{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_12679/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_12679","id":"gutenberg_12679","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12679","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Travel Writing","Churches of Christ -- Great Britain","Palestine -- Description and travel","Voyages and travels"],"text":"A TRIP ABROAD\n\nAn Account of a Journey to the Earthly Canaan and the Land of the\nAncient Pharaohs\n\nTo Which Are Appended\n\nA Brief Consideration of the Geography and History of Palestine,\nand a Chapter on Churches of Christ in Great Britain\n\nBY\n\nDON CARLOS JANES\n\n1905\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: \"Striving for the Faith of the Gospel.\"\nDon Carlos Janes.]\n\n\n\n  _\"Go, little booke, God send thee good passage,\n  And specially let this be thy prayere:\n  Unto them all that will thee read or hear,\n  Where thou art wrong, after their help to call,\n  Thee to correct in any part or all.\"_\n\n                                      CHAUCER.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nIn this volume the author has made an effort to describe his journey to\nPalestine and Egypt. It is his desire that the book may be interesting\nand instructive to its readers. The chapter on the geography of\nPalestine, if studied with a good map, will probably be helpful to many.\nThe historic sketch of the land may serve as an outline of the important\nevents in the history of that interesting country. It is desired that\nthe last chapter may give American readers a better understanding of the\nwork of churches of Christ in Great Britain.\n\nThis book is not a classic, but the author has tried to give a truthful\naccount of a trip, which, to him, was full of interest and not without\nprofit. No doubt some errors will be found, but even the critical reader\nmay make some allowance when it is known that the writing, with the\nexception of a small part, was done in a period of eighty days. During\nthis time, the writer was also engaged in evangelistic work, speaking\nevery day without a single exception, and as often as four times on some\nof the days. That the careful reading of the following pages may be\nprofitable, is the desire of THE AUTHOR.\n\nBOWLING GREEN, KY., October 21, 1905.\n\n\n\n\nACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.\n\n\nSeveral books have been consulted in preparing this one. \"Lands of the\nBible,\" by J.W. McGarvey, has been very helpful. The same is true of\nEdmund Sherman Wallace's \"Jerusalem the Holy.\" Much information has been\nobtained from the \"Historical Geography of Bible Lands,\" by John B.\nCalkin. Other works consulted were: \"Recent Discoveries on the Temple\nHill,\" by James King; the \"Bible Atlas,\" by Jesse L. Hurlbut; \"Galilee\nin the Time of Christ,\" by Selah Merrill; \"City of the Great King,\" by\nJ.T. Barclay; \"Palestine,\" by C.R. Conder; Smith's \"Bible Dictionary\";\n\"Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia\"; \"Columbian Encyclopaedia,\" and\n\"Encyclopaedia Britannica.\"\n\nThe chapter on Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland was read\nbefore publication by Bro. Ivie Campbell, Jr., of Kirkcaldy, Scotland,\nwho made some suggestions for its improvement. Bro. J.W. McGarvey, of\nLexington, Ky., kindly read the chapters on the Geography and History of\nPalestine, and made some corrections. Selah Merrill, United States\nConsul at Jerusalem, has given some information embodied in the Historic\nSketch of Palestine. Acknowledgement of the helpful services of my wife,\nand of Miss Delia Boyd, of Atpontley, Tenn., is hereby made.\n\n\n\n\nTABLE OF CONTENTS.\n\n\n  CHAPTER I.\n    SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND\n\n  CHAPTER II.\n    CROSSING EUROPE\n\n  CHAPTER III.\n    ASIA MINOR AND SYRIA\n\n  CHAPTER IV.\n    A FEW DAYS IN GALILEE\n\n  CHAPTER V.\n    SIGHT-SEEING IN JERUSALEM\n\n  CHAPTER VI.\n    SIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM\n\n  CHAPTER VII.\n    EGYPT, THE LAND OF TOMBS AND TEMPLES\n\n  CHAPTER VIII.\n    GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE\n\n  CHAPTER IX.\n    HISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE\n\n  CHAPTER X.\n    CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN GREAT BRITAIN\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nSCOTLAND AND ENGLAND.\n\n\nWhen I was a \"boy on a farm,\" one of my school teachers had a small\nmachine, which was sometimes used to print the names of students in\ntheir books. Somehow I came to want a \"printing press,\" and after a\nwhile I purchased an outfit for fifteen cents, but it was a poor thing\nand failed to satisfy me. Accordingly, I disposed of it and spent a\nlarger sum for a typewriter, which was little more than a toy. This,\ntoo, was unsatisfactory, and I sold it. At a later date, I bought a\nsecond-hand typewriter, which was turned in as part payment for the\nmachine I am now using to write this book, and now, after all these\nsuccessive steps, I find myself possessed of a real typewriter. I will\nalso mention my youthful desire for a watch. I wanted a timepiece and\nthought I would like for it to be of small size. I thought of it when\nawake, and, sometimes, when asleep, dreamed that I actually had the\nlittle watch in my possession. Since those days of dreams and\ndisappointments, I have had three watches, and they have all been of\nsmall size.\n\nIn the same way, several years ago, I became possessed of a desire to\nsee the Land of Promise, the earthly Canaan. I thought about it some,\nand occasionally spoke of it. There were seasons when the desire left\nme, but it would come back again. Some years ago, when I was doing\nevangelistic work in Canada, the desire returned--this time to stay. It\ngrew stronger and stronger until I decided to make the trip, which was\nbegun on the eleventh of July, 1904. After traveling many thousands of\nmiles, seeing numerous new and interesting sights, making many pleasant\nacquaintances, and having a variety of experiences, I returned to the\nhome of my father on the fourteenth day of December, having been absent\nfive months and three days, and having had a more extensive trip than I\nhad at first thought of taking. There is a lesson in the foregoing that\nI do not want overlooked. It is this: Whatever we earnestly desire is\napt to be worked out in our lives. Deeds usually begin with thoughts. If\nthe thoughts are fostered and cultivated, the deeds will probably be\nperformed some time. It is, therefore, important that we exercise care\nas to the kind of thoughts we allow to remain in our hearts. \"Keep thy\nheart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life\" (Prov.\niv. 23).\n\nOn the way to New York, I stopped in Washington and saw some of the\ninteresting places of the National Capital. The Bureau of Engraving and\nPrinting, where about six hundred persons were engaged in printing paper\nmoney and stamps, was visited. I also went out to the Washington\nMonument and climbed to the top of the winding stairs, although I might\nhave gone up in the free elevator if I had preferred to ride. The\nMedical Museum, National Museum, Treasury Building, the White House, the\nCapitol, and other points of interest received attention, and my short\nstay in this city was very enjoyable.\n\nI spent a night in Philadelphia, after an absence of more than four\nyears, and enjoyed a meeting with the church worshiping on Forty-sixth\nStreet. It was very pleasant to meet those I had known when I was there\nbefore, some of whom I had been instrumental in bringing to Christ. In\nNew York I made arrangements to sail for Glasgow on the S.S. Mongolian,\nof the Allan Line, which was to sail at eleven o'clock on the fourteenth\nof July, and the voyage was begun almost as promptly as a railway train\nleaves the depot. We passed the Statue of Liberty a few minutes before\nnoon, and then I prepared some mail to be sent back by the pilot who\ntook us down to the sea. The water was smooth almost all the way across,\nand we reached the desired haven on the eleventh day. I went back to my\nroom the first morning after breakfast and was lying in my berth when a\ngentleman came along and told me I would have to get up, they were\ngoing to have _inspection_. I arose and found part of the crew scrubbing\nthe floor and others washing down a wall. Everything was being put in\ngood condition for the examination to be given by some of the officers\nwho passed through each day at about ten o'clock. The seamen knew the\ninspection was sure to come, and they knew the hour at which it would\ntake place, so they made ready for it. We know that there is a great\n\"inspection\" day appointed when God will judge the world, but we do not\nknow the exact time. It is, therefore, important to be ready always,\nthat the day may not overtake us \"as a thief in the night.\"\n\nReligious services were held on the ship each Lord's day, but I missed\nthe last meeting. On the first Sunday morning I arose as usual and ate\nbreakfast. As there was no opportunity to meet with brethren and break\nbread in memory of the Lord Jesus, I read the account of the giving of\nthe Lord's Supper as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and John; also Paul's\nlanguage concerning the institution in the eleventh chapter of the first\nCorinthian letter, and was thankful that my life had been spared until\nanother beautiful resurrection morning. At half past ten o'clock I went\ninto one of the dining rooms where two ministers were conducting a\nmeeting. The order of the service, as nearly as I can give it, was as\nfollows: Responsive reading of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth\nPsalms; prayer; the hymn, \"Onward, Christian Soldiers\"; reading of the\ntwenty-ninth Psalm; prayer; the hymn, \"Lead, Kindly Light\"; an address\non \"Knowing God\"; prayer; the collection, taken while singing; and the\nbenediction. The ship furnished Bibles and hymn-books. A large copy of\nthe Bible was placed upon a British flag at the head of one of the\ntables where the speaker stood, but he read from the American Revised\nVersion of the Scriptures. The sermon was commenced by some remarks to\nthe effect that man is hard to please. Nothing earthly satisfies him,\nbut Thomas expressed the correct idea when he said: \"Show us the Father\nand it sufficeth us.\" The minister then went on to speak of God as \"the\nGod of patience,\" \"the God of comfort,\" \"the God of hope,\" and \"the God\nof peace.\" It was, with some exceptions, a pleasing and uplifting\naddress. There were about thirty persons in attendance, and the\ncollection was for the Sailors' Orphans' Home in Scotland. The following\nis one verse of the closing hymn:\n\n  \"A few more years shall roll,\n    A few more seasons come,\n  And we shall be with those that rest,\n    Asleep within the tomb;\n  Then, oh, my Lord, prepare\n    My soul for that great day,\n  Oh, wash me in thy precious blood\n    And take my sins away.\"\n\nBefore the close of the day, I read the whole of Mark's record of the\nlife of our Savior and turned my Bible over to Gus, the steward. We had\nfood served four times, as usual. The sea was smooth and the day passed\nquietly. A Catholic gentleman said something at breakfast about \"saying\na few prayers\" to himself, and I heard a woman, in speaking about going\nto church, say she had beads and a prayer-book with her. Later in the\nday I saw her out on the deck with a novel, and what I supposed to be\nthe prayer-book, but she was reading the novel.\n\nSeveral of the passengers had reading matter with them. Some read\nnovels, but my Book was far better than any of these. It has a greater\nAuthor, a wider range of history, more righteous laws, purer morals, and\nmore beautiful description than theirs. It contains a longer and better\nlove story than theirs, and reveals a much grander Hero. The Bible both\nmoralizes and Christianizes those who permit its holy influence to move\nthem to loving obedience of the Lord Jesus. It can fill its thoughtful\nreader with holy hope and lead him into the realization of that hope. It\nis a Book adapted to all men everywhere, and the more carefully it is\nread the greater the interest in it and the profit from it become. It is\nthe volume that teaches us how to live here that we may live hereafter,\nand in the dying hour no one will regret having been a diligent student\nof its matchless pages of divine truth and wisdom.\n\nThe last Lord's day of the voyage the ship reached Moville, Ireland,\nwhere a small vessel came out and took off the passengers for\nLondonderry. The tilled land, visible from the ship, reminded me of a\nlarge garden. Some time that night we anchored in the harbor at\nGreenock, near the mouth of the River Clyde. About one o'clock the\nsecond steward came in, calling out: \"Janes!\" I answered from my berth\nand heard him call out: \"Don Carlos Janes!\" Again I answered and learned\nthat he had some mail for me. I told him to hand it in, not remembering\nthat the door was locked, but that made no difference, for he handed it\nin anyhow, but the locking arrangement on that door needed repairing\nafter he went away. I arose and examined the two pieces of mail, which\nwere from friends, giving me directions as to where I should go when the\nship got up to Glasgow, twenty-two miles from the sea. There was but one\ncase of sea sickness reported on the whole voyage. There was one death,\nbut the corpse was carried into port instead of being buried at sea.\n\nThe home of Brother and Sister Henry Nelmes, which was my home while I\nstaid in Glasgow, is nicely located. Brother Nelmes and his wife are\nexcellent people, and treated me with much kindness. Glasgow is a large\nand important city, with many interesting places in it. The Municipal\nBuilding with its marble stairs, alabaster balustrade, onyx columns, and\nother ornamentation, is attractive on the inside, but the exterior\nimpressed me more with the idea of stability than of beauty. The old\nCathedral, which I visited twice, is in an excellent state of\npreservation, although founded in the eleventh century. There is an\nextensive burial ground adjoining the Cathedral, and one of the\nprominent monuments is at the grave of John Knox, the reformer. These\nimpressive words, written from memory, were spoken by the Regent at the\nburial of Knox, and have been carved upon his monument: \"Here lieth he\nwho never feared the face of man, who was often threatened with dag and\ndagger, yet hath ended his days in peace and honor.\" Carlyle spoke of\nhim as a man \"fearing God, without any other fear.\"\n\nOne day I visited the birth-place of Robert Burns, at Ayr, a point not\nfar from Glasgow. I not only saw the \"lowly thatched cottage,\" but a\nmonument to the poet, \"Auld Kirk Alloway,\" the \"brig o' Doon,\" and many\ninteresting articles in the museum. When the street car came to a\nstandstill, I had the old church and cemetery on my right hand, and the\nmonument on my left hand, while a man was standing in the road, ahead of\nus, blowing a cornet,--and just beyond was the new bridge over the Doon,\na short distance below the old one, which is well preserved and\nprofusely decorated with the initials of many visitors. Along the bank\nof \"bonny Doon\" lies a little garden, on the corner of which is\nsituated a house where liquor is sold, if I mistake not. It was before\nthis house that I saw the musician already mentioned. As I came up from\nthe old \"brig o' Doon,\" I saw and heard a man playing a violin near the\nmonument. When I went down the road toward the new bridge and looked\nover into the garden, I saw a couple of persons executing a cake-walk,\nand an old man with one leg off was in the cemetery that surrounds the\nruined church, reciting selections from Burns. Such is the picture I\nbeheld when I visited this Ayrshire monument, raised in memory of the\nsympathetic but unfortunate Scottish poet, whose \"spark o' nature's\nfire\" has touched so many hearts that his birth-place has more visitors\nper annum than Shakespeare's has.\n\nOn the following day I had a pleasant boat-ride up Loch (Lake) Long,\nfollowed by a merry coach-ride across to the \"bonny, bonny banks of Loch\nLomond,\" which is celebrated in song and story. It is twenty-two miles\nin length and from three-quarters of a mile to five miles wide, and is\ncalled the \"Queen of Scottish lakes.\" Ben Lomond, a mountain rising to a\nheight of more than three thousand feet, stands on the shore, and it is\nsaid that Robert Bruce, the hero of Bannockburn, once hid himself in a\ncave in this mountain. A pleasant boat-ride down the lake brought me\nback to Glasgow in time to attend a meeting of the brethren in Coplaw\nStreet that night.\n\nLeaving my true friends who had so kindly entertained me in Glasgow, I\nproceeded to Edinburgh, the city where Robert Burns came into\nprominence. In the large Waverley Station a stranger, who knew of my\ncoming through word from Brother Ivie Campbell, of Kirkcaldy, stopped me\nand asked: \"Is your name Don Carlos Janes?\" It was another good friend,\nBrother J.W. Murray. He said he told some one he was looking for me, and\nwas told, in return, that he would not be able to find me. His answer to\nthis was that he had picked out a man before, and he might pick out\nanother one; and so he did, without any difficulty. After a little time\nspent in Waverley gardens, I ascended the Walter Scott Monument, which\nis two hundred feet high. The winding stairway is rather narrow,\nespecially at the top, and it is not well lighted. As I was coming down\nthe stairs, I met a lady and gentleman. The little woman was not at all\nenthusiastic over the experience she was having, and, without knowing of\nmy presence, she was wondering what they would do if they were to meet\nany one. \"Come on up and see,\" I said, and we passed without any special\ndifficulty, but she said she didn't believe \"two stout ones could\" pass.\nAs she went on up the winding way, she was heard expressing herself in\nthese words: \"Oh, it is a place, isn't it? I don't like it.\" The\ntourist finds many \"places\", and they are not all desirable. Princess\nStreet, on which the monument is located, is the prettiest street that I\nhave ever seen. One side is occupied by business houses and hotels, the\nother is a beautiful garden, where one may walk or sit down, surrounded\nby green grass and beautiful flowers.\n\nEdinburgh Castle is an old fortification on the summit of a lofty hill\noverlooking the city. It is now used as barracks for soldiers, and is\ncapable of accommodating twelve hundred men. Queen Mary's room is a\nsmall chamber, where her son, James the First of Scotland and the Sixth\nof England, was born. I was in the old castle in Glasgow where she spent\nthe night before the Battle of Langside, and later stood by her tomb in\nWestminster Abbey. Her history, a brief sketch of which is given here,\nis interesting and pathetic. \"Mary Queen of Scots was born in Linlithgow\nPalace, 1542; fatherless at seven days old; became Queen December 8th,\n1542, and was crowned at Stirling, September 9th, 1543; carried to\nFrance, 1548; married to the Dauphin, 1558; became Queen of France,\n1559; a widow, 1560; returned to Scotland, 1561; married Lord Darnley,\n1565; her son (and successor), James VI., born at Edinburgh Castle,\n1566; Lord Darnley murdered, February, 1567; Mary married to the Earl of\nBothwell, May, 1567, and was compelled to abdicate in favor of her\ninfant son. She escaped from Lochleven Castle, lost the Battle of\nLangside, and fled to England, 1568. She was beheaded February 8th,\n1587, at Fotheringay Castle, in the forty-fifth year of her age, almost\nnineteen years of which she passed in captivity.\n\n  \"Puir Mary was born and was cradled in tears,\n  Grief cam' wi' her birth, and grief grew wi' her years.\"\n\nIn the crown-room are to be seen the regalia of Scotland, consisting of\nthe crown, scepter, sword of state, a silver rod of office, and other\njewels, all enclosed in a glass case surrounded by iron work. St.\nMargaret's Chapel, seventeen feet long and eleven feet wide, stands\nwithin the castle enclosure and is the oldest building in the city. A\nvery old cannon, called Mons Meg, was brought back to the castle through\nthe efforts of Walter Scott, and is now on exhibition. I visited the\nHall of Statuary in the National Gallery, the Royal Blind Asylum, passed\nSt. Giles Cathedral, where John Knox preached, dined with Brother\nMurray, and boarded the train for Kirkcaldy, where I as easily found\nBrother Campbell at the station as Brother Murray had found me in\nEdinburgh.\n\nI had been in correspondence with Brother Campbell for some years, and\nour meeting was a pleasure, and my stay at Kirkcaldy was very enjoyable.\nWe went up to St. Andrews, and visited the ruins of the old Cathedral,\nthe University, a monument to certain martyrs, and the home of a sister\nin Christ. But little of the Cathedral remains to be seen. It was\nfounded in 1159, and was the most magnificent of Scottish churches. St.\nRule's Tower, one hundred and ten feet high, still stands, and we had a\nfine view from the top. The time to leave Kirkcaldy came too soon, but I\nmoved on toward Wigan, England, to attend the annual meeting of churches\nof Christ. Brother Campbell accompanied me as far as Edinburgh, and I\nthen proceeded to Melrose, where I stopped off and visited Abbotsford,\nthe home of Sir Walter Scott. It is situated on the River Tweed, a short\ndistance from Melrose, and was founded in 1811. By the expenditure of a\nconsiderable sum of money it was made to present such an appearance as\nto be called \"a romance in stone and lime.\" Part of this large house is\noccupied as a dwelling, but some of the rooms are kept open for the\nnumerous visitors who call from time to time. The young lady who was\nguide the day I was at Abbotsford, first showed us Sir Walter's study.\nIt is a small room, with book shelves from the floor to the ceiling, the\ndesk on which Scott wrote his novels sitting in the middle of the floor.\nA writing-box, made of wood taken from one of the ships of the Spanish\nArmada, sits on the desk, and the clothes worn by the great novelist a\nshort time before his death are kept under glass in a case by the\nwindow, while a cast of his face is to be seen in a small room\nadjoining the study. We next passed into the library, which, with the\nbooks in the study, contains about twenty thousand volumes. In the\narmory are numerous guns, pistols, swords, and other relics. There is\nsome fine furniture in one of the rooms, and the walls are covered with\npaper printed by hand in China nearly ninety years ago. Perhaps some who\nread these lines will recall the sad story of Genivra, who hid herself\nin an oaken chest in an attic, and perished there, being imprisoned by\nthe spring lock. This oaken chest was received at Abbotsford a short\ntime before Scott's death, and is now on exhibition. Sir Walter, as the\nguide repeatedly called him, spent the last years of his life under the\nburden of a heavy debt, but instead of making use of the bankrupt law,\nhe set to work heroically with his pen to clear up the indebtedness. He\nwrote rapidly, and his books sold well, but he was one day compelled to\nlay down his pen before the task was done. The King of England gave him\na trip to the Mediterranean, for the benefit of his health, but it was\nof no avail. Sir Walter returned to his home on the bank of the Tweed,\nand died September twenty-first, 1832. In his last illness, this great\nauthor, who had produced so many volumes that were being read then and\nare still being read, asked his son-in-law to read to him. The\nson-in-law asked what book he should read, to which Sir Walter replied:\n\"Book? There is but one Book! Read me the Bible.\" In Melrose I visited\nthe ruins of the Abbey, and then went on to Wigan.\n\nAfter the annual meeting, I went to Birmingham and stayed a short while.\nFrom here I made a little journey to the birth-place of Shakespeare, at\nStratford-on-Avon, a small, quiet town, where, to the best of my\nrecollection, I saw neither street cars nor omnibuses. After being in\nseveral large cities, it was an agreeable change to spend a day in this\nquiet place, where the greatest writer in the English tongue spent his\nboyhood and the last days of his life on earth. The house where he was\nborn was first visited. A fee of sixpence (about twelve cents) secures\nadmission, but another sixpence is required if the library and museum\nare visited. The house stands as it was in the poet's early days, with a\nfew exceptions. Since that time, however, part of it has been used as a\nmeat market and part as an inn. In 1847, the property was announced for\nsale, and it fell into the hands of persons who restored it as nearly as\npossible to its original condition.\n\nIt has two stories and an attic, with three gables in the roof facing\nthe street. At the left of the door by which the tourist is admitted, is\na portion of the house where the valuable documents of the corporation\nare stored, while to the right are the rooms formerly used as the \"Swan\nand Maidenhead Inn,\" now converted into a library and museum. The\nwindows in the upstairs room where the poet was born are fully occupied\nwith the autographs of visitors who have scratched their names there. I\nwas told that the glass is now valuable simply as old glass, and of\ncourse the autographs enhance the value. The names of Scott and Carlyle\nare pointed out by the attendant in charge. From a back window one can\nlook down into the garden, where, as far as possible, all the trees and\nflowers mentioned in Shakespeare's works have been planted. For some\nyears past the average number of visitors to this house has been seven\nthousand a year. The poet's grave is in Trinity Church, at Stratford,\nbeneath a stone slab in the floor bearing these lines:\n\n  \"Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbear\n  To digg the dust enclosed here.\n  Blest be ye man y spares these stones,\n  And curst be he ty moves my bones.\"\n\nOn the wall, just at hand, is a bust made from a cast taken after his\ndeath. Near by is a stained-glass window with the inscription,\n\"America's gift to Shakespeare's church,\" and not far away is a card\nabove a collection-box with an inscription which informs \"visitors from\nU.S.A.\" that there is yet due on the window more than three hundred\ndollars. The original cost was about two thousand five hundred dollars.\nThe Shakespeare Memorial is a small theater by the side of the Avon,\nwith a library and picture gallery attached. The first stone was laid in\n1877, and the building was opened in 1879 with a performance of \"Much\nAdo About Nothing.\" The old school once attended by the poet still\nstands, and is in use, as is also the cottage of Anne Hathaway, situated\na short distance from Stratford. I returned to Birmingham, and soon went\non to Bristol and saw the orphans' homes founded by George Muller.\n\nThese homes, capable of accommodating two thousand and fifty orphans,\nare beautifully situated on Ashley Downs. Brother William Kempster and I\nvisited them together, and were shown through a portion of one of the\nfive large buildings by an elderly gentleman, neat, clean, and humble,\nwho was sent down by the manager of the institution, a son-in-law of Mr.\nMuller, who died in 1898, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. We\nsaw one of the dormitories, which was plainly furnished, but everything\nwas neat and clean. We were also shown two dining-rooms, and the\nlibrary-room in which Mr. Muller conducted a prayer-meeting only a night\nor two before his death. In this room we saw a fine, large picture of\nthe deceased, and were told by the \"helper\" who was showing us around\nthat Mr. Muller was accustomed to saying: \"Oh, I am such a happy man!\"\nThe expression on his face in this picture is quite in harmony with his\nwords just quoted. One of his sayings was: \"When anxiety begins, faith\nends; when faith begins, anxiety ends.\"\n\nMr. Muller spent seventy years of his life in England and became so\nthoroughly Anglicized that he wished his name pronounced \"Miller.\" He\nwas the founder of the \"Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and\nAbroad\" and was a man of much more than ordinary faith. His work began\nabout 1834, with the distribution of literature, and the orphan work, if\nI mistake not, was begun two years later. \"As the result of prayer to\nGod\" more than five millions of dollars have been applied for the\nbenefit of the orphans. He never asked help of man, but made his wants\nknown to God, and those who are now carrying on the work pursue the same\ncourse, but the collection-boxes put up where visitors can see them\nmight be considered by some as an invitation to give. The following\nquotation from the founder of the orphanages will give some idea of the\nkind of man he was. \"In carrying on this work simply through the\ninstrumentality of prayer and faith, without applying to any human being\nfor help, my great desire was, that it might be seen that, now, in the\nnineteenth century, _God is still the Living God, and now, as well as\nthousands of years ago, he listens to the prayers of his children and\nhelps those who trust in him._ In all the forty-two countries through\nwhich I traveled during the twenty-one years of my missionary service,\nnumberless instances came before me of the benefit which this orphan\ninstitution has been, in this respect, not only in making men of the\nworld see the reality of the things of God, and by converting them, but\nespecially by leading the children of God more abundantly to give\nthemselves to prayer, and by strengthening their faith. _Far beyond what\nI at first expected to accomplish_, the Lord has been pleased to give\nme. But what I have _seen_ as the fruit of my labor in this way may not\nbe the thousandth part of what I _shall_ see when the Lord Jesus comes\nagain; as day by day, for sixty-one years, I have earnestly labored, in\nbelieving prayer, that God would be pleased, most abundantly, to bless\nthis service in the way I have stated.\"\n\nThe objects of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution are set forth as\nfollows: \"To assist day schools and Sunday-schools in which instruction\nis given upon scriptural principles,\" etc. By day schools conducted on\nscriptural principles, they mean \"those in which the teachers are\nbelievers; where the way of salvation is pointed out, and in which no\ninstruction is given opposed to the principles of the Gospel.\" In these\nschools the Scriptures are read daily by the children. In the\nSunday-schools the \"teachers are believers, and the Holy Scriptures\nalone are the foundation of instruction.\" The second object of the\nInstitution is \"to circulate the Holy Scriptures.\" In one year four\nthousand three hundred and fifty Bibles were sold, and five hundred and\ntwenty-five were given away; seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-one\nNew Testament were sold, and one thousand five hundred and seventy-four\nwere given away; fifty-five copies of the Psalms were sold, and\nthirty-eight were given away; two thousand one hundred and sixty-three\nportions of the Holy Scriptures were sold, and one hundred and sixty-two\nwere given away; and three thousand one hundred illustrated portions of\nthe Scriptures were given away. There have been circulated through this\nmedium, since March, 1834, three hundred and eleven thousand two hundred\nand seventy-eight Bibles, and one million five hundred and seven\nthousand eight hundred and one copies of the New Testament. They keep in\nstock almost four hundred sorts of Bibles, ranging in price from twelve\ncents each to more than six dollars a copy.\n\nAnother object of the Institution is to aid in missionary efforts.\n\"During the past year one hundred and eighty laborers in the Word and\ndoctrine in various parts of the world have been assisted.\" The fourth\nobject is to circulate such publications as may be of benefit both to\nbelievers and unbelievers. In a single year one million six hundred and\neleven thousand two hundred and sixty-six books and tracts were\ndistributed gratuitously. The fifth object is to board, clothe, and\nscientifically educate destitute orphans. Mr. Muller belonged to that\nclass of religious people who call themselves Brethren, and are called\nby others \"Plymouth Brethren.\"\n\nAfter leaving Bristol, I went to London, the metropolis of the world.\nThe first important place visited was Westminster Abbey, an old church,\nfounded in the seventh century, rebuilt in 1049, and restored to its\npresent form in the thirteenth century. Many eminent men and women are\nburied here. Chaucer, the first poet to find a resting place in the\nAbbey, was interred in 1400. The place where Major Andre is buried is\nmarked by a small piece of the pavement bearing his name. On the wall\nclose by is a monument to him. Here are the graves of Isaac Newton,\nCharles Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin, and many others,\nincluding Kings and Queens of England for centuries. In the Poets'\nCorner are monuments to Coleridge, Southey, Shakespeare, Burns,\nTennyson, Milton, Gray, Spencer, and others, and one bearing the\ninscription \"O Rare Ben Jonson.\" There is also a bust of Longfellow, the\nonly foreigner accorded a memorial in the Abbey. The grave of David\nLivingstone, the African explorer and missionary, is covered with a\nblack stone of some kind, which forms a part of the floor or pavement,\nand contains an inscription in brass letters, of which the following\nquotation is a part: \"All I can add in my solitude is, may heaven's\nrich blessings come down on every one, American, English, or Turk, who\nwill help to heal this open sore of the world.\"\n\nConcerning this interesting old place which is visited by more than\nfifty thousand Americans annually, Jeremy Taylor wrote: \"Where our Kings\nare crowned, their ancestors lie interred, and they must walk over their\ngrandsires to take the crown. There is an acre sown with royal seed, the\ncopy of the greatest change, from rich to naked, from ceiled roofs to\narched coffins, from living like gods to die like men. There the warlike\nand the peaceful, the fortunate and the miserable, the beloved and\ndespised princes mingle their dust and pay down their symbol of\nmortality, and tell all the world that when we die our ashes shall be\nequal to Kings, and our accounts easier, and our pains for our sins\nshall be less.\" While walking about in the Abbey, I also found these\nlines from Walter Scott:\n\n  \"Here, where the end of earthly things\n  Lays heroes, patriots, bards and kings;\n  Where stiff the hand and still the tongue\n  Of those who fought, and spoke, and sung;\n  Here, where the fretted aisles prolong\n  The distant notes of holy song,\n  As if some Angel spoke again\n  'All peace on earth, good will to men';\n  If ever from an English heart,\n  Here let prejudice depart.\"\n\nBunhill Fields is an old cemetery where one hundred and twenty thousand\nburials have taken place. Here lie the ashes of Isaac Watts, the hymn\nwriter; of Daniel De Foe, author of \"Robinson Crusoe,\" and of John\nBunyan, who in Bedford jail wrote \"Pilgrim's Progress.\" The monuments\nare all plain. The one at the grave of De Foe was purchased with the\ncontributions of seventeen hundred people, who responded to a call made\nby some paper. On the top of Bunyan's tomb rests the figure of a man,\nperhaps a representation of him whose body was laid in the grave below.\nOn one of the monuments in this cemetery are the following words\nconcerning the deceased: \"In sixty-seven months she was tapped sixty-six\ntimes. Had taken away two hundred and forty gallons of water without\never repining at her case or ever fearing the operation.\"\n\nJust across the street from Bunhill Fields stands the house once\noccupied by John Wesley (now containing a museum) and a meeting-house\nwhich was built in Wesley's day. The old pulpit from which Mr. Wesley\npreached is still in use, but it has been lowered somewhat. In front of\nthe chapel is a statue of Wesley, and at the rear is his grave, and\nclose by is the last resting place of the remains of Adam Clarke, the\ncommentator.\n\nA trip to Greenwich was quite interesting. I visited the museum and saw\nmuch of interest, including the painted hall, the coat worn by Nelson at\nthe Battle of the Nile, and the clothing he wore when he was mortally\nwounded at Trafalgar. I went up the hill to the Observatory, and walked\nthrough an open door to the grounds where a gentleman informed me that\nvisitors are not admitted without a pass; but he kindly gave me some\ninformation and told me that I was standing on the prime meridian. On\nthe outside of the enclosure are scales of linear measure up to one\nyard, and a large clock.\n\nAfter the trip to Greenwich, I went over the London Bridge, passed the\nfire monument, and came back across the Thames by the Tower Bridge, a\npeculiar structure, having two levels in one span, so passengers can go\nup the stairs in one of the towers, cross the upper level, and go down\nthe other stairs when the lower level is opened for boats to pass up and\ndown the river. While in Scotland, I twice crossed the great Forth\nBridge, which is more than a mile and a half long and was erected at a\ncost of above fifteen millions of dollars. There are ten spans in the\nsouth approach, eight in the north approach, and two central spans each\nseventeen hundred feet long. The loftiest part of the structure is three\nhundred and sixty-one feet above high-water mark.\n\nThe Albert Memorial is perhaps the finest monument seen on the whole\ntrip. The Victoria and Albert Museum contains the original Singer\nsewing-machine, and a printing-press supposed to have been used by\nBenjamin Franklin, and many other interesting things. The Natural\nHistory Museum also contains much to attract the visitor's attention.\nHere I saw the skeleton of a mastodon about ten feet tall and twenty\nfeet long; also the tusks of an extinct species of Indian elephant,\nwhich were nine feet and nine inches long. There is also an elephant\ntusk on exhibition ten feet long and weighing two hundred and eighty\npounds.\n\nMadam Tussaud's exhibition of wax figures and relics is both interesting\nand instructive, and well repays one for the time and expense of a\nvisit. Several American Presidents are represented in life-size figures,\nalong with Kings and others who have been prominent in the affairs of\nmen. In the Napoleon room are three of the great warrior's carriages,\nthe one used at Waterloo being in the number. London Tower is a series\nof strong buildings, which have in turn served as a fortress, a palace,\nand a prison. I saw the site of Anne Boleyn's execution, but that which\nhad the most interest for me was the room containing the crown jewels.\nThey are kept in a glass case ten or twelve feet in diameter, in a\nsmall, circular room. Outside of the case there is an iron cage\nsurrounded by a network of wire. The King's crown is at the top of the\ncollection, which contains other crowns, scepters, swords, and different\ncostly articles. This crown, which was first made in 1838 for Queen\nVictoria, was enlarged for Edward, the present King. It contains two\nthousand eight hundred and eighteen diamonds, two hundred and\nninety-seven pearls, and many other jewels. One of the scepters is\nsupposed to contain a part of the cross of Christ, but the supposition\nhad no weight with me. One of the attendants told me the value of the\nwhole collection was estimated at four million pounds, and that it would\nprobably bring five times that much if sold at auction. As the English\npound is worth about four dollars and eighty-seven cents, this little\nroom contains a vast treasure--worth upwards of a hundred million\ndollars.