New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-07-12
FROM REw-YoRK To NlNEvEH.
XII.
.nI ~ II
XII.
LIFE IN A SYRIAN LAzARETTO.
Eaitsri.I csussponseses Of The ~ Y. TrbuEs.
IN QUARANTINE, BgYRouT SYRIA
Saturday Auril IL 1872

Everybody has heard Of Quarantine,
Travelled persons who do not precisely know VIVA.
il is, and who no doubt often wonder why 1t sho"'a
be such bugbear to travellers in the Oren..
confess / am still somewhat in the same P'
ment myself although have already been 1"e"
tv-four hours in quarantine. But as one OF .ne
pecularities of the place is that one can 90 no'i
ing. however good a will he has, propose " &c.
down nv experiences each day, hoping 'nas anu
INV readers NAV obtain some insight INTO the ma
tu,s ~ ouarantine before the term OF my prooa-
ton is over. ~
LIEF Alexandria on the afternoon OF the llth
;,st We had head wind and rough sea, and
remained in a torpid state during most of the
xovaee. There was rain the second night, but
when the clouds cleared away yesterday morning,
we were gIaddened by the sight of Lebanon, whose
summits glittered with streaks of snow. The
lower slopes of the mountains were green with
fields and forests, and BeyrOut, when we ran up to
IT, seemed buried amsst ont OF sight, in the foliage
Of it's mulberry groves. The town is built along
the northern side of a peninsula, which projects
about two miles from the main lines Of the coast,
our arrival, several large boats came alongside.
and we were told to get our baggage IN order and
embark for Quarantine. The time necessary to
purify traveller arriving from Egypt from suspis
cion of the plague, is five days, but the days OF
arrival and departure are counted, so that the du-
rance amounts to but three full days. The Cap
tain of the Osiris mustered the passengers to-
yetber and informed them that each one would
be obliged to pay six pastres for the transporta-
ton of himself and his baggage. Two heavy
lighters are drawn up to the foot of the gangway
but as soon as the first bsx tumbles into them the
men tumble out. They attach the craft by cables
TO two smaller boats, in which they sit, to tow the
infected loads. We are all sent down together,
Jews, Turks and Christians confused pile of
men, women, children and goods. A little boat
from the city, in which there are representatives
from the two hotels, hoyers around us, and cards
are thrown to us. The jealous agents wish to
supply us Immediately with tables, beds and all
other household appliances, but we decline their
help until we shall arrive at the mysterious spot.
At last we float off;-two lighters full of infected
though respectable material, towed by oarsmen Of
most scurvy appearance, but free from every sus-
picion of faint.
The sea is still rough, the sun is hot, and a fat
Jewess becomes sea. sick. An Italian Jew rails at
the boatnen ahead, in the KeapOlitan patois, for
the distance is long, the Quarantine being on the
Landslide of Beyrout. We see the rows of little
yellow houses on the cliff, and with great APP
parent risk Of being swept upon the breakers,
are tugged into a small cove, where there is
.af 20
the boatmen jump into the water and push the
lighters against the stone stairs, while we unload
our own baggage. A tin cup filed with sea.wa-
ter is placed before u.s. and we each drop six pias-
tres into it-for money, strange as it may SEEM
is infectious. BY this time, the guGrdi0nos
have had notice OF our arrival, and we go up
with them to choose our habitations. There are
several rows Of one-story houses overlooking the
sea, each containing two empty rooms, to be had
for hundred piastres; but square two-story
dwelling stands apart from them, and the whole of
it may be had for thrice that sum. There are
seven Frank prisoners, and we take it for ourselves
But the rooms are bare, the kitchen empty and we
learn the important fact that Quarantine is dur
ance vile, without even the bread and water. The
guardiano says the agents Of the hotel are at the
gate, and we can order from them whatever we |
want. Certainly: but at their own price, for We |
are wholly at their mercy. However, we 60
down stairs, and the chief officer, who accompa-
MES us, gets into corner as we pass and holds
a stick before him to keep us off, He is now
clean but il his garments brush against ours he is
lost. The people we meet in the grounds step
aside with great respect to let us pass, but if
offer them our hands, no one would dare to touch
q fingers tip.
Here is the gate a double screen of wire, with
an interval between, so that contact is impossible
There is a crowd ofndividuals outside, all anxious
to execute commissions. Among them is the |
agent Of the hotel, who proposes to FIJI our bare
rooms with furniture, send US a servant and cook, |
and charge us the same as il we lodged with HIM.
The bargain is closed at once, and he hurres off to
make the arrangements. 1t is now o'clock, and
the bracing air of the headland gives terrible APP
petite to those Of us who have been sea-sick for
forty-eight hours. But there is no food within
the Quarantine except apatch of green wheat,
and well in the limestone rock. We two Amer
cans join company with our roommate, an Alex
andran Of Italian parentage, who has come to
Beg rost to be married. and make the tour of our
territory. There is path along the cliffs over
hanging the sea, with glorious views of Lebanon,
up to his snowy top, the pine-forssts at his base,
and the long cape wherein the city hes at full
length, reposing beside the waves. The Mahom-
medsns and Jews, in companies oft ten, Ito save ex-
pensel are lodged in the smaller dwellings, where
they have already aroused torpid fleadom. We
return and take survey of our companions in the
pavilion a French woman, with two ugly and
peevish children, Zone at the bresst,) in the next
room, and three French gentlemen in the other
a merchant, young man with hair of extraordi.
nary length, and a 6iatsur, or sik-manufacturer,
middle aged and cynical. The frat is gentleman
in every sense OF the word the latter e ndnrn HE