Show LETTER FROM JERUSALEM the city of jerusalem is named el buds by the edans medians which means the holy 11 the jews simply call it jerusalem christians sometimes call it the holy city it is the shrine of judaism islam and christianity in scriptural sophistry and as a won dermo nging place it is a veri table sodom viewed through h the or ancile gentile unauthenticated traditions which attach to it it is nothing less than a babel but despite this and the insignificance of its ruins from the standpoint of grand architecture it is yet as it ever has been to sage philosopher historian or prophet saintly or profane the greatest wonder of authentic chronology a pyramid of history a curious instrument upon which both wise and ignorant and makers of tradition and history have for ages harped in discord together and from remote times even unto our day have prophets grue crue and false drawn from it tile the themes of their most powerful pathetic and soul stirring strains even the son f man seeing from the beginning to the end reached a soul of pathos hardly surp surpassed amed in holy writ when he said 10 0 jerusalem jerusalem thou that gillest the prophets and soonest them which are sent unto thee how oft would I 1 have gathered thy children together even as a hen gat hereth her chickens under her wing and ye would not I 1 behold your house is left unto you desolate jerusalem was deserted after cruel internecine wars factional dissensions and gentile arms had ruined or killed its inhabitants destroyed its monuments burned and razed its temple to the ground thenceforth it was delivered to the heathen to be trodden under foot and they have treated it brutally caring for naught more than robbers rare ciare for a desolate mansion which they inhabit but which is not their property all has gone to decay each barbarian horde that captured the city demolished as it liked fourteen times or more have its battlements ramparts towers palaces and quarters been overthrown occasionally sio nally one finds an ancient building of vaulted stone masonry brick or marble which was formerly above the level of that street which in days of yore was in front of its gate but today so numerous are tile the debris that that same former beautiful building is now a damp cellar full of sewer le gas as a ancient bones or garbage U under uder this house comes another stratum of houses more ancient with a distinct set of cellars vaults and cisterns farther down we find evidences evidence of a more remote period many of the streets of jerusalem are built upon hidden ruins one below another eight distinct strata of houses houm and debris marking eight well known epochs have been found within the present city limits by scientific explorers and antiquaries antiqua ries who have busied themselves in the matter of late under all this network of ruins are extensive catacombs cata combs eaves caves passages cisterns and subterranean canals here goes an old Kha kham or rabbi there an old arab with a large turban in his hand a cane on the end of which is a heavy iron prod the visible sign of a sheikh or elder with him a dancing dervish one of those who dance themselves into a frenzy on the Ali AKra naret are tower the ahwan is languidly chanting the aden inviting the faithful to come and seek rest in god through prayer from an antique portal to the ri right ht emerges a detachment of the 1 I it company kompany of jesus these highly cultured men of the order of ignatius lexola are educating youths of all nations and instilling in their mind lindset sat the same time the debasing tenets of romanism now that they are driven from germany france etc they have literally pounced upon syria to their credit be it said they are instructing thousands of orientals Orient als not only in the lower branches but in philology art natural sciences didactics philosophy and so forth demonstratively strat ively proving thereby that the orientals Orient als are airily susceptible to intellectual redemption demp tion activity and practical education if properly handled and instructed another in other parts of the city one meets orthodox greek armenian coptic abyssinian and other patriarchs bishops priests etc monks of gj gidek eek and latin tin orders in sandals carmelites Carm elites in turkish fez bareheaded franciscans christian brothers mulatto ascetics negroes nuns blisters bisters of the sacred heart of the rosary of the holy land of mercy deaconesses deacon esses etc etc jerusalem is like an ant hill of clergy and the whole district is honeycombed honey combed with convents and monasteries the population of jerusalem is chiefly jewish Ashken asim and next in numbers are the edans turks and arabs then christians the latter though few in numbers can muster up a few individuals of every denomination according to all the names of the many daughters of scarlet robed rome borne the people of this town do not live as some af