THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
Extra crown 8vo, 6s. 
 
 Printed on Antique Paper and bound in Art Linen. With 
 
 Route Map and Eight Original Illustrations. 
 
 Letters 
 
 From the Scenes of the 
 Recent Massacres in Armenia. 
 
 By J. Rendel Harris and Helen B. Harris. 
 
 With a Prefatory Letter from Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 " It is the living picture of desolations such as those of which the ancient 
 prophets wrote. . . . Every reader of this interesting volume will feel its 
 value and importance." — Daily News. 
 
 " Excellent illustrations. . . . Altogether a timely, valuable, and interest- 
 ing book." — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 "Cannot be read without a profound feeling of oppression and sadness." 
 — Scotsman. 
 
 LONDON 
 JAMES NISBET & CO., Limited, 21 Berners Street, W. 
 
< 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 Sketches of Bibhcal Scenes in 
 Palestine and Greece 
 
 By 
 
 Helen B. Harris 
 
 Xon^Oll 
 James Nisbet &^ Co., Limited 
 
 21 Berners Street 
 1897 
 
Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson &> Co. 
 At the Ballantyne Press 
 

 Preface 
 
 A LTHOUGH innumerable books have been written 
 /\ on the Holy Land, and innumerable pictures made 
 /— \ of the outward landscape which remains to tell its 
 A \. silent tale of Biblical History, we venture to offer 
 one more of the very simplest description, and it is because 
 of its simplicity that we offer it. The sketches, which were 
 taken during a prolonged stay in Jerusalem and Palestine 
 in 1888 and 1889, and others when visiting Athens in 1892, 
 have long lain in their portfolio ; nor would they have been 
 given to the public but for the excellent reproduction of 
 some similar ones by Messrs. J. Nisbet & Co. in " Letters 
 from Armenia," which have encouraged us to produce these. 
 They make no artistic pretensions, but, on the other hand, 
 we can assure the reader that the artistic liberties taken 
 were of the very smallest. So little does the Syrian 
 village or town or landscape alter from decade to decade 
 or century to century, that I believe many of the scenes 
 are given as they might have been had they been sketched 
 in A.D. 9 instead of 1889. 
 
 My hope is that, as seeing with the eye is a help to 
 the hearing of the ear and the understanding of the heart, 
 Sunday-School Teachers and other Christian workers may 
 find in these sketches some assistance in their presenta- 
 tion of Biblical History to those among whom they labour. 
 In the compilation of this volume we have received assist- 
 ance from the following writers and books : — Josephus ; 
 Robinson ; Pierotti ; Wilson ; Farrar's Lives of Christ and 
 St. Paul ; Baedeker's " Guide-Book to Palestine " ; Pres- 
 sens^'s "Ancient World and Christianity"; "Glimpses of 
 Greek Life," by Miss A. Smith (Mrs. S. S. Lewis); Chris- 
 topher Wordsworth, and Ernst Curtius. 
 
 HELEN B. HARRIS. 
 
 Cambridge, September 1897. 
 
 uzvi on^i 
 
Order of Sketches 
 
 FIRST PART 
 
 MAP OF JERUSALEM 
 
 Sketches in Jerusalem and its Immediate Neighbourhood 
 I. The Tower of David, supposed to be the Tower of Hippicus, 
 
 MENTIONED BY JOSEPHUS I 
 
 II. Overlooking Jerusalem and David Street, the Mount ok Olives 
 
 TO THE LEFT, AND THE HiLLS OF MOAB IN THE DISTANCE . . 5 
 
 III. Hezekiah's Pool and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, taken 
 
 FROM the Roof of the same Hotel as the last Sketch . 7 
 
 IV. The Wailing Place of the Jews outside the Western Wall of 
 
 THE Temple Area 11 
 
 V. Temple Area and Mosque of Omar 13 
 
 VI. The Jaffa Gate and Turkish Fortifications, called "The 
 
 Castle of David" — Leper Beggars in Bethlehem Road . 15 
 
 VII. The Western Wall of Jerusalem — The Mount of Olives, 
 showing the Russian Tower and Church of the Ascension 
 in the background, with Mount Zion and Bishop Gobat's 
 School to the right 17 
 
 VIII. Southern Slope of Mount Zion, showing wall of Jewish School, 
 
 the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), and the Mount of Offence 19 
 
 IX. The Mosque of El Aksa — South-east corner of the Temple 
 Area and Mount of Olives, with the Church of the Ascen- 
 sion and the Russian Tower ai 
 
 X. En Rogel, or the Well of Job (Joab), ai^o the south-east 
 corner of the Temple Wall and El Aksa in the distance 
 — The Village of Silwan (Siloam) to the right . . , aj 
 
 XI. The Mount of Olives and the south-east corner of the 
 
 Temple Area 35 
 
 XII. The Tomb of Absalom, Village of Siix)am in the distance — 
 
 Bridge over the Kedron Bed and "Road of the Captuki " 27 
 
 XIII. Garden of Gethsemane 29 
 
Order of Sketches 
 
 XIV. The Green Hill 
 
 XV, Entrance to the Sepulchre on the Green Hill 
 
 XVI. The Sepulchre ' 
 
 XVII. Tombs of the Kings .... 
 XVIII. The Mountains round Jerusalem 
 XIX. Bethany (i) ..... 
 XX. Bethany (2) 
 
 31 
 33 
 
 35 
 37 
 39 
 41 
 43 
 
 SECOND PART 
 
 MAP OF PALESTINE 
 
 Sketches in Palestine 
 
 Tabor 
 
 XXI. The Plain of Bethlehem . 
 XXII. Solomon's Pools .... 
 
 XXIII. Beeroth 
 
 XXIV. Jacob's Well .... 
 XXV. Mount Hermon, overlooking Mount 
 
 XXVI. Sea of Galilee, North End, and Tiberias 
 XXVII. The Eastern Shore of the Sea of Galilee 
 
 XXVIII. Mount Carmel 
 
 XXIX. Ruins of Tyre 
 
 XXX. First View of the Dead Sea 
 XXXI. First View of the Jordan, Mount Nebo in the distance 
 XXXII. Elisha's Fountain and Mountain of the Temptation . 
 
 45 
 47 
 49 
 51 
 
 53 
 55 
 57 
 
 59 
 61 
 
 63 
 
 65 
 67 
 
 THIRD PART 
 MAP OF ACROPOLIS, &c., ATHENS 
 
 XXXIII. Ancient Market-Place at Athens, supposed to be the Agora 69 
 
 XXXIV. Mars' Hill and the Acropolis as seen from the Pnyx . 71 
 XXXV. Mars' Hill, showing Steps to the Areopagus • • • 73 
 
 XXXVI. Reputed Scene of Paul's Preaching 75 
 
 XXXVII. Olympia, showing the Starting-Place of the Foot-race . 77 
 
 8 
 
TOWER OF DAVID, OR IlIPPICUS 
 Showing three kinds of Masonry 
 
No. I 
 
 THE TOWER OF DAVID 
 
 Supposed to be the Tower of Hippic2is, mentioned by Josepkus 
 
 THIS Tower stands just within the Jaffa Gate look- 
 ing eastward, and has stood there so long that, 
 from continually facing the sun-rising, the stones 
 on this side are baked quite red, while those on 
 the north retain their original grey colour. 
 
 It probably stands on the site of a previous tower 
 dating from the time of King David, or from even earlier 
 and Jebusite times ; for ever since Jerusalem was a city its 
 Citadel has been probably on this site, extending southward 
 and facing the western Wall. 
 
 From the sketch it will be seen that there are in the 
 Tower three quite distinct kinds of masonry, of which the 
 middle is bevelled. This is Jewish, and is about 40 feet in 
 height above the bulwark, some of the stones being from 9 
 to 12 feet in length. This part of the Castle, which slopes 
 at an angle of about 45°, is also of great antiquity and con- 
 siderable height, and some assign it to an earlier age than 
 the bevelled work. Robinson, however, thinks it has been 
 rebuilt by the Romans, probably under Hadrian. 
 The upper part of the building is Saracenic. 
 The interest of the Tower lies in the fact that the 
 bevelled work is no doubt part of one of the three magnifi- 
 cent Towers, probably that of Hippicus, built by Herod the 
 Great in memory of his wife Mariamne and of his friend 
 Hippicus and his brother Phasaelus, described by Josephus 
 in the following words:* "These were for largeness, beauty, 
 and strength beyond all that were in the habitable earth ; 
 for besides the magnanimity of his nature and his munifi- 
 cence towards the city on other occasions, he built these 
 after such an extraordinary manner to gratify his own 
 
 * " Wars of the Jews," Book v. chap. iv. 3. 
 
 I A 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 private affections, and dedicated these towers to the 
 memory of those three persons who had been the dearest 
 to him, and from whom he named them. They were his 
 brother, his friend, and his wife. This wife he had slain 
 out of his love and jealousy . . . the other two he lost in 
 war as they were courageously fighting. ' Hippicus,' so 
 named from his friend, was square, its length and breadth 
 each 25 cubits and its height 30, and it had no vacuity in 
 it. Over this solid building, which was composed of great 
 stones united together, there was a reservoir 20 cubits 
 deep, over which was a house of two storeys, whose height 
 was 25 cubits, and divided into several parts, over which 
 were battlements of 2 cubits and turrets all round of 
 3 cubits high, insomuch that the entire height added 
 together amounted to fourscore cubits," &c. 
 
 These wonderful Towers, with the adjoining Palace 
 and Gardens, must have adorned the city in our Lord's 
 time, as Herod died just before 4 b.c. When Titus took 
 Jerusalem in a.d. 70, he spared these Towers to show the 
 structure of the buildings of the Jews destroyed by him. 
 We will again quote from Josephus on this point, as his 
 description is so graphic : ^ " Now when Titus was come 
 into this (upper) city, he admired not only some other 
 places of strength in it, but particularly those strong 
 Towers . . . for when he saw their solid attitude, and 
 the largeness of their several stones, and the exactness of 
 their joints, as also how great was their breadth and how 
 extensive their length, he expressed himself after the 
 following manner : * We have certainly had God for our 
 assistant in this war, and it was no other than God that 
 ejected the Jews out of these fortifications, for what could 
 the hands of men or any machines do towards overthrowing 
 these Towers? . . . To conclude, when he entirely demo- 
 lished the rest of the city and overthrew its walls, he left 
 these Towers as a monument of his good fortune," &c. 
 
 How strangely these words of satisfaction sound to 
 Christian ears as they come down through the long 
 centuries that separate that awful time from ours ! Yet 
 how truly the conqueror spoke when he said that without 
 God he could not have rent the city from the Jewish people. 
 
 * "Wars of the Jews," Book vi. chap. ix. i. 
 2 
 
l^ 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 The Tower of David, though much of its grandeur has 
 departed, still stands to bear that witness for which it 
 was spared, and to teach many a solemn lesson beside, of 
 which Titus little thought. It is certainly one of the finest 
 monuments of antiquity in the city, and it is impossible 
 to reconcile the mind to seeing it part of the Turkish 
 citadel, and its ramparts at all hours of the day frequented 
 by Turkish soldiers. 
 
OVERLOOKING JERUSALEM AND DAVID STREET 
 Moab Hills in the Distance 
 
No. II 
 
 OVERLOOKING JERUSALEM AND 
 DAVID STREET. 
 
 The Mount of Olives to the left, and the Hills of Moab 
 in the distance 
 
 THIS view of Jerusalem is taken, as is the sketch of 
 the Pool of Hezekiah which follows, from the roof 
 of the Mediterranean Hotel, just within the Jaffa 
 Gate, on the western side of the city. To the 
 right are the domes of the two principal Jewish Synagogues, 
 comparatively modern and of no special beauty or interest. 
 Just in front of the slope of the Mount of Olives, which is 
 visible on the left, is the Mosque of El Aksa, lying on the 
 south of the Temple grounds. It stands on the supposed 
 site of the Palace of Solomon, and will be described in 
 connection with another plate. 
 
 David Street is narrow and steep in its commence- 
 ment, and runs down to the western wall of the Temple 
 area. It probably indicates the line of the earliest northern 
 wall of the city (called the First Wall), though now in its 
 centre. 
 
 Very near the shade of the solitary palm-tree which 
 the interior of the city boasts, stands the English Hospital, 
 a most valuable institution in itself, and interesting also 
 archaeological ly from the fact that, in excavating under the 
 premises for some purpose a few years ago, a very ancient 
 and massive prison was found with several cells enclosed, 
 and it is thought that very possibly it was in one of these 
 that the Apostle Peter was imprisoned,* and from which 
 he was so miraculously delivered, as described in the Acts 
 of the Apostles. The supposed cell is like a mediaeval 
 oubliette, very deep, with an opening in the roof, which is 
 
 * Acts xil 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 on the surface of the ground above, through which alone 
 air or light could come. It has also a very small door at 
 the bottom leading to steps now underground. All visitors 
 to Jerusalem should ask permission to visit it, for even if 
 it be not the actual prison, it must be of equal antiquity, 
 and serves to illustrate the Scripture incident most vividly. 
 The balcony in the sketch, in which a figure is seen 
 leaning forward, is the American Consulate, and Cook's 
 Offices are just below ; and very strange is it to the visitor 
 whose mind is full of images of ancient and scriptural 
 association, to have at almost every turn reminders such 
 as these of modern life ; yet, while the modern is often 
 incongruous, it is a distinct gain to find that by its side 
 the mind can accept the past as a great reality, that even 
 by contrast the greatness and dignity of the relics of anti- 
 quity which are around are enhanced in value by their 
 proximity to the present rather than the reverse. Every 
 one may not feel thus, and many visitors express disap- 
 pointment with modern Jerusalem, but to others, as to our- 
 selves, every day and hour spent in this, the most favoured 
 city of the world, is full of constant and ever-growing charm. 
 And one of the wonders is to find that, deep underground, 
 beneath the tread of the busy multitude of all nationalities 
 that throng the leading streets of modern Jerusalem, lie the 
 remains of successive buried cities of the past. How many 
 of these historical strata can be defined and identified will 
 be for the excavator of the future, working along the lines 
 intimated by the historians of the past, to determine. After 
 each cataclysm the city was rebuilt, as the Biblical language 
 puts it, "on its own heap." The consequence of all these 
 desolations is that, for the most part, the city of David 
 has disappeared, and ever so many succeeding cities must 
 be recovered by the pick and the spade. 
 
HEZEKIAH'S POOL AND CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE 
 
No. Ill 
 
 HEZEKIAH'S POOL AND CHURCH OF THE 
 HOLY SEPULCHRE 
 
 Taken from the Roof of the same Hotel as the last Sketch 
 
 WE read in the Book of Kings* that King 
 Hezekiah " made a pool and a conduit, and 
 brought water into the city," and this sketch 
 represents this pool, remaining after the lapse 
 of ages almost in the position which it occupied at first, 
 though not now as large as formerly, since it once extended 
 considerably to the north. This is proved by the fact that 
 when the Coptic Convent, which is now its northern boun- 
 dary (and appears in the sketch just below the Church of 
 the Sepulchre), was in process of building, traces of a cistern 
 wall were found 57 feet farther north than the present one. 
 The pool is 240 feet in length and 144 in breadth, and is 
 still supplied with water in the rainy season from the upper 
 Pool of Gihon, called by the natives the " Birket el Mamilla," 
 which lies outside the Jaffa Gate to the north-west. 
 
 Above it are seen two domes, the larger of which sur- 
 mounts the shrine of the Holy Sepulchre, supposed by the 
 pilgrims of the Greek, Latin, and Armenian Churches to 
 be the actual spot where the body of our Lord lay. 
 
 Adjoining is a Moslem Minaret, built, it is said, to 
 ensure all Christians on the premises of the Church and 
 adjoining Convent hearing the Muezzin's voice as five times 
 in the twenty-four hours he calls the " faithful " to prayer. 
 This must be a constant vexation and humiliation to the 
 priests, monks, and pilgrims who throng the Church ; but 
 a far greater outrage on their feelings is the Turkish guard 
 of soldiers, who sit inside the vestibule to keep order and 
 preserve the peace between the various classes of worshippers. 
 
