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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:32 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/12679-0.txt b/12679-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ec60884 --- /dev/null +++ b/12679-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5024 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12679 *** + +A TRIP ABROAD + +An Account of a Journey to the Earthly Canaan and the Land of the +Ancient Pharaohs + +To Which Are Appended + +A Brief Consideration of the Geography and History of Palestine, +and a Chapter on Churches of Christ in Great Britain + +BY + +DON CARLOS JANES + +1905 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "Striving for the Faith of the Gospel." +Don Carlos Janes.] + + + + _"Go, little booke, God send thee good passage, + And specially let this be thy prayere: + Unto them all that will thee read or hear, + Where thou art wrong, after their help to call, + Thee to correct in any part or all."_ + + CHAUCER. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In this volume the author has made an effort to describe his journey to +Palestine and Egypt. It is his desire that the book may be interesting +and instructive to its readers. The chapter on the geography of +Palestine, if studied with a good map, will probably be helpful to many. +The historic sketch of the land may serve as an outline of the important +events in the history of that interesting country. It is desired that +the last chapter may give American readers a better understanding of the +work of churches of Christ in Great Britain. + +This book is not a classic, but the author has tried to give a truthful +account of a trip, which, to him, was full of interest and not without +profit. No doubt some errors will be found, but even the critical reader +may make some allowance when it is known that the writing, with the +exception of a small part, was done in a period of eighty days. During +this time, the writer was also engaged in evangelistic work, speaking +every day without a single exception, and as often as four times on some +of the days. That the careful reading of the following pages may be +profitable, is the desire of THE AUTHOR. + +BOWLING GREEN, KY., October 21, 1905. + + + + +ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. + + +Several books have been consulted in preparing this one. "Lands of the +Bible," by J.W. McGarvey, has been very helpful. The same is true of +Edmund Sherman Wallace's "Jerusalem the Holy." Much information has been +obtained from the "Historical Geography of Bible Lands," by John B. +Calkin. Other works consulted were: "Recent Discoveries on the Temple +Hill," by James King; the "Bible Atlas," by Jesse L. Hurlbut; "Galilee +in the Time of Christ," by Selah Merrill; "City of the Great King," by +J.T. Barclay; "Palestine," by C.R. Conder; Smith's "Bible Dictionary"; +"Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia"; "Columbian Encyclopaedia," and +"Encyclopaedia Britannica." + +The chapter on Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland was read +before publication by Bro. Ivie Campbell, Jr., of Kirkcaldy, Scotland, +who made some suggestions for its improvement. Bro. J.W. McGarvey, of +Lexington, Ky., kindly read the chapters on the Geography and History of +Palestine, and made some corrections. Selah Merrill, United States +Consul at Jerusalem, has given some information embodied in the Historic +Sketch of Palestine. Acknowledgement of the helpful services of my wife, +and of Miss Delia Boyd, of Atpontley, Tenn., is hereby made. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND + + CHAPTER II. + CROSSING EUROPE + + CHAPTER III. + ASIA MINOR AND SYRIA + + CHAPTER IV. + A FEW DAYS IN GALILEE + + CHAPTER V. + SIGHT-SEEING IN JERUSALEM + + CHAPTER VI. + SIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM + + CHAPTER VII. + EGYPT, THE LAND OF TOMBS AND TEMPLES + + CHAPTER VIII. + GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE + + CHAPTER IX. + HISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE + + CHAPTER X. + CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN GREAT BRITAIN + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND. + + +When I was a "boy on a farm," one of my school teachers had a small +machine, which was sometimes used to print the names of students in +their books. Somehow I came to want a "printing press," and after a +while I purchased an outfit for fifteen cents, but it was a poor thing +and failed to satisfy me. Accordingly, I disposed of it and spent a +larger sum for a typewriter, which was little more than a toy. This, +too, was unsatisfactory, and I sold it. At a later date, I bought a +second-hand typewriter, which was turned in as part payment for the +machine I am now using to write this book, and now, after all these +successive steps, I find myself possessed of a real typewriter. I will +also mention my youthful desire for a watch. I wanted a timepiece and +thought I would like for it to be of small size. I thought of it when +awake, and, sometimes, when asleep, dreamed that I actually had the +little watch in my possession. Since those days of dreams and +disappointments, I have had three watches, and they have all been of +small size. + +In the same way, several years ago, I became possessed of a desire to +see the Land of Promise, the earthly Canaan. I thought about it some, +and occasionally spoke of it. There were seasons when the desire left +me, but it would come back again. Some years ago, when I was doing +evangelistic work in Canada, the desire returned--this time to stay. It +grew stronger and stronger until I decided to make the trip, which was +begun on the eleventh of July, 1904. After traveling many thousands of +miles, seeing numerous new and interesting sights, making many pleasant +acquaintances, and having a variety of experiences, I returned to the +home of my father on the fourteenth day of December, having been absent +five months and three days, and having had a more extensive trip than I +had at first thought of taking. There is a lesson in the foregoing that +I do not want overlooked. It is this: Whatever we earnestly desire is +apt to be worked out in our lives. Deeds usually begin with thoughts. If +the thoughts are fostered and cultivated, the deeds will probably be +performed some time. It is, therefore, important that we exercise care +as to the kind of thoughts we allow to remain in our hearts. "Keep thy +heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. +iv. 23). + +On the way to New York, I stopped in Washington and saw some of the +interesting places of the National Capital. The Bureau of Engraving and +Printing, where about six hundred persons were engaged in printing paper +money and stamps, was visited. I also went out to the Washington +Monument and climbed to the top of the winding stairs, although I might +have gone up in the free elevator if I had preferred to ride. The +Medical Museum, National Museum, Treasury Building, the White House, the +Capitol, and other points of interest received attention, and my short +stay in this city was very enjoyable. + +I spent a night in Philadelphia, after an absence of more than four +years, and enjoyed a meeting with the church worshiping on Forty-sixth +Street. It was very pleasant to meet those I had known when I was there +before, some of whom I had been instrumental in bringing to Christ. In +New York I made arrangements to sail for Glasgow on the S.S. Mongolian, +of the Allan Line, which was to sail at eleven o'clock on the fourteenth +of July, and the voyage was begun almost as promptly as a railway train +leaves the depot. We passed the Statue of Liberty a few minutes before +noon, and then I prepared some mail to be sent back by the pilot who +took us down to the sea. The water was smooth almost all the way across, +and we reached the desired haven on the eleventh day. I went back to my +room the first morning after breakfast and was lying in my berth when a +gentleman came along and told me I would have to get up, they were +going to have _inspection_. I arose and found part of the crew scrubbing +the floor and others washing down a wall. Everything was being put in +good condition for the examination to be given by some of the officers +who passed through each day at about ten o'clock. The seamen knew the +inspection was sure to come, and they knew the hour at which it would +take place, so they made ready for it. We know that there is a great +"inspection" day appointed when God will judge the world, but we do not +know the exact time. It is, therefore, important to be ready always, +that the day may not overtake us "as a thief in the night." + +Religious services were held on the ship each Lord's day, but I missed +the last meeting. On the first Sunday morning I arose as usual and ate +breakfast. As there was no opportunity to meet with brethren and break +bread in memory of the Lord Jesus, I read the account of the giving of +the Lord's Supper as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and John; also Paul's +language concerning the institution in the eleventh chapter of the first +Corinthian letter, and was thankful that my life had been spared until +another beautiful resurrection morning. At half past ten o'clock I went +into one of the dining rooms where two ministers were conducting a +meeting. The order of the service, as nearly as I can give it, was as +follows: Responsive reading of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth +Psalms; prayer; the hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers"; reading of the +twenty-ninth Psalm; prayer; the hymn, "Lead, Kindly Light"; an address +on "Knowing God"; prayer; the collection, taken while singing; and the +benediction. The ship furnished Bibles and hymn-books. A large copy of +the Bible was placed upon a British flag at the head of one of the +tables where the speaker stood, but he read from the American Revised +Version of the Scriptures. The sermon was commenced by some remarks to +the effect that man is hard to please. Nothing earthly satisfies him, +but Thomas expressed the correct idea when he said: "Show us the Father +and it sufficeth us." The minister then went on to speak of God as "the +God of patience," "the God of comfort," "the God of hope," and "the God +of peace." It was, with some exceptions, a pleasing and uplifting +address. There were about thirty persons in attendance, and the +collection was for the Sailors' Orphans' Home in Scotland. The following +is one verse of the closing hymn: + + "A few more years shall roll, + A few more seasons come, + And we shall be with those that rest, + Asleep within the tomb; + Then, oh, my Lord, prepare + My soul for that great day, + Oh, wash me in thy precious blood + And take my sins away." + +Before the close of the day, I read the whole of Mark's record of the +life of our Savior and turned my Bible over to Gus, the steward. We had +food served four times, as usual. The sea was smooth and the day passed +quietly. A Catholic gentleman said something at breakfast about "saying +a few prayers" to himself, and I heard a woman, in speaking about going +to church, say she had beads and a prayer-book with her. Later in the +day I saw her out on the deck with a novel, and what I supposed to be +the prayer-book, but she was reading the novel. + +Several of the passengers had reading matter with them. Some read +novels, but my Book was far better than any of these. It has a greater +Author, a wider range of history, more righteous laws, purer morals, and +more beautiful description than theirs. It contains a longer and better +love story than theirs, and reveals a much grander Hero. The Bible both +moralizes and Christianizes those who permit its holy influence to move +them to loving obedience of the Lord Jesus. It can fill its thoughtful +reader with holy hope and lead him into the realization of that hope. It +is a Book adapted to all men everywhere, and the more carefully it is +read the greater the interest in it and the profit from it become. It is +the volume that teaches us how to live here that we may live hereafter, +and in the dying hour no one will regret having been a diligent student +of its matchless pages of divine truth and wisdom. + +The last Lord's day of the voyage the ship reached Moville, Ireland, +where a small vessel came out and took off the passengers for +Londonderry. The tilled land, visible from the ship, reminded me of a +large garden. Some time that night we anchored in the harbor at +Greenock, near the mouth of the River Clyde. About one o'clock the +second steward came in, calling out: "Janes!" I answered from my berth +and heard him call out: "Don Carlos Janes!" Again I answered and learned +that he had some mail for me. I told him to hand it in, not remembering +that the door was locked, but that made no difference, for he handed it +in anyhow, but the locking arrangement on that door needed repairing +after he went away. I arose and examined the two pieces of mail, which +were from friends, giving me directions as to where I should go when the +ship got up to Glasgow, twenty-two miles from the sea. There was but one +case of sea sickness reported on the whole voyage. There was one death, +but the corpse was carried into port instead of being buried at sea. + +The home of Brother and Sister Henry Nelmes, which was my home while I +staid in Glasgow, is nicely located. Brother Nelmes and his wife are +excellent people, and treated me with much kindness. Glasgow is a large +and important city, with many interesting places in it. The Municipal +Building with its marble stairs, alabaster balustrade, onyx columns, and +other ornamentation, is attractive on the inside, but the exterior +impressed me more with the idea of stability than of beauty. The old +Cathedral, which I visited twice, is in an excellent state of +preservation, although founded in the eleventh century. There is an +extensive burial ground adjoining the Cathedral, and one of the +prominent monuments is at the grave of John Knox, the reformer. These +impressive words, written from memory, were spoken by the Regent at the +burial of Knox, and have been carved upon his monument: "Here lieth he +who never feared the face of man, who was often threatened with dag and +dagger, yet hath ended his days in peace and honor." Carlyle spoke of +him as a man "fearing God, without any other fear." + +One day I visited the birth-place of Robert Burns, at Ayr, a point not +far from Glasgow. I not only saw the "lowly thatched cottage," but a +monument to the poet, "Auld Kirk Alloway," the "brig o' Doon," and many +interesting articles in the museum. When the street car came to a +standstill, I had the old church and cemetery on my right hand, and the +monument on my left hand, while a man was standing in the road, ahead of +us, blowing a cornet,--and just beyond was the new bridge over the Doon, +a short distance below the old one, which is well preserved and +profusely decorated with the initials of many visitors. Along the bank +of "bonny Doon" lies a little garden, on the corner of which is +situated a house where liquor is sold, if I mistake not. It was before +this house that I saw the musician already mentioned. As I came up from +the old "brig o' Doon," I saw and heard a man playing a violin near the +monument. When I went down the road toward the new bridge and looked +over into the garden, I saw a couple of persons executing a cake-walk, +and an old man with one leg off was in the cemetery that surrounds the +ruined church, reciting selections from Burns. Such is the picture I +beheld when I visited this Ayrshire monument, raised in memory of the +sympathetic but unfortunate Scottish poet, whose "spark o' nature's +fire" has touched so many hearts that his birth-place has more visitors +per annum than Shakespeare's has. + +On the following day I had a pleasant boat-ride up Loch (Lake) Long, +followed by a merry coach-ride across to the "bonny, bonny banks of Loch +Lomond," which is celebrated in song and story. It is twenty-two miles +in length and from three-quarters of a mile to five miles wide, and is +called the "Queen of Scottish lakes." Ben Lomond, a mountain rising to a +height of more than three thousand feet, stands on the shore, and it is +said that Robert Bruce, the hero of Bannockburn, once hid himself in a +cave in this mountain. A pleasant boat-ride down the lake brought me +back to Glasgow in time to attend a meeting of the brethren in Coplaw +Street that night. + +Leaving my true friends who had so kindly entertained me in Glasgow, I +proceeded to Edinburgh, the city where Robert Burns came into +prominence. In the large Waverley Station a stranger, who knew of my +coming through word from Brother Ivie Campbell, of Kirkcaldy, stopped me +and asked: "Is your name Don Carlos Janes?" It was another good friend, +Brother J.W. Murray. He said he told some one he was looking for me, and +was told, in return, that he would not be able to find me. His answer to +this was that he had picked out a man before, and he might pick out +another one; and so he did, without any difficulty. After a little time +spent in Waverley gardens, I ascended the Walter Scott Monument, which +is two hundred feet high. The winding stairway is rather narrow, +especially at the top, and it is not well lighted. As I was coming down +the stairs, I met a lady and gentleman. The little woman was not at all +enthusiastic over the experience she was having, and, without knowing of +my presence, she was wondering what they would do if they were to meet +any one. "Come on up and see," I said, and we passed without any special +difficulty, but she said she didn't believe "two stout ones could" pass. +As she went on up the winding way, she was heard expressing herself in +these words: "Oh, it is a place, isn't it? I don't like it." The +tourist finds many "places", and they are not all desirable. Princess +Street, on which the monument is located, is the prettiest street that I +have ever seen. One side is occupied by business houses and hotels, the +other is a beautiful garden, where one may walk or sit down, surrounded +by green grass and beautiful flowers. + +Edinburgh Castle is an old fortification on the summit of a lofty hill +overlooking the city. It is now used as barracks for soldiers, and is +capable of accommodating twelve hundred men. Queen Mary's room is a +small chamber, where her son, James the First of Scotland and the Sixth +of England, was born. I was in the old castle in Glasgow where she spent +the night before the Battle of Langside, and later stood by her tomb in +Westminster Abbey. Her history, a brief sketch of which is given here, +is interesting and pathetic. "Mary Queen of Scots was born in Linlithgow +Palace, 1542; fatherless at seven days old; became Queen December 8th, +1542, and was crowned at Stirling, September 9th, 1543; carried to +France, 1548; married to the Dauphin, 1558; became Queen of France, +1559; a widow, 1560; returned to Scotland, 1561; married Lord Darnley, +1565; her son (and successor), James VI., born at Edinburgh Castle, +1566; Lord Darnley murdered, February, 1567; Mary married to the Earl of +Bothwell, May, 1567, and was compelled to abdicate in favor of her +infant son. She escaped from Lochleven Castle, lost the Battle of +Langside, and fled to England, 1568. She was beheaded February 8th, +1587, at Fotheringay Castle, in the forty-fifth year of her age, almost +nineteen years of which she passed in captivity. + + "Puir Mary was born and was cradled in tears, + Grief cam' wi' her birth, and grief grew wi' her years." + +In the crown-room are to be seen the regalia of Scotland, consisting of +the crown, scepter, sword of state, a silver rod of office, and other +jewels, all enclosed in a glass case surrounded by iron work. St. +Margaret's Chapel, seventeen feet long and eleven feet wide, stands +within the castle enclosure and is the oldest building in the city. A +very old cannon, called Mons Meg, was brought back to the castle through +the efforts of Walter Scott, and is now on exhibition. I visited the +Hall of Statuary in the National Gallery, the Royal Blind Asylum, passed +St. Giles Cathedral, where John Knox preached, dined with Brother +Murray, and boarded the train for Kirkcaldy, where I as easily found +Brother Campbell at the station as Brother Murray had found me in +Edinburgh. + +I had been in correspondence with Brother Campbell for some years, and +our meeting was a pleasure, and my stay at Kirkcaldy was very enjoyable. +We went up to St. Andrews, and visited the ruins of the old Cathedral, +the University, a monument to certain martyrs, and the home of a sister +in Christ. But little of the Cathedral remains to be seen. It was +founded in 1159, and was the most magnificent of Scottish churches. St. +Rule's Tower, one hundred and ten feet high, still stands, and we had a +fine view from the top. The time to leave Kirkcaldy came too soon, but I +moved on toward Wigan, England, to attend the annual meeting of churches +of Christ. Brother Campbell accompanied me as far as Edinburgh, and I +then proceeded to Melrose, where I stopped off and visited Abbotsford, +the home of Sir Walter Scott. It is situated on the River Tweed, a short +distance from Melrose, and was founded in 1811. By the expenditure of a +considerable sum of money it was made to present such an appearance as +to be called "a romance in stone and lime." Part of this large house is +occupied as a dwelling, but some of the rooms are kept open for the +numerous visitors who call from time to time. The young lady who was +guide the day I was at Abbotsford, first showed us Sir Walter's study. +It is a small room, with book shelves from the floor to the ceiling, the +desk on which Scott wrote his novels sitting in the middle of the floor. +A writing-box, made of wood taken from one of the ships of the Spanish +Armada, sits on the desk, and the clothes worn by the great novelist a +short time before his death are kept under glass in a case by the +window, while a cast of his face is to be seen in a small room +adjoining the study. We next passed into the library, which, with the +books in the study, contains about twenty thousand volumes. In the +armory are numerous guns, pistols, swords, and other relics. There is +some fine furniture in one of the rooms, and the walls are covered with +paper printed by hand in China nearly ninety years ago. Perhaps some who +read these lines will recall the sad story of Genivra, who hid herself +in an oaken chest in an attic, and perished there, being imprisoned by +the spring lock. This oaken chest was received at Abbotsford a short +time before Scott's death, and is now on exhibition. Sir Walter, as the +guide repeatedly called him, spent the last years of his life under the +burden of a heavy debt, but instead of making use of the bankrupt law, +he set to work heroically with his pen to clear up the indebtedness. He +wrote rapidly, and his books sold well, but he was one day compelled to +lay down his pen before the task was done. The King of England gave him +a trip to the Mediterranean, for the benefit of his health, but it was +of no avail. Sir Walter returned to his home on the bank of the Tweed, +and died September twenty-first, 1832. In his last illness, this great +author, who had produced so many volumes that were being read then and +are still being read, asked his son-in-law to read to him. The +son-in-law asked what book he should read, to which Sir Walter replied: +"Book? There is but one Book! Read me the Bible." In Melrose I visited +the ruins of the Abbey, and then went on to Wigan. + +After the annual meeting, I went to Birmingham and stayed a short while. +From here I made a little journey to the birth-place of Shakespeare, at +Stratford-on-Avon, a small, quiet town, where, to the best of my +recollection, I saw neither street cars nor omnibuses. After being in +several large cities, it was an agreeable change to spend a day in this +quiet place, where the greatest writer in the English tongue spent his +boyhood and the last days of his life on earth. The house where he was +born was first visited. A fee of sixpence (about twelve cents) secures +admission, but another sixpence is required if the library and museum +are visited. The house stands as it was in the poet's early days, with a +few exceptions. Since that time, however, part of it has been used as a +meat market and part as an inn. In 1847, the property was announced for +sale, and it fell into the hands of persons who restored it as nearly as +possible to its original condition. + +It has two stories and an attic, with three gables in the roof facing +the street. At the left of the door by which the tourist is admitted, is +a portion of the house where the valuable documents of the corporation +are stored, while to the right are the rooms formerly used as the "Swan +and Maidenhead Inn," now converted into a library and museum. The +windows in the upstairs room where the poet was born are fully occupied +with the autographs of visitors who have scratched their names there. I +was told that the glass is now valuable simply as old glass, and of +course the autographs enhance the value. The names of Scott and Carlyle +are pointed out by the attendant in charge. From a back window one can +look down into the garden, where, as far as possible, all the trees and +flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's works have been planted. For some +years past the average number of visitors to this house has been seven +thousand a year. The poet's grave is in Trinity Church, at Stratford, +beneath a stone slab in the floor bearing these lines: + + "Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbear + To digg the dust enclosed here. + Blest be ye man y spares these stones, + And curst be he ty moves my bones." + +On the wall, just at hand, is a bust made from a cast taken after his +death. Near by is a stained-glass window with the inscription, +"America's gift to Shakespeare's church," and not far away is a card +above a collection-box with an inscription which informs "visitors from +U.S.A." that there is yet due on the window more than three hundred +dollars. The original cost was about two thousand five hundred dollars. +The Shakespeare Memorial is a small theater by the side of the Avon, +with a library and picture gallery attached. The first stone was laid in +1877, and the building was opened in 1879 with a performance of "Much +Ado About Nothing." The old school once attended by the poet still +stands, and is in use, as is also the cottage of Anne Hathaway, situated +a short distance from Stratford. I returned to Birmingham, and soon went +on to Bristol and saw the orphans' homes founded by George Muller. + +These homes, capable of accommodating two thousand and fifty orphans, +are beautifully situated on Ashley Downs. Brother William Kempster and I +visited them together, and were shown through a portion of one of the +five large buildings by an elderly gentleman, neat, clean, and humble, +who was sent down by the manager of the institution, a son-in-law of Mr. +Muller, who died in 1898, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. We +saw one of the dormitories, which was plainly furnished, but everything +was neat and clean. We were also shown two dining-rooms, and the +library-room in which Mr. Muller conducted a prayer-meeting only a night +or two before his death. In this room we saw a fine, large picture of +the deceased, and were told by the "helper" who was showing us around +that Mr. Muller was accustomed to saying: "Oh, I am such a happy man!" +The expression on his face in this picture is quite in harmony with his +words just quoted. One of his sayings was: "When anxiety begins, faith +ends; when faith begins, anxiety ends." + +Mr. Muller spent seventy years of his life in England and became so +thoroughly Anglicized that he wished his name pronounced "Miller." He +was the founder of the "Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and +Abroad" and was a man of much more than ordinary faith. His work began +about 1834, with the distribution of literature, and the orphan work, if +I mistake not, was begun two years later. "As the result of prayer to +God" more than five millions of dollars have been applied for the +benefit of the orphans. He never asked help of man, but made his wants +known to God, and those who are now carrying on the work pursue the same +course, but the collection-boxes put up where visitors can see them +might be considered by some as an invitation to give. The following +quotation from the founder of the orphanages will give some idea of the +kind of man he was. "In carrying on this work simply through the +instrumentality of prayer and faith, without applying to any human being +for help, my great desire was, that it might be seen that, now, in the +nineteenth century, _God is still the Living God, and now, as well as +thousands of years ago, he listens to the prayers of his children and +helps those who trust in him._ In all the forty-two countries through +which I traveled during the twenty-one years of my missionary service, +numberless instances came before me of the benefit which this orphan +institution has been, in this respect, not only in making men of the +world see the reality of the things of God, and by converting them, but +especially by leading the children of God more abundantly to give +themselves to prayer, and by strengthening their faith. _Far beyond what +I at first expected to accomplish_, the Lord has been pleased to give +me. But what I have _seen_ as the fruit of my labor in this way may not +be the thousandth part of what I _shall_ see when the Lord Jesus comes +again; as day by day, for sixty-one years, I have earnestly labored, in +believing prayer, that God would be pleased, most abundantly, to bless +this service in the way I have stated." + +The objects of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution are set forth as +follows: "To assist day schools and Sunday-schools in which instruction +is given upon scriptural principles," etc. By day schools conducted on +scriptural principles, they mean "those in which the teachers are +believers; where the way of salvation is pointed out, and in which no +instruction is given opposed to the principles of the Gospel." In these +schools the Scriptures are read daily by the children. In the +Sunday-schools the "teachers are believers, and the Holy Scriptures +alone are the foundation of instruction." The second object of the +Institution is "to circulate the Holy Scriptures." In one year four +thousand three hundred and fifty Bibles were sold, and five hundred and +twenty-five were given away; seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-one +New Testament were sold, and one thousand five hundred and seventy-four +were given away; fifty-five copies of the Psalms were sold, and +thirty-eight were given away; two thousand one hundred and sixty-three +portions of the Holy Scriptures were sold, and one hundred and sixty-two +were given away; and three thousand one hundred illustrated portions of +the Scriptures were given away. There have been circulated through this +medium, since March, 1834, three hundred and eleven thousand two hundred +and seventy-eight Bibles, and one million five hundred and seven +thousand eight hundred and one copies of the New Testament. They keep in +stock almost four hundred sorts of Bibles, ranging in price from twelve +cents each to more than six dollars a copy. + +Another object of the Institution is to aid in missionary efforts. +"During the past year one hundred and eighty laborers in the Word and +doctrine in various parts of the world have been assisted." The fourth +object is to circulate such publications as may be of benefit both to +believers and unbelievers. In a single year one million six hundred and +eleven thousand two hundred and sixty-six books and tracts were +distributed gratuitously. The fifth object is to board, clothe, and +scientifically educate destitute orphans. Mr. Muller belonged to that +class of religious people who call themselves Brethren, and are called +by others "Plymouth Brethren." + +After leaving Bristol, I went to London, the metropolis of the world. +The first important place visited was Westminster Abbey, an old church, +founded in the seventh century, rebuilt in 1049, and restored to its +present form in the thirteenth century. Many eminent men and women are +buried here. Chaucer, the first poet to find a resting place in the +Abbey, was interred in 1400. The place where Major Andre is buried is +marked by a small piece of the pavement bearing his name. On the wall +close by is a monument to him. Here are the graves of Isaac Newton, +Charles Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin, and many others, +including Kings and Queens of England for centuries. In the Poets' +Corner are monuments to Coleridge, Southey, Shakespeare, Burns, +Tennyson, Milton, Gray, Spencer, and others, and one bearing the +inscription "O Rare Ben Jonson." There is also a bust of Longfellow, the +only foreigner accorded a memorial in the Abbey. The grave of David +Livingstone, the African explorer and missionary, is covered with a +black stone of some kind, which forms a part of the floor or pavement, +and contains an inscription in brass letters, of which the following +quotation is a part: "All I can add in my solitude is, may heaven's +rich blessings come down on every one, American, English, or Turk, who +will help to heal this open sore of the world." + +Concerning this interesting old place which is visited by more than +fifty thousand Americans annually, Jeremy Taylor wrote: "Where our Kings +are crowned, their ancestors lie interred, and they must walk over their +grandsires to take the crown. There is an acre sown with royal seed, the +copy of the greatest change, from rich to naked, from ceiled roofs to +arched coffins, from living like gods to die like men. There the warlike +and the peaceful, the fortunate and the miserable, the beloved and +despised princes mingle their dust and pay down their symbol of +mortality, and tell all the world that when we die our ashes shall be +equal to Kings, and our accounts easier, and our pains for our sins +shall be less." While walking about in the Abbey, I also found these +lines from Walter Scott: + + "Here, where the end of earthly things + Lays heroes, patriots, bards and kings; + Where stiff the hand and still the tongue + Of those who fought, and spoke, and sung; + Here, where the fretted aisles prolong + The distant notes of holy song, + As if some Angel spoke again + 'All peace on earth, good will to men'; + If ever from an English heart, + Here let prejudice depart." + +Bunhill Fields is an old cemetery where one hundred and twenty thousand +burials have taken place. Here lie the ashes of Isaac Watts, the hymn +writer; of Daniel De Foe, author of "Robinson Crusoe," and of John +Bunyan, who in Bedford jail wrote "Pilgrim's Progress." The monuments +are all plain. The one at the grave of De Foe was purchased with the +contributions of seventeen hundred people, who responded to a call made +by some paper. On the top of Bunyan's tomb rests the figure of a man, +perhaps a representation of him whose body was laid in the grave below. +On one of the monuments in this cemetery are the following words +concerning the deceased: "In sixty-seven months she was tapped sixty-six +times. Had taken away two hundred and forty gallons of water without +ever repining at her case or ever fearing the operation." + +Just across the street from Bunhill Fields stands the house once +occupied by John Wesley (now containing a museum) and a meeting-house +which was built in Wesley's day. The old pulpit from which Mr. Wesley +preached is still in use, but it has been lowered somewhat. In front of +the chapel is a statue of Wesley, and at the rear is his grave, and +close by is the last resting place of the remains of Adam Clarke, the +commentator. + +A trip to Greenwich was quite interesting. I visited the museum and saw +much of interest, including the painted hall, the coat worn by Nelson at +the Battle of the Nile, and the clothing he wore when he was mortally +wounded at Trafalgar. I went up the hill to the Observatory, and walked +through an open door to the grounds where a gentleman informed me that +visitors are not admitted without a pass; but he kindly gave me some +information and told me that I was standing on the prime meridian. On +the outside of the enclosure are scales of linear measure up to one +yard, and a large clock. + +After the trip to Greenwich, I went over the London Bridge, passed the +fire monument, and came back across the Thames by the Tower Bridge, a +peculiar structure, having two levels in one span, so passengers can go +up the stairs in one of the towers, cross the upper level, and go down +the other stairs when the lower level is opened for boats to pass up and +down the river. While in Scotland, I twice crossed the great Forth +Bridge, which is more than a mile and a half long and was erected at a +cost of above fifteen millions of dollars. There are ten spans in the +south approach, eight in the north approach, and two central spans each +seventeen hundred feet long. The loftiest part of the structure is three +hundred and sixty-one feet above high-water mark. + +The Albert Memorial is perhaps the finest monument seen on the whole +trip. The Victoria and Albert Museum contains the original Singer +sewing-machine, and a printing-press supposed to have been used by +Benjamin Franklin, and many other interesting things. The Natural +History Museum also contains much to attract the visitor's attention. +Here I saw the skeleton of a mastodon about ten feet tall and twenty +feet long; also the tusks of an extinct species of Indian elephant, +which were nine feet and nine inches long. There is also an elephant +tusk on exhibition ten feet long and weighing two hundred and eighty +pounds. + +Madam Tussaud's exhibition of wax figures and relics is both interesting +and instructive, and well repays one for the time and expense of a +visit. Several American Presidents are represented in life-size figures, +along with Kings and others who have been prominent in the affairs of +men. In the Napoleon room are three of the great warrior's carriages, +the one used at Waterloo being in the number. London Tower is a series +of strong buildings, which have in turn served as a fortress, a palace, +and a prison. I saw the site of Anne Boleyn's execution, but that which +had the most interest for me was the room containing the crown jewels. +They are kept in a glass case ten or twelve feet in diameter, in a +small, circular room. Outside of the case there is an iron cage +surrounded by a network of wire. The King's crown is at the top of the +collection, which contains other crowns, scepters, swords, and different +costly articles. This crown, which was first made in 1838 for Queen +Victoria, was enlarged for Edward, the present King. It contains two +thousand eight hundred and eighteen diamonds, two hundred and +ninety-seven pearls, and many other jewels. One of the scepters is +supposed to contain a part of the cross of Christ, but the supposition +had no weight with me. One of the attendants told me the value of the +whole collection was estimated at four million pounds, and that it would +probably bring five times that much if sold at auction. As the English +pound is worth about four dollars and eighty-seven cents, this little +room contains a vast treasure--worth upwards of a hundred million +dollars. + +I will only mention Nelson's monument in Trafalgar Square, the +Parliament Buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court +Palace, and the Zoological Gardens. I also visited the Bank of England, +which "stands on ground valued at two hundred and fifty dollars per +square foot. If the bank should ever find itself pressed for money, it +could sell its site for thirty-two million seven hundred and seventy +thousand dollars." It is a low building that is not noted for its +beauty. If it were located in New York, probably one of the tall +buildings characteristic of that city would be erected on the site. + +The British Museum occupied my time for hours, and I shall not undertake +to give a catalogue of the things I saw there, but will mention a few of +them. There are manuscripts of early writers in the English tongue, +including a copy of Beowulf, the oldest poem in the language; autograph +works of Daniel De Foe, Ben Jonson, and others; the original articles of +agreement between John Milton and Samuel Symmons relating to the sale of +the copyright of "a poem entitled 'Paradise Lost.'" There was a small +stone inscribed in Phoenician, with the name of Nehemiah, the son of +Macaiah, and pieces of rock that were brought from the great temple of +Diana at Ephesus; a fragment of the Koran; objects illustrating Buddhism +in India; books printed by William Caxton, who printed the first book in +English; and Greek vases dating back to 600 B.C. In the first verse of +the twentieth chapter of Isaiah we have mention of "Sargon, the king of +Assyria." For centuries this was all the history the world had of this +king, who reigned more than seven hundred years before Christ. Within +recent times his history has been dug up in making excavations in the +east, and I saw one of his inscribed bricks and two very large, +human-headed, winged bulls from a doorway of his palace. + +The carvings from the palace of Sennacherib, tablets from the library of +Asur-Banipal, and brick of Ur-Gur, king of Ur about twenty-five +centuries before Christ, attracted my attention, as did also the +colossal left arm of a statue of Thotmes III., which measures about nine +feet. The Rosetta stone, by which the Egyptian hieroglyphics were +translated, and hundreds of other objects were seen. In the mummy-room +are embalmed bodies, skeletons, and coffins that were many centuries +old when Jesus came to earth, some of them bearing dates as early as +2600 B.C., and in the case of a part of a body found in the third +pyramid the date attached is 3633 B.C. Being weary, I sat down, and my +note book contains this entry: "1:45 P.M., August 20. Resting here in +the midst of mummies and sarcophagi thousands of years old." + +From the top of the Monument I took a bird's-eye view of the largest of +all earthly cities, or at least I looked as far as the smoky atmosphere +would permit, and then returned to my stopping place at Twynholm. As I +rode back on the top of an omnibus, the houses of one of the Rothschild +family and the Duke of Wellington were pointed out. My sight-seeing in +Scotland and England was now at an end, and the journey so far had been +very enjoyable and highly profitable. I packed up and went down to +Harwich, on the English Channel, where I embarked on the Cambridge for +Antwerp, in Belgium. In this chapter I have purposely omitted reference +to my association with the churches, as that will come up for +consideration in another chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CROSSING EUROPE. + + +Immediately after my arrival in Antwerp I left for a short trip over the +border to Rosendaal, Holland, where I saw but little more than +brick-houses, tile roofs, and wooden shoes. I then returned to Antwerp, +and went on to Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The battlefield of +Waterloo is about nine and a half miles from Brussels, and I had an +enjoyable trip to this notable place. The field is farming land, and now +under cultivation. The chief object of interest is the Lion Mound, an +artificial hill surmounted by the figure of a large lion. The mound is +ascended by about two hundred and twenty-three steps, and from its +summit one has a good view of the place where the great Napoleon met his +defeat on the fifteenth of June, 1815. There is another monument on the +field, which, though quite small and not at all beautiful, contains an +impressive inscription. It was raised in memory of Alexander Gordon, an +aide to the Duke of Wellington, and has the following words carved on +one side: "A disconsolate sister and five surviving brothers have +erected this simple memorial to the object of their tenderest +affection." + +From Brussels I went over to Aix-la-Chapelle, on the frontier of +Germany, where I spent but little time and saw nothing of any great +interest to me. There was a fine statue of Wilhelm I., a crucifixion +monument, and, as I walked along the street, I saw an advertisement for +"Henry Clay Habanna Cigarren," but not being a smoker, I can not say +whether they were good or not. In this city I had an amusing experience +buying a German flag. I couldn't speak "Deutsch," and she couldn't speak +English, but we made the trade all right. + +My next point was Paris, the capital of the French Republic, and here I +saw many interesting objects. I first visited the church called the +Madeleine. I also walked along the famous street _Champs Elysees,_ +visited the magnificent Arch of Triumph, erected to commemorate the +victories of Napoleon, and viewed the Eiffel Tower, which was completed +in 1889 at a cost of a million dollars. It contains about seven thousand +tons of metal, and the platform at the top is nine hundred and +eighty-five feet high. The Tomb of Napoleon is in the Church of the +Invalides, one of the finest places I had visited up to that time. The +spot where the Bastile stood is now marked by a lofty monument. The +garden of the Tuileries, Napoleon's palace, is one of the pretty places +in Paris. Leaving this city in the morning, I journeyed all day through +a beautiful farming country, and reached Pontarlier, in southern France, +for the night. + +My travel in Switzerland, the oldest free state in the world, was very +enjoyable. As we were entering the little republic, in which I spent two +days, the train was running through a section of country that is not +very rough, when, all in a moment, it passed through a tunnel +overlooking a beautiful valley, bounded by mountains on the opposite +side and presenting a very pleasing view. There were many other +beautiful scenes as I journeyed along, sometimes climbing the rugged +mountain by a cog railway, and sometimes riding quietly over one of the +beautiful Swiss lakes. I spent a night at lovely Lucerne, on the Lake of +the Four Cantons, the body of water on which William Tell figured long +ago. Lucerne is kept very clean, and presents a pleasing appearance to +the tourist. + +I could have gone to Fluelin by rail, but preferred to take a boat ride +down the lake, and it proved to be a pleasant and enjoyable trip. The +snow could be seen lying on the tops of the mountains while the flowers +were blooming in the valleys below. Soon after leaving Fluelin, the +train entered the St. Gothard Tunnel and did not reach daylight again +for seventeen minutes. This tunnel, at that time the longest in the +world, is a little more than nine miles in length. It is twenty-eight +feet wide, twenty-one feet high, lined throughout with masonry, and cost +eleven million four hundred thousand dollars. Since I was in Switzerland +the Simplon Tunnel has been opened. It was begun more than six years +ago by the Swiss and Italian Governments, an immense force of hands +being worked on each end of it. After laboring day and night for years, +the two parties met on the twenty-fourth of February. This tunnel, which +is double, is more than twelve miles long and cost sixteen millions of +dollars. + +At Chiasso we did what is required at the boundary line of all the +countries visited; that is, stop and let the custom-house officials +inspect the baggage. I had nothing dutiable and was soon traveling on +through Italy, toward Venice, where I spent some time riding on one of +the little omnibus steamers that ply on its streets of water. But not +all the Venetian streets are like this, for I walked on some that are +paved with good, hard sandstone. I was not moved by the beauty of the +place, and soon left for Pisa, passing a night in Florence on the way. +The chief point of interest was the Leaning Tower, which has eight +stories and is one hundred and eighty feet high. This structure, +completed in the fourteenth century, seems to have commenced to lean +when the third story was built. The top, which is reached by nearly +three hundred steps, is fourteen feet out of perpendicular. Five large +bells are suspended in the tower, from the top of which one can have a +fine view of the walled city, with its Cathedral and Baptistery, the +beautiful surrounding country, and the mountains in the distance. + +The next point visited was Rome, old "Rome that sat on her seven hills +and from her throne of beauty ruled the world." One of the first things +I saw when I came out of the depot was a monument bearing the letters +"S.P.Q.R." (the Senate and the people of Rome) which are sometimes seen +in pictures concerning the crucifixion of Christ. In London there are +numerous public water-closets; in France also there are public urinals, +which are almost too public in some cases, but here in Rome the climax +is reached, for the urinals furnish only the least bit of privacy. One +of them, near the railway station, is merely an indentation of perhaps +six or eight inches in a straight wall right against the sidewalk, where +men, women, and children are passing. + +By the aid of a guide-book and pictorial plan, I crossed the city from +the gateway called "Porto del Popolo" to the "Porto S. Paolo," seeing +the street called the "Corso," or race course, Piazza Colonna, Fountain +of Treves, Trajan's Forum, Roman Forum, Arch of Constantine, Pantheon, +Colosseum, and the small Pyramid of Caius Cestus. + +The Porto del Popolo is the old gateway by which travelers entered the +city before the railroad was built. It is on the Flammian Way and is +said to have been built first in A.D. 402. Just inside the gate is a +space occupied by an Egyptian obelisk surrounded by four Egyptian lions. +The Corso is almost a mile in length and extends from the gate just +mentioned to the edge of the Capitoline Hill, where a great monument to +Victor Emmanuel was being built. The Fountain of Treves is said to be +the most magnificent in Rome, and needs to be seen to be appreciated. It +has three large figures, the one in the middle representing the Ocean, +the one on the left, Fertility, and the one on the right, Health. Women +who are disposed to dress fashionably at the expense of a deformed body +might be profited by a study of this figure of Health. Trajan's Forum is +an interesting little place, but it is a small show compared with the +Roman Forum, which is much more extensive, and whose ruins are more +varied. The latter contains the temples of Vespasian, of Concordia, of +Castor and Pollux, and others. It also contains the famous Arch of +Titus, the Basilica of Constantine, the remains of great palaces, and +other ruins. "Originally the Forum was a low valley among the hills, a +convenient place for the people to meet and barter." The Palatine Hill +was fortified by the first Romans, and the Sabines lived on other hills. +These two races finally united, and the valley between the hills became +the site of numerous temples and government buildings. Kings erected +their palaces in the Forum, and it became the center of Roman life. But +when Constantine built his capital at Constantinople, the greatness of +the city declined, and it was sacked and plundered by enemies from the +north. The Forum became a dumping ground for all kinds of rubbish until +it was almost hidden from view, and it was called by a name signifying +cow pasture. It has been partly excavated within the last century, and +the ruined temples and palaces have been brought to light, making it +once more a place of absorbing interest. I wandered around and over and +under and through these ruins for a considerable length of time, and +wrote in my note book: "There is more here than I can comprehend." + +I was in a garden on top of one part of the ruins where flowers and +trees were growing, and then I went down through the mass of ruins by a +flight of seventy-five stairs, which, the attendant said, was built by +Caligula. I was then probably not more than half way to the bottom of +this hill of ruins, which is honeycombed with corridors, stairways, and +rooms of various sizes. The following scrap of history concerning +Caligula will probably be interesting: "At first he was lavishly +generous and merciful, but he soon became mad, and his cruelty knew no +bounds. He banished or murdered his relatives and many of his subjects. +Victims were tortured and slain in his presence while dining, and he +uttered the wish that all the Roman people had but one neck, that he +might strike it off at one blow. He built a bridge across the Bay of +Baiae, and planted trees upon it and built houses upon it that he might +say he had crossed the sea on dry land. In the middle of the bridge he +gave a banquet, and at the close had a great number of the guests thrown +into the sea. He made his favorite horse a priest, then a consul, and +also declared himself a god, and had temples built in his honor." It is +said that Tiberius left the equivalent of one hundred and eighteen +millions of dollars, and that Caligula spent it in less than a year. The +attendant pointed out the corridor in which he said this wicked man was +assassinated. + +Near one of the entrances to the Forum stands the Arch of Titus, erected +to commemorate the victory of the Romans over the Jews at Jerusalem in +A.D. 70. It is built of Parian marble and still contains a +well-preserved figure of the golden candlestick of the Tabernacle carved +on one of its walls. There is a representation of the table of showbread +near by, and some other carvings yet remain, indicating something of the +manner in which the monument was originally ornamented. + +The Colosseum, commenced by Vespasian in A.D. 72 and finished by Titus +eight years later, is a grand old ruin. It is an open theater six +hundred and twelve feet long, five hundred and fifteen feet wide, and +one hundred and sixty-five feet high. This structure, capable of seating +eighty-seven thousand people, stands near the bounds of the Forum. It is +the largest of its kind, and is one of the best preserved and most +interesting ruins in the world. When it was dedicated, the games lasted +one hundred days, and five thousand wild beasts were slain. During the +persecution of the Christians it is said to have been the scene of +fearful barbarities. + +On the second day I entered the Pantheon, "the best preserved monument +of ancient Rome," built by Marcus Agrippa, and consecrated to Mars, +Venus, and others. It was burned in the reign of Titus and rebuilt by +Hadrian, and in A.D. 608 Pope Boniface consecrated it as a church. The +interior is shaped like a vast dome, and the only opening for light is a +round hole in the top. Raphael, "reckoned by almost universal opinion as +the greatest of painters," lies buried in the Pantheon behind one of the +altars. I went to Hadrian's Tomb, now the Castle of St. Angelo, and on +to St. Peter's. Before this great church-building there is a large open +space containing an obelisk and two fountains, said to be the finest in +the city, with a semi-circular colonnade on two sides containing two +hundred and eighty-four columns in four rows, and on the top of the +entablature there are ninety-six large statues. There are large figures +on the top of the church, representing Christ and the apostles. The +interior is magnificent. There are three aisles five hundred and +seventy-five feet long, and the middle one is eighty-two feet wide. The +beautifully ornamented ceiling is one hundred and forty-two feet high. +In this building, which was completed three hundred and fifty years +after it was begun, is the reputed tomb of the Apostle Peter, and many +large marble statues. There are figures representing boy angels that +are as large as a full-grown man. The Vatican is not far from St. +Peter's, and I went up to see the Museum, but got there just as it was +being closed for the day. I had a glimpse of the garden, and saw some of +the Pope's carriages, which were fine indeed. + +One of the most interesting places that I visited about Rome was the old +underground cemetery called the Catacombs of St. Calixtus. The visitors +go down a stairway with a guide, who leads them about the chambers, +which are but dimly lighted by the small candles they carry. The +passages, cut in the earth or soft rock, vary both in width and height, +and have been explored in modern times to the aggregate length of six +miles. Some of the bodies were placed in small recesses in the walls, +but I saw none there as I went through, but there were two in marble +coffins under glass. In one of the small chambers the party sang in some +foreign language, probably Italian, and while I could not understand +them, I thought the music sounded well. The Circus of Maxentius, fifteen +hundred feet long and two hundred and sixty feet wide, is near the +Catacombs, as is also the tomb of Caecilla Metella, which is said to +have been erected more than nineteen hundred years ago. It is probably +as much as two miles from the city walls, and I walked on a little way +and could see other ruins still farther in the distance, but I turned +back toward the hotel, and some time after sundown found myself walking +along the banks of the yellow Tiber in the old city. Two days of +sight-seeing had been well spent in and around the former capital of the +world, and I was ready to go on to Naples the next day. + +There is a saying, "See Naples and die," but I did not feel like +expiring when I beheld it, although it is very beautifully located. The +ruins of Pompeii, a few miles distant, had more interest for me than +Naples. I went out there on the tenth of September, which I recollect as +a very hot day. Pompeii, a kind of a summer resort for the Roman +aristocracy, was founded 600 B.C. and destroyed by an eruption of Mt. +Vesuvius in A.D. 79. It was covered with ashes from the volcano, and +part of the population perished. The site of the city was lost, but was +found after the lapse of centuries and the Italian Government began the +excavations in 1860. Some of the old stone-paved streets, showing the +ruts made by chariot wheels that ceased to roll centuries ago, have been +laid bare. Portions of the houses are still standing, and the stone +drinking fountains along the streets are yet to be seen, as are also the +stepping stones at the crossings, which are higher than the blocks used +in paving. Some of the walls still contain very clear paintings, some of +which are not at all commendable, and others are positively lewd. One +picture represented a wild boar, a deer, a lion, a rabbit, some birds, +and a female (almost nude) playing a harp. There was also a very clear +picture of a bird and some cherries. At one place in the ruins I saw a +well-executed picture of a chained dog in mosaic work. It is remarkable +how well preserved some things are here. In the Museum are petrified +bodies in the positions they occupied when sudden and unexpected +destruction was poured upon them, well nigh two thousand years ago. Some +appear to have died in great agony, but one has a peaceful position. +Perhaps this victim was asleep when the death angel came. I saw the +petrified remains of a dog wearing a collar and lying on his back, and a +child on its face. One of the men, who may have been a military officer, +seemed to have a rusty sword at his side. There were skeletons, both of +human beings and of brutes, bronze vessels, and such articles as cakes +and eggs from the kitchens of the old city. + +Mt. Vesuvius is a very famous volcano, standing four thousand feet high, +and has wrought a great deal of destruction. In the eruption of 472, it +is related that its ashes were carried to Constantinople; in 1066, the +lava flowed down to the sea; in 1631, eighteen thousand lives were lost; +and in 1794 a stream of lava more than a thousand feet wide and fifteen +feet high destroyed a town. From my hotel in Naples I had a fine view of +the red light rising from the volcano the evening after I visited +Pompeii. + +Leaving Naples, I went to Brindisi, where I took ship for Patras in +Greece. A day was spent in crossing Italy, two nights and a day were +taken up with the voyage to Patras, and a good part of a day was +occupied with the railroad trip from there to Athens, where the hotel +men made more ado over me than I was accustomed to, but I got through +all right and secured comfortable quarters at the New York Hotel, just +across the street from the Parliament Building. From the little balcony +at my window I could look out at the Acropolis. The principal places +visited the first day were the Stadium, Mars' Hill, and the Acropolis. + +Leaving the hotel and going through Constitution Square, up Philhellene +Street, past the Russian and English churches, I came to the Zappeion, a +modern building put up for Olympic exhibitions. The Arch of Hadrian, a +peculiar old structure, twenty-three feet wide and about fifty-six feet +high, stands near the Zappeion, and formerly marked the boundary between +ancient Athens and the more modern part of the city. Passing through +this arch, I soon came to what remains of the temple of the Olympian +Jupiter, which was commenced long before the birth of Christ and +finished by Hadrian about A.D. 140. Originally this temple, after that +of Ephesus said to be the largest in the world, had three rows of eight +columns each, on the eastern and western fronts, and a double row of one +hundred columns on the northern and southern sides, and contained a +statue of Jupiter, overlaid with gold and ivory. Its glory has long +since departed, and only fifteen of the columns are now standing. A +little farther on is the Stadium, with an arena over five hundred and +eighty feet long, and one hundred and nine feet wide. It was originally +constructed by the orator Lycurgus, about three hundred and fifty years +before Christ, but was being rebuilt when I was there. The seats are on +both sides and around the circular end of the arena, being made on the +slope of the hill and covered with clean, white, Pentelic marble, making +a beautiful sight. + +On the way to Mars' Hill and the Acropolis I passed the monument of +Lysicrates, the theater of Bacchus, and the Odeon. This first-mentioned +theater is said to have been "the cradle of dramatic art," the +masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and others having been rendered +there. The Odeon of Herod Atticus differed from other ancient theaters +in that it was covered. + +Mars' Hill is a great, oval-shaped mass of rock which probably would not +be called a hill in America. The small end, which is the highest part of +it, lies next to the Acropolis, and its summit is reached by going up a +short flight of steps cut in the limestone, and well preserved, +considering their age. The bluff on the opposite side from these steps +is perhaps thirty or forty feet high and very rugged. The rock slopes +toward the wide end, which is only a few feet above the ground. I +estimate the greatest length of it to be about two hundred yards, and +the greatest width one hundred and fifty yards, but accurate +measurements might show these figures to be considerably at fault. I +have spoken of the hill as a rock, and such it is--a great mass of hard +limestone, whose irregular surface, almost devoid of soil, still shows +where patches of it were dressed down, perhaps for ancient altars or +idols. The Areopagus was a court, which in Paul's time had jurisdiction +in cases pertaining to religion. + +A vision called Paul into Macedonia, where Lydia was converted and Paul +and Silas were imprisoned. In connection with their imprisonment, the +conversion of the jailer of Philippi was brought about, after which the +preachers went to Thessalonica, from whence Paul and Silas were sent to +Berea. Jews from Thessalonica came down to Berea and stirred up the +people, and the brethren sent Paul away, but Silas and Timothy were left +behind. "They that conducted Paul, brought him as far as Athens," and +then went back to Berea with a message to Silas and Timothy to come to +him "with all speed." "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his +spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols." +Being thus vexed, and having the gospel of Christ to preach, he reasoned +with the Jews and devout people in the synagogue and every day in the +marketplace with those he met there. He came in contact with +philosophers of both the Epicurean and Stoic schools, and it was these +philosophers who took him to the Areopagus, saying: "May we know what +this new teaching is which is spoken by thee?" + +The Athenians of those days were a pleasure-loving set of idolaters who +gave themselves up to telling and hearing new things. Besides the many +idols in the city, there were numerous temples and places of amusement. +Within a few minutes' walk was the Stadium, capable of holding fifty +thousand persons, and still nearer were the theater of Bacchus and the +Odeon, capable of accommodating about thirty and six thousand people +respectively. On the Acropolis, probably within shouting distance, stood +some heathen temples, one of them anciently containing a colossal statue +of Athene Parthenos, said to have been not less than thirty-nine feet +high and covered with ivory and gold. In another direction and in plain +sight stood, and still stands, the Theseum, a heathen temple at that +time. Take all this into consideration, with the fact that Paul had +already been talking with the people on religious subjects, and his +great speech on Mars' Hill may be more impressive than ever before. + +"Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are very religious. +For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found +also an altar with this inscription, To an unknown God. What therefore +ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. The God that made +the world and all things therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth, +dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is he served by men's +hands as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all +life, and breath, and all things; and he made of one every nation of men +to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed +seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God, +if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far +from each one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being; +as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his +offspring. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think the +Godhead is like unto gold, or silver or stone, graven by art and device +of man. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked, but now he +commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he +hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in +righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given +assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead." + +The Acropolis is a great mass of stone near Mars' Hill, but rising much +higher and having a wall around its crest. At one time, it is said, the +population of the city lived here, but later the city extended into the +valley below and the Acropolis became a fortress. About 400 B.C. the +buildings were destroyed by the Persians, and those now standing there +in ruins were erected by Pericles. The entrance, which is difficult to +describe, is through a gateway and up marble stairs to the top, where +there are large quantities of marble in columns, walls, and fragments. +The two chief structures are the Parthenon and the Erectheum. The +Parthenon is two hundred and eight feet long and one hundred and one +feet wide, having a height of sixty-six feet. It is so large and +situated in such a prominent place that it can be seen from all sides of +the hill. In 1687 the Venetians while besieging Athens, threw a shell +into it and wrecked a portion of it, but part of the walls and some of +the fluted columns, which are more than six feet in diameter, are yet +standing. This building is regarded as the most perfect model of Doric +architecture in the world, and must have been very beautiful before its +clear white marble was discolored by the hand of time and broken to +pieces in cruel war. The Erectheum is a smaller temple, having a little +porch with a flat roof supported by six columns in the form of female +figures. + +The Theseum, an old temple erected probably four hundred years before +Christ, is the best preserved ruin of ancient Athens. It is a little +over a hundred feet long, forty-five feet wide, and is surrounded by +columns nearly nineteen feet high. The Hill of the Pynx lies across the +road a short distance from the Theseum. At the lower side there is a +wall of large stone blocks and above this a little distance is another +wall cut in the solid rock, in the middle of which is a cube cut in the +natural rock. This is probably the platform from which the speaker +addressed the multitude that could assemble on the shelf or bench +between the two walls. + +Some of the principal modern buildings are the Hellenic Academy, the +University, Library, Royal Palace, Parliament Building, various church +buildings, hotels, and business houses. The University, founded in 1837, +is rather plain in style, but is ornamented on the front after the +manner of the ancients, with a number of paintings, representing +Oratory, Mathematics, Geology, History, Philosophy, and other lines of +study. At one end is a picture of Paul, at the other end, a +representation of Prometheus. The museum is small and by no means as +good as those to be seen in larger and wealthier countries. The Academy, +finished in 1885, is near the University, and, although smaller than its +neighbor, is more beautiful. On the opposite side of the University a +fine new Library was being finished, and in the same street there is a +new Roman Catholic church. I also saw two Greek Catholic church houses, +but they did not seem to be so lavishly decorated within as the Roman +church, but their high ceilings were both beautifully ornamented with +small stars on a blue background. I entered a cemetery near one of these +churches and enjoyed looking at the beautiful monuments and vaults. It +is a common thing to find a representation of the deceased on the +monument. Some of these are full-length statues, others are carvings +representing only the head. Lanterns, some of them lighted, are to be +seen on many of the tombs. There are some fine specimens of the +sculptor's art to be seen here, and the place will soon be even more +beautiful, for a great deal of work was being done. In fact, the whole +city of Athens seemed to be prosperous, from the amount of building that +was being done. + +The Parliament Building is not at all grand. The Royal Palace is larger +and considerably finer. At the head of a stairway is a good picture of +Prometheus tortured by an eagle. The visitor is shown the war room, a +large hall with war scenes painted on the walls and old flags standing +in the corners. The throne room and reception room are both open to +visitors, as is also the ball room, which seemed to be more elaborately +ornamented than the throne room. There is a little park of orange and +other trees before the palace, also a small fountain with a marble +basin. The highest point about the city is the Lycabettus, a steep rock +rising nine hundred and nineteen feet above the level of the sea, and +crowned with a church building. From its summit a splendid view of the +city, the mountains, and the ocean may be obtained. + +I spent five days in this city, the date of whose founding does not seem +to be known. Pericles was one of the great men in the earlier history of +the old city. He made a sacred enclosure of the Acropolis and placed +there the masterpieces of Greece and other countries. The city is said +to have had a population of three hundred thousand in his day, +two-thirds of them being slaves. The names of Socrates, Demosthenes, and +Lycurgus also belong to the list of great Athenians. In 1040 the Normans +captured Piraeus, the seaport of Athens, and in 1455 the Turks, +commanded by Omar, captured the city. The Acropolis was occupied by the +Turks in 1826, but they surrendered the next year, and in 1839 Athens +became the seat of government of the kingdom of Greece. With Athens, my +sight-seeing on the continent ended. Other interesting and curious +sights were seen besides those mentioned here. For instance, I had +noticed a variety of fences. There were hedges, wire fences, fences of +stone slabs set side by side, frail fences made of the stalks of some +plant, and embryo fences of cactus growing along the railroad. In Italy, +I saw many white oxen, a red ox being an exception that seems seldom to +occur. I saw men hauling logs with oxen and a cart, the long timber +being fastened beneath the axle of the cart and to the beam of the yoke. +In Belgium, one may see horses worked three abreast and four tandem, and +in Southern France they were shifting cars in one of the depots with a +horse, and in France I also saw a man plowing with an ox and a horse +hitched together. Now the time had come to enter the Turkish Empire, and +owing to what I had previously heard of the Turk, I did not look forward +to it with pleasure. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ASIA MINOR AND SYRIA. + + +The Greek ship _Alexandros_ left the harbor of Piraeus in the forenoon +of Lord's day, September eighteenth, and anchored outside the breakwater +at Smyrna, in Asia Minor, the next morning. The landing in Turkish +territory was easily accomplished, and I was soon beyond the custom +house, where my baggage and passport were examined, and settled down at +the "Hotel d'Egypte," on the water front. This was the first time the +passport had been called for on the journey. The population of Smyrna is +a mixture of Turks, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Italians, Americans, and +Negroes. The English Government probably has a good sized +representation, as it maintains its own postoffice. The city itself is +the main sight. The only ruins I saw were those of an old castle on the +hill back of the city. The reputed tomb of Polycarp is over this hill +from Smyrna, between two cypress trees, but I do not know that I found +the correct location. Near the place that I supposed to be the tomb is +an aqueduct, a portion of it built of stone and a portion of metal. As I +went on out in the country I entered a vineyard to get some grapes, not +knowing how I would be received by the woman I saw there; but she was +very kind-hearted, and when I made signs for some of the grapes, she at +once pulled off some clusters and gave them to me. She also gave me a +chair and brought some fresh water. More grapes were gathered and put in +this cold water, so I had a fine time eating the fruit as I sat there in +the shade watching a little boy playing about; but I could not converse +with either of them on account of not knowing their language. On the way +back to the city I stopped at the railway station to make inquiries +about a trip to Ephesus. + +Most of the streets in Smyrna are narrow and crooked, but there is one +running along the water front that is rather attractive. On one side is +the water, with the numerous vessels that are to be seen in this +splendid harbor, and on the other side is a row of residences, hotels, +and other buildings. The people turn out in great numbers at night and +walk along this street, sometimes sitting down at the little tables that +are set in the open air before places where different kinds of drinks +are dispensed. Here they consume their drinks and watch the free +performances that are given on an open stage adjoining the street and +the grounds where they are seated. Perhaps the most peculiar thing about +it all is the quiet and orderly behavior of this great crowd of people. +While in this city I had occasion to go to the "Banque Imperiale +Ottoman," and learned that it was open in the forenoon and afternoon, +but closed awhile in the middle of the day. I saw a street barber plying +his trade here one day. A vessel of water was put up under the +customer's chin, and held there by keeping the chin down. The barber +had his strop fastened to himself, and not to the chair or a wall, as we +see it at home. Great quantities of oats were being brought down from +the interior on camels. The sacks were let down on the pavement, and +laborers were busy carrying them away. A poor carrier would walk up to a +sack of grain and drop forward on his hands, with his head between them, +and reaching down almost or altogether to the pavement. The sack of +grain was then pulled over on his back, and he arose and carried it +away. Some poor natives were busy sweeping the street and gathering up +the grain that lost out of the sacks. There seems to be a large amount +of trade carried on at this port. Several ships were in the harbor, and +hundreds of camels were bringing in the grain. There are now many +mosques and minarets in Smyrna, where there was once a church of God. +(Revelation 2:8-11.) + +On Wednesday, September twenty-first, I boarded a train on the Ottoman +Railway for Ayassalouk, the nearest station to the ruins of Ephesus, a +once magnificent city, "now an utter desolation, haunted by wild +beasts." We left Smyrna at seven o'clock, and reached Ayassalouk, fifty +miles distant, at half-past nine. The cars on this railway were entered +from to side, as on European railroads, but this time the doors were +locked after the passengers were in their compartments. Ayassalouk is a +poor little village, with only a few good houses and a small population. +At the back of the station are some old stone piers, that seem to have +supported arches at an earlier date. On the top of the hill, as on many +hilltops in this country, are the remains of an old castle. Below the +castle are the ruins of what I supposed to be St. John's Church, built +largely of marble, and once used as a mosque, but now inhabited by a +large flock of martins. + +I visited the site of Ephesus without the services of a guide, walking +along the road which passes at some distance on the right. I continued +my walk beyond the ruins, seeing some men plowing, and others caring for +flocks of goats, which are very numerous in the East. When I turned back +from the road, I passed a well, obtaining a drink by means of the rope +and bucket that were there, and then I climbed a hill to the remains of +a strong stone building of four rooms. The thick walls are several feet +high, but all the upper part of the structure has been thrown down, and, +strange to say, a good portion of the fallen rocks are in three of the +rooms, which are almost filled. It is supposed that Paul made a journey +after the close of his history in the book of Acts; that he passed +through Troas, where he left a cloak and some books (2 Tim. 4:13); was +arrested there, and probably sent to Ephesus for trial before the +proconsul. Tradition has it that this ruined stone building is the place +where he was lodged, and it is called St. Paul's Prison. From the top of +its walls I could look away to the ruins of the city proper, about a +mile distant, the theater being the most conspicuous object. + +There are several attractions in Ephesus, where there was once a church +of God--one of the "seven churches in Asia"--but the theater was the +chief point of interest to me. It was cut out of the side of the hill, +and its marble seats rested on the sloping sides of the excavation, +while a building of some kind, a portion of which yet remains, was built +across the open side at the front. I entered the inclosure, the outlines +of which are still plainly discernible, and sat down on one of the old +seats and ate my noonday meal. As I sat there, I thought of the scene +that would greet my eyes if the centuries that have intervened since +Paul was in Ephesus could be turned back. I thought I might see the +seats filled with people looking down upon the apostle as he fought for +his life; and while there I read his question: "If after the manner of +men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me" if the dead +are not raised up? (I Cor. 15:32). I also read the letter which Jesus +caused the aged Apostle John to write to the church at this place (Rev. +2:1-7), and Paul's epistle to the congregation that once existed in +this idolatrous city of wealth and splendor. As I was leaving this spot, +where I was so deeply impressed with thoughts of the great apostle to +the Gentiles, I stopped and turned back to take a final look, when I +thought of his language to Timothy, recorded in the first eight verses +of the second epistle, and then I turned and read it. Perhaps I was not +so deeply impressed at any other point on the whole journey as I was +here. The grand old hero, who dared to enter the city which was +"temple-keeper of the great Diana," this temple being one of the "Seven +Wonders of the World," and boldly preach the gospel of Christ, +realizing that the time of his departure was at hand, wrote: "I have +fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the +faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, +which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and +not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing." +Meditating on the noble and lofty sentiment the apostle here expresses +in connection with his solemn charge to the young evangelist, I have +found my sentiments well expressed in Balaam's parable, where he says: +"Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his" +(Num. 23:10). + +Near the front of the theater, on the left as one comes out, is quite a +space, which seems to have been excavated recently, and farther to the +left excavations were being made when I was there. An ancient lamp, a +fluted column, and a headless statue were among the articles taken out. +The workmen were resting when I viewed this part of the ruins, and an +old colored man gave me a drink of water. Beginning a little to the +right of the theater, and extending for perhaps fifteen hundred or two +thousand feet, is a marble-paved street, along which are strewn numerous +bases, columns, and capitals, which once ornamented this portion of the +great city; and to the right of this are the remains of some mighty +structure of stone and brick. In some places, where the paving blocks +have been taken up, a water course beneath is disclosed. While walking +around in the ruins, I saw a fine marble sarcophagus, or coffin, +ornamented with carvings of bulls' heads and heavy festoons of oak +leaves. + +J.S. Wood, an Englishman, worked parts of eleven years, from 1863 to +1874, in making excavations at Ephesus. Upwards of eighty thousand +dollars were spent, about fifty-five thousand being used in a successful +effort to find the remains of the Temple of Diana. I followed the +directions of my guide-book, but may not have found the exact spot, as +Brother McGarvey, who visited the place in 1879, speaks of the +excavations being twenty feet deep. "Down in this pit," he says, "lie +the broken columns of white marble and the foundation walls of the +grandest temple ever erected on earth"; but I saw nothing like this. + +When Paul had passed through Galatia and Phrygia, "establishing all the +disciples," "having passed through the upper country," he came to +Ephesus, and found "about twelve men" who had been baptized "into John's +baptism," whom Paul baptized "into the name of the Lord Jesus." He then +entered into the Jewish meeting place and reasoned boldly "concerning +the kingdom of God." Some of the hardened and disobedient spoke "evil of +the Way," so Paul withdrew from them and reasoned "daily in the school +of Tyrannus. And this continued for the space of two years; so that all +they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and +Greeks." The Lord wrought special miracles by Paul, so that the sick +were healed when handkerchiefs or aprons were borne from him to them. +Here some of the strolling Jews "took upon them to name over them that +had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by +Jesus, whom Paul preacheth." When two of the sons of Sceva undertook to +do this, the man possessed of the evil spirit "leaped on them and +mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out +of the house naked and wounded." There were stirring times in Ephesus in +those days. Fear fell upon the people, "and the name of the Lord Jesus +was magnified." Many of the believers "came confessing, and declaring +their deeds. And not a few of them that practiced magical arts brought +their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they +counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of +silver." "So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed." + +"And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way. For a +certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of +Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen; whom he gathered +together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know +that by this business we have our wealth. And ye see and hear that not +alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath +persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods that +are made with hands: and not only is there danger that our trade come +into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana be +made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her +magnificence, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth. And when they +heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is +Diana of the Ephesians. And the city was filled with the confusion: and +they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and +Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel. And when +Paul was minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him +not. And certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him +and besought him not to adventure himself into the theater. Some +therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in +confusion; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. +And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him +forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand and would have made a +defense unto the people. But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all +with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of +the Ephesians. And when the town clerk had quieted the multitude, he +saith, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the +city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the +image which fell down from Jupiter? Seeing then that these things can +not be gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash. For ye +have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor +blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius, and the craftsmen +that are with him, have a matter against any man, the courts are open, +and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another. But if ye seek +anything about other matters, it shall be settled in the regular +assembly. For indeed we are in danger to be accused concerning this +day's riot, there being no cause for it: and as touching it we shall not +be able to give an account of this concourse. And when he had thus +spoken, he dismissed the assembly" (Acts 19:23-41). + +As I was leaving the ruins, I stopped, sat down in sight of the spot +where I supposed the temple stood, and read the speech of Demetrius, and +thought his fears were well founded. Their trade has come into +disrepute, "the temple of the great goddess" has been "made of no +account," and "she whom Asia and all the world" worshiped has been +"deposed from her magnificence." Portions of the temple are now on +exhibition in the British Museum, in London, and portions have been +carried to different other cities to adorn buildings inferior to the one +in which they were originally used. "From the temple to the more +southern of the two eastern gates of the city," says McGarvey, "are +traces of a paved street nearly a mile in length, along the side of +which was a continuous colonnade, with the marble coffins of the city's +illustrious dead occupying the spaces between the columns. The +processions of worshipers, as they marched out of the city to the +temple, passed by this row of coffins, the inscriptions on which were +constantly proclaiming the noble deeds of the mighty dead." The canal +and artificial harbor, which enabled the ships of the world to reach the +gates of the city, have disappeared under the weight of the hand of +time. In some places the ground is literally covered with small stones, +and even in the theater, weeds, grass and bushes grow undisturbed. How +complete the desolation! + +Before leaving Ayassalouk on the afternoon train, I bought some grapes +of a man who weighed them to me with a pair of balances, putting the +fruit on one pan and a stone on the other; but I didn't object to his +scales, for he gave me a good supply, and I went back and got some more. +I also bought some bread to eat with the grapes, and one of the numerous +priests of these Eastern countries gave me some other fruit on the +train. I was abroad in the fruit season, and I enjoyed it very much. I +had several kinds, including the orange, lemon, grapes, pomegranates, +figs, olives, and dates. Perhaps I had nothing finer than the large, +sweet grapes of Greece. The next day after the trip to Ephesus, I +boarded the _Princess Eugenia_, a Russian ship, for Beyrout, in Syria. +Soon after leaving Smyrna the ship stopped at a port of disinfection. +The small boats were lowered, and the third-class passengers were +carried to the disinfecting establishment, where their clothes were +heated in a steam oven, while they received a warm shower bath without +expense to themselves. A nicely dressed young German shook his head +afterwards, as though he did not like such treatment; but it was not +specially disagreeable, and there was no use to complain. + +That evening, the twenty-second of September, we sailed into a harbor on +the island of Chios, the birth-place of the philosopher Pythagoras. It +is an island twenty-seven miles long, lying near the mainland. The next +morning we passed Cos and Rhodes. On this last mentioned island once +stood the famous Colossus, which was thrown down by an earthquake in 224 +B.C. The island of Patmos, to which John was banished, and upon which he +wrote the Revelation, was passed in the night before we reached Cos. It +is a rocky, barren patch of land, about twenty miles in circumference, +lying twenty-four miles from the coast of Asia Minor. On the +twenty-fourth the _Princess Eugenia_ passed the southwestern end of the +island of Cyprus. In response to a question, one of the seamen answered +me: "Yes, that's Kiprus." I was sailing over the same waters Paul +crossed on his third missionary tour on the way from Assos to Tyre. He +"came over against Chios," "came with a straight course unto Cos, and +the next day unto Rhodes," and when he "had come in sight of Cyprus, +leaving it on the left hand (he) sailed unto Syria and landed at Tyre" +(Acts 20:15 and 21:1-3). + +On the evening of Lord's day, September twenty-fifth, the ship passed +Tripoli, on the Syrian coast, and dropped down to Beyrout, where I +stopped at the "Hotel Mont Sion," with the waves of the Mediterranean +washing against the foundation walls. At seven o'clock the next morning +I boarded the train for Damascus, ninety-one miles distant, and we were +soon climbing the western slope of the Lebanon Mountains by a cog +railway. When we were part way up, the engine was taken back and hitched +to the rear end of the train. After we were hauled along that way +awhile, it was changed back to the front end again. In these mountains +are vineyards and groves of figs, olives, and mulberry trees, but most +of the ground was dry and brown, as I had seen it in Southern Italy, +Greece, and Asia Minor. Beyond the mountains is a beautiful plain, which +we entered about noon, and when it was crossed, we came to the +Anti-Lebanon Mountains, and reached the old city in the evening. +Damascus, with its mixed population of Moslems, Greeks, Syrians, +Armenians, Jews, and others, is the largest city in Syria, and it has +probably been continuously inhabited longer than any other city on +earth. Away back in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis we read of +Abraham's victory over the enemies who had taken Lot away, whom Abraham +pursued "unto Hobah, which is on the left of Damascus," and in the next +chapter we read of "Eliezer of Damascus," who Abraham thought would be +the possessor of his house. Rezon "reigned in Damascus, and he was an +adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon" (1 Kings 11:23-25). Elisha +went to Damascus when Ben-Hadad was sick (2 Kings 8:7-15); Jeroboam +recovered the city, which had belonged to Judah (2 Kings 14:28); and +Jeremiah prophesied of the city (Jeremiah 49:23-27). It was probably the +home of Naaman, the Syrian leper, and here Paul was baptized into +Christ. + +For a long time the Arabs have considered Damascus as "an earthly +reflection of Paradise," but an American or European would consider a +place no better than it is as being far from the Paradise of Divine +making. But it is not entirely without reason that these people have +such a lofty conception of the old city. The Koran describes Paradise as +a place of trees and streams of water, and Damascus is briefly described +in those words. There are many public drinking fountains in the city, +and owing to the abundance of water, there are many trees. The river +Abana, one of the "rivers of Damascus" (2 Kings 5:12), flows through the +city, but the most of its water is diverted by artificial channels. I +had some difficulty in finding the American Consular Agent, and it is no +wonder, for the place is not the most prominent in Damascus by a good +deal, and the escutcheon marking it as the place where the American +Government is represented is not on the street, but over a door in a +kind of porch. The Agent was not in, so I retraced my steps to the +French consulate, which is near by. I was kindly received by a gentleman +who could speak English, and after we had had a good, cool drink of +lemonade, he went with me to the "Hotel d'Astre d'Orient," in the +"street which is called Straight." The next morning I found the American +Agent in his office. Then I went to the postoffice, and after being +taken upstairs and brought back downstairs, I was led up to a little +case on the wall, which was unlocked in order that I might look through +the bunch of letters it contained addressed in English, and I was made +glad by receiving an epistle from the little woman who has since taken +my name upon her for life. After reading my letter, I went out and +walked up the mountain side far enough to get a bird's-eye view of the +city, and it was a fine sight the rich growth of green trees presented +in contrast with the brown earth all around. Returning to the city, I +walked about the streets, devoting some of my time to the bazaars, or +little stores, in which a great variety of goods are offered for sale. I +also saw several kinds of work, such as weaving, wood-turning and +blacksmithing, being carried on. The lathes used for turning wood are +very simple, and are operated by a bow held in the workman's right hand, +while the chisel is held in his left hand and steadied by the toes on +one or the other of his feet. It is a rather slow process, but they can +turn out good work. One gentleman, who was running a lathe of this kind, +motioned for me to come up and sit by his side on a low stool. I +accepted his invitation, and he at once offered me a cigarette, which I +could not accept. A little later he called for a small cup of coffee, +which I also declined, but he took no offense. "The street which is +called Straight" is not as straight as might be supposed from its name, +but there is probably enough difference between its course and that of +others to justify the name. + +When Paul was stricken with blindness on his way here (Acts 9:1-30), he +was directed to enter the city, where he would be told all things that +were appointed for him to do. He obeyed the voice from heaven, and +reached the house of Judas in Straight Street. When I reached the +traditional site of the house of Ananias, in the eastern part of the +city, near the gate at the end of Straight Street, I found a +good-natured woman sitting on the pavement just inside the door opening +from the street to what would be called a yard in America. The "house" +has been converted into a small church, belonging to the Catholics, and +it is entirely below the surface. I went down the stairs, and found a +small chamber with an arched ceiling and two altars. I also went out and +visited the old gateway at the end of the street. The masonry is about +thirteen feet thick, and it may be that here Paul, deprived of his +sight, and earnestly desiring to do the will of the Lord, entered the +city so long ago. I then viewed a section of the wall from the outside. +The lower part is ancient, but the upper part is modern, and the portion +that I saw was in a dilapidated condition. "In Damascus," Paul wrote to +the Corinthians, "the governor, under Aretas the king, guarded the city +of the Damascenes in order to take me: and through a window was I let +down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands" (2 Cor. 11:32,33). +In some places there are houses so built in connection with the wall +that it would not be a very difficult thing to lower a man from one of +the windows to the ground outside the city. + +Mention has already been made of the Arab's opinion of Damascus, and now +I wish to tell how it appeared through my spectacles. The view from the +distance is very pleasing, but when one comes inside the wall and begins +to walk about the streets, the scene changes. The outside of the +buildings is not beautiful. The streets are narrow, crooked, and usually +very dirty; in some cases they are filthy. It seems that all kinds of +rubbish are thrown into the streets, and the dogs are scavengers. +Perhaps no other city has so many dogs. At one place up along the Abana, +now called the Barada, I counted twenty-three of these animals, and a +few steps brought me in sight of five more; but there is some filth that +even Damascus dogs will not clean up. Some of the streets are roughly +paved with stone, but in the best business portion of the city that I +saw there was no pavement and no sidewalk--it was all street from one +wall to the other. I saw a man sprinkling one of the streets with water +carried in the skin of some animal, perhaps a goat. When I came out of +the postoffice, a camel was lying on the pavement, and in another part +of the city I saw a soldier riding his horse on the sidewalk. Down in +"the street which is called Straight" a full-grown man was going along +as naked as when he was born. Perhaps he was insane, but we do not even +allow insane men to walk the streets that way in this country. Carriages +are used for conveying passengers, but freight is usually moved on the +backs of horses, camels, donkeys, or men. Some wagons and carts are to +be seen, but they are not numerous. It is remarkable what loads are +piled upon the donkeys, probably the commonest beasts of burden in +Damascus. Sometimes the poor little creatures are almost hidden from +view by the heavy burdens they are required to bear, which may consist +of grapes to be sold, or rubbish to be carried out of the city. +Sometimes they are ridden by as many as three people at once. If the +gospel were to get a firm hold on these people, the donkeys would fare +better. + +About 333 B.C., Damascus came under the control of Alexander the Great. +Antiochus Dionysius reigned there three years, but was succeeded by +Aretas of Arabia in 85 B.C. Under Trajan it became a Roman provincial +city. The Mongols took it in 1260, and the Tartars plundered it in 1300. +An enemy marched against it in 1399, but the citizens purchased immunity +from plunder by paying a "sum of a million pieces of gold." In 1516, +when Selim, the Turkish Sultan, marched in, it became one of the +provincial capitals of the Turkish Empire, and so continues. There was a +very serious massacre here in 1860. All the consulates, except the +British and Prussian, were burned, and the entire Christian quarter was +turned into ruins. In the two consulates that were spared many lives +were preserved, but it is said that "no fewer than six thousand +unoffending Christians ... were thus murdered in Damascus alone," and +"the whole number of the Christians who perished in these days of terror +is estimated at fourteen thousand." A number of the leaders were +afterward beheaded, and a French force, numbering ten thousand, was sent +into the country. The Mohammedans have about two hundred mosques and +colleges in this city, which was once far advanced in civilization. + +I left Damascus and returned toward the coast to Rayak, where I took the +train on a branch line for Baalbec, the Syrian city of the sun, a place +having no Biblical history, but being of interest on account of the +great stones to be seen there. No record has been preserved as to the +origin of the city, but coins of the first century of the Christian era +show that it was then a Roman colony. It is situated in the valley of +the Litany, at an elevation of two thousand eight hundred and forty feet +above the sea. The chief ruins are in a low part of the valley by the +side of the present town, and are surrounded by gardens. Within the +inclosing wall are the remains of the temple of Jupiter and the temple +of the sun. The hand of time and the hand of man have each had a share +in despoiling these ruins, but they still speak with eloquence of their +grandeur at an earlier date. The wall is so low on the north that it is +supposed to have been left unfinished. Here are nine stones, each said +to be thirty feet long, ten feet thick and thirteen feet high, and they +are closely joined together without the use of mortar. Just around the +corner are three others still larger, and built in the wall about twenty +feet above the foundation. Their lengths are given as follows: +sixty-three feet; sixty-three feet and eight inches; and sixty-four +feet. They are thirteen feet high and about ten feet thick. Some may be +interested in knowing how such large building blocks were moved. +McGarvey says: "It is explained by the carved slabs found in the temple +of Nineveh, on which are sculptured representations of the entire +process. The great rock was placed on trucks by means of levers, a large +number of strong ropes were tied to the truck, a smooth track of heavy +timbers was laid, and men in sufficient number to move the mass were +hitched to the ropes." Some of the smaller stones have holes cut in +them, as if for bars, levers, or something of that kind, but the faces +of these big blocks are smooth. "A man must visit the spot, ride round +the exterior, walk among the ruins, sit down here and there to gaze upon +its more impressive features, see the whole by sunlight, by twilight, +and by moonlight, and allow his mind leisurely to rebuild it and +re-people it, ere he can comprehend it."--_McGarvey_. + +There were some of the native girls out by the ruins who tried to sell +me some of their needle work, but I was not disposed to buy. One of them +attempted to make a sale by saying something like this: "You're very +nice, Mister; please buy one." I told her there was a little girl in +America who thought that, too, and went on. There is a rock in the +quarry at Baalbec that is larger than any of those in the ruins, +although it was never entirely cut out, the length of which is +sixty-eight feet, and the width varies from about thirteen feet at one +end to seventeen feet at the other. It is about fourteen feet thick, and +the estimated weight is fifteen hundred tons. Some of the stones in a +ruined building, once a tomb, standing on the hill above the town, give +forth a metallic ring when struck. Farther on is a small cemetery, in +which some of the headstones and footstones are as much as nine feet +apart. If the people buried there were that long, surely "there were +giants in the land in those days." I went down on the opposite side of +the hill from the tomb and entered a vineyard, where an old man treated +me with kindness and respect. The modern town is poorly built of small +stones and mud, but there are some good buildings of dressed stone, +among which I may mention the British Syrian School and the Grand New +Hotel. I staid at another hotel, where I found one of those pre-occupied +beds which travelers in the East so often find. About midnight, after I +had killed several of the little pests, I got up and shaved by +candle-light, for I wasn't sleepy, and there was no use to waste the +time. + +Leaving Baalbec, I went down to Rayak and on to Beyrout again. This old +city is said to have been entirely destroyed in the second century +before Christ. It was once a Roman possession, and gladiatorial combats +were held there by Titus after the destruction of Jerusalem. An +earthquake destroyed it in 529, and the British bombarded it in 1840. +The population is a great mixture of Turks, Orthodox Greeks, United +Greeks, Jews, Latins, Maronites, Protestants, Syrians, Armenians, +Druses, and others. A great many ships call here, as this is the most +important commercial city in Syria. The numerous exports consist of +silk, olive oil, cotton, raisins, licorice, figs, soap, sponges, cattle, +and goats. Timber, coffee, rice, and manufactured goods are imported. At +one time Arabic was the commonest language, and Italian came next, but +now, while Arabic holds first place, French comes second. The British, +Austrians, Russians, and perhaps the French, maintain their own +postoffices. Considerable efforts are being made by American, British, +and other missionary institutions to better the condition of the +natives. The American Mission, conducted by the Presbyterians, has been +in operation more than seventy years. A few years ago they had one +hundred and forty-three schools and more than seven thousand pupils. The +Church of Scotland has a mission for the Jews. The British Syrian +Mission was established in 1864. + +Beyrout has comparatively little of interest for the traveler. I walked +out to the public garden one morning and found it closed, but I do not +think I missed much. As I went along from place to place, I had +opportunity to see the weavers, wood-turners, and marble-cutters at +their work. I stopped at a small candy factory, equipped with what +seemed to be good machinery for that kind of work. One day I watched +some camels get up after their burdens of lumber had been tied on. They +kept up a peculiar distressing noise while they were being loaded, but +got up promptly when the time came. When a camel lies down, his legs +fold up something like a carpenter's rule, and when he gets up, he first +straightens out one joint of the fore legs, then all of the hind legs, +and finally, when the fore legs come straight, he is standing away up in +the air. The extensive buildings of the American College were visited, +also the American Press, the missionary headquarters of Presbyterians in +America. On the third of October the Khedivial steamer _Assouan_ came +along, and I embarked for Haifa, in Galilee. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A FEW DAYS IN GALILEE. + + +Years ago, when I first began to think of making the trip I am now +describing, I had no thought of the many interesting places that I could +easily and cheaply visit on my way to Palestine. I did not then think of +what has been described on the foregoing pages. Now I have come to the +place where I am to tell my readers the story of my travels in the Land +of Promise, and I want to make it as interesting and instructive as +possible. It is important to have a knowledge of the geography of all +the lands mentioned, but it is especially important to know the location +of the various places referred to in Palestine. These pages will be more +profitable if the reader will make frequent reference to maps of the +land, that he may understand the location of the different places +visited. I shall first describe my trip across the province of Galilee, +and take up my sight-seeing in Judaea in other chapters. + +The ancient Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon were on the coast +between Beyrout and Haifa, where I entered Galilee on the fourth of +October, but we passed these places in the night. Haifa, situated at the +base of Mount Carmel, has no Biblical history, but is one of the two +places along the coast of Palestine where ships stop, Jaffa being the +other. Mount Carmel is fourteen miles long, and varies in height from +five hundred and fifty-six feet at the end next to the sea to eighteen +hundred and ten feet at a point twelve miles inland. There is a +monastery on the end next to the Mediterranean, which I reached after a +dusty walk along the excellent carriage road leading up from Haifa. +After I rested awhile, reading my Bible and guide-book, I walked out to +the point where the sea on three sides, the beautiful little plain at +the base of the mountain, Haifa, and Acre across the bay, all made up +one of the prettiest views of the whole trip. Owing to its proximity to +the sea and the heavy dews, Carmel was not so dry and brown as much of +the country I had seen before. + +By the direction of Elijah, Ahab gathered the prophets of Baal, +numbering four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah, four +hundred more, at some point on this mountain, probably at the eastern +end, passed on my way over to Nazareth later in the day. "And Elijah +came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between +the two sides? If Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow +him" (1 Kings 18:21). He then proposed that two sacrifices be laid on +the wood, with no fire under them; that the false prophets should call +on their god, and he would call on Jehovah. The God that answered by +fire was to be God. "All the people answered and said, It is well +spoken." The prophets of Baal called upon him from morning till noon, +saying, "O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. +And they leaped about the altar that was made. And it came to pass at +noon that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: +either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or +peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and +cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the +blood gushed out upon them. And it was so, when midday was past, that +they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; +but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded." +The sincerity, earnestness, and perseverance of these people are +commendable, but they were _wrong_. Sincerity, although a most desirable +trait, can not change a wrong act into acceptable service to God, nor +can earnestness and perseverance make such a change. It is necessary +both to be honest and to do the will of our heavenly Father. After water +had been poured over the other sacrifice till it ran down and filled the +trench around the altar, Elijah called on Jehovah, and in response to +his petition "the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt offering, +and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that +was in the trench." Elijah then took the false prophets down to the +brook Kishon, at the base of the mountain, and killed them. Acre is the +Acco of the Old Testament, and lies around the bay, twelve mile from +Haifa. It is said that the Phoenicians obtained the dye called Tyrian +purple there, and that shells of the fish that yielded it are yet to be +found along the beach. Napoleon besieged the place in 1799, and used a +monastery, since destroyed, on Mount Carmel for a hospital. After his +retreat, Mohammedans killed the sick and wounded soldiers who had been +left behind, and they were buried near the monastery. Acre was called +Ptolemais in apostolic times, and Paul spent a day with the brethren +there as he was on his way down the coast from Tyre to Jerusalem. (Acts +21:7.) + +About noon I entered a carriage for Nazareth, in which there were four +other passengers: a lady connected with the English Orphanage in +Nazareth, and three boys going there to attend the Russian school. About +two miles from Haifa we crossed the dry bed of the Kishon, as this +stream, like many others in Palestine, only flows in the wet season. Our +course led along the base of Carmel to the southeast, and the supposed +place of Elijah's sacrifice was pointed out. Afterwards Mount Gilboa, +where Saul and Jonathan were slain, came in sight, and later we saw +Little Hermon with Nain upon it, Endor below it on one side, and Jezreel +not far away in another direction. We saw a good portion of the Plain of +Esdraelon, and Mount Tabor was in sight before we entered Nazareth, +which lies on the slope of a hill and comes suddenly into view. + +Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and the references to it +in the New Testament are not numerous. When Joseph returned from Egypt +in the reign of Archelaus, the son of Herod, he was afraid to go into +Judaea, "and being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts +of Galilee, and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might +be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, that he should be called a +Nazarene" (Matt. 2:19-23). I do not know the age of Jesus when Joseph +and Mary came with him to Nazareth, but "his parents went every year to +Jerusalem at the feast of the passover"; and we are told that the child +was twelve years old at the time his parents missed him as they were +returning from the feast, and later found him in the temple hearing the +teachers and asking them questions. In this connection we are told that +"he went down with them and came to Nazareth; and he was subject unto +them" (Luke 2:51). Luke also informs us that Jesus, "when he began to +teach, was about thirty years of age" (Luke 3:23). Thus we have a +period of eighteen years between the incident in the temple and the +beginning of his public ministry, in which Jesus resided in Nazareth. +The greater part of his earth life was spent in this Galilean city, +where he was subject unto his parents. It is a blessed thing that so +much can be said of our Savior in so few words. It is highly commendable +that children be subject unto their parents, who love them dearly, and +who know best what is for their health, happiness, and future good. + +After his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, "Jesus returned in +the power of the spirit into Galilee, ... and he came to Nazareth, where +he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the +synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read." When the roll of the +Scriptures was handed to him, he read from the opening verses of the +sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, then "he closed the book, and gave it +back to the attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the +synagogue were fastened on him" as he told them: "To-day hath this +scripture been fulfilled in your ears," and although they "wondered at +the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth," they were not +willing to accept his teaching, and as he continued to speak, "they were +all filled with wrath, ... and they rose up, and cast him forth out of +the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was +built, that they might throw him down headlong. But he, passing through +the midst of them, went his way. And he came down to Capernaum, a city +of Galilee" (Luke 4:14-31). + +Having made arrangements for a carriage the evening I arrived in +Nazareth, before daylight the next morning I started to drive to +Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. When I went down stairs, at about +half-past three o'clock, I found a covered rig with two seats, and three +horses hitched to it side by side. I filed no objection to the size of +the carriage, nor to the manner in which the horses were hitched. As the +driver could not speak English and the passenger could not speak Arabic, +there was no conversation on the way. As we drove out of Nazareth, I +observed a large number of women at the Virgin's Fountain, filling their +jars with water. At a distance of a little more than three miles we +passed through Kefr Kenna, the "Cana of Galilee," where Jesus performed +his first miracle. (John 2:1-11.) The road to Tiberias is not all +smooth, but is better than might be supposed. With three horses and a +light load, we were able to move along in the cool of the morning at a +lively gait, passing a camel train, an occasional village, olive +orchard, or mulberry grove. After a while the light of the moon grew +pale, and about six o'clock the great round sun came above the horizon +in front of us, and it was not long until a beautiful sheet of water six +miles long--the Sea of Galilee--came suddenly into view. We rolled along +the winding curves of the carriage road, down the slope of the hill, and +through a gateway in the old wall, to Tiberias, on the west shore of +"Blue Galilee." + +According to Josephus, Herod Antipas began to build a new capital city +about sixteen years before the birth of Jesus, and completed it in A.D. +22. He named this new city Tiberias, in honor of the emperor, but it +does not appear to have been a popular place with the Jews, and but +little is said of it in the New Testament (John 21:1), yet it was not an +insignificant place. The Sanhedrin was transferred from Sepphoris, the +old capital, to the new city, and here the school of the Talmud was +developed against the gospel system. The ancient traditional law, called +the "Mishna," is said to have been published here in A.D. 200, and the +Palestinian Gemara (the so-called Jerusalem Talmud) came into existence +at this place more than a century later. The Tiberian pointing of the +Hebrew Bible began here. The present population is largely composed of +Jews, about two-thirds of the inhabitants being descendants of Abraham. +They wear large black hats or fur caps, and leave a long lock of hair +hanging down in front of each ear. There is little in Tiberias to +interest the traveler who has seen the ruins of Rome, Athens and +Ephesus. The seashore bounds it on one side and an old stone wall runs +along at the other side. I walked past some of the bazaars, and saw the +mosque and ruined castle. About a mile down the shore are the hot +springs, which, for many centuries, have been thought to possess +medicinal properties. I tried the temperature of one of the springs, and +found it too hot to be comfortable to my hand. As I returned to +Tiberias, I had a good, cool bath in the sea, which is called by a +variety of names, as "the sea of Tiberias," "sea of Galilee," "sea of +Genessaret," and "sea of Chinnereth." It is a small lake, thirteen miles +long, lying six hundred and eighty-two feet below the level of the +Mediterranean. The depth is given as varying from one hundred and thirty +to one hundred and sixty-five feet. It is really "Blue Galilee," and the +sight of it is an agreeable change to the eye after one has been +traveling the dry, dusty roads leading through a country almost +destitute of green vegetation. In the spring, when the grass is growing +and the flowers are in bloom, the highlands rising around the sea must +be very beautiful. + +Several places mentioned in the New Testament were situated along the +Sea of Galilee, but they have fallen into ruin--in some cases into utter +ruin. One of these was Bethsaida, where Jesus gave sight to a blind man +(Mark 8:22-26), and fed a multitude of about five thousand. (Luke +9:10-17.) It was also the home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter. (John +1:44.) It is thought by some that James and John also came from this +place. On the northwestern shore was Chorazin, situated in the +neighborhood of Bethsaida; also Capernaum, once the home of Jesus; and +Magdala, the name of which "has been immortalized in every language of +Christendom as denoting the birth-place of Mary Magdalene, or better, +Mary of Magdala." Safed is a large place on a mountain above the sea in +sight of the Nazareth road, and was occupied by the French in 1799. It +is said that the Jews have a tradition that the Messiah will come from +this place. On the way back to Nazareth the driver stopped at the spring +of Kefr Kenna and watered his horses and rested them awhile. Hundreds of +goats, calves, and other stock were being watered, and I saw an old +stone coffin being used for a watering trough. + +After another night in Nazareth, I was ready to go out to Mount Tabor. +For this trip I had engaged a horse to ride and a man to go along and +show me where to ride it, for we did not follow a regular road, if, +indeed, there is any such a thing leading to this historic place, which +is about six miles from Nazareth. It was only a little past four +o'clock in the morning when we started, and the flat top of the +mountain, two thousand and eighteen feet above sea level, was reached at +an early hour. Mount Tabor is a well-shaped cone, with a good road for +horseback riding leading up its side. There is some evidence that there +was a city here more than two hundred years before Christ. Josephus +fortified it in his day, and part of the old wall still remains. +According to a tradition, contradicted by the conclusion of modern +scholars, this is the mount of transfiguration. By the end of the sixth +century three churches had been erected on the summit to commemorate the +three tabernacles which Peter proposed to build (Matt. 17:1-8), and now +the Greek and Roman Catholics have each a monastery only a short +distance apart, separated by a stone wall or fence. The extensive view +from the top is very fine, including a section of Galilee from the +Mediterranean to the sea of Tiberias. + +In the Book of Judges we read that Israel was delivered into the hands +of the Canaanites, and was sorely oppressed for twenty years. The +prophetess Deborah sent for Barak, and instructed him with a message +from God to the end that he should take "ten thousand men of the +children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun" unto Mount Tabor. +This he did, and Sisera assembled his nine hundred chariots "from +Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river Kishon. So Barak went down from +Mount Tabor and ten thousand men after him. ... Howbeit, Sisera fled +away on his feet to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite," +and she drove a tent-pin through his temples while he was lying asleep, +(Judges 4:1-23.) The song of Deborah and Barak, beginning with the +words, "For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, for that the +people offered themselves willingly, bless ye Jehovah," is recorded in +the fifth chapter of Judges. + +I was back in Nazareth by ten o'clock, and spent some hours looking +around the city where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary the words: +"Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee" (Luke 1:28). +These hours, with what time I had already spent here, enabled me to see +several places of interest. Tradition points out many places connected +with the lives of Joseph and Mary, but tradition is not always reliable, +for it sometimes happens that the Greeks and the Romans each have a +different location for the same event. This is true with regard to the +point where the angry people were about to throw Jesus over "the brow of +the hill" (Luke 4:29). I saw no place that struck me as being the one +referred to in the Scriptures, and in reply to an inquiry, a lady at the +English Orphanage, who has spent twenty years in Nazareth, said she +thought it was some place on that side of the town, but the contour of +the hill had probably changed. She also mentioned that the relics taken +out in excavations were all found on that side, indicating that the old +city had been built there. When Brother McGarvey visited Palestine, he +found two places that corresponded somewhat with Luke's reference to the +place. Concerning one of them he wrote: "I am entirely satisfied that +here is where the awful attempt was made." I was shown the "place of +annunciation" in the Latin monastery. On the top of a column stands the +figure of a female, probably representing the Virgin, and a bit of ruin +that is said to date back to the time of Constantine is pointed out. +Here, I was told, stood the first church building erected in Nazareth. +One of the "brothers" took the key and went around to a building +supposed to stand on the site of Joseph's carpenter shop. It is a small +chapel, built about 1858 over the ruins of some older structure. In the +floor of marble or stone there are two wooden trapdoors, which are +raised to show the ruins below. Over the altar in the end opposite the +door is a picture to represent the holy family, and there are some other +pictures in different parts of the little chapel. From here I went to +the Virgin's Fountain. If it be true that this is the only spring in +Nazareth, then I have no doubt that I was near the spot frequently +visited by the Nazarene maid who became the mother of our Lord. I say +near the spot, for the masonry where the spring discharges is about a +hundred yards from the fountain, which is now beneath the floor of a +convent. The water flows out through the wall by two stone spouts, and +here the women were crowded around, filling their vessels or waiting for +their turn. The flow was not very strong, and this helps to explain why +so many women were there before daylight the morning I went to Tiberias. +I saw one woman, who was unable to get her vessel under the stream of +one of the spouts, drawing down a part of the water by sticking a leaf +against the end of the spout. I also visited some of the bazaars and +went to the Orphanage. This missionary institution is nicely situated in +a prominent place well up on the hill, and is managed entirely by women, +but a servant is kept to do outside work. They treated me very kindly, +showing me about the building, and when the girls came in to supper they +sang "the Nazareth Hymn" for me. + +One of the occupations of the people here is manufacturing a knife with +goat horn handles that is commonly seen in Palestine. Many of the women +go about the streets with their dresses open like a man's shirt when +unbuttoned, exposing their breasts in an unbecoming manner. The same is +true of many women in Jerusalem. About one-third of the mixed population +are Jews; the other two-thirds are Mohammedans and professing +Christians, made up of Orthodox Greeks, United Greeks, Roman Catholics, +Maronites (a branch of the Greek Church), and Protestants. I went back +to Haifa and spent a night. The next morning I boarded the Austrian ship +_Juno_ for Jaffa. When I first landed here I had trouble with the +boatman, because he wanted me to pay him more than I had agreed to pay, +and on this occasion I again had the same difficulty, twice as much +being demanded at the ship as was agreed upon at the dock; but I was +firm and won my point both times. While in Galilee I had crossed the +province from sea to sea; I had visited the city in which Jesus spent +the greater part of his earth life, and the sea closely connected with +several important things in his career. I had ascended Carmel, and from +the top of Tabor I had taken an extensive view of the land, and now I +was satisfied to drop down the coast and enter Judaea. