On the 19th passed under _Dahr-el-chûr_, supposed to be the highest summit of the Anti-Libanian chain of mountains. The following day having set out four and a half hours before day-break, the muleteers lost the road, and we were obliged to wait for sunrise, chilled with the intense cold of these high mountains, which we felt severely in our hands and feet. Arrived at Balbec about noon the same day, after descending for nearly three hours through a ravine, or deep glen in the mountain, a rugged and, in some places, a steep road. From the high grounds we had a perfect view of Balbec, and went to seek our lodging under some walnut-trees, on the North of the castle. Some precaution was necessary against the _Metaweli_, Mohammedans of the sect of Ali, who once formed a powerful and ferocious tribe; even now, though crushed in a great degree by the exertions of Jezzâr, they continue to persecute strangers, who have often suffered from their predatory disposition. The antiquities of Balbec have been often described, and I did not observe any thing particular to add on that topic. Proceeded to _Zahhlé_, a pleasant town among the mountains. Observed the Lombardy poplar in abundance. At _Zahhlé_ met with a young man, a Druse, who informed me, that near Balbec, two or three years ago, in digging, the body of a man was found, interred in a kind of vault, having a piece of unstamped gold in his mouth; near him was a number of leaden plates, marked with characters to them unknown; they were sold and melted. In another place was discovered a small statue, very perfect, but I could not learn where it had been deposited. _Zahhlé_ is a large town, chiefly, if not solely inhabited by Christians; it sends forth seven hundred men fit for war. The town is divided into five districts, each having its separate Shech, who pays tribute to the Emîr of the Druses; they complain of oppression; and the state of the place, and the adjacent country, shews that their complaints are not void of foundation. The town is sheltered by mountains, but the locusts are very destructive. Tobacco is one of the chief articles of cultivation. A rivulet rolling from the rocks turns the mills and waters the grounds; air salubrious and never tainted with excessive heat. Near _Zahhlé_ saw what is called the _tomb of Noah_, a long structure, seemingly part of an aqueduct. It extends about sixty feet, the stature of Noah according to Oriental tradition. The pilgrims who came formerly to worship in the mosque near it were very numerous; and the religious revenue is said to amount to three hundred purses annually. Among the mountains the people have an air of health not observable in the cities. Magic is still credited, and several are accused before the bishop for incantations, producing love or enmity. The pious antipathy between the Greeks and Catholics reigns here in all its fury.