Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-11-19

underground rooms ! hear the growl of the
wild beasts They have been kept for sew
era days without food or water in order
that they may be especially ravenous and
bloodthirsty. What chance is there for
Pauly But you cannot tell by mans
size or looks how stout n blow he can strike
or how keen blade he can thrust. Wit
ness, heaven and earth and he'll, this
struggle of Paul with wild beast. The
coolest man in the Stadium is Paul. What
has he to fear? He has deiied all the pow
ers, earthly and Internal and if his body
tumble uuder the foot and tooth OF the
wild beast, his soul will only the sooner
find disenthrallment. But it is his duty as
far as possible, to preserve his life.
Now hear the bolt Of the wild beast
door showed back, and the whole audience
rise to their feet as the fierce brute springs
for the arena and toward its small occu-
pant. 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 reeking with gore, turns back. But
now the little missionary has his turn of
making attack, and with few well di-
rected thrusis 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
hm--a scene which Paul afterward uses
for an illustration when he wants to show
how Christ will triumph over death-"He
must reign till he hath put all enemies I'M
der his feet"-yes, under his feet.
Paul told the literal truth when he said,
~ 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.
LET US HASTEN on.
But we pass out of the Stadium, for we
are in haste for other places of interest in
Ephesus. TO add to the excitement of the
day one Of our party was missing. No man
is safe in that region alone unless he be
armed and know how to take sure aim and
not miss fire. Our companion, Dr. Louis
Elopsch, now the publisher of The Chris
tian Herald, had gone out on some ex-
plorations of his own, and through the
gate where Paul had walked again and
again, yet where no man unaccompanied
should adventure now. But after some
time had passed and every minute seemed
long as an hour, and we had time to
imagine everything horrible in the way of
robbery and assassination, the lost traveller
appeared, to receive from our entire party
volley of eXpostulation for the arousal of
so many anXieties.
In the midst of this city of Ephesus once
fioated an artificial lake, brilliant with
painted boats, and through the river Gays
ter it was connected with the sea, and
ships from all parts of the known earth
flOated in and out, carrying on IA commerce
which made Ephesus the envy of the
world. Great was Ephesus! Its gym
nasia, its hippodrome, its odeon, it's athe-
r9um, its forum, its aqueducts (whose
skeletons are still strewn along he city,.
its towers, its Castle of Hadrian, its monu
ment of Androclus, its quarries, which were
the granite cradle of cities: it's temples,
built to Apollo, to Minerva, to Neptune, to
Mercury, to Bacchus, to Hercules, to Caesar,
to Fortune, TO Jupiter Olympus. What
history and poetry and chisel and canvas
have not presented has come up at the call
OF archeologists' powder blast and crowbar.
DIANA'S TEMPLE.
But | have now to unveil the chief won
der of this chiefest of cities In 1868, un-
der the patronage of the English govern
ment, Mr.. Wood, the explorer, 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 besid es-the temple of the goddess Di-
ana, called the sixth wonder Of the world,
and in 1889 we stood amid the ruins of that
temple, measuring its pillars transfxed
by its sculpture and COMPOUNDED at what
was the greatest temple of idoatry in all
time.
AS sat on piece of one of its fallen
columns said, "What earthquake rocked
it down, or what hurricane pushed il to the
earth, or under what strong wine of cen.
turies did the giant sta%ger and fally"
There have been seven temples of Diana,
the ruins of each contributing something
for the splendor of ali its architectural sue
cessors Two hundred and twenty years
was this last temple in construction. Twice
as long as the United States have stood
was that temple in building. twas nearly
twice as large as St. Paul's cathedral, Lon
don. Lest it should be disturbed by earth
quakes, which have always been fond of
making those regions their playground,
the temple was built on a marsh, which
was made firm by layers of charcoal coy
cred by feeces of wool. The stone came
from the quarry near by.
After it was decreed to build the temDle
it Was thought it would be necessary to
bring the building stone from other lands.
but one day a shepherd by the name Of
PiXodorus, while watching his focks, saw
Two rams lighting, and as they missed the
interviewing of their horns and one fell
his horn knocked u splinter from the rock
and showed by that splinter the lustrous
whiteuess of the rock. The shepherd ran
to the city with Il piece of that stone, which
revealed a quarry from which place the
temple was built, and every month in all
ages since the mayor of Ephesus goes to
that quarry to offer sacrifices to the mem
Dry OF that shepherd who discovered this
source of splendor and wealth for the cities
of Asia Minor.
In removing the great stones from the
quarry TO their destined places in the tenn
pie, it was necessary, in order to keep the
wheels, which were twelve feet in diane
ter, from sinking deepinto the earth under
the unparalleled heft, that frame of tim
beers be arranged over which the wheels
rolled. To put the immense block of mar
bic in its place over the doorway of one of
these temples was SO vast aud difficult an