There was also an Hungarian officer,
belonging to the Turkish army. who had charge
of the mounted portion of the corps. And
lastly there was our guide, the "English Beg,"
who seemed to be a sort of Sir Richard
Mayne.

The police corps of Lebanon is composed
of two–thirds Christians and one–third non–
Christians. There are among them about one
hundred mounted, and four hundred infantry
policemen. Besides the Europeans attached to
the force, there are native captains, lieutenants,
sergeants, and corporals. The horsemen are
paid about three English pounds a month, out
of which they must feed themselves and keep
their horses; the latter being their own property.
Remounts are paid for—a fixed sum—by the
government. The horses did not appear to be
very good, and were all in poor condition. The
mounted men were well and suitably dressed,
but very ill armed. Their clothing was made
in the Zouave fashion, open jacket and waistcoat
of a dull red coloured cloth, trimmed with
black braid; large dark trousers, something like
English knickerbockers; red Turkish boots,
and the fez cap. In the way of arms, the swords
of the mounted police were good. Each man,
we were told, brought with him his own sabre,
the weapon to which all natives of Syria are
accustomed from their childhood, and which
they are taught to use in early years. But
their fire–arms were detestable, consisting of a
long heavy French infantry musket, carried by a
sling behind the shoulder, which to a mounted
man must be an utter impossibility. The troops
were at drill, under a French sergeant, when we
entered their parade–ground, and they went
through some of the more simple manœuvres in
a very creditable manner.

The dismounted, or infantry, police corps
was also at drill. The men of this small battalion
—about four hundred strong—were clad in
dark blue uniform made Zouave fashion, and
trimmed with red braid. They were exceedingly
well armed with French Minié rifles and
sword bayonets. Both individually, and in a
body, these men looked much more serviceable,
much more workmanlike, than the mounted
police. They were being drilled by a French
sergeant of chasseurs–à–pied, the French captain
looking on and superintending the parade. I
was surprised to see how well they moved
in column and line, and how cleverly they
handled their arms, considering the very short
time—about four months—they had been
under instruction as regular troops. Their
native captains and subalterns seemed to
understand their work thoroughly; and, although
the men were put through some complicated
movements, very few mistakes were made.
There were also four or five native buglers, who
sounded the French calls upon French bugles.
The words of command were given in Arabic,
into which language the whole of the French
drill–hook, we were told, had been translated by
the French officer who instructed the police
corps. Each individual foot police soldier is
paid about one pound sterling a month, out of
which he has to feed himself.

About half an hour before sunset, a
messenger came to request we would join the pasha
in the garden. There we found his excellency,
who, sitting on a chair, and smoking a long
chiboque, appeared glad to have got rid of his
office work for the day. Near him were several
empty seats, placed for our party; pipes were
presented to all, and small glasses of raki,
intended to serve as a whet before dinner, were
handed round; so were small plates of olives,
cucumbers, pistachio nuts, and other provocatives.
The party was composed of the
persons who had met at breakfast—namely, the
pasha, his Armenian chaplain, his French private
secretary, the English and French officers on
his staff, myself and my travelling companion.
The conversation was general, and always led
by Daoud Pasha, who appeared to think of
nothing else in the world but what he called
"his mission" to pacify the Lebanon tribes, to
introduce order into the country, and to teach
the people to honour and fear the laws against
those who murder, rob, or use violence.

Shortly after dark, dinner was announced.
We sat down to a table which would have done
honour to any country gentleman's house in
England. After dinner, coffee was served, and,
with the coffee, pipes and cigarettes. We
retired early; but, before we went, the pasha
called my companion and myself aside, and
apologised—as he said, in anticipation—for what
we should be obliged to see next morning,
which was the hanging corpse of a culprit who
had been found guilty of a deliberate murder,
and had been condemned to death. "I signed
his death–warrant this afternoon," said the
pasha; "he will be hanged shortly after
midnight, and he will be left hanging until noon
to–morrow. There is only one place where
criminals can be executed, and that is on a tree
just outside the gate, so you will see the body
hanging to–morrow, which I am very sorry for,
but it can't be helped."

They have a curious way of doing things in
Turkey. The criminal of whom the pasha had
spoken was hanged during the night, and there he
was hanging to a tree—his feet barely a yard from
the ground—when we got up next morning. The
execution had taken place soon after midnight,
when all the little world of Beit–ed–Deen was
asleep; and no one, except the jailer, the
executioner, and their respective assistants, had been
present. The culprit did not know for certain that
he was to die until about sunset the previous
evening, when he was taken out of prison, and
left in a room with a priest, who had come to
confess him, being a Christian. In the morning,
when people got up to their work, there was the
corpse swaying gently round every now and then,
as the wind moved the tree. It was a horrible
sight.

By seven o'clock we were up and dressed,
but learned that the pasha had drank his
coffee, smoked his pipe, and been at work with
his different secretaries, for upwards of an hour.