 * II. Kings XX. 30. 
 
 7 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 But this Church, however interesting and to be revered on 
 account of the faith which first reared it, and which, through 
 various vicissitudes, has attracted a constant stream of 
 worshippers for fifteen centuries, is, as all the Protestant 
 world now believes, on an impossible site, and this very 
 sketch will help to illustrate the fact. For the Pool of 
 Hezekiah was within the city walls long before the Christian 
 era, and, as we have pointed out, actually extended over 50 
 feet beyond the present one on the side on which we see 
 the Convent and Church. But the crucifixion took place 
 ''without the gate',' ^ and a city wall must therefore have 
 stood between the Pool and Calvary, for which there is 
 absolutely no space, while the second wall, which was un- 
 doubtedly the external boundary of the city in our Lord's 
 time, was some distance to the north. Our sketch does, 
 however, admit of a peep at that wonderful little hill which 
 many members of the Palestine Exploration Society and 
 other topographers now consider the true Calvary, lying just 
 outside the Damascus Gate, and what remains of the wall 
 just referred to. It is generally known by the name of 
 " The Green Hill," and appears to the left just behind a 
 Moslem Mosque. 
 
 It is unique in its appearance, and most convincing to 
 an unprejudiced mind, even at the first glance, and before 
 the cogent arguments in its favour are studied. Before 
 visiting Jerusalem, my husband and I had read of the new 
 interest attaching to a site to the north of the city, until 
 lately largely overlooked, and, of course, intended visiting 
 it ; but in our first walk around the walls soon after turning 
 the north-east angle it rose unexpectedly before us, im- 
 pressing us with the conviction that this nmst be Calvary, 
 it so perfectly fulfilled our ideal ; but we were not sure until 
 returning to our hotel that the hill which had so deeply 
 impressed us was the spot concerning which so much was 
 being written and spoken, and which had so absorbed the 
 attention of the late General Gordon that some people called 
 it " Gordon's Hill." When we found it was so, it was 
 certainly a great confirmation of our own impressions, and 
 nothing ever shook this conviction in later visits, either to 
 the hill or the Church of the Sepulchre. 
 
 * Heb. xiii. 12. 
 
 8 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 And it is a marvel, the arguments pro and con being 
 studied, to find on how exceedingly slight a basis the claim 
 of the time-honoured Church rests. The Catholic, Greek, 
 and Armenian pilgrims in all ages have rested on the accept- 
 ance of the site by their Church authorities, and these have 
 superstitiously only regarded tradition and previous opinion. 
 All finally seems to rest on the conviction of the Empress 
 Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, that she had 
 found the sacred spot, and her conviction was founded (so 
 far as history and legend record it) on a supposed miracle. 
 An extract from a Greek MS. on Mount Sinai, examined 
 by my husband, which gives an account of this event, we 
 will now submit to the reader. 
 
 After describing how Queen Helena, on visiting Jerusa- 
 lem, gathered all the Jews together and commanded them 
 to select such as were wise men for her to question concern- 
 ing certain things, and how a certain young man called 
 Judas was delivered up by them to her for this purpose, 
 the story proceeds : '' The blessed Helena saith to him, 
 ' If then thy wish is to live both in heaven and on earth, 
 tell me where is the cross of Christ hidden?' Judas saith, 
 ' According to the contents of the records, it is by this time 
 200 years more or less, but we are young and how can we 
 know?' . . . 
 
 "The blessed one saith, 'I have the definite voice of 
 the Gospel as to the place in which He was crucified ; show 
 me Calvary, and I will cause the place to be cleansed, and 
 perchance I may find my desire.' But he saith, * Neither 
 do I know the spot, nor was I then in existence.' The 
 blessed one saith, ' By the Crucified I will slay thee with 
 hunger unless thou tell me the truth,' and when she had 
 so said, she commanded him to be cast into a dry well, and 
 to remain without food seven days." . . . 
 
 After the seven days were over Judas shouted to be 
 lifted up, and promised to show the spot. Then he prayed, 
 and " the place was shaken, and a cloud of smoke of sweet 
 odours went up from the place," &c. After this he took 
 a spade, and the Queen commanded others to help him, 
 and they made an excavation twenty fathoms deep and 
 found three crosses. To discover which was the Lord's 
 cross, the story continues — "And it came to pass, as it 
 
 9 B 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 were, at the ninth hour of the day, and lo ! there was carried 
 out a young man dead. Then Judas became exultant and 
 said, * Now thou shalt know, O Queen, the coveted cross 
 and its power,' and Judas laid hold on the bier and placed 
 each cross on the prostrate corpse, and when he came to 
 the third cross, he placed it on the body, and forthwith the 
 young man arose." 
 
 The story goes on to say that the Empress summoned 
 Eusebius, the Bishop of Rome, and that he appointed Judas 
 as bishop, to rule the Catholic Church (in Jerusalem), 
 changing his name to Cyriacus. 
 
 In the crypt of the present Church the spot is still 
 pointed out where all this is said to have taken place, and 
 very appropriately the whole tradition goes in Church annals 
 under the suggestive title of 
 
 "The Invention of the Cross." 
 
 10 
 
WAILING PLACE OF THE JEWS 
 Western Wall of Temple Area 
 
No. IV 
 
 THE WAILING PLACE OF THE JEWS 
 
 Outside the Western Wall of the Te7nple Area 
 
 THIS is a well-known and often-visited spot, which 
 links the past with the present in a manner which 
 is most pathetic. For many centuries the Jews 
 have been permitted by their conquerors to as- 
 semble here without molestation, and on Wednesdays and 
 Fridays, but especially on Fridays after 4 p.m., and on 
 Jewish festivals, they gather in considerable numbers. 
 It is an enclosed portion of the western wall of the Temple 
 area wall, 32 yards in length. The stones are very ancient 
 and large, and are generally considered to be /;/ situ to a 
 considerable height ; some of them are of immense size, 
 one being 16 feet long. In some of the photographs taken 
 at this place and sold in Jerusalem, the lamenting Jews 
 are shown with their faces turned to the photographer 
 ready to be pictured, which certainly does not add to the 
 impressiveness of the scene ; but when we visited the spot, 
 we noticed much evidence of real feeling along with the 
 more formal wailing. One Jewess tried to explain to me 
 with much emotion how dear to them were these stones, 
 which now only barred them from their beloved Temple 
 precincts, and she kissed them fervently as she spoke. 
 When I followed her example, to show that as a Christian 
 I also loved the Jewish Temple and all that its history 
 meant, both she and others of the little company seemed 
 much pleased; and I believe, although, under the scrutiny 
 of the tourist crowds, who often visit the scene out of mere 
 curiosity, the Jews may either hide their emotions alto- 
 gether or disguise them under a false show of feeling put 
 on for effect, that when alone, or when they recognise a 
 true sympathy in their visitors, it will be found that the 
 ancient love of the city of their forefathers, with the memory 
 of the glory of the Temple and its worship, is a passion 
 that still burns in the hearts of this people. 
 
 II 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 This deep patriotism finds expression in the following 
 Liturgical form of lamentation used on certain occasions : * 
 
 Leader. 
 For the palace that hes desolate, 
 For the walls that are overthrown, 
 For our majesty that is departed, 
 For our great men who lie dead, 
 For the precious stones that are burned, 
 For the priests that have stumbled. 
 For our kings who have despised Him, 
 
 Again — 
 
 Leader, 
 
 We pray Thee have mercy on Zion, 
 Haste, haste. Redeemer of Zion, 
 May beauty and majesty surround 
 
 Zion, 
 May the kingdom soon return to Zion, 
 May peace and joy abide with Zion, 
 
 Response. 
 We sit in solitude and mourn. 
 
 Response. 
 
 Gather the children of Jerusalem. 
 
 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem. 
 
 Oh ! turn Thyself mercifully to Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 Comfort the heart of Jerusalem. 
 
 And the branch of Jesse spring up in 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Somewhat to the south of the "Wailing Place," and 
 near the angle of the wall, is another point of special 
 interest.! It is called " Robinson's Arch," because that 
 traveller was the first to attach any importance to it, though 
 it must have caught the eye and excited the wonder of 
 previous observant visitors. It is the commencement of a 
 bridge, and the curve, to which the immense stones com- 
 posing it are hewn, is such that it must have been of great 
 dimensions. Its span is given by Robinson as 350 feet, 
 crossing a valley which is supposed to have been the Tyro- 
 pean, now almost entirely filled up, to the Mount of Zion 
 beyond. This bridge is referred to five times by Josephus, 
 and must have been broken down at the time of the 
 destruction of the city by Titus. The fact that there has 
 been no disturbance of the wall in the part from which it 
 springs, where some of the stones are 20 and 24 feet in 
 length, proves that this part of the Temple wall existed 
 from the earliest times, and Robinson does not hesitate to 
 ascribe both the arch and a considerable portion of the 
 western wall to the times of Solomon himself. 
 
 * Baedeker's "Palestine," p. i86. 
 
 t Robinson's " Biblical Researches," vol. i. p. 286. 
 
 12 
 
< 
 
 W 
 Q 
 
 < 
 
 o 
 o 
 
No. V 
 
 TEMPLE AREA AND MOSQUE OF OMAR 
 
 THIS view of the present Temple area is almost a 
 bird's-eye one, as it was taken from the battlement 
 of the eastern wall near St. Stephen's Gate, and 
 overlooks the northern wall of the area with the 
 Mosque of Omar. The history of this wonderfully beauti- 
 ful building is too well known to need much description 
 here. It is situated on the site of the two Jewish Temples, 
 those built by Solomon and Zerubbabel, the latter rebuilt 
 in great splendour by Herod the Great, whose name it 
 generally bears, and to which there is constant reference 
 in Gospel history. Happily there is no question about this 
 site, for concerning Mount Moriah and the Temple area 
 no authority of whom we are aware offers any contrary 
 theory. The situation is too self-evident and commanding. 
 The original threshing-floor of Araunah (Oman) the Jebu- 
 site, where David set up his altar to the Lord,* and which 
 he purchased for six hundred shekels of gold,-i^ is here, 
 but is now a vast plateau, having been at different times 
 artificially raised and levelled. It is surrounded by those 
 massive walls which have been, and are, the wonder of all 
 beholders, some stones of which are i8 and one 24 feet in 
 length. First erected by Solomon, they were afterwards 
 repaired by Nehemiah and Herod, and in our Lord's time 
 were doubtless in perfect condition. Titus largely over- 
 threw them in a.d. 70, but they have since that event been 
 rebuilt and partially destroyed again and again by Roman, 
 Christian, Saracen, Crusader, and again by the Turk, and 
 some parts give evidence of very varied workmanship, but 
 the lowest tiers are in some places still undoubtedly /// sitit. 
 Under the beautiful dome of the Mosque is the rock 
 called El-Sakharah. It is 57 feet long and 43 feet wide, 
 and rises about 64 feet from the surrounding pavement. 
 It is not mentioned in Scripture, but many Scriptural events 
 
 * I. Chron. xxi. i8. t I. Chron. xxi. 25-26. 
 
 13 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 are by Jewish tradition connected with it, for the truth of 
 which who can certainly vouch, or who absolutely deny? 
 Here, we are told, Melchizedek sacrificed, and Abraham 
 was about to offer up Isaac when arrested by the angel. 
 The Ark of the Covenant is said to have rested here,* and 
 even now to lie beneath it, buried by Jeremiah. Here was 
 also, there is little doubt, as already mentioned, the altar 
 upon which David "offered burnt-offerings and peace-offer- 
 ings, and called upon the Lord," f and where the Scripture 
 record further adds, ** he answered him from heaven by 
 fire upon the altar of burnt-offering." J 
 
 Turning from sacred history to Moslem legend, we 
 find that it is the centre of much venerated tradition. 
 When Mohammed took his flight to heaven on his wonder- 
 ful horse, El-Burak, it was from this rock that he set forth 
 on his aerial journey; but the stone desired to follow him, 
 and did so for a short distance, when the Prophet desired 
 it to return to its place. As it hesitated to obey, the Angel 
 Gabriel, whose horse it was that Mohammed rode, inter- 
 posed, and laying his hand on the stone, lowered it to its 
 present position, which is not resting on the rock beneath, 
 but floating in the air sufficie ^tly above it to allow of the 
 chamber beneath the rock lying between, and five marks, said 
 to be the marks of Gabriel's fingers, are shown in attestation 
 of the story ! The rock is said also to retain the imprint of 
 the foot of the Prophet Enoch ; and another tradition declares 
 that here Adam found Eve after a hundred years' separation, 
 subsequent to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. 
 
 But we will add no more of these childish stories, and 
 only give a little personal reminiscence in closing. When 
 ourselves visiting the little chamber referred to — in reality, 
 no doubt, one of several subterranean cisterns — another 
 being directly below, called by the Mohammedans *' The 
 Well of Souls," I asked our Moslem guide how he ac- 
 counted for the walls around the vault, if the rock above 
 floated in air? and he at once replied, "Oh, that is just 
 masonry built up to prevent people who have not faith being 
 frightened." (As a matter of fact, there is a slight wall 
 erected in front of the rock to make the vault of more regular 
 shape).. So not being at once able to prove his error to him, 
 we left the masonry and the guide apparently victorious. 
 
 * II. Chron. V. 5-9. t "Jerusalem Explored," Pierotti. I I. Chron. xxi. 26. 
 
 14 
 
o 
 
 < 
 
 P 
 
 ;? 
 
 D 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 W 
 
 u 
 < 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 < w 
 
 i^ « 
 
No. VI 
 
 THE JAFFA GATE AND TURKISH 
 FORTIFICATIONS 
 
 Called " The Castle of David ^' — Leper Beggars 
 
 in Bethlehem Road 
 
 THIS Gate — the chief one on the western side of 
 Jerusalem, which the traveller coming from Jaffa 
 enters — is identified by Pierotti with the " Fish 
 Gate " mentioned in the Second Book of Chronicles,* 
 and by Nehemiah.i- It adjoins the Turkish fortifications 
 or " Castle of David," which is a fortress of immense 
 strength, as far as the lower or ancient part is concerned. 
 This citadel, or rather its site, and the lowest course of its 
 stones, date probably from the earliest times. Here, I 
 believe all topographers agree in supposing, stood the 
 Jebusite fortress captured by David, and here he and 
 Solomon erected much more massive buildings. It has 
 been overthrown and rebuilt, captured and recaptured, almost 
 numberless times, and its great interest to us to-day lies 
 in the fact that it is one of the undoubted sites connected 
 both with Old and New Testament history. 
 
 The road from the Jaffa Gate to Bethlehem slopes at 
 first down a steep descent, and then crossing the Valley of 
 Gihon, curves up the " Hill of Evil Counsel." It is skirted 
 by cornfields and olive gardens to the west, and is frequented 
 by bands of leper beggars. These unfortunates have a little 
 colony of their own near the Pool of Siloam, and there is 
 also a very large and comfortable hospital devoted to their 
 use on the Bethlehem road, under most kind and wise 
 direction ; but during the tourist season they desert both 
 home and hospital, and gather here, plying their ancient 
 occupation, the most pitiable of objects. (We may here 
 
 * II. Chron. xxxiii. 14. t Nehem. xii. 39. 
 
 15 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 mention, in parenthesis, to any reader who may contemplate 
 a visit to Jerusalem, and dread a too close contact with 
 them, that the merest mention of the word " Hospital " is 
 sufficient to ensure their keeping at a respectful distance, 
 and they can be helped much better through that institution 
 than by the desired backsheesh.) 
 
 The presence of these unhappy people, together with 
 the multitude of blind, maimed, and halt who in Jerusalem 
 live on charity, bring New Testament scenes forcibly to the 
 visitor's mind, for among just such crowds of helpless 
 creatures must our Lord and his Apostles have wrought 
 their mighty works of healing. Doubtless these memories 
 react to their support now, but there ought to be some 
 systematised care, instead of this incessant begging, and 
 it is a lamentable state of things, and evidence of the laxity 
 of the present regime, that they are thus permitted to wander 
 about at will. 
 
