Forwards we marched with light spirits, through dense woods, varied by the occasional clearings, which are called "the rides" in old English forests, and sometimes we drew near to snug villages, or got glimpses of such, by the names of _Teereh_, _Hhaneen_, and _'Ain Nebel_; the latter at two hours from Tibneen; the people there are Christian, and they cultivate silk and tobacco. In some places we observed ancient sarcophagi, hewn into solid rock without being entirely detached, they had therefore been left unfinished, though partly ornamented. On a ground rising opposite to us I saw the screw of a large press, standing out of the field; this I was told is used for extracting resin from the red berries of terebinth trees for domestic lamp-lighting--a circumstance which of itself bespeaks the prevalence of woodland round about, and is a variation from the practice of that unhappy thin population on the plain of Esdraelon, who are obliged to use castor-oil for the same purpose, because the _palma Christi_ plants which produce the oil are of less value to Bedaween marauders than olive-trees would be, and damage done to them is of less importance than it would be among the latter. Arrived at _Rumaish_, the Shaikh rode up to his village while we awaited him under the branches of an old oak overshadowing the road. Rumaish is a neat little place, but, like almost every village throughout Palestine, oppressed by the heavy debts incurred with the forestallers of their produce (generally Europeans) in the seaport towns. Our friend returned with another horseman, and three men on foot, all armed with guns, as our future way lay through a Druse neighbourhood. These men for our escort were Maronite Christians, and they showered upon me abundant salutations, expressing their satisfaction at the circumstance of a Christian (myself) being treated with such distinguished consideration in Tibneen Castle, and concluding with the hope that I would visit them yearly, in order to give countenance to poor, depressed Christianity. The two priests of the village had desired to come out and greet me, but their people had persuaded them that the distance was too great for their walking in the sun--near mid-day in July.