The Mineral argus., 1884-08-14

" NOAAGh 9A0NAN ~ ~ LCAAH 30 @So
ascent and were at length at the sum
NIT. Surely now the Holy City would
loom up grandly, for l had an idea that
Jerusalem wal built in the crater of
some extinct volcano, and that when
perched on any side of the basins rim l
could see every pinnacle, dome and
/ pavement stone. Alas for the fraility
of human anticipations! The IOunt of
Olives could be seen on the east, with
Scopus as TIE northern terminus of the
range; but Jerusalem itself kept persls-
tently out of sight. And so it did until
we were almost under its very walls.
The truth is that the elevation of the
hills about the Holy City is so slight,
and so many objects intervene, that the
view is altogether obstructed.
Gas the mountains are round about
Jerusalem" The comparison Is not
founded upon any very striking SEM
blance, and yet it is a fact that the
ground is elevated a little on all sides
of Jerusalem. Even the summit of the
Mount of Olives is only about twenty
feet higher than the highest point of
Zion.
To the right we saw the convent of
the Cross, a substantial establishment
down in the valley, kept by some we'll
fed Greek priests. Here is pointed out
the exact site where grew the tree from
which the cross was made! Maundfel
rather f%ippantly sums up the claims
of this tradition by a parody on the
story of the house that Jack built:
Here is the earth hat nourished the
root that bore the tree that yielded the
timber that made the cross. Under
the high altar you are shown an actual
hole in the ground where the stump OF
the tree stood, and it meets with not a
few v~isitants, so much verier stocks than
itself as to fall down and worship it.
Jerusalem is hardly a disappointment,
because Ihad myideas rather low down.
Many of the streets in remote quarters
are abominably filthy, in them and I
would not advise anyone to venture
about in them without a clothspin on
his nose. Dead cats, rats and dogs are
plentiful. I even ran across one or two
dead donkeys just outside one of the
city gates. There are many sacred CD
pools which have stagnated from dis
use, and would be rooted out by the
health board of any well regulated city.
Walking is difficult, as the narrow streets
are paved with ugly coblestones, which
have become very slippery and are ex-
ceedingly hard on shoe-leather. Night
is made hideous by the bowling of hun
dreds of hairless, scabby dogs that seem
to have nothing else to do. The bray
ing of the donkeys is also something
awful. A single bray can be heard a
~,,o~to. @f Ill ~ L1or1 - - 1sposE
to the possibilities of a well-trained
chorus.
The number of pilgrims here thus
late In the season is astonishing. But /
am particularly surprised to see how
many poor people there re-. Great
numbers of Russians may be seen wan
dering about in the hot sun, and living
almost upon husks. These people walk
from Jaffa here, if they cannot get a
cheap ride, and never go any furtherinto
the country than Jerusalem and its en-
Worms.
The European citizens live for the
most part outside of the city wall on
the road to Jaffa. There are some quite
comfortable homes. The Germans have
a fourishing colony west of the city.
There are quite a good many French
people here also.
The Mount of Olives is the greatest
disappointment of all. In the first
place it is hardly a mountain at all, and
in the second place it is painfully con-
~spicuous by reason of a paucity of oil
ives. There are plenty of other hills
hereabouts that are much more thickly
wooded. In the third place the top is
disfgured by a large number of tawdry
mosques, dirty huts and anu piles.
This may seem like savage arraigment,
but it is sincere. l doubt not that In
the days of Christ the mountain las all
covered with olive trees, and altogether
a more attractive place than it is now
The valley of Jehosapah, otherwise
known as the valley of the brook
Kidron, separates Olivet from Mount
Moriah and Bezetha. As this valley
is quite deep, Olivet is made to as
sumo the proportions of quite a hill
when you stand at the bottom of the
%ravine; but looking toward the mount
from a point in Jerusalem where the
valley is not seen. Olivet sinks into
painful insigniicance. The popular
path by which Olivet is assembled is be
lieved to be the same which David pur
sued when he fed barefoot and weep
ing from his son Absalom, accompanied
!, by a band of faithful subjects, WHIT
heaped earth upon their heads in tokeI
of their grief at the disobedience of tn
usur ping prince. Up this path I hay
toiled in order to familiarize mysel
with the country round about, pausinl
anon to look back at the city which ha
} played so important a role in the dram
L - ---L..an H. L. nrrnnnIE q