Mexico weekly ledger., 1902-05-22

Their wedding dowry is carried, q
string Of silver and copper coins, in
the form Of necklace.
Bethlehem has one long main street
with smaller streets crossing it at ir
regular intervals. Its houses are
snowy white and these, with the green
hills, the chalky cliffs and the brown,
encircling walls make charming
spectacle. The oldest Christian tradi-
tion relating to any sacred site, going
back into the second century, points out
the "grotto of the Nativity" now
under the church of the Nativity as
the birthplace of Jesus. There was
always an inn or "Khanr here and the
stable was cut in the rock. The old
est Christian church in existence
stands over it. Bethlehem was the
home of Boaz, the scene Of the beauti-
full story of Ruth, the birthplace of
David as well as the Savior of the
world. Below the terraced slope di-
rectly east of Bethlehem is an open
valley, known as the Fields Of Beth
lehem, where Boa2 and his reapers
labored and Ruth CLEANED. Beyond
this strip of corn land in which each
inhabitant of the village has his little
plot of ground, indicated as of old by
stone landmark, lies large tract on
the edge Of the wilderness. In all
ages this has been the pasture land Of
the shepherds of Bethlehem. Here
David kept Mis- fathers 1ocks. And
here the sky above became vocal with
melody one wintry night and the
shepherds, seated on the ground and
wrapped in their great coats as now,
heard a message of peace which, please
God, will swell the wide, wide world
around,
FROM JERUSALEM DOWN TO JERICHO.
The class had a three days visit to
Jericho, the Jordan and the Dead Sea.
Nor did we "fall among thieves, but
found, to our surprise, that even the
inn Of the Good Samaritan was yet
standing and that at Jericho was a
most comfortable tavern. The road
to Jericho is pleasant one in fine
weather, but the country through
which it passes-the ewilderness-is de-
void of special attractiyeness during
the larger part Of the way. Leaving
our carriages some distance from Jeri.
cho, however, we walked through the
Wadi-el-Kelt, the most picturesque
spot, as far as physical beauty is con-
cerned, that can be found in Palestine
west Of the Jordan. The rocky gorge,
which is called a valley, resembles a
wild canon in Colorado. a steer
mountain path winds along the side
while at the bottom dashesa clear and
sparkling mountain stream, the Brook
Cherith, Of which Elijah drunk. The
High churchman, full Of dignity and
devotion, almost fell from a beetling
crag as he peered into the yawning
depths. A sharp turn in the path
brought into view a nygarden at the
very base Of a mighty rock, in which
grew tropical plants and trees Cling
ing TO the perceptions rocks above
with many of its rooms cut from the
stone, is a Greek convent where priests
do penance. Along the side Of the
canon are hermit homes, occupied by
monks, mere caves or holes in the
rucks or houses built upon lodges.
The whole valley or gorge is Of sur.
passing beauty and Of itself proves
the contrary Of the statement which
tourists who only see the easily aSeess-
4ble places make that Palestine is a
country without natural beauty and
scenic charm.
JERICHO AND THE DEAD SEA.
The modern village OF Jericho Is a
mere collection OF mud-huts, pe0pled
with two or three hundred wretched
Arabs. The site Of the ancient Jert
eho-city Of palm trees-is marked By
a large mound, a mile or more away
A famous fountain, which a generally