The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-11-05
PALESTINE GARDENS.
Horticulture and Hydraulics in the
Holy Land.
Rev. DR. TaimaGe Continues His Dis
Scourses on His Palestine Tour "A
Visit TO bethlehem During the
Month OF the saviour's Birth.

Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage's sixth SER
mon Of the Holy Land series was on the
garden and public works Of King Solo,
mon, and the text, Ecclesiastes ii. 40:
II made me great works, / builded me
houses, planted me vineyards, made
me gardens and orchards, and planted
trees In them Of all kinds of fruits; !
made me pools Of water to water there
with the wood that bringeth forth
trees" The sermon was as follows:
A spring morning and before break
fast at Jerusalem; King with robes
snowy white in chariots decked with
gold, drawn by eight horses, high-met-
tied, and hou sings as brilliant as II scol-
loped out Of that very sunrise, and like
the winds for speed, followed by regi-
ment OF archers on horseback with hand
on gilded bow, and arrows with steel
points flashing in the sun, clad from
head to foot in Tyrian purple, and black
hair sprinkled with gold-dust, all dash
ing down the road, the horses at full
run, the reins loose on their necks, and
the crack Of whips, and the halloo OF
the reckless cavalcade putting the miles
at defiance. Who is It, and what is 1t?
King Solomon taking an outing before
breakfast from Jerusalem to his gar
dens, and parks, and orchards, and res
ervoirs, six miles down the road towards
Hebron. What contrast between that
and myself on that very road one morn
ing last December, going afoot for our
plain. vehicle turned back for photo
graphic apparatus forgotten, we on the
way to find what is called Solomon's
pools, the ancient waterworks Of Jeru-
salem, and the garden OF King nearly
three thousand years ago. We cross the
aqueduct again and again, and here We
are at the three great reservoirs, not
ruins OF reservoirs, but the reservoirs
themselves, that Solomon built three
mlllenniums ago for the purpose Of
catching the mountain streams and pas
sing them to Jerusalem TO slake the
thirst OF the city and also to irrigate the
most glorious range Of gardens that ever
bloomed with all colors or breathed
with all redolence, for Solomon was the
greatest horticulturist, the greatest bot
anist, the greatest orinthologist the
greatest capitalist and the greatest SCI
enlist OF his century.
Come over the piles Of gray rock, and
here we are at the first Of the three
reservoirs, which are on three great
levels. the base OF the top reservoir
higher than the top Of the second. the
base Of the second reservoir higher than
the top of the third, so arranged that
the waters gathered from several sources
above shall descend from basin TO basin,
the sediment Of the water deposited in
each OF the three, SO that by the time
It gets down to the aqueduct which is
to take 1t to Jerusalem, 1t has had three
filterings, and is as pure as when the
clouds rained it Wonderful specimens
Of masonry are these three reservoirs.
The white cement fastening the blocks
OF stone together is now Just as when
the trowels three thousand years ago
smoothed the layers. The highest res
eryoir, $50 feet by 800; the second, 42S
feet by 100; and the lowest reservoir,
$50 feet by 160; and deep enough and
wide enough, and mighty enough to
float an ocean steamer.
On that December morning we saw
the waters rolling down from reservoir
TO reservoir, and can well understand
how in this neighborhood the imperial
gardens were one great blossom, and
the orchard one great basket OF fruit.
and that Solomon In his place writing
the Song Of Songs, and Ecclesiastes,
may have been drawing illustrations
from what he had seen that very morn
ing in tho royal gardens when he al
luded TO melons, and mandrake, and
apricots, and grapes and pomegranates,
and figs, and spikenard, and cinnamon,
and callamus, and campfire, and "apple
trees among the trees Of the wood" and
the almond tree as fiourishing, and to
myrrh and frankincense, and repre-
sented Christ as ''gone down into his
gardens, and the beds Of spices to feed
in the gardens, and to gather lilies,"
and to "eyes like fish pools" and to tho
voice Of the turtle dove as heard in the
land. think 1t was when Solomon was
showing the Queen Of Sheba through
those gardens that the Bible says of
her: "There remained no more spirit in
her" She gave 1t up.
But all this splendor did not make
Solomon happy. One day, after getting
back from his morning ride and before
the horses had yet been cooled off and
rubbed down by the royal equerry, Sol
omon wrote the memorable words, fol-
lowing my text like dirge played after
. grand march: "Behold all was vani-
ty and vexation Of spirit, and there was
no profit under the SUM-" In other
words, "It don't payl" Would God that
we might all learn the lesson that this
world can not produce happiness? At
Marseilles there is q castellated house
on high ground crowned with all that
grove and garden can do, and the whole
place looks out upon as enchanting o
landscape as the world holds, water and
hill clasping hands In a perfect bewitch-
ment OF scenery, but the owner OF that
place is totally blind, and 10 him all this
goes for nothing, illustrating the truth,
that, whether one be physically or NOR
ally blind, brilliancy Of surrounding
can not give satisfaction. But tradition
says that when the "wise men Of the
East" were being guided by the star on
the way to Bethlehem, they, for a little
while. lost sight Of that star, and in de-
SPAR and exhaustion came TO o we'll to
drink. when looking down into the we'll
they saw the star reflected In the water,
and that cheered them. and they re-
sumed thoif journey, and ] have the no
tion that though grandeur and :pomp Of
unrro.l nd nnu NAV NOT afford tAnnca "A