\n\nI will only mention Nelson's monument in Trafalgar Square, the\nParliament Buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court\nPalace, and the Zoological Gardens. I also visited the Bank of England,\nwhich \"stands on ground valued at two hundred and fifty dollars per\nsquare foot. If the bank should ever find itself pressed for money, it\ncould sell its site for thirty-two million seven hundred and seventy\nthousand dollars.\" It is a low building that is not noted for its\nbeauty. If it were located in New York, probably one of the tall\nbuildings characteristic of that city would be erected on the site.\n\nThe British Museum occupied my time for hours, and I shall not undertake\nto give a catalogue of the things I saw there, but will mention a few of\nthem. There are manuscripts of early writers in the English tongue,\nincluding a copy of Beowulf, the oldest poem in the language; autograph\nworks of Daniel De Foe, Ben Jonson, and others; the original articles of\nagreement between John Milton and Samuel Symmons relating to the sale of\nthe copyright of \"a poem entitled 'Paradise Lost.'\" There was a small\nstone inscribed in Phoenician, with the name of Nehemiah, the son of\nMacaiah, and pieces of rock that were brought from the great temple of\nDiana at Ephesus; a fragment of the Koran; objects illustrating Buddhism\nin India; books printed by William Caxton, who printed the first book in\nEnglish; and Greek vases dating back to 600 B.C. In the first verse of\nthe twentieth chapter of Isaiah we have mention of \"Sargon, the king of\nAssyria.\" For centuries this was all the history the world had of this\nking, who reigned more than seven hundred years before Christ. Within\nrecent times his history has been dug up in making excavations in the\neast, and I saw one of his inscribed bricks and two very large,\nhuman-headed, winged bulls from a doorway of his palace.\n\nThe carvings from the palace of Sennacherib, tablets from the library of\nAsur-Banipal, and brick of Ur-Gur, king of Ur about twenty-five\ncenturies before Christ, attracted my attention, as did also the\ncolossal left arm of a statue of Thotmes III., which measures about nine\nfeet. The Rosetta stone, by which the Egyptian hieroglyphics were\ntranslated, and hundreds of other objects were seen. In the mummy-room\nare embalmed bodies, skeletons, and coffins that were many centuries\nold when Jesus came to earth, some of them bearing dates as early as\n2600 B.C., and in the case of a part of a body found in the third\npyramid the date attached is 3633 B.C. Being weary, I sat down, and my\nnote book contains this entry: \"1:45 P.M., August 20. Resting here in\nthe midst of mummies and sarcophagi thousands of years old.\"\n\nFrom the top of the Monument I took a bird's-eye view of the largest of\nall earthly cities, or at least I looked as far as the smoky atmosphere\nwould permit, and then returned to my stopping place at Twynholm. As I\nrode back on the top of an omnibus, the houses of one of the Rothschild\nfamily and the Duke of Wellington were pointed out. My sight-seeing in\nScotland and England was now at an end, and the journey so far had been\nvery enjoyable and highly profitable. I packed up and went down to\nHarwich, on the English Channel, where I embarked on the Cambridge for\nAntwerp, in Belgium. In this chapter I have purposely omitted reference\nto my association with the churches, as that will come up for\nconsideration in another chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nCROSSING EUROPE.\n\n\nImmediately after my arrival in Antwerp I left for a short trip over the\nborder to Rosendaal, Holland, where I saw but little more than\nbrick-houses, tile roofs, and wooden shoes. I then returned to Antwerp,\nand went on to Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The battlefield of\nWaterloo is about nine and a half miles from Brussels, and I had an\nenjoyable trip to this notable place. The field is farming land, and now\nunder cultivation. The chief object of interest is the Lion Mound, an\nartificial hill surmounted by the figure of a large lion. The mound is\nascended by about two hundred and twenty-three steps, and from its\nsummit one has a good view of the place where the great Napoleon met his\ndefeat on the fifteenth of June, 1815. There is another monument on the\nfield, which, though quite small and not at all beautiful, contains an\nimpressive inscription. It was raised in memory of Alexander Gordon, an\naide to the Duke of Wellington, and has the following words carved on\none side: \"A disconsolate sister and five surviving brothers have\nerected this simple memorial to the object of their tenderest\naffection.\"\n\nFrom Brussels I went over to Aix-la-Chapelle, on the frontier of\nGermany, where I spent but little time and saw nothing of any great\ninterest to me. There was a fine statue of Wilhelm I., a crucifixion\nmonument, and, as I walked along the street, I saw an advertisement for\n\"Henry Clay Habanna Cigarren,\" but not being a smoker, I can not say\nwhether they were good or not. In this city I had an amusing experience\nbuying a German flag. I couldn't speak \"Deutsch,\" and she couldn't speak\nEnglish, but we made the trade all right.\n\nMy next point was Paris, the capital of the French Republic, and here I\nsaw many interesting objects. I first visited the church called the\nMadeleine. I also walked along the famous street _Champs Elysees,_\nvisited the magnificent Arch of Triumph, erected to commemorate the\nvictories of Napoleon, and viewed the Eiffel Tower, which was completed\nin 1889 at a cost of a million dollars. It contains about seven thousand\ntons of metal, and the platform at the top is nine hundred and\neighty-five feet high. The Tomb of Napoleon is in the Church of the\nInvalides, one of the finest places I had visited up to that time. The\nspot where the Bastile stood is now marked by a lofty monument. The\ngarden of the Tuileries, Napoleon's palace, is one of the pretty places\nin Paris. Leaving this city in the morning, I journeyed all day through\na beautiful farming country, and reached Pontarlier, in southern France,\nfor the night.\n\nMy travel in Switzerland, the oldest free state in the world, was very\nenjoyable. As we were entering the little republic, in which I spent two\ndays, the train was running through a section of country that is not\nvery rough, when, all in a moment, it passed through a tunnel\noverlooking a beautiful valley, bounded by mountains on the opposite\nside and presenting a very pleasing view. There were many other\nbeautiful scenes as I journeyed along, sometimes climbing the rugged\nmountain by a cog railway, and sometimes riding quietly over one of the\nbeautiful Swiss lakes. I spent a night at lovely Lucerne, on the Lake of\nthe Four Cantons, the body of water on which William Tell figured long\nago. Lucerne is kept very clean, and presents a pleasing appearance to\nthe tourist.\n\nI could have gone to Fluelin by rail, but preferred to take a boat ride\ndown the lake, and it proved to be a pleasant and enjoyable trip. The\nsnow could be seen lying on the tops of the mountains while the flowers\nwere blooming in the valleys below. Soon after leaving Fluelin, the\ntrain entered the St. Gothard Tunnel and did not reach daylight again\nfor seventeen minutes. This tunnel, at that time the longest in the\nworld, is a little more than nine miles in length. It is twenty-eight\nfeet wide, twenty-one feet high, lined throughout with masonry, and cost\neleven million four hundred thousand dollars. Since I was in Switzerland\nthe Simplon Tunnel has been opened. It was begun more than six years\nago by the Swiss and Italian Governments, an immense force of hands\nbeing worked on each end of it. After laboring day and night for years,\nthe two parties met on the twenty-fourth of February. This tunnel, which\nis double, is more than twelve miles long and cost sixteen millions of\ndollars.\n\nAt Chiasso we did what is required at the boundary line of all the\ncountries visited; that is, stop and let the custom-house officials\ninspect the baggage. I had nothing dutiable and was soon traveling on\nthrough Italy, toward Venice, where I spent some time riding on one of\nthe little omnibus steamers that ply on its streets of water. But not\nall the Venetian streets are like this, for I walked on some that are\npaved with good, hard sandstone. I was not moved by the beauty of the\nplace, and soon left for Pisa, passing a night in Florence on the way.\nThe chief point of interest was the Leaning Tower, which has eight\nstories and is one hundred and eighty feet high. This structure,\ncompleted in the fourteenth century, seems to have commenced to lean\nwhen the third story was built. The top, which is reached by nearly\nthree hundred steps, is fourteen feet out of perpendicular. Five large\nbells are suspended in the tower, from the top of which one can have a\nfine view of the walled city, with its Cathedral and Baptistery, the\nbeautiful surrounding country, and the mountains in the distance.\n\nThe next point visited was Rome, old \"Rome that sat on her seven hills\nand from her throne of beauty ruled the world.\" One of the first things\nI saw when I came out of the depot was a monument bearing the letters\n\"S.P.Q.R.\" (the Senate and the people of Rome) which are sometimes seen\nin pictures concerning the crucifixion of Christ. In London there are\nnumerous public water-closets; in France also there are public urinals,\nwhich are almost too public in some cases, but here in Rome the climax\nis reached, for the urinals furnish only the least bit of privacy. One\nof them, near the railway station, is merely an indentation of perhaps\nsix or eight inches in a straight wall right against the sidewalk, where\nmen, women, and children are passing.\n\nBy the aid of a guide-book and pictorial plan, I crossed the city from\nthe gateway called \"Porto del Popolo\" to the \"Porto S. Paolo,\" seeing\nthe street called the \"Corso,\" or race course, Piazza Colonna, Fountain\nof Treves, Trajan's Forum, Roman Forum, Arch of Constantine, Pantheon,\nColosseum, and the small Pyramid of Caius Cestus.\n\nThe Porto del Popolo is the old gateway by which travelers entered the\ncity before the railroad was built. It is on the Flammian Way and is\nsaid to have been built first in A.D. 402. Just inside the gate is a\nspace occupied by an Egyptian obelisk surrounded by four Egyptian lions.\nThe Corso is almost a mile in length and extends from the gate just\nmentioned to the edge of the Capitoline Hill, where a great monument to\nVictor Emmanuel was being built. The Fountain of Treves is said to be\nthe most magnificent in Rome, and needs to be seen to be appreciated. It\nhas three large figures, the one in the middle representing the Ocean,\nthe one on the left, Fertility, and the one on the right, Health. Women\nwho are disposed to dress fashionably at the expense of a deformed body\nmight be profited by a study of this figure of Health. Trajan's Forum is\nan interesting little place, but it is a small show compared with the\nRoman Forum, which is much more extensive, and whose ruins are more\nvaried. The latter contains the temples of Vespasian, of Concordia, of\nCastor and Pollux, and others. It also contains the famous Arch of\nTitus, the Basilica of Constantine, the remains of great palaces, and\nother ruins. \"Originally the Forum was a low valley among the hills, a\nconvenient place for the people to meet and barter.\" The Palatine Hill\nwas fortified by the first Romans, and the Sabines lived on other hills.\nThese two races finally united, and the valley between the hills became\nthe site of numerous temples and government buildings. Kings erected\ntheir palaces in the Forum, and it became the center of Roman life. But\nwhen Constantine built his capital at Constantinople, the greatness of\nthe city declined, and it was sacked and plundered by enemies from the\nnorth. The Forum became a dumping ground for all kinds of rubbish until\nit was almost hidden from view, and it was called by a name signifying\ncow pasture. It has been partly excavated within the last century, and\nthe ruined temples and palaces have been brought to light, making it\nonce more a place of absorbing interest. I wandered around and over and\nunder and through these ruins for a considerable length of time, and\nwrote in my note book: \"There is more here than I can comprehend.\"\n\nI was in a garden on top of one part of the ruins where flowers and\ntrees were growing, and then I went down through the mass of ruins by a\nflight of seventy-five stairs, which, the attendant said, was built by\nCaligula. I was then probably not more than half way to the bottom of\nthis hill of ruins, which is honeycombed with corridors, stairways, and\nrooms of various sizes. The following scrap of history concerning\nCaligula will probably be interesting: \"At first he was lavishly\ngenerous and merciful, but he soon became mad, and his cruelty knew no\nbounds. He banished or murdered his relatives and many of his subjects.\nVictims were tortured and slain in his presence while dining, and he\nuttered the wish that all the Roman people had but one neck, that he\nmight strike it off at one blow. He built a bridge across the Bay of\nBaiae, and planted trees upon it and built houses upon it that he might\nsay he had crossed the sea on dry land. In the middle of the bridge he\ngave a banquet, and at the close had a great number of the guests thrown\ninto the sea. He made his favorite horse a priest, then a consul, and\nalso declared himself a god, and had temples built in his honor.\" It is\nsaid that Tiberius left the equivalent of one hundred and eighteen\nmillions of dollars, and that Caligula spent it in less than a year. The\nattendant pointed out the corridor in which he said this wicked man was\nassassinated.\n\nNear one of the entrances to the Forum stands the Arch of Titus, erected\nto commemorate the victory of the Romans over the Jews at Jerusalem in\nA.D. 70. It is built of Parian marble and still contains a\nwell-preserved figure of the golden candlestick of the Tabernacle carved\non one of its walls. There is a representation of the table of showbread\nnear by, and some other carvings yet remain, indicating something of the\nmanner in which the monument was originally ornamented.\n\nThe Colosseum, commenced by Vespasian in A.D. 72 and finished by Titus\neight years later, is a grand old ruin. It is an open theater six\nhundred and twelve feet long, five hundred and fifteen feet wide, and\none hundred and sixty-five feet high. This structure, capable of seating\neighty-seven thousand people, stands near the bounds of the Forum. It is\nthe largest of its kind, and is one of the best preserved and most\ninteresting ruins in the world. When it was dedicated, the games lasted\none hundred days, and five thousand wild beasts were slain. During the\npersecution of the Christians it is said to have been the scene of\nfearful barbarities.\n\nOn the second day I entered the Pantheon, \"the best preserved monument\nof ancient Rome,\" built by Marcus Agrippa, and consecrated to Mars,\nVenus, and others. It was burned in the reign of Titus and rebuilt by\nHadrian, and in A.D. 608 Pope Boniface consecrated it as a church. The\ninterior is shaped like a vast dome, and the only opening for light is a\nround hole in the top. Raphael, \"reckoned by almost universal opinion as\nthe greatest of painters,\" lies buried in the Pantheon behind one of the\naltars. I went to Hadrian's Tomb, now the Castle of St. Angelo, and on\nto St. Peter's. Before this great church-building there is a large open\nspace containing an obelisk and two fountains, said to be the finest in\nthe city, with a semi-circular colonnade on two sides containing two\nhundred and eighty-four columns in four rows, and on the top of the\nentablature there are ninety-six large statues. There are large figures\non the top of the church, representing Christ and the apostles. The\ninterior is magnificent. There are three aisles five hundred and\nseventy-five feet long, and the middle one is eighty-two feet wide. The\nbeautifully ornamented ceiling is one hundred and forty-two feet high.\nIn this building, which was completed three hundred and fifty years\nafter it was begun, is the reputed tomb of the Apostle Peter, and many\nlarge marble statues. There are figures representing boy angels that\nare as large as a full-grown man. The Vatican is not far from St.\nPeter's, and I went up to see the Museum, but got there just as it was\nbeing closed for the day. I had a glimpse of the garden, and saw some of\nthe Pope's carriages, which were fine indeed.\n\nOne of the most interesting places that I visited about Rome was the old\nunderground cemetery called the Catacombs of St. Calixtus. The visitors\ngo down a stairway with a guide, who leads them about the chambers,\nwhich are but dimly lighted by the small candles they carry. The\npassages, cut in the earth or soft rock, vary both in width and height,\nand have been explored in modern times to the aggregate length of six\nmiles. Some of the bodies were placed in small recesses in the walls,\nbut I saw none there as I went through, but there were two in marble\ncoffins under glass. In one of the small chambers the party sang in some\nforeign language, probably Italian, and while I could not understand\nthem, I thought the music sounded well. The Circus of Maxentius, fifteen\nhundred feet long and two hundred and sixty feet wide, is near the\nCatacombs, as is also the tomb of Caecilla Metella, which is said to\nhave been erected more than nineteen hundred years ago. It is probably\nas much as two miles from the city walls, and I walked on a little way\nand could see other ruins still farther in the distance, but I turned\nback toward the hotel, and some time after sundown found myself walking\nalong the banks of the yellow Tiber in the old city. Two days of\nsight-seeing had been well spent in and around the former capital of the\nworld, and I was ready to go on to Naples the next day.\n\nThere is a saying, \"See Naples and die,\" but I did not feel like\nexpiring when I beheld it, although it is very beautifully located. The\nruins of Pompeii, a few miles distant, had more interest for me than\nNaples. I went out there on the tenth of September, which I recollect as\na very hot day. Pompeii, a kind of a summer resort for the Roman\naristocracy, was founded 600 B.C. and destroyed by an eruption of Mt.\nVesuvius in A.D. 79. It was covered with ashes from the volcano, and\npart of the population perished. The site of the city was lost, but was\nfound after the lapse of centuries and the Italian Government began the\nexcavations in 1860. Some of the old stone-paved streets, showing the\nruts made by chariot wheels that ceased to roll centuries ago, have been\nlaid bare. Portions of the houses are still standing, and the stone\ndrinking fountains along the streets are yet to be seen, as are also the\nstepping stones at the crossings, which are higher than the blocks used\nin paving. Some of the walls still contain very clear paintings, some of\nwhich are not at all commendable, and others are positively lewd. One\npicture represented a wild boar, a deer, a lion, a rabbit, some birds,\nand a female (almost nude) playing a harp. There was also a very clear\npicture of a bird and some cherries. At one place in the ruins I saw a\nwell-executed picture of a chained dog in mosaic work. It is remarkable\nhow well preserved some things are here. In the Museum are petrified\nbodies in the positions they occupied when sudden and unexpected\ndestruction was poured upon them, well nigh two thousand years ago. Some\nappear to have died in great agony, but one has a peaceful position.\nPerhaps this victim was asleep when the death angel came. I saw the\npetrified remains of a dog wearing a collar and lying on his back, and a\nchild on its face. One of the men, who may have been a military officer,\nseemed to have a rusty sword at his side. There were skeletons, both of\nhuman beings and of brutes, bronze vessels, and such articles as cakes\nand eggs from the kitchens of the old city.\n\nMt. Vesuvius is a very famous volcano, standing four thousand feet high,\nand has wrought a great deal of destruction. In the eruption of 472, it\nis related that its ashes were carried to Constantinople; in 1066, the\nlava flowed down to the sea; in 1631, eighteen thousand lives were lost;\nand in 1794 a stream of lava more than a thousand feet wide and fifteen\nfeet high destroyed a town. From my hotel in Naples I had a fine view of\nthe red light rising from the volcano the evening after I visited\nPompeii.\n\nLeaving Naples, I went to Brindisi, where I took ship for Patras in\nGreece. A day was spent in crossing Italy, two nights and a day were\ntaken up with the voyage to Patras, and a good part of a day was\noccupied with the railroad trip from there to Athens, where the hotel\nmen made more ado over me than I was accustomed to, but I got through\nall right and secured comfortable quarters at the New York Hotel, just\nacross the street from the Parliament Building. From the little balcony\nat my window I could look out at the Acropolis. The principal places\nvisited the first day were the Stadium, Mars' Hill, and the Acropolis.\n\nLeaving the hotel and going through Constitution Square, up Philhellene\nStreet, past the Russian and English churches, I came to the Zappeion, a\nmodern building put up for Olympic exhibitions. The Arch of Hadrian, a\npeculiar old structure, twenty-three feet wide and about fifty-six feet\nhigh, stands near the Zappeion, and formerly marked the boundary between\nancient Athens and the more modern part of the city. Passing through\nthis arch, I soon came to what remains of the temple of the Olympian\nJupiter, which was commenced long before the birth of Christ and\nfinished by Hadrian about A.D. 140. Originally this temple, after that\nof Ephesus said to be the largest in the world, had three rows of eight\ncolumns each, on the eastern and western fronts, and a double row of one\nhundred columns on the northern and southern sides, and contained a\nstatue of Jupiter, overlaid with gold and ivory. Its glory has long\nsince departed, and only fifteen of the columns are now standing. A\nlittle farther on is the Stadium, with an arena over five hundred and\neighty feet long, and one hundred and nine feet wide. It was originally\nconstructed by the orator Lycurgus, about three hundred and fifty years\nbefore Christ, but was being rebuilt when I was there. The seats are on\nboth sides and around the circular end of the arena, being made on the\nslope of the hill and covered with clean, white, Pentelic marble, making\na beautiful sight.\n\nOn the way to Mars' Hill and the Acropolis I passed the monument of\nLysicrates, the theater of Bacchus, and the Odeon. This first-mentioned\ntheater is said to have been \"the cradle of dramatic art,\" the\nmasterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and others having been rendered\nthere. The Odeon of Herod Atticus differed from other ancient theaters\nin that it was covered.\n\nMars' Hill is a great, oval-shaped mass of rock which probably would not\nbe called a hill in America. The small end, which is the highest part of\nit, lies next to the Acropolis, and its summit is reached by going up a\nshort flight of steps cut in the limestone, and well preserved,\nconsidering their age. The bluff on the opposite side from these steps\nis perhaps thirty or forty feet high and very rugged. The rock slopes\ntoward the wide end, which is only a few feet above the ground. I\nestimate the greatest length of it to be about two hundred yards, and\nthe greatest width one hundred and fifty yards, but accurate\nmeasurements might show these figures to be considerably at fault. I\nhave spoken of the hill as a rock, and such it is--a great mass of hard\nlimestone, whose irregular surface, almost devoid of soil, still shows\nwhere patches of it were dressed down, perhaps for ancient altars or\nidols. The Areopagus was a court, which in Paul's time had jurisdiction\nin cases pertaining to religion.\n\nA vision called Paul into Macedonia, where Lydia was converted and Paul\nand Silas were imprisoned. In connection with their imprisonment, the\nconversion of the jailer of Philippi was brought about, after which the\npreachers went to Thessalonica, from whence Paul and Silas were sent to\nBerea. Jews from Thessalonica came down to Berea and stirred up the\npeople, and the brethren sent Paul away, but Silas and Timothy were left\nbehind. \"They that conducted Paul, brought him as far as Athens,\" and\nthen went back to Berea with a message to Silas and Timothy to come to\nhim \"with all speed.\" \"Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his\nspirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols.\"\nBeing thus vexed, and having the gospel of Christ to preach, he reasoned\nwith the Jews and devout people in the synagogue and every day in the\nmarketplace with those he met there. He came in contact with\nphilosophers of both the Epicurean and Stoic schools, and it was these\nphilosophers who took him to the Areopagus, saying: \"May we know what\nthis new teaching is which is spoken by thee?\"\n\nThe Athenians of those days were a pleasure-loving set of idolaters who\ngave themselves up to telling and hearing new things. Besides the many\nidols in the city, there were numerous temples and places of amusement.\nWithin a few minutes' walk was the Stadium, capable of holding fifty\nthousand persons, and still nearer were the theater of Bacchus and the\nOdeon, capable of accommodating about thirty and six thousand people\nrespectively. On the Acropolis, probably within shouting distance, stood\nsome heathen temples, one of them anciently containing a colossal statue\nof Athene Parthenos, said to have been not less than thirty-nine feet\nhigh and covered with ivory and gold. In another direction and in plain\nsight stood, and still stands, the Theseum, a heathen temple at that\ntime. Take all this into consideration, with the fact that Paul had\nalready been talking with the people on religious subjects, and his\ngreat speech on Mars' Hill may be more impressive than ever before.\n\n\"Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are very religious.\nFor as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found\nalso an altar with this inscription, To an unknown God. What therefore\nye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. The God that made\nthe world and all things therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth,\ndwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is he served by men's\nhands as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all\nlife, and breath, and all things; and he made of one every nation of men\nto dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed\nseasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God,\nif haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far\nfrom each one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being;\nas certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his\noffspring. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think the\nGodhead is like unto gold, or silver or stone, graven by art and device\nof man. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked, but now he\ncommandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he\nhath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in\nrighteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given\nassurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead.\"\n\nThe Acropolis is a great mass of stone near Mars' Hill, but rising much\nhigher and having a wall around its crest. At one time, it is said, the\npopulation of the city lived here, but later the city extended into the\nvalley below and the Acropolis became a fortress. About 400 B.C. the\nbuildings were destroyed by the Persians, and those now standing there\nin ruins were erected by Pericles. The entrance, which is difficult to\ndescribe, is through a gateway and up marble stairs to the top, where\nthere are large quantities of marble in columns, walls, and fragments.\nThe two chief structures are the Parthenon and the Erectheum. The\nParthenon is two hundred and eight feet long and one hundred and one\nfeet wide, having a height of sixty-six feet. It is so large and\nsituated in such a prominent place that it can be seen from all sides of\nthe hill. In 1687 the Venetians while besieging Athens, threw a shell\ninto it and wrecked a portion of it, but part of the walls and some of\nthe fluted columns, which are more than six feet in diameter, are yet\nstanding. This building is regarded as the most perfect model of Doric\narchitecture in the world, and must have been very beautiful before its\nclear white marble was discolored by the hand of time and broken to\npieces in cruel war. The Erectheum is a smaller temple, having a little\nporch with a flat roof supported by six columns in the form of female\nfigures.\n\nThe Theseum, an old temple erected probably four hundred years before\nChrist, is the best preserved ruin of ancient Athens. It is a little\nover a hundred feet long, forty-five feet wide, and is surrounded by\ncolumns nearly nineteen feet high. The Hill of the Pynx lies across the\nroad a short distance from the Theseum. At the lower side there is a\nwall of large stone blocks and above this a little distance is another\nwall cut in the solid rock, in the middle of which is a cube cut in the\nnatural rock. This is probably the platform from which the speaker\naddressed the multitude that could assemble on the shelf or bench\nbetween the two walls.\n\nSome of the principal modern buildings are the Hellenic Academy, the\nUniversity, Library, Royal Palace, Parliament Building, various church\nbuildings, hotels, and business houses. The University, founded in 1837,\nis rather plain in style, but is ornamented on the front after the\nmanner of the ancients, with a number of paintings, representing\nOratory, Mathematics, Geology, History, Philosophy, and other lines of\nstudy. At one end is a picture of Paul, at the other end, a\nrepresentation of Prometheus. The museum is small and by no means as\ngood as those to be seen in larger and wealthier countries. The Academy,\nfinished in 1885, is near the University, and, although smaller than its\nneighbor, is more beautiful. On the opposite side of the University a\nfine new Library was being finished, and in the same street there is a\nnew Roman Catholic church. I also saw two Greek Catholic church houses,\nbut they did not seem to be so lavishly decorated within as the Roman\nchurch, but their high ceilings were both beautifully ornamented with\nsmall stars on a blue background. I entered a cemetery near one of these\nchurches and enjoyed looking at the beautiful monuments and vaults. It\nis a common thing to find a representation of the deceased on the\nmonument. Some of these are full-length statues, others are carvings\nrepresenting only the head. Lanterns, some of them lighted, are to be\nseen on many of the tombs. There are some fine specimens of the\nsculptor's art to be seen here, and the place will soon be even more\nbeautiful, for a great deal of work was being done. In fact, the whole\ncity of Athens seemed to be prosperous, from the amount of building that\nwas being done.\n\nThe Parliament Building is not at all grand. The Royal Palace is larger\nand considerably finer. At the head of a stairway is a good picture of\nPrometheus tortured by an eagle. The visitor is shown the war room, a\nlarge hall with war scenes painted on the walls and old flags standing\nin the corners. The throne room and reception room are both open to\nvisitors, as is also the ball room, which seemed to be more elaborately\nornamented than the throne room. There is a little park of orange and\nother trees before the palace, also a small fountain with a marble\nbasin. The highest point about the city is the Lycabettus, a steep rock\nrising nine hundred and nineteen feet above the level of the sea, and\ncrowned with a church building. From its summit a splendid view of the\ncity, the mountains, and the ocean may be obtained.\n\nI spent five days in this city, the date of whose founding does not seem\nto be known. Pericles was one of the great men in the earlier history of\nthe old city. He made a sacred enclosure of the Acropolis and placed\nthere the masterpieces of Greece and other countries. The city is said\nto have had a population of three hundred thousand in his day,\ntwo-thirds of them being slaves. The names of Socrates, Demosthenes, and\nLycurgus also belong to the list of great Athenians. In 1040 the Normans\ncaptured Piraeus, the seaport of Athens, and in 1455 the Turks,\ncommanded by Omar, captured the city. The Acropolis was occupied by the\nTurks in 1826, but they surrendered the next year, and in 1839 Athens\nbecame the seat of government of the kingdom of Greece. With Athens, my\nsight-seeing on the continent ended. Other interesting and curious\nsights were seen besides those mentioned here. For instance, I had\nnoticed a variety of fences. There were hedges, wire fences, fences of\nstone slabs set side by side, frail fences made of the stalks of some\nplant, and embryo fences of cactus growing along the railroad. In Italy,\nI saw many white oxen, a red ox being an exception that seems seldom to\noccur. I saw men hauling logs with oxen and a cart, the long timber\nbeing fastened beneath the axle of the cart and to the beam of the yoke.\nIn Belgium, one may see horses worked three abreast and four tandem, and\nin Southern France they were shifting cars in one of the depots with a\nhorse, and in France I also saw a man plowing with an ox and a horse\nhitched together. Now the time had come to enter the Turkish Empire, and\nowing to what I had previously heard of the Turk, I did not look forward\nto it with pleasure.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nASIA MINOR AND SYRIA.\n\n\nThe Greek ship _Alexandros_ left the harbor of Piraeus in the forenoon\nof Lord's day, September eighteenth, and anchored outside the breakwater\nat Smyrna, in Asia Minor, the next morning. The landing in Turkish\nterritory was easily accomplished, and I was soon beyond the custom\nhouse, where my baggage and passport were examined, and settled down at\nthe \"Hotel d'Egypte,\" on the water front. This was the first time the\npassport had been called for on the journey. The population of Smyrna is\na mixture of Turks, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Italians, Americans, and\nNegroes. The English Government probably has a good sized\nrepresentation, as it maintains its own postoffice. The city itself is\nthe main sight. The only ruins I saw were those of an old castle on the\nhill back of the city. The reputed tomb of Polycarp is over this hill\nfrom Smyrna, between two cypress trees, but I do not know that I found\nthe correct location. Near the place that I supposed to be the tomb is\nan aqueduct, a portion of it built of stone and a portion of metal. As I\nwent on out in the country I entered a vineyard to get some grapes, not\nknowing how I would be received by the woman I saw there; but she was\nvery kind-hearted, and when I made signs for some of the grapes, she at\nonce pulled off some clusters and gave them to me. She also gave me a\nchair and brought some fresh water. More grapes were gathered and put in\nthis cold water, so I had a fine time eating the fruit as I sat there in\nthe shade watching a little boy playing about; but I could not converse\nwith either of them on account of not knowing their language. On the way\nback to the city I stopped at the railway station to make inquiries\nabout a trip to Ephesus.\n\nMost of the streets in Smyrna are narrow and crooked, but there is one\nrunning along the water front that is rather attractive. On one side is\nthe water, with the numerous vessels that are to be seen in this\nsplendid harbor, and on the other side is a row of residences, hotels,\nand other buildings. The people turn out in great numbers at night and\nwalk along this street, sometimes sitting down at the little tables that\nare set in the open air before places where different kinds of drinks\nare dispensed. Here they consume their drinks and watch the free\nperformances that are given on an open stage adjoining the street and\nthe grounds where they are seated. Perhaps the most peculiar thing about\nit all is the quiet and orderly behavior of this great crowd of people.\nWhile in this city I had occasion to go to the \"Banque Imperiale\nOttoman,\" and learned that it was open in the forenoon and afternoon,\nbut closed awhile in the middle of the day. I saw a street barber plying\nhis trade here one day. A vessel of water was put up under the\ncustomer's chin, and held there by keeping the chin down. The barber\nhad his strop fastened to himself, and not to the chair or a wall, as we\nsee it at home. Great quantities of oats were being brought down from\nthe interior on camels. The sacks were let down on the pavement, and\nlaborers were busy carrying them away. A poor carrier would walk up to a\nsack of grain and drop forward on his hands, with his head between them,\nand reaching down almost or altogether to the pavement. The sack of\ngrain was then pulled over on his back, and he arose and carried it\naway. Some poor natives were busy sweeping the street and gathering up\nthe grain that lost out of the sacks. There seems to be a large amount\nof trade carried on at this port. Several ships were in the harbor, and\nhundreds of camels were bringing in the grain. There are now many\nmosques and minarets in Smyrna, where there was once a church of God.\n(Revelation 2:8-11.)\n\nOn Wednesday, September twenty-first, I boarded a train on the Ottoman\nRailway for Ayassalouk, the nearest station to the ruins of Ephesus, a\nonce magnificent city, \"now an utter desolation, haunted by wild\nbeasts.\" We left Smyrna at seven o'clock, and reached Ayassalouk, fifty\nmiles distant, at half-past nine. The cars on this railway were entered\nfrom to side, as on European railroads, but this time the doors were\nlocked after the passengers were in their compartments. Ayassalouk is a\npoor little village, with only a few good houses and a small population.\nAt the back of the station are some old stone piers, that seem to have\nsupported arches at an earlier date. On the top of the hill, as on many\nhilltops in this country, are the remains of an old castle. Below the\ncastle are the ruins of what I supposed to be St. John's Church, built\nlargely of marble, and once used as a mosque, but now inhabited by a\nlarge flock of martins.