'My father had counted a hundred and ten years when he left us, Azaz,
and he had twenty-four children, and when he was at the point of death
he told us two things: one was, never to forget what we were; and the
other, that never in his time had one like us ever visited our country.'

'Eagles again fly over Gibel Kiflis: methinks the strangers must be at
hand.'

'May their visit lead to no evil to them or to us!'

'Have you misgivings?'

'We are alone among men: let us remain so.'

'You are right. I was once at Haleb (Aleppo); I will never willingly
find myself there again.'

'Give me the mountains, the mountains of our fathers, and the beautiful
things that can be seen only by one of us!'

'They are not to be found in the bazaars of Haleb; in the gardens of
Damascus they are not to be sought.'

'Oh! who is like the Queen who reigns over us? I know to whom she is to
be compared, but I will not say; yet you too know, my brother in arms.'

'Yes; there are things which are not known in the bazaars of Haleb; in
the gardens of Damascus they are not to be sought.'

Karaguus, the black-eyed pigeon, brought tidings to the Queen of the
Ansarey, from her agent Darkush, that two young princes, one a Syrian,
the other a Frank, wished to enter her territories to confer with her
on grave matters, and that he had reason to believe that one of the
princes, the Frank, strange, incredible as it might sound, was one of
themselves. On the evening of the next day, very weary, came Ruby-lips,
the brother of Black-eyes, with the reply of her Majesty, ordering
Darkush to grant the solicited pass, but limiting the permission of
entrance into her dominions to the two princes and two attendants. As
one of these, Baroni figured. They did not travel very rapidly. Tancred
was glad to seize the occasion to visit Hameh and Aleppo on his journey.

It was after quitting the latter city, and crossing the river
Koweik, that they approached the region which was the object of their
expedition. What certainly did not contribute to render their progress
less difficult and dangerous was the circumstance that war at this
moment was waged between the Queen of the Ansarey and the Pasha of
Aleppo. The Turkish potentate had levied tribute on some villages which
owned her sway, and which, as he maintained, were not included in the
ancient composition paid by the Ansarey to the Porte in full of all
demands. The consequence was, that parties of the Ansarey