Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1847-12-16

Iripe cherry at every Jew steps; ana refer eager
Ily stopped for them When they were all done,
Jesus turned to him, and said with smile, " lie
who is above STOPPING to a small thing, Will have
to bend his back to many lesser things"
From the ridge we had a splendid view Of the
plain ofth Jordan-apparenty as fiat as a table
! to the very foot of the Moab Mountain, whileI
! the bend Sen lay, blue ndmotonless eXpanse,
| to til rght-(the Southland barren mountain
enclose the whole The nearer mountains were
rocky, brown, and desolate, with here and there
/ the remains of an aqueduct, or other ancient
buildings, marking the sites OF settlements which
have passed away. The distant mountains were
clothed in the soft and lovely hues which can be
seen only through a southern atmosphere The
plain was once as delicious a region as ever men
/ lived in Josephus calls it a divine REGION and
tells Of its miles or gardens and palm groves; ana
here grow the balsam winch was Worth more than
its weight in silver, and was treasure tor which
the kings fthe East made war. Jericho is cal
led in the Scriptures the city of Palm Trees; and
Jericho was but one of a hundred towns which
peopled the plain Now, all near was barren;
and equally bare was the distant tract at the foot
Of the mountains; but in the midst was strip Of
yerdure, broad sinuous, and thcky wooded,
where we knew that the Jordan flowed The
palms are goue and the sycamores, and the hon
ey which the wild bees made in the holIows of
their stems. The balsam, which Queen CeOp-
atra SO coveted as to send messengers from Egypt
for plants to grow at HeIiopois, h1s disappeared
rom the face of the earth; and instead OF these,
and the fruits and sugar canes which were re-
nOWned in far countries, we find now little but
tllI reeds, thorny acaclas, and trees barren of
blossom or fruit The verdaut strip, however
looks beautiful from aGar, and shows thatthe fer
tlIIty Of the plain has not departed, There is
enough for the support and luxury Of man, were
man but there to wish for and enjoy them.
! We descended, by a road like an irregular
staircase, the steepest hill | ever rode down.
The gentlemen dsmouned; but the heat was so
excessive that yeatured to keep my seat, When
| glanced up from the bottom, and saw the last
Of the party beginning the descent, it looked 50
fearful that was glad to turn away. We were
now at the foot of the mountain called Quarant-
ania, supposed by the monks to be the scene OF
the Temptation. A few pilgrims come from
atlr, every year, to spend forty days on this
mountain, barely supporting life during the time
by the herbs they fad there, need hardly say
that there can be no good reason for fixing on
this mountain as the place, and that the choice
of it is probably owing to its commanding the
plain Of the Jordan and its ctles-onc no un-
fair specimen Of the " Kingdoms of the earth,
and the glory of them" The cavcrns in the
> face OF this mountain, once used as dwellings, or
Fl tombs, are now the abodes of robbers. When
- some Of our party showed desire to reach the
. lower ones the Arab Sheikh, who was response
bic for the safety Of our party, drew his sword a
cross his throat to show the danger, and barred
the way.
1t may be remembered, that the men Of Jeri-
cho complained to Elisha the prophet, that the
water Of their spring was not good either to drink
! or to water the land for tage, z Kings, ii 10 y
y and that, though their city was pleasant, they
could not enjoy it for this reason and that Eli
shl purified the spring, " so that the waters heal
= ed unto this day." Beside this spring, now
" called Ain Sultan, we encampcd in the afternoon
. and found its waters truly delicious. Nothing
could be preler than this encnmnment IN = spot
. 50 torest-hke as to contrast strongly with all we
. had seen for many weeks past. Our tent was
! close upon the brink Of the clear rushing brook
but the heat was so excessive that we could not
endure the tent, and had cur dinner table placed
- under tree, whose roots were washed by the
y stream. Broad lights glanced upon the ripping
:, waters, and deep green shadows lay upon its
- pools Our horses were feeding in tie tbcket
beyond and the Arabs sat in groups near the
, tents. Other parties of our company were dining
or lying on the brink ofthc stream. Every en-
, campment Of travellers in these places is beautl-
g full but | never but once saw one so beautiful as
this. After walk to the remains of ain aque-
duct and other traces (merc traces) of former
habltati0n in the days when Jericho was great
city, | went, with one companion, to see the
spring, which was but short way from our tents.
. The water bubbled up from under some bushes,
and spread itself, clear and shallow, among some
, squared stones, which seemed to show that the
source had once been enclosed. BY this time it
was dusk the evening star hung above the near
est hill. All was silent about u.s. except the rus
! tie and dip Of the boughs which hung above the
! water. My companion and found the tempta-
: ton to battle quite irresistible. Under the shad-
= ow Of a large overhanging tree there was pool
deep enough for the purpose, and there we
\ bathed, rejoicing with the people Of Jericho in
: the sweetness Of the water
The Eastern traveller feels strong inclination
q to battle IN every sacred sea, river, and spring
, How great the interest is, and how like that Of
: new baptism, those at home may not be able to
i, imagine and such may despise the superstition
~ which leads hundreds Of pilgrims every year TO
y rush into the Jordan, But, among all the travel
> lers who visit the Jordan, is there one, however
. far removed from superstition, who is willing to
, turn away without having bowed his head in its
=, sacred waters
4. There was no moon tonight; but the stars
q were glorious when | came out of our tent to
|, take one more look before retiring to rest
Here and there the watch fires cast yellow CLEANS
on the trees and waters; but there were reache:
! Of the brook, still and cool, where the stars gilt
~ tered like fragments of moonlight This day
i stands in my journal as one of the most delicious
of our travels.