Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-01-21
The Well of the Leaf, Jerusalem.

The story says that in the days of
Omar, one of the faithful pilgrims came
to this well to draw water. His bucket
fell to the bottom, and he went down to
get it. To bis great surprise a door
opened before him, and he found himself
in beautiful fragrant gardens, in which
he walked for some time with great
satisfaction. Before leaving this delight
fui place he plucked leaf from one of
the many trees, stuck it behind his ear,
and SO assembled to the upper earth with
out difficulty; but there is no record of
whether he brought his bucket up Or not.
Of course the story spread, till at last it
reached the ears of Omar, but only as
an impudent invention, for no door
could be found by any investigating
travellers. Omar, however, treated the
rumor with respect, and said there was
prophecy that one of the faithful
should enter Paradise alive. Everything
depended on whether the leaf retained
its verdure, and SO could maintain its
claim to have grown on q tree of
Paradise. This test was triumphantly
passed, for the leaf was green as ever,
and 30 the story has lived to this day,
and SO it is always told on the brink of
the "Well of the Leaf" The Moham-
medans seem fond of tests. If the true
believer can pass between two columns,
outside the Mosque Ell Aksa, standing
very close together, he leaves all his sins
party could only just manage to squeeze
through, and fat Mussulmen must
assuredly find it very difficult. A still
more difficult test is at another place,
little beyond the same mosque, where
Solomon's throne once stood. Here
hangs-visible only to the eyes of the
faithful-(and even they must wait for
death to unseal their vision the bridge,
thin as hair, and sharp as sword, be-
tween earth and Paradise. Beneath it
yawns the abyss of Gehenna and the
faithless will miss their footing and
tumble headlong into its depths,
while the true believer cross
es the bridge easily and swiftly.
Passing still along the wall, we came to
the garden gate. Within are most beau
tiful carvings, and some fine pillars,
said to have been brought from GAIA, by
the Queen of Sheba, as a present to
Solomon. 1t was quite the afternoon
before we reached the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, which occupies the
site of the church built by Constantine
over our Lords tomb. Just inside the
door is slab on which it is supposed
the body of Christ was laid in order to
be amounted, and it is worn quite into
holes by the kisses of devout pilgrims.
1t is quite touching to see the faith these
poor creatures place in every possible
and impossible site. Many of the peas
ants of the south of Russia save up their
money for half a lifetime, in order to
make this journey, which they perform
in the most economical way possible
They travel as deck passengers on board
ship, in all weathers, and walk when
they are on land. When, st last, Jeru-
salem is reached, they take up their
abode in the Russian hospice, and there
the wretched priests never let them go
till they have stripped them of their
uttermost farthing, so that they literally
have to beg their way back, and often
starve on the roadside Mrs Brassey in
Fraser's Magazine.