especially when the gardens have still their
cultivable flowers remaining, but running riot within their marked-out
beds; these had now been sixteen years neglected, yet the roses and
myrtle only required pruning.

We proceeded to the convent, the road was stony, and we had to find the
way by twilight and starlight.

At the great door we were received by the new president, and several of
the clergy chanting psalms for welcome, and the great bell was ringing at
the same time. I could not but attribute all this unusual display to the
operation of political affairs in Europe.

On taking possession of the rooms allotted to us, I received a visit of
the Greek Catholic Bishop of Saida, he being there on business connected
with the election of a new patriarch in the place of Maximus; his
deportment was that of a man of polite society. Our rooms were lighted
by huge ecclesiastical tapers of wax.

Next morning, after returning the visit of the bishop at the patriarchal
residence in front of the convent, we breakfasted in the corridor with
the president and another of the convent clergy. Our ladies then set
themselves to sketching the view from the window, and talking about
church singing from notes, whereupon the president sent a deacon to fetch
his book, and the latter sang for us an anthem, the vociferation and
screechings of which was so alarming, not to mention the nasal twang,
that my niece had to run away to indulge in an obstreperous laugh, and
her senior companion had also much difficulty in refraining from the same
kind of expression of opinion. The Oriental system of church musical
notation is very complicated, having no stave-lines or bars, but only
certain arbitrary marks over the notes to designate high or low, plain or
flourishing.

Afterwards we inspected the church; then the refectory, and there they
showed us the desk at which one of the community reads to the rest at
meal time, triumphantly assuring me that they read the Bible, yet the two
books I found on the desk were, one the Apocryphal writings, the other
some homilies of St Basil, under whose rule the convent is constituted.

Next we walked over the roof, and looked at the great bell, and the gong;
the view, as might be expected, repaid the trouble. After this the
kitchen and the store-rooms.

On leaving the convent we proceeded to the nunnery in the neighbourhood.
The ladies visited the inmates, while I remained in an outer apartment
chatting