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +SIGHT-SEEING IN JERUSALEM. + + +Before leaving the ship at Jaffa I was talking with Mr. Ahmed, a +gentleman from India, who had spent some time in Egypt, and had traveled +extensively. He claimed to be a British subject, and was able to speak +several languages. While we were arranging to go ashore together, one +of the many boatmen who had come out to the ship picked up my suit-case +while my back was turned, and the next thing I saw of it he was taking +it down the stairs to one of the small boats. By some loud and emphatic +talk I succeeded in getting him to put it out of one boat into another, +but he would not bring it back. Mr. Ahmed and I went ashore with another +man, whom we paid for carrying us and our baggage. I found the suit-case +on the dock, and we were soon in the custom house, where my baggage and +passport were both examined, but Mr. Ahmed escaped having his baggage +opened by paying the boatman an additional fee. As we arrived in Jaffa +too late to take the train for Jerusalem that day, we waited over night +in the city from whence Jonah went to sea so long ago. We lodged at the +same hotel and were quartered in the same room. This was the first and +only traveling companion I had on the whole journey, and I was a little +shy. I felt like I wanted some pledge of honorable dealing from my newly +formed acquaintance, and when he expressed himself as being a British +subject, I mentioned that I was an American and extended my hand, +saying: "Let us treat each other right." He gave me his hand with the +words: "Species man, species man!" He meant that we both belonged to the +same class of beings, and should, therefore, treat each other right, a +very good reason indeed. A long time before, in this same land, Abraham +had expressed himself to Lot on a similar line in these words: "Let +there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my +herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren" (Gen. 13:8). On Saturday +we moved our baggage over to the depot and boarded the train for +Jerusalem. On the way to the depot an old gentleman, whom I would have +guessed to be a German, passed me. When I entered the car it was my lot +to ride by him. He learned that I had been to Bristol, England, and had +visited the orphan homes founded by George Muller, and he remarked: "You +are a Christian, then." He probably said this because he thought no +other would be interested in such work. It developed that he was a +converted Jew, and was conducting a mission for his people in the Holy +City. Without telling him my position religiously, I inquired concerning +different points, and found his faith and mine almost alike. This new +acquaintance was D.C. Joseph, whose association I also enjoyed after +reaching Jerusalem. + +It was late in the afternoon of October ninth when we got off the train +at the Jerusalem station, which is so situated that the city can not +be seen from that point. By the time we had our baggage put away in a +native hotel outside the city walls it was dark. We then started out +to see if there was any mail awaiting me. First we went to the Turkish +office, which was reached by a flight of dark stairs. Mr. Ahmed went +up rather slowly. Perhaps he felt the need of caution more than I did. +According to my recollection, they handed us a candle, and allowed us to +inspect the contents of a small case for the mail. We found nothing, so +we made our way down the dark stairway to the German office, situated +on the ground floor, nicely furnished and properly lighted, but there +was no mail there for me, as mail from America goes to the Austrian +office, inside the Jaffa gate. + +The next day was Lord's day, and for the time being I ceased to be +a tourist and gave myself up mainly to religious services. I first +attended the meeting conducted by Bro. Joseph at the mission to Israel. +It was the first service I had attended, and the first opportunity that +had come to me for breaking bread since I left London, the last of +August. After this assembly of four persons was dismissed, I went to the +services of the Church of England and observed their order of worship. +The minister was in a robe, and delivered a really good sermon of about +fifteen minutes' duration, preceded by reading prayers and singing +praise for about an hour. By invitation, I took dinner with Miss Dunn, +an American lady, at whose house Bro. Joseph was lodging. As she had +been in Jerusalem fifteen years and was interested in missionary work, +I enjoyed her company as well as her cooking. After dinner I went to a +little iron-covered meeting-house called the "tabernacle," where a Mr. +Thompson, missionary of the Christian Alliance, of Nyack, New York, was +the minister. At the close of the Sunday-school a gentleman asked some +questions in English, and the native evangelist, Melki, translated them +into Arabic. By request of Mr. Thompson, I read the opening lesson and +offered prayer, after which he delivered a good address on the great, +coming day, and at the close the Lord's Supper was observed. I +understood that they did this once a month, but it is attended to weekly +at the mission where I was in the morning. At the tabernacle I made the +acquaintance of Mr. Stanton, a Methodist minister from the States; Mr. +Jennings, a colored minister from Missouri, and Mr. Smith, an American +gentleman residing in Jerusalem. There was another meeting in the +tabernacle at night, but I staid at the hotel and finished some writing +to be sent off to the home land. + +Monday was a big day for me. Mr. Ahmed and I went down inside the Jaffa +gate and waited for Mr. Smith, who was our guide, Mr. Jennings, and a +Mr. Michelson, from California. Mr. Smith had been a farmer in America, +but had spent three years at Jerusalem and Jericho. He was well +acquainted with the country, and we could depend upon what he told us. +Add to all this the fact that he went around with us without charge, and +it will be seen that we were well favored. On this Monday morning we +started out to take a walk to Bethany, the old home of that blessed +family composed of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. We passed the Church of +the Holy Sepulcher, walked along the street called the Via Dolorosa, and +saw several of the "stations" Jesus is supposed to have passed on the +way to the execution on Calvary. We passed the traditional site of the +"house of the rich man," the "house of the poor man," and the Temple +Area. After passing the Church of St. Anne, we went out of the city +through St. Stephen's gate, and saw the Birket Sitti Mariam, or Pool +of Lady Mary, one hundred feet long, eighty-five feet wide, and once +twenty-seven and a half feet deep. It is supposed that Stephen was led +through the gate now bearing his name and stoned at a point not far +distant. Going down the hill a few rods, we came to the Church of St. +Mary, a building for the most part underground. It is entered by a +stairway nineteen feet wide at the top, and having forty-seven steps +leading to the floor thirty-five feet below. We went down, and in +the poorly lighted place we found some priests and others singing or +chanting, crossing themselves, kissing a rock, and so on. This church +probably gets its name from the tradition that the mother of Jesus was +buried here. Just outside the church is a cavern that is claimed by some +to be the place of Christ's agony, and by others, who may have given the +matter more thought, it is supposed to be an old cistern, or place for +storing olive oil or grain. Perhaps I would do well to mention here that +tradition has been in operation a long time, and the stories she has +woven are numerous indeed, but often no confidence can be placed in +them. I desire to speak of things of this kind in such a way as not to +mislead my readers. It was near this church that I saw lepers for the +first time. The valley of the Kidron is the low ground lying between +Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. The water flows here only in the wet +part of the year. Crossing this valley and starting up the slope of the +Mount of Olives, we soon come to a plot of ground inclosed by a high +stone wall, with a low, narrow gateway on the upper side. This place is +of great interest, as it bears the name "Garden of Gethsemane," and is +probably the spot to which the lowly Jesus repaired and prayed earnestly +the night before his execution, when his soul was "exceeding sorrowful, +even unto death." It is really a garden, filled with flowers, and olive +trees whose trunks, gnarled and split, represent them as being very old, +but it is not to be supposed that they are the same trees beneath which +Jesus prayed just before Judas and "the band of soldiers and officers" +came out to arrest him. There is a fence inside the wall, leaving a +passageway around the garden between the wall and the fence. Where the +trees reach over the fence a woven-wire netting has been fixed up, to +keep the olives from dropping on the walk, where tourists could pick +them up for souvenirs. The fruit of these old trees is turned into olive +oil and sold, and the seeds are used in making rosaries. At intervals +on the wall there are pictures representing the fourteen stations Jesus +passed as he was being taken to the place of crucifixion. This garden +is the property of the Roman Catholics, and the Greeks have selected +another spot, which they regard as the true Gethsemane, just as each +church holds a different place at Nazareth to be the spot where the +angry Nazarenes intended to destroy the Savior. + +Leaving the garden, we started on up the slope of Olivet, and passed the +fine Russian church, with its seven tapering domes, that shine like the +gold by which they are said to be covered. It appears to be one of the +finest buildings of Jerusalem. As we went on, we looked back and had a +good view of the Kidron valley and the Jews' burial place, along +the slope of the mountain, where uncounted thousands of Abraham's +descendants lie interred. Further up toward the summit is the Church of +the Lord's Prayer, a building erected by a French princess, whose body +is now buried within its walls. This place is peculiar on account of at +least two things. That portion of Scripture commonly called "the Lord's +prayer" is here inscribed on large marble slabs in thirty-two different +languages, and prayer is said to be offered here continually. There is +another church near the Damascus gate, where two "sisters" are said to +be kneeling in prayer at all hours. I entered the beautiful place at +different times, and always found it as represented, but it should not +be supposed that the same women do all the praying, as they doubtless +have enough to change at regular intervals. The Church of the Creed is, +according to a worthless tradition, the place where the apostles drew up +"the creed." It is under the ground, and we passed over it on the way +to the Church of the Lord's Prayer. The Mount of Olives is two thousand +seven hundred and twenty-three feet above sea level, and is about two +hundred feet higher than Mount Moriah. From the summit a fine view of +Jerusalem and the surrounding country may be obtained. The Russians have +erected a lofty stone tower here. After climbing the spiral stairway +leading to the top of it, one is well rewarded by the extensive view. +Looking out from the east side, we could gaze upon the Dead Sea, some +twenty miles away, and more than four thousand feet below us. We visited +the chambers called the "Tombs of the Prophets," but the name is not a +sufficient guarantee to warrant us in believing them to be the burial +places of the men by whom God formerly spoke to the people. On the way +to Bethany we passed the reputed site of Beth-page (Mark 11:1), and soon +came to the town where Jesus performed the great miracle of raising +Lazarus after he had been dead four days. (John 11:1-46.) The place +pointed out as the tomb corresponds to the Scripture which says "It was +a cave" where they laid him. Twenty-six steps lead down to the chamber +where his body is said to have lain when the "blessed Redeemer" cried +with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." Whether this is the exact spot +or not, it is probably a very ancient cave. One writer claims that it +is as old as the incident itself, and says these rock-cut tombs are the +oldest landmarks of Palestine. Tradition points out the home of Lazarus, +and there is a portion of an old structure called the Castle of Lazarus, +which Lazarus may never have seen. Bethany is a small village, occupied +by a few Mohammedan families, who dislike the "Christians." On the +rising ground above the village stands a good modern stone house, +owned by an English lady, who formerly lived in it, but her servant, a +Mohammedan, made an effort to cut her throat, and almost succeeded in +the attempt. Naturally enough, the owner does not wish to live there +now, so we found the building in the care of a professing Christian, +who treated us with courtesy, giving us a good, refreshing drink, and +permitting us to go out on the roof to look around. + +From this point we turned our footsteps toward Jerusalem, "about fifteen +furlongs off"--that is, about two miles distant. (John 11:18.) When +we reached the lower part of the slope of Olivet, where the tombs of +departed Jews are so numerous, Mr. Michelson and Mr. Jennings went on +across the Kidron valley and back to their lodging places, while Mr. +Ahmed, Mr. Smith and I went down to Job's well, in the low ground below +the city. The Tower of Absalom, the Tomb of James, and the Pyramid +of Zachariah were among the first things we saw. They are all burial +places, but we can not depend upon them being the actual tombs of those +whose names they bear. The first is a peculiar monument nineteen and +one-half feet square and twenty-one feet high, cut out of the solid +rock, and containing a chamber, which may be entered by crawling through +a hole in the side. On the top of the natural rock portion a structure +of dressed stone, terminating in one tapering piece, has been erected, +making the whole height of the monument forty-eight feet. The Jews have +a custom of pelting it with stones on account of Absalom's misconduct, +and the front side shows the effect of their stone-throwing. The Grotto +of St. James is the traditional place of his concealment from the time +Jesus was arrested till his resurrection. The Pyramid of Zachariah is +a cube about thirty feet square and sixteen feet high, cut out of the +solid rock, and surmounted by a small pyramid. It has many names cut +upon it in Hebrew letters, and there are some graves near by, as this is +a favorite burial place. Some of the bodies have been buried between the +monument and the wall around it in the passage made in cutting it out of +the rock. Going on down the valley, we have the village of Siloam on the +hill at our left, and on the other side of the Kidron, the southeastern +part of the Holy City. St. Mary's Well is soon reached. This spring, +which may be the Gihon of 1 Kings 1:33, is much lower than the surface +of the ground, the water being reached by two flights of stairs, +one containing sixteen steps, the other fourteen. The spring is +intermittent, and flows from three to five times daily in winter. It +flows twice a day in summer, but in the autumn it only flows once in the +day. When I was there, the spring was low, and two Turkish soldiers were +on duty to preserve order among those who came to get water. + +The Pool of Siloam, fifty-two feet long and eighteen feet wide, is +farther down the valley. The spring and the pool are about a thousand +feet apart, and are connected by an aqueduct through the hill, which, +owing to imperfect engineering, is seventeen hundred feet long. From +a Hebrew inscription found in the lower end of this passageway it was +learned that the excavation was carried on from both ends. A little +below the Pool of Siloam the valley of the Kidron joins the valley of +Hinnom, where, in ancient times, children were made "to pass through the +fire to Moloch" (2 Kings 23:10). Job's Well, perhaps the En Rogel, on +the northern border of Judah (Joshua 15:7), is rectangular in shape and +one hundred and twenty-three feet deep. Sometimes it overflows, but it +seldom goes dry. When I saw it, no less than six persons were drawing +water with ropes and leather buckets. The location of Aceldama, the +field of blood, has been disputed, but some consider that it was on the +hill above the valley of Hinnom. There are several rock-cut tombs along +the slope of the hill facing the valley of Hinnom, and some of them are +being used as dwelling places. The Moslems have charge of a building +outside the city walls, called David's Tomb, which they guard very +carefully, and only a portion of it is accessible to visitors. Near this +place a new German Catholic church was being erected at a cost of four +hundred thousand dollars. We entered the city by the Zion gate, and +passed the Tower of David, a fortification on Mount Zion, near the Jaffa +gate. + +On the ship coming down from Beyrout I had a conversation with a man who +claimed to have been naturalized in the United States, and to have +gone to Syria to visit his mother, but, according to his story, he was +arrested and imprisoned by the Turks. After being mistreated in the +filthy prison for some time, he secured his release by bribing a soldier +to post a letter to one of the American authorities. He expressed a +desire to visit Jerusalem, but seemed afraid to get back into Turkish +territory. Learning that I was going there, he wrote a letter to the +Armenian Patriarch, and I presented it one day. In a few minutes Mr. +Ahmed and I were led into the large room where the Patriarch was seated +in his robe and peculiar cap. Meeting a dignitary of the Armenian Church +was a new experience to me. I shook hands with him; Mr. Ahmed made some +signs and sat down. In the course of our limited conversation he said +rather slowly: "I am very old." Replying to a question, he informed me +that his age was eighty years. I was on the point of leaving, but he +hindered me, and an attendant soon came in with some small glasses of +wine and a little dish of candy. The Patriarch drank a glass of wine, +and I took a piece of the candy, as also did Mr. Ahmed, and then we took +our leave. + +The eleventh day of October, which was Tuesday, was occupied with a trip +to Hebron, described in another chapter devoted to the side trips I made +from Jerusalem, but the next day was spent in looking around the Holy +City. Early in the morning the Mamilla Pool, probably the "upper pool" +of 2 Kings 18:17, was seen. One author gives the dimensions of this +pool as follows: Length, two hundred and ninety-one feet; breadth, one +hundred and ninety-two feet; depth, nineteen feet. It is filled with +water in the rainy season, but was empty when I saw it. Entering the +city by the Jaffa gate, I walked along David and Christian Streets, and +was shown the Pool of Hezekiah, which is surrounded by houses, and was +supplied from the Mamilla Pool. + +The next place visited was that interesting old building, the Church of +the Holy Sepulcher, where our Lord is supposed to have been buried in +Joseph's new tomb. Jerusalem has many things of great interest, but some +few things are of special interest. The Temple Area and Calvary are of +this class. I am sure my readers will want to know something of each, +and I shall here write of the latter. No doubt the spot where Jesus was +crucified and the grave in which he was buried were both well known to +the brethren up to the destruction of the city in the year seventy. +Before this awful calamity the Christians made their escape, and when +they returned they "would hardly recognize the fallen city as the one +they had left; the heel of the destroyer had stamped out all semblance +of its former glory. For sixty years it lay in ruins so complete that +it is doubtful if there was a single house that could be used as a +residence; during these years its history is a blank." There is no +mention of the returned Christians seeking out the site of either +the crucifixion or burial, and between A.D. 120 and A.D. 136 Hadrian +reconstructed the city, changing it to a considerable extent, and naming +it Aelia Capitolina. This would tend to make the location of Calvary +more difficult. Hadrian built a temple to Venus, probably on the spot +now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Eusebius, writing +about A.D. 325, speaks of Constantine's church built on the site of +this temple. It is claimed that Hadrian's heathen temple was erected +to desecrate the place of Christ's entombment, and that Constantine's +church, being erected on the site of the temple, and regarded as the +place called Calvary, fixes this as the true site; but whether the +church and temple were on the same site or not, the present church +stands where the one built by Constantine stood, and is regarded by the +mass of believers as the true location. + +Constantine's church stood two hundred and eighty years, being destroyed +by Chosroes II., of Persia, in A.D. 614, but was soon succeeded by +another structure not so grand as its predecessor. In 1010, in the +"reign of the mad caliph Hakem," the group of churches was entirely +destroyed, and the spot lay desolate for thirty years, after which +another church was erected, being completed in eight years. This +building was standing in 1099, the time of the Crusaders, but was +destroyed by fire in 1808. This fire "consumed many of the most sacred +relics in the church. Marble columns of great age and beauty crumbled in +the flames. The rich hangings and pictures were burned, along with lamps +and chandeliers and other ornaments in silver and gold. The lead with +which the great dome was lined melted, and poured down in streams." The +building now standing there was finished in 1810 at a cost of nearly +three millions of dollars, one-third of this, it is said, being expended +in lawsuits and Mohammedan bribes. It is the property of several +denominations, who adorn their separate chapels to suit themselves. + +The church is entered from a court having two doors or gates. Worshipers +pass through the court, and stop at the left-hand side of the door and +kiss the marble column, which clearly shows the effect of this practice. +Just inside of the building there is a guard, composed of members of the +oldest Mohammedan family in the city. The reader may wonder why an armed +guard should be kept in a church house, but such a reader has not seen +or read of all the wickedness that is carried on in the support of +sectarianism. Concerning this guard, which, at the time of the holy fire +demonstration, is increased by several hundred soldiers, Edmund Sherman +Wallace, a former United States Consul in this city, says in his +"Jerusalem the Holy": "This Christian church has a Moslem guard, whose +duty it is to keep peace among the various sects who profess belief in +the Prince of Peace. * * * It is a sickening fact that Moslem brute +force must compel Christians to exercise, not charity toward each other, +but common decency and decorum. But it is a fact nevertheless, and will +remain apparent to all so long as priestcraft takes the place of New +Testament Christianity and superstition supplants religion." + +A little beyond this guard is the "Stone of Unction," upon which many +believe Jesus was prepared for burial, but the original stone for which +this claim was made is not now visible, being covered with the present +slab to keep it from being worn out by the kissing of pious pilgrims. +It is eight and a half feet long and four feet wide. Pilgrims sometimes +bring the goods for their burial robes here and measure them by this +stone. Some large candles stand by it, and above it are eight fine +lamps, belonging to the Greek and Roman Catholics, the Copts, and +Armenians. Not far away is a small stone, which I understood was called +the place where the women watched the preparation by Joseph of Arimathea +and Nicodemus. (John 19:38-42.) + +In the center of the rotunda, with its entrance facing the east, is the +Chapel of the Sepulcher, the holiest place in all this holy building. +Passing through the small door, the visitor finds himself in the Chapel +of the Angels, a very small room, where a piece of stone, said to have +been rolled away from the grave by the angels, is to be seen. Stooping +down, the visitor passes through a low opening and enters the Chapel of +the Sepulcher proper, a room only six and a half feet long and six feet +wide. The "tomb" is at the right hand of the entrance, occupying about +half of the floor, above which it rises two feet. It is covered with +marble, so that even if this were the very spot where the Lord and +Savior was laid by the hands of kind friends, the modern visitor would +not know what it looked like when that event took place. The little +chapel, capable of accommodating about six people at a time, contains +some pictures and forty-three silver lamps, the property of the Copts, +Armenians, Greek and Roman Catholics. A priest stands on guard, so that +no damage may be done to any part of the place. + +The Greek chapel, the largest, and to my notion the finest that I saw, +is just in front of the sepulcher. From its having two sections and a +partition, I was reminded of the tabernacle of the wilderness journey. +Services were being conducted once while I was there, and I saw the +Patriarch and others, gorgeously robed, going through with a service +that was at least spectacular, if not spiritual. At one point in the +exercises those participating came down close to where I was standing, +passed around the spot designated "the center of the world," and went +back again to the farther end of the richly ornamented room. One of the +priests, with hair reaching down on his shoulders, bore a silver vessel, +which I suppose contained burning incense. The long hair, beautiful +robes, the singing, praying, and such things, made up a service that +reminded me of the days of Solomon and the old priesthood. + +The demonstration of the "holy fire" takes place in this church once a +year, and there are thousands who believe that the fire passed out from +the Chapel of the Angels really comes from heaven. This occurs on the +Saturday afternoon preceding Easter, and the eager, waiting throng, a +part of which has been in the building since the day before, soon has +its hundreds of little candles lighted. As the time for the appearance +of the fire approaches the confusion becomes greater. Near the entrance +to the sepulcher a group of men is repeating the words: "This is the +tomb of Jesus Christ;" not far from them others are saying: "This is +the day the Jew mourns and the Christian rejoices;" others express +themselves in the language: "Jesus Christ has redeemed us;" and +occasionally "God save the Sultan" can be heard. + +Mr. Wallace, from whose book the foregoing items are gleaned, in telling +of a fight which took place at one stage of the service, describes it as +"a mass of wriggling, struggling, shrieking priests and soldiers, each +apparently endeavoring to do all the possible injury to whomever he +could reach. * * * But the fight went on. Greek trampled on Armenian, +and Armenian on Greek, and Turk on both. Though doing his very best, the +commanding officer seemed unable to separate the combatants. The bugle +rang out time after time, and detachment after detachment of soldiers +plunged into the mêlee. * * * This went on for fifteen minutes. Just +how much damage was done nobody will ever know. There were a number +of bruised faces and broken heads, and a report was current that two +pilgrims had died from injuries received." This disgraceful and wicked +disturbance is said to have been brought about by the Armenians wanting +two of their priests to go with the Greek Patriarch as far as the +Chapel of the Angels. And it is furthermore said that the defeat of the +Armenians was brought about, to some extent at least, by the muscular +strength of an American professional boxer and wrestler, whom the +Greeks had taken along in priestly garb as a member of the Patriarch's +bodyguard. It is not surprising that Mr. Wallace has written: "The +Church of the Holy Sepulcher gives the non-Christian world the worst +possible illustration of the religion of Him in whose name it stands." + +As I was going through the city, I saw a camel working an olive press. +The poor blindfolded animal was compelled to walk in a circle so +small that the outside trace was drawn tightly over its leg, causing +irritation; but seeing the loads that are put upon dumb brutes, and men +too, sometimes, one need not expect much attention to be given to the +comfort of these useful servants. Truly, there is great need for the +refining, civilizing, and uplifting influence of the gospel here in the +city where it had its earliest proclamation. I also visited two grist +mills operated by horses on a treadmill, which was a large wooden wheel +turned on its side, so the horses could stand on it. I was not pleased +with the nearness of the manure in one of these mills to the material +from which the "staff of life" is made. + +The German Protestant Church of the Redeemer is a fine structure on the +Muristan, completed in 1898. The United States consulate is near the +Austrian postoffice inside of the Jaffa gate. I went there and rested +awhile, but saw the consul, Selah Merrill, at his hotel, where I also +met Mrs. Merrill, and formed a favorable opinion of both of them. Here I +left my belt, checks, and surplus money in the care of the consul. + +Continuing my walk on Wednesday, I passed one of the numerous threshing +floors of the country. This one was the face of a smooth rock, but they +are often the ground on some elevated spot, where a good breeze can be +had to blow away the chaff, for the grain is now threshed and cleaned by +the primitive methods of long ago. After the grain has been tramped out +(1 Cor. 9:9), the straw, now worn to chaff, is piled up, and when a +favorable wind blows, a man tosses it in the air with a wooden fork. The +grain falls in a pile at his feet and the chaff is carried aside +some distance. When this operation has been carried on as long as is +profitable, the wheat and what chaff remains in it are thrown into the +air with a wooden shovel, called in our Bibles a "fan." (Matt. 3:12.) +The final cleaning is done by washing the grain, or with a sieve. + +The Tombs of the Kings, which may never have contained a king, are +extensive and interesting. They are surrounded by a wall, and to reach +them the visitor must go down a very wide stairway. The steps probably +do not number more than twenty-five, but the distance from one side of +the stairs to the other is twenty-seven feet. There are channels cut in +the rock to carry the water that comes down these steps to the cisterns, +two in number, one of which is a good-sized room cut in the rock at the +side of the stairway. It contained about three feet of water when I saw +it, although there had been no rain in Jerusalem for half a year. The +other one, at the bottom of the stairs, is much larger, and was empty. +The vaulted roof is supported by a column, and there are steps leading +from one level of the floor to another. + +Turning to the left at the foot of the big stairway, we passed through +an arch cut through the rock into a court made by excavating the earth +and stone to a depth of perhaps twenty feet. It is ninety feet long and +eighty-one feet wide. The entrance to the tombs is by a vestibule cut in +the rock at one side of the court, and it appears that this once had a +row of pillars along the front, like veranda posts. We went down a few +steps and stooped low enough to pass through an opening about a yard +high. Beyond this we found ourselves in a good-sized room, cut in the +solid rock. There are five of these rooms, and so far as the appearance +is concerned, one might suppose they had been made in modern times, but +they are ancient. The bodies were usually buried in "pigeon-holes" cut +back in the walls of the rooms, but there are some shelf tombs, which +are sufficiently described in their name. One room seems never to have +been completed, but there are burial places here for about forty people. + +One of the interesting things about these tombs is the rolling stone by +which they were closed. It is a round rock, resembling a millstone. The +height is a little over three feet and a half, and the thickness sixteen +inches. It stands in a channel cut for the purpose, but was rolled +forward before the entrance when it was desirable to have the tombs +closed. When Jesus was buried, a "great stone" was rolled to the mouth +of the sepulcher, and the women thought of this as they went to the tomb +on the first day of the week, saying: "Who shall roll us away the stone +from the door of the tomb?" (Mark 16:3.) They went on and found the tomb +open; so, also, we may often find the stone rolled away if we will go +forward in the discharge of our duties, instead of sitting down to mourn +at the thought of something in the distance which seems too difficult. + +On our way to the tombs just mentioned, we passed the American Colony, +a small band of people living together in a rather peculiar manner, +but they are not all Americans. I understood that there had been no +marriages among them for a long time until a short while before I was +in Jerusalem. Some of them conduct a good store near the Jaffa gate. We +passed an English church and college and St. Stephen's Church on the way +to Gordon's Calvary. This new location of the world's greatest tragedy +is a small hill outside the walls on the northern side of the city. The +Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands on ground which for fifteen hundred +years has been regarded as the true site of our Lord's death and burial, +but since Korte, a German bookseller, visited the city in 1738, doubts +have been expressed as to the correctness of the tradition. Jesus +"suffered without the gate" (Heb. 13:12), and "in the place where he was +crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was +man never yet laid" (John 19:41), and it appears to have been near a +public road. (Mark 15:29.) In 1856 Edward Robinson, an American, offered +proof that the site sustained by the old tradition was inside the city +walls at the time of the crucifixion, and more recent discoveries, made +in excavating, confirm his proof. The new Calvary meets the requirements +of the above mentioned scriptures, and gets its name "Gordon's Calvary," +from the fact that General Gordon wrote and spoke in favor of this being +the correct location, and a photographer attached his name to a view of +the place. In the garden adjoining the new Calvary I visited a tomb, +which some suppose to be the place of our Lord's burial. + +On the way back to my lodging place we passed the Damascus gate, the +most attractive of all the old city gates, and one often represented +in books. It was built or repaired in 1537, and stands near an older +gateway that is almost entirely hidden by the accumulated rubbish of +centuries, only the crown of the arch now showing. As we went on we +passed the French Hospice, a fine modern building, having two large +statues on it. The higher one represents the Virgin and her child, the +other is a figure of the Savior. The Catholic church already mentioned, +where two sisters are to be seen in prayer at all times, is near the +Hospice. It is a rather impressive sight to stand in this beautiful but +silent place, and see those women in white robes kneeling there almost +as motionless as statues. + +Thursday and a part of Friday was taken up with a trip to Jericho, but +we got back in time to spend the afternoon in looking around Jerusalem, +and we had an interesting visit to the home of Mrs. Schoenecke, a German +lady, whose father, named Schick, spent fifty-six years of his life in +Jerusalem. From what information Mr. Schick could gather from the Bible, +Josephus, the Talmud, and his personal observations during the time the +Palestine Exploration Fund was at work, he constructed large models of +the ancient temples that stood on Mount Moriah from the days of Solomon +to the time of Herod and Christ. I was told that the original models +were sold to an American college for five thousand dollars. Mr. +Schick then constructed the models shown to us, and explained by Mrs. +Schoenecke. We were also shown a model of the tabernacle used while +Israel was marching to the promised land. + +The Wailing Place is a rectangle one hundred feet long by fifteen feet +wide on the outside of the Temple Area, on the western side, where the +wall is about sixty feet high. Some of the stones in this section are of +large size, and authorities admit that they are of Solomon's time, but +the wall in which they now stand may be a reconstruction. The Jews come +here on the Sabbath, beginning at sundown on Saturday, for a service +which one author describes as follows: "Nearest to him stood a row of +women clad in robes of spotless white. Their eyes were bedimmed with +weeping, and tears streamed down their cheeks as they sobbed aloud +with irrepressible emotion. Next to the women stood a group of +Pharisees--Jews from Poland and Germany. * * * The old hoary-headed men +generally wore velvet caps edged with fur, long love-locks or ringlets +dangling on their thin cheeks, and their outer robes presented a +striking contrast of gaudy colors. Beyond stood a group of Spanish Jews. +* * * Besides these there are Jews from every quarter of the world, who +had wandered back to Jerusalem that they might die in the city of their +fathers, and be buried in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, under the shadow of +the Temple Hill. The worshipers gradually increased in number until the +crowd thronging the pavement could not be fewer than two hundred. It was +an affecting scene to notice their earnestness; some thrust their hands +between the joints of the stones, and pushed into the crevices, as far +as possible, little slips of paper, on which were written, in the Hebrew +tongue, short petitions addressed to Jehovah. Some even prayed with +their mouths thrust into the gaps, where the weather-beaten stones were +worn away at the joints. * * * The congregation at the Wailing Place is +one of the most solemn gatherings left to the Jewish Church, and, as the +writer gazed at the motley concourse, he experienced a feeling of sorrow +that the remnants of the chosen race should be heartlessly thrust +outside the sacred inclosure of their fathers' holy temple by men of an +alien race and an alien creed." So far as I know, all writers give these +worshipers credit for being sincere, but on the two occasions when I +visited the place, I saw no such emotion as described in the foregoing +quotation. The following lines are often rehearsed, the leader reading +one at a time, after which the people respond with the words: "We sit in +solitude and mourn." + + "For the place that lies desolate; + For the place that is destroyed; + For the walls that are overthrown; + For our majesty that is departed; + For our great men who lie dead; + For the precious stones that are buried; + For the priests who have stumbled; + For our kings who have despised Him." + +This solemn practice has been observed for about twelve hundred years, +but the same place may not have been used all the time. "She is become a +widow, that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among +the provinces is become tributary! Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; +therefore she is become as an unclean thing" (Lam. 1: 1, 8). + +On Friday evening we entered some of the many synagogues yet to be found +in Jerusalem and observed the worshipers. On Saturday we went to the +House of Industry of the English church, where boys are taught to work. +Olive wood products are made for the tourist trade. We passed a place +where some men were making a peculiar noise as they were pounding wheat +and singing at their work. This pounding was a part of the process of +making it ready for food. An old lady was standing in an open door +spinning yarn in a very simple manner. We watched her a few minutes, and +I wanted to buy the little arrangement with which she was spinning, but +she didn't care to part with it. She brought out another one, and let me +have it after spinning a few yards upon it. I gave her a Turkish coin +worth a few cents, for which she seemed very thankful, and said, as Mr. +Ahmed explained: "God bless you and give you long life. I am old, and +may die to-day." She told us that she came from Mosul, away beyond the +Syrian desert, to die in Jerusalem. We visited the synagogue of the +Caraite Jews, a small polygamous sect, numbering in this assembly +about thirty persons. They also differ from the majority of Hebrews in +rejecting the Talmud, but I believe they have a Talmud of their own. +Their place of worship is a small room almost under the ground, where we +were permitted to see a very fine old copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, our +Old Testament. The work was done by hand, and I was told the man who +did it was sixteen years of age when he began it, and was sixty when he +finished the work, and that the British Museum had offered five thousand +dollars for the book. Some of these people speak English, and we +conversed with one woman who was quite intelligent. They kindly +permitted us to go up and view the city from the housetop. + +In the afternoon we visited the Temple Area, an inclosure of about +thirty-five acres, in the southeastern part of the city, including the +Mosque of Omar (more appropriately called the Dome of the Rock), the +Mosque El Aksa, and Solomon's Stables. For Christians to enter this +inclosure, it is necessary to notify their consul and secure the service +of his _cavasse_, an armed guard, and a Turkish soldier, both of +whom must be paid for their services. Thus equipped, we entered the +inclosure, and came up on the east front of the Dome of the Rock, +probably so named from the fact that the dome of this structure stands +over an exposed portion of the natural rock, fifty-seven feet long, +forty-three feet wide, and rising a few feet above the floor. After +putting some big slippers on over our shoes, we entered the building +and saw this great rock, which tradition says is the threshing floor +of Araunah, and the spot where Melchizedek sacrificed. It is also the +traditional place where Abraham sacrificed Isaac, and it is believed +that David built an altar here after the angel of destruction had put +up his sword. It is furthermore supposed that the great altar of burnt +offerings stood on this rock in the days of Solomon's Temple, which +is thought to have been located just west of it. This is the probable +location of Zerubbabel's Temple, and the one enlarged and beautified +by Herod, which was standing when Jesus was on earth, and continued to +stand until the awful destruction of the city by the Roman army in A.D. +70. + +The modern visitor to this fine structure would have no thought of the +ancient temple of God if he depended upon what he sees here to suggest +it. All trace of that house has disappeared. The Dome of the Rock, said +to be "the most beautiful piece of architecture in Jerusalem," belongs +to the Turks. It has eight sides, each about sixty-six and a half feet +long, and is partly covered with marble, but it is, to some extent, in a +state of decay. Between the destruction of the temple and the erection +of this building a heathen temple and a church had been built on the +spot. + +The Mosque El Aksa was also visited, but it is noted more for its size +than the beauty of its architecture. The Turkish Governor of Palestine +comes here every Friday to worship at the time the Sultan is engaged +in like manner in Constantinople. Solomon's Stables next engaged our +attention. We crossed the Temple Area to the wall on the southeastern +border, and went down a stairway to these underground chambers, which +were made by building about a hundred columns and arching them over and +laying a pavement on the top, thereby bringing it up on a level with +the rest of the hill. The vaults are two hundred and seventy-three feet +long, one hundred and ninety-eight feet wide, and about thirty feet +high. They were not made for stables, but were used for that purpose in +the middle ages, and the holes through the corners of the square stone +columns show where the horses were tied. A large portion of these +chambers has been made into a cistern or reservoir. + +After a visit to what is called the Pool of Bethesda and the Church of +St. Anne, we went outside the city wall on the north side and entered +what looks like a cave, but upon investigation proves to be an extensive +underground quarry. These excavations, called Solomon's Quarries, +extend, according to one authority, seven hundred feet under the hill +Bezetha, which is north of Mt. Moriah. The rock is very white, and will +take some polish. Loose portions of it are lying around on the floor +of the cavern, and there are distinct marks along the sides where the +ancient stone-cutters were at work. In one part of the quarries we were +shown the place where visiting Masons are said to hold lodge meetings +sometimes. Vast quantities of the rock have been taken out, and this is +probably the source from whence much of the building material of the old +city was derived. + +The trip to the quarries ended my sight-seeing for the week. The next +morning I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and witnessed a part +of the service of the Greek Catholics. At a later hour I went around to +the mission conducted by Bro. Joseph, and, with the little congregation +there assembled, broke bread in memory of Him who in this city, almost +two thousand years ago, gave his life for the sins of the world, after +having instituted this supper, a monumental institution, representing +to our minds the cost of the world's redemption. In the afternoon I +attended the preaching service in Mr. Thompson's tabernacle, and visited +the Abyssinian church, near Mr. Smith's house. This Abyssinian house is +circular, and has a small, round room in the center, around which the +congregation stands and worships, leaning on their staves, for the place +is void of seats. At night I preached in the tabernacle on the question: +"What must I do to be saved?" Melki, the native evangelist, translated +for me as I went along, and the congregation paid good attention and +seemed pleased to have heard me. I know I am pleased to have had +opportunity to "preach the word" in the city from whence it was first +published to the world. + +One of the first sights beheld when I started out on Monday morning was +a foundation, laid at the expense of a woman who intended to build a +house for the "hundred and forty-four thousand." It represents one of +the many peculiar religious ideas that find expression in and around +Jerusalem. We went on to the railway station, where I saw a young man, a +Jew, leave for that far-off land called America. Next the Leper Hospital +was visited. This well-kept institution is in the German colony, and had +several patients of both sexes. A lady, who spoke some English, kindly +showed me through the hospital, and explained that the disease is not +contagious, but hereditary, and that some lepers refuse to enter the +hospital because they are forbidden to marry. The patients were of +various ages, and showed the effects of the disease in different stages. +In some cases it makes the victim a sad sight to look upon. I remember +one of these poor, afflicted creatures, whose face was almost covered +with swollen and inflamed spots. Some were blind, and some had lost +part or all of their fingers by the disease. One man's nose was partly +consumed. + +At Bishop Gobat's school we were kindly received, and given a good, +refreshing drink. The founder of this school, a member of the English +church, was one of the pioneers in Jerusalem mission work, and stood +very high in the estimation of the people. His grave is to be seen in +the cemetery near the school, where one may also see the supposed site +of the ancient city wall. Besides the Leper Hospital, we visited another +hospital under German control, where patients may have medical attention +and hospital service for the small sum of one _mejidi_, about eighty +cents, for a period, of fifteen days, but higher fees are charged in +other departments. We soon reached the English hospital, maintained by +the Society for the Promotion of Christianity among the Jews. It is +built on a semi-circular plan in such a way that the wards, extending +back from the front, admit light from both sides. This institution is +free to the Jews, but I understand Mohammedans were not admitted without +a fee. + +The Syrian Orphanage had about three hundred children in it, who were +being instructed in books and in manual labor. Those who can see are +taught to work in wood, to make a kind of tile used in constructing +partitions, and other lines of useful employment. They had some blind +children, who were being taught to make baskets and brushes. On the way +back to Mr. Smith's I stopped at the Jewish Library, a small two-story +building, having the books and papers upstairs. They have a raised map +of Palestine, which was interesting to me, after having twice crossed +the country from sea to sea. + +The last Thursday I was in the city I went with some friends to the +Israelite Alliance School, an institution with about a thousand pupils, +who receive both an industrial and a literary education. We were +conducted through the school by a Syrian gentleman named Solomon Elia, +who explained that, while the institution is under French control, +English is taught to some extent, as some of the pupils would go +to Egypt, where they would need to use this language. The boys are +instructed in wood-working, carpentry, copper-working, and other lines +of employment. We saw some of the girls making hair nets, and others +were engaged in making lace. Both of these products are sent out of +Palestine for sale. The institution has received help from some of the +Rothschild family, and I have no doubt that it is a great factor for the +improvement of those who are reached by it. Jerusalem is well supplied +with hospitals and schools. The Greek and Roman Catholic churches, the +Church of England, and numerous other religious bodies have a footing +here, and are striving to make it stronger. Their schools and hospitals +are made use of as missionary agencies, and besides these there is a +Turkish hospital and numerous Mohammedan schools. + +On Friday I had an opportunity to see a man measuring grain, as is +indicated by the Savior's words: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; +good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they +give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete, it shall be +measured to you again" (Luke 6:38). He filled his measure about full, +and then shook it down thoroughly. He next filled it up and shook it +down until he evidently thought he had all he could get that way, so he +commenced to pile it up on top. When he had about as much heaped up as +would stay on, he put his hands on the side of the cone opposite himself +and gently pulled it toward him. He then piled some more on the far +side, and when he had reached the limit in this way, he carefully +leveled the top of the cone down a little, and when he could no longer +put on more grain, he gently lifted the measure and moved it around to +the proper place, where it was quickly dumped. In the evening Mr. Smith +and I walked out on Mount Scopus, where Titus had his camp at the time +of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, as foretold by our Lord and +Master in the twenty-fourth of Matthew. + +As we went along, Mr. Smith pointed out the watershed between the +Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. The view from Scopus is very extensive. +We could look away to the north to Nebi Samwil, where the Prophet Samuel +is supposed by some to have been buried. Ramallah, the seat of a school +maintained by the Society of Friends, is pointed out, along with Bireh, +Bethel, and Geba. Nob, the home of the priests slain by command of Saul +(1 Samuel 22:16), and Anathoth, one of the cities of refuge (Joshua +21:18), are in sight. Swinging on around the circle to the east, the +northern end of the Dead Sea is visible, while the Mount of Olives is +only a little distance below us. Across the valley of the Kidron lies +the Holy City, with her walls constructed at various periods and under +various circumstances, her dome-shaped stone roofs, synagogues, mosques, +and minarets, being "trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of +the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). Here, with this panorama spread +out in the evening light, I may say my sight-seeing in the City of the +Great King came to an end. + +I lacked but a few hours of having been in the city two weeks, when I +boarded the train for Jaffa on my way to Egypt. The most of the time I +had lodged in the hospitable home of Mr. Smith, where I had a clean +and comfortable place to rest my tired body when the shadows of night +covered the land. I had received kind treatment, and had seen many +things of much interest. I am truly thankful that I have been permitted +to make this trip to Jerusalem. Let me so live that when the few +fleeting days of this life are over, I may rest with the redeemed. When +days and years are no more, let me enjoy, in the NEW JERUSALEM, the +blessedness that remains for those that have loved the Lord. + +"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from +God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great +voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with +men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and +God himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away +every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall +there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things have +passed away" (Revelation 21:2-4). + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +SIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM. + + +Early on Tuesday morning, the eleventh of October, I set out by +carriage, with some other tourists, for a trip to Bethlehem, Solomon's +Pools, and Hebron. Bethlehem is about five miles south of Jerusalem, and +Hebron is a little southwest of the Holy City and twenty miles distant. +We started from the Jaffa gate and passed the Sultan's Pool, otherwise +known as Lower Gihon, which may be the "lower pool" of Isaiah 22:9. "The +entire area of this pool," says one writer, "is about three and a half +acres, with an average depth, when clear of deposit, of forty-two and +a half feet in the middle from end to end." We drove for two miles, or +perhaps more, across the Plain of Rephaim, one of David's battlefields +soon after he established himself in Jerusalem. Here he was twice +victorious over the Philistines. In the first instance he asked Jehovah: +"Shall I go up against the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into +my hand?" The answer was: "Go up; for I will certainly deliver the +Philistines into thy hand." In this battle the invaders were routed and +driven from the field. "And they left their images there; and David and +his men took them away." But "the Philistines came up yet again, and +spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of +Jehovah, he said, Thou shalt not go up: make a circuit behind them, and +come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when +thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, +that then thou shalt bestir thyself, for then is Jehovah gone out before +thee to smite the hosts of the Philistines." David obeyed the voice of +the Lord, and smote his enemies from Geba to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:17-25.) + +On the southern border of the plain stands the Greek convent called Mar +Elyas. This is about half way to Bethlehem, and the city of the nativity +soon comes into view. Before going much farther the traveler sees a +well-built village, named Bet Jala, lying on his right. It is supposed +to be the ancient Giloh, mentioned in 2 Samuel 15:12 as the home of +Ahithophel, David's counselor, for whom Absalom sent when he conspired +against his father. Here the road forks, one branch of it passing Bet +Jala and going on to Hebron; the other, bearing off to the left, leads +directly to Bethlehem, which we passed, intending to stop there as we +returned in the evening. At this place we saw the monument erected to +mark the location of Rachel's tomb, a location, like many others, in +dispute. When Jacob "journeyed from Bethel and there was still some +distance to come to Ephrath," Rachel died at the birth of Benjamin, "and +was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem). * * * And +Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave" (Gen. 35:16-20). The spot, which +for many centuries was marked by a pyramid of stones, is now occupied +by a small stone building with a dome-shaped roof, at the east side of +which is a room, open on the north, with a flat roof. For hundreds of +years tradition has located the grave at this place, which is indeed +near Bethlehem, but in 1 Samuel 10:2 it is mentioned as being "in the +border of Benjamin," which has occasioned the belief that the true +location is some miles farther north. + +Before long we came to Solomon's Pools. We first stopped at a doorway, +which looks like it might lead down to a cellar, but in reality the door +is at the head of a flight of stairs leading down to what is known as +the "sealed fountain" (Song of Solomon 4:12). The door was fastened, +and we were not able to descend to the underground chamber, which is +forty-one feet long, eleven and a half feet wide, with an arched stone +roof, all of which, except the entrance, is below the surface. A large +basin cut in the floor collects the water from two springs. After rising +a foot in the basin, the water flows out into a channel more than six +hundred feet long leading down to the two upper pools. These great +reservoirs, bearing the name of Israel's wisest monarch, are still in a +good state of preservation, having been repaired in modern times. +The first one is three hundred and eighty feet long, two hundred and +twenty-nine feet wide at one end, two hundred and thirty feet wide at +the other, and twenty-five feet deep. The second pool is four hundred +and twenty-three feet long, one hundred and sixty feet wide at the upper +end, two hundred and fifty feet wide at the lower end, and thirty-nine +feet deep at that end. The third pool is the largest of all, having a +length of five hundred and eighty-two feet. The upper end is one hundred +and forty-eight feet wide, the lower end two hundred and seven feet, +and the depth at the lower end is fifty feet. The pools are about one +hundred and fifty feet apart, and have an aggregate area of six and a +quarter acres, with an average depth approaching thirty-eight feet. The +upper two received water from the sealed fountain, but the lower one was +supplied from an aqueduct leading up from a point more than three miles +to the south. The aqueduct from the sealed fountain leads past the +pools, and winds around the hills to Bethlehem and on to the Temple +Area, in Jerusalem. It is still in use as far as Bethlehem, and could be +put in repair and made serviceable for the whole distance. An offer +to do this was foolishly rejected by the Moslems in 1870. The only +habitation near the pools is an old khan, "intended as a stopping place +for caravans and as a station for soldiers to guard the road and the +pools." The two upper pools were empty when I saw them, but the third +one contained some water and a great number of frogs. As we went on to +Hebron we got a drink at "Philip's Well," the place where "the eunuch +was baptized," according to a tradition which lacks support by the +present appearance of the place. + +Towards noon we entered the "valley of Eschol," from whence the spies +sent out by Moses carried the great cluster of grapes. (Num. 13:23.) +Before entering Hebron we turned aside and went up to Abraham's Oak, a +very old tree, but not old enough for Abraham to have enjoyed its +shade almost four thousand years ago. The trunk is thirty-two feet in +circumference, but the tree is not tall like the American oaks. It is +now in a dying condition, and some of the branches are supported by +props, while the lower part of the trunk is surrounded by a stone wall, +and the space inside is filled with earth. The plot of ground on which +the tree stands is surrounded by a high iron fence. A little farther up +the hill the Russians have a tower, from which we viewed the country, +and then went down in the shade near Abraham's Oak and enjoyed our +dinner. + +Hebron is a very ancient city, having been built seven and a half years +before Zoar in Egypt. (Num. 13:22.) Since 1187 it has been under the +control of the Mohammedans, who raise large quantities of grapes, many +of which are made into raisins. Articles of glass are made in Hebron, +but I saw nothing especially beautiful in this line. The manufacture of +goat-skin water-bottles is also carried on. Another line of work which I +saw being done is the manufacture of a kind of tile, which looks like a +fruit jug without a bottom, and is used in building. Hebron was one of +the six cities of refuge (Joshua 20:7), and for seven years and a half +it was David's capital of Judah. It is very historic. "Abraham moved his +tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and +built there an altar unto Jehovah." (Gen. 13:18.) When "Sarah died in +Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan, * * * Abraham +came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." At this time the worthy +progenitor of the Hebrew race "rose up from before his dead, and spoke +unto the children of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with +you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury +my dead out of my sight." The burial place was purchased for "four +hundred shekels of silver, current money of the land. * * * And after +this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave in the field of Machpelah +before Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan" (Gen. +23:1-20). Years after this, when both Abraham and his son Isaac had +passed the way of all the earth and had been laid to rest in this cave, +the patriarch Jacob in Egypt gave directions for the entombment of his +body in this family burial place. "There they buried Abraham and Sarah +his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I +buried Leah" (Gen. 49:31), and here, by his own request, Jacob was +buried. (Gen. 50:13.) Joshua, the successor of Moses, "utterly +destroyed" Hebron (Joshua 10:37), and afterwards gave it to Caleb, to +whom it had been promised by Moses forty-five years before. (Joshua +14:6-15.) Here Abner was slain (2 Samuel 3:27), and the murderers of +Ishbosheth were put to death. (2 Samuel 4:12.) + +The most interesting thing about the town is the "cave of Machpelah," +but it is inaccessible to Christians. Between 1167 and 1187 a church was +built on the site, now marked by a carefully guarded Mohammedan mosque. +It is inclosed by a wall which may have been built by Solomon. We were +allowed to go in at the foot of a stairway as far as the seventh step, +but might as well have been in the National Capitol at Washington so far +as seeing the burial place was concerned. In 1862 the Prince of Wales, +now King of England, was admitted. He was accompanied by Dean Stanley, +who has described what he saw, but he was permitted neither to examine +the monuments nor to descend to the cave below, the real burial chamber. +As the body of Jacob was carefully embalmed by the Egyptian method, it +is possible that his remains may yet be seen in their long resting place +in this Hebron cave. (Gen. 50:1,2.) + +Turning back toward Jerusalem, we came to Bethlehem late in the +afternoon, and the "field of the shepherds" (Luke 2:8) and the "fields +of Boaz" (Ruth 2:4-23) were pointed out. The place of greatest interest +is the group of buildings, composed of two churches, Greek and Latin, +and an Armenian convent, all built together on the traditional site +of the birth of the Lord Jesus. Tradition is here contradicted by +authorities partly on the ground that a cave to which entrance is made +by a flight of stairs would probably not be used as a stable. This +cave is in the Church of St. Mary, said to have been erected in 330 by +Constantine. Descending the stairs, we came into the small cavern, which +is continually lighted by fifteen silver lamps, the property of the +Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, who each have an interest in the place. +Beneath an altar, in a semi-circular recess, a silver star has been set +in the floor with the Latin inscription: "_Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus +Christus Natus est._" An armed Turkish soldier was doing duty near this +"star of Bethlehem" the evening I was there. The well, from which it is +said the "three mighty men" drew water for David, was visited. (2 Samuel +23:15.) But the shades of night had settled down upon the little town +where our Savior was born, and we again entered our carriages and drove +back to Jerusalem, having had a fine day of interesting sight-seeing. On +the Wednesday before I left Jerusalem, in the company of Mrs. Bates, I +again visited Bethlehem. + +Thursday, October thirteenth, was the day we went down to Jericho, the +Dead Sea, and the Jordan. The party was made up of the writer, Mr. +Ahmed, Mr. Jennings, Mrs. Bates, four school teachers (three ladies and +a gentleman) returning from the Philippines, and the guides, Mr. Smith +and Ephraim Aboosh. We went in two carriages driven by natives. "A +certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among +robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half +dead" (Luke 10:30). This lonely road is still the scene of occasional +robberies, and the Turkish Government permits one of its soldiers to +accompany the tourist for a fee, but we did not want to take this +escort, as neither of the guides feared any danger. Accordingly we took +an early start without notifying the soldiers, and reached Jericho, +about twenty miles away, in time to visit Elisha's Fountain before +dinner. The road leads out past Bethany, down by the Apostles' Fountain, +on past the Khan of the Good Samaritan, and down the mountain to the +plain of the Jordan, this section of which is ten miles long and seven +miles wide. Before the road reaches the plain, it runs along a deep +gorge bearing the name Wady Kelt, the Brook Cherith, where the prophet +Elisha was fed by the ravens night and morning till the brook dried up. +(1 Kings 17:1-7.) We also saw the remains of an old aqueduct, and of a +reservoir which was originally over five hundred feet long and more than +four hundred feet wide. Elisha's Fountain is a beautiful spring some +distance from the present Jericho. Doubtless it is the very spring whose +waters Elisha healed with salt. (2 Kings 2:19-22.) The ground about +the Fountain has been altered some in modern times, and there is now a +beautiful pool of good, clear water, a delight both to the eye and to +the throat of the dusty traveler who has come down from Jerusalem seeing +only the brown earth and white, chalky rock, upon which the unveiled sun +has been pouring down his heat for hours. The water from the spring now +runs a little grist mill a short distance below it. + +After dinner, eaten in front of the hotel in Jericho, we drove over to +the Dead Sea, a distance of several miles, and soon we were all enjoying +a fine bath in the salt water, the women bathing at one place, the men +at another. The water contains so much solid matter, nearly three and a +third pounds to the gallon, that it is easy to float on the surface with +hands, feet and head above the water. One who can swim but little in +fresh water will find the buoyancy of the water here so great as to make +swimming easy. When one stands erect in it, the body sinks down about +as far as the top of the shoulders. Care needs to be taken to keep the +water out of the mouth, nose and eyes, as it is so salty that it is very +disagreeable to these tender surfaces. Dead Sea water is two and a half +pounds heavier than fresh water, and among other things, it contains +nearly two pounds of chloride of magnesium, and almost a pound of +chloride of sodium, or common salt, to the gallon. Nothing but some very +low forms of animal life, unobserved by the ordinary traveler, can live +in this sea. The fish that get into it from the Jordan soon die. Those +who bathe here usually drive over to the Jordan and bathe again, to +remove the salt and other substances that remain on the body after the +first bath. The greatest depth of the Dead Sea is a little over thirteen +hundred feet. The wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood here some +place, but authorities disagree as to whether they were at the northern +or southern end of the sea. In either case every trace of them has been +wiped out by the awful destruction poured on them by the Almighty. (Gen. +18:16 to 19:29) + +The Jordan where we saw it, near the mouth, and at the time we saw it, +the thirteenth of October, was a quiet and peaceful stream, but the +water was somewhat muddy. We entered two little boats and had a short +ride on the river whose waters "stood, and rose up in one heap, a great +way off," that the children of Israel might cross (Joshua 3:14-17), and +beneath whose wave the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized by the +great prophet of the Judaean wilderness. (Matt. 3:13-17.) We also got +out a little while on the east bank of the stream, the only time I was +"beyond Jordan" while in Palestine. After supper, eaten in Jericho, we +went around to a Bedouin encampment, where a dance was being executed--a +dance different from any that I had ever seen before. One of the +dancers, with a sword in hand, stood in the center of the ground they +were using, while the others stood in two rows, forming a right angle. +They went through with various motions and hand-clapping, accompanied +by an indescribable noise at times. Some of the Bedouins were sitting +around a small fire at one side, and some of the children were having a +little entertainment of their own on another side of the dancing party. +We were soon satisfied, and made our way back to the hotel and laid down +to rest. + +The first Jericho was a walled city about two miles from the present +village, perhaps at the spring already mentioned, and was the first city +taken in the conquest of the land under Joshua. The Jordan was crossed +at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19), where the people were circumcised with knives +of flint, and where the Jews made their first encampment west of the +river. (Joshua 5:2-10.) "Jericho was straitly shut up because of the +children of Israel," but by faithful compliance with the word of the +Lord the walls fell down. (Joshua 6:1-27.) "And Joshua charged them with +an oath at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah, +that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: with the loss of his +first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his +youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." Regardless of this curse, +we read that in the days of Ahab, who "did more to provoke Jehovah, the +God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before +him, * * * did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation +thereof with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates +thereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word +of Jehovah, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun" (1 Kings 16:33,34). +"The Jericho * * * which was visited by Jesus occupied a still different +site," says Bro. McGarvey. The present Jericho is a small Arab village, +poorly built, with a few exceptions, and having nothing beautiful in or +around it but the large oleanders that grow in the ground made moist by +water from Elisha's Fountain. We had satisfactory accommodations at the +hotel, which is one of the few good houses there. Jericho in the time of +our Lord was the home of a rich publican named Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10), +and was an important and wealthy city, that had been fortified by Herod +the Great, who constructed splendid palaces here, and it was here that +"this infamous tyrant died." The original Jericho, the home of Rahab the +harlot, was called the "city of palm trees" (Deut. 34:3), but if the +modern representative of that ancient city has any of these trees, they +are few in number. Across the Jordan eastward are the mountains of Moab, +in one of which Moses died after having delivered his valedictory, as +recorded in Deuteronomy. (Deut. 34:1-12.) From a lofty peak the Lord +showed this great leader and law-giver a panorama of "all the land of +Gilead unto Dan. * * * And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land which +I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it +unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou +shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in +the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah. And he buried him +in the valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man +knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." + +Early Wednesday morning we began our toilsome journey back to Jerusalem, +having nearly four thousand feet to climb in the twenty miles +intervening. We stopped awhile at the Khan of the Good Samaritan, which +stands near some old ruins, and may not be far from the place to which +the Good Samaritan carried his poor, wounded fellow-man so long ago. +Here I bought some lamps that look old enough, but may be quite modern +imitations of the kind that were carried in the days of the wise and +foolish virgins. A stop was also made at the Apostles' Fountain, near +Bethany, where I saw an Arab working bread on his coat, which was spread +on the ground. Over by the Damascus gate I one day saw a man feeding his +camel on his coat, so these coarse cloth garments are very serviceable +indeed. We got back to Jerusalem in time to do a good deal of +sight-seeing in the afternoon. + +The following Tuesday was occupied with a trip on "donkey-back" to Nebi +Samwil, Emmaus, Abu Ghosh, and Ain Kairim. Our party was small this +time, being composed of Mr. Jennings, Mr. Smith, the writer, and a +"donkey-boy" to care for the three animals we rode, when we dismounted +to make observations. He was liberal, and sometimes tried to tell us +which way to go. We went out on the north side of the city and came to +the extensive burial places called the "Tombs of the Judges." Near by is +an ancient wine press cut in the rock near a rock-hewn cistern, which +may have been used for storing the wine. En Nebi Samwil is on an +elevation a little more than three thousand feet above the sea and about +four hundred feet higher than Jerusalem, five miles distant. From the +top of the minaret we had a fine view through a field glass, seeing the +country for many miles around. This is thought by some to be the Mizpah +of the Bible (1 Kings 15:22), and tradition has it that the prophet +Samuel was buried here. A little north of Nebi Samwil is the site of +ancient Gibeon, where "Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before +the servants of David" (2 Samuel 2:12-17). + +We next rode over to El Kubebeh, supposed by some to be the Emmaus of +New Testament times, where Jesus went after his resurrection and sat at +meat with his disciples without being recognized. (Luke 24:13-25.) The +place has little to attract one. A modern building, which I took to be +the residence of some wealthy person, occupies a prominent position, and +is surrounded by well-kept grounds, inclosed with a wall. The Franciscan +monastery is a good sized institution, having on its grounds the remains +of a church of the Crusaders' period, over which a new and attractive +building has been erected. One section of it has the most beautiful +floor of polished marble, laid in patterns, that I have ever seen. It +also contains a painting of the Savior and the two disciples. + +We went outside of the monastery to eat our noon-day lunch, but before +we finished, one of the monks came and called us in to a meal at +their table. It was a good meal, for which no charge was made, and I +understand it is their custom to give free meals to visitors, for they +believe that Jesus here sat at meat with his two disciples. We enjoyed +their hospitality, but drank none of the wine that was placed before us. + +Our next point was Abu Ghosh, named for an old village sheik who, "with +his six brothers and eighty-five descendants, was the terror of the +whole country" about a century ago. Our object in visiting the spot was +to see the old Crusaders' church, the best preserved one in Palestine. +The stone walls are perhaps seven or eight feet thick. The roof is still +preserved, and traces of the painting that originally adorned the walls +are yet to be seen. A new addition has been erected at one end, and the +old church may soon be put in repair. + +The last place we visited before returning to Jerusalem was Ain Kairim, +a town occupied mainly by the Mohammedans, and said to have been the +home of that worthy couple of whom it was written: "They were both +righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of +the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6). The portion occupied by the Latins and +Greeks is very beautifully situated on the side of the mountain. The +stone houses, "whited walls," and green cypresses make quite a pretty +picture. The Church of St. John, according to tradition, stands on the +spot where once dwelt Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John, the +great forerunner of Jesus. Night came upon us before we got back to our +starting place, and as this was my first day of donkey riding, I was +very much fatigued when I finally dismounted in Jerusalem; yet I arose +the next morning feeling reasonably well, but not craving another donkey +ride over a rough country beneath the hot sun. + +On Saturday, the twenty-second of October, I turned away from Jerusalem, +having been in and around the place almost two weeks, and went back to +Jaffa by rail. After a few miles the railway leads past Bittir, supposed +to be the Beth-arabah of Joshua 15:61. It is also of interest from the +fact that it played a part in the famous insurrection of Bar Cochba +against the Romans. In A.D. 135 it was captured by a Roman force after +a siege of three and a half years. Ramleh, a point twelve miles from +Jaffa, was once occupied by Napoleon. Lydda, supposed to be the Lod of +Ezra 2:33, was passed. Here Peter healed Aeneas, who had been palsied +eight years. (Acts 9:32-35.) + +Jaffa is the Joppa of the Bible, and has a good deal of interesting +history. When "Jonah rose to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of +Jehovah," he "went down to Joppa and found a ship going unto Tarshish: +so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to +Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah." (Jonah 1:3.) His unpleasant +experience with the great fish is well known. When Solomon was about to +build the first temple, Hiram sent a communication to him, saying: "We +will cut wood out of Lebanon as much as thou shalt need; and will bring +it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to +Jerusalem" (2 Chron. 2:16). In the days of Ezra, when Zerubbabel +repaired the temple, we read that "they gave money also unto the masons, +and to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, unto them of Sidon, +and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, unto +Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia" +(Ezra 3:7). It was the home of "a certain disciple named Tabitha," whom +Peter was called from Lydda to raise from the dead. (Acts 9:36-43.) +Simon the tanner also lived in Joppa, and it was at his house that Peter +had his impressive vision of the sheet let down from heaven prior to his +going to Caesarea to speak the word of salvation to Cornelius and his +friends. (Acts 10:1-6.) + +The city is built on a rocky elevation rising one hundred feet above +the sea, which has no harbor here, so that vessels do not stop when the +water is too rough for passengers to be carried safely in small boats. +Extensive orange groves are cultivated around Jaffa, and lemons are also +grown, and I purchased six for a little more than a cent in American +money. Sesame, wine, wool, and soap are exported, and the imports are +considerable. The train reached the station about the middle of the day, +and the ship did not leave till night, so I had ample time to visit the +"house of Simon the tanner." It is "by the sea side" all right, but +looks too modern to be impressive to the traveler who does not accept +all that tradition says. I paid Cook's tourist agency the equivalent of +a dollar to take me through the custom house and out to the ship, and I +do not regret spending the money, although it was five times as much as +I had paid the native boatman for taking me ashore when I first came to +Jaffa. The sea was rough--very rough for me--and a little woman at my +side was shaking with nervousness, although she tried to be brave, and +her little boy took a firm hold on my clothing. I don't think that I was +scared, but I confess that I did not enjoy the motion of the boat as it +went sliding down from the crest of the waves, which were higher than +any I had previously ridden upon in a rowboat. As darkness had come, it +would have been a poor time to be upset, but we reached the vessel in +safety. When we came alongside the ship, a boatman on each side of the +passenger simply pitched or threw him up on the stairs when the rising +wave lifted the little boat to the highest point. It was easily done, +but it is an experience one need not care to repeat unnecessarily. + +I was now through with my sight-seeing in the Holy Land and aboard the +Austrian ship _Maria Teresa_, which was to carry me to the land of the +ancient Pharaohs. Like Jonah, I had paid my fare, so I laid down to +sleep. There was a rain in the night, but no one proposed to throw me +overboard, and we reached Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal, the +next day. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +EGYPT, THE LAND OF TOMBS AND TEMPLES. + + +The _Maria Teresa_ landed me in Port Said, Egypt, Lord's day, October +twenty-third, and at seven o'clock that evening I took the train for +Cairo, arriving there about four hours later. I had no difficulty in +finding a hotel, where I took some rest, but was out very early the next +morning to see something of the largest city in Africa. The population +is a great mixture of French, Greeks, English, Austrians, Germans, +Egyptians, Arabians, Copts, Berbers, Turks, Jews, Negroes, Syrians, +Persians, and others. In Smyrna, Damascus, and Jerusalem, cities of the +Turkish empire, the streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty, but here +are many fine buildings, electric lights, electric cars, and good, wide +streets, over which vehicles with rubber tires roll noiselessly. + +I first went out to the Mokattam Heights, lying back of the city, at an +elevation of six hundred and fifty feet. From the summit an extensive +view can be obtained, embracing not only the city of Cairo, with its +many mosques and minarets, but the river beyond, and still farther +beyond the Gizeh (Gezer) group of the pyramids. The side of the Heights +toward the city is a vast quarry, from which large quantities of rock +have been taken. An old fort and a mosque stand in solitude on the top. +I went out by the citadel and passed the mosque tombs of the Mamelukes, +who were originally brought into the country from the Caucasus as +slaves, but they became sufficiently powerful to make one of their +number Sultan in 1254. The tombs of the Caliphs, successors of Mohammed +in temporal and spiritual power, are not far from the Heights. + +As I was returning to the city, a laborer followed me a little distance, +and indicated that he wanted my name written on a piece of paper he was +carrying. I accommodated him, but do not know for what purpose he wanted +it. I stopped at the Alabaster Mosque, built after the fashion of one of +the mosques of Constantinople, and decorated with alabaster. The outside +is full of little depressions, and has no special beauty, but the inside +is more attractive. The entrance is through a large court, paved with +squares of white marble. The floor of the mosque was nicely covered with +carpet, and the walls are coated for a few feet with alabaster, and +above that they are painted in imitation of the same material. The +numerous lamps do much towards making the place attractive. The +attendant said the central chandelier, fitted for three hundred and +sixty-six candles, was a present from Louis Philippe, of France. A clock +is also shown that came from the same source. The pulpit is a platform +at the head of a stairway, and the place for reading the Koran is a +small platform three or four feet high, also ascended by steps. Within +an inclosure in one corner of the building is the tomb of Mohammed Ali, +which, I was told, was visited by the Khedive the day before I was +there. + +The most interesting part of the day was the afternoon trip to the nine +pyramids of the Gizeh group. They may be reached by a drive over the +excellent carriage road that leads out to them, or by taking one of the +electric cars that run along by this road. Three of the pyramids are +large and the others are small, but one, the pyramid of Cheops, is built +on such magnificent proportions that it is called "the great pyramid." +According to Baedeker, "the length of each side is now seven hundred and +fifty feet, but was formerly about seven hundred and sixty-eight feet; +the present perpendicular height is four hundred and fifty-one feet, +while originally, including the nucleus of the rock at the bottom and +the apex, which has now disappeared, it is said to have been four +hundred and eighty-two feet. * * * In round numbers, the stupendous +structure covers an area of nearly thirteen acres." + +It is estimated that two million three hundred thousand blocks of stone, +each containing forty cubic feet, were required for building this +ancient and wonderful monument, upon which a hundred thousand men are +said to have been employed for twenty years. Nearly all of the material +was brought across from the east side of the Nile, but the granite that +entered into its construction was brought down from Syene, near Assouan, +five hundred miles distant. Two chambers are shown to visitors, one of +them containing an empty stone coffin. The passageway leading to these +chambers is not easily traversed, as it runs at an angle like a stairway +with no steps, for the old footholds have become so nearly worn out that +the tourist might slip and slide to the bottom were it not for his +Arab helpers. A fee of one dollar secures the right to walk about the +grounds, ascend the pyramid, and go down inside of it. Three Arabs go +with the ticket, and two of them are really needed. Those who went +with me performed their work in a satisfactory manner, and while not +permitted to ask for "backshish," they let me know that they would +accept anything I might have for them. The ascent was rather difficult, +as some of the stones are more than a yard high. It is estimated that +this mighty monument, which Abraham may have looked upon, contains +enough stone to build a wall around the frontier of France. Of the Seven +Wonders of the World, the Pyramid of Cheops alone remains. The other +attractions here are the Granite Temple, and some tombs, from one of +which a jackal ran away as we were approaching. I got back to Cairo +after dark, and took the eight o'clock train for Assouan. + +This place is about seven hundred miles from Port Said by rail, and is +a good sized town. The main street, fronting the river, presents +a pleasing appearance with its hotels, Cook's tourist office, the +postoffice, and other buildings. Gas and electricity are used for +lighting, and the dust in the streets is laid by a real street +sprinkler, and not by throwing the water on from a leathern bag, as I +saw it in Damascus. The Cataract Hotel is a large place for tourists, +with a capacity of three hundred and fifty people. The Savoy Hotel is +beautifully located on Elephantine Island, in front of the town. To +the south of the town lie the ancient granite quarries of Syene, which +furnished the Egyptian workmen building material so long ago, and still +lack a great deal of being exhausted. I saw an obelisk lying here which +is said to be ninety-two feet long and ten and a half feet wide in the +broadest part, but both ends of it were covered. In this section there +is an English cemetery inclosed by a wall, and several tombs of the +natives, those of the sheiks being prominent. + +Farther to the south is a great modern work, the Nile dam, a mile and a +quarter long, and built of solid masonry. In the deepest place it is one +hundred feet high, and the thickness at the bottom is eighty-eight feet. +It was begun in 1899, and at one time upwards of ten thousand men were +employed on the works. It seemed to be finished when I was there, but a +few workmen were still engaged about the place. The total cost has been +estimated at a sum probably exceeding ten millions of dollars. There are +one hundred and eighty sluices to regulate the out-flow of the water, +which is collected to a height of sixty-five feet during the inundation +of the Nile. The dam would have been made higher, but by so doing Philae +Island, a short distance up the river, would have been submerged. + +The remains on this island are so well preserved that it is almost a +misnomer to call them ruins. The little island is only five hundred +yards long and sixty yards wide, and contains the Temple of Isis, Temple +of Hathor, a kiosk or pavilion, two colonnades, and a small Nilometer. +In the gateway to one of the temples is a French inscription concerning +Napoleon's campaign in Egypt in 1799. All the buildings are of stone, +and the outside walls are covered with figures and inscriptions. Some of +the figures are just cut in the rough, never having been finished. Here, +as elsewhere in Egypt, very delicate carvings are preserved almost as +distinct as though done but recently. The guard on the island was not +going to let me see the ruins because I held no ticket. After a little +delay, a small boat, carrying some diplomatic officers, came up. These +gentlemen, one of whom was a Russian, I think, tried to get the guard to +let me see the place with them, but he hesitated, and required them to +give him a paper stating that I was there with them. Later, when I got +to the place where the tickets were sold, I learned that Philae Island +was open for visitors without a ticket. Perhaps the guard thought he +would get some "backshish" from me. + +I made an interesting visit to the Bisharin village, just outside of +Assouan, and near the railroad. The inhabitants are very dark-skinned, +and live in booths or tents, covered with something like straw matting. +I stopped at one of the lodges, which was probably six feet wide and +eight feet long, and high enough to enable the occupants to sit erect on +the floor. An old man, naked from the waist up, was sitting outside. A +young woman was operating a small hand mill, and one or two other women +were sitting there on the ground. They showed me some long strings of +beads, and I made a purchase at a low price. While at this lodge, for I +can not call it a house, and it is not altogether like a tent, about +a dozen of the native children gathered around me, and one, who could +speak some English, endeavored to draw out part of my cash by repeating +this speech: "Half a piaster, Mister; thank you very much." The girls +had their hair in small plaits, which seemed to be well waxed together. +One of the boys, about ten years of age, clothed in a peculiar manner, +was finely formed, and made a favorable impression on my mind. I would +like to see what could be made of him if he were taken entirely away +from his unfavorable surroundings and brought up with the care and +attention that many American boys receive. He and another lad went with +me to see the obelisk in the granite quarry, and I tried to teach them +to say: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." As I +was repeating the first word of the sentence and trying to induce one of +them to follow me, he said, "No blessed," and I failed to get either of +them to say these beautiful words. In Egypt and other countries there +are millions of persons just as ignorant of the gospel and just as much +in need of it as the curly-headed Bisharin lad who conducted me to the +granite quarry. + +I took a pleasant boat ride across the river, past the beautiful grounds +of the Savoy Hotel, to the rock tombs of the great persons of ancient +Elephantine. I tarried a little too long at the tombs, or else did not +start soon enough, for darkness came upon us soon after leaving them. +For some distance the boatman walked on the shore and towed the boat +with a long rope, while I tried to keep it off of the rocks with the +rudder. There was not enough wind to make the sail useful, and as we +were passing around the end of Elephantine Island we drifted against +the rocks, but with no other loss than the loss of some time. It was my +desire to see the Nilometer on the island, and I did see it, but not +until after I had sent the boatman to buy a candle. This ancient +water-gauge was repaired in 1870, after a thousand years of neglect. +The following description by Strabo is taken from Baedeker's _Guide to +Egypt_: "The Nilometer is a well, built of regular hewn stones, on the +bank of the Nile, in which is recorded the rise of the stream--not only +the maximum, but also the minimum, and average rise, for the water in +the well rises and falls with the stream. On the side of the well are +marks measuring the height for the irrigation and other water levels. +These are published for general information. * * * This is of importance +to the peasants for the management of the water, the embankments, the +canals, etc., and to the officials on account of the taxes, for the +higher the rise of the water, the higher the taxes." It needs to be +said, however, that this "well" is not circular, but rectangular, and +has a flight of steps leading down to the water. + +On the way back to Cairo I stopped at Luxor, on the site of the ancient +city of Thebes. The chief attraction here is the Temple of Luxor, six +hundred and twenty-one feet long and one hundred and eighty feet wide. +In recent times this temple was entirely buried, and a man told me he +owned a house on the spot which he sold to the government for about four +hundred and fifty dollars, not knowing of the existence of a temple +buried beneath his dwelling. Some of the original statues of Rameses II. +remain in front of the ruins. I measured the right arm of one of these +figures, from the pit where it touches the side to the same point in +front, a distance of about six feet, and that does not represent the +entire circumference, for the granite between the arm and the body was +never entirely cut away. Near by stands a large red granite obelisk, +with carvings from top to bottom. A companion to this one, for they were +always erected in pairs, has been removed. In ancient times a paved +street led from this temple to Karnak, which is reached by a short walk. +This ancient street was adorned by a row of ram-headed sphinxes on each +side. Toward Karnak many of them are yet to be seen in a badly mutilated +condition, but there is another avenue containing forty of these figures +in a good state of preservation. + +The first of the Karnak temples reached is one dedicated to the Theban +moon god, Khons, reared by Rameses III. The Temple of Ammon, called "the +throne of the world," lies a little beyond. I spent half a day on the +west side of the river in what was the burial ground of ancient Thebes, +where also numerous temples were erected. My first stop was before the +ruins of Kurna. The Temple of Sethos I. originally had ten columns +before it, but one is now out of place. The Temple Der el Bahri bore an +English name, signifying "most splendid of all," and it may not have +been misnamed. It is situated at the base of a lofty barren cliff of a +yellowish cast, and has been partially restored. + +In 1881 a French explorer discovered the mummies of several Egyptian +rulers in an inner chamber of this temple, that had probably been +removed to this place for security from robbers. In the number were the +remains of Rameses II., who was probably reigning in the boyhood days of +Moses, and the mummy of Set II., perhaps the Pharaoh of the Oppression, +and I saw both of them in the museum in Cairo. + +The Ramasseum is another large temple, built by Rameses II., who is +said to have had sixty-nine sons and seventy daughters. There are also +extensive remains of another temple called Medinet Habu. About a half a +mile away from this ruin are the two colossal statues of Memnon, +which were surrounded by water, so I could not get close to them. The +following dimensions of one of them are given: "Height of the figure, +fifty-two feet; height of the pedestal on which the feet rest, thirteen +feet; height of the entire monument, sixty-five feet. But when the +figure was adorned with the long-since vanished crown, the original +height may have reached sixty-nine feet. * * * Each foot is ten and +one-half feet long. * * * The middle finger on one hand is four and a +half feet long, and the arm from the tip of the finger to the elbow +measures fifteen and one-half feet." + +All about these temples are indications of ancient graves, from which +the Arabs have dug the mummies. As I rode out, a boy wanted to sell me a +mummy hand, and another had the mummy of a bird. They may both have been +counterfeits made especially for unsuspecting tourists. There are also +extensive rock-cut tombs of the ancient kings and queens, which are +lighted by electricity in the tourist season. I did not visit them on +account of the high price of admission. The government has very properly +taken charge of the antiquities, and a ticket is issued for six dollars +that admits to all these ruins in Upper Egypt. Tickets for any one +particular place were not sold last season, but tourists were allowed to +visit all places not inclosed without a ticket. + +While in Luxor I visited the American Mission Boarding School for Girls, +conducted by Miss Buchanan, who was assisted by a Miss Gibson and five +native teachers. A new building, with a capacity for four hundred +boarders, was being erected at a cost of about thirty-five thousand +dollars. This would be the finest building for girls in Egypt when +finished, I was told, and most of the money for it had been given by +tourists. I spent a night in Luxor, staying in the home of Youssef Saïd, +a native connected with the mission work. His uncle, who could not speak +English, expressed himself as being glad to have "a preacher of Jesus +Christ" to stay in his house. + +Leaving Luxor, I returned to Cairo for some more sight-seeing, and I had +a very interesting time of it. In Gen. 41:45 we read: "Pharaoh called +Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah; and gave him to wife Asenath, the +daughter of Potipherah, priest of On." Heliopolis, meaning city of the +sun, is another name for this place, from whence the wife of Joseph +came. It is only a few miles from Cairo, and easily reached by railway. +All that I saw of the old city was a lonely obelisk, "probably the +oldest one in the world," standing in a cultivated field and surrounded +by the growing crop. It is sixty-six feet high, six feet square at the +base, and is well preserved. + +The Ezbekiah Gardens are situated in the best portion of Cairo. This +beautiful park contains quite a variety of trees, including the banyan, +and is a resort of many of the people. Band concerts are held, and a +small entrance fee is taken at the gate. + +On the thirtieth of the month I visited the Museum, which has been +moved to the city and installed in its own commodious and substantial +building. This vast collection of relics of this wonderful old country +affords great opportunities for study. I spent a good deal of time there +seeing the coffins of wood, white limestone, red granite, and alabaster; +sacrificial tables, mummies, ancient paintings, weights and measures, +bronze lamps, necklaces, stone and alabaster jars, bronze hinges, +articles of pottery, and many other things. It is remarkable how some +of the embalmed bodies, thousands of years old, are preserved. I looked +down upon the Pharaoh who is supposed to have oppressed Israel. The body +is well preserved, but it brought thoughts to me of the smallness of the +fleshly side of man. He who once ruled in royal splendor now lies there +in very humble silence. In some cases the cloths wrapped around these +mummies are preserved almost perfectly, and I remember a gilt mask that +was so bright that one might have taken it for a modern product. After +the body was securely wrapped, a picture was sometimes painted over the +face, and now, after the lapse of centuries, some of these are very +clear and distinct. I saw a collection of scarabaei, or beetles, which +were anciently worshiped in this country. Dealers offer figures of this +kind for sale, but the most of them are probably manufactured for the +tourist trade. + +On Lord's day, October thirtieth, I attended the evening services at the +American Mission, and went to Bedrashen the following day. This is the +nearest railway station to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, now an +irregular pile of ruined mud bricks. I secured a donkey, and a boy to +care for it and tell me where to go. We soon passed the dilapidated +ruins of the old capital. Two prostrate statues of great size were seen +on the way to the Step Pyramid of Sakkara, which is peculiar in that it +is built with great offsets or steps, still plainly visible, although +large quantities of the rock have crumbled and fallen down. The +Department of Antiquities has posted a notice in French, Arabic and +English, to the effect that it is dangerous to make the ascent, and that +the government will not be responsible for accidents to tourists who +undertake it. I soon reached the top without any special difficulty, +and with no more danger, so far as I could see, than one experiences +in climbing a steep hill strewn with rocks. I entered another pyramid, +which has a stone in one side of it twenty-five feet long and about five +and a half feet high. Some more tombs were visited, and the delicate +carving on the inner walls was observed. In one instance a harvest scene +was represented, in another the fish in a net could be discerned. The +Serapeum is an underground burial place for the sacred bull, discovered +by Mariette in 1850, after having been buried since about 1400 B.C. In +those times the bull was an object of worship in Egypt, and when one +died, he was carefully embalmed and put in a stone coffin in one of the +chambers of the Serapeum. Some of these coffins are twelve feet high and +fifteen feet long. + +Before leaving Cairo, I went into the famous Shepheard's Hotel, where I +received some information about the place from the manager, who looked +like a well-salaried city pastor. The Grand Continental presents a +better appearance on the outside, but I do not believe it equals +Shepheard's on the inside. I was now ready to turn towards home, so I +dropped down to Port Said again, where there is little of interest to +the tourist except the ever-changing panorama of ships in the mouth of +the Suez Canal, and the study of the social condition of the people. My +delay in the city while waiting for a ship gave me a good deal of +time for writing and visiting the missionaries. The Seamen's Rest is +conducted by Mr. Locke, who goes out in the harbor and gathers up +sailors in his steam launch, and carries them back to their vessels +after the service. One night, after speaking in one of these meetings, I +rode out with him. The American Mission conducts a school for boys, and +Feltus Hanna, the native superintendent, kindly showed me around. The +Peniel Mission is conducted by two American ladies. The British and +Foreign Bible Society has a depot here, and keeps three men at work +visiting ships in the harbor all the time. I attended the services +in the chapel of the Church of England one morning. With all these +religious forces the city is very wicked. The street in which my hotel +was located was largely given up to drinking and harlotry. + +On the ninth of November the French ship _Congo_ stopped in the harbor, +and I went down late in the evening to embark, but the authorities would +not permit me to go aboard, because I had not been examined by the +medical officer, who felt my pulse and signed a paper that was never +called for, and I went aboard all right. The ship stopped at Alexandria, +and I went around in the city, seeing nothing of equal interest to +Pompey's Pillar, a monument standing ninety-eight feet and nine inches +high. The main shaft is seventy-three feet high and nearly thirty feet +in circumference. We reached Marseilles in the evening of November +sixteenth, after experiencing some weather rough enough to make me +uncomfortable, and several of the others were really seasick. I had +several hours in Paris, which was reached early the next day, and the +United States consulate and the Louvre, the national museum of France, +were visited. From Paris I went to London by way of Dieppe and New +Haven. I left summer weather in Egypt, and found that winter was on hand +in France and England. London was shrouded in a fog. I went back to my +friends at Twynholm, and made three addresses on Lord's day, and spoke +again on Monday night. I sailed from Liverpool for New York on the _SS. +Cedric_ November twenty-third. We were in the harbor at Queenstown, +Ireland, the next day, and came ashore at the New York custom house on +the second of December. The _Cedric_ was then the second largest ship in +the world, being seven hundred feet long and seventy-five feet broad. +She carries a crew of three hundred and forty, and has a capacity for +over three thousand passengers. On this trip she carried one thousand +three hundred and thirty-six, and the following twenty classes of people +were represented: Americans, English, French, German, Danes, Norwegians, +Roumanians, Spanish, Arabs, Japanese, Negroes, Greeks, Russian Jews, +Fins, Swedes, Austrians, Armenians, Poles, Irish, and Scotch. A great +stream of immigrants is continually pouring into the country at this +point. Twelve thousand were reported as arriving in one day, and a +recent paper contains a note to the effect that the number arriving in +June will exceed eighty thousand, as against fifty thousand in June +of last year. "The character of the immigrants seems to grow steadily +worse." + +My traveling companion from Port Said to Marseilles and from Liverpool +to New York was Solomon Elia, who had kindly shown me through the +Israelite Alliance School in Jerusalem. I reached Philadelphia the same +day the ship landed in New York, but was detained there with brethren +on account of a case of quinsy. I reached home on the fourteenth of +December, after an absence of five months and three days, in which +time I had seen something of fourteen foreign countries, having a very +enjoyable and profitable trip. