pagan tribes which existed there at the very remotest periods of Jewish history, the vast majority of the population are of Arab extraction. The two great Maronite Houses of Shehaab and Bilemma, indeed, as well as the whole of the Druse feudal aristocracy, refer to their Arab ancestry with feelings of pride and self-complacency, as evidence of the antiquity and grandeur of their line. The correctness of these assertions, as well as the exact period at which the Arabs entered the Lebanon, is fully exhibited in manuscript records, still in the possession of a few noble Druse and Christian families in the Lebanon. To some of these manuscripts, which allude to the proceedings of the Mountaineers during the middle ages, it has been my good fortune to have had access; and a further reference to "La Bibliothèque des Croisades," greatly assisted me in the treatment of this portion of my subject. But the principal document which attracted my attention, and on which I have chiefly relied for the latter part of my history of the Lebanon, is one which was drawn up some years ago, by a Maronite Emir of the House of Shehaab. It is called the "Chronology of the Emir Heider Shehaab," and has been continued down to the present day, by another Maronite chronologist, Sheik Tanous Shidiak. To dignify this performance with the title of History, would be absurd. It is, in fact, nothing more than a bare enumeration of events, strung together without the slightest attempt at historical disquisition, or political illustration. It remained for me to give this compilation such volume, style, and harmony, as might render it acceptable to my readers: a task by no means alluring, and, which only the hope, that I should be materially assisted in the undertaking, by my knowledge of the character, dispositions, and habits, of the great feudal aristocracy, whose proceedings it delineates, would have induced me to attempt. The field of history to which I introduce the reader is new, and to those who wish to become acquainted with the general features and characteristics of the people of Mount Lebanon on the one hand, and the principles, policy, and conduct of the various Eastern despotisms, with which they have been brought in contact, on the other, it will not be without its use and interest. The constant repetition of events so nearly similar in their form and complexion, the perpetual recurrence of actuating motives, so invariably the same in all the parties concerned, made it difficult for me to be correct and full, without being monotonous. However, I have endeavoured by a few biographical notices, and by various descriptions of some of the most stirring events which signalized the epoch of Turkish rule in the Lebanon, to give a colouring to the narrative, which I trust has tended to render it attractive. Finally, if the account contained in this work, of one of the most interesting parts of Syria, shall prove in any degree instrumental in engaging the more serious attention of the British public towards a country, the superlative importance of which, as a medium of social and commercial intercourse between the European and Asiatic races, is as yet but faintly conceived, and which will only then be duly appreciated when it shall have been fairly tried and experienced; its object will be accomplished-its author rewarded. Mount Sannin-Villages-Terraces-Lebanon an Asylum- Boundaries-American Missionaries-Maronite Patriarchs Maronite House of Habashe-Maronite House of Haazin- Maronite Schools-French Influence-Armenian Catho- lics-Feudal Castles - Feudal Vassalage - House of Bilemma - Conversion to Christianity-Civil War— Castle of Kurneille-Frightful Catastrophe-Kaferslewan- . 107 Olive Grove-House of Raslan-Emir Emeen Raslan-His Character-Corrupt Administration - Abuses crisy-Falconry-House of Shehaab-Mark of Deference Sultan Nouradeen-Emir Munkid Shehaab-Shohba aban- doned-Battle of Hasbeya-Single Combat-Fortress invested-Carried by Assault-Feudal Entertainment— Druse House of Talhook-Sheik Hosein Talhook-Bisoor- Emir Zanadeen Tnooh-Sheik Bechir Talhook-Magic -Wonderful Cures-Prevalent Belief-Joord-Druse American Mission-American Stations-American Univer- sity-Protestant Congregation-Infant Churches-Pro- testant Community-Prospects of Protestantism-Spirit |