as we approached the town covered with chalk hills sprinkled over with a stunted brushwood.
The sight of Birejik reminded me of my visit to the Euphrates Expedition in 1836, just before the two steamers started on their voyage of discovery, one, the "Tigris," never to be heard of more. Long shall I remember the energy displayed both by officers and men, and withal the unanimity and cheerfulness which prevailed among them. "Port William," the name given to the station on the western bank of the river where the boats were put together, was all life and activity from morning till night, each pursuing his avocation with a right good will under the able and zealous superintendence of Colonel Chesney. Sunday came round and with it a suspension of all work; the bell was rung for divine service on board the "Euphrates," the ensign was lowered, and all assembled on the quarter-deck publicly to recognize the Almighty Ruler of the universe and their individual dependance on Him. The moral effect of this outward respect paid to religion upon the surrounding natives must have been great because of its singularity, and I doubt not tended in a high degree to preserve among the members of the Expedition that sobriety, order, and good feeling, for which they were remarkable.
On our second journey to Mosul in 1849 we were obliged to spend a quarantine of twelve days at Birejik, when I had abundant leisure to examine all the objects of interest in the neighbourhood, a short account of which I shall now proceed to lay before my readers.
Birejik is built upon a rather abrupt slope, the base of which touches the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The country around consists chiefly of chalk hills, and as the town is constructed of the same material it would be hardly visible at any distance were it not for a narrow belt of gardens which crowns its summit. The houses are fiat-roofed, and all the windows open into a court-yard. Besides a covered bazaar containing about sixty shops, there are five mosques and three baths in the place; but none of these can lay claim to any antiquity. The inhabitants are pleased to say that before the last earthquake of 1826 Birejik could boast of several ancient palaces; but of these no vestige remains, and all the modern buildings are of the plainest
