The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-01-01

q
city has furnished a setting for much OF the sa-
cred history and legend of each.
Going I'D to the Holy City for devotional or
other purposes was once fraught with grave Diff
fculties. In the middle ages the expression d
pilgrimage to Gods sepucher" became proerDial
to indicate the desperate character OF any peril
Gus Journey. Since then things have changed LOT
the better writes J. F. Scheltema in Asia Inc
modern pilgrim to Jerusalem takes steamer
to Jaffa and, on landing there, has himself ana
baggage conveyed to the railway station in time
for the daily passenger train. When under way,
1t requires some magination-espec1ally IL one Is
a member Of a specially conducted tourist party
piloted to the Holy Land on a return ticket, IN
Guiding accommodation and often lnaptiy over
done attendance-to realize that one traVerses
the Plain of Sharon and the Valley of Rephaim;
that the stopping places, Akir and Sart are Eknon
Judges l., Is, e. az and Zorah, where Samson
was born Judges ID, 24), with Samson's cav
ern farther down the line; that one is pilgrim
In the land where David slew the Phliisunes
with great slaughter, where Joshua and judas
Maccabeus and Saladin and Richard of the Lion
Heart fought their famous battles
Not nook or corner in old Jerusalem but has
a legend of some kind attached to it. Indeed, the
whole Of Palestine is rich in legendary lore.
Saints Of three religions and no particular re-
lgion 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 sougha
the rejuvenating 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, viii
alright the faithful assembled on the western
bank But then the Angel Gabriel will hasten
to. their rescue and hurl three stones at the
arch-enemy, the first in the name of the God OF
Abraham the second in the name of the God OF
Isaac, the third in the name of the God of jacob
And, fleeing, the impostor will be slain at the
Biz az-Zaybaq, the quicksilver well.
OF the Christian sanctuaries the Church OF the
|, Nativity at Bethlehem and the Church OF the
Holy Sepulcher are the most important. The So
called Cave of the Sepucher 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
tn replace Roman temple dedicated to Venus,
were sent by Harun-al- Raschid to Charlemagne
as q token OF friendship and esteem. Again, two
| centuries later less tolerant Fatimid Caph,
Hakim bi amir Allah, ordered its destruction $50
| that its earth should become its heaven" Tor,
reports william Of Tyre, the devil had spread
| calumnies concerning the servants of the true
| religion.
i 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 majesties walked In
! at the head Of their gorgeously arrayed cortege
/ composed of the flower of French chivalry, and
i wereA met by the Patriarch and the officiating
Clergy, spectral figure stepped forth from o
| daE, vaulted passage. Its sunken cheeks and
! eraaciated limbs were Ike those Of resurrected
i cbrpse; with glariug eyes and wild ressures II
/ began to rAproach the queen with h criminal
Ihmcurs and generally scandalous cond t. Swords
were drawn to stop those insulting remarks, but
fell back into their scabbards when the outspoker
Il stranger was recognized as the Industrious LADY,
4 father, Wnviaipss COUNT Of Poitou. aud duke q
i Guyenne or, rather, as his ghost, sfof -he hat
i died il 1887 as hermit near the shrine of st
II J.mes Of Compostella. where he was doing pen
II ance for his own sins Vanishing as unaccount
Ably as he had appeared, he is supposed to hav'
returned to his grave In Spain after fulfilling hi
mission. which interrupted the brilliant function
i ~ such q painful way. Some time afterwarc
| IN the pretext Of kinship, King Louis obtained
iivorce from his erratic spouse. And the RIOS
!, of Aouitaine," resuming the bonds Of matrimon
in second nuptals with Henry plantasenet. Be