Riggs. This delay gave opportunity to visit again, and with more leisure than formerly, the massive, but not very extensive remains of antiquity in and around the city. The most important of these is the ancient fortress on the hill which rises southeast of the city, and on the slope of which the city is partly built. Traces of the ancient wall run along the crest of the ridge for a considerable distance. Not far below this wall, in a depression of the hill, is the site of the ancient stadium, where Polycarp is supposed to have suffered martyrdom. On the steep slope below the fortress are massive remains of an ancient theatre; and in the same quarter, within the city, are several columns still standing, which once belonged to an extensive temple.

The population of Smyrna is now reckoned at about 150,000 souls; of whom nearly one half are Muhammedans. The Christian quarter has of late years increased rapidly.

Smyrna was the seat of one of the seven churches of the Apocalypse; but is not elsewhere mentioned in the New Testament. The great apostle of the Gentiles would seem not to have visited Smyrna; although he abode so long at Ephesus.2 His journeys between the latter city and Troas or Macedonia, were probably made by sea, leaving Smyrna far on the right.3

Of the three American missionaries residing at Smyrna at the time of my visit, Messrs Riggs, Benjamin, and Johnston, the two former were mainly occupied with the Armenian press; and Mr Riggs was engaged in a laborious revision of the modern Armenian version of the Scriptures. Both of them were afterwards transferred, with the press, to the mission at Constantinople; while Mr Johnston has returned to the United States.

In the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 26th, I went on board the steamer Stamboul, one of the older and slower vessels, somewhat the worse for wear. Hitherto we had had no deck passengers; but now the quarter deck was divided longitudinally in the middle by a fence, leaving only one half free to the cabin passengers. The other half was covered by a low awning; and was crowded with passengers of various nations, all huddled together like sheep in a fold. Here, and also scattered midships and forwards, were Russians, Poles, Wallachians, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Turks; men, women, children, and slaves; all bound for Beirût, and most of them for Jerusalem, against the approaching Easter. Most of them rarely changed their place, or came out from their stalls. The filth which accumulated, especially during sea-sickness, and the odours diffused over the ship, may be better imagined than described. Nor was 1 Rev. 1, 11. 2, 8.

2 Acts 19, 8. 10.

3

Acts 20, 1. 6. 13-16.

the main cabin quite free from similar drawbacks. But, after the first night, the goodnatured steward took pity on me; and, as there were no ladies on board, he gave me one of the staterooms of the ladies' cabin, where I made myself quite comfortable. Similar scenes of deck travel occurred also on my return, as far as to Syra.1

During the early part of the night we had high winds and a rough sea, with much sea-sickness. We passed Scio (Chios) about midnight; and at sunrise had entered the Icarian sea, having Samos behind us in the north, and Icaria in the northwest. Distant in the southwest, and partly seen over intervening islands, was Patmos, the scene of the glorious visions of the beloved disciple; while nearer at hand lay the main line of the Sporades, including Lepsia, Leros, Kalymnos, and others. The coast of Asia Minor on our left was a succession of mountain promontories and jagged ridges, with deep bays and inlets running up between. These islands, the Sporades, are the picturesque tops of similar mountains, whose bases are submerged; gems of beauty strewed upon the placid bosom of the Egean sea. The morning was without a cloud, rejoicing in the brightness of an oriental sun; and the scattered islets appeared as if lifted out of the water and suspended in the air.

Soon after noon we approached Cos (Coos), which seemed to lie across our course. The vapours driven up by the south wind from the sea beyond, gathered along the summit of its mountain ridge, and produced slight showers. We left the island with its white town on our right; and passing near the long and lofty promontory on which Cnidus stood of old, we laid our course, still among noble islands, for Rhodes. It was nightfall before we approached that island; and as the haven is narrow and difficult, our captain preferred to anchor for the night in a small land-locked bay on the opposite coast, once guarded by a small fortress.

On the morning of Feb. 28th, we came in an hour to the renowned city of Rhodes, where we again dropped anchor. We had time to walk through the streets, and visit the chief points of interest. Every thing wears the aspect of neglect and consequent decay. There is little left for the massive fortifications to protect; they seem almost as if built without an object. The harbour is diminutive and unsafe. The present town occupies but a small portion of the ancient site. The houses are mostly of stone; but low and mean, threaded by narrow lanes. The main street is narrow and straight, running up from the port. It is the "Street

I know of no more life-like descrip- Mr Thackeray's "Trip from Cornhill to tions of such deck scenes, and generally of Cairo." first impressions in the east, than those in

VOL. III.-1*

of the Knights;" and on the fronts of the low stone houses are still seen the escutcheons of some of the noblest families of England and France. But the houses are now the home of the Turk; grass springs up in many of the streets; and although the soil of the island is fertile, and the climate the finest in the Levant, yet intolerance, indolence, and thriftlessness, are producing their legitimate effects; commerce is dying out; and decay and ruin everywhere prevail.

1

The interest of this voyage had been greatly enhanced, not only by the distant view of Patmos, but also by the circumstance, that for most of the distance our track was nearly the same as that of the apostle Paul on his last return from Macedonia to Syria. He had gone afoot from Troas to Assos; there embarking he came with his companions to Mitylene, and the next day overagainst Chios. Thence their course seems to have been around the eastern end of the island of Samos to the town of the same name, and so to Trogyllium opposite, in one day; and in another day to Miletus, where Paul held his last affecting interview with the elders of Ephesus. "From Miletus they came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes." The apostle was thus at least five days in passing over a route, which we traversed in little more than twenty-four hours. From Rhodes he sailed eastwards to Patara on the coast of Lycia; and thence on a direct course to Tyre, leaving Cyprus on the left hand.

