St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-05-29
Teniing in the Holy Land.
BY C. l.. GOODELL, d. d.

Is land of tents and pilgrims. Abra-
ham began his life 100 years ago in a
tent, and for a hundred years had no
certain abiding place, but pitched his
tent and reared his altar among all
these gOudly hills and valleys. Isaac
and Jacob were dwellers in tents. The
patriarchs and prophets had no con
tlnuiDg city here blt lived tent life,
and sought one to come. The genera
tions of Israel sOiOurned in the land OF
promise as in "A strange country, dwell
ing i'll tahernacles. Like the clouds
on the illtOps, they appeared for a
little moment, then they folded their
tents and silently moved away. Thus,
life was tenting- ground only. They
Looked for city which hath fOunda-
tions, whose builder and maker is God.
II Is great privilege to he dwelling in
the brightness and beauty of spring,
IN moving hernaclcs-pilgrims here
as were all our fathers. Our camp con
slsts of twenty-seven travellers, fifty
three Arabs and eighty seven horses.
| We have thirteen tents, including the
| large dining and prayer-meetIng tent.
When we are resting in tent, it is Il
cOmely, attractive town, the twelve
|
one in the center. When we mount
and move, it is cavalcade stretching
ON more than half mile.
The tents have perpendicular walls
eight feet high. and then run up to IA
| point fifteen feet above the ground.
they are white outside, and hand
Somely shaped and made. Inside they
are lined with blue, SO us to protect
| the eye from excessive light, and the
| blue is finely decorated with designs
i'll white and orange and scarlet cloth.
| On five of the tents the stars and
stripes float, and on the others, the
flag of England. The long dining
room tent is richly embroidered along
| the ridge Outside with red cloth, and
ut the center flies our American en-
| sign with the British banner at each
extremity. From this tent rises the
voiceof song and prayer every even
ing, and the Scripture is read pertain
ing to the scenes in Holy Land visited
that day. At Jericho, for instance, we
read the account in Joshua of the sur
render of the city, and our Lords visit
| there when the blind man was cured,
and the sweetening of the waters by
the great prophet, while we used the
waters from the same refreshing spring.
Our eucampment is always on some
memorable site, and hence also, near
some famous well, for Oriental life al
ways centers about we'll.
| Our camp assistants are divided into
two classes the men who care for the
tents and the men who manage the
commissariat. We are awakened in
! the morning by the sound of the trum
pet, loud and long and clear. The
trumpeter marches quite round the
circle filling the dawn with the ancient
| Hebrew melodies. In an hour comes
the second call, which is breakfast.
AS we go, we leave all the luggage at
our tent door. When breakfast is over,
we see neither tents nor luggage. The
men have gathered up all our Gear
riages," folded our beds and tents and
are off for the nights camping place.
| The dining tent soon follows. Our
| lunch is spread at noon on cloth i'll
| the shade of an oak or terebinth tree.
near spring of water. At one time
it was ut Ramltk, the ancient home of
Joseph of Arimathea; at another, in
! Emmaus, where Jesus dined with two
| friends on the night of his resurrec-
| tion.
When we reach onr halting place for
the night, the lighthouses give their
welcome. The flags are flying. Your
tent door is open you know it by the
number. Your luggage is all there.
| Your bed, with iron bedstead, is neat
| Iy made. The toilet table, with white
cloth and towels and water, is all com
plete. The central tent-pole has hooks
for all yOur wraps and for the candles,
and while you throw yourself on the
lounge, weary from the engrossing
work Of the -day,,a I cup of real tea, hot
enough to suit anystOver of that bev-
erage, isserved, Ele sugar and goats
milk come with@ft, and you are chcered
and made ready for the ample dinner
that in due time follows.
Our travelling party of twenty seven
| is composed of twenty-One gentlemen
and six ladies, two from Ireland, eight
from Scotland, seven from America
and ten from England. There are ten
clergymen, one member of the British
Parliament, two physicians, one Canon
of the English Church and one botan-
list. Four are from London, two from
| EdinbOrO', two from Dublin and one
from Manchester. OF the Americans,
one is from Boston, two from Cincin-
natl, two from San Francisco, and two
from st. Louis. The company is much
after ones own heart, and we can never
forget the days of pilgrimage in this
Holy Land, or the nights of com
muniOn around the camp-fires when
the day is done and the Oriental
heavens come forth with their splen-
dor. Mr.. Crunden, of London, who
speaks seven languages, is our con-
ductor, and it is due to him and Mr.
Gaze who first projected this best
method of visiting Palestine, that the
arrangements are admirable and little
is left to be desired.
1t is "a great help to any student o.
the Bible to study it on the ground
The Land is the best commentary OF
the Book. Instruction and suggestion
come i'll at every pOint-aid that car
be secured from no other source. Be
sides, it is very helpful to go over thi
: sacred historic ground in COMPANY
with so many learned Christian men
You receive the combined thought o
their minds, and one thought leads t,
another, till a flood of light is oftel
thrown upon interesting points of Scrip
3. ture. One great thing is that sucl
travel increases love for the Bible ant
: new interest in its study. Another is. tn
:. deepening conviction of its thOroug
:, and entire genuineDess. 1t also warm
the love and faith of the soul for ser
IL