Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1879-09-18
Holy Land Memories.
THE CLIMATE OF THE REGION ONCE
STYLED CANAAN, PALESTINE
AND JUDAH.

l The costumes of the Oriental
resembles the fashions of the mos
. distant times. Customs of dres
are as settled there as the eterna
: hIlls-they never change. Th,
glrdle of Judah and of Paul, thu
sandals of the Gibeoni,es and o
the Apostles, the mantle of Elilaf
and of John, the turban Of Daniel
the cloak of st. Paul, the seamles,
robe of Jesus, may all be seen il
an hours observation, any day, in
the streets of Jerusalem and Da-
mascus, and these are so many
witnesses of the unparalleled ac.
curacy of the Holy Writings.
The climate of the region once
styled Canaan. Palestine and Ju-
dah, sufficiently confirms the allu-
sion of Holy Writ. When the
South wind blows there is heat
when the clouds arise there is rain.
The year is divided into seasons
by the early and latter rain, and
any marked deficiency in the rain
tails Of a season is followed by
droughts, accompanied with fam
Inc, sickness and death.
The diseases that affiict the Gri-
entails are of the same type as
those that existed in Bible days,
and they, too, bear witness of the
astonishing exactness of the text
Around the sea of Galilee fever
abounds, such as proved fatal to
the little daughter of Jarius, and
threatened the life of the mother
in law of Peter.
AT Bethany sudden and fatal
diseases are experienced like that
which brought mourning to the
family "that Jesus loved" Sun
stroke IS common in the plain
where Shunem is situated, as when
the son of the Shunemmi woman
was prostrated by its Influence
Leprosy, in its isolated loathsome
ness, prevails at Joppa, Jerusalem,
and Nablous, as when Moses made
it type of moral sin, and Jesus
cured it as an evidence of his om-
Impotence. Blindness Is fearfully
frequent, auu tne UiIuu Sill SIT uJ
the wayside begging, clamoring for
aid, as in the pitiable cry of Bar,
tlmeus, that touched the plying
heart of our Lord.
The domestic lite of the inhab-
itants CT Palestine, 80 wildly pic
tured on the sacred pages, has re.
/ manned substantially the same for
centuries, and SO bears its part in
Bible testimony. In the sultry
hours, the people still sit under
their vines and fig trees. and sleep
at night in booths upon the house,
tops. The bread of the people is
that ''daily Bread" for which Jesus
taught US to pray. 1t is seen in
the thin, small loaves, five making
a modest meal, baked daily and
eaten fresh. New wine is poured
into new bottles (of leather, so
that both can be preserved. Guests
at a feast recline at the table while
eating, as at the Last Supper The
sound of the grinding is sliIl heard
at the early dawn IN everv ,!well-
ing the mill stones are small, and
handled only by women, as in olden
times. The salt used is of that
sort FOSSIL salt) which early loses
its SAVIOR, and is thenceforth aft
for nothing but to be cast out and
trodden under the foot of men. -
The virgins still go forth with
! lighted lamps, to meet the bride
groom, singing the same epitha
lamium that was sung when Sarah
was espoused by Abram and che
dead at the funeral is still carried
upon bier without a coffin, amid
the death song of the bearers and
the shrieks of the mourning wo
men.
The husbandmen of Palestine
WELD the tools of their calling, ard
practice the primitive forms of ag-
ricuIture to which so many refer
ences are made in the Scriptures
Travelling there, you will see Cain
a tiller of the soil, and Elisha
blowing with oxen. When the
rayages of war are intermitted
and peace changes the sword into
{ the plowshare, the ground is made
to yield in historic abundance
Then the mountains drop down
/ their sweet wine, as in the poetica
figure OF Joel, and the hills flow
E with milk, The olive tree sssuck
, its oil from the finty rock" anc
the honey-bee stores her lnsciou
, treasures in the hollow rock. Thel
, the glowing words of Josephu
3 are literally fulfilled ; then the de
, scriptions of Moses are verified
where he describes the Promise,
Land as Gland of wheat and bar
ley and vines and fig trees, an,
o pomegranites, q land of olive oi
: and honey, a land in which the in
habitants eat bread without scarce
ness, for there is no lack of any
thing in it. The sower goeth fort
u to sow, still soatters portion c
y his seed among the thorns, a por
tlon upon the rocks, and portio