Population, in 1874, said to be 80,000.

Bankers.-The Banque Otto

mane.

A diligence leaves Beyrout twice a day for Damascus; fare, coupé, 145 piastres; interior and banquette, 101 piastres.

Its

This is the most important commercial town in Syria. bay affords excellent anchorage. The city is beautifully situated on an eminence on the south side of the bay. The mountains rise

abruptly beyond the narrow plain along the coast. The walls of the old town have fallen, with the exception of a few remains, and pleasant

suburbs have been created outside. The streets of the old town, with the exception of that of the Franks, are narrow and dirty.

The history of Beyrout is an interesting one. It was a Phœnician city of great antiquity, and named by the Greeks and Romans Bérytus. Augustus made it a colony, and it was decorated with a theatre, baths, and amphitheatre by Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, who also instituted games and gladiatorial shows. It was celebrated under the later

Empire for its law school, founded by Alexander Severus, which preserved in the East the language and jurisprudence of the Romans.

When the Saracens overran Syria, they captured Beyrout, and during the Crusades it often changed hands. It was bombarded by the English and French in 1810. After the massacre of 1860 many Christians settled here, and since then its prosperity has increased. There are no interesting sights, the Bazaar is unattractive and the Mosque closed. The only ancient structure is the Tower near the harbour; Beyrout

is famous for its missionary and philanthropic institutions, which every traveller should visit.

The Syrian Protestant College is under the general control of trustees in the United States, but its local affairs are administered by a board of managers.

The College is conducted upon strictly Protestant and Evangelical principles, but is open to students from any of the Oriental sects and nationalities who will conform to its regulations.

"The sects already represented are the Protestant, Orthodox Greek, Papal Greek, Latin, Maronite, Druse, and Armenian. Direct proselytism is not attempted; but, without endeavouring to force Protestantism upon students of other sects, every effort is made by the personal intercourse of professors and instructors, and by the general exercises and arrangements of the institution, to bring each member into contact with the distinctive features of Evangelical truth.

The Medical Department is a special feature in connection with the American Mission.

The School furnishes a professional training in accordance with the principles of modern science, and is well attended by students, who receive a four-years' training.

There is also in connection with the Mission a Printing Press, from which a weekly newspaper is issued.

Divine Service every Sunday in the church of the American Mission.

The Brown Ophthalmic Hospital, founded by an American gentleman of that name, has been most successful.

The British Syrian Schools, founded in 1860, include a Normal Training Institution, Day School

(Elementary, Infant, Moslem), giving instruction to 680 pupils. Schools for the blind and for cripples, &c., &c. There are six branch schools in the Lebanon, with over 400 pupils.

The Jews' School at Beyrout is under the auspices of the Church of Scotland.

ENVIRONS OF BEYROUT.

A pleasant walk or drive from Beyrout is to the Pineta, where a band plays every Friday in the winter time. Another walk is to the Lighthouse. Carriages may be taken as far as to the new buildings of the American Mission. A charming excursion by boat may be made to the Pigeons' Grottoes, above which the hill commands an extensive and beautiful view.

The principal excursion is to the Dog River. The journey may be made there by boat, but as it is sometimes difficult to make the return journey by boat, it should not be attempted if time be press ing. On the road will be seen an old building called the Chapel of St. George, where tradition states he slew the dragon. Nahrel-Kelb (Dog River) rises in the Sannîn, and is so named from a tradition that when a foe approached, a dog, hewn in the rock, gave an alarm by barking. It was thrown into the sea, but by whom is not apparent, and a rock is still pointed out as "the Dog.' The great interest of this spot is not, however, so much the river, or the bold promontory which forms its southern bank, as the nine Sculptures cut in the face of the rock. Before reaching them, an inscription will be seen from which it is ascertained that the rocky pass was cut by order of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who is here designated

con

Germanicus, and thus fixes the date when the road was structed as between the years 176 and 180 A.D. The sculptures, nine in number, are three Egyptian and six Assyrian. One of the former is dedicated to Phthah, the god of Memphis; another to Ra, the Sun god; the third records certain expeditions of Sesostris (Rameses II.). The Assyrian sculptures are regarded as the work of Sennacherib, who invaded Syria, 701 B.C. Much discussion has taken place with reference to the origin and history of these sculptures, and for fuller information the traveller is referred to the works of M. de Sauley, Lepsius, Robinson, Layard, and others.