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. + + +This section of country has been known by several names. It has been +called the "Land of Canaan," the "Land of Israel," the "Land of +Promise," the "Land of the Hebrews," and the "Holy Land." Canaan was +simply the country between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, extending +from Mt. Lebanon on the north to the Desert of Arabia on the south. Dan +was in the extreme northern part, and Beer-sheba lay in the southern end +of the country, one hundred and thirty-nine miles distant. The average +width of the land is about forty miles, and the total area is in the +neighborhood of six thousand miles. "It is not in size or physical +characteristics proportioned to its moral and historical position as the +theater of the most momentous events in the world's history." Palestine, +the land occupied by the twelve tribes, included the Land of Canaan and +a section of country east of the Jordan one hundred miles long and about +twenty-five miles wide, occupied by Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of +Manasseh. The Land of Promise was still more extensive, reaching +from "the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates," +embracing about sixty thousand square miles, or a little less than +the five New England States. The country is easily divided into four +parallel strips. Beginning at the Mediterranean, we have the Maritime +Plain, the Mountain Region, the Jordan Valley, and the Eastern +Table-Land. + +The long stretch of lowland known as the Maritime Plain is divided +into three sections. The portion lying north of Mt. Carmel was called +Phoenicia. It varies in width from half a mile in the north to eight +miles in the south. The ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon belonged to +this section. Directly east of Mt. Carmel is the Plain of Esdraelon, +physically a part of the Maritime Plain. It is an irregular triangle, +whose sides are fourteen, sixteen, and twenty-five miles respectively, +the longest side being next to Mt. Carmel. Here Barak defeated the army +of Sisera under Jabin, and here Josiah, king of Judah, was killed in a +battle with the Egyptians under Pharaoh-necoh. + +The Plains of Sharon and Philistia, lying south of Carmel, are usually +regarded as the true Maritime Plain. Sharon extends southward from +Carmel about fifty miles, reaching a little below Jaffa, and has an +average width of eight miles. The Zerka, or Crocodile river, which +traverses this plain, is the largest stream of Palestine west of the +Jordan. There are several other streams crossing the plain from the +mountains to the sea, but they usually cease to flow in the summer +season. Joppa, Lydda, Ramleh, and Caesarea belong to this plain. Herod +the Great built Caesarea, and spent large sums of money on its palace, +temple, theater, and breakwater. + +The Plain of Philistia extends thirty or forty miles from the southern +limits of Sharon to Gaza, varying in width from twelve to twenty-five +miles. It is well watered by several streams, some of which flow all the +year. Part of the water from the mountains flows under the ground and +rises in shallow lakes near the coast. Water can easily be found here, +as also in Sharon, by digging wells, and the soil is suitable for the +culture of small grains and for pasture. During a part of the year the +plain is beautifully ornamented with a rich growth of brightly colored +flowers, a characteristic of Palestine in the wet season. + +Gaza figures in the history of Samson, who "laid hold of the doors of +the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and +all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the +mountain that is before Hebron." Ashkelon, on the coast, is connected +with the history of the Crusades. Ashdod, or Azotus, is where Philip was +found after the baptism of the eunuch. It is said that Psammetichus, +an ancient Egyptian king, captured this place after a siege of +twenty-seven years. Ekron and Gath also belonged to this plain. + +The ridge of mountains lying between the coast plain and the Jordan +valley form the backbone of the country. Here, more than elsewhere, +the Israelites made their homes, on account of the hostility of the +inhabitants in the lowlands. This ridge is a continuation of the Lebanon +range, and extends as far south as the desert. In Upper Galilee the +mountains reach an average height of two thousand eight hundred feet +above sea level, but in Lower Galilee they are a thousand feet lower. In +Samaria and Judaea they reach an altitude of two or three thousand feet. +The foot-hills, called the Shefelah, and the Negeb, or "South Country," +complete the ridge. The highest peak is Jebel Mukhmeel, in Northern +Palestine, rising ten thousand two hundred feet above the sea. Mt. +Tabor, in Galilee, is one thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet +high, while Gerizim and Ebal, down in Samaria, are two thousand eight +hundred and fifty feet and three thousand and seventy-five feet +respectively. The principal mountains in Judaea are Mt. Zion, two +thousand five hundred and fifty feet; Mt. Moriah, about one hundred feet +lower; Mount of Olives, two thousand six hundred and sixty-five feet, +and Mt. Hebron, three thousand and thirty feet. Nazareth, Shechem, +Jerusalem, and Hebron belong to the Mountain Region. + +The Jordan Valley is the lowest portion of the earth's surface. No other +depressions are more than three hundred feet below sea level, but the +Jordan is six hundred and eighty-two feet lower than the ocean at the +Sea of Galilee, and nearly thirteen hundred feet lower where it enters +the Dead Sea. This wonderful depression, which includes the Dead Sea, +forty-five miles long, and the valley south of it, one hundred miles in +length, is two hundred and fifty miles long and from four to fourteen +miles in width, and is called the Arabah. The sources of the Jordan +are one hundred and thirty-four miles from the mouth, but the numerous +windings of the stream make it two hundred miles long. The Jordan +is formed by the union of three streams issuing from springs at an +elevation of seventeen hundred feet above the sea. The principal source +is the spring at Dan, one of the largest in the world, as it sends forth +a stream twenty feet wide and from twenty to thirty inches deep. The +spring at Banias, the Caesarea Philippi of the Scriptures, is the +eastern source. The Hashbany flows from a spring forming the western +source. A few miles south of the union of the streams above mentioned +the river widens into the waters of Merom, a small lake nearly on a +level with the Mediterranean. In the next few miles it descends rapidly, +and empties into the Sea of Galilee, called also the Sea of Chinnereth, +Sea of Tiberias, and Lake of Gennesaret. In the sixty-five miles from +the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea the fall is about six hundred feet. +The rate of descent is not uniform throughout the whole course of the +river. In one section it drops sixty feet to the mile, while there is +one stretch of thirteen miles with a descent of only four and a half +feet to the mile. The average is twenty-two feet to the mile. The width +varies from eighty to one hundred and eighty feet, and the depth from +five to twelve feet. Caesarea Philippi, at the head of the valley, +Capernaum, Magdala, Tiberias, and Tarrichaea were cities on the Sea of +Galilee. Jericho and Gilgal were in the plain at the southern extremity, +and Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, upon which the wrath of God was +poured, were somewhere in the region of the Dead Sea. + +The Eastern Table-Land has a mountain wall four thousand feet high +facing the river. This table-land, which is mostly fertile, extends +eastward about twenty miles, and terminates in the Arabian Desert, which +is still higher. Here the mountains are higher and steeper than those +west of the Jordan. Mt. Hermon, in the north, is nine thousand two +hundred feet high. South of the Jarmuk River is Mt. Gilead, three +thousand feet high, and Mt. Nebo, lying east of the northern end of the +Dead Sea, reaches an elevation of two thousand six hundred and seventy +feet. Besides the Jarmuk, another stream, the Jabbok, flows into the +Jordan from this side. The Arnon empties into the Dead Sea. The northern +section was called Bashan, the middle, Gilead, and the southern part, +Moab. Bashan anciently had many cities, and numerous ruins yet remain. +In the campaign of Israel against Og, king of Bashan, sixty cities +were captured. Many events occurred in Gilead, where were situated +Jabesh-Gilead, Ramoth-Gilead, and the ten cities of the Decapolis, with +the exception of Beth-shean, which was west of the Jordan. From the +summit of Mt. Pisgah, a peak of Mt. Nebo, Moses viewed the Land +of Promise, and from these same heights Balaam looked down on the +Israelites and undertook to curse them, Moab lies south of the Arnon +and east of the Dead Sea. In the time of a famine, an Israelite, named +Elimelech, with his wife and sons, sojourned in this land. After the +death of Elimelech and both of his sons, who had married in the land, +Naomi returned to Bethlehem, accompanied by her daughter-in-law, Ruth, +the Moabitess, who came into the line of ancestry of David and of the +Lord Jesus Christ. Once, when the kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom +invaded the land, the king of Moab (when they came to Kir-hareseth, +the capital) took his oldest son, who would have succeeded him on the +throne, "and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall." At this +the invaders "departed from him and returned to their own land." + +The political geography of Palestine is so complicated that it can not +be handled in the space here available. Only a few words, applicable +to the country in New Testament times, can be said. The provinces of +Galilee, Samaria, and Judaea were on the west side of the Jordan, while +the Decapolis and Perea lay east of that river. The northern province +of Galilee, which saw most of the ministry of Jesus, extended from the +Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee, and a much greater distance from +the north to the south. It was peopled with Jews, and was probably a +much better country than is generally supposed, as it contained a large +number of cities and villages, and produced fish, oil, wheat, wine, +figs, and flax. "It was in Christ's time one of the gardens of the +world--well watered, exceedingly fertile, thoroughly cultivated, and +covered with a dense population."--_Merrill_. + +Samaria, lying south of Galilee, extended from the Mediterranean to the +Jordan, and was occupied by a mixed race, formed by the mingling of Jews +with the foreigners who had been sent into the land. When they were +disfellowshiped by the Jews, about 460 B.C., they built a temple on Mt. +Gerizim. + +The province of Judaea was the largest in Palestine, and extended from +the Mediterranean on the west to the Dead Sea and the Jordan on the +east. It was bounded on the north by Samaria, and on the south by the +desert. Although but fifty-five miles long and about thirty miles wide, +it held out against Egypt, Babylonia, and Rome. + +The Decapolis, or region of ten Gentile cities, was the northeastern +part of Palestine, extending eastward from the Jordan to the desert. +Perea lay south of the Decapolis, and east of the Jordan and Dead Sea. +The kingdom of Herod the Great, whose reign ended B.C. 4, included +all of this territory. After his death the country was divided into +tetrarchies. Archelaus ruled over Judaea and Samaria; Antipas ("Herod +the tetrarch") had control of Galilee and Perea; Philip had a section of +country east of the Sea of Galilee, and Lysanius ruled over Abilene, a +small section of country between Mt. Hermon and Damascus, not included +in the domain of Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa was made king by +Caligula, and his territory embraced all that his grandfather, Herod the +Great, had ruled over, with Abilene added, making his territory more +extensive than that of any Jewish king after Solomon. He is the "Herod +the king" who killed the Apostle James and imprisoned Peter. After +delivering an oration at Caesarea, he died a horrible death, "because +he gave not God the glory." At his death, in A.D. 44, the country was +divided into two provinces. The northern section was ruled by Herod +Agrippa II. till the Jewish State was dissolved, in A.D. 70. He was the +"King Agrippa" before whom Paul spoke. The southern part of the country, +called the province of Judaea, was ruled by procurators having their +seat at Caesarea. When Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, the country +was annexed to Syria. + +The climate depends more upon local conditions than on the latitude, +which is the same as Southern Georgia and Alabama, Jerusalem being on +the parallel of Savannah. In point of temperature it is about the same +as these localities, but in other respects it differs much. The year has +two seasons--the dry, lasting from the first of April to the first of +November, and the rainy season, lasting the other five months, during +which time there are copious rains. One authority says: "Were the old +cisterns cleaned and mended, and the beautiful tanks and aqueducts +repaired, the ordinary fall of rain would be quite sufficient for the +wants of the inhabitants and for irrigation." The summers are hot, the +winters mild. Snow sometimes falls, but does not last long, and ice is +seldom formed. + +Palestine is not a timbered country. The commonest oak is a low, scrubby +bush. The "cedars of Lebanon" have almost disappeared. The carob +tree, white poplar, a thorn bush, and the oleander are found in some +localities. The principal fruit-bearing trees are the fig, olive, date +palm, pomegranate, orange, and lemon. Grapes, apples, apricots, quinces, +and other fruits also grow here. Wheat, barley, and a kind of corn are +raised, also tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, and tobacco. The ground +is poorly cultivated with inferior tools, and the grain is tramped out +with cattle, as in the long ago. + +Sheep and goats are the most numerous domestic animals, a peculiarity of +the sheep being the extra large "fat tail" (Lev. 3:9), a lump of pure +fat from ten to fifteen inches long and from three to five inches thick. +Cattle, camels, horses, mules, asses, dogs and chickens are kept. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +HISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE. + + +In the ancient Babylonian city called Ur of the Chaldees lived the +patriarch Terah, who was the father of three sons, Abram, Nahor, and +Haran. Lot was the son of Haran, who died in Ur. Terah, accompanied by +Abram, Sarai, and Lot, started for "the land of Canaan," but they "came +unto Haran and dwelt there," "and Terah died in Haran." "Now Jehovah +said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and +from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will +make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name +great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, +and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the +families of the earth be blessed." So Abram, Sarai, and Lot came into +the land of Canaan about 2300 B.C., and dwelt first at Shechem, but "he +removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched +his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east." Abram did not +remain here, but journeyed to the south, and when a famine came, he +entered Egypt. Afterwards he returned to the southern part of Canaan, +and still later he returned "unto the place where his tent had been at +the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. * * * And Lot also, who went with +Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents." On account of some discord +between the herdsmen of the two parties, "Abram said unto Lot, Let there +be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my +herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren." Accepting his uncle's +proposition, Lot chose the well watered Plain of the Jordan, "journeyed +east," "and moved his tent as far as Sodom," but "Abram moved his tent, +and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron." + +Some time after this Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, entered the region +occupied by Lot, and overcame the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, +Zeboiim, and Bela, carrying away the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, +"and they took Lot * * * and his goods." "And there came one that had +escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew," who "led forth his trained men, +born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as +Dan." As a result of this hasty pursuit, Abram "brought back all the +goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the +women also, and the people." "The king of Sodom went out to meet" Abram +after his great victory, and offered him the goods for his services, +but the offer was refused. Abram was also met by "Melchizedek, king of +Salem," who "brought forth bread and wine," and "blessed him." Before +his death, the first Hebrew saw the smoke from Sodom and Gomorrah going +up "as the smoke of a furnace," and he also passed through the severe +trial of sacrificing his son Isaac. At the age of one hundred and +seventy-five "the father of the faithful" "gave up the ghost, and died +in a good old age, an old man and full of years, * * * and Isaac and +Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah," at Hebron, where +Sarah had been laid to rest when the toils and cares of life were over. + +From Abraham, through Ishmael, descended the Ishmaelites; through +Midian, the Midianites; and through Isaac, the chosen people, called +Israelites, from Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. The +interesting story of Joseph tells how his father and brothers, with +their families, were brought into Egypt at the time of a famine, where +they grew from a few families to a great nation, capable of maintaining +an army of more than six hundred thousand men. A new king, "who knew +not Joseph," came on the throne, and after a period of oppression, the +exodus took place, about 1490 B.C., the leader being Moses, a man eighty +years of age. At his death, after forty years of wandering in the +wilderness, Joshua became the leader of Israel, and they crossed the +Jordan at Gilgal, a few miles north of the Dead Sea, capturing Jericho +in a peculiar manner. Two other incidents in the life of Joshua may +be mentioned here. One was his victory over the Amorites in the +neighborhood of Gibeon and Beth-horon, where more were slain by the +hailstones which Jehovah cast down upon them than were killed by Israel +with the sword. It was on this occasion that Joshua said: "Sun, stand +thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And +the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged +themselves of their enemies. * * * And there was no day like that before +or after it." The other event is the complete victory of Israel over the +immense army of Jabin, king of Hazor, fought at the Waters of Merom, in +Galilee. The combined forces of Jabin and several confederate kings, +"even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses +and chariots very many," were utterly destroyed. Then came the allotment +of the territory west of the Jordan to the nine and a half tribes, as +Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had been assigned land east +of the river. The allotment was made by Joshua, Eleazer, the priest, +"and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of +Israel." + +The period of the Judges, extending from Joshua to Saul, over three +hundred years, was a time in which Israel was troubled by several +heathen tribes, including the Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites, +Amalekites, and Canaanites. The most troublesome of all were the +Philistines, who "were repulsed by Shamgar and harassed by Samson," but +they continued their hostility, capturing the Ark of the Covenant in the +days of Eli, and finally bringing Israel so completely under their power +that they had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their tools. + +The cry was raised: "Make us a king to judge us, like all the nations." +Although this was contrary to the will of God, and amounted to rejecting +the Lord, the Almighty gave directions for making Saul king, when the +rebellious Israelites "refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel," and +said: "Nay, but we will have a king over us." Two important events in +Saul's reign are the battle of Michmash and the war with Amalek. In the +first instance a great host of Philistines were encamped at Michmash, +and Saul, with his army, was at Gilgal. Samuel was to come and offer a +sacrifice, but did not arrive at the appointed time, and the soldiers +deserted, till Saul's force numbered only about six hundred. In his +strait, the king offered the burnt offering himself, and immediately +Samuel appeared, heard his explanation, and declared: "Thou hast done +foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God. * * +* Now thy kingdom shall not continue." Saul's loyalty to God was again +tested in the affair with Amalek, and his disobedience in sparing Agag +and the best of the cattle and sheep should be better known and more +heeded than it is. Concerning this, the prophet of God chastised him, +saying: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken +than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and +stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the +word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king." The dark +picture of Saul's doings is here and there relieved by the unadulterated +love of Jonathan and David, "which, like the glintings of the diamond in +the night," takes away some of the deepest shadows. + +The next king, Jesse's ruddy-faced shepherd boy, was anointed by Samuel +at Bethlehem, and for seven and a half years he reigned over Judah from +his capital at Hebron. Abner made Ish-bosheth, the only surviving son +of Saul, king over Israel, "and he reigned two years. But the house of +Judah followed David." Abner, who had commanded Saul's army, became +offended at the king he had made, and went to Hebron to arrange with +David to turn Israel over to him, but Joab treacherously slew him in +revenge for the blood of Asahel. It was on this occasion that David +uttered the notable words: "Know ye not that there is a prince and a +great man fallen this day in Israel?" Afterwards Rechab and Baanah slew +Ish-bosheth in his bedchamber and carried his head to David, who was so +displeased that he caused them to be killed, and their hands and feet +were cut off and hanged up by the pool in Hebron. Then the tribes of +Israel came voluntarily and made themselves the subjects of King David, +who captured Jebus, better known as Jerusalem, and moved his capital to +that city. During his reign the Philistines were again troublesome, and +a prolonged war was waged against the Ammonites. During this war David +had his record stained by his sinful conduct in the matter of Uriah's +wife. + +David was a fighting king, and his "reign was a series of trials and +triumphs." He not only subdued the Philistines, but conquered Damascus, +Moab, Ammon, and Edom, and so extended his territory from the +Mediterranean to the Euphrates that it embraced ten times as much as +Saul ruled over. But his heart was made sad by the shameful misconduct +of Amnon, followed by his death, and by the conspiracy of Absalom, the +rebellion following, and the death of this beautiful son. "The story of +David's hasty flight from Jerusalem over Olivet and across the Jordan to +escape from Absalom is touchingly sad. 'And David went up by the ascent +of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up, and he had his head +covered, and went barefoot.' Then what a picture of paternal love, +which the basest filial ingratitude could not quench, is that of David +mourning the death of Absalom, 'The king was much moved, and went up to +the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O, +my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O +Absalom, my son, my son!'" After finishing out a reign of forty years, +"the sweet singer of Israel" "slept with his fathers, and was buried in +the city of David." + +His son Solomon succeeded him on the throne, and had a peaceful reign of +forty years, during which time the Temple on Mount Moriah was erected, +being the greatest work of his reign. David had accumulated much +material for this house; Hiram, king of Tyre, furnished cedar timber +from the Lebanon mountains, and skilled workmen put up the building, +into which the Ark of the Covenant was borne. This famous structure was +not remarkable for its great size, but for the splendid manner in which +it was adorned with gold and other expensive materials. Israel's wisest +monarch was a man of letters, being the author of three thousand +proverbs and a thousand and five songs. His wisdom exceeded that of all +his contemporaries, "and all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to +hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart." A case in point is the +visit of the Queen of Sheba, who said: "The half was not told me; thy +wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard." But the glory of +his kingdom did not last long. "It dazzled for a brief space, like the +blaze of a meteor, and then vanished away." Nehemiah says there was no +king like him, "nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin." + +Solomon's reign ended about 975 B C., and his son, Rehoboam, was +coronated at Shechem. Jereboam, the son of Nebat, whose name is +proverbial for wickedness, returned from Egypt, whence he had fled from +Solomon, and asked the new king to make the grievous service of his +father lighter, promising to support him on that condition. Rehoboam +counseled "with the old men, that had stood before Solomon," and refused +their words, accepting the counsel of the young men that had grown up +with him. When he announced that he would make the yoke of his father +heavier, the ten northern tribes revolted, and Jereboam became king of +what is afterwards known as the house of Israel. The kingdom lasted +about two hundred and fifty years, being ruled over by nineteen kings, +but the government did not run smoothly. "Plot after plot was formed, +and first one adventurer and then another seized the throne." Besides +the internal troubles, there were numerous wars. Benhadad, of Damascus, +besieged Samaria; Hazael, king of Syria, overran the land east of the +Jordan; Moab rebelled; Pul (Tiglath-pileser), king of Assyria, invaded +the country, and carried off a large amount of tribute, probably +amounting to two millions of dollars; and thirty years later he entered +the land and carried away many captives. At a later date the people +became idolatrous, and Shalmaneser, an Assyrian king, reduced them to +subjection, and carried numbers of them into Assyria, and replaced them +with men from Babylon and other places. By the intermarriage of Jews +remaining in the country with these foreigners a mixed race, called +Samaritans, sprang up. + +The southern section of the country, known as the kingdom of Judah, was +ruled over by nineteen kings and one queen for a period of about three +hundred and seventy-five years. Asa, one of the good kings, was a +religious reformer--even "his mother he removed from being queen, +because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut +down her image and burnt it at the brook Kidron." But he, like many +other reformers, failed to make his work thorough, for "the high places +were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with +Jehovah all his days." Joash caused a chest to be placed "at the gate of +the house of Jehovah," into which the people put "the tax that Moses, +the servant of God, laid upon Israel in the wilderness," until they +had gathered an abundance of money, with which the house of God was +repaired, for the wicked sons of Athaliah had broken it up and bestowed +the dedicated things upon the Baalim. But after the death of Jehoida, +the priest, Joash was himself led into idolatry, and when Zechariah, the +son of Jehoida, rebuked the people for turning from God, they stoned him +to death by the order of King Joash. The last words of the dying +martyr were: "The Lord look upon it and require it." This is strangely +different from the last expression of Stephen, who "kneeled down, and +cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." +Amaziah returned "from the slaughter of the Edomites," and set up the +gods of the idolatrous enemies he had whipped, "to be his gods." Ahaz +was a wicked idolater, worshiping Baal and sacrificing his own sons. + +In strong contrast with such men as these we have the name of +Hezekiah, whose prosperous reign was a grand period of reformation and +improvement. He was twenty-five years old when he came on the throne, +and in the twenty-nine years he ruled, "he removed the high places, and +brake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah." The brazen serpent, +made by Moses in the wilderness, had become an object of worship, but +Hezekiah called it "a piece of brass," and broke it in pieces. The +passover had not been kept "in great numbers in such sort as it is +written," so Hezekiah sent messengers from city to city to call the +people to observe the passover. Some "laughed them to scorn, and mocked +them," but others "humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem," and in +the second month the "very great assembly * * * killed the passover. * * +* So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the +son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem." + +Manasseh, the next king, reëstablished idolatry, and his son Amon, +who ruled but two years, followed in his footsteps. Josiah, who next +occupied the throne, was a different kind of a man. "He did that which +was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his +father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." In his +reign, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the temple, and +delivered it to Shaphan the scribe, who read it, and took it to the king +and read it to him. "And it came to pass when the king heard the words +of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes," and commanded that +inquiry be made of the Lord concerning the contents of the book. As a +result, the temple was cleansed of the vessels that had been used in +Baal worship, the idolatrous priests were put down, the "houses of the +sodomites," that were in the house of Jehovah, were broken down, the +high places erected by Solomon were defiled, and a great reformation was +worked. + +Zedekiah was the last king in the line. In his day, Nebuchadnezzar, king +of Babylon, invaded the land, and besieged Jerusalem for sixteen months, +reducing the people to such straits that women ate the flesh of their +own children. When the city fell, a portion of the inhabitants were +carried to Babylon, and the furnishings of the temple were taken away +as plunder. Zedekiah, with his family, sought to escape, going out +over Olivet as David in his distress had done, but he was captured and +carried to Riblah, thirty-five miles north of Baalbec, where his sons +were slain in his presence. Then his eyes were put out, and he was +carried to Babylon. In this way were fulfilled the two prophecies, that +he should be taken to Babylon, and that he should not see it. + +Thus, with Jerusalem a mass of desolate, forsaken ruins, the Babylonian +period was ushered in. Some of the captives rose to positions of trust +in the Babylonian government. Daniel and his three associates are +examples. During this period Ezekiel was a prophet. No doubt the frame +of mind of most of them is well expressed by the Psalmist: "By the +rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept when we remembered +Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps." + +The Medo-Persian period began with the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, who +brought the Jews under his rule. The captives were permitted to return +to Palestine, and Zerubbabel soon had the foundations of the temple +laid; but here the work came to a standstill, and so remained for +seventeen years. About 520 B.C., when Darius was king of Persia, the +work was resumed, and carried on to completion. For some years the +service of God seems to have been conducted in an unbecoming manner. +Nehemiah came upon the stage of action, rebuilt the city walls, required +the observance of the Sabbath, and served as governor twelve years +without pay. Ezra brought back a large number of the people, repaired +the temple, and worked a great reformation. Under his influence, those +who had married foreign wives put them away, and "some had wives by whom +they had children." As the Samaritans were not allowed to help build the +temple, they erected one of their own on Mt Gerizim. A few Samaritans +still exist in Nablus, and hold services on Gerizim. "After Nehemiah, +the office of civil ruler seems to have become extinct." + +The Greek period begins with the operations of Alexander the Great in +Asia, 333 B.C., and extends to the time of the Maccabees, 168 B.C. After +Alexander's death, his empire fell into the two great divisions of Egypt +and Syria. The Egyptian rulers were called Ptolemies, and those of +Syria were called the Selucidae. For one hundred and twenty-five years +Palestine was held by Egypt, during which time Ptolemy Philadelphus had +the Septuagint version of the Old Testament made at Alexandria. +Syria next secured control of Palestine. The walls of Jerusalem were +destroyed, and the altar of Jehovah was polluted with swine's flesh. We +now hear of an aged priest named Mattathias, who at Modin, a few miles +from Jerusalem, had the courage to kill a Jew who was about to sacrifice +on a heathen altar. He escaped to the mountains, where he was joined by +a number of others of the same mind. His death soon came, but he left +five stalwart sons like himself. Judas, called Maccabeus, became the +leader, and from him the whole family was named the Maccabees. He began +war against the Syrians and apostate Jews. The Syrians, numbering fifty +thousand, took up a position at Emmaus, while the Maccabees encamped at +Mizpah. Although greatly outnumbered, they were victorious, as they +were in another engagement with sixty thousand Syrians at Hebron. Judas +entered Jerusalem, and repaired and cleansed the temple. Thus the +Maccabean period was ushered in. After some further fighting, Judas +was slain, and Simon, the only surviving brother, succeeded him, and +Jerusalem was practically independent. His son, John Hyrcanus, was the +next ruler. The Pharisees and Sadducees now come prominently into Jewish +affairs. The Essenes also existed at this time, and dressed in white. +After some time (between 65-62 B.C.), Pompey, the Roman general, entered +the open gates of the city, but did not capture the citadel for three +weeks, finally taking advantage of the day of Pentecost, when the Jews +would not fight. The Roman period began with the slaughter of twelve +thousand citizens. Priests were slain at the altar, and the temple was +profaned. Judaea became a Roman province, and was compelled to pay +tribute. + +Herod the Great became governor of Galilee, and later the Roman senate +made him king of Judaea. He besieged Jerusalem, and took it in 37 B.C. +"A singular compound of good and bad--mostly bad--was this King Herod." +He hired men to drown a supposed rival, as if in sport, at Jericho +on the occasion of a feast, and in the beginning of his reign he +slaughtered more than half of the members of the Sanhedrin. The aged +high priest Hyrcanus was put to death, as was also Mariamne, the wife +of this monster, who was ruling when the Messiah was born at Bethlehem. +Herod was a great builder, and it was he who reconstructed the temple on +magnificent lines. He also built Caesarea, and rebuilt Samaria. After +his death, the country was divided and ruled by his three sons. Achelaus +reigned ingloriously in Jerusalem for ten years, and was banished. +Judaea was then ruled by procurators, Pilate being the fifth one of +them, ruling from A.D. 26-36. In the year A.D. 65 the Jews rebelled +against the Romans, after being their subjects for one hundred and +twenty-two years. They were not subdued until the terrible destruction +of the Holy City in A.D. 70, when, according to Josephus, one million +one hundred thousand Jews perished in the siege, two hundred and +fifty-six thousand four hundred and fifty were slain elsewhere, and one +hundred and one thousand seven hundred prisoners were sold into bondage. +The Temple was completely destroyed along with the city, which for sixty +years "lay in ruins so complete that it is doubtful whether there was a +single house that could be used as a residence." The land was annexed to +Syria, and ceased to be a Jewish country. Hadrian became emperor in A.D. +117, and issued an edict forbidding the Jews to practice circumcision, +read the law, or to observe the Sabbath. These things greatly distressed +the Jews, and in A.D. 132 they rallied to the standard of Bar Cochba, +who has been styled "the last and greatest of the false Messiahs." The +Romans were overthrown, Bar Cochba proclaimed himself king in Jerusalem, +and carried on the war for two years. At one time he held fifty towns, +but they were all taken from him, and he was finally killed at Bether, +or Bittir. This was the last effort of the Jews to recover the land by +force of arms. Hadrian caused the site of the temple to be plowed over, +and the city was reconstructed being made thoroughly pagan. For two +hundred years the Jews were forbidden to enter it. In A.D. 326 the +Empress Helena visited Jerusalem, and built a church on the Mount of +Olives. Julian the Apostate undertook to rebuild the Jewish temple in +A.D. 362, but was frustrated by "balls of fire" issuing from under +the ruins and frightening the workmen. In A.D. 529 the Greek emperor +Justinian built a church in the city in honor of the Virgin. The +Persians under Chosroes II. invaded Palestine in A.D. 614 and destroyed +part of Jerusalem. After fourteen years they were defeated and Jerusalem +was restored, but the Mohammedans under Omar captured it in A.D. 637. +The structure called the Dome of the Rock, on Mt. Moriah, was built by +them in A.D. 688. + +The Crusades next engage our attention. The first of these military +expeditions was made to secure the right to visit the Holy Sepulcher. It +was commenced at the call of the Pope in 1096. A force of two hundred +and seventy-five thousand men began the march, but never entered +Palestine. Another effort was made by six hundred thousand men, who +captured Antioch in 1098. A little later the survivors defeated the +Mohammedan army of two hundred thousand. Still later they entered +Jerusalem, and Godfrey of Bouillon was made king of the city in 1099. By +conquest he came to rule the whole of Palestine. The orders of Knights +Hospitallers and Knights Templars were formed, and Godfrey continued in +power about fifty years. In 1144 two European armies, aggregating one +million two hundred thousand men, started on the second crusade, which +was a total failure. Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, conquered Jerusalem +in 1187, and the third crusade was inaugurated, which resulted in +securing the right to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem free from taxes. The +power of the Crusaders was now broken. Another band assembled at +Venice in 1203 to undertake the fourth crusade, but they never entered +Palestine. The fifth effort was made, and Frederick, Emperor of Germany, +crowned himself king of Jerusalem in 1229, and returned to his native +land the next year. The Turks conquered Palestine in 1244 and burned +Jerusalem. Louis IX. of France led the seventh crusade, another failure, +in 1248. He undertook it again in 1270, but went to Africa, and Prince +Edward of England entered Palestine in 1271 and accepted a truce for ten +years, which was offered by the Sultan of Egypt. This, the eighth and +last crusade, ended in 1272 by the return of Edward to England. In 1280 +Palestine was invaded by the Mamelukes, and in 1291 the war of the +Crusaders ended with the fall of Acre, "the last Christian possession in +Palestine." Besides these efforts there were children's crusades for the +conversion or conquest of the Moslems. The first, in 1212, was composed +of thirty thousand boys. Two ship loads were drowned and the third was +sold as slaves to the Mohammedans. + +In 1517 the country passed to the control of the Ottoman Empire, and so +remained until 1832, when it fell back to Egypt for eight years. The +present walls around Jerusalem, which inclose two hundred and ten acres +of ground, were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1542. In 1840 +Palestine again became Turkish territory, and so continues to this day. +The really scientific exploration of the land began with the journey +of Edward Robinson, an American, in 1838. In 1856 the United States +Consulate was established in Jerusalem, and twelve governments are now +represented by consulates. Sir Charles Wilson created an interest in the +geography of Palestine by his survey of Jerusalem and his travels in +the Holy Land from 1864 to 1868. Palestine was surveyed from Dan to +Beer-sheba and from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the years from 1872 +to 1877. The Siloam inscription, the "only known relic of the writing * +* * of Hezekiah's days," was discovered in 1880. The railroad from Jaffa +to Jerusalem was opened in 1892. Within the last ten years several +carriage roads have been built. Protestant schools and missions have +been established at many important places. The population of the city is +now about fifty-five thousand souls, but they do not all live inside of +the walls. What the future of Palestine may be is an interesting subject +for thought. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN GREAT BRITAIN. + + +No doubt many of my readers will be specially interested in knowing +something of my experience and association with the brethren across the +sea, and it is my desire to give them as fair an understanding of the +situation as I can. There are five congregations in Glasgow, having a +membership of six hundred and seventy-eight persons. The oldest one of +these, which formerly met in Brown Street and now meets in Shawlands +Hall, was formed in 1839, and has one hundred and sixty-one members. The +Coplaw Street congregation, which branched from Brown Street, and is now +the largest of the five, dates back to 1878, and numbers two hundred and +nineteen. It was my privilege to attend one of the mid-week services of +this congregation and speak to those present on that occasion. I also +met some of the brethren in Edinburgh, where two congregations have a +membership of two hundred and fifty-three. At Kirkcaldy, the home of my +worthy friend and brother, Ivie Campbell, Jr., there is a congregation +of one hundred and seventy disciples, which I addressed one Lord's day +morning. In the evening I went out with Brother and Sister Campbell and +another brother to Coaltown of Balgonie, and addressed the little band +worshiping at that place. + +My next association with the brethren was at the annual meeting of +"Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland," convened at Wigan, +England, August second, third, and fourth. While at Wigan I went out to +Platt Bridge and spoke to the brethren. There are ninety members in this +congregation. One night in Birmingham I met with the brethren in Charles +Henry Street, where the congregation, formed in 1857, numbers two +hundred and seventy-four, and the next night I was with the Geach Street +congregation, which has been in existence since 1865, and numbers +two hundred and twenty-nine members. Bro. Samuel Joynes, now of +Philadelphia, was formerly connected with this congregation. While I was +in Bristol it was my pleasure to meet with the Thrissell Street church, +composed of one hundred and thirty-one members. I spoke once in their +place of worship and once in a meeting on the street. The last band of +brethren I was with while in England was the church at Twynholm, London. +This is the largest congregation of all, and will receive consideration +later in the chapter. The next place that I broke bread was in a little +mission to the Jews in the Holy City. To complete a report of my public +speaking while away, I will add that I preached in Mr. Thompson's +tabernacle in Jerusalem, and spoke a few words on one or both of the +Lord's days at the mission to which reference has already been made. I +also spoke in a mission meeting conducted by Mr. Locke at Port Said, +Egypt, preached once on the ship as I was coming back across the +Atlantic, and took part in a little debate on shipboard as I went out on +the journey, and in an entertainment the night before I got back to New +York. + +In this chapter I am taking my statistics mainly from the Year Book +containing the fifty-ninth annual report of the churches in Great +Britain and Ireland co-operating for evangelistic purposes, embracing +almost all of the congregations of disciples in the country. According +to this report, there were one hundred and eighty-three congregations on +the list, with a total membership of thirteen thousand and sixty-three, +at the time of the annual meeting last year. + +(Since writing this chapter, the sixtieth annual report of these +brethren across the sea has come into my hands, and the items in this +paragraph are taken mainly from the address of Bro. John Wyckliffe +Black, as chairman of the annual meeting which assembled in August of +this year at Leeds. The membership is now reported at thirteen thousand +eight hundred and forty-four, an increase of about eight hundred members +since the meeting held at Wigan in 1904. In 1842 the British brotherhood +numbered thirteen hundred, and in 1862 it had more than doubled. After +the lapse of another period of twenty years, the number had more than +doubled again, standing at six thousand six hundred and thirty-two. +In 1902, when twenty years more had passed, the membership had almost +doubled again, having grown to twelve thousand five hundred and +thirty-seven. In 1842 the average number of members in each congregation +was thirty-one; in 1862 it was forty; in 1882 it had reached sixty-one; +and in 1902 it was seventy-two. The average number in each congregation +is now somewhat higher than it was in 1902.) + +Soon after the meeting was convened on Tuesday, "the Conference +recognised the presence of Mrs. Hall and Miss Jean Hall, of Sydney, +N.S.W., and Brother Don Carlos Janes, from Ohio, U.S.A., and cordially +gave them a Christian welcome." The address of welcome and the address +of the chairman, Brother James Anderson, of Fauldhouse, Scotland, came +early in the day. The meeting on Wednesday opened with worship and a +short address, followed by reports from the General Sunday-school, +Reference, General Training, and Magazine Committees. One interesting +feature of the proceedings of this day was the conference paper by Bro. +T.J. Ainsworth on the subject of "The Relation of Christianity to the +Social Questions of the Day." Besides a discussion of this paper, there +was a preaching service at night. Thursday, the last day of the meeting, +was occupied, after the morning worship and short address, with the +reports of committees and the appointment of committees. At the social +meeting at night several brethren, who had been previously selected, +spoke on such subjects as seemed good to them. Bro. W.A. Kemp, of +Melbourne, Australia, and the writer were the only speakers not +residents of the British Isles. At the close of the meeting the +following beautiful hymn was sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne": + + Hail, sweetest, dearest tie, that binds + Our glowing hearts in one; + Hail, sacred hope, that tunes our minds + To harmony divine. + It is the hope, the blissful hope + Which Jesus' words afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of life with Christ the Lord. + + What though the northern wintry blast + Shall howl around our cot? + What though beneath an eastern sun + Be cast our distant lot? + Yet still we share the blissful hope + His cheering words afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of glory with the Lord. + + From Burmah's shores, from Afric's strand, + From India's burning plain, + From Europe, from Columbia's land, + We hope to meet again. + Oh, sweetest hope, oh, blissful hope, + Which His own truth affords-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + We still shall be the Lord's. + + No lingering look, no parting sigh, + Our future meeting knows; + There friendship beams from every eye, + And love immortal glows. + Oh, sacred hope, the blissful hope, + His love and truth afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of reigning with the Lord. + +I am not willing to accept everything done in the annual meeting, but +the hearty good will manifested and the pleasant and happy associations +enjoyed make it in those respects very commendable. These brethren +are very systematic and orderly in their work. Some one, who has been +designated beforehand, takes charge of the meeting, and everything moves +along nicely. When a visiting brother comes in, he is recognized and +made use of, but they do not turn the meeting over to him and +depend upon him to conduct it. The president of the Lord's day morning +meeting and part or all of the officers sit together on the platform. +The following is the order of procedure in one of the meetings which +I attended: After singing a hymn and offering prayer, the brother +presiding announced the reading lessons from both Testaments, at the +same time naming two brethren who would read these scriptures. After +they had come forward and read the lessons before the church, another +hymn was sung, and certain definite objects of prayer were mentioned +before the congregation again engaged in that part of the worship. Two +prayers were offered, followed by the announcements, after which a +brother delivered an address. Then the president made mention of the +visitors present, and an old gentleman from the platform extended "the +right hand of fellowship" to some new members before the contribution +was taken and the Lord's supper observed, a hymn being sung between +these two items. A concluding hymn and prayer closed the service, which +had been well conducted, without discord or confusion. + +A brother in Wigan gave me a statement of the work of one of the +congregations there in the winter season. On the Lord's day they have +school at 9:20 A.M. and at 2 P.M.; breaking the bread at 10:30 A.M., and +preaching the gospel at 6:30 P.M. At this evening meeting the Lord's +table is again spread for the benefit of servants and others who were +not able to be at the morning service. This is a common practice. The +young people's social and improvement class meets on Monday evening, a +meeting for prayer and a short address is held on Tuesday evening, and +the Band of Hope, a temperance organization for young people, meets +on Wednesday evening. The singing class uses Thursday night, and the +officers of the church sometimes have a meeting on Friday night. + +During the life of Bro. Timothy Coop much money was spent in an effort +to build up along the lines adopted by the innovators here in America. +Bro. Coop visited this country, and was well pleased with the operations +of the congregations that had adopted the modern methods, and he was +instrumental in having some American evangelists to go to England, and +a few churches were started. I was told that there are about a dozen +congregations of these disciples, called "American brethren" by the +other English disciples, with a membership of about two thousand, and +that it is a waning cause. + +The rank and file of these British brethren are more conservative than +the innovators here at home, but they have moved forward somewhat in +advance of the churches here contending for apostolic simplicity in +certain particulars. A few of the congregations use a musical +instrument in gospel meetings and Sunday-school services, and some have +organizations such as the Band of Hope and the Dorcas Society. The +organization of the annual meeting is said to be only advisory. The +following lines, a portion of a resolution of the annual meeting of 1861 +will help the reader to form an idea of the purpose and nature of the +organization: "That this Coöperation shall embrace such of the Churches +contending for the primitive faith and order as shall willingly be +placed upon the list of Churches printed in its Annual Report. That the +Churches thus coöperating disavow any intention or desire to recognize +themselves as a denomination, or to limit their fellowship to the +Churches thus coöperating; but, on the contrary, they avow it both a +duty and a pleasure to visit, receive, and coöperate with Christian +Churches, without reference to their taking part in the meetings and +efforts of this Coöperation. Also, that this Coöperation has for its +object evangelization only, and disclaims all power to settle matters of +discipline, or differences between brethren or Churches; that if in any +instance it should see fit to refuse to insert in or to remove from the +List any Church or company of persons claiming to be a Church, it shall +do so only in reference to this Coöperation, leaving each and every +Church to judge for itself, and to recognize and fellowship as it may +understand the law of the Lord to require." + +The question of delegate voting with a view to making the action of the +annual meeting more weighty with the congregations was discussed at the +Wigan meeting, but was voted down, although it had numerous advocates. +One of the brethren, in speaking of the use of instrumental music in the +singing, said they try not to use it when they worship the Lord, but I +consider the use they make of it is unscriptural, and it puts the church +in great danger of having the innovation thrust into all the services at +some future time. All of these churches could learn a valuable lesson +from some of our home congregations that have been rent asunder by the +unholy advocacy of innovations. + +But there are some very commendable things about these brethren. I +noticed careful attention being given to the public reading of the +Scriptures, and the congregation joins heartily in the singing. I am +informed that every member takes part in the contribution without +exception. They do not take contributions from visitors and children who +are not disciples. The talent in the congregation is well developed. In +this they are far ahead of us. While there are not many giving their +whole time to evangelistic work, there are many who are acceptable +speakers. One brother said they probably have a preacher for each +twenty-five members. Men heavily involved in business take time to +attend the meetings. For instance, one brother, who is at the head of a +factory employing about a thousand people, and is interested in mining +and in the manufacture of brick besides, is an active member of the +congregation with which he worships. The brethren in general are +faithful in the matter of being present at the breaking of bread. When +visiting brethren come in, they are given a public welcome, and are +sometimes pointed out to the congregation. Also, when brethren return +from a vacation or other prolonged absence, they are given a welcome. + +They pray much. The week-night meeting for prayer and study of the Bible +is largely taken up with prayer. I like the way they point out definite +objects of prayer. For instance, two sisters are leaving for Canada; +some one is out of employment, and some have lost friends by death. +These matters are mentioned, and some one is called on to lead the +prayer, and these points are included in his petition to the Lord. +Sometimes but one brother is asked to lead in prayer; sometimes more +than one are designated, and at other times they leave it open for some +one to volunteer. The following hymn was sung in one of these meetings +which I attended: + + LET US PRAY. + + Come, let us pray; 'tis sweet to feel + That God himself is near; + That, while we at his footstool kneel, + His mercy deigns to hear; + Though sorrows crowd life's dreary way, + This is our solace--let us pray. + + Come, let us pray; the burning brow, + The heart oppressed with care, + And all the woes that throng us now, + May be relieved by prayer; + Jesus can smile our griefs away; + Oh, glorious thought! come, let us pray. + + Come, let us pray; the mercy-seat + Invites the fervent prayer, + And Jesus ready stands to greet + The contrite spirit there; + Oh, loiter not, nor longer stay + From him who loves us; let us pray. + +They do not publish as many papers as we do, but have one weekly +journal, the _Bible Advocate_, edited by Bro. L. Oliver, of Birmingham, +which has a general circulation, reaching almost four thousand copies. +One feature of the paper last summer was the publication of the Life of +Elder John Smith as a serial. The colored covers of the _Bible Advocate_ +contain a long list of the hours and places of worship of congregations +in different parts of the country, and even outside of the British Isles +in some cases. In some instances the local congregation publishes a +paper of its own, affording a good medium through which to advertise the +meetings and to keep distant brethren informed of the work that is being +done, as well as to teach the truth of God. + +A book room is maintained in Birmingham, where the British and American +publications may be purchased. They were using a hymn-book (words only) +of their own and a tune-book published by others, but a new hymnbook was +under consideration when I was among them last year. A list of isolated +members is kept, and persons elected by the annual meeting conduct a +correspondence with these brethren. The following are extracts from some +of the letters received in reply to those that had been sent out: "I am +hoping that the day will come when I can leave this district and get to +one where I can have the fellowship of my brethren; but meanwhile I am +glad and thankful to be held in remembrance of my brethren and to be on +your list, and I pray God to help your work, for I have still hope in +Him, and know He has not given me up." Another brother says: "Though I +can not say that I have anything important or cheering to write, yet I +can say that I am rejoicing in the salvation of God, which is in Christ +Jesus our Lord. My isolation from regular church fellowship has been +so long that I have almost given up the hope of enjoying it again in +Arbroath; but still my prayer is that the Lord would raise up some here +or send some here who know the truth, and who love the Lord with their +whole heart, and would be able and willing to declare unto the people +the whole counsel of God concerning the way of salvation." A Sisters' +Conference was held in connection with the annual meeting, and a +Temperance Conference and Meeting was held on Monday before the annual +meeting opened. + +Missionary work is being carried on in Burmah, Siam, and South Africa. +In Burmah some attention has been given to translating and publishing a +part of the Psalms in one of the languages of that country. "Much +time has been spent in the villages by systematic visitation, by +the distribution of literature, and by seizing upon any and every +opportunity of speaking to the people. Street meetings have been +constantly held, visitors received on the boat, the gospel preached from +the Mission-boat to the people sitting on the banks of the river, and +also proclaimed to the people in their homes, in the villages, and in +the fields, and on the fishing stations. Although there were but two +baptisms during the year the congregation numbers fifty-one." The +brethren in Siam were working where the rivers, numerous canals, and +creeks form the chief roadways. The Year Book contains the following +concerning the medical missionary in this field: "His chief work during +the year has been rendering such help as his short medical training has +fitted him to give. For a time twelve to twenty patients a day came +to him for treatment. After a while the numbers fell off, he thought +because all the sick in the neighborhood had been cured." "The little +church in Nakon Choom * * * now consists of two Karens, one Burman, +one Mon, two Chinamen, and two Englishmen. As several of these do not +understand the others' language, the gift of tongues would seem not +undesirable." In South Africa there are congregations at Johannesburg, +Pretoria, Bulawayo, Cape Town, and Carolina. The church in Bulawayo +numbers about fifty members, nearly all of whom are natives "who are +eager learners." + +I saw more of the workings of the church at Twynholm than any other +congregation visited, as I stayed at Twynholm House while in London both +on the outward trip and as I returned home. Of the seven congregations +in this city, Twynholm is the largest, and is the largest in the British +brotherhood, having a membership of above five hundred. This church was +established in 1894 with twenty-five members, and has had a good growth. +They open the baptistery every Lord's day night, and very frequently +have occasion to use it. There were fifty-three baptisms last year, and +twenty-one others were added to the membership of the church. At the +close of a recent church year the Band of Hope numbered five hundred and +fifteen, and the Lord's day school had twelve hundred and fifty pupils +and one hundred and two teachers. I think it was one hundred and sixty +little tots I saw in one room, and down in this basement there were +about fifty more. I was told that there were more children attending +than they had accommodation for, but they disliked to turn any of them +away. The Woman's Meeting had one hundred and sixteen members; the Total +Abstinence Society, one hundred and fifty; and the membership of the +Youths' Institute and Bible Students' Class were not given. Five +thousand copies of _Joyful Tidings_, an eight-page paper, are given away +each month. The following announcement from the first page of this paper +will indicate something of the activities of this congregation: + + CHURCH OF CHRIST, + + Twynholm Assembly Hall, + Fulham Cross, S.W. + + REGULAR SERVICES AND GATHERINGS. + + + + _LORD'S DAY._ + 9:45 A.M.--Bible Students' Class. + 11:00 A.M.--Divine Worship and "The Breaking of Bread". + (Acts 2:42, etc.) + 2:45 P.M.--Lord's Day Schools. + 3:00 P.M.--Young Men's Institute. + 4:00 P.M.--Teachers' Prayer Meeting (first Lord's day in the + month). + 6:30 P.M.--_Evangelistic Service_. + 7:45 P.M.--Believers' Immersion (usually). + 8:10 P.M.--"The Breaking of Bread" (Continued). + + _MONDAY._ + 2:30 P.M.--Woman's Own Meeting. + 7:00 P.M.--Band of Hope. + 8:30 P.M.--Social Gathering for Young People (over fourteen). + 8:30 P.M.--Total Abstinence Society (last Monday night in the + month). + + _THURSDAY._ + 8:00 P.M.--Mid-week Service for Prayer, Praise, and Public + Exposition of the Word. + 9:00 P.M.--Singing Practice. + + _FRIDAY._ + 8:00 P.M.--Teachers' Preparation Class and Devotional Meeting. + (Open to all). + + + + Seat all Free and Unappropriated. + No Public Collections. + Hymn-books provided for Visitors. + +This Church of Christ earnestly pleads for the complete restoration of +the primitive Christianity of the New Testament, for the cultivation of +personal piety, and benevolence, and for loving service for Jesus the +Christ. + +Twynholm is the name given to a piece of property, originally intended +for a hotel, situated in the western part of London, at the intersection +of four streets in Fulham Cross. These streets make it a place easily +reached, and the numerous saloons make the necessity for such an +influence as emanates from a church of God very great. There is a good, +commodious audience-room at the rear, and several smaller rooms about +the premises. The front part is owned and controlled by a brother who +has a family of Christians to live there and run the restaurant on the +first floor and the lodging rooms on the two upper floors, where there +are accommodations for a few young men. Here I had a desirable room, and +was well cared for by the brother and sister who manage the house. The +restaurant is not run for profit, but to afford the people a place to +eat cheaply and to spend time without going where intoxicants are sold. +The patrons are allowed to sit at the tables and play such games as +dominoes, the aim being to counteract the evil influences of that part +of the city as far as possible. One night I attended a meeting of the +Band of Hope in a big basement room at Twynholm, where a large number +of small children were being taught to pray, and were receiving good +instruction along the line of temperance. Several older persons were on +duty to preserve order among these children, many of whom had doubtless +come from homes where little about order and good behavior is ever +taught. Soon after this meeting I went up on the street, and there, near +a saloon with six visible entrances, a street musician was playing his +organ, while small girls, perhaps not yet in their teens, were being +encouraged to dance. + +At Twynholm I also attended the Social Hour meeting, which was an +enjoyable affair. A program of recitations, songs, etc., was rendered. +This also, I suppose, is to offset some of the evil agencies of the +great city and keep the young people under good influences. The Woman's +Meeting convenes on Monday afternoon. The leaders of the meeting are +ladies of the church, who are laboring for the betterment of an inferior +class of London women. I spoke before this meeting, by request, and +was, so far as I now recollect, the only male person present. It is the +custom to use the instrument in connection with the singing in this +meeting, but I asked them to refrain on this occasion. An orphans' home +is also conducted, having members of this congregation as its managers. +It is a very busy church, and for being busy and diligent it is to be +commended, but I believe there is too much organization. But here, as +elsewhere in Britain, there are many very commendable things about the +brethren. I have already spoken of system in their proceedings. They +outline their work for a given period of time, specifying the Scriptures +to be read, the leaders of the meetings, and who is to preach on each +Lord's day night. Then, for the sake of convenience, these schedules +are printed, and they are carefully followed. This is far ahead of the +haphazard method, or lack of method, at home, where brethren sometimes +come together neither knowing what the lesson will be nor who will +conduct the meeting. + +Whatever may be the faults of these disciples in the old country, it +must be said to their credit that they are kind and hospitable to +strangers, and make a visiting brother welcome. The talent in their +congregations is better developed than it is here, and their meetings +are conducted in a more orderly and systematic manner. They are more +faithful in the observance of the Lord's supper than many in this land. +The percentage of preachers giving their whole time to the work is less +than it is here, but the number who can and do take part in the public +work of the church is proportionately larger than it is here. + +I will now close this chapter and this volume with the address of +Brother Anderson, chairman of the annual meeting held last year at +Wigan: + +DEAR BRETHREN:--In accepting the responsible and honorable position in +which you have placed me, I do so conscious of a defect that I hope you +will do your best to help and bear with. Please speak as distinctly as +possible, so that I may hear what is said. There may be other defects +that I might have helped, but please do your best to help me in this +respect. + +I heartily thank you for the honor conferred upon me. Whether I deserve +it or not, I know that it is well meant on your part. We prefer honor +to dishonor; but what one may count a great honor, another may lightly +esteem. The point of view is almost everything in these matters; but if +positions of honor in the kingdoms of the earth are lightly esteemed, +positions of honor in the kingdom of God have a right to be esteemed +more highly. + +We are met in conference as subjects of the kingdom of God, as heirs of +everlasting glory, having a hope greater than the world can give, and +a peace that the world can neither give nor take away. To preside over +such a gathering, met to consider the best means of spreading the Gospel +of Christ among men, is a token of respect upon which I place a very +high value. The fact that it came unexpectedly does not lessen the +pleasure. + +I know that you have not placed me here on account of my tact and +business ability to manage this conference well. Had I possessed these +qualities in a marked degree, you would no doubt have taken notice of +them before this time. I know that you only wish to pay a token of +respect to a plain old soldier before he lays aside his harness, and, +brethren, I thank you for that. + +For forty-four years I have enjoyed sweet and uninterrupted fellowship +in this brotherhood. For over forty years my voice has been heard in the +preaching of the Gospel of the Grace of God. For close on thirty years +all my time has been given to the proclamation and defense of New +Testament truth as held by us as a people. Every year has added strength +to the conviction that God has led me to take my stand among the +people who of all the people on the earth are making the best and most +consistent effort to get back to the religion established by Christ and +his apostles. I therefore bless the day that I became one of you. + +Had our position been wrong, I have given myself every opportunity of +knowing it. Circumstances have compelled me to examine our foundations +again and again. I have been called upon to defend our faith, when +attacked, times not a few. Whatever may be the effect that I have had +upon others, my own confidence has been increased at every turn. To-day +I am certain that if the New Testament is right, we can not be far +wrong; and if the New Testament can not be trusted, there is an end to +the whole matter. But the claims of Christ and the truth of the New +Testament are matters upon which a doubt never rises. As years roll on, +it becomes more easy to believe and harder to doubt. Knowledge, reason, +and experience now supply such varied yet harmonious and converging +lines of evidence that a doubt seems impossible. Difficulties we may +have, and perhaps must have, as long as we live, but we can certainly +rise above the fog land of doubt. Considering all this, it gives me more +pleasure to preside over this gathering than over any other voluntary +gathering on earth. It is a voluntary gathering. We do not profess to +be here by Divine appointment. It is a meeting of heaven's freemen to +consider the best means of advancing the will of God among men. While +met, may we all act in a manner worthy of the great object which brings +us together. + +Faith, forbearance and watchfulness will be required as long as we live, +if we wish to keep the unity of the faith in the bond of peace. All +those who set out for a complete return to Jerusalem have not held on +their way; some have gone a long way back and others are going. What +has happened in other lands may happen here, unless we watch and are +faithful. The more carefully we look into matters, we shall be the +less inclined to move. Putting all God's arrangements faithfully and +earnestly to the test, and comparing them with others, increases our +faith in them. Faithfulness increases faith. This keeps growing upon +you till you become certain that only God's means will accomplish God's +ends. Sectarianism, tested by experience, is a failure. + +The time was when our danger in departing from our simple plea of +returning to the Bible alone lay in our being moved by clerical and +sectarian influences. To the young in particular in the present day that +can hardly be called our greatest danger. The influences at work to +produce doubt in regard to the truth of the Bible were never so great as +they are now. This used to be the particular work of professed infidels; +now it is more largely the work of professed Christian scholars. If you +wish to pass for a "scholar," you must not profess to believe the Old +Testament. You must not say too much against the truth of that book, or +you may be called in question, but you can go a good long way before +there is much danger. + +Jesus believed that old book to be the word of God. But he was not a +"scholar." He was the son of a country joiner, and you must not expect +him to rise too far above his environment. It surprises me that the +"scholars" have not called more attention to the ignorance of Jesus in +this respect. They will no doubt pay more attention to this later on; +for as _Christian_ "scholars" it becomes them to be consistent, and I +have no doubt that they will shortly, in this respect, make up for lost +time. + +To expect that none of our young people will be influenced by this +parade of scholarship is to expect too much. But faith in Christ should +keep them from rushing rashly out against a book that Christ professed +to live up to and came to fulfill. This battle of the scholars over the +truth of the Bible is only being fought. We have no wish that it should +not be fought. Everything has a right to be tested with caution and +fairness, and when the battle is lost, it will be time enough for us to +pass over to the side of the enemy. This question as to the truth of the +Old Testament will be settled, and as sure as Christ is the Son of God, +and has all power in heaven and on earth, it will be settled upon the +lines of the attitude which he took up towards that book, and it will be +settled to the disgrace of those who professed to believe in Jesus, +but deserted his position before full examination was made. That no +transcriber ever made a slip, or that no translator ever made a mistake, +is not held by any one. But the day that it is proved that the Old +Testament is not substantially true, faith in Christ and Christianity +will get a shake from which it will never recover. + +We have not lost faith in the Bible. There is no need for doing so. The +word of the Lord will endure forever. But meantime, brethren, let us be +faithful, prayerful, and cautious, and be not easily moved from the rock +of God's word by the pretensions of "scholars" or of science, falsely so +called. + +I do not know that there is any necessary connection between the two, +but a belief in evolution and scholarly doubts about large portions of +the Old Testament, as a rule, go together. You must not profess to know +anything of science in many quarters if you doubt evolution. In the bulk +of even religious books it is referred to as a matter that science has +settled beyond dispute. To expect that many of our young people will not +be so far carried along by this current is to expect too much. Many of +them will be carried so far; it is a question of how many and how far. + +There perhaps never was a theory before believed by as many educated +people without proof as the theory of evolution. It is an unproved +theory; there is not a fact beneath it. That you have low forms of life, +and forms rising higher and higher till you get to man, is fact. But +that a higher species ever came from a lower is without proof. Let those +who doubt this say when and where such a thing took place, and name the +witnesses. Not only are there no facts in proof of it, but it flies in +the face of facts without number. If like from like is not established, +then nothing can be established by observation and experience. What +other theory do we believe which contradicts all that we know to be true +in regard to the subject to which it refers? + +Not only does it contradict fact and experience, it contradicts reason. +If you listen to the voice of reason, you can no more believe that the +greater came from the less than you can believe that something came from +nothing. We are intuitively bound to believe that an effect can not be +greater than its cause. But the theory of evolution contradicts this at +every step along the whole line. + +I am anxious to find the truth in regard to anything that has a bearing +upon my belief in God or religion. But in trying to find the truth, I +have never regretted being true to myself. To slavishly follow others +is, to say the least of it, unmanly. I do not believe in evolution +because God has so made me that I can not. Wherever man came from, he +sprang not from anything beneath him. When a man asks me to believe a +thing that has not facts, but only theory to support it,--said theory +contradicting fact, experience and reason,--he asks me more than I can +grant. The thing is absurd, and must one day die. + +I am agreeably surprised that we, as a people, have suffered so little +as yet from the sources of error referred to. Still they are all living +dangers, and if we would hold fast the faith once for all delivered to +the saints, we must see to our own standing, and as God has given us +opportunity let us be helpful to others. Our ground is God-given and +well tested. The fellowship with God and with each other that it has +brought to us has given us much happiness here. Let us be faithful and +earnest the few years that we have to remain here, and our happiness +will be increased when the Lord comes to reward us all according to our +works. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12679 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e093b84 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #12679 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12679) diff --git a/old/12679-8.txt b/old/12679-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ae2ee5 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12679-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5414 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Trip Abroad, by Don Carlos Janes + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Trip Abroad + +Author: Don Carlos Janes + +Release Date: June 22, 2004 [eBook #12679] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TRIP ABROAD*** + + +E-text prepared by Riikka Talonpoika, Keith Eckrich, and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders + + + +A TRIP ABROAD + +An Account of a Journey to the Earthly Canaan and the Land of the +Ancient Pharaohs + +To Which Are Appended + +A Brief Consideration of the Geography and History of Palestine, +and a Chapter on Churches of Christ in Great Britain + +BY + +DON CARLOS JANES + +1905 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "Striving for the Faith of the Gospel." +Don Carlos Janes.] + + + + _"Go, little booke, God send thee good passage, + And specially let this be thy prayere: + Unto them all that will thee read or hear, + Where thou art wrong, after their help to call, + Thee to correct in any part or all."_ + + CHAUCER. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In this volume the author has made an effort to describe his journey to +Palestine and Egypt. It is his desire that the book may be interesting +and instructive to its readers. The chapter on the geography of +Palestine, if studied with a good map, will probably be helpful to many. +The historic sketch of the land may serve as an outline of the important +events in the history of that interesting country. It is desired that +the last chapter may give American readers a better understanding of the +work of churches of Christ in Great Britain. + +This book is not a classic, but the author has tried to give a truthful +account of a trip, which, to him, was full of interest and not without +profit. No doubt some errors will be found, but even the critical reader +may make some allowance when it is known that the writing, with the +exception of a small part, was done in a period of eighty days. During +this time, the writer was also engaged in evangelistic work, speaking +every day without a single exception, and as often as four times on some +of the days. That the careful reading of the following pages may be +profitable, is the desire of THE AUTHOR. + +BOWLING GREEN, KY., October 21, 1905. + + + + +ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. + + +Several books have been consulted in preparing this one. "Lands of the +Bible," by J.W. McGarvey, has been very helpful. The same is true of +Edmund Sherman Wallace's "Jerusalem the Holy." Much information has been +obtained from the "Historical Geography of Bible Lands," by John B. +Calkin. Other works consulted were: "Recent Discoveries on the Temple +Hill," by James King; the "Bible Atlas," by Jesse L. Hurlbut; "Galilee +in the Time of Christ," by Selah Merrill; "City of the Great King," by +J.T. Barclay; "Palestine," by C.R. Conder; Smith's "Bible Dictionary"; +"Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia"; "Columbian Encyclopaedia," and +"Encyclopaedia Britannica." + +The chapter on Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland was read +before publication by Bro. Ivie Campbell, Jr., of Kirkcaldy, Scotland, +who made some suggestions for its improvement. Bro. J.W. McGarvey, of +Lexington, Ky., kindly read the chapters on the Geography and History of +Palestine, and made some corrections. Selah Merrill, United States +Consul at Jerusalem, has given some information embodied in the Historic +Sketch of Palestine. Acknowledgement of the helpful services of my wife, +and of Miss Delia Boyd, of Atpontley, Tenn., is hereby made. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND + + CHAPTER II. + CROSSING EUROPE + + CHAPTER III. + ASIA MINOR AND SYRIA + + CHAPTER IV. + A FEW DAYS IN GALILEE + + CHAPTER V. + SIGHT-SEEING IN JERUSALEM + + CHAPTER VI. + SIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM + + CHAPTER VII. + EGYPT, THE LAND OF TOMBS AND TEMPLES + + CHAPTER VIII. + GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE + + CHAPTER IX. + HISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE + + CHAPTER X. + CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN GREAT BRITAIN + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND. + + +When I was a "boy on a farm," one of my school teachers had a small +machine, which was sometimes used to print the names of students in +their books. Somehow I came to want a "printing press," and after a +while I purchased an outfit for fifteen cents, but it was a poor thing +and failed to satisfy me. Accordingly, I disposed of it and spent a +larger sum for a typewriter, which was little more than a toy. This, +too, was unsatisfactory, and I sold it. At a later date, I bought a +second-hand typewriter, which was turned in as part payment for the +machine I am now using to write this book, and now, after all these +successive steps, I find myself possessed of a real typewriter. I will +also mention my youthful desire for a watch. I wanted a timepiece and +thought I would like for it to be of small size. I thought of it when +awake, and, sometimes, when asleep, dreamed that I actually had the +little watch in my possession. Since those days of dreams and +disappointments, I have had three watches, and they have all been of +small size. + +In the same way, several years ago, I became possessed of a desire to +see the Land of Promise, the earthly Canaan. I thought about it some, +and occasionally spoke of it. There were seasons when the desire left +me, but it would come back again. Some years ago, when I was doing +evangelistic work in Canada, the desire returned--this time to stay. It +grew stronger and stronger until I decided to make the trip, which was +begun on the eleventh of July, 1904. After traveling many thousands of +miles, seeing numerous new and interesting sights, making many pleasant +acquaintances, and having a variety of experiences, I returned to the +home of my father on the fourteenth day of December, having been absent +five months and three days, and having had a more extensive trip than I +had at first thought of taking. There is a lesson in the foregoing that +I do not want overlooked. It is this: Whatever we earnestly desire is +apt to be worked out in our lives. Deeds usually begin with thoughts. If +the thoughts are fostered and cultivated, the deeds will probably be +performed some time. It is, therefore, important that we exercise care +as to the kind of thoughts we allow to remain in our hearts. "Keep thy +heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. +iv. 23). + +On the way to New York, I stopped in Washington and saw some of the +interesting places of the National Capital. The Bureau of Engraving and +Printing, where about six hundred persons were engaged in printing paper +money and stamps, was visited. I also went out to the Washington +Monument and climbed to the top of the winding stairs, although I might +have gone up in the free elevator if I had preferred to ride. The +Medical Museum, National Museum, Treasury Building, the White House, the +Capitol, and other points of interest received attention, and my short +stay in this city was very enjoyable. + +I spent a night in Philadelphia, after an absence of more than four +years, and enjoyed a meeting with the church worshiping on Forty-sixth +Street. It was very pleasant to meet those I had known when I was there +before, some of whom I had been instrumental in bringing to Christ. In +New York I made arrangements to sail for Glasgow on the S.S. Mongolian, +of the Allan Line, which was to sail at eleven o'clock on the fourteenth +of July, and the voyage was begun almost as promptly as a railway train +leaves the depot. We passed the Statue of Liberty a few minutes before +noon, and then I prepared some mail to be sent back by the pilot who +took us down to the sea. The water was smooth almost all the way across, +and we reached the desired haven on the eleventh day. I went back to my +room the first morning after breakfast and was lying in my berth when a +gentleman came along and told me I would have to get up, they were +going to have _inspection_. I arose and found part of the crew scrubbing +the floor and others washing down a wall. Everything was being put in +good condition for the examination to be given by some of the officers +who passed through each day at about ten o'clock. The seamen knew the +inspection was sure to come, and they knew the hour at which it would +take place, so they made ready for it. We know that there is a great +"inspection" day appointed when God will judge the world, but we do not +know the exact time. It is, therefore, important to be ready always, +that the day may not overtake us "as a thief in the night." + +Religious services were held on the ship each Lord's day, but I missed +the last meeting. On the first Sunday morning I arose as usual and ate +breakfast. As there was no opportunity to meet with brethren and break +bread in memory of the Lord Jesus, I read the account of the giving of +the Lord's Supper as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and John; also Paul's +language concerning the institution in the eleventh chapter of the first +Corinthian letter, and was thankful that my life had been spared until +another beautiful resurrection morning. At half past ten o'clock I went +into one of the dining rooms where two ministers were conducting a +meeting. The order of the service, as nearly as I can give it, was as +follows: Responsive reading of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth +Psalms; prayer; the hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers"; reading of the +twenty-ninth Psalm; prayer; the hymn, "Lead, Kindly Light"; an address +on "Knowing God"; prayer; the collection, taken while singing; and the +benediction. The ship furnished Bibles and hymn-books. A large copy of +the Bible was placed upon a British flag at the head of one of the +tables where the speaker stood, but he read from the American Revised +Version of the Scriptures. The sermon was commenced by some remarks to +the effect that man is hard to please. Nothing earthly satisfies him, +but Thomas expressed the correct idea when he said: "Show us the Father +and it sufficeth us." The minister then went on to speak of God as "the +God of patience," "the God of comfort," "the God of hope," and "the God +of peace." It was, with some exceptions, a pleasing and uplifting +address. There were about thirty persons in attendance, and the +collection was for the Sailors' Orphans' Home in Scotland. The following +is one verse of the closing hymn: + + "A few more years shall roll, + A few more seasons come, + And we shall be with those that rest, + Asleep within the tomb; + Then, oh, my Lord, prepare + My soul for that great day, + Oh, wash me in thy precious blood + And take my sins away." + +Before the close of the day, I read the whole of Mark's record of the +life of our Savior and turned my Bible over to Gus, the steward. We had +food served four times, as usual. The sea was smooth and the day passed +quietly. A Catholic gentleman said something at breakfast about "saying +a few prayers" to himself, and I heard a woman, in speaking about going +to church, say she had beads and a prayer-book with her. Later in the +day I saw her out on the deck with a novel, and what I supposed to be +the prayer-book, but she was reading the novel. + +Several of the passengers had reading matter with them. Some read +novels, but my Book was far better than any of these. It has a greater +Author, a wider range of history, more righteous laws, purer morals, and +more beautiful description than theirs. It contains a longer and better +love story than theirs, and reveals a much grander Hero. The Bible both +moralizes and Christianizes those who permit its holy influence to move +them to loving obedience of the Lord Jesus. It can fill its thoughtful +reader with holy hope and lead him into the realization of that hope. It +is a Book adapted to all men everywhere, and the more carefully it is +read the greater the interest in it and the profit from it become. It is +the volume that teaches us how to live here that we may live hereafter, +and in the dying hour no one will regret having been a diligent student +of its matchless pages of divine truth and wisdom. + +The last Lord's day of the voyage the ship reached Moville, Ireland, +where a small vessel came out and took off the passengers for +Londonderry. The tilled land, visible from the ship, reminded me of a +large garden. Some time that night we anchored in the harbor at +Greenock, near the mouth of the River Clyde. About one o'clock the +second steward came in, calling out: "Janes!" I answered from my berth +and heard him call out: "Don Carlos Janes!" Again I answered and learned +that he had some mail for me. I told him to hand it in, not remembering +that the door was locked, but that made no difference, for he handed it +in anyhow, but the locking arrangement on that door needed repairing +after he went away. I arose and examined the two pieces of mail, which +were from friends, giving me directions as to where I should go when the +ship got up to Glasgow, twenty-two miles from the sea. There was but one +case of sea sickness reported on the whole voyage. There was one death, +but the corpse was carried into port instead of being buried at sea. + +The home of Brother and Sister Henry Nelmes, which was my home while I +staid in Glasgow, is nicely located. Brother Nelmes and his wife are +excellent people, and treated me with much kindness. Glasgow is a large +and important city, with many interesting places in it. The Municipal +Building with its marble stairs, alabaster balustrade, onyx columns, and +other ornamentation, is attractive on the inside, but the exterior +impressed me more with the idea of stability than of beauty. The old +Cathedral, which I visited twice, is in an excellent state of +preservation, although founded in the eleventh century. There is an +extensive burial ground adjoining the Cathedral, and one of the +prominent monuments is at the grave of John Knox, the reformer. These +impressive words, written from memory, were spoken by the Regent at the +burial of Knox, and have been carved upon his monument: "Here lieth he +who never feared the face of man, who was often threatened with dag and +dagger, yet hath ended his days in peace and honor." Carlyle spoke of +him as a man "fearing God, without any other fear." + +One day I visited the birth-place of Robert Burns, at Ayr, a point not +far from Glasgow. I not only saw the "lowly thatched cottage," but a +monument to the poet, "Auld Kirk Alloway," the "brig o' Doon," and many +interesting articles in the museum. When the street car came to a +standstill, I had the old church and cemetery on my right hand, and the +monument on my left hand, while a man was standing in the road, ahead of +us, blowing a cornet,--and just beyond was the new bridge over the Doon, +a short distance below the old one, which is well preserved and +profusely decorated with the initials of many visitors. Along the bank +of "bonny Doon" lies a little garden, on the corner of which is +situated a house where liquor is sold, if I mistake not. It was before +this house that I saw the musician already mentioned. As I came up from +the old "brig o' Doon," I saw and heard a man playing a violin near the +monument. When I went down the road toward the new bridge and looked +over into the garden, I saw a couple of persons executing a cake-walk, +and an old man with one leg off was in the cemetery that surrounds the +ruined church, reciting selections from Burns. Such is the picture I +beheld when I visited this Ayrshire monument, raised in memory of the +sympathetic but unfortunate Scottish poet, whose "spark o' nature's +fire" has touched so many hearts that his birth-place has more visitors +per annum than Shakespeare's has. + +On the following day I had a pleasant boat-ride up Loch (Lake) Long, +followed by a merry coach-ride across to the "bonny, bonny banks of Loch +Lomond," which is celebrated in song and story. It is twenty-two miles +in length and from three-quarters of a mile to five miles wide, and is +called the "Queen of Scottish lakes." Ben Lomond, a mountain rising to a +height of more than three thousand feet, stands on the shore, and it is +said that Robert Bruce, the hero of Bannockburn, once hid himself in a +cave in this mountain. A pleasant boat-ride down the lake brought me +back to Glasgow in time to attend a meeting of the brethren in Coplaw +Street that night. + +Leaving my true friends who had so kindly entertained me in Glasgow, I +proceeded to Edinburgh, the city where Robert Burns came into +prominence. In the large Waverley Station a stranger, who knew of my +coming through word from Brother Ivie Campbell, of Kirkcaldy, stopped me +and asked: "Is your name Don Carlos Janes?" It was another good friend, +Brother J.W. Murray. He said he told some one he was looking for me, and +was told, in return, that he would not be able to find me. His answer to +this was that he had picked out a man before, and he might pick out +another one; and so he did, without any difficulty. After a little time +spent in Waverley gardens, I ascended the Walter Scott Monument, which +is two hundred feet high. The winding stairway is rather narrow, +especially at the top, and it is not well lighted. As I was coming down +the stairs, I met a lady and gentleman. The little woman was not at all +enthusiastic over the experience she was having, and, without knowing of +my presence, she was wondering what they would do if they were to meet +any one. "Come on up and see," I said, and we passed without any special +difficulty, but she said she didn't believe "two stout ones could" pass. +As she went on up the winding way, she was heard expressing herself in +these words: "Oh, it is a place, isn't it? I don't like it." The +tourist finds many "places", and they are not all desirable. Princess +Street, on which the monument is located, is the prettiest street that I +have ever seen. One side is occupied by business houses and hotels, the +other is a beautiful garden, where one may walk or sit down, surrounded +by green grass and beautiful flowers. + +Edinburgh Castle is an old fortification on the summit of a lofty hill +overlooking the city. It is now used as barracks for soldiers, and is +capable of accommodating twelve hundred men. Queen Mary's room is a +small chamber, where her son, James the First of Scotland and the Sixth +of England, was born. I was in the old castle in Glasgow where she spent +the night before the Battle of Langside, and later stood by her tomb in +Westminster Abbey. Her history, a brief sketch of which is given here, +is interesting and pathetic. "Mary Queen of Scots was born in Linlithgow +Palace, 1542; fatherless at seven days old; became Queen December 8th, +1542, and was crowned at Stirling, September 9th, 1543; carried to +France, 1548; married to the Dauphin, 1558; became Queen of France, +1559; a widow, 1560; returned to Scotland, 1561; married Lord Darnley, +1565; her son (and successor), James VI., born at Edinburgh Castle, +1566; Lord Darnley murdered, February, 1567; Mary married to the Earl of +Bothwell, May, 1567, and was compelled to abdicate in favor of her +infant son. She escaped from Lochleven Castle, lost the Battle of +Langside, and fled to England, 1568. She was beheaded February 8th, +1587, at Fotheringay Castle, in the forty-fifth year of her age, almost +nineteen years of which she passed in captivity. + + "Puir Mary was born and was cradled in tears, + Grief cam' wi' her birth, and grief grew wi' her years." + +In the crown-room are to be seen the regalia of Scotland, consisting of +the crown, scepter, sword of state, a silver rod of office, and other +jewels, all enclosed in a glass case surrounded by iron work. St. +Margaret's Chapel, seventeen feet long and eleven feet wide, stands +within the castle enclosure and is the oldest building in the city. A +very old cannon, called Mons Meg, was brought back to the castle through +the efforts of Walter Scott, and is now on exhibition. I visited the +Hall of Statuary in the National Gallery, the Royal Blind Asylum, passed +St. Giles Cathedral, where John Knox preached, dined with Brother +Murray, and boarded the train for Kirkcaldy, where I as easily found +Brother Campbell at the station as Brother Murray had found me in +Edinburgh. + +I had been in correspondence with Brother Campbell for some years, and +our meeting was a pleasure, and my stay at Kirkcaldy was very enjoyable. +We went up to St. Andrews, and visited the ruins of the old Cathedral, +the University, a monument to certain martyrs, and the home of a sister +in Christ. But little of the Cathedral remains to be seen. It was +founded in 1159, and was the most magnificent of Scottish churches. St. +Rule's Tower, one hundred and ten feet high, still stands, and we had a +fine view from the top. The time to leave Kirkcaldy came too soon, but I +moved on toward Wigan, England, to attend the annual meeting of churches +of Christ. Brother Campbell accompanied me as far as Edinburgh, and I +then proceeded to Melrose, where I stopped off and visited Abbotsford, +the home of Sir Walter Scott. It is situated on the River Tweed, a short +distance from Melrose, and was founded in 1811. By the expenditure of a +considerable sum of money it was made to present such an appearance as +to be called "a romance in stone and lime." Part of this large house is +occupied as a dwelling, but some of the rooms are kept open for the +numerous visitors who call from time to time. The young lady who was +guide the day I was at Abbotsford, first showed us Sir Walter's study. +It is a small room, with book shelves from the floor to the ceiling, the +desk on which Scott wrote his novels sitting in the middle of the floor. +A writing-box, made of wood taken from one of the ships of the Spanish +Armada, sits on the desk, and the clothes worn by the great novelist a +short time before his death are kept under glass in a case by the +window, while a cast of his face is to be seen in a small room +adjoining the study. We next passed into the library, which, with the +books in the study, contains about twenty thousand volumes. In the +armory are numerous guns, pistols, swords, and other relics. There is +some fine furniture in one of the rooms, and the walls are covered with +paper printed by hand in China nearly ninety years ago. Perhaps some who +read these lines will recall the sad story of Genivra, who hid herself +in an oaken chest in an attic, and perished there, being imprisoned by +the spring lock. This oaken chest was received at Abbotsford a short +time before Scott's death, and is now on exhibition. Sir Walter, as the +guide repeatedly called him, spent the last years of his life under the +burden of a heavy debt, but instead of making use of the bankrupt law, +he set to work heroically with his pen to clear up the indebtedness. He +wrote rapidly, and his books sold well, but he was one day compelled to +lay down his pen before the task was done. The King of England gave him +a trip to the Mediterranean, for the benefit of his health, but it was +of no avail. Sir Walter returned to his home on the bank of the Tweed, +and died September twenty-first, 1832. In his last illness, this great +author, who had produced so many volumes that were being read then and +are still being read, asked his son-in-law to read to him. The +son-in-law asked what book he should read, to which Sir Walter replied: +"Book? There is but one Book! Read me the Bible." In Melrose I visited +the ruins of the Abbey, and then went on to Wigan. + +After the annual meeting, I went to Birmingham and stayed a short while. +From here I made a little journey to the birth-place of Shakespeare, at +Stratford-on-Avon, a small, quiet town, where, to the best of my +recollection, I saw neither street cars nor omnibuses. After being in +several large cities, it was an agreeable change to spend a day in this +quiet place, where the greatest writer in the English tongue spent his +boyhood and the last days of his life on earth. The house where he was +born was first visited. A fee of sixpence (about twelve cents) secures +admission, but another sixpence is required if the library and museum +are visited. The house stands as it was in the poet's early days, with a +few exceptions. Since that time, however, part of it has been used as a +meat market and part as an inn. In 1847, the property was announced for +sale, and it fell into the hands of persons who restored it as nearly as +possible to its original condition. + +It has two stories and an attic, with three gables in the roof facing +the street. At the left of the door by which the tourist is admitted, is +a portion of the house where the valuable documents of the corporation +are stored, while to the right are the rooms formerly used as the "Swan +and Maidenhead Inn," now converted into a library and museum. The +windows in the upstairs room where the poet was born are fully occupied +with the autographs of visitors who have scratched their names there. I +was told that the glass is now valuable simply as old glass, and of +course the autographs enhance the value. The names of Scott and Carlyle +are pointed out by the attendant in charge. From a back window one can +look down into the garden, where, as far as possible, all the trees and +flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's works have been planted. For some +years past the average number of visitors to this house has been seven +thousand a year. The poet's grave is in Trinity Church, at Stratford, +beneath a stone slab in the floor bearing these lines: + + "Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbear + To digg the dust enclosed here. + Blest be ye man y spares these stones, + And curst be he ty moves my bones." + +On the wall, just at hand, is a bust made from a cast taken after his +death. Near by is a stained-glass window with the inscription, +"America's gift to Shakespeare's church," and not far away is a card +above a collection-box with an inscription which informs "visitors from +U.S.A." that there is yet due on the window more than three hundred +dollars. The original cost was about two thousand five hundred dollars. +The Shakespeare Memorial is a small theater by the side of the Avon, +with a library and picture gallery attached. The first stone was laid in +1877, and the building was opened in 1879 with a performance of "Much +Ado About Nothing." The old school once attended by the poet still +stands, and is in use, as is also the cottage of Anne Hathaway, situated +a short distance from Stratford. I returned to Birmingham, and soon went +on to Bristol and saw the orphans' homes founded by George Muller. + +These homes, capable of accommodating two thousand and fifty orphans, +are beautifully situated on Ashley Downs. Brother William Kempster and I +visited them together, and were shown through a portion of one of the +five large buildings by an elderly gentleman, neat, clean, and humble, +who was sent down by the manager of the institution, a son-in-law of Mr. +Muller, who died in 1898, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. We +saw one of the dormitories, which was plainly furnished, but everything +was neat and clean. We were also shown two dining-rooms, and the +library-room in which Mr. Muller conducted a prayer-meeting only a night +or two before his death. In this room we saw a fine, large picture of +the deceased, and were told by the "helper" who was showing us around +that Mr. Muller was accustomed to saying: "Oh, I am such a happy man!" +The expression on his face in this picture is quite in harmony with his +words just quoted. One of his sayings was: "When anxiety begins, faith +ends; when faith begins, anxiety ends." + +Mr. Muller spent seventy years of his life in England and became so +thoroughly Anglicized that he wished his name pronounced "Miller." He +was the founder of the "Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and +Abroad" and was a man of much more than ordinary faith. His work began +about 1834, with the distribution of literature, and the orphan work, if +I mistake not, was begun two years later. "As the result of prayer to +God" more than five millions of dollars have been applied for the +benefit of the orphans. He never asked help of man, but made his wants +known to God, and those who are now carrying on the work pursue the same +course, but the collection-boxes put up where visitors can see them +might be considered by some as an invitation to give. The following +quotation from the founder of the orphanages will give some idea of the +kind of man he was. "In carrying on this work simply through the +instrumentality of prayer and faith, without applying to any human being +for help, my great desire was, that it might be seen that, now, in the +nineteenth century, _God is still the Living God, and now, as well as +thousands of years ago, he listens to the prayers of his children and +helps those who trust in him._ In all the forty-two countries through +which I traveled during the twenty-one years of my missionary service, +numberless instances came before me of the benefit which this orphan +institution has been, in this respect, not only in making men of the +world see the reality of the things of God, and by converting them, but +especially by leading the children of God more abundantly to give +themselves to prayer, and by strengthening their faith. _Far beyond what +I at first expected to accomplish_, the Lord has been pleased to give +me. But what I have _seen_ as the fruit of my labor in this way may not +be the thousandth part of what I _shall_ see when the Lord Jesus comes +again; as day by day, for sixty-one years, I have earnestly labored, in +believing prayer, that God would be pleased, most abundantly, to bless +this service in the way I have stated." + +The objects of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution are set forth as +follows: "To assist day schools and Sunday-schools in which instruction +is given upon scriptural principles," etc. By day schools conducted on +scriptural principles, they mean "those in which the teachers are +believers; where the way of salvation is pointed out, and in which no +instruction is given opposed to the principles of the Gospel." In these +schools the Scriptures are read daily by the children. In the +Sunday-schools the "teachers are believers, and the Holy Scriptures +alone are the foundation of instruction." The second object of the +Institution is "to circulate the Holy Scriptures." In one year four +thousand three hundred and fifty Bibles were sold, and five hundred and +twenty-five were given away; seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-one +New Testament were sold, and one thousand five hundred and seventy-four +were given away; fifty-five copies of the Psalms were sold, and +thirty-eight were given away; two thousand one hundred and sixty-three +portions of the Holy Scriptures were sold, and one hundred and sixty-two +were given away; and three thousand one hundred illustrated portions of +the Scriptures were given away. There have been circulated through this +medium, since March, 1834, three hundred and eleven thousand two hundred +and seventy-eight Bibles, and one million five hundred and seven +thousand eight hundred and one copies of the New Testament. They keep in +stock almost four hundred sorts of Bibles, ranging in price from twelve +cents each to more than six dollars a copy. + +Another object of the Institution is to aid in missionary efforts. +"During the past year one hundred and eighty laborers in the Word and +doctrine in various parts of the world have been assisted." The fourth +object is to circulate such publications as may be of benefit both to +believers and unbelievers. In a single year one million six hundred and +eleven thousand two hundred and sixty-six books and tracts were +distributed gratuitously. The fifth object is to board, clothe, and +scientifically educate destitute orphans. Mr. Muller belonged to that +class of religious people who call themselves Brethren, and are called +by others "Plymouth Brethren." + +After leaving Bristol, I went to London, the metropolis of the world. +The first important place visited was Westminster Abbey, an old church, +founded in the seventh century, rebuilt in 1049, and restored to its +present form in the thirteenth century. Many eminent men and women are +buried here. Chaucer, the first poet to find a resting place in the +Abbey, was interred in 1400. The place where Major Andre is buried is +marked by a small piece of the pavement bearing his name. On the wall +close by is a monument to him. Here are the graves of Isaac Newton, +Charles Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin, and many others, +including Kings and Queens of England for centuries. In the Poets' +Corner are monuments to Coleridge, Southey, Shakespeare, Burns, +Tennyson, Milton, Gray, Spencer, and others, and one bearing the +inscription "O Rare Ben Jonson." There is also a bust of Longfellow, the +only foreigner accorded a memorial in the Abbey. The grave of David +Livingstone, the African explorer and missionary, is covered with a +black stone of some kind, which forms a part of the floor or pavement, +and contains an inscription in brass letters, of which the following +quotation is a part: "All I can add in my solitude is, may heaven's +rich blessings come down on every one, American, English, or Turk, who +will help to heal this open sore of the world." + +Concerning this interesting old place which is visited by more than +fifty thousand Americans annually, Jeremy Taylor wrote: "Where our Kings +are crowned, their ancestors lie interred, and they must walk over their +grandsires to take the crown. There is an acre sown with royal seed, the +copy of the greatest change, from rich to naked, from ceiled roofs to +arched coffins, from living like gods to die like men. There the warlike +and the peaceful, the fortunate and the miserable, the beloved and +despised princes mingle their dust and pay down their symbol of +mortality, and tell all the world that when we die our ashes shall be +equal to Kings, and our accounts easier, and our pains for our sins +shall be less." While walking about in the Abbey, I also found these +lines from Walter Scott: + + "Here, where the end of earthly things + Lays heroes, patriots, bards and kings; + Where stiff the hand and still the tongue + Of those who fought, and spoke, and sung; + Here, where the fretted aisles prolong + The distant notes of holy song, + As if some Angel spoke again + 'All peace on earth, good will to men'; + If ever from an English heart, + Here let prejudice depart." + +Bunhill Fields is an old cemetery where one hundred and twenty thousand +burials have taken place. Here lie the ashes of Isaac Watts, the hymn +writer; of Daniel De Foe, author of "Robinson Crusoe," and of John +Bunyan, who in Bedford jail wrote "Pilgrim's Progress." The monuments +are all plain. The one at the grave of De Foe was purchased with the +contributions of seventeen hundred people, who responded to a call made +by some paper. On the top of Bunyan's tomb rests the figure of a man, +perhaps a representation of him whose body was laid in the grave below. +On one of the monuments in this cemetery are the following words +concerning the deceased: "In sixty-seven months she was tapped sixty-six +times. Had taken away two hundred and forty gallons of water without +ever repining at her case or ever fearing the operation." + +Just across the street from Bunhill Fields stands the house once +occupied by John Wesley (now containing a museum) and a meeting-house +which was built in Wesley's day. The old pulpit from which Mr. Wesley +preached is still in use, but it has been lowered somewhat. In front of +the chapel is a statue of Wesley, and at the rear is his grave, and +close by is the last resting place of the remains of Adam Clarke, the +commentator. + +A trip to Greenwich was quite interesting. I visited the museum and saw +much of interest, including the painted hall, the coat worn by Nelson at +the Battle of the Nile, and the clothing he wore when he was mortally +wounded at Trafalgar. I went up the hill to the Observatory, and walked +through an open door to the grounds where a gentleman informed me that +visitors are not admitted without a pass; but he kindly gave me some +information and told me that I was standing on the prime meridian. On +the outside of the enclosure are scales of linear measure up to one +yard, and a large clock. + +After the trip to Greenwich, I went over the London Bridge, passed the +fire monument, and came back across the Thames by the Tower Bridge, a +peculiar structure, having two levels in one span, so passengers can go +up the stairs in one of the towers, cross the upper level, and go down +the other stairs when the lower level is opened for boats to pass up and +down the river. While in Scotland, I twice crossed the great Forth +Bridge, which is more than a mile and a half long and was erected at a +cost of above fifteen millions of dollars. There are ten spans in the +south approach, eight in the north approach, and two central spans each +seventeen hundred feet long. The loftiest part of the structure is three +hundred and sixty-one feet above high-water mark. + +The Albert Memorial is perhaps the finest monument seen on the whole +trip. The Victoria and Albert Museum contains the original Singer +sewing-machine, and a printing-press supposed to have been used by +Benjamin Franklin, and many other interesting things. The Natural +History Museum also contains much to attract the visitor's attention. +Here I saw the skeleton of a mastodon about ten feet tall and twenty +feet long; also the tusks of an extinct species of Indian elephant, +which were nine feet and nine inches long. There is also an elephant +tusk on exhibition ten feet long and weighing two hundred and eighty +pounds. + +Madam Tussaud's exhibition of wax figures and relics is both interesting +and instructive, and well repays one for the time and expense of a +visit. Several American Presidents are represented in life-size figures, +along with Kings and others who have been prominent in the affairs of +men. In the Napoleon room are three of the great warrior's carriages, +the one used at Waterloo being in the number. London Tower is a series +of strong buildings, which have in turn served as a fortress, a palace, +and a prison. I saw the site of Anne Boleyn's execution, but that which +had the most interest for me was the room containing the crown jewels. +They are kept in a glass case ten or twelve feet in diameter, in a +small, circular room. Outside of the case there is an iron cage +surrounded by a network of wire. The King's crown is at the top of the +collection, which contains other crowns, scepters, swords, and different +costly articles. This crown, which was first made in 1838 for Queen +Victoria, was enlarged for Edward, the present King. It contains two +thousand eight hundred and eighteen diamonds, two hundred and +ninety-seven pearls, and many other jewels. One of the scepters is +supposed to contain a part of the cross of Christ, but the supposition +had no weight with me. One of the attendants