Milford chronicle., 1891-10-30

eiuhe lb uhu uttu tue slJe OF Inc greatest
library that the world ever saw, consider
Ing the fact that the art OF printing had
not been invented Seven hundred thou
sand volumes and all the work of a slow
pen. Bat down it all went under the
orch OF besiegers. Built again and de-
stroyed again. Built again, but the Arabs
came along for its final demolition and the
four thousand baths of the city were heat
ed with those volumes, the fuel lasting
six months, aud were ever fires kindled at
such fearful cost? What holocausts of the
worlds literaturel What martyrdom q
booksl How many Of them have gone
down under the rage of nations.
Only one book has been able to with
stand the bombarlment, and that has gone
through without smell Of fire on its lids.
No sword or spear or musket for its de
Tense. An unarmed New Testament An
unarmed Old Testament Yet invulner-
able and triumphant There must be
something supernatural about IL. Con-
uuerOr of booksl Monarch Of bOoksl All
the books of all the ages Ia all the libraries
outshone by this one book which you and
carry to church in pocket. So me
thought amid the ashes Of Alexandrian H.
braries.
bub All duOhAA IAG EAl iliAtu Ettll llaAA
going up the banks of the Nilel Look out
of the window and see those camels kneel-
ing for the imposition Of their load. And
think we might take from them lesson,
and, instead of trying TO stand upright in
our own strength, become conscious of our
weakness and need of divine help before we
take upon us the heavy duties Of the year or
the week or the day, and so kneel for the
TO- e
beasts on the way from their days work,
but alas, for the homes to which the poor
inhabitants are going, for the most part
novels of mud. But there is something in
the scene that thoroughly enlists us 1t is
the novelty of wretchedness and a scene of
picturesque rags. For thousands Of years
this land has been under Il very damnation
of taxes. Nothing but Christian civiliza-
ton will roll back the influences which
are "spoiling the Egyptians" There are
gardens and palaces, but they belong to
the rulers.
About here under the valiant Murad
Bey, the Mamelukes, who are the finest
horsemen in the world, came like hurri-
cane upon Napoleon's army, but they were
beaten back by the French in one of the
fiercest battles Of all time Then the Mum
way, and in desperation ba Ned them
against the French TROOPS hoping the
horses would kick the life out of the
French regiments. The Mamelukes, fail
ing again, plunged into this Nile and were
drowned, the French for days fishing out
the dead bodies Of The Mamelukes to get
the yaluables upon their dead bodies. Ma
poleon, at the daring of these Mamelukes,
ltT
eluke horse to the French infantry, Iwould
have reckoned myself master Of the world"
THE JOURNEY UP THE NILE
This ride along the Nile is one of the
most solemn and Impressive rides Of all my
life time, and our emotions deepen rs the
curtains Of the night fall upon all sur
roundiugs But we shall not be satisfied
until we can take a ship and pass right out
upon these wondrous waters aud between
the banks crowded with the story of en-
pires.
According to the lead pencil mark in my
Bible it was Thanksgiving day morning,
Nov. %, 1850, that with my family aud
friends we stepped aboard the steamer on
the Nile. The Mohammedan call 10 prayers
had been sounded by the priests of that re-
tigion, the Muezzins, from the four hun
God is great bear witness that there is
20 God but God. bear witness that No
hammed is the apostle of God Come to
Come TO salvation. God is great
There is no other but God. Prayers are
better than sleep"
The sky and city and palm groves and
river shipping were bathed in the light It
was not much Of a craft that we boarded.
4 s,F
with any rapture of admiration IL fortu-
nately had but little speed, for twice we ran
aground and the sailors jumped into the
water and on their shoulders pushed her
out. But what yacht of gayest sportsman,
what deck of swiftest ocean queen could
give such thrill of rapture as IA sail on the
Nileg The pyramids in sight, the remains
of cities that are now only name, the vii
banks crowded with historical deeds Of
forty or sixty centuries, Oh, what a book
the Bible Is when read on the Nile!
As we slowly move up the majestic river
l see on each bank the wheels, the pumps,
the buckets for irrigation, and see man
with his foot on the treadle of wheel that
fetches up the water for a garden, and
then for the first time / understand that
passage in Deuteronomy which says of
the Israelites after they had got back from
Egypt, "The land whittier thou goest in to
possess it is not as the land of Egypt, from
whence ye came out, where thou sowedst
thy seed, ard wateredst il with tiny foot"
Then understood how the land could be
watered with the foot How do you sup
pose felt when on the deck of that steam
er on the Nile looked off upon the canals
and bitches and sluices through which the
fields are irrigated by that river, and then
read in Isaiah, "rhe burden of Egypt-the
river shall be wasted and dried up, and
they shall turn the rivers far away and
the brooks of defense shall be emptieil aud
dried up: and they shall be broken in the
purposes thereof, all that make sluices and
ponds for fish"
That Thanksgiving morning on the Nile
/ found my text of today. Pharaoh in this
chapter is compared to The dragon or hip
nopotamus suggested by the crocodiles that
used to line the banks of this river Thus
saith the Lord God: Behold ! am against
thee Pharoah, king Of Egypt, the greatdrag-
On thaLiielh in the midst his rivers, which
hath said my river Is mine own, and have
made it for myself But ] will put hooks
In thy laws and will cause the fish OF thy
rivers TO stick unto thy scales, and ! will
bring thee up out OF the midst Of thy rlv-
srs, ID all the fish Of thy rivers shall stick
unto Thy scales, and the land Of Egypt
snais be 1esolate aGd waste; and they shall
knnw that am the Lori; beenuse he hath
said the river is mine and have made it,
THE WAYS OF OTHER BAYS
While smiling on this river or stopping
at one OF the Villages, we see people on the
banks who verify the Bible description, for
they are now as they were in Bible times.
Shoes are now taken or in reverence to
sacred places. Children carried astiile the
mothers shoulder as in Haglr's time
Women with profusion Of jewelry as when
Rebecca was afiancel Lentils shelled
into the pottage, as when ilsau sold his
hirhright to get such dish. The same
habits Of salutation as when Joseph and
his brethren fell on each others neebs
Courts Of law held under big trees us in
olden times. People making bricks with
out straw, compelled By circumstances TO
use stuhble instead Of straw.
Flying over or standing on the banks as
in Scripture days are hamingoes, ospreys,
eagles pplcans. herons, cuckOos and bull
fnches. On all sides Of this river sepul-
Nrfff,.-,.. - rar,4tl.ftataa fSffae of