quantity. Near this we visited some uninteresting ruins called el-Hagre. Some person in this camp secreted a spy-glass which had dropped from Mr. B.'s pocket; after confessing that it had been found, and was in the camp, they attempted to force him to give an extravagant reward; this was obstinately refused; and by the intervention of Sheikh Yousouf it was recovered with difficulty for two rubees. We supped as usual on mutton without bread.

May 17. After we had set out, Daoud, a relation of the sheikh of Kerek, missed his sword, and rode back for it, but the rogues refused to restore it to him. Passing to the southward, in about half an hour we saw the village of Bsaida about a mile distant. About and beyond this village there are hanging woods of some extent, but the trees are small and stunted. From hence, in three hours, the descent becoming more considerable as we advanced, we reached the ruins which are called Gharundel. They are situated on the slope of a hill, and their extent is very considera. ble. Towards the centre of the ruins are the remains of two parallel rows of columns, of which three are standing in one row, and two in the other; their diameter is two feet; none have capitals. There are also, near to this spot, fragments of columns of three feet diameter; the capitals ap

pear to be bad Doric. A spring of water runs close below these ruins from Gharundel. We passed up a valley to an Arab camp; they were Bedouins of the tribe of Hadjeyah. While we were eating with these people, there was an alarm of an enemy having made an attempt to carry off some of their flocks; the women cried out and waved their scarfs from the top of the hill. We rode up, but saw nothing of the offenders. Our road was S. W.: a white line in the desert, at a considerable distance to the left, as far as the eye could reach, was pointed out as the hadj road to Mecca. We noticed three dark volcanic eminences, very distinguishable from the sand; the lava that had streamed from them forms a sort of island in the plain. Close on the right of the road was another volcanic mount, covered with scoriæ of a reddish colour, and in substance extremely light; there was much black porous stone below it. Soon after we found an ancient Roman high-way paved with black stone; the edges, and a line down the middle, were paved pretty regularly. On the right, at intervals of about a mile and a half, are ruins of square stone buildings; there was a cistern in one; they were probably intended for the use of travellers. Proceeding in a direction parallel to this road, we saw, towards the S. W.

a large mass of ruins, called el-Gaig; they offered no interest. We found three mile-stones; the last only was erect; all the inscriptions were effaced by time and the climate. From one of these stones we turned off, about a mile from the road, to examine some buildings, but found them Turkish; one had an Arabic inscription over the door, which appeared ancient. Some crosses were scrawled about the door, and these signs are three times repeated +II. Seeing some Arabs in the distance to the south, we returned to our companions, who had advanced just a Roman mile on the road, and were waiting at another mile-stone. We still followed the road till we came to the edge of a deep vale; here we deviated to the right and descended, the original road continuing straight on the height. At the S. W. end of the vale rises a hill, upon which stands "Shobek," like a gigantic mound; at its foot the ground is terraced out in gardens, and thickly planted with figs, now in full verdure. There are numerous caves in the side of the hill. Nearly at the bottom of our descent we passed a sheikh's tomb, called "Abou Soliman;" from thence passing a ravine, or dry torrent, we approached the town on its N. E. side by a zigzag path, which seems to be the only one leading to it. It appeared, in ascending, that almost all

us."

that side of the castle-hill has once been covered with buildings. Our coming seemed to excite considerable alarm amongst the natives, who stood on the walls shouting and throwing down stones. We entered at an iron gate, when the inhabitants seeing Sheikhs Yousouf and Sahlem with us, received us very civilly, some crying out, "Go and get bread and fire-wood for these poor fellows, who are come to lodge a night amongst We were carried up to a sort of divan, in the open air, constructed upon what seemed to be the ruins of a church of crusade architecture, standing due east and west. The tower of the castle has Arabic inscriptions, which appear to be Mahommedan. The three doors of the supposed church are square topped, and the centre is under a pointed arch, and has more the air of Mahommedan than Christian architecture. We had a boundless view from hence, comprising the whole skirts of the desert, with the volcanos which I have mentioned above. They brought us figs split and dried, of a very green colour and delicious flavour, tasting nearly like the fresh fruit; they told us they were on the trees when the pilgrims arrived at Damascus; this was in December. We observed much kissing in the salutations; each party generally kissed the right cheek first, once, and then

the left four or five times (5). They evinced their good breeding by suppressing their curiosity as to the motive of our journey, whence we came, &c. though evidently labouring under the greatest anxiety to know every particular. Shortly after our arrival we had an alarm of Arabs; thirty men, with guns, immediately ran out; others were driving in the flocks in great haste; they returned in about an hour, saying, the Arabs had killed forty of their goats, but that they would find an opportunity of returning the compliment; we, however, doubted the truth of this story. The name of Showbec, or Shobek (5), occurs among those who sealed the covenant. After a diligent search for inscriptions, we found one in the architrave of the principal door; it is in Latin, and though imperfect, Mr. Bankes made so much of it out, as to leave no doubt that it was a work of one of the Frank kings of Jerusalem. One of their principal strong holds, somewhere in this direction, was called "Mons Regalis;" this might either be Kerek or the place in question; though Miletius, extending their conquests still further, says, that this name was applied by them to Petra, and, relying upon some passages in Diodorus Siculus, says, that it seems to have borne that name in the historian's time. The most remarkable circumstance is, that while the inte