In the principal room of the strangers’ house (the lay traveller is not admitted to dwell in the sacred interior of the convent), and over the building, the Russian double-headed eagle is displayed. The place is under the patronage10 of the Emperor Nicholas; an Imperial Prince has stayed in these rooms; the Russian consul11 performs a great part in the city; and a considerable annual stipend12 is given by the Emperor towards the maintenance of the great establishment in Jerusalem. The Great Chapel13 of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is by far the richest, in point of furniture, of all the places of worship under that roof. We were in Russia, when we came to visit our friends here; under the protection of the Father of the Church and the Imperial Eagle! This butcher and tyrant14, who sits on his throne only through the crime of those who held it before him — every step in whose pedigree is stained by some horrible mark of murder, parricide16, adultery — this padded and whiskered pontiff — who rules in his jack-boots over a system of spies and soldiers, of deceit, ignorance, dissoluteness, and brute17 force, such as surely the history of the world never told of before — has a tender interest in the welfare of his spiritual children: in the Eastern Church ranks after Divinity, and is worshipped by millions of men. A pious18 exemplar of Christianity truly! and of the condition to which its union with politics has brought it! Think of the rank to which he pretends, and gravely believes that he possesses, no doubt! — think of those who assumed the same ultra-sacred character before him! — and then of the Bible and the Founder20 of the Religion, of which the Emperor assumes to be the chief priest and defender21!
We had some Poles of our party; but these poor fellows went to the Latin convent, declining to worship after the Emperor’s fashion. The next night after our arrival, two of them passed in the Sepulchre. There we saw them, more than once on subsequent visits, kneeling in the Latin Church before the pictures, or marching solemnly with candles in processions, or lying flat on the stones, or passionately22 kissing the spots which their traditions have consecrated23 as the authentic24 places of the Saviour25’s sufferings. More honest or more civilised, or from opposition26, the Latin fathers have long given up and disowned the disgusting mummery of the Eastern Fire — which lie the Greeks continue annually27 to tell.
Their travellers’ house and convent, though large and commodious28, are of a much poorer and shabbier condition than those of the Greeks. Both make believe not to take money; but the traveller is expected to pay in each. The Latin fathers enlarge their means by a little harmless trade in beads30 and crosses, and mother-of-pearl shells, on which figures of saints are engraved31; and which they purchase from the manufacturers, and vend32 at a small profit. The English, until of late, used to be quartered in these sham33 inns; but last year two or three Maltese took houses for the reception of tourists, who can now be accommodated with cleanly and comfortable board, at a rate not too heavy for most pockets.
To one of these we went very gladly; giving our horses the bridle34 at the door, which went off of their own will to their stables, through the dark inextricable labyrinths35 of streets, archways, and alleys36, which we had threaded after leaving the main street from the Jaffa Gate. There, there was still some life. Numbers of persons were collected at their doors, or smoking before the dingy37 coffee-houses, where singing and story-telling were going on; but out of this great street everything was silent, and no sign of a light from the windows of the low houses which we passed.
We ascended38 from a lower floor up to a terrace, on which were several little domed39 chambers40, or pavilions. From this terrace, whence we looked in the morning, a great part of the city spread before us:— white domes41 upon domes, and terraces of the same character as our own. Here and there, from among these whitewashed42 mounds43 round about, a minaret44 rose, or a rare date-tree; but the chief part of the vegetation near was that odious29 tree the prickly pear — one huge green wart45 growing out of another, armed with spikes46, as inhospitable as the aloe, without shelter or beauty. To the right the Mosque47 of Omar rose; the rising sun behind it. Yonder steep tortuous48 lane before us, flanked by ruined walls on either side, has borne, time out of mind, the title of Via Dolorosa; and tradition has fixed49 the spots where the Saviour rested, bearing his cross to Calvary. But of the mountain, rising immediately in front of us, a few grey olive-trees speckling the yellow side here and there, there can be no question. That is the Mount of Olives. Bethany lies beyond it. The most sacred eyes that ever looked on this world have gazed on those ridges50: it was there He used to walk and teach. With shame and humility51 one looks towards the spot where that inexpressible Love and Benevolence52 lived and breathed; where the great yearning53 heart of the Saviour interceded54 for all our race; and whence the bigots and traitors55 of his day led Him away to kill Him!
That company of Jews whom we had brought with us from Constantinople, and who had cursed every delay on the route, not from impatience56 to view the Holy City, but from rage at being obliged to purchase dear provisions for their maintenance on ship-board, made what bargains they best could at Jaffa, and journeyed to the Valley of Jehoshaphat at the cheapest rate. We saw the tall form of the old Polish Patriarch, venerable in filth57, stalking among the stinking58 ruins of the Jewish quarter. The sly old Rabbi, in the greasy folding hat, who would not pay to shelter his children from the storm off Beyrout, greeted us in the bazaars60; the younger Rabbis were furbished up with some smartness. We met them on Sunday at the kind of promenade61 by the walls of the Bethlehem Gate; they were in company of some red-bearded co-religionists, smartly attired62 in Eastern raiment; but their voice was the voice of the Jews of Berlin, and of course as we passed they were talking about so many hundert thaler. You may track one of the people, and be sure to hear mention of that silver calf63 that they worship.
