The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-12-08
A JOURNlSEEYTO DAMASCUS
HOTELS ECLIPSED BY A Howell IN
PALESTINE.


it Favor in the Eyes Of Rev. Tai
mage-A Storm-The City as Seer
from a Hill Top-The Flash from tht
Skies.
BROOKLYN, II. Y. Dec. The New
York Academy Of Music was filled with an
audience of nearly SIX thousand persons al
the Christian HerGld's service this evening
when DIR. Talmage delivered the eleventh
sermon of his series on Palestine and the
adjoining countries. The same sermon, as
on previous Sundays. had been preached IN
the morning 10 another large audience in
the BROOKLYN Academy of Music. The
subject was Damascus, and the text: as
he journeyed he came near Damascus.
Acts tx, ). DR.. Talmage said:
In Palestine we spent last night in a mud
howell Of one story, but camels and sleep in
the basement. Yet never did the most
brilliant hotel on any continent seem SO at
tractIve TO me as that structure. If we had
been obliged to stay in tent, as we expected
to do that night, we must have persisted a
violent storm had opened upon us its volleys
Of hail, and snow, and rain, and wind, as If
to let US know what the Bible means when
prophet, aud evangelist, and Christ himself
spoke OF the fury of the elements. The
O'Clock in the afternoon, ana we were until
night exposed 10 it, With hands and feet
benumbed, and our bodies chilled
20 the bone we made our
slow way. While high up on the
rocks and the gale blowing the hardest. a
signal of distress halted the party, for down
in the ravines one Of the horses had fallen,
and his rider must not be left alone amid
that wildness of scenery and horror of
storm. AS the night approached the tenn
pest thickened, and blackened and strength
ened. Some of our attendants, going
ahead, had gained permission for US to halt
for the night in the mud howell | speak of.
Our first DUTY on arrival was the resuscita-
ton Of the exhausted Of our party. My
room was without window, and an iron
stove, without any top, in the center OF the
room, the smoke selecting my eyes IN the
absence of a chimney. Through an
opening in the floor Arab faces were sew
eral times thrust up TO see how | was
progressing. But the tempest ceased during
the night and before it was fully day we
were feeling for the stirrups of our saddled
horses, this being the day whose long march
will bring US to that city whose name can
not be pronounced in the hearing of the in
telligent or the Christian without making
the blood to tingle and the nerves to thrill,
and putting the best emotions of the soul
into agitation-Damascus!
During the day we passed Cesarea Phil
ippi, the northern terminus Of Christ's
journeyings. North of that he never went.
We lunch at noon seated on the fallen col
umns of one Of Herod's palaces.
AT O'Clock in the afternoon, coming to
hilltop. we saw on the broad plain city,
which the most famous camel driver of all
time, afterward called Mohammed, the
prophet and the founder of the most stupen-
dous SYST EN- of error that has ever cursed
the earth, refused to enter because he said
God would allow man to enter but one
paradise, and he would not enter this earth
" paradise lest he should be denied en-
trance to the heavenly. But no city that
ever saw so plays hide and seek with the
traveller. The air is so clear the dis
tant objects seem close by. You come
on the top of a hill and Damascus
seems only little ways off. But down you
go into a valley, and you se9 nothing for
the next half hour but barrennes5 and rocks
regurgitated by the volcanoes of other ages.
Up another hill and down again. Up again
and down again. But after your patience
is almost exhausted, you reach the last hill
top and the city of Damascus, the oldest
city under the whole heavens, and built by
Noah's grandson, grows upon your vision.
Every mile of the journey now becomes more
solemn and suggestive and tremendous.
This is the very road, for it has been the
only road for thousands of years, the road
from Jerusalem to Damascus, along which
a cavalcade of mounted officers went, about
1S41 years ago, in the midst of them fierce
little man who made up by magnitude of
hatred for christianity for his dimnutive
stature, and was the leading spirit, and,
though suffering from chronic illumination
of the eyes, from those eyes flashed more in
dignation against Chrst's followers than
any one of the horsed procession. This little
man. before his name was changed to
Paul, was called Saul. So many of the
mightiest natures of all ages are
condensed into smallness of stature.
The Frenchman who was some
times called by his troops ''Uld One Hun
dred thousand" was often, because of his
abbreviated personal presence, styled Lit
tie Nap" Lord Nelson, with insignificant
stature TO start with, and one eye put out at
Calvi, and his right arm taken off at Tene-
rife, proves himself at Trafalgar the
mightiest hero of the English navy. The
greatest Of American theologians, Archibald
Alexander, could stand under the elbow of
many of his contemporaries. Look out for
little men when they start out for some espe-
ctal mission of good or evil. The thunder
bolt is only condensation of electricity.
Well, that galloping group of horsemen
on the road to Damascus were halted
quicker than bombshell or cavalry charge
ever halted regiment The Syrian noon
day, because of the clarity of the atmos-
pierre. is the brightest of all mondays, and
the monday sun in Syria is positively
terrific for brilliance But suddenly that
noon, there flashed from the heavens a
light, which made that Syrian sun seem
tame as star in comparison. 1t was the
face of the slain and assembled Christ, look
ing from the heavens, and under the dash
of that overpowering light all the horses
dropped with their riders. Human face and
horses name together in the dust And
then two claps of thunder followed
uttering the two words, the second word
like the first: "Saull Saulr' For three
days that fallen equestrian was totally
blind. for excessive light will sometimes
extlpguish the eyesight. And what cornea
and crystalline lens could endure a bright
ness greater than the MONDAY Syrian sun
had read it hundred times, but IL ever Sc
impressed me before, and probably viii
never SO impress me again, as l took my
Bible from the saddle bags and read alouC
to our comrades in travel: LAS be Jour
neyed, he came near Damascus, and sud
denly there shlned round about him light
from heaven and he fell to the earth anc
heard a voice saying unto him, Saul Saul
Why persecutest thou meg and he said
who art thou, LordH And the Lord said
i am Jesus whom thou persecutest.' -
But we cannot stop longer on this road
for we shall see this endorsed equestrian
later in Damascus, toward which hi
horses head is turned, and at which "
must ourselves arrive before night, TIL