\n\nI visited the site of Ephesus without the services of a guide, walking\nalong the road which passes at some distance on the right. I continued\nmy walk beyond the ruins, seeing some men plowing, and others caring for\nflocks of goats, which are very numerous in the East. When I turned back\nfrom the road, I passed a well, obtaining a drink by means of the rope\nand bucket that were there, and then I climbed a hill to the remains of\na strong stone building of four rooms. The thick walls are several feet\nhigh, but all the upper part of the structure has been thrown down, and,\nstrange to say, a good portion of the fallen rocks are in three of the\nrooms, which are almost filled. It is supposed that Paul made a journey\nafter the close of his history in the book of Acts; that he passed\nthrough Troas, where he left a cloak and some books (2 Tim. 4:13); was\narrested there, and probably sent to Ephesus for trial before the\nproconsul. Tradition has it that this ruined stone building is the place\nwhere he was lodged, and it is called St. Paul's Prison. From the top of\nits walls I could look away to the ruins of the city proper, about a\nmile distant, the theater being the most conspicuous object.\n\nThere are several attractions in Ephesus, where there was once a church\nof God--one of the \"seven churches in Asia\"--but the theater was the\nchief point of interest to me. It was cut out of the side of the hill,\nand its marble seats rested on the sloping sides of the excavation,\nwhile a building of some kind, a portion of which yet remains, was built\nacross the open side at the front. I entered the inclosure, the outlines\nof which are still plainly discernible, and sat down on one of the old\nseats and ate my noonday meal. As I sat there, I thought of the scene\nthat would greet my eyes if the centuries that have intervened since\nPaul was in Ephesus could be turned back. I thought I might see the\nseats filled with people looking down upon the apostle as he fought for\nhis life; and while there I read his question: \"If after the manner of\nmen I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me\" if the dead\nare not raised up? (I Cor. 15:32). I also read the letter which Jesus\ncaused the aged Apostle John to write to the church at this place (Rev.\n2:1-7), and Paul's epistle to the congregation that once existed in\nthis idolatrous city of wealth and splendor. As I was leaving this spot,\nwhere I was so deeply impressed with thoughts of the great apostle to\nthe Gentiles, I stopped and turned back to take a final look, when I\nthought of his language to Timothy, recorded in the first eight verses\nof the second epistle, and then I turned and read it. Perhaps I was not\nso deeply impressed at any other point on the whole journey as I was\nhere. The grand old hero, who dared to enter the city which was\n\"temple-keeper of the great Diana,\" this temple being one of the \"Seven\nWonders of the World,\" and boldly preach the gospel of Christ,\nrealizing that the time of his departure was at hand, wrote: \"I have\nfought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the\nfaith: Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,\nwhich the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and\nnot to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.\"\nMeditating on the noble and lofty sentiment the apostle here expresses\nin connection with his solemn charge to the young evangelist, I have\nfound my sentiments well expressed in Balaam's parable, where he says:\n\"Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his\"\n(Num. 23:10).\n\nNear the front of the theater, on the left as one comes out, is quite a\nspace, which seems to have been excavated recently, and farther to the\nleft excavations were being made when I was there. An ancient lamp, a\nfluted column, and a headless statue were among the articles taken out.\nThe workmen were resting when I viewed this part of the ruins, and an\nold colored man gave me a drink of water. Beginning a little to the\nright of the theater, and extending for perhaps fifteen hundred or two\nthousand feet, is a marble-paved street, along which are strewn numerous\nbases, columns, and capitals, which once ornamented this portion of the\ngreat city; and to the right of this are the remains of some mighty\nstructure of stone and brick. In some places, where the paving blocks\nhave been taken up, a water course beneath is disclosed. While walking\naround in the ruins, I saw a fine marble sarcophagus, or coffin,\nornamented with carvings of bulls' heads and heavy festoons of oak\nleaves.\n\nJ.S. Wood, an Englishman, worked parts of eleven years, from 1863 to\n1874, in making excavations at Ephesus. Upwards of eighty thousand\ndollars were spent, about fifty-five thousand being used in a successful\neffort to find the remains of the Temple of Diana. I followed the\ndirections of my guide-book, but may not have found the exact spot, as\nBrother McGarvey, who visited the place in 1879, speaks of the\nexcavations being twenty feet deep. \"Down in this pit,\" he says, \"lie\nthe broken columns of white marble and the foundation walls of the\ngrandest temple ever erected on earth\"; but I saw nothing like this.\n\nWhen Paul had passed through Galatia and Phrygia, \"establishing all the\ndisciples,\" \"having passed through the upper country,\" he came to\nEphesus, and found \"about twelve men\" who had been baptized \"into John's\nbaptism,\" whom Paul baptized \"into the name of the Lord Jesus.\" He then\nentered into the Jewish meeting place and reasoned boldly \"concerning\nthe kingdom of God.\" Some of the hardened and disobedient spoke \"evil of\nthe Way,\" so Paul withdrew from them and reasoned \"daily in the school\nof Tyrannus. And this continued for the space of two years; so that all\nthey that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and\nGreeks.\" The Lord wrought special miracles by Paul, so that the sick\nwere healed when handkerchiefs or aprons were borne from him to them.\nHere some of the strolling Jews \"took upon them to name over them that\nhad the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by\nJesus, whom Paul preacheth.\" When two of the sons of Sceva undertook to\ndo this, the man possessed of the evil spirit \"leaped on them and\nmastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out\nof the house naked and wounded.\" There were stirring times in Ephesus in\nthose days. Fear fell upon the people, \"and the name of the Lord Jesus\nwas magnified.\" Many of the believers \"came confessing, and declaring\ntheir deeds. And not a few of them that practiced magical arts brought\ntheir books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they\ncounted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of\nsilver.\" \"So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed.\"\n\n\"And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way. For a\ncertain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of\nDiana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen; whom he gathered\ntogether, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know\nthat by this business we have our wealth. And ye see and hear that not\nalone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath\npersuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods that\nare made with hands: and not only is there danger that our trade come\ninto disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana be\nmade of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her\nmagnificence, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth. And when they\nheard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is\nDiana of the Ephesians. And the city was filled with the confusion: and\nthey rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and\nAristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel. And when\nPaul was minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him\nnot. And certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him\nand besought him not to adventure himself into the theater. Some\ntherefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in\nconfusion; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.\nAnd they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him\nforward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand and would have made a\ndefense unto the people. But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all\nwith one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of\nthe Ephesians. And when the town clerk had quieted the multitude, he\nsaith, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the\ncity of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the\nimage which fell down from Jupiter? Seeing then that these things can\nnot be gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash. For ye\nhave brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor\nblasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius, and the craftsmen\nthat are with him, have a matter against any man, the courts are open,\nand there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another. But if ye seek\nanything about other matters, it shall be settled in the regular\nassembly. For indeed we are in danger to be accused concerning this\nday's riot, there being no cause for it: and as touching it we shall not\nbe able to give an account of this concourse. And when he had thus\nspoken, he dismissed the assembly\" (Acts 19:23-41).\n\nAs I was leaving the ruins, I stopped, sat down in sight of the spot\nwhere I supposed the temple stood, and read the speech of Demetrius, and\nthought his fears were well founded. Their trade has come into\ndisrepute, \"the temple of the great goddess\" has been \"made of no\naccount,\" and \"she whom Asia and all the world\" worshiped has been\n\"deposed from her magnificence.\" Portions of the temple are now on\nexhibition in the British Museum, in London, and portions have been\ncarried to different other cities to adorn buildings inferior to the one\nin which they were originally used. \"From the temple to the more\nsouthern of the two eastern gates of the city,\" says McGarvey, \"are\ntraces of a paved street nearly a mile in length, along the side of\nwhich was a continuous colonnade, with the marble coffins of the city's\nillustrious dead occupying the spaces between the columns. The\nprocessions of worshipers, as they marched out of the city to the\ntemple, passed by this row of coffins, the inscriptions on which were\nconstantly proclaiming the noble deeds of the mighty dead.\" The canal\nand artificial harbor, which enabled the ships of the world to reach the\ngates of the city, have disappeared under the weight of the hand of\ntime. In some places the ground is literally covered with small stones,\nand even in the theater, weeds, grass and bushes grow undisturbed. How\ncomplete the desolation!\n\nBefore leaving Ayassalouk on the afternoon train, I bought some grapes\nof a man who weighed them to me with a pair of balances, putting the\nfruit on one pan and a stone on the other; but I didn't object to his\nscales, for he gave me a good supply, and I went back and got some more.\nI also bought some bread to eat with the grapes, and one of the numerous\npriests of these Eastern countries gave me some other fruit on the\ntrain. I was abroad in the fruit season, and I enjoyed it very much. I\nhad several kinds, including the orange, lemon, grapes, pomegranates,\nfigs, olives, and dates. Perhaps I had nothing finer than the large,\nsweet grapes of Greece. The next day after the trip to Ephesus, I\nboarded the _Princess Eugenia_, a Russian ship, for Beyrout, in Syria.\nSoon after leaving Smyrna the ship stopped at a port of disinfection.\nThe small boats were lowered, and the third-class passengers were\ncarried to the disinfecting establishment, where their clothes were\nheated in a steam oven, while they received a warm shower bath without\nexpense to themselves. A nicely dressed young German shook his head\nafterwards, as though he did not like such treatment; but it was not\nspecially disagreeable, and there was no use to complain.\n\nThat evening, the twenty-second of September, we sailed into a harbor on\nthe island of Chios, the birth-place of the philosopher Pythagoras. It\nis an island twenty-seven miles long, lying near the mainland. The next\nmorning we passed Cos and Rhodes. On this last mentioned island once\nstood the famous Colossus, which was thrown down by an earthquake in 224\nB.C. The island of Patmos, to which John was banished, and upon which he\nwrote the Revelation, was passed in the night before we reached Cos. It\nis a rocky, barren patch of land, about twenty miles in circumference,\nlying twenty-four miles from the coast of Asia Minor. On the\ntwenty-fourth the _Princess Eugenia_ passed the southwestern end of the\nisland of Cyprus. In response to a question, one of the seamen answered\nme: \"Yes, that's Kiprus.\" I was sailing over the same waters Paul\ncrossed on his third missionary tour on the way from Assos to Tyre. He\n\"came over against Chios,\" \"came with a straight course unto Cos, and\nthe next day unto Rhodes,\" and when he \"had come in sight of Cyprus,\nleaving it on the left hand (he) sailed unto Syria and landed at Tyre\"\n(Acts 20:15 and 21:1-3).\n\nOn the evening of Lord's day, September twenty-fifth, the ship passed\nTripoli, on the Syrian coast, and dropped down to Beyrout, where I\nstopped at the \"Hotel Mont Sion,\" with the waves of the Mediterranean\nwashing against the foundation walls. At seven o'clock the next morning\nI boarded the train for Damascus, ninety-one miles distant, and we were\nsoon climbing the western slope of the Lebanon Mountains by a cog\nrailway. When we were part way up, the engine was taken back and hitched\nto the rear end of the train. After we were hauled along that way\nawhile, it was changed back to the front end again. In these mountains\nare vineyards and groves of figs, olives, and mulberry trees, but most\nof the ground was dry and brown, as I had seen it in Southern Italy,\nGreece, and Asia Minor. Beyond the mountains is a beautiful plain, which\nwe entered about noon, and when it was crossed, we came to the\nAnti-Lebanon Mountains, and reached the old city in the evening.\nDamascus, with its mixed population of Moslems, Greeks, Syrians,\nArmenians, Jews, and others, is the largest city in Syria, and it has\nprobably been continuously inhabited longer than any other city on\nearth. Away back in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis we read of\nAbraham's victory over the enemies who had taken Lot away, whom Abraham\npursued \"unto Hobah, which is on the left of Damascus,\" and in the next\nchapter we read of \"Eliezer of Damascus,\" who Abraham thought would be\nthe possessor of his house. Rezon \"reigned in Damascus, and he was an\nadversary to Israel all the days of Solomon\" (1 Kings 11:23-25). Elisha\nwent to Damascus when Ben-Hadad was sick (2 Kings 8:7-15); Jeroboam\nrecovered the city, which had belonged to Judah (2 Kings 14:28); and\nJeremiah prophesied of the city (Jeremiah 49:23-27). It was probably the\nhome of Naaman, the Syrian leper, and here Paul was baptized into\nChrist.\n\nFor a long time the Arabs have considered Damascus as \"an earthly\nreflection of Paradise,\" but an American or European would consider a\nplace no better than it is as being far from the Paradise of Divine\nmaking. But it is not entirely without reason that these people have\nsuch a lofty conception of the old city. The Koran describes Paradise as\na place of trees and streams of water, and Damascus is briefly described\nin those words. There are many public drinking fountains in the city,\nand owing to the abundance of water, there are many trees. The river\nAbana, one of the \"rivers of Damascus\" (2 Kings 5:12), flows through the\ncity, but the most of its water is diverted by artificial channels. I\nhad some difficulty in finding the American Consular Agent, and it is no\nwonder, for the place is not the most prominent in Damascus by a good\ndeal, and the escutcheon marking it as the place where the American\nGovernment is represented is not on the street, but over a door in a\nkind of porch. The Agent was not in, so I retraced my steps to the\nFrench consulate, which is near by. I was kindly received by a gentleman\nwho could speak English, and after we had had a good, cool drink of\nlemonade, he went with me to the \"Hotel d'Astre d'Orient,\" in the\n\"street which is called Straight.\" The next morning I found the American\nAgent in his office. Then I went to the postoffice, and after being\ntaken upstairs and brought back downstairs, I was led up to a little\ncase on the wall, which was unlocked in order that I might look through\nthe bunch of letters it contained addressed in English, and I was made\nglad by receiving an epistle from the little woman who has since taken\nmy name upon her for life. After reading my letter, I went out and\nwalked up the mountain side far enough to get a bird's-eye view of the\ncity, and it was a fine sight the rich growth of green trees presented\nin contrast with the brown earth all around. Returning to the city, I\nwalked about the streets, devoting some of my time to the bazaars, or\nlittle stores, in which a great variety of goods are offered for sale. I\nalso saw several kinds of work, such as weaving, wood-turning and\nblacksmithing, being carried on. The lathes used for turning wood are\nvery simple, and are operated by a bow held in the workman's right hand,\nwhile the chisel is held in his left hand and steadied by the toes on\none or the other of his feet. It is a rather slow process, but they can\nturn out good work. One gentleman, who was running a lathe of this kind,\nmotioned for me to come up and sit by his side on a low stool. I\naccepted his invitation, and he at once offered me a cigarette, which I\ncould not accept. A little later he called for a small cup of coffee,\nwhich I also declined, but he took no offense. \"The street which is\ncalled Straight\" is not as straight as might be supposed from its name,\nbut there is probably enough difference between its course and that of\nothers to justify the name.\n\nWhen Paul was stricken with blindness on his way here (Acts 9:1-30), he\nwas directed to enter the city, where he would be told all things that\nwere appointed for him to do. He obeyed the voice from heaven, and\nreached the house of Judas in Straight Street. When I reached the\ntraditional site of the house of Ananias, in the eastern part of the\ncity, near the gate at the end of Straight Street, I found a\ngood-natured woman sitting on the pavement just inside the door opening\nfrom the street to what would be called a yard in America. The \"house\"\nhas been converted into a small church, belonging to the Catholics, and\nit is entirely below the surface. I went down the stairs, and found a\nsmall chamber with an arched ceiling and two altars. I also went out and\nvisited the old gateway at the end of the street. The masonry is about\nthirteen feet thick, and it may be that here Paul, deprived of his\nsight, and earnestly desiring to do the will of the Lord, entered the\ncity so long ago. I then viewed a section of the wall from the outside.\nThe lower part is ancient, but the upper part is modern, and the portion\nthat I saw was in a dilapidated condition. \"In Damascus,\" Paul wrote to\nthe Corinthians, \"the governor, under Aretas the king, guarded the city\nof the Damascenes in order to take me: and through a window was I let\ndown in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands\" (2 Cor. 11:32,33).\nIn some places there are houses so built in connection with the wall\nthat it would not be a very difficult thing to lower a man from one of\nthe windows to the ground outside the city.\n\nMention has already been made of the Arab's opinion of Damascus, and now\nI wish to tell how it appeared through my spectacles. The view from the\ndistance is very pleasing, but when one comes inside the wall and begins\nto walk about the streets, the scene changes. The outside of the\nbuildings is not beautiful. The streets are narrow, crooked, and usually\nvery dirty; in some cases they are filthy. It seems that all kinds of\nrubbish are thrown into the streets, and the dogs are scavengers.\nPerhaps no other city has so many dogs. At one place up along the Abana,\nnow called the Barada, I counted twenty-three of these animals, and a\nfew steps brought me in sight of five more; but there is some filth that\neven Damascus dogs will not clean up. Some of the streets are roughly\npaved with stone, but in the best business portion of the city that I\nsaw there was no pavement and no sidewalk--it was all street from one\nwall to the other. I saw a man sprinkling one of the streets with water\ncarried in the skin of some animal, perhaps a goat. When I came out of\nthe postoffice, a camel was lying on the pavement, and in another part\nof the city I saw a soldier riding his horse on the sidewalk. Down in\n\"the street which is called Straight\" a full-grown man was going along\nas naked as when he was born. Perhaps he was insane, but we do not even\nallow insane men to walk the streets that way in this country. Carriages\nare used for conveying passengers, but freight is usually moved on the\nbacks of horses, camels, donkeys, or men. Some wagons and carts are to\nbe seen, but they are not numerous. It is remarkable what loads are\npiled upon the donkeys, probably the commonest beasts of burden in\nDamascus. Sometimes the poor little creatures are almost hidden from\nview by the heavy burdens they are required to bear, which may consist\nof grapes to be sold, or rubbish to be carried out of the city.\nSometimes they are ridden by as many as three people at once. If the\ngospel were to get a firm hold on these people, the donkeys would fare\nbetter.\n\nAbout 333 B.C., Damascus came under the control of Alexander the Great.\nAntiochus Dionysius reigned there three years, but was succeeded by\nAretas of Arabia in 85 B.C. Under Trajan it became a Roman provincial\ncity. The Mongols took it in 1260, and the Tartars plundered it in 1300.\nAn enemy marched against it in 1399, but the citizens purchased immunity\nfrom plunder by paying a \"sum of a million pieces of gold.\" In 1516,\nwhen Selim, the Turkish Sultan, marched in, it became one of the\nprovincial capitals of the Turkish Empire, and so continues. There was a\nvery serious massacre here in 1860. All the consulates, except the\nBritish and Prussian, were burned, and the entire Christian quarter was\nturned into ruins. In the two consulates that were spared many lives\nwere preserved, but it is said that \"no fewer than six thousand\nunoffending Christians ... were thus murdered in Damascus alone,\" and\n\"the whole number of the Christians who perished in these days of terror\nis estimated at fourteen thousand.\" A number of the leaders were\nafterward beheaded, and a French force, numbering ten thousand, was sent\ninto the country. The Mohammedans have about two hundred mosques and\ncolleges in this city, which was once far advanced in civilization.\n\nI left Damascus and returned toward the coast to Rayak, where I took the\ntrain on a branch line for Baalbec, the Syrian city of the sun, a place\nhaving no Biblical history, but being of interest on account of the\ngreat stones to be seen there. No record has been preserved as to the\norigin of the city, but coins of the first century of the Christian era\nshow that it was then a Roman colony. It is situated in the valley of\nthe Litany, at an elevation of two thousand eight hundred and forty feet\nabove the sea. The chief ruins are in a low part of the valley by the\nside of the present town, and are surrounded by gardens. Within the\ninclosing wall are the remains of the temple of Jupiter and the temple\nof the sun. The hand of time and the hand of man have each had a share\nin despoiling these ruins, but they still speak with eloquence of their\ngrandeur at an earlier date. The wall is so low on the north that it is\nsupposed to have been left unfinished. Here are nine stones, each said\nto be thirty feet long, ten feet thick and thirteen feet high, and they\nare closely joined together without the use of mortar. Just around the\ncorner are three others still larger, and built in the wall about twenty\nfeet above the foundation. Their lengths are given as follows:\nsixty-three feet; sixty-three feet and eight inches; and sixty-four\nfeet. They are thirteen feet high and about ten feet thick. Some may be\ninterested in knowing how such large building blocks were moved.\nMcGarvey says: \"It is explained by the carved slabs found in the temple\nof Nineveh, on which are sculptured representations of the entire\nprocess. The great rock was placed on trucks by means of levers, a large\nnumber of strong ropes were tied to the truck, a smooth track of heavy\ntimbers was laid, and men in sufficient number to move the mass were\nhitched to the ropes.\" Some of the smaller stones have holes cut in\nthem, as if for bars, levers, or something of that kind, but the faces\nof these big blocks are smooth. \"A man must visit the spot, ride round\nthe exterior, walk among the ruins, sit down here and there to gaze upon\nits more impressive features, see the whole by sunlight, by twilight,\nand by moonlight, and allow his mind leisurely to rebuild it and\nre-people it, ere he can comprehend it.\"--_McGarvey_.\n\nThere were some of the native girls out by the ruins who tried to sell\nme some of their needle work, but I was not disposed to buy. One of them\nattempted to make a sale by saying something like this: \"You're very\nnice, Mister; please buy one.\" I told her there was a little girl in\nAmerica who thought that, too, and went on. There is a rock in the\nquarry at Baalbec that is larger than any of those in the ruins,\nalthough it was never entirely cut out, the length of which is\nsixty-eight feet, and the width varies from about thirteen feet at one\nend to seventeen feet at the other. It is about fourteen feet thick, and\nthe estimated weight is fifteen hundred tons. Some of the stones in a\nruined building, once a tomb, standing on the hill above the town, give\nforth a metallic ring when struck. Farther on is a small cemetery, in\nwhich some of the headstones and footstones are as much as nine feet\napart. If the people buried there were that long, surely \"there were\ngiants in the land in those days.\" I went down on the opposite side of\nthe hill from the tomb and entered a vineyard, where an old man treated\nme with kindness and respect. The modern town is poorly built of small\nstones and mud, but there are some good buildings of dressed stone,\namong which I may mention the British Syrian School and the Grand New\nHotel. I staid at another hotel, where I found one of those pre-occupied\nbeds which travelers in the East so often find. About midnight, after I\nhad killed several of the little pests, I got up and shaved by\ncandle-light, for I wasn't sleepy, and there was no use to waste the\ntime.\n\nLeaving Baalbec, I went down to Rayak and on to Beyrout again. This old\ncity is said to have been entirely destroyed in the second century\nbefore Christ. It was once a Roman possession, and gladiatorial combats\nwere held there by Titus after the destruction of Jerusalem. An\nearthquake destroyed it in 529, and the British bombarded it in 1840.\nThe population is a great mixture of Turks, Orthodox Greeks, United\nGreeks, Jews, Latins, Maronites, Protestants, Syrians, Armenians,\nDruses, and others. A great many ships call here, as this is the most\nimportant commercial city in Syria. The numerous exports consist of\nsilk, olive oil, cotton, raisins, licorice, figs, soap, sponges, cattle,\nand goats. Timber, coffee, rice, and manufactured goods are imported. At\none time Arabic was the commonest language, and Italian came next, but\nnow, while Arabic holds first place, French comes second. The British,\nAustrians, Russians, and perhaps the French, maintain their own\npostoffices. Considerable efforts are being made by American, British,\nand other missionary institutions to better the condition of the\nnatives. The American Mission, conducted by the Presbyterians, has been\nin operation more than seventy years. A few years ago they had one\nhundred and forty-three schools and more than seven thousand pupils. The\nChurch of Scotland has a mission for the Jews. The British Syrian\nMission was established in 1864.\n\nBeyrout has comparatively little of interest for the traveler. I walked\nout to the public garden one morning and found it closed, but I do not\nthink I missed much. As I went along from place to place, I had\nopportunity to see the weavers, wood-turners, and marble-cutters at\ntheir work. I stopped at a small candy factory, equipped with what\nseemed to be good machinery for that kind of work. One day I watched\nsome camels get up after their burdens of lumber had been tied on. They\nkept up a peculiar distressing noise while they were being loaded, but\ngot up promptly when the time came. When a camel lies down, his legs\nfold up something like a carpenter's rule, and when he gets up, he first\nstraightens out one joint of the fore legs, then all of the hind legs,\nand finally, when the fore legs come straight, he is standing away up in\nthe air. The extensive buildings of the American College were visited,\nalso the American Press, the missionary headquarters of Presbyterians in\nAmerica. On the third of October the Khedivial steamer _Assouan_ came\nalong, and I embarked for Haifa, in Galilee.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nA FEW DAYS IN GALILEE.\n\n\nYears ago, when I first began to think of making the trip I am now\ndescribing, I had no thought of the many interesting places that I could\neasily and cheaply visit on my way to Palestine. I did not then think of\nwhat has been described on the foregoing pages. Now I have come to the\nplace where I am to tell my readers the story of my travels in the Land\nof Promise, and I want to make it as interesting and instructive as\npossible. It is important to have a knowledge of the geography of all\nthe lands mentioned, but it is especially important to know the location\nof the various places referred to in Palestine. These pages will be more\nprofitable if the reader will make frequent reference to maps of the\nland, that he may understand the location of the different places\nvisited. I shall first describe my trip across the province of Galilee,\nand take up my sight-seeing in Judaea in other chapters.\n\nThe ancient Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon were on the coast\nbetween Beyrout and Haifa, where I entered Galilee on the fourth of\nOctober, but we passed these places in the night. Haifa, situated at the\nbase of Mount Carmel, has no Biblical history, but is one of the two\nplaces along the coast of Palestine where ships stop, Jaffa being the\nother. Mount Carmel is fourteen miles long, and varies in height from\nfive hundred and fifty-six feet at the end next to the sea to eighteen\nhundred and ten feet at a point twelve miles inland. There is a\nmonastery on the end next to the Mediterranean, which I reached after a\ndusty walk along the excellent carriage road leading up from Haifa.\nAfter I rested awhile, reading my Bible and guide-book, I walked out to\nthe point where the sea on three sides, the beautiful little plain at\nthe base of the mountain, Haifa, and Acre across the bay, all made up\none of the prettiest views of the whole trip. Owing to its proximity to\nthe sea and the heavy dews, Carmel was not so dry and brown as much of\nthe country I had seen before.\n\nBy the direction of Elijah, Ahab gathered the prophets of Baal,\nnumbering four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah, four\nhundred more, at some point on this mountain, probably at the eastern\nend, passed on my way over to Nazareth later in the day. \"And Elijah\ncame near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between\nthe two sides? If Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow\nhim\" (1 Kings 18:21). He then proposed that two sacrifices be laid on\nthe wood, with no fire under them; that the false prophets should call\non their god, and he would call on Jehovah. The God that answered by\nfire was to be God. \"All the people answered and said, It is well\nspoken.\" The prophets of Baal called upon him from morning till noon,\nsaying, \"O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered.\nAnd they leaped about the altar that was made. And it came to pass at\nnoon that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god:\neither he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or\nperadventure he sleepeth and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and\ncut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the\nblood gushed out upon them. And it was so, when midday was past, that\nthey prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation;\nbut there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.\"\nThe sincerity, earnestness, and perseverance of these people are\ncommendable, but they were _wrong_. Sincerity, although a most desirable\ntrait, can not change a wrong act into acceptable service to God, nor\ncan earnestness and perseverance make such a change. It is necessary\nboth to be honest and to do the will of our heavenly Father. After water\nhad been poured over the other sacrifice till it ran down and filled the\ntrench around the altar, Elijah called on Jehovah, and in response to\nhis petition \"the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt offering,\nand the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that\nwas in the trench.\" Elijah then took the false prophets down to the\nbrook Kishon, at the base of the mountain, and killed them. Acre is the\nAcco of the Old Testament, and lies around the bay, twelve mile from\nHaifa. It is said that the Phoenicians obtained the dye called Tyrian\npurple there, and that shells of the fish that yielded it are yet to be\nfound along the beach. Napoleon besieged the place in 1799, and used a\nmonastery, since destroyed, on Mount Carmel for a hospital. After his\nretreat, Mohammedans killed the sick and wounded soldiers who had been\nleft behind, and they were buried near the monastery. Acre was called\nPtolemais in apostolic times, and Paul spent a day with the brethren\nthere as he was on his way down the coast from Tyre to Jerusalem. (Acts\n21:7.)\n\nAbout noon I entered a carriage for Nazareth, in which there were four\nother passengers: a lady connected with the English Orphanage in\nNazareth, and three boys going there to attend the Russian school. About\ntwo miles from Haifa we crossed the dry bed of the Kishon, as this\nstream, like many others in Palestine, only flows in the wet season. Our\ncourse led along the base of Carmel to the southeast, and the supposed\nplace of Elijah's sacrifice was pointed out. Afterwards Mount Gilboa,\nwhere Saul and Jonathan were slain, came in sight, and later we saw\nLittle Hermon with Nain upon it, Endor below it on one side, and Jezreel\nnot far away in another direction. We saw a good portion of the Plain of\nEsdraelon, and Mount Tabor was in sight before we entered Nazareth,\nwhich lies on the slope of a hill and comes suddenly into view.\n\nNazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and the references to it\nin the New Testament are not numerous. When Joseph returned from Egypt\nin the reign of Archelaus, the son of Herod, he was afraid to go into\nJudaea, \"and being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts\nof Galilee, and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might\nbe fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, that he should be called a\nNazarene\" (Matt. 2:19-23). I do not know the age of Jesus when Joseph\nand Mary came with him to Nazareth, but \"his parents went every year to\nJerusalem at the feast of the passover\"; and we are told that the child\nwas twelve years old at the time his parents missed him as they were\nreturning from the feast, and later found him in the temple hearing the\nteachers and asking them questions. In this connection we are told that\n\"he went down with them and came to Nazareth; and he was subject unto\nthem\" (Luke 2:51). Luke also informs us that Jesus, \"when he began to\nteach, was about thirty years of age\" (Luke 3:23). Thus we have a\nperiod of eighteen years between the incident in the temple and the\nbeginning of his public ministry, in which Jesus resided in Nazareth.\nThe greater part of his earth life was spent in this Galilean city,\nwhere he was subject unto his parents. It is a blessed thing that so\nmuch can be said of our Savior in so few words. It is highly commendable\nthat children be subject unto their parents, who love them dearly, and\nwho know best what is for their health, happiness, and future good.\n\nAfter his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, \"Jesus returned in\nthe power of the spirit into Galilee, ... and he came to Nazareth, where\nhe had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the\nsynagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.\" When the roll of the\nScriptures was handed to him, he read from the opening verses of the\nsixty-first chapter of Isaiah, then \"he closed the book, and gave it\nback to the attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the\nsynagogue were fastened on him\" as he told them: \"To-day hath this\nscripture been fulfilled in your ears,\" and although they \"wondered at\nthe words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth,\" they were not\nwilling to accept his teaching, and as he continued to speak, \"they were\nall filled with wrath, ... and they rose up, and cast him forth out of\nthe city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was\nbuilt, that they might throw him down headlong. But he, passing through\nthe midst of them, went his way. And he came down to Capernaum, a city\nof Galilee\" (Luke 4:14-31).\n\nHaving made arrangements for a carriage the evening I arrived in\nNazareth, before daylight the next morning I started to drive to\nTiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. When I went down stairs, at about\nhalf-past three o'clock, I found a covered rig with two seats, and three\nhorses hitched to it side by side. I filed no objection to the size of\nthe carriage, nor to the manner in which the horses were hitched. As the\ndriver could not speak English and the passenger could not speak Arabic,\nthere was no conversation on the way. As we drove out of Nazareth, I\nobserved a large number of women at the Virgin's Fountain, filling their\njars with water. At a distance of a little more than three miles we\npassed through Kefr Kenna, the \"Cana of Galilee,\" where Jesus performed\nhis first miracle. (John 2:1-11.) The road to Tiberias is not all\nsmooth, but is better than might be supposed. With three horses and a\nlight load, we were able to move along in the cool of the morning at a\nlively gait, passing a camel train, an occasional village, olive\norchard, or mulberry grove. After a while the light of the moon grew\npale, and about six o'clock the great round sun came above the horizon\nin front of us, and it was not long until a beautiful sheet of water six\nmiles long--the Sea of Galilee--came suddenly into view. We rolled along\nthe winding curves of the carriage road, down the slope of the hill, and\nthrough a gateway in the old wall, to Tiberias, on the west shore of\n\"Blue Galilee.