The English mission has been very unsuccessful with these religionists. I don’t believe the Episcopal apparatus64 — the chaplains, and the colleges, and the beadles — have succeeded in converting a dozen of them; and a sort of martyrdom is in store for the luckless Hebrews at Jerusalem who shall secede65 from their faith. Their old community spurn66 them with horror; and I heard of the case of one unfortunate man, whose wife, in spite of her husband’s change of creed67, being resolved, like a true woman, to cleave68 to him, was spirited away from him in his absence; was kept in privacy in the city, in spite of all exertions70 of the mission, of the consul and the bishop71, and the chaplains and the beadles; was passed away from Jerusalem to Beyrout, and thence to Constantinople; and from Constantinople was whisked off into the Russian territories, where she still pines after her husband. May that unhappy convert find consolation72 away from her. I could not help thinking, as my informant, an excellent and accomplished73 gentleman of the mission, told me the story, that the Jews had done only what the Christians74 do under the same circumstances. The woman was the daughter of a most learned Rabbi, as I gathered. Suppose the daughter of the Rabbi of Exeter, or Canterbury, were to marry a man who turned Jew, would not her Right Reverend Father be justified76 in taking her out of the power of a person likely to hurl77 her soul to perdition? These poor converts should surely be sent away to England out of the way of persecution78. We could not but feel a pity for them, as they sat there on their benches in the church conspicuous79; and thought of the scorn and contumely which attended them without, as they passed, in their European dresses and shaven beards, among their grisly, scowling80, long-robed countrymen.
As elsewhere in the towns I have seen, the Ghetto81 of Jerusalem is pre-eminent in filth. The people are gathered round about the dung-gate of the city. Of a Friday you may hear their wailings and lamentations for the lost glories of their city. I think the Valley of Jehoshaphat is the most ghastly sight I have seen in the world. From all quarters they come hither to bury their dead. When his time is come yonder hoary82 old miser83, with whom we made our voyage, will lay his carcase to rest here. To do that, and to claw together money, has been the purpose of that strange long life.
We brought with us one of the gentlemen of the mission, a Hebrew convert, the Rev75. Mr. E-; and lest I should be supposed to speak with disrespect above of any of the converts of the Hebrew faith, let me mention this gentleman as the only one whom I had the fortune to meet on terms of intimacy84. I never saw a man whose outward conduct was more touching85, whose sincerity86 was more evident, and whose religious feeling seemed more deep, real, and reasonable.
Only a few feet off, the walls of the Anglican Church of Jerusalem rise up from their foundations on a picturesque87 open spot, in front of the Bethlehem Gate. The English Bishop has his church hard by: and near it is the house where the Christians of our denomination88 assemble and worship.
There seem to be polyglot89 services here. I saw books of prayer, or Scripture90, in Hebrew, Greek, and German: in which latter language Dr. Alexander preaches every Sunday. A gentleman who sat near me at church used all these books indifferently; reading the first lesson from the Hebrew book, and the second from the Greek. Here we all assembled on the Sunday after our arrival: it was affecting to hear the music and language of our country sounding in this distant place; to have the decent and manly91 ceremonial of our service; the prayers delivered in that noble language. Even that stout92 anti-prelatist, the American consul, who has left his house and fortune in America in order to witness the coming of the Millennium93, who believes it to be so near that he has brought a dove with him from his native land (which bird he solemnly informed us was to survive the expected Advent), was affected94 by the good old words and service. He swayed about and moaned in his place at various passages; during the sermon he gave especial marks of sympathy and approbation95. I never heard the service more excellently and impressively read than by the Bishop’s chaplain, Mr. Veitch. But it was the music that was most touching I thought — the sweet old songs of home.
There was a considerable company assembled: near a hundred people I should think. Our party made a large addition to the usual congregation. The Bishop’s family is proverbially numerous: the consul, and the gentlemen of the mission, have wives, and children, and English establishments. These, and the strangers, occupied places down the room, to the right and left of the desk and communion-table. The converts, and the members of the college, in rather a scanty96 number, faced the officiating clergyman; before whom the silver maces of the janissaries were set up, as they set up the beadles’ maces in England.
I made many walks round the city to Olivet and Bethany, to the tombs of the kings, and the fountains sacred in story. These are green and fresh, but all the rest of the landscape seemed to me to be FRIGHTFUL98. Parched99 mountains, with a grey bleak100 olive-tree trembling here and there; savage101 ravines and valleys, paved with tombstones — a landscape unspeakably ghastly and desolate102, meet the eye wherever you wander round about the city. The place seems quite adapted to the events which are recorded in the Hebrew histories. It and they, as it seems to me, can never be regarded without terror. Fear and blood, crime and punishment, follow from page to page in frightful succession. There is not a spot at which you look, but some violent deed has been done there: some massacre103 has been committed, some victim has been murdered, some idol104 has been worshipped with bloody105 and dreadful rites106. Not far from hence is the place where the Jewish conqueror107 fought for the possession of Jerusalem. “The sun stood still, and hasted not to go down about a whole day;” so that the Jews might have daylight to destroy the Amorites, whose iniquities108 were full, and whose land they were about to occupy. The fugitive109 heathen king, and his allies, were discovered in their hiding-place, and hanged: “and the children of Judah smote110 Jerusalem with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire; and they left none remaining, but utterly111 destroyed all that breathed.”
