The Portland daily press., 1891-08-25
The AolYCoaf,

great deal of superstition fingers In the
civilized world yet. as is attested by the re-
markable concourse of people who have
gathered at Treves, In Germany, to see and
venerate the "holy coat" This coat. which
Treves, is alleged to be the very seamless
coat which the Saviour wore at the crucifix-
ion, and which the Roman soldiers appro-
priated during the scene on Calvary Truly
coat worn by the Saviour and preserved
through the wars and social, religious and
political revolutions of eighteen hundred
years would be well worth seeing, and good
and sensible persons might be excused for
attributing to it miraculous powers. But
how can anyone know that this is the very
coat? What chain Of evidence can there be
that may form satisfactory connection be-
tween the day Of the crucifxion at Calvary
and the exhibition now going on at Treves?
The Bishop of Treyes. who is exhibiting the
coat. and who may be presumed to be a man
of learning and considerable sense, is very
certain that the relic Is genuine, and has
insisted upon his belief very forcibly In an
address, He tells his followers that this is
surely the true coat, since holy and eminent
men Of the past In the Catholic church have
declared 1t to be. To doubt their words
would be to cast discredit upon their names,
thing which he warns his followers against
doing. Those good men said it was the real
coat, so it must be so. OF course those
good men Of the medieval church were
not present at Calvary to see that the coat
taken away was the right one, or that in
subsequent years, while the Christians were
feeble and despised sect, the lold coat was
not lost or worn out, and replaced by new
one. They could not have been present with
the coat down through the ages to be certain
that some corrupt and designing priest,-for
there have Deen wolves in sleeps clothing in
all churches-did not have the coat manu.
factured in order to impose upon the igno-
rant people Of his charge and thereby aug
ment his revenues. But those good men
became satisfied that the coat was genuine.
1t was found in Palestine by one OF the pious
Catholic empresses Of the Roman Empire and
brought to Europe. The lady found 1t her
self and was quite sure that 1t was the very
coat. She was very pious woman
none other than the mother of the
great OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES being an
GupItbC9 huu WLCu slc uCCldItu
that she had brought home from Palestine
the holy coat which the Savior had worn at
the Cruclfxion. how could any one in her
dominions doubt 1t? To be sure the coat
must have been lying around In Palestine for
upwards of three hundred years before the
pioss Empress found 1t. and some scoffers in
her dominions may have wondered how she
could have been quite sure that she had
FOUND the right garment But sc0ffers In
'nose good old days were not allowed ito per
auoulate saucily about as they do now; and
.ho sooa ana upright ones readily agreed that
AZ. IMPRESS was an excellent woman; and
1nat 1t would be illogical and wrong az we,l
40 sSnn nlnncOsnvenient, to doubt her statement In
n,- ~ .ne coat was solemnly exhibited in
1ne .oe', Lnree hundred years after it was
SHOWN again, upon the urgent recommenda do
@ son oi emperor Macmillan. Pope Leo x
a"ou' 'nlS Time promised indulgence to all