
 stultified at so much dignity, retired from the ground 
 without making a reply. You see that this honorable 
 appellation, on which certain individuals set so little 
 value, is not always useless. 
 
 We had another scene the succeeding evening as 
 violent as this. We were encamped upon a meadow 
 
116 THE PROFANATION. 
 
 which was separated from a Turkish Cemetery only by 
 an intervening road, I expected in the Cemetery to find 
 a proper place to spread my paillasse. I assumed my 
 capote at the entry of night, which is a kind of surtout 
 which travellers on land or sea make use of, as at present 
 they make use of a riding coat in England ; it differs in 
 nothing from the habit of a Capuchin, except in being 
 lined with thick drab cloth, and being open in the front. 
 Taking my capote I proceeded to repose upon a sepulchre 
 which had been placed above a Turk a few days pre- 
 viously. The stone which closed the tomb seemed to 
 me to be disposed designedly to suit my purposes, it 
 seemed admirably adapted for a bed, it was smooth and 
 horizontal, and I was perfectly delighted with my 
 lodgings, but unfortunately my delicacy cost me dear. I 
 was scarce a quarter of an hour wrapt in a deep and 
 tranquil sleep, when I was awaked by the cries of several 
 Turks, who encircling my tomb commenced vociferating 
 that I was profaning the sepulchre and the cemetery, 
 for a Christian to repose on a Moslem's tomb, to whom 
 heaven had been opened by the great Mahomet, was an 
 exceedingly bad augury for them, they asseverated 
 simultaneously. My charitable Soliman was not devout, 
 he looked upon this zeal as superstition, but knowing 
 that we were not the strongest party, my personal 
 security excited his alarm. He extricated me from this 
 dilemma with as much decency and on my part, with as 
 little loss of dignity as could be hoped for. Imagine 
 his bales of merchandises packed on one side, and his 
 mules parallel upon the other, on the intervening space 
 he spread a horse cloth ; now as I found, that for me 
 there was no tranquillity, even at the grave ; as I was 
 
A TROUBLED NIGHT. 117 
 
 obliged to relinquish my sepulchre, I sought repose upon 
 
 his horse cloth. Here I slept quiescently ; the mules, 
 
 who often dipped their nostrils to ascertain my nature 
 
 and sometimes touched me with their heels, failing to do 
 
 me any injury. These mules are the mildest creatures 
 
 in the world, and among the Franks it is a common 
 
 proverb, that in the Levant the beasts are as mild as 
 
 human creatures, and the men have the cruelty of beasts. 
 
 In the middle of an obscure night, we set out upon a 
 
 narrow road which was full of ruts, and edged with 
 
 precipices, for we could not defer our departure till the 
 
 dawn. We individually studied the person who preceded 
 
 us with great sedulity, as we could only follow in an Indian 
 
 file, that is, one by one. Luckily for me I was preceded 
 
 by a Turk, whom I perceived with facility before me, 
 
 for the cesse of his turban being white, by which the 
 
 Turks are distinguished from the Christians ; the cesse 
 
 was discernible even in the dark. Like that of the 
 
 priests of the Greeks and Maronites, mine was blue : 
 
 to those who are not priests, it is permissible to wear 
 
 red or violet, those of the Jews being striped. The 
 
 descendants of Mahomet are privileged to wear a green 
 
 silk Turban, and the race of Mahomet only. 
 
 An ambassador complained to the king of Persia, on 
 the part of the Grand Signior, that green was worn by 
 his commonest domestics, for which as the colour of the 
 great Mahomet they should have respect. The Schah 
 replied, laughing at their superstition, that this " sacred 
 colour was the commonest of all, that bulls and asses 
 trod upon the green, and that blue, as the colour of the 
 skies, should be esteemed more highly," The ambassador 
 
118 THE NUTS. 
 
 was disconcerted, he ceased to insist upon this article of 
 his instructions. 
 
 Worn by the way and exhausted by the sun, I saw 
 some trees in a distant valley; I bent my footsteps thither, 
 but on approaching*, I saw that some distinguished Turks 
 had raised pavillions in this grateful shade. I retired 
 instantaneously, and leaned against some bales of goods, 
 on which the sun's reverberations were intolerable, 
 although it was November. A Turk of my brigade 
 .offered me a cup of coifee without sugar, it was far from 
 being a pleasing beverage to me, but, acquainted with 
 the customs of the country, T took it unhesitatingly, and 
 as I was bathed in perspiration, I strove to gulp the 
 coifee ; not to be outdone, in generosity I made him a 
 present in my turn, consisting of six nuts. I specify the 
 number, as the number of my nuts at the time was a 
 matter of consideration ; I fancy I found some favour 
 in his eyes, and every day during the continuance of 
 our journey we reciprocally made these mutual presents. 
 We encamped beside a river the succeeding day ; we 
 sat upon the sward with the cool lymph running at our 
 feet, where the dense and interwoven foliage afforded 
 a delicious shade. My situation as to scenery was perfectly 
 delightful; but, unfortunately, I had nothing to eat: my 
 provisions were so very much diminished, that I looked 
 forward to the utter absence of a supper. Soliman, mv 
 incomparable Soliman, the solitary confidant of all my 
 needs, and all my indigence, brought me two little birds 
 that had been broiled upon the coals. Soliman had got 
 them from the fowlers of the caravan ; to me they were 
 manna in the wilderness. We divided them between 
 us, one of them I took, and left Soliman the other, who 
 
THE MEAL. 119 
 
 added to the feast a bowl of rice, which was so very- 
 solid that you could hardly penetrate it with a spoon ; 
 and unhappily we had but one of these necessary articles. 
 We made use of this solitary spoon alternately, taking 
 turn about with admirable order ; I swallowed my rice 
 and repugnancy together ; I was a veteran in oriental 
 habitudes. He began to eat the first : " eat away, that is 
 good, dont be afraid," says Soliman to me, gulping his 
 rice and giving me the spoon; so we sat round the basin 
 and toiled with assiduous industry. We drank from the 
 same vessel placing the same pitcher to our lips, we 
 quaffed as much water as we wished, without the slightest 
 cost or scandal ; I say the same pitcher, because this 
 would be a heinous violation of decorum in France, but 
 it would be disgraceful to do otherwise in the Levant, 
 as they always affect equality in Asia. I saw Moorish 
 slaves, in the course of my journey, eating with their 
 master, at their owner's table, selecting such viands as 
 they happened to prefer. This is utterly opposed to 
 French politeness, but in the Mussulman's opinion, it 
 conforms to the laws of humanity and nature. They 
 reason thus ; we are all men, the Mahometans aver, 
 consequently in our origin we are all equal : a man should 
 never entertain the slightest repugnancy for another 
 man. Probably we might reply that this harmonizes 
 with the laws of nature, but not with nature, civilised 
 and perfected by education ; such reasoning, however, 
 is lost upon the Turks ; they laugh at our onerous and 
 irksome politeness. 
 
 We next arrived at the gates of a city, which we did 
 not enter. The inhabitants immediately came out in 
 crowds, some from curiosity to see new faces, and some 
 
120 KISSING THE HAND. 
 
 from love to find acquaintances ; Turks endeavoured to 
 •discover Turks, Greeks sought Greeks, Catholics were 
 busy in ascertaining Catholic. As amid this multitude 
 nobody sought for me, I was a tranquil spectator of the 
 scene, unable to play any but the part of a mute. I had 
 no dinner at my command, and a few biscuits in the 
 bottom of my sack were all that remained of my travel- 
 ling provision. To rest myself was my only aim, except 
 to view, as I sat, the situation of the place, when I was 
 approached by certain persons, who, saluting me, res- 
 pectfully kissed my hand. 
 
 The persons who saluted me were Christian Maronites, 
 who perceived from my dress, as I suspected, that 1 was 
 a priest. Perceiving that their deputies were well 
 received, a multitude of Maronites assembled round me, 
 who did me, in the presence of the Turks, the same 
 honour as their deputies. The rector himself repaired to 
 visit me, but as he was my brother in the priesthood, the 
 rector did not kiss my hand. Beseeching me to follow 
 him, he led me to his house, where a dinner was served 
 up, consisting simply of battered eggs, but to me this 
 meal was luxury. He led me to his church as soon as 
 dinner was concluded : this church became crowded with 
 Maronites the moment that I entered it, who were anxious 
 to contemplate a European priest. I sung the complins 
 and vespers of all saints' day aloud for them, as well as 
 the matins and the Lauds of the ensuing day. As they 
 joined me in the chant, I from pure civility could not 
 cease to sing while they continued, nor would they give 
 over for a single moment while they saw me, with open 
 throat, continue to entone the melody ; having never 
 
MISERABLE CHURCH. 121 
 
 heard it previously for them the chant of the church of 
 Rome had all the charms of novelty. 
 
 Your zeal for the honour of our Saviour's house, I am 
 certain, would excite your Reverence to tears were I to 
 describe this miserable church. Shall I say it was a 
 stable, but the pile, alas, was less respectable, sir, it 
 was something more indecent. The edifice consisted of 
 a little square, four miserable rafters stretched across the 
 four bleak walls that formed it, briars were bound up in 
 bundles, and were lying in faggots on these naked rafters. 
 The roof had been made into a terrace on the outside, 
 on which persons promenaded, the walk was on a level 
 with a neighbouring field. The rector shewed me all 
 his ornaments, which consisted of a poor chasuble, the 
 towel and the alb were quite discoloured, and had been 
 at least six months in service. The altar was without 
 an antipendium, the naked stone was destitute of 
 covering. " He should ornament the altar for the coming 
 festival," he said ; he proceeded to his treasury with this 
 design, and four pictures which he fastened to the wall 
 with pins, the present of a passing missioner,* (you might 
 buy them in France for an English penny) were first 
 exhibited. He regarded me with triumph in his eyes 
 when his gallery was hung ; I endeavoured to express 
 my satisfaction at the rector's taste. Had I been able to 
 unpack my goods and separate them from incumbent 
 things, I should willingly have given him what he wanted. 
 Although the sacrament was in its shrine, no cresset 
 burned in the sanctuary. Doubtless, you expect a 
 
 * The meanest prints upon religious subjects, are highly esteemed 
 by the Christians of the East, while a pen-knife is a princely present 
 to a Turk. 
 
 G 
 
122 THE SACRAMENT. 
 
 description of the tabernacle, but alas, the temple had 
 no tabernacle ; a box of a reddish colour enclosed the 
 blessed eucharist, it was lying on a level with the chan- 
 delier, and this ciborium of wood was a missionary's gift. 
 I presented the rector with a better box, which he secreted 
 in his treasury. How touching is a scene like this, to a 
 truly Christian heart. 
 
 Having rejoined the division of the caravan, to which 
 I appertained, two fowls, I found, and a gourd of wine, 
 had been sent me by the grateful priest. With this 
 supply, I considered myself rich, I flattered myself with 
 the reflexion that I now could gratify my generosity, 
 and to-morrow might remunerate my Achates Soliman. 
 I had eaten my attendant's birds ; that he should share 
 my fowls, was only equity. Before dinner time I put a 
 little wine into my cup, and in order to add some water 
 to my wine, I took the pitcher of that Turkish traveller 
 who so frequently had given me a cup of coffee ; he permitted 
 me to act, but as soon as I had done he went to wash his 
 pitcher at the fountain. Because a little of its water had 
 been poured into my wine, this Turk, who was very 
 different from Soliman, considered it unclean. As the 
 slightest suspicion of his motive never dawned upon my 
 mind, as soon as he returned I resumed the pitcher, as 
 my draught was not sufficiently diluted ; rising from his 
 seat a second time, the Turk poured the water on the 
 earth, and again proceeded to the fountain. The mystic 
 motive of the Mussulman eventually struck my mind ; 
 you may imagine with what fervidness I formed the 
 resolve to spare him such species of trouble for the 
 future. When Soliman arrived, I related my adventure, 
 beseeching him to bring me to some place apart where 
 
THE PITCHER. 123 
 
 he and I might dine together. He led me to a little 
 thicket where he emptied the wine cup handsomely, 
 because, sitting in the foliage as he was, the surrounding- 
 shrubs concealed him ; this, besides, was the Druses' 
 country, whom the Mahometans regard as heretics. 
 
 Dinner being done, my religious Turk overwhelmed me 
 anew with trouble. Happening to feelathirstinthe refresh- 
 ing evening hour, I repaired to that chrystal fountain, of 
 which I have spoke before ; with his pitcher in his hand, 
 the Moslem met me at the water's edge. The succeeding 
 moment the scene was as follows. He was standing perfectly 
 erect, while I was stooping, cup in hand, to fill my pitcher 
 with the lymph. The scene was perfectly serene, fountain, 
 skies and trees, 'twas all tranquillity, serenity, and peace ; 
 when he suddenly exclaimed with all his energy, ia allha, 
 ia allha, O God ! O God! Stultified with so much clamour, 
 I regarded him with open mouth ; but it was not long 
 before I inferred from the Turks' embarrassment, gesti- 
 culations, cries, complaints, that I had committed some 
 enormous fault. As I happened to be thirsty, I permitted 
 him to cry, and stooping to the well once more, I quenched 
 my drought. While I was engaged in drinking and the 
 Turk was still exclaiming, many other Turks arrived. 
 " Beware, beware," my Mussulman exclaimed, with a 
 holy horror in his countenance, " beware of drinking 
 this polluted water, this infidel hath dipped his wine cup 
 in the wave, the fountain is defiled ! !" 
 
 The reply they made was to ask him jeeringly, 
 " upon your soul," (a la nafra.) I asserted stoutly that 
 the fount was not defiled, naam a la nafsi, fyc. and all 
 the wits of the world will agree with me ; for though 
 wine may be frequently defiled with water, that water 
 
124 THE FOUNTAIN. 
 
 could ever be defiled by wine, shocks all common sense. 
 The Mussulman spectators who stood around the foun- 
 tain, gave credit to my pleadings preferably to his, and 
 assuredly the Moslems were right, though certain it is, 
 that conformably with their ideas, the fountain is unclean, 
 and how its lost purity shall be restored to it, I cannot 
 imagine. We descended by a sloping road into a valley, 
 where a multitude of cottages were scattered through 
 the fields. If you be a stranger in a foreign land, every 
 thing you see will excite your admiration. The persons 
 who crowded to these cottage doors, who stood beneath 
 their eaves looking on us as we passed, awakened my 
 surprise by their singular habiliment. They had their 
 garments plentifully garnished with mother of pearl, 
 and with shells, with precious stones, and the golden 
 sequins of Venice, the females having pendants not only 
 in their ears, but what is much more singular, drooping 
 from their noses. The expression which this ornament 
 confers upon the countenance, strikes an European as 
 entirely new, but 'tis quite in keeping. From both their 
 nostrils pearls were dependant, and such was the amount 
 of these jewels of the nose, that in some, how the noses 
 could sustain them, was a matter of astonishment. 
 
 We approached the abode of a horde of Arabs. We 
 put ourselves in battle array, and passed the Arabs 
 proudly. These brigands are afraid of fire arms, but 
 entertain more terror for a Frenchman without arms, 
 than for a Turk with weapons in his hands, of whom 
 one Arab is considered as a match for five, and five 
 Arabs for a single Frenchman, which will enable you to 
 judge how far the terror of the name of France diffuses 
 tself. 
 
ARABS. 125 
 
 We finally arrived at Cafetin, the father-land of 
 Soliman. I found accommodations at the house of 
 Soliman, who by way of company, brought home the 
 Turk, whose piety had caused me so much trouble on 
 the route. On the route I often ate my meal in company, 
 but till now I never ate it in a family way. As every 
 thing they offered me excited my disgust, I watched the 
 customs of the curious people, among whom 1 was a 
 stranger. To see with what rapidity the Turks consume 
 their food, is quite surprising, they were little more 
 than fifteen minutes at their present meal. They washed 
 their hands in water as soon as they had done, and their 
 slovenliness rendered this precaution necessary. 
 
 The friends of my landlord came to see me, out of 
 curiosity rather than civility : when they had surveyed 
 me to their satisfaction, the visitors retired, when I saw 
 myself surrounded by the females of the family, who 
 grouped themselves before me, for fear I should be lone- 
 some. I was surprised at their appearance, as women 
 never enter the society of men in Asiatic countries. They 
 were told, perhaps, by Soliman, that I was a religious, 
 and that to visit me together would be no disgrace : my 
 discovery, that their veils were raised augmented my 
 astonishment. However, I never looked the ladies in 
 the face, for here 'twould be considered as the greatest 
 rudeness, and if they had perceived it, they'd have lowered 
 their veils. Such are the austere laws which are imposed 
 upon these people by the rigour of their education. Their 
 manners are different indeed from ours. I had never, in 
 the course of my European mission, experienced such 
 good nature as I met with from this family of unbelievers. 
 As I did not understand them, though they spoke to me 
 
126 LANGUAGES. 
 
 perpetually, they would often have the patience to vary 
 their expression, in such different ways, that eventually 
 I discerned some glimpses of their meaning. The natives 
 of France, with all their elegant politeness, are not so 
 complaisant in all instances to foreigners. Anything 
 that I said was understood by them, as I took care to 
 utter nothing that I did not know. The incongruous 
 collocation of my words, my expressions, and my accent, 
 sometimes made them smile, but the manner of the smile 
 was more pleasing than offensive, inspiring me with con- 
 fidence rather than abashing me. They asked me did I 
 know the Arabic. No, I replied ; my studies in the 
 tongue have but recently begun. Do you know the 
 Turkish? No! 
 
 " Permit me, sir, to ask what language do you know?" 
 Italian, and Latin, French, and Greek ; I am well 
 acquainted, too, with all religions ; I have reason to 
 declare that only one of them is true, viz. the one that I 
 profess, a religion which, unhappily, you do not know, 
 but since you show me so much kindness, I shall return 
 a second time to see you when I know your tongue, to 
 acquaint you with it, to give you information, to attempt 
 to save you. My promises seemed to be received with 
 gratitude. Judging from appearances, missioners alone 
 are wanted here. The Druses feel the utmost horror for 
 polygamy, and though in order to avoid avanies, and the 
 rude and cruel treatment of the Turks, they fail to receive 
 the blessed sacraments, they repudiate none of them in 
 speculation. Two impediments are thus removed, wont 
 to give much trouble to the missioner. Feeling the 
 affectionate respect of these good people, I was solicitous 
 to show my sense of it ; some trifling presents were the 
 
THE CROSSES. 127 
 
 fittest mean, but I was very poor. I found at length 
 some trifles in my sack, which I distributed : I had rosa- 
 ries, indeed, of a reddish wood, but as the crosses of the 
 rosaries could give offence, and some insult might be 
 offered to the symbol of salvation, I did not dare to offer 
 them. I took courage, notwithstanding, and gave one 
 to a girl that was hanging at the breast. But what was 
 my astonishment, when I saw the mother take the chaplet 
 from the child, and after kissing it, place it on her fore- 
 head with profound respect. The rosary went round 
 from hand to hand till every soul in the assembly kissed, 
 considered and admired it. These are indeed a very Chris- 
 tian kind of infidels. I murmured half aloud as I regarded 
 them. It would seem, as if missioners were all that these 
 people stood in need of. If they do not get instruction 
 the fault is not ours, suffer me to say, that to you we must 
 attribute it. Let us have assistance Rev. Sir. 
 
 Whilst the circle were engaged in considering the 
 cross, a lilliputian neighbour, of the age of nine, glided 
 over the unechoing floor into a neighbouring apartment, 
 the better to peep out at my extraordinary person ; the 
 stripling was the son of a Mahometan. Filled with a 
 feverish desire to see the curiosity, he left his hiding place 
 to peep between their arms. But the moment he beheld 
 the cross, he ran madly to a corner to procure a stick. 
 Opposition was offered. They turned that chap out, and 
 then continued to admire the crucifix. 
 
 After they had given me a thousand thanks, my cham- 
 ber-lamp was freighted full of oil ; for it is the custom 
 of the country, to have a lighted lamp the live long night 
 in every apartment, as well in summer nights as in those 
 of winter. Left to the solitude of my apartment, I said 
 
128 NIGHT LAMP. 
 
 my prayers, and took a little slumber. The succeeding 
 day I reached my journey's end. 
 
 I have kept my word, my Reverend Father, — but as 
 there are readers of the News whom nothing can affect 
 but mighty circumstances, — victories achieved, and cities 
 taken, there are Christians, too, whom nothing will delight, 
 but monarchies converted to the faith of Christ, but realms 
 and empires conquered to the Lord. 'Tis true, this letter 
 will not please their taste ; but the trifling details with 
 which this letter is replenished, are not so valueless as 
 they suppose, though their interest is less intense. They 
 acquaint us with the character of foreign nations, as well 
 as with observances of their religion, — with pains and 
 perils which can never be removed from the missionary's 
 way. Such have been the purposes of my epistle : I 
 trust I have fulfilled them ; — thus I have the honour to 
 remain, &c. / 
 
THE SUPERIOR GENERAL 
 
 TO 
 
 FATHER FLEURIAU. 
 
 July, 1723. 
 
 We cannot be precipitate in telling you, that an order 
 has been issued by the Grand Signior, and which a capigi 
 has conveyed to the city of Aleppo, and to the other 
 important towns in Syria, by which the Christians sub- 
 ject to the Grand Signior are forbid to embrace the 
 Catholic religion, and communication with Armenians, 
 Greeks and Syrians, under pretext of giving them instruc- 
 tion, is strictly forbidden to the missionary Latins. The 
 same decree commands the Christian Greeks, Armenians, 
 Syrians, subjects of the Grand Signior, in case they have 
 quitted their ancient religion to become Roman Catholics, 
 to abandon the religion they have recently received, and 
 resume their original profession without loss of time. 
 This command has been issued at the instigation and 
 solicitation of the Schismatical Patriarchs of Constanti- 
 nople, of Jerusalem, of Damascus, and of Antioch, who 
 at the time in question were holding a synodical assembly 
 
 in the city of Constantinople. 
 
 g 5 
 
130 PERSECUTION. 
 
 The true motive which animated them was the chagrin 
 they experienced at seeing the daily diminution of their 
 followers and the augmentation of the flock of Jesus 
 Christ, enriched as it was by the spoils of their schism. 
 The Patriarch of Jerusalem, the most zealous of the par- 
 tizans of the schism, was himself a witness of the progress 
 of the Roman Catholic religion, when passing by the way 
 of Damascus and Aleppo, he was repairing to Constanti- 
 nople ; he witnessed the fervour of these infant churches 
 with feelings of so painful a nature, that they could not 
 be dissimulated. He related all the circumstances that 
 he had seen to the Synod. This assembly was very 
 careful to conceal the motive, by which its animosity was 
 roused. When taking measures to solicit the command 
 that he required, the Synod had recourse to calumny. 
 It urged an accusation, of all others the most capable of 
 exasperating the feelings of the Grand Signior and of his 
 Vizier against the Roman Catholics. 
 
 The Patriarchs assembled at the Synod represented to 
 the Grand Vizier, that the missionary Franks, as they 
 designated the missionary Catholics, were seducing their 
 j>eople everlastingly; who were the subjects of the Grand 
 Signior, and that they made them change their creed, to 
 embrace the profession of the Roman Catholics : and that 
 they made themselves busy in giving them instructions, 
 an office appertaining to the Patriarchs alone. Nothing 
 more was required than this simple exposition, in order 
 to procure the command that they requested, and in truth 
 they obtained it with the utmost promptitude and ease* 
 
 In consequence of this mandate, the Turkish officers? 
 who always profit by the avanies imposed upon the 
 Catholics put, the Bishop of Aleppo into prison, as well 
 
PERSECUTION. 131 
 
 as the Bishop of Seide, together with many priests and 
 many seculars who were Catholic inhabitants of the cities 
 of Aleppo, of Damascus, of Seide, and of Tripoli, threat- 
 ening exile to some and destruction to others, unless they 
 resume the religion of their Patriarch. 
 
 Our Consul at Aleppo has communicated this com- 
 mandment to us; it has obliged us to suspend our missions, 
 as well as the ordinary functions of our missionaries 
 which for more than a century we have always exercised 
 in this country. 
 
 All France is well aware, that we have been sent hither 
 by the order of our sovereigns as well as in their name, 
 to preserve and maintain the Catholic Religion in this 
 country. We have implicitly obeyed the orders which 
 have been intimated to us on the part of the Porte, but 
 we have recourse, at the same time to the piety of the 
 King, the protector of the Catholic religion in this domain 
 of infidelity. Our Kings, the predecessors of the present 
 monarch on the throne of France, had always conceded 
 in similar occasions their protection to our society 
 
 The present affair has a more favourable aspect, than 
 many which occupied us in anterior times ; as it is a 
 matter of public notoriety, that the present command has 
 been promulgated in consequence of misrepresentations. 
 
 The schismatical Patriarchs accuse the Latin mission- 
 aries of causing the Armenians, the Greeks and Syrians 
 to change the religion which they formerly professed, 
 though it is obvious to every one, that the subjects of 
 the Grand Signior preserve precisely the same ritual, 
 which they always held. Having the approbation of the 
 Roman See and of the (Ecumenical Councils, their ritual 
 is excellent. If there be an alteration, it is utterly internal, 
 
132 
 
 INCARCERATION. 
 
 and consists in nothing more for the most part, except in 
 relinquishing* certain superstitions as well as some parti- 
 cular errors, which schism introduced amongst religionists 
 and in professing certain Catholic truths, which had been 
 hidden from them only by their ignorance. 
 
 As to the allegations relating to the functions of our 
 missionaries, those functions are in perfect conformity 
 Avith ancient capitulations between France and the Otto- 
 man-Porte, without our having made the slightest inno- 
 vation. And so very far removed are the functions of 
 our ministry from rendering the subjects of the Grand 
 Signior disobedient to his Majesty, that the Turkish 
 magistrates have frequently confessed that his Catholic 
 lieges are more submissive than the Schismatics to the 
 prince and to the government. My Rev. Father, we 
 must beseech your representing this affair to his Majesty, 
 that on this occasion the first fruits of his royal protec- 
 tion may be conceded to ourselves, in order to impress 
 upon the Turk, that the king will be quite as zealous a 
 defender of the faith in the Levant, as the kings his pre- 
 decessors, especially Louis the Fourteenth of glorious 
 memory. During the reign of Louis the Fourteenth, 
 the schismatics frequently surreptitiously obtained similar 
 decrees, but his imperative commands dispatched instan- 
 taneously to our ambassadors to require the revocation 
 of such orders, were always executed with the happiest 
 success. 
 
 The Marquis de Chateauneuf, ambassador at the 
 Ottoman court, obtained firmans for us before now, the 
 friendliness of which to the Catholic religion infinitely 
 exceeded the hostility of all those orders which the 
 schismatics could at any time have purchased to the con- 
 
THE KING. 133 
 
 trary ; religion and the missionaries owe the Marquis 
 everlasting obligations for his interference. His successor, 
 the Marquis de Feriol, in like manner succeeded in main- 
 taining such privileges with all imaginable vigour. 
 Sheltered by the Egis of their puissant influence, the 
 missionaries enjoyed comparatively halcyon days, and 
 exercised their ministry with the utmost freedom. We 
 have the more reason to believe that this recent resolution 
 can be easily revoked, as the Maronite sieur Abraham, 
 who was honored by a cross of Knighthood by Louis the 
 Fourteenth, in his journey to Paris, several years since, 
 has had a sufficiency of influence to obtain the freedom, 
 from the Grand Vizier, of the Roman Catholic prelates 
 who had been incarcerated by the aga of §eide, and 
 Osman, pacha of Damascus. We cannot for a moment 
 doubt, my Rev. Father, but that your zeal for the work 
 of God, the efficacy of which we have so frequently 
 experienced, will urge you to supplicate the monarch to 
 be so benevolent as to give his orders to the French 
 ambassador, to request the revocation of the recent order 
 in execution of our old capitulations. Their faithful 
 execution will render our Catholics secure, will re establish 
 the missionaries in their former functions, and will main- 
 tain the Catholic faith in this place, which would be 
 speedily and utterly annihilated in these realms of infide- 
 lity were it deprived of the protection of our kings and 
 the service of our missionaries. We elevate our hands 
 to heaven to obtain from God that speedy succour which 
 our religion now requires and the preservation of our 
 youthful king, our puissant protector — I remain with 
 respect, my Rev. Father, your very humble and obedient 
 servant, Pierre From age, S. J. 
 
134 PREACHING. 
 
 The Count de Morville, the Minister and Secretary of 
 state for Foreign affairs, has given the King an account 
 of this last prohibition of the Grand Signior, and has 
 been ordered by his Majesty to write on the subject to 
 the Marquis of Bonnac, his majesty's ambassador to the 
 Porte. 
 
 LETTER FROM A MISSIONER IN GREECE. 
 
 My Rev. Father, — We have the honor of sending you, 
 in obedience to your orders, the narrative of our voyage 
 from Marseilles to Smyrna. We have happily arrived 
 in this city, and now having made our solemn acknow- 
 ledgments to God for his continual protection on the seas, 
 it is imperative upon us to make acknowledgments to 
 you for the favour of being admitted amongst the work- 
 men of the gospel, which, by your mediation, was obtained 
 for us, and of participating in functions so conformable 
 to our institute. 
 
 And now these two first duties being complied with, 
 we commence our recital by ingenuously confessing that 
 our nature suifers much in those separations from our 
 country, from our nation, and from those who are dear to us. 
 
 But then, we feel all the force of our vocation on occa- 
 sions such as this. The soul is penetrated by a secret 
 consolation from our being in the place to which Heaven 
 has invited us for the greater augmentation of the glory 
 of our Lord, and to aid in the salvation of innumerable 
 souls, who would utterly be lost if the Saviour of the 
 
THE VOYAGE. 135 
 
 world were not sending them incessantly persons who 
 point out to them the pathway to his kingdom. 
 
 For, to those nations amongst whom our lot is cast, the 
 words should be applied in which St. Paul addressed the 
 Romans — " How shall they believe him of whom they 
 have not heard, and how shall they hear without a 
 Preacher ?" In this exercise of evangelical preaching it 
 is, that our missionaries are continually occupied. Before 
 I speak to you, Rev. Father, of our mission in Smyrna, 
 the town in which we have debarked, I must give you 
 some account of our departure from Marseilles, of our 
 transit of the ocean, and of the places by which we passed. 
 
 Having bidden you good bye at Paris, we proceeded 
 to Marseilles, the place where we subsequently embarked. 
 We spent a considerable time in waiting the departure 
 of a certain good ship, which was always on the point of 
 setting sail, and yet never left the port. Tired with this 
 long delay, and regretting the vessels that we lost, we 
 embarked on board a merchant ship, the crew of which 
 was only 15 men. The captain was a worthy person. 
 He was willing to convey us gratuitously, and promised 
 to land us very speedily at Smyrna. The day of our 
 departure being one of the finest we ever experienced, 
 we had reason to anticipate that our captain would keep 
 his word, but the winds upon the sea being quite as incon- 
 stant as the most envied fortunes of the age we live in, 
 we speedily experienced their fickleness. Our wind, at 
 first so favourable, suddenly became so violent, that our 
 sails and little vessel were violently agitated. We had 
 the greatest difficulty in the world to keep our feet, or 
 even to keep our seats. I will not describe the other 
 inconveniencies which are commonly the consequences of 
 
136 PLAGUE. 
 
 such a situation, especially to those unaccustomed to the 
 sea. We brought with us a young Surgeon, who had 
 been appointed to accompany us, whose services we 
 expected would be useful to the missioners ; for, by means 
 of the medical profession, which is held in the highest 
 estimation in the Levant, the protection of the Turkish 
 officers is easily gained, and the mansions of the Christians 
 are open to the word of God. This young man, who 
 had never seen the sea, was so terrified by a violent gust 
 of wind, that, conceiving himself lost, he came to me as 
 pale as cream, and besought me with trembling accents 
 to hear his confession instantaneously. I took advantage 
 of his disposition, to induce him to perform a good work. 
 A short time afterwards the wind subsided, and his fear 
 subsided with precisely the same rapidity. However, 
 violent this wind had been, we had no reason to complain 
 of it, for its violence advanced us considerably towards 
 our destination. On the third day after our departure, 
 we doubled Saint Peter's isle, which lies at the very 
 extremity of the Island of Sardinia. We contemplated 
 this island as we passed it by with the utmost veneration, 
 as a place to which so many holy Bishops had been 
 banished, as well as so many other defenders of the faith, 
 who gloriously terminated their lives in what might be 
 considered as a long martyrdom. After having coasted 
 the island of Sardinia, we conceived that our captain 
 would put into Malta. But as he wanted no provisions, 
 he took the resolution of leaving it to his right at 25 miles 
 distance, but a sudden wind arose, whose fury occa- 
 sioned much disorder on board our ship, and compelled 
 the captain to make the island with an anxiety as great 
 as that with which he had sought to avoid it. Our vessel 
 
GRAND MASTER. 137 
 
 sailed into the harbour at an hour so early, that we had 
 a sufficiency of time to reach the residence of the Jesuits. 
 We were received there with the utmost^i^§ijVftad 
 cordiality. We saw Father De la Motte, ^y^jnfessfr 
 of the French Knights, and another Father, appointed t6 
 teach the mathematics; the latter died at Marseilles in 
 the service of the Pestiferous, since the^eriod of ou^ visit. 
 My companion, who was sick, was speedily restored 
 by the kind attention of the priests, and "by the care whi^h 
 was taken of him by the chevalier d«^Sarasse> wl 
 
 perfectly acquainted with the science of mAJufcUtiar'Tmd 
 who honored us with his friendship. Our captain, who 
 was compelled to remain much longer than he wished at 
 Malta, allowed us a sufficiency of time to see every thing 
 that merits a stranger's curiosity in this island. 
 
 Two of the Fathers obligingly proposed to play the 
 part of Ciceroni. We took advantage of their kindly 
 disposition. I shall have the honor of assuring you, my 
 Rev. Father, that, like every other visitor, we were 
 charmed with the beauty of the island, its advantageous 
 situation, the construction of the city, which is built upon 
 a rock, that is well nigh perpendicular, and defended by 
 fortifications of such a nature as render it the very 
 strongest place in Europe. 
 
 After having visited and viewed all that merited at- 
 tention, whether in the islands or the towns, I must ac- 
 knowledge that I saw nothing more worthy of applause 
 and admiration than the wisdom of the reigning govern- 
 ment — than the exact order which prevails throughout — 
 than the noble and edifying conduct of the Cavaliers* 
 united to their humble and elegant politeness to all man- 
 ner of people, and especially to visitors. The people 
 
138 KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 endeavour to imitate this politeness of their masters as 
 far as possible. 
 
 The grand master commands in the quality of king 
 with reference to the people, and as a superior as to the 
 members of the order. 
 
 He has at his court continually many Cavaliers, of the 
 most ancient and the most illustrious houses in all Chris- 
 tendom ; for there is no distinguished family in Europe 5 
 which does not feel a pride in having its members in the 
 order of Saint John. 
 
 The sea separates the town of Malta into three se- 
 veral divisions ; these three portions are three towns and 
 three peninsulas. They are fortified by the natural 
 rocks by which they are surrounded, and art and nature 
 have helped one another so happily and mutually, that a 
 single feeble part has not been left in which an attack 
 could be possibly attempted. 
 
 The principal city is the one in which the grand master 
 resides ; it is called La Valette. The isle in which the 
 house of the inquisitor is situate, is called Le Bourg > 
 the third is entitled the island of St. Michael. The port 
 which contains the gallies of the order is the most consi. 
 derable for size ; it is defended by the castle of St. Elma 
 upon one side, and by the castle of St. Angel on the 
 other. These two fortresses, towering at the entrance, 
 guard the gallies effectually. I have been conversing 
 with persons who informed me, that the pieces of cannon 
 they had counted on the ramparts — which are designed 
 for the defence of the city and the port — are 1800 in 
 number — a number which has been since augmented. 
 On the land side the city has got two enceintes ; its for- 
 tifications are cut and fashioned in the solid rock ; the 
 
THE KNIGHTS. 139 
 
 mansions present the appearance of amphitheatres. Every 
 dwelling has its platform, which is intended to prevent 
 the ill effects of a bombardment ; for in case of a siege, 
 they should cover this platform, which constitutes the 
 roof, with a mass of mould and dung, which would re- 
 ceive the bombs upon its surface, and deaden the effects 
 of the tremendous missiles. The city is exceedingly 
 well-built ; its houses are commodious, and elegantly 
 ornamented ; but it would seem as if the island had 
 combined all its magnificence when building a superb 
 and stupendous hospital, where all manner of diseased 
 persons, of whatsoever nation, condition, or religion they 
 may be, are received, attended, supported, and supplied 
 with all things which they may require, gratuitously. 
 
 Though the order be in its institution a military order, 
 the Knights are not the less hospitallers on that account, 
 and the order, in all times, has constantly and carefully 
 conserved this cherished end of its establishment ; for, 
 whilst the Cavaliers are girt for ever for the combat, 
 and are never without arms in their hands to fight the 
 foemen of our faith, at the same time they are ready 
 everlastingly to extend their charity to every object of 
 compassion that comes near their hospital. And that all 
 the Cavaliers may have it in their power to practise this 
 most precious duty, every hotel or priory has a day 
 marked out for it, which its members shall devote to the 
 service of the sick. Monday belongs to the knights of 
 Provence ; the hotel of France has Tuesday ; Wed- 
 nesday belongs to the hotel of Auvergne ; Thursday 
 appertains to the hotel of Castile ; the hotel of Arragon 
 has Friday ; Saturday belongs to the hotel of Italy ; and 
 that of Germany has Sunday. The sick are served in- 
 
140 THE KNIGHTS. 
 
 variably in valuable vessels of solid silver. Every 
 morning the grand master, followed by the grand cross, 
 pays a visit to the hospital (a duty which he sometimes 
 complies with after dinner), in order to know personally 
 whether the commanders do their duty by the sick ; 
 whether the patients are well taken care of, and want 
 nothing that may be necessary in their situation. When 
 any of the Knights are in the number of the ailing, they 
 are attended by the grand master himself. I do not 
 think that any thing in the universe can be seen more 
 edifying, than the extreme order invariably observed in 
 the hospital. The charity of the Cavaliers ascends some- 
 times to so sublime a height, that many amongst them 
 may be seen performiug such acts of virtue as are only 
 to be compared to those which we admire in the very 
 greatest saints.* The Bishop of Malta, the Prior of the 
 Church of St. John, and the Grand Inquisitor, have each 
 their separate jurisdiction in the spiritual department. 
 The Prior, or rector of the Cavaliers, has the principal 
 authority, which extends to the power of conferring 
 orders. He has other powers, which only appertain to 
 Bishops in almost all other instances. He wears epis- 
 copal ornaments, approves of the confessors of the Cava- 
 liers, and gives dimissorials to the clerks of the order. 
 
 The Bishop has his residence at Citta Vecchia. He 
 has a very handsome church. Like their bishop, the 
 canons wear a violet camail. The first church of the 
 order is that of St. John, as well as the most richly orna- 
 
 * A very good edition of the History of the Knights, those heroic 
 disciples of religion and chivalry ; translated from the French of Ver- 
 tot, was published by Christie, James's-street, Dublin, to which, if 
 indeed it be not out of print, I venture to direct the attention of my 
 countrymen. — T. A. P. 
 
THE KNIGHTS. 141 
 
 merited. We saw two large silver figures, of the human 
 height, the one a St. John, and the other a St. Luke ; 
 they stand one at either side of the grand altar. Be- 
 tween the choir and the nave there swings a silver 
 lustre, which, they say, has cost 60,000 Maltese crowns. 
 It is a gift from the commander, Fardello de Trapano. 
 Every tongue has a particular chapel in the church ; the 
 French Knights one, the German Knights another, &c. 
 The very finest and most highly polished marble in- 
 crusts the internal surface of these chapel walls. 
 
 We saw an extremely handsome chapel dedicated to 
 the great apostle Paul, in the suburbs of Citta Vecchia. 
 There is a cave beside this chapel, whither, according to 
 tradition, the apostle retired for three months and three 
 days, subsequently to his shipwreck.* The Acts of the 
 Apostles, which communicate the circumstances of the 
 shipwreck, have informed us of another fact ; Paul and bis 
 dripping companions, having lighted a great fire, were 
 spreading out their saturated garments, from which the 
 brine was wrung, to its comfortable influence, when a viper 
 issuing from the faggots, sprang upon the hand of Paul, 
 and adhered to it with such tenacity, that the shipwrecked 
 witnesses believed that the puncture of the poisonous 
 tooth of this venomous creature would cause the apostle's 
 death. But their surprise was inexpressible, when they 
 saw the saint had but to shake his hand, in order to get 
 rid of it, and that the member remained as destitute of 
 injury as it had been previously. This circumstance 
 caused the apostle to be considered by the marvelling 
 Maltese as a very extraordinary personage. 
 
 * Chap. 21. 
 
142 
 
 FOSSILS. 
 
 Malta has enjoyed a remarkable and almost singular 
 privilege since this event. Vipers and venomous reptiles, 
 which in almost every other country are poison-bearers, 
 are innoxious in Malta,*such malignant creatures are even 
 said to lose their venom if introduced into this island from 
 other countries. 
 
 It is by no means incredible, that this favor was granted 
 to the isle of Malta, to recompense its inhabitants for the 
 good reception given to St. Paul, the especial object of 
 public devotion and veneration in this island. f 
 
 Fossils, which are designated serpents' tongues, and 
 serpent's eyes,f are not only found in the cave of St. Paul, 
 but throughout all the island. Travellers never fail to 
 carry some away with them, it being the popular opinion 
 that they are preservatives against the ill-effects of poison. 
 What is still more surprising is, that however great the 
 quantity removed, these fossil tongues and eyes are appa- 
 rently by no means diminished in number by the perpe- 
 tual abstractions. The very same thing is said of the floor 
 of the apostle's cave, insomuch that the earth seems to 
 reproduce them as rapidly as they are removed. 
 
 In the opinion of some commentators, the island at which,A.D. 
 66, St. Paul was shipwrecked, is Meleda, situated in the Adriatic, 
 the Latin of which is the same as that of Malta, viz. Melita. 
 
 f We learn from the Acts of the Apostles, that there were veno- 
 mous reptiles in the isle of Malta, in the first century of the Christian 
 era. We learn from the geography of Maltehrun and Mentelle, vol. 
 viii. p. 522, that there are none in it at present. That this latter 
 circumstance is a consequence of the apostle's visit, is a fact which 
 the missioner believes, and which, as he observes, is by no means 
 incredible. 
 
 J These so called serpents' tongues are the fossil teeth of fishes, 
 of the sea dog kind. The " serpents' eyes" are likewise fishes teeth, 
 spares and centropomes. They are really inexhaustible, because the 
 soi) is almost entirely composed of them. — T. A. P. 
 
MALTA. 143 
 
 To return to our account of Malta: it is seven leagues 
 in length, three half in width, and twenty-one in cir- 
 cuit. The solid rock is so near the surface throughout 
 almost all the island, that it is fertile only in legumes, but 
 the quality of these is exquisite. Towering forests and 
 extensive vineyards cannot be expected ; but the orange, 
 the olive, and the lemon-tree, are very common, and their 
 fruits delicious. We saw almond-trees in flower in the 
 month of January. 
 
 A country so very agreeable as Malta, well deserves 
 the immense population it possesses. The Maltese speak 
 the Arabic, slightly corrupted. The men are all clothed 
 in the French fashion, but some wear a little collar in 
 addition, and a large black mantle. Priests and monks 
 are very numerous. The women and young girls never 
 go out alone; they are always followed by a female slave 
 or attendant when they are seen abroad. Their dress 
 and demeanour is so very modest, that a stranger might 
 mistake them for so many nuns. They are generally 
 seen wrapt in a black serge or silk mantle, which covers 
 them from head to foot. 
 
 To finish my account of Malta, I shall add, that its 
 greatest glory and its principal ornament is the great 
 number of illustrious knights, whose valour is only to be 
 equalled by their birth, which it possesses. They have 
 the honor of being the zealous defenders of our holy faith, 
 ever ready at a moment's warning to traverse the seas, 
 and peril their existence in defence of it. 
 
 In their history we read with the utmost admiration, 
 the account which is given of their great exploits, and of 
 the prodigious successes of their arms. But the principle 
 subject of a eulogy which shall be worthy of them, will 
 
144 MALTA. 
 
 be that at present as well as in anterior times in their 
 home upon the rock of Malta, as well as every where else 
 throughout the world, the knights have been known, 
 invariably to practise the purest and sublimest virtues 
 inculcated by Christianity. 
 
 Down to the present hour, the knights continue to 
 confer infinite honor on the Catholic religion.* 
 
 Malta is governed, at present by a Grand Master, who 
 eminently merits that good eminence. The prudence 
 capacity, and benevolence displayed in his rule, have 
 gained him the love and veneration of all Christian nations, 
 and swell his ranks incessantly by new accessions of 
 
 knights. 
 
 During our abode at Malta, our vessel was perfectly 
 refitted. Having been informed of the day of our depar- 
 ture by the captain. We bade a farewell to our fathers, 
 making them a thousand acknowledgements for the 
 kindnesses we had experienced at their hands. Though 
 it was winter, the air was as mild as if it were summer. 
 The wind was favourable, and as our vessel ploughed 
 the rippling deep, the sun which shone without a cloud 
 sheathed the surface of the ocean, with the splendour of 
 its effulgence. A troop of dolphins, feeling the comfor- 
 table warmth of the atmosphere, gamboled together at 
 the prow of our ship. We saw them often in the air, 
 as they bounded now and then joyously from the water, 
 our vessel continuing on her way at the same rate. We 
 
 * Prompted by a profligate cupidity, which insatiate of the world, 
 and unglutted by the plunder of the sea, coveted the little realm of 
 the Knights, England doomed herself to everlasting infamy by re- 
 fusing to restore the last sanctuary of chivalry to its rightful posses- 
 sors. The conquest of Algiers by the French, must speedily deprive 
 her of the advantages expected from it. Meanwhile, the banner of 
 St. John still flutters on the winds of Muscovy — T. A. P. 
 
SAPIENZA. 145 
 
 enjoyed this spectacle a length of time : an alteration in 
 the weather, however, changed the face of things, and 
 made us lose this enjoyment. There arose a tremendous 
 wind, which happily was in our rear, compelling our bark 
 to cut the waves with such velocity, that we should have 
 reached Smyrna, in four days if the storm had continued 
 so long. The following night we deviated from our 
 course, and we were so far from reaching Smyrna, that 
 we were obliged to drop anchor at the isle of Sapienza. 
 
 This island is at the extreme point of the Morea, at the 
 southern side It is only a league from Modon, the capi- 
 tal of the province of Betuedere, in the Morea. As this 
 sea is infested frequently with pirates, none of our fellow- 
 travellers dared to quit the vessel, to pay a visit to the 
 town of Modon ; we were content to walk upon the shore 
 in order to breathe the fresh air of the island. Curiosity 
 should never lead a traveller to visit it, for nothing is to 
 be seen in this island but a few Arabs herding goats ; we 
 met neither houses, villages, nor towns. They have made 
 excavations in the rocks, in which they reside, together 
 with their flocks, like absolute savages. 
 
 One day, walking with one of my companions in this 
 island; we perceived two men approaching us with asto- 
 nishing velocity, we could see them penetrating the thickets 
 just like cannon balls, and ascending the rocks and pas- 
 sing over them with the celerity of goats ; we could see 
 that their persons were as barbarous as their costume — 
 they were gigantic Albanians, and were armed with 
 immense sticks, crooked at the end, and shod with iron. 
 Bounding into our presence, and heated with their race, 
 they asked us in a ferocious tone, and in a jargon which 
 
 h 
 
146 ALBANIANS. 
 
 was worthy of their voices, who we were, and whither 
 we were going. We answered in a tone which was in- 
 finitely sweeter than that in which they had addressed us 
 (and which might have shewn the barbarians how gentle- 
 men should speak)that we were Frenchmen, that we were 
 destined for the isles ef Greece, and that our bark was 
 lying at anchor in the harbour. The Albanians, without 
 saying a syllable by way of answer, broke off abruptly, and 
 we saw them ascending a height, from the apex of which 
 they endeavoured to descry our vessel. 
 
 We related our adventure to our fellow-travellers as 
 soon as we returned. The next day one of them, who, 
 as he assured us, dreaded nothing in the universe, and 
 who in particular had no fear whatever, he averred, for 
 " those sorts of gentlemen," had the curiosity to descend 
 into the isle to reconnoitre them. He had hardly gone 
 a musket shot, when our two Albanians, with two others 
 in their company, as unprepossessing in personal ap- 
 pearance as themselves, threw themselves upon him, and 
 collared him before he could offer any resistance ; and 
 then, as the whole four were about him, they tied him to 
 a tree, with his hands behind his back. " It's you, then," 
 they vociferated ; " you're the fellow," they shouted, 
 " that fired upon our flocks ; it shall cost you your life," 
 they continued, meanwhile one of them discovered an enor- 
 mous knife, which he applied to the neck of the tra- 
 veller, as a caution to quietness, while the others were 
 diving into the innermost recesses of his pockets. They 
 appropriated the contents, whatever they might be, and 
 then stripping him of his clothing, left him nothing what- 
 soever but his shirt. Having gathered up their plunder, 
 three of them set off with the spoils, and when they 
 
MALMSEY. 147 
 
 were out of sight ; the fourth who had remained to guard 
 the prisoner, untied him and ran away in the direction 
 taken by his companions. Our traveller, whose bravery 
 was ball proof, attracted universal attention by the very 
 remarkable alteration which his morning's promenade 
 had produced in his attire. From the deck of the ves- 
 sel every eye was fixed upon him as he approached the 
 ship, arrayed in the single garment which the robbers 
 left him. He was fortunate enough to find persons suf- 
 ficiently charitable to give him those garments of which 
 he stood in so much need. None of our fellow-travel- 
 lers after this adventure, and during the four days that 
 we waited for a favourable breeze, felt the slightest pro- 
 pensity to seek the recreation and amusement afforded 
 by the wholesome exercise of walking in the island, 
 which is so truly entitled Sapienza, an exercise which 
 had anteriorly yielded them so mucli pleasure. 
 
