file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #fjadj-;h4htm or #fjadj-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#fjadj_/pg#fjadj-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#fj adj_/fjadj-;h4zip7 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/newpaths througho#jjslatuoft ,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,,new ,,paths ,,through ,,old ,,palestine ,illustration3 ,instead of the soft-footed camels1 the motor truck stood at the gates of the ,holy ,city4 ,,new ,,paths ,,through ,,old ,,palestine by ,,margaret ,,slattery ,illustration ,printed in ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,the ,pilgrim ,press4 ,boston ,chicago ,copyright #aiba by ,sidney ,a4 ,weston ,the ,pilgrim ,press ,boston ,,to ,m4 ,r4 ,h4 ,,the ,,understanding ,,companion ,,of ,,the ,,pilgrimage ,a ,,word ,,about ,,the ,,new ,,paths ,from our earliest childhood when at ,christmas time we gazed with intense interest at the ,wise-men on their gaily caparisoned camels1 those great awkward ships of the desert have been associated in our minds with ,palestine4 ,the ,child held close in ,mary's arms as she sat upon the donkey while ,joseph urged it on through the day and the night in the hurried flight into ,egypt has made that faithful little beast a part of ,palestine4 ,we saw both the donkeys with loaded panniers driven along by wandering ,arabs and the strings of camels1 soft-footed1 heads held proudly high1 moving off over the yellow sands up to the hills4 ,but we sat in a modern train1 with comfortable leather seats1 and a madly puffing engine dragged us over the wind-blown sands up through the hills of ,judea to the little modern station just without the walls of ,jerusalem4 ,once when we stopped at old ,lydda we heard a rushing1 whirring sound over our heads4 ,it grew louder and1 as we searched the sky1 a plane swept out from the soft clouds into the clear blue1 came down nearer1 nearer to earth1 rose again1 and passed out of sight4 ,it had come from the ,city of ,zion3 it would go into ,egypt4 ,the ,wilderness1 the ,dead ,sea and the forty long years of wandering1 the victories over the ,philistines1 the waters of ,jordan parted for the passing of the hosts of ,jehovah1 the tumbling walls of ,jericho1 the spots where 8the arm of the ,lord prevailed03 with these we had long been familiar4 ,they were associated in our minds with tents1 with much cattle1 with slow beasts of burden1 with men1 women1 and children who moved leisurely in times of peace and fled in wild confusion in times of war4 ,the ,wilderness1 the ,dead ,sea1 the ,jordan1 and ,jericho we saw4 ,a motor car driven by the son of an ,arab chief took us over and past them all in less than a day6 ,old ,palestine still lies between the great desert and the seas4 ,the women still grind the corn1 stand gossiping about the well1 and wrap their babies in swaddling clothes4 ,the shepherds wander through the bare hills with their sheep and lead them1 when spring comes1 to the green pastures and the still waters4 ,but there are ,new ,paths ,through ,old ,palestine4 ,they cross age-worn desert-ways1 go down into the shadows of deep valleys1 climb hoary mountains1 follow ,elijah's chariot through great spaces of the sky4 ,the new paths bring new days fraught with possibilities4 ,in time they may bring a new ,palestine3 not the mystic land of the ,zionists but the promised land of which the prophets and poets of ,israel sang4 ,old ,palestine died in nineteen-fourteen with the rest of the world that was and will never be again4 ,new ,palestine is born4 ,what its future shall be depends upon the souls of those who follow the new paths4 ,they may lead only to temporary triumph1 to the selfish goals of the kingdoms of men3 they may lead to the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,illustration3 ,margaret ,slattery4 ,,november #a1 #aiba4 8,ah no6 that sacred land ,where fell the wearied feet of the lone ,christ ,robs not the soul of faith40 --,richard ,watson ,gilder4 ,,contents ,,page ,i ,,go ,,up ,,to ,,jerusalem #c ,i ,,go ,,over ,,to ,,bethlehem #ba ,i ,,go ,,down ,,to ,,jericho #ci ,i ,,go ,,to ,,bethany #fa ,i ,,go ,,out ,,to ,,the ,,mount ,,of ,,olives #gi ,i ,,go ,,to ,,the ,,garden #ig ,i ,,go ,,down ,,into ,,egypt #aac ,i ,,go ,,up ,,to ,,jerusalem ,our feet are standing ,within thy gates1 ,o ,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem1 that art builded ,as a city that is compact together4-- ,pray for the peace of ,jerusalem4 ,peace be within thy walls1 ,and prosperity within thy palaces4 ,praise ,jehovah1 ,o ,jerusalem2 ,praise thy ,god1 ,o ,zion1 ,for he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates2 ,he hath blessed thy children within thee4 ,he maketh peace in thy borders4 --,psalms #abb1 #adg4 ,i ,,go ,,up ,,to ,,jerusalem ,there was a moon that night4 ,now it was half hidden by soft clouds1 now clear1 brilliant1 white against a velvet sky4 ,we stood crowded close to the heavy ropes stretched across the bridge1 which had swung open to permit one boat after another to pass4 ,we were at ,kantara on the ,suez4 ,across the canal was the train dimly lighted1 standing on the tracks that seemed half buried in the soft1 yellow1 desert sand4 ,we waited impatiently4 ,nearly three hours had passed since the train from ,port ,said had left us there to attend to baggage and troublesome passports1 and to eat a meager supper from boxes brought with us from the ,port4 ,now a ,japanese boat passed slowly along the canal2 then a smaller craft with cargo1 flying the ,dutch flag2 a ,british boat brilliantly lighted1 its passengers1 many of them in uniform1 dancing on deck4 ,the canal is so narrow that great ships must creep slowly and carefully along1 with no place for miles where one boat may pass another4 ,it is a miracle1 this ,suez ,canal1 and the story of its building a most fascinating tale4 ,its banks are scarred by the battles of the great war4 ,barbed wire1 old dugouts1 the remains of hastily constructed forts reminded us of the desperate struggle made by the ,allies to protect it against the enemy in the air and under the water4 ,had any one of their many attempts successfully closed the canal1 the war would have had a very different ending4 ,we had just spent nineteen and one-half hours coming through the canal at the slow speed permitted by law--five miles an hour4 ,even then our boat twice grazed the retaining wall4 ,in a single year over three thousand boats passed through the locks1 crept along through the canal1 then hurried to far ports1 east or west4 ,as the fifth boat swung lazily past1 a sigh of relief went up from the crowd pressed against the ropes4 ,a moment and the great bridge moved back into place and we were given the signal to cross4 ,it was a weird group that hurried along in the moonlight--a party of ,americans1 a group of ,british officers1 some ,australian soldiers1 ,jews from ,russia clutching their permits to enter the land of promise1 ,egyptians1 ,syrians1 ,arabs in native dress4 ,there were but few women4 ,our porter found us seats close to the window in one of the compartments4 ,we were sorry for this later1 as the fine sand sifted in and covered clothing and baggage4 ,no sleeping-car was possible1 so we made ourselves as comfortable as we could with bags for pillows and heavy coats for blankets4 ,we were most grateful for this railroad from ,kantara to ,jerusalem1 realizing that before the war we would have been compelled to make the inconvenient and dangerous landing in the small boats at ,jaffa4 ,we made our way slowly through the night across the desert that stretched as far as the eye could reach in the moonlight and slipped away into blackness when the moon had set4 ,what it had cost the men who had laid those ties in that wilderness of sand1 under the scorching rays of a pitiless sun1 no history of war can adequately relate4 ,how often in those days1 as we looked reverently at old battlegrounds1 we searched for words with which to describe the miracles performed by the engineering corps of the fighting armies6 ,with the morning light1 we began to see signs of life on the desert4 ,great masses of cacti1 in clumps as tall as trees1 with stems as thick as a man's body1 were growing but a few feet from our windows4 ,here1 during the war1 the enemy had hidden their machine guns1 a refuge from which they might safely do their deadly work1 practically certain that they could not be captured4 ,many a brave soldier of the ,allies gave up his life in agony1 caught in the cactus hedge to which the rush of battle had driven him1 and many an heroic rescue of a comrade held by the cruel thorns took place on that desert plain4 ,when the cactus growth cleared and the desert was unbroken we stared in amazement at what seemed to be a line of dark earth--a road made in the shifting sand4 ,when we got nearer we found it to be strips of chicken wire4 ,this wire was the solution of a problem that at first threatened to tie up all the plans of ,headquarters1 for the heavy artillery and the loaded motor lorries1 sinking deep into the sand1 made progress impossible4 ,the wire road was the result of the ingenuity of some of the men in the ranks4 ,as the fine and coarse net used alternately pressed down upon the sand it gave the resistance that enabled the great guns and loads of supplies to pass over places otherwise uncrossable4 ,when they had passed1 soldiers rolled up the wire1 loaded it on the camels to be used again over some hard stretch ahead4 ,the war over1 it lay there rusting in the sand4 ,again and again1 as one crossed the battlefields of ,palestine1 he saw evidences of the triumph of man's mind over earth's obstacles4 ,nothing was too ordinary1 too commonplace1 too insignificant to be used to further the success of the great cause4 ,for fresh supplies of food and water1 for 8heavies0 with which to batter down the defenses of the enemy1 the army was for a time dependent upon temporary tracks of chicken wire laid in a waste of moving sand6 ,against the horizon we could see the slow moving train of camels4 ,a group of ,arabs on horseback halted to watch us pass4 ,we were in ,palestine1 that land of small distances and great deeds4 8,i cannot believe that ,i am in ,palestine10 said the young daughter of a ,british officer who was to see her father for the first time in four years4 8,i have not been able to think of it as a real land4 ,i know1 in a way1 that ,moses and ,joshua fought here4 ,but think of father's fighting here1 too60 ,the girl had expressed the thought of hundreds of others who have studied the ,bible stories1 become familiar with the difficult names1 drawn maps and located the cities of ,moses and of ,paul1 marked the journeyings of ,christ1 but to whom the land has never been a real land and its records1 shrouded in vague mystery1 have never seemed a part of the earth4 ,but now we knew it to be real4 ,we began to comprehend 8the wilderness and the solitary place40 ,it is only about the size of my own state of ,massachusetts1 ,i told myself again and again4 ,its greatest length is but one hundred eighty miles and it is nowhere more than fifty-five miles wide4 ,if ,i had the railways and engines of home ,i could cross it in less than two hours4 ,i could travel its entire length easily in five or six4 ,but the present train1 with its light engine1 on a roadbed hastily made1 parts of it finished under fire from enemy guns1 moves slowly4 ,we are stopping at ,gaza4 ,once ,gaza was the largest city of the old country of the ,philistines4 ,i can almost see ,samson1 strong and powerful1 coming down over the hill called today ,samson's ,ridge1 bearing the great city gates upon his shoulders while men stood aghast4 ,i can see him too1 blinded and powerless1 walking the treadmill of his enemies4 ,as ,i look out over the desert road1 ,i remember the ,ethiopian struggling to find the meaning of the words of the prophet ,isaiah and young ,philip running by his chariot1 eagerly responding to the invitation to sit with him and explain the prophecy4 ,riding along through the dust1 ,i can hear him talking with the ruler about ,jesus and what ,he had taught of ,god and man2 and1 half-astonished at the quick response1 ,i can hear the ,ethiopian1 as they came near to a place with water1 saying1 8,behold1 here is water1 what doth hinder me to be baptized80 ,but ,i am brought back suddenly from the long past4 ,men in ,british uniform are on the platform of the little station4 ,they follow the mail bag eagerly1 joking each other in clear ,english accents about the probable contents4 ,for eight months in nineteen hundred and seventeen1 ,gaza became again the center of a great battle area4 ,we could see the remains of the ,turkish trenches1 dug deep into the earth and protected by great masses of wire or by sand bags made from the gay colored hangings and curtains taken from the houses of its people4 ,but in spite of all their careful preparations and their gallant defence1 ,gaza fell into the hands of the ,british troops whose splendid officers and men had braved heat1 terrible thirst1 sand-storms1 deadly fire that robbed them of hundreds of their comrades1 that they might take this important post on the road that was to lead them through untold suffering up to ,jerusalem1 as it had led other armies of days long ago4 ,the ,british ,tommies read their ,bibles in their spare time these days4 ,they read over again the battles of ,israelites and ,philistines which they had found very stupid when they were boys in ,sunday schools but which are exceedingly interesting to them now4 ,as they fought1 step by step1 for possession of that same land1 they asked themselves if1 battling against a foe to whom the desert was home1 on trackless wastes whose every spring and rock was known1 they could ever win4 ,never for a moment did they hesitate in their answer1 but many a brave young officer and many a hardy soldier of ,australia or ,new ,zealand must have had misgivings as he looked at the cactus hedge1 miles deep1 or out over the still1 barren1 hopeless desert hills4 ,we left ,gaza to climb slowly up to ,lydda1 now called ,ludd1 where we were obliged to change cars4 ,on all sides were signs of the fighting of two years before1 and now and then white crosses or ,turkish graves reminded us of the terrible price youth has paid throughout the long centuries of history to make this land holy indeed4 ,as we climbed up into the hills1 it began to rain1 the air was fresh and cool1 the vineyards here and there on the hillsides brought great relief after the glare of the sands through which we had been passing for so many hours4 ,our first glimpse of ,jerusalem was in the soft mist through which the sun was attempting to shine4 ,the walls looked high and forbidding1 the whole city1 from its point of vantage crowning the hilltops1 seemed to look down upon us as though we were but very little things1 little and unimportant1 come to gaze1 without half understanding what we should see1 upon all man has dreamed and suffered in his reach for ,god and happiness4 ,a thrill of anticipation had passed up and down the corridor of the train4 ,not a person sat in his compartment4 ,corridor windows were opened and eager faces crowded about them4 ,the face of the young girl who was to see her father after the four years of separation was flushed with excitement1 but the face of her mother was pale and there were tears in her eyes4 ,she had given her two sons--one in ,france and one in ,mesopotamia--to the world's great effort to preserve its freedom4 ,i shall never forget the light in the eyes of two thin1 haggard1 long-bearded ,hebrews1 looking out from the windows1 then turning to speak with each other in ,russian words that1 though unintelligible to us1 seemed to be on fire with passion4 ,their gestures were expressive of emotion that could not be restrained4 ,long before the train stopped they were at the door4 ,the faces of young ,british officers on leave1 coming up for the first time to see the city for whose delivery they had prepared the way down on the dry parched plain1 were keen with interest2 no detail of the approach escaped them4 ,the residents accustomed to the journeyings from the ,port to the city looked at us all with mild curiosity and kind tolerance4 ,from the station1 the horses dragged us up through gray mud that flew about us in showers1 covering carriage1 baggage1 and robes1--there was no escape from it4 ,from the mist the walls of the 8city of cities0 emerged1 clear1 strong1 unbroken1 no mark of battle upon them4 ,as we went through the great gate1 the sun1 breaking through the mist1 flooded with light1 for a few moments1 the narrow street and brightened the faces of the crowd of people of every nation that poured ceaselessly in and out4 ,we stopped before the hotel that during the war had served as the ,red ,crescent ,hospital4 ,lunch was waiting and we sat down with the ,mohammedan in his red fez1 the ,bedouin in his long1 beautiful1 gay-colored coat1 the ,french officer and the ,british officer on leave1 ,jewish business men1 the ,greek and the ,syrian--the world1 it seemed to us as we listened to the various languages4 ,all orders for food were given in ,french1 and in ,french men of different nations spoke with each other in courteous greeting4 ,we were in ,jerusalem4 ,here ,samuel sat2 here at the gate was ,david's tower2 ,king ,solomon once lived over there on the hill in his glittering palace and by his wealth and wisdom made himself famous throughout the world1 and here he lost his wisdom as has many another in the courts of the women4 ,herod and ,pilate looked out over these hills2 the ,crusader stormed the walls and the ,turk brought terror and slavery with his sword4 ,twenty-three times in its history ,jerusalem has been captured4 ,it has been pillaged1 plundered1 burned1 utterly destroyed1 rebuilt only to be plundered again4 ,yet here it stood4 ,upon what unspeakable sorrow the stars of ,palestine have looked down6 ,we gazed from our balcony out over the low buildings of solid rock1 out through the break in the wall made that the ,kaiser1 on his visit to the ,holy ,place1 might enter in great pomp and glory with his impressive army of followers1 the break redeemed by the simplicity of the entrance of the victorious ,general ,allenby into the city that he had conquered without the destruction of a single building or a foot of wall and accepted1 when surrendered1 as a sacred trust placed once more in the hands of ,christians4 ,it may be that the white crosses in long rows1 out on the hillside1 guarding the graves of soldiers from every part of the ,british ,empire1 young1 very young1 will continue to remind these latest conquerors of the tremendous cost of the victory that left the city unharmed and help them govern the land with an unselfishness of purpose that will measure up to the high standard of their victory4 ,after lunch we found that dark clouds had gathered low over the hills1 and before we could leave our room the rain came4 ,we studied the map of the city1 searched out the location of its sacred places1 read over again the words of poet and prophet describing the days of its great glory1 when from ,mount ,zion king and shepherd could look over at ,mount ,moriah where the smoke of the sacrifice from the temple of ,jehovah ascended to heaven4 ,late in the afternoon the rising wind scattered the clouds and the sun set in a blaze of glory4 ,we stood just outside the gate on the city wall looking down across the valley over toward ,bethlehem4 ,the hills1 deep purple1 reached up on every side to touch the sky4 ,their bare rocky slopes became soft as velvet in the fading light4 ,a young ,british private1 leaning against a part of the parapet1 took out a khaki ,testament and turned the leaves slowly4 ,he seemed to find what he wanted and read1 following the lines with his finger4 ,then he closed the book1 put it back in his pocket and turned1 half apologetically to a companion not in uniform4 8,we fought out there10 he said1 8the #ecrd division4 ,we fought around the very hills where the angels sang about ,peace on earth40 ,a moment of silence and the other spoke3 8,yonder is the road ,he must have climbed when ,he came up to ,jerusalem40 8,i'll take you over it tomorrow10 was the answer4 8,we'll see all the places where ,he used to go4 ,it makes the story in the ,book very plain40 ,they moved away4 ,reluctantly1 in the face of coming darkness1 we left the great wall and joined the group of ,arabs who1 with camels and donkeys1 were passing in and out of the gate4 ,as we climbed the long stairs to our room1 we remembered that tomorrow would be ,sunday at home4 ,in thousands of churches all over the world1 trusting little children1 strong1 courageous youth1 men and women bearing heavy burdens1 the old1 the sick1 the missionaries would read the story of what ,he did and said centuries before1 in and about ,jerusalem--the story that1 despite the limitations of those who have told it1 has changed the world and that must continue to change it until it shall become what ,he prayed it might be--the kingdom of ,god upon the earth4 ,tomorrow we1 like the young soldier in khaki1 would begin our journeys to 8all the places where ,he used to go40 ,and we hoped that for us1 too1 the sacred spots would 8make the story in the ,book very plain40 ,in a long procession with torches the worshipers of the ,greek church1 chanting an evensong for their feast day1 passed beneath our balcony4 ,a torch lighted up the cross held high over the heads of the marchers4 ,out over the hills of ,bethlehem1 hidden now by the night1 bright stars were shining4 ,we fell upon our knees and worshiped ,him4 ,i ,,go ,,over ,,to ,,bethlehem ,there was a baby born in ,bethlehem4 ,i know they say ,that this and that's in doubt1 and1 for the rest ,that learned men who surely should know best ,explain how myths crept in1 and followers' tales confused the truth4 ,i know--but anyway ,there was a baby born in ,bethlehem ,who lived and grew and loved and healed and taught ,and died--but not to me4 ,when ,christmas comes ,i see ,him still arise1 ,the gentle1 the compassionate1 the wise1 ,wiping ,earth's tears away1 stilling her strife2 ,calling1 8,my path is ,peace2 ,my way is ,life60 --,author ,unknown4 ,i ,,go ,,over ,,to ,,bethlehem ,it was clear and cold4 ,the hills of ,moab were deep blue4 ,they seemed very near4 ,in a low carriage that bore every mark of long service1 drawn by two thin dark horses and driven by an ,arab in a dull brown ,bedouin coat1 with the long1 heavy head-dress falling over his shoulders and protecting him from rain or sun1 we drove out through the gate4 ,dark eyes watched us curiously4 ,the horses at first were swift of foot and the carriage lurched and rolled down the steep grade of the valley of ,hinnom1 past the former ,german colony1 over the new bridge2 then1 losing their enthusiasm1 they climbed slowly4 ,on a hillside the sheep were feeding1 but how they could find enough to sustain life on those bare rocky slopes is hard to understand4 ,now we passed a flock following the shepherd in his vari-colored coat down a steep incline and through a valley which in the rainy season would be a rushing stream4 ,we could hear the lambs call1 and now and then the shepherd's reprimand to a straying sheep4 ,over there were the fields of ,boaz4 ,how beautiful they must have looked when the heavy sheaves of wheat were yellow in the sun4 ,the land of ,moab seemed such a short distance away as we who had been half-way round the world thought of distance1 but to loyal1 faithful1 loving ,ruth those desert plains1 rounded hills1 and deep valleys meant distance enough to separate her forever