New-York tribune., 1902-10-22
SYRIAN IMPRESSIONS.
A GOOD BOOK IN TEXT AND PICTURE

THE HOLY LAD Ps,ntf9 .5 Sg 5osP n Eui5y9yo 6stSS9.
NJ ~ sW The Macmillan Cornsa ~
hooks about the Holy Land are, II anything
100 numerous The theme has almost oeeh
written 10 death But this book, which we owe
10 the collaboration Of Mr Fuheyloye and MI
Kelnan. proves that a subject be IL ever so
hackneyed can be made as interesting as ever
when n is treated in the right way Artist and
author have in this case worked with ability
and IN the right spirit. MI Kelman's pages are
.speciaily gratifying IN their freedom from the
,,svvkisbness and the scientific" smartness
which have done so much TO dishgure latter day
writings on Palestine. He Is Teverent OF
course but his piety is not trailed before
us In season and out OF season He knows the
results OF the Higher Criticism but he Is none
the less willing 10 take the Holy Land as he
finds it, and 70 absorb himself above an thnss,
in that purely human interest which, indeed. he
regards as providing invaluable means OF
approach 70 what is divine in the history Of the
country A good example Of his catholcity is
his chapter on Moslem Palestine. He can do
Justice therein 70 MahOmet saying. 'One
thing is certain viz. that ne founded a religion
which proved itself capable Of Weakening re-
sponse from the Semitic East with swiftness
and completeness never elsewhere known II
would be a matter Of rather serious conse-
quences 10 affirm that such sweeping success is
possible without any vestee OF honest faith In
q on the par: OF its own prophet"
0lr Keiman is fully alive 10 the incongruity
Of certain Western innovations in the Holy
Land 1T seems a sort Of sacrege" he says
ito view the plain of Sharon from a railway
carriage window and when the engine whistles
sn the Vale OF Rephaim one starts like guilty
thing surprised II is il you were break
sng a commandment and ought ~ be ashamed
Yet he maintains that in spite Of all novelties
introduced by modern civilization, the East al
the heart Of il. is changeless stin. He describes
a LAND austerely picturesque. and in its simple
fly all the more favorable 20 the vitality Of
those Immortal memories in which, for the
Christian. IT is saturated. The smallness Of
Palestine also contributes TO the endurance OF
its ancient and sacramental quality. In
stretch or country equal to that between Aber-
deen and Dundee" he says. you cover the
whole central ground Of the Bible. from the Sea
Of Galilee to Jerusalem" Obviously. the great
landmarks retain much more OF their sublime
.loquence than they would If they were separat-
ed by greater distances. There are many quota
bic passages in this book. but We must be con-
tent with the following. on the desert:
We have seen how to the dweue-s west OF Jor-
Sen II was al once an abiding enemy and an an
Gent home Shut out from Il by the huge trench
of the Jordan Valley and the barrlcade OF me
Of the deserts fiery touch 10 fear II as an enemy
fts wind blasts his crops and lis heat drives
him from his valleys 10 the hill country for The
breath OF life Every traveller SPEAKS OF me
positive weight Of heat that makes men bend
low in their saddles. Others besides the Per
SLAMS constrained. as hlnslake Puls ~, 20
bow down before the sun, whose fierce VIII Is
most terribly felt in those tracts which the
desert has claimed for its own in the land In
the desert there are the same conditions which
are 10 be found in the land, only in nerce eX-
trerne and without mitigation. II IS the place
hes Y 81
land st times but they abide In that weird
country into whose distances the syrian may
peer from most Of his mountain tops There,
too. abide those dark and occult powers OF t EEl
in which every Eastern man believes. lhe
magic OF the desert-lts treacherous mirage. tIs
genh (by no means difhcult 10 lulaelIe lI uiie !
forms OF sandy whirlWinds whose march IS
strewn with corpses). and us innnite uheN,
pored possibilities Of terror-all tins is very red
10 the imagination Of the Syrians. Us inhao-
itants. too, are uncanny "a think Of The true
Ara bisn whom perhaps they may have met on
tourney. with his jade handled jewelled sword
and his shrunken skin. the lunatiCs who have
wandered 10 its congeuial Nildress: the anchor
ites and ascetics whom. like the scaIegoat OF
IN ancient times sin has driven forth 20 its un-
walled prison house-au these nm in Tor them
~ the CHASTITY picture and its tales of wars and
massacres add the last touch Of horror.
The ninety-tvo Illustrations in this voluu
are nearly all reproduced in color They amply
deserved the care bestowed upon them by the
printer. Mr.. Fulleylove is an accomplished
water colorisl and though De lacks a brilliant
style ne makes up for this by the breadth and
veracity of his work. Comparns his designs
with those Of the late NJ. Tissot, we miss the
richness OF detail which distinguishes SO many
Of the latter and find the landscape studies de-
hcient In the grandeur which the Frenchman
not seldom achieved. on the other hand.
md IN these clever productions charm of color
and abundant atmosphere of The right sort
There are some capital figure studies i'm the
collection, free and effective renderines of the
beautiful costume Of the East ln short Mr
FuIeylove succeeds just where his author sue
ceeds. in giving and vivid Impressions
We are grateful 10 them both