Division jj , ) 4 Section , |A 6 4 7 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/wanderingsinbibl00mill_0 Gathering Dates from the Palm, 'Boat Load of Water Making Rope»l WANDERINGS - - IN - - BIBLE LANDS: NOTES OF TRAVEL In Italy, Greece, Asia-Minor, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Cush, and Palestine, By D. L. MILLER, Author of “Europe and Bible Lands.” Mount Morris, III.: THE BRETHREN'S PUBLISHING COMPANY, Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1893, by D. L. MILLER, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. ( ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. TABLE OF CONTENTS •5'~e<|yr CHAPTER I. New York to Rome. — Crossing the Atlantic. — A Death at Sea. — The Rock of Gibral- tar.— Genoa, the Home of Columbus. — Pisa, its Leaning Tower and Baptistry. . n CHAPTER II. Rome the Eternal City.— The Coliseum.— Christian Martyrs. — Catacombs. — The Sleeping Places of the Dead.— Inscriptions. — The Fossor.— Decorations 30 CHAPTER III. Paul in Italy and Rome. — Puteoli. — Appii Forum and the Three Taverns. — The Ap- pianWay 51 CHAPTER IV. The Arch of Titus.— The Golden Candlestick and Table of Showbread. — St Peter's Cathedral. — The Bronze Statue. — St. Paul’s Church. — The Portrait of our Lord . 67 CHAPTER V. From Rome to Naples. — Mount Vesuvius. — An Eruption 86 CHAPTER VI. From Europe to Africa. — Last View of Vesuvius. — Stromboli. — Port Said. — The Suez Canal.— Ismailia.— Cairo. — Street Scenes. — Water-carriers 10; CHAPTER VII. The Pyramid of Cheops.— Climbing the Great Pyramid. — View from the Top. — The Interior.— Grand Gallery.— The King's Chamber.— The Queen’s Chamber. — The Sphinx. — The Granite Temple 119 CHAPTER VIII. The Nile. — The Sakkieh and Shaduf.— Memphis, the Noph of the Bible. — Sakkara. — The Tombs. — Embalming the Dead.— The Serapeum.— The Temple of Tih. — The Step Pyramid.— Our Southward Way 142 CHAPTER IX. Nile Scenes. — Our Pilot. — The Natives and their Villages. — Death and Burial. — The School and the Schoolmaster.— The Doom Palm.— The Papyrus Reed. — Fulfill- ment of Prophecy 164 CHAPTER X. ■ emples and Tombs.— Beni Hassan.— Immortality of the Soul.— Embalming.— Jacob and Joseph Embalmed.— An Ancient Funeral Procession.— Rock-cut Tombs at Beni Hassan. — The Chamber of the Dead. — The Tomb of Ameni. — Allusion to the Famine • • 180 CHAPTER XI. An Egyptian Sugar Factory.— Coptic Convent. — Tell el Amarna. — The Tablets, Let- ters from Adonizedek King of Jerusalem.— The Hebrew Invasion of Palestine. — Wonderful Testimony of the Truth of the Bible. — Tell el Hesy Tablets . . . 192 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. A Simoon.— Abydos.— List of the Kings of Egypt.— Thebes.— The Ruined Temples of Luxor. — Shishak and his Captives. — Rehoboam.— The Colossi.— The Valley of the Dead. — The/Tombs of the Kings 211 CHAPTER XIII. The Pharaoh of the Oppression.— Finding his Body.— The Arab Brothers. — Photo- graphs of Seti I and Rameses II. — Unwrapping the Mummies. — Grave Robbers. — Isaiah and Seti I.— A Visit to Ahmed Abd er-Rasul 231 CHAPTER XIV. The Pharaoh of the Exodus.— His Succession to the Throne.— His Troublous Reign. — His Son Seti Menephthah made Regent.— The Testimony of the Monuments. — The Death of the Firstborn.— The Fleeing Israelites.— Pharaoh’s Pursuit. — The Destruction of his Host 252 CHAPTER XV. Farewell to Thebes.— The Temples at Esneh and Edfou. — Assuan and the First Cat- aract.— The Granite Quarries.— The Market-place. — The Bisharin. — Camel Rid- ing.— The Tropic of Cancer. — Persistent Merchants. — The Nilometer. — A Quiet Ride on the Desert.— The Famine of the Bible 266 CHAPTER XVI. The Oonas. — Our Party for the Second Cataract. — Abyssinian Soldiers.— The Der- vishes.— The Land of Cush.— The Nubians.— Curious Fashions and Customs. — Making Dough for Bread.— The Sacred Crocodile.— Kalabshi and the Tropic of Cancer. — Dekkeh. — Our Boat Aground. — Korosko. — General Gordon 282 CHAPTER XVII. Rameses the Great Builder.— Abou Simbel.— The Colossi.— The Great Temple.— An Immense Picture. — Sunset on the Mountains. — The Southern Cross. — The Smaller Temple. — Pharaoh and his Queen. — The Battle with the Hittites .... 300 CHAPTER XVIII. From Abou Simbel to the Second Cataract.— A Figure of Christ.— Wady Haifa.— Warlike Appearances.— Women Veiling their Faces. — Contrast Between Virtue and Vice. — Beyond the Cataract.— Homeward Bound.— Egypt and the Prophets. —The Potter at his Wheel. — Cairo again. 317 CHAPTER XIX. The Coptic Church.— The Banished Patriarch.— An Interview with his Representa- tive.—The Doctrines of the Coptic Faith.— Trine Immersion and Feet-washing. — Innovations.— A Church Difficulty.— Heliopolis.— An Ancient Sycamore Tree. —The Lone Obelisk.— The Fulfillment of Prophecy.— Lack of Bible Knowledge. 331 CHAPTER XX. The Mohammedan Religion.— The Koran and the Bible Compared.— The Doctrines of Islamism. — ' The Belief in Paradise and in Hell.— Hours of Prayer.— The Der- vishes. — Degradation of Women. — The Mohammedan University at Cairo.— Self-denial of Teachers and Students.— The Koran the Text-book.— Intellectual Condition of the Moslems 343 TABLE OF CONTENTS. V CHAPTER XXI. The Land of Goshen.— Oppression of the Israelites. — The Buried Cities of Egypt. — Pithorn and the Bricks made by the Hebrews. — Bricks without Straw. — Tah- panhes and Jeremiah the Prophet. — The Daughters of Zedekiah. — The Stones hid in the Brick Work. — Zoan. — The Burned Papyrus. — Great Statue of Raine- ses 1 1 361 CHAPTER XXII. The Land of Goshen.— The Sakkieh. — The Boundaries of Goshen.— The Rich, Fer- tile Soil.— The Israelites and their Murmuring. — A long Donkey Ride. — Raising Water with the Basket. — A Village Market.— Lost on the Desert. — The Beduin Sheik.— Wading in Mud and Water.— The Donkey-boys.— Achmet Ali our Drag- oman.—A Sorrowful Man 384 CHAPTER XXIII. The American Mission in Egypt. — A Funeral and a Wedding. — The Sakka. — Cairo to Alexandria. — The Delta. — The Arms of the Nile. — The Fair at Tanta. — Alex- andria.— The Septuagint. — The Introduction of Christianity. — The First Chris- tian School.— A great Library and its Destruction. — The Modern City.— Cata- combs.—Pompey’s Pillar 404 CHAPTER XXIV. Farewell to Cairo. — The Land of Goshen Again. — A Dusty Ride across the Desert. — Suez. — The Red Sea. — An Excursion to the Wells of Moses. — Israel’s Song of Deliverance.— The Waters of Marah.— The Murmuring Host. — A Beautiful Oa- sis in the Desert.— The Corals of the Red Sea 419 CHAPTER XXV. The Route of the Exodus.— Crossing the Red Sea. — Various Opinions as to the Place.— The Sinaitic Peninsula. — The Beduins and their Customs. — The Mur- muring Israelites. — The Sinaitic Mountains. — The Mount of Moses. — The Plain of Assemblage.— Ras Sufsafeh, the Pulpit of the Law.— The Convent.— Tischen- dorf’s Great Discovery. — A Happy Theologian 43; CHAPTER XXVI. Leaving Suez.— Journeying to the Land of Canaan.— On the Canal Again.— Farewell to Egypt. — A Comforting Prophecy.— Jaffa.— Dangerous Landing. — Our Old Dragoman.— Suleiman the Boatman. — A Sample of Turkish Justice. — Improve- ments at Jaffa.— The Landing-place. — The Jaffa and Jerusalem Railway.— Com- merce.—House of Simon the Tanner.— Praying on the Housetop.— Flat Roofs.— Breaking up the Roof. — Continued Dropping on a Rainy Day. — The Grass on the Housetop and a Wasted Life.— Dorcas. — The Tanneries. — Wrecked Ships. — The Market-place. — The Blind 462 CHAPTER XXVII. From Jaffa to Jerusalem.—" Blest Land of Judea.” — Sentiment Destroyed. —Shar- on's Plain. — Plowing. — Lydda. — The Healing of Aeneas.— Ramleh. — A rich Land. — The Home of Samson. — The Foxes. — Mountain Scenery. — Terraced Hills. — The Shepherd and his Flock. — The Valley of Roses. — The Plain of Rephaim.— The Defeat of the Philistines.— Jerusalem.— A Contrast VI TABLE OF CONTENTS, CHAPTER XXVIII. Jerusalem from Mount of Olives. — Walks about the Holy City.— The Jaffa Gate. — Scriptural Allusions. — Abraham.— Boaz.— Slaying of Abner in the Gate.— Eli. — Absalom’s Rebellion.— David’s Great Sorrow. — The Gate a Symbol of Power.— Our Beggars.— Street Scene in Jerusalem.— The Minaret. — Praying Moslems.— A Mixed Multitude. — Lentiles. — Wine and Water Bottles. — The Milk Seller. . . 505 CHAPTER XXIX. A Quiet Lord’s Day. — The Last Supper.— Gethsemane. — Mount of Olives. — Medita- tion.— David’s Sorrow.— Solomon’s Builders. — Captivity. — The Triumphant En- try into Jerusalem. — The Agony. — The Shadow of the Cross. — Abide with Me. . 525 CHAPTER XXX. “ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.”— The Desolation of Palestine.— A View from the Top of Olivet. — The Bright Arab Boy. — The Olives. — Bethany. — The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus. — A Cloud not Larger than a Man’s Hand 541 CHAPTER XXXI. Peculiar People.— The Jews a Persecuted Race.— Their Hopes of the Future. — The Place of Wailing.— The Spoffords. — An Interesting Story.— Shipwreck.— Waiting for the Coming of the Lord in Jerusalem. — Prophecy.— The New City. — The Tombs. — The Ash Heap.— Wine Press. — Vineyards . t 558 CHAPTER XXXII. The Patriarch of Jerusalem.— An Interesting Interview. — Baptism.— Feet-washing. — The Division between Greeks and Latins.— Teaching of the Greek Church.— Number of Communicants 574 CHAPTER XXXIII. Homeward Bound.— Down to Jaffa.— The Last View of Canaan.— Mt. Carmel.— Eli- jah and Elisha. — Tyre and Sidon.— Antioch.— Tarsus. — Smyrna, and the Seven Churches of Asia. — Greece.— Athens.— Corinth. — Patros. — Rome Again.— Sailing from Genoa.— A Hurricane.— New York 584 PREFACE. flNE years ago, with a considerable degree of reluc- tance, the author was induced to publish a book of travels bearing the title, “ Europe and Bible Lands.” The work was received with so much favor that eleven editions were printed to meet the demand for it. From the many kind words written and spoken in regard to the book the author has been led to believe that some good resulted from its publication. And now, after the lapse of almost a half score of years, another journey has been made to the Lands of the Bible, another series of letters has been written and another book is to be sent out on its mission. The question as to the good to be accomplished by a work of this kind has been anxiously considered by the writer. If no good is to come to humanity from it, then the time spent in travel and writing has been wasted. What if I have wandered through the ruined halls of Karnac and Luxor, gone down into the Egyptian darkness of the Tombs of the Pharaohs, seen the first rays of the rising sun touch the statues of Rameses at Abou Simbel, and watched the stream of time from the top of the Great Pyramids? What if I have crossed the Land of Goshen and followed the fleeing Israelites across desert and sea and stood where Miriam sang the glad song of deliverance? What if I have visited and revis- ited the Holy City, walked in the courts of Solomon’s Temple, knelt beneath the olive trees in Gethsemane, looked upon the tombs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, vji Vlll PREFACE. drunk from the Prophet's Fountain at Jericho, bathed in the pure water of Galilee, and wandered through all the Land of Promise? What if all this has been done? Surely the time has been wasted if no good to the church and to humanity is to come from it. But it is hoped that some good may result from these labors. The object sought in sending out this volume is to awaken a deeper interest in the study of the Bible and make our faith in the Word of God stronger. The Lands of the Bible are teeming with evidences of the truth of the Book of God. Almost daily the pickaxe of the excavator is revealing the records of the past, and infidelity is receiving its strongest blows from this source. A record of all the recent discoveries bearing upon the Bible story would fill many volumes: only the more im- portant find place here. Elder Joseph Lahman, of Illinois, accompanied the writer on the journey to Egypt and the desert. He proved himself in all respects to be a true and trusty friend, a most agreeable and pleasant traveling compan- ion and a helpful associate. The plural form of the pronoun is used because the Elder was my inseparable companion. The author does not lay claim to scholarship or lit- erary training. Such as he has he gives. The critic will find errors in composition, but the statements made have been carefully examined and verified, and may be depended upon as being correct. The following excellent works have been consulted and used in the preparation of this work, and obligation to the various authors is acknowledged: “St. Paul’s P'ootsteps in Rome,” Forbes; “The Cata- combs,” Forbes; “The Roman Catacombs,” Northcote; PREFACE. IX “ Pompeii,” Rolfe; “ Italy, Upper and Lower Egypt,” Baedeker; “Through Bible Lands,” Schaff; “The Nile,” Budge; “A Thousand Miles up the Nile,” Edwards; “ Egypt To-day,” Roc; “Ten Years Digging in Egypt,” Petrie; “ Monuments of Upper Egypt,” Mariette Bey; "The Tell Amarna Tablets,” Conder; “Ancient Egypt,” Maspcro; “Egypt Under the Pharaohs,” Brugsch; “The Land of the Pharaohs,” Manning; “ History of Ancient Egypt,” Rawlinson; “ Biblical Researches,” Robinson; “Boat Life in Egypt and Nubia,” Prime; “The Ancient Egyptian,” Wilkinson; “Eastern Life,” Martineau; “The Great Pyramid,” Ford; “A Miracle in Stone,” Seiss; “The Pharaohs of the Bondage and Exodus,” Rob- inson; “Pharaoh to Fellah,” Bell; “The Land and the Book,” Thomson; “Jaffa and Jerusalem Railway,” Dr. Merrill; also to the Religious Tract Society, London, for illustrations. He is also under special obligations to Grant Mahan, of Mt. Morris College, for valuable as- sistance in proof reading and in preparing copy for the press, and to L. A. Plate for assistance in proof reading. In sending this volume out, the author expresses the hope that, under God’s blessing, some good may result from its publication. If any one is led to read and ex- amine the Bible, and is thus brought into a closer com- munion with the Book of books, we shall feel that our long and fatiguing journey and the many weary hours spent over these letters were time and labor not spent in vain. Mount Morris, Illinois, January /, iSqj. List of Illustrations Scenes in Egypt Frontispiece ♦Interior of the Catacombs 37 Entrance to one of the Catacombs . . 42 A Gallery in one of the Catacombs . . 43 Side View of an Ancient Sarcophagus . 46 A Crypt in the Catacombs 48 The Good Shepherd 49 Representation of Loaves and Fishes . 50 Puteoli. Paul’s Landing-place in Italy 53 Arch of Drusus 55 Nero and Poppaea his wife 59 Circus of Nero, from a Coin 62 Portrait of Paul on a Glass Vase ... 62 ♦Columbaria in Rome 63 An Inscription in the Catacombs ... 65 ♦Arch of Titus, Showing Golden Can- dlestick and Table of Showbread . 69 ♦Portrait of our Savior 77 ♦An Excavated Street in Pompeii . . . 91 ♦Cast from Mould of Human Figure . 95 fGeneral View of Cairo 112 fAn Egyptian Donkey Boy 116 The Pyramids and the Sphinx .... 121 Climbing the Great Pyramid 129 Diagram of the Great Pyramid . . . . 131 The Grand Gallery 134 The Sphinx from the Northeast .... 137 The Granite Temple, the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid 139 Map of Egypt 140 Map of Upper Egypt and Nubia . . . 141 ♦The Shaduf 147 ♦Statue of Raineses II 15; Interior of Serapeum at Sakkara . . .159 The Step Pyramid at Sakkara .... 162 ♦Our Pilot on the Nile 165 ♦Egyptian Women with Water Jars . . 175 Ruins of an Ancient Temple in Egypt . 181 Embalming 184 Tell el Hesy Tablet (Front) 203 Tell el Hesy Tablet (Back) 204 tMoney-Changcr at Assiut 207 fSand-Storm in the Desert 211 Defaced Wall Sculpture 212 Cartouches of the Pharaohs 214 The Great Hall at Karnac 216 A Portion of the Temple at Karnac . . 219 Shishak with Jewish Captives 222 ♦Full-Page Half-Tone Engravings. Entrance to the Empty Tomb of Seti I 223 ♦Entrance to the Kings’ Tombs at Thebes 227 Head of Rameses II 233 The Mummy Head of Seti I 237 Mummy Head of Pharaoh 239 Abd er-Rasul, Brugsch Bey, and Mas- pero 240 The Pharaoh of the Exodus 236 Outline of Statue of Menephthah . . .238 Interior of the Temple at Esneh ... 267 View of the Temple at Edfou 270 fThe Island of Philae 278 Crocodiles on the Upper Nile 291 Nubian Mud Huts 296 The Nile Above the First Cataract . . 298 Front of Rock-cut Temple 301 Rameses II slaying his Captives . . .305 Group of Pharaoh’s Prisoners 307 Face of Smaller Temple 310 Head of Queen Nefertari 312 Street in one of the Villages of Thebes 326 fPortico of the Temple of Denderah . 327 A Coptic Woman 335 ♦The Obelisk at On 339 JVilla and Garden near Cairo 342 ♦The Howling Dervishes 333 Group of Students and Teachers . . . 358 Visit of Semitic Family to Egypt . . .362 Foreign Captives Making Brick .... 370 fThe Ruins of Tanis 380 ♦The Sakkieh 385 The Egyptian Ibis 393 ♦Raising Water with a Basket 397 ♦The Sakka, Egyptian Water Carrier . 407 ♦The Wells of Moses 429 Jebel Musa, Mount ol Moses 450 Er-Rahah and Mount Sufsafeh . . . .455 ♦A View on the Suez Canal 463 ♦The House of Simon the Tanner . . . 479 Map of Palestine 489 ♦Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives . 507 ♦Street View in Jerusalem 515 ♦Mount of Olives from Golden Gate . . 529 ♦New Greek Church on Olivet 543 ♦The Jews’ Wailing Place 561 A Greek Priest 573 10 JFacing Pages as indicated. CHAPTER I. New York to Rome. — Crossing the Atlantic. — A Death at Sea. — The Rock of Gibraltar.— Genoa, the Home of Columbus. — Pisa, its Leaning Tower and Baptistry. 1892, in company with our ^ traveling companion, who shall be known as the Elder, we are on board the steamer Kaiser Wilhelm II, at the harbor in the City of New York, ready to set sail for the Old World. Ten days hence, if our voyage be prospered, we shall cast anchor off the rocks of Gibraltar, and two days later shall land at Genoa, Italy. A short time spent in Rome, a visit to Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius, and we take ship for Alexandria, Egypt. The winter will be spent on the Nile, the desert, and at Je- rusalem. The Seven Churches of Asia are also in the line of our travels, and we hope to travel extensively in the lands of the Bible before our return. Some months ago our wanderings in the Old World were interrupted by ill- ness and the prevalence of the cholera in some of the coun- tries we desired to visit. We turned our faces homeward, saying that if the way opened in the future we should go on with our work and try to finish it, the Lord so directing. So far as we can see with our limited vision, the way seems to be open, and we start upon our mission, trusting in God for the result. How much we shall be able to accomplish is known only to him into whose hands we commit all our ways. II 12 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. My dear wife, who has hitherto been my ever-constant companion, remains at home. Those who have felt the bitter pang of separation will know, others can only vague- ly imagine what this journey means to both of us. With a brave heart she said, “ Go, for it seems to be best that I remain at home.” And to-day, as I sail out upon the broad Atlantic, I realize that there are lonely, aching hearts at home. God be with them all until we shall meet again. The charm of travel, it has been said, is in prospect and retrospect. In the actual experience there are many things that are far from being pleasant. Separation from home and friends, danger and fatigue, with many vexations and annoyances, fall to the lot of all travelers. When the jour- ney has been made and the traveler is safe at home again, the vexations are forgotten and it is pleasant to look back and recall the enjoyable part of the trip. But as we write our ship is out at sea, and we bid farewell to home and country. Sea voyages have been described again and again, and descriptions will continue to multiply until there shall be no more sea. The great, restless ocean, bearing upon its bosom the navies and the commerce of the world, has al- ways had an absorbing interest for humanity. To those who stand on the shore and listen to the dying murmurs of the waves as they lose themselves on the sands of the beach, it has a strange fascination that is always strong, and a deep interest that is ever new. To those who go down to the sea in great ships, there is an added concern. The change from sunshine to clouds, from calm to storm, is watched with wonderful interest. Then, too, there is al- ways present with the traveler a dim, vague sense of uncer- tainty as to what the sea has in store for him. Many of the works of the Lord and the wonders of the deep are re- WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 13 vealed, and yet how many mysteries arc buried beneath the blue waves, and how many secrets are covered by the rest- less waters, never to be revealed until, at the command of him who holds all things in his hands, the sea shall give up her dead. And now we are off on our long journey. The great ship which is to bear us hence moves out of her dock, swings around upon the bosom of the river, glides like a thing of life down the smooth water of the bay, passing the lower forts, bristling with cannon for the defense of the principal port of our country, and we are out upon the broad waters of the Atlantic Ocean. We stop a moment to drop our pilot, and the last connecting link with country, homes and loved ones is severed, and we must now look for news from home on the other shore. In twelve days, if the Lord prosper our voyage, we hope to cast anchor and land at Genoa, Italy, four thousand, three hundred miles away. Sailing out upon the great deep on this cloudy Novem- ber day, we wonder what the sea has in store for us. Shall we be driven hither and thither, and tossed by the stormy wind? Shall we reach our desired haven in safety? The sea holds her own secrets, and the rippling waves whisper not of what she will bring to the wanderers, but hope ever singing in the heart says, “All will be well.” Thoughts like these doubtless came to each of the one hundred and five cabin passengers on board the Kaiser Wilhelm as we stood on deck, taking a last glimpse of our native land. In that company stood an unseen and unwel- come form. The angel of death brooded over the ship and marked one of our number for his own. Before we had been at sea ten hours a young man who had said farewell to father and mother at the dock in New York had ended his earthly voyage. He had been sitting in one of the deck 14 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. rooms, and at ten o’clock he said: “ I will go down to my room.” When he reached the lower deck he sank down, and before the ship’s doctor reached him he was dead. Heart failure and hemorrhage were the immediate causes of his death. The sudden and unexpected death cast a gloom over the ship’s company and this was increased when, on Sunday morning, it was announced that the body would be buried at sea. As the sun sank behind the west- ern clouds, bathing sea and sky with the tints of red and gold, preparations were made to give the lifeless form to the waves. A platform was fastened to the side of the ship, and all the arrangements were completed. It was sad to think of this burial, and of the stricken hearts in that far-away New England home when the news of the death and burial of their only son should reach them. At the last moment the efforts of some of the passengers were successful. They guaranteed the payment of all ex- penses. The body was embalmed and will be carried to Genoa, and then sent back to New York. This act of loving-kindness on the part of strangers makes our faith in humanity stronger. It is one of those acts, so wholly unselfish and disinterested, that come only from a desire to obey the golden rule, and it shall in no wise lose its reward. And so, at the last moment, the sea was robbed of its prey, and the friends at home will have the sorrowful satisfaction of laying the body of their boy in the family tomb. He was the only child, the joy of a mother’s heart, the hope of a father’s declining years, gone never to return again. In that home father and mother are anxiously wait- ing for news from their boy, and when the cable flashes the news back from the shores of Spain, it will carry a sad, sad story; for to them WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 15 “The wind of the sea is the waft of death, The waves are singing a song of woe; By silent river, by moaning sea, Long and vain shall the watching be; Never again shall the sweet voice call, Never the white hand rise and fall! ” We turn away from this sad picture with heartfelt sympathy for the stricken home. But the sudden appear- ance of death in our midst left upon all an impression that will not soon be forgotten. Surely, in the midst of life we are in death! In planning our present trip to the Bible Lands, we aimed to take the most direct route from New York to Port Said, Egypt. Instead of going to Northern Europe, we took a more southerly course which will carry us by the Azores Islands to the Strait of Gibraltar. Heretofore we have landed at Bremen, Germany, fifty-two degrees North Latitude. On this trip we shall catch our first glimpse of the Eastern Continent when we sight Cape St. Vincent, the southern point of Portugal, fifteen degrees south of Bre- men. Two points are gained in taking this southern route. We gain time. We are anxious to spend as much of the winter and spring in Egypt and Palestine as possible. The other point, not so important but not to be overlooked, is, that by taking the southern route we escape the heavy win- ter storms of the North Atlantic. Having had an experi- ence last December as to what a winter hurricane on the ocean means, we have no desire to try another. Our curi- osity in that direction has been more than satisfied. At this writing, Nov. 21, having been at sea nine days, we can say that our anticipation of a pleasant voyage has thus far been fully realized. The weather has been delight- fully pleasant. Sunshine and clear skies, with warm, 1 6 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. balmy breezes have been the order of the days as they have gone by. It has been altogether one of the finest of our five Atlantic voyages. For two days we had the swells of the ocean, caused by a great storm that passed north of us, and we were literally “rocked in the cradle of the deep.” Judging from the great, heaving swells that bore down up- on us, the storm to the north must have been very severe. We were glad to escape with only two days of rocking and rolling. When the swells were heaviest, we were standing on deck, looking over the rail at the dark waters below. A number of passengers, ladies mostly, were sitting in steam- er chairs, ranged along and fastened to the inner and upper side of the deck. The chairs are made on the principle of an invalid’s extension chair so that, when sitting down, one is in a half-reclining posture. The passengers were en- joying the refreshing evening breeze, and were protected by having heavy shawls or traveling blankets thrown over the lower part of the body. Suddenly a mighty swell bore down upon the ship and she rolled over until the deck stood at an angle of at least forty-five degrees. As a result the luckless passengers slid from their chairs down the in- clined deck and piled up at the ship’s railing. A good deal of screaming was heard, but fortunately no one was in- jured. After this incident the deck was very soon de- serted. The Elder proves to be a good seaman, having suf- fered very little from seasickness, and seems to enjoy his first ocean voyage quite well. Barring the sad incident re- ferred to at the beginning of our voyage, our journey has been as pleasant as could be hoped for under the circumstances. We thank the Lord for his protecting care over us, and trust to him for a continuance of the blessings which we have thus far enjoyed. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 1 7 To-day we cast anchor in the open roadstead off the Rock of Gibraltar, and our Atlantic voyage is ended. We have a thousand miles or less to sail on the Mediterranean before reaching Genoa, where we shall land; but here we pass from the Atlantic Ocean and sail upon the blue waters of the “ Great Sea.” No sooner is the anchor down than our ship is surrounded by small boats, laden with oranges, tangerines, figs and other semitropical fruits, and the vend- ers call out, in a jargon of English, Italian and Spanish, the price of the commodities they have for sale. At first it was a question with us as to how they were to reach the passen- gers who stood twenty feet above them on the deck of the ship. But the problem was soon solved. A rope was thrown up to and caught by the would-be purchaser, a bas- ket was attached, and a means of communication was at once established. The purchaser put his money into the basket, the boatman replaced it with the articles desired, and in this way a brisk trade was kept up for several hours. The Rock of Gibraltar, the strongest natural fortress in the world, is an immense cliff, composed of limestone, dense gray marble, and red sandstone, some three miles in length, one thousand, four hundred and thirty feet high, and about six miles in circumference. It fell into the hands of the English in 1704, and since then England has held the key to the Mediterranean Sea. In 1779 France and Spain besieged the Rock, and, although they kept up the siege four years, were at last obliged to give it up. The garrison consists of five thousand men in time of peace, with quarters for a hundred thousand when necessity requires. A constant food supply for five years is stored away on the Rock. The hillside is pierced with cave-like openings, from each of which the muzzle of a cannon is faintly discerned. On the highest point of the mountain is 1 8 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. a battery of one hundred ton guns. It requires four hun- dred and fifty pounds of powder for a single charge for each of these monster implements of death and destruc- tion. On the west side the rock stands on a narrow pla- teau, and on this and the sloping hillside the town of Gib- raltar is built. To the east the cliffs rise like giant walls from the sea. The entire aspect of the place is that of sol - itude and inaccessibility. It stands like a huge sentinel, keeping everlasting watch over the waters of the sea, nat- ure’s own impregnable fortress. Hoisting anchor, we sail through the Straits with the guns of the rock frowning down upon us. To the south from ten to twenty miles away is the clearly-outlined coast of Africa, where the Atlas Mountains raise a natural bul- wark against the sea. Turning the point of the rock we have the coast of Spain laid out in panoramic view before us. All day we coast along these beautiful shores. The snow-covered heights of the Sierras glisten like great domes of silver in the bright sunlight. The sky is marvel- ously clear, and its blue tint is deepened in contrast with the darker waters of the sea. A gentle breeze, warmed by “Africa’s burning sand,” is borne lazily to us from the south, breaking the waters into myriads of ripples, which sparkle in the clear light of the sun, as if the diamonds of the world were set in the crest of each tiny wavelet. On such a sea, with such surroundings, one might sail on for- ever, forgetting the storms which lash the waters to fury and bring swift destruction to many hapless mariners. But as we write the sun drops into the western sea, leaving a pathway of glory behind him. The light fades away, the hills of Spain are seen only in dim outline as the darkness comes down over land and sea, and our day-dream is ended. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 19 Two days and a half we sail along the shores of Spain, France, and Italy; the sea as smooth as glass, the weather most delightful, and then we cast anchor in the beautiful harbor of “ Genova La Superba,” as the Italians call the City of Genoa. The boat of the health officer comes alongside, and, upon hearing that we have had a death on board, the officer says he must send the doctor to examine us in the morning. We are quarantined for the night. They remember that there were rumors of cholera at New York and are extra careful. As we have a clean bill of health we shall land early in the morning. Before leaving the Kaiser Wilhelm, which has been our home for nearly two weeks, let us look about us and learn something of our floating house. Very few persons have an idea of the cost at which these leviathan steam- ships are maintained. Ships of the class of the Kaiser, Majestic and New York have a capacity for carrying two thousand passengers. In other words, you might place in one of these great ocean steamers the entire population of a good-sized country town, with all their personal effects, and transport them very comfortably to the other side of the ocean. The amount of food required to feed the pas- sengers is very great. The steward of one of the great lines gives the following statement as to provisions: “If I were stocking the ship I would store away ten thousand to twelve thousand pounds of fresh beef just as you see it hanging in front of butcher shops in Ameri- ca. Then five thousand pounds of mutton and lamb — it all comes off the same piece, you know — one thousand pounds of corned beef, two hundred smoked hams, one thousand, five hundred dressed chickens or hens, as the case might be, three thousand pounds of fish, and six hun- dred pounds of bacon. Now we come to the delicacies,— 20 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. big sacks of smoked tongues, dried beef, dried and smoked fish, salmon and halibut principally. Of the fresh fruits we take thirty thousand pounds of tomatoes, pears, oranges, peaches, bananas, watermelons, plums, cherries, grapes, and all other dainties which may be found in any strictly first- class hotel. Now come the tinned (canned) goods. We have enough in stock always to furnish a grocery store in a respectably-sized town. Several tons of canned sardines, potted meats of all description, peaches, apricots, pears, apples, Boston baked beans — in fact, everything under the sun that is preserved in cans can be found in my store- room. Then we come to the relishes, sauces, and pickles of all descriptions, besides fresh garden roots, such as cel- ery, radishes, etc. Thousands of pounds of coffee, tea, chocolate, and cocoa, together with other beverages, are consumed. “ I’m not through yet. We can use up three car-loads of potatoes, beets, parsnips, carrots, cabbages, etc. Now we will add one thousand dozen eggs, twenty barrels of sugar, more or less, two tons of butter, half a ton of lard, and condensed milk enough to make a pond big enough to float the ship. Barrel after barrel of flour has its head knocked in on the trip, and there are numerous other small stores which are indispensable.” It costs twenty-five thousand dollars to propel a large ocean steamer across the Atlantic. This sum pays the crew, which numbers two hundred and seventy-five men, and the balance goes into numerous other departments. From the captain to the lowest subordinate every one knows his place and everything runs like clockwork. The captain is supreme in command, and his word is law. But instead of being a tyrant he is usually a genial, kind- hearted man. Captain Stormer of the Kaiser is one of WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 21 these kind-hearted men. He has unlimited faith in his ship, and inspires confidence in those who sail with him. He is kind to his men and is constantly looking after the comfort of his passengers. A visit to the engine-room and stokehole of the ship is full of interest. The chief engineer, who is always a well-informed man, is ready to give information. He tells us that “ a big ship burns two thousand, five hundred tons of coal for a round trip. It requires about one-third more of American bituminous coal to cross the ocean than it does when Welsh coal is used. Different makes of en- gines require different quantities of coal. The Majestic of the White Star line runs across with about two hundred tons consumed daily, while the Etruria of the Cunard line, though a smaller and slower ship, will burn three hun- dred and twenty tons. It is interesting to know that the Cunard company burns from five hundred thousand to six hundred thousand tons of coal yearly. “ The engines of a steamship under full steam make sixty to eighty revolutions a minute, four thousand and eight hundred an hour, and a total each trip of about seven hundred thousand revolutions. Away down in the bowels of a great ship the stokers work, naked to the waist, and so dirt-begrimed with soot, coal dust, ashes, and perspiration that they look like natives of Africa. It may look easy to shovel coal, but it is a trade, like everything else, to do it right. They work four hours on and eight hours off in heat which ranges from one hundred and twenty degrees to one hundred and sixty degrees and once in a while high- er. The stokers are the firemen who shovel the coal into the furnaces, and it keeps them busy to keep the fires reg- ulated. Each one has four furnaces to look after. He has to keep an eye on his coal trimmers, the fire boxes, and the 22 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. steam gauges. At the end of a trip they are pretty badly used up. Legs or arms sprained, hide knocked off by chunks of coal, arms scalded by steam or burned with ash- es and clinkers when they are cleaning out the fire-bars. “ Then the coal trimmers or passers have a rough time of it wheeling coal and dumping it at the feet of the stok- ers. It requires the skill of an acrobat to keep his feet with the ship rolling and pitching, and many a shin is barked and an arm sprained among these hard working slaves.” Let us go down into the heart of the ship where its motive power is throbbing and pulsating with the regular- ity of the human organ. Going down the narrow, steep, iron stairways, amidst a great confusion of machinery, we stand at length on the bottom of the vessel. We were never so strongly impressed with the meaning of the word power, as applied to machinery, as when we stood looking at the ponderous engines, every stroke of which represent- ed a power equal to that of ten thousand horses. We crept through a narrow gallery, with the machinery in motion all around us, to where the great shaft, running from the cen- ter to the stern of the ship, to which the propeller is at- tached, was rotating with great rapidity and with the regu- larity of clockwork. The shaft is nearly two feet in diame- ter and is made of the best steel. It is a difficult matter to manufacture a steel shaft of such great dimensions without a flaw, and the greatest skill is required to produce the best results in shaft casting. We notice that all the bearings of the shaft, and of the heavy machinery, in addition to being well oiled, have a constant stream of cold water pouring up- on them. This serves to keep the machinery from heating. A number of assistant engineers are constantly looking at the machinery, all parts of which undergo frequent and careful inspection. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 23 From the engine-room we enter the boiler rooms where thirty-six fierce fires render the air stifling hot, and it seems almost unendurable, but by standing near the great venti- lating pipe we were enabled to examine the place. Six im- mense double-end boilers, made of one and one-eighth inch steel, each with a capacity of nearly two thousand horse power and heated by thirty-six furnaces, supply the motive power to the engines. Here are men black and grimy, shoveling coal into the furnaces. A full supply of coal for a voyage is taken on board at New York, and this, with a surplus of three hundred tons for a case of necessity, makes the total coal supply for a passage across the Atlantic near- ly two thousand tons, enough to supply an ordinary-sized village with fuel for an entire year. A look into the partly empty coal room gave us a very good idea of the great width and depth of the ship. A coal bin for two thousand, five hundred tons, — just think of it! Allowing twenty tons to a car-load it would take more than four trains of twenty- five cars each to move the coal supply of the Kaiser for one trip. Coming up from the depths of the ship we were glad to breathe the fresh, pure sea air again. But we were im- pressed with the thought that in the very heart of the ship was hidden away from the eyes of the casual observer a force great enough to compass the almost immediate de- struction of the vessel. The explosion of a boiler in mid- ocean would result in a lost ship, and no one would be left to tell the story. The thought is not a pleasant one, and we will not pursue it further, but it is certainly one of the weak points in naval architecture. Disembarking we set our feet on the shores of sunny Italy and enter the City of Genoa. It is one of the most important cities on the Mediterranean and has a permanent 24 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. population of two hundred and ten thousand. It is beauti- fully situated on the hills around about the bay into which more than sixteen thousand ships, from the different parts of the world, enter annually. It also has the distinction of having been, at one time, the home of Columbus, the dis- coverer of America, the four hundredth anniversary of which event was recently celebrated in the United States. The house in which this distinguished navigator lived is pointed out to travelers. The city has many handsome houses and villas, the homes of the Genoese nobility, which give one a very good idea of the architecture of the past centuries. We spend one day in Genoa before going on to Rome by way of Pisa. The change from our own home life to that of Italy is a marked one. Language, dress, manners and customs are all so entirely different from what we are used to that we are reminded on every hand that we are in a foreign land, that we have indeed left our own country and are in the Old World. It is not entirely new to the writer, but to the Elder it has all the novelty of a first ex- perience, which, unfortunately, we can fully enjoy only once in this world. We start out to see something of our new surround- ings, and as we leave the door of our hotel, we are at once accosted by several of the natives, who have picked up a smattering of the English and are anxious to serve us in the capacity of guides and interpreters. They press their claims in a mixture of English and Italian which is wholly unintelligible to us. One who speaks English fairly well follows us a considerable distance, insisting that he is a good “guida” and speaks “ Inglese vara well.” We put together part of what he said, and here it is as it sounds to us: “ Me speeka vara good Inglese, vara good guida, Vill WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 25 show you ze palais of ze great Cristofo Colombo; vill show you zc whole Genovo; only four francs.” We conclude to risk our own very limited knowledge of the Italian, and so dismiss our would-be guide with a polite no and a wave of the hand. It is remarkable how well one can get along in a for- eign land if he is acquainted with but a few words of the language spoken. The following incident will illustrate this point. The Elder wanted to purchase a trunk strap. Passing along the street we came to a shop where the de- sired article was seen. We walked in, pointed to the strap, and said to the shopkeeper, “ Quanto” (how much) ? He replied, “ Trc franco" (three francs). We paid the money, took the strap, and went our way. Only three words were used in this transaction, and these were all that were need- ed. How many words we waste in this world! Words are valuable only as they express ideas, and the most effective expression, as a rule, comes from the fewest words, paying due deference to clearness. Ministers and writers make a great mistake when they fill in with words instead of ideas, and how apt we are to fall into this very common error! The reason is not hard to find: ideas are scarce, words are plenty. The Campo Santo, literally, Holy Field, or Camp of the Saints, as the Genoese call their cemetery, is one of the attractions of the city. The name is beautiful and fitting when applied to the last resting-place of the people of God, but as this is the one great burial-place of Genoa we doubted the appropriateness of the name. The entire ground is surrounded by a high wall, on the inner side of which is a double row of corridors, formed by columns which support the arched roof. The corridors are wide enough for double rows of graves and open out 26 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. upon the cemetery proper. Judging from the rich and lav- ish display of decorations, only the wealthy find a resting- place in the vaults beneath the pavements of the corridors. The poor are laid to rest in the ground enclosed by the walls. The most profuse display in sculptured marble, much of it in bad taste, so it seemed to us, adorns the corridors from end to end. It is placed in niches in the wall and be- tween the columns, and gives the interior the appearance of great galleries of sculpture. A description of a single group will give an idea of the realistic character of the work and show the taste displayed. In one of the large circular spaces a large sarcophagus of black marble, beauti- fully polished, is placed on a platform. On top of it stands a life-size figure of the dead husband and father, cut from pure white marble. At one end of the coffin is the kneeling figure of the wife and mother; at the other end that of a son, a young man of about twenty years. Both are life-size and lifelike. Their faces are the very pictures of grief. On the mother’s eyelid trembles a tear-drop. Her modern dress, with her widow’s lace cap and her lace collar are all exquisitely cut in the white marble. The son is represented in a fashionable dress suit; his left hand, thrown behind him, holds his round derby hat. The work was done by a master hand, but it seemed to us an unseem- ly display, and the details of the dress, so carefully worked out, were not in keeping with the sorrow-stricken faces. There are hundreds of pieces of statuary of a similar character in the corridors, some of which are even more inharmonious than the one described. Altogether the Campo Santo of Genoa is one among the most remarkable modern cemeteries in Europe. From Genoa we journey to Rome by railroad, a dis- tance of some three hundred miles. On the way we pass WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 2 7 through Pisa where we stop long enough to visit the Lean- ing Tower and the celebrated Baptistry, both objects of considerable interest to travelers. The baptistry was built about A. D. 1150, and was con- structed especially for the administration of the rite of Christian baptism. The building is circular in form and is built entirely of marble. It is one hundred feet in diame- ter and a hundred and ninety feet to the top of the conical- shaped dome which covers it. Below it is surrounded with fine marble columns and decorated with statuary. In the interior, exactly in the center beneath the dome, is the pool with fonts for baptism. The pool is made large enough for immersion, and deep enough to immerse the candidate when in a kneeling posture. It is a fact so well known that we need scarcely refer to it, that, until about the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Roman church followed the commission given by Christ, and baptized by trine immer- sion. This was the almost universal practice up to the foregoing date. And here, in this old baptistry at Pisa, the rite was performed in that way until the change was made to sprinkling and pouring. The church of Rome claims the right to make changes of this kind when, in the judgment of the Pope and his councilors, it is proper to do so. In 1854 the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary was promulgat- ed, and in 1870 the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope was made an article of the Roman Catholic faith. Just as these new doctrines were set forth by the authority of the Pope and the council, so the change was made from trine immersion to sprinkling and pouring. Luther, in his ref- ormation, made an effort to re-establish trine immersion, but failed, because he did not wholly free himself from the Roman practice of sprinkling. All the Protestant churches 28 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. that practice sprinkling are following the mandates of Rome. John Wesley recognized this and preferred to bap- tize by trine immersion, according to the commission given by Christ. In proof of this we quote as follows: “When Mr. Wesley baptized adults, professing faith in Christ, he chose to do it by trine immersion, if the person would sub- mit to it, judging this to be the apostolic method of baptiz- ing.’’ (Moore’s “Life of Wesley,” Vol. I, p. 425.) The pool and fonts in the baptistry at Pisa are beauti- fully constructed of marble, highly polished and inlaid with various colored stones. It is an octagon in shape, and each of its eight sides is decorated with figures in bas- relief. It is a fine piece of work and shows great artistic taste in its construction. The building is also remarkable for its wonderful echo. The attendant sang a few notes in a deep, rich tone, and, by the watch, the sound was heard twelve seconds, echoing and re-echoing softer and softer, until it died away in a whisper in the top of the lofty dome. A pulpit, constructed in the eleventh century, stands at one side of the baptistry. It is also of marble, and is a fine piece of work. Owing to the echo, we con- cluded that it would be a difficult place in which to preach a sermon. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, about which every school- boy has read, is, in its way, one of the wonders of the world. It is one hundred and seventy-nine feet high, and its inclination is thirteen feet from the perpendicular. It is ascended by a winding stairway of two hundred and ninety-four steps. We climb to the top and experience a very peculiar sensation. The slant is a regular one, and in walking up and around the tower, we can not free ourselves from the feeling that it may fall over. The top is flat and is surrounded by an iron railing. The slant is quite WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 2Q marked on top, and very few persons care to walk to the lower side and look over. A plumb, dropped from this side at the top, would strike the ground thirteen feet from the base line of the foundation. Looking over the railing at the lower side, the sense of insecurity is so strong that we start back, feeling that the addition of our weight to the overhanging wall may cause it to topple over. It was here that Galileo made his celebrated experiments regard- ing the laws of gravitation. From Pisa to Rome we journeyed by night, reaching the “Eternal City” at midnight. Our first day in Rome, Sunday, Nov. 27, was partly spent in trying to find a church where we might hear English preaching. VVe se- cured a cab and driver, — cab fares are very cheap here, twenty cents for two persons for a drive anywhere within the city walls, — and gave him instructions where to drive. After a long drive he stopped and pointed to a doorway. We entered and found a Baptist church, with services con- ducted in Italian. Of course we were disappointed. We spent several hours in walking through the winding streets before we reached our hotel again. Rome and its Christian Antiquities will be the subject of several letters to follow this. We are now in one of the cities of the Bible. Here it was that “ Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teach- ing those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” Here he labored in word and doctrine, and here he gave his life to the cause of Christ. CHAPTER II. Rome the Eternal City. — The Coliseum. — Christian Martyrs. — Cata- combs.