Southern telegraph., 1838-09-05

the success Of his scheme, and paid his bill
the next time he visitedthe city.
MOUNT SINAI.
AT eight o'clock I was
breakfastug; the superior was again at my
side; again offering all that the convent
could give, and urging me to stay month,
fortnight, a week, at least to spend that
day with him and repOse myself after the
fatigue Of my journey; but from the door of
the little room in which sat saw the holy
mountain, and l IOnged to stand on its lofty
summit Though feeble and far from we'll
| felt the blood Of health again cOursing in
my veins, and congratulated myself that
was not so hackneyed 10 feeling as ! had
once supposed. found, and was happy
to find, for the prospective enjoyment Of my
farther journey, that the FIRST tangible mon
ument in the history of the Bible, the first
spot that could be called the holy ground,
raised in me feelings that had not been ava
kened by the most classic ground of Italy
and Greece, or the Proudest monuments of
the arts in Egypt
Continuing our ascent, the old
monk still leading the way, in about quar-
ter Of an hour we came TO table Of rock
standing boldly out, and running down al
most perpendicularly an immense distance
to The valley. ! was expecting another
nOnkish legend, and my very heart thrilled
when the monk told me that this was the.
too Of the hill ON which Moses had sat du-
nng the battle of the Israelites and Amalek-
ties, while Aaron and Hur supported his
IuplitIed hands until the sun went down up
on the victorious army of his people. From
the height l could see, clearly and distinct
| ly, every part OF the battle ground, and tie
whole vale Of Rhephidim and The mountain
beyond, and Moses, while on thisspot, must
have been visible to the cOntendIng armies
from every part of the field, on which they
were engaged.
stand upon the very peak of
Sinai-where Moses stood when he talked
with the Almighty. Can it be, or is it a
mere dream! Can this naked rock have
been the witness Of the great interview be-
tween man and his Maker9 where, amid
thunder and lightning, and fearful quak-
ing of the mduntain, the Almighty gave to
his chosen people the precious tables Of his
law, those rules OF Hfinite wisdom and gOod1
ness, which to this day, best teach man his
duty towards God, his neighbOr, and him
self.
The scenes of many Of the incidents re-
corded in the Bible are extremely uncer-
tain. Historians and geOgraphers place the
Garden OF Eden, the paradise Of our first
parents, in different parts Of Asia: and they
do not agree upon the sight of the Tower Of
Babel, the mountain Of Ararat, and many Of
the most interesting places in the Holy
Land; but of Sinai there IS no doubt. This
is the holy mountain, and among all the stu
pendous works of Nature, not place can
be selected more fitted for the exhibition Of
Almighty power. have stood upon the
summit of the giant Etna, and looked over
the clouds foatIng beneath il, upon the bold
scenery of Sicily. and the distant mountains
Of Calabria; upon the top Of Vesrius, and
looked down upon the waves of lava, and
the ruined and half-recoveTed cities at It's
foot; but they are nothing compared with
the terrific solitudes and bleak majesty Of
Sinai. An observing traveller has well
called it ga perfect sea Of desolation." Not
tree, or shrub, or blade Of grass is TO be
seen upon the bare and rugged sides of in
Vulnerable mountains, heavIng their naked
SUBMITS to the skies, while the crumbIing
masses of granite all around, and the dis
tant view of the Syrian desert, with its
boundess waste of sands, form the widest
and most dreary, the most terrific and DESC
late picture that Imagination can conceive.
The level surface Of the very top, or pin
nacIe, is about sixty feet square. AT one
end is single rock about twenty feet high
while in the crevice beneath, his favored
servant received the tables of the law
There on the same spot where they were
given, opened the sacred book in which
Those laws are recorded, and read them will
a deeper feeling Of devotion, as if | were
standing nearer, and receiving them mor'
!. directly from the Deity himself.
Sketches Of TrGUeI, by an American.