CHAPTER X. 



SPORT IX SYRIA. 



SOME years ago I read a book called Eight Years 

 in Syria by Consul Neild. In it he stated, that do 

 what he would, he could not spend more than 40 a 

 year, although he possessed a capital house, with a 

 bath-room, a fountain, some land, two servants, kept 

 three horses, horse-keepers, &c. His headquarters 

 were at Antioch, with a country place a little way 

 out, where he enjoyed the finest field sport, the 

 country swarming in the seasons with woodcock, 

 snipe, florikan, black and red-legged partridges, 

 occasional gazelles and wild boars. This appeared 

 to me, a poor military man, a perfect Elysium. Thus 

 when I retired from the service I went to Beyrout, 

 left my family there, then on to Alexandretta, 

 Antioch, Aleppo, the Euphrates, Damascus, Baalbec, 

 Tripoli, and Latacjuie'. I should have preferred 

 Aleppo to live in, but everybody who goes there 

 suffers from a virulent boil, named the " Aleppo 

 bouton," and which does not differ much from the 

 " Delhi boil," or the irruptions to which Europeans 

 are subject on the West Coast of Africa. The sores 

 cannot be prevented or even mitigated, but must run 

 their course generally for twelve months and leave 



