THE MAILED BEDAWEES.

151

of long coats of chain mail reaching to the knees, and a low steel morion, with a movable bar down the face, instead of a visor. I fancied, and in fact I still believe, the suits were ancient, though they all maintained they were not. One helmet struck me as French; and when one considers the armoured men slain in this country, one can easily account for its being found. These men, however, said it came from Kourdistan, and towns in the north, where it was made. They also said, in their division of the Anase, they could bring 500 horsemen thus clothed; but for their mares' sakes they seldom wore it, save in actual fight.

Retired three men were sent to guard our quarters, who sang dolefully all night, and at daylight, began clamouring loudly for backshish. The Montselim saw us home, but left such a wild wind behind him as prevented our sleeping.

13th April, 1850—Ekikopole, or Haseah, as the Arabs call it, to Homs the ancient Emesa, nine hours' plain. We were told of large ruins existing seven hours S.E., but whether with truth or not, we had no opportunity of ascertaining, for without a large fee to the Anase it would have

152

THE OLD MAN AND THE FIRE.

been impossible, and the lateness of the season made us anxious to push on. Our Arabs of last night, it appears, had come in to greet the soldiers; but none of them were men of consequence, whose capture would have been of any importance to their tribe or worth the while of the Turks.

It was curious to see the whole female population out gleaning on the spot where the troops had encamped they collected the very refuse of the chaff left by the horses. As I was standing by our fire, for which we had paid some most exorbitant charge, an old fellow advanced with a bucket. I did not warn him off, as I thought he wished perhaps to warm his old bones, but he had no sooner got near than he commenced purloining the half burnt, burning bits, which he threw into his bucket full of water: we emptied his bucket over him, a process he grumbled at considerably.

Again upon the road-the desert gay with flowers; each day it seems to wear a different dress, so quickly come and fade the flowers as Spenser moralises

"So passeth in the passing of a day

Of mortal life, the leaf, the bud, the flower."

POPULATION OF ALEPPO AND DAMASCUS. 153

North, south and east, dead plain; west, a low range of hills, and beyond, the fair Anti-Lebanon in all its snowy beauty. Desert all around us, but no dreary waste. Here and there were loose stones and rocks, the rest a carpet of green, fresh, dewy grass, filled with every hue of wild flowers. -the poppy in its gorgeous red, the hyacinth, the simple daisy and others, thick as they could struggle up, all freshened with a breeze heavy with the scents of thyme. The lark sent forth its thrill of joy in welcome to the coming day; before us the pennon of the spearmen gleamed as they wound along the plain. We passed the site of an Arab encampment strewn with fire-blackened stones, bones and well picked carcases. Storks and painted quails sauntered slowly away at our approach, or perched and looked as if they questioned our right to pass. At eight o'clock halted at a khan called Hasiah also. The population consisting of robust, wild-looking fellows; and very pretty women poured out to sell hard-boiled eggs, leban, bread, and milk: they were all Mussulmans.

The populations of this country are most varied. It is calculated that, besides Arabs, Christians, &c., in the two Pashalics of Aleppo and Damascus,

154

EURUQUE AND KOORDS.

there are 30,000 Turkomans, and 20,000 tents of Koords (plural Krat), or as they generally call themselves Kourmanche: they inhabit the more northern portions however. The Turkomans now, as in the days of Ezekiel, trade with Syria, even down to Gaza, in sheep and horses; in fact, they chiefly supply the country with these. The Turkomans or Euruque, and Koords are a vast nation, and an inquiry into their customs would well repay the trouble, as there is no doubt that many tribes of them, though professing Mussulmans, are heathens and idolators. If my memory serves, several scholars have endeavoured theoretically to trace this people, designing Armenia and Media as their country. In the former they are certainly modern interlopers, within the proper limits of the latter they were hardly found. Probably, theirs has been a gradual migration from the east, from the vast plains south, and south and east of the Caspian, pressed forward by conquest or for conquest, or driven out by a more united and settled people.

Solitude-Enormous Burial Ground-Arrival at Homs-Host and his Daughters-Lake of Kades-Mode of making Coffee-The Greek Doctor and his Antiquities-The Christian and the Turk compared -Stupidity of the Homs People exemplified-Ancient Tomb-Vast Cemetery-Town and Castle of Homs-I explore the latter-Asmodean View Cemetery of the Greeks-Greek Church-Conduct of the Congregation-House of the Bishop-Population of Homs— Visit the Bazaars-Prepare to start from Homs with an Escort of Soldiers-Early History of Emessa-Bassianus-Heliogabalus— Zenobia and her Husband-Close of the Career of Zenobia-Heraclius and the Moslems- The Cousin of Kaled-Chivalry of Kaled, "the Sword of God"-Food of the Homs People.

AND now my companions are far behind; I am alone, not a living creature within my horizon: the stillness is oppressive, no bird, no bee breaks the awful silence; the sun is hid by clouds; so vast and overpowering seems the solitude,

"That God himself

Scarce seemed there to be."

But now a mound,-long, jagged, and broken,―rose on the northern horizon. Minaret and tree grew up by its side. Our soldiers, as if there was no sun, no lameness, no hard stones in the track, dashed about in chase of one another. We passed a most desert-looking Arab on his dromedary, another on