The Washington critic., 1888-03-24

was y very good one, Tor Mahomet
was no trifer. Proceeding about fifty
steps further we were hidden to be
hold the place whore Our Saviour
found his disciples asleep, where Judas
betrayed Him (the monk had already
shown us this important spot in the
Garden Of Gethsemane, so that either
his or Mahomets bump Of locative-
ness, if one may say so, was suffering
from some abnormity), and where
also is located what is termed "The
Grotto of the Agony" y"--nothing more
or less than walled-up alley. All
these we examined very attentively
and passed on. Then we came TO the
Tomb of the Virgin Mary, but rs
the man who kept the keys could
nowhere be found, we had TO content
ourselves with admiring its exterior.
The tomb of the Virgin Mary, | may
take occasion TO add, is perfectly
round, measures about fifteen feet in
diameter, carries n bell top, and is
altogether, should think, about forty
feet in height. Passing on q little
farther
THE FOOL OF SLOAN
hove in sight and was duly pointed
out. 1t is quite a good-looking pool,
resembling q small reservoir, with
steps leading down to the water.
After crossing a small bridge which
spans the bed of famous Brook Cedron
the brook, by the way, was absent
and stumbling over the very stones,
which las Mahomet informed us, served
to deprive the Martyr Stephen of his
mortal entity, we again entered the
city by st. Stephens gate, the gate by
which we had left Then, after few
moments inspection of the Tower Of
Antonia, which is famous in the an
nails of Jerusalem as being the scene
of many a bloody struggle, we walked
slowly along
THE VIA DoLoRosA.
and carefully observed the various
stations, which are marked on either
side. If our Christianity goes for
anything, and there is one street in
Christendom which deserves especial
scrutiny, and profound thought whilst
making that scrutiny, that street must
assuredly be the "Nia Dolorosa.
The stations, of which / have spoken,
are supposed to represent the pauses
which our Saviour made when strug-
Cling under the burden of the cross.
They may, possibly, be all inaccurate.
! believe it is not claimed they are the
very ones, as little reasoning would
show such claim to be fallacious.
From the fact of the city of Jerusa-
lem having undergone many changes
since the time Of our Lord, such as
those produced by demolition, war
fare, &C., it seems hardly likely that
the crusaders, when they succeeded
in forcing an entrance, found every
thing in apple-pie order. 1t is, how
ever, quite probable that after ex.
haustive inquiry, based somewhat on
traditions and on the routes then in
existence which led from the garden
of Gethsemane to the hillock of
Calvary, they were enabled to locate
with some degree of accuracy the
path which our Saviour trod on his last
memorable journey. Thus, l think
any intelligent mind, whether Prot
estant or Romanist, provided she OF
he take this view, can find this old
street interesting. The supposed 10.
cality where
VERONICA
wiped with her handk erchief the per.
spring countenance Of our Saviour,
and was amazed, after doing, so to find
that it bore that countenance's i'm.
print, interested us most.as many of us
had but q month before in Naples wit
messed work of art by one of the
great masters on this very subject
This / considered, at the time, one OF
the most beautiful and touching paint
ings | had ever seen, and standing OF
the supposed spot whereon the miracle
was wrought, brought it back to my
remembrance with surprising force
The look of pity, love, and faith
those gentler attributes of woman-at
she gazed on the suffering Redeemer
attested to the devotion of the He
brew woman, and illustratedSh the
possession and the exercise of those
gentle emotions heightens the beauty
of this remarkably beautiful race
this race especially favored by the Gre
ator.
And here the mind is bewildered in
pondering over the many times the
men of this chosen people have riser
in grandeur and power when they
have followed the Divine command
and the teachings of their wise anC
great prophets. But have invariably
fallen when defying the law anC
deifying the heathen women. Can
we wonder that Sampson was shorI
of his strength by the savage beauty
Delilah or that the temple should b
destroyed, when the great Solomon
himself was intoxicated by the charm
Of these desert beauties or that afte,
generations arch traitors like tn
Iscariot should be the product of sucl
alliances?