Beyroot, Oct. 23d, 1836.

We left Nazareth by the same road that we entered it; but on reaching the top of the ridge north of the town we took a north-west direction into the plain which we had left, which is here broken with hills, and can hardly be said to be continuous. Some of these hills are very much covered with rocks. After a few miles we passed, on the top of a hill on our left, the ruins of Sefora, which was at one time a place of note. There is more natural growth on these hills than on those more to the east. This district is stony; but appears to have had more labour bestowed on it than most of those that are better adapted for cultivation. The plain of Zebulun, a little farther on, is separated from the great plain by some hills, which are, however, not very high. It is a most lovely and fertile district. On one side of it were many olive-trees, and a part of it was cultivated with cotton. The cotton appeared to have had but little labour bestowed on it, and promised a corresponding small return, notwithstanding the fertility of the plain. Between this place and the plain on the coast, and lying between Acre and the hills, we crossed a considerable distance that was hilly; the hills were not very high, but spread pretty generally over the face of the country. Most of them have more or less rocks on the surface, but, as a general thing, they are not so rocky as the country about Jerusalem. From this low hilly district we entered the plain which lies east of Acre, and spreads along the coast. This is a noble plain of considerable extent, and is generally exceedingly fertile. On entering this plain we saw Acre, nearly before us, on the shore of the sea. A little to the right of the city, and out near the middle of the plain, were some good-looking buildings with gardens about them, and others partly finished. I have seldom seen a finer set of orange and lemon trees. There is an aqueduct that brings water from the hill, across the plains, to Acre. This water is used for watering the gardens, which, we were given to understand, belong to Ibrahim Pasha. At some distance to our left, we had the north end of Mount Carmel in view, with the Latin monastery on the top of it. Between us and that point was a fine spread of plain, which might be called either the plain of Acre or the plain of Esdralon. This plain, as I have before stated, crosses the whole district from the lake of Tiberias and the Jordan to the Mediterranean. It comes to the coast directly at the north end of Carmel, and there the plain is a wide and noble one. The plain of Esdralon, on the eastern side, is higher, except at the south-east corner near Gilboa. It lies toward Safet, a high, rolling table land, most of which is exceedingly rich. The Lebanon, or rather the Anti-Lebanon, (for I think the Lebanon may be considered as terminating north of the river Leantes, which comes out of the Bokar near Soor,) lowers down at the high points near Safet, and spreads its still lowering ridges towards the middle and western part of the plain, between the lake Tiberias and the Mediterranean. There are various hills, rather separated from each other, on the plain, which may be considered as belonging to it,—the Tabor, the mount south of it, and the hills near Nazareth; but the terminating ridges are more continuous, north and north-west of Nazareth, and run down south, so as to narrow the western side of the plain of Esdralon. I doubt not, indeed, that the mountains which rise south of the plain, and cover the whole middle district, from north of Sebaste to south of Hebron, forming the hill country of Israel and Judah, may with propriety be considered as the southern continuance of the great Lebanon chain. It is there lowered down much, and is more spread out, and more like an elevated table land, with many low hills covering its general surface.

It would have been highly satisfactory to me could I have proceeded to the north of Safet, far enough at least to see the southern end of the plain of the Bokar, and ascertain how the mountains, Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, dispose of themselves and their branches at that place, and in their further progress south. I am inclined to think, that our usual maps are not very accurate in their delineations of this northern district.

