The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-05-19
Letter from Rev. DR.. Hoge.
JERUSALEM, April 18th, 1880.

tine is pictorial Bible, then Jerusalem
rs the most pathetic page in the book
Some one has said that what church is
to city, such is Jerusalem to the entire
country of which it is the capital. Here
concentrates whatever is Of the tenderest
interest in the history of our Lord Here
1T was that He instituted the Holy Sup
per that He delivered His valedictory
discourse to the disciples; that His soul
was sorrowful unto death in Gethsemane;
that He was betrayed by kiss, and
wounded in the house of His friends !;
that He walked through the va D6lo-
rosa bearing His cross, and here it was
that He yielded up His precious life,
that we might have redemption through
His blood, according to the riches of His
grace.
The actual inspection of localities so
memorable in sacred story, is well calcu-
lated to impress the mind and heart more
deeply with a sense of the great love
wherewith He loved us" and this idea
was we'll enforced last Sunday by Bishop
Barclay in his sermon when he reminded
us of the appeal which the places all
about us made to those who were capa-
bic of being affected by these visible me-
MORALS of Him who once walked the
streets of this city as the very incarna-
ton of love. Still more did 1 feel this on
the precious Sunday in partaking of the
Sacrament, so near the place where our
Lord first uttered the memorable words
Do this in remembrance of me.
When L sent you my last letter we
We're still occupying our tents outside the
city walls, little beyond the Jaffa Gate
But the nights were so cold on the lofty
ridge where we were encamped, that we
slept two nights at the Franciscan Con-
vent, and two others at the Russian Con-
vent, taking our meals all the while at
our tents. But our muleteers were under
arrest by the Turkish authorities for sew
eral days and our dragoman being sus-
pected Of completely with the robbery at
Latrdn, we dismissed him, broke up our
camp, and removed to the Mediterranean
hotel, about which I have word to say.
The building itself is an ordinary af-
far, with stone floors and narrow win
dows, and poor furniture, but its situa-
ton is the most remarkable occupied by
any hotel in the world, because of the
memorable places in its immediate vicin-
lty, all of which may be seen from the
Hat roof, which one is tempted to ascend
many times during the day The hotel
is very near the Jaffa Gate, and not fifty
feet from the Tower of David, a part of
the fortress he erected on Mount Zion one
Of the three towers which Josephus says
Titus left standing when he captured Je-
rusalem a little beyond is the Arminian
Convent, large and rich, surrounded by
tamarisk trees; below this is Mt Moriah
on which stands the great Mohammedan
Mosque of Omar then farther to the left
is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
while Immediately beneath, so near that
you could toss a pebble in it from the
root, lies the great pool OF Hezekiah.
But more interesting still Is the view
which one has from the top of this hotel
of the mountains which are round about
Jerusalem, especially Mt. Scopus, where
the Romans were encamped under Yes
pasian, and the Mt of Olives, with the
deep valley Of Kidron beneath, and the
shaded garden of Gethsemane.
Having referred to the breaking up of
our little camp, may say that no de-
cision has yet been made with regard to
the Latrdn robbery. If the laws de-
lay is vexatious in Christian lands what
must it be among the Turks Ny theory
Of the case is, that the government is re.
sponsible for my loss and should give me
indemnity, if it be true, as the Judge be-
fore whom | appeared admitted, that the
liability of our dragoman ceased the mo-
ment he committed our persons and pro-
perty to the custody Of the Government
road-guards at Latr6n. 1t is rather late
for me now to commence the study of
law, but you see I have already taken my
first lesson from Judge Jurius Katton, of
the Turkish Court Be that as it may
we are now convinced that it was mis-
take to have engaged dragoman in
Cairo We could have performed the
journey and voyage from that city to
Jaffa and then to Jerusalem without one,
and this is the place where we should
have engaged dragoman and made all
our arrangements for the tour through
Palestine
We had an illustration Of this in MAX
ing our arrangements last week for an
excursion to the
Borders Of Moab.
We engaged our dragoman at the hotel
with tents, guards, and provisions for the
journey. There were eight gentlemen in