The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-12-09
TIE DgAp Be-.
She Weird und Wonderful Beauty CT a
Mach lIuiiEncd REGION,

Much HIaiiEnod REGION,
The New York Eraagelist pablisbes
the following graphic description osthe
Dead sea, from tho pen Of Rev. Thoo-
dore Cuyler:
Our afternoons march over the bleak,
treeless and brown mountains Of the
wilderness was iDsxpressibly tirosome
until we came in sight of the Dead sea.
1t lay 1000 feet below us-a mirror OF
silver, set among the violet mountains
of Moab. More precipitous descents
over rocks and sand brought us, by sun
down, to the two towers Of the most
unique monastery OF the globe. The
famous convent of Mar Saba is worth .
journey to Palestine. For thirteen CEN
turies that wonderful structure has
hung against the walls OF the deop,
awful gorge Of the Kidror.
II is colossal swallows nest OF stone,
built to the height Of 500 feet against
the precipice, aud inhabited by eiNy
monks of the Greek church-genuino
Manicheans and followers Of st. Saba
and st. John of Damascus. No vo-
mans foot has ever entered the con-
vents walls Instead OF woman's So
ciety they make love to the birds, who
como aud feed off the monks hands.
Every evening they toss meat down to
the wild iackals in the gorge below.
at sunset climbed over the extraor-
dinary building-was shown into the
rather handsome church, and into the
chapel or cave Of st. Nicholas, which
contains the ghastly akulls of the monks
who were slaughtered by Chosroes and
his Persian soldiers-and gazed down
into the awful rayine beneath the con-
vent walls. Some monks in black gowns
were perched as watchmen on the lofty
towers; others wandered over the stone
pavements in O sort of aimless vaouity.
What an attempt TO live in IN exhausted
receiver
The monks gave us hospitable vel
come, sold us canes and woodwork, and
furnished us lodgings on the divans OF
two large stone parlors. One of the re-
igious duties Of the brotherhood is to
keep vigils, and through the night bells
were ringing and changing to call them
TO their religious devotions. The ve-
min in the lodging-roorns have learned
TO keep up their vigils also; and rs the
result our party-with one exception
had a sleepless night. have such
talent for sleeping, and like Pat "pay
attention to il" so closely that was
able to defy even the feas and mos
quitoes of Mar Saba. BY daylight the
next morning we heard the great iron,
door of the convent clang behind nsI
like the gate of Bunyan's "Doubtingl
Castle" and for FIVE hours we nlada a
toilsome descent of the desolate cliffstoi
the shore of the Dead sea. That much
maligned seq has weird and wonderful
beauty.
We took bath in its cool, clear
waters, and detected no difference from
bath at Coney Island except that the
water has such density that We loated
on it like pine shingles.
No fish from the salt ocean can live in
it; but it is very attractive to the eye
on hot MONDAY. A scorching ride we
had across the barren plain to the sacred
Jordan-which disappointed me sadly.
At the place where the Israelites crossed
and our Lord was baptised it is about
100 feet wide; it flows rapidly aud in.
turbid current of light stone color. In
size and appearance it is the perfect
counterpart Of the Muskingum few
miles above GAINESVILLE. It's useless
waters ought to be turned or to irri-
gate its barren valley, which might be
changed into garden. For beauty tha
Jordan will not compare with Eliiah's
Brook Cherith, whose bright, sparkling
stream went flowing past our lodging
place at Jericho. We lodged over
night in Greek convent (very small),
and rode next morning to see the ruins
of the town made famous by Joshua,
Elijah, Zaccheus, and the restoration
Of Bartimeus to sight Squalid Arabs
haunt the sacred spot,