Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/31

Rh &c., at which we found them busy when visiting the place on the afternoon of our arrival. There is a ditch and wall, with towers and gates, erected by the Emperor Frederick Barbarosa, probably on the site of more ancient structures, and amongst the remains of Roman work are two marble pillars, one of which is broken, at the end of the Appian Way.

The country inland consists of an extensive plain, about 200 feet above the sea, richly cultivated in crops of maize, wheat, and cotton, with farm-steads surrounded by gardens of olives, figs, and vineyards. This plain is traversed by the high roads to Rome and Naples, and several ancient fountains, doubtless coming down from Roman times, still afford water for thirsty men and animals by the wayside. The plain, formed of shelly limestone, beds of marl, clay, and sand, was at a very recent geological period the bed of the sea, and its uprising has added thousands of square miles to Italian territory.

On Sunday morning Captain Briscoe held Divine Service in the cabin, and read the prayers and lessons with due solemnity and effectiveness; and at 3 o’clock on Monday morning we steamed out of the harbour.

We soon passed from the deep indigo-blue waters of the Adriatic to those of the Mediterranean, which are of a greener tinge, not unlike those of the Atlantic. The voyage was very agreeable, and we only once came in for bad weather, which did not last very long. The view from the deck of the “Tanjore” on Monday towards the north-east was always striking, even at the distance from the land at which we sailed. The bold and rocky mountains of Albania stretched away for miles from left to right; beyond which, at a distance of over thirty miles, might be seen the mountains of Greece; — the sun lighting up the peaks and scarped terraces of the white limestone of Epirus; the Island of Corfu lying in the fore-ground. Towards evening the coasts of Cephalonia and Zante came in sight.

Awaking next morning, we found ourselves approaching Crete (Candia), and now a stiff gale was blowing from the north-east. Rain also was falling, and we began to feel tolerably miserable. The breakfast table was not quite as fully occupied as usual, and some of us found it convenient to retire to our cabins before we had had time to partake of a hearty meal. However, about “tiffin” time the wind moderated, and we returned to the deck to watch the scenery of the island, along whose coast we were sailing at a distance of about twenty miles. The Island of Crete (as is well known) is mountainous; the peaks of Mount Ida, rising to 7,674 feet, were on this day cloud-capped. The sides are cut into deep ravines,