Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-11-06

before l started, told so in Egypt; the
books told me so; all travellers that i
consulted about it told me so. But was
determined to see Bethlehem the same
month in which Jesus arrived, and moth.
ing could dissuade me.
Was l not right in wanting to know
how the Holy Land looked when Jesus
came to 1t? He did not land amid
nowers and song. When the angels
cbanted on the famous birthnight, all
the fields of Palestine were silent. The
glowing skies were answered by gray
rocks. AS Bethlehem stood against a
bleak wintry sky, climbed up 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. II were going to Palestine
as botanist, and to study the flora of
the land, would go in March, but !
went as a minister of Christ TO study
Jesus, and so l went in December. /
wanted to see how the worlds front
door looked when the heavenly Stranger
entered il.
The town of Bethlehem to my surprise
is in the shape of 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 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 diff
ferent the surroundings of the wintry
night in which Jesus came! At that
time 1T was khan or 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 q long storm. The open
square is large enough to accommodate q
whole herd of cattle, flock of sheep or
caravan of camels. The neighboring
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 room similar to that our Lord was
born.
This was the cradle of king, and yet
what cradle ever held so much? Civili-
zation! 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 type of
what all the world will be when this il
lustrious parsonage now born shall have
completed his mission. The horse of
finest limb and gayest champ of bit and
sublimest arch of neck that ever brought
Solomon down to these adjoining gard
ems was but poor type of the horse
upon which this conqueror born in the
barn shall ride, when, according to
apocalyptic vision, all the ''armies of
Heaven shall follow him on white
horses"
The waters that rush down these hills
into yonder three great reservoirs of
rock and then pour in marvellous aque-
duct into Jerusalem till the brazen sea is
full, 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 for
shaking of the thirst of all nations. The
palace of Lebanon, cedar from which the
imperial cavalcade passed out in the
early morning and to which it returned
with glowing cheek and jingling harness
and lathered sides, is feeble of architec-
ture compared with the house of many
mansions into which this one born this
winter month ON these bleak heights
shall conduct US when our sins are all
pardoned, our battles all fought, our
tears all wept, our work all done;
Standing here at Bethlehem, do you
not see that the most honored thing in
all the earth is the cradle? To what
else did loosened star ever point? To
what else did Heaven lower balconies of
light filed with chanting immortals?
The way the cradle rocks the world
rocks God bless the mothers all the
world over! The cradles decide the des-
TIMES of nations. In ten thousand of
them are this moment the hands that
will yet give benediction of mercy or
hurl bolts of doom, the feet that will
mount the sleeps towards God or descend
the blasted way, the lips that will pray
or blaspheme. Oh, the cradle! 1t is
more TREMENDOUS than the grave. Where
are most of the leaders of the Twentieth
century soon to dawn upon us? Are
they on the throne? No. In chariots?
No. In pulpits? No. In forums? No.
In senatorial halls? No. In counting
houses? No. They are in the cradle.
The most tremendous thing in the uni
verse, and next to God, is to be a
mother. Lord Shaftesbury said, 'sGive
me generation of Christian mothers
and will change the whole phase of So
ciety in twelve months"
Oh, the cradle! Forget not the one in
which you were rocked. Though old
and worn out that cradle may be stand
ing in attic or barn, forget not the foot
that sWayed it, the lips that sang over
it, the tears that dropped upon it, the
faith in God that made way for it. The