A Pilgrimage to Palestine, Egypt, and Syria

Front matter

_lttjk3tLg*_Ia&?*i • I 01 OLIVES A PILGRIMAGE TO PALESTINE, EGYPT, AND SYRIA, BY MARIE-JOSEPH DE GERAMB, MONK OF LA TRAPPE. IN TYVO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1840. LONDON : F. SHOBERL, JUN., PRINTER, 51, RUPERT STREET, H A YM ARKET. PRE FACE. Some days had elapsed since the events of July, 1830. Peaceful monks were engaged in the labours of agricul ture, singing the praises of the Lord, sharing what they had with the poor, and incessantly praying for the hap piness and prosperity of France. The news of the day never came to interrupt the silence of death to which they had devoted themselves. The monastery of Notre Dame de la Trappe du Mont des Olives, situated near Muhlhausen in Alsace, was an establishment which de served to be protected.

It was not. Still it is our duty to declare, and we have great pleasure in publishing that, so far was the government from sharing the violence of our enemies, that it bestowed, and still con tinues to bestow, marks of kindness on us, as a peaceable and inoffensive institution. As for the people of the environs, in general eminently pious, they were not con tent with lavishing upon us the most touching proofs of A

Preface

. IV interest : they also came forward most zealously to guard our monastery in the night, lest it might be set on fire. I accuse nobody. I throw myself at the feet of Jesus Christ, and beseech him in his infinite mercy to open the eyes of those who were our persecutors, and to for give as we forgive them. Our church was shut up. We were obliged to relin quish our monastic habit, and all the monks who were not Frenchmen received orders to leave France. We, landed proprietors, who had adopted France for our country, who took no concern in public events, who knew nothing about them, and were absolutely ignorant of all that was passing beyond our own walls, obeying the laws, paying our contributions, submissive to the new government as to the old, feeding the poor with the fruit of our labours, were driven from our asylum by persons without right and without authority.

The sick, the infirm, all, without exception, were obliged to de part. Order was not yet established. A monastery of Trappist nuns shared the same fate. Never shall I forget the day and hour when the doors of that monastery were thrown open. I behold its scared inmates issuing from the sanctuary where their hearts had found rest ; I see them watering with their tears the soil from which they were so cruelly driven. One young nun was borne on a bier by four sisters : she

PREFACE.

. V expired a few paces from the sacred asylum ! Her bed of dust was soon surrounded by a concourse of persons, who came to visit the grave of the young martyr. To return to the world after being separated from it for sixteen years would have been heart-rending. I asked and obtained permission of my superiors to write to the abbot of St. Urban, to inquire whether he would have the kindness to admit me till happier times into that celebrated abbey of St. Bernard, in the canton of Lucern. That worthy prelate acceded to my request with that charity which characterises him, which gains him all hearts, and which extends far beyond the circuit of his abbey. I frequently visited our communities scattered among the mountains of Helvetia ; I was even obliged to so journ for a considerable time at Solothurn and Berne, for the purpose of interesting those cantons in our favour.

At St. Urban I heard of those profanations which have for some time sullied France. My soul was plunged into deep affliction. Often did I prostrate myself be fore God to implore his grace and forgiveness. Alas ! the crosses were thrown down ; the sacred emblem of our redemption was dragged in the mud ! I was ill at Solothurn, worse at St. Urban, and very ill indeed at Berne. Seeing that our reunion into a community became a matter of greater difficulty from VI

PREFACE.

. day to day, I asked leave of my superiors to make a pilgrimage to Palestine, which they granted. I then applied to Monseigneur d'Angelis, the nuncio of the Holy See in Switzerland, in order to obtain through him the approbation of his Holiness, his blessing, and letters of recommendation from the sacred Propaganda. His Holiness granted me all that I desired with the most touching kindness, and I made preparations for my journey. The letters here offered to the public were written by a Trappist monk, poor in spirit, poor in human know ledge. He undertook this pilgrimage to the Holy Land merely to pray, to adore, and to do penance. My work is not destined for that class of people of the world whom such a book as this cannot please, un less charms of style, purity and elegance of language, grace and pomp in the descriptions and delineations, enhance its merit.

