FROM BAALBEK TO DAMASCUS. 
251 
rock by the roadside or near some mined Khan, to eat a 
chicken and some leather bread; then the same riding is re¬ 
peated till night, when you feel as if a piece of horse or a 
well-cooked dog would be a positive luxury. While you are 
warming yourself by the cheerful blaze of the fire, hot coffee 
appears as if by magic—the very thing to brace up the sys¬ 
tem for dinner, which comes in about an hour. Now, blessed 
be the man that invented coffee ! It goes down with such a 
relish after all the troubles of the day; warming the throat, 
sending a thrill of delight into the stomach, filling body and 
soul with joy, and inspiring a proper appreciation of the chi- 
bouck and Djebel tobacco. All these delights we enjoyed at 
Zebdene, and very grateful and happy we felt that night, in 
spite of the prejudices of the untraveled against the use of 
stimulants. I shall long look back upon Zebdene as a bright 
spot in our pilgrimage through Syria. In the month of May 
it must be one of the most charming places imaginable. 
Having a spare hour next morning, while the mules were 
being loaded, we walked out to see the village by daylight, 
and were quite enchanted with the fresh and verdant hedges 
of wild rose, the rustic gateways (which seemed to be the 
ruling passion of the Zebdenes), the pomp of groves, the 
garniture of fields, and “ all that the genial ray of morning 
gilds.” On our return to the house the horses and mules 
were ready, and we rode off merrily toward Damascus. 
Clouds began to gather upon the mountains, as we passed 
out of the shaded avenues of the village into the open plain, 
and it was not long before a heavy rain swept down upon us, 
accompanied by a strong cold wind that was very piercing. 
Three hours from Zebdene we came to the river Berada, an¬ 
other small stream, running between high and precipitous 
rocks of very marked geological character. Parts of the 
mountain sides were distorted as if by violent convulsions of 
nature, and we observed in the rocks distinct marks of trees 
and impressions of leaves. Our guide pointed out to us the 
place where the river formerly gushed through the mountain 
on the left, after we had passed a bridge ; and on the right, 
on a high peak, the tomb of Abel. We had no data to au- 