 The Lower Pool of Gihon, so called from its supposed 
 identification with the " lower pool " mentioned by Isaiah,* 
 and " the pool that was made " of Nehemiah's recital of the 
 rebuilding of the city walls, t' lies close to the road, and 
 about five minutes from the Jaffa Gate. There is seldom 
 much water in it, but it must have been a striking feature 
 of the landscape when kept full, being nearly 600 feet in 
 length, 275 in breadth, and over 40 in depth. It is called 
 by the Moslems the " Birket es Sultan," or Sultan's Pool, 
 in remembrance of the distinguished Sultan Suliman, who 
 restored it in the sixteenth century. 
 
 This road is the direct one not only to Rachel's Tomb, 
 Bethlehem, and the Pools of Solomon, but also to the ancient 
 city of Hebron, and is sometimes in consequence called the 
 Hebron road. 
 
 * Isaiah xxii. 9. f Nehem. iii. 16. 
 
 16 
 

No. VII 
 
 THE WESTERN WALL OF JERUSALEM 
 
 The Mount of Olives, showing the Russian Tower and Church of 
 the Ascension iit the background, with Mount Zio7i and Bishop 
 Godat's School to the right. 
 
 THERE is not very much to say in explanation of 
 this sketch. The wall is probably on or near the 
 site of the ancient one, but is not itself ancient. 
 On its inner side are beautiful gardens, now belong- 
 ing to the Armenian Church and Convent, which mark the 
 spot where Herod's Palace stood, and far finer grounds 
 adorned this part of the city in our Lord's time. On the 
 crown of Mount Zion, to the right, is seen a little group 
 of domes, the chief of which marks the supposed Sepulchre 
 of David. The general correctness of this site, as indicating 
 not only the last resting-place of David, but also of Solomon 
 and others of the Jewish kings, there is no reason to doubt, 
 but the sarcophagus which is now called " David's Tomb" 
 is, of course, not to be credited with doing more than re- 
 presenting the general location. The "Coenaculum" is a 
 small Franciscan Church almost on the same spot, which 
 commemorates the Upper Room where our Lord partook 
 of the last Passover with His disciples, and which is also 
 supposed to be the scene of the descent of the Holy Ghost 
 at Pentecost, and it is better accredited than most other 
 so-called sacred places in Jerusalem. Pierotti gives a very 
 detailed account of the history of church after church which 
 have stood here, and of the legends connected with them ; 
 but while we cannot enter into an enumeration of these, 
 we would remind our readers that its close topographical 
 connection with the Tomb of David is confirmed by the 
 statement made by the Apostle Peter in his memorable 
 
 17 c 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 sermon preached in the Upper Room after the Pentecostal 
 outpouring of the Spirit, that the sepulchre * of the patriarch 
 David is "with us unto this day," 
 
 The Mount of Olives faces the spectator from behind 
 the city, on the summit of which is a Russian tower of 
 modern construction. To the right is seen the building 
 of the school for Jewish boys founded by the late Bishop 
 Gobat, which stands on the site of the south-west angle 
 of the original wall (as disclosed by excavation). At this 
 point the wall turned eastward, and its course, marked by 
 scarped rocks and cisterns, can be traced for quite a long 
 distance. It is curious that the city has thus receded on 
 the south and extended on the north. The school is now 
 a very flourishing and well-managed school, where, besides 
 ordinary instruction, the boys are engaged in manual in- 
 dustries, and especially in making small models of objects 
 of interest for selling to visitors. Here you may purchase 
 miniature grinding mills, to illustrate our Lord's discourse 
 concerning " the last things," f small models of the primeval 
 plough as used at present and in olden days alike, and here 
 also a sling and stone ready for use, in memory of the 
 favourite hero of Jewish story. 
 
 * Acts ii. 29. t Matt. xxiv. 41. 
 
 18 
 
No. VIII 
 
 SOUTHERN SLOPE OF MOUNT ZION 
 
 Showing Wall of Jewish School, the Valley of Hinno7n {Gehenna)^ 
 and the Mount of Offence 
 
 QUITE recently some ancient stone-work which 
 we were shown was discovered at the spot where 
 the wall belonging to the Jewish school (already 
 described) is seen at the summit of the steep hill- 
 side (Mount Zion). This indicates the line of 
 the old southern wall of the city, and it is not at all unlikely 
 that along this portion of the wall, crowning an ascent so 
 steep as to be easily commanded by those defending the 
 city, and but slowly approached by its assailants, the Jebu- 
 sites, in derision of David, manned their fortifications with 
 the blind and the lame (no doubt supported by more active 
 members of the community), " thinking David cannot come 
 in hither." " Nevertheless," we are told, " David took the 
 stronghold of Zion/' * 
 
 The Mount overlooks, on this side, the Valley of 
 Hinnom, which is first mentioned as one of the boundary 
 marks of the lot of Judah ; i^ in Hebrew it is called " Ge 
 Bene Hinnom," J afterwards abbreviated into Gehenna. 
 Here, in olden times, were the "high places of Tophet,"§ 
 in imitation of the idolatries of neighbouring Canaanites. 
 "Topheth" signifies a drum, and took its name from the 
 beating of drums to drown the cries of the children offered 
 in its high places to the idol Moloch, supposed to be an- 
 other name for Saturn. This idol is described as having 
 the head of an ox, and standing with the hands outstretched 
 as if to receive a gift. It was made of bronze, and made 
 red hot, and the children to be sacrificed were placed by 
 
 * II. Samuel v. 7. t Joshua xv. 3. 
 
 { i.e. Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. § Jerem. vii. 31, 32 ; xix. 11. 
 
 19 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 the priests in the idol's hands, the parents being forced to 
 be spectators. These horrible rites Jeremiah denounced, 
 and threatened the city and the valley on their account with 
 terrible judgments, and King Josiah defiled it to prevent 
 their continuance.'* 
 
 In later times all manner of refuse and offal was thrown 
 there, and fires were kept continually burning to destroy 
 and purify ; whence it became a type of the fate of the wicked 
 in the future life, and is in this connection referred to by 
 our Lord.t" In our day the fires are extinguished, and where 
 they once so ceaselessly blazed are peaceful olive gardens. 
 Many curious and ancient tombs honeycomb the rocks on 
 the southern hillside, which rise in some parts quite preci- 
 pitously from the valley ; but it is not safe without a guide 
 to attempt their inspection, as they are infested, and in 
 some cases, as we discovered, even inhabited by very wild 
 Arabs, who have no scruple against helping themselves to 
 backsheesh, or at least demanding and obtaining it in a 
 very threatening manner. The " Field of Aceldama" is 
 close by, to the right, though not actually in the sketch, and 
 the " Mount of Offence," the most southerly of the three 
 heights of the Mount of Olives, faces the spectator. 
 
 * II. Kings xxiii. lo. t Mark ix. 43. 
 
 20 
 
u 
 
 w 
 
No. IX 
 
 THE MOSQUE OF EL AKSA 
 
 South-east Corner of the Temple Area and Mount of Olives, with 
 the Church of the Ascension and the Russian Tower 
 
 THE wonderful situation of the southern end of the 
 Temple area, which commands a most magnificent 
 view, has been chosen for buildings of special 
 dignity and importance from King Solomon's time 
 to the present. Here was that wonderful *' House" which 
 he built for himself at the same date, and with the same 
 glory, as the Temple, and which, when the Queen of Sheba 
 saw, with the appointments belonging to it, and " his ascent 
 by which he went up (from it) into the house of the Lord ; 
 there was no more spirit in her." 
 
 Here in after times stood, according to Mr. C. Schick 
 (one of the greatest living authorities on such matters), the 
 great Porch or Stoa of Herod, generally called " Solomon's 
 Porch," which must have been a magnificent structure, ex- 
 tending almost the whole length of the southern facade of 
 the area, and here, somewhat before the middle of the sixth 
 century a.d., Justinian erected on the site of all former 
 ruins a Basilica, which probably vied in majesty with the 
 previous buildings. Its glory has, however, also greatly 
 departed, though not so completely as that of the preceding 
 structures. It was taken possession of by Omar when he 
 captured Jerusalem in 636 a.d., and by him was very soon 
 adapted and dedicated to the Mohammedan worship. Again 
 it was taken by the Crusaders in 1099 ^^^ transferred by 
 them into the dwelling-house called the Palace or Portico 
 of Solomon, a part being assigned by King Baldwin II. as 
 residence for a new order of knights called the Knights 
 Templars. Saladin overthrew this order of things in 1187, 
 and since then the Church or Mosque has been altered and 
 
 21 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 altered, and was allowed for a time to fall into disuse and 
 decay, and this neglect was accelerated by the effect of one 
 or more earthquakes, so that while it is on record that once 
 a hospice, capable of containing from 3000 to 5000 beds, 
 adjoined it when a church, there are now no certain traces 
 of such a building. Yet, in spite of all vicissitudes, the 
 Mosque of El Aksa has again been restored, and is to-day 
 an imposing building as seen from without, though it 
 does not compare with the Mosque of Omar, but has much 
 of beauty and interest also within. Beneath it may still be 
 seen an ancient and beautiful gate, identified with the great 
 southern gate of the Temple, at one time called the Gate of 
 Huldah. The city wall meets and encloses the Temple area 
 on this southern side, and between the two, where the palm- 
 tree rises, are ruins, probably of Crusading ecclesiastical 
 buildings, now only used as a place of shelter by wandering 
 beggars. 
 
 The sketch shows another interesting topographical 
 feature in the line of a raised road or path, which appears 
 in the foreground. This has recently been found to mark 
 the line of the summit of a high wall, which may be the 
 boundary wall of the Hill Ophel. 
 
 The Russian Tower on the Mount of Olives commands 
 a magnificent view, as also does '* The Church of the Ascen- 
 sion." This is on the spot honoured by long tradition as 
 the scene of our Lord's ascension, but as it does not commend 
 itself to our judgment as in accordance with the Scripture 
 narrative, we will not further allude to it except to say that 
 a striking view of the Green Hill is to be obtained from the 
 adjoining Minaret. 
 
 22 
 
< s 
 
 o '^ 
 
No. X 
 
 EN ROGEL, OR, THE WELL OF JOB (Joab) 
 
 Also the South-east Corner of the Temple Wall, and El Aksa in the 
 distance^ the Village of Silwdn {Siloam) to the right 
 
 THE Well of Job is a point of decided interest in the 
 near vicinity of Jerusalem to the south, and is con- 
 nected with several events in Old Testament history. 
 We first hear of it as chosen to mark one of the 
 points* of the frontier line between Judah and Benjamin, 
 and next during the stormy period of Absalom's rebellion, 
 for here was the hiding-place of Ahimaaz and Jonathan, + 
 the sons respectively of the priests Zadok and Abiathar, 
 when chosen by David to be messengers between their 
 fathers (who remained in the city) and himself and followers 
 in the wilderness, the priests being themselves the recipients 
 of special information concerning Absalom's plans, sent 
 direct to them from the rebel's council chamber by Hushai, 
 Absalom's trusted adviser, but David's secret friend. 
 
 Here likewise Adonijah,J another son of David, with 
 his confederates, Joab and the Abiathar before mentioned, 
 made a banquet to '* his brethren the king's sons, and all 
 the men of Judah the king's servants," with the view of 
 assuming the crown of his father, a plot frustrated by the 
 vigilance of Nathan and Bathsheba, the mother of the 
 favoured Solomon. It may be supposed that this event 
 gave its name to the well as that of Joab, since degenerated 
 into Job. The well is the only one of any importance on this 
 side of Jerusalem, with the exception of the Virgin's Foun- 
 tain, an intermittent spring which feeds the upper Pool of 
 Siloam. 
 
 It is over loo feet in depth, and the masonry of its 
 sides is of great antiquity. It is fed by rain-water from the 
 
 * Joshua XV. 7. t II. Samuel xv. 35, 36; xvii. 17. X I- Kings i. 9. 
 
 23 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 mountains around, which, being free from contamination, 
 and much purer than the nearer supply from the Pools of 
 Siloam, is carried by the inhabitants of the village of Siloam 
 into the city for domestic use. 
 
 The village of this name is very seldom visited by 
 travellers, as it is now inhabited by very wild and thievish 
 Arabs, but its steep and rocky slope is perforated with caves 
 once inhabited by hermits. It is only once mentioned in 
 the New Testament, when our Lord speaks of a tower* 
 therein having fallen and destroyed eighteen men, and 
 draws thence a lesson of liberality in measuring the sins of 
 men by their misfortunes. 
 
 In the broad valley lying between the hills of Zion, 
 Ophel, and Moriah on the one side, and the Mount of 
 Olives on the other, is the bed of the Brook Kedron. The 
 terraces and gardens are also irrigated from the Pools of 
 Siloam, and are to-day full of vegetation of various kinds. 
 In King Solomon's time, and for some time later, it was 
 no doubt luxuriant with beautiful gardens. 
 
 Near the well stands an old mulberry-tree, supposed 
 to mark the spot where the Prophet Isaiah was sawn 
 asunder. 
 
 * Luke xiii. 4. 
 
 24 
 
No. XI 
 
 THE MOUNT OF OLIVES 
 
 And the South-east Corner of the Teinple Area . 
 
 IN the present sketch a little pathway may be noticed 
 winding up the hill, in which, besides pedestrians, a 
 donkey is seen carrying bundles of wood for firing ; 
 and this was specially introduced into the picture 
 because of a peculiar interest which attaches to it. For, in 
 spite of innumerable changes, there is such a clinging to 
 the habits of the past in the East, that it is extremely 
 seldom that an established road or pathway changes its 
 course. Narrow and rough it may be, but from century 
 to century it remains practically /;/ statu quo; and this 
 remark applies especially to this path, since it could not 
 well be elsewhere, as it climbs almost directly up the 
 slope of the Mount of Olives to the village on its summit, 
 and thence winds down to Bethany. 
 
 Probably, then, this was the " ascent of Mount Olivet " 
 by which David " went up, and wept as he went," when he 
 left Jerusalem at the time of Absalom's revolt ; but much 
 more interesting is it to believe that up and down this 
 steep and stony path our Lord and His disciples must 
 have habitually passed in visiting Bethany, or journeying to 
 Jericho, Jordan, &:c., when residing in or near Jerusalem/ 
 
 We join, however, with many others in denying 
 it the honour some would give it of being the scene of 
 the triumphal jcmrney from Bethany to Jerusalem, and this 
 for several reasons. It is too narrow and steep for the 
 purposes of a procession ; neither would it be adapted for 
 the spreading of garments and palm branches, as would the 
 more southerly road, which is broad, and the slope a much 
 more winding and gentle one. Neither is there from any 
 point on this path a coup dail like that on the other road, 
 
 25 D 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 where, at a sudden turn, the Zion side of the city, with the 
 Temple area in full and splendid view, bursts upon the eye 
 — impressive in the present day, and how much more in 
 our Lord's time, when Herod's Temple and the adjoining 
 buildings were in their glory. 
 
 Looking across the slope of the Mount and across the 
 Valley of Jehoshaphat, which lies between it and the steep 
 hill opposite, we see the south-eastern angle of the Temple 
 wall, with the Mosque of El Aksa (already described) look- 
 ing south. 
 
 The wall at this corner is seventy feet in height, and 
 a shaft sunk by the Palestine Exploration Society some 
 years ago proved that it is sunk as deeply below the 
 surface as it rises above ; so that when first erected the 
 height of the wall must have been prodigious. The 
 knowledge that seventy feet of debris lies above the first 
 level of the Temple wall at this point gives some help to 
 the imagination in bringing to mind the many vicissitudes 
 which this city has sustained in its almost innumerable 
 sieges. 
 
 Olive-trees, it will be observed, still grace the bare and 
 stony sides of the Mount to which they have lent their 
 name. The oldest and most beautiful of these are enclosed 
 in the traditional Garden of Gethsemane at its foot, while 
 of humbler vegetation we may mention the wild lavender 
 and mignonette as growing on its stony ground. 
 
