The Farmington times. [volume] (Farmington, Mo.) 1874-1902, 1902-07-10
SIGHTS I'm BETHLEHEM.
The birthplace of tbs savtoF ls
Marked by strikinEiy neAa-
tifal Environments.


IL delights the soul go find az least a
clean and wcil-kept town In Palestine,
aud the more 50 because Il b. Bethie-
hem, place which appeals more
strongly and deeply Go the religious
and poetic sentiment than any other
on earth, because u has bccn the
scene of the most beautiful idyln in
human history; for Was Il not here
that Ruth CLEANED the fields Of Buaz,
and not only won a good husband, but
became the mother Of long line Of
kiBgA, aud was II not here that Jacob
laid the body OF bis beloved Eachael2
Looking from the walls Of the convent.
you can see the home Of Jesse, the
slopes upon which David hcrded his
sheep. the farm Of Boaz, the caves In
which David hid his Saul, the fields In
which the shephcrdawere abiding keep
ing watch over their hocks by night
when they saw the star Of Bethlehem,
and tie paths by which they aP.
preached the stable In which the young
child my. Al this scarcely seems real,
tays William +. Curtis, Ia the Chicago
Record Herald, but there II Is, spread
out before you like an ordinary land
scape. like the views In any ordinary
country. aud there are no fakes In
the natural features 81 Bethlehem.
The landscape is exactly the same this
morning as Il was on that memorable
day which Samuel came up from Gil
Rol TO choose @ king from among the
ehief men Of Judea,
According 10 the legends, the star
fell into a well, and you can zee IL
there now The rest Is so real, 90
actual. 50 tangible that one T. tempted
90 believe that story. and ! saw the
star myself, twinklinR In the dark
water.
II H. a delightful four.mile drive
from Jerusalrm TO Bethlehem over q
good road. between picturesque and
sunny landscapes. and every foot 81
the way f. filed with historical ASSOC
Citations. We pass great hospital
which Sir Moses MontcfoFe built for
the benefit Of the poor n his rsce. and
the Temple Colony, where German Lus
therans from Wurtcmburg and BUFF
faio have set up model town "a sn
example 20 the inhabitants 81 the Holy
Land; the Hill Of Evil Council, one ~
several trees on which Judas Is said
60 have hanged himself; ;ht country
house Of CHiaphas; the house ~ Sim
con, who wanted 20 depart IN peace,
because his eyes had seen thy .al-
yation;" the well Of which Joseph
stopped to water his donkey when he
was on his way TO Bethlehem; the
Convent 81 the Gross. which was found
ed by 81 Helena; there Is the earth
that nourishcd 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
Of the chapel the monks win show you
a hole In the ground where the stump
81 the tree once stood. aud pilgrims
fan down and worship II
Strange bands. these pilgrims, par
ticularly the Russians, but there are
many others, and they come from all
the corners Of the earth in hunger and
thirst, through frost and heat, beg
cling food on the way End sleeping I'M
der the stars at night Their faith Is
mighty, their zeal burning fame. and
their satisfaction intense Only soul
entirely free from the trammels Of the
world can knerl and Kiss a marble slab
which covers hole from which tree
IS said to have been taken 1000 years
ago.