told me the value of the +whole collection was estimated at four million pounds, and that it would +probably bring five times that much if sold at auction. As the English +pound is worth about four dollars and eighty-seven cents, this little +room contains a vast treasure--worth upwards of a hundred million +dollars. + +I will only mention Nelson's monument in Trafalgar Square, the +Parliament Buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court +Palace, and the Zoological Gardens. I also visited the Bank of England, +which "stands on ground valued at two hundred and fifty dollars per +square foot. If the bank should ever find itself pressed for money, it +could sell its site for thirty-two million seven hundred and seventy +thousand dollars." It is a low building that is not noted for its +beauty. If it were located in New York, probably one of the tall +buildings characteristic of that city would be erected on the site. + +The British Museum occupied my time for hours, and I shall not undertake +to give a catalogue of the things I saw there, but will mention a few of +them. There are manuscripts of early writers in the English tongue, +including a copy of Beowulf, the oldest poem in the language; autograph +works of Daniel De Foe, Ben Jonson, and others; the original articles of +agreement between John Milton and Samuel Symmons relating to the sale of +the copyright of "a poem entitled 'Paradise Lost.'" There was a small +stone inscribed in Phoenician, with the name of Nehemiah, the son of +Macaiah, and pieces of rock that were brought from the great temple of +Diana at Ephesus; a fragment of the Koran; objects illustrating Buddhism +in India; books printed by William Caxton, who printed the first book in +English; and Greek vases dating back to 600 B.C. In the first verse of +the twentieth chapter of Isaiah we have mention of "Sargon, the king of +Assyria." For centuries this was all the history the world had of this +king, who reigned more than seven hundred years before Christ. Within +recent times his history has been dug up in making excavations in the +east, and I saw one of his inscribed bricks and two very large, +human-headed, winged bulls from a doorway of his palace. + +The carvings from the palace of Sennacherib, tablets from the library of +Asur-Banipal, and brick of Ur-Gur, king of Ur about twenty-five +centuries before Christ, attracted my attention, as did also the +colossal left arm of a statue of Thotmes III., which measures about nine +feet. The Rosetta stone, by which the Egyptian hieroglyphics were +translated, and hundreds of other objects were seen. In the mummy-room +are embalmed bodies, skeletons, and coffins that were many centuries +old when Jesus came to earth, some of them bearing dates as early as +2600 B.C., and in the case of a part of a body found in the third +pyramid the date attached is 3633 B.C. Being weary, I sat down, and my +note book contains this entry: "1:45 P.M., August 20. Resting here in +the midst of mummies and sarcophagi thousands of years old." + +From the top of the Monument I took a bird's-eye view of the largest of +all earthly cities, or at least I looked as far as the smoky atmosphere +would permit, and then returned to my stopping place at Twynholm. As I +rode back on the top of an omnibus, the houses of one of the Rothschild +family and the Duke of Wellington were pointed out. My sight-seeing in +Scotland and England was now at an end, and the journey so far had been +very enjoyable and highly profitable. I packed up and went down to +Harwich, on the English Channel, where I embarked on the Cambridge for +Antwerp, in Belgium. In this chapter I have purposely omitted reference +to my association with the churches, as that will come up for +consideration in another chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CROSSING EUROPE. + + +Immediately after my arrival in Antwerp I left for a short trip over the +border to Rosendaal, Holland, where I saw but little more than +brick-houses, tile roofs, and wooden shoes. I then returned to Antwerp, +and went on to Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The battlefield of +Waterloo is about nine and a half miles from Brussels, and I had an +enjoyable trip to this notable place. The field is farming land, and now +under cultivation. The chief object of interest is the Lion Mound, an +artificial hill surmounted by the figure of a large lion. The mound is +ascended by about two hundred and twenty-three steps, and from its +summit one has a good view of the place where the great Napoleon met his +defeat on the fifteenth of June, 1815. There is another monument on the +field, which, though quite small and not at all beautiful, contains an +impressive inscription. It was raised in memory of Alexander Gordon, an +aide to the Duke of Wellington, and has the following words carved on +one side: "A disconsolate sister and five surviving brothers have +erected this simple memorial to the object of their tenderest +affection." + +From Brussels I went over to Aix-la-Chapelle, on the frontier of +Germany, where I spent but little time and saw nothing of any great +interest to me. There was a fine statue of Wilhelm I., a crucifixion +monument, and, as I walked along the street, I saw an advertisement for +"Henry Clay Habanna Cigarren," but not being a smoker, I can not say +whether they were good or not. In this city I had an amusing experience +buying a German flag. I couldn't speak "Deutsch," and she couldn't speak +English, but we made the trade all right. + +My next point was Paris, the capital of the French Republic, and here I +saw many interesting objects. I first visited the church called the +Madeleine. I also walked along the famous street _Champs Elysees,_ +visited the magnificent Arch of Triumph, erected to commemorate the +victories of Napoleon, and viewed the Eiffel Tower, which was completed +in 1889 at a cost of a million dollars. It contains about seven thousand +tons of metal, and the platform at the top is nine hundred and +eighty-five feet high. The Tomb of Napoleon is in the Church of the +Invalides, one of the finest places I had visited up to that time. The +spot where the Bastile stood is now marked by a lofty monument. The +garden of the Tuileries, Napoleon's palace, is one of the pretty places +in Paris. Leaving this city in the morning, I journeyed all day through +a beautiful farming country, and reached Pontarlier, in southern France, +for the night. + +My travel in Switzerland, the oldest free state in the world, was very +enjoyable. As we were entering the little republic, in which I spent two +days, the train was running through a section of country that is not +very rough, when, all in a moment, it passed through a tunnel +overlooking a beautiful valley, bounded by mountains on the opposite +side and presenting a very pleasing view. There were many other +beautiful scenes as I journeyed along, sometimes climbing the rugged +mountain by a cog railway, and sometimes riding quietly over one of the +beautiful Swiss lakes. I spent a night at lovely Lucerne, on the Lake of +the Four Cantons, the body of water on which William Tell figured long +ago. Lucerne is kept very clean, and presents a pleasing appearance to +the tourist. + +I could have gone to Fluelin by rail, but preferred to take a boat ride +down the lake, and it proved to be a pleasant and enjoyable trip. The +snow could be seen lying on the tops of the mountains while the flowers +were blooming in the valleys below. Soon after leaving Fluelin, the +train entered the St. Gothard Tunnel and did not reach daylight again +for seventeen minutes. This tunnel, at that time the longest in the +world, is a little more than nine miles in length. It is twenty-eight +feet wide, twenty-one feet high, lined throughout with masonry, and cost +eleven million four hundred thousand dollars. Since I was in Switzerland +the Simplon Tunnel has been opened. It was begun more than six years +ago by the Swiss and Italian Governments, an immense force of hands +being worked on each end of it. After laboring day and night for years, +the two parties met on the twenty-fourth of February. This tunnel, which +is double, is more than twelve miles long and cost sixteen millions of +dollars. + +At Chiasso we did what is required at the boundary line of all the +countries visited; that is, stop and let the custom-house officials +inspect the baggage. I had nothing dutiable and was soon traveling on +through Italy, toward Venice, where I spent some time riding on one of +the little omnibus steamers that ply on its streets of water. But not +all the Venetian streets are like this, for I walked on some that are +paved with good, hard sandstone. I was not moved by the beauty of the +place, and soon left for Pisa, passing a night in Florence on the way. +The chief point of interest was the Leaning Tower, which has eight +stories and is one hundred and eighty feet high. This structure, +completed in the fourteenth century, seems to have commenced to lean +when the third story was built. The top, which is reached by nearly +three hundred steps, is fourteen feet out of perpendicular. Five large +bells are suspended in the tower, from the top of which one can have a +fine view of the walled city, with its Cathedral and Baptistery, the +beautiful surrounding country, and the mountains in the distance. + +The next point visited was Rome, old "Rome that sat on her seven hills +and from her throne of beauty ruled the world." One of the first things +I saw when I came out of the depot was a monument bearing the letters +"S.P.Q.R." (the Senate and the people of Rome) which are sometimes seen +in pictures concerning the crucifixion of Christ. In London there are +numerous public water-closets; in France also there are public urinals, +which are almost too public in some cases, but here in Rome the climax +is reached, for the urinals furnish only the least bit of privacy. One +of them, near the railway station, is merely an indentation of perhaps +six or eight inches in a straight wall right against the sidewalk, where +men, women, and children are passing. + +By the aid of a guide-book and pictorial plan, I crossed the city from +the gateway called "Porto del Popolo" to the "Porto S. Paolo," seeing +the street called the "Corso," or race course, Piazza Colonna, Fountain +of Treves, Trajan's Forum, Roman Forum, Arch of Constantine, Pantheon, +Colosseum, and the small Pyramid of Caius Cestus. + +The Porto del Popolo is the old gateway by which travelers entered the +city before the railroad was built. It is on the Flammian Way and is +said to have been built first in A.D. 402. Just inside the gate is a +space occupied by an Egyptian obelisk surrounded by four Egyptian lions. +The Corso is almost a mile in length and extends from the gate just +mentioned to the edge of the Capitoline Hill, where a great monument to +Victor Emmanuel was being built. The Fountain of Treves is said to be +the most magnificent in Rome, and needs to be seen to be appreciated. It +has three large figures, the one in the middle representing the Ocean, +the one on the left, Fertility, and the one on the right, Health. Women +who are disposed to dress fashionably at the expense of a deformed body +might be profited by a study of this figure of Health. Trajan's Forum is +an interesting little place, but it is a small show compared with the +Roman Forum, which is much more extensive, and whose ruins are more +varied. The latter contains the temples of Vespasian, of Concordia, of +Castor and Pollux, and others. It also contains the famous Arch of +Titus, the Basilica of Constantine, the remains of great palaces, and +other ruins. "Originally the Forum was a low valley among the hills, a +convenient place for the people to meet and barter." The Palatine Hill +was fortified by the first Romans, and the Sabines lived on other hills. +These two races finally united, and the valley between the hills became +the site of numerous temples and government buildings. Kings erected +their palaces in the Forum, and it became the center of Roman life. But +when Constantine built his capital at Constantinople, the greatness of +the city declined, and it was sacked and plundered by enemies from the +north. The Forum became a dumping ground for all kinds of rubbish until +it was almost hidden from view, and it was called by a name signifying +cow pasture. It has been partly excavated within the last century, and +the ruined temples and palaces have been brought to light, making it +once more a place of absorbing interest. I wandered around and over and +under and through these ruins for a considerable length of time, and +wrote in my note book: "There is more here than I can comprehend." + +I was in a garden on top of one part of the ruins where flowers and +trees were growing, and then I went down through the mass of ruins by a +flight of seventy-five stairs, which, the attendant said, was built by +Caligula. I was then probably not more than half way to the bottom of +this hill of ruins, which is honeycombed with corridors, stairways, and +rooms of various sizes. The following scrap of history concerning +Caligula will probably be interesting: "At first he was lavishly +generous and merciful, but he soon became mad, and his cruelty knew no +bounds. He banished or murdered his relatives and many of his subjects. +Victims were tortured and slain in his presence while dining, and he +uttered the wish that all the Roman people had but one neck, that he +might strike it off at one blow. He built a bridge across the Bay of +Baiae, and planted trees upon it and built houses upon it that he might +say he had crossed the sea on dry land. In the middle of the bridge he +gave a banquet, and at the close had a great number of the guests thrown +into the sea. He made his favorite horse a priest, then a consul, and +also declared himself a god, and had temples built in his honor." It is +said that Tiberius left the equivalent of one hundred and eighteen +millions of dollars, and that Caligula spent it in less than a year. The +attendant pointed out the corridor in which he said this wicked man was +assassinated. + +Near one of the entrances to the Forum stands the Arch of Titus, erected +to commemorate the victory of the Romans over the Jews at Jerusalem in +A.D. 70. It is built of Parian marble and still contains a +well-preserved figure of the golden candlestick of the Tabernacle carved +on one of its walls. There is a representation of the table of showbread +near by, and some other carvings yet remain, indicating something of the +manner in which the monument was originally ornamented. + +The Colosseum, commenced by Vespasian in A.D. 72 and finished by Titus +eight years later, is a grand old ruin. It is an open theater six +hundred and twelve feet long, five hundred and fifteen feet wide, and +one hundred and sixty-five feet high. This structure, capable of seating +eighty-seven thousand people, stands near the bounds of the Forum. It is +the largest of its kind, and is one of the best preserved and most +interesting ruins in the world. When it was dedicated, the games lasted +one hundred days, and five thousand wild beasts were slain. During the +persecution of the Christians it is said to have been the scene of +fearful barbarities. + +On the second day I entered the Pantheon, "the best preserved monument +of ancient Rome," built by Marcus Agrippa, and consecrated to Mars, +Venus, and others. It was burned in the reign of Titus and rebuilt by +Hadrian, and in A.D. 608 Pope Boniface consecrated it as a church. The +interior is shaped like a vast dome, and the only opening for light is a +round hole in the top. Raphael, "reckoned by almost universal opinion as +the greatest of painters," lies buried in the Pantheon behind one of the +altars. I went to Hadrian's Tomb, now the Castle of St. Angelo, and on +to St. Peter's. Before this great church-building there is a large open +space containing an obelisk and two fountains, said to be the finest in +the city, with a semi-circular colonnade on two sides containing two +hundred and eighty-four columns in four rows, and on the top of the +entablature there are ninety-six large statues. There are large figures +on the top of the church, representing Christ and the apostles. The +interior is magnificent. There are three aisles five hundred and +seventy-five feet long, and the middle one is eighty-two feet wide. The +beautifully ornamented ceiling is one hundred and forty-two feet high. +In this building, which was completed three hundred and fifty years +after it was begun, is the reputed tomb of the Apostle Peter, and many +large marble statues. There are figures representing boy angels that +are as large as a full-grown man. The Vatican is not far from St. +Peter's, and I went up to see the Museum, but got there just as it was +being closed for the day. I had a glimpse of the garden, and saw some of +the Pope's carriages, which were fine indeed. + +One of the most interesting places that I visited about Rome was the old +underground cemetery called the Catacombs of St. Calixtus. The visitors +go down a stairway with a guide, who leads them about the chambers, +which are but dimly lighted by the small candles they carry. The +passages, cut in the earth or soft rock, vary both in width and height, +and have been explored in modern times to the aggregate length of six +miles. Some of the bodies were placed in small recesses in the walls, +but I saw none there as I went through, but there were two in marble +coffins under glass. In one of the small chambers the party sang in some +foreign language, probably Italian, and while I could not understand +them, I thought the music sounded well. The Circus of Maxentius, fifteen +hundred feet long and two hundred and sixty feet wide, is near the +Catacombs, as is also the tomb of Caecilla Metella, which is said to +have been erected more than nineteen hundred years ago. It is probably +as much as two miles from the city walls, and I walked on a little way +and could see other ruins still farther in the distance, but I turned +back toward the hotel, and some time after sundown found myself walking +along the banks of the yellow Tiber in the old city. Two days of +sight-seeing had been well spent in and around the former capital of the +world, and I was ready to go on to Naples the next day. + +There is a saying, "See Naples and die," but I did not feel like +expiring when I beheld it, although it is very beautifully located. The +ruins of Pompeii, a few miles distant, had more interest for me than +Naples. I went out there on the tenth of September, which I recollect as +a very hot day. Pompeii, a kind of a summer resort for the Roman +aristocracy, was founded 600 B.C. and destroyed by an eruption of Mt. +Vesuvius in A.D. 79. It was covered with ashes from the volcano, and +part of the population perished. The site of the city was lost, but was +found after the lapse of centuries and the Italian Government began the +excavations in 1860. Some of the old stone-paved streets, showing the +ruts made by chariot wheels that ceased to roll centuries ago, have been +laid bare. Portions of the houses are still standing, and the stone +drinking fountains along the streets are yet to be seen, as are also the +stepping stones at the crossings, which are higher than the blocks used +in paving. Some of the walls still contain very clear paintings, some of +which are not at all commendable, and others are positively lewd. One +picture represented a wild boar, a deer, a lion, a rabbit, some birds, +and a female (almost nude) playing a harp. There was also a very clear +picture of a bird and some cherries. At one place in the ruins I saw a +well-executed picture of a chained dog in mosaic work. It is remarkable +how well preserved some things are here. In the Museum are petrified +bodies in the positions they occupied when sudden and unexpected +destruction was poured upon them, well nigh two thousand years ago. Some +appear to have died in great agony, but one has a peaceful position. +Perhaps this victim was asleep when the death angel came. I saw the +petrified remains of a dog wearing a collar and lying on his back, and a +child on its face. One of the men, who may have been a military officer, +seemed to have a rusty sword at his side. There were skeletons, both of +human beings and of brutes, bronze vessels, and such articles as cakes +and eggs from the kitchens of the old city. + +Mt. Vesuvius is a very famous volcano, standing four thousand feet high, +and has wrought a great deal of destruction. In the eruption of 472, it +is related that its ashes were carried to Constantinople; in 1066, the +lava flowed down to the sea; in 1631, eighteen thousand lives were lost; +and in 1794 a stream of lava more than a thousand feet wide and fifteen +feet high destroyed a town. From my hotel in Naples I had a fine view of +the red light rising from the volcano the evening after I visited +Pompeii. + +Leaving Naples, I went to Brindisi, where I took ship for Patras in +Greece. A day was spent in crossing Italy, two nights and a day were +taken up with the voyage to Patras, and a good part of a day was +occupied with the railroad trip from there to Athens, where the hotel +men made more ado over me than I was accustomed to, but I got through +all right and secured comfortable quarters at the New York Hotel, just +across the street from the Parliament Building. From the little balcony +at my window I could look out at the Acropolis. The principal places +visited the first day were the Stadium, Mars' Hill, and the Acropolis. + +Leaving the hotel and going through Constitution Square, up Philhellene +Street, past the Russian and English churches, I came to the Zappeion, a +modern building put up for Olympic exhibitions. The Arch of Hadrian, a +peculiar old structure, twenty-three feet wide and about fifty-six feet +high, stands near the Zappeion, and formerly marked the boundary between +ancient Athens and the more modern part of the city. Passing through +this arch, I soon came to what remains of the temple of the Olympian +Jupiter, which was commenced long before the birth of Christ and +finished by Hadrian about A.D. 140. Originally this temple, after that +of Ephesus said to be the largest in the world, had three rows of eight +columns each, on the eastern and western fronts, and a double row of one +hundred columns on the northern and southern sides, and contained a +statue of Jupiter, overlaid with gold and ivory. Its glory has long +since departed, and only fifteen of the columns are now standing. A +little farther on is the Stadium, with an arena over five hundred and +eighty feet long, and one hundred and nine feet wide. It was originally +constructed by the orator Lycurgus, about three hundred and fifty years +before Christ, but was being rebuilt when I was there. The seats are on +both sides and around the circular end of the arena, being made on the +slope of the hill and covered with clean, white, Pentelic marble, making +a beautiful sight. + +On the way to Mars' Hill and the Acropolis I passed the monument of +Lysicrates, the theater of Bacchus, and the Odeon. This first-mentioned +theater is said to have been "the cradle of dramatic art," the +masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and others having been rendered +there. The Odeon of Herod Atticus differed from other ancient theaters +in that it was covered. + +Mars' Hill is a great, oval-shaped mass of rock which probably would not +be called a hill in America. The small end, which is the highest part of +it, lies next to the Acropolis, and its summit is reached by going up a +short flight of steps cut in the limestone, and well preserved, +considering their age. The bluff on the opposite side from these steps +is perhaps thirty or forty feet high and very rugged. The rock slopes +toward the wide end, which is only a few feet above the ground. I +estimate the greatest length of it to be about two hundred yards, and +the greatest width one hundred and fifty yards, but accurate +measurements might show these figures to be considerably at fault. I +have spoken of the hill as a rock, and such it is--a great mass of hard +limestone, whose irregular surface, almost devoid of soil, still shows +where patches of it were dressed down, perhaps for ancient altars or +idols. The Areopagus was a court, which in Paul's time had jurisdiction +in cases pertaining to religion. + +A vision called Paul into Macedonia, where Lydia was converted and Paul +and Silas were imprisoned. In connection with their imprisonment, the +conversion of the jailer of Philippi was brought about, after which the +preachers went to Thessalonica, from whence Paul and Silas were sent to +Berea. Jews from Thessalonica came down to Berea and stirred up the +people, and the brethren sent Paul away, but Silas and Timothy were left +behind. "They that conducted Paul, brought him as far as Athens," and +then went back to Berea with a message to Silas and Timothy to come to +him "with all speed." "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his +spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols." +Being thus vexed, and having the gospel of Christ to preach, he reasoned +with the Jews and devout people in the synagogue and every day in the +marketplace with those he met there. He came in contact with +philosophers of both the Epicurean and Stoic schools, and it was these +philosophers who took him to the Areopagus, saying: "May we know what +this new teaching is which is spoken by thee?" + +The Athenians of those days were a pleasure-loving set of idolaters who +gave themselves up to telling and hearing new things. Besides the many +idols in the city, there were numerous temples and places of amusement. +Within a few minutes' walk was the Stadium, capable of holding fifty +thousand persons, and still nearer were the theater of Bacchus and the +Odeon, capable of accommodating about thirty and six thousand people +respectively. On the Acropolis, probably within shouting distance, stood +some heathen temples, one of them anciently containing a colossal statue +of Athene Parthenos, said to have been not less than thirty-nine feet +high and covered with ivory and gold. In another direction and in plain +sight stood, and still stands, the Theseum, a heathen temple at that +time. Take all this into consideration, with the fact that Paul had +already been talking with the people on religious subjects, and his +great speech on Mars' Hill may be more impressive than ever before. + +"Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are very religious. +For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found +also an altar with this inscription, To an unknown God. What therefore +ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. The God that made +the world and all things therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth, +dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is he served by men's +hands as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all +life, and breath, and all things; and he made of one every nation of men +to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed +seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God, +if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far +from each one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being; +as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his +offspring. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think the +Godhead is like unto gold, or silver or stone, graven by art and device +of man. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked, but now he +commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he +hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in +righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given +assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead." + +The Acropolis is a great mass of stone near Mars' Hill, but rising much +higher and having a wall around its crest. At one time, it is said, the +population of the city lived here, but later the city extended into the +valley below and the Acropolis became a fortress. About 400 B.C. the +buildings were destroyed by the Persians, and those now standing there +in ruins were erected by Pericles. The entrance, which is difficult to +describe, is through a gateway and up marble stairs to the top, where +there are large quantities of marble in columns, walls, and fragments. +The two chief structures are the Parthenon and the Erectheum. The +Parthenon is two hundred and eight feet long and one hundred and one +feet wide, having a height of sixty-six feet. It is so large and +situated in such a prominent place that it can be seen from all sides of +the hill. In 1687 the Venetians while besieging Athens, threw a shell +into it and wrecked a portion of it, but part of the walls and some of +the fluted columns, which are more than six feet in diameter, are yet +standing. This building is regarded as the most perfect model of Doric +architecture in the world, and must have been very beautiful before its +clear white marble was discolored by the hand of time and broken to +pieces in cruel war. The Erectheum is a smaller temple, having a little +porch with a flat roof supported by six columns in the form of female +figures. + +The Theseum, an old temple erected probably four hundred years before +Christ, is the best preserved ruin of ancient Athens. It is a little +over a hundred feet long, forty-five feet wide, and is surrounded by +columns nearly nineteen feet high. The Hill of the Pynx lies across the +road a short distance from the Theseum. At the lower side there is a +wall of large stone blocks and above this a little distance is another +wall cut in the solid rock, in the middle of which is a cube cut in the +natural rock. This is probably the platform from which the speaker +addressed the multitude that could assemble on the shelf or bench +between the two walls. + +Some of the principal modern buildings are the Hellenic Academy, the +University, Library, Royal Palace, Parliament Building, various church +buildings, hotels, and business houses. The University, founded in 1837, +is rather plain in style, but is ornamented on the front after the +manner of the ancients, with a number of paintings, representing +Oratory, Mathematics, Geology, History, Philosophy, and other lines of +study. At one end is a picture of Paul, at the other end, a +representation of Prometheus. The museum is small and by no means as +good as those to be seen in larger and wealthier countries. The Academy, +finished in 1885, is near the University, and, although smaller than its +neighbor, is more beautiful. On the opposite side of the University a +fine new Library was being finished, and in the same street there is a +new Roman Catholic church. I also saw two Greek Catholic church houses, +but they did not seem to be so lavishly decorated within as the Roman +church, but their high ceilings were both beautifully ornamented with +small stars on a blue background. I entered a cemetery near one of these +churches and enjoyed looking at the beautiful monuments and vaults. It +is a common thing to find a representation of the deceased on the +monument. Some of these are full-length statues, others are carvings +representing only the head. Lanterns, some of them lighted, are to be +seen on many of the tombs. There are some fine specimens of the +sculptor's art to be seen here, and the place will soon be even more +beautiful, for a great deal of work was being done. In fact, the whole +city of Athens seemed to be prosperous, from the amount of building that +was being done. + +The Parliament Building is not at all grand. The Royal Palace is larger +and considerably finer. At the head of a stairway is a good picture of +Prometheus tortured by an eagle. The visitor is shown the war room, a +large hall with war scenes painted on the walls and old flags standing +in the corners. The throne room and reception room are both open to +visitors, as is also the ball room, which seemed to be more elaborately +ornamented than the throne room. There is a little park of orange and +other trees before the palace, also a small fountain with a marble +basin. The highest point about the city is the Lycabettus, a steep rock +rising nine hundred and nineteen feet above the level of the sea, and +crowned with a church building. From its summit a splendid view of the +city, the mountains, and the ocean may be obtained. + +I spent five days in this city, the date of whose founding does not seem +to be known. Pericles was one of the great men in the earlier history of +the old city. He made a sacred enclosure of the Acropolis and placed +there the masterpieces of Greece and other countries. The city is said +to have had a population of three hundred thousand in his day, +two-thirds of them being slaves. The names of Socrates, Demosthenes, and +Lycurgus also belong to the list of great Athenians. In 1040 the Normans +captured Piraeus, the seaport of Athens, and in 1455 the Turks, +commanded by Omar, captured the city. The Acropolis was occupied by the +Turks in 1826, but they surrendered the next year, and in 1839 Athens +became the seat of government of the kingdom of Greece. With Athens, my +sight-seeing on the continent ended. Other interesting and curious +sights were seen besides those mentioned here. For instance, I had +noticed a variety of fences. There were hedges, wire fences, fences of +stone slabs set side by side, frail fences made of the stalks of some +plant, and embryo fences of cactus growing along the railroad. In Italy, +I saw many white oxen, a red ox being an exception that seems seldom to +occur. I saw men hauling logs with oxen and a cart, the long timber +being fastened beneath the axle of the cart and to the beam of the yoke. +In Belgium, one may see horses worked three abreast and four tandem, and +in Southern France they were shifting cars in one of the depots with a +horse, and in France I also saw a man plowing with an ox and a horse +hitched together. Now the time had come to enter the Turkish Empire, and +owing to what I had previously heard of the Turk, I did not look forward +to it with pleasure. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ASIA MINOR AND SYRIA. + + +The Greek ship _Alexandros_ left the harbor of Piraeus in the forenoon +of Lord's day, September eighteenth, and anchored outside the breakwater +at Smyrna, in Asia Minor, the next morning. The landing in Turkish +territory was easily accomplished, and I was soon beyond the custom +house, where my baggage and passport were examined, and settled down at +the "Hotel d'Egypte," on the water front. This was the first time the +passport had been called for on the journey. The population of Smyrna is +a mixture of Turks, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Italians, Americans, and +Negroes. The English Government probably has a good sized +representation, as it maintains its own postoffice. The city itself is +the main sight. The only ruins I saw were those of an old castle on the +hill back of the city. The reputed tomb of Polycarp is over this hill +from Smyrna, between two cypress trees, but I do not know that I found +the correct location. Near the place that I supposed to be the tomb is +an aqueduct, a portion of it built of stone and a portion of metal. As I +went on out in the country I entered a vineyard to get some grapes, not +knowing how I would be received by the woman I saw there; but she was +very kind-hearted, and when I made signs for some of the grapes, she at +once pulled off some clusters and gave them to me. She also gave me a +chair and brought some fresh water. More grapes were gathered and put in +this cold water, so I had a fine time eating the fruit as I sat there in +the shade watching a little boy playing about; but I could not converse +with either of them on account of not knowing their language. On the way +back to the city I stopped at the railway station to make inquiries +about a trip to Ephesus. + +Most of the streets in Smyrna are narrow and crooked, but there is one +running along the water front that is rather attractive. On one side is +the water, with the numerous vessels that are to be seen in this +splendid harbor, and on the other side is a row of residences, hotels, +and other buildings. The people turn out in great numbers at night and +walk along this street, sometimes sitting down at the little tables that +are set in the open air before places where different kinds of drinks +are dispensed. Here they consume their drinks and watch the free +performances that are given on an open stage adjoining the street and +the grounds where they are seated. Perhaps the most peculiar thing about +it all is the quiet and orderly behavior of this great crowd of people. +While in this city I had occasion to go to the "Banque Imperiale +Ottoman," and learned that it was open in the forenoon and afternoon, +but closed awhile in the middle of the day. I saw a street barber plying +his trade here one day. A vessel of water was put up under the +customer's chin, and held there by keeping the chin down. The barber +had his strop fastened to himself, and not to the chair or a wall, as we +see it at home. Great quantities of oats were being brought down from +the interior on camels. The sacks were let down on the pavement, and +laborers were busy carrying them away. A poor carrier would walk up to a +sack of grain and drop forward on his hands, with his head between them, +and reaching down almost or altogether to the pavement. The sack of +grain was then pulled over on his back, and he arose and carried it +away. Some poor natives were busy sweeping the street and gathering up +the grain that lost out of the sacks. There seems to be a large amount +of trade carried on at this port. Several ships were in the harbor, and +hundreds of camels were bringing in the grain. There are now many +mosques and minarets in Smyrna, where there was once a church of God. +(Revelation 2:8-11.) + +On Wednesday, September twenty-first, I boarded a train on the Ottoman +Railway for Ayassalouk, the nearest station to the ruins of Ephesus, a +once magnificent city, "now an utter desolation, haunted by wild +beasts." We left Smyrna at seven o'clock, and reached Ayassalouk, fifty +miles distant, at half-past nine. The cars on this railway were entered +from to side, as on European railroads, but this time the doors were +locked after the passengers were in their compartments. Ayassalouk is a +poor little village, with only a few good houses and a small population. +At the back of the station are some old stone piers, that seem to have +supported arches at an earlier date. On the top of the hill, as on many +hilltops in this country, are the remains of an old castle. Below the +castle are the ruins of what I supposed to be St. John's Church, built +largely of marble, and once used as a mosque, but now inhabited by a +large flock of martins. + +I visited the site of Ephesus without the services of a guide, walking +along the road which passes at some distance on the right. I continued +my walk beyond the ruins, seeing some men plowing, and others caring for +flocks of goats, which are very numerous in the East. When I turned back +from the road, I passed a well, obtaining a drink by means of the rope +and bucket that were there, and then I climbed a hill to the remains of +a strong stone building of four rooms. The thick walls are several feet +high, but all the upper part of the structure has been thrown down, and, +strange to say, a good portion of the fallen rocks are in three of the +rooms, which are almost filled. It is supposed that Paul made a journey +after the close of his history in the book of Acts; that he passed +through Troas, where he left a cloak and some books (2 Tim. 4:13); was +arrested there, and probably sent to Ephesus for trial before the +proconsul. Tradition has it that this ruined stone building is the place +where he was lodged, and it is called St. Paul's Prison. From the top of +its walls I could look away to the ruins of the city proper, about a +mile distant, the theater being the most conspicuous object. + +There are several attractions in Ephesus, where there was once a church +of God--one of the "seven churches in Asia"--but the theater was the +chief point of interest to me. It was cut out of the side of the hill, +and its marble seats rested on the sloping sides of the excavation, +while a building of some kind, a portion of which yet remains, was built +across the open side at the front. I entered the inclosure, the outlines +of which are still plainly discernible, and sat down on one of the old +seats and ate my noonday meal. As I sat there, I thought of the scene +that would greet my eyes if the centuries that have intervened since +Paul was in Ephesus could be turned back. I thought I might see the +seats filled with people looking down upon the apostle as he fought for +his life; and while there I read his question: "If after the manner of +men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me" if the dead +are not raised up? (I Cor. 15:32). I also read the letter which Jesus +caused the aged Apostle John to write to the church at this place (Rev. +2:1-7), and Paul's epistle to the congregation that once existed in +this idolatrous city of wealth and splendor. As I was leaving this spot, +where I was so deeply impressed with thoughts of the great apostle to +the Gentiles, I stopped and turned back to take a final look, when I +thought of his language to Timothy, recorded in the first eight verses +of the second epistle, and then I turned and read it. Perhaps I was not +so deeply impressed at any other point on the whole journey as I was +here. The grand old hero, who dared to enter the city which was +"temple-keeper of the great Diana," this temple being one of the "Seven +Wonders of the World," and boldly preach the gospel of Christ, +realizing that the time of his departure was at hand, wrote: "I have +fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the +faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, +which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and +not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing." +Meditating on the noble and lofty sentiment the apostle here expresses +in connection with his solemn charge to the young evangelist, I have +found my sentiments well expressed in Balaam's parable, where he says: +"Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his" +(Num. 23:10). + +Near the front of the theater, on the left as one comes out, is quite a +space, which seems to have been excavated recently, and farther to the +left excavations were being made when I was there. An ancient lamp, a +fluted column, and a headless statue were among the articles taken out. +The workmen were resting when I viewed this part of the ruins, and an +old colored man gave me a drink of water. Beginning a little to the +right of the theater, and extending for perhaps fifteen hundred or two +thousand feet, is a marble-paved street, along which are strewn numerous +bases, columns, and capitals, which once ornamented this portion of the +great city; and to the right of this are the remains of some mighty +structure of stone and brick. In some places, where the paving blocks +have been taken up, a water course beneath is disclosed. While walking +around in the ruins, I saw a fine marble sarcophagus, or coffin, +ornamented with carvings of bulls' heads and heavy festoons of oak +leaves. + +J.S. Wood, an Englishman, worked parts of eleven years, from 1863 to +1874, in making excavations at Ephesus. Upwards of eighty thousand +dollars were spent, about fifty-five thousand being used in a successful +effort to find the remains of the Temple of Diana. I followed the +directions of my guide-book, but may not have found the exact spot, as +Brother McGarvey, who visited the place in 1879, speaks of the +excavations being twenty feet deep. "Down in this pit," he says, "lie +the broken columns of white marble and the foundation walls of the +grandest temple ever erected on earth"; but I saw nothing like this. + +When Paul had passed through Galatia and Phrygia, "establishing all the +disciples," "having passed through the upper country," he came to +Ephesus, and found "about twelve men" who had been baptized "into John's +baptism," whom Paul baptized "into the name of the Lord Jesus." He then +entered into the Jewish meeting place and reasoned boldly "concerning +the kingdom of God." Some of the hardened and disobedient spoke "evil of +the Way," so Paul withdrew from them and reasoned "daily in the school +of Tyrannus. And this continued for the space of two years; so that all +they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and +Greeks." The Lord wrought special miracles by Paul, so that the sick +were healed when handkerchiefs or aprons were borne from him to them. +Here some of the strolling Jews "took upon them to name over them that +had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by +Jesus, whom Paul preacheth." When two of the sons of Sceva undertook to +do this, the man possessed of the evil spirit "leaped on them and +mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out +of the house naked and wounded." There were stirring times in Ephesus in +those days. Fear fell upon the people, "and the name of the Lord Jesus +was magnified." Many of the believers "came confessing, and declaring +their deeds. And not a few of them that practiced magical arts brought +their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they +counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of +silver." "So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed." + +"And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way. For a +certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of +Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen; whom he gathered +together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know +that by this business we have our wealth. And ye see and hear that not +alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath +persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods that +are made with hands: and not only is there danger that our trade come +into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana be +made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her +magnificence, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth. And when they +heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is +Diana of the Ephesians. And the city was filled with the confusion: and +they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and +Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel. And when +Paul was minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him +not. And certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him +and besought him not to adventure himself into the theater. Some +therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in +confusion; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. +And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him +forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand and would have made a +defense unto the people. But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all +with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of +the Ephesians. And when the town clerk had quieted the multitude, he +saith, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the +city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the +image which fell down from Jupiter? Seeing then that these things can +not be gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash. For ye +have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor +blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius, and the craftsmen +that are with him, have a matter against any man, the courts are open, +and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another. But if ye seek +anything about other matters, it shall be settled in the regular +assembly. For indeed we are in danger to be accused concerning this +day's riot, there being no cause for it: and as touching it we shall not +be able to give an account of this concourse. And when he had thus +spoken, he dismissed the assembly" (Acts 19:23-41). + +As I was leaving the ruins, I stopped, sat down in sight of the spot +where I supposed the temple stood, and read the speech of Demetrius, and +thought his fears were well founded. Their trade has come into +disrepute, "the temple of the great goddess" has been "made of no +account," and "she whom Asia and all the world" worshiped has been +"deposed from her magnificence." Portions of the temple are now on +exhibition in the British Museum, in London, and portions have been +carried to different other cities to adorn buildings inferior to the one +in which they were originally used. "From the temple to the more +southern of the two eastern gates of the city," says McGarvey, "are +traces of a paved street nearly a mile in length, along the side of +which was a continuous colonnade, with the marble coffins of the city's +illustrious dead occupying the spaces between the columns. The +processions of worshipers, as they marched out of the city to the +temple, passed by this row of coffins, the inscriptions on which were +constantly proclaiming the noble deeds of the mighty dead." The canal +and artificial harbor, which enabled the ships of the world to reach the +gates of the city, have disappeared under the weight of the hand of +time. In some places the ground is literally covered with small stones, +and even in the theater, weeds, grass and bushes grow undisturbed. How +complete the desolation! + +Before leaving Ayassalouk on the afternoon train, I bought some grapes +of a man who weighed them to me with a pair of balances, putting the +fruit on one pan and a stone on the other; but I didn't object to his +scales, for he gave me a good supply, and I went back and got some more. +I also bought some bread to eat with the grapes, and one of the numerous +priests of these Eastern countries gave me some other fruit on the +train. I was abroad in the fruit season, and I enjoyed it very much. I +had several kinds, including the orange, lemon, grapes, pomegranates, +figs, olives, and dates. Perhaps I had nothing finer than the large, +sweet grapes of Greece. The next day after the trip to Ephesus, I +boarded the _Princess Eugenia_, a Russian ship, for Beyrout, in Syria. +Soon after leaving Smyrna the ship stopped at a port of disinfection. +The small boats were lowered, and the third-class passengers were +carried to the disinfecting establishment, where their clothes were +heated in a steam oven, while they received a warm shower bath without +expense to themselves. A nicely dressed young German shook his head +afterwards, as though he did not like such treatment; but it was not +specially disagreeable, and there was no use to complain. + +That evening, the twenty-second of September, we sailed into a harbor on +the island of Chios, the birth-place of the philosopher Pythagoras. It +is an island twenty-seven miles long, lying near the mainland. The next +morning we passed Cos and Rhodes. On this last mentioned island once +stood the famous Colossus, which was thrown down by an earthquake in 224 +B.C. The island of Patmos, to which John was banished, and upon which he +wrote the Revelation, was passed in the night before we reached Cos. It +is a rocky, barren patch of land, about twenty miles in circumference, +lying twenty-four miles from the coast of Asia Minor. On the +twenty-fourth the _Princess Eugenia_ passed the southwestern end of the +island of Cyprus. In response to a question, one of the seamen answered +me: "Yes, that's Kiprus." I was sailing over the same waters Paul +crossed on his third missionary tour on the way from Assos to Tyre. He +"came over against Chios," "came with a straight course unto Cos, and +the next day unto Rhodes," and when he "had come in sight of Cyprus, +leaving it on the left hand (he) sailed unto Syria and landed at Tyre" +(Acts 20:15 and 21:1-3). + +On the evening of Lord's day, September twenty-fifth, the ship passed +Tripoli, on the Syrian coast, and dropped down to Beyrout, where I +stopped at the "Hotel Mont Sion," with the waves of the Mediterranean +washing against the foundation walls. At seven o'clock the next morning +I boarded the train for Damascus, ninety-one miles distant, and we were +soon climbing the western slope of the Lebanon Mountains by a cog +railway. When we were part way up, the engine was taken back and hitched +to the rear end of the train. After we were hauled along that way +awhile, it was changed back to the front end again. In these mountains +are vineyards and groves of figs, olives, and mulberry trees, but most +of the ground was dry and brown, as I had seen it in Southern Italy, +Greece, and Asia Minor. Beyond the mountains is a beautiful plain, which +we entered about noon, and when it was crossed, we came to the +Anti-Lebanon Mountains, and reached the old city in the evening. +Damascus, with its mixed population of Moslems, Greeks, Syrians, +Armenians, Jews, and others, is the largest city in Syria, and it has +probably been continuously inhabited longer than any other city on +earth. Away back in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis we read of +Abraham's victory over the enemies who had taken Lot away, whom Abraham +pursued "unto Hobah, which is on the left of Damascus," and in the next +chapter we read of "Eliezer of Damascus," who Abraham thought would be +the possessor of his house. Rezon "reigned in Damascus, and he was an +adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon" (1 Kings 11:23-25). Elisha +went to Damascus when Ben-Hadad was sick (2 Kings 8:7-15); Jeroboam +recovered the city, which had belonged to Judah (2 Kings 14:28); and +Jeremiah prophesied of the city (Jeremiah 49:23-27). It was probably the +home of Naaman, the Syrian leper, and here Paul was baptized into +Christ. + +For a long time the Arabs have considered Damascus as "an earthly +reflection of Paradise," but an American or European would consider a +place no better than it is as being far from the Paradise of Divine +making. But it is not entirely without reason that these people have +such a lofty conception of the old city. The Koran describes Paradise as +a place of trees and streams of water, and Damascus is briefly described +in those words. There are many public drinking fountains in the city, +and owing to the abundance of water, there are many trees. The river +Abana, one of the "rivers of Damascus" (2 Kings 5:12), flows through the +city, but the most of its water is diverted by artificial channels. I +had some difficulty in finding the American Consular Agent, and it is no +wonder, for the place is not the most prominent in Damascus by a good +deal, and the escutcheon marking it as the place where the American +Government is represented is not on the street, but over a door in a +kind of porch. The Agent was not in, so I retraced my steps to the +French consulate, which is near by. I was kindly received by a gentleman +who could speak English, and after we had had a good, cool drink of +lemonade, he went with me to the "Hotel d'Astre d'Orient," in the +"street which is called Straight." The next morning I found the American +Agent in his office. Then I went to the postoffice, and after being +taken upstairs and brought back downstairs, I was led up to a little +case on the wall, which was unlocked in order that I might look through +the bunch of letters it contained addressed in English, and I was made +glad by receiving an epistle from the little woman who has since taken +my name upon her for life. After reading my letter, I went out and +walked up the mountain side far enough to get a bird's-eye view of the +city, and it was a fine sight the rich growth of green trees presented +in contrast with the brown earth all around. Returning to the city, I +walked about the streets, devoting some of my time to the bazaars, or +little stores, in which a great variety of goods are offered for sale. I +also saw several kinds of work, such as weaving, wood-turning and +blacksmithing, being carried on. The lathes used for turning wood are +very simple, and are operated by a bow held in the workman's right hand, +while the chisel is held in his left hand and steadied by the toes on +one or the other of his feet. It is a rather slow process, but they can +turn out good work. One gentleman, who was running a lathe of this kind, +motioned for me to come up and sit by his side on a low stool. I +accepted his invitation, and he at once offered me a cigarette, which I +could not accept. A little later he called for a small cup of coffee, +which I also declined, but he took no offense. "The street which is +called Straight" is not as straight as might be supposed from its name, +but there is probably enough difference between its course and that of +others to justify the name. + +When Paul was stricken with blindness on his way here (Acts 9:1-30), he +was directed to enter the city, where he would be told all things that +were appointed for him to do. He obeyed the voice from heaven, and +reached the house of Judas in Straight Street. When I reached the +traditional site of the house of Ananias, in the eastern part of the +city, near the gate at the end of Straight Street, I found a +good-natured woman sitting on the pavement just inside the door opening +from the street to what would be called a yard in America. The "house" +has been converted into a small church, belonging to the Catholics, and +it is entirely below the surface. I went down the stairs, and found a +small chamber with an arched ceiling and two altars. I also went out and +visited the old gateway at the end of the street. The masonry is about +thirteen feet thick, and it may be that here Paul, deprived of his +sight, and earnestly desiring to do the will of the Lord, entered the +city so long ago. I then viewed a section of the wall from the outside. +The lower part is ancient, but the upper part is modern, and the portion +that I saw was in a dilapidated condition. "In Damascus," Paul wrote to +the Corinthians, "the governor, under Aretas the king, guarded the city +of the Damascenes in order to take me: and through a window was I let +down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands" (2 Cor. 11:32,33). +In some places there are houses so built in connection with the wall +that it would not be a very difficult thing to lower a man from one of +the windows to the ground outside the city. + +Mention has already been made of the Arab's opinion of Damascus, and now +I wish to tell how it appeared through my spectacles. The view from the +distance is very pleasing, but when one comes inside the wall and begins +to walk about the streets, the scene changes. The outside of the +buildings is not beautiful. The streets are narrow, crooked, and usually +very dirty; in some cases they are filthy. It seems that all kinds of +rubbish are thrown into the streets, and the dogs are scavengers. +Perhaps no other city has so many dogs. At one place up along the Abana, +now called the Barada, I counted twenty-three of these animals, and a +few steps brought me in sight of five more; but there is some filth that +even Damascus dogs will not clean up. Some of the streets are roughly +paved with stone, but in the best business portion of the city that I +saw there was no pavement and no sidewalk--it was all street from one +wall to the other. I saw a man sprinkling one of the streets with water +carried in the skin of some animal, perhaps a goat. When I came out of +the postoffice, a camel was lying on the pavement, and in another part +of the city I saw a soldier riding his horse on the sidewalk. Down in +"the street which is called Straight" a full-grown man was going along +as naked as when he was born. Perhaps he was insane, but we do not even +allow insane men to walk the streets that way in this country. Carriages +are used for conveying passengers, but freight is usually moved on the +backs of horses, camels, donkeys, or men. Some wagons and carts are to +be seen, but they are not numerous. It is remarkable what loads are +piled upon the donkeys, probably the commonest beasts of burden in +Damascus. Sometimes the poor little creatures are almost hidden from +view by the heavy burdens they are required to bear, which may consist +of grapes to be sold, or rubbish to be carried out of the city. +Sometimes they are ridden by as many as three people at once. If the +gospel were to get a firm hold on these people, the donkeys would fare +better. + +About 333 B.C., Damascus came under the control of Alexander the Great. +Antiochus Dionysius reigned there three years, but was succeeded by +Aretas of Arabia in 85 B.C. Under Trajan it became a Roman provincial +city. The Mongols took it in 1260, and the Tartars plundered it in 1300. +An enemy marched against it in 1399, but the citizens purchased immunity +from plunder by paying a "sum of a million pieces of gold." In 1516, +when Selim, the Turkish Sultan, marched in, it became one of the +provincial capitals of the Turkish Empire, and so continues. There was a +very serious massacre here in 1860. All the consulates, except the +British and Prussian, were burned, and the entire Christian quarter was +turned into ruins. In the two consulates that were spared many lives +were preserved, but it is said that "no fewer than six thousand +unoffending Christians ... were thus murdered in Damascus alone," and +"the whole number of the Christians who perished in these days of terror +is estimated at fourteen thousand." A number of the leaders were +afterward beheaded, and a French force, numbering ten thousand, was sent +into the country. The Mohammedans have about two hundred mosques and +colleges in this city, which was once far advanced in civilization. + +I left Damascus and returned toward the coast to Rayak, where I took the +train on a branch line for Baalbec, the Syrian city of the sun, a place +having no Biblical history, but being of interest on account of the +great stones to be seen there. No record has been preserved as to the +origin of the city, but coins of the first century of the Christian era +show that it was then a Roman colony. It is situated in the valley of +the Litany, at an elevation of two thousand eight hundred and forty feet +above the sea. The chief ruins are in a low part of the valley by the +side of the present town, and are surrounded by gardens. Within the +inclosing wall are the remains of the temple of Jupiter and the temple +of the sun. The hand of time and the hand of man have each had a share +in despoiling these ruins, but they still speak with eloquence of their +grandeur at an earlier date. The wall is so low on the north that it is +supposed to have been left unfinished. Here are nine stones, each said +to be thirty feet long, ten feet thick and thirteen feet high, and they +are closely joined together without the use of mortar. Just around the +corner are three others still larger, and built in the wall about twenty +feet above the foundation. Their lengths are given as follows: +sixty-three feet; sixty-three feet and eight inches; and sixty-four +feet. They are thirteen feet high and about ten feet thick. Some may be +interested in knowing how such large building blocks were moved. +McGarvey says: "It is explained by the carved slabs found in the temple +of Nineveh, on which are sculptured representations of the entire +process. The great rock was placed on trucks by means of levers, a large +number of strong ropes were tied to the truck, a smooth track of heavy +timbers was laid, and men in sufficient number to move the mass were +hitched to the ropes." Some of the smaller stones have holes cut in +them, as if for bars, levers, or something of that kind, but the faces +of these big blocks are smooth. "A man must visit the spot, ride round +the exterior, walk among the ruins, sit down here and there to gaze upon +its more impressive features, see the whole by sunlight, by twilight, +and by moonlight, and allow his mind leisurely to rebuild it and +re-people it, ere he can comprehend it."--_McGarvey_. + +There were some of the native girls out by the ruins who tried to sell +me some of their needle work, but I was not disposed to buy. One of them +attempted to make a sale by saying something like this: "You're very +nice, Mister; please buy one." I told her there was a little girl in +America who thought that, too, and went on. There is a rock in the +quarry at Baalbec that is larger than any of those in the ruins, +although it was never entirely cut out, the length of which is +sixty-eight feet, and the width varies from about thirteen feet at one +end to seventeen feet at the other. It is about fourteen feet thick, and +the estimated weight is fifteen hundred tons. Some of the stones in a +ruined building, once a tomb, standing on the hill above the town, give +forth a metallic ring when struck. Farther on is a small cemetery, in +which some of the headstones and footstones are as much as nine feet +apart. If the people buried there were that long, surely "there were +giants in the land in those days." I went down on the opposite side of +the hill from the tomb and entered a vineyard, where an old man treated +me with kindness and respect. The modern town is poorly built of small +stones and mud, but there are some good buildings of dressed stone, +among which I may mention the British Syrian School and the Grand New +Hotel. I staid at another hotel, where I found one of those pre-occupied +beds which travelers in the East so often find. About midnight, after I +had killed several of the little pests, I got up and shaved by +candle-light, for I wasn't sleepy, and there was no use to waste the +time. + +Leaving Baalbec, I went down to Rayak and on to Beyrout again. This old +city is said to have been entirely destroyed in the second century +before Christ. It was once a Roman possession, and gladiatorial combats +were held there by Titus after the destruction of Jerusalem. An +earthquake destroyed it in 529, and the British bombarded it in 1840. +The population is a great mixture of Turks, Orthodox Greeks, United +Greeks, Jews, Latins, Maronites, Protestants, Syrians, Armenians, +Druses, and others. A great many ships call here, as this is the most +important commercial city in Syria. The numerous exports consist of +silk, olive oil, cotton, raisins, licorice, figs, soap, sponges, cattle, +and goats. Timber, coffee, rice, and manufactured goods are imported. At +one time Arabic was the commonest language, and Italian came next, but +now, while Arabic holds first place, French comes second. The British, +Austrians, Russians, and perhaps the French, maintain their own +postoffices. Considerable efforts are being made by American, British, +and other missionary institutions to better the condition of the +natives. The American Mission, conducted by the Presbyterians, has been +in operation more than seventy years. A few years ago they had one +hundred and forty-three schools and more than seven thousand pupils. The +Church of Scotland has a mission for the Jews. The British Syrian +Mission was established in 1864. + +Beyrout has comparatively little of interest for the traveler. I walked +out to the public garden one morning and found it closed, but I do not +think I missed much. As I went along from place to place, I had +opportunity to see the weavers, wood-turners, and marble-cutters at +their work. I stopped at a small candy factory, equipped with what +seemed to be good machinery for that kind of work. One day I watched +some camels get up after their burdens of lumber had been tied on. They +kept up a peculiar distressing noise while they were being loaded, but +got up promptly when the time came. When a camel lies down, his legs +fold up something like a carpenter's rule, and when he gets up, he first +straightens out one joint of the fore legs, then all of the hind legs, +and finally, when the fore legs come straight, he is standing away up in +the air. The extensive buildings of the American College were visited, +also the American Press, the missionary headquarters of Presbyterians in +America. On the third of October the Khedivial steamer _Assouan_ came +along, and I embarked for Haifa, in Galilee. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A FEW DAYS IN GALILEE. + + +Years ago, when I first began to think of making the trip I am now +describing, I had no thought of the many interesting places that I could +easily and cheaply visit on my way to Palestine. I did not then think of +what has been described on the foregoing pages. Now I have come to the +place where I am to tell my readers the story of my travels in the Land +of Promise, and I want to make it as interesting and instructive as +possible. It is important to have a knowledge of the geography of all +the lands mentioned, but it is especially important to know the location +of the various places referred to in Palestine. These pages will be more +profitable if the reader will make frequent reference to maps of the +land, that he may understand the location of the different places +visited. I shall first describe my trip across the province of Galilee, +and take up my sight-seeing in Judaea in other chapters. + +The ancient Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon were on the coast +between Beyrout and Haifa, where I entered Galilee on the fourth of +October, but we passed these places in the night. Haifa, situated at the +base of Mount Carmel, has no Biblical history, but is one of the two +places along the coast of Palestine where ships stop, Jaffa being the +other. Mount Carmel is fourteen miles long, and varies in height from +five hundred and fifty-six feet at the end next to the sea to eighteen +hundred and ten feet at a point twelve miles inland. There is a +monastery on the end next to the Mediterranean, which I reached after a +dusty walk along the excellent carriage road leading up from Haifa. +After I rested awhile, reading my Bible and guide-book, I walked out to +the point where the sea on three sides, the beautiful little plain at +the base of the mountain, Haifa, and Acre across the bay, all made up +one of the prettiest views of the whole trip. Owing to its proximity to +the sea and the heavy dews, Carmel was not so dry and brown as much of +the country I had seen before. + +By the direction of Elijah, Ahab gathered the prophets of Baal, +numbering four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah, four +hundred more, at some point on this mountain, probably at the eastern +end, passed on my way over to Nazareth later in the day. "And Elijah +came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between +the two sides? If Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow +him" (1 Kings 18:21). He then proposed that two sacrifices be laid on +the wood, with no fire under them; that the false prophets should call +on their god, and he would call on Jehovah. The God that answered by +fire was to be God. "All the people answered and said, It is well +spoken." The prophets of Baal called upon him from morning till noon, +saying, "O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. +And they leaped about the altar that was made. And it came to pass at +noon that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: +either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or +peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and +cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the +blood gushed out upon them. And it was so, when midday was past, that +they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; +but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded." +The sincerity, earnestness, and perseverance of these people are +commendable, but they were _wrong_. Sincerity, although a most desirable +trait, can not change a wrong act into acceptable service to God, nor +can earnestness and perseverance make such a change. It is necessary +both to be honest and to do the will of our heavenly Father. After water +had been poured over the other sacrifice till it ran down and filled the +trench around the altar, Elijah called on Jehovah, and in response to +his petition "the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt offering, +and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that +was in the trench." Elijah then took the false prophets down to the +brook Kishon, at the base of the mountain, and killed them. Acre is the +Acco of the Old Testament, and lies around the bay, twelve mile from +Haifa. It is said that the Phoenicians obtained the dye called Tyrian +purple there, and that shells of the fish that yielded it are yet to be +found along the beach. Napoleon besieged the place in 1799, and used a +monastery, since destroyed, on Mount Carmel for a hospital. After his +retreat, Mohammedans killed the sick and wounded soldiers who had been +left behind, and they were buried near the monastery. Acre was called +Ptolemais in apostolic times, and Paul spent a day with the brethren +there as he was on his way down the coast from Tyre to Jerusalem. (Acts +21:7.) + +About noon I entered a carriage for Nazareth, in which there were four +other passengers: a lady connected with the English Orphanage in +Nazareth, and three boys going there to attend the Russian school. About +two miles from Haifa we crossed the dry bed of the Kishon, as this +stream, like many others in Palestine, only flows in the wet season. Our +course led along the base of Carmel to the southeast, and the supposed +place of Elijah's sacrifice was pointed out. Afterwards Mount Gilboa, +where Saul and Jonathan were slain, came in sight, and later we saw +Little Hermon with Nain upon it, Endor below it on one side, and Jezreel +not far away in another direction. We saw a good portion of the Plain of +Esdraelon, and Mount Tabor was in sight before we entered Nazareth, +which lies on the slope of a hill and comes suddenly into view. + +Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and the references to it +in the New Testament are not numerous. When Joseph returned from Egypt +in the reign of Archelaus, the son of Herod, he was afraid to go into +Judaea, "and being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts +of Galilee, and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might +be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, that he should be called a +Nazarene" (Matt. 2:19-23). I do not know the age of Jesus when Joseph +and Mary came with him to Nazareth, but "his parents went every year to +Jerusalem at the feast of the passover"; and we are told that the child +was twelve years old at the time his parents missed him as they were +returning from the feast, and later found him in the temple hearing the +teachers and asking them questions. In this connection we are told that +"he went down with them and came to Nazareth; and he was subject unto +them" (Luke 2:51). Luke also informs us that Jesus, "when he began to +teach, was about thirty years of age" (Luke 3:23). Thus we have a +period of eighteen years between the incident in the temple and the +beginning of his public ministry, in which Jesus resided in Nazareth. +The greater part of his earth life was spent in this Galilean city, +where he was subject unto his parents. It is a blessed thing that so +much can be said of our Savior in so few words. It is highly commendable +that children be subject unto their parents, who love them dearly, and +who know best what is for their health, happiness, and future good. + +After his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, "Jesus returned in +the power of the spirit into Galilee, ... and he came to Nazareth, where +he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the +synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read." When the roll of the +Scriptures was handed to him, he read from the opening verses of the +sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, then "he closed the book, and gave it +back to the attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the +synagogue were fastened on him" as he told them: "To-day hath this +scripture been fulfilled in your ears," and although they "wondered at +the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth," they were not +willing to accept his teaching, and as he continued to speak, "they were +all filled with wrath, ... and they rose up, and cast him forth out of +the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was +built, that they might throw him down headlong. But he, passing through +the midst of them, went his way. And he came down to Capernaum, a city +of Galilee" (Luke 4:14-31). + +Having made arrangements for a carriage the evening I arrived in +Nazareth, before daylight the next morning I started to drive to +Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. When I went down stairs, at about +half-past three o'clock, I found a covered rig with two seats, and three +horses hitched to it side by side. I filed no objection to the size of +the carriage, nor to the manner in which the horses were hitched. As the +driver could not speak English and the passenger could not speak Arabic, +there was no conversation on the way. As we drove out of Nazareth, I +observed a large number of women at the Virgin's Fountain, filling their +jars with water. At a distance of a little more than three miles we +passed through Kefr Kenna, the "Cana of Galilee," where Jesus performed +his first miracle. (John 2:1-11.) The road to Tiberias is not all +smooth, but is better than might be supposed. With three horses and a +light load, we were able to move along in the cool of the morning at a +lively gait, passing a camel train, an occasional village, olive +orchard, or mulberry grove. After a while the light of the moon grew +pale, and about six o'clock the great round sun came above the horizon +in front of us, and it was not long until a beautiful sheet of water six +miles long--the Sea of Galilee--came suddenly into view. We rolled along +the winding curves of the carriage road, down the slope of the hill, and +through a gateway in the old wall, to Tiberias, on the west shore of +"Blue Galilee." + +According to Josephus, Herod Antipas began to build a new capital city +about sixteen years before the birth of Jesus, and completed it in A.D. +22. He named this new city Tiberias, in honor of the emperor, but it +does not appear to have been a popular place with the Jews, and but +little is said of it in the New Testament (John 21:1), yet it was not an +insignificant place. The Sanhedrin was transferred from Sepphoris, the +old capital, to the new city, and here the school of the Talmud was +developed against the gospel system. The ancient traditional law, called +the "Mishna," is said to have been published here in A.D. 200, and the +Palestinian Gemara (the so-called Jerusalem Talmud) came into existence +at this place more than a century later. The Tiberian pointing of the +Hebrew Bible began here. The present population is largely composed of +Jews, about two-thirds of the inhabitants being descendants of Abraham. +They wear large black hats or fur caps, and leave a long lock of hair +hanging down in front of each ear. There is little in Tiberias to +interest the traveler who has seen the ruins of Rome, Athens and +Ephesus. The seashore bounds it on one side and an old stone wall runs +along at the other side. I walked past some of the bazaars, and saw the +mosque and ruined castle. About a mile down the shore are the hot +springs, which, for many centuries, have been thought to possess +medicinal properties. I tried the temperature of one of the springs, and +found it too hot to be comfortable to my hand. As I returned to +Tiberias, I had a good, cool bath in the sea, which is called by a +variety of names, as "the sea of Tiberias," "sea of Galilee," "sea of +Genessaret," and "sea of Chinnereth." It is a small lake, thirteen miles +long, lying six hundred and eighty-two feet below the level of the +Mediterranean. The depth is given as varying from one hundred and thirty +to one hundred and sixty-five feet. It is really "Blue Galilee," and the +sight of it is an agreeable change to the eye after one has been +traveling the dry, dusty roads leading through a country almost +destitute of green vegetation. In the spring, when the grass is growing +and the flowers are in bloom, the highlands rising around the sea must +be very beautiful. + +Several places mentioned in the New Testament were situated along the +Sea of Galilee, but they have fallen into ruin--in some cases into utter +ruin. One of these was Bethsaida, where Jesus gave sight to a blind man +(Mark 8:22-26), and fed a multitude of about five thousand. (Luke +9:10-17.) It was also the home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter. (John +1:44.) It is thought by some that James and John also came from this +place. On the northwestern shore was Chorazin, situated in the +neighborhood of Bethsaida; also Capernaum, once the home of Jesus; and +Magdala, the name of which "has been immortalized in every language of +Christendom as denoting the birth-place of Mary Magdalene, or better, +Mary of Magdala." Safed is a large place on a mountain above the sea in +sight of the Nazareth road, and was occupied by the French in 1799. It +is said that the Jews have a tradition that the Messiah will come from +this place. On the way back to Nazareth the driver stopped at the spring +of Kefr Kenna and watered his horses and rested them awhile. Hundreds of +goats, calves, and other stock were being watered, and I saw an old +stone coffin being used for a watering trough. + +After another night in Nazareth, I was ready to go out to Mount Tabor. +For this trip I had engaged a horse to ride and a man to go along and +show me where to ride it, for we did not follow a regular road, if, +indeed, there is any such a thing leading to this historic place, which +is about six miles from Nazareth. It was only a little past four +o'clock in the morning when we started, and the flat top of the +mountain, two thousand and eighteen feet above sea level, was reached at +an early hour. Mount Tabor is a well-shaped cone, with a good road for +horseback riding leading up its side. There is some evidence that there +was a city here more than two hundred years before Christ. Josephus +fortified it in his day, and part of the old wall still remains. +According to a tradition, contradicted by the conclusion of modern +scholars, this is the mount of transfiguration. By the end of the sixth +century three churches had been erected on the summit to commemorate the +three tabernacles which Peter proposed to build (Matt. 17:1-8), and now +the Greek and Roman Catholics have each a monastery only a short +distance apart, separated by a stone wall or fence. The extensive view +from the top is very fine, including a section of Galilee from the +Mediterranean to the sea of Tiberias. + +In the Book of Judges we read that Israel was delivered into the hands +of the Canaanites, and was sorely oppressed for twenty years. The +prophetess Deborah sent for Barak, and instructed him with a message +from God to the end that he should take "ten thousand men of the +children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun" unto Mount Tabor. +This he did, and Sisera assembled his nine hundred chariots "from +Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river Kishon. So Barak went down from +Mount Tabor and ten thousand men after him. ... Howbeit, Sisera fled +away on his feet to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite," +and she drove a tent-pin through his temples while he was lying asleep, +(Judges 4:1-23.) The song of Deborah and Barak, beginning with the +words, "For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, for that the +people offered themselves willingly, bless ye Jehovah," is recorded in +the fifth chapter of Judges. + +I was back in Nazareth by ten o'clock, and spent some hours looking +around the city where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary the words: +"Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee" (Luke 1:28). +These hours, with what time I had already spent here, enabled me to see +several places of interest. Tradition points out many places connected +with the lives of Joseph and Mary, but tradition is not always reliable, +for it sometimes happens that the Greeks and the Romans each have a +different location for the same event. This is true with regard to the +point where the angry people were about to throw Jesus over "the brow of +the hill" (Luke 4:29). I saw no place that struck me as being the one +referred to in the Scriptures, and in reply to an inquiry, a lady at the +English Orphanage, who has spent twenty years in Nazareth, said she +thought it was some place on that side of the town, but the contour of +the hill had probably changed. She also mentioned that the relics taken +out in excavations were all found on that side, indicating that the old +city had been built there. When Brother McGarvey visited Palestine, he +found two places that corresponded somewhat with Luke's reference to the +place. Concerning one of them he wrote: "I am entirely satisfied that +here is where the awful attempt was made." I was shown the "place of +annunciation" in the Latin monastery. On the top of a column stands the +figure of a female, probably representing the Virgin, and a bit of ruin +that is said to date back to the time of Constantine is pointed out. +Here, I was told, stood the first church building erected in Nazareth. +One of the "brothers" took the key and went around to a building +supposed to stand on the site of Joseph's carpenter shop. It is a small +chapel, built about 1858 over the ruins of some older structure. In the +floor of marble or stone there are two wooden trapdoors, which are +raised to show the ruins below. Over the altar in the end opposite the +door is a picture to represent the holy family, and there are some other +pictures in different parts of the little chapel. From here I went to +the Virgin's Fountain. If it be true that this is the only spring in +Nazareth, then I have no doubt that I was near the spot frequently +visited by the Nazarene maid who became the mother of our Lord. I say +near the spot, for the masonry where the spring discharges is about a +hundred yards from the fountain, which is now beneath the floor of a +convent. The water flows out through the wall by two stone spouts, and +here the women were crowded around, filling their vessels or waiting for +their turn. The flow was not very strong, and this helps to explain why +so many women were there before daylight the morning I went to Tiberias. +I saw one woman, who was unable to get her vessel under the stream of +one of the spouts, drawing down a part of the water by sticking a leaf +against the end of the spout. I also visited some of the bazaars and +went to the Orphanage. This missionary institution is nicely situated in +a prominent place well up on the hill, and is managed entirely by women, +but a servant is kept to do outside work. They treated me very kindly, +showing me about the building, and when the girls came in to supper they +sang "the Nazareth Hymn" for me. + +One of the occupations of the people here is manufacturing a knife with +goat horn handles that is commonly seen in Palestine. Many of the women +go about the streets with their dresses open like a man's shirt when +unbuttoned, exposing their breasts in an unbecoming manner. The same is +true of many women in Jerusalem. About one-third of the mixed population +are Jews; the other two-thirds are Mohammedans and professing +Christians, made up of Orthodox Greeks, United Greeks, Roman Catholics, +Maronites (a branch of the Greek Church), and Protestants. I went back +to Haifa and spent a night. The next morning I boarded the Austrian ship +_Juno_ for Jaffa. When I first landed here I had trouble with the +boatman, because he wanted me to pay him more than I had agreed to pay, +and on this occasion I again had the same difficulty, twice as much +being demanded at the ship as was agreed upon at the dock; but I was +firm and won my point both times. While in Galilee I had crossed the +province from sea to sea; I had visited the city in which Jesus spent +the greater part of his earth life, and the sea closely connected with +several important things in his career. I had ascended Carmel, and from +the top of Tabor I had taken an extensive view of the land, and now I +was satisfied to drop down the coast and enter Judaea. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +SIGHT-SEEING IN JERUSALEM. + + +Before leaving the ship at Jaffa I was talking with Mr. Ahmed, a +gentleman from India, who had spent some time in Egypt, and had traveled +extensively. He claimed to be a British subject, and was able to speak +several languages. While we were arranging to go ashore together, one +of the many boatmen who had come out to the ship picked up my suit-case +while my back was turned, and the next thing I saw of it he was taking +it down the stairs to one of the small boats. By some loud and emphatic +talk I succeeded in getting him to put it out of one boat into another, +but he would not bring it back. Mr. Ahmed and I went ashore with another +man, whom we paid for carrying us and our baggage. I found the suit-case +on the dock, and we were soon in the custom house, where my baggage and +passport were both examined, but Mr. Ahmed escaped having his baggage +opened by paying the boatman an additional fee. As we arrived in Jaffa +too late to take the train for Jerusalem that day, we waited over night +in the city from whence Jonah went to sea so long ago. We lodged at the +same hotel and were quartered in the same room. This was the first and +only traveling companion I had on the whole journey, and I was a little +shy. I felt like I wanted some pledge of honorable dealing from my newly +formed acquaintance, and when he expressed himself as being a British +subject, I mentioned that I was an American and extended my hand, +saying: "Let us treat each other right." He gave me his hand with the +words: "Species man, species man!" He meant that we both belonged to the +same class of beings, and should, therefore, treat each other right, a +very good reason indeed. A long time before, in this same land, Abraham +had expressed himself to Lot on a similar line in these words: "Let +there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my +herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren" (Gen. 13:8). On Saturday +we moved our baggage over to the depot and boarded the train for +Jerusalem. On the way to the depot an old gentleman, whom I would have +guessed to be a German, passed me. When I entered the car it was my lot +to ride by him. He learned that I had been to Bristol, England, and had +visited the orphan homes founded by George Muller, and he remarked: "You +are a Christian, then." He probably said this because he thought no +other would be interested in such work. It developed that he was a +converted Jew, and was conducting a mission for his people in the Holy +City. Without telling him my position religiously, I inquired concerning +different points, and found his faith and mine almost alike. This new +acquaintance was D.C. Joseph, whose association I also enjoyed after +reaching Jerusalem. + +It was late in the afternoon of October ninth when we got off the train +at the Jerusalem station, which is so situated that the city can not +be seen from that point. By the time we had our baggage put away in a +native hotel outside the city walls it was dark. We then started out +to see if there was any mail awaiting me. First we went to the Turkish +office, which was reached by a flight of dark stairs. Mr. Ahmed went +up rather slowly. Perhaps he felt the need of caution more than I did. +According to my recollection, they handed us a candle, and allowed us to +inspect the contents of a small case for the mail. We found nothing, so +we made our way down the dark stairway to the German office, situated +on the ground floor, nicely furnished and properly lighted, but there +was no mail there for me, as mail from America goes to the Austrian +office, inside the Jaffa gate. + +The next day was Lord's day, and for the time being I ceased to be +a tourist and gave myself up mainly to religious services. I first +attended the meeting conducted by Bro. Joseph at the mission to Israel. +It was the first service I had attended, and the first opportunity that +had come to me for breaking bread since I left London, the last of +August. After this assembly of four persons was dismissed, I went to the +services of the Church of England and observed their order of worship. +The minister was in a robe, and delivered a really good sermon of about +fifteen minutes' duration, preceded by reading prayers and singing +praise for about an hour. By invitation, I took dinner with Miss Dunn, +an American lady, at whose house Bro. Joseph was lodging. As she had +been in Jerusalem fifteen years and was interested in missionary work, +I enjoyed her company as well as her cooking. After dinner I went to a +little iron-covered meeting-house called the "tabernacle," where a Mr. +Thompson, missionary of the Christian Alliance, of Nyack, New York, was +the minister. At the close of the Sunday-school a gentleman asked some +questions in English, and the native evangelist, Melki, translated them +into Arabic. By request of Mr. Thompson, I read the opening lesson and +offered prayer, after which he delivered a good address on the great, +coming day, and at the close the Lord's Supper was observed. I +understood that they did this once a month, but it is attended to weekly +at the mission where I was in the morning. At the tabernacle I made the +acquaintance of Mr. Stanton, a Methodist minister from the States; Mr. +Jennings, a colored minister from Missouri, and Mr. Smith, an American +gentleman residing in Jerusalem. There was another meeting in the +tabernacle at night, but I staid at the hotel and finished some writing +to be sent off to the home land. + +Monday was a big day for me. Mr. Ahmed and I went down inside the Jaffa +gate and waited for Mr. Smith, who was our guide, Mr. Jennings, and a +Mr. Michelson, from California. Mr. Smith had been a farmer in America, +but had spent three years at Jerusalem and Jericho. He was well +acquainted with the country, and we could depend upon what he told us. +Add to all this the fact that he went around with us without charge, and +it will be seen that we were well favored. On this Monday morning we +started out to take a walk to Bethany, the old home of that blessed +family composed of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. We passed the Church of +the Holy Sepulcher, walked along the street called the Via Dolorosa, and +saw several of the "stations" Jesus is supposed to have passed on the +way to the execution on Calvary. We passed the traditional site of the +"house of the rich man," the "house of the poor man," and the Temple +Area. After passing the Church of St. Anne, we went out of the city +through St. Stephen's gate, and saw the Birket Sitti Mariam, or Pool +of Lady Mary, one hundred feet long, eighty-five feet wide, and once +twenty-seven and a half feet deep. It is supposed that Stephen was led +through the gate now bearing his name and stoned at a point not far +distant. Going down the hill a few rods, we came to the Church of St. +Mary, a building for the most part underground. It is entered by a +stairway nineteen feet wide at the top, and having forty-seven steps +leading to the floor thirty-five feet below. We went down, and in +the poorly lighted place we found some priests and others singing or +chanting, crossing themselves, kissing a rock, and so on. This church +probably gets its name from the tradition that the mother of Jesus was +buried here. Just outside the church is a cavern that is claimed by some +to be the place of Christ's agony, and by others, who may have given the +matter more thought, it is supposed to be an old cistern, or place for +storing olive oil or grain. Perhaps I would do well to mention here that +tradition has been in operation a long time, and the stories she has +woven are numerous indeed, but often no confidence can be placed in +them. I desire to speak of things of this kind in such a way as not to +mislead my readers. It was near this church that I saw lepers for the +first time. The valley of the Kidron is the low ground lying between +Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. The water flows here only in the wet +part of the year. Crossing this valley and starting up the slope of the +Mount of Olives, we soon come to a plot of ground inclosed by a high +stone wall, with a low, narrow gateway on the upper side. This place is +of great interest, as it bears the name "Garden of Gethsemane," and is +probably the spot to which the lowly Jesus repaired and prayed earnestly +the night before his execution, when his soul was "exceeding sorrowful, +even unto death." It is really a garden, filled with flowers, and olive +trees whose trunks, gnarled and split, represent them as being very old, +but it is not to be supposed that they are the same trees beneath which +Jesus prayed just before Judas and "the band of soldiers and officers" +came out to arrest him. There is a fence inside the wall, leaving a +passageway around the garden between the wall and the fence. Where the +trees reach over the fence a woven-wire netting has been fixed up, to +keep the olives from dropping on the walk, where tourists could pick +them up for souvenirs. The fruit of these old trees is turned into olive +oil and sold, and the seeds are used in making rosaries. At intervals +on the wall there are pictures representing the fourteen stations Jesus +passed as he was being taken to the place of crucifixion. This garden +is the property of the Roman Catholics, and the Greeks have selected +another spot, which they regard as the true Gethsemane, just as each +church holds a different place at Nazareth to be the spot where the +angry Nazarenes intended to destroy the Savior. + +Leaving the garden, we started on up the slope of Olivet, and passed the +fine Russian church, with its seven tapering domes, that shine like the +gold by which they are said to be covered. It appears to be one of the +finest buildings of Jerusalem. As we went on, we looked back and had a +good view of the Kidron valley and the Jews' burial place, along +the slope of the mountain, where uncounted thousands of Abraham's +descendants lie interred. Further up toward the summit is the Church of +the Lord's Prayer, a building erected by a French princess, whose body +is now buried within its walls. This place is peculiar on account of at +least two things. That portion of Scripture commonly called "the Lord's +prayer" is here inscribed on large marble slabs in thirty-two different +languages, and prayer is said to be offered here continually. There is +another church near the Damascus gate, where two "sisters" are said to +be kneeling in prayer at all hours. I entered the beautiful place at +different times, and always found it as represented, but it should not +be supposed that the same women do all the praying, as they doubtless +have enough to change at regular intervals. The Church of the Creed is, +according to a worthless tradition, the place where the apostles drew up +"the creed." It is under the ground, and we passed over it on the way +to the Church of the Lord's Prayer. The Mount of Olives is two thousand +seven hundred and twenty-three feet above sea level, and is about two +hundred feet higher than Mount Moriah. From the summit a fine view of +Jerusalem and the surrounding country may be obtained. The Russians have +erected a lofty stone tower here. After climbing the spiral stairway +leading to the top of it, one is well rewarded by the extensive view. +Looking out from the east side, we could gaze upon the Dead Sea, some +twenty miles away, and more than four thousand feet below us. We visited +the chambers called the "Tombs of the Prophets," but the name is not a +sufficient guarantee to warrant us in believing them to be the burial +places of the men by whom God formerly spoke to the people. On the way +to Bethany we passed the reputed site of Beth-page (Mark 11:1), and soon +came to the town where Jesus performed the great miracle of raising +Lazarus after he had been dead four days. (John 11:1-46.) The place +pointed out as the tomb corresponds to the Scripture which says "It was +a cave" where they laid him. Twenty-six steps lead down to the chamber +where his body is said to have lain when the "blessed Redeemer" cried +with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." Whether this is the exact spot +or not, it is probably a very ancient cave. One writer claims that it +is as old as the incident itself, and says these rock-cut tombs are the +oldest landmarks of Palestine. Tradition points out the home of Lazarus, +and there is a portion of an old structure called the Castle of Lazarus, +which Lazarus may never have seen. Bethany is a small village, occupied +by a few Mohammedan families, who dislike the "Christians." On the +rising ground above the village stands a good modern stone house, +owned by an English lady, who formerly lived in it, but her servant, a +Mohammedan, made an effort to cut her throat, and almost succeeded in +the attempt. Naturally enough, the owner does not wish to live there +now, so we found the building in the care of a professing Christian, +who treated us with courtesy, giving us a good, refreshing drink, and +permitting us to go out on the roof to look around. + +From this point we turned our footsteps toward Jerusalem, "about fifteen +furlongs off"--that is, about two miles distant. (John 11:18.) When +we reached the lower part of the slope of Olivet, where the tombs of +departed Jews are so numerous, Mr. Michelson and Mr. Jennings went on +across the Kidron valley and back to their lodging places, while Mr. +Ahmed, Mr. Smith and I went down to Job's well, in the low ground below +the city. The Tower of Absalom, the Tomb of James, and the Pyramid +of Zachariah were among the first things we saw. They are all burial +places, but we can not depend upon them being the actual tombs of those +whose names they bear. The first is a peculiar monument nineteen and +one-half feet square and twenty-one feet high, cut out of the solid +rock, and containing a chamber, which may be entered by crawling through +a hole in the side. On the top of the natural rock portion a structure +of dressed stone, terminating in one tapering piece, has been erected, +making the whole height of the monument forty-eight feet. The Jews have +a custom of pelting it with stones on account of Absalom's misconduct, +and the front side shows the effect of their stone-throwing. The Grotto +of St. James is the traditional place of his concealment from the time +Jesus was arrested till his resurrection. The Pyramid of Zachariah is +a cube about thirty feet square and sixteen feet high, cut out of the +solid rock, and surmounted by a small pyramid. It has many names cut +upon it in Hebrew letters, and there are some graves near by, as this is +a favorite burial place. Some of the bodies have been buried between the +monument and the wall around it in the passage made in cutting it out of +the rock. Going on down the valley, we have the village of Siloam on the +hill at our left, and on the other side of the Kidron, the southeastern +part of the Holy City. St. Mary's Well is soon reached. This spring, +which may be the Gihon of 1 Kings 1:33, is much lower than the surface +of the ground, the water being reached by two flights of stairs, +one containing sixteen steps, the other fourteen. The spring is +intermittent, and flows from three to five times daily in winter. It +flows twice a day in summer, but in the autumn it only flows once in the +day. When I was there, the spring was low, and two Turkish soldiers were +on duty to preserve order among those who came to get water. + +The Pool of Siloam, fifty-two feet long and eighteen feet wide, is +farther down the valley. The spring and the pool are about a thousand +feet apart, and are connected by an aqueduct through the hill, which, +owing to imperfect engineering, is seventeen hundred feet long. From +a Hebrew inscription found in the lower end of this passageway it was +learned that the excavation was carried on from both ends. A little +below the Pool of Siloam the valley of the Kidron joins the valley of +Hinnom, where, in ancient times, children were made "to pass through the +fire to Moloch" (2 Kings 23:10). Job's Well, perhaps the En Rogel, on +the northern border of Judah (Joshua 15:7), is rectangular in shape and +one hundred and twenty-three feet deep. Sometimes it overflows, but it +seldom goes dry. When I saw it, no less than six persons were drawing +water with ropes and leather buckets. The location of Aceldama, the +field of blood, has been disputed, but some consider that it was on the +hill above the valley of Hinnom. There are several rock-cut tombs along +the slope of the hill facing the valley of Hinnom, and some of them are +being used as dwelling places. The Moslems have charge of a building +outside the city walls, called David's Tomb, which they guard very +carefully, and only a portion of it is accessible to visitors. Near this +place a new German Catholic church was being erected at a cost of four +hundred thousand dollars. We entered the city by the Zion gate, and +passed the Tower of David, a fortification on Mount Zion, near the Jaffa +gate. + +On the ship coming down from Beyrout I had a conversation with a man who +claimed to have been naturalized in the United States, and to have +gone to Syria to visit his mother, but, according to his story, he was +arrested and imprisoned by the Turks. After being mistreated in the +filthy prison for some time, he secured his release by bribing a soldier +to post a letter to one of the American authorities. He expressed a +desire to visit Jerusalem, but seemed afraid to get back into Turkish +territory. Learning that I was going there, he wrote a letter to the +Armenian Patriarch, and I presented it one day. In a few minutes Mr. +Ahmed and I were led into the large room where the Patriarch was seated +in his robe and peculiar cap. Meeting a dignitary of the Armenian Church +was a new experience to me. I shook hands with him; Mr. Ahmed made some +signs and sat down. In the course of our limited conversation he said +rather slowly: "I am very old." Replying to a question, he informed me +that his age was eighty years. I was on the point of leaving, but he +hindered me, and an attendant soon came in with some small glasses of +wine and a little dish of candy. The Patriarch drank a glass of wine, +and I took a piece of the candy, as also did Mr. Ahmed, and then we took +our leave. + +The eleventh day of October, which was Tuesday, was occupied with a trip +to Hebron, described in another chapter devoted to the side trips I made +from Jerusalem, but the next day was spent in looking around the Holy +City. Early in the morning the Mamilla Pool, probably the "upper pool" +of 2 Kings 18:17, was seen. One author gives the dimensions of this +pool as follows: Length, two hundred and ninety-one feet; breadth, one +hundred and ninety-two feet; depth, nineteen feet. It is filled with +water in the rainy season, but was empty when I saw it. Entering the +city by the Jaffa gate, I walked along David and Christian Streets, and +was shown the Pool of Hezekiah, which is surrounded by houses, and was +supplied from the Mamilla Pool. + +The next place visited was that interesting old building, the Church of +the Holy Sepulcher, where our Lord is supposed to have been buried in +Joseph's new tomb. Jerusalem has many things of great interest, but some +few things are of special interest. The Temple Area and Calvary are of +this class. I am sure my readers will want to know something of each, +and I shall here write of the latter. No doubt the spot where Jesus was +crucified and the grave in which he was buried were both well known to +the brethren up to the destruction of the city in the year seventy. +Before this awful calamity the Christians made their escape, and when +they returned they "would hardly recognize the fallen city as the one +they had left; the heel of the destroyer had stamped out all semblance +of its former glory. For sixty years it lay in ruins so complete that +it is doubtful if there was a single house that could be used as a +residence; during these years its history is a blank." There is no +mention of the returned Christians seeking out the site of either +the crucifixion or burial, and between A.D. 120 and A.D. 136 Hadrian +reconstructed the city, changing it to a considerable extent, and naming +it Aelia Capitolina. This would tend to make the location of Calvary +more difficult. Hadrian built a temple to Venus, probably on the spot +now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Eusebius, writing +about A.D. 325, speaks of Constantine's church built on the site of +this temple. It is claimed that Hadrian's heathen temple was erected +to desecrate the place of Christ's entombment, and that Constantine's +church, being erected on the site of the temple, and regarded as the +place called Calvary, fixes this as the true site; but whether the +church and temple were on the same site or not, the present church +stands where the one built by Constantine stood, and is regarded by the +mass of believers as the true location. + +Constantine's church stood two hundred and eighty years, being destroyed +by Chosroes II., of Persia, in A.D. 614, but was soon succeeded by +another structure not so grand as its predecessor. In 1010, in the +"reign of the mad caliph Hakem," the group of churches was entirely +destroyed, and the spot lay desolate for thirty years, after which +another church was erected, being completed in eight years. This +building was standing in 1099, the time of the Crusaders, but was +destroyed by fire in 1808. This fire "consumed many of the most sacred +relics in the church. Marble columns of great age and beauty crumbled in +the flames. The rich hangings and pictures were burned, along with lamps +and chandeliers and other ornaments in silver and gold. The lead with +which the great dome was lined melted, and poured down in streams." The +building now standing there was finished in 1810 at a cost of nearly +three millions of dollars, one-third of this, it is said, being expended +in lawsuits and Mohammedan bribes. It is the property of several +denominations, who adorn their separate chapels to suit themselves. + +The church is entered from a court having two doors or gates. Worshipers +pass through the court, and stop at the left-hand side of the door and +kiss the marble column, which clearly shows the effect of this practice. +Just inside of the building there is a guard, composed of members of the +oldest Mohammedan family in the city. The reader may wonder why an armed +guard should be kept in a church house, but such a reader has not seen +or read of all the wickedness that is carried on in the support of +sectarianism. Concerning this guard, which, at the time of the holy fire +demonstration, is increased by several hundred soldiers, Edmund Sherman +Wallace, a former United States Consul in this city, says in his +"Jerusalem the Holy": "This Christian church has a Moslem guard, whose +duty it is to keep peace among the various sects who profess belief in +the Prince of Peace. * * * It is a sickening fact that Moslem brute +force must compel Christians to exercise, not charity toward each other, +but common decency and decorum. But it is a fact nevertheless, and will +remain apparent to all so long as priestcraft takes the place of New +Testament Christianity and superstition supplants religion." + +A little beyond this guard is the "Stone of Unction," upon which many +believe Jesus was prepared for burial, but the original stone for which +this claim was made is not now visible, being covered with the present +slab to keep it from being worn out by the kissing of pious pilgrims. +It is eight and a half feet long and four feet wide. Pilgrims sometimes +bring the goods for their burial robes here and measure them by this +stone. Some large candles stand by it, and above it are eight fine +lamps, belonging to the Greek and Roman Catholics, the Copts, and +Armenians. Not far away is a small stone, which I understood was called +the place where the women watched the preparation by Joseph of Arimathea +and Nicodemus. (John 19:38-42.) + +In the center of the rotunda, with its entrance facing the east, is the +Chapel of the Sepulcher, the holiest place in all this holy building. +Passing through the small door, the visitor finds himself in the Chapel +of the Angels, a very small room, where a piece of stone, said to have +been rolled away from the grave by the angels, is to be seen. Stooping +down, the visitor passes through a low opening and enters the Chapel of +the Sepulcher proper, a room only six and a half feet long and six feet +wide. The "tomb" is at the right hand of the entrance, occupying about +half of the floor, above which it rises two feet. It is covered with +marble, so that even if this were the very spot where the Lord and +Savior was laid by the hands of kind friends, the modern visitor would +not know what it looked like when that event took place. The little +chapel, capable of accommodating about six people at a time, contains +some pictures and forty-three silver lamps, the property of the Copts, +Armenians, Greek and Roman Catholics. A priest stands on guard, so that +no damage may be done to any part of the place. + +The Greek chapel, the largest, and to my notion the finest that I saw, +is just in front of the sepulcher. From its having two sections and a +partition, I was reminded of the tabernacle of the wilderness journey. +Services were being conducted once while I was there, and I saw the +Patriarch and others, gorgeously robed, going through with a service +that was at least spectacular, if not spiritual. At one point in the +exercises those participating came down close to where I was standing, +passed around the spot designated "the center of the world," and went +back again to the farther end of the richly ornamented room. One of the +priests, with hair reaching down on his shoulders, bore a silver vessel, +which I suppose contained burning incense. The long hair, beautiful +robes, the singing, praying, and such things, made up a service that +reminded me of the days of Solomon and the old priesthood. + +The demonstration of the "holy fire" takes place in this church once a +year, and there are thousands who believe that the fire passed out from +the Chapel of the Angels really comes from heaven. This occurs on the +Saturday afternoon preceding Easter, and the eager, waiting throng, a +part of which has been in the building since the day before, soon has +its hundreds of little candles lighted. As the time for the appearance +of the fire approaches the confusion becomes greater. Near the entrance +to the sepulcher a group of men is repeating the words: "This is the +tomb of Jesus Christ;" not far from them others are saying: "This is +the day the Jew mourns and the Christian rejoices;" others express +themselves in the language: "Jesus Christ has redeemed us;" and +occasionally "God save the Sultan" can be heard. + +Mr. Wallace, from whose book the foregoing items are gleaned, in telling +of a fight which took place at one stage of the service, describes it as +"a mass of wriggling, struggling, shrieking priests and soldiers, each +apparently endeavoring to do all the possible injury to whomever he +could reach. * * * But the fight went on. Greek trampled on Armenian, +and Armenian on Greek, and Turk on both. Though doing his very best, the +commanding officer seemed unable to separate the combatants. The bugle +rang out time after time, and detachment after detachment of soldiers +plunged into the mêlee. * * * This went on for fifteen minutes. Just +how much damage was done nobody will ever know. There were a number +of bruised faces and broken heads, and a report was current that two +pilgrims had died from injuries received." This disgraceful and wicked +disturbance is said to have been brought about by the Armenians wanting +two of their priests to go with the Greek Patriarch as far as the +Chapel of the Angels. And it is furthermore said that the defeat of the +Armenians was brought about, to some extent at least, by the muscular +strength of an American professional boxer and wrestler, whom the +Greeks had taken along in priestly garb as a member of the Patriarch's +bodyguard. It is not surprising that Mr. Wallace has written: "The +Church of the Holy Sepulcher gives the non-Christian world the worst +possible illustration of the religion of Him in whose name it stands." + +As I was going through the city, I saw a camel working an olive press. +The poor blindfolded animal was compelled to walk in a circle so +small that the outside trace was drawn tightly over its leg, causing +irritation; but seeing the loads that are put upon dumb brutes, and men +too, sometimes, one need not expect much attention to be given to the +comfort of these useful servants. Truly, there is great need for the +refining, civilizing, and uplifting influence of the gospel here in the +city where it had its earliest proclamation. I also visited two grist +mills operated by horses on a treadmill, which was a large wooden wheel +turned on its side, so the horses could stand on it. I was not pleased +with the nearness of the manure in one of these mills to the material +from which the "staff of life" is made. + +The German Protestant Church of the Redeemer is a fine structure on the +Muristan, completed in 1898. The United States consulate is near the +Austrian postoffice inside of the Jaffa gate. I went there and rested +awhile, but saw the consul, Selah Merrill, at his hotel, where I also +met Mrs. Merrill, and formed a favorable opinion of both of them. Here I +left my belt, checks, and surplus money in the care of the consul. + +Continuing my walk on Wednesday, I passed one of the numerous threshing +floors of the country. This one was the face of a smooth rock, but they +are often the ground on some elevated spot, where a good breeze can be +had to blow away the chaff, for the grain is now threshed and cleaned by +the primitive methods of long ago. After the grain has been tramped out +(1 Cor. 9:9), the straw, now worn to chaff, is piled up, and when a +favorable wind blows, a man tosses it in the air with a wooden fork. The +grain falls in a pile at his feet and the chaff is carried aside +some distance. When this operation has been carried on as long as is +profitable, the wheat and what chaff remains in it are thrown into the +air with a wooden shovel, called in our Bibles a "fan." (Matt. 3:12.) +The final cleaning is done by washing the grain, or with a sieve. + +The Tombs of the Kings, which may never have contained a king, are +extensive and interesting. They are surrounded by a wall, and to reach +them the visitor must go down a very wide stairway. The steps probably +do not number more than twenty-five, but the distance from one side of +the stairs to the other is twenty-seven feet. There are channels cut in +the rock to carry the water that comes down these steps to the cisterns, +two in number, one of which is a good-sized room cut in the rock at the +side of the stairway. It contained about three feet of water when I saw +it, although there had been no rain in Jerusalem for half a year. The +other one, at the bottom of the stairs, is much larger, and was empty. +The vaulted roof is supported by a column, and there are steps leading +from one level of the floor to another. + +Turning to the left at the foot of the big stairway, we passed through +an arch cut through the rock into a court made by excavating the earth +and stone to a depth of perhaps twenty feet. It is ninety feet long and +eighty-one feet wide. The entrance to the tombs is by a vestibule cut in +the rock at one side of the court, and it appears that this once had a +row of pillars along the front, like veranda posts. We went down a few +steps and stooped low enough to pass through an opening about a yard +high. Beyond this we found ourselves in a good-sized room, cut in the +solid rock. There are five of these rooms, and so far as the appearance +is concerned, one might suppose they had been made in modern times, but +they are ancient. The bodies were usually buried in "pigeon-holes" cut +back in the walls of the rooms, but there are some shelf tombs, which +are sufficiently described in their name. One room seems never to have +been completed, but there are burial places here for about forty people. + +One of the interesting things about these tombs is the rolling stone by +which they were closed. It is a round rock, resembling a millstone. The +height is a little over three feet and a half, and the thickness sixteen +inches. It stands in a channel cut for the purpose, but was rolled +forward before the entrance when it was desirable to have the tombs +closed. When Jesus was buried, a "great stone" was rolled to the mouth +of the sepulcher, and the women thought of this as they went to the tomb +on the first day of the week, saying: "Who shall roll us away the stone +from the door of the tomb?" (Mark 16:3.) They went on and found the tomb +open; so, also, we may often find the stone rolled away if we will go +forward in the discharge of our duties, instead of sitting down to mourn +at the thought of something in the distance which seems too difficult. + +On our way to the tombs just mentioned, we passed the American Colony, +a small band of people living together in a rather peculiar manner, +but they are not all Americans. I understood that there had been no +marriages among them for a long time until a short while before I was +in Jerusalem. Some of them conduct a good store near the Jaffa gate. We +passed an English church and college and St. Stephen's Church on the way +to Gordon's Calvary. This new location of the world's greatest tragedy +is a small hill outside the walls on the northern side of the city. The +Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands on ground which for fifteen hundred +years has been regarded as the true site of our Lord's death and burial, +but since Korte, a German bookseller, visited the city in 1738, doubts +have been expressed as to the correctness of the tradition. Jesus +"suffered without the gate" (Heb. 13:12), and "in the place where he was +crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was +man never yet laid" (John 19:41), and it appears to have been near a +public road. (Mark 15:29.) In 1856 Edward Robinson, an American, offered +proof that the site sustained by the old tradition was inside the city +walls at the time of the crucifixion, and more recent discoveries, made +in excavating, confirm his proof. The new Calvary meets the requirements +of the above mentioned scriptures, and gets its name "Gordon's Calvary," +from the fact that General Gordon wrote and spoke in favor of this being +the correct location, and a photographer attached his name to a view of +the place. In the garden adjoining the new Calvary I visited a tomb, +which some suppose to be the place of our Lord's burial. + +On the way back to my lodging place we passed the Damascus gate, the +most attractive of all the old city gates, and one often represented +in books. It was built or repaired in 1537, and stands near an older +gateway that is almost entirely hidden by the accumulated rubbish of +centuries, only the crown of the arch now showing. As we went on we +passed the French Hospice, a fine modern building, having two large +statues on it. The higher one represents the Virgin and her child, the +other is a figure of the Savior. The Catholic church already mentioned, +where two sisters are to be seen in prayer at all times, is near the +Hospice. It is a rather impressive sight to stand in this beautiful but +silent place, and see those women in white robes kneeling there almost +as motionless as statues. + +Thursday and a part of Friday was taken up with a trip to Jericho, but +we got back in time to spend the afternoon in looking around Jerusalem, +and we had an interesting visit to the home of Mrs. Schoenecke, a German +lady, whose father, named Schick, spent fifty-six years of his life in +Jerusalem. From what information Mr. Schick could gather from the Bible, +Josephus, the Talmud, and his personal observations during the time the +Palestine Exploration Fund was at work, he constructed large models of +the ancient temples that stood on Mount Moriah from the days of Solomon +to the time of Herod and Christ. I was told that the original models +were sold to an American college for five thousand dollars. Mr. +Schick then constructed the models shown to us, and explained by Mrs. +Schoenecke. We were also shown a model of the tabernacle used while +Israel was marching to the promised land. + +The Wailing Place is a rectangle one hundred feet long by fifteen feet +wide on the outside of the Temple Area, on the western side, where the +wall is about sixty feet high. Some of the stones in this section are of +large size, and authorities admit that they are of Solomon's time, but +the wall in which they now stand may be a reconstruction. The Jews come +here on the Sabbath, beginning at sundown on Saturday, for a service +which one author describes as follows: "Nearest to him stood a row of +women clad in robes of spotless white. Their eyes were bedimmed with +weeping, and tears streamed down their cheeks as they sobbed aloud +with irrepressible emotion. Next to the women stood a group of +Pharisees--Jews from Poland and Germany. * * * The old hoary-headed men +generally wore velvet caps edged with fur, long love-locks or ringlets +dangling on their thin cheeks, and their outer robes presented a +striking contrast of gaudy colors. Beyond stood a group of Spanish Jews. +* * * Besides these there are Jews from every quarter of the world, who +had wandered back to Jerusalem that they might die in the city of their +fathers, and be buried in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, under the shadow of +the Temple Hill. The worshipers gradually increased in number until the +crowd thronging the pavement could not be fewer than two hundred. It was +an affecting scene to notice their earnestness; some thrust their hands +between the joints of the stones, and pushed into the crevices, as far +as possible, little slips of paper, on which were written, in the Hebrew +tongue, short petitions addressed to Jehovah. Some even prayed with +their mouths thrust into the gaps, where the weather-beaten stones were +worn away at the joints. * * * The congregation at the Wailing Place is +one of the most solemn gatherings left to the Jewish Church, and, as the +writer gazed at the motley concourse, he experienced a feeling of sorrow +that the remnants of the chosen race should be heartlessly thrust +outside the sacred inclosure of their fathers' holy temple by men of an +alien race and an alien creed." So far as I know, all writers give these +worshipers credit for being sincere, but on the two occasions when I +visited the place, I saw no such emotion as described in the foregoing +quotation. The following lines are often rehearsed, the leader reading +one at a time, after which the people respond with the words: "We sit in +solitude and mourn." + + "For the place that lies desolate; + For the place that is destroyed; + For the walls that are overthrown; + For our majesty that is departed; + For our great men who lie dead; + For the precious stones that are buried; + For the priests who have stumbled; + For our kings who have despised Him." + +This solemn practice has been observed for about twelve hundred years, +but the same place may not have been used all the time. "She is become a +widow, that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among +the provinces is become tributary! Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; +therefore she is become as an unclean thing" (Lam. 1: 1, 8). + +On Friday evening we entered some of the many synagogues yet to be found +in Jerusalem and observed the worshipers. On Saturday we went to the +House of Industry of the English church, where boys are taught to work. +Olive wood products are made for the tourist trade. We passed a place +where some men were making a peculiar noise as they were pounding wheat +and singing at their work. This pounding was a part of the process of +making it ready for food. An old lady was standing in an open door +spinning yarn in a very simple manner. We watched her a few minutes, and +I wanted to buy the little arrangement with which she was spinning, but +she didn't care to part with it. She brought out another one, and let me +have it after spinning a few yards upon it. I gave her a Turkish coin +worth a few cents, for which she seemed very thankful, and said, as Mr. +Ahmed explained: "God bless you and give you long life. I am old, and +may die to-day." She told us that she came from Mosul, away beyond the +Syrian desert, to die in Jerusalem. We visited the synagogue of the +Caraite Jews, a small polygamous sect, numbering in this assembly +about thirty persons. They also differ from the majority of Hebrews in +rejecting the Talmud, but I believe they have a Talmud of their own. +Their place of worship is a small room almost under the ground, where we +were permitted to see a very fine old copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, our +Old Testament. The work was done by hand, and I was told the man who +did it was sixteen years of age when he began it, and was sixty when he +finished the work, and that the British Museum had offered five thousand +dollars for the book. Some of these people speak English, and we +conversed with one woman who was quite intelligent. They kindly +permitted us to go up and view the city from the housetop. + +In the afternoon we visited the Temple Area, an inclosure of about +thirty-five acres, in the southeastern part of the city, including the +Mosque of Omar (more appropriately called the Dome of the Rock), the +Mosque El Aksa, and Solomon's Stables. For Christians to enter this +inclosure, it is necessary to notify their consul and secure the service +of his _cavasse_, an armed guard, and a Turkish soldier, both of +whom must be paid for their services. Thus equipped, we entered the +inclosure, and came up on the east front of the Dome of the Rock, +probably so named from the fact that the dome of this structure stands +over an exposed portion of the natural rock, fifty-seven feet long, +forty-three feet wide, and rising a few feet above the floor. After +putting some big slippers on over our shoes, we entered the building +and saw this great rock, which tradition says is the threshing floor +of Araunah, and the spot where Melchizedek sacrificed. It is also the +traditional place where Abraham sacrificed Isaac, and it is believed +that David built an altar here after the angel of destruction had put +up his sword. It is furthermore supposed that the great altar of burnt +offerings stood on this rock in the days of Solomon's Temple, which +is thought to have been located just west of it. This is the probable +location of Zerubbabel's Temple, and the one enlarged and beautified +by Herod, which was standing when Jesus was on earth, and continued to +stand until the awful destruction of the city by the Roman army in A.D. +70. + +The modern visitor to this fine structure would have no thought of the +ancient temple of God if he depended upon what he sees here to suggest +it. All trace of that house has disappeared. The Dome of the Rock, said +to be "the most beautiful piece of architecture in Jerusalem," belongs +to the Turks. It has eight sides, each about sixty-six and a half feet +long, and is partly covered with marble, but it is, to some extent, in a +state of decay. Between the destruction of the temple and the erection +of this building a heathen temple and a church had been built on the +spot. + +The Mosque El Aksa was also visited, but it is noted more for its size +than the beauty of its architecture. The Turkish Governor of Palestine +comes here every Friday to worship at the time the Sultan is engaged +in like manner in Constantinople. Solomon's Stables next engaged our +attention. We crossed the Temple Area to the wall on the southeastern +border, and went down a stairway to these underground chambers, which +were made by building about a hundred columns and arching them over and +laying a pavement on the top, thereby bringing it up on a level with +the rest of the hill. The vaults are two hundred and seventy-three feet +long, one hundred and ninety-eight feet wide, and about thirty feet +high. They were not made for stables, but were used for that purpose in +the middle ages, and the holes through the corners of the square stone +columns show where the horses were tied. A large portion of these +chambers has been made into a cistern or reservoir. + +After a visit to what is called the Pool of Bethesda and the Church of +St. Anne, we went outside the city wall on the north side and entered +what looks like a cave, but upon investigation proves to be an extensive +underground quarry. These excavations, called Solomon's Quarries, +extend, according to one authority, seven hundred feet under the hill +Bezetha, which is north of Mt. Moriah. The rock is very white, and will +take some polish. Loose portions of it are lying around on the floor +of the cavern, and there are distinct marks along the sides where the +ancient stone-cutters were at work. In one part of the quarries we were +shown the place where visiting Masons are said to hold lodge meetings +sometimes. Vast quantities of the rock have been taken out, and this is +probably the source from whence much of the building material of the old +city was derived. + +The trip to the quarries ended my sight-seeing for the week. The next +morning I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and witnessed a part +of the service of the Greek Catholics. At a later hour I went around to +the mission conducted by Bro. Joseph, and, with the little congregation +there assembled, broke bread in memory of Him who in this city, almost +two thousand years ago, gave his life for the sins of the world, after +having instituted this supper, a monumental institution, representing +to our minds the cost of the world's redemption. In the afternoon I +attended the preaching service in Mr. Thompson's tabernacle, and visited +the Abyssinian church, near Mr. Smith's house. This Abyssinian house is +circular, and has a small, round room in the center, around which the +congregation stands and worships, leaning on their staves, for the place +is void of seats. At night I preached in the tabernacle on the question: +"What must I do to be saved?" Melki, the native evangelist, translated +for me as I went along, and the congregation paid good attention and +seemed pleased to have heard me. I know I am pleased to have had +opportunity to "preach the word" in the city from whence it was first +published to the world. + +One of the first sights beheld when I started out on Monday morning was +a foundation, laid at the expense of a woman who intended to build a +house for the "hundred and forty-four thousand." It represents one of +the many peculiar religious ideas that find expression in and around +Jerusalem. We went on to the railway station, where I saw a young man, a +Jew, leave for that far-off land called America. Next the Leper Hospital +was visited. This well-kept institution is in the German colony, and had +several patients of both sexes. A lady, who spoke some English, kindly +showed me through the hospital, and explained that the disease is not +contagious, but hereditary, and that some lepers refuse to enter the +hospital because they are forbidden to marry. The patients were of +various ages, and showed the effects of the disease in different stages. +In some cases it makes the victim a sad sight to look upon. I remember +one of these poor, afflicted creatures, whose face was almost covered +with swollen and inflamed spots. Some were blind, and some had lost +part or all of their fingers by the disease. One man's nose was partly +consumed. + +At Bishop Gobat's school we were kindly received, and given a good, +refreshing drink. The founder of this school, a member of the English +church, was one of the pioneers in Jerusalem mission work, and stood +very high in the estimation of the people. His grave is to be seen in +the cemetery near the school, where one may also see the supposed site +of the ancient city wall. Besides the Leper Hospital, we visited another +hospital under German control, where patients may have medical attention +and hospital service for the small sum of one _mejidi_, about eighty +cents, for a period, of fifteen days, but higher fees are charged in +other departments. We soon reached the English hospital, maintained by +the Society for the Promotion of Christianity among the Jews. It is +built on a semi-circular plan in such a way that the wards, extending +back from the front, admit light from both sides. This institution is +free to the Jews, but I understand Mohammedans were not admitted without +a fee. + +The Syrian Orphanage had about three hundred children in it, who were +being instructed in books and in manual labor. Those who can see are +taught to work in wood, to make a kind of tile used in constructing +partitions, and other lines of useful employment. They had some blind +children, who were being taught to make baskets and brushes. On the way +back to Mr. Smith's I stopped at the Jewish Library, a small two-story +building, having the books and papers upstairs. They have a raised map +of Palestine, which was interesting to me, after having twice crossed +the country from sea to sea. + +The last Thursday I was in the city I went with some friends to the +Israelite Alliance School, an institution with about a thousand pupils, +who receive both an industrial and a literary education. We were +conducted through the school by a Syrian gentleman named Solomon Elia, +who explained that, while the institution is under French control, +English is taught to some extent, as some of the pupils would go +to Egypt, where they would need to use this language. The boys are +instructed in wood-working, carpentry, copper-working, and other lines +of employment. We saw some of the girls making hair nets, and others +were engaged in making lace. Both of these products are sent out of +Palestine for sale. The institution has received help from some of the +Rothschild family, and I have no doubt that it is a great factor for the +improvement of those who are reached by it. Jerusalem is well supplied +with hospitals and schools. The Greek and Roman Catholic churches, the +Church of England, and numerous other religious bodies have a footing +here, and are striving to make it stronger. Their schools and hospitals +are made use of as missionary agencies, and besides these there is a +Turkish hospital and numerous Mohammedan schools. + +On Friday I had an opportunity to see a man measuring grain, as is +indicated by the Savior's words: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; +good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they +give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete, it shall be +measured to you again" (Luke 6:38). He filled his measure about full, +and then shook it down thoroughly. He next filled it up and shook it +down until he evidently thought he had all he could get that way, so he +commenced to pile it up on top. When he had about as much heaped up as +would stay on, he put his hands on the side of the cone opposite himself +and gently pulled it toward him. He then piled some more on the far +side, and when he had reached the limit in this way, he carefully +leveled the top of the cone down a little, and when he could no longer +put on more grain, he gently lifted the measure and moved it around to +the proper place, where it was quickly dumped. In the evening Mr. Smith +and I walked out on Mount Scopus, where Titus had his camp at the time +of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, as foretold by our Lord and +Master in the twenty-fourth of Matthew. + +As we went along, Mr. Smith pointed out the watershed between the +Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. The view from Scopus is very extensive. +We could look away to the north to Nebi Samwil, where the Prophet Samuel +is supposed by some to have been buried. Ramallah, the seat of a school +maintained by the Society of Friends, is pointed out, along with Bireh, +Bethel, and Geba. Nob, the home of the priests slain by command of Saul +(1 Samuel 22:16), and Anathoth, one of the cities of refuge (Joshua +21:18), are in sight. Swinging on around the circle to the east, the +northern end of the Dead Sea is visible, while the Mount of Olives is +only a little distance below us. Across the valley of the Kidron lies +the Holy City, with her walls constructed at various periods and under +various circumstances, her dome-shaped stone roofs, synagogues, mosques, +and minarets, being "trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of +the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). Here, with this panorama spread +out in the evening light, I may say my sight-seeing in the City of the +Great King came to an end. + +I lacked but a few hours of having been in the city two weeks, when I +boarded the train for Jaffa on my way to Egypt. The most of the time I +had lodged in the hospitable home of Mr. Smith, where I had a clean +and comfortable place to rest my tired body when the shadows of night +covered the land. I had received kind treatment, and had seen many +things of much interest. I am truly thankful that I have been permitted +to make this trip to Jerusalem. Let me so live that when the few +fleeting days of this life are over, I may rest with the redeemed. When +days and years are no more, let me enjoy, in the NEW JERUSALEM, the +blessedness that remains for those that have loved the Lord. + +"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from +God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great +voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with +men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and +God himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away +every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall +there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things have +passed away" (Revelation 21:2-4). + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +SIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM. + + +Early on Tuesday morning, the eleventh of October, I set out by +carriage, with some other tourists, for a trip to Bethlehem, Solomon's +Pools, and Hebron. Bethlehem is about five miles south of Jerusalem, and +Hebron is a little southwest of the Holy City and twenty miles distant. +We started from the Jaffa gate and passed the Sultan's Pool, otherwise +known as Lower Gihon, which may be the "lower pool" of Isaiah 22:9. "The +entire area of this pool," says one writer, "is about three and a half +acres, with an average depth, when clear of deposit, of forty-two and +a half feet in the middle from end to end." We drove for two miles, or +perhaps more, across the Plain of Rephaim, one of David's battlefields +soon after he established himself in Jerusalem. Here he was twice +victorious over the Philistines. In the first instance he asked Jehovah: +"Shall I go up against the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into +my hand?" The answer was: "Go up; for I will certainly deliver the +Philistines into thy hand." In this battle the invaders were routed and +driven from the field. "And they left their images there; and David and +his men took them away." But "the Philistines came up yet again, and +spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of +Jehovah, he said, Thou shalt not go up: make a circuit behind them, and +come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when +thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, +that then thou shalt bestir thyself, for then is Jehovah gone out before +thee to smite the hosts of the Philistines." David obeyed the voice of +the Lord, and smote his enemies from Geba to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:17-25.) + +On the southern border of the plain stands the Greek convent called Mar +Elyas. This is about half way to Bethlehem, and the city of the nativity +soon comes into view. Before going much farther the traveler sees a +well-built village, named Bet Jala, lying on his right. It is supposed +to be the ancient Giloh, mentioned in 2 Samuel 15:12 as the home of +Ahithophel, David's counselor, for whom Absalom sent when he conspired +against his father. Here the road forks, one branch of it passing Bet +Jala and going on to Hebron; the other, bearing off to the left, leads +directly to Bethlehem, which we passed, intending to stop there as we +returned in the evening. At this place we saw the monument erected to +mark the location of Rachel's tomb, a location, like many others, in +dispute. When Jacob "journeyed from Bethel and there was still some +distance to come to Ephrath," Rachel died at the birth of Benjamin, "and +was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem). * * * And +Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave" (Gen. 35:16-20). The spot, which +for many centuries was marked by a pyramid of stones, is now occupied +by a small stone building with a dome-shaped roof, at the east side of +which is a room, open on the north, with a flat roof. For hundreds of +years tradition has located the grave at this place, which is indeed +near Bethlehem, but in 1 Samuel 10:2 it is mentioned as being "in the +border of Benjamin," which has occasioned the belief that the true +location is some miles farther north. + +Before long we came to Solomon's Pools. We first stopped at a doorway, +which looks like it might lead down to a cellar, but in reality the door +is at the head of a flight of stairs leading down to what is known as +the "sealed fountain" (Song of Solomon 4:12). The door was fastened, +and we were not able to descend to the underground chamber, which is +forty-one feet long, eleven and a half feet wide, with an arched stone +roof, all of which, except the entrance, is below the surface. A large +basin cut in the floor collects the water from two springs. After rising +a foot in the basin, the water flows out into a channel more than six +hundred feet long leading down to the two upper pools. These great +reservoirs, bearing the name of Israel's wisest monarch, are still in a +good state of preservation, having been repaired in modern times. +The first one is three hundred and eighty feet long, two hundred and +twenty-nine feet wide at one end, two hundred and thirty feet wide at +the other, and twenty-five feet deep. The second pool is four hundred +and twenty-three feet long, one hundred and sixty feet wide at the upper +end, two hundred and fifty feet wide at the lower end, and thirty-nine +feet deep at that end. The third pool is the largest of all, having a +length of five hundred and eighty-two feet. The upper end is one hundred +and forty-eight feet wide, the lower end two hundred and seven feet, +and the depth at the lower end is fifty feet. The pools are about one +hundred and fifty feet apart, and have an aggregate area of six and a +quarter acres, with an average depth approaching thirty-eight feet. The +upper two received water from the sealed fountain, but the lower one was +supplied from an aqueduct leading up from a point more than three miles +to the south. The aqueduct from the sealed fountain leads past the +pools, and winds around the hills to Bethlehem and on to the Temple +Area, in Jerusalem. It is still in use as far as Bethlehem, and could be +put in repair and made serviceable for the whole distance. An offer +to do this was foolishly rejected by the Moslems in 1870. The only +habitation near the pools is an old khan, "intended as a stopping place +for caravans and as a station for soldiers to guard the road and the +pools." The two upper pools were empty when I saw them, but the third +one contained some water and a great number of frogs. As we went on to +Hebron we got a drink at "Philip's Well," the place where "the eunuch +was baptized," according to a tradition which lacks support by the +present appearance of the place. + +Towards noon we entered the "valley of Eschol," from whence the spies +sent out by Moses carried the great cluster of grapes. (Num. 13:23.) +Before entering Hebron we turned aside and went up to Abraham's Oak, a +very old tree, but not old enough for Abraham to have enjoyed its +shade almost four thousand years ago. The trunk is thirty-two feet in +circumference, but the tree is not tall like the American oaks. It is +now in a dying condition, and some of the branches are supported by +props, while the lower part of the trunk is surrounded by a stone wall, +and the space inside is filled with earth. The plot of ground on which +the tree stands is surrounded by a high iron fence. A little farther up +the hill the Russians have a tower, from which we viewed the country, +and then went down in the shade near Abraham's Oak and enjoyed our +dinner. + +Hebron is a very ancient city, having been built seven and a half years +before Zoar in Egypt. (Num. 13:22.) Since 1187 it has been under the +control of the Mohammedans, who raise large quantities of grapes, many +of which are made into raisins. Articles of glass are made in Hebron, +but I saw nothing especially beautiful in this line. The manufacture of +goat-skin water-bottles is also carried on. Another line of work which I +saw being done is the manufacture of a kind of tile, which looks like a +fruit jug without a bottom, and is used in building. Hebron was one of +the six cities of refuge (Joshua 20:7), and for seven years and a half +it was David's capital of Judah. It is very historic. "Abraham moved his +tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and +built there an altar unto Jehovah." (Gen. 13:18.) When "Sarah died in +Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan, * * * Abraham +came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." At this time the worthy +progenitor of the Hebrew race "rose up from before his dead, and spoke +unto the children of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with +you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury +my dead out of my sight." The burial place was purchased for "four +hundred shekels of silver, current money of the land. * * * And after +this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave in the field of Machpelah +before Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan" (Gen. +23:1-20). Years after this, when both Abraham and his son Isaac had +passed the way of all the earth and had been laid to rest in this cave, +the patriarch Jacob in Egypt gave directions for the entombment of his +body in this family burial place. "There they buried Abraham and Sarah +his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I +buried Leah" (Gen. 49:31), and here, by his own request, Jacob was +buried. (Gen. 50:13.) Joshua, the successor of Moses, "utterly +destroyed" Hebron (Joshua 10:37), and afterwards gave it to Caleb, to +whom it had been promised by Moses forty-five years before. (Joshua +14:6-15.) Here Abner was slain (2 Samuel 3:27), and the murderers of +Ishbosheth were put to death. (2 Samuel 4:12.) + +The most interesting thing about the town is the "cave of Machpelah," +but it is inaccessible to Christians. Between 1167 and 1187 a church was +built on the site, now marked by a carefully guarded Mohammedan mosque. +It is inclosed by a wall which may have been built by Solomon. We were +allowed to go in at the foot of a stairway as far as the seventh step, +but might as well have been in the National Capitol at Washington so far +as seeing the burial place was concerned. In 1862 the Prince of Wales, +now King of England, was admitted. He was accompanied by Dean Stanley, +who has described what he saw, but he was permitted neither to examine +the monuments nor to descend to the cave below, the real burial chamber. +As the body of Jacob was carefully embalmed by the Egyptian method, it +is possible that his remains may yet be seen in their long resting place +in this Hebron cave. (Gen. 50:1,2.) + +Turning back toward Jerusalem, we came to Bethlehem late in the +afternoon, and the "field of the shepherds" (Luke 2:8) and the "fields +of Boaz" (Ruth 2:4-23) were pointed out. The place of greatest interest +is the group of buildings, composed of two churches, Greek and Latin, +and an Armenian convent, all built together on the traditional site +of the birth of the Lord Jesus. Tradition is here contradicted by +authorities partly on the ground that a cave to which entrance is made +by a flight of stairs would probably not be used as a stable. This +cave is in the Church of St. Mary, said to have been erected in 330 by +Constantine. Descending the stairs, we came into the small cavern, which +is continually lighted by fifteen silver lamps, the property of the +Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, who each have an interest in the place. +Beneath an altar, in a semi-circular recess, a silver star has been set +in the floor with the Latin inscription: "_Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus +Christus Natus est._" An armed Turkish soldier was doing duty near this +"star of Bethlehem" the evening I was there. The well, from which it is +said the "three mighty men" drew water for David, was visited. (2 Samuel +23:15.) But the shades of night had settled down upon the little town +where our Savior was born, and we again entered our carriages and drove +back to Jerusalem, having had a fine day of interesting sight-seeing. On +the Wednesday before I left Jerusalem, in the company of Mrs. Bates, I +again visited Bethlehem. + +Thursday, October thirteenth, was the day we went down to Jericho, the +Dead Sea, and the Jordan. The party was made up of the writer, Mr. +Ahmed, Mr. Jennings, Mrs. Bates, four school teachers (three ladies and +a gentleman) returning from the Philippines, and the guides, Mr. Smith +and Ephraim Aboosh. We went in two carriages driven by natives. "A +certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among +robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half +dead" (Luke 10:30). This lonely road is still the scene of occasional +robberies, and the Turkish Government permits one of its soldiers to +accompany the tourist for a fee, but we did not want to take this +escort, as neither of the guides feared any danger. Accordingly we took +an early start without notifying the soldiers, and reached Jericho, +about twenty miles away, in time to visit Elisha's Fountain before +dinner. The road leads out past Bethany, down by the Apostles' Fountain, +on past the Khan of the Good Samaritan, and down the mountain to the +plain of the Jordan, this section of which is ten miles long and seven +miles wide. Before the road reaches the plain, it runs along a deep +gorge bearing the name Wady Kelt, the Brook Cherith, where the prophet +Elisha was fed by the ravens night and morning till the brook dried up. +(1 Kings 17:1-7.) We also saw the remains of an old aqueduct, and of a +reservoir which was originally over five hundred feet long and more than +four hundred feet wide. Elisha's Fountain is a beautiful spring some +distance from the present Jericho. Doubtless it is the very spring whose +waters Elisha healed with salt. (2 Kings 2:19-22.) The ground about +the Fountain has been altered some in modern times, and there is now a +beautiful pool of good, clear water, a delight both to the eye and to +the throat of the dusty traveler who has come down from Jerusalem seeing +only the brown earth and white, chalky rock, upon which the unveiled sun +has been pouring down his heat for hours. The water from the spring now +runs a little grist mill a short distance below it. + +After dinner, eaten in front of the hotel in Jericho, we drove over to +the Dead Sea, a distance of several miles, and soon we were all enjoying +a fine bath in the salt water, the women bathing at one place, the men +at another. The water contains so much solid matter, nearly three and a +third pounds to the gallon, that it is easy to float on the surface with +hands, feet and head above the water. One who can swim but little in +fresh water will find the buoyancy of the water here so great as to make +swimming easy. When one stands erect in it, the body sinks down about +as far as the top of the shoulders. Care needs to be taken to keep the +water out of the mouth, nose and eyes, as it is so salty that it is very +disagreeable to these tender surfaces. Dead Sea water is two and a half +pounds heavier than fresh water, and among other things, it contains +nearly two pounds of chloride of magnesium, and almost a pound of +chloride of sodium, or common salt, to the gallon. Nothing but some very +low forms of animal life, unobserved by the ordinary traveler, can live +in this sea. The fish that get into it from the Jordan soon die. Those +who bathe here usually drive over to the Jordan and bathe again, to +remove the salt and other substances that remain on the body after the +first bath. The greatest depth of the Dead Sea is a little over thirteen +hundred feet. The wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood here some +place, but authorities disagree as to whether they were at the northern +or southern end of the sea. In either case every trace of them has been +wiped out by the awful destruction poured on them by the Almighty. (Gen. +18:16 to 19:29) + +The Jordan where we saw it, near the mouth, and at the time we saw it, +the thirteenth of October, was a quiet and peaceful stream, but the +water was somewhat muddy. We entered two little boats and had a short +ride on the river whose waters "stood, and rose up in one heap, a great +way off," that the children of Israel might cross (Joshua 3:14-17), and +beneath whose wave the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized by the +great prophet of the Judaean wilderness. (Matt. 3:13-17.) We also got +out a little while on the east bank of the stream, the only time I was +"beyond Jordan" while in Palestine. After supper, eaten in Jericho, we +went around to a Bedouin encampment, where a dance was being executed--a +dance different from any that I had ever seen before. One of the +dancers, with a sword in hand, stood in the center of the ground they +were using, while the others stood in two rows, forming a right angle. +They went through with various motions and hand-clapping, accompanied +by an indescribable noise at times. Some of the Bedouins were sitting +around a small fire at one side, and some of the children were having a +little entertainment of their own on another side of the dancing party. +We were soon satisfied, and made our way back to the hotel and laid down +to rest. + +The first Jericho was a walled city about two miles from the present +village, perhaps at the spring already mentioned, and was the first city +taken in the conquest of the land under Joshua. The Jordan was crossed +at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19), where the people were circumcised with knives +of flint, and where the Jews made their first encampment west of the +river. (Joshua 5:2-10.) "Jericho was straitly shut up because of the +children of Israel," but by faithful compliance with the word of the +Lord the walls fell down. (Joshua 6:1-27.) "And Joshua charged them with +an oath at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah, +that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: with the loss of his +first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his +youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." Regardless of this curse, +we read that in the days of Ahab, who "did more to provoke Jehovah, the +God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before +him, * * * did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation +thereof with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates +thereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word +of Jehovah, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun" (1 Kings 16:33,34). +"The Jericho * * * which was visited by Jesus occupied a still different +site," says Bro. McGarvey. The present Jericho is a small Arab village, +poorly built, with a few exceptions, and having nothing beautiful in or +around it but the large oleanders that grow in the ground made moist by +water from Elisha's Fountain. We had satisfactory accommodations at the +hotel, which is one of the few good houses there. Jericho in the time of +our Lord was the home of a rich publican named Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10), +and was an important and wealthy city, that had been fortified by Herod +the Great, who constructed splendid palaces here, and it was here that +"this infamous tyrant died." The original Jericho, the home of Rahab the +harlot, was called the "city of palm trees" (Deut. 34:3), but if the +modern representative of that ancient city has any of these trees, they +are few in number. Across the Jordan eastward are the mountains of Moab, +in one of which Moses died after having delivered his valedictory, as +recorded in Deuteronomy. (Deut. 34:1-12.) From a lofty peak the Lord +showed this great leader and law-giver a panorama of "all the land of +Gilead unto Dan. * * * And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land which +I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it +unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou +shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in +the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah. And he buried him +in the valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man +knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." + +Early Wednesday morning we began our toilsome journey back to Jerusalem, +having nearly four thousand feet to climb in the twenty miles +intervening. We stopped awhile at the Khan of the Good Samaritan, which +stands near some old ruins, and may not be far from the place to which +the Good Samaritan carried his poor, wounded fellow-man so long ago. +Here I bought some lamps that look old enough, but may be quite modern +imitations of the kind that were carried in the days of the wise and +foolish virgins. A stop was also made at the Apostles' Fountain, near +Bethany, where I saw an Arab working bread on his coat, which was spread +on the ground. Over by the Damascus gate I one day saw a man feeding his +camel on his coat, so these coarse cloth garments are very serviceable +indeed. We got back to Jerusalem in time to do a good deal of +sight-seeing in the afternoon. + +The following Tuesday was occupied with a trip on "donkey-back" to Nebi +Samwil, Emmaus, Abu Ghosh, and Ain Kairim. Our party was small this +time, being composed of Mr. Jennings, Mr. Smith, the writer, and a +"donkey-boy" to care for the three animals we rode, when we dismounted +to make observations. He was liberal, and sometimes tried to tell us +which way to go. We went out on the north side of the city and came to +the extensive burial places called the "Tombs of the Judges." Near by is +an ancient wine press cut in the rock near a rock-hewn cistern, which +may have been used for storing the wine. En Nebi Samwil is on an +elevation a little more than three thousand feet above the sea and about +four hundred feet higher than Jerusalem, five miles distant. From the +top of the minaret we had a fine view through a field glass, seeing the +country for many miles around. This is thought by some to be the Mizpah +of the Bible (1 Kings 15:22), and tradition has it that the prophet +Samuel was buried here. A little north of Nebi Samwil is the site of +ancient Gibeon, where "Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before +the servants of David" (2 Samuel 2:12-17). + +We next rode over to El Kubebeh, supposed by some to be the Emmaus of +New Testament times, where Jesus went after his resurrection and sat at +meat with his disciples without being recognized. (Luke 24:13-25.) The +place has little to attract one. A modern building, which I took to be +the residence of some wealthy person, occupies a prominent position, and +is surrounded by well-kept grounds, inclosed with a wall. The Franciscan +monastery is a good sized institution, having on its grounds the remains +of a church of the Crusaders' period, over which a new and attractive +building has been erected. One section of it has the most beautiful +floor of polished marble, laid in patterns, that I have ever seen. It +also contains a painting of the Savior and the two disciples. + +We went outside of the monastery to eat our noon-day lunch, but before +we finished, one of the monks came and called us in to a meal at +their table. It was a good meal, for which no charge was made, and I +understand it is their custom to give free meals to visitors, for they +believe that Jesus here sat at meat with his two disciples. We enjoyed +their hospitality, but drank none of the wine that was placed before us. + +Our next point was Abu Ghosh, named for an old village sheik who, "with +his six brothers and eighty-five descendants, was the terror of the +whole country" about a century ago. Our object in visiting the spot was +to see the old Crusaders' church, the best preserved one in Palestine. +The stone walls are perhaps seven or eight feet thick. The roof is still +preserved, and traces of the painting that originally adorned the walls +are yet to be seen. A new addition has been erected at one end, and the +old church may soon be put in repair. + +The last place we visited before returning to Jerusalem was Ain Kairim, +a town occupied mainly by the Mohammedans, and said to have been the +home of that worthy couple of whom it was written: "They were both +righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of +the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6). The portion occupied by the Latins and +Greeks is very beautifully situated on the side of the mountain. The +stone houses, "whited walls," and green cypresses make quite a pretty +picture. The Church of St. John, according to tradition, stands on the +spot where once dwelt Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John, the +great forerunner of Jesus. Night came upon us before we got back to our +starting place, and as this was my first day of donkey riding, I was +very much fatigued when I finally dismounted in Jerusalem; yet I arose +the next morning feeling reasonably well, but not craving another donkey +ride over a rough country beneath the hot sun. + +On Saturday, the twenty-second of October, I turned away from Jerusalem, +having been in and around the place almost two weeks, and went back to +Jaffa by rail. After a few miles the railway leads past Bittir, supposed +to be the Beth-arabah of Joshua 15:61. It is also of interest from the +fact that it played a part in the famous insurrection of Bar Cochba +against the Romans. In A.D. 135 it was captured by a Roman force after +a siege of three and a half years. Ramleh, a point twelve miles from +Jaffa, was once occupied by Napoleon. Lydda, supposed to be the Lod of +Ezra 2:33, was passed. Here Peter healed Aeneas, who had been palsied +eight years. (Acts 9:32-35.) + +Jaffa is the Joppa of the Bible, and has a good deal of interesting +history. When "Jonah rose to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of +Jehovah," he "went down to Joppa and found a ship going unto Tarshish: +so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to +Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah." (Jonah 1:3.) His unpleasant +experience with the great fish is well known. When Solomon was about to +build the first temple, Hiram sent a communication to him, saying: "We +will cut wood out of Lebanon as much as thou shalt need; and will bring +it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to +Jerusalem" (2 Chron. 2:16). In the days of Ezra, when Zerubbabel +repaired the temple, we read that "they gave money also unto the masons, +and to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, unto them of Sidon, +and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, unto +Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia" +(Ezra 3:7). It was the home of "a certain disciple named Tabitha," whom +Peter was called from Lydda to raise from the dead. (Acts 9:36-43.) +Simon the tanner also lived in Joppa, and it was at his house that Peter +had his impressive vision of the sheet let down from heaven prior to his +going to Caesarea to speak the word of salvation to Cornelius and his +friends. (Acts 10:1-6.) + +The city is built on a rocky elevation rising one hundred feet above +the sea, which has no harbor here, so that vessels do not stop when the +water is too rough for passengers to be carried safely in small boats. +Extensive orange groves are cultivated around Jaffa, and lemons are also +grown, and I purchased six for a little more than a cent in American +money. Sesame, wine, wool, and soap are exported, and the imports are +considerable. The train reached the station about the middle of the day, +and the ship did not leave till night, so I had ample time to visit the +"house of Simon the tanner." It is "by the sea side" all right, but +looks too modern to be impressive to the traveler who does not accept +all that tradition says. I paid Cook's tourist agency the equivalent of +a dollar to take me through the custom house and out to the ship, and I +do not regret spending the money, although it was five times as much as +I had paid the native boatman for taking me ashore when I first came to +Jaffa. The sea was rough--very rough for me--and a little woman at my +side was shaking with nervousness, although she tried to be brave, and +her little boy took a firm hold on my clothing. I don't think that I was +scared, but I confess that I did not enjoy the motion of the boat as it +went sliding down from the crest of the waves, which were higher than +any I had previously ridden upon in a rowboat. As darkness had come, it +would have been a poor time to be upset, but we reached the vessel in +safety. When we came alongside the ship, a boatman on each side of the +passenger simply pitched or threw him up on the stairs when the rising +wave lifted the little boat to the highest point. It was easily done, +but it is an experience one need not care to repeat unnecessarily. + +I was now through with my sight-seeing in the Holy Land and aboard the +Austrian ship _Maria Teresa_, which was to carry me to the land of the +ancient Pharaohs. Like Jonah, I had paid my fare, so I laid down to +sleep. There was a rain in the night, but no one proposed to throw me +overboard, and we reached Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal, the +next day. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +EGYPT, THE LAND OF TOMBS AND TEMPLES. + + +The _Maria Teresa_ landed me in Port Said, Egypt, Lord's day, October +twenty-third, and at seven o'clock that evening I took the train for +Cairo, arriving there about four hours later. I had no difficulty in +finding a hotel, where I took some rest, but was out very early the next +morning to see something of the largest city in Africa. The population +is a great mixture of French, Greeks, English, Austrians, Germans, +Egyptians, Arabians, Copts, Berbers, Turks, Jews, Negroes, Syrians, +Persians, and others. In Smyrna, Damascus, and Jerusalem, cities of the +Turkish empire, the streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty, but here +are many fine buildings, electric lights, electric cars, and good, wide +streets, over which vehicles with rubber tires roll noiselessly. + +I first went out to the Mokattam Heights, lying back of the city, at an +elevation of six hundred and fifty feet. From the summit an extensive +view can be obtained, embracing not only the city of Cairo, with its +many mosques and minarets, but the river beyond, and still farther +beyond the Gizeh (Gezer) group of the pyramids. The side of the Heights +toward the city is a vast quarry, from which large quantities of rock +have been taken. An old fort and a mosque stand in solitude on the top. +I went out by the citadel and passed the mosque tombs of the Mamelukes, +who were originally brought into the country from the Caucasus as +slaves, but they became sufficiently powerful to make one of their +number Sultan in 1254. The tombs of the Caliphs, successors of Mohammed +in temporal and spiritual power, are not far from the Heights. + +As I was returning to the city, a laborer followed me a little distance, +and indicated that he wanted my name written on a piece of paper he was +carrying. I accommodated him, but do not know for what purpose he wanted +it. I stopped at the Alabaster Mosque, built after the fashion of one of +the mosques of Constantinople, and decorated with alabaster. The outside +is full of little depressions, and has no special beauty, but the inside +is more attractive. The entrance is through a large court, paved with +squares of white marble. The floor of the mosque was nicely covered with +carpet, and the walls are coated for a few feet with alabaster, and +above that they are painted in imitation of the same material. The +numerous lamps do much towards making the place attractive. The +attendant said the central chandelier, fitted for three hundred and +sixty-six candles, was a present from Louis Philippe, of France. A clock +is also shown that came from the same source. The pulpit is a platform +at the head of a stairway, and the place for reading the Koran is a +small platform three or four feet high, also ascended by steps. Within +an inclosure in one corner of the building is the tomb of Mohammed Ali, +which, I was told, was visited by the Khedive the day before I was +there. + +The most interesting part of the day was the afternoon trip to the nine +pyramids of the Gizeh group. They may be reached by a drive over the +excellent carriage road that leads out to them, or by taking one of the +electric cars that run along by this road. Three of the pyramids are +large and the others are small, but one, the pyramid of Cheops, is built +on such magnificent proportions that it is called "the great pyramid." +According to Baedeker, "the length of each side is now seven hundred and +fifty feet, but was formerly about seven hundred and sixty-eight feet; +the present perpendicular height is four hundred and fifty-one feet, +while originally, including the nucleus of the rock at the bottom and +the apex, which has now disappeared, it is said to have been four +hundred and eighty-two feet. * * * In round numbers, the stupendous +structure covers an area of nearly thirteen acres." + +It is estimated that two million three hundred thousand blocks of stone, +each containing forty cubic feet, were required for building this +ancient and wonderful monument, upon which a hundred thousand men are +said to have been employed for twenty years. Nearly all of the material +was brought across from the east side of the Nile, but the granite that +entered into its construction was brought down from Syene, near Assouan, +five hundred miles distant. Two chambers are shown to visitors, one of +them containing an empty stone coffin. The passageway leading to these +chambers is not easily traversed, as it runs at an angle like a stairway +with no steps, for the old footholds have become so nearly worn out that +the tourist might slip and slide to the bottom were it not for his +Arab helpers. A fee of one dollar secures the right to walk about the +grounds, ascend the pyramid, and go down inside of it. Three Arabs go +with the ticket, and two of them are really needed. Those who went +with me performed their work in a satisfactory manner, and while not +permitted to ask for "backshish," they let me know that they would +accept anything I might have for them. The ascent was rather difficult, +as some of the stones are more than a yard high. It is estimated that +this mighty monument, which Abraham may have looked upon, contains +enough stone to build a wall around the frontier of France. Of the Seven +Wonders of the World, the Pyramid of Cheops alone remains. The other +attractions here are the Granite Temple, and some tombs, from one of +which a jackal ran away as we were approaching. I got back to Cairo +after dark, and took the eight o'clock train for Assouan. + +This place is about seven hundred miles from Port Said by rail, and is +a good sized town. The main street, fronting the river, presents +a pleasing appearance with its hotels, Cook's tourist office, the +postoffice, and other buildings. Gas and electricity are used for +lighting, and the dust in the streets is laid by a real street +sprinkler, and not by throwing the water on from a leathern bag, as I +saw it in Damascus. The Cataract Hotel is a large place for tourists, +with a capacity of three hundred and fifty people. The Savoy Hotel is +beautifully located on Elephantine Island, in front of the town. To +the south of the town lie the ancient granite quarries of Syene, which +furnished the Egyptian workmen building material so long ago, and still +lack a great deal of being exhausted. I saw an obelisk lying here which +is said to be ninety-two feet long and ten and a half feet wide in the +broadest part, but both ends of it were covered. In this section there +is an English cemetery inclosed by a wall, and several tombs of the +natives, those of the sheiks being prominent. + +Farther to the south is a great modern work, the Nile dam, a mile and a +quarter long, and built of solid masonry. In the deepest place it is one +hundred feet high, and the thickness at the bottom is eighty-eight feet. +It was begun in 1899, and at one time upwards of ten thousand men were +employed on the works. It seemed to be finished when I was there, but a +few workmen were still engaged about the place. The total cost has been +estimated at a sum probably exceeding ten millions of dollars. There are +one hundred and eighty sluices to regulate the out-flow of the water, +which is collected to a height of sixty-five feet during the inundation +of the Nile. The dam would have been made higher, but by so doing Philae +Island, a short distance up the river, would have been submerged. + +The remains on this island are so well preserved that it is almost a +misnomer to call them ruins. The little island is only five hundred +yards long and sixty yards wide, and contains the Temple of Isis, Temple +of Hathor, a kiosk or pavilion, two colonnades, and a small Nilometer. +In the gateway to one of the temples is a French inscription concerning +Napoleon's campaign in Egypt in 1799. All the buildings are of stone, +and the outside walls are covered with figures and inscriptions. Some of +the figures are just cut in the rough, never having been finished. Here, +as elsewhere in Egypt, very delicate carvings are preserved almost as +distinct as though done but recently. The guard on the island was not +going to let me see the ruins because I held no ticket. After a little +delay, a small boat, carrying some diplomatic officers, came up. These +gentlemen, one of whom was a Russian, I think, tried to get the guard to +let me see the place with them, but he hesitated, and required them to +give him a paper stating that I was there with them. Later, when I got +to the place where the tickets were sold, I learned that Philae Island +was open for visitors without a ticket. Perhaps the guard thought he +would get some "backshish" from me. + +I made an interesting visit to the Bisharin village, just outside of +Assouan, and near the railroad. The inhabitants are very dark-skinned, +and live in booths or tents, covered with something like straw matting. +I stopped at one of the lodges, which was probably six feet wide and +eight feet long, and high enough to enable the occupants to sit erect on +the floor. An old man, naked from the waist up, was sitting outside. A +young woman was operating a small hand mill, and one or two other women +were sitting there on the ground. They showed me some long strings of +beads, and I made a purchase at a low price. While at this lodge, for I +can not call it a house, and it is not altogether like a tent, about +a dozen of the native children gathered around me, and one, who could +speak some English, endeavored to draw out part of my cash by repeating +this speech: "Half a piaster, Mister; thank you very much." The girls +had their hair in small plaits, which seemed to be well waxed together. +One of the boys, about ten years of age, clothed in a peculiar manner, +was finely formed, and made a favorable impression on my mind. I would +like to see what could be made of him if he were taken entirely away +from his unfavorable surroundings and brought up with the care and +attention that many American boys receive. He and another lad went with +me to see the obelisk in the granite quarry, and I tried to teach them +to say: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." As I +was repeating the first word of the sentence and trying to induce one of +them to follow me, he said, "No blessed," and I failed to get either of +them to say these beautiful words. In Egypt and other countries there +are millions of persons just as ignorant of the gospel and just as much +in need of it as the curly-headed Bisharin lad who conducted me to the +granite quarry. + +I took a pleasant boat ride across the river, past the beautiful grounds +of the Savoy Hotel, to the rock tombs of the great persons of ancient +Elephantine. I tarried a little too long at the tombs, or else did not +start soon enough, for darkness came upon us soon after leaving them. +For some distance the boatman walked on the shore and towed the boat +with a long rope, while I tried to keep it off of the rocks with the +rudder. There was not enough wind to make the sail useful, and as we +were passing around the end of Elephantine Island we drifted against +the rocks, but with no other loss than the loss of some time. It was my +desire to see the Nilometer on the island, and I did see it, but not +until after I had sent the boatman to buy a candle. This ancient +water-gauge was repaired in 1870, after a thousand years of neglect. +The following description by Strabo is taken from Baedeker's _Guide to +Egypt_: "The Nilometer is a well, built of regular hewn stones, on the +bank of the Nile, in which is recorded the rise of the stream--not only +the maximum, but also the minimum, and average rise, for the water in +the well rises and falls with the stream. On the side of the well are +marks measuring the height for the irrigation and other water levels. +These are published for general information. * * * This is of importance +to the peasants for the management of the water, the embankments, the +canals, etc., and to the officials on account of the taxes, for the +higher the rise of the water, the higher the taxes." It needs to be +said, however, that this "well" is not circular, but rectangular, and +has a flight of steps leading down to the water. + +On the way back to Cairo I stopped at Luxor, on the site of the ancient +city of Thebes. The chief attraction here is the Temple of Luxor, six +hundred and twenty-one feet long and one hundred and eighty feet wide. +In recent times this temple was entirely buried, and a man told me he +owned a house on the spot which he sold to the government for about four +hundred and fifty dollars, not knowing of the existence of a temple +buried beneath his dwelling. Some of the original statues of Rameses II. +remain in front of the ruins. I measured the right arm of one of these +figures, from the pit where it touches the side to the same point in +front, a distance of about six feet, and that does not represent the +entire circumference, for the granite between the arm and the body was +never entirely cut away. Near by stands a large red granite obelisk, +with carvings from top to bottom. A companion to this one, for they were +always erected in pairs, has been removed. In ancient times a paved +street led from this temple to Karnak, which is reached by a short walk. +This ancient street was adorned by a row of ram-headed sphinxes on each +side. Toward Karnak many of them are yet to be seen in a badly mutilated +condition, but there is another avenue containing forty of these figures +in a good state of preservation. + +The first of the Karnak temples reached is one dedicated to the Theban +moon god, Khons, reared by Rameses III. The Temple of Ammon, called "the +throne of the world," lies a little beyond. I spent half a day on the +west side of the river in what was the burial ground of ancient Thebes, +where also numerous temples were erected. My first stop was before the +ruins of Kurna. The Temple of Sethos I. originally had ten columns +before it, but one is now out of place. The Temple Der el Bahri bore an +English name, signifying "most splendid of all," and it may not have +been misnamed. It is situated at the base of a lofty barren cliff of a +yellowish cast, and has been partially restored. + +In 1881 a French explorer discovered the mummies of several Egyptian +rulers in an inner chamber of this temple, that had probably been +removed to this place for security from robbers. In the number were the +remains of Rameses II., who was probably reigning in the boyhood days of +Moses, and the mummy of Set II., perhaps the Pharaoh of the Oppression, +and I saw both of them in the museum in Cairo. + +The Ramasseum is another large temple, built by Rameses II., who is +said to have had sixty-nine sons and seventy daughters. There are also +extensive remains of another temple called Medinet Habu. About a half a +mile away from this ruin are the two colossal statues of Memnon, +which were surrounded by water, so I could not get close to them. The +following dimensions of one of them are given: "Height of the figure, +fifty-two feet; height of the pedestal on which the feet rest, thirteen +feet; height of the entire monument, sixty-five feet. But when the +figure was adorned with the long-since vanished crown, the original +height may have reached sixty-nine feet. * * * Each foot is ten and +one-half feet long. * * * The middle finger on one hand is four and a +half feet long, and the arm from the tip of the finger to the elbow +measures fifteen and one-half feet." + +All about these temples are indications of ancient graves, from which +the Arabs have dug the mummies. As I rode out, a boy wanted to sell me a +mummy hand, and another had the mummy of a bird. They may both have been +counterfeits made especially for unsuspecting tourists. There are also +extensive rock-cut tombs of the ancient kings and queens, which are +lighted by electricity in the tourist season. I did not visit them on +account of the high price of admission. The government has very properly +taken charge of the antiquities, and a ticket is issued for six dollars +that admits to all these ruins in Upper Egypt. Tickets for any one +particular place were not sold last season, but tourists were allowed to +visit all places not inclosed without a ticket. + +While in Luxor I visited the American Mission Boarding School for Girls, +conducted by Miss Buchanan, who was assisted by a Miss Gibson and five +native teachers. A new building, with a capacity for four hundred +boarders, was being erected at a cost of about thirty-five thousand +dollars. This would be the finest building for girls in Egypt when +finished, I was told, and most of the money for it had been given by +tourists. I spent a night in Luxor, staying in the home of Youssef Saïd, +a native connected with the mission work. His uncle, who could not speak +English, expressed himself as being glad to have "a preacher of Jesus +Christ" to stay in his house. + +Leaving Luxor, I returned to Cairo for some more sight-seeing, and I had +a very interesting time of it. In Gen. 41:45 we read: "Pharaoh called +Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah; and gave him to wife Asenath, the +daughter of Potipherah, priest of On." Heliopolis, meaning city of the +sun, is another name for this place, from whence the wife of Joseph +came. It is only a few miles from Cairo, and easily reached by railway. +All that I saw of the old city was a lonely obelisk, "probably the +oldest one in the world," standing in a cultivated field and surrounded +by the growing crop. It is sixty-six feet high, six feet square at the +base, and is well preserved. + +The Ezbekiah Gardens are situated in the best portion of Cairo. This +beautiful park contains quite a variety of trees, including the banyan, +and is a resort of many of the people. Band concerts are held, and a +small entrance fee is taken at the gate. + +On the thirtieth of the month I visited the Museum, which has been +moved to the city and installed in its own commodious and substantial +building. This vast collection of relics of this wonderful old country +affords great opportunities for study. I spent a good deal of time there +seeing the coffins of wood, white limestone, red granite, and alabaster; +sacrificial tables, mummies, ancient paintings, weights and measures, +bronze lamps, necklaces, stone and alabaster jars, bronze hinges, +articles of pottery, and many other things. It is remarkable how some +of the embalmed bodies, thousands of years old, are preserved. I looked +down upon the Pharaoh who is supposed to have oppressed Israel. The body +is well preserved, but it brought thoughts to me of the smallness of the +fleshly side of man. He who once ruled in royal splendor now lies there +in very humble silence. In some cases the cloths wrapped around these +mummies are preserved almost perfectly, and I remember a gilt mask that +was so bright that one might have taken it for a modern product. After +the body was securely wrapped, a picture was sometimes painted over the +face, and now, after the lapse of centuries, some of these are very +clear and distinct. I saw a collection of scarabaei, or beetles, which +were anciently worshiped in this country. Dealers offer figures of this +kind for sale, but the most of them are probably manufactured for the +tourist trade. + +On Lord's day, October thirtieth, I attended the evening services at the +American Mission, and went to Bedrashen the following day. This is the +nearest railway station to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, now an +irregular pile of ruined mud bricks. I secured a donkey, and a boy to +care for it and tell me where to go. We soon passed the dilapidated +ruins of the old capital. Two prostrate statues of great size were seen +on the way to the Step Pyramid of Sakkara, which is peculiar in that it +is built with great offsets or steps, still plainly visible, although +large quantities of the rock have crumbled and fallen down. The +Department of Antiquities has posted a notice in French, Arabic and +English, to the effect that it is dangerous to make the ascent, and that +the government will not be responsible for accidents to tourists who +undertake it. I soon reached the top without any special difficulty, +and with no more danger, so far as I could see, than one experiences +in climbing a steep hill strewn with rocks. I entered another pyramid, +which has a stone in one side of it twenty-five feet long and about five +and a half feet high. Some more tombs were visited, and the delicate +carving on the inner walls was observed. In one instance a harvest scene +was represented, in another the fish in a net could be discerned. The +Serapeum is an underground burial place for the sacred bull, discovered +by Mariette in 1850, after having been buried since about 1400 B.C. In +those times the bull was an object of worship in Egypt, and when one +died, he was carefully embalmed and put in a stone coffin in one of the +chambers of the Serapeum. Some of these coffins are twelve feet high and +fifteen feet long. + +Before leaving Cairo, I went into the famous Shepheard's Hotel, where I +received some information about the place from the manager, who looked +like a well-salaried city pastor. The Grand Continental presents a +better appearance on the outside, but I do not believe it equals +Shepheard's on the inside. I was now ready to turn towards home, so I +dropped down to Port Said again, where there is little of interest to +the tourist except the ever-changing panorama of ships in the mouth of +the Suez Canal, and the study of the social condition of the people. My +delay in the city while waiting for a ship gave me a good deal of +time for writing and visiting the missionaries. The Seamen's Rest is +conducted by Mr. Locke, who goes out in the harbor and gathers up +sailors in his steam launch, and carries them back to their vessels +after the service. One night, after speaking in one of these meetings, I +rode out with him. The American Mission conducts a school for boys, and +Feltus Hanna, the native superintendent, kindly showed me around. The +Peniel Mission is conducted by two American ladies. The British and +Foreign Bible Society has a depot here, and keeps three men at work +visiting ships in the harbor all the time. I attended the services +in the chapel of the Church of England one morning. With all these +religious forces the city is very wicked. The street in which my hotel +was located was largely given up to drinking and harlotry. + +On the ninth of November the French ship _Congo_ stopped in the harbor, +and I went down late in the evening to embark, but the authorities would +not permit me to go aboard, because I had not been examined by the +medical officer, who felt my pulse and signed a paper that was never +called for, and I went aboard all right. The ship stopped at Alexandria, +and I went around in the city, seeing nothing of equal interest to +Pompey's Pillar, a monument standing ninety-eight feet and nine inches +high. The main shaft is seventy-three feet high and nearly thirty feet +in circumference. We reached Marseilles in the evening of November +sixteenth, after experiencing some weather rough enough to make me +uncomfortable, and several of the others were really seasick. I had +several hours in Paris, which was reached early the next day, and the +United States consulate and the Louvre, the national museum of France, +were visited. From Paris I went to London by way of Dieppe and New +Haven. I left summer weather in Egypt, and found that winter was on hand +in France and England. London was shrouded in a fog. I went back to my +friends at Twynholm, and made three addresses on Lord's day, and spoke +again on Monday night. I sailed from Liverpool for New York on the _SS. +Cedric_ November twenty-third. We were in the harbor at Queenstown, +Ireland, the next day, and came ashore at the New York custom house on +the second of December. The _Cedric_ was then the second largest ship in +the world, being seven hundred feet long and seventy-five feet broad. +She carries a crew of three hundred and forty, and has a capacity for +over three thousand passengers. On this trip she carried one thousand +three hundred and thirty-six, and the following twenty classes of people +were represented: Americans, English, French, German, Danes, Norwegians, +Roumanians, Spanish, Arabs, Japanese, Negroes, Greeks, Russian Jews, +Fins, Swedes, Austrians, Armenians, Poles, Irish, and Scotch. A great +stream of immigrants is continually pouring into the country at this +point. Twelve thousand were reported as arriving in one day, and a +recent paper contains a note to the effect that the number arriving in +June will exceed eighty thousand, as against fifty thousand in June +of last year. "The character of the immigrants seems to grow steadily +worse." + +My traveling companion from Port Said to Marseilles and from Liverpool +to New York was Solomon Elia, who had kindly shown me through the +Israelite Alliance School in Jerusalem. I reached Philadelphia the same +day the ship landed in New York, but was detained there with brethren +on account of a case of quinsy. I reached home on the fourteenth of +December, after an absence of five months and three days, in which +time I had seen something of fourteen foreign countries, having a very +enjoyable and profitable trip. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. + + +This section of country has been known by several names. It has been +called the "Land of Canaan," the "Land of Israel," the "Land of +Promise," the "Land of the Hebrews," and the "Holy Land." Canaan was +simply the country between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, extending +from Mt. Lebanon on the north to the Desert of Arabia on the south. Dan +was in the extreme northern part, and Beer-sheba lay in the southern end +of the country, one hundred and thirty-nine miles distant. The average +width of the land is about forty miles, and the total area is in the +neighborhood of six thousand miles. "It is not in size or physical +characteristics proportioned to its moral and historical position as the +theater of the most momentous events in the world's history." Palestine, +the land occupied by the twelve tribes, included the Land of Canaan and +a section of country east of the Jordan one hundred miles long and about +twenty-five miles wide, occupied by Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of +Manasseh. The Land of Promise was still more extensive, reaching +from "the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates," +embracing about sixty thousand square miles, or a little less than +the five New England States. The country is easily divided into four +parallel strips. Beginning at the Mediterranean, we have the Maritime +Plain, the Mountain Region, the Jordan Valley, and the Eastern +Table-Land. + +The long stretch of lowland known as the Maritime Plain is divided +into three sections. The portion lying north of Mt. Carmel was called +Phoenicia. It varies in width from half a mile in the north to eight +miles in the south. The ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon belonged to +this section. Directly east of Mt. Carmel is the Plain of Esdraelon, +physically a part of the Maritime Plain. It is an irregular triangle, +whose sides are fourteen, sixteen, and twenty-five miles respectively, +the longest side being next to Mt. Carmel. Here Barak defeated the army +of Sisera under Jabin, and here Josiah, king of Judah, was killed in a +battle with the Egyptians under Pharaoh-necoh. + +The Plains of Sharon and Philistia, lying south of Carmel, are usually +regarded as the true Maritime Plain. Sharon extends southward from +Carmel about fifty miles, reaching a little below Jaffa, and has an +average width of eight miles. The Zerka, or Crocodile river, which +traverses this plain, is the largest stream of Palestine west of the +Jordan. There are several other streams crossing the plain from the +mountains to the sea, but they usually cease to flow in the summer +season. Joppa, Lydda, Ramleh, and Caesarea belong to this plain. Herod +the Great built Caesarea, and spent large sums of money on its palace, +temple, theater, and breakwater. + +The Plain of Philistia extends thirty or forty miles from the southern +limits of Sharon to Gaza, varying in width from twelve to twenty-five +miles. It is well watered by several streams, some of which flow all the +year. Part of the water from the mountains flows under the ground and +rises in shallow lakes near the coast. Water can easily be found here, +as also in Sharon, by digging wells, and the soil is suitable for the +culture of small grains and for pasture. During a part of the year the +plain is beautifully ornamented with a rich growth of brightly colored +flowers, a characteristic of Palestine in the wet season. + +Gaza figures in the history of Samson, who "laid hold of the doors of +the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and +all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the +mountain that is before Hebron." Ashkelon, on the coast, is connected +with the history of the Crusades. Ashdod, or Azotus, is where Philip was +found after the baptism of the eunuch. It is said that Psammetichus, +an ancient Egyptian king, captured this place after a siege of +twenty-seven years. Ekron and Gath also belonged to this plain. + +The ridge of mountains lying between the coast plain and the Jordan +valley form the backbone of the country. Here, more than elsewhere, +the Israelites made their homes, on account of the hostility of the +inhabitants in the lowlands. This ridge is a continuation of the Lebanon +range, and extends as far south as the desert. In Upper Galilee the +mountains reach an average height of two thousand eight hundred feet +above sea level, but in Lower Galilee they are a thousand feet lower. In +Samaria and Judaea they reach an altitude of two or three thousand feet. +The foot-hills, called the Shefelah, and the Negeb, or "South Country," +complete the ridge. The highest peak is Jebel Mukhmeel, in Northern +Palestine, rising ten thousand two hundred feet above the sea. Mt. +Tabor, in Galilee, is one thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet +high, while Gerizim and Ebal, down in Samaria, are two thousand eight +hundred and fifty feet and three thousand and seventy-five feet +respectively. The principal mountains in Judaea are Mt. Zion, two +thousand five hundred and fifty feet; Mt. Moriah, about one hundred feet +lower; Mount of Olives, two thousand six hundred and sixty-five feet, +and Mt. Hebron, three thousand and thirty feet. Nazareth, Shechem, +Jerusalem, and Hebron belong to the Mountain Region. + +The Jordan Valley is the lowest portion of the earth's surface. No other +depressions are more than three hundred feet below sea level, but the +Jordan is six hundred and eighty-two feet lower than the ocean at the +Sea of Galilee, and nearly thirteen hundred feet lower where it enters +the Dead Sea. This wonderful depression, which includes the Dead Sea, +forty-five miles long, and the valley south of it, one hundred miles in +length, is two hundred and fifty miles long and from four to fourteen +miles in width, and is called the Arabah. The sources of the Jordan +are one hundred and thirty-four miles from the mouth, but the numerous +windings of the stream make it two hundred miles long. The Jordan +is formed by the union of three streams issuing from springs at an +elevation of seventeen hundred feet above the sea. The principal source +is the spring at Dan, one of the largest in the world, as it sends forth +a stream twenty feet wide and from twenty to thirty inches deep. The +spring at Banias, the Caesarea Philippi of the Scriptures, is the +eastern source. The Hashbany flows from a spring forming the western +source. A few miles south of the union of the streams above mentioned +the river widens into the waters of Merom, a small lake nearly on a +level with the Mediterranean. In the next few miles it descends rapidly, +and empties into the Sea of Galilee, called also the Sea of Chinnereth, +Sea of Tiberias, and Lake of Gennesaret. In the sixty-five miles from +the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea the fall is about six hundred feet. +The rate of descent is not uniform throughout the whole course of the +river. In one section it drops sixty feet to the mile, while there is +one stretch of thirteen miles with a descent of only four and a half +feet to the mile. The average is twenty-two feet to the mile. The width +varies from eighty to one hundred and eighty feet, and the depth from +five to twelve feet. Caesarea Philippi, at the head of the valley, +Capernaum, Magdala, Tiberias, and Tarrichaea were cities on the Sea of +Galilee. Jericho and Gilgal were in the plain at the southern extremity, +and Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, upon which the wrath of God was +poured, were somewhere in the region of the Dead Sea. + +The Eastern Table-Land has a mountain wall four thousand feet high +facing the river. This table-land, which is mostly fertile, extends +eastward about twenty miles, and terminates in the Arabian Desert, which +is still higher. Here the mountains are higher and steeper than those +west of the Jordan. Mt. Hermon, in the north, is nine thousand two +hundred feet high. South of the Jarmuk River is Mt. Gilead, three +thousand feet high, and Mt. Nebo, lying east of the northern end of the +Dead Sea, reaches an elevation of two thousand six hundred and seventy +feet. Besides the Jarmuk, another stream, the Jabbok, flows into the +Jordan from this side. The Arnon empties into the Dead Sea. The northern +section was called Bashan, the middle, Gilead, and the southern part, +Moab. Bashan anciently had many cities, and numerous ruins yet remain. +In the campaign of Israel against Og, king of Bashan, sixty cities +were captured. Many events occurred in Gilead, where were situated +Jabesh-Gilead, Ramoth-Gilead, and the ten cities of the Decapolis, with +the exception of Beth-shean, which was west of the Jordan. From the +summit of Mt. Pisgah, a peak of Mt. Nebo, Moses viewed the Land +of Promise, and from these same heights Balaam looked down on the +Israelites and undertook to curse them, Moab lies south of the Arnon +and east of the Dead Sea. In the time of a famine, an Israelite, named +Elimelech, with his wife and sons, sojourned in this land. After the +death of Elimelech and both of his sons, who had married in the land, +Naomi returned to Bethlehem, accompanied by her daughter-in-law, Ruth, +the Moabitess, who came into the line of ancestry of David and of the +Lord Jesus Christ. Once, when the kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom +invaded the land, the king of Moab (when they came to Kir-hareseth, +the capital) took his oldest son, who would have succeeded him on the +throne, "and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall." At this +the invaders "departed from him and returned to their own land." + +The political geography of Palestine is so complicated that it can not +be handled in the space here available. Only a few words, applicable +to the country in New Testament times, can be said. The provinces of +Galilee, Samaria, and Judaea were on the west side of the Jordan, while +the Decapolis and Perea lay east of that river. The northern province +of Galilee, which saw most of the ministry of Jesus, extended from the +Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee, and a much greater distance from +the north to the south. It was peopled with Jews, and was probably a +much better country than is generally supposed, as it contained a large +number of cities and villages, and produced fish, oil, wheat, wine, +figs, and flax. "It was in Christ's time one of the gardens of the +world--well watered, exceedingly fertile, thoroughly cultivated, and +covered with a dense population."--_Merrill_. + +Samaria, lying south of Galilee, extended from the Mediterranean to the +Jordan, and was occupied by a mixed race, formed by the mingling of Jews +with the foreigners who had been sent into the land. When they were +disfellowshiped by the Jews, about 460 B.C., they built a temple on Mt. +Gerizim. + +The province of Judaea was the largest in Palestine, and extended from +the Mediterranean on the west to the Dead Sea and the Jordan on the +east. It was bounded on the north by Samaria, and on the south by the +desert. Although but fifty-five miles long and about thirty miles wide, +it held out against Egypt, Babylonia, and Rome. + +The Decapolis, or region of ten Gentile cities, was the northeastern +part of Palestine, extending eastward from the Jordan to the desert. +Perea lay south of the Decapolis, and east of the Jordan and Dead Sea. +The kingdom of Herod the Great, whose reign ended B.C. 4, included +all of this territory. After his death the country was divided into +tetrarchies. Archelaus ruled over Judaea and Samaria; Antipas ("Herod +the tetrarch") had control of Galilee and Perea; Philip had a section of +country east of the Sea of Galilee, and Lysanius ruled over Abilene, a +small section of country between Mt. Hermon and Damascus, not included +in the domain of Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa was made king by +Caligula, and his territory embraced all that his grandfather, Herod the +Great, had ruled over, with Abilene added, making his territory more +extensive than that of any Jewish king after Solomon. He is the "Herod +the king" who killed the Apostle James and imprisoned Peter. After +delivering an oration at Caesarea, he died a horrible death, "because +he gave not God the glory." At his death, in A.D. 44, the country was +divided into two provinces. The northern section was ruled by Herod +Agrippa II. till the Jewish State was dissolved, in A.D. 70. He was the +"King Agrippa" before whom Paul spoke. The southern part of the country, +called the province of Judaea, was ruled by procurators having their +seat at Caesarea. When Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, the country +was annexed to Syria. + +The climate depends more upon local conditions than on the latitude, +which is the same as Southern Georgia and Alabama, Jerusalem being on +the parallel of Savannah. In point of temperature it is about the same +as these localities, but in other respects it differs much. The year has +two seasons--the dry, lasting from the first of April to the first of +November, and the rainy season, lasting the other five months, during +which time there are copious rains. One authority says: "Were the old +cisterns cleaned and mended, and the beautiful tanks and aqueducts +repaired, the ordinary fall of rain would be quite sufficient for the +wants of the inhabitants and for irrigation." The summers are hot, the +winters mild. Snow sometimes falls, but does not last long, and ice is +seldom formed. + +Palestine is not a timbered country. The commonest oak is a low, scrubby +bush. The "cedars of Lebanon" have almost disappeared. The carob +tree, white poplar, a thorn bush, and the oleander are found in some +localities. The principal fruit-bearing trees are the fig, olive, date +palm, pomegranate, orange, and lemon. Grapes, apples, apricots, quinces, +and other fruits also grow here. Wheat, barley, and a kind of corn are +raised, also tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, and tobacco. The ground +is poorly cultivated with inferior tools, and the grain is tramped out +with cattle, as in the long ago. + +Sheep and goats are the most numerous domestic animals, a peculiarity of +the sheep being the extra large "fat tail" (Lev. 3:9), a lump of pure +fat from ten to fifteen inches long and from three to five inches thick. +Cattle, camels, horses, mules, asses, dogs and chickens are kept. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +HISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE. + + +In the ancient Babylonian city called Ur of the Chaldees lived the +patriarch Terah, who was the father of three sons, Abram, Nahor, and +Haran. Lot was the son of Haran, who died in Ur. Terah, accompanied by +Abram, Sarai, and Lot, started for "the land of Canaan," but they "came +unto Haran and dwelt there," "and Terah died in Haran." "Now Jehovah +said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and +from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will +make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name +great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, +and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the +families of the earth be blessed." So Abram, Sarai, and Lot came into +the land of Canaan about 2300 B.C., and dwelt first at Shechem, but "he +removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched +his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east." Abram did not +remain here, but journeyed to the south, and when a famine came, he +entered Egypt. Afterwards he returned to the southern part of Canaan, +and still later he returned "unto the place where his tent had been at +the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. * * * And Lot also, who went with +Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents." On account of some discord +between the herdsmen of the two parties, "Abram said unto Lot, Let there +be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my +herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren." Accepting his uncle's +proposition, Lot chose the well watered Plain of the Jordan, "journeyed +east," "and moved his tent as far as Sodom," but "Abram moved his tent, +and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron." + +Some time after this Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, entered the region +occupied by Lot, and overcame the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, +Zeboiim, and Bela, carrying away the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, +"and they took Lot * * * and his goods." "And there came one that had +escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew," who "led forth his trained men, +born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as +Dan." As a result of this hasty pursuit, Abram "brought back all the +goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the +women also, and the people." "The king of Sodom went out to meet" Abram +after his great victory, and offered him the goods for his services, +but the offer was refused. Abram was also met by "Melchizedek, king of +Salem," who "brought forth bread and wine," and "blessed him." Before +his death, the first Hebrew saw the smoke from Sodom and Gomorrah going +up "as the smoke of a furnace," and he also passed through the severe +trial of sacrificing his son Isaac. At the age of one hundred and +seventy-five "the father of the faithful" "gave up the ghost, and died +in a good old age, an old man and full of years, * * * and Isaac and +Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah," at Hebron, where +Sarah had been laid to rest when the toils and cares of life were over. + +From Abraham, through Ishmael, descended the Ishmaelites; through +Midian, the Midianites; and through Isaac, the chosen people, called +Israelites, from Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. The +interesting story of Joseph tells how his father and brothers, with +their families, were brought into Egypt at the time of a famine, where +they grew from a few families to a great nation, capable of maintaining +an army of more than six hundred thousand men. A new king, "who knew +not Joseph," came on the throne, and after a period of oppression, the +exodus took place, about 1490 B.C., the leader being Moses, a man eighty +years of age. At his death, after forty years of wandering in the +wilderness, Joshua became the leader of Israel, and they crossed the +Jordan at Gilgal, a few miles north of the Dead Sea, capturing Jericho +in a peculiar manner. Two other incidents in the life of Joshua may +be mentioned here. One was his victory over the Amorites in the +neighborhood of Gibeon and Beth-horon, where more were slain by the +hailstones which Jehovah cast down upon them than were killed by Israel +with the sword. It was on this occasion that Joshua said: "Sun, stand +thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And +the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged +themselves of their enemies. * * * And there was no day like that before +or after it." The other event is the complete victory of Israel over the +immense army of Jabin, king of Hazor, fought at the Waters of Merom, in +Galilee. The combined forces of Jabin and several confederate kings, +"even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses +and chariots very many," were utterly destroyed. Then came the allotment +of the territory west of the Jordan to the nine and a half tribes, as +Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had been assigned land east +of the river. The allotment was made by Joshua, Eleazer, the priest, +"and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of +Israel." + +The period of the Judges, extending from Joshua to Saul, over three +hundred years, was a time in which Israel was troubled by several +heathen tribes, including the Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites, +Amalekites, and Canaanites. The most troublesome of all were the +Philistines, who "were repulsed by Shamgar and harassed by Samson," but +they continued their hostility, capturing the Ark of the Covenant in the +days of Eli, and finally bringing Israel so completely under their power +that they had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their tools. + +The cry was raised: "Make us a king to judge us, like all the nations." +Although this was contrary to the will of God, and amounted to rejecting +the Lord, the Almighty gave directions for making Saul king, when the +rebellious Israelites "refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel," and +said: "Nay, but we will have a king over us." Two important events in +Saul's reign are the battle of Michmash and the war with Amalek. In the +first instance a great host of Philistines were encamped at Michmash, +and Saul, with his army, was at Gilgal. Samuel was to come and offer a +sacrifice, but did not arrive at the appointed time, and the soldiers +deserted, till Saul's force numbered only about six hundred. In his +strait, the king offered the burnt offering himself, and immediately +Samuel appeared, heard his explanation, and declared: "Thou hast done +foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God. * * +* Now thy kingdom shall not continue." Saul's loyalty to God was again +tested in the affair with Amalek, and his disobedience in sparing Agag +and the best of the cattle and sheep should be better known and more +heeded than it is. Concerning this, the prophet of God chastised him, +saying: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken +than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and +stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the +word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king." The dark +picture of Saul's doings is here and there relieved by the unadulterated +love of Jonathan and David, "which, like the glintings of the diamond in +the night," takes away some of the deepest shadows. + +The next king, Jesse's ruddy-faced shepherd boy, was anointed by Samuel +at Bethlehem, and for seven and a half years he reigned over Judah from +his capital at Hebron. Abner made Ish-bosheth, the only surviving son +of Saul, king over Israel, "and he reigned two years. But the house of +Judah followed David." Abner, who had commanded Saul's army, became +offended at the king he had made, and went to Hebron to arrange with +David to turn Israel over to him, but Joab treacherously slew him in +revenge for the blood of Asahel. It was on this occasion that David +uttered the notable words: "Know ye not that there is a prince and a +great man fallen this day in Israel?" Afterwards Rechab and Baanah slew +Ish-bosheth in his bedchamber and carried his head to David, who was so +displeased that he caused them to be killed, and their hands and feet +were cut off and hanged up by the pool in Hebron. Then the tribes of +Israel came voluntarily and made themselves the subjects of King David, +who captured Jebus, better known as Jerusalem, and moved his capital to +that city. During his reign the Philistines were again troublesome, and +a prolonged war was waged against the Ammonites. During this war David +had his record stained by his sinful conduct in the matter of Uriah's +wife. + +David was a fighting king, and his "reign was a series of trials and +triumphs." He not only subdued the Philistines, but conquered Damascus, +Moab, Ammon, and Edom, and so extended his territory from the +Mediterranean to the Euphrates that it embraced ten times as much as +Saul ruled over. But his heart was made sad by the shameful misconduct +of Amnon, followed by his death, and by the conspiracy of Absalom, the +rebellion following, and the death of this beautiful son. "The story of +David's hasty flight from Jerusalem over Olivet and across the Jordan to +escape from Absalom is touchingly sad. 'And David went up by the ascent +of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up, and he had his head +covered, and went barefoot.' Then what a picture of paternal love, +which the basest filial ingratitude could not quench, is that of David +mourning the death of Absalom, 'The king was much moved, and went up to +the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O, +my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O +Absalom, my son, my son!'" After finishing out a reign of forty years, +"the sweet singer of Israel" "slept with his fathers, and was buried in +the city of David." + +His son Solomon succeeded him on the throne, and had a peaceful reign of +forty years, during which time the Temple on Mount Moriah was erected, +being the greatest work of his reign. David had accumulated much +material for this house; Hiram, king of Tyre, furnished cedar timber +from the Lebanon mountains, and skilled workmen put up the building, +into which the Ark of the Covenant was borne. This famous structure was +not remarkable for its great size, but for the splendid manner in which +it was adorned with gold and other expensive materials. Israel's wisest +monarch was a man of letters, being the author of three thousand +proverbs and a thousand and five songs. His wisdom exceeded that of all +his contemporaries, "and all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to +hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart." A case in point is the +visit of the Queen of Sheba, who said: "The half was not told me; thy +wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard." But the glory of +his kingdom did not last long. "It dazzled for a brief space, like the +blaze of a meteor, and then vanished away." Nehemiah says there was no +king like him, "nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin." + +Solomon's reign ended about 975 B C., and his son, Rehoboam, was +coronated at Shechem. Jereboam, the son of Nebat, whose name is +proverbial for wickedness, returned from Egypt, whence he had fled from +Solomon, and asked the new king to make the grievous service of his +father lighter, promising to support him on that condition. Rehoboam +counseled "with the old men, that had stood before Solomon," and refused +their words, accepting the counsel of the young men that had grown up +with him. When he announced that he would make the yoke of his father +heavier, the ten northern tribes revolted, and Jereboam became king of +what is afterwards known as the house of Israel. The kingdom lasted +about two hundred and fifty years, being ruled over by nineteen kings, +but the government did not run smoothly. "Plot after plot was formed, +and first one adventurer and then another seized the throne." Besides +the internal troubles, there were numerous wars. Benhadad, of Damascus, +besieged Samaria; Hazael, king of Syria, overran the land east of the +Jordan; Moab rebelled; Pul (Tiglath-pileser), king of Assyria, invaded +the country, and carried off a large amount of tribute, probably +amounting to two millions of dollars; and thirty years later he entered +the land and carried away many captives. At a later date the people +became idolatrous, and Shalmaneser, an Assyrian king, reduced them to +subjection, and carried numbers of them into Assyria, and replaced them +with men from Babylon and other places. By the intermarriage of Jews +remaining in the country with these foreigners a mixed race, called +Samaritans, sprang up. + +The southern section of the country, known as the kingdom of Judah, was +ruled over by nineteen kings and one queen for a period of about three +hundred and seventy-five years. Asa, one of the good kings, was a +religious reformer--even "his mother he removed from being queen, +because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut +down her image and burnt it at the brook Kidron." But he, like many +other reformers, failed to make his work thorough, for "the high places +were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with +Jehovah all his days." Joash caused a chest to be placed "at the gate of +the house of Jehovah," into which the people put "the tax that Moses, +the servant of God, laid upon Israel in the wilderness," until they +had gathered an abundance of money, with which the house of God was +repaired, for the wicked sons of Athaliah had broken it up and bestowed +the dedicated things upon the Baalim. But after the death of Jehoida, +the priest, Joash was himself led into idolatry, and when Zechariah, the +son of Jehoida, rebuked the people for turning from God, they stoned him +to death by the order of King Joash. The last words of the dying +martyr were: "The Lord look upon it and require it." This is strangely +different from the last expression of Stephen, who "kneeled down, and +cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." +Amaziah returned "from the slaughter of the Edomites," and set up the +gods of the idolatrous enemies he had whipped, "to be his gods." Ahaz +was a wicked idolater, worshiping Baal and sacrificing his own sons. + +In strong contrast with such men as these we have the name of +Hezekiah, whose prosperous reign was a grand period of reformation and +improvement. He was twenty-five years old when he came on the throne, +and in the twenty-nine years he ruled, "he removed the high places, and +brake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah." The brazen serpent, +made by Moses in the wilderness, had become an object of worship, but +Hezekiah called it "a piece of brass," and broke it in pieces. The +passover had not been kept "in great numbers in such sort as it is +written," so Hezekiah sent messengers from city to city to call the +people to observe the passover. Some "laughed them to scorn, and mocked +them," but others "humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem," and in +the second month the "very great assembly * * * killed the passover. * * +* So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the +son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem." + +Manasseh, the next king, reëstablished idolatry, and his son Amon, +who ruled but two years, followed in his footsteps. Josiah, who next +occupied the throne, was a different kind of a man. "He did that which +was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his +father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." In his +reign, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the temple, and +delivered it to Shaphan the scribe, who read it, and took it to the king +and read it to him. "And it came to pass when the king heard the words +of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes," and commanded that +inquiry be made of the Lord concerning the contents of the book. As a +result, the temple was cleansed of the vessels that had been used in +Baal worship, the idolatrous priests were put down, the "houses of the +sodomites," that were in the house of Jehovah, were broken down, the +high places erected by Solomon were defiled, and a great reformation was +worked. + +Zedekiah was the last king in the line. In his day, Nebuchadnezzar, king +of Babylon, invaded the land, and besieged Jerusalem for sixteen months, +reducing the people to such straits that women ate the flesh of their +own children. When the city fell, a portion of the inhabitants were +carried to Babylon, and the furnishings of the temple were taken away +as plunder. Zedekiah, with his family, sought to escape, going out +over Olivet as David in his distress had done, but he was captured and +carried to Riblah, thirty-five miles north of Baalbec, where his sons +were slain in his presence. Then his eyes were put out, and he was +carried to Babylon. In this way were fulfilled the two prophecies, that +he should be taken to Babylon, and that he should not see it. + +Thus, with Jerusalem a mass of desolate, forsaken ruins, the Babylonian +period was ushered in. Some of the captives rose to positions of trust +in the Babylonian government. Daniel and his three associates are +examples. During this period Ezekiel was a prophet. No doubt the frame +of mind of most of them is well expressed by the Psalmist: "By the +rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept when we remembered +Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps." + +The Medo-Persian period began with the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, who +brought the Jews under his rule. The captives were permitted to return +to Palestine, and Zerubbabel soon had the foundations of the temple +laid; but here the work came to a standstill, and so remained for +seventeen years. About 520 B.C., when Darius was king of Persia, the +work was resumed, and carried on to completion. For some years the +service of God seems to have been conducted in an unbecoming manner. +Nehemiah came upon the stage of action, rebuilt the city walls, required +the observance of the Sabbath, and served as governor twelve years +without pay. Ezra brought back a large number of the people, repaired +the temple, and worked a great reformation. Under his influence, those +who had married foreign wives put them away, and "some had wives by whom +they had children." As the Samaritans were not allowed to help build the +temple, they erected one of their own on Mt Gerizim. A few Samaritans +still exist in Nablus, and hold services on Gerizim. "After Nehemiah, +the office of civil ruler seems to have become extinct." + +The Greek period begins with the operations of Alexander the Great in +Asia, 333 B.C., and extends to the time of the Maccabees, 168 B.C. After +Alexander's death, his empire fell into the two great divisions of Egypt +and Syria. The Egyptian rulers were called Ptolemies, and those of +Syria were called the Selucidae. For one hundred and twenty-five years +Palestine was held by Egypt, during which time Ptolemy Philadelphus had +the Septuagint version of the Old Testament made at Alexandria. +Syria next secured control of Palestine. The walls of Jerusalem were +destroyed, and the altar of Jehovah was polluted with swine's flesh. We +now hear of an aged priest named Mattathias, who at Modin, a few miles +from Jerusalem, had the courage to kill a Jew who was about to sacrifice +on a heathen altar. He escaped to the mountains, where he was joined by +a number of others of the same mind. His death soon came, but he left +five stalwart sons like himself. Judas, called Maccabeus, became the +leader, and from him the whole family was named the Maccabees. He began +war against the Syrians and apostate Jews. The Syrians, numbering fifty +thousand, took up a position at Emmaus, while the Maccabees encamped at +Mizpah. Although greatly outnumbered, they were victorious, as they +were in another engagement with sixty thousand Syrians at Hebron. Judas +entered Jerusalem, and repaired and cleansed the temple. Thus the +Maccabean period was ushered in. After some further fighting, Judas +was slain, and Simon, the only surviving brother, succeeded him, and +Jerusalem was practically independent. His son, John Hyrcanus, was the +next ruler. The Pharisees and Sadducees now come prominently into Jewish +affairs. The Essenes also existed at this time, and dressed in white. +After some time (between 65-62 B.C.), Pompey, the Roman general, entered +the open gates of the city, but did not capture the citadel for three +weeks, finally taking advantage of the day of Pentecost, when the Jews +would not fight. The Roman period began with the slaughter of twelve +thousand citizens. Priests were slain at the altar, and the temple was +profaned. Judaea became a Roman province, and was compelled to pay +tribute. + +Herod the Great became governor of Galilee, and later the Roman senate +made him king of Judaea. He besieged Jerusalem, and took it in 37 B.C. +"A singular compound of good and bad--mostly bad--was this King Herod." +He hired men to drown a supposed rival, as if in sport, at Jericho +on the occasion of a feast, and in the beginning of his reign he +slaughtered more than half of the members of the Sanhedrin. The aged +high priest Hyrcanus was put to death, as was also Mariamne, the wife +of this monster, who was ruling when the Messiah was born at Bethlehem. +Herod was a great builder, and it was he who reconstructed the temple on +magnificent lines. He also built Caesarea, and rebuilt Samaria. After +his death, the country was divided and ruled by his three sons. Achelaus +reigned ingloriously in Jerusalem for ten years, and was banished. +Judaea was then ruled by procurators, Pilate being the fifth one of +them, ruling from A.D. 26-36. In the year A.D. 65 the Jews rebelled +against the Romans, after being their subjects for one hundred and +twenty-two years. They were not subdued until the terrible destruction +of the Holy City in A.D. 70, when, according to Josephus, one million +one hundred thousand Jews perished in the siege, two hundred and +fifty-six thousand four hundred and fifty were slain elsewhere, and one +hundred and one thousand seven hundred prisoners were sold into bondage. +The Temple was completely destroyed along with the city, which for sixty +years "lay in ruins so complete that it is doubtful whether there was a +single house that could be used as a residence." The land was annexed to +Syria, and ceased to be a Jewish country. Hadrian became emperor in A.D. +117, and issued an edict forbidding the Jews to practice circumcision, +read the law, or to observe the Sabbath. These things greatly distressed +the Jews, and in A.D. 132 they rallied to the standard of Bar Cochba, +who has been styled "the last and greatest of the false Messiahs." The +Romans were overthrown, Bar Cochba proclaimed himself king in Jerusalem, +and carried on the war for two years. At one time he held fifty towns, +but they were all taken from him, and he was finally killed at Bether, +or Bittir. This was the last effort of the Jews to recover the land by +force of arms. Hadrian caused the site of the temple to be plowed over, +and the city was reconstructed being made thoroughly pagan. For two +hundred years the Jews were forbidden to enter it. In A.D. 326 the +Empress Helena visited Jerusalem, and built a church on the Mount of +Olives. Julian the Apostate undertook to rebuild the Jewish temple in +A.D. 362, but was frustrated by "balls of fire" issuing from under +the ruins and frightening the workmen. In A.D. 529 the Greek emperor +Justinian built a church in the city in honor of the Virgin. The +Persians under Chosroes II. invaded Palestine in A.D. 614 and destroyed +part of Jerusalem. After fourteen years they were defeated and Jerusalem +was restored, but the Mohammedans under Omar captured it in A.D. 637. +The structure called the Dome of the Rock, on Mt. Moriah, was built by +them in A.D. 688. + +The Crusades next engage our attention. The first of these military +expeditions was made to secure the right to visit the Holy Sepulcher. It +was commenced at the call of the Pope in 1096. A force of two hundred +and seventy-five thousand men began the march, but never entered +Palestine. Another effort was made by six hundred thousand men, who +captured Antioch in 1098. A little later the survivors defeated the +Mohammedan army of two hundred thousand. Still later they entered +Jerusalem, and Godfrey of Bouillon was made king of the city in 1099. By +conquest he came to rule the whole of Palestine. The orders of Knights +Hospitallers and Knights Templars were formed, and Godfrey continued in +power about fifty years. In 1144 two European armies, aggregating one +million two hundred thousand men, started on the second crusade, which +was a total failure. Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, conquered Jerusalem +in 1187, and the third crusade was inaugurated, which resulted in +securing the right to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem free from taxes. The +power of the Crusaders was now broken. Another band assembled at +Venice in 1203 to undertake the fourth crusade, but they never entered +Palestine. The fifth effort was made, and Frederick, Emperor of Germany, +crowned himself king of Jerusalem in 1229, and returned to his native +land the next year. The Turks conquered Palestine in 1244 and burned +Jerusalem. Louis IX. of France led the seventh crusade, another failure, +in 1248. He undertook it again in 1270, but went to Africa, and Prince +Edward of England entered Palestine in 1271 and accepted a truce for ten +years, which was offered by the Sultan of Egypt. This, the eighth and +last crusade, ended in 1272 by the return of Edward to England. In 1280 +Palestine was invaded by the Mamelukes, and in 1291 the war of the +Crusaders ended with the fall of Acre, "the last Christian possession in +Palestine." Besides these efforts there were children's crusades for the +conversion or conquest of the Moslems. The first, in 1212, was composed +of thirty thousand boys. Two ship loads were drowned and the third was +sold as slaves to the Mohammedans. + +In 1517 the country passed to the control of the Ottoman Empire, and so +remained until 1832, when it fell back to Egypt for eight years. The +present walls around Jerusalem, which inclose two hundred and ten acres +of ground, were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1542. In 1840 +Palestine again became Turkish territory, and so continues to this day. +The really scientific exploration of the land began with the journey +of Edward Robinson, an American, in 1838. In 1856 the United States +Consulate was established in Jerusalem, and twelve governments are now +represented by consulates. Sir Charles Wilson created an interest in the +geography of Palestine by his survey of Jerusalem and his travels in +the Holy Land from 1864 to 1868. Palestine was surveyed from Dan to +Beer-sheba and from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the years from 1872 +to 1877. The Siloam inscription, the "only known relic of the writing * +* * of Hezekiah's days," was discovered in 1880. The railroad from Jaffa +to Jerusalem was opened in 1892. Within the last ten years several +carriage roads have been built. Protestant schools and missions have +been established at many important places. The population of the city is +now about fifty-five thousand souls, but they do not all live inside of +the walls. What the future of Palestine may be is an interesting subject +for thought. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN GREAT BRITAIN. + + +No doubt many of my readers will be specially interested in knowing +something of my experience and association with the brethren across the +sea, and it is my desire to give them as fair an understanding of the +situation as I can. There are five congregations in Glasgow, having a +membership of six hundred and seventy-eight persons. The oldest one of +these, which formerly met in Brown Street and now meets in Shawlands +Hall, was formed in 1839, and has one hundred and sixty-one members. The +Coplaw Street congregation, which branched from Brown Street, and is now +the largest of the five, dates back to 1878, and numbers two hundred and +nineteen. It was my privilege to attend one of the mid-week services of +this congregation and speak to those present on that occasion. I also +met some of the brethren in Edinburgh, where two congregations have a +membership of two hundred and fifty-three. At Kirkcaldy, the home of my +worthy friend and brother, Ivie Campbell, Jr., there is a congregation +of one hundred and seventy disciples, which I addressed one Lord's day +morning. In the evening I went out with Brother and Sister Campbell and +another brother to Coaltown of Balgonie, and addressed the little band +worshiping at that place. + +My next association with the brethren was at the annual meeting of +"Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland," convened at Wigan, +England, August second, third, and fourth. While at Wigan I went out to +Platt Bridge and spoke to the brethren. There are ninety members in this +congregation. One night in Birmingham I met with the brethren in Charles +Henry Street, where the congregation, formed in 1857, numbers two +hundred and seventy-four, and the next night I was with the Geach Street +congregation, which has been in existence since 1865, and numbers +two hundred and twenty-nine members. Bro. Samuel Joynes, now of +Philadelphia, was formerly connected with this congregation. While I was +in Bristol it was my pleasure to meet with the Thrissell Street church, +composed of one hundred and thirty-one members. I spoke once in their +place of worship and once in a meeting on the street. The last band of +brethren I was with while in England was the church at Twynholm, London. +This is the largest congregation of all, and will receive consideration +later in the chapter. The next place that I broke bread was in a little +mission to the Jews in the Holy City. To complete a report of my public +speaking while away, I will add that I preached in Mr. Thompson's +tabernacle in Jerusalem, and spoke a few words on one or both of the +Lord's days at the mission to which reference has already been made. I +also spoke in a mission meeting conducted by Mr. Locke at Port Said, +Egypt, preached once on the ship as I was coming back across the +Atlantic, and took part in a little debate on shipboard as I went out on +the journey, and in an entertainment the night before I got back to New +York. + +In this chapter I am taking my statistics mainly from the Year Book +containing the fifty-ninth annual report of the churches in Great +Britain and Ireland co-operating for evangelistic purposes, embracing +almost all of the congregations of disciples in the country. According +to this report, there were one hundred and eighty-three congregations on +the list, with a total membership of thirteen thousand and sixty-three, +at the time of the annual meeting last year. + +(Since writing this chapter, the sixtieth annual report of these +brethren across the sea has come into my hands, and the items in this +paragraph are taken mainly from the address of Bro. John Wyckliffe +Black, as chairman of the annual meeting which assembled in August of +this year at Leeds. The membership is now reported at thirteen thousand +eight hundred and forty-four, an increase of about eight hundred members +since the meeting held at Wigan in 1904. In 1842 the British brotherhood +numbered thirteen hundred, and in 1862 it had more than doubled. After +the lapse of another period of twenty years, the number had more than +doubled again, standing at six thousand six hundred and thirty-two. +In 1902, when twenty years more had passed, the membership had almost +doubled again, having grown to twelve thousand five hundred and +thirty-seven. In 1842 the average number of members in each congregation +was thirty-one; in 1862 it was forty; in 1882 it had reached sixty-one; +and in 1902 it was seventy-two. The average number in each congregation +is now somewhat higher than it was in 1902.) + +Soon after the meeting was convened on Tuesday, "the Conference +recognised the presence of Mrs. Hall and Miss Jean Hall, of Sydney, +N.S.W., and Brother Don Carlos Janes, from Ohio, U.S.A., and cordially +gave them a Christian welcome." The address of welcome and the address +of the chairman, Brother James Anderson, of Fauldhouse, Scotland, came +early in the day. The meeting on Wednesday opened with worship and a +short address, followed by reports from the General Sunday-school, +Reference, General Training, and Magazine Committees. One interesting +feature of the proceedings of this day was the conference paper by Bro. +T.J. Ainsworth on the subject of "The Relation of Christianity to the +Social Questions of the Day." Besides a discussion of this paper, there +was a preaching service at night. Thursday, the last day of the meeting, +was occupied, after the morning worship and short address, with the +reports of committees and the appointment of committees. At the social +meeting at night several brethren, who had been previously selected, +spoke on such subjects as seemed good to them. Bro. W.A. Kemp, of +Melbourne, Australia, and the writer were the only speakers not +residents of the British Isles. At the close of the meeting the +following beautiful hymn was sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne": + + Hail, sweetest, dearest tie, that binds + Our glowing hearts in one; + Hail, sacred hope, that tunes our minds + To harmony divine. + It is the hope, the blissful hope + Which Jesus' words afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of life with Christ the Lord. + + What though the northern wintry blast + Shall howl around our cot? + What though beneath an eastern sun + Be cast our distant lot? + Yet still we share the blissful hope + His cheering words afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of glory with the Lord. + + From Burmah's shores, from Afric's strand, + From India's burning plain, + From Europe, from Columbia's land, + We hope to meet again. + Oh, sweetest hope, oh, blissful hope, + Which His own truth affords-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + We still shall be the Lord's. + + No lingering look, no parting sigh, + Our future meeting knows; + There friendship beams from every eye, + And love immortal glows. + Oh, sacred hope, the blissful hope, + His love and truth afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of reigning with the Lord. + +I am not willing to accept everything done in the annual meeting, but +the hearty good will manifested and the pleasant and happy associations +enjoyed make it in those respects very commendable. These brethren +are very systematic and orderly in their work. Some one, who has been +designated beforehand, takes charge of the meeting, and everything moves +along nicely. When a visiting brother comes in, he is recognized and +made use of, but they do not turn the meeting over to him and +depend upon him to conduct it. The president of the Lord's day morning +meeting and part or all of the officers sit together on the platform. +The following is the order of procedure in one of the meetings which +I attended: After singing a hymn and offering prayer, the brother +presiding announced the reading lessons from both Testaments, at the +same time naming two brethren who would read these scriptures. After +they had come forward and read the lessons before the church, another +hymn was sung, and certain definite objects of prayer were mentioned +before the congregation again engaged in that part of the worship. Two +prayers were offered, followed by the announcements, after which a +brother delivered an address. Then the president made mention of the +visitors present, and an old gentleman from the platform extended "the +right hand of fellowship" to some new members before the contribution +was taken and the Lord's supper observed, a hymn being sung between +these two items. A concluding hymn and prayer closed the service, which +had been well conducted, without discord or confusion. + +A brother in Wigan gave me a statement of the work of one of the +congregations there in the winter season. On the Lord's day they have +school at 9:20 A.M. and at 2 P.M.; breaking the bread at 10:30 A.M., and +preaching the gospel at 6:30 P.M. At this evening meeting the Lord's +table is again spread for the benefit of servants and others who were +not able to be at the morning service. This is a common practice. The +young people's social and improvement class meets on Monday evening, a +meeting for prayer and a short address is held on Tuesday evening, and +the Band of Hope, a temperance organization for young people, meets +on Wednesday evening. The singing class uses Thursday night, and the +officers of the church sometimes have a meeting on Friday night. + +During the life of Bro. Timothy Coop much money was spent in an effort +to build up along the lines adopted by the innovators here in America. +Bro. Coop visited this country, and was well pleased with the operations +of the congregations that had adopted the modern methods, and he was +instrumental in having some American evangelists to go to England, and +a few churches were started. I was told that there are about a dozen +congregations of these disciples, called "American brethren" by the +other English disciples, with a membership of about two thousand, and +that it is a waning cause. + +The rank and file of these British brethren are more conservative than +the innovators here at home, but they have moved forward somewhat in +advance of the churches here contending for apostolic simplicity in +certain particulars. A few of the congregations use a musical +instrument in gospel meetings and Sunday-school services, and some have +organizations such as the Band of Hope and the Dorcas Society. The +organization of the annual meeting is said to be only advisory. The +following lines, a portion of a resolution of the annual meeting of 1861 +will help the reader to form an idea of the purpose and nature of the +organization: "That this Coöperation shall embrace such of the Churches +contending for the primitive faith and order as shall willingly be +placed upon the list of Churches printed in its Annual Report. That the +Churches thus coöperating disavow any intention or desire to recognize +themselves as a denomination, or to limit their fellowship to the +Churches thus coöperating; but, on the contrary, they avow it both a +duty and a pleasure to visit, receive, and coöperate with Christian +Churches, without reference to their taking part in the meetings and +efforts of this Coöperation. Also, that this Coöperation has for its +object evangelization only, and disclaims all power to settle matters of +discipline, or differences between brethren or Churches; that if in any +instance it should see fit to refuse to insert in or to remove from the +List any Church or company of persons claiming to be a Church, it shall +do so only in reference to this Coöperation, leaving each and every +Church to judge for itself, and to recognize and fellowship as it may +understand the law of the Lord to require." + +The question of delegate voting with a view to making the action of the +annual meeting more weighty with the congregations was discussed at the +Wigan meeting, but was voted down, although it had numerous advocates. +One of the brethren, in speaking of the use of instrumental music in the +singing, said they try not to use it when they worship the Lord, but I +consider the use they make of it is unscriptural, and it puts the church +in great danger of having the innovation thrust into all the services at +some future time. All of these churches could learn a valuable lesson +from some of our home congregations that have been rent asunder by the +unholy advocacy of innovations. + +But there are some very commendable things about these brethren. I +noticed careful attention being given to the public reading of the +Scriptures, and the congregation joins heartily in the singing. I am +informed that every member takes part in the contribution without +exception. They do not take contributions from visitors and children who +are not disciples. The talent in the congregation is well developed. In +this they are far ahead of us. While there are not many giving their +whole time to evangelistic work, there are many who are acceptable +speakers. One brother said they probably have a preacher for each +twenty-five members. Men heavily involved in business take time to +attend the meetings. For instance, one brother, who is at the head of a +factory employing about a thousand people, and is interested in mining +and in the manufacture of brick besides, is an active member of the +congregation with which he worships. The brethren in general are +faithful in the matter of being present at the breaking of bread. When +visiting brethren come in, they are given a public welcome, and are +sometimes pointed out to the congregation. Also, when brethren return +from a vacation or other prolonged absence, they are given a welcome. + +They pray much. The week-night meeting for prayer and study of the Bible +is largely taken up with prayer. I like the way they point out definite +objects of prayer. For instance, two sisters are leaving for Canada; +some one is out of employment, and some have lost friends by death. +These matters are mentioned, and some one is called on to lead the +prayer, and these points are included in his petition to the Lord. +Sometimes but one brother is asked to lead in prayer; sometimes more +than one are designated, and at other times they leave it open for some +one to volunteer. The following hymn was sung in one of these meetings +which I attended: + + LET US PRAY. + + Come, let us pray; 'tis sweet to feel + That God himself is near; + That, while we at his footstool kneel, + His mercy deigns to hear; + Though sorrows crowd life's dreary way, + This is our solace--let us pray. + + Come, let us pray; the burning brow, + The heart oppressed with care, + And all the woes that throng us now, + May be relieved by prayer; + Jesus can smile our griefs away; + Oh, glorious thought! come, let us pray. + + Come, let us pray; the mercy-seat + Invites the fervent prayer, + And Jesus ready stands to greet + The contrite spirit there; + Oh, loiter not, nor longer stay + From him who loves us; let us pray. + +They do not publish as many papers as we do, but have one weekly +journal, the _Bible Advocate_, edited by Bro. L. Oliver, of Birmingham, +which has a general circulation, reaching almost four thousand copies. +One feature of the paper last summer was the publication of the Life of +Elder John Smith as a serial. The colored covers of the _Bible Advocate_ +contain a long list of the hours and places of worship of congregations +in different parts of the country, and even outside of the British Isles +in some cases. In some instances the local congregation publishes a +paper of its own, affording a good medium through which to advertise the +meetings and to keep distant brethren informed of the work that is being +done, as well as to teach the truth of God. + +A book room is maintained in Birmingham, where the British and American +publications may be purchased. They were using a hymn-book (words only) +of their own and a tune-book published by others, but a new hymnbook was +under consideration when I was among them last year. A list of isolated +members is kept, and persons elected by the annual meeting conduct a +correspondence with these brethren. The following are extracts from some +of the letters received in reply to those that had been sent out: "I am +hoping that the day will come when I can leave this district and get to +one where I can have the fellowship of my brethren; but meanwhile I am +glad and thankful to be held in remembrance of my brethren and to be on +your list, and I pray God to help your work, for I have still hope in +Him, and know He has not given me up." Another brother says: "Though I +can not say that I have anything important or cheering to write, yet I +can say that I am rejoicing in the salvation of God, which is in Christ +Jesus our Lord. My isolation from regular church fellowship has been +so long that I have almost given up the hope of enjoying it again in +Arbroath; but still my prayer is that the Lord would raise up some here +or send some here who know the truth, and who love the Lord with their +whole heart, and would be able and willing to declare unto the people +the whole counsel of God concerning the way of salvation." A Sisters' +Conference was held in connection with the annual meeting, and a +Temperance Conference and Meeting was held on Monday before the annual +meeting opened. + +Missionary work is being carried on in Burmah, Siam, and South Africa. +In Burmah some attention has been given to translating and publishing a +part of the Psalms in one of the languages of that country. "Much +time has been spent in the villages by systematic visitation, by +the distribution of literature, and by seizing upon any and every +opportunity of speaking to the people. Street meetings have been +constantly held, visitors received on the boat, the gospel preached from +the Mission-boat to the people sitting on the banks of the river, and +also proclaimed to the people in their homes, in the villages, and in +the fields, and on the fishing stations. Although there were but two +baptisms during the year the congregation numbers fifty-one." The +brethren in Siam were working where the rivers, numerous canals, and +creeks form the chief roadways. The Year Book contains the following +concerning the medical missionary in this field: "His chief work during +the year has been rendering such help as his short medical training has +fitted him to give. For a time twelve to twenty patients a day came +to him for treatment. After a while the numbers fell off, he thought +because all the sick in the neighborhood had been cured." "The little +church in Nakon Choom * * * now consists of two Karens, one Burman, +one Mon, two Chinamen, and two Englishmen. As several of these do not +understand the others' language, the gift of tongues would seem not +undesirable." In South Africa there are congregations at Johannesburg, +Pretoria, Bulawayo, Cape Town, and Carolina. The church in Bulawayo +numbers about fifty members, nearly all of whom are natives "who are +eager learners." + +I saw more of the workings of the church at Twynholm than any other +congregation visited, as I stayed at Twynholm House while in London both +on the outward trip and as I returned home. Of the seven congregations +in this city, Twynholm is the largest, and is the largest in the British +brotherhood, having a membership of above five hundred. This church was +established in 1894 with twenty-five members, and has had a good growth. +They open the baptistery every Lord's day night, and very frequently +have occasion to use it. There were fifty-three baptisms last year, and +twenty-one others were added to the membership of the church. At the +close of a recent church year the Band of Hope numbered five hundred and +fifteen, and the Lord's day school had twelve hundred and fifty pupils +and one hundred and two teachers. I think it was one hundred and sixty +little tots I saw in one room, and down in this basement there were +about fifty more. I was told that there were more children attending +than they had accommodation for, but they disliked to turn any of them +away. The Woman's Meeting had one hundred and sixteen members; the Total +Abstinence Society, one hundred and fifty; and the membership of the +Youths' Institute and Bible Students' Class were not given. Five +thousand copies of _Joyful Tidings_, an eight-page paper, are given away +each month. The following announcement from the first page of this paper +will indicate something of the activities of this congregation: + + CHURCH OF CHRIST, + + Twynholm Assembly Hall, + Fulham Cross, S.W. + + REGULAR SERVICES AND GATHERINGS. + + + + _LORD'S DAY._ + 9:45 A.M.--Bible Students' Class. + 11:00 A.M.--Divine Worship and "The Breaking of Bread". + (Acts 2:42, etc.) + 2:45 P.M.--Lord's Day Schools. + 3:00 P.M.--Young Men's Institute. + 4:00 P.M.--Teachers' Prayer Meeting (first Lord's day in the + month). + 6:30 P.M.--_Evangelistic Service_. + 7:45 P.M.--Believers' Immersion (usually). + 8:10 P.M.--"The Breaking of Bread" (Continued). + + _MONDAY._ + 2:30 P.M.--Woman's Own Meeting. + 7:00 P.M.--Band of Hope. + 8:30 P.M.--Social Gathering for Young People (over fourteen). + 8:30 P.M.--Total Abstinence Society (last Monday night in the + month). + + _THURSDAY._ + 8:00 P.M.--Mid-week Service for Prayer, Praise, and Public + Exposition of the Word. + 9:00 P.M.--Singing Practice. + + _FRIDAY._ + 8:00 P.M.--Teachers' Preparation Class and Devotional Meeting. + (Open to all). + + + + Seat all Free and Unappropriated. + No Public Collections. + Hymn-books provided for Visitors. + +This Church of Christ earnestly pleads for the complete restoration of +the primitive Christianity of the New Testament, for the cultivation of +personal piety, and benevolence, and for loving service for Jesus the +Christ. + +Twynholm is the name given to a piece of property, originally intended +for a hotel, situated in the western part of London, at the intersection +of four streets in Fulham Cross. These streets make it a place easily +reached, and the numerous saloons make the necessity for such an +influence as emanates from a church of God very great. There is a good, +commodious audience-room at the rear, and several smaller rooms about +the premises. The front part is owned and controlled by a brother who +has a family of Christians to live there and run the restaurant on the +first floor and the lodging rooms on the two upper floors, where there +are accommodations for a few young men. Here I had a desirable room, and +was well cared for by the brother and sister who manage the house. The +restaurant is not run for profit, but to afford the people a place to +eat cheaply and to spend time without going where intoxicants are sold. +The patrons are allowed to sit at the tables and play such games as +dominoes, the aim being to counteract the evil influences of that part +of the city as far as possible. One night I attended a meeting of the +Band of Hope in a big basement room at Twynholm, where a large number +of small children were being taught to pray, and were receiving good +instruction along the line of temperance. Several older persons were on +duty to preserve order among these children, many of whom had doubtless +come from homes where little about order and good behavior is ever +taught. Soon after this meeting I went up on the street, and there, near +a saloon with six visible entrances, a street musician was playing his +organ, while small girls, perhaps not yet in their teens, were being +encouraged to dance. + +At Twynholm I also attended the Social Hour meeting, which was an +enjoyable affair. A program of recitations, songs, etc., was rendered. +This also, I suppose, is to offset some of the evil agencies of the +great city and keep the young people under good influences. The Woman's +Meeting convenes on Monday afternoon. The leaders of the meeting are +ladies of the church, who are laboring for the betterment of an inferior +class of London women. I spoke before this meeting, by request, and +was, so far as I now recollect, the only male person present. It is the +custom to use the instrument in connection with the singing in this +meeting, but I asked them to refrain on this occasion. An orphans' home +is also conducted, having members of this congregation as its managers. +It is a very busy church, and for being busy and diligent it is to be +commended, but I believe there is too much organization. But here, as +elsewhere in Britain, there are many very commendable things about the +brethren. I have already spoken of system in their proceedings. They +outline their work for a given period of time, specifying the Scriptures +to be read, the leaders of the meetings, and who is to preach on each +Lord's day night. Then, for the sake of convenience, these schedules +are printed, and they are carefully followed. This is far ahead of the +haphazard method, or lack of method, at home, where brethren sometimes +come together neither knowing what the lesson will be nor who will +conduct the meeting. + +Whatever may be the faults of these disciples in the old country, it +must be said to their credit that they are kind and hospitable to +strangers, and make a visiting brother welcome. The talent in their +congregations is better developed than it is here, and their meetings +are conducted in a more orderly and systematic manner. They are more +faithful in the observance of the Lord's supper than many in this land. +The percentage of preachers giving their whole time to the work is less +than it is here, but the number who can and do take part in the public +work of the church is proportionately larger than it is here. + +I will now close this chapter and this volume with the address of +Brother Anderson, chairman of the annual meeting held last year at +Wigan: + +DEAR BRETHREN:--In accepting the responsible and honorable position in +which you have placed me, I do so conscious of a defect that I hope you +will do your best to help and bear with. Please speak as distinctly as +possible, so that I may hear what is said. There may be other defects +that I might have helped, but please do your best to help me in this +respect. + +I heartily thank you for the honor conferred upon me. Whether I deserve +it or not, I know that it is well meant on your part. We prefer honor +to dishonor; but what one may count a great honor, another may lightly +esteem. The point of view is almost everything in these matters; but if +positions of honor in the kingdoms of the earth are lightly esteemed, +positions of honor in the kingdom of God have a right to be esteemed +more highly. + +We are met in conference as subjects of the kingdom of God, as heirs of +everlasting glory, having a hope greater than the world can give, and +a peace that the world can neither give nor take away. To preside over +such a gathering, met to consider the best means of spreading the Gospel +of Christ among men, is a token of respect upon which I place a very +high value. The fact that it came unexpectedly does not lessen the +pleasure. + +I know that you have not placed me here on account of my tact and +business ability to manage this conference well. Had I possessed these +qualities in a marked degree, you would no doubt have taken notice of +them before this time. I know that you only wish to pay a token of +respect to a plain old soldier before he lays aside his harness, and, +brethren, I thank you for that. + +For forty-four years I have enjoyed sweet and uninterrupted fellowship +in this brotherhood. For over forty years my voice has been heard in the +preaching of the Gospel of the Grace of God. For close on thirty years +all my time has been given to the proclamation and defense of New +Testament truth as held by us as a people. Every year has added strength +to the conviction that God has led me to take my stand among the +people who of all the people on the earth are making the best and most +consistent effort to get back to the religion established by Christ and +his apostles. I therefore bless the day that I became one of you. + +Had our position been wrong, I have given myself every opportunity of +knowing it. Circumstances have compelled me to examine our foundations +again and again. I have been called upon to defend our faith, when +attacked, times not a few. Whatever may be the effect that I have had +upon others, my own confidence has been increased at every turn. To-day +I am certain that if the New Testament is right, we can not be far +wrong; and if the New Testament can not be trusted, there is an end to +the whole matter. But the claims of Christ and the truth of the New +Testament are matters upon which a doubt never rises. As years roll on, +it becomes more easy to believe and harder to doubt. Knowledge, reason, +and experience now supply such varied yet harmonious and converging +lines of evidence that a doubt seems impossible. Difficulties we may +have, and perhaps must have, as long as we live, but we can certainly +rise above the fog land of doubt. Considering all this, it gives me more +pleasure to preside over this gathering than over any other voluntary +gathering on earth. It is a voluntary gathering. We do not profess to +be here by Divine appointment. It is a meeting of heaven's freemen to +consider the best means of advancing the will of God among men. While +met, may we all act in a manner worthy of the great object which brings +us together. + +Faith, forbearance and watchfulness will be required as long as we live, +if we wish to keep the unity of the faith in the bond of peace. All +those who set out for a complete return to Jerusalem have not held on +their way; some have gone a long way back and others are going. What +has happened in other lands may happen here, unless we watch and are +faithful. The more carefully we look into matters, we shall be the +less inclined to move. Putting all God's arrangements faithfully and +earnestly to the test, and comparing them with others, increases our +faith in them. Faithfulness increases faith. This keeps growing upon +you till you become certain that only God's means will accomplish God's +ends. Sectarianism, tested by experience, is a failure. + +The time was when our danger in departing from our simple plea of +returning to the Bible alone lay in our being moved by clerical and +sectarian influences. To the young in particular in the present day that +can hardly be called our greatest danger. The influences at work to +produce doubt in regard to the truth of the Bible were never so great as +they are now. This used to be the particular work of professed infidels; +now it is more largely the work of professed Christian scholars. If you +wish to pass for a "scholar," you must not profess to believe the Old +Testament. You must not say too much against the truth of that book, or +you may be called in question, but you can go a good long way before +there is much danger. + +Jesus believed that old book to be the word of God. But he was not a +"scholar." He was the son of a country joiner, and you must not expect +him to rise too far above his environment. It surprises me that the +"scholars" have not called more attention to the ignorance of Jesus in +this respect. They will no doubt pay more attention to this later on; +for as _Christian_ "scholars" it becomes them to be consistent, and I +have no doubt that they will shortly, in this respect, make up for lost +time. + +To expect that none of our young people will be influenced by this +parade of scholarship is to expect too much. But faith in Christ should +keep them from rushing rashly out against a book that Christ professed +to live up to and came to fulfill. This battle of the scholars over the +truth of the Bible is only being fought. We have no wish that it should +not be fought. Everything has a right to be tested with caution and +fairness, and when the battle is lost, it will be time enough for us to +pass over to the side of the enemy. This question as to the truth of the +Old Testament will be settled, and as sure as Christ is the Son of God, +and has all power in heaven and on earth, it will be settled upon the +lines of the attitude which he took up towards that book, and it will be +settled to the disgrace of those who professed to believe in Jesus, +but deserted his position before full examination was made. That no +transcriber ever made a slip, or that no translator ever made a mistake, +is not held by any one. But the day that it is proved that the Old +Testament is not substantially true, faith in Christ and Christianity +will get a shake from which it will never recover. + +We have not lost faith in the Bible. There is no need for doing so. The +word of the Lord will endure forever. But meantime, brethren, let us be +faithful, prayerful, and cautious, and be not easily moved from the rock +of God's word by the pretensions of "scholars" or of science, falsely so +called. + +I do not know that there is any necessary connection between the two, +but a belief in evolution and scholarly doubts about large portions of +the Old Testament, as a rule, go together. You must not profess to know +anything of science in many quarters if you doubt evolution. In the bulk +of even religious books it is referred to as a matter that science has +settled beyond dispute. To expect that many of our young people will not +be so far carried along by this current is to expect too much. Many of +them will be carried so far; it is a question of how many and how far. + +There perhaps never was a theory before believed by as many educated +people without proof as the theory of evolution. It is an unproved +theory; there is not a fact beneath it. That you have low forms of life, +and forms rising higher and higher till you get to man, is fact. But +that a higher species ever came from a lower is without proof. Let those +who doubt this say when and where such a thing took place, and name the +witnesses. Not only are there no facts in proof of it, but it flies in +the face of facts without number. If like from like is not established, +then nothing can be established by observation and experience. What +other theory do we believe which contradicts all that we know to be true +in regard to the subject to which it refers? + +Not only does it contradict fact and experience, it contradicts reason. +If you listen to the voice of reason, you can no more believe that the +greater came from the less than you can believe that something came from +nothing. We are intuitively bound to believe that an effect can not be +greater than its cause. But the theory of evolution contradicts this at +every step along the whole line. + +I am anxious to find the truth in regard to anything that has a bearing +upon my belief in God or religion. But in trying to find the truth, I +have never regretted being true to myself. To slavishly follow others +is, to say the least of it, unmanly. I do not believe in evolution +because God has so made me that I can not. Wherever man came from, he +sprang not from anything beneath him. When a man asks me to believe a +thing that has not facts, but only theory to support it,--said theory +contradicting fact, experience and reason,--he asks me more than I can +grant. The thing is absurd, and must one day die. + +I am agreeably surprised that we, as a people, have suffered so little +as yet from the sources of error referred to. Still they are all living +dangers, and if we would hold fast the faith once for all delivered to +the saints, we must see to our own standing, and as God has given us +opportunity let us be helpful to others. Our ground is God-given and +well tested. The fellowship with God and with each other that it has +brought to us has given us much happiness here. Let us be faithful and +earnest the few years that we have to remain here, and our happiness +will be increased when the Lord comes to reward us all according to our +works. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TRIP ABROAD*** + + +******* This file should be named 12679-8.txt or 12679-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/7/12679 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/12679-8.zip b/old/12679-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2688423 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12679-8.zip diff --git a/old/12679.txt b/old/12679.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e8ff677 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12679.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5414 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Trip Abroad, by Don Carlos Janes + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Trip Abroad + +Author: Don Carlos Janes + +Release Date: June 22, 2004 [eBook #12679] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TRIP ABROAD*** + + +E-text prepared by Riikka Talonpoika, Keith Eckrich, and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders + + + +A TRIP ABROAD + +An Account of a Journey to the Earthly Canaan and the Land of the +Ancient Pharaohs + +To Which Are Appended + +A Brief Consideration of the Geography and History of Palestine, +and a Chapter on Churches of Christ in Great Britain + +BY + +DON CARLOS JANES + +1905 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "Striving for the Faith of the Gospel." +Don Carlos Janes.] + + + + _"Go, little booke, God send thee good passage, + And specially let this be thy prayere: + Unto them all that will thee read or hear, + Where thou art wrong, after their help to call, + Thee to correct in any part or all."_ + + CHAUCER. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In this volume the author has made an effort to describe his journey to +Palestine and Egypt. It is his desire that the book may be interesting +and instructive to its readers. The chapter on the geography of +Palestine, if studied with a good map, will probably be helpful to many. +The historic sketch of the land may serve as an outline of the important +events in the history of that interesting country. It is desired that +the last chapter may give American readers a better understanding of the +work of churches of Christ in Great Britain. + +This book is not a classic, but the author has tried to give a truthful +account of a trip, which, to him, was full of interest and not without +profit. No doubt some errors will be found, but even the critical reader +may make some allowance when it is known that the writing, with the +exception of a small part, was done in a period of eighty days. During +this time, the writer was also engaged in evangelistic work, speaking +every day without a single exception, and as often as four times on some +of the days. That the careful reading of the following pages may be +profitable, is the desire of THE AUTHOR. + +BOWLING GREEN, KY., October 21, 1905. + + + + +ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. + + +Several books have been consulted in preparing this one. "Lands of the +Bible," by J.W. McGarvey, has been very helpful. The same is true of +Edmund Sherman Wallace's "Jerusalem the Holy." Much information has been +obtained from the "Historical Geography of Bible Lands," by John B. +Calkin. Other works consulted were: "Recent Discoveries on the Temple +Hill," by James King; the "Bible Atlas," by Jesse L. Hurlbut; "Galilee +in the Time of Christ," by Selah Merrill; "City of the Great King," by +J.T. Barclay; "Palestine," by C.R. Conder; Smith's "Bible Dictionary"; +"Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia"; "Columbian Encyclopaedia," and +"Encyclopaedia Britannica." + +The chapter on Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland was read +before publication by Bro. Ivie Campbell, Jr., of Kirkcaldy, Scotland, +who made some suggestions for its improvement. Bro. J.W. McGarvey, of +Lexington, Ky., kindly read the chapters on the Geography and History of +Palestine, and made some corrections. Selah Merrill, United States +Consul at Jerusalem, has given some information embodied in the Historic +Sketch of Palestine. Acknowledgement of the helpful services of my wife, +and of Miss Delia Boyd, of Atpontley, Tenn., is hereby made. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND + + CHAPTER II. + CROSSING EUROPE + + CHAPTER III. + ASIA MINOR AND SYRIA + + CHAPTER IV. + A FEW DAYS IN GALILEE + + CHAPTER V. + SIGHT-SEEING IN JERUSALEM + + CHAPTER VI. + SIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM + + CHAPTER VII. + EGYPT, THE LAND OF TOMBS AND TEMPLES + + CHAPTER VIII. + GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE + + CHAPTER IX. + HISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE + + CHAPTER X. + CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN GREAT BRITAIN + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND. + + +When I was a "boy on a farm," one of my school teachers had a small +machine, which was sometimes used to print the names of students in +their books. Somehow I came to want a "printing press," and after a +while I purchased an outfit for fifteen cents, but it was a poor thing +and failed to satisfy me. Accordingly, I disposed of it and spent a +larger sum for a typewriter, which was little more than a toy. This, +too, was unsatisfactory, and I sold it. At a later date, I bought a +second-hand typewriter, which was turned in as part payment for the +machine I am now using to write this book, and now, after all these +successive steps, I find myself possessed of a real typewriter. I will +also mention my youthful desire for a watch. I wanted a timepiece and +thought I would like for it to be of small size. I thought of it when +awake, and, sometimes, when asleep, dreamed that I actually had the +little watch in my possession. Since those days of dreams and +disappointments, I have had three watches, and they have all been of +small size. + +In the same way, several years ago, I became possessed of a desire to +see the Land of Promise, the earthly Canaan. I thought about it some, +and occasionally spoke of it. There were seasons when the desire left +me, but it would come back again. Some years ago, when I was doing +evangelistic work in Canada, the desire returned--this time to stay. It +grew stronger and stronger until I decided to make the trip, which was +begun on the eleventh of July, 1904. After traveling many thousands of +miles, seeing numerous new and interesting sights, making many pleasant +acquaintances, and having a variety of experiences, I returned to the +home of my father on the fourteenth day of December, having been absent +five months and three days, and having had a more extensive trip than I +had at first thought of taking. There is a lesson in the foregoing that +I do not want overlooked. It is this: Whatever we earnestly desire is +apt to be worked out in our lives. Deeds usually begin with thoughts. If +the thoughts are fostered and cultivated, the deeds will probably be +performed some time. It is, therefore, important that we exercise care +as to the kind of thoughts we allow to remain in our hearts. "Keep thy +heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. +iv. 23). + +On the way to New York, I stopped in Washington and saw some of the +interesting places of the National Capital. The Bureau of Engraving and +Printing, where about six hundred persons were engaged in printing paper +money and stamps, was visited. I also went out to the Washington +Monument and climbed to the top of the winding stairs, although I might +have gone up in the free elevator if I had preferred to ride. The +Medical Museum, National Museum, Treasury Building, the White House, the +Capitol, and other points of interest received attention, and my short +stay in this city was very enjoyable. + +I spent a night in Philadelphia, after an absence of more than four +years, and enjoyed a meeting with the church worshiping on Forty-sixth +Street. It was very pleasant to meet those I had known when I was there +before, some of whom I had been instrumental in bringing to Christ. In +New York I made arrangements to sail for Glasgow on the S.S. Mongolian, +of the Allan Line, which was to sail at eleven o'clock on the fourteenth +of July, and the voyage was begun almost as promptly as a railway train +leaves the depot. We passed the Statue of Liberty a few minutes before +noon, and then I prepared some mail to be sent back by the pilot who +took us down to the sea. The water was smooth almost all the way across, +and we reached the desired haven on the eleventh day. I went back to my +room the first morning after breakfast and was lying in my berth when a +gentleman came along and told me I would have to get up, they were +going to have _inspection_. I arose and found part of the crew scrubbing +the floor and others washing down a wall. Everything was being put in +good condition for the examination to be given by some of the officers +who passed through each day at about ten o'clock. The seamen knew the +inspection was sure to come, and they knew the hour at which it would +take place, so they made ready for it. We know that there is a great +"inspection" day appointed when God will judge the world, but we do not +know the exact time. It is, therefore, important to be ready always, +that the day may not overtake us "as a thief in the night." + +Religious services were held on the ship each Lord's day, but I missed +the last meeting. On the first Sunday morning I arose as usual and ate +breakfast. As there was no opportunity to meet with brethren and break +bread in memory of the Lord Jesus, I read the account of the giving of +the Lord's Supper as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and John; also Paul's +language concerning the institution in the eleventh chapter of the first +Corinthian letter, and was thankful that my life had been spared until +another beautiful resurrection morning. At half past ten o'clock I went +into one of the dining rooms where two ministers were conducting a +meeting. The order of the service, as nearly as I can give it, was as +follows: Responsive reading of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth +Psalms; prayer; the hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers"; reading of the +twenty-ninth Psalm; prayer; the hymn, "Lead, Kindly Light"; an address +on "Knowing God"; prayer; the collection, taken while singing; and the +benediction. The ship furnished Bibles and hymn-books. A large copy of +the Bible was placed upon a British flag at the head of one of the +tables where the speaker stood, but he read from the American Revised +Version of the Scriptures. The sermon was commenced by some remarks to +the effect that man is hard to please. Nothing earthly satisfies him, +but Thomas expressed the correct idea when he said: "Show us the Father +and it sufficeth us." The minister then went on to speak of God as "the +God of patience," "the God of comfort," "the God of hope," and "the God +of peace." It was, with some exceptions, a pleasing and uplifting +address. There were about thirty persons in attendance, and the +collection was for the Sailors' Orphans' Home in Scotland. The following +is one verse of the closing hymn: + + "A few more years shall roll, + A few more seasons come, + And we shall be with those that rest, + Asleep within the tomb; + Then, oh, my Lord, prepare + My soul for that great day, + Oh, wash me in thy precious blood + And take my sins away." + +Before the close of the day, I read the whole of Mark's record of the +life of our Savior and turned my Bible over to Gus, the steward. We had +food served four times, as usual. The sea was smooth and the day passed +quietly. A Catholic gentleman said something at breakfast about "saying +a few prayers" to himself, and I heard a woman, in speaking about going +to church, say she had beads and a prayer-book with her. Later in the +day I saw her out on the deck with a novel, and what I supposed to be +the prayer-book, but she was reading the novel. + +Several of the passengers had reading matter with them. Some read +novels, but my Book was far better than any of these. It has a greater +Author, a wider range of history, more righteous laws, purer morals, and +more beautiful description than theirs. It contains a longer and better +love story than theirs, and reveals a much grander Hero. The Bible both +moralizes and Christianizes those who permit its holy influence to move +them to loving obedience of the Lord Jesus. It can fill its thoughtful +reader with holy hope and lead him into the realization of that hope. It +is a Book adapted to all men everywhere, and the more carefully it is +read the greater the interest in it and the profit from it become. It is +the volume that teaches us how to live here that we may live hereafter, +and in the dying hour no one will regret having been a diligent student +of its matchless pages of divine truth and wisdom. + +The last Lord's day of the voyage the ship reached Moville, Ireland, +where a small vessel came out and took off the passengers for +Londonderry. The tilled land, visible from the ship, reminded me of a +large garden. Some time that night we anchored in the harbor at +Greenock, near the mouth of the River Clyde. About one o'clock the +second steward came in, calling out: "Janes!" I answered from my berth +and heard him call out: "Don Carlos Janes!" Again I answered and learned +that he had some mail for me. I told him to hand it in, not remembering +that the door was locked, but that made no difference, for he handed it +in anyhow, but the locking arrangement on that door needed repairing +after he went away. I arose and examined the two pieces of mail, which +were from friends, giving me directions as to where I should go when the +ship got up to Glasgow, twenty-two miles from the sea. There was but one +case of sea sickness reported on the whole voyage. There was one death, +but the corpse was carried into port instead of being buried at sea. + +The home of Brother and Sister Henry Nelmes, which was my home while I +staid in Glasgow, is nicely located. Brother Nelmes and his wife are +excellent people, and treated me with much kindness. Glasgow is a large +and important city, with many interesting places in it. The Municipal +Building with its marble stairs, alabaster balustrade, onyx columns, and +other ornamentation, is attractive on the inside, but the exterior +impressed me more with the idea of stability than of beauty. The old +Cathedral, which I visited twice, is in an excellent state of +preservation, although founded in the eleventh century. There is an +extensive burial ground adjoining the Cathedral, and one of the +prominent monuments is at the grave of John Knox, the reformer. These +impressive words, written from memory, were spoken by the Regent at the +burial of Knox, and have been carved upon his monument: "Here lieth he +who never feared the face of man, who was often threatened with dag and +dagger, yet hath ended his days in peace and honor." Carlyle spoke of +him as a man "fearing God, without any other fear." + +One day I visited the birth-place of Robert Burns, at Ayr, a point not +far from Glasgow. I not only saw the "lowly thatched cottage," but a +monument to the poet, "Auld Kirk Alloway," the "brig o' Doon," and many +interesting articles in the museum. When the street car came to a +standstill, I had the old church and cemetery on my right hand, and the +monument on my left hand, while a man was standing in the road, ahead of +us, blowing a cornet,--and just beyond was the new bridge over the Doon, +a short distance below the old one, which is well preserved and +profusely decorated with the initials of many visitors. Along the bank +of "bonny Doon" lies a little garden, on the corner of which is +situated a house where liquor is sold, if I mistake not. It was before +this house that I saw the musician already mentioned. As I came up from +the old "brig o' Doon," I saw and heard a man playing a violin near the +monument. When I went down the road toward the new bridge and looked +over into the garden, I saw a couple of persons executing a cake-walk, +and an old man with one leg off was in the cemetery that surrounds the +ruined church, reciting selections from Burns. Such is the picture I +beheld when I visited this Ayrshire monument, raised in memory of the +sympathetic but unfortunate Scottish poet, whose "spark o' nature's +fire" has touched so many hearts that his birth-place has more visitors +per annum than Shakespeare's has. + +On the following day I had a pleasant boat-ride up Loch (Lake) Long, +followed by a merry coach-ride across to the "bonny, bonny banks of Loch +Lomond," which is celebrated in song and story. It is twenty-two miles +in length and from three-quarters of a mile to five miles wide, and is +called the "Queen of Scottish lakes." Ben Lomond, a mountain rising to a +height of more than three thousand feet, stands on the shore, and it is +said that Robert Bruce, the hero of Bannockburn, once hid himself in a +cave in this mountain. A pleasant boat-ride down the lake brought me +back to Glasgow in time to attend a meeting of the brethren in Coplaw +Street that night. + +Leaving my true friends who had so kindly entertained me in Glasgow, I +proceeded to Edinburgh, the city where Robert Burns came into +prominence. In the large Waverley Station a stranger, who knew of my +coming through word from Brother Ivie Campbell, of Kirkcaldy, stopped me +and asked: "Is your name Don Carlos Janes?" It was another good friend, +Brother J.W. Murray. He said he told some one he was looking for me, and +was told, in return, that he would not be able to find me. His answer to +this was that he had picked out a man before, and he might pick out +another one; and so he did, without any difficulty. After a little time +spent in Waverley gardens, I ascended the Walter Scott Monument, which +is two hundred feet high. The winding stairway is rather narrow, +especially at the top, and it is not well lighted. As I was coming down +the stairs, I met a lady and gentleman. The little woman was not at all +enthusiastic over the experience she was having, and, without knowing of +my presence, she was wondering what they would do if they were to meet +any one. "Come on up and see," I said, and we passed without any special +difficulty, but she said she didn't believe "two stout ones could" pass. +As she went on up the winding way, she was heard expressing herself in +these words: "Oh, it is a place, isn't it? I don't like it." The +tourist finds many "places", and they are not all desirable. Princess +Street, on which the monument is located, is the prettiest street that I +have ever seen. One side is occupied by business houses and hotels, the +other is a beautiful garden, where one may walk or sit down, surrounded +by green grass and beautiful flowers. + +Edinburgh Castle is an old fortification on the summit of a lofty hill +overlooking the city. It is now used as barracks for soldiers, and is +capable of accommodating twelve hundred men. Queen Mary's room is a +small chamber, where her son, James the First of Scotland and the Sixth +of England, was born. I was in the old castle in Glasgow where she spent +the night before the Battle of Langside, and later stood by her tomb in +Westminster Abbey. Her history, a brief sketch of which is given here, +is interesting and pathetic. "Mary Queen of Scots was born in Linlithgow +Palace, 1542; fatherless at seven days old; became Queen December 8th, +1542, and was crowned at Stirling, September 9th, 1543; carried to +France, 1548; married to the Dauphin, 1558; became Queen of France, +1559; a widow, 1560; returned to Scotland, 1561; married Lord Darnley, +1565; her son (and successor), James VI., born at Edinburgh Castle, +1566; Lord Darnley murdered, February, 1567; Mary married to the Earl of +Bothwell, May, 1567, and was compelled to abdicate in favor of her +infant son. She escaped from Lochleven Castle, lost the Battle of +Langside, and fled to England, 1568. She was beheaded February 8th, +1587, at Fotheringay Castle, in the forty-fifth year of her age, almost +nineteen years of which she passed in captivity. + + "Puir Mary was born and was cradled in tears, + Grief cam' wi' her birth, and grief grew wi' her years." + +In the crown-room are to be seen the regalia of Scotland, consisting of +the crown, scepter, sword of state, a silver rod of office, and other +jewels, all enclosed in a glass case surrounded by iron work. St. +Margaret's Chapel, seventeen feet long and eleven feet wide, stands +within the castle enclosure and is the oldest building in the city. A +very old cannon, called Mons Meg, was brought back to the castle through +the efforts of Walter Scott, and is now on exhibition. I visited the +Hall of Statuary in the National Gallery, the Royal Blind Asylum, passed +St. Giles Cathedral, where John Knox preached, dined with Brother +Murray, and boarded the train for Kirkcaldy, where I as easily found +Brother Campbell at the station as Brother Murray had found me in +Edinburgh. + +I had been in correspondence with Brother Campbell for some years, and +our meeting was a pleasure, and my stay at Kirkcaldy was very enjoyable. +We went up to St. Andrews, and visited the ruins of the old Cathedral, +the University, a monument to certain martyrs, and the home of a sister +in Christ. But little of the Cathedral remains to be seen. It was +founded in 1159, and was the most magnificent of Scottish churches. St. +Rule's Tower, one hundred and ten feet high, still stands, and we had a +fine view from the top. The time to leave Kirkcaldy came too soon, but I +moved on toward Wigan, England, to attend the annual meeting of churches +of Christ. Brother Campbell accompanied me as far as Edinburgh, and I +then proceeded to Melrose, where I stopped off and visited Abbotsford, +the home of Sir Walter Scott. It is situated on the River Tweed, a short +distance from Melrose, and was founded in 1811. By the expenditure of a +considerable sum of money it was made to present such an appearance as +to be called "a romance in stone and lime." Part of this large house is +occupied as a dwelling, but some of the rooms are kept open for the +numerous visitors who call from time to time. The young lady who was +guide the day I was at Abbotsford, first showed us Sir Walter's study. +It is a small room, with book shelves from the floor to the ceiling, the +desk on which Scott wrote his novels sitting in the middle of the floor. +A writing-box, made of wood taken from one of the ships of the Spanish +Armada, sits on the desk, and the clothes worn by the great novelist a +short time before his death are kept under glass in a case by the +window, while a cast of his face is to be seen in a small room +adjoining the study. We next passed into the library, which, with the +books in the study, contains about twenty thousand volumes. In the +armory are numerous guns, pistols, swords, and other relics. There is +some fine furniture in one of the rooms, and the walls are covered with +paper printed by hand in China nearly ninety years ago. Perhaps some who +read these lines will recall the sad story of Genivra, who hid herself +in an oaken chest in an attic, and perished there, being imprisoned by +the spring lock. This oaken chest was received at Abbotsford a short +time before Scott's death, and is now on exhibition. Sir Walter, as the +guide repeatedly called him, spent the last years of his life under the +burden of a heavy debt, but instead of making use of the bankrupt law, +he set to work heroically with his pen to clear up the indebtedness. He +wrote rapidly, and his books sold well, but he was one day compelled to +lay down his pen before the task was done. The King of England gave him +a trip to the Mediterranean, for the benefit of his health, but it was +of no avail. Sir Walter returned to his home on the bank of the Tweed, +and died September twenty-first, 1832. In his last illness, this great +author, who had produced so many volumes that were being read then and +are still being read, asked his son-in-law to read to him. The +son-in-law asked what book he should read, to which Sir Walter replied: +"Book? There is but one Book! Read me the Bible." In Melrose I visited +the ruins of the Abbey, and then went on to Wigan. + +After the annual meeting, I went to Birmingham and stayed a short while. +From here I made a little journey to the birth-place of Shakespeare, at +Stratford-on-Avon, a small, quiet town, where, to the best of my +recollection, I saw neither street cars nor omnibuses. After being in +several large cities, it was an agreeable change to spend a day in this +quiet place, where the greatest writer in the English tongue spent his +boyhood and the last days of his life on earth. The house where he was +born was first visited. A fee of sixpence (about twelve cents) secures +admission, but another sixpence is required if the library and museum +are visited. The house stands as it was in the poet's early days, with a +few exceptions. Since that time, however, part of it has been used as a +meat market and part as an inn. In 1847, the property was announced for +sale, and it fell into the hands of persons who restored it as nearly as +possible to its original condition. + +It has two stories and an attic, with three gables in the roof facing +the street. At the left of the door by which the tourist is admitted, is +a portion of the house where the valuable documents of the corporation +are stored, while to the right are the rooms formerly used as the "Swan +and Maidenhead Inn," now converted into a library and museum. The +windows in the upstairs room where the poet was born are fully occupied +with the autographs of visitors who have scratched their names there. I +was told that the glass is now valuable simply as old glass, and of +course the autographs enhance the value. The names of Scott and Carlyle +are pointed out by the attendant in charge. From a back window one can +look down into the garden, where, as far as possible, all the trees and +flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's works have been planted. For some +years past the average number of visitors to this house has been seven +thousand a year. The poet's grave is in Trinity Church, at Stratford, +beneath a stone slab in the floor bearing these lines: + + "Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbear + To digg the dust enclosed here. + Blest be ye man y spares these stones, + And curst be he ty moves my bones." + +On the wall, just at hand, is a bust made from a cast taken after his +death. Near by is a stained-glass window with the inscription, +"America's gift to Shakespeare's church," and not far away is a card +above a collection-box with an inscription which informs "visitors from +U.S.A." that there is yet due on the window more than three hundred +dollars. The original cost was about two thousand five hundred dollars. +The Shakespeare Memorial is a small theater by the side of the Avon, +with a library and picture gallery attached. The first stone was laid in +1877, and the building was opened in 1879 with a performance of "Much +Ado About Nothing." The old school once attended by the poet still +stands, and is in use, as is also the cottage of Anne Hathaway, situated +a short distance from Stratford. I returned to Birmingham, and soon went +on to Bristol and saw the orphans' homes founded by George Muller. + +These homes, capable of accommodating two thousand and fifty orphans, +are beautifully situated on Ashley Downs. Brother William Kempster and I +visited them together, and were shown through a portion of one of the +five large buildings by an elderly gentleman, neat, clean, and humble, +who was sent down by the manager of the institution, a son-in-law of Mr. +Muller, who died in 1898, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. We +saw one of the dormitories, which was plainly furnished, but everything +was neat and clean. We were also shown two dining-rooms, and the +library-room in which Mr. Muller conducted a prayer-meeting only a night +or two before his death. In this room we saw a fine, large picture of +the deceased, and were told by the "helper" who was showing us around +that Mr. Muller was accustomed to saying: "Oh, I am such a happy man!" +The expression on his face in this picture is quite in harmony with his +words just quoted. One of his sayings was: "When anxiety begins, faith +ends; when faith begins, anxiety ends." + +Mr. Muller spent seventy years of his life in England and became so +thoroughly Anglicized that he wished his name pronounced "Miller." He +was the founder of the "Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and +Abroad" and was a man of much more than ordinary faith. His work began +about 1834, with the distribution of literature, and the orphan work, if +I mistake not, was begun two years later. "As the result of prayer to +God" more than five millions of dollars have been applied for the +benefit of the orphans. He never asked help of man, but made his wants +known to God, and those who are now carrying on the work pursue the same +course, but the collection-boxes put up where visitors can see them +might be considered by some as an invitation to give. The following +quotation from the founder of the orphanages will give some idea of the +kind of man he was. "In carrying on this work simply through the +instrumentality of prayer and faith, without applying to any human being +for help, my great desire was, that it might be seen that, now, in the +nineteenth century, _God is still the Living God, and now, as well as +thousands of years ago, he listens to the prayers of his children and +helps those who trust in him._ In all the forty-two countries through +which I traveled during the twenty-one years of my missionary service, +numberless instances came before me of the benefit which this orphan +institution has been, in this respect, not only in making men of the +world see the reality of the things of God, and by converting them, but +especially by leading the children of God more abundantly to give +themselves to prayer, and by strengthening their faith. _Far beyond what +I at first expected to accomplish_, the Lord has been pleased to give +me. But what I have _seen_ as the fruit of my labor in this way may not +be the thousandth part of what I _shall_ see when the Lord Jesus comes +again; as day by day, for sixty-one years, I have earnestly labored, in +believing prayer, that God would be pleased, most abundantly, to bless +this service in the way I have stated." + +The objects of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution are set forth as +follows: "To assist day schools and Sunday-schools in which instruction +is given upon scriptural principles," etc. By day schools conducted on +scriptural principles, they mean "those in which the teachers are +believers; where the way of salvation is pointed out, and in which no +instruction is given opposed to the principles of the Gospel." In these +schools the Scriptures are read daily by the children. In the +Sunday-schools the "teachers are believers, and the Holy Scriptures +alone are the foundation of instruction." The second object of the +Institution is "to circulate the Holy Scriptures." In one year four +thousand three hundred and fifty Bibles were sold, and five hundred and +twenty-five were given away; seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-one +New Testament were sold, and one thousand five hundred and seventy-four +were given away; fifty-five copies of the Psalms were sold, and +thirty-eight were given away; two thousand one hundred and sixty-three +portions of the Holy Scriptures were sold, and one hundred and sixty-two +were given away; and three thousand one hundred illustrated portions of +the Scriptures were given away. There have been circulated through this +medium, since March, 1834, three hundred and eleven thousand two hundred +and seventy-eight Bibles, and one million five hundred and seven +thousand eight hundred and one copies of the New Testament. They keep in +stock almost four hundred sorts of Bibles, ranging in price from twelve +cents each to more than six dollars a copy. + +Another object of the Institution is to aid in missionary efforts. +"During the past year one hundred and eighty laborers in the Word and +doctrine in various parts of the world have been assisted." The fourth +object is to circulate such publications as may be of benefit both to +believers and unbelievers. In a single year one million six hundred and +eleven thousand two hundred and sixty-six books and tracts were +distributed gratuitously. The fifth object is to board, clothe, and +scientifically educate destitute orphans. Mr. Muller belonged to that +class of religious people who call themselves Brethren, and are called +by others "Plymouth Brethren." + +After leaving Bristol, I went to London, the metropolis of the world. +The first important place visited was Westminster Abbey, an old church, +founded in the seventh century, rebuilt in 1049, and restored to its +present form in the thirteenth century. Many eminent men and women are +buried here. Chaucer, the first poet to find a resting place in the +Abbey, was interred in 1400. The place where Major Andre is buried is +marked by a small piece of the pavement bearing his name. On the wall +close by is a monument to him. Here are the graves of Isaac Newton, +Charles Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin, and many others, +including Kings and Queens of England for centuries. In the Poets' +Corner are monuments to Coleridge, Southey, Shakespeare, Burns, +Tennyson, Milton, Gray, Spencer, and others, and one bearing the +inscription "O Rare Ben Jonson." There is also a bust of Longfellow, the +only foreigner accorded a memorial in the Abbey. The grave of David +Livingstone, the African explorer and missionary, is covered with a +black stone of some kind, which forms a part of the floor or pavement, +and contains an inscription in brass letters, of which the following +quotation is a part: "All I can add in my solitude is, may heaven's +rich blessings come down on every one, American, English, or Turk, who +will help to heal this open sore of the world." + +Concerning this interesting old place which is visited by more than +fifty thousand Americans annually, Jeremy Taylor wrote: "Where our Kings +are crowned, their ancestors lie interred, and they must walk over their +grandsires to take the crown. There is an acre sown with royal seed, the +copy of the greatest change, from rich to naked, from ceiled roofs to +arched coffins, from living like gods to die like men. There the warlike +and the peaceful, the fortunate and the miserable, the beloved and +despised princes mingle their dust and pay down their symbol of +mortality, and tell all the world that when we die our ashes shall be +equal to Kings, and our accounts easier, and our pains for our sins +shall be less." While walking about in the Abbey, I also found these +lines from Walter Scott: + + "Here, where the end of earthly things + Lays heroes, patriots, bards and kings; + Where stiff the hand and still the tongue + Of those who fought, and spoke, and sung; + Here, where the fretted aisles prolong + The distant notes of holy song, + As if some Angel spoke again + 'All peace on earth, good will to men'; + If ever from an English heart, + Here let prejudice depart." + +Bunhill Fields is an old cemetery where one hundred and twenty thousand +burials have taken place. Here lie the ashes of Isaac Watts, the hymn +writer; of Daniel De Foe, author of "Robinson Crusoe," and of John +Bunyan, who in Bedford jail wrote "Pilgrim's Progress." The monuments +are all plain. The one at the grave of De Foe was purchased with the +contributions of seventeen hundred people, who responded to a call made +by some paper. On the top of Bunyan's tomb rests the figure of a man, +perhaps a representation of him whose body was laid in the grave below. +On one of the monuments in this cemetery are the following words +concerning the deceased: "In sixty-seven months she was tapped sixty-six +times. Had taken away two hundred and forty gallons of water without +ever repining at her case or ever fearing the operation." + +Just across the street from Bunhill Fields stands the house once +occupied by John Wesley (now containing a museum) and a meeting-house +which was built in Wesley's day. The old pulpit from which Mr. Wesley +preached is still in use, but it has been lowered somewhat. In front of +the chapel is a statue of Wesley, and at the rear is his grave, and +close by is the last resting place of the remains of Adam Clarke, the +commentator. + +A trip to Greenwich was quite interesting. I visited the museum and saw +much of interest, including the painted hall, the coat worn by Nelson at +the Battle of the Nile, and the clothing he wore when he was mortally +wounded at Trafalgar. I went up the hill to the Observatory, and walked +through an open door to the grounds where a gentleman informed me that +visitors are not admitted without a pass; but he kindly gave me some +information and told me that I was standing on the prime meridian. On +the outside of the enclosure are scales of linear measure up to one +yard, and a large clock. + +After the trip to Greenwich, I went over the London Bridge, passed the +fire monument, and came back across the Thames by the Tower Bridge, a +peculiar structure, having two levels in one span, so passengers can go +up the stairs in one of the towers, cross the upper level, and go down +the other stairs when the lower level is opened for boats to pass up and +down the river. While in Scotland, I twice crossed the great Forth +Bridge, which is more than a mile and a half long and was erected at a +cost of above fifteen millions of dollars. There are ten spans in the +south approach, eight in the north approach, and two central spans each +seventeen hundred feet long. The loftiest part of the structure is three +hundred and sixty-one feet above high-water mark. + +The Albert Memorial is perhaps the finest monument seen on the whole +trip. The Victoria and Albert Museum contains the original Singer +sewing-machine, and a printing-press supposed to have been used by +Benjamin Franklin, and many other interesting things. The Natural +History Museum also contains much to attract the visitor's attention. +Here I saw the skeleton of a mastodon about ten feet tall and twenty +feet long; also the tusks of an extinct species of Indian elephant, +which were nine feet and nine inches long. There is also an elephant +tusk on exhibition ten feet long and weighing two hundred and eighty +pounds. + +Madam Tussaud's exhibition of wax figures and relics is both interesting +and instructive, and well repays one for the time and expense of a +visit. Several American Presidents are represented in life-size figures, +along with Kings and others who have been prominent in the affairs of +men. In the Napoleon room are three of the great warrior's carriages, +the one used at Waterloo being in the number. London Tower is a series +of strong buildings, which have in turn served as a fortress, a palace, +and a prison. I saw the site of Anne Boleyn's execution, but that which +had the most interest for me was the room containing the crown jewels. +They are kept in a glass case ten or twelve feet in diameter, in a +small, circular room. Outside of the case there is an iron cage +surrounded by a network of wire. The King's crown is at the top of the +collection, which contains other crowns, scepters, swords, and different +costly articles. This crown, which was first made in 1838 for Queen +Victoria, was enlarged for Edward, the present King. It contains two +thousand eight hundred and eighteen diamonds, two hundred and +ninety-seven pearls, and many other jewels. One of the scepters is +supposed to contain a part of the cross of Christ, but the supposition +had no weight with me. One of the attendants told me the value of the +whole collection was estimated at four million pounds, and that it would +probably bring five times that much if sold at auction. As the English +pound is worth about four dollars and eighty-seven cents, this little +room contains a vast treasure--worth upwards of a hundred million +dollars. + +I will only mention Nelson's monument in Trafalgar Square, the +Parliament Buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court +Palace, and the Zoological Gardens. I also visited the Bank of England, +which "stands on ground valued at two hundred and fifty dollars per +square foot. If the bank should ever find itself pressed for money, it +could sell its site for thirty-two million seven hundred and seventy +thousand dollars." It is a low building that is not noted for its +beauty. If it were located in New York, probably one of the tall +buildings characteristic of that city would be erected on the site. + +The British Museum occupied my time for hours, and I shall not undertake +to give a catalogue of the things I saw there, but will mention a few of +them. There are manuscripts of early writers in the English tongue, +including a copy of Beowulf, the oldest poem in the language; autograph +works of Daniel De Foe, Ben Jonson, and others; the original articles of +agreement between John Milton and Samuel Symmons relating to the sale of +the copyright of "a poem entitled 'Paradise Lost.'" There was a small +stone inscribed in Phoenician, with the name of Nehemiah, the son of +Macaiah, and pieces of rock that were brought from the great temple of +Diana at Ephesus; a fragment of the Koran; objects illustrating Buddhism +in India; books printed by William Caxton, who printed the first book in +English; and Greek vases dating back to 600 B.C. In the first verse of +the twentieth chapter of Isaiah we have mention of "Sargon, the king of +Assyria." For centuries this was all the history the world had of this +king, who reigned more than seven hundred years before Christ. Within +recent times his history has been dug up in making excavations in the +east, and I saw one of his inscribed bricks and two very large, +human-headed, winged bulls from a doorway of his palace. + +The carvings from the palace of Sennacherib, tablets from the library of +Asur-Banipal, and brick of Ur-Gur, king of Ur about twenty-five +centuries before Christ, attracted my attention, as did also the +colossal left arm of a statue of Thotmes III., which measures about nine +feet. The Rosetta stone, by which the Egyptian hieroglyphics were +translated, and hundreds of other objects were seen. In the mummy-room +are embalmed bodies, skeletons, and coffins that were many centuries +old when Jesus came to earth, some of them bearing dates as early as +2600 B.C., and in the case of a part of a body found in the third +pyramid the date attached is 3633 B.C. Being weary, I sat down, and my +note book contains this entry: "1:45 P.M., August 20. Resting here in +the midst of mummies and sarcophagi thousands of years old." + +From the top of the Monument I took a bird's-eye view of the largest of +all earthly cities, or at least I looked as far as the smoky atmosphere +would permit, and then returned to my stopping place at Twynholm. As I +rode back on the top of an omnibus, the houses of one of the Rothschild +family and the Duke of Wellington were pointed out. My sight-seeing in +Scotland and England was now at an end, and the journey so far had been +very enjoyable and highly profitable. I packed up and went down to +Harwich, on the English Channel, where I embarked on the Cambridge for +Antwerp, in Belgium. In this chapter I have purposely omitted reference +to my association with the churches, as that will come up for +consideration in another chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CROSSING EUROPE. + + +Immediately after my arrival in Antwerp I left for a short trip over the +border to Rosendaal, Holland, where I saw but little more than +brick-houses, tile roofs, and wooden shoes. I then returned to Antwerp, +and went on to Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The battlefield of +Waterloo is about nine and a half miles from Brussels, and I had an +enjoyable trip to this notable place. The field is farming land, and now +under cultivation. The chief object of interest is the Lion Mound, an +artificial hill surmounted by the figure of a large lion. The mound is +ascended by about two hundred and twenty-three steps, and from its +summit one has a good view of the place where the great Napoleon met his +defeat on the fifteenth of June, 1815. There is another monument on the +field, which, though quite small and not at all beautiful, contains an +impressive inscription. It was raised in memory of Alexander Gordon, an +aide to the Duke of Wellington, and has the following words carved on +one side: "A disconsolate sister and five surviving brothers have +erected this simple memorial to the object of their tenderest +affection." + +From Brussels I went over to Aix-la-Chapelle, on the frontier of +Germany, where I spent but little time and saw nothing of any great +interest to me. There was a fine statue of Wilhelm I., a crucifixion +monument, and, as I walked along the street, I saw an advertisement for +"Henry Clay Habanna Cigarren," but not being a smoker, I can not say +whether they were good or not. In this city I had an amusing experience +buying a German flag. I couldn't speak "Deutsch," and she couldn't speak +English, but we made the trade all right. + +My next point was Paris, the capital of the French Republic, and here I +saw many interesting objects. I first visited the church called the +Madeleine. I also walked along the famous street _Champs Elysees,_ +visited the magnificent Arch of Triumph, erected to commemorate the +victories of Napoleon, and viewed the Eiffel Tower, which was completed +in 1889 at a cost of a million dollars. It contains about seven thousand +tons of metal, and the platform at the top is nine hundred and +eighty-five feet high. The Tomb of Napoleon is in the Church of the +Invalides, one of the finest places I had visited up to that time. The +spot where the Bastile stood is now marked by a lofty monument. The +garden of the Tuileries, Napoleon's palace, is one of the pretty places +in Paris. Leaving this city in the morning, I journeyed all day through +a beautiful farming country, and reached Pontarlier, in southern France, +for the night. + +My travel in Switzerland, the oldest free state in the world, was very +enjoyable. As we were entering the little republic, in which I spent two +days, the train was running through a section of country that is not +very rough, when, all in a moment, it passed through a tunnel +overlooking a beautiful valley, bounded by mountains on the opposite +side and presenting a very pleasing view. There were many other +beautiful scenes as I journeyed along, sometimes climbing the rugged +mountain by a cog railway, and sometimes riding quietly over one of the +beautiful Swiss lakes. I spent a night at lovely Lucerne, on the Lake of +the Four Cantons, the body of water on which William Tell figured long +ago. Lucerne is kept very clean, and presents a pleasing appearance to +the tourist. + +I could have gone to Fluelin by rail, but preferred to take a boat ride +down the lake, and it proved to be a pleasant and enjoyable trip. The +snow could be seen lying on the tops of the mountains while the flowers +were blooming in the valleys below. Soon after leaving Fluelin, the +train entered the St. Gothard Tunnel and did not reach daylight again +for seventeen minutes. This tunnel, at that time the longest in the +world, is a little more than nine miles in length. It is twenty-eight +feet wide, twenty-one feet high, lined throughout with masonry, and cost +eleven million four hundred thousand dollars. Since I was in Switzerland +the Simplon Tunnel has been opened. It was begun more than six years +ago by the Swiss and Italian Governments, an immense force of hands +being worked on each end of it. After laboring day and night for years, +the two parties met on the twenty-fourth of February. This tunnel, which +is double, is more than twelve miles long and cost sixteen millions of +dollars. + +At Chiasso we did what is required at the boundary line of all the +countries visited; that is, stop and let the custom-house officials +inspect the baggage. I had nothing dutiable and was soon traveling on +through Italy, toward Venice, where I spent some time riding on one of +the little omnibus steamers that ply on its streets of water. But not +all the Venetian streets are like this, for I walked on some that are +paved with good, hard sandstone. I was not moved by the beauty of the +place, and soon left for Pisa, passing a night in Florence on the way. +The chief point of interest was the Leaning Tower, which has eight +stories and is one hundred and eighty feet high. This structure, +completed in the fourteenth century, seems to have commenced to lean +when the third story was built. The top, which is reached by nearly +three hundred steps, is fourteen feet out of perpendicular. Five large +bells are suspended in the tower, from the top of which one can have a +fine view of the walled city, with its Cathedral and Baptistery, the +beautiful surrounding country, and the mountains in the distance. + +The next point visited was Rome, old "Rome that sat on her seven hills +and from her throne of beauty ruled the world." One of the first things +I saw when I came out of the depot was a monument bearing the letters +"S.P.Q.R." (the Senate and the people of Rome) which are sometimes seen +in pictures concerning the crucifixion of Christ. In London there are +numerous public water-closets; in France also there are public urinals, +which are almost too public in some cases, but here in Rome the climax +is reached, for the urinals furnish only the least bit of privacy. One +of them, near the railway station, is merely an indentation of perhaps +six or eight inches in a straight wall right against the sidewalk, where +men, women, and children are passing. + +By the aid of a guide-book and pictorial plan, I crossed the city from +the gateway called "Porto del Popolo" to the "Porto S. Paolo," seeing +the street called the "Corso," or race course, Piazza Colonna, Fountain +of Treves, Trajan's Forum, Roman Forum, Arch of Constantine, Pantheon, +Colosseum, and the small Pyramid of Caius Cestus. + +The Porto del Popolo is the old gateway by which travelers entered the +city before the railroad was built. It is on the Flammian Way and is +said to have been built first in A.D. 402. Just inside the gate is a +space occupied by an Egyptian obelisk surrounded by four Egyptian lions. +The Corso is almost a mile in length and extends from the gate just +mentioned to the edge of the Capitoline Hill, where a great monument to +Victor Emmanuel was being built. The Fountain of Treves is said to be +the most magnificent in Rome, and needs to be seen to be appreciated. It +has three large figures, the one in the middle representing the Ocean, +the one on the left, Fertility, and the one on the right, Health. Women +who are disposed to dress fashionably at the expense of a deformed body +might be profited by a study of this figure of Health. Trajan's Forum is +an interesting little place, but it is a small show compared with the +Roman Forum, which is much more extensive, and whose ruins are more +varied. The latter contains the temples of Vespasian, of Concordia, of +Castor and Pollux, and others. It also contains the famous Arch of +Titus, the Basilica of Constantine, the remains of great palaces, and +other ruins. "Originally the Forum was a low valley among the hills, a +convenient place for the people to meet and barter." The Palatine Hill +was fortified by the first Romans, and the Sabines lived on other hills. +These two races finally united, and the valley between the hills became +the site of numerous temples and government buildings. Kings erected +their palaces in the Forum, and it became the center of Roman life. But +when Constantine built his capital at Constantinople, the greatness of +the city declined, and it was sacked and plundered by enemies from the +north. The Forum became a dumping ground for all kinds of rubbish until +it was almost hidden from view, and it was called by a name signifying +cow pasture. It has been partly excavated within the last century, and +the ruined temples and palaces have been brought to light, making it +once more a place of absorbing interest. I wandered around and over and +under and through these ruins for a considerable length of time, and +wrote in my note book: "There is more here than I can comprehend." + +I was in a garden on top of one part of the ruins where flowers and +trees were growing, and then I went down through the mass of ruins by a +flight of seventy-five stairs, which, the attendant said, was built by +Caligula. I was then probably not more than half way to the bottom of +this hill of ruins, which is honeycombed with corridors, stairways, and +rooms of various sizes. The following scrap of history concerning +Caligula will probably be interesting: "At first he was lavishly +generous and merciful, but he soon became mad, and his cruelty knew no +bounds. He banished or murdered his relatives and many of his subjects. +Victims were tortured and slain in his presence while dining, and he +uttered the wish that all the Roman people had but one neck, that he +might strike it off at one blow. He built a bridge across the Bay of +Baiae, and planted trees upon it and built houses upon it that he might +say he had crossed the sea on dry land. In the middle of the bridge he +gave a banquet, and at the close had a great number of the guests thrown +into the sea. He made his favorite horse a priest, then a consul, and +also declared himself a god, and had temples built in his honor." It is +said that Tiberius left the equivalent of one hundred and eighteen +millions of dollars, and that Caligula spent it in less than a year. The +attendant pointed out the corridor in which he said this wicked man was +assassinated. + +Near one of the entrances to the Forum stands the Arch of Titus, erected +to commemorate the victory of the Romans over the Jews at Jerusalem in +A.D. 70. It is built of Parian marble and still contains a +well-preserved figure of the golden candlestick of the Tabernacle carved +on one of its walls. There is a representation of the table of showbread +near by, and some other carvings yet remain, indicating something of the +manner in which the monument was originally ornamented. + +The Colosseum, commenced by Vespasian in A.D. 72 and finished by Titus +eight years later, is a grand old ruin. It is an open theater six +hundred and twelve feet long, five hundred and fifteen feet wide, and +one hundred and sixty-five feet high. This structure, capable of seating +eighty-seven thousand people, stands near the bounds of the Forum. It is +the largest of its kind, and is one of the best preserved and most +interesting ruins in the world. When it was dedicated, the games lasted +one hundred days, and five thousand wild beasts were slain. During the +persecution of the Christians it is said to have been the scene of +fearful barbarities. + +On the second day I entered the Pantheon, "the best preserved monument +of ancient Rome," built by Marcus Agrippa, and consecrated to Mars, +Venus, and others. It was burned in the reign of Titus and rebuilt by +Hadrian, and in A.D. 608 Pope Boniface consecrated it as a church. The +interior is shaped like a vast dome, and the only opening for light is a +round hole in the top. Raphael, "reckoned by almost universal opinion as +the greatest of painters," lies buried in the Pantheon behind one of the +altars. I went to Hadrian's Tomb, now the Castle of St. Angelo, and on +to St. Peter's. Before this great church-building there is a large open +space containing an obelisk and two fountains, said to be the finest in +the city, with a semi-circular colonnade on two sides containing two +hundred and eighty-four columns in four rows, and on the top of the +entablature there are ninety-six large statues. There are large figures +on the top of the church, representing Christ and the apostles. The +interior is magnificent. There are three aisles five hundred and +seventy-five feet long, and the middle one is eighty-two feet wide. The +beautifully ornamented ceiling is one hundred and forty-two feet high. +In this building, which was completed three hundred and fifty years +after it was begun, is the reputed tomb of the Apostle Peter, and many +large marble statues. There are figures representing boy angels that +are as large as a full-grown man. The Vatican is not far from St. +Peter's, and I went up to see the Museum, but got there just as it was +being closed for the day. I had a glimpse of the garden, and saw some of +the Pope's carriages, which were fine indeed. + +One of the most interesting places that I visited about Rome was the old +underground cemetery called the Catacombs of St. Calixtus. The visitors +go down a stairway with a guide, who leads them about the chambers, +which are but dimly lighted by the small candles they carry. The +passages, cut in the earth or soft rock, vary both in width and height, +and have been explored in modern times to the aggregate length of six +miles. Some of the bodies were placed in small recesses in the walls, +but I saw none there as I went through, but there were two in marble +coffins under glass. In one of the small chambers the party sang in some +foreign language, probably Italian, and while I could not understand +them, I thought the music sounded well. The Circus of Maxentius, fifteen +hundred feet long and two hundred and sixty feet wide, is near the +Catacombs, as is also the tomb of Caecilla Metella, which is said to +have been erected more than nineteen hundred years ago. It is probably +as much as two miles from the city walls, and I walked on a little way +and could see other ruins still farther in the distance, but I turned +back toward the hotel, and some time after sundown found myself walking +along the banks of the yellow Tiber in the old city. Two days of +sight-seeing had been well spent in and around the former capital of the +world, and I was ready to go on to Naples the next day. + +There is a saying, "See Naples and die," but I did not feel like +expiring when I beheld it, although it is very beautifully located. The +ruins of Pompeii, a few miles distant, had more interest for me than +Naples. I went out there on the tenth of September, which I recollect as +a very hot day. Pompeii, a kind of a summer resort for the Roman +aristocracy, was founded 600 B.C. and destroyed by an eruption of Mt. +Vesuvius in A.D. 79. It was covered with ashes from the volcano, and +part of the population perished. The site of the city was lost, but was +found after the lapse of centuries and the Italian Government began the +excavations in 1860. Some of the old stone-paved streets, showing the +ruts made by chariot wheels that ceased to roll centuries ago, have been +laid bare. Portions of the houses are still standing, and the stone +drinking fountains along the streets are yet to be seen, as are also the +stepping stones at the crossings, which are higher than the blocks used +in paving. Some of the walls still contain very clear paintings, some of +which are not at all commendable, and others are positively lewd. One +picture represented a wild boar, a deer, a lion, a rabbit, some birds, +and a female (almost nude) playing a harp. There was also a very clear +picture of a bird and some cherries. At one place in the ruins I saw a +well-executed picture of a chained dog in mosaic work. It is remarkable +how well preserved some things are here. In the Museum are petrified +bodies in the positions they occupied when sudden and unexpected +destruction was poured upon them, well nigh two thousand years ago. Some +appear to have died in great agony, but one has a peaceful position. +Perhaps this victim was asleep when the death angel came. I saw the +petrified remains of a dog wearing a collar and lying on his back, and a +child on its face. One of the men, who may have been a military officer, +seemed to have a rusty sword at his side. There were skeletons, both of +human beings and of brutes, bronze vessels, and such articles as cakes +and eggs from the kitchens of the old city. + +Mt. Vesuvius is a very famous volcano, standing four thousand feet high, +and has wrought a great deal of destruction. In the eruption of 472, it +is related that its ashes were carried to Constantinople; in 1066, the +lava flowed down to the sea; in 1631, eighteen thousand lives were lost; +and in 1794 a stream of lava more than a thousand feet wide and fifteen +feet high destroyed a town. From my hotel in Naples I had a fine view of +the red light rising from the volcano the evening after I visited +Pompeii. + +Leaving Naples, I went to Brindisi, where I took ship for Patras in +Greece. A day was spent in crossing Italy, two nights and a day were +taken up with the voyage to Patras, and a good part of a day was +occupied with the railroad trip from there to Athens, where the hotel +men made more ado over me than I was accustomed to, but I got through +all right and secured comfortable quarters at the New York Hotel, just +across the street from the Parliament Building. From the little balcony +at my window I could look out at the Acropolis. The principal places +visited the first day were the Stadium, Mars' Hill, and the Acropolis. + +Leaving the hotel and going through Constitution Square, up Philhellene +Street, past the Russian and English churches, I came to the Zappeion, a +modern building put up for Olympic exhibitions. The Arch of Hadrian, a +peculiar old structure, twenty-three feet wide and about fifty-six feet +high, stands near the Zappeion, and formerly marked the boundary between +ancient Athens and the more modern part of the city. Passing through +this arch, I soon came to what remains of the temple of the Olympian +Jupiter, which was commenced long before the birth of Christ and +finished by Hadrian about A.D. 140. Originally this temple, after that +of Ephesus said to be the largest in the world, had three rows of eight +columns each, on the eastern and western fronts, and a double row of one +hundred columns on the northern and southern sides, and contained a +statue of Jupiter, overlaid with gold and ivory. Its glory has long +since departed, and only fifteen of the columns are now standing. A +little farther on is the Stadium, with an arena over five hundred and +eighty feet long, and one hundred and nine feet wide. It was originally +constructed by the orator Lycurgus, about three hundred and fifty years +before Christ, but was being rebuilt when I was there. The seats are on +both sides and around the circular end of the arena, being made on the +slope of the hill and covered with clean, white, Pentelic marble, making +a beautiful sight. + +On the way to Mars' Hill and the Acropolis I passed the monument of +Lysicrates, the theater of Bacchus, and the Odeon. This first-mentioned +theater is said to have been "the cradle of dramatic art," the +masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and others having been rendered +there. The Odeon of Herod Atticus differed from other ancient theaters +in that it was covered. + +Mars' Hill is a great, oval-shaped mass of rock which probably would not +be called a hill in America. The small end, which is the highest part of +it, lies next to the Acropolis, and its summit is reached by going up a +short flight of steps cut in the limestone, and well preserved, +considering their age. The bluff on the opposite side from these steps +is perhaps thirty or forty feet high and very rugged. The rock slopes +toward the wide end, which is only a few feet above the ground. I +estimate the greatest length of it to be about two hundred yards, and +the greatest width one hundred and fifty yards, but accurate +measurements might show these figures to be considerably at fault. I +have spoken of the hill as a rock, and such it is--a great mass of hard +limestone, whose irregular surface, almost devoid of soil, still shows +where patches of it were dressed down, perhaps for ancient altars or +idols. The Areopagus was a court, which in Paul's time had jurisdiction +in cases pertaining to religion. + +A vision called Paul into Macedonia, where Lydia was converted and Paul +and Silas were imprisoned. In connection with their imprisonment, the +conversion of the jailer of Philippi was brought about, after which the +preachers went to Thessalonica, from whence Paul and Silas were sent to +Berea. Jews from Thessalonica came down to Berea and stirred up the +people, and the brethren sent Paul away, but Silas and Timothy were left +behind. "They that conducted Paul, brought him as far as Athens," and +then went back to Berea with a message to Silas and Timothy to come to +him "with all speed." "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his +spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols." +Being thus vexed, and having the gospel of Christ to preach, he reasoned +with the Jews and devout people in the synagogue and every day in the +marketplace with those he met there. He came in contact with +philosophers of both the Epicurean and Stoic schools, and it was these +philosophers who took him to the Areopagus, saying: "May we know what +this new teaching is which is spoken by thee?" + +The Athenians of those days were a pleasure-loving set of idolaters who +gave themselves up to telling and hearing new things. Besides the many +idols in the city, there were numerous temples and places of amusement. +Within a few minutes' walk was the Stadium, capable of holding fifty +thousand persons, and still nearer were the theater of Bacchus and the +Odeon, capable of accommodating about thirty and six thousand people +respectively. On the Acropolis, probably within shouting distance, stood +some heathen temples, one of them anciently containing a colossal statue +of Athene Parthenos, said to have been not less than thirty-nine feet +high and covered with ivory and gold. In another direction and in plain +sight stood, and still stands, the Theseum, a heathen temple at that +time. Take all this into consideration, with the fact that Paul had +already been talking with the people on religious subjects, and his +great speech on Mars' Hill may be more impressive than ever before. + +"Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are very religious. +For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found +also an altar with this inscription, To an unknown God. What therefore +ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. The God that made +the world and all things therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth, +dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is he served by men's +hands as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all +life, and breath, and all things; and he made of one every nation of men +to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed +seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God, +if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far +from each one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being; +as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his +offspring. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think the +Godhead is like unto gold, or silver or stone, graven by art and device +of man. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked, but now he +commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he +hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in +righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given +assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead." + +The Acropolis is a great mass of stone near Mars' Hill, but rising much +higher and having a wall around its crest. At one time, it is said, the +population of the city lived here, but later the city extended into the +valley below and the Acropolis became a fortress. About 400 B.C. the +buildings were destroyed by the Persians, and those now standing there +in ruins were erected by Pericles. The entrance, which is difficult to +describe, is through a gateway and up marble stairs to the top, where +there are large quantities of marble in columns, walls, and fragments. +The two chief structures are the Parthenon and the Erectheum. The +Parthenon is two hundred and eight feet long and one hundred and one +feet wide, having a height of sixty-six feet. It is so large and +situated in such a prominent place that it can be seen from all sides of +the hill. In 1687 the Venetians while besieging Athens, threw a shell +into it and wrecked a portion of it, but part of the walls and some of +the fluted columns, which are more than six feet in diameter, are yet +standing. This building is regarded as the most perfect model of Doric +architecture in the world, and must have been very beautiful before its +clear white marble was discolored by the hand of time and broken to +pieces in cruel war. The Erectheum is a smaller temple, having a little +porch with a flat roof supported by six columns in the form of female +figures. + +The Theseum, an old temple erected probably four hundred years before +Christ, is the best preserved ruin of ancient Athens. It is a little +over a hundred feet long, forty-five feet wide, and is surrounded by +columns nearly nineteen feet high. The Hill of the Pynx lies across the +road a short distance from the Theseum. At the lower side there is a +wall of large stone blocks and above this a little distance is another +wall cut in the solid rock, in the middle of which is a cube cut in the +natural rock. This is probably the platform from which the speaker +addressed the multitude that could assemble on the shelf or bench +between the two walls. + +Some of the principal modern buildings are the Hellenic Academy, the +University, Library, Royal Palace, Parliament Building, various church +buildings, hotels, and business houses. The University, founded in 1837, +is rather plain in style, but is ornamented on the front after the +manner of the ancients, with a number of paintings, representing +Oratory, Mathematics, Geology, History, Philosophy, and other lines of +study. At one end is a picture of Paul, at the other end, a +representation of Prometheus. The museum is small and by no means as +good as those to be seen in larger and wealthier countries. The Academy, +finished in 1885, is near the University, and, although smaller than its +neighbor, is more beautiful. On the opposite side of the University a +fine new Library was being finished, and in the same street there is a +new Roman Catholic church. I also saw two Greek Catholic church houses, +but they did not seem to be so lavishly decorated within as the Roman +church, but their high ceilings were both beautifully ornamented with +small stars on a blue background. I entered a cemetery near one of these +churches and enjoyed looking at the beautiful monuments and vaults. It +is a common thing to find a representation of the deceased on the +monument. Some of these are full-length statues, others are carvings +representing only the head. Lanterns, some of them lighted, are to be +seen on many of the tombs. There are some fine specimens of the +sculptor's art to be seen here, and the place will soon be even more +beautiful, for a great deal of work was being done. In fact, the whole +city of Athens seemed to be prosperous, from the amount of building that +was being done. + +The Parliament Building is not at all grand. The Royal Palace is larger +and considerably finer. At the head of a stairway is a good picture of +Prometheus tortured by an eagle. The visitor is shown the war room, a +large hall with war scenes painted on the walls and old flags standing +in the corners. The throne room and reception room are both open to +visitors, as is also the ball room, which seemed to be more elaborately +ornamented than the throne room. There is a little park of orange and +other trees before the palace, also a small fountain with a marble +basin. The highest point about the city is the Lycabettus, a steep rock +rising nine hundred and nineteen feet above the level of the sea, and +crowned with a church building. From its summit a splendid view of the +city, the mountains, and the ocean may be obtained. + +I spent five days in this city, the date of whose founding does not seem +to be known. Pericles was one of the great men in the earlier history of +the old city. He made a sacred enclosure of the Acropolis and placed +there the masterpieces of Greece and other countries. The city is said +to have had a population of three hundred thousand in his day, +two-thirds of them being slaves. The names of Socrates, Demosthenes, and +Lycurgus also belong to the list of great Athenians. In 1040 the Normans +captured Piraeus, the seaport of Athens, and in 1455 the Turks, +commanded by Omar, captured the city. The Acropolis was occupied by the +Turks in 1826, but they surrendered the next year, and in 1839 Athens +became the seat of government of the kingdom of Greece. With Athens, my +sight-seeing on the continent ended. Other interesting and curious +sights were seen besides those mentioned here. For instance, I had +noticed a variety of fences. There were hedges, wire fences, fences of +stone slabs set side by side, frail fences made of the stalks of some +plant, and embryo fences of cactus growing along the railroad. In Italy, +I saw many white oxen, a red ox being an exception that seems seldom to +occur. I saw men hauling logs with oxen and a cart, the long timber +being fastened beneath the axle of the cart and to the beam of the yoke. +In Belgium, one may see horses worked three abreast and four tandem, and +in Southern France they were shifting cars in one of the depots with a +horse, and in France I also saw a man plowing with an ox and a horse +hitched together. Now the time had come to enter the Turkish Empire, and +owing to what I had previously heard of the Turk, I did not look forward +to it with pleasure. