MARK TWAIN

P.M. at the celebrated fountain of Figia, second in size in
Syria, and the coldest water in the world. Bathed in it. It
is the principle source of the Abana River and is only
half mile long to where it joins.

Beautiful place, giant trees all around—vast stream
gushes from under the mountain in a torrent. Over it is
a very ancient ruin, with no known history—supposed to
have been for the worship of the fountain.

Where Baalam's ass lived, holy ground.

Damascus

Left the fountain at I P.M. and reached Mohammed's
lookout place over the wonderful garden and plain of
Damascus and the beautiful city in time to get a good
long look and descend into the city before the gates were
closed.

Sept. 15. Taken very sick at 4 A.M.

Sept. 16. Abed all day yesterday—got enough of Da-
mascus. Don't want to see any more of it. Took a jackass
and an Arab to drive it and visited the "Street called
Straight." Judas's house where St. Paul lay blind after
his adventure—house and well of Ananias (these are gen-
uine, at any rate) the disciple who went and invested
Paul with the sacred office as commanded by the Saviour
—the house of Naaman the leper, whom the prophet
Elijah (or Elisha) ordered to wash 7 times in Jordan and
so cured him—the place in the city wall (evidently old
Roman wall) where Paul was let down in the basket and
made his escape toward Jerusalem when a Jew sought his
life—outside the wall the tomb (red chicken-coop) of St.
George, a gate-keeper beheaded for conniving at Paul's
escape. Further out the hole (genuine and ancient) where
Paul lay hid till he got a chance to get away—and the