 26 
 
No. XII 
 
 THE TOMB OF ABSALOM 
 
 Village of Siloam in the distance — Bridge over the Kedron bed 
 and " Road of the Capture " 
 
 NO one except the ignorant inhabitants of the city 
 and its neighbourhood supposes that this beautiful 
 structure is in any sense the "Tomb of Absalom," 
 who was buried, no doubt, where he was slain, in 
 the wood of Ephraim. 
 
 Nevertheless, for many centuries the custom has pre- 
 vailed of throwing a stone in passing at the supposed 
 sepulchre of the rebellious son of David, so that its lower 
 portion is buried in these heaps. It is by no means equally 
 certain that it does not mark the spot where he "erected 
 and reared up a pillar, which is in the king's dale : for he 
 said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance."* 
 
 It is about 20 feet square and 47 in height, and is hewn 
 out of the solid rock ; that is, to the height of 20 feet, which 
 is that of the rock behind. It is ornamented with half- 
 columns of the Ionic order, and with a Doric frieze and 
 architrave which indicate the Graeco-Roman period. These 
 may have been added to the original cube at that time, so 
 that its claim to great antiquity is not an impossible one. 
 
 The so-called Tombs of Jehoshaphat, Zachariah, and 
 the Apostle James are in close proximity with that of 
 Absalom, while the hillside around and above is one vast 
 cemetery ; the Valley of Jehoshaphat being considered a 
 specially sacred spot by both the Jews, who bury on this 
 side, and the Moslems, who have taken the Moriah side, 
 under the eastern city wall. 
 
 The road that crosses the little bridge in the foreground, 
 which spans the Kedron bed and winds up the hill and 
 
 * II. Samuel xviii. 18. 
 27 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 around the angle of the Temple wall, is sometimes called 
 ''The Road of the Capture," for it is the route supposed 
 to have been taken by His captors in leading Jesus from 
 Gethsemane to the house of Caiaphas on Mount Zion. We 
 might also suggest that the Coenaculum being in the same 
 district with the house of Caiaphas, it is probable that He 
 and His disciples traversed the same road and little bridge 
 (or its predecessor) at an earlier hour on the same evening, 
 under very different circumstances. For on that memorable 
 night, after Jesus had partaken of the Passover supper with 
 His disciples, and washed their feet, and after His last 
 wonderful discourse and prayer recorded by the beloved 
 John, we remember that they sang an hymn,* probably 
 part of the great Hallel, Psalms 1 16, 1 17, and 1 18, and went 
 out into the Mount of Olives, "over the brook Cedron, 
 where was a garden." i" The subject of the conversation 
 during that solemn moonlight walk was indeed sad, for 
 Jesus then forewarned his followers of their approaching 
 desertion of Himself, and all of the eleven, with Peter in their 
 lead, disclaimed, with the utmost earnestness, the possibility 
 of such cowardice in the words " Though I should die with 
 Thee, yet will I not deny Thee." J How soon, alas ! were 
 these words forgotten and their Master's prediction ful- 
 filled ! 
 
 * Matt. xxvi. 30. t John xviii. i. J Matt. xxvi. 35. 
 
 28 
 
No. XIII 
 
 GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE 
 
 THE tradition which has chosen this spot as the site 
 of Gethsemane is probably as old as Eusebius, who 
 writes of it as being well known, and may date from 
 the visit of the Empress Helena, a.d. 326, at the 
 time when she supposed she had also established, by means 
 of a miracle, the identity of Calvary with the site of the 
 church she built as its memorial, and w^hich to-day is repre- 
 sented by that called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. If 
 she were not more successful in the former than the latter 
 quest, we have but little ground for trusting the position of 
 the garden ; and there are certain reasons for locating it 
 somewhat farther up the valley — that is, farther north ; the 
 chief one being that remains of a very ancient stone olive- 
 press were recently discovered in the situation referred to, 
 in a still more secluded spot than the present garden, which 
 had been for long buried in the earth, and "Gethsemane" 
 means, in Hebrew, an oil-press. 
 
 Yet we cling to the present location for other considera- 
 tions, and while no one can say that the real garden is on 
 precisely this spot, every one who visits this enclosure, 
 with its olive-trees and quiet retirement, away from the stir 
 and noise of the city, with the Mount of Olives on one side, 
 and the hills of Moriah and Bezetha, crowned with the 
 wonderful city and wall and towers, on the other, must feel 
 that the conditions of much of the valley are so similar that 
 the present garden may quite possibly be right, and even if 
 not exactly so geographically, is so as far as fulfilling in 
 every important respect the conditions of the original spot ; 
 while the great reverence paid to it by the Franciscan monks 
 ' who have it under charge, and the crowds of pilgrims (rather 
 than tourists) who walk round its narrow flower-bordered 
 paths and gather at the " Stations of the Cross " for brief 
 services, lend a constant interest to the scene. 
 
 29 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 The garden is a walled-in enclosure of about i6o feet 
 square. It is entered by a door so low as to ensure every 
 one except a little child stooping to enter (the same statement 
 applies to the entrance of the Church of the Nativity at 
 Bethlehem). The eight olive-trees within the walls are very 
 old indeed, some of them, it is said, not less than 800 years, 
 and, of course, the descendants of those that grew there in 
 our Lord's time ; and they are so precious in the eyes of 
 their monkish caretakers, that they are tended with most 
 reverential care, a little trench being dug around the trunks 
 of some for the purpose of watering. The garden itself is 
 very simple and almost rude in its arrangements ; native 
 wild flowers and a few easily cultivated garden ones, such 
 as marguerites, wall-flowers, and violets, are planted in 
 small parterres, and guarded by little wooden palings. 
 
 So simple and unartificial was it, that even on the 
 supposition, in which we mostly indulged, that it was the 
 right place, we did not feel anything out of keeping ; and 
 even the monkish gardener, so kindly and quiet, giving us 
 flowers and refusing money, seemed to us, in spite of our 
 Protestant proclivities, not out of keeping with the general 
 aspect of the place, 
 
 A very touching and solemn occasion during our stay 
 in Jerusalem was a service held on the grassy hillside 
 just outside the garden walls on the evening of " Holy 
 Thursday" in the Paschal Week, and attended by most 
 of the Protestant English and American residents and 
 visitors in the city. After the service closed we remained 
 some time longer in silence until the moon rose, lighting 
 the city walls, and we wended our way slowly back, 
 returning about 1 1 p.m. It was as if the veil of years 
 had been drawn back for us. 
 
 30 
 
t-^ o 
 
T 
 
 No. XIV 
 
 THE GREEN HILL 
 HERE is a familiar hymn which tells us that — 
 
 " There is a green hill far away 
 Without a city wall, 
 Where the dear Lord was crucified, 
 Who died to save us alL" 
 
 And these words bear witness, I believe, to a simple 
 fact which the author had probably verified. 
 
 For from time to time, even from a remote period, 
 travellers have been impressed by this neglected spot, once 
 the scene of a Crusading camp, now a Moslem cemetery, 
 and have spoken and written of it ; but it never attracted 
 much attention as a possible site for Calvary (although 
 believed in by Bishop Gobat) until the days of the Palestine 
 Exploration Society, though we believe at the present time 
 it numbers many more scholars among its advocates than 
 any other site in or near Jerusalem. 
 
 St. John tells us that our Lord suffered " nigh to the 
 city,"* and the writer to the Hebrews that it was "without 
 the gate'' (not "gates," as so often misquoted). Now 
 the northern or Damascus Gate, leading to the chief road 
 through Palestine, was probably pre-eminently " the gate " 
 in New Testament times, and any one who has carefully 
 studied the position and stones of the present Damascus 
 Gate can have little or no doubt that the lower part of it is 
 practically identical with that of our Lord's time, the upper 
 part of the ancient arch appearing a few feet above the 
 ground just within the more modern one now in use ; for it 
 must be remembered that so many times has Jerusalem 
 been overthrown and rebuilt even since the Christian era, 
 that almost everywhere the foundation soil is far below the 
 present level. 
 
 Supposing, then, that this Damascus Gate be the 
 "gate" of the Book of Hebrews, the hill stands just where 
 
 * John xix. 20. 
 31 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 it might be looked for. The Jewish law demanded that 
 executions must take place not less than fifty cubits outside 
 the wall, and the summit of the Green Hill is only a few 
 minutes' climb from the Gate and Damascus road, w^hich 
 skirts it on the west, and within easy earshot of the wall, 
 standing upon which the priests, who would not wish to 
 defile themselves by standing on the very place of execution, 
 might shout their execrations and derision to the sufferer. 
 
 On one side the hill is precipitous, evidently an ancient 
 cutting separating it from the Bezetha hill and caverns 
 across the road ; and here is the traditional site of the 
 stoning of St. Stephen, said by early writers to have been 
 on Calvary ; and in confirmation of this tradition it may be 
 stated that by the resident Jews * this place is identified 
 with the place of execution mentioned in the Talmud. 
 
 On the eastern and northern sides are long grassy 
 slopes, where thousands of spectators could have stood or 
 sat to view the scene, while from the Cross — if indeed this 
 be the place on which it stood — must have been visible, as 
 in a panorama, framed by the familiar mountains and olive 
 groves, the beloved city, moved with the excitement of a 
 wild fanaticism, and the magnificent outlines of the Temple, 
 in which so soon the veil was to be rent from the top to the 
 bottom, and from which the glory was to be taken away. 
 
 The wall that appears in the foreground of the sketch 
 is not, of course, the ancient one, but built upon its ruins, 
 and is Saracenic. The two caves are called by believers 
 in the hill — it may be a little too imaginatively — the two 
 eye-sockets of the skull (Golgotha), while to the right is 
 Jeremiah's Grotto, supposed to be the place where the 
 Prophet composed his Lamentations. To the left, on the 
 western slope of the hill, is a garden enclosed by a wall, 
 which is identified with the site of that of Joseph of 
 Arimathea. One of our last associations with this hill was 
 the gathering together there of the Jewish children of one 
 of the missionary schools on Good Friday of 1889, and 
 there singing together the well-known hymn " Rock of 
 Ages." This seemed to us and other Christian friends 
 gathered together on the occasion a significant event, and 
 full of promise for the future. 
 
 * Wright's "Bible Treasury," p. 259. 
 32 
 
No. XV 
 
 ENTRANCE TO THE SEPULCHRE ON 
 THE GREEN HILL 
 
 SOME years since, under the supposition that the 
 Green Hill is indeed Calvary, and that the well- 
 I watered garden on its north-western slope lies above 
 the ancient one of Joseph of Arimathea, an excava- 
 tion was made to see if any verification of the theory could 
 be found. If not here, there seemed nowhere for the garden 
 to have been ; for although on the northern and eastern 
 sides there is ground in plenty, the necessary rock is want- 
 ing for the sepulchre, which must have been its most striking 
 feature. But the Gospel account fixes the site of the garden 
 as really on the place of execution in the words, " Now in 
 the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in 
 the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet 
 laid."* So that unless we can identify the garden, we 
 must remain in doubt as to the hill itself, and the wonderful 
 coincidences of position, &c., already described must remain 
 unconfirmed. 
 
 It is, therefore, with a deep satisfaction that we assure 
 our readers that there can be no doubt but that a garden 
 has existed in this north-western corner for ages, and the 
 proof of it is that a well exists here, the third only (counting 
 the Virgin's Fountain) in the near vicinity of Jerusalem, 
 and in the East a well in a sheltered spot such as this ever 
 means a watered garden. It may be that the absence of 
 any visible sepulchre has been the reason why so many 
 pilgrims have come to the " Holy City," and visited her 
 sacred places, and become familiar with the rounded hill 
 on her northern side, and yet never guessed at its import- 
 ance, taking little thought of the fact that the surface ground 
 
 * John xix. 41. 
 
 33 E 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 on which they trod lay from lo to 40 and even 70 feet above 
 the level of the city in Gospel days. But recently more 
 intelligent thought has been given to such matters, and 
 it was decided, as has been said, to excavate within the 
 garden on the hillside, against a narrow ledge of rock 
 sheltering it from northern winds. 
 
 And the excavators had not far to go ! Not a stone's- 
 throw from where they commenced their work, and not very 
 far underground, they unearthed a sepulchre of most re- 
 markable character. If this is not the sepulchre, as the 
 writer believes it to be, it has at least more claim to 
 credence than the one so long accredited, or any othei* 
 around the city. 
 
 The opening, as seen in the sketch, is broken, and there 
 is no rolling-stone, but a great deal of broken stone which 
 was inside the mouth of the sepulchre when first opened 
 (much of which remains) may be the fragments into which 
 it was broken at some time, mixed with debris from the 
 breaking in of the entrance. 
 
 34 
 
No. XVI 
 
 THE SEPULCHRE 
 
 WHILE the time-honoured shrine underneath 
 the dome of the great Church of the Sepulchre 
 holds a sarcophagus the marble of which has 
 been worn away by the kisses of innumerable 
 worshippers, this in its pristine simplicity lay for ages be- 
 neath the soil, trodden underfoot alike by Christian, Roman, 
 and Jew, Crusader, Saracen, and Arab, unconscious of its 
 presence ! Even since it was opened there was a time when 
 it fell into Moslem hands and was used as a stable, though 
 subsequently cleansed, and now in safe keeping, for which 
 we cannot be too thankful. 
 
 When first unearthed, marks upon the wall were dis- 
 cernible in the form of a cross, traced in dull blue paint, 
 which have since become almost obliterated, but which were 
 quite plain when we visited the spot, and of which I give 
 an outline. I have heard this attributed to the fourth 
 century, and if that be so, then up to this date the tomb 
 must have been open and used as a holy place, though 
 whether at that time supposed to be the holy place par 
 excellence is quite uncertain. 
 
 But we will now describe the points of contact and 
 identification between this sepulchre and the one of the 
 Gospel narrative. 
 
 The traveller to Palestine and the neighbourhood of 
 Jerusalem, and especially to the " Valley of the Tombs," 
 will remember that the ordinary Jewish sepulchre of ancient 
 times was not at all like this one. 
 
 In them you first enter an outer chamber used for the 
 purification or bathing of the body, and then an inner one, 
 invisible from the outer air, and entered by a low doorway, 
 within which you notice the walls perforated with holes 
 or niches the length of the human form, into which the 
 
 35 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 body to be buried was placed head foremost, so that it 
 would be entirely hidden from view except at the feet. 
 There are very few sepulchres on any other pattern than 
 this around Jerusalem, and none we believe in the proxi- 
 mity of the Green Hill. There is one in the Valley of 
 Hinnom which is much like the sepulchre of which we are 
 writing, and others resemble it in certain points, but none 
 which we saw (and we visited many) would lend themselves 
 to the illustration of the Gospel story as this one does. 
 
 It will be seen at a glance that there is no second 
 chamber in this case. The women, we are told in the Gospel 
 of Mark,* entered into the sepulchre and ** saw a young man 
 sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment;" 
 and a glance at the sketch will show that the imagination 
 is scarcely needed to bring this scene to the mind's eye. 
 Again, the Apostles John and Peter,t first looking in and 
 then entering, saw the linen cloths lying, and the sepulchre 
 empty ; a momentary glance would be sufficient to effect 
 this result, were this indeed the scene of our Lord's brief 
 sepulture. 
 
 Then, again, we know that Joseph of Arimathea was a 
 rich man, who had prepared a "family vault," to use a 
 modern term, and there is a vault constructed to hold five 
 sarcophagi, the one facing the entrance, and still nearly 
 perfect, being very striking ; from it the form of our Lord 
 could have arisen without the smallest impediment, — and 
 none but a rich man could have indulged in so costly a 
 tomb. 
 
 At present no one ventures to assert for this sepulchre 
 the tremendous claim made for the traditional one, yet so 
 many Christian tourists, including the late General Gordon, 
 have been deeply impressed by it, that we rejoice to be able 
 to state that the garden and tomb have been recently pur- 
 chased by those who will see that they are preserved from 
 injury and kept in fitting order, avoiding on the one hand 
 any superstitious veneration of the spot, or its desecration on 
 the other. 
 
 * Mark xvi. 5. t John xx. 5, 7, 8. 
 
