The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-11-12
SOLOM0N'S GARDENS.
DR.. TALMAGE CONTINUES HIS skET-
cHEs OF THE HOLY LAND.

cHEs OF THE HOLY LAND.
Continued Interest in the Lectures ut the
rabernacle and the Addresses Delivered
Under the Auspices OF The Christian
Herald-The Resurrection.
BROOKLYN, Nov. 2.-Dr. Talmage
nreached the sixth sermon on his tour
IN Palestine to-day. To-day's sermon
was on the gardens and public works
of Israers magnificent king, and the
teyt Eccles,astes ii. 40: y made me
Great works. buil6ed me houses,
5isnted me vineyards, made me gar
deos and orchards, and planted trees ID
them of all kinds Of fruits; made me
nools of water to water thereWlth the
wood that bringeth forth trees. Dr'
Talmage said: ,.,-so,. -
Jerusalem. A king with robes snowy
white in chariot decked with gold,
drawn by eight horses, high mettled,
and housings as brilliant as II scoiiop- %,
ed out of that very sunrise, ana IKE
the winds for speed, followed by reg;-
ment of archerS on horseback, WIN
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. ali dashing down the road, the
horses at full iun. the relns loose on
their aecks, and the crack OF whips
and the hal.oo of the reckless cayal-
cade putting the miles at defiance. Who
is il. and what is it? King Solomon
taking an outing before breakfast from
Jersualem to his gardens and parks ana
orchards and reservoirs, SIX miles
down the road toward Hebron. What
a contrast between that and myself on
that yery road one morning last De
cenober going afoot, for our plain We
hicle turned back for Photographic ap-
paratus forgotten; we on the way 70
ind what is called Solomons pools, the
ancient water works Of Jerusalem, ana
the gardens OF a king nearly three
thousand years ago. we cross Vne
aoueduct again and again, and here we
are at the three great reservoirs, not
ruins of reservoirs, but the reservoirs
themselves. that Solomon built three
millenniums ago for the purpose OF
catching the mountain streams anG
passing them to Jerusalem to slake the
thirst of the city, and also to lrrlgate
the most glorious range Of gardens that
ever bloomed with all colorS or breath
ed with all redolence, for solomon was
the greatest horticulturist, the greatest
totanist, the greatest ornithologlst. the
greatest capitalist and the greatest
scientist of his century.
WONDERFUL ANCIENT MASONRY.
Come over the piles Of gray rock, and
here we are at the first OF the tnree
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 de-
posted in each of the three, so that Oy
the time it gets down to the aQueduct
which is to take it to Jerusalem 1t mas
had three flterings; and is as pure as
when the clouds rained it. WONDERFUL
specimens of masonry are these !nree
reservoirs. The white cement fasten-
ing the blocks of stone together IS now
lust as when the trowelS three thous-
and wears ago smoothed the layers.
The highest reservoir $50 feet by 229;
the second, 423 feet by 16O, and the
lowest reservoir, $50 feet by lG9, 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 reser-
yoir to reservoir, and can well under
stand how in this neighborhood the
imperial gardens were one great o!os-
som. and the orchard one great basket
of fruit, and that solomon IN his pal
ace, writing the Song OF Songs and &c
clesiastes, may have been drawing Il
lnstrationS from what he had seen that
yery morning in the royal gardens,
when he alluded to melons, and man
brakes, and apricots, and grapes, and
pomegranates. and figs, and splken,
and cinnamon, and calamuS, and cam
phire, and 'apple trees among the trees
of the wood" and the almond tree as
flourishing, and to myrrh and franklin
cense. and represented Christ as ''gone
down into his gardens, and the beds of
spices to feed in the gardens, and 10
gather lilies" and to 'eyes like hsh
pools,'' and to the voice OF the turtle
dove as heard in the land. l think II
was when Solomon was showing the
Queen of Sheba through these gardens
that the Bible says of her, There re-
NAMED no more spirit in her. she
gave it up.
But ali this splendor did not make
Solomon happy. One day, after get,
ting back from his morning ride and
before the horses had yet been cooled
of. and rubbed down by the royal
eouerrv, Solomon wrote the memorable
words following my text, like Qlrge
plaved after a grand march. "Benoid
all was vanity and veXatlol OF spirit,
and there was no profit under the sun.
In other words, ''1t don't pay Noulo
God that We might all learn the lesson
that this world cannot produce happi-
ness, At MarseilleS there IS a caster,
lated house on high ground crowned
with all that grove and garden can 90,
and the whole place looks out upon as
enchanting a landscape as the Wof!c
s holds, water and hill ciasplng hands N
q perfect bewitchment OF scenery, but
the owner Of that place is totally bind,
and to him all this goes for nothing,
illustrating the truth that whether one
be physically or morally blind brllliancy
Of surrounding cannot give satlsfac-
ton; but tradition says that when the
wise men Of the east" were being
guided by the star on the way 10 BETH
lehem they for little while lost sight
of that star, and in despair and eXhaus-
ton came to awell to drink, when look
ing down into the well they saw the
star reflected in the water and that
cheered them, and they resumed their
Journey; and ] have the notion that
though grandeur and pomp OF sur
roundings may not afford peace at tue
well of Gods consolation, close by. you