1848.] Ruins of El-Medineh. 19 ing in its range the north of Lebanon, Tripoli and far south of it-the sea coast to Ruad and Tortora, with Cyprus in the horizon-the Ansaniyeh mountains, and the plains and hills towards Hamah and Hums. Akkâr, the object of our search, lies at the bottom of the gorge, directly east of us, at one hour's distance. The descent to it was through a beautiful wood of pine and other trees, and by a path not always safe. Our muleteer upbraided us for bringing him to a place from which he could never return with his mules alive, and we reminded him that he had deceived us, by positively declaring that he knew the place well, and could guide us to it; whereas he knew no more about it than his mule, and was frightened out of his wits at the mere sight of it. These ruins are called el-Medîneh, or the city,' by way of eminence. They cover the north-west slope of a steep hill-are piled up in endless confusion, and overgrown with briars, thorns, bushes and trees. The ruins are modern. I found the date 720 on an old mosque, which, however, appears to have been a church before it was transformed into a mosque, 542 years ago. The walls of many well built palaces and castles are still standing-the stones, however, are not large, and there are no columns. The palace called et-Tekîyeh presents the most imposing appearance. The entrance is lofty, and built of polished trap rock and limestone in alternate layers. Some of these palaces are covered with the richest mantle of ivy that I ever saw. Large walnut, oak, and other trees, with an impenetrable net-work of briars, bushes, and wild vines, conceal the ruins from distant observation, and the visitor is surprised and perplexed to find himself entangled, ere he is aware of it, in a maze of crooked, choked up streets, running, in all directions up and down this savage hill. The castle stands on an isolated crag of rock, south of the city, from which it is separated by a tremendous ravine. The rock rises perpendicularly to a great height, and is defended by towers and a wall carried round the very edge of the precipice. It presents a formidable appearance, and to get to it, one appears to be entering the very bowels of the mountains, by this darkest and most sinister looking ravine. Taken altogether-the jagged Jurd Akkâr with its overhanging woods darkly frowning from above, the fearful gorge of the Nahr Akkar, whose waters, the united contributions of a hundred rivulets, bound and bellow in hoarse vexation, through labyrinths of rocks and a wilderness of rank vegetation below, and the utter desolation and loneliness of the ruins, fit haunt for owls, satyrs and doleful creatures-yes, taken altogether, I have seen nothing to equal Akkâr in all my rambles through this strange world. But it is too wild, too stern and savage, a very paradise of pirates and robbers, and by such it was perhaps first frequented. Akkâr was for a long time governed by the Emeers of Beit Seîfa, a family now extinct. The tradition throughout Lebanon is, that they and this mountain city were destroyed by the celebrated Fakhr et-Deen. The fame of this Druze Chieftain had spread far and wide, but his personal appearance did not correspond, and the Emeer of Akkâr who had married Fakhr et-Deen's sister made himself merry at his expense. Fakhr et-Deen left Akkâr in a huff, swearing by everything sacred, that he would build his palace at Deir el-Kamar, with the best stones of Akkâr. This sinister threat he is said to have, in part at least, carried into execution when the city was destroyed. Some of the stones of the Tekîyeh of this place are believed to be in one of the palaces at Deir el-Kamar. Our guide however said that the Emeer of Akkâr having rebelled against the government, two armies were sent against him, one from Baalbeck, came over the mountain, the other came up from Tripoli. The place was taken by assault, the people butchered, and the city burnt. The Emeer Fakhr et-Deen may have been with one of those invading armies. Those of the people who escaped fled to Tripoli. I saw a Moslem merchant in Tripoli whose ancestors lived in Akkâr, and who still hold deeds of property which belonged to his family in this city several hundred years ago. At present the property has no owners. Whoever chooses to come and work the land may do so, paying only the taxes to Mohammed Beg of Kuraiyeh. The present village consists of about thirty miserable huts. The population is not stationary. There are now three Greek families, two Maronites and about twenty Moslems and Mettawalies. In a year to come there may not be an inhabitant, or there may be many more than at present. The numerous rivulets which come tumbling down from the ragged Jeord and unite at the castle, form the river Akkâr, which works its way with difficulty to the plain in a north-western direction, and then meanders through it to the sea. By an energy altogether immeasurable the strata along this river have been twisted, dislocated and heaved up in maddest confusion; and the cause cannot be mistaken. Subterranean fires generated the gigantic power which drove these huge dykes of trap through the superincumbent limestone and threw the wrecks about in such wild disorder. The mountains hereabouts, and to the south, are called Jeord Akkâr. They rise in impracticable ruggedness to the snow-capped summits of Lebanon above the cedars, are clothed with forests, and abound in wild boars, hyenas, bears and panthers. 1848.] Culaiyat-Safetâ. 21 With face and hands sufficiently lacerated by the thorns, with clothes soiled and torn, and limbs wearied out with clambering over rocks and ruins, we left Akkâr and rode to Cûlaiât, a straggling village two hours distant, in a direction nearly north. Here are the ruins of several churches some of them having a traditionary history extending back to the primitive ages of Christianity. The people of this secluded spot, to our surprise, said they were all French, and as we were Ingleese and protestants, they would not sell us food either for man or beast. The mystery was now explained by the appearance of a Jesuit priest, who had recently settled amongst them. This gentleman however may not be at all accountable for the austere carriage of these poor peasants, as the Maronites are sufficiently surly and inhospitable to protestants without any foreign instruction. Oct. 24th. Left our camp-ground at sunrise, and in forty-five minutes passed old Culaiyat, built of black basalt and mostly in ruins. The brook in the valley of Culaiyat flows into N. Akkâr. At the old village we ascended a high