 36 
 
No. XVII 
 
 TOMBS OF THE KINGS 
 
 IN the vicinity of Jerusalem are many tombs, some of 
 the simplest description and some more complex and 
 ornate ; there is indeed one whole valley called the 
 Valley of the Tombs, whose rocky sides are honey- 
 combed with hewn sepulchral chambers ; but the most im- 
 posing of all is this great monument of the departed, — not 
 one tomb alone, but a series of sepulchral chambers, with 
 niches for more than twenty bodies. Yet, in spite of its 
 imposing character, and even striking beauty, no certain 
 tradition connects any name or any dynasty with the site. 
 
 The ** Tombs of the Kings " is a comparatively modern 
 name, attached to it on the very natural supposition that 
 it must be royal ; but the tombs of the Jewish kings, we 
 have every reason to suppose, were all on the other side of 
 the city, on Mount Zion, clustering around that of David. 
 
 The supposition has gained ground, since more learned 
 attention has been turned to the subject, that this is the 
 Tomb of Queen Helena of Adiabene,* mentioned by 
 Josephus. 
 
 Queen Helena was a Jewish proselyte, who came to 
 reside in Jerusalem, a.d. 48, with her son Izates, who is said 
 to have had twenty-four sons, and she built for herself and 
 family a sepulchre to the north of the city.f- Josephus 
 also writes of monuments or tombs erected by Herod in 
 this neighbourhood. The former supposition is more likely, 
 since we find Queen Helena's mausoleum attracted the 
 attention of other writers as a monument of special beauty. 
 Pausanias in the second century alludes to it, though only 
 as matter of hearsay ; as also Eusebius and Jerome, the 
 latter referring to it as having been passed by the Roman 
 Lady Paula as she came to Jerusalem by the northern 
 road. 
 
 * A district on the Tigris. t Josephus, " Wars of Jews," v. 4, 2. 
 
 37 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 It stands about half a mile to the north of the Damas- 
 cus Gate, a little to the right of the road, and lies within 
 a sunken court hewn out of the solid rock. This is in its 
 turn entered from another excavation, down which a long 
 flight of steps have been hewn, a wall of rock 7 feet 
 thick lying between the two. At the bottom of the steps 
 is a chamber for the purification and embalming of the 
 bodies, and a hewn doorway leads from this causeway to 
 the open court, which is nearly 90 feet square. In its 
 western wall is a portico 39 feet long by 17 wide and 15 
 high. There were pillars here, when first made, dividing it 
 into three nearly equal parts, of which the remains are visible ; 
 but the front of the porch at once attracts our attention, as 
 remnants of a very beautiful frieze still remain, with clusters 
 of grapes, palms, and garlands of flowers still traceable, of 
 great delicacy of execution. M. De Saulcy connects it with 
 the Asmonean dynasty, as a bunch of grapes was a type of 
 their coinage ; he also mentions a crown and triglyphs 
 alternating with round shields three times repeated, but 
 of this we noticed nothing. The entrance to the inner 
 chambers is guarded by a large and very perfect rolling- 
 stone, which should be particularly inspected by the visitor, 
 as it enables one to see how the sepulchre of Joseph of 
 Arimathea was closed. 
 
 38 
 
w 
 
 H 
 
 h4 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 X 
 
 en 
 
 < 
 
 P 
 
 K 
 
 !^ 
 
 S 
 
 a 
 
 K 
 
No. XVIII 
 
 THE MOUNTAINS AROUND JERUSALEM 
 
 IF we substitute the word "hills" for "mountains" 
 (which we certainly associate with loftier and more 
 imposing heights), we shall at once see from the sketch 
 how appropriate the Psalmist's beautiful language is 
 to the location of the beloved city. Seated herself, if not 
 on seven hills like her great rival, yet on several of note, 
 such as Moriah, Zion, and Bezetha, she is sheltered by the 
 rising ground of Gihon on the western and north-western 
 sides, and by Scopus, from which the sketch is taken, on 
 the north. She thus seems surrounded in a remarkable 
 manner by her hilly sentinels, and this feature of the land- 
 scape is specially striking on the southern and eastern sides, 
 where the deep ravines of the valleys of Hinnom and 
 Jehoshaphat make the opposite hills more striking in 
 character. 
 
 Standing, then, on Mount Scopus, and looking directly 
 south, we see the Judean hills exactly facing us. To the 
 right is the " Hill of Evil Counsel," so named because tra- 
 dition says that on this hill the high priest Caiaphas had 
 a villa, and that, with the chief priests and Pharisees, it 
 was here that those secret councils were held referred to 
 in the Gospels,* in which they plotted the death of Jesus. 
 This house must not be confused with the " palace of the 
 high priest "+ to which Jesus was taken for judgment on 
 the night of his capture, which was probably on Mount 
 Zion, not far from the Palace of Herod. It was another 
 outside the city boundary, to which Caiaphas retired for 
 rest and refreshment, and very possibly for the privacy 
 necessary to secret interviews such as those alluded to. 
 
 To the left is, first, the Mount of Offence, and secondly, 
 the Mount of Olives, both being in reality ridges of the 
 same hill. 
 
 * John xi. 53. t Mark xiv. 53, 54. 
 
 39 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 The Mount of Offence took its name from the idolatrous 
 practices of Solomon's time, concerning which we read the 
 following melancholy statement in the Book of Kings : * 
 " For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives 
 turned away his heart after other gods. . . . For Solomon 
 went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and 
 after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. . . . 
 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the 
 abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusa- 
 lem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of 
 Ammon." 
 
 Of the Mount of Olives we have already written. 
 Here we see the trees of the Garden of Gethsemane at the 
 foot of the hill, and just above a large Oriental-looking 
 church. This is Russian, and certainly no improvement 
 to the scene from any point of view, and all that reconciles 
 the visitor to it at all is the presence within its walls of 
 one or two very beautiful paintings by a modern Russian 
 artist, whose name we are sorry not to be able to give. 
 
 * I. Kings xi. 4-8. 
 
 40 
 
No. XIX 
 
 BETHANY 
 
 " Ninv Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem^ about fifteen furlongs off"* 
 
 THE memories that cluster around Bethany are all 
 sacred, for they are all connected with incidents in 
 the history of our Lord's earthly life. The little 
 town holds no Old Testament record, and no 
 history of any moment since Gospel days, but the light 
 that shone on it for that brief season will make it luminous 
 for all time. 
 
 It first comes into notice in Luke's narrative, when 
 we are told " a certain woman named Martha received 
 Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, 
 which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word."t 
 
 This, and the rest of the beautiful incident here re- 
 corded, give us an insight into the simple household which 
 became so dear to our Lord. So that when, a while after- 
 wards, Lazarus fell ill, the sisters could send the message 
 with much assurance of faith, " Lord, behold he whom 
 Thou lovest is sick.".| Our Lord was beyond the Jordan 
 when the message reached Him, and in the sketch the 
 road is seen, little altered from that time to this, which 
 runs between Bethany and the Plain of Jericho, by which 
 He must have approached the village ; and as Martha went 
 a little distance outside the town to meet Him, it is very 
 likely that it was somewhere within the bend of the road 
 here portrayed that the memorable scene of His conversa- 
 tion with her took place. 
 
 Within the town the houses of Mary and Martha, and 
 Simon the leper, and the Tomb of Lazarus are all shown, 
 but of course are all comparatively modern, though the 
 sites are possibly correct. 
 
 * John xi. 1 8. t Luke x. 38, 39. X John xi. 3. 
 
 41 F 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 After the raising of Lazarus there follows the beauti- 
 ful scene at the feast made in Simon's house six days 
 before the Passover at which our Lord suffered, and the 
 breaking by Mary of the alabaster box, and her anointing 
 of the Saviour with the ointment of spikenard, very precious, 
 of which He said that " wheresoever this Gospel shall be 
 preached throughout the whole world, this also that she 
 hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." * 
 
 The road from Jericho to which we have referred 
 does not stop at Bethany, but passing up the hill outside 
 the little town, makes its way to Jerusalem, winding around 
 the southern slopes of Olivet, until at a sudden turn it 
 commands a wonderful view of the city, deeply impressive 
 now, but how much more so when the Temple of Herod 
 was in all its glory. It was along this road that it is gene- 
 rally believed Jesus rode coming from Bethany when on 
 His way to His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and the 
 particular turn in the road which has been mentioned is 
 considered the probable point at which " He beheld the 
 city, and wept over it."f 
 
 But so much did Jesus love Bethany, that, after the 
 scene in the Temple which followed His entry, and the 
 cavilling of the priests and scribes, we find Him returning 
 thither again for the solace of its quiet and affection ; for 
 says the record of St. Matthew, " He left them, and went 
 out of the city to Bethany and lodged there." .|. 
 
 * Matt. xxvi. 6-13. t Luke xix. 41. J Matt. xxi. 17 
 
 42 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 in our Lord's time covered with buildings, it seems quite 
 too near Jerusalem and too public for so sacred a scene, 
 while nothing could be lovelier or more in harmony with 
 what one feels is the necessary setting of this, the crowning 
 marvel of the Incarnation, than the one now under con- 
 sideration. Away from sight and sound of the city which 
 had denied and crucified Him, and 'which now awaited 
 her awful doom — away from the Temple of a degenerate 
 worship, with only the faithful villagers of Bethany and 
 the company of believing souls around Him to represent 
 that Humanity which He loved and for which He had 
 suffered — in sweet calm and triumphant peace, Jesus 
 left the outward arena of His labours and sacrifice, and 
 ascended to where He was before. This judgment re- 
 garding the scene of the Ascension is corroborated by 
 the opinion of Dr. Farrar, whose words from his " Life 
 of Christ " "^^ we will take the liberty of quoting. '* He 
 met them in Jerusalem, and as He led them with Him 
 towards Bethany, He bade them wait in the Holy City 
 until they had received the promise of the Spirit. He 
 checked their eager inquiry about the times and the 
 seasons, and bade them be His witnesses in all the world. 
 These last farewells must have been uttered in some of 
 the wild secluded upland country that surrounds the little 
 village ; and when they were over, He lifted up His hands 
 and blessed them, and even as He blessed them was parted 
 from them, and as He passed from their yearning eyes, 'a 
 cloud received Him out of their sight.' " 
 
 * Vol. ii. p. 446. 
 
 44 
 
No. XXI 
 
 THE PLAIN OF BETHLEHEM 
 
 NO stretch of rural country in the world is so famous 
 as this plain, but to Christians the wonder of the 
 Gospel story which opens here eclipses all pre- 
 vious history. We must, however, remind our 
 friends that it was in a harvest-field on this plain that 
 Ruth * gleaned after the reapers, and that here David 
 watched over his father Jesse's sheep.i* It is a most 
 fertile plain, and still yields a rich harvest, while olives, 
 figs, and vines grow in abundance, and especially on the 
 terraced sides of the hills below Bethlehem, some of which 
 we see in the sketch. 
 
 Facing us, to the far east, lies the long line of the 
 Moab hills, on the other side of the Jordan, which in the 
 clear atmosphere take on the most exquisite tints at sun- 
 rise and sunset. Indeed, so beautiful are they, that every 
 evening spent in view of their range comes with a fresh 
 surprise at some beauty of colour which had not been 
 observed before. The hill immediately facing the spectator 
 is that called the " Frank Mountain," originally, no doubt, 
 the one referred to by Josephus .|. as having been artificially 
 raised by Herod, where he built a castle called the Hero- 
 dium, in which he was afterwards buried. The hill was 
 also again used as a fortification by the Crusaders. 
 
 But the point upon which the eye at once fastens in 
 dwelling upon this scene is the rustic little church in the 
 centre of the sketch, known as the "Church of the Shep- 
 herds," and supposed to mark the spot where, nearly 
 nineteen hundred years ago, they were " keeping watch 
 over their flock by night, and lol the angel of the Lord 
 came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round 
 
 * Ruth ii. 3, 4. t I- Sam. xvi. i, 4, 11. 
 
 J "Jewish Antiquities," xv. 9, 4. 
 
 45 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 about them ; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said 
 unto them, Fear not : for, behold, I bring you good tidings 
 of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you 
 is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is 
 Christ the Lord,"* &c. Just about here this message 
 must have been delivered, and the heavenly host have been 
 seen by mortal eyes, and mortal ears have heard the angelic 
 anthem, " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
 peace, goodwill to men." A little farther off from Bethle- 
 hem, or a little nearer, makes no difference. It was on 
 this plain that the announcement to the simple shepherds 
 was made, and the blue sky overhead was once peopled 
 with the angelic host ; and it was no small privilege to be 
 permitted, as were my husband and myself, to sit under 
 the shadow of olive-trees on the height of the Bethlehem 
 plateau overlooking the plain on a bright Christmas 
 morning, with snow, indeed, on the ground, but warm 
 sunshine around us, and to read, as it seemed, almost for 
 the first time, so impressive were the surroundings, the 
 sweet and solemn story of the Nativity. 
 
 * Luke ii. 8-11. 
 
 46 
 
2 
 
No. XXII 
 
 SOLOMON'S POOLS 
 
 4 BOUT two hours' ride* from Jerusalem, passing 
 /\ Rachel's Tomb, and to the right of Bethlehem, 
 n^K we come to the supposed site of Etam,t* where 
 -/ ^ are three enormous reservoirs, one below the 
 other, the lowest and largest being 194 yards long, and 
 in places 48 feet in depth (our sketch shows only a portion 
 of the upper one). Having been mostly excavated from 
 the solid rock, they remain very much the same as when 
 first formed twenty-nine centuries ago, though both they 
 and the " sealed fountain " in their neighbourhood have 
 been repaired, and in places re-cemented, in more modern 
 times, and they fill the mind of the visitor with wonder 
 and admiration at the engineering skill displayed in their 
 construction. They are named the ** Pools of Solomon." 
 It is of them that Solomon is supposed to have written, 
 " I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood 
 that bringeth forth trees," and a reference to these plantations 
 in the previous verse, " I made me gardens and orchards, 
 and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits." 
 
 While many of the gardens referred to in this passage, 
 and in the one in Solomon's Song which contains the 
 allusion to the sealed fountain,:!: lay probably in close 
 proximity to the lowest of these reservoirs, the reference 
 may also cover the king's gardens in the valley of Jehosha- 
 phat, for an aqueduct carried the water of these pools 
 into Jerusalem, first emptying itself into the ancient lower 
 pool of Gihon, whence other aqueducts conducted it through 
 the city and into the Temple area, whence it was emptied 
 into the Brook Kedron. Thus the ancient city was well 
 supplied with water even in time of drought, — a great 
 contrast to its present condition, almost every summer 
 
 * Eccles. ii. 6. t II. Chron. xi. 6. J Solomon's Song, iv. la. 
 
 47 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 seeing more or less of privation, and every few years a 
 real water famine. This is the more to be lamented and 
 the less excused because the present state of the main 
 aqueduct is so good that a comparatively trifling expense 
 would be sufficient to make it again available, and it is 
 much to be deplored that the inertness of the present 
 Government does not allow it to fulfil so easy and neces- 
 sary a task. 
 
 The little building at the head of the pool is over the 
 entrance to the ''spring shut up" or "fountain sealed,"* 
 used in the Song of Solomon as a symbol of the Bride. 
 It is now called by the Arabs the " Head of the Fountain." 
 It springs up within a cave, which is strongly protected 
 by stone chambers built around and above, which have been 
 repaired at different times. The hills around are bare 
 and rough and devoid of any interest or attraction. The 
 castellated building facing the spectator dates from Crusad- 
 ing times, and no special mention is made of it in history. 
 
 * Solomon's Song, iv. 12. 
 
 48 
 
No. XXIII 
 
 BEEROTH 
 
 TWELVE miles to the north of Jerusalem, near to 
 the great northern road, and close also to Bethel, 
 is a very large and ancient Khan, situated in a 
 very picturesque situation in a village which Robin- 
 son supposes to tally with the *' Beer " mentioned in Scrip- 
 ture as the place to which Jotham fled from his brother 
 Abimelech.* 
 
 The name Beeroth signifies " Wells," and there is a 
 very fine fountain here, which has no doubt been the reason 
 for the Khan being a favourite first or last stopping-place 
 for natives, caravans, or smaller parties of travellers in 
 going to or from Jerusalem. 
 