\"\n\nAccording to Josephus, Herod Antipas began to build a new capital city\nabout sixteen years before the birth of Jesus, and completed it in A.D.\n22. He named this new city Tiberias, in honor of the emperor, but it\ndoes not appear to have been a popular place with the Jews, and but\nlittle is said of it in the New Testament (John 21:1), yet it was not an\ninsignificant place. The Sanhedrin was transferred from Sepphoris, the\nold capital, to the new city, and here the school of the Talmud was\ndeveloped against the gospel system. The ancient traditional law, called\nthe \"Mishna,\" is said to have been published here in A.D. 200, and the\nPalestinian Gemara (the so-called Jerusalem Talmud) came into existence\nat this place more than a century later. The Tiberian pointing of the\nHebrew Bible began here. The present population is largely composed of\nJews, about two-thirds of the inhabitants being descendants of Abraham.\nThey wear large black hats or fur caps, and leave a long lock of hair\nhanging down in front of each ear. There is little in Tiberias to\ninterest the traveler who has seen the ruins of Rome, Athens and\nEphesus. The seashore bounds it on one side and an old stone wall runs\nalong at the other side. I walked past some of the bazaars, and saw the\nmosque and ruined castle. About a mile down the shore are the hot\nsprings, which, for many centuries, have been thought to possess\nmedicinal properties. I tried the temperature of one of the springs, and\nfound it too hot to be comfortable to my hand. As I returned to\nTiberias, I had a good, cool bath in the sea, which is called by a\nvariety of names, as \"the sea of Tiberias,\" \"sea of Galilee,\" \"sea of\nGenessaret,\" and \"sea of Chinnereth.\" It is a small lake, thirteen miles\nlong, lying six hundred and eighty-two feet below the level of the\nMediterranean. The depth is given as varying from one hundred and thirty\nto one hundred and sixty-five feet. It is really \"Blue Galilee,\" and the\nsight of it is an agreeable change to the eye after one has been\ntraveling the dry, dusty roads leading through a country almost\ndestitute of green vegetation. In the spring, when the grass is growing\nand the flowers are in bloom, the highlands rising around the sea must\nbe very beautiful.\n\nSeveral places mentioned in the New Testament were situated along the\nSea of Galilee, but they have fallen into ruin--in some cases into utter\nruin. One of these was Bethsaida, where Jesus gave sight to a blind man\n(Mark 8:22-26), and fed a multitude of about five thousand. (Luke\n9:10-17.) It was also the home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter. (John\n1:44.) It is thought by some that James and John also came from this\nplace. On the northwestern shore was Chorazin, situated in the\nneighborhood of Bethsaida; also Capernaum, once the home of Jesus; and\nMagdala, the name of which \"has been immortalized in every language of\nChristendom as denoting the birth-place of Mary Magdalene, or better,\nMary of Magdala.\" Safed is a large place on a mountain above the sea in\nsight of the Nazareth road, and was occupied by the French in 1799. It\nis said that the Jews have a tradition that the Messiah will come from\nthis place. On the way back to Nazareth the driver stopped at the spring\nof Kefr Kenna and watered his horses and rested them awhile. Hundreds of\ngoats, calves, and other stock were being watered, and I saw an old\nstone coffin being used for a watering trough.\n\nAfter another night in Nazareth, I was ready to go out to Mount Tabor.\nFor this trip I had engaged a horse to ride and a man to go along and\nshow me where to ride it, for we did not follow a regular road, if,\nindeed, there is any such a thing leading to this historic place, which\nis about six miles from Nazareth. It was only a little past four\no'clock in the morning when we started, and the flat top of the\nmountain, two thousand and eighteen feet above sea level, was reached at\nan early hour. Mount Tabor is a well-shaped cone, with a good road for\nhorseback riding leading up its side. There is some evidence that there\nwas a city here more than two hundred years before Christ. Josephus\nfortified it in his day, and part of the old wall still remains.\nAccording to a tradition, contradicted by the conclusion of modern\nscholars, this is the mount of transfiguration. By the end of the sixth\ncentury three churches had been erected on the summit to commemorate the\nthree tabernacles which Peter proposed to build (Matt. 17:1-8), and now\nthe Greek and Roman Catholics have each a monastery only a short\ndistance apart, separated by a stone wall or fence. The extensive view\nfrom the top is very fine, including a section of Galilee from the\nMediterranean to the sea of Tiberias.\n\nIn the Book of Judges we read that Israel was delivered into the hands\nof the Canaanites, and was sorely oppressed for twenty years. The\nprophetess Deborah sent for Barak, and instructed him with a message\nfrom God to the end that he should take \"ten thousand men of the\nchildren of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun\" unto Mount Tabor.\nThis he did, and Sisera assembled his nine hundred chariots \"from\nHarosheth of the Gentiles unto the river Kishon. So Barak went down from\nMount Tabor and ten thousand men after him. ... Howbeit, Sisera fled\naway on his feet to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite,\"\nand she drove a tent-pin through his temples while he was lying asleep,\n(Judges 4:1-23.) The song of Deborah and Barak, beginning with the\nwords, \"For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, for that the\npeople offered themselves willingly, bless ye Jehovah,\" is recorded in\nthe fifth chapter of Judges.\n\nI was back in Nazareth by ten o'clock, and spent some hours looking\naround the city where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary the words:\n\"Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee\" (Luke 1:28).\nThese hours, with what time I had already spent here, enabled me to see\nseveral places of interest. Tradition points out many places connected\nwith the lives of Joseph and Mary, but tradition is not always reliable,\nfor it sometimes happens that the Greeks and the Romans each have a\ndifferent location for the same event. This is true with regard to the\npoint where the angry people were about to throw Jesus over \"the brow of\nthe hill\" (Luke 4:29). I saw no place that struck me as being the one\nreferred to in the Scriptures, and in reply to an inquiry, a lady at the\nEnglish Orphanage, who has spent twenty years in Nazareth, said she\nthought it was some place on that side of the town, but the contour of\nthe hill had probably changed. She also mentioned that the relics taken\nout in excavations were all found on that side, indicating that the old\ncity had been built there. When Brother McGarvey visited Palestine, he\nfound two places that corresponded somewhat with Luke's reference to the\nplace. Concerning one of them he wrote: \"I am entirely satisfied that\nhere is where the awful attempt was made.\" I was shown the \"place of\nannunciation\" in the Latin monastery. On the top of a column stands the\nfigure of a female, probably representing the Virgin, and a bit of ruin\nthat is said to date back to the time of Constantine is pointed out.\nHere, I was told, stood the first church building erected in Nazareth.\nOne of the \"brothers\" took the key and went around to a building\nsupposed to stand on the site of Joseph's carpenter shop. It is a small\nchapel, built about 1858 over the ruins of some older structure. In the\nfloor of marble or stone there are two wooden trapdoors, which are\nraised to show the ruins below. Over the altar in the end opposite the\ndoor is a picture to represent the holy family, and there are some other\npictures in different parts of the little chapel. From here I went to\nthe Virgin's Fountain. If it be true that this is the only spring in\nNazareth, then I have no doubt that I was near the spot frequently\nvisited by the Nazarene maid who became the mother of our Lord. I say\nnear the spot, for the masonry where the spring discharges is about a\nhundred yards from the fountain, which is now beneath the floor of a\nconvent. The water flows out through the wall by two stone spouts, and\nhere the women were crowded around, filling their vessels or waiting for\ntheir turn. The flow was not very strong, and this helps to explain why\nso many women were there before daylight the morning I went to Tiberias.\nI saw one woman, who was unable to get her vessel under the stream of\none of the spouts, drawing down a part of the water by sticking a leaf\nagainst the end of the spout. I also visited some of the bazaars and\nwent to the Orphanage. This missionary institution is nicely situated in\na prominent place well up on the hill, and is managed entirely by women,\nbut a servant is kept to do outside work. They treated me very kindly,\nshowing me about the building, and when the girls came in to supper they\nsang \"the Nazareth Hymn\" for me.\n\nOne of the occupations of the people here is manufacturing a knife with\ngoat horn handles that is commonly seen in Palestine. Many of the women\ngo about the streets with their dresses open like a man's shirt when\nunbuttoned, exposing their breasts in an unbecoming manner. The same is\ntrue of many women in Jerusalem. About one-third of the mixed population\nare Jews; the other two-thirds are Mohammedans and professing\nChristians, made up of Orthodox Greeks, United Greeks, Roman Catholics,\nMaronites (a branch of the Greek Church), and Protestants. I went back\nto Haifa and spent a night. The next morning I boarded the Austrian ship\n_Juno_ for Jaffa. When I first landed here I had trouble with the\nboatman, because he wanted me to pay him more than I had agreed to pay,\nand on this occasion I again had the same difficulty, twice as much\nbeing demanded at the ship as was agreed upon at the dock; but I was\nfirm and won my point both times. While in Galilee I had crossed the\nprovince from sea to sea; I had visited the city in which Jesus spent\nthe greater part of his earth life, and the sea closely connected with\nseveral important things in his career. I had ascended Carmel, and from\nthe top of Tabor I had taken an extensive view of the land, and now I\nwas satisfied to drop down the coast and enter Judaea.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nSIGHT-SEEING IN JERUSALEM.\n\n\nBefore leaving the ship at Jaffa I was talking with Mr. Ahmed, a\ngentleman from India, who had spent some time in Egypt, and had traveled\nextensively. He claimed to be a British subject, and was able to speak\nseveral languages. While we were arranging to go ashore together, one\nof the many boatmen who had come out to the ship picked up my suit-case\nwhile my back was turned, and the next thing I saw of it he was taking\nit down the stairs to one of the small boats. By some loud and emphatic\ntalk I succeeded in getting him to put it out of one boat into another,\nbut he would not bring it back. Mr. Ahmed and I went ashore with another\nman, whom we paid for carrying us and our baggage. I found the suit-case\non the dock, and we were soon in the custom house, where my baggage and\npassport were both examined, but Mr. Ahmed escaped having his baggage\nopened by paying the boatman an additional fee. As we arrived in Jaffa\ntoo late to take the train for Jerusalem that day, we waited over night\nin the city from whence Jonah went to sea so long ago. We lodged at the\nsame hotel and were quartered in the same room. This was the first and\nonly traveling companion I had on the whole journey, and I was a little\nshy. I felt like I wanted some pledge of honorable dealing from my newly\nformed acquaintance, and when he expressed himself as being a British\nsubject, I mentioned that I was an American and extended my hand,\nsaying: \"Let us treat each other right.\" He gave me his hand with the\nwords: \"Species man, species man!\" He meant that we both belonged to the\nsame class of beings, and should, therefore, treat each other right, a\nvery good reason indeed. A long time before, in this same land, Abraham\nhad expressed himself to Lot on a similar line in these words: \"Let\nthere be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my\nherdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren\" (Gen. 13:8). On Saturday\nwe moved our baggage over to the depot and boarded the train for\nJerusalem. On the way to the depot an old gentleman, whom I would have\nguessed to be a German, passed me. When I entered the car it was my lot\nto ride by him. He learned that I had been to Bristol, England, and had\nvisited the orphan homes founded by George Muller, and he remarked: \"You\nare a Christian, then.\" He probably said this because he thought no\nother would be interested in such work. It developed that he was a\nconverted Jew, and was conducting a mission for his people in the Holy\nCity. Without telling him my position religiously, I inquired concerning\ndifferent points, and found his faith and mine almost alike. This new\nacquaintance was D.C. Joseph, whose association I also enjoyed after\nreaching Jerusalem.\n\nIt was late in the afternoon of October ninth when we got off the train\nat the Jerusalem station, which is so situated that the city can not\nbe seen from that point. By the time we had our baggage put away in a\nnative hotel outside the city walls it was dark. We then started out\nto see if there was any mail awaiting me. First we went to the Turkish\noffice, which was reached by a flight of dark stairs. Mr. Ahmed went\nup rather slowly. Perhaps he felt the need of caution more than I did.\nAccording to my recollection, they handed us a candle, and allowed us to\ninspect the contents of a small case for the mail. We found nothing, so\nwe made our way down the dark stairway to the German office, situated\non the ground floor, nicely furnished and properly lighted, but there\nwas no mail there for me, as mail from America goes to the Austrian\noffice, inside the Jaffa gate.\n\nThe next day was Lord's day, and for the time being I ceased to be\na tourist and gave myself up mainly to religious services. I first\nattended the meeting conducted by Bro. Joseph at the mission to Israel.\nIt was the first service I had attended, and the first opportunity that\nhad come to me for breaking bread since I left London, the last of\nAugust. After this assembly of four persons was dismissed, I went to the\nservices of the Church of England and observed their order of worship.\nThe minister was in a robe, and delivered a really good sermon of about\nfifteen minutes' duration, preceded by reading prayers and singing\npraise for about an hour. By invitation, I took dinner with Miss Dunn,\nan American lady, at whose house Bro. Joseph was lodging. As she had\nbeen in Jerusalem fifteen years and was interested in missionary work,\nI enjoyed her company as well as her cooking. After dinner I went to a\nlittle iron-covered meeting-house called the \"tabernacle,\" where a Mr.\nThompson, missionary of the Christian Alliance, of Nyack, New York, was\nthe minister. At the close of the Sunday-school a gentleman asked some\nquestions in English, and the native evangelist, Melki, translated them\ninto Arabic. By request of Mr. Thompson, I read the opening lesson and\noffered prayer, after which he delivered a good address on the great,\ncoming day, and at the close the Lord's Supper was observed. I\nunderstood that they did this once a month, but it is attended to weekly\nat the mission where I was in the morning. At the tabernacle I made the\nacquaintance of Mr. Stanton, a Methodist minister from the States; Mr.\nJennings, a colored minister from Missouri, and Mr. Smith, an American\ngentleman residing in Jerusalem. There was another meeting in the\ntabernacle at night, but I staid at the hotel and finished some writing\nto be sent off to the home land.\n\nMonday was a big day for me. Mr. Ahmed and I went down inside the Jaffa\ngate and waited for Mr. Smith, who was our guide, Mr. Jennings, and a\nMr. Michelson, from California. Mr. Smith had been a farmer in America,\nbut had spent three years at Jerusalem and Jericho. He was well\nacquainted with the country, and we could depend upon what he told us.\nAdd to all this the fact that he went around with us without charge, and\nit will be seen that we were well favored. On this Monday morning we\nstarted out to take a walk to Bethany, the old home of that blessed\nfamily composed of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. We passed the Church of\nthe Holy Sepulcher, walked along the street called the Via Dolorosa, and\nsaw several of the \"stations\" Jesus is supposed to have passed on the\nway to the execution on Calvary. We passed the traditional site of the\n\"house of the rich man,\" the \"house of the poor man,\" and the Temple\nArea. After passing the Church of St. Anne, we went out of the city\nthrough St. Stephen's gate, and saw the Birket Sitti Mariam, or Pool\nof Lady Mary, one hundred feet long, eighty-five feet wide, and once\ntwenty-seven and a half feet deep. It is supposed that Stephen was led\nthrough the gate now bearing his name and stoned at a point not far\ndistant. Going down the hill a few rods, we came to the Church of St.\nMary, a building for the most part underground. It is entered by a\nstairway nineteen feet wide at the top, and having forty-seven steps\nleading to the floor thirty-five feet below. We went down, and in\nthe poorly lighted place we found some priests and others singing or\nchanting, crossing themselves, kissing a rock, and so on. This church\nprobably gets its name from the tradition that the mother of Jesus was\nburied here. Just outside the church is a cavern that is claimed by some\nto be the place of Christ's agony, and by others, who may have given the\nmatter more thought, it is supposed to be an old cistern, or place for\nstoring olive oil or grain. Perhaps I would do well to mention here that\ntradition has been in operation a long time, and the stories she has\nwoven are numerous indeed, but often no confidence can be placed in\nthem. I desire to speak of things of this kind in such a way as not to\nmislead my readers. It was near this church that I saw lepers for the\nfirst time. The valley of the Kidron is the low ground lying between\nJerusalem and the Mount of Olives. The water flows here only in the wet\npart of the year. Crossing this valley and starting up the slope of the\nMount of Olives, we soon come to a plot of ground inclosed by a high\nstone wall, with a low, narrow gateway on the upper side. This place is\nof great interest, as it bears the name \"Garden of Gethsemane,\" and is\nprobably the spot to which the lowly Jesus repaired and prayed earnestly\nthe night before his execution, when his soul was \"exceeding sorrowful,\neven unto death.\" It is really a garden, filled with flowers, and olive\ntrees whose trunks, gnarled and split, represent them as being very old,\nbut it is not to be supposed that they are the same trees beneath which\nJesus prayed just before Judas and \"the band of soldiers and officers\"\ncame out to arrest him. There is a fence inside the wall, leaving a\npassageway around the garden between the wall and the fence. Where the\ntrees reach over the fence a woven-wire netting has been fixed up, to\nkeep the olives from dropping on the walk, where tourists could pick\nthem up for souvenirs. The fruit of these old trees is turned into olive\noil and sold, and the seeds are used in making rosaries. At intervals\non the wall there are pictures representing the fourteen stations Jesus\npassed as he was being taken to the place of crucifixion. This garden\nis the property of the Roman Catholics, and the Greeks have selected\nanother spot, which they regard as the true Gethsemane, just as each\nchurch holds a different place at Nazareth to be the spot where the\nangry Nazarenes intended to destroy the Savior.\n\nLeaving the garden, we started on up the slope of Olivet, and passed the\nfine Russian church, with its seven tapering domes, that shine like the\ngold by which they are said to be covered. It appears to be one of the\nfinest buildings of Jerusalem. As we went on, we looked back and had a\ngood view of the Kidron valley and the Jews' burial place, along\nthe slope of the mountain, where uncounted thousands of Abraham's\ndescendants lie interred. Further up toward the summit is the Church of\nthe Lord's Prayer, a building erected by a French princess, whose body\nis now buried within its walls. This place is peculiar on account of at\nleast two things. That portion of Scripture commonly called \"the Lord's\nprayer\" is here inscribed on large marble slabs in thirty-two different\nlanguages, and prayer is said to be offered here continually. There is\nanother church near the Damascus gate, where two \"sisters\" are said to\nbe kneeling in prayer at all hours. I entered the beautiful place at\ndifferent times, and always found it as represented, but it should not\nbe supposed that the same women do all the praying, as they doubtless\nhave enough to change at regular intervals. The Church of the Creed is,\naccording to a worthless tradition, the place where the apostles drew up\n\"the creed.\" It is under the ground, and we passed over it on the way\nto the Church of the Lord's Prayer. The Mount of Olives is two thousand\nseven hundred and twenty-three feet above sea level, and is about two\nhundred feet higher than Mount Moriah. From the summit a fine view of\nJerusalem and the surrounding country may be obtained. The Russians have\nerected a lofty stone tower here. After climbing the spiral stairway\nleading to the top of it, one is well rewarded by the extensive view.\nLooking out from the east side, we could gaze upon the Dead Sea, some\ntwenty miles away, and more than four thousand feet below us. We visited\nthe chambers called the \"Tombs of the Prophets,\" but the name is not a\nsufficient guarantee to warrant us in believing them to be the burial\nplaces of the men by whom God formerly spoke to the people. On the way\nto Bethany we passed the reputed site of Beth-page (Mark 11:1), and soon\ncame to the town where Jesus performed the great miracle of raising\nLazarus after he had been dead four days. (John 11:1-46.) The place\npointed out as the tomb corresponds to the Scripture which says \"It was\na cave\" where they laid him. Twenty-six steps lead down to the chamber\nwhere his body is said to have lain when the \"blessed Redeemer\" cried\nwith a loud voice, \"Lazarus, come forth.\" Whether this is the exact spot\nor not, it is probably a very ancient cave. One writer claims that it\nis as old as the incident itself, and says these rock-cut tombs are the\noldest landmarks of Palestine. Tradition points out the home of Lazarus,\nand there is a portion of an old structure called the Castle of Lazarus,\nwhich Lazarus may never have seen. Bethany is a small village, occupied\nby a few Mohammedan families, who dislike the \"Christians.\" On the\nrising ground above the village stands a good modern stone house,\nowned by an English lady, who formerly lived in it, but her servant, a\nMohammedan, made an effort to cut her throat, and almost succeeded in\nthe attempt. Naturally enough, the owner does not wish to live there\nnow, so we found the building in the care of a professing Christian,\nwho treated us with courtesy, giving us a good, refreshing drink, and\npermitting us to go out on the roof to look around.\n\nFrom this point we turned our footsteps toward Jerusalem, \"about fifteen\nfurlongs off\"--that is, about two miles distant. (John 11:18.) When\nwe reached the lower part of the slope of Olivet, where the tombs of\ndeparted Jews are so numerous, Mr. Michelson and Mr. Jennings went on\nacross the Kidron valley and back to their lodging places, while Mr.\nAhmed, Mr. Smith and I went down to Job's well, in the low ground below\nthe city. The Tower of Absalom, the Tomb of James, and the Pyramid\nof Zachariah were among the first things we saw. They are all burial\nplaces, but we can not depend upon them being the actual tombs of those\nwhose names they bear. The first is a peculiar monument nineteen and\none-half feet square and twenty-one feet high, cut out of the solid\nrock, and containing a chamber, which may be entered by crawling through\na hole in the side. On the top of the natural rock portion a structure\nof dressed stone, terminating in one tapering piece, has been erected,\nmaking the whole height of the monument forty-eight feet. The Jews have\na custom of pelting it with stones on account of Absalom's misconduct,\nand the front side shows the effect of their stone-throwing. The Grotto\nof St. James is the traditional place of his concealment from the time\nJesus was arrested till his resurrection. The Pyramid of Zachariah is\na cube about thirty feet square and sixteen feet high, cut out of the\nsolid rock, and surmounted by a small pyramid. It has many names cut\nupon it in Hebrew letters, and there are some graves near by, as this is\na favorite burial place. Some of the bodies have been buried between the\nmonument and the wall around it in the passage made in cutting it out of\nthe rock. Going on down the valley, we have the village of Siloam on the\nhill at our left, and on the other side of the Kidron, the southeastern\npart of the Holy City. St. Mary's Well is soon reached. This spring,\nwhich may be the Gihon of 1 Kings 1:33, is much lower than the surface\nof the ground, the water being reached by two flights of stairs,\none containing sixteen steps, the other fourteen. The spring is\nintermittent, and flows from three to five times daily in winter. It\nflows twice a day in summer, but in the autumn it only flows once in the\nday. When I was there, the spring was low, and two Turkish soldiers were\non duty to preserve order among those who came to get water.\n\nThe Pool of Siloam, fifty-two feet long and eighteen feet wide, is\nfarther down the valley. The spring and the pool are about a thousand\nfeet apart, and are connected by an aqueduct through the hill, which,\nowing to imperfect engineering, is seventeen hundred feet long. From\na Hebrew inscription found in the lower end of this passageway it was\nlearned that the excavation was carried on from both ends. A little\nbelow the Pool of Siloam the valley of the Kidron joins the valley of\nHinnom, where, in ancient times, children were made \"to pass through the\nfire to Moloch\" (2 Kings 23:10). Job's Well, perhaps the En Rogel, on\nthe northern border of Judah (Joshua 15:7), is rectangular in shape and\none hundred and twenty-three feet deep. Sometimes it overflows, but it\nseldom goes dry. When I saw it, no less than six persons were drawing\nwater with ropes and leather buckets. The location of Aceldama, the\nfield of blood, has been disputed, but some consider that it was on the\nhill above the valley of Hinnom. There are several rock-cut tombs along\nthe slope of the hill facing the valley of Hinnom, and some of them are\nbeing used as dwelling places. The Moslems have charge of a building\noutside the city walls, called David's Tomb, which they guard very\ncarefully, and only a portion of it is accessible to visitors. Near this\nplace a new German Catholic church was being erected at a cost of four\nhundred thousand dollars. We entered the city by the Zion gate, and\npassed the Tower of David, a fortification on Mount Zion, near the Jaffa\ngate.\n\nOn the ship coming down from Beyrout I had a conversation with a man who\nclaimed to have been naturalized in the United States, and to have\ngone to Syria to visit his mother, but, according to his story, he was\narrested and imprisoned by the Turks. After being mistreated in the\nfilthy prison for some time, he secured his release by bribing a soldier\nto post a letter to one of the American authorities. He expressed a\ndesire to visit Jerusalem, but seemed afraid to get back into Turkish\nterritory. Learning that I was going there, he wrote a letter to the\nArmenian Patriarch, and I presented it one day. In a few minutes Mr.\nAhmed and I were led into the large room where the Patriarch was seated\nin his robe and peculiar cap. Meeting a dignitary of the Armenian Church\nwas a new experience to me. I shook hands with him; Mr. Ahmed made some\nsigns and sat down. In the course of our limited conversation he said\nrather slowly: \"I am very old.\" Replying to a question, he informed me\nthat his age was eighty years. I was on the point of leaving, but he\nhindered me, and an attendant soon came in with some small glasses of\nwine and a little dish of candy. The Patriarch drank a glass of wine,\nand I took a piece of the candy, as also did Mr. Ahmed, and then we took\nour leave.\n\nThe eleventh day of October, which was Tuesday, was occupied with a trip\nto Hebron, described in another chapter devoted to the side trips I made\nfrom Jerusalem, but the next day was spent in looking around the Holy\nCity. Early in the morning the Mamilla Pool, probably the \"upper pool\"\nof 2 Kings 18:17, was seen. One author gives the dimensions of this\npool as follows: Length, two hundred and ninety-one feet; breadth, one\nhundred and ninety-two feet; depth, nineteen feet. It is filled with\nwater in the rainy season, but was empty when I saw it. Entering the\ncity by the Jaffa gate, I walked along David and Christian Streets, and\nwas shown the Pool of Hezekiah, which is surrounded by houses, and was\nsupplied from the Mamilla Pool.\n\nThe next place visited was that interesting old building, the Church of\nthe Holy Sepulcher, where our Lord is supposed to have been buried in\nJoseph's new tomb. Jerusalem has many things of great interest, but some\nfew things are of special interest. The Temple Area and Calvary are of\nthis class. I am sure my readers will want to know something of each,\nand I shall here write of the latter. No doubt the spot where Jesus was\ncrucified and the grave in which he was buried were both well known to\nthe brethren up to the destruction of the city in the year seventy.\nBefore this awful calamity the Christians made their escape, and when\nthey returned they \"would hardly recognize the fallen city as the one\nthey had left; the heel of the destroyer had stamped out all semblance\nof its former glory. For sixty years it lay in ruins so complete that\nit is doubtful if there was a single house that could be used as a\nresidence; during these years its history is a blank.\" There is no\nmention of the returned Christians seeking out the site of either\nthe crucifixion or burial, and between A.D. 120 and A.D. 136 Hadrian\nreconstructed the city, changing it to a considerable extent, and naming\nit Aelia Capitolina. This would tend to make the location of Calvary\nmore difficult. Hadrian built a temple to Venus, probably on the spot\nnow occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Eusebius, writing\nabout A.D. 325, speaks of Constantine's church built on the site of\nthis temple. It is claimed that Hadrian's heathen temple was erected\nto desecrate the place of Christ's entombment, and that Constantine's\nchurch, being erected on the site of the temple, and regarded as the\nplace called Calvary, fixes this as the true site; but whether the\nchurch and temple were on the same site or not, the present church\nstands where the one built by Constantine stood, and is regarded by the\nmass of believers as the true location.\n\nConstantine's church stood two hundred and eighty years, being destroyed\nby Chosroes II., of Persia, in A.D. 614, but was soon succeeded by\nanother structure not so grand as its predecessor. In 1010, in the\n\"reign of the mad caliph Hakem,\" the group of churches was entirely\ndestroyed, and the spot lay desolate for thirty years, after which\nanother church was erected, being completed in eight years. This\nbuilding was standing in 1099, the time of the Crusaders, but was\ndestroyed by fire in 1808. This fire \"consumed many of the most sacred\nrelics in the church. Marble columns of great age and beauty crumbled in\nthe flames. The rich hangings and pictures were burned, along with lamps\nand chandeliers and other ornaments in silver and gold. The lead with\nwhich the great dome was lined melted, and poured down in streams.\" The\nbuilding now standing there was finished in 1810 at a cost of nearly\nthree millions of dollars, one-third of this, it is said, being expended\nin lawsuits and Mohammedan bribes. It is the property of several\ndenominations, who adorn their separate chapels to suit themselves.\n\nThe church is entered from a court having two doors or gates. Worshipers\npass through the court, and stop at the left-hand side of the door and\nkiss the marble column, which clearly shows the effect of this practice.\nJust inside of the building there is a guard, composed of members of the\noldest Mohammedan family in the city. The reader may wonder why an armed\nguard should be kept in a church house, but such a reader has not seen\nor read of all the wickedness that is carried on in the support of\nsectarianism. Concerning this guard, which, at the time of the holy fire\ndemonstration, is increased by several hundred soldiers, Edmund Sherman\nWallace, a former United States Consul in this city, says in his\n\"Jerusalem the Holy\": \"This Christian church has a Moslem guard, whose\nduty it is to keep peace among the various sects who profess belief in\nthe Prince of Peace. * * * It is a sickening fact that Moslem brute\nforce must compel Christians to exercise, not charity toward each other,\nbut common decency and decorum. But it is a fact nevertheless, and will\nremain apparent to all so long as priestcraft takes the place of New\nTestament Christianity and superstition supplants religion.\"\n\nA little beyond this guard is the \"Stone of Unction,\" upon which many\nbelieve Jesus was prepared for burial, but the original stone for which\nthis claim was made is not now visible, being covered with the present\nslab to keep it from being worn out by the kissing of pious pilgrims.\nIt is eight and a half feet long and four feet wide. Pilgrims sometimes\nbring the goods for their burial robes here and measure them by this\nstone. Some large candles stand by it, and above it are eight fine\nlamps, belonging to the Greek and Roman Catholics, the Copts, and\nArmenians. Not far away is a small stone, which I understood was called\nthe place where the women watched the preparation by Joseph of Arimathea\nand Nicodemus. (John 19:38-42.)\n\nIn the center of the rotunda, with its entrance facing the east, is the\nChapel of the Sepulcher, the holiest place in all this holy building.\nPassing through the small door, the visitor finds himself in the Chapel\nof the Angels, a very small room, where a piece of stone, said to have\nbeen rolled away from the grave by the angels, is to be seen. Stooping\ndown, the visitor passes through a low opening and enters the Chapel of\nthe Sepulcher proper, a room only six and a half feet long and six feet\nwide. The \"tomb\" is at the right hand of the entrance, occupying about\nhalf of the floor, above which it rises two feet. It is covered with\nmarble, so that even if this were the very spot where the Lord and\nSavior was laid by the hands of kind friends, the modern visitor would\nnot know what it looked like when that event took place. The little\nchapel, capable of accommodating about six people at a time, contains\nsome pictures and forty-three silver lamps, the property of the Copts,\nArmenians, Greek and Roman Catholics. A priest stands on guard, so that\nno damage may be done to any part of the place.\n\nThe Greek chapel, the largest, and to my notion the finest that I saw,\nis just in front of the sepulcher. From its having two sections and a\npartition, I was reminded of the tabernacle of the wilderness journey.\nServices were being conducted once while I was there, and I saw the\nPatriarch and others, gorgeously robed, going through with a service\nthat was at least spectacular, if not spiritual. At one point in the\nexercises those participating came down close to where I was standing,\npassed around the spot designated \"the center of the world,\" and went\nback again to the farther end of the richly ornamented room. One of the\npriests, with hair reaching down on his shoulders, bore a silver vessel,\nwhich I suppose contained burning incense. The long hair, beautiful\nrobes, the singing, praying, and such things, made up a service that\nreminded me of the days of Solomon and the old priesthood.\n\nThe demonstration of the \"holy fire\" takes place in this church once a\nyear, and there are thousands who believe that the fire passed out from\nthe Chapel of the Angels really comes from heaven. This occurs on the\nSaturday afternoon preceding Easter, and the eager, waiting throng, a\npart of which has been in the building since the day before, soon has\nits hundreds of little candles lighted. As the time for the appearance\nof the fire approaches the confusion becomes greater. Near the entrance\nto the sepulcher a group of men is repeating the words: \"This is the\ntomb of Jesus Christ;\" not far from them others are saying: \"This is\nthe day the Jew mourns and the Christian rejoices;\" others express\nthemselves in the language: \"Jesus Christ has redeemed us;\" and\noccasionally \"God save the Sultan\" can be heard.\n\nMr. Wallace, from whose book the foregoing items are gleaned, in telling\nof a fight which took place at one stage of the service, describes it as\n\"a mass of wriggling, struggling, shrieking priests and soldiers, each\napparently endeavoring to do all the possible injury to whomever he\ncould reach. * * * But the fight went on. Greek trampled on Armenian,\nand Armenian on Greek, and Turk on both. Though doing his very best, the\ncommanding officer seemed unable to separate the combatants. The bugle\nrang out time after time, and detachment after detachment of soldiers\nplunged into the m\u00ealee. * * * This went on for fifteen minutes. Just\nhow much damage was done nobody will ever know. There were a number\nof bruised faces and broken heads, and a report was current that two\npilgrims had died from injuries received.\" This disgraceful and wicked\ndisturbance is said to have been brought about by the Armenians wanting\ntwo of their priests to go with the Greek Patriarch as far as the\nChapel of the Angels. And it is furthermore said that the defeat of the\nArmenians was brought about, to some extent at least, by the muscular\nstrength of an American professional boxer and wrestler, whom the\nGreeks had taken along in priestly garb as a member of the Patriarch's\nbodyguard. It is not surprising that Mr. Wallace has written: \"The\nChurch of the Holy Sepulcher gives the non-Christian world the worst\npossible illustration of the religion of Him in whose name it stands.\"\n\nAs I was going through the city, I saw a camel working an olive press.\nThe poor blindfolded animal was compelled to walk in a circle so\nsmall that the outside trace was drawn tightly over its leg, causing\nirritation; but seeing the loads that are put upon dumb brutes, and men\ntoo, sometimes, one need not expect much attention to be given to the\ncomfort of these useful servants. Truly, there is great need for the\nrefining, civilizing, and uplifting influence of the gospel here in the\ncity where it had its earliest proclamation. I also visited two grist\nmills operated by horses on a treadmill, which was a large wooden wheel\nturned on its side, so the horses could stand on it. I was not pleased\nwith the nearness of the manure in one of these mills to the material\nfrom which the \"staff of life\" is made.