The native American., 1837-09-02
Translated for the Native American, from De la Martne
Voyage in The East--by J. G. b.
The Poefs feelings at The first rieO Of The Holy Land

The Poets feelings at The first rieD Of The Holy Land
| laid me down. enveoped in my cloak, in the shade
Of fig tree small distance from the fountain; and
contemplated long time this Of the oden day.
Our horses scattered about around u.s. their feet
ietered, their Turkish saddles on their backs their
names hanging down. the head lowered, and seeking
the shade oi their own fowing hair Our armssabres,
guns, pistols-were suspended our heads the
branches OF the pomegranate and fig trees. Some Be-
douin Arabs, covered with single piece of stuff with
black and white stripes. were seated in circle not far
from u.s. snd regarded ms with vuIture eyes. The
men OF Sephora c!ohed exactly the wives of Abra-
nam and isaac with blue tune tied the waist, and
the aapacons folds Of another white one ling grace
fully the blue nnic carried on their heads which
were covered with blue turban empty urns turned
over on their sides. brought them back full sustain
| Tag them erect on their heads with their hands, like
the Caria'ides of the Acropos, others. in The same
costume. washed at the fountain, and laughed among
themselves whilst regardng others in fine. in rich
robes, and The head covered with bandalettes of
pastres and golden sequins, danced under large
grenader ree at distance from the fountain and
from u.s. their dance, soft and slow only crcu-
lar motion. accompanied from time To time with some
steps. without art, bur not devoid of grace Woman
has beef created gracefn manners and costumes can
not change in her that charm df beauty and lave which
|enveloPes her. and which bcays her in all places;
these Arabian women were not veiled, as all those
were which we had Seen up TO that time in The East,
ana their features, although slightly tatiooed. had
dflicacy and regularity which distinguished them
from the Turkish race; they continued TO dance and
sing during the time repose lasted, and did not ap-
pear offended by the attention which we paid to their
dances to their songs, and costume. We told
that they had met together to await the marriage pre-
sents which young Arab had gone to buy al Naza-
reth for of The girls of Sephora his aanced bride.
we met, IN fart. the same day, the presents, they
consisted Of sieve to sift the meal, and separate it
oln the BRAN, piece of cotton and piece of richer
stuff to make robe fol the bride.
On that day, impressions new and entirely different
frnp Id
til then, their birth within me- had travelled with
the eyes, with the thought, and mind; had not travel
led with the soul and heart when thus touched the
land OF Wondersthe land of Jehovah and Chrst-the
land, the names of which had been all thousand times
lsped with my infant lips, all the images of which had
hrst tinted my young and tender magnation-the land
from whenca the lessons and sweets of religion, se
cond soul Of onr son had flowed for mcI felt within
myself as IT something dead and cold had received life
and warmth; felt what's experienced on recognizing,
amidst thousand unknown and strange figures, the
countenance Of a mother, of sister, Of beloved
vile; wnat Is felt in leaving street TO enter temples
something collected sweet, intimate. TENDER and con-
sollng, which IS not elt elsewhere. The ample, for
me. was the land Of The Bible and the Evangels, on
which my first steps were now imprinted. Worship
ped God, silently, in the Of my thoughts
returned him thanks for having permitted to live
long enough TO fix my eyes the sanctuary of
the Holy Land and from that day, during the remain
der of my voyages in Judea, Ga!ilee and Palestine
the material Poeilral Impressions which received
from the aspect and names of Places mingled,
Tor me- with sentiment more alive with respect and
tenderness as "reminiscences My travels became Of
ten prayer and the two enhusasms most natural to
my soul-the enthusiasm OF nature, and that Of its
authpr-nnited almost every morning within me as
fresh and living, if many furnishing and drying
years had not odden and etroddpn them under in my
bosom felt that was yet man, when appearin
before The shadow Of tie God of my youth. On visit
ing places consecIaed by of those mysterious
events which have changeH the face Of the world,
experiences something which resembles The Impressions
Of traveller dscents laborlonsly the course nf
some vast river like the Nile Ganges, in order to
discover and contemplate it at Its hidden and unknown
sources; it seemed to me aso whilst clamhpring up
The last hill which separated me from Nazareth, that
I was to contemplate, it, mysterious source. thai
vast and fruitful religion which, for two thousand
years, has made itself bed in the universe from the
heights Of the mountains of GaIee. and has quenched
the thirst of many human generations with It's pure
and life giving waters. 1t was there the source, with
in the hollow of this rock which ramped under foot;
this hill, the last platforms Of which was surnount-
ing, had carried in its fanks the safety, the life, the
light the hope Of the world; it theie. some short
distance from me-, that the model Of men had taken
births amidst them, in order to Withdraw them, by his
word and example, fom the Of error and corup
tlon IN which the human was On The point Of be-
ing submerged. II considered the event philo-
sopher, II was the starting point Of the greatest
event which has ever agated the moral and polit cal
world, an event the reaction ot which alone mpresses
remnant Of motion and life to the intellectual world,
it was there that the greatest, the wisas the most
just. the most vlrtuons Of mankind emerged from OBJ
scuty, from misery and Ignorance; there. was his
die; there the theatre Of his actions and Of his affecting
| predictions; from thence he departed, whilst yet
young. with some obscure and ignorant in whom
he had impressed the confidence Of his genius and the
courage Of his mission, to afront knowingly order
OF IDEAS and things not strong enough to resist him.
hut sufficiently SO to bis death; from thence,
I say. he had gone forth with confidence to conquer
death and obtain the universal empire of pdsterltv;
from thence christianity had flowed. obscure source,
drop Of water unnhserved in the bosom of the rocks
| Of Nazareth, where two sparrows could not have
qnenched their thirst, which sunbeam could have
dried up and which at the present day, the great
ocean Of soul has filed up all the depths Of human
is'om. and ba,hed with lis nexhau. tihle the
past, the present. and the future lncrednnus then to
the divinity of this event, my soul would have beer
yet deeply moved on approaching its primitive theatre.
and would have uncovered my head, and inclined
my brow under the hidden and Interchangeable wi
which had carried SO many things to proceed from
weak and insensible beginning.
Bnt to consider the mystery Of christianity
christian, it there under that space OF blue sky,
at the bottom of this and obscure valley within
the shade Of this little hil the old rocks Of which
seemed yet divided with the joyful motions they
perenced in giving birh to the infant word; il was
tbara IF artb ,uhi od