The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1847-03-06
From the Crescent and the Cross.
Jerus G m.

1t was indeed Jerusalcn-and, had the
Holy City risen before us in its palmest days
ofmagnifcence and glory, il could not have
created deeper emotion. or been paZed nj
more earnestly. and with intenser interest.
SO long the object of eager hope aud busy
imagination, it stood before me at length ia
actual reality-lhe City Of David, the chosen
seat OF God, the dcath-place of his Son, the
object ofthe worlds pilgrimage for two thou
sand years! All its history, SO strangely
blended with holiness and crime, with pros
perity aud desoalion, with triumph aud des-
pair, and u thousand associations, came
througiug into recollection, peoplng its tow
ers aud surrounding plains with tho scenes
and actors eventiu years. There feelings
| shared in common with the hunblest pill
grim that was kneeling there, and in some
respects, he had even the advantage of me:
he had made infinitely greater sacrifices than
had done. and undergone far heavier tolls 10
reach that bourne. Undistracted by mere
temporal association, he only saw the sacred
spot wherein the Prophets preached, aud
David sung, and Christ died.
The whole cavalcadc paused simultaneous
ly when Jerusalem appeared in view; the
greater number fell upon their knees and laid
their foreheads in the dust, whilst n profound
silence, more impressive than the loudest ac-
CARNATIONS, prevailed over all; even the Mos
lens gazed reverently what was also 10
them holy city. and recalled TO mind the
pathefic appeal OF their ioreiather-"llust
thou not blessing for me, also, o my Faith
err"
When the crusading army, timed by pes
thence prvation and many battle field,
gazed upon the view before us, that warrior
host knelt down as single man: sobs hurst
from their mailed bosom, aud tears stremncd
down their rugged cheeks. Those tears, and
not the blood SO protusey shed upon the
plains OF Palestine, were the evidence of the
crusadng spirit.
Apart from all associations. the first view
of Jerusalem is Il most striking one. a bril-
liant and uuchequered sunshine las some
thing nourntuI in it, when all that it shines
upon is utterly desolate and drear. Not II
tree or green spot is visible: no sign of lie
breaks the solemn silence;no smile ofnatnre's
gladnesS ever varies the stern scenery IL
round. The flaming monotonous sunshine IL
bove, and the pale, distorted, rocky wastes be-
meath, realize too plainly the prophetic pic
ture: "Ihy sky shall be brass and thy land
shall be IRON" TO the right and left, us Tar
as the eye can reach, vague unduations of
coloress rocks extend TO the horizon. A
brokeu aud dcsolate plain in front is bounded
by wavy battemented wall, over which
towers trown, and minarets peer, 81 mosque
domes swell, interminged with church tur-
rets and an undistingushahe mass oiterrac-
ed roofs. High over the city TO the left rises
the Mount of Olives; and the distant hills of
Moab, almost mingling with the sky, afford Il
back ground TO the striking picture.
There was something startlingly new and
strange in that wild shadowless landscapes;
the clear outlines ofthe hills and the city
walls, so coloress yet so well defined against
the naked sky, gave to the whole most I'M
real appearance; it resembled rather an inn
mense mezzotintO engraving than anything
which nature and natures complexion had 10
do with.
uni not sure that the stern scenery did not
present the only appearance that would not
disappoint expectation. 1t is unlike anything
else on earth; so black to the eye; yet so full
ofmeaning to the heart every mountain u
round is familiar 10 the memory: even yon
blasted fig tree has its voice, and the desola-
ton around us bears silent testimony to fear
full experiences. The plain upon which we
stand looks like the arena of deadly struggles
in time gone by-struggles in which all the
mighty nations Of the earth took part, and in
which nature herself seems TO have shared.
Each ofour party had waited for the other
to finish his devotions, and seemed to respect
each pilgrims feelings, with Christian cour-
tesy perhaps inspired by the spot AT length
all had risen from their genufeXions aud pros
traIons, and we moved slowly forward over
the rugged yet slippery path which human
feet had worn in the solid rock. Countless
had been the markers of that path-Jebusites,
Hebrews. Chaldeans, Assyrians, Egyptians,