What interest of this sort could I pretend to excite after writers like Messrs. de Chateau briand, Michaud, Poujoulat, and de Lamartine, whose names form so fair a portion of the literary glory of France ? My letters are addressed principally to that class of readers, who do not require Truth to be shown to them tricked out with all the ornaments by which she can be embellished. They are addressed more especially to those simple and pious readers whose hearts one is sure to satisfy, when, while reminding them of all that

PREFACE.

. VII Christ has done for us, while guiding them, as it were, into his footsteps, one presents to them new motives for admiring, for adoring his infinite goodness, for loving and practising his religion, and for attaching themselves to him as to the only Saviour. Once more, then, I went to Palestine, only to adore, to weep, and to pray. I purposed not to measure the sacred monuments with the compasses of incredulity : plenty of travellers have taken that task upon them selves. Most of them hurry through Palestine with such speed, that their imagination is obliged to supply what has escaped their fugitive observation. In spite, how ever, of that spirit of the age, which makes them write with such levity of monuments so venerable, their hearts are not unmoved. Religion will assert her rights.

Their hearts have throbbed while they were ascending Cal vary ; when they beheld the ensanguined rock on which the Saviour of the world yielded his last breath to reconcile Earth with Heaven ; when they visited that sacred tomb, which his victorious foot has overstepped. But this emotion of heart soon subsided : the mind took up the pen which pride presented to it. I wrote these letters amid the scorching sands of the desert, on the tops of arid mountains, on board a ship tossed by the waves, beneath a tent, upon a dromedary, in a grotto, stretched in a cell upon a bed of pain ; but I think that I have never lost sight of the presence

PREFACE.

. VIII of my God : I have always striven to make known His love to men, and to kindle in their hearts the love of Him. I have seen Bethlehem and Calvary, Nazareth and the unbelieving city; I have travelled those now desolate routes where the Son of Man strewed so many favours and relieved so many afflictions. Seated on the scattered stones of the sanctuary, kneeling in the Stable at Bethlehem, humbly prostrate in the Tomb of our Saviour, I have noted down the diverse and multiplied emotions with which my soul was filled. Amid those mighty ruins, piled up here and there by the hand of Providence, the prophetic words of Isaiah and Jeremiah seemed still to ring in my ears ; and more than once my tears flowed at these religious recollections. Then did I think of the fair land of France, and implore the mercy of God in behalf of that country, in places that remain everlasting witnesses of his severe justice. CONTENTS UF THE FIRST VOLUME.

Letter VII

Mount Gothard; new road over it — Airolo — Magadino — Steam-vessel — Lago Maggiore — Recollections — Colossal Statue of St. Charles Borromeo — Crew ofthe Steamer — Milan — Its Cathedral — Hungarian Soldiers — The Emperor Francis — Piety of the Austrian Soldiers — Lieutenant-General Baron de Geramb . . . .10 X CONTENTS.

Letter VIII

Venice— Count Spaur, Governor of the Venetian Provinces— Admiral Paulucci — M. Theodorovitch . . • ■ .16

Letter IX

Departure from Venice — Lazaretto of Poveglia — The Brig Ulysses — Contrary Wind — The Bucentaur . . . . .17 17

Letter X

Departure from the Channel— Religious Indifference— Nativity of the Virgin Mary — Illness on Board — A Calm — Falcon — Captain of the Ulysses — Tempestuous Weather — Reminiscences of La Trappe — Corfu — Zante — Candia — Nights on Deck — Dove — War between the Turks and Greeks — Reciprocal Cruelties — Anecdote on this subject — Super stition ofthe Captain — Cholera — The Austrian Consul — Franciscan Convent— La Marina — Larnaca — Island of Cyprus — Visitandines — War between the Viceroy of Egypt and the Pacha of Acre . . 19

Letter XI

Paralysis — Dangerous Symptoms — Attentions of the Consul, the Fathers of the Holy Land and the Physicians— Convalescence — Pictures presented by the Empress Maria Theresa — Renegadoes — Plague — Departure for Jaffa . . . . . . .38

Letter XII

Turkish Schooner, the Elpis (Hope) — The Captain; the Crew — Moustapha, the Captain's Son — Impatience to descry the Holy Land — Pilgrims on board — Young Greek woman and her Children — View of the Coast of Palestine — Jaffa; its dangerous road ; Landing — Monastery of the Fathers of the Holy Land — Wreck of the Turkish Schooner — Jaffa taken by Ibrahim Pacha — M. Mostras, Russian Consul — Veiled Women — Franciscan Fathers and their Convents in Asia and Africa ... ..... 43