 This, then, we may with probable safety regard as many 
 times the resting-place of the Holy Family on their way 
 to and from the great city while residing at Nazareth, and 
 going down yearly to the Feast of the Passover ; but it is 
 as especially associated with the particular journey recorded 
 in St. Luke's Gospel that we draw our readers' attention 
 to it. 
 
 Here, no doubt, Joseph and Mary tarried on their 
 homeward way after the feast was over, supposing Jesus to 
 have been in the company,^' and here missing Him, they 
 sought Him "among their kinsfolk and acquaintance" in 
 vain. 
 
 This scene we can easily picture as we look at the 
 building, for its dimensions are such that a very large 
 caravan of many family groups could find shelter within 
 its walls; and we imagine it must always have been full 
 before and after the Passover Feast, so many worshippers 
 would come on this road from the northern towns and 
 villages. After satisfying themselves that the youthful 
 
 * Judges ix. 2 1. t Luke ii. 44. 
 
 49 G 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 Jesus was not in the Khan, they seem to have turned 
 back at once, and in three or four hours' time were again 
 in Jerusalem seeking Him. How it was that they were 
 three* days in finding Him we cannot guess; perhaps it 
 never occurred to them to seek for him among the doctors. 
 Afterwards, as they returned again to Nazareth, they must 
 once more have passed through Beeroth, Mary doubtless 
 pondering in her heart the fresh revelation just vouchsafed 
 to her of her son's personality and work. 
 
 It may be noticed in the sketch that the lower layers 
 of stone-work in the arches are much larger than those 
 resting upon them ; these lower ones alone are considered 
 to have belonged to the ancient Khan, all the upper masonry, 
 with the roof, being comparatively modern. 
 
 * Luke ii. 46-51. 
 
 50 
 
F 
 
 No. XXIV 
 
 JACOB'S WELL 
 
 ■^EW sites are so well authenticated as this in the 
 whole of Palestine, and very few are of greater 
 interest. 
 
 "The parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his 
 son Joseph," * or one called by this name, still lies close 
 to the city of Nablous, and under the shadow of Mount 
 Ebal, and near it, as is mentioned in the Gospel narra- 
 tive, is the well called " Jacob's Well," which we give in 
 the accompanying sketch. It is sometimes also called by 
 the Christians of Nablous "The Well of the Samaritan 
 Woman." 
 
 The tradition which fixes upon this site for that of 
 Jacob's Well mentioned in St. John t goes back to Eusebius 
 in the early part of the fourth century, in which century a 
 church was built around it, which is mentioned, Robinson 
 tells us, by "Antoninus Martyr" in the sixth century, by 
 Arculfus a century later, and again by St. Willibald in the 
 eighth century. Its ruins have made a large mound around 
 the well, and have raised the level, so that one has to look 
 down quite a depth below the surface to see the coping 
 stone of the well, as it was before the church fell in or was 
 destroyed, and on which perhaps our Lord sat. Robinson 
 is confident that this is indeed the real spot, and that the 
 adjacent enclosure is the " parcel of ground given by Jacob 
 to his son Joseph," and in which the bones of Joseph still 
 rest. All around is the beautiful plain where Jacob's flocks 
 and herds fed and rested ; and when we visited the well 
 we saw large numbers of cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and 
 donkeys grazing all along the foot of Mount Gerizim. This 
 plain, to the north of which the well lies, is broad and 
 fertile and many miles in extent, and besides the grazing- 
 
 * Gen. xxxiii. 19, xlviii. 22; Josh. xxiv. 32. t John iv 
 
 51 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 land which skirts the foot of the Mount, the centre of the 
 valley is full of corn-land. How easily such a landscape 
 enables us to picture its pastoral occupation by the Patri- 
 arch who dug and gave his name to the well, and how 
 vividly, as we look on the fields of waving corn before us, 
 do our Lord's words to His disciples recur, '* Say not ye. 
 There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest ? Be- 
 hold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, 
 for they are white already to harvest " ! * 
 
 Mount Gerizim is a very impressive feature of the 
 landscape. On its summit are many ruins, some pro- 
 bably of the ancient Temple built there in rivalry to the 
 one at Jerusalem, and mentioned by Josephus. There are 
 ruins also of a Christian church, and a castle said to be 
 of the time of Justinian, about 530. The Samaritan Jews, 
 of whom a small remnant remains in Nablous, still keep 
 up their ancient custom, and sacrifice a Paschal lamb 
 every Passover time with much ceremony. With this ruin- 
 crowned mountain in front of us as we sit by Jacob's 
 Well, we seem to see our Saviour point to what was no 
 doubt at that time a noble temple, and to hear His words, 
 " Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh when ye shall 
 neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the 
 
 Father."t 
 
 The Samaritan Jews are very courteous to visitors, 
 and showed us their three precious Old Testament MSS. ; 
 the oldest, very worn and dingy, called the " Grandmother " ; 
 the next, in an elaborately chased case with representations 
 of the first Tabernacle and its service, called the " Mother," 
 and the most modern, in a silver case, called the " Daughter." 
 Probably few visitors see more than this last, as it took 
 a great deal of persuasion on my husband's part to elicit 
 the two older ones. 
 
 The High Priest, a very intelligent man, in speaking 
 of the well, told us that he had tasted the water, and it 
 was very good. They call it the "Well of Jesus," and 
 thoroughly believe in it. 
 
 * John iv. 35. t John iv. 21. 
 
 52 
 
pi. 
 o 
 
 pq 
 < 
 H 
 
 H 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 oi 
 
 > 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 Pi 
 w 
 
 o 
 
No. XXV 
 
 MOUNT HERMON 
 
 Overlooking Moicni Tabor 
 
 ONE reason for this sketch is to show the rival 
 I claimants of the scene of the Transfiguration in 
 ' apparent juxtaposition, though in reality so far 
 apart that the snow-covered slopes of Hermon can 
 hardly be distinguished from the fleecy clouds that float 
 above them except by their shape. 
 
 For many years it was Mount Tabor that held the 
 supremacy. In our Lord's time, as in the year 218 B.C., 
 there was a town of the name of Itabyrion on the top of 
 the hill ; it was doubtless a fortified and inhabited spot, 
 which in itself might have sufficed to show that He could 
 not have chosen it for a retreat from the haunts of men. 
 Mediaeval tradition, based on the testimony of Origen and 
 Jerome, did not condescend to such considerations, however, 
 but having decided upon it, stamped it with sanctity, and 
 immediately churches and many hermitages, and later a 
 Crusading church and a monastery, crowned its summit, and 
 hermits, monks, and pilgrims crowded the spot, in the hope 
 of sharing some Transfiguration glory by so doing. We 
 trust their faith obtained a blessing in spite of topographical 
 inaccuracy.* 
 
 Not in this place of comparative publicity, then, but 
 far away to the north, in the utter seclusion and solitude, 
 and amid the glorious mountain scenery of Mount Hermon, 
 did our Lord no doubt lead His three chosen disciples to that 
 aloofness from man which was needed for the special inter- 
 course with Heaven and manifestation of His glory which 
 both for Himself and them was the needed preparation for 
 His approaching sacrifice, when Moses and Hlias spake 
 
 • For further argument against this site see Farrar's " Life of Christ," vol ii. p. 25. 
 
 53 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 with Him "of his decease which He should accomplish at 
 Jerusalem." * 
 
 But Mount Tabor appears in Old Testament history, 
 if we are obliged to erase its name from association with 
 the glories of the Transfiguration. At Deborah's command, 
 Barak gathered together at Mount Tabor ten thousand 
 men of Naphtali and Zebulun against Sisera, captain of the 
 hosts of Jabin, king of Canaan. "And they shewed Sisera 
 that Barak, the son of Abinoam, was gone up to Mount 
 Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even 
 nine hundred chariots of iron. . . . And Deborah said unto 
 Barak, Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath 
 delivered Sisera into thine hand. ... So Barak went down 
 from Mount Tabor" (as if a citadel even then was on its 
 summit), "and ten thousand men after him, and the Lord 
 discomfited Sisera." f In Psalm Ixxxix. 12 the two chief 
 mountains of Palestine are joined together as if rejoicing in 
 the name of the Lord in the words, "The north and the 
 south Thou hast created them : Tabor and Hermon shall 
 rejoice in Thy name." And there is much that lends itself 
 to this beautiful thought in the aspect of the Mount. It 
 is richly wooded with oak and other trees, and the luxuriant 
 Plain of Esdraelon lies at its feet, where, beside waving 
 fields of corn, the wild hollyhock, lupin, most beautiful 
 varieties of the iris, and many other flowers bloom in pro- 
 fusion, and over all numberless skylarks soar and sing. 
 
 * Luke ix. 31. f Judges iv. 12, 15. 
 
 54 
 
< 
 "A 
 
 X 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 2i 
 
 w" 
 w 
 hJ 
 
 < 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 <! 
 W 
 
 173 
 
 w 
 
 H 
 
No. XXVI 
 
 SEA OF GALILEE 
 
 North Endy and Tiberias 
 
 AGAIN we see Mount Hermon, but at nearer view 
 than in the last sketch, surmounting the northern 
 , limit of the Sea of Galilee. "The Sea of Galilee, 
 L which is the Sea of Tiberias," * is thirteen miles 
 long and six across. Its shores in our Lord's time were 
 cultivated and luxuriant with gardens and soft grassy slopes. 
 Even now, though it is much less wooded than then, the 
 oleander grows on its shores, and the grass seemed to me 
 greener in the slopes between the hills than is general in 
 Palestine. There is, however, very little cultivation of any 
 kind now around the lake, and the city of Tiberias, though 
 very picturesque with its ancient walls and towers, is in a 
 state of decay. 
 
 Tiberias itself was at that time a Roman city, dedicated 
 to the Emperor whose name it bears ; it is only four miles 
 from Capernaum, so loved of Jesus, and there is no mention 
 in Scripture of Jesus ever having been in Tiberias, though 
 it is probable that He often passed through it ; we only hear 
 of it as having supplied boats for those who were seeking 
 for Him after the miracle of the loaves and fishes, f- 
 
 And it is at Tiberias that the visitor also takes boat to 
 sail upon the waters of the sacred lake, perhaps, as in our 
 own case and that of other travellers, to encounter one of 
 those sudden storms that sweep down through the gorges of 
 the surrounding hills, and toss up the waves as if by magic, 
 or to notice the tameness of the waterfowl, or the steep sand- 
 hills on the Gadarene side. 
 
 The destination of our little voyage was the ruins of 
 
 * John vi. I. t John vi. 23. 
 
 55 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 Tell Hum, now identified with Capernaum, and most 
 impressive was the scene. In approaching it, you row past 
 the Plain of Gennesareth and the few huts that represent 
 Magdala, and also the supposed sites of Bethsaida and 
 Chorazin, the shores, as we approach Tell Hum fringed 
 with oleander in full bloom and very beautiful. No modern 
 town or village, as in so many cases, to connect the present 
 with the past ; nothing but grass-covered ruins and the 
 open country and bleak hillsides. Thus has our Lord's 
 prediction of woe pronounced against what was once a 
 fine and popular city been fulfilled.* But the ruins which 
 remain are very interesting, and the most important lie 
 quite near the shore. These are of a Synagogue, and are 
 of a character to prove that the building must have been 
 one of uncommon beauty, perhaps the one built by the 
 Centurion whose servant Jesus healed, i- and in which He 
 preached.J 
 
 The principal lintel, which must have surmounted the 
 chief doorway, has the carving of trailing grapes and vine 
 leaves all along, and also the pot of manna between two 
 other vessels. Possibly there was a connection between this 
 representation of the pot of manna over the doorway and 
 our Lord's reference to it in the discourse referred to,§ 
 which is expressly said to have been delivered in the Syna- 
 gogue at Capernaum. 
 
 * Matt. xi. 23. t Luke vii. 5. | John vi. 59. § John vi. 49. 
 
 56 
 
No. XXVII 
 
 THE EASTERN SHORE OF THE SEA 
 OF GALILEE 
 
 ONLY once do we read of our Saviour crossing 
 the Sea of Galilee and visiting its eastern shores, 
 but the whole of this narrative is full of dramatic 
 interest as scene after scene passes before us. 
 Of the events of the previous day we have a full 
 account in the 8th chapter of Matthew. Many possessed 
 with devils were brought to Him at its close, after 
 the three wonderful cases of healing, of which we have 
 the details, and, however wearied, we are told that " He 
 cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that 
 were sick." * Then, as the multitude crowded about Him, 
 Jesus gave commandment to depart unto the other side ; 
 and the motive for this we can hardly be mistaken in 
 ascribing to a desire for retirement and rest. 
 
 But the powers of evil were alert, and seemed deter- 
 mined to oppose His progress and thwart His intention. 
 A storm arose, and would have destroyed the little vessel, 
 but by a word He stilled its fury. Then, arrived on the 
 farther shore, instead of peace. He met a demoniac of the 
 most violent description (Matthew tells us of two), "ex- 
 ceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way." 
 But just as Jesus had previously stilled a fever and hushed 
 the elements, now His power rose superior to the Satanic 
 frenzy of the possessed, eliciting this appeal, " What have 
 I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high ? 
 I beseech thee torment me not."t We remember the rest 
 of the story, how the legion of evil spirits were cast out of 
 the man, and, being permitted to enter into a herd of swine 
 feeding on the mountain, the poor animals ran violently 
 
 * Matt viii. i6. t Luke viii. a8. 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 down a steep place into the lake and were choked. If our 
 readers will glance at this sketch, they will at once see how 
 easily this descent took place, for all along the Gadarene 
 shore are steep sandhills, rising almost precipitously from 
 the lake, and once the panic took possession of the herd 
 and they lost control of themselves, it was inevitable that 
 they should perish. 
 
 It must have been all over very quickly, and the next 
 scene is a purely beautiful one. The man that had been 
 possessed is sitting clothed and in his right mind at Jesus' 
 feet, and the people are coming from the neighbouring 
 city to see and wonder. But quickly it changes again. 
 The people hear of the loss of the swine, and becoming 
 alarmed, they "began to pray Him to depart out of their 
 coasts." * Here is no rest for the Master, and sadly He 
 prepares to fulfil their request, never again to visit them ; 
 but, in loving care for them, He leaves the healed and be- 
 lieving Gadarene to preach to his friends and neighbours 
 what great things the Lord had done for him, and had had 
 compassion on him. 
 
 And so the curtain falls ; the new disciple, who would 
 fain have accompanied his Healer in His return voyage, 
 is left alone with his great commission, and Jesus and the 
 disciples return to Capernaum. All through the region 
 of Decapolis the new preacher went, " and all men did 
 marvel ;"+ but whether he was able in any sense to plant 
 Christianity in those parts we do not know. Later on, the 
 city of Gadara was destroyed by Vespasian. 
 
 * Mark v. 17. t Mark v. 20. 
 
 58 
 
No. XXVIII 
 
 MOU NT CARMEL 
 
 WITH the name of Carmel the mind reverts to 
 one of the grandest figures of Old Testament 
 history — a man not like other men, except in 
 his hours of discouragement and weakness ; 
 one who held converse with the unseen, and was granted 
 power over the forces of Nature in a degree only second to 
 our Lord Himself. And the scene of his greatest triumphs 
 is a worthy theatre for such marvels. 
 
 Carmel is a magnificent headland stretching out into 
 the blue Mediterranean, its summit far removed from the 
 haunts of man, its deep ravines lined with forests of oak, 
 its valleys rich in foliage and flowers of every hue. 
 
 Quite noticeable on the ridge of the hill is the sup- 
 posed scene of Elijah's sacrifice, where a convent stands to 
 mark the spot. The long line of the Mount rises here to a 
 rounded peak, if one may use the expression, considerably 
 higher than the rest of the ridge. 
 
 Here we may suppose the fire descended from heaven 
 and consumed the prophet's burnt-sacrifice, ** and the wood, 
 and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that 
 was in the trench."* 
 
 At the foot of the Mount still flows the river Kishon,^ 
 which we forded quite easily, but in the rainy season its 
 banks must be wide. 
 
