3G BASHAN. 



triumplial arch, and the remains of a palace. We found 

 ourselves finally near a large reservoir, in which two of 

 the party bathed, while the others returned to the Castle, 

 now close at hand. To our great amusement the sentinels 

 presented arms whenever we passed in or out. The in- 

 terior of the theatre, where our tents were pitched, has 

 been more than half filled by a gigantic storehouse, but 

 the upper tiers of benches are in splendid preservation. 

 The stonework is very neatly finished, and the decorations 

 of the stage struck us as being in less florid style than 

 most of the Roman remains in this part of Syria. 



Various theories have been broached to account for the 

 strange conjunction of a theatre and a fortress. Should 

 I hazard a guess at the solution of the problem, it would 

 be, that the theatre stood originally outside the walls of 

 the town, and that when the more frequent visits of the 

 Arabs, and the failing strength of the legions, rendered it 

 liable to injury, the still-existing fortifications were built 

 round it. At night a sentry was posted outside our tents, 

 but the quiet of the dark hours was undisturbed except 

 by a furious storm of thunder, lightning, and rain. Cross, 

 always ready with sympathy for man or beast, pitied the 

 sorrows of the poor man on guard, and having hunted up 

 some piastres from his coat-pocket, he suddenly appeared 

 in his night-shirt at the tent-door, and presented them to 

 the astonished soldier. 



March 21st. — Early in the morning, we climbed up to 

 the battlements to enjoy the view of the plain. Large 

 flocks were being driven out to pasture ; as we watched 

 them, and gazed over the wide expanse of cultivated land 

 we had ridden through from Derat, we were naturally 

 led to contrast the facts under our eyes with the desola- 

 tion described by Mr. Porter, and to indulge in a hope 

 — which even the most ardent enthusiast for the fulfil- 



