The Bossier banner., 1891-02-12

historians said: sit is the golden clasp
which couples the two sides of the world
together"
Many travellers express disappoint-
m ent with Damascus, but the trouble is
they have carried on their minds from
boyhood the book which dazzles so
many young people-the Arabian
Nights" and they come into Damascus
looking for Aladdin's lamp, and Alad-
din's ring, and the genii which ap-
peared by rubbing them. But, as I
have never read the Arabian Nights" :"
such stuff not being allowed around our
house in my boyhood. and nothing
lighter in the way of reading than
''Baxter's Saints" Everlasting Res" ="
and DAubigny's History of the Refor-
nation" Damascus appeared to me as
sacred and secular history have pre-
sented it. and so the city was not dis
appointment but with few exceptions a
surprise.
Under my window tonight in the no.
ripple and rush of the River ALBANIA All,
the secret is out! Now know why all
this flora and fruit and every thing is
so green, and the plain one great en-
erald. The River ALBANIA! And not far
off the River Pharpar, which our horses
waded through to-day. Thank the
rivers, or rather the God who made the
rivers! Deserts to the north, deserts to
the south, deserts to the east, deserts to
the west, but here a paradise. And as
the rivers Gihon and Pison, and Hid
dekel and Euphrates made the other
paradise, ALBANIA and Pharpar make this
Damascus a paradise. That is what
made General Naaman, of this city of
Damascus, so mad when he was told
for the cure Of his leprosy to go and
wash in the River Jordan. The River
Jordan is much of the year muddy
stream, and it is never so clear as this
River ALBANIA that / hear rumbling
under my window tonight, nor as the
| River Pharpar that we crossed to-day.
They are as clear as though they have
been sieved through some especial
sieve of the mountains. General Naa-
man had great and patriotic pride in
these two rivers of his own country,
and when Elisha, tho prophet, told
him that if he wanted to get rid of his
leprosy he must go and wash in the
! Jordan, he felt as we, who live on the
Hudson, would feel il told that we must
go and wash in the muddy Thames, OF
as If those who live on the trans.
parent Rhine were told that they must
go and wash in the muddy Tiber. Sc
| General Naaman cried out with voice
| as loud as ever he had used in com.
manding his troops, uttering those
memorable words which every minister
of the Gospel sooner or later takes for
his text: ''Are not ALBANIA and Pharpar,
rivers of Damascus, better than the
waters of Israel? May not wash in
them and be clean?" Thank God VIC
live in land with plenty of rivers, and
that they bless all our Atlantic coast
and all our Pacific coast, and reticulatt
all the continent between the coasts
Only those who have travelled in the
deserts of Syria, or Egypt or have
in the Oriental cities heard the
tinkling of the bell of those who sell
water, can realize what it is to have thi!
Divine beverage in abundance. Water
rumbling over the rocks, turning the
mill-wheel, saturating the roots of th'
corn, dripping from the buckets, filling
the pitchers of the household, rolling
through the fonts or baptistries or holy
ordinance, filling the reservoirs of cities
inviting the cattle to come down anC
slake their thirst and the birds O
Heaven to dip their wing, ascending il
robe OF mistan falling again in benedic
tion of shower-.water, living water
g God-given water!
The spirit of the horrible religion
which pervades the city of Damascu
along whose streets we walk and out O
whose bazaars we make purchases, AM
in whose mosques we study the WOO
carvings and bedizenments, was demon
strated as late as 1860, when, in thi
city, it put to death six thousand Chris
tians in forty-eight hours, and put t.
the torch three thousand Christia
homes, and those streets we walk tC
day were red with the carnage, and tn
shrieks and groans of the dying and dis
honored men and women made thi
lace hell on earth. This went O
until Mohammedan, better than hi
religion, Abd-elKader by name,
great soldier who in one wa
had, with twenty-five thousand troops
beaten sixty thousand of the enemy
now protested against this massacre
and gathered the Christians'of Damascu
into castles and private houses an
filed his own home with the affrighte
sufferers. After awhile the mob cam
to his door and demanded the Chris
tian dogs" whom he was shelterine
And Abd-el-Kader mounted horse an
drew his sword, and with few of hi
old soldiers around him charged on tn
mob and cried: "Wretchesi Is thi
the way you honor the prophet? Ma
his curses be upon you! Shame on you
Shame! You will yet live to rapent
} You think you may do as yo
; please with the Christians, bu
the day of retribution vii
come. The Franks will vet tur
your mosques into churches. Not
Christian will / give up. They are m
brothers. Stand back or 1 will give M
| Al. -