The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-05-04

The southern portion of Gilead however-the
Plain of Moab-was what charmed our traveller
beyond all else He does not wonder that the
two tribes and half chose to remain east of
Jordan; for better country for cattle" as they
urged he never saw nor a more fertile soil.
There are here, as indeed all through the book,
beautiful indirect testimonies to the minute truth
of Scripture. Isaiah speaks of the vine of
Sibnah" as of exceptional richness: When Mr..
Olphant was in the neghborhood. of the spot
which retains its old name SO closely, his guide
pointed out to him the superiority of the vine
yards to those in his own more northern region.
When one reads in Isaiah that :" the waters of
Nimrim shall be desolate and the hay withered
away"-and finds Mr.. oliphant quoting the
words as the best he can choose to describe the
very spot to- day. it leads the Christians path to
cling all the more closely to the minutest Bible
facts.
The descriptions of the remains to be found in
the Land of Og, King of Bashan," fill one with
wonder, that explorations have never been made
in this rich arch@ologic region. Mr.. Ohphant
says these underground cities will yet bring
marves to light The cliffs are honeycombed
with vast, subterraneous dwellings, and he found
stone door slabs still hung on their stone pivots
remnants of the Zamzummims. The ruins of
Rabbath- Ammon were of singularly interest.
ing character. Mr.. Oliphant read beside them
the history of Joabs seige with new under
standing of every word. One of the most curl
Gus and significant facts he mentions, is the sue
cessful agricultural scheme of a Greek, who had
come into possession of the Plain of Esdralon-
that spot around which so many strange associ-
ations culminate-the battle ground of nations
He had under cultivation The whole Plain
seventy miles in extent. His experiment of en-
ploying the peasantry of the country, the Fella-
heen as laborers had worked well, and the
Greek, Mr.. Sursuk, makes over twenty thousand
pounds year out of the SOIL he has twenty
villages in his estate and 1000 laborers. His
1.-THE to the Turkish Government is six thousand
pounds annually.
Mr.. Oliphant found two colonies of Rouma
man Circassians who had been driven from their
country, and were beginning successfully to Guilt
vate the land, and three or four German ones,
all more or less prosperous. There is nothing
needed he declares, but the protection and secu-
rity OF reasonable government, to make the
entire land blossom like the rose" and smile
with perpetual harvests." In one of the excel.
lent Maps that accompany the volume, he shows
the district he would select for the proposed col
ony-between the rivers Jabbok and Arnon,
lying partially along the east border of the
Dead Sea, as being, from the many considera-
lions he adduces, the fttest for such an expert
ment. The whole of the Christian, las well as
the FIVE millions of the Jewish) world ought to
long for the success of a scheme that seems to
promise SO much of good, both from the religious
and the political point of view. We have not
taken up half the topics we had marked, but our
space is exhausted. M. P.