Domestic Life in Palestine/Introduction
During a recent brief sojourn in London, I had the pleasure of meeting, several times, the genial and talented writer of this volume; and received from her the exclusive privilege of republishing her work on this side of the Atlantic.
The old land of Canaan is still dear to the Church, and, although so many volumes of travel and research in that region have been written, we take up the new with undiminished interest. The land is to all Christians more likehome than any other spot on earth. The most precious memories, the purest love, the most blessed hopes of life, are the products of that Gospel which first budded and bloomed in Canaan. The names of its cities, and valleys, and streams, and mountains, are reminders of the most wonderful and thrilling incidents which the history of the world records. Think of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jordan, and Jerusalem; put your finger on Tabor and Olivet, as you scan the sacred map, and how are you overwhelmed with sacred recollections! Each name starts through your mind a marvelous panorama.
Canaan is also the type of the eternal land toward which with insatiate longing we daily journey.
Blessed Canaan! While the memory and love of Jesus linger in the hearts of men, and while hope points to the "rest prepared for the people of God," thy cities and mountains shall be dearer to the Christian than his native land or the home of his childhood.
The struggle raging to-day between rationalism and Evangelism imparts additional interest to the old geographical center of historic Christianity. He who represents the New Testament records as mere myths is confronted by the stubborn denial of the land itself, as it stands to-day, a monument and testimony to the literal accuracy of the Holy Book. Sacred names cling to the ruins that crown every hill-top. Caves, tombs, temples, mosques, fountains, pools, and roads, are burened with sacred associations. The land singularly retains its geographical conformation, its primitive and Scriptural modes of architecture, dress, labor, and social habits. It might easily have been utterly desolated and depopulated, and its remains scattered to the four winds. It might have been richly cultivated, and under the full flowing tide of civilization its traces of earlier times might have been completely covered up and rendered unrecognizable. But God has kept the land. Over the hills of Gibeon and the vale of Aijalon has the sun of progress stood still, and, while the rest of the world has been moving onward, Palestine yet lingers among the earlier centuries, and amidst its sacred and venerable scenes we feel the presence of an ancient dominion. The mummy wrappings of Mohammedan domination have providentially preserved it till this age of skepticism, that it may testify to the reality of a Divine revelation. It is a memorial land, seamed and scarred with the rough handling of centuries, but bearing still the legible imprint of the Divine finger. Its terraced hills yield a vintage of sacred memories. Its valleys flow with streams of testimony. Every rock cries out in bitter remonstrance against the unbelief of men. Every stone voices the praise of God. Palestine is more than a land of memories. It is a memorial land, as well.
Every volume that illustrates this harmony between the land and the book is an invaluable contribution to sacred literature. The field is still open. We some times think, for example, that the topography of Jerusalem is an exhausted subject. But we forget that the Jerusalem of to-day stands upon a mass of ruins and debris thirty or forty feet in depth. What a kindling of the fires of antiquarian controversy, and what valuable developments are yet in store for us when the Crescent wanes from Zion, and the city becomes another Pompeii for excavation and research!
In no department of eastern exploration does the Bible student acquire more instructive lessons than in that pertaining to the domestic habits of the people. The Scripture narrative enters largely into the details of social life. The old customs have not changed materially, and one can to-day reproduce the incidents of social life so graphically described in the Bible. Abraham still sits in the door of his tent; Ruth gleans after the reapers on the plains of Bethlehem, and on these plains shepherds keep watch over their flocks by night. Isaac meditates at eventide. Rachel descends from her camel and covers her beautiful face with the ample vail before she meets her lord. The marriage feast is still kept in Cana. The mourners with wailing follow the bier to the grave. Salutations are exchanged among the people as in the days of Abraham and Christ. The seclusion of the women, through the jealousy of their lords, renders it quite difficult for the casual traveler to gain access to the inner courts of Oriental houses. Conversation with the ladies of the harem is a thing impossible. Missionaries do not enjoy much greater facilities than transient visitors. They are the bearers of a new and hostile religion, and harem doors are securely shut against them.
It is in the fullness of the information, which Miss Rogers gives us concerning these unexplored Moslem homes, that we find the chief value of her work. She possesses rare qualities of character, and during the three years of her residence in Palestine enjoyed the amplest facilities for the observations she desired to make. Her brother was British Consul at Hâifa, and was popular among the natives from Nazareth to Jerusalem. She was scrupulously careful never to offend the religious prejudices of the people, and as she was their guest, not only received from them the most cordial hospitality, but was permitted to converse freely with women of all classes and ranks. Miss Rogers is an artist, and many a time won her way to hearts of sheikh and warrior by her accurate sketches; the wit of her pencil now and then provoking bursts of merriment from the immovable old Orientals who entertained her. This artistic gift renders her descriptions graphic and circumstantial, thus fairly photographing on her pages the domestic scenes she presents. Of quick perceptions, unwearying perseverance, an inexhaustible stock of good-humor, a heart full of humanity, with a frank and fearless manner, she was admirably adapted to perform the work she undertook.
With special pleasure do I call the attention of the American public to this unpretentious and entertaining volume, believing that it will not only furnish pleasure to every reader, but that it must contribute to the clearer understanding of the Scriptures, and serve as another bulwark in defending historic Christianity against the vain speculations and unholy plottings of rationalism and infidelity.
| Trinity Parsonage, Chicago, Ill., Jan., 1865. |