 Between the scene of the sketch, where our party 
 lunched, and the Mount, lies the western end of the Plain 
 of Esdraelon, the Megiddo of Scripture, and possibly the 
 Armageddon of the Book of Revelation, where, if the 
 prophecy is to be taken literally, the great battle for 
 Palestine is still to be fought. But in spite of the battles 
 of the past or possible future, nothing could have been 
 
 * I Kings xviii. 38. t Judges v. 2 1 ; i Kings xviii. 40. 
 
 59 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 more sylvan or peaceful than this scene as it appeared to 
 us ; and as we approached the foot of Carmel, where there 
 are several villages, we were amused and interested with a 
 curious custom of the people. Every hut had a smaller 
 one on its roof. As these people are much in the habit of 
 keeping bees, w^e supposed they were beehives ; but no ! 
 they are little booths made of green branches of trees, 
 where they sleep in summer. Thus easily do they solve 
 the question of a change of residence in the hot weather — 
 and very pretty do these little bowers look at a distance. 
 A near inspection we did not attempt, and would hardly 
 advise. 
 
 The little town of Haifa, where is an interesting 
 German colony, lies on the shore of the Mediterranean, 
 just below the Mount, and the Bay of Acre stretches to 
 the north. 
 
 60 
 
No. XXIX 
 
 RUINS OF TYRE 
 
 4 LL along the shore ride from Acre are remains of the 
 /\ ancient Phoenician people. Little idols (real, and 
 /"^ not manufactured in England) can be bought in 
 Jl 1L the villages. Old sarcophagi are used for horse- 
 troughs ; old bits of ruins, broken bridges, ancient tombs, 
 long aqueducts, and remnants of ancient roads draw the 
 attention as the traveller rides north. Then comes the 
 " Ladder of Tyre," or " Promontorium Album " of Pliny, 
 a fine promontory of hard white clay, with a very fine and 
 distinct flora covering its crags with colour and beauty, and 
 then another shore ride to " Tyre the old." And Tyre, or 
 rather the ruins of Tyre, is wonderful and past descrip- 
 tion. You see the most wonderful granite columns every- 
 where ; in the water, looking up at you from many fathoms 
 deep, and on the grass, as delineated in the sketch, half- 
 hidden by masses of the yellow daisy and other flowers. 
 Everything except the rosy polished pillars of red granite 
 (probably imported from Egypt) looks grey and time-worn 
 and old. It is a city of the great past and of the dead, 
 for the little modern Turkish town does not distract the 
 attention in the least, unless in contrast to what has been 
 but is no more ; and one naturally turns to prophecy and 
 history to unfold the mystery, and this is what we find. 
 
 In the Prophecy of Ezekiel * a terrible denunciation 
 is uttered against the ancient city of Tyre, one of the 
 proudest, largest, and most beautiful seaports of ancient 
 times. But she had set herself against Jerusalem and had 
 scorned the chosen people, and had said of herself in her 
 pride, " I am of perfect beauty," and the boast of one of 
 her kings had been, " I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, 
 in the midst of the seas." "Therefore," says the Prophet, 
 
 * Ezek. xxvi., xxvii. 
 
 6i 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 "thus saith the Lord God, Behold I am against thee, O 
 Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against 
 thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up, and they 
 shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her 
 towers," &c. 
 
 All this fearful passage, which runs through the 26th 
 and 27th chapters of the prophecy, was literally fulfilled 
 about 332 B.C. by means of Alexander the Great; and although 
 the city was rebuilt, and again reduced to ruins many 
 times since then, it is on account of its ruins alone that it is 
 famous to-day. And as the traveller walks around what 
 remains of the departed glory, the words of prophecy recur 
 to the memory, and one sees how wonderful have been their 
 fulfilment. 
 
 In leaving the city to continue the journey northwards, 
 one sees vestiges of this former greatness for several miles. 
 
 62 
 
No. XXX 
 
 FIRST VIEW OF THE DEAD SEA 
 
 THIS view was not taken from any ordinary point on 
 the ordinary road between Jerusalem and Jericho, 
 but between Bethel (now called Beituri) and that 
 destination, and is presumably on the route taken 
 by Elijah and his chosen companion as described in the 
 Book of Kings,* when the great Prophet was on his last 
 and memorable journey. 
 
 Of Bethel and its memories we will not now speak, 
 except to say that we passed by it in the cool of the 
 early morning, and gazed with deep interest at its ruins 
 and hilly eminence as they stood out boldly against the 
 sky, calm and grey, a monument of the wonderful days 
 of old. And as the mind recurred to those " old Hebrew 
 days," which were, as Faber says " ages of fire," thoughts 
 of the histories of Abraham and Jacob passed in review, 
 followed by later histories of Jeroboam and Josiah ; one 
 remembered also the poor prophet who was killed by the 
 lion near Bethel, + and rejoiced greatly that no ravenous 
 beasts now frequent those hills. The ride down to Jericho 
 is most beautiful if taken in the latter part of March or 
 the beginning of April. The valleys are full of fig, olive, 
 and vineyards, and also of rich cornfields — the barley nearly 
 ready to cut — the wheat luxuriant in beautiful green. 
 
 The hillsides are a great contrast to the valleys, barren 
 of cultivation and very stony and rugged, dotted over 
 occasionally with flocks of sheep and goats, with their 
 Arab shepherds in attendance or seated near by with 
 crook or staff in hand. These Bedouin inhabit black 
 tents made of goats' hair, like those of "Kedar,":[. and 
 some of them were quite boys, reminding one of David, 
 only, instead of guns or swords, which those Bedouin 
 
 * II. Kingi ii. 2-4. t I- Kings xiii. J Cant. i. 5. 
 
 63 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 carry, a bow and quiver of arrows or a sling and bag of 
 stones was needed to make the illusion complete. 
 
 On the hill from which the view of the Dead Sea 
 was taken we partook of lunch, an Arab encampment 
 near us taking much interest in the proceeding, and ap- 
 parently feeling some suspicion concerning us, until by 
 distributing some sweetmeats among the children and 
 friendly words to the parents we won their goodwill and 
 were allowed to pass unmolested. In the sketch the lake 
 is seen, but not the wonderful colouring, which is the 
 most intense and exquisite blue, above which the Moab 
 hills rise 2000 feet, clad also in the loveliest hues. To 
 the left is seen the line of the Jordan, which here flows 
 into the lake, and the little bay frequented by those adven- 
 turous visitors who are not afraid to test for themselves, 
 by bathing, the peculiar properties of this remarkable sheet 
 of water. 
 
 Between this hill and the Jordan valley one meets 
 such a flora as is very rarely seen. Indeed in America 
 or Europe I have never met anything like it, not even 
 on the glorious American prairies. It was like passing 
 through some vast conservatory. The thistles alone were 
 a wonder, some four feet high with enormous purple flowers ; 
 others a pure white, a primrose with variegated leaves, 
 a lovely rose, a deep maroon, a delicate lilac, a rich orange, 
 a pure yellow, but to describe is impossible ! Leaving this 
 paradise, you scramble down 1200 feet to the salt plain 
 below, leading the horses, and a very rough descent it is. 
 
 64 
 
No. XXXI 
 
 FIRST VIEW OF THE JORDAN, MOUNT 
 NEBO IN THE DISTANCE 
 
 F 
 
 ■^ROM the modern hotel of Jericho, on the famous 
 plain, it is about twelve miles to the Dead Sea, 
 and a short ride in a north-easterly direction brings 
 one to the shores of the Jordan at the point where 
 the sketch was taken. It is a short distance below the 
 famous ford which is associated by tradition with the 
 crossing of the river by the children of Israel * and our 
 Saviour's baptism,t and where every year crowds of pilgrims 
 of the Eastern Churches, mostly Russians, assemble, and 
 rush into the water in hope of some spiritual blessing 
 coming upon them, either then or in the hour of death, 
 from the act. As our visit was not at the season when 
 these scenes take place, we were happily spared what would 
 have seemed a desecration of so sacred a spot. 
 
 But our sketch does not represent any historical site, 
 excepting Mount Nebo, simply the first view of the river 
 coming towards the ford from the Dead Sea, and it certainly 
 did not disappoint us. The eastern bank is adorned with 
 high trees and shrubs, oleander and tamarisk. At some 
 points both sides are equally luxuriant, while the western 
 shore is often thickly fringed, as at the point represented, by 
 masses of the wild sugar-cane and pampas grass. As we 
 rode along by the river, nightingales were in full sweet 
 song, but we must confess that the delights of sound and 
 sight were somewhat counterbalanced by the attacks of a 
 small sandfly, which come by millions and show no mercy. 
 The water of the Jordan is somewhat muddy from 
 the clay washed by its rapid current from the banks, but 
 its taste is sweet, and it is refreshing and wholesome to 
 drink, and the purple heights of Mount Nebo reflected in 
 
 * Joshua iii. f Luke Hi. 21, aa. 
 
 6s I 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 it prevented its colour from in any way spoiling the beauty 
 of the landscape. 
 
 Away from the river the plain is very hard and dry, 
 being of clay coated with salt and gypsum, with sandhills 
 of very quaint and weird shapes scattered about. Being 
 4000 feet below the level of Jerusalem, the climate is semi- 
 tropical, and generally very close and trying, except in the 
 early morning and late evening. Near the river the ground 
 is perforated by holes made by the little jerboa — 
 
 " There are none such as he for a wonder — 
 Half bird and half mouse " — 
 
 mentioned by Browning in " Saul." The flora is not 
 beautiful, and nearly all the smaller plants are prickly and 
 spiky and horny. 
 
 So much for the outward framework of the various 
 wonderful pictures that rise to the mind's eye as we think 
 of Jordan. Of the great crossing of the children of Israel ; 
 of Naaman the Syrian dipping himself here that he might 
 be cleansed of his leprosy ; * of Elijah and Elisha coming 
 to its brink, and the smitten waters dividing hither and 
 thither to let the elder prophet pass to his fiery chariot ; t 
 of our Lord's baptism, and the opening heaven and de- 
 scending dove. Wonderful little river ! the most wonder- 
 ful and famous of the world. We cannot be surprised at 
 the devout, if ignorant, pilgrims who rush into it and are 
 drowned almost every year. May we, who think ourselves 
 so much more enlightened than they, meditate on its mar- 
 vels — with at least an equal devotion ! 
 
 * II. Kings V. 14. t II. Kings ij. 8-1 1. 
 
 66 
 
No. XXXII 
 
 ELISHA'S FOUNTAIN AND THE MOUNTAIN 
 OF THE TEMPTATION 
 
 CLOSE to the large mounds which mark the sup- 
 posed site of the first city of Jericho there springs 
 up in the arid plain a clear bubbling fountain, full 
 and copious, which tradition connectswith the name 
 of the Prophet Elisha ; and if his fountain is anywhere near 
 the ancient city, it must be this one, as there is none other. 
 Of it Robinson says, " There is every reason to regard it as 
 the scene of Elisha's miracle."* It is pure and sweet, though 
 slightly tepid (84° Fahr.), and after a long, weary ride 
 over the bare plain the visitor is glad enough, as were we, 
 to drink, and let the horses refresh themselves by standing 
 in the delicious water and drink to their heart's content 
 before proceeding farther. 
 
 The Biblical account of this spring reports it as originally 
 bitter. "Behold," the men of Jericho said to the Prophet, 
 " the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth, but 
 the water is naught and the ground barren. And he said. 
 Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they 
 brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of 
 the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith 
 the Lord, I have healed these waters ; there shall not be 
 from thence any more death or barren land. So the 
 waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying 
 of Elisha which he spake."^- 
 
 Facing the spectator directly to the north, and making 
 a striking background to the scene, is the mountain of 
 Quarantana .which rises precipitously nearly 1500 feet above 
 the level of the plain. 
 
 It is the supposed place of our Saviour's forty days' 
 temptation, though the tradition concerning it may not be 
 
 * "Biblical Researches," vol. i. p. 554. t II- Kings ii. 19-22. 
 
 67 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 earlier than the times of the Crusades, when a monastery- 
 was built upon it. Many hermitages and grottoes are 
 hollowed in the face of the cliffs at different altitudes, 
 some only to be approached, Baedeker tells us, by practised 
 climbers with ropes, and some adorned with frescoes. These 
 heights are wild and secluded in the extreme, and whether 
 truly the scene of the Temptation or not, have always at- 
 tracted anchorites. 
 
 Even now we believe some of these caverns are thus 
 occupied ; and we ourselves came across several such in 
 climbing down the rocky ledge from the higher plateau to 
 the plain ; and one in particular arrested our special notice. 
 Its appearance was so unhuman that we supposed it some 
 wild beast's den, but our guide pointed out the little earthen 
 drinking and other vessels at the cave's mouth, which 
 convincingly proved it a human habitation. We cannot 
 say that it commended itself either to our admiration or 
 approval. 
 
 68 
 
C/5 
 
 
 w 
 
 D 
 
 3: 
 
 
 < 
 
 Q 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 < 
 
 -n 
 
 W 
 
 Q 
 
 u 
 
 lA 
 
 <f 
 
 hj 
 
 hJ 
 
 
 1— ( 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 W 
 
 H 
 
 •■/ 
 
 r/) 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 b 
 
 < 
 
 O 
 
No. XXXIII 
 
 ANCIENT MARKET-PLACE AT ATHENS 
 
 Supposed to be the Agora 
 
 WE must now turn from the scenes which 
 remind us either of Old Testament history 
 or the sacred incidents of our Lord's earthly 
 life, and, leaving Syria for Greece, visit those 
 sites in and near Athens which are specially associated with 
 the great Apostle of the Gentiles. Paul's visit to Athens 
 was, we know, quite brief, and to all human appearances 
 very much of a failure ; for here he founded no Church, nor 
 attracted a loving crowd of admiring disciples, as in so 
 many other places ; and yet the brief visit of that despised 
 Jew was the commencement of a spiritual movement which 
 not only shook to its foundations the worship of the goddess 
 Athena, and all the other innumerable deities of the Greek 
 mythology, but was the means of their complete and final 
 overthrow. 
 
 And wonderful as is the Acropolis with its crowning 
 glory of the Parthenon, a building grander even in ruins, 
 as it seemed to us, than any other earthly monument of 
 the power and skill of man ; — and beautiful and full of the 
 deepest interest as are a multitude of other ruins and classic 
 sites in and around Athens, their charm yields to the 
 deeper interest and greater attractiveness of those famous 
 spots, the Agora and the Areopagus, where St. Paul with 
 such consummate skill and courage introduces to the atten- 
 tion of his Greek auditors the claims of that " unknown God " 
 whom he was willing to admit they reverently worshipped. 
 
 The sketch before us represents the ancient market- 
 place, which is now believed by most, if not all, who visit 
 It to be the Agora of St. Paul ; and as such it was pointed 
 out to us by a thorough Greek and Biblical scholar, resi- 
 dent in Athens at the time of our visit in 1892. 
 
 69 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 We are well aware that the excavation of this large 
 enclosure, with its remains of ancient porticoes, and marble 
 steps and pavements, which Avas effected only a very few 
 years before we saw it, is the reverse of confirmatory to 
 the tradition which placed it between the Acropolis and the 
 Pnyx, and which is assumed by Wordsworth, Conybeare 
 and Howson, and many others, to be the Agora of Socrates 
 and Paul. Possibly there were two market-places, though 
 it is not at all likely that they would be so close together, 
 or else it may have been the more modern one, called the 
 New Agora ; but the antiquity, dimensions, and beauty of 
 architecture of the one now opened to view prove that it 
 must have been of great importance, and its near proxi- 
 mity ^ to the Areopagus points to it as the probable scene of 
 that final discussion, from which the interested or ridiculing 
 crowd of philosophers and idlers hurried the Apostle to 
 their chief court of judicature, especially dedicated to the 
 trial of cases touching the subject of religion. 
 
 The newly excavated enclosure adjoins the Temple of 
 the Winds, of which an interesting description may be 
 found in Wordsworth, ''Athens and Attica." 
 
