Syria from the saddle . TER V. NAAMAN HOUSE OF LEPERS, DAMASCUS. nHE leprosy of to-day is not that men-tioned in the Old Testament. The an-cient form of leprosy is now only foundamong dumb animals. A Scotchdoctor described the present form tome as a mixture of chilblains, itch,and mortification, which is as gooda definition as I know. It is notbelieved to be contagious, unlessone is brought into close and con-stant association with lepers; butis usually hereditary, often skippingseveral generations and then appear-ing in some unexpected physicians claim that it is caused by unwhol
Syria from the saddle . TER V. NAAMAN HOUSE OF LEPERS, DAMASCUS. nHE leprosy of to-day is not that men-tioned in the Old Testament. The an-cient form of leprosy is now only foundamong dumb animals. A Scotchdoctor described the present form tome as a mixture of chilblains, itch,and mortification, which is as gooda definition as I know. It is notbelieved to be contagious, unlessone is brought into close and con-stant association with lepers; butis usually hereditary, often skippingseveral generations and then appear-ing in some unexpected physicians claim that it is caused by unwhole-some and dirty surroundings; but it is generallybelieved to rise from some prenatal taint. It isslowly dying out in Syria, and is not seen there inas violent forms as in Japan and China. But for thefact that lepers are allowed to intermarry, the diseasewould doubtless have become already a thing of thepast. It is first felt when the victim reaches the transitionstage (at from twelve to fifteen years) between child- 52. SYRIA FROM THE SADDLE. 53 hood and youth, continuing more or less rapidly toeat away the body, until some vital point is lepers may often live to middle age. The finaloutcome, however, is always the same. No patientwas ever known to recover. Sometimes the extrem-ities are attacked first, the disease taking the formof chilblains; in such cases, years may pass beforethe vitals are reached. Again, the spine or heart be-comes affected, causing almost instant death. When-ever the disease is found, its subject is immediatelyostracized, and is henceforth forbidden to enter thecity walls, or to mingle with former associates. No provision for these unfortunates is made by thegovernment, their support depending on the charityof outsiders. Sometimes a wealthy man dies, andleaves a fortune or an orchard to be devoted to theuse of lepers, for the repose of his soul. Men in lessadvanced stages of the disease are employed in thesurrounding gardens and vineyards,
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