St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-04-28
Notes from Turkey.
Inc Seven Churches of Asia. ILL.,

tue great capital of Lydia, the city of
oihSus, but its charming situation. and
iew ruined walls and pillars to tell
the tale of its desolation. The mama 10
preserved in the wretched little village
OF Sart' to which the Smyrna and Cas-
slka RAILROAD brought us.
know of no sight more impressive
imam that of ruined city. Here at
Sardis, for the first time in NV life. I
stood on ground which is now deserted.
except by Il few wandering Turcomans
WI" feed their t1ocks on the barren hill
slde, but where once stood IA wealthy
and powerful city; Il city filled with
palaces and temples, along whose streets
thronged thousands of men and women,
intent ON seeking pleasure or profit OF
honor, but whose names and existence
the world has long ago forgotten and
| learned an impressive lesson of the
instability of those things which we are
accustomed to consider of SO much i'm
pOrtance.
The traveller on going To Sardis
usually has in his mind two facts of its
history, viz: that it was the home of
Crdsus whose name is SYNONYMOUS with
wealth, and that it was once the seal of
Christian church which received an
apOcalyptic waIuing. There are still
to be seen the ruins of Il large building
which is called the palace of Crrsus.
The walls were made of massive stone
and coarse brick, aud give evidence of
having been veneered with thin plates
of marble or with some kind of metal.
perhaps of gold.
Among the other ruins we found what
had been Il stadium, where were once
some elegant carvings in marble, a
gymnasium. theatre, and two or three
other buildings which are said to have
been Christian churches, and bear the
names of st. John and St Mary. 1t
may toe that in one of these. the church
addressed by the Holy Spirit used to
assemble. 1t WAS il fearful warning
that they received-'.I knom thy morhs,
that thou hast a name that thou Hrest,
and art dead ~
We have no record that the exhorta-
tion-''Be watchful, and strengthen the
things which remain, was regarded,
and not only the church which the
Apostle Paul had founded. but the city
| in ~ IL.
| of existence.
One trace of the ancient heather
worship yet remains in two pillars of
the Temple of Cybele. They stand
alone i'll IL wheat field, and are about
six feet i'll diameter and thirty feet high,
though probably thirty feet more are
hundred years have washed down upon
them from the hills near by. There are
other blocks of maj Bile and broken pill
lars lying around. which indicate that
the temple WAS about 200 feet long, and
wide III proportion.
The pillars which are still standing
are in Il rude state. the shafts being
rough and uutiuted, while the capitals
are eXquisitely sculptured, which seems
to Indicate that the temple was never
finished. Near 10y it is little stream
which bears the classic name of the
gold hearing Pactolus. Much of the
wealth of Crusus came from the golden
sands which this river washed down
from Mt. Truolus. 1t is said that Midas,
king of Phrygia, who received from the
gods the power to turn every thing he
touched into gold. becoming tired of
the deadly gift, prayed the gods to have
it taken from him, and was directed to
go and was in the river Pactolus the
sands of which were thenceforth turned
into gold.
We climbed to the acropolis on which
stood the castle that was deemed by the
kings of Sardis impregnable. The view
from its summit is remarkably fine,
embracing the valley of the Hermus,
and bounded by IA range of SNOW w-capped
mountains.
This acropolis fell into the hands of
| Cyrus the Great, 2425 years ago, at
which time Cresus was taken prisoner,
and his power broken. The oracle at
Delphi had said, "If Cr9sus invade
Persia a great empire will be over
thrown" and the event, though just
contrary to the way he had interpreted
the prophecy, indicated its truth.
Cresus has left one monument to
himself in the tomb he built for Alyat-
| tes, his father. 1t is cOne-shaped
mound some 300 feet high, and covering
about 23 acres ut its base. 1t stands on
an elevated plateau about eight miles
from the city, Oh the opposite bank of
| the Hermus, and looks like Il miniature
mountain.
PHILADELPHIA
The Turkish name for this city is
| Allah Shehr, which means the City of
| God Some have connected this name
with the promise ''tO him that over
cometh," which Immediately follows the
message to the church in Philadelphia
land | will write on him the name of
nv God, and the name of the city of
NV God" The context, however, will
hardly admit of this explanations. and
the name was not given for 1900 years
after the Apocalypse was written. The
coincidence is. nevertheless, interesting.
The message to the church in Phila-