The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1857-08-20
RAVENNA, THURSDAY, AUG. 20, 1857,

grave Turk, with, his insepurablc chiboukj
the fierce Arab, with brown mantle and as
many pistols in his belt as lie can carry; the
quiet Armenian, with pen and ink case, in-
steud Of pistols; the patient COpt; the irpa'
tient American; the voluble FrenchmnD, and
the silent Englishmen, the Brazilian, the
Mexican, the East Indian, the Persian, the
Chinese-nll mingled together in q kaleides'
cope of brilliant colors, and oil seen with
more satisfaction from quiet window at a
considerable distance. All these people, oI
characters and habits so different, are brought
together, to the number of from 12,0G0 tC
1000, for one soul purpose---that Of devo
ton. The converts and churches are fill
ed to overfowing-lor almost every one o
these people has a convent or church or par
Of church, where he can worship accord
ing to his own rites and ceremonies. But
unfortunately, they are very often forget the
motive of their coming and act in manner
quite inconsistent with their professions. -
Confusion, noise, quarrcls and fights are 60
ing on from morning until night, and the WIS.,
tor who may have been detained until Easter
season has passed, has much better chance
OF seeing Jerusalem, quietly and thoroughly,
than amid all this turbulent and dirty
throng.
tv,ho ,,iohoo 10 0nS, InpO
stay at Jerusalem finds none of those con-
venisnces which he is accustomed to expect
and which are found in other cities. There
are no furnished lodgings, and lie is obliged
either to hire house, to fcrnish it, to pro.
cure servants, which are here the very worst
in the world, and TO 60 regularly to house
keeping, or to resort to hotel. These ho.
tells are private houses chonged from their
original destination, and are of the most
wretched description. Except the houses
Of the European consuls, which are built
expressly for them by their governments
there is not one in the the city so good as the
house of On American backwoodsman. In
the winter they are cold, and the roofs let
in the water, Sc that the builders arc really
obliged to make tAe floors slantihg, that the
water may run of. In tha summer they arc
uninhabitablo from the heat. Whatever
improvement tho tenant may make-if he
cultivate the garden, or stop the leak, or dec
crate the house, or even if he clean 1T,
made an excuse ty the Turkish landlord 70!
raising the rent, already most cxorbitant
because he says the house is worth more
The hotels, of which there are three, are
| like the other houses, most wrctchcd-tht
fare is very poor, and the charge the same
as at the Revere or hstor house Indect
the. expense living IS as great here us il i.
in Paris or New York, without any OF tho
comforts of those cities. &c.
Is there city So divided against itself AZ
Jerusalem ! should fatigue you and my
self, were to attempt even to cnumeratt
the different forms UF religion which are herr
observed; each community hating tho othc
with all the raucor of religious nimosty
and only prevented by the power of thu
Turk from open hostility. The Turk sits n
the door of the Church of the Holy Sepul
chre, smoking his long pipe, and slipping ht
black coffee, and looking with equal indilc.
ence on the Latin, and the Greek, and th
Armenian, ind the Copt, and the Chalder
and dozen others who pass by him on the
way to their different altars, while the Jev
who imprudently ventures into tho. opcl
square in front of the church expose
himself to greut peril, if not to certain death
from the hands of both Turk and Christian
The Christian cannot enter the Grand Mos
cue of the Turk. The Grcek, the Latin, en-
the Armenian dispute among themselves; an
in the meantime the roof of the church O
the Holy Sepulchre is falling;to peices, an
the wind and rain beat upon the Holy Sep
ulchre itself. With this state of Opposition
there can of course be no society, no common
ground upon which they all meet. The un
social Turk inhabits his own quarter of tn
city and hardly ever leaves it except to &c
mand "Backshocsh" for some service whcl
exists only ID his Imagination. The 1cv
lives in his own filth in another quarter, O
sneaks about the city in q listless manner
until some charity sent to him from abroat
gives him strength to quarrel about his share
Whatever Of improvement, or of civilization
is to be seen in jerusalem, has been effeCte
by the persetcring efforts of the. Christians
who also have their own quarter of the city
and can say is somewhat less dirty thai
the others. A new Pasha has lately arrived
who seems disposed to aid in the worAo
cleansing the city-but he may turn out
like the others, but new broom. He, how
ever, appears less opposed to innovation thai
his predecessors. ..,
.LicemtiOusncss and Drunkenness