The northern tribune. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1847-1855, 1847-11-12
VOL. IN. 80 NO. 3.

stood looking In at the door OF Sepulchre,
how vivid becomes the picture of Jesus stand
ing there, and calling to Lazarus with loud
voice. to come forth How one hear. that
voice echoing through the chambers of the
tomb, and sees the dead man in his cerements
appearing from the steps of the vault, or the
shadows of the recess .
In the tomb which we explored at Bethany,
the vaults went down considerable way into
the rocks. One flight of deep, narrow steps
| led us into mall vaulted chamber and two
or three more steps, narrower still, into the
lowest tomb, which had little more than room
for one body. The monks, when taken as
guides. show in the villa what they call the
house of Martha and Mary and that of Simon
the Leper: but we did not inquire for these,
having no wish to mix up anything fabulous
with our observations of place so interesting
| as Bethany.
| We looked hack upon the village again
and again as we descended into the valley;
! and it was painful to lose sight of the place
| where Jesus was wont to go to solace himself
with the friendship of Lazarus and his sis
| tiers, and re st from the conflicts which beset
him in the great city over yonder ridge. But
we we're now on the road from Jerusalem to
Jericho. and about to pass among the Businesses
of the thieves who seem to have infested this
J region in all times. After riding along the
Zines on the other, for three Or four miles,
we left behind us the scanty tillage spread
along the bottom of the valley, and began to
ascend to the hollow way which is considered
the most dangerous spot of all. Here Sir
| frederick Henniker was stripped and left for
dead by the robbers in 1920. His servants fled
and hid themselves on the first alarm. When
they returned, he was lying naked and bleed
ing in the sultry road. They put him on a
horse, and carried him to Jericho, where he
found succor. Perhaps he was thinking of
the parable of the Samaritan when this acci-
dent befel him. I was thinking of it almost
every step of the way. ..s
Another story was presently after full in my
mind-a beautiful catholic legend which was
told me by German friend in America, WHEN
l little dreamed of ever travelling over this
spot. Our road now gradually assembled the
high ridge from which we were soon to over
look the plain of Jericho. The track was 80
stony and difficult as to make our progress
very slow and the white rocks under the mid
day sun gave out such heat and glare as made
me enter more thoroughly into the story of
Peter and the cherries than my readers can
perhaps do. And yet the many to whom I
have told the legend in conversation have all
felt its beauty. 1t is this:
Jesus and two or three of his disciples went
down, one summer day, from Jerusalem to
Jericho. Peter-the ardent and eager Peter
was, as usual, by the Teachers side. On the
road on Olivet lay horseshoe, which the
Teacher desired Peter to pick up !; but which
Peter let lie, as he did not think it worth the
trouble of STOPPING for The Teacher stoo Ell
for it, and exchanged it in the village for a
measure Of cherries. These cherries he car
ried Gas eastern men now carry such thing 81
in the bosom folds of his dress When they
had to ascend the ridge. and the road lay be-
tween heated rocks, and over rugged stones,
and among glaring white dust, Peter became
tormented with heat and thirst and fell re-
hind. Then the Teacher dropped ripe cher
ry at query few steps; and Peter eagerly
stopped for them. When they were all done,
Jesus turned to him, and said with smile,
'He who is above STOPPING to small thing,
will have to bend his back to many lesser
things
From the ridge we had splendid view of
the plain of the Jordan-apparently as fiat IS
table to the very foot of the Nolb Noun
tains, while the Dead Sea lay blue and mo-
tionlts expanse, to the right-(the SOUTH
and barren mountains enclosed the whole.
The nearer mountains were rocky. brown and
desolate, with here and there the remains of
an aoueduct, or other ancient building mark
ing 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 region as ever
man lived in. Josephus calls it divine re-
gion and tells of its miles of gardens ard
palm groves and here grew the balsam which
was worth more than its weight in silver, and
was a treasure for which the kings of the East
made war. jericho is called 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 a strip of
verdure, broad, sinuous, and thickly wooded,