Letter XIII

Departure from Jaffa — Unpleasant Riding — Adventure in the Market place — Splendid Weather — Cattle — Rama — Monastery — Cistern of St. Helena— Tower of the Forty Martyrs . . .52

Letter XIV

Departure from Rama — Mountains of Judea — Village of Jeremiah — Abou Gosh — Bedouins — Mount of Olives — Jerusalem — Entry into the Holy City — Church of St. Saviour — Franciscan Fathers — Foot- Washing — Cell — First Night in Jerusalem — Terrace of the Monastery CONTENTS. XI — View from it — Via Dolorosa — Pilate's Prætorium — The Gate Bab-el-Sidi-Mariam — Spot where Stephen was stoned — Garden o f Gethsemane — The Brook Cedron — Olive Trees — Grotto ofthe Agony — Place where Judas betrayed his Master — Festival of the Conception — Magnificence of the Church — Visits to the principal Fathers . 56

Letter XV

Visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — Franciscan Fathers cleaning the sides of the Sepulchre — Cell — Gallery adjoining to it — Entry into the Holy Sepulchre . . . . .68

Letter XVI

Impression made by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — History of that Church — Its Destruction by Fire — It is rebuilt by the Greeks and the Armenians — They oppress the Latins — Description of the Church — Mass in the Holy Sepulchre . . . . . .72

Letter XVII

Pilgrims at Jerusalem — Children of the Pilgrims — Procession — Tomb of Godfrey and Baldwin — Sword of Godfrey — Jerusalem taken by the Egyptians — Favour shown by them to the Christians — Influence of Money in the Countries ruled by the Koran . . . .94

Letter XXI

Reservoirs of David — Pools of Solomon — Grotto of Milk — Village of the Shepherds — Well of the Virgin Mary — Place where the Shepherds heard the Voices of the Angels — Tekoah — Labyrinth — Hill ofthe French . ; . . . . . .135 CONTENTS.

Letter XXII

Dearth — Palestine — Jerusalem — Siege by Titus — Conversion of Constantine — Julian the Apostate — The Caliph Omar I.— Crusades — Taking of Jerusalem — Carnage — Saladin .... 145

Letter XXIV

, Mount of Olives — Valley of Jehoshaphat — Brook Cedron — Church of the Virgin Mary— Tombs of Joseph, Joachim, and Anna — Admirable View ofthe Mount of Olives — Foot-print left at the Ascension — Chapel on the Spot where Christ taught his Disciples the Lord's Prayer — Place where the Apostles composed the Profession of Faith . . 205

Letter XXV

Changeable Temperature at Jerusalem — Aspect of that City during and after Lent — Aceldama, or Field of Blood — Valley of Gehennon — Tombs hewn out ofthe Rock — Well of Nehemiah — Fountain of Siloa — Village of Siloa — Mount of Offence — Tomb of Absalom — Tomb of Barrachias — Tomb of Zechariah — Tomb of Jehoshaphat — Tombs of the Kings — Tombs of the Judges . . . . .218

Letter XXVI

Abode in the Holy Sepulchre during the three days preceding Ash- Wednesday . . . . . . . .231

Letter XXVII

Site of the ancient Temple erected by Solomon — Mosque of Omar . . . . . . . . .234

Letter XXVIII

Excursion to St. Saba — Camp of Bedouins : Dearth prevailing in it — View of the Monastery of St. Saba — Greek Monks — Apartments — Dinner — Superb Palm-tree — Pilgrims — Night passed at St. Saba — Brook Cedron — The Pilgrims laid under contribution by the Arabs ......... 243

Letter XXIX

Road to Bethany — Ground where grew the Fig-tree struck with barrenness — Bethany — Sepulchre of Lazarus — House of Martha and Mary — Stone, on which Christ is said to have rested himself Beth phage— Place where Judas hanged himself — Imprudence . . CONTENTS. XIII