 At six o'clock in the morning on the 20th of January, 
 our vessel took the breeze. We surveyed the Morea 
 which was only at four leagues distance from us, while 
 the vessel coasted its illustrious shores. 
 
 We passed at a little distance of Cor on — we doubled 
 the cape of Matapan, and found ourselves between Ceri- 
 go and cape St. Angel, on the morning of the twenty- 
 first, and a little after Malmsey, or Malvasia, became 
 discernible, which is the best neighbourhood, despite its 
 name, in all the Morea, it is said. 
 
 This city was anciently called Epidaurus ; it stands 
 upon a great rock at the foot of which the gulf of Na- 
 poli d'Romani commences. That eastern shore pro- 
 duces that incomparable Malmsey of which the very 
 name is eulogy. We eventually emerged from the 
 
148 THE VISIT. 
 
 Morea to enter amid the isles of Grecian Archipelago, 
 leaving Candia to our right. 
 
 The weather had been hitherto as hot as summer, 
 but a northern wind having suddenly arisen, we felt it 
 bitter cold. We found it expedient to procure capotes 
 or mantles in which to ensconce ourselves from its 
 severity. The snow-covered heights of the Morea shed 
 this frigidity upon us — the cold excepted, we derived ad- 
 vantage from the wind, as in consequence of it we were 
 debarking the next day at the port of Paros, at a league 
 from Naxos. Unhappily, however, it did not continue 
 very long. Our captain thought it necessary to put in 
 at Argentaria, a little island in the Archipelago, between 
 Melo and Siphanto. We had hardly cast anchor in the 
 port, which is a tolerably good one, when two Greeks of 
 the isle, with a very graceful air, approached us ; they 
 came on the part of the Consul of France, they said, to 
 present us with his compliments on our arrival, and to 
 make us an offer of refreshments. 
 
 We received this politeness with all the acknowledge- 
 ments it merited, and we thought it only set down in our 
 duty to wait upon the Consul and offer our acknowledge- 
 ments in return ; we desired the two Greeks to conduct 
 us to him which they immediately did. The Consul's 
 residence is at three quarters of a league from the port 
 — we found him in the company of the Consul of Eng- 
 land ; both of them are natives of the country, and their 
 families are the most respectable in the island. They 
 received us with the utmost politeness. When the first 
 compliments were exchanged, a collation was served up 
 The Consul of France proposed to shew us the city — 
 we were accompanied by botli these gentlemen — it did 
 
SMALL TOWN. 149 
 
 not require any extraordinary length of time to traverse 
 it, for the whole city consists simply of an hundred and 
 fifty houses, and eight or nine hundred persons constitute 
 its population. The streets are so narrow that two men 
 can with difficulty walk through them abreast. We found 
 some French families who carry on a petty commerce in 
 this place, which is not so much a town as a village. The 
 French were speedily informed of our arrival — the haste 
 with which they thronged to see us was only to be 
 equalled by their joy. They were delighted at so good 
 an opportunity of obtaining news of France, we satisfied 
 all their interrogatories ; the very oldest news, facts of 
 no small antiquity, had all the charms of novelty for them. 
 The priests and the principle Greeks of the city visited 
 us subsequently, and testified the pleasure that they ex- 
 perienced in seeing us, by the kindest expressions. They 
 asked with earnestness if we were come to establish a 
 mission amongst them ; we have not forgotten, they ex- 
 claimed, the mission which Father Xavier Portier and his 
 coadjutor established several years ago amongst us ; our 
 children had been illiterate, and they rendered them well 
 informed ; many of ourselves were mutually enemies and 
 they made peace and reconciled us ; we had ceased fro 
 live like christians, and they induced us to confess our 
 sins to them and to approach the Holy Sacrament, to 
 which we had been strangers for so long an interval ; in 
 a word, they made us know our duties. Since that 
 period we have all deviated from the paths of peace into 
 which they had conducted us. Come, they continued, and 
 induce us to return, come and restore us that spiritual 
 joy which the presence of Father James Xavier Portier 
 diffused amongst our citizens, and which through his 
 
150 ARGENTARIA. 
 
 absence we have lost. These words which we saw issuing 
 from their very heart strings moved us almost to tears, 
 we replied that we were come from France with every 
 disposition to be of service to them, but that not know- 
 ing the language yet sufficiently, we were about to learn 
 it, that we might be intelligible to them. They were 
 satisfied with our replies. The bad weather which had 
 caused us to put into Argentaria kept us there for two 
 days without the slightest possibility of our quitting it 
 Lest we should be useless, we gave instructions to the 
 French inhabitants, and taught their children their cate- 
 chism. The Greeks and French assisted at our masses 
 —a good example was given by the officers of our vessel, 
 and by the mariners and travellers who never omitted their 
 attendance ; we were consoled by these good works for the 
 delay in our departure. We took advantage of the first 
 fine weather to quit the harbour of Argentaria. In the 
 evening of that day we cast anchor at Siphanto, anciently 
 Siphnos, a larger and a richer isle than that of Argenta- 
 ria. We departed early the next morning with a favour- 
 able wind, which brought us in the evening of this day 
 to Miconi. This is one of the Cyclades in the Egean 
 Sea ; on arriving here we learned that a considerable 
 number of Roman Catholics resided in the island — we 
 procured a guide to conduct us to the rector, to request 
 his permission to say mass. Although he was a Greek 
 by nation, the rector observed the Latin ritual : he was sup- 
 ported by the Propaganda for the service of the Roman 
 Catholics. Informed of our arrival, his parishioners 
 crowded round us to salute us with their curate amongst 
 them ; we were received by them with the utmost cordi- 
 ality and warmth of feeling. They spoke much of the 
 
FAVOURABLE WIND. 151 
 
 mission which Father Portier had instituted in their 
 island several years ago : we sadly want a second, said 
 they: if he knew our wants he would come speedily to 
 our assistance, as he was full of zeal for our salvation. 
 We pledged ourselves to obtain them the new mission 
 they desired, and next morning we said mass for them. 
 A great multitude was present, and the devotion with 
 which they assisted at the sacrifice delighted us. As we 
 neither knew the vulgar Greek, nor their corrupt Italian, 
 we could afford them no instruction: we said a few 
 words to them, however, by means of an interpreter. 
 After remaining in this island four and twenty hours, we 
 took our leave of the rector ; he was anxious to accom- 
 pany us to our vessel at the head of his parishioners, 
 conjuring us at the same time to return to the island with 
 all speed, and we embarked in presence of them all, and 
 with so favourable a wind that we made forty leagues in 
 fourteen hours. We arrived at the isles of Spalmodori, 
 February 16th, having passsed within a cannon-shot of 
 Scio. My two companions were as anxious as myself 
 to see this island, excited, as they were, by all that we 
 had learned of the fervid devotion of its Roman Catholic 
 inhabitants. However, at this time, our desires could not 
 possibly be gratified : we continued our course through 
 the Archipelago, and emerging from its numerous isles, 
 we steered for Anatolia, in Asia. I thought when quit- 
 ting France, that we should find in the Levant an ever- 
 lasting summer, only varied now and then by excessive 
 heats. Experience convinced us of the contrary, for we 
 suffered the sharpest and most penetrating cold in this 
 day's sail, which compelled our officers to assume clothing 
 of a warmer character. As we were at one day's sail 
 
152 SALUTE. 
 
 from Smyrna, we anticipated making the harbour, but 
 the wind died away so completely that we could scarcely 
 make sail at all. We had to encounter another difficulty 
 — we discovered, at the dawn of day, five Turkish men 
 of war which were proceeding from Constantinople to 
 Scio. A Sultana having thirty guns separated from her 
 four companions and approaching our ship, commanded us 
 to come on board. As we were by no means the stronger 
 party we deemed it advisable to yield obedience and 
 without uttering" as much as a single syllable in remon- 
 strance, we complied with the command with the utmost 
 alacrity. 
 
 The commander of the Sultana caused our captain to 
 to ascend his ship, but, exchange is no robbery, he sent 
 three Turks on board our vessel in return, luckily they 
 they found nothing contraband on board, and when they 
 had reported the condition of our vessel, the captain of 
 the Turkish man of war overwhelmed our commander 
 Avith interrogatories as to the state of Sicily and Malta 
 and then restored him to us : upon his return our cap- 
 tain exhibited exemplary politeness by saluting the 
 Turkish vessel with the discharge of a solitary gun, the 
 Turks returned the salute and continued on their course. 
 A contrary wind delayed us for some time in entering 
 the gulf of Smyrna. At length an auspicious moment 
 arrived, in which we were enabled to double the Cape 
 of Borun, (situated at the extremity of the gulf of 
 Smyrna ;) we were charmed at the prospect which the 
 gulf presented. The gulf is fifteen leagues in length 
 and five in latitude — its coasts are crowned with olive 
 trees. In perspective we saw a great number of ves- 
 sels riding at anchor near the shores, while the magnifi- 
 
SMYRXA. 153 
 
 cent vista formed by the ships and olive-covered shores 
 was terminated by the town of Smyrna, lying at the 
 bottom of the gulf. We arrived at noontide, February 
 23. Our voyage lasted seventy-five days, and was 
 performed during a very severe winter — thank heaven 
 we arrived in perfect health in Smyrna. The superior 
 of our mission, father Adrian Verzeau, and the other 
 French fathers, had long expected our arrival. Having 
 learned that a vessel was entering the bay, they imme- 
 diately imagined that we were on board — they came 
 down to the port to see the debarkation. I cannot ex- 
 press to you how great was our mutual joy ; we embraced 
 one another with the most heart-whole affection. They 
 led us to their mansion and supplied us with all the re- 
 freshments of which we could possibly have any need. 
 After a few days' repose, father Adrian Verzeau brought 
 us to the house of the archbishop that we might offer him 
 our respects .as well as to the dwelling of Mr. De Fon- 
 tenue, the French Consul — we were received with the 
 utmost kindness and civility ; the succeeding days were 
 passed in visits ; we received those of our disciples, and 
 we returned their visits. The affection they evinced for 
 us was an evidence of the sincere veneration which they 
 entertain for our missionary Fathers ; the services 
 rendered by the latter to the French, the Armenians, 
 and the Greeks, have procured them the confidence and 
 the esteem of those nations. 
 
 The protection which Mr. De Fontenu affords our 
 functions, and the attentions of the French gentlemen 
 who reside here, whom we cannot praise too highly, in- 
 spire the people with the sentiments which they enter- 
 tain with reference to the missionaries. After we had 
 
 h 5 
 
154 
 
 SMYRNA. 
 
 satisfied civility, we applied ourselves exclusively to the 
 study of the languages, in order to participate in the ever- 
 lasting labours of our missionaries. For it is by the fer- 
 vour by which we are animated in the commencement 
 that we are able to surmount the difficulties inseparable 
 from this study, which is so much the more necessary, as 
 we can only hope to make our ministry fruitfully being 
 familiar with the language of the inhabitants. We have 
 the consolation of finding much more occupation in Smyrna 
 than in France ; none have failed to find such occupation, 
 except such persons as have likewise failed in applying 
 themselves opportunely to philological pursuits. The 
 solitary town of Smyrna presents the missioners an exten- 
 sive field, in which there are many harvests to be made. 
 This city had the honor, in former times, of being entitled 
 the first of the Seven Churches of Asia. The general 
 councils of the country were held here. It is even still 
 one of the most celebrated cities in the Ottoman empire ; 
 commerce flourishes in Smyrna — the gulf is almost per- 
 petually crowded with ships from France, England, Hol- 
 land, Venice, and Genoa. They come hither to export 
 Persian silk, the camlets of Angora, cotton, oil, tobacco, 
 and scammony. A great quantity of these merchandizes 
 are conveyed by Armenians overland. The city is of con- 
 siderable size. An old castle which towers over the sea 
 is the only defence of Smyrna : three gallies and 200 
 Janissaries constitute the guard. The population consists 
 of 60,000 persons, or thereabouts, and is composed of 
 Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, and Franks. Each 
 nation resides in a separate quarter allotted solely to itself. 
 The quarter of the Franks, which extends along the sea- 
 shore, is unquestionably the finest. The city consists 
 
BAZAARS. 
 
 155 
 
 almost exclusively of wooden houses, but since the late 
 conflagrations have visited the city, they have employed 
 better materials in rebuilding them. The mosques are not 
 beautiful; the bazaars infinitely surpass their religious 
 houses. The former are long streets which contain no- 
 thing but shops from one end to the other. The mer- 
 chants spread out their different merchandizes with as 
 much art in the bazaars, as could be exhibited in the gal- 
 leries of the Palais at Paris. This industrious arrange- 
 ment,and the ingenious disposal of their goods, excite the cu- 
 riosity, and provoke the desire of the purchaser. The light 
 is admitted to these shops only by an opening from above 
 entering by an aperture in the roof. These roofs or domes 
 covered with lead, protect the merchants and their mer- 
 chandize, as well as those who buy from exposure to the 
 weather. Smyrna had ancient monuments in other times 
 which contributed to her glory ; but the Turks, who feel 
 no curiosity concerning antiquity, have suffered them to 
 perish. We must especially regret the almost total ruin 
 of an amphitheatre, in which innumerable martyrs gene- 
 rously devoted their existence as a sacrifice for the defence 
 our religion. But time, the universal destroyer, whom 
 nothing can escape, has been unable to obliterate the pre- 
 cious memory of St. Polycrap the martyr. At the vene- 
 rated age of 86, when he had governed that church to 
 which St. John had sent him for 60 years ; as a trium- 
 phant crown at the end of his career, St. Polycarp was 
 burned alive; whilst with his heart in his voice he blessed 
 God aloud with gratitude for the grace of martyrdom 
 which he thus granted him. He is honored by the Chris- 
 tians here as their common father, and their protector 
 next to God, and they visit the relics of the amphitheatre 
 
156 LABOURS. 
 
 in which his venerated ashes repose from sentiments of 
 respect and devotion for the martyr. The memory of 
 a young man named Germanicus, who, at the same time 
 was exposed to the beasts for Jesus Christ, is honored 
 by them in like manner. These stupendous examples of 
 heroic courage, and those afforded by our former mis- 
 sionaries who followed in their footprints, are powerful 
 motives to an evangelic life. 
 
 I shall not pause, my reverend father, to give you the 
 detail of their achievements here, because in doing so I 
 should reiterate what has been related in Father Taril- 
 lon's epistle. As to what concers myself I must be con- 
 tented to limit my labours to the study of the languages 
 — I have already ventured to teach the children their 
 catechism, and I hope to be able in a little time, with 
 God's assistance, to aid our Fathers in those labours 
 which at present overwhelm them the live long day, and 
 sometimes extend into the night. While writing this 
 letter, I am requested, upon their part, to demand addi- 
 tional labourers from you, a request to which I add my 
 humble voice, as, since my arrival, I have seen the neces- 
 sity of an addition in the number of missionaries in this 
 flourishing mission. 
 
 Our superior dedicates all his time to the instructiou 
 of the slaves, who are very numerous in Smyrna. He 
 takes advantage of their exceeding misery to induce 
 some to return to the pleasant ways of salvation, from 
 which even the orthodox so often stray, and others to 
 enter the bosom of the church. One of the very oldest 
 of our missionaries who has reached the venerable age 
 of seventy, and who has spent full forty years in the 
 labours of the mission, supports the heat and toil of 
 
THE MISSIONERS. 157 
 
 the (lay with the invincible courage of a true hero of 
 the cross. This venerable man was taken prisoner by 
 the cruel Algerines some years ago, and sold to slavery, 
 a condition which he suffered for two years space with 
 the fortitude and enduring patience of a martyr. We 
 have since been so unhappy as to suffer two losses, in 
 the persons of Father Francis L'Estringant, a native of 
 Orleans, and of Father Francis Braconnier, of the pro- 
 vince of Champagne. The first entered the society with a 
 fervid desire to consecrate his life to the service of Ins 
 neighbour and of God in the foreign missions. He was 
 destined for those which we have in the Levant. He 
 was naturally endowed with all the qualities which are 
 calculated to gain souls to religion, and during the forty 
 years that he has been employed upon our missions he 
 has made a most advantageous use of his qualifications, 
 perfectly performing the functions of an excellent mis- 
 sionary, and of a sage, and experienced superior. He 
 has often risked his life in the service of the plague-sick. 
 He was attacked more than once with the pest, having 
 received it in their service. His recovery was said to 
 be some thing miraculous. He has had the glory of suf- 
 fering imprisonment and chains for the cause of Jesus 
 Christ — for performing an act of charity. He took no 
 relaxation, he never ceased to labour in the vineyard 
 of the Lord, till he had attained an extreme old age. 
 Full of years aud virtues, he has recently died in the 
 service of this mission. The death of Father Bracon- 
 nier was an universal loss, affecting all our missions* 
 They destined him in France for the first employment 
 in his province, when providence called him to his service 
 here. He succeeded in arriving at Smyrna after having 
 
158 THE JESUIT. 
 
 triumphed over all the obstacles which they opposed to 
 his departure. The talents which God had given him 
 for learning languages made him quickly capable of 
 teaching the children their catechism, and shortly after- 
 wards of heaving confession, of preaching and attending 
 the conferences. He succeeded in these departments in 
 a manlier which gained him great reputation — he has 
 been honored with the esteem of our ambassadors. 
 They found him to be a man of excellent judgment, of 
 great rectitude of principle and probity of thinking, 
 cherishing an ardent love of virtue, and having a great 
 capacity for business, with that desirable gift, the utmost 
 firmness in the execution. From all these rare qualities 
 he was judged qualified for government. After having 
 directed some particular missions, he was appointed su- 
 perior of all those of Greece. The mission of Smyrna 
 which he so much loved, is deeply indebted to him — our 
 establishment at Constantinople owes him equal obliga- 
 tions. He had the affliction of seeing a part of it con- 
 sumed by the fire which reduced a considerable number 
 of houses in the suburb of Galata to ashes some years 
 since. In this calamity Father Braconnier had rceourse 
 to the bounty and liberality of the gentlemen conduct- 
 ing the commerce of Marseilles, the benefactors of all 
 the Levantine missions. He obtained permission from 
 the Ottoman powers, by whom he was known and esteem- 
 ed, to repair what the fire had destroyed, and to him the 
 glory appertains of restoring our house to the excellent 
 condition in which it is at present. You are well aware, 
 my reverend Father, that after having governed our 
 missions during several successive years, he enterprised 
 the establishment of that which we have at Salonica, in 
 
SPIRITUAL HARVEST. 159 
 
 Macedonia. This worthy missionary, having been in- 
 formed that the christians who inhabit this city and the 
 neighbouring country, were destitute of all spiritual as- 
 sistance for working out their salvation, and knowing 
 that much good might be done, instantaneously repaired 
 to Salonica, supported by the hope alone, that God would 
 enable him to find the necessary means of commencing 
 this good work, if it were conformable to the divine will. 
 He did not deceive himself, the work was instituted and 
 perfected by the cares of Father Braconnier — by the 
 liberality of certain christians of the country, and by the 
 services of several French gentlemen, as well as of the 
 Consul of the nation of France. As the commencement 
 and the progress of this novel mission has been detailed 
 to you already, I may dispense with its description. I 
 understand that Father Francis Tarillon having succeed- 
 ed the late Father Braconnier, and that having Father 
 Xavier Piperi, a native of Scio, as his companion, the 
 pious adventurers are reaping an abundant harvest in this 
 mission. A virtuous lady who is very zealous for God's 
 glory has given them the means of instituting an estab- 
 lishment which is calculated to inspire their disciples 
 with a tender devotion for the august sacrament of our 
 altars. This lady felt herself inspired to institute cer- 
 tain public prayers which are repeated evening and morn- 
 ing, on the Thursdays of every week, in our chapel. 
 The Holy Sacrament is exposed, and our Catholics re- 
 pair in crowds to honor it, they assist at our sacred mys- 
 teries, and are present at the instructions which our mis- 
 sionaries give upon the divine Eucharist. The lady of 
 whom we have spoken, persuaded that the decoration of 
 the altars contributes not a little to the piety of christians 
 
160 the Jesuit's death. 
 
 employs many persons in fabricating ornaments which she 
 presents to this flourishing mission, the foundation of 
 which was laid by Father Braconnier. This clergyman 
 was thinking of nothing but the cultivation of his mis- 
 sion, when he received an order from the Father Gene- 
 ral to proceed to Persia, in order to succeed the superior 
 of our missions in that kingdom who had recently de- 
 parted. However great the attachment of Father Bra- 
 connier for his mission at Salonica, he immediately aban- 
 doned it, prefering obedience to his own inclination. 
 
 In spite of indisposition, which would have retained 
 any one in the world but himself, and in spite of a pre- 
 sentiment that his days would be shortened by this jour- 
 ney ; feeble as he was, he set out for Persia — he suffered 
 much in endeavouring to attain the Dardanelles. As 
 soon as he set foot on shore, the Consul, who was always 
 a bosom friend of his, received him with a warm embrace, 
 conducting him to his mansion that he might reside there. 
 That which was, comparatively speaking, but a slight 
 sickness at first, in a few days afterwards became a mor- 
 tal malady. He dispatched a request to a religious per- 
 son who was renowned far and near for his sanctity, 
 who happened at this time to be sojourning at the Dar- 
 danelles, to come and visit him and receive his last sighs. 
 He received the rites of religion with sentiments which 
 Jiis departing voice conveyed to those around him, who 
 felt convinced, as they regarded him, that that decent 
 pallet was pressed by the ashes of a saint. He finally 
 gave up his soul to God, by offering him the sacrifice of 
 a life which had always been devoted to him. 
 
 I beg of you, my reverend father, to supplicate the 
 Lord, that having come here to work out the salvation 
 
SKETCHES. 161 
 
 of my soul and the sanctification of the people who 
 surround us, I may seek at least, by a fervent and peni- 
 tential life, to deserve a death as precious as that of 
 Father Braconnier. This favour is asked by one who is 
 your's, &c» 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TOWN AND PRECINCTS OF ALEPPO. 
 
 The city of Aleppo, in which I have had the honor 
 of being a missionary during several years, is not like 
 Damascus, rich in ancient and noble monuments ; but in 
 extent, and in its commerce, and consequently, in its 
 riches, it surpasses the latter city. It is these advantages 
 which render it one of the most celebrated cities in the 
 Turkish empire. It had many names in ancient times 
 an account of the origin of which was given in one of the 
 first letters of this collection. 
 
 The town is of an oval figure, and is about three miles 
 in circumference. The towers and walls by which it is 
 surrounded, do not appear very capable of defending it. 
 They reckon ten gates to the city, and many of its 
 entrances are very fine. Deep in the earth, under one 
 of these gates, there runs a spacious cavern, which is 
 constantly illuminated in honour of the prophet Eliseus, 
 who is said to have selected this grotto as a place of 
 refuge for a considerable time. 
 
 The houses of the town have nothing remarkable 
 
COMMERCE. 163 
 
 externally, but their interior is enriched by those who 
 have sufficient wealth, with marble, and gilding, and 
 painting. 
 
 It is said that the very finest of the mosques was a 
 church originally, the foundation of which is attributed 
 to St. Helena. Thus in order to punish the enormities 
 of bad Christians, Heaven permits whole nations to 
 deviate from the beaten path, and lose the light of faith, 
 and stumble blindfold into the pitfalls of schism and 
 heresy, whose authors were as full of corruption as their 
 fabrications. 
 
 Though the Mahometan religion is at Aleppo the 
 paramount one, Catholics are very numerous in Aleppo, 
 notwithstanding. Father NacclnV letter contains par- 
 ticulars of the several exercises of our religion, which 
 are practised in this city, and we see, thank Heaven, 
 striking examples of the practice of the most excellent 
 virtues of Christianism. 
 
 The commerce carried on in all descriptions of mer- 
 chandize conveyed to this place from Persia and India, 
 renders Aleppo very populous ; but it is remarked, that 
 this commerce, which was in former times so flourishing, 
 has diminished considerably since the Cape of Good 
 Hope was doubled, and merchants have reached India 
 by sea. They willingly prefer this navigation to that 
 which is made up the Euphrates and the Tigris, because 
 the river navigation is interrupted by a multitude of 
 mills which have been constructed on the Euphrates, 
 and because the Tigris is navigable no farther than from 
 Bagdad to Bassora. But if the city of Aleppo has lost 
 some of its commerce by this alteration, if merchants 
 have failed to throng her gates as numerously as hereto- 
 
164 THE CARAVAN. 
 
 fore, amends are made by the frequent and populous 
 caravans which repair to Aleppo for the purpose of 
 proceeding from one city to another. These caravans 
 are composed of travellers from all nations, and consist 
 for the most part of merchants, who themselves conduct 
 their camels laden with their merchandize. When you per- 
 ceive one of these caravans afar off for the first time, you 
 imagine it an army drawn up in battle array. It has a 
 chief who governs, conducts, and presides over it ; he 
 regulates the hours for marching, for reposing, and for 
 repasts ; he is arbitrator of all the differences which arise 
 between traveller and traveller. These caravans have 
 their advantages and disadvantages. It is in the first 
 place, a great advantage to the traveller to be able to 
 obtain every thing he wants, or may have need of in so 
 long a journey without any difficulty whatsoever, or 
 without quitting the caravan. Each caravan is attended 
 by its sutlers, who carry all descriptions of provisions) 
 and who night and day are always ready to make sale of 
 them. But the paramount advantage to merchants who 
 have much wealth, is the security they afford from the 
 depredations of the Arabs, who are robbers by profession, 
 and whose only means of subsistence are the plundering 
 of sucli caravans. The chief of the caravan, lest the 
 Arabs should surprise them, causes his people to institute 
 a vigilant guard, which never ceases night or day ; but, 
 notwithstanding all their watchfulness, it happens but 
 too frequently that these enemies of all travellers, in- 
 formed as to the strength and destination of the caravan, 
 shrink into ambush, and when favoured by the night, 
 by suddenly emerging upon the merchants, succeed in 
 carrying off considerable booty. Having accomplished 
 
PROCESSION. 165 
 
 their object, they disappear across the wilderness, the 
 desert-paths being- only known to themselves. 
 
 The most celebrated caravan of all is that which issues 
 every year from the gates of Aleppo and Damascus, des- 
 tined for Mahomet's tomb. Having been a missioner 
 at either of these cities, I have been often present when 
 this caravan was taking its departure. Perhaps, I shall 
 give you some pleasure in describing what I saw. The 
 caravan, of which I have spoken, commonly departs for 
 Mecca in the month of July. Pilgrims are seen arriving 
 about this time from Persia, Hindostan, and the other 
 empires through which the disciples of Mahomet are dis- 
 seminated. The pilgrims make a general procession 
 some days before the departure of the caravan, which 
 they call the procession of Mahomet, to obtain, as they 
 tell us, a prosperous journey through the intercession of 
 their prophet. The pilgrims who are most distinguished 
 for birth and riches, endeavour, on the day of this pro- 
 cession, to appear in the most magnificent apparel. The 
 lordly pilgrim, mounted on a superb courser, richly ca- 
 parisoned, is followed at a respectful distance by his 
 slaves, who lead camels by the bridle, which are decora- 
 ted with the most splendid ornaments. At the rising of 
 the sun the procession commences, and the streets are 
 already full with an infinite number of spectators. The 
 pilgrims who are said to be descendants of the prophet 
 open the march. They are clothed in long garments, 
 with green turbans on their heads — a privilege which the 
 pretended relations of Mahomet are alone permitted to 
 to enjoy. They march, four and four a breast, and are 
 followed by musicians, playing upon divers instruments ; 
 after them, with stately step, in different ranks, the ca- 
 
166 PROCESSION. 
 
 camels, ornamented with their plumes of feathers, of dif- 
 ferent colours, are seen advancing. There are two 
 tymbaliers at their head. The music of the drums, or 
 timbrels, and the nourishing of the trumpets, and of a 
 great number of musical instruments, inspire these ani- 
 mals with audacity and pride. Six and six the other 
 pilgrims of the caravan are seen marching at a solemn 
 pace, followed by litters filled with children, who are to 
 be presented by their fathers and mothers to the prophet. 
 These litters are surrounded with troops of choristers, 
 who, while intoning their chaunts, assume a thousand 
 extraordinary postures, in order to make persons imagine 
 them inspired. They are followed by a train of 200 
 cavaliers, apparelled in the skins of bears. These are 
 succeeded by small pieces of artillery, mounted upon 
 carriages, salvos of which are heard from time to time, 
 wliile the air resounds at intervals with acclamations of 
 jubilee from that universe of people. A company of cava- 
 liers, apparelled in the skins of tigers, which are disposed 
 in the form of a cuirass, succeed their long mustachios, 
 Tartar caps, together with enormous sabres pendant at 
 their sides, render their appearance imposing and belli- 
 gerent. Four hundred infantry in green, and wearing 
 a species of yellow mitre on their heads, precede the 
 Mufti, accompanied by the doctors of the law, and an 
 immense troop of choristers. The Mufti appears in ad- 
 vance of the standard of Mahomet, which follows him 
 immediately. This standard is made of green satin, 
 embroidered with gold. His guard consists of twelve 
 cavaliers, in coats of mail, bearing silver maces in their 
 hands, accompanied by trumpeters, and a troop of per- 
 sons who all strike simultaneously, and in cadence, upon 
 
PROCESSION. 167 
 
 plates of silver. The pavilion destined to be presented 
 at Mahomet's tomb, afterwards appears carried by three 
 camels, covered with green plumes, and glittering with 
 silver. The pavilion is of crimson velvet, enriched with 
 gold embroidery, and blazing with precious stones of 
 every colour. The dancers, who are hired for the purpose, 
 dance exultingly, and counterfeit inspired and extraor- 
 dinary men. The Bashaw of Jerusalem finally appears 
 preceded by drums and trumpets, and other Turkish in- 
 struments of music, and concludes the long line of the 
 procession. The procession ended, each pilgrim is oc- 
 cupied only with preparations for his departure. The 
 town of Mecca is the period of the pilgrimage. This 
 town is situate in Arabia the Happy, at four miles' dis- 
 tance from the Red Sea. It is the opinion of the Turks, 
 that their prophet was born in this city, and this opinion 
 it is which gives them so great a veneration for it. They 
 give it no other name when speaking of it but that of the 
 Magnificent : when they say their prayers, which is seve- 
 ral times a day, they never fail to turn their faces towards 
 this city, let them be in what country they may. Their 
 mosque is in the middle of Mecca : it is situate, they 
 pretend, upon the very site on which Abraham con- 
 structed his first residence. The square house, so reve- 
 renced by the Turks, is in the centre of this mosque ; 
 for tradition has informed them, that Abraham's dwelling 
 was quadrangular. The mosque is very handsome and 
 extensive, and as fine as gilding and painting can make 
 it, and all the votive gifts which the disciples of Maho- 
 homet send thither by way of reVerence. The city of 
 Mecca and its mosque are announced at a very great dis- 
 tance to the pilgrims, by the stupendous elevation of its 
 
168 THE KAABA. 
 
 minarets. Near the Kaaba, or the square house, there is 
 a species of chapel, in which there is a well of much 
 celebrity amongst the Turks ; they call it Zem-zem. 
 This water issues from a source, their historians tell us, 
 which was discovered, in former times, by God to Agar 
 and to Ishmael, when, driven from his residence by Abra- 
 ham, they were constrained to take refuge in Arabia. 
 Mahomet took advantage of this well to recommend his 
 native city to the whole circle of his followers ; for he 
 proclaimed that the water had the virtue of not only 
 curing all sorts of corporeal maladies, but of even pu- 
 rifying souls sullied with the greatest crimes ; and so 
 well is this chimerical opinion established amongst the 
 Mussulmans, that troops of way-worn pilgrims are seen 
 constantly arriving and hastening to this well to drink 
 this water, and to bathe in it. Traders in every des- 
 cription of jewellery, and merchants selling gems, of 
 every hue, spread out their brilliant merchandize, as 
 well as certain aromatic powders, beside this venerated 
 water — their sale is very extensive. These merchants are 
 under many obligations to the chimerical virtue of this 
 water, which continually attracts, in equal numbers, 
 criminals of every description, and patients afflicted with 
 every species of sickness. Though the country by 
 which Mecca is surrounded is extremely arid, it does 
 not fail to produce great quantities of fruit, of the finest 
 quality. The Turks attribute this fertility to the pro- 
 mise made by God to Agar and her son, to give them all 
 that should be necessary for their subsistence in the 
 country whither the angel was to conduct them. The 
 city of Medina is not less venerated by the Mussulmans ; 
 the reason is recounted bv the historians of Arabia, 
 
THE PROPHET'S ADVENTURES. 169 
 
 jealous of Mahomet becoming a legislator, being followed 
 by multitudes who listened to his opinions as to the words 
 of an oracle. The inhabitants of Mecca formed a con- 
 spiracy to expel him from their city, but having been 
 informed of their design by his disciples, he secretly 
 fled with two of his adherents, and concealed himself in 
 a cavern, which he found upon the mountain named 
 Tour, which is not at more than the distance of a league 
 from Mecca. The same historians inform us, that not 
 thinking himself sufficiently safe in this asylum, he aban- 
 doned it, and took refuge at Medina, with two persons, 
 who shared his fortunes, and whose fears were as great 
 as those of their master. Mahomet was, at this time, 
 as the historians tell us, five-and-forty years of age. He 
 had spent fourteen of these in preaching his new doc- 
 trine. His flight from Mecca, and retreat to Medina, 
 have given a commencement to the first Hegira of the 
 Mussulmans. Finding himself tranquil in this city, the 
 novel legislator began to dogmatize anew. His reputa- 
 tion, as a man divinely inspired and favoured with the 
 gift of prophecy, the morals of his new law, so con- 
 formable to the passions of human nature, in a little time 
 attracted a multitude of followers about him, not only 
 from the neighbouring districts, but from countries more 
 remote. He converted these numerous disciples into 
 subjects, who obeyed him as their sovereign. Ultimately, 
 he found himself at the head of such a multitude, that he 
 conceived himself capable of any enterprise. The re- 
 sentment which he cherished against his fellow-citizens 
 in Mecca, who had endeavoured to expel him from the 
 place of his birth, led him to seek for vengeance ; in the 
 first place he conceived that he should inflict it in a man- 
 
170 THE PROPHET'S VENGEANCE. 
 
 ner which should hurt them to the quick, by declaring 
 that Medina should henceforth be his city, and the seat 
 of the empire of himself and his successors. He ordained 
 that his sepulchre should be constructed in Medina, and 
 accordingly, at the present day, his coffin is to be seen 
 in the great mosque named Ivaaba. As Christians are 
 never permitted to enter this mosque, it is only from 
 hearsay that we know that his coffin is enclosed in a 
 structure in a corner of the great mosque ; that it is de- 
 posited upon columns of marble ; that it is covered with 
 a tent, composed of cloth of gold ; that it is surrounded 
 with a multitude of lamps which never cease to burn, 
 and that the walls of this tower are sheathed with plates 
 of gilded silver. To this tomb it is that the caravans 
 repair to offer up their homage. The caravan which 
 carries the presents of the Grand Signior is no sooner 
 arrived, than the Dervises, whose business it is to take 
 care of the mosque, present themselves to receive this 
 caravan. The pilgrims make the mosque re-echo with 
 their cries of jubilee, and with the intonation of their 
 canticles in honour of the prophet. An uninterrupted 
 series of festivals and rejoicing succeed, until the depar- 
 ture of the caravan — a day on which the pilgrims assem- 
 ble, and, while departing from the town, they chant 
 verses from the Alcoran aloud. The relatives and friends 
 of the pilgrims, aware of the movement of the caravan, 
 present themselves before the travellers to offer them 
 refreshments. 
 
 Along the route, all the people, amongst whom they 
 pass, consider themselves honoured in carrying them 
 collations. It is, above all, when the caravan returns 
 that the pilgrims are overwhelmed with congratulations — 
 
PILGRIMS. 171 
 
 the town from which they originally set out for Mecca 
 becomes mad with mirth. Wherever they appear, every 
 one delights to do them honor. They enjoy those privi- 
 leges from that day forward, which are conceded by the 
 religion of the Turks to all such personages as visit the 
 sepulchre of their prophet ; and of all these privileges the 
 most indispensable to many of those pilgrims is that 
 perfect exemption from the penalties attached to crimes 
 for which Ottoman justice would condemn these devotees 
 only for their character of Hadjees.* Covering a mul- 
 titude of sins, as it does, the pilgrimage to Mecca 
 sequesters them from all pursuit, and transforms crimi- 
 nals of the deepest dye into men of unimpeached and 
 spotless integrity. This is by no means the least effec- 
 tive of those secrets which Mahomet adopted to bring his 
 mausoleum into estimation, and to extend the privileges 
 of his sect. 
 
 But the reader will be egregiously mistaken if he 
 imagines that it is merely to the pilgrims to Mecca that 
 important privileges are conceded. The camel that 
 enjoyed the honour of bearing on his back the presents 
 from the Grand Signior, possesses privileges of his own. 
 His prerogative consists in being regarded no longer as 
 a common animal ; — the brute is considered as possessing 
 the felicity of being consecrated to Mahomet — a title 
 which exempts him for the residue of his years from 
 public labours and the services of mankind ; a cottage is 
 erected for his abode — he resides there in tranquillity 
 and repose ; he combines dignity and ease, being well fed 
 and carefully attended to. The pilgrimage to Mecca 
 
 * Pilgrims. 
 
172 THE USBECKS. 
 
 gave occasion to our seeing the king of the Usbecks, 
 several years ago, when passing through Aleppo, and 
 repairing to the sepulchre, the king was proceeding to 
 finish his days beside the prophet's tomb. 
 
 It had been the hard destiny of this prince to see his 
 subjects rise against him in rebellion, with his son at their 
 head, who laboured to dethrone his father and obtain 
 possession of his kingdom — a son who was so atrocious 
 as to cause the eyes of his parent to be plucked out, 
 that he might resign all hopes of ever re-ascending the 
 throne. We saw this unfortunate prince pass by us, 
 mounted upon horseback, with a bandage on his eyes ; 
 fifty guards-men, armed with quivers and arrows, escorted 
 him. Every eye glistened with tears while contemplating 
 this melancholy spectacle. Word was brought us, since 
 that memorable day, that heaven had fully avenged this 
 unhappy father, and punished his cruel son. The son 
 died a miserable death, and his subjects returned to their 
 legitimate king: they re-established him upon his throne 
 and obeyed him with more submission than ever. 
 
 The Usbecks are Tartars who live in the neighbourhood 
 of Persia : they are governed by four distinct sovereigns, 
 who are independent of each other. The most powerful 
 of these is the king of Balek. The second is the sove- 
 reign of Koweresmy, otherwise Urghinz. The third is 
 the monarch of Chakar. The fourth is the king of 
 Kytar. 
 
 The costume of the Usbecks is the same as that of 
 the Moguls. They make use of shafts and javelins. 
 They launch the latter with astonishing address. Their 
 disposition is naturally humane and benevolent. They 
 have a love for strangers ; and whatever be the religion 
 
SECTARIES. 173 
 
 they profess, they treat foreigners invariably with kind- 
 ness. Their country is good, like the disposition of its 
 inhabitants, and abounds in every thing necessary for 
 the sustenance and accommodation of its people. They 
 trade with the Persians and the circumjacent Tartars, 
 and with even the Chinese, though the country of the 
 latter is so remote. In their country, emeralds, rubies, 
 as well as other precious stones, wool, cotton, silk and 
 linen, and very fine webs, are to be found. They even 
 speak of rivers that run on golden sands. 
 
 As to what concerns their religion, it does not seem 
 at all incredible that their ancestors professed the Roman 
 Catholic religion. Their natural disposition is serene. 
 Their qualities are such as dispose men to the practice of 
 the Christian virtues ;* but through the commerce which 
 they continually carry on with the Mahometans, they 
 became susceptible of the manners of the latter, and 
 have received their law. A sensible demonstration that 
 much may be lost in the society of heretics and liber- 
 tines. 
 
 We have frequent reason to reflect upon a circum- 
 stance, which in this country is very advantageous to 
 the Catholic religion, this is, that the Mahometan super- 
 stition, which is paramount throughout its extent, is 
 divided and torn asunder by different sects, which loathe 
 and abhor one another mutually. 
 
 The cause of which may be found in the nature of 
 the human mind ; for when the latter has nothing more 
 than reason to determine and give it stability in what 
 appertains to religion above all, it enterprises a faith after 
 
 * For the religion of these people, see " O'Brien's Round Towers." 
 
 T. A. P. 
 
174 THEOPOLIS. 
 
 a fashion of its own ; that is, one which is necessarily 
 conformed to the false intelligences of the mind, or more 
 frequently still, to the corruption of the heart, but which 
 is in all cases tinctured more or less by the medium 
 through which it has passed, and the mind assumes the 
 religion which sits most easily upon it, as naturally as 
 bodily deformity adopts a capacious robe. 
 
 This is a reflection which we cause our christians to 
 make, in order to sustain them in the Catholic religion, 
 insinuating at the same their invaluable advantages in 
 having in the decisions of the Church an infallible rule, 
 which prescribes on all occasions and in all the disputes 
 which happen to arise amongst us, what should be 
 believed and practised in order to conduct us in the way 
 of salvation. Admirable effect of celestial wisdom ! 
 which has given alike to the humble and the great, to 
 the ignorant as well as to the learned, the certain and 
 unfailing means of knowing what they are to follow and 
 embrace ; " there is a way in which fools may walk with 
 safety." 
 
 After this digression, which the caravans which leave 
 Aleppo have given rise to, I shall return, if you please, 
 my Rev. Father, to the account which you require of us 
 of whatever may be deserving of attention in this 
 country. 
 
 When directing his steps to Tripoly, the traveller 
 encounters, at two days' journey from Aleppo, the cele- 
 brated city of Antioch, which was entitled by the Emperor 
 Justinian, Theopolis, or Town of God. Which deserved 
 this glorious name, as St. Peter the prince of the 
 apostles held his See therein, and formed the first 
 believers of this city into true disciples of Jesus Christ, 
 
ASSASSINS. 175 
 
 who profited so happily by the lessons of their master, 
 that they richly merited to be the first who wore the 
 august name of Christians. The apostles held a council 
 in this city, the canons of which St. Pamphylius the 
 Martyr saw in the library of Origen. 
 
 The eloquent preaching- of John Chrysostom to the 
 people of this city, will ever do honour to the memory 
 of Antioch, which has been so happy as to possess this 
 ancient Father, and to receive from his eloquent lips his 
 sublime and salutary instructions. 
 
 When remembering the ancient spiritual splendour of 
 this city, we cannot fail to mourn its unhappiness in 
 having fallen into the bondage of the infidels. Of those 
 grand and superb edifices, nothing remains but the 
 mouldering ruins; but Divine Providence has interposed 
 to preserve the sanctuary of the church of St. Peter, in 
 remembrance of the honour it enjoyed in having formerly 
 possessed St. Peter's chair. 
 
 This city deserved to be preserved for its happy 
 situation. It stands in the middle of a mighty plain 
 watered by streams that give it fertility in every season. 
 Orontes, a river which contributed to enrich it, still 
 bathes its dilapidated walls. From the ruined ramparts 
 two mountains may be seen, and a paradise is offered to 
 the view in the valley which they form. 
 
 Between Antioch, of which we have just spoken, and 
 the town of Tripoly, and to the east of Tortosa, (a town 
 which was called Antaradus by the ancients,) a plain is 
 to be seen twelve miles in length and six in latitude, 
 where it ultimately rises into elevations. These mountains 
 were formerly inhabited by people who called themselves 
 Arsacides, pretending to be descendants of that famous 
 
176 OLD MAN. 
 
 Arsaces, who, after the death of Alexander, founded the 
 empire of the Parthians. 
 
 These people, who emerged from the confines of 
 Persia, near Babylon, in the seventh century, formed a 
 little kingdom in a corner of Phenicia. They erected ten 
 strongholds upon inaccessible rocks, from which they rende- 
 red themselves formidable to all the vicinity. Their depreda- 
 tions and assassinations obtained for them the odious title 
 of assassins ; a detestable title expressive of their cruelty. 
 
 The assassins elected a chief amongst themselves, who 
 called himself the Old Man of the Mountain, a cele- 
 brated name in contemporary history. He bore this name, 
 because, as it was said, their choice always fell upon the 
 oldest man of the nation, or because he inhabited a 
 castle named Almut, or Alamut, situated on a lofty 
 mountain, where to attack him was almost impossible. 
 In mentioning this, our old historians shew very little 
 knowledge of Arabic. The signification of Scheik is 
 old or senior, but it likewise signifies Lord. It is not 
 true that the assassins selected the oldest person in the 
 nation for their prince, and we should translate in reality, 
 the Lord of the Mountain. His empire over his subjects 
 was so absolute, that if he required the commission of 
 the most monstrous enormities, they were always ready 
 to execute them at the first command that he gave them 
 to that effect, and even at the peril of their own existence. 
 They are accused of the assassination of Louis of Bavaria 
 in 1231, and of making an attempt on the life of 
 St. Louis. The Sieur de Joinville makes no mention of 
 
 * Their name is likewise said to be derived from that of their 
 founder, Hassan Sabah. 
 
BAD POLICY. 177 
 
 this ; on the contrary, he asserts that their prince sent 
 presents in 1252 to that sainted monarch. 
 
 They profess the Mahometan religion ; hut so frail 
 was their tenure of attachment to this faith, that they 
 negociated with the templars to embrace Christianity, if 
 the tribute which they were compelled to pay the Chris- 
 tians were rescinded. This condition was rejected by 
 the templars, and this refusal, says William of Tyre, 
 caused the Christians to lose the realm of Jerusalem. — 
 That a nation so monstrous should be able to maintain its 
 existence for four hundred years, appears perfectly as- 
 tonishing-. It was only in 1257 that the Tartars, under 
 their king, Allen, or Haloen, in order to deliver the 
 country from such dangerous neighbours, undertook to 
 massacre the chief, and extirpate his people, an enter- 
 prise in which they succeeded. We know no people at 
 the present day in this country, who bear the name of 
 assassins. But it is not impossible but the Kesbins, a na- 
 tion which inhabit the mountains which are at two days' 
 journey from Tripoli, and the Nassarians, another na- 
 tion established in the plain towards the sea, it is not im- 
 possible, I repeat, but these may be the successors of the 
 assassins. These nations inhabit the same country as 
 they did, and besides there is an intimate connexion be- 
 tween the religion which was professed by the Assassins, 
 and that which the Kesbins and Nassarians observe ; 
 these two nations, Kesbins and Nassarians as they are, 
 may be considered as forming a single people. Those 
 who inhabit the mountains are denominated Kesbins, as 
 the name of their country is Kesbia, those who inhabit 
 the plain are called Nassarians, an expression equivalent 
 
 to that of bad Christians, an appellation which might be 
 
 i5 
 
173 METEMPSYCOSES. 
 
 applied to the former equally well, for their religion is a 
 monstrous composition of Mahometanism and Christia- 
 nity, a circumstance which gives them an extravagant 
 idea of our holy mysteries. The doctors of their sect 
 are entitled Scheiks. These doctors support them in 
 their fond imaginations. They teach, for instance, that 
 God has appeared, not only in the person of Jesus 
 Christ, but in that of Abraham, in Moses, and in many 
 celebrated persons of the ancient Testament. They 
 even do Mahomet the honor of conceding him a similar 
 prerogative, a belief so absurd, that the Turks have not 
 fallen into it. This is not all ; they consider themselves 
 as doing honor to Jesus Christ in declaring that he did 
 not die upon the cross — they imagine that he substituted 
 another person who suffered in his place ; thus they say 
 that by the ordination of Mahomet, another body, dif- 
 ferent from his own, was deposited in the sepulchre 
 which had been prepared for that celebrated impostor- 
 
 They admit the metempsycoses moreover, and ima- 
 gine that the same soul passes from one body to another, 
 never ending its transmigrations till it has passed through 
 seventy, but with this differenee, that the soul of a good 
 man enters a body more perfect than his own, whilst that 
 of a sinful person enters the body of some impure 
 creature. 
 
