boats, and with much less loss of way from the force of the stream.*

The language of Beer is almost entirely Turkish, by far the greater portion of the inhabitants not even understanding Arabic. The dress of the men is nearly the same as at Aleppo; and among them are quite as great a proportion of green-turbanned Shereefs.† It

* On this singular practice, Monsieur Rousseau has the following passage:

s'attachent au ventre.

"Tous les voyageurs ont parlé avec surprise de la coutume qu'ont les Arabes de ces contrées, de faire de trèslongs trajets à la nage, au moyen d'une outre enflée qu'ils Cette outre n'est autre chose qu'une peau de chèvre dont ils cousent exactement toutes les ouvertures, excepté celle d'une jambe, par laquelle ils soufflent cette peau jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit remplie d'air et bien tendue; ensuite ils tortillent cette partie, et la tiennent bien serrée. Après cette préparation, ils se dépouillent nus, font un paquet de leurs habits qu'ils attachent sur l'épaule, et se posent à plat sur l'outre; de cette manière ils voguent très-lestement à fleur d'eau, en remuant les pieds et se gouvernant avec les mains, tandis qu'ils tiennent à la bouche leur pipe toute allumée. Ce que je viens de dire ne regarde pas les hommes seulement, on voit aussi très-souvent des troupes nombreuses de femmes et de jeunes filles, se transporter d'un rivage à l'autre sur leurs ballons enflés, et faire retentir l'air de leurs chants pendant la traversée."

+ Pretended lineal descendants of the Prophet Mohammed.

F

would seem remarkable that these immediate descendants of the Prophet should be so numerous throughout the northern parts of Syria, where neither himself nor any of the family of his own times ever reached, while they are so comparatively few in Yemen and the Hedjāz his native country, and the scene of his principal exploits, were it not known that this honour is as frequently purchased by money as any other distinction in the Turkish empire. The women of Beer dress like those of Asia Minor, and among the few that I saw loosely veiled, were some as fair as the women of southern Europe, with more healthy ruddiness of colour.

We passed our evening on the summit of the hill above the town; where, while we smoked our pipes on the grass, and drank the cool freshness of the western breeze, we were gratified with the most agreeable prospect. Immediately before us were the walls, the towers, and the broken turrets of the Saracenic Town and Castle, with a bright moon throwing her silver touches along the line of its battlements, and producing the finest contrast between the dark outline of their ragged points, and the clear blue sky, on which they

were so distinctly traced. Beyond the eastern wall, the camels of the caravan were dimly seen, the twilight of the broad shade in which they reposed, being still more darkened by the smoke of the fires, around which their drivers had assembled to sing away their cares. Behind us, was a white chalky valley, with abrupt cliffs on either side, and well wooded throughout with thick foliaged trees. Before us, at our feet, flowed the majestic Euphrates, winding its way through innumerable little islets. The stream was bordered, on its eastern side, by a narrow slip of plain, filled with productive gardens; but from its opposite bank, towards the horizon of the west, the eye ranged over a level tract of land, without a marked feature or a prominent object to be seen throughout its illimitable extent.

CHAPTER III.

FROM BEER, ACROSS THE PLAINS OF THE TURCOMANS, TO ORFAH.

JUNE 1st-We quitted Beer with the dawn, though it was long past sun-rise before all the caravan had cleared the hill above: not so much from its steepness or its length, as from the unfitness of the camel, particularly when loaded, to tread any roads but level

ones.

As we were among the last in motion, we were surprised by a party who had been despatched from the Aga to seize a Janissary on his escape from Aleppo, and who laid hold of me as the person in question. It had been observed at the Custom-house, that I had no merchandise in the caravan, and it was therefore concluded that I was not a trader. As I wore the Musulman turban, it was decided