Issue
an order that no Jew or Christian shall leave their houses until all is
quiet." These measure were taken at once, and continued for three days;
not a drop of blood was shed, and the flock of frightened Christians who
had fled to the mountains began to come back. In this way the massacre
at Damascus was averted. But I may mention that some of the Christians
who had run away in panic to Beyrout, as soon as they were safe, declared
that there had been no danger whatever, and they had not been at all
frightened. I grieve to say it, but the Eastern Christian is often a
poor thing. But all this is to anticipate.
When I had parted from Richard in the plain, I climbed up to my eagle's
nest at Bludan, the view from which commanded the country, and I felt
that as long as our ammunition lasted we could defend ourselves, unless
overpowered by numbers. Night was coming on, and of course I had not
the slightest idea of what had happened at the previous massacre of
Christians at Damascus; and flying, excited stragglers dropped in, and
from what they said one would have supposed that Damascus was already
being deluged in blood, and that eventually crowds of Moslems would
surge up to Bludan and exterminate us also. I fully expected an attack,
so I collected every available weapon and all the ammunition. I had
five men in the house; to each one I gave a revolver, and a bowie-knife.
I put one on the roof with a pair of elephant guns carrying four-ounce
balls, and a man to each of the four sides of the house, and I commanded
the terrace myself.
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