The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-31

Special Foreign Service
ONDON, July 80. = On the famed
IL Mount of Olives, around which
converge all the most sacred associa-
tions of Christian history, Sir John
Edward Gray Hill and his talented
wife possess a mansion where they
reside for several months of each year.
1t is built in the antique Eastern style,
solid and substantial, severe and aus
tere looking externally, as the picture
of it shows, but within it is comforta-
Bile, roony and picturesque. Amid sur
roundings SO remote from everything
that SavorS of the pursuit of wealth, it
constitutes an ideal retreat for busy
man from the turmoil, cares and wor-
rIeS of the workaday world, for Sir
John is one of the kings new-made
knights, who has fairly won his spurs
by strenuous labor. Ras Abou Kharoub,
which means 'the height of the father
of kharoub trees" is the name of the
elevation on which it is situated. It
is the highest point IN the hills about
Jerusalem, being 2,700 feet above the
sea and nearly 800 feet above the plat
form the Haram, or mobile sanctu-
ary, where the temple once stood, and
the dome of the rock and mosque of
Aska now stand. The northeast angle
of the walls of Jerusalem point direct
to the house, SO that from it the faces
of the south and north walls are equally
open to view. Eastward it commands
superb view of the mountains of
Moab and the Dead sea, that mys-
terious salt lake without an outlet,
whose waters are some 1900 feet be-
low those of the Mediterranean, but
almost equally blue and clear
The dawn, the sunrise the sunset
the afterglow, the noonrise, the starry
night-all are beautiful from this spot"
says Lady Hill describing their East
ern home. But loveliest is the dawn.
The first faint flush comes over the
hills of Moab, and then the surface of
the Dead sea shows like an AQUA ma
rina;' and turning to the Holy City we
can see its domeS and minarets stand
out in the cold light, soon to be irradi-
ated with the first rays of the sun. To
the east stretches the wilderness of
Judea, solemn and bare; to the west
In the spring season, the young corn
and the wild flowers, and the trees
putting forth their leaves, seem to
make the desert blossom as the rose"
In his own person Sir John is a fine
illustration of the value of the Holy
Land and the East viewed merely as a
recreation ground. He is sixty-five
years old, but erect, clear skinned and
overlooking with health and vitality
ne does not look more than fifty. He
is a prodlg1ous worker, capable of six
teen hours steady grind on a stretch.
he has Won his way to the top of his
procession, that of shipping lawyer,
and incidentally has made a lot of
money at it. He is prominently con-
hected with many maritime and legal
aSSc&latlonS, and is president of the
Law Society of the United Kingdom
whose superb new quarters in Chancery
lane, London, were recently opened in
the presence of King Edward and a
most OF notableS. But Sir John has not
sought the East year after year merely
10 ENJOY quiet and SecluSion and pious
mediation in an easy chair A love of
adventure and outdoor life. strangely
at variance with the demands of his
chosen profession, dominate him.
1t was in 1887 that increasing pros-
perity enabled him to take a longer
respite than he had hitherto allowed
hlmseH from the arduous legal work
ana he and his wife departed from the
beaten track of the Eastern tourist.
In month Of riding and camping. ..
ne says, I'VE found new health and life.
opened fresh store of happiness. and
lmplbed somewhat Of the spirit of the
country. And from that time forth we
nave been drawn by an overpowering
1orce, to which we have now learnt
gladly to yield ourselves, to devote all