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

came Queen Of England she had been OF
France.
Many tales are told Of the ghosts domiciliated
in the vicinage of the Holy Sepulcher; in particu-
lar, of the dfsemboded 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 a 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 a 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, modern tourists deface
things Of beauty sancty with their uninterest-
ing names Brother John averred that his vol
untary task was sanctioned by permit from both
the pope and the emperor. After his, death the
Turkish authorities continued to police the
shrine, exercising a strict supervisory over ;tAe
worshipers 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 Sepucher should belong to
the infidels until the Christians were; altogether
sinless. s,-fs;
Though as yet that desideratum hasxpot been
attained, the Holy Sepulcher, with the other holy
places Of the Holy Land, is once more in Chris
tan hands From the Jewish andaakahommedan
points of view the Holy of Holes in Jerusalem is
the inclosed space where SoomOns temple stood
on the site now occupied by the Dome of the
Rock and the Jami' el-Aqsa or, Distant House Of,
PRAYER on the mount of Abrahams and David's
sacrifices. With it's latticed screens of ebony, its
brocaded curtains, it's 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 we read of in oriental fairy tales.
Approaching it, the Moslem pilgrim has to OBJ
serve a strict ceremonial. AS he senters he puts
his right foot forward begging pardon for his
sins and invoking Gods mercy. Walking round
the Rock he must keep it on his right hand, re-
versing the process followed when making the
c,rcnit of the Kaaba at Mecca. Before proceed
inc to the cave underneath. he must probe his
beart and strive for humility of spirit, uttering
tbe prayer of Solomon: 20 God, forgive those
that have sinned and relieve the injured"
Mary,s Prayer Niche. !.
Not far away is a small building which con-
ta,ns a recess revered as Mary's prayer niche,
where. the Virgin Mother is supposed to have sat
deyoutly rocking the cradle Of her infant son.
Here the Moslem pilgrim recites the chapter of
the Koran entitled Miriam, because it gives an
account of several circumstances relating to the
most Nous and obedient of the four perfect wom-
en-.
Close to the so-called Women's Mosque. a side
entrance to paradise opens in the Well Of the
Leaf This was discovered. during the Caliphate
of Omar by a man Of the Banu Tamin who chmD-