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ASIA MINOR AND SYRIA. + + +The Greek ship _Alexandros_ left the harbor of Piraeus in the forenoon +of Lord's day, September eighteenth, and anchored outside the breakwater +at Smyrna, in Asia Minor, the next morning. The landing in Turkish +territory was easily accomplished, and I was soon beyond the custom +house, where my baggage and passport were examined, and settled down at +the "Hotel d'Egypte," on the water front. This was the first time the +passport had been called for on the journey. The population of Smyrna is +a mixture of Turks, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Italians, Americans, and +Negroes. The English Government probably has a good sized +representation, as it maintains its own postoffice. The city itself is +the main sight. The only ruins I saw were those of an old castle on the +hill back of the city. The reputed tomb of Polycarp is over this hill +from Smyrna, between two cypress trees, but I do not know that I found +the correct location. Near the place that I supposed to be the tomb is +an aqueduct, a portion of it built of stone and a portion of metal. As I +went on out in the country I entered a vineyard to get some grapes, not +knowing how I would be received by the woman I saw there; but she was +very kind-hearted, and when I made signs for some of the grapes, she at +once pulled off some clusters and gave them to me. She also gave me a +chair and brought some fresh water. More grapes were gathered and put in +this cold water, so I had a fine time eating the fruit as I sat there in +the shade watching a little boy playing about; but I could not converse +with either of them on account of not knowing their language. On the way +back to the city I stopped at the railway station to make inquiries +about a trip to Ephesus. + +Most of the streets in Smyrna are narrow and crooked, but there is one +running along the water front that is rather attractive. On one side is +the water, with the numerous vessels that are to be seen in this +splendid harbor, and on the other side is a row of residences, hotels, +and other buildings. The people turn out in great numbers at night and +walk along this street, sometimes sitting down at the little tables that +are set in the open air before places where different kinds of drinks +are dispensed. Here they consume their drinks and watch the free +performances that are given on an open stage adjoining the street and +the grounds where they are seated. Perhaps the most peculiar thing about +it all is the quiet and orderly behavior of this great crowd of people. +While in this city I had occasion to go to the "Banque Imperiale +Ottoman," and learned that it was open in the forenoon and afternoon, +but closed awhile in the middle of the day. I saw a street barber plying +his trade here one day. A vessel of water was put up under the +customer's chin, and held there by keeping the chin down. The barber +had his strop fastened to himself, and not to the chair or a wall, as we +see it at home. Great quantities of oats were being brought down from +the interior on camels. The sacks were let down on the pavement, and +laborers were busy carrying them away. A poor carrier would walk up to a +sack of grain and drop forward on his hands, with his head between them, +and reaching down almost or altogether to the pavement. The sack of +grain was then pulled over on his back, and he arose and carried it +away. Some poor natives were busy sweeping the street and gathering up +the grain that lost out of the sacks. There seems to be a large amount +of trade carried on at this port. Several ships were in the harbor, and +hundreds of camels were bringing in the grain. There are now many +mosques and minarets in Smyrna, where there was once a church of God. +(Revelation 2:8-11.) + +On Wednesday, September twenty-first, I boarded a train on the Ottoman +Railway for Ayassalouk, the nearest station to the ruins of Ephesus, a +once magnificent city, "now an utter desolation, haunted by wild +beasts." We left Smyrna at seven o'clock, and reached Ayassalouk, fifty +miles distant, at half-past nine. The cars on this railway were entered +from to side, as on European railroads, but this time the doors were +locked after the passengers were in their compartments. Ayassalouk is a +poor little village, with only a few good houses and a small population. +At the back of the station are some old stone piers, that seem to have +supported arches at an earlier date. On the top of the hill, as on many +hilltops in this country, are the remains of an old castle. Below the +castle are the ruins of what I supposed to be St. John's Church, built +largely of marble, and once used as a mosque, but now inhabited by a +large flock of martins. + +I visited the site of Ephesus without the services of a guide, walking +along the road which passes at some distance on the right. I continued +my walk beyond the ruins, seeing some men plowing, and others caring for +flocks of goats, which are very numerous in the East. When I turned back +from the road, I passed a well, obtaining a drink by means of the rope +and bucket that were there, and then I climbed a hill to the remains of +a strong stone building of four rooms. The thick walls are several feet +high, but all the upper part of the structure has been thrown down, and, +strange to say, a good portion of the fallen rocks are in three of the +rooms, which are almost filled. It is supposed that Paul made a journey +after the close of his history in the book of Acts; that he passed +through Troas, where he left a cloak and some books (2 Tim. 4:13); was +arrested there, and probably sent to Ephesus for trial before the +proconsul. Tradition has it that this ruined stone building is the place +where he was lodged, and it is called St. Paul's Prison. From the top of +its walls I could look away to the ruins of the city proper, about a +mile distant, the theater being the most conspicuous object. + +There are several attractions in Ephesus, where there was once a church +of God--one of the "seven churches in Asia"--but the theater was the +chief point of interest to me. It was cut out of the side of the hill, +and its marble seats rested on the sloping sides of the excavation, +while a building of some kind, a portion of which yet remains, was built +across the open side at the front. I entered the inclosure, the outlines +of which are still plainly discernible, and sat down on one of the old +seats and ate my noonday meal. As I sat there, I thought of the scene +that would greet my eyes if the centuries that have intervened since +Paul was in Ephesus could be turned back. I thought I might see the +seats filled with people looking down upon the apostle as he fought for +his life; and while there I read his question: "If after the manner of +men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me" if the dead +are not raised up? (I Cor. 15:32). I also read the letter which Jesus +caused the aged Apostle John to write to the church at this place (Rev. +2:1-7), and Paul's epistle to the congregation that once existed in +this idolatrous city of wealth and splendor. As I was leaving this spot, +where I was so deeply impressed with thoughts of the great apostle to +the Gentiles, I stopped and turned back to take a final look, when I +thought of his language to Timothy, recorded in the first eight verses +of the second epistle, and then I turned and read it. Perhaps I was not +so deeply impressed at any other point on the whole journey as I was +here. The grand old hero, who dared to enter the city which was +"temple-keeper of the great Diana," this temple being one of the "Seven +Wonders of the World," and boldly preach the gospel of Christ, +realizing that the time of his departure was at hand, wrote: "I have +fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the +faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, +which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and +not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing." +Meditating on the noble and lofty sentiment the apostle here expresses +in connection with his solemn charge to the young evangelist, I have +found my sentiments well expressed in Balaam's parable, where he says: +"Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his" +(Num. 23:10). + +Near the front of the theater, on the left as one comes out, is quite a +space, which seems to have been excavated recently, and farther to the +left excavations were being made when I was there. An ancient lamp, a +fluted column, and a headless statue were among the articles taken out. +The workmen were resting when I viewed this part of the ruins, and an +old colored man gave me a drink of water. Beginning a little to the +right of the theater, and extending for perhaps fifteen hundred or two +thousand feet, is a marble-paved street, along which are strewn numerous +bases, columns, and capitals, which once ornamented this portion of the +great city; and to the right of this are the remains of some mighty +structure of stone and brick. In some places, where the paving blocks +have been taken up, a water course beneath is disclosed. While walking +around in the ruins, I saw a fine marble sarcophagus, or coffin, +ornamented with carvings of bulls' heads and heavy festoons of oak +leaves. + +J.S. Wood, an Englishman, worked parts of eleven years, from 1863 to +1874, in making excavations at Ephesus. Upwards of eighty thousand +dollars were spent, about fifty-five thousand being used in a successful +effort to find the remains of the Temple of Diana. I followed the +directions of my guide-book, but may not have found the exact spot, as +Brother McGarvey, who visited the place in 1879, speaks of the +excavations being twenty feet deep. "Down in this pit," he says, "lie +the broken columns of white marble and the foundation walls of the +grandest temple ever erected on earth"; but I saw nothing like this. + +When Paul had passed through Galatia and Phrygia, "establishing all the +disciples," "having passed through the upper country," he came to +Ephesus, and found "about twelve men" who had been baptized "into John's +baptism," whom Paul baptized "into the name of the Lord Jesus." He then +entered into the Jewish meeting place and reasoned boldly "concerning +the kingdom of God." Some of the hardened and disobedient spoke "evil of +the Way," so Paul withdrew from them and reasoned "daily in the school +of Tyrannus. And this continued for the space of two years; so that all +they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and +Greeks." The Lord wrought special miracles by Paul, so that the sick +were healed when handkerchiefs or aprons were borne from him to them. +Here some of the strolling Jews "took upon them to name over them that +had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by +Jesus, whom Paul preacheth." When two of the sons of Sceva undertook to +do this, the man possessed of the evil spirit "leaped on them and +mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out +of the house naked and wounded." There were stirring times in Ephesus in +those days. Fear fell upon the people, "and the name of the Lord Jesus +was magnified." Many of the believers "came confessing, and declaring +their deeds. And not a few of them that practiced magical arts brought +their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they +counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of +silver." "So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed." + +"And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way. For a +certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of +Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen; whom he gathered +together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know +that by this business we have our wealth. And ye see and hear that not +alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath +persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods that +are made with hands: and not only is there danger that our trade come +into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana be +made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her +magnificence, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth. And when they +heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is +Diana of the Ephesians. And the city was filled with the confusion: and +they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and +Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel. And when +Paul was minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him +not. And certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him +and besought him not to adventure himself into the theater. Some +therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in +confusion; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. +And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him +forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand and would have made a +defense unto the people. But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all +with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of +the Ephesians. And when the town clerk had quieted the multitude, he +saith, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the +city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the +image which fell down from Jupiter? Seeing then that these things can +not be gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash. For ye +have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor +blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius, and the craftsmen +that are with him, have a matter against any man, the courts are open, +and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another. But if ye seek +anything about other matters, it shall be settled in the regular +assembly. For indeed we are in danger to be accused concerning this +day's riot, there being no cause for it: and as touching it we shall not +be able to give an account of this concourse. And when he had thus +spoken, he dismissed the assembly" (Acts 19:23-41). + +As I was leaving the ruins, I stopped, sat down in sight of the spot +where I supposed the temple stood, and read the speech of Demetrius, and +thought his fears were well founded. Their trade has come into +disrepute, "the temple of the great goddess" has been "made of no +account," and "she whom Asia and all the world" worshiped has been +"deposed from her magnificence." Portions of the temple are now on +exhibition in the British Museum, in London, and portions have been +carried to different other cities to adorn buildings inferior to the one +in which they were originally used. "From the temple to the more +southern of the two eastern gates of the city," says McGarvey, "are +traces of a paved street nearly a mile in length, along the side of +which was a continuous colonnade, with the marble coffins of the city's +illustrious dead occupying the spaces between the columns. The +processions of worshipers, as they marched out of the city to the +temple, passed by this row of coffins, the inscriptions on which were +constantly proclaiming the noble deeds of the mighty dead." The canal +and artificial harbor, which enabled the ships of the world to reach the +gates of the city, have disappeared under the weight of the hand of +time. In some places the ground is literally covered with small stones, +and even in the theater, weeds, grass and bushes grow undisturbed. How +complete the desolation! + +Before leaving Ayassalouk on the afternoon train, I bought some grapes +of a man who weighed them to me with a pair of balances, putting the +fruit on one pan and a stone on the other; but I didn't object to his +scales, for he gave me a good supply, and I went back and got some more. +I also bought some bread to eat with the grapes, and one of the numerous +priests of these Eastern countries gave me some other fruit on the +train. I was abroad in the fruit season, and I enjoyed it very much. I +had several kinds, including the orange, lemon, grapes, pomegranates, +figs, olives, and dates. Perhaps I had nothing finer than the large, +sweet grapes of Greece. The next day after the trip to Ephesus, I +boarded the _Princess Eugenia_, a Russian ship, for Beyrout, in Syria. +Soon after leaving Smyrna the ship stopped at a port of disinfection. +The small boats were lowered, and the third-class passengers were +carried to the disinfecting establishment, where their clothes were +heated in a steam oven, while they received a warm shower bath without +expense to themselves. A nicely dressed young German shook his head +afterwards, as though he did not like such treatment; but it was not +specially disagreeable, and there was no use to complain. + +That evening, the twenty-second of September, we sailed into a harbor on +the island of Chios, the birth-place of the philosopher Pythagoras. It +is an island twenty-seven miles long, lying near the mainland. The next +morning we passed Cos and Rhodes. On this last mentioned island once +stood the famous Colossus, which was thrown down by an earthquake in 224 +B.C. The island of Patmos, to which John was banished, and upon which he +wrote the Revelation, was passed in the night before we reached Cos. It +is a rocky, barren patch of land, about twenty miles in circumference, +lying twenty-four miles from the coast of Asia Minor. On the +twenty-fourth the _Princess Eugenia_ passed the southwestern end of the +island of Cyprus. In response to a question, one of the seamen answered +me: "Yes, that's Kiprus." I was sailing over the same waters Paul +crossed on his third missionary tour on the way from Assos to Tyre. He +"came over against Chios," "came with a straight course unto Cos, and +the next day unto Rhodes," and when he "had come in sight of Cyprus, +leaving it on the left hand (he) sailed unto Syria and landed at Tyre" +(Acts 20:15 and 21:1-3). + +On the evening of Lord's day, September twenty-fifth, the ship passed +Tripoli, on the Syrian coast, and dropped down to Beyrout, where I +stopped at the "Hotel Mont Sion," with the waves of the Mediterranean +washing against the foundation walls. At seven o'clock the next morning +I boarded the train for Damascus, ninety-one miles distant, and we were +soon climbing the western slope of the Lebanon Mountains by a cog +railway. When we were part way up, the engine was taken back and hitched +to the rear end of the train. After we were hauled along that way +awhile, it was changed back to the front end again. In these mountains +are vineyards and groves of figs, olives, and mulberry trees, but most +of the ground was dry and brown, as I had seen it in Southern Italy, +Greece, and Asia Minor. Beyond the mountains is a beautiful plain, which +we entered about noon, and when it was crossed, we came to the +Anti-Lebanon Mountains, and reached the old city in the evening. +Damascus, with its mixed population of Moslems, Greeks, Syrians, +Armenians, Jews, and others, is the largest city in Syria, and it has +probably been continuously inhabited longer than any other city on +earth. Away back in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis we read of +Abraham's victory over the enemies who had taken Lot away, whom Abraham +pursued "unto Hobah, which is on the left of Damascus," and in the next +chapter we read of "Eliezer of Damascus," who Abraham thought would be +the possessor of his house. Rezon "reigned in Damascus, and he was an +adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon" (1 Kings 11:23-25). Elisha +went to Damascus when Ben-Hadad was sick (2 Kings 8:7-15); Jeroboam +recovered the city, which had belonged to Judah (2 Kings 14:28); and +Jeremiah prophesied of the city (Jeremiah 49:23-27). It was probably the +home of Naaman, the Syrian leper, and here Paul was baptized into +Christ. + +For a long time the Arabs have considered Damascus as "an earthly +reflection of Paradise," but an American or European would consider a +place no better than it is as being far from the Paradise of Divine +making. But it is not entirely without reason that these people have +such a lofty conception of the old city. The Koran describes Paradise as +a place of trees and streams of water, and Damascus is briefly described +in those words. There are many public drinking fountains in the city, +and owing to the abundance of water, there are many trees. The river +Abana, one of the "rivers of Damascus" (2 Kings 5:12), flows through the +city, but the most of its water is diverted by artificial channels. I +had some difficulty in finding the American Consular Agent, and it is no +wonder, for the place is not the most prominent in Damascus by a good +deal, and the escutcheon marking it as the place where the American +Government is represented is not on the street, but over a door in a +kind of porch. The Agent was not in, so I retraced my steps to the +French consulate, which is near by. I was kindly received by a gentleman +who could speak English, and after we had had a good, cool drink of +lemonade, he went with me to the "Hotel d'Astre d'Orient," in the +"street which is called Straight." The next morning I found the American +Agent in his office. Then I went to the postoffice, and after being +taken upstairs and brought back downstairs, I was led up to a little +case on the wall, which was unlocked in order that I might look through +the bunch of letters it contained addressed in English, and I was made +glad by receiving an epistle from the little woman who has since taken +my name upon her for life. After reading my letter, I went out and +walked up the mountain side far enough to get a bird's-eye view of the +city, and it was a fine sight the rich growth of green trees presented +in contrast with the brown earth all around. Returning to the city, I +walked about the streets, devoting some of my time to the bazaars, or +little stores, in which a great variety of goods are offered for sale. I +also saw several kinds of work, such as weaving, wood-turning and +blacksmithing, being carried on. The lathes used for turning wood are +very simple, and are operated by a bow held in the workman's right hand, +while the chisel is held in his left hand and steadied by the toes on +one or the other of his feet. It is a rather slow process, but they can +turn out good work. One gentleman, who was running a lathe of this kind, +motioned for me to come up and sit by his side on a low stool. I +accepted his invitation, and he at once offered me a cigarette, which I +could not accept. A little later he called for a small cup of coffee, +which I also declined, but he took no offense. "The street which is +called Straight" is not as straight as might be supposed from its name, +but there is probably enough difference between its course and that of +others to justify the name. + +When Paul was stricken with blindness on his way here (Acts 9:1-30), he +was directed to enter the city, where he would be told all things that +were appointed for him to do. He obeyed the voice from heaven, and +reached the house of Judas in Straight Street. When I reached the +traditional site of the house of Ananias, in the eastern part of the +city, near the gate at the end of Straight Street, I found a +good-natured woman sitting on the pavement just inside the door opening +from the street to what would be called a yard in America. The "house" +has been converted into a small church, belonging to the Catholics, and +it is entirely below the surface. I went down the stairs, and found a +small chamber with an arched ceiling and two altars. I also went out and +visited the old gateway at the end of the street. The masonry is about +thirteen feet thick, and it may be that here Paul, deprived of his +sight, and earnestly desiring to do the will of the Lord, entered the +city so long ago. I then viewed a section of the wall from the outside. +The lower part is ancient, but the upper part is modern, and the portion +that I saw was in a dilapidated condition. "In Damascus," Paul wrote to +the Corinthians, "the governor, under Aretas the king, guarded the city +of the Damascenes in order to take me: and through a window was I let +down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands" (2 Cor. 11:32,33). +In some places there are houses so built in connection with the wall +that it would not be a very difficult thing to lower a man from one of +the windows to the ground outside the city. + +Mention has already been made of the Arab's opinion of Damascus, and now +I wish to tell how it appeared through my spectacles. The view from the +distance is very pleasing, but when one comes inside the wall and begins +to walk about the streets, the scene changes. The outside of the +buildings is not beautiful. The streets are narrow, crooked, and usually +very dirty; in some cases they are filthy. It seems that all kinds of +rubbish are thrown into the streets, and the dogs are scavengers. +Perhaps no other city has so many dogs. At one place up along the Abana, +now called the Barada, I counted twenty-three of these animals, and a +few steps brought me in sight of five more; but there is some filth that +even Damascus dogs will not clean up. Some of the streets are roughly +paved with stone, but in the best business portion of the city that I +saw there was no pavement and no sidewalk--it was all street from one +wall to the other. I saw a man sprinkling one of the streets with water +carried in the skin of some animal, perhaps a goat. When I came out of +the postoffice, a camel was lying on the pavement, and in another part +of the city I saw a soldier riding his horse on the sidewalk. Down in +"the street which is called Straight" a full-grown man was going along +as naked as when he was born. Perhaps he was insane, but we do not even +allow insane men to walk the streets that way in this country. Carriages +are used for conveying passengers, but freight is usually moved on the +backs of horses, camels, donkeys, or men. Some wagons and carts are to +be seen, but they are not numerous. It is remarkable what loads are +piled upon the donkeys, probably the commonest beasts of burden in +Damascus. Sometimes the poor little creatures are almost hidden from +view by the heavy burdens they are required to bear, which may consist +of grapes to be sold, or rubbish to be carried out of the city. +Sometimes they are ridden by as many as three people at once. If the +gospel were to get a firm hold on these people, the donkeys would fare +better. + +About 333 B.C., Damascus came under the control of Alexander the Great. +Antiochus Dionysius reigned there three years, but was succeeded by +Aretas of Arabia in 85 B.C. Under Trajan it became a Roman provincial +city. The Mongols took it in 1260, and the Tartars plundered it in 1300. +An enemy marched against it in 1399, but the citizens purchased immunity +from plunder by paying a "sum of a million pieces of gold." In 1516, +when Selim, the Turkish Sultan, marched in, it became one of the +provincial capitals of the Turkish Empire, and so continues. There was a +very serious massacre here in 1860. All the consulates, except the +British and Prussian, were burned, and the entire Christian quarter was +turned into ruins. In the two consulates that were spared many lives +were preserved, but it is said that "no fewer than six thousand +unoffending Christians ... were thus murdered in Damascus alone," and +"the whole number of the Christians who perished in these days of terror +is estimated at fourteen thousand." A number of the leaders were +afterward beheaded, and a French force, numbering ten thousand, was sent +into the country. The Mohammedans have about two hundred mosques and +colleges in this city, which was once far advanced in civilization. + +I left Damascus and returned toward the coast to Rayak, where I took the +train on a branch line for Baalbec, the Syrian city of the sun, a place +having no Biblical history, but being of interest on account of the +great stones to be seen there. No record has been preserved as to the +origin of the city, but coins of the first century of the Christian era +show that it was then a Roman colony. It is situated in the valley of +the Litany, at an elevation of two thousand eight hundred and forty feet +above the sea. The chief ruins are in a low part of the valley by the +side of the present town, and are surrounded by gardens. Within the +inclosing wall are the remains of the temple of Jupiter and the temple +of the sun. The hand of time and the hand of man have each had a share +in despoiling these ruins, but they still speak with eloquence of their +grandeur at an earlier date. The wall is so low on the north that it is +supposed to have been left unfinished. Here are nine stones, each said +to be thirty feet long, ten feet thick and thirteen feet high, and they +are closely joined together without the use of mortar. Just around the +corner are three others still larger, and built in the wall about twenty +feet above the foundation. Their lengths are given as follows: +sixty-three feet; sixty-three feet and eight inches; and sixty-four +feet. They are thirteen feet high and about ten feet thick. Some may be +interested in knowing how such large building blocks were moved. +McGarvey says: "It is explained by the carved slabs found in the temple +of Nineveh, on which are sculptured representations of the entire +process. The great rock was placed on trucks by means of levers, a large +number of strong ropes were tied to the truck, a smooth track of heavy +timbers was laid, and men in sufficient number to move the mass were +hitched to the ropes." Some of the smaller stones have holes cut in +them, as if for bars, levers, or something of that kind, but the faces +of these big blocks are smooth. "A man must visit the spot, ride round +the exterior, walk among the ruins, sit down here and there to gaze upon +its more impressive features, see the whole by sunlight, by twilight, +and by moonlight, and allow his mind leisurely to rebuild it and +re-people it, ere he can comprehend it."--_McGarvey_. + +There were some of the native girls out by the ruins who tried to sell +me some of their needle work, but I was not disposed to buy. One of them +attempted to make a sale by saying something like this: "You're very +nice, Mister; please buy one." I told her there was a little girl in +America who thought that, too, and went on. There is a rock in the +quarry at Baalbec that is larger than any of those in the ruins, +although it was never entirely cut out, the length of which is +sixty-eight feet, and the width varies from about thirteen feet at one +end to seventeen feet at the other. It is about fourteen feet thick, and +the estimated weight is fifteen hundred tons. Some of the stones in a +ruined building, once a tomb, standing on the hill above the town, give +forth a metallic ring when struck. Farther on is a small cemetery, in +which some of the headstones and footstones are as much as nine feet +apart. If the people buried there were that long, surely "there were +giants in the land in those days." I went down on the opposite side of +the hill from the tomb and entered a vineyard, where an old man treated +me with kindness and respect. The modern town is poorly built of small +stones and mud, but there are some good buildings of dressed stone, +among which I may mention the British Syrian School and the Grand New +Hotel. I staid at another hotel, where I found one of those pre-occupied +beds which travelers in the East so often find. About midnight, after I +had killed several of the little pests, I got up and shaved by +candle-light, for I wasn't sleepy, and there was no use to waste the +time. + +Leaving Baalbec, I went down to Rayak and on to Beyrout again. This old +city is said to have been entirely destroyed in the second century +before Christ. It was once a Roman possession, and gladiatorial combats +were held there by Titus after the destruction of Jerusalem. An +earthquake destroyed it in 529, and the British bombarded it in 1840. +The population is a great mixture of Turks, Orthodox Greeks, United +Greeks, Jews, Latins, Maronites, Protestants, Syrians, Armenians, +Druses, and others. A great many ships call here, as this is the most +important commercial city in Syria. The numerous exports consist of +silk, olive oil, cotton, raisins, licorice, figs, soap, sponges, cattle, +and goats. Timber, coffee, rice, and manufactured goods are imported. At +one time Arabic was the commonest language, and Italian came next, but +now, while Arabic holds first place, French comes second. The British, +Austrians, Russians, and perhaps the French, maintain their own +postoffices. Considerable efforts are being made by American, British, +and other missionary institutions to better the condition of the +natives. The American Mission, conducted by the Presbyterians, has been +in operation more than seventy years. A few years ago they had one +hundred and forty-three schools and more than seven thousand pupils. The +Church of Scotland has a mission for the Jews. The British Syrian +Mission was established in 1864. + +Beyrout has comparatively little of interest for the traveler. I walked +out to the public garden one morning and found it closed, but I do not +think I missed much. As I went along from place to place, I had +opportunity to see the weavers, wood-turners, and marble-cutters at +their work. I stopped at a small candy factory, equipped with what +seemed to be good machinery for that kind of work. One day I watched +some camels get up after their burdens of lumber had been tied on. They +kept up a peculiar distressing noise while they were being loaded, but +got up promptly when the time came. When a camel lies down, his legs +fold up something like a carpenter's rule, and when he gets up, he first +straightens out one joint of the fore legs, then all of the hind legs, +and finally, when the fore legs come straight, he is standing away up in +the air. The extensive buildings of the American College were visited, +also the American Press, the missionary headquarters of Presbyterians in +America. On the third of October the Khedivial steamer _Assouan_ came +along, and I embarked for Haifa, in Galilee. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A FEW DAYS IN GALILEE. + + +Years ago, when I first began to think of making the trip I am now +describing, I had no thought of the many interesting places that I could +easily and cheaply visit on my way to Palestine. I did not then think of +what has been described on the foregoing pages. Now I have come to the +place where I am to tell my readers the story of my travels in the Land +of Promise, and I want to make it as interesting and instructive as +possible. It is important to have a knowledge of the geography of all +the lands mentioned, but it is especially important to know the location +of the various places referred to in Palestine. These pages will be more +profitable if the reader will make frequent reference to maps of the +land, that he may understand the location of the different places +visited. I shall first describe my trip across the province of Galilee, +and take up my sight-seeing in Judaea in other chapters. + +The ancient Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon were on the coast +between Beyrout and Haifa, where I entered Galilee on the fourth of +October, but we passed these places in the night. Haifa, situated at the +base of Mount Carmel, has no Biblical history, but is one of the two +places along the coast of Palestine where ships stop, Jaffa being the +other. Mount Carmel is fourteen miles long, and varies in height from +five hundred and fifty-six feet at the end next to the sea to eighteen +hundred and ten feet at a point twelve miles inland. There is a +monastery on the end next to the Mediterranean, which I reached after a +dusty walk along the excellent carriage road leading up from Haifa. +After I rested awhile, reading my Bible and guide-book, I walked out to +the point where the sea on three sides, the beautiful little plain at +the base of the mountain, Haifa, and Acre across the bay, all made up +one of the prettiest views of the whole trip. Owing to its proximity to +the sea and the heavy dews, Carmel was not so dry and brown as much of +the country I had seen before. + +By the direction of Elijah, Ahab gathered the prophets of Baal, +numbering four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah, four +hundred more, at some point on this mountain, probably at the eastern +end, passed on my way over to Nazareth later in the day. "And Elijah +came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between +the two sides? If Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow +him" (1 Kings 18:21). He then proposed that two sacrifices be laid on +the wood, with no fire under them; that the false prophets should call +on their god, and he would call on Jehovah. The God that answered by +fire was to be God. "All the people answered and said, It is well +spoken." The prophets of Baal called upon him from morning till noon, +saying, "O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. +And they leaped about the altar that was made. And it came to pass at +noon that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: +either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or +peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and +cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the +blood gushed out upon them. And it was so, when midday was past, that +they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; +but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded." +The sincerity, earnestness, and perseverance of these people are +commendable, but they were _wrong_. Sincerity, although a most desirable +trait, can not change a wrong act into acceptable service to God, nor +can earnestness and perseverance make such a change. It is necessary +both to be honest and to do the will of our heavenly Father. After water +had been poured over the other sacrifice till it ran down and filled the +trench around the altar, Elijah called on Jehovah, and in response to +his petition "the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt offering, +and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that +was in the trench." Elijah then took the false prophets down to the +brook Kishon, at the base of the mountain, and killed them. Acre is the +Acco of the Old Testament, and lies around the bay, twelve mile from +Haifa. It is said that the Phoenicians obtained the dye called Tyrian +purple there, and that shells of the fish that yielded it are yet to be +found along the beach. Napoleon besieged the place in 1799, and used a +monastery, since destroyed, on Mount Carmel for a hospital. After his +retreat, Mohammedans killed the sick and wounded soldiers who had been +left behind, and they were buried near the monastery. Acre was called +Ptolemais in apostolic times, and Paul spent a day with the brethren +there as he was on his way down the coast from Tyre to Jerusalem. (Acts +21:7.) + +About noon I entered a carriage for Nazareth, in which there were four +other passengers: a lady connected with the English Orphanage in +Nazareth, and three boys going there to attend the Russian school. About +two miles from Haifa we crossed the dry bed of the Kishon, as this +stream, like many others in Palestine, only flows in the wet season. Our +course led along the base of Carmel to the southeast, and the supposed +place of Elijah's sacrifice was pointed out. Afterwards Mount Gilboa, +where Saul and Jonathan were slain, came in sight, and later we saw +Little Hermon with Nain upon it, Endor below it on one side, and Jezreel +not far away in another direction. We saw a good portion of the Plain of +Esdraelon, and Mount Tabor was in sight before we entered Nazareth, +which lies on the slope of a hill and comes suddenly into view. + +Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and the references to it +in the New Testament are not numerous. When Joseph returned from Egypt +in the reign of Archelaus, the son of Herod, he was afraid to go into +Judaea, "and being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts +of Galilee, and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might +be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, that he should be called a +Nazarene" (Matt. 2:19-23). I do not know the age of Jesus when Joseph +and Mary came with him to Nazareth, but "his parents went every year to +Jerusalem at the feast of the passover"; and we are told that the child +was twelve years old at the time his parents missed him as they were +returning from the feast, and later found him in the temple hearing the +teachers and asking them questions. In this connection we are told that +"he went down with them and came to Nazareth; and he was subject unto +them" (Luke 2:51). Luke also informs us that Jesus, "when he began to +teach, was about thirty years of age" (Luke 3:23). Thus we have a +period of eighteen years between the incident in the temple and the +beginning of his public ministry, in which Jesus resided in Nazareth. +The greater part of his earth life was spent in this Galilean city, +where he was subject unto his parents. It is a blessed thing that so +much can be said of our Savior in so few words. It is highly commendable +that children be subject unto their parents, who love them dearly, and +who know best what is for their health, happiness, and future good. + +After his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, "Jesus returned in +the power of the spirit into Galilee, ... and he came to Nazareth, where +he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the +synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read." When the roll of the +Scriptures was handed to him, he read from the opening verses of the +sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, then "he closed the book, and gave it +back to the attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the +synagogue were fastened on him" as he told them: "To-day hath this +scripture been fulfilled in your ears," and although they "wondered at +the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth," they were not +willing to accept his teaching, and as he continued to speak, "they were +all filled with wrath, ... and they rose up, and cast him forth out of +the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was +built, that they might throw him down headlong. But he, passing through +the midst of them, went his way. And he came down to Capernaum, a city +of Galilee" (Luke 4:14-31). + +Having made arrangements for a carriage the evening I arrived in +Nazareth, before daylight the next morning I started to drive to +Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. When I went down stairs, at about +half-past three o'clock, I found a covered rig with two seats, and three +horses hitched to it side by side. I filed no objection to the size of +the carriage, nor to the manner in which the horses were hitched. As the +driver could not speak English and the passenger could not speak Arabic, +there was no conversation on the way. As we drove out of Nazareth, I +observed a large number of women at the Virgin's Fountain, filling their +jars with water. At a distance of a little more than three miles we +passed through Kefr Kenna, the "Cana of Galilee," where Jesus performed +his first miracle. (John 2:1-11.) The road to Tiberias is not all +smooth, but is better than might be supposed. With three horses and a +light load, we were able to move along in the cool of the morning at a +lively gait, passing a camel train, an occasional village, olive +orchard, or mulberry grove. After a while the light of the moon grew +pale, and about six o'clock the great round sun came above the horizon +in front of us, and it was not long until a beautiful sheet of water six +miles long--the Sea of Galilee--came suddenly into view. We rolled along +the winding curves of the carriage road, down the slope of the hill, and +through a gateway in the old wall, to Tiberias, on the west shore of +"Blue Galilee." + +According to Josephus, Herod Antipas began to build a new capital city +about sixteen years before the birth of Jesus, and completed it in A.D. +22. He named this new city Tiberias, in honor of the emperor, but it +does not appear to have been a popular place with the Jews, and but +little is said of it in the New Testament (John 21:1), yet it was not an +insignificant place. The Sanhedrin was transferred from Sepphoris, the +old capital, to the new city, and here the school of the Talmud was +developed against the gospel system. The ancient traditional law, called +the "Mishna," is said to have been published here in A.D. 200, and the +Palestinian Gemara (the so-called Jerusalem Talmud) came into existence +at this place more than a century later. The Tiberian pointing of the +Hebrew Bible began here. The present population is largely composed of +Jews, about two-thirds of the inhabitants being descendants of Abraham. +They wear large black hats or fur caps, and leave a long lock of hair +hanging down in front of each ear. There is little in Tiberias to +interest the traveler who has seen the ruins of Rome, Athens and +Ephesus. The seashore bounds it on one side and an old stone wall runs +along at the other side. I walked past some of the bazaars, and saw the +mosque and ruined castle. About a mile down the shore are the hot +springs, which, for many centuries, have been thought to possess +medicinal properties. I tried the temperature of one of the springs, and +found it too hot to be comfortable to my hand. As I returned to +Tiberias, I had a good, cool bath in the sea, which is called by a +variety of names, as "the sea of Tiberias," "sea of Galilee," "sea of +Genessaret," and "sea of Chinnereth." It is a small lake, thirteen miles +long, lying six hundred and eighty-two feet below the level of the +Mediterranean. The depth is given as varying from one hundred and thirty +to one hundred and sixty-five feet. It is really "Blue Galilee," and the +sight of it is an agreeable change to the eye after one has been +traveling the dry, dusty roads leading through a country almost +destitute of green vegetation. In the spring, when the grass is growing +and the flowers are in bloom, the highlands rising around the sea must +be very beautiful. + +Several places mentioned in the New Testament were situated along the +Sea of Galilee, but they have fallen into ruin--in some cases into utter +ruin. One of these was Bethsaida, where Jesus gave sight to a blind man +(Mark 8:22-26), and fed a multitude of about five thousand. (Luke +9:10-17.) It was also the home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter. (John +1:44.) It is thought by some that James and John also came from this +place. On the northwestern shore was Chorazin, situated in the +neighborhood of Bethsaida; also Capernaum, once the home of Jesus; and +Magdala, the name of which "has been immortalized in every language of +Christendom as denoting the birth-place of Mary Magdalene, or better, +Mary of Magdala." Safed is a large place on a mountain above the sea in +sight of the Nazareth road, and was occupied by the French in 1799. It +is said that the Jews have a tradition that the Messiah will come from +this place. On the way back to Nazareth the driver stopped at the spring +of Kefr Kenna and watered his horses and rested them awhile. Hundreds of +goats, calves, and other stock were being watered, and I saw an old +stone coffin being used for a watering trough. + +After another night in Nazareth, I was ready to go out to Mount Tabor. +For this trip I had engaged a horse to ride and a man to go along and +show me where to ride it, for we did not follow a regular road, if, +indeed, there is any such a thing leading to this historic place, which +is about six miles from Nazareth. It was only a little past four +o'clock in the morning when we started, and the flat top of the +mountain, two thousand and eighteen feet above sea level, was reached at +an early hour. Mount Tabor is a well-shaped cone, with a good road for +horseback riding leading up its side. There is some evidence that there +was a city here more than two hundred years before Christ. Josephus +fortified it in his day, and part of the old wall still remains. +According to a tradition, contradicted by the conclusion of modern +scholars, this is the mount of transfiguration. By the end of the sixth +century three churches had been erected on the summit to commemorate the +three tabernacles which Peter proposed to build (Matt. 17:1-8), and now +the Greek and Roman Catholics have each a monastery only a short +distance apart, separated by a stone wall or fence. The extensive view +from the top is very fine, including a section of Galilee from the +Mediterranean to the sea of Tiberias. + +In the Book of Judges we read that Israel was delivered into the hands +of the Canaanites, and was sorely oppressed for twenty years. The +prophetess Deborah sent for Barak, and instructed him with a message +from God to the end that he should take "ten thousand men of the +children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun" unto Mount Tabor. +This he did, and Sisera assembled his nine hundred chariots "from +Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river Kishon. So Barak went down from +Mount Tabor and ten thousand men after him. ... Howbeit, Sisera fled +away on his feet to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite," +and she drove a tent-pin through his temples while he was lying asleep, +(Judges 4:1-23.) The song of Deborah and Barak, beginning with the +words, "For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, for that the +people offered themselves willingly, bless ye Jehovah," is recorded in +the fifth chapter of Judges. + +I was back in Nazareth by ten o'clock, and spent some hours looking +around the city where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary the words: +"Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee" (Luke 1:28). +These hours, with what time I had already spent here, enabled me to see +several places of interest. Tradition points out many places connected +with the lives of Joseph and Mary, but tradition is not always reliable, +for it sometimes happens that the Greeks and the Romans each have a +different location for the same event. This is true with regard to the +point where the angry people were about to throw Jesus over "the brow of +the hill" (Luke 4:29). I saw no place that struck me as being the one +referred to in the Scriptures, and in reply to an inquiry, a lady at the +English Orphanage, who has spent twenty years in Nazareth, said she +thought it was some place on that side of the town, but the contour of +the hill had probably changed. She also mentioned that the relics taken +out in excavations were all found on that side, indicating that the old +city had been built there. When Brother McGarvey visited Palestine, he +found two places that corresponded somewhat with Luke's reference to the +place. Concerning one of them he wrote: "I am entirely satisfied that +here is where the awful attempt was made." I was shown the "place of +annunciation" in the Latin monastery. On the top of a column stands the +figure of a female, probably representing the Virgin, and a bit of ruin +that is said to date back to the time of Constantine is pointed out. +Here, I was told, stood the first church building erected in Nazareth. +One of the "brothers" took the key and went around to a building +supposed to stand on the site of Joseph's carpenter shop. It is a small +chapel, built about 1858 over the ruins of some older structure. In the +floor of marble or stone there are two wooden trapdoors, which are +raised to show the ruins below. Over the altar in the end opposite the +door is a picture to represent the holy family, and there are some other +pictures in different parts of the little chapel. From here I went to +the Virgin's Fountain. If it be true that this is the only spring in +Nazareth, then I have no doubt that I was near the spot frequently +visited by the Nazarene maid who became the mother of our Lord. I say +near the spot, for the masonry where the spring discharges is about a +hundred yards from the fountain, which is now beneath the floor of a +convent. The water flows out through the wall by two stone spouts, and +here the women were crowded around, filling their vessels or waiting for +their turn. The flow was not very strong, and this helps to explain why +so many women were there before daylight the morning I went to Tiberias. +I saw one woman, who was unable to get her vessel under the stream of +one of the spouts, drawing down a part of the water by sticking a leaf +against the end of the spout. I also visited some of the bazaars and +went to the Orphanage. This missionary institution is nicely situated in +a prominent place well up on the hill, and is managed entirely by women, +but a servant is kept to do outside work. They treated me very kindly, +showing me about the building, and when the girls came in to supper they +sang "the Nazareth Hymn" for me. + +One of the occupations of the people here is manufacturing a knife with +goat horn handles that is commonly seen in Palestine. Many of the women +go about the streets with their dresses open like a man's shirt when +unbuttoned, exposing their breasts in an unbecoming manner. The same is +true of many women in Jerusalem. About one-third of the mixed population +are Jews; the other two-thirds are Mohammedans and professing +Christians, made up of Orthodox Greeks, United Greeks, Roman Catholics, +Maronites (a branch of the Greek Church), and Protestants. I went back +to Haifa and spent a night. The next morning I boarded the Austrian ship +_Juno_ for Jaffa. When I first landed here I had trouble with the +boatman, because he wanted me to pay him more than I had agreed to pay, +and on this occasion I again had the same difficulty, twice as much +being demanded at the ship as was agreed upon at the dock; but I was +firm and won my point both times. While in Galilee I had crossed the +province from sea to sea; I had visited the city in which Jesus spent +the greater part of his earth life, and the sea closely connected with +several important things in his career. I had ascended Carmel, and from +the top of Tabor I had taken an extensive view of the land, and now I +was satisfied to drop down the coast and enter Judaea. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +SIGHT-SEEING IN JERUSALEM. + + +Before leaving the ship at Jaffa I was talking with Mr. Ahmed, a +gentleman from India, who had spent some time in Egypt, and had traveled +extensively. He claimed to be a British subject, and was able to speak +several languages. While we were arranging to go ashore together, one +of the many boatmen who had come out to the ship picked up my suit-case +while my back was turned, and the next thing I saw of it he was taking +it down the stairs to one of the small boats. By some loud and emphatic +talk I succeeded in getting him to put it out of one boat into another, +but he would not bring it back. Mr. Ahmed and I went ashore with another +man, whom we paid for carrying us and our baggage. I found the suit-case +on the dock, and we were soon in the custom house, where my baggage and +passport were both examined, but Mr. Ahmed escaped having his baggage +opened by paying the boatman an additional fee. As we arrived in Jaffa +too late to take the train for Jerusalem that day, we waited over night +in the city from whence Jonah went to sea so long ago. We lodged at the +same hotel and were quartered in the same room. This was the first and +only traveling companion I had on the whole journey, and I was a little +shy. I felt like I wanted some pledge of honorable dealing from my newly +formed acquaintance, and when he expressed himself as being a British +subject, I mentioned that I was an American and extended my hand, +saying: "Let us treat each other right." He gave me his hand with the +words: "Species man, species man!" He meant that we both belonged to the +same class of beings, and should, therefore, treat each other right, a +very good reason indeed. A long time before, in this same land, Abraham +had expressed himself to Lot on a similar line in these words: "Let +there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my +herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren" (Gen. 13:8). On Saturday +we moved our baggage over to the depot and boarded the train for +Jerusalem. On the way to the depot an old gentleman, whom I would have +guessed to be a German, passed me. When I entered the car it was my lot +to ride by him. He learned that I had been to Bristol, England, and had +visited the orphan homes founded by George Muller, and he remarked: "You +are a Christian, then." He probably said this because he thought no +other would be interested in such work. It developed that he was a +converted Jew, and was conducting a mission for his people in the Holy +City. Without telling him my position religiously, I inquired concerning +different points, and found his faith and mine almost alike. This new +acquaintance was D.C. Joseph, whose association I also enjoyed after +reaching Jerusalem. + +It was late in the afternoon of October ninth when we got off the train +at the Jerusalem station, which is so situated that the city can not +be seen from that point. By the time we had our baggage put away in a +native hotel outside the city walls it was dark. We then started out +to see if there was any mail awaiting me. First we went to the Turkish +office, which was reached by a flight of dark stairs. Mr. Ahmed went +up rather slowly. Perhaps he felt the need of caution more than I did. +According to my recollection, they handed us a candle, and allowed us to +inspect the contents of a small case for the mail. We found nothing, so +we made our way down the dark stairway to the German office, situated +on the ground floor, nicely furnished and properly lighted, but there +was no mail there for me, as mail from America goes to the Austrian +office, inside the Jaffa gate. + +The next day was Lord's day, and for the time being I ceased to be +a tourist and gave myself up mainly to religious services. I first +attended the meeting conducted by Bro. Joseph at the mission to Israel. +It was the first service I had attended, and the first opportunity that +had come to me for breaking bread since I left London, the last of +August. After this assembly of four persons was dismissed, I went to the +services of the Church of England and observed their order of worship. +The minister was in a robe, and delivered a really good sermon of about +fifteen minutes' duration, preceded by reading prayers and singing +praise for about an hour. By invitation, I took dinner with Miss Dunn, +an American lady, at whose house Bro. Joseph was lodging. As she had +been in Jerusalem fifteen years and was interested in missionary work, +I enjoyed her company as well as her cooking. After dinner I went to a +little iron-covered meeting-house called the "tabernacle," where a Mr. +Thompson, missionary of the Christian Alliance, of Nyack, New York, was +the minister. At the close of the Sunday-school a gentleman asked some +questions in English, and the native evangelist, Melki, translated them +into Arabic. By request of Mr. Thompson, I read the opening lesson and +offered prayer, after which he delivered a good address on the great, +coming day, and at the close the Lord's Supper was observed. I +understood that they did this once a month, but it is attended to weekly +at the mission where I was in the morning. At the tabernacle I made the +acquaintance of Mr. Stanton, a Methodist minister from the States; Mr. +Jennings, a colored minister from Missouri, and Mr. Smith, an American +gentleman residing in Jerusalem. There was another meeting in the +tabernacle at night, but I staid at the hotel and finished some writing +to be sent off to the home land. + +Monday was a big day for me. Mr. Ahmed and I went down inside the Jaffa +gate and waited for Mr. Smith, who was our guide, Mr. Jennings, and a +Mr. Michelson, from California. Mr. Smith had been a farmer in America, +but had spent three years at Jerusalem and Jericho. He was well +acquainted with the country, and we could depend upon what he told us. +Add to all this the fact that he went around with us without charge, and +it will be seen that we were well favored. On this Monday morning we +started out to take a walk to Bethany, the old home of that blessed +family composed of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. We passed the Church of +the Holy Sepulcher, walked along the street called the Via Dolorosa, and +saw several of the "stations" Jesus is supposed to have passed on the +way to the execution on Calvary. We passed the traditional site of the +"house of the rich man," the "house of the poor man," and the Temple +Area. After passing the Church of St. Anne, we went out of the city +through St. Stephen's gate, and saw the Birket Sitti Mariam, or Pool +of Lady Mary, one hundred feet long, eighty-five feet wide, and once +twenty-seven and a half feet deep. It is supposed that Stephen was led +through the gate now bearing his name and stoned at a point not far +distant. Going down the hill a few rods, we came to the Church of St. +Mary, a building for the most part underground. It is entered by a +stairway nineteen feet wide at the top, and having forty-seven steps +leading to the floor thirty-five feet below. We went down, and in +the poorly lighted place we found some priests and others singing or +chanting, crossing themselves, kissing a rock, and so on. This church +probably gets its name from the tradition that the mother of Jesus was +buried here. Just outside the church is a cavern that is claimed by some +to be the place of Christ's agony, and by others, who may have given the +matter more thought, it is supposed to be an old cistern, or place for +storing olive oil or grain. Perhaps I would do well to mention here that +tradition has been in operation a long time, and the stories she has +woven are numerous indeed, but often no confidence can be placed in +them. I desire to speak of things of this kind in such a way as not to +mislead my readers. It was near this church that I saw lepers for the +first time. The valley of the Kidron is the low ground lying between +Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. The water flows here only in the wet +part of the year. Crossing this valley and starting up the slope of the +Mount of Olives, we soon come to a plot of ground inclosed by a high +stone wall, with a low, narrow gateway on the upper side. This place is +of great interest, as it bears the name "Garden of Gethsemane," and is +probably the spot to which the lowly Jesus repaired and prayed earnestly +the night before his execution, when his soul was "exceeding sorrowful, +even unto death." It is really a garden, filled with flowers, and olive +trees whose trunks, gnarled and split, represent them as being very old, +but it is not to be supposed that they are the same trees beneath which +Jesus prayed just before Judas and "the band of soldiers and officers" +came out to arrest him. There is a fence inside the wall, leaving a +passageway around the garden between the wall and the fence. Where the +trees reach over the fence a woven-wire netting has been fixed up, to +keep the olives from dropping on the walk, where tourists could pick +them up for souvenirs. The fruit of these old trees is turned into olive +oil and sold, and the seeds are used in making rosaries. At intervals +on the wall there are pictures representing the fourteen stations Jesus +passed as he was being taken to the place of crucifixion. This garden +is the property of the Roman Catholics, and the Greeks have selected +another spot, which they regard as the true Gethsemane, just as each +church holds a different place at Nazareth to be the spot where the +angry Nazarenes intended to destroy the Savior. + +Leaving the garden, we started on up the slope of Olivet, and passed the +fine Russian church, with its seven tapering domes, that shine like the +gold by which they are said to be covered. It appears to be one of the +finest buildings of Jerusalem. As we went on, we looked back and had a +good view of the Kidron valley and the Jews' burial place, along +the slope of the mountain, where uncounted thousands of Abraham's +descendants lie interred. Further up toward the summit is the Church of +the Lord's Prayer, a building erected by a French princess, whose body +is now buried within its walls. This place is peculiar on account of at +least two things. That portion of Scripture commonly called "the Lord's +prayer" is here inscribed on large marble slabs in thirty-two different +languages, and prayer is said to be offered here continually. There is +another church near the Damascus gate, where two "sisters" are said to +be kneeling in prayer at all hours. I entered the beautiful place at +different times, and always found it as represented, but it should not +be supposed that the same women do all the praying, as they doubtless +have enough to change at regular intervals. The Church of the Creed is, +according to a worthless tradition, the place where the apostles drew up +"the creed." It is under the ground, and we passed over it on the way +to the Church of the Lord's Prayer. The Mount of Olives is two thousand +seven hundred and twenty-three feet above sea level, and is about two +hundred feet higher than Mount Moriah. From the summit a fine view of +Jerusalem and the surrounding country may be obtained. The Russians have +erected a lofty stone tower here. After climbing the spiral stairway +leading to the top of it, one is well rewarded by the extensive view. +Looking out from the east side, we could gaze upon the Dead Sea, some +twenty miles away, and more than four thousand feet below us. We visited +the chambers called the "Tombs of the Prophets," but the name is not a +sufficient guarantee to warrant us in believing them to be the burial +places of the men by whom God formerly spoke to the people. On the way +to Bethany we passed the reputed site of Beth-page (Mark 11:1), and soon +came to the town where Jesus performed the great miracle of raising +Lazarus after he had been dead four days. (John 11:1-46.) The place +pointed out as the tomb corresponds to the Scripture which says "It was +a cave" where they laid him. Twenty-six steps lead down to the chamber +where his body is said to have lain when the "blessed Redeemer" cried +with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." Whether this is the exact spot +or not, it is probably a very ancient cave. One writer claims that it +is as old as the incident itself, and says these rock-cut tombs are the +oldest landmarks of Palestine. Tradition points out the home of Lazarus, +and there is a portion of an old structure called the Castle of Lazarus, +which Lazarus may never have seen. Bethany is a small village, occupied +by a few Mohammedan families, who dislike the "Christians." On the +rising ground above the village stands a good modern stone house, +owned by an English lady, who formerly lived in it, but her servant, a +Mohammedan, made an effort to cut her throat, and almost succeeded in +the attempt. Naturally enough, the owner does not wish to live there +now, so we found the building in the care of a professing Christian, +who treated us with courtesy, giving us a good, refreshing drink, and +permitting us to go out on the roof to look around. + +From this point we turned our footsteps toward Jerusalem, "about fifteen +furlongs off"--that is, about two miles distant. (John 11:18.) When +we reached the lower part of the slope of Olivet, where the tombs of +departed Jews are so numerous, Mr. Michelson and Mr. Jennings went on +across the Kidron valley and back to their lodging places, while Mr. +Ahmed, Mr. Smith and I went down to Job's well, in the low ground below +the city. The Tower of Absalom, the Tomb of James, and the Pyramid +of Zachariah were among the first things we saw. They are all burial +places, but we can not depend upon them being the actual tombs of those +whose names they bear. The first is a peculiar monument nineteen and +one-half feet square and twenty-one feet high, cut out of the solid +rock, and containing a chamber, which may be entered by crawling through +a hole in the side. On the top of the natural rock portion a structure +of dressed stone, terminating in one tapering piece, has been erected, +making the whole height of the monument forty-eight feet. The Jews have +a custom of pelting it with stones on account of Absalom's misconduct, +and the front side shows the effect of their stone-throwing. The Grotto +of St. James is the traditional place of his concealment from the time +Jesus was arrested till his resurrection. The Pyramid of Zachariah is +a cube about thirty feet square and sixteen feet high, cut out of the +solid rock, and surmounted by a small pyramid. It has many names cut +upon it in Hebrew letters, and there are some graves near by, as this is +a favorite burial place. Some of the bodies have been buried between the +monument and the wall around it in the passage made in cutting it out of +the rock. Going on down the valley, we have the village of Siloam on the +hill at our left, and on the other side of the Kidron, the southeastern +part of the Holy City. St. Mary's Well is soon reached. This spring, +which may be the Gihon of 1 Kings 1:33, is much lower than the surface +of the ground, the water being reached by two flights of stairs, +one containing sixteen steps, the other fourteen. The spring is +intermittent, and flows from three to five times daily in winter. It +flows twice a day in summer, but in the autumn it only flows once in the +day. When I was there, the spring was low, and two Turkish soldiers were +on duty to preserve order among those who came to get water. + +The Pool of Siloam, fifty-two feet long and eighteen feet wide, is +farther down the valley. The spring and the pool are about a thousand +feet apart, and are connected by an aqueduct through the hill, which, +owing to imperfect engineering, is seventeen hundred feet long. From +a Hebrew inscription found in the lower end of this passageway it was +learned that the excavation was carried on from both ends. A little +below the Pool of Siloam the valley of the Kidron joins the valley of +Hinnom, where, in ancient times, children were made "to pass through the +fire to Moloch" (2 Kings 23:10). Job's Well, perhaps the En Rogel, on +the northern border of Judah (Joshua 15:7), is rectangular in shape and +one hundred and twenty-three feet deep. Sometimes it overflows, but it +seldom goes dry. When I saw it, no less than six persons were drawing +water with ropes and leather buckets. The location of Aceldama, the +field of blood, has been disputed, but some consider that it was on the +hill above the valley of Hinnom. There are several rock-cut tombs along +the slope of the hill facing the valley of Hinnom, and some of them are +being used as dwelling places. The Moslems have charge of a building +outside the city walls, called David's Tomb, which they guard very +carefully, and only a portion of it is accessible to visitors. Near this +place a new German Catholic church was being erected at a cost of four +hundred thousand dollars. We entered the city by the Zion gate, and +passed the Tower of David, a fortification on Mount Zion, near the Jaffa +gate. + +On the ship coming down from Beyrout I had a conversation with a man who +claimed to have been naturalized in the United States, and to have +gone to Syria to visit his mother, but, according to his story, he was +arrested and imprisoned by the Turks. After being mistreated in the +filthy prison for some time, he secured his release by bribing a soldier +to post a letter to one of the American authorities. He expressed a +desire to visit Jerusalem, but seemed afraid to get back into Turkish +territory. Learning that I was going there, he wrote a letter to the +Armenian Patriarch, and I presented it one day. In a few minutes Mr. +Ahmed and I were led into the large room where the Patriarch was seated +in his robe and peculiar cap. Meeting a dignitary of the Armenian Church +was a new experience to me. I shook hands with him; Mr. Ahmed made some +signs and sat down. In the course of our limited conversation he said +rather slowly: "I am very old." Replying to a question, he informed me +that his age was eighty years. I was on the point of leaving, but he +hindered me, and an attendant soon came in with some small glasses of +wine and a little dish of candy. The Patriarch drank a glass of wine, +and I took a piece of the candy, as also did Mr. Ahmed, and then we took +our leave. + +The eleventh day of October, which was Tuesday, was occupied with a trip +to Hebron, described in another chapter devoted to the side trips I made +from Jerusalem, but the next day was spent in looking around the Holy +City. Early in the morning the Mamilla Pool, probably the "upper pool" +of 2 Kings 18:17, was seen. One author gives the dimensions of this +pool as follows: Length, two hundred and ninety-one feet; breadth, one +hundred and ninety-two feet; depth, nineteen feet. It is filled with +water in the rainy season, but was empty when I saw it. Entering the +city by the Jaffa gate, I walked along David and Christian Streets, and +was shown the Pool of Hezekiah, which is surrounded by houses, and was +supplied from the Mamilla Pool. + +The next place visited was that interesting old building, the Church of +the Holy Sepulcher, where our Lord is supposed to have been buried in +Joseph's new tomb. Jerusalem has many things of great interest, but some +few things are of special interest. The Temple Area and Calvary are of +this class. I am sure my readers will want to know something of each, +and I shall here write of the latter. No doubt the spot where Jesus was +crucified and the grave in which he was buried were both well known to +the brethren up to the destruction of the city in the year seventy. +Before this awful calamity the Christians made their escape, and when +they returned they "would hardly recognize the fallen city as the one +they had left; the heel of the destroyer had stamped out all semblance +of its former glory. For sixty years it lay in ruins so complete that +it is doubtful if there was a single house that could be used as a +residence; during these years its history is a blank." There is no +mention of the returned Christians seeking out the site of either +the crucifixion or burial, and between A.D. 120 and A.D. 136 Hadrian +reconstructed the city, changing it to a considerable extent, and naming +it Aelia Capitolina. This would tend to make the location of Calvary +more difficult. Hadrian built a temple to Venus, probably on the spot +now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Eusebius, writing +about A.D. 325, speaks of Constantine's church built on the site of +this temple. It is claimed that Hadrian's heathen temple was erected +to desecrate the place of Christ's entombment, and that Constantine's +church, being erected on the site of the temple, and regarded as the +place called Calvary, fixes this as the true site; but whether the +church and temple were on the same site or not, the present church +stands where the one built by Constantine stood, and is regarded by the +mass of believers as the true location. + +Constantine's church stood two hundred and eighty years, being destroyed +by Chosroes II., of Persia, in A.D. 614, but was soon succeeded by +another structure not so grand as its predecessor. In 1010, in the +"reign of the mad caliph Hakem," the group of churches was entirely +destroyed, and the spot lay desolate for thirty years, after which +another church was erected, being completed in eight years. This +building was standing in 1099, the time of the Crusaders, but was +destroyed by fire in 1808. This fire "consumed many of the most sacred +relics in the church. Marble columns of great age and beauty crumbled in +the flames. The rich hangings and pictures were burned, along with lamps +and chandeliers and other ornaments in silver and gold. The lead with +which the great dome was lined melted, and poured down in streams." The +building now standing there was finished in 1810 at a cost of nearly +three millions of dollars, one-third of this, it is said, being expended +in lawsuits and Mohammedan bribes. It is the property of several +denominations, who adorn their separate chapels to suit themselves. + +The church is entered from a court having two doors or gates. Worshipers +pass through the court, and stop at the left-hand side of the door and +kiss the marble column, which clearly shows the effect of this practice. +Just inside of the building there is a guard, composed of members of the +oldest Mohammedan family in the city. The reader may wonder why an armed +guard should be kept in a church house, but such a reader has not seen +or read of all the wickedness that is carried on in the support of +sectarianism. Concerning this guard, which, at the time of the holy fire +demonstration, is increased by several hundred soldiers, Edmund Sherman +Wallace, a former United States Consul in this city, says in his +"Jerusalem the Holy": "This Christian church has a Moslem guard, whose +duty it is to keep peace among the various sects who profess belief in +the Prince of Peace. * * * It is a sickening fact that Moslem brute +force must compel Christians to exercise, not charity toward each other, +but common decency and decorum. But it is a fact nevertheless, and will +remain apparent to all so long as priestcraft takes the place of New +Testament Christianity and superstition supplants religion." + +A little beyond this guard is the "Stone of Unction," upon which many +believe Jesus was prepared for burial, but the original stone for which +this claim was made is not now visible, being covered with the present +slab to keep it from being worn out by the kissing of pious pilgrims. +It is eight and a half feet long and four feet wide. Pilgrims sometimes +bring the goods for their burial robes here and measure them by this +stone. Some large candles stand by it, and above it are eight fine +lamps, belonging to the Greek and Roman Catholics, the Copts, and +Armenians. Not far away is a small stone, which I understood was called +the place where the women watched the preparation by Joseph of Arimathea +and Nicodemus. (John 19:38-42.) + +In the center of the rotunda, with its entrance facing the east, is the +Chapel of the Sepulcher, the holiest place in all this holy building. +Passing through the small door, the visitor finds himself in the Chapel +of the Angels, a very small room, where a piece of stone, said to have +been rolled away from the grave by the angels, is to be seen. Stooping +down, the visitor passes through a low opening and enters the Chapel of +the Sepulcher proper, a room only six and a half feet long and six feet +wide. The "tomb" is at the right hand of the entrance, occupying about +half of the floor, above which it rises two feet. It is covered with +marble, so that even if this were the very spot where the Lord and +Savior was laid by the hands of kind friends, the modern visitor would +not know what it looked like when that event took place. The little +chapel, capable of accommodating about six people at a time, contains +some pictures and forty-three silver lamps, the property of the Copts, +Armenians, Greek and Roman Catholics. A priest stands on guard, so that +no damage may be done to any part of the place. + +The Greek chapel, the largest, and to my notion the finest that I saw, +is just in front of the sepulcher. From its having two sections and a +partition, I was reminded of the tabernacle of the wilderness journey. +Services were being conducted once while I was there, and I saw the +Patriarch and others, gorgeously robed, going through with a service +that was at least spectacular, if not spiritual. At one point in the +exercises those participating came down close to where I was standing, +passed around the spot designated "the center of the world," and went +back again to the farther end of the richly ornamented room. One of the +priests, with hair reaching down on his shoulders, bore a silver vessel, +which I suppose contained burning incense. The long hair, beautiful +robes, the singing, praying, and such things, made up a service that +reminded me of the days of Solomon and the old priesthood. + +The demonstration of the "holy fire" takes place in this church once a +year, and there are thousands who believe that the fire passed out from +the Chapel of the Angels really comes from heaven. This occurs on the +Saturday afternoon preceding Easter, and the eager, waiting throng, a +part of which has been in the building since the day before, soon has +its hundreds of little candles lighted. As the time for the appearance +of the fire approaches the confusion becomes greater. Near the entrance +to the sepulcher a group of men is repeating the words: "This is the +tomb of Jesus Christ;" not far from them others are saying: "This is +the day the Jew mourns and the Christian rejoices;" others express +themselves in the language: "Jesus Christ has redeemed us;" and +occasionally "God save the Sultan" can be heard. + +Mr. Wallace, from whose book the foregoing items are gleaned, in telling +of a fight which took place at one stage of the service, describes it as +"a mass of wriggling, struggling, shrieking priests and soldiers, each +apparently endeavoring to do all the possible injury to whomever he +could reach. * * * But the fight went on. Greek trampled on Armenian, +and Armenian on Greek, and Turk on both. Though doing his very best, the +commanding officer seemed unable to separate the combatants. The bugle +rang out time after time, and detachment after detachment of soldiers +plunged into the melee. * * * This went on for fifteen minutes. Just +how much damage was done nobody will ever know. There were a number +of bruised faces and broken heads, and a report was current that two +pilgrims had died from injuries received." This disgraceful and wicked +disturbance is said to have been brought about by the Armenians wanting +two of their priests to go with the Greek Patriarch as far as the +Chapel of the Angels. And it is furthermore said that the defeat of the +Armenians was brought about, to some extent at least, by the muscular +strength of an American professional boxer and wrestler, whom the +Greeks had taken along in priestly garb as a member of the Patriarch's +bodyguard. It is not surprising that Mr. Wallace has written: "The +Church of the Holy Sepulcher gives the non-Christian world the worst +possible illustration of the religion of Him in whose name it stands." + +As I was going through the city, I saw a camel working an olive press. +The poor blindfolded animal was compelled to walk in a circle so +small that the outside trace was drawn tightly over its leg, causing +irritation; but seeing the loads that are put upon dumb brutes, and men +too, sometimes, one need not expect much attention to be given to the +comfort of these useful servants. Truly, there is great need for the +refining, civilizing, and uplifting influence of the gospel here in the +city where it had its earliest proclamation. I also visited two grist +mills operated by horses on a treadmill, which was a large wooden wheel +turned on its side, so the horses could stand on it. I was not pleased +with the nearness of the manure in one of these mills to the material +from which the "staff of life" is made. + +The German Protestant Church of the Redeemer is a fine structure on the +Muristan, completed in 1898. The United States consulate is near the +Austrian postoffice inside of the Jaffa gate. I went there and rested +awhile, but saw the consul, Selah Merrill, at his hotel, where I also +met Mrs. Merrill, and formed a favorable opinion of both of them. Here I +left my belt, checks, and surplus money in the care of the consul. + +Continuing my walk on Wednesday, I passed one of the numerous threshing +floors of the country. This one was the face of a smooth rock, but they +are often the ground on some elevated spot, where a good breeze can be +had to blow away the chaff, for the grain is now threshed and cleaned by +the primitive methods of long ago. After the grain has been tramped out +(1 Cor. 9:9), the straw, now worn to chaff, is piled up, and when a +favorable wind blows, a man tosses it in the air with a wooden fork. The +grain falls in a pile at his feet and the chaff is carried aside +some distance. When this operation has been carried on as long as is +profitable, the wheat and what chaff remains in it are thrown into the +air with a wooden shovel, called in our Bibles a "fan." (Matt. 3:12.) +The final cleaning is done by washing the grain, or with a sieve. + +The Tombs of the Kings, which may never have contained a king, are +extensive and interesting. They are surrounded by a wall, and to reach +them the visitor must go down a very wide stairway. The steps probably +do not number more than twenty-five, but the distance from one side of +the stairs to the other is twenty-seven feet. There are channels cut in +the rock to carry the water that comes down these steps to the cisterns, +two in number, one of which is a good-sized room cut in the rock at the +side of the stairway. It contained about three feet of water when I saw +it, although there had been no rain in Jerusalem for half a year. The +other one, at the bottom of the stairs, is much larger, and was empty. +The vaulted roof is supported by a column, and there are steps leading +from one level of the floor to another. + +Turning to the left at the foot of the big stairway, we passed through +an arch cut through the rock into a court made by excavating the earth +and stone to a depth of perhaps twenty feet. It is ninety feet long and +eighty-one feet wide. The entrance to the tombs is by a vestibule cut in +the rock at one side of the court, and it appears that this once had a +row of pillars along the front, like veranda posts. We went down a few +steps and stooped low enough to pass through an opening about a yard +high. Beyond this we found ourselves in a good-sized room, cut in the +solid rock. There are five of these rooms, and so far as the appearance +is concerned, one might suppose they had been made in modern times, but +they are ancient. The bodies were usually buried in "pigeon-holes" cut +back in the walls of the rooms, but there are some shelf tombs, which +are sufficiently described in their name. One room seems never to have +been completed, but there are burial places here for about forty people. + +One of the interesting things about these tombs is the rolling stone by +which they were closed. It is a round rock, resembling a millstone. The +height is a little over three feet and a half, and the thickness sixteen +inches. It stands in a channel cut for the purpose, but was rolled +forward before the entrance when it was desirable to have the tombs +closed. When Jesus was buried, a "great stone" was rolled to the mouth +of the sepulcher, and the women thought of this as they went to the tomb +on the first day of the week, saying: "Who shall roll us away the stone +from the door of the tomb?" (Mark 16:3.) They went on and found the tomb +open; so, also, we may often find the stone rolled away if we will go +forward in the discharge of our duties, instead of sitting down to mourn +at the thought of something in the distance which seems too difficult. + +On our way to the tombs just mentioned, we passed the American Colony, +a small band of people living together in a rather peculiar manner, +but they are not all Americans. I understood that there had been no +marriages among them for a long time until a short while before I was +in Jerusalem. Some of them conduct a good store near the Jaffa gate. We +passed an English church and college and St. Stephen's Church on the way +to Gordon's Calvary. This new location of the world's greatest tragedy +is a small hill outside the walls on the northern side of the city. The +Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands on ground which for fifteen hundred +years has been regarded as the true site of our Lord's death and burial, +but since Korte, a German bookseller, visited the city in 1738, doubts +have been expressed as to the correctness of the tradition. Jesus +"suffered without the gate" (Heb. 13:12), and "in the place where he was +crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was +man never yet laid" (John 19:41), and it appears to have been near a +public road. (Mark 15:29.) In 1856 Edward Robinson, an American, offered +proof that the site sustained by the old tradition was inside the city +walls at the time of the crucifixion, and more recent discoveries, made +in excavating, confirm his proof. The new Calvary meets the requirements +of the above mentioned scriptures, and gets its name "Gordon's Calvary," +from the fact that General Gordon wrote and spoke in favor of this being +the correct location, and a photographer attached his name to a view of +the place. In the garden adjoining the new Calvary I visited a tomb, +which some suppose to be the place of our Lord's burial. + +On the way back to my lodging place we passed the Damascus gate, the +most attractive of all the old city gates, and one often represented +in books. It was built or repaired in 1537, and stands near an older +gateway that is almost entirely hidden by the accumulated rubbish of +centuries, only the crown of the arch now showing. As we went on we +passed the French Hospice, a fine modern building, having two large +statues on it. The higher one represents the Virgin and her child, the +other is a figure of the Savior. The Catholic church already mentioned, +where two sisters are to be seen in prayer at all times, is near the +Hospice. It is a rather impressive sight to stand in this beautiful but +silent place, and see those women in white robes kneeling there almost +as motionless as statues. + +Thursday and a part of Friday was taken up with a trip to Jericho, but +we got back in time to spend the afternoon in looking around Jerusalem, +and we had an interesting visit to the home of Mrs. Schoenecke, a German +lady, whose father, named Schick, spent fifty-six years of his life in +Jerusalem. From what information Mr. Schick could gather from the Bible, +Josephus, the Talmud, and his personal observations during the time the +Palestine Exploration Fund was at work, he constructed large models of +the ancient temples that stood on Mount Moriah from the days of Solomon +to the time of Herod and Christ. I was told that the original models +were sold to an American college for five thousand dollars. Mr. +Schick then constructed the models shown to us, and explained by Mrs. +Schoenecke. We were also shown a model of the tabernacle used while +Israel was marching to the promised land. + +The Wailing Place is a rectangle one hundred feet long by fifteen feet +wide on the outside of the Temple Area, on the western side, where the +wall is about sixty feet high. Some of the stones in this section are of +large size, and authorities admit that they are of Solomon's time, but +the wall in which they now stand may be a reconstruction. The Jews come +here on the Sabbath, beginning at sundown on Saturday, for a service +which one author describes as follows: "Nearest to him stood a row of +women clad in robes of spotless white. Their eyes were bedimmed with +weeping, and tears streamed down their cheeks as they sobbed aloud +with irrepressible emotion. Next to the women stood a group of +Pharisees--Jews from Poland and Germany. * * * The old hoary-headed men +generally wore velvet caps edged with fur, long love-locks or ringlets +dangling on their thin cheeks, and their outer robes presented a +striking contrast of gaudy colors. Beyond stood a group of Spanish Jews. +* * * Besides these there are Jews from every quarter of the world, who +had wandered back to Jerusalem that they might die in the city of their +fathers, and be buried in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, under the shadow of +the Temple Hill. The worshipers gradually increased in number until the +crowd thronging the pavement could not be fewer than two hundred. It was +an affecting scene to notice their earnestness; some thrust their hands +between the joints of the stones, and pushed into the crevices, as far +as possible, little slips of paper, on which were written, in the Hebrew +tongue, short petitions addressed to Jehovah. Some even prayed with +their mouths thrust into the gaps, where the weather-beaten stones were +worn away at the joints. * * * The congregation at the Wailing Place is +one of the most solemn gatherings left to the Jewish Church, and, as the +writer gazed at the motley concourse, he experienced a feeling of sorrow +that the remnants of the chosen race should be heartlessly thrust +outside the sacred inclosure of their fathers' holy temple by men of an +alien race and an alien creed." So far as I know, all writers give these +worshipers credit for being sincere, but on the two occasions when I +visited the place, I saw no such emotion as described in the foregoing +quotation. The following lines are often rehearsed, the leader reading +one at a time, after which the people respond with the words: "We sit in +solitude and mourn." + + "For the place that lies desolate; + For the place that is destroyed; + For the walls that are overthrown; + For our majesty that is departed; + For our great men who lie dead; + For the precious stones that are buried; + For the priests who have stumbled; + For our kings who have despised Him." + +This solemn practice has been observed for about twelve hundred years, +but the same place may not have been used all the time. "She is become a +widow, that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among +the provinces is become tributary! Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; +therefore she is become as an unclean thing" (Lam. 1: 1, 8). + +On Friday evening we entered some of the many synagogues yet to be found +in Jerusalem and observed the worshipers. On Saturday we went to the +House of Industry of the English church, where boys are taught to work. +Olive wood products are made for the tourist trade. We passed a place +where some men were making a peculiar noise as they were pounding wheat +and singing at their work. This pounding was a part of the process of +making it ready for food. An old lady was standing in an open door +spinning yarn in a very simple manner. We watched her a few minutes, and +I wanted to buy the little arrangement with which she was spinning, but +she didn't care to part with it. She brought out another one, and let me +have it after spinning a few yards upon it. I gave her a Turkish coin +worth a few cents, for which she seemed very thankful, and said, as Mr. +Ahmed explained: "God bless you and give you long life. I am old, and +may die to-day." She told us that she came from Mosul, away beyond the +Syrian desert, to die in Jerusalem. We visited the synagogue of the +Caraite Jews, a small polygamous sect, numbering in this assembly +about thirty persons. They also differ from the majority of Hebrews in +rejecting the Talmud, but I believe they have a Talmud of their own. +Their place of worship is a small room almost under the ground, where we +were permitted to see a very fine old copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, our +Old Testament. The work was done by hand, and I was told the man who +did it was sixteen years of age when he began it, and was sixty when he +finished the work, and that the British Museum had offered five thousand +dollars for the book. Some of these people speak English, and we +conversed with one woman who was quite intelligent. They kindly +permitted us to go up and view the city from the housetop. + +In the afternoon we visited the Temple Area, an inclosure of about +thirty-five acres, in the southeastern part of the city, including the +Mosque of Omar (more appropriately called the Dome of the Rock), the +Mosque El Aksa, and Solomon's Stables. For Christians to enter this +inclosure, it is necessary to notify their consul and secure the service +of his _cavasse_, an armed guard, and a Turkish soldier, both of +whom must be paid for their services. Thus equipped, we entered the +inclosure, and came up on the east front of the Dome of the Rock, +probably so named from the fact that the dome of this structure stands +over an exposed portion of the natural rock, fifty-seven feet long, +forty-three feet wide, and rising a few feet above the floor. After +putting some big slippers on over our shoes, we entered the building +and saw this great rock, which tradition says is the threshing floor +of Araunah, and the spot where Melchizedek sacrificed. It is also the +traditional place where Abraham sacrificed Isaac, and it is believed +that David built an altar here after the angel of destruction had put +up his sword. It is furthermore supposed that the great altar of burnt +offerings stood on this rock in the days of Solomon's Temple, which +is thought to have been located just west of it. This is the probable +location of Zerubbabel's Temple, and the one enlarged and beautified +by Herod, which was standing when Jesus was on earth, and continued to +stand until the awful destruction of the city by the Roman army in A.D. +70. + +The modern visitor to this fine structure would have no thought of the +ancient temple of God if he depended upon what he sees here to suggest +it. All trace of that house has disappeared. The Dome of the Rock, said +to be "the most beautiful piece of architecture in Jerusalem," belongs +to the Turks. It has eight sides, each about sixty-six and a half feet +long, and is partly covered with marble, but it is, to some extent, in a +state of decay. Between the destruction of the temple and the erection +of this building a heathen temple and a church had been built on the +spot. + +The Mosque El Aksa was also visited, but it is noted more for its size +than the beauty of its architecture. The Turkish Governor of Palestine +comes here every Friday to worship at the time the Sultan is engaged +in like manner in Constantinople. Solomon's Stables next engaged our +attention. We crossed the Temple Area to the wall on the southeastern +border, and went down a stairway to these underground chambers, which +were made by building about a hundred columns and arching them over and +laying a pavement on the top, thereby bringing it up on a level with +the rest of the hill. The vaults are two hundred and seventy-three feet +long, one hundred and ninety-eight feet wide, and about thirty feet +high. They were not made for stables, but were used for that purpose in +the middle ages, and the holes through the corners of the square stone +columns show where the horses were tied. A large portion of these +chambers has been made into a cistern or reservoir. + +After a visit to what is called the Pool of Bethesda and the Church of +St. Anne, we went outside the city wall on the north side and entered +what looks like a cave, but upon investigation proves to be an extensive +underground quarry. These excavations, called Solomon's Quarries, +extend, according to one authority, seven hundred feet under the hill +Bezetha, which is north of Mt. Moriah. The rock is very white, and will +take some polish. Loose portions of it are lying around on the floor +of the cavern, and there are distinct marks along the sides where the +ancient stone-cutters were at work. In one part of the quarries we were +shown the place where visiting Masons are said to hold lodge meetings +sometimes. Vast quantities of the rock have been taken out, and this is +probably the source from whence much of the building material of the old +city was derived. + +The trip to the quarries ended my sight-seeing for the week. The next +morning I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and witnessed a part +of the service of the Greek Catholics. At a later hour I went around to +the mission conducted by Bro. Joseph, and, with the little congregation +there assembled, broke bread in memory of Him who in this city, almost +two thousand years ago, gave his life for the sins of the world, after +having instituted this supper, a monumental institution, representing +to our minds the cost of the world's redemption. In the afternoon I +attended the preaching service in Mr. Thompson's tabernacle, and visited +the Abyssinian church, near Mr. Smith's house. This Abyssinian house is +circular, and has a small, round room in the center, around which the +congregation stands and worships, leaning on their staves, for the place +is void of seats. At night I preached in the tabernacle on the question: +"What must I do to be saved?" Melki, the native evangelist, translated +for me as I went along, and the congregation paid good attention and +seemed pleased to have heard me. I know I am pleased to have had +opportunity to "preach the word" in the city from whence it was first +published to the world. + +One of the first sights beheld when I started out on Monday morning was +a foundation, laid at the expense of a woman who intended to build a +house for the "hundred and forty-four thousand." It represents one of +the many peculiar religious ideas that find expression in and around +Jerusalem. We went on to the railway station, where I saw a young man, a +Jew, leave for that far-off land called America. Next the Leper Hospital +was visited. This well-kept institution is in the German colony, and had +several patients of both sexes. A lady, who spoke some English, kindly +showed me through the hospital, and explained that the disease is not +contagious, but hereditary, and that some lepers refuse to enter the +hospital because they are forbidden to marry. The patients were of +various ages, and showed the effects of the disease in different stages. +In some cases it makes the victim a sad sight to look upon. I remember +one of these poor, afflicted creatures, whose face was almost covered +with swollen and inflamed spots. Some were blind, and some had lost +part or all of their fingers by the disease. One man's nose was partly +consumed. + +At Bishop Gobat's school we were kindly received, and given a good, +refreshing drink. The founder of this school, a member of the English +church, was one of the pioneers in Jerusalem mission work, and stood +very high in the estimation of the people. His grave is to be seen in +the cemetery near the school, where one may also see the supposed site +of the ancient city wall. Besides the Leper Hospital, we visited another +hospital under German control, where patients may have medical attention +and hospital service for the small sum of one _mejidi_, about eighty +cents, for a period, of fifteen days, but higher fees are charged in +other departments. We soon reached the English hospital, maintained by +the Society for the Promotion of Christianity among the Jews. It is +built on a semi-circular plan in such a way that the wards, extending +back from the front, admit light from both sides. This institution is +free to the Jews, but I understand Mohammedans were not admitted without +a fee. + +The Syrian Orphanage had about three hundred children in it, who were +being instructed in books and in manual labor. Those who can see are +taught to work in wood, to make a kind of tile used in constructing +partitions, and other lines of useful employment. They had some blind +children, who were being taught to make baskets and brushes. On the way +back to Mr. Smith's I stopped at the Jewish Library, a small two-story +building, having the books and papers upstairs. They have a raised map +of Palestine, which was interesting to me, after having twice crossed +the country from sea to sea. + +The last Thursday I was in the city I went with some friends to the +Israelite Alliance School, an institution with about a thousand pupils, +who receive both an industrial and a literary education. We were +conducted through the school by a Syrian gentleman named Solomon Elia, +who explained that, while the institution is under French control, +English is taught to some extent, as some of the pupils would go +to Egypt, where they would need to use this language. The boys are +instructed in wood-working, carpentry, copper-working, and other lines +of employment. We saw some of the girls making hair nets, and others +were engaged in making lace. Both of these products are sent out of +Palestine for sale. The institution has received help from some of the +Rothschild family, and I have no doubt that it is a great factor for the +improvement of those who are reached by it. Jerusalem is well supplied +with hospitals and schools. The Greek and Roman Catholic churches, the +Church of England, and numerous other religious bodies have a footing +here, and are striving to make it stronger. Their schools and hospitals +are made use of as missionary agencies, and besides these there is a +Turkish hospital and numerous Mohammedan schools. + +On Friday I had an opportunity to see a man measuring grain, as is +indicated by the Savior's words: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; +good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they +give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete, it shall be +measured to you again" (Luke 6:38). He filled his measure about full, +and then shook it down thoroughly. He next filled it up and shook it +down until he evidently thought he had all he could get that way, so he +commenced to pile it up on top. When he had about as much heaped up as +would stay on, he put his hands on the side of the cone opposite himself +and gently pulled it toward him. He then piled some more on the far +side, and when he had reached the limit in this way, he carefully +leveled the top of the cone down a little, and when he could no longer +put on more grain, he gently lifted the measure and moved it around to +the proper place, where it was quickly dumped. In the evening Mr. Smith +and I walked out on Mount Scopus, where Titus had his camp at the time +of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, as foretold by our Lord and +Master in the twenty-fourth of Matthew. + +As we went along, Mr. Smith pointed out the watershed between the +Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. The view from Scopus is very extensive. +We could look away to the north to Nebi Samwil, where the Prophet Samuel +is supposed by some to have been buried. Ramallah, the seat of a school +maintained by the Society of Friends, is pointed out, along with Bireh, +Bethel, and Geba. Nob, the home of the priests slain by command of Saul +(1 Samuel 22:16), and Anathoth, one of the cities of refuge (Joshua +21:18), are in sight. Swinging on around the circle to the east, the +northern end of the Dead Sea is visible, while the Mount of Olives is +only a little distance below us. Across the valley of the Kidron lies +the Holy City, with her walls constructed at various periods and under +various circumstances, her dome-shaped stone roofs, synagogues, mosques, +and minarets, being "trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of +the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). Here, with this panorama spread +out in the evening light, I may say my sight-seeing in the City of the +Great King came to an end. + +I lacked but a few hours of having been in the city two weeks, when I +boarded the train for Jaffa on my way to Egypt. The most of the time I +had lodged in the hospitable home of Mr. Smith, where I had a clean +and comfortable place to rest my tired body when the shadows of night +covered the land. I had received kind treatment, and had seen many +things of much interest. I am truly thankful that I have been permitted +to make this trip to Jerusalem. Let me so live that when the few +fleeting days of this life are over, I may rest with the redeemed. When +days and years are no more, let me enjoy, in the NEW JERUSALEM, the +blessedness that remains for those that have loved the Lord. + +"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from +God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great +voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with +men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and +God himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away +every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall +there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things have +passed away" (Revelation 21:2-4). + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +SIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM. + + +Early on Tuesday morning, the eleventh of October, I set out by +carriage, with some other tourists, for a trip to Bethlehem, Solomon's +Pools, and Hebron. Bethlehem is about five miles south of Jerusalem, and +Hebron is a little southwest of the Holy City and twenty miles distant. +We started from the Jaffa gate and passed the Sultan's Pool, otherwise +known as Lower Gihon, which may be the "lower pool" of Isaiah 22:9. "The +entire area of this pool," says one writer, "is about three and a half +acres, with an average depth, when clear of deposit, of forty-two and +a half feet in the middle from end to end." We drove for two miles, or +perhaps more, across the Plain of Rephaim, one of David's battlefields +soon after he established himself in Jerusalem. Here he was twice +victorious over the Philistines. In the first instance he asked Jehovah: +"Shall I go up against the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into +my hand?" The answer was: "Go up; for I will certainly deliver the +Philistines into thy hand." In this battle the invaders were routed and +driven from the field. "And they left their images there; and David and +his men took them away." But "the Philistines came up yet again, and +spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of +Jehovah, he said, Thou shalt not go up: make a circuit behind them, and +come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when +thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, +that then thou shalt bestir thyself, for then is Jehovah gone out before +thee to smite the hosts of the Philistines." David obeyed the voice of +the Lord, and smote his enemies from Geba to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:17-25.) + +On the southern border of the plain stands the Greek convent called Mar +Elyas. This is about half way to Bethlehem, and the city of the nativity +soon comes into view. Before going much farther the traveler sees a +well-built village, named Bet Jala, lying on his right. It is supposed +to be the ancient Giloh, mentioned in 2 Samuel 15:12 as the home of +Ahithophel, David's counselor, for whom Absalom sent when he conspired +against his father. Here the road forks, one branch of it passing Bet +Jala and going on to Hebron; the other, bearing off to the left, leads +directly to Bethlehem, which we passed, intending to stop there as we +returned in the evening. At this place we saw the monument erected to +mark the location of Rachel's tomb, a location, like many others, in +dispute. When Jacob "journeyed from Bethel and there was still some +distance to come to Ephrath," Rachel died at the birth of Benjamin, "and +was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem). * * * And +Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave" (Gen. 35:16-20). The spot, which +for many centuries was marked by a pyramid of stones, is now occupied +by a small stone building with a dome-shaped roof, at the east side of +which is a room, open on the north, with a flat roof. For hundreds of +years tradition has located the grave at this place, which is indeed +near Bethlehem, but in 1 Samuel 10:2 it is mentioned as being "in the +border of Benjamin," which has occasioned the belief that the true +location is some miles farther north. + +Before long we came to Solomon's Pools. We first stopped at a doorway, +which looks like it might lead down to a cellar, but in reality the door +is at the head of a flight of stairs leading down to what is known as +the "sealed fountain" (Song of Solomon 4:12). The door was fastened, +and we were not able to descend to the underground chamber, which is +forty-one feet long, eleven and a half feet wide, with an arched stone +roof, all of which, except the entrance, is below the surface. A large +basin cut in the floor collects the water from two springs. After rising +a foot in the basin, the water flows out into a channel more than six +hundred feet long leading down to the two upper pools. These great +reservoirs, bearing the name of Israel's wisest monarch, are still in a +good state of preservation, having been repaired in modern times. +The first one is three hundred and eighty feet long, two hundred and +twenty-nine feet wide at one end, two hundred and thirty feet wide at +the other, and twenty-five feet deep. The second pool is four hundred +and twenty-three feet long, one hundred and sixty feet wide at the upper +end, two hundred and fifty feet wide at the lower end, and thirty-nine +feet deep at that end. The third pool is the largest of all, having a +length of five hundred and eighty-two feet. The upper end is one hundred +and forty-eight feet wide, the lower end two hundred and seven feet, +and the depth at the lower end is fifty feet. The pools are about one +hundred and fifty feet apart, and have an aggregate area of six and a +quarter acres, with an average depth approaching thirty-eight feet. The +upper two received water from the sealed fountain, but the lower one was +supplied from an aqueduct leading up from a point more than three miles +to the south. The aqueduct from the sealed fountain leads past the +pools, and winds around the hills to Bethlehem and on to the Temple +Area, in Jerusalem. It is still in use as far as Bethlehem, and could be +put in repair and made serviceable for the whole distance. An offer +to do this was foolishly rejected by the Moslems in 1870. The only +habitation near the pools is an old khan, "intended as a stopping place +for caravans and as a station for soldiers to guard the road and the +pools." The two upper pools were empty when I saw them, but the third +one contained some water and a great number of frogs. As we went on to +Hebron we got a drink at "Philip's Well," the place where "the eunuch +was baptized," according to a tradition which lacks support by the +present appearance of the place. + +Towards noon we entered the "valley of Eschol," from whence the spies +sent out by Moses carried the great cluster of grapes. (Num. 13:23.) +Before entering Hebron we turned aside and went up to Abraham's Oak, a +very old tree, but not old enough for Abraham to have enjoyed its +shade almost four thousand years ago. The trunk is thirty-two feet in +circumference, but the tree is not tall like the American oaks. It is +now in a dying condition, and some of the branches are supported by +props, while the lower part of the trunk is surrounded by a stone wall, +and the space inside is filled with earth. The plot of ground on which +the tree stands is surrounded by a high iron fence. A little farther up +the hill the Russians have a tower, from which we viewed the country, +and then went down in the shade near Abraham's Oak and enjoyed our +dinner. + +Hebron is a very ancient city, having been built seven and a half years +before Zoar in Egypt. (Num. 13:22.) Since 1187 it has been under the +control of the Mohammedans, who raise large quantities of grapes, many +of which are made into raisins. Articles of glass are made in Hebron, +but I saw nothing especially beautiful in this line. The manufacture of +goat-skin water-bottles is also carried on. Another line of work which I +saw being done is the manufacture of a kind of tile, which looks like a +fruit jug without a bottom, and is used in building. Hebron was one of +the six cities of refuge (Joshua 20:7), and for seven years and a half +it was David's capital of Judah. It is very historic. "Abraham moved his +tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and +built there an altar unto Jehovah." (Gen. 13:18.) When "Sarah died in +Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan, * * * Abraham +came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." At this time the worthy +progenitor of the Hebrew race "rose up from before his dead, and spoke +unto the children of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with +you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury +my dead out of my sight." The burial place was purchased for "four +hundred shekels of silver, current money of the land. * * * And after +this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave in the field of Machpelah +before Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan" (Gen. +23:1-20). Years after this, when both Abraham and his son Isaac had +passed the way of all the earth and had been laid to rest in this cave, +the patriarch Jacob in Egypt gave directions for the entombment of his +body in this family burial place. "There they buried Abraham and Sarah +his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I +buried Leah" (Gen. 49:31), and here, by his own request, Jacob was +buried. (Gen. 50:13.) Joshua, the successor of Moses, "utterly +destroyed" Hebron (Joshua 10:37), and afterwards gave it to Caleb, to +whom it had been promised by Moses forty-five years before. (Joshua +14:6-15.) Here Abner was slain (2 Samuel 3:27), and the murderers of +Ishbosheth were put to death. (2 Samuel 4:12.) + +The most interesting thing about the town is the "cave of Machpelah," +but it is inaccessible to Christians. Between 1167 and 1187 a church was +built on the site, now marked by a carefully guarded Mohammedan mosque. +It is inclosed by a wall which may have been built by Solomon. We were +allowed to go in at the foot of a stairway as far as the seventh step, +but might as well have been in the National Capitol at Washington so far +as seeing the burial place was concerned. In 1862 the Prince of Wales, +now King of England, was admitted. He was accompanied by Dean Stanley, +who has described what he saw, but he was permitted neither to examine +the monuments nor to descend to the cave below, the real burial chamber. +As the body of Jacob was carefully embalmed by the Egyptian method, it +is possible that his remains may yet be seen in their long resting place +in this Hebron cave. (Gen. 50:1,2.) + +Turning back toward Jerusalem, we came to Bethlehem late in the +afternoon, and the "field of the shepherds" (Luke 2:8) and the "fields +of Boaz" (Ruth 2:4-23) were pointed out. The place of greatest interest +is the group of buildings, composed of two churches, Greek and Latin, +and an Armenian convent, all built together on the traditional site +of the birth of the Lord Jesus. Tradition is here contradicted by +authorities partly on the ground that a cave to which entrance is made +by a flight of stairs would probably not be used as a stable. This +cave is in the Church of St. Mary, said to have been erected in 330 by +Constantine. Descending the stairs, we came into the small cavern, which +is continually lighted by fifteen silver lamps, the property of the +Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, who each have an interest in the place. +Beneath an altar, in a semi-circular recess, a silver star has been set +in the floor with the Latin inscription: "_Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus +Christus Natus est._" An armed Turkish soldier was doing duty near this +"star of Bethlehem" the evening I was there. The well, from which it is +said the "three mighty men" drew water for David, was visited. (2 Samuel +23:15.) But the shades of night had settled down upon the little town +where our Savior was born, and we again entered our carriages and drove +back to Jerusalem, having had a fine day of interesting sight-seeing. On +the Wednesday before I left Jerusalem, in the company of Mrs. Bates, I +again visited Bethlehem. + +Thursday, October thirteenth, was the day we went down to Jericho, the +Dead Sea, and the Jordan. The party was made up of the writer, Mr. +Ahmed, Mr. Jennings, Mrs. Bates, four school teachers (three ladies and +a gentleman) returning from the Philippines, and the guides, Mr. Smith +and Ephraim Aboosh. We went in two carriages driven by natives. "A +certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among +robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half +dead" (Luke 10:30). This lonely road is still the scene of occasional +robberies, and the Turkish Government permits one of its soldiers to +accompany the tourist for a fee, but we did not want to take this +escort, as neither of the guides feared any danger. Accordingly we took +an early start without notifying the soldiers, and reached Jericho, +about twenty miles away, in time to visit Elisha's Fountain before +dinner. The road leads out past Bethany, down by the Apostles' Fountain, +on past the Khan of the Good Samaritan, and down the mountain to the +plain of the Jordan, this section of which is ten miles long and seven +miles wide. Before the road reaches the plain, it runs along a deep +gorge bearing the name Wady Kelt, the Brook Cherith, where the prophet +Elisha was fed by the ravens night and morning till the brook dried up. +(1 Kings 17:1-7.) We also saw the remains of an old aqueduct, and of a +reservoir which was originally over five hundred feet long and more than +four hundred feet wide. Elisha's Fountain is a beautiful spring some +distance from the present Jericho. Doubtless it is the very spring whose +waters Elisha healed with salt. (2 Kings 2:19-22.) The ground about +the Fountain has been altered some in modern times, and there is now a +beautiful pool of good, clear water, a delight both to the eye and to +the throat of the dusty traveler who has come down from Jerusalem seeing +only the brown earth and white, chalky rock, upon which the unveiled sun +has been pouring down his heat for hours. The water from the spring now +runs a little grist mill a short distance below it. + +After dinner, eaten in front of the hotel in Jericho, we drove over to +the Dead Sea, a distance of several miles, and soon we were all enjoying +a fine bath in the salt water, the women bathing at one place, the men +at another. The water contains so much solid matter, nearly three and a +third pounds to the gallon, that it is easy to float on the surface with +hands, feet and head above the water. One who can swim but little in +fresh water will find the buoyancy of the water here so great as to make +swimming easy. When one stands erect in it, the body sinks down about +as far as the top of the shoulders. Care needs to be taken to keep the +water out of the mouth, nose and eyes, as it is so salty that it is very +disagreeable to these tender surfaces. Dead Sea water is two and a half +pounds heavier than fresh water, and among other things, it contains +nearly two pounds of chloride of magnesium, and almost a pound of +chloride of sodium, or common salt, to the gallon. Nothing but some very +low forms of animal life, unobserved by the ordinary traveler, can live +in this sea. The fish that get into it from the Jordan soon die. Those +who bathe here usually drive over to the Jordan and bathe again, to +remove the salt and other substances that remain on the body after the +first bath. The greatest depth of the Dead Sea is a little over thirteen +hundred feet. The wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood here some +place, but authorities disagree as to whether they were at the northern +or southern end of the sea. In either case every trace of them has been +wiped out by the awful destruction poured on them by the Almighty. (Gen. +18:16 to 19:29) + +The Jordan where we saw it, near the mouth, and at the time we saw it, +the thirteenth of October, was a quiet and peaceful stream, but the +water was somewhat muddy. We entered two little boats and had a short +ride on the river whose waters "stood, and rose up in one heap, a great +way off," that the children of Israel might cross (Joshua 3:14-17), and +beneath whose wave the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized by the +great prophet of the Judaean wilderness. (Matt. 3:13-17.) We also got +out a little while on the east bank of the stream, the only time I was +"beyond Jordan" while in Palestine. After supper, eaten in Jericho, we +went around to a Bedouin encampment, where a dance was being executed--a +dance different from any that I had ever seen before. One of the +dancers, with a sword in hand, stood in the center of the ground they +were using, while the others stood in two rows, forming a right angle. +They went through with various motions and hand-clapping, accompanied +by an indescribable noise at times. Some of the Bedouins were sitting +around a small fire at one side, and some of the children were having a +little entertainment of their own on another side of the dancing party. +We were soon satisfied, and made our way back to the hotel and laid down +to rest. + +The first Jericho was a walled city about two miles from the present +village, perhaps at the spring already mentioned, and was the first city +taken in the conquest of the land under Joshua. The Jordan was crossed +at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19), where the people were circumcised with knives +of flint, and where the Jews made their first encampment west of the +river. (Joshua 5:2-10.) "Jericho was straitly shut up because of the +children of Israel," but by faithful compliance with the word of the +Lord the walls fell down. (Joshua 6:1-27.) "And Joshua charged them with +an oath at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah, +that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: with the loss of his +first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his +youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." Regardless of this curse, +we read that in the days of Ahab, who "did more to provoke Jehovah, the +God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before +him, * * * did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation +thereof with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates +thereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word +of Jehovah, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun" (1 Kings 16:33,34). +"The Jericho * * * which was visited by Jesus occupied a still different +site," says Bro. McGarvey. The present Jericho is a small Arab village, +poorly built, with a few exceptions, and having nothing beautiful in or +around it but the large oleanders that grow in the ground made moist by +water from Elisha's Fountain. We had satisfactory accommodations at the +hotel, which is one of the few good houses there. Jericho in the time of +our Lord was the home of a rich publican named Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10), +and was an important and wealthy city, that had been fortified by Herod +the Great, who constructed splendid palaces here, and it was here that +"this infamous tyrant died." The original Jericho, the home of Rahab the +harlot, was called the "city of palm trees" (Deut. 34:3), but if the +modern representative of that ancient city has any of these trees, they +are few in number. Across the Jordan eastward are the mountains of Moab, +in one of which Moses died after having delivered his valedictory, as +recorded in Deuteronomy. (Deut. 34:1-12.) From a lofty peak the Lord +showed this great leader and law-giver a panorama of "all the land of +Gilead unto Dan. * * * And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land which +I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it +unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou +shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in +the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah. And he buried him +in the valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man +knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." + +Early Wednesday morning we began our toilsome journey back to Jerusalem, +having nearly four thousand feet to climb in the twenty miles +intervening. We stopped awhile at the Khan of the Good Samaritan, which +stands near some old ruins, and may not be far from the place to which +the Good Samaritan carried his poor, wounded fellow-man so long ago. +Here I bought some lamps that look old enough, but may be quite modern +imitations of the kind that were carried in the days of the wise and +foolish virgins. A stop was also made at the Apostles' Fountain, near +Bethany, where I saw an Arab working bread on his coat, which was spread +on the ground. Over by the Damascus gate I one day saw a man feeding his +camel on his coat, so these coarse cloth garments are very serviceable +indeed. We got back to Jerusalem in time to do a good deal of +sight-seeing in the afternoon. + +The following Tuesday was occupied with a trip on "donkey-back" to Nebi +Samwil, Emmaus, Abu Ghosh, and Ain Kairim. Our party was small this +time, being composed of Mr. Jennings, Mr. Smith, the writer, and a +"donkey-boy" to care for the three animals we rode, when we dismounted +to make observations. He was liberal, and sometimes tried to tell us +which way to go. We went out on the north side of the city and came to +the extensive burial places called the "Tombs of the Judges." Near by is +an ancient wine press cut in the rock near a rock-hewn cistern, which +may have been used for storing the wine. En Nebi Samwil is on an +elevation a little more than three thousand feet above the sea and about +four hundred feet higher than Jerusalem, five miles distant. From the +top of the minaret we had a fine view through a field glass, seeing the +country for many miles around. This is thought by some to be the Mizpah +of the Bible (1 Kings 15:22), and tradition has it that the prophet +Samuel was buried here. A little north of Nebi Samwil is the site of +ancient Gibeon, where "Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before +the servants of David" (2 Samuel 2:12-17). + +We next rode over to El Kubebeh, supposed by some to be the Emmaus of +New Testament times, where Jesus went after his resurrection and sat at +meat with his disciples without being recognized. (Luke 24:13-25.) The +place has little to attract one. A modern building, which I took to be +the residence of some wealthy person, occupies a prominent position, and +is surrounded by well-kept grounds, inclosed with a wall. The Franciscan +monastery is a good sized institution, having on its grounds the remains +of a church of the Crusaders' period, over which a new and attractive +building has been erected. One section of it has the most beautiful +floor of polished marble, laid in patterns, that I have ever seen. It +also contains a painting of the Savior and the two disciples. + +We went outside of the monastery to eat our noon-day lunch, but before +we finished, one of the monks came and called us in to a meal at +their table. It was a good meal, for which no charge was made, and I +understand it is their custom to give free meals to visitors, for they +believe that Jesus here sat at meat with his two disciples. We enjoyed +their hospitality, but drank none of the wine that was placed before us. + +Our next point was Abu Ghosh, named for an old village sheik who, "with +his six brothers and eighty-five descendants, was the terror of the +whole country" about a century ago. Our object in visiting the spot was +to see the old Crusaders' church, the best preserved one in Palestine. +The stone walls are perhaps seven or eight feet thick. The roof is still +preserved, and traces of the painting that originally adorned the walls +are yet to be seen. A new addition has been erected at one end, and the +old church may soon be put in repair. + +The last place we visited before returning to Jerusalem was Ain Kairim, +a town occupied mainly by the Mohammedans, and said to have been the +home of that worthy couple of whom it was written: "They were both +righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of +the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6). The portion occupied by the Latins and +Greeks is very beautifully situated on the side of the mountain. The +stone houses, "whited walls," and green cypresses make quite a pretty +picture. The Church of St. John, according to tradition, stands on the +spot where once dwelt Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John, the +great forerunner of Jesus. Night came upon us before we got back to our +starting place, and as this was my first day of donkey riding, I was +very much fatigued when I finally dismounted in Jerusalem; yet I arose +the next morning feeling reasonably well, but not craving another donkey +ride over a rough country beneath the hot sun. + +On Saturday, the twenty-second of October, I turned away from Jerusalem, +having been in and around the place almost two weeks, and went back to +Jaffa by rail. After a few miles the railway leads past Bittir, supposed +to be the Beth-arabah of Joshua 15:61. It is also of interest from the +fact that it played a part in the famous insurrection of Bar Cochba +against the Romans. In A.D. 135 it was captured by a Roman force after +a siege of three and a half years. Ramleh, a point twelve miles from +Jaffa, was once occupied by Napoleon. Lydda, supposed to be the Lod of +Ezra 2:33, was passed. Here Peter healed Aeneas, who had been palsied +eight years. (Acts 9:32-35.) + +Jaffa is the Joppa of the Bible, and has a good deal of interesting +history. When "Jonah rose to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of +Jehovah," he "went down to Joppa and found a ship going unto Tarshish: +so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to +Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah." (Jonah 1:3.) His unpleasant +experience with the great fish is well known. When Solomon was about to +build the first temple, Hiram sent a communication to him, saying: "We +will cut wood out of Lebanon as much as thou shalt need; and will bring +it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to +Jerusalem" (2 Chron. 