From Nahr-el-Kelb to Tripoli. There is a small Arabian Café here, and a day may be most pleasantly spent in this neighbourhood. Other excursions from Beyrout:-1. To Deir el-Kal'á, where there is a monastery 2,200 ft. above the sea level; guide necessary. 2. To Baabda, about seven miles from Beyrout. The journey may be made by carriage. It is the seat of the government of Lebanon. There is a garrison and an Emir's castle, from which there is a fine view.

ROUTE 173. BEYROUT TO SMYRNA AND CONSTANTINOPLE.

HE steamers of the Austrian Lloyd's leave Beyrout for Smyrna every alternate Monday evening, and stopping at Cyprus and Rhodes, reach Smyrna on Friday morning. Steamers of the French and Russian lines leave fortnightly. For these sailings, as they are liable to change, it is best to consult the published time tables.

Agents of the hotels board the steamers on their arrival at Smyrna. Passengers land at the English scala.

Hotels: Deux Augustes, 14 francs a day. Hotel de France. Navy Hotel. Population, 150,000.

Smyrna is one of the most ancient cities of Asia Minor, and the only one of the Greek cities which retains its importance to the present day. About 700 B.C. it formed part of the Ionian League. The ancient city, Old Smyrna, was situated on the northeast side of the gulf and claimed the honour of being the birthplace of Homer. It was destroyed by the Macedonians, and the present city was founded by Antigonus. It was laid out with great magnificence, and from its admirable situation became one of the most flourishing places in the world. It holds a distinguished place in early Christian history as one of the seven churches, and as the scene of the labours and martyrdom of its first bishop, Polycarp. The modern city is built partly on the plain at the head of the gulf, and partly on

the declivity of the ancient Mons Pagus. It has good quays and some fine buildings, though the houses are mostly low wooden ones. The streets, with few exceptions, are narrow and crooked. There are several Greek, Armenian, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Churches and twenty mosques. The harbour is excellent, large vessels anchoring close to the quays. A railway 70 miles long, constructed principally with English capital, leads to Aidin, an inland commercial town. Another railway to Cassaba, 61 miles long, was finished in 1866.

There are few remains of the ancient cities; the site of the Stadium, where Polycarp is supposed to have suffered martyrdom, is pointed out. Smyrna has been often ravaged by earthquakes, fire, and the plague. The city is governed by a pasha.

EPHESUS

Is forty-eight miles by railway from Smyrna. There is only one train a day each way, on week days, two on Sundays. Fare to Ephesus (Ayasouluk) and back, first class, 90 Egyptian piastres; second class, 66 piastres.

EPHESUS, one of the twelve Ionic cities of Asia Minor, was situated in Lydia, near the mouth of the river Caystrus. According to Strabo it was built by Androclus, though many cling to the tradition of its Amazonian origin. It was long before it attained any importance, despite its being a sacred city from an early period. It came into the possession of the Romans in the time of Augustus, when Strabo wrote that it was the "greatest place of trade of all the cities of Asia west of the Taurus." This was its condition when visited by St. Paul, who resided here three years. The destruc

tion of its great temple by the Goths in 260 A.D. gave it a blow from which it never recovered. In 341 A.D. it was the scene of the third council of the Christian Church.

The ruins of Ephesus comprise fragments of the theatre (alluded to in the account of St. Paul's preaching in the city) of the odeum,or music hall, and of various walls and towers. Near the western extremity of the town are some massive structures, which are regarded with much probability as the ruins of the famous Temple of Diana. This marvellous building, one of the seven wonders of the world, was originally built by Chersiphron, but destroyed by Herostratus on the night that Alexander the Great was born, 356 B.C. It was rebuilt in a style of great splendour by the inhabitants, women contributing their jewels to gain the necessary sum, but notwithstanding this enthusiasm it was not completed for 200 years. It was the largest Greek temple

ever constructed, its length being 425 ft., its width 220, and the number of its columns 128, of which 36 were carved and their height 60 ft. More wonderful than the temple itself were the numberless statues which adorned it, executed by the best masters of Greece. Plundered by Nero and burned by the Goths, it was finally destroyed in 381 A.D. by the iconoclasts. The site of Ephesus is now occupied by some wretched villages.