We left Rhodes in the afternoon of the same day, and laid our course for Cyprus. The rugged coasts of Lycia were visible on our left, until hidden by the shadows of evening. The next morning, Feb. 29th, the mountains of Cyprus were rising on the horizon; but it was afternoon before we approached the western end of the island, and passed along not far distant from the coast. We thus had a view of the great plain, lying between the mountains and the sea; which Pococke describes as about fifteen miles long by three broad. It seemed fertile, and was covered with groves of olive trees. We could see several villages; the largest being Baffa, the representative of the ancient Paphos, once the chief city of this part of the island and the residence of a Roman proconsul.

Here too the apostle Paul once preached the gospel in company with Barnabas, on their first missionary journey. Embarking at Seleucia near the mouth of the Orontes, they had landed at Salamis, on the eastern coast of Cyprus; the ruins of which town are still seen about four miles north of Famagusta, on the north side of a small stream.3 From this place they

Acts 20, 13-21, 3.

2 Descr. of the East, II. i. p. 225.

3 Acts 13, 4. 5. Pococke ib. p. 216.

passed through the island to Paphos; where the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, became a believer; and the sorcerer Elymas was smitten with blindness.'-Old Paphos, with the celebrated temple of Venus, lay sixty stadia further south, and ten stadia distant from the shore.2

It was towards evening when we rounded the long, low, narrow point of Cape Gatta, and bore away for Larnaka, where we anchored in the open roadstead early in the morning of March 1st. This is now the chief place of commerce on the island, and the residence of the foreign consuls. The Marina or port is at the landing-place; while the smaller, but more aristocratic village, where the consuls reside, is a mile or more from the shore. The place is unhealthy. The houses are mean, and the surrounding country poor.

In the open space between the two portions of the town, the frequent traces of foundations and fragments of walls indicate here an ancient site. So numerous indeed are these remains, that the ground is still occasionally dug up in various places, in order to obtain the stones for building. The town which of old stood here was Citium, a city of some note, the birthplace of the philosopher Zeno. It was probably a Phenician colony; as is evinced by the thirty-three Phenician inscriptions (Inscriptiones Citienses) found here and reported by Pococke in 1738.3

We remained at Larnaka until the afternoon; and then laid our course direct for Beirût. We reached that port very early in the morning of Tuesday, March 2nd; and our eyes, as we came on deck, were greeted with the sight of "that goodly mountain, even Lebanon," whose loftier peaks were now wreathed in snow. Mr Hurter, the missionary printer, was soon on board to welcome me, and to conduct me through the noisy crowd. After brief delay at the custom house, and a ride on horseback of a mile or more, I found myself at home in the house of my tried friend and former companion in travel, the Rev. Eli Smith, D.D. It was a real pleasure thus to meet him again in Beirut, and find him surrounded by an affectionate family. His house is on the high ground southwest of the city, among the mulberry orchards. The house in which Mr Hebard formerly lived, with whom I resided in 1838, is quite near the southwestern gate of the city; and is now occupied by the missionary chapel and press.

The annual meeting of the Syrian mission, comprising the stations of Beirut, Sidon and Hasbeiya, 'Abeih, Tripoly, and Aleppo, was to be held at Beirût, beginning on Thursday, the 18th of

1 Acts 13, 6-13.

212, 213. Gesenii Monum. Script. Linguæque Phoen. p. 122-153. Niebuhr, * Pococke Descr. of the East, II. i. p. Reisebeschr. III. p. 21 sq.

* Strabo 14. 5. 1 sq. p. 683 sq.

March. At this meeting I desired to be present. In the regular course of the steamer, I ought to have arrived, and was expected, on the morning of the preceding Saturday. To fill up the time before the meeting, it had been arranged that Dr Smith would go with me on Tuesday to Sidon; whence I would then accompany Mr Thomson to Hasbeiya, where he was to pass the next Sabbath. The following week we proposed to spend in visiting the region of Bâniâs, the plain of the Hûleh, the chasm of the Lîtâny, and other objects of interest in the neighbourhood; and then return to Beirût. But this plan was frustrated, partly by the three days' delay in my arrival, and partly by other more important hindrances.

The Turkish government had been for some time endeavouring to extend their system of military conscription, so as to include the warlike tribes inhabiting Mount Lebanon and the country east of the Jordan. In this they had not yet been fully successful; and the Druzes especially threatened a most determined resistance. A crisis had arisen; and just at this moment intelligence reached Beirût, that the Druzes were passing over by thousands from Lebanon to Haurân; where, in the fastnesses of the Lejah and with the aid of the Druzes of that region, they would be able to defy the Turkish power. The route of these wanderers was by Hasbeiya and down Wady etTeim. At one time more than two thousand of them were in Hasbeiya. They often travelled in straggling parties; and deeds of lawlessness and violence, committed by them or in their name, were not unfrequently reported. The region was regarded as unsafe for travellers; and even Mr Thomson, whose business was important, did not venture to set out, until he had obtained more exact information. I gave up unwillingly the idea of accompanying him, and had no reason to regret it afterwards; although the excursion, had it been practicable, would have spared me a week or ten days of precious time at a later and more favourable season.

During the first week after my arrival, the weather was delightful. The thermometer ranged from 60° to 80° Far. The skies were cloudless; the atmosphere mild and balmy; and the oriental sun poured his genial beams over a prospect by sea and land of surpassing beauty. The house of Dr Smith commands a view of the roadstead and its vessels, and of Lebanon and the Syrian coast almost to Tripoly. The house itself has two stories, with the usual flat roof of the country, which requires frequent repairs. The middle portion of the upper story forms a terrace, open toward the north, with rooms upon each side. The windows have only been glazed since the house was first occupied by Dr Smith, some twenty years ago. At that time