stery of Caracalla. Our road lay through some of the most
beautiful scenery imaginable. The dark blue sea was on my right at about
two miles distance; the rocky path over which I passed was of white
alabaster with brown and yellow veins; odoriferous evergreen shrubs were
all around me; and on my left were the lofty hills covered with a dense
forest of gigantic trees, which extended to the base of the great white
marble peak of the mountain. Between our path and the sea there was a
succession of narrow valleys and gorges, each one more picturesque than
the other; sometimes we were enclosed by high and dense bushes;
sometimes we opened upon forest glades, and every here and there we came
upon long and narrow ledges of rock. On one of the narrowest and
loftiest of these, as I was trotting merrily along thinking of nothing
but the beauty of the hour and the scene, my mule stopped short in a
place where the path was about a foot wide, and, standing upon three
legs, proceeded deliberately to scratch his nose with the fourth. I was
too old a mountain traveller to have hold of the bridle, which was
safely belayed to the pack-saddle; I sat still for fear of making him
lose his balance, and waited in very considerable trepidation until the
mule had done scratching his nose. I was at the time half inclined to
think that he knew he had a heretic upon his back, and had made up his
mind to send me and himself smashing down among the distant rocks. If
so, however, he thought better of it, and before long, to my great
contentment, we came to a place where the road had two sides to it
instead of one, and after a ride of five hours we arrived before the
tall square tower which frowns over the gateway of the monastery of
Caracalla.

CHAPTER XXV.

The Monastery of Caracalla--Its beautiful Situation--Hospitable
Reception--Description of the Monastery--Legend of its
Foundation--The Church--Fine Specimens of Ancient Jewellery--The
Library--The Value attached to the Books by the Abbot--He agrees to
sell some of the MSS.--Monastery of Philotheo--The Great Monastery
of Iveron--History of its Foundation--Its Magnificent
Library--Ignorance of the Monks--Superb MSS.--The Monks refute to
part with any of the MSS.--Beauty of the Scenery of Mount Athos.

The monastery of CARACALLA is not so large as St. Laura, and in many
points resembles an ancient Gothic castle. It is beautifully situated on
a pro