late since the first shepherd arrived with his flocks from the Euphrates, and pitched his tents by the crystal floods of the "Abana and Pharpar," the two mountain brooks which by their union form the Barady. Looking upon the transparent waters, they seemed to apologize for "Naaman the leper," when, mortified and indignant, he turned away from the " prophet in Samaria" who had directed him to "dip himself seven times in Jordan," and exclaimed, " Are not the waters of Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean?" Surely he was right if a comparison of waters was to decide the question. He knew not the power of God until his servant ventured to say, "My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how much rather, then, wash and be clean?" The conduct of Naaman is a fair sample of the conduct of the world in matters of religion.

My eye wandered over the space to the south of the city, where eighteen hundred years ago occurred the following incident: "And as Saul journeyed, he came near to Damascus; and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."-(Acts, ix., 3-6.) As I gazed over the peaceful plain where the furious Saul was

tombs of Elijah, Moses, Noah, Seth, and Abel, and, I believe, claims also that Adam was made of the red earth found in the neighbourhood.

BEAUTIFUL RURAL SCENE.

57

struck down, and looked up into the calm, clear heaven, whence descended the celestial voice of the ascended Saviour, I felt that I, a wanderer from a world then unknown, might be a spiritual child of him who was here made an apostle, and afterward sent "far away to the Gentiles." The mission of Paul commenced at Damascus, which may be called the spiritual mother of Gentile Christianity.

We were yet an hour distant from the city, during which time we rode through orchards of all kinds of delicious fruits, and groves of white poplar, planted for timber along the margins of the streams. On each side of us, and, as we afterward observed, all around the city, these beautiful groves and orchards were intersected by unsightly fences, made of large blocks of dried mud, from three to four feet long, and two to three wide. Yet amid this paradise of woods all was silent. No mansion, no cottage, not even a tent, enlivened the scene. The evening twilight was approaching, and the labourers were pressing to the gate to enter ere it was closed. It grated behind us as we cleared the threshold, and we immediately commenced threading our way through mean, crooked streets, without lights, and frequently covered over head with branches of trees or with decayed matting. At length we halted between two blank stone walls. One of these was pierced by a low portal, through which we entered into a courtyard, around whose sides were lofty and promising apartments, both on the first and second floors, and a small marble fountain in the centre. This was our hotel.

58

NOT DINNER ENOUGH FOR NINE.

CHAPTER VI.

DAMASCUS.

English Officers.-Not Dinner enough.-Ramble through the City.-Dilapidated Houses and Streets.-Dwellings of the higher Classes.-Specimen of a splendid Residence.-The Bazars.-Merchants.-Divisions of the Bazar for different Trades.-European Goods principally exposed.-Workers in Iron.-Silversmiths.-Khan of Asaad Pacha.-A Procession.-Moslem Worship.-Mosques.-Schools.-Dervishes.-Cafés.-Cathedral of Saint John.-" Street which is called Straight."-House of Ananias.

Two hours before our coming, a party of five English naval officers had arrived from Balbec, and had ordered dinner, having eaten nothing during their long day's ride. We too, having fasted all day, ordered dinner to be hastened, not knowing that the Englishmen were in the house. To our surprise, dinner was announced in a very short time; and as it happened that we were in an adjoining room, while the officers were up stairs, we were first at table, which was placed under a lofty Saracenic arch, forming a recess that opened upon the court and fountain. Just as we had fairly set to, down came a bluff captain, a gray-bearded lieutenant, and several raw middies, and found us devouring their dinner; for, as it turned out, no addition had been made to the meal, though two orders had been given. The reader may well imagine the disappointment of nine persons who had not tasted anything since early morn, and had been on horseback at least twelve hours without stopping. However, by clearing everything to the very dishes, we appeased our appetites, and then retired to rest; for in an Oriental city, after dark there are no sights to be seen, and no lights by which to see

EXTERNAL APPEARANCE OF THE CITY.

59

them, if there were any. Of course, but few people are in the streets at night, and none without lanterns.

Next morning, taking an active young Greek as a cicerone, we rambled through the city, and were disappointed in its external appearance. The streets are narrow, crooked, badly paved, and of irregular width. The houses are of unequal height, from two to four stories, built occasionally of stone, but generally of sundried-mud brick, and without windows near the ground. The second story, and sometimes the third, usually extends two or three feet over the street, resting upon the exposed ends of the joists, and supported by braces made of roughly-hewn, and sometimes unhewn, pieces of wood. The windows above are of close latticework, and are never animated by bright eyes or pretty faces; and as but few persons appear in the streets, and the rumbling of carriages is never heard, the inactivity and silence which reign throughout the city surprise the Western stranger. As might be expected, houses which are constructed of mud bricks dried in the sun fall rapidly into decay under the action of the rain, and require constant repairs to keep them inhabitable. The Turks are not at all inclined to repair, and hence the dwelling parts of the city wear an air of decay.

*

But the traveller must remember that this is the external appearance of the city in the portions occupied by private dwellings, and that, although the tenements within those blank, mud-plastered walls are often wretched, yet there are also many magnificent palaces, fitted up in the interior with a taste and luxury he

* The Rev. C. B. Elliott says, during the winter of 1836, when he resided in the city, "no less than 3000 houses suffered greatly from the rain, while 600 actually fell."—Vol. ii., p. 287, Lond. ed.

60

SPLENDID PALACE DESCRIBED.

would little expect from their mean external appearance. A description of one of these is a description of all; and my notes refer to one of the finest in the city, occupied by Mr. Wood, the English consul, of whom I shall speak presently. I had a letter to him, and going to deliver it, we were conducted through a narrow street to a low, mean-looking door in a blank wall, through which we passed into a plain court, roughly paved, and surrounded by unadorned apartments. From this, by a short passage, we were led into the great court, removed from the street, and entirely secluded by lofty apartments opening upon it, and enclosing it on all sides. It was beautifully paved with various coloured marbles, exquisitely polished, and contained a richlywrought fountain, adorned with a profusion of fragrant flowers in tasteful pots and boxes. In various parts of the court were groups of flowers and shrubs, and clumps of orange and lemon trees, amid which many birds of gay plumage sported and built their nests. The surrounding apartments do not connect with one another by passages or doors, but open directly on a marble terrace raised but a little above the pavement of the court. The floors of the principal rooms are of fine marble, and contain fountains, whose jets of water cool the summer air. In winter they are covered over entirely with rich carpets, and in summer gay rugs lie about here and there. Around three sides of each room runs a luxurious divan, covered with rich stuffs, and furnished with voluptuous cushions. The walls of some are gayly painted in rich but harmonious colours; of others, faced with stone, which is elaborately carved in various patterns, but always exhibiting the Saracenic honeycomb. The marbles and chiselled stone-work of the grand saloon alone cost above $20,000. The ceil