66 LEBANON AND THE LEVANT. 



trouble. We slept in a cottage, inhabited by a family of 

 about a dozen peasants, and an unknown but very appre- 

 ciable quantity of insects. 



Ain-Aat is situated on a sbelf immediately under the 

 backbone of the Lebanon. We started for the Cedars at 

 5 A.M., with Fran9ois and a villager, leaving Elias behind. It 

 took one hour and forty minutes' sharp climbing, up a steep 

 but perfectly easy snow-gully, to reach the ridge (7,624 

 feet), whence we looked down on the Mediterranean. So far 

 the snow had been in excellent order, but on the western 

 side of the pass, the horseshoe of mountains, within the 

 hollow of which the gTove of Cedars stands, had shut out the 

 sun, and prevented the surface from ever melting sufficiently 

 to form a hard crust by regelation. Getting down to and up 

 again from the grove was one of the heaviest three hours' 

 work I ever did. We sank at every step up to our knees. 

 The trees are in very flourishing condition, and well repay 

 a visit, especially when seen, as we saw them, with the snow 

 resting on their broad-spreading branches, the only green 

 things visible on the great white slopes. The little chapel 

 was almost buried in snow, and it was only just possible to 

 get in at the door. On our return we met several parties of 

 villagers, who seemed equally surprised and pleased to see 

 travellers capable of walking over a mountain-pass. We 

 v^ere back again at Ain-Aat at 12.15 p.m., and in the after- 

 noon rode down to Shelfa, a prettily-situated hamlet at the 

 foot of the mountains. There we found our tents pitched, 

 and a good dinner cooking. I have described our visit to the 

 Cedars, in order to show that there is often no difficulty, to 

 men of active habits, in making the excursion when the 

 dragomanic Avorld of Damascus pronounces it quite impos- 

 sible. 



A day's ride through Coele-Syria brought us to Mual- 

 lakah, in the neighbourhood of Zahleh, the most flourishing 