\n\nThe German Protestant Church of the Redeemer is a fine structure on the\nMuristan, completed in 1898. The United States consulate is near the\nAustrian postoffice inside of the Jaffa gate. I went there and rested\nawhile, but saw the consul, Selah Merrill, at his hotel, where I also\nmet Mrs. Merrill, and formed a favorable opinion of both of them. Here I\nleft my belt, checks, and surplus money in the care of the consul.\n\nContinuing my walk on Wednesday, I passed one of the numerous threshing\nfloors of the country. This one was the face of a smooth rock, but they\nare often the ground on some elevated spot, where a good breeze can be\nhad to blow away the chaff, for the grain is now threshed and cleaned by\nthe primitive methods of long ago. After the grain has been tramped out\n(1 Cor. 9:9), the straw, now worn to chaff, is piled up, and when a\nfavorable wind blows, a man tosses it in the air with a wooden fork. The\ngrain falls in a pile at his feet and the chaff is carried aside\nsome distance. When this operation has been carried on as long as is\nprofitable, the wheat and what chaff remains in it are thrown into the\nair with a wooden shovel, called in our Bibles a \"fan.\" (Matt. 3:12.)\nThe final cleaning is done by washing the grain, or with a sieve.\n\nThe Tombs of the Kings, which may never have contained a king, are\nextensive and interesting. They are surrounded by a wall, and to reach\nthem the visitor must go down a very wide stairway. The steps probably\ndo not number more than twenty-five, but the distance from one side of\nthe stairs to the other is twenty-seven feet. There are channels cut in\nthe rock to carry the water that comes down these steps to the cisterns,\ntwo in number, one of which is a good-sized room cut in the rock at the\nside of the stairway. It contained about three feet of water when I saw\nit, although there had been no rain in Jerusalem for half a year. The\nother one, at the bottom of the stairs, is much larger, and was empty.\nThe vaulted roof is supported by a column, and there are steps leading\nfrom one level of the floor to another.\n\nTurning to the left at the foot of the big stairway, we passed through\nan arch cut through the rock into a court made by excavating the earth\nand stone to a depth of perhaps twenty feet. It is ninety feet long and\neighty-one feet wide. The entrance to the tombs is by a vestibule cut in\nthe rock at one side of the court, and it appears that this once had a\nrow of pillars along the front, like veranda posts. We went down a few\nsteps and stooped low enough to pass through an opening about a yard\nhigh. Beyond this we found ourselves in a good-sized room, cut in the\nsolid rock. There are five of these rooms, and so far as the appearance\nis concerned, one might suppose they had been made in modern times, but\nthey are ancient. The bodies were usually buried in \"pigeon-holes\" cut\nback in the walls of the rooms, but there are some shelf tombs, which\nare sufficiently described in their name. One room seems never to have\nbeen completed, but there are burial places here for about forty people.\n\nOne of the interesting things about these tombs is the rolling stone by\nwhich they were closed. It is a round rock, resembling a millstone. The\nheight is a little over three feet and a half, and the thickness sixteen\ninches. It stands in a channel cut for the purpose, but was rolled\nforward before the entrance when it was desirable to have the tombs\nclosed. When Jesus was buried, a \"great stone\" was rolled to the mouth\nof the sepulcher, and the women thought of this as they went to the tomb\non the first day of the week, saying: \"Who shall roll us away the stone\nfrom the door of the tomb?\" (Mark 16:3.) They went on and found the tomb\nopen; so, also, we may often find the stone rolled away if we will go\nforward in the discharge of our duties, instead of sitting down to mourn\nat the thought of something in the distance which seems too difficult.\n\nOn our way to the tombs just mentioned, we passed the American Colony,\na small band of people living together in a rather peculiar manner,\nbut they are not all Americans. I understood that there had been no\nmarriages among them for a long time until a short while before I was\nin Jerusalem. Some of them conduct a good store near the Jaffa gate. We\npassed an English church and college and St. Stephen's Church on the way\nto Gordon's Calvary. This new location of the world's greatest tragedy\nis a small hill outside the walls on the northern side of the city. The\nChurch of the Holy Sepulcher stands on ground which for fifteen hundred\nyears has been regarded as the true site of our Lord's death and burial,\nbut since Korte, a German bookseller, visited the city in 1738, doubts\nhave been expressed as to the correctness of the tradition. Jesus\n\"suffered without the gate\" (Heb. 13:12), and \"in the place where he was\ncrucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was\nman never yet laid\" (John 19:41), and it appears to have been near a\npublic road. (Mark 15:29.) In 1856 Edward Robinson, an American, offered\nproof that the site sustained by the old tradition was inside the city\nwalls at the time of the crucifixion, and more recent discoveries, made\nin excavating, confirm his proof. The new Calvary meets the requirements\nof the above mentioned scriptures, and gets its name \"Gordon's Calvary,\"\nfrom the fact that General Gordon wrote and spoke in favor of this being\nthe correct location, and a photographer attached his name to a view of\nthe place. In the garden adjoining the new Calvary I visited a tomb,\nwhich some suppose to be the place of our Lord's burial.\n\nOn the way back to my lodging place we passed the Damascus gate, the\nmost attractive of all the old city gates, and one often represented\nin books. It was built or repaired in 1537, and stands near an older\ngateway that is almost entirely hidden by the accumulated rubbish of\ncenturies, only the crown of the arch now showing. As we went on we\npassed the French Hospice, a fine modern building, having two large\nstatues on it. The higher one represents the Virgin and her child, the\nother is a figure of the Savior. The Catholic church already mentioned,\nwhere two sisters are to be seen in prayer at all times, is near the\nHospice. It is a rather impressive sight to stand in this beautiful but\nsilent place, and see those women in white robes kneeling there almost\nas motionless as statues.\n\nThursday and a part of Friday was taken up with a trip to Jericho, but\nwe got back in time to spend the afternoon in looking around Jerusalem,\nand we had an interesting visit to the home of Mrs. Schoenecke, a German\nlady, whose father, named Schick, spent fifty-six years of his life in\nJerusalem. From what information Mr. Schick could gather from the Bible,\nJosephus, the Talmud, and his personal observations during the time the\nPalestine Exploration Fund was at work, he constructed large models of\nthe ancient temples that stood on Mount Moriah from the days of Solomon\nto the time of Herod and Christ. I was told that the original models\nwere sold to an American college for five thousand dollars. Mr.\nSchick then constructed the models shown to us, and explained by Mrs.\nSchoenecke. We were also shown a model of the tabernacle used while\nIsrael was marching to the promised land.\n\nThe Wailing Place is a rectangle one hundred feet long by fifteen feet\nwide on the outside of the Temple Area, on the western side, where the\nwall is about sixty feet high. Some of the stones in this section are of\nlarge size, and authorities admit that they are of Solomon's time, but\nthe wall in which they now stand may be a reconstruction. The Jews come\nhere on the Sabbath, beginning at sundown on Saturday, for a service\nwhich one author describes as follows: \"Nearest to him stood a row of\nwomen clad in robes of spotless white. Their eyes were bedimmed with\nweeping, and tears streamed down their cheeks as they sobbed aloud\nwith irrepressible emotion. Next to the women stood a group of\nPharisees--Jews from Poland and Germany. * * * The old hoary-headed men\ngenerally wore velvet caps edged with fur, long love-locks or ringlets\ndangling on their thin cheeks, and their outer robes presented a\nstriking contrast of gaudy colors. Beyond stood a group of Spanish Jews.\n* * * Besides these there are Jews from every quarter of the world, who\nhad wandered back to Jerusalem that they might die in the city of their\nfathers, and be buried in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, under the shadow of\nthe Temple Hill. The worshipers gradually increased in number until the\ncrowd thronging the pavement could not be fewer than two hundred. It was\nan affecting scene to notice their earnestness; some thrust their hands\nbetween the joints of the stones, and pushed into the crevices, as far\nas possible, little slips of paper, on which were written, in the Hebrew\ntongue, short petitions addressed to Jehovah. Some even prayed with\ntheir mouths thrust into the gaps, where the weather-beaten stones were\nworn away at the joints. * * * The congregation at the Wailing Place is\none of the most solemn gatherings left to the Jewish Church, and, as the\nwriter gazed at the motley concourse, he experienced a feeling of sorrow\nthat the remnants of the chosen race should be heartlessly thrust\noutside the sacred inclosure of their fathers' holy temple by men of an\nalien race and an alien creed.\" So far as I know, all writers give these\nworshipers credit for being sincere, but on the two occasions when I\nvisited the place, I saw no such emotion as described in the foregoing\nquotation. The following lines are often rehearsed, the leader reading\none at a time, after which the people respond with the words: \"We sit in\nsolitude and mourn.\"\n\n  \"For the place that lies desolate;\n   For the place that is destroyed;\n   For the walls that are overthrown;\n   For our majesty that is departed;\n   For our great men who lie dead;\n   For the precious stones that are buried;\n   For the priests who have stumbled;\n   For our kings who have despised Him.\"\n\nThis solemn practice has been observed for about twelve hundred years,\nbut the same place may not have been used all the time. \"She is become a\nwidow, that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among\nthe provinces is become tributary! Jerusalem hath grievously sinned;\ntherefore she is become as an unclean thing\" (Lam. 1: 1, 8).\n\nOn Friday evening we entered some of the many synagogues yet to be found\nin Jerusalem and observed the worshipers. On Saturday we went to the\nHouse of Industry of the English church, where boys are taught to work.\nOlive wood products are made for the tourist trade. We passed a place\nwhere some men were making a peculiar noise as they were pounding wheat\nand singing at their work. This pounding was a part of the process of\nmaking it ready for food. An old lady was standing in an open door\nspinning yarn in a very simple manner. We watched her a few minutes, and\nI wanted to buy the little arrangement with which she was spinning, but\nshe didn't care to part with it. She brought out another one, and let me\nhave it after spinning a few yards upon it. I gave her a Turkish coin\nworth a few cents, for which she seemed very thankful, and said, as Mr.\nAhmed explained: \"God bless you and give you long life. I am old, and\nmay die to-day.\" She told us that she came from Mosul, away beyond the\nSyrian desert, to die in Jerusalem. We visited the synagogue of the\nCaraite Jews, a small polygamous sect, numbering in this assembly\nabout thirty persons. They also differ from the majority of Hebrews in\nrejecting the Talmud, but I believe they have a Talmud of their own.\nTheir place of worship is a small room almost under the ground, where we\nwere permitted to see a very fine old copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, our\nOld Testament. The work was done by hand, and I was told the man who\ndid it was sixteen years of age when he began it, and was sixty when he\nfinished the work, and that the British Museum had offered five thousand\ndollars for the book. Some of these people speak English, and we\nconversed with one woman who was quite intelligent. They kindly\npermitted us to go up and view the city from the housetop.\n\nIn the afternoon we visited the Temple Area, an inclosure of about\nthirty-five acres, in the southeastern part of the city, including the\nMosque of Omar (more appropriately called the Dome of the Rock), the\nMosque El Aksa, and Solomon's Stables. For Christians to enter this\ninclosure, it is necessary to notify their consul and secure the service\nof his _cavasse_, an armed guard, and a Turkish soldier, both of\nwhom must be paid for their services. Thus equipped, we entered the\ninclosure, and came up on the east front of the Dome of the Rock,\nprobably so named from the fact that the dome of this structure stands\nover an exposed portion of the natural rock, fifty-seven feet long,\nforty-three feet wide, and rising a few feet above the floor. After\nputting some big slippers on over our shoes, we entered the building\nand saw this great rock, which tradition says is the threshing floor\nof Araunah, and the spot where Melchizedek sacrificed. It is also the\ntraditional place where Abraham sacrificed Isaac, and it is believed\nthat David built an altar here after the angel of destruction had put\nup his sword. It is furthermore supposed that the great altar of burnt\nofferings stood on this rock in the days of Solomon's Temple, which\nis thought to have been located just west of it. This is the probable\nlocation of Zerubbabel's Temple, and the one enlarged and beautified\nby Herod, which was standing when Jesus was on earth, and continued to\nstand until the awful destruction of the city by the Roman army in A.D.\n70.\n\nThe modern visitor to this fine structure would have no thought of the\nancient temple of God if he depended upon what he sees here to suggest\nit. All trace of that house has disappeared. The Dome of the Rock, said\nto be \"the most beautiful piece of architecture in Jerusalem,\" belongs\nto the Turks. It has eight sides, each about sixty-six and a half feet\nlong, and is partly covered with marble, but it is, to some extent, in a\nstate of decay. Between the destruction of the temple and the erection\nof this building a heathen temple and a church had been built on the\nspot.\n\nThe Mosque El Aksa was also visited, but it is noted more for its size\nthan the beauty of its architecture. The Turkish Governor of Palestine\ncomes here every Friday to worship at the time the Sultan is engaged\nin like manner in Constantinople. Solomon's Stables next engaged our\nattention. We crossed the Temple Area to the wall on the southeastern\nborder, and went down a stairway to these underground chambers, which\nwere made by building about a hundred columns and arching them over and\nlaying a pavement on the top, thereby bringing it up on a level with\nthe rest of the hill. The vaults are two hundred and seventy-three feet\nlong, one hundred and ninety-eight feet wide, and about thirty feet\nhigh. They were not made for stables, but were used for that purpose in\nthe middle ages, and the holes through the corners of the square stone\ncolumns show where the horses were tied. A large portion of these\nchambers has been made into a cistern or reservoir.\n\nAfter a visit to what is called the Pool of Bethesda and the Church of\nSt. Anne, we went outside the city wall on the north side and entered\nwhat looks like a cave, but upon investigation proves to be an extensive\nunderground quarry. These excavations, called Solomon's Quarries,\nextend, according to one authority, seven hundred feet under the hill\nBezetha, which is north of Mt. Moriah. The rock is very white, and will\ntake some polish. Loose portions of it are lying around on the floor\nof the cavern, and there are distinct marks along the sides where the\nancient stone-cutters were at work. In one part of the quarries we were\nshown the place where visiting Masons are said to hold lodge meetings\nsometimes. Vast quantities of the rock have been taken out, and this is\nprobably the source from whence much of the building material of the old\ncity was derived.\n\nThe trip to the quarries ended my sight-seeing for the week. The next\nmorning I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and witnessed a part\nof the service of the Greek Catholics. At a later hour I went around to\nthe mission conducted by Bro. Joseph, and, with the little congregation\nthere assembled, broke bread in memory of Him who in this city, almost\ntwo thousand years ago, gave his life for the sins of the world, after\nhaving instituted this supper, a monumental institution, representing\nto our minds the cost of the world's redemption. In the afternoon I\nattended the preaching service in Mr. Thompson's tabernacle, and visited\nthe Abyssinian church, near Mr. Smith's house. This Abyssinian house is\ncircular, and has a small, round room in the center, around which the\ncongregation stands and worships, leaning on their staves, for the place\nis void of seats. At night I preached in the tabernacle on the question:\n\"What must I do to be saved?\" Melki, the native evangelist, translated\nfor me as I went along, and the congregation paid good attention and\nseemed pleased to have heard me. I know I am pleased to have had\nopportunity to \"preach the word\" in the city from whence it was first\npublished to the world.\n\nOne of the first sights beheld when I started out on Monday morning was\na foundation, laid at the expense of a woman who intended to build a\nhouse for the \"hundred and forty-four thousand.\" It represents one of\nthe many peculiar religious ideas that find expression in and around\nJerusalem. We went on to the railway station, where I saw a young man, a\nJew, leave for that far-off land called America. Next the Leper Hospital\nwas visited. This well-kept institution is in the German colony, and had\nseveral patients of both sexes. A lady, who spoke some English, kindly\nshowed me through the hospital, and explained that the disease is not\ncontagious, but hereditary, and that some lepers refuse to enter the\nhospital because they are forbidden to marry. The patients were of\nvarious ages, and showed the effects of the disease in different stages.\nIn some cases it makes the victim a sad sight to look upon. I remember\none of these poor, afflicted creatures, whose face was almost covered\nwith swollen and inflamed spots. Some were blind, and some had lost\npart or all of their fingers by the disease. One man's nose was partly\nconsumed.\n\nAt Bishop Gobat's school we were kindly received, and given a good,\nrefreshing drink. The founder of this school, a member of the English\nchurch, was one of the pioneers in Jerusalem mission work, and stood\nvery high in the estimation of the people. His grave is to be seen in\nthe cemetery near the school, where one may also see the supposed site\nof the ancient city wall. Besides the Leper Hospital, we visited another\nhospital under German control, where patients may have medical attention\nand hospital service for the small sum of one _mejidi_, about eighty\ncents, for a period, of fifteen days, but higher fees are charged in\nother departments. We soon reached the English hospital, maintained by\nthe Society for the Promotion of Christianity among the Jews. It is\nbuilt on a semi-circular plan in such a way that the wards, extending\nback from the front, admit light from both sides. This institution is\nfree to the Jews, but I understand Mohammedans were not admitted without\na fee.\n\nThe Syrian Orphanage had about three hundred children in it, who were\nbeing instructed in books and in manual labor. Those who can see are\ntaught to work in wood, to make a kind of tile used in constructing\npartitions, and other lines of useful employment. They had some blind\nchildren, who were being taught to make baskets and brushes. On the way\nback to Mr. Smith's I stopped at the Jewish Library, a small two-story\nbuilding, having the books and papers upstairs. They have a raised map\nof Palestine, which was interesting to me, after having twice crossed\nthe country from sea to sea.\n\nThe last Thursday I was in the city I went with some friends to the\nIsraelite Alliance School, an institution with about a thousand pupils,\nwho receive both an industrial and a literary education. We were\nconducted through the school by a Syrian gentleman named Solomon Elia,\nwho explained that, while the institution is under French control,\nEnglish is taught to some extent, as some of the pupils would go\nto Egypt, where they would need to use this language. The boys are\ninstructed in wood-working, carpentry, copper-working, and other lines\nof employment. We saw some of the girls making hair nets, and others\nwere engaged in making lace. Both of these products are sent out of\nPalestine for sale. The institution has received help from some of the\nRothschild family, and I have no doubt that it is a great factor for the\nimprovement of those who are reached by it. Jerusalem is well supplied\nwith hospitals and schools. The Greek and Roman Catholic churches, the\nChurch of England, and numerous other religious bodies have a footing\nhere, and are striving to make it stronger. Their schools and hospitals\nare made use of as missionary agencies, and besides these there is a\nTurkish hospital and numerous Mohammedan schools.\n\nOn Friday I had an opportunity to see a man measuring grain, as is\nindicated by the Savior's words: \"Give, and it shall be given unto you;\ngood measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they\ngive into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete, it shall be\nmeasured to you again\" (Luke 6:38). He filled his measure about full,\nand then shook it down thoroughly. He next filled it up and shook it\ndown until he evidently thought he had all he could get that way, so he\ncommenced to pile it up on top. When he had about as much heaped up as\nwould stay on, he put his hands on the side of the cone opposite himself\nand gently pulled it toward him. He then piled some more on the far\nside, and when he had reached the limit in this way, he carefully\nleveled the top of the cone down a little, and when he could no longer\nput on more grain, he gently lifted the measure and moved it around to\nthe proper place, where it was quickly dumped. In the evening Mr. Smith\nand I walked out on Mount Scopus, where Titus had his camp at the time\nof the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, as foretold by our Lord and\nMaster in the twenty-fourth of Matthew.\n\nAs we went along, Mr. Smith pointed out the watershed between the\nMediterranean and the Dead Sea. The view from Scopus is very extensive.\nWe could look away to the north to Nebi Samwil, where the Prophet Samuel\nis supposed by some to have been buried. Ramallah, the seat of a school\nmaintained by the Society of Friends, is pointed out, along with Bireh,\nBethel, and Geba. Nob, the home of the priests slain by command of Saul\n(1 Samuel 22:16), and Anathoth, one of the cities of refuge (Joshua\n21:18), are in sight. Swinging on around the circle to the east, the\nnorthern end of the Dead Sea is visible, while the Mount of Olives is\nonly a little distance below us. Across the valley of the Kidron lies\nthe Holy City, with her walls constructed at various periods and under\nvarious circumstances, her dome-shaped stone roofs, synagogues, mosques,\nand minarets, being \"trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of\nthe Gentiles be fulfilled\" (Luke 21:24). Here, with this panorama spread\nout in the evening light, I may say my sight-seeing in the City of the\nGreat King came to an end.\n\nI lacked but a few hours of having been in the city two weeks, when I\nboarded the train for Jaffa on my way to Egypt. The most of the time I\nhad lodged in the hospitable home of Mr. Smith, where I had a clean\nand comfortable place to rest my tired body when the shadows of night\ncovered the land. I had received kind treatment, and had seen many\nthings of much interest. I am truly thankful that I have been permitted\nto make this trip to Jerusalem. Let me so live that when the few\nfleeting days of this life are over, I may rest with the redeemed. When\ndays and years are no more, let me enjoy, in the NEW JERUSALEM, the\nblessedness that remains for those that have loved the Lord.\n\n\"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from\nGod, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great\nvoice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with\nmen, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and\nGod himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away\nevery tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall\nthere be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things have\npassed away\" (Revelation 21:2-4).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nSIDE TRIPS FROM JERUSALEM.\n\n\nEarly on Tuesday morning, the eleventh of October, I set out by\ncarriage, with some other tourists, for a trip to Bethlehem, Solomon's\nPools, and Hebron. Bethlehem is about five miles south of Jerusalem, and\nHebron is a little southwest of the Holy City and twenty miles distant.\nWe started from the Jaffa gate and passed the Sultan's Pool, otherwise\nknown as Lower Gihon, which may be the \"lower pool\" of Isaiah 22:9. \"The\nentire area of this pool,\" says one writer, \"is about three and a half\nacres, with an average depth, when clear of deposit, of forty-two and\na half feet in the middle from end to end.\" We drove for two miles, or\nperhaps more, across the Plain of Rephaim, one of David's battlefields\nsoon after he established himself in Jerusalem. Here he was twice\nvictorious over the Philistines. In the first instance he asked Jehovah:\n\"Shall I go up against the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into\nmy hand?\" The answer was: \"Go up; for I will certainly deliver the\nPhilistines into thy hand.\" In this battle the invaders were routed and\ndriven from the field. \"And they left their images there; and David and\nhis men took them away.\" But \"the Philistines came up yet again, and\nspread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of\nJehovah, he said, Thou shalt not go up: make a circuit behind them, and\ncome upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when\nthou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees,\nthat then thou shalt bestir thyself, for then is Jehovah gone out before\nthee to smite the hosts of the Philistines.\" David obeyed the voice of\nthe Lord, and smote his enemies from Geba to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:17-25.)\n\nOn the southern border of the plain stands the Greek convent called Mar\nElyas. This is about half way to Bethlehem, and the city of the nativity\nsoon comes into view. Before going much farther the traveler sees a\nwell-built village, named Bet Jala, lying on his right. It is supposed\nto be the ancient Giloh, mentioned in 2 Samuel 15:12 as the home of\nAhithophel, David's counselor, for whom Absalom sent when he conspired\nagainst his father. Here the road forks, one branch of it passing Bet\nJala and going on to Hebron; the other, bearing off to the left, leads\ndirectly to Bethlehem, which we passed, intending to stop there as we\nreturned in the evening. At this place we saw the monument erected to\nmark the location of Rachel's tomb, a location, like many others, in\ndispute. When Jacob \"journeyed from Bethel and there was still some\ndistance to come to Ephrath,\" Rachel died at the birth of Benjamin, \"and\nwas buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem). * * * And\nJacob set up a pillar upon her grave\" (Gen. 35:16-20). The spot, which\nfor many centuries was marked by a pyramid of stones, is now occupied\nby a small stone building with a dome-shaped roof, at the east side of\nwhich is a room, open on the north, with a flat roof. For hundreds of\nyears tradition has located the grave at this place, which is indeed\nnear Bethlehem, but in 1 Samuel 10:2 it is mentioned as being \"in the\nborder of Benjamin,\" which has occasioned the belief that the true\nlocation is some miles farther north.\n\nBefore long we came to Solomon's Pools. We first stopped at a doorway,\nwhich looks like it might lead down to a cellar, but in reality the door\nis at the head of a flight of stairs leading down to what is known as\nthe \"sealed fountain\" (Song of Solomon 4:12). The door was fastened,\nand we were not able to descend to the underground chamber, which is\nforty-one feet long, eleven and a half feet wide, with an arched stone\nroof, all of which, except the entrance, is below the surface. A large\nbasin cut in the floor collects the water from two springs. After rising\na foot in the basin, the water flows out into a channel more than six\nhundred feet long leading down to the two upper pools. These great\nreservoirs, bearing the name of Israel's wisest monarch, are still in a\ngood state of preservation, having been repaired in modern times.\nThe first one is three hundred and eighty feet long, two hundred and\ntwenty-nine feet wide at one end, two hundred and thirty feet wide at\nthe other, and twenty-five feet deep. The second pool is four hundred\nand twenty-three feet long, one hundred and sixty feet wide at the upper\nend, two hundred and fifty feet wide at the lower end, and thirty-nine\nfeet deep at that end. The third pool is the largest of all, having a\nlength of five hundred and eighty-two feet. The upper end is one hundred\nand forty-eight feet wide, the lower end two hundred and seven feet,\nand the depth at the lower end is fifty feet. The pools are about one\nhundred and fifty feet apart, and have an aggregate area of six and a\nquarter acres, with an average depth approaching thirty-eight feet. The\nupper two received water from the sealed fountain, but the lower one was\nsupplied from an aqueduct leading up from a point more than three miles\nto the south. The aqueduct from the sealed fountain leads past the\npools, and winds around the hills to Bethlehem and on to the Temple\nArea, in Jerusalem. It is still in use as far as Bethlehem, and could be\nput in repair and made serviceable for the whole distance. An offer\nto do this was foolishly rejected by the Moslems in 1870. The only\nhabitation near the pools is an old khan, \"intended as a stopping place\nfor caravans and as a station for soldiers to guard the road and the\npools.\" The two upper pools were empty when I saw them, but the third\none contained some water and a great number of frogs. As we went on to\nHebron we got a drink at \"Philip's Well,\" the place where \"the eunuch\nwas baptized,\" according to a tradition which lacks support by the\npresent appearance of the place.\n\nTowards noon we entered the \"valley of Eschol,\" from whence the spies\nsent out by Moses carried the great cluster of grapes. (Num. 13:23.)\nBefore entering Hebron we turned aside and went up to Abraham's Oak, a\nvery old tree, but not old enough for Abraham to have enjoyed its\nshade almost four thousand years ago. The trunk is thirty-two feet in\ncircumference, but the tree is not tall like the American oaks. It is\nnow in a dying condition, and some of the branches are supported by\nprops, while the lower part of the trunk is surrounded by a stone wall,\nand the space inside is filled with earth. The plot of ground on which\nthe tree stands is surrounded by a high iron fence. A little farther up\nthe hill the Russians have a tower, from which we viewed the country,\nand then went down in the shade near Abraham's Oak and enjoyed our\ndinner.\n\nHebron is a very ancient city, having been built seven and a half years\nbefore Zoar in Egypt. (Num. 13:22.) Since 1187 it has been under the\ncontrol of the Mohammedans, who raise large quantities of grapes, many\nof which are made into raisins. Articles of glass are made in Hebron,\nbut I saw nothing especially beautiful in this line. The manufacture of\ngoat-skin water-bottles is also carried on. Another line of work which I\nsaw being done is the manufacture of a kind of tile, which looks like a\nfruit jug without a bottom, and is used in building. Hebron was one of\nthe six cities of refuge (Joshua 20:7), and for seven years and a half\nit was David's capital of Judah. It is very historic. \"Abraham moved his\ntent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and\nbuilt there an altar unto Jehovah.\" (Gen. 13:18.) When \"Sarah died in\nKiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan, * * * Abraham\ncame to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.\" At this time the worthy\nprogenitor of the Hebrew race \"rose up from before his dead, and spoke\nunto the children of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with\nyou: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury\nmy dead out of my sight.\" The burial place was purchased for \"four\nhundred shekels of silver, current money of the land. * * * And after\nthis Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave in the field of Machpelah\nbefore Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan\" (Gen.\n23:1-20). Years after this, when both Abraham and his son Isaac had\npassed the way of all the earth and had been laid to rest in this cave,\nthe patriarch Jacob in Egypt gave directions for the entombment of his\nbody in this family burial place. \"There they buried Abraham and Sarah\nhis wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I\nburied Leah\" (Gen. 49:31), and here, by his own request, Jacob was\nburied. (Gen. 50:13.) Joshua, the successor of Moses, \"utterly\ndestroyed\" Hebron (Joshua 10:37), and afterwards gave it to Caleb, to\nwhom it had been promised by Moses forty-five years before. (Joshua\n14:6-15.) Here Abner was slain (2 Samuel 3:27), and the murderers of\nIshbosheth were put to death. (2 Samuel 4:12.)\n\nThe most interesting thing about the town is the \"cave of Machpelah,\"\nbut it is inaccessible to Christians. Between 1167 and 1187 a church was\nbuilt on the site, now marked by a carefully guarded Mohammedan mosque.\nIt is inclosed by a wall which may have been built by Solomon. We were\nallowed to go in at the foot of a stairway as far as the seventh step,\nbut might as well have been in the National Capitol at Washington so far\nas seeing the burial place was concerned. In 1862 the Prince of Wales,\nnow King of England, was admitted. He was accompanied by Dean Stanley,\nwho has described what he saw, but he was permitted neither to examine\nthe monuments nor to descend to the cave below, the real burial chamber.\nAs the body of Jacob was carefully embalmed by the Egyptian method, it\nis possible that his remains may yet be seen in their long resting place\nin this Hebron cave. (Gen. 50:1,2.)\n\nTurning back toward Jerusalem, we came to Bethlehem late in the\nafternoon, and the \"field of the shepherds\" (Luke 2:8) and the \"fields\nof Boaz\" (Ruth 2:4-23) were pointed out. The place of greatest interest\nis the group of buildings, composed of two churches, Greek and Latin,\nand an Armenian convent, all built together on the traditional site\nof the birth of the Lord Jesus. Tradition is here contradicted by\nauthorities partly on the ground that a cave to which entrance is made\nby a flight of stairs would probably not be used as a stable. This\ncave is in the Church of St. Mary, said to have been erected in 330 by\nConstantine. Descending the stairs, we came into the small cavern, which\nis continually lighted by fifteen silver lamps, the property of the\nGreeks, Latins, and Armenians, who each have an interest in the place.\nBeneath an altar, in a semi-circular recess, a silver star has been set\nin the floor with the Latin inscription: \"_Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus\nChristus Natus est._\" An armed Turkish soldier was doing duty near this\n\"star of Bethlehem\" the evening I was there. The well, from which it is\nsaid the \"three mighty men\" drew water for David, was visited. (2 Samuel\n23:15.) But the shades of night had settled down upon the little town\nwhere our Savior was born, and we again entered our carriages and drove\nback to Jerusalem, having had a fine day of interesting sight-seeing. On\nthe Wednesday before I left Jerusalem, in the company of Mrs. Bates, I\nagain visited Bethlehem.\n\nThursday, October thirteenth, was the day we went down to Jericho, the\nDead Sea, and the Jordan. The party was made up of the writer, Mr.\nAhmed, Mr. Jennings, Mrs. Bates, four school teachers (three ladies and\na gentleman) returning from the Philippines, and the guides, Mr. Smith\nand Ephraim Aboosh. We went in two carriages driven by natives. \"A\ncertain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among\nrobbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half\ndead\" (Luke 10:30). This lonely road is still the scene of occasional\nrobberies, and the Turkish Government permits one of its soldiers to\naccompany the tourist for a fee, but we did not want to take this\nescort, as neither of the guides feared any danger. Accordingly we took\nan early start without notifying the soldiers, and reached Jericho,\nabout twenty miles away, in time to visit Elisha's Fountain before\ndinner. The road leads out past Bethany, down by the Apostles' Fountain,\non past the Khan of the Good Samaritan, and down the mountain to the\nplain of the Jordan, this section of which is ten miles long and seven\nmiles wide. Before the road reaches the plain, it runs along a deep\ngorge bearing the name Wady Kelt, the Brook Cherith, where the prophet\nElisha was fed by the ravens night and morning till the brook dried up.\n(1 Kings 17:1-7.) We also saw the remains of an old aqueduct, and of a\nreservoir which was originally over five hundred feet long and more than\nfour hundred feet wide. Elisha's Fountain is a beautiful spring some\ndistance from the present Jericho. Doubtless it is the very spring whose\nwaters Elisha healed with salt. (2 Kings 2:19-22.) The ground about\nthe Fountain has been altered some in modern times, and there is now a\nbeautiful pool of good, clear water, a delight both to the eye and to\nthe throat of the dusty traveler who has come down from Jerusalem seeing\nonly the brown earth and white, chalky rock, upon which the unveiled sun\nhas been pouring down his heat for hours. The water from the spring now\nruns a little grist mill a short distance below it.