San Andreas independent., 1858-04-10
Modern Jerusalem,

frequent the spots on which celebrated
poets have dwelt, or whence they derived
their inspiration, has published in the
Moniteur an account of his visit to the
"Gardens of Solomon" First, he visited
the "scaled fountain" large subterranean
reservoirs, wherein the waters springing
from the mountains are collected, and
whence the water is conducted to Jeru-
salem by pipes:
DAT a short distance from the reser-
voirs are the celebrated gardens. They
extend along a valley which runs from
Ell Bourach to Bethlehem. 1t is the most
charming spot in all Palistene. Solomon
was good judge in more senses than one.
There are murmuring streams winding
through verdant lawns; there are the
choicest fruits and flowers, the hyacinth,
the anemone, the fig tree and the pine.
Towering high above the garden, and con-
trasting grandly with its soft aspect, are
the dark, precipitous rocks of the neigh
boring mountain, around whose SUBMITS
vultures and eagles necessarily scream
and describe spiral circles in the air
The rare plants and flowers which the
great enchanter of the East collected with
in these gardens were protected from the
north wind by the mountain. Every gust
of the south wind was loaded with per-
fumes With the first breeze of Spring
the fig tree put forth its fruits and the
vines began to blossom. 1t was, in the
words of Scripture, "a garden of delights.
The vegetations of the north and the south
were intermingled. One part of the gar
den was called the Walnuttree- walk, Cor,
as the English Scripture translation has
it, the Garden of Nuts, another is the
Beds of Spices" The writer's guide was
a well-educated Italian, who informed him
that the Gardens of Solomon are now let
to an Englishman.
"sThe present tenant, he said, lis Mr..
Goldsmith, of the house of Goldsmith T.
Son. He is undertaking the gardens
of Solomon on the Yorkshire system
! You will be astonishcd to sec how success
! full he has been. Here is the house. |
perceived bright brass knob shining in
the centre of small square of porcelain
| let into white wall Overthis knob was
the following superseriptlon III the Eng
lish language: Ring the bell This bell
seemed to my Imagination rather an anom-
ally in the gardens of Solomon-but that
is trife We did ring the bell, and we
went in The first thing that struck my
eyes were red draining pipes lying about,
and bearing the mark of the nlanufactur-
ers, Samuel & Co., No 12S Strand. Mr.
Goldsmith was draining that Biblical val
ley, the dew of which was SO often brushed
away by the naked feet of the Shumalite
1t was in the month of September. An
American moving g-machine was cutting a
second crop of artificial grass on the very
spot where the daughters of Jerusalem
gathered those lilies of the field which
were more beautiful than Solomon in all
his glory. A patent reaping-machine was
rapidly garnering the crop of that globe
in which the sisters of Ruth and the
daughters of Naomi were wont to CLEAN
[ asked to sec Solomon's pavilion, but,
alas the cypress timbers and the cedar
wainscotting had been taken down, and
in their place there is brick-built cot
tagc, with roof of red and green tiles.
The entrance hall is whitewashed; there
is little parlor with Birmingham car
pet, and drawing-room papered with a
red-bordered yellow paper, purchased in
Paris, Rue des Moineaux. The chimney
is Prussian, and the curtains are of Swiss
muslin Instead of the servants of the
spouse, | found two nursery-malds-
from Paris and the other from Florence.
The slave who prepares the tents of cedar
is now called John He had red whis-
kers, blacks his master shoes, scrubs the
floor every day, and varnishes it on Sun
days; and if some romantic person should
inquire, as | had the naivete to do, about
the dark Shulamite, he will be shown five
sweet little English children, redolent of
cold cream and Windsor soap, as fair as
floss silk, with their hair in corkscrew
curls, and wearing prunella boots, blue
capcs, and green parasols. The CHINA
mon trees have been cut down for 6rewood
and the aromatic canes grubbed up, but
the five little misses do crochet work under
the shade of bon Chretien pear tree
Since the Eastern war, Mr. Goldsmith
has obtained the custom of the Pasha of
Jerusalem for vegetables. Last year he
had seven crops of potatoes, thanks to his
wonderful drainage"