The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-12-16
Church. 0fEhe HaT Js0ulche@

came queen OF England she had been OF
France.
Many tales are told Of the ghosts domiciliated
in the vicinage of the Holy Sepucher; in particu-
lar, of the disembOdied spirits of the high per
sonages buried there Among them are Godfrey
OF Bouillon and his brother Baldwin, with whom
a certain Brother John, for long years fixture
OF the church, was reputed to hold regular con-
verse. Haunting the receptacles of their mortal
remains, he was heard talking with shadows and
receiving answer in supernatural voices.
Brother John made himself useful, too, in a
more positive fashion. Going the rounds in the
garb of Franciscan friar-for, though belong
ing to reigning house, he had renowned the
world and its vanities-he removed the coats Of
arms and the inscribed tablets left behind by vain
glorious pilgrims to bear witness that they actu-
ally had been there, as modern tourists deface
things of beauty or sancity with their uninterest-
ing names Brother John ayerred that his vol
untary task sanctioned by a permit from both
the pope and the emperor. After his death the
Turkish authorities continued to police the
shrine, exercising a strict supervision over the
wOrshpers of all denominations that focked to
the scene of his whilOm labors, for it was Gods
decree, proclaimed divine of the fourteenth CEN
fury, that the Holy Sepulcher should belong to
the infdels until the Christians were altogether
siniess.
Though as yet that desideratum has not been
attained, the Holy Sepulcher, with the other holy
places of the Holy Land, is once more in Chris
tan hands. From the Jewish and Mahommedan
points of view the Holy of Holes in. Jerusalem is
the inclosed space where Solomon's temple stood
on the site occupied by the Dome of the
Rock and the Jami el-AQsa or Distant House of
Prayer, the mount of Abraham's and David's
sacrifices. With its lattfced screens of ebony its
brocaded curtains, its stained glass and mosaics
in their somewhat faded glory the Dome of the
Rock stands in the solitude of the sacred precinct
like one OF those palaces hewn of a single opal
or turquoise read of in oriental fairy tales B.
Approaching it, the Moslem pilgrim has to OBJ
serve strict ceremonial. As he enters he Duts
his right foot forward, begging pardon for his
sins and invoking Gods mercy. Walking round
the Rock, he must keep it his right hand re-
versing the process followed when making the
circuit of the Kaaba at Mecca. Before proceed
ing to the underneath, he must probe his
heart and strive for humility of spirit uttering
the prayer OF Solomon: 80 God forgive those
that have sinned and relieve the injured"
Mary1s Prayer Niche.
Not far away is a small building which con-
tains a recess revered as Mary's prayer niche
where the Virgin Mother is supposed to have sat
devoutIy rocking the cradle Of her infant son
Here the Moslem pilgrim reeites the chapter, of
the Koran entitled Miriam because it gives an
account OF several circumstances relating to the
most pious and obedient of the four perfect wom
Close to the so-called Women's Mosque a side
entrance to paradise opens in the Well OF the
Leaf. This discovered, during the Caliphate
of Omar, by of the Banu Tamin who. climb