The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-05-19

uounleu Our rOau passed over the most
desolate hills I ever encountered, but
while not a tree or shrub was to be seen,
at the bottom of every ravine the gloom
was made almost gay by the profusion of
flowers that carpeted the ground-ane-
mones, geraniums, blood-red loranthuses,
and scarlet peoples by the million. 1
know not who said that if the stars were
the flowers of the sky, flowers were the
stars of the earth, but never did l have
such a sense of their power to brighten
and cheer as | experienced amid these
blasted, yellow hills and jagged cliffs
where nature assumes only the most saw
age aspects
AT last we came to height which re-
wards us for our toilsome journey There
below us stretches away to the north and
to the south the great plain whose luxu-
rance once so charmed the eye of Lot,
and over the river rise the high table
lands of Moab, and beyond these the
flaming mountain ranges, with Nebo
among them; while apparently Just at
our feet, though still far distant, we see
the dark blue waters of
The Dead Sea
shimmeringin the sunlight pouring down
upon it from cloudless sky.
Descending the last declivity of the
wind-worn, melancholy hills, we rode at
a quick gallop across the utterly desolate
clay plains crusted with gypsum and salt
and strewed with branches of dead wood
bleaching in the sun. AS soon as 1
reached the shore of the sea, dismounting
at once, fastened with my friend Mr.,
Z. some distance down the beach, where
we stripped and laid our clothes on the
sand, putting rocks on them to keep them
from being blown away, and plunged into
the water for genuine salt bath. Trav-
ellers tell us that one cannot sink in the
Dead Sea owing to the great specific
gravity Of the water. can only answer
for myself, but | had to make little eff
fort to keep on the surface. And as 10
the alleged pestiferous gases and difficulty
OF respiration, [ must say that I found
the air fresh and exhilarating, nor was
the heat more oppressive than 1 have
often encountered at watering places on
the Atlantic coast 1t may have been an
exceptionally cool day when we took our
bath, but | can only record our actual
experience. Nor did the water produce
the painfully singing sensation so often
complained of. But in other respects the
sea is just what has so often been de-
scnbed. The taste of the brine is nau-
seous. Its shores are devoid of vegeta-
ton. No shells are found mingled with
its sands. No fish or living creatures of
any kind inhabit its waters. No boat is
ever seen on its surface. There is no
| tCoJ 10
sluggish waves and melancholy surround
1ngs are invested with mysterious char
acter because of the associations which
are uppermost in the minds of those who
remember the Biblical history of the
dreadful overthrow of the cities of the
plain. My visit to the Dead Sea will be
one of the never to be forgotten events in
my life A rapid ride Of little more
than an hour, over mounds and flats,
white with salt, brought us to
The Jordan.
At the first view of this most historic
of all the rivers of the East, I was ready
to sympathise with Naaman when he
cried, Are not ALBANIA and Pharpar,
rivers of Damascus, better than all the
waters Of Israel ?" The Jordan has much
the aspect of the tawny Tiber below
Rome, or of the Appomattox near Farm
Vile At the celebrated bathing place
Of the pilgrims, where we camped, tits
not more than sixty or seventy feet wide.
And yet these first feelings of disappoint-
ment are quickly dissipated by the asso-
Citations which fiji and thrill the mind of
the visitor as he recalls, one by one, the
wonderful events which give to this river
an interest such as no other possesses.
After forty years wandering, the Israel
ties crossed over it under the lead OF
their great captain, Joshua. When ia
cob stole away unawares to Laban the
Syrian he passed over the Jordan on
his way to Gilead. When Joseph went
up from Egypt to bury his father, he
made his great mourning at the thresh-
ing-Aoor of Atad beyond Jordan. Elijah
and Elisha both smote its waters and
passed over on dry ground David
Isaiah, and Ezekiel all celebrate it. But
its chief renown comes not from the event,
connected with it as related in the Old
Testament. All these are eclpsed by The
more important incidents recorded in the
New. 1t was here that John the Baptis
preached repentance And here not
only was Jesus baptized, but heaven
opened above Him., and the Spirit de