\n\nAfter dinner, eaten in front of the hotel in Jericho, we drove over to\nthe Dead Sea, a distance of several miles, and soon we were all enjoying\na fine bath in the salt water, the women bathing at one place, the men\nat another. The water contains so much solid matter, nearly three and a\nthird pounds to the gallon, that it is easy to float on the surface with\nhands, feet and head above the water. One who can swim but little in\nfresh water will find the buoyancy of the water here so great as to make\nswimming easy. When one stands erect in it, the body sinks down about\nas far as the top of the shoulders. Care needs to be taken to keep the\nwater out of the mouth, nose and eyes, as it is so salty that it is very\ndisagreeable to these tender surfaces. Dead Sea water is two and a half\npounds heavier than fresh water, and among other things, it contains\nnearly two pounds of chloride of magnesium, and almost a pound of\nchloride of sodium, or common salt, to the gallon. Nothing but some very\nlow forms of animal life, unobserved by the ordinary traveler, can live\nin this sea. The fish that get into it from the Jordan soon die. Those\nwho bathe here usually drive over to the Jordan and bathe again, to\nremove the salt and other substances that remain on the body after the\nfirst bath. The greatest depth of the Dead Sea is a little over thirteen\nhundred feet. The wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood here some\nplace, but authorities disagree as to whether they were at the northern\nor southern end of the sea. In either case every trace of them has been\nwiped out by the awful destruction poured on them by the Almighty. (Gen.\n18:16 to 19:29)\n\nThe Jordan where we saw it, near the mouth, and at the time we saw it,\nthe thirteenth of October, was a quiet and peaceful stream, but the\nwater was somewhat muddy. We entered two little boats and had a short\nride on the river whose waters \"stood, and rose up in one heap, a great\nway off,\" that the children of Israel might cross (Joshua 3:14-17), and\nbeneath whose wave the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized by the\ngreat prophet of the Judaean wilderness. (Matt. 3:13-17.) We also got\nout a little while on the east bank of the stream, the only time I was\n\"beyond Jordan\" while in Palestine. After supper, eaten in Jericho, we\nwent around to a Bedouin encampment, where a dance was being executed--a\ndance different from any that I had ever seen before. One of the\ndancers, with a sword in hand, stood in the center of the ground they\nwere using, while the others stood in two rows, forming a right angle.\nThey went through with various motions and hand-clapping, accompanied\nby an indescribable noise at times. Some of the Bedouins were sitting\naround a small fire at one side, and some of the children were having a\nlittle entertainment of their own on another side of the dancing party.\nWe were soon satisfied, and made our way back to the hotel and laid down\nto rest.\n\nThe first Jericho was a walled city about two miles from the present\nvillage, perhaps at the spring already mentioned, and was the first city\ntaken in the conquest of the land under Joshua. The Jordan was crossed\nat Gilgal (Joshua 4:19), where the people were circumcised with knives\nof flint, and where the Jews made their first encampment west of the\nriver. (Joshua 5:2-10.) \"Jericho was straitly shut up because of the\nchildren of Israel,\" but by faithful compliance with the word of the\nLord the walls fell down. (Joshua 6:1-27.) \"And Joshua charged them with\nan oath at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah,\nthat riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: with the loss of his\nfirst-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his\nyoungest son shall he set up the gates of it.\" Regardless of this curse,\nwe read that in the days of Ahab, who \"did more to provoke Jehovah, the\nGod of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before\nhim, * * * did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation\nthereof with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates\nthereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word\nof Jehovah, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun\" (1 Kings 16:33,34).\n\"The Jericho * * * which was visited by Jesus occupied a still different\nsite,\" says Bro. McGarvey. The present Jericho is a small Arab village,\npoorly built, with a few exceptions, and having nothing beautiful in or\naround it but the large oleanders that grow in the ground made moist by\nwater from Elisha's Fountain. We had satisfactory accommodations at the\nhotel, which is one of the few good houses there. Jericho in the time of\nour Lord was the home of a rich publican named Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10),\nand was an important and wealthy city, that had been fortified by Herod\nthe Great, who constructed splendid palaces here, and it was here that\n\"this infamous tyrant died.\" The original Jericho, the home of Rahab the\nharlot, was called the \"city of palm trees\" (Deut. 34:3), but if the\nmodern representative of that ancient city has any of these trees, they\nare few in number. Across the Jordan eastward are the mountains of Moab,\nin one of which Moses died after having delivered his valedictory, as\nrecorded in Deuteronomy. (Deut. 34:1-12.) From a lofty peak the Lord\nshowed this great leader and law-giver a panorama of \"all the land of\nGilead unto Dan. * * * And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land which\nI sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it\nunto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou\nshalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in\nthe land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah. And he buried him\nin the valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man\nknoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.\"\n\nEarly Wednesday morning we began our toilsome journey back to Jerusalem,\nhaving nearly four thousand feet to climb in the twenty miles\nintervening. We stopped awhile at the Khan of the Good Samaritan, which\nstands near some old ruins, and may not be far from the place to which\nthe Good Samaritan carried his poor, wounded fellow-man so long ago.\nHere I bought some lamps that look old enough, but may be quite modern\nimitations of the kind that were carried in the days of the wise and\nfoolish virgins. A stop was also made at the Apostles' Fountain, near\nBethany, where I saw an Arab working bread on his coat, which was spread\non the ground. Over by the Damascus gate I one day saw a man feeding his\ncamel on his coat, so these coarse cloth garments are very serviceable\nindeed. We got back to Jerusalem in time to do a good deal of\nsight-seeing in the afternoon.\n\nThe following Tuesday was occupied with a trip on \"donkey-back\" to Nebi\nSamwil, Emmaus, Abu Ghosh, and Ain Kairim. Our party was small this\ntime, being composed of Mr. Jennings, Mr. Smith, the writer, and a\n\"donkey-boy\" to care for the three animals we rode, when we dismounted\nto make observations. He was liberal, and sometimes tried to tell us\nwhich way to go. We went out on the north side of the city and came to\nthe extensive burial places called the \"Tombs of the Judges.\" Near by is\nan ancient wine press cut in the rock near a rock-hewn cistern, which\nmay have been used for storing the wine. En Nebi Samwil is on an\nelevation a little more than three thousand feet above the sea and about\nfour hundred feet higher than Jerusalem, five miles distant. From the\ntop of the minaret we had a fine view through a field glass, seeing the\ncountry for many miles around. This is thought by some to be the Mizpah\nof the Bible (1 Kings 15:22), and tradition has it that the prophet\nSamuel was buried here. A little north of Nebi Samwil is the site of\nancient Gibeon, where \"Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before\nthe servants of David\" (2 Samuel 2:12-17).\n\nWe next rode over to El Kubebeh, supposed by some to be the Emmaus of\nNew Testament times, where Jesus went after his resurrection and sat at\nmeat with his disciples without being recognized. (Luke 24:13-25.) The\nplace has little to attract one. A modern building, which I took to be\nthe residence of some wealthy person, occupies a prominent position, and\nis surrounded by well-kept grounds, inclosed with a wall. The Franciscan\nmonastery is a good sized institution, having on its grounds the remains\nof a church of the Crusaders' period, over which a new and attractive\nbuilding has been erected. One section of it has the most beautiful\nfloor of polished marble, laid in patterns, that I have ever seen. It\nalso contains a painting of the Savior and the two disciples.\n\nWe went outside of the monastery to eat our noon-day lunch, but before\nwe finished, one of the monks came and called us in to a meal at\ntheir table. It was a good meal, for which no charge was made, and I\nunderstand it is their custom to give free meals to visitors, for they\nbelieve that Jesus here sat at meat with his two disciples. We enjoyed\ntheir hospitality, but drank none of the wine that was placed before us.\n\nOur next point was Abu Ghosh, named for an old village sheik who, \"with\nhis six brothers and eighty-five descendants, was the terror of the\nwhole country\" about a century ago. Our object in visiting the spot was\nto see the old Crusaders' church, the best preserved one in Palestine.\nThe stone walls are perhaps seven or eight feet thick. The roof is still\npreserved, and traces of the painting that originally adorned the walls\nare yet to be seen. A new addition has been erected at one end, and the\nold church may soon be put in repair.\n\nThe last place we visited before returning to Jerusalem was Ain Kairim,\na town occupied mainly by the Mohammedans, and said to have been the\nhome of that worthy couple of whom it was written: \"They were both\nrighteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of\nthe Lord blameless\" (Luke 1:6). The portion occupied by the Latins and\nGreeks is very beautifully situated on the side of the mountain. The\nstone houses, \"whited walls,\" and green cypresses make quite a pretty\npicture. The Church of St. John, according to tradition, stands on the\nspot where once dwelt Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John, the\ngreat forerunner of Jesus. Night came upon us before we got back to our\nstarting place, and as this was my first day of donkey riding, I was\nvery much fatigued when I finally dismounted in Jerusalem; yet I arose\nthe next morning feeling reasonably well, but not craving another donkey\nride over a rough country beneath the hot sun.\n\nOn Saturday, the twenty-second of October, I turned away from Jerusalem,\nhaving been in and around the place almost two weeks, and went back to\nJaffa by rail. After a few miles the railway leads past Bittir, supposed\nto be the Beth-arabah of Joshua 15:61. It is also of interest from the\nfact that it played a part in the famous insurrection of Bar Cochba\nagainst the Romans. In A.D. 135 it was captured by a Roman force after\na siege of three and a half years. Ramleh, a point twelve miles from\nJaffa, was once occupied by Napoleon. Lydda, supposed to be the Lod of\nEzra 2:33, was passed. Here Peter healed Aeneas, who had been palsied\neight years. (Acts 9:32-35.)\n\nJaffa is the Joppa of the Bible, and has a good deal of interesting\nhistory. When \"Jonah rose to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of\nJehovah,\" he \"went down to Joppa and found a ship going unto Tarshish:\nso he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to\nTarshish from the presence of Jehovah.\" (Jonah 1:3.) His unpleasant\nexperience with the great fish is well known. When Solomon was about to\nbuild the first temple, Hiram sent a communication to him, saying: \"We\nwill cut wood out of Lebanon as much as thou shalt need; and will bring\nit to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to\nJerusalem\" (2 Chron. 2:16). In the days of Ezra, when Zerubbabel\nrepaired the temple, we read that \"they gave money also unto the masons,\nand to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, unto them of Sidon,\nand to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, unto\nJoppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia\"\n(Ezra 3:7). It was the home of \"a certain disciple named Tabitha,\" whom\nPeter was called from Lydda to raise from the dead. (Acts 9:36-43.)\nSimon the tanner also lived in Joppa, and it was at his house that Peter\nhad his impressive vision of the sheet let down from heaven prior to his\ngoing to Caesarea to speak the word of salvation to Cornelius and his\nfriends. (Acts 10:1-6.)\n\nThe city is built on a rocky elevation rising one hundred feet above\nthe sea, which has no harbor here, so that vessels do not stop when the\nwater is too rough for passengers to be carried safely in small boats.\nExtensive orange groves are cultivated around Jaffa, and lemons are also\ngrown, and I purchased six for a little more than a cent in American\nmoney. Sesame, wine, wool, and soap are exported, and the imports are\nconsiderable. The train reached the station about the middle of the day,\nand the ship did not leave till night, so I had ample time to visit the\n\"house of Simon the tanner.\" It is \"by the sea side\" all right, but\nlooks too modern to be impressive to the traveler who does not accept\nall that tradition says. I paid Cook's tourist agency the equivalent of\na dollar to take me through the custom house and out to the ship, and I\ndo not regret spending the money, although it was five times as much as\nI had paid the native boatman for taking me ashore when I first came to\nJaffa. The sea was rough--very rough for me--and a little woman at my\nside was shaking with nervousness, although she tried to be brave, and\nher little boy took a firm hold on my clothing. I don't think that I was\nscared, but I confess that I did not enjoy the motion of the boat as it\nwent sliding down from the crest of the waves, which were higher than\nany I had previously ridden upon in a rowboat. As darkness had come, it\nwould have been a poor time to be upset, but we reached the vessel in\nsafety. When we came alongside the ship, a boatman on each side of the\npassenger simply pitched or threw him up on the stairs when the rising\nwave lifted the little boat to the highest point. It was easily done,\nbut it is an experience one need not care to repeat unnecessarily.\n\nI was now through with my sight-seeing in the Holy Land and aboard the\nAustrian ship _Maria Teresa_, which was to carry me to the land of the\nancient Pharaohs. Like Jonah, I had paid my fare, so I laid down to\nsleep. There was a rain in the night, but no one proposed to throw me\noverboard, and we reached Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal, the\nnext day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nEGYPT, THE LAND OF TOMBS AND TEMPLES.\n\n\nThe _Maria Teresa_ landed me in Port Said, Egypt, Lord's day, October\ntwenty-third, and at seven o'clock that evening I took the train for\nCairo, arriving there about four hours later. I had no difficulty in\nfinding a hotel, where I took some rest, but was out very early the next\nmorning to see something of the largest city in Africa. The population\nis a great mixture of French, Greeks, English, Austrians, Germans,\nEgyptians, Arabians, Copts, Berbers, Turks, Jews, Negroes, Syrians,\nPersians, and others. In Smyrna, Damascus, and Jerusalem, cities of the\nTurkish empire, the streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty, but here\nare many fine buildings, electric lights, electric cars, and good, wide\nstreets, over which vehicles with rubber tires roll noiselessly.\n\nI first went out to the Mokattam Heights, lying back of the city, at an\nelevation of six hundred and fifty feet. From the summit an extensive\nview can be obtained, embracing not only the city of Cairo, with its\nmany mosques and minarets, but the river beyond, and still farther\nbeyond the Gizeh (Gezer) group of the pyramids. The side of the Heights\ntoward the city is a vast quarry, from which large quantities of rock\nhave been taken. An old fort and a mosque stand in solitude on the top.\nI went out by the citadel and passed the mosque tombs of the Mamelukes,\nwho were originally brought into the country from the Caucasus as\nslaves, but they became sufficiently powerful to make one of their\nnumber Sultan in 1254. The tombs of the Caliphs, successors of Mohammed\nin temporal and spiritual power, are not far from the Heights.\n\nAs I was returning to the city, a laborer followed me a little distance,\nand indicated that he wanted my name written on a piece of paper he was\ncarrying. I accommodated him, but do not know for what purpose he wanted\nit. I stopped at the Alabaster Mosque, built after the fashion of one of\nthe mosques of Constantinople, and decorated with alabaster. The outside\nis full of little depressions, and has no special beauty, but the inside\nis more attractive. The entrance is through a large court, paved with\nsquares of white marble. The floor of the mosque was nicely covered with\ncarpet, and the walls are coated for a few feet with alabaster, and\nabove that they are painted in imitation of the same material. The\nnumerous lamps do much towards making the place attractive. The\nattendant said the central chandelier, fitted for three hundred and\nsixty-six candles, was a present from Louis Philippe, of France. A clock\nis also shown that came from the same source. The pulpit is a platform\nat the head of a stairway, and the place for reading the Koran is a\nsmall platform three or four feet high, also ascended by steps. Within\nan inclosure in one corner of the building is the tomb of Mohammed Ali,\nwhich, I was told, was visited by the Khedive the day before I was\nthere.\n\nThe most interesting part of the day was the afternoon trip to the nine\npyramids of the Gizeh group. They may be reached by a drive over the\nexcellent carriage road that leads out to them, or by taking one of the\nelectric cars that run along by this road. Three of the pyramids are\nlarge and the others are small, but one, the pyramid of Cheops, is built\non such magnificent proportions that it is called \"the great pyramid.\"\nAccording to Baedeker, \"the length of each side is now seven hundred and\nfifty feet, but was formerly about seven hundred and sixty-eight feet;\nthe present perpendicular height is four hundred and fifty-one feet,\nwhile originally, including the nucleus of the rock at the bottom and\nthe apex, which has now disappeared, it is said to have been four\nhundred and eighty-two feet. * * * In round numbers, the stupendous\nstructure covers an area of nearly thirteen acres.\"\n\nIt is estimated that two million three hundred thousand blocks of stone,\neach containing forty cubic feet, were required for building this\nancient and wonderful monument, upon which a hundred thousand men are\nsaid to have been employed for twenty years. Nearly all of the material\nwas brought across from the east side of the Nile, but the granite that\nentered into its construction was brought down from Syene, near Assouan,\nfive hundred miles distant. Two chambers are shown to visitors, one of\nthem containing an empty stone coffin. The passageway leading to these\nchambers is not easily traversed, as it runs at an angle like a stairway\nwith no steps, for the old footholds have become so nearly worn out that\nthe tourist might slip and slide to the bottom were it not for his\nArab helpers. A fee of one dollar secures the right to walk about the\ngrounds, ascend the pyramid, and go down inside of it. Three Arabs go\nwith the ticket, and two of them are really needed. Those who went\nwith me performed their work in a satisfactory manner, and while not\npermitted to ask for \"backshish,\" they let me know that they would\naccept anything I might have for them. The ascent was rather difficult,\nas some of the stones are more than a yard high. It is estimated that\nthis mighty monument, which Abraham may have looked upon, contains\nenough stone to build a wall around the frontier of France. Of the Seven\nWonders of the World, the Pyramid of Cheops alone remains. The other\nattractions here are the Granite Temple, and some tombs, from one of\nwhich a jackal ran away as we were approaching. I got back to Cairo\nafter dark, and took the eight o'clock train for Assouan.\n\nThis place is about seven hundred miles from Port Said by rail, and is\na good sized town. The main street, fronting the river, presents\na pleasing appearance with its hotels, Cook's tourist office, the\npostoffice, and other buildings. Gas and electricity are used for\nlighting, and the dust in the streets is laid by a real street\nsprinkler, and not by throwing the water on from a leathern bag, as I\nsaw it in Damascus. The Cataract Hotel is a large place for tourists,\nwith a capacity of three hundred and fifty people. The Savoy Hotel is\nbeautifully located on Elephantine Island, in front of the town. To\nthe south of the town lie the ancient granite quarries of Syene, which\nfurnished the Egyptian workmen building material so long ago, and still\nlack a great deal of being exhausted. I saw an obelisk lying here which\nis said to be ninety-two feet long and ten and a half feet wide in the\nbroadest part, but both ends of it were covered. In this section there\nis an English cemetery inclosed by a wall, and several tombs of the\nnatives, those of the sheiks being prominent.\n\nFarther to the south is a great modern work, the Nile dam, a mile and a\nquarter long, and built of solid masonry. In the deepest place it is one\nhundred feet high, and the thickness at the bottom is eighty-eight feet.\nIt was begun in 1899, and at one time upwards of ten thousand men were\nemployed on the works. It seemed to be finished when I was there, but a\nfew workmen were still engaged about the place. The total cost has been\nestimated at a sum probably exceeding ten millions of dollars. There are\none hundred and eighty sluices to regulate the out-flow of the water,\nwhich is collected to a height of sixty-five feet during the inundation\nof the Nile. The dam would have been made higher, but by so doing Philae\nIsland, a short distance up the river, would have been submerged.\n\nThe remains on this island are so well preserved that it is almost a\nmisnomer to call them ruins. The little island is only five hundred\nyards long and sixty yards wide, and contains the Temple of Isis, Temple\nof Hathor, a kiosk or pavilion, two colonnades, and a small Nilometer.\nIn the gateway to one of the temples is a French inscription concerning\nNapoleon's campaign in Egypt in 1799. All the buildings are of stone,\nand the outside walls are covered with figures and inscriptions. Some of\nthe figures are just cut in the rough, never having been finished. Here,\nas elsewhere in Egypt, very delicate carvings are preserved almost as\ndistinct as though done but recently. The guard on the island was not\ngoing to let me see the ruins because I held no ticket. After a little\ndelay, a small boat, carrying some diplomatic officers, came up. These\ngentlemen, one of whom was a Russian, I think, tried to get the guard to\nlet me see the place with them, but he hesitated, and required them to\ngive him a paper stating that I was there with them. Later, when I got\nto the place where the tickets were sold, I learned that Philae Island\nwas open for visitors without a ticket. Perhaps the guard thought he\nwould get some \"backshish\" from me.\n\nI made an interesting visit to the Bisharin village, just outside of\nAssouan, and near the railroad. The inhabitants are very dark-skinned,\nand live in booths or tents, covered with something like straw matting.\nI stopped at one of the lodges, which was probably six feet wide and\neight feet long, and high enough to enable the occupants to sit erect on\nthe floor. An old man, naked from the waist up, was sitting outside. A\nyoung woman was operating a small hand mill, and one or two other women\nwere sitting there on the ground. They showed me some long strings of\nbeads, and I made a purchase at a low price. While at this lodge, for I\ncan not call it a house, and it is not altogether like a tent, about\na dozen of the native children gathered around me, and one, who could\nspeak some English, endeavored to draw out part of my cash by repeating\nthis speech: \"Half a piaster, Mister; thank you very much.\" The girls\nhad their hair in small plaits, which seemed to be well waxed together.\nOne of the boys, about ten years of age, clothed in a peculiar manner,\nwas finely formed, and made a favorable impression on my mind. I would\nlike to see what could be made of him if he were taken entirely away\nfrom his unfavorable surroundings and brought up with the care and\nattention that many American boys receive. He and another lad went with\nme to see the obelisk in the granite quarry, and I tried to teach them\nto say: \"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.\" As I\nwas repeating the first word of the sentence and trying to induce one of\nthem to follow me, he said, \"No blessed,\" and I failed to get either of\nthem to say these beautiful words. In Egypt and other countries there\nare millions of persons just as ignorant of the gospel and just as much\nin need of it as the curly-headed Bisharin lad who conducted me to the\ngranite quarry.\n\nI took a pleasant boat ride across the river, past the beautiful grounds\nof the Savoy Hotel, to the rock tombs of the great persons of ancient\nElephantine. I tarried a little too long at the tombs, or else did not\nstart soon enough, for darkness came upon us soon after leaving them.\nFor some distance the boatman walked on the shore and towed the boat\nwith a long rope, while I tried to keep it off of the rocks with the\nrudder. There was not enough wind to make the sail useful, and as we\nwere passing around the end of Elephantine Island we drifted against\nthe rocks, but with no other loss than the loss of some time. It was my\ndesire to see the Nilometer on the island, and I did see it, but not\nuntil after I had sent the boatman to buy a candle. This ancient\nwater-gauge was repaired in 1870, after a thousand years of neglect.\nThe following description by Strabo is taken from Baedeker's _Guide to\nEgypt_: \"The Nilometer is a well, built of regular hewn stones, on the\nbank of the Nile, in which is recorded the rise of the stream--not only\nthe maximum, but also the minimum, and average rise, for the water in\nthe well rises and falls with the stream. On the side of the well are\nmarks measuring the height for the irrigation and other water levels.\nThese are published for general information. * * * This is of importance\nto the peasants for the management of the water, the embankments, the\ncanals, etc., and to the officials on account of the taxes, for the\nhigher the rise of the water, the higher the taxes.\" It needs to be\nsaid, however, that this \"well\" is not circular, but rectangular, and\nhas a flight of steps leading down to the water.\n\nOn the way back to Cairo I stopped at Luxor, on the site of the ancient\ncity of Thebes. The chief attraction here is the Temple of Luxor, six\nhundred and twenty-one feet long and one hundred and eighty feet wide.\nIn recent times this temple was entirely buried, and a man told me he\nowned a house on the spot which he sold to the government for about four\nhundred and fifty dollars, not knowing of the existence of a temple\nburied beneath his dwelling. Some of the original statues of Rameses II.\nremain in front of the ruins. I measured the right arm of one of these\nfigures, from the pit where it touches the side to the same point in\nfront, a distance of about six feet, and that does not represent the\nentire circumference, for the granite between the arm and the body was\nnever entirely cut away. Near by stands a large red granite obelisk,\nwith carvings from top to bottom. A companion to this one, for they were\nalways erected in pairs, has been removed. In ancient times a paved\nstreet led from this temple to Karnak, which is reached by a short walk.\nThis ancient street was adorned by a row of ram-headed sphinxes on each\nside. Toward Karnak many of them are yet to be seen in a badly mutilated\ncondition, but there is another avenue containing forty of these figures\nin a good state of preservation.\n\nThe first of the Karnak temples reached is one dedicated to the Theban\nmoon god, Khons, reared by Rameses III. The Temple of Ammon, called \"the\nthrone of the world,\" lies a little beyond. I spent half a day on the\nwest side of the river in what was the burial ground of ancient Thebes,\nwhere also numerous temples were erected. My first stop was before the\nruins of Kurna. The Temple of Sethos I. originally had ten columns\nbefore it, but one is now out of place. The Temple Der el Bahri bore an\nEnglish name, signifying \"most splendid of all,\" and it may not have\nbeen misnamed. It is situated at the base of a lofty barren cliff of a\nyellowish cast, and has been partially restored.\n\nIn 1881 a French explorer discovered the mummies of several Egyptian\nrulers in an inner chamber of this temple, that had probably been\nremoved to this place for security from robbers. In the number were the\nremains of Rameses II., who was probably reigning in the boyhood days of\nMoses, and the mummy of Set II., perhaps the Pharaoh of the Oppression,\nand I saw both of them in the museum in Cairo.\n\nThe Ramasseum is another large temple, built by Rameses II., who is\nsaid to have had sixty-nine sons and seventy daughters. There are also\nextensive remains of another temple called Medinet Habu. About a half a\nmile away from this ruin are the two colossal statues of Memnon,\nwhich were surrounded by water, so I could not get close to them. The\nfollowing dimensions of one of them are given: \"Height of the figure,\nfifty-two feet; height of the pedestal on which the feet rest, thirteen\nfeet; height of the entire monument, sixty-five feet. But when the\nfigure was adorned with the long-since vanished crown, the original\nheight may have reached sixty-nine feet. * * * Each foot is ten and\none-half feet long. * * * The middle finger on one hand is four and a\nhalf feet long, and the arm from the tip of the finger to the elbow\nmeasures fifteen and one-half feet.\"\n\nAll about these temples are indications of ancient graves, from which\nthe Arabs have dug the mummies. As I rode out, a boy wanted to sell me a\nmummy hand, and another had the mummy of a bird. They may both have been\ncounterfeits made especially for unsuspecting tourists. There are also\nextensive rock-cut tombs of the ancient kings and queens, which are\nlighted by electricity in the tourist season. I did not visit them on\naccount of the high price of admission. The government has very properly\ntaken charge of the antiquities, and a ticket is issued for six dollars\nthat admits to all these ruins in Upper Egypt. Tickets for any one\nparticular place were not sold last season, but tourists were allowed to\nvisit all places not inclosed without a ticket.\n\nWhile in Luxor I visited the American Mission Boarding School for Girls,\nconducted by Miss Buchanan, who was assisted by a Miss Gibson and five\nnative teachers. A new building, with a capacity for four hundred\nboarders, was being erected at a cost of about thirty-five thousand\ndollars. This would be the finest building for girls in Egypt when\nfinished, I was told, and most of the money for it had been given by\ntourists. I spent a night in Luxor, staying in the home of Youssef Sa\u00efd,\na native connected with the mission work. His uncle, who could not speak\nEnglish, expressed himself as being glad to have \"a preacher of Jesus\nChrist\" to stay in his house.\n\nLeaving Luxor, I returned to Cairo for some more sight-seeing, and I had\na very interesting time of it. In Gen. 41:45 we read: \"Pharaoh called\nJoseph's name Zaphenath-paneah; and gave him to wife Asenath, the\ndaughter of Potipherah, priest of On.\" Heliopolis, meaning city of the\nsun, is another name for this place, from whence the wife of Joseph\ncame. It is only a few miles from Cairo, and easily reached by railway.\nAll that I saw of the old city was a lonely obelisk, \"probably the\noldest one in the world,\" standing in a cultivated field and surrounded\nby the growing crop. It is sixty-six feet high, six feet square at the\nbase, and is well preserved.\n\nThe Ezbekiah Gardens are situated in the best portion of Cairo. This\nbeautiful park contains quite a variety of trees, including the banyan,\nand is a resort of many of the people. Band concerts are held, and a\nsmall entrance fee is taken at the gate.\n\nOn the thirtieth of the month I visited the Museum, which has been\nmoved to the city and installed in its own commodious and substantial\nbuilding. This vast collection of relics of this wonderful old country\naffords great opportunities for study. I spent a good deal of time there\nseeing the coffins of wood, white limestone, red granite, and alabaster;\nsacrificial tables, mummies, ancient paintings, weights and measures,\nbronze lamps, necklaces, stone and alabaster jars, bronze hinges,\narticles of pottery, and many other things. It is remarkable how some\nof the embalmed bodies, thousands of years old, are preserved. I looked\ndown upon the Pharaoh who is supposed to have oppressed Israel. The body\nis well preserved, but it brought thoughts to me of the smallness of the\nfleshly side of man. He who once ruled in royal splendor now lies there\nin very humble silence. In some cases the cloths wrapped around these\nmummies are preserved almost perfectly, and I remember a gilt mask that\nwas so bright that one might have taken it for a modern product. After\nthe body was securely wrapped, a picture was sometimes painted over the\nface, and now, after the lapse of centuries, some of these are very\nclear and distinct. I saw a collection of scarabaei, or beetles, which\nwere anciently worshiped in this country. Dealers offer figures of this\nkind for sale, but the most of them are probably manufactured for the\ntourist trade.\n\nOn Lord's day, October thirtieth, I attended the evening services at the\nAmerican Mission, and went to Bedrashen the following day. This is the\nnearest railway station to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, now an\nirregular pile of ruined mud bricks. I secured a donkey, and a boy to\ncare for it and tell me where to go. We soon passed the dilapidated\nruins of the old capital. Two prostrate statues of great size were seen\non the way to the Step Pyramid of Sakkara, which is peculiar in that it\nis built with great offsets or steps, still plainly visible, although\nlarge quantities of the rock have crumbled and fallen down. The\nDepartment of Antiquities has posted a notice in French, Arabic and\nEnglish, to the effect that it is dangerous to make the ascent, and that\nthe government will not be responsible for accidents to tourists who\nundertake it. I soon reached the top without any special difficulty,\nand with no more danger, so far as I could see, than one experiences\nin climbing a steep hill strewn with rocks. I entered another pyramid,\nwhich has a stone in one side of it twenty-five feet long and about five\nand a half feet high. Some more tombs were visited, and the delicate\ncarving on the inner walls was observed. In one instance a harvest scene\nwas represented, in another the fish in a net could be discerned. The\nSerapeum is an underground burial place for the sacred bull, discovered\nby Mariette in 1850, after having been buried since about 1400 B.C. In\nthose times the bull was an object of worship in Egypt, and when one\ndied, he was carefully embalmed and put in a stone coffin in one of the\nchambers of the Serapeum. Some of these coffins are twelve feet high and\nfifteen feet long.\n\nBefore leaving Cairo, I went into the famous Shepheard's Hotel, where I\nreceived some information about the place from the manager, who looked\nlike a well-salaried city pastor. The Grand Continental presents a\nbetter appearance on the outside, but I do not believe it equals\nShepheard's on the inside. I was now ready to turn towards home, so I\ndropped down to Port Said again, where there is little of interest to\nthe tourist except the ever-changing panorama of ships in the mouth of\nthe Suez Canal, and the study of the social condition of the people. My\ndelay in the city while waiting for a ship gave me a good deal of\ntime for writing and visiting the missionaries. The Seamen's Rest is\nconducted by Mr. Locke, who goes out in the harbor and gathers up\nsailors in his steam launch, and carries them back to their vessels\nafter the service. One night, after speaking in one of these meetings, I\nrode out with him. The American Mission conducts a school for boys, and\nFeltus Hanna, the native superintendent, kindly showed me around. The\nPeniel Mission is conducted by two American ladies. The British and\nForeign Bible Society has a depot here, and keeps three men at work\nvisiting ships in the harbor all the time. I attended the services\nin the chapel of the Church of England one morning. With all these\nreligious forces the city is very wicked. The street in which my hotel\nwas located was largely given up to drinking and harlotry.\n\nOn the ninth of November the French ship _Congo_ stopped in the harbor,\nand I went down late in the evening to embark, but the authorities would\nnot permit me to go aboard, because I had not been examined by the\nmedical officer, who felt my pulse and signed a paper that was never\ncalled for, and I went aboard all right. The ship stopped at Alexandria,\nand I went around in the city, seeing nothing of equal interest to\nPompey's Pillar, a monument standing ninety-eight feet and nine inches\nhigh. The main shaft is seventy-three feet high and nearly thirty feet\nin circumference. We reached Marseilles in the evening of November\nsixteenth, after experiencing some weather rough enough to make me\nuncomfortable, and several of the others were really seasick. I had\nseveral hours in Paris, which was reached early the next day, and the\nUnited States consulate and the Louvre, the national museum of France,\nwere visited. From Paris I went to London by way of Dieppe and New\nHaven. I left summer weather in Egypt, and found that winter was on hand\nin France and England. London was shrouded in a fog. I went back to my\nfriends at Twynholm, and made three addresses on Lord's day, and spoke\nagain on Monday night. I sailed from Liverpool for New York on the _SS.\nCedric_ November twenty-third. We were in the harbor at Queenstown,\nIreland, the next day, and came ashore at the New York custom house on\nthe second of December. The _Cedric_ was then the second largest ship in\nthe world, being seven hundred feet long and seventy-five feet broad.\nShe carries a crew of three hundred and forty, and has a capacity for\nover three thousand passengers. On this trip she carried one thousand\nthree hundred and thirty-six, and the following twenty classes of people\nwere represented: Americans, English, French, German, Danes, Norwegians,\nRoumanians, Spanish, Arabs, Japanese, Negroes, Greeks, Russian Jews,\nFins, Swedes, Austrians, Armenians, Poles, Irish, and Scotch. A great\nstream of immigrants is continually pouring into the country at this\npoint. Twelve thousand were reported as arriving in one day, and a\nrecent paper contains a note to the effect that the number arriving in\nJune will exceed eighty thousand, as against fifty thousand in June\nof last year. \"The character of the immigrants seems to grow steadily\nworse.\"\n\nMy traveling companion from Port Said to Marseilles and from Liverpool\nto New York was Solomon Elia, who had kindly shown me through the\nIsraelite Alliance School in Jerusalem. I reached Philadelphia the same\nday the ship landed in New York, but was detained there with brethren\non account of a case of quinsy. I reached home on the fourteenth of\nDecember, after an absence of five months and three days, in which\ntime I had seen something of fourteen foreign countries, having a very\nenjoyable and profitable trip.