The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-17

but as Jerusalem depended upon them for it's supply its citizens, fearing that besieging foe might cut off the sup ply, connected the two pools by a chan mel cut out in the living rock That the pools do so connect was proven not long ago by two professors who crawled through the passage way from mouth to source. In making the con duit the workmen possessed no i'm proved engineering implements as now and the course of the channel Is as croked as the proverbial dogs hind leg. Operations were commenced s1- simultaneously at both ends and the two sets of borers were guided in their course by the men shouting to each other and thus enabling them to finally meet in the center a rather crude pro- cess. In 1880 an inscription was found in this channel, giving its length and other details among which is the state ment of how the men began work and it is the oldest Hebrew inscription eX- tant. This discovery cast a flood of light on the early topography of Je- rusalem and revealed the very charac- ters of chirography employed by the Jews in the time of Solomon and Isaiah It also negatives the assertions of un- believing criticism that the Jews of the royal period were a rude and bar barous people and demonstrates that on the contrary they constituted cul tured and literary population. The in- scription is now in the National mu- scum at Constantinople.
 The distance between the two pools Is not very great and l have seeen women washing their clothing in the Virgins Pool and men drinking at the same time from the Pool of Sloan into which the upper body of water ran. The Jaffa gate is in the oldest part of the city and opens into the quarters now occupied by the Armen- ians. These quarters are the old city of Jebus from. which the Jebusites took their name and 1t was later called by
 the Jews Zion. the equivalent to sun n.y." Here Is located the so called Da- vid's tomb and here is the cenoculum the room in which the cenecola, or last supper, was eaten.
 The Damascus gate is by far the hand
 somest portal which gives access to the city. Though built by one of the caliphs some three hundred years ago, it's foun- dations are hoary with antiquity. Paul passed under its lintels on his setting out to persecute the Christians and i, was by this entrance that Tancred and his Crusaders in 1899 effected the con- quest of Jerusalem.
 Herod's Gate, sometimes called the Gate of Flow CTS, is only opened occa- sonally for the passage of soldiers and the Golden Gate, the Gate Beautiful or the External Gate. will not be opened, so tradition has it, until Christ makes his second triumphal entry into the city.
 In my many detours around the walls l often noticed a small round column protruding from the masonry about 30 feet above the ground It Is called by the Arabs Mohammed's seat, and on this peg they aver that the great prophet will rest astride at the Judgment Day to pass upon the future of the people who will then be assembled in the val ley below him. The Mohammedans also declare that there will be suspended from this seat to the Mount of Olives opposite q bridge as narrow as the blade of a Damascene scin1itar across which all mankind must pass as a test of orthodoxy. Those that fall in essay ing to make the passage will immediate ly be transported to perdtion.
 was greatly impressed with tho tombs of tho kingS on the north side of the city. To visit them, ono must enter a vast anphitheatre hewn from the liv- ing rock and protected from gathering water by a device too unique and intrl- cate to describe here. From this am- phitlieatre another descent Is made into the respective tembs which are perfect iabyrinths of stone. Here obtained my first accurate comprehension of the roll ing stones which were used to oiese the places of sepulchre, The face of each tomb is frentced by d circular groove enoompassing the entire aperature and in this groove ia placed diskiike stone which is so nicely baiaHeed that 1t rs= spends readily ia impact until it's eaui- jibrum is overpaianoed whea jt rolls