New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-11
JERUSALEM'S HOLY PLACES.
DISHEARTENING SPECTACLEs SEEN BY
A CORRESPONDENT

y,
1ost sacred places OF all are known to have
been outside the walls. Moreover, what holt
ness is attached TO them they DO not owe to
their official custo1ians on the spot. After the
ceremony at the Evangelical Church OF the
Redeemer ito give the German church its
full title wandered away into the Church Of
Christ's Sepulchrc. The supposed tomb Of
Christ is n recess in the rock some little way
below the level OF the church floor and is
reached by flight of steps. narrow door.
about four feet in height. leads into the recess,
or gro'tO. in which Franciscan monk is con-
stantly on duty The grotto rocked with the
smell of the gaudy lamps which lighted the
place Three women were knccling by the
tomb, one Of them passionately kissing the
spot whore she believed the feet Of the dead
Christ to have rested.
UPSTAIRS TO GoLGoTHA"
on ascending to the area Of the church l
asked \ monk the way to Calvary. He stared.
"Golgoha" | said Whercupon ne nodded
brusqucly in the direction of the stairs close at
hand. and told me to walk up 50 upstairs
went, but was, still puzzled to find Go!fotha:
Near the landing monk with his sleeves
turned lin ard a dirty white apron over MS
brown robe was scrubbing sacred vessels
with n towel exactly In the manner of Lon
don walter cleaning his dishes. He rubbed and
polished in the waiter style, and threW his
towel over his shoulder in the waiter style.
There was no more suggestion Of reverence
in his manner than there would be If the
Church Of the Sepulchre were Partisan restau-
rant. Having watched him for n minute or
two, | asked him whore Gogotha was. He
made gesture with his thumb over his right
shoulder, and without word went on plying
his dishcloth.
Feeling more irritation and disgust perhaps
than was compatible with the character of the
place. | repeated my question. Whereupon my
monk, still scrubbng his vessel, pointed with
his not too clean sandaed foot to a socket
in the floor There" said he the cross vas
fixed, and this is Golgotha' Indicating with
sweep Of his towel the position generally. 1t
shocks one 70 be told to run upstairs TO Col
gotha and take the first turning to the left Il
think IL wasl. For business sake as many as
possible OF the spots associated with the final
scenes in Christs life have been huddled to-
gcthcr
OF all tho monkish faces saw in the Church
of the Sepuichre | observed only one that /
could call in any degree intelligent. Those
monks were engaged in nothing but Journalism
arranging lamps and candles, putting up or
taking down flowers receiving backsheesh
mechanically singing hymns and 50 on. Walls
shrines. screens etc, were so overcrOwded with
lamps and chandeliers that the church pre-
scented the appearance Of a vast warehouse
The church seemed to be sacred to mechanical
ritual ana to that only. OF any real religious
feeling failed to discover Il trace The feeling
such scenes produced in myself was one Of
melancholy and utter aversion.
THE BETHLEHEM OF TODAY.
AT Bethlehem whittier followed the Kaiser's
proc ession, one might have expected symptoms
Of different spirit among the custodians Of
me scene OF the Nativity. But the spectacle
OF mohasuc HE there Is just as depressing as
at the Church OF the Scpulchre in jerusalem
A slipshod. unwashed, Dear-eyed monk who
begged me to give him some tobacco loosely
searched the pockets Of the Syrian youth who
guided me over the buildings. to see if he had
any My youthful Syrian guide, who spoke
English fairly well had once played his part in
Barnum s-or was ii Mr.. kralfy's?- pasteboard
East al Earl Court. Said he, pointing to the
three Turkish soldiers who were lounginp
about the church: "rhey are sentries to pre-
vent the monks from fighting each other" The
Church OF the Nativity is in the Joint occupa.
tloh or Greek Latin and Armenian monks
Easter Is the time for fisticuffs: but the Turk.
lsh sentrles keep watch all the year round II
IS perhaps the only duty in the performance
OF winch the Turk deserves the unstinted SYM
pathy and respect Of every Christian or non
i'tllng. AS for the Garden OF Gethsemane
with It's pathetic memories we'll there arc tvo
rival gardens. The garden generally accented
as such Is surrounded with wire netting and
suEs"sts the dreary responsibility Of a cheap
villa in suburban London.
90 not envy tn" man who can gaze unmOved
upon the Mount Of Olives But the mnrn ono
feels the spell Of the place the more one is re-
peled by demonstrations Of the kind that ac-
C"filancd the open air service held on tho
Top OF the Mount and attended by tho I'm,
Peror ana Empress and their suite An artist
correspondent who was present with mo COM
pared the return Of the crowds from olivrt
10 tna' OF L"ndons multtudes from Epson
races. IN everything except mechanical rftuaI
.parrot-Ik repetition Of formulari.s er,,sa
iein strIk's me- as the most rreljcious or nan
ic"SIouS clly IN the world. II Is without q
uouOt the headquarters of lies shams i'm
ppStur's OF the ecclesiastical order That the
,dIIe 81 true plety burns in il. here and there
am am well aware | speak only Of general re,