THE Methodist Magazine. MAY, 1893. TENT LIFE IN PALESTINE. JAFFA TO JERUSALEM. BY THE EDITOR. I. DULL and insensate as a very clod must that man be who is not stirred to deep emotion as he gazes, for the first time, on the shores of that country, which all Christendom has agreed to call, the Holy Land. The land of the patriarchs and prophets, of the sages and the seers, of the kings and priests of God in the old dispensation, and above all, the land made sacred evermore by the life and teaching, the miracles and mighty works, the Cross and Passion of the Incarnate Son of God, and by the labours and ministrations of His disciples, is, to every soul capable of a spark of feeling, invested with the deepest and most hallowed interest. The predominant and ever-present thought, as one rides over its hills, or through its valleys, and walks round about Jerusalem, or beside the Sea of Galilee, is, "this is the Lord's land." Through its towns and cities, its highways and byways, Jesus went about doing good. We may follow His journeyings. We may walk as it were in His very footprints. These are the hills and valleys on which His eye rested. Over Him bent the same deep blue sky, and around Him spread this flower-enamelled sod or these stony tracts. These are the very fields- "Over whose acres walked those blessèd feet, It is no wonder that from the time of Helena, the mother of Constantine, this sacred land has been the scene of pious pilgrimage. Every foot of it is hallowed ground, and much of it has VOL. XXXVII. No. 5. been dyed with the best blood of Europe, during the 200 years of the Crusades, in the effort to rescue the tomb of our Lord from the desecration of the misbelieving Moslem. At last the dream of a lifetime was fulfilled. We could read in our Bibles the record of the greatest events in the history of the world, on the very spot where these events took place. With these thoughts surging through our minds, our little Canadian SEAWARD LOOKING FROM JAFFA. party, in the early morning of April 2nd, 1892, beheld the yellow sand dunes of the coast of old Philistia. A little later the gray walls and terraced slopes of ancient Joppa came into view. The flat-roofed, cliff-like, stone houses rose like gigantic steps one above another from the sea. There being no harbour our steamer came to anchor in the open roadstead. Soon large, clumsy boats, rowed by stalwart Arabs, came off to convey the pilgrims, from many lands and of many tongues, to the shore. The usual tremendous shouting and gesticulation ensued. After bargaining with a swarthy Arab we embarked in his boat, climbing down the ship's ladder and getting into the rude craft just as, rising on the crest of a wave, it came within our reach. Landing is often exceedingly difficult, and is sometimes quite impossible, on account of the turbulent state of the roadstead, .exposed to the full sweep of the Mediterranean Sea. In such cases passengers are often carried on to Haifa, or even to Beyrout, a distance of over a hundred miles, and have to take their chances of landing on their return trip. In October, 1892, thirty-two persons were drowned by the upsetting of a boat in attempting to land at Jaffa in rough weather. We were fortunate, however, in having a comparatively calm sea. The stalwart rowers bent to their oars, and with much vociferation propelled us through the surf. One place was of special difficulty and peril, where the surf broke over the ledge. of rocks, leaving only a narrow passage through which the boat might go. The cut on page 420 gives a fair idea of the mode of landing, the ship tossing in the roadstead and the rocky ledge in the middle distance. On these rocks, tradition avers, the fair Andromeda was chained that she might be devoured by the sea monster, but was released by Perseus. The landing arrangements could not well be worse. An iron girder for one of the railway bridges had fallen into the water and obstructed the approach to the shore, so we had to climb out of the boat to a shelf about a foot wide, at the base of a stone wall, and creep along upon it for a number of yards to an open gate. The small baggage was thrown over the top of the wall, and the larger pieces were dragged along this narrow shelf. Ours got safe ashore, but I saw one trunk fall into the water, to be rescued in a badly damaged condition. A small fee procured us exemption from examination of our baggage, and we were soon on our way to our hotel in the suburbs of the town, a couple of stout porters carrying our many packages on their backs. The view from the elevated gallery of the hotel was one of intense interest. Around us spread luxurious gardens of orange |