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nGEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.\n\n\nThis section of country has been known by several names. It has been\ncalled the \"Land of Canaan,\" the \"Land of Israel,\" the \"Land of\nPromise,\" the \"Land of the Hebrews,\" and the \"Holy Land.\" Canaan was\nsimply the country between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, extending\nfrom Mt. Lebanon on the north to the Desert of Arabia on the south. Dan\nwas in the extreme northern part, and Beer-sheba lay in the southern end\nof the country, one hundred and thirty-nine miles distant. The average\nwidth of the land is about forty miles, and the total area is in the\nneighborhood of six thousand miles. \"It is not in size or physical\ncharacteristics proportioned to its moral and historical position as the\ntheater of the most momentous events in the world's history.\" Palestine,\nthe land occupied by the twelve tribes, included the Land of Canaan and\na section of country east of the Jordan one hundred miles long and about\ntwenty-five miles wide, occupied by Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of\nManasseh. The Land of Promise was still more extensive, reaching\nfrom \"the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates,\"\nembracing about sixty thousand square miles, or a little less than\nthe five New England States. The country is easily divided into four\nparallel strips. Beginning at the Mediterranean, we have the Maritime\nPlain, the Mountain Region, the Jordan Valley, and the Eastern\nTable-Land.\n\nThe long stretch of lowland known as the Maritime Plain is divided\ninto three sections. The portion lying north of Mt. Carmel was called\nPhoenicia. It varies in width from half a mile in the north to eight\nmiles in the south. The ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon belonged to\nthis section. Directly east of Mt. Carmel is the Plain of Esdraelon,\nphysically a part of the Maritime Plain. It is an irregular triangle,\nwhose sides are fourteen, sixteen, and twenty-five miles respectively,\nthe longest side being next to Mt. Carmel. Here Barak defeated the army\nof Sisera under Jabin, and here Josiah, king of Judah, was killed in a\nbattle with the Egyptians under Pharaoh-necoh.\n\nThe Plains of Sharon and Philistia, lying south of Carmel, are usually\nregarded as the true Maritime Plain. Sharon extends southward from\nCarmel about fifty miles, reaching a little below Jaffa, and has an\naverage width of eight miles. The Zerka, or Crocodile river, which\ntraverses this plain, is the largest stream of Palestine west of the\nJordan. There are several other streams crossing the plain from the\nmountains to the sea, but they usually cease to flow in the summer\nseason. Joppa, Lydda, Ramleh, and Caesarea belong to this plain. Herod\nthe Great built Caesarea, and spent large sums of money on its palace,\ntemple, theater, and breakwater.\n\nThe Plain of Philistia extends thirty or forty miles from the southern\nlimits of Sharon to Gaza, varying in width from twelve to twenty-five\nmiles. It is well watered by several streams, some of which flow all the\nyear. Part of the water from the mountains flows under the ground and\nrises in shallow lakes near the coast. Water can easily be found here,\nas also in Sharon, by digging wells, and the soil is suitable for the\nculture of small grains and for pasture. During a part of the year the\nplain is beautifully ornamented with a rich growth of brightly colored\nflowers, a characteristic of Palestine in the wet season.\n\nGaza figures in the history of Samson, who \"laid hold of the doors of\nthe gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and\nall, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the\nmountain that is before Hebron.\" Ashkelon, on the coast, is connected\nwith the history of the Crusades. Ashdod, or Azotus, is where Philip was\nfound after the baptism of the eunuch. It is said that Psammetichus,\nan ancient Egyptian king, captured this place after a siege of\ntwenty-seven years. Ekron and Gath also belonged to this plain.\n\nThe ridge of mountains lying between the coast plain and the Jordan\nvalley form the backbone of the country. Here, more than elsewhere,\nthe Israelites made their homes, on account of the hostility of the\ninhabitants in the lowlands. This ridge is a continuation of the Lebanon\nrange, and extends as far south as the desert. In Upper Galilee the\nmountains reach an average height of two thousand eight hundred feet\nabove sea level, but in Lower Galilee they are a thousand feet lower. In\nSamaria and Judaea they reach an altitude of two or three thousand feet.\nThe foot-hills, called the Shefelah, and the Negeb, or \"South Country,\"\ncomplete the ridge. The highest peak is Jebel Mukhmeel, in Northern\nPalestine, rising ten thousand two hundred feet above the sea. Mt.\nTabor, in Galilee, is one thousand eight hundred and forty-three feet\nhigh, while Gerizim and Ebal, down in Samaria, are two thousand eight\nhundred and fifty feet and three thousand and seventy-five feet\nrespectively. The principal mountains in Judaea are Mt. Zion, two\nthousand five hundred and fifty feet; Mt. Moriah, about one hundred feet\nlower; Mount of Olives, two thousand six hundred and sixty-five feet,\nand Mt. Hebron, three thousand and thirty feet. Nazareth, Shechem,\nJerusalem, and Hebron belong to the Mountain Region.\n\nThe Jordan Valley is the lowest portion of the earth's surface. No other\ndepressions are more than three hundred feet below sea level, but the\nJordan is six hundred and eighty-two feet lower than the ocean at the\nSea of Galilee, and nearly thirteen hundred feet lower where it enters\nthe Dead Sea. This wonderful depression, which includes the Dead Sea,\nforty-five miles long, and the valley south of it, one hundred miles in\nlength, is two hundred and fifty miles long and from four to fourteen\nmiles in width, and is called the Arabah. The sources of the Jordan\nare one hundred and thirty-four miles from the mouth, but the numerous\nwindings of the stream make it two hundred miles long. The Jordan\nis formed by the union of three streams issuing from springs at an\nelevation of seventeen hundred feet above the sea. The principal source\nis the spring at Dan, one of the largest in the world, as it sends forth\na stream twenty feet wide and from twenty to thirty inches deep. The\nspring at Banias, the Caesarea Philippi of the Scriptures, is the\neastern source. The Hashbany flows from a spring forming the western\nsource. A few miles south of the union of the streams above mentioned\nthe river widens into the waters of Merom, a small lake nearly on a\nlevel with the Mediterranean. In the next few miles it descends rapidly,\nand empties into the Sea of Galilee, called also the Sea of Chinnereth,\nSea of Tiberias, and Lake of Gennesaret. In the sixty-five miles from\nthe Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea the fall is about six hundred feet.\nThe rate of descent is not uniform throughout the whole course of the\nriver. In one section it drops sixty feet to the mile, while there is\none stretch of thirteen miles with a descent of only four and a half\nfeet to the mile. The average is twenty-two feet to the mile. The width\nvaries from eighty to one hundred and eighty feet, and the depth from\nfive to twelve feet. Caesarea Philippi, at the head of the valley,\nCapernaum, Magdala, Tiberias, and Tarrichaea were cities on the Sea of\nGalilee. Jericho and Gilgal were in the plain at the southern extremity,\nand Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, upon which the wrath of God was\npoured, were somewhere in the region of the Dead Sea.\n\nThe Eastern Table-Land has a mountain wall four thousand feet high\nfacing the river. This table-land, which is mostly fertile, extends\neastward about twenty miles, and terminates in the Arabian Desert, which\nis still higher. Here the mountains are higher and steeper than those\nwest of the Jordan. Mt. Hermon, in the north, is nine thousand two\nhundred feet high. South of the Jarmuk River is Mt. Gilead, three\nthousand feet high, and Mt. Nebo, lying east of the northern end of the\nDead Sea, reaches an elevation of two thousand six hundred and seventy\nfeet. Besides the Jarmuk, another stream, the Jabbok, flows into the\nJordan from this side. The Arnon empties into the Dead Sea. The northern\nsection was called Bashan, the middle, Gilead, and the southern part,\nMoab. Bashan anciently had many cities, and numerous ruins yet remain.\nIn the campaign of Israel against Og, king of Bashan, sixty cities\nwere captured. Many events occurred in Gilead, where were situated\nJabesh-Gilead, Ramoth-Gilead, and the ten cities of the Decapolis, with\nthe exception of Beth-shean, which was west of the Jordan. From the\nsummit of Mt. Pisgah, a peak of Mt. Nebo, Moses viewed the Land\nof Promise, and from these same heights Balaam looked down on the\nIsraelites and undertook to curse them, Moab lies south of the Arnon\nand east of the Dead Sea. In the time of a famine, an Israelite, named\nElimelech, with his wife and sons, sojourned in this land. After the\ndeath of Elimelech and both of his sons, who had married in the land,\nNaomi returned to Bethlehem, accompanied by her daughter-in-law, Ruth,\nthe Moabitess, who came into the line of ancestry of David and of the\nLord Jesus Christ. Once, when the kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom\ninvaded the land, the king of Moab (when they came to Kir-hareseth,\nthe capital) took his oldest son, who would have succeeded him on the\nthrone, \"and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall.\" At this\nthe invaders \"departed from him and returned to their own land.\"\n\nThe political geography of Palestine is so complicated that it can not\nbe handled in the space here available. Only a few words, applicable\nto the country in New Testament times, can be said. The provinces of\nGalilee, Samaria, and Judaea were on the west side of the Jordan, while\nthe Decapolis and Perea lay east of that river. The northern province\nof Galilee, which saw most of the ministry of Jesus, extended from the\nMediterranean to the Sea of Galilee, and a much greater distance from\nthe north to the south. It was peopled with Jews, and was probably a\nmuch better country than is generally supposed, as it contained a large\nnumber of cities and villages, and produced fish, oil, wheat, wine,\nfigs, and flax. \"It was in Christ's time one of the gardens of the\nworld--well watered, exceedingly fertile, thoroughly cultivated, and\ncovered with a dense population.\"--_Merrill_.\n\nSamaria, lying south of Galilee, extended from the Mediterranean to the\nJordan, and was occupied by a mixed race, formed by the mingling of Jews\nwith the foreigners who had been sent into the land. When they were\ndisfellowshiped by the Jews, about 460 B.C., they built a temple on Mt.\nGerizim.\n\nThe province of Judaea was the largest in Palestine, and extended from\nthe Mediterranean on the west to the Dead Sea and the Jordan on the\neast. It was bounded on the north by Samaria, and on the south by the\ndesert. Although but fifty-five miles long and about thirty miles wide,\nit held out against Egypt, Babylonia, and Rome.\n\nThe Decapolis, or region of ten Gentile cities, was the northeastern\npart of Palestine, extending eastward from the Jordan to the desert.\nPerea lay south of the Decapolis, and east of the Jordan and Dead Sea.\nThe kingdom of Herod the Great, whose reign ended B.C. 4, included\nall of this territory. After his death the country was divided into\ntetrarchies. Archelaus ruled over Judaea and Samaria; Antipas (\"Herod\nthe tetrarch\") had control of Galilee and Perea; Philip had a section of\ncountry east of the Sea of Galilee, and Lysanius ruled over Abilene, a\nsmall section of country between Mt. Hermon and Damascus, not included\nin the domain of Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa was made king by\nCaligula, and his territory embraced all that his grandfather, Herod the\nGreat, had ruled over, with Abilene added, making his territory more\nextensive than that of any Jewish king after Solomon. He is the \"Herod\nthe king\" who killed the Apostle James and imprisoned Peter. After\ndelivering an oration at Caesarea, he died a horrible death, \"because\nhe gave not God the glory.\" At his death, in A.D. 44, the country was\ndivided into two provinces. The northern section was ruled by Herod\nAgrippa II. till the Jewish State was dissolved, in A.D. 70. He was the\n\"King Agrippa\" before whom Paul spoke. The southern part of the country,\ncalled the province of Judaea, was ruled by procurators having their\nseat at Caesarea. When Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, the country\nwas annexed to Syria.\n\nThe climate depends more upon local conditions than on the latitude,\nwhich is the same as Southern Georgia and Alabama, Jerusalem being on\nthe parallel of Savannah. In point of temperature it is about the same\nas these localities, but in other respects it differs much. The year has\ntwo seasons--the dry, lasting from the first of April to the first of\nNovember, and the rainy season, lasting the other five months, during\nwhich time there are copious rains. One authority says: \"Were the old\ncisterns cleaned and mended, and the beautiful tanks and aqueducts\nrepaired, the ordinary fall of rain would be quite sufficient for the\nwants of the inhabitants and for irrigation.\" The summers are hot, the\nwinters mild. Snow sometimes falls, but does not last long, and ice is\nseldom formed.\n\nPalestine is not a timbered country. The commonest oak is a low, scrubby\nbush. The \"cedars of Lebanon\" have almost disappeared. The carob\ntree, white poplar, a thorn bush, and the oleander are found in some\nlocalities. The principal fruit-bearing trees are the fig, olive, date\npalm, pomegranate, orange, and lemon. Grapes, apples, apricots, quinces,\nand other fruits also grow here. Wheat, barley, and a kind of corn are\nraised, also tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, and tobacco. The ground\nis poorly cultivated with inferior tools, and the grain is tramped out\nwith cattle, as in the long ago.\n\nSheep and goats are the most numerous domestic animals, a peculiarity of\nthe sheep being the extra large \"fat tail\" (Lev. 3:9), a lump of pure\nfat from ten to fifteen inches long and from three to five inches thick.\nCattle, camels, horses, mules, asses, dogs and chickens are kept.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nHISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE.\n\n\nIn the ancient Babylonian city called Ur of the Chaldees lived the\npatriarch Terah, who was the father of three sons, Abram, Nahor, and\nHaran. Lot was the son of Haran, who died in Ur. Terah, accompanied by\nAbram, Sarai, and Lot, started for \"the land of Canaan,\" but they \"came\nunto Haran and dwelt there,\" \"and Terah died in Haran.\" \"Now Jehovah\nsaid unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and\nfrom thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will\nmake of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name\ngreat; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee,\nand him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the\nfamilies of the earth be blessed.\" So Abram, Sarai, and Lot came into\nthe land of Canaan about 2300 B.C., and dwelt first at Shechem, but \"he\nremoved from thence unto the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched\nhis tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.\" Abram did not\nremain here, but journeyed to the south, and when a famine came, he\nentered Egypt. Afterwards he returned to the southern part of Canaan,\nand still later he returned \"unto the place where his tent had been at\nthe beginning, between Bethel and Ai. * * * And Lot also, who went with\nAbram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.\" On account of some discord\nbetween the herdsmen of the two parties, \"Abram said unto Lot, Let there\nbe no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my\nherdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren.\" Accepting his uncle's\nproposition, Lot chose the well watered Plain of the Jordan, \"journeyed\neast,\" \"and moved his tent as far as Sodom,\" but \"Abram moved his tent,\nand came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron.\"\n\nSome time after this Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, entered the region\noccupied by Lot, and overcame the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah,\nZeboiim, and Bela, carrying away the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah,\n\"and they took Lot * * * and his goods.\" \"And there came one that had\nescaped, and told Abram the Hebrew,\" who \"led forth his trained men,\nborn in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as\nDan.\" As a result of this hasty pursuit, Abram \"brought back all the\ngoods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the\nwomen also, and the people.\" \"The king of Sodom went out to meet\" Abram\nafter his great victory, and offered him the goods for his services,\nbut the offer was refused. Abram was also met by \"Melchizedek, king of\nSalem,\" who \"brought forth bread and wine,\" and \"blessed him.\" Before\nhis death, the first Hebrew saw the smoke from Sodom and Gomorrah going\nup \"as the smoke of a furnace,\" and he also passed through the severe\ntrial of sacrificing his son Isaac. At the age of one hundred and\nseventy-five \"the father of the faithful\" \"gave up the ghost, and died\nin a good old age, an old man and full of years, * * * and Isaac and\nIshmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah,\" at Hebron, where\nSarah had been laid to rest when the toils and cares of life were over.\n\nFrom Abraham, through Ishmael, descended the Ishmaelites; through\nMidian, the Midianites; and through Isaac, the chosen people, called\nIsraelites, from Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. The\ninteresting story of Joseph tells how his father and brothers, with\ntheir families, were brought into Egypt at the time of a famine, where\nthey grew from a few families to a great nation, capable of maintaining\nan army of more than six hundred thousand men. A new king, \"who knew\nnot Joseph,\" came on the throne, and after a period of oppression, the\nexodus took place, about 1490 B.C., the leader being Moses, a man eighty\nyears of age. At his death, after forty years of wandering in the\nwilderness, Joshua became the leader of Israel, and they crossed the\nJordan at Gilgal, a few miles north of the Dead Sea, capturing Jericho\nin a peculiar manner. Two other incidents in the life of Joshua may\nbe mentioned here. One was his victory over the Amorites in the\nneighborhood of Gibeon and Beth-horon, where more were slain by the\nhailstones which Jehovah cast down upon them than were killed by Israel\nwith the sword. It was on this occasion that Joshua said: \"Sun, stand\nthou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And\nthe sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged\nthemselves of their enemies. * * * And there was no day like that before\nor after it.\" The other event is the complete victory of Israel over the\nimmense army of Jabin, king of Hazor, fought at the Waters of Merom, in\nGalilee. The combined forces of Jabin and several confederate kings,\n\"even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses\nand chariots very many,\" were utterly destroyed. Then came the allotment\nof the territory west of the Jordan to the nine and a half tribes, as\nReuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had been assigned land east\nof the river. The allotment was made by Joshua, Eleazer, the priest,\n\"and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of\nIsrael.\"\n\nThe period of the Judges, extending from Joshua to Saul, over three\nhundred years, was a time in which Israel was troubled by several\nheathen tribes, including the Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites,\nAmalekites, and Canaanites. The most troublesome of all were the\nPhilistines, who \"were repulsed by Shamgar and harassed by Samson,\" but\nthey continued their hostility, capturing the Ark of the Covenant in the\ndays of Eli, and finally bringing Israel so completely under their power\nthat they had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their tools.\n\nThe cry was raised: \"Make us a king to judge us, like all the nations.\"\nAlthough this was contrary to the will of God, and amounted to rejecting\nthe Lord, the Almighty gave directions for making Saul king, when the\nrebellious Israelites \"refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel,\" and\nsaid: \"Nay, but we will have a king over us.\" Two important events in\nSaul's reign are the battle of Michmash and the war with Amalek. In the\nfirst instance a great host of Philistines were encamped at Michmash,\nand Saul, with his army, was at Gilgal. Samuel was to come and offer a\nsacrifice, but did not arrive at the appointed time, and the soldiers\ndeserted, till Saul's force numbered only about six hundred. In his\nstrait, the king offered the burnt offering himself, and immediately\nSamuel appeared, heard his explanation, and declared: \"Thou hast done\nfoolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God. * *\n* Now thy kingdom shall not continue.\" Saul's loyalty to God was again\ntested in the affair with Amalek, and his disobedience in sparing Agag\nand the best of the cattle and sheep should be better known and more\nheeded than it is. Concerning this, the prophet of God chastised him,\nsaying: \"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken\nthan the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and\nstubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the\nword of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.\" The dark\npicture of Saul's doings is here and there relieved by the unadulterated\nlove of Jonathan and David, \"which, like the glintings of the diamond in\nthe night,\" takes away some of the deepest shadows.\n\nThe next king, Jesse's ruddy-faced shepherd boy, was anointed by Samuel\nat Bethlehem, and for seven and a half years he reigned over Judah from\nhis capital at Hebron. Abner made Ish-bosheth, the only surviving son\nof Saul, king over Israel, \"and he reigned two years. But the house of\nJudah followed David.\" Abner, who had commanded Saul's army, became\noffended at the king he had made, and went to Hebron to arrange with\nDavid to turn Israel over to him, but Joab treacherously slew him in\nrevenge for the blood of Asahel. It was on this occasion that David\nuttered the notable words: \"Know ye not that there is a prince and a\ngreat man fallen this day in Israel?\" Afterwards Rechab and Baanah slew\nIsh-bosheth in his bedchamber and carried his head to David, who was so\ndispleased that he caused them to be killed, and their hands and feet\nwere cut off and hanged up by the pool in Hebron. Then the tribes of\nIsrael came voluntarily and made themselves the subjects of King David,\nwho captured Jebus, better known as Jerusalem, and moved his capital to\nthat city. During his reign the Philistines were again troublesome, and\na prolonged war was waged against the Ammonites. During this war David\nhad his record stained by his sinful conduct in the matter of Uriah's\nwife.\n\nDavid was a fighting king, and his \"reign was a series of trials and\ntriumphs.\" He not only subdued the Philistines, but conquered Damascus,\nMoab, Ammon, and Edom, and so extended his territory from the\nMediterranean to the Euphrates that it embraced ten times as much as\nSaul ruled over. But his heart was made sad by the shameful misconduct\nof Amnon, followed by his death, and by the conspiracy of Absalom, the\nrebellion following, and the death of this beautiful son. \"The story of\nDavid's hasty flight from Jerusalem over Olivet and across the Jordan to\nescape from Absalom is touchingly sad. 'And David went up by the ascent\nof the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up, and he had his head\ncovered, and went barefoot.' Then what a picture of paternal love,\nwhich the basest filial ingratitude could not quench, is that of David\nmourning the death of Absalom, 'The king was much moved, and went up to\nthe chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O,\nmy son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O\nAbsalom, my son, my son!'\" After finishing out a reign of forty years,\n\"the sweet singer of Israel\" \"slept with his fathers, and was buried in\nthe city of David.\"\n\nHis son Solomon succeeded him on the throne, and had a peaceful reign of\nforty years, during which time the Temple on Mount Moriah was erected,\nbeing the greatest work of his reign. David had accumulated much\nmaterial for this house; Hiram, king of Tyre, furnished cedar timber\nfrom the Lebanon mountains, and skilled workmen put up the building,\ninto which the Ark of the Covenant was borne. This famous structure was\nnot remarkable for its great size, but for the splendid manner in which\nit was adorned with gold and other expensive materials. Israel's wisest\nmonarch was a man of letters, being the author of three thousand\nproverbs and a thousand and five songs. His wisdom exceeded that of all\nhis contemporaries, \"and all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to\nhear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.\" A case in point is the\nvisit of the Queen of Sheba, who said: \"The half was not told me; thy\nwisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard.\" But the glory of\nhis kingdom did not last long. \"It dazzled for a brief space, like the\nblaze of a meteor, and then vanished away.\" Nehemiah says there was no\nking like him, \"nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin.\"\n\nSolomon's reign ended about 975 B C., and his son, Rehoboam, was\ncoronated at Shechem. Jereboam, the son of Nebat, whose name is\nproverbial for wickedness, returned from Egypt, whence he had fled from\nSolomon, and asked the new king to make the grievous service of his\nfather lighter, promising to support him on that condition. Rehoboam\ncounseled \"with the old men, that had stood before Solomon,\" and refused\ntheir words, accepting the counsel of the young men that had grown up\nwith him. When he announced that he would make the yoke of his father\nheavier, the ten northern tribes revolted, and Jereboam became king of\nwhat is afterwards known as the house of Israel. The kingdom lasted\nabout two hundred and fifty years, being ruled over by nineteen kings,\nbut the government did not run smoothly. \"Plot after plot was formed,\nand first one adventurer and then another seized the throne.\" Besides\nthe internal troubles, there were numerous wars. Benhadad, of Damascus,\nbesieged Samaria; Hazael, king of Syria, overran the land east of the\nJordan; Moab rebelled; Pul (Tiglath-pileser), king of Assyria, invaded\nthe country, and carried off a large amount of tribute, probably\namounting to two millions of dollars; and thirty years later he entered\nthe land and carried away many captives. At a later date the people\nbecame idolatrous, and Shalmaneser, an Assyrian king, reduced them to\nsubjection, and carried numbers of them into Assyria, and replaced them\nwith men from Babylon and other places. By the intermarriage of Jews\nremaining in the country with these foreigners a mixed race, called\nSamaritans, sprang up.\n\nThe southern section of the country, known as the kingdom of Judah, was\nruled over by nineteen kings and one queen for a period of about three\nhundred and seventy-five years. Asa, one of the good kings, was a\nreligious reformer--even \"his mother he removed from being queen,\nbecause she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut\ndown her image and burnt it at the brook Kidron.\" But he, like many\nother reformers, failed to make his work thorough, for \"the high places\nwere not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with\nJehovah all his days.\" Joash caused a chest to be placed \"at the gate of\nthe house of Jehovah,\" into which the people put \"the tax that Moses,\nthe servant of God, laid upon Israel in the wilderness,\" until they\nhad gathered an abundance of money, with which the house of God was\nrepaired, for the wicked sons of Athaliah had broken it up and bestowed\nthe dedicated things upon the Baalim. But after the death of Jehoida,\nthe priest, Joash was himself led into idolatry, and when Zechariah, the\nson of Jehoida, rebuked the people for turning from God, they stoned him\nto death by the order of King Joash. The last words of the dying\nmartyr were: \"The Lord look upon it and require it.\" This is strangely\ndifferent from the last expression of Stephen, who \"kneeled down, and\ncried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.\"\nAmaziah returned \"from the slaughter of the Edomites,\" and set up the\ngods of the idolatrous enemies he had whipped, \"to be his gods.\" Ahaz\nwas a wicked idolater, worshiping Baal and sacrificing his own sons.\n\nIn strong contrast with such men as these we have the name of\nHezekiah, whose prosperous reign was a grand period of reformation and\nimprovement. He was twenty-five years old when he came on the throne,\nand in the twenty-nine years he ruled, \"he removed the high places, and\nbrake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah.\" The brazen serpent,\nmade by Moses in the wilderness, had become an object of worship, but\nHezekiah called it \"a piece of brass,\" and broke it in pieces. The\npassover had not been kept \"in great numbers in such sort as it is\nwritten,\" so Hezekiah sent messengers from city to city to call the\npeople to observe the passover. Some \"laughed them to scorn, and mocked\nthem,\" but others \"humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem,\" and in\nthe second month the \"very great assembly * * * killed the passover. * *\n* So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the\nson of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem.\"\n\nManasseh, the next king, re\u00ebstablished idolatry, and his son Amon,\nwho ruled but two years, followed in his footsteps. Josiah, who next\noccupied the throne, was a different kind of a man. \"He did that which\nwas right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his\nfather, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.\" In his\nreign, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the temple, and\ndelivered it to Shaphan the scribe, who read it, and took it to the king\nand read it to him. \"And it came to pass when the king heard the words\nof the book of the law, that he rent his clothes,\" and commanded that\ninquiry be made of the Lord concerning the contents of the book. As a\nresult, the temple was cleansed of the vessels that had been used in\nBaal worship, the idolatrous priests were put down, the \"houses of the\nsodomites,\" that were in the house of Jehovah, were broken down, the\nhigh places erected by Solomon were defiled, and a great reformation was\nworked.\n\nZedekiah was the last king in the line. In his day, Nebuchadnezzar, king\nof Babylon, invaded the land, and besieged Jerusalem for sixteen months,\nreducing the people to such straits that women ate the flesh of their\nown children. When the city fell, a portion of the inhabitants were\ncarried to Babylon, and the furnishings of the temple were taken away\nas plunder. Zedekiah, with his family, sought to escape, going out\nover Olivet as David in his distress had done, but he was captured and\ncarried to Riblah, thirty-five miles north of Baalbec, where his sons\nwere slain in his presence. Then his eyes were put out, and he was\ncarried to Babylon. In this way were fulfilled the two prophecies, that\nhe should be taken to Babylon, and that he should not see it.\n\nThus, with Jerusalem a mass of desolate, forsaken ruins, the Babylonian\nperiod was ushered in. Some of the captives rose to positions of trust\nin the Babylonian government. Daniel and his three associates are\nexamples. During this period Ezekiel was a prophet. No doubt the frame\nof mind of most of them is well expressed by the Psalmist: \"By the\nrivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept when we remembered\nZion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps.\"\n\nThe Medo-Persian period began with the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, who\nbrought the Jews under his rule. The captives were permitted to return\nto Palestine, and Zerubbabel soon had the foundations of the temple\nlaid; but here the work came to a standstill, and so remained for\nseventeen years. About 520 B.C., when Darius was king of Persia, the\nwork was resumed, and carried on to completion. For some years the\nservice of God seems to have been conducted in an unbecoming manner.\nNehemiah came upon the stage of action, rebuilt the city walls, required\nthe observance of the Sabbath, and served as governor twelve years\nwithout pay. Ezra brought back a large number of the people, repaired\nthe temple, and worked a great reformation. Under his influence, those\nwho had married foreign wives put them away, and \"some had wives by whom\nthey had children.\" As the Samaritans were not allowed to help build the\ntemple, they erected one of their own on Mt Gerizim. A few Samaritans\nstill exist in Nablus, and hold services on Gerizim. \"After Nehemiah,\nthe office of civil ruler seems to have become extinct.\"\n\nThe Greek period begins with the operations of Alexander the Great in\nAsia, 333 B.C., and extends to the time of the Maccabees, 168 B.C. After\nAlexander's death, his empire fell into the two great divisions of Egypt\nand Syria. The Egyptian rulers were called Ptolemies, and those of\nSyria were called the Selucidae. For one hundred and twenty-five years\nPalestine was held by Egypt, during which time Ptolemy Philadelphus had\nthe Septuagint version of the Old Testament made at Alexandria.\nSyria next secured control of Palestine. The walls of Jerusalem were\ndestroyed, and the altar of Jehovah was polluted with swine's flesh. We\nnow hear of an aged priest named Mattathias, who at Modin, a few miles\nfrom Jerusalem, had the courage to kill a Jew who was about to sacrifice\non a heathen altar. He escaped to the mountains, where he was joined by\na number of others of the same mind. His death soon came, but he left\nfive stalwart sons like himself. Judas, called Maccabeus, became the\nleader, and from him the whole family was named the Maccabees. He began\nwar against the Syrians and apostate Jews. The Syrians, numbering fifty\nthousand, took up a position at Emmaus, while the Maccabees encamped at\nMizpah. Although greatly outnumbered, they were victorious, as they\nwere in another engagement with sixty thousand Syrians at Hebron. Judas\nentered Jerusalem, and repaired and cleansed the temple. Thus the\nMaccabean period was ushered in. After some further fighting, Judas\nwas slain, and Simon, the only surviving brother, succeeded him, and\nJerusalem was practically independent. His son, John Hyrcanus, was the\nnext ruler. The Pharisees and Sadducees now come prominently into Jewish\naffairs. The Essenes also existed at this time, and dressed in white.\nAfter some time (between 65-62 B.C.), Pompey, the Roman general, entered\nthe open gates of the city, but did not capture the citadel for three\nweeks, finally taking advantage of the day of Pentecost, when the Jews\nwould not fight. The Roman period began with the slaughter of twelve\nthousand citizens. Priests were slain at the altar, and the temple was\nprofaned. Judaea became a Roman province, and was compelled to pay\ntribute.\n\nHerod the Great became governor of Galilee, and later the Roman senate\nmade him king of Judaea. He besieged Jerusalem, and took it in 37 B.C.\n\"A singular compound of good and bad--mostly bad--was this King Herod.\"\nHe hired men to drown a supposed rival, as if in sport, at Jericho\non the occasion of a feast, and in the beginning of his reign he\nslaughtered more than half of the members of the Sanhedrin. The aged\nhigh priest Hyrcanus was put to death, as was also Mariamne, the wife\nof this monster, who was ruling when the Messiah was born at Bethlehem.\nHerod was a great builder, and it was he who reconstructed the temple on\nmagnificent lines. He also built Caesarea, and rebuilt Samaria. After\nhis death, the country was divided and ruled by his three sons. Achelaus\nreigned ingloriously in Jerusalem for ten years, and was banished.\nJudaea was then ruled by procurators, Pilate being the fifth one of\nthem, ruling from A.D. 26-36. In the year A.D. 65 the Jews rebelled\nagainst the Romans, after being their subjects for one hundred and\ntwenty-two years. They were not subdued until the terrible destruction\nof the Holy City in A.D. 70, when, according to Josephus, one million\none hundred thousand Jews perished in the siege, two hundred and\nfifty-six thousand four hundred and fifty were slain elsewhere, and one\nhundred and one thousand seven hundred prisoners were sold into bondage.\nThe Temple was completely destroyed along with the city, which for sixty\nyears \"lay in ruins so complete that it is doubtful whether there was a\nsingle house that could be used as a residence.\" The land was annexed to\nSyria, and ceased to be a Jewish country. Hadrian became emperor in A.D.\n117, and issued an edict forbidding the Jews to practice circumcision,\nread the law, or to observe the Sabbath. These things greatly distressed\nthe Jews, and in A.D. 132 they rallied to the standard of Bar Cochba,\nwho has been styled \"the last and greatest of the false Messiahs.\" The\nRomans were overthrown, Bar Cochba proclaimed himself king in Jerusalem,\nand carried on the war for two years. At one time he held fifty towns,\nbut they were all taken from him, and he was finally killed at Bether,\nor Bittir. This was the last effort of the Jews to recover the land by\nforce of arms. Hadrian caused the site of the temple to be plowed over,\nand the city was reconstructed being made thoroughly pagan. For two\nhundred years the Jews were forbidden to enter it. In A.D. 326 the\nEmpress Helena visited Jerusalem, and built a church on the Mount of\nOlives. Julian the Apostate undertook to rebuild the Jewish temple in\nA.D. 362, but was frustrated by \"balls of fire\" issuing from under\nthe ruins and frightening the workmen. In A.D. 529 the Greek emperor\nJustinian built a church in the city in honor of the Virgin. The\nPersians under Chosroes II. invaded Palestine in A.D. 614 and destroyed\npart of Jerusalem. After fourteen years they were defeated and Jerusalem\nwas restored, but the Mohammedans under Omar captured it in A.D. 637.\nThe structure called the Dome of the Rock, on Mt. Moriah, was built by\nthem in A.D. 688.