The Washington critic., 1888-03-24
JOTTINGS IN JUDEA.
A Young American Seaman'S Pill
grimage to Jerusalem.
THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
At the Carmelitc Nunncry and
Along the Via DOlorosa.
ny r. W. STEPHENSON, U. s.N.

preston and developing the es-
thetic faculties, il is the pano-
rama of Jerusalem and its out
lying districts as viewed from the
summit of the "Mount of Olives"
There, uninterruptedly and instinct
lively, the eye wanders from point to
point Of interest till it rests on the
boundless horizon and space. Much
that is "awfully vast and elegantly
little" is mfolded. Jerusalem, on its
thrones of rock, enveloped by stu
pendous walls and studded with
minarets, awakehs our first attention,
and, as we gaze on the splendid
"Mosque of Omar" the sanctuary of
Islamism and the occupant Of Moriah
the same foundation which bore the
most magnificent structure the world
has ever seen-a feeling of disap-
pointment tinges the mind, and II
grieves that the birthplace Of faith
which has quickened the pulses Of
the greatest and wisest of mankind
for nearly 1900 years should be the
scene of squalor IL is.
Withdrawing the glance somewhat,
the chill of Offense" next appears,
and should we ponder at all over the
circumstances which gave rise to it's
importance, we are ut as much loss to
account for the delirium, which, at
one time, possessed the great and
wise Solomon, as was Brabantio,
when his beautiful daughter, Desde-
mona, yielded to the seeming "con-
jurations and mighty magic" of the
Moor.
The distinguished author of "The
Innocents Abroad" takes occasion to
observe somewhere in that elaborate
work, that one cannot think seri-
ously in connection with places, situ-
ated in the Holy Land, upon viewing
them; that in short one has no time
and that such thoughts can only
occur in the morning when lying
awake in bed. In this / respectfully
disagree with him, and venture to
suggest that it is an insult to the
reasoning capabilities of mankind to
think so. AS we'll might he insinuate
that the sight of monuments erected
to eminent men, or the head-boards
over the glorious dead in our national
cemeteries, produce no impression, as
this. The most sublime thoughts of
which we are capable must, 1 take it,
occur when these relics of mans
history are in full view or not at all.
But to resume my narrative.
Whichever way we turned objects
dear to the heart of either Christian
or Mahometan opened to view. Gaz-
ing down into
THE VALLEY OF JEHosAPHAT,.
with its countless graves, we could
individualize the Ionic tombs of
Zachariah, Absalom, Jehosaphat and
many other important personages
mentioned IN Scripture. On the
slopes of the mount struggling olive
trees of great antiquity still flourish,
and even the favorite pathway, which
Our Saviour and His disciples used in
| their journeyings to and from Beth.
any, was pointed out.
Ascending the minaret of mosque
| which is built on the summit of the
mount, we obtained an excellent view
Of the plains Of Jericho, the Dead Sea
and the river Jordan, twenty miles
away; and although barenness anC
| desolation were everywhere apparent
| the scenery in the main was sufficient
to furnish food for lifetime's re
Election. Descending from the nina
| ret, we entered q small, octagona
building, situated close by, termed
THE CHAPEL OF THE ASCENSION.
Whether it is owned by the Mahom
etans or not cannot say, having for
gotten to ask. 1t is safe to say, how
ever, that it is not used as place O.
worship, for it contains nothing save
an inclosed piece of rock on which i
is alleged the Saviour left his foot
| print before ascending to heaven
| This, hesitate not, to call a clumsy
tradition, as the alleged footprint bear
about as much resemblance to tn,
footprint of a man as does the trail o
a mosquito to the footprint of duck
After chalking our names on thu
white-washed walls with q piece o
coal we found OH the floor, and thereb,
augmenting the not inconsiderabl,
number of distinguished American
names already there, we left and com
menced the descent leading to the
GARDEN OF eETHsEMANE.
On reaching this garden, which wa
inclosed by high walls, we were ad
mitted by a very old monk and show
eight olive trees which are said to hav
been in existence when our Lord wa
betrayed; thus it would seen
that olive trees are gifted with per
ennial existence, and that Ride
Haggard's "She" is comparatively no
where. The garden is tastefully laiC
out in flower beds, the flowers o
which when plucked are pressed ol
cards by the nuns of an adjoining con
vent and transported to various part
Of the world. Fourteen stations ar
also marked out for prayer and gen
eral devotion. On leaving here W
entered a rectangular Gothic structure
whose walls, laid off in tablets, Dor
the Lords prayer in all languages
This impressive building, we were in
formed, occupies the ground on whicI
il is supposed our Saviour originate
that prayer. We were next conducte
to the chapel of
THE CARMELITE NUNNERY.
and there, in as chaste and elegar
an edifce as ever man put foot into
we beheld several magnificent repre-
sentations of the Madonna and {
various other female saints. An
now, ! feel l cannot go further
Protestant as / am, without testifyin
in the very highest terms to the eN
quisite taste displayed in all the col
nections of this remarkable institr
ton. Nothing is expected of tn
visitor, and all who present then
selves receive unbounded courtesy.
The convent is supported by tn
pious ladies of France. On leavin
the chapel the same monk who cor
Quoted us through the Garden c
Gethsemane" met us again and lie