THE GREEK BISHOP. 
235 
where there was a probability of these languages being un¬ 
derstood (by which means I passed for rather a learned man), 
he translated from English in the present case. The worthy 
patriarch felt a good deal interested in the fact, usually an¬ 
nounced by Yusef in terms of great pomposity, that I had 
traveled a long way, and had been in California. The old 
gentleman had heard some fabulous accounts of California, 
and, after some exclamations of wonder at seeing before him 
a live person from that strange land, he delivered himself as 
follows: “It is a wonderful country, I know; thousands of 
miles off; away at the other side of London. They dig up 
whole mountains of gold there, and catch fish without eyes. 
God Almighty kills them because they are wicked; also 
food is scarce. The sun is very hot; there is great thirst; like¬ 
wise men burrow holes in the ground the same as rats. Oh, 
I don’t want to go to California. It is a bad country. Better 
stay here in Baalbek and praise God.” I thought so too, and 
desired Yusef to tell his Reverence that it would be better for 
him not to go to California, if he had any notion that way; 
in fact, that he would do much better reclaiming benighted 
Arabs in Baalbek than digging for gold on the banks of the 
Sacramento, and would find a more fertile harvest in his own 
professional line. 
We had further conversation on various topics, after which, 
with many kind wishes, the patriarch bid us good-by, and 
wished us a pleasant tour through Syria; expressing at the 
same time his regret that we had not found it convenient to 
come at once to the convent instead of going to a native 
house. 
I went down again during the forenoon to the ruins, and 
made a sketch of the Temple of the Sun and a general view 
of the whole of Baalbek. Near the main ruin is a very 
beautiful little Temple, which I omitted to mention before, 
built chiefly of marble, and very highly decorated. It re¬ 
minded me a good deal of the Temple of the Winds at Athens. 
The form is octagonal, and there is a portico all round, sup¬ 
ported by eight Corinthian columns, between which in the 
niches are the remains of pedestals upon which formerly stood 
