Sharp County record., 1890-11-20

Although these Sol0mOnlc Sarucho"'N
in ruins there are now growing there
flowers that are to be found nowhero
else in the Holy Land How do l ac'
count for that? Solomon sent out ms
sbips and robbed the gardens OF the
whole earth for flowers and planteu
those exotics here, and these particular
flowers are direct descendants OF the
foreign plants he supported. MIR. Me-
sbullum, Christian lsraelite, on the
very site of these royal garleni, mas IN
our dav, by putting in his spade, dem
onstrated that the ground is only walt
inc for the right call to yield as much
luxuriance and splendor eighteen nun
dred years after Christ as it yielded
Solomon one thousand years before
Christ So all Palestine is waiting to
become the richest scene OF horticuit-
ure, arboriculture and agriculture.
We arc on this December afternoon
on the way to the cradle OF Him VINO
called Himself greater than solomon.
We are coming upon the chief cradle OF
all the world, not lined with satin but
strewn with straw, inot sheltered by
palace, but covered by a barn. noC
presided over by Princess, but lowered
over by peasant girl; yet cradle the
canopy of which is angelic wings ana
the lullaby OF which is the first Christ.
mas carol ever sung, and from which all
the events of the future have and must
take date as being B. c. or A. D.-be-
fore Christ or after Christ. All eternity
past occupied in getting ready for this
cradle, and all eternity to come to be
employed in celebrating its conso-
quences.
said to the tourist companies plan
ming our Oriental journey: put US in
Bethlehem in December, the place and
the month of our Lords BIRTH" and we
had our wish. l am the only man who
has ever attempted to tell how Beth
lehem looked at the season Jesus was
born. Tourists and writer's are there in
February, or March, or April, when the
valleys are an embroidered sheet OF wild
flowers, and anemones, and ranunculus
are flushed as though from attempting
to climb the sleeps, and lark and bull
finch are flooding the air with bird Or
chestra. But was there in December,
winter month, the barren beach be-
tween the two oceans of redolence. l
was told l must not go there at that
season, told so before started, told so
in Egypt; the books told me so; all trav-
elers that consulted about it told me
so. But | was determined to see
Bethlehem the same month in which
Jesus arrived, and nothing could dis
suade me. Was not right in wanting
to know how the Holy Land looked
when Jesus came to it? He did not land
amid flowers and song. When the an
gels chanted on the famous birthnight,
all the fields of Palestine we're silent
The glowing skies were answered by
gray rocks. As Bethlehem stood against
a bleak wintry sky climbed up to
it, as through a bleak, wintry sky Je'
sus descended upon it. His way down
was from warmth to chill, from bloom
to barrenness, from everlasting June to
a sterile December. II | were going to
Palestine as botanist and to study the
fora OF the land, | would 60 in March,
but went as q minister Of Christ tc
study Jesus, and so I went In December
wanted to see how the worlds front
door looked when the heavenly stranger
entered It,
The town of Bethlehem, to my sur
prise, is in the shape of horseshoe
the houses extending clear on to the
prongs of the horseshoe. The whole
scene more rough and rude than Cal
be imagined. Verify, Christ did no
choose soft, genial place in which tC
be born, The gate through which oul
Lord entered this world was Q
gate Of rock, hard, cold gate
and the gate through which lie
| utDulUSu Nuo DWluH SuUO W
sharpened spears. We enter a gloomy
church built by Constantine over the
place in which Jesus was born, Fifteer
lamps burning day and night and from
century to century, light our way to tht
spot which all authorities, Christian
and Jew and Mohammedan, agree upor
as being the place Of our Saviour!
birth, and covered by a marble slab
marked by y silver star sent from
Vienna and 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 tho wintry
night in which Jesus came! At tina
timo it was khan or cattle pen,
visited one Of these khans now stand
ing and looking just as in Christs time
We rode in under the arched entrance
and dismounted, We found the building
Of stone and around an open square
without roof. The building is more
than two thousand years old, 1t is tive
stories high, In tho center are camols
horses and mules, Caravans halt here
for the night, or during a long storm
The open square is large enough to ac
commodate whole herd OF cattle, q
flock OF sheep, or caravan Of camels. Tn,
neighboring Bedouins here find marke
for their hay, straw and meats OF
from this center thoro arc twelve room,
for human habitation Tho only ligh