START FOR BEILAN,

37

and well and gallantly must each of his men have done their duty to win the day. From the ease with which they crossed the river, the action probably occurred in the summer, or early in the autumn. Nor must Darius have been soft and effeminate if, as historians relate, he rode from here, without rest, to the Euphrates. His treasure, wife, family, and arms fell into the hands of the conqueror, who would neither see nor hear of the latter respecting their misfortunes. He dismissed them with honour and without ransom. Tancred

in the first crusade, probably led his forces round by the shore of the gulf; the rest passed over the steppes of Mount Taurus. But he would naturally follow this route from Tarsus, which he had just retaken. This was also the northern frontier won by the gallant descendants of his brother Godfrey. It would extend this work beyond all limit to mention more of its historic vicissitudes.

During our stay we procured horses and, accompanied by the kind and intelligent consul, started for Beilan, a village in the mountains about nine miles off, on the road to Aleppo, and supposed by some to be the third of the three Cilician, or Syrian gates.

38

ASCENT OF THE AMANUS.

The

Threading our way through the muddy village we emerged on a paved causeway in its rear, the only safe road through this swampy morass, over which we passed to the foot of the mountains, and then commenced the ascent of the Amanus. road winds up an ascending gorge, the hills clothed with luxuriant trees or well-cared vines; bold and rocky heights exhibit views of much beauty; the eye upturned rests on bolder, higher eminences backwards over the muddy plain, in the distance green and pretty; over the deep waters of the bay. North over tract, plain, and hill famous and recorded in history, till lost in the lofty mountains of Cilicia. South it skirts along the track of the bay, kept in by the Jabel Keskrik, till it ends in the turret's peak of Mount Rossius, the modern Point Khangir, or Pig Point.

Every foot of road is trodden on by history: armies in the flush of victory have stepped, with lofty strides, these narrow ways; fugitives, in rapid haste, have rushed along its paths; pursuers, thirsting for blood, have dashed on impatient of its difficulties; Heathen, Moslem, Christian cries have reëchoed and died in its now quiet dells. Here Cyrus passed; here Xenophon, unfamous

then, marched through to war-he knew not where. In a less time than usual, we reached Beilan, a pretty village built on either side of a narrow valley, the houses rising on terraces one above the other. Unlike those of the surrounding country, they are flat-roofed, and, like them, built of mud. Each roof forms a fore-court for the house above it. The village is large, and many opulent Turks live in it.

Formerly, when the trade of Aleppo was greater, the Franks made it their summer residence; but their houses are now closed, or degraded into cottages. The air is pure and wholesome, and fever little known. A noisy stream dashes through the centre of the valley, plunging over stones and rocks; it freshens the scene, and supplies a constant coolness and healthy wealth to the inhabitants. It is down this valley that the north-east wind rushes to the bay; its tubular shape condenses its force, so as to spout it on the shipping there with destructive force. However, they have sea-room behind to run to.

On entering, an old aqueduct on the south adds beauty to the scene; with its droppings, watercreepers and plants that now shelter in its rents.

40

PRESENT GOVERNMENT OF BEILAN.

On a platform is the tomb of Abderahman Bey, the last of the hereditary chiefs of the place, who, a robber, murderer, and villain during his life, is now worshipped by the Mussulman population of the place as a saint. He has been dead some sixty years, but his tomb is freshly repaired by his pious followers. His grandsons form a council, and rule the district, having ousted the Cadi, who was appointed by the Pasha. He resisted a long while, but the feeling of the people went with their hereditary tyrants, and the Cadi's office sank into a sinecure. He now and then fulminates fierce orders; but, like many others, they are never obeyed.

After receiving the kind though dirty hospitality of a native, we started back. The evening was cool and delightful. Alexandretta now lay like an island in its swamp; the pilot-jack was up, and scarce were we bundled on board, over pilgrims and people, before we were off. Above Beilan is a village called Mortawan, where, in its debased customs, the curious trace the remains of the ancient rites of Venus. I have been told that these rites have been kept from time immemorial, and the people brave the disdain and abuse of

GOVERNMENT OF IBRAHIM PASHA.

41

their neighbours sooner than quit their immemorial custom. Strangers are freely admitted; and he who offered not wife or daughter would be considered a niggard and degenerate.

I forgot to mention in our ride a pass where the road is encroached on by the head of a valley that runs off at right angles with it, and clothed with thick wood, offers ready concealment. The government of Ibrahim Pasha in the country was fair and good: his justice was prompt and stern, and affording such a contrast to the dilatoriness and peculation of the Turks, could not but be valued by all. To the Christians he was kind and fair; but that does not apply here. He said himself, and said truly, "Were it not for the conscription, I should be adored." But, knowing the insecure tenor of his rule, he was forced to maintain an enormous army greatly disproportionate to the population, and which, in fact, would in ten years have depopulated the land. On one occasion his emissaries had made a good haul, as fishermen say, of five mountain men, and were on their way back to Aleppo by this path. As they passed this spot, the fellows, though bound together, cast themselves, with one accord, into the hollow,