The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-29
". F. Curtis, Bethlehem. in Chicago Re
 .o~d uarold

w. E. Gurus, beLnlcHtHi, III ~hfSo6o ~NN
 If delights the soul to find at last clean and well kept town m Faieslius' and the more so because 1t IS Betnienem; deeply to the religious and poetic senti- me1t than any other on earth, because it has been the scene Of the most beau. tiful idyls in human history; for was u not here Ruth glea led the fields or boaz, and not only won a good husband, but became the mother of long line or kings, and was it not here that Jacoo laid the body of his beloved Hachei Looking from the walls of the convent you can see the home of Jesse, the slopes upon which David herded his sheep, the farm of Boaz. the caves Tn whlcn Davld hid from Saul, the fields in which the shepherds were abiding. keeping watch over their fiocks by night when they saw the star of Bethlehem. and the paths by which they approached the stable m which the young child lay. All this out before you like an ordinary land scape like the views in any ordinary country. and there are no fakes Tn the natural features of Bethlehem. The land scape is exactly the same this morning as it was on that memorable day when Samuel came up from Gilgal to choose King from among the chief men of Judea:
 According to the legends, the star Ien into a we'll and you can see 1t there now The rest is so real. so actual, so tangiple' that one is tempted to believe the story, and I saw the star myself, twinkling in the dark water.
 It is delightful four-mile drive from Jerusalem to Bethlehem over a good road between picturesque and sunny iano, scapes. and every foot of the way IS nli9d with historical associations. We pass a great hospital which Sir Moses Monte fore built for the benefit of the poor Of his race, and the Temple Colony. where German Lutherans from Wurtemburs and Buffalo have set up a model town as an example to the inhabitants of the Holy Land; the Hill of Evil Council one of several trees on which Judas IS saia houses of Caiaphas; the house of Simeon who wanted to depart in peace because his eyes had seen thy salvaton; the well at which Joseph stopped 10 water his donkey when he was on his way to Bethlehem; the Convent of the cross, which was founded by St. Helena; there is the earth that nourished the roots that bore the tree that yielded the timber that made the cross upon which the Son of God was crucified.' Under the altar or the chapel the monks will show you a hole in the ground where the stump Of the tree once stood, ana pilgrims lali down and worship It.
 Strange bands. these pilgrims, partic- ularly the Russians but there are many others. and they come from all the cor ners of the earth in hunger and thirst. through frost and heat, begging food on the way and sleeping under the stars at night Their faith is mighty. their zeal a burning flame and their satisfaction in traminels of the world can kneel and kiss a marble slab which covers hole from which a tree is said to have been taken 1000 years ago.
 A little farther on is castle of the Knights of Malta, which has been stand ing here ever since the crusades. It over looks the fields of peas" so called from hof asked in that field what he was sowing. The man replied, Stones" Whereupon the seed peas in his pouch turned to stone as punishment for his impertinence to the Savior and ever since that field has pro duced peas of stone. which are still found on the spot and sold to pilgrims.
 But soon we come to a little mosque built of coarse white limestone. with a low dome of masonry, that stands by the roadside in most unattractive sur Toundngs. It is, however, one of the most sacred places on earth in the minds of several hundred millions of people.
 About 1000 years ago young sheikh named Jacob came along this way. He had served deceitful father-in-law seven years for one of his daughters and had been betrayed into marriage with another. and then had served seven years longer for the right one. His wives and little ones. his m1nservants and maidservants, his oxen and his asses. his herds and focks followed him as he moved slowly toward Hebron where his father Isaac dwelt When they reached Bethlehem, Rachel. the beloved wife, for whom he had served fourteen years. died in the pangs of motherhood and was buried upon a green slope by the roadside. There is something remarkable, something mex plicable that man of Jacobs wealth. under the circumstances, should have buried his beloved in such an exposed and public place and entirely among stran- gers when Machpeleh. the sepulcher of his ancestors, was at Hebron. only few miles away.
 Long after this, when he was about to die in Egvnt. Jacob told his son Joseph the touching story of his mothers death and burial and this makes 1t the more extraordinary that Joseph, the lord of Egypt. a prince of vast wealth and pow er did not transfer the remains of his mother from this tomb on the highway a to the family sepulcher where Sarah. the wife of Abraham. Rebecca, the wife or Isaac and Leah. the unloVed wife of Ja- cob, lay But we have no explanation or these singular circumstances. The tomb of Rachel, however, in this public place, was known eid venerated when Moses led the hosts of Israel out Of the wilder, ness, nor has 1t been lost or overlooked
 The dust of Rachel has long since dis appeared, when and how no one can say, brt her tomb is more holy Tn the eyes of Israel than any other Piaee m PaIestine,f and as sacred to the Moham- medans as to the Hebrews. The present mosque was restored by Sir Moses Mont efiore, although it belongs to the MOS lems . paho, .bot Samuel the prophet, met Saul, the son of Kish, when the latter was search!hs : the gullies around Bethlehem Tor the live stock of his father that had gone astray. and anointed him with the holy oil to be King of Israel.
 The story of David. the shepherd Joy of Bethlehem, who, after q succession or most remarkable adventures and achieve ments, became King of Israel, IS uhsur- passed in all literature for sentiment, TO- nance and tragedy, and many ot tnc scenes are laid around this quiet htte city. You remember that David was Il ekilful harpist: so tfey brought him one night to the Kings bedchamber that he might drive away the evil spirits, anl the Kings son, Jonathan, and his dauEh ter, Michal loved the young musician. But Saul, insane with jealousy. remorse and unsat tisfied ambition. threw his sp22s at the minstrel. who had to flee from fnr many days. being hunted like an out law and having many narrow escapes. And you remember the night that the rash boy cut off Saul's coattails while he was sleeping and another time carried away his Canteen and his spear.
 Every hill. every valley, every stone around Bethlehem, is associated with the Adventures and trnimphS of that shepherd la and it became known at early times snd has ever since been called. the City of Darid He inherited the fields of Poaz and the house in which Ruth lived Tss his home for many years. until in bIe old age. he gave it as an affectionate eff to the son of an old friend. whom hs highly esteemed.
 Five hundred years later Bethlehem was the scene of another ldyl' me most rssutiful ever enacted whe7 the stars x ,n1sI= sang seTanade together