The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-06-28

massive round bars of iron, or left open thus
excluding or admitting communication with
the contiguous houses. The writer, many
years ago, saw such parapet doors on the
housetops of modern Algiers nor was the ar
rangement unknown in the more famous East
ern cities of antiquity, where the roofs glowed
with plants in vases. When, on some public
occasion, the passages were opened, the richer
inhabitants, far above the noise, dust, s1ualor,
sultrness, and comparative darkness of the
narrow and noisome streets, could stroll and
lounge for miles, in mid-air, among flowers {;
could cross even ying and embowe cred bridges
(of which privileged number possessed the
keys, like those who have keys to the gardens
of our squares); and so Dives, unseen of Lag.
arus, but seeing far down all things little and
supine, could wander through parterres of
bloom, and perfumed alleys. and Strawberries
of enchantment, with effects of sunlight
sprinkled, SO to speak, with GOODNESS and with
shadows, soothed out of the monday fierce
ness into tints various and tender; unsoiled of
the stains and pains that stained and panied
the poor sordid world below until the hearts
of those who thus promenaded amid circum-
stances of such delicious refinement and lux
ury, bearing and hearing news, and exchang-
i}5 NiS'itioes "Sio lllteO anu DeCaWo
even like to the heart of Nabuchodenosor the
king. Sometimes the pecten- beaten dulcimer,
or the fingered Tyre of six strings, made long
forgotten airs of music begule the declining
day, and lnger for hours longer, ravshing the
night under the stars of the Syrian sky. Such
tho scene.
But none of the roof-doors were open that
Wednesday evening Something allied the
Holy City. Out of the hushed heavens, mys-
teries and stern doom were brooding over
Jerusalem. Already the fermenting germ of
those dreadful factions which were to tear to
pieces, with intestine rage, the whole jewish
body, while the city was writhing in the vain
death-struggle against Titus, few years later,
had begun to make itself sensible to the OBJ
servant. A fierce hatred of the Romans and
an insane eagerness to reestablish the old
Jewish independence had taken possession of
certain youthful fanatics; and possessed"
indeed they seemed. On the one side, the
Roman officers of the garrison, from PLATE
down, had received anonymous warnings, in
the widest style, requiring them to withdraw
from Jerusalem within a given tme they
shonld be all executed in the streets, as oppor
tunity might occur; on the other, the prefeot
of Syria had been earnestly requested by Pr
late to strengthen the garrison; while in the
city itself the soldiers were strictly admonished
to keep to their quarters, to avoid late hours,
and to hold no intercourse when off duty with
the inhabitants. Leaves of absence were
stopped. A few DICTIONARIES had been already
murdered in the neighborhood of wine shops,
in the small winding alleys, and in places of
evil repute and no efforts succeeded in identi-
flying the perpetrators
But these were only ths feeble and evanes-
cent symptoms destined to disappear and re-
appear, of Il political and social phase which
was not to become the predominant situation
until another situation should have exha listed
its first fury. This, the first, was to be the
war of the Synagogue against the disciples of
the Messiah, whom those disciples went about
declaring to have risen from the tomb, accord
ing to his distinct promise; whom they went
about declaring to have been already seen, and
heard and touched by themselves, again and
again.
Concluded next week
Gray was the most careful of poets, and