Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-07-10

'oiit the emperor
Vespasian consulted an oracle. which
occupied the spot.
The Carmelite order was Officially
recognized by Pope Honorius III. in
1924, and this has always been their
headquarters. The brotherhood and
heir buildings have been badly treated
from time to time and have patient
y endured great deal of persecution
Many of them have been killed and
ortured. They have repeatedly been
itripped OF all their worldly possess
'ions; the monastery has been de-
itroyed several times and has twice
)een converted into Mohammedan
| mosque. When Napoleon made his
ampaign in Palestine in 1899 the
| building was used as a hospital. and
he monks nursed the soldiers, but up
IN his retirement the wounded and
heir nurses We're massacred by the
Turks and are buried under small
pyramid just outside the gate
The present buildings are without
loubt the finest that ever stood upon
he site. and We're erected by the inde-
'atigable eXertions of Brother Giov-
lnni Battista of Frescati. Italy, who
| lot only collected all the money, but
lrew the plans and superintended the
construction himself travelling
| trough Europe and Asia to solicit
'unds as he needed them The build
les are among the finest of the many
nonaateries in Palestine They are
| hree stories high and solidly built of
~ Nbf
'ffces and kitchen, dispensary and
: hospice for poor pilgrims. The sec
md floor is fitted up with neatly furn-
shed bedrooms and other accommo-
iations for travellers who are able to
pay, while on the third floor are cells
or sixty monks, library, refectory.
l hospital and other rooms. The bed
rooms are especially inviting in their
arrangement and appearance. and the
monks are hospitable.
In the center of the building is a
lardsome chapel, elaborately decor
lted, with good organ, a magnificent
tltar of onyx and some fine paintings
VI the work has been done by the
monks themselves, and they have
collected the funds to pay the expense
AT the end of the promontory is
lighthouse for the benefit of mariners
was built by the Turkish govern
nent, which pays, or rather promises
pay, the monks for keeping up the
light but they have received no money
or several years.
The monks have fine gardens and
row herbs. from which Chartreuse
md Eau de Melisse. an aromatic liq-
ueur. are brewed and sold to travellers
They also sell pressed flowers and 9TH
er souvenirs to pilgrims.
In the center of the court before
he lighthouse is statue erected
by the army of the Republic of Chile
n honor of "Our Lady of Carmel,
who was it's patron saint during the
var with Peru.
There are number of caves in the
1eighborhood. In one of them. call
ed THE School of Prophets" Elijah
IS supposed to have taught a class of
iouug men. Another cave near by
is said to be that in which Obadiah
hid the prophets of the Lord when the
wicked Queen Jezebel was after them
Va lhN punt vi tilt ldtlHR
aast a little Catholic chapel and the
remains of an old castle dating from
he time of the crusaders mark the
scene of one of the most thrilling
tragedies in the Bible 1t occurred
Turing the reign of the wicked king
Ahab and his queen, Jezebel who. by
the way. was a daughter of the Phoen-
ician king of Tyre and a granddaugh-
ter of King Hiram, who supplied
Solomon with material for his temple
Elijah. the Tishbite, was the princi-
pal actor. To punish the king for his
tpostasy to the true God. and the
queen for corrupting the faith of Israel
by the use of power and patronage,
the prophet prayed that rain might
be cut off from the land, and the foun.
tains of the heavens were shut up for
three years and six months. The
king sent Obadiah, governor of his
house, upon a scouting expedition to
find water and grass "to save the
horses and the mules alive. that we
may not lose all the beasts" Oba-
diah had gone but little way when
he was astonished to meet Elijah, who
! had disappeared and could not be
found either by the soldiers or the de-
tectives of the king.
AS the Lord. thy God liveth." ex-
| claimed Obadiah, there is no nation
or kingdom whittier my Lord has not
sent to seek thee"
Elijah replied cooly, GO tell thy
| Lord, behold. Elijah is here"
The proud king was humbled He
obeyed the summons, but when he saw
Elijah he asked sternly, Art thou he
| that troubleth Israeli"
The Tishbite gave the king piece
Of his mind and offered to prove that
the priests and prophets of Baal, who
had been living around him under the
patronage OF Queen Jezebel We're i'm
posters
a trial by fire was proposed to test
their power. Four hundred and fifty
prophets and priests of Baal came to
the place of sacrifice and called upon
the heather god In vain Elijah
mocked them, and the priests. goad-
ed to frenzy slashed themselves with
knives. tore their hair and continued
their appeals until "the time of the