Milford chronicle., 1909-08-06
A MILFORD BOYS VISIT
ABOUT THE HOLY LAND
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.

hem, the place held so sacred by al
Christians as being connected will
the birth Of Christ, and proceed t'
the Church of Nativity, which i
a large ancient building, resembling
a large fort more than place o
worship, and here the Greek ortho
dox, Roman Catholics and Armenl
ans worship. The building is ovel
a large cave and we proceed to a
spot which is marked by a large
eight-pointed brass star which is
supposed to be the place where
Christ was born in manger Here
we find twelve lamps burning day
and night, representing the twelve
tribes of Israel. Near this place Is
also a handsomely decorated grotto
where we were told is the place
where the three wise men came
and deposited their gifts of gold
frankincense and myrrh. A little
to the left in a small cavern IS the
place where God appeared unto
Joseph and told him to flee into
Egypt when Herod had ordered all
the children to be killed, and a
small hole near by is the place where
Christ was hid over night In the
western side of the church is a place
dedicated to St. Jerome who took
up his abode in one of the caves
near the birthplace Of Christ; here
he dwelt for many years and wrote
his historical works. He was born
a pagan, but in a vision he was
commanded to renounce the study
of heather writer's. He then learned
Hebrew from the Jews and trans
lated the Jewish scriptures into
Latin and he also taught many OF
the younger generation the Chris
tan religion. He was also assisted
by two Roman ladies OF piety-a
mother and daughter, Paula and
Eustachia, who had become con-
verts to Christianity and had studied .
the bible under Jerome, and Paula .
founded a nunery over which she
presided as abbess. St. Jerome died
A. D. 42o at the age of ninety-twO
years and beside Paula was laid in
the rock tomb beneath the Church
of Nativity. The escape of the
Church of Nativity from destruction
when the town was taken and laid
in ruins by the Saracens under
Hakin A. D. 1910, when the Cru
saders were summoned to the aid Of
the Christians, was believed by them
to be miraculous
On Christmas Day A. D. IIoI,
Baldwin here was crowned King of :
Jerusalem, the church held the most
sacred being in those days consid- ;
cred to be the fttest place for the :
Destowing of rank aud power. In 7
A. D. 1882 Edward " of England :
and Philip Of Burgundy joined in =
he work Of furnishing the material ),
or the repair Of the leaking roof of
he ancient church The woodwork
vas executed in Venice and brought y
o Toppa and then to Bethlehem on d
amels a few years later the Turks II
off the lead to make bullets d
Bethlehem is the market of the ,
Dead Sea Bedouins and also OF the -
numerous small towns and villages al
4 the vicinity and it has various d
Industries of its own as the produc- -
on of embroidered dresses and O-
lncy needle work, but the largest 9
ldustry is the carving of the mother al
f pearl which is here carried on a.
lmost to the point Of perfection, VI
nd a visit to one Of these places is S
ell worth taking. -
On the outskirts of Bethlehem we al
rive at a place known as THE u
rotto of Milk, in which Joseph, ". ".
larry and the Babe are said to have Oi
und shelter for forty days before
ping into Egypt. A drop of the all
irgin Mothers milk as she was tn
1rsing the Holy Child, it is said, SCI
Il to the floor Of the cave, ever wi
nee which, as both Christians and hi
oslims believe. the rock dust here tn
assesses the miraculous property on
increasing the flow of mothers It
ilk. and women from all parts of Va
e country come here to buy cakes OF
lich are made or sprinkled with eig
is dust. AT
The last place to visit around Da
.thlehem is the "Field of the to
a cool grassy plain, as
lere the angel of the Lord ap-
ared unto the shepherds keeping of
Itch over their flock by night Pill
inging them good tidings Of great ing
Z which shall be unto all people, To
unto you is born this day in the of
y Of David Saviour, which is cha
rist the Lord, and suddenly there
5 with the angel multitude of me
. heavenly hosts praising God and