The Austrian Lloyd's steamer from Beyrout to Constantinople, via Smyrna, stops a day at Smyrna, giving passengers time to go to Ephesus and back. Persons desiring to remain longer will find frequent steamers to Constantinople and all other principal ports. The Austrian Lloyd's steamer which leaves Smyrna on Saturday afternoon reaches Constantinople on Monday at 2 p.m.

For description of Constantinople, see Route 166, in this Guide Book.

LGERIA is situated on the north coast of Africa, and is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean, on the east by Tunis, on the south by Sahara, and on the west by Morocco. It was a part of the Turkish Empire until 1830, when it became a French colony. The area of Algeria is about 173,000 square miles, the population in 1877 about 3,000,000, of which 220,000 are Europeans. The Atlas Mountains run parallel to the coast line. Behind these are vast plains

called Sebkhas, interspersed with salt lakes which stretch back to a second chain of mountains, beyond which, again, lies the great desert of Saliara, extending to the banks of the Niger. The plains and valleys in the northern part of Algeria which open out toward the sea are very fertile, such as those around Algiers, Oran, &c. They form the Tell, once one of the granaries of Italy. The southern part of the country beyond the Atias range partakes of the nature of the Sahara, but contains many oases, and is

As a HEALTH RESORT Algeria has for some time attracted much attention. Dr. Jackson in his "Medical Climatology," says:—

"As a resort for persons threatened with Pulmmary Consump tion, Algiers is deservedly in good repute. The climate is far from being of a relaxing character; on the contrary, it combines with its usual mildness and equability a decidedly bracing and tonic influence. Consumptive patients, in whom there is a wellmarked deposit of crude tubercle, may pass one or more winters in Algiers with advantage, under circumstances which afford nature the most ample leisure for repair, ing the disorganized structure. The sooner the patient is placed under its influence the more likely is the result to be beneficial. when the disease has gone beyond what I have mentioned, when the patient is obviously sinking under the malady, Algiers is not to be recommended."

But

Algeria reached a high degree of prosperity under the Romans. Its conquest by the Vandals under the famous Genseric in 440, threw it back into a state of barbarism. About the year 935, Algiers, Al-Jezira, ie. the island, was built by an Arab, Prince ZEIRI, whose successor ruled the land until 1148. In 1492 the Moors and Jews, who had been driven out of Spain, settled in Algeria, and at once began to avenge themselves on their

Spanish persecutors by piracy. Ferdinand, King of Spain, attacked them on this account, and captured Algiers in 1509, and erected fortifications on the island which forms its harbour. Harade Barbarossa, the Greek renegade, being called to the aid of Algeria, became famous as a Turkish pirate chief.

This laid the foundation of the Turkish dominion in Algeria, for when Barbarossa arrived he turned his bands of corsairs against the emir, whom he murdered, and made himself Sultan of Algiers. The Spanish marched against him from Oran, and he was defeated and beheaded in 1518. His brother was then chosen Sultan. He put himself under the protection of the Ottoman Court, and by the help of a Turkish army drove the Spaniards out of the country and established the system of despotism and piracy which lasted until 1830.

Under the Moslem rule Algeria was continually at war with Christian countries. During the French revolution their piracies diminished owing to the presence in the Mediterranean of powerful fleets, but at the close of the war they were recommenced as vigorously as ever. This brought down on them the vengeance of the Christian Powers. The Americans took the lead, attacked the Algerine fleet on June 20th, 1815, defeated it, and compelled the dey to acknowledge the inviolability of the American flag. The English and Dutch fleets bombarded Algiers about the same time, and in a few hours half the city was in ruins. The dey was forced to yield, and a treaty was concluded (1816). Piracy continued after this, Algerine corsairs even going into the North Sea. In 1830, owing to the