 They have borrowed communion from the Christians, 
 but the manner in which they practice it is perfectly 
 fanatical, for the elements are wine and a morsel of meat. 
 Women and infants are excluded, and they admit only 
 men to this communion. The practice is observed in se- 
 cret assemblies by the men amongst themselves. They 
 observe some of our festivals, that of Christmas, that of 
 
DIFFICULT CONVERSION. 179 
 
 the Circumcision of our Lord, the Epiphany, the Sab- 
 bath of Palms, as well as that of Easter, together with 
 some festivals of the apostles and the saints. When 
 they pray, they turn towards the sun, which makes some 
 assert that that planet is worshipped by this people, but 
 they do not admit that such is the fact. I omit many of 
 their customs, as in many instances their customs are 
 only extravagances. They are, notwithstanding, much 
 attached to them, persuaded, as they seem to be, that 
 their religion is not inferior to that of the Maronites, as 
 some of the practices of that faith are observed by them. 
 Many of our missionaries have sought to gain some of 
 them to Christianity, but as they listen with attention 
 only to their own false teachers, and are reluctant to fol- 
 low any sentiments but those in which they have been 
 educated ; despairing of their conversion, our missioners 
 have often been obliged to shake the dust from their 
 shoes. We learn an invariable lesson from the expe- 
 rience of all ages. As soon as the rule of the Catholic 
 faith which our Saviour gave to conduct us without fail- 
 ing in the solitary way of safety is forsaken, the errors 
 into which men fall are only to be equalled by the va- 
 riety of character exhibited by the human mind. This 
 is what St. Paul wished to impress upon the Romans, 
 when he said that those men who deemed themselves 
 wise and high, above the common herd, went astray in 
 their vain reasonings, and that their insensate spirit, 
 through the judgment of the deity, had been overwhelm- 
 ed with frightful blindness, a misfortune which falls not 
 upon those vigorous intellects alone who refuse any 
 arbitrator in modes of faith except reason — it is a mis- 
 fortune inherited even by the ignorant, when in lieu of 
 
180 ISHMAELITES. 
 
 obeying the enunciations of religion they suffer them- 
 selves to be inveigled and carried off captives to those 
 false ones whom the church denounces and repudiates. 
 This has been the fate of the nations whom we have 
 been describing, as well as of others in our own more 
 immediate vicinity* The Ishmaelites too, who occupy 
 a little territory called Cadmus, are of this number. — 
 Their life is so brutal and shameful, that they do not de- 
 serve to be spoken of, unless to humiliate mankind, by 
 shewing us that there is no degree of baseness, no ex- 
 travagance or disorder to which we may not descend, 
 when our passions are our only guides. We have 
 another nation in our mountains, whose origin and re- 
 ligion are equally mysterious. These people are called 
 Druses ; they inhabit a portion of mount Libanus, as well 
 as the mountains beyond Sayd and Balbec, and the 
 country of Giblos, or Gibail, and of Tripoli. The Dru- 
 ses extend as far as Egypt. As to their origin, if they 
 themselves be consulted, they will tell you that their an- 
 cestors were some of those followers of Godfrey of 
 Bouillon, who came with him in 1099 from Europe to 
 Jerusalem, and that after the loss of the latter city 
 they took refuge in the mountains from the fury 
 of the Turks ; for they were persecuted and pursued, 
 wherever they appeared by the latter people, who 
 sought to accomplish the destruction and massacre of 
 the remains of Christianity, the very name of which was 
 odious to them. Some writers bestow on them a dif- 
 ferent origin, pretending that a Count of Dreux having 
 been discomfited by Saladin in the time of the Cru- 
 sades, the soldiers of the Count retired and intrenched 
 themselves in the mountains, and that having subse- 
 
THE CRANIUM. 181 
 
 quently multiplied, they established habitations and took 
 the name of Druses from the Count of Dreux, who had 
 been their leader. But as it is certain that this nation 
 bore their present name in the country which is now in- 
 habited by them, anterior to the Crusades, their origin is 
 indisputably much more ancient than that which is given 
 them by their own accounts, or which European writers 
 attribute to them. If we may judge by their books, 
 their name of Druses has its derivation from the Arabic 
 word, deuz, which signifies that line where the two parts 
 of the skull which constitute the perfect human head are 
 united, for it is very certain that the authors of their 
 books frequently compare the perfect union of the two 
 portions of the human skull with that political union 
 which should constantly pervade the nation. For by this 
 comparison the authors of their books give their readers 
 to understand, that as the preservation of the human 
 being depends upon the intimate union of the two parts of 
 which the skull is composed, so the perpetuity of the 
 nation of the Druses will always depend upon the una- 
 nimity of all its members, in maintaining and defend- 
 ing themselves against their enemies, as well as by their 
 uniformity in constantly observing the customs, practices, 
 and ceremon es handed down to them by their progeni- 
 tors. This comparison, repeated so frequently in then- 
 books, being admitted, we may easily suppose that from this 
 word deuz, which signifies, as we have said, the line that 
 lies between the two portions of the skull, the suture of 
 the cranium, this nation was at first called by the 
 Arabic word, durzi, or in the plural durouz, that is to 
 say, in English, the nation who preserve their unity and 
 uniformity, and it is from these Arabic appellatives that 
 
182 THE FEMALES. 
 
 that of Druses is derived, corruptively, a name which lias 
 remained constantly affixed to this nation. The Druses 
 of the present day recognise, as their legislator, a Sultan 
 of Egypt, of the dynasty of the Fatimites, whose name 
 is Maoulana el Hakem Biemrilla, that is to say, our Lord 
 el Hakem Biemrillah. His reign began , in the year of 
 Jesus Christ, 996, which is 386 of the Hegira. He was 
 honored by his disciples as their king, and they never 
 appeared in his presence unless physically prostrated. 
 The religion of the Druses is a monstrous composition 
 of maxims and practices, which they have retained from 
 the Christianity which they anciently professed, mingled 
 with Mahomedan customs and ceremonies which they 
 have subsequently adopted on account of the continual 
 commerce which they carry on with the Turks, or from 
 the political motive of conciliating their protection, and 
 exciting their benevolence. They keep, with the utmost 
 care, the volume, scroll, or book, which their legislator 
 left them. This book contains three sections which are 
 in the form of letters ; they contain, the Druses say, all 
 the mystery of their religion. Besides the first legisla- 
 tor, they recognise another, who had been his disciple. 
 They call him Hamze, a holy man in their opinion. 
 Three books of their law were composed for them by 
 Hamze, and this law prohibits all communication of 
 these books to strangers : I do not know whether it be 
 upon this account or not, that they bury it under ground. 
 They bring them forth every Friday, the day on which 
 they hold their meetings, to read them to the public. 
 Amongst the Druses, the females have the reputation of 
 being best acquainted with their religion, which confers 
 much distinction on the women of these people. Those 
 
THE DRUSES. 183 
 
 by whom the female portion of the community are in- 
 structed, and by whom the contents of the books of their 
 two legislators are explained to the women, are likewise 
 of the feminine gender. Above all things, secrecy is re- 
 commended to them, and it is observed by these women 
 so strictly, that all we have been hitherto able to learn 
 is simply, that these books contain extravagant narra- 
 tives, with which the minds of Druses are imbued. 
 We know, moreover, that there are two kinds of Dru- 
 ses, the one is called in Arabic, Ukkal, or the spiritual, 
 the other is entitled Dgiuhhal, or the ignorant. The 
 spiritual may be easily distinguished by their garments, 
 which are invariably sad coloured, besides which they 
 never wear a weapon in their girdle, carrying neither a 
 dagger nor any other arms, as they pretend to derive all 
 their distinction from the comparative reformation of 
 their manners. They are seldom seen in public ; they 
 seclude themselves in caves as if they were monastic 
 cells, in order to remove from the pleasures of the world. 
 They live on little, and as they have the utmost horror 
 of their neighbour's property, they refuse whatever 
 may be offered them, from the apprehension that the 
 presents which you make them may not have been legi- 
 timately come by. They receive gifts with less readi- 
 ness from the rich than from the peasants, persuaded as 
 they are, that the latter have procured them with more 
 honesty, and only give what they earn by the sweat 
 of their brow. These spirituals conform to the Koran 
 and submit to circumcision ; they observe the fast of 
 the Ramadan, and the abstinence from pork, as well as 
 many other superstitions of the Turks. As to what 
 concerns those who are designated Dgiuhhal by the 
 
184 
 
 THE IDOL. 
 
 Druses, "the ignorant," they are never to be seen in the 
 assembly with the spiritual. They absolutely ignore the 
 heart of their mysteries ; we may venture to assert, that 
 that they live without religion, and therefore in a state 
 of libertinism, which they conceive to be allowable with 
 them. They suppose that all their duties have been 
 satisfied when they have repeated a few prayers in honor 
 of their founder Hakem Biemrillah, and when they have 
 employed certain terms in their prayers which the spiritual 
 make use of in their orisons. These terms are in Arabic, 
 ma fil illah alia hue, that is to say, there is no other deity 
 save God. This prayer is their profession of faith ; 
 they repeat it often enough, above all when repairing to 
 the statue of Hakim to do homage. Two of the villages 
 alone enjoy the honour of speaking the language of the 
 Druses, and of possessing the statue of their legislator. 
 His statue, according to their law, should either be of 
 gold or silver. They enclose it in a wooden coffer, and 
 never reveal it to the light except in their great ceremo- 
 monies. When the)'- address their vows to their founder, 
 to obtain what they stand in need of, they seem to ima- 
 gine themselves speaking to the deity himself, their ve- 
 neration for this idol is so unlimited. The two villages, 
 which alone have the privilege of preserving it, are 
 called Bagelin and Fredis : they are situated in the 
 mountains, where the chiefs of the Druses reside. We 
 have related now all that we have been able to learn con- 
 cerning the religion of the Druses. We go often on a 
 mission to the Catholic inhabitants of their country, but 
 we always have the grief of seeing that this nation is 
 very far from the kingdom of God. True it is that they 
 love the Christians, and love not the Turks. It is also 
 
DRUSES. 185 
 
 true, that they prefer to call themselves Christians ra- 
 ther than Turks, though they wear the turban and the 
 emerald cestus, and they receive us with willingness and 
 joy ; but notwithstanding this favourable disposition, their 
 inviolable attachment for their ancient faith, which is 
 only an incongruous collection of mingled practices and 
 ceremonies of Christianism and of Mahometanism, their 
 obstinate unwillingness to listen to instruction, give us 
 just grounds of apprehension, lest this nation continue to 
 shut its eyes with even still more obstinacy to the light 
 of the gospel, which the sun of justice never ceases to 
 shed radiantly around them. It is this reflection which 
 urges us to conjure such persons as heaven may inspire 
 with zeal for the salvation of mens' souls, to unite with 
 us in reiterating demands for the conversion of this na- 
 tion, and of many other realms which have participated 
 equally in the blood of Jesus Christ, but which are ba- 
 nished by the monsters of heresy and schism from the 
 bosom of the church, and sent far astray from all the 
 paths of peace, from all the ways of salvation — My 
 Rev. Father, we shall add nothing more to what we 
 have related concerning the condition of the two first 
 towns of Syria, Damascus and Aleppo, and their en- 
 virons. All that appeared to us to be little known in 
 France, and to merit, notwithstanding to be better known, 
 has been embraced by this recital. In future, we shall 
 endeavour to observe with more exactitude than hitherto, 
 and to set down, likewise, to as great an extent as our 
 employments will permit us, whatsoever may be worthy 
 of enquiry, which we shall send you without fail ; upon 
 your part, procure us, if you please, the succour of the 
 prayers of all such persons as may wish to contribute to 
 
186 DRUSES. 
 
 the augmentation of the kingdom of Christ Jesus. Send 
 us a reinforcement of good labourers ; they are demanded 
 by the nations of Syria and Persia. We have reliance 
 in the Monarch of mercies, and the Master of all wealth 
 ■ — we trust that France will provide for our subsistence. 
 
TO FATHER FLEURIAU. 
 
 My Reverend Father, 
 
 No one is so well aware as you that the the missions 
 of our society in Syria have always been invested with 
 the strongest attractions for your servant. I experienced 
 these attractions so early as my noviceship, on reading 
 those relations that informed us of the labours of our 
 missionaries in those extensive provinces of the realm of 
 infidelity. 
 
 The fruits produced by their apostleship, the consola- 
 tion afforded them by treading in the traces of Christ 
 Jesus, filled me with ardent aspirations for following 
 in their foot-prints, for treading above all, within that 
 sacred territory, the first missioners of which were Christ 
 and the apostles. God has granted me the grace of pre- 
 serving this vocation as well during the years of my 
 regency as during my studies in theology. In the third 
 year of my probation, this predilection became more 
 imperative. I addressed myself, at that time, to the Rev. 
 Father General : I requested his permission to consecrate 
 my life to the salvation of the nations inhabiting the 
 holy land and the circumjacent provinces, so often irri- 
 gated with the sweat of Christ Jesus. I have not for- 
 
188 THE ROYAL SAINT. 
 
 gotten your good offices, my Father, to procure me the 
 permission I sighed for with such earnestness : no day 
 passes by me that, when ministering at the altar, I fail 
 to remember my revered benefactor. A favour, in 
 addition, which was very dear to me when I was coming 
 to this country, and which, by means of your mediation, 
 has been vouchsafed me, augments the obligations under 
 which you have placed me. My vocation for the Syrian 
 mission gave birth, in my bosom, to the same desire 
 which, subsequently to his conversion, St Ignatius con- 
 ceived. I relinquished France with joyful feelings, and 
 traversed the Mediterranean in the hope of being able 
 speedily to offer up my vows in the temple of Jerusalem, 
 and at the hallowed foot of the sepulchre of our Saviour. 
 My desires, my Rev. Father, have been listened to : I 
 have visited, my Father, yes, I have visited that holy 
 city in which the sublime mystery of our redemption was 
 accomplished, and where, at every foot-fall, you disco- 
 ver objects which are all so many touching testimonies 
 of the illimitable love of God for the salvation of man- 
 kind. Happy should I be if so many holy monuments, 
 which one by one I have so long stood over and contem- 
 plated, and of which the recollection so frequently recurs 
 to me ; happy should I be if they preserved in my inmost 
 heart the sentiments of piety and religion, which those 
 memorials are so well calculated to inspire. Sir, in 
 pursuance of my promise, I present to you the relation 
 of my voyages. Receive it, I beseech you, as a memento 
 of my gratitude. But I must apprize you, previously 
 to entering on my narrative, that its only dignity must 
 be derived from the lofty and sacred character of the 
 places I shall describe to you. It was from the port of 
 
THE VOYAGE.. 189 
 
 Sayd, a maritime city of Phenicia, that we embarked 
 for Palestine. In the ancient times, this city was called 
 Sidon. You are well aware that we had a mission there 
 at one time. We did not succeed in quitting the har- 
 bour of this city till we made many fruitless efforts for 
 that purpose : contrary winds compelled us to re-enter 
 as often as we emerged. Heaven, on this occasion, 
 wished to teach me to repress, restrain, and subjugate 
 my impatience to reach Jerusalem, to assist at the cele- 
 bration of our august mysteries, solemnized during the 
 period of Holy Week. Finally, on the 7th of April, 
 which was the Monday of Passion week, our vessel took 
 the wind in a favourable moment, crowded as it was with 
 pilgrims, who were desirous to pluck the palms of Pales- 
 tine and the olives of Gethsemani. The delay which 
 we had experienced in the first efforts at departure, served 
 only to aggravate the joy which I subsequently proved 
 at seeing our vessel plough the sea for the harbour of my 
 desires. Having issued from the port of Sidon, we 
 coasted near that city, then skirted Sarepta, and, subse- 
 sequently, we passed with a flowing sheet by Tyre, and 
 likewise by Cape Blanc. Sarepta, which was a great 
 city and a sea-port before now, is at present but an ara- 
 ble and open field, bisected by the road that leads you 
 to Tyre. The relics of a ruined pavement and some 
 dilapidated houses, whose destruction has not hitherto 
 been perfectly accomplished by Time, announce a city 
 which, at one time, was considerable, but which is now 
 no more. This city is said to have carried on a great 
 commerce in brass and iron in anterior times, in which 
 the name which it bears of Sarepta has originated ; for 
 
190 THE PKOPHET. 
 
 the name of Sarepta is derivative from the junction of 
 two words, the one signifying iron, and the other mean- 
 ing brass. They find neither of these metals in this place 
 at the present day. In the third Book of Kings this city 
 is denominated Sarepta of the Sidonians, because this 
 city was a Satellite of Sidon. A mosque, of small di- 
 mensions, at some paces from Sarepta, ascends above 
 the margin of the sea. The Turks, and, indeed, the 
 Christians of the country, pretend that it stands upon 
 the spot where the prophet Elias operated the two signal 
 miracles, which the third Book of Kings has transmitted 
 to us.* 
 
 The first was the multiplication of a handful of flour 
 and of some drops of oil ; God granted this increase at 
 the petition of the prophet to recompense the fidelity 
 and the charity of that widow, who in the time of 
 universal famine, having nothing in the world for her own 
 subsistence and her son's, save this drop of oil and this 
 small quantity of flour, offered both the one and the other 
 with a profuse open heart, which would have given 
 kingdoms if she had them, to the prophet in his necessity. 
 The second miracle was the resurrection of this widow's 
 son. The prophet, coming to lodge in the mansion of 
 the widow, found her offspring lying dead and the 
 destitute mother quite desolate. Elias, touched with 
 feelings of compassion, took the infant from the mother's 
 hands and bore him to his chamber, then addressing the 
 God of Abraham, of Isaac and Jacob, restored the son, 
 redolent of vitality, to his parent. We are informed by 
 Saint Jerome, in his epitaph on Paula, that this virtuous 
 
 Chap. xvii. 
 
CAVES. 191 
 
 lady, when visiting the sepulchre, was conducted to the 
 little dwelling of this holy widow hard by the harbour of 
 Sarepta ; 'twas the holy abode which served Elias as an 
 hospital. 
 
 According to a tradition of the Hebrews, this resus- 
 citated infant was the prophet Jonas. Supposing this to 
 be the case then, when he preached penitence to Nineveh, 
 the age of the prophet was, to say the least of it, ex- 
 ceedingly mature. 
 
 At three quarters of a league from Sarepta, a long 
 chain of rocks is seen, extending for a considerable way, 
 in which excavations have been made in the form of 
 crosses, which are five or six feet in depth, and the 
 entrance to which is little more than two feet square. It 
 is difficult to decide for what purpose they were made : 
 according to the natives of the country, they were hollowed 
 out by hermits, who, retiring to these places, took up their 
 residence in graves, the better to meditate on death. I 
 prefer the opinion of such persons as imagine that these 
 excavations were sepulchres destined to inhume the in- 
 habitants of Sarepta, who were eminent for their riches. 
 Be they sepulchres or cells, their appellation is adnoun. 
 Nothing is to be seen that much merits our attention 
 from the site of these caves to the river E^eutherus. 
 They say this river derives its source from the summits 
 of Mount Lib an us. Traversing Gallilee and Itursea to 
 enter the Phoenician sea, it separates the territory of 
 Sidon from the country of Tyre, which procures it the 
 name of Kasemeeh or Cassimer, by which it is known 
 at the present day, signifying separation ; the windings 
 of this river, which run at the foot of the mountains, 
 impart no small celerity to its current. The turtle 
 
192 ANCIENT SPLENDOUR. 
 
 fishery, which is exceedingly abundant in certain seasons 
 of the year, gives to it very great importance in this 
 country ; but that which confers upon this river most 
 celebrity of all is, the honourable mention which the book 
 of Machabees makes of it, where Judas Machabeus's 
 illustrious brother, the high priest Jonathan, is said to 
 accompany king Ptolemy so far as the margin of the 
 Eleut\ierus ; and we learn from the same book, that it 
 was to the margin of this river likewise, that this great 
 captain pursued the generals of Demetrius, who, in their 
 hasty flight, found the means of reaching the river and 
 likewise of traversing it. 
 
 At three leagues distance from this river Eleutherus, 
 and nine or ten from Sayd, and upon the same sea shore 
 Avith Sidon, we paused before the town of Tyre, a city 
 which was anteriorly so superb, that, as Ezechiel says, 
 her citizens conceived themselves as having come into 
 the world to administer the law to all the human species : 
 so opulent, that in that resplendent city silver and gold 
 were as obvious as dust beneath the footsteps of the 
 citizens, and so magnificent moreover in her edifices, 
 that within her capacious walls all the mansions were so 
 many palaces. So redoubtable through the nations of 
 the universe by her resplendent guard, composed and 
 constituted of the most valiant soldiers of Persia, of 
 Lydia, and of the black-skinned sons of Lybia, that 
 it was considered among strangers as invincible. At the 
 present day I did not expect to find Tyre as magnificent 
 as the prophet represents it ; but I anticipated to 
 discover remaining there at least some brilliant relics of 
 her by-gone splendour. I thought respect would have 
 restrained even the destroyer Time, from annihilating all, 
 
TOMB OF OR1GEX. 193 
 
 I was deceived in my anticipations ; I beheld, upon the 
 contrary, howling ruin ! To speak with more exactitude, I 
 saw that annihilation of the city which the prophet 
 Ezechiel had announced so many centuries anteriorly. 
 Some heaps of stones, scattered here and there, covered 
 with sand and wild flowers, and worst of all six or seven 
 miserable cabins, which were used as a refuge by some 
 naked Arabs, frightfully destitute of the commonest 
 necessaries of life ; these were all I saw. 
 
 It was in vain that I sought some vestige of the tomb 
 of Origen, which in the ninth century was said to be 
 subsisting still. Thus hath the Divinity desired to punish 
 the ill use which was made in ancient times by this proud 
 city of her great prosperity, at the same time signalising to 
 all the human kind, how extremely dangerous is fortune 
 if continuous and brilliant. 
 
 Some authors do her the honour to attribute to this city 
 the invention of the arts of writing, dying and of navigation. 
 The Hebrews will hardly listen to the first, but as to naviga- 
 tion and the purple dye, we must accord them the honour, 
 (if they were not the inventors) of being the first to 
 give perfection to these arts, and exercise them ; and more 
 especially, navigation which so powerfully contributed to 
 the extension of their commerce, and the riches of the city. 
 Her situation was well suited for such a purpose. She 
 stood, says Ezekiel, in the bosom of the sea, that is to 
 say, she was surrounded by it, and distant from the 
 continent two hundred paces. 
 
 This isle was converted, as every one knows, into a 
 peninsula by Alexander, who joined it to the mainland, 
 by the medium of a dyke which he constructed to facilitate 
 the capture of the city. 
 
194 THE WELL. 
 
 One of the finest and most ancient monuments, left 
 us by antiquity, may be seen at a distance from Tyre. 
 This is a capacious well, deriving its abundant waters 
 from Mount Libanus, and called the well of Solomon, 
 not that that sovereign certainly constructed it, but that 
 he speaks of it in his canticles, saying, that the lymph 
 in this lucid fountain is supplied by waters that descend 
 with impetuosity from Libanus. I had not a sufficiency 
 of leisure to go and see it, but all the persons who have 
 visited it, describe it as placed in the middle of a tower, 
 forming a great square terrace, which is built of stones 
 of great dimensions, chiseled with such skill and so well 
 cemented, that the edifice appears to be a single stone. 
 This terrace is ascended with facility by a staircase of 
 five and twenty steps, but when you get upon the terrace 
 and look down into the well, which seems to be somewhat 
 like a limekiln, you find that its figure is octangular, and 
 four and twenty paces in circumference. The water of 
 the well is on a level with the margin, and issues so 
 profusely, that a mill is kept continually at work by it at 
 one side, while diffusing fertility as it goes, it spreads 
 into a plain on the other, and ultimately enters certain 
 channels, which conduct it into Tyre. But 'tis time to 
 quit this city, so miserably desolate, whose very name 
 has died. The miserable hovels which replace her 
 ramparts, in this day substituted for the wall of Tyre, 
 are known to its people by the name of Sur. From the 
 peninsula, where this city stood, we proceeded to the 
 port of St. Jean d'Acre, we doubled Cape Blanc, whose 
 name is derived from the whiteness of the stone which 
 composes the promontory. During our passage we saw 
 the celebrated road which is known by the name of the 
 
ST. JEAN D'ACRE 195 
 
 road of Alexander, 'tis a work which is in every way worthy 
 of the conqueror, it is chiseled in a mountain all of stone, 
 and hollowed like a canal, the sides of which form a lit- 
 tle parapet along the side of the sea, whose waves are 
 continually assaulting- the foot of the mountain. The 
 length of this road is upwards of a league, and 'tis eight 
 or nine feet in width. It was made by Alexander to 
 give a passage to his army, when marching to the siege 
 of Tyre. After coasting by the road of Alexander and 
 passing by Cape Blanc, we arrived in the harbour of St. 
 Jean d'Acre. Ungrateful for the graces with which 
 God had visited it, this city became criminal by its licen- 
 tiousness and robberies, by which it was ultimately led 
 into^ the abyss of idolatry. It was abandoned by the 
 will of heaven to the mercy of the Saracens, who gave 
 up everything within it to fire and the sword. Of 
 the cathedral of Jean d'Acre, nothing now remains but 
 a panel of the wall, and of that of John the Baptist 
 only a few pillars remain standing, sustaining a morsel 
 of the vault where the head of the precursor is seen in 
 bas-relief. The remains of many monasteries are like- 
 wise seen, the most respectable of which is that of those 
 generous virgins who, moved by the example of their 
 holy abbess, disfigured the beauty of their faces to preserve 
 the innocence of their souls. The fragments of marble 
 that grate beneath your foot steps, the broken columns 
 scattered round, upon which you tread the palaces of the 
 templars and those of the christian princes, the mansion 
 of the knights of St. John, the magnificent arsenal of the 
 gallies, the other edifices all alike mouldering in ruin, are 
 melancholy marks of the former beauty of this an- 
 cient citv. In ancient times she bore the name of Pto- 
 
196 TARTOURA. 
 
 lemais or Aco, from the circumstance that Potlemy and 
 Aeon were the founders of the town. It was so exten- 
 sive thatin 1191 there were twenty-seven sovereign prin- 
 ces regally residing in the town, who commanded indi- 
 vidually in a separate quarter of St. Jean d'Acre. It 
 was the theatre of the war for several successive years ; 
 it was many times besieged, taken and retaken, now by 
 our crusading kings, and now by the infidels of Asia, 
 and this frequent change of masters was the source of 
 its misfortunes. This city's happy situation, its commo- 
 dious harbour and capacity for commerce at the present, 
 contribute, in some measure, to its re-establishment. — 
 Many merchants have established themselves in this place, 
 who demand missionaries earnestly to propagate the Ca- 
 tholic religion, to maintain the moral purity of the peo- 
 ple, and the fervour of Christianity. Following the sea 
 coast from St. Jean d'Acre, we passed in the presence of 
 Castello Pellegrino, and then in that of the city of Tar- 
 toura : the first is so called because the pilgrims usually 
 landed there, and found security within it. Tartoura 
 was a powerful city at the time of those pilgrims; it was 
 designated Dor, Dora, or Adora. St. Jerome, in his 
 epitaph on Paula, tells us that this saint had the curiosity 
 to turn aside and visit the remains of this great city, and 
 much admired its ruins. At present it is made use of 
 by the Arabs as a market place for corn, lentils, and peas. 
 The Arab market-men dwell under tents made of rushes 
 and of leaves, covered with a tissue, fabricated from 
 goat's hair, and supported upon poles. Castello Pelle- 
 grino and this town of Tartoura have been equally mal- 
 treated by the scythe of time, who destroys all the works 
 of man, however stable. Csesarea of Palestine, which is 
 
HEROD. 197 
 
 at three or four leagues distance from Tartoura, is a sen- 
 sible demonstration of this assertion ; for its large and 
 sublime columns, half covered with the sand, the relics 
 of its magnificent edifices, its great fosses hollowed to 
 defend the bulwarks of the city, and subsisting with 
 their counterscarp to these times ; these expensive works 
 enable us to see that there is indeed a difference between 
 the present state of this lost city and that which it en- 
 joyed in ancient times. 'Twas indebted for its old mag- 
 nificence to the vanity of Herod the Ascalonite, as well 
 as to the gratitude of Herod, when Augustus Caesar 
 presented him with the sceptre of Judea. Pie thought 
 he could return the benefit in some measure, by confer- 
 ring the name of his illustrious benefactor on this superb 
 city. It was originally built upon the ruins of the 
 tower of Strato. But that which will render the glory 
 of this city perennial is, that it was one of the first that 
 was illuminated by the light of the faith, in the person 
 of the noble, illustrious, and virtuous centurion, Corneli- 
 us. The Acts of the Apostles inform us, that God sent St. 
 Peter to this city to confer the sacrament of baptism on 
 this, the first of the Gentiles that believed. St. Jerome 
 says that here a church was to be seen contemporaneous 
 with St. Jerome, which had been the dwelling of this 
 same Cornelius. This centurion was appointed the 
 successor to Zacheus, first bishop of this city. They 
 were both consecrated by St. Peter the apostle. A 
 panegyric was written by Saint Jerome on four 
 ladies who lived together, in most strict virginity, 
 solely occupied in chanting the eulogies of God in Cse- 
 sarea ; and this holy father adds, that in her pilgrimage 
 
198 THE KOYAL SAINT. 
 
 to the Holy land, St. Paula visited their chambers, 
 which were greatly venerated in the life time of the 
 saint. We may venture to assert, that these four vir- 
 gins have the honour of having formed the first commu- 
 nity of nuns in the Christian world. But infidels, alas ! 
 made themselves masters of this noble city, whence you 
 may judge of its miserable destiny. Ccesarea had hardly 
 faded in the distance, when Jaffa dawned upon the view. 
 Though anciently called Joppa, the Hebrews called this 
 city Jaffa, signifying beauty ; and, in serious truth, its 
 situation is enchanting. The relics that remain are situ- 
 ated on the brow of a lofty hill, from whence you disco- 
 ver, on one side, the sea, and on the other hand, a 
 fertile and extensive campaign. Salladin effected the 
 ruin of this city, and St. Louis re-established it a few 
 years subsequently. It was upon this occasion the holy 
 king performed a certain exceedingly heroic act of cha- 
 rity and mortification. Having learned that the work- 
 men, who were labouring, in pursuance of his orders, in 
 re-establishing the town, had been slaughtered by the 
 infidels, and were lying beneath the canopy of heaven, 
 exposed without sepulture, he hastened, without loss 
 of time, from St. Jean d'Acre. He caused the bodies 
 of the dead, all corrupted as they were, to be lifted, in 
 his presence, from the earth. He did more : for in spite 
 of their corruption, in order to give a good example, he 
 burdened his kingly shoulders with a dead body, which 
 his own royal hands laid down in the sepulchre. All the 
 pilgrims to Jerusalem arrive at Jaffa ; and the situation 
 of this city, though exceedingly agreeable, attracts less the 
 attention of the pilgrims than the distant prospect of the 
 
THE CEDARS. 199 
 
 Holy Land, which is discovered from the port of Jaffa. 
 As soon as we debarked, Ave fell prostrate on the ground 
 — the pious custom always of the pilgrims. The Chris- 
 tian Franks, the Greeks, and the Armenians of the city 
 visited us immediately, to offer their houses to the pil- 
 grims of their respective countries. I received, on my 
 part, every possible mark of kindness, and of charity 
 from the fathers of the Terra Santa, who maintain an 
 hospital in Jaffa. These fathers observe the rule of St. 
 Francis, and, according to tradition, their house is situa- 
 ted on the site of the residence of Simon, the tanner. — 
 The port of Jaffa is celebrated by the circumstance that 
 the cedars were received there, which Hiram, king of 
 Tyre, sent to Solomon the Wise, for the construction of 
 the Temple of Jerusalem. But it is more recommended 
 by the mystery which was accomplished here, in the per- 
 son of Jonas, when he was thrown into the ocean and 
 swallowed by a fish. This harbour, which was of great 
 extent in former times, is obstructed so much at present, 
 that large vessels cannot enter the bay. There is a cer- 
 tain street, lying along the sea, beside the port, where 
 they sell rice, coffee, and the soap of Jerusalem and of 
 Rama. Previous to our departure from Jaffa, to resume 
 our journey to Jerusalem, the Turk paid us a compli- 
 ment. This consisted in peremptorily requiring every 
 pilgrim in our company to pay fifteen piastres. Infidels, 
 in tins way, derive profit from the piety of Christians. 
 From Jaffa we advanced to Rama : we traversed a por- 
 tion of the extensive and beautiful campaigns of Sharon, 
 the loveliness of which the Scripture so highly eulogises, 
 all adorned and bespread throughout with tulips which 
 
200 SHARON. 
 
 grow there of themselves. Their great variety of colour 
 composes a delightful garden. An immensity of water- 
 melons, of extraordinary size, are cultivated here, some 
 of them so heavy as to weigh lOlbs. These are, indu- 
 bitably, the best in Palestine. Sharon, or Sarona, which 
 gives a title to these fields, was anciently a city of 
 considerable beauty, situated on an eminence, from 
 whence it looked over all the country. The plain, 
 which extends from Csesarea to Gaza, is exceedingly vasfc 
 and extremely fertile. The nath es became converts, and 
 embraced the Christian faith on witnessing the miracu- 
 lous cure of the paralytic performed at Lydda by St. 
 Peter. Rama, which is four or five leagues from Jaffa, 
 is less a town than a village : the people of the country 
 call it Ramie, which in the Arabic signifies sand, as the 
 city stands on a very sandy soil. It has nothing which 
 could cause us to make honourable mention of it unless 
 that Joseph of Arimathea, who had the imperishable ho- 
 nour of giving a sepulchre to the Saviour of the world, 
 was its citizen. Gregory of Tours informs us, that to re- 
 compense this action, even in this world, on the day of 
 his resurrection, our Saviour came to visit Joseph in his 
 chamber, where the Jews imprisoned him, and caused him 
 to see in his side the ensanguined wound ! It is at 
 Rama that the pilgrims wait for the permission of 
 the Cadi of Jerusalem, to enter that city without 
 impediment. The fathers of the Holy Land took upon 
 themselves the task of soliciting our permission, as well 
 as conveying it to us, when obtained. You see at a 
 quarter of a league from the city, a magnificent cistern, 
 covered over with a concave roof, and sustained by 
 
THE THIEF. 201 
 
 twenty-four arcades, which were ornamented in ancient 
 times with pictures, but the ravages of time have we 
 nigh effaced them all. The persons who conduct you 
 thither are accustomed to assert, that this cistern is the 
 work of St. Helena. From Rama you proceed to 
 Lydda, which has gloried in the name of Diospolis, 
 but I have nothing to mention respecting it. From 
 Lydda to Jerusalem, the traveller is necessitated to 
 traverse the very rudest roads, ascending and descending 
 continually, while clambering over rocks of considerable 
 size ; but the joy of quickly entering the Holy City, 
 yields unspeakable support and solace to the Pilgrims. 
 They caused me to remark, as we passed by it, a village 
 in which it is said the good thief was born. It is called 
 by the Arabs at the present day, Latroun. The remains 
 of a church are to be seen there, which was dedicated 
 at its origin, to that holy penitent who was predestined 
 for Heaven on the cross. The Christians of the country 
 pretend that the name of this penitent was Dimas, a 
 name which is given him by Cardinal Baronius. From 
 the village which we have just spoken of, we proceeded 
 to another, where a church is dedicated to Jeremiah, 
 and which is known by the prophet's name. We after- 
 wards descended the mountains of Judea, and found 
 ourselves in the valley of Terebinthus, which is at the 
 distance of a league from Jerusalem. In order to reach 
 our journey's end, we were obliged to climb the interve- 
 ning mountains, which shut out the prospect of Jerusa- 
 lem. As this city is situated upon the declivity of an 
 opposing hill, it cannot be seen until you are upon the 
 point of entering it, when you suddenly look down upon 
 
 it from the summit of a neighbouring acclivity. After 
 
 k 5 
 
S202 THE FATHERS. 
 
 continually ascending" and descending by the most 
 fatiguing road imaginable, when Jerusalem is revealed 
 to your eyes, to express the sentiments with which 
 the soul is penetrated, at the aspect of this sacred city, 
 is perfectly impossible. At the first and remotest glimpes 
 which we caught of its distant spires, we testified our 
 veneration of the invaluable monuments enclosed within 
 the precincts, by kneeling down like the warlike pilgrims 
 of the middle ages, and returning thanks to the Divinity. 
 It was on the vigil of the sabbath of the Palms that we 
 had the enviable honour of entering the streets of Jeru- 
 salem. We immediately proceeded to present our 
 respects to the Fathers of St. Francis, denominated 
 commonly the Fathers of the Holy Land. These Fathers 
 represent the Latin Church in this celebrated city : as 
 they were apprised of the motive of my visit, they in- 
 formed me that the Holy Sepulchre had been opened 
 very recently, and that advantage should be taken of this 
 circumstance. I totally forgot my past fatigues, and 
 without further loss of time I followed with the Fathers, 
 who volunteered to be my guides. The church of the 
 sepulchre, the most respectable on earth, encloses three 
 churches in its precincts, that of Calvary, first ; the 
 Holy Sepulchre, the second ; the finding of the Holy 
 Cross is the third ; of the three the most magnificent is 
 that of the Sepulchre, or the church of the Resurrection, 
 as they call it. Its enceinte has an oval figure — its 
 interior that of a cross. The church of Calvary is at 
 the entrance of the gate of the Holy Sepulchre, and 
 that of the invention of the Cross is at its right. In the 
 front of the great Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which 
 encloses the two others, a large court may be seen which 
 
THE SIX PIASTRES- 203 
 
 is paved with stones in imitation of marble. There is a 
 tower at the end of the church which served as a belfry 
 before now ; it contains three stages ornamented with 
 handsome pillars of snow white- marble. The Turks 
 wished to employ this belfry as a minaret, from the sum- 
 mit of which to announce their ordinary prayers, but 
 Heaven has so severely punished the persons in all in- 
 stances, who have undertaken this annunciation, that no 
 Turk has the courage to approach it at the present day. 
 It cost individually the sum of six piastres to obtain our 
 admission to the church of the Sepulchre; this sum once 
 paid, you are suffered to enter or go out at your volition. 
 The first object that presented itself to claim my vene- 
 ration, was the stone of unction. It is the stone upon, 
 which the body of our Saviour was deposited, when, after 
 his crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea laid down his ce- 
 lestial person, that he might wrap it in a winding sheet. 
 Eight or nine surrounding lamps illuminate this stone, 
 and one is besprinkled with the fleur de lis, being a 
 present from our christian king. From the ground floor 
 of the church and on the right hand at your entrance, 
 I ascended by sixteen degrees or steps to the chapel of 
 the Crucifixion of the Son of God. It is placed upon 
 the Calvary as they call it, that is, upon one of the three 
 churches ; a great square pillar which sustains the vault, 
 separates this chapel into divisions. That which i« most 
 distant from the staircase of which I have just spoken, 
 is the place where our Saviour was extended on the 
 cross, and where his hands and feet were pierced, to 
 attach them to his gibbet. The nearest portion to the 
 staircase is the place where the cross was planted, and 
 where he deigned by his death to expiate all our iniqui- 
 
204 MARY. 
 
 ties. The pavement of this chapel is mosaic : many 
 lamps of gold and silver bnrn incessantly within it. 
 The place in which the cross was planted, an ele- 
 vation of two feet, is covered with large stones of un- 
 dulated marble. The hole in which it sunk is sheathed 
 with silver plate, by the liberality and piety of a Greek 
 priest named Siba, who incurred the expense in 1560. 
 But this venerable orifice that received the cross of 
 Christ, is indebted for its dearest ornament to the blood 
 of the Redeemer, with which the place was deluged, 
 when the Saviour of our souls shed his life-blood for 
 mankind, on the road. At five paces farther on, there 
 stands a marble block, to indicate the place where the 
 Virgin and St. John were situated, when our Saviour 
 from the cross addressed his well-beloved disciple, Son, 
 behold your mother, and that deeply afflicted mother, 
 Behold your son. In the Revelations of St. Bridget, 
 and in the writings of the Fathers, it is asserted, that 
 in this place it was that when she saw the crucifixion of 
 her Son, that the sacred mother suffered the most cruel 
 of all possible martyrdoms, and that, exhausted by her 
 sufferings, St. Bonaventure says, she fell half dead into 
 the arms of Mary Magdalen. In this martyrdom it was 
 say the Fathers in addition, that this refuge of all sinners 
 offered the infinite merits of her Son as an atonement 
 to the Eternal for her clients. Having attentively con- 
 sidered every portion of this chapel, I descended by the 
 nineteen steps which I had previously clomb, and re-en- 
 tered the great church, and following the wall of the 
 choir as I turned to the right, the chapel of the 
 glorious sepulchre met my eyes. This august chapel has 
 a dome, they constructed this dome with joists of cedar : 
 
THE SEPULCHRE. 205 
 
 the number of the latter is 131, and their length 60 
 palms. As these joists are upright supports, with intervals 
 between them, they constitute arcades. These arcades are 
 open to give the light of the sun admission to the chapel, 
 and to suffer the smoke of the lamps, which burn there 
 day and night, to pass in exhalations through the apertures. 
 Many of these lamps, of which some are very precious, 
 are the gifts of Christian kings. Some were shown me 
 which cost more than 20,000 crowns. The summit of 
 the dome was anteriorly quite open, a species of net- 
 work was all that was attached to it, to preclude the 
 intrusions of birds ; but being repaired in latter times by 
 the bounty of the faithful, a little dome was elevated over 
 the sacred sepulchre, supported by twelve columns, 
 joined two and two, which compose six small arcades. 
 The arcades of the great dome, which we have spoken 
 of above, stand upon a round wall, which was for- 
 merly adorned with images of the prophets and of the 
 apostles. These figures were composed of stones, of 
 various colours, arranged, disposed, and shadowed with 
 surprising art. Nothing remains at present but the 
 mere remnants of them. Two galleries are situ- 
 ated under the dome, and one above the other, they 
 encircle the sepulchre. They are vaulted and supported 
 by arcades, which stand upon a score of columns and 
 pilastres, disposed so as to form an interior space, of 
 which the shape is circular. Six-and-twenty feet is the 
 extent of the diameter, and the floor is paved with very 
 handsome marble. The galleries are divided into sepa- 
 rate compartments, for the different Christian nations. 
 The divine office is celebrated by those nations, in this 
 church, according to the respective ritual of each. The 
 
206 THE GARDENER. 
 
 sepulchre, where the body of our Saviour was deposited 
 after its detachment from the cross, is in the centre of 
 this space, and under the middle of the dome, and is 
 surrounded by those galleries which we have described 
 to you. This sacred monument, at that time, was no- 
 thing but an orifice which had been hollowed in the rock 
 with a chisel and a hammer, but it is covered with white 
 marble now. It is eight or nine feet high ; and, perhaps, 
 six in its diameter. The body of the sepulchre is exter- 
 nally adorned with several little arcades, which are stand- 
 ing on their pillars, perfectly proportional in circumfer- 
 ence and elevation. A more perfect idea cannot possibly 
 be given you, my Rev. Father, of this sepulchre, than 
 by sending you to France certain of those miniature se- 
 pulchres which are manufactured here of mother of 
 pearl, and which convey an idea of the sepulchre of our 
 Saviour with sufficient exactitude. 
 
 This object of our veneration is not the only one that 
 claims respect in the church of the sepulchre. It con- 
 tains four other monuments, which are held in high ho- 
 nour, in like manner. At the distance of a dozen paces 
 from the little chapel of the sepulchre of our Lord, the 
 place has been distinguished by a pavement of white 
 marble, where our Saviour, in the habit of a gardener, 
 revealed himself to Mary Magdalen. The Latins keep 
 an ever-burning lamp there, and the Armenians another. 
 You enter another chapel a little farther on, where the 
 fathers of the Holy Land celebrate the divine office. — 
 According to tradition, this chapel is the place where the 
 house was situated in which the gardener of Joseph of 
 Arimathea resided. It is added, by the same tradition, 
 
THE PALMS. 207 
 
 that the Blessed Virgin retired to the dwelling of this 
 gardener, to wait in his mansion for the resurrection of 
 her Son, and that this Son, so beloved by his mother, 
 came at the first moment of his resurrection to console 
 her by his first apparition in this place. This chapel has 
 three altars, by which these mysteries are represented, 
 and which are illuminated by many lamps that burn 
 everlastingly. The third is the chapel of the division of 
 the vestments, where it is said that the soldiers shared 
 amongst them the garments of Christ. The fourth and 
 last chapel, which is contained in the church of the se- 
 pulchre, is that which is called the chapel of the Impro- 
 perium. You see under the altar the end of a column, 
 on which our Saviour sat when his head was being crowned 
 with thorns : this fragment consists of a greyish-coloured 
 marble, three palms in circumference, and ten palms 
 high. You can hardly discover in all the rest of the 
 world so many touching objects as may be contemplated 
 in the precincts of these chapels. After having visited 
 them all, I entered the Church of the finding of the 
 Cross, which is one of the churches included in the 
 church of the sepulchre. Its name originated in the 
 circumstance, that the cross was found in this place 
 by the diligence of St. Helena. An altar has been raised 
 there, which is illuminated by a multitude of lamps. In 
 this, as in the other holy places, the Turks permit the 
 Christians to say Mass. They derive so much pecuniary 
 profit from our piety, that they do not take much pains 
 to offer impediments to it. My Reverend Father, I 
 must perforce acknowledge, that I consumed the live- 
 long night in my visits to these monuments, as well as 
 
208 THE PILGRIMS. 
 
 in meditating on the mysterious events which they me- 
 morialize. Never did a night appear so short. 
 
 The succeeding day, Palm Sunday, I had the happi- 
 ness to celebrate the sacrifice of Mass upon the altar of 
 the sepulchre : subsequently to which, I assisted at the 
 benediction and distribution of the palms. The father- 
 guardian of the Holy Land, a Cordelier of the Obser- 
 vance, officiated with the mitre and the cross : a proces- 
 sion succeeded, which three several times encircled the 
 sepulchre. The religious and the laity bore branches of 
 palm, and the most perfect order pervaded their march. 
 Their modest demeanour, and the music that they into- 
 nated, the rich and magnificent ornaments of the minis- 
 trants, inspire respect and veneration for these sacred 
 ceremonies of the church of Rome. They occupied me 
 all the morning. 
 
 When they were concluded, I was conducted into a 
 convent called the convent of our blessed Saviour, by 
 one of the religious. Nothing could possibly be added 
 to the gracious reception with which I was honored by 
 these reverend fathers, invariably anticipating all my 
 wishes before I could express them. They persuaded 
 me to sojourn in Jerusalem for a period much longer 
 than I had originally purposed. On palm Sunday even- 
 ing, I was apprised of the necessity of embracing an op- 
 portunity which offered of making the journey to the 
 Jordan. According to custom, a caravan sets out from 
 Jerusalem for the Jordan, on Holy Monday. In the pre- 
 sent instance it consisted of three hundred pilgrims. — 
 We traversed a section of the valley of Jehosaphat, and 
 passed Bethania, where the ruined house of Magdalen 
 
THE CAUAVAN. 209 
 
 and of Martha may be seen, and where the sepulchre of 
 Lazarus is situated. The pilgrims never omit the op- 
 portunity of drinking of the waters of a fountain where 
 our Saviour is said to have reposed with his disciples, 
 when coming from Jericho. 
 
 Our caravan arrived at the last named town after a 
 few hours march. Nothing remains at present but the 
 name of Jericho, which was situated in a pleasant plain. 
 An elevated mountain terminates this plain. A cave is 
 situated in its summit, where the forty days and forty 
 nights which our Saviour passed in fasting are said, on 
 the authority of tradition, to have been spent. The 
 path is steep, narrow, and difficult, with precipices at its 
 sides which horrify the beholder. Such was the place se- 
 lected by our Saviour, in which to fast and pray for the 
 human species. In descending from the cave, we expe- 
 rienced as much difficulty as we had met with when as- 
 cending. Having come down to the plain, we found that 
 tents had been erected where sutlers were assembled, 
 who offered coffee, and rice, and similar refreshments to 
 the pilgrims for sale. But food at the time was less re- 
 quisite than slumber ; however, this repose did not con- 
 tinue very long, as the conductor of the caravan gave 
 the signal for departure a full horn- before the dawn, and 
 in order to arrive at the margin of the Jordan at an 
 early [tour, we departed instantaneously. Two port- 
 able altars were prepared upon the place where our 
 Saviour, it is believed, was baptised by his precursor, 
 and I was one of the persons who enjoyed the consola- 
 tion of offering the sacrifice of the mass upon those tem- 
 porary altars. 
 
 We saw the Black Sea in the distance which covers the 
 
210 FALSE FRUIT. 
 
 site, which those infamous cities occupied, which a pro- 
 digious deluge of inextinguishable fire anciently reduced 
 to ashes, those fires having burned a basin in that land 
 which formed the site of those devoted cities. The dismal 
 black and smoking cavity was invaded by the waters of 
 the Jordan, which formed a lake of four and twenty 
 leagues in length, and in certain places of three or four 
 in latitude. This sea is called the Lake of Lot, or Bah- 
 rei Louth in the language of the country, but 'tis still more 
 commonly denominated the Black Sea or Dead Sea. Its 
 torpid, dull, and stagnant waters are never known to 
 move unless they receive an impulse from the wind. 'Tis 
 folly to seek fish there, for none can subsist in waters 
 so corrupted. It is exceedingly surprising, no sooner 
 have the salutary waters of the Jordan mingled with 
 this fetid brine, than they become so salt, so bitter, and 
 so intolerably stinking, that it is totally impossible to 
 drink them. Stones which issue from this sea and are 
 strewed along the margin, are said to be so hot that they 
 burn those who touch them. All these evil qualities, of 
 which 4,000 years have not deprived these waters, are 
 so many proofs of the indignation of the deity, who de- 
 sires to testify to all mankind that he punishes at the 
 present day even, the bygone vices of those criminal and 
 reprobate cities.* 
 
 I must not omit some mention of the trees of Sodom, 
 as ancient authors term them, which grow upon the Dead 
 Sea shore, at a considerable distance from the mouth 
 of the Jordan. In wood and figure, they resemble fig 
 
 " The lake Asphaltites or Dead Sea, is the only one which con- 
 tains nothing living, whether animal or vegetable." Geography of 
 Maltebruu and Mentelle, vol. x. 
 
FALSE FRUIT. 211 
 
 trees, but the foliage and the form of their leaves are 
 much more like the wallnut — you might mistake their 
 fruits for those of the lemon, and however inviting in 
 appearance, they turn, it is said, into ashes on the lips. 
 Saint Fulhert, bishop of Chartres, speaks of their exis- 
 tence as a certainty, having seen them, as he says, in a 
 j ourney to the country. An obvious image, the historian 
 adds, of sensual pleasure, whose fascinating and seducing 
 appearance invariably deceives its votaries. * 
 
 Early in the morning upon holy Wednesday, we turn- 
 ed our back upon this unfortunate spot, that we might 
 repair, with all possible rapidity, to the valley of Jehosa- 
 phat. The caravan halted opposite the garden of olives 
 or of Gethsemani, as it is often called, from a village of 
 that name situated in the neighbourhood. The garden 
 has been purchased by the fathers of the Holy Land, but 
 seven or eight olive trees are all that it contains at pre- 
 sent. The place where the petition was proffered by our 
 Saviour, and where his person and the earth were inun- 
 dated with his blood, is held in the highest veneration. 
 The spot is a cave of considerable depth, in which two 
 altars are erected — priests were singing mass at the mo- 
 ment we arrived, who permitted me to say mine in this 
 venerable grotto. You may conceive the sentiments 
 which necessarily must be inspired by this place of piety, 
 where an agony was suffered by the Son of God for all 
 mankind. We were compelled much more quickly than 
 I could desire to quit its precincts, to assist at the cere- 
 monies of the last days of holy week, in the city of 
 Jerusalem. We arrived in Jerusalem on holy Wednes- 
 
 The species of these trees is a problem to the naturalists. See 
 Chateaubriand's Itinerary from Paris to Jerusalem T. A. P. 
 