I went out at the Zion Gate, and looked at the so-called tomb of David. I had been reading all the morning in the Psalms112, and his history in Samuel and Kings. “Bring thou down Shimei’s hoar head to the grave with blood,” are the last words of the dying monarch113 as recorded by the history. What they call the tomb is now a crumbling114 old mosque; from which Jew and Christian19 are excluded alike. As I saw it, blazing in the sunshine, with the purple sky behind it, the glare only served to mark the surrounding desolation more clearly. The lonely walls and towers of the city rose hard by. Dreary115 mountains, and declivities of naked stones, were round about: they are burrowed116 with holes in which Christian hermits117 lived and died. You see one green place far down in the valley: it is called En Rogel. Adonijah feasted there, who was killed by his brother Solomon, for asking for Abishag for wife. The Valley of Hinnom skirts the hill: the dismal118 ravine was a fruitful garden once. Ahaz, and the idolatrous kings, sacrificed to idols119 under the green trees there, and “caused their children to pass through the fire.” On the mountain opposite, Solomon, with the thousand women of his harem, worshipped the gods of all their nations, “Ashtoreth,” and “Milcom, and Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites.” An enormous charnel-house stands on the hill where the bodies of dead pilgrims used to be thrown; and common belief has fixed upon this spot as the Aceldama, which Judas purchased with the price of his treason. Thus you go on from one gloomy place to another, each seared with its bloody tradition. Yonder is the Temple, and you think of Titus’s soldiery storming its flaming porches, and entering the city, in the savage defence of which two million human souls perished. It was on Mount Zion that Godfrey and Tancred had their camp: when the Crusaders entered the mosque, they rode knee-deep in the blood of its defenders120, and of the women and children who had fled thither121 for refuge: it was the victory of Joshua over again. Then, after three days of butchery, they purified the desecrated122 mosque and went to prayer. In the centre of this history of crime rises up the Great Murder of all . . .
I need say no more about this gloomy landscape. After a man has seen it once, he never forgets it — the recollection of it seems to me to follow him like a remorse123, as it were to implicate124 him in the awful deed which was done there. Oh! with what unspeakable shame and terror should one think of that crime, and prostrate125 himself before the image of that Divine Blessed Sufferer!
Of course the first visit of the traveller is to the famous Church of the Sepulchre.
In the archway, leading from the street to the court and church, there is a little bazaar59 of Bethlehemites, who must interfere126 considerably127 with the commerce of the Latin fathers. These men bawl128 to you from their stalls, and hold up for your purchase their devotional baubles129 — bushels of rosaries and scented130 beads, and carved mother-of-pearl shells, and rude stone salt-cellars and figures. Now that inns are established — envoys131 of these pedlars attend them on the arrival of strangers, squat132 all day on the terraces before your door, and patiently entreat133 you to buy of their goods. Some worthies134 there are who drive a good trade by tattooing135 pilgrims with the five crosses, the arms of Jerusalem; under which the name of the city is punctured136 in Hebrew, with the auspicious137 year of the Hadji’s visit. Several of our fellow-travellers submitted to this queer operation, and will carry to their grave this relic138 of their journey. Some of them had engaged as servant a man at Beyrout, who had served as a lad on board an English ship in the Mediterranean139. Above his tattooage of the five crosses, the fellow had a picture of two hearts united, and the pathetic motto, “Betsy my dear.” He had parted with Betsy my dear five years before at Malta. He had known a little English there, but had forgotten it. Betsy my dear was forgotten too. Only her name remained engraved with a vain simulacrum of constancy on the faithless rogue’s skin: on which was now printed another token of equally effectual devotion. The beads and the tattooing, however, seem essential ceremonies attendant on the Christian pilgrim’s visit; for many hundreds of years, doubtless, the palmers have carried off with them these simple reminiscences of the sacred city. That symbol has been engraven upon the arms of how many Princes, Knights140, and Crusaders! Don’t you see a moral as applicable to them as to the swindling Beyrout horseboy? I have brought you back that cheap and wholesome141 apologue, in lieu of any of the Bethlehemite shells and beads.
After passing through the porch of the pedlars, you come to the courtyard in front of the noble old towers of the Church of the Sepulchre, with pointed142 arches and Gothic traceries, rude, but rich and picturesque in design. Here crowds are waiting in the sun, until it shall please the Turkish guardians144 of the church-door to open. A swarm145 of beggars sit here permanently146: old tattered147 hags with long veils, ragged148 children, blind old bearded beggars, who raise up a chorus of prayers for money, holding out their wooden bowls, or clattering150 with their sticks on the stones, or pulling your coat-skirts and moaning and whining151; yonder sit a group of coal-black Coptish pilgrims, with robes and turbans of dark blue, fumbling152 their perpetual beads. A party of Arab Christians have come up from their tents or villages: the men half-naked, looking as if they were beggars, or banditti, upon occasion; the women have flung their head-cloths back, and are looking at the strangers under their tattooed153 eyebrows154. As for the strangers, there is no need to describe THEM: that figure of the Englishman, with his hands in his pockets, has been seen all the world over: staring down the crater155 of Vesuvius, or into a Hottentot kraal — or at a pyramid, or a Parisian coffee-house, or an Esquimaux hut — with the same insolent157 calmness of demeanour. When the gates of the church are open, he elbows in among the first, and flings a few scornful piastres to the Turkish door-keeper; and gazes round easily at the place, in which people of every other nation in the world are in tears, or in rapture158, or wonder. He has never seen the place until now, and looks as indifferent as the Turkish guardian143 who sits in the doorway159, and swears at the people as they pour in.
Indeed, I believe it is impossible for us to comprehend the source and nature of the Roman Catholic devotion. I once went into a church at Rome at the request of a Catholic friend, who described the interior to be so beautiful and glorious, that he thought (he said) it must be like heaven itself. I found walls hung with cheap stripes of pink and white calico, altars covered with artificial flowers, a number of wax candles, and plenty of gilt-paper ornaments160. The place seemed to me like a shabby theatre; and here was my friend on his knees at my side, plunged161 in a rapture of wonder and devotion.
