MR. J. H. PARKER'S TOUR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 4, 6 January 1903, Page 4

MR. J. H. PARKER'S TOUR.

(Continued.) Aftar wo had the feur dtvs in qnaiantmo we went ashorr. C:olj's agent, Mr Tbedoio Yongo, With a laudau and a dragoman, we ttaried at about 8 a.m. for a drive along the cojßt to the Dag River. This river was a very interesting one both through the town and ecu: ti y. There is much evidence of prosperity oufsd.the town. Wo pvwed t .rough miles of mulbarry plantations, which we.-. just bursting into le.f. The ru-jlborry is reared for the food of the silkworm. A short from the Hog River are the waterworks of Bey rout. At the mouth of the rivtr Ow s.eatry is very beautiful, and on th- face of the cliffs on the southern bank of the river aid s : jme remarkable motinnents oi antiquitv. Thesa consist of three Egyptian and six Aryrirn sculptures cuVin the rock. The foimer relate tc c-itiin expeditions of Raincses II. : King i.f iigipN snd tho other two aie dedicated toPhthih and Rn, Egyptian 6oJs. The later be-r the names ol Tiglath P.leser, Sennacherib, Saa. Mi.ni-.er, hsirLaidon.and Asiur Risisi. Thete is also a R man scu'pturo ref r ring to the Emperor Mar .us Aurft'ius The ancient gateway of Piyrou". in tm old roadway cu; in the rock, tho Roaiat bridge and ?qiuducts, find trio'ce-* traffic and ra :, w.iy bridg-s weil l-jpai.' a visit. On our r turn we st --ppsd tr tee the old wooden church bui*t on th( sita where tradition lc att3 the onfltcl of St. George with the dr.-gon. A nsv. and larger church wss in course ol t3DSti action outsida the wood-n rne> Tbe'e are six Caiho'ic monas'eries vvi 1 churches aid sc';o Is attache!, ni i school managfd by Pro" est ir/. sister* alco a meiicil school and Lospit-l i. charge of American mis-iauariw There are six b spit Is ia our But the Jesuit College ; s ow if U.e larg. 3t and most imprsing buildirgs ir the t mn, The day was beautifully calm and sucoy, aod we left the harbour at sun set for Jaff>. We were about eleven houii sietm'ug from Beyrout, and s»cbo'.ed in the roadstead eff Jaft'a at about 5 a.m. Here we got our fi r st view of the Holy L;nd. The view is very picturesque from tli3sea. Thr's i= the port to which Hiraic, Kiog oi Tyre, sent cei)a r in floats for tin temple of Solomon. It was from here that the prophet Jonah sailed for Tarshuh when he fled from the presence of the Lord. Here St. Peter raised Dorcas to life, and in a vision saw a sheet let down from heaven full of bens's and r<ptiles, and received the command to go to Cornelius to Ca?:?.rea. We did net land at Jsflv, as we wished to go through Galilee before Holy Week, for we intended to spend our Easter in Jerusalem. We sailed for Haifa at noon, and on a beautifully smooth sea passed sufficiently ceer the coist to get a very fair Areuf, Cic-srea, Tantuia, and Atblit. When we "were off Cse-area we could see the monattei j and lighthouse on Mount Carme'. Castellum Peregrinirum, or Athlir, is s very imposing ruin; a portion of the t iwn is still standing, and some of the arches are complete. The best visw oi this ruin is from the morsh. We droppd anchor in the Bay of Acre, op posits Haifa, abjut 5 p.m, bavirg been five hours on the passage from Jaffa. The fiist sight we had of Acre on the cDsst to the north the sun wee sh°'ning on the wbi'e buildiugs, which appeared like a flock of whit" sergulls on the waves. We had no difficulty k landing, as Cock's agunt pessed u; through the crowd of so'diers and officii Is without ecy trouble, ard we were handed to a l-inc'tu, and driven through the quaint narrow and crooked scree's to the Hotel CVrroel. In the cool of the eveniog we bad a charming; stroll through the German colony and p3st lovely gardens t) the shore and along the stono pier, which the Sul-as specially built for tin heding < f thf Kais:r on his visit to Pa'etiuMount; Catmel lcok d love'y in \\vfading light; ihe seen. l w?s n;> of perfect p;ace. Hc-xrcaly a iJLp'.e .. ..*■>jjj:.i: the b.s.iu cf ;lio buy. 'i>..; C.le» i.O sentries btepj.eu f;>ilb to k ep a;-.-poii-tod vigiU for tiit' nis;!-:" r.v.r sao''ii tain V_a'c- .ad fvi.. Tho drenm ot oui chiidhcod aud m.i!ur-t xeai> iv;.realitftl, our feet wcto p <>ii' -: ;hys ii of this racrtd land, e.es >estcd upjr. i s hallowed m uri-iin, w-brt-a'heu its atmij plicii.nni ;s -o ' .v . down to i ct i >.<:« i, «e s' ou J drc.m of Hm v.-ho h-.d not where tc lay His head. We rcse at 6 o'clock the following morning, and af f er an early bre-kfast our diagomar., McGee, was waiting for us with a landau, and we at once started on our drive for Tiberias. As we drove eastward through the Phin of Akk-i, be'ween Mount Carmel on the sou h <.cd the river Kishoo on the north, we passed the finest palm grove in Palestine. In the distanco beyond the Ki«hon were some earthworks buih by Napoleon I. Just before crossing the river we caught the first glimp-e of the entrance to the Plain of Ksdraelon (the pass is , called by the Arabs Tell-el-Kassis) and , the hill of the priests, with the Kishon close beneath. Ttadition informs us that this is the place where El jah slew the prophets uf Bjal. To the hit of the pass on the side of the hill we saw Harosheth of the Gentiles, the home of Sissra, general of tho army of JabiD, Kicg of Canaan ; and it was he told to Sisera, eon of Abinoem, that Barak was gona up to Mount Thabor, and Le gathered together his 900 chariots of iron Pi'med with scythes and all his army from Harosheth of the Gsniiles to the torrent Kieben. And Deborah ths prophet #tid to Barak: " Aris<?, for tbis is toe day wherein the Lord hath delivered Sisera iuto thy hands; hehold he is thy leader." And Busk went down from Mount Thabor and 10,000 lighting rcen w ; th him, and tho Lord struck tsrror in*o Sisera and a l l bis chario'.s and all his multitude with the edge of tbo sword at the sight of Barak, insomuch that S ; s«r* leaping down from his chariot fled away on feot. "Aod Birak pursued after th? fl;e'ng chariots and tLe aniiy unto H'irosheth of the Genti'os, and all the multitude of enemies was utterly rioBtroyed. It was from the lattice of \er vsicdow on the hillside that the: mother of Sisera looked for the r. tm no ? her ' son through the pass of Toll el-Kas-is, but he orne not, for hG took refuge in his flight in the t?nt of Jael, and as hn slept she took a cail of the tent and also a hammer, and going in sof ly and with silence she pui the nail upo.i the . tempi s of his htad, and, sinking it with the ntuamor, drove i'- through his brain fast into the ground, aud so passing from d*ep sleap to death, he f .ined away and died. Thi evergreen cr.k fores' through which we dro>e o \ the north of the p3S3 is exceedingly love'y, i and for natural beauty one of ' he moit i chariaiog spats wa saw in PJes'iae. Aft r pasi.ig the ridge, on which