The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-05-05

notice us. But SO far as we have seen
the Americans are the friendliest and
freest-hearted people that ever come
here, we like them the best and they
are always welcome. Another said
to his young boy who came bounding
into the room like young antelope, a
graceful wild little fellow, said he II
think I'll have to send you to America
and have you brought up gentleman.
What do you think of that"
1t seemed the proper thing to do to
return the compliment and l was glad
to be able to do so with entire truth
fitness. | asked our Dragoman to
tell them that of all the people we
had met in Asia, Turks and Arme-
mans and every other we liked the
Arabs best of all. The Dragoman
hesitated-said he, 81 can't tell them
that, because the Turkish governor is
here" But ] didn't like to have
so good speech lost, and so man
aged to smuggle it in under the gov
ernor's nose to one Of the Arabs who
understood French, while the awful
governor who sat beside him smoked
and smiled and knew nothing about
it.
1t was now late in the morning
when we shook hands all round re.
mounted our horses, said good bye to
the whole neighborhood gathered to
see us of, and started up the
valley Of the Leontes on the way
to Baalbec.
On either side rose the mountain
ranges of Lebanon, and far ahead in
the hazy distance was the renowned
pass, which the Bible calls the .'enter-
ing in of Klamath. 1t was the gate
way ofnorthern Palestine and through
it from time immemorial and with
battle hosts beyond number, had
marched the kings of the East, Pull
and Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser
and Sargon and Sennacherib and
Nebuchadnezzar. Some to victory
and spoils and some to overwhelming
defeat among the mountains of Israel
1t was along this valley that the
Prophets saw coming with gorgeous
standards with tramp of cavalry swift |
as eagles, fierce as famished wolves
in the night; their chariots like light
ming with their flash of steel, their
horses like leopards in swiftness and
fury, the invading hosts of
Assyria. The noise of the whip, the
noise of the rafting Of the wheels
and of the prancing horses and ofthe
jumping chariots, this old valley
had been full Of the sounds of war,
from the day that Abel fell down here
under the club Of Cain; the river had
run off with the blood and the cliffs
had heard the battle shouts of all the
nations of the old world. 1t was the
grand highway and there was no other
from north to south, throughout all
Western Asia. And so it happened
that in the course Of time there arose
in the midst of this vast plain, wat
cred by the Leontes, a city which re-
mains to-day the most magnificent
ruin of the world, the City of Baalbec.
| shall not weary you with a de-
tailed description of that which you
may read in any book of travels.
Simply this, it was built, no one
knows when, nor by whom. 1t looks
to have been the work of Giants, such
as might have comfortably filled the
I2o feet grave of Noah. One might
that the whole race of Giants
of which the Bible tells had had a
grand bee some day blasting and roll.
ing and lifting stone, the smallest of
which, the mere pebbles chinked in
to the cracks of the walls, were large
enough to have made respectable
monument, and the largest,-well, by
actual measurement 81 feet long, II
feet high, and IS feet wide. That is
about the length of this church, from
this further wall to the front door and
nearly as wide as this body of seats
in the center and half as high as the
ceiling, and all one solid stone. And