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King passed six weeks at Deir el-Kamr in the study of Syriac, with Asaad el-Shidiak for his teacher, a remarkable young Maronite, who will have a prominent place in this history. On returning to Beirût, Mr. King wrote a farewell letter to his friends in Palestine and Syria, which Asaad translated into excellent Arabic, and afterwards multiplied copies for distribution.
Another, named Asaad el-Maalûk, exercised a silent influence for good, in a school and upon the people of another mountain village where he taught. Through him, a priest in the Greek church of that village, named Elias, became gradually enlightened.
Tod, an English merchant, accompanied by Wortabet, obtained an audience with him, and made known the case of Asaad. The Pasha directed the Emir Beshir to furnish ten soldiers to Mr. Tod, with authority to search the convent of Canobeen by force, if necessary. He was received by the Patriarch and priests of the convent with dismay.
Yet so valuable were his services, that he remained a while with the Patriarch, copying, illustrating, and arranging certain important documents of the Patriarchate, and making out from them a convenient code of church-laws for the Maronite nation, which has since been adopted for general use. But for some reason Asaad felt himself unwelcome, and returned home dissatisfied.
When Kemerezzeman saw them on this wise, he said to them, 'What ails you? Whereupon they rose and kissing his hands, answered, perverting the case and saying, 'Know, O King, that thy sons, who have been reared in thy bounty, have played thee false and outraged thee in the persons of thy wives. When he heard this, the light in his eyes became darkness and his reason fled for the excess of his rage; then said he to them, 'Expound this thing to me. 'O King of the age, answered Budour, 'know that these many days past thy son Asaad has been wont to send me letters and messages to solicit me to lewdness, and I still forbade him from this, but he would not be forbidden.
Among them were Asaad and Phares Shidiak, from the Maronite Church; a lady from the Latin Church; Dionysius, Gregory Wortabet, Jacob, and the wife of Dionysius, of the Armenian Church; the wife of Wortabet and Yooseph Leflufy, of the Greek Catholic Church; and Asaad Jacob and Tannûs el-Haddad, of the Greek Church.
Meanwhile, Queen Merjaneh, coming up with Behram's ship, questioned him of Asaad; but he swore to her that he was not with him and that he knew nothing of him. She searched the ship, but found no trace of Asaad, so took Behram and carrying him back to her castle, would have put him to death; but he ransomed himself from her with all his good and his ship and she released him and his men.
King's departure from Beirût, Asaad, at the request of the mission, commenced an Arabic grammar-school for native boys. His leisure hours were devoted to composing a refutation of the doctrines contained in Mr. King's "Farewell Letter."
Presently Behram chanced to look up and seeing himself encompassed by the queen's ships, as the white of the eye encompasses the black, gave himself up for lost and groaned and said to Asaad, 'Out on thee, O Asaad!
Now, as unalterable fate and foreordained destiny would have it, Queen Budour fell in love with Asaad, son of Queen Heyat en Nufous, and the latter became enamoured of Amjed; and each of them used to sport and play with the other's son, kissing him and straining him to her bosom, whilst each thought that the other's behaviour arose but from motherly affection.
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