Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-04-30
In THE HOLY LAND.
AN INTERESTING LETTER BY REV. J
SUMNER STONE.
fss Aacisni City Of JsiehO-fhs Land = Bowling
WltsnsS Covered with Rains-Ga
he Piaoes kais &e1e4 BY
As Say0ur.
JERICHO, February %, 'Ss.

Ny DEAR -: Your letter directed TO
me at Jerusalem was received with anum-
Der OF others, on Tuesday morning. We
enjoyed them as only pilgrims far from
home can enjoy such fsayts.
As you see by my heading / am writing
this letter amid the associations Of the
worlds most remarkable events. ! cannot
repre=s sentimen. under these eircum-
stances. i would motif / eoale. am as
natural rs ever / was on the 0hiO's banks,
yet on the Jordan's banks I am strangely
moved. / know ! am among awful
desolstiOns. The land is q howlng will
dernsss covered with ruins, ruins Of the
most ancient and remarkable character. l
can't understand . nature hat could pass
unm0yed through such q country. These
spots are hsllowed by the steps and words
and acts Of the most holy men who have
ever lived. Among these scenes also moved
the most impure and cruel Of our race.
The footprints Of Jesus, the Man Of S1r-
roSs, and OF Herod. the man of blood,
were left here. / walked this afternoon
among the ruins Of ancient Jericho and
under the shadow of the supposed Mount
Of Temptation. To-morrow morning /
will walk along the shores Of the Dead Sea,
whose waters Of bitter salt make the only
monument left TO perpetuaie the memory
Of cities, whose very names suggest to Us
the mos. odiOus Of vices, Sodom and GhO-
moTrah.
1 am stopping at 3 Russian hotel in
modern Jericho. This is the site Of the
city, built by HerOd the Great. As 4 city,
modern Jericho has disappeared. About
one mile and a halt from this spot to the
north are the ruins Of ancient Jericho,
where God so signally wrought wal upon
that city Of s:n, pronOunciDg upon the
doomed place a curse which has never been
removed from it. Desolate and uniE-
habited for ever it is to remain. Ole mile
and o half to the east was Gilgal, the first
camping place Of Israel after the miracu-
lous crossing Of Jordan. You remember
how Joshua encountered over night at this
place the Captain Of the Lords host, who.
commentators say, was Jehovah, after
wards God manifest in the flesh. In this
Place was built the altar made Of twelve
stones taken from the river.
Not far beyond rise the mountains OF
Mcab, from Pisgah aud Nebo SUBMITS Of
which Moses 81 the !'coodly land" we'll
watsred and rich as the Garden Of the
Lord; the one summit being the high place
whence he saw the earthly Canaan, from
the other the heavenly land into which be
vas called to sntsr-Nebo being his burial
place. i saw the moon full orbed Mss over
these mountains a few minutes ago. A
little before l watched the sun sinking he
hind the Judean hills, upon one of which
Abraham and Lot stood many centuries
ago looking upon the weli-iayOred valley
Of the jordan, ever as Moses looked down
on it four hundred years later. | have
stood on one of these high places Of Judea
to day and enjoyed a view Of SURPRISING
grandeur and beauty. ] said, ss l looked
down upon the green field of the Jordan
valley, that / could better understand
Lots choice than ever before. /
am certain / can now more
fully appreciate the pathetic pleading If
Moses: Pray thee, let me go now and
see the good land that is beyond Jordan"
Would you enjoy the story OF this 'day's
tramy? Last evening We slept directly
opposite the Mt. Of Olives, from behind
which we watched the moon, now foil,
rise, flooding Jerusalem, part of which lay
in fall view under our window, with light.
This morning we saw the sun rise over the
same place. Not long after sunrise We
we're in the saddles, ten Americans with a
troop of camp followers, enroute for a ride
down to Jericho. Filing down the street
(our hotel is without the old city We cam
under the walls of the Tower OF David.
We rode past Jappa gate and Damascus
gate to the northeast corner of the wall.
Here we turned to tho right, riding to-
wards the Valley of J~ehoshsphat, a ravine
300 feet deep. We continued On this
course until we reached the southeast cor
ner, bearing around following the walls
We slowly rode on until st. Stephens gate
was opposite us. There we turned our
horses heads into the valley at the bottom
of which once ran the CedIon. Down this
path Jesus aud His disciples, that awful
night of the betrayal, passed on their way
to G~sthsemane, and a few minutes after
wards came Judas and his band to arrest
the friend OF sinners. We thought Of these
thicgs As we slowly picked our way down.
Near the bed Of the stream, now dry, we
were shown the supposed spot where Ste
phen wa stoned. On a few steps further
we came TO the tomb of the Virgin. By
descending steps we found ourselves in q
large vault, the mos. ancient church in
the world ~. IL il owned by the
Greeks and Armenians jointly. They take
turns in worshipipg in il. This day
vas the Armenlan's turn. We SAW but
l,ttle to interest us here save the strange
wOrshippeTs from the mountains Of ArmG-
MA, and q picture Of the Madona and child
with q crown of real diamonds and other
rich gems. Half way down the steps lead
ing To this vault we were shown the tombs
OF Joseph and Of the parents OF May.
Sweeping around past the Garden of
Gethsemane, which we will visit AZ
another time, We climb the slope
Of Olivet by n path running diagonally
across the front. In q few moments we
have passed around its brow along the
very road by which the tIiumphal entry
was made in Jerusalem on that memorable
Palm Sunday eli hteen centuries sgo. We
turn for a few moments to look for the
golden gate through which the Messiah en-
tered the city with his tickle followers 30
soon 10 choose Barahas, sthief, in his place.
That gate is walled up. The MOslems
have a legend that, when the Christians
finally take the city, they will enter by
that gate.
Bethany, the home of Lazarus and his
two sisters, is soon reached and passed; for
il il now bat a group Of uHsightly mud
huts. One would never think Of it as a
resort OF the Saviour, containing the hos
pitable homes Of the three friends Of Jesus,
or OF that wealthier friend Of the man Of
Na1areth Simon the Isper