8vo. viii, 309 pp., [1], contemporary half calf with marbled boards, rubbed round edges, title gilt on raised and decorated spine, heavy foxing to end papers, lacking half-title page, otherwise coy in very good condition, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, London, first edition, 1844.

Synopsis

Andrew Archibald Paton (1811-1874) was a British diplomat, orientalist, and author of travel books and novels. At the age of twenty-five he landed at Naples, and walked thence, with staff and knapsack, to Vienna. Thereafter he travelled up and down in the Eastern European states, and also in Syria and Egypt.
Paton spent many years in the Levant in various branches of the diplomatic service, travelling extensively from 1836 onwards. In 1839–40 he served as private secretary to Colonel George Hodges in Egypt, and in 1841 he was attached to the political department of the British staff in Syria.
This very interesting work, The Modern Syrians, is based on his sojourn among them in the early 1840s and contains long accounts of Beirut, Damascus and Aleppo, as well as detailed descriptions of the Druses and their religion. Paton had an accurate and extensive insight into the manners, customs and political life of the East.
Bibliographic references: Blackmer, 1268; Weber, 357.