The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1882-03-09
JERUSALEM.
How the HeIy City Lock. 10 a Modern Trny
eller.

Everybody knows the general aspect of Jeru.
salem now. Ordnance surveys, societies for ex-
ploratiOn, Sunday school teachers, and artistic
friends have brought pictures of it for those of
ms who live IN these most remote corners; Jeru-
salem ITSELF be il remembered being in the ..inid-
die of the world" Indeed, such is the ease of
travel now, that it is safe to take it for granted
in any considerable assembly, that some one is
present who has walked in the streets OF Jerusa-
lem, has seen the jews weeping by its walls. and
can describe from personal remembrance the
Mosque of Omar.
This general aspect helps MS in forming an
idea Of what it looked like IS50 years ayo-of
which, by misfortune there is no description.
Of the temple and its glories, as all readers
know, there is very full description; but the in
difference OF the ancients to the picturesque and
even TO Topography, leaves us to construct for
ourselves the Jerusalem of the gospel time
Still, the slopes of the hills are there; the div.
trees, and the ancmones, and the cyclamens
with the rest of the spring vegetation, are there
The wood has been DESTROYED from the country
generally by the ravages of Islam and IsIams
wars. Bnt the neighbOrhood of a city as large
as Jerusalem was then is never heavily wooded
The population of the city itself was then six or
eight times what Il is now. Such population
requires dilieent farming and markrt-rar!ening
in the ncighborhood. So that il is probabie that
the country around had more farm houses and
hamlets and other aspects of habitation than
it has now. But making such allowance for
change, the traveller to-day has a right to feel
that he looks on much such Landscape as the
traveller coming down TO Jerusalem from Jeri-
chn saw in the days of Jesus Christ A New
Engiander sometimes catches a bit of Landscape
in his own region which reminds him, If the
conditions of the sky and climate are right, of
these rounded hills aud rounded olive trees and
closer olive orchards. | have a photograph of n
piece of chill country" near Jerusalem which
may easily he mistaken for a home scene in
Northern Middlesex or Southern New Hampshire.
ion have only to select bit of rolling country,
well covered with orchards, without New Eng
land houses, forests. evergreens or pines but
with fair share of stone walls. photograph it,
and place the picture in yoar portfolio. be-
tween 4 view of Jaifaeand one of the Dead Sea-
and even an experienced pilgrim would take it
up and say, And this is somewhere near Jeru-
salem.n
The city was built long ago that nobody
knows when. 1t is on the crest line between
the waters of the Dead Sea Valley and those
which flows into the Mediterranean The hills
on which 1t stands were abrupt enough to make
an admirable fortress; what has been said of
rounded slopes does not apply to them. Fort
ress it was in those days of the Jebusites when
David took it. After his time, il assumed the
state and Importance of "a capital And this
meant capital to which .'the tribes came up
three times year" JoSephus says-in what
is probably an unintentional cxaggeration-that
at the time of the Passover, million and
it. Even if this is not trne, il gives an idea of
what an intelligent man thought true in times
immediately after Christ's visits to the city,
Ii is not so much matter of regret that we
have not the physical picture of Jerusalem of
that day. as we have from the gospels and from
many other writings of these times good glimps-
es of social order there, and of mems habits of
life. All this recent delving into the Talmud
and kindred writings, which has taught some
thing even to superficial readers, gives local
color for any picture of gospel times. And all
the photography in the world would never help
us to any knowledge of Jerusalem as it was then
though we had perspcctives of Herod's temple,
and elevations by Herod's architects-unless we
could make real the moral perspective and NOR
al elevations of the city. In an admirable pa
per by Mr.. Francis Tiffany, he compares this
city, the head of ecclesiastical machinery, with
such manufacturing place rs Lowell or Hol-
yoke: Imagine all the mills in Lowell one
vast corporation temple; the bulk of the OPP
eratives IN it priests and temple servants; the
fabrics turned ont ereetis, trcatiscs disputa-
tions; the tenement owners dependent on pill
srims for their dodgers; the neighhoring farm
ers finding the market for their wood, cattle and
oil in selling them for the sacrifices, or for the
maintenance of those performing the sacrifices
do all this. and you have rough but palpahle
working idea IF Jerusalem. Atlantic MORfhiy.