With eager steps, the pilgrims now press onwards, till they reach the most ancient and beautiful city of Damascus; where they halt for the caravans from Bagdad, Aleppo, and the neighboring towns. Time-worn associations flit about this monument of the wealth of the earliest founders of cities, after the universal deluge. As the descendants of the great survivor of the wreck of the antediluvian world sought out a portion of the wide expanse of uninhabited, and as yet uncultivated earth, this lovely valley of nature's own handiwork seemed to invite their tarrying, as it lay in calm repose, all fresh and verdant from the great waste of waters. Perhaps they discovered the ruins of a great city, the remnants of ancestral wealth; or the relics of the luxury and degeneracy which brought about the awful destruction of the victims of the flood. Rapidly rose the proud city, and was famed even at the time of the first battle of which there is any record, of the five kings against four, the great Chedorlaomar and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the patriarch Abram went to rescue his nephew Lot, who had been taken captive. It was the birth-place, too, of Eliezer, the steward of Abram, who must have been a man of superior attainments, as he had the care of all his master's possessions, and even of the betrothal of his beloved son Isaac. This ancient capital of Syria did not escape the enthusiasm of Moslem conquest, and the great Saracen generals, Abu-Obeidah and Khaled, took possession of the famous city, after a slaughter of 50,000 infidels, during the reign of Abubekir, the successor of Mohammed, A. D. 633. Damascus now became the capital of the Ottoman dominions, and their pride and glory; for they boast Evvely sham, Akhery sham, or, that as they had their beginning in Sham or Damascus, so there also, they will have their end. So precious do they esteem this city, that it is styled the pearl surrounded by diamonds, and the gate of the most holy Mecca. Here, then, at the most beautiful gate, do the pilgrims to the sacred shrine delight to repose awhile, their senses ravished with the loveliest enchantments of nature. Their eager vision extends over vast plains of richly waving foliage, mingling with its emerald hues, the brilliant tints of the citron, pomegranate, and fig. Sweet odors of aromatic freshness pervade the balmy air, while luscious and juicy fruits revive their thirsty senses. Over this vast and exquisite prospect, tower tall minarés, and graceful domes with glittering crescents, proclaiming as far as the eye can reach, the sway of Mohammed Ressoul Ullah. But there is yet a weary way to the shrine, and the zealous throng, now swelled to a vast multitude, renew their journey. If the weather is very oppressive, they encamp in the day-time, and proceed by the light of innumerable torches at night.