The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-23


 As we look we see the figures of the Old and New Testaments crowding all around us. There are peasants who might have been among the disciples, and gray
 bearded men who would pass for Abra-
 ham, Isaac and Jacob. We see boys with
 coats of many colors. which reminds us of Joseph, and shepherds driving sheep | into market who probably came from the very plains near Bethlehem wehe simi-
 lar shepherds were watching their fiocks
 when the star first appeared.
 Look at the Girls
 Let us take a seat with those Syrians
 on the porch of that coffee house outside the gate and make further sketches of
 those who go in Here comes two fgrues dressed all in white They look like walk | ing bed ticks bound around at the mid | dlc or better, like the ghosts of a sheet and pillow case party. They are Mahom- medan women. It is against their re- ligion for them to go out unveiled, and they have wrapped their bodies in sheets. tho folds of which they hold close to- gether over their faces, leaving only crack by which to pick their way through l the crowd.
 Behind them is a girl with bare face. She wears round cap. which extends a foot above her rosy brown forehead. Her gown is gray chemise, which falls al- most to her feet and has a wide hem of
  is a Bethlehem maiden, and the shawl
 she wears was probably made by her
 own hands for her wedding. Such shawls are much prized by tourists and the best of them bring $25 apiece in the stores. But here are some women in long coats
 and high boots. They have calico gowns under their coats, which reach half way
 down the calf. Their hands are covered with handkerchiefs and their faces are bronzed by the sun. Each has a staff in her hand and bag on her back. and she is tramping along at the rate of four miles an hour. They are dusty and dirty, and they look weary and worn. Those are peasant women from Russia, who
 have come here as pilgrims, and who are
 making their way from shrine to shrine. They have tramped this morning out of Bethlehem, and tomorrow will likely be on their way to the Jordan.
 Around the Walls
 Let us start here at the Jaffa gate and
 make trip around the walls of Jerusa- lem. I have tramped about them on foot
 and have ridden round upon donkeys. Some of the walls which will stand were laid up by Solomon, others were erected by Herod the Great, who built David's tower, and others by Agrippa only a few years after Christ's death.
 We walk across the road leading to Bethlehem down which the wise men of
  place of the Savior, and picking our steps through caravan of camels lying there. climb road which leads up the slope of Mount Zion. There is moat at the foot of the tower which Is 100 feet wide and 30 feet deep, and the wall rises per- haps 100 feet above this. There are olive trees between the road and the walls, and as we go we see ragged donkeys feeding among them. Now we have passed the moat and come close to the wall Its lower portions are about 2000 years old, but the stones are as firm as when they were laid The upper layers are of square
 and oblong blocks. They were repaired centuries since, and are laid In white mortar.
 Going onward wespass tower after tower l running 15 or 20 feet out from the wall 1 and rising five or six feet above it, The walls are thick. and the towers were | probably used for the archers and watch-
 men stationed there on the outlook for the enemy.
 The American Cemetery A little beyond David's tower, almost hugging the walls is a great church be- longing to the Germans. It is still in process of construction and when com pleted it will command view over the whole of Jerusalem. The site was given to the Kaiser of Germany by the Sultan. and he holds the deed to it. A part of the churchyard is the American ceme tery, which was sold by our consul Tt Is now filled with barrels of building ma terials and lime and mortar cover the excavations where American Christians once lay. That selling of the cemetery caused great excitement among the Americans at Jerusalem, and the Amer ican colony here protested agsinst the re- moval of their dead, which they say was done after dark The Bodies were taken up and carried to the English cemetery. Continuing the ride on our donkeys we hug the wall looking down Into the Valley of Hnnom until we come to Zion gate and little farther on to the Dung gate, below which in the Valley of Je- hosephat lies the pool of Sloan. where Christ cured the blind man by applying most clay to his eyes. At the Zion gate a group of lepers are begging. They are
 ragged and filthy and they hold out the stumps of their hands asking for aims. It was on the inside of this gate that the
 house af Caiphas stood, where Peter three times denied that he was one of
 the disciples of Christ. whereupon the cock crowed. &Hfti9 i1lT8Asaisa f Gardens of Jehosophat
 We see chickens scratching in the earth outside the wall as We 60 by, and as we look at the gardens on the slopes of Kedron or Jehosophat observe that the land is still rich There are cows away down in the valley and the bees are buzzing on the cacti and wild flow CTS on the slopes. The Holy Land is still one of milk and honey. The villages near Jerusalem have dairies which sup ply excellent butter. and the honey. which is largely made of orange blos- soms Is delicious. It Is served every day at all the hotels, and Is usually in the liuuid form rather than the comb. The slopes of the Valley of Jehosophat are now spotted with red. Thousands of peoples and anemones grow upon the rides between the gardens, and the peasants are working the crops. They use plenty of fertilizer and, strange to say, the most of that which comes from the city is taken out through the Dung gate It may be from this that it had it's name. It Is a great square hole in the wall just large enough for men and beasts to pass in and out. It is not far from the temple platform and within a stones throw of the Jews waiting place. The Foundation of DoIomon's Temple The southeastern corner of the walls of Jerusalem, and, indeed, a large portion of the eastern walls, are a part of the plateau upon which Solomon's temple once stood In almost the middle of the eastern side of the temple Is what is known as the Golden gate. It has been walled up and the Mohamniedans say 1t will not be opened until tre Judgment day. A little further on. at the corner of the temple is St. Stephens gate, which some suppose was the place where St. Stephen was stoned. Another legend Is that the place of the stoning was near the Grotto of Jeremiah, in Solomon's quarries, far ther along around the walls. The tradi-