"The massacres began in the mountains of Lebanon, and extended to Damascus and other places. It is thought that not far from twenty thousand Christians were butchered in Syria during the month of July, 1860. The Turkish Government permitted the inhuman work to go on, and in several cases its officers encouraged it, particularly at Damascus and Hasbeiyah. The news of the affair aroused the whole of Europe. France sent an army to occupy the Lebanon district, and protect the Christians, and since that time there have been no repetitions of the dreadful scenes, though there is no feeling of friendliness between the Christians and Moslems. "So much for a bit of the history of Damascus. The massacre of 1860 was not by any means the only one of which this city has been the scene. There was a greater than this when the conqueror Tamerlane, in 1401, captured the city, and, after plundering it, caused large numbers of the inhabitants to be killed. Though many of the buildings were destroyed, they were soon rebuilt; and it is said to be a curious feature of Damascus that it has prospered under all rulers and all forms of government. It has changed comparatively little in appearance, and when any part has been destroyed, by accident or in warfare, it rises again almost the same as before, though the reconstruction sometimes requires many years. "We followed the advice of our guide, who said that, as the weather was fine, we had best take advantage of it to go outside the city and see the walls and other curiosities. He went for donkeys, and, as soon as they came, off we started. "We started off in more ways than one, as every member of the party had a tumble before he had gone a mile. The little animals are not so large as their brethren of Cairo, nor as sure of foot. They seemed to be fond of stumbling, and didn't care what the result was to their riders. Fortunately their size saved us from any injury, as we had very little distance to fall from their backs to the ground. "We went first to Bab-Shurkey, or the Eastern Gate, which is one of the historic entrances of Damascus. "It is not a very handsome piece of architecture, though it may have been so centuries ago. There was once a fine portal of Roman construction, but it was walled up more than eight centuries ago, and has remained closed ever since. The entrance now used was formerly one of the side arches of the Roman gate-way. We climbed to the top for a view of the city, and certainly the scene was a picturesque one, and amply repaid us for the trouble. "We looked along the 'street called Straight,' by which St. Paul entered Damascus. It has the same name to-day as it had in Paul's time, but is not exactly the same street. Perhaps you wonder what I mean?