El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-20

donkey, with Joseph walking beside it.
This, in allaprObability, was the method
OF travel They must have taken the
road to Hebron and passed near the
Cave of Machpelah, where Abraham and
Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob
and Leah were buried, and from there
gone on into Arabia, crossing the
IsthmUs of Suez somewhere near Is
malta, and making their way through
old Goshen to the site of the present
city of Cairo.
The scriptures give no record Of
their travels, but there are traditions
IN Egypt which state that they went
out to the pyramids and which even
Mary and the baby Jesus were said to
have slept This tree is not far from
the Obelisk Of HeHOpOlis. It is about
five miles from Cairo, and the ground
upon which 1t stands is a private farm
of the present khediYe. The tree is an
old sycamore, gnarled with the age Of
many years and SCARED with the names
Of tourists A fence has been built
around 1t to keep it away from the
relic hunters and when / photographed
it I had to bride one Of the khedfve's
servants to allow me to do so. There
was an orange orchard nearby and,
after taking the picture, I sat in the
shade OF the sycamore outside the
fence and wondered whether Mary and
Joseph had not thus quenched their
thirst in that same place, now more
than 10 centuries ago. As I went on
to the obelisk I saw a young woman
OF perhaps II, who had a baby in her
arms She must have been of about
the age of Nary when Christ was born.
Scenes of Christ's Childhood.
But let US go back to the Holy Land
and see something of the village where
christ spent his bOyhOOd, and, indeed
almost the whole of his life until he
began to preach, after he was baptized
of John.
This is the town of Nazareth. which
stands on the same site as the home
of Joseph and Mary. The place has
row about twelve thousand people: and
like most of the holy spots of Pales-
tine, 1t has many converts and
churches. 1t was here that Joseph
worked at the carpenter trade and here
the boy Jesus played about with His
fellows as the little Nazarenes do to-
day. It was here that Jesus came
after He had been baptized in the Jor-
dan, and here He preached in the syn
agog when the NaZareneS cried out.
is not this JOseph's SOM" and in their
anger were about TO throw him from
the brow of the hill wherein the city
was built, but He, passing through
the midst of them, went His wav''
That hill is still shown to tourists Tt
Is ABOUT mile and a half from the
toWn- In the middle of Nazareth is a
fountain or spring which supplies the
water Tor the community. The women
90 10 the spring and carry the water
in Jars on their heads to their houses. /
Mary undoubtedly used that spring for
her family water supply, and the boy
Jesus must have drunk there
The surroundings of Nazareth are
beautiful. I doubt whether there is
more beautiful scenery to be found in
England or Scotland. or even in the
Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia for
which God has done much. One can
stand IN the city or near it and look
out over the plain of Esdraelon, and bv
climbing the hills he can see Mount
Carmel, where Elijah hid the prophets
and later on slew the false prophets
OF Baal- II is only few hours ride
IN carriage from Nazareth over the
hill to the Sea of Galilee. where the
Nazarene boys even now sometimes 60
fishing
The Trail to Jerusalem.
It was from Nazareth that Joseph
and Mary went every year to Jerusa-
lem: They tramped over the hills of
Galllee, across the plain of Esdraelon.
and then climbed the mountains of I
There is a regular trail. a
part OF which has lately been turned /
into macadamized road. Such\ trips /
were usually made in large companies. !
and when I crossed Samaria. a short |
time ago. I met scores of these people
from Gahiee on their way to Jeru- 4
salem The parties consisted of men, [
women and children, most of whom 1
were on foot. Now and then one found 4