Acre stands on a sandy point which projects out in the Mediterranean. It is strongly fortified, having a most stupendous wall, and a deep ditch. It is a place of great strength, and is under the keeping of a considerable body of the Pasha's troops. There was some shipping there, but not much. The city is much crowded together; and to be comfortable ought to be spread over twice or thrice as much ground—the streets narrow and filthy—the bazaars poor, and badly supplied with goods. There is a large open square within the city, which appeared appropriated for the use of troops and cavalry. A new bazaar was pointed out, which was said to have been put up by the present pasha. It was, compared with the others, pretty good; but needed that comparison to make it pass muster. Acre is interesting from its location on the coast—has a fine back country, and, under a proper government, might become a place of some importance. A great effort was made by the French, under Buonaparte, to take this place. He attempted several times to carry it by assault, and it was mainly owing to the efforts of Sir Sidney Smith that he failed. The name of Smith is still held in great respect by the natives of this region. They say of him, that "his word was like the word of God—it never fell to the ground," that is, he always did what he said he would do. So true is it, that while people tell falsehoods themselves—and the people of this country have no little propensity that way—they still have a regard for those who are known to adhere strictly to the truth. This place was long held by the Crusaders, and was one of the last places in Palestine that was wrested from them; and there may be, and no doubt are, ruins in the town and vicinity that may be referred to the period of their power. I had not time, however, to make much research respecting them. The pasha has some public works going on here. We saw a good deal of timber in an open square, but did not learn the use it was intended for—probably for the building of a vessel, from its size and appearance. We lodged in the Latin convent, which is a place of some size, and would contain many persons, though much out of repair. We found only two or three monks, and a lay brother, who appeared to act as steward, servant, factotum, &c.

From Acre we went along the coast, towards Soor, the ancient Tyre, which lies about twenty-five miles to the north. The first part of our route was over the noble plain by which Acre is bounded on the west. It is, as to its general character, good; and ought, and would, if properly cultivated, richly supply Acre with bread-stuff and many other necessary articles. Much of it, however, lies in a neglected state. In several places there are small districts, that are more improved—a few garden spots that are beautiful, and several elevations near Acre that have buildings or ruins on them, and were, probably, in the days of warfare, places of much more importance than they now are. About three hours' travel brought us to the termination of this beautiful plain, and we began to ascend a high promontory called Capo Blanco, or White Cliff, from the whiteness of the rock of which it is composed. This is made up of the softest limestone I have ever seen, interspersed with nodules of flint. It was well for our nerves that a barrier had been left between us and the precipice, for sometimes there was a perpendicular descent from the road above, to the sea below, which was dashing and foaming at its base. From this point, or ridge of hills, we entered the plain of Soor. This plain is narrow at first, but gradually spreads out, and presently has a wide extent, with a gentle rising of its eastern side into hills, with mountains towering beyond. The soil is rich and productive. There are some villages, on the hills, but none of any size. We passed several places near the shore where there had evidently once been villages; in one or two of these there were remains of walls and other relics of former habitations. As we approached Soor, the mountains and hills fell back, making a kind of amphitheatre; rising more or less, as it approached the mountains; but forming a rich and valuable back country to this former mistress of the sea. Night came on before we could reach Soor, and a small part of the district nearest the town, was, of course, not subjected to that close inspection which, under other circumstances, it would have received. We passed a fine flow of water, on which there appeared to be mills or other buildings; but it was too dark to allow us a clear view of what they were. There are, it is said, several remains of ruins on the south of the town, which the darkness prevented our seeing. As we approached the town, there was a much wider border of sand along the coast.

