HEALTHY STATE OF THE ISLAND.

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vessels, which were in good trim; and several new ones were on the stocks. Each inhabitant has an interest in the welfare of the place, and the sailors have a share in the vessel they navigate as well as of the cargo. The trade is principally in wood cut on the the neighbouring coast of Vathy and Sevedo, made into charcoal, and transported to Alexandria; and also in sponges. Some vessels are in the carrying trade of this part of the Mediterranean; and here we found the pilgrim's flag hoisted on several barks which were laden with cargos of devotees hastening towards the Holy City. Several of the Greek vessels were under the Russian flag! The island pays at present a tribute of about £400 a year to the Basha of Rhodes.

The people seem to be an industrious persevering race; the women and children were pretty well clad, and had a healthy appearance; another fact confirmatory of the opinion that islands are far more favourable to the promotion of health than continents. The inhabitants are never attacked with the fever that yearly ravages the opposite shores; and though their communication with infected places is very extensive, plague has seldom appeared in the island. A British consular agent resides here, though but few English vessels ever touch the island.

We left Kastelorizo on the 6th; and being favoured with a fair wind, we made the eastern point of the island of Cyprus next day, and con

"

tinued coasting along its undulating shores, under stunsails, till the evening. The weather had improved, and now all was sunshine. Some parts of the scenery here are very beautiful; the ground is pleasingly diversified with hill and dale; and in other places, the headlands present a white chalky appearance, not unlike Dover Cliffs, from between which, occasional glimpses of the distant Mount Olympus are obtained. We brought up" in an open roadstead off the town of Limasol, which is situated upon a low bank of sand, with a surfy beach before it. It has little calculated to interest the visitor, except the minarets of its mosques, that rise into lofty spires covered with tin; and which have a pleasing effect when gilded by the beams of the setting sun. A large plain stretches to the east of the town, and behind it is a range of barren hills which are by no means picturesque. A quarantine of three days was imposed upon us here, on account of our having touched at Macri ; and this rendered our situation uncomfortable, as there was a heavy swell in the sea, caused by the gale that we encountered off Kalamaki, which had not yet subsided. The principal trade of this place is wine, of the fame of which we had heard much and to procure some of it, was one of our reasons for visiting the island. The accounts generally given of this wine are either very much exaggerated, or those who have given these coloured statements, must have acquired a vitiated taste that

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THE CYPRIAN WINE.

101

few Englishmen would desire to possess. Mix honey, vinegar, and tar, with brandy and water, to the taste of a Cyprian, and you have this much esteemed beverage of the Levant; and if you wish to prepare it for Greece, add a certain portion of resin; or for Spain or Portugal, put in the same quantity of anise-seed. Strength and sweetness are the qualities looked for; and the tarish flavour which it possessed, I found to arise from its being kept in large unglazed earthen jars, which, to prevent filtration, are coated on the outside with There are two kinds of this wine, red and white. It is carried from the country into the port in skins, as at Madeira; but of its mode of preparation the merchants engaged in the trade are totally ignorant, and they generally dispose of it as soon as possible.

tar.

We found Limasol to be but a poor place. Its streets are, however, broader than those of most oriental towns. An old castle at the entrance, mounts a couple of long brass Venitian guns of the date of 1543. The population is mixed, and consists of Greeks and Mohammadans, who have all (particularly the women) a wan and sickly look, that at once discovers the influence of malaria. There is no place upon the coast of Asia Minor where fever is so prevalent as this. It continues the entire three months of summer, and we are told, that those who may have suffered from it previously, are still liable to its repeated attacks. With some it

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INTERMITTENT FEVERS.

remains though in a more modified form during the whole year, so that the place can never be said to be entirely free from its influence; and when I visited the consul, both his wife and child were just recovering from a fit of ague. On my recommending to some of the inhabitants, to seek a higher elevation during the time in which the fever is most prevalent, they smiled, shook their heads, and said, that they were perfectly aware of the propriety of following my advice; but that they had been accustomed to it from their youth, and, as it seldom caused death, they were unwilling to lose the chance trade, of which they might be deprived, by a summer's residence in the mountains. None, even of the better classes, remove from the place, but remain, preferring to suffer this intermittent from year to year, to a removal to a more healthful situation during its continuance. The men seem a slothful race, and the women, as far as we could observe, bore no resemblance to their great progenitrix.

On the 9th we left Cyprus, and sailed for Syria.

CHAPTER IV.

SYRIA.

Beyrout-Quarantine-Rise of the Sea-Silk Manufactory-Proceed to JaffaLebanon-A Storm-Tyre-Appearance of the Place--Inhabitants--Present Condition of Tsour-Comparison of its Ancient Grandeur and MerchandiseAuthor's desire to Visit it-Questions proposed for Inquiry-Position of the Peninsula Water Tower-Whence its Supply-A Remarkable Rock-The Aqueduct Marshuk-Its Cistern and Water Works-A Threshing InstrumentDiscovery of Ancient Tombs-Their Position-Historic Sketch of the Several Cities of Tyre-Its Earliest Mention-Chronology of Sir I. Newton-Pala Tyrus —Its Antiquity—Siege of Salmanazer-Destruction by Nebuchadnezzar-Building of Insular Tyre-Besieged by Alexander-Prophetic Fulfilment-Its History up to the Introduction of Christianity-From that to the Crusades-Probable Site of Pale Tyre-Opinion of the Count de Bertou-Derivation of the word Tyre-Definition of Palæ-Position of Ancient Cities-Sepulchres-Aqueducts—The Modern Town-Its Population-Remains of the Insular CityRise of the Sea-Harbours-Submerged Ruins-Discovery of the Dye-pots— Fountains of Solomon-Departure from Tyre-Caipha-Zoology-Proceed to Jaffa.

MARCH 10th. We arrived at Beyrout, as we understood that vessels would not receive pratique at Jaffa, for which we were bound. The authorities here finding that we had come from Cyprus, informed us that we could not land on any part of Syria without performing fourteen days' quarantine; but having the privileges usually granted to vessels of war, it was reduced to nine, including our pas