The Dickinson press., 1891-11-07
ALONG H NILE.
d. Talmage Gives a Vivid Description
Of Sights on The Banks Of Egypt's
Great River.

The Historic Stream Presents the
Same Appearance Now as 1t Did
lnthe Days Of Pharaoh.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, [special]-Dr.
Talmage preached on Sailing Up the
Nile," the second sermon of the series,
entitled "From the Pyramids to the
Acropolis, or What 1 saw in Egypt
and Greece, Confirmatory of the
Scriptures" His text was Ezekiel
XXX, 8: 1.-THE river is mine and Ihave
made it."
Aha! This is the River Nile. A
brown. or yellow, or silver cord or
which are hung more Jewels ofthrilling
interest than on any river that was
ever twisted in the sunshine. 1t rip
pies through the Book OF Ezekiel, and
flashes in the Books OF Deuteronomy,
and Isaiah, and Zachariah, and Ma
hum, and on it's banks stood the
mighties OF many ages. 1t was the
crystal cradle OF Moses, and on Its
banks, Mary, the refugee, carried the
nfant Jesus. To find the birthplace
OF this river was the fascination and
defeat of expeditions withoutnumber.
Not many years ago, Bayard
Taylor, our great American traveller,
wrote: "Since Columbus first looked
upon San Salvador, the earth has
but one emotion of triumph left
for her bestowal, and that she re-
serves for him who shall first
drink from the fountains OF the White
Nile under the snow fields of Kiliman-
1aro." But the discovery of the
sources Of the Nile by most
people was considered an impossi-
bility. The malarias, the wild
beasts, the savages, the unclima-
BILE sleeps, the vast distances, stopped
all the expeditions for ages. An in
telligent native said to Sir Samuel w.
Baker and wife as they were on their
way to accomplish that in which
others have failed: "Give up the mad
scheme OF the Nile source. How would
it be possible for q lady, young and
delicate, to endure what would kill the
strongest man? Give it up" But the
work went on until Spoke, and Grant,
and Baker found the two lakes which
are the sourse OF what was called the
White Nile, and baptized these two
lakes with the names OF Victoria and
Albert. These two lakes, filled by
great rainfalls and by accumulated
SHOWS from the mountains, pour their
waters laden with agricultural wealth
such as blesses no other river, on
down over the c%ataracts, on between
trowning mountains, on between cities
living and cities dead, on for four
thousand miles and through, a conti-
nent. But the White Nile would do
Nttle for Egypt if this were all. 1t
would Keep its banks and Egypt
WOULD REMAIN A DESERT
But from.Abyssinia therecomeswhat
is called the Blue Nile. which, though
dry or nearly dry half the year, under
tremendous rains about the middle of
june rises to great momentum, and
this Blue Nile dashes with sudden in.
t1u1 into the White Nile, which in con.
sequence rises 80 feet, and their com
bined waters inundate Egypt with a
rich soil which drops on all the fields
and gardens as it is conducted by
bitches, and s%luices, and canals every
whittier. The greatest damage that
ever came to Egypt came by the dry
Ing up OF the river Nile, and the great
est blessing by it's healthful and
abundant flow.
AS we start where the Nile empties
into the Mediterranean sea we behold
g wonderful ful6llment OF prophecy.
The Nile in very ancient times used to
have seven mouths. AS the great riv.
or approached the sea it entered the
sea at seven different places. Isaiah
prophesied: "The Lord shall utterly
destroy the tongue of the Egyptian
Sea and shall smite it in the seven
streamP." The fact is they are all de-
stroyed but two and Herodotus said
these two remaining are artificial. Up
the Nile we shall go; part of the way
by Egyptian xail train and then by
boat, and we shall understand why
the Bible gives such prominence to
this river which is the longest river of
al the earth with oneexception. But
before We board the train we must
take a look at Alexandria. 1t was
founded by Alexander the Great and
was once tho New York, the Par
e. the London Of the world.
Temples, palaces, fountains, gar
dens, pillared and eMorescent
with all architectural and Edenic gran.
deur and sweetness. Apollos, the elo.
quent, whom in New Testament times
some people tried to make a rival to
Paul, ivedhere. Here Mark, the auth
or OF the second book of the New Tes-
lament, expired under Nero's anath-
ema. From here the ship sailed that
lett Paul and the crew struggling in
the breakers of Melita. Pompey's bill
lar is here, about one hundred feet
high, Its base surrounded by SO much
nth and squalor l was glad to escape
into an air that wasbreathable. The
tower was built in honor of Diocletian
for sparing the rebellious citizens.
After having declared that he would
make the blood run to his horses
knees, and his horse fell with him into
the blood and his knees Redeemed.
the tyrant took it for granted that
was q sign he shouldsto the massacre,
and hence this commemorative pillch
to his mercy. This is the city to when
Omar came after building fourtera
hundred mosques, and destroyingfour-
teen thousand temples and thirty-hve
thousand villages and castles, yet rid.
Ing IN on q camel with a sack of corn,
asack OF figs and a wooden plate, ali
that he had kept for himself, and the
diet to which he had limited himself
Tor most Of tho time was bread and
water. Was there sver in any Other
HAa q comminQline of elements &c
strange, SO weird, sogenerous, so cruel,
30 mighty, SO weak, SO religious, 80
fanatical? In this city was the great
est female lecturer the world ever saw
Hypatia. But
THE LESSON OF VIRTUE
that she taught was obnoxious and 80