Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1890-11-15


Dfatlng its consequences.
said to the tourist commands nIon
ning our oriental journey. ..put ms in
Bethlehem IN December, the place and
9he month OF our Lords BIRTH and we
nad our wish. | am the ONLY man who
mas ever attempted to tell how Betble-
mem looked at the season Jesus was born
TOURISTS ana writer's are there i'm Febru
airy or March or April, when the val
less are an embroidered sheet of wild
movers, and anemones and ranuculus are
nuShed as though from attempting tn
cilhD the Sleeps, ald lark and bulfinch
are noOdlng the air with bird orchestra
But was there in December q winter
month, the barren beach between the
TWO oceans OF redOlence. [ was told
must not go there at that season. told so
before l started, told so i'm Egynt. tb.
books told ME so; all travellers that
consulted about it told me so. But was
determined to see Bethlehem the same
month in which Jesus arrived and moth
ing gould dissuade 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 angels
chanted on the famous birthnight, all
the fields of Palestine We're silent. The
glowing skies We're answered by gray
rocks. AS Bethlehem stood against a
bleak wintry sky, l climbed I'D to it as
through bleak wintry sky Jesus de-
scended upon it. His way down was
from warmth to chill from bloom to bar
renness, from everlasting June to sterile
December. If / were going to Palestine
as botanist, and to study the fora of
the land, [ would go in March, but |
went as minister of Christ to study
Jesus, and SO | went in December. |
wanted to see how the worlds front
door looked when the heavenly Stranger
entered it.
The town Of Bethlehem to my surprise
is in the shape Of a horseshoe, the houses
extending clear onto the prOngs of the
horseshoe, the whole scene more rough
and rude than can be imagined. Verify,
Christ did not choose 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 gloomy church built by Constan.
tine over the place in which Jesus was
born. Fifteen lamps burning day and
night and from century to century light
our way to the spot which all authorities.
Christian and jew and Mohammedan,
agree upon as being the place of our
Savior's birth, and covered by a marble
slab, marked by q silver star sent from
Vienna, and the words, Here Jesus
Christ was born of the Virgin Mary"
But standing there l thought, though
his is the place of the nativity, how diff
ferent the surroundings of the wintry
night in which Jesus came! At that
time it was khan or a cattle pen.
visited one of these khans now standing
and looking just as in Christ's time. We
rode in under the arched entrance and
dismounted. We found the building OF
stone and around an open square with.
out roof. The building is more than
1000 years old. 1t is two stories high.
In the center are camels, horses and
mules. Caravans halt here for the night
or during long storm. The open
square is large enough to accommodate d
whole herd of cattle, a flock of sheep OF
caravan of camels. The neighborine
Bedouins here find market for their hay.
straw and meats Off from this center
there are twelve rooms for human hab-
itation. The only light is from the door
[ went into one Of these rooms and
found woman cooking the evening
meal. There were six COWS in the same
room. On little elevation there was
some straw where the people sat and
slept when they wished to rest. 1t was
| in a room similar to that our Lord was
| born.
| This was the cradle of king, and yet
what cradle ever held so much? ClVlli-
| cation! Liberty Redemption! Your
pardon and mine! Your heaven and
mine! Cradle of universe! Cradle OF
God! The gardens of Solomon we Wis
tied this morning were only Il type OF
what all the world will be when this H.
| tustrious parsonage now born shall have
completed his mission. The horse OF
! finest limb and gayest champ OF bit ano
! sublimest arch of neck that ever brought
Solomon down to these adjoining gard
| ems was but poor type OF the morse
upon which this conqueror born In the
barn shall ride, when, according tt
apocalyptic vision, all the ''armles OF
Heaven shall follow him on white
! horses"
The waters that rush down these hills
! into wonder three great reservoirs Oh
rock and then pour in marvellous aquc
duct into Jerusalem till the brazen sea is
fuIl and the baths are full, and Sloan
is full, are only an imperfect type OF the
rivers of delight which, as the result OF
this great ones coming, shall roll on 1ol
shaking of the thirst of all nations. Inc
palace of Lebanon, cedar from Whlch the
imperial cavalcade passed out In the
early morning and to which 1t returned
with glowing cheek and jlnglmg harness
and lathered sides, is feeble OF archltec
- ao,,,norod with the house of many