The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-11-20


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
make but brief mouthful of him."
PAuLs 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 Paull 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 fearl He has defied
all the powers, earthly and Internal,
and il 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 | 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 a 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 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 nina 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 l 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, DR.. 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 an
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 entire
party a volley of expostulation for the
| arousal of SO many anxieties.
| II fI> mid - &c 4hic nil, 90 E,>l
once floated an artificial lake, brilliant
with painted boats, and through the
River Cayster it was connected with
the sea, and ships from all parts of the
known earth foated in and out carry
ing on commerce which made Ephe-
sus the envy of the world. Great was
Ephesus! Its gymnasia, its hippodrome,
its odeon, its atheneum, its forum, its
aqueducts (whose skeletons are still
strewn along the city, its towers, its
Castle of Hadrian, its monument of
Androclus, its quarries which were the
granite cradle of cities; its temples,
built to Apollo, to Minerva, to Nep-
tune, to Mercury, to Bacchus, to Her.
cules, to Caesar, to Fortune, to Jupiter
Olympus What history and poetry
and chisel and canvas have not pre-
sented has come up at the call of ar
cheologists' powder blast and crowbar
THE EXPLORERS REVELATIONS.
But l have now to unveil the chief
wonder of this chiefest of cities. In
1868, under the patronage of the Eng
fish government, Mr.. Wood, the ex-
| plorer, began at Ephesus to feel along
under the ground at great depths for
roads, for walls, for towers, and here it
is that for which Ephesus was more
| celebrated than all else besides-the
| Temple of the Goddess Diana, called
the sixth wonder of the world and in
1889 we stood amid the ruins of that
temple, measuring its pillars, transfixed
by its sculpture and m,nfounded at
what Tas the greatest temple of idol
airy in all time As sat on a piece of
one of its fallen columns said, ''What
earthquake rocked it down, or what
hurricane pushed it to the earth, or I'M
der what strong wine of centuries did
the giant stagger and fall" There
have been seven temples of Diana, the
ruins of each contributing something
for the splendor of all its architectural
SUCCESSORS.
Two hundred and twenty years was
this last temple in construction. Twice
as long as the United States has stood
was that temple in building. 1t was
nearly twice as long as st. Paurs cathe-
drai, London. Lest it should be dis
turbed by earthquakes, which have al
ways been fond of making those regions
their playground. the temple was built
on marsh, which was made firm by
layers of charcoal covered by fleeces of
wool. The stone came from the quarry
near by. After it was decrced to build
the temple it was thought it would be
necessary to bring the building stone
from other lands, but one day shep
|. I..t = Il