The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-04-27

no doubt, is familiar spot to you. AS
you read the name at the head of.this
page, old memories are called up to you,
and scenes almost forgotten are as they
were when lin other days. you walked
the shores and boated among these
waves.
Lam going to begin my letter by criti-
cising your favorite author, Mark Twain.
have been reader OF Twain for several
years. / have n copy OF his famous SIN
nocents Abroad" with me now. It
is marvellous how observers differ in
their views OF things. Twain insinuates
a tendency to amiable lying Tor the OPP
posite), when he calls the Sea of Cali
lee and. its surroundings beautiful. l
don't know what to call some OF his
motives. What was the matter with his
liver when he wrote thus OF Lake
Tiberias. "If these unpeopled deserts,
these rusty mounds OF barrenness, that
never never, never do shake the glare
from theirharsh outlines-this cloudless,
blistering sky, this solemn, stilless, tint
less lake, reposing within its ruin Of
yellow hills and low, steep banks, and
looking Just as expressionless and UNI
poetical as any metropolitan reservoir in
christendom, are not food for Crock me
to Sleep Mother. None exist / think"
No ingenuity could make such
picture beautiful to ones actual vision.
What do you think OF such writing?
He is decidedly wholesale in his esti-
mates OF other folks faculties or motives,
isn't he? He says some are guilty OF
pleasant falsities, others fear to be un-
popular as writers, others deliberately
mean to deceive.
When, according to my faculties) l
pronounce this lake ION whose shores We
are camping this evening" beautiful, and
when l suggest later having looked
upon Alpine and Himalayan mountains)
that Hermon, lifting his snowy head ten
thousand six hundred feet above the
blue waves OF Geneseret, lin which he
is reflected is a striking and picturesque
mountain-what am L?
Again, turn to Marks funny remarks
about Magdala with its forty inhabitants.
Don't you think he overdraws things
about a fathom or soP
Mark Twpin certainly does not give a
Presbyterian or Methodist Palestine, If
he does Mark Twain Holy Land. In
his desire to get up book Of his kind,
he Ito my mind overdoes what he ac-
cuses Methodists, Baptists and other en-
thusiasts OF doing. | can laugh Mt Mark
Twain, but can't swear by him, for l
find him as elastic as any others in max
ing point. Enough for Nj. I.
This morning ut o'clock, we, Ia
group OF half frozen mortals) were in
saddles aud skirting mount Tabor. In
order to catch the direct bride path to
Tiberias, the mornings ridewas rougher
than that OF the day before among the
marvellous wheat fields Of the plain Of
Esdraelon. Kate and | had several tear
ing races to warm our blood. In the last
one Kate's watch was jerked from the
guard and picked up on the road by our
Dragoman. l never enjoyed such rare
sport as we have had since passing "Old
San,aria" Kate is becoming a capital
ride. l can wave my hat, and yell, and
race my horse to my souls delight; am
out OF school now, you see. Atll 80 this
morning lead in race which gave as
a prize the first view OF Lake Geneseret.
May be you can recall the place. Where
tour horses, Kate and / stood beneath
us about four or five hundred feet, lay
the town OF Tberias. Whileits quaint,
old tumble down walls and towers,
stretching from the lake shore, little
distance up the hill, away beyond,
embosomed among its mountainous
banks, lay the renowned lake, Mark
Twain to the contrary Notwithstanding
It's waters were bluer than
the sky, and embosomed among
the green hills, rejecting the
snowy summit Of Hermon, it presented
as picturesque and beautiful scene as
ever looked upon. We were an hour
climbing down to the shores. l think
we must have scrambled down at least
/ 900 feet before we entered the gate OF
Tiberias. Riding through the town we
climbed up on the other side to level
spot about one hundred feet above the
sea. Here, under the shadow Of the old
tower OF the city, We dismounted to
lunch. Nearer the shore party from
New York, conducted by Cook, spread
their carpets on the grass, and attacked
their store OF cold chicken, eggs and
mutton. After spreading ourselves we
found that our lunch Fellabeen Tor
Spalpeen) had gone Off on his own &c.
count. We took it out in grumbling, and
certain threats concerning Bucksheesh
were launched ut the delinquent, who
had the doubtful (?) pleasure OF seeing
the Cook party latter picking their teeth
and throwing chicken bones to the
Tiberias dogs select their boat and pull
away up the lake, while we, hungrily
waiting for our lunch to turn up, I'M
proved the time by climbing all over the
old tower. You doubtless remember
how shattered these picturesque ole
battlements were by an earthquake. :.
At last the lost horseman with oul
food was found, and to compensate us
Dragoman decided to give US the trea
of lunching on the boat. We had {
splendid time on the lake. There wa
but little wind, and the sun was not yer!
hot. You can fill in the outlines OF thi
delightful afternoon on this sea so ful
of sacred associations. There were 81
in our party, congenial spirits. w,
read all the Scripture portions we coul'
find in which this sea and the cities OF
its shores figured. OF course We tried +
imagine all those wonderful scenes bacl
again in which the Majestic Beini
whom we worship as Christ was tn
leading figure.
At the supposed sites of.Chorazim ant
Capernaum We landed and scrambled
around among the ruins, (commentinI
upon the doom pronounced by our So
vfour upon these cities, which had thei
day Of opportunity and failed to improve
it. You can doubtless recall the tanglet
mass OF broken columns, beautiful!
sculptured capitals, and other remain
OF former magniticence, which the tour
list finds on the north shore OF the lake
where 1--WE are told) Chorazim Tor somt
other city, rich in palaces and temples
once stood. The solitude and desola
ton is awful. An old stable stands nea
these ruins. Rank weeds grow anon
them, and the curse OF God seems Il
brood over them. Only the blue sky
the soft waters Of Galilee OF a deepe
lime and Hermon, stately ant