The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1915-03-31
GRAPHIC PICTURE
OF GOOD FRIDAY
The Horrible Scenes 1t
Stands For.
THE MOST SUBLIME TRAGEDY
The World Has Ever Known
And Its Real Meaning
Is Undying.
CALVARY WORLDS MORAL AXIS

near the summit of a broad, hilly
ridge, about $500 feet above the
Mediterranean Sea, nearly 1000 feet
above the Dead Sea, and eighteen
miles from the Jordan. There tran
spired the greatest event possible
to human history.
II was Friday morning, about the
first of April. The palaces of Herod
and Caiaphas and the marble tenn
pie, rising in splendid beauty, re-
fiected the glorious sun. The light
glittered and danced from tower to
turret, from terrace to pinnacle,
from leaping fountain to waving
foliage, from golden arc to marble
floor, kindling the whole city into
smile of picturesque grandeur and
royal sublimity.
that morning, as she sat upon her
throne of hills. On the hillsides
and in the valleys slept kings and
prophets. To the east stood Mount
Olivet, up which David went, weep
ing, its verdant top and sloping
sides replete with thrilling legend
and tragic story. At the foot of the
mount, just across the ravine,
through which Kidron flowed, and
about one-half mile from the city
gate, lay the garden of Gethsemane.
Its olive, fig and pomegranate trees
threw out their branches and drop
ped deep shade as if to hide from
sacrilegious sight some holy spot
The night before heart-breaking
groans We're heard there. In the
morning blood was found on the
ground-not as If it had flowed
from some open wound, but as If it
had been forced through the pores
of the skin with the sweat of an
awful agony. and thus exuding had
mixed with the dust in token of a
ssoul-struggle such as had never oc-
~curred before and would never oc-
cur again.
Close to the city, not far from
the Praetorium, was slight eleva-
tion OF bare mound resembling in
shape naked skull. called Golgo-
tina. Kranion. Calvaria. or Calvary
each word meaning skull" Let
us take our stand beside this
mound. A procession is passing
through the gate of the city. Look!
they come--a countless multitude;
dtGman eagle and Roman spears
,glittering In front, and Jerusalem,
Judea and Galilee crowding after.
Scribes, priests and peasants, Jews
and Gentiles, friends of PLATE and
followers of Herod In the middle
of the procession we see pale,
bruised and blood-stained figure.
staggering beneath the weight of
two heavy beams of wood fastened
together-forming cross. Two
thieves-one on either side-are
bearing him company. He has been
the victim of base-born menials, a
brutal guard and iiendish mob This
day and the previous night have
been one scene of indescribable hor-
ror. He has been buffeted. Knocked,
scourged and goaded. His heart is
breaking and his body is sinking
The blazing sun beats fercely
upon his bare head. The heavy
cross presses painfully upon his lac
Grated and bleeding back. The Ro-
man soldiers prick him with their
spears, to hasten him on to the most
horrible and disgraceful death
known to the criminal code of the
world. See! he falters; his strength
is failing; he casts one appealing
glance upon those around him. Bru-
tai jeers and bloodthirsty shouts are
the only response. He has borne
the load almost to the journeys end
will not some one help him now?
He sinks exhausted to the ground.
The mob yells in fury for fear il will
lose its sanguinary entertainment.
A countryman approaching. on his
way to the city. is forced to bear
the burden BY this involuntary
service he links his name with that
of the Divine sufferer in immortal
memory and upon the pages Of sa-
cred and profane history.
The mound Is reached. Simon
gladly throws the cross upon the
ground. II was a heavy load for
even his broad shoulders. The sol
diers roughly throw their victim
upon the cross and cruelty nail
him TO II. The cross is raised amid
the delirious and diabolical JOY OF
the mob. The pale lips OF the suf-
ferer tremble; he speaks-and his
words have rung all through the