I could get no better impression out of this the most famous church in the world. The deceits are too open and flagrant; the inconsistencies and contrivances too monstrous162. It is hard even to sympathise with persons who receive them as genuine; and though (as I know and saw in the case of my friend at Rome) the believer’s life may be passed in the purest exercise of faith and charity, it is difficult even to give him credit for honesty, so barefaced163 seem the impostures which he professes166 to believe and reverence167. It costs one no small effort even to admit the possibility of a Catholic’s credulity: to share in his rapture and devotion is still further out of your power; and I could get from this church no other emotions but those of shame and pain.
The legends with which the Greeks and Latins have garnished168 the spot have no more sacredness for you than the hideous169, unreal, barbaric pictures and ornaments which they have lavished170 on it. Look at the fervour with which pilgrims kiss and weep over a tawdry Gothic painting, scarcely better fashioned than an idol in a South Sea Morai. The histories which they are called upon to reverence are of the same period and order — savage Gothic caricatures. In either a saint appears in the costume of the middle ages, and is made to accommodate himself to the fashion of the tenth century.
The different churches battle for the possession of the various relics171. The Greeks show you the Tomb of Melchisedec, while the Armenians possess the Chapel of the Penitent172 Thief; the poor Copts (with their little cabin of a chapel) can yet boast of possessing the thicket173 in which Abraham caught the Ram156, which was to serve as the vicar of Isaac; the Latins point out the Pillar to which the Lord was bound. The place of the Invention of the Sacred Cross, the Fissure174 in the Rock of Golgotha, the Tomb of Adam himself — are all here within a few yards’ space. You mount a few steps, and are told it is Calvary upon which you stand. All this in the midst of blaring candles, reeking175 incense176, savage pictures of Scripture story, or portraits of kings who have been benefactors177 to the various chapels178; a din1 and clatter149 of strange people — these weeping, bowing, kissing — those utterly indifferent; and the priests clad in outlandish robes, snuffling and chanting incomprehensible litanies, robing, disrobing, lighting179 up candles or extinguishing them, advancing, retreating, bowing with all sorts of unfamiliar180 genuflexions. Had it pleased the inventors of the Sepulchre topography to have fixed on fifty more spots of ground as the places of the events of the sacred story, the pilgrim would have believed just as now. The priest’s authority has so mastered his faith, that it accommodates itself to any demand upon it; and the English stranger looks on the scene, for the first time, with a feeling of scorn, bewilderment, and shame at that grovelling182 credulity, those strange rites and ceremonies, that almost confessed imposture164.
Jarred and distracted by these, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, for some time, seems to an Englishman the least sacred spot about Jerusalem. It is the lies, and the legends, and the priests, and their quarrels, and their ceremonies, which keep the Holy Place out of sight. A man has not leisure to view it, for the brawling183 of the guardians of the spot. The Roman conquerors184, they say, raised up a statue of Venus in this sacred place, intending to destroy all memory of it. I don’t think the heathen was as criminal as the Christian is now. To deny and disbelieve, is not so bad as to make belief a ground to cheat upon. The liar181 Ananias perished for that; and yet out of these gates, where angels may have kept watch — out of the tomb of Christ — Christian priests issue with a lie in their hands. What a place to choose for imposture, good God! to sully with brutal185 struggles for self-aggrandisement or shameful186 schemes of gain!
The situation of the Tomb (into which, be it authentic or not, no man can enter without a shock of breathless fear, and deep and awful self-humiliation) must have struck all travellers. It stands in the centre of the arched rotunda187, which is common to all denominations188, and from which branch off the various chapels belonging to each particular sect189. In the Coptic chapel I saw one coal-black Copt, in blue robes, cowering190 in the little cabin, surrounded by dingy lamps, barbarous pictures, and cheap faded trumpery191. In the Latin Church there was no service going on, only two fathers dusting the mouldy gewgaws along the brown walls, and laughing to one another. The gorgeous church of the Fire impostors, hard by, was always more fully192 attended; as was that of their wealthy neighbours, the Armenians. These three main sects193 hate each other; their quarrels are interminable; each bribes194 and intrigues195 with the heathen lords of the soil, to the prejudice of his neighbour. Now it is the Latins who interfere, and allow the common church to go to ruin, because the Greeks purpose to roof it; now the Greeks demolish196 a monastery197 on Mount Olivet, and leave the ground to the Turks, rather than allow the Armenians to possess it. On another occasion, the Greeks having mended the Armenian steps which lead to the (so-called) Cave of the Nativity at Bethlehem, the latter asked for permission to destroy the work of the Greeks, and did so. And so round this sacred spot, the centre of Christendom, the representatives of the three great sects worship under one roof, and hate each other!
Above the Tomb of the Saviour, the cupola is OPEN, and you see the blue sky overhead. Which of the builders was it that had the grace to leave that under the high protection of Heaven, and not confine it under the mouldering198 old domes and roofs, which cover so much selfishness, and uncharitableness, and imposture?
We went to Bethlehem, too; and saw the apocryphal199 wonders there.
