El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-24

the grorro or stable below where they
believe Christ was born.
This grotto is a sort Of a cave reach
ed by a winding staircase which goes
down from the church. The cave Is Il
feet wide and 40 feet long, and it's
roof is perhaps 10 feet above the floor.
The floor is covered with marble Many
lamps hang from the roof and the
walls, and there is an altar set into
the pavement, and above it an inscrip-
ton in Latin stating that this was the
spot upon which the Virgin Mary gave
birth to Christ. At one side Of the cave
is recess called the Chapel Of the
Manger,H where it is said the Savior
was laid after His birth The manger
is of brown and white marble and a
wax doll lies in it representing the
Christ. The Latins claim that they
have the original manger in one OF
their cathedrals in Rome 1t is shown
every Christmas.
As I stood in the stable not far from
the manger. a party of 20 Franciscan
monks came in and knelt down and
sang a service concerning the nativity.
They were burly men, with shaved
heads and long boards. They wore
long gowns and their heads and feet
were bare. They kneIt upon the floor
as they sang, and at the end each
spot Of Christ's birth.
How Christ's Birthplace Really Looked
During my stay in the Holy Land I
have visited many stables which have
been used as such for ages, and which
are probably similar to that In which
Christ was born This Bethlehem
grotto, If indeed 1t was ever used a.
a stable, has been so changed by the
decorations that it is impossible TO
conceive il to be the place OF the ma
tivity. 1t IS probably a fraud. as is al
so the we'll at one side OF the crypt.
where the water is said TO have burst
from the nake6 rock for the use Of
the holy family looked down into
which guided the Magi, fell into it, but
that it is only visible TO the eye OF
a virgin. I looked, but, being Of the
other sex, could not see it
To return-to the real stables Of the
Holy Land They are often caves. the
floors being Of rough stone They are
frequently large, and some have sew
and horses. The managers are stone
boxes, and in front of them on the
floor may be seen men, women and
children sitting or lying. talking or
sleeping They all wear the clothes Of
the daytime, and they sit upon the
stones at their meals The man in
charge of the stable or inn as some
of these caves are called, is a ragged
Syrian. who collects about cents a
day for housing and feeding each ami
NAL The Manager OF Christ was prob
ably one of these followed out stone
boxes.
Bethlehem Babies.
1t was here at Bethlehem that oc-
CURED the slaughter OF the innocents.
King Herod had learned that the Sa-
vior was born, and he thought if he
still lived at Bethlehem he would make
sure of His death So his soldiers kill
There IS a place here which the guides
tell you was used for storing the
bodies. and in 1T are oil paintings hor-
ribly done depicting the killing.
As TO Bethlehem of today 1t has en-
tirely recovered from the massacre Of
Herod- Its streets swarm with babies,
many of whom are not as clean as they
should be- There are many older chill
dren as well. and all howl for bak-
sheesh- The Bethlehemites are noted
for their beauty. This IS especially so
Of the girls who are fair skinned and
bright eyed They have plump. well
rounded forms which they elothe in
long gowns OF white linen, so beauti-
fully embroidered in silk that one
uISSS requires many months work
The main part of their costume Is
much like a woman's night gown with
but frills or lace The gown falls to the
feet being open at the front in mar
row slit Over the gown they wear
sleeveless coats of dark red stripes
and cover their heads with shawls of
linen embroidered in silk Each girl
has necklaces OF coins, and a head
iress, which is decorated with coins OF
silver or gold They do not hide their
faces and their features are usually
refined They are very intelligent, and
n trading with them find that they
get the best Of the bargain.
Frank G. Carpenter.