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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1851 edition. Excerpt:...eternally blind are lost in the cheerless sand of the desert. To the north the Dead Sea receives the Jordan; close to its influx St. John baptized; and here also he hurled his fearful thunders against the hearts of the hardened Pharisees. The Saviour also baptized he here, and yearly troops of pious pilgrims stream hither to celebrate the remembrance. But in vain did the voice of Heaven strike the ears of the unbelievers, and thus the Word of salvation became the trumpet of judgment. In returning to the city, the road leads past Gethsemane; it lies at the foot of the Mount of Olives, enclosed by low but easily surmounted walls, by the side of which, on the west the brook Kidron runs. Eight olives stand within the circuit: great age has hollowed their stems, and they are propped by stones to support them against the tempest. The foreign pilgrim eagerly enriches himself with a few leaves and a twig from Gethsemane; but both Catholic and Greek sedulously protect these venerable trees: although no prominent indication stamps this spot as the authentic Gethsemane, yet all that we know from the Gospels harmonises completely with the locality. Going to the Mount of Olives with his disciples, "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane," says St. Matthew. And St. John says, "Jesus went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where was a garden, into which he entered with his disciples." (Matthew, xxvi. 3f); John,xviii. 1.) It is remarkable enough that the above-mentioned eight olive trees may be proved to have stood there at the time of the conquest of Jerusalem by the Turks; but still, their existence cannot be traced up to the period of Christ; for Josephus tells us that Titus upon investing Jerusalem cut...