DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5073#0224
KESROUAX.
213
and loudly over the size of our waists, which they
insisted on spanning with their hands, until their em-
braces hecame so troublesome that we mounted our
borses, and, with many lookings back at the beautiful
and romantic spot, re-ascended the hill into the upper
part of the valley, where the cool fresh air was most
refreshing after the suffocating heat of tbe pent-up
glen, as we retraced our steps of the morning and passed
on still along the south side of the Nahr Ibrahim (or
River Adonis) towards the sea. We were half way down
the very worst of all possible descents, jumping, slip-
ping, and struggling among huge rocks and impossible
crannies, when two of our horses took to fighting, and
before the attendants could reach them one horse had
toppled down part of the precipice and was lost to view.
We had many more miles to go, and the adventure was
somewhat disma3ung. Howrever, some stiff bushes had
kindly broken his fall, and the horse was picked up ; the
saddle, which had been a good deal broken, was patched
together somehow, the things tumbled out of the saddle-
bags re-collected, and we continued our tortuous way,
flot pausing again till we reached a very beautiful spot,
where the tents were already pitched, called Watr-el-
Jauz — the " country of walnut trees," but the walnuts
have now disappeared — and we sat under the shade of
a grove of fine willows, enjoying fresh views of the
beautiful mountains. No day's ride had given us a
greater variety of magnificent scenery than this one,
and very lovely it had been under a cloudless sky and
brilliant sunshine.
But the next day was almost more beautiful, for
after crossing the hill on which we had encamped the
sea was added to the still more extended and splendid
view. Habeeb averred that Hermon was visible, bjit
P 3
213
and loudly over the size of our waists, which they
insisted on spanning with their hands, until their em-
braces hecame so troublesome that we mounted our
borses, and, with many lookings back at the beautiful
and romantic spot, re-ascended the hill into the upper
part of the valley, where the cool fresh air was most
refreshing after the suffocating heat of tbe pent-up
glen, as we retraced our steps of the morning and passed
on still along the south side of the Nahr Ibrahim (or
River Adonis) towards the sea. We were half way down
the very worst of all possible descents, jumping, slip-
ping, and struggling among huge rocks and impossible
crannies, when two of our horses took to fighting, and
before the attendants could reach them one horse had
toppled down part of the precipice and was lost to view.
We had many more miles to go, and the adventure was
somewhat disma3ung. Howrever, some stiff bushes had
kindly broken his fall, and the horse was picked up ; the
saddle, which had been a good deal broken, was patched
together somehow, the things tumbled out of the saddle-
bags re-collected, and we continued our tortuous way,
flot pausing again till we reached a very beautiful spot,
where the tents were already pitched, called Watr-el-
Jauz — the " country of walnut trees," but the walnuts
have now disappeared — and we sat under the shade of
a grove of fine willows, enjoying fresh views of the
beautiful mountains. No day's ride had given us a
greater variety of magnificent scenery than this one,
and very lovely it had been under a cloudless sky and
brilliant sunshine.
But the next day was almost more beautiful, for
after crossing the hill on which we had encamped the
sea was added to the still more extended and splendid
view. Habeeb averred that Hermon was visible, bjit
P 3