OUR cities are fil led and or namented with hotels， coffee-houses， hospitals， work-houses， prisons， and similar conspicuous buildings. Generally speaking， there are none of these in the East. Hospitals and institutions for the sick and the poor were the offspring of Christianity， and are， I am inclined to think， peculiar to Christian lands.
There are few prisons in the East， and these are very wretched. Imprisonment as a punishment is little practised， and is altogether unsuited to the Mohammedan law and mode of thinking. Life is not so sacred as with us. It is urged that if a man deserves to be confined as a dangerous member of society， he deserves to die； society will never miss him， and some expense will be spared： "Off with his head；①-so much for Buckingham."Hence in Damascus， and in the East generally， people are not liable to the reproach which is sometimes brought against us-that the best house in the county is the jail. Besides， in the East， punishment follows crime instantaneously. The judge， the mufti，② the prisoner， and the executioner， are all in the court at the same time. As soon as the sentence is delivered， the back is made bare， the donkey is ready (for perjury， in Damascus， the man rides through the city with his face to the tail)， or the head falls， according to the crime， in the presence of all the people. Awful severity， and the rapidity of lightning， are the principles of their laws； nor do they deem it necessary to make the exact and minute distinctions of crime that we do. The object is to prevent crime， and this is most effectually done by the principle of terror and the certainty of immediate punishment.
A certain baker in Constantinople used false weights in selling his bread： the Sultan ordered him to be roasted alive in his own oven， and afterwards boasted that this one act of severity had effectually prevented all similar crimes. Here you see the principle of government in the East； -it is nothing but terror and religious fanaticism.
As to coffee-houses， there are plenty of them in Damascus； but they can hardly be called houses， much less palaces： they are open courts with fountains of water， sheltered from the sun； and in many cases they have little stools， some six inches high， on which， if you do not prefer the ground， you can rest while you enjoy your sherbet， coffee， and tobacco. Pipes，nargilies，ices， eau sucre，④sherbet， and fruits of all kinds， are
in abundance， and of the lowest possible price.
These cafés are very quiet： there is no excitement， no reading of newspapers， no discussion of politics and religion； no fiery demagogue or popular orator to mislead the people； no Attic⑤ wit provokes a smile， and no bold repartee calls forth applauding laughter on the other side. But yet they have their own amusements， and they play earnestly at games both of chance and of skill. The traveller tells his escapes and dangers to an admiring little circle； the story-teller repeats oneof the "Thousand and One Nights"⑥ to a wondering audience；and if memory fails， the imagination， fertile as an oriental spring， supplies its boundless stores.
We have in the East great khans，⑦ but they bear littlerelation to our hotels. Ring， eat， and pay ， is not the law in the East. They have no bells in Damascus， nor even the silver call or whistle which our grandmothers used in England. Bells in churches and in houses are alike an abomination to the Moslems； and the Maronites⑧ alone， by permission of the Government， have a right to use them.
The Khan in Damascus is a large circular building surmounted by a noble dome， in which the great merchantshave their goods and wares of all kinds； and in which the traveller can find a resting-place for himself and his camels， and be supplied with water from the central fountain；-but there are no tables spread for the travellers， and no beds ready made for the weary pilgrims： you must find your dinner as you best can， make your own bed， and when you rise， take it up， and walk. The Khan is， however， a very noble building， and excites not a little astonishment among the Orientals.
In European cities your attention is arrested by book- shops， pictures， placards， caricatures， &c.； now in Damascus we have nothing of the sort. Among the Jews you may find a few miserable stalls， from which you may pick up a copy of the⑨Talmud，or some old rabbinical prayer-book. The sheikh whosold me the Koran， laid his hand upon his neck， and told me to be silent， for were it known that he had done so， he might lose his head. In the schools they are taught only to read the Koran， and to master the simplest elements of arithmetic and writing.