Letter XXX

Excursion to the Jordan and the Dead Sea — Travelling Companions — Precaution for the Safety of the Caravan — Bedouin Escort — Arabian Horses — Provisions stolen — Jericho — The Aga and his superb Horse — Elisha's Fountain — Mountain where our Saviour passed Forty Days in Fasting and Prayer — Ruins of Jericho — The Jordan — The Dead Sea — Salt — Statue of Lot's Wife — Return to Jerusalem — Night spent at the Gate of the City . . . . . . .262

Letter XXXI

Description of Jerusalem — Mount Sion — House of Caiaphas — Tomb of David— The Hall of the Last Supper . . . .291

Letter XXXII

Population — House of Dives — Scene of the Martyrdom of St. James the Great — Grotto of the Immaculate Conception — Prison of St. Peter — House of Mary, Mother of John Mark — Ancient Christian Hospital, built by St. Helena — Pool of Bethsaida — Interior of Jerusalem — Quarter of the Armenians — Streets — Synagogues — Jewish School — Jews . 300

Letter XXXIII

Seclusion in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — Cell — Gallery — Pilgrims — Winding-Sheets distributed by the Armenian Priests — Turks at the Door of the Church — Cruel Mode of Preserving Order — Palm- Sunday — Procession of the Catholics ; of the Armenians — Wednesday in Passion-Week — Office of the Darkness — Maundy-Thursday — Solemn Mass — Procession — Foot- Washing — Good-Friday — The Door of the Church forced by the Greek and Armenian Pilgrims — Dinner ofthe Community — Darkness — Procession to Calvary — Solemn Service on Holy-Saturday — Contrast between the Catholics and the Greeks — Night between Holy-Saturday and Easter-Sunday — Assemblage of Ten Thou sand Pilgrims — Easter-Sunday ..... 319

Letter XXXIV

Excursion to St. John's in the Desert — Convent of the Holy Cross — Village of St. John — Monastery — Beautiful Church belonging to the Franciscan Fathers — Sanctuary — Place of the Visitation — Grotto of St. John Baptist— Desert— Tomb of St. Elizabeth . . ILLUSTRATIONS. VOL. I. Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives . . Frontispiece- VOL. II. Nazareth from the South .... Frontispiece. PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM AND MOUNT SINAI.

Letter I

Announcement of my Departure. Abbey of St. Urban, June 23rd, 1831. I AM setting out at last, my dear friend. I shall start to-morrow, notwithstanding my precarious health, notwithstanding the dangers of which your friendship for me causes you so much apprehension. At three in the morning I shall commence my happy pilgrimage. I must confess that, at my age, scarcely recovered from a serious illness, the plague which is ravaging the countries that I am going to visit, and the troubles prevailing there, would be enough to intimidate me if I were running after the perishable riches of this world. But, of what account are the scorching skies of Asia and Africa, con tagious diseases, my infirmities, and the calamities which inundate this vale of tears ! Nay, I already feel happy VOL. I. B CHURCH OF ST. URBAN. in the prospect of the sufferings and perils that await me.

I say to myself, my right hand upon my heart and my eyes uplifted to heaven : I am going to visit the holy places — that is the object of my journey ; I am going to weep over the tomb of Jesus Christ ; the paternal hand of my God will lead me to the term to which his love is calling me. Pray for me ; adieu !

Letter II

Ceremony in the Church of St. Urban — Departure — Arrival at Lucerne. Lucerne, June 25th, 1831. Here I am at Lucerne, my dear friend. I shall stay here but three or four days ; I shall then embark on its enchanting lake for Altorf ; I shall cross the Gothard, and proceed as expeditiously as possible to Venice, and perhaps to Trieste, where I hope to find some vessel bound to Alexandria or the island of Cyprus. An affecting custom prevails in our Order. When a member of it is leaving the monastery upon a long jour ney, he goes and falls prostrate upon his face in the church, and the assembled community pray aloud that the blessing of the Lord may attend him. I was to set out very early ; I requested the abbot to permit those prayers, which I so ardently desired, to be said after complins : he complied.

