, 1870-12-15

Ibat We aftereard kn.w To b hJssop. a
itea! 1lr OF eon1e strange pa-ce c1Oaa hreath-
Ing m; and from Distance toso some straIoa
Of mueic. It sounded Ike chorus Of n1onks,
- mlserese OF the atage,-and no wocder,
because il waa tndeed the nasin sounding up
from the convent.
And this vs. my atst waking in tho country
OF which had read and dreamed 90 much.
i1dsed Ill 30 Oriental, 90 strange. 80 dinerent
from any former life, that I codit fuIiy rual1zs
that I vaA IN IN old, old xutld, lila the land Of
tho s.hle. Tbere Waa the clear Eastern sky;
md its morning silence was broken By the
coming mingled With tho solemn chant from
ihe COZ vent, and the say tsitte1iag Of the
tirds IN the toHer Of the church, which I
could see Iisiug upon the level Of my
asched windows This church, most pic
the Crusaders; for tins to9n Of Ramlo6,
wkere We wern passing our first night in Aais,
Nas the encampment OF Richard Cnue do
Lon.
So We wers pilgrims too, along with Rich1ri
ee,Bouil1on- The dear old heroes Of history
aEd Etory and pilgrims further back
jerome, that lived 80 long IN his rocky
cell in ths Grotto OF tbs Nativity, md
the EuEEeas Helena, the first to coma
baak to the Wise Men Of tho East, The eatlioss
pilgrims 10 The birthplace It Bethlehem. And
with US were. modefn .p1gims-she Spanish
Countees who proposed to walk on foot to
Jerusalem from JANA, but consented to &C.
capt the nights ahs1ter of tbs convent; nm
couth Husetsn pilgrims, drassed in aktns,
bringing their families; women and children
heaps into bzakets borne On came1s strange
looking women, some richly dressed iu pic-
tn1eeque sha1ls, some pour, md begging
.her Wy fI9m eo1ysnt 70 eonvent> There
were hnsselinau pilgrims, who we're come to
the tomb Of Moses, Is . holy shrine, on Tho
borders Of tho Dead Sea.
Al these might have felt Soma dlsappotnt-
ment IN reaching che Holy Land- Il might
have betn for them that the yieiou cAme no
nearer in ono spot Of the earth than anothee.
They could hare aaId With the holy Rabla, tbs
woman, held - sainted among The alahom-
20 nea.t, weak follower Of tho weak,
In lhlt far place sh&t God 10 seek
VINO long $40 had come to theein
Fog III Of these CANA 10 land
which thsy believed x.s m.de holy
ing, Hufering, and dying on earth.
But, feeling that our far-Avay land VAS holy
l with the very presence Of God; thas, from
the freedom and Abexty Of Thought 1t Offers
al, mon can draw nearer TO him there than IN
any other eountr! in tho world-this lsnd
to us than to any of these. We come to seek
nearer aequlintAnee With Jesus. We draw
| nearer here 10 the life of him who brought
Gcd nearer to us- Here better could
wo understand tho clea1ness and
the purity Of his words-
In the cool atmosphere Of our Western
tbonght has been brought the warm {arvor OF
an Eastern region. But moro than ever in
the Eastern country Of 1ts birth did feel that
Christianity w1a BleAter than the country
Here TO walk again In the courts Of tho mo.qus
1t Jerusalem "a he walked In the courts Of
the temple, he would eti!1 fnd tho same eiug
to feb1ke; that the pure religion In the Sar.
mon On tbs Mount, and in al the words Of
comes hgt i,e ns5e Etesn fsryef
reforner Of the world.
In this land, Ne can draw very near the per-
son Of Christ. In Egypt, there lies buried in
the Kinge$ tombs the complete picture Of all
,ta old LIE Of thousands Of years ago, ssr.ngs-
one walks In the midst oS such ; picture. wi,h
sll its characters moving Ia glowing color and
ecs.uns-lhe characters Of ths Bible:
We walk mp and down the rugged
, ride Of Ohvet, aud through the deep
know that Jesus mutt have walked
through thete very paths, and liogered TO
look at these came wonderful pictures OF
.. Jerusalem, as she rises up suddenly before
our eyes in our returning w1nderiog.. We
zee the eame gay flowers OF the de!d that
asecbeta c.5sfullT tending h1' hia 1snhs. INK I'VE W.
