The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1907-11-14
Abyssinian
Protestant

| has been the object of universal
Christian veneration From all lands
pilgrims have journeyed through great
dangers and hardships TO pay homage
to that sacred spot. For it's recupera-
ton the Christian armies of Europe
fought long and bloody wars. No
spot on earth has ever been held so
sacred.
One could question the authenticity
Of the Holy Sepulchre. ! would an
swer that neither the site of the Holy
Sepulchre or of Calvary or of any
other holy place forms any part of
faith or piety The question is open
to honest investigation and if in that
investigation the present sites be dis
proven our faith has suffered nothing.
The devotion of the centuries to these
places has not been misguided. We
do not worship earth or stones. The
Catholic faith worships the Lord God
and venerates the things associated
with Him. In all such veneratiOn
honor is paid to the Lord Jesus even
though there be an error of fact IN
tie thing believed TO be assoclat ed
with Him. The faith in Jesus Chris
and the love of Him are the formal
motive which has made of the tradl-
tional Holy Sepulchre shrine. The
site may be erroneous but the prayers
of the faithful of all lands uttered
there have been presented TO the
Lamb. But the evidences In favor OF
the present site are so strong that
holding the contrary would bring the
charge of dislOyalty to faith against
any one who should doubt the authen-
ITCHY of the Sepulchre and Calvary.
On May q, at $3.50 a. M, | said
mass in the Holy Sepulchre. | re-
turned to Casa Unova at a. m. A
lonely silence reigned, broken only by
the braying of the asses, the grOans
OF the camels and the course, cultural
shouts of the Arabs. All along the
road outside the walls and in the mar
row, dark and dirty streets, the Arabs
were lying, many asleep and some
awake. Men, women and animals he
b, the wayslde.
No pen can describe the wretched
condition of This city. In general the
streets follow no plan, but run about
Ike cowpaths in forest. The streets
are very narrow in general. Two
camels can scarcely pass each other
in them.
To form an idea Of the filth of the
city it is well to note that in ascend
ing the wall at the Damascus gate
We had difficulty to pick our steps
between deposits of human excrement.
The same state of affairs exists every
where. The stencil of the street is
dreadful. The ragged, dirty inhabit-
ants sit down in the midst of this
filth by the side of the street and
and at night they often sleep
there.
The shops are dark and dirty. A
glass window in the bazaar is an un-
known quantity. One can in all truth
liken the main streets of Jerusalem
to a narrow passage running between
a succession of caves on either side |
Often the way is vaulted overhead and
this adds to the darkness and the |
stencil. The meat markets are hOrr-
ible The total stock in trade of these |
consists of the carcass of one sheep, |
d. at most of the carcasses of two |
sheep. Ice is not employed. The |
flesh hangs there covered with flies, |
creating in the mind of the European |
a painful feeling of disgust.
One meets everywhere the patient !
camel and ass. They carry all freight |
81 the city and country around about.
All the stone used in the great modern |
buildings in and about Jerusalem has
,een brought up from the carries on