The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-19

getten impression which one receives on
entering there for the hrst time! mere
is labyrinth of dark sanctuarles OF an
periods and Of all aspects, COMMUNICATE
ing by bays and porticos, superb colon
nades, little doors and sopenings IKE the
entrances to caVerns, some are eisNatSu
like high tribunes,r where we notice III
obscure corners groups of women wear
ing long wells; others, underground, where
we brush against spectfes along the slues
of the black and damp rock; ana All tnl5
in a sort of half night except here ana
there great rays of light which intensity
the nelghboring obseurity the wnole M
golden and silver lamps which descend in
thousands from the vault. And every
where we find crowds moving along, or
standing grouped according TO their ma
tionalities around the tabernacles-
Psaluodies lamentations and joyous
chants fiji the high vaults and vibrate IN
the sepulchral sonorities below-the nasal
melopaeia of the Greeks, broken by the
shoufs Of the Kopts-and in all these
voices there IS an intermingling of grief
and prayers, blending the discords In
manner indescribaly strange, and sound
last cry of its distress in the presence
of death.
The rotunda with a high cupola. into
which we first enter and from which we
can imagine the obscure chaos OF the other
sanctuaries, is occupied in the center by a.
grand kiosk of marble of scmi-barbarous
beauty and loaded with silver lamps.
1t enclOSeS the stone u the SCpulCNIt. All
around this holy kiosk the crowd gathers
or remains stationary. On one side there
are hundreds of mouJiks and matouch-
kas kneeling upon the flags. On the other
are the women of Jerusalem standing up
right and wearing long white wells. One
would take them TO be antique virgins in
this dreamy penumbra. Further on we
find Abyssinians and Arabs Frustrated,
with their foreheads on the flags; Turks
with drawn sabers, ana peopleiof all COM
munions and of all lang uages.
nm M a
suffocating portion of the holy sepulchre,
which Is the very heart of this mass of
in single file, each individual bowling his
head. The entrance IS through a little
marble door carved and ornamented. The
sepulchre is within encased in marble,
and lamps of gold AT the same time
with me there passed a Russian soldier
oriental woman dressed in garments of
brocade All kissed the covering of the
tomb and wept. Others followed them;
indeed there Is an eternal procession of
pilgrims touching and moistening with
their tears those very same stones.
There is no fixed plan in this cluster of
churches and chapels around the holy
kiosk. Some are large and marVelously
suuDtuous: others little, humble, and
primitive, crumbling with cid age, in OBJ
scure corners cut into the rock. And here
and there the rock of Calvary appears
in the midst of rich and archais orna-
Tnents. The contrast IS strange between
gold. crosses Of gold, and lamps of gold
and the rags of the pilgrims. the diiapida-
ton of the walls and pillars, worn, de-
formed and greasy from the constant
contact with so much human flesh.
The affairs of all the different faiths
are so thoroughly mixed here that priests
and professions go aStray. They force
their way through the crowd. carrying
cenSorS, and preceded by soldiers in arms,
who strike the sonorous flags with the
ends of their halberds. Room there -
Here come the Latins, that pass like
golden chasuble zone sider' Leading
his flock, here comes the bishop of the
come the Greeks. stil wearing Byzantine
ornaments, or AbySsinians with their dark
faces. They march on in their sumptuous
Vestnents, preceded by children carrying
censers and the crowd makes way for
them Accompanying this human tide there
is kind of continuous rumbling, the in
cessant sound of psalmodies and little
bells Almost everywhere Ii Is so dark
that in order to get long, 1t is neces-
sary to carry a little candle; and under
the high columns ana IN the dark gal
leries a thousand little flarnes move in
streams and eddies, constantly going and
coming. Men pray aloud and sob, pass
ing from one chapel TO another, here to
kiss the rock where the cross was planted,
there to kneel down Where Saints Mary
and Magdalene wept Priests call you by
signs, and lead you Through little doors.
Old women with wild eyes and cheeks wet
with tears, come up from the darkness,
where they had kissed the stone sepulchre.
In profound obscurity we go down to
the chapel of Saint Helena through
wide staircase of about thirty steps, worn,
broken and dangerous looking like tum-
ble-down ruin and lined with crouching
spectres Our candles, as we go by, light
up those vague creatures, immovable and
OF the color Of the side OF the rock They
are MANNED beggars. demented creatures,
devoured with ulcers, all sinister looking
with their hands under their chins, and
their long hair falling down about their
faces. Among these frightened objects Is
a blind young man enveloped IN his magn;-
ncent blond curls which cover him like
a cloak. He Is marveilOusly handsome.
and might pose for a Chriat
Ia the background the chapel Of st.