Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-02-14
CORRESPONDENCE.
TWO YANKEES ABROAD.
SECOND PART.---PALBSTINE.
LERUSAIEM.

JERUSALEM.
1prH G-It has rained last night today
| find there is no letter-box in our hotel
none in Jerusalem; per contra there is an
Ottoman post office and an Austrian post
office. This one is said to be the hest, hence
| hunt it in a small street blocked by don
keys loaded with wood, and screaming wom-
en-, probably simply bargaining | admire
the pavement, the pools Of rain water
| jump from stone to stone preceded by my
Pho II is the name Of my guide, a young
man not at all modest, whose ancestors have
lived in Jerusalem for "A thousand years.
| His grandfather was a rich merchant his
father lost his fortune he, Pio, had to work
to support his family tmother and sisters ;
he is compound of superstition, Ignorance
and shrewdness, hatters me aud earns well
his wages
After lunch donkeys are at the door and
we are off by Jaffa gate (west), around by
Damascus gate (north) hence to Stephens
gate (east), half around the city wall, down
| by steep grade 10 the walls Of Geth.
semane, which we reserve for our return,
and take the road to Bethany, about half
an hours walk from the city. We do
Mary aud Martha's house spot Lazarus's
tomb, Simun's house where the fcust took
place when the Magdaene anointed the feet
Of Jesus all are in ruins, all doubtful and
possible. In Bethany we are on the east
side Of the Mount Of Olives, hill covered
with olive and tig trees. A sharp bride
path takes us to the summit, TO the spot
whence Jesus ascended to heaven it is
covered by a small mosque with minsret,
or tower, which climb, and before me is
perhaps the greatest historical view in the
world
The whole city is spread at ones feet ,
the valley between Olive mount aud the
temple (now Mosque Of Omar is not seen,
and it seems as il the mosque could he
touched Jerusalem is, in reality, in h
| hollow, surrounded ON all sides 10y higher
/ hills. IL II composed of II number Of knolls
| formerly distinct. now much leveled the
intervals being filled with debris of former
| cities
The temple grounds cover - acres
| Above them the JEWS quarter with two
| synagogues east of them the Mussulman
/ quarter in the ceutre the knoll Of the Holy
/ Sepuchre church Last night ON top Of
/ the Greek chapel, a lighted cross formed u
/ conspicuous object seen from the llat roof
| Of our hotel it was most suggestive. Higher
up, Zion hill and the Armenian quarter in
the centre, Christians, Greeks and I.atins
mixed up around the " hole the wall,
| forming an irregular square. The city
slopes downward from north to south, So
that the temple grounds are in the lowest
part Around the south and east sides are
| two valleys from their bottoms the city Is
| high up from the Mount Of Olives, which
is about 300 feet higher. it lies almost fiat
and looks very sad, like all eastern cities
With stone fiat roofs besides Jerusalem is
full Of ruined buildings, left to get more
ruined yet according to Ottoman rule.
From my minaret | see the spot where
| Jesus wept over Jerusalem, the spot where
he taught his disciples the Lords Prayer
etc, etc aud eastward, in the hollow
about $500 feet lower than Jerusalem, the
waters of the Dead Sea glitter in the sun
along the hazy, purple Moab hills which in
dicate, also. the bed Of the Jordan. South
ward the hills of Bethlehem. aud north
westward Mizpeh, the highest point Of
| Judea. 1850 feet.
With reluctance | leave the minaret-to
and we walk 10 a new church built by n
! French Italian princess around a gallery
portico are 33 large tablets with our Lords
Prayer in as many languages the idea is most
fortunate. The princess's tomb is in a small
chapel, and her statue one Of the best Of
the kind | have seen. In the church, the
sisters hidden, sing softly vesper hymns
a poem-ln the garden an aged Arab with
bare legs and feet acts as general care
/ taker We climb TO corner, sit on the
wall, and remain there for half an hour
looking at the city, with a view inferior
only to that of the minaret We leave it
simply because the sun will not stop for US.
BY a very steep path we reach Geth
semane IL is carefully attended flower
garden, with eight old olive trees, surround
ed by a high wall. II may be the real Geth
semane, but would prefer bare olive
tree field to all this adornment Round the
garden are the twelve stations Of the cross.
like those in all Catholic churches. Ii is
difficult to enter into the spirit Of the place
as it is now. The real mental, spiritual
crucifixion took place in Gethsemane, not
on Golgotha. Here He said, "lf possible,
let this cup pass from me. A
Franciscan monk gardener picks and gire'
me flowers, | gire him franc he does not
sell them, do not pay him OF
course, near by is the place where the three
disciples went TO sleep.
Further on the Greeks have the tomb of
the Virgin, Of her mother, Ann, of her
husband, Joseph Rose water is poured
over us, and hackshish here as have done
everywhere At the end of the day have
distributed - francs, aud it is so every day
that We are on the go. Money, money the
country lives out of its visitors. It. is its
business, and in six months enough must be
earned to live twelve. On our way back
we see the spot where Stephen was stoned
near the Damascus gate.
| make my guide take me to the top Of u
small eminence, n small plateau over stony
ground out of the city walls, over quar-
ries abandoned long ago From it most of
the city can he seen Here is the spot
which most Protestauts have chosen for
the real Golgotha, aud certainly it answer.
my preconceved notion Of it much better
than the so called Holy Sepulchre and Col
gotha. Here on this bare, uncultvated
grassy table land, over rocky ground, can
imagine three crosses, near a road, with the
country around it, overlooking the city out
of Damascus gate stop ten min
utes musing over the story of the cruciix
ion. In the evening John Cook
tells me he possesses an old Dutch map
over 200 years old on which the spot i,
marked as the Christian Golgotha,
Books without number have been written
on the subject After all, it matters little
here or there. Christianity is a tangible
fact. GestG Christi deeds Of Christi i,
written over the whole world, and When
compared with unchristian nations, the con
trast is the greatest proof of its excellency
Ny visit to India last winter, my acquaint
ance with Buddhism and Hindooism hav,
more than confirmed this judgment
Ap,ii Yesterday mother had hard
time. Her saddle was too small her don
key was he donkey who wanted to cares
all his harem as he met them it was too
much to endure, and she finally left me tC
return TO the hotel had also he animal
but could master him and check his amoTou,
antics. Today mother is up at ,, gets a cuI
of c, flee, and at O'Clock is off TO "A grauC
Catholic service which Ill last Eve hours
Her husband has had enough early rising
He needs two hours of solitude to put hi,
mind in order, write up his notes, attend t
dirty linen and other equally prosy duties
indispensable even in Jerusalem, which
double life in single room renders difficult
At $3.50 pater is on his donkey, the same he
gentleman, but with an English saddle
which does not force him to sit as if b,
were on a square box OF course he has
guide and the indispensable donkey boy
We visit Q) the citadel or tower of David
the highest ediice in the city the founda
tions may have existed in David's time
today it is an agglomeration of ruins aud
barracks Turkish sergeant follows us