Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-03


| gotten more than Ii now knows. The
great honor of our age is not machinery
| for the encients had some styles of il
more wonderful; nor art, for the an
clients had art more exquisite and dur
able; nor architecture, for the Roman
| Coliseum aud Grecian Acropolis surpass
| all modern architecture; nor cities, for
! some of the ancient cities were larger
| than ours in the sweep of their pomp
/ But our attempts must be in moral
achievement and Gospel victory. In that
| We have
ALREADY SURPASSED THEM,
and in that direction let the ages push
/ on. Let US brag less of worldly achieve
| ments, and thank God for moral oppor-
! tunity. More good men and good women
! is what the world wants. Toward moral
| elevation and spiritual attain ment, let
! the chief struggle be. The source of all
! that, l will show you before shutdown OF
this day, on which we have visited the
| pools OF Solomon and the gardens of :hs
king.
We are on this December afternoon on
the way to the cradle of Him who called
Himself greater than Solomon. We are
coming upon the chief cradle of all the
world; not lined with satin, but strewn
with straw; not sheltered BY a palace,
but covered by barn; not presided over
By a princess, but hoversd over by a
peasant girl; yet a cradle the canopy of
which is angelic wings, and the lullaby
of which is the first Christmas carol ever
! sung, and from which ali the events of
the past, and all the events of the future
have and must take date as being B. c.
or A. D.-before Christ or after Christ.
in6 in rnfst n o.
ready for this cradle, and all eternity to
| come 20 be employed in celebrating its
consequences.
said to the tourist companies plan
| ming our oriental journey, "Put us in
Bethlehem in December, the place aud
she month OF our Lord s BIRTH" and we
had our wish. / am the only man who
has ever attempted to tell how Bethle-
hem looked at the season Jesus was born.
Tourists and writers are there In Febru-
airy or March, or April. when the valleys
are an
EMBROIDERED SHEET OF WILD FLOWERS,
and anemoues, and rauuncuus are
flushed as though from attempting to
climb the sleeps, and lark and bull-fnoh
are flooding the air with bird-orchestra.
But was there in December, winter
month, the barren beach between the
two oceans of redoleuce. 1 was told
must not go there at that season, told so
b fore 1 started, told SO in Egypt; the
books told me SO; all travellers that /
consulted about it told me SO. But l was
determined TO see Bethlehem the same
month in which Jesus arrived, aud moth
ing could dissuade me. Was l not right
in wanting to know how the Holy Land
looked W hen Jesus came to itI He did
not land amid flowers and song.
When the angels chanted on the famous
blrthnight, all the fields of Palestine
were silent. The glowing skies were
answered by gray rocks. AS Bethlehem
stood against bleak wintry sky, |
climbed up to it, as through a bleak
wintry sky, Jesus descended upon il.
His way down was from warmth to chill,
from bloom to barrenuess, from ever
lasting June to sterile December. Ii l
were going to Palestine rs botanist,
aud to study the flora of the land, l
would go in March, but l went as a min
lister of Christ to study Jesus. and so l
went in December. wanted TO see how
the world o front door looked when the
heavenly stranger entered it.
The town of Bethlehem, to nv sur
prise, is in the shape of horseshoe.
The houses extending clear onto the
prongs of the horseshoe. This whole
scene more rough and rude than can be
imagined. Verify, Christ did not choose
q soft. genial place In which to be born.
The gate through which our Lord entered
this world was a gate OF rock,
HARD, COLD GATE,
and the gate through which he departed
was a swing-gate of sharpened spears.
We enter q gloomy church built by Con-
stantine over the place in which Jesus
was born. Fifteen lamps burning day
aud night and from century to century
light our way to the spot which oil au-
thorities, Christian and Jew and Moham-
medanr agree upon as being the place of
our Saviour's birth, and covered by .
marble slab, marked by q silver star
sent from Vienna, aud the words:
Here Jesus Christ was born of the
Virgin Mary
But standing there / thought, though
this is the place Of the nativity, how
different the surroundings Of the wintry
night in which Jesus came. At that
time It was khan or cattle pen.
visited one of these khans now standing
and looking just as in Ctrist's time.
We rode in under the arched
entrance and dismounted We
found the building or stone and
around an open square without roof
The building is more than 1000 years old.
II is two stories high In the center are
camsls, horses and mules. Caravans
halt here for the night or during a long
storm. The open square is large enough
to accommodate whole herd of cattle,
a flock of sheep or caravan of camels.
The neighboriug Beuouins here find
market for their hay, straw and meats.
OFF from this center there are twelve
rooms for human habitation. The only
light is from the door. 1 went into one
of these rooms and found woman
cooking the evening meal. There were
six COWS in the same room. On q little
elevation there was some straw where the
people sat and slept when they wished to
rest It was in room similar to that
our Lord was born.
THIS WAS THE CRADLE OF KING,
and yet what cradle ever held so much2
Civilizationi Liberty! Redemption!
Your pardon and mineI Your peso- and
minel Your heaven and minei Cradle
of universal Cradle of a God! The gar
dens of Solomon we visited this morning
were only a type of what all tbs world
will be when this illustrIous Persouage
nan, borp shon heva ,5 t,;a -.