Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-01

removed and sailed. Then pole is
thrust through each lamb. and it is laid
on the hot Goals of a fire made in
trench. The meat is then covered with
brush and earth. The people continue to
pray as it cooks, and keep on praying un-
til the sunset approaches. AT ten min
utes after sunset they begin to eat the
meat, throwing the bones into the fire
without breaking them.
In my talk with the high priest he con-
tended that the Samaritans were the only
true Israeltes. and spoke of the prophet
Samuel as sorcerer. He paid his re-
spectS to the Jews in no measured tones.
He gave me little book he had written
concerning the religion of the Samari
tans, and al the close was by no means
averse to a present of silver for which he
thanked me in dignified way. After l
returned to my camp. which is on the
outside of NablOus. some of his follow
ers brought me his photograph. and a
model of the five books of Moses which
they offered TO sell for song. The
Samaritans are exceedingly poor and are
despised by both Moslems and Jews.
1t was at Jacobs we'll, not far from
Nablous, that Christ met the Samaritan
woman and told her of the water of
which. if one drinketh, lie shall never
thirst. but there shall be in him a
well of water sprnging up into everlast
ing life" You will find the story in the
fourth chapter OF ST. John. This well is
one of the holy sites of Palestine about
which there can be no doubt The village
OF Sychar corresponds to the village of
Askar, which stands on Mount Ebal, per-
haps a thousand feet away from the
well where the Samaritan woman lived.
The well itself lies just below the new
carriage road from Jerusalem. I went
through an olive orchard to reach it. 1t
is surrounded by wall, and Is in the
heart of garden now owned by the
Greek Church. which has made it
built stone chapel over the well, and
services are held there several hours
every day.
Some of the priests went with us down
the steps to the we'll 1t lies right in the
floor of the chapel. 1t Is about three feet
in diameter, built up with stones which
are laid in the shape of tube, being
smoothly cut. One of the monks brought
a pan which was tied TO rope i'm such
a way that it remained level. Upon this
he placed lighted candle and then slow
ly lowered ii down into the well. 1t de-
scended perhaps sixty feet before it came
to the water. The sill of the we'll is of
marble. and shows the marks of the ropes
which for ages have been lowered into it.
The sill is some distance above the floor.
and 1t may have been the original stone
upon which Christ sat at that weary hour
of noon.
Jacobs we'll has been known and visited
by pilgrims for many years. 1t was prob
ably once even with the surface of the
earth. but the debris and earth washings
from the mountains nearby have filled up
the valley. and it is now considerably be-
low the country about. Within the past
year excavations have been made in the
garden, and the remains of a church
which was built over the we'll some
fifteen hundred years ago have been dis
covered l found immense granite columns
and also many pieces of the stone walls
OF the church. / persuaded the Greek
priest who lowered the pie pan with the
candle upon 1t into the we'll to come into
the sun and be photographed.
While i was at the we'll a party OF
travellers. conducted by one OF the great