212 VOTIVE GIFTS. 
 
 day, passing through the torrent of Kedron. In our 
 way they directed our attention to a rock where traces 
 of the person of our Saviour were imprinted, when his 
 extreme weakness compelled him to recline upon a stone. 
 "Twas in obedience to the violence of the high-handed 
 soldiery who conducted him that he rose from this rude 
 couch. On arriving at Jerusalem, I retired to pass the 
 night at the convent of the Saviour. On Holy Thurs- 
 day, the succeeding day, I repaired to the church of the 
 sacred sepulchre, to assist at the ceremonies of the three 
 last days. The service is celebrated on Thursday with 
 such piety and pomp, such splendour, such magnificence 
 and majesty, that the souls of the assistants must be ra- 
 vished by the spectacle. The altars are adorned with 
 gifts from all the Christian princes, and with the votive 
 offerings of all the faithful which comprise works of extraor- 
 dinary beauty and exceeding value. The father guardian 
 of Jerusalem, bearing the mitre and the cross, officiated 
 upon every day of holy week. The pilgrims, the friars, 
 and the Catholics received the communion from his 
 hand. The sacrament, attended by a great procession, 
 was carried to the sepulchre, in which it was enclosed 
 until the ensuing day. The Catholic pilgrims invaria- 
 bly observe a fast, on bread and water, during these 
 three days — Good Friday was employed in public prayer, 
 and in various penitential actions. The service was 
 performed with affecting ceremonies very early in the 
 morning. In the afternoon, the laity, with candles in 
 their hands, and with naked feet, and the priests and the 
 religious in their surplices, made the round of all the 
 sacred places to celebrate the stations, in each of these 
 stations a meditation is delivered by one of the religious. 
 
SINGULAR CEREMONY. 213 
 
 A ceremony is performed by the fathers of the Holy 
 Land, which is very conformable to the genius of the 
 Orientals, who are more easily affected by exterior 
 things than by those that are purely intellectual. They 
 represent the crucifixion with a figure of our Saviour of 
 the ordinary human size. The head, the arms, and the 
 limbs, by means of some machinery, irove at their voli- 
 tion. They begin by affixing this figure to the cross, with 
 the hammer and the nails they attach it to the rood ; then 
 they slowly elevate it, and the end of the crucifix is 
 dropt into the opening where that of the cross of the 
 Redeemer was really deposited. They sing melancholy 
 hymns on the subject of the passion, and ultimately take 
 it down, when they place the figure on the stone of unc- 
 tion, and to imitate the conduct of the pious Nicodemus, 
 a valuable liquor which they bear in silver vases is poured 
 upon the body, which is enveloped in a winding sheet and 
 placed in the sepulchre. Many persons pass the night 
 in this place and at Calvary, in penitence and in prayer. 
 Holy Saturday, the succeeding day, the father guardian 
 and his friars performed the office, and our sacred mys- 
 teries were celebrated with all the solemnity which that 
 sacred day and sacred place demanded. But the edifica- 
 tion you derive from the modest manner in which their 
 functions are fulfilled, only equal your affliction at seeing 
 the patriarch, priests and bishops of all the Greeks, per- 
 form on their side a pious fraud, to abuse their followers' 
 simplicity. These shepherds, or rather these devouring 
 wolves, to inspire their flock with contemptuous feelings 
 for the catholic religion, assert that the Latins endeavour 
 to discover in a shell (singular enough) some new fire to 
 light their tapers every holy Saturday, while, to give a 
 
214 CLOTH OF GOLD. 
 
 public proof of his special predilection for the Greeks. 
 God gives them, they say? a fire from heaven which the 
 patriarch receives descending 1 in his hands. As they 
 hear it from their priests, the people implicitly believe this 
 fable, which is detailed more fully in Father Sicard's 
 letter. * 
 
 I assisted at the office upon Easter Sunday, alike of the 
 morning and the evening. All was splendour and ma- 
 jesty, the very richest tapestries adorn the church, as well 
 as Persian carpets of the finest quality. In brilliancy 
 and multitude, the lights looked like the stars — the altar 
 glitters with the massiest plate of the most magnificent 
 description — a cross that has been given by the kings of 
 France is perfectly beautiful. The kings of Spain have 
 presented many massive lamps which are worthy of that 
 monarchy. The resplendent cloth of gold with which 
 the altar is adorned is more magnificent than any that I 
 ever saw in France. The father guardian celebrated a 
 pontifical high mass upon an altar which was prepared 
 at the door of the sepulchre — he was accompanied by 
 several officers who served him — he administered com- 
 munion to a multitude of pilgrims who appeard two and 
 two before the table in admirable order — it was some 
 hours afternoon when the ceremonies ceased, those 
 after dinner were prolonged into the night. Having 
 ultimately ended, I returned to the convent of our blessed 
 
 Saviour, together with the fathers of the Holy Land 
 
 The following day, the^first feria of the festival, I pre- 
 pared to perform, in compliance with the general custom, 
 
 * See a subsequent Epistle. 
 
CHAPLETS. 215 
 
 the pilgrimage to Bethlehem, of which the distance is two 
 leagues from Jerusalem. 
 
 'Tis a well sized village, with sufficient population, 
 perched upon a hill of which the situation is exceedingly 
 agreeable. One half of the inhabitants are Catholics, 
 the other half belong to the Mahometan superstition. — 
 Be their religion what it may, they are continually occu- 
 pied in fabricating crosses, and rosaries, and models of 
 the sacred sepulchre, as well as of that of Notre Dame. 
 These works are manufactured of wood from the shepherd's 
 fields or of bones so white as to resemble ivory, and em- 
 bellished, as they are, with mother of pearl, the sale is 
 exceedingly extensive. The church and the grotto in 
 which Christ was born are situated at the end of the vil- 
 lage to the east — you are conducted through a court- 
 yard, encircled with lofty walls, to the church. An an- 
 tique structure which is called school of St. Jerome, 
 thirty paces long and sixteen wide — whose vault is 
 supported by six or seven marble pillars — is said to 
 be a place where lessons were delivered on the Scrip- 
 tures by this learned saint. The Armenians make use 
 of it at present as a house of hospitality for pilgrims 
 whose church is beautifuland grand. Fifty lofty columns, 
 each consisting of a single piece of marble, distinguish 
 the choir, and separate the nave that lies within them 
 from the aisles that lie without. The frieze which leans 
 upon the pillars and reigns around the church is merely 
 made of wood, but its carving is elegantly executed — 
 immense windows appear above the frieze which admit a 
 flood of light to the church. All the mysteries of our 
 religion have been painted upon the walls, nothing re- 
 mains now but some half abraded patches. The elevation 
 
216 THE MAGI. 
 
 of the choir is three steps above the nave. There is an 
 altar dedicated to the Magian kings, which stands on the 
 spot where, according to tradition, they descended from 
 their camels to do homage to our Saviour. Its length 
 is forty feet, and its breadth may be a dozen — porphyry 
 and marble constitute the steps by which you descend 
 from the choir to the cavern, of which the fine-wrought 
 doors are made of bronze. You take off your shoes, out 
 of respect, when you penetrate this sanctuary — no day- 
 light is admitted — ever burning lamps alone enlighten 
 this recess. The crib is represented by a marble block, 
 raised a foot above the ground, and hollowed by the 
 chisel to the figure of a manger. It is placed upon the 
 spot where the manger of our Saviour* was originally 
 placed. The locality which the son of God selected for 
 his birth-place, is an object of respect to the Christians 
 of our times. All things, upon which you cast your 
 eyes, awaken your devotion and fortify your faith in this 
 place — the uninterrupted arrival of caravans of Chris- 
 tians, from all nations that believe, who come hither to 
 adore their Redeemer in his birth — prayers and prostra- 
 tions in the public streets, and other testimonials of 
 edifying fervour — the value of the presents which the 
 sovereigns of Christendom have sent as a pledge of their 
 religion to [the stable ; — all the objects which surround 
 you dazzle and affect you, exciting a something in the 
 soul which cannot be expressed. A marble altar, on 
 which mass is celebrated, stands in the centre of this 
 sacred cave. Twice I had the happiness of officiating 
 here. I am not at all surprised that this place was se- 
 lected by St. Jerome for his residence — no locality on 
 earth can inspire more devotion. His tomb and his 
 
ST. PAULA. 217 
 
 oratory still are to be seen here, as well as those of St. 
 Innocent and St. Eusebius, and those of Sts. Etistochia 
 and Paula. This illustrious Roman lady, an honor to 
 the Gracchi and the Scipios, from whom she was descend- 
 ed, preferred a residence at Bethlehem to a dwelling- in 
 imperial Rome, and a hermitage to the sumptuous apart- 
 ments of the capital. 
 
 From Bethlehem we were conducted to the mountains 
 of Judea. In ancient times, a church was erected on the 
 site of the house where the sacred precursor of our 
 Saviour was born. But the infidels defiled it — Louis 
 the 14th, however, marks of whose piety and faith may 
 be found in all parts of the world, withdrew the build- 
 ing" from their hands. He had it adorned and estab- 
 lished, insomuch that it's the finest church at present in 
 the Levant. The service is performed by the fathers of 
 the Holy Land in a decent and edifying manner. We 
 should not be astonished that the sacred precursor, who 
 did not exhibit much research in his frugal diet, was 
 satisfied with locusts, for in this place their number is 
 infinity. He likewise used, perhaps, the small extremi- 
 ties of trees to which the name of locusts is applied, 
 which the peasants very frequently employ as food. As 
 to what regards the honey which the Scriptures speak 
 of, the wild bee conceals it in the clefts of rocks every 
 where throughout this country. The mountains of Judea 
 which revive the recollection of the sufferings of St. John, 
 preach penance from their summits even at the present 
 day. 
 
 We turned our backs on these mountains and the 
 monastery of John, in order to return to Jerusalem. We 
 passed upon our route by the convent of the Georgians, 
 
218 THE ROOD. 
 
 this is called the convent of the holy cross, for the peo- 
 ple of the country piously believe that here it was the 
 Jews felled the memorable tree which they precipitately 
 hewed into a gibbet for our Saviour. The church is very 
 handsome, and its dome much ornamented, but the figures 
 of the saints, which were painted on its walls, are nearly 
 all of them effaced. 
 
 Having arrived in Jerusalem, I devoted the first days 
 to visits to the places most deserving of being seen. In 
 the first place I considered the city as a whole. Alas ! it is 
 no longer that metropolis of David, whose lofty gates 
 enclosed the stupendous temple and the gorgeous throne 
 of the wise Solomon, and the crown and glory of the 
 Jewish people. To punish a people overwhelmed with 
 his benefits, to punish them because they were ungrate- 
 ful, it was heaven's will that all nations should contribute, 
 as it were, in concert to effect the desolation of this city. 
 But as the rights of His justice are never exercised, but 
 that his mercy interposes to exercise her own, he wills 
 that, raised upon the ruins of the first, a new Jerusalem 
 should preserve the precious monuments of the passion 
 of his Son, to shew all mankind, in every revolving age, 
 the excess of his affection for the species, and how indis- 
 pensably necessary was such a mediator. 
 
 These monuments which heaven has preserved with so 
 much care are all that merit attention in Jerusalem, 
 The town is neither beautiful nor large ; you may go 
 round it in an hour at your ease. It formerly embraced 
 Mount Sion, but at present it encloses but a very petty 
 section of it. Every street is dirty, narrow, and badly 
 paved — you are always either mounting or descending* 
 in traversing it — the town is without traffic, and conse - 
 
JERUSALEM. 219 
 
 quently very poor. Its revenue is derived from the 
 expenditure of the pilgrims. 
 
 The Greeks have many convents and churches in 
 Jerusalem. The patriarch's convent is by far the finest. 
 His church is dedicated to Helena, and to Constantine 
 the Great, a monarch canonised by the Greeks. 
 
 The Surians, Armenians, and Copts have likewise a 
 convent and a church. The Jews have their quarter 
 and their synagogue. The Mahometans have many 
 mosques, the finest of which, and the most respected by 
 the Turks, occupies the site on which the temple of 
 Solomon was erected. As no Christian is permitted to 
 penetrate this edifice, I know that its inside is magnifi- 
 cent but from hear-say, that columns of rich marble sus- 
 tain its gorgeous dome, upon their lofty capitals, that 
 a gallery, which likewise stands on columned capitals, runs 
 round the mosque, and that a world of lamps, pendant 
 from its roof in many a row, illuminate its vast capacity. 
 This is all I know of it. 
 
 As to its exterior, I have well considered it. Its form 
 is an octagon, and its dome makes its figure very pleas- 
 ing to the eye — the walls are invested with mosaic. 
 The pieces are of diverse colours, and ornament the 
 wall with various figures. Arabic characters formed by 
 stones, convey choice sentiments selected from the Koran. 
 The town has seven great gates, six of which are open, 
 the seventh, called the golden gate, is invariably closed. 
 This is the gate by which our Saviour entered Jerusalem 
 triumphantly. The Turks have walled the entrance up, 
 on account of the tradition, that a Christian prince shall 
 one day deprive them of the city and enter this gate 
 with victory. They have effectually provided, they 
 
220 THE GOLDEN GATE. 
 
 imagine, against such contingency, by walling up the 
 entrance. The rarest relic of antiquity within it, is 
 Solomon's probatory pool. This pool is exceedingly pro- 
 found ; it is fifty feet in length, and its width is nearly 
 forty ; its figure is an oblong square, and it is lined with 
 freestone. At present its waters are dried up, and the 
 probatory pool is useless. 
 
 As to the other antiquities of the city, I have little to 
 say upon the subject, I shall name them to you merely ; 
 they have retained nothing but the names of what they 
 were anteriorly. 
 
 Near the gate of the city that leads you to mount 
 Sion, they shew you the dwelling house of Anne, or 
 rather the spot on which it stood, for it is not possible 
 that her dwelling house, or the houses of which I am 
 now about to speak, should still be in existence. Our 
 attention was directed to an antique olive, to which our 
 Saviour, it is said, was tied. One circumstance relating 
 to this olive tree is true, viz., no one is allowed to cut it. * 
 A balustrade encircles it, which effectually prevents 
 persons from approaching it. Its trunk is very old, but 
 its branches bear excellent olives, of which the stones 
 make rosaries and chaplets, that Christians buy. You 
 must cross the whole city from the dwelling house of 
 Anne, in order to see the preetorium of Pilate, which 
 forms the seraglio of the Pacha at the present day. 
 The hall was ascended by eight and twenty steps of 
 snow white marble, which have been subsequently sent 
 to Rome, and they are known in that city as the Scala 
 
 The olive is of unknown durability. The neighbourhood of 
 Athens abounds in olives which are held to be older than the most 
 ancient monuments of that venerable city. — TaveU hy William Rae 
 
 Wilson. 
 
THE SERAGLIO. 221 
 
 Sancta. A vaulted structure stands near the seraglio. 
 The Christians, and even the Mahometans assert, that 
 the flagellation was inflicted on our Saviour in this struc- 
 ture, and that in this place he was crowned with thorns. 
 A Pacha's son sought to convert it to a stable before now, 
 constructing a chamber over head for his servants to re- 
 pose in, but early the next morning his horses were 
 found dead, as the floor of the apartment suddenly 
 gave way. A little lower down than the dwelling of 
 the Pacha, an ancient arcade is to be found where they 
 say the Son of God was presented by Pilate to the peo- 
 ple, in that pitiable condition to which he had reduced 
 him. I could see, distinctly, engraven on a stone, the 
 commencement of the following word, tolle. 
 
 A road is to be seen at some paces from this arcade, 
 which is designated Dolorous. By this road it was that, 
 while carrying his cross, Jesus Christ was conducted to 
 Mount Calvary. A place is pointed out where a chapel 
 had been situated, which was dedicated to the Virgin 
 Mary, in honour of the spot where his mother, seeing 
 our blessed Saviour sink beneath his cross, succumbed 
 herself to the excess of her affliction. A little farther 
 on, they showed us the dwelling of the leper Lazarus, and 
 to the left they indicate the residence of Dives. At the 
 end of this street, the place was pointed out to us where 
 the Son of God is said to have recommended tears to 
 the daughters of Jerusalem, for themselves and their de- 
 voted city, rather than for him. The abode of Veronica 
 is somewhat lower down, and Calvary is very near the 
 gate. It was entitled the Judiciary Gate ; in pro- 
 ceeding to the place of punishment, criminals passed 
 it. Our Saviour, the most innocent of all who had ever 
 
222 THE PRISON. 
 
 trod the earth, passed through that gate, which is walled 
 at the present day. In a different department of the 
 city, our attention was directed to the prison of St. Peter. 
 It was at one time a chapel, but the Turks have restored 
 it to the purpose for which it was originally intended. 
 
 We next paid a visit to that Pharisee's abode, in which 
 the heroic act of perfect penance which procured the 
 lady the remission of her sins, was performed by Mag- 
 dalen. Our Saviour has willed that this act shall be 
 enunciated wheresoever his gospel is announced. St. 
 Anne's church, built, as is said, upon the spot where the 
 dwelling of that saint was anteriorly situate, is very near 
 the dwelling of the Pharisee. Under the reign of the 
 European princes, this church was conjugated to a mo- 
 nastery of females. Our conductors indicated the resi- 
 dence of Zebedee, the father of James and John, as 
 well as the locality of the martyrdom of James, adjacent 
 to Mount Sion. The Armenians have erected a large 
 convent on the spot. The architecture of the church is 
 exceedingly peculiar, but great regularity pervades it. 
 In a chapel of this church, they have marked with mosiac 
 that portion of the floor where that apostle was beheaded. 
 My Reverend Father, respecting the antiquities in 
 the interior of the town, I have nothing more to tell you ; 
 and as to the antiquities external to the city, time having 
 almost utterly destroyed, them, I have i little to add to 
 what I communicated previously. 
 
 I have often had the happiness of celebrating Mass 
 upon the Blessed Virgin's sepulchre. There rises at the 
 foot of the mountain of the Olives, beyond the bridge 
 that spans the brook of Keydron, a chapel that incloses 
 
THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 223 
 
 this hallowed sepulchre. At the entry of this church, 
 dedicated to our Lady, the visitor descends to a subter- 
 ranean chapel receiving the day-light at the door by 
 which he treads upon the staircase. This chapel, which 
 is concave in the roof, is sheathed internally with marble. 
 Three or four persons are all it can contain ; almost all 
 its extent being occupied by the altar, which stands where 
 the body of the virgin was deposited. The song of the 
 pilgrims, who successively descend there, chanting amid 
 the darkness of the monument, the litany of Mary, (for 
 the lamps that hang within it cannot dissipate its gloom.) 
 Those voices swelling from the sacred profound, the ever- 
 lasting gloom, and the glitter of those cressets, the re- 
 miniscences awakened by the sanctuary, all combine to 
 inspire you with feelings of devotion and respect which 
 cannot be communicated. The superior church has se- 
 veral altars, which appertain to different nations ; and 
 in this place they celebrate our mysteries, according to 
 their rituals. The Latins are the best provided for, as 
 the altar of the latter is the sepulchre of Mary. In 
 ascending the stair-case, you meet a little chamber, as 
 well as a little chapel dedicated to St. Joseph, which is 
 said to be the place of the sepulture of the saint. The 
 tomb of Joachim and St. Anne, a little higher up, com- 
 poses an oratory, where Mass is celebrated. 
 
 Between the church of the sepulchre of our Lady and 
 that portal of the city which the Christians call the 
 Blessed Virgin's Gate, your attention is directed to a 
 rock, on a level with the ground where St. Stephen is 
 said to have been stoned. Pausing at this rock, the pil- 
 
224 THE PROSPECT. 
 
 grims invariably kiss it, while they utter a few aves in 
 honour of St. Stephen. 
 
 The mountain of the olives is at that side of Jerusa- 
 lem that is opposite the rising sun. Of all the elevations 
 that surround the city, the Mountain of Olives is the 
 highest. The scenery from the summit is delightful. 
 Below you lies Jerusalem : a little farther on the Dead 
 Sea is discernible ; and, lying like a vein of light, you 
 may see afar a portion of the silver Jordan, and moun- 
 tains that swell away beyond it, while, on the other hand, 
 Shiloh and Bethania are discovered. Three caverns are 
 found upon your pathway in descending, of great pro- 
 fundity and length, in the form of a street, in which 
 holes have been hollowed of the human length. These 
 caverns are called the sepulchres of the prophets. 
 
 The place which our Saviour stood upon, when he 
 taught his apostles the Lord's Prayer, and predicted the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, is held in the highest venera- 
 tion. He ascended from the summit of this mountain to 
 the skies. Formerly, the faithful built a church upon 
 the spot ; but a mosque, which is octangular externally, 
 and circular within, stands at present on its site, as the 
 infidels destroyed it. Marble columns ornament the 
 mosque at each of its angles. 
 
 It is in this little mosque that the Turks so carefully 
 conserve the stone which still retains the foot-print of our 
 Saviour : we owe this rather to the avarice, rather than 
 the piety of the Turks, as they obtain money from the 
 pilgrims for admitting them to see it. St. Jerome says, 
 in his time he had the consolation of seeing and doing 
 
SEPULCHRES. 225 
 
 honour to the foot-prints of our Lord. But, according 
 to the Christians, the right track was removed, and 
 placed by the Turks in their temple at Jerusalem, where 
 the Turks describe this vestige of our Saviour as the 
 foot-print of Mahomet. Catholics should learn, from 
 the reverence they show it, what honour they should 
 testify for holy things. A little space above this mosque, 
 which encloses such a precious relic, a cavern exists, of 
 which the entrance is only permitted to Mahometans. I 
 have simply seen the door. It is guarded by a Turk, 
 who easily dissolves into civility at the magic of a bacshis. 
 This was the grotto that St. Pelagia selected to pass her 
 days, (as she did) 'till her death, in a round of peniten- 
 tial rigour. This frightful habitation, which Pelagia 
 preferred to the pleasures and the palaces of Antioch, 
 inspires a spectator with a spirit of compunction, and 
 reveals to us the riches of the bounty of the Lord, ever 
 ready to receive such sinners as return to him with a 
 spirit as contrite as the canonized Pelagia. 
 
 Emerging from this city, by the portal of Damascus, 
 at the west of Jerusalem, you see Jeremiah's tomb ; it 
 lies in a grotto, 25 feet broad, and the depth is about 
 the same. The Turks persuade the people that a santon 
 of their sect, that is, that some Mahometan fanatic was 
 the tenant of this cave. At some paces from this place, 
 those prodigious caverns, the sepulchres of the kings, 
 attracted my attention. They consist of many cham- 
 bers, accompanied with galleries : they have cornices, 
 and many other ornaments of architecture. They were 
 hollowed in the rock with the chisel and the mallet. The 
 great indispensable expense, in so prodigious a work, 
 
 could have never been defrayed by any but by kings. 
 
 5 L 
 
226 THE HERMIT. 
 
 But nothing filled me with more wonder than the doors 
 of these sepulchres. They that cut them out con- 
 structed them of rock ; and the panels and the mouldings 
 with which they decorated them, are quite as exquisitely 
 fashioned as if they were formed of wood ; even the 
 pivots, which they hang on, are formed of the rock. I 
 asked the most intelligent concerning the princes that 
 had made them, and the monarchs they inhumed, but I 
 could not elicit a scintillation on the subject. 
 
 As the time for the departure of the caravan ap- 
 proached, I made use of my last moments to see the 
 celebrated monastery of St. Sabas. The fervid affection 
 entertained by this saint for solitude and penance in- 
 duced him to seek for sequestration at an early age. 
 The most awful deserts were those that he loved best : 
 it was this predilection that induced him to choose the 
 frightful mountain on which his monastery stands for his 
 abode. This mountain is three leagues from Bethlehem, 
 and four from Jerusalem. It is very long, and lined 
 with rocks, which gape in an infinity of places. These 
 apertures had served as cells and oratories to several an- 
 chorites before St. Sabas. The torrent of Keydron 
 hurries by the basis of this mountain. The contempla- 
 tion of this torrent, which revives the recollection of the 
 initials of our Saviour's passion, appeared very proper 
 to this holy hermit to maintain a love of penance in his 
 soul. He was eighteen years of age, when, from a fer- 
 vid inclination to give himself to God, he quitted his 
 father and his mother, who loved him alone, and under- 
 took a journey to Palestine, at which time he retired into 
 the monastery. With regard to this young man, the 
 purposes of heaven seemed so obvious to the abbot, that 
 
THE HERMIT. 227 
 
 he deemed it advisable to send him to St. Euthimius, who 
 had the gift of guiding novices to that perfection to 
 which heaven has invited them. This saint discerned in 
 the youthful Sabas great capability for advancing in the 
 ways of God. Under this good master he progressed 
 in virtue, which increased in proportion as his love for 
 solitude, and of abstinence and prayer, augmented in 
 his soul. The reputation of his sanctity, in spite of his 
 retirement, became generally diffused, and attracted in- 
 dividuals, from every side, who were anxious to enter on 
 this novel way of life. 
 
 The devil was vexed such saintship to behold, and 
 offered him, accordingly, many oppositions. War was 
 waged against him by malignant devotees, they many 
 times attempted to assassinate the saint, but Heaven 
 frustrated their criminal designs. 
 
 With all their evil treatment, they could not scare his 
 " tranquillity of mind," never relinquishing the saint in 
 the fire of persecution. Nothing could ever alienate this 
 heaven-descended guest, except the death of St. Eu- 
 thimius, at which the servant of the Lord seemed 
 afflicted. St. Sabas was appointed St. Euthimius's suc- 
 cessor, by the volition of the latter, expressed upon his 
 death bed. For a long time he endeavoured to avoid 
 the elevation, but the solitaries simultaneously prevailed 
 upon him to obey the last behest of his superior. His 
 sanctity of life and the wisdom of his rule, acquired such 
 a reputation for his monastery, that amateurs of the 
 world, relinquishing its illusions, threw themselves in 
 crowds at the feet of the new abbot, to request the holy 
 Sabas to conduct them to the skies ; and in spite of the 
 opposition which he offered, he was soon at the head of 
 
228 the hermit's death. 
 
 two hundred disciples, and as the last who arrived could 
 not find accommodation, they scooped excavations in the 
 howels of the mountain. Among the number of his 
 disciples, St. Sabas discerned several who were suited 
 for conventual community, who were less calculated to 
 be anchorites than monks. For these individuals he 
 erected a monastery, the direction of which he confided 
 to one Theodore ; he preferred for himself an eremitical 
 existence, and presided over those who were suited to 
 be anchorites. A grotto, in which he could stand upright 
 with difficulty, was his abode, his bed was the rock and 
 his diet was legumes, and yet he attained ninety-four 
 years of age without relaxing in his penance. Stretched 
 upon his bed, when his end approached, he assembled his 
 disciples around him ; he addressed them an exceedingly 
 pathetic advice, to cherish unanimity and harmony 
 amongst them, and communicate alone with the divinity, 
 through the observance of the rules of that solitary life, 
 to which they had been consecrated. 
 
 Whilst their abbot thus addressed them in terms full 
 
 of unction, the callous anchorites surrounding him, were 
 
 melted into tears, and resounding from their hollow 
 
 chests, convulsive sobs of sorrow were re-echoed by the 
 
 cave. Drowned in tears, as they were, at this melancholy 
 
 farewell, they asked his benediction. His solitary bequest, 
 
 all he had, was his benison. In bequeathing them his 
 
 blessing, he said, that through the illimitable ages of 
 
 eternity, he should testify to Heaven their fidelity to him. 
 
 He caused the Psalms to be recited, and as the words 
 
 were uttered, I shall sleep and repose my sorrows in 
 
 the bosom of the Lord, he yielded up his spirit to the 
 
 hands of the Saviour. 
 
THE CARAVAN. 229 
 
 'Twas thus he expired, crowned with the garland of 
 merits and of years. On learning his death, Justinian 
 the Emperor, who loved this destitute hermit as if he 
 were his son, testified his sorrow by his tears. 
 
 The miracles which heaven was pleased to operate 
 after his decease, are so many public proofs, evincing to 
 the world, the pure, peerless, and unsullied sanctity of 
 its servitor, that canonised father of so many anchorites. 
 A fountain bears his name, it is a stream which issued 
 from the rock at his request, and which never since ran 
 dry. We were led to his sepulchre, which is greatly ve- 
 nerated though his body was carried to Venice : a very 
 handsome chapel has been raised on the locality, where 
 there is an ever-burning lamp, which is pendant from 
 the dome. 
 
 The monks who live at present in the monastery of 
 Sabas, appertain to the Greek ritual ; their fasts are very 
 rigorous, and day and right, for several successive hours, 
 they intonate the eulogies of God. 
 
 Nothing more remained that was worthy of our curio- 
 sity in Jerusalem. And now, as the day on which the 
 caravan was destined to depart was the 27th of April, 
 I repaired to our Saviour's sepulchre in the morning, to 
 thank heaven for the favour of having visited these places, 
 whose contemplation fills the soul with such affection for 
 our Lord. 
 
 I afterwards bade farewell to the fathers of the Holy 
 Land, when I mingled with the caravan : we took the road by 
 Rama, to embark at Jaffa, where a tribute was a second 
 time exacted by the Turk. We proceeded from Jaffa to St. 
 Jean D'Acre. We were only at the distance of one 
 day's journey from Nazareth ; I should have gone to 
 
220 THE BROKEN PILLAH. 
 
 Nazareth, even liad I been more distant. Nazareth now, 
 as in more ancient times, is merely a miserable hamlet, 
 hence it was, that Nathaniel asked, "Can any good come 
 out of Nazareth ;" but since the word was made flesh, 
 this hamlet and its name must be held, amongst all 
 Christians, in eternal veneration. On the 25th of March, 
 the day of the Annunciation, a multitude of pilgrims 
 annually arrive to do honour to the mother of the word 
 incarnate in Nazareth. Saint Louis the Crusader came 
 thither with his court. The sovereign, as soon as he 
 perceived the chapel of the Virgin afar oiF, alighted from 
 his steed, and proceeded upon foot the remainder of the 
 journey. The princely warrior prepared for the recep- 
 tion of the eucharist, by fasting upon bread and water ; 
 he spent days in prayer before these hallowed shrines. 
 This holy chapel where Mary is revered, is built upon 
 the site which that other chapel occupied which was tran- 
 sported to Dalmatia on the 9th of May, 1291, and from 
 Dalmatia to Loretto subsequently. It may be twenty- 
 five feet long and eight or nine in latitude : three altars 
 are erected in the chapel ; the altar to the east is dedicated 
 to St. Joseph, the other to the south is dedicated to St- 
 Anne, and the third to the west, to Gabriel the angel. 
 
 A cave, which was hollowed in the rock and which 
 communicated with the dwelling of the blessed Virgin, 
 was used by our Lady as an oratory. The Virgin was 
 at prayer, it is generally affirmed, when Gabriel announced 
 the incarnation of the Word ; St. Helena placed a pillar 
 where Gabriel saluted her, and another where Mary 
 made reply. These pillars are nearly three feet from one 
 another ; the latter has been broken by marauders seeking 
 treasure : the superior part remains and is pendant from 
 
THE COUNTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 231 
 
 the ceiling. Even the Mahometans consider its suspen- 
 sion as something- supernatural. Adjacent to the chapel 
 there is an hospital, maintained by the fathers of the 
 Holy Land, where pilgrims are received with grea t 
 benevolence and charity. The relics of a church may 
 be seen beyond the chapel, which church was built upon 
 the site of the workshop of St. Joseph. 
 
 I never in my life saw a precipice so frightful as the 
 formidable scarp which terminates this mountain ; here 
 the Nazarines sought to immolate our Saviour, in revenge 
 for his reproaches of their multiplied disorders. 
 
 The impression of a knee is to be seen upon a rock, 
 where the blessed Virgin knelt in a paroxysm of grati- 
 tude, to return thanks to God that her Son had been 
 preserved : St. Helena built a church there, no longer in 
 existence. After our orisons at Nazareth, we crossed 
 the country of Galilee to the sea called the Tiberias : the 
 soil of this country, so fertile formerly and full of people, 
 is untilled at present and deserted. They call it the land 
 of the Annunciation, or the country of the Gospel, as it 
 was here that our Saviour first announced his holy law. 
 
 Some Jews assert that Sapha was Bethulia, but with 
 very little reason : we passed this city by, which has 
 nothing but the name of one at present ; its people are 
 so wretched and so destitute of furniture, as to lie upon 
 the ground ; we subsequently crossed the field of Dothan. 
 Jacob's cattle must have thriven here, for its fertility is 
 excessive ; in the days of Jacob it was more prolific. In 
 this field we saw the well in which Joseph was imprisoned 
 by his brethren ; it has inherited his name. The well is 
 covered with a little dome supported upon four small 
 pillars. In continuing our journey we sought for Caper- 
 
232 THE STORM. 
 
 naum, we could scarcely ascertain the site of this unhappy 
 town, razed as it is almost to the earth. Nothing can be 
 seen save broken capitals, fragments of friezes and pros- 
 trate columns which appear to have been wrought. They 
 are so many witnesses of the anger of God against this 
 unhappy city, whose towering crimes called down the 
 vengeance of the skies. Her disasters originated in her 
 great prosperity, to which every thing contributed ; her 
 situation was felicitous ; she stood upon the pleasant 
 margin of the sea of Galilee, and the town extended to 
 the east over a fine declivity ; she enjoyed in the utmost 
 affluence all the requisites of life, for on one side the sea 
 afforded fish of every species, and the level country on 
 the other, furnished every delicacy desirable ; travellers 
 from strange and distant nations continually alighted at 
 her portals, joyously repairing hither to enjoy the plea- 
 sures of this city. But the hearts of the inhabitants 
 became so sensual in consequence of these advantages, 
 that they turned a deaf ear to the wonders and the 
 warnings of the Lord, wonders which would have con- 
 verted Tyre and Sidon in the zenith of their power. 
 Many times, as I passed by them, I paused to view the 
 waters of the sea of Galilee ; I represented to myself the 
 memorable evening of the launching of that happy bark 
 and that sumblime moment when being with his disciplesj 
 Christ rebuked the whirlwind, and that too, when the 
 man -God caused the abundant draft at which they were 
 astonished. This sea may be nine leagues long and the 
 breadth is three or four. 
 
 The tetrarch Herod built this city in honour of the 
 Emperor Tiberius ; the city gave its name to the sea 
 that rolls beside it ; it is called by Luke the Lake of 
 
THE BATH. 233 
 
 Genesareth, because its waters to the north lave the 
 country of Genesareth. A splendid and extensive city 
 in old times, it is a now a days almost destroyed. Alas, 
 this is the fate of all the works of man ! Here Prince 
 Tancred the Crusader, built a church, as they say, dedi- 
 cated to St. Peter, to honor the locality where the power 
 to loose and bind was bestowed on that disciple. A bath 
 has been preserved with more sedulity, of which the 
 water is so warm that you cannot keep your hand in it ; 
 'tis medicinal, and this bath is much frequented and ex- 
 ceeding" salutary. In returning from Tiberias to Nazareth, 
 we descended to the valley where the loaves were multi- 
 plied ; it lies between two mountains, whence our Saviour 
 could contemplate the thousands whose hunger he ap- 
 peased with two small fishes and five barley loaves. After 
 a journey of an hour, we reached the mountain of Beati- 
 tudes, which rises in a plain having' lovely prospects on 
 every side. It was here our Saviour preached that famous 
 sermon which contains such wise and rational morality, 
 that in itself it proves the Deity of Christ. We came 
 about three leagues farther on to the field of the ears of 
 corn, where, oppressed by hunger on the Sabbath-day, 
 the apostles pulled those ears of corn, for which the Jews 
 upbraided them. Half a league from thence we came to 
 that celebrated city where the Son of God performed his 
 first miracle. The church has been converted to a mosque 
 by the Mahometans, which occupies the place where the 
 miracle was wrought. A portico precedes it, of which 
 the frontispiece presents three pitchers in relievo. They 
 show a fountain at some distance, where the pitchers 
 were replenished. The tradition, if not true, at least 
 awakes the memory of the acts of the disciples and of 
 
236 
 
 ARABS. 
 
 to return thanks to God for the protection he had granted 
 us during our pilgrimage. I have not spoken here of the 
 Arabs, my Father, the most formidable enemies the pil- 
 grims encounter. The pilgrims encounter the Arabs 
 wherever they proceed, and even in places where you 
 would not deem it possible. They always keep a sharp 
 look out for travellers : it is almost impossible to avoid 
 falling into their hands ; and when you do fall in with 
 these marauders, you can never quit their company with- 
 out being denuded of your property. Their only 
 means of living is the pillaging of pilgrims. We were 
 so happy as not to be attacked. I shall not end this let- 
 ter without saying a few words of the cavaliers of Jeru- 
 salem. The knights are held in this place in profound 
 consideration. The honour of belonging to the order of 
 St. John is only granted to such persons as are distin- 
 guished by their birth, or the service they have rendered 
 to the sacred sepulchre, or the alms they have bestowed 
 upon the monuments of Christ. The Rev. Guardian of 
 Jerusalem, in his pontifical habits, ascertains, by inter- 
 rogatory, the quality of the candidates. Those who 
 have been appointed to obtain this information, report 
 what they have learned. The facts being found legiti- 
 mate, they take the sword of Godfrey of Bouillon from 
 the sacred sepulchre, and the collar and the spurs of that 
 hero of the Crusades. And first, they put the sword 
 into the hand of the new knight, which is subsequently 
 girded to his side : they put the spurs upon his heels, 
 then the golden collar, with its cross, about his neck. 
 After this ceremony, they recite prayers, which being 
 ended, a formula, containing his engagements, is pro- 
 
THE KNIGHTS. 237 
 
 nounced by the new cavalier. A discourse is delivered 
 by the father guardian, in which the dignity of a cavalier 
 of Jerusalem is eulogised. He elevates this order above 
 every other institute of chivalry save one, giving the 
 pre-eminence to the golden fleece. He instructs the 
 new knight as to the nature of the obligations which a 
 cavalier contracts on this occasion. He recommends 
 particularly the good example he should set, and the 
 zeal which he should cherish in defending and preserving 
 all the monuments of Christ : finally, the ceremony of the 
 reception of the cavaliers of Jerusalem concludes by a 
 solemn procession around the sacred sepulchre. 
 
 I finish the recital of my journey to Jerusalem with 
 this history of the knights. I have nothing more, my 
 Rev. Father, to observe, if it be not to assure, you that 
 though I had participated in no other happiness save the 
 solitary joy of seeing the sacred monuments, those faith- 
 ful testimonies of all that holy writ has recorded of the 
 death and of the passion of our Saviour. I should owe 
 eternal acts of thanksgiving to the Lord, for vouchsafing 
 to admit me among the number of his missionaries. O ! 
 that I could make my voice extend to all our brethren in 
 France, to invite them to come hither to participate 
 along with us in those sacred consolations which are con- 
 ceded to his workmen by the master of the harvest. 
 Come and see, in former times, wrote St. Jerome to 
 Marcella, to induce her and other ladies to quit Rome 
 and its embarrassments, and to proceed to visit Bethle- 
 hem, the humblest of villages. Here you will not see, 
 wrote the solitary saint, here you will not see those 
 sumptuous and superb edifices adorning the first city in 
 
238 THORNS. 
 
 the universe, nor will you see the vast galleries, and magni- 
 ficent paintings of imperial Rome, nor her porticos, en- 
 crusted with invaluable marbles, nor the gorgeous 
 embellishments of palaces, those internal decorations on 
 which silver and gold are lavished to excess. However, 
 you will see the manger of the Saviour, and you will 
 see the humble stable where an infant was adored by 
 shepherds and by kings. Such objects as these seemed 
 sufficient to St. Jerome to win Roman matrons to Beth- 
 lehem. How many other motives might be added to 
 those mentioned to excite our beloved brothers to come 
 with us to Aleppo, to Damascus, to Tiipoli, to Sidon, 
 to Jerusalem, to the mountains of Lebanon, and to the 
 valley of the Nile- These lands are sacred, every one 
 of them, sanctified as they are by the labours of the in- 
 carnate God. Here his first disciples were selected : we 
 tread upon their foot-prints wherever we proceed. In 
 the cities and the villages, where they announced the 
 gospel, do we preach Christ and him crucified. Among 
 the nations who received the faith from the apostles, do 
 we endeavour to maintain the faith. There we labour 
 to defend it, to shield it against that infidelity which 
 endeavours to destroy it. 
 
 Opportunity is offered, upon every side, to workmen 
 of good-will, by the ever-teeming harvest. True it is, 
 most true, we must necessarily tread on thorns : but did 
 not the Lord and his disciples tread upon them before ? 
 And is it not glorious, meritorious, sublime, to partici- 
 pate in their sufferings ? 
 
 I require, my Rev. Father, the assistance of your 
 prayers to aid me in thanksgivings to the Lord, for the 
 favour of having called me hither to his service, and to 
 
THORNS. 239 
 
 procure for me the grace of terminating my days in this 
 place evangelically. 
 
 With profound respect, my Rev. Father, your very 
 humble and obedient servant, 
 
 Neret Jesuit. 
 
 * 
 
TRAITS AND TRADITIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CITY OF DAMASCUS. 
 
 This town has the advantage of having kept the title 
 of the capital of Syria ; though this city has ceased to 
 be that splendid town which was founded by Hus, and 
 beautified by Damas, who was steward or comptroller to 
 Abraham, who gave his patronymic to the celebrated 
 city. 
 
 Cham-Eldemecky is the name by which it is known 
 among the Arabs. Cham is the name which the Arabs 
 give to Sem, who was grand-father of Has. who was 
 founder of the city. The meaning of Demechy is im- 
 bibing blood ; a name which is given it because it is 
 situated near the height on which the first murder was 
 committed upon Abel. 
 
 Isaiah saw the future ruin of this town, five-and-sixty 
 years before it was destroyed. It should cease to be a 
 city, he asserted, and it should be nothing better than a 
 heap of stones. The prophecy was verified by time, as 
 Damascus was reduced to this condition by Nebuchodo- 
 
CHRISTIAN KNIGHTS. 241 
 
 nosor, its conqueror. The Macedonians enterprised its 
 re-erection, according to St. Jerome, not indeed upon 
 the same foundations, but a little more remote. They 
 removed the city from its ancient site, because it was 
 commanded by the neighbouring mountains. 'Twas 
 better to build it in the spacious plain, on which Damas-* 
 cus stands at present, near the many chrystal rivers which 
 irrigate the gardens which surround the town. 
 
 Charmed with its happy situation, the Ptolemies took 
 pleasure in enriching it ; but as many conquerors succes- 
 sively extended the invading arm over the ramparts of 
 this city, the beauty of Damascus became tarnished. 
 
 The Romans, in the days of Pompey, were the first 
 assailants of the city. They reduced Damascus to their 
 domination. The Saracens expelled the Romans, suf- 
 fering in their turn the sieges of our Christian knights. 
 The beleaguering army of the Christian knights had re- 
 duced the city to extremity, when a Greek, gained over 
 by the Saracens, played his part so well on presenting 
 himself before the Christian princes, that he persuaded 
 them that it would be impossible to take the town while 
 they directed their efforts to the side on which they at 
 present were besieging it. He could show them, he as- 
 sured them, that part of the city where the wall was 
 weakest, at which it would be easy, he declared, to enter 
 victoriously, 
 
 The Christians credited the Greek, the army speedily 
 decamped ; they quitted the side they had hitherto be- 
 sieged, their forces made a movement from the west to 
 sit down before the oriental battlements. In effecting 
 this manoeuvre the besiegers were assailed : a column 
 issued from the city gates which took possession of the 
 
 M 
 
242 SARACENS. 
 
 best positions, and altered the direction of the rivers 
 which should have borne water to the Christian camp* 
 The heat of the season was excessive ; the thirst which 
 was suffered by the European soldiers was irremediable, 
 it was imperatively necessary to raise the siege. 
 
 The Saracens were masters of the city when the siege 
 was raised, but it was only for a time, until Tamerlane 
 reduced them. The Mamelukes of Egypt took it from 
 his followers, and peaceably enjoyed their conquest to 
 1517. Selim, the sovereign of the Turks, laid siege to 
 Damascus with a mighty army, and expelled the Mame- 
 lukes ; Damascus has continued, ever since this conquest, 
 to constitute a portion of the Turkish empire. The city 
 was surrounded by a triple wall at one time, the inmost 
 of the three was the highest of the walls ; the second was 
 surrounded by a mighty fosse ; the third, which was 
 lower than the inmost two, was supported by the coun- 
 terscarp. There appeared upon these walls at little in- 
 tervals, towers of different descriptions, some of which 
 were round, while some of them were square : such of 
 them as time has spared have battlements, embrasures, 
 parapets ; at present, however, the intervening walls are 
 all destroyed. 
 
 The figure of the city is a perfect square, each side of 
 which is half a league in length. Of all the suburbs which 
 it once possessed, it has but a solitary suburb now, said 
 to be about a league in length. The beauty of this city 
 is principally derived from seven rivers, which, if the 
 expression is allowable, are quite at its command, which, 
 glittering in the plain on which the city stands, maintain 
 its perpetual fertility and verdure, so that the fruits and 
 legumes, which the city stands in need of, are supplied 
 
CASTLE OF DAMASCUS. 243 
 
 by the gardens that surround the town, and which these 
 streams continually water. The water which emerges 
 from the fountains of the city, is the water of these rivers. 
 Almost every street in this city has a fountain ; the houses 
 of the most inconsiderable citizens have one in which the 
 water emerges from a marble basin, and from this you 
 may judge of the cleanness of the town. Barradi is the 
 name of the largest of the rivers, it is one of the an- 
 cient Chrysorrhoas, rivers which because their sands 
 were gold, received the name. It passes by a building 
 where caravans put up, supplying water to a vase which 
 stands in the centre of a noble court, the floor of which 
 is paved with variegated marble. This sombre looking 
 edifice is very like a monastery ; there are galleries con- 
 nected with the second story ; with apartments which 
 follow one another in the fashion of a dormitory ; the 
 doors are adorned with mosaic, and the galleries sup- 
 ported upon marble pillars. 
 
 Nothing is so curious in the caravanserai as a certain 
 mosque, which is crowned with a cupola. This mosque 
 which is elegantly built, has lofty columns of the finest 
 marble, which highly ornament the inside : four fine 
 pillars which are under the vestibule are exceedingly re- 
 markable ; — each pillar is composed of a single piece of 
 marble, though each be astonishingly high and large. The 
 river of Barradi, after passing by this edifice, washes 
 the walls of the castle of Damascus ; this castle may 
 be considered as a little town, it has streets within 
 its walls, and has houses of its own ; five elevated towers, 
 of which every stone is facetted like a diamond, protect 
 this fortress. 
 
244 MOSQUES. 
 
 That celebrated steel which made valuable sword 
 blades, was kept in the castle in anterior times. I will not 
 undertake to say that there is any of that metal in exis- 
 ence now, though it be the opinion of many that there is. 
 As to the houses in the city they are built of wood, 
 having no external beauty ; their prospect is confined to 
 their interior courts ; outside you see nothing but me- 
 lancholy walls, entirely free from windows ; in proportion, 
 however, to their outward bleakness, are the brilliancy 
 and riches that adorn them within ; they are painted, 
 gilded, and adorned with furniture, and ornamental 
 porcelain, which grouped and arranged with elegance and 
 art, stand upon shelves which encircle the apartments. 
 
 Every house has its hall of audience, a divan, as it is 
 termed, in which strangers are received, and where the 
 persons in authority administer the law, and sit in 
 council. Gardens are connected with such houses, but 
 fruit trees are all that they contain. 
 
 In Damascus the mosques are the finest edifices, and 
 their number is perhaps two hundred ; the most beautiful 
 of all is, decidedly, the mosque of St. John ; this was an 
 illustrious church at one time, dedicated to St. Zachary, 
 the father of the Baptist : they even say that he was buried 
 here,and a golden basin stands beneath the vault of a grotto in 
 the mosque, and in it according to theTurks his head reposes ; 
 but this head is never shewn by the Mussulmans to any one. 
 The temple is preceded by a large enclosure, sur- 
 rounded by a colonnade, in which to make the circuit of 
 the court. The Christians cannot enter ; but such is the 
 beautiful proportion and the perfect symmetry, such har- 
 mony and elegance pervade the pile, that when the ele- 
 vated doors are open, you see all inside of the building 
 
RETROSPECTION. 245 
 
 at a glance. The spectator cannot fail to be delighted 
 when he sees the order of the pillars that sustain the 
 vault, the beauty of the capitals that crown the columns , 
 the richly ornamented cornice that reigns along the nave, 
 and the richness of that gilding that gives them so much 
 brilliancy. But our persecuted Catholics, when passing 
 by its portals, cast their eyes along it as they linger at 
 the gate, only to ruminate with tears on the freedom of 
 their fathers, on their piety and liberality, the melancholy 
 changes which time hath brought about, since that vaulted 
 roof re-echoed with the voice of St. John of Darney, whose 
 accents were so different from those of the Mahometans ! 
 
 After having spoken of this celebrated mosque, I look 
 round me in this capital for something to describe, but 
 see nothing but that road which is mentioned in the 
 Testament, the Latin name of which is via recta. It ex- 
 tends from the west to the oriental gate, and it is seen 
 holding on through the city and suburb without the 
 slightest deviation, rectilineously ; its length is probably 
 a league : to the right and the left along its whole extent, 
 you are never tired of gazing on the gorgeous goods 
 which are here exhibited in shops, and which the caravans 
 of Persia and of India, of Armenia, of Europe, and of 
 Africa, bring yearly to Damascus ; it must be admitted, 
 that the manner of arranging them, inspires an irresistible 
 desire to buy. 
 
 Near the oriental gate, at the end of via recta, a house 
 is situated, designated that of Juda. St. Paul was re- 
 ceived in this dwelling when converted. There is a 
 closet in this house which is four feet long, while 
 the breadth of it is two ; 'twas (according to tradi- 
 tion) in this closet that St. Paul passed three whole days 
 
246 THE GUARD. 
 
 without taking any sustenance ; it was here that he had 
 that admirable vision, of which he gives a description in 
 in his second to Corinthians ;* and by the imposition of the 
 hands of the holy Ananias, the eyesight of St. Paul was 
 restored in this apartment. There is a mosque at the dwel- 
 ling-house of Juda, and Ananias it is bruited lies buried 
 underneath it. Ananias, who in Tarsus had been ordered to 
 seek Paul, abode in the great street quite adjacent to a 
 fountain, from which he took some water to baptize the 
 new apostle. 
 
