s.

During the period the pilgrims remain at Pooree they are not allowed to
eat anything but what has been offered to the idol, and that they have
to buy at a high price from the priests.

* * * * *

CYPRUS.

[Illustration: Letter C.]

Cyprus, an island in the Levant, is said to have taken its name from the
number of shrubs of that name with which it once abounded. From this
tall shrub, the cypress, its ancient inhabitants made an oil of a very
delicious flavour, which was an article of great importance in their
commerce, and is still in great repute among Eastern nations. It once,
too, abounded with forests of olive trees; and immense cisterns are
still to be seen, which have been erected for the purpose of preserving
the oil which the olive yielded.

Near the centre of the island stands Nicotia, the capital, and the
residence of the governor, who now occupies one of the palaces of its
ancient sovereigns. The palaces are remarkable for the beauty of their
architecture, but are abandoned by their Turkish masters to the
destructive hand of time. The church of St. Sophia, in this place, is
built in the Gothic style, and is said to have been erected by the
Emperor Justinian. Here the Christian Kings of Cyprus were formerly
crowned; but it is now converted into a mosque.

The island was formerly divided into nine kingdoms, and was famous for
its superb edifices, its elegant temples, and its riches, but can now
boast of nothing but its ruins, which will tell to distant times the
greatness from which it has fallen.

The southern coast of this island is exposed to the hot winds from all
directions. During a squall from the north-east, the temperature has
been described as so scorching, that the skin instantly peeled from the
lips, a tendency to sneeze was excited, accompanied with great pain in
the eyes, and chapping of the hands and face. The heats are sometimes so
excessive, that persons going out without an umbrella are liable to
suffer from _coup de soleil_, or sun-stroke; and the inhabitants,
especially of the lower class, in order to guard against it, wrap up
their heads in a large turban, over which in their journeys they plait a
thick shawl many times folded. They seldom, however, venture out of
their houses during mid-day, and all journeys, even those of caravans,
are performed in the night. Rains are also rare in the summer season,
and long droughts banish vegetation,