The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-04-16
4 Revere On the Mount Of elves.
LETTER FROM oARLEroNn.
lfoVTE = OLIVES, Feb. L. 1868.

iof Olives = the SKY clear = the
lair serene = Jerusalem before Us
3-the Kedron at our feet the
ihills of Bethlehem in fnl view
ssix miles Betheny behind Us
ON the other side of OlIvet. La i'm
4agination [ 20 back 1868 years to the
birth Of Jesus Christ. The leg1ons
gOf Rome have been here under Pom
3pey and Mark Antony. Palestine Is
! . kingdom, with Herod upon the
g+hrone, owing allegiance TO Rome.
3HerOd has been lavish OF his wealth
Ito make Jerusalem kingly city,
reared a gorgeous temple and a mag
inifcent palace. BehOlding with the
minds eye the city as it was then, we
see the Temple on the site now occu-
MED BY the Mosque of Omar. Great
11he contrast between the two-the
Temple a rectangle, three hundred
and sixty feet long. two hundred and
seventy wide, with lofty walls Of
white marble, roof adorned with gold,
and surrounding courts and colo
nades. Solomon's porch is six hum
dfed feet IN length, with double rows
of Corinthian columns, higher by two
feet than the granite pillars Of the
Boston Custom House. There Is an
avenue of columns along the four sides
of the area. Midway the porch of
Soloman rises. the grandest of all the
gateways, of design so elaborate and
proportions so magnificent that 1t Is
renowned as the Beautiful Gate"
In contrast we now look down upon
an eight-sided structure, with a fat
roof surmounted by dome modelled
after the small end of hens egg, In
appearance quite like railway engine
house
But forgetting what is and think
ing only of what was, we see, at the
northwest corner of the temple area,
q strong castle called Antonia At
the southwest corner we walk over
the lofty bridge, which leads from the
temple across the Cheesemouger' 3
valley to Herod's palace on Mount
Zion, directly west, standing where
Solomon's palace stood. The city is
more thriving than it has been at any
time since the days of Solomon. North
q of Herod's place-not far from the
ipresent northwest corner of the city,
outside of the wallis the place
where murderers, robbers, pirates and
,Tufhans of all sorts are publicly ex-
gecuted. So many have suffered the
penalty of the law at that place that
it is commonly talked of as the place
of skull
i Herod has made his way to the
!. throne through sea of blood. Ri
5vals, his own wife Marianne, his
wife mother, his own sons and hum
dreds of men. have been killed that
he might make his throne secure.
We see him. an old man, his body
eaten with ulcers, his mind tortured
with remorse for the murder Of bis
Queen Marianne, yet ordering the
sons of the chief families of the king
dom to be shut up IN the hippodrome of
Jericho, to be put to death as soon as
the breath Of life has left his own
body, that his funeral may not lack
for mouTners!
THE JEWISH NATION.
I Great changes have taken place In
the nation during the 53G years which
shave rolled away since the return of
lthe captives from Babylon. There is
no longer an ark or a covenant in
Athe temple. Synagogues or meeting
houses have been established IN every
town The Office Of the priest has
given place In a great degree to- that
of the scribe-a man learned IN the
oral law. That law is the reputed
sayings Of Moses. They have been
written out by the scribes In the book
lMishna, the law book of the Scribes
land Pharisees, which they endeavor
ito force upon the people. Theyacon-
slider the oral law to be of greater
force than the written. The doctors
of law are great men, entitled to the
chief places at feasts and public
assemblies. The Pharisees look
upon themselves as being very
holy, because of their observ-
ance of the oral law They CON
slider it sin to eat with uuwashed
hands. The lawyers have given deci-
sions on the manner Of washing. The
water must reach as far as the wrist;
1t must be pure water; there must be
enough of it. aud not too much; it
must never have been used for any
other purpose; it must be in
dish, and not IN a brook or cistern
TO use too much is as sinful as to use
none at all. Having washed, he can
mot eat food that has not been prop-
erly tithed-which has not paid an in
ternal revenue tax to the priests
Such a tax Is holy. and for him to en-
JOY whatever Is holy is sin He can
not eat at the table of man who does
not use such meat or bread, for he Is
a sinner. The butcher who slaueh.
tiers the animal eaten, or the baker
who prepares the bread. must wash
their hands properly or the food IS
,unclean. So runs the endless web
Il