Returning from Hassia I would have gone southward to Baalbec, but it was then besieged by Emir Yousef prince of the Druses, a Pagan nation, living upon mount Libanus. Upon that I returned to Tripoli, in Syria, and after some time set out for Aleppo, travelling northward along the plain of Jeune betwixt mount Lebanon and the sea.
I visited the ancient Byblus, and bathed with pleasure in the river Adonis. All here is classic ground. I saw several considerable ruins of Grecian architecture all very much defaced. These are already published by Mr Drummond, and therefore I left them, being never desirous of interfering with the works of others.
I passed Latikea, formerly Laodicea ad Mare, and then came to Antioch, and afterwards to Aleppo. The fever and ague, which I had first caught in my cold bath at Bengazi, had returned upon me with great violence, after passing one night encamped in the mulberry gardens behind Sidon. It had returned in very slight paroxysms several times, but laid hold of me with more than ordinary violence on my arrival at Aleppo, where I came just in time to the house of Mr Belville, a French merchant, to whom I was addressed for my credit. Never was a more lucky address, never was there a soul so congenial to my own as was that of Mr Belville: to say more after this would be praising myself. To him was immediately added Doctor Patrick Russel, physician to the British factory there. Without the attention and friendship of the one, and the skill and anxiety of the other of these gentlemen, it is probable my travels would have ended at Aleppo. I recovered slowly. By the report of these two gentlemen, though I had yet seen nobody, I became a public care, nor did I ever pass more agreeable hours than with Mr Thomas the French consul, his family, and the merchants established there. From Doctor Russel I was supplied with what I wanted, some books, and much instruction. Nobody knew the diseases of the East so well; and perhaps my escaping the fever at Aleppo was not the only time in which I owed him my life.
Being now restored to health, my first object was the journey to Palmyra. The Mowalli were encamped at no great distance from Aleppo. It was without difficulty I found a sure way to explain my wishes, and to secure the assistance of Mahomet Kerfan, the Shekh, but from him I learned, in a manner that I could not doubt, that the way I intended to go down to Palmyra from the north was tedious, troublesome, uncertain, and expensive, and that he did not wish me to undertake it at that time. It is quite superfluous in these cases to press for particular information; an Arab conductor, who proceeds with caution, surely means you well. He told me that he would leave a friend in the house of a certain Arab at Hamath[45], about half-way to Palmyra, and if in something more than a month I came there, and found that Arab, I might rely upon him without fear, and he would conduct me in safety to Palmyra.
I returned to Tripoli, and at the time appointed set out for Hamath, found my conductor, and proceeded to Hassia. Coming from Aleppo, I had not passed the lower way again by Antioch. The river which passes through the plains where they cultivate their best tobacco, is the Orontes; it was so swollen with rain, which had fallen in the mountains, that the ford was no longer visible. Stopping at two miserable huts inhabited by a base set called Turcomans, I asked the master of one of them to shew me the ford, which he very readily undertook to do, and I went, for the length of some yards, on rough, but very hard and solid ground. The current before me was, however, so violent, that I had more than once a desire to turn back, but, not suspecting any thing, I continued, when on a sudden man and horse fell out of their depth into the river.
I had a rifled gun flung across my shoulder, with a buff belt and swivel. As long as that held, it so embarrassed my hands and legs that I could not swim, and must have sunk; but luckily the swivel gave way, the gun fell to the bottom of the river, and was pickt up in dry weather by order of the basha, at the desire of the French merchants, who kept it for a relict. I and my horse swam separately ashore; at a small distance from thence was a caphar[46], or turnpike, to which, when I came to dry myself, the man told me, that the place where I had crossed was the remains of a stone bridge now entirely carried away; where I had first entered was one of the wings of the bridge, from which I had fallen into the space the first arch occupied, one of the deepest parts of the river; that the people who had misguided me were an infamous set of banditti, and that I might be thankful on many accounts that I had made such an escape from them, and was now on the opposite side. I then prevailed on the caphar-man to shew my servants the right ford.
From Hassia we proceeded with our conductor to Cariateen, where there is an immense spring of fine water, which overflows into a large pool. Here, to our great surprise, we found about two thousand of the Annecy encamped, who were quarrelling with Hassan our old friend, the kelp-merchant. This was nothing to us; the quarrel between the Mowalli and Annecy had it seems been made up; for an old man from each tribe on horseback accompanied us to Palmyra: the tribes gave us camels for more commodious travelling, and we passed the desert between Cariateen and Palmyra in a day and two nights, going constantly without sleeping.
Just before we came in sight of the ruins, we ascended a hill of white gritty stone, in a very narrow-winding road, such as we call a pass, and, when arrived at the top, there opened before us the most astonishing, stupendous sight that perhaps ever appeared to mortal eyes. The whole plain below, which was very extensive, was covered so thick with magnificent buildings as that the one seemed to touch the other, all of fine proportions, all of agreeable forms, all composed of white stones, which at that distance appeared like marble. At the end of it stood the palace of the sun, a building worthy to close so magnificent a scene.
It was impossible for two persons to think of designing ornaments, or taking measures, and there seemed the less occasion for this as Mr Wood had done this part already. I had no intention to publish any thing concerning Palmyra; besides, it would have been a violation of my first principle not to interfere with the labours of others; and if this was a rule I inviolably observed as to strangers, every sentiment of reason and gratitude obliged me to pay the same respect to the labours of Mr Wood my friend.
I divided Palmyra into six angular views, always bringing forward to the first ground an edifice, or principal group of columns, that deserved it. The state of the buildings are particularly favourable for this purpose. The columns are all uncovered to the very bases, the soil upon which the town is built being hard and fixed ground. These views are all upon large paper; the columns in some of them are a foot long; the figures in the fore-ground of the temple of the sun are some of them near four inches.