Owing to the warmth of the night the door of my apartment was open, and as I lay in bed contemplating the dark blue sky, I could fancy that my vision penetrated beyond the stars into the depths of the firmament. My mind was so filled with reflections on the worship of the Cyprian goddess that I could not sleep. Scenes that I, not long before, had witnessed in Egypt, during the feast of Machmal, presented themselves vividly to my mind. According to ancient custom, the ruler of Cairo sends every year a valuable piece of cloth, in which to wrap the holy stone, the Caaba. The setting out of the great caravan which bears this cloth to its destination is celebrated by a general festival, during the continuance of which the fanaticism of the Mohammedans fully displays itself. It was impossible to think of the great black meteoric stone and the ceremonies connected with it, without being forcibly reminded of the cone-shaped stone worshipped with similar rites by the Paphian priesthood. The Caaba stands surrounded by a wall, exactly as did the Cyprian idol: even the doves of Venus are not wanting in the temple court of the Caaba, where they are regarded as sacred birds. In the sanctuary of Jupiter Ammon, in the Lybian Desert, the idol was a stone of a conical shape, ornamented with emeralds and other jewels. In the temple at Delphos a similar stone was worshipped, was daily anointed with oil, and on high festivals was wrapped in white wool. In the same manner we find that in ancient temples, more especially in Syria and Asia Minor, Bethylia were worshipped; sacred stones, whose name, derived from Bethel (the place of God), indicates their Semitic origin; these stones were all meteoric, and it is natural enough that when such masses have fallen amid thunder and lightning, they should be believed to be of heavenly origin, and to possess extraordinary attributes. CHAPTER XVIII. SUMMER RESIDENCE IN CYPRUS. In an account given by General Cesnola of a similar journey to mine, across a portion of the island, he states that travellers in Cyprus will find it much more convenient to purchase, than to hire, animals, and speaks in high terms of the well-broken mules and donkeys he found. These donkeys, of a breed peculiar to Cyprus, are glossy and sleek, with large eyes; they are very intelligent and can travel as fast as a mule.