INTRODUCTION. Iv 



cafes toprefs for particular information ; an Arab conductor,, 

 who proceeds with caution, furely means you well. He 

 told me that he would leave a friend in the houfe of a cer- 

 tain Arab at Hamath *, about half-way to Palmyra, and if 

 in fomething more than a month I came there, and found 

 that Arab, I might rely upon him without fear, and he 

 would conduct me in fafety to Palmyra. 



I returned to Tripoli, and at the time appointed fet out 

 for Hamath, found my conductor, and proceeded to Haffia. 

 Coming from Aleppo, 1 had not palled the lower way again 

 by Antioch. The river which panes through the plains 

 where they cultivate their beft tobacco, is the Orontes; it was 

 fo fwollen with rain^ which had fallen in the mountains,, 

 that the ford was no longer viable Stopping at two mifer- 

 able huts inhabited by a bafe fet called I urcomans, I afked 

 the matter of one of them to Ihew me the ford, which he 

 very readily undertook to do, and I went, for the length of 

 fome yards, on rough, but very hard and folid ground. The 

 current before me was, however, fo violent, that 1 had more 

 than once a defire to turn back, but, not fufpecting any 

 thing, I continued, when on a fudden man and horfe fell: 

 out of their depth into the river. 



I had a rifled gun flung acrofs my moulder, with a buff 

 belt and fwivel. As long as that held, it fo embarrafled my 

 hands and legs that I could not fwim, andmuft have funk; 

 bur luckily the fwivel gave way, the gun fell to the bottom 

 of die river, and was pickt up in dry weather by order of 



the 



* The north boundary of the Holy Land.. 