— The Sleeping Places of the Dead. — Inscriptions. — The Fos- sor. — Decorations. T one time in its history a visit to the City of Rome was considered a great event in the lives of those who were fortunate enough to see the Eternal City. This idea grew into a proverb, “See Rome and die,” which would indicate that after seeing the City of the Caesars nothing else in this world would be worth seeing. In our own days of rapid traveling, when we may girdle the world in sixty days, a visit to Rome has but little more than the commonplace in it. And yet for those who come within her gates not for pleasure, but to read the history of the past, she has wonderful lessons to reveal. It is to study some of these lessons that we are spending some time in the City of Seven Hills. Rome, once the proud mistress of the world, occupies such a vast place in both religious and political history that she has been for centuries past, and for years to come will continue to be, one of the great centres of the world’s travel. In the days of her greatest prosperity and power, under the first Caesars, it was said that “all roads lead to Rome,” and the golden milestone set up in the Forum was the centre of her great empire, and she ruled nearly all the known world; so to-day all lines of travel converge in Rome. 30 Wanderings in bible lands. 3i One of the most fruitful sources of the great mass of people who visit the city annually is the great church of which she is the center. Two hundred million of the earth’s inhabitants are Roman Catholics, and, no matter what we may think or believe about it, every one of them regards his spiritual ruler who dwells on the banks of the Tiber in the great Vatican Palace as the successor of Peter and Christ’s legal representative on the earth. Holding this faith, but few of those who are able to do so fail to vis- it Rome once or more in their lifetime. But we are not so much interested in the Rome of the present as in the Rome of the past, — the Rome which Paul knew, the Rome which ruled the world when Christ was born. And where shall we look for the city of the past? Not in the life and bustle of the modern city, but amid her own mighty ruins, crumbling to the dust inch by inch as the years roll on. We wander over the steps of broken thrones and shattered altars, w'e plod our way among the prostrate columns of marble temples, once the pride of em- perors and kings, now overthrown and covered with the moss of centuries. We thread our way through the mass of ruins, finding here and there an ancient temple still pre- served, standing as a landmark and bearing testimony as to what the city was in her glory. Everywhere we find the dust of ages clinging to her ruins, and the owls and the bats flit about in what were once her pleasant palaces. We are reminded of the words of Byron: “The Niobe of nations! there she stands Childless and crownless in her voiceless woe; An empty urn within her withered hands, Whose sacred dust was scattered long ago.” To day we stand on the Palatine Hill where once stood the magnificent palace of Tiberius, who ruled Rome when 32 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. her empire was at the height of its glory. Our mind goes back to a little village in an obscure Roman province, where a babe was born and laid in a manger. It was the Babe of Bethlehem, whose kingdom should be established and whose reign should continue after Rome’s mighty tem- ples had crumbled to dust. When Christ, the King, was born, the palace of Tiberius stood on the height where we walk to-day. It was most magnificent in all its propor- tions, and grand beyond description in its decorations. Within its marble halls every luxury that human ingenuity could invent and the wealth of the world could purchase was enjoyed by the royal household. Nearly nineteen cen- turies have passed away; the palace has gone with them. No trace of it is to be seen to-day. We walk beneath the shade of the eucalyptus and pepper trees and pluck roses by the wayside for loved ones at home. At our feet lie the ruins of the Roman Forum, the palaces of the Caesars, the Arch of Titus and the Coliseum. Ruins everywhere, and we think, What is the value of the work of man! He rears palaces, temples and monuments, he passes away and his works crumble to dust! Surely, if this world were all of life, how little it would be worth living! But we thank God that we can look beyond the ruins and ravages of time to a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. THE COLISEUM. The wonderful structure, grand, massive and imposing in its ruins, was built by the emperors Vespasian and Titus after the destruction of Jerusalem, some twelve thousand Jews who were brought as captives from Palestine by Titus assisting in building the gigantic structure. It is one thou- sand, six hundred and forty-one feet in circumference, two hundred and eighty-seven feet long, one hundred and Wanderings in bible lands. 33 eighty-two feet wide and one hundred and fifty-seven feet to the top of its lofty walls. It was built of stone and brick and covered with marble. Seats were arranged in tiers in the interior so that from all parts of the great struct- ure each of the one hundred thousand people who could find sitting and standing room could see all that transpired in the arena below. It was completed in the year A. D. 80 and Titus dedi- cated it with games and gladiatorial contests. It is said that five thousand wild beasts were slain and as many men were killed in the contests, which were continued for one hundred days. Thus the great amphitheatre was dedicated in blood, and it was not many years until, around these old ruins, thousands of Christians were cruelly tortured and torn by wild beasts. It is in ruins now, but so strong was it built that the lower wall is entire around the whole building and more than a fourth of it stands as it was completed. We walk among the ruins and stand in the arena, we see the dens where the wild beasts were kept and our mind goes back to the ages past. We see the great building filled to its ut- most capacity. The games have been played, the contests settled, and now a little band of men and women are led in- to the arena; they have been brought from prison and stand alone and unarmed in the amphitheatre. They stand, the center of the great, gazing throng, and in all that throng there is not a pitying eye. The cry goes around the great building, “The Christians to the lions, to the lions!” On the faces of the little band who stand alone is a peace that passeth understanding. An old, gray-haired father says: “ Let us pray.” They kneel reverently in prayer, while the multitudes shout and upbraid them. At a given signal the dens are opened. The famished lions, kept without food 34 NDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. and maddened with the smell of blood, spring into the are- na. For an instant they stand dazed by the light, shaking their shaggy manes, then they spring upon their victims. The band of Christian martyrs is torn to pieces and the savage Romans yell themselves hoarse with delight. Such a scene as this comes before us to-day in the arena of the Coliseum, and it is not a picture of the imagination, for thousands of Christians were torn to pieces in Rome by wild beasts. We turn to our traveling companion and say, Let us thank God that we live in an age when such scenes are impossible. Yes, the old amphitheatre is in ruins and we are glad of it. A writer, who once visited the place, said of the Coliseum: “ Its solitude, its awful beauty and its utter desolation, strikes upon the stranger, the next moment, like a softened sorrow; and never in his life, perhaps, will he be so moved and overcome by any sight, not immediately connected with his own affections and afflictions. To see it crumbling there, an inch a year; its walls and arches overgrown with green, its corridors open to the day; the long grass in its porches; young trees of yesterday springing up on its rag- ged parapets, and bearing fruit: chance produce of the seeds dropped there by the birds who build their nests within its chinks and crannies; to see its pit of fight filled up with earth, and the peaceful cross planted in the center; to climb into its upper halls and look down on ruin, ruin, ruin, all about it; the triumphal arches of Constantine, Sep-* timus Severus, and Titus, the Roman Forum, the Palace of the Caesars, the temples of the old religion, fallen down and gone; is to see the ghost of old Rome, wicked, wonderful old city, haunting the very ground on which its people trod. It is the most impressive, the most stately, the most solemn, grand, majestic, mournful sight conceivable. Nev- WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 35 er, in its bloodiest prime, can the sight of the gigantic Coli- seum, full and running over with the lustiest life, have moved one heart as it must move all who look upon it now, a ruin. God be thanked, a ruin! ” The first Christian martyr who suffered in this place was Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, the disciple of John and the companion of Polycarp. When brought into the arena he knelt down and exclaimed: “ Romans, who are present, know that I have not been brought into this place for any crime, but in order that by this means I may merit the frui- tion of the glory of God, for love of whom I have been made prisoner. I am as the grain of the field, and must be ground by the teeth of lions, that I may become bread fit for his table.” Then closing his eyes in silent prayer he so remained until the famished lions were loosed and he was torn to pieces and devoured. Jamieson, in his “ Sacred Art,” referring to the martyrdom of this servant of God, says: “ His story and fate are so well attested, and so sub- limely affecting, that it has always been to me a cause of surprise as well as regret, to find so few representations of him.” Soon after the death of Ignatius one hundred and fif- teen Christians were shot to death in the arena with arrows, and from this time on, until the end of the pagan persecu- tion, A. D. 315, the history of the place is replete with the sufferings of the Christian martyrs. We repeat again, we are glad the Coliseum is a ruin. Yes, thank God, a ruin! THE CATACOMBS. Long before we came to the City of Rome, we had heard about and read of the great Catacombs. They may be said to encircle the ancient city; for you may go out of WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 36 Rome on almost any of the fourteen great consular roads that radiate from the golden milestone in the Roman Fo- rum, and at a distance of two or three miles from the walls of the city you will find entrances to these subterranean galleries. To us they are especially interesting, as they are directly connected with the early history of the Christian religion. But they are not an object of interest to modern trav- elers only. In the early centuries of the Christian era they excited as much interest as they do now. Then they were entirely lost sight of for many centuries. The entrances were blocked up, and even their existence became un- known. In the seventeenth century they were discovered, and since then every visitor to Rome sees with interest these ancient galleries. The Catacombs are first referred to by Jerome, one of the church fathers who wrote A. D. 380. He says: “When I was a boy, being educated at Rome, I and my school- fellows used on Sunday to make the circuit of the sepul- chres of the apostles and martyrs. Often we descended in- to the crypts, which are excavated deep into the earth, and contain as you enter, on either hand in the walls, the graves of the dead; and they are even in all parts dark, so that the language of the prophet seems to be fulfilled: 1 Let them go down quick into Hades.’ Only occasionally is light let in to mitigate the horror of the gloom; and then not so much through a window as through a hole. When we again advance, the surroundings are made as dark as night; as Virgil says, ‘ A nameless horror makes the region drear, The very silence fills the soul with fear.’ ” Prudentius, the Christian poet who lived and wrote near the close of the fourth century, thus describes the Catacombs: Interior of the Catacombs, showing Sleeping-places of the Dead. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. "In nowise far from the cultured border in advance of the fortified bounds, Lies a dark crypt sunk in gaping caves. Into this a descending way leads by hidden steps; the sunbeams, Concealed by reason of the turnings, are shut out in daytime. For the dawning light enters the cavity to the door at farthest, And lightens as far as the threshold of the vestibule. From thence, gently proceeding, the vista is blackness, The loculi are obscured in darkness, from the uncertainty of the pas- sages. There occur apertures, thrust in the roof above, Which throw a clear gray ray into the cave. Although from that place, the mazes weave in and out About narrow galleries and dark courts, But yet, down below the hollow bowels of the hill, Often the light penetrates the pierced vaulting. Thus the absent sun distinguishes the subterranean, His brightness and shining yields advantage.” The truthfulness of these descriptions will at once be recognized by all those who have gone down into the black darkness and gloom of these underground vaults. But it does not describe them sufficiently for those who have not seen them. Having gone down into them with lighted wax tapers and a trusty guide, and explored some of the dark and intricate passages and galleries, one of the “ sleeping places ” of the dead of the primitive church of Rome, we propose to give our readers some account of these vast, subterranean cemeteries. In the preparation of this sketch we take pleasure in acknowledging our indebtedness to Dr. Russell Forbes, an eminent authority on the antiquities of Rome, who accompanied us in our walks through the dark passages, and. gave interesting explanations as we passed along. First, then, what are the Catacombs? The name which is modern does not convey any idea as to the use of these underground galleries. Originally they were called coeme- teria , a Latin word meaning “sleeping places,” from which 4o WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. we have our word cemetery. It will be remembered that the apostles always refer to death as a sleep. Paul speaks of five hundred brethren who saw the Lord, “The greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep;” and again, “Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him;” and, “We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.” Peter also speaks of the fathers as having fallen asleep. How natural then, with the views they had of death and the resurrection, that the Christians should call their tombs sleeping-places! And how expressive of their hope of, and faith in, the raising of the body! The Lord had said of Lazarus, “ He sleepeth.” So, when death called away one of the early Christians, they said, “ He is not dead, but has fallen asleep; when the Lord comes again, he will call him from his sleeping-place." When Paul came to Rome it was the almost universal custom of the Romans to burn the bodies of their dead friends. The ashes were then carefully collected and placed in funerary urns which were deposited in vaults pre- pared for that purpose. The very idea of burning their dead was, with the views they held, repugnant to the Chris- tians. As the body of their Lord had been wound in fine linen and laid in a rock-cut tomb, so it was the desire of those who accepted his teachings to be laid away in like manner when they had fallen asleep. This idea culminat- ed in what are now known as the Catacombs.. They are simply a series of rock-cut tombs, and were the sleeping- places of those who died in the Lord. According to the Roman law, frequently re-enacted during the days of the empire, the burial of the dead, or even their ashes, was strictly forbidden within the walls of the city. These laws were, of course, just as binding on WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 41 the Christians as they were on the Romans. Hence the burial-places are found from one to three miles from the outer wall of the city. Thus, when Julius Caesar was assas- sinated and divine honors were accorded him, it required a special act of the Roman Senate to burn his body and bury the ashes in the Forum. Another law, made in accordance with the faith of the Roman people, held all burial-places as sacred. It was made a capital offense to desecrate a cemetery or disturb the ashes or the body of the dead. This law explains why the Christians were permitted to excavate tombs for their dead, undisturbed even in times of the most bitter persecu- tion. They even became places of concealment for the Christians, and often, in these underground passages, the persecuted church at Rome met to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and partake of the communion. Here, surrounded by their sainted dead, the persecuted Christians celebrated the agape , feast of love, and as they were seated around the tables they vowed to be true to each other, sealing their vows with the right hand of fellowship and the holy kiss of peace and charity. Of these underground meetings Lindsay says: “ But all this while there was living beneath the visible and invisible Rome a population unheeded, unreckoned, thought of vaguely, vaguely spoken of, and with the familiarity and indifference that men feel who live on a volcano, yet a pop- ulation strong-hearted, of quick impulses, nerved alike to suffer and die, and in number, resolution, and physical force sufficient to have hurled their oppressors from the throne of the world, had they not deemed it their duty to kiss the rod, to love their enemies, to bless those that cursed them, and to submit, for their Redeemer’s sake, to the powers that be! Here, in these dens and caves of the earth, they lived; 42 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. here they died — a ‘spectacle’ in their lifetime ‘to men and angels,’ and in their death a ‘triumph’ to mankind — a tri- umph of which the echoes still float around the walls of Rome, and over the desolate Campagna, while those that once thrilled the Capitol are silenced, and the walls that re- turned them have long since crumbled into the dust.” Entrance to one of the Catacombs. But let us examine more minutely these vast subterra- nean abodes of the dead. Going out of the City of Rome on almost any of the great consular roads a distance of from one to three miles we find the entrances to the Cata- combs. We go down by an artificial, modern stairway to a depth of twenty or twenty-five feet and find ourselves in a dark, narrow gallery. This is the entranceway to the un- derground sleeping-places of the dead. They consist of long, narrow galleries, from two and one-half to three feet wide (and in some places even narrower), and seven or eight feet high, cut in the solid rock, from fifteen to fifty feet below the surface of the earth. The galleries are cut with great regularity, so that the floor and roof are at right angles with the sides. They run in straight lines, but are u A Gallery in one of the Catacombs 44 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. crossed by others, and then by others again, until a perfect network of galleries is formed in a labyrinth where one might wander in the very blackness of darkness, and never find his way out. The galleries are out on different levels, so that there are ;n some places as many as five series of these corridors lying below each other. In the one we visited to-day we found five levels, each reached by a descending stairway cut in the rocks. The walls on either side of the galleries are honeycombed with graves cut in the rock, one above the other. Into these openings, just high and wide enough to admit the body, the dead were laid, and the opening was then closed with a marble slab or terra cotta tiles. No cof- fins were used in the first centuries in burying the dead. The body was wrapped in linen, with some aromatic spices and herbs, and laid in the sepulchre hewn out of the rock. Thus the early Christians in Rome buried their dead after the example of the burial of their blessed Lord and Master. On the marble slab which closed the grave, the name was usually engraved with the words “ In peace," or, “ He sleeps in peace!' The older inscriptions are all in Greek, while the later are in Latin. In some cases, in addition to the name, other words and sentiments were engraved on the marble. We give a few of these inscriptions, translated by Dr. Forbes: “ Nicephorus, a sweet soul in refreshment.” “ Regina, mayest thou live in the Lord Jesus.” “Valeria sleeps in peace.” “ Loticus laid here to sleep.” “Sweet Faustina, may you live in God.” “Agape, thou shalt live forever.” “The place of Basil, the Presbyter, and his wife Felici- tas.” WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 45 “Diogenes the fossor buried in peace on the eighth before the calends of October.” “ Lannus Christ’s martyr rests here. Made under Dio- cleti.” “ Lawrence to his sweetest son Severus, the well de- serving, borne away by the angels on the seventh before the ides of January.” “ Primitus in peace. After many torments, a most val- iant martyr. He lived thirty-eight years. His wife raised this to her dearest husband, the well deserving.” “ Here lies Gordius, deputy of Gaul, who was executed for the faith, with all his family. They rest in peace. Theophila, a handmaid, set this up.” “She died at the age of thirty-five. From the day of her baptism she had lived fifty-seven days.” “ Petronia, a deacon’s wife, the type of modesty. In this place I lay my bones. Spare your tears, dear husband and daughters, and believe that it is forbidden to weep for one who lives in God. Buried in peace on the third before the nones of October in the consulate of Festus.” “ I commend to tllee, O Basilla, the innocence of Ge- mellus. To Paul a well-deserving son, who lived two years and fifty days. May the spirits of all the saints receive thee into peace.” “ Centianus, a believer, in peace, who lived thirty-one years, eight months, sixteen days. Also in your prayers pray for us, for we know that you are in Christ.” The translations might be extended almost indefinite- ly, but these will suffice to give a general idea of what is found in the Catacombs in the way of inscriptions. The early Christians in burying their dead in rock-cut tombs were only following the Bible examp’es. Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah “ for a possession of a bury- ing place,” and he “ buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah.” “Then Abraham gave up the 46 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. ghost and died . . . and his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah.”* Isaac and Re- becca and Jacob and Leah were also buried there. Laza- rus was buried in a cave, or rather, a rock-hewn tomb: “ It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. ”7 And most impor- tant of all to the early disciples, Christ was laid in a tomb hewn out of the living rock. “And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock.”* It was quite natural, then, for the Christians to follow these examples in preparing resting-places for the bodies of their dead. Side View of an Ancient Sarcophagus with Sculptured Figures in Bas-relief. There are about sixty of the Catacombs within a radius of three miles from the Roman Forum. According to De Rossi’s careful calculation they cover an area of six hun- *Gen. 25: 8, 9. fjohn xi : 38. JMatt. 27: S9, 60. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 4 7 dred and fifteen acres. It must not be forgotten that the galleries run one above another so that in some places as many as five are thus disposed. It may be said that the Catacombs are five stories high. The deepest level reached is about fifty feet below the surface, and this is nearly on the water level of the Tiber. Had they dug deeper the passages would have been filled with water. If all the un- derground passages, rooms, galleries, and corridors were placed in a straight line their total length would be nearly seven hundred miles. If stretched between Chicago and Philadelphia, they would almost reach from the City of the Lakes to the City of Brotherly Love. The rock into which the Catacombs were cut is a stra- tum of tufa much softer than limestone. The men who ex- cavated the tombs were known as fossores or gravediggers and they performed their labors with pickaxe, hammer and chisel. There is no evidence that any kind of explosives was used in excavating the subterranean passages. These men spent most of their time in hewing out the tombs and at last were laid away, as the inscriptions show, in the nich- es which they had made. Another feature of these great burial vaults has not yet been referred to. At some places the galleries are enlarged into square, and at others into circular rooms of consider- able size. These were family burial-places and here, about the beginning of the fourth century, stone coffins were first used. The rooms were cut out for those who were able to pay for the work, and were doubtless used, as were the first stone coffins, called sarcophagi, by the wealthy. In one of the largest of the rooms which we visited, fifty people might find standing-room at one time. In it is the following inscription, clearly cut in a large slab of mar- ble. It was erected by Damasus, Bishop of the church of Rome, A. D. 366: A Crypt in the Catacombs, showing Skeletons in the Niches, WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 49 “ Here, if you would know, lie heaped together a num- ber of the holy.” “ These honored sepulchres enclose the bodies of the saints.” “Their lofty souls the palace of heaven has received.” “ Here lie the companions of Christ, who bear away the trophies from the enemy.” “Here a tribe of elders, which guard the throne of Christ.” “ Here is buried the priest who long lived in peace.” “ Here the holy ministers who came from Greece.” “ Here lie youths and boys, old men and their chaste descendants, who kept their virginity undefiled.” “ Here I, Damasus, wished to have laid my limbs, but feared to disturb the holy ashes of the saints.” The good bishop, not finding space for a sepulchre among the martyrs of the early church, caused a tomb to be built for himself at the entrance to the catacomb in which this inscription is to be seen, and there he was laid to rest, and his tomb remains unto this day. Another interesting feature of the Cata- combs is that they contain the earliest at- tempts of the Christians in decorating the tombs of the dead in painting or frescoing. In the larger rooms, many of which were covered with plaster, rude pictures, painted very early in the Christian era, are to be seen. As might be expected, the scenes are all taken from the Bible. That most frequently met with is a representation of Christ as the Good Shepherd. The figure is that of a man with a lamb on his shoulders. In the baptism of Christ by John in the Jordan the Savior is represented as having stepped down into the water, while The Good Shepherd , Fresco in the Catacombs. 50 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. John is probably in the act. The Lord’s Supper, the agape of the early church, is also painted on the walls of the tombs. Moses striking the rock, and the story of Jonah are also illustrated. In the latter is seen a great sea monster, and not a whale, casting Jonah upon dry ground. This shows that the revised version is correct in rendering it sea monster instead of whale. The frescoes are but rude- ly executed, and yet they teach their own lessons. No one would come to the Cata- combs to take lessons in the- ology, and yet they prove be- yond all doubt that the prim- Representation of Loaves and Fish in the Catacombs. itive church believed that Christ was baptized in the river, and not on its bank, and that the agape , or love feast, was practiced in the primitive church. The frescoes to which we have referred belong to the very earliest period. Later improvement was made in drawing and painting, and in the catacomb we explored we saw the head of our Lord painted on the wall, which showed skill and artistic taste. To this subject we have given considerable study, and in a succeeding letter we will give the latest and most authentic developments on the question as to whether there is a correct portrait of our Savior in existence. We have merely glanced at the Catacombs and what they contain, and already the limits of our space have been exceeded. We might spend months here and write vol- umes without exhausting the different subjects. We are confining our work to Christian Antiquities, and our next letter will contain a study of the footsteps of Paul in Rome. CHAPTER III. ^\r Paul in Italy and Rome. — Puteoli. — Appii Forum and the Three Tav- erns.— The Appian Way. “And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum, and the Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.”— Acts 28: 1?. pH IS ninth day of December, 1892, God, in his infi- ^ nite goodness and mercy, has permitted us to trav- ***& r*- erse the Appian Way, over which his servant Paul walked when he was brought a prisoner to Rome. We went out as far as the fourteenth milestone, counting from the center of Rome. Just beyond the eleventh milestone we came to the Three Taverns, where the brethren met Paul and gave him encouragement. And here by the way- side we write these lines, not very far from the place where Paul rested, “ thanked God and took courage.” From the Three Taverns the Appian Way ascends the mountain to Albana. To the edge of this village we walk and stand on the ridge of the hill from which, as he came from Appii Forum, Paul caught his first sight of Rome, where he was afterwards to suffer a martyr’s death. And what a grand sight it is! Although fourteen miles away, Rome is in plain sight. The dome of St. Peter’s Cathedral glistens in the rays of the noonday sun. What a different sight met the eyes of Paul as he stood here more than eighteen hundred years ago and looked upon pagan Rome! He came along this road a prisoner, bound with a chain. In some places the same blocks of stone over which he 52 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. walked, worn away by the chariot wheels that passed over them two thousand years ago, are still to be seen. And there is not the least doubt that this is the road by which Paul entered Rome. Retracing our steps we return to the Three Taverns. There are three buildings here to-day and it is likely that there was the same number in Paul’s time, — an inn, a shop where the broken chariots might be mended, and a dwell- ing-house. Dr. Forbes in his researches has removed all doubt as to the place, and we are writing to-day at one of the places where the brethren met Paul and gave him new courage to continue in the great work of preaching the Gospel of the Son of God to the Gentiles. Let us follow Paul from the place where he landed in Italy till he reached the City of Rome. But we defer this until after we visit the place where he landed. In our re- searches we are not willing to take hearsay evidence when we can see the places we wish to describe. PUTEOLI. “And after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli: where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days; and so went toward Rome.” To-day we stood on a part of the old, ruined pier at Pozzuoli, the Italian name for Puteoli. On the founda- tions of the old pier has been built a new structure, but there is still part of the old to be seen rising above the wa- ter, on which Paul landed on his journey to Rome. Al- ready the Christian religion had spread along the shores of the Great Sea and reached the port of Puteoli. And when Paul landed in the spring of A. D. 62 at this place, the brethren met him and his company and prevailed upon them to spend a week with them. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 53 It had been a long, dangerous, and toilsome voyage. They had sailed from Cesarea in the fall of A. D. 61. Touching at Sidon, they sailed by Cyprus to Myra of Lyc- ia. Here they changed ships, and, contrary to Paul’s counsel, left port and were shipwrecked on the Island of Malta (Melita). Here they spent the winter and now they had reached the last stage of their journey by ship. After having passed through the great perils of the deep by ship- Puteoli, Paul's Landing-place in Italy. wreck, and their long winter sojourn with the barbarous people of the Island of Melita, how it must have rejoiced the hearts of Paul and his company to be received and warmly greeted' by the brethren at Puteoli. No doubt they were easily persuaded “to tarry with them seven days,” and Paul would comfort and confirm the brethren in their faith. 54 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. How soon that week must have passed away! We should like to linger here at Puteoli, but our space will not allow an extended description of Paul’s landing-place in Italy, and so we go with him toward Rome. The journey is a long and tedious one, over mountains and valleys. The distance to be traveled on foot is one hundred and sev- enty miles. The little company of believers start out on the great Consular road ( Via Consulates), and follow it to its junction with the Appian Road ( Via Appia), “the queen of long roads,” as it was called by the Romans. Here they stop for a short rest at Capua, one hundred and fifty miles from Rome. Continuing their journey along the Appian road they cross the Pontine Marshes and at last reach Ap- pii Forum, where the first company of brethren met them, forty-three miles from the Imperial City. Here we notice the regard these brethren had for the prisoner who was coming to them. They went out a long distance to meet him, and how their solicitude must have cheered the hearts of the weary travelers. After resting' at Appii Forum, the journey was continued to the Three Tav- erns, the last halting-place before reaching Rome, and elev- en miles from the city. And here another and, doubtless, a larger company of the brethren met the prisoner, “ whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage.” Here we have an account of two companies of the brethren meeting Paul. Those who went to Appii Forum were, perhaps, able to spend more time than those who came to the Three Taverns. The latter were, doubtless, laborers. They could quit their work at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, go out to the place of meeting, and return again in the early morning in time to begin their day’s labor. This may account for the two companies of brethren who went out from Rome to meet Paul and his fellow-travelers. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 55 From the Three Taverns to the city the Appian Way was literally lined on either side with magnificent tombs, costly monuments, great temples and beautiful villas. The Arch of Drusus through which Paul passed when he entered Rome. ruins are to be seen to this day and are of much interest to the traveler. With a largely-increased company' the last WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 56 stage of the apostle’s journey begins in the early morning, so that the city may be reached before the heat of the day; and, in all probability, before 9 o’clock Paul passes beneath the Arc? of Drusus, enters the Capena Gate, is taken through die city by the Palatine Hill, on which stood the Palace cf me Caesars, and across the Roman Forum to the Camp of the Praetorian Guard. “ And when we came to Rome the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.” Thus ended Paul’s long journey. And with him it end- ed as it began. He was still a prisoner. It is true, he was not cast into prison. Being a Roman citizen that could not lawfully be done without a trial. Yet, while he was al- lowed some degree of liberty and freedom, so that he could rent a house and dwell by himself, he was still in bondage. A soldier was constantly with him and “kept him,” and it is not at all improbable that he was chained to a Roman soldier the greater part of the time. . PAUL IN ROME. One of the first things the apostle did, after having se- cured a house and settled his household affairs, was to make an effort to call the Jews who lived in Rome to Christ. He called the chief of the Jews together and gave them some account of himself, telling them that for the hope of Israel he was bound with a chain. Then they ap- pointed a day when they would hear him concerning Jesus, and he preached to them with all the zeal and power of which he was capable. This showed that his heart’s desire was that Israel should be saved; but when they rejected the Truth he turned to the Gentiles. As to Paul’s life in Rome we know but little. The concluding words of the last chapter of the Acts of the WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 57 Apostles tell us that he “ dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preach- ing the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” We know, too, that God overruled Paul’s bondage and chains for good, and that it resulted in the or- ganization of a strong church in Rome. So great was the apostle’s influence that even some of the members of Cae- sar’s household were converted to the faith-. We know, too, that his life for these two years was active and full of work; not only did he preach the Gospel, but the care of other churches was upon him. . Of his labor in Rome he speaks, in writing to the Philippians: “ Now I would have you know, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel; so that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorian guard, and to all the rest.” Here, too, he wrote the epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippi- ans, Colossians, Second Timothy and Hebrews. Chrysostom, writing of Paul and his relations to the church at Rome, says: “ I honor Rome for this reason; for though I could celebrate her praises on many accounts, — for her greatness, for her beauty, for her power, for her wealth, an.d for her warlike exploits, yet passing over all these things I glorify her on this account, that Paul, in his lifetime, wrote to the Romans, and loved them, and was present with, and conversed with them, and ended his life amongst them. Wherefore, the city is, on this account, re- nowned more than all others. On this account I admire her, not on account of her gold, her columns, or her other splendid decorations.” Another author, writing of the labors of the apostle, says: “ Paul had already accomplished much in the conver- WANDEKINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 58 sion of sinners. At Cyprus the Roman officer, Sergius Paulus, had been converted. At Athens he had preached to the court of the Areopagites, and Dionysius, one of that learned body of judges, had accepted the Truth. And now at Rome he was doing valiant work for the Master. His words are heard even in the Golden House of Nero. Not only those who attend the court but some of the household of Caesar, possibly some of his relatives, yield to the power of the ambassador of Jesus Christ. Then he also gathered a group of eager disciples about him. There was Onesiph- orus, of Ephesus, who was not ashamed of Paul’s chain, Epaphros, of Colosse, who was captive with him, Timothy, his own son in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, with Hernias, Aristarchus, Marcus, Demas, and Luke, the well- beloved physician, the faithful companion and friend of the apostle.” These stood by him and comforted him. How blessed is the man who has helpful, loving friends in time of need, — friends not of a day, a month, or a year, but friends for life and death! Such were Paul’s friends, and surely he was richly blessed of God. On the Palatine Hill stood Cmsar’s judgment hall. We walked amid its ruins and thought of Paul standing there alone before Nero, the blood-stained adulterer, who was to judge him and pass upon the charges preferred against him by the Jewish Sanhedrin. Pie was fully prepared for his trial, and anxious for the time to come. He wrote at this time: “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all bold- ness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. P'or to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” He was ready to go before Caesar, but while he was waiting, on May 18, A. D. 64, a great fire broke out in the City of Rome, and raged with WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 59 great fury for six days. It is generally agreed that the city was burned by the order of Nero himself, and to escape suspicion he threw the blame on the Christians. The re- sult was a bloody persecution in which many were put to death. We quote the account given by Tacitus of this per- secution. Nero and Poppcea his Wife. “ Hence, to suppress the rumor, he, Nero, falsely charged with the guilt, and punished with the most exqui- site tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for their enormities (being mixed up by the Romans with the Jews, who, at this time, were in revolt). Christus, the founder of that name, was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius; but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only throughout Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the City of Rome also. Accordingly, first those were seized who confessed they were Christians; next, on their information, a vast multi- tude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the City, as of hating the human race. And in their deaths they were also made the subjects of sport, for they were 6o WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. covered with the skins of wild animals and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when day declined, burned to serve for nocturnal lights. Nero of- fered his own gardens for that spectacle, and exhibited a circensian game, indiscriminately mingling with the com- mon people in the habit of a charioteer, or else standing in his own chariot; whence a feeling of compassion arose towards the sufferers, thought guilty and deserving to be made examples of by capital punishment, because they seemed not to be cut off for the public good, but victims to the ferocity of one man.” (“Annals of Tacitus” 15, 44.) Before the persecution started the great apostle had some hopes of being released and set at liberty. He wait- ed patiently for his trial. Writing to the Philippians at this time he says of Timotheus, “ Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.” Philpp. 2: 23, 24. In the same hopeful frame of mind he writes to Philemon: “ But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.” Phil. 22. In his first trial at Cesarea he stood alone: “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.” 2 Tim. 4: 16. Now the brethren of Rome were with him and comforted him: “ Eubulus, Pu- dcns, Linus, Claudia and all the brethren.” But while he is hopeful, he is also fully prepared for the issues of the tri- al. Whether it be to live or to die, to depart or to remain, he is ready for the issue. He can say with calmness and in the full assurance of faith: “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philpp. 1: 20, 21. But now all is changed. While Paul waits the emper- or sets the city on fire and, as we have seen, throws the WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 6l blame and odium on the Christians. The terrible persecu- tion is begun. Paul, the well-known leader of the sect called Nazarenes, is placed under close surveillance and the time for his trial is fixed. The persecution rages. Men, women and children are tortured and put to death in the most cruel and heartless manner. The day for the trial of the apostle is at hand, and he knows that the day of his tri- umph has come. Writing for the last time to his beloved son Timothy he exclaims in prophetic language: “ For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4: 6-8. Grand and fitting words with which to close life’s labors. How these words have cheered and comforted weary Chris- tians all the centuries since Paul wrote them; and they will continue to be a comfort until the Master shall come again. The end of the apostle’s suffering and bonds is now at hand. He is taken to Caesar’s judgment hall and stands be- fore the bloody tyrant who is guilty of every crime known in the catalogue of gross human sins. What a contrast! Paul, the aged prisoner of Jesus Christ, whose life had been spent in the service of his Master; Nero, the sensuous vo- luptuary, the human monster whose very name causes men to shudder even to-day. We have no account of the trial. We know that he was innocent, but he was condemned to death. Under the Roman law no time was allowed be- tween sentence and execution. As Christ was led from Pi- late’s judgment hall to the place of crucifixion, so Paul was taken from before Caesar to the circus on the Vatican Hill, and there this valiant soldier of the cross was put to death. 62 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Circus of Nero , from a Coin. Christ In the center of the Circus stood a silent witness to the sufferings and death of Paul and his followers, — an Egyp- tian obelisk brought from the quarries at Assuan by the Emperor Caligula. It had been hewn out by Pharaoh’s workmen, but had never been erected in Egypt. In 1586 it was removed from the Circus and placed in front of St. Peter’s Church in Rome. Standing by this solemn, silent witness of the death of Paul the mind is carried back to the sufferings of this heroic servant of God. It bears the inscription: “Christ is triumphant! Christ reigns! Christ is emperor! paid all our debts.” Reference has been made to the fact that when Paul went to Rome it was the custom among the Romans to burn the bodies of the dead. The ashes were put in vases and these were deposited in underground vaults, espe- cially prepared for that pur- pose and called columba- ria. Like the Catacombs, the columbaria were cut in rock. In the galleries on either side niches were cut and in these were placed the cinerary urns or vases Portrait of Paul painted on a Glass V ase of the Fifth Century. containing the ashes of the dead. Beneath these were placed marble slabs containing inscriptions relating to those whose ashes rested here. Columbaria in Rome, where the Ashes of the Dead were Deposited. I WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 65 We visited the columbaria of Scipio and of the serv- ants of Caesar’s household. The latter contain the ashes of the officers and members of the imperial family from Caesar to Nero inclusive. It is interesting because it is in an excellent state of preservation and because some of the names found in it are mentioned in the New Testament. The following are the inscriptions: “Tryphena Valeria and Valerius.’’ “ Futianus to the memory of the mother Tryphena.” “ Varia Tryphosa, patron, and 3\I. Eppius Clemens erect- ed this to his well-beloved wife who lived thirty years.” “ Ampliatus made this for his well-deserving brother Restitutus.” The names of Onesimus, Philetus and Epaphras also occur in the inscriptions. Paul in his letter to the Romans, written at Corinth A. D. 68, refers to Tryphena and Tryphosa. He says: “ Sa- lute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord.” 6 o WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Rom. 16: 12.' To Philemon he says: “I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds.” Phil. 10. Ampliatus is spoken of in the letter to the Ro- mans and Epaphras in the letter to the Colossians as “ our dear fellow servant” and “one of you, a servant of Christ,” and to Philemon as “ my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.” The inscriptions compared with the writings of the apostle show that the names used are the same. The ques- tion at once arises, Are they the same?- Can we to-day look upon the ashes of those early Christians in Rome? The answer by Dr. Forbes is given. Speaking of these names he says: “ They are uncommon and we have them mentioned only by Paul and on these marble slabs, which slabs are in the columbaria of the freedmen of the Caesars, agreeing in date with the time of Paul’s letters, who him- self preached to and had converts among the household of Caesar, in the Praetorian Camp, and in the imperial palace upon the Palatine Hill. He says, writing to the Philippi- ans (chapter 1: 13): ‘So that my bonds in Christ are mani- fest in all the palace, and in all other places;’ and in chap- ter 4: 22, ‘All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.’ ” The name of Valeria was taken by Tryphena when she obtained her freedom from her mistress, the Empress Mes- salina, whose name was Valeria. The slabs were erected by their fellow-servants in the official household of Caesar, and show in what esteem these men and women who had em- braced Christianity were held by their associates, and there seems to be no doubt that the names inscribed on the mar- ble slabs in the columbarium are likewise named by Paul. CHAPTER IV. The Arch of Titus. — The Golden Candlestick and Table of Show- bread. — St. Peter's Cathedral. — The Bro)ise Statue. — St. Paul's Church. — The Portrait of our Lord. } f ^ N one occasion the disciples called the attention of our Lord to the great buildings of the temple at Jerusalem; and as they stood beholding the won- derful structure, he said to them: “See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” After this he sat on the Mount of Olives, with the Holy City spread out before him, and, calling his disciples to him, gave them that wonderful prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, recorded by Matthew, which, was so literally fulfilled forty-one years later. When Christ spoke the words of this prophecy to his disciples the reign of Tiberius was drawing to a close. He was succeeded by Caligula, who reigned four years and gave place to Claudius, who was succeeded by the tyrant Nero (54-68) under whose reign occurred the first persecu- tion in Rome, in which Paul, and, it is supposed, Peter also suffered martyrdom. The immediate successors of Nero were Galba, Otho and Vitellius, each reigning but a few months. A change then occurred in the reigning family. Vitellius was the last of the Julian family, as the immediate successors of Julius Caesar were called. He was succeeded by a soldier named Vespasian, and it was during his reign 67 68 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. (A. D. 69-79) that his son Titus marched against Jerusa- lem and, after a long siege, took and completely destroyed the City of David. Thus it will be seen that, from the time our Savior foretold the destruction of Jerusalem until all his words concerning that event were fulfilled, seven different emperors ruled in* Rome. We refer to this to show what great changes had taken place in the Imperial City. After the destruction of Jerusalem the Roman Senate conferred upon Titus divine honors and accorded him a triumphal entry into the City of Rome. It was a grand display in honor of the conqueror. At the head of the procession rode the victorious general, followed by his vet- eran soldiers. Then came the captives, — men, women and children, — who were to be sold into a slavery worse than death. No doubt among that band of prisoners who marched through Rome that day were some who had heard of the prophecy of Christ and had seen him cruci- fied. Now, too late, they realized what they had done. Following the captive Jews came the spoils of war. And here was to be seen the furniture of Solomon’s Temple— the golden candlestick, the table of showbread and the Ark of the Covenant — all carried on the shoulders of captive Jews. It must have been an imposing spectacle. After this the Senate decreed that a triumphal arch should be erected to commemorate the destruction of Jeru- salem and the victory of Titus. This was built in A. D. 81, and in this structure we have a silent witness to the truth of the Bible. To-day the arch is standing across the tri- umphal way. It is finely embellished with statuary in re- lief. One figure represents Titus crowned by victory. But the most interesting part of the work is a representation of the triumphal procession with the captive Jews, the victors Arch of Titus, showing Golden Candlestick and 1 able of Showbread. / ♦ WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 71 carrying the golden candlestick with seven branches and the table with the showbread. The work was finely wrought in marble, and the carved candlestick agrees exactly with the description given in the Bible. It shows that the artist had the candlestick before him when he did the work. The features of the men are also of the well- known Jewish type. Here is indisputable evidence that Titus destroyed Jerusalem, that he carried the Jews into captivity and that he brought the holy vessels and the furniture of the temple to Rome. We made a careful and critical examination of this: reiic of the past, and to us it seems a wonderful witness cf the truth of God’s Book. As we stood beneath the lofty arch, we thought of Hawthorne’s words, “ Standing be- neath the Arch of Titus, and amid so much dust, it is diffi- cult to forbear the commonplaces of enthusiasm, on which hundreds of tourists have already insisted. Over the half- worn pavement, and beneath this arch, the Roman armies had trodden in their outward march, to fight the battles, a world’s width away. Returning victorious, with royal captives and inestimable spoil, a Roman triumph, that most gorgeous pageant of earthly pride, has streamed and flaunt- ed in hundredfold succession over these same flagstones, and through this yet stalwart archway.” CHURCHES AND CATHEDRALS. Rome is a city of churches. There are hundreds of them, ranging in splendor from St. Peter’s Cathedral down to the modest wayside chapel. We have space here to re- fer briefly to only two of them, — St. Peter’s within the gates, and St. Paul’s a mile from the city wall. Anything like a full description of either of these wonderful build- ings would require a volume instead of the space we can give here. 72 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. St. Peter’s Cathedral stands near the place where Paul was beheaded and is on the supposed site of Peter’s cruci- fixion. The first church was built here by Constantine the Great. The present structure dates from the year 1450 when the reconstruction of the old church was begun by Nicholas. V; it was dedicated Nov. 18, 1626. Additions were made to it, so that, at the beginning of the present century, the total cost of construction and decorations amounted to over fifty million dollars. An addition to the church by Pius VI, cost nearly one million dollars and the annual cost of its maintenance and repairs is three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The following measurements are given as being ap- proximately correct. Total length of building, including the portico, is six hundred and ninety-six feet; the greatest width in the transept, four hundred and fifty feet; the height of the ceiling in the central nave, one hundred and fifty feet, and from the pavement to the summit of the dome, four hundred and thirty-five feet. The area inside of the walls is eighteen thousand square yards, nearly double that of the next largest cathedral in the world. The immense size of the building makes it the most impos- ing, and, at the same time, the most expensive church in the world. A calculation as to the number of people who might find standing room in the church shows that, by placing three upon each square yard, fifty-four thousand persons might be crowded into the immense structure. The interiors of many of the great cathedrals of Europe are dark, damp and gloomy. This is true of St. Paul’s in London, Notre Dame in Paris, and the Cologne Cathedral. To this St. Peter’s is a notable exception. It is flooded with light. As you enter the building the light falls on the many-colored, polished marble floor and is re- WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 73 fleeted on rich walls, on columns of variegated marble, agate and porphyry, lighting up the richly-coffered, gild- ed ceiling with dazzling effect. The first impression is one of bewilderment, but as the eye gradually takes in the vast proportions and the beauty of the interior, and the mind grasps the plan which Michael Angelo, the architect, wrought out, the beholder is filled with wonder and amaze- ment by the harmony and symmetry of its proportions and the wondrous beauty of the building. The great dome rests on four huge columns, each two hundred and thirty- four feet in circumference, and yet so well are these pro- portioned that they seem light and airy in the huge structure. Beneath the dome, in the center of the church, is an imposing bronze canopy, ninety-five feet in height, under which is the high altar. It is said to stand immediately over the tomb of the Apostle Peter. Around it are eighty- nine lamps, kept constantly burning. Here the Pope of Rome alone officiates on occasions of high church festivals. At such times the great building is crowded to its utmost capacity. Here once each year he washes, wipes and kiss- es the feet of twelve of his cardinals, selected for that pur- pose. This is done in imitation of the washing of the dis- ciples’ feet by the Master. We could not but reflect upon the contrast between the two scenes. At Jerusalem in an upper chamber, borrowed or hired for the occasion, Jesus with the twelve sat down to eat his last supper with those he loved. It was a humble little group, poor in this world’s goods but rich above all in heavenly possessions. He rose from supper and washed their feet. The Son of God had not where to lay his head. The Pope of Rome officiates in a fifty million dollar church. And here, amid all this splendor, robed in rich 74 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. vestments, sparkling with the costliest gems, he follows the example of Christ and washes his cardinals’ feet. Could there be a greater or a more striking contrast? One thing more about the cathedral and we leave it Near the high altar is a bronze statue, said to represent Peter. The figure is in a sitting posture and is placed on a marble throne. The right foot is slightly extended, or rather what is left of it, for it is partly worn away. Every faithful Catholic who passed by as we stood looking at the statue pressed his lips against the bronze foot, wiping it be- fore and after kissing it. Some, after kissing, placed the forehead against the foot and offered a prayer. Much kiss- ing and wiping have worn away the hard bronze, until the toes are nearly all gone. Surely, this is zeal without knowledge! st. Paul’s cathedral. We give this splendid church a mere passing notice. One writer has said that the finest monument ever erected in this world is the church at Rome to the memory of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. The edifice is one vast hall of fine marble and mosaics, and has been reared by contribu- tions from nearly all parts of the world. The interior is grand and imposing and is nicely decorated with different colored marble. The ceiling is richly coffered and is sup- ported by eighty immense granite columns, beautifully polished. “ Imperial splendor all the roof adorns; Whose vaults a monarch built to God, and graced With golden hues the vast circumference. With gold the beams he covered, that within The light might emulate the beams of morn.” In this church is to be seen in mosaics a head of Christ after the description of Isaiah, “ He hath no form nor WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 75 comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.” The artist succeeded in mak- ing a face without a single line of beauty in it. After visiting these magnificent structures we have many reflections. Two thoughts were especially impressed upon the mind. 1. Here are millions upon millions of dollars spent in extravagant display, and within easy distance of St. Peter’s, thousands of people are suffering for the necessaries of life. At the doorways of these costly structures every visitor is beset by beggars who depend upon the generosity of strangers for bread. There seems to be something radical- ly wrong with a system that produces such striking con- trasts in the lives of its followers. Splendor, magnificence, lavish display, untold extravagance within: beggary, hun- ger, starvation without. 2. If the piety of a people, and the correctness of their beliefs were to be measured by the amount of money they give, then these must stand very high, for see the fab- ulous sums spent here in the construction of these great churches. We have referred to two, and there are hun- dreds of them. It is true that piety and faith can not be measured in that way, but the zeal of the Roman Catholic church can be. And they put to shame many who give so sparingly to the church of their choice. We profess, as a people, to follow the Master in all his teachings, and we believe we are right. Let us show our zeal and earnest- ness, not in building stately and magnificent churches but in spreading the Gospel and in keeping the poor. A man, rich in this world’s goods, can only be saved from degrada- tion and ruin by a liberal benevolence. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. /6 THE PORTRAIT OF OUR LORD. The accompanying portrait of our Savior is from a photograph purchased in Cologne, Germany, several years ago. The face has about it a wondrous beauty. The fol- lowing words are printed beneath the portrait: “ Das einzige riclitige Portrait unseres Hcilandcs Jcsit Christi.” On the back of the card is printed in German a sketch of the painting from which the photograph was taken. Translat- ed it reads as follows: “ THE ONLY TRUE PORTRAIT OF OUR SAVIOR. “The picture on the other side is the copy of a cut in emerald, which was made at the order of the Emperor Ti- berius and kept in the treasury at Constantinople. Later on, the original was used by the Emperor of the Turks as a ransom for his brother who had at the time, under Pope In- nocent V, been captured by the Christians. The faithful- ness of the picture is shown through Publius Lentulus, at that time governor of Judea, in whose writings to the senate and the Roman people a passage is found of which the following is a translation: “‘There has appeared in these days a very virtuous man, Jesus Christ by name, who is still living among us and is looked upon as a prophet by the heathens, but by his own disciples he is called Son of God. He raises people from the dead and heals all kinds of disease. A man of somewhat tall and imposing stature and of very venerable appearance, so that those who see him are led both to fear and to love him. His hair has the color of a fully ripened hazelnut, almost smooth down to the ears; from there on it is somewhat curled, flowing over his shoulders, and of •more nearly oriental color; after the manner of the Naza- renes it is parted in the middle. His forehead is free and smooth, his face without spots or wrinkles, beautiful, of a pleasing red. Nose and mouth have a form with which no I Portrait of our Savior. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 79 fault can be found. The beard is full, its color matching well with that of the hair, not very long. His eyes are gray, clear and full of life; his body is well formed and firmly built, his hands and arms in good proportion. In censure he is terrible, in admonition kind and fascinating, in his speech temperate, wise and modest, joined with dignity. No one can recall that lie has seen him laugh, but many have seen him weep.’ “A man surpassing the children of men in his singular beauty.” The traveler in Europe will find, in many of the shops where pictures are sold, numerous so-called portraits of our Savior. In price they range from a few pennies for the cheaper lithographs to large sums of money for the beau- tiful copies, in oil colors, of the masterpieces of Guido, Michael Angelo and Raphael. It is said that Raphael’s head of Christ in the great transfiguration scene has never been equaled. The face has a glorified beauty about it that is marvelous. At a very early date the artists made many attempts to depict the features of the Savior and the result is an immense number of portraits. The question, Is there an authentic portrait of our Lord in existence? is of more than common interest. The Roman Catholic church claims that there is; but this claim is not well founded, and many of the portraits purporting to represent the face of our Savior are nothing more than pious frauds. While in the Imperial City we had an excel- lent opportunity to carefully examine the subject. We saw and secured a number of the so-called portraits, and one needs only to compare them, and see the difference be- tween them, to come to the conclusion that, to say the very least, it is not at all likely that there is a true representa- tion of the head of our Savior in existence. 8o WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. We were also fortunate, during our stay in Rome, to receive some very valuable information on this subject from Dr. Forbes, and we propose to give to our readers the benefit of the researches made by him on this, subject. The information here given may be considered as entirely reliable, and is well worth a careful study. It is the result o: a long, careful, painstaking investigation of the entire question: “It may seem strange to many that none of the Lord’s disciples describe his appearance, although there are pre- tended descriptive portraits of him, written at a later date. Isaiah foretells his appearance, and his are the only refer- ences in the Sacred Scriptures that tell us what the Son of Man was like personally. ‘ His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.’ 52: 14. ‘ He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.’ 53: 2. “This was exactly the way in which the early Byzan- tine artists portrayed Christ, as for example in the fifth century mosaic on the arch of triumph in the church of St. Paul without the walls. “ Lampridius, in his life of Alexander Severus, speaks of that emperor having a bust of Christ in the chapel of his household gods. This proves that portraits of our Savior, either true or ideal, were existing in the third century. St. John Damascenus, in the eighth century, speaks of a portrait that Constantine had done from a supposed ‘ de- scription of Christ, written to the Roman Senate by Publi- us Lentulus, proconsul of Judea before Herod.’ We have failed to trace any such proconsul, but it is the oldest de- scription of the Lord extant, most probably late in the sec- ond century when all sorts of apocryphal writings were cir- culated; WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 8l “‘At this time appeared a man who is still living and endowed with mighty power; his name is Jesus Christ. His disciples call him the Son of God; others regard him as a powerful prophet. He raises the dead to life and heals the sick of every description of infirmity and disease. This man is of lofty stature and well proportioned; his countenance, severe and virtuous, so that he inspires be- holders with feelings both of fear and love. The hair of his head is of the color of wine, and from the top of the head to the ears, straight and without radiance, but it de- scends from the ears to the shoulders in shining curls. From the shoulders the hair flows down the back, divided into two portions, after the manner of the Nazarenes; his forehead is clear and without wrinkle, his face free from blemish, and slightly tinged with red, his physiognomy noble and gracious. The nose and mouth faultless, his beard is abundant, the same color as the hair and forked. His eyes blue and very brilliant. In reproving or censuring, he is awe-inspiring; in exhorting and teaching, his speech is gentle and caressing. His countenance is marvelous in seriousness and grace. He has never once been seen to laugh; but many have seen him weep. He is slender in person, has hands straight and long, his arms beautiful. Grave and solemn in his discourse, his language is simple and quiet. He is, in appearance, the most beauti- ful of the children of men.’ — Codex Apocryphus Nov. Test, ab Fabricium, iyoj, pt. i, page joi. “ In the Apocryphal New Testament there are epistles supposed to have been written by Jesus and Abgarus, King of Edessa. They are quoted by Eusebius, and John Da- mascenus adds that ‘Abgarus charged his messenger to employ some artist to make a portrait of our Lord Jesus, from whom nothing is hidden, and to whom nothing is im- possible. Being aware of the intention of Abgarus he took a piece of linen, applied it to his face, and depicted there- on his own image. This very portrait is in existence at the WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. present day, and in perfect preservation.’ We remember photographs of this pretended portrait being sold in Lon- don some years ago. It was said to be preserved in the church of Silvestro in Capite, Rome, till 1870 when it was removed to the Vatican. In S. Prassede is a miniature on a texture, but the features are obliterated; it shows a figure in outline down to the waist. This is also claimed to have been sent by Christ to Abgarus. This naturally reminds us of the story of St. Veronica, who is said to have wiped the Savior’s face on his way to Golgotha, and that the impres- sion of his features remained on her handkerchief. This is displayed on grand occasions at St.. Peter’s, and facsimiles can be bought in the Roman shops. We may also consider as of the second century the rare bronze medal upon which the Lord’s profile is engraved. This medallion was ex- hibited in Rome, in the time of Pope Julius II, and has been discussed by various writers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, though its story is comparatively lit- tle known now. It will be found engraved and described in the Rev. R. Walsh’s essay on ancient coins, 1828, he hav- ing bought it of a Jew at Rostock. In 1700 one was dug up at the ancient circus of Brin-gwin in Wales, and sent by .Rowland to Luid, at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, but it was lost in transit. Another was found in 1812 at Friarswalk, in Cork. The style of this medallion shows that it can not be later than the age of the Antonines, say A. D. 180; it was not a piece of money, but a talisman to be worn as a charm. One impression, in the possession of Mrs. T. W. Vessey, Bristol, has a hole in it, so that it could be suspended round the neck. “The reverse of the medal has written, in Hebrew characters, in five lines, ‘The Messiah has reigned, he came in peace, and, being made the Light of man, he lives.’ On the obverse is the head of our Lord in profile, to the left, as described by Lentulus. On the left field is written, in Hebrew, Jesus, and on the right, the letter aleph, the ini- Wanderings in bible lands. 3 3 tial of Adonar, Lord. The portrait on this medallion has become received in western art as the type likeness of Christ, the Byzantine artists making their heads of Jesus more round, of which there are many specimens in the mo- saics of Rome. We are rather inclined to think that the letter of Lentulus and the medallion are of the same origin, and made to fit one another. The Christians of the first and early part of the second century certainly had no por- traits of Christ, the Jewish influence and the second com- mandment would prohibit that. “ We now come back to the first century, to the days of the Messiah, to inquire if any portrait of our Lord was made in his lifetime; and if so, if any trace of it is existing. We think it- improbable that any of the apostles should have painted the features of Jesus, and those paintings, at- tributed to St. Luke, are pious frauds. Of all these, and there are many, that at the Scala Sancta is said to have been done by St. Luke in outline, and that invisible hands filled in the coloring during his absence from the studio. It is a late Byzantine portrait, a pear-shaped head with beard and mustache. Wood-cuts and photographs of it are sold at the Scala Sancta. “ Eusebius, bishop of Cesarea, in the days of Constan- tine, speaks of having seen ‘ representations of the Apos- tles Peter and Paul, and of Christ himself, still preserved in paintings.’ He also speaks of a statue of Jesus at Cesarea Philippi, as follows: ‘They say that the woman who had an issue of blood, mentioned by the evangelists, and who ob- tained deliverance from her affliction by our Savior, was a native of this place, and that her house is shown in the city, and the wonderful monuments of our Savior’s benefit to her are still remaining. At the gates of her house, on an elevated stone, stands a bronze image of a woman on her bended knee, with her hands stretched out before her like one entreating. Opposite to this there is another bronze statue of a man, erect, decently clad in a mantle 84 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. and stretching out his hand to the woman. Before her feet, and on the same pedestal, there is a certain strange plant growing, which, rising as high as the hem of the brazen garment, is a kind of antidote to all kinds of diseas- es. This statue, they say, is a statue of Jesus Christ, and it has remained even until our times; so that we ourselves saw it whilst tarrying in that city.’ (Eusebius E. H. VII, 18.) Sozomen also speaks of it and says, ‘Julian commanded it to be taken down, and a statue of himself to be erected in its place; but fire from heaven was poured down upon Ju- lian’s statue, and the head and breast were broken, and it was thrown to the ground with the face downwards; it is still to be seen on the spot where it fell, blackened by the effects of the lightning. The statue of Christ was dragged round the city and mutilated by the Pagans; but the Chris- tians recovered the fragments and deposited the statue in the church in which it is still preserved.’ (E. Id. V., 21.) “There is nothing unreasonable in believing that the woman did erect the group which Eusebius says he saw, and we may presume that the artist would make the Lord’s likeness as the woman described it. It has not been exist- ing for very many years, for Sozomen speaks of its destruc- tion, but a marble relief of the fourth century, depicting the scene at Cesarea, exists in the Lateran Christian Muse- um. On the left at the top of the hall of Sarcophagi is one under a canopy; at one end of it is the scene of Peter deny- ing Christ, with buildings in the background; and at the other end is the woman and our Lord, also with buildings in the background, as described above by Eusebius. One of these is evidently the woman’s house, a church and bap- tistry is also shown, evidently the scene at Cesarea. We believe the group in relief to be a copy of the bronze one at Cesarea, and so this would represent the oldest portrait of our Lord; and it agrees with the bronze medallion de- scribed above. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 85 “ The figures of our Lord in the early sculpture work invariably depict him as a young man, as for example in the scene with Peter at the other end of the above cited sarcophagus, but the figure in the relief with the woman is of the received type as described by Lentulus. We consid- er that the relief and medal hand down to us, perhaps roughly, the features of Jesus Christ. The heads of Christ in the catacombs are not earlier than the ninth century, and they follow the type at St. Paul’s with an attempt to beau- tify it in accordance with the decree of Adrian I, 772-95, that ‘Christ should be represented under as beautiful a form as art could display.’ ” From the foregoing it will be seen that we are fully justified in the conclusion that there is no authentic por- trait of our Lord in existence. Some of the older portraits, made after the description by Lentulus, may, in a general way, give us some of his features, but as a rule the later paintings are largely drawn from the imagination of the ar- tists themselves. At this writing, Dec. 16, we are in the City of Naples. In a few days we take the Steamer Rosetta for Port Said, Egypt. From there we go to Suez, and to the route of the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt. Then, crossing over the Land of Goshen, we go to Cairo, hoping to reach the latter place on Christmas Day. We are both enjoying excellent health. The Lord has abundantly blessed us, and we give him thanks and praise. CHAPTER V. From Rome to Naples. — Mount Vesuvius. — An Eruption. ROM Rome we journey by rail to Naples, a distance (nnna of some two hundred miles. After leaving the Im- perial City the road crosses the Tiber and passes the ruins of the old aqueduct and the tombs along the Ap- pian Way. After crossing the Campagna we pass through a rough, hilly country, given up almost entirely to the cul- tivation of the vine, and finally reach Naples, the largest city in Italy, with a population of about half a million. The city is built around about the bay of the same name, and has always been noted for the beauty of its situation. The chief attractions of the place are Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii and Herculaneum, all within easy distance of the city. The peculiar customs of the place are very striking and interesting to the traveler. Our first walk through the city was in the early morning. We noticed flocks of goats being driven about the streets and found that many fami- lies receive their supply of milk from these animals. They are driven from door to door and up the stairways to the upper stories of the houses where they are milked while the customer stands by and waits for his supply of the rich, lacteal fluid. Cows are also driven about the streets and milked at the doors of those who buy the milk. There are two ad- vantages in this system: it does away with milk wagons, WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 87 and the people of Naples, it would seem, are sure that they get pure milk without the addition of chalk and water, which, it is said, are sometimes served to customers in our large cities at home. But appearances are deceptive. The milkmen of Naples carry water in rubber bags 'secreted un- der the folds of their coats. A small tube passing down beneath the sleeve of the garment is so manipulated that a quantity of water is allowed to run into the can while the process of milking is going on. Some of the customers, aware of the tricks of the milkmen, do the milking them- selves, and thus get pure milk. Mount Vesuvius, one of the most noted volcanoes in the world, rises in isolated majesty near the Bay of Naples. It is something over four thousand feet from the sea level to the top of its cone, in the center of which is the great crater. In ancient times, according to Strabo, Vesuvius “ was covered with beautiful meadows, with the exception of the summit. The latter is, indeed, for the most part lev- el, but quite sterile; for it has an appearance like ashes, and shows rugged rocks of sooty consistency and color, as if they had been consumed by fire.” During the reign of Ne- ro, A. D. 63, a fearful earthquake occurred, and sixteen years later, in the reign of Titus, nine years after the de- struction of Jerusalem, the great volcanic eruption oc- curred, which overwhelmed all the cities in the plain and converted the beautiful meadows into sterile wastes of ash- es and lava. Since then the mountain has been an active volcano. The greatest eruption in recent times occurred in April, 1872. The lava burst forth on every side, running down the mountain in a molten stream. A number of per- sons were overtaken and destroyed by the liquid stream of fire. A writer who witnessed the eruption says: “At the same time, amidst terrific thundering, the crater poured 88 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. forth huge volumes of smoke, mingled with red-hot stones and lava, to a height of four thousand feet; whilst clouds of ashes, rising to double that height, were carried by the wind as far as Cosenza, a distance of one hundred and forty miles. The lava emitted during this eruption covers an area of two square miles, and averages thirteen feet in depth.” The distance from Naples to the foot of the great cone is fifteen and one-half miles, and from this point a wire rope railway conveys the traveler upward nine hundred yards to the foot of the upper cone. From the upper sta- tion we climbed along a well-constructed path to the rim of the crater. We made two attempts to reach the top of the mountain and succeeded in getting a good view of the crater on Dec. 15. Soon after leaving the upper sta- tion, we noticed light wreaths of smoke issuing from the crevices along our upward pathway. A rumbling noise, re- sembling distant thunder, was heard at regular intervals and we had an indistinct feeling that the mountain quaked. Our guide said, “ He,” meaning the volcano, “working; but he no dangare.” As we continued our upward course the smoke increased and the strong fumes of sulphur emitted were decidedly unpleasant. At one place a hole in the rock was emitting smoke in puffs. We put our hand in but removed it at once; it was quite hot. At this point the explosions, which occur at regular in- tervals in the crater, could be very distinctly heard and the tremor of the mountain felt. Still higher the smoke and sulphur grew thicker, and we were compelled to cover mouth and nose with handkerchiefs. At last we reached the rim of the crater, and looking down, we beheld a fear- ful sight. We thought of the bottomless pit. As we stood looking into the awful abyss, there came a terrific explo WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 89 sion. The mountain shook, great masses of stone and lava were thrown high into the air and fell back again into the restless crater. Great tongues of bright-red flames burst through the dense volumes of smoke that rolled upward from the pit. The scene was a frightful one and our curi- osity to see a volcano at work was fully gratified in a very short time. The guide continued to assure us there was no “ dangare,” but we went away to a point of greater security, where we watched the explosions for some time. One of the lessons here impressed was our own little- ness and helplessness. What wonderful powers God has stored away in the forces of nature! Man, standing in the presence of the manifestation of this mighty power, is less than a worm of the dust. Behold the Lord toucheth “the mountains, and they shall smoke. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.” The smoking mountain and the trembling earth seen and felt this day shall never be forgotten. Well may man say, “ Lord, make me to know mine end, and the meas- ure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.” POMPEII. On the twenty-fourth day of August, A. D. 79, the resi- dents of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the other cities and villages located in the vicinity of Vesuvius, were startled by a terrific eruption of the mountain. A great column of smoke and ashes rose high in the air and spread out in the shape of a dense black cloud; the light of the sun was to- tally obscured, and in a short time a dense shower of ash- es fell upon the doomed cities. When the eruption ended, Pompeii was covered with ashes and small stone to a depth of twenty feet. Some of the inhabitants fled at the first alarm and escaped. Others remained to remove their val- 90 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. uables and perished. It is estimated that at least two thou- sand perished in the ruins of their homes. Years rolled into centuries and the name and site of the city passed from the memory of man. More than sixteen hundred years went by and the city was rediscovered, and at this time about one-half of the buried city has been uncovered. The work of excavation is carried on by the Italian Govern- ment, and it is estimated that at the present rate of progress it will be sixty years before the entire city is excavated. When the city was buried it was full of life and activ- ity, and in the excavation many things are found as they were left on that terrible day in August. We walked through the streets of the excavated city, which are paved with blocks of stone. In many places deep ruts are worn into the pavements, showing that the Pompeiians drove through their streets with chariots and carts. The houses and shops are, in many places, remarkably well preserved. Here is a baker’s shop. The ovens are still preserved and in one of them eighty-one loaves of bread were found, on some of which the baker’s name was stamped. The loaves are still well preserved, and we see the bread that was placed in the oven A. D. 79 and taken out only a few years ago. Connected with the baker’s shop are mills for grind- ing grain, and in them was found grain of various kinds, left there when the slaves who turned the mills fled for a place of safety. The articles found are placed in a large building for safe keeping, and here they may be examined and studied. Here one can form a good idea of the home life of the Pompeiians, as almost everything used in domestic life can be seen: articles of food, all kinds of grain, fruit, such as figs, dates, etc., oil, well preserved in glass bottles, the re- mains of household furniture, iron money chests, in shape /ated Street in Pompeii, showing Ruts of Chariot Wheels. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 93 resembling the modern iron safe, tools of various kinds and shapes, fishing-hooks, just the same as we use to-day, sur- gical instruments, and ornaments of all kinds, such as jew- els, bracelets, rings and chains, in great abundance. Among the many interesting objects to be seen at Pompeii, none are more wonderful than the plaster casts of objects found in the ashes which enveloped and covered up the city. These consist of human bodies, the bodies of an- imals, and other perishable objects. The following expla- nation will give our readers an idea as to how the casts of the various objects found are obtained. The first layer of matter that fell upon the city was fine ashes, and it completely covered up the lower part of the houses. It was so fine that it permeated every crack and crevice. It was finer than ordinary domestic dust, and enveloped the substances completely. Rolfe says,* It will be readily understood that it made an equal pressure all around them, and that they were consequently as com- pletely surrounded as if they had been immersed in water. The substances and objects thus covered made an ex- act mould of their forms in the ashes, which hardened a short time after their fall. Thus the form was most accu- rately preserved. An object buried in a snow-drift makes an exact mould in the snow. This gives an accurate idea of the process by which the moulds of objects were formed in the ashes that covered up Pompeii. Our readers will readily understand that all that was perishable in the substances buried crumbled to dust in the lapse of centuries. That is to say, the clothes and flesh of the victims, the woodwork of the doors and the willow of the baskets have all completely vanished; but the parts *We give an abridged account of the process found in Rolfe's excellent work on Pompeii. 94 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. less liable to decay remain, such as the iron and the bronze work of the doors and the bones and ornaments of the hu- man subjects. These all remained exactly as they were then covered, and held their original places in an accurate mould which the falling ashes made around them. We think this will be understood by our readers. The next process is more simple. When the excava- tors come to one of these moulds, which is made apparent in the rise of the layer of ashes, a slight opening is made into the cavity and liquid plaster of Paris is poured in and allowed to remain undisturbed until it thoroughly hardens. The external mould of ashes is then removed and an exact cast of the object is thus obtained, all that was perishable being now replaced by the plaster of Paris, and all that did not decay being firmly fixed in the plaster, and in its orig- inal place. In this way the exact form and even the features of men and women who perished here eighteen hundred years ago are as well preserved as if they had been cut in imper- ishable marble. In some of the faces, and in the positions of the bodies, is to be seen the evidence of intense suffer- ing. We might devote this entire letter to these interest- ing objects, but refer to only a few of them. The first is the form of a Roman soldier, found at one of the gates of the city, where he was standing on guard when the eruption came, and, instead of fleeing, fell at his post, true to the instincts of the Romans. This incident is often referred to as an example of faithfulness and fidelity. Another is that of a slave, evidently an African. The nose and lips clearly indicate the negro type, and the im- print of the curly hair is plainly to be seen. The folds of his clothing show with remarkable cfearness. The right hand is firmly clasped and the expression of the mouth and Cut from Mould of Human Figure found in Pompeii. . ' ■ WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 97 face shows intense agony. The left hand grasps his belt and the lower limbs are extended. The form of a dog, that was found tied to his kennel, is remarkably well preserved. The poor animal was tied, but had trodden the falling ashes under his feet till the length of his chain prevented him from getting any further, when he died, on his back, in great agony. His mouth is open and his legs are extended. The form is perfect. Among other objects preserved in this way are a num- ber of doors of the houses, and here is the first example of a panel door known. From the fact that the center pieces form a cross it is believed that it came from the house of a Christian, for it is well known that, before the destruction of Pompeii, Christianity had found converts in Italy. Pu- teoli, where Paul landed, is only a few miles across the bay from the ruined city. If there were brethren at Paul’s land- ing-place, it is only fair to assume that seventeen years lat- er there were brethren in Pompeii. The author of “The Last Days of Pompeii ” takes this view, and we believe he is correct. THE MORALS OF THE PEOPLE. The brethren in Pompeii found a terrible state of af- fairs in the moral and social depravity of the people. In Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is found a characterization of the people of that city, and the first chapter of that letter would have applied to the Pompeiians, even if it had been intensified twofold. The ruins of the city give silent yet unmistakable evidence of its vice and wickedness. Many of their practices were so vile, and their morality so low, that language cannot be used to express the depths of in- famy to which they had gone. Sodomy, and like vices, were among their sinful practices. Sodom was overthrown 98 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. because of its wickedness, and Pompeii certainly deserved the same fate. The degradation of woman was complete, and, as a result, men were equally depraved and degraded, for the one follows the other as surely as like causes pro- duce like effects. As we walked through the streets of the excavated city and saw evidences of the utter depravity and wickedness of the people, we said to the Elder, “ No won- der God destroyed this place.” And, in some respects, it is a pity that after eighteen hundred years it should have been uncovered, yet it shows, beyon*d all doubt, that Paul’s characterization of the immorality of the Romans is by no means overdrawn, and it thus becomes a terrible wit- ness of the truth of the apostle’s words in the first chapter of his letter to the brethren in Rome. In traveling in the different countries of the world, the condition of the masses of the people always forms an item of special interest to us, and we are constantly drawing con- trasts between the conditions of the people in Europe and the East and those of our own favored land. The questions as to how the laboring class lives, what wages they receive, w'hat is the condition of the poor, will, no doubt, be inter- esting and instructive to our readers. Last year, in our wanderings in northern Europe, we gave this subject con- siderable attention, and we now refer to the condition of the laboring classes in Italy. In all the cities of Italy the poverty that prevails is made apparent by the great crowd of beggars that meet us wherever we go. If we enter a church we are beset, both in going in and coming out, by an importunate crowd of poor unfortunates, who stand in groups about the doors, showing their deformities, hoping to excite sympathy and secure alms. If we walk out of any of the gates of the cit- ies, the same thing occurs, only the crowd of beggars is WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 99 larger and more importunate. Giving does not satisfy. It only increases the demands made upon you by the begging throng of men and women, boys and girls. If we drive along the public highway, our carriage becomes the center of attack, and whether we drive slow or fast, the beggars are with us. They run by the side of the carriage long dis- tances, imploring us for money. Half-grown girls, each carrying a baby brother or sister, will follow a carriage sev- eral hundred yards, keeping pace with the trotting horses. Giving by no means rids us of the nuisance. It only makes the matter worse. The following experience will illustrate the result of giving. Driving one day from Naples to Mt. Vesuvius, we passed through the poorer part of the city, lying on the slope of the mountain. We were making a steep ascent along a narrow street, and had to drive slow. As usual, we were beset with beggars, and we distributed a few pennies for sweet charity’s sake. Immediately our carriage was lit- erally surrounded by beggars. Our simple act of giving seemed to have turned every boy and girl in the street into a beggar. They filled the air with their cries of “ Signor ! Signor!” If we threw pennies on the ground, hoping thus to rid ourselves of the nuisance, there was a rush and a struggle until the question of ownership was settled, then, with whetted appetite for more, they came on more clam- orous than ever. We simply had to endure the noise and make the best of it. After following us a mile or more, they grew tired and fell back. It is said that begging is the curse of Italy, and we are willing to give half assent to the statement. The beggar loses all self-respect and independence of character. Once a beggar, always a beggar, is the rule. Indiscriminate giv- ing is an evil, not only in Italy, but in our own land. It 100 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. has made a race of beggars in Italy. It is encouraging a race of tramps at home, and the responsibility rests upon those who give with mistaken notions of charity. To give judiciously, to help the worthy poor, is a Christian duty, but it is equally a Christian duty not to give where giving will result in evil. The home life of the poor people here does not, it seems to us, have a single ray of light in it. They are de- prived of everything that makes life worth living to us. Poverty-stricken as they are, they live in the merest hovels, and filth too horrible to mention is found on all sides. It is among this class of people that the cholera finds its vic- tims by the hundreds. The bacilli, or cholera germs, de- light in filth, and here they revel in the very luxury of dirt, grow fat, and daily increase the death rate to an alarming extent. In Rome and in Naples we visited the homes of the poor people. We passed through the streets and went into some of the houses. In Naples the conditions seem to be worse than in Rome. Here the houses open on the street. Indeed, the women and children spend the winter days sit- ting on the sunny side of the street. Here they keep warm. Stoves are not known among them. Those who are able, build a fire in an iron pan and sit around it when it is cold. Women and children old enough to work are busy. Plait- ing straw, knitting and sewing are the principal occupa- tions. Inside the house, the floor of the single room is us- ually made of brick or flat stones. On one side stands the bed. If the family owns a donkey, he has his place in one corner of the room. The chickens, and there are usually one or two dozen in each house, go in and out of the door at will, roosting, in some cases, in the family room. As a rule no windows are seen, the door admitting the light. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. IOI Here, in the darkness and filth, men, women and chil- dren have what they call their homes. Here they ex- ist. They seem cheerful and contented with their lot, and that is the worst part of it. It is hard to improve the con- dition of a people who have settled down to a dull content- ment, born of a condition in which there is no hope of a better day. If it is true that happiness consists in the things we learn to do without, these people ought to be happy. They live on what many families waste in our country. But deprivation of the common necessaries of life is not the only evil among them. The ordinary propri- eties, nay, the common decencies of our home life, are en- tirely wanting. The condition of the small farmer and the country la- borer is not essentially better than that of the poorer class- es in the cities. He owns a small parcel of ground, from two to four acres. His home is devoid of comfort, and his life is one of toil. He, with his family, spends part of his time in farming their few acres. The ground is all turned over with a spade, men and women laboring together at this hard work. Of course plows are used on the larger farms. After his few acres are planted and sown, the farm- er seeks work wherever he can find it. The women and children plait straw and make baskets, thus eking out their scanty living. In many districts the very best farm laborer can secure only from forty to fifty dollars a year, and part of the time he must board himself out of this very small sum. Signor Bodo, an authority on Italian statistics, gives the average wages in summer, for a male adult, as two lire (forty cents) a day, and in winter, one lira and fifty centesimi (thirty cents) a day. He further remarks that account 102 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. must be taken of the times when no work can be had. A fair average estimate for three hundred working days each year is fifteen cents a day. It must be remembered that this amount can be earned by only the best farm laborers. Some work for ten cents, and even less- a day. At home our laborers would not be able to live on such wages, much less lay something aside each year, as we are glad to know many of them do. The condition of woman here is no improvement over that found in northern Europe, to which we referred at some length in our letters last year. She is found laboring in the fields, turning over the ground with the spade, work- ing side by side with men, and apparently doing as much work as the stronger sex, but receiving here, as in our own country, less wages for doing the same amount and same kind of work. When will men learn to deal justly with women? Why should a man receive more wages for doing a certain piece of work than a woman who does it equally well and often better? It is simply a piece of injustice that we, as men, all ought to be ashamed of. But we find women at work, not only in the fields, but in the stone-quarries, on the railway, on buildings, and, in fact, in every occupation, in which men engage. We saw women at work in the quarries, carrying heavy stones on their heads, moving them from place to place. We saw them carrying stones, in the same manner, to masons who were engaged in building a wall. We saw them removing earth from excavations, by putting it into baskets, then put- ting the baskets on their heads and carrying them away like beasts of burden. All this seems hard enough to look at, but when it is known that for this slavish work the high- est price paid to woman is ten cents a day, it seems almost incredible. To her it is a question of starvation, and she is WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. IOj willing to labor all the weary day for a mere pittance, which is certainly not enough to supply her with a suffi- cient quantity of good, wholesome food. After her hard day’s work in the field or quarry, which, by the way, is not a day of ten hours, but “ from early morn till dewy eve,” she goes to her cheerless home, where poverty and want are constant guests, and where, if she have strength left, she spends some hours of the night in plaiting straw or making baskets. One who has not seen something of the condition of the people here can scarcely form an idea as to their pov- erty and wretchedness. Poorly housed, poorly clothed, and poorly fed, they work like galley-slaves, for the very least sum that will keep life in -the body. When sickness comes to them, and their scanty wages are cut off, begging or stealing is their only resource, and they do both. To us the women appear coarse, and they are coarse, but how can they be otherwise? The finer sensibilities are crushed out of their lives by their hard lot. The sunshine of a comfort- able home is not theirs. The tender regard for wife and mother is entirely wanting. Their lives are so many des- perate daily struggles for an existence, and in this struggle they often fail. They become dull-eyed and haggard, and learn to know what the pangs of hunger are. We have given but a brief sketch of what we have seen. Our time was much too limited to give this subject much attention. What we have seen only confirms us in our con- viction that in no country in the world are the people, as a whole, so prosperous as in the United States. In no other country is labor better paid. Every laboring man may, by practicing ordinary economy and not spending his wages for tobacco and strong drink, lay by some money each year, and thus have a surplus capital. Notwithstanding all this, 104 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. much dissatisfaction prevails. Men, who receive for a month’s work double as much as laborers here receive for a year’s labor, are striking for higher wages. We are un- grateful and fail to appreciate the blessings we enjoy, and, unless we are much mistaken, this ingratitude will bring its own punishment. Will the conditions found in southern Italy, and, indeed, all over Europe, ever exist in our own country? Perhaps for our ingratitude they may come. God uses various means to bring about results, and the means to this end are at work now. An ungrateful people, forgetting the abundant blessings of Almighty God, will surely re- ceive their just recompense of reward. CHAPTER VI. From Europe to Africa. — Last View of Vesuvius. — Stromboli. — Port Said. — The Suez Canal. — Istnailia. — Cairo.