trap hill in a north-west direction, and the water on the north of this hill runs into the N. Kbeer. A rapid descent over trap rock and volcanic tuff brought us to Beri in twentyfive minutes. This village is the capital of the district called Draib, and the present governor is Abood Beg of the house of Miriab. The Beg informed me that the palace occupies the site of an ancient ruin which he supposed to have been a convent. In clearing away the rubbish they came upon a strong vault in which were found a variety of strange relicts, and amongst them brazen calves like those at Mar Manos near Aiyât. This information was given incidentally and not in answer to inquiries on our part, and seems to be worthy of credit. The worship of the calf appears to have prevailed throughout all these mountains. The Beg gave us a horseman to guide and guard us across the country to Sâfetâ. To our surprise he led us for two hours and a half in a direction nearly west, although the great castle of Sâfetâ was in full view directly north. Our ride was a continual descent over trap bowlders which lay piled up in heaps as far as the eye could reach in every direction. Amongst these grow thick, short, gnarly oaks. This vast oak orchard is the most striking feature in the landscape, and extends from south-west to north-east twenty or thirty miles. At Amar Beg-kat a village of some note one and a half hours from Beri, I saw several basalt sarcophagi now used as watering troughs at the fountain. From this place we descended a steep hill of trap rock, and by two other similar descents, we reached the N. Kebeer at the bridge called Sheikh Aiyash, and also Jedeed. It was built by Aly Basha of the Beit Miriab, who died seventeen years ago. It is an excellent affair of one large arch, and here passes the great road from Hamah to Tripoli. We were obliged to travel west all this distance to avoid the great trap chasms and perpendicular steps, which traverse the country from east to west, and across which no road can be carried. Through these dark chasms the rivers find or force their way to the plain. The N. Kebeer (the Eleutherus of the Greeks), forms the northern boundary of the Draib. The district south of it is called Junia and Jumeh and is governed by Mohammed Beg, and a third district further south is called Kaîteh and Kaitah, and is under the government of Mustafa Beg,-all of Beit Miriab. These three districts constitute the Akkâr, in which there are 141 villages, 1415 taxable Moslems (Mettawalies), 710 Ansairiyehs, 1775 Greeks, 910 Maronites. Total, 4810 which multiplied by five would make the population 24,050. The governors are all Mettawalies, the people are their serfs, and together they exhibit the most perfect example of old feudality to be seen in the country, with all its pomp and parade and poverty. From Jisr Jedeed our direction was east of north across a fertile plain, and in half an hour we crossed a considerable stream called Mshahir at a village named Medhěleh, where there is an encampment of stationary Arabs, and near it a large mound with the name of elJamûs or the Buffalo. Medhěleh marks the west boundary of the district es-Shaarah, which extends east to the hills of Husn. In half an hour more crossed another branch of N. Kebeer, called Nahr Tel el-Khalifeh, on the bank of which is the Ansairiyeh village Arzuneh. From this to N. Arûs is twenty-five minutes. The last branch of the N. Kebeer is the Sabbatic river of Josephus, which issues from the great intermitting fountain below the convent of St. George, called Nebâ el-Fuâr.1 All these rivers are branches of the N. Kebeer, and they are all laid down incorrectly on the maps to which I have access. The main branch of N. Kebeer rises in the trap mountains a long way north-east of Kulaet Husn, flows through the elevated plain east and south-east of Husn for perhaps ten miles south of the castle, and then breaks down the great trap steppes, in a direction nearly west, which it continues across the plain to the sea.? An account of this fountain was given by Mr. Thomson in Silliman's Journal of Science, Nov. 1846.-EDs. In respect to the plain or country between Lebanon and the more northern mountains, Mr. Thomson remarks in a private letter as follows: "The water from the great fountains of the Orontes might be carried round the northern end of Lebanon into the Junia and to Tripoli."-EDs. 1848.] Study of Greek and Roman Literature. 23 At N. Arûs the trap rock disappears and the road ascends a considerable hill of semi-crystalline limestone, passing Tel Tûrmûs, and then et-Tulaiyeh. At the latter village we found the governor of Sâfetâ with all his posse of ragamuffins, apparently making caif. Everywhere we are looked at with wonder, and often with suspicion. Franks have never been seen in these parts. From Tulaiyeh the water flows north and falls into the N. Abrosh which we crossed at a bridge of four arches—the name I failed to obtain. In Arrowsmith's map this river is placed south of N. Kebeer, which is a mistake. The distance between the two, by our road, is three hours' rapid riding— at least twelve miles. In twenty-five minutes from N. Abrosh is the first harah (division) of the village called Yesdîyeh-over the worst road I have met with out of Lebanon; twenty minutes more brought us to the second harah of Yesdîyeh, the inhabitants of which are Greeks and have a curious old church embowered amongs large oak trees. The third harah is fifteen minutes further, and here the sheikh of the whole resides. It being quite dark, and the road dangerous even by daylight, we pitched our tent in the yard of the sheikh-a surly, beastly looking Ansairiyeh, who gave us but a cold reception. From this to Burj Sâfetâ is one hour; to Tripoli, twelve hours; to Tortosa, six; and the same to Kulaet Husn. Scattered over the fields to the north of Tulaiyeh, are bowlders of a yellow siliceous rock, which are crowded with very curious fossils. They bear a striking resemblance to cows' tongues. I obtained one about a foot long, which can be compared to nothing else. These bowlders are altogether foreign to the limestone rock of this region, and were probably transported from a distance. This however needs further examination. [To be concluded.] ARTICLE II. THE STUDY OF GREEK AND ROMAN LITERATURE WITH By Charles Siedhof, Ph. D., late Rector of the Gymnasium at Aurich, in the Kingdom of Hanover, now teacher of a private Classical School, Newton Centre, Ms. AFTER the long, almost lethargic slumber following the storms of the Reformation, and interrupted, if we except political disturbances, |