Before long he persuaded the Druse chieftains to address a petition to
England asking for British protection.
British protection was granted, and for over thirty years Richard Wood,
virtually single-handed, shaped the destiny of Syria. It was he who
broke the power of Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Mehemet Ali; it was he who
guided Admiral Stopford in the bombardment of Beirut; it was he, again,
who brought about the landing of English troops in Syria in 1841; we
find him afterwards in Damascus as British Consul, and wherever he went
he was always busy spreading English power and prestige. He understood
the East thoroughly and felt that England must be strong in Syria if she
wished to retain her imperial power. It is very unfortunate that the
policy of Sir Richard Wood was not carried out by his nation.
It was with high hopes and expectations that I approached the Lebanon.
I was looking forward to the moment when I should find myself among
people who were free from the Turkish yoke, in a country where I should
be able to breathe freely for a few hours.
But how great was my consternation, when, on entering the Lebanon, I
found on all the roads Turkish soldiers who stopped me every minute to
ask for my papers! Even then I could not realize that the worst had
happened.
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