The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1867-06-13
INTERFERING SKETCH.
VISIT TO THE TOME OF LAZARUS AND
THE GARDEN OF GETHsEMANE.

VISIT TO THE TOME OF LAZARUS AND
THE GARDEN OF GETHsEMANE.
The Rev. R. A. Holland is con-
tributing to fhc Louisville Courier a
series Of interesting letters from the
Holy Land, which he has been explo
ring for some months past. We pre-
sent below graphic pictures of the
Tomb of Lazarus and the Garden of
Gcthsemane. which we select from his
letter of March 23d, written from
Constant;roplc:
THE TOMB or LAZARUS.
But I digress. The path is precip-
itous. We dismount and lead our
horses down. We have reached the
tomb of Lazarus. We enter by a low
opening, and feel our way down a long
winding, dilapiaated staircase to a
small chamber, the walls of which are
partly plastered, partly the naked
rock of the cavern. From this cham
Der q few steps lead into a low vault
I imagine not more than nine feet
square. Therein lay the body of Laz-
arus. The closencss of the atmos-
phere limits. our inspection to mere
glance. We retire to the largcrEeom, Is.
and sitting upon the floor, Bible in
hand, one of us reads aloud by candle
light, St. John account Of the mira
Gle and, of the Saviour's intercourse
with those whom it most Affected
How touchingly simple, how surpass-
ing!y beautiful that Gospel sounds
when read OIL the spot it commcmo-
rates. The past tense becomes the
present. The scene is most finished,
but transpiring. Right there in that
cell the corpse has been lying for four
days, and every day Mary has been
here to weep. The noise Of conver-
sation, as of many persons above, l
began to hear.
a shadow is in the door. It is His.
The long-expccted and prayed for
has come from beyond Jordan. His
mellow voice, tremulous with emotion,
but. loud with authority, peals down
the arched staircase ard echoes a:
mong. these sepulchral walls, "Loza-
rus come FORTH" It goes deep be-
yond, reaching into the regions Of
death. Hush! do you hear that rust
ling? See! he comes STOPPING, ''bound
hand and foot with, grave clothes and
his face bound about with anapkin.
Slowly he mounts the steps. He is
on the threshold. He has passed out
under the sky. Listen again Loose
him and let him go!.' And Lazarus,
the dead brother, no longer dead, is
in the arms of his bereaved sisters;
no longer bereaved. Ncighbors gath
er around and passiorately greet him.
Bethany is glad. The news flies
throughout the land. Crowds come
from Jerusalem to see "thc man. who
has wrought the wonder, and believe
him GOO:
Reluctantly do we tear ourselves
from the halloweI place. We 80
from the grave to the house of Mary
and Martha, and that of Simon, the
lepcr. where, while Jesus sat at sup
per, Mary annointed his feet with
costly spikenard, ard wiped them
with her hair, and, as the room then
was, even so to-day the world is fill
ed with the ointment.
THE GARDEN or GETHsEMANE. :.
We return to Gcthsemane, over the
southern shoulder of Olivet, by the
road Messiah followed on the morn
ing of His triumphal entry into Je-
rasalem. Our raps are more success
full this time than before, for the
heavy iron gate soon swings open
with a creak, exhibiting the tonsured
head of Padre Louis, who invites us
into the garden. 1t disappoints us
at first. There is too much Of art,
too little of nature. The happy me-
dunn, so desirable and SO rarely OBJ
tanned, between oulpable neglect and