Soor stands on the point of a projection that runs out, it may be, a half or three quarters of a mile into the sea. Its outer part is broader and less covered with sand than the neck of land that joins it to the main land. About half way from the main land to the extreme point, a wall crosses the isthmus, and through a single gate in that wall, you enter the village which stands on the extreme point. The site of old Tyre was, as we learn from history, on the main land. When hard pressed, the inhabitants, availing themselves of their shipping, moved their more valuable articles to this point, which was then an island, and there built a town, and escaped the capture which threatened them. This first capture of Tyre, and the escape of the people with their riches to the island, is referred to in Ezek. xxix. 18; where the army of Nebuchadnezzar is said "to have served a hard service, and yet to have got no wages"—failed to obtain the wealth of the captured city. The new city was also taken in after-times by Alexander the Great; and his army had a hard service. Being on an island, and having command of the sea through their vessels, they braved the power of the Grecian king for a time. But he resorted to a stratagem which was successful. He constructed a wide causeway from the main land to the island, and thus made a way for his soldiers, who soon took the city. For centuries past, as all travellers during that period assure us, it has been almost completely desolate. The old site on the main land is so now—not one house, and scarcely a vestige remains to mark the spot. It is scraped as a rock, and probably was thus treated by Alexander, to get materials for the stupendous causeway he made. The city, on what was once an island, was also almost wholly forsaken, as many travellers assure us, and thus the prophecy has had its fulfilment. There is, however, a new village growing up on its site. It has much increased within a few years. There may be between one and two hundred houses, the quarter part of them very miserable things, but a few tolerably good for this region. The pasha has established some factories here, and the place is evidently reviving. Three or four of the European powers have consuls residing here, and the Americans have a consular agent. The old harbour, which once contained the first trading ships in the world, lies on the north side of the town, and was once surrounded by a strong wall, some small fragments of which still remain. The harbour is much filled up, so that only vessels of small burden can come within it. It does not, indeed, appear to have much trade of any kind. The water at the extreme point of the island is very shallow—a considerable space barely covered with water. There are some ruins on a part of this, and some fallen pillars—whether it was once covered with houses, I am unable to say. To the south, the water is deeper, but still so shallow as to oblige vessels to lie off at a considerable distance from the shore. The neck which joins the island to the main land is little else than a bed of sand. The part next the village, and without the wall I have mentioned, is full of old walls, mounds, cellars, and all the indications of having once been covered with houses. There are, indeed, one or two huge old buildings still standing on it. The part of this neck adjoining the main land is so low as to have considerable pools of water in it. We passed a number as we coasted along the edge of the sand from the south, on approaching the village. There is all the appearance that the water once came out to the steep bank at the edge; but the passage between the island and the main land being stopped, the sand, both to the north and south, has been thrown up so as to form a wide, flat beach, extending out near the island as far as what was formerly the east side of the island. The whole space here shows great changes.

The most remarkable and interesting relic of antiquity which I saw at Soor, was the remains of the church of Origen. It stands at the south side of the village, and makes part of the wall at that place. Much the larger part of it is fallen and removed. The remaining fragments show that it has been of very great size. There are a few small huts on the ground on which that part of the church that has been removed stood. There is some richly-wrought stone in the walls and about the stairs that run up at one part of the building. The stone is the soft spongy limestone which abounds on this coast, and I may add, through most of Palestine. It is a stone that works easily, but wastes away under the action of water, and is especially liable to be saturated with water, and to form damp walls. No part of the ruins of this old and celebrated church more interested me, than the stupendous granite pillars which were once connected with it, but now lie on the ground, and some of them almost buried in it, and by the ruins which covered this quarter. These pillars were of the fine Egyptian granite, of great length and thickness. They formed masses of stone of a most enormous weight. We seldom saw pillars of a larger size. There must have been some regard for Christianity at Tyre when its citizens erected this splendid edifice. But oh! what changes have passed over these lands since those days, when Origen ministered here, and raised his voice to the thousands which this church was capable of holding. A deep darkness now rests on all these regions—the Moslem rules, but his pride is humbled—his strength broken—and he appears conscious that the day of his glory is past, and not likely again to return! The few Christians that are now found in these regions have lost the spirit of Christianity. It is with them a body without a soul—a form, and a greatly altered form, without the spirit and power which makes it a transforming principle among mankind. But the darkness is passing away—rays of light are breaking upon these regions—and we doubt not the day is not far remote when the religion of Christ will, in its enlightening and transforming power, revisit these regions, and make them revive and flourish like the garden of the Lord.

