134 PLAINS OF SYRIA. 



standing as if on an island eminence, broken into seven 

 lengths, of which six are arranged round the seventh, a 

 square mount in the midst, on which stands a rude Maronite 

 chapel. The variation of tint and outline thus makes the 

 whole group a kind of epitome of forest scenery. The out- 

 skirts of the eminence are clothed Avith the younger trees, 

 which have sprung up ^vithin the last two centuries, and 

 amount to more than three hundred. In the interior 

 flourish the patriarchs of the grove, about twelve in num- 

 ber. Their forms are such as must always have impressed 

 the imagination of the observer, and have suggested the 

 ideas of regal strength, solidity, and majesty. 



In the valleys of the Lebanon wild beasts are numerous. 

 The eagle and the vulture build their nests on the beetling 

 cliffs ; herds of wild swine frequent the woods ; and large 

 companies of gazelles revel in the unbounded freedom of 

 the bare eastern stej)pes. The higher peaks and more 

 secluded glens are in both ranges of the Lebanon the 

 haunts of wolves and bears and panthers, and of hyenas 

 and jackals, which render night horrible ^vith their dis- 

 cordant cries. 



How striking the contrast when we descend into the 

 valleys and plains of Syria, which a genial climate and a 

 fertile soil load with vegetation ! The plain of Damascus 

 is one of the gardens of the world. Filled with sweet 

 odours, and shining with bright waters, it lies like an oasis 

 in the heart of dreary wastes, the barren monotony of 

 which is varied only on the east by the shattered marbles 

 and ruined temples of Tadmor and Palmyra. No rival, 

 indeed, to the Earthly Paradise which has so often fired 



