ther, and fome fo extenfive, that three or four hundred
fheep may eafily take fhelter there ; to complete this picture
of diftrefs, let it fuffice to add, that this country is
the refort of numerous birds o f prey, and affords ihel-
ter to bears, wolves, wild cats, and weazles, which de-
itroy all the hares and rabbets, with the addition of
fnakes, ferpents, and many obnoxious reptiles, particularly
one fort of ferpent, which darts at its prey with
great violence, and perhaps may be o f that fpecies called
Jacula, or Jaculum ferpens, defcribed in the acts o f the
Leopoldine academy, which mentions one o f thefe to
have darted from a ditch, to a confiderable diftance, and
fixed itfelf upon the arm of a peafant- But why need I
enlarge any further on fo dreary a fpot, or defcribe
fo barren a country, where even grafs is not to be feen!
here and there a folitary ciftus, and nothing but furze,
the only refource of goats and fome bees, who are of fer-
vice merely on account of their wax, as their honey is neither
valuable for its colour nor flavour, having all the bitter
tafte of their food.
In this wretched country the Carmelite Friars pitched
upon a little plain on the banks of the river, and
built their convent in 1599, but their houfe has nothing
worthy of defcription ; and though the very fight of a
diftreffed traveller at their gates, ihould be fufficient to
engage the benevolent minds of thefe holy fathers, they
are feldom in a hurry to open their doors, and none
are admitted or intitled to hofpitality, but fuch as are
provided with letters o f recommendation and pofitive orders
from the provincial or General of their order. The
hermits who dwell here, pradliie all the aufterities obfer-
ved by the primitive chriftians, when living amongft pagan
princes under the moft violent perfecutions, while
thefe good men who deny themfeves every bleffmg o f
Providence, are in the centre of a chriftian kingdom,
where the truths of its holy religion are acknowledged
protected and eftabliihed, and where notwithftanding
their felf deniai and mortification, the virtues o f an active
life united with morality muft be the primary and
effential qualifications in the territories o f a powerful
and extenfive dominion.