— Street Scenes. — Water-carriers . FTER spending a week at Naples and in its vicinity, we board the oriental steamer Rosetta, bound for Calcutta, India, and set sail for the “ land of the Pharaohs,” eleven hundred miles away. Steaming out of the beautiful Bay of Naples we see five of the great warships belonging to the Italian navy, among which are said to be some of the heaviest and best steel-plated ships yet constructed. It is a sad commentary on the professed Christianity of Europe when we reflect that all these Chris- tian (?) nations are literally armed to the teeth to protect themselves from the depredations of each other. Italy, with a population less than half of our own, has a standing army larger by ten times than that of the United States. To support her large army the people are ground down by taxation. No wonder poverty and begging are so very common in sunny Italy. Across the Bay of Naples, in the clear evening light, we have a last view of Mount Vesuvius rising in isolated grandeur from the surrounding plain. The mountain pours forth volume after volume of smoke, giving evidence of the great fire imprisoned in its bosom, and we see the last of it only when we are far out at sea, on our way to another of the great natural divisions of our globe, Africa. 105 106 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. It is a bright, beautiful night, and although it is past the middle of December, it is as warm as the spring months at home. The sky is as clear as crystal, and the stars shine with an unusual degree of brilliancy, not uncommon in this favored climate. It must have been a night like this that inspired David to say, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handy work. Day un- to day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” It is not a night for sleep, and we spend a part of it on deck. At two o’clock in the morning we pass the island on which is located the active volcano Stromboli. At intervals of half an hour the mountain belches forth great volumes of fire and melted lava. The bright red flames are at least a hundred feet high, lighting up the mountain with their lurid glare; great streams of melted lava, red and glowing, pour down the mountain side to the level of the sea. It is a grand display of nature’s fireworks, once seen never to be forgotten. Our voyage from Naples to Port Said is a pleasant one. The “great sea ” is as smooth as a river, and we have clear and calm weather during the entire voyage. On the third day out we “sail close by Crete,” so close that we can dis- tinctly see the coast line of the island, and we know that we are not far from the course taken by the ship which conveyed Paul to the port from which we have sailed. On the morning of the fourth day we catch sight of a level coast line, and with the aid of our glass we can see the buildings of Port Said, which stands at the entrance to the Suez Canal. An hour later our ship casts anchor and the health officer comes aboard. After a careful examina- tion (for owing to the prevalence of cholera in Europe they have rigid quarantine regulations here), the Rosetta is de- WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 107 dared free. Going down the ship’s ladder and entering a small boat we are rowed ashore and land in Africa. Our first care on landing is to telegraph to loved ones at home of our safe arrival in Egypt. A single word of a private ci- pher, arranged before we left home, was flashed over a con- tinent and beneath the waters of the Atlantic, and half way across the United States, a distance of seven thousand miles, taking to anxious hearts at home news of our safety and good health. IN THE LAND OF EGYPT. And now at last we are in the land of the Pharaohs. Nine years ago when we visited Palestine our desire was to visit Egypt also, but at that time a war among the tribes on the Nile prevented us. Last winter we started for the East, but the way was closed by the cholera, and we turned homeward. Now, after the lapse of a number of years since we first thought the trip possible for us, we are, under God’s blessing, permitted to realize our hopes and desires. We are to see this wonderland of the Nile. We are to climb the great pyramids and enter the tombs and temples, cut and built by the Pharaohs who lived with Joseph, Jacob and Moses. We are to wander through the “land of Go- shen,” where the children of Israel dwelt, where they felt the heavy hand of oppression, and from which they were led by the hand of Moses. We are to follow them in their journey to the Red Sea and into the desert where they wan- dered forty years. We are to ascend the life-giving waters of the Nile a thousand miles, and visit on the way the mag- nificent ruins of Thebes, Karnac and Luxor. We are to continue our journey into Nubia, following the Nile into the Torrid Zone of Africa, and learn something of the life of / 108 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. the people who live there. All this we hope to accom- plish, the Lord being our keeper. And then, on our homeward journey, a kind Provi- dence permitting, we shall revisit the Holy Land, and, if possible, see the seven churches of Asia, which were estab- lished through the efforts of the great missionary, Paul. We feel that we are enjoying a great privilege in being thus permitted to wander in the Lands of the Bible. As Dr. Schaff so well says, it is an inestimable advantage to see with one’s own eyes the birthplaces of the authors of the sacred writings, and their surroundings, and to be able to speak from personal experience and observation. The manners and customs of the people in the East are so un- changeable that we are transferred, as if by magic, to the age of the patriarchs, prophets and apostles. A flood of light is thrown on the meaning of many passages of Scrip- ture which appear strange at a distance, but quite natural on the spot. The thoughtful traveler fills his memory with scenes more valuable to him than any number of books; whenever he reads afterwards of the visits of Abraham, Jo- seph and Jacob to Egypt, the miracles of Moses, the wan- derings of the Israelites, of Hebron, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Dead Sea, the River Jordan, the Lake of Gennesaret, Mount Hermon, the Cedars of Lebanon, Jerusalem, Beth- any, Gethsemane, and Mount Olivet, the places and scenes rise before him with a vividness they never had before. The ruinous condition of the Lands of the Bible may di- minish the poetry, but the impression of the reality is deep- ened. A sound and correct historical understanding of the Bible has gained much from travelers who have made a study of the land where the Book was written, and it will gain still more in time to come. For the Holy Scriptures have a human body as well as a divine soul; they strike WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 109 their roots deep into the soil from which they sprang; while their ideas soar to heaven, they are thoroughly orien- tal, and yet wonderfully adapted for all mankind, in all ages of the world.* And now, at the very outset of our journeyings in Egypt, the question arises, What shall we write? The land of the Nile is so rich in historic interest and sacred associa- tion that the wandering editor finds no lack of material, and these letters might be expanded into volumes without ex- hausting the subject. To select from the great mass of ma- terial such matter as will be best suited and of the greatest interest and benefit to our readers, is a matter of consider- able importance. A glance at the magnitude of the sub- ject will more fully illustrate our meaning. The history of Egypt dates far back into the ages of antiquity, and fades away among the earliest traditions of the human race. When God called Abram from his home in the land of Mesopotamia to go “ unto a land that I will shew thee,” a prosperous nation with considerable knowl- edge of the arts and sciences dwelt in Egypt. Civilization prevailed, and the records show that, for centuries before Abram’s call, the Pharaohs reigned in the land of the Nile. They founded cities, built temples and pyramids, erected monuments, and cut immense tombs in the rocks, the ruins of which are the wonder of the world to this day. After Abram left his own country and settled in Canaan, the his- tory of Egypt touches the Bible narrative at many points; and no country in the world, outside of the Holy Land it- self, has so many associations directly connected with the Bible record. The world owes a debt of gratitude to Egypt that is not fully recognized. It preserved the Jewish race. Soon *Schaff, “ Through Bible Lands.” no WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. after Abram made his home in Palestine he was compelled by famine to seek food from the fertile soil on the banks of the Nile, “And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land.” Gen. 12: 10. Two hundred years later we have the beautiful story of Joseph, known wherever the Bible is read, and again the Hebrews are pre- served. And Jacob said to his sons, “ I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.” The corn was bought, the line of Judah was preserved, and Egypt gave to the world a great law-giver, Moses the Hebrew. Fifteen hundred years later a babe, greater than Pharaoh, greater than Moses, greater than the prophets, was carried from Bethlehem down into Egypt. The Son of God, the Savior of the world was preserved from the cruel hatred of Herod, and the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, “ Out of Egypt have I called my son.” We have taken but a glimpse of the rich mass of ma- terials from which we are to draw our letters. The very richness of the field makes the task of writing the more dif- ficult. What to select that will be most interesting and in- structive is not so easy to decide. We shall, however, do the best we can in culling from the abundant material at hand. To write about all that is of interest in the land of the Pharaohs would be to write many volumes. From Port Said to Cairo we travel first by Egyptian mail boat on the Suez Canal to Ismailia, and thence by rail to the capital of modern Egypt. The Suez Canal, which unites the waters of the Medi- terranean and Red Seas, is a wonderful achievement of engineering skill. It is one hundred miles in length, seventy-two feet wide at the bottom, and from two hun- WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Ill dred to three hundred and sixty feet wide on the surface. A regular depth of twenty-six feet of water is maintained, so that the largest ships may pass through. The canal is controlled by English capital, but is open to the vessels of all nations. Two dollars is charged for each passenger who passes through the canal, and the same amount for each ton of freight. The large revenue thus collected keeps the canal in repair and pays a handsome dividend on the capital. From Ismailia to Cairo by rail, a distance of ninety- eight miles, we pass over a part of the Arabian Desert, and have an amount of dust and sand that makes breathing a difficult matter. The compartments are filled with dust and by the time we reach Cairo our clothing has entire- ly changed color, being literally covered with the white dust of the desert. Forty miles of desert travel brings us to the Land of Goshen, where the sons of Jacob took up their abode when they went down into Egypt. “ And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren arc come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of ac- tivity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle." Gen. 47: 5, 6. Unto this day the Land of Goshen is fertile. Canals lead the waters from the Nile to this favored dis- trict, and its green fields look especially attractive after the desert trip. Crossing over the Land of Goshen we pass by Tell El Ychudiyeh (Hill of the Jews). Here Onias the high priest, B. C. 146, under the protection of Ptolemy Philometor, built a temple for the use of his countrymen who had been expelled from Palestine. When it was said to him that no 1 1 2 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. true temple could exist except at Jerusalem, he quoted in answer the language of Isaiah, “ In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.” Isa. 19: 19. But we leave the Land of Goshen for a later and more extended visit, when we hope to visit the ruins of the treasure cities of Pithom and Raamses, built by the Israel- ites for the Pharaoh of the oppression, Rameses II. “ Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.” Ex. 1: n. These important cities have recently been discovered and exca- vated by the Egyptian Exploration Society, and add addi- tional proof to the already great mass of evidence of the truth of the Book of God. We shall have something more to say of Goshen on our return from Ethiopia. From the window of our compartment we see in the distance a large city with numerous mosques and minarets. As we draw nearer to the place we have a glimpse of the top of a great pyramid, and all doubt as to the name of the city vanishes. It can be no other than Cairo, the city of the Khaliffs. Our train pulls into a large depot, and we are at once surrounded by a yelling mob of Arab donkey-boys, guides and cab-drivers. The noise is deafening, and con- fusion reigns supreme. Having taken the precaution to notify the proprietor of the Khedival Hotel of our arrival, we remain quietly in the car until we hear some one call- ing, “ Mr. Mee-ler.” It is the commissionnaire of the ho- tel, who speaks a few words in English. Calling him to us, we place our baggage and ourselves in his charge, and are soon rid of the crowd and comfortably located in a quiet, pleasant, home-like hotel. Cairo is the one great oriental city in the world. It has an estimated population of four hundred thousand souls. General View of Cairo, with the Pyramids in the Distance. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 1 13 Among its permanent residents may be found Italians Frenchmen, Germans, Englishmen, Americans, Austrians, Greeks, together with Egyptians, Arabians, Fellah Settlers, Copts, Jews, Northern Africans, Beduins, Syrians, Persians, Indians, Negroes, and other oriental races. With its mixed population and peculiar customs it is one of the most inter- esting cities in the world. The business streets on which the retail shops are lo- cated, “ bazaars,” as they are called here, present a striking appearance, and are filled with strange sights and scenes. We have traveled from the New World to the Old, but here in this oriental city is a world entirely new to us. Here we have presented to us in the same street the contrasts be- tween barbarous, half-civilized and civilized life. It is a kind of mosaic of the customs and habits of many nations of the earth. It has well been called a living museum of all imaginable and unimaginable phases of existence, of re- finement and degeneracy, of civilization and barbarism, of knowledge and ignorance, of Paganism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism. Of the Muski, the principal business street, Baedeker says, “ The busy traffic in this street often presents an in- terminably ravelled and twisted string of men, women, and animals, of walkers, riders and carriages of every descrip- tion. Add to this the cracking of drivers’ whips, the jing- ling of the money at the tables of the changers, established at the corner of every street, the rattling of the brazen cups of the water-carriers, the moaning of the camels, the bray- ing of donkeys, and barking of dogs, and you have a per- fect pandemonium.” Then, too, this great mass of moving, struggling hu- manity presents almost every variety of costume and style of dress. Here are the fashionably-dressed Europeans, el- 1 14 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. bowing the scantily-clad Ethiopian from Upper Nubia; and between these two extremes may be seen a wonderful varie- ty of wearing apparel. Here are turbaned Turks, with bag- gy trousers and richly embroidered vestments; the Beduin of the desert, with simple robe and highly-colored head- dress, kept in place by a black cord, half an inch thick, from which hang heavy tassels; the descendants of Mo- hammed in flowing robes and green turbans; the Nubian, bare-headed, bare-armed and bare-legged, his dark skin glistening in the bright sunlight; the richly-dressed, closely-veiled women of the harem, enveloped in great robes of black silk; the poorer women with a simple blue gown and a veil covering the lower part of the face, with a profusion of copper earrings, bracelets, ankle-rings, and, in the case of the inhabitants of Upper Egypt, nose-rings. All these go to make up a scene as bewildering as it is possible to imagine and leave on the mind of the traveler an impression not soon to be forgotten. The Elder and the writer threaded the business streets of Cairo the second day after our arrival. We selected the afternoon, when the scene is most animated. We were mounted on trusty little donkeys, and our only attendants were two intelligent Arab donkey-boys. One of them, Ali, spoke a little English, of which he seemed very proud. At the word “ Yallah,” which is Arabic for forward, we started on our tour of the shops and bazaars of Cairo, and we en- joyed an excellent opportunity of seeing the busy streets and the many phases of life which they present. It was an interesting ride. The denseness of the crowd, as it moved slowly forward, seemed at times to wholly block our way, but our donkey-boys, Hammar, as they are called here, elbowed a passageway for us and we got through in safety. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. II5 Every department of business is kept separate, and many of the articles offered for sale are manufactured on the streets. We pass through a street wholly given up to the shoemakers, and here are made and sold the red and yellow slippers worn by the natives. In another street are the booksellers and bookbinders, and you may see the pro- cess of binding books carried on in the streets. So, too, the brass beaters, the silversmiths, the wood-workers, and other craftsmen carry on their work in the open air. The entire business of the city is carried on in this way, and it presents a striking contrast to our methods of business at home. One of the familiar sights in Cairo is that of the Sais, or outrunners. This ancient custom is still main- tained. Before the carriages of the wealthy one or two men run, giving notice of the coming of the carriage, and clearing the way for it. We saw them a number of times and were impressed with their fleetness of foot and wonder- ful power of endurance. In the broad avenues they run before the fast trotting horses and manage to keep well in the lead. The custom is an eastern one and is as old as the Bible. Elijah the prophet performed this service at one time for Ahab. “ And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jczreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” I Kings 18: 44-46. Then there is the sakka, or water-carrier, with his goat- skin of water slung across his back and shoulders, carrying the water from the Nile to the houses, or offering to sell it Il6 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. to the people in the streets. He offers a drink in small brazen cups, which he rattles in his hands, calling out to the passers to come and buy. It was from this ancient cus- tom of calling to the thirsty to come and buy water that the beautiful figure, found in Isa. 55: I, was drawn, “ Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” The sakka also serves in the capacity of a street sprinkler. With his goatskin bottle filled with water (and they hold from five to ten gallons, according to size) he takes the neck in his hand and, by a dextrous movement of the hand and arm, throws the water in a shower of spray for a considerable distance all around him. We saw a number of men engaged at this kind of work. It is surpris- ing to see how far they could throw the water and how well and rapidly they sprinkled the dusty streets. He carries his heavy burden from the Nile, and is but poorly paid for his work. He tries to lighten his toil by repeating in a monotone the words, “ Ya auwad Allah!' (May God rec- ompense me.) The donkeys and donkey-boys are an important insti- tution in Cairo. They supply the place of cabs and street railways for those who do not care to pay the high price asked for carriages. For a short ride inside the city you pay from five to ten cents, according to distance. Or you may hire a donkey and boy by the day for less than one dollar. The donkey and the boy always go together, and it is usual, after a day’s ride, to give the latter a piaster (about five cents) as backsheesh. After a little practice, donkey-riding becomes an easy, comfortable and very con- venient mode of travel. The animals are gentle and have an easy pace, even when they gallop, and the boys are An Egyptian Donkey-Boy. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. ”7 bright and intelligent. Many of them speak a little Eng- lish. They have wonderful powers of endurance. Our boys followed us one day some fifteen miles, nearly half the distance being across the sandy desert to Sakkara, and the entire journey was made in three hours. They are always anxious to talk and learn more of our language. They never tire of praising their donkeys, and we hear many times repeated that ours is “ very good don- key, he understand English.” One of our boys, whose name was Abdul Moses, was exceptionally bright and in- telligent. We asked him if he made much money. His reply was: “ Sometimes money plenty, sometimes no mon- ey. When money plenty, Moses have plenty friends; ev- erybody say, ‘ Good morning, Moses;’ when money finish, Moses finish.” Even the donkey-boys in Egypt have learned the lesson that prosperity brings many friends, whilst adversity sees them drop away one by one. The sentence, “When money finish, Moses finish,” though spoken by a simple Arab donkey-boy, tells the experience of thousands all over this broad earth, who, when they lost their money, lost their fawning friends. While this is true, we are glad to know that there are friends who are true, even in adversity, and, above all, that there is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Of this Friend the Arab donkey-boy has no knowledge; and what a field is open here for the missionary of the cross! At this writing we are in Nubia, the Ethiopia or Cush of the Bible. We are in the enjoyment of excellent health. Hitherto the Lord has been our helper, and we praise his holy name. Our mail reached us at Assuan on the borderland of Nubia. How glad we were to get good news from home. The letters were written and mailed nearly a month before WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 1 1 8 we received them. It brought very vividly to mind the fact that we were many thousand miles from home and loved ones. And while we were glad to hear from them and would be loath to do without letters, yet they brought, to the writer’s heart at least, the yearning for home, the meaning of which is known only to those who have felt it. CHAPTER VII. The Pyramid of Cheops.— Climbing the Great Pyramid. — View from the Top. — The Interior. — Grand Gallery. — The King's Chamber. — The Queen's Chamber. — The Sphinx. — The Granite Temple. I ’VERYTHING fears time, but time fears the Pyra- mids,” wrote an Arabian physician ( Abdellatiff ) at the close of the eleventh century. Eight, hundred (cf^eS years have been numbered in the flight of time since the Arabian wrote, and still the old pyramids, old when Abraham first visited Egypt, older still when Mo- ses was born, stand in their solitary grandeur on the verge of the Libyan desert plain. Time has dealt gently with these huge structures, and, although the Greeks, Romans, and Saracens robbed them of their polished granite casing, they are as imposing in their grandeur to-day as they were a thousand years ago. They are standing yet, one of the wonders of the world, and they will doubtless stand until it shall be declared that time shall be no more. “ A visit to the pyramids,” says Dr. Schaff, “ is an event in a man’s life. It is worth a visit to Egypt. The pyramids and the sphinxes are the fittest symbols, the best welcome, and the best farewell to the land of the Pharaohs, who themselves rose like pyramids, in solitary grandeur, far above the desert plain of slavery around them.” We are not prepared to say that the pyramids are worth a trip from America to Egypt, but having come to Egypt, no one would think of going away without seeing these great mass- es of masonry. 119 120 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Our visit to the pyramids was made Dec. 26, 1892, a day long to be remembered. A carriage drive of seven miles, through the streets of Cairo, across the Nile bridge, along a splendid road (completely shaded by rows of aca- cia trees) on which we met numerous caravans of camels on their way to Cairo, brought us to the edge of the desert. On the way we caught occasional glimpses of pyramids, and as we approached them they seemed to grow in size. But it was not until the edge of the desert was reached, the long, sandy slope and the rocky platform had been climbed, and we stood at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, that we realized how stupendous the great struc- ture was. The effect was quite overwhelming. The pyra- mid shuts off the line of the horizon, and hides behind its massive squares six smaller structures of the same charac- ter. Standing on the rocky platfqrm which forms the foun- dation of the Great Pyramid, we had our first realization of its extent and magnitude. We had seen pictures of Cheops, a name given to the largest pyramid, in our school-books forty-five years ago. Since then we have read numer- ous interesting descriptions of it, and, especially during the last few years, we have carefully studied the plan of its construction and its measurements. We have also exam- ined photographs and drawings of it, and yet we were only acquainted with its general appearance and form. Of its size we really knew but little save the figures, which fail to convey to the mind the reality. We knew that its base originally covered an area of sixty-five thousand square feet, that each of its four base lines was seven hundred and sixty-eight feet long, that it was nearly five hundred feet high, that it contained no less than three and a quarter million cubic feet of masonry, and The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 122 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. that the entire weight of the stones in the structure was more than seven million tons. But these figures, with which we were familiar, had not been fully grasped by the mind. They had not given to us an adequate conception of the reality. In order to obtain this, one must stand at the foot of the monster, walk the length of each of its four sides, climb step after step of its Cyclopean masonry, until, wearied by the exertion, he sinks down to rest on the top- most tier. Only after an experience of this kind did we fully realize the great magnitude of this; the most colossal structure ever erected by human hands. The campus of Mount Morris College contains seven acres. If we add as much more to this, so as to make a square plat of ground containing fourteen acres, we shall have a piece of ground about the size of that originally cov- ered by the Great Pyramid. If it were farmed it would re- quire a man with two horses seven days to plough it, and in some of our western states would produce a thousand bushels of corn. On this plat of ground containing more than thirteen acres the builders of the pyramid erected a four-sided structure, the greatest the world has ever seen. It is fifty- three feet higher than the dome of St. Peter’s church in Rome and is within a few feet as high as the Washington Monument. There are two hundred and nine courses of squared blocks of stone cut and fit together with wonderful accuracy. The courses differ in thickness, the thickest be- ing four feet and eight inches and the next four feet. iJp to the fiftieth course the blocks are not less than th'se feet thick. From this to the top they decrease in thickness un- til they fall below two feet. P’ord says these blocks of rock were laid course upon course, on this foundation of thirteen acres, up, and still up, stone upon stone, to the im- WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 123 mense height of nearly five hundred feet. These solid blocks of rock, one of which it would take an average of two hundred men to raise an eighth of an inch from the ground, were lifted high up in the air, and swung into their destined places with an exactness that varies not a fraction of an inch. By what machinery, what derricks and levers and pulleys, what engineering contrivances these massive blocks were thus raised and placed in position, the science of this boasted nineteenth century cannot even guess. These practical illustrations will assist us in obtaining an idea of the extent and magnitude of Cheops. When were the great pyramids built, and what were they built for? These questions have been asked and nev- er fully answered. Various dates are assigned as the time of their construction, ranging from B. C. 2,000 to B. C. 3,000. We shall not enter upon a discussion of this ques- tion. Space forbids, and then volumes have already been written upon the question involved. An examination of the subject leads us to the conclusion that they have stood on the banks of the Nile for more than four thousand years. Herodotus, who is called the father of history, and who wrote four hundred and fifteen years before Christ, says that the Great Pyramid was built by Cheops, and that he employed one hundred thousand men in the work. “ They took ten years to make the road for the transport of the stone, which, in my opinion, must have been almost as la- borious a task as the building of the pyramid itself; for the length of the road was five stadia (one thousand and seven- teen yards); its breadth is ten fathoms (sixty feet), and its height, at the highest places is eight fathoms (forty-eight feet), and it is constructed entirely of polished stone, with 124 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. figures engraved on it.* Ten years were thus consumed in making this road, and the subterranean chambers on the hill occupied by the pyramids. . . . Now the construc- tion of the pyramids occupied twenty years. Each of the sides, which face the different points of the compass, for there are four sides measuring eight pletra (eight hundred and twenty feet), and the height is the same. It is covered with polished stones, well jointed, none of which are less than thirty feet long. “This pyrmaid was first built in the form of a flight of steps. After the workmen had completed the pyramid in this form, they raised the other stones, used for the incrus- tation, by means of machines, made of short beams, from the ground tc the first tier of steps; and after the stone was placed there it was raised to the second tier by another ma- chine; for there were as many machines as there were tiers of steps; or perhaps the same machine, if it was easily moved, was raised from one tier to the other, as it was re- quired for lifting the stones. The highest part of the pyr- amid was thus finished first, the parts adjoining it were taken next, and the lowest part, next to the earth, was completed last.y ” As to the object for which they were built, it was the opinion of all who had examined the pyramids that they were intended as tombs for the bodies of the kings who constructed them. In 1837 Col. Howard Nyse made some measurements of the Great Pyramid, and suggested that it was not built for a tomb, but that it embodied the highest development of scientific skill, and that it contained a prophecy of the first and second coming of Christ. This *This road is still traceable. fRecent investigations confirm this account of the building of the pyramids. Of course it will be understood that the latter part of the description refers to the putting on of the outside layer of polished granite stones. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 125 theory was carried farther by John Taylor, of London, from 1859 to 1864. It however remained for Mr. Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal of Scotland, to fully complete the the- ory thus advanced. In 1874 Prof. Smyth with his wife spent four months at the Great Pyramid, and carefully measured it, examined its mathematical features and proportions. He had at his command the best mathematical and scientific instruments, and made very careful and painstaking measurements. His conclusions are given at great length in his works, “Life and Work at the Great Pyramid,” and, “Our Inheri- tance in the Great Pyramid,” in four volumes. We are in- debted tc Dr. Schaff for the following synopsis of Prof. Smyth’s theory.* He finds the proper solution of the riddle of this pyr- amid, not in the hieroglyphic science of Egypt, but in the mathematical and physical science of our day. Its mes- sage is expressed not in any written or spoken language, but in facts and features now interpreted by science. Ac- cordingly the pyramid is a prophetic parable in stone, con- structed on the principles of science, to convey a new proof to men in the present age of the existence of a per- sonal God, his supernatural interference in patriarchal times, and his revelation of the first and second advent of Christ. The pyramid stands at the apex (or rather ten miles south of the apex of the delta of the Nile), and m the centre of the habitable globe, or the land surface of the earth. It stands four square on the thirtieth parallel of latitude, its four sides facing exactly the four points of the compass, — north, south, east, and west. There are, in each side of the base, just three hundred and sixty-five and one- fourth cubits, which is the precise number of days in *" Through Bible Lands.” Dr. Philip Schaff. 126 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. the year with six hours added. Its chief corner-stone is not at the base, but at the top, the apex, and symbolizes Christ, “the head stone of the corner.” Ps. 1 1 8 : 22. It has no trace of idolatry in writing, painting, or sculpture. The lidle and empty coffer in the King’s Chamber was never intended for a sarcophagus or royal tomb, but it is a metro- logical jo . nument, or standard of measure of capacity for all ages and nations, equivalent to the laver of the He- brews and the four quarters of English measure. It ac- complishes the mathematical feat of squaring the circle, the height being to the circumference of the base as the radi- us is to the circumference of a circle. The very name of the pyramid means “measure of wheat” (from puros , wheat, and metron, measure). The Grand Gallery, which leads to the King’s Chamber, symbolizes the Christian dis- pensation, and indicates in pyramid inches the thirty-three years of the Savior’s earth life. The first ascending pas- sage represents the Mosaic dispensation, the other narrow passages mean lower religions. Such profound designs and wisdom can only be traced to divine revelation, like the building of the tabernacle by Moses. The Great Pyr- amid though in Egypt, was not of Egypt, but stands in contrast to Egyptian idolatry and beast worship. It was probably built by Melchisedec, the friend of Abraham, the worshiper of the only True God, the priest-king who typi- fied our Savior. He was that mysterious stranger, the Shepherd “ Philitis” or Philition, i. e., a Philistian from Pal- estine, who, as Herodotus was informed, fed his flocks at G^ezeh, at the place and at the time when the Great Pyra- mid was built, and took some part in it. Cheops merely furnished the workmen and the material for his royal sepul- chre; but Melchisedec executed his plan, revealed to him from God, for a monument of the pure faith, in the midst WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Vl’J of surrounding idolatry, and as a sign and wonder for aft- er ages. Such is the theory given to the world by Prof. Smyth, a man eminent for his learning and acquirements in scien- tific work. Since the publication of his works on the pyr- amid, a number of writers, both English and American, have accepted his views, and have also written and pub- lished books on the subject. No one can dispute the correctness of the Professor’s measurements; but the con- clusion he draws, and the speculations in which he indulges, meet the objections of the best Egyptian scholars, and the theory seems to meet less favor now than it did twenty years ago. Our readers will have noticed the statement that the Great Pyramid stands exactly on the thirtieth parallel of North Latitude and that its four sides face the four points of the compass. The exact ami scientific manner in which , this has been done leaves no doubt that the builders had a very correct and thorough knowledge of astronomy. The placing of a building exactly with the points of the compass is called by astronomers orientation. Richard Proctor, one of the greatest of modern astron omcrs, says: “ I think if there is one purpose among, prob- ably, many which the builders had in their thoughts which can be unmistakably inferred from the pyramids them- selves, independently of all traditions, it is the purpose of constructing edifices which should enable men to obser/e the heavenly bodies in some way not otherwise obtainable. If the orienting of the faces of the pyramids, that is, plac- ing them to the points of the compass, had been effected in some such way as is used in the orienting of most of our churches and cathedrals, — that is in a manner sufficiently exact as icsted by ordinary observation, — it might reason- 128 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. ably enough be inferred, that having to erect square build- ings for any purpose whatever, men were likely enough to set them four square to the cardinal points, and that there- fore no stress can be laid on this feature of the pyramids’ construction. But when we find that the orienting of the pyramid has been effected with extreme care, that in the case of the Great Pyramid, which is typical of its kind, the orienting bears the closest astronomical scrutiny, we can not doubt that this feature indicates an astronomical pur- pose as surely as it indicates astronomical methods.”* Prof. Smyth in his measurements used the finest and most accurate astronomical instruments of this wonderful age of invention and improvement, and he found that the men who built the Great Pyramid more than four thousand years ago measured just as accurately as he could, that they found the center of that circle along which the Pole Star moves, found the spot in the heavens to which the earth’s polar axis points — found the true north and reared a mighty building accordingly. And there it stands to- day, displaying a scientific knowledge equal to anything attained in this boasted age.f We climbed to the top of the Great Pyramid, -a feat of some difficulty, when our two hundred pounds avoirdupois is taken into consideration; but with the help of three Arabs, and a half hour’s climbing and resting, we reached the top and found a platform thirty feet square. The Arabs who assisted in the ascent by pushing and pulling were strong, athletic fellows. They understand their business, which is to take travelers up and down and get all the backsheesh out of them they possibly can. They speak English, and encouraged me on the way up by * Contemporary Review, September, 1879. f •* The Great Pyramid,” page 29. Climbing the Great Pyramid. 130 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. saying, “You go up very good, very good Arab, you give me backsheesh.” From the top of Cheops a magnificent view is had of the Nile Valley and the desert. The living green of the garden-like fields, and the yellow sand of the desert meet, and the line between the two is sharply marked. It is a picture of life and death set in sharp and striking contrast The fertile fields, receiving the life-giving waters of the Nile, are teeming with living green. Groves of palm trees, stately and majestic, dot all the plain to the- east. The City of Cairo, with its mosques, minarets, citadel and domes, appears beyond the Nile like a jewel in a setting of emerald green. To the west an ocean of sand stretches away, far beyond the line of human vision. Silent and mysterious, it is a fit emblem of death. To the south the Nile, like a silver thread in a ribbon of green, reaches out toward the Nubian border. It is a wonderful panorama, and can be seen from no other spot in the world except from the top of the Great Pyramid. The descent of the pyramid, while not so difficult as the ascent, is exceedingly trying to the muscles of the low- er limbs, and one feels the effects for days after the exer- cise has been taken. After coming down we were beset on all sides by demands for backsheesh. Our guides who had been fully and amply paid for their service were now ask- ing for money with as much earnestness as if they had not been paid a cent. Even the dignified sheik of tb ~ pyra- mids, as the chief man of the Arab village is called, laid claim to a gratuity after we had paid him in full the price agreed upon. Out of sheer necessity, to rid ourselves of the importunate crowd, we Distributed a few small coins and hurriedly left them comparing what they had received. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. THIRD PYRAMID ST COW O PYRAMID. Diagram of the Great Pyramid. we had an abundance of pure fresh air and plenty of light. In the interior the darkness of Egypt is felt, the air is hot Having climbed to the top of the Great Pyramid we determined to explore its interior. This was, in some re- spects, a more difficult task than the first. On the outside 132 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. and stifling and smells strongly of bats. Most of the inte- rior passageways are low and narrow and the steep floors are very slippery. Here we must stoop and crawl to con- quer. Our trustworthy guide-book tells us that travelers at all predisposed to apoplectic or fainting fits should not by any means attempt to penetrate the stifling chambers of the interior. Before going into the narrow passageway we give the following measurements from Baedeker, which are approxi- mately correct. The diagram here given will assist in ob- taining a correct idea of the interior of Cheops. The let- ters in the diagram may be plainly seen with the aid of a magnifying glass. The entrance passage CCC is three feet, four inches in height and three feet, eleven inches in width. It descends in a straight direction at an angle of twenty-six degrees and forty-one seconds, and is altogether three hundred and nineteen and a half feet in length. The passage ends at F, a subterranean chamber excavated in the solid rock on which the pyramid rests. This chamber is not now accessi- ble. At DD on the diagram is the first ascending passage, one hundred and twenty-three feet in length. It ascends at the same angle as the first and reaches the Grand Gal- lery, L, and through it the King’s Chamber, O. TT are air shafts made for the purpose of ventilating the King’s Chamber. They are six by eight inches. The one on the north side is two hundred and thirty-four and the other one hundred and seventy-four feet long. At the entrance to the Grand Gallery a horizontal passage leads to the Queen’s Chamber, I. This room is eighteen feet, ten inch- es long, seventeen feet wide and twenty feet, four inches high, including the pointed roof, which consists of enor- mous blocks of rock placed obliquely and leaning against WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 133 each other, and projecting a d'istance of five and a half feet beyond the sides of the walls into the surrounding mason- ry. At the lower end of the Grand Gallery a shaft, EE, descends to the Chamber F. The dark line, XX, shows the forced passage cut and blasted by the Arabs A. D. 813-33, when they succeeded in finding the passage leading to the King’s Chamber. ZZ show the outer granite casing of the Pyramid, long since removed. VV are the cartouches 01- names of the supposed builders of the pyramid. The entrance to Cheops is on the thirteenth layer, or tier of stones, and is on the north side of the structure, forty-eight feet above the ground. Having secured compe- tent and trusty guides with a good supply of torches and candles we enter the opening and find ourselves in a dark, rapidly-descending passage, so low that we must stoop as much as possible in order to pass through. It is so steep that every step must be taken with great care. A slip would result in a serious disaster. The angle of descent is somewhat steeper than what is known as a quarter pitch comb roof. The stooping posture becomes very tiresome and makes the entrance so much the more difficult. The air is stifling hot and the sweat bursts from every pore in the body. The experience is something like a hot-air bath. After going down a distance of sixty feet we find a pas- sageway ascending at about the same angle, running in the direction of the center of the structure. Entering this and climbing up one hundred and twenty-three feet we enter the Grand Gallery, which is twenty-eight feet high, one hundred and twenty-three feet long, and seven feet at its greatest width. Here we stand erect, the first time since we entered the pyramid, and breathe and look about us with more freedom. As our torches light up the dark hall- way innumerable bats, disturbed in their slumbers, flit about 134 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. us, flapping their wings in our faces, gnashing their teeth, and emitting an odor which makes the hot, stifling air almost unendurable. But we do not think of turning back. We came to see and are not to be deterred by these difficulties. Pressing on we reach the upper end of the hall and here burning some magnesi- um wire we have a light equal to that made by e 1 e c t r i c i t v, and the beauty of the Grand Gallery is revealed to us. The work of pol- ishing and jointing the great blocks of fine- grained limestone, with which the sides and roof of the hall are formed, has been done with wonderful accu- racy. The builders of this old pyramid pos- sessed an unsurpassable and marvelous skill in masonry. So smoothly are the stones polished and so closely and evenly joined together that you could not place The Grand Gallery. the point of a needle or even the finest hair into the joints of the stones. One Wanderings in bible lands. 135 scarcely knows which to admire most, the great magnitude of the work or the wonderful skill shown by the workmen. Think of a structure containing seven million tons of solid stonework standing at least four thousand years! And the masonry of these interior chambers has not swerved a hair- breadth from the position in which it was laid so many cen- turies ago. At the end of the Grand Gallery is a small passage the entrance to which is shown in our engravings. The opening is so low that we must crawl in and through the passage, which is twenty-two feet long. After passing through we find ourselves in the King’s Chamber, the most interesting part of the pyramid. The north and south sides of the chamber are each seventeen feet in length, the east and west sides thirty-four and a half feet, and the height is nineteen feet. The floor of the chamber is one hundred and thirty-nine and a half feet above the solid rock founda- tion upon which the pyramid stands. The walls, floor and ceiling are constructed of red granite brought from the quarries at Assuan. The granite blocks are beautifully pol- ished and are fitted together with wonderful skill. We searched at some places, even with the aid of a powerful magnesium light, for the joining seams between the stones, but were unable to make them out. Nine enormous slabs of polished granite, each eighteen and a half feet long, form the roof or ceiling of this beautiful chamber. In the center stands an empty, lidless coffer or sarcophagus, one corner of which has been broken away. It is seven and a half feet long, three feet, three inches wide and three feet, four inch- es high. It was cut from a large block of granite, the mas- sive sides of which ring with a clear tone when struck a heavy blow. It bears no trace of name or inscription of any kind. What was this granite coffer used for? Was it I36 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. the sarcophagus of one of the ancient kings of Egypt, or was it, as Smyth supposes, a sacred standard of measure? Who can answer the question? Empty and lidless it was found when an entrance was forced into the King’s Cham- ber a thousand years ago, and so it stands to-day, guarding well its own secret. After spending some time in the King’s Chamber we carefully retrace our steps. The Elder and the writer, with six Arabs, compose the party. We think of the English- man who was robbed of all his possessions in these dark galleries a few years ago, but as it is not pleasant to con- template we dismiss the thought. Going down the steep stone floor one of the Arabs slips and falls, but escapes without serious injury. At last we see the glimmering light at the entrance and emerge from the awe-inspiring chambers and galleries, glad to breathe again the pure air of heaven. We turn away from the pyramid with a feeling of awe. Having climbed to the top and crawled to its centre it seems greater and more stupendous than ever. It stands alone in its grandeur, “monarch of all that human hands have reared,” and will doubtless stand until the earth and sea shall give up their dead. “ I asked of Time: ' To whom arose this high, Majestic pile, here mouldering in decay?’ He answered not, but swifter sped his way, With ceaseless pinions winnowing the sky. “To Fame I turned: ‘ Speak thou whose sons defy The waste of years and deathless works essay!’ She heaved a sigh, as one to grief a prey, And silent, downward cast her eye. “Onward I passed, but sad and thoughtful grown; When, stern in aspect, o’er the ruined shrine, I saw oblivion stalk from stone to stone. The Sphinx from the Northeast. burial-ground around the pyramids. Vedder, the great ar- tist, has painted a picture which he named “ The Secret of the Sphinx.” “ In the picture we see a brown, half-naked, toil-worn fellah laying his ear to the stone lips of a colos- sal sphinx, buried to the neck in sand. Some instinct of the old Egyptian blood tells him the creature is God-like. He is conscious of a great mystery lying far back in the past. He has, perhaps, a dim, confused notion that the Big Head knows it all, whatever it may be. He has never heard of the morning song of Memnon; but fancies, some- how, that those closed lips might speak if questioned. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 1 37 “ ‘ Dread Power! ’ I cried, ‘ tell me, whose vast design? ’ He checked my further speech, in sullen tone; ‘Whose once it was, I care not; now ’tis mine.’ ” We next visit the colossal Sphinx, about eight hun- dred steps from the Great Pyramid. It is one among the most famous monuments in Egypt. For thousands of years it has kept its silent, sleepless watch over the vast 138 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Fellah and sphinx are alone in the desert. It is night, and the stars are shining. Has he chosen the right hour? What does he seek to know? What does he hope to hear? Each must interpret for himself the secret of the sphinx.”* The Sphinx is hewn out of the natural rock, but pieces of stone have been added when necessary. It has been moulded into the shape of a colossal lion in a recum- bent posture, with a human head. The body was left in a rough shape, but the head and face were carefully finished An early Arabian writer says that the face was very pleas- ing, of a graceful and beautiful type and that one might al- most say of it “ that it smiles winningly.” The body of the lion is one hundred and fifty feet long, the paws are fifty feet long and between them is a small temple. The dis- tance from the top of the head to the pavement on which the figure rests is about seventy feet. The head is thirty feet long and the face fourteen feet wide. The ear, accord- ing to Mariette, is four and a half feet, the nose five feet, seven inches, and the mouth seven feet, seven inches in length. These measurements do not convey to the mind the immense size of the monument. One must see it to fully realize what it is. The Sphinx is now but a ruin of what it once was. The face is much mutilated, but it is still imposing in its grandeur. The Arabs call it Abu 7 hoi , “ father of terror,” derived from bel-hit, the watchful. “We shall die, and Islam shall wither away, and still that sleepless rock will be watching and watching the works of a new, busy race with the same sad, earnest eyes and the same sad, earnest mien everlastingly. You dare not mock the Sphinx.” A few steps southeast of the Sphinx is a granite tem- ple, discovered by M. Mariette in 1853. The chambers are *A. B. Edwards. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 139 kept free from sand and are easy of access. The material is alabaster and the red granite from Assuan. The archi- tecture is simple in style. The skill of the stone-cutter and mason is fully equal to that displayed in the Grand Gallery and King’s Chamber of the pyramid. The great masses of granite are shaped with exquisite skill, and the lapse of ages has not moved them a hairbreadth from where the masons laid them. We spent but two days at the Pyramids and the Sphinx, only time enough to become fully impressed with the magnitude and grandeur of these vast monuments of antiquity. The Granite Temple , the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid from the Southeast. the Author's Route. CHAPTER VIII. The Nile. — The Sakkieh and Shaduf — Memphis , the Noph of the Bible. — Sakkara. — The Tombs. — Embalming the Dead. — The Serapeum. — The Temple of Tih. — The Step Pyramid. — Our Southward Way. JjSWENTY years ago the Nile trip was one of much outd difficulty and could only be made by those who had F plenty of money to spend. Steamboats now run regularly as far south as Assuan and at stated seasons as far south as Wady Haifa and the second cataract. The cost of a trip from Cairo to the second cataract and return by tourist steamer, including all expenses for dragoman, interpreters, donkeys and camels for excursions to visit ruined temples by the way, is about three hundred and fif- ty dollars. Something must be added to this for the inev- itable demand for backsheesh. All necessary arrangements are completed and on the twenty-sixth day of December we bid farewell to Cairo and go on board the small steamer Tervfik, which is to take us as far as Assuan on our journey southward. Our object in going up the Nile is to see the ruins of the old temples and the rock-cut tombs, which reveal to us to-day the his- tory of ancient Egypt and confirm the Bible story. Here on the banks of the Nile we shall see the quarries, the tem- ples, and the tombs in which the children of Israel were made to serve. “And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.” Ex. i: 14. 142 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. M3 The Lord willing, we shall continue our journey as far south as the second cataract and visit the land of Ethiopia, the Cush of the Bible. This will take us south of the Tropic of Cancer, and we shall spend some time at least in the torrid zone of Africa. The time allotted for the journey of “ a thousand miles up the Nile” is one month, so that we shall not return to Cairo until the latter part of January, 1893. As we embark for a month’s voyage on the broad wa- ters of the Nile let us give a brief sketch of the river. The Nile is said to be the longest river in the world. It rises under the equator, and, flowing northward, empties into the Mediterranean on the northern coast of Egypt. It has been explored for thirty-five hundred miles, and is about two-thirds of a mile wide at its widest place. It flows for nearly two thousand miles without an affluent. Although for all this distance it receives the help of no inflowing stream, making its way through a frightful desert and con- stantly losing by evaporation and the water taken out for irrigation in Nubia and Egypt, yet it empties into the Med- iterranean Sea an immense volume of water. The Nile is the life of Egypt. Without it the country would be but a desert waste. The inundation of the river is caused by the heavy rainfall in Abyssinia. At the first cataract the river begins to rise about the first of June, and a steady increase goes on until the middle of July. It then remains stationary for several weeks, and then increases until its greatest height is reached in October. It then be- gins to subside and falls steadily until June, when its low- est level is reached. The average rise of the river at the first cataract, where there is a Nilometer, a gauge made to measure the overflow, is forty-five feet; at Thebes, thirty- eight feet, and at Cairo, twenty-five feet. A rise of a few 144 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. feet more or less than the average is always attended with disaster. The former causes an overflow of the embank- ments made to control the water in Lower Egypt, and the latter results in a famine. When there is a “good Nile,” as the Egyptians say, when it rises forty-five feet at Assu- an, there is general rejoicing all over the land, for it means a year of plenty for the farmers. It was on account of the continued low water in the Nile that the seven years of famine followed the seven years of plenty, caused by a “good Nile,” of which we have such an interesting account in the Bible. It will be no- ticed that Pharaoh saw the kine come up from the river, so the years of plenty and of famine came from the river. The Nile is often mentioned in the Scriptures under various names. Jeremiah says, “ Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers.” The prophet Amos also refers to the Nile as the flood of Egypt. Concerning the Nile Isaiah utters this remarkable prophecy, which has been literally fulfilled: “The Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the riv- er, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.” Isa. n: 15. Originally the Nile divid- ed a few miles north of where Cairo now is and flowed into the sea by seven mouths. These seven streams, the proph- et says, shall be smitten, and smitten they have been. To- day the Nile has two artificially-constructed openings, Dami- etta and Rosetta, by which its waters pour into the sea. Five have been dried up and men go over dryshod. How the words of the prophet have been fulfilled! WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 145 Egypt, it has been said, is the gift of the Nile, and this saying is literally true. The annual overflow leaves the ground covered with a thin coating of mud which is ex- ceedingly fertile. Even before the water has fully reced- ed from the fields, the farmer sows the seed, thus literally casting his bread upon the waters, hoping for and receiv- ing a rich return after many days. The deposit of the riv- er, he says, is not mud, but gold. The ground needs no fertilizing, and but little labor is required to prepare it for and put in the crops. A light pole is dragged over the fields and the seed is covered with mud. Two, and some- times three, abundant crops are raised in one year. When the waters recede the dry atmosphere takes up the mois- ture very rapidly, and water must be given to the growing crops. In order to accomplish this many canals are made to carry the water to the farmers from the river, and from the river and canals the water must be raised to the level of the fields. This requires an immense amount of labor, for, as the Nile recedes, the water must be raised from twenty to thirty feet. For the purpose of raising the water the sakkieh (a wa- ter-wheel) and the shaduf are principally used. The for- mer is a wheel, hung over the canal or a well dug near the river, with a double endless rope thrown over it, which reaches into the water. At regular intervals of about eighteen inches, earthen jars, holding about one gallon each, are securely fastened between the ropes. The wheel is geared to a long arm, to which oxen or camels are hitched. The wheel turns slowly, the jars go down empty on one side, come up full on the other and empty into a trough, from which the water is carried in a ditch to the fields. 146 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. The shaduf is one of the oldest and most primitive methods of raising water. It was used in Egypt when Abraham first went to that country, and, without the slight- est change or modification, it is still used to-day. It was used by the children of Israel to raise water to the brick- yard, just as it is used by the brick-makers for the same purpose here now. Some of our readers will recall the old- fashioned well-sweep, now almost entirely superseded by the pump,- — a long pole, so fastened to a beam that it swung up and down easily, at one end a heavy weight at- tached, at the other a rope and a bucket. This was pat- terned after the shaduf, which has been in use in Egypt for at least four thousand years. In the soft, steep banks of the Nile, or of the numer- ous canals which pass through the land, terraces are made about ten feet above each other. The lower one has a trench cut into it from the river. The water at the bot- tom of the trench is about two feet deep. On either side of the trench is a heavy post or a strong column built of sun-dried brick. The posts or columns stand about six feet apart. A cross-beam is firmly attached to the top of the pillars, and under this poles twelve feet long are at- tached, four feet from the heavy end, by means of strong cords made of the fiber of the palm tree. The poles are tied so that they swing up and down easily. Behind, that is, at the shorter end of the poles, the end farthest from the river, is fastened a heavy lump of clay, and from the other end hangs a rope or long palm twig, to the lower end of which is fastened a closely-woven basket, or a leathern bucket. On top of the terrace a reservoir is formed of lay- ers of reeds and palm stems, well daubed with Nile mud An Arab stands on either side of the trench; by pulling (down on the ropes the buckets are lowered and filled with The Shaduf. Raising Water in Egypt. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 149 water. The clay balls on the shorter ends of the poles raise the full buckets, the laborer guiding them and emp- tying their contents into the reservoir. From this reservoir the water is raised by the same means into another, and an- other, the number depending on the height of the banks of the river. At one place we saw four shadufs, one above the other, with eight men raising water to the level of the fields. The full page photogravure will give our readers a good idea of the shaduf. Having reached the highest reservoir, the water flows by a ditch to a series of border channels, and is then con- ducted in smaller streams through the fields that are to be watered. When the river rises the terraces, columns and reservoirs are swept away, and new ones must be con- structed every year.* The men who work at these water-raising apparatuses are a class of their own. They are tall, straight and mus- cular fellows, and are called “ fathers of the shaduf.” They stand by the river bank, lowering and raising the buckets, singing in a low monotone a plaintive melody that sounds exceedingly mournful as it is borne to us over the waters of the Nile. It seems to speak of unremitting toil and op- pression. With but a simple cloth about their loins, the “fathers of the shaduf” look like bronze statues of Hercu- les in motion as they raise the life-giving waters of the Nile to the fields of corn and wheat. In the irrigation of his fields the Egyptian uses the same methods employed when Moses lived and wrote the books of the Pentateuch. He said: “ For the land, whith- er thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: but *Kingsley’s "Egypt.” 15° WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven.” Deut. 1 1 : io, ii. After the water has been raised to the level of the fields, the Egyptian literally waters the land with his feet. Going into his little field or garden, as we have seen him do many times, often without hoe or other implement in his hand, he opens and closes the ditches with his feet, allowing the water to run here and .there, and leading it to all parts of his field. We look upon the very method of irrigation described by Moses in the Scripture quoted. The conditions named by the inspired writer are all met here. The land is flat and level, and above the delta it drinketh not the “ water of the rain of heaven.” And yet, although Egypt is, practically speaking, without rain, it is deluged with an abundance of water each year. One of the questions which came up time and again in our travels in Egypt, is why, in these days of modern im- provement and advancement, better means for irrigating the land have not been introduced. Why should not steam be used to raise the water? The question is partly an- swered in the broken and rusted engines, pumps and water- pipes, which are to be seen on the banks of the river to-day. The former ruler of Egypt sought to lighten the heavy burdens of the farmer, and placed a number of steam pumps and engines on the banks of the Nile in Upper Egypt. They were used a short time, and then the natives fell back to the old method. The farmer did not like the new plan. It was easier than the old, but fuel must be gathered for the engine, and it got out of repair. He liked the old way of doing things the best. “ Inshallah" (God willing), he said, “my fathers used the shaduf all the days of their lives. Who am I that I should depart from the ways of my fathers; am I wiser than they?” So the WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 151 engines, pumps and water-pipes rust unused on the banks of the Nile, while, at the side of them, stand the “fathers of the shaduf,” with the burning rays of the sun beating down on their naked backs, raising the water and singing their mournful song, as their fathers did forty centuries ago. It is a case of adherence to the customs of the fa- thers, more to be commended for its conservatism than for its wisdom. In Lower Egypt, and at some of the sugar plantations where the European influence is stronger, the steam engine is used in raising water from the Nile. We have been particularly struck, as we have traveled up the Nile, with the condition of the people. There is much hard work and oppression, but they seem to be well fed and contented, even happy, in their lot. Miss Marti- neau says: “ I was agreeably surprised, in my travels throughout Egypt, by the appearance of the people. About the dirt there can be no doubt, the dirt of the dwell- ings and the diseases which proceed from a want of cleanli- ness; but the people appeared to us to be sleek, well fed and cheerful. I am not sure I saw an ill-fed person in all Egypt. There are hardships enough of other kinds, abun- dance of misery to sadden the heart of the traveler; but not that, so far as we saw, of want of food. I am told, and no doubt truly, that this is owing to the law of the Koran, by which every man is bound to share what he has, even to the last mouthful, with his brother in need.” If the same rule of distribution were observed all over the world, there would be no hungry people, for there is enough for all and to spare. And now we are steaming up the Nile, which “flows through old, hushed Egypt and its sands, like some grave, mighty thought, threading a dream.” While we have been writing about river, water-wheel and shaduf, we have 152 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. reached our first stopping-place. Firmly moored to the shore is a large flatboat, on which is painted in large let- ters the name Bedrachin. It is the landing-place at the ruins of Memphis, the ancient capital of Lower Egypt. A hundred men and boys are on the shore, with near- ly as many donkeys. As there are at least three donkeys for every passenger we expect a lively time, and are not disappointed. No sooner have we stepped ashore than we are surrounded by the yelling crowd, each solicitous that we shall mount his donkey. The din and confusion are simply indescribable. We try to take a stand and see what is going on, but it is useless; we are pulled and shoved by the crowd, until at last, seeing a good-sized animal, we make a rush for him and in a few minutes are mounted and away from the yelling crowd. The Elder has also succeed- ed in mounting, and we start for a long ride to Memphis and across the desert to Sakkara and the tombs of the sa- cred Apis, known as the Serapeum. The Hebrew name for the ancient Egyptian city of Men-Nefrew (Pyramid City), known to us as Memphis, was Noph, and except in Hosea 9: 6, where it is called Mem- phis, the former name is applied to it in the Bible. It was a flourishing city when the Great Pyramid was built, and when Joseph was taken from the prison to the palace of Pharaoh to interpret the dreams of the ruler of Egypt he passed through the streets of that city. The early history is lost in the dim ages of the past, and we have not space to speak of the more recent records. Memphis, suffice it to say, is as old as the history of the country of which it was for so many centuries the proud capital. Mounted on our trusty little donkeys, we are now ready for a ride to explore the ruins of Noph, to verify the truth of the Bible, for it says: “Noph shall be waste and WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 153 desolate without an inhabitant.” Above us is the cloudless sky, from which the sun shines even in the middle of win- ter with force enough to make a sunshade quite desirable. The air is very clear, so that the most distant objects seem very near. The Great Pyramid, which stood like a sentinel over Memphis, looms up in the distance. Leaving the riv- er, the road leads through fields of growing grain. The dark green color and rank growth tell of the richness of the soil. Here and there the valley is interspersed with small groves of stately palms. We ride beneath them, glad for the little shade they afford. A short distance from the riv- er we are met by a score or more of scantily-clothed Arab children, who are clamorous for backsheesh. Then we en- ter and ride through a village composed of flat-roofed, one- story houses, built of sun-dried brick. On top of the hous- es are built small, round towers with dome-shaped roofs. Many holes are cut into the towers. They are the pigeon houses. Our dragoman told us that every time a man took a new wife he built or added several new pigeon towers to his house in honor of the event. In some places the pig- eon towers are the largest part of the house, and they give the towns of Upper Egypt a peculiar appearance. The streets of the village or town are narrow and wind- ing, and many of them end abruptly at the door of a house. On either side of the streets only bare mud walls are ob- served. Windows and window-glass are not often seen. The door serves as an opening at which to go in and out, and to admit light. Chimneys are not seen, as fires are sel- dom lighted in the house. The climate is dry and warm, and fire is not needed. Cooking is usually done outside of the houses. As rain seldom falls here the sun-dried brick last for centuries. One of the heavy, dashing rains, lasting for several days, which we often have at home, would re- 154 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. duce one of the Egyptian towns to a mud heap in a very short time. Leaving the village we approach the line of the desert, and here is to be seen a colossal statue of Rameses II, the Pharaoh who oppressed Israel. It is made of fine, hard limestone, and is forty-two feet in height. Budge says it is probably one of the statues which stood in front of the Temple of Ptah, mentioned by Herodotus and Diodorus. It bears in Egyptian characters the name of Rameses II, and with another of the same kind, rece'ntly discovered a short distance away, we have all that has been uncovered of the City of Memphis. At one time it was thirteen miles in circumference, now its former site is almost wholly cov- ered with sand. It is one of the buried cities of the Bible. The statue, referred to in the preceding paragraph, and of which our engraving is an exact reproduction, must have been magnificent before it was broken and mutilated. The features are finely cut and the face is Egyptian. Originally the statue was fifty feet high, and was one of a pair which stood in front of the temple, the other having recently been discovered in the Nile mud. We stood some time looking at this defaced, mutilated, fallen statue of the greatest of all the Pharaohs, under whose reign Israel was oppressed and Moses fled away from Egypt, “ choosing rather to suf- fer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” How appropriately the words of Isaiah apply to the mighty conqueror, “They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou Statue of Rameses II at the Site of Ancient I I / WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 157 art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.” Isa. 14: 16-19. We ride over the sand that partly covers the site of an- cient Memphis, passing the Arab village of Mitrahenny and going on to Sakkara where the dead of Noph were buried. On the way men and boys meet us, offering for sale lamps, scarabs (the sacred beetle of ancient Egypt) and other an- tiquities, some taken from the tombs, others manufactured at Cairo. One held up the mummified hand of an ancient Memphite, offering to sell it for two shillings, saying: “ Him very good mummy hand.” Reaching the tombs we look about us. There is sand everywhere. Before us is the great desert sand-waste, part of which we have just passed over. The eddies of the wind carry the yellow and white sand into ridge-like drifts, as snow is drifted on our western prairies. The lifeless, inter- minable desert reflects with lurid glare the cloudless blue sky. Everywhere around and about us is the depth of si- lence and desolation. It is the burial-place of a dead na- tion, covered with the drifting sands of the desert. “ We were standing among the tombs of those who died four thousand years ago.” And this sandy waste has once been the site of a popu- lous city, the capital of Egypt. Here Moses lived as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Here the oppressor of Israel had his court, and here he reigned sixty-seven years. Here six hundred years before Christ, long before Alexandria was founded, the city of Noph flourished, and Jeremiah wrote these words concerning the . great city, “Noph shall be waste and desolate.” Could a prophecy be more literallv fulfilled? Waste and desolation are written all 158 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. over the site of ancient Memphis. “ And without an inhab- itant.” You may search for an inhabitant in this sandy waste, but you will find none. You will meet the descend- ants of the ancient Egyptians as you ride across the desert, but their dwelling-place is at Bedrachin, on the banks of the Nile. The words of the prophet of God have come to pass to the very letter. The tombs of the wealthy class of the ancient Egyp- tians were cut in the living rock. Great sums of money were expended in this way, the size of the tomb depending upon the wealth and importance of the personage for whom it was made. The tombs were made during the lifetime of those who were to occupy them after death. Here, not in the larger chambers of the tombs, but in a secret chamber, the entrance to which was carefully hid, the body, after having been carefully embalmed, was laid away to rest. The tombs are interesting because they contain the name and often a sketch of the life of the owner. The walls are painted with scenes from the life of the ancient Egyptians, and contain many hieroglyphics, which have been read and translated, so that we can read them and know about the lives and history of these remarkable people. Singularly enough, as it may seem, the largest tombs at Sakkara are known as the Serapeum, in which, after they had been carefully embalmed, the sacred bulls of Apis were buried. “ Living, these animals were worshiped in a mag- nificent temple in Memphis; dead, they were buried in the vaults at Sakkara.” We go down into these rock-cut tombs with a trusty guide, and candles and torches to light our way. It is a huge, vaulted tunnel, divided into three parts, one of which is twelve hundred feet long, and anoth- er one-half that length. From either side of the tunnel chambers are made, in the center of which are ponderous WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 159 granite coffins thirteen feet long, eight feet wide, and twelve feet deep. We saw twenty-four of these huge sar- cophagi, cut from a single block of red granite and very highly polished. A slab of the same material, of great weight, was placed on top of the sarcophagus, closing it like a lid. The Khedive of Egypt was anxious to remove Interior of one of the Vaulted Galleries in the Serapeum at Sakkara. one of the granite coffins and place it in the modern muse- um at Cairo. His men succeeded in removing it from its chamber into the vaulted passage, but could take it no fur- ther; the inclined plane which leads to the mouth of the tunnel was an insuperable barrier. And yet the ancient Egyptians transported hundreds of these huge coffins from Syene, where the quarries are located, a distance of six hundred miles, and placed them in these chambers. In i6o WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. these great granite coffins the bodies of the sacred animals were placed for burial. We grope around in the Egyptian darkness of the sub- terranean tunnels and chambers. Our torches and candles only make the gloom and darkness apparent. Thousands of great bats, disturbed in their slumbers, flit about our heads, and make a peculiar noise like the gnashing of teeth. The air is close and warm, and the odor emitted by the bats is almost unendurable. Our dim candles and torches cast great, indistinct shadows on the rocky walls. It is a strange, weird place in which we are wandering. Our guide (he is called a dragoman here) has a quantity of mag- nesium wire, which burns with brilliancy equal to the elec- tric light. By burning wire in the chambers we are enabled to note every detail of the interior of the rooms, and the workmanship of the sarcophagi. On the walls are number- less inscriptions with dates which have an important bear- ing on the chronology of Egyptian history. They also touch the chronology of the Bible. After what seems to us a long time in the stifling atmosphere of the vaults, we grope our way to the entrance, glad to breathe the fresh, pure air of heaven again. The pomp and splendor with which the worship of Apis was surrounded, the care taken of his dead body, and the worship of the .sacred ox at Heliopolis, only a short distance from Memphis, will help us to understand more fully the cause of the apostasy of Israel in the wilderness. When they demanded of Aaron that he should make them a god, a molten calf was made, the god Apis, and when it was set up the people said: “ These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” Ex. 32: 4. They had seen divine honors paid to the calf so many times in Egypt, even by Pharaoh himself, they had worked WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 161 so long in the quarries at Syene where the coffins of Apis were made, that they had come to look upon the animal as sacred. And at Sinai, where Moses left them for only a few days, their hearts went back to the gods of Egypt and they “corrupted themselves, turning aside out of the way which the Lord commanded them.” Here is a lesson which teaches the truth of another Scripture, which says: “ Evil communications corrupt good manners.” Israel, in this long intercourse with the people of Egypt, became corrupted with idolatry, of which they were cured only after centuries of hard experience and se- vere punishment. At Sakkara we also visit the temple of Till, in which are to be seen some of the best preserved frescoes in Egypt. The pictures in bright colors give us an insight into the home life and the customs of the ancient Egyp- tians. It is remarkable how well the colors have been pre- served. They are as bright as when they were spread on the walls by the Egyptian artists thousands of years ago. Around about Sakkara are eleven small pyramids. The one known as the Step Pyramid is the most interest- ing. It consists of six stages or steps, ranging in height from twenty-nine to thirty-eight feet. Each of the steps is six and a half feet wide. The perpendicular height is one hundred and ninety-seven feet. Some authorities are of the opinion that the Step Pyramid is older than Cheops. The interior contains a number of passages and chambers. Mariette, after a care- ful examination of the chambers, was led to conclude that this pyramid had once contained the tombs of Apis. On our return to the steamer we secure some of the antiquities offered for sale by the wayside venders. We have a lamp that was probably used four thousand years 162 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. ago, with several stone-cut scarabs nearly as old, which we hope to bring home with us. The day has been one of hard work, but of intense in- terest. The shades of evening are gathering around us as The Step Pyramid at Sakkara. we recross the site of ancient Memphis. Our thoughts are carried back to the time when Moses and Aaron went be- fore Pharaoh and demanded that he should let Israel go. “In the city, now buried beneath mouldering heaps and desert sand, the faithful and fearless leader braved the wrath of the King; for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible. This was the spot where Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead! Our thoughts pass away from the palaces, smitten with this sudden and sore be- reavement, to the homes of the enslaved race, waiting se- curely for the signal to depart, whilst through faith they WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 163 ‘kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest He that destroyed the first born should touch them.’ Great as was the historical importance of this event, seeing that it was the birth of a nation, it gains yet deeper significance in the fact that it was a type of the great Antitype: ‘ For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.’ ”* We are again on our way southward. The sun, in full- orbed glory, has sunk behind the western desert, the moon, nearly full, with pale light, rises in the heavens. Evenings like this we never see in our moist, northern climates. The lines of Addison have a new meaning when read on such an evening as this: “ Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale. And, nightly, to the listening earth, Repeats the story of her birth; Whilst all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole.” So passed our first day on the Nile. Can it ever be forgotten? ♦Manning, "Land of the Pharaohs.” CHAPTER IX. Nile Scenes. — Our Pilot. — The Natives and their Villages. — Death and Burial. — The School and the Schoobnaster. — The Doom Palm. — The Papyrus Reed. — Fulfillment of Prophecy. ERE we to write the record of each day’s experi- ence and impressions, as we journey up and down in this wonderland of the Nile, volumes would not contain all that might be written. Our journey up the river is made almost entirely by daylight. Owing to the shifting channel and the deposit of mud, navigation is rendered somewhat difficult, and the Nile pilots prefer to run their boats by the light of the sun. At the bow of the boat stands an Arab with a long pole in his hands. Every few minutes he thrusts it into the water to ascertain its depth, which he reports to the pilot by calling out in a loud voice. Notwithstanding all this precaution, our steamer was run on hidden mudbars several times, and had to be backed off and a different course taken. South of Cairo, until Assuan and the first cataract are reached, the Nile flow's through an ever widening and nar- rowing valley of rich, arable land. At places the valley is but a few yards wide, at others the desert stretches out on either side of the river, and the valley widens to a number of miles. The banks of the river thus present a constantly changing, a varying landscape. The lights and shades on the Libyan Mountains, the desert sand, and the green val- ley, are a study for an artist. Innumerable groves of great, 164 Our Pilot on the Xile, s / WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. l6 7 stately palms wave their plume-like branches in the air, giving an oriental cast to the scene. On either shore the narrow valley is covered with growing crops of maize, wheat, lentils and beans; even to the very water’s edge. Then there are the villages of the natives, built on the edge of the sandy desert, so that all the land covered by the overflow of the river may be farmed. We went into a number of the villages and found them entirely devoid of anything like cleanliness or comfort. Vermin of all kinds abound. The houses are mere mud huts, and are without furniture. One can scarcely imagine a condition so com- fortless as that of the fellah of Egypt, as the laborer is called. His lot is one of incessant toil, which continues as long as life lasts. “ He dies where he was born, after pass- ing through a life of intolerable hardships, and is buried in the sands of the desert not far from his humble home.” At Beni Hassan we rode across the plain to visit the rock-cut tombs. On the way we passed a house in which one of the inmates had just died. Long before we reached the house we heard the cry of the mourners, and the sad sound was borne to our ears long after we had passed the place. Four hours later, on our return, the body had been buried in a hastily-made grave in the sands of the desert. Again at Assuan, when walking through the streets with our dragoman, we came to a house from which the spirit of the owner had just taken its flight to the great unknown world. A score or more of men were moving slowly and with dignity about the street in front of the house, giving vent to their feelings of sorrow in a sad, mournful cry. Occasionally one and then another would take up the skirt of his outer garment and rend it, thereby manifesting more strongly the depth of his grief. These were the friends and relatives of the dead man who had come to mourn over his 1 68 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. departure. Among them was a young woman, whose voice was heard above the rest as she cried out in her grief. She was the daughter of the dead man, and presented the very picture of sorrow; her hair was unloosed, her head and face were uncovered; she cried out, as the interpreter told us, “Oh my father! my father! ! the stay and support of my life; my father is dead; my father is dead.” She also rent her garments in the abandon of her grief. We continued our walk, but the voice of the girl whose father was dead rang in our ears. The whole scene recalled the Scripture, “because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets.” The practice of rending the clothing as a sign of sor- row and great grief is as common in the East to-day as it was in Bible times. When Aaron’s sons fell before the al- tar because they offered strange fire, Moses commanded Aaron and his kinsmen not to uncover their heads nor rend their clothes.* Van Lennep says, however, that care is taken not to injure the garment by this operation. The un- dertaker who has charge of every detail procures the mourners and furnishes the robes they wear. Before the funeral procession starts he goes to each mourner and care- fully rips the central seam of his kaftan or robe, three or four inches down the breast.')* The mourner increases the rent thus made very slightly, and afterward it is carefully repaired, to be rent again when occasion requires its use. In Cairo we saw a number of funeral processions of the wealthy people. A large number of mourners were in at- tendance, the number depending on the wealth of the be- reaved family. They moved slowly through the streets, following the hearse which conveyed the dead to the tomb, *Lev. 10 : 6. fVan Lennep, “Bible Lands,” page 587, WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 169 and were followed by the relatives and friends in carriages. They cried out in mourning and made much show of sor- row. They rent their garments, but in a careful manner, so that they might easily be repaired. It could be seen that they made a business of mourning, and to us it all seemed like an empty, hollow mockery, not to be compared with the genuine sorrow and real grief of the poor girl whom we saw and heard mourning for her father in the street at Assuan. In some instances the mourners take off their outer garments and replace them with coarse, heavy sackcloth, and occasionally throw dust and ashes on their heads as a sign of their grief. This, too, is an old Bible custom: “And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.” Gen. 37: 34. When Job’s friends came to him and knew him not when they saw him, “they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.” Job 2: 12. Mr. Lane in his valuable work gives the following very accurate description of a modern funeral procession: “The first persons in the procession are six or more poor men called Yemeneeh, mostly blind, who proceed two and two, or three and three together. Walking at moderate pace, or rather slowly, they chant in melancholy tone the profession of faith, or sometimes other words. They are followed by some male relations and friends of the deceased, and in many cases by two or more persons of some sect of the Dervishes, having the flags of the order. Next follow three or four schoolboys bearing a copy of the Koran (the Mohammedan Bible) placed upon a kind of desk formed of palm-sticks, and covered over generally with an embroid- ered kerchief. These boys chant in a higher and livelier i 70 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. voice than the Yemeneeh, usually some words of a poem descriptive of the events of the last day, the judgment, etc., commencing, I assert the absolute glory of Him who createth whatever hath form, And reduceth his servants by death: Who bringeth to nought all His creatures, with mankind; They shall all lie in the graves: The absolute glory of the Lord of the East, The absolute glory of the Lord of the West, The absolute glory of the Illuminator of the two lights; The sun, to wit, and the moon; His absolute glory! how bountiful is he!’ ” The schoolboys immediately precede the coffin, which is borne head foremost. Three or four friends of the de- ceased usually carry it for a short distance; then three or four other friends, who are in like manner relieved. Be- hind the bier walk the female mourners; sometimes a group of more than a dozen or twenty, with their hair disheveled, though generally concealed by a head veil, crying and shrieking; and often the hired mourners accompany them, celebrating the praises of the deceased. Among the wom- en the relations and the domestics of the deceased are dis- tinguished by a strip of linen, or cotton stuff, or muslin, generally blue, bound around the head and tied in a single knot behind, the ends hanging down a few inches. Each of these also carries a handkerchief, usually dyed blue, which she sometimes holds over her shoulders, and at other times twirls with both hands over her head or before her face. The cries of the women, the lively chanting of the youths and the deep tones of the Yemeneeh compose a strange discord. I have seen mourning women of the lower classes fol- lowing a bier, having their faces — which were bare — and their head-coverings and bosoms besmeared with mud. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 171 The funeral procession of a man of wealth, or of the middle classes, is sometimes preceded by three or four or more camels, bearing bread and water to give to the poor at the tomb, and is composed of a more numerous and va- ried assemblage of persons. In this, besides the persons already mentioned, the led horses of the bearers, if men of rank, often follow the bier; and a buffalo, to be sacrificed at the tomb, where its flesh is to be distributed to the poor, closes the procession.* Among the poor people who dwell along the banks of the Nile the funeral rites are very simple. As soon as death comes the body is prepared for the grave with much haste, and if not too late the burial takes place the same day. If one dies before the middle of the afternoon the body is never kept until the next day. It is carefully washed and wrapped in a winding sheet; cotton is placed in the mouth, the ears, the nostrils, and under the arms. It is then placed in a coffin and raised to the shoulders of four men, who carry it to the grave. The friends and relatives follow on foot, making up the funeral procession. The whole multitude, be it large or small, “ lift up their voices and weep.” We often saw these mourning processions in Egypt, and there is something unutterably sad about it all. The grave is dug a few feet deep, and then — at the bottom and side — a niche is made in which the body is placed in its winding sheet, coffinless. If it has been car- ried to the grave in a coffin, the body is taken out and placed in the ground as before described. The same coffin is used to convey other bodies to the grave, and serves the purpose of a hearse. The niche keeps the earth from fall- ing on the body when the grave is filled. Small stones are placed at the head and foot of the little mound, and the ♦Lane’s “ Modern Egyptians,” II, page 294. 172 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. mourners depart from the tomb. South of Wady Haifa we saw many graves, the tops of which were covered with beautiful agate pebbles which abound there in the desert, and which have been beautifully polished by the sands that have blown over them. On either side of the river the shaduf and the sakkieh are to be seen in great numbers. The song of the “fathers of the shaduf,” as they lift the water from the river to the fields, is constantly borne to us across the waters of the Nile. Then, too, the creaking noise of the water-wheels is heard day and night; for at this season of the year the growing crops must have water. The oxen and driver are changed, and the wheel goes on with its creaking noise. It is loud enough at places to keep us awake at night, and leads us to the conclusion that oil is a stranger to the sakkieh. Another method of lifting water from the Nile is occa- sionally seen. Two men standing by the side of the river have two ropes with a water-tight basket fastened in the center. Taking the opposite ends of the ropes in their hands and facing each other, they dip the basket into the water, filling it and then, with a swinging motion of the ropes, dextrously throwing the water into the reservoir on the banks. This method is resorted to only where the banks of the stream are low; it is much more laborious than working the shaduf. Looking over the fields of growing wheat we notice the farmers sowing dust on the grain, much the same as we used to sow plaster on the clover fields in Maryland thirty- five years ago. It is thought here that it is helpful to the crops. When we visited the ruined temples in Upper Egypt and Nubia, we found men and women busily en- gaged in digging up the earth about the temples. They WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 173 then sifted it to remove the broken crockery and pieces of stone. After completing this process, the dust was carried to the fields in sacks and baskets, on the backs of donkeys and camels, and scattered over the growing grain. Those who do this kind of work are literally covered with dust, and cannot be said to present a cleanly appearance. At Kalabshi one of the ladies of our party gave to a group of Arab women, who were carrying water in jars on their heads, a short talk on keeping themselves cleaner; she told them they ought to wash their gowns oftener. The women listened attentively to her words, through the interpreter, and then one of them said, “You go in the fields every day, spread dust on the grain, carry water-jar on your head from river, hoe in ground, pull weeds, work all day, you not so clean either; you clean, you no work.” The answer, it seemed to us, fit remarkably well. The pic- ture of the fashionably-dressed woman, whose jeweled hands never knew toil, brought a smile to the face of her friends, and the Arab women went on their way, bearing their burdens and laughing as they went. One of the very common scenes along the Nile is that of women coming down to the banks of the stream with water-jars on their heads. Wading into the river the face and hands of the water-carriers are washed, then the jars are washed and rinsed, outside and inside, and filled with water. The jars hold from three to five gallons each. After being filled they are lifted to the top of the heads of the women, where they are carefully poised, and are thus carried to the village. It is quite a singular sight to see a group of women and girls with water-jars poised on their heads. The artist caught such a group with his camera at one of the villages along the Nile and we give it to our readers on page 175. 174 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. In all the villages along the river one meets the village schoolmaster; he is an important personage; he can recite the Koran (the Mohammedan Bible) from memory, and this is his principal qualification. As a rule he can write the Arabic and has a limited knowledge of figures, but as arith- metic is not taught in the village school this knowledge is considered superfluous. The school-room is without win- dows, the door admitting the light; and the boys sit on the earthen floor. The teacher sitting in front of them repeats verses of the Koran and each boy follows him, repeating the words which are meaningless to them. Month after month they keep up this parrot-like work, and when they can recite the principal parts of the book from memory their education is finished and they are ready to graduate. Mr. Lane gives the following illustration of the igno- rance and shrew'dness of the native school-teacher. He says: “ I was lately told of a man who could neither read nor write, succeeding to the office of a schoolmaster in my neighborhood. Being able to recite the whole of the Ko- ran, he could hear the boys repeat their lessons; to write them, he employed the 1 areef ’ (or head boy in the school), pretending that his eyes were weak. A few days after he had taken this upon himself, a poor woman brought a let- ter for him to read to her from her son who had gone on a pilgrimage; the fikee pretended to read it, but said nothing, and the woman, inferring from his silence that the letter contained bad news, said to him, ‘Shall I shriek? ’ he an- swered, ‘Yes.’ ‘Shall I tear my clothes?’ she asked; he replied, ‘Yes.’ So the poor woman returned to her home, and with her household performed the lamentations and other ceremonies usual on the occasion of death. Not many days after this the son arrived, and she asked him what he could mean by causing a letter to be written stat- Egyptian Women with Water Jars. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 177 ing that he was dead? He explained the contents of the letter, and she went to the schoolmaster and begged him to inform her why he told her to shriek and tear her clothes, since the letter was to tell her that her son was well and was coming home. Not at all abashed, he said, ‘ God knows futurity; how could I know that your son would arrive in safety? It was better that you should think him dead than to be led to expect to see him and be disappointed.’ Some persons who were sitting with him praised his wisdom, ex- claiming, ‘ Truly our new fikee is a man of unusual judg- ment;’ and for a little while he found that he had raised his reputation by his blunder.” Birds along the river are very plentiful and quite tame. The stork, the white heron, pelicans, wild geese, ducks, hawks, pigeons, and the universal English sparrow abound. Some of them injure the crops. The boys who lead the flocks of sheep to pasture are armed with slings, and part of their duty is to drive the birds from the grain fields. They acquire great dexterity in the use of the sling, and can bring down a bird at a long distance. It reminded us of the lad who tended the flocks on the fields of Bethle- hem. He doubtless became familiar with the use of the sling, just as these Egyptian lads do. At least he had a steady aim and a strong arm when he felled Goliath, the champion of the Philistines. The stork and the white her- on are as tame as the domestic fowls at home. The na- tives, as a rule, are exceedingly kind to birds and animals. The Arabs will share their last mouthful with their horses, and the faithful horse often finds shelter in the tent of his master. It is much to the credit of these people that a so- ciety for the prevention of cruelty to animals is not needed here, and to the discredit of our people that such a society finds so much to do among us. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 178 The palm is the principal tree to be seen on the Nile. Sycamores and acacias are seen at some places, but the palm is the tree of Egypt. It bears an abundant crop of dates, which are highly nutritious and form an important part of the food supply of the inhabitants. The doom palm pro- duces a fruit as large as a medium-sized orange, but irregu- lar in shape, of a yellowish color, and is said to taste like gingerbread. The fruit of the doom palm was often placed in the tombs with the dead. In the museum at Cairo we saw some which had been taken out of the tomb of one of the Pharaohs who died before the birth of Moses; and al- though they were about thirty-five hundred years old they looked very much like the specimen we bought from an Arab at Assiut. In ancient times the lotus and papyrus reed were the most common plants in Egypt. The lotus was the national flower, and it may be seen in all the monuments and tem- ples. The papyrus, the leaves of which were used for writing, also abounded on the banks of the Nile. It was seen all along the banks of the river, especially in Lower Egypt. Singularly enough, this plant has entirely disap- peared. It is said that a few years ago a traveler reported having seen a single stalk of papyrus in the delta, but this is doubted. The closest search was made and failed to re- veal a single specimen of this once common water plant. It may not be generally known that the paper reed or papyrus was made the subject of prophecy, and yet it is true. Isaiah says: “ And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be ” Isa. 19: 6, 7. no more. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 179 The paper reed, the reeds and the flag have withered, have been driven away, and are no more. Thus the Word of the Lord, spoken by the prophet, has been literally ful- filled, and the paper reed, which was at one time so abun- dant here and was so important to the inhabitants of an- cient Egypt (for all their books, contracts, deeds and other documents were written on the leaves of this plant), has entirely disappeared from the country. Singularly enough, too, the only place where it is found in the East is in the Land of Palestine. Nine years ago we found the paper reed growing abundantly north of the Sea of Galilee. Why, in the natural course of things, should the papyrus become extinct in Egypt, its home, and yet continue to grow so abundantly and luxuriantly in the Holy Land? Our answer to the question is found in the prophecy of Isaiah. CHAPTER X. Temples and Tombs. — Beni Hassan. — Immortality of the Soul. — Em- balming.— Jacob and Joseph Embalmed. — An Ancient Funeral Procession. — Rock-cut Tombs at Beni Hassan. — The Chamber of the Dead. — The Tomb of Ameni. — A llusion to the Famine. N our way up the Nile we stop at a number of places to explore and inspect ancient temples and tombs, constructed at least three thousand years ago. The temples, which tell the story of ancient Egypt’s greatness, are, with few exceptions, great masses of ruins. A few of them, having been covered with the drifting sand of the desert and but recently excavated, are still in a re- markable state of preservation. The tombs, having been cut into the solid rock of the mountain side, remain unto this day, except as they have been defaced by human hands and robbed of mummies, coffins and funerary offerings. After leaving Memphis we pass several places of inter- est, which will be referred to in the succeeding chapter, and stop at Beni Ilassan. Here there are a number of very in- teresting rock-cut tombs. In order to understand fully the ancient Egyptian’s motive in spending so much time and money on his burial-place, it will be necessary to know something of his belief as to the future of the body. Brief!}', then, although shrouded by innumerable super- stitions, the ancient Egyptian believed that after the lapse of many thousand years the soul would again return to and inhabit the body. When it is known that they believed that the soul entered successively into a phoenix, a heron, a j8o Ruins of an Ancient Temple in Egypt. 182 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. swallow, a snake, a crocodile, and other animals, some idea of the superstition of the Egyptians will be apparent. But running through this mass of absurdities was the faint light }f the immortality of the soul. After all its wanderings and struggles, they believed it would live in the body again. It might be interesting to inquire whence the ancient Egyptians had their faint knowledge of the immortality of the soul. It was far from the grand light and immortality revealed in the Gospel, but yet there was in it a ray of light and truth. We believe it came to them from God. We know that he, in the olden time, made himself known to the people at “sundry times and in divers manners.” We can- not now follow this thought further. Believing, then, that at some remote period the soul would live again, not in a new body, but in the same old body it dwelt in before death, the chief concern of the an- cient Egyptian was to preserve the body after death, so that, when the soul returned, it would find the body ready for its reception. Hence the art of embalming the body was carried to such a high degree of perfection that even the features of the face have been well preserved for more than three thousand years. This is also the key to the motive which led them to spend so much time and money on their tombs. The Pharaohs, the priests, and the wealthy spent immense sums of money in cutting their tombs into the living rock and making them strong and secure. In these tombs, not in the large chambers or halls, but in a se- cret crypt, the existence of which was known to only a few of the nearest relatives and the high priest, the body was hid away. With it were placed various kinds of food, rai- ment, and articles for th- toilet. In the tomb, or rather with the body of the Pharaoh cf the oppression, there were WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 183 found, among other things, several hams of mutton, some geese (these had been embalmed), date palms, wheat, maize, lentils, beans, wine, oil, clothing, mirrors and other articles for the toilet; also books written on papyrus. We had the opportunity of seeing and examining these articles, and found them in a remarkable state of preservation. The grain, if planted, will grow, having retained the germ of life for all these centuries. The doom palms looked very much like those we found along the Nile on our trip southward. It is owing to this custom of placing so many articles in the tombs with the dead that to-day we know so much about the habits, customs, modes of life, etc., of the ancient Egyptians. As before stated, the art of embalming grew out of a belief in the immortality of the soul. In Bible times it was the universal custom to embalm the bodies of the dead. “And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.” Gen. 50: 2, 3. And when Joseph died years afterwards “they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” Gen. 50: 26. The natural conditions in Egypt were conducive to the preservation of the body after death. Without rainfall and with a very dry atmosphere, it was not a difficult matter to arrest decomposition, and the bodies became dry and hard- ened lumps of clay. Some have thought that the preserva- tion of the body through so many centuries did not agree with the Bible statement, “ Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return;” but the real meaning here is that the body, being made of earth, shall return to the earth again, and the old mummies are only preserved portions of the 1 84 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. earth, — the dust simply kept in the form which was given it in creation. It is, however, no less earth than if it were pulverized and scattered to the four winds of heaven. Our knowledge of the way the Egyptians embalmed their dead is obtained from the Greek historians, and by a careful examination of the mummified bodies. Accord- ing to Herodotus, the art was carried on by a professional body of men, appointed by law, and this is in accordance with the Scripture quoted, “ Joseph commanded his serv- ants the physicians to em- balm Jacob.” There were men duly appointed to attend to this work. A body might be embalmed in three different ways and the price varied accordingly. In the first and most ex- pensive method used, the brain and viscera were entirely removed from the body, washed in palm wine, and after be- ing covered with powdered aromatic gums were placed in jars made for the purpose, a number of which are to be seen in the Egyptian collection. The body was then filled with myrrh, cassia and other fragrant and astringent sub- stances, and was laid in natron* for seventy days. Forty days was probably the time actually spent in the work of embalming the body, but seventy days were required to pass before the burial took place. Thus we have both forty and seventy days in the Scripture quoted. After this the body was carefully washed and wrapped in fine linen, cov- ered with gum. The linen used was made in strips from three to four inches wide, and as many as four hundred Embalming. From the Ancient Tombs. ‘Native carbonate of soda. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. !8S /ards were used in swathing a single body. The cost of em balming a body in this way was a talent of silver, or about one thousand and two hundred dollars. The body of Israel was doubtless embalmed after this manner. In the second method, which cost about four hundred dollars, the brain was not removed at all, and the body was also laid in salt or natron and wrapped in linen. The third method was employed only by the poor. It consisted in injecting some strong astringents into the body, and then laying it in salt for seventy days. The cost of this method was very small. These three methods were usually em- ployed, but there was still a fourth method, adopted only by the very poor, which was to fill the cavities of the body with bitumen, and soak it in salt and hot bitumen. This process destroyed the hair and features and left the skin like paper and the bones white and brittle. After the embalming process was fully completed, the body was placed in the coffin, which was usually made of sycamore wood. In some instances two or three coffins were used, fitting into each other like a nest of boxes. We examined a number of the sycamore coffins, all of which were over three thousand years old, and they are in a re- markable state of preservation. The inner coffin lid usual- ly had an inscription, giving the name, rank and date of birth and death of the deceased. The outer coffin was cov- ered with a coat of plaster, on which was usually painted a figure, representing the body in a reclining posture. Members of the royal families were, after being em- balmed in the most costly manner, placed in great stone coffins with closely-fitting lids, made of the same material. Several fine specimens of this kind of coffins are to be seen in the collection, and they are so placed that they can be easily examined. One of these, bearing date of B . C. 3633. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 1 86 has part of the inner wooden coffin; it held the body of King Mykerinos, the builder of the third pyramid. Some of the pyramids were doubtless built as tombs for the kings. There were also rock-hewn and vaulted tombs used. The poor were buried in pits and caverns. Among the ancient Egyptians, according to Wilkinson, the funeral rites of the wealthy and especially of a royal personage were attended with great pomp. At the death of the ruler a general mourning which lasted seventy-two days was proclaimed throughout the country. The people tore their garments, all the temples were closed, sacrifices were forbidden, and no festivals were celebrated during that pe- riod. A procession of men and women to the number of two or three hundred, with their dresses attached below their breast, wandered through the streets, throwing dust upon their heads; and twice every day they sang the funer- al dirge in honor of the dead monarch, extolling his virtues and praising him in every way. A solemn fast was also ob- served; and they allowed themselves to taste neither meat nor wheaten bread, abstaining also from wine and every kind of luxury; nor did any one venture to use baths or ointments, to lie in soft beds, or in any way to gratify his appetites; giving himself up to mourning as if he had lost his best friend.* The funeral processions of an Egyptian grandee were attended with much pomp and ceremony. Representations of such processions are to be seen in the frescoes on the walls of the ancient tombs, and they are remarkably well preserved. First came a number of servants carrying ta- bles laden with fruit, cakes, flowers, vases of ointment, wine and other liquids, with three young geese and a calf for sac- rifice, chairs, and wooden tablets, napkins and other things. *" Ancient Egyptians,” page 443. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. iSj Then others bringing the small closets in which the mum- my of the deceased and of his ancestors had been kept, while receiving the funeral liturgies previous to burial, and which sometimes contained the images of the gods. They also carried daggers, bows, sandals, and fans; each man having a kerchief or napkin on his shoulder. Next came a table of offerings, couches, easy chairs, boxes and a chari- ot; and then the charioteer with a pair of horses yoked in another car, which he drove as he followed on foot, in to- ken of respect to his late master. After these were men carrying gold vases on a table, with other offerings, boxes, and a large case upon a sledge borne on poles by four men, superintended by two officers of the priestly order; then others bearing small images of his ancestors, arms, fans, the scepters, signets, collars, necklaces, and other things appertaining to his office. To these succeeded the bearers of the sacred boat, while others carried the small images of blue pottery, representing the deceased under the form of Osiris, and the bird emblematic of the soul. Following these were seven or more men bearing upon staves or wooden yokes cases filled with flowers and bottles for liba- tion; and then seven or eight women, having their heads bound with fillets, beating their breasts, throwing dust upon their heads, and uttering doleful lamentations for the de- ceased, intermixed with praises of his virtue. Next came the hearse, placed in the consecrated boat upon a sledge, drawn by four oxen and seven men, under the direction of a superintendent who regulated the march of the procession. A high functionary of the priestly or- der walked close to the boat, in which the chief mourners, the nearest female relatives of the deceased, stood or sat at either end of the coffin; and sometimes his widow, holding a child in her arms, united her lamentations with prayers 1 88 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. for her tender offspring, who added its tribute of sorrow to that of its afflicted mother. The sarcophagus was decked with flowers, and on the sides were painted alternately the emblems of stability and security. Behind the hearse followed the male relatives and friends of the deceased, some beating their breasts; others, if not giving the same tokens of grief, at least show- ing their sorrow by their silence and solemn step as they walked leaning on their long sticks. These closed the pro- cession.* Such was the funeral procession of a royal scribe or a member of the priestly order in ancient Egypt. Arriving at the tomb, the body was placed in the chamber which the deceased had prepared for it at great expense during his lifetime. Cut and chiseled in the living rock of the moun- tains, the tombs were practically indestructible. After the tombs had been cut, the face of the rocky walls, ceilings and columns was made as smooth as possi- ble, and then covered with a thin coating of plaster which was susceptible of a very fine polish. On the walls, thus prepared, were carved and painted scenes in the life of the occupant of the tomb, and generally, if the dead were of note, a brief sketch of his life was inscribed on the walls or columns. In some of the tombs of the kings a history of the wars in which they were engaged and many interesting incidents in their lives are given. Thus the tombs, with the written history on their walls and the books of papyrus laid in them with the dead, became libraries and are of great historical value. At Beni Hassan there are thirty-nine rock tombs in the face of the mountain side. We shall describe only two of the most important, or, rather, we will combine the two in ♦Abridged from “The Ancient Egyptians,” Wilkinson. WANDERINGS IN IIIBLE LANDS. I89 one description. On approaching the cliff in which the tombs are cut, the portico, twenty-one feet square, with col- umns seventeen feet high, supporting beams on which rests the slightly-arched ceiling, presents a striking appearance. It looks very much as if it had been built as the entrance to a large building. But, on going into it, we at once see ■that part of the living rock of the mountain side has been cut away, leaving columns, beams, ceiling and walls of the natural rock. Each of the columns is sixteen-sided, finely proportioned and beautifully designed. From the inner side of the portico is a door opening into a long gallery, which descends so rapidly that we walk down with difficul- ty. At the lower end of the gallery a door opens into a large chamber, and at one end of this an opening was made for the body of the dead. After the body was placed in it the opening was walled up and the whole plastered over. The walls and ceilings of the gallery are covered with paintings, figures in bas-relief, and hieroglyphics. Speaking of these tombs and the paintings and sculpture they con- tain, Hoply says: “ In these vast galleries you may wander at will and study the every-day life of men who walked the land before the days of Joseph. In these mansions of the dead mimic men and women are wrestling, fishing, plough- ing and reaping, trapping birds, giving dinner parties, being flogged, cutting their toe-nails, treading the wine- press, dancing, playing the harp, weaving linen, playing at catch ball, being shaved by the barber, playing at draughts. Verily, there is nothing new under the sun. The old, old story of life is there, told as in a picture book. Though seen through a gap of four thousand years, the eye mois- tens over it still. Here are life’s festive scenes and revels, — the wine-cup and the garland; and here its scenes of sor- row,— mourners are weeping over their dead. Nothing is WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. I90 lacking. And so, by a mystic touch of sympathy, — that touch of nature which links man to man, — you reach out a hand across the ages, and feel the throbbings of a human- ity kindred with your own.” One of the tombs, that of Ameni, has the following de- scription of the good qualities of the dead: “ I have never made a child to grieve, I have never robbed the widow, I have never repulsed the laborer, I have never shut up a herdsman, I have never impressed for forced labor the la- borers of a man who only employed five men; there was never a person miserable in my time, no one went hungry during my rule, for if there were years of scarcity, I ploughed up all the arable land in the name of Meh (dis- trict), up to its very frontiers north and south. By this means I made the people live, and procured for them pro- visions, so that there was not a hungry person among them. I gave to the widow the same amount as I gave to the mar- ried woman, and I made no distinction between the great and the little in all that I gave. And, behold, when the in- undation was great, and the owners of the land became rich thereby, I laid no additional tax on the fields.” Here it will be seen that the inscription in the tomb of Ameni refers to years of scarcity and of plenty, thus inci- dentally confirming the Bible account of the years of plenty and the years of famine. In one of these tombs is a pic- ture which is believed by some Bible scholars to represent the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt. We examine it closely. The king is seated on his throne, and thirty- seven persons stand before him. They all appear distinc- tively Jewish. There can be no mistake as to the features. It has been stated that only Jacob and his sons and their wives and legitimate descendants were presented to Phara- oh, and that these numbered thirty-seven. The view that WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. I9I this scene represents the coming of Jacob and his family in- to Egypt has not been generally accepted, but there is no doubt that it represents people from the Land of Canaan. Mr. Newberry, whom we had the pleasure of meeting, and who gave us valuable information, is at work in the tombs at Beni Hassan, under the direction of the Egyptian Exploration Fund. We are hoping for important develop- ments under his skillful management of the work. It is carried on entirely by voluntary contribution, and appeals strongly to all who are interested in the study of the Bible and the evidences of its truth found in Egypt to-day. Those who have money to give should not hesitate to place some of it in the Egyptian Exploration Fund. CHAPTER XI. An Egyptian Sugar Factory. — Coptic Convent— Tell el Amarna. — The Tablets, Letters from Adonizedek King of Jerusalem. — The Hebrew Invasion of Palestine. — Wonderful Testimony of the Truth of the Bible. — Tell el Hesy Tablets. N our journey up the Nile, before reaching Beni Has- san and its rock-cut tombs, we stop for a night at Maghaghah, where there is located a large govern- ment sugar factory. We were invited to inspect the work of sugar-making and found in the factory modern ma- chinery for crushing the cane and making the sugar. The natives who work in the factory are mostly without cloth- ing, except a cloth worn about the loins. The amount of filth and dirt to be seen about the place entirely destroyed our desire for Egyptian sugar. Still farther south we pass a mountain known as Gebel et-Tir, or the “ Bird Mountain.” Immense numbers of birds are to be seen here. The fertile imagination of the Arabs has invented the following tradition about Gebel et- Tir: All the birds in Egypt assemble here once each year, and when departing leave behind them one solitary bird to watch until their return the next year, when another is set to watch in his place. The mountain rises about seven hundred feet above the river and on its summit stands a Coptic convent, said to have been built by St. Helena A. D. 350.* It is called the “Convent of the Pulley” because the ascent to the build- *“ Sozomen’s Ecclesiastical History,” II, 2. 192 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 193 ing is made by means of a rope and pulley. Curzon visited the place and examined the interior of the convent and church. “The church,” he says, “is partly subterranean, being built in the recesses of an ancient stone quarry; the other parts are plastered over. The roof is flat and is formed of horizontal beams of palm trees, upon which a terrace of reeds and earth is laid. The height of the interi- or is about twenty-five feet. On entering the door we had to descend a flight of narrow steps, which led into a side aisle about ten feet wide, which is divided from the nave by octagon columns of great thickness supporting the walls. The columns w'ere surmounted by heavy square plinths al- most in the Egyptian style. I consider this church to be interesting from its being half a catacomb, or cave, and one of the earliest Christian buildings which has preserved its originality. It is found upon examination that the building is constructed on the principle of a Latin basilica, as the buildings of the Empress Helena usually were.”* About one hundred and eighty miles south of Cairo are the celebrated tombs of Tell el Amarna, now in ruins. In 1887 a peasant woman of Egypt was digging among the ruins and sifting the dust to sow on the grain fields, when she discovered the now famous Amarna tablets. To the poor peasant woman who found them the tablets were only small, oblong pieces of burned clay, flat on either side and covered with cuneiform characters. To her they had no more value than a piece of broken pottery; to the scholar who could decipher the writing they were of incalculable value. The tablets are now’ in the Berlin and British Muse- ums. Major Conder has just given to the world a transla- tion of the most important of those tablets and to him we are indebted for our information on this subject. f ♦Curzon, " Monasteries of the Levant,” page log. The Tell Amarna Tablets,” R. E. Conder. 194 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. The tablets are simply a series of letters written to the king of Egypt and some of his high officers by the rulers of the Amorites, the Phoenicians and Philistines dwelling in the land of Canaan, and at that time subject to the king of Egypt. The names of Japhia king of Lachish, and Jabin king of Hazor and probably Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, mentioned by Joshua,* occur among those of the writers of the letters. The tablets are made of clay in the usual form. When the clay was soft the writing was inscribed, after which the tablets were burned, thus rendering them practically inde- structible. Conder says the clay in different parts of the country differs and gives various colors and surfaces to the tablets, so that it has been found possible by the clay alone to decide with some certainty the derivation of a few of the tablets when the name of the writer is lost. We cannot do better than give a synopsis of what Major Conder says of this valuable discovery: In these tablets we have become possessed of a mass of correspondence dated at about the time when, according to the Bible, the Hebrew invasion under Joshua took place and which in bulk is equal to about half of the Pentateuch. The language of the letters is very like the Aramaic of the Talmud, and more nearly resembles the Arabic than the Hebrew. It is the same language, in an archaic condi- tion, which is now spoken by the peasantry in Palestine. The recovery of some one hundred and thirty towns men- tioned in the letters not only makes the topography clear, but enables us to fix approximately the historical order of the letters. It settles the sites of several important places, such as Gath, Makkedah, Baal Gad, Enam, Lachish, etc., and it illustrates the Bible geography. The personal ♦Joshua 10: 3; 11: 1. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 195 names are very interesting, being Hebraic, except in the case of Hittite names which are Mongolic. Egyptian words occur wherever reference is made to Egyptian offi- cials. The names of the gods are those found in the Bible, including Baal, Baaloth, Rimmon, Shamash, Nebo, Dagon and Addu. The civilization of the times is abundantly shown, and various kinds of cities are specified, such as “ capital cities,” “ provincial cities,” “ fortresses,” towns, vil- lages and camps. The irrigation of gardens is also noticed and the papyrus grown at Gebel; as well as copper, tin, gold, silver, agate, money (not, of course, coins) and pre- cious objects of many kinds; mulberries, olives, corn, ships and chariots. But the most interesting letters are from the southern part of Palestine, and these refer with great clearness to the conquest of the country between Mount Seir on the east, Ajalon.'Lachish, Ascalon and Gezer on the west, and Shi- loh and Rimmon on the north. The name of one of the kings killed by Joshua, Japhia, Josh. 10: 3, is found in the south, and in all probability that of Adonizedek of Jerusa- lem also; and in the north the name of the king of Hazor is probably to be read as Jabin, which was the name of the king of Hazor whom Joshua attacked (Josh. 11: 1). The Hebrews, it is stated in the letters, came from the desert, and from Mount Seir. The date of the letters is exactly that which is to be derived from the Bible (1 Kings 6: 1) for the Hebrew inva- sion, according to the Hebrew and Vulgate text; the Septu- agint makes it forty years later. The letters state that the Egyptian troops had been withdrawn in the year in which the Hebrews came from the desert. These letters are the most important historical records ever found in connection with the Bible, and they most ful- ig6 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. ly confirm the historical statements of the Book of Joshua, and prove the antiquity of civilization in Syria and Pales- tine.* After two years of hard labor Conder has translated these important records of the past ages and now, thanks to his painstaking labor, we may read and understand them. They are interesting reading, but when to their general in- terest is added the fact that they so fully confirm the Bible they become all the more valuable. The letters cover the Hittite invasion of Damascus, the Amorite treachery, the war in Phoenicia, Northern Palestine, Tyre and Sidon, Southern Palestine, Joppa, Makkedah, Jerusalem, Lachish and other places. The letters from Southern Palestine re- fer to the invasion of the country by the Hebrews. We give Conder’s translation of several interesting and valuable LETTERS FROM JERUSALEM. “To the King my Lord is mourning thus this Adonizc- dck thy servant. At the feet of my Lord, of the King, sev- en times and seven times I bow. What shall I ask of the King my Lord? They have prevailed, they have (taken the fortress of Jericho) they who have gathered against the King of Kings, which Adonizedek has explained to the King his Lord. Behold, as to me, my father is not and my army is not. The tribe that has ground me in this place is very rebellious to the King, the same is gathering near me for the house of my father. Why has the tribe sinned against the King my Lord? Behold O King my Lord arise! I say to the chief men of the King my Lord ‘Why is the land in slavery to the chief of the Hebrews and the rulers fear the end? So now they must send from the pres- ence of the King my Lord.’ Behold I say that the land of * " The Tell Amarna Tablets,” page 36. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 197 the King my Lord is ruined. So now they must send to the King my Lord, and let the King my Lord know this; behold the King my Lord has placed a garrison to stop the way ... of kings . . . chiefs of the garrison . . . the king as master to his land . . . as to his land she has rebelled, the (lands) of the King my Lord — the whole of it. And let one warn the King as to his land. I myself speak pleading with the King my Lord and (for once?) let the King my Lord behold the entreaties. And the wars are mighty against me, and am not I forced to ask — to ask a letter from the King my Lord? And let an order return from the King (my Lord). Whether will he not order chiefs for garrison? And let him be kind, and let the King my Lord regard the entreaties. This tribe be- hold O King my Lord has risen up. Lo the chief men they have expelled. I say the lands of the King my Lord are ruined. Dost not thou hear this same of me? They have destroyed all the rulers. There is no ruler now O King my Lord. Let the King give his countenance to the chiefs; and whether shall the chiefs of the Egyptian sol- diers remain at rest? They have lingered O King my Lord. The lands are failing to the King my Lord. The Hebrew chiefs plunder all the King’s lands. Since the chiefs of the Egyptian soldiers have gone away quitting the lands this year 0 King my Lord, and since there is no chief of the Egyptian soldiers there is ruin to the lands of the King my Lord. They have . . . O King my Lord, and Ado7iizcdck (is) dust. . . . messages (are asked?) of the King my Lord, there is destruction by the foe of the lands of the King my Lord.” Another letter from Adonizedek tells of the success of the Hebrews. He says: “ The King’s land rebels to the chiefs of the Hebrews , and now against this capital city WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. I98 U-ru-sa-lim (Jerusalem) the city called Beth Baalatu (Baa- lath) a neighbor of the city of the King — has rebelled, to delay the chiefs of the city of Kielti. Let the King hear as to Adonizedek ; and will not he order Egyptian soldiers, and shall not the King’s land turn to the King? And be- cause there are no Egyptian soldiers the King’s land has rebelled to the chiefs of the tribe of the Hebrews The strong appeal made in these letters to the king of Egypt seems to have been without avail. The affairs of Adonizedek were becoming more critical. The Hebrews had already subdued part of the land and the fear of them fell upon the kings. And here let us compare with the let- ters of Adonizedek the following language: “ Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the roy- al cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.” Josh. 10: 1, 2. What a won- derful testimony is found on these old tablets, written four- teen hundred years before Christ, of the truth of the Bible! But the entreaties of Adonizedek and his appeals to the king of Egypt for help brought no aid, and again he appealed for help against the Hebrew invaders. After the usual salutation he says: “ Lo! the King my Lord has estab- lished his law from the (rising?) of the Sun to the going down of the Sun. He is a flatterer who deceives as to me. Lo! am not I a ruler myself, a man allied to the King my Lord? Lo! I myself am a good chief of the King, and I have sent tribute to the King. There is no chief to join me, and my friends (or army) fail; they have been fighting for WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 199 the King mightily. I remain ... in this Beth Amilla [evidently the Beth ham Millo of the Bible, 2 Sam. 5: 9.] . . . I am giving to the chief of the servants. Suuta the King’s chief (resident) takes charge from before me of twenty-three princesses. Twenty chiefs who remain trusty I am detaching. Suuta has led (them) away to the King my Lord, which the King advises to his country. [It would seem from the sending away of his women that Adonizedek himself was preparing to flee, by the advice, it would seem, of Egypt.] . . . They have fought against me as far as the lands of Seir as far as the city Givti (which they have wasted). They have banded together against all the chiefs of the governments, and they have fought with me. Be- hold I, the chief of the lords (or of the Amorites), am breaking to pieces, and the King my Lord does not regard entreaties, while they have fought against me (unceasing- ly?). Behold array 0 mighty King a fleet in the midst of the sea. Thou shalt march to our land. . . . Thou shalt march against the chieftains of the Hebrew. . . . Since there are no Egyptian soldiers in this same year de- struction has destroyed the people of all the lands of the King my Lord. . . . To the scribe of the King my Lord, (lo!) Adonizedek is his servant, at his feet (he bows).” Again Adonizedek poured out his troubles to the king of Egypt, but to no purpose. How applicable are the words of the prophet to him: “ Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust him.” Isa. 36: 6. His next letter names a number of Bible cities. He says: “Let him know that they have fought all the lands that have been at peace with me; and let me warn the King 200 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. as to his land. Lo! the land of the city of Gezer , and the land of the city of Ascalon , and the land of the city of ( La - chish?) they have given (or settled) for themselves. Corn and oil (or fruit) and all things, this race has altogether gathered. And let me warn the King as to Egyptian sol- diers. Will not he order Egyptian soldiers against the chiefs who have done wrong to the King my Lord? Since within this year the Egyptian soldiers have gone away, and quit the lands, the ruler of the King my Lord — since there were no Egyptian soldiers — is brought to nought. Yea and the rulers of the King. . . . Behold the land of the city of Jerusalem. They are gathering. The chief says he will at- tack me to besiege. His tribe is not at all subject to me. The tribes are armed (or arrayed). They are not subject to me. Lo! my desire is the same as the desire of Milcilu and the desire of the sons of Labaya, that the chiefs of the Hebrews be subject to the King’s land. Lo! the King my Lord will be just to me, because the chiefs are sorcerers. . . . Lo he is strong, (determined?) and (men) have feared. . . . The tribe is pouring out . . . lands from the city of As(calou.) . . . Up to the house of my Lord Pauru the King’s chief for the land of the city of Je- rusalem my foe is rebelling. Up to the chiefs of the gar- rison this chief has surged up ... to me is my foe, who rebels against me. There is no end of his desires . . this, despatched to me a chief, of the King, despatched to this thy people. (The women?) are despatched to the King my Lord (with) men who have been upright. Four messengers . . . to go out. The chiefs of the fort (or camp) are closing the roads of the pass . . . there is no possibility from . . . the tribe who have caused the destruction of the city of Ajalon. Let this be known to the King my Lord. Have not they taken word — the people WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 201 despatched. (There is) a road for the King, though it is not easy. Lo! the King my Lord has established his law in the land of the city of Jerusalem forever, and shall not they take word of the desertion of the lands of the city of Jerusalem? To the scribe of the King my Lord this lam- entation thus (speaks) Adonizedck thy servant — the afflict- ed. Translate the messages well to the King my Lord. . . . (I am) afflicted, greatly am I afflicted. And thou shalt perform the desire of our people before the chiefs of the land of Cush. Truly is not there slaughter with us?” After this letter was written came that wonderful forced march when Joshua “came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.” Josh, io: 9. And at Gibe- on the great battle was fought which practically gave Joshua possession of Southern Palestine. No wonder Adonizedek wrote to the king of Egypt that “ men feared the Hebrews.” Their victorious armies, trained by long marching on the desert and commanded by an able leader, brought down all opposition. The five kings of the Amo- rites, Adonizedek among them, “ fled and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.” And here a watch was set upon them until the slaughter of their followers had ended. Another letter was written by Adonizedek to the king of Egypt and Major Conder is of the opinion that it was writ- ten in the cave of Makkedah after the defeat of Ajalon. It is the last of the series and has a peculiar interest, for soon after it was written and sent by a trusty messenger, Joshua commanded the cave to be opened and the five kings to be brought out. “ And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of La- chish, and the, king of Eglon And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them.” Josh. 10: 23, 26. 202 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. War was terrible in those times and there was no play about it. In the light of these events the last letter of Adonizedek possesses more than ordinary interest. “And lo now! the city of Jerusalem when these went away from the land (was) faithful to the King. Lo! the city of Gaza has remained to the King. Behold the land of Harti Cirmiel (Carmel) belonging to Takanu and the men of the city Givti, they have bowed down, going away from the land quietly. And truly we do so. Behold Laba- ya! and the land Salabimi (Shaalabbin, Josh. 19: 42, near Ajalon) are inhabited by the Hebrew chiefs. Milcilu has sent for (tribute?) and the fellows (say) ‘ Have we not indeed dwelt in this land? ’ They are adjudging all that they desire to the men of the city of Keilah. And truly we are leaving the city of Jerusalem. The chiefs of the garrison have left — without an order — through the wastings of this fellow (Joshua) whom I fear. These march to Addasi. He has remained in his land (or camp) in the city of Gaza. . . . (women?) ... to the land of Egypt.” It seems to be clear from the letters that, after sending away his women, Adonizedek hoped in the event of the defeat of the five kings to escape into Egypt by way of Gaza, which is not mentioned in the Bible as having been taken by Joshua. It was in Gaza that they expected to find safety. But they had been entrapped in the cave at Makkedah and came out only to meet death. So ends this remarkable correspondence. We have given but a fragment of it, but enough to show that the translator is correct when he says “ that these letters are the most important historical records ever found in connec- tion with the Bible.” By them the Book of Joshua is most wonderfully confirmed, as well as the entire Bible history WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 203 of the Israelites. The letters also show that at that remote period civilization prevailed in Syria and Palestine, and that Joshua did not meet and conquer tribes of savages, but civilized men. The discovery of the Tell Amarna Tablets has led to further investigation at the site of Lachish in Palestine The place is known as Tell cl Hesy. In 1892 Mr. Bliss commenced an ex- cavation at Lachish for the Palestine Ex- ploration Fund and carried it forward with considerable zeal and energy. H is labors during the season brought no immediate results, and it was not until he was about closing his work in December, the rainy season having set in, that he was fortunate enough to find a num- Tell el Hesy Tablet. ( Front ber of tablets. He was overjoyed at his good luck. The tablets are now being translated. Enough is already known of them to settle the fact that they are of great importance. It is believed that some of them are answers to the letters written to Egypt which are preserved to the world in the Tell Amarna Tablets. Our cuts are copies from “The Tell Amarna Tablets’ and represent the front and reverse sides of one of the tablets recently discovered at Lachish. 204 WANDERINGS JN BIBLE LANDS. Conder’s translation and comments on this tablet are as follows: Is it not sent (as a message) to the great chief of the house of our fathers? Lo! truly thou knowest that they have fortified the city of Atim. And O Zimridi to the feet of him who is established as the chieftain behold humbly I bow. Supporter of cities behold! O Saviour of the people I have rent (my garments) yea . . entreaties for defenders And three years or four the foe (or dog) has been resting who desires my country. Now behold they have entered the land to lay waste. The city of Sum hi (or Sum' a) which we inhabit he is surrounding: he has gathered in order to besiege; and as far as this are going thir- teen sections of our (tribe?). Strong (is he) who has come down. He lays waste. Tell el Hesy Tablet. (Bach.) He has gone out with secret feet I send and they have (arrayed?) the land of the race of my foe: may his land perish.’ “ It will be seen from the facsimile of the tablet that the signs are irregularly written, and many of them much worn, so that the translation is difficult, and uncertain in parts of the text. “This letter comes apparently from the low hills south-east of Lachish. Atim must be the Etam of the WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 205 south of Judah (1 Chron. 4: 32), which I have placed at the ruin of ’ Aitiin ; and Samhi (or as it may be otherwise ren- dered Satn’a) is the large ruin of Sam ah, on the higher hills, which is five miles to the south of Etam. The letter is of great interest. The marauders, as in other cases, come from the Hebron hills. It also shows us that the com- munication by tablets in cuneiform script was not only usual in writing to Egypt, but in the internal correspond- ence of the country. The Phoenician alphabet had not as yet come into use, but the ruins of Palestine, no doubt, still contain other tablets of this age or of earlier times. The letter, though not as important in some ways as the Moab- ite stone and Siloam text, is one of the most valuable discoveries ever made in Palestine.”* We shall await with much anxiety the translation of other tablets already found. Wonderful as these recent discoveries have been we may expect others fully as impor- tant. In the meantime it may be well for those who are giving so much time to higher criticism to look well to these records of the past. One of Adonizedek’s letters overthrows a dozen speculations as to the Book of Joshua, and discoveries yet to be made will, under God’s hand, en- tirely silence the teachers who, under the cloak of religion, are doing more to destroy faith in God’s Book than are the outspoken infidels. While we have been examining the tablets our boat has been stemming the current of the Nile and we are ap- proaching the City of Assiut, the most important place in Upper Egypt. It has a population of thirty-one thousand, six hundred, and is connected with Cairo by rail. The landing-place at Assiut is a mile from the city and no sooner is our boat tied up to the shore than donkey- boys "Tell Amarna Tablets,” pages 133, 134. 206 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. and itinerant merchants come down upon us with a rush. It is impossible for the passengers to go ashore on account of the crowd, until Achmet Matcour, our Nile dragoman, with heavy whip in hand clears a passageway. The donkey-boys tell the good qualities of their little animals in a mixture of Arabic, English, German, French anc. Italian wonderful to hear. The merchants are no less busy and noisy in trying to sell their wares. Here is a vender of beautiful ostrich feathers (for now we are really in Africa, the home of the ostrich), offering the finest white plumes at a price less than half what the poorest sell for at home. Yonder is a seller of canes and we are attracted to him, for we have a weakness in that direction, and a finely-polished ebony walking-stick changes ownership. On the landing platform sits a dignified Moslem with his wares spread before him. His green turban carefully folded about his head indicates that he has made a pilgrim- age to Mecca, and the respect shown him by his fellows tells the same story. His stock in trade consists of beads, scarabs, agates cut and polished, old lamps and other an- tiquities. We select several small agates from his stock and ask him the price; he replies by naming a sum at least four times greater than their real value. We lay them down and turn away, when he says: “ How much you give?” In reply, an offer is made for them above their real value. It is amusing to see this follower of Mo- hammed assume an air of offended dignity as he refuses the offer. During our stay at Assiut we passed and re- passed the merchant a number of times, but no reference was made to the agates. On the following day just as our boat was pulling away from the shore, a lad came alongside holding the selfsame agates in his hand and offered them Money-Changer at Assiut. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 20 7 to us at our own price. The dignified pilgrim to Mecca was selling his goods by proxy. Selecting a bright-looking Arab boy who speaks Eng- lish fairly well we walk through the town of Assiut. Our guide is well-informed and faithful and we enjoy an inter- esting stroll about the city. We visit the business streets where the bazaars, as the shops and stores are called, are located. While these are not equal to the ba- zaars at Cairo, they are interesting. The place is noted for the beautiful red pottery which is made here and offered for sale on every hand. Some of the vases are really hand- some and are patterned after the forms used by the ancient Egyptians. In Egypt, as well as in Palestine, the skins of goats are used for holding water and wine. In the market- place here kid skins, which have been prepared for holding water or milk, are offered for sale. They are also used as churns. The cream is put into them and then the skin bottle is shaken until butter is produced. The camel market, held in a great open square in the suburbs of the city, is also a place of interest to the traveler. Entering the place we find it crowded, and the noise made by the buyers and sellers and the growling of the camels is deafening. How business can be transacted in such confusion is a mystery. But sales are made, money paid, and the noise and confusion continue. We learn that about sixty dollars is the highest price paid for the very best camels. The price ranges from this to as low as twenty dollars for those of an inferior grade. West of the city about three miles, in the limestone of the Libyan Mountains, are a number of ancient tombs. A short tide on a donkey brings us to the foot of the hills where there is a modern Arab cemetery. The dark open- ings of the tombs and caves in the mountain side can be 208 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. seen for some distance before we reach the place. At the base of the mountain we dismount and climb up to the tombs. Here the dead of Sant, the ancient name of Assiut, were laid away to rest. Here, too, were the tombs of the sacred wolf, for one of the gods of the ancient Egyptians was the wolf-headed Anubis. In front of the now rifled tombs may be seen the mummies and bones of various an- imals. Pieces of mummy cloth also strew the ground. From the top of the mountain a beautiful view is ob- tained of the fertile valley of the Nile. The Arabian and Libyan hills on either side shut out the desert and one sees only the rich fields of grain, the palm gardens, the flow- ing river, and the beautiful town of Assiut with its eleven minarets pointing heavenward. On the return to the city funeral processions are met bearing the dead to the cemetery. One is reminded of the processions of the same kind seen so often in Cairo. These however produce “a much more solemn effect, through the absence of the bus- tle of the crowded streets and the presence of the deserted city of the dead. Nowhere, not even in Cairo, are the fu- neral songs so strange and weird as here, or sung by such deep and tuneful voices.” At Assiut, and indeed at every landing-place along the Nile, the traveler is beset by dealers in scarabs (small stone images of the sacred beetle). We were fortunate enough to see a living specimen of this famous black beetle which was sacred to the ancient Egyptians as an emblem of the creation and continual life. The beetle is about a half inch long and shiny black. In the soft mud of the Nile the beetle deposits its eggs and then rolls them over and over until they assume the form of a ball, which is then rolled to the sand of the desert and buried there. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 209 Miss Edwards has given such an admirable description of this Egyptian beetle that we give it to our readers: “We all know the old story of how this beetle lays its eggs by the river’s brink, encloses them in a ball of moist clay, rolls the ball to a safe place on the edge of the desert; buries it in the sand; and when his time comes dies con- tent, having provided for the safety of his successors. Hence his mythic fame; hence all the quaint symbolism that by degrees attached itself to his little person, and ended by investing him with a special sacredness which has often been mistaken for actual worship. Standing by thus, watching the movements of the creature, its untiring energy, its extraordinary muscular strength, its business- like devotion to the matter in hand, one sees how subtle a lesson the old Egyptian moralists had presented to them for contemplation, and with how fine a combination of wis- dom and poetry they regarded this little black scarab not only as an emblem of creative and preserving power, but perhaps also of the immortality of the soul. As a type, no insect has ever had so much greatness thrust upon him. He became a hieroglyph, and stood for a word both to be and to transform. His portrait was multiplied a million fold; sculptured over the portals of temples; fitted to the shoulders of a god; engraved on gems; moulded in pottery; painted on sarcophagi and the walls of tombs; worn by the living and buried with the dead. “Every traveler on the Nile brings away a handful of the smaller scarabs, genuine or otherwise. Some may not particularly care to possess them, yet none can help buying them, if only because other people do so, or to get rid of a troublesome dealer, or to give to friends at home. I doubt, however, if even the most enthusiastic scarab- fanciers really feel in all its force the symbolism attaching 210 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. to these little gems, or appreciate the exquisite naturalness of their execution until they have seen the living beetle at work.”* Like all travelers we brought away with us a number of scarabs, some formed in stone, others moulded in pottery. Some large, some small, some ancient, and some modern, for the wily Arab manufactures stone and clay representations of the sacred beetle and sells them to un- suspecting travelers for the real, ancient scarab. One of undoubted antiquity was given to a friend and brought this response: “ It was once the sacred token Of eternity unbroken And divine. Some long vanished priest or king, Lord or lady owned the thing, Now ’tis mine.” * Edwards, “ A Thousand Miles up the Nile,’' pages 96, 97. Sand-Storm in the Desert. CHAPTER XII. A Simoon. — Abydos. — List of the Kings of Egypt. — Thebes. — The Ruined Temples of Luxor. — Shishak and his Captives. — Rehoboam. — The Colossi. — The Valley of the Dead. — The Tombs of the Kings. S EAVING Assiut we continue our journey southward on the River of Egypt. Between Assiut and Luxor ffrAW?- we have an experience with a sand-storm, or si- moon, as they are called on the desert. The wind blows a perfect gale, and the sand of the desert is caught and car- ried in great swirls across the plain. The finer particles fill the air, and so dense do they become that the sun is entire- ly obscured. We can well imagine what a storm of this kind would mean to travelers on the desert. Many cara- vans, overtaken by these terrible simoons, perish by the way, and the bones of man and beast whiten the desert route. We find it exceedingly uncomfortable in the middle of the river on our Nile steamer. On the west side of the river, about one hundred miles south of Assiut, is a landing-place called Belianeh; and about ten miles across the Nile valley from this place are the ruins of Abydos, which are in some respects the best preserved of all the ruins in Egypt. This is especially true of the wall sculpture, which is remarkably well preserved. In many of the ancient temples the sculptures have been defaced. Much of this was done by the Mohammedans. Regarding the sculptured figures as idols, they sought to destroy them by mutilating the faces. Our engraving shows the figure of one of the Pharaohs riding in a chariot Defaced Wall Sculpture. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 213 with drawn sword in one hand, but the face has been chis- eled away. The temples at Abydos were not excavated un- til A. D. 1853; hence their excellent state of preservation. The most important ruin at Abydos is the Mcmnon- ium, or the temple of Seti I, the father of the supposed op- pressor of the Israelites, Ramcses II. On one of the walls Rameses II “relates all that he has done for the honor of his father’s memory, how he erected statues of him at Thebes, and how he built up the sacred doors. At the end he gives a sketch of his childhood, and the various grades of rank and dignity which he held.” In this temple is the now famous Abydos Tablet, which gives the names of seventy-six kings of Egypt, beginning with Menes and end- ing with Seti I. The name of each ruler in hieroglyphics is enclosed with lines. The names of the kings of the nine- teenth dynasty are here given. The names include the sup- posed Pharaohs of the oppression and exodus, Rameses II and Menephthah I. The temple of Rameses II at Abydos is also well worth a visit. It is well preserved. Here was found the second tablet of Abydos, which is now in the British Museum. North of the latter temple is a Coptic monastery and church which we visited. We are shown the baptismal pool where baptism is still administered by trine immer- sion. The monks are engaged in work about the place and we are impressed with the thought that their existence must be dull and dreary. They live here on the verge of the desert, deny themselves all the comforts of life, hoping thus to gain the favor of God. To us such a life seems selfish and fruitless, and entirely out of line with the exam- ple and teaching of our divine Master, who went about, mingling with humanity and doing good wherever lie went. i78. % A 180. IV 179 CaaI i- GMEI Men-pehtet-Ra, son of the Sun, Ra-messu. (Rameses I.) ( o^ ea~) ¥ (ly^Ej Men-mat-Ra, son of the Sun, Ptah-meri-en-Seti. (Setil.) dH ¥ ( Mm A Usr-mat-Ra setep- son of the Ra-messu-meri-Amen. en-Ra, Sun, (Raineses II.) ,Si- 1 QMS] ,8j- M’M G Suten hemt Auset-nefert. Suten mut- Royal wife. Royal mother. “N Tui. 183. G ¥ 3 Ba-Ra-meri-en- son of the Ptah-meri-enhetep- Amen, Sun, her-mat. (Meneptah I.’ -MCiS ^ (JEM Men-ma-Ra setep- son of the Amen-rneses-heq-Uast. en-Ra, Sun, (Amen-meses.) 185. XU-en-Ra setep-en-Ra, son of the Ptah-meri-en-se-Ptah Sun, (Meneptah II.) Usr-xau-Ra setep-en- son of the Ra-meri Amen-merer Ra meri-Amen, Sun, Set-next, Cartouches of the Pharaohs. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 215 THEBES. South of Cairo four hundred and fifty miles we reach the greatest ruins in the world. These are the remains of Thebes the hundred-gated city of ancient Egypt, grand and magnificent even in her ruins. In the cuneiform in- scriptions and in the Bible it is called No, and No-amon. “Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose ram- part was the sea, and her wall was of the sea? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite;' . . yet was she carried away, she went into captivity.”* At Thebes the god Amon was worshiped, and it was upon the temples and the worship of this god that a large portion of the wealth of the rulers of ancient Egypt was bestowed. The magnificent and gigantic temple erected to Amon by the Pharaohs, although now in ruins, is still one of the most interesting sights in Egypt. It was from this temple and the worship of Amon that the Bible name of the city was taken. When or by whom Thebes was founded is now a mat- ter of conjecture. Its early history has been lost. The discovery of ancient tombs shows that the city must have been founded as early as the time of Abraham. For cen- turies it was the capital city of the Pharaohs, who ruled over both Upper and Lower Egypt. They succeeded in making of their capital the most magnificent city of ancient times. Homer refers to it in these lines: “Where, in Egyptian Thebes the heaps of precious ingots gleam, The hundred-gated Thebes, where twice tenscore in martial style Of valiant men with steeds and cars march through each massy gate.’’ Diodorus visited the place B. C. 57 and writes of it as follows: “Afterward reigned Busirus, and eight of his pos- *Revised Version, Nahum 3: 8, 9. The Great Hall at Karnac by Moonlight. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 217 terity after him; the last of which, of the same name with the first, built that great city which the Egyptians call Di- ospolis, the Greeks Thebes; it was in circuit one hundred and forty stadia [about twelve miles], adorned with stately public buildings, magnificent temples, and rich donations and revenues to admiration; and he built all the private houses, some four, some five stories high. And to sum up all in a word, made it not only the most beautiful and state- liest city in Egypt, but of all others in the world. The fame therefore of the riches and grandeur of this city was so noised abroad in every place, that the poet Homer takes notice of it. . . . Although there are some that say it had not a hundred gates; but there are many large porches to the temples, whence the city was called Hccatompyl us , a hundred gates, for many gates; yet that it was certain they had in it twenty thousand chariots of war; for there were a hundred stables all along the river from Memphis to Thebes towards Lybia, each of which was capable to hold two hundred horses, the marks and signs of which are vis- ible at this day. And we have it related, that not only this king, but the succeeding princes from time to time, made it their business to beautify the city; for that there was no city under the sun so adorned with so many stately monu- ments of gold, silver and ivory, and multitudes of colossi and obelisks, cut out of one entire stone. For there were four temples built, for beauty and greatness to be admired, the most ancient of which was in circuit about two miles, and five and forty cubits high, and had a wall twenty-four feet broad. The ornaments of this temple were suitable to its magnificence, both for cost and workmanship. The fab- ric hath continued to our time, but the silver and gold, and ornaments of ivory and precious stones were carried away by the Persians when Cambyses burnt the temples of 218 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Egypt. . . . These they say are the wonderful sepul- chres of the ancient kings, which for state and grandeur far exceed all that posterity can attain unto at this day. The Egyptian priests say that in their sacred registers there are forty-seven of these sepulchres; but in the reign of Ptolemy Lagus there remained only seventeen, many of which were ruined and destroyed when I myself came into those parts.”* Thebes, in the days of her greatest glory, stretched a distance of thirty-three miles along both banks of the Nile. The valley of the Nile here widens out so that the arable land is twelve miles wide. A volume might be written, de- scriptive of the grandeur of the ruins of No. It is to-day one vast field of ruins, the most imposing in the world. The Coliseum at Rome and the ruins of Baalbec do not compare with these. They are the most stupendous ruins of the mightiest city of the Ancient World. It was in the height of its glory when David reigned at Jerusalem. Lat- er Jeremiah and Ezekiel both prophesied against the city, and their words, that No shall be “cut off,” “rent asunder,’ have been literally fulfilled, and Thebes is known only by her ruins. “Viewed from the river the site of ancient Thebes pre- sents the appearance of a wide, mountain-girt valley or ba- •sin richly endowed with the gifts of never-failing fertility. Nature here revels in perpetual youth, while the most enor- mous edifices ever reared by mortal hand, though grey, des- olate, and succumbing to the common fate of all human handiwork, yet compel the admiration of posterity for the wonderful race that has left such mighty memorials of its existence — memorials that have indeed been injured but not annihilated by the flight of thousands of years. The *Diodorous, Book I, Booth’s Translation. A Portion of the Temple at Karnac. The Leaning Tower. 220 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. verdant crops and palms which everywhere cheer the trav- eler as soon as he has quitted the desert, the splendid hues that tinge the valley every morning and evening, the brill- iant, unclouded sunshine that bathes every object in the winter season, and the inspiring feeling that every hour is enriching the imagination with new and strange pictures, wholly prevents in Thebes the rise of that melancholy feel- ing which so often steals over the mind in the presence of the relics of bygone greatness and of vanished magnifi- cence.” * And what magnificent ruins are here to be seen! There are temples and tombs, tombs and temples, multi- plied over and over again, — the greatest of all, the temple of Karnac! It was nearly two miles in circumference. It had five entrances, each of which was approached by an avenue of two hundred sphinxes. It was surrounded by a wall eighty feet high and twenty-five feet thick. It had a magnificent gateway or propylon, three hundred and sev- enty feet broad and one hundred and forty feet high. Pass- ing through the gateway, we enter a vast court or hall of columns. One hundred and twenty are standing in the court, each sixty- six feet high and thirty-six feet in circum- ference. They are all surmounted with beautiful capitals and inscribed with hieroglyphics. Here, too, is seen the largest obelisk known. It was cut from the granite quar- ries at Syene, is eight feet square and ninety-two feet high. But space forbids us to continue. We might write and write, and still not complete the description. We are fortunate enough to have moonlight on our journey up the Nile, and this adds much to the interest and pleasure of the journey. Our first view of the ruins of Kar- nac is at nine o’clock at night. The night is beautifully ‘Baedeker, "Ancient Egypt," page 106. Wanderings in bible lands. 221 bright and clear, such a night as we never see in our north- ern latitudes. The moon is shining in all the fullness of her glory. We wander through the forest of columns with our dusky Arab guides. The gloomy shadow cast by wall and column is only partly broken by the moonlight. It is a wonderful scene and makes a deep impression upon the mind. See our engraving, page 216. The walls of the temples are covered with sculpture il- lustrating scenes in the lives of the Pharaohs. Many of them are full of interest, but none more so than the one which so remarkably confirms the following Scripture: “ And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rchoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solo- mon had made.” I Kings 14: 25, 26. The scene on the wall, of which we give an engraving, represents Shishak king of Egypt returning from his vic- torious march against Jerusalem. In his right hand he holds a sword, in his left a number of cords to which the prisoners are attached. At the lower left-hand corner of the engraving may be seen the outline of a number of bearded faces. We examined these on the wall very care- fully and they are distinctly Jewish. Other portions of the Scripture give an account of the expedition and the num- ber and names of the kings Shishak subdued. A portrait of each king is cut on the wall and the name is attached. Among the number is King Rchoboam, bearing the inscrip- tion “King of Judah.” The figure of Rehoboam has the typical Jewish face, and we have here not only a remark- able confirmation of the Bible record, but, in all probability, a fair portrait of the weak son of the wisest king of Israel. 222 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. We have had but a glimpse at the wonderful ruins of an- cient Thebes. The four days spent among her ruined tem- ples, her prostrate columns and her magnificent rock-cut tombs have been exceedingly interesting. We should like Shishak with Jewish Captives. to linger here for a month and wander among these won- derful ruins, but we must curb the desire. We cannot leave Thebes, however, without saying something of our visit to WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. the Tombs of the Kings. They are not less wonderful, in their way, than the ruins of the old temples. Cut into the living rock of the everlasting mountains, they have en- dured, while the temples have fallen into ruin. Some of them are remarkably well preserved, and are in nearly the same condition as when finished by Pharaoh’s workmen more than thirty centuries ago. From Luxor we cross to the west bank of the river in an Arab boat. The boat strikes the ground thirty feet from the shore. Our method of landing is to mount on the shoulders of a native, who safely puts our feet on terra fir- ma. The Elder is carried ashore first. It is rather an amusing incident. He insists that the writer, with his two hundred pounds avoirdupois on the shoulders of an Arab, does not present a very dignified appearance. One of the Arabs falls, with rather unpleasant results, while carrying an English lady ashore. We mount our donkeys, and as we ride across the plain we are beset by a number of bright- eyed, dusky little maidens, from eight to ten years old, each with a water bottle gracefully poised on her head. They want to run with us and furnish us filtered Nile water on our journey. For this service they expect a piaster or two, and the money is well earned. They follow us for hours, bearing the bottles on their heads, and only putting their hands to them when they run to keep up with the gal- loping donkeys. They are bright and intelligent, and have picked up a few words of English. Our way leads us across the western plains of Thebes, once alive with the population of a great city, now a broad meadow of the living green of growing crops. It is won- derfully fertile and, as far as the Nile waters overflow the land, the most luxuriant growth is to be seen. It forms a striking contrast with the desert line of sand and desola- 224 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. tion. We ride by the Colossi of Memnon, two immense seated statues fifty-two feet high, which have kept watch over the valley of the Nile for thousands of years, passing and examining the temple of Rameses II with its prostrate, broken statue of that great Pharaoh who knew not Joseph and oppressed Israel. This fallen, broken statue was per- haps one of the finest works of art in Egypt. It was cut from a block of red granite and was fifty-seven and a half feet in height, and when finished must have weighed nearly nine hundred tons. Fallen and broken as it now is, it still remains one of the wonders of Egyptian workmanship, and a memorial of the great vanity of the Pharaoh whose image it bore. Continuing our journey we reach the edge of the fertile plain and then, riding a short distance across the desert, en- ter the Valley of the Tombs, — “The Valley of Death,” it has been appropriately named. It is a savage, barren gorge between two mountains. The desolation and the deathlike quiet of the place depress the feelings. Not a spear of grass, not a shrub or tree, not a drop of water, not a living thing is to be seen in this solitary valley, the en- trance to the tombs. The tropical sun beats down on our heads with terrible power, and we are glad for once to seek the shelter of an overhanging rock, which casts a grateful shade. We learn to appreciate, more fully than ever before, the meaning of the words, “the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” We find, too, the advantage of having the little water girl, Fatima, with us. The porous earthen bottle keeps the wa- ter quite cool. A handkerchief, saturated with water and placed on the head, gives much relief as we ride on in the glare of the noonday sun. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS 225 Finally we come to the place of the tombs, the very valley of death. The mountain side is literally honey- Entrance to the Empty Tomb of Seti /, Father of the Oppressor. combed with the rocky mansions of the dead. Here the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt were laid away “ in glory, every one in his own house.” Isa. 14: 1 8. 226 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. “Cased in cedar and shut in a sacred gloom; Swathed in linen and precious unguents of old; Painted with cinnabar, and rich with gold; Silent they rest, in solemn salvatory; Sealed from the moth and the owl and the flitter-mouse; Each with his name on his brow.” Here, too, queens and princes, priests and nobles, offi- cers and men of wealth were laid away to rest, and their tombs were equal in magnificence and splendor to those of the Pharaohs. We are in the midst of the tombs of the great men and women who lived more than three thousand years ago. Great as they were, their bodies have been re- moved, and many of them are now on exhibition in Cairo. Others are to be seen in the museums of Europe and the United States. What a commentary on human greatness! Like the tombs at Beni Hassan, which we described in a previous letter, the tombs of the kings are entered by a corridor, a doorway and a long, descending gallery. The walls are covered with hieroglyphics and sculpture, depict- ing scenes in Egyptian life. The extent of these rocky ex- cavations is really wonderful. The following dimensions of one of the larger tombs are given by Manning, and will give an idea of the great amount of labor required to pre- pare it for its royal occupant. It is eight hundred and sixty-two feet in length, without reckoning the lateral chambers; the total area of excavation is twenty-three thou- sand, eight hundred and nine feet, occupying an acre and a quarter of ground, “an immoderate space for the sepulchre of one individual, even allowing that the members of his family shared a portion of its extent.” The walls of the tombs are covered with paintings and sculpture, and it is really wonderful how well they have been preserved. They give a graphic illustration of life among the ancient Egyptians. Entrance to the Kings’ Tombs at Thebes. ' V I WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 229 “We saw here, as in a picture story-book, how the man had cultivated his garden and fields, had garnered his har- vests, had sent merchandise on the river in boats sailing with the wind; how he had gone to battle and taken com- mand of armies; the gathering in of his vintage, the games and shoutings of his wine-pressers, his sports in fishing and fowling. Then we saw him, — a picture of easy joy, — in the midst of the family circle. We saw him at the feast; guests were at his dwelling; he welcomed them to the merry ban- quet; slaves crowned them with garlands of flowers; the v ine-cup passed round. Then there were harpers and mu- sicians and players on the double pipes. Girls in long, wavy hair and light, clinging garments were dancing. But to all things there comes an end. We saw here, also, the day (how far' back in the depths of time!) when those pleasant feasts were all over, — the lilies dead, the music hushed, the last of this man’s harvest stored, the last trip enjoyed by boat or chariot. The fish no more fear him in the pools; nor the fowl among the reeds. Here he was ly- ing under the hand of the embalmers. And next we saw him in mummy form on the bier, in the consecrated boat, which was to carry him over the dark river and land him at the gates of the heavenly abode, where the genii of the dead and Osiris were awaiting him to try his deeds, and pronounce his sentence for eternal good or ill.”* Thus we may read, on the walls of the tombs, the his- tory of the life of each one of the great men for whom they were excavated. And these faithful representations are what make the tombs so interesting and so valuable. We have space for only one more illustration from the walls of the tombs. It is a scene of great interest to the student of the Bible. Like the rest, the artist drew it true to life. It * ‘ Leisure Hours." 230 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. is that of a band of slaves engaged in brick-making. The taskmaster sits by, staff or whip in hand, superintending the work. There is no mistaking the faces of the men at work. They are as distinctly Jewish as is the face of any Jew clothing merchant to be seen in any of our cities to- day. They dig the clay with hoes, tramp and mix it with their feet, and mould the bricks with their hands. No one who sees this painting can doubt for a moment that the ar- tist depicted the Semitic race. It is said the Jews never settled so far up the river as Thebes. This is quite true, for the Bible informs us that they settled in the Land of Goshen. But the records of the Pharaoh of the oppression show that they were engaged in the quarries at Syene, near- ly one hundred and fifty miles further south. Then, too, it was not necessary that the Jews should have settled at Thebes in order for a representation of their servitude to be placed on the walls of the tombs. The artist knew their faces. He represented a band of them at work making bricks. He doubtless saw this at Memphis, and depicted it on the walls at Thebes. It is an exceedingly interesting representation, and shows how the Egyptian taskmasters made the lives of the people “bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.” Ex. i: 14. CHAPTER XIII. The Pharaoh of the Oppression.— Finding his Body. — The Arab Broth- ers.— Photographs of Seti I and Rameses II. — Unwrapping the Mummies. — Grave Robbers. — Isaiah and Seti I. — A Visit to Ah- med Abd er- Rasul. 'OW well we remember the impression made upon our youthful mind when, in our earliest schoolboy days, we read the simple yet beautiful story of Joseph and his brethren. We remember yet how the tears would flow when we thought of the poor boy tern away from his home and sold as a slave into the land of Egypt. We remember, too, our youthful indignation against the Pharaoh who knew not Joseph, and who so grievously op- pressed the children of Israel. But in our most extrava- gant childish fancies as to what the future might bring, we never even dreamed that the day would come when we should stand face to face with the cruel oppressor of Israel, who said to his servants: “Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.” Ex. I : io. Strange indeed, passing strange, that, after thirty-three hundred years have been silently told, the body of this Pharaoh should have been found with the features of his face so well preserved that the likeness between it and the statues of the king erected during his lifetime is most striking. 231 232 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Pharaoh is the tide by vhich a long line of the reign- ing sovereigns of Egypt was known. It was a title and not a personal name. As the rulers of Russia all bear the title of czar, and those of Germany that of emperor, so all the kings of Egypt bore the general name of Pharaoh; but each had a personal name by which he is known in history. It is only in the later books of the Bible that the personal names of the Pharaohs are given.* This and the following chapter have to do especially with two of the Pharaohs, the oppressor of Israel and the one who ruled when the Lord led his people out of bondage. They have been desig- nated as the Pharaohs of the Bondage and the Exodus. A change of rulers is recorded in Exodus between the first and third chapters: “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” Ex. i: 8. Then fol- lows an account of the oppression of the Israelites, the de- cree for the killing of the male children, the birth of Moses, the interesting events connected with his early life and his flight to the land of Midian. These important events are merely touched upon, and then we have the following statement: “And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.” Ex. 2: 23. From this it is clear that the Pharaoh who knew not Joseph had been gathered to the tomb of his fathers. This king is commonly admitted to have been the Pharaoh of the bondage. In the third chapter we have an account of the calling of Moses. And the Lord said unto him, “ Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.” Ex. 3: 10. From this it is equally clear that an- * 1 Kings 14: 2'-,\ 2 Kings 23: 29. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 233 other Pharaoh reigned instead of the one of the oppres- sion, and this one is believed to have been the king who ruled when Moses led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. We give one ef the many portraits of Rameses II, the Pharaoh of the oppression. Of him Rawlinso.. says: “ He seems to have been the handsomest of all the kings of Egypt. A good forehead, a large, well-formed, slightly aquiline nose, a well- shaped mouth with lips not too full, and a thoughtful, pen- sive eye, constitute a face which, if not faultless, is at any rate vastly superior to the ordinary royal type in Egypt, and would attract atten- tion among any se- ries of kings.” He was a man of great physical strength and animal courage. „ ^ „ ,, . ,, , . 0 Head of Rameses II in Young Manhood. He was ambitious and sought to leave a great name behind him. The numer- ous statues of the king bear testimony to this facd His fa- ther, Seti I, the mild king, under whose gentle reign the Israelites prospered and multiplied, died and was em- 234 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. balmed and entombed. Then followed the long reign of his son, "the great Pharaoh,” whose reign continued sixty- seven years. He ruled Egypt with a rod of iron. He op- pressed the Hebrew slaves until their groans and cries reached heaven. But “in process of time” he died and was gathered to the tombs of his fathers. Many years ago, in the search for the records of the past, the tombs of Seti I, Rameses II and Menephthah were discovered in the valley of the tombs of the kings at Thebes. But the bodies had disappeared, and no trace of them was to be found. The tombs had been entered and everything movable had been taken out. What had be- come of the embalmed bodies of the Pharaohs? Who could tell? Was the history, after all, a tradition, and the Bible account a myth, as some unbelievers stoutly af- firmed? We shall see. The question remained unsolved, to all but four men, until in July, 1 88 1 , when the hiding-place was found and the bodies taken out. The history of this important dis- covery is as interesting and as strange as that of any story ever published.* On the bleak hillside, near the Ramesseum at Thebes, dwelt an Arab family of four brothers, bearing the name of Abd er-Rasul. They followed the business of guides to those who visited the ruins of Thebes and sold antiquities more or less valuable to travelers. Almost every traveler has a desire to carry with him a relic of the past as a souvenir of his journey. In 1871, on the mountain side of Deir-el-Bahari, not far from their home, they discovered the resting-place of the Pharaohs, but the secret was kept *We hereby acknowledge our indebtedness to Wilson, Brugsch and Budge, whose interesting works we have used in preparing this account of the finding of Pharaoh’s body. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 235 securely locked in the breasts of the brothers. They made occasional visits to the place, bringing away each time a supply of funeral antiquities which were sold to travelers. They sold scarabs, small images, books of papyrus, and other articles that had been buried with the bodies of the dead. Thus the brothers Rasul profited by their important discovery and kept well their secret for ten years. At last the officials of the Boolak Museum of Egyptian Antiqui- ties at Cairo, seeing the number of genuine articles of un- doubted antiquity which returning travelers brought with them, suddenly awoke to the important fact that a valuable discovery had been made by the Arabs. Early in 1881 extreme measures were entered into to secure the secret. Numbers of arrests were made without avail. Among others, Ahmed Abd er-Rasul was thrown into prison at Keneh and subjected to various kinds of tor- ture. He was subjected to the bastinado (pounding the soles of the feet with a flat board), and although his feet were pounded so that he could not walk for several months, yet his lips remained sealed. No amount of tor- ture could extract the secret from Ahmed. He remained in prison four months and was then set at liberty, and the authorities knew no more than when they first arrested him. After his liberation and return to his home, a council was held by the four brothers. They discussed the ques- tion of what was best for them to do. Some thought the danger was now all over; Ahmed thought not; spies would be set to watch them and great care must be exercised. In the discussion of the question the brothers could not agree, and a quarrel was the result. Ahmed knew that, when agreement between himself and his brothers was impos- sible, the secret was no longer safe. He determined to act 236 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. accordingly. In the darkness of the night he quietly left his home, unknown to the others, and made his way down the river to Keneh, the scene of his imprisonment and tor- ture. He asked to be taken before the Mudir (local gov- ernor of the district), and when his request was complied with he told the official that he knew the hiding-place of the Pharaohs. The governor telegraphed at once to the authorities at Cairo. When the important news was received, Emil Brugsch, Director of the Museum, scarcely able to credit the news, started at once with the government and museum steamers for Thebes, where he arrived July 4, The next day Ahmed conducted Brugsch and his party to the place where the bodies were hidden. They crossed the valley of the Nile, and, after a long and tedious climb up the western slope of the mountain side, a spot was reached where the stones appeared, to an expert observer and tomb-searcher, to have been arranged by hand rather than scattered by some upheaval of nature. Here the Arab guide suddenly stopped and said, “This is the place.” In a short time the stones, which to a cas- ual observer looked as if they had not been disturbed for centuries, were removed and the mouth of a shaft was dis- closed. Ahmed had not led Brugsch astray. He had re- vealed his long-kept secret. Ropes were secured, a heavy palm log was laid across the mouth of the shaft, and slow- ly the stones were all removed. It was found that the shaft was forty feet deep and six feet square. It had been cut down into the living rock. By means of a rope Brugsch now went down into the shaft. Reaching the bottom he found a subterranean pas- sage, which ran westward twenty-four feet, and then, turn- ing northward at a right angle, continued into the heart of WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 237 the mountain. The explorer pressed anxiously forward, his torch only dimly lighting the passage in the bowels of the mountain. The passage finally terminated in a burial The M ummy Head of Seti /, Father of the Pharaoh of the Oppression . From a Photograph . chamber thirteen feet wide, twenty-three feet long and six feet high. It was not a large place, and yet it was large enough to hold the treasures so long and so eagerly sought for in vain. In this secret underground chamber the director found piled up, not only the coffin of “ the Pharaoh of the op- 238 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. pression,” but the sarcophagi which contained the bodies of thirty-eight kings, queens, princes and high priests of ancient Egypt. The mountain gave up its dead, and the Pharaoh who set hard taskmasters over Israel was taken from his second resting-place. It may now be seen by all who visit Cairo. Herr Brugsch gave the following account of the finding of the royal mummies to Mr. Wilson:* “ Finding Pharaoh was an exciting experience to me. It is true I was armed to the teeth, and my faithful rifle, full of shells, hung over my shoulder; but my assistant from Cairo, Ahmed Effendi Kemal, was the only person with me whom I could trust. Any one of the natives would have killed me willingly, had we been alone, for every one of them knew better than I did that I was about to deprive them of a great source of revenue. But I exposed no sign of fear and proceeded with the work. The well cleared out, I descended and be- gan the exploration of the underground passage. “Soon we came upon cases of porcelain funeral offer- ings, metal and alabaster vessels, draperies and trinkets, until, reaching the turn in the passage, a cluster of mummy cases came into view in such numbers as to stag- ger me. “Collecting my senses, I made the best examination I could by the light of my torch, and at once saw that they contained the mummies of royal personages of both sexes; and yet that was not all. Plunging in ahead of my guide, I came to the chamber, where, standing against the wall and lying on the floor, I found even a greater number of mummy cases of stupendous size and weight. “ Their gold coverings and their polished surfaces so plainly reflected my own excited visage, that I seemed to *E. L. Wilson, "Through Scripture Lands.” WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 239 be looking into the faces of my own ancestors. The gilt face on the outer coffin of the amiable Queen Nefertari seemed to smile upon me like an old acquaintance. “ I took in the sit- uation quickly with a gasp, and hurried to the open air lest I should be over- come and the glori- ous prize still unre- vealed be lost to science. “It was almost sunset then. Al- ready the odor which arose from the tomb had cajoled a troop of slinking jackals to the neighborhood, and the howl of hy- enas was heard not far distant. A long line of vultures sat upon the highest pinnacles of the cliffs near by, ready for their hateful work. “The valley was as still as death. Nearly the whole of the night was occupied in hiring men to help remove the precious relics from their hiding-place. There was but lit- tle sleep in Luxor that night. Early the next morning three hundred Arabs were employed under my direction, — Mummy Head of the Pharaoh of the Oppression. From a Photograph. '40 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. each one a thief. One by one the coffins were hoisted to the surface, were securely sewed up in sail-cloth and mat- ting, and then carried across the plain of Thebes to the steamers awaiting them at Luxor. Abd er- Rasul, Brugsch Bey, and Maspero. (As photographed by E. L. Wilson at the mouth of the shaft at Deir-el-Bahari.) WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 241 “Two squads of Arabs accompanied each sarcophagus, — one to carry it and the other to watch the wily carriers. When the Nile overflow, lying midway of the plain, was reached, as many more boatmen entered the service and bore the burden to the other side. Then a third set took up the ancient freight and carried it to the steamers. Slow workers are these Egyptians, but after six days of hard labor under the July sun, the work was finished. “ I never shall forget the scene I witnessed when, standing at the mouth of the shaft, 1 watched the strange line of helpers while they carried across that historical plain the bodies of the very kings who had constructed the temples still standing, and of the very priests who had officiated in them, — the Temple of Hatason nearest; away across from Qurneh; further to the right the Ramesseum, where the great granite monolith lies face to the ground; further south Medineh. Above, a long way beyond, the Deir-el-Medineh; and then the twin Colossi, or the Vocal Memnon and his companion; then, beyond all, some more of the plain, the line of the Nile, and the Arabian hills far to the east, and above all, and with all, slowly moving down the cliff and across the plain, or in the boats, crossing the stream, w'ere the sullen laborers carrying their antique burdens. “As the Red Sea opened and allowed Israel to pass across dry-shod, so opened the silence of the Theban plain, allowed the strange funeral procession to pass, and then all was hushed again. “When we made our departure from Luxor, our late helpers squatted in groups upon the Theban side and si- lently watched us. The news had been sent down the Nile in advance of us, so when we passed the towns the people gathered at the quays and made most frantic demonstra- 242 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. tions. The fantasia dancers were holding their wildest or- gies; here and there a strange wail went up from the men; the women were screaming and tearing their hair, and the children were so frightened I pitied them. “ A few fanatical Dervishes plunged into the river and tried to reach us, but a sight of the rifle drove them back, cursing as they swam away. At night fires were kindled and guns were fired. “ At last we reached Boolak, where I soon confirmed my impression that we had indeed received the mummies of the majority of the rulers of Egypt during the eight- eenth, nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first dynasties, in- cluding Raineses II, Rameses III, King Pinotm, the high priest Nebseni, and Queen Nefertari, all of which are ar- ranged at Boolak pretty much as I found them in their long- hidden tomb. And thus our museum became the third, and probably the last, resting-place of the mummy of the great Pharaoh of the oppression.” Such is the interesting account given by the man whom the world credits with the finding of Pharaoh’s body. Ahmed Abd er-Rasul the Arab is under a cloud of suspi- cion. He took a few relics from the tomb and sold them. The bodies and all their belongings were taken away by the director in the interest of science, and the revenue of the Khedive is increased twenty-five cents every time a traveler goes to see the bodies. Europe has robbed Egypt for a hundred years, and the museums in London, Paris, Berlin and other cities are filled with her treasures. We are glad that these are collected and saved from destruc- tion, but let us not be too severe in condemning Ahmed Abd er-Rasul. When Herr Brugsch reached Cairo with his precious cargo of Pharaohs, queens and princes (having passed on WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 243 the way down the river the site of Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, where these kings had reigned more than three thousand years before) lie had it carefully unloaded from the steamer and placed in the museum, which was to be, for a time at least, its last resting-place. Here the bodies were all carefully examined by Brugsch, Maspero, and other noted Egyptian scholars, and all doubt as to the identity of the bodies was removed, for in black ink, writ- ten upon the outer and inner mummy cases by the high priests who had superintended the burial, was the record testifying to the identity of the royal contents. On the first day of June, 1886, the body of Ramcses II was carefully unwrapped by Prof. Maspero, in the presence of the Khedive of Egypt and other distinguished person- ages. With a skillful hand the professor removed the bandages. On the winding sheet of the mummy, over the region of the breast, was also found his name plainly writ- ten. In less than half an hour the bandages which were wrapped about the body so many centuries ago were un- loosed and taken off. When Prof. Maspero removed the last bandage the face of the Pharaoh who knew not Joseph, and who oppressed Israel, appeared. The following careful account of the appearance of the body was given in the professor’s report: “The head is long and small in proportion to the body. The top of the skull is quite bare. On the temples there are a few spare hairs, but at the poll the hair is quite thick, forming smooth, straight locks about five centimetres in length; white at the time of death, they have been dyed a light yellow by the spices used in embalming. The forehead is low and narrow; the brow-ridge prominent; the eyebrows are thick and white; the eyes small and close together; the nose is long, thin, and arched like the noses of the Bour- 244 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. bons, and slightly bruised at the tip by the pressure of the bandages. The temples are sunken, the cheek-bones very prominent, the ears round, standing far out from the head, and pierced like those of a woman for the wearing of ear- rings. The jaw-bone is massive and strong; the chin very prominent; the mouth small, but thick-lipped and full of some kind of black paste. This paste being partly cut away with the scissors, disclosed some much worn and very brittle teeth, which, moreover, are white and well pre- served. The mustache and beard are thin; they seem to have been shaven during life, but were probably allowed to grow during the king’s last illness, or they may have grown after death. The hairs are white, like those of the head and eyebrows, but harsh and bristly. The skin is of earthy brown, spotted with black. “Finally, it may be said that the face of the mummy gives a fair idea of the face of the living king. The ex- pression is unintellectual, perhaps slightly animal; but even under the somewhat grotesque disguise of mummification, there is plainly to be seen an air of sovereign majesty, of resolve, and of pride. The rest of the body is as well pre- served as the head; but, in consequence of the reduction of the tissues, its external aspect is less lifelike. The neck is no thicker than the vertical column; the chest is broad; the shoulders are square; the arms are crossed upon the breast; the hands are small and dyed with henna; and the wound in the left side, through which the embalmers extracted the viscera, is large and open. The legs and thighs are flesh- less; the feet are long, slender, somewhat flat-soled, and dyed like the hands, with henna. The corpse is that of an old man, but of a vigorous, robust old man. We know, indeed, that Rameses II reigned for sixty-seven year:,, _...J WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 245 that he must have been nearly one hundred years old when he died.” This description will enable the reader to form a very fair idea of the appearance of Pharaoh as he looked after the wrappings were removed from his body in 1886, and he has not changed in appearance since then. At Cairo we had plenty of time and a good opportunity to examine carefully the Egyptian antiquities, none of which interested us more than the great Pharaoh with whom we stood face to face. Touching the portrait of the king, found among the monuments of ancient Egypt, Mr. Paine, an authority on the subject, says: “ In the outline drawing of his counte- nance, the artist of more than thirty centuries ago, clearly endeavored to trace the very profile which time has dealt so tenderly with, and now, in the last days, has unvailed to our reverent gaze. Even if his royal name had not been written by Pinotem upon his cerements, we would have been able readily to recognize, and safely to identify, the great Rameses from his monuments.” We now come to another question, Why were the bodies of Pharaoh and the kings, queens, and princes found with him, removed from the tombs in which they were placed when they died? Why were they hid away in the desolate mountain fastness, west of Thebes, to be discov- ered by the Arab brothers Rasul? To enter fully into the details, which an answer to this question would involve, is impossible within the limits of this volume. We can give but a brief summary of the causes which led to the removal of the bodies from their tombs. When the ancient Egyptians buried their dead, they placed many things in the tombs with them; among others, papyrus rolls on which were written historical sketches, re- 246 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. ports, stories, etc. These rolls were really the books of an- cient Egypt. When the bodies of the kings were found, many of these books were also discovered; two of them, the one known as the Abbott, the other as the Amherst Papyrus, contain the key to the solution of the question. It seems from these writings that not many years after the death of Rameses II the lawless classes in Thebes com- menced to break open and pillage the tombs in order to secure the gold, silver and other treasures which they con- tained. The Abbott Papyrus contains an account of the trial of those who were engaged in these robberies. The trial lasted four days, when one of the robbers turned state’s evidence and made a full confession of how they broke into the tomb of King Sevek-em-saf. The transla- tion reads as follows: “ It was surrounded with masonry, and covered in with roofing stones. We demolished it and found there the king and queen reposing therein. We found the august king with his divine axe beside him, and his amulets and ornaments of gold about his neck. His head was covered with gold, and his august person was entirely adorned with gold. His coffin was overlaid with gold and silver within and without, and incrustcd with all kinds of precious stones. We took the gold which we found upon his sacred person, as also his amulets, and the ornaments which were about his neck, and about the coffin in which he reposed. And having likewise found the royal wife, we took all that we found upon her in the same manner. We seized upon their furniture, their vases of gold, and silver, and bronze, and we divided them among ourselves.” Thus it will be seen that robbing graves for gain is as old as the Pharaohs of Egypt. The above confession ex- plains two things: it tells why such great care was taken to WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 247 secrete and hide away the small chamber in which the dead body was laid to rest, and why the royal mummies were not left to repose “ each in his own house.” When the robberies were detected and the robbers brought to justice, it was felt that even the tombs of the kings were not safe, and at any time these chambers of the dead might be bro- ken open and despoiled, and the bodies of the kings de- stroyed. The priests of the line of Herhor determined to find a place of greater security. On the secluded mountain side of Deir-el-Bahari, the spot for the hiding-place was sought and found. A shaft was sunk forty feet into the living rock, from the bottom of which a tunnel led into the heart of the mountain, as de- scribed above. The coffins were one by one secretly re- moved from the tombs of the kings and carried to the lonely mountain side; here they were lowered by ropes to the bottom of the shaft and then carried to the inner cham- bers and piled up. After the work was completed, the shaft was filled with stone, and the loose stones which cov- er the hillside were so replaced that one might pass over the shaft fifty times without observing it. The priests kept their secret well, and it died with them. At last the body of Pharaoh had found a resting-place where it remained un- disturbed for nearly thirty centuries. Then the hiding- place was found, the body taken out and carried to Cairo, where it is now exhibited in the Boolak Museum, v The story of the hiding away and the finding of Pha- raoh’s body is stranger than fiction, and to the writer it has an interest that has been intensely absorbing. The sketch is brief, but, brief as it has been given, it has grown too long. And yet we must not close it without giving one more remarkable result of the finding of Pharaoh’s body. 248 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Isa. 52:4 says: “For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.” This passage of Scripture seemed difficult to understand. Why. or how, could the Assyrian oppress Israel in Egypt? The two countries are widely separated, and the statement seemed to be out of place. Some were ready to say that Isaiah made a mistake. But the monuments of Egypt and the finding of Pharaoh’s body make the statement plain. Seti I, the father of Pharaoh, was of Assyrian extrac- tion. His mother Tuaa was from the land whence Abra- ham was called. She was a queen of great beauty. In her rock-cut tomb at Thebes is a well-preserved portrait of her face. It is not Egyptian. “ The nose, especially, is straight and pointed; the brow is high, implying an intel- lect of superior order. Though her lips indicate a loving heart, she evidently possessed more of spirit than of gentle- ness. The face is that of a very attractive and beautiful woman. If Rebekah and Rachel were only half as fair as she, they were well worth a journey to Mesopotamia to obtain.” The Pharaoh who oppressed the Israelites, although an Egyptian by birth, was an Assyrian by extraction. When Isaiah wrote that the “ Assyrian oppressed ” God’s people in Egypt, he knew what he was writing about, and those to whom he wrote understood it equally well. This is only another of the many instances where the excavations and discoveries in Egypt show that the Bible account is literal- ly true, if we only arrive at a proper understanding of it. While at Thebes we had a strong desire to visit the Arab Rasul, through whose instrumentality the bodies of the Pharaohs were discovered. The dragoman of our party seemed averse to going with us. The Egyptian govern- WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 249 ment regards the old man with suspicion, and our dragoman was not far from it. Not having the fear of the Khedive before our eyes we arranged for our visit. The Elder, be- ing somewhat indisposed on account of hard work at sight- seeing, did not accompany us. We engaged Hassan Ali, a native of Luxor, a bright, intelligent Arab, as interpreter and guide. Jan. 5, 1893, alone with Hassan we set out for the home of Ahmed Abd er-Rasul. On the way Hassan, in answer to the question, “What will become of you when you die? ” said: “ Hassan good Mohammedan. When he die friends bury him. He hope God let him rest in Paradise. He work very much. He drink no strong drink. He tell no lie. He speak no bad word. When have no business he pray one, two, three times a day. When have plenty business, no pray. No time to pray then.” We had more conversation with him, but this will suf- fice. We wondered how many professing Christians there are like Hassan Ali, “ plenty business, no time to pray.” We crossed the Nile and rode over the plain of Thebes to the Ramesseum, and then leaving the beaten path we crossed over a hillside avenue, covered with broken pottery of the Roman period. Around us on every side deep holes were dug in the ground. They showed where the mummy hunters had been at work. In fifteen minutes we came to a house much better than the average Arab hut. It was the house of Ahmed. Stopping at the door, his brother Mo- hammed met us. He rapped on the door and called out in a loud voice, to warn the women who were in the room to go out. We caught a glimpse of a pair of dark eyes peering cautiously around the corner of the house, but they vanished quickly when the owner found that she was ob- served. This was an excusable bit of womanly curiosity. 