 Full of this opinion, the Christians drink this water 
 from feelings of devotion, and keep it in their residence, 
 as if it had been blessed. On the site of the house of Ana- 
 nias, a temple was erected by their sires : this church, into 
 which I often entered, the Turks sought to turn to a 
 mosque : until it had a minaret it would not suit their 
 purposes, and they often sought to build one, but ac- 
 cording to tradition, the erection of the day was over- 
 turned every night, and they relinquished their design. 
 In the same street, at the southren side of the oriental 
 gate, there is a species of window which served the 
 disciples of St. Paul to save their master from the Jews, 
 and preserve his precious life. 
 
 At this oriental gate, a Christian Abyssinian was keep- 
 ing guard with his military company. The soldier was 
 apprized of the magistrate's design to seize upon St. Paul 
 and to give him to the Jews. He called a disciple to 
 his side, and he pointed to a window, — 'twas a species of 
 embrasure that looked upon the parapet of the highest 
 and the greatest of the ramparts of Damascus. The 
 
 * 2 Cor. 12. 
 
THE ROMAN SOLDIER. 247 
 
 Christians took advantage of this opportune discovery's 
 they let their master down on the outside of the wall, 
 and delivered him to liberty. 
 
 The Jews were soon informed of the freedom of the 
 person whom they had considered as already in their 
 hands. Vexed and disappointed, they searched in all 
 directions for the purpose of discovering him. In the 
 chatter of inquiry it speedily transpired, that amongst 
 the Roman soldiers was a Christian keeping guard. 
 There needed nothing more to bring conviction to the 
 Jews that this soldier was connected with the saviours 
 of St. Paul. The soldier was discoverd and his death 
 required ; and alas ! the money of the Jews procured it ; 
 they purchased the permission, in like manner, of the 
 governor to have the window walled, that it might be a 
 testimony, as they said, of the infidelity of that false 
 soldier. But in the lapse of time it was doomed to do 
 him honor. 
 
 The Christians stole away the soldier's body. They 
 built a tomb above his ashes, which is girded by a balus- 
 trade which sustains a little roof which looks down upon 
 the spot, and keeps the pelting of the whirlwinds from 
 visiting it roughly. The Christians, nay ! what is ex- 
 ceedingly surprising, the Mussulmans are often seen 
 repairing, with respect, to the precincts of the grave. 
 
 We shall go outside of the city if you please, sir ; I 
 discover nothing more in the inside of the city with 
 which I might presume to occupy your time. 
 
 On the road which conducts to the city of the silent? 
 or the Turkish cemetery, very near Damascus, you dis- 
 cover an erection, said to be tiie house of the general- 
 in-chief of the army of Benadab, i.e. of Naaman the leper 
 
248 fish. 
 
 The house has been converted, by the Turks, into an 
 hospital for such as are afflicted by the same disease. 
 There is a mosque in this establishment which constitutes 
 its wing-. The court is overcrowded with waving 
 branches, and the tall and lofty forms of the fig tree and 
 palm. A portrait is preserved here, which is said to be 
 Giezi's, who, when he was disgraced by his master, 
 Eliseus, retired into this city where he afterwards ex- 
 pired. At the distance of two hundred paces from this 
 hospital, run two rivers which the Scriptures speak of ; 
 these are the Abana and the Pharphar, and these two 
 rivers give existence to a third, known by the name of 
 the Siouf&s they branch, a little lower down, into three 
 large rivers, having mills upon their margins. In dyers' 
 work the waters of these rivers are of great utility. 
 They hasten to precipitate themselves into a lake which 
 the Arabs call Ouadi Guthi, or the gulping of the waters. 
 This lake is at three leagues distance from the city, at 
 the oriental side of Damascus. It is thirty miles in 
 length and eighteen or twenty broad, its fish is very 
 good, and game is quite abundant in the coppice that 
 surrounds it. There's one surprising circumstance con- 
 nected with this lake, which is, that though it is con- 
 stantly receiving all the waters of these rivers, yet it 
 never overflows. There are persons who suppose it to 
 have subterraneous channels. I shall tell you what is 
 commonly imagined in the country, and what I perceived 
 myself of this subject on the spot. 
 
 At a league, or thereabouts, from our mission of An- 
 toura, there's a river which is known as the River of the 
 Dog. What I heard upon the subject made me form a 
 design to make a journey to the sources of the river of 
 
THE RIVFR DOG. 249 
 
 the Dog. I was standing in the presence of a vaulted 
 rock which had been excavated by the hand of nature, 
 and the water flowed abundantly from underneath the 
 arched way, insomuch, that many fountains, if united in 
 one, scarcely could produce so profluent a supply. To 
 me this arch appeared to be twenty feet in breadth, and 
 nearly fifteen feet in height ; the water which it spaned is 
 the River of the Dog. It is a common supposition that 
 this copious flood of water comes pouring from that reser- 
 voir of which I spoke above. But in order to come 
 here, it must have made itself a channel (from its basin 
 to the arch,) which is thirty leagues in length. 
 
 The waters which are found in the channel of the Dog, 
 have the qualities of those you discover in the lake, the 
 species of fish which inhabit them are similar, and, like 
 the waters of the Dog are the waters of the lake, gelid 
 and unwholesome, and hard. Near the under-ground 
 canal of which we spoke above, and which issues from 
 the arch of which I have made mention, there are gloomy 
 caverns of great extent, some of which are upwards of 
 eighty feet in length. Nature has produced in the depth 
 of these recesses a column made of chrystal, and many 
 other figures which could scarce be better formed were 
 they chiseled by a sculptor. 
 
 The River of the Dog is little better than a league in 
 its greatest length. Two mountains squeeze it upon 
 either side, which rise from out the water like two gigan- 
 tic walls, and so solid, massive, and impenetrable are they, 
 that they seem a single rock from the summit to the base. 
 'Tis said that the waters of this river, when they issue 
 from their urn, divide into two branches, and that one of 
 
 these arms having dipped into the earth, conceals itself 
 
 m 5 
 
250 CANINE ORACLE. 
 
 beneath some rocks, and, deep beneath the ground, pur- 
 sues its course invisibly : that the other is the river of 
 the dog, and separates the Kesroan from the country of 
 the Druses. The ancients knew it by the name of Lycus. 
 It has got its present name from its having had an idol 
 which was worshipped at its mouth, in the figure of a 
 dog. 
 
 If tradition may be credited, this dog delivered oracles 
 in so very loud a tone, that the words were heard in 
 Cyprus. Being hurled down by age from its elevated 
 pedestal, the head was separated from the body by the 
 fall. The precipitated body hurried down into the ocean, 
 while the head was brought to Venice, if its legend may 
 be believed. I tell you what I saw, and have mentioned 
 what I heard. The last I think is fiction, but the first is 
 a reality. 
 
 The bridge, by which this river is bestridden, leads 
 you to a road which is chiseled in the rock. If you turn 
 to one side as you enter on the bridge, an inscription is 
 perceived upon a granite block, which tells us that the 
 bridge was built by Antoninus. 
 
 Imp. Cces. M. Antoninus pius felix Augustus, Parth. 
 Max. Brit. germ, maximus, Pontifex maximus monti- 
 bus imminentibus Syco flumini cases viam dilatavit per 
 * * * * A?itoninam suam. A little 
 
 lower down what follows may be read upon another 
 table : — Invicte Imperator P. felix Aug. multis annis 
 impera. 
 
 About six miles from this bridge, you perceive the 
 hill of Abel. Two columns are perceived upon its slope, 
 which rear their upright forms on their pedestals on the 
 hill, and have a species of architrave incumbent on their 
 
THE MURDERER. 251 
 
 capitals. Cain and Abel offered sacrifice to God (if 
 tradition may be credited) in this place, and a little far- 
 ther on, the impious Cain satisfied his fury on the amiable 
 shepherd. 
 
 St. Helena built a Christian church on the spot on 
 which they found his tomb ; nothing now remains but 
 three solitary columns, but time, as if repenting him, 
 has left these unimpaired. 
 
 On the road to Sid on, at nine miles from Damascus, 
 your attention is directed to the sepulchre of Cain. 
 
 On turning your back upon the hill of Abel, to re- 
 trace your footsteps to the city, the pathway passes by a 
 lake, the square of which is half a league. 
 
 The bed this water lies on, is a whitish stone, of a 
 bitter and a saline taste : from lodging in the winter and 
 the spring upon this stone, the water of the lake con- 
 tracts its qualities. It thickens in the heat of summer 
 which evaporates its humid particles ; the larger portions 
 constitute a white and glistering salt, which, left upon the 
 bed, are easily collected. We have sent you some for 
 curiosity. 
 
 Two leagues from this lake, in another direction, and 
 five from the city of Damascus, there's a monastery for 
 Greeks and a nunnery for ladies, whose persuasion is the 
 Greek. They stand upon the mountain Sajednaja. The 
 females in the nunnery amount to forty, whose superioress 
 is known to take the title of an abbess. It will not be 
 considered as astonishing in France, that the abbess is 
 superior to the two establishments — that males and fe- 
 males equally obey her. 
 
 The monks chant the office in the choir, and administer 
 the rites of religion to the nuns, while the serving-brothers 
 
252 THE PICTURE. 
 
 of the former manage the affairs of both the houses. 
 
 The nunnery is rich, 'tis incumbent on the inmates to 
 offer hospitality to all the persons who pass by, and it is 
 an obligation religiously complied with. 
 
 Fervently devoted to the virgin Mary, the nuns are 
 visited on lady's days by pilgrims who gather to the 
 nunnery from all directions. Maimbourg, I remember, 
 has made mention of a miracle,* to which this devoted- 
 ness is said to owe its origin. The church contained a 
 picture of the virgin Mary, from which, its colours 
 fading, it became in the eyes of the credulous assistants, 
 really invested with a true carnation. The renown of 
 such a miracle persuaded me to visit it. They shewed 
 me a shrine which was hidden in a corner, protected by a 
 multitude of iron bars, from which you see, the shrine 
 was sufficiently secure. I stood before this cage, while 
 the Cicerone informed me that this shrine contained the 
 picture that contained the true carnation. I saw the 
 iron bars and some glimpses of the shrine, but returned 
 to Damascus nothing wiser than I came. 
 
 The chapel is adorned with the presents of the faith- 
 ful, and is bright with many a row of starry lamps that 
 corruscate with precious stones of every colour. 
 
 You survey from the summit of the Sajednaja, (the 
 mountain whereupon the said monastery stands) the ex- 
 tent of the plain of the beautiful Damascus, which is 
 stretched at the foot of the Sajednaja. You may see 
 Barsy below you at the beginning of the plain, a village 
 which was anciently denominated Noba. 'Twas thither 
 that Abraham pursued the kings who ran away with 
 Lot, and with his property. 
 
 * History of the Crusades. 
 
HEBREW SCROLL. 253 
 
 Near that village you behold a cave ; the smoke of the 
 sacrifice ascended there which Abraham offered to the 
 God of victories, when he rescued his nephew from the 
 kings. 
 
 Yauber, there beyond, another village, may be half a 
 league from Barsy. Certain Jews maintain a synagogue 
 in Yauber. Sojourning in the village, I asked one of 
 them, one day, " Can you tell me," said I, " when your 
 synagogue was built ?" " A cave was discovered by an 
 ancient of our nation," the Hebrew made answer, " where 
 Elias the prophet had abode ; the synagogue was built 
 on the summit of the cave, and thither they conveyed 
 the volumes of the law which escaped the spoliations of 
 the ravagers of Rome, what time Titus brought the 
 Temple to the ground." One circumstance is true, be 
 this story as it may, and that is, that there is a synagogue 
 in Yauber. There are three little chapels at its oriental 
 side, and 'tis in the middle-most of these that the Pen- 
 tateuch is kept, together with some other writings which 
 are written by the hand, in Hebrew characters. 
 
 The form of these books is very different from ours. 
 Suppose a sheet of parchment, with another at its end, 
 and another joined to that, and so on to the length that 
 the text requires : rolled on one another, they compose 
 a volume which resembles a cylinder in shape. A coffer, 
 that is composed of a very precious wood, encloses the 
 scroll, on which the Pentateuch is written, which is en- 
 veloped in a web of a valuable kind. 
 
 The cave in which Elias dwelt is situated in the chapel 
 to the right. The figure of that cave is square : two 
 stone steps bring you down into the cave. It is con- 
 stantly illuminated by a quantity of lamps, which burn 
 there in honour of this celebrated prophet. 
 
254 THE SYNAGOGUE. 
 
 The Jews call this cavern the grotto of Elias ; for, 
 according to tradition, it was here that Elias, in compli- 
 ance with the order of the Lord, consecrated a successor 
 to the king of Syria, in the person of Hazael : and, ac- 
 cording to the same tradition, it was here he was obliged 
 to hide himself to escape the vindictive fury of the king 
 by whose anger the gifted fugitive was followed. 
 
 The villages of which I have spoken to you now, are 
 extern to the city on its orient side, but those which are 
 blazoned by the setting sun, and the villages which bask 
 in his meridian rays, lying to the southward of Damas- 
 cus, equally deserve our attention. Descending from 
 the Sajednaja, we shall climb the Saline, to which it is 
 united, and which lies to the southward of the city. 
 The village in the valley has the mountain's name. A 
 cave is situated in the mountain's side, of which the ori- 
 nce is fenced with rocks, which were said to be so many 
 jasper stones. Forty Greeks, who took refuge in thk 
 cave, were at one time massacred within it, having been 
 accused of speaking of Mahomet in a slighting tone. 
 
 At two hundred paces from its mouth, on the side of 
 the same Saline, a cave is discovered which is higher 
 up, which Christians are not suffered to go near. TJhe 
 Turks tell a story with reference to this, to the follow- 
 ing effect. The prospect appeared so delicious to Ma- 
 homet, pausing on the summit of Saline, and consider- 
 ing the city of Damascus, as it lay in its loveliness below 
 him, that he internally determined, upon this account 
 alone, to abstain from going into it, and, in order to 
 quit it as quickly as he could, he made one gigantic 
 step, which brought him, in the turn of an eye, into the 
 eitv of Medina, in which he ultimately died. 
 
THE PROPHET'S PROSPECT. 255 
 
 However improbable the story be, the Turks have 
 the greatest veneration for a mountain which was pressed 
 by their prophet's feet, and thither pilgrims perennially 
 arrive, who reverence the ground on which Mahomet 
 trod. A pavilion has been placed on the summit of the 
 Sajednaja, circular in shape, with apertures, or doors, 
 to consider the four quarters of the world, as it were. 
 The prospect is perfectly enchanting. A Turkish 
 lord was accustomed to ascend to the summit of the 
 Sajednaja, to contemplate the prospect every day : and 
 now in compliance with his will, the tombstone, under 
 which his ashes lie, rears its head upon the sublime height. 
 To the west of the pavilion you perceive a plain, to 
 which the declivity is gentle ; 'tis known by the name of 
 the field of victory. It got this appellation in the holy 
 war : and a story in reference to this is related by an 
 Arab author. As discord tvas existing in the Christian 
 councils, a soldier, more sagacious than the others, de- 
 vised a project to convince the chiefs that the discord 
 which they cherished would delay the siege. Taking a 
 quiver from an archer's back, he lifted up the arrows in 
 his war-glove ; the mail-clad warrior, putting up his 
 beaver, directed their attention to the shafts ; — collectively, 
 'twas difficult to break the bolts ; one by one, nothing 
 was more easy. " Princes ! the enemy," he cried aloud, 
 as he flung far away the broken fragments, " warriors, 
 the enemy will treat us thus, taking us singly and unas- 
 sisting, but if discord be driven from our councils, close 
 bound together by the ligatures of union, warriors of 
 the cross, we shall be invincible." This address, says 
 the Arabian writer, enforced as it was by an illustration, 
 reconciled the repellent spirits, and the town was taken* 
 
256 STORY OP A FRIAR, 
 
 The field on which the warrior stood, when he harangued 
 the Christian leaders, on that account was called the field 
 of victory, continues the Arabian. 
 
 Though friendly to the Christian army, the Moslem 
 cannot be believed when he gives the lie to our histo- 
 rians, who tell us that the siege was raised, and that a 
 spy prevailed upon the Christian chiefs to change the 
 attack, and soforth. 
 
 That the Christian knights, who sat down before Da- 
 mascus, failed in their efforts to reduce the town, is a 
 circumstance confirmed by the Sire de Joinville, and 
 Father Maimbourg. 
 
 According to this Sire de Joinville, adjacent to the 
 field of victory, a Dominican, named Father Yves, en- 
 countered a woman, who was hastening along, having 
 fire in her right hand, and w r ater in her left. n Prythee, 
 my good woman/' said the venerable priest, " whither 
 are you going with your fire and water ?" "I am going." 
 said the woman, " to extinguish hell as well as to set fire 
 to heaven, that God may be served for love alone, hence- 
 forth by the family of ir.an. 
 
 When this story was reported to the king, that grave 
 monarch is said to have considered it an edifying lesson. 
 
 In speaking of the field of victory, the tower, which 
 rears its head on that enormous rock, is too conspicuous 
 to be forgotten ; its title is the Tower of the Reconcilia- 
 tion, for here the chiefs of the Christian hosts pitched 
 their tents and attacked the town when concord had 
 returned. 
 
 The precincts of tins tower resemble paradise ; there 
 the six rivers may be seen, glistering amid the foliage : 
 the fresh and fragrant air that comes from the gardens of 
 
PLAIN OF PERSIA. 257 
 
 Damascus, and that crisps the rivers that surround it, is 
 perfectly ambrosial. These chanels have been hollowed 
 by the hand of man, in order to irrigate the plain. The 
 plain is terminated by delicious landscapes. The place 
 is much frequented by the Damascenes, who come hither 
 to sit down beside the tower to luxuriate beneath the 
 waving boughs, in the paradise that spreads around 
 them. 
 
 The plain on which the city stands, is more extensive 
 to the west than at the eastern aspect of the city : the 
 portion of the plain which is westward of the city, may 
 be twenty leagues in length and six or seven wide ; 
 Ouadi leh a jam is the name by which it is known, and 
 this signifies the plain of Persia ; it is surrounded to the 
 north by three great mountains, the highest of these hills 
 is the mountain of the Sheik. Confronting the north- 
 east on one side and facing the south-west on the other, 
 it is ten leagues long in this direction, and completely 
 terminates only at Cesarea Philippi : this celebrated city is 
 at present but a village, nothing but its solitary castle 
 now remains of all its ancient greatness, which lifts its 
 melancholy head in dismal desolation, over some dilapi- 
 dated houses. 
 
 There is a gentle elevation of the earth in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Cesarea ; it is little more than ten feet high 
 and may be half a league in circuit ; it is overshadowed 
 by umbrageous oaks, and scattered here and there: citrons, 
 sycamores, and orange trees, rear their forms on this 
 gentle slope. According to a popular tradition, our 
 Lord was standing on this gentle slope when he questioned 
 his disciples as to what the people said of him, and as to 
 
258 THE SHEIK. 
 
 what they said of him themselves, when Peter took 
 occasion to reply, You are Christ, fyc. 
 
 It is from the foot of this gentle elevation, that two 
 fountains issue which are designated Sor and Dan ; about 
 thirty paces separate these sources, and at about fifty 
 paces from the place at which they issue from the earth, 
 they form a confluence which constitutes the river Jordan, 
 a river that has had the honour of lending its waters to 
 the great precursor, upon his aspersion of the head of 
 the Messiah. Christians very often drink the waters of 
 the Jordan as a remedy in sickness, not that they suppose 
 its qualities are medicinal, but rather confiding in Heaven 
 for a cure. We learn from the sacred writings, that on 
 orders being issued by the Jewish leader, twelve large 
 stones were lifted from the Jordan to be piled into a 
 monument, to serve as a token to posterior times, to tell 
 them how the Lord had made the waters halt, and had 
 arrested the river, and given them a causeway for the 
 Ark of the Alliance, and for the warlike and embattled 
 hosts that followed it. 
 
 A story is related of that mountain of the Shiek, which 
 I incidently alluded to above, and the narrators from whom 
 I heard the tale, told me that they had it on the best 
 authority, having heard it from their fathers, who had 
 heard it from their grandfathers, and so on up to the 
 fountain-head. 
 
 From the mountain of the Sheik, a river issued in 
 anterior times, which was perfectly invisible. It was 
 called by the Persians the Aboulouaire, in whose coun- 
 try the river rolled in light, though its course was hidden, 
 concealed and completely subterraneous, from the moun- 
 tain of its source, to the land of Iran, where, emerging 
 
PLAIN OF PERSIA. 259 
 
 from the dismal darkness of its frightful caverns, its 
 waters seemed to roll in waves of gold in the splendour 
 of the Persian sun : but the existence of this river was 
 totally unknown to all who inhabited the mountain of 
 the Sheik and the intervening regions, under which it 
 meandered. 
 
 Diurnally a shepherd drove his flock to graze upon the 
 side of the mountain of the Sheik ; he always was obliged 
 to bring some water with him in order to quench his 
 casual thirst, as none was to be found upon the mountain 
 side, nor anywhere indeed, in its vicinity. This shep- 
 herd was sitting on a rock one day, when his dog, who 
 had been absent for a length of time, issued very suddenly 
 from underneath the rock, and going to a little distance, 
 shook water from its dripping hide, with which it was 
 completely saturated, and from which the unconscious 
 looking animal had just emerged, judging from appear- 
 ances. 
 
 Surprised to see the creature dripping Avet, he flew to 
 the spot from which the animal emerged, but the shep- 
 herd sought in vain for orifice or aperture ; nothing could 
 be seen but close-bound rocks, without the slightest 
 fissure in the stony belt which they formed, on the 
 mountain's side. He climbed the mountain the succeeding 
 day, his sheep were scattered in the same directions, his 
 dog had hurried from the shepherd's foot, and was busily 
 engaged in smelling at the rocks, he saw him disappear 
 beneath a giant block, where burning, with the fever of 
 excited curiosity, the shepherd in an agony awaited his 
 return. 
 
 He returned very speedily, dripping from saturity, 
 and first having shook himself repeatedly and furiously, 
 
260 THE TREASURE SEEKER. 
 
 he performed some half antics and then shook himself 
 again, and when the moisture of his hide was sufficiently 
 removed, and all danger was dispelled of his dogship 
 getting cold, he leaped, gamboled, bounded, and shouted 
 out his exstacy, as if he had performed some astonishing 
 achievement, for which he thought his master should 
 reciprocate his joy. The master could no longer hesitate 
 believing that water lay concealed beneath the stones ; 
 but in order to discover it he must begin by removing 
 the rocks under which it lay concealed. 
 
 He returned the next day with all the instruments ne- 
 cessary, for such an enterprise : the dog led the way, 
 as he was wont to do, and then disappeared beneath the 
 rocks, and shewed where the shepherd should begin his 
 toils. 
 
 With many heavy blows of his pickaxe he endeavoured 
 to effect the initials of an opening ; as soon as it was 
 made and that the shell fell in, he perceived a concavity 
 under which he glided, and with a palpitating heart and 
 a corruscating eye, and with his canine companion for a 
 solitary guide, he entered on these singular adventures. 
 
 He had not gone very far into the bowels of the earth, 
 when he heard delightedly, hollow reverberations of a 
 waterfall ; he took courage at the sound ; but he found 
 it very hard to exercise his pickaxe, it being necessary 
 now to stoop his figure and to proceed into the earth all- 
 fours. 
 
 In spite of the many difficulties by which he was im- 
 peded, our adventurer continued to advance, breaking 
 with reiterated blows the rocky obstructions of his narrow 
 way, till he found himself, in fine, in a second cave, 
 from whence he perceived an immensity of water which 
 
PERSIAN LORDS. 261 
 
 issued with the utmost affluence, and was being rapidly- 
 precipitated by two different canals. 
 
 Delighted and surprised at this discovery, the shep- 
 herd, as he stood beside the streams, felt suddenly inspired 
 to stop up one of them : he complied with this involuntary 
 inclination, and it will ultimately be seen that the shep- 
 herd acted wisely, for it very often happens that first 
 thoughts are best, the difficulty being to know when they 
 are so. The shepherd was so cautious as to shut the 
 aperture by which he penetrated to the two canals, in 
 order that no one else might share the secret. 
 
 Having ascertained this hidden treasure, he elatedly 
 retired when this was done. He frequently returned 
 to the same declivity ; the herbage growing upon the slope 
 was fine and odoriferous, to which his flock was partial, 
 and upon the hill side there our shepherd never wanted 
 water. 
 
 A year had passed away, when one fine day three 
 Persian lords were seen arriving, and entering on the 
 plain, and riding for Damascus. These cavaliers were 
 seen to rein their horses and enquire from underneath 
 their black mustachios, of every soul that passed them 
 by, where was the source of the Aboulouaire ; they 
 knew, they continued, from traditions of their land, 
 that it must be somewhere in the " plain of Persia ;'» 
 they added, that lately, to their great surprise, the bed 
 of the river was run dry in Persia. " We have been 
 deputed to ascertain the cause, and hence have we visited 
 your country," continued these illustrious horsemen; " we 
 have been entrusted with treasures for the recompense 
 of him who can communicate the knowledge we require." 
 The news of their arrival and the motive of their journey, 
 
262 THE LOST RIVER. 
 
 together with the rumour of the recompense, reached 
 the shepherd's ears. All he heard upon the subject in- 
 spired him with the notion that the underground canal, 
 whose waters he had darned, was really the fountain of 
 the river of the Persians. Full of this opinion, he 
 sought the Persian envoys. " If you are right in your 
 conjecture, that the fountain of the river is anywhere 
 at all circumjacent to the plain, I shall undertake to find 
 it," said the shepherd to the Persians. 
 
 The envoys were delighted at the hopes that he held 
 out, and on their side the noblemen renewed the promise 
 of regally rewarding him, in case he were successful. 
 When he saw them preparing to assist him in the search, 
 the shepherd brought the Persians to a pause, by telling 
 them that time would be necessary, in order to discover 
 it ; that as envoys they had nothing in the world more 
 to do than to return to their country, and he would send 
 them word, according as his efforts were successful or 
 unfortunate. 
 
 This answer did not satisfy the Persian envoys, whose 
 purpose was repeated, of pursuing in his company, the 
 researches which the shepherd should commence, a pur- 
 pose which he met with a multitude of difficulties. 
 Weary with their absence from their native country, and 
 meeting nobody that made them such an offer as the 
 shepherd, the Persians thought it better in the end to 
 bargain with this shepherd as to what he should require, 
 than to continue in their exile, expecting an event which 
 was very far from certain. Meanwhile, to prevail upon 
 the shepherd to be prompt in his researches, they gave 
 him an earnest of his recompense, and turning their 
 
PERSIANS' RETURN. 263 
 
 backs upon Damascus, set out on their return to their 
 native land. 
 
 The moment that the shepherd saw their forms fade 
 away on the far horizon of that spacious plain upon which 
 the city of Damascus stands, this shepherd hurried to 
 destroy the dam. The wave shot foaming down the 
 hollow channel quite as rapid and abundant as before. 
 As they were now re-established in their first condition, 
 the shepherd often visited the two canals to discover if 
 their currency continued undiminished. As the waters 
 fled along their gloomy bed as full as if they would flow 
 for ever, he waited with impatience for a messenger 
 from Persia. 
 
 The envoys, half disheartened as they went upon 
 their way, were not so expeditious as the waters, which, 
 never pausing night or day, brought joy and acclamation 
 into Persia long before the wearied horsemen had accom- 
 plished half their journey. Jaded as they were, they 
 seemed to get new life, on arriving in their native land, 
 when informed that the river was running in its bed. 
 They were overwhelmed with congratulation, and were 
 led along the banks of the Aboulouarie in something 
 like a Roman triumph. 
 
 As every one was asking why the river had run dry, 
 the envoys recounted what had happened them ; they 
 described the gratitude they felt for the shepherd, and 
 the recompense they promised him. They speedily sent 
 back the promised gold, and the money was delivered to 
 the shepherd. 
 
 Many, many years elapsed, and the headlong flood of 
 the Aboulouarie was fully as affluent as before, when it 
 was suddenly perceived that the water was diminishing ; 
 
264 THE SECRET. 
 
 they were still more astonished when it ceased to run, 
 and the parched bed of the Aboulouaire, denuded of a 
 single drop of moisture, became scorched and burned by 
 the summer sun. The waters would return when the 
 season changed, they hoped, but when the winter came 
 the Aboulouaire was dry, so they determined upon doing 
 what they did before. Their messengers received the 
 same instructions which had been given to the first 
 ambassadors. 
 
 Furnished, as they were, with these instructions, they 
 went right to the village of the plain where the shepherd 
 had abode. They were very much surprised to learn, on 
 arriving, that the shepherd whom they sought was long- 
 since dead. 
 
 They were wholly at a loss ! when it dawned upon 
 their minds that the shepherd might have sons who 
 would render them the service which their nation had 
 received from the parent before. 
 
 The father falling sick, and not hoping to recover, 
 called his eldest son beside him. " Before I leave the 
 world," said the father to the son, " I shall leave you a 
 token of paternal love ; my son, it is a secret which no 
 one else shall know." 
 
 He related every circumstance connected with the 
 river ; he besought the son with fervency to keep the 
 secret, and he and his posterity should never want for 
 gold. A little after this the father died, and the son, 
 solicitous to see the marvels, lost no time in repairing to 
 the place. He found everything exactly as the father 
 had described it — the rapid current and the two canals, 
 and the dark and dismal cavern through which it was for 
 ever foaming. 
 
THE PERSIANS. 265 
 
 To enjoy the good fortune which his father promised 
 him, with as little loss of time as well might be, the 
 stripling, with rapidity, built up the dam. He expected 
 that the river would run dry in Persia, that they would 
 send a deputation as they did before, which he expected 
 would produce him a valuable present. The event cor- 
 responded with these expectations. The Persians repaired 
 to the children of the shepherd. Of these the eldest ap- 
 peared in the presence of the envoys. Having ascer- 
 tained their will, he promised to exert himself to do as 
 much for them as his father did before him, while the 
 Persians, upon their side, promised to reward him still 
 more handsomely. The messengers requested, (when 
 the bargain was concluded,) that the shepherd would 
 shew them the Aboulouaire. Wishing to conform to his 
 father's will, the stripling was exceedingly unwilling to 
 comply ; he met the proposition with innumerable diffi- 
 culties. They followed up their purpose with eagerness 
 and energy ; he parried all their queries for a length of 
 time, successfully, but they played their part so well, 
 and gave him so much money, which was nothing but an 
 earnest of his recompense they told him, that his deter- 
 mination thawed in the glitter of their gold. He fool- 
 ishly consented to conduct them to the place to which 
 they were so anxiously solicitous of going. They saw the 
 waters issue with unspeakable delight ; but while they 
 were surveying the two grand canals, they were as- 
 tonished at discovering that one of them was dammed. 
 The barrier was broken at the messengers' commands. 
 The moment it was open, it was entered by the wave 
 and the canal was overflowing in the twinkling of an 
 eye. 
 
 The Persians very easily perceived the fraud. They 
 
 N 
 
266 THE DISCOVERY. 
 
 did not entertain the slightest doubt but their river had 
 been dried by the damming' of the fountain. 
 
 The only object then was to obtain security that it 
 never should be done a second time. But they were not 
 content to have the shepherds' word : they took the ut- 
 most care to publish to the world, where the sources of 
 the river were discovered, that no one, henceforth, be 
 he who he might, should dam the fountain in the sum- 
 mit of the Sheik, or dessicate the river in the vales of 
 Persia. 
 
 Such is the story that is related here, and considered 
 as authentic in every particular, and hence it is, that a 
 portion of the plain, on which the city stands, is known 
 to the natives as the plain of Persia. As to what con- 
 cerns the Aboulouaire, we learn from intelligent and 
 curious travellers, that a lake, existing in this plain of 
 Persia, is probably the source of the Aboulouaire ; that 
 it enters the canal and passes into Persia, and finds an 
 outlet in the Persian Gulf: that as to the waters of the 
 other arm, they pass into the river of the Dog, to min- 
 gle with the Mediterannean eventually. Truly, the 
 prophet had reason to exclaim, that in His distribution 
 of the waters that irrigate the earth, the Deity is ad- 
 mirable. 
 
 Before we emerge from the meadow of Damascus, we 
 must not omit that, descending from the Sheik, you 
 meet, upon your road, near the village of Beitima, a 
 tomb, about thirty feet in length, considered by the peo- 
 ple as the tomb of Nimrod. This tomb has the antique 
 structure of the ancient Oriental sepulchres. The tombs, 
 which are said to be of Seth and Noah, which I have 
 encountered in the plains of Balbec,and which are certain- 
 ly of great antiquity, are, in every way, similar in structure. 
 
jMmrod. 267 
 
 According to the popular account, the tomb of this 
 unhappy and ambitious prince is never watered by 
 the dews of heaven, even though the land is satu- 
 rated which encircles it. The unhallowed tomb, 
 of Nestorius, the heresiarch, who endeavoured to de- 
 prive our blessed lady of her quality of mother of 
 the Deity, is also said to be unvisited by the falling- dew. 
 Having given an account of all that seems most singular 
 in the city and the circumjacent plain, I should add, to 
 the glory of our Saviour's grace, and to the correspon- 
 dence of St. Paul, some account of whatever I considered 
 with respectful eyes, in the place where the illustrions 
 apostle was converted. 
 
 The old road runs between two mountains : one of 
 these mountains may be distant from the other perhaps a 
 hundred feet. The mountain which is nearest to the old 
 highway, is known by the name of Kaucac, which sig- 
 nifies celestial light, — an appellation derived from that 
 resplendent light which so suddenly enveloped the apos- 
 tle of the Gentiles. The other, which is circular in its 
 circumference, is called Mediouar el Kaubab, the trans- 
 lation of which is the luminous circle. A dilapidated 
 monastery lifts its melancholy form in the middle of this 
 mountain, of which a chamber under ground is the only 
 portion that continues perfect. 
 
 It was between these two mountains that the man, pre- 
 destined by the Lord to carry the flambeau of the faith 
 to remote and foreign nations, was going on his journey, 
 " and suddenly alight from heaven shined round about him, 
 and falling on the ground, he heard a voice, saying, &c. 
 
 Recovered from his stupefaction, with the words of 
 the Lord still ringing in his ears, in tones of thunder, he 
 retired to the cave or chamber under ground, of which 
 
268 CAVE NEAR DAMASCUS. 
 
 I have already spoken : thence he proceeded to Damas- 
 cus, in order to comply with the orders of the Lord. 
 Having- issued from the city, some time after, (if tradi- 
 tion may be credited,) the apostle took refuge in the 
 same cave, the better to escape the fury of the Jews. 
 
 Many of our missioners have gone into the grotto, by 
 whom I am informed, that you cannot look upon its rug- 
 ged sides without feeling more or less the genius loci. 
 
 The apostle, in proceeding to Damascus, passed through 
 the villages of Dadaida, Jahnaia, and Cherafre. These 
 villages are now inhabited by Turks, who cultivate the 
 plain, and render it productive in cotton, corn, mulber- 
 ries and barley, and in all sorts of legumes. Two great 
 mountains terminate the plain ; one of which is called 
 Chafumehary, and the other, which is higher, is deno- 
 minated Manaa. South-westward of Damascus, and 
 beyond the mountain, from the summit of the latter, you 
 perceive the plain of Hauran. This plain is the country 
 of Abraham. The towns \vhich were anciently situated 
 here are now-a-days in ruin ; such is the fertility of 
 this expanse, that it is called the granary of Turkey. 
 Caravans arrive, almost diurnally, from every province 
 of the empire, occupied for ever in exporting corn ; of 
 the meal, which is most excellent, loaves are made, which 
 are two feet long, and are half a foot in thickness. They 
 will last for a year without corruption. They dip it in 
 water when the bread is stale, and find it then as palata- 
 ble as if it were new-baked. Whether poor or rich, they 
 prefer it to all other bread. 
 
 In concluding this account, I cannot quote a higher 
 eulogy than that which the prophets have passed upon 
 Damascus. They call it the abode of pleasure, and its 
 precincts are entitled places of delight. 
 
TO FATHER FLEURIAU, S.J. 
 
 Naxos, 20th March, 1701. 
 
 My Rev. Father, 
 
 I deem it my duty, in compliance with your wishes, 
 to acquaint you with the blessings bestowed by heaven 
 on our missions to the Grecian islands. Siphanto, Ser- 
 pha, Thermia, and Andros, ' are the islands traversed by 
 us last year. Help us to express our gratitude to God 
 for the good he has done by the medium of our missions. 
 
 The island of Siphanto is fifteen leagues in circuit. 
 The country is fine, and the climate is benignant. You 
 meet many lucid fountains there, whose waters are like 
 chrystal, as well as multitudes of olives, which make 
 admirable oil ; corn, fruits, wine, cotton, capers , and 
 legumes are exceedingly abundant. Fruit trees, of the 
 species of the orange and the lemon, would exist in more 
 abundance if more sedulously cared. The revenue of 
 this island was, at one time, considerable. They shew 
 subterraneous excavations at the present day, from which, 
 in ancient times, they say, that gold and silver were 
 
270 THE VENETIAN CHEMIST. 
 
 extracted, and traces of furnaces are found in fact, where 
 they purified these metals as they drew them from the 
 mine. The French consul, M. Guyon, says, that during 
 the last war, an able chemist, a Venetian, put the matter 
 to the test — from 801bs. of ore he took 181bs. of silver. 
 
 The people of Siphanto are affable, laborious, and 
 humane : they speak a dulcid Greek, a little less alloyed 
 than the language of the adjacent islanders. A large 
 village, surrounded by a wall, which they designate a 
 castle, together with eight hamlets, which contain six 
 thousand souls, compose all their habitations. Cotton 
 web and pottery make all the materials of their com- 
 merce. The Greek bishop has his dwelling at Siphanto. 
 His diocess embraces eight islands in addition, Serfo, 
 Myconi, Amorgo, Nio, Stampalia, Naphi, Sichino, and 
 Policandro. 
 
 This prelate, who is forty years of age, is a man of 
 much intelligence, and speaks his language with elegance. 
 There are forty-five parochial churches in the isle, and 
 each church is attended by its particular Papa. Exclusive 
 of these five-and-forty parishes, a number of chapels 
 may be seen here and there in the campaign and on the 
 hills. They are neat in their exterior, and present a 
 pleasing aspect at a distance. At the feasts of the saints 
 to whom they are dedicated, they celebrate the sacrifice 
 of Mass, and multitudes assemble to the ceremony. In 
 this island there exist three monasteries for females, and 
 two for men ; the most considerable of these is in the 
 centre of the isle. This convent is well built, and its 
 church, dedicated to our lady, is a very pretty edifice. 
 Its inhabitants consist of twelve Caioyers, and five secu- 
 lar priests. The second monastery has four Greek 
 
THE CALOYERS. 271 
 
 monks : it is dedicated to Elias, and stands upon the 
 summit of a very lofty mountain. The third has been 
 abandoned, having 1 now-a-days no revenue. In Greece, 
 the bishops are selected from the regulars, and should a 
 secular be chosen, he must first assume the habit, and 
 profess himself a monk, in some monastery or other. The 
 nunneries are likewise in the open country. There are 
 thirty-six nuns in one, and about twenty in the other, 
 who are all in advanced years, and subsist upon their la- 
 bour. They are virtuous and pious, and would probably 
 be more so, if the people from without had not liberty 
 to enter whenever it seems good to them. Though these 
 nunneries have no cloister, no one ever heard it said, 
 that they receive the slightest insult. Infidels consider 
 the habitations of the sex as a species of sanctuaries : it 
 would be a crime amongst the Turks to do any thing 
 within them offensive to good manners. The Latin 
 ritual has fallen at Siphanto. There are only two small 
 churches in which it is observed, of which one is in the 
 castle, and dedicated to St. Anthony, and attended by a 
 vicar, who relieves the Latin bishop of Milo. The other, 
 in the country, is devoted to the virgin. Six families 
 constitute the Latin congregation, and even these fami- 
 lies are foreigners. It was not so formerly. The Latin 
 ritual flourished in Siphanto before now. The Gozadini, 
 who commanded in the country, were of the Latin rite; 
 but, since the invasion of the Turks, their descendants, 
 like those of other families, degenerated gradually, and 
 now-a-days are Greeks. We landed in Siphanto on 
 July the 24th ; Father Luchon and myself, and M. Bes- 
 land, who had been appointed to perform operations in 
 chirurgy, in which he is so skilful. Our first occupa- 
 
272 GREEK BISHOP. 
 
 j 
 
 tion was to visit the Greek bishop, to ask his permission, 
 in order to exercise our ministry. He received us very 
 coldly at our entrance, but no one could be kinder in the 
 end. Before our departure from the capital of Turkey, 
 my Lord, the archbishop of Spiga, the patriarchal vicar 
 for the holy Roman See, throughout all the patriarchate 
 of Constantinople, had had the kindness to provide us 
 with an honourable patent, the most ample in its nature 
 we could possibly desire, by which all the powers of his 
 lordship were conceded to us. His majesty's ambassador 
 in Turkey, M. Feriol, expedited us another for the 
 safety of our persons. This honourable minister, alike 
 zealous for the honour of religion, and for that of the 
 French name, declared to all, whether infidels or Chris- 
 tians, that the protection of his majesty was over us, 
 and that we should not only be allowed to come and go 
 wherever it seemed good to us, but that they should do 
 us such good offices as our occasions should require. 
 The principal village was the place in which we first be- 
 gan our mission. We took care, before hand, to pur- 
 chase whatever we stood in need of, for fear we should 
 be burthensome to any one. These poor people, to 
 whom they sell the most gratuitous functions of religion, 
 were exceedingly delighted at our disinterestedness, 
 convinced, in consequence, that the only object that we 
 had in view was simply to direct them to the path-way 
 of salvation. They could not restrain themselves from 
 exhibiting their gratitude. The sermons, which we 
 preached to great crowds of people who assembled 
 every day, from all quarters of the island — the lessons 
 in religion we imparted to the children, and our regu- 
 lated visitations to the sick — the gratuitous administer- 
 
FAREWELL. 273 
 
 ings of remedies, during upwards of three weeks, were 
 our only occupations. Our sermons were attended by 
 the bishop more than once, and affected by the feelings 
 of compunction which the weepings of the people tes- 
 tified, he often eulogised us in the presence of the au- 
 ditors, exhorting us to labour to sanctify those souls 
 which the Lord had confided to his keeping. We were 
 thus engaged to traverse all the hamlets of the isle which 
 had not a less occasion for our aid. Every evening and 
 morning a great crowd of people were addressed by 
 Father Luchon. As the churches were insufficient to con- 
 tain the congregations, he was under the necessity of 
 preaching in the open air. The profound silence with 
 which they listened to him was only interrupted by their 
 tears and sighs. The remainder of our day was con- 
 sumed in teaching little children, in visiting the sick, 
 and those different houses where several families assem- 
 ble for purposes of labour. We gave them instructions 
 in these places, on the subject of their duties, and we 
 responded to their difficulties in the way of conversation, 
 without interrupting their labours. The public preach- 
 ings were scarce of more utility than the private con- 
 versations. The reception of the sacraments, which, 
 for the preceding twenty years, several persons had dis- 
 used, a reformation of gross abuses, and the change of 
 manners, were the fruits which we extracted from our 
 toils. After consuming two months and a half in labours 
 such as these, the time was come, we thought, for pass- 
 ing over to the isles in the vicinity. At the first report of 
 our departure, these good islanders gathered round us 
 in a crowd : priests, men, women, children, young and 
 
 old, laity and clergy, all shed tears as if some universal 
 
 n 5 
 
274 LETTER PATENT. 
 
 calamity had visited them You are our fathers, they 
 exclaimed, the angels of our dwelling-houses, the guides 
 of our salvation ; in the name of Jesus Christ, have pity 
 on us — abandon us not. So many marks of tenderness 
 accompanied these words, we ourselves could not res- 
 train our tears : Ave partially consoled them by holding 
 out the hope that we might soon return, and haply take 
 up our residence among them, for the purpose of main- 
 taining them in the pious resolutions they had formed. 
 But, before consenting to our departure, they endea- 
 voured to testify the gratitude they felt for us by a 
 letter patent, which was signed by three and fifty indi- 
 viduals, including the principal persons of the island, as 
 well as the curates of Siphanto. Translated word for 
 word, this patent is as follows : — 
 
 We, the Primate and Chiefs of the people, under- 
 signed, return our humble thanksgiving to the Saviour, 
 for the succour he has sent us in the persons of the Rev. 
 Fathers Jacques Xavier Portier and John Luchon, re- 
 ligious of the company of Jesus. Justice, truth, and 
 gratitude compel us to testify to all mankind, that they 
 have conducted themselves here as Priests, who were 
 worthy of the Gospel, to the very great advantage of 
 our island ; they seemed to seek for nothing but the 
 glory of the Lord and the eternal interest of men ; their 
 conversation is extremely edifying, their councils very 
 salutary, their doctrine very sound, their disinterested 
 and unwearied application to preaching in the churches, 
 the houses, and the squares, in confessing sinners and 
 visiting the sick, have edified us exceedingly, and the 
 fruits they brought to maturity in this place, afford con- 
 solation to us all. We have been assisted in our need 
 
FAREWELL. 275 
 
 by these venerable Frenchmen, not only in spiritual 
 diseases, but in those that are corporeal ; their house 
 was never shut to the patients of our isle, to whom they 
 distributed excellent remedies without any recompense, 
 except that which God bestows on charity. We regard 
 them as physicians of our bodies and our souls, as im- 
 mediate parents, and as new apostles. The benedictions 
 and the praises with which our island overwhelms them, 
 the tears and prayers with which we now accompany 
 them, evince how much we are affected by all that they 
 have done for us. We should be happy to retain them 
 here, but their zeal, which embraces all the family of 
 man, admits not of it. Happy are the people who even 
 like ourselves, may be able for an interval to see the 
 good example and to hear the holy words of these ser- 
 vants of the Lord. We shall consider as our brothers 
 in Christ Jesus, all persons who henceforth shall receive 
 them as they merit, in evidence of which, we have given 
 them this document, signed at Siphanto, the 7th of Sep- 
 tember. The signatures of three-and-fifty persons are 
 appended. 
 
 After reciprocal adieus, we descended to our bark, and 
 departed from the island in the direction of Serfante. 
 The circuit of this island is perhaps a dozen leagues ; the 
 soil of it is dry, mountainous and rocky : the aspect of 
 this place, as it rose upon our view, was quite as dismal, 
 disagreeable and sad as the island of Siphanto, which 
 we left behind, was cheering and delightful. The hus- 
 bandman reaps no corn, nor ever gathers the " grape 
 nectarian" in this barren island : you scarcely see a tree 
 in it ; but arid though it be, cattle are abundant, which 
 browse upon the weeds and shrubs which escape to 
 
276 GREEK MONASTERY. 
 
 existence in the fissures of the rocks. Nevertheless, 
 these animals are never meagre, and the fleeces of the 
 sheep are beautiful and fine. Very fine saifron is found 
 at Serfo ; you see at certain seasons of the year prodigious 
 multitudes of large red partridges, resembling those of 
 the neighbouring isles, where gray are seldom seen. 
 The isle contains some mines of iron, as well as one 
 of loadstone. 
 
 The people of Serfante principally inhabit an exten- 
 sive village, standing upon the summit of a steep moun- 
 tain, at nearly a league from the sea, and another village 
 of inferior size, at three miles distance from the former ; 
 together they contain eight hundred people. The inha- 
 bitants are poor and rude, the dialect they speak is ex- 
 ceedingly corrupt, and there is something in their accent 
 irresistibly ludicrous. The isle is spiritualy governed 
 by the Bishop of Siphanto's vicar, his jurisdiction extends 
 over five or six parishes, which are equally poor and 
 badly kept. A monastery of St. Michael, inhabited by 
 a hundred Caloyers, stands at two leagues distance from 
 the town ; we only found the abbot in the house on our 
 visit to the monastery ; the religious were all occupied 
 without, some were questing in the isles in the vicinity, 
 some were tending cattle, and others at labour. We 
 may remark as we pass on, that though all Greek monks 
 are called Caloyers by the literary men of France, in 
 Greece they make a difference, where the brethren alone 
 are called by this name ; those who are Priests are Jer- 
 monaches, but to accommodate myself to the habitude 
 of France, I shall term the monastics indifferently, 
 Caloyers. As soon as we arrived at Serfo*, we looked 
 
 * Serfo or Serfante. 
 
THERMIA. 277 
 
 about for some nook to reside in ; we discovered an 
 humble and obscure abode, which had no opening- hut 
 the door, no furniture or bedding but a mat. We after- 
 wards visited the vicar. 
 
 The epitropes or primates and the Turkish Waiwode, 
 paid us much attention ; some medicines administered 
 appropriately, completely won the Waiwode's heart, and 
 he volunteered to aid us to the best of his authority, to 
 exercise our functions. 
 
 We publicly addressed the people twice a day, during 
 the period that we spent at Serfo. The pulpit we em- 
 ployed was the summit of a cabin, from the elevation of 
 which we saw ourselves surrounded by multitudes of 
 people, who heard our addresses with profound attention, 
 and with all the symptoms of souls affected by eternal 
 truths. 'Twas requisite to render matters palpable, to 
 propose the questions we discussed in the simplest guise, 
 for they are less acute in Serfo than in Sifanto. The 
 remainder of the day was spent in familiar instructions 
 in private houses, which we visited successively, in con- 
 soling the sick and administering remedies, and in assem- 
 bling the children, and catechising them. All the inha- 
 bitants of the isle derived profit from our mission, and 
 received the sacraments of penance, and the eucharist, 
 with sentiments of piety, that edified us highly. We 
 finally forsook Serfante with such consolation of the 
 spirit as could not be expressed, while the people were 
 invocating blessings on our head, and returning thanks 
 to God a thousand times for having prompted us to visit 
 them, amid their rugged hills. 
 
