Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/414

354 the runaway soldier and the confidential slave with a sword, the three muleteers with as many matchlocks, and myself with a gun. At a given signal all rushed up the hill, bawling and vociferating to our opponents not to run away. We reached the summit without any opposition, then proceeded along the bank to the spot which our antagonists occupied, and on nearing it found to our great disgust that we had been frightened at eight bushes! Giorgio maintains to this day, I imagine, that the thieves had fled on seeing the spirit which we had manifested, or were scared perhaps at the noise which the assailants had made. We returned to our camp more dejected than if we had been discomfited, but soon forgot in a refreshing sleep the martial encounter with the supposed freebooters.

June 1st.—We left the Sajoor at 4 and on the following morning, rode into Aleppo, where we were welcomed by Naoom Azar, a respectable Syrian merchant, and almost the only Jacobite resident in the town, the remainder having joined the Church of Rome. We remained at Aleppo for a fortnight, during which time we had abundant opportunity of mixing with the native clergy, and of making known to them the doctrine and discipline of the English Church; but as it does not enter into the design of this work to treat of Syria, the reader must not be surprised if ray remarks thereon are few and cursory. This is the less to be regretted, seeing that the whole of this country is now so well known to Europe through the publications of the numerous travellers who visit it, that any detailed account introduced here would be as superfluous as it would be out of place.

The following is a tolerably correct estimate of the different Christian communities in Aleppo.

The Greek, or Holy Eastern Church, does not number at present more than 100 families, with one place of worship. They are called "Room el Kneesi," and by way of reproach "Fisfisi," i.e., Ephesians.

The Papal Greeks number 1,000 families, with two churches; they had no Bishop when we first visited Aleppo, but on our return in 1849 we found there Mutran Athanasius Tootoonjee, the ex-Bishop of Tripoli, well known to many of our clergy in England.