Five miles’ ride brings you from Jerusalem to it, over naked wavy200 hills; the aspect of which, however, grows more cheerful as you approach the famous village. We passed the Convent of Mar15 Elyas on the road, walled and barred like a fort. In spite of its strength, however, it has more than once been stormed by the Arabs, and the luckless fathers within put to death. Hard by was Rebecca’s Well: a dead body was lying there, and crowds of male and female mourners dancing and howling round it. Now and then a little troop of savage scowling horsemen — a shepherd driving his black sheep, his gun over his shoulder — a troop of camels — or of women, with long blue robes and white veils, bearing pitchers201, and staring at the strangers with their great solemn eyes — or a company of labourers, with their donkeys, bearing grain or grapes to the city — met us and enlivened the little ride. It was a busy and cheerful scene. The Church of the Nativity, with the adjoining convents, forms a vast and noble Christian structure. A party of travellers were going to the Jordan that day, and scores of their followers202 — of the robbing Arabs, who profess165 to protect them (magnificent figures some of them, with flowing haicks and turbans, with long guns and scimitars, and wretched horses, covered with gaudy203 trappings), were standing204 on the broad pavement before the little convent gate. It was such a scene as Cattermole might paint. Knights and Crusaders may have witnessed a similar one. You could fancy them issuing out of the narrow little portal, and so greeted by the swarms205 of swarthy clamorous206 women and merchants and children.
The scene within the building was of the same Gothic character. We were entertained by the Superior of the Greek Convent, in a fine refectory, with ceremonies and hospitalities that pilgrims of the middle ages might have witnessed. We were shown over the magnificent Barbaric Church, visited of course the Grotto207 where the Blessed Nativity is said to have taken place, and the rest of the idols set up for worship by the clumsy legend. When the visit was concluded, the party going to the Dead Sea filed off with their armed attendants; each individual traveller making as brave a show as he could, and personally accoutred with warlike swords and pistols. The picturesque crowds, and the Arabs and the horsemen, in the sunshine; the noble old convent, and the grey-bearded priests, with their feast; and the church, and its pictures and columns, and incense; the wide brown hills spreading round the village; with the accidents of the road — flocks and shepherds, wells and funerals, and camel-trains — have left on my mind a brilliant, romantic, and cheerful picture. But you, dear M-, without visiting the place, have imagined one far finer; and Bethlehem, where the Holy Child was born, and the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill208 towards men,” is the most sacred and beautiful spot in the earth to you.
By far the most comfortable quarters in Jerusalem are those of the Armenians, in their convent of St. James. Wherever we have been, these Eastern quakers look grave, and jolly, and sleek209. Their convent at Mount Zion is big enough to contain two or three thousand of their faithful; and their church is ornamented210 by the most rich and hideous gifts ever devised by uncouth211 piety212. Instead of a bell, the fat monks213 of the convent beat huge noises on a board, and drub the faithful in to prayers. I never saw men more lazy and rosy than these reverend fathers, kneeling in their comfortable matted church, or sitting in easy devotion. Pictures, images, gilding214, tinsel, wax candles, twinkle all over the place; and ten thousand ostrichs’ eggs (or any lesser215 number you may allot) dangle216 from the vaulted217 ceiling. There were great numbers of people at worship in this gorgeous church: they went on their knees, kissing the walls with much fervour, and paying reverence to the most precious relic of the convent — the chair of St. James, their patron, the first Bishop of Jerusalem.
The chair pointed out with greatest pride in the church of the Latin Convent, is that shabby red damask one appropriated to the French Consul — the representative of the King of that nation — and the protection which it has from time immemorial accorded to the Christians of the Latin rite69 in Syria. All French writers and travellers speak of this protection with delightful218 complacency. Consult the French books of travel on the subject, and any Frenchman whom you may meet: he says, “La France, Monsieur, de tous les temps protege les Chretiens d’Orient;” and the little fellow looks round the church with a sweep of the arm, and protects it accordingly. It is bon ton for them to go in processions; and you see them on such errands, marching with long candles, as gravely as may be. But I have never been able to edify219 myself with their devotion; and the religious outpourings of Lamartine and Chateaubriand, which we have all been reading a propos of the journey we are to make, have inspired me with an emotion anything but respectful. “Voyez comme M. de Chateaubriand prie Dieu,” the Viscount’s eloquence220 seems always to say. There is a sanctified grimace221 about the little French pilgrim which it is very difficult to contemplate222 gravely.
The pictures, images, and ornaments of the principal Latin convent are quite mean and poor, compared to the wealth of the Armenians. The convent is spacious223, but squalid. Many hopping224 and crawling plagues are said to attack the skins of pilgrims who sleep there. It is laid out in courts and galleries, the mouldy doors of which are decorated with twopenny pictures of favourite saints and martyrs225; and so great is the shabbiness and laziness, that you might fancy yourself in a convent in Italy. Brown-clad fathers, dirty, bearded, and sallow, go gliding226 about the corridors. The relic manufactory before mentioned carries on a considerable business, and despatches bales of shells, crosses, and beads to believers in Europe. These constitute the chief revenue of the convent now. La France is no longer the most Christian kingdom, and her protection of the Latins is not good for much since Charles X. was expelled; and Spain, which used likewise to be generous on occasions (the gifts, arms, candlesticks, baldaquins of the Spanish sovereigns figure pretty frequently in the various Latin chapels), has been stingy since the late disturbances227, the spoliation of the clergy97, &c. After we had been taken to see the humble228 curiosities of the place, the Prior treated us in his wooden parlour with little glasses of pink Rosolio, brought with many bows and genuflexions by his reverence the convent butler.
