Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-04-18
TWO YANKEES ABROAD.
SECOND PART.---PALESTINB.
TENTING FROM NAZARETH TO
DAMASCTTS

Ip'H JO.-Pater has decided to give :,
rest to mater, who remains in bed while h,
starts with Selim and a native guide, al
three on horseback, to visit the ruins Of th,
castle which crown the top Of high hill
above. It is a sharp climb Of an hour anC
a quarter, through olive orchards. Foi
the last fifteen minutes we must walk ant
lead our horses. The ruins are most ex
tensive, the legends connected with then
are endless. Probably the Assyrians forti
fled the pass commanding the road betw eer
Damascus aud Palestine. the Romans add
ed constructions, later the Crusaders came
and after them the Musims before powder
and cannon times Two hours are easil,
spent among the splendid remnants, the
cisterus, parapets, Arabic inscriptions, hid
den passages, etc.
On our way down a shower comes M
from the plain TO the mountain, we find
shelter behind trees and shrubs, find mother
''in agony about her dear" husband-a
great discussion ensues Pater wants to &c
on this afternoon to mountain Druse vii
lage and camp there, mater refuses to move
till there is no more any chance of rain
Result We remain where we are, have an
other shower, followed by most brilliant
afternoon Our olive field becomes pond
Of mud. Disguised pater starts up to a
small mosque erected TO Saint George, who
is buried in it ')-old women pray near
the tomb: Mahometans revere greatly Saint
George. forget the legend he helped
Mahomet somewhere and somehow.
The natives have built kiln in a nook
of the foot hills and have lighted the fires
they dance round them, clap their hands,
shout, and seem to have grand time of re.
! ioicing. Men and boys only Their shouts
continue till late during the night. Proba.
bly, they have but few distractions and i'm
| prove every occasion.
Nay f.-Thermometer GO at 3 Mt
has rained in the small hours, but the sun
shines splendidly, the powers that be de-
eide to 20 on, and off we are on the road
to Hermon's slopes and Damascus. Hard.
/ ly out of sight of Banias the sky becomes
cloudy again from the Merom plain rain is
seen coming from the southwest, from the
| Mediterranean Sea later we hear that on
April 30 and May ships could not enter or
leave the port Of Alexandria, a violent
storm was raging later, also, we find other
/ travellers caught while boating over Genes.
areth-others drenched in different parts
/ Of the land so we can trace the storm 1t
is sublime spectacle poetical pen might
] Il ,.il, a1 Il, Il.
/ ing across plains and hills till it reaches US
This morning Selim wanted to send forward
the pulanquin, the road was so bad that
mother would not use it ; our chief ordered
1t to be kept by us and ready for use at
any moment. He aud mother fight over it
| till his blood is up he orders the men to put
her in the palanquin, she dares not disobey
And the cloud dashes against Hermon, it
is a tornado, blowing raging happily, we
| 20 with 1t; we have reached the limit of
! trees, only one or two remain scattered ::
the palanquin is well closed, mater is en-
/ tlrely sheltered Foolish pater. thinking
| her all safe, takes refuge behind a tree
which breaks little the fury Of the Storm
/ suddenly he looks up, sees the palanquin
stopped, mater in ploughed field up to her
ankles III mud, with men around her, un-
der solitary olive tree. The palanuuin
has come to sharp turn between rocks, a
mule has hesitated, and mater, frightened
electrified by the storm, has Jumped out
and is now sobbing, sObbing as if she were
| half killed 1t is a moment of dreadful
suspense; the men know not what TO do
| pater himself who has rushed in, is at the
end of his wits. During that time the
storm-cloud has gone on, the sun shines
again, our hearts revive. We put mad
anne on her donkey, she declares she
will never enter the palanquin again. As
we proceed up the mountain the sun dries
u.s. we begin to feel ''al right, admire the
immense view. the castles ruins below US
perceive snowy Hermon above us, grand
/ spectacle
Across the plain, over the hills of Galiee
rise other clouds, blacker than the first ;
they pour rain under them and advance
towards us at the rate of sixty miles an
/ hour. All stop, mater reenters her palan-
| quin, sees the necessity of it, there is no
shelter anywhere it pours and we 90 on ::
all the men do their duty, pater clinps to
his charge, and in half an hour we reach
the village of MedieLesh Shems, 5000 feet
above sea level
'Selim, 20 ahead, find house to receive
us, have big fire lighted" He goes, SOON
we alight before low stone house with
flat roof, ask no questions, find a bright
flame of dry branches, we are under
roof-lt continues TO pour. ''Selim, send
men, stop the camp, we will stay here till
the storm is over. Ii pours, halls our
fire is in the centre of the only room of the
house, there is hole in the roof for the
smoke, we sit on empty boxes the smoke
makes mater cough and stihe, decidedly we
are badly off. We have window
with shutter, but no glass panes in
corner is a calf; in another, donkeys; fur
ther on, sheep and poultry. But time is
great master, our baggage arrives, we put
on dry clothes, our men extend a rope
across the room, put over it sheets and
shawls, we have bed room The calf and
the donkeys are removed, our cook has
placed his apparatus in the recess vacated
by the donkeys, has given us some lunch,
we close the shutter, light candles. Boys,
girls, women, have crowded around our
hole window; we expel two, three ar
rive, they stand the rain and want to see
the howadia, the lady traveller, she is the
great curiosity for them. They
offer us fossil shells, the Professor buys as
many as we can carry.
We find that our hosts are not Druses,
but Orthodox Creeks the woman is a fine
specimen of humanity the girls are strong,
hearty many have Madonna faces. The
boys are equally good looking Our beds
are erected. Our dinner table is laid with
as much care and ceremony as when under
our tents. At last mater is in her bed.
Selim and Abdou are stretched outside our
curtain, and pater lays himself down with
a deep sigh of relief
May At A. NJ. ''Selim, what kind
of weather y "Awlul, sir. Let us re-
main in bed, At last pater moves, dresses,
reads TO mater long letter commenced
yesterday for our children, its contents
amuse our patient, The ceiling is black
with fifteen years of smoke-most of the
men are off ON grand expedition against
the Bedwins who have killed one of their
chiefs. The village or district can put 900
men under arms There are few Protest
ants, there was an American school, but it
has been closed by order of the governor
The workless teacher pays us a visit. de-
liver to the walls an earnest lecture on heas
which | admire deeply. While | write,
Abdou washes clothes at my feet, kneads
dough for bread my feet are almost in the
lire, my knee is my writing desk, the light
from the open door, my luminary, and it
continues to rain, hail and pour. Then
launch in the jewelry business, bargain for
earrings, bracelets, ornaments for which
decline to pay fabulous prices, aud yet sue
ceed in spending over thirty francs for
what may be copper gilt or metal plated.
Late in the afternoon il clears; scores of
visitors have looked at u.s. our men are
scattered in other houses, the sun returns
and we rejoice In the evening we receive
a deputation-the school teacher with sew
en- or eight men of all ages, who beg the
stranger to speak for them about the re-
opening of their school Their faces are
most earnest; with their sheepskin vests
they form a most patriarchal group. |
wish | could paint the scene as they crowd
around us; we are on the part Of the room
which is a foot higher. We promise 10 do
whatever we can for them, we exhort them
to be patient Our leader WAKES eloquent,
but Selim is a bad Interpreter, does not