Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub
[blocks in formation]

In addition to the solemn beauties on which I gazed, the recollection of those grand events which occurred in this once favoured country, and upon the waters before me, that had been trodden by the sacred feet of the Redeemer, could not fail to excite in me a holy joy, and stamp upon my mind a deep and lasting impression.

I arrived at Tiberias just at the time when the muezzim was proclaiming the hour of prayer from the upper gallery of the exterior of a minaret, and solemnly concluding with "Alla, Hu!" This place is thirty miles distant from Nazareth, and I entered it by the western gate, which is regularly shut at sunset. Here I could not find any other place of repose during the night than a miserable building called the Christian church, but much more resembling a dungeon, being without windows and in a dilapidated state. It was of an oblong shape, and the entrance to it was by a descent of steps. In front was a small court, where the mules were tied up. Shortly after, a venerable Greek priest, bending under the weight of years, with bushy head and long beard of a grey colour, arrived with the keys in his hand. To him I presented a letter, written in Arabic, which I had received from my friend father Isacarus* at Paris, a native of Bethlehem, who was of the same persuasion. After he had read it attentively, he observed, that, as accommodation could not be afforded in his own house, there was no other alternative than for me to sleep in the church. He then opened the door with great formality, as if conferring a distinguished favour, and the

* This personage died lately in Paris, at 100 years of age, and was greatly attached to the English. He was of the Greek persuasion, and most highly venerable. At one period he lived in great style at Rome, but experienced a sad reverse of fortune, with imprisonment, under Napoleon, and was nearly brought to the scaffold. He had a chapel in Paris, and administered much comfort to the wounded Cossacks brought there when the allies entered, — received marked attention from the Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia, sat at table with them, and was rewarded by the former with an order and a pension.

more so from the sanctity of the place. I gratefully entered to rest my tired limbs, having suffered excessively from the heat of the sun, which had almost darted upon me vertically, as well as from the numerous flies. The dead silence, added to the gloom which enveloped this spot, shut out as it were from the world, heightened the solemnity; and it was impossible to enter its sacred walls, it being the only Christian church in this part of Galilee, and the very first which had been erected, without the most profound reverence and gratitude. I laid my bed on the stone floor, which was very damp, and here I was also sadly attacked by myriads of red vermin crawling about. Michael, having omitted to bring similar accommodation from Nazareth, had recourse to the expedient of taking the door off its hinges, which was laid upon the ground, and so contented himself to sleep on it, to avoid the effect of the damp and exhalation which arose. After securing the outer gate of the court by placing against it enormous stones, in consequence of a hint, to prevent the mules from being stolen by the Arabs, who were on the watch, I lighted my " dow," or lamp, placed it on the altar, and we attempted, not in vain, to woo "tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," even in this gloomy and novel abode.

66

CHAP. II.

[blocks in formation]

SPOT WHERE THE HOUSE OF PETER STOOD.-
OF CHRIST. LODGING OF A GREEK
SINGULAR MODE IN USE

MIRACLES

PRIEST. CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

[ocr errors]

BY THE WOMEN OF PAINTING THE EYES. GOVERNOR. DRESS OF SOLDIERS.-JEWS' SYNAGOGUE.-EMMAUS.-TOMBS OF THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS. OBSERVATIONS. LUDICROUS GROUP OF FEMALES.- PENS.

THE barking of dogs without, and the attacks of vermin within, added to the chilling damp of the church, deprived me of sleep, and caused me to long for the return of day. I rose early; but notwithstanding all the miseries I had endured, they were fully compensated by the honour I enjoyed, in reposing on the exact spot where the habitation of St. Peter *, who followed his trade of a fisher upon the Galilean Lake, had stood. Although humble, in point of worldly rank and wisdom, yet that apostle obtained high distinction in the church, and appears to have been among the first who were called to the service of Christ.+

This church, which is supposed to be the oldest templé of Christian worship in the Holy Land, is situated on the

era.

* The martyrdom of this apostle happened 66 years after the Christian Protestants deny that he was buried in the Vatican, as Catholics maintain; or, in fact, that he ever visited the Roman capital. On this point, the cause of the former is thus expressed in allusion to Peter, Simon, and the simony practised in that city :—

"Many that Peter ne'er saw Rome declare,

But all must own that Simon had been there."

+ Matt. iv. 18-22.

the very edge of water, and was founded in commemoration of our Lord's calling this apostle. Several Christians from Nazareth repair to it yearly, on a certain day, to celebrate his festival, which is held at the same period that has been set apart in the church of England for this purpose. At one time, during a terrible earthquake that occurred here, this edifice almost miraculously escaped destruction.

I now proceeded to visit the lake. This, as we learn from the Sacred Volume, has passed under different appellations, such as the "Sea of Galilee," from being in the middle of Galilee; the "Lake of Genesareth, or Gnezar," after a country or city of that name: to these were added, that of the "Sea of Cinnereth," after another town upon its western shore, and that of the "Sea of Tiberias," from another city similarly situated, which was founded by Herod, in honour of the Emperor Tiberius. The last mentioned of these places is often alluded to by Jewish writers, because, after the taking of Jerusalem, there was in it a succession of Hebrew judges and doctors till the fourth century. According to some accounts, also, a Hebrew translation of St. John, and the Records or Acts of the Apostles, were kept here. I apprehend it to have been anciently one of the fenced cities*, and comprehended under the portion of territory assigned to the children of Naphtali. It was endowed with peculiar privileges, was the metropolis of Galilee, and the first town of the conquered country, called Decapolis from its consisting of ten cities.

The picturesque sheet of water here, to which my attention was principally directed, although, strictly speaking, a lake, has received the names of the "Sea of Tiberias," and the "Sea of Galilee." It is for the sake of distinction from it, that the ocean is called in Scripture the "Salt Sea +;" the Jews, indeed, were in the practice of giving the name of sea to all great collections of water. In like manner, as I for+ Id. xv. 2,

*Josh. xix. 35.

[blocks in formation]

merly noticed, the Jordan is called a river, although merely a stream; and the water covering the destroyed cities is named a sea. It is an object of the highest veneration; and this and the Dead Sea may be considered the principal lakes in the Holy Land. It appears to owe its origin to the waters of the Jordan, which flow from Lebanon, a mountain of great altitude, capped with snow, and not unlike, when seen from a distance, Ben Lomond, in Scotland. Viewed from a height, the water looks, amidst the surrounding mountains, like an immense reservoir. From the northern part being covered with lava and volcanic remains, it has been conjectured that this lake was at one period the crater of a volcano. Through it the Jordan pushes its course, which is marked by a strong current, and, leaving it at the southern extremity, it ultimately loses itself in the Dead Sea, which may be calculated as eighty or perhaps one hundred miles distant. This "Sea" is frequently subject to sudden commotions, from the winds that rush down the openings in the mountains that encircle it.

As I had occasion to remark, with regard to the Dead Sea, a variety of opinions have been entertained as to the length, breadth, and circumference of this water, which it is singular has never at any time been accurately ascertained, but merely conjectured from eyesight; nor could any information that might be relied on be obtained from any of the inhabitants. So far, however, as could be judged from a view of it, I should be inclined to think it may be about five miles in breadth, and from twelve to fifteen in length. Along the shore its depth varies, and in some parts it may be sixty feet. I bathed, and found it most refreshing after the overpowering heat of the preceding day, and the torment which I had experienced in every part of my body from vermin. The water is perfectly fresh, and is used by the inhabitants to drink, and for every culinary purpose; indeed, there is no other at Tiberias.

« FöregåendeFortsätt »