from the home and kindred she must leave behind4 ,the brave words came back to us3 8,whither thou goest1 ,i will go2 thy people shall be my people and thy ,god my ,god40 ,she deserved the happiness she won out there in the fields as she followed the reapers4 ,as if agreeing with our unspoken thoughts our guide turned and looked down at us4 8,boaz1 the owner of the field1 married ,ruth1 the ,moabite girl4 ,she was very beautiful10 he said4 ,the wind was bleak on the hilltop as it was that night centuries ago and we were glad when we reached the protection of the low stone houses of the village of ,bethlehem4 ,such a tiny village6 ,nothing was left of the glory of that other day when the busy tax-gatherers checked up the names of the people and the keeper of the ,inn hurried about trying in vain to find room for his guests1 when officers of the army in resplendent uniform and civil officers proud and haughty made every ,jewish pilgrim conscious of the power of great ,rome4 ,nothing remains of the old inn or khan which was crowded on that night to its very gates4 ,thankful indeed must both ,joseph and ,mary have been for the protection of the cave with its great manger hewn out of the rock4 ,over that spot to which they went so gratefully for shelter now stands the ,church of the ,nativity4 ,it is a simple beautiful church1 but the shrines within are garish indeed4 ,by ,general ,allenby's command1 the high forbidding walls of stone that have so long divided the interior and marred its beauty have been taken down4 ,the walls had formerly separated the church into sections claimed by the various faiths4 ,the nave of the church belongs to the ,greeks1 one transept to the ,coptic ,christians1 the other to the ,armenians4 ,the ,romanists have built a church and monastery close beside the little church of the ,nativity1 but worshipers could only reach the grotto to kneel at the manger of stone through a devious1 difficult underground path4 ,when the ,turks captured ,palestine they compelled the ,armenians to open a passage through their wall that the ,romanists might enter4 ,as we stepped into the church we heard the chanting of their choir1 and soon through the door in the ,armenian transept came priests and altar boys in the rich robes of the church to say mass4 ,we stood aside until they had passed and only the echo of their voices could be heard floating up from the cave below4 ,ever since the coming of the ,turks1 ,christmas and ,easter services have been marred by desperate quarreling and bloodshed4 ,at each service ,turkish soldiers were on guard and swords and guns punished offenders but were unable to prevent the paying of old scores by ,armenian and ,romanist1 ,copt and ,greek4 ,the ,british general was exceedingly anxious that no such quarrels should mar the celebration of the first ,christmas and ,easter after the return of the holy places into the hands of ,christians1 to be theirs no matter what their creeds might be4 ,in many languages1 he made his appeal to the people4 ,the ,american ,colony of ,jerusalem was asked to be present at the services to help quiet any trouble-makers1 but they did not wish to assume the responsibility4 ,therefore certain individual members of the ,red ,cross ,commission answered the ,general's appeal1 and were present all day at the services1 quietly warning any of the rougher element who1 as in the past days1 attempted to start trouble by taunting words4 ,not a ,british soldier was present4 ,the ,commission members1 wise1 alert1 and friendly1 did their work well and the day passed in dignified impressive worship for the first time since the ,turks took the ,holy ,city4 ,the ,general expressed his gratitude in most cordial notes of thanks to the men who had so successfully endeavored to carry out his wishes4 ,we waited until the mass was over and then1 with our lighted candles1 went down into the shadowy grotto4 ,myth and legend1 superstitions weird and fantastic have gathered about all the sacred places4 ,while these things mean little to the modern ,christian1 he is bound to respect the reverent belief in them held by many of his comrades in the faith4 ,with confidence the guide tells of the hundreds of years the fire in the hidden place has burned1 not once going out1 just as it has burned in the ,church of the ,holy ,sepulchre at ,jerusalem4 ,if1 as one kneels and prays1 holding his taper close to the opening1 it is lighted by the unseen holy fire1 rich blessings will come to him and those he loves4 ,i shall never forget the thin1 tired1 sorrow-marked face of an ,armenian woman whose taper1 as she knelt murmuring prayers1 suddenly caught the sacred flame4 ,it was transformed4 ,she went up the shadowy steps in a transport of joy4 ,nor shall ,i soon forget the face of a ,russian woman as she swayed back and forth on her knees in an agony of prayer4 ,when at last she rose she could not stand and a kindly attendant steadied her4 ,he spoke to her in ,russian and they talked softly for a moment4 ,she was in ,jerusalem on a pilgrimage when the war broke out4 ,her husband1 her son1 and a son-in-law were in the ,russian army4 ,of them she had had no word4 ,she had received a month since confirmation of the news of the death of her two daughters in prison4 ,she could not go back to her home in the hot-bed of ,bolshevism4 ,she took a taper from the hand of a priest and went toward the place of the holy fire4 ,illustration3 ,copyright1 ,underwood ,underwood 8',twas a humble birthplace1 but oh1 how much ,god gave to us that day60 ,i was glad when we were in the fresh crisp air again1 wandering through the streets of the little village1 stopping for a few moments for coffee with a ,syrian shopkeeper who wanted to sell us olive-wood beads with a beautiful carved cross as pendant4 ,his son1 a boy of twelve1 spoke ,english4 ,the father brought him out proudly4 ,he attended a ,quaker school for boys over in ,ramallah and was having a holiday4 ,the souvenirs offered for our inspection were poor tawdry things1 but the faces of the salesmen were so eager that we could not disappoint them4 ,visitors had been exceedingly rare during the years of the war and curious friendly eyes followed us hopefully everywhere4 ,there had been great excitement in the village that morning4 ,an ,indian prince who was a ,christian had visited the church1 had left a gift for the priests1 had made purchases in all the little shops--his taper had been lighted by the holy fire4 ,we were just about to go back to our carriage when1 turning the corner abruptly1 we were face to face with the young ,britisher and his friend who had stood on the wall with us in the sunset the night before4 ,he was pointing out over the hills4 ,we smiled our recognition and asked if we too might hear of the coming of the army to ,bethlehem4 8,there is not much to tell10 he said1 in the way of those who have risked all in battle4 ,he told us a little about the difficulty of the fighting in the ,judean ,hills1 the gigantic task of feeding the army and supplying it with water1 the intense sufferings of the men in the cold drizzling rain and the chilling wind on the hills4 ,wrapping our own coats tightly about us1 we could understand something of what they must have endured lying out on the bare unprotected hillsides as they did those nights before the city of ,jerusalem was captured4 ,after a moment he pointed out to us the hill ,beit ,jabor two miles northwest of ,bethlehem won by the ,welsh ,division troops and opening the door for the entrance into ,bethlehem1 showed us the great house just south of ,bethlehem where the ,turks had seven mountain guns turned upon the road over which the troops must pass4 ,but a thick heavy impenetrable fog settled down and1 taking the risk1 the heavy guns of the ,british passed up the road within easy reach of the enemy had they known4 8,whenever a fog settled down like that1 to our advantage1 the boys would say1 #8the ,lord sent a great fog1' or #8the ,lord hath covered the moon with a cloud'2 but when rain or moonlight favored the enemy they said nothing40 ,he smiled4 8,the war is over10 he said1 8yet it seems as if at any moment this silence might be interrupted by the booming of a gun40 8,god forbid60 said our guide fervently4 8,we have had enough of guns40 ,we echoed his words heartily as we said a warm word of appreciation of what ,british arms had done and went back to our carriage4 ,two miles or more outside the village we looked down upon the place of ,rachel's tomb4 ,there have been few more beautiful stories of devoted service for love than that of ,jacob who had 8loved ,rachel0 and laid her there with a breaking heart4 ,the simple1 homely record of the joys and sorrows of every-day life written in the ,book that is so full of human interest seems very real indeed as one looks into the faces of men and women about him1 almost any one of whom might have played the part of hero or heroine without change of costume on a stage with scenery set4 ,a little further down the long hill we stopped while the guide pointed to the place where the shepherds had watched their flocks4 ,it was a plain lying close between the higher hills4 ,even on a chilly night it would be a sheltered spot and1 huddled dose together with the fire blazing near and the watchman at the gate of the fold1 shepherds and sheep would be safe and warm4 ,so they lay that night when the dark sky was suddenly flooded with light and voices sang over the awestruck hills of ,judea4 ,we looked back at the little spot on the hill that was ,bethlehem1 where that night was born the baby who turned the world upside down--the baby who inspired the world's best art1 its finest literature1 its greatest music1--there in that little town with its stone houses1 its irregular streets1 its simple people struggling with poverty6 ,there was ,bethlehem1 the city of ,david1 the shepherd boy of the hills1 strongest and best of all the sons of ,jesse1 born to be a king and through his long line of descendants at last to give to the world the ,king of kings4 ,when we stopped at the desk for our keys and to ask for a fire in the little square stove in our room the clerk1 in hesitating1 careful ,english1 said1 8,you have found it cold out on the hills4 ,you have seen ,bethlehem4 ,it is a small place1 ,bethlehem4 ,there is little there that a man may do4 ,many travelers are disappointed by ,bethlehem40 8,that depends upon how much one sees when he looks at ,bethlehem10 ,i thought4 ,for me it held no disappointment4 ,that night in the great hall1 around the stove that could not warm it1 men talked of the future of ,palestine4 ,a good friend1 who understood many languages and spoke ,arabic fluently1 interpreted much of the talk for us4 ,the present population of ,palestine1 ,jews1 ,christians and ,mohammedans1 is not even a million6 ,jews and ,christians together number perhaps less than one-third4 ,the ,mohammedans make up most of the population and are found in every city and village4 ,arabic is the language of the people1 but in ,jerusalem and in ,jaffa most ,european languages are freely spoken4 ,the people who live in the towns are called ,madaniyeh1 the villagers are the ,fellaheen1 and those who live in tents1 whom we called ,bedouin1 are ,arabs4 ,despite its rocky1 unpromising hillsides and its deserts1 ,palestine is an agricultural country and that must be its future1 the men told each other4 ,wheat and barley1 maize and lentils1 figs1 watermelons1 grapes1 pomegranates1 mulberries1 apricots1 tomatoes1 oranges1 and olives could be easily raised4 ,we heard glowing descriptions of the ,jaffa oranges and some sent later to our room fulfilled all that had been said of them4 ,there was much talk of the day when the cultivation of raisins and the manufacture of olive oil would make men rich2 talk of the bananas that could be made to grow in large