CHAPTER XIV.
LAST SCENES IN HÂIFA.
After Easter, we frequently enjoyed the society of English travelers, who paused for a time in the neighborhood, either in their white tents among the trees outside the town, or at the convent on Mount Carmel.
On the 23d of April, the beautiful little yacht Sylphide arrived, and was at anchor for several weeks off Hâifa. I spent some delightful hours on board. Captain Leyland, who was then the owner, had truly made this yacht a home upon the waters, for he was accompanied by his wife, his daughter, with her governess, his son, with a tutor, and by Dr. Antony, a physician and amateur photographer.
Sunday, the 24th of May, was the first day of the great Moslem feast of Bairam, which follows the long and fatiguing fast of Ramadan. The little town of Hâifa was, in consequence, unusually gay. All the people were dressed in their best, and the yacht Sylphide, and Her Majesty's ship Desperate, a man-of-war, then in port, were decked with flags and streamers. 'Akka looked as if it were being besieged again, as the guns of salute flashed from the ramparts in quick succession, enveloped the city in clouds of smoke and boomed heavily across the bay.
On Thursday, 11th of June, there was a grand ecclesiastical procession, in honor of the fête of "Corpus Domini." The monks and priests of Mount Carmel, and nearly all the Consuls, assisted in the ceremony. The Moslems did not offer the slightest opposition to the display, although there had never before been such a demonstration in Hâifa. My brother was requested to raise the English flag on the occasion, and to allow his kawasses, who were Moslems, to
