February 22d--Early this morning we set off in the direction of Hamah, and after a march of an hour and a half over the plain, reached Tel Szabba [Arabic], an insulated hillock in the plain; half an hour from it lies a lake called Behirat Terimsy [Arabic], or, simply El Terimsy. Its extent is from S.W. to N.E. about five to six miles long by two or three in breadth; its waters are scarcely any where deeper than five feet; but the depth of mud at the bottom is so great as to render it fatal for any one to enter the lake, at least so I was informed by several peasants who joined us. The water of the lake diminishes considerably in the summer time, but very seldom dries up entirely; the only instance upon record was during the great drought in 1810, when it is asserted that springs were discovered in the bed of the lake. I am not quite certain whether it communicates on the western side with the Orontes; our guides were not unanimous in their answers; the river, however, must at least pass very close to the lake. On the southern borders of the lake are the Tels or mounds of earth, called Telloul el Fedjera [Arabic]; on the E. side is the Tel Waoyat [Arabic]. The soil in the vicinity of the lake is a soft clay; and I had great SEIDJAR. [p.143]difficulty in extricating my mare from the swamp as I approached to reconnoitre the lake, which our company had left to the right of the road. In the spring the earth hardens and is then covered with most luxuriant pasturage. In March the peasants and Arabs of all the neighbouring districts and villages, as well as the inhabitants of Hamah, send their horses and mules here to graze under the care of herdsmen, who regularly pitch their tents near the Waoyat, and each of whom receives a piastre a head from the owners. The cattle remain here till April. The best pasture seems to be on the S. and E. sides, the banks of the lake being there lower than on the opposite sides. It was here, perhaps, that the Seleucidae fed their herds of elephants.