Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1891-03-30

I
there was buried a king, Il conqueror,
an emancipation u friend, a brother, a
Christ Monarch of the universe, but
bone of our bone. and flesh of our flesh,
and sorrow of our sorrow, and heart OF
our heart. Come, see the place where
the Lord lay"
1t has for surroundings the manor in
the suburbs of Jerusalem, a manor
owned by wealthy gentleman by the
name of Joseph. He was one of the
court Of seventy who had condemned
Christ but think he had voted in the
negative, or, being Il timid man, had
been absent at the time of the casting of
the vote. He had laid out the parterre
at great expense 1t was a hot climate,
and | suppose there were broad
branched trees and winding paths I'M
derneath them, while here the waters
rippled over the rock into a fishpool,
and yonder the vines and the flowers
clambered over the wall. and all around
there were the beauties Of kiosk arbOr-
iculture After the fatigues of the Je-
rusalcm courtroom, how refreshing to
come out in these suburbs botanical
and genealogical
WHERs JESUS LAY.
| walk little farther on in the par
terre and | come across a cluster of
rocks, and see on them the marks of
a sculptor's chisel. come still closer
and find that there is u Subterranean
recess, and [ walk down the marble
stairs, and come to portico, over the
doorway an architecture of fruits and
flowers chiseled by the hand of the
sculptor. go into the pOrticO, and on
either side there are rooms, two or
four or six rooms of rock; in the walls
inches, each niche large enough to hold
dead body. One q these rooms of rock
is especially wealthy with sculpture. 1t
is a beautiful and charming spot Why
all this2 The fact was that Joseph,
the owner of the parterre, of that
wealthy manor, had recognized the fact
that he could not always walk those
gardens, and he sought this as his own
last resting place What a beautiful
plot in which TO wait for the resurrec-
ton!
rock. 1t is to be the most celebrated
tomb in all the ages; catacOmbs of
Egypt, tomb of Napoleon, Mahal Tai
of India, nothing compared with it.
Christ had just been murdered, and his
body must be thrown out to the dogs
and the ravens, as was customary with
crucified bodies, unless there be prompt
and effective hindrance. Joseph, the
owner of the mausoleum, begs for the
body of Christ, and he takes and washes
the poor and mutilated frame from the
blood and the dust and shrouds it and
perfumes it.
| think embalmment was omitted.
When in olden times they wished to
embalm a dead body the priest with
| some pretension of medical skill would
show the point between the ribs where
| the incisiOn was to be made. Then the
operator would come and make the in
cision, and then run for his life else he
would be slain for violating the dead
body Then the other priests would
come with salt and nitre and cassia
and wine of palm tree and complete
the embalmment. But I think in this
| case embalmment was omitted lest there
| be more excitement and another riot.
The funeral advances Present, Joseph,
| the owner of the mausoleum; Nicode-
| mus, who brought the flowers, and the
two Marys. Heavy burden on the
| shoulders of two men as they carry the
body of Christ down the marble stairs
| and into the porticO and lift the dead
| weight to the level of the niche in the
rock, and push the body of Christ into
the only pleasant resting place it ever
| had. These men coming forth close
the door of rock against the recess. The
| government, afraid that the disciples
| would steal the body of Christ and
| play resurrection, put upon the door
the seal of the Sanhedrim, the viola
ton of that seal, like the violation of
the seal of the United States govern
| ment or of the British government, al
ways followed with severe penalties
SOLDIERS GUARDED IT.
4 regiment of soldiers from the Tower
of Antonio is detailed to guard that
mausoleum. At the door of that tomb
| a fight took place which decided the
question for all graveyards and GENE
| terieS. Sword of lightning against
| sword of steel Angel of God against
the military The body in the crypt
| begins to move in its shroud of fine
linen and slides down upon the pave
| ment, moves through the portico, ap-
pears in the doorway, comes up the
marble steps. Christ, having left bis
| mortuary attire behind him, comes
| take it, from the fact that the women
mistook him for the gardener.
There and then was shattered the
| tomb so that it can never be rebuilt.
| All the trowels of earthly masonry can
not mend it. Forever and forever it is
a broken tomb. Death that day tax
| ing the side of the military received a
horrible cut under the angels spear of
| flame, and must himself go down at the
last-the King of Terrors disappearing
| before the King of Grace. 1.-THE Lord
is risen" Hosanna! Hosanna!
| Oh, weep no more your comforts slain,
| The Lord is risen, he lives again.
When one of the old Christians was
dying he said he saw on the sky the
letter ''V," and he said, II cannot I'M
| derstand what that is [ see against the
| sky; it is the letter w." A Christian
standing beside him said, II know what
it means; that letter w stands for vic
tory" 1 gather up all these flowers
to-day, and 1 strew them over the
graves of your Christian dead in the
letter ''V'' for victory" ''R' for
resurrection ''T'' for triumph, y
! III" for 90 eaven. :" ''The Lord is risen. .
4 HOsannal
| HONORS AFTER DEATH.
While standing around the place
where the Lord lay am impressed with
the fact that mortuary honors cannot
atone for wrongs to the living. If they
could have afforded Christ such cost
Iy sepulcher they could have afforded
him a decent earthly residence. VIII
they give a piece of marble to the dead