BATHS OF DAMASCUS. 
265 
of rank, and mustn’t be confounded with common people ; 
besides, we are willing to pay double for a private room.” 
“ Oh, as to that,” replied the man, very much affected by our 
allusion to backshish , “ I knew you were mi-lords ; but I am 
very sorry indeed; this is the custom in Damascus. We 
never have private rooms here.” “ And do you expect us,” 
said we sternly, “ to strip ourselves before all those naked 
wretches?” “Praised be Allah,” retorted the man, “we 
bathe none here but Reis and Pashas ! Don’t you see his high¬ 
ness there ?” pointing to the apparition of a living skeleton, 
very dirty, sitting up in a pile of sheets, “that’s a Pasha; and 
his excellency on the left,” directing our attention to a greasy, 
bald-headed old Turk, who was amusing himself picking the 
fleas off his shirt, “ that’s one of the chief officers of the gov¬ 
ernment ; and there, and there—all Pashas and men of dis¬ 
tinction. “ Enough,” said we ; “ strip us and boil us. Be 
quick about it, and see that we are well scrubbed.” Mount¬ 
ing the platform, we selected two beds, and, with the assist¬ 
ance of the chief of sheet-holders, were soon reduced to bare 
legs and short linens. Further than that we stoutly protested 
against till screened from either a real or supposed gaze of 
wonder on the part of the multitude around us, who appeared 
to think that the Frangi might develop some new features in 
human anatomy. At last we made a compromise by denud¬ 
ing and sheeting ourselves. This done, we thrust our feet into 
some wooden clogs, to keep them clear of the floor, and were 
conducted into the first bath-room. Here was a blue mist, 
through which all that we could discern were shaven heads, 
naked and dusky figures looming through the warm soapy 
atmosphere, with a grim and horrible effect. There was a hot, 
heavy, oppressive smell, that quite disheartened one of us at 
least as to the prospect. I instinctively held my breath, for 
fear of inhaling some plague, leprosy, or other loathsome dis¬ 
ease peculiar to Oriental cities. While thinking seriously of 
darting out, paying the backshish , and considering the thing 
done, a gaunt figure emerged from the fog, and seized me with 
the grasp of a vice. He was the most frightful looking mon¬ 
ster I ever beheld—a perfect living mummy; dark, lean, and 
M 