: sec tbe cAttle stahled In caves aud Rrottoa
he Tomen drs1ipp 4atar a ,hn fnrntsins.
So it Vas, that, when atterward at Battle.
hem, stood In the Grotto Of the Nativity.
Thsrs oasiio1 oeIu %hstber ein ssm. issse
wern bon n EethisheYn and Rsnsn
bsysyes that lii bi1shnlaee VIM A. N.zaTatn.
And saain. > IL Il Il M noa.,bie that 4 the % Ennre.,
I ~wIx k,sE1k ia -t-,- >
: cave, could have found tho tlue spot where
= Ch1ist was bo1n7 Ghs came hers 800 year
q after the death Of Christ,--ss far from be,
. time ~ arc Queen Elizabeth aud Shakespeare
from eurs, But those >aro questions that Dc
!. not a entef t.s here; ,.,,., .u, o-..-,
+ mountains oysr which tbs pathway Lends te
Bethlehem; they are the ralne rugged noun
:, tAins on which n.yia Watched hls sheep. vi
d 1sa sl.noeted dawn To = nas;oM ,t :sseess r. p
~ tetfflteGs111em. inen We ma 9lsited toe Lstlz
ers all The ETH H.. 1uos ns.t. Sov
= !. There must be th.ee stairwsys sysRks Nativity
: BECAUSE thsee three churches fight for ffee
- eedence. and zach must come his oWn way i
Ia the sacred place.
!. have seen that, since tha decIa1s
tho Latin and Armen,an Churches ~
- Bethlehem hare had divisiou. Thsy hs
y consented to come down ths SANS st1irHa7 /
:. - the Gtotto o; the Natiyity: ind exch MIR
" | agreed In tt,fu 10 axean lin sts;rrnse "a
y now neither win allow The oIher the sweepio9
y and tbs Moslem authorities hare iuterfo1ed
Il and have taken poasesaion Of the atlirsas,
- aud allow neither party to eveen it.-so
:. goes unavept.
% But when va were there, was a time q
y peace; We went down the LAIN staircase, an
y our Latin monk took Us up that Of the Gree
:; Church. -.
10 1 saw. ;ndaed 4hara 'tt-.. a;e..,. =,
p w.xa 1s.d;nn ~ ~ ~, N1aa oineIsn
. a s5pnhol snd t,,sin.,in,, ne ~ HoE nsposc.
= differcncte. the myriad d;f1a,encez l., ~
2. Chria,ian Church bnt taw m ts,a ..+nn
n,vsriant N.ht a +. ~. Hi ~ on
ID hWnr1:, hs.n1,S nSots4 " tne atue WAX taper
N ss pas1as nAa lsl. eaere, seese wotd9 II
%aa Gh;.;,t haa2"s G aus ns s. t.,e IN. PER
" bo1v 11o,,n5 tss,t ~ ~ n.1 a. 1850 stoo
pathish... %hx,.t;nm e ~: e'o4J aouhl1ns 9
II iIs.1a h:14 81 xsauiuoH lae Ii. AAW aHNn u
.s ttnouEnE OF tae emMAl, ~ teeose Me once glnsne'
d, ,ng there, and o. the great extending pzesez
r ani s;nra .1aa., s,,,,,
!? anu alnce tue1, W1sn come back to on
10 sIeas "olklng western Totidi with Its day
l. anA hoas5 neesmng with hte kn6 marked OF
I'd Watn oat5, tnere comeo to me holy Iadianc
g. oat oi tnas utue enSlo9nfe. viii tts stli tudt
II .1Ins 9 "sne' ana "stn As tnmple inscription
+ sisar ana tne l1e a. Of ch:ist becomes 70 no
:, grand enect, I vapder thst so simn1e m
IL pure = spirit cnuld haya sr;aan In IN
midxt of 4 re1yoion y, rarsrnor;.i ~ :,
Id terrsl. h,w r. sar,d h.4o a-,s.Ss s1 =
ID s,nnin ana mrs IN tbe 1n,dst nf 1,aet,Is
d Ilving 4 ma of tha Eenaex frnn, AZ & S.s