 We went to Thermia from Serfo, islands twelve 
 leagues from one another ; the former has derived its 
 
278 RUINED CASTLE. 
 
 appellative from the Thermes, or the baths of warm 
 water, which made it celebrated once. The circumference 
 of Thermia is fifteen leagues ; though the soil is pretty 
 fertile, the productions are but poor ; barley and wheat 
 are the only produce of the land, the wine is wretched 
 and trees are rare. There is a large village in the 
 middle of the isle, and at two leagues distance a consi- 
 derable hamlet ; the population is about four thousand. 
 The relics of a ruined castle appear upon an eminence, 
 which ascends between the north and the setting 
 sun ; there are ruined houses round it, as well as the 
 remnants of two Latin churches ; towards the south you 
 see the ruins of an ancient town, which in more fortunate 
 times, must have been equally spacious and well built. 
 Thermia depends upon the Bishopric of Zia, a neigh- 
 bouring isle, the Bishop's residence. In the town there 
 are thirteen parishes and five monasteries of Grecian 
 monks, but, except one, there's not in all the isle a Latin 
 church, it is attended by a vicar of the bishop of Tino, 
 a native of Venice. Ten or twelve families observe the 
 Latin rite. On arriving in the island, we visited the prin- 
 cipal ecclesiastic, a man of much intelligence, whom 
 personal merit and extensive wealth, elevate above the 
 other Priests of Greece ; the most eminent persons in 
 the island at that time in his house, witnessed the obliging 
 reception which he gave us, and the marks of amity with 
 which we were distinguished. We« immediately com- 
 menced our mission : diurnally as usual, we preached in 
 the church to multitudes of people, who collected from 
 all quarters to hear the novel preachers. An Abbe much 
 respected in the isle, by whom a bishopric had been re- 
 signed, the better to attend to his salvation, was the 
 
THE CONFESSOR. 279 
 
 most constant of our auditors ; wherever we proceeded 
 this virtuous prelate followed us. He also had the zeal 
 to preach, and never omitted in his declamations to eu- 
 logize our ministry and doctrine. After many days' in- 
 struction, public and particular, the confessions were so 
 many, that our numbers did not suffice : the regulars 
 and seculars of every rank and of every age, came in a 
 crowd to the tribunal of penance, issuing from which 
 they publicly asserted that they counted all their previous 
 confessions for nothing, and that the only confession that 
 gave quiet to their conscience, was that they had just 
 made. The rumour of these confessions caused the an- 
 cient confessor of the country, an aged monk, to descend 
 from the recesses of his monastery, in the expectation of 
 obtaining contributions, through the medium of our 
 toils. The confessors have the custom in the Grecian 
 isles, of giving absolution for a sum agreed upon between 
 the sinner and themselves. The old man with his bell 
 accordingly appeared, but he sounded it to very little 
 purpose, and advertised the people of his coming to no 
 effect, for he returned to his monastery with empty 
 pockets. There was a certain man amongst the patients 
 whom we visited, to whom we went less to communicate 
 instruction, than to be edified ourselves : when we 
 offered him some cures for the solace of his evils, alas ! 
 my fathers, he replied, looking at us with an air full of 
 sweetness and respect, why take from me the material 
 of my merit ? true, I am unworthy to participate the 
 grace which I experience, through the medium of these 
 sufferings, but since it has seemed good to his infinite 
 benignity to visit me with these afflictions, far be it from 
 me to seek a solace for these pangs ; attend to my spiri- 
 
280 THE PREACHING. 
 
 tual interests, I pray you, and pass by my body. We 
 must confess, my Rev. Father, that these words were 
 fnll of such a lively faith, as made us profoundly adore 
 the secrets of the providence of God, who knows how 
 to select such chosen spirits from places that seem of all 
 others the least likely to produce them. Having closed 
 our mission in the town of Thermia, we proceeded to 
 the village which they call Silaka ; it stands upon two 
 petty elevations confronting one another, and which a 
 torrent separates ; Father Luchon preached on one 
 declivity, whilst I ascended, as at Serfo, to the summit of 
 a house, from whence I addressed a numerous assembly. 
 Their sighs, their silence, and the blessings which they 
 showered on us, filled my soul with secret consolation. 
 It was not long before we gathered the first fruits of 
 penance ; they came to confession in such multitudes that 
 it was with difficulty we could catch some moments of re- 
 pose ; " woe is me, my Father," said these worthy people, 
 with a certain naivete that delighted us : " how often have 
 we said to God, Lord send us hither some one who will 
 teach us to honour and revere you ; ye are they whom God 
 has sent, and now do we perceive that he listened to our 
 prayers. They burst into tears while they were uttering 
 these words ; others spoke in a figurative style : " My Fa- 
 thers you are vases which are sealed, into which whatsoever 
 one may put cannot possibly exhale from them. To you we 
 can expose our conscience without apprehension, because 
 we are certain that our secrets sink into an abyss so 
 profound, that they never can emerge from it ; you seek 
 no other object than our amendment, while others there 
 be, who seek nothing but our money." They were not 
 altogether wrong ; the schismatics of the country are 
 
MOUNTAINS. 281 
 
 indiscreet confessors ; and the excess of their exactions 
 was almost inconceivable : they ask forty or fifty crowns 
 for absolving certain sins. We passed but eight days in 
 this village, after which we returned to the town, in or- 
 der to make thence our way to Andros. If we had de- 
 layed our departure, we should have been unable to 
 proceed, for we were followed by a countless crowd of 
 people to our bark. Previously to entering, we delivered 
 them a summary of all we recommmended during the period 
 of the mission, and we left them certain memorials 
 capable of reminding them of our instructions. It was ne- 
 cessary to separate at length, which was not without tears 
 on both sides. The isle of Andros is twenty leagues from 
 Thermia. The mountains there are high, and the 
 valleys most agreeable. Here and there, among these 
 vallies, rural dwellings are disseminated, and the 
 streams that glitter through them make an everlasting 
 green. The orange tree, the lemon, the cedar, and 
 the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the mulberry, at- 
 tain a surprising size in Andros. Its oils are most ex- 
 cellent, and grass, legumes and corn are exceedingly 
 abundant. In that part of the island which looks tow- 
 ards Capadoro, or the promontory of Negrepont, lies 
 the harbour of Gavrio, which might easily contain a con- 
 siderable fleet. In fact, the fleet of Venice wintered 
 during the last war in the harbour of Gavrio. The pre- 
 cincts of the port are exceedingly desert, and considering 
 its size, the isle is scarcely peopled, for they reckon but 
 5000 souls. The town, or as they term it, the city of 
 Andros, may contain about a hundred houses, built upon 
 a tongue, or promontory, of earth. Two little bays, 
 which are far from being secure, are formed by the sides 
 
282 ISLES OF GREECE. 
 
 of this promontory. At the termination of this tongue 
 of land, remains of a dilapidated castle, built in the 
 fashion of ancient fortresses, tower above the deep. 
 Within the to vn itself, there is a very handsome castle, 
 which wants nothing' but the roof: the windows are 
 adorned with finely-chiseled marble. The arms and the 
 cyphers of the Signores Summaripa, to whom this isle 
 belonged, but who have established themselves at Naxos 
 since the Turkmen took the island, are dispersed over 
 the walls. At four leagues from the city, in travelling 
 towards the south, you meet Apano castro, another ha- 
 bitation. Every ancient building, on an elevated site, 
 is called Apano castro, throughout the Grecian islands. 
 
 From insufficient population, a century ago, they in- 
 troduced Albanian families to cultivate the soil : they 
 were placed in separate villages, three leagues from one 
 another. Arna is the one, and the other is Molakos. 
 
 The chief persons of the isle are descended from Athe- 
 nians, and possess the richest districts, which makes the 
 people very poor. They reside without the town, and 
 they never come within it unless called by public busi- 
 ness, or the interests of their trade. Five-and-twenty 
 years ago, a corsair of Ciotat, sought to sack the little 
 city. The little castles of the country have been built 
 since that event, which place the people in security from 
 insults of the species. In visiting the tenants of these 
 towers which are far asunder, the missionaries' labours 
 are by no means inconsiderable. Andros has a bishop, 
 whose abode is in the town. Besides many little churches 
 which are scattered through the isle, there are two ex- 
 tensive monasteries of Caloyers in Andros. One of 
 these, named Agra, is at two leagues from Gavrio. The 
 
ISLES OF GREECE. 283 
 
 handsome church of Agra is devoted to our lady. The 
 second, Panachrando, is at one league from the city. 
 There is a Latin bishop also, who has latterly been ab- 
 sent, whose diocese is managed by a vicar in his absence. 
 
 The families belonging to the ritual of Rome were 
 at one time 800 ; the greater part of whom were extin- 
 guished by a plague. The others, to avoid the persecu- 
 tions of the Greeks, were perverted by these tyrants, or 
 forsook their native isle. The Latin ritual reckons but 
 one family as followers : however, the family is numer- 
 ous, and the ritual is accredited by the firmness displayed 
 by the noble who maintains it, and by the qualities which 
 render him the first man in the isle. The Jesuits of Scio 
 had a mansion in the town, with a little church, devoted 
 to St. George, from which they were expelled. Though 
 born subjects of the Grand Signior, these fathers often 
 had to suffer the most cruel persecutions. The R.R.P.P. 
 Capucines had an hospital, which they have quitted and 
 resumed repeatedly. One of these religious has returned 
 hither lately. It had long been an object which the 
 Androites desired, to see our establishment amongst 
 them ; but our scantiness of workmen and our poverty, 
 precluded the idea. O ur frequent expeditions are a sub- 
 stitute for this ; they are burdensome to no one, and 
 productive of great benefit. 
 
 According to our custom, on arriving at Andros, we 
 proceeded to present our respects to the prelate. Our re- 
 ception was obliging, and we were afterwards aided by 
 this gentlemen's authority in the functions of our ministry. 
 In the beginning of Advent, with the Greeks a time of 
 
284 THE VISION. 
 
 fast, we began our exhortations in the two principal 
 churches. The bishop was amongst the most constant of 
 our auditors. To reform the principal disorders and 
 most prevalent abuses being our paramount design, they 
 became the subject of our sermons, and of the particu- 
 lar instructions we gave in every house. Such force was 
 given to our words by heaven, that the manners of the 
 people immediately changed. Sincere reconciliations, 
 and immediate restitutions, repudiation of bad women, 
 and reception of the sacraments, were proofs of con- 
 version which could not be denied. A compliment was 
 paid us by a chief man of the isle. " I saw you in a 
 dream, three weeks before your coming, my fathers," 
 he said one day as he saluted us ; " an interior voice ad- 
 dressed me as the vision passed before me," he continued. 
 " Behold whom I have sent for the purpose of converting 
 you ; if you lose this opportunity you are lost for ever !" 
 Whether this was mere imagination, or the providence 
 of God, he made a general confession ; and a thousand 
 times we thanked the God of mercies, who omits no 
 means whatever to conduct men to himself. This 
 mission terminated, we departed for Arna, a town of the 
 Albanians, at which when we arrived we were ex- 
 ceedingly fatigued, for we climbed a mountain on our 
 way, whose acclivity was three leagues high, while 
 carrying our consecrated ornaments and remedies, and 
 down the other side it was two leagues more by very 
 rugged pathways, encumbered and obstructed by brambles 
 and rocks. We ultimately entered Arna, the inhabitants 
 of which, are poor and rustic with no approximation 
 to barbarity, however. The succeeding day, the sabbath, 
 we proceeded to the churches, where multitudes were 
 
GREEK CONFESSION. 285 
 
 gathered. In the first place we assured them that the 
 motive of our visit was their everlasting welfare ; we 
 should cause them no expense ; and for administering the 
 sacraments, for instructions in religion, and application 
 of our remedies, the solitary guerdon we requested was 
 their prayers. 
 
 We ultimately won their confidence ; in consequence 
 every house in the vicinity was opened to us, and 
 they heard our exhortations with astonishing avidity. 
 Four days passed over us in this way ; on the vigil of the 
 fifth we were burdened with confessions, which were 
 general confessions for the greater part. While tears 
 suffused their eye-balls, these worthy men exclaimed, 
 " Alas, we begin now at last to learn to live as christians 
 should do." Nothing moved us more than to see them 
 in the middle of December, coining from the bottom 
 of their mountains, across frightful ravines, to hear the 
 word of God, to confess their offences, and propose their 
 doubts. The utter destitution in which these poor people 
 are left by their ecclesiastical superiors, is deserving our 
 compassion. Once a year alone, that is on holy 
 Thursday, some monks, from the two monasteries 
 established in the isle, come amongst the people, for the 
 purpose of confessing them. The very form of ab- 
 solution is unknown to many of these monks. They 
 have a certain routine which they follow in qualifying 
 weighty sins. The next proceeding of the monk is to ask 
 a sum of money. When the money is reckoned down, 
 the confession is concluded. They sometimes fail to take 
 the trouble of going into details ; they put a question to 
 the penitent that serves instead, contenting themselves 
 with asking if things have not gone on as they did the 
 
286 A TEMPLE IN RUINS. 
 
 year preceding, to which the penitent says " yes," and 
 presents the sum of money, on which the ceremony ends 
 and another is admitted. We have endeavoured to 
 remedy so crying an abuse, and many similar abuses 
 which it would be tedious to detail. Three weeks being 
 concluded of our missionary exercises, when upon the 
 point of returning to the town, we gave one of our Greek 
 catechisms to the epitrop of the valley, who promised us 
 to read it every Sunday during mass. This will be the 
 means of maintaining pious sentiments amongst the 
 people we have taught. As soon as we returned to the 
 town, we directed all our views towards Apano Castro, 
 where we knew that spiritual necessities were pressing. 
 Apano Castro is a valley that is surrounded with 
 acclivities, which are spread over with hamlets. On 
 these elevated slopes from fifteen to twenty towers of the 
 chief men of the isle have been erected. What is more 
 singular than this is, that the remnants of a church and of 
 a very ancient temple are seen mouldering in this place, 
 the cupola of which latter subsists and appears to be 
 in good taste. A finely-polished marble, black and white 
 in colour, representing roses and laboured with much 
 taste, constitutes the pavement of the church. The 
 people of the country, in digging up the ruins, most 
 completely in decay, assert that an image of our lady was 
 discovered, which has been greatly venerated in the 
 country ever since. The hearts of the people of Apano 
 Castro were well prepared, we found, and the evangelic 
 seed was not scattered there in vain. Every person 
 in the valley put his conscience in good order, and 
 promised to pursue the regulation whicli we gave for the 
 direction of their lives. The bishop having learned that 
 
GREEK GIRL. 287 
 
 we had formed an abridgment of the Articles of Faith, 
 and obligations of a Christian, requested the production 
 that he might cause it to be read to the parishioners 
 every Sunday after mass throughout his diocess. The 
 chief persons of the isle designated Archos were so 
 affected by the sermon that we preached on their 
 injustice, that they took immediate measures to repair 
 the ill inflicted on the people by their violent exactions. 
 Many came to confession at the head of all their clan. 
 The paramount person has a daughter of eighteen years 
 of age, who wants none of all those qualities that make a 
 lady amiable. This virtuous virgin protests that she 
 desires no other spouse but her Redeemer. She already 
 has refused the richest suitors in the isle. Her father is 
 not willing to coerce her inclinations, but his reluctancy 
 to put her in a nunnery with ladies of her rite, is quite 
 equivalent to that aversion. He has been often heard to 
 say that the illustrious nuns of France should found 
 a nunnery at Naxos : he interrogates us often as to this 
 intended nunnery, declaring his intention of giving them 
 his daughter, together with her dowry, if she choose to 
 take the veil. 
 
 The above describes a portion of the progress of our 
 mission. 'Tis by God's especial blessing that Ave have 
 been thus successful in obtaining the affections of these 
 people ; for seculars and regulars, the Greeks are 
 educated in a violent aversion for the Latins and their 
 discipline. We were received universally with kindness, 
 when we came, and we have been bitterly regretted when 
 leaving the island. What good might not be done in 
 these great countries were we reinforced with workmen ! 
 Reflect my Rev. Father, that the mission of Con- 
 stantinople, at the lowest calculation, is a hundred 
 
288 
 
 GREEK GIRL. 
 
 thousand souls ; that Smyrna has as many ; Naxia, 
 ten thousand ; and Santorin more than eight, without 
 speaking of the mission which we have now delineated 
 and in which we had to preach to upwards of 12,000. 
 1 implore with all my soul the sacred patrons of Greece, 
 who, from the summit of the skies, see the frightful 
 destitution of countries formerly so fervent and so catho- 
 lic, to intercede with Christ that he touch the hearts of 
 those who have the salvation of such myriads in their 
 hands, and who can contribute to effect that salvation by 
 their charity, by not suffering a harvest so extensive to 
 to perish utterly for the want of labourers to reap it. 
 
 I am with respect, &c. &c. 
 
 Francis James Xavier Portier. 
 
ANTI LIBANUS. 289 
 
 EXTRACTS 
 
 From the letter of a Missionary at Damascus, to the 
 Rev. Procurator of the Missions of the Levant : — 
 
 My Rev. Father, 
 
 I was on the point of leaving Sidon and departing for 
 Damascus, in pursuance of the will of my superiors, 
 when they changed my destination. I was desired to take 
 a different route and to prepare to spend some months 
 in the mountains, which are known by the name of Anti 
 Libanus. As the patriarch of the Maronites was speedily 
 to publish the Jubilee throughout his extensive patriarchate, 
 it was thought that I might render some assistance to our 
 Missionaries who were about to be extraordinarily occu- 
 pied. Though Damascus as a residence, has been highly 
 eulogised, I confess to you, my father, that I conceived a 
 greater liking for the mountains. In the mountains we 
 may say with verity, that we serve God for himself and 
 with perfect disinterestedness ; no portion of our life is 
 dedicated to effeminacy, and self-love cannot be flattered 
 by the functions which we exercise. I was delighted to 
 commence my career in such a place, and by means of a 
 Mission of such difficulty to consecrate the first fruits of 
 my apostleship. To prepare me, I was sent to our dwell- 
 ing at Antoura. From the time that I arrived I devoted all 
 my energy to the study of the Arabic ; I pursued it with 
 avidity, and after a little time was sufficiently acquainted 
 with it to render some assistance; nevertheless, I was 
 yet very awkward in a foreign tongue, of which I ignored 
 the delicacies. I imagined that I should have nothing 
 
 o 
 
290 THE CATECHIST. 
 
 else to do in these mountains but to practise patience, 
 but I learned by my personal experience the advantage of 
 blindly abandoning yourself to the guidance of providence, 
 and that if we have a little good-will we may always find 
 something useful to perform. The presence of zeal sup- 
 plies the absence of all other qualities. My employments 
 were proportioned to my talents ; whilst our priests were 
 making, with incredible fatigue, evangelical excursions in 
 every direction, to induce the faithful to take advantage 
 of the grace enunciated. I was entrusted with the task of 
 teaching the truths of our religion to the children. A 
 few ignorant and clownish children was the portion of the 
 flock which they confided to my care. This is not, I must 
 confess, the most illustrious office in the ministry, but 
 perhaps it is of all others the most essential. Such was the 
 opinion of Ignatius and of Francis Xavier, our fathers 
 and our masters ; and I fear not to assert, that, if this 
 were more attended to, certain Missions would not make 
 such report, it is true, but they would certainly produce 
 more fruit ; let that be as it may, at least I had some 
 participation in the good that was effected, and I was 
 perfectly content. I commenced by prescribing to myself 
 in my instructions a precise and facile method, to which 
 God gave the increase. I traversed the different villages ; 
 I assembled all the children, I found little intelligence 
 but much docility. I reckoned upon having under my 
 direction children merely, but fathers and mothers who 
 were destitute of every spiritual succour were little more 
 enlightened than their infants, requiring catechists as 
 much as preachers. By this means my functions were 
 encreased and my labour augmented, and if I became not 
 the universal man, I became at least the necessary one ; 
 
SILK WORMS. 201 
 
 but, thanks be to God, I was enabled by his grace to 
 encounter these difficulties, in which my success surpassed 
 my hopes ; I proceeded from the villages to the cabins, 
 where my labours recommenced. This distinction between 
 villages and cabins will probably cause you some surprise, 
 I shall solve the mystery : it was now the season when 
 they manufacture silk, when this season returns the 
 mountaineers for the most part forsake their habitations 
 and retire to the campaign, where, amid gardens of white 
 mulberries, destined solely for the sustenance of silk- 
 worms, they prepare to pass the season. They procure 
 branches of trees like the Jews of the tabernacles, with 
 which in the middle of these gardens they construct them 
 summer houses, perhaps twenty paces long, and from six 
 to seven wide ; here they rear a multitude of silk-worms 
 which they deposit on a species of hurdles, constituting 
 five or six stages, one above the other like the shelves of 
 a cupboard ; all the cabin is occupied by these compart- 
 ments except that at the right and the left there are two 
 pathways to carry food to the worms, an operation per- 
 formed twice a day, at six in the morning and six at eve. 
 I was one day standing at the entrance of one of these 
 cabins when the master to whom it appertained besought 
 me to come in and bestow my benediction ; as I was not 
 very familiar with the customs of the country, I felt some 
 repugnance to the performance of this ceremony ; one of 
 our fathers who happened to be with me at the time, 
 whispered in my ear, on perceiving my embarrassment, 
 that so great was the respect entertained for our Mission- 
 aries by the Maronites, it would be considered as an evil 
 augury if we did not visit them and bless their cabins in 
 the season of the silk. This discourse decided me, and 
 
 o 2 
 
292 FAST OP THE WORMS. 
 
 entering the cabin I complied with the request. I had 
 visited repeatedly our manufactories in France, but an 
 operative had never proposed anything like this. Pardon 
 me, my father, I did not remember at the time the decla- 
 ration of our Lord, that you may find more faith amongst 
 foreigners, in some instances, than amongst the children 
 of Israel. I examined this abode which was built with 
 such rapidity, and discovered many marks of ingenuity; 
 but the creatures for whom it was erected arrested my 
 regards, and rivetted my attention, I remarked that they 
 were perfectly motionless, with their heads a little raised : 
 I asked the person who presided the cause of this appear- 
 ance, he informed me that this was the first fast of the 
 worms, which now had continued for three days, that 
 they had three additional fasts to perform, that the dura- 
 tion of these latter fasts would be shorter than the first, 
 that after the third they would attach themselves to bun- 
 dles of thorns, and that upon these bundles they should 
 spin their silks. He was a proficient in the business, I 
 did not contradict him nor push my inquiries any further. 
 Thus, the christians of the mountains during three months 
 of the year direct their industry to cultivate an article 
 which constitutes their greatest wealth. — This is in reality 
 the period of their harvest ; it is a period when the Mis- 
 sioners have great success ; as to the rest these Missions 
 are extremely painful, and I learned a lesson from these 
 essays of my zeal, which enabled me to appreciate the 
 saying oi a Jesuit in France : that, invariably crosses are 
 the portion of the apostleship in every country, and that 
 difficulties await us in many other places besides Canada. 
 These cabins are often very far from one another, they 
 are sometimes situated upon rocks, so steep as to be almost 
 
CHAINS. 293 
 
 inaccessible; would you believe it, my Rev. Father, the 
 charity of Jesus Christ carries our Missionaries thither, 
 zealous and undaunted ; they consider the most overwhelm- 
 ing fatigues as trifles when the object is to establish the 
 kingdom of the Lord on a solid basis, amongst so many 
 people, whose souls have been confided by heaven to our 
 hands. Alas, they never would have heard the accents of 
 religion vvere it not for us, and surrounded by unfaithful 
 nations as they are, perhaps they would have fallen into 
 infidelity. We quitted them only when they forsook the 
 plain to return to their mountains, and our toils only 
 ended with their labours. Hardly had this Mission ended 
 when my superiors destined me for another, and did me 
 the honor to associate me with a confessor of our Lord : 
 he was a fervent and fearless Missionary who having gone 
 to console the christians in that forsaken church, had the 
 happiness of suffering imprisonment and chains in Mesi- 
 potamia : what an object for the emulation of my nascent 
 zeal ! we were sent to discover a country which nobody 
 had hitherto explored. In order to make our success 
 more certain in this enterprise we had long cultivated the 
 acquaintance of a christian who had much credit in the 
 canton, it was he who was to serve us as an introductor, 
 and he was to facilitate our intercourse with his com-' 
 patriots ; we found it difficult to bring him round, for he 
 seemed very adverse to us at first ; he was reluctant to 
 recognise Athanasius as the real patriarch, and he entered 
 into the errors of Cyril the Schismatic with infatuated 
 blindness. What an obstacle was this to vanquish, first 
 it was necessary to win him over to catholicity before he 
 could be won over to esteem the catholics, and this was 
 not the work of men, 'twas the operation of the Deity. 
 
294 THE COTTON PLANT. 
 
 God, who holds in his hand the hearts of men, and can 
 raise up children of Abraham from the stones if it please 
 him, so completely changed the Schismatic, that he was 
 prevailed on to renounce his errors, a recantation in which 
 his family participated : returned to the bosom of the 
 church ; as the most certain mark of his conversion he 
 promised us a free access to the people of his ration ; he 
 subsequently kept his word ; he accompanied us where- 
 ever we proceeded, and invariably exhorted the people 
 who surrounded him, at least to give us a favourable hear- 
 ing. When the lucky moment marked by providence 
 arrived, with what incredible transports of joy did we 
 not proceed to labour in this novel vineyard ; we assumed 
 the apparel of the people of the country in order to pass 
 with less impediment ; it was in the beginning of last 
 year that we departed for the mountains. Unlike America, 
 cotton does not grow on trees in this country, they sow 
 it every year, and from every grain of seed a stem of two 
 feet high issues from the earth, with a quantity of branches 
 which bear a kind of fruit no bigger than a nut; five or 
 six little seeds with some cotton as white as snow is drawn 
 from within the fruit when ripe; the shell by which the 
 cotton is surrounded is little thicker than the finest parch- 
 ment. We ultimately arrived at the termination of our 
 Mission, after various fatigues caused by the greatness 
 of the journey as well as by the heat, which was excessive 
 at this season. There are many villages of some extent 
 at the basis of the lofty mountain, which the Arabs call 
 Jabal Chek, that is, the mountain of the aged man ; as 
 all the year the head of the mountain is covered with snow : 
 you feel the allusion. As soon as we arrived we proceeded 
 to the dwelling of the worthy christian upon whom we 
 
ORIENTAL HOSPITALITY. 295 
 
 much depended, we were not deceived, he received us 
 with demonstrations of joy, and an effusion of the feelings 
 of the heart, which it is difficult to magine. When we 
 crossed his threshold it was nearly night ; he immediately 
 perceived that we were the Missionaries whose approach 
 he had expected, and he made ready to receive us at his 
 door. He took our right hand on approaching us, and 
 kissing it, respectfully placed it on his head as a token of 
 subjection, he then addressed the priest by whom I was 
 accompanied, in terms such as these : "My father, thou art 
 welcome," he exclaimed ; " at the very time that thou wert 
 coming I had thee in my heart, the blessing of heaven 
 has descended, and together with thy friend enters my 
 dwelling in thy company ; I look upon this moment as 
 the happiest of my life, since angels of the Lord do me 
 the honor of a visit, and carry to our country affluence 
 and peace. I thank the author of the universe for having 
 procured my people such felicity — come in my father, 
 come in to my dwelling where thou mayest command and 
 must be obeyed." These compliments which appeared 
 to be emphatical to us, are in the oriental style, and 
 expressed in Arabic, they have a beauty, nobleness and 
 grace, which cannot be transfused into our language. My 
 companion responded to the best of his ability, and libe- 
 rally repaid politeness with politeness. As soon as the 
 first civilities were done we were led into a large apart- 
 ment where several persons were assembled, who, in 
 imitation of the father of the family came and kissed our 
 hand and placed it on their head; among these people 
 we remarked a child of five years old who bent upon 
 his knees as he approached us and craved our benediction : 
 we looked upon him with surprise, so much wisdom in an 
 
296 CHARMING CHILD. 
 
 age so tender filled us with astonishment ; — at baptism they 
 called him John, and his surname was the Riches of the 
 Deity. A custom prevails among the Arabs which pre- 
 vents sons from inheriting the sirname of their father. A 
 name is imposed upon a newly born child very different 
 from that of the father of the family; the latter is no 
 longer known by his ancient appellative, they call him 
 the father of such a person, as for instance, the father of 
 the Riches of the Deity. 
 
 The Riches of the Deity was one of those fine charac • 
 ters for whose formation grace and nature appear to have 
 united, in order to bestow a blessing on a christian family. 
 He joined to a gentle disposition and a great desire to 
 learn, a happy physiognomy and a charming and fascina- 
 ting ingenuousness. Concerning religion he put questions 
 to us of such a nature as we should have admired in 
 a person of maturer years. He conjured us to instruct 
 him, with a species of importunity which is always 
 delightful to a missionary who seeks to serve his master. 
 
 I perceived that in this novel mission I was destined to 
 resume my old vocation as a catechist : I raised my eyes 
 to heaven for assistance in these functions ; you wil 
 subsequently see that this was of much use to me 
 There was in the room that we had entered, a carpet 
 made of goat-skins : we sat ourselves upon it in the 
 fashion of the country. My companion made enquiries 
 as to the bias of the public mind in our regard : he would 
 have reason to be delighted with his journey they assured 
 him ; our instructions they asserted would be numerously 
 attended. 
 
 Supper was shortly after served ; a large rush-basket 
 full of loaves of bread, which were as flat and tough as 
 
ORIENTAL MEAL. 297 
 
 parchment, was brought into the apartment. No other 
 bread is eaten in the country but this. It was distributed 
 to us by the master of the mansion with the utmost 
 liberality : the supply that we received would have served 
 us several days. This is invariably the custom of the 
 Arabs; their object is to make you understand that 
 plenty prevails amongst them, and that the proprietors o' 
 this abundance are munificent. You will see by and b 
 that a little taste and cleanliness would be no injury. 
 Every one assumed a seat beside the basket. Three 
 cups of earthenware were served at the same time. The 
 first was filled with rice, so indifferently seasoned that 
 Arabs alone could eat it. The second was a species of wine, 
 which, from the manner in which it was prepared, resembled 
 honey. Many morsels of cheese were contained in the 
 third, which were floating in a quantity of oil. An epicure 
 of Europe, between these three dishes, would have been 
 embarassed to select. Neither napkins, spoons, nor forks, 
 were at the board. The liquor that we got was as plen- 
 teous as our viands. We had an immense vase of water 
 for our drink, from which every one present took a gulp 
 in turn. This was a repast to honour our reception. 
 We never again got so sumptuous a meal during the 
 continuance of the mission ; for the Arabs, who content 
 themselves with little, seldom indulge in these extraordinary 
 festivals. Compare this mode of living with that of the 
 monastics of France, and however mortified they may be, 
 you will discern a difference. Certain it is that after the 
 repast a tobacco pipe was brought us, and that the father 
 of the family, having lighted it, presented it to us. We 
 begged him to excuse us as civilly as possible, insinuating 
 that it was a ceremony contrary to the customs of our 
 
 o 3 
 
298 THE ARABIC. 
 
 country. He seemed satisfied with our excuses and he 
 accepted them. He made a thousand enquiries concern- 
 ing France, of which he had heard many marvels. By 
 and by a crowd of christians entered, to testify their joy 
 at our arrival ; they were all either Surians or Greeks. 
 Their demonstrations of affection delighted us the more 
 as we had anticipated an indifferent reception on their 
 part, on account of the bad impressions made upon their 
 minds by certain schismatical religious, who visit them 
 from time to time, less to instruct them in religion than to 
 make them inimical to the missionaries ; but these hostile 
 demonstrations of impiety and schism were rendered 
 harmless, and were even made advantageous to our 
 progress by heaven. The rumour of our arrival having 
 speedily diffused itself, all the village came to visit us with 
 confidence. As there was no church in the hamlet, we 
 were obliged to arrange an altar in a hall. The people of 
 the town assembled here. The mission was commenced 
 by my companion by so pathetic and so affecting a 
 discourse, that his auditors were generally dissolved in 
 tears. A beginning such as this was full of promise. 
 The following is the order of our exercises. Mass 
 succeeded morning prayer, and the former was succeeded 
 by a sermon. Some worthy people, who were anxious 
 to ascertain the way to heaven, separated when the 
 sermon finished. Some applied to me, and some to my 
 companion, who gave them such familiar instructions as 
 suited the occassion. As I scarcely knew the Arabic, 
 I expressed myself indifferently, yet I was attended to. 
 My auditors' simplicity gave me great delight. Some of 
 the people more advanced in years, as soon as they had ac- 
 quired the Pater and the Credo, besought me to permit them 
 
THE RICHES OF THE DEITT. 299 
 
 I 
 
 to repeat these prayers, that they might exhibit their 
 proficiency to their admiring neighbours ; and shortly 
 after, those who were younger imitated them. All the 
 morning was consumed in these sacred exercises. Whilst 
 my companion, after dinner, went to visit the unhealthy, 
 collecting my pygmean congregation, I commenced 
 the catechism. The Riches of the Deity, to whom I had 
 given particular instructions, played the part of an Apostle* 
 He repaired to the places in which he had been accustomed 
 to play. He addressed his comrades : " During the 
 mission, play is prohibited," he exclaimed ; " it is to give 
 offence to God to take amusement till the fathers have 
 departed." The words of the child influenced his com- 
 panions ; they unanimously followed him. At the head of 
 his troop he entered the chapel with his eyes upon the 
 earth, with his little hands united : " Father" said he to me, 
 " teach us to know, to love, to serve and to pray to the 
 God whom you inform us of." His example inspired all 
 his followers, with modesty, with attention, with docility, 
 insomuch that for a moment I imagined myself not the 
 centre of a circle of frivolous children, but in one of 
 pigmy sages ; and the attention and respect of these little 
 innocents often excited me to tears. Only conceive with 
 what affection, zeal, and ardour I gave myself to my 
 employments. A sermon succeeded to this " christian 
 doctrine," and on the dissolution of the crowd, and when 
 every one retired, they overwhelmed us with benedictions. 
 I deceived myself in saying that every one retired, for 
 several remained, by whom we were detained till night 
 was far advanced, and who could not be exhausted while 
 hearing the word of God. So fatigued were we, we 
 scarce had power to read our Breviary ; nay, we scarce had 
 
300 THE SCHEIK. 
 
 leisure, recumbent on the ground, to snatch some moments 
 of repose. Days so full of labour passed us with celerity. 
 In spite of the abundant benedictions vouchsafed to this 
 mission from the skies, our work was left unfinished ; more 
 pressing wants required our presence elsewhere. In our 
 own despite we were obliged to separate ourselves from the 
 cherished flock, but we despair not of one day or other 
 being able to return to crown our works, to finish the 
 edifice. I shall say nothing of the grief with which they 
 honoured us, of the tears with which their farewell was 
 accompanied. These are consolations which God ad- 
 ministers to missioners, not so much to compensate their 
 toils as to animate their zeal and to sustain that animation. 
 Having returned to Damascus, we did not long- remain 
 there, and the obedience which had impelled us thither, 
 soon dispatched us from the city, to pay a visit to some 
 Christian families who had been long in want of mis- 
 sionaries. In this village are the famous sources of the 
 Damascus — from one of these a jet of water issues so 
 abundantly, that an absolute river seems emerging from 
 the hollow of the rock. The people of this village are 
 Turks with few exceptions, but less hostile to the Chris- 
 tians, and having more humanity than their brethren of 
 Damascus; our own experience gives a proof of this. We 
 proceeded to pay a visit to the chief of the village, he is 
 esteemed one of the best heads in the country, and one 
 who understands his law most intimately ; he received us 
 favourably, he was so civil as to say that he had the 
 utmost respect for persons, such as we were, and that 
 nothing was more strongly recommended by their prophet, 
 than to treat us with humanity ; that as to the rest he took 
 us under his protection, and that we were perfectly at 
 
THE DYLVG SURIAX. 301 
 
 liberty to visit any place we pleased without apprehending 
 insult from any individual in his district. This address 
 surprised us ; his assertion concerning his prophet was 
 enigmatical to us; by and by I shall give you the solution. 
 We thanked him for his bounty, and we made a pro- 
 fitable use of his permission in ministering to the Christians 
 and visiting the Turks who received us willingly, and 
 seemed to hear our words with pleasure ; two of them 
 went so far as to make an avowal that the true religion 
 was the Christian faith. This excursion afforded us a 
 lasting subject of consolation ; it palpably evinces the 
 mercy that a God infinitely benevolent, and who ordains 
 all things for the bliss of his elect, sometimes bestows on 
 some predestinated spirits. 
 
 A Surian more than eighty years of age, had been 
 deprived of the use of his limbs for eighteen years, and 
 blind for more than ten. He had a lively faith, and, 
 though long extended on that bed of sorrow, he had sup- 
 ported his afflictions with admirable patience. Though 
 his infirmities and age convinced him that the gates #f 
 death were near, he flattered himself and expressed the 
 feeling to his acquaintances, that until he had seen some 
 of the anointed of the Lord, heaven would not call him. 
 A confidence so firm could originate alone in some 
 presentiment which had been imprinted on his spirit by the 
 Holy Ghost. Let that be as it may, as soon as he knew 
 we were arrived, " The promises of heaven are accom- 
 plished," he exclaimed, " you will now permit your servant 
 to depart in peace, O Lord." He sent some persons from 
 his house to implore us to repair to him as he was not able 
 to come himself to seek us ; the feelings he expressed, 
 and the language he made use of were really worthy a 
 
302 THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 
 
 christian soul. Religon, my Rev. Father has its heroes 
 every where, " My Father," he said to the missionary my 
 companion, "■ you are as it were assisting angels who 
 diffuse instruction, light and benediction, whithersoever 
 you proceed : for many revolving years have I yearned to 
 behojd you, and I expected always to receive this con- 
 solation before the termination of my days. I feel con- 
 vinced at present that heaven itself engraved this 
 expectation on my heart, my wishes are accomplished, in 
 dying now I have nothing to regret, you arrive at the 
 propitious moment to receive my dying sighs and the last 
 confessions of my weakness — animate me in my combats 
 — cause our Saviour's blood to flow upon my soul — apply 
 his merits to my wants — feed me with his flesh and put 
 the crown on my felicity — put the seal on my election by 
 the sacraments of our religion. I feel my end approach, 
 what happiness it must be for a sinner like myself to 
 expire within your arms, and in thus expiring to be able 
 to repose my conscience in your hands, and my soul 
 in those of Christ. Make haste to purify my soul by the 
 sacrament of penance, and assist me to bless the infinite 
 mercies of our God.*' 
 
 At these affecting words his sons and grandsons who 
 were round his bed burst into tears, and mine were 
 irrepressible ; religion sometimes makes impressions on 
 us which cannot be controlled. The missionary many 
 times embraced the dying man, and exhorted him to profit 
 by this ultimate assistance which was thus offered him by 
 heaven, by consummating the work of his salvation. We 
 }eft them together, the man made a general confession 
 which was broken frequently by sobs and tears ; the 
 family re-entered, and, prostrating themselves upon the 
 
DEATH OF THE CHRISTIAN. 303 
 
 floor, they received the benediction of the patriarch to 
 whom the communion was administered, whose fervour 
 and whose piety re-doubled when the Eucharist appeared. 
 A crucifix was given him which he amorously kissed, and 
 with his lips glued to the figure of his master he sweetly 
 expired, tranquilly embracing the image of our Saviour. 
 Oh what a death was this, my father, and so stricken was 
 I with it that I could not restrain myself from saying to 
 the disconsolate family. "My children, religion deceives 
 us or your father is a Saint." I observed to them that 
 infidelity and schism never present spectacles like this ; a 
 thousand times they thanked us. We gave the other 
 christian families the necessary attendance. This singular 
 circumstance signalized our course ; we could not tire 
 admiring it, and on our way returning, it was the subject 
 matter of all our conversation. My companion confessed 
 that he had never experienced a joy so sweet and so pure 
 in all his life before, and that he had been well rewarded 
 by that single moment for all his past fatigues ; judging 
 from what was passing in my bosom at the moment I 
 could credit this avowal. An inhabitant of the hamlet 
 who was travelling with us, and like us was going to 
 Damascus, reminded me that I had been curious to know 
 why christian religious had been so strongly recommended 
 by Mahomet to his followers. If you wish, he added, to 
 ascertain the reason, and to sound the heart of this 
 mystery, I shall introduce you to an inhabitant of the city 
 to which we are proceeding, who is capable of informing 
 you as he is learned in the law and intimately acquainted 
 with the history of the country, and who will communicate 
 any intelligence you may require with pleasure. He 
 named the learned doctor and deeming his advice judi- 
 
304 ARABIC MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 cious, I did not consider it my duty to neglect it. I was 
 pleased to have an opportunity of obtaining intelligence 
 upon a point upon which opinions so much differed. 
 While I was yet in France and preparing for these 
 missions, I had attentively perused all that the learned 
 have written on the subject of Mahomet and of the Koran. 
 I had read the article of Bayle upon this prophet. I 
 wished to make myself master of the subject, and since 
 my return my paramount desire has been to fathom the 
 affair. The discoveries I made in my researches have 
 been these : — 
 
 Having" visited the man whom the traveller had indica- 
 ted, I found him to be a christian, and as a consequence, 
 I questioned him with more facility, and to make him 
 acquainted with the matter in debate, without further 
 preliminaries, I addressed him in the following words : Is 
 it true that the prophet of the Mussulmans instructed his 
 disciples to receive christian religious with civility. Per- 
 fectly true, he replied. But Frenchmen, I responded, 
 and those whose erudition is the most profound, maintain 
 the deepest silence upon this point ; a syllable is not to be 
 discovered on the subject in their writings. That may be, 
 said he, but it is not the less true upon that account, and 
 notwithstanding: all their science, we as orientals are 
 better to be believed than they, having sources of infor- 
 mation which are inaccessible to them. At the same 
 time unrolling his papers, he discovered an ancient manu- 
 script. It was a history of Mahomet, in the Arabic, 
 detailing his adventures at full length. " You know our 
 lan^ua^e," said he to me, "read, this will terminate our 
 differences and decide the question between the French 
 and us." I perused this manuscript or rather I devoured 
 
CURIOUS HISTORY. 305 
 
 it, and as I was unsatisfied with one perusal, I begged him 
 to suffer me to keep it for a day or two — he willingly 
 complied. What follows is a faithful extract, if I found 
 any thing of a different description I could not obtain your 
 forgiveness for reporting it, besides it would be foreign to 
 my subject ; I leave that to those sorts of authors who in 
 order to flatter the fashion of the day interlard their works 
 with infinite obscenities, and who neither respect manners 
 nor religion. According to this manuscript Mahomet was 
 a native of Mecca. The birth of Mahomet was obscure. 
 As the man had lofty and elevated sentiments, he sought a 
 deliverance from misery and the realisation of a princely 
 fortune. As even Mahoment was no prophet in his own 
 country, he became a stranger in a foreign clime. An 
 opportunity for this was offered by a famine which afflicted 
 his father land ; he joined a caravan of his compatriots 
 which was going to seek corn in the Hauran, an article 
 not to be found any where else. The Hauran is at two 
 days' journey from Damascus, at the southern side. It is a 
 district of which, the soil is very fertile: in seasons the 
 most unpropitious, crops are abundant in the Hauran, and 
 its grain is considered as the best in Syria. There abode in 
 this country at that time, a religious man, whose name 
 was Sergius : severe and regular, but obstinately Arian, 
 Sergius was one of the most ardent partisans of the 
 opinions of that heresiarch. Amongst those who had 
 come with the caravan to Mecca, Sergius perceived the 
 young Mahomet, he was stricken with his countenance, 
 he remarked him with interest, he was a young man, 
 elegantly made : the noble and distinguished demeanour 
 of the youthful prophet made an immediate impression 
 upon Sergius, he was delighted with his conversation, 
 
306 CURIOUS HISTORY. 
 
 he perceived that his mind was remarkably vivacious, and 
 with wise prescience he deemed him capable of something 
 great ; he attached him to himself, and moreover, pro- 
 posed retaining him for several years. Though this pro- 
 position had displeased Mahomet, the young Arab would 
 still have received it out of sheer necessity. He became 
 the disciple, not the servant, of the Sudan. Pliant and 
 imitative by nature, to his master his disposition appeared 
 docile, he attended to his lessons and he appreciated them ; 
 born as he was in the bosom of idolatry he knew its incon- 
 sistency and he hastened to renounce that gross and super- 
 stitious creed. But if Mahomet thus escaped one precipice 
 'twas only to descend into another : in turning christian 
 he unhappily became a heretic, denying the divinity of the 
 word " that was made flesh." The Arians assert that 
 our Saviour was a perfect creature, but simply a creature, 
 notwithstanding. Hence the sublime notions of our Saviour 
 cherished by the Mussulmans ; they regard him as a 
 prophet and as a very great prophet, not as a deity, 
 however ; I quote this observation from the manuscript. 
 Acquainted with the verities of Christianity, Mahomet 
 conceived the idea of communicating his acquisitions to 
 his country, and of thus withdrawing his brethren from 
 the abyss of idolatry. Full of the project upon which he 
 ruminated, he returned to Mecca with a caravan : as soon 
 as he arrived he began his dogmatising, and found but little 
 trouble in destroying the plurality of Gods. In lieu of 
 the law that he abolished another law was to be substituted ; 
 he acquired confidence from his successes, it became his 
 ambition to become a legislator. He naturally selected 
 the religion of the christians ; he was a professor of the 
 faith, and the tincture he had got of it was more than 
 
THE PROPHET. 307 
 
 superficial, but so well was it diffused amongst mankind 
 that he never would be taken for the author of it, besides 
 he wished to be a legislator ; he perceived that there was 
 nothing in the christian system which could flatter sensual 
 hearts. The Jewish people had ceased to constitute a 
 corporation, or nation, or religion ; they were dispersed 
 and isolated throughout the universe ; he preferred them 
 to the christians, at least for his present purpose. He 
 imagined that in appropriating Jewish spoils detection 
 would become more difficult; thus he had recourse to the 
 Jewish institute, he detached many of its practices which 
 compose a portion of his own. It sufficed not to invent a 
 new religion, it should be established on a stable basis, 
 the edifice should be perpetual. His natural eloquence 
 and capacity to counterfeit the prophet, rallied thousands 
 round him ; nevertheless, there were some indocile indivi- 
 duals who refused to hear him, who conceived the reso- 
 lution of ridding the world of the legislator. The existence 
 of a conspiracy against his life was intimated to Mahomet; 
 though he had wit enough to make laws, he felt himself 
 deficient in the fortitude necessary to act the martyr, so 
 he resolved upon flight, and attended by many of his 
 followers he retired to Medina where he was received as a 
 messenger from God. 
 
 He had hitherto employed no other means than those 
 of exhortation to disseminate his new opinions, but as 
 conversions were no longer quick enough for his purpose, 
 he assumed arms to accelerate events, and this appeared 
 the most compendious method. At the head of some 
 determined Arabs, he attacked his native place, he put 
 the persons who had offered opposition to his enterprise to 
 the sword. This audacious and successful stroke increased 
 
308 THE SCROLL. 
 
 his troops, be was shortly at the head of a formidable 
 army. He obtained the mastery of a considerable extent 
 of territory ; his conquering career extended to that very 
 Hauran in which he had appeared in such a different 
 condition a little time anteriorly. He discovered Sergius 
 his master ; they had many conferences together, and the 
 mailed warrior again received instruction from the cowled 
 monk; his disciples were alarmed at these conferences; 
 and as Sergius was exceedingly austere they dreaded lest 
 he should induce their chief to whom they had sworn blind 
 obedience, to make their law more onerous. This appre- 
 hension, which was probably ill-founded, caused them to 
 adopt a line of conduct which Sergius was the victim of, 
 and he was strangled by them in the night time. The 
 manuscript remarks that the authors of the murder in a 
 previous revel became inebriated — the principal reason of 
 the prohibition of those inebriating liquors which, in the 
 opinion of Mahomet, had produced the crime. To honor 
 Sergius 's memory, from whom he had received such 
 friendly offices, the manuscript informs us that Mahomet 
 recommended to his followers to respect christian religious. 
 Such was the substance of the scroll, and its verisimilitude 
 is undeniable; could this then be that celebrated testament 
 which Bayle in his article " Mahomet," has described, 
 and on which he has a long dissertation in his notes. I do 
 not think it is. This manuscript, says Bayle, was brought 
 from the East by Father Pacifique Scaliger, a Capucin, 
 and translated into Latin by Gabriel Sionita ; 'twas printed 
 in Paris, 1630; at Rostach, 1638; and at Hamburg, 
 1690 ; and found in the monastery of the monks of 
 Mount Carmel the original was placed in the library of 
 the King. The most able critics disagree, he informs us, 
 
ELMACIN. 309 
 
 as to whether this is an authentic document. Grotius, 
 Vcetius, Bespiers, and many other men of learning, con- 
 sider it supposititious, while Saumaise, Hinkelman, and 
 Ricault, suppose it genuine. It would not be becoming 
 upon my part to enter into these disputes, as the 
 document that I have read was very different from this 
 real or pretended testament. — I stand by the story I have 
 perused, and Elmacin, I am persuaded, had seen some 
 manuscript like this, since in his life of Mahomet he con- 
 fesses that according to accounts that the christians have 
 possession of, the feelings of Mahomet were favourable to 
 them. Saumaise has transcribed the expression of Elmacini 
 Narrat AlmacMnus in vita Maliumedis ex historiis Chris- 
 tianorum addiction ilium fuisse christianis et benevolum 
 
 1 am, &c. 
 
