Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1843-10-12
Ebr Rree Iarraa.
NOTES on TnE DEsERT--cosTISrr


EY THE REV. THOMAS sEwAIL. iit
FEB. 20th, 3, PsMl About two hours since
we turned from Wsdly Arabah direct b die
right into another waddy, which leadsl With
some wIndings in an esstefiy direction, 10 PetfS.
JebeL haroun,a or The Mount Of AafOni alk.
Hof) is beloIe Us, and like all the mouHtsiins 10
its vicinity, with which, indeed, the whole eoua-
ny aboynds, il appears bafTen and scored BY
the elements, WITHOUT any thing in lis anpeaf-
ance, but its superior height above the rest, to
designate il as the scene chosen by God f3l lhe
death OF his servant. Aaron. -
We are now within four hours OF Petrai AN
nature is wild and desolale; and il appears As
five approached some victim Of Heaven 5 eassc
Tor silence and death meet us al the very 5ui.
posts. We Just now dismouned Irom our cam
els TO visa what appeared % be the ruin OF a
watch tower on The summit 1f a high rock III
must be but The small psrl oi The ancienl s,rile-
ture, for il IS not larger than a small cottage
and The apartment within. II deserves the name
IS moi more Than SIX feet in length, two 10 wkish,
aud four Ia height III was, perhaps; he pstt y.
iortilcatien for the defence Of one oil the ..reat
approaches 10 the city. s
Feb 22nd.] We have visited Petra. AMI ale
again on oui route 10 Hebron. We passed lido
days there, and by great industry Saw eyepy
thing of interest that has been discovered; bal
the fatigue | felt ainight prevented my lakI6g
any notes on the spot and though again on ny
camel's backiwhich for near a monih has BEN
my escreioir, despair, either hefe or elsewh
both now and furever, Of describing the oblec;siI
saw, Or The emotions ! experienced, so.ahat at,S
one else could understand either the one Of ia
other. fet | must say something Of course. ~
Petra, 10 al! ttaveIeTs perhaps who have pf9-
coded Us, has been a place Of annoyance ana
dan0Pf he Epliah.N ~, d
wezweIe fortunate 10 come after a contract ha&
been entered into among The tribes t. admit ira
yellers uninolested upon the pay ment Of a snpG-
lated sum This sum had been Included h oui
contract with Hussein, and Of course Shell Sd
lem met the demand, and we entered wanou
difficulty. . j
The vholet visit was one pf uninierruptea
quiet, only thar few beggars assailed US and
The Sheik u the Wadly exhibited rather lhseall
eRing surprise to one 81 our servants, because W.
refused 10 accept The gin Of sheep, for which
he would have expected sir times fhe paltst ii
rettIqI All his, however, was perfect peace fter
reaiine the alarming accounts Of lIby and Man
giles, Stevens aud even Dr. ROBINSON WeetlI
thought II best to be wary, aud with pab Of
pistols in my belt, and my Bedouin sword ,bal {
won 10 the race, sWurg by a palm leaf Eind
across my shOulder,Il marched about, luelina
The steel against The rocks andsiariing the Yene,
rable echos Of the mouniains5With my FIRE arinsi
an IA manner that made the Felahs stare. i
Mount Hor, called by the Arabs Jebel la,
e un, lies between Waddy Arabah and Petra,
and ofcourse we reached il first. The apptpacf
10 II was very rugged and steep; aud often The
camels weIs ohTtesds 10 make aseents af4.s- IL.
verge Of preciFiceS :hat made Us trempie Tor 3ht
iate Of our provisions, and for the lives Of lie
poor animals themselves. Il is usual to 60 on
and encamp in the city, and afleF ward return 10
visit the mountains; but we decided to encounter
the labor ali once. So sending the servants aud
baggage on, we selected an attendant eachfTpm
among the men and commenced the ascent Ii
was an hours hard work; but we vefe< wen re-
paid fof The exerton By the fine view The summit
com rDahded Of the wild mountains, among which
Petra, Ihe wonder Of The world, iSembosomed,
and by the reflection that certainly the High
Priest Of Israel died here, and here his successor
was ordained. And Moses. stripped Aaron Of
his garments, aud placed them upon EIeasor his
son; and AaEon died there onIh TOD Of The Mo,Iat;
and Moses and EleasoF came down from The
Mount" The building remaining there isSa
plain, small, square stone. lapel, surmounleG
by dome. A pariof the floor IS richly laid
with yari;colo1red marble, aud amoGg the fuins
outside we found number Of pieces of Mosaic
work, evidences, as there were others, that rich
STRUCTURE once occupied mat spot a stone SAr-
cophagus stood the door within, and was
pointed 10 and kissed BY some of the Arabs, as
Aaron's 'tomb, with great apparent reverence;
all for effect, however, for The cunning old FOX,
who had been so devo1t, begged us 10 lay buck-
sheiSh upon il, 10 which he received so startling
a negative thst he remained as silent during The
remainder Of our stsyNas we could have desired
for all pof poses Of reflection.
The tomb, as tits called, (bnt upon what
good authority am unable 10 say,p was COVERED
with garments Of different colours, thrown upon
il lpresume BY the Arabs; for Musselmen, as
we'll as Jews and Christians, claim theN High
Priest as one Of them
We fred some brush wood and descended into
the small chamber below. The heat and smoke
of the torches were sufocating and shortened our
visit; but we had time 10 observe small recess
in the wall On our LEFT, 10 which stood nun Der
Of small open lamps; at the remote end aeon
s,ructiOn against the wall that would have lie;
sembted a. small ANCIENT altar, but that the top
ran upward al az angle chaps of fofIy~fise de-
gIees; and before is-4noI hung with hinges. but
suspended merely, BY Topes-wefe two Soers
made Of thin COPPER bars, four feet high, thiiiy
inehes wide, and OF Fefy neal workmanship tbes
product certainly Of no people who have had
possession here for ages. Alter an hours stay
We commenced the descent with our anxious
feel toward .sihe city Of rock = the5laHtn capt.
tol Of old lduines
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