donkey ran away, and at last I understood by signs that the donkey was
shying at me, so I threw the boy a coin and retreated, and sent another
boy to help him. We called to an old man riding a shabby-looking horse,
but the moment the horse saw me it did exactly the same thing, and nearly
flung the old man off. My sides ached with laughing. Fancy being so
queer that the animals take fright at one!

I think before I go further I ought to give some general idea of the
city of Damascus as it appeared to me. I have already said that my first
sight of the city was one of disappointment; but when I got to know it
better its charm grew upon me, and I shall never till I die like any
place so well. Damascus, as I suppose every one knows, is the largest
town in Syria. In shape it is rather like a boy's kite, with a very long
tail. The tail of the kite is the Maydan, the poorest part of Damascus,
but rich in ruined mosques and hammams, and houses which at first sight
look as though they are in decay. But when we got to know these houses
better, we found that marble courts, inlaid chambers, arabesque ceilings,
often lay behind the muddy exteriors. The city itself is divided into
three districts: the Jewish in the southern part, the Moslem in the
northern and western, and the Christian in the eastern. The Moslem
quarter is clean, the Christian quarter dirty, and the Jewish simply
filthy. I often had to gallop through the last-named holding my
handkerchief to my mouth, and the kawwasses running as though they had
been pursued by devils. Everywhere in Damascus, but especially in this
quarter, the labyrinthine streets are piled with heaps of offal, wild
dogs are gorged with carrion, and dead dogs are lying about. One must
never judge Damascus, however by externals: every house has a mean aspect
in the way of entrance and approach. This is done purposely to deceive
the Government, and not to betray what may be within in times of looting.
You often approach through a mean doorway into a dirty passage; you then