310 TOLERATION. 
 
 In confirmation of the assertion of the Missionary of 
 Damascus, as to the tolerance of well -informed Turks, 
 and as to their respect for Christianity, we give a letter to 
 the public, which was written by a Missionary to his 
 sister, concerning a religious ceremony which is annually 
 celebrated in the capital of Turkey. — 
 
 My beloved Sister, 
 
 I am too well aware of your affection for religion, and 
 of the interest you take in whatever may concern it, not 
 to make you acquainted with the edifying spectacle which 
 I have seen here recently. Would you believe it, my 
 beloved sister, processions are made with as much tran- 
 quility by the Catholics in Constantinople as in Paris ; I 
 shall simply describe what I have seen: — august and 
 solemn as this ceremony is, it is not so marvelous on 
 account of its magnificence, as on account of the liberty 
 with which it is performed, and the respect with which 
 even the Mussulmans regard it. A confraternity dedi- 
 cated to St. Anne, which flourished here for six or seven 
 centuries, has been extended to the Jesuits' church during 
 half a century; its antiquity is thus respectable. The privi- 
 leges possessed by this fraternity are not a little singular ; 
 the brothers are allowed to chauntthe gospel as if they were 
 deacons, in a stole, and after the communion upon Easter 
 Sunday the brothers receive wine. The noblest Catholics 
 in the country composed this brotherhood at one time, 
 but admission was obtained some years ago for the mer- 
 
THE PROCESSION. 311 
 
 chants of France and Venice, by whom additional lustre 
 is conferred on the society ; this is rather a remark- 
 able circumstance ; these pious establishments commonly 
 decrease in strength as they become old, while successive 
 years have only served to add to the fervency of this. A 
 treasure is possessed by this fraternity which it has preserved 
 in all the revolutions of the capital and empire ; it consists 
 of a portion of the crown of thorns which was worn by 
 Jesus Christ , this invaluable relic is verified by the most 
 authentic documents, and the procession that I speak of 
 originates in this. It left our church at two on the night 
 of Holy Saturday, and returned to the church at four, its 
 circuit you may easily imagine is extensive; a multitude 
 of trumpeters in regular array, violin and hautbois players, 
 collected from the ambassadors' palaces, made the city 
 resound with the music of their instruments, and opened 
 the march at the head of the procession ; three splendid 
 banners environed by flambeaux succeeded the musicians ; 
 the banners were followed by the confraternity, two and 
 two, to the number of two hundred, dressed in albs of 
 the finest and the whitest linen, and each individual carry- 
 ing a torch. Two choirs of Turkish music, which were by 
 no means destitute of harmony, occurred in the column, with 
 an interval between them ; and when the trumpets ceased 
 they responded to each other at this interval; surrounded by 
 fifty wax-lights, a portable altar appeared next, which 
 was magnificently decorated ; a figure of the resurrection, 
 of well-wrought silver was standing on this altar. A 
 silver dome, sustained on silver columns, contains an 
 image of our Saviour risen, of which the value is immense. 
 This altar was surrounded by gilded lanterns, adorned 
 with sculpture, which, upon the whole, had a very fine 
 
312 THE PROCESSION. 
 
 effect. Cordeliers, Trinitarians, and Dominicans, a long 
 column of the clergy, next appeared, while the rear was 
 brought up by the Jesuits, apparelled in long mantles. 
 The cupola or dome of the canopy was snow white 
 damask, sprinkled with flowers of gold, of which the 
 fringe was perfectly magnificent. This canopy was 
 carried by the prior and the three first officers of the 
 fraternity, girded in a snow white alb like the rest of the 
 society. It was I who had the honour of bearing the 
 venerated thorn. I was vested with a cope and scarf, 
 of gold embroidery. This relic is contained in a golden 
 sheath, enclosed in a cup of crystal, of which the 
 coronation and the foot are of a different material. Priests, 
 apparelled in dalmatics, with a quantity of flambeaux 
 encircled the canopy ; silver vases, filled with rose water, 
 were carried by four of the confraternity, with which 
 they incessently sprinkled the assistants. Mingled with 
 the perfumes, perpetually burned in innumerable censors, 
 this scent embalmed the city as we passed, of which the 
 streets were lined with crowds of people. x\bout twenty 
 of the confraternity and the principal officers of the palace, 
 having each a torch, concluded the procession. There 
 was not the slightest breath of wind, and the heavens 
 could not possibly be more serene. 
 
 All the ambassadors at present at the Porte, not ex- 
 cepting those of England and Sweden, had repaired }* 
 several houses to see this procession pass. The Marquk 
 de Villeneuve, by whom France is represented, who is 
 distinguished by his solid piety as much as by his zeal to 
 extend religion and sustain it, came with his lady to our 
 church where solemn mass was sung. This church of 
 ours, the finest in the country, as I conceive, was hung with 
 
FLOWERS. 313 
 
 cloth of gold and cloth of silver, furnished by the prior, of 
 the confraternity, a rich Venetian merchant. 
 
 The Armenians whom the authority of our ambassador 
 intimidates, have been brought about so much by his 
 caresses, that we have reason to expect their accession to 
 our church. The x\rmenians requested that the pro- 
 cession should deflect, so as to pass by one of their 
 churches. This favour was accorded with the more 
 facility as the bishop of the church is a Catholic in his 
 heart, and as he only waits for a suitable occasion to de- 
 clare himself openly, which proceeding would have been 
 taken by him before now, if in the hope of hastening the 
 reunion he had not been persuaded to defer it, as he is 
 more likely to be of service to that measure in his 
 present state. In his cope and mitre he received the 
 procession as it passed before the church. Many of his 
 clergy accompanied him, who were preceded by nearly 
 half a hundred flambeaux. For a few moments the pro- 
 cession halted. One of our deacons intoned the gospel 
 of the day and the prayer of the patron of the church. 
 The prelate approached ; I presented him the relic and 
 he kissed it. Showers of rose water were administered 
 diffusely ; they scattered it with such abundance, and 
 flowers were flung about in such a quantity, that I was 
 obliged to keep my eyes shut for some moments. The 
 Turks, it is said, flung flowers on the procession from their 
 windows. As I did not see them I cannot guarantee the 
 truth of this assertion. Doubtless this ceremony will 
 surprise you, my beloved sister. I am fully persuaded 
 that you would never have imagined that there is more 
 toleration in Turkey than in England. Every thing was 
 conducted with such piety and decorum as to make it 
 
 p 
 
314 CHRISTIANS AMONG INFIDELS. 
 
 surpass many of our processions in Europe ; and 
 Christians, so often dissipated in the centre of Christianity, 
 consider it a duty to appear more collected in the eyes of 
 infidelity, to convey a higher notion of the God whom 
 they adore and the sanctity of the religion that they 
 profess. This little narrative will give you pleasure and 
 please such persons as are interested for the glory of our 
 faith. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
REVOLT. 315 
 
 LETTER 
 FROM FATHER GURYNANT, 
 
 Damascus, 4th Nov. 1739. 
 
 A general rebellion which has broken out, has been 
 well nigh the ruin of our mission in this city, and has 
 caused us, as it is, the most cruel vexations on the part of 
 the Schismatics and Turks. It had birth at the con- 
 clusion of the year 1738. Solomon Pacha being em- 
 ployed in the war which the Grand Signior was waging 
 with the Emperor, a successor was appointed in the person 
 of Hussein Pacha. This officer, who was accustomed to 
 pillage all the towns which he had hitherto controlled, 
 iuch as Tripoli, Aleppo, &c, calculated upon considerable 
 accessions to his wealth by this new government. But 
 he did not know the genius of the people of Damascus, 
 who are proud and arrogant by nature, and fiercely 
 hostile to every species of domination which galls them 
 in the least degree, a lesson which he learned very 
 speedily at great expense. Friday was the first day of 
 the ebullition ; as Friday is the sabbath of the Turks, 
 I particularly mention this : They repair to the mosques 
 
 p 2 
 
316 CARNAGE, 
 
 at mid-day, during the ramadan more especially. From 
 the summit of a tower in the form of a steeple, the people 
 were invited by a marabout to prayer. While every one 
 was occupied extern to the temple in his washings or 
 purifications in anticipation of the moment when admission 
 would be given, the doors were suddenly closed and the 
 priests appeared upon the minarets. " Retire," they ex- 
 claimed, " there shall be no orisons to-day, that prayer 
 which issues from a heart which is vexed and venomous 
 displeases the divinity. Go, " they continued, "avenge the 
 honour of the prophet ; avenge his sacred laws, and do all 
 that your celestial zeal inspires." The priests had hardly 
 spoken when the people ran to arms, nothing could be 
 heard throughout the city but the clash of weapons, and 
 the fire of musquetry, and the cries of fury and tumult, 
 uproar, and commotion. The great mea of the town 
 meantime assembled ; they repaired to the Mufti to 
 prevail on him to participate in this rebellion, and on re- 
 ceiving his refusal, two of his domestics were murdered 
 in his presence, and the door of his abode was shattered 
 into fragments. He delayed no longer, he is hurried 
 away by the torrent ; the great men go to the tribunals 
 and prohibit business to the courts till such time as orders 
 shall be forwarded. Then a great procession was quickly 
 formed, the priests and the pontiff, the magistrates and 
 great men were seen going through the streets in cere- 
 monial dresses, with their hands upon their heads to 
 testify regret and mourning. This spectacle produced 
 the requisite effect ; the people became furious ; at the first 
 blow, from fifty to sixty persons connected with the Pacha 
 were massacred ; the carnage would be more extensive if 
 it had not been reported in the town that the Pacha had 
 
ANARCHY. 317 
 
 escaped by- a secret door from his seraglio. A calm 
 came over the spirit of the people, and the remainder of 
 the day was all tranquillity. The Pacha was informed of 
 this circumstance and that very evening returned to his 
 home ; he sent for the Aga of the Janissaries, and the Aga 
 of the Capi-Koulys, who refused obedience, and it was 
 not until next day that they came into his presence. 
 " Why do you not restrain your troops," the Pacha 
 vociferated furiously " I shall teach you to repent your 
 treason ; close the doors." His orders were in act of 
 execution when a servant whispered in his ear, that the 
 cannon of the castle was levelled at the palace, and that the 
 match was about to be applied. When he learned this he 
 lowered his tone and spoke of accommodation. The Agas 
 raised their voices very high ; peace could not possibly be ex- 
 pected from the city, they said, except upon the following 
 conditions. — 1st, He had received 900 purses from the 
 citizens which he should restore. — 2nd, A proportion of 
 his troops should be dismissed. — 3rd, He should pledge 
 himself in writing to molest no one during 1 the con- 
 tinuance of his authority. — 4th, All his prisoners should 
 be set free, provided they laid down their arms and 
 opened their shops as usual. He promised them whatever 
 they required. Hereupon, tranquillity appeared to be 
 established, but governor and governed they kept a wary 
 eye upon one another's movements. It stood the citizens 
 upon ; three days after the promise had been plighted, with 
 4000 men behind him, at the dead of night, the Pacha 
 entered a suburb of the city, of which he had the greatest 
 reason to complain ; he abandoned it to pillage, sacking 
 the houses and setting fire to them, and massacreing all 
 who offered opposition. The alarm extended through 
 
318 
 
 ANARCHY. 
 
 the city upon all sides ; the populace assembled so soon,, 
 and in such numbers, that, while keeping up a running 
 light, the Bashaw, who sustained alarming losses, retired 
 with a mutilated fragment of his troops, and shrinking 
 first to his seraglio, he subsequently sought the open 
 campaign. The tumult continued though the Pacha stole 
 away— imagine for a moment, the flagrant excesses of 
 which a violent unbridled populace are capable, who, 
 maddened by their wrongs, and destitute of discipline, can 
 listen to no voice but that of fury — whose frantic passions 
 riot uncontrolled, and who are hostile, openly and 
 avowedly, to all they that bear the name of Christianity. 
 
 Wherever christians were perceived, they cursed their 
 faith. A certain attraction was attributed to them, which 
 brought down misfortunes on the city ; their houses were 
 forced, and their property was plundered, and they were 
 very happy when their lives were spared. Many ladies 
 died of fear, while others preferred to perish by the 
 scimitar, rather than receive the embraces of the infidels. 
 I have often had a pistol presented to my breast, and a 
 sabre raised above my head : the windows of our house 
 one day were shivered into atoms by repeated vollies, 
 They lighted a great fire at the door of the Franciscans, 
 for the purpose of burning the inmates of the hospital ; 
 the extinction of this fire was a species of miracle. Were 
 I to detail their cruelties, I would never make an end. I 
 return to the Pacha. 
 
 Escaped from the city, he proceeded to Neapolis, or 
 Napolose, to Jerusalem, and to the other cities of his 
 government, to levy the accustomed tributes and prepare 
 for a pilgrimage to Mecca. Every one knows that a 
 number of Turks influenced by religion or by interest, 
 
THE PACHA. 319 
 
 annually repair on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where they 
 suppose the body of their prophet reposes. The city of 
 Damascus is the rendezvous of Islamism. Caravans 
 from Constantinople, and from Turcomania, and Persia, 
 form a reunion at Damascus. 
 
 When the vast multitude of pilgrims are all together, 
 and when viands are provided for a two months' march 
 through sterile deserts, the caravans depart, invariably 
 every year fifteen days before the ramadan. The Pacha 
 of Damascus is the master and conductor of the caravan : 
 to him it appertains to give orders for the halt and for the 
 march, to terminate the quarrels which arise among the 
 travellers, and to defend them from the iVrabs, who in- 
 cessantly assault them from their quitting Damascus till 
 their return to that city. 
 
 While the Pacha was traversing the towns in his de- 
 pendency, the people of Damascus were seriously con- 
 sidering how they could prevent his return to their town. 
 They fortified their ramparts wherever they were weak ; 
 all dilapidated places were repaired, ammunition and 
 provisions were collected for a siege, and the people put 
 their city in a posture of defence, in case Hussein should 
 return with reunited Pachas which he was absolutely 
 doing as the rumour ran. They took an additional precau- 
 tion which was very unsuccessful. In justification of their 
 conduct they sent the Emperor a manifesto, but were 
 informed that the Grand Vizier, the protector of his 
 creature the Bashaw, detained the document, which never 
 reached the presence of the Grand Signior. 
 
 They were for some time intimidated by this informa- 
 tion, insomuch that the Pachas' entrance was not opposed. 
 Of the four conditions that they had extorted, two were 
 
320 PACHA HUSSEIN. 
 
 complied with ; the prisoners were set at freedom and the 
 troops had been cashiered ; he derived so much confidence 
 from this compliance, that he ventured to reside in his 
 palace as before. But from the time he arrived to the 
 period of his departure for Mecca, he never dared to show 
 himself in public, nor did he on departing" nominate a 
 deputy to manage the Pachalic in his absence. During 
 the anarchy which followed, which gave the malcontents 
 but too much scope, — who found their account in the 
 interregnum, there was no cessation to the^ troubles of 
 Damascus, which continued till the caravan returned from 
 the desert. When pressed by the Arabs, who hung upon 
 the rear of the caravan like a swarm of wasps, the Pacha 
 had recourse to his cashiered troops, whose admission to 
 Damascus he promised them to procure, but a column of 
 50,000 men, which deployed from the city during this 
 negotiation, taught him the necessity of being more chary 
 of his promises. They compelled him to a parley which 
 continued for two whole days, during which, the 20,000 
 pilgrims made a halt. He could only obtain that his 
 troops should be permitted for three days' space, to encamp 
 near the walls that they might remove from the town 
 their effects and families, but when this period was 
 expired, if the tents were not stricken, they should fall 
 upon the soldiers as before. Ever after this disaster 
 Hussein was entirely shorn of his beams, hid in his 
 seraglio, hated by his soldiers, affronted by his people, 
 without authority and without power, he had nothing but 
 the name of a Pacha. When anything was agitated in 
 which he should decide, a mere adventurer, Achmet 
 Abdel Brady, but an intrepid and enterprising spirit called 
 the question to his tribunal, deciding in a tone that com- 
 
ACHMET AfeDEL BRADY. 321 
 
 pelled obedience. The Pacha in the meantime, maintained 
 a correspondence with the governor of the castle, which 
 lorded it over the city and its environs, and was furnished 
 with artillery ; if this citadel were his, he should be indis- 
 putably master of the city. But suspecting this intelli- 
 gence, the Capi-Koulys seized upon the gates of the 
 castle and made the governor a prisoner. Instantaneously 
 the signal ran from minaret to minaret, the rebels re- 
 assembled and hurried to the palace of the Pacha. The 
 onslaught of the citizens was met by the troops with 
 intrepidity, and eventually repelled. lit turn the soldiers of 
 the Pacha bore down upon the populace and were 
 irresistible, but the tide turned the succeeding day, when 
 the combat was renewed with equal fury upon either side, 
 and on the evening of the third day, after many vacillations, 
 victory decided in favour of the rebels. The number of 
 the dead was very nearly equal. But the citizens were 
 inconsolable for Achmet Abdel Brady, whose merit and 
 bravery had made him the leader of the revolution. 
 Whilst the sorrowful city prepared a mausoleum for its 
 hero, and invoked his name, as the father and liberator of 
 his country in songs that recorded his achievements, the 
 Pacha, whose palace had been damaged by the fire, fled 
 from the city for the third time. But where were the 
 means of subsisting in the country? He had saved nothing 
 but his life, in the hurry of his flight ; he had no resource but 
 to levy contributions, a proceeding that made the measure 
 of his misfortunes overflow. 
 
 The plundered peasants crowded to Damascus, filling 
 the streets with complaints of the ravages of Hussein. 
 In the city they met with willing auditors, and the Mufti 
 was consulted, and after many mature deliberations, it 
 
 p 3 
 
322 PURSUIT. 
 
 was decided by that dignitary, that the law permittee 
 them to make away with an open enemy of God and men v 
 who aimed at the lives and the properties of others. An 
 expedition was immediately prepared. 
 
 The commander-in-chief and his military officers, the 
 Mufti and members of the law, and the most distinguished 
 citizens, issued from the portals of Damascus, with 
 40,000 men behind them, and the succeeding- day their 
 horses halted, where they anticipated meeting the Pacha. 
 Without giving them time to tighten girth, divisions were 
 
 O O Do? 
 
 advanced to occupy the heights and penetrate the valley, 
 but it profited them nothing ; the Pacha, apprised the pre- 
 ceding evening of the danger by which he was approached, 
 decamped with such celerity that 600 horse who followed 
 him were unable to succeed in bringing him to blows. 
 The foe was very far, but the city was as troubled as 
 before ; uproar and commotion universally prevailed, and 
 they-never ceased to pillage and affront the christians, so 
 that it was only in October, when order was restored by 
 Osman Pacha, that we could possibly resume our functions. 
 But we are still undelivered from anxiety : besides that, 
 we have not here, as elsewhere, the countenance afforded 
 by a consul. We have to treat with people to whom the 
 name of a Frank is an object of abhorrence, and who 
 have persecuted Apostolic men from the birth of Chris- 
 tianity. St. Paul the Apostle, as every one knows, was 
 compelled to conceal himself and fly the fury of their 
 persecution, and we have scarcely seen a week since I 
 came here, which is now three years, in which we have 
 not had to suffer from the Schismatics and Turks. 
 
323 
 
 EPISTLE 
 TO THE FATHER PROCURATOR 
 
 OF THE MISSIONS OF THE LEVANT. 
 
 Rev. Sir, 
 
 You request some account of the voyage I performed 
 from Constantinople to Aleppo, which is a satisfaction 
 which must not be refused you ; well I know that you 
 seek for information solely for the purpose of making 
 such arrangements as shall contribute to convert the 
 natives, in the various countries, of which I may have 
 the honour of speaking to your reverence. 
 
 I was destined for the city of Aleppo, and yet spent 
 five months at Constantinople, having been commissioned 
 to obtain commandments for the service of our Missions, 
 from the Sublime Porte, and this through the medium of 
 the French Ambassador who was to demand them from the 
 Grand Signior, in the name of the Most Christian King. 
 His Excellency himself has had the kindnesss to prepare 
 the papers which it was necessary to lay before the 
 Grand Vizier, and which were conceived in terms, in the 
 
324 CARCASSES. 
 
 highest degree friendly to the Roman Catholic religion, 
 but some misunderstanding or other, the subject of which 
 was diplomatic ceremony, delayed the affair for several 
 months. Feeling that this affair was not likely to be 
 terminated speedily, and becoming weary of my inutility, 
 I prevailed on his excellency to permit my departure for 
 Aleppo. Having waited on the wife of the Ambassador, 
 she was so good as to assure me, as I took my leave, 
 that as the cause of our society was that of Heaven, our 
 business should be her's, and that I might depend upon 
 her cares henceforth, in pursuing and soliciting the 
 matters that we wanted. Could I have confided them to 
 better hands ? In placing them in hers, I was placing 
 them in those of piety and virtue ; I willingly received 
 such gracious offers ; I endeavoured to express my 
 gratitude, and totally delivered from the fardel of solici- 
 tude, I ceased to think of anything except departing. 
 
 You can travel from Constantinople to Aleppo either 
 by the land or by the sea ; I deliberated long as to which 
 I should adopt ; I have great aversion for a voyage, as the 
 sea does not suit my constitution. It was spring time 
 now, and the season I supposed would be fully as delight- 
 ful throughout the extent of my journey, as it was in the 
 metropolis in which I was sojourning ; when luckily I 
 saw some travellers arrive who had journeyed over land 
 from the city of Aleppo, and who, though very finely 
 mounted, descended from their horses in a melancholy 
 plight, from the hardships they had suffered, amid frosts 
 and snows in which they had very nearly lost their lives. 
 I learned, in like manner from another traveller, that the 
 carcasses of horses and of human beings were strewn 
 along the road which he traversed from Aleppo. Nothing 
 
THE GRAND ADMIRAL AND THE CAPUCHIN. 325 
 
 more was requisite to render me decisive. I fortified my 
 bosom with the cuirass of the poet, and determined to 
 encounter the terrors of the deep ; every thing considered, 
 I came to the conclusion, that suffering was immea- 
 surably preferable to death. 
 
 Persons proposed to me to go to Scio, from Scio to 
 Rhodes, and from Rhodes to Cyprus. I might do some 
 good, they told me, during the sojourn I should 
 make at Rhodes, for there in the galleys of the Grand 
 Signior, the number of the slaves was perfectly incalcu- 
 lable. They had no priest although they had a chapel, 
 and I could perform in the middle of these miserable 
 people, the functions of my ministry, with perfect freedom. 
 In the approaching paschal season, it would be such 
 solace to the slaves to see me, and perform their paschal 
 duty, through my means. This was to me 
 exceedingly attractive ; however, you will learn by the 
 end of my adventures, that all the merit I can boast of, 
 is that of volition. 
 
 Finding I should want a recommendatory letter, a very 
 zealous missioner, a Capuchin, procured me an epistle 
 from the Capitan Pacha, Grand Admiral of Turkey, a 
 person by whom the missioner is much esteemed. It 
 requested the Cadis of Scio and of Rhodes to considerable 
 as one of his domestics, and to allow me perfect liberty to 
 pass in all directions. In return for this kindness of the 
 Capuchin, I'll acquaint you with the uses which he makes 
 of the good will with which he always is regarded by the 
 Capitan Pacha. Through the instrumentality of this 
 Signior, he has caused an Archbishop of the catholic 
 religion to be placed in the Nestorian church, which 
 unhappily exists in the Diarbekir ; thus, the solitary use 
 
326 THE FRIAR AND THE GRAND ADMIRAL. 
 
 which he makes of his protection, is to benefit the chris- 
 tian faith. This missionary friar attended the Bashaw, 
 in his last campaign against the Muscovites, and he still 
 continues to attend him as a member of the faculty, — a 
 species of slavery to which the fervour of his zeal has 
 condemned the Capuchin ; it is true, it is a voluntary 
 slavery, but on this account it cannot be less painful to a 
 man of the merit and of the virtue of the friar. You com- 
 mence as their physician, and you conclude by being their 
 slave. Let that be as it may, certain it is, that, furnished 
 with the letter with which the friar provided me, I 
 thought of nothing further than my embarkation ; a Greek 
 vessel was ready to set sail for Scio ; — at the recommend- 
 ation of a friend I got on board this vessel, passage free. 
 
 I embarked on the 22nd of March, with my little pro- 
 visions, resolved to fast with the Greeks and to observe 
 as much austerity as they. They eat no fish, except on 
 the Sabbath of the Palms, or on the day of the annuncia- 
 tion. Herbs and legumes are the only sustenance which 
 the majority of the Greeks make use of. Shell fish is 
 permitted them, and all such fish as have no blood, and at- 
 tach themselves to rocks. The Greeks are so rigid in their 
 abstinence from eggs, from butter, and from milk, that 
 when sick, they prefer to die rather than violate their 
 rules. They grant no dispensations, be the persons 
 whom they may, or whatever be the reasons for requiring 
 them. I must confess that this severity, although it be 
 extravagant, elicited reflections of a painful nature on the 
 audacity with which they outrage such institutes in 
 Christendom at present. 
 
 Nothing inspires the Asiatics with more aversion for 
 the church of Rome, than that relaxation of these lenten 
 
GREEK LENT. 327 
 
 laws into which they erroneously suppose she has encou- 
 raged us to fall. I did not wish to augment this ill- 
 founded aversion, but if the Greeks were to see a reli- 
 gious like myself, as heedless of their rules as the laity of 
 Europe, it would increase this antipathy a hundred fold ; 
 and even as it was, despite the regularity with which I 
 lived, many of my fellow travellers perused me with a 
 jealous eye, incredulous of my fidelity, and attentive only 
 to their prejudices. I invited a passenger to dine upon 
 a little oil and rice, when a boy whose age was scarcely 
 more than nine, who, to the best of my belief, was the 
 son of a Greek priest, arrested my intended guest, and 
 told him, with terror in his eyes, that I was a catholic, 
 and that I eat flesh meat. We took care to disabuse the 
 child, and this tended in some measure to rebuild my 
 reputation. 
 
 We had excellent company on board ; a metropolitan 
 was one of these, the mother of the Patriarch of Con- 
 stantinople, and some of her relations who were going 
 back to Scio, of which the dignitary is a native, 
 and who had visited him to felicitate him upon his 
 elevation. The crew were a worthy set of fellows, for 
 the most part natives of the isles of Greece, and espe- 
 cially the isle of Pathmos. Some of the sailors had a 
 little knowledge of Italian. I addressed myself to these 
 in order to be informed upon certain points which are 
 familiar to mariners, and with which I wished to be 
 acquainted ; I fairly returned instruction for instruction, 
 by insinuating some reflections on the subject of their 
 everlasting welfare, and had I known the vulgar Greek, I 
 should have been, I am certain, more successful, for the 
 poor fellows were tractable and docile. We emerged 
 
328 GREEK MARINERS. 
 
 from the port of Constantinople with a very friendly wind ; 
 assisted by the currents, we made considerable way in a 
 very little time. We were quickly passing by the coasts 
 of Thrace, and our sailors who knew every thing that 
 came in sight, told me the names of the places that pre- 
 sented themselves. With the chart in one hand and the 
 compass in the other, I discovered, with astonishment, 
 much bad reckoning ; and is it not perfectly surprising, 
 that vessels have made, and continue to make so many 
 voyages in this vicinity, and that we yet remain destitute 
 of anything approaching to exactitude. This circumstance 
 put me out of temper with our geographers ; it was 
 nothing throughout but towns omitted or misplaced; 
 to rectify these errors, I shall enter into certain geogra- 
 phical details which the reader may pass over if he consi- 
 der them as tedious, but which are certainly more useful 
 than matter more amusing. 
 
 At twelve French miles from the city of Stamboul, my 
 attention was directed to Agios Stephanos. They shewed 
 me Sicomesv at two miles farther on, at six miles lower 
 down Milo is discerned, and six miles more remote the 
 greater Sicomesy ; you subsequently pass Panagia, a 
 place which is at three miles distance from the former. 
 Peaatis is seen at eiffht miles distance from Panagfia. 
 Selivri is equally distant from Penatis, from which Hera- 
 c*h?a is removed but eighteen miles ; at the close of the 
 evening we cast anchor within sight of this celebrated 
 town, with the design of passing the night there. The 
 situation of this city is exceedingly fine. Heraclea is 
 erected on a little mountain which protrudes into the sea, 
 and constitutes a cape. I was very solicitous of visiting 
 the city, but the sea was so disturbed that it would have 
 
THE CONSUL OF VENICE . 329 
 
 been impossible to make the shore. I was under the 
 necessity of remaining satisfied with simply the external 
 aspect of the city. The Archbishop is one of the most 
 considerable metropolitans in the Patriarchate of Constan- 
 tinople ; he places the crown on the Patriarch's brow, as 
 the bishop of Ostia places the tiara on his Holiness. 
 
 We set sail the succeeding day, after the sun had 
 risen, and made ninety miles in eight hours. The first 
 place of notoriety that we caught sight of on the coast, 
 was Rhedeste or Rhodosto, forty miles from Heraclea ; 
 seven miles from thence we caught sight of Suandarsi ; 
 seven miles more and we came to Ganofano ; at the ter- 
 mination of the next three miles Mircophilo hove in 
 sight ; after three miles sail Peristasi was before us ; and 
 another three miles brought us to Panili; then a long inter- 
 val of six and twenty miles brought us to Gallipoli. All 
 vessels, whatever, from Constantinople, are obliged to 
 pause for a day before Gallipoli ; officers carefully visit 
 them to ascertain whether there be fugitive slaves or 
 contraband merchandise on board. A priest, a native of 
 Scio, of the Latin ritual, is the consul of Venice In Galli- 
 poli, he is entitled to a very trifling impost on each vessel 
 that puts in, and if he had no other revenue the consul 
 would certainly be very poor. He and his valet are the 
 only catholic inhabitants of the city ; I knew him very 
 intimately in Constantinople, he gave me the kindest 
 possible reception, he even persuaded me to lodge at his 
 residence ; having passed the night there, I had the happi- 
 ness the succeeding morning of celebrating the sacrifice 
 of mass. It is a consolation to be able to repair the 
 outrages which Heaven receives at the hands of the un- 
 believers, by the celebration of the holy oblation, in places 
 
330 DARDANELLES. 
 
 to which it would seem that satan wishes to establish a 
 prescriptive title. The city is of moderate dimensions, 
 and the castle which defends it is not strong The sea 
 constitutes an estuary, which is far from being a per- 
 fect harbour, and the place in which the vessels anchor, 
 is less a haven than a roadstead. The ruins of the city of 
 Lampsacus rear their mouldering forms opposite Gallipoli ; 
 it is situated between Serakino, which lies nearer to 
 Constantinople, and Pregaz, which lies nearer to the 
 Dardanelles. There is little more than thirty miles 
 between Gallipoli and the Dardanelles. Your vessel passes 
 Mayto previously to coming to the first castles, of which the 
 distance from the former is about five miles. Mayto is a vil- 
 lage situated in Europe, which abounds in wine, a circum- 
 stance of much utility to vessels, which in passing back or 
 forward, invariably put in there, for the purpose of procuring 
 a supply. One must suffer the same visit at the Dardanel- 
 les, which is previously endured at Gallipoli. Finally set 
 free from these importunate exactions, we took the open sea 
 to cast anchor at Tenedos, where we remained at anchor the 
 succeeding day, awaiting the subsidence of the wind 
 which blew violent and strongly, and almost in our teeth. 
 Thence we sailed to Metelin, the Lesbos of the ancients ; 
 this place is no longer what it was of old. Lesbos has 
 ceased to be paramount in Troas, it no longer lords it 
 over Eolidis ; I cannot inform you as to whether it be 
 fecund in fine geniuses or no, having been unable to put 
 that question to the test. I can assure you, however, 
 without fear of contradiction, that there is no Sappho in 
 this island now, that no Alceus strikes his lyre in its pre- 
 cincts, that it now contains no learned Theophrastes to 
 furnish commentaries on Aristotle and enrich it with his 
 
METELIN. 331 
 
 writings. The muses are invariably amateurs of liberty, 
 and seldom lift their voices for a subjugated people. 
 Lesbos was the father-land of Pitticus, one of the seven 
 sages of the Grecians. He lived a long time in the isle of 
 Lesbos, and uniting valour to sagacity, aided in rescuing 
 his country from the yoke of tyrants. The isle, which 
 appeared to be extremely fertile, contains three hundred 
 and sixty villages, and has three small ports, Navagia. 
 Metelin, and Tokmak. 
 
 Metelin is a large village or a little town, destitute of 
 circumvallation ; the town is covered by a little mountain 
 which advances its front into the sea, and constitutes a 
 cape; on the summit of this mountain, a well built castle, the 
 labour of the Genoese, when masters of the isle, elevates 
 its lofty form and defends the village. We may call this 
 mountain a peninsula, and the earth which unites it to the 
 main land is covered with the houses which constitute the 
 town. Having one on either side of its peninsula 
 Metelin has two harbours^ of which the one to the north 
 is of very little use, from the absence of a cover ; the 
 haven to the south is sheltered from the winds, but hav- 
 ing little water, is only fit for gallies — vessels of great 
 draught cannot penetrate the bay. Some of the inhabi- 
 tants are Turks while some of them are Christians ; the 
 latter, whose ritual is Greek, outnumber the Mahomedans. 
 As the space which intervenes between Constantinople 
 and Metelin is small, and as the gallies of the Grand 
 Signior frequently bear up and cast anchor in the road- 
 stead, pirates seldom trouble its repose, and the Turks, 
 who can live with less terror here than elsewhere, only 
 multiply too rapidly in Metelin. A metropolitan resides 
 in Metelin, and a bishop in Molino. 
 
332 WRONG COURSE. 
 
 We passed three days in this place, for the wind, which 
 was blowing in a contrary direction, prevented our depar- 
 ture ; it ultimately altered, and many barques and saiques 
 were to be seen spreading their sails upon their yards, 
 and taking the favourable winds, and preparing to quit 
 the harbour ; but the pilot of the petty bark in which I 
 should tempt the deep, was unwilling to set sail until the 
 ensuing day, and yet he was unwilling that I should go 
 on board any other vessel, I could not well divine his 
 reason, for paying him nothing, as I did, I could not pos- 
 sibly imagine what use I could be to him ; however, he 
 removed my doubts ; he told me that he was fully per- 
 suaded that if he happened to encounter christian pirates, 
 I would save him from their insults, at least, I would 
 save his vessel, he assured me ; not wishing to indulge 
 this chimerical idea; as it was Saturday evening, and as I 
 was solicitous of being in Scio the succeeding morning, 
 for the purpose of celebrating mass, I entered a saique 
 which was quitting the harbour, the mariners of which, 
 who were my only company, were natives of Pathmos, 
 returning to their isle. I was very badly recompensed for 
 my hurry ; the pains I took to hasten my departure, cost 
 me very dear. 
 
 The wind which continued in our stern was exceeding 
 strong, but not having been able to distinguish the canal 
 which separates Scio from the main land, though the wind 
 was fair for entering the channel, our pilot, as the night 
 was fast approaching, by standing somewhat sea-ward, 
 steered by mistake along the outside of the isle, and it 
 was only when the sun had risen and the darkness 
 was dispersed, and when it was impossible to retrace his 
 course, that his error became manifest. Compelled by 
 
DESERT SHORE. 333 
 
 the energy of the wind, we were forced to continue on 
 the same tack, and our only resourse was to seek some 
 inlet in which we might find some shelter from the wind. 
 Driven by stress of weather, we ultimately ran our bark 
 into a creek ; here I recalled and sought to practice the 
 precept of Pittacus the wise man of Metelin. We must 
 make use of every possible precaution to ward off 
 vexatious accidents, but, if they descend on us, said 
 Pittacus, we must bear them with equanimity. Having 
 disembarked, we ascended, by means of rocks which were 
 nearly perpendicular, to the summits of some neighbouring 
 heights, in order to discover if no house were within sight, 
 or no sign of human habitation on this desert coast, but 
 alas ! mountains towering above mountains, precipices 
 heaped on top of precipices, were all that met the eye in 
 this desolate place, turn to what side you would. We 
 now sought some rocky fountain, some crystal well 
 which we hoped to find, sparkling, pure, and em- 
 bosomed in the rocks, from which to quench our thirst 
 during the time that heaven should retain us in this 
 howling wilderness, but in vain. With the utmost 
 exertion of the powers of vision, we could not discern a 
 solitary tree, whose shade might prove a refuge from 
 the fervour of the sun, whose overpowering radiance 
 was intolerable. Heaven eventually blessed our re- 
 searches, for I was so happy as to succeed in discovering 
 a spacious cave, in which I had as much shadow as I 
 pleased, and a little more coolness than was quite 
 desirable. 
 
 What gave us most uneasiness, was, that the wind ap- 
 peared to be a perfect trade wind, it blew so constantly in 
 
334 CORSAIRS EXPECTED. 
 
 one direction. Meantime our stock of water began to 
 fail, and I found it necessary to reiterate a request for a 
 draught, repeatedly before my wishes would be complied 
 with. After all, the fear of Corsairs caused our sailors 
 more inquietude, than any other evil, imaginary or real. 
 They were fully persuaded that if the pirates spied us, 
 they would bear down upon us instantaneously and 
 plunder our vessel, if they did no worse : imagine for 
 a moment our miserable destiny ! We should cer- 
 tainly have died of thirst and hunger, in this 
 melancholy solitude. Our prospects were anything at 
 all but pleasing. I learned to appreciate the merit of 
 St. Francis Xavier, and of his devoted imitators, who 
 breathed their last in deserts, such as this, without 
 repining. But frightful as my piesent situation was, 
 it was far from being so dismal as the destitution in 
 which they expired. I patiently submitted to the 
 will of heaven, but I confess that I was unable to 
 extract that sweetness from my present situation, which 
 sages have discerned in utter loneliness, and though, 
 with the assistance of the Lord, I calmly prepared 
 myself for such encounters with calamity as he should 
 please to appoint, it was not without a certain struggle 
 with natural repugnances, whose existence I confess 
 with shame. 
 
 We spent three whole days in this painful situation ; 
 ultimately a wind arose at midnight, which was very 
 weak, it is true, but which was sufficient to deliver us 
 from this sad sojourn, in which we had spent three melan- 
 choly days, and to cause us with inflated sail, to cut the 
 rippling ocean, for the isle of Samos — our pilot's house and 
 
LUDICROUS APPREHENSION, 335 
 
 business lay in Samos, and thither he was fully resolved to 
 steer, without putting himself to the slightest pain, as to 
 whether his passenger, whom he had pledged himself to 
 land in Scio, should ever reach that isle or no ; it was a 
 flagrant violation of good faith, but then the Greeks are 
 famous for mendacity. During the voyage, 1 perceived, 
 with no inconsiderable interest, the excessive terror enter- 
 tained by these poor people for corsairs ; though our 
 vessel was perfectly alone upon the open sea, they did not 
 dare to speak a word above their breath, but observed, and 
 made their passenger observe, as profound a silence, as if 
 the enemy was at their elbow ; when it was indispensably 
 necessary to speak, it was always in a low whispering 
 tone, with many apprehensive looks over their shoulder, 
 as if fearful that some bearded desperado was within 
 ear shot. Though I was myself as largely endowed 
 with the gift of cowardice, as these most veracious 
 mariners, I could scarce refrain at first from laughter, 
 at the panic terror that oppressed them in the open sea, 
 in the utter absence of an enemy, as well as at the 
 species of comedy it caused them to enact, but I became 
 in time reconciled to it, and seemed to consider it a thing 
 of course. 
 
 We continued all this time to coast the isle of Scio, and 
 I prayed to heaven to inspire our pilot with honesty 
 enough to keep his word, and to land me in the town, or in 
 someplace adjacent, from which we might easily transport 
 ourselves to the place to which we had designed to go. 
 At one time my wishes, I conceived, were heard, for a 
 stiff breeze sprung up, which compelled our pilot to near 
 the coast of Scio ; this wind which gave me so much plea- 
 
336 ALBANIAN'. 
 
 sure died away unhappily, and, after a calm of half an 
 hour's duration, during which our pilot regarded every 
 point in the horizon for the expected breeze, a wind 
 which was friendly to the rogue sprang up in spite of all 
 my prayers, and growing stronger by degrees, wafted the 
 Greek vessel towards Samos, where she ran into a wretched 
 haven, in which there was not a single habitation to be 
 seen. We could perceive the island of Icaria from 
 thence ; we had a whole day's leisure to consider it, as the 
 sea was_ so much agitated that we could not disembark. 
 Taking my little baggage the succeeding day, I dragged 
 myself as well as I could to the adjacent village. I was 
 told by the natives that this hamlet was a port, it is cer- 
 tainly one of a peculiar species if it be, for the ocean 
 forms no inlet in the land. They hawl their boats upon a 
 shore, (which cannot be said to be indented) for they are 
 apprehensive that if they left them in the sea in such a 
 miserable road, the pirates would deprive them of these 
 vessels. 
 
 I met with an Albanian captain, who intended to depart 
 with the first good wind ; — hoping we should have it the 
 succeeding day, I spent little time in looking for a lodg- 
 ing, but first having stowed away my baggage in the bark 
 which was lying high and dry upon the sand, I considered 
 it expedient to pass the night within its hollow womb ; 
 you will easily imagine that it did not take much 
 time to make my bed, and truth to tell, when the bed 
 was made, it was very far from commodious. As the wind 
 continued the succeeding day blowing constantly in the 
 same direction, I entered a village called Carlovazi, to 
 procure a lodging in the hamlet, or at least, some bread 
 
THE COOK. 337 
 
 but, unhappily for me, I could find neither one nor the 
 other, nor for love nor for money ; it even cost me no 
 small trouble to discover my Albanian. At length with 
 much ado, I succeeded in unearthing this ingenious person, 
 when I proceeded to acquaint him with the utter destitu- 
 tion to which I was reduced. He directed me to one of 
 his acquaintances, at whose house I contrived to make a 
 slight repast, after which I found it imperative on me to 
 return to my vessel, in which I passed the three suc- 
 ceeding days and nights. At the termination of this 
 period, when you might expect that I was beginning to 
 warm to my new abode, I found my naval domicile per- 
 fectly intolerable, and I began to be afflicted with a 
 species of illness which might be attended with frightful 
 consequences. On Sunday, after mass, I made such 
 strenuous exertions, that they succeeded in hiring me a 
 small apartment at a very costly rate, while an aged Su- 
 namite volunteered to preside over and manage my 
 kitchen ; this was a situation which required neither much 
 labour nor much professional skill, on the part of the 
 incumbent; all that was ever wanted in this very humble 
 kitchen was to cook a little rice mingled with oil, with 
 now and then a little mallows. 
 
 During my sojourn in Carlovazi, I became acquainted 
 with a caloyer, or religious of a Greek monastery, who 
 was an Italian, from the city of Bologna. After having 
 served in the Venetian army, he happened to get mar- 
 ried in the town of Carlovazi, and when his wife, a 
 female of the village, expired, he assumed the cowl in the 
 monastery of Athos, from which he had recently emerged, 
 to take care of a child which his marriage had bequeathed 
 him. We met almost every evening. The culture of a 
 
338 GREEK MONK. 
 
 garden afforded him a livelihood : he brought me now 
 and then a little salad as an offering. This monk was a 
 man of much simplicity, and I was pleased to find him 
 destitute of craft, as it enabled me to ascertain certain 
 facts with which I wished to be acquainted. I had time 
 enough to interrogate him, for the wind delayed our de- 
 parture for fifteen days. 
 
 Though I was by no means at my ease in the position 
 which I endeavour to describe, my reflections were not 
 wholly engrossed by my own reverses : I was grieved 
 to see the melancholy situation of our passengers to Path- 
 mos. Fifteen leagues was the space that separated them 
 from their destination ; but they were entirely destitute 
 of the means of transport — their patience and resigna- 
 tion to the will of God were admirable. I was highly 
 edified at so much virtue ; 'twas a lesson which I studied 
 in my solitude, and by which I endeavoured to profit,, 
 
 They pressed me, very anxiously, to go with them to 
 their isle. I should see, they assured me, many things 
 in Patmos which were worthy of attention ; for instance, 
 the grotto or cave in which the Apocalypse was written 
 by St. John. I should have been delighted to visit so 
 respectable a monument, if the transit had not been so 
 utterly impossible. But, excepting this cave and a mo- 
 nastery of Caloyers, there is nothing to be seen in reality 
 in jPathmos ; for Pathmos is only an enormous rock, in- 
 habited by these Cenobites, and some Christian families. 
 The soil is exceedingly ungrateful : nothing whatever 
 that supports human life is produced by the barren rock. 
 The natives go over to the mainland to procure the com- 
 monest supplies : they frequently engage as mariners on 
 board ship, and on returning to the island, they bring 
 
PATHMOS. 339 
 
 with them wherewithal to live. My fellow-passengers 
 were persons of this description. 
 
 These worthy people bitterly complained of the Chris- 
 tian corsairs, who, without any respect for a place so 
 sacred, which was consecrated, in some measure, by the 
 sojourn of an evangelist, had devastated the island more 
 than once, not sparing the very altars, and treating as 
 well the religious as the laity with the most barbarous 
 cruelty. They met with an additional misfortune in Sa- 
 mos ; having hired a bark to carry them to Pathmos, an 
 incident occurred which prevented their departure : the 
 corsairs, whom they had seen so often in imagination, 
 finally appeared in downright reality ; descending on a 
 neighbouring town, which was only three leagues distant 
 from the village in which we resided, the freebooters 
 swept away every thing, even the women were not left 
 behind, whom, having previously dishonoured, they kept 
 in durance vile, with many menaces of perpetual expa- 
 triation, unless they were ransomed to a considerable 
 amount. This melancholy adventure caused me to be 
 honored by a deputation of the most considerable inha- 
 bitants of our village ; they imagined that my character 
 would give me some authority, and that by speaking to 
 the monsters I might deliver these Christian damsels 
 from captivity. As it was a work of charity, I willingly 
 consented, but I first endeavoured to impress the diffi- 
 culties of such a negociation upon the minds of my con- 
 stituents ; I could not answer for the success of such an 
 embassy ; I told them as the captain was an Italian, while 
 I was a native of France, that the majority of these ad- 
 venturers were Mainotes, a licentious Christian people 
 inhabiting the Morea, over whom their very chief had 
 
340 DESCENT OF COESAIES. 
 
 little authority, that failing as they did to fear God, that 
 they should respect his minister was hardly possible ; 
 that I was ready to depart nevertheless, that after all 
 they might not be quite such impracticable persons as I 
 thought, and that perhaps the Lord who holds the hearts 
 of human beings in his hands, might give a benediction 
 to my humble words. Satisfied with this response, they 
 retired to consider as to what was most expedient. They 
 were still deliberating, when a messenger arrived, panting 
 and exhausted to inform them, that after having ruined 
 the village, the pirates had sagaciously debarked their 
 female prisoners, and that having plundered every thing 
 worth pillaging, and landed their living cargo, and fairly 
 run away from them, they had directed their adventurous 
 barks seaward on another cruise in search of some place 
 where they might likewise do evil. The unexpected re- 
 treat of the marauders, I doubt not, delivered me from 
 a disgraceful interview by stripping me of the character 
 of an ambassador. Perhaps you are anxious to know 
 how I occupied my time in this sequestered place during 
 the fortnight that I spent here. Unacquainted as I was 
 with the language of the country, and therefore unable 
 to exercise my ministry, I passed the live long day in 
 communion with St.Paul, whose divine epistles I perused ; 
 and when evening came and my caloyer came along with 
 it, I conversed a considerable time with this native of 
 Italy, who informed me of many facts, which I listened 
 to with interest. 'Twas from him that I learned the 
 situation in which Samos exists at present. The city 
 which was known to the ancients by this name, and which 
 was in former times the metropolis of the isle, is desig- 
 nated now Megali Khora, it stands upon the margin of 
 
THE CALOYEK. 341 
 
 the sea, upon the island's orient shore. Here the me- 
 tropolitan has his seat, and here resides the Turkish aga , 
 who is commissioned to collect the dues of the Grand 
 Signior. Marato Cavo is situated on its northern side, 
 while Carlovazi, Vathi, and Necori, are discerned in 
 the western quarter ; all these places lie upon the coast. 
 The inland places are Platano, Castagne, Arvanito, Cora 
 and Fora. The mountains are inhabited by a colony 
 of Albanians, who took refuge in these fastnesses about 
 a century ago, but I could not ascertain the occasion of 
 their flight. They are a pastoral people, and obtain their 
 subsistence by rearing flocks, very nearly in the manner 
 of the Arabs. 
 
 In this island money is extremely rare, and when the 
 Turk has once extracted 15,000 crowns, as he annually 
 and unfailingly does, there is scarce a halfpenny to be 
 seen throughout the isle ; meanwhile the quality of the 
 soil, unlike that of the isle of Pathmos, is far from 
 sterility. The fertility of Samos caused it to be an object 
 of envy in ancient times, and attracted the armaments 
 of various people, who sought to make themselves the 
 masters of Samos. Its abundance gave rise to a proverb, 
 which Strabo mentions, to the effect that the hens gave 
 milk in Samos. The inhabitants invariably convert the 
 larger section of their farms into vineyards, as the Ma- 
 homedans levy no taxes upon vines, besides which they 
 permit vineyards to descend to Christian heirs : such is 
 not the case with ordinary farm lands ; excluding the 
 enormous contributions which they annually derive from 
 such lands, if the Christian, whose property they happen 
 to be, have no male heirs when he relinquishes the world, 
 the Turks take possession of his holding, and sell it to 
 
342 
 
 WOODED MOUNTAINS. 
 
 any one that pleases them.* You will doubtless ask me, 
 why the Mahomedans make this difference between vine- 
 yards and ordinary farm lands ; that holy horror which 
 the Mahomedans who first possessed themselves of Samos, 
 entertained for wine, is the origin of this difference ; 
 they considered the lands upon which grapes were grown 
 as accursed, and this prejudice has descended to their 
 posterity : the Aboriginals think otherwise, they esteem 
 an abundant vintage as the greatest of all temporal be- 
 nedictions. Either the soil or the pursuits of the natives 
 have suffered an extraordinary change since the time of 
 Strabo, since he informs us that, in his days, Samos was 
 unfortunate in wine, while the circumjacent islands were 
 prolific of the grape. Ex vino infelix est cum cceterco 
 circumvicince vino optimo abundent. All the revenue 
 which the islanders possess, is derived from wine ; they 
 dispose of it in Scio and especially in Smyrna, where 
 European vessels purchase many cargoes. The colour 
 of their wine is deep, and it bears water well, but its 
 flavour is not delicate. The rector of the village in which 
 I resided treated me to some of a superior quality, but 
 this excellent wine is rare. In France, they sell it for 
 the wine of Scio, and our gourmands are sometimes the 
 victims of the fraud. Their wine and a little silk con- 
 stitute the commerce of the isle ; the corn, oil, and other 
 necessaries which the isle produces, are only sufficient 
 for the home consumption ; I was likewise informed, if I 
 remember rightly, that wood for the construction of 
 
 * Nothing is so characteristic of a nation as its laws ; under similar 
 circumstances barbarians always make the same enactments, the laws 
 enacted by the English " to check the growth of Popery'' and those 
 of the Mahomedans to extinguish Christianity, are identically the 
 same. T.A.P. 
 