those of other syrian towns who seem to subsist by bartering with and robbing each other here the victims are tourists and more frequently pilgrims jew mohammedan and christian manu facture holy things for christians especially mohammedan and jewish pilgrims however want a supply of charms amulets sap hies tybil lium sacred shekels jewish copper coins mementoes souvenirs etc from the acly city which as a consequence are manufactured here and even antiquities if the demand exceeds the genuine supply the greeks russians catholics grigorians Greg copts coats abyssinians Abyssinia ns Nest etc make pilgrim pro sessions cessions ces which in many respects are similar I 1 will give an outline of a russian pilgrimage the pilgrims have just come up on foot from the vale of ajalon kohere where the moon was stayed having slept in the open air they are aill dressed in heavy furs the women as well as the men wear heavy booth which reach up beyond the knees men and women are dressed much alike with them they carry black bread onions garlic salt fish brandy in large quantities bowls spoons mugs and combs made of wood tea kettles and other things all hanging banging around them in front behind on the sides from the belt and shoulders in the most grotesque style imaginable some are drunk some chant some pray all carry candles or wax tapers visiting chapels churches graves and eaves caves at what to is called the sepulchre or grave of christ there assembles once in each year an enormous congregation gre degation gation of pan Se reeka greeks russians serviano ians bulga rians Wallac hians etc the orthodox patriarch of jerusalem after purifications and ablutions goes into the sepulchre and prays for fire to come down from heaven and light the candle in his hand he remains excluded awhile meantime the congregation gre gation work one another up into a fervor soon the invisible fire comes down the patriarch hands bands out the candle through a hole in the wall and then comes a scene hard to depict although mohammedan soldiers and janissaries are posted throughout the whole building to prevent the christians from qua and hurting each other yet such is the rush made for an early light at the holy flame that many faint fall to the ground anti and are frequently trampled to death by their ruthless co religionists year after year in the temple bloc know moslem property pio perty Is IB the great rock which started t ta follow mohammed and his horse to heaven gabriel the archangel stopped the rock the print of gabriels band is shown formerly the rock was suspended in midair mid air but lest some day it might fall and crush the worshippers wor won shippers masonry and columns have been erected under it three and a a half rusty nails yet remain of nineteen each representing a chapter or era in the worlds history when satan has knocked out one by one the last three and a half nails then will come the end of time and messiah with mohammed the praying places of david So solomon lonion zacharias christ and others all face mecca meds also consequently thither should the faithful faithful face when praying to see these and other wonders quite as absurd it costs each person from 50 cents to according to the lucky arrangements one can make jerusalem probably contains the most heterogeneous population of any town of its size on earth the reader probably understands that in america men shave their faces as they like or wear their beards untrimmed one has a mustache and no beard another a beard and no mustache a third wears a heavy goatee 1 this man has only a diminutive minu tive comma on his under jap another carries sumptuous I 1 sideboards or chops just so much latitude and freedom have the orientals orient als with the he shaving of their skulls one wears a tuft over each ear only another moslem wears a tonsure like the clergy the next we meet has a long tuft in the middle of the head and a slender row of hairs at the forehead which are laid down like bangs othen shave the whole head and body except the eyebrows eye brows while others do not shave at all it is considered contemptible to take off the headdress in the orient therefore it is only at rare intervals or at the barbers that these freaks of taste are noticed jews generally wear two curls or long ringlets in front of the ears so as not to be like the Moa bites the rhe moslem wears long gowns wide pantaloons red sandals and a large turban the better elass lass of europeans greeks and native christians dress al la franca that IF Is in such clothes as we wear in america and europe plus a red woolen cylindrical cap or more properly of the shape of a truncated cone with a long along black silk tassel the Bedo begoins iris and fellahin wear a loose cotton undergarment a camel or goat hair cloak on the head a sweat cloth 11 and a heavy brown woolen rope or band which gies twice around the head to keep the cloth in its place C U L JERUSALEM dec |