Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1848-11-24
From Sears Pictorial Family Magazine.
TRAVELS IN TIE HOLY LiND.--No. ?.
BY H4SRIET uARTlNEAU.

Ny room opened upon liue terrace-the
flat roof of Il lower apartment IN our inn al Je-
Tusulem, and from this liule terrace was never
Iired Of gazing. A considerable portion of the
city was sptead out below me; not with its streets
laid open to view, as it would be in one OF our
cities, but presenting collection Of flat roofs,
with small white cupolas rising from them, and
the minarets Of the mosques spunging, tall and
light as the poplar from the long grass OF the
meadow. The narrow, winding lanes, which
are the streets of eastern cities, and scarcely
Iraceable from height: but there was one Vlsl-
bic from our lerrace-whchls rough pavement
of large stones, the high housewalls on each side,
and the arch thrown overiI, which is so familiar
90 all who have seen pictures Of jerusalem
This street is called the Via Doorosa, the Mourn
ful Way, from its being supposed TO be the way
by which Jesus went from The Judgment Hall
10 Calvary, bearing his cross. Many times in u
day my eye followed the windngs Of this street,
IN which | rarely saw any one walking: and
when it was lest among the buildings near the
walls, looked over to the hill which bounded
our prospect;-anG that hill was the Mount of
Olives. Ii was then the time Of full moon, and
evening after evening used 10 lean on the par
pet of the terrace, watching lol the coming up
OF the large yellow moon from behind the ridge
OF OilveI. By day The slopes Of the Mount
were green with the sprnging wheat and dap.
Piled with the shade Of the olive cumps. By
night, those clumps and lines Of trees were dark
amidst the lights aud shadows cast by the moon;
and they guided the eve, in the absence of day
light, to The most interesting ponls-Ihe descent
of the brook Kedron, lhe road to Bethany, and
the place Whence Jesus iSbeIieved to have looked
over upon the noble city when no pronounced its
doom. Such was the view from our terrace.
One Of our first walks was along the Via Do
lorosa. There is strange charm in the streets
of Jerusalem, from the picturesque character Of
the walls and archways. The old walls Of yell
low stone are so beautifully ulled with weeds,
thar one longs TO paint every angle and proec-
'lon, with their mellow coloring, aud dangling
and trailing weeds. And the shadowy arch.
ways, where the vauIted roofs nersect each 9th.
er, ill they are lost in the dazzle of the sun.
shine beyond, are perpetual treat to the eye.
The pavement is the worst ever walked on;
large, slippery stones, slanlng all manner of
ways. Passing such weed walls and dark arch
ways as have mentioned, we turned into Via
Dolorosa, and followed it as far as the Cover
nors House, which stands where Fort Antonio
stood when Plate there tried Him in whom. he
found, as he declared, no guilt. Here we OBJ
Ialned permission 10 mount 10 The roof.
Why did we wish ill For reasons of such
force as despair Of making understood by any
but those 10 whom the name Of the Temple has
been sacred from their earliest years. None but
Mohammedsns may enter the enclosure now;-
no Jew nor Christian. The lew and Christian
who repel each other in Christian lands are un-
derlhe same ban here. Solomon bu!t and Christ
sanclihed the temple Of Jehovah; and they are
alike mocked and nsulled if they draw near
the gates. Of course, we are not Satlshed with
out seeing all that we could SEE of this place
now occupied by the mosQueoI Omar-the most
sacred spot to the 'Mohamm0dauS, after Mecca
We could sit Inder the Golden Gate, outside
the walls: we could measure with ths eye, from
the bed Of the brook kedron, the height Of the
walls which crowned hlorah, and from amidst
which once arose the temple courts: we could
sit where. Jesus sat on the slope Of O,ivel, and
look overto The height whence the glorious lem
pie once commanded the Valley of JehOsaphal,
which lay between US M ii: but lhis WAS not
enough, if We could see more. w hal gone
10 the threshold of one Of the gates, as far as the
Faithful permit the inide 10 60; and even thee
we had Insulting warnings not TO venture fur.
ther, and were Knocked by liu!e boys. From
this threshold we had looked u and from the
top Of the city wall we had look down upon
the enclosure, and seen the external beauty Of
the buildings, and the pride and prosperity of
the Mohammedan usurpors. But we could see
yct more from the roof of the governors house;
and there we went accordingly.
The enclosure was spread out like map be-
low US: and very beautiful was the mosque, built
Of variegated marbles, aud its vast dome, and its
noble marble platform, with its flights of steps
and light arcades; aud the green lawn which
sloped away all round, and the row Of cypress
trees under which company Of worshippers
were at their prayers. But how could wo COM
ing from Christian land, attend much 10 pre-.
ent things, when the sacred past seemed spread
before our eyes! | was looking, almost all the
while, TO see where The Sheepgate was, through
which the lambs for sacrifice we're brought: and
the WuIergate, through which the priest went
down to the spring of Sloan for water for the
ritual pupri6cation. saw where the Temple
itself must have stood, and planned how far the
outer courts extended-lhe Court of the Gen
tiles, the Court Of the Women, the Treasury,
where the chest stood on the right of the en-.
trance, and the right hand might give without
the left hand knowing: and the place where the
scribes sat TO teach, and where Christ so taught
in their Jealous presence as 10 make converts of
those who were sent TO appreheni him. saw
Whereabouts the altar must have stood, and where
arose, night and morning, for long centuries, the
smoke OF sacrifices. | saw where the golden
vine must have hung its clusters on The front of
the Holy Place, aud where, again, the innermost
chamber must have been--lhe Holy Of Holes,
the dwelling place of Jehovah, where none but
The High Priest might enter. and he only once a
year. These places have been familiar TO my
m!nds $ eye from my youth up;-almost as fa-
miliar as my own house; and now looked at
the very ground they had occupied, and the We.
ry scenery they had commanded. with an emo.
ion that The ignorant or careless reader of The
New Testament could bardIyconcelveo And