2:16). In the days of Ezra, when Zerubbabel +repaired the temple, we read that "they gave money also unto the masons, +and to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, unto them of Sidon, +and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, unto +Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia" +(Ezra 3:7). It was the home of "a certain disciple named Tabitha," whom +Peter was called from Lydda to raise from the dead. (Acts 9:36-43.) +Simon the tanner also lived in Joppa, and it was at his house that Peter +had his impressive vision of the sheet let down from heaven prior to his +going to Caesarea to speak the word of salvation to Cornelius and his +friends. (Acts 10:1-6.) + +The city is built on a rocky elevation rising one hundred feet above +the sea, which has no harbor here, so that vessels do not stop when the +water is too rough for passengers to be carried safely in small boats. +Extensive orange groves are cultivated around Jaffa, and lemons are also +grown, and I purchased six for a little more than a cent in American +money. Sesame, wine, wool, and soap are exported, and the imports are +considerable. The train reached the station about the middle of the day, +and the ship did not leave till night, so I had ample time to visit the +"house of Simon the tanner." It is "by the sea side" all right, but +looks too modern to be impressive to the traveler who does not accept +all that tradition says. I paid Cook's tourist agency the equivalent of +a dollar to take me through the custom house and out to the ship, and I +do not regret spending the money, although it was five times as much as +I had paid the native boatman for taking me ashore when I first came to +Jaffa. The sea was rough--very rough for me--and a little woman at my +side was shaking with nervousness, although she tried to be brave, and +her little boy took a firm hold on my clothing. I don't think that I was +scared, but I confess that I did not enjoy the motion of the boat as it +went sliding down from the crest of the waves, which were higher than +any I had previously ridden upon in a rowboat. As darkness had come, it +would have been a poor time to be upset, but we reached the vessel in +safety. When we came alongside the ship, a boatman on each side of the +passenger simply pitched or threw him up on the stairs when the rising +wave lifted the little boat to the highest point. It was easily done, +but it is an experience one need not care to repeat unnecessarily. + +I was now through with my sight-seeing in the Holy Land and aboard the +Austrian ship _Maria Teresa_, which was to carry me to the land of the +ancient Pharaohs. Like Jonah, I had paid my fare, so I laid down to +sleep. There was a rain in the night, but no one proposed to throw me +overboard, and we reached Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal, the +next day. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +EGYPT, THE LAND OF TOMBS AND TEMPLES. + + +The _Maria Teresa_ landed me in Port Said, Egypt, Lord's day, October +twenty-third, and at seven o'clock that evening I took the train for +Cairo, arriving there about four hours later. I had no difficulty in +finding a hotel, where I took some rest, but was out very early the next +morning to see something of the largest city in Africa. The population +is a great mixture of French, Greeks, English, Austrians, Germans, +Egyptians, Arabians, Copts, Berbers, Turks, Jews, Negroes, Syrians, +Persians, and others. In Smyrna, Damascus, and Jerusalem, cities of the +Turkish empire, the streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty, but here +are many fine buildings, electric lights, electric cars, and good, wide +streets, over which vehicles with rubber tires roll noiselessly. + +I first went out to the Mokattam Heights, lying back of the city, at an +elevation of six hundred and fifty feet. From the summit an extensive +view can be obtained, embracing not only the city of Cairo, with its +many mosques and minarets, but the river beyond, and still farther +beyond the Gizeh (Gezer) group of the pyramids. The side of the Heights +toward the city is a vast quarry, from which large quantities of rock +have been taken. An old fort and a mosque stand in solitude on the top. +I went out by the citadel and passed the mosque tombs of the Mamelukes, +who were originally brought into the country from the Caucasus as +slaves, but they became sufficiently powerful to make one of their +number Sultan in 1254. The tombs of the Caliphs, successors of Mohammed +in temporal and spiritual power, are not far from the Heights. + +As I was returning to the city, a laborer followed me a little distance, +and indicated that he wanted my name written on a piece of paper he was +carrying. I accommodated him, but do not know for what purpose he wanted +it. I stopped at the Alabaster Mosque, built after the fashion of one of +the mosques of Constantinople, and decorated with alabaster. The outside +is full of little depressions, and has no special beauty, but the inside +is more attractive. The entrance is through a large court, paved with +squares of white marble. The floor of the mosque was nicely covered with +carpet, and the walls are coated for a few feet with alabaster, and +above that they are painted in imitation of the same material. The +numerous lamps do much towards making the place attractive. The +attendant said the central chandelier, fitted for three hundred and +sixty-six candles, was a present from Louis Philippe, of France. A clock +is also shown that came from the same source. The pulpit is a platform +at the head of a stairway, and the place for reading the Koran is a +small platform three or four feet high, also ascended by steps. Within +an inclosure in one corner of the building is the tomb of Mohammed Ali, +which, I was told, was visited by the Khedive the day before I was +there. + +The most interesting part of the day was the afternoon trip to the nine +pyramids of the Gizeh group. They may be reached by a drive over the +excellent carriage road that leads out to them, or by taking one of the +electric cars that run along by this road. Three of the pyramids are +large and the others are small, but one, the pyramid of Cheops, is built +on such magnificent proportions that it is called "the great pyramid." +According to Baedeker, "the length of each side is now seven hundred and +fifty feet, but was formerly about seven hundred and sixty-eight feet; +the present perpendicular height is four hundred and fifty-one feet, +while originally, including the nucleus of the rock at the bottom and +the apex, which has now disappeared, it is said to have been four +hundred and eighty-two feet. * * * In round numbers, the stupendous +structure covers an area of nearly thirteen acres." + +It is estimated that two million three hundred thousand blocks of stone, +each containing forty cubic feet, were required for building this +ancient and wonderful monument, upon which a hundred thousand men are +said to have been employed for twenty years. Nearly all of the material +was brought across from the east side of the Nile, but the granite that +entered into its construction was brought down from Syene, near Assouan, +five hundred miles distant. Two chambers are shown to visitors, one of +them containing an empty stone coffin. The passageway leading to these +chambers is not easily traversed, as it runs at an angle like a stairway +with no steps, for the old footholds have become so nearly worn out that +the tourist might slip and slide to the bottom were it not for his +Arab helpers. A fee of one dollar secures the right to walk about the +grounds, ascend the pyramid, and go down inside of it. Three Arabs go +with the ticket, and two of them are really needed. Those who went +with me performed their work in a satisfactory manner, and while not +permitted to ask for "backshish," they let me know that they would +accept anything I might have for them. The ascent was rather difficult, +as some of the stones are more than a yard high. It is estimated that +this mighty monument, which Abraham may have looked upon, contains +enough stone to build a wall around the frontier of France. Of the Seven +Wonders of the World, the Pyramid of Cheops alone remains. The other +attractions here are the Granite Temple, and some tombs, from one of +which a jackal ran away as we were approaching. I got back to Cairo +after dark, and took the eight o'clock train for Assouan. + +This place is about seven hundred miles from Port Said by rail, and is +a good sized town. The main street, fronting the river, presents +a pleasing appearance with its hotels, Cook's tourist office, the +postoffice, and other buildings. Gas and electricity are used for +lighting, and the dust in the streets is laid by a real street +sprinkler, and not by throwing the water on from a leathern bag, as I +saw it in Damascus. The Cataract Hotel is a large place for tourists, +with a capacity of three hundred and fifty people. The Savoy Hotel is +beautifully located on Elephantine Island, in front of the town. To +the south of the town lie the ancient granite quarries of Syene, which +furnished the Egyptian workmen building material so long ago, and still +lack a great deal of being exhausted. I saw an obelisk lying here which +is said to be ninety-two feet long and ten and a half feet wide in the +broadest part, but both ends of it were covered. In this section there +is an English cemetery inclosed by a wall, and several tombs of the +natives, those of the sheiks being prominent. + +Farther to the south is a great modern work, the Nile dam, a mile and a +quarter long, and built of solid masonry. In the deepest place it is one +hundred feet high, and the thickness at the bottom is eighty-eight feet. +It was begun in 1899, and at one time upwards of ten thousand men were +employed on the works. It seemed to be finished when I was there, but a +few workmen were still engaged about the place. The total cost has been +estimated at a sum probably exceeding ten millions of dollars. There are +one hundred and eighty sluices to regulate the out-flow of the water, +which is collected to a height of sixty-five feet during the inundation +of the Nile. The dam would have been made higher, but by so doing Philae +Island, a short distance up the river, would have been submerged. + +The remains on this island are so well preserved that it is almost a +misnomer to call them ruins. The little island is only five hundred +yards long and sixty yards wide, and contains the Temple of Isis, Temple +of Hathor, a kiosk or pavilion, two colonnades, and a small Nilometer. +In the gateway to one of the temples is a French inscription concerning +Napoleon's campaign in Egypt in 1799. All the buildings are of stone, +and the outside walls are covered with figures and inscriptions. Some of +the figures are just cut in the rough, never having been finished. Here, +as elsewhere in Egypt, very delicate carvings are preserved almost as +distinct as though done but recently. The guard on the island was not +going to let me see the ruins because I held no ticket. After a little +delay, a small boat, carrying some diplomatic officers, came up. These +gentlemen, one of whom was a Russian, I think, tried to get the guard to +let me see the place with them, but he hesitated, and required them to +give him a paper stating that I was there with them. Later, when I got +to the place where the tickets were sold, I learned that Philae Island +was open for visitors without a ticket. Perhaps the guard thought he +would get some "backshish" from me. + +I made an interesting visit to the Bisharin village, just outside of +Assouan, and near the railroad. The inhabitants are very dark-skinned, +and live in booths or tents, covered with something like straw matting. +I stopped at one of the lodges, which was probably six feet wide and +eight feet long, and high enough to enable the occupants to sit erect on +the floor. An old man, naked from the waist up, was sitting outside. A +young woman was operating a small hand mill, and one or two other women +were sitting there on the ground. They showed me some long strings of +beads, and I made a purchase at a low price. While at this lodge, for I +can not call it a house, and it is not altogether like a tent, about +a dozen of the native children gathered around me, and one, who could +speak some English, endeavored to draw out part of my cash by repeating +this speech: "Half a piaster, Mister; thank you very much." The girls +had their hair in small plaits, which seemed to be well waxed together. +One of the boys, about ten years of age, clothed in a peculiar manner, +was finely formed, and made a favorable impression on my mind. I would +like to see what could be made of him if he were taken entirely away +from his unfavorable surroundings and brought up with the care and +attention that many American boys receive. He and another lad went with +me to see the obelisk in the granite quarry, and I tried to teach them +to say: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." As I +was repeating the first word of the sentence and trying to induce one of +them to follow me, he said, "No blessed," and I failed to get either of +them to say these beautiful words. In Egypt and other countries there +are millions of persons just as ignorant of the gospel and just as much +in need of it as the curly-headed Bisharin lad who conducted me to the +granite quarry. + +I took a pleasant boat ride across the river, past the beautiful grounds +of the Savoy Hotel, to the rock tombs of the great persons of ancient +Elephantine. I tarried a little too long at the tombs, or else did not +start soon enough, for darkness came upon us soon after leaving them. +For some distance the boatman walked on the shore and towed the boat +with a long rope, while I tried to keep it off of the rocks with the +rudder. There was not enough wind to make the sail useful, and as we +were passing around the end of Elephantine Island we drifted against +the rocks, but with no other loss than the loss of some time. It was my +desire to see the Nilometer on the island, and I did see it, but not +until after I had sent the boatman to buy a candle. This ancient +water-gauge was repaired in 1870, after a thousand years of neglect. +The following description by Strabo is taken from Baedeker's _Guide to +Egypt_: "The Nilometer is a well, built of regular hewn stones, on the +bank of the Nile, in which is recorded the rise of the stream--not only +the maximum, but also the minimum, and average rise, for the water in +the well rises and falls with the stream. On the side of the well are +marks measuring the height for the irrigation and other water levels. +These are published for general information. * * * This is of importance +to the peasants for the management of the water, the embankments, the +canals, etc., and to the officials on account of the taxes, for the +higher the rise of the water, the higher the taxes." It needs to be +said, however, that this "well" is not circular, but rectangular, and +has a flight of steps leading down to the water. + +On the way back to Cairo I stopped at Luxor, on the site of the ancient +city of Thebes. The chief attraction here is the Temple of Luxor, six +hundred and twenty-one feet long and one hundred and eighty feet wide. +In recent times this temple was entirely buried, and a man told me he +owned a house on the spot which he sold to the government for about four +hundred and fifty dollars, not knowing of the existence of a temple +buried beneath his dwelling. Some of the original statues of Rameses II. +remain in front of the ruins. I measured the right arm of one of these +figures, from the pit where it touches the side to the same point in +front, a distance of about six feet, and that does not represent the +entire circumference, for the granite between the arm and the body was +never entirely cut away. Near by stands a large red granite obelisk, +with carvings from top to bottom. A companion to this one, for they were +always erected in pairs, has been removed. In ancient times a paved +street led from this temple to Karnak, which is reached by a short walk. +This ancient street was adorned by a row of ram-headed sphinxes on each +side. Toward Karnak many of them are yet to be seen in a badly mutilated +condition, but there is another avenue containing forty of these figures +in a good state of preservation. + +The first of the Karnak temples reached is one dedicated to the Theban +moon god, Khons, reared by Rameses III. The Temple of Ammon, called "the +throne of the world," lies a little beyond. I spent half a day on the +west side of the river in what was the burial ground of ancient Thebes, +where also numerous temples were erected. My first stop was before the +ruins of Kurna. The Temple of Sethos I. originally had ten columns +before it, but one is now out of place. The Temple Der el Bahri bore an +English name, signifying "most splendid of all," and it may not have +been misnamed. It is situated at the base of a lofty barren cliff of a +yellowish cast, and has been partially restored. + +In 1881 a French explorer discovered the mummies of several Egyptian +rulers in an inner chamber of this temple, that had probably been +removed to this place for security from robbers. In the number were the +remains of Rameses II., who was probably reigning in the boyhood days of +Moses, and the mummy of Set II., perhaps the Pharaoh of the Oppression, +and I saw both of them in the museum in Cairo. + +The Ramasseum is another large temple, built by Rameses II., who is +said to have had sixty-nine sons and seventy daughters. There are also +extensive remains of another temple called Medinet Habu. About a half a +mile away from this ruin are the two colossal statues of Memnon, +which were surrounded by water, so I could not get close to them. The +following dimensions of one of them are given: "Height of the figure, +fifty-two feet; height of the pedestal on which the feet rest, thirteen +feet; height of the entire monument, sixty-five feet. But when the +figure was adorned with the long-since vanished crown, the original +height may have reached sixty-nine feet. * * * Each foot is ten and +one-half feet long. * * * The middle finger on one hand is four and a +half feet long, and the arm from the tip of the finger to the elbow +measures fifteen and one-half feet." + +All about these temples are indications of ancient graves, from which +the Arabs have dug the mummies. As I rode out, a boy wanted to sell me a +mummy hand, and another had the mummy of a bird. They may both have been +counterfeits made especially for unsuspecting tourists. There are also +extensive rock-cut tombs of the ancient kings and queens, which are +lighted by electricity in the tourist season. I did not visit them on +account of the high price of admission. The government has very properly +taken charge of the antiquities, and a ticket is issued for six dollars +that admits to all these ruins in Upper Egypt. Tickets for any one +particular place were not sold last season, but tourists were allowed to +visit all places not inclosed without a ticket. + +While in Luxor I visited the American Mission Boarding School for Girls, +conducted by Miss Buchanan, who was assisted by a Miss Gibson and five +native teachers. A new building, with a capacity for four hundred +boarders, was being erected at a cost of about thirty-five thousand +dollars. This would be the finest building for girls in Egypt when +finished, I was told, and most of the money for it had been given by +tourists. I spent a night in Luxor, staying in the home of Youssef Said, +a native connected with the mission work. His uncle, who could not speak +English, expressed himself as being glad to have "a preacher of Jesus +Christ" to stay in his house. + +Leaving Luxor, I returned to Cairo for some more sight-seeing, and I had +a very interesting time of it. In Gen. 41:45 we read: "Pharaoh called +Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah; and gave him to wife Asenath, the +daughter of Potipherah, priest of On." Heliopolis, meaning city of the +sun, is another name for this place, from whence the wife of Joseph +came. It is only a few miles from Cairo, and easily reached by railway. +All that I saw of the old city was a lonely obelisk, "probably the +oldest one in the world," standing in a cultivated field and surrounded +by the growing crop. It is sixty-six feet high, six feet square at the +base, and is well preserved. + +The Ezbekiah Gardens are situated in the best portion of Cairo. This +beautiful park contains quite a variety of trees, including the banyan, +and is a resort of many of the people. Band concerts are held, and a +small entrance fee is taken at the gate. + +On the thirtieth of the month I visited the Museum, which has been +moved to the city and installed in its own commodious and substantial +building. This vast collection of relics of this wonderful old country +affords great opportunities for study. I spent a good deal of time there +seeing the coffins of wood, white limestone, red granite, and alabaster; +sacrificial tables, mummies, ancient paintings, weights and measures, +bronze lamps, necklaces, stone and alabaster jars, bronze hinges, +articles of pottery, and many other things. It is remarkable how some +of the embalmed bodies, thousands of years old, are preserved. I looked +down upon the Pharaoh who is supposed to have oppressed Israel. The body +is well preserved, but it brought thoughts to me of the smallness of the +fleshly side of man. He who once ruled in royal splendor now lies there +in very humble silence. In some cases the cloths wrapped around these +mummies are preserved almost perfectly, and I remember a gilt mask that +was so bright that one might have taken it for a modern product. After +the body was securely wrapped, a picture was sometimes painted over the +face, and now, after the lapse of centuries, some of these are very +clear and distinct. I saw a collection of scarabaei, or beetles, which +were anciently worshiped in this country. Dealers offer figures of this +kind for sale, but the most of them are probably manufactured for the +tourist trade. + +On Lord's day, October thirtieth, I attended the evening services at the +American Mission, and went to Bedrashen the following day. This is the +nearest railway station to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, now an +irregular pile of ruined mud bricks. I secured a donkey, and a boy to +care for it and tell me where to go. We soon passed the dilapidated +ruins of the old capital. Two prostrate statues of great size were seen +on the way to the Step Pyramid of Sakkara, which is peculiar in that it +is built with great offsets or steps, still plainly visible, although +large quantities of the rock have crumbled and fallen down. The +Department of Antiquities has posted a notice in French, Arabic and +English, to the effect that it is dangerous to make the ascent, and that +the government will not be responsible for accidents to tourists who +undertake it. I soon reached the top without any special difficulty, +and with no more danger, so far as I could see, than one experiences +in climbing a steep hill strewn with rocks. I entered another pyramid, +which has a stone in one side of it twenty-five feet long and about five +and a half feet high. Some more tombs were visited, and the delicate +carving on the inner walls was observed. In one instance a harvest scene +was represented, in another the fish in a net could be discerned. The +Serapeum is an underground burial place for the sacred bull, discovered +by Mariette in 1850, after having been buried since about 1400 B.C. In +those times the bull was an object of worship in Egypt, and when one +died, he was carefully embalmed and put in a stone coffin in one of the +chambers of the Serapeum. Some of these coffins are twelve feet high and +fifteen feet long. + +Before leaving Cairo, I went into the famous Shepheard's Hotel, where I +received some information about the place from the manager, who looked +like a well-salaried city pastor. The Grand Continental presents a +better appearance on the outside, but I do not believe it equals +Shepheard's on the inside. I was now ready to turn towards home, so I +dropped down to Port Said again, where there is little of interest to +the tourist except the ever-changing panorama of ships in the mouth of +the Suez Canal, and the study of the social condition of the people. My +delay in the city while waiting for a ship gave me a good deal of +time for writing and visiting the missionaries. The Seamen's Rest is +conducted by Mr. Locke, who goes out in the harbor and gathers up +sailors in his steam launch, and carries them back to their vessels +after the service. One night, after speaking in one of these meetings, I +rode out with him. The American Mission conducts a school for boys, and +Feltus Hanna, the native superintendent, kindly showed me around. The +Peniel Mission is conducted by two American ladies. The British and +Foreign Bible Society has a depot here, and keeps three men at work +visiting ships in the harbor all the time. I attended the services +in the chapel of the Church of England one morning. With all these +religious forces the city is very wicked. The street in which my hotel +was located was largely given up to drinking and harlotry. + +On the ninth of November the French ship _Congo_ stopped in the harbor, +and I went down late in the evening to embark, but the authorities would +not permit me to go aboard, because I had not been examined by the +medical officer, who felt my pulse and signed a paper that was never +called for, and I went aboard all right. The ship stopped at Alexandria, +and I went around in the city, seeing nothing of equal interest to +Pompey's Pillar, a monument standing ninety-eight feet and nine inches +high. The main shaft is seventy-three feet high and nearly thirty feet +in circumference. We reached Marseilles in the evening of November +sixteenth, after experiencing some weather rough enough to make me +uncomfortable, and several of the others were really seasick. I had +several hours in Paris, which was reached early the next day, and the +United States consulate and the Louvre, the national museum of France, +were visited. From Paris I went to London by way of Dieppe and New +Haven. I left summer weather in Egypt, and found that winter was on hand +in France and England. London was shrouded in a fog. I went back to my +friends at Twynholm, and made three addresses on Lord's day, and spoke +again on Monday night. I sailed from Liverpool for New York on the _SS. +Cedric_ November twenty-third. We were in the harbor at Queenstown, +Ireland, the next day, and came ashore at the New York custom house on +the second of December. The _Cedric_ was then the second largest ship in +the world, being seven hundred feet long and seventy-five feet broad. +She carries a crew of three hundred and forty, and has a capacity for +over three thousand passengers. On this trip she carried one thousand +three hundred and thirty-six, and the following twenty classes of people +were represented: Americans, English, French, German, Danes, Norwegians, +Roumanians, Spanish, Arabs, Japanese, Negroes, Greeks, Russian Jews, +Fins, Swedes, Austrians, Armenians, Poles, Irish, and Scotch. A great +stream of immigrants is continually pouring into the country at this +point. Twelve thousand were reported as arriving in one day, and a +recent paper contains a note to the effect that the number arriving in +June will exceed eighty thousand, as against fifty thousand in June +of last year. "The character of the immigrants seems to grow steadily +worse." + +My traveling companion from Port Said to Marseilles and from Liverpool +to New York was Solomon Elia, who had kindly shown me through the +Israelite Alliance School in Jerusalem. I reached Philadelphia the same +day the ship landed in New York, but was detained there with brethren +on account of a case of quinsy. I reached home on the fourteenth of +December, after an absence of five months and three days, in which +time I had seen something of fourteen foreign countries, having a very +enjoyable and profitable trip. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. + + +This section of country has been known by several names. It has been +called the "Land of Canaan," the "Land of Israel," the "Land of +Promise," the "Land of the Hebrews," and the "Holy Land." Canaan was +simply the country between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, extending +from Mt. Lebanon on the north to the Desert of Arabia on the south. Dan +was in the extreme northern part, and Beer-sheba lay in the southern end +of the country, one hundred and thirty-nine miles distant. The average +width of the land is about forty miles, and the total area is in the +neighborhood of six thousand miles. "It is not in size or physical +characteristics proportioned to its moral and historical position as the +theater of the most momentous events in the world's history." Palestine, +the land occupied by the twelve tribes, included the Land of Canaan and +a section of country east of the Jordan one hundred miles long and about +twenty-five miles wide, occupied by Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of +Manasseh. The Land of Promise was still more extensive, reaching +from "the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates," +embracing about sixty thousand square miles, or a little less than +the five New England States. The country is easily divided into four +parallel strips. Beginning at the Mediterranean, we have the Maritime +Plain, the Mountain Region, the Jordan Valley, and the Eastern +Table-Land. + +The long stretch of lowland known as the Maritime Plain is divided +into three sections. The portion lying north of Mt. Carmel was called +Phoenicia. It varies in width from half a mile in the north to eight +miles in the south. The ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon belonged to +this section. Directly east of Mt. Carmel is the Plain of Esdraelon, +physically a part of the Maritime Plain. It is an irregular triangle, +whose sides are fourteen, sixteen, and twenty-five miles respectively, +the longest side being next to Mt. Carmel. Here Barak defeated the army +of Sisera under Jabin, and here Josiah, king of Judah, was killed in a +battle with the Egyptians under Pharaoh-necoh. + +The Plains of Sharon and Philistia, lying south of Carmel, are usually +regarded as the true Maritime Plain. Sharon extends southward from +Carmel about fifty miles, reaching a little below Jaffa, and has an +average width of eight miles. The Zerka, or Crocodile river, which +traverses this plain, is the largest stream of Palestine west of the +Jordan. There are several other streams crossing the plain from the +mountains to the sea, but they usually cease to flow in the summer +season. Joppa, Lydda, Ramleh, and Caesarea belong to this plain. Herod +the Great built Caesarea, and spent large sums of money on its palace, +temple, theater, and breakwater. + +The Plain of Philistia extends thirty or forty miles from the southern +limits of Sharon to Gaza, varying in width from twelve to twenty-five +miles. It is well watered by several streams, some of which flow all the +year. Part of the water from the mountains flows under the ground and +rises in shallow lakes near the coast. Water can easily be found here, +as also in Sharon, by digging wells, and the soil is suitable for the +culture of small grains and for pasture. During a part of the year the +plain is beautifully ornamented with a rich growth of brightly colored +flowers, a characteristic of Palestine in the wet season. + +Gaza figures in the history of Samson, who "laid hold of the doors of +the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and +all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the +mountain that is before Hebron." Ashkelon, on the coast, is connected +with the history of the Crusades. Ashdod, or Azotus, is where Philip was +found after the baptism of the eunuch. It is said that Psammetichus, +an ancient Egyptian king, captured this place after a siege of +twenty-seven years. Ekron and Gath also belonged to this plain. + +The ridge of mountains lying between the coast plain and the Jordan +valley form the backbone of the country. Here, more than elsewhere, +the Israelites made their homes, on account of the hostility of the +inhabitants in the lowlands. This ridge is a continuation of the Lebanon +range, and extends as far south as the desert. In Upper Galilee the +mountains reach an average height of two thousand eight hundred feet +above sea level, but in Lower Galilee they are a thousand feet lower. In +Samaria and Judaea they reach an altitude of two or three thousand feet. +The foot-hills, called the Shefelah, and the Negeb, or "South Country," +complete the ridge. The highest peak is Jebel Mukhmeel, in Northern +Palestine, rising ten thousand two hundred feet above the sea. Mt. +Tabor, in Galilee, is one thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet +high, while Gerizim and Ebal, down in Samaria, are two thousand eight +hundred and fifty feet and three thousand and seventy-five feet +respectively. The principal mountains in Judaea are Mt. Zion, two +thousand five hundred and fifty feet; Mt. Moriah, about one hundred feet +lower; Mount of Olives, two thousand six hundred and sixty-five feet, +and Mt. Hebron, three thousand and thirty feet. Nazareth, Shechem, +Jerusalem, and Hebron belong to the Mountain Region. + +The Jordan Valley is the lowest portion of the earth's surface. No other +depressions are more than three hundred feet below sea level, but the +Jordan is six hundred and eighty-two feet lower than the ocean at the +Sea of Galilee, and nearly thirteen hundred feet lower where it enters +the Dead Sea. This wonderful depression, which includes the Dead Sea, +forty-five miles long, and the valley south of it, one hundred miles in +length, is two hundred and fifty miles long and from four to fourteen +miles in width, and is called the Arabah. The sources of the Jordan +are one hundred and thirty-four miles from the mouth, but the numerous +windings of the stream make it two hundred miles long. The Jordan +is formed by the union of three streams issuing from springs at an +elevation of seventeen hundred feet above the sea. The principal source +is the spring at Dan, one of the largest in the world, as it sends forth +a stream twenty feet wide and from twenty to thirty inches deep. The +spring at Banias, the Caesarea Philippi of the Scriptures, is the +eastern source. The Hashbany flows from a spring forming the western +source. A few miles south of the union of the streams above mentioned +the river widens into the waters of Merom, a small lake nearly on a +level with the Mediterranean. In the next few miles it descends rapidly, +and empties into the Sea of Galilee, called also the Sea of Chinnereth, +Sea of Tiberias, and Lake of Gennesaret. In the sixty-five miles from +the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea the fall is about six hundred feet. +The rate of descent is not uniform throughout the whole course of the +river. In one section it drops sixty feet to the mile, while there is +one stretch of thirteen miles with a descent of only four and a half +feet to the mile. The average is twenty-two feet to the mile. The width +varies from eighty to one hundred and eighty feet, and the depth from +five to twelve feet. Caesarea Philippi, at the head of the valley, +Capernaum, Magdala, Tiberias, and Tarrichaea were cities on the Sea of +Galilee. Jericho and Gilgal were in the plain at the southern extremity, +and Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, upon which the wrath of God was +poured, were somewhere in the region of the Dead Sea. + +The Eastern Table-Land has a mountain wall four thousand feet high +facing the river. This table-land, which is mostly fertile, extends +eastward about twenty miles, and terminates in the Arabian Desert, which +is still higher. Here the mountains are higher and steeper than those +west of the Jordan. Mt. Hermon, in the north, is nine thousand two +hundred feet high. South of the Jarmuk River is Mt. Gilead, three +thousand feet high, and Mt. Nebo, lying east of the northern end of the +Dead Sea, reaches an elevation of two thousand six hundred and seventy +feet. Besides the Jarmuk, another stream, the Jabbok, flows into the +Jordan from this side. The Arnon empties into the Dead Sea. The northern +section was called Bashan, the middle, Gilead, and the southern part, +Moab. Bashan anciently had many cities, and numerous ruins yet remain. +In the campaign of Israel against Og, king of Bashan, sixty cities +were captured. Many events occurred in Gilead, where were situated +Jabesh-Gilead, Ramoth-Gilead, and the ten cities of the Decapolis, with +the exception of Beth-shean, which was west of the Jordan. From the +summit of Mt. Pisgah, a peak of Mt. Nebo, Moses viewed the Land +of Promise, and from these same heights Balaam looked down on the +Israelites and undertook to curse them, Moab lies south of the Arnon +and east of the Dead Sea. In the time of a famine, an Israelite, named +Elimelech, with his wife and sons, sojourned in this land. After the +death of Elimelech and both of his sons, who had married in the land, +Naomi returned to Bethlehem, accompanied by her daughter-in-law, Ruth, +the Moabitess, who came into the line of ancestry of David and of the +Lord Jesus Christ. Once, when the kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom +invaded the land, the king of Moab (when they came to Kir-hareseth, +the capital) took his oldest son, who would have succeeded him on the +throne, "and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall." At this +the invaders "departed from him and returned to their own land." + +The political geography of Palestine is so complicated that it can not +be handled in the space here available. Only a few words, applicable +to the country in New Testament times, can be said. The provinces of +Galilee, Samaria, and Judaea were on the west side of the Jordan, while +the Decapolis and Perea lay east of that river. The northern province +of Galilee, which saw most of the ministry of Jesus, extended from the +Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee, and a much greater distance from +the north to the south. It was peopled with Jews, and was probably a +much better country than is generally supposed, as it contained a large +number of cities and villages, and produced fish, oil, wheat, wine, +figs, and flax. "It was in Christ's time one of the gardens of the +world--well watered, exceedingly fertile, thoroughly cultivated, and +covered with a dense population."--_Merrill_. + +Samaria, lying south of Galilee, extended from the Mediterranean to the +Jordan, and was occupied by a mixed race, formed by the mingling of Jews +with the foreigners who had been sent into the land. When they were +disfellowshiped by the Jews, about 460 B.C., they built a temple on Mt. +Gerizim. + +The province of Judaea was the largest in Palestine, and extended from +the Mediterranean on the west to the Dead Sea and the Jordan on the +east. It was bounded on the north by Samaria, and on the south by the +desert. Although but fifty-five miles long and about thirty miles wide, +it held out against Egypt, Babylonia, and Rome. + +The Decapolis, or region of ten Gentile cities, was the northeastern +part of Palestine, extending eastward from the Jordan to the desert. +Perea lay south of the Decapolis, and east of the Jordan and Dead Sea. +The kingdom of Herod the Great, whose reign ended B.C. 4, included +all of this territory. After his death the country was divided into +tetrarchies. Archelaus ruled over Judaea and Samaria; Antipas ("Herod +the tetrarch") had control of Galilee and Perea; Philip had a section of +country east of the Sea of Galilee, and Lysanius ruled over Abilene, a +small section of country between Mt. Hermon and Damascus, not included +in the domain of Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa was made king by +Caligula, and his territory embraced all that his grandfather, Herod the +Great, had ruled over, with Abilene added, making his territory more +extensive than that of any Jewish king after Solomon. He is the "Herod +the king" who killed the Apostle James and imprisoned Peter. After +delivering an oration at Caesarea, he died a horrible death, "because +he gave not God the glory." At his death, in A.D. 44, the country was +divided into two provinces. The northern section was ruled by Herod +Agrippa II. till the Jewish State was dissolved, in A.D. 70. He was the +"King Agrippa" before whom Paul spoke. The southern part of the country, +called the province of Judaea, was ruled by procurators having their +seat at Caesarea. When Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, the country +was annexed to Syria. + +The climate depends more upon local conditions than on the latitude, +which is the same as Southern Georgia and Alabama, Jerusalem being on +the parallel of Savannah. In point of temperature it is about the same +as these localities, but in other respects it differs much. The year has +two seasons--the dry, lasting from the first of April to the first of +November, and the rainy season, lasting the other five months, during +which time there are copious rains. One authority says: "Were the old +cisterns cleaned and mended, and the beautiful tanks and aqueducts +repaired, the ordinary fall of rain would be quite sufficient for the +wants of the inhabitants and for irrigation." The summers are hot, the +winters mild. Snow sometimes falls, but does not last long, and ice is +seldom formed. + +Palestine is not a timbered country. The commonest oak is a low, scrubby +bush. The "cedars of Lebanon" have almost disappeared. The carob +tree, white poplar, a thorn bush, and the oleander are found in some +localities. The principal fruit-bearing trees are the fig, olive, date +palm, pomegranate, orange, and lemon. Grapes, apples, apricots, quinces, +and other fruits also grow here. Wheat, barley, and a kind of corn are +raised, also tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, and tobacco. The ground +is poorly cultivated with inferior tools, and the grain is tramped out +with cattle, as in the long ago. + +Sheep and goats are the most numerous domestic animals, a peculiarity of +the sheep being the extra large "fat tail" (Lev. 3:9), a lump of pure +fat from ten to fifteen inches long and from three to five inches thick. +Cattle, camels, horses, mules, asses, dogs and chickens are kept. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +HISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE. + + +In the ancient Babylonian city called Ur of the Chaldees lived the +patriarch Terah, who was the father of three sons, Abram, Nahor, and +Haran. Lot was the son of Haran, who died in Ur. Terah, accompanied by +Abram, Sarai, and Lot, started for "the land of Canaan," but they "came +unto Haran and dwelt there," "and Terah died in Haran." "Now Jehovah +said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and +from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will +make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name +great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, +and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the +families of the earth be blessed." So Abram, Sarai, and Lot came into +the land of Canaan about 2300 B.C., and dwelt first at Shechem, but "he +removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched +his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east." Abram did not +remain here, but journeyed to the south, and when a famine came, he +entered Egypt. Afterwards he returned to the southern part of Canaan, +and still later he returned "unto the place where his tent had been at +the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. * * * And Lot also, who went with +Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents." On account of some discord +between the herdsmen of the two parties, "Abram said unto Lot, Let there +be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my +herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren." Accepting his uncle's +proposition, Lot chose the well watered Plain of the Jordan, "journeyed +east," "and moved his tent as far as Sodom," but "Abram moved his tent, +and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron." + +Some time after this Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, entered the region +occupied by Lot, and overcame the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, +Zeboiim, and Bela, carrying away the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, +"and they took Lot * * * and his goods." "And there came one that had +escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew," who "led forth his trained men, +born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as +Dan." As a result of this hasty pursuit, Abram "brought back all the +goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the +women also, and the people." "The king of Sodom went out to meet" Abram +after his great victory, and offered him the goods for his services, +but the offer was refused. Abram was also met by "Melchizedek, king of +Salem," who "brought forth bread and wine," and "blessed him." Before +his death, the first Hebrew saw the smoke from Sodom and Gomorrah going +up "as the smoke of a furnace," and he also passed through the severe +trial of sacrificing his son Isaac. At the age of one hundred and +seventy-five "the father of the faithful" "gave up the ghost, and died +in a good old age, an old man and full of years, * * * and Isaac and +Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah," at Hebron, where +Sarah had been laid to rest when the toils and cares of life were over. + +From Abraham, through Ishmael, descended the Ishmaelites; through +Midian, the Midianites; and through Isaac, the chosen people, called +Israelites, from Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. The +interesting story of Joseph tells how his father and brothers, with +their families, were brought into Egypt at the time of a famine, where +they grew from a few families to a great nation, capable of maintaining +an army of more than six hundred thousand men. A new king, "who knew +not Joseph," came on the throne, and after a period of oppression, the +exodus took place, about 1490 B.C., the leader being Moses, a man eighty +years of age. At his death, after forty years of wandering in the +wilderness, Joshua became the leader of Israel, and they crossed the +Jordan at Gilgal, a few miles north of the Dead Sea, capturing Jericho +in a peculiar manner. Two other incidents in the life of Joshua may +be mentioned here. One was his victory over the Amorites in the +neighborhood of Gibeon and Beth-horon, where more were slain by the +hailstones which Jehovah cast down upon them than were killed by Israel +with the sword. It was on this occasion that Joshua said: "Sun, stand +thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And +the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged +themselves of their enemies. * * * And there was no day like that before +or after it." The other event is the complete victory of Israel over the +immense army of Jabin, king of Hazor, fought at the Waters of Merom, in +Galilee. The combined forces of Jabin and several confederate kings, +"even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses +and chariots very many," were utterly destroyed. Then came the allotment +of the territory west of the Jordan to the nine and a half tribes, as +Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had been assigned land east +of the river. The allotment was made by Joshua, Eleazer, the priest, +"and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of +Israel." + +The period of the Judges, extending from Joshua to Saul, over three +hundred years, was a time in which Israel was troubled by several +heathen tribes, including the Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites, +Amalekites, and Canaanites. The most troublesome of all were the +Philistines, who "were repulsed by Shamgar and harassed by Samson," but +they continued their hostility, capturing the Ark of the Covenant in the +days of Eli, and finally bringing Israel so completely under their power +that they had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their tools. + +The cry was raised: "Make us a king to judge us, like all the nations." +Although this was contrary to the will of God, and amounted to rejecting +the Lord, the Almighty gave directions for making Saul king, when the +rebellious Israelites "refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel," and +said: "Nay, but we will have a king over us." Two important events in +Saul's reign are the battle of Michmash and the war with Amalek. In the +first instance a great host of Philistines were encamped at Michmash, +and Saul, with his army, was at Gilgal. Samuel was to come and offer a +sacrifice, but did not arrive at the appointed time, and the soldiers +deserted, till Saul's force numbered only about six hundred. In his +strait, the king offered the burnt offering himself, and immediately +Samuel appeared, heard his explanation, and declared: "Thou hast done +foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God. * * +* Now thy kingdom shall not continue." Saul's loyalty to God was again +tested in the affair with Amalek, and his disobedience in sparing Agag +and the best of the cattle and sheep should be better known and more +heeded than it is. Concerning this, the prophet of God chastised him, +saying: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken +than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and +stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the +word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king." The dark +picture of Saul's doings is here and there relieved by the unadulterated +love of Jonathan and David, "which, like the glintings of the diamond in +the night," takes away some of the deepest shadows. + +The next king, Jesse's ruddy-faced shepherd boy, was anointed by Samuel +at Bethlehem, and for seven and a half years he reigned over Judah from +his capital at Hebron. Abner made Ish-bosheth, the only surviving son +of Saul, king over Israel, "and he reigned two years. But the house of +Judah followed David." Abner, who had commanded Saul's army, became +offended at the king he had made, and went to Hebron to arrange with +David to turn Israel over to him, but Joab treacherously slew him in +revenge for the blood of Asahel. It was on this occasion that David +uttered the notable words: "Know ye not that there is a prince and a +great man fallen this day in Israel?" Afterwards Rechab and Baanah slew +Ish-bosheth in his bedchamber and carried his head to David, who was so +displeased that he caused them to be killed, and their hands and feet +were cut off and hanged up by the pool in Hebron. Then the tribes of +Israel came voluntarily and made themselves the subjects of King David, +who captured Jebus, better known as Jerusalem, and moved his capital to +that city. During his reign the Philistines were again troublesome, and +a prolonged war was waged against the Ammonites. During this war David +had his record stained by his sinful conduct in the matter of Uriah's +wife. + +David was a fighting king, and his "reign was a series of trials and +triumphs." He not only subdued the Philistines, but conquered Damascus, +Moab, Ammon, and Edom, and so extended his territory from the +Mediterranean to the Euphrates that it embraced ten times as much as +Saul ruled over. But his heart was made sad by the shameful misconduct +of Amnon, followed by his death, and by the conspiracy of Absalom, the +rebellion following, and the death of this beautiful son. "The story of +David's hasty flight from Jerusalem over Olivet and across the Jordan to +escape from Absalom is touchingly sad. 'And David went up by the ascent +of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up, and he had his head +covered, and went barefoot.' Then what a picture of paternal love, +which the basest filial ingratitude could not quench, is that of David +mourning the death of Absalom, 'The king was much moved, and went up to +the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O, +my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O +Absalom, my son, my son!'" After finishing out a reign of forty years, +"the sweet singer of Israel" "slept with his fathers, and was buried in +the city of David." + +His son Solomon succeeded him on the throne, and had a peaceful reign of +forty years, during which time the Temple on Mount Moriah was erected, +being the greatest work of his reign. David had accumulated much +material for this house; Hiram, king of Tyre, furnished cedar timber +from the Lebanon mountains, and skilled workmen put up the building, +into which the Ark of the Covenant was borne. This famous structure was +not remarkable for its great size, but for the splendid manner in which +it was adorned with gold and other expensive materials. Israel's wisest +monarch was a man of letters, being the author of three thousand +proverbs and a thousand and five songs. His wisdom exceeded that of all +his contemporaries, "and all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to +hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart." A case in point is the +visit of the Queen of Sheba, who said: "The half was not told me; thy +wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard." But the glory of +his kingdom did not last long. "It dazzled for a brief space, like the +blaze of a meteor, and then vanished away." Nehemiah says there was no +king like him, "nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin." + +Solomon's reign ended about 975 B C., and his son, Rehoboam, was +coronated at Shechem. Jereboam, the son of Nebat, whose name is +proverbial for wickedness, returned from Egypt, whence he had fled from +Solomon, and asked the new king to make the grievous service of his +father lighter, promising to support him on that condition. Rehoboam +counseled "with the old men, that had stood before Solomon," and refused +their words, accepting the counsel of the young men that had grown up +with him. When he announced that he would make the yoke of his father +heavier, the ten northern tribes revolted, and Jereboam became king of +what is afterwards known as the house of Israel. The kingdom lasted +about two hundred and fifty years, being ruled over by nineteen kings, +but the government did not run smoothly. "Plot after plot was formed, +and first one adventurer and then another seized the throne." Besides +the internal troubles, there were numerous wars. Benhadad, of Damascus, +besieged Samaria; Hazael, king of Syria, overran the land east of the +Jordan; Moab rebelled; Pul (Tiglath-pileser), king of Assyria, invaded +the country, and carried off a large amount of tribute, probably +amounting to two millions of dollars; and thirty years later he entered +the land and carried away many captives. At a later date the people +became idolatrous, and Shalmaneser, an Assyrian king, reduced them to +subjection, and carried numbers of them into Assyria, and replaced them +with men from Babylon and other places. By the intermarriage of Jews +remaining in the country with these foreigners a mixed race, called +Samaritans, sprang up. + +The southern section of the country, known as the kingdom of Judah, was +ruled over by nineteen kings and one queen for a period of about three +hundred and seventy-five years. Asa, one of the good kings, was a +religious reformer--even "his mother he removed from being queen, +because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut +down her image and burnt it at the brook Kidron." But he, like many +other reformers, failed to make his work thorough, for "the high places +were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with +Jehovah all his days." Joash caused a chest to be placed "at the gate of +the house of Jehovah," into which the people put "the tax that Moses, +the servant of God, laid upon Israel in the wilderness," until they +had gathered an abundance of money, with which the house of God was +repaired, for the wicked sons of Athaliah had broken it up and bestowed +the dedicated things upon the Baalim. But after the death of Jehoida, +the priest, Joash was himself led into idolatry, and when Zechariah, the +son of Jehoida, rebuked the people for turning from God, they stoned him +to death by the order of King Joash. The last words of the dying +martyr were: "The Lord look upon it and require it." This is strangely +different from the last expression of Stephen, who "kneeled down, and +cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." +Amaziah returned "from the slaughter of the Edomites," and set up the +gods of the idolatrous enemies he had whipped, "to be his gods." Ahaz +was a wicked idolater, worshiping Baal and sacrificing his own sons. + +In strong contrast with such men as these we have the name of +Hezekiah, whose prosperous reign was a grand period of reformation and +improvement. He was twenty-five years old when he came on the throne, +and in the twenty-nine years he ruled, "he removed the high places, and +brake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah." The brazen serpent, +made by Moses in the wilderness, had become an object of worship, but +Hezekiah called it "a piece of brass," and broke it in pieces. The +passover had not been kept "in great numbers in such sort as it is +written," so Hezekiah sent messengers from city to city to call the +people to observe the passover. Some "laughed them to scorn, and mocked +them," but others "humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem," and in +the second month the "very great assembly * * * killed the passover. * * +* So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the +son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem." + +Manasseh, the next king, reestablished idolatry, and his son Amon, +who ruled but two years, followed in his footsteps. Josiah, who next +occupied the throne, was a different kind of a man. "He did that which +was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his +father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." In his +reign, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the temple, and +delivered it to Shaphan the scribe, who read it, and took it to the king +and read it to him. "And it came to pass when the king heard the words +of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes," and commanded that +inquiry be made of the Lord concerning the contents of the book. As a +result, the temple was cleansed of the vessels that had been used in +Baal worship, the idolatrous priests were put down, the "houses of the +sodomites," that were in the house of Jehovah, were broken down, the +high places erected by Solomon were defiled, and a great reformation was +worked. + +Zedekiah was the last king in the line. In his day, Nebuchadnezzar, king +of Babylon, invaded the land, and besieged Jerusalem for sixteen months, +reducing the people to such straits that women ate the flesh of their +own children. When the city fell, a portion of the inhabitants were +carried to Babylon, and the furnishings of the temple were taken away +as plunder. Zedekiah, with his family, sought to escape, going out +over Olivet as David in his distress had done, but he was captured and +carried to Riblah, thirty-five miles north of Baalbec, where his sons +were slain in his presence. Then his eyes were put out, and he was +carried to Babylon. In this way were fulfilled the two prophecies, that +he should be taken to Babylon, and that he should not see it. + +Thus, with Jerusalem a mass of desolate, forsaken ruins, the Babylonian +period was ushered in. Some of the captives rose to positions of trust +in the Babylonian government. Daniel and his three associates are +examples. During this period Ezekiel was a prophet. No doubt the frame +of mind of most of them is well expressed by the Psalmist: "By the +rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept when we remembered +Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps." + +The Medo-Persian period began with the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, who +brought the Jews under his rule. The captives were permitted to return +to Palestine, and Zerubbabel soon had the foundations of the temple +laid; but here the work came to a standstill, and so remained for +seventeen years. About 520 B.C., when Darius was king of Persia, the +work was resumed, and carried on to completion. For some years the +service of God seems to have been conducted in an unbecoming manner. +Nehemiah came upon the stage of action, rebuilt the city walls, required +the observance of the Sabbath, and served as governor twelve years +without pay. Ezra brought back a large number of the people, repaired +the temple, and worked a great reformation. Under his influence, those +who had married foreign wives put them away, and "some had wives by whom +they had children." As the Samaritans were not allowed to help build the +temple, they erected one of their own on Mt Gerizim. A few Samaritans +still exist in Nablus, and hold services on Gerizim. "After Nehemiah, +the office of civil ruler seems to have become extinct." + +The Greek period begins with the operations of Alexander the Great in +Asia, 333 B.C., and extends to the time of the Maccabees, 168 B.C. After +Alexander's death, his empire fell into the two great divisions of Egypt +and Syria. The Egyptian rulers were called Ptolemies, and those of +Syria were called the Selucidae. For one hundred and twenty-five years +Palestine was held by Egypt, during which time Ptolemy Philadelphus had +the Septuagint version of the Old Testament made at Alexandria. +Syria next secured control of Palestine. The walls of Jerusalem were +destroyed, and the altar of Jehovah was polluted with swine's flesh. We +now hear of an aged priest named Mattathias, who at Modin, a few miles +from Jerusalem, had the courage to kill a Jew who was about to sacrifice +on a heathen altar. He escaped to the mountains, where he was joined by +a number of others of the same mind. His death soon came, but he left +five stalwart sons like himself. Judas, called Maccabeus, became the +leader, and from him the whole family was named the Maccabees. He began +war against the Syrians and apostate Jews. The Syrians, numbering fifty +thousand, took up a position at Emmaus, while the Maccabees encamped at +Mizpah. Although greatly outnumbered, they were victorious, as they +were in another engagement with sixty thousand Syrians at Hebron. Judas +entered Jerusalem, and repaired and cleansed the temple. Thus the +Maccabean period was ushered in. After some further fighting, Judas +was slain, and Simon, the only surviving brother, succeeded him, and +Jerusalem was practically independent. His son, John Hyrcanus, was the +next ruler. The Pharisees and Sadducees now come prominently into Jewish +affairs. The Essenes also existed at this time, and dressed in white. +After some time (between 65-62 B.C.), Pompey, the Roman general, entered +the open gates of the city, but did not capture the citadel for three +weeks, finally taking advantage of the day of Pentecost, when the Jews +would not fight. The Roman period began with the slaughter of twelve +thousand citizens. Priests were slain at the altar, and the temple was +profaned. Judaea became a Roman province, and was compelled to pay +tribute. + +Herod the Great became governor of Galilee, and later the Roman senate +made him king of Judaea. He besieged Jerusalem, and took it in 37 B.C. +"A singular compound of good and bad--mostly bad--was this King Herod." +He hired men to drown a supposed rival, as if in sport, at Jericho +on the occasion of a feast, and in the beginning of his reign he +slaughtered more than half of the members of the Sanhedrin. The aged +high priest Hyrcanus was put to death, as was also Mariamne, the wife +of this monster, who was ruling when the Messiah was born at Bethlehem. +Herod was a great builder, and it was he who reconstructed the temple on +magnificent lines. He also built Caesarea, and rebuilt Samaria. After +his death, the country was divided and ruled by his three sons. Achelaus +reigned ingloriously in Jerusalem for ten years, and was banished. +Judaea was then ruled by procurators, Pilate being the fifth one of +them, ruling from A.D. 26-36. In the year A.D. 65 the Jews rebelled +against the Romans, after being their subjects for one hundred and +twenty-two years. They were not subdued until the terrible destruction +of the Holy City in A.D. 70, when, according to Josephus, one million +one hundred thousand Jews perished in the siege, two hundred and +fifty-six thousand four hundred and fifty were slain elsewhere, and one +hundred and one thousand seven hundred prisoners were sold into bondage. +The Temple was completely destroyed along with the city, which for sixty +years "lay in ruins so complete that it is doubtful whether there was a +single house that could be used as a residence." The land was annexed to +Syria, and ceased to be a Jewish country. Hadrian became emperor in A.D. +117, and issued an edict forbidding the Jews to practice circumcision, +read the law, or to observe the Sabbath. These things greatly distressed +the Jews, and in A.D. 132 they rallied to the standard of Bar Cochba, +who has been styled "the last and greatest of the false Messiahs." The +Romans were overthrown, Bar Cochba proclaimed himself king in Jerusalem, +and carried on the war for two years. At one time he held fifty towns, +but they were all taken from him, and he was finally killed at Bether, +or Bittir. This was the last effort of the Jews to recover the land by +force of arms. Hadrian caused the site of the temple to be plowed over, +and the city was reconstructed being made thoroughly pagan. For two +hundred years the Jews were forbidden to enter it. In A.D. 326 the +Empress Helena visited Jerusalem, and built a church on the Mount of +Olives. Julian the Apostate undertook to rebuild the Jewish temple in +A.D. 362, but was frustrated by "balls of fire" issuing from under +the ruins and frightening the workmen. In A.D. 529 the Greek emperor +Justinian built a church in the city in honor of the Virgin. The +Persians under Chosroes II. invaded Palestine in A.D. 614 and destroyed +part of Jerusalem. After fourteen years they were defeated and Jerusalem +was restored, but the Mohammedans under Omar captured it in A.D. 637. +The structure called the Dome of the Rock, on Mt. Moriah, was built by +them in A.D. 688. + +The Crusades next engage our attention. The first of these military +expeditions was made to secure the right to visit the Holy Sepulcher. It +was commenced at the call of the Pope in 1096. A force of two hundred +and seventy-five thousand men began the march, but never entered +Palestine. Another effort was made by six hundred thousand men, who +captured Antioch in 1098. A little later the survivors defeated the +Mohammedan army of two hundred thousand. Still later they entered +Jerusalem, and Godfrey of Bouillon was made king of the city in 1099. By +conquest he came to rule the whole of Palestine. The orders of Knights +Hospitallers and Knights Templars were formed, and Godfrey continued in +power about fifty years. In 1144 two European armies, aggregating one +million two hundred thousand men, started on the second crusade, which +was a total failure. Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, conquered Jerusalem +in 1187, and the third crusade was inaugurated, which resulted in +securing the right to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem free from taxes. The +power of the Crusaders was now broken. Another band assembled at +Venice in 1203 to undertake the fourth crusade, but they never entered +Palestine. The fifth effort was made, and Frederick, Emperor of Germany, +crowned himself king of Jerusalem in 1229, and returned to his native +land the next year. The Turks conquered Palestine in 1244 and burned +Jerusalem. Louis IX. of France led the seventh crusade, another failure, +in 1248. He undertook it again in 1270, but went to Africa, and Prince +Edward of England entered Palestine in 1271 and accepted a truce for ten +years, which was offered by the Sultan of Egypt. This, the eighth and +last crusade, ended in 1272 by the return of Edward to England. In 1280 +Palestine was invaded by the Mamelukes, and in 1291 the war of the +Crusaders ended with the fall of Acre, "the last Christian possession in +Palestine." Besides these efforts there were children's crusades for the +conversion or conquest of the Moslems. The first, in 1212, was composed +of thirty thousand boys. Two ship loads were drowned and the third was +sold as slaves to the Mohammedans. + +In 1517 the country passed to the control of the Ottoman Empire, and so +remained until 1832, when it fell back to Egypt for eight years. The +present walls around Jerusalem, which inclose two hundred and ten acres +of ground, were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1542. In 1840 +Palestine again became Turkish territory, and so continues to this day. +The really scientific exploration of the land began with the journey +of Edward Robinson, an American, in 1838. In 1856 the United States +Consulate was established in Jerusalem, and twelve governments are now +represented by consulates. Sir Charles Wilson created an interest in the +geography of Palestine by his survey of Jerusalem and his travels in +the Holy Land from 1864 to 1868. Palestine was surveyed from Dan to +Beer-sheba and from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the years from 1872 +to 1877. The Siloam inscription, the "only known relic of the writing * +* * of Hezekiah's days," was discovered in 1880. The railroad from Jaffa +to Jerusalem was opened in 1892. Within the last ten years several +carriage roads have been built. Protestant schools and missions have +been established at many important places. The population of the city is +now about fifty-five thousand souls, but they do not all live inside of +the walls. What the future of Palestine may be is an interesting subject +for thought. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN GREAT BRITAIN. + + +No doubt many of my readers will be specially interested in knowing +something of my experience and association with the brethren across the +sea, and it is my desire to give them as fair an understanding of the +situation as I can. There are five congregations in Glasgow, having a +membership of six hundred and seventy-eight persons. The oldest one of +these, which formerly met in Brown Street and now meets in Shawlands +Hall, was formed in 1839, and has one hundred and sixty-one members. The +Coplaw Street congregation, which branched from Brown Street, and is now +the largest of the five, dates back to 1878, and numbers two hundred and +nineteen. It was my privilege to attend one of the mid-week services of +this congregation and speak to those present on that occasion. I also +met some of the brethren in Edinburgh, where two congregations have a +membership of two hundred and fifty-three. At Kirkcaldy, the home of my +worthy friend and brother, Ivie Campbell, Jr., there is a congregation +of one hundred and seventy disciples, which I addressed one Lord's day +morning. In the evening I went out with Brother and Sister Campbell and +another brother to Coaltown of Balgonie, and addressed the little band +worshiping at that place. + +My next association with the brethren was at the annual meeting of +"Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland," convened at Wigan, +England, August second, third, and fourth. While at Wigan I went out to +Platt Bridge and spoke to the brethren. There are ninety members in this +congregation. One night in Birmingham I met with the brethren in Charles +Henry Street, where the congregation, formed in 1857, numbers two +hundred and seventy-four, and the next night I was with the Geach Street +congregation, which has been in existence since 1865, and numbers +two hundred and twenty-nine members. Bro. Samuel Joynes, now of +Philadelphia, was formerly connected with this congregation. While I was +in Bristol it was my pleasure to meet with the Thrissell Street church, +composed of one hundred and thirty-one members. I spoke once in their +place of worship and once in a meeting on the street. The last band of +brethren I was with while in England was the church at Twynholm, London. +This is the largest congregation of all, and will receive consideration +later in the chapter. The next place that I broke bread was in a little +mission to the Jews in the Holy City. To complete a report of my public +speaking while away, I will add that I preached in Mr. Thompson's +tabernacle in Jerusalem, and spoke a few words on one or both of the +Lord's days at the mission to which reference has already been made. I +also spoke in a mission meeting conducted by Mr. Locke at Port Said, +Egypt, preached once on the ship as I was coming back across the +Atlantic, and took part in a little debate on shipboard as I went out on +the journey, and in an entertainment the night before I got back to New +York. + +In this chapter I am taking my statistics mainly from the Year Book +containing the fifty-ninth annual report of the churches in Great +Britain and Ireland co-operating for evangelistic purposes, embracing +almost all of the congregations of disciples in the country. According +to this report, there were one hundred and eighty-three congregations on +the list, with a total membership of thirteen thousand and sixty-three, +at the time of the annual meeting last year. + +(Since writing this chapter, the sixtieth annual report of these +brethren across the sea has come into my hands, and the items in this +paragraph are taken mainly from the address of Bro. John Wyckliffe +Black, as chairman of the annual meeting which assembled in August of +this year at Leeds. The membership is now reported at thirteen thousand +eight hundred and forty-four, an increase of about eight hundred members +since the meeting held at Wigan in 1904. In 1842 the British brotherhood +numbered thirteen hundred, and in 1862 it had more than doubled. After +the lapse of another period of twenty years, the number had more than +doubled again, standing at six thousand six hundred and thirty-two. +In 1902, when twenty years more had passed, the membership had almost +doubled again, having grown to twelve thousand five hundred and +thirty-seven. In 1842 the average number of members in each congregation +was thirty-one; in 1862 it was forty; in 1882 it had reached sixty-one; +and in 1902 it was seventy-two. The average number in each congregation +is now somewhat higher than it was in 1902.) + +Soon after the meeting was convened on Tuesday, "the Conference +recognised the presence of Mrs. Hall and Miss Jean Hall, of Sydney, +N.S.W., and Brother Don Carlos Janes, from Ohio, U.S.A., and cordially +gave them a Christian welcome." The address of welcome and the address +of the chairman, Brother James Anderson, of Fauldhouse, Scotland, came +early in the day. The meeting on Wednesday opened with worship and a +short address, followed by reports from the General Sunday-school, +Reference, General Training, and Magazine Committees. One interesting +feature of the proceedings of this day was the conference paper by Bro. +T.J. Ainsworth on the subject of "The Relation of Christianity to the +Social Questions of the Day." Besides a discussion of this paper, there +was a preaching service at night. Thursday, the last day of the meeting, +was occupied, after the morning worship and short address, with the +reports of committees and the appointment of committees. At the social +meeting at night several brethren, who had been previously selected, +spoke on such subjects as seemed good to them. Bro. W.A. Kemp, of +Melbourne, Australia, and the writer were the only speakers not +residents of the British Isles. At the close of the meeting the +following beautiful hymn was sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne": + + Hail, sweetest, dearest tie, that binds + Our glowing hearts in one; + Hail, sacred hope, that tunes our minds + To harmony divine. + It is the hope, the blissful hope + Which Jesus' words afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of life with Christ the Lord. + + What though the northern wintry blast + Shall howl around our cot? + What though beneath an eastern sun + Be cast our distant lot? + Yet still we share the blissful hope + His cheering words afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of glory with the Lord. + + From Burmah's shores, from Afric's strand, + From India's burning plain, + From Europe, from Columbia's land, + We hope to meet again. + Oh, sweetest hope, oh, blissful hope, + Which His own truth affords-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + We still shall be the Lord's. + + No lingering look, no parting sigh, + Our future meeting knows; + There friendship beams from every eye, + And love immortal glows. + Oh, sacred hope, the blissful hope, + His love and truth afford-- + The hope, when days and years are past, + Of reigning with the Lord. + +I am not willing to accept everything done in the annual meeting, but +the hearty good will manifested and the pleasant and happy associations +enjoyed make it in those respects very commendable. These brethren +are very systematic and orderly in their work. Some one, who has been +designated beforehand, takes charge of the meeting, and everything moves +along nicely. When a visiting brother comes in, he is recognized and +made use of, but they do not turn the meeting over to him and +depend upon him to conduct it. The president of the Lord's day morning +meeting and part or all of the officers sit together on the platform. +The following is the order of procedure in one of the meetings which +I attended: After singing a hymn and offering prayer, the brother +presiding announced the reading lessons from both Testaments, at the +same time naming two brethren who would read these scriptures. After +they had come forward and read the lessons before the church, another +hymn was sung, and certain definite objects of prayer were mentioned +before the congregation again engaged in that part of the worship. Two +prayers were offered, followed by the announcements, after which a +brother delivered an address. Then the president made mention of the +visitors present, and an old gentleman from the platform extended "the +right hand of fellowship" to some new members before the contribution +was taken and the Lord's supper observed, a hymn being sung between +these two items. A concluding hymn and prayer closed the service, which +had been well conducted, without discord or confusion. + +A brother in Wigan gave me a statement of the work of one of the +congregations there in the winter season. On the Lord's day they have +school at 9:20 A.M. and at 2 P.M.; breaking the bread at 10:30 A.M., and +preaching the gospel at 6:30 P.M. At this evening meeting the Lord's +table is again spread for the benefit of servants and others who were +not able to be at the morning service. This is a common practice. The +young people's social and improvement class meets on Monday evening, a +meeting for prayer and a short address is held on Tuesday evening, and +the Band of Hope, a temperance organization for young people, meets +on Wednesday evening. The singing class uses Thursday night, and the +officers of the church sometimes have a meeting on Friday night. + +During the life of Bro. Timothy Coop much money was spent in an effort +to build up along the lines adopted by the innovators here in America. +Bro. Coop visited this country, and was well pleased with the operations +of the congregations that had adopted the modern methods, and he was +instrumental in having some American evangelists to go to England, and +a few churches were started. I was told that there are about a dozen +congregations of these disciples, called "American brethren" by the +other English disciples, with a membership of about two thousand, and +that it is a waning cause. + +The rank and file of these British brethren are more conservative than +the innovators here at home, but they have moved forward somewhat in +advance of the churches here contending for apostolic simplicity in +certain particulars. A few of the congregations use a musical +instrument in gospel meetings and Sunday-school services, and some have +organizations such as the Band of Hope and the Dorcas Society. The +organization of the annual meeting is said to be only advisory. The +following lines, a portion of a resolution of the annual meeting of 1861 +will help the reader to form an idea of the purpose and nature of the +organization: "That this Cooeperation shall embrace such of the Churches +contending for the primitive faith and order as shall willingly be +placed upon the list of Churches printed in its Annual Report. That the +Churches thus cooeperating disavow any intention or desire to recognize +themselves as a denomination, or to limit their fellowship to the +Churches thus cooeperating; but, on the contrary, they avow it both a +duty and a pleasure to visit, receive, and cooeperate with Christian +Churches, without reference to their taking part in the meetings and +efforts of this Cooeperation. Also, that this Cooeperation has for its +object evangelization only, and disclaims all power to settle matters of +discipline, or differences between brethren or Churches; that if in any +instance it should see fit to refuse to insert in or to remove from the +List any Church or company of persons claiming to be a Church, it shall +do so only in reference to this Cooeperation, leaving each and every +Church to judge for itself, and to recognize and fellowship as it may +understand the law of the Lord to require." + +The question of delegate voting with a view to making the action of the +annual meeting more weighty with the congregations was discussed at the +Wigan meeting, but was voted down, although it had numerous advocates. +One of the brethren, in speaking of the use of instrumental music in the +singing, said they try not to use it when they worship the Lord, but I +consider the use they make of it is unscriptural, and it puts the church +in great danger of having the innovation thrust into all the services at +some future time. All of these churches could learn a valuable lesson +from some of our home congregations that have been rent asunder by the +unholy advocacy of innovations. + +But there are some very commendable things about these brethren. I +noticed careful attention being given to the public reading of the +Scriptures, and the congregation joins heartily in the singing. I am +informed that every member takes part in the contribution without +exception. They do not take contributions from visitors and children who +are not disciples. The talent in the congregation is well developed. In +this they are far ahead of us. While there are not many giving their +whole time to evangelistic work, there are many who are acceptable +speakers. One brother said they probably have a preacher for each +twenty-five members. Men heavily involved in business take time to +attend the meetings. For instance, one brother, who is at the head of a +factory employing about a thousand people, and is interested in mining +and in the manufacture of brick besides, is an active member of the +congregation with which he worships. The brethren in general are +faithful in the matter of being present at the breaking of bread. When +visiting brethren come in, they are given a public welcome, and are +sometimes pointed out to the congregation. Also, when brethren return +from a vacation or other prolonged absence, they are given a welcome. + +They pray much. The week-night meeting for prayer and study of the Bible +is largely taken up with prayer. I like the way they point out definite +objects of prayer. For instance, two sisters are leaving for Canada; +some one is out of employment, and some have lost friends by death. +These matters are mentioned, and some one is called on to lead the +prayer, and these points are included in his petition to the Lord. +Sometimes but one brother is asked to lead in prayer; sometimes more +than one are designated, and at other times they leave it open for some +one to volunteer. The following hymn was sung in one of these meetings +which I attended: + + LET US PRAY. + + Come, let us pray; 'tis sweet to feel + That God himself is near; + That, while we at his footstool kneel, + His mercy deigns to hear; + Though sorrows crowd life's dreary way, + This is our solace--let us pray. + + Come, let us pray; the burning brow, + The heart oppressed with care, + And all the woes that throng us now, + May be relieved by prayer; + Jesus can smile our griefs away; + Oh, glorious thought! come, let us pray. + + Come, let us pray; the mercy-seat + Invites the fervent prayer, + And Jesus ready stands to greet + The contrite spirit there; + Oh, loiter not, nor longer stay + From him who loves us; let us pray. + +They do not publish as many papers as we do, but have one weekly +journal, the _Bible Advocate_, edited by Bro. L. Oliver, of Birmingham, +which has a general circulation, reaching almost four thousand copies. +One feature of the paper last summer was the publication of the Life of +Elder John Smith as a serial. The colored covers of the _Bible Advocate_ +contain a long list of the hours and places of worship of congregations +in different parts of the country, and even outside of the British Isles +in some cases. In some instances the local congregation publishes a +paper of its own, affording a good medium through which to advertise the +meetings and to keep distant brethren informed of the work that is being +done, as well as to teach the truth of God. + +A book room is maintained in Birmingham, where the British and American +publications may be purchased. They were using a hymn-book (words only) +of their own and a tune-book published by others, but a new hymnbook was +under consideration when I was among them last year. A list of isolated +members is kept, and persons elected by the annual meeting conduct a +correspondence with these brethren. The following are extracts from some +of the letters received in reply to those that had been sent out: "I am +hoping that the day will come when I can leave this district and get to +one where I can have the fellowship of my brethren; but meanwhile I am +glad and thankful to be held in remembrance of my brethren and to be on +your list, and I pray God to help your work, for I have still hope in +Him, and know He has not given me up." Another brother says: "Though I +can not say that I have anything important or cheering to write, yet I +can say that I am rejoicing in the salvation of God, which is in Christ +Jesus our Lord. My isolation from regular church fellowship has been +so long that I have almost given up the hope of enjoying it again in +Arbroath; but still my prayer is that the Lord would raise up some here +or send some here who know the truth, and who love the Lord with their +whole heart, and would be able and willing to declare unto the people +the whole counsel of God concerning the way of salvation." A Sisters' +Conference was held in connection with the annual meeting, and a +Temperance Conference and Meeting was held on Monday before the annual +meeting opened. + +Missionary work is being carried on in Burmah, Siam, and South Africa. +In Burmah some attention has been given to translating and publishing a +part of the Psalms in one of the languages of that country. "Much +time has been spent in the villages by systematic visitation, by +the distribution of literature, and by seizing upon any and every +opportunity of speaking to the people. Street meetings have been +constantly held, visitors received on the boat, the gospel preached from +the Mission-boat to the people sitting on the banks of the river, and +also proclaimed to the people in their homes, in the villages, and in +the fields, and on the fishing stations. Although there were but two +baptisms during the year the congregation numbers fifty-one." The +brethren in Siam were working where the rivers, numerous canals, and +creeks form the chief roadways. The Year Book contains the following +concerning the medical missionary in this field: "His chief work during +the year has been rendering such help as his short medical training has +fitted him to give. For a time twelve to twenty patients a day came +to him for treatment. After a while the numbers fell off, he thought +because all the sick in the neighborhood had been cured." "The little +church in Nakon Choom * * * now consists of two Karens, one Burman, +one Mon, two Chinamen, and two Englishmen. As several of these do not +understand the others' language, the gift of tongues would seem not +undesirable." In South Africa there are congregations at Johannesburg, +Pretoria, Bulawayo, Cape Town, and Carolina. The church in Bulawayo +numbers about fifty members, nearly all of whom are natives "who are +eager learners." + +I saw more of the workings of the church at Twynholm than any other +congregation visited, as I stayed at Twynholm House while in London both +on the outward trip and as I returned home. Of the seven congregations +in this city, Twynholm is the largest, and is the largest in the British +brotherhood, having a membership of above five hundred. This church was +established in 1894 with twenty-five members, and has had a good growth. +They open the baptistery every Lord's day night, and very frequently +have occasion to use it. There were fifty-three baptisms last year, and +twenty-one others were added to the membership of the church. At the +close of a recent church year the Band of Hope numbered five hundred and +fifteen, and the Lord's day school had twelve hundred and fifty pupils +and one hundred and two teachers. I think it was one hundred and sixty +little tots I saw in one room, and down in this basement there were +about fifty more. I was told that there were more children attending +than they had accommodation for, but they disliked to turn any of them +away. The Woman's Meeting had one hundred and sixteen members; the Total +Abstinence Society, one hundred and fifty; and the membership of the +Youths' Institute and Bible Students' Class were not given. Five +thousand copies of _Joyful Tidings_, an eight-page paper, are given away +each month. The following announcement from the first page of this paper +will indicate something of the activities of this congregation: + + CHURCH OF CHRIST, + + Twynholm Assembly Hall, + Fulham Cross, S.W. + + REGULAR SERVICES AND GATHERINGS. + + + + _LORD'S DAY._ + 9:45 A.M.--Bible Students' Class. + 11:00 A.M.--Divine Worship and "The Breaking of Bread". + (Acts 2:42, etc.) + 2:45 P.M.--Lord's Day Schools. + 3:00 P.M.--Young Men's Institute. + 4:00 P.M.--Teachers' Prayer Meeting (first Lord's day in the + month). + 6:30 P.M.--_Evangelistic Service_. + 7:45 P.M.--Believers' Immersion (usually). + 8:10 P.M.--"The Breaking of Bread" (Continued). + + _MONDAY._ + 2:30 P.M.--Woman's Own Meeting. + 7:00 P.M.--Band of Hope. + 8:30 P.M.--Social Gathering for Young People (over fourteen). + 8:30 P.M.--Total Abstinence Society (last Monday night in the + month). + + _THURSDAY._ + 8:00 P.M.--Mid-week Service for Prayer, Praise, and Public + Exposition of the Word. + 9:00 P.M.--Singing Practice. + + _FRIDAY._ + 8:00 P.M.--Teachers' Preparation Class and Devotional Meeting. + (Open to all). + + + + Seat all Free and Unappropriated. + No Public Collections. + Hymn-books provided for Visitors. + +This Church of Christ earnestly pleads for the complete restoration of +the primitive Christianity of the New Testament, for the cultivation of +personal piety, and benevolence, and for loving service for Jesus the +Christ. + +Twynholm is the name given to a piece of property, originally intended +for a hotel, situated in the western part of London, at the intersection +of four streets in Fulham Cross. These streets make it a place easily +reached, and the numerous saloons make the necessity for such an +influence as emanates from a church of God very great. There is a good, +commodious audience-room at the rear, and several smaller rooms about +the premises. The front part is owned and controlled by a brother who +has a family of Christians to live there and run the restaurant on the +first floor and the lodging rooms on the two upper floors, where there +are accommodations for a few young men. Here I had a desirable room, and +was well cared for by the brother and sister who manage the house. The +restaurant is not run for profit, but to afford the people a place to +eat cheaply and to spend time without going where intoxicants are sold. +The patrons are allowed to sit at the tables and play such games as +dominoes, the aim being to counteract the evil influences of that part +of the city as far as possible. One night I attended a meeting of the +Band of Hope in a big basement room at Twynholm, where a large number +of small children were being taught to pray, and were receiving good +instruction along the line of temperance. Several older persons were on +duty to preserve order among these children, many of whom had doubtless +come from homes where little about order and good behavior is ever +taught. Soon after this meeting I went up on the street, and there, near +a saloon with six visible entrances, a street musician was playing his +organ, while small girls, perhaps not yet in their teens, were being +encouraged to dance. + +At Twynholm I also attended the Social Hour meeting, which was an +enjoyable affair. A program of recitations, songs, etc., was rendered. +This also, I suppose, is to offset some of the evil agencies of the +great city and keep the young people under good influences. The Woman's +Meeting convenes on Monday afternoon. The leaders of the meeting are +ladies of the church, who are laboring for the betterment of an inferior +class of London women. I spoke before this meeting, by request, and +was, so far as I now recollect, the only male person present. It is the +custom to use the instrument in connection with the singing in this +meeting, but I asked them to refrain on this occasion. An orphans' home +is also conducted, having members of this congregation as its managers. +It is a very busy church, and for being busy and diligent it is to be +commended, but I believe there is too much organization. But here, as +elsewhere in Britain, there are many very commendable things about the +brethren. I have already spoken of system in their proceedings. They +outline their work for a given period of time, specifying the Scriptures +to be read, the leaders of the meetings, and who is to preach on each +Lord's day night. Then, for the sake of convenience, these schedules +are printed, and they are carefully followed. This is far ahead of the +haphazard method, or lack of method, at home, where brethren sometimes +come together neither knowing what the lesson will be nor who will +conduct the meeting. + +Whatever may be the faults of these disciples in the old country, it +must be said to their credit that they are kind and hospitable to +strangers, and make a visiting brother welcome. The talent in their +congregations is better developed than it is here, and their meetings +are conducted in a more orderly and systematic manner. They are more +faithful in the observance of the Lord's supper than many in this land. +The percentage of preachers giving their whole time to the work is less +than it is here, but the number who can and do take part in the public +work of the church is proportionately larger than it is here. + +I will now close this chapter and this volume with the address of +Brother Anderson, chairman of the annual meeting held last year at +Wigan: + +DEAR BRETHREN:--In accepting the responsible and honorable position in +which you have placed me, I do so conscious of a defect that I hope you +will do your best to help and bear with. Please speak as distinctly as +possible, so that I may hear what is said. There may be other defects +that I might have helped, but please do your best to help me in this +respect. + +I heartily thank you for the honor conferred upon me. Whether I deserve +it or not, I know that it is well meant on your part. We prefer honor +to dishonor; but what one may count a great honor, another may lightly +esteem. The point of view is almost everything in these matters; but if +positions of honor in the kingdoms of the earth are lightly esteemed, +positions of honor in the kingdom of God have a right to be esteemed +more highly. + +We are met in conference as subjects of the kingdom of God, as heirs of +everlasting glory, having a hope greater than the world can give, and +a peace that the world can neither give nor take away. To preside over +such a gathering, met to consider the best means of spreading the Gospel +of Christ among men, is a token of respect upon which I place a very +high value. The fact that it came unexpectedly does not lessen the +pleasure. + +I know that you have not placed me here on account of my tact and +business ability to manage this conference well. Had I possessed these +qualities in a marked degree, you would no doubt have taken notice of +them before this time. I know that you only wish to pay a token of +respect to a plain old soldier before he lays aside his harness, and, +brethren, I thank you for that. + +For forty-four years I have enjoyed sweet and uninterrupted fellowship +in this brotherhood. For over forty years my voice has been heard in the +preaching of the Gospel of the Grace of God. For close on thirty years +all my time has been given to the proclamation and defense of New +Testament truth as held by us as a people. Every year has added strength +to the conviction that God has led me to take my stand among the +people who of all the people on the earth are making the best and most +consistent effort to get back to the religion established by Christ and +his apostles. I therefore bless the day that I became one of you. + +Had our position been wrong, I have given myself every opportunity of +knowing it. Circumstances have compelled me to examine our foundations +again and again. I have been called upon to defend our faith, when +attacked, times not a few. Whatever may be the effect that I have had +upon others, my own confidence has been increased at every turn. To-day +I am certain that if the New Testament is right, we can not be far +wrong; and if the New Testament can not be trusted, there is an end to +the whole matter. But the claims of Christ and the truth of the New +Testament are matters upon which a doubt never rises. As years roll on, +it becomes more easy to believe and harder to doubt. Knowledge, reason, +and experience now supply such varied yet harmonious and converging +lines of evidence that a doubt seems impossible. Difficulties we may +have, and perhaps must have, as long as we live, but we can certainly +rise above the fog land of doubt. Considering all this, it gives me more +pleasure to preside over this gathering than over any other voluntary +gathering on earth. It is a voluntary gathering. We do not profess to +be here by Divine appointment. It is a meeting of heaven's freemen to +consider the best means of advancing the will of God among men. While +met, may we all act in a manner worthy of the great object which brings +us together. + +Faith, forbearance and watchfulness will be required as long as we live, +if we wish to keep the unity of the faith in the bond of peace. All +those who set out for a complete return to Jerusalem have not held on +their way; some have gone a long way back and others are going. What +has happened in other lands may happen here, unless we watch and are +faithful. The more carefully we look into matters, we shall be the +less inclined to move. Putting all God's arrangements faithfully and +earnestly to the test, and comparing them with others, increases our +faith in them. Faithfulness increases faith. This keeps growing upon +you till you become certain that only God's means will accomplish God's +ends. Sectarianism, tested by experience, is a failure. + +The time was when our danger in departing from our simple plea of +returning to the Bible alone lay in our being moved by clerical and +sectarian influences. To the young in particular in the present day that +can hardly be called our greatest danger. The influences at work to +produce doubt in regard to the truth of the Bible were never so great as +they are now. This used to be the particular work of professed infidels; +now it is more largely the work of professed Christian scholars. If you +wish to pass for a "scholar," you must not profess to believe the Old +Testament. You must not say too much against the truth of that book, or +you may be called in question, but you can go a good long way before +there is much danger. + +Jesus believed that old book to be the word of God. But he was not a +"scholar." He was the son of a country joiner, and you must not expect +him to rise too far above his environment. It surprises me that the +"scholars" have not called more attention to the ignorance of Jesus in +this respect. They will no doubt pay more attention to this later on; +for as _Christian_ "scholars" it becomes them to be consistent, and I +have no doubt that they will shortly, in this respect, make up for lost +time. + +To expect that none of our young people will be influenced by this +parade of scholarship is to expect too much. But faith in Christ should +keep them from rushing rashly out against a book that Christ professed +to live up to and came to fulfill. This battle of the scholars over the +truth of the Bible is only being fought. We have no wish that it should +not be fought. Everything has a right to be tested with caution and +fairness, and when the battle is lost, it will be time enough for us to +pass over to the side of the enemy. This question as to the truth of the +Old Testament will be settled, and as sure as Christ is the Son of God, +and has all power in heaven and on earth, it will be settled upon the +lines of the attitude which he took up towards that book, and it will be +settled to the disgrace of those who professed to believe in Jesus, +but deserted his position before full examination was made. That no +transcriber ever made a slip, or that no translator ever made a mistake, +is not held by any one. But the day that it is proved that the Old +Testament is not substantially true, faith in Christ and Christianity +will get a shake from which it will never recover. + +We have not lost faith in the Bible. There is no need for doing so. The +word of the Lord will endure forever. But meantime, brethren, let us be +faithful, prayerful, and cautious, and be not easily moved from the rock +of God's word by the pretensions of "scholars" or of science, falsely so +called. + +I do not know that there is any necessary connection between the two, +but a belief in evolution and scholarly doubts about large portions of +the Old Testament, as a rule, go together. You must not profess to know +anything of science in many quarters if you doubt evolution. In the bulk +of even religious books it is referred to as a matter that science has +settled beyond dispute. To expect that many of our young people will not +be so far carried along by this current is to expect too much. Many of +them will be carried so far; it is a question of how many and how far. + +There perhaps never was a theory before believed by as many educated +people without proof as the theory of evolution. It is an unproved +theory; there is not a fact beneath it. That you have low forms of life, +and forms rising higher and higher till you get to man, is fact. But +that a higher species ever came from a lower is without proof. Let those +who doubt this say when and where such a thing took place, and name the +witnesses. Not only are there no facts in proof of it, but it flies in +the face of facts without number. If like from like is not established, +then nothing can be established by observation and experience. What +other theory do we believe which contradicts all that we know to be true +in regard to the subject to which it refers? + +Not only does it contradict fact and experience, it contradicts reason. +If you listen to the voice of reason, you can no more believe that the +greater came from the less than you can believe that something came from +nothing. We are intuitively bound to believe that an effect can not be +greater than its cause. But the theory of evolution contradicts this at +every step along the whole line. + +I am anxious to find the truth in regard to anything that has a bearing +upon my belief in God or religion. But in trying to find the truth, I +have never regretted being true to myself. To slavishly follow others +is, to say the least of it, unmanly. I do not believe in evolution +because God has so made me that I can not. Wherever man came from, he +sprang not from anything beneath him. When a man asks me to believe a +thing that has not facts, but only theory to support it,--said theory +contradicting fact, experience and reason,--he asks me more than I can +grant. The thing is absurd, and must one day die. + +I am agreeably surprised that we, as a people, have suffered so little +as yet from the sources of error referred to. Still they are all living +dangers, and if we would hold fast the faith once for all delivered to +the saints, we must see to our own standing, and as God has given us +opportunity let us be helpful to others. Our ground is God-given and +well tested. The fellowship with God and with each other that it has +brought to us has given us much happiness here. Let us be faithful and +earnest the few years that we have to remain here, and our happiness +will be increased when the Lord comes to reward us all according to our +works. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TRIP ABROAD*** + + +******* This file should be named 12679.txt or 12679.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/7/12679 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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