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Show llll lllll.T sll'I'KMI II. I'abllD Interett ha one more been awakened to aome extent In the a jbjerl Of tho true location of the holy ciulcher, by Hie la-t llmtHho Kng. llthi-eople have been appealel to for the contribution of 4,000 by which to puichase a spot of ground by aome tupioioJ to contain the sacred lomli. It I altuated n abort dlaUinco from the Daman ua gato and contains about four acres. The high price la ccounteJ for by the fact that the ground In question ques-tion la In the hand of Oermau apecu latora. Tho purchase Is recommended hy many leafing erclealaatlct, ammg whom ato the archbishop of Uanter-bury, Uanter-bury, the bishops of Salisbury, Illpen nnd IlKhctteranJ the archdeacons of Indou and Westminster and I'ro-icssor I'ro-icssor Htuart Toole. The question, whore waa Christ burlad? It probably me of the most dllllciiltonci lu the whole sacioj to-togrnj to-togrnj hy to answer. Tho cave which I now shown tourists as tho holy tepulcue r hat a very ancient tradition In Its favor. Tho first foundations of the beautiful structure that now covers It date at least as far back as Conslan. tine. And ct recent explorers almost uuaulmouily reject the claim. Tlio sacred historian state that Christ was laid In a tomb near by tht place where hn wa crucified, and no place near by IhU grave seems to answer the description of Calvary. It It fiuttitr argued tlirt a place of execution could nothave been nlthlu tho city walls, as this grave Is and probably nlwars hat boin, and lint, cauanuently,tbe grave mult I lookej for Dinewtitru fr liter north. To thli argument, the reply l, however, that the grave actually doet exltt within tho walls,and If ItcoulJ be made there at all, It might certainly be tho ono which belonged to Joaeph of Arlma thea and In which tbo body of the Havlorwaalald.as well at not. Calva. ry might have been situated outside tha walls and the grave Inside and yet be near by that place of execution, tlnce tbo distance lu reality la not very considerable. Hut, as has been already stated, the beat biblical scholars nject thetradltlon as without foundation in fact. A writer, while visiting Jerusalem a couple of years ago, heard front a venerable Jewish rabbi, a reildent of the holy city, a curious aoouut of the orlglu of the tradition. Ills statement may lie given lor all It la worth. When the city, he atj, was destroyed de-stroyed by tlio Homans, mist of tho Chrlttlun lied. The old Inhabitant of tho city who had beeu eye-witnessia to the evouls recorded in the Now Testament were acattered. Home were slain; other were driven Into oxlle. Htrangeracamelu who did not care to know anything about the places considered con-sidered sacred by the despised aud con queroj Inhabitants, and In this way with the lapse of a century or so, all certain knowledge of those placet was lest. Ituln covered everything and made It next tolmposslblo to later el-plorara el-plorara to reoognlae such places of which historians had given decrlp. tlons previous to the terrible destruction. destruc-tion. A couple of ceutuilesthus rolled oil and nobody took any Interest In the tpst where a auppoaed criminal once had lean executed and burled. It waa first nt the time of Constantino, when Christianity had become a power Intlio state aud the Chrlatlau commenced to breath the air of liberty, that pious men and women performed pilgrim. ages to the holy laud nnd srarohed the country for Calvary, the sepulchtr, the place of nativity, etc. The r.mpruis Helen, the mother of Constantino, oonoeilvej tho IJea of finding the epulcher aud sue consequently went loJeruaaloiu. Hho thought that the few Jews who then realdeJ. there, knew where the grave waa and she made luqulrlos, but always met with the answer that nobody kuon. The emi res ascribed thl to perversenesa of the Jew aud thought they did know, but refused to tell because they hated the Natarenes. Hho therefore com. rnanded her soldier to telle an old Hebrew and gave them power to torture him and oven kill hint, if he jnrslsted In refusing to divulge the eocret of which the thought he was In possession. He wan according. ly tilled nnd lid about lu tlio street and commanded to go to tho place where thegrave wits. No protestation. no excuse would boacoepted. He had either to flnJ the grave or bs tortured to death. In hla great distress ho earnestly prayed to hit lltaveuly father to be delivered from his tor. imntort, and while thus mentally en-gaed, en-gaed, ho came to a cave. Then, ua bya sudden fash ol luailratlon, he exclaimed, here la the grave you are looking toll and won subsequently litieratoj. This was glveu ua all tburuwnsto the tradition. The empress em-press Immediately oousrerated the plaie aud built a church over it. riie Cathollo tradition It more In hariuouy with the genius of tint cliurcli. Acoordlug to Kunublui, whcipe reliability as a histnilau Is not of tho blithest reiutattou, Coustantlne waa led to explore the place and louud thecavewhich hesupposod to be the holy seiulcber, 'lliu gravo ooco found, his Imperial mother had 11 rotelrtlou according to which the three crosses were found near the grave, which miracle Identified the I lace beyond a doubt, 'tradition ban further ornamented tulaetory by a Mlnj that she discovered the genuine cross by placlug n dead boJy oil it, which Inline I bUoly aa revived. Hut aside from these, fabulous dtorlef, it la but Just to sty that 0110 thing spealia for Ihogunulneuesa of tho place, llotnltli- I lug the itrgumenta ttipilnst II. It la elu'tj lu lil'lory that the Ktujerur Haitian built n enu temple ovr I Ihe grave 111 ordr ihM It from tlio who held the place In veneration. This temple still existed In tlln day of Con. atantlne, if it was built at nil, an I he his J In this ructurensureguldewhere to seek tho tomb on I find It. The place which now Is to be bought Is known as the Harden tomb, t Jtrni ral Cordon thought It to be the genuine one an I hla view haa been accepted by llaskctt timltli and other Hut Major Condor rpjeota Ihe theory altogether. He explored the cave In 197 1 aud came to tho conclusion that Its construction does not date farther back Ihan to the ninth century. Another p'ac Is known aa Condor's tomb, but the evidence of Its being thegenulne gravo I as Insutllcient a that adduced for any other spot. The only sate conclusion so far is, that the grave vf Christ ha probably not yet been found. I'erhaps It never will tie, unless It should bo the ploesure of tho Lord Himself to reveal It to somebody In the future. Tho awakenel Inlcreit anioiij the nations in the land of proiulio Is, how ever, a gratifying sign to thoso who believe be-lieve In n glorious future for that country. Xot many years ago It was despised. Now It n'tracti attention atten-tion It has aires, ly begun to bloasom at n rose In the wilderness. It teems to lie uuler preparation, hy tho hand of 1'rovldsnce, U receive tho ill-habltiutt ill-habltiutt to whom It belongs. It gates are being bponod; ILs cities aro being rebuilt; tho ruin aro being removed, The curse Is surely lifted and Ida atlugi aro bslng poured down like tho early rain an 1 latenlns which again make the country a beautiful gar.en as of oil. |