From Soor we made our next stage to Saida, the ancient Sidon, which is so often mentioned in connection with Tyre—"Tyre and Sidon." It is a day's travel distant. We found the northern part of the plain of Soor not much different from the southern, which we have already described. In many places along this coast, there are old mounds of rubbish, or piles of stones, that bespeak former buildings. On the whole, ancient Tyre had a fertile district adjoining it, and was, no doubt, more or less the seaport for the lower part of the great valley of the Bokar, through the passage on the borders of the river Leantes, which flows out of that valley and passes into the sea a little north of Soor. The district of mountains that border the plain must also have contributed its share to the market of this port; for in these countries and among these nations, the mountain districts are often better cultivated than the plain, and are occupied by a more enterprising and efficient people. About midway from Soor to Saida, a ridge of hills comes into the shore, much like the one between Acre and Soor. The plain is superseded by a rough and hilly district. It is, for a short distance, exceedingly rough and rocky, and for a still greater space, the level along the shore is narrow and much covered with sand. Gradually the plain opens, and spreads out to a considerable extent, and becomes one of the finest plains, when taken in connection with the low ridges of hills that bound it, and from the rising ground towards the mountains, that I have seen on the coast. The several ridges of low hills that lie between the level space along the shore and the high mountain range, are finely covered with a soft, rich soil; and have scattered over them more trees than we usually see on this part of the coast. The plain about Soor was rather barren of trees—this was one of its greatest defects—that of Saida is much better furnished. We passed several streams of water and some small villages, on the low hills to our right. The mulberry-tree, which we had but seldom seen to the south, here made its appearance. We passed some considerable districts covered with them. This shows the limits of the silk-making district. The culture of the mulberry, and raising the silkworm, is a main business all through these mountains about Beyroot; how far north it may extend, I am not able to say; but we had ample proof in our tour that it is not much, if at all attended to in the land of Palestine, properly so called.

Back of Saida, among the low hills that border the foot of the Lebanon range, Lady Hester Stanhope has her residence. She was engaged to be married to Sir John Moore, who fell near Corunna, in the Peninsular war, in the contest which the English had with the French. That Lady Hester Stanhope felt the affliction most deeply, may well be supposed; other matters tending to alienate her affections from England, she came to the East, and has for many years made her home in the mountains near Saida. She has gained the affections of the native population, and has had great influence over them formerly; her power is now on the wane. She is occasionally visited by foreigners, but does not see all who would call on her, as some of them have made statements about her that gave her displeasure.

Saida, like most of the towns on this coast, stands on a sandy point that projects out a short distance into the sea. It is surrounded with gardens, and has more fruit trees about it, and a greater extent of groves, than any of the towns on the coast south of this, that I have visited. The plain about it appears peculiarly adapted to fruits. The town is walled, and has a garrison of soldiers. The houses are old, as you may suppose; the streets narrow, crooked, and dark, from the fact that many of them are, in many places, arched over; so much so, that you are nearly one half of your time passing under arches, which shut out all the light but that which comes in from the end of these narrow, crooked streets. I have often mentioned narrow, crooked streets, and once more repeat it, with the addition of dark. The bazaars and markets are much as those at Soor and Acre, poor, and badly supplied. On the whole, while the outside of the town had a most lovely appearance, the inside was the reverse. The harbour appeared mean, and not such as would give any recommendation to the place. The distance from Saida to Beyroot is between twenty and twenty-five miles. For some miles north of Saida, the road is much covered with sand, and the whole district, until near Beyroot, resembles that already described, some parts rocky, and others good, and well adapted to tillage. A few small villages are scattered along the coast. As we approached Beyroot, we took a road through the olive-grove, and not by the sands. This gave me a more perfect knowledge of the extent of the plain, south-east of Beyroot, and of the large orchards that lie in that quarter, covering miles, and bordering the lower part of the hills. The plain is more fertile, and more thickly settled, than I had at first supposed.

We found our friends at Beyroot well,—the mission families had returned from their summer residence on the mountains, and were engaged in carrying on their various operations in and about Beyroot. At first view it appears a rather untoward circumstance that they have to resort to the mountains during a part of each summer. It must, no doubt, in some degree interrupt the thread of their operations; but the climate makes it necessary, especially until they are well acclimated. The evil, however, is not so great as might be expected. The mountains are full of villages; indeed, the mountains of Lebanon are the most populous districts in these countries. The missionaries take their station in some of these villages, and when their number will admit they occupy two or more. There they usually open schools, mix with the people, distribute the Scriptures and other books, talk and preach, as the nature of the case will admit. Thus village after village becomes personally acquainted with the missionaries, and persons are brought within the hearing of the truth who might never be reached by the sound of the gospel were the missionaries always to remain in Beyroot. Thus what in one respect may seem an evil and a drawback to their work, in another is beneficial, and contributes to the furtherance of the gospel.

I have much reason to bless God for his kind care over me during the tour I have now finished, and hope that I shall be led by it more and more to realise that it is only His hand that keepeth me, and maketh me to go out and come in in safety.