quantities at ,jericho and of the date palms that would make ,gaza prosper once more4 ,there must be new plows1 new machinery of many sorts4 ,they talked of the ,zionist movement1 but the talk was cut short by an ,arab who would not hear of it and1 as some faces darkened and voices grew louder1 our friend rose and took us to our room4 ,sometimes in these days a friendly talk about ,palestine's future ends in hot words and even blows4 ,the ,arab does not want ,palestine to be passed over into the hands of the ,jews4 ,many of the ,jerusalem ,jews express no pleasure whatever over an influx of their brothers from many lands4 ,the problems of ,palestine today are very grave and only great wisdom1 unselfishness and patience will solve them4 ,after trying in vain to warm ourselves over our small wood stove we put on our heavy coats and stepped out upon our little balcony4 ,there was no moon4 ,save for a light over the ,jaffa gate and soft rays from the windows of our hotel1 ,jerusalem was dark4 ,the narrow little street at our left was black4 ,the stars were clear1 sparkling1 very near4 ,one star seemed larger and brighter than all the rest4 ,as if unconscious of my presence my friend sang softly3 8,o little town of ,bethlehem1 ,how still we see thee lie6 ,above thy deep and dreamless sleep ,the silent stars go by4 ,yet in thy dark streets shineth1 ,the everlasting ,light2 ,the hopes and fears of all the years ,are met in thee tonight40 ,we hurried to our beds with their gay colored hangings and lay buried under blankets and rugs for warmth4 ,for a long time1 gazing out into the darkness1 ,i could see the star4 ,o little town of ,bethlehem6 ,small indeed--but spreading over all the earth4 ,only a few days before in ,america millions of children had heard its story1 hugged their precious gifts1 and thought of the angels and the shepherds4 ,thousands of parents1 forgetting the pressure of dull gray days1 filled with problems of food1 clothing and shelter had smiled upon their own children and thought tenderly of the ,child1 and many men and women without a child to love remembered the days of their own childhood and greeted each other with 8,merry ,christmas40 ,small indeed--but ,i had heard the children of ,japan with beaming faces sing its story2 ,i had heard the youth of ,china with strong1 beautifully serious faces tell of white gifts to be given in the name of the ,child who found ,his way into the world out there on the hilltop of ,judea2 in ,india ,i had heard the story told by a girl whose face shone in the telling1 as rows and rows of little dark faces looked up at her4 ,i knew that in the sands of ,african deserts1 in the snows of ,arctic lands1 in the farthermost islands of the sea1 they had heard of ,bethlehem4 ,a long line of familiar words surged through my mind--democracy1 freedom1 liberty1 justice for all1 the brotherhood of man1 love--as women may say it in ,christian lands3 444 how many of them were also born with ,him that night in ,bethlehem6 ,no1 8thou ,bethlehem in the land of ,judah art not the least among the princes of ,judah1 for out of thee shall come a ruler 444 and his name shall be called ,wonderful1 ,counsellor1 ,mighty ,god1 ,everlasting ,father1 ,prince of ,peace40 ,the wounded1 hungry1 puzzled world--the memory of the sufferings ,i had looked upon pressed hard upon me4 ,i closed my eyes to pray that men may have the courage so to love and the faith so to act that the ,prince may soon come into the possession of ,his kingdom4 ,when ,i opened my eyes1 low over the hills against the blackness of the sky the star was still shining4 ,i ,,go ,,down ,,to ,,jericho 8,he passed by on the other side40 ,that #8other side' is trodden smooth ,and worn by footsteps passing all the day2 ,where lie the bruised ones faint and torn ,is seldom more than an untrodden way4 ,our selfish hearts are for our feet the guide1 ,they lead us by upon the other side4 --,author ,unknown4 ,i ,,go ,,down ,,to ,,jericho ,an interested group surrounded us that morning at nine o'clock as the car which was to take us down to the ,dead ,sea and the ,jordan drew up to the door of the hotel4 ,i call it a car by courtesy4 ,it had seen hard service4 ,it had a battered running board1 a mudguard with many dents1 a front seat bending in the middle to the breaking point1 no windshield and no horn4 ,we protested1 but our guide said it was the best that could be had4 8,it is the engine that is important10 he said1 8the engine and the brake both are good4 ,as for the horn1 no fear--he is a horn with his mouth40 ,he was a most successful human horn as we found when we passed through the gate into the traffic outside the wall4 ,our guide was not an enthusiast on the subject of motor vehicles4 ,as we swept around the hairpin curves he was restless4 8,the ,arab is not the temperament for a driver of cars10 he said seriously1 8he is the temperament for a horse40 ,and again after a pause1 8,it is well to go to ,jericho in a carriage4 ,the inn near ,elijah's ,spring is a good place for a rest1 and three days--it is a good time for the trip40 ,there was little traffic passing after we turned onto the long hill--donkeys with panniers loaded with products to be exchanged in the markets of ,jerusalem1 a boy driving a few sheep slowly up the steep hill1 a lone ,arab on his horse4 ,the air was still1 crisp1 and very clear4 ,we were exceedingly thankful for the road built by the ,turks in excellent fashion for the visit of the ,kaiser twenty-three years before and carefully repaired by the ,british troops for military service4 ,we passed the rest house built that ,william ,hohenzollern might refresh himself before approaching the ,holy ,city4 ,lower and lower into the valley we went4 ,the road now had a thin covering of soft gray mud4 ,suddenly1 turning to avoid a huge rock that had rolled down the hillside into the road1 the car skidded4 ,a second and the light machine had crashed into the retaining wall of rock and cement4 ,the axle bent1 the front wheels turned at an angle1 we were thrown back and forth in our shaky seat4 ,the car stopped4 ,we heard the sickening thud of the rocks as they fell to the dry bed of the stream below4 ,then we climbed down carefully over the loosened mass of cement4 8,thank ,god we are to live60 said the guide reverently4 ,the driver was trying to turn the wheels back4 ,he pushed the car into the road4 ,the engine would still run but the axle looked hopeless4 ,the guide spoke again--8,as ,i have said1 a carriage is better for ,jericho40 ,after all our effort1 we had failed to impress him with the fact that for us to give three days to the trip was impossible4 8,of old10 he continued1 8they fell here among the thieves4 ,we have fallen among the rocks40 ,we could not help smiling at his look of dismay as he walked around the car again and again4 ,he was so proud of his record of over thirty years as guide to whose care was due the fact that no serious mishaps had ever befallen any of his people4 ,we were so grateful that we were not lying down there among the jagged rocks in the dry bed of the stream that our present difficulty seemed slight indeed4 ,we were midway between ,jerusalem and ,jericho4 ,if no help came we could walk in either direction twelve and a half miles though the prospect was not tempting4 ,while we were discussing it we heard a rumbling1 then a horn4 ,it was a ,british hospital car taking an officer down to ,jericho4 ,it was pay day for the soldiers and he was late4 ,the driver of his car felt sure that with a little help the axle might be repaired enough to enable our driver to crawl back to ,jerusalem1 but the steering gear had been damaged and it would be an uncertain venture4 ,a lorrie was on its way to ,jerusalem and was to wait at the ,good ,samaritan ,inn to give a message to the officer4 ,he would leave instructions for them to help our driver back to the city and he could get aid for us4 ,the men in the lorrie which came along according to schedule looked the car over with the air of expert mechanics4 ,they spent a half hour or more on it with the help of our driver and then the little ,ford turned and climbed slowly and bravely up the hill1 keeping with greatest difficulty close to the safe side of the road4 ,the lorrie was out of sight in a few moments flying along to make up for lost time4 ,it would take word of our trouble and send another car4 ,illustration3 ,there lay the boat in which one might row across the ,jordan to the land of ,moab4 ,there was nothing to do but wait and nothing to see but bare hills4 ,we climbed one great rocky mound only to see more hills with deeper valleys lying between as far as the eye could reach4 ,they reminded us of the hills in the most desolate part of the ,mormon trail in our own ,american desert4 ,the sun rose higher and the heat became almost unbearable4 ,we drew down our hats1 put on our dark glasses and sat on the rocks in the dry bed of the stream4 ,there was not a sound1 not a bird note1 no bleating of sheep4 ,there were caves in the side of the hill4 ,they looked dark1 cool1 and inviting1 they had sheltered many people good and bad during the long centuries1 but the guide warned us that they were full of vermin and unclean4 ,there was a tiny boulder half-way up the hill which made on one side a narrow strip of shade and we made ourselves as small as possible and sat there4 ,noon came and we ate our chicken and hard boiled eggs1 ,french bread1 figs1 dates and oranges made ready by the hotel1 and drank the water in our thermos bottles sparingly4 ,a group of ,arabs clattered past us over on the road4 ,one sang a couplet in a clear1 ringing voice and the others joined as in a chorus4 ,they did not see us1 or1 if they did1 made no sign4 8,when the ,turks ruled ,palestine10 said our guide1 8we could not sit here so safe4 ,there was much danger on this road and no man traveled over it at nightfall40 ,he told us tales of brigands in league with ,turkish high officials with whom they shared their spoil that would have made excellent material for certain types of ,american motion pictures4 ,suddenly the simple story that ,jesus told to the crowd in answer to the half-mocking question of the keen ,jewish lawyer came vividly before us4 ,it was in these hills1 in the desperate loneliness of them1 that the certain man1 stripped of all his goods1 beaten and half dead1 lay helpless4 ,he might wait for help for many an hour before out of this place of emptiness any would come6 ,how could ,priest and ,levite pass him by on the other side and leave him in this forsaken spot that their own journey might be undisturbed8 ,to them he was only a man robbed by the bandits4 ,he would die as had many another4 ,it was a common thing1 and1 inhuman as it seems1 they went on to their task of holy worship and to the seat of judgment4 ,how keen was the mind of ,christ6 ,how quickly and unerringly ,he put his finger upon the very center of sin6 ,it was easy to see1 coming down the narrow camel path in the hills1 the hated ,samaritan with the spirit of justice1 mercy1 and brotherhood in his soul4 ,he stopped--the man one would least expect to stop--and rescued with generous tenderness the suffering victim of thieves1 while the servants of ,jehovah and his law passed by on the other side1 doing in that day even as1 in all the days since1 the followers of the letter and not of the spirit of the law have done4 ,there was only one answer to the question the lawyer had asked of ,jesus and he was forced to give it--8,he that showed mercy40 ,i doubt if any who had heard the question1 8,but who is my neighbor80 ever forgot the answer1 or the command that followed it3 8,go and do thou likewise40 ,i was so lost in a new sense of the significance and sincerity of ,his wonderful teaching that ,i did not see our guide make his way toward the road4 8,a car comes10 he called1 but