 It is octagonal in shape, each side facing the quarter it 
 represents, and an ideal figure in bas-relief, winged and 
 floating, and appropriate in design to its particular wind, 
 adorns the frieze. The tower was also the city clock or 
 sun-dial of Athens. It was built about lOO years B.C. 
 
 Without a very great strain upon the imagination, and 
 incurring no danger, we trust, of mistaking the New Agora 
 for the Old, we may then in fancy re-erect these broken 
 pillars, and re-people these colonnades and courts with 
 groups of eager philosophers. Epicureans and Stoics, 
 gathered around the central figure of the Apostle to the 
 Gentiles, so alone among them, yet so eager to win their 
 sympathy and comprehension, were it possible, as he dis- 
 puted "in the market daily with those that met with him."t 
 
 * This enclosure is almost as near to the Areopagus as the site to the south of the 
 Acropolis. 
 
 t Acts xvii. 17. 
 
 70 
 
No. XXXIV 
 
 MARS' HILL AND THE ACROPOLIS 
 
 As seen from the Pnyx 
 
 IT is difficult to imagine a more impressive scene than 
 the one that faces the spectator as he stands on the 
 famous Pnyx, on or under the Bema of Demosthenes, 
 and looks across the valley that lies between to the 
 Acropolis in full view. 
 
 And every inch of ground in view, as well as that on 
 which he stands, is full of associations with classic history 
 and legend. 
 
 The Pnyx itself was, says Christopher Wordsworth, 
 " the place provided for the public assemblies of Athens in 
 its most glorious time. . . . The Athenian orator had the 
 natural elements at his service. There was the sky of 
 Attica above his head, the soil of Attica beneath his feet, 
 and above all the sea of Attica visible behind him. . . . 
 There must, therefore, have been something inexpressibly 
 solemn in the ejaculation, ' O Earth and Gods ! ' uttered in 
 his most sublime periods by Demosthenes in this place." 
 
 But if the sky and sea and earth of Attica were in- 
 spiring to the great orator just mentioned, and to the 
 galaxy of lesser orators who also declaimed from these 
 heights to Athenian crowds, so also was the great Mount 
 of the Acropolis, with its greater Temple, which faced them ; 
 and the intervening valley was full of shrines, and altars, 
 and statues, each appealing to some legend of hero or deity 
 beloved by the people. 
 
 The Propylea, or marble gateway of the Acropolis, is 
 well seen from this point of view, with its five arches, 
 two rising on each side to the central and highest one. 
 Through this gateway passed inwards the great Panathenaic 
 procession, carrying the Peplus or splendid embroidered robe 
 
 71 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 of the goddess Athena, on which were emblazoned her sup- 
 posed deeds as well as events of national history, and with 
 which the oldest of her three statues on the Acropolis was 
 periodically invested. This was a time of great rejoicing. 
 Priests headed the procession, then came the victims for 
 sacrifice, a number of old men waving the sacred olive, a 
 chorus of maidens, and finally the martial and athletic portion 
 of the community on horseback and in chariots, crowned 
 with wreaths. Through the Propylea passed also the 
 solemn yearly procession to the Temple of Eleusis, where 
 the greatest and purest mysteries of the Greek religion 
 dominated all that was best in the national mind. Above 
 it we see the Parthenon ; to the right is Mount Hymettus, 
 famous for its honey ; and at the extreme left rises Mount 
 Lycabettus, almost pyramidal in shape. 
 
 But it will be observed that between the spectator and 
 this conical hill and the foot of the Acropolis there winds 
 a low rocky ledge, so serpentine in its curve that it has 
 been compared to the form of some gigantic reptile suddenly 
 petrified as it made its way up the slope approaching the 
 Acropolis. This is Mars' Hill, on the extreme point or 
 head of which was the ancient Areopagus ; and it would be 
 out of our power, as well as beyond the scope of these 
 simple descriptions, to attempt to enumerate all the histori- 
 cal scenes and classic stories connected with this wonderful 
 ledge of rock. 
 
 We will, however, remind our readers that the Cave and 
 Temple of the Eumenides or Furies was at the base of the 
 north-east angle of the rock. Here they were supposed to 
 dwell, and their presence lent a religious dignity to the court 
 of justice held just above. 
 
 On the eastern extremity of the hill Xerxes encamped, 
 and the Amazons were also said to have besieged the 
 Acropolis from the same spot. Here Orestes, aided by 
 Apollo, found a favourable verdict, and escaped from the 
 avenging decree of the Furies, when, to avenge his father's 
 murder, he committed matricide ; and here it was that St. 
 Paul preached to the wonder-loving Athenians one of the 
 noblest sermons of which the world has record. 
 
 72 
 
No. XXXV 
 
 MARS' HILL 
 
 Showing Steps to the Areopagus. 
 
 WHEN the men of Athens led St. Paul from 
 the Agora to their Areopagus, it was, we are 
 told, because they desired to hear further, and 
 in a spot consecrated to religious discussion 
 and decision, as well as to civil adjudication, concerning the 
 new doctrine brought by the Apostle to Athens. 
 
 No doubt some spoke mockingly. There is scant 
 respect in the utterance, "What will this babbler say?" 
 this ** picker-up of crumbs ! " * But, on the other hand, 
 we can but think that there was some hunger and thirst 
 after truth in the minds of those who said, " May we know 
 what this new. doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For 
 thou bringest certain strange things to our ears : we would 
 know, therefore, what these things mean."t At any rate, 
 St. Paul took them seriously, and answered them, not only 
 gravely, but with a beautiful courtesy and kindliness, even 
 referring to their own poets, which must have gone far 
 to disarm opposition and criticism, though, alas ! it was 
 not strong enough to humble their pride before the cruci- 
 fied and risen Saviour of men. 
 
 The present sketch represents the upper part of the 
 hill, the spot on w^hich this scene took place, approached 
 by the rough flight of steps which from time immemorial 
 had been used by one generation after another of judges 
 and judged in mounting the Areopagus. 
 
 It commands a magnificent view. The Pnyx on one 
 side and the rocky prison of Socrates. Below and beyond 
 to the north the mountains, violet-hued, stretching away 
 into the soft distance of the mainland, from the entourage of 
 
 * Acts xvii. 1 8. t Acts xvii. 19, 20. 
 
 73 K 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 which it is probable Athens took her name of the "Violet 
 City." Below is the Agora, and Temple of Theseus and 
 the northern part of the city. But, magnificent in its near 
 proportions and beauty, towered the commanding Acropolis, 
 riveting and fascinating the gaze. It does so now in its 
 decay, and how much more at the time under consideration 
 when it was in its prime. As St. Paul lifted his eyes to 
 its heights, he saw the most splendid temple of the world 
 in all its glory. True, he was familiar with Herod's Temple 
 at Jerusalem, and other fanes of other cities, those of Tarsus 
 — " no mean city" — among others, but surely not even that 
 of Jerusalem could equal this in grandeur as a temple 
 " made by hands," from which, in harmony with his Lord's 
 discourse with the woman of Samaria before Mount Gerizim, 
 he with one stroke, by one strong sentence, dispelled the 
 enchantment. 
 
 74 
 
No. XXXVI 
 
 REPUTED SCENE OF PAUL'S PREACHING 
 
 IT is impossible to stand on Mars' Hill and read St. 
 Luke's brief condensation of St. Paul's sermon, and 
 not to realise with great force the marvellous courage 
 it evinced. Here, facing the speaker, stood not only 
 the Propylea and Temple of the Wingless Victory, a per- 
 fect gem of architecture, and the great Parthenon, but that 
 colossal statue of Athena made by Phidias, of bronze taken 
 as spoil from the field of Marathon, whose spear and helmet, 
 seen over the summit of the Parthenon, were the guiding 
 signals to sailors approaching the Peiraeus from Sunium. 
 Looking at these, and the innumerable smaller shrines 
 around, and then at the glorious scene by which he was 
 surrounded of land and sea, he exclaimed, " God that made 
 the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord 
 of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with 
 hands ; neither is worshipped with men's hands as though 
 He needed anything, seeing that He giveth to all life, and 
 breath, and all things : and hath made of one blood all 
 nations of men." * &c. 
 
 And again, " Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of 
 God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto 
 gold, or silver, or stone graven by art and man's device." t 
 No! not even when the "art" and "device" came from 
 the brain and hand of Phidias, and was revealed in that 
 form of wondrous beauty made of gold and ivory, enshrined 
 within the outer glory of the graven stone of the Parthenon. 
 How the Athenians around listened to such iconoclastic 
 doctrine without tearing the speaker limb from limb, it is 
 hard to imagine, except we remember that Athens was now 
 in her decadence, and that the beliefs of her earlier days 
 were now held with a much looser and less intense grasp 
 
 * Acts xvii. 24-26 t Acts xvil 29. 
 
 IS 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 than formerly. This insult to their worship was therefore 
 either passed by, or accepted with only silent wonder and 
 scorn ; the philosophers waited for what they knew was com- 
 ing, the kernel of the "new doctrine," the central picture of 
 the frame. When it came, and the day of judgment was 
 announced, and Jesus declared to be " that Man " by whom 
 the world should be judged in righteousness, "whom God 
 had ordained ; whereof He hath given assurance unto all 
 men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead," '* then the 
 storm of mockery broke forth, and " Paul departed from 
 among them," f having, however, first won the faith of " cer- 
 tain men," who " clave unto him, and believed ; among the 
 which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named 
 Damaris, and others with them." And though Paul never 
 again, so far as we know, visited Athens, yet from the seed 
 sown at this time a flourishing Church afterwards arose. 
 
 A Greek youth, to whom we gave a copy of the New 
 Testament, may be seen in the sketch, busily engaged in 
 reading it, and so he remained for long unconscious of our 
 presence. May his interest be typical of a new spiritual 
 light that shall yet arise in Athens and Greece, now, alas ! 
 so sadly sunk in a merely formal worship ! 
 
 * Acts xvii. 31, 32. t Acts xvii. ^2, 34. 
 
 76 
 
No. XXXVII 
 
 O L Y M P I A 
 
 Showing the Starting-place of the Foot-race 
 
 IT is not likely that St. Paul ever visited the scene 
 of the ancient Olympian games, but he was very 
 familiar w^ith all the customs connected with them, as 
 we see from the frequent allusions to one or another 
 form of athletics as practised by the Greeks, and by them 
 introduced even into Asia Minor and Syria. In the First 
 Epistle to the Corinthians * is a reference to the famous 
 games of their city, which the Apostle may have witnessed, 
 and in this passage the foot-race is the special game under 
 notice. And the comparison is to the race of the Christian 
 life, "with the reward of Christ's well done," instead of 
 the wreath of fading laurel or olive for the prize. In the 
 Epistle to the Philippians, the simile and the application 
 are almost identical. "I press towards the mark," St. Paul 
 says, "for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
 Jesus." t 
 
 In II. Tim. ii. 5 and iv. 7, 8, is reference to the boxing- 
 match and the race conjoined ; and to return to the first- 
 mentioned passage in Corinthians, we again have this 
 conjunction of the wrestler and boxer with the runner : 
 "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as 
 one that beateth the air." 
 
 These athletic contests, time-honoured and much ad- 
 mired, gathered together for centuries the finest youth of 
 Greece to strive for the mastery. Besides these Scrip- 
 tural allusions to the ancient games, it may be interesting 
 to the reader to meet with a quotation not so familiar from 
 the pen of the writer of the Second Clementine Epistle to 
 the Corinthians in the second century, who says : — 
 
 " So then, my brethren, let us contend, knowing that 
 the contest is nigh at hand, and that, while many are sailing 
 
 * I. Cor. ix. 24, 25. t Phil. iii. 14. 
 
 71 
 
Pictures of the East 
 
 off to the corruptible contests, yet not all are crowned, but 
 only they that have toiled hard and contended bravely." 
 
 These games were witnessed, as were the tournaments 
 of the Middle Ages, by all the highest dignitaries of the 
 country, to say nothing of the more youthful and less 
 important class ; thus innumerable spectators, young and 
 old, thronged the Stadium and surrounding heights, and, 
 under thousands of eyes, the fight was fought and won or lost, 
 and the race run. In our own day how much excitement 
 often attends an International Cricket Match or University 
 Boat-race ! yet these modern contests miss the dignity and 
 religious associations of those of the Old World. 
 
 Olympia itself is a scene that well repays a visit. It 
 is a beautiful flowery plain surrounded by lovely wooded 
 hills. It has been considerably excavated, and the discovery 
 of the wonderful marble statue of Hermes by Praxiteles, 
 considered one of the finest, if not the finest, piece of sculpture 
 in the world, has been among the trophies of this work. 
 
 On the Olympian grounds are remains of the Temples 
 of Jupiter and Hera, and other buildings, whose marble 
 ruins lie about in the grass, as may be seen, overgrown by 
 vetch and fern. 
 
 The archway which appears in the sketch was the 
 entrance to the Stadium, and has been excavated only far 
 enough to show the marks in the pavement from which the 
 runners started. It extended of course to a very consider- 
 able distance, which no doubt will ere long be brought to 
 the light of day. 
 
 Pine-trees abound, and bushes of yellow broom enliven 
 the scene ; but silence and solitude reign over all, and, where 
 w^as once centerd the intensest manifestation of the physical 
 prowess of ancient Greece, now all is hushed and deserted, 
 except when the pick of the excavator makes echoes among 
 the ruins, or when some lover of antiquity visits these 
 scenes of departed grandeur to muse upon them. 
 
 Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson 6^ Co. 
 Edinburgh &' London. 
 
I4*Hermon 
 
Medium 8vo, Js. 6d. 
 
 Pictured Palestine 
 
 Life in the Holy Land. 
 
 By 
 
 JAMES NEIL, M.A. 
 
 With Eighty Illustrations by 
 
 JAMES CLARK, HENRY A. HARPER, 
 
 AND OTHERS. 
 
 Contents. 
 
 STRANGENESS OF THE PICTURES. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES. 
 
 PICTURES BY THE WAY. 
 
 PICTURES OF PALESTINE— " HIGH PLACES" AND 
 
 "HOLY PERSONS." 
 PICTURES OF PALESTINE SANCTUARY. 
 PICTURES OF PALESTINE FARM LIFE. 
 
 '* The very prettiest, and certainly not the least attractive of our books is ' Pictured 
 Palestine.' Its merit lies in the vivid representation of actual life as it now goes on 
 in the Holy Land," — Guardian. 
 
 " Such a book as this is worth more than cartloads of ordinar)' sermons. It ought 
 to be sent into wide general circulation, and particularly it should find a handy place 
 on the shelves of every Sunday School Library." — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 LONDON: JAMES NISBET & CO., LIMITED, ai BERNERS STREET, W. 
 
With Illustrations. Extra crowti 8vo, Js. 6d. 
 
 Palestine Explored 
 
 With a View to its Present Natural Features, and 
 
 to the Prevailing Manners, Customs, Rites, 
 
 and Colloquial Expressions of its People, 
 
 which throw Light on the Figurative 
 
 Language of the Bible. 
 
 By the 
 
 REV. JAMES NEIL, M.A. 
 
 Small crown 8vo^ Is. 
 
 An Ancient People 
 
 A Short Sketch of 
 
 Armenian History. 
 
 With Frontispiece. 
 
 By ELIZABETH S. LIDGETT. 
 
 " The history is continued down through Christian times, and an account is given 
 of the reawakening that has followed the remarkably successful labours of American 
 missionaries in Armenia. A map and a view of an Armenian house (interior) add 
 to the value of this interesting volume." — Leeds Mercury. 
 
 "An interesting and informing sketch of Armenian history." — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 LONDON: JAMES NISBET & CO., LIMITED, 21 BERNERS STREET, W. 
 

 gOd'^^BW 
 
 
 
 Sovj'^ 
 
 aiOCT'BOW 
 
 / y^ / j CIRCULATION DEPT.^ 
 
 JUL 1 1 1962 / 
 DEC 81 1968 8 8' 
 
 LD 
 
 21-. 
 
 ^OOni-i ' 
 
 54 
 
 (I887i 
 
 n6)4 
 
 76 
 
^'l^JMm 
 
 iviSIOOll