Never did service appear to me more solemn ; never in our sacred hymns had I raised my voice to Heaven with deeper emotion, or sent up with more fervour the expression of my love and my gratitude FAREWELL CEREMONY. 3 to the foot of the throne of the Almighty. The Salve, which finishes complins, being over, I descended from my stall and prostrated myself. O God ! thou knowest what were the feelings of thy poor servant, when all his brethren joined in earnest prayer to thine infinite mercy to bless and to protect him ! I was moved to tears ;' with the sighs heaved by my oppressed heart were wafted the most fervent prayers for the prosperity of the monastery that I was leaving. I besought more especially the God of mercy to bless my pilgrimage, to give me the grace to fulfil the object of it in such manner as should be agreeable to Him, and to preserve me from every act, every thought, that could displease him.

I walked in the morning, perhaps for the last time, through the majestic cloisters of St. Urban. My whole being was thrilled with deep emotion. One of the brotherhood advanced towards me; it was the reverend father abbot, who was going to the church. I durst not speak to him ; it was forbidden by our rules : but at such moments how necessary it is to speak ! I threw myself at the feet of the virtuous prelate ; I had need of a fresh benediction : he pressed me long to his bosom, and I felt the tears that trickled from his eyes fall upon my cheeks.

Letter III

Illnbss — Federal Diet — M. Lutz. Lucerne, July 2nd. I was to have set out yesterday ; the boat was ready ; and the people were carrying my things on board, when b MEETING OF THE DIET. a violent fever seized and threw me upon a bed of pain. July 6th. The fever continues : it has made me very weak. The federal diet meets this year in this city. The diplomatic body is here. The kind and amiable Count Louis de Bombelles, our worthy ambassador, whom I have the honour to be long acquainted with, bestows upon me the marks ofthe kindest interest : at his request, M. de Lutz, of Berne, physician in chief of the federal army, is attending me. He is eminent in his profession. But I cannot help saying that I suffer a great deal. July 12th. The diet has to-day opened its session. I had re ceived several tickets for the ceremony, which is rather curious, on account of the singular dresses of the ushers.

But, though it was the day on which the fever leaves me a little ease, I did not comply with the invitation. Ah ! what to a monk, above all to a monk of La Trappe, a pilgrim to the Holy Land, are all the vain ceremonies of the world !

Letter IV

Execution op a Criminal for Murder — Custom at Lucerne in regard to Criminals who will not confess their Guilt Shockino instance of this kind. Lucerne, July 20th. There is in the prison of this town a man sentenced to die for murder : he is to be executed on Saturday. I wrote to the minister of Lucerne, requesting permission A CONDEMNED CRIMINAL. 5 to spend the last night with this unhappy man, and to accompany him to the place of execution. The worthy pastor called to see me, and told me that it is not customary to pass the night with a condemned criminal ; that the man, for whom I wished to perform this act of charity, would receive the sacrament at six o'clock in the evening of the day before the execution ; that next morning, at five o'clock, the ecclesiastics would repair to the prison ; and that, if I chose to join the sad train, I could go with them to that scene of misery and tears.

The culprit had appeared to receive some consolation on learning that a monk of La Trappe would accompany him in his last moments ; but I thought it right to con sult on this point the canons, Widmer and Geiger, who, with great piety, combine virtue, intelligence, and an intimate acquaintance with the customs of the country. A few hours before the execution, I received the following letter from canon Geiger : — " Very reverend Father, " I have just spoken with canon Widmer, and our opinion is this : — If you accompany the crimi nal, you will present a new object of curiosity to the whole population ; all eyes will be directed to you and your monastic habit ; of course attention will be diverted from the unhappy criminal, for whom all that population is now praying in silence. You mean to do good ; you would perhaps do harm."

I felt it to be my duty to follow, without hesitation, the pious advice of these worthy ecclesiastics. Still I was somewhat mortified that I could not afford the culprit that consolation which he appeared to wish for. EXECUTION. He was conducted to the place of execution ; on reach ing the scaffold, he was blindfolded ; from the top of the scaffold the minister of the town delivered an address to the people. The criminal was within hearing of part of it, and the fatal stroke fell upon his resigned head. There prevails at Lucerne a very extraordinary custom, a custom that makes one shudder, and that exists no where else. The law directs that sentence of death shall not be pronounced upon any who have not confessed their crime. Convicted criminals, from whom no confes sion can be obtained, are punished with hard labour only.