we1 lacking his desert-trained senses1 heard nothing4 ,two or three minutes and we could see it coming rapidly along the white road on the farther hillside4 ,the guide was overjoyed when he saw the new driver4 8,ah60 he said1 8this is the man ,i wanted4 ,he drives anything that can go4 ,through the war he drove over hills with no road--always safe6 ,he speaks ,english1 too40 ,he examined the car4 ,it had both windshield and horn4 ,it had an extra tire and seats that were straight4 ,hope revived4 8,we shall now get quickly back to ,jerusalem10 said the guide4 8,tomorrow1 perhaps1 we shall have the carriage40 8,to ,jerusalem60 we said4 8,it is only one o'clock4 ,with such a driver we can surely get to the ,dead ,sea and the ,jordan4 ,if it is late we can stay tonight at the ,inn near ,elijah's ,spring and go back to ,jerusalem in the morning4 ,our time is short and we cannot take another whole day40 ,jamil looked at the driver4 8,they are ,americans10 he said1 8and when they will go1 they will go60 ,after a moment he added1 8,the sun has been very hot4 ,perhaps for you it has dried the roads40 ,so we climbed the steep grade1 ran along a level strip1 then a steeper grade to the ,inn of the ,good ,samaritan where ,arab traders and men of the caravans stop for coffee4 ,there was a tank in the yard where one could buy gasoline6 ,the road before us was down grade now1 and the driver more than lived up to his reputation4 ,once ,jamil turned to show us a ,mohammedan mosque in ruins in a desolate spot high up in the hills and again to point out a tomb4 8,it is the tomb of ,moses by the word of the ,mohammedans10 he said2 8but we do not believe it1 for no man knoweth where ,god hath buried him4 ,he never came into the land so we shall not believe it40 ,neither of us who took it will ever forget that ride through the ,wilderness4 ,there was no road4 ,two deep ruts here and there marked our way4 ,we wound through soft ooze turning now into the rut1 now out again4 ,on every side were hillocks of soft gray sand4 8,this is a good place to ride the donkey's back10 said ,jamil as we bounced up and down in the car1 but he smiled4 ,we told him we had motored to ,germany over the shell-torn roads fording the bridgeless streams and this seemed very simple4 ,three miles of it and we were on a rough road close by the ,dead ,sea4 ,it lay still and calm1 a blue gray thing crossed here and there by ribbons of silver where the sun glistened upon it4 ,i should have said it had no motion but for the tiny little ripples that broke on the pebbly beach made frosty with salt deposit4 ,a thousand feet and more below the ,mediterranean it lay there4 ,sitting beside it we were lower than any submarine has ever been4 ,the city of ,jerusalem is two thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea so our descent had been over thirty-five hundred feet since morning4 ,it was very warm4 ,though the great body of water lay there now so still1 ,jamil told us that when the ,turks were using it to transport supplies1 fierce storms swept over it1 thunder roared in the hills and over the plains1 and giant waves dashed upon the smooth shore4 ,we looked across the fourteen miles of sea to the plateau in the hills of ,moab and knew that there was no living thing in it nor on its whole great stretch of fifty miles6 ,hungrily it swallows up the rivers and the tiny streams1 the ,jordan alone pouring millions of gallons into it every day1 but never1 never does it send out even a tiny streamlet4 ,it grants no answer to the plea of the thirsty land that seems to reach down into it hopefully4 ,we put our hands into the water four times as heavy as the ,atlantic and they were covered with an oily salty deposit that would not come off until we had scrubbed with hot water4 ,suddenly we heard a sound--the bleating of a sheep4 ,it was so welcome in that dead silence6 ,beyond the bend in the shoreline was a tiny house with children and the sheep6 ,we walked slowly along over the smooth gaily colored little pebbles to the spot1 half a mile beyond1 where the car was waiting4 ,but we turned to look back again and again4 ,the great silent sea held for us the awful fascination of death4 ,there was a road of a sort across the plain to the ,jordan4 ,when the river is in flood this plain is covered inches deep with ooze1 rank vegetable growths spring up1 the brown bushes are green1 clouds of mosquitoes1 scorpions1 vipers and all manner of crawling things make their home here for a season2 but now there were only long cracks that crossed and recrossed in the dried mud4 ,twice our wheels spun round in pockets of soft gray clay1 but small thick boards1 a spade and dry sand helped us out4 ,a turn and we could see the river6 ,to one who has never studied the geography of ,palestine or to whom books of travel are strangers1 that first sight of the ,jordan must bring far greater disappointment than to one in a way prepared for the dark1 muddy stream whose swift current hurries on ceaselessly1 gathering silt as it goes4 ,within its normal banks it is such a narrow stream6 ,we stopped for a moment in the house where sweet ,turkish coffee and oranges were served us and where the boats used by fishermen and by tourists who like to row across to touch the land of ,moab lay moored to a tiny wharf4 ,the banks were steep here and soft willows bent over them4 ,we sat down in the little boat that swung lazily at its moorings4 ,it seemed the strangest and the most wonderful of rivers1 this little muddy stream6 ,over it the great hosts of ,israel passed2 along its banks ,john1 coming out of the desert1 preached the kingdom of heaven to the multitude2 and here came even ,jesus ,himself to be baptized in the waters ,his presence made sacred4 ,we dipped our bottles carefully into the stream and filled them with water as all pilgrims do4 ,we listened to the stories of the feast days when pilgrims come down to the river to worship there2 we read the story of ,naaman and understood why the proud leper of the king's court1 even at the command of the stern prophet1 hesitated to bathe in its waters4 ,we lived in another day4 ,proud armies marched over the plain toward ,jericho and we could almost hear ,joshua's ringing commands4 ,we were brought back to our own day suddenly by the sound of a voice1 a very ,american voice1 singing in the distance1 8,roll1 ,jordan1 ,roll40 ,we looked at each other in amazement4 ,after a moment's silence the voice rang out again1 nearer now3 8,some day ,i'm going to murder the bugler6 ,some day you're going to find him dead6 ,i'll amputate his reveille ,and stamp upon it heavily1 ,and spend the rest of my life in bed40 ,we climbed out of the boat and up the bank4 ,a man in the early thirties stood there with a sapling1 root and all1 in his hand4 ,he was an ,american working with the ,british under a commission for reforestation4 ,he was most enthusiastic over his work and painted for us a wonderful picture of the hills1 now bare and desolate1 and the banks of the river1 with the low scrubby growth1 transformed some future day into valuable fruit and olive orchards1 irrigated pastures1 great stretches of light timberland4 ,jamil shook his head4 8,there is much talk these days about the changes that are coming to this land1 but we shall see--we shall see and then we shall believe10 he said4 ,our friend went into the little house for food and rest and we stood in silence watching the stream which artists for centuries have painted1 the river which has always stood for separation1 under whose spell poets have written their sad hymns--watched it rushing on pouring more and more water into the ,sea that is ,dead4 ,the dunes1 yellow and gray1 between which we rode on to ,jericho were round as though a giant hand had played with them1 smoothed them over1 and left them there4 ,twice we passed low stone houses with cisterns of water cut in deep rock hidden below the surface1 and there were oranges and green things in the garden in the midst of the desert4 ,it was cooler and the air was soft and balmy4 ,the walls of ,jericho--,city of ,palms--though now there are none1 had indeed fallen1 but there was no fear upon the faces of the people4 ,the once mighty city is now but an ordinary village of lower class ,arabs1 with a supply station1 a few shops1 and the hotel where ,british officers live4 ,traces of recent battle over the very ground where the men of ,joshua had routed the ancient enemy were all about us4 ,the story of the taking of ,jericho from the ,turks by ,british troops when the river at its flood had to be bridged by boats and the temperature ran to #abj and more1 is as thrilling1 as fascinating1 and as triumphant as that of ,joshua himself4 ,passing through the center of the town1 we came to the orange groves4 ,the air was fragrant with the perfume of thousands of jonquils growing wild along the edges of the irrigated section4 ,the children offered two huge bunches for sale and we rejoiced in them4 ,our driver took twenty bunches for a friend to sell in ,jerusalem4 ,he tucked them away neatly in the folded top of the car4 ,we bought delicious oranges and our machine became a chariot of delight4 ,we went out to ,elijah's ,spring1 whose waters1 made sweet and wholesome by the prophet1 were responsible for the luxuriant flowers and delicious fruit1 past the home of ,rahab who had saved the spies in ,joshua's day1 stopping for a moment at the spot where the sycamore tree had sheltered the rich publican ,zacchus when he determined to see ,jesus4 ,it was easy to imagine the consternation that filled the city when it became known that ,jesus had commanded him to come down because ,he would be a guest in his house that day--the house of a publican4 ,it was on this road1 too1 that ,bartimus met ,jesus and1 despite the demand of the multitude that he be quiet1 continued to cry aloud until the ,healer saw him1 opened his eyes and set his soul on fire with gratitude4 ,how close the multitude must have pressed in those narrow streets1 as driven by curiosity and longing for help1 they followed ,him6 ,how often the body and soul of the ,master must have cried out for the shelter of the mountain1 the stillness of that waiting desert where in the night ,god could come very near with a new message and new strength for the coming day6 ,it was at times like these1 when half carelessly they pointed out to us the spots where on common days ,jesus passed by1 changing forever the lives that ,he touched1 that we loved ,him4 ,the sun was creeping on toward the horizon4 ,we must turn back toward ,jerusalem4 ,every foot of the road the driver assured us he knew4 ,he would leave us in the ,inn with the guide if we wished and send for us early in the morning1 but he would get back to ,jerusalem4 ,so would we and he was content4 ,he got all possible speed out of the car4 ,it must climb back over those thirty-five hundred feet we had come down such a short time since4 ,we stopped a moment to peer at the lonely monastery where monks still live on the ,mount of ,temptation and pray daily for all who are tempted4 ,the road which had been so lonely in the morning was stirring with life4 ,groups of ,arabs on horses and little swift-footed donkeys moved aside to let us pass4 ,twice at a signal from a man riding ahead on horseback we stopped to let a great caravan pass us4 ,the leading camels wore gorgeous trappings and tinkling bells4 ,once a camel without cargo1 following in dignified fashion behind two others1 stood perfectly still1 trembled1 then turned and ran ahead of us4 ,we were amazed to see how swiftly he ran4 ,in vain the rider of the other camel shouted and called4 ,had it not been for a friendly companion1 who1 coming down the hill1 drove his own camel straight across the path1 spoke soothingly to the great beast while a man on a donkey grasped his chain1 he might have led us a