The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1920-12-10

EAly> me restoration of peace III PaleS-
N tine, the land which is Il holy land
10 to men Of three faiths. In Jeru-
\M salem, especially, the adherents OF
@1 the three great religions meet as
at a common shrine. That ancient
city has furnished Il setting for much Of the sa-
cred history and legend of each.
Going UP to the Holy City for devotional or
other purposes was once fraught with grave DIFF
ficultieN. In the middle ages the expression "a
pilgrimage to Gods sepulcher' became proverbial
70 Indicate Tie desperate character Of any peril
Gus Journey. Since then things have changed for
the better, writes j. +. Scheltema in Asia. The
modern pilgrim TO Jerusalem takes Il steamer
10 Jafa and, on landing there, has himself and
baggage conveyed to the railway station in :ime
Tor the daily passenger train. When under way.
IT requires some Imagination respectfully if one is
a member of a specially conducted tourist party.
rIIoted 10 the Holy Land on Il return ticket. in
Guiding accommodation and often inaptly over
done attendunce-tO realize that one traverses
the Plain of sharon and the Valley of Eephaim;
that the stopping places, Akir and Sart are Ekron
(Jud@eS |, IS g. a. and Xorah, where Samson
was born Oudges Is, 24, with Samson's cav
crn farther down the line; that one is a pilgrim
IN the land where David slew the IhiliStineS
with Il great slaughter, where Joshua and Judas
Maccab"uS and Saladin and Richard Of the Lion
Heart fought their famous battles.
Not Il nook or corner in old Jerusalem but has
d iN'II VI N'ilfS hl1u dltdtlleu 10 III. Inuceu, the
whole of Palestine is rich in legendary lore.
Saints Of three religions and no particular re-
ligion at all. are invoked throughout its length
and breadth. There is. for instance. al-Khudr,
the evergreen one. the prolonger of life and por-
tai TO the fountain Of youth near the confluence
of two seas. believed TO be the EuXine and Aegean.
whose waters mingle in the Propontis-a ira
dition which implies that Ponce de Leon sought
the reiuvenating spring in the wrong place on
the eastern bank of the Jordan the exact spot
is shown where the Antichrist will make his last
stand and, excluded from the Holy City. will
Albright Tie faithful assembled on the western
bank. IiUt then the Angel Gabriel will hasten
10 their rescue and hurl three stones at the
arcl-encmy. lie first in the name Of the God Of
Abraham. he second in the name of the God Of
Isaac, the thiid in the name of the God Of Jacob.
And, fleeing. the impoStor will lie slain at the
Bir az-Xayhuq. the quicksilver well.
OF the Christian SanctuarieS the Church Of the
Nativity at bethlehem and the Church Of the
Holy Scpulcher are the most important. The So
called Cave Of the Sepulcher was revealed to
the Empress Helena when she dug for and found
the Holy Cross. Some five centuries later. the
keys of the basilica, built over the sacred spot
to replace q Roman temple dedicated TO Venus
were sent by Iarun-al-I.aschid to Clarlcmagne
as II token of friendship and esteem. Again. two
centuries later. II less tolerant Fatimid Caliyh.
Iakim hi amrAIlah. ordered It's destruction 80
that its earth should become its heaven" for.
reports William of Tyre. the devil had spread
calnmnies concerning the servants of the true
religion.
In 1870, when new additions to the Church Of
the Holy Sepulcher were cOnsecrated, the cere-
mony was attended by King Louis VII Of France
and his queen. Eleanor, who. two years earlier.
had left their royal domain TO take part In the
second crusade. As their maiesties walked in
nt the head of their gOrgeOusly arrayed cortegc,
composcd of the flower Of French chivalry. and
were met by the Patriarch and the officiating
CLERGY. n spectral figure stepped forth from a
dark. vaultcd passage. Its sunken cheeks and
emociated limbs were like those Of Il resurrected
corpee; with glaring eyes and wild gestures. it
began, to reproach the queen with her criminal
amcurS and generally sCandalouS conduct. Swords
were drawn To stop those insulting remarks, but
fell back into their Scabbards when the OutspOkcn
stranger was recognized as the illuStriOus lady'S
father. William, count of Potion and duke of
Guyeiine. or, rather. as his ghost, for he had
died in 1877 as Il hermit near the shrine Of st.
James of Compostella, where he was doing pen
ance for his own sins. Vanishing as unaccount-
ably as he had appeared. he is supposed to have
returned to his grave in Spain after fulfilling his
mission, which interrupted the brilliant function
In such q painful way. Some time afterward.
on the pretext Of klnship. King Louis obtained a
Of AGuitaine." resuming the bonds of matrimOny
In second nuptials with Henry Plantagenet. be-