IRREVERENT PRIESTS. 343 
 
 saiques and barks was exported from Samos ; this may 
 really be the case, for you see the mountains covered with 
 the finest trees, and such as are well calculated for such 
 architecture. 
 
 I have told you already that Samos is inhabited solely 
 by Christians. Their ritual is Greek and they are all great 
 fasters. They get through the lent with a few legumes. 
 They do not use the liberty which other Greeks enjoy, 
 that of seasoning these legumes with a little oil ; they 
 only use their oil on Saturdays and Sundays, which are 
 privileged days, when it is prohibited to fast. They are 
 guided by a metropolitan whose revenue, which scarcely 
 amounts to two hundred crowns, consists for the most 
 only in voluntary offerings ; he annually receives five 
 sous from every family, and the patriarch as many more : 
 ten additional sous satisfy the other claims of the church, 
 whether poor or rich they all owe the same sum, and no 
 one can evade this obligation. As in every other district 
 in the patriarchate, priests who are married cannot hear 
 confessions, unless in the very greatest emergencies. 
 This function is confided by the bishops only to certain 
 Cenobites, who visit the hamlets and sequestered houses, 
 who hear the confessions of such are desirous of ap- 
 proaching the tribunal of penance. Confessions are ex- 
 ceeding rare except upon these solemn festivals, from 
 the absence of the spiritual father, as they term the con- 
 fessor, and perhaps I may add from the absence of de- 
 votion. 
 
 One thing is worthy of compassion, which is the love 
 these poor Greeks entertain for their religion, but unfor- 
 tunately few of them observe the precepts of their faith, 
 and nobody at all attains perfection. I went to their 
 
344 DISORDERLY MONASTICS. 
 
 churches on the sabbath clays and festivals to exhort them 
 by example, as I could not preach to them verbally. The 
 excess of their irreverence is inconceivable : their prayers 
 are a profanation of the house of God, rather than acts 
 of piety ; they chatter, laugh and sing, and, what is still 
 more scandalous, their priests may be seen in these irre- 
 verent groups, indulging their hilarity as gracelessly as 
 the rest. You scarce can see a sign of souls which are 
 truly touched by heaven, or which are influenced by a 
 sense of the nature of the sacred mysteries at which they 
 assist ; notwithstanding this they call them, like ourselves, 
 tremendous mysteries, while they treat them with pro- 
 found indignity ; their conduct is an absolute enigma, 
 full of inconsistencies and incongruities ; they desecrate 
 the churches and revere them, they are seldom seen to 
 pass before the temples without profound inclinations of 
 the person, the recitation of a prayer and several signings 
 of the cross ; and such is their devotion that they some- 
 times kiss the stones, and to these external tokens of 
 respect an especial benediction, they imagine, is attached. 
 The number of their monasteries amounts to five ; of 
 the two dedicated to the Virgin Mary, one is called 
 Panagia Megala ; three are dedicated to the honour of 
 the cross, to St. George ; and to Elias, viz., Staaros, 
 Age EJlias, Age Georgies. The religious, to say the 
 very least of them, are quite as much addicted to the 
 culture of the earth as to their spiritual interests ; it 
 Avould be well if their minds were cultivated like their 
 farms. Science, whether sacred or profane, is carefully 
 excluded from the cloister, and that not only in this isle but 
 throughout Asia, where well informed persons are ex- 
 tremely rare, and where the desire of information is 
 
the papa's lady. 345 
 
 equally unusual. For my part, I was considered as an 
 excommunicated wretch, or one who richly merited ex- 
 communication. As they never have an opportunity of 
 seeing 1 us, they really take us for the monsters which the 
 monks describe, and they implicitly believe in all their 
 calumnies. Though well aware that I was a religious, 
 and though living in the penitential time of lent, nothing 
 could persuade them that I kept the fast : they had been 
 previously informed that in lent, meat and eggs were 
 eaten by the French ; luckily for me, the rector's lady 
 asked of me an ointment to cure a burned child, I gave 
 her the ointment and the child got well. In gratitude, the 
 lady presented me with eggs ; my refusing to receive 
 them excited her astonishment. She was edified at 
 finding that I would not eat them, but much more edified 
 to learn that charity induced me to do her such a service. 
 Disinterestedness is such a novelty, that it makes a pro- 
 found impression on their minds, when the natives of the 
 Levant happen to encounter it. 
 
 This pretendedly -heroic action did me the utmost 
 honour in the village. Their prejudice began to wear 
 away, but on the other hand I found my situation so 
 extremely irksome, I began to be disgusted with it. I 
 should have found sufficient occupation had I known the 
 vulgar Greek a little better, so as to give instructions to 
 the people, but I could scarcely utter three consecutive 
 words. To have ears and not to hear, to have the 
 organs of speech and yet be silent, is a situation of 
 exceeding pain, the misery of which I have learned from 
 experience. I had no resource but my solitary monk, 
 but he passed all the day in the labours of the garden. 
 
 But when he returned at the twilight hour, I made 
 
 Q 5 
 
346 THE GARDENER. 
 
 amends for the compulsory silence which I had observed 
 all day by asking an infinity of questions. Amongst 
 other interrogatories I enquired whether, when embracing 
 the ritual of the Greeks preparatory to his marrying a 
 female of the country, he had been asked to abjure the 
 religion of the Catholics ? whether they had baptised or 
 confirmed him a second time ? He assured me that 
 nothing of the sort had ever been proposed to him 
 when he had got married in the isle of Samos, or when 
 he had assumed the cowl in Athos, and he added, " if it 
 were proposed I should never have consented." I 
 wished to become acquainted with the state of Athos, 
 which the Greeks denominate the holy mountain, or 
 Agion Or as. He satisfied my curiosity in this regard. 
 I confess that, previously to quitting France, I had read 
 many narratives relating to this subject, but never had 
 met any thing so copious in details as was the Caloyer's 
 account ; and such was the Cenobite's ingenuous simplicity, 
 that no one could suspect him of insincerity. 
 
 Mount Athos is the famous mountain which Xerxes, 
 king of Persia separated from the mainland by a straight 
 which was fifteen hundred paces in extent, if Pliny 
 may be credited. And such is the vast elevation of this 
 mountain, that according to the same authority, in the 
 summer solstice, its shadow falls upon the isle of 
 Lemnos, of which the distance from Athos is eighty- 
 seven miles. In reality, its altitude, as Father Loredano 
 informed Riccioli, after having exactly measured it, is 
 ten thousand paces in Italian measure. It elevates its 
 summit above the clouds and winds ; no storm disturbs that 
 region of serenity, insomuch that the letters which are 
 traced upon the sand or ashes which lie upon its apex, 
 
THE MONASTERY. 347 
 
 are found years subsequently perfectly unaltered and 
 unchanged. I did not learn this from the Caloyer ; let 
 me tell you — he had never had the curiosity to make 
 experiments of this description. This mountain, or 
 more accurately still, this chain of mountains, which 
 composes a peninsula, which unites Macedonia and the 
 sea, is inhabited by an entire nation of Greek religious. 
 They had four and twenty monasteries upon it in former 
 days, two of which are ruined, while twenty-two remain. 
 The offices recited are of such excessive length, and the 
 rigour of their fasts is so extreme, that their life may be 
 considered as exceedingly austere. 
 
 The three first days of lent are passed by the 
 monastics with scarcely any food and with scarcely any 
 drink, viz. the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the 
 Quinquagesima. The kitchen, the coffer, the refectory, 
 all are shut ; it is only at three o'clock on Wednesday 
 that the monastics break their fast. The Caloyer 
 confessed that all were not equally austere, that some 
 laid up a store of victuals in their cells, with which they 
 refreshed themselves during these three days. On the 
 three last days of lent they are almost equally abstemious, 
 and after having eaten upon Holy Thursday, 'tis 
 Saturday evening when they eat again. Waited by 
 the fast of the preceding lent, and bound, as they are, to 
 remain longer in the choir, this conclusion of the 
 penitential season is felt more severely than its com- 
 mencement. Neither oil nor wine are permitted to be 
 taken during any time in lent. In every week of the 
 year, as well as during lent, Monday, Wednesday, and 
 Friday are fast days, except, perhaps, in that paschal 
 time that finishes at Pentecost. These are fasts which 
 
348 LA TRAPPE. 
 
 their rule ordains, and however rigorous they may be, 
 there are monks who are still more mortified than the 
 rule requires. It is astonishing to see them support a 
 life of such extreme austerity, even to the decrepitude 
 of extreme old age. Summon up the memory of all 
 that they suffer in La Trappe. In La Trappe there is 
 nothing which is equivalent to this ; the climate, I think, 
 and the temperament of the inhabitants, and habit 
 likewise, must necessarily have a share in producing 
 such phenomena. Alas, how much merit goes to loss, 
 how many virtues are destroyed by the spirit of error 
 and of schism ! 
 
 The superiors of these monasteries are elective, the 
 chapter chooses new ones every year : 'tis true, an 
 authority of short duration which is always on the verge 
 of expiring can seldom be an object of respect, but the 
 Caloyer in power enforces his authority with so much 
 vigour, and punishes delinquents so severely, that he 
 uniformly causes himself to be obeyed. None but 
 grievous faults are punished with imprisonment, but 
 penance is inflicted for the slightest faults, and a 
 penance too, which is certainly extraordinary. Laid 
 upon his belly and his feet stripped bare, the person to 
 be punished is beaten on his soles, on which many heavy 
 blows are inflicted with a cudgel, and if he be mutinous 
 and wishes to escape, the rebel is delivered to the secular 
 authority, that is, he is given to the Turkish Aga, who 
 instantaneously executes excellent justice by the hands 
 of officials, whose experience and ability in handling the 
 baton are perfectly unparalleled — monastic discipline is 
 thus maintained with admirable order. The method, 
 too, is most compendious,, no chapter is called, no processes 
 
MONKS BASTINADOED. 349 
 
 are necessary, no sentence is pronounced, such formalities, 
 in fact, are totally ignored. 
 
 Sent by the Porte, and appointed by the Grand Signior, 
 that tribute is levied by the Aga, which they annually 
 wrench from these unfortunate monastics, and which is 
 twenty thousand crowns a year in amount. It is not 
 very long since this tribute first began, but my Caloyer 
 could not tell me the occasion or the origin. He was 
 well aware, however, of the energetic rigour with which 
 the imposition was exacted, I can easily believe that this 
 rigour is extreme — the Turks are, in fact, the most 
 terrible of tax-gatherers. No people in the world are 
 more interested. The following fact appears incredible, 
 and yet its verity is incontestable. I have it from the 
 best authority. Scio was the scene of the occurrence. 
 Two Greeks appeared before the Cadi, a magistrate that 
 may be considered as the mayor of Turkish cities. The 
 documents and arguments which one of them possessed 
 decided the question in his favour. He pleaded his cause 
 with all the eloquence which the consciousness of right, 
 and the feeling of self-interest can bestow on a declaimer. 
 The assistants looked one another in the face, with 
 glances which seemed to say the question was decided, 
 and that justice was clearly on the side of the declaimer. 
 The plaintiff, however, ultimately ceased, when the 
 defendant came forward with a certain swagger, and 
 persons looked with wonder on the triumph in his eye, 
 he did not care a maravedi for the logic of his enemy ; 
 this defendant, coming forward, had nothing in his hand 
 but a certain piece of paper on which nothing was 
 inscribed, but then, many golden coins were enveloped 
 in this paper. Without losing any time in unnecessary 
 
350 QUESTING FRIARS. 
 
 eloquence, lie went instantaneously to work. Presenting 
 the Cadi with the paper full of gold, Signior, said he, 
 all that my adversary says is false, this is the evidence 
 that proves it ; my lord these are my witnesses, examine 
 them yourself. The magistrate receives the paper, he 
 developes it upon the bench : counting the coin into the 
 hollow of his hand, he turns to the plaintiff. My friend, 
 he exclaims, your arguments are excellent ; your 
 adversary, however, has got forty witnesses which give 
 evidence against you, and I must of necessity decide 
 against you unless you furnish witnesses as many and as 
 good. The plaintiff was equally unwilling and unable 
 to comply with the wishes of the judge, and the forty 
 sequins triumphed over justice. You must pardon this 
 digression. I intend to go back and converse with the 
 Caloyer about the Aga, who compels the Cenobites to 
 pay a tribute, and from whose iron gripe nothing can 
 extricate them. They agree to give him so much food 
 and silver every week, and his protection can be 
 purchased at no other price. In order to support these 
 multiplied expences, certain of the friars are sent upon 
 the quest, not only to the isles of Greece, but to 
 Constantinople and to Muscovy. The persons selected 
 for this mission are the most intelligent, they are the 
 persons possessed of the easiest address. But these 
 missions are the ruin of monastic discipline. Intercourse 
 with seculars is dangerous to monks, and purity of mind, 
 that virgin flower which only flourishes in solitude, is 
 injured by removal, is tarnished by exposure ; full of 
 what they have seen in that illusive theatre, the world 
 they are seldom such Caloyers on re-entering their cell, 
 as they were when they stooped beneath its lintel for 
 
DISORDERS IN THE MONASTERY. 351 
 
 departure. They willingly confess that it does them an 
 injury, and necessity, we know, is the cause of this 
 exposure to the miseries and dangers which follow in 
 the train of mental dissipation. When the brothers, 
 who are questers, succeed in their vocation, they look 
 upon themselves as necessary persons, they appreciate 
 their own importance, and overbearing to their brethren 
 and saucy to superiors, are managed by caresses and 
 fondled out of interest. 
 
 When Cenobites are poor, they cannot keep their vow 
 of poverty ; failing to furnish him with certain articles 
 the community, of course, must allow the individual to 
 gather money from his own resources to purchase 
 raiment and many things besides. The house in which 
 he dies inherits what he hoards. The monastery becomes 
 his heir. Individuals have left a thousand crowns and 
 double the amount in many instances, which the pro- 
 curator never fails to seize on the moment he is dead, in 
 the name of the community. The men who leave the 
 largest legacies are such as possess a piece of land which 
 is rented from the monastery, and of which they are 
 proprietors for life, of which they are permitted to 
 appropriate the produce, only substracting the sum which 
 the monastery requires. 
 
 You do not see among these Greek religious that 
 perfect uniformity which is so exceedingly desirable in 
 such societies. Such as give money to the monastery 
 on entering religion, may live precisely as they please. 
 They are not obliged to conform to the regular obser- 
 vances with the same severity as those who had been 
 poor. They procure dispensations from assisting at the 
 offices, above all, when the offices are long, with great 
 
352 SCHISMATICS. 
 
 facility ; in a word, they give themselves liberties and 
 relaxations which would not be permitted to the others, 
 and it would seem as if their epithet of benefactor, 
 which is derived from the donation they have given, 
 prevents the spiritual benefit which should accrue from 
 their secluded situation. These exemptions, I suspect, 
 are not ratified by heaven. In this order, on Mount 
 Athos, there are artizans of all descriptions, to whom 
 their brethren repair to purchase whatever they require. 
 The artizans are generally outside the monasteries — they 
 occupy the place where the Aga has his dwelling, there 
 they have their shops, and there these mechanics have a 
 market twice a- week. As in Christian countries the 
 monasteries have bells, they obtain this permission with 
 facility ; in every imaginable instance the Turks are the 
 most accommodating of mankind, if you second your 
 petition with a bribe. Our European travellers, who 
 love exagerations, for even amongst travellers there are 
 characters of this kind ! increase these religious to the 
 number of twelve thousand. I took them on their word ; 
 my Caloyer, however, who was well informed, entirely 
 undeceived me. The Cenobites of Athos are not half 
 so numerous, and three or four thousand are their 
 utmost number, which is exceedingly considerable, as two, 
 hundred in a monastery make a large community. 
 
 These formidable, nay, these indefatigable fasters are 
 far from being the humblest of the human kind ; when 
 their blood is up, their eyes flash fire at the slightest con- 
 tradiction, and they overwhelm one another absolutely 
 with imprecations, a bad harvest to you, or may you be 
 anathema ! Such are their ordinary salutations when 
 malignity inspires them. At times the questers, accord- 
 
SCHISMATICS. 353 
 
 ing to my monk's account, give rise to scandals in their 
 expeditions, by shameful weaknesses, and in order to 
 escape the rigorous chastisements which would inevi« 
 tably follow such public derelictions, they reduce their 
 brethren to bankruptcy, they apostatise and fly to foreign 
 lands. Scenes like this, the Caloyer continued, are never 
 to be seen in Monte Santo ; they take infallible measures 
 to prevent such lapses in the holy mountain, where a 
 female foot has never pressed the sward. He was not 
 sufficiently intimate with architecture to give me a good 
 description of the churches, however he knew his religion 
 very well, and 'twas that which interested me the most. 
 1 exhibited a project which our fathers had conceived — 
 they wished to establish themselves in Monte Santo, to 
 keep a school said I to the Caloyer, and to teach theology 
 and written Greek, to educate Caloyers in the principles 
 of Rome, who, when risen to authority, would vindicate 
 the truth. Nought could be more efficacious for eradi- 
 cating schism, answered the Caloyer. They follow the 
 opinions of their pastors here with blind credulity. 
 Their papas, he continued, and especially their monks 
 whose words derive weight from their austerities, and 
 the frightful macerations of the flesh which they observe, 
 confer credit on erroneous doctrine. People are un- 
 Avilling to believe that men who live so well can think 
 so badly. If Monte Santo were subdued, the spiritual 
 conquest of the whole of Greece would doubtless follow 
 as a consequence. The project, I admit, is admirable, 
 in the execution is the difficulty, for the missioners 
 entrusted with the execution should be quite as formi- 
 dable fasters as the Greeks, a faculty, indeed, of very 
 rare occurrence. Oh, that is no impediment said I to 
 
354 CONVERSATIONS WITH A CALOYER. 
 
 the Caloyer ; our fathers in the missions of Malabar live 
 like the penitents of India, hunger has no horror for a 
 man who is truly apostolic, his zeal can conquer his 
 reluctant nature, making him all things to all men. 
 Permitting that to pass, continued my Caloyer, can you 
 conquer the aversion which the Greeks have for you ? 
 You cannot well imagine the excess to which it rises, and 
 how malignant are the glances with which you are 
 regarded. The Greeks have a book which they call the 
 Monocanons, it is their only casuist, and it appears to be 
 to them a second gospel. They forbid the laity to read 
 this book, in order to make it more respectable, and its 
 contents are only learned through the medium of the 
 clergy. I have had a copy in my hands, I chanced upon 
 a chapter whose title was as follows, lis pi t£v 4>p#y%uw 
 %ai Aanvtiv, that is, " concerning the Latins and the 
 Franks." I perused the chapter with exceeding interest, 
 its substance is indelibly imprinted in my memory. It 
 described us as inhuman wolves, which is the gentlest 
 epithet the author gives us. He propounds, as a leading 
 principle, that those who recognise the pope's supremacy 
 have been excluded from the church of Christ as well as 
 from apostolical tradition, living like barbarians without 
 any law — these are his very words. Excluding the 
 common accusation of adding to the Credo that the third 
 person in the Trinity proceeds from the Father and the 
 Son, of using unleavened bread upon our altars, he says 
 that our Saviour consecrated leavened bread, and having 
 given some to Judas ; Iscariot went out, and, repairing 
 to the Jews, exhibited the bread. Thus they justify 
 the traitor and condemn our blessed Lord, as one who 
 violated the Mosaic institution. It accuses the Catholics 
 
CONVERSATIONS. 355 
 
 as guilty of Nestorianism, in never calling Mary mother 
 of God, of giving her the epithet of Holy Mary, and 
 refusing her a higher title. We fast upon Saturdays 
 according to this author, and when Christmas-day falls 
 upon a Saturday, such is our respect for Saturday, that 
 we fast upon this feast of the nativity. He accuses us 
 of failing to commence the Quarantania till Wednedsay of 
 the Quinquagesima, and of not singing alleluia in lent, of 
 not anointing sinners previously to giving them com- 
 munion, of refusing to take subjects from the martyr- 
 ology for pictorial embellishments of churches ; thus 
 painting nothing but the figure of the cross, of shaving 
 our priests and not suifering them to marry. There 
 were other accusations in this portion of the volume, but 
 the copy which I had was injured here — I have never 
 learned the remainder. I confess that this book appeared 
 a novelty to me. It surprises me to think that the 
 learned Allatius, who has written treatises of so much 
 beauty on the heresies contained in the writings of the 
 Greeks, should say nothing of the Monocanons. He had 
 not discovered this impoisoned fountain, perhaps, with 
 the virus of which all the Greeks are imbued. With 
 prejudices such as these, continued my caloyer, think 
 you that the monks will ever listen to you. I answered 
 that the obstacle was not invincible, established amongst 
 and living in the midst of them, we should demonstrate 
 the falsehood of these suppositions, the injustice of these 
 accusations. 'T would be totally in vain ! continued my 
 caloyer, in vain would you endeavour, by irrefragible 
 reasons, to overturn practices so ancient and so cherished. 
 In vain would you press them for an answer to your 
 arguments. They would treat you to an apothegm in 
 
356 CONVERSATION WITH A CALOYER. 
 
 place of a reply, viz. our law enjoins what you object to. 
 They attach themselves to this with unconquerable 
 obstinacy. I heard from veteran caloyers, that one of 
 your society and Rhodino, a native of the isle of Cyprus, 
 made a similar attempt to the one which you describe* 
 They met them with these propositions. Our young 
 caloyers become learned, would despise the old and 
 ignorant. Enamoured of their studies, they would never 
 dig the ground nor stoop to servile toils. Ambition 
 would inflame their youthful hearts ; relinquishing their 
 cells, they would go into the world for the purpose of 
 becoming bishops, envy would insinuate itself amongst 
 them, the brothers occupied in the labours of the field 
 would be jealous of the ease in which the scholars lived. 
 
 There was much plausibility in these objections, and 
 I thought I recognised, in such replies, the spirit and the 
 style of irregular communities, where the naissant merit 
 of the young caloyer is invariably repressed by ignorance 
 in power, lest contempt should be followed by the loss of 
 its authority. They also added upon this occasion, con- 
 tinued the caloyer, that did they give admission to 
 religious Franks, 'twould render them suspicious to the 
 Grand Signior, and embroil them with the Czars of 
 Muscovy, whose protection 'twas their interest to culti- 
 vate. These replies shut the mouths of the projectors? 
 and the project came to nought. 
 
 ' Have they got no object of inferior veneration, no relic 
 or image of particular esteem?" " Yes, an image of our 
 lady, which, according to tradition, the image-breakers 
 flung into the sea : which was borne by the ocean from 
 Constantinople, and hurried by the surge into the 
 neighbourhood of Athos, when Gabriel, an Eremite, 
 
CALOYERS. 357 
 
 conveyed it to the church. Besides they keep the head, 
 in the monastery of Laura, of the venerated Michael of 
 Smnaze. This head has got the faculty, the schismatics 
 declare, of banishing those scourges of the vineyard, and 
 the farm caterpillars, locusts, &c. When the islanders of 
 Rhodes were afflicted by the locusts, they sent a solemn 
 deputation to request the head ; having bore the borrowed 
 relic in procession round their lands, the locusts disap- 
 peared to the wonder of the Mussulmans. The Waivvode 
 of "YVallachia made a similar request, which was followed 
 by a similar phenomenon. He gave money to the 
 monastery to elevate a church in honor of this Thauma- 
 turgus. This is all that I could draw from my amiable 
 caloyer, and of this I do assure you I was getting very 
 weary. 
 
 You may wish to learn something of those famous 
 vases, which, on the festivals of princes, and the altars 
 of the gods, gave celebrity to Samos in anterior times. 
 The argillaceous substance is no longer found in Samos, 
 to which the classic hand of genius gave such peerless 
 forms. The potter's wheel is broken in the isle of Samos, 
 they no longer make a vessel of the coarsest clay. The 
 natives of this island who were in the Dardanelles, brought 
 vessels for their friends and even for to trade in, and 
 were there potteries in Samos such provision would be 
 vain. Certain ancient inscriptions are discovered in the 
 isle, and some relics of a temple which the Argonauts 
 erected to the goddess Juno. This queen of the deities 
 of fable, as nobody can fail to know, not only was a 
 native of the isle of Samos, but was wedded there to 
 Jupiter, where oblations in her honor were more frequent 
 than elsewhere. Poetry has celebrated Samos. 'Twas 
 
358 ANTIQUE VASES. 
 
 here that Bacchus slew the Amazons, who, flying from 
 Ephesus, sought a refuge in the isle. In Samos, Poly- 
 crates reigned, said to be the happiest of human kind. 
 He bragged of his felicity, he said he was superior to 
 adverse fortune, and that the arrows of adversity could 
 never reach him. He was taught the melancholy lesson, 
 that full and perfect happiness is never an inhabitant of 
 earth. He was imprisoned by a Persian satrap, who 
 treated him with much cruelty, and caused him to be 
 hung. The sovereign of Egypt seems to have foreseen 
 these sad reverses. Hearing somebody describing this 
 potentate's felicity — " Since his life is so felicitous, his 
 death cannot be happy," said the prescient monarch. 
 This island is respected as the birth-place of Pythagoras, 
 as well of Creophilas by whom Homer was instructed. 
 We were fifteen days in Samos — the wind ultimately 
 changed, and the mariners once more dragged their 
 shallops down the beach. I was present at a ceremony 
 to which I was a stranger. Priests approached the 
 vessels on the margin of the sea, and bearing holy water, 
 and with incense in their hands, they gave their benedic- 
 tion to these weather beaten boats. The priests were 
 on the shore, the ceremony done, and the sun going 
 down as the vessels took the wind We durst not sail 
 in daylight lest the pirates should perceive us. We made 
 sail throughout the night, which was extremely wild and 
 winter y. We reached the offing of a port in Scio, 
 though the wind had veered. Our fathers, to whom I 
 had been long announced, considered me as lost. Their 
 joy upon beholding me was perfectly exstatic. Obliged 
 to bid them farewell, I embarked on board a galley of 
 the Grand Signior. 'Twas evening when I entered — I 
 
THE PERSIANS. 359 
 
 was civilly received. The Turks always treat our 
 missionaries so, when they pass from isle to isle, or from 
 islands to the mainland. They always take us willingly on 
 board their gallies ; they shew us many marks of kind- 
 ness, and give us unrestricted liberty in our efforts to 
 inform and console the slaves. It was two, ante meridian, 
 when our bark got under weigh, and at nine o'clock our 
 sails were being furled before Smyrna. My coming had 
 been previously announced by an epistle, and yet they 
 were surprised to see me. My reception was the kindest 
 you can well conceive. 
 
 On the 18th of April I entered Smyrna, where I was 
 informed that a caravan was destined to depart for 
 Aleppo on the thirteenth of May. I took advantage of 
 the opportunity. There were certain residents of 
 Smyrna, who were correspondents of my friends in 
 Aleppo, who united me with some Armenian merchants 
 to whom I was sedulously recommended ; they could not 
 have provided me with better company. They were 
 amiable people, by whom civilities and services were 
 lavished in the journey on your undeserving servant. 
 They were natives of Erivan, in Persia, for the most 
 part. I was surprised to see how cheaply they travel in 
 the caravan : eight crowns was the money that the 
 muletier received as the hire of his mule for four and 
 thirty days. I, however, gave him ten, that he might 
 take a little care of me. I remarked that this gratuity 
 excited his affection. A hundred persons composed the 
 caravan, but no one knew the languages with which I 
 was acquainted. There was nothing heard on any side 
 but Turkish and Armenian. I was compelled to be as 
 silent as aCapuchin, though perfectly willing to be eloquent. 
 
360 , GALLEY SLAVES. 
 
 I began to apprehend that informer times I had verbally 
 offended heaven, and that this was the penitence ap- 
 pointed me. Two or three Mahometans who understood 
 the Arabic joined us in the journey ; I found myself a 
 little more at ease ; I became acquainted with one of 
 them ; this companion of my way was very kind to me, 
 he served me as a purchaser whenever I required it. 
 
 In life in a caravan there is great frugality ; heated 
 food is eaten only once a day — this good repast consists 
 of half cooked rice, which is gilded with a little butter^ 
 When we get a bit of meat we boil it, and the water is 
 made use of to prepare the rice : but this is considered as 
 a sumptuous meal. The element we meet with in the 
 desert springs is our ordinary beverage. We sleep upon 
 the desert in the open air, as near as may be to some 
 spring or river. A little carpet spread upon the ground 
 and patience, and your mantle to shield you from the 
 rain, constitute your bed and bedding. When we 
 halted in the day time, in the ardour of the sun, I made 
 me a pavilion with two carpets and a pole. Despite its 
 inconvenience and my weakly constitution, I enjoyed 
 excellent health in my journey to Aleppo. 
 
 We were brought to Pouerbacha by the first day's 
 march, which is only at six miles distance from the city 
 we departed from. The transit was but short, it was but 
 a preparation for our plunge into the desert. The cara- 
 van assembled here. Cranes were sitting on their nests, 
 upon trees in the vicinity. This foolish-looking bird, 
 looks ridiculously silly from the mode in which it sits, 
 more without the nest than in it. Smiling as I looked 
 upon these feathered simpletons, I felt my heart dilate as I 
 stood beneath the tree, for I remembered the French proverb 
 
THE CARAVAN. 361 
 
 I so often heard at home, and confessed, while looking 
 upward, that the apothegm was true. Little birds came 
 flying round these doltish cranes in cheerly congregations, 
 screaming and chattering, and pecking at their nests, 
 the size of which is great, and which are very well con- 
 structed of interwoven rods, though the builder looks so 
 stupid. The attraction they discovered in these inter- 
 woven nests I could never well divine, but they seemed 
 to be a source of inexhaustible amusement, producing the 
 greatest possible hilarity among the little birds, while the 
 crane seemed sadly at a loss to see the joke, but if utterly 
 unable to participate in so much mirth, she offered not 
 the slightest opposition to their pleasures. 
 
 Our march was only of eight hours upon the second 
 day, and the caravan halted before noon-tide. Annually 
 in spring it is the custom of the country to put the horses 
 and mules to grass for a vernal month. The caravan 
 conductors who travel during spring, being unwilling to 
 deprive their cattle altogether of their right to graze, are 
 accustomed to curtail their marches, in order that the 
 creatures may have time to pasture ; and thus they avoid 
 the expense of buying barley, with which they should be 
 otherwise obliged to furnish them. Barley, I reiterate, 
 as oats are rarely or never to be seen in this country, and 
 the little that you meet with is destitute of grain. To- 
 day we passed a little river, or rather a stream of consi- 
 derable size, whose windings were innumerable ; the name 
 of this river is the Nif: I took it for the Meander, how- 
 ever I was wrong. 
 
 We advanced two leagues, and called a halt upon our 
 third day's march, and encamped in the vicinity of Dorgot 
 In this place we passed the remainder of the clay, and 
 
 R 
 
362 PERU OF THE IIOMANS. 
 
 during- the succeeding- day we were likewise stationary 
 here, waiting for some inhabitants of Thyatire, whose 
 accession would increase our caravan. We did not want 
 for grass, though no pasturage existed ; as when the peo- 
 ple of the town perceived us coming, they brought a suf- 
 ficiency for sale. During this delay, I proceeded to the 
 townofDorgot for the purpose of procuring medals; they 
 presented me with some which were destitute of value. 
 And yet medals should be found, I feel persuaded, in 
 these ruined countries of Asia Minor in considerable 
 quantities. 'Twas the Peru of the pagan Romans, the 
 proconsulship of which was bought with gold, as a very 
 ready means to realise a fortune ; the money and the 
 medals of the ancient Romans were thus in constant cur- 
 rency in Asia Minor. Neither English or Venetians, 
 nor learned men from France have come hither to inquire 
 for k the relics of antiquity : hence it is a virgin soil which 
 cannot be explored in vain. 
 
 Mussulmen alone inhabit Dorgot, the Christians and 
 the Jews are only passengers, whose object in visiting- 
 the town is purely commercial. Thus the Christians have 
 no church, nor the Israelites a synagogue. The first, 
 who are all of the Armenian rite, reside in one of those 
 extensive buildings which are designated kans. They 
 support a priest in this place, in order to possess his sjn- 
 ritual help in cases of necessity or death. They say their 
 prayers in their apartments privately, as mass is never 
 said for the Armenians except in consecrated churches, 
 and in this place they do not keep the blessed sacrament. 
 The sacrament is brought from Smyrna by a priest in the 
 paschal season, as well as when viaticum is wanted for the 
 dying. This distance is a source of many inconveniencies 
 
ELOQUENT GESTICULATION. 363 
 
 Many kindnesses were conferred on me by these worthy 
 Armenians, I endeavoured to express my gratitude by 
 the most eloquent gesticulations that my uninventive 
 brain could possibly devise. I was delighted at their 
 diligence in praying for the dead ; one of their priests 
 the evening we arrived, assembled the most devotional 
 for the purpose of praying in a churchyard, which was 
 purchased from the Turks at a very costly rate, and 
 whose possession is insured by a Kaatif Scherif of the 
 Grand Signior, a title which is given to commandments 
 which happen to be signed by that sovereign's hand. 
 
 A considerable town which is named Magnesia, in 
 which the Pacha has his residence, stands at four leagues 
 distance to the north of Dorgot, while about a league 
 from its southren side is situated Thyatira, which now 
 a days is called Ak Hissar. 
 
 In the Apocalypse the bishop of this city is upbraided 
 with his weakness, in failing to reprimand with authori- 
 tative firmness the crimes and debauches of a certain 
 jezabel. Lydia, that virtuous trafficker in purple, con- 
 verted by St. Paul, was a native of this town. A mer- 
 chant who had recently arrived from Thyatira, told me 
 that the city was considerable still, but of moderate 
 extent. 
 
 The caravan advanced to the celebrated city of Sardis, 
 which was anciently the capital of Lydia, and the prin- 
 cipal seat of the monarchy of Croesus ; 'tis nothing but 
 a village now. It appears from such relics as are un de- 
 stroyed, that it was anciently a city of extraordinary 
 grandeur, of vast extent and of unusual magnificence 
 I was fervidly desirous of visiting the ruins for the pur- 
 pose of procuring medals, and to contemplate the relics 
 
364 MULES AND CRANES. 
 
 of departed splendour, and peruse the inscriptions, 
 which are doubtless rare ; the muleteers the masters 
 now, felt the greatest possible desire on their side to 
 drive their cattle to a plenteous pasture, which they were 
 certain of discovering beside the stream, to gratify the 
 palates of the brutes was a more important object than a 
 scholar's curiosity. 
 
 The succeeding day we saw the town of Alia Slier 
 upon our route ; I shrewdly suspect that this town is a 
 common and appointed rendezvous for all the cranes of 
 the created universe ; every window, wall and house top 
 was covered with these birds. Having quitted Alia 
 Slier or the ancient Philadelphia, we proceeded to the 
 river Ghiades, which I took for the Meander, but in this 
 I was mistaken, for the latter is now a days the Moindre : 
 the water of the first is ill to drink, and it was worse 
 than usual at this time, as myriads of locusts were lying 
 in the stream, which after spreading desolation through 
 the neighbouring country had rushed in the river and 
 were drowned. These creatures would utterly destroy 
 the country were it not for the providence of nature, which 
 supplies an antidote for these destroyers so invincible to 
 man and yet so mean : I have seen dark and gloomy 
 clouds of them ere now, through which the sun could 
 shine only with difficulty, as if his struggling light were 
 labouring under an eclipse ; riding through the air in 
 terror. They consumed all the grass that year, and left 
 the country brown and bare, all the leaves of the trees, even 
 those of the olives were destroyed ; millions came to 
 being from their eggs and completed the destruction of 
 whatever had been spared by their predecessors. 
 
THE LOCUSTS. 365 
 
 The antidote consists in a species of birds which come 
 from the direction in which Persia lies, visiting the 
 country from time to time, with a cry which is somewhat 
 like the king-fishers ; they quickly put the locusts into 
 great confusion, and passing through their hosts like can- 
 non-balls, they swallow and digest them with astonishing 
 celerity. Persons are despatched to a fountain in the 
 country from which these birds migrate, who return with 
 some of its pellucid water, and this vessel full of water is 
 placed upon a hill near such oriental cities as Aleppo and 
 Damascus. The birds always follow this beloved lymph, 
 and remain near the city till the water is exhausted. 
 
 About five-and-twenty years ago, the locusts paid a 
 visit to the city of Aleppo, whereupon the Turks obliged 
 the Christians and Jews to join in a procession to avert 
 the scourge. The Mahometans went first in the order of 
 the march, carrying their Koran and intonating songs in 
 a manner which resembled howling. The priests of Chris- 
 tianity succeeded, with the gospel, with relics, and the 
 cross, praying in Armenian, Syriac,or Greek, and having 
 copes upon their persons. The Hebrews were last, with 
 their pentateuch, or tora, singing in a manner not remark- 
 able for harmony. The choirs kept asunder to avoid ca- 
 cophony. But this beautiful arrangement was totally 
 disordered, for jealousy interfered to spoil the festival. 
 In direct contradiction to our notions of processions, the 
 Jews conceived the tail was not an honorable place. They 
 yielded to the Turks with great good will, because, like 
 the lion in the fable, they were strong ; but they deemed 
 themselves insulted when put behind the Christians, and 
 with the latter they forcibly endeavoured to exchange 
 
 places. The Christians considered it their duty to pre- 
 
 i? 3 
 
366 THE FOUNTAIN AND THE BIRDS. 
 
 serve their precedence. The Christians and the Jews 
 were coming rapidly to blows, when the Mussulmans came 
 down on the them, and fined them both, and compelled 
 them to observe the first arrangement. They scarcely 
 could anticipate a blessing from such piety. They con- 
 fided in the water rather than in this procession ; they sent 
 persons to procure it, obtained it, stirred it, the birds ap- 
 peared, and those winged destroyers rid them of the 
 plague. These birds are denominated zemarmars. We 
 ourselves had the pleasure of seeing them arrive in wel- 
 come flocks, but did not see their execution, inasmuch as 
 it was evening when they came, and we departed before 
 dawn. 
 
 We were traversing agreeable and fertile plains since 
 ever we left Smyrna, but we entered upon mountains 
 now where the roads were very difficult. We descended 
 the succeeding day, into meadows which were finer still. 
 I saw many Greek inscriptions as I passed, but our lea- 
 ders went too rapidly to suffer me to read them : from the 
 little I could see, I conceived them to be epitaphs. The 
 ninth day brought us to a little mountain, whose sides and 
 summit were enveloped by a wood, and the passage by 
 whose foot was considered very dangerous. Caravans 
 have frequently been plundered here. 'Tis known by the 
 name of Hamamelou hogaz, which means the narrow pas- 
 sage of Hamamelou. Fire-arms were shouldered by the 
 members of the caravan ; the frequent fire of carbines 
 accompanied our march, to let the robbers know, were 
 there any within hearing, the folly of offending such 
 warriors as we, and that we did not care a fig for them 
 The bearing of our caravan was gallant and audacious ; 
 
ROBBERS. 367 
 
 we did not shew the slightest sign of fear, for our number 
 was two hundred, and they were only ten, according to 
 report. After this bravado, we encamped beside a stream- 
 let, honored, like the others, with the title of river, and 
 whose beauty is unrivalled. A little caravan of camel- 
 drivers speedily approached us. I learned from these 
 people a new way of baking bread. Certain of the tra- 
 vellers commence by making dough, and, though destitute 
 of ovens, they succeed in making bread, and which they 
 are very expeditious in preparing. The paste being made 
 and diligently kneaded, a little piece is taken, which they 
 flatten with the hand ; they spread it on an iron plate, 
 and under this they place some burning coals. When 
 the cake is baked on one side, they lay it on the other. 
 This bread is very pliable, and bends what way you wish. 
 Meat, cheese, and eggs can be readily wrapped up in it. 
 These cakes are employed instead of plates or dishes, and 
 they even wipe their hands in them for want of towels. 
 You consider this as monstrous ; in France it would ex- 
 cite disgust, but I assure you in a caravan it is perfectly 
 excellent. Though living with Armenian merchants, the 
 viands I consumed were of little better quality, yet we 
 frequently confessed, while discussing such victuals, that 
 their flavour was delightful. The broken bread is gather- 
 ed when a meal is done. A species of milk which they 
 designated laban, is purchased on the first occasion ; 'tis 
 diluted in a vessel (which is tinned inside,) with a quan- 
 tity of water, which is equal to the milk ; the greasy bits 
 of bread, more than half of which are mouldy, are min- 
 gled with the milk : this constitutes a most refreshing 
 potage, which is eaten with an appetite that is only seen 
 
368 BOBBERS EMPALLED. 
 
 in caravans — so true it is, that hunger is the best of sauces. 
 Rice is never boiled in broth, 'tis seethed in boiling water 
 till it swells ; this water is withdrawn as soon as it is 
 sodden. When butter, oil, or grease is poured upon the 
 rice, they put it by to soak with a slice or two of onion, 
 when it makes a most delicious dish which glories in the 
 name of pilau. It appears upon the tables of the nobles 
 of the land, and even on the table of the Grand Signior, 
 but it is seasoned with more delicacy I suspect, and the 
 process is more clean than ours in the caravan, but it can- 
 not be consumed with greater pleasure, or eaten with a 
 more indefatigable appetite, Do you not consider this a 
 little sensual ? 
 
 We came to Balmamont upon the twelfth day, a rich 
 timar or military benefice belonging to the favorite of 
 the Grand Signior. Here we found a fine meadow and 
 abundant water, and here we continued the succeeding 
 day, and the field was submitted to our animals' discre- 
 tion, at somewhat like a penny for each mule. We came 
 to a village on the sixteenth day, called Capicadoukam, 
 in which four or five robbers were impalled ; such another 
 sisfht I have never seen, 'twas horrible ! most horrible ! 
 and I shudder at its recollection, each of them was 
 hanging on his stake with which he was skewered like a 
 fowl. In some of them it issued at the back, while in 
 others it protruded at the collar bone, though the bowels, 
 and the diaphragm are broken by the stake when driven 
 through the human sufferer ; they live upon the stake 
 two days sometimes, and 'tis said that after all, these 
 sufferers complain of little except thirst, which is like- 
 wise said of those who expire upon the wheel. 
 
BIRDS OF PREY. 369 
 
 But here we encountered a more pleasant spectacle, 
 presented by a caravan which came from Egypt, which 
 carried to the Grand Signior " the treasure of the birds 
 of prey ;" 'tis the title of the tribute which is annually 
 offered by that celebrated province to the pleasures of its 
 prince. Gazing on the cavalcade, the quantity excited 
 my astonishment ; a single individual mounted on a mule 
 contrived to carry four or five ; they stood upon his fist, 
 his arms and his shoulders. The sangiac or paramount 
 person of the caravan, was hidden in a palanquin and 
 followed and preceded by his servants ; a moor upon a 
 lofty camel struck as he rode before the litter, slowly 
 and solemnly a kettle drum or tymbal, a distinction which 
 the nobles of the Grand Signior assume on marches, as 
 a mark of honour. 
 
 Thence we proceeded to Ladik, which is one of the 
 ancient Laodicees. The Greek inscriptions seen upon 
 the walls, the columns, and the marble panels scat- 
 tered here and there and overturned, prove that this 
 city was considerable, anciently ; the only thing that 
 has conferred notoriety upon it in modern times, is the 
 apostacy of its inhabitants. Its inhabitants were Christians 
 forty years ago, when one fine day, or rather one miserable 
 day, they all simultaneously agreed to renounce their 
 religion and become Mahomedans ; only two or three 
 families continued firm in the general defection. 
 
 I saw nothing very curious in Caraponger, but now 
 we were coming to Iconium ; I was very solicitous 
 to see a city celebrated in the Acts of the Apostles. Our 
 caravan avoided the city of Tconium, to escape that 
 tribute they require of Christians who sojourn in a city 
 for a single day ; we might by entering expose ourselves 
 
370 FREDERICK THE CRXJSAE-ER. 
 
 besides, to some avany, as a caravan as numerous as 
 ours would awaken the cupidity of Turkish ministers. 
 We traversed difficult and frightful mountains and formi- 
 dable vallies on the 25th, and we came to a river on the 
 26th, the " river of the forty passages" which we had 
 to ford, I forget how many times ; herkeakir is its 
 Turkisli name, which signifies the forty passages. We 
 afterwards went up a lofty mountain from which we des- 
 cended by the opposite declivity down a melancholy naked 
 valley, entirely overspread with rocks and stones. 
 
 After having passed the river Cydnus, to which the 
 danger of the splendid Greek who bathed in its classic 
 waters and the death of Frederic the emperor, have 
 given notoriety, we came to Adana on the 28th; 'tis a 
 handsome city with considerable commerce, especially 
 in wax, in silk, and cotton. 
 
 We passed the Geihoun upon the 29th, a river that 
 was anciently the Sarus ; we descended a mountain be- 
 longing to Mount Taurus ; we encountered an antique 
 portal which is called Caraulac Capi, in a very narrow 
 passage at the mountain's foot ; it is one of those gates 
 for which Cilicia is so famous, and one can never enter 
 Syria on the land side save and except by one or other 
 of those gates ; a fort would arrest the strongest 
 armies if it were erected here. At a little distance from 
 this portal we came to a river called the Payas, where 
 the Greeks and the Maronites have each a church, the 
 temple of the Maronites was borrowed by Armenians, 
 who being richer than the real owners, they almost mo- 
 nopolised the church. We proceeded about five miles 
 farther and encamped upon a marshy plain, very near 
 a castle that stands upon the sid e of a very lofty moun- 
 
GODIRET OF BOUILLON. 371 
 
 taia which reigns along the sea ; I quitted the caravan 
 in this place, and as it is only two leagues to Alexandretta, 
 I reached it in the evening. 
 
 Alexandretta, which is called Scanderona by the 
 Turks, was nothing but a heap of miserable huts about 
 fifty years ago. Having rendered it a port to the city of 
 Aleppo, they built upon the precincts and rendered it 
 extensive. England, France and Venice have vice-consuls 
 in the town, where the French have a very handsome 
 church. This was the scene of Alexander's triumph, 
 'twas here that he encountered Darius, and the place 
 owes its name to that memorable day. A fort is discerned 
 in the country adjacent, and 'tis thought from the arms 
 of Lorraine on the wall, that Godfrey of Bouillon was 
 the builder. A pacha began to build a fortress here to 
 defend himself against the pirates, as he said, but the 
 Porte not approving of his project, he was immediately 
 obliged to pull it down. The air is insalubrious in Alex- 
 andretta, and you scarcely can reside in it a single day 
 without experiencing its ill effects ; many men are carried 
 to the grave on the sixth or seventh day of their arrival, 
 and fevers of a species unknown in Europe prey upon 
 their frame for months together if they happen to survive 
 the first attack, and their original complexion can never be 
 restored. There are persons who become accustomed to the 
 climate, but old men are never to be seen ;but so long as you 
 sojourn in a vessel on the sea your health will continue 
 unaffected. Pigeons are employed in this place of a 
 kind which originally came from Bagdad, to carry our 
 merchants' letters to Aleppo — the most ready and most 
 rapid envoys in the universe ; in three hours they perform 
 
372 MALARIA. 
 
 the very journey, for which our cavaliers would take 
 three days. 
 
 At night, when the caravan was passing* by I rejoined 
 it, and we rapidly advanced to Beilom, where water, 
 wine and air and all are good. We left Antioch upon 
 our right and encamped beside a chrystal stream, desig- 
 nated by the Turks Saouqsou, or cold water, and the 
 water in reality is very gelid. After having passed the 
 river Arefin, we arrived at a mountain on the 40th, to 
 which celebrity was given by Simon Stylites. The moun- 
 tain inheriting his name is entitled Giabal Scheyks Se- 
 maon by the Turks, which means the mountain of the 
 holy Simon. The companions of my journey, ignoring 
 the origin of this appellative, in order to inform them I 
 recounted the story of the saint. They listened to the 
 story with delight, and when it was concluded, a thousand 
 times they blessed me. You see very little learning go as 
 extremely far in this country ; people are surprisingly 
 ignorant on the subject of religion. I was informed by 
 a Greek with a very serious visage, that a man after death 
 might do penance for his sins. The proposition may ap- 
 pear extravagant, but the sublime of folly was the proof. 
 " When Judas had betrayed our Saviour, did he not pro- 
 ceed to hang himself?" " Assuredly he did," was my 
 reply. " And what was his reason do you think," ex- 
 claimed the Greek, '" was it not with the certainty of 
 meeting our Redeemer descending into limbo, and elicit- 
 ing remission, and was it not in order to be there before 
 him that he made so much haste in the commission of the 
 suicide, being firmly convinced, that in this case he should 
 go with him to glory with the saints ? But you are only 
 half informed yet," continued the Greek, " for the branch 
 of the tree on which the traitor hung, bending with his 
 
THE GREEK. 373 
 
 body at our Saviour's will, Judas touched the earth, and 
 his life was not extinguished till our Saviour's resurrec- 
 tion, when suddenly replete with strength and vigour, the 
 branch resumed its original position, which speedily hung 
 him to his heart's content." You did not anticipate such 
 a termination ! As for me I had not a syllable to say, 
 but I laughed I assure you, till my sides were sore. 
 
 Permit me to return to St. Simon Stylites. The place 
 which the saint selected, is really like a furnace in the 
 summer season. The skin was removed from my visage 
 while only passing over it, the heat was so excessive. 
 While cold, frost, wind, and snow prevail in all their hor- 
 rors through the winter, yet in this place the saint spent 
 four-and-twenty years on the summit of a column of so 
 small extent that he never could extend himself upon it. 
 Fasting for the whole year round, and never eating any- 
 thing in lent ; he made a thousand inclinations daily to 
 adore the Creator of the universe. That hundreds were 
 converted by the saint should elicit no astonishment. He 
 who from the summit of a pulpit such as this,should announ ce 
 that the world was delusion, and that heaven is our only 
 home, could not fail to be believed. 
 
 From this celebrated mountain we descended into vast 
 and fertile fields, which led us to Aleppo on the thirty- 
 fifth. It is from thence that I have the honor of assuring 
 you, with profound respect, &c. 
 
 THE END. 
 
Date Due 
 
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