25O WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. The door opened, and a tall, well-built old man of sixty-five years, with gray hair and beard, came out. It was Ah- med Abd er-Rasul, the man to whom the world is really in- debted for the finding of Pharaoh’s body. He received the visitor with a stately courtesy. Shaking hands warmly, he invited us to enter his house. He then brought two chairs, the only furniture in the room except a rude table, gave one to his guest and took the other himself. His brother Mohammed, and his son of the same name, with Hassan Ali sat, Arab fashion, on the floor. After being seated, we said to Ahmed that we had heard of him in far-away America and of the important dis- covery he had made, that we had traveled nearly eight thousand miles to visit the ruins of Thebes and that we were glad to meet him in his own house, where we had come to pay our respects to him. This speech having been turned into Arabic by Hassan, the Arab replied that he was happy because of the visit, that his house was our house and that we were most welcome to his home. After this Ahmed left the room for a moment, and on his return we heard the sound of the pestle in the stone mortar and knew that one of his women was pounding the Arabian coffee. Not caring especially for the coffee we rose to go, but Ahmed insisted that we must drink coffee with him. As it would have been a serious breach of Arab hospitality to refuse, the request was complied with. In about ten minutes he went out again and returned with a waiter on which were placed five small cups filled with coffee. He handed a cup to us, then placed the wait- er on the table and took his chair. His brother Moham- med then rose from the floor, handed a cup of coffee to Ahmed, gave one to Hassan and to Ahmed’s son, and took the remaining cup himself. Before drinking the host WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 251 wished us continual good health and prosperity. The cups contained about two tablespoonfuls of coffee. It was quite as much as we wanted. After the coffee drinking was concluded, the host took from his clothing a large pouch. From this he took a long strip of thin, white paper and a small quantity of tobacco. Wetting the paper with his lips, he placed the tobacco on it and, rolling it' up, made a cigarette which he offered to us. We politely informed him that we did not smoke, which seemed to surprise him very much. The cigarette was lighted, a few whiffs taken and then passed to his brother. Thinking now that our visit had been extended to the limit of propriety, we arose and took our leave. In part- ing, Ahmed again thanked us for our visit, shook hands warmly and said, “ God give you a safe journey to your own home and to your wife.” As we mounted our donkey, he said he wanted us to know that he was very angry with those who had treated him so badly in connection with his discovery. He sent his brother with us, and we rode away and saw no more of Ahmed Abd er- Rasul. But this was not to be the last of our visit to the Arab’s home. On our return from Nubia, ten days later, his son Mohammed met us at Luxor, bearing from his fa- ther a present of some valuable Egyptian antiquities which he handed to us with the good wishes of Ahmed. These relics of the past we prize very highly and hope to bring them home with us. CHAPTER XIV. The Pharaoh of the Exodus. — His Succession to the Throne. — His Troublous Reign. — His Son Seti Menephthah made Regent. — The Testimony of the Monuments. — The Death of the Firstborn. — The Fleeing Israelites. — Pharaoh's Pursuit. — The Destruction of his Host. HEN Rameses II died he left behind him a large number of sons and daughters, for, according to FhtSS- BrUgSCh ancj Rawlinson, he introduced the practice of polygamy into Egypt. Monogamy, always compulsory on private persons, had also been practiced by the monarchs until the reign of this king. The monuments tell of a prince of the name of Kahmus. He was the favorite son of Pharaoh's favorite queen, Isi-nefret, and was to succeed him on the throne of Egypt. The young prince was much loved by his father. He was made regent and reigned jointly with him for a number of years. But the great age attained by Rameses II left him still ruler at the death of his son, which occurred in the fifty-fifth year of his reign, when Prince Kahmus was about fifty.* Rameses II was succeeded by his fourteenth and eldest surviving son, Menephthah II, who is generally believed to have been the Pharaoh of the exodus. To the Bible stu- dent the life and history of this man are full of interest. As Paine says, if we were to choose between the Pharaoh of the oppression and the Pharaoh of the exodus, or were asked, “ Out*of the several Pharaohs mentioned in the Bi- *“ Ancient Egypt,” page 337. 2$2 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 253 ble, which one above all others would you most wish to learn about? ” with scarcely a moment’s hesitation we would answer, “The Pharaoh of the exodus.” Not because of his greatness, but because he is that one who replied, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Isra- el go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go;”* that one who required bricks and withheld the straw from the already burdened and groaning Hebrews; that one be- fore whom the contest by enchantment took place, until the magicians gave up, exclaiming, “This is the finger of God;” that one who recalled his consent the instant the evils were removed; that one who, under all the signs and wonders and plagues of Jehovah, hardened his heart up to the very entrance of death into his dwelling to lay low his cherished firstborn son, the heir to the throne; that one who repented having thrust out the bondmen, and pursued aft- er them, and overtook them encamping by the sea; that one, in fine, upon whose hosts the sea returned to its flow, till there remained not so much as one of them.f To understand more fully the relations the different Pharaohs sustain to each other we must take a glance at Egyptian history, so far as it has become a settled record. It will be borne in mind that chronologists do not all agree in their calculations of the time covered by the Bible events. The same is true of Egyptian chronology. As to time, Egyptian history may be divided into three great pe- riods: first, the ancient monarchy about which very little is known, and about which the chronologists differ widely. Second, the reign of the shepherd kings, known as the Hyk- sos. The history of this line of kings is also enveloped in mystery. The monuments and tombs make some disclo- *Ex. s: 2. fPaine in the Century for September, 1889. 254 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. sures concerning them, but little is known about them. Third, the later monarchy, with Thebes as its capital, which comes in contact with the Bible history. We have, in our study of the Bible, grouped all we know of these t^ee periods around the names of the patri- archs Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. These names follow each other in the Bible in such a way that we are apt to forget that many years are covered by the Pentateuch, and that there is not a continuity in the Bible story. The author of the first five books of the Bible did not write a history of Egypt, but of the chosen people of God, and he briefly alludes to the Pharaohs only when they come in touch with the events recorded in the history of the He- brews. We should bear in mind that the Pharaoh who reigned when Abram and his beautiful wife Sarai went down into Egypt lived some two hundred years before Joseph became the slave of Potiphar; and over a hundred years elapsed from the time of Joseph’s Pharaoh until “there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” In this time a number of Pharaohs reigned. According to Brugsch, who is an authority on the history of Egypt, fif- teen Pharaohs reigned in the four hundred years preceding tlie death of Menephthah II, the Pharaoh of the exodus. He gives the following list of rulers for the two hundred years preceding the death of the Pharaoh of the oppres- sion: i Rameses I. Seti I. Rameses II. Amen-hotep III. Amen-hotep IV. Horus. Menephthah II. The same author says: “The new Pharaoh ‘who knew not Joseph’ and who adorned the cities of Rameses and Pithom with temples and treasuries, can be no other than WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 255 Rameses II. He is undoubtedly the Pharaoh of the op- pression, and the father of that unnamed princess who found Moses in the little papyrus bark among the flags of the river. . . As Rameses II must be regarded as the Pharaoh under whom Moses first saw the light, so the chronological relations, — having regard to the great age of the two contemporaries, Rameses II and Moses, — demand that Menephthah II should, in all probability, be acknowl- edged as the Pharaoh of the exodus!'* The general agree- ment among Egyptologists as to the Pharaohs of the oppression and exodus, with the inscriptions recently dis- covered and the finding of the body of Rameses II, leaves but little room for doubt on this question. The monuments of Egypt are not silent as to the life and character of Menephthah II, the vacillating Pharaoh of the exodus. While during his troublous reign he did not erect great temples and hundreds of statues as his father did, yet he has left his record on the temple walls and statues of others. At Thebes there is a beautiful statue in bas-relief of Menephthah. The engraving which we give is from a photograph of the head of the statue which appears in outline on page 258. It is said to be a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art and is especially interesting because it presents to us the face of the Pharaoh of the exodus. Of his reign Rawlinson says: “ Inheriting from his fa- ther an empire which was everywhere at peace with its neighbors, he might have expected to have had a tranquil and prosperous reign, and to have carried on the burst of architectural energy which had manifested itself under his father and grandfather. The power however which directs human affairs, wholly disappointed these expectations. The unclouded prospects of his early years gave place, aft- *Brugsch, “History of Egypt.” 256 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. er a brief interval, to storm and tempest of the most fear- ful kind; a terrible invasion carried fire and sword into the heart of his dominions; and he scarcely escaped this dan- ger when internal troubles broke out, — a subject race, high- Menephthah, the Pharaoh of the Exodus , WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 257 ly valued for the services which it was forced to render, in- sisted on quitting the land; a great loss was incurred in an attempt to compel it to remain; rebellion broke out in the south; and the reign, which had commenced under such fair auspices, terminated in calamity and confusion. Me- nephthah was quite incompetent to deal with the difficult circumstances in which he found himself placed; he hesi- tated, temporized, made concessions, retracted them — and finally conducted Egypt to a catastrophe from which she did not recover for a generation.”* The search among the monuments of ancient Egypt re- veals many interesting facts concerning Menephthah II and his troublous reign. The question as to whether the antiq- uities of Egypt do fully illustrate the life of the man who defied the power of God even until his firstborn son was slain may be answered in the affirmative. Many of the best Egyptian scholars, among whom are Rawlinson, Rob- inson, Paine, Brugsch, and others, set forth the history of Menephthah in the light of recent discoveries in Egypt. To these authors we are indebted for what we here give of his life. Among the many interesting facts known concerning the Pharaoh of the exodus it now comes out that he was se- riously troubled in the last years of his reign by a pretend- er to the throne. Why should there be a pretender in any case, if there was a legitimate heir, the firstborn son of the monarch? It almost assumes that there was no such per- son, to say that a pretender set up a claim, and, indeed, succeeded in obtaining the golden scepter and holding it for five years. Put with this the information, supplied by a monument preserved in the Berlin Museum, which tells that Menephthah II lost a son by a very melancholy and Ancient Egypt.” pages 337, 33S, 258 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. sudden death. Nei- ther this nor that gives the c i r c u in- stances, but the fact is noted, and the sto- ry is silent. That the successor of Me- nephthah II was dead had to be stated because of the titles in the reigning line; but that he died in the terrible plague of the exodus was perhaps too much for Egyptian vanity. Here the narrative of the Inspired Book is needed to supple- ment a group of sug- gest i ve facts, and connect them so that they can be under- stood. It was not to be expected that any mention would be made of the ten plagues by which Pharaoh was brought into subjection to Je- hovah; the details were too mortify- ing to be related, Outline of Statue of Menephthah at Thebes. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 259 Think of the humiliation of Pharaoh in having to admit that princes of the blood, and maid servants in the houses, prisoners in jails, and laborers in the field, even beasts in their stalls, must share the same awful stroke of Jehovah’s wrath; the king must mourn in his grief over his eldest boy, as the bereaved beggar mourned over his dead son. There would be one common wail of broken hearts throughout Egypt. Hence national haughtiness would hush up such things. But the Bible gives them: “And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dun- geon; and all the firstborn of the cattle.” Ex. 12: 29.* These particulars show a wonderful corroboration be- tween the story of the life of the Pharaoh of the exodus, as revealed by the monuments of ancient Egypt, and the Bible narrative written by Moses. But the references to the king and his son who was to have succeeded him on the throne of Egypt do not stop here. The agreement be- tween the monuments and the Bible will become more apparent as we continue, thus affording more abundant tes- timony of the truth of the Book of God. One among the first things undertaken by a young prince was to prepare a sepulchre for his body. The son of Menephthah II began such a tomb in the valley of the tombs of the kings where his ancestors were laid to rest. It was never finished. Champollion, the P'rench Egyptolo- gist, says of it: “ This poor sepulchral hall was only a cor- ridor in the plan, whose extremity lies still in the rough rock; and it became the room of the sarcophagus, or funer- al chamber, by the accident of the death of the Pharaoh.” The unfinished tomb and the accident referred to tell us of *Robinson. 26o WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. an early and sudden death, and we think at once of the fate of the firstborn in Egypt. A number of wall tablets have been found in Mount Silsilis on which are inscriptions and pictures in bas-relief referring to Menephthah II and his son. Paine refers to no less than six of these tablets. They set forth that the son of the Pharaoh of the exodus was Seti Menephthah; thus showing that the young prince bore the names of his great grandfather, Seti, and of his father. They also make it clear that he was associated on the throne with his father. One of the inscriptions speaks in these extravagant terms of the young prince: “Crown prince of the palace over the two countries, chief of millions, head over hundreds of thousands, he who stands in closest relationship to the good God, the royal son of his body begotten, beloved of him, of royal birth, the chief of the soldiers, the very great regent in behalf of him.”* Here we are informed that Me- nephthah II had made his son regent and that he was asso- ciated with his father upon the throne. With these facts in the mind let us read the words of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of his servant Moses: “ About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maid- servant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.” Ex. 11: 4, 5. The monuments tell us that the firstborn son of Pharaoh, the prince Seti Menephthah, sat on the throne of his father as associate ruler. The Bible refers to him as “ the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne.” The correspondence between the two is most remarkable, and the testimony is complete. *Baine. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 2b I The evidence that the firstborn son of the Pharaoh of the exodus died very young is not wanting. In the corri- dor of the unfinished tomb to which we have referred is a statue of the prince in bas-relief. It is remarkably well preserved. Providence, who dealt so severely with both fa- ther and son, shielded this statue of the son through all the centuries that have passed since it was chiseled on the walls of the tomb, so that we can see him to-day as he was in life. The figure is a masterpiece of beauty. It is full of life and expression. The artist who conceived and wrought this gem had real genius and great skill. The lineaments are full of youthlike tenderness. Way back in those days of antiquity the graver knew how to soften rock. About the statue are the royal cartouches and beneath these are the signs for deceased , “ Makheru.” These are re- peated, and their date must be very nearly that of the death of the prince. Had this statue been sculptured any length of time before his death, these signs for deceased would be absent. Inasmuch as in this instance there was no need to make the subject younger than he actually was, or more divine, Seti Ivlenephthah could not have been more than twenty years of age when he was brought low instant- ly, here to be committed to his “eternal home.” A por- trait statue of Seti Menephthah in middle life or old age does not exist.* Again we note the wonderful agreement between the monuments and the Bible. In view of the foregoing facts Paine invites our atten- tion to the fact that the antiquities of Egypt, the best among authorities, stand ready to teach us: i. That Seti Menephthah was the firstborn son of his father. 2. That his father lived to a great age. 3. That the son’s adminis- tration was merely one of regency in behalf of his father. *Paine in the Century for September, 1889. 262 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 4. That the son died early, before the father died. It fol- lows that Seti Menephthah corresponds to the Biblical (1) firstborn son (2) of a living Pharaoh, (3) who sat on his throne, (4) but died suddenly before his father died. Both the Egyptian monuments and the Hebrew Scriptures de- scribe a situation embracing four distinct premises: the four are identical in both accounts; the logical conclusion, therefore, must be that they relate to the same personage, for in the nature of things two series of such identical par- ticulars would not occur apart once in many ages. There has also come down to us from the ancient tombs a papyrus containing a funeral dirge, written on the death of Seti Menephthah. Translated it reads as follows: “O fan bearer at the right of the king, Crown prince in the grand hall of Seb, Royal scribe of truth! Thy mouth and thy lips were full of health: Thou wast in favor with the king all thy life. O Horus, friend of things that are just! Thou shalt dwell a thousand years on the earth, Thou reposest upon the mountain Whose mistress is on the west of Thebes, in the Necropolis. Thy soul is renewing itself among the living, And mingling among the perfected spirits. Descending into the divine bark, thou are not repulsed, Thou passest even to the jaws of the tomb; Thou art judged before the deity Osiris; Thou art proclaimed righteous.” And here we may leave the prince who died on that night when the angel of death passed over the land of Egypt. The greatest trial and the darkest hour in the life of Menephthah II must have been when his son was strick- en dead by the mysterious God of the Hebrews. And who can doubt that his own voice went up in the great cry that welled forth from desolate homos that dark night in Egypt? The king was now an old man, and the blour came all the WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 263 heavier because on his dead boy rested all his hopes of a successor to the throne of Egypt. Now his last hope was gone. No son of his should sit upon the throne of Kam. No wonder that this great calamity broke his proud heart and conquered his stubborn will. For the time being he is a changed man and he hum- bles himself before the God of Israel: “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” Ex. 12: 31, 32. So the proud king submitted and even humbled himself to ask a blessing from Moses, the servant of the most high God. With the permission, given in the words of a command, the men and women who had been slaves for so many years fled at once from the land of bondage. Hope ran high and joy filled every heart, for at last the Lord had heard their cry and was now leading them away from their cruel task- masters, away from the land of bondage to the promised land of freedom. But the vacillating king had already changed his mind. This believer in sorcery, enchantments, and in dreams was already saying, “Why have we done this, that we have left Israel go from serving us?” He doubtless thought of the loss he was sustaining. He saw the empty brick-yards, the deserted public works, where but yesterday the slaves were toiling by the thousands and everything was full of life. Now all is hushed and still. The Hebrews are gone. “ Why have I done this thing?” Menephthah II asks himself again. He forgets the death of his son, he makes ready his chariot and pursues the flee- ing bondmen, hoping to overtake them and bring them back into bondage. Again he is ready to defy the Lord of heav- 264 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. en and again comes the Divine Hand between Pharaoh and the Israelites to save them. The sea is opened, the Israel- ites pass through and the army of Pharaoh, following them, is overthrown in the waters. “Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.” Ex. 14: 30. Did Pharaoh lead his army into the sea? Did he per- ish with them, and if so was his body covered up in the sands of the sea? The Mosaic account does not say that Pharaoh was drowned. In Psalms 136: 15 we have these words: “ But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea;” but the marginal reading gives, as the meaning of the Hebrew word, “shook off,” instead of overthrow. The Re- vised Version gives the same reading. In reading the care- ful account written by Moses there is nothing said about the destruction of the king. The language used is clear and explicit: “ And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.” Ex. 14: 27, 28. If Pharaoh had gone in with his army and had been drowned, it is not likely that a state- ment of the fact would have been omitted from the ac- count. It will also be noticed that in the song of Moses, sung after the deliverance of the Israelites, no mention is made of the death of Pharaoh himself, A singular fact is that, when the bodies of the father and grandfather of Menephthah II were found at Deir-el- Bahari, his body was not found with them. It was not found in the magnificent tomb that he prepared for it, WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 265 which we visited at Thebes. Why? The question cannot now be answered. He may have perished in the Red Sea; he may have been entombed and afterwards his body hie den away from the grave-robbers. The question must be left in the hands of the excavator. The body of the Pha- raoh of the exodus, he who defied the Lord of heaven and earth, may some day be found, and we may look upon h’s face. CHAPTER XV. Farewell to Thebes. — The Temples at Esneh and Edfou. — Assuan and the First Cataract. — The Granite Quarries. — The Market-place. The Bisharin. — Camel Riding. — The Tropic of Cancer. — Persistent Merchants. — The Nilometer. — A Quiet Ride on the Desert. — The Famine of the Bible. ) ffU'fHE time allotted for our stay at No-amon passed quickly away and we leave Luxor reluctantly, feel- ing that months might be spent to advantage in ex- ploring the mighty ruins of Thebes. We are to spend some time here on our return, so we go away, hoping to see more of this interesting place. Southward we journey, stemming the current of the Nile and occasionally coming to a sud- den standstill on some hidden sandbar, recently formed by the ever-changing current of the river. Our pilot is watch- ful and the measuring pole is constantly in use, but with every possible care he fails. The sandbars are hidden by the muddy waters and are a source of considerable anxiety. Owing to this hindrance, our progress up the river is slow, but we suffer no harm, for the engineer clears the boat by reversing the engines and backing down stream. During the forenoon we have a light shower of rain, quite an unusual occurrence in Upper Egypt. Years pass here without a drop of rain falling, so that literally the land here drinks not “ the water of the rain of heaven.” The great deserts on either side of the Nile valley are without moisture. Clouds do not form and the land is without rain. 266 Interior of the Temple at Esneh WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 267 Our first stop after leaving Thebes is at Esneh, where there is a temple which has only recently been excavated. Centuries ago the sands of the desert, drifting over the edi- fice, covered it up and preserved from vandalism its beauti- ful sculptures and paintings. Compared with Thebes, the 268 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. temple at Esneh is of modern construction, for it was built at the beginning of the Christian era and bears the name of several Roman emperors. The interior is beautiful. The capitals of the columns bear the palm leaf instead of the lotus. The colorings on the walls are as fresh and bright as if they had been laid on but a few years ago. Our engraving shows the interior construction of the tem- ple. After our visit to the interesting temple we are fol- lowed to the boat by more than a hundred men and boys begging for backsheesh. Their dwelling-place is in the vil- lage of Esneh and they hail the arrival of the traveler with delight, for they usually succeed in securing some money as a result of their begging. After we had regained the boat, the crowd stood on the steep banks, shouting back- sheesh at the top of their voices. Some of the passengers threw small pieces of money among them and then the rush and struggle for the coins became furious. At times a half dozen boys were piled together, pushing and pulling with all their strength and shouting at the top of their voices in the struggle to gain the coveted prize. Half naked when the struggle began, they were soon divested of all their clothing. When one w'ould finally secure the piece of money it was quickly placed in the mouth. Sever- al of the masses of shouting, struggling men and boys rolled down the steep bank into the river. It was a furious mob and was only dispersed after the boat had pulled away from the shore. Even then the crowd ran along the shore shouting backsheesh, backsheesh, and the last faint sound that was wafted to our ears across the waters of the Nile from Esneh was b-a-c-k-s-h-e-e-s-h. This incident was not only amusing but instructive as well. All over the world the love of money is common to WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 269 humanity. The desire to get gain crops out on all sides. In our great commercial centers are organized boards of trade. The writer has witnessed fully as much excitement and heard as much shouting and yelling on the Chicago Board of Trade when the corn market was cornered as was heard among the Arabs at Esneh. The only real differ- ence in the two crowds was that of culture. Both had the same object in view, the getting of money, and when the superior advantages of civilization are taken into considera- tion it remains to be said that the Esneh crowd will com- pare favorably with that of the Chicago Board of Trade. At Edfou we stop for the night. We are now five hun- dred and fifteen miles south of Cairo and are nearing the first cataract. At Edfou is perhaps the best preserved temple m Egypt. In 1864 it was excavated by Mariette Bey. Prior to that time it was hidden beneath the sand and an Arab village stood above its walls and sanctuary. The temple at Edfou was begun under the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes I, B. C. 237, and was completed B. C. 57. Thus one hundred and eighty years were spent in the construction of this magnificent structure. Our engraving shows the pylon in front, the open court in the center and the covered chambers and sanctuary in the rear. The space enclosed by the walls measures four hundred and fifty by one hundred and twenty feet. Very early in the morning of our twelfth day on the Nile we leave Edfou and, passing Silsilis, where are the tablets referring to the reign of Menephthah II, to which we called attention in a preceding chapter, and Kom Om- bo, where there is a temple dedicated to the crocodile god of ancient Egypt, we proceed at once to Assuan, at the first cataract. View of the Temple of Edfou. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 2/1 Before reaching the first cataract the scenery along the Nile changes. The country is more hilly and rolling, and “ instead of flat, monotonous banks of sand and mud, we have masses of rock broken up into grotesque and fantastic forms. Groves of palm, mimosa, and castor-oil plant come down to the water’s edge. The limestone and sandstone ranges which we find in the Nile valley from Cairo to Silsilis, here give place to granite, porphyry and basalt. The islands in the stream are no longer shifting accretions of mud alter- nately formed and dissolved by the force of the current, but rocks and boulders of granite, which rise high above the river and resist its utmost force.” The water rushes and foams about the base of these granite formations and with a rapid descent forms what is known as the first cata- ract. It is in no sense of the word a waterfall, but simply a rushing, rapid descent of the river. The small Nile boats are taken up the rapids to the smooth waters above the cataract. We have now reached the border-land of Nubia. Egypt, the kingdom of the Pharaohs, is left behind us. We stand on the line between Upper Egypt and the Ethio- pia of the Bible. It was of this very place that the proph- et spoke when he said, “ Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.” Ezek. 29: 10. Assuan lies on the east bank of the Nile, partly on the narrow strip of fertile land and partly on a hill. The date palm grows to perfection here, and the fruit is noted for its excellent quality. We never ate finer dates than those grown here. The city contains a native population of about ten thousand souls, but was at one time much larger. The Arabian historians record the fact that at one time 2^2 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. twenty thousand people died here of the plague. The an- cient name of the place was Syene, and it was known by this name in Bible times. It was near this place that the quarries of the famous syenite were located. Here the great obelisks, the facing of the pyramids, the granite coffins and the statuary of the Pharaohs were cut, and then floated down the river on rafts to the places where they were used. In the quarry, partly covered with sand, is an immense obelisk, which the an- cient stone-cutters partly finished and then, for some cause unknown to the world to-day, rejected and left in its unfin- ished state. The granite took its name from the place where it was quarried, — Syene, — and is known all over the world now as syenite. Some of the granite found here is susceptible of a very high polish. We gathered, for some friends at home who are especially interested in the study of geology, a few pieces that had been chipped off by the ancient workmen. We shall visit the quarries again and have more to say of them. Assuan is the center of a great traffic with the interior of Africa. Great caravans arrive from the desert, bringing ostrich feathers, ivory, india rub- ber, senna, tamarinds, wax, skins, horns, spears, dried dates and other merchandise. The camels are unloaded and then, after a few days’ rest, are loaded with cotton cloth, prints, beads, guns, powder, and other manufactured arti- cles for barter with the native tribes of the interior. An open space outside the town serves as a market-place and storehouse. Here Arabs, Turks, Ethiopians, Nubians, Abyssinians and Negroes from central Africa meet on a common level and perfect equality. It is noticeable here that the color of a man’s skin is not set down as an objec- tionable feature, and, be he white or black, so long as he WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. conducts himself in accordance with the standard rules of society he is considered a man. We walk through the open market-place, and it is full of interest to us. Here are groups of merchants buying and selling their wares. Here and there are bales of goods around which women and children are lounging in their quaint costume, which is noted for being extremely scanty. Fires are kindled and cooking is being done, for the mer- chants and their families eat and sleep by their goods. In this market-place one may purchase for a small sum of money any of the products of central Africa. Do you want a huge elephant tusk, valuable for its ivory? Here you can find it. Would you purchase beautiful ostrich feathers? Here they are, — white, grey or black, to suit your taste. Then there are ebony war clubs, poisoned ar- rows, mounted spears, shields made of rhinoceros hide, fans, silver rings and armlets, ivory hoops, all of which are for sale. And here you may see strange birds and mon- keys, and sometimes young lions, all brought from the inte- rior of Africa. Mr. Manning was offered a lion cub for seventy-five dollars. The owner, not finding a purchaser at that price, gradually came down to twenty. “ It was a good tempered little brute, playing about like an over- grown kitten, but an angry growl and an ominous showing of the teeth gave warning of trouble at no distant period.” At Assuan we saw a number of an African tribe called Bisharin. A short distance from the city there is a village of these peculiar people. They live in the most primitive style, without houses or tents. A few pieces of matting made of palm leaves and supported by sticks afford them all the shelter they have. As it is quite warm here, even in midwinter, and never rains, the matting answers a good purpose as a shade in midday. We took with us an 274 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. Abyssinian who spoke a little English and visited the Bis- harin village. The people were quite friendly and were not averse to talking, but, owing to the fact that our interpreter had but a limited knowledge of their dialect, our conversa- tion was quite limited. The young boys and girls, with their sparkling black eyes, their beautiful, ivory-like teeth, and their brown skin, were really handsome, but the men and women, owing to the hideous manner of wearing the hair and grinning, were far from beautiful. At one place a woman was grinding alone at a mill very similar to the hand-mills used in Palestine. She kept on at her work and when I stooped down and took up a little of the coarse meal in my hand she offered an objec- tion. I then showed her a piece of money, but she seemed to have no disposition to be friendly. One of those who were standing by ran away and in a few minutes returned with a handful of the meal, for which I gave her the piece of money. The people came around me in a crowd and were much interested in examining my pocket compass and watch. The ticking of the watch pleased and interested the men and women as much as it does our children, and the movement of the magnetic needle was a source of great wonder to them. A camel ride was enjoyed, or rather endured, during our stay at the first cataract. At the pyramids we rode a camel for a short distance on the desert, but our first real experience of this kind of travel was at Assuan. The camel is the common beast of burden in Egypt. His home is on the sands of the desert, and he is peculiarly adapted to his home. He can travel for days without water or food, but he does not do it without protest. Camels are natural growlers. As they come and go, heavily burdened and with their long necks craning forward, they keep up a WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 275 chorus of short grunts and growls. This seems to be their only consolation. They are cross and do not show any signs of affection for their drivers. On the contrary, they will give them a vicious nip if a favorable opportunity offers. They kneel down when they receive their burden, and again when they are to be unloaded. When we were seated on the back of the kneeling an- imal the driver said, “ Look out,” and suddenly the camel lifted its rear to a standing posture, throwing us violently forward. It required a tight grip to keep from being rolled off in the sand. Then a sudden jerk brought the animal on all fours, and we set off for a ride on the “ship of the desert.” The camel has a peculiar gait, which has been called a corkscrew motion, and is caused by the ani- mal lifting both feet on the same side at the same time. The motion is very tiresome, and after a time becomes ex- ceedingly painful. The rider must learn to sway his body with the peculiar motion of the camel. Until he does this, there is nothing so fatiguing as riding of this kind. The Fdder assured the writer that lie felt the effects of his camel ride for some days, and wanted no more of it. The following from a writer who has made a study of the camel is somewhat lengthy, but it is worth preserving: “Its long neck is elevated and stretched forward. It is carrying its head horizontally, with its upper lip drawn down. In this drawn-down lip, and in its whole demeanor, there is an expression of contempt, — contempt for the modern world. You can read its thoughts. ‘I belong,’ it is saying to itself, for it cares nothing about you, still you can’t help understanding it, ‘ I belong to the old world. There was time and room enough then for everything. What reason can there be for all this crowding and hasten- ing? 1 move at a pace which used to satisfy kings and 2/6 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. patriarchs. My fashion is the old world fashion. Rail- ways and telegraphs are nothing to me. Before the pyra- mids were thought of, it had been settled what my burden was to be, and at what pace it was to be carried. If any of these unresting pale faces (what business have they with me?) wish not to be knocked over, they must get out of the way. I give no notice of my approach; I make way for no man. What has the grand, calm old world come to? There is nothing now anywhere but noise and pushing and money-grabbing;’ and every camel that you will meet will be going the same measured pace, holding its head in the same position, drawing down its lip with the same con- tempt, and soliloquizing in the same style.” The ancient astronomers made Assuan noted because they claimed that it was situated on the Tropic of Cancer and that it was here that, on the longest day of the year, the rays of the sun fell vertically. It was also stated that there was a famous well here into which the sun, at the same season of the year, was said to shine and illuminate it at every part. The ancient astronomers must have been mistaken or else the circle has changed, for it has been found by accurate measurement that the Tropic of Cancer is nearly half a degree south of this place. Nearly opposite Assuan is the Island of Elephantine. Soon after our boat was made fast at the landing-place we entered small rowboats and crossed to the island. No sooner had we landed than we were surrounded with itiner- ant merchants, each pressing us to buy his wares. So per- sistent were they that it was simply impossible for us to move. Matcour and Gladius, our dragomen, came to the rescue and drove the merchants away by a vigorous use of their heavy whips; but they returned again and again, and WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 2/7 we did not get rid of them until we entered our boats again and rowed away from the shore. On the island is an ancient Milometer which we exam- ined with interest. It is used to ascertain the rise of the river. St'aoo says of it: “The Nilometer is a well upon the banks of the Nile, constructed of close-fitting stones, on which are marked the greatest, least, and mean risings of the Nile; for the water in the well and in the river rises and subsides simultaneously. Upon the wall of the well are lines which indicate the complete rise of the river, and other degrees of rising. Those who examine these marks communicate the result to the public for their information. For it is known long before, by these marks, and by the time elapsed from the commencement, what the future rise of the river will be, and notice is given of it. This informa- tion is of service to the husbandmen with reference to the distribution of water; for the purpose also of attending to the embankments, canals, and other things of this kind. It is also of use to the governors, who fix the revenue; for the greater the rise of the river, the greater it is expected will be the revenue.” As it was a thousand years ago, so to-day the Nilometer is carefully examined, and the taxes on the land are fixed according to the rise of the river. From Assuan to Phils, a distance of about eight miles, the Egyptian government has constructed the narrow gauge railway by which freight and passengers are carried around the first cataract. The steamers cannot ascend the rapids. The Elder and others of the party, who are to go with us to the second cataract, prepare to take the train; but the writer, having so much of that kind of travel at home, decides to go by donkey. It is a pleasant and com- fortable way of traveling, and then one likes to be alone sometimes. We select a trusty, sure-footed little donkey 2J8 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. and, with a Nubian boy who speaks no English, set out very early in the morning on our ride. We ride over to the granite quarries, and spend some time inspecting the work of the ancient masons and stone-cutters. From the records there is little doubt that the Pharaohs sent many of the sons of Jacob here to cut and polish stone for the temples in Lower Egypt. They have left distinct traces of their work behind them. All the blocks of granite, the casing of the pyramids, the pillars, columns, obelisks and statues which we have already seen came from this quarry. The method in which the blocks were quarried out one above the other is still to be distinctly seen on the face of the cliff. The skill with which huge masses of granite were detached from the face of the cliff to which they belonged and handled without injury is absolutely marvelous. The obelisks were completely finished on three sides before they were finally detached from their native rock. This was done by boring numerous holes along a fixed line and then driving in wooden wedges and pouring water on them. In this manner the great masses were split from the face of the cliff. These ancient stone-cutters also understood the art of splitting stones by heat.* From the granite quarries we ride out on the broad, sandy desert and continue our journey alone. We have a delightful ride and enjoy the solitude of the sandy waste. It is a time for thought and meditation, and who will be surprised to know that our mind is not in the desert, but with loved ones at home! Shall we be permitted to see them again? God knows. To him we commit all our ways and he will order all things well. In due time we reach the landing-place for the steam- ers, opposite Philas, where the steamer Oonas is moored. * '• Upper Egypt,” page 277. The Island of Phil