But what a horrible condition is tacked to the miserable life which is left them ! At the next execution, the last condemned criminal is compelled to repair to the spot where the scaffold is erected, to catch the head as it falls, and to carry it to the grave in the presence of the whole population. Some months ago, an unfortunate young woman was convicted of infanticide, and executed. Her wretched accomplice, condemned only to forced labour, because he would not confess his crime, was therefore obliged, as the last person condemned, to take the head of her whom he had loved, whom he had seduced, whom he had ruined. At the sight of that pale and livid head, of that blood-stained hair, he started back in horror and affright. In vain he refused to obey ; the application of the whip forced him to perform the task imposed by the law. Base and con temptible spirit ! he should have prayed to God for pardon, have confessed his crime, and died. GENEROSITY OF M. LUTZ 7

Letter V

Disinterested Conduct of M. Lutz — Christian Charity Lucerne, August 17th, 1831. Since I last wrote to you, my dear friend, I have been very ill : God tries me, but he supports me. With a burning fever is coupled a complaint in the eyes, which renders me nearly blind. The loss of sight, for a resigned Christian, facilitates inward devotion, keeps aloof from him a multitude of objects which might distract his attention : his spirit beholds God, beholds itself; in this contemplation it finds happiness. O my God ! thy blessed will be done ! To be sure, thou hast said to my heart that I shall soon see again. I have read somewhere that atheism, combined with loss of sight, is the last degree of misfortune, and certainly imagination cannot conceive of any thing worse. Though extremely weak, I have been mending for some days past, and I am firmly resolved to pursue my journey.

I cannot give you an idea of all the kindness, of all the charitable attentions, of which I have been the object during my illness. M. Lutz, after attending me with a zeal and assiduity worthy of all my gratitude, bas crowned his benevolence by the most generous disin terestedness. When addressing to him my acknow ledgments, I had thought it right to send him some money. " I am the physician of Berne, and not of Lucerne," he replied, " and I cannot receive any fee. CHRISTIAN CHARITY. I am amply repaid for the attentions which I have had it in my power to pay by the happiness of having made your acquaintance." These few words are sufficient to delineate the heart of this celebrated physician, whose skill is set off by a delicacy of sentiments which is daily becoming more rare. I had the satisfaction to prevail upon him to accept a trifling article which had belonged to me.

Would that I could tell you, too, all that I feel for those kind, those excellent, creatures, with whom I sought an asylum ! No, christian couple, never shall I forget you ! on the banks of the Jordan, of the Lake of Tiberias, of the Dead Sea, of the Nile, as on the shores of the Lake of Lucerne, your image will always be present to my mind, and deeply engraven on my heart. Worthy Lucia B , thou wilt be ever present with me, dressing my wound, and bathing my eye deprived of sight. And thou, too, her husband, my dear and venerable friend, who hast rendered to thy suffering guest all the services of a per fect charity, never, no never shall I forget thee ! And to whom am I indebted for these services ? To poor people, actuated by the prospect of gain, by the hope of recompence ? No, to wealthy but christian people, who know that the services rendered to our neighbour are recorded in heaven ; to people who love God, who serve him with simplicity and fervour, and who behold Jesus Christ in every suffering fellow-creature.

I must also make mention to you, my dear friend, of a beloved family which has heaped kindness upon me during my illness ; which, during the paroxysms of my fever, wiped the hot perspiration from my brow, and CHAPEL OF WILLIAM TELL. gave me proofs of the most sincere attachment. Jules, Augustine, Hermine, and Marie de F , never shall I forget you !

Letter VI

Departure from Lucerne — The Lake — Hill of Grutli — Chapel built on the spot where wllliam tell escaped from hisguards — Walter Furst, Arnold Melchthal, and Werner Stauffacher. Altorf, August 25th, 1831. At length I have bidden adieu to Lucerne, and, to avoid eight or ten hours' navigation, which might have been attended with some danger in my state of con valescence, I resolved to take a carriage to Fluelen, and there I embarked. Oh ! what a lovely day ! what a magnificent lake is that of Lucerne, and how sorry I am that my illness prevented me from visiting in detail its enchanting shore ! I determined, however, to cross it from Fluelen to Altorf. I wanted to see, to feel, to ad mire. Is not Nature an exquisite prayer-book ? How much is he to be pitied who does not perceive God in th beauties which, with lavish hand, he has scattered over this wide world !