The Pasha of Damascus has entrusted to the Druses of the Haouran, the defence of the neighbouring villages against such of the Arabs as may be at war with him; but the Druses perform this service very badly: they are the secret friends of all the Arabs, to whom they abandon the villages of the plain, on the condition that their own brethren are not to be molested; and their Sheikhs receive from the Arabs presents in horses, cattle, and butter. While at Aaere I witnessed an instance of the good understanding between the Druses and the Arabs Serdie, whom I have already mentioned as having been at war with the Pasha, at the time of my visit to the Haouran: seeing in the evening some Arabs stealing into the court-yard of the Sheikh's house, I enquired who they were, and was told that they were Serdie, come in search of information, whether any more troops were likely to be sent against them from Damascus. It is for this kind of treachery that the Fellahs in the Haouran hate the Druses. [p.306] The authority both of the Druse and Turkish village Sheikh is very limited, in consequence of the facility with which the Fellahs can transport themselves and families to another village. I was present during a dispute between a Christian Fellah and a Druse chief, who wished to make the former pay for the ensuing year at the rate of the same number of Fedhans that he had paid for the preceding year, though he had now one pair of oxen less. After much wrangling, and high words on both sides, the Christian said, "Very well, I shall not sow a single grain, but retire to another village;" and by the next morning he had made preparation for his departure; when the Sheikh having called upon him, the affair was amicably settled, and a large dish of rice was dressed in token of reconciliation. When disputes happen between Druses, they are generally settled by the interference of mutual friends, or by the Sheikhs or their respective families, or by the great chiefs; or failing these, the two families of the two parties come to blows rather than bring their differences before the court of justice at Damascus. Among the Turks litigations are, in the last extremity, decided by the Kadhi of Damascus, or by the Pasha in person. The Christians often bring their differences before the tribunal of priests or that of the Patriarch of Damascus, and before the Kadhi in times when it is known that Christians can obtain justice, which is not the case under every governor.