Washington telegraph., 1850-11-27
FIRST SIGHT OF JERUSALEM

|
towns | ever visited; large portions o.
the Hill of AGRA are completely waste
and encountered ruins. The Hill of Zion
literally, as prophecy foretold it, sis
ploughed as field" the streets are dir.
ty and unusually narrow; in many oi
them you meet large flights of steps ex.
ceedingly difficult to mount or descend
OIL horse eback; the buildings are for the
most part mean ard squalid. The streets.
after nightfal, are wholly in the posses.
>iou Of the Turkish sentiuels aud hordes
Of prowling dogs; the latter, fortunately
tor the Inhabitants. acting as public scav'
eugers BY day, within the walls, there
is little more Than one unvaryiug scene OF
Ii(eIess inactivity; without The gates the
picture is still more lonely; stray fellah.
Il few women fetching water from ST.
loan. a stealthy Jew or wandering Be-
dawee. comprise the chief living objects
| 10 he met with in our solitary walks. 1t
is association that sustains the interest of
the traveller; he lives amongst recollec-
tions Of the past, the past sheds halo
round the present. gliding the desolate
and dreary prospect with some faint re-
lection of the brightness OF the by-gone
days, till memory, tondIy dwelling on the
page which chronicles the history OF
Gods peculiar people, calls i her side
the aid of busy fancy; imagination, with
touch, peoples the soitudes. restores
the palaces aud makes glad the mourn-
ing ..ways of ZION" Not that the stran-
ger must fall back on association alone
TO derive enjoyment from his visit 20 the
holy city. AS the eye becomes accus-
toned to the surrounding scenery, his
rambles in the city and lis neighhOrhoOd
become every day more interesting and
pleasing. 1t is pleasant to seek shelter
from the MONDAY heat, and rest beside
the "waters OF Shiloah that go suftly,"
or wander in the shady gorge of Himmon,
prying into the deserted caves and
countless sepuchral chambers that pierce
the rocky skirts of the Hill of Evil Coun-
Gil. The Mount of Olives, too, barren
aud bare as it appeared on our first arri-
val at Jerusalem, now as the spring ad-
vanced. put on its vcrdant vernal cloth
ing; the fg-;rees were in leaf, and the
pomec rana,es budded, the pensile crlm-
son peeping through the pale green foll-
age; the olives had put forth their deli
cate and fragile blossoms, while the close
green sward beneath was enamelled with
wild flowers; then it was, indeed. pleas
ant, at early dawn. to climb the hillside,
or seated OH the walls OF the little
mosque, to watch the sun rise from be-
hind the mountain range of Moab. the
gloomy outline streaked with the first
faint light of day, the thin gray mist OF
morning yet hanging on the bosom OF the
suIIen lake below; and now the craggy
heights of the desert of judah are tinted
with the purple liyh:, while Bethany
still slnmbers amidst her terebinths and
olive groves The call TO prayer re-
sounds from the distant minaret--yOu
turn. and the sacred city lies like map
beneath you-the dome of the great
mosque is flashing in the snnlight-the
Sepnchre of David, on the far OFT verge
of Zion, reflects the rising beams-the
massive buildings OF the Arnenan con-
vent stand out from the clear horizon,
and as the eve wanders from the old gray
tower of Hlppicus, along the heights OF
AGRA the Latin convent, the dome OF the
Holy Sepuichre, the cnpolas and mlnaf-
cts of the mosques are cleaning III the
radiance of newborn day; still a shade
fingers over the deep bed of Kedron. as
if dusky night uuwiillrgly abandons the
dreary valley of the dead. What an ex-
pause of view from this crest OF Ohvet
! rhe eye can range from Pisgah to the
distant heights of Mispall, embracing AT
| a glance mountain and lake, desert and
solitude, the cultivated field. and the
| abode of busy man; but now the clear
toned music OF the convent bells tall on
the ear, dark specks on the fiat roots OF
| houses move to and fro; the sleeping city
Is awake But it is pleasant, above ALL
as evening falls, to sit and mediate he.
Meath the gnarled old olives Of Gethse-
name, and to thiuk on One who "Ofttines
| resorted Ihither with his Disciples; here
| was the scene of his sore cOutilct and ag-
| ouy; from this same cOnsecrated spot lie
| calmly marked The wary steps OF Judas,
as descending with "hIs band OF men and
officers, he led them down that winding
path above there, aud crossed the brook
OF kedron. whose murmuriny stream
was criinsolled in the torchlight. as ii
the conscious waters blushed tor the base
lngralitude of man. Yes. it is pleasant
to lhink of him, resting where he rested
treaGing the very ground he trod-pleas
ant and most profitable. The thoughts
10 which these sacred scenes give birth
should be craven on the "llving tablets
of the heart" for theu we walk not with
the memories of the past-we walk witt
God-Dublin UniUcrsity Magazine.
MINUTE ExPENsEs-Under Washing
ton, the expenses of the government o
/ the United States Amounted to SO g.