New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-04-11

the attitude OF Christcndom toward Palestine our
ing nearly the whole of the present era. MI
through that period the Holy Land was 'he o"-
jcct of more or less attention. For centuries '"e
eyes and hopes of the Christian wor" were "N''
upou IT, Treasure and life were poured out
lavishlv for the recovery Of the holy pI'''s i"'h
the infidcl But. Notwithstanding ali TINS "cuN"N
and interest no effort was made 70 'c'' an" prov"
the traditions which were the Only cNl"'"'' at
hand regarding the localities ALLEGED 10 W. S''''"
or rc,,orohc Every local legend was accepted
without question: long rs II couid DE- h''' !"
barmonizc with the Biblical narrative; and th't
this was not entirely due 10 lack OF sc'"'ln'
Lnoylcdce * shown in the fact that half o. the
nrcsent century had elapsed before a serious ana
,horourb survey and exploration of Palestine were
leterr,incd upon II is true that for considerable
reriod of Turkish rule the Holy Land was closed
IN Christian travellers and explorers; hui before
this and after il opportunities were n"' Wah'lH5
for the beginning Of a grca; ana necessary ""r"
which had been too long delayed, and the iMlure
,o ACCOMPLISH which had resulted in the growth
Of a heavy crop of errors and misapprenenSlons.
Individual travellers had at intervals cone over
the country and described II. some h''uIN anu
skctchily some with care and fulncsS- bn' d"
of Them no matter how we'll equipped IN ahc'en"
md sacred history. in Oriental languages ana III
archaeological knowledge. lacked the most lnd'S
,.reah,c of all pcrousitcs to a full understanding
that is 10 say n familiarity with The races oil
Palestine and with its climate and natural phe-
nomena Major Gender is doubtless right In as
cribnr TO ;his preparation the first importance.
for the absence of it has vitiatcd the literature
of the subject that he declares Rcnan 10 M the
onlv modern writer who has penetrated inc
Orientalism of the country and who feels ana
oor,nrebcnds all that is meant by The local al
mosphcre and color And this preparation. which
only long residence can give. is the more nccrs
sarv because Palestine is Of the most I'M
changing countries in the world. The explorer
M the close of the nineteenth century. can take
his stand upon the brow Of Mount Nebo and from
that emincnce his vision VIII embrace precisely
and almost literally the same scenery in every
direction which Moses viewed from the spot OF
old The Law of the valley lands, the slope of
the hills the position and flow of the rivers. me
state Of the large stationary bodies of water.
even. in large number Of instances the sizes "l
the villages and cities remain what they were
. 600 years ago The same fauna with two cN-
ccntions, the same flora. existed then. II may
even he believed that the culiivators of the soil
have undergone no great change. To-day Samarl- /
tan women continue to the half-moon-shapcd
hcaddrcssrs which reused the wrath of Isaiah
perhaps because. Major Conuer Suggests Inc
fashion was originally connected with Inc WORSHIP
Of the Goddess Ashtorcth. and was therefore hate
ful 10 the servant of Jehovah.
So. too, the Book of job and the Song Of
Solomon. 10 be rightly understood. must be
studied on the spot, when thousand local anu
sons point the meaning of the text. ana l"''l
customs dating from mcasurclcss antiquity /
afford the key 10 obscure passages at every turn. /
The procession Of the seasons. the aspect Of IL"
heavens by day and night: the chromatic effects !
of the sun-bakcd rocks and the sun-parchcd |
plains: the physical effects Of solitude, intense /
heat. and an arid environment tie habits Of the /
wild creatures of the region the way OF the /
serpent upon the rock. and OF the conics-that /
feeble folk-n their rocky Businesses: all this and
much more contribute 10 the appreciation OF /
these ancient and deeply Oriental works. The /
people Of modern Palestine Major Gender init
mates toward the end of his book. have rapidly !
changed for the worse since the PusSo-Turksh /
war, when they were subjected 10 such treat
ment as demoralizcd them Now too. the popula-
ton is changing and admitting new elements
which must eventually deprive il Of the archaic
character it bore lately the beginning OF
the work of the Exploring Expedition. Up 70
that time we are told, il seems probable that
very little difference existed between the mass
If the people then and thousand or fifteen nun
drcd years ago IIenccforth the ethnoogis'
will have more trouble. though in the past Tie
value of his labor has been seriously impaired
by the uncertainty attending his data Major
Gender holds that it is a mistake 10 look for
any final cranal type in Palestine, for example
According 10 this theory there has always been "a
mixture of races there. there is to-day Long
before the Hebrews invaded Canaan the latter /
was inhabited by peoples Of mixed blood con
corning whose origin little definite is known
After the conquest OF Canaan there is abundant
evidence that the land continued 10 harbor many
strangers-from the Hebrew points Of view
and ever since the mincling Of races has gone on
in the whole Syrian region. If this De true it
is hopeless either 10 seek survivas Of n SID
positl1ious synchronous belonging TO Pacs
tine, or 10 proceed on the theory that such
race ever existed.
Major Conder has in previous works fully de-
scrbed the labcrs Of the Exploring Expedition
and detailed its results II is therefore well known
by all who sufficiently interested in the sub
jcct 10 follow it That the explorations have been
stopped for several years owing 10 Turkish Sis
picon and il-will The last Russian invasion
was the inspiring motive of this change. and
though il is not credible that the Porte really
apprehends any danger from the movements of
engineers and surveyors, mistakes trianeulation
for political intrigue the fact remains thai: cx-
ploraton is for the time prohibited. Palestine is
difficult country to explore because it has had
many occupants, and for this reason much time
and patience should be expended in the work
which renders the present situation The more
vexatious. Everybody has been in Palestine at
some time. and everybody has left Il mark
The Phoencians, the Egyptians, the Greeks the
Romans had their turn here long before the en-
trance upon the scene Of the Crusaders yet these
last ancient TO us Of the present day In
u, .l.o
rivals The most massive builders were tie
Romans. Major Gender gives 10 them the credit
Of the Cyclopean walls, which have 50 long been
attributed to the PhOcnicians. We do not feel
sure that he is right, however, in his general
assertion tlat tLnse ncnnlc ncNcr" hmlLi In INIT