Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-11-16

| EilOukn vi AiS WolAo anu
are left to show what stupendou
place it must have been when used fo
foot races and for fights with viii
beasts 1t was building $50 feet lon
by 200 feet wide Paul refers to villa
transpired there in the way of spectacl
when he says, 1--WE have been made
spectacle" Yes, Paul says, II hav
fought with beasts at Ephesus," an ex
preston usually taken as flgurative, bu
I suppose it was literally true, for on
of the aInusenents In that Stadium wa
to put dislihed man in the arena will
a hungry lion or tiger or panther, anC
let the fight go on until either the mar
or the beast or both were slain.
1t must have been great fun for these
haters of Christianity to hear that OF
the morrow in the Stadium in Ephesu'
the missionary Paul would, in the pres
ence of the crowded galleries, fight a
hungry lion. The people were early
there to get the best seats, and a more
alert and enthusiastic crowd never as
sembled. They took their dinners
with them And was there ever a
more unequal combat proposed. Paul,
according to tradition, small, crooked
backed and weak eyed, but the grand
est man in sixty centuries, is led to the
center as the people shout There he
comes, the preacher who has nearly
ruined our religion. The lion will
- ,,a,,kIf,,1 ,f him "
PAUL's MAGNIFICENT FIGHT.
1t is plain that all the sympathies OF
that crowd are with the lion. In one
of the Underground rooms | hear the
growl of the wild beasts. They have
been kept for several days without food
or water in order that they may be
especially ravenous and bloodthirsty.
What chance is there for Paul9 But
you cannot tell by mans size or looks
how stout blow he can strike or how
keen blade he can thrust. Witness,
heaven and earth and hell, this strug-
gle of Paul with a wild beast. The
coolest man in the Stadium is Paul.
What has he to fear9 He has defied
all the powers, earthly and Internal,
and If his body tumble under the foot
and tooth of the wild beast, his soul
will only the sooner find disenthrall-
ment. But it is his duty, as far as pos
sible, to preserve his life.
Now l hear the bolt of the wild
beasts door shove back, and the whole
audience rise to their feet as the fierce
brute springs for the arena and toward
its small occupant. think the first
plunge that was made by the wild beast
at the apostle was made on the point
of sharp blade, and the snarling
monster with howl of pain and reek-
ing with gore turns back. But now
the little missionary has his turn Of
making attack, and with a few well
directed thrusts the monster lies
dead In the dust of the arena
and the apostle puts his right foot
on the lion and shakes him, and
then puts his left foot on him and
shakes him-a scene which Paul after
ward uses for an illustration when he
wants to show how Christ will triumph
over death-'he must reign till he hath
put all enemies under his feet" yes,
under his feet. Paul told the literal
truth when he said, 81 have fought
with beasts at Ephesus," and as the
plural is used think he had more than
one such fight, or several beasts were
let loose upon him at one time. As we
stood that day in the middle of the
Stadium and looked around at the great
structure, the whole scene came back
upon us.
But we pass out of the Stadium, for
we are in haste for other places of in
terest in Ephesus, To add to the ex-
element of the day one of our party
was missing. No man is safe in that
region alone unless he be armed and
knows how to take sure aim and not
miss fire. Our companion, DIR, Louis
klopsch, now the publisher of The
Christian Herald, had gone out on
some explorations of his own, and
through the gate where Paul had walk
ed again and again, yet where no man
unaccompanied should adventure now.
But after some time had passed, and
every minute seemed as long as al
hour, and we had time to imagine
everything horrible in the way of rob
berry and assassination, the lost travel
er appeared, to receive from our entir,
party volley of expostulation for the
arousal of so many anxieties.
In the midst of this city of Ephesui
once tioated an artificial lake, brillian
with painted boats, and through th'
River Cayster it was connected witt
the sea, and ships from all parts of tn,
known earth tioated in and out carry
ing on commerce which made Ephe
sus the envy of the world. Great wa
Ephesusi Itsgymnasia, its hippodrome
It's odeon, its athen@um, Its forum, II
aqueducts (whose skeletons are still
strewn along the city, its towers, II
Castle of Hadrian, its monument @
Androclus, its quarries, which were tn
granite cradle of cities; its temples
built to Apollo, TO Minerva, to NeI
tune, TO Mercury, 70 Baeehus, TO Hel
cules, 10 Caesar, to Fortune, 10 Jupite
Olympus. What history and poetr
and chisel and canvas have not PR
sented has come up at the call of Al
eheologists' powder blast and orowbal
THR EXPLoRRR's REVELATIONS.
III ~. - 4