Before we left Bâlbek, the bishop advised us to take another road than that which we had intended to take, as the news had come that the other side of Libanon was in a very disturbed state, and that the population was in insurrection. However, as the whole country was in commotion, and as we had never met with any difficulty on that account, we cared but little about it, and remarked to him that we were only going through the Christian districts, whose inhabitants would be friendly to us. We quitted Bâlbek a little before sunset, and crossed the narrow plain, in order to pass the night in Dêr el Ahmar, the “red convent,” and the next day, with renewed strength, to ascend Libanon almost to its highest point. During our whole journey through Palestine and Syria, we had, till now, been favoured with the most beautiful weather. From day to day, according to the calculations of other seasons, we might expect continued rains, and, nevertheless, we had only once been wet through, on our return from the Dead Sea to Jerusalem. The broad plain, Begâa, which we crossed now a second time, is after the rains, at this season, not passable; and the numerous mountain-streams of the well-watered Libanon, are generally so swollen, that, on account of the want of bridges, they can only be crossed with great danger. This evening the sky was clouded over, in a threatening manner, the darkness of the night was impenetrable, and at last, when we had just perceived some lights in the distance, at Dêr el Ahmar, we lost our way upon a desert, full of clefts, and the ground broken and rough. At last hardly were we arrived when a heavy rain poured down. We shared again a large room with a whole Christian peasant family, and passed one of the most unquiet of nights. Among the women and children, who appeared to be ill, there was a constant groaning and fretting. In a short time the continued rain penetrated the roof and dropped upon the beds; persons were sent up to heap fresh sand upon it, and to roll it with heavy pieces of stone pillars, (kept upon every house ready for this purpose,) which, however, sent so much lime and dirt down upon us, that we were obliged to beg that the operation might be discontinued. In a little shed near the door, lay a dog with a numerous progeny, whose bed must have also been wet, as they began to whine and yelp most piteously. Finally, our host was with repeated and much noise knocked up, in order to procure a horse for a soldier, who was carrying letters on further in haste for the Pasha. Consequently, during the whole night we could gain no rest; and if the Arabian proverb says, that the king of the fleas holds his court in the holy city of the Jews, I have every reason to suppose that he has removed his residence from there (where we laid comfortably) to this place.