"Well, Hassan," said Mr. Horner, "you may begin the fight over these;" and while it went on, the party turned their attention to the crowds flocking by in the narrow streets, dressed in the brilliant colors of the Orient: the men with gay turbans, and full trousers of every bright tint, the women veiled, in dark garments. A man went by with a cooling drink, rattling tumblers to attract attention; a lemon was stuck on the pointed top of the tin vessel he carried it in. Tommy tried it, and pronounced it "not bad!"
A HOUSE TOP SCENE, DAMASCUS.
An expedition on donkeys, which was shared only by Mr. Hervey, Miss Lejeune and Bessie, while the others were busy in bazaars, was to Salahiyah, a suburb of Damascus. They rode at first through a narrow lane, with high blank walls on either side. The houses of Damascus are all built in this way, with all their pleasantness concentrated within, upon an interior court. The street walls are without windows or access, except through heavy doors. This is on account of the numerous attacks the inhabitants have received, leading them to protect their outer works.
They stopped before a dingy little door, and knocked. They had to stoop to enter, when lo! they heard the sound of a rushing fountain, and found themselves standing on a balcony surrounded by orange and lemon-trees. Roses and fleur-de-lis were blooming along the paths of a lovely garden, through which poured a deep, though narrow river, with its edge tufted with maiden-hair and grasses that danced in the water. A slowly turning wheel lifted water from the stream to feed the little fountain.
The gentlemanly proprietor, in a turban and gown of striped red and blue cotton, spread a carpet and brought chairs for them to repose upon, while he entertained them by playing upon a musical instrument something like a fiddle, and there they ate their picnic lunch, which Hassan, who accompanied them, had brought. This was his surprise. He had proposed the expedition, and was disappointed that the whole party did not join it; but for some reason, they had not understood the extent of the plan, and so the others lost seeing the pretty garden.
There is much more about Damascus, for which I have not room. There is much to delight you in the book. I hope you will be able to own it, and will give it careful reading.
Pansy.