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ROUTE ΤΟ ΒΛΊΤΟ. 23 ι Vili.] calcareous limestone) in their utter want of compactness. I have never seen in Cyprus any hard rock (except Jurassic limestone), whether gneiss, syenite, or others, that would yield an unblemished stone to the mason's chisel of ten feet in length by a square of two feet. This peculiarity is not the result of decay, but the entire mass has been fractured by volcanic disturbance and by the rapid cooling of molten matter Upheaved from beneath the sea. Red jasper is abundant in this locality, and is generally found in small pieces embedded in the marls, 'il discovered a very compact specimen weighing about 'BO O lbs., which I left at a house in Caravastasi until I might have an opportunity of conveying it to Larnaca. Upon crossing the mountain I arrived at a charming valley among the hills at an elevation of about 1200 feet above the sea, at the narrow entrance of which, between the sides of the gorge, was a Turkish village. I was quickly observed, and being quite alone, with the exception of my dogs, a Turkish woman, to whom I made a salaam, ran into a neighbouring house and sent her husband with a chair, that I might sit beneath an almond-tree. A few Turks gathered round me and insisted with much politeness that I should enter the house of the owner of the chair. It was a rough dwelling, but I was kindly welcomed, and cheese, bread, and curds were quickly arranged before me, together with a gourd-shell of clear cold water, from the spring which issued from the rocks in the gorge about fifty feet below the house. To the disappointment of my host I was obliged to decline all his offerings, except a draught of cold water, as I had breakfasted before leaving the camp. The Turk now showed me his gun, which he explained was of little

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