Plymouth advertiser. [volume] (Plymouth, Ohio) 1853-1988, 1854-09-16
Tho Baths Of Damascus

A
all we could discern were shaven heads,
naked and dusky figures looming through
the warm sOapy atmosphere, with grim
and horrible effect. There YVES . hot,
: heavy oppressive smell, that quite dis
hearNncd one Of US at least US 10 the
prospect. | insiinctively held my breath h
!, for fear of inhaling some plague, leprosy,
; or other loathsome disease peculiar to
Oriental cities. While thinking serious.
ly OF during out, paying the backshish,
and considering the thing done, gaunt
figure emerged from The fog, and seized
me with the grasp Of vice. He was
the most frigh,ful looking monster ever
beheld-a perfect living mummy dark,
lean and shrivcled, with sharp.pointed
yellow lee h, and only one eye, the other
having been dug out with some rough in.
strument; bulihat single eye was enough;
, it actually seemed 10 glare with triumph
at the idea Of Christian subject. An
o'har naked wretch seized hole of my
: fiend, the English captain, and we were
both dragged rapidly into an adjoining
apartment.
sincerely hope that the impression
made upon my mind on entering this den
Of Satanic visions, will never be effaced
by any future experience. 1t was quite
sufficient so give me general idea of the
state of things to which man may be
reduced by an evil course of life. In
truth, it was worthy to be ranked with
Martins illustrations of Milton. At one
end was a seething caldron Of hot water,
in the shape of Il dark marble vase, from
which arose hot clouds of steam the
marble 0)or was wet and soapy, and of a
smarling heat ; the walls were reeking
with warm sweat high overhead was
a concave ceiling. pierced with round
holes, in which were colored glasses, and
through this the light poured down in
sreaks Of every hue; mist Of hot va
por hung in the atmosphere, lit up by
flashes of coored light, and gave the nov
ing figures an appearance of wretches
roasting in flames of fire and birthstone !;
; and all around, in every direction, were
bare bodies and limbs, and shaven heads
glisening through the obscurity, aud great
naked monsters torturing them with Dip
pers fall of scalding water, or binding
= ather from huge basins Of suds some
scraping with razors bald crown, some
sca.ding down a leg or an arm, or rub>
bing off the skin from the backbone of a
PROSTATE victim; others stretching out
the limbs and trying TO disjo.nt them, or
scrubbing them down with hard brushes
all working with a fendish zest, in
creased 10 a malicious grin of triumph,
when groan or involuntary yell Of ago.
ny could be elected.
We we're again seized by the naked
monsters before mentioned, and dragged
into room still further on, and of much
smaller dimensions, There were only
two or three victims in this branch of the
establishment. |. seemed 70 be the fin.
ishing-up place, where people who chose
10 60 through the whole operation were
! subjected to the final and most exquisite
ordeals +; but we, as matter of favor,
were permitted to suit ourselves by hav.
ing the whole thing concentrated. 1t twas
of such fiery temperature that for a few
!, minutes it was a sufficient labor 10 strug-
gle against suffocation. Soon The big
, drops of sweat rolled down from my fore
head; | was covered with flow of steam
and swea that qnile blinded me. The
=, captain vanished in white mist, leaving
parting impression on my mind of a
man gasping for life in sea Of soap.
suds. saw no more Of him for a quar-
ter Of an hour. Meantime | was jerked
: out of my winding. sheet, by the on e.
,. eyed monster, and thrust down into sit
ting posture. close hy the vase of hot wa
ter. Hold, for Gods sake What
1t was TOO late. perfect deluge of
foaming lather came pouring down over
, my head and face, running into my eyes,
ears and noslrils, and stopping up my
nou'r ueyunu all ilupu ur sPueUtI I
have an indislinct recollection of con-
: fusion of agonies through which went
for the next five minutes, but cannot de-
= plct them with anything like the force of
reality.
From the crown of my head to the
soles of my fret, l was enveloped in a
bank OF hot lather, which the horrid
wretch who had me down was rubbing
into my flesh with small rake or some
a other instrument of torture. AT last ho
i reached my eyes, and here he rubbed so
: eAec,ually that the pain was too exquis-
s ite to be borne. Water, water = roared
$ in the very extremity Of agony, water,
!. you villain quick, orI'm blind for life :
: 'Mooe,' suggested the captain from his
. bank Of suds on the other side. call for
mooe, that's the Arabic, he'll understand
a il better than English! 'Mooe' /
screamed in the madness Of anguish !;
! 'mooe you rascal!' There vos gut
D tura sound ofsassent from outside the
5 coating of lather; it was impossible to
see an inch ; but | heard dabbling as if
in water, and thought I detected some.
!. thing like fiendish inward laugh. Mex.
] moment my brain seemed TO be scorched
with Kissing flame Of FIRE, and my body