Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-12-08

up. They are my brothers. Stand back
or will give my men the order TO
fire." Then by the night of one great
soul under God the wave of assassina-
tion rolled back. HuzZah for Abd-cl-
kader. Although now we Americans
and foreigners pass through the streets
of Damascus unhindered, there is in
many parts OF the city the subdued hiss
ing of hatred for Christianity that if
il dared would put TO death every man,
woman and child in Damascus who
does not declare allegiance To Moham-
med. But am glad to say that wide,
hard, splendid turnpike read has within
a few years been constructed from Bey-
rout on the shore Of the Mediterranean
to this city of Damascus, and, II ever
again that wholesale assassination
is attempted, French troops and
English troops would, with jingling bits
and lightning boots, dash up the hills
and down on this Damascus plain and
leave the Mohammedan murderers dead
on the floor of their mosques and Serag-
liOS. Ii is too late in the history OF the
world for governments to allow such
things Is the modern massacre at Da-
maScuS. For such murderonS attacks
on Christian missionaries and Christian
disciples. the Gospel is not so appropri-
ate aS bullets or Sabres sharp and heavy
enough To cut through with one stroke
from crown Of head TO saddle.
CAN'T RECOGNIZE IT.
Butt must say that this city OF Da-
maScuS rs see it now is not as absorb
ing As the Damascus of olden times. |
turn my back upon the bazaarS, with
rugs fascinating the merchants from
Bagdad. and the Indian textile fabriS OF
uncomfortable make, and the manufac-
tured saddles and brides. gay enough
for princes of the Orient To ride and
pull. and baths where abution becomes
inspiration. and the homes OF those
bargain-makerS of to-day, marbled and
divaned and fountained and upholstered
and mOSaiced and arabeSQued and col
onnaded until nothing can be added.
and the splendid remains of the great
mosque of John. originally built with
gates 50 heavy that il required hVe
men TO turn them, and columns
OF porphyry and kneeling places
framed in diamond and Seyenty-fouT
stained glass windows and six hundred
lamps of pure gold, single prayer Of
ferred in this mosque said 70 be worth
thirty thousand prayers offered In any
other place. | turn my back on all
these and see Damascus aS it was when
this narrow street. which the Bible
calls Straight. was great wide street
"A New York Broadway or PariSiar
Champs ElySeeS. great thOroughfare
crossing the city from gate TO gate
along which tramped and rolled the
pomp of all nations. There goes Abra
ham. the father of all the faithful. lie
has i'm this city been purchasing cele
brated slave. There goes Ben HadaC
of Bible time leading thirty-twO con
ouered monarchS. There goes David
king. warrior, and sacred poet
There goes Tamerlane the con
queror. There goes Haroun al Raschid
once the commander of an army O.
lninety-fve thousand PerSianS ant
Arabs. There comes Il warrior on hi
way TO the barracks, carrying tina
/ kind Of sword which the world has Tor
gotten how to make. 4 Damascus blade
with the interlacingS Of color changing
al every new turn of the light, man!
colorS coming and going and interjoin
/ ing. the blade SO keen il could cut il
twain an object without making th'
lower part of the object tremble, Will
an elasticity that could not be broken
though you brought the point OF the
sword clear back TO the hilt, and hav
ing a watered appearance which made
the blade seem as though just dipped in ;
clear fountain, triumph OF cutlery
which Il thousand modern fOundrYmer
| and chemists have attempted in vain e
/ initiate. On the side of this street dam
asks. named after this city, figures o.
Iand fruits. and landscapes here beinl
| first wrought into Silk-damaSks. AnC
specimens Of damaSkeeming by which
| in this city steel and iron were frs
graved. and then the grooves filed will
wire of gold - DamaSkeeming. Blu
stand back or be run over, for here arr
the gates of the city, laden caravans
from AleppO in one direction, and from
Jerusalem in another direction, and car
avans of all nations paying toll to thi
supremacy. Great is Damascus.
THE BLIND MAN.
But what most stirs my soul is Meth
I er chariot. nor caravan, nor bazaar, no
palace, but blind man passing alon!
! the street. small of stature and inSig
nifcance in personal appearance. 'Oh
yes: We have seen him before. He wa
one of that cavalcade coming from Jeru
salem To Damascus TO kill Christians
and we saw him and his horse tumbl
M there on the road some distance on
of the city, and he got up blind. Yes
il is Saul Of TarsuS now going alOni
this street called Straight. He is led b
his friends, for he canno
see his hand before his face
unto the house of Judas
not Judas the bad, bu
Judas the good. In another part 0
this city one AnaniaS, not Ananias tn
liar. but AnaniaS the Christian, is tol,
by the Lord 10 90 to this house of Juda
on Straight street, and put his hand
ON the blind eyes of Saul that his sigh
might return. "Oh, =" said AnaniaS, -
dare not go; that Saul is terrible fel
low. lie kills Christians, and he wi
kill me-" GO" said the Lord, an
AnaniaS went. There sits in blindneS
that tremendous prosecutor. lie was
great nature crushed. He had Starte'
for the city OF Damascus for the on
purpose Of aSSaSSinating ChriSt'S FOL
| lowers. but since that fall from III
horse he has entirely changed. Anania
steps up To the SightleSS man, puts hi
right thumb on one eye, and the lef
I thumb on the other eye, and in an out
burst Of sympathy and love, and faitl
SAYS: Brother Saul, Brother Saul. TIT
Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unt'
| thee in the way as thou earnest, ha
sent me that thou maySt receive Tn!
sight. and be filled with the Hol!
Ghost" Instantly something like scale
fell from the blind mans eyes, and III
arose from that seat the mightieSt evan
gel Of all the ages, a Sir William Ham
llton for metaphysical analysis, Johr
Milton for sublimity of thought, ;
Whitefeld for popular elOquence, {
John Howard for widespread philan
thropy, but more than all of them put
together inspired, thunderbolted, multi
potent. apostolic. Did Judas the kind
host of this blind man or Ananias the
visitor see scales drop from the sightless
ewes? | think not. But Paul knew
they had fallen, and that is all that hap
mems 10 any of US when we are converted
The binding scales drop from our eyes,
and we see things differently.
CONCLUSION.
was reading of a painters child who
became blind in infancy. But after the
child was nearly grown, surgeon re-