City Life in Jerusalem.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 280, 11 July 1888, Page 3

City Life in Jerusalem.

jNlt^s vox Finkelsteik's &ecoud lecture, which had for its subject, the social iiabits, manners and customs of the inhabitants of that city which has been for 18 centuries a holy city in the eyes of Jew, Christian and Moslem alike and the religious centreof half the world, attracted a crowded audience to the Athenamm Hall, Melbourne. As on the occasion of her first address in Melbourne, Miss yon Finkelstein was assisted in her illustrations by several ladies and gentlemen in costume, and the platform was in parb furnished to represent the hoire of a wealthy merchant in Jerusalem, betides having* two panoramic views of that citj*. Attired herself a-3 the wife of a merchant of Jerusalem, the lecturers had grouped around, her a Christian Arab, a Mohammedan, a youth, a young girl .and a handmaiden ; and in describing life in the harem, wedding customs and home receptions she was enabled to present striking pictures of the scenes she designed to depict. Miss yon Finkelstein's description of the lord's Supper differ.- materially, as may be supposed, from the paintings of the o*d masters, and ftom the familiar prints of the subject. The lady of Jerusalem, she explains, dresses in her best at home, not for the stranger who may visit her, bub for the husband or brother who treads the thorny path of life for her advantage. The Biblical references to St. John preaching in the wilderness she defines to mean pi'eaching in country towns or places which have no walls around them, for in Jerusalem to go outside the walls is equivalent to entering the wilderness. The lecturess was noticeably successful in pleasing the audience with her imitation of the cries of stieet hawkers, including that of the water-carrier who shouts, literally in the words of the prophet Isaiah, { Oli, everyone that thirsteth, come unto me and drink ;' and in her rendering of a song of rejoicing, such as that which was sung by the women who went out to meet David and Saul. The parable of the foolish and wise virgins, a^ regards its relation to elaborate marriage cu&toms, so often used as symbols in the Scriptures-, was also explained with-a vividness of detail which gave additional strength to the meaning of the words ' Too late I Ye cannot enter now ;' and the lecturers concluded a lengthy discourse, which was full of picturesquely varied treatment, amid hearty applause*