was recently told, by the missionary, Dr. J. Wolf, that Abdula Pasha and the Emir Beshir were residing at Constantinople, but since then the public journals have announced the death of the latter, and that one of his sons had embraced Mahomedanism.
I was present at the siege of Acre, and found an opportunity of employing myself in surgical attendance and operations ; as the garrlson used to make nightly sallies, and do a great deal of mischief. I had a dozen native surgeons, or rather barbers ( jerahs ), as assistants, to whom I gave theoretical and practical information.
Tigers are rarely to be met with on Mount Lebanon, yet during my stay an order was issued by Emir Beshir, that the muzzle of every slain tiger should be sent to the government, in order to prevent the use of it as a poisonous drug. This strange order induced me, when at Lahore, to examine its virtue, the results of which I refer to in the second volume of this work, under the denomination of Tigrineum.
My passion for antiquities prompted me to undertake a voyage to Alexandria; accordingly I made a trip, which was attended with a very fortunate result. I went on to Damascus, via Haspeye and Rasheye, from whence I continued my journey to Homs and Hama, in Syria, with the caravan of hajjees ( pilgrims ). At the latter places I purchased a considerable collection of old coins, in gold,silver and copper, as also several engraved gems. I made my way back to Beyrout, via Akar and Tripoli, where I embarked on board an English vessel for Alexandria. This short journey had also its peculiar adventures; for it happened in a period when, after the revolution in Greece, the Mediterranean was infested by numerous pirates. In the evening of the same day on which we lost sight of the snowy summits of the Lebanon, we discovered, by the light of the moon, that we were surrounded by five ships-of-war. Our captain was, in insulting language, summoned by the respective captains of these vessels to come on board their ships, so that he was at a loss which of them to
