Telegram-herald., 1890-02-15
In THE HULf Land
Progress Of DR.. Talmage from
Jerusalem 20 Nablus-
ABOUT THg TOWER OF DAVID.

- @itinE Place u The Je~s Where Samuel
Lived B~srosh ana H. As-.soi-sioz.s a
Little Tinss Al the Ruias Of shiloh Or.
Tsiu4<~'s Top Bosts.
( lCopyugot fse8 b Louls Kofseb. Sss Yors
BEYROCT. Syri2. .Dsc- zS 1sss. We had
spent few dsys IN Jerusalem, had seen
Bethlehem. Ashed IA The Dead sea and
baGhed IA the Jordan, and were Feady
for a long journey on horseback through
T Palestine and syria. bat before leaving
Jerusalem DR.. T2image made a second
visit ~ Calvary and other sacred scenes
ia and near the Holy Gty. having adil
uonal notes % take for his Llfe Of Christ.
In order TO accomplish this work effect
f lively he took breakfast al IN the
morning, and an hour later Was out and
busy with has observations. He felt thaG
he must visit the tower Of David, which
reaches high above neighbOring build
ings. An open space stands before TINS
/ great structure, which is entered through
( an archway ornamented with pinnacles
Most of what was once the arched
space has been built up, and one goes
F through a comparatively small gateway
into the building, walking on cause
way slightly higher than the stony street
+ Of the space outside. There are stairs on
I the outside Of the great tower, which
/ lead up half way 10 the top. The re-
| manning stairs are inside Having gained
/ the top one finds a parapet for safety,
/ and looks out upon the city from a point
/ of decided vantage. The history of the
structure is not perfectly known. What
( of carpenters work there is IN il Is mod
I ern. Evidences OF work by Crusaders
/ are revealed in the masonry, but il may
/ be that the massive foundation actually
! represents in part the period of the great
I king Here, saws tradition, IL was that
I he received the news OF Absalon' death.
/ Taking out his Bible DIR. Talmage read
/ aloud the story of how the handsome
/ prince stole the hearts of the men of Is
rael, of his rebellion and his terrible fate
/ y squad Of Turkish soldiers, the tower
/ being used as an arsenal, surrounded the
reader as the beautiful narrative flowed
I from his lips. To them it was an un-
meaning show, but not the less diver
sion from the tedium of their life, and
/ 20 the doctors friends a rare treat, the
associations of the spot giving an add
tional interest to his appreciative and
delightful elocution. We next visited
the wailing place of the Jews, where we
found about forty of the faithful wall
ing, moaning and mourning because of
the destruction of the temple and inn
ploring Jehovah with impassioned earn
estness for its restoration. A number of
men. women and children were engaged
in chanting the ninetieth psalm. SO sin
cere and earnest were they in their
lugubrious devotions, the tears coursing
down their pale checks, that DR.. Tai
mage said he himself felt like weeping
with them.
At p. M. the same day we left Jeru-
salem, in all probability never TO see it
again. Taking the old road that Christ
and his parents must have taken nearly
two thousand years before, we passed in
a short time the extensive workshops of
the London Society for the Conversion
of the Jews, which is the most success
ful-because the most practical-Chris-
tian agency ever at work in Palestine
Gibeah, where the prophet Samuel lived
and died, and Ramah, where he was
born, were soon passed, and we came 10
Beeroth. This is the place of which it is
said that there the child Jesus was
missed by his parents on the occasion of
their return trip from Jerusalem
where they had taken him, at ~
years old, to assume, after the Gus
tom of boys of his age, the re
sponsibilities Of active membership in
the Jewish church. Hence they returned
to Jerusalem, seeking him sorrowing, TO
find him sitting at the feet of the learned
men who were accustomed to instruct
Hebrew boys on the occasion which had
taken him TO the sacred CITY Continu-
ing our Journey from this point we trav-
eled f.Ir hours longer and then en-
Campcd For the night. We rested on
the Identical spot where Jacob, lyinS
with stones for his pillow, saw in his
dreams a ladder set up on the earth, the
top Of il reaching TO heaven. and on
which angels Of God ascended and de-
scended. Judging from Dr. Talmage's
appearance next morning his sleep was
unbroken by viaions. lie was N excel
lent trim for another DAYS travel.
| realize that on a F-ip like this. over
ground every nch Of which suggests an
important event or recalls associations
Of a sacred character, the observations I
make in these letters must be limited IN
number to the space at nv disposal I
therefore pass without description the
Lill on which Abram and Lot are said
10 have divided their camps, when the
Younger man made choice IF the plain
Il Jordan a. pasture ground for his cat
tie. They certainly chose a speculative
height for the business on hand Ophrah
.s interesting "a the birthplace of tho he
roio Ciideon. At shiloh ono reflects upon
its having ben m the davs of the Judges
tho jerusalem of the religious world
/ The ruins occupy bill beside a poor
villsre 4 Mohsmmedan mosque. half
IN rains. q the chief feature Of the place
Wal Il an unknown antiquity show
vhcrs once were chambers Possibly
COOL cd ri livel ir = building ~
which portions 81 these ruinous walls
were once part. and it may have been
I - fhat the talernaoIe it=elf rested unon