chase all the way to ,jerusalem4 ,they did not attempt to take their prisoner past us in the road but turned off into a deep defile4 ,when we looked back from the hilltop they were again on the road moving on toward ,jericho4 ,but most of the camels bearing their burdens merely sniffed and passed us by in scorn4 ,it grew very cold as we reached the heights and the discarded robes and coats were welcome4 ,we could see shepherds and sheep seeking places of shelter4 ,sometimes we caught glimpses of herds of goats reluctantly following or plunging ahead silhouetted against a soft violet sky4 ,the sun set calmly and we missed the blazing glory4 ,suddenly it was night4 ,we were glad to be well past the scene of our morning's mishap and nearing ,jerusalem4 ,when we stopped at the door of the hotel1 ,jamil gave a sigh of relief4 8,we have had a wonderful day10 we said4 8,we have had a day of miracles10 was his answer in a solemn1 devout tone4 ,both he and the driver were most happy a moment later when they received their extra fee4 ,dinner was over for most of the guests1 but we were given a warm corner and more food than it would be possible to eat in many meals4 ,we found that the entire hotel had joined in ,jamil's sigh of relief when we returned4 ,there was a snapping wood fire in the little stove and hot water bottles that made the great curtained beds seem more inviting4 ,the maid wished us 8sleep without dreaming40 ,but for a long time1 lying there in the darkness1 ,i dreamed with my eyes wide open4 ,dreamed of the forty years wandering in the wilderness while one generation passed and a new one was born4 ,dreamed of the kings and the prophets1 of ,david hunted like a wild thing through the desolate hills and caves1 of captives marching across the sands to ,babylon4 ,dreamed of the ,man who1 with weary feet1 in the heat and the dust walked about the ,jordan ,valley1 through ,jericho1 walked up the long1 long hills even to ,jerusalem with men and women following1 always seeking1 only a few sharing4 ,dreamed of the demand that ,he made upon all who did have the courage to share--that they love ,god--and the challenge that they love their fellow men as ,he loved them1 444 dreamed of the day when the challenge would be answered and the other man's welfare would become each man's passion4 ,i ,,go ,,to ,,bethany ,i tell you when ,i looked upon these fields1 ,and stony valleys1--through the purple veil ,of twilight1 or what time the ,orient sun ,made shining jewels of the barren rocks1-- ,something within me trembled2 for ,i said3 ,this picture once was mirrored in ,his eyes2 ,this sky1 that lake1 those hills1 this loveliness1 ,to ,him familiar were2 this is the way ,to ,bethany4 --,richard ,watson ,gilder4 ,i ,,go ,,to ,,bethany ,one afternoon when we were driving about the busy semi-modern streets that lie outside the walls of ,jerusalem we suggested to ,jamil1 our guide1 that some afternoon we walk to ,bethany4 ,he answered briefly that it was too far and turned to call our attention to the well-equipped postoffice1 the modern looking shops1 the ,italian hospital1 the well-built hospices of the ,french1 ,italians and ,russians which before the war were thronged at the feasts with devout pilgrims4 ,there was an atmosphere of western life about the outer city4 ,signs over some of the shops looked amazingly like ,new ,york's ,east ,side4 ,books1 pictures and maps1 school supplies1 men and boys' clothing of every sort1 girls and women on the streets dressed in ,european fashion1 together with ,cairo papers in ,french and ,english1 helped us to see the trend of the new1 growing city without the walls4 ,the streets were wide and well kept4 ,the church of ,st4 ,george was an artistic1 beautiful reminder of the reason why the word of the capture of the ,holy ,city had been received with solemn joy in every ,english household4 ,we passed the dignified ,damascus ,gate and the ,sheep ,gate before which camels knelt grunting and little groups of sheep huddled close each around its shepherd2 lorries passed us on the road1 then a motor taking ,general ,storrs to confer with the ,high ,commissioner on important business4 ,we stopped to visit the ,british ,high ,school for girls1 doing its work against great odds in a former ,german orphanage poorly equipped for school work4 ,the girls of twelve nationalities with most excellent sprit de corps were studying there2 the principal1 a real educator1 formerly head of the girls' school at ,beirut had wise1 far-seeing plans for the future of the school and1 through it1 for the welfare of the city4 ,as ,i listened to them ,i wished that my purse were well filled that ,i might make some of them possible now in the day of crisis when the whole future of ,palestine is in the making4 ,surely there are new paths through old ,palestine4 ,when we again entered the city through the ,jaffa ,gate it seemed centuries older than when we had left it1 so great was the contrast between the air1 sunshine1 and breathing spaces outside the walls and the narrow1 dark1 and crowded little cobble-stoned alleys1 shared by man and beast1 where no full ray of sun ever shines4 ,only the flat roofs of the houses save the people within the city from life in a semi-dungeon4 ,it was this plunge back into the city of age-old days and deeds that made us long the more to walk leisurely to ,bethany and so1 on ,saturday night1 we told ,jamil we should not need him until ,monday morning at nine4 ,we left the city just after noon on ,sunday by ,st4 ,stephen's ,gate1 stopping reverently for a few moments close by the steep hillside to think of the brave words of the young martyr as he looked into the hard faces of his accusers and his wonderful address1 recalling to them each step of their history and the reason for each great defeat4 ,we remembered the daring words3 8,which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted8 and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the ,just ,one2 of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers3 who have received the law by the disposition of angels1 and have not kept it40 ,in fierce anger they ground their teeth and hissed their reproaches at him4 ,but he did not even see them4 ,suddenly1 looking up to heaven1 they heard him saying1 8,behold1 ,i see the heavens opened and the ,son of ,man on the right hand of ,god40 ,it was enough4 ,seizing him1 they rushed him through the narrow street and cast him out of the city4 ,they laid their garments at the feet of a keen young man named ,saul1 who watched with approval as they hurled down upon their helpless1 suffering victim the jagged stones of the hillside4 ,but above the noise of their mutterings of revenge the young man ,saul heard the words of prayer3 8,lord ,jesus1 receive my spirit40 ,and again1 8,lord1 lay not their sin to their charge40 ,and ,stephen died--but ,saul never forgot4 ,from ,st4 ,stephen's ,gate the smooth1 broad road makes a steep descent down to the valley of the brook ,kedron1 then it climbs again around the shoulder of ,olivet1 where we stopped to look back at the city with the dome of the mosque of ,omar glistening in the sun4 ,the air was clear and the hills1 with the light1 shifting clouds above them1 changed color every moment4 ,jamil had told us that the hills about ,jerusalem bore always 8a luxuriant crop of stones0 and his words seemed true indeed1 a crop made even more abundant by the heavy shell-fire of the months past4 ,still1 in little square patches between the ridges1 men were plowing4 ,one plowman had a thin1 patient ox and a donkey together under what seemed a heavy yoke4 ,here and there thick vines leaned against sunny walls as in the days when ,jesus used them for the text of ,his great sermon 8,i--the vine3 ye--the branches4 ,without me1 ye can do nothing40 ,it was when we walked out a little from the main road to ,bethany to look over into a deep valley that we saw a carpenter at work in his sunny yard1 making yokes for the oxen4 ,he worked deftly with his clumsy tools at his primitive bench4 ,the court-yard was swept clean1 save for the corner where the shavings fell4 ,there were green things growing in a garden4 ,after a moment a woman appeared in the doorway4 ,she looked curiously at us but answered our smile4 8,ing-leesh80 she queried4 ,we shook our heads4 8,american10 we said very distinctly4 ,the man at the bench turned quickly4 ,a shower of words in the ,hebrew tongue and a motion to wait answered us4 ,the woman hurried into the house and was back in a moment with a photograph in her hand--a man1 a woman1 two children4 ,the photograph was taken in ,new ,york6 ,she pointed proudly to the word4 ,as we were about to leave1 being limited to conversation by means of nods1 smiles and gestures only1 a boy came from the rear of the house4 ,he had great1 dark1 dreamy eyes1 his head was a mass of thick curls1 in his hands he had two irregular blocks of wood which he gave to his father4 ,he smiled at us shyly1 but turned to look again with frank interest and curiosity when his mother repeated the word ,american4 ,it was hard to tear ourselves away from this picture of the carpenter with his little son and the mother at the door1 but there was no excuse for lingering4 ,we could only hope that this young son of a carpenter might sometime know the story of that other ,son1 of whose early days in the village of ,nazareth he served so forcibly to remind us4 ,illustration3 ,it was here that ,he came to talk with one who seemed to understand--and there were so few4 ,it is not a long walk to ,bethany1 a little over four miles they told us1 and we soon saw the low gray stone houses with their roofs of mud not far ahead4 ,as we approached the village1 a veritable host of children rushed to meet us1 calling1 with a score of accents1 words supposed to be ,english4 ,at first we covered our ears then motioned to one child to speak4 ,we learned that they were offering their services as guides4 ,the moment we appeared to understand1 the babel began again4 8,mary and ,martha10 they called4 8,simon-,lazarus1 ,i will show40 ,when we spoke they listened1 but only for a moment4 8,you cannot all be our guides10 ,i said4 8,if you all follow we will go back to ,jerusalem and no one will have back-sheesh--not one4 ,we shall not look at the house of ,mary and ,martha40 ,the tallest among them1 a lad of fourteen1 he told me afterward1 evidently repeated our words and he emphasized them with a flourish of a stout cane which he carried4 ,he showed us a soiled card with a name written upon it which he said was his4 ,we chose him and one other guide1 a little girl of six who had pointed to herself proudly1 saying1 8,i know--,i know1 ,mary--,martha--,lazarus40 ,at a word from a villager passing on his donkey the children scattered and it was a great relief4 ,our young guide knew the method perfectly4 ,driving the dogs out of the way with his cane1 he led us up a steep path to the house of a man who was a dwarf1 badly crippled4 ,he was to take us to the tomb of ,lazarus which he did1 when we had paid the piastres he asked4 ,he insisted upon telling us the story before we went down the long winding stone steps worn smooth by the passing of men's feet for centuries4 ,he told it in very graphic fashion4 ,we had only the dripping candles to light our way4 ,following him1 we could hear his call at each turn1 8,have care6 ,have care60 ,we decided not to make the entire descent of sixty steps but contented ourselves with looking down from the fortieth step into the black pit below4 ,the air and sunshine were most welcome when we climbed back and1 giving more piastres for the shepherds' slings the old dwarf took from his pocket1 we left him happy4 ,we stood for a few moments at the entrance to the tomb1 thinking of all that spot had meant in the centuries since it was recorded that1 in warm human sympathy