After this community of holy men, the most important perhaps is the American Convent, a Protestant congregation of Independents chiefly, who deliver tracts229, propose to make converts, have meetings of their own, and also swell230 the little congregation that attends the Anglican service. I have mentioned our fellow-traveller, the Consul-General for Syria of the United States. He was a tradesman, who had made a considerable fortune, and lived at a country-house in comfortable retirement231. But his opinion is, that the prophecies of Scripture are about to be accomplished; that the day of the return of the Jews is at hand, and the glorification232 of the restored Jerusalem. He is to witness this — he and a favourite dove with which he travels; and he forsook233 home and comfortable country-house, in order to make this journey. He has no other knowledge of Syria but what he derives234 from the prophecy; and this (as he takes the office gratis) has been considered a sufficient reason for his appointment by the United States Government. As soon as he arrived, he sent and demanded an interview with the Pasha; explained to him his interpretation235 of the Apocalypse, in which he has discovered that the Five Powers and America are about to intervene in Syrian affairs, and the infallible return of the Jews to Palestine. The news must have astonished the Lieutenant236 of the Sublime237 Porte; and since the days of the Kingdom of Munster, under his Anabaptist Majesty238, John of Leyden, I doubt whether any Government has received or appointed so queer an ambassador. The kind, worthy, simple man took me to his temporary consulate-house at the American Missionary239 Establishment; and, under pretence240 of treating me to white wine, expounded241 his ideas; talked of futurity as he would about an article in The Times; and had no more doubt of seeing a divine kingdom established in Jerusalem than you that there would be a levee next spring at St. James’s. The little room in which we sat was padded with missionary tracts, but I heard of scarce any converts — not more than are made by our own Episcopal establishment.
But if the latter’s religious victories are small, and very few people are induced by the American tracts, and the English preaching and catechising, to forsake242 their own manner of worshipping the Divine Being in order to follow ours; yet surely our religious colony of men and women can’t fail to do good, by the sheer force of good example, pure life, and kind offices. The ladies of the mission have numbers of clients, of all persuasions243, in the town, to whom they extend their charities. Each of their houses is a model of neatness, and a dispensary of gentle kindnesses; and the ecclesiastics244 have formed a modest centre of civilisation245 in the place. A dreary joke was made in the House of Commons about Bishop Alexander and the Bishopess his lady, and the Bishoplings his numerous children, who were said to have scandalised the people of Jerusalem. That sneer246 evidently came from the Latins and Greeks; for what could the Jews and Turks care because an English clergyman had a wife and children as their own priests have? There was no sort of ill will exhibited towards them, as far as I could learn; and I saw the Bishop’s children riding about the town as safely as they could about Hyde Park. All Europeans, indeed, seemed to me to be received with forbearance, and almost courtesy, within the walls. As I was going about making sketches248, the people would look on very good-humouredly, without offering the least interruption; nay249, two or three were quite ready to stand still for such an humble portrait as my pencil could make of them; and the sketch247 done, it was passed from one person to another, each making his comments, and signifying a very polite approval. Here are a pair of them, [illustration] Fath Allah and Ameenut Daoodee his father, horse-dealers250 by trade, who came and sat with us at the inn, and smoked pipes (the sun being down), while the original of the above masterpiece was made. With the Arabs outside the walls, however, and the freshly arriving country people, this politeness was not so much exhibited. There was a certain tattooed girl, with black eyes and huge silver earrings251, and a chin delicately picked out with blue, who formed one of a group of women outside the great convent, whose likeness252 I longed to carry off; — there was a woman with a little child, with wondering eyes, drawing water at the Pool of Siloam, in such an attitude and dress as Rebecca may have had when Isaac’s lieutenant asked her for drink:- both of these parties standing still for half a minute, at the next cried out for backsheesh: and not content with the five piastres which I gave them individually, screamed out for more, and summoned their friends, who screamed out backsheesh too. I was pursued into the convent by a dozen howling women calling for pay, barring the door against them, to the astonishment253 of the worthy papa who kept it; and at Miriam’s Well the women were joined by a man with a large stick, who backed their petition. But him we could afford to laugh at, for we were two and had sticks likewise.
In the village of Siloam I would not recommend the artist to loiter. A colony of ruffians inhabit the dismal place, who have guns as well as sticks at need. Their dogs howl after the strangers as they pass through; and over the parapets of their walls you are saluted254 by the scowls255 of a villanous set of countenances256, that it is not good to see with one pair of eyes. They shot a man at mid-day at a few hundred yards from the gates while we were at Jerusalem, and no notice was taken of the murder. Hordes257 of Arab robbers infest258 the neighbourhood of the city, with the Sheikhs of whom travellers make terms when minded to pursue their journey. I never could understand why the walls stopped these warriors259 if they had a mind to plunder260 the city, for there are but a hundred and fifty men in the garrison261 to man the long lonely lines of defence.
I have seen only in Titian’s pictures those magnificent purple shadows in which the hills round about lay, as the dawn rose faintly behind them; and we looked at Olivet for the last time from our terrace, where we were awaiting the arrival of the horses that were to carry us to Jaffa. A yellow moon was still blazing in the midst of countless262 brilliant stars overhead; the nakedness and misery263 of the surrounding city were hidden in that beautiful rosy atmosphere of mingling264 night and dawn. The city never looked so noble; the mosques265, domes, and minarets266 rising up into the calm star-lit sky.
By the gate of Bethlehem there stands one palm-tree, and a house with three domes. Put these and the huge old Gothic gate as a background dark against the yellowing eastern sky: the foreground is a deep grey: as you look into it dark forms of horsemen come out of the twilight267: now there come lanterns, more horsemen, a litter with mules268, a crowd of Arab horseboys and dealers accompanying their beasts to the gate; all the members of our party come up by twos and threes; and, at last, the great gate opens just before sunrise, and we get into the grey plains.
