great central chain, the loftiest peaks of which rise up in stern grandeur on every side. We dismounted and sat down on the grassy banks of the little stream to eat our lunch, for which an early breakfast and a ride of more than four hours and a quarter had given us a good appetite. Vast flocks of small birds hovered round us; we had disturbed them in their favourite haunt, and they now waited impatiently till we should again leave them in quiet possession. A few hawks, gliding close to the surface of the ground, or poised motionless high in air, showed that we were not the only disturbers of this feathered throng. One or two solitary vultures perched gloomy and sorrowful-like on a neighbouring cliff, and around them eagles swept in graceful circles. This place, in fact, seemed the choice retreat of every species of the feathered tribe that frequents these mountains: and beasts, too, visit it in no small numbers. As we rode up, a jackal sneaked away among the rocks. Over the whole plain were traces of the recent labours of the wild boar in search of his food; and at our feet, as we sat, was the broad track of a bear that had lately stooped to drink at the bubbling fountain. Antilibanus is but thinly peopled by man; but the lower animals, both birds and beasts, inhabit it in vast numbers. The multitude of eagles is almost incredible; they may be seen every day in large flocks circling round some towering cliff, or soaring aloft over their prey. On one occasion, when, wearied with a long ramble, I had fallen asleep amid the loftiest summits of the mountains, I was suddenly roused by a strange sound, as if of a whirlwind sweeping among the old juniper trees around me. On looking up, I saw twenty-four large

eagles dashing through the air, and most of them approaching in their rapid course within pistol-shot. Vultures are also very numerous, and hawks are found in almost endless variety. A species of daw, resembling the jackdaw of England, frequents the higher districts. Partridges abound in every part; and snipes and woodcocks wherever there is water. Of beasts, the bear is the largest: he is rather low, but long and powerfully made; of a dull brown colour. The wolf, the hyæna, the jackal, the wild boar, and the hare, are all numerous. A species of panther is found on Hermon, but I have never seen any

of them.

At 1.15 we left the fountain, and rode up the mountain over strata of basalt. In ten minutes we reached the summit of the ridge, and the watershed between the Bukâ'a and the eastern plain. Here, as I stood looking along the ridge to the north-east, I had on my left the abrupt and rugged descent to wady Marabûn, which, with its continuation wady Yahfûfeh, lay at my feet as if delineated on a map. Beyond them spread out the great plain of Colesyria, shut in by the lofty wall of Libanus. On the right I looked over jagged cliffs and confused mountain-peaks to the broad plateau of 'Asâl. I could distinguish the entrance of the little wady Haurât, through which we had passed on entering the mountains, bearing S. 55° E. My bearings from this point connected the eastern plain with the Bukaa and Baalbek. The whole scenery in this section. of the mountain-chain is singularly grand and rugged. The steep declivities on the west are deeply furrowed by wild ravines, while the ridges and peaks on the east, with the profound glens that divide them, are scantily clothed with the oak, the pine, and the juniper. The elevation of

the pass on which we now stood I estimated at about 6000 feet. It is somewhat lower than the average height of this part of the chain.

We now turned down a narrow path that descends the western declivities of the mountains by an easy gradient, in a general direction of north-by-east. In ten minutes we reached the side of a little meadow containing several small fountains, the water from which runs down a deep glen to wady Marabûn. This may be regarded as the highest source of the river Yahfûfeh. Fifteen minutes after, we passed another fountain called 'Ain Hil-Jerâbek, "The Fountain of the opening of the Knapsack." This, it appears from the name, which is not uncommon in these mountains, is a favourite resort of the shepherds, who are great epicures in water. They here collect their flocks in the heat of day, and, opening the scrips in which each one carries his humble fare, they eat their meals with a relish which those only can realize who breathe pure mountain air and are braced by vigorous exercise. Often in my wanderings have I sat beside the bubbling fountain in the midst of these simple and wild-looking shepherds of Antilibanus. I have seen their flocks gathered round them in one dense mass; and I have been not a little astonished and pleased to observe that this mingling creates no confusion. Each shepherd, when he has finished his repast, or when the time of rest is over, rises from his place and walks steadily away, calling to his sheep or goats, and immediately his own flock separate themselves from the throng and follow him. His companions do so too, and each flock follows its own shepherd.3

3 See John x. 4, 5, where this singular method of leading the sheep and goats is used as a beautiful figure by our Saviour.

As we continued our route the scenery increased in grandeur; the mountain-side towering up on our right almost a sheer precipice, and the ravines opening on our left like yawning gulfs. At 2:38 we turned to the left in a direction about north-west, and after half an hour's descent by a difficult zigzag path we reached the fountain of Benaiyeh, near the ruined temple in the head of wady Marabûn. A few minutes afterwards we struck the road described in last journey, and proceeded along it to Baalbek, where we arrived as the sun was disappearing behind the lofty mountains of Libanus.

I had now crossed the Antilibanus by three distinct routes from Damascus to Bâàlbek, and in all had kept careful itineraries, and had taken numerous bearings. All these I laid down with care in the construction of my map, and found them to fall into each other with almost minute accuracy. But I have besides been enabled to ascertain the bearings of the two cities from one point—the lofty peak behind Bludân. From this place Bâalbek is clearly seen, and the whole plain of Damascus is also in full view. The city itself is hid by the hill behind Salahîyeh, but every village on the plain was so familiar to me, that, by the aid of a good telescope, I had no difficulty in ascertaining its precise position. To prevent the possibility of error I took careful bearings of the prominent points, Tell Salahîyeh and Jebel Mânia. After I had discovered how great a change these observations

There is here a slight error of seventeen minutes in the account of this tour as given in the Bibliotheca Sacra.' I know not how it occurred, but I suppose it must have been in the hurry of transcribing my notes.

effected in the relative positions of Damascus and Bâålbek, when compared with all former maps, I returned again to the same spot to verify my previous bearings, and found that I had made no error. In all maps of any pretensions to accuracy hitherto published, Bâ'albek is represented as about 20' farther west than Damascus, while in my map it is 4' east of it. There is thus a difference of 24' between this map and all others in the relative positions of these two cities. This great change has altered the whole features of the country, and especially of the mountainrange of Antilibanus. I had also made numerous observations to serve as checks in laying down the line of these mountains. One series of bearings was taken from the summit of Hermon; another from the lofty peak above Bludân; and I took, besides, a bearing of the summit of Hermon from the ruined village on the side of the Roman road, an hour S. by W. of Baalbek.

Oct. 13th.-We left Baalbek at 7:40, passing over heaps of ruins, the remains of former houses and the ancient wall, near one of the gates. Our course was now over a stony plain along which I thought I could observe traces of a Roman road. After winding for a time among low bleak hills, and crossing a little ridge, we reached the brow of a deep ravine coming down from the mountains and running across the plain in a direction nearly due west; and descending a little, dismounted beside the village of Nahleh at 8:43. Our general course had been north-east. This village is situated on the summit of a

5 By a typographical error our course from Ba'albek to Nahleh is represented in the Bibliotheca Sacra' as having been part of the way N. 50° W. instead of N. 50° E. Our true course was as follows:-First,