The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1891-01-08
THE CRADLE OF CHRIST.
Rev. T. Dewitt TaImage in Jeru-
salem and Bethlehem.
The Sixth Discourse of the Holy Land
Series-WouderfuI Works of the An
clients, whose Arts Have Died
with Them.

The following is continuation of the
series of discourses delivered by Rev.
I. Dewitt Talmage in Brooklyn and
New York City. 1t is founded on the
text:
/ made me great works, I buildcd 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 Herewith the wood that
bringeth forth trees. -Ecclesastes, H., As
A spring morning and before break
fast at jerusalem! A King with robes
snowy white in chariot decked with
gold, drawn by eight horses, high-met-
tied, and housings as brilliant as if
scalloped out of the very sunrise, and
like the winds for speed, followed by
regiment 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 dashing down the road, the horses at
fun 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 it? King Solomon taking an outing
before breakfast, from Jerusalem to his
gardens, and parks, and orchards, and
reservoirs, six miles down the road
towards Hebron. What contrast
between that and myself on
that very road one morning, last De-
cember, going afoot, for our plain
vehicle turned back for Photographic
apparatus forgotten, we on the way to
find what is called Solomon's Pools, the
ancient water-works of Jerusalem, and
the gardens 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 reservoir, but
the reservoirs the mselves that Solomon
built these millenniums ago for the
purpose of catching the mountain
streams and passing them to Jerusalem
to Stake 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 horticult-
urist the greatest botanist, the greatest
ornithologist, the greatest capitalist
and the greatest scientist of his cent
tury
Come over the piles of gray rock, and
here we are at the first of the three
reservoirs, which are on the three
great levels, the base of the top reser-
voir 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 by
the time it gets down to the aqueduct
which is to take it to Jerusalem it has
had three offerings, and is as pure as
when the clouds rained it. Wonderful
specimens of masonry are these three
reservoirs. The white cement fasten-
ing the blocks of stone together is now
just as when the trowels three thousand
years ago smoothed the layers. The
highest reservoir, three hundred and
eighty by two hundred and twenty-nine
teet; the second, four hundred and
twenty-three by one hundred and sixty,
and the lowest reservoir five hundred
and eighty-nine by one hundred and
sixty-nine; 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 res
ervoir, and can well understand how in
this neighborhood the imperial gardens
were one great blossom, and the or
chard one great basket of fruit, and that
Solomon, in his palace writing the Song
of Songs, and Ecclesiastes, may have
been drawing illustrations from what
he had seen that very morning in the
royal gardens when hee alluded to mel
ons, and mandrakes, and apricots, and
grapes, and pomegranates, and figs, and
spikenard, and cinnamon. and calamus,
and campfire, and "apple trees among
the trees of the wood, and the almond
tree as fourishing, and to myrrh and
frankincense, and represented 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 the voice of the tur-
VIC SOFV 30 AStIu III JIG ldnu. 6NlnK
it was when Solomon was showing the
Queen of Sheba through these
gardens that tho Bible says of her:
There remained no more spirits in
her." She gave it 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
onion wrote the memorable words. fol-
lowing my text like a dirge PLAYED
after a grand march: "Behold all was
vanity and vexation of spirit, and there
was no profit under the SUM- In other
words: at don't pay!" Would God
that we all might learn the lesson that
this world can Ilot produce happiness!
At Marseilles '1ere is castellated
house on high ground crowned with all
that grove and garden can do, and the
whole place looks out upon as enchant-
ing a landscape as the world
holds, water and hill elasping hands
in perfect bewitchment of scenery.
but the owner of that place is
totally blind. and to him all this goae