Oh! the luxury of an English saddle! An English servant of one of the gentlemen of the mission procured269 it for me, on the back of a little mare270, which (as I am a light weight) did not turn a hair in the course of the day’s march — and after we got quit of the ugly, stony271, clattering, mountainous Abou Gosh district, into the fair undulating plain, which stretches to Ramleh, carried me into the town at a pleasant hand-gallop. A negro, of preternatural ugliness, in a yellow gown, with a crimson272 handkerchief streaming over his head, digging his shovel273 spurs into the lean animal he rode, and driving three others before — swaying backwards274 and forwards on his horse, now embracing his ears, and now almost under his belly275, screaming “yallah” with the most frightful shrieks277, and singing country songs — galloped278 along ahead of me. I acquired one of his poems pretty well, and could imitate his shriek276 accurately279; but I shall not have the pleasure of singing it to you in England. I had forgotten the delightful dissonance two days after, both the negro’s and that of a real Arab minstrel, a donkey-driver accompanying our baggage, who sang and grinned with the most amusing good-humour.
We halted, in the middle of the day, in a little wood of olive-trees, which forms almost the only shelter between Jaffa and Jerusalem, except that afforded by the orchards280 in the odious village of Abou Gosh, through which we went at a double quick pace. Under the olives, or up in the branches, some of our friends took a siesta281. I have a sketch of four of them so employed. Two of them were dead within a month of the fatal Syrian fever. But we did not know how near fate was to us then. Fires were lighted, and fowls282 and eggs divided, and tea and coffee served round in tin panikins, and here we lighted pipes, and smoked and laughed at our ease. I believe everybody was happy to be out of Jerusalem. The impression I have of it now is of ten days passed in a fever.
We all found quarters in the Greek convent at Ramleh, where the monks served us a supper on a terrace, in a pleasant sunset; a beautiful and cheerful landscape stretching around; the land in graceful283 undulations, the towers and mosques rosy in the sunset, with no lack of verdure, especially of graceful palms. Jaffa was nine miles off. As we rode all the morning we had been accompanied by the smoke of our steamer, twenty miles off at sea.
The convent is a huge caravanserai; only three or four monks dwell in it, the ghostly hotel-keepers of the place. The horses were tied up and fed in the courtyard, into which we rode; above were the living-rooms, where there is accommodation, not only for an unlimited285 number of pilgrims, but for a vast and innumerable host of hopping and crawling things, who usually persist in partaking of the traveller’s bed. Let all thin-skinned travellers in the East be warned on no account to travel without the admirable invention described in Mr. Fellowes’s book; nay, possibly invented by that enterprising and learned traveller. You make a sack, of calico or linen286, big enough for the body, appended to which is a closed chimney of muslin, stretched out by cane287 hoops288, and fastened up to a beam, or against the wall. You keep a sharp eye to see that no flea289 or bug290 is on the look-out, and when assured of this, you pop into the bag, tightly closing the orifice after you. This admirable bug-disappointer I tried at Ramleh, and had the only undisturbed night’s rest I enjoyed in the East. To be sure it was a short night, for our party were stirring at one o’clock, and those who got up insisted on talking and keeping awake those who inclined to sleep. But I shall never forget the terror inspired in my mind, being shut up in the bug-disappointer, when a facetious291 lay-brother of the convent fell upon me and began tickling292 me. I never had the courage again to try the anti-flea contrivance, preferring the friskiness293 of those animals to the sports of such a greasy grinning wag as my friend at Ramleh.
In the morning, and long before sunrise, our little caravan284 was in marching order again. We went out with lanterns and shouts of “yallah” through the narrow streets, and issued into the plain, where, though there was no moon, there were blazing stars shining steadily294 overhead. They become friends to a man who travels, especially under the clear Eastern sky; whence they look down as if protecting you, solemn, yellow, and refulgent295. They seem nearer to you than in Europe; larger and more awful. So we rode on till the dawn rose, and Jaffa came in view. The friendly ship was lying out in waiting for us; the horses were given up to their owners; and in the midst of a crowd of naked beggars, and a perfect storm of curses and yells for backsheesh, our party got into their boats, and to the ship, where we were welcomed by the very best captain that ever sailed upon this maritime296 globe, namely, Captain Samuel Lewis, of the Peninsular and Oriental Company’s Service.