\n\nThe Crusades next engage our attention. The first of these military\nexpeditions was made to secure the right to visit the Holy Sepulcher. It\nwas commenced at the call of the Pope in 1096. A force of two hundred\nand seventy-five thousand men began the march, but never entered\nPalestine. Another effort was made by six hundred thousand men, who\ncaptured Antioch in 1098. A little later the survivors defeated the\nMohammedan army of two hundred thousand. Still later they entered\nJerusalem, and Godfrey of Bouillon was made king of the city in 1099. By\nconquest he came to rule the whole of Palestine. The orders of Knights\nHospitallers and Knights Templars were formed, and Godfrey continued in\npower about fifty years. In 1144 two European armies, aggregating one\nmillion two hundred thousand men, started on the second crusade, which\nwas a total failure. Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, conquered Jerusalem\nin 1187, and the third crusade was inaugurated, which resulted in\nsecuring the right to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem free from taxes. The\npower of the Crusaders was now broken. Another band assembled at\nVenice in 1203 to undertake the fourth crusade, but they never entered\nPalestine. The fifth effort was made, and Frederick, Emperor of Germany,\ncrowned himself king of Jerusalem in 1229, and returned to his native\nland the next year. The Turks conquered Palestine in 1244 and burned\nJerusalem. Louis IX. of France led the seventh crusade, another failure,\nin 1248. He undertook it again in 1270, but went to Africa, and Prince\nEdward of England entered Palestine in 1271 and accepted a truce for ten\nyears, which was offered by the Sultan of Egypt. This, the eighth and\nlast crusade, ended in 1272 by the return of Edward to England. In 1280\nPalestine was invaded by the Mamelukes, and in 1291 the war of the\nCrusaders ended with the fall of Acre, \"the last Christian possession in\nPalestine.\" Besides these efforts there were children's crusades for the\nconversion or conquest of the Moslems. The first, in 1212, was composed\nof thirty thousand boys. Two ship loads were drowned and the third was\nsold as slaves to the Mohammedans.\n\nIn 1517 the country passed to the control of the Ottoman Empire, and so\nremained until 1832, when it fell back to Egypt for eight years. The\npresent walls around Jerusalem, which inclose two hundred and ten acres\nof ground, were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1542. In 1840\nPalestine again became Turkish territory, and so continues to this day.\nThe really scientific exploration of the land began with the journey\nof Edward Robinson, an American, in 1838. In 1856 the United States\nConsulate was established in Jerusalem, and twelve governments are now\nrepresented by consulates. Sir Charles Wilson created an interest in the\ngeography of Palestine by his survey of Jerusalem and his travels in\nthe Holy Land from 1864 to 1868. Palestine was surveyed from Dan to\nBeer-sheba and from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the years from 1872\nto 1877. The Siloam inscription, the \"only known relic of the writing *\n* * of Hezekiah's days,\" was discovered in 1880. The railroad from Jaffa\nto Jerusalem was opened in 1892. Within the last ten years several\ncarriage roads have been built. Protestant schools and missions have\nbeen established at many important places. The population of the city is\nnow about fifty-five thousand souls, but they do not all live inside of\nthe walls. What the future of Palestine may be is an interesting subject\nfor thought.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nCHURCHES OF CHRIST IN GREAT BRITAIN.\n\n\nNo doubt many of my readers will be specially interested in knowing\nsomething of my experience and association with the brethren across the\nsea, and it is my desire to give them as fair an understanding of the\nsituation as I can. There are five congregations in Glasgow, having a\nmembership of six hundred and seventy-eight persons. The oldest one of\nthese, which formerly met in Brown Street and now meets in Shawlands\nHall, was formed in 1839, and has one hundred and sixty-one members. The\nCoplaw Street congregation, which branched from Brown Street, and is now\nthe largest of the five, dates back to 1878, and numbers two hundred and\nnineteen. It was my privilege to attend one of the mid-week services of\nthis congregation and speak to those present on that occasion. I also\nmet some of the brethren in Edinburgh, where two congregations have a\nmembership of two hundred and fifty-three. At Kirkcaldy, the home of my\nworthy friend and brother, Ivie Campbell, Jr., there is a congregation\nof one hundred and seventy disciples, which I addressed one Lord's day\nmorning. In the evening I went out with Brother and Sister Campbell and\nanother brother to Coaltown of Balgonie, and addressed the little band\nworshiping at that place.\n\nMy next association with the brethren was at the annual meeting of\n\"Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland,\" convened at Wigan,\nEngland, August second, third, and fourth. While at Wigan I went out to\nPlatt Bridge and spoke to the brethren. There are ninety members in this\ncongregation. One night in Birmingham I met with the brethren in Charles\nHenry Street, where the congregation, formed in 1857, numbers two\nhundred and seventy-four, and the next night I was with the Geach Street\ncongregation, which has been in existence since 1865, and numbers\ntwo hundred and twenty-nine members. Bro. Samuel Joynes, now of\nPhiladelphia, was formerly connected with this congregation. While I was\nin Bristol it was my pleasure to meet with the Thrissell Street church,\ncomposed of one hundred and thirty-one members. I spoke once in their\nplace of worship and once in a meeting on the street. The last band of\nbrethren I was with while in England was the church at Twynholm, London.\nThis is the largest congregation of all, and will receive consideration\nlater in the chapter. The next place that I broke bread was in a little\nmission to the Jews in the Holy City. To complete a report of my public\nspeaking while away, I will add that I preached in Mr. Thompson's\ntabernacle in Jerusalem, and spoke a few words on one or both of the\nLord's days at the mission to which reference has already been made. I\nalso spoke in a mission meeting conducted by Mr. Locke at Port Said,\nEgypt, preached once on the ship as I was coming back across the\nAtlantic, and took part in a little debate on shipboard as I went out on\nthe journey, and in an entertainment the night before I got back to New\nYork.\n\nIn this chapter I am taking my statistics mainly from the Year Book\ncontaining the fifty-ninth annual report of the churches in Great\nBritain and Ireland co-operating for evangelistic purposes, embracing\nalmost all of the congregations of disciples in the country. According\nto this report, there were one hundred and eighty-three congregations on\nthe list, with a total membership of thirteen thousand and sixty-three,\nat the time of the annual meeting last year.\n\n(Since writing this chapter, the sixtieth annual report of these\nbrethren across the sea has come into my hands, and the items in this\nparagraph are taken mainly from the address of Bro. John Wyckliffe\nBlack, as chairman of the annual meeting which assembled in August of\nthis year at Leeds. The membership is now reported at thirteen thousand\neight hundred and forty-four, an increase of about eight hundred members\nsince the meeting held at Wigan in 1904. In 1842 the British brotherhood\nnumbered thirteen hundred, and in 1862 it had more than doubled. After\nthe lapse of another period of twenty years, the number had more than\ndoubled again, standing at six thousand six hundred and thirty-two.\nIn 1902, when twenty years more had passed, the membership had almost\ndoubled again, having grown to twelve thousand five hundred and\nthirty-seven. In 1842 the average number of members in each congregation\nwas thirty-one; in 1862 it was forty; in 1882 it had reached sixty-one;\nand in 1902 it was seventy-two. The average number in each congregation\nis now somewhat higher than it was in 1902.)\n\nSoon after the meeting was convened on Tuesday, \"the Conference\nrecognised the presence of Mrs. Hall and Miss Jean Hall, of Sydney,\nN.S.W., and Brother Don Carlos Janes, from Ohio, U.S.A., and cordially\ngave them a Christian welcome.\" The address of welcome and the address\nof the chairman, Brother James Anderson, of Fauldhouse, Scotland, came\nearly in the day. The meeting on Wednesday opened with worship and a\nshort address, followed by reports from the General Sunday-school,\nReference, General Training, and Magazine Committees. One interesting\nfeature of the proceedings of this day was the conference paper by Bro.\nT.J. Ainsworth on the subject of \"The Relation of Christianity to the\nSocial Questions of the Day.\" Besides a discussion of this paper, there\nwas a preaching service at night. Thursday, the last day of the meeting,\nwas occupied, after the morning worship and short address, with the\nreports of committees and the appointment of committees. At the social\nmeeting at night several brethren, who had been previously selected,\nspoke on such subjects as seemed good to them. Bro. W.A. Kemp, of\nMelbourne, Australia, and the writer were the only speakers not\nresidents of the British Isles. At the close of the meeting the\nfollowing beautiful hymn was sung to the tune of \"Auld Lang Syne\":\n\n  Hail, sweetest, dearest tie, that binds\n    Our glowing hearts in one;\n  Hail, sacred hope, that tunes our minds\n    To harmony divine.\n  It is the hope, the blissful hope\n    Which Jesus' words afford--\n  The hope, when days and years are past,\n    Of life with Christ the Lord.\n\n  What though the northern wintry blast\n    Shall howl around our cot?\n  What though beneath an eastern sun\n    Be cast our distant lot?\n  Yet still we share the blissful hope\n    His cheering words afford--\n  The hope, when days and years are past,\n    Of glory with the Lord.\n\n  From Burmah's shores, from Afric's strand,\n    From India's burning plain,\n  From Europe, from Columbia's land,\n    We hope to meet again.\n  Oh, sweetest hope, oh, blissful hope,\n    Which His own truth affords--\n  The hope, when days and years are past,\n    We still shall be the Lord's.\n\n  No lingering look, no parting sigh,\n    Our future meeting knows;\n  There friendship beams from every eye,\n    And love immortal glows.\n  Oh, sacred hope, the blissful hope,\n    His love and truth afford--\n  The hope, when days and years are past,\n    Of reigning with the Lord.\n\nI am not willing to accept everything done in the annual meeting, but\nthe hearty good will manifested and the pleasant and happy associations\nenjoyed make it in those respects very commendable. These brethren\nare very systematic and orderly in their work. Some one, who has been\ndesignated beforehand, takes charge of the meeting, and everything moves\nalong nicely. When a visiting brother comes in, he is recognized and\nmade use of, but they do not turn the meeting over to him and\ndepend upon him to conduct it. The president of the Lord's day morning\nmeeting and part or all of the officers sit together on the platform.\nThe following is the order of procedure in one of the meetings which\nI attended: After singing a hymn and offering prayer, the brother\npresiding announced the reading lessons from both Testaments, at the\nsame time naming two brethren who would read these scriptures. After\nthey had come forward and read the lessons before the church, another\nhymn was sung, and certain definite objects of prayer were mentioned\nbefore the congregation again engaged in that part of the worship. Two\nprayers were offered, followed by the announcements, after which a\nbrother delivered an address. Then the president made mention of the\nvisitors present, and an old gentleman from the platform extended \"the\nright hand of fellowship\" to some new members before the contribution\nwas taken and the Lord's supper observed, a hymn being sung between\nthese two items. A concluding hymn and prayer closed the service, which\nhad been well conducted, without discord or confusion.\n\nA brother in Wigan gave me a statement of the work of one of the\ncongregations there in the winter season. On the Lord's day they have\nschool at 9:20 A.M. and at 2 P.M.; breaking the bread at 10:30 A.M., and\npreaching the gospel at 6:30 P.M. At this evening meeting the Lord's\ntable is again spread for the benefit of servants and others who were\nnot able to be at the morning service. This is a common practice. The\nyoung people's social and improvement class meets on Monday evening, a\nmeeting for prayer and a short address is held on Tuesday evening, and\nthe Band of Hope, a temperance organization for young people, meets\non Wednesday evening. The singing class uses Thursday night, and the\nofficers of the church sometimes have a meeting on Friday night.\n\nDuring the life of Bro. Timothy Coop much money was spent in an effort\nto build up along the lines adopted by the innovators here in America.\nBro. Coop visited this country, and was well pleased with the operations\nof the congregations that had adopted the modern methods, and he was\ninstrumental in having some American evangelists to go to England, and\na few churches were started. I was told that there are about a dozen\ncongregations of these disciples, called \"American brethren\" by the\nother English disciples, with a membership of about two thousand, and\nthat it is a waning cause.\n\nThe rank and file of these British brethren are more conservative than\nthe innovators here at home, but they have moved forward somewhat in\nadvance of the churches here contending for apostolic simplicity in\ncertain particulars. A few of the congregations use a musical\ninstrument in gospel meetings and Sunday-school services, and some have\norganizations such as the Band of Hope and the Dorcas Society. The\norganization of the annual meeting is said to be only advisory. The\nfollowing lines, a portion of a resolution of the annual meeting of 1861\nwill help the reader to form an idea of the purpose and nature of the\norganization: \"That this Co\u00f6peration shall embrace such of the Churches\ncontending for the primitive faith and order as shall willingly be\nplaced upon the list of Churches printed in its Annual Report. That the\nChurches thus co\u00f6perating disavow any intention or desire to recognize\nthemselves as a denomination, or to limit their fellowship to the\nChurches thus co\u00f6perating; but, on the contrary, they avow it both a\nduty and a pleasure to visit, receive, and co\u00f6perate with Christian\nChurches, without reference to their taking part in the meetings and\nefforts of this Co\u00f6peration. Also, that this Co\u00f6peration has for its\nobject evangelization only, and disclaims all power to settle matters of\ndiscipline, or differences between brethren or Churches; that if in any\ninstance it should see fit to refuse to insert in or to remove from the\nList any Church or company of persons claiming to be a Church, it shall\ndo so only in reference to this Co\u00f6peration, leaving each and every\nChurch to judge for itself, and to recognize and fellowship as it may\nunderstand the law of the Lord to require.\"\n\nThe question of delegate voting with a view to making the action of the\nannual meeting more weighty with the congregations was discussed at the\nWigan meeting, but was voted down, although it had numerous advocates.\nOne of the brethren, in speaking of the use of instrumental music in the\nsinging, said they try not to use it when they worship the Lord, but I\nconsider the use they make of it is unscriptural, and it puts the church\nin great danger of having the innovation thrust into all the services at\nsome future time. All of these churches could learn a valuable lesson\nfrom some of our home congregations that have been rent asunder by the\nunholy advocacy of innovations.\n\nBut there are some very commendable things about these brethren. I\nnoticed careful attention being given to the public reading of the\nScriptures, and the congregation joins heartily in the singing. I am\ninformed that every member takes part in the contribution without\nexception. They do not take contributions from visitors and children who\nare not disciples. The talent in the congregation is well developed. In\nthis they are far ahead of us. While there are not many giving their\nwhole time to evangelistic work, there are many who are acceptable\nspeakers. One brother said they probably have a preacher for each\ntwenty-five members. Men heavily involved in business take time to\nattend the meetings. For instance, one brother, who is at the head of a\nfactory employing about a thousand people, and is interested in mining\nand in the manufacture of brick besides, is an active member of the\ncongregation with which he worships. The brethren in general are\nfaithful in the matter of being present at the breaking of bread. When\nvisiting brethren come in, they are given a public welcome, and are\nsometimes pointed out to the congregation. Also, when brethren return\nfrom a vacation or other prolonged absence, they are given a welcome.\n\nThey pray much. The week-night meeting for prayer and study of the Bible\nis largely taken up with prayer. I like the way they point out definite\nobjects of prayer. For instance, two sisters are leaving for Canada;\nsome one is out of employment, and some have lost friends by death.\nThese matters are mentioned, and some one is called on to lead the\nprayer, and these points are included in his petition to the Lord.\nSometimes but one brother is asked to lead in prayer; sometimes more\nthan one are designated, and at other times they leave it open for some\none to volunteer. The following hymn was sung in one of these meetings\nwhich I attended:\n\n  LET US PRAY.\n\n  Come, let us pray; 'tis sweet to feel\n    That God himself is near;\n  That, while we at his footstool kneel,\n    His mercy deigns to hear;\n  Though sorrows crowd life's dreary way,\n  This is our solace--let us pray.\n\n  Come, let us pray; the burning brow,\n    The heart oppressed with care,\n  And all the woes that throng us now,\n    May be relieved by prayer;\n  Jesus can smile our griefs away;\n  Oh, glorious thought! come, let us pray.\n\n  Come, let us pray; the mercy-seat\n    Invites the fervent prayer,\n  And Jesus ready stands to greet\n    The contrite spirit there;\n  Oh, loiter not, nor longer stay\n  From him who loves us; let us pray.\n\nThey do not publish as many papers as we do, but have one weekly\njournal, the _Bible Advocate_, edited by Bro. L. Oliver, of Birmingham,\nwhich has a general circulation, reaching almost four thousand copies.\nOne feature of the paper last summer was the publication of the Life of\nElder John Smith as a serial. The colored covers of the _Bible Advocate_\ncontain a long list of the hours and places of worship of congregations\nin different parts of the country, and even outside of the British Isles\nin some cases. In some instances the local congregation publishes a\npaper of its own, affording a good medium through which to advertise the\nmeetings and to keep distant brethren informed of the work that is being\ndone, as well as to teach the truth of God.\n\nA book room is maintained in Birmingham, where the British and American\npublications may be purchased. They were using a hymn-book (words only)\nof their own and a tune-book published by others, but a new hymnbook was\nunder consideration when I was among them last year. A list of isolated\nmembers is kept, and persons elected by the annual meeting conduct a\ncorrespondence with these brethren. The following are extracts from some\nof the letters received in reply to those that had been sent out: \"I am\nhoping that the day will come when I can leave this district and get to\none where I can have the fellowship of my brethren; but meanwhile I am\nglad and thankful to be held in remembrance of my brethren and to be on\nyour list, and I pray God to help your work, for I have still hope in\nHim, and know He has not given me up.\" Another brother says: \"Though I\ncan not say that I have anything important or cheering to write, yet I\ncan say that I am rejoicing in the salvation of God, which is in Christ\nJesus our Lord. My isolation from regular church fellowship has been\nso long that I have almost given up the hope of enjoying it again in\nArbroath; but still my prayer is that the Lord would raise up some here\nor send some here who know the truth, and who love the Lord with their\nwhole heart, and would be able and willing to declare unto the people\nthe whole counsel of God concerning the way of salvation.\" A Sisters'\nConference was held in connection with the annual meeting, and a\nTemperance Conference and Meeting was held on Monday before the annual\nmeeting opened.\n\nMissionary work is being carried on in Burmah, Siam, and South Africa.\nIn Burmah some attention has been given to translating and publishing a\npart of the Psalms in one of the languages of that country. \"Much\ntime has been spent in the villages by systematic visitation, by\nthe distribution of literature, and by seizing upon any and every\nopportunity of speaking to the people. Street meetings have been\nconstantly held, visitors received on the boat, the gospel preached from\nthe Mission-boat to the people sitting on the banks of the river, and\nalso proclaimed to the people in their homes, in the villages, and in\nthe fields, and on the fishing stations. Although there were but two\nbaptisms during the year the congregation numbers fifty-one.\" The\nbrethren in Siam were working where the rivers, numerous canals, and\ncreeks form the chief roadways. The Year Book contains the following\nconcerning the medical missionary in this field: \"His chief work during\nthe year has been rendering such help as his short medical training has\nfitted him to give. For a time twelve to twenty patients a day came\nto him for treatment. After a while the numbers fell off, he thought\nbecause all the sick in the neighborhood had been cured.\" \"The little\nchurch in Nakon Choom * * * now consists of two Karens, one Burman,\none Mon, two Chinamen, and two Englishmen. As several of these do not\nunderstand the others' language, the gift of tongues would seem not\nundesirable.\" In South Africa there are congregations at Johannesburg,\nPretoria, Bulawayo, Cape Town, and Carolina. The church in Bulawayo\nnumbers about fifty members, nearly all of whom are natives \"who are\neager learners.\"\n\nI saw more of the workings of the church at Twynholm than any other\ncongregation visited, as I stayed at Twynholm House while in London both\non the outward trip and as I returned home. Of the seven congregations\nin this city, Twynholm is the largest, and is the largest in the British\nbrotherhood, having a membership of above five hundred. This church was\nestablished in 1894 with twenty-five members, and has had a good growth.\nThey open the baptistery every Lord's day night, and very frequently\nhave occasion to use it. There were fifty-three baptisms last year, and\ntwenty-one others were added to the membership of the church. At the\nclose of a recent church year the Band of Hope numbered five hundred and\nfifteen, and the Lord's day school had twelve hundred and fifty pupils\nand one hundred and two teachers. I think it was one hundred and sixty\nlittle tots I saw in one room, and down in this basement there were\nabout fifty more. I was told that there were more children attending\nthan they had accommodation for, but they disliked to turn any of them\naway. The Woman's Meeting had one hundred and sixteen members; the Total\nAbstinence Society, one hundred and fifty; and the membership of the\nYouths' Institute and Bible Students' Class were not given. Five\nthousand copies of _Joyful Tidings_, an eight-page paper, are given away\neach month. The following announcement from the first page of this paper\nwill indicate something of the activities of this congregation:\n\n  CHURCH OF CHRIST,\n\n  Twynholm Assembly Hall,\n  Fulham Cross, S.W.\n\n  REGULAR SERVICES AND GATHERINGS.\n\n\n\n  _LORD'S DAY._\n  9:45 A.M.--Bible Students' Class.\n  11:00 A.M.--Divine Worship and \"The Breaking of Bread\".\n               (Acts 2:42, etc.)\n  2:45 P.M.--Lord's Day Schools.\n  3:00 P.M.--Young Men's Institute.\n  4:00 P.M.--Teachers' Prayer Meeting (first Lord's day in the\n               month).\n  6:30 P.M.--_Evangelistic Service_.\n  7:45 P.M.--Believers' Immersion (usually).\n  8:10 P.M.--\"The Breaking of Bread\" (Continued).\n\n  _MONDAY._\n  2:30 P.M.--Woman's Own Meeting.\n  7:00 P.M.--Band of Hope.\n  8:30 P.M.--Social Gathering for Young People (over fourteen).\n  8:30 P.M.--Total Abstinence Society (last Monday night in the\n               month).\n\n  _THURSDAY._\n  8:00 P.M.--Mid-week Service for Prayer, Praise, and Public\n               Exposition of the Word.\n  9:00 P.M.--Singing Practice.\n\n  _FRIDAY._\n  8:00 P.M.--Teachers' Preparation Class and Devotional Meeting.\n              (Open to all).\n\n\n\n  Seat all Free and Unappropriated.\n  No Public Collections.\n  Hymn-books provided for Visitors.\n\nThis Church of Christ earnestly pleads for the complete restoration of\nthe primitive Christianity of the New Testament, for the cultivation of\npersonal piety, and benevolence, and for loving service for Jesus the\nChrist.\n\nTwynholm is the name given to a piece of property, originally intended\nfor a hotel, situated in the western part of London, at the intersection\nof four streets in Fulham Cross. These streets make it a place easily\nreached, and the numerous saloons make the necessity for such an\ninfluence as emanates from a church of God very great. There is a good,\ncommodious audience-room at the rear, and several smaller rooms about\nthe premises. The front part is owned and controlled by a brother who\nhas a family of Christians to live there and run the restaurant on the\nfirst floor and the lodging rooms on the two upper floors, where there\nare accommodations for a few young men. Here I had a desirable room, and\nwas well cared for by the brother and sister who manage the house. The\nrestaurant is not run for profit, but to afford the people a place to\neat cheaply and to spend time without going where intoxicants are sold.\nThe patrons are allowed to sit at the tables and play such games as\ndominoes, the aim being to counteract the evil influences of that part\nof the city as far as possible. One night I attended a meeting of the\nBand of Hope in a big basement room at Twynholm, where a large number\nof small children were being taught to pray, and were receiving good\ninstruction along the line of temperance. Several older persons were on\nduty to preserve order among these children, many of whom had doubtless\ncome from homes where little about order and good behavior is ever\ntaught. Soon after this meeting I went up on the street, and there, near\na saloon with six visible entrances, a street musician was playing his\norgan, while small girls, perhaps not yet in their teens, were being\nencouraged to dance.\n\nAt Twynholm I also attended the Social Hour meeting, which was an\nenjoyable affair. A program of recitations, songs, etc., was rendered.\nThis also, I suppose, is to offset some of the evil agencies of the\ngreat city and keep the young people under good influences. The Woman's\nMeeting convenes on Monday afternoon. The leaders of the meeting are\nladies of the church, who are laboring for the betterment of an inferior\nclass of London women. I spoke before this meeting, by request, and\nwas, so far as I now recollect, the only male person present. It is the\ncustom to use the instrument in connection with the singing in this\nmeeting, but I asked them to refrain on this occasion. An orphans' home\nis also conducted, having members of this congregation as its managers.\nIt is a very busy church, and for being busy and diligent it is to be\ncommended, but I believe there is too much organization. But here, as\nelsewhere in Britain, there are many very commendable things about the\nbrethren. I have already spoken of system in their proceedings. They\noutline their work for a given period of time, specifying the Scriptures\nto be read, the leaders of the meetings, and who is to preach on each\nLord's day night. Then, for the sake of convenience, these schedules\nare printed, and they are carefully followed. This is far ahead of the\nhaphazard method, or lack of method, at home, where brethren sometimes\ncome together neither knowing what the lesson will be nor who will\nconduct the meeting.\n\nWhatever may be the faults of these disciples in the old country, it\nmust be said to their credit that they are kind and hospitable to\nstrangers, and make a visiting brother welcome. The talent in their\ncongregations is better developed than it is here, and their meetings\nare conducted in a more orderly and systematic manner. They are more\nfaithful in the observance of the Lord's supper than many in this land.\nThe percentage of preachers giving their whole time to the work is less\nthan it is here, but the number who can and do take part in the public\nwork of the church is proportionately larger than it is here.\n\nI will now close this chapter and this volume with the address of\nBrother Anderson, chairman of the annual meeting held last year at\nWigan:\n\nDEAR BRETHREN:--In accepting the responsible and honorable position in\nwhich you have placed me, I do so conscious of a defect that I hope you\nwill do your best to help and bear with. Please speak as distinctly as\npossible, so that I may hear what is said. There may be other defects\nthat I might have helped, but please do your best to help me in this\nrespect.\n\nI heartily thank you for the honor conferred upon me. Whether I deserve\nit or not, I know that it is well meant on your part. We prefer honor\nto dishonor; but what one may count a great honor, another may lightly\nesteem. The point of view is almost everything in these matters; but if\npositions of honor in the kingdoms of the earth are lightly esteemed,\npositions of honor in the kingdom of God have a right to be esteemed\nmore highly.\n\nWe are met in conference as subjects of the kingdom of God, as heirs of\neverlasting glory, having a hope greater than the world can give, and\na peace that the world can neither give nor take away. To preside over\nsuch a gathering, met to consider the best means of spreading the Gospel\nof Christ among men, is a token of respect upon which I place a very\nhigh value. The fact that it came unexpectedly does not lessen the\npleasure.\n\nI know that you have not placed me here on account of my tact and\nbusiness ability to manage this conference well. Had I possessed these\nqualities in a marked degree, you would no doubt have taken notice of\nthem before this time. I know that you only wish to pay a token of\nrespect to a plain old soldier before he lays aside his harness, and,\nbrethren, I thank you for that.\n\nFor forty-four years I have enjoyed sweet and uninterrupted fellowship\nin this brotherhood. For over forty years my voice has been heard in the\npreaching of the Gospel of the Grace of God. For close on thirty years\nall my time has been given to the proclamation and defense of New\nTestament truth as held by us as a people. Every year has added strength\nto the conviction that God has led me to take my stand among the\npeople who of all the people on the earth are making the best and most\nconsistent effort to get back to the religion established by Christ and\nhis apostles. I therefore bless the day that I became one of you.\n\nHad our position been wrong, I have given myself every opportunity of\nknowing it. Circumstances have compelled me to examine our foundations\nagain and again. I have been called upon to defend our faith, when\nattacked, times not a few. Whatever may be the effect that I have had\nupon others, my own confidence has been increased at every turn. To-day\nI am certain that if the New Testament is right, we can not be far\nwrong; and if the New Testament can not be trusted, there is an end to\nthe whole matter. But the claims of Christ and the truth of the New\nTestament are matters upon which a doubt never rises. As years roll on,\nit becomes more easy to believe and harder to doubt. Knowledge, reason,\nand experience now supply such varied yet harmonious and converging\nlines of evidence that a doubt seems impossible. Difficulties we may\nhave, and perhaps must have, as long as we live, but we can certainly\nrise above the fog land of doubt. Considering all this, it gives me more\npleasure to preside over this gathering than over any other voluntary\ngathering on earth. It is a voluntary gathering. We do not profess to\nbe here by Divine appointment. It is a meeting of heaven's freemen to\nconsider the best means of advancing the will of God among men. While\nmet, may we all act in a manner worthy of the great object which brings\nus together.\n\nFaith, forbearance and watchfulness will be required as long as we live,\nif we wish to keep the unity of the faith in the bond of peace. All\nthose who set out for a complete return to Jerusalem have not held on\ntheir way; some have gone a long way back and others are going. What\nhas happened in other lands may happen here, unless we watch and are\nfaithful. The more carefully we look into matters, we shall be the\nless inclined to move. Putting all God's arrangements faithfully and\nearnestly to the test, and comparing them with others, increases our\nfaith in them. Faithfulness increases faith. This keeps growing upon\nyou till you become certain that only God's means will accomplish God's\nends. Sectarianism, tested by experience, is a failure.\n\nThe time was when our danger in departing from our simple plea of\nreturning to the Bible alone lay in our being moved by clerical and\nsectarian influences. To the young in particular in the present day that\ncan hardly be called our greatest danger. The influences at work to\nproduce doubt in regard to the truth of the Bible were never so great as\nthey are now. This used to be the particular work of professed infidels;\nnow it is more largely the work of professed Christian scholars. If you\nwish to pass for a \"scholar,\" you must not profess to believe the Old\nTestament. You must not say too much against the truth of that book, or\nyou may be called in question, but you can go a good long way before\nthere is much danger.\n\nJesus believed that old book to be the word of God. But he was not a\n\"scholar.\" He was the son of a country joiner, and you must not expect\nhim to rise too far above his environment. It surprises me that the\n\"scholars\" have not called more attention to the ignorance of Jesus in\nthis respect. They will no doubt pay more attention to this later on;\nfor as _Christian_ \"scholars\" it becomes them to be consistent, and I\nhave no doubt that they will shortly, in this respect, make up for lost\ntime.\n\nTo expect that none of our young people will be influenced by this\nparade of scholarship is to expect too much. But faith in Christ should\nkeep them from rushing rashly out against a book that Christ professed\nto live up to and came to fulfill. This battle of the scholars over the\ntruth of the Bible is only being fought. We have no wish that it should\nnot be fought. Everything has a right to be tested with caution and\nfairness, and when the battle is lost, it will be time enough for us to\npass over to the side of the enemy. This question as to the truth of the\nOld Testament will be settled, and as sure as Christ is the Son of God,\nand has all power in heaven and on earth, it will be settled upon the\nlines of the attitude which he took up towards that book, and it will be\nsettled to the disgrace of those who professed to believe in Jesus,\nbut deserted his position before full examination was made. That no\ntranscriber ever made a slip, or that no translator ever made a mistake,\nis not held by any one. But the day that it is proved that the Old\nTestament is not substantially true, faith in Christ and Christianity\nwill get a shake from which it will never recover.\n\nWe have not lost faith in the Bible. There is no need for doing so. The\nword of the Lord will endure forever. But meantime, brethren, let us be\nfaithful, prayerful, and cautious, and be not easily moved from the rock\nof God's word by the pretensions of \"scholars\" or of science, falsely so\ncalled.\n\nI do not know that there is any necessary connection between the two,\nbut a belief in evolution and scholarly doubts about large portions of\nthe Old Testament, as a rule, go together. You must not profess to know\nanything of science in many quarters if you doubt evolution. In the bulk\nof even religious books it is referred to as a matter that science has\nsettled beyond dispute. To expect that many of our young people will not\nbe so far carried along by this current is to expect too much. Many of\nthem will be carried so far; it is a question of how many and how far.\n\nThere perhaps never was a theory before believed by as many educated\npeople without proof as the theory of evolution. It is an unproved\ntheory; there is not a fact beneath it. That you have low forms of life,\nand forms rising higher and higher till you get to man, is fact. But\nthat a higher species ever came from a lower is without proof. Let those\nwho doubt this say when and where such a thing took place, and name the\nwitnesses. Not only are there no facts in proof of it, but it flies in\nthe face of facts without number. If like from like is not established,\nthen nothing can be established by observation and experience. What\nother theory do we believe which contradicts all that we know to be true\nin regard to the subject to which it refers?\n\nNot only does it contradict fact and experience, it contradicts reason.\nIf you listen to the voice of reason, you can no more believe that the\ngreater came from the less than you can believe that something came from\nnothing. We are intuitively bound to believe that an effect can not be\ngreater than its cause. But the theory of evolution contradicts this at\nevery step along the whole line.\n\nI am anxious to find the truth in regard to anything that has a bearing\nupon my belief in God or religion. But in trying to find the truth, I\nhave never regretted being true to myself. To slavishly follow others\nis, to say the least of it, unmanly. I do not believe in evolution\nbecause God has so made me that I can not. Wherever man came from, he\nsprang not from anything beneath him. When a man asks me to believe a\nthing that has not facts, but only theory to support it,--said theory\ncontradicting fact, experience and reason,--he asks me more than I can\ngrant. The thing is absurd, and must one day die.\n\nI am agreeably surprised that we, as a people, have suffered so little\nas yet from the sources of error referred to. Still they are all living\ndangers, and if we would hold fast the faith once for all delivered to\nthe saints, we must see to our own standing, and as God has given us\nopportunity let us be helpful to others. Our ground is God-given and\nwell tested. The fellowship with God and with each other that it has\nbrought to us has given us much happiness here. Let us be faithful and\nearnest the few years that we have to remain here, and our happiness\nwill be increased when the Lord comes to reward us all according to our\nworks.","title":"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","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":55750}