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1
din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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fatigues
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| n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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dawdling
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| adj.闲逛的，懒散的v.混（时间）( dawdle的现在分词 ) | |
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asceticism
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| n.禁欲主义 | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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stipend
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| n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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parricide
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| n.杀父母；杀亲罪 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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defender
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| n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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commodious
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| adj.宽敞的；使用方便的 | |
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odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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vend
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| v.公开表明观点，出售，贩卖 | |
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sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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labyrinths
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| 迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 )； （文字，建筑）错综复杂的 | |
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alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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domed
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| adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mounds
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| 土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆 | |
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minaret
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| n.（回教寺院的）尖塔 | |
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wart
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| n.疣，肉赘；瑕疵 | |
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spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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mosque
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| n.清真寺 | |
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tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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interceded
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| v.斡旋，调解( intercede的过去式和过去分词 )；说情 | |
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traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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stinking
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| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
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bazaar
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| n.集市，商店集中区 | |
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bazaars
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| （东方国家的）市场( bazaar的名词复数 )； 义卖； 义卖市场； （出售花哨商品等的）小商品市场 | |
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promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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secede
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| v.退出，脱离 | |
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spurn
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| v.拒绝，摈弃；n.轻视的拒绝；踢开 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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cleave
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| v．(clave；cleaved)粘着，粘住；坚持；依恋 | |
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rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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80
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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81
ghetto
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| n.少数民族聚居区，贫民区 | |
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82
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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83
miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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84
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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85
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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86
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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87
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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88
denomination
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| n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位 | |
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89
polyglot
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| adj.通晓数种语言的；n.通晓多种语言的人 | |
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90
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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91
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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93
millennium
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| n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世 | |
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94
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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95
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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96
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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97
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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98
frightful
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|
| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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99
parched
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|
| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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100
bleak
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|
| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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101
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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102
desolate
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|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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103
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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104
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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105
bloody
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|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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106
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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107
conqueror
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|
| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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108
iniquities
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|
| n.邪恶( iniquity的名词复数 )；极不公正 | |
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109
fugitive
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|
| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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110
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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111
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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112
psalms
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|
| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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113
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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114
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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115
dreary
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|
| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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116
burrowed
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|
| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
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117
hermits
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| （尤指早期基督教的）隐居修道士，隐士，遁世者( hermit的名词复数 ) | |
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118
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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119
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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120
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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121
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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122
desecrated
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| 毁坏或亵渎( desecrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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123
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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124
implicate
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| vt.使牵连其中，涉嫌 | |
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125
prostrate
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|
| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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126
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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127
considerably
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|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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128
bawl
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| v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮 | |
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129
baubles
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| n.小玩意( bauble的名词复数 )；华而不实的小件装饰品；无价值的东西；丑角的手杖 | |
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130
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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131
envoys
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| 使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份 | |
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132
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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133
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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134
worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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135
tattooing
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|
| n.刺字，文身v.刺青，文身( tattoo的现在分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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136
punctured
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|
| v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气 | |
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137
auspicious
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|
| adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的 | |
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138
relic
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|
| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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139
Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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140
knights
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|
| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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141
wholesome
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|
| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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142
pointed
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|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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143
guardian
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|
| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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144
guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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145
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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146
permanently
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|
| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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147
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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148
ragged
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|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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149
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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150
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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151
whining
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|
| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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152
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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153
tattooed
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|
| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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154
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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155
crater
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|
| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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156
ram
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| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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157
insolent
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|
| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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158
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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159
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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160
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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161
plunged
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|
| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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162
monstrous
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|
| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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163
barefaced
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| adj.厚颜无耻的，公然的 | |
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164
imposture
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| n.冒名顶替，欺骗 | |
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165
profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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166
professes
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| 声称( profess的第三人称单数 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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167
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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168
garnished
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| v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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169
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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170
lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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171
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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172
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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173
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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174
fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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175
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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176
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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177
benefactors
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| n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人 | |
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178
chapels
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| n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式 | |
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179
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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180
unfamiliar
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|
| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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181
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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182
grovelling
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|
| adj.卑下的，奴颜婢膝的v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的现在分词 )；趴 | |
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183
brawling
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| n.争吵，喧嚷 | |
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184
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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185
brutal
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|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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186
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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187
rotunda
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| n.圆形建筑物；圆厅 | |
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188
denominations
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| n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称 | |
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189
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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190
cowering
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
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191
trumpery
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|
| n.无价值的杂物；adj.（物品）中看不中用的 | |
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192
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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193
sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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194
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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195
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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196
demolish
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| v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等) | |
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197
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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198
mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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199
apocryphal
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| adj.假冒的，虚假的 | |
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200
wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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201
pitchers
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| 大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 ) | |
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202
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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203
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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204
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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205
swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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206
clamorous
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| adj.吵闹的，喧哗的 | |
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207
grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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208
goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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209
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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210
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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211
uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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212
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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213
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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214
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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215
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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216
dangle
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| v.(使)悬荡，(使)悬垂 | |
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217
vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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218
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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219
edify
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| v.陶冶；教化；启发 | |
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220
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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221
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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222
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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223
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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224
hopping
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| n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
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225
martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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226
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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227
disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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228
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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229
tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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230
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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231
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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232
glorification
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| n.赞颂 | |
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233
forsook
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| forsake的过去式 | |
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234
derives
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| v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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235
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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236
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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237
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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238
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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239
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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240
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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241
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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242
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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243
persuasions
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| n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰 | |
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244
ecclesiastics
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| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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245
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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246
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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247
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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248
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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249
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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250
dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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251
earrings
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| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
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252
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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253
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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254
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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255
scowls
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| 不悦之色，怒容( scowl的名词复数 ) | |
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256
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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257
hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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258
infest
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| v.大批出没于；侵扰；寄生于 | |
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259
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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260
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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261
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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262
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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263
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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264
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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265
mosques
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| 清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 ) | |
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266
minarets
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| n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 ) | |
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267
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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268
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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269
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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270
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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271
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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272
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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273
shovel
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| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
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274
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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275
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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276
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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277
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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278
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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279
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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280
orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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281
siesta
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| n.午睡 | |
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282
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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283
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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284
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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285
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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286
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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287
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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288
hoops
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| n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓 | |
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289
flea
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| n.跳蚤 | |
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290
bug
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| n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器 | |
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291
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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292
tickling
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| 反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法 | |
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293
friskiness
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| n.活泼，闹着玩 | |
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294
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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295
refulgent
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| adj.辉煌的，灿烂的 | |
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296
maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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