with the suffering sisters1 8,jesus wept40 ,we stood a long time on the wall of the ruins that covered the spot where the home of the three friends of ,jesus had stood4 ,it looked out over the valley on one side and toward ,jerusalem on the other4 ,our guides1 big and little1 sat down on the stones and were silent4 ,nowhere in our journeys through ,palestine did we trouble our souls over the arguments of men as to exact spots and identical places4 ,if not to the place of this ruined wall1 then to some spot near by ,jesus came4 ,came to receive rest for ,his body and comfort for ,his soul4 ,came to forget for the moment ,jerusalem with its noise and confusion1 its need and its hate4 ,came to talk with one who seemed to understand and sympathize--and there were so few4 ,what it would mean to us today if we could know the many things about which ,jesus talked that have never been recorded for us6 ,we remembered that it was from ,bethany over the hills through which we had come that ,jesus made his way to ,jerusalem on the day when ,he found the colt and rode triumphantly through the streets to the temple1 amidst the shouted hosannas and waving palms that filled the ,pharisees with jealous anger4 ,it was here that he may have spent the nights of that last crowded week until the night of the ,supper when he sought the ,garden4 ,one could feel1 standing there looking toward ,jerusalem1 something of the agonizing sorrow that swept over that household when they learned of the trial that was a mockery of justice and the condemnation of their beloved friend to death on a cross4 ,when we were ready to leave1 the young guide asked if we would like to go into one of the houses and see the upper room where a guest may sleep4 ,we hesitated to walk in this fashion into a home but he explained that we were sure of a welcome and a little back-sheesh would pay4 ,the upper room was a dean and quiet spot4 ,there were small woven rugs1 a cot with handmade covers spread over it4 ,a bed roll stood in the corner4 ,there was a heavy metal basin for washing and two lamps1 ages old1 filled with oil4 ,the window was open toward the road that leads to ,jericho4 ,it was a place where one might rest his soul4 8,many guests came to this room before the war10 said the boy1 8the family is large4 ,some live far away in ,damascus4 ,they come for the feasts4 ,but not since the war--there is not money and some have died40 ,the back-sheesh was accepted gratefully with many words of thanks by the two women below--one very young with a baby in her arms4 ,our next stop was at the spot where once had stood the home of ,simon the leper where a woman did the ,great ,teacher high honor as she broke her very precious box of alabaster and1 in an abandonment of love and gratitude1 poured the fragrant perfume over ,his head4 ,we could hear the petulant voices of those who complained because the ointment had not been sold for a good price and the money given to the poor4 ,but ,jesus understood4 8,this is all for ,bethany10 said the guide of fourteen years4 8,it is not large and it is poor40 ,we did not need his words to make us realize it4 ,the little girl who had called herself guide so proudly had not spoken a word1 but1 as she had climbed over the steep places1 had waited patiently1 had listened intently to the boy1 and had given us at every turn a smile which we remembered for many a day1 she had earned her fee4 ,when she received it she ran madly toward a house near by and disappeared4 ,the boy walked with us courteously to the edge of the village4 ,in response to our query as to where he had learned ,english he said1 8,off a merchant ,i worked for since ,i was six4 ,he lives just outside the city40 ,the 8off0 with which he began his sentence sounded as though the merchant might at one time have lived in ,america4 ,at the outskirts of the village1 where we had met them as we entered1 were the children4 ,they ran beside us shrieking 8back-sheesh0 and holding out their very dirty little hands4 ,we shook our heads vehemently4 ,it meant nothing4 ,then we stopped and reminded them that we had paid our two guides and all the people who had helped us1 but that they had done nothing for us4 8,we are poor10 said a girl with a baby in her arms as though that were reason enough for her demand4 ,i shall never forget the thin face1 the piercing black eyes of a boy1 perhaps ten4 8,america rich10 he said1 8plendy1 plendy1 plendy money40 ,there was the deepest reproof in his voice4 8,some people are very poor10 ,i said1 8the children cry for bread4 ,in the winter they are very cold4 ,there are many very poor people in ,america40 8,no10 said the boy stoutly1 and ,i saw that he did not believe me1 but he repeated what ,i had said to the others4 ,it was very hard to refrain from giving them money1 but we remembered the request that we should not help to train a new generation of beggars and steeled our hearts4 ,when we started on again a few accompanied us but we paid no attention and one by one they dropped out1 having followed us almost a mile4 ,some said good-bye cheerfully1 others made gestures of disgust4 ,one lone lad still walked patiently beside us4 ,he had great hollows under his eyes and1 now that we could see him separated from the others1 we noticed how very thin and pale he was1 how ragged and dirty4 ,in his arms he carried a baby whose eyes were in a pitiable condition1 one so swollen that it was entirely closed4 ,he said faintly in a weak1 tired voice1 8back-sheesh--back-sheesh0 over and over4 ,he looked as though in dogged determination he would follow us back to the city gates4 ,unable to resist the pleading we yielded1 gave him some coins1 watched the light come into his eyes1 saw him turn and make his way slowly back--one of these little ones who so easily perish while waiting for the coming of the kingdom of ,god--the kingdom that ,jesus said was theirs4 ,it may be that the school now being opened in the little village will help to bring them their rights4 ,when we told ,jamil next day of the children he said1 8,ah1 that is why you should have me6 ,the guide saves you4 ,you should not go alone1 and walking you cannot get away40 8,where are the parents of these children10 we asked4 8,poor10 he said slowly1 8very1 very poor4 ,always poor and the war has made it very hard4 ,it will be better now1 but they have learned bad habits40 ,a turn in the road and the village was entirely out of sight4 ,we overtook a flock of sheep and for a time walked slowly behind them4 ,the bleating of the lambs who seemed weary sounded like the voices of the children4 ,the shepherd turned into a narrow path between the hills1 called in clear1 urging cadences1 and the sheep followed him4 ,we climbed up from the road and sat on the rocks under gnarled old trees4 ,a tower on the mount of ,olives stood out clear against the sky4 ,we read aloud of the ,holy ,city from the words of the prophets and the ,psalms of ,david4 ,night would soon steal down over the valleys1 so reluctantly we moved on past a cluster of tiny stone houses1 past the cemetery of the ,hebrews1 when1 flying up the hill at reckless speed1 shaking us rudely back from the past into the present1 came a motor rushing toward ,bethany4 ,bethany that seemed to be out of the world of motors6 ,it was the doctor's car from the hospital1 they told us when we described it4 ,just before the road drops abruptly into the valley we stopped to look again at the ,city4 ,there was always something strangely gripping in the sight4 ,the words of ,jesus wrung from ,him as1 in deep compassion that was agony1 ,he looked at the ,city1 feeling the weight of its sin1 its pain1 its need1 came back to us--8,o1 ,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem1 that killeth the prophets and stoneth them that are sent unto her6 how often would ,i have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings1 and ye would not60 ,we hurried on through ,st4 ,stephen's ,gate4 ,on the hills it was light but in the narrow streets with their gateways and buttresses it was quite dark4 ,we took out our faithful flashlights1 and with our canes to help over the shadowed steps went rapidly up to the hotel that stood as a strong and sheltering friend in the faint glow that still lingered in the western sky4 8,not much in ,bethany10 they said to us at the desk as they had said of ,bethlehem4 8,too far to walk for the few stone houses and the ruins40 ,how could they know what we saw in ,bethany8 ,how could they know the overwhelming sympathy that surged in upon us as we stood on the walls of 8the house of ,mary and ,martha10 looked upon the hills and valleys ,he saw in their purpling shadows1 thought how much harder the friendship and fellowship of that home must have made it to remain true to the message that was to take ,him to ,jerusalem to die1 thought of the short day of triumph1 waving palms and lavish praise1 thought of his youth and his glorious undaunted soul6 ,no1 they did not know what we saw in ,bethany4 ,i ,,go ,,out ,,to ,,the ,,mount ,,of ,,olives ,he turneth a wilderness into a pool of water1 ,and a dry land into watersprings ,and there he maketh the hungry to dwell1 ,that they may prepare a city for habitation1 ,and sow fields and plant vineyards4 ,instead of the thorn shall come up the figtree2 and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree3 and it shall be to ,jehovah for a name1 for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off4 ,the latter glory of this place shall be greater than the former1 and in this place will ,i give peace1 saith ,jehovah4 --,the ,bible4 ,i ,,go ,,out ,,to ,,the ,,mount ,,of ,,olives ,before we met our carriage at the ,damascus ,gate to ride out to the farthest point on the ,mount of ,olives we walked through ,david ,street to the ,wailing ,place of the ,jews4 ,every book we had studied warned us of the unspeakable condition of the narrow filthy streets in this ,jewish quarter of ,jerusalem the ,golden4 ,but they were all written before ,british arms had captured the ,holy ,city and1 even in these short months1 made it in so many ways a new ,jerusalem4 ,in the windows of the shops we had seen the quaint pictures of the water-carrier with his leather bag1 but not one had we seen in the streets of the city4 ,the menace of the water bag with its myriad germs is already a thing of the past4 ,for the first time in all its long history1 under rulers of many great faiths and names1 the ,city has water1 plenty of water1 fresh1 clear1 safe4 ,what that simple statement means can be appreciated only by those who know by experience what a priceless boon water is to cities that have little4 ,one could change the whole record and history of ,oriental cities with water systems6 ,when the history of ,palestine in the war is fully recorded1 one of the most thrilling chapters will be written about the lead pipes now standing boldly in the city streets two feet above the ground1 capped by very modern shining faucets4 ,the girls and women who come to them with their water jars beamed with joy as they watched the silver stream pouring out in the sun4 ,for four hundred years the ,turks ruled in ,jerusalem and in all that time no attempt was made to establish a water system although more than once the inhabitants were taxed with the promise of water that was some day to come4 ,in a little over two months the ,british engineers had brought running water into every street of the city4 ,new paths are so rapidly making their way through old ,palestine6 ,for its water ,jerusalem had depended upon winter rains to fill its great cisterns4 ,the houses had underground reservoirs1 some of which had not been cleaned in more than twenty years4 ,at the ,mosque of ,omar was a large reservoir where the water from the springs about ,solomon's ,pools flowed down through a great aqueduct built by the ,romans when ,herod ruled over the ,jews4 ,the searching engineers had found springs in the hills with fresh1 pure water running to waste and1 at the rate of fourteen thousand gallons an hour1 it is now pumped up to the top of a high hill1 run by gravity down through a long pipe-line to a great reservoir that has been built and carefully protected on the outskirts of the city4 ,direct lines take this pure water to the hospitals and into the city streets4 ,despite the shrinking of the population1 caused by the evacuation of the ,turk1 more than ten times as much water has been used as in previous years1 which silences the oft-repeated statement that the people would not appreciate the water if they had it4 ,we were interested to learn that some of the pipes had been sent to ,egypt to be forwarded for use in ,palestine by the ,american ,red ,cross ,commission after we entered the war4 ,but the ,commission found that the need for water which we had anticipated had been practically answered by the ,royal ,engineers4 ,one is deeply impressed by the change in the record of contagious diseases4 ,the reduction in cholera1 smallpox1 typhoid1 and typhus is remarkable4 ,even under the sound of booming guns1 children's welfare bureaus were organized1 lessons in health given1 nurses trained and kitchens opened to provide food for the babies1 the sick and the old4 ,the workers of the ,american ,red ,cross deserve and receive full gratitude for their enthusiastic and intelligent work in and about the ,city in those days immediately following its surrender4 ,the people on ,david ,street seemed to have lost something of the fear that writers of the past saw in their haunted faces4 ,it may be the fact that now they are free4 ,the old-time pressure and petty persecution by corrupt officials is past4 ,the ,turkish prison no longer yawns threateningly4 ,a trader may go unmolested about his work4 ,the heavy taxation demanded in the past by a succession of officers1 from the least to the greatest1 has disappeared4 ,contentment not known for untold generations reigns in humble homes4 ,illustration3 ,from the brow of the ,mount of ,olives where they lay sleeping under white crosses--these also 8fling to us the torch40 ,it may be for this reason that on both occasions of our visit to the ,wailing ,place there were but few present and they were old men1 old women1 and some very young children4 ,young manhood was not there1 it was hard at work4 ,many of the older boys and girls were in school4 ,the leader of the group chanting the ,lamentations that morning was an old white-haired patriarch with eyes of fire4 ,he was the only one of the group that did not interrupt his wailing to look at us4 ,one tall1 strong1 impressive specimen of womanhood moved along the line to quiet some women whose wailing had become a piercing shriek or to straighten out a child who irreverently chased a playmate up and down the path4 ,the guide said that her name was ,miriam and that she had a son with much money in ,england4 ,erect and fine1 forceful and devout1 she reminded us of that other ,miriam who led her people to victory4 ,here and there one saw women's strong faces stained with tears and marked with suffering4 ,they leaned against the foundation stones of the old ,temple area in an abandonment of emotion and sorrow4 ,near the end of the line was a very old man leaning tremblingly upon his staff4 ,jamil said that he was repeating one phrase over and over4 8,o ,god1 the heathen are come into thine inheritance60 ,his voice was bitter and full of anguish4 ,a great wave of pity swept over us for these and all they have suffered1 and yet survived4 ,against those massive walls of the past1 ,babylonian1 ,assyrian1 and ,egyptian had hurled their hosts and battered them to earth4 ,they had risen again only to meet the ,roman and the ,saracen1 the brave ,crusader and the unspeakable ,turk until in very truth they lay 8in heaps40 ,piled one above another1 the various cities lie waiting until the hammer and spade of the excavator shall open up all their secrets for us4 ,buried deep down in the earth is that early city of the ,jebusites1 over it the glorious city of ,solomon1 the city heroically brought again into being by ,nehemiah1 the city of ,herod which ,titus hammered into ruins and ,hadrian rebuilt1 above it the city of the ,saracens built after their wave of conquest1 the city of the ,crusaders1 and now the city of the ,turks1 standing boldly above the ruins of the long past4 ,it stands1 the protected property of a new conqueror who loves it1 whose army chose the hardest road to victory to save it from the marks of war1 whose people have come into it with knowledge that they may overcome its ignorance1 a conqueror who bears no malice1 who is tolerant of the ,jew and the ,mohammedan though he worships at the ,cross which they hate4 ,as if reading our thoughts1 the guide said quietly1 8,some day it will be only the wall for the wailing that we shall see4 ,there will be no more need for wailing1 and the children will forget4 ,so the young prophets among the ,jews say in the markets4 ,we shall see40 ,we walked through a section of the ,temple area and out past the ,austrian ,hospice through the ,damascus ,gate where1 according to agreement1 the carriage waited4 ,the road out to the spot where the ,mount of ,olives drops abruptly to the plain has been repaired1 stray shell holes filled in and a large section of new road built since that wonderful day when the last line of ,turks were driven from the position they thought secure4 ,the air was as clear as an ,october day at home and the shining city 8compact together0 seemed substantial and strong4 ,it was along the high ridge of ,olivet that1 in the pressure of the days when relief workers toiled twelve and fifteen hours without respite1 they came to renew their strength4 ,in the home of the ,greek ,patriarch more than one strong soul1 overcome for the moment by the ceaseless stream of dirty1 hopeless1 despairing human things that he must strive to save from the wreckage of war1 found1 in the white moonlight sifting down over the hill1 in the kindly stars1 in the silence and in sacred memories1 courage to attempt again tasks that had been called impossible4 ,we had been gazing so steadily at the city that when the driver suddenly stopped we turned in surprise4 ,there on a gently sloping stretch of ground1 close to the road at the left1 stood row after row of crosses over the resting places of ,scot and ,londoner1 ,welshman and ,irishman1 ,indian and ,anzac who had paid for the ,holy ,city with his life4 ,on some of the crosses fresh green garlands were hanging1 and on one a wreath with ,english holly4 ,we got down from our carriage and walked slowly along1 looking now at the crosses and now at the place where in agony of soul ,christ had prayed for the strength to meet the test of ,calvary that has made the ,cross forever the symbol which shall mark the spots on earth most sacred to us4 ,these lying out on the hillside had also been to ,calvary4 ,a little farther on in the road we passed men in the ,british uniform4 ,they had survived the terrible test of those wind-swept hills with the rain falling in torrents1 the benumbing cold1 the soft1 thick1 gray mud1 the night in the open with no shelter save a little wall of stones built up with care only to be blown over by a sudden vicious blast1 with little food and only the ammunition that could reach them on the backs of the pack donkeys4 ,it was through this they had won that peaceful city lying contentedly there in the sun1 even the shining dome of its ,mohammedan ,mosque unharmed4 ,the ,german hospice1 ,kaiserin ,augusta ,victoria1 lies out on this road4 ,it is exceedingly well built and untouched by shell fire4 ,although the ,turk utterly demolished the mosque of ,nebi ,samwill and shot away its stately minaret1 he turned no gun on this that was ,german property4 ,even when his airmen1 flying over ,olivet1 knew that an enemy signal station had been set up in the garden of the hospice no shot fell upon it4 8,this house10 said ,jamil1 8is like a ,german castle on the inside4 ,the tower was built higher than any tower on the ,mount1 the trees set out with care4 ,the picture of the ,saviour is painted in the chapel and the pictures of the ,kaiser and the ,kaiserin are on the long wall4 ,it was common talk at the beginning of the war that the ,crown ,prince should live here when he became ,king in ,palestine4 ,now it is the ,headquarters for the ,british ,army4444 ,it is the ,will of ,god60 he added solemnly after a moment4 ,we took a picture of the hospice with two ,british ,tommies standing at the gate4 ,we had to leave our carriage and walk to the point where the ,greek ,church tower looks down over the stretch of rugged upland crossed by many a wadi1 over the walled-in level spaces where green things were growing1 over the plains of the ,jordan and the ,dead ,sea so blue in the distance1 away to the far mountains of ,moab4 ,it was a wonderful picture at which one could look for long hours and come back to enjoy again and again4 ,it was from this point of vantage that the relief workers watched the taking of ,jericho4 ,in the grove we found the 8husks that swine did eat10 lying about on the ground4 ,jamil picked one of the long brown pods from the tree and under the pressure of his urging we tasted it4 ,it was sweeter than sugar cane1 nauseatingly sweet4 ,it took no imagination to understand why one would accept it as food only as a last resort4 ,in this grove we found the hyssop which the women at the hospice use both as medicine and for the whitening of their clothes4 ,in a sunny sheltered spot we found violets1 although we were wearing our warmest wraps4 ,jamil sat down on a stone to talk with a workman while we1 wandering about on the slopes of the hill1 found a warm sheltered spot looking toward ,mount ,moriah4 ,in all the days that we were in ,jerusalem we could not fully sense the fact that the ,christian was now free to visit all the sacred places1 that the ,temple area was open to him1 that he might enter the sacred ,mosque of ,omar which once it had been death to enter4 ,the ,turk had gone6 ,we took out the ,book and read the old instructions for the building of the ,tabernacle1 read the orders for the building of ,solomon's temple and the majestic words of its dedication when at last the building was finished3--8and ,solomon stood before the ,altar and said--#8,o ,jehovah1 ,god of ,israel1 there is no ,god like thee in heaven above or on the earth beneath2 who keepest covenants in loving kindness with thy servants that walk before thee with all their hearts4444 ,but will ,god in very deed dwell on the earth8 behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee2 how much less this house that ,i have builded6444 ,when thy people ,israel are smitten down before the enemy because they have sinned against thee2 if they turn again to thee and confess thy name and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house then hear thou in heaven and forgive thy people ,israel and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to their fathers4'0 ,of ,solomon's ,temple scarce a vestige remains1 yet ,israel again is returning to the land of its fathers4 ,we read of the visits of ,jesus to the new temple which1 great as it was1 had so little of the glory of the old4 ,how it must have thrilled ,him1 a little country boy from the village of ,nazareth1 when ,he saw it for the first time at the great feast4 ,he seems to have had no fear1 as with all simplicity ,he pressed near to the great doctors of learning1 listening eagerly and asking keen questions1 the keenest questions that can be asked--those that leap from the alert and hungry mind of a boy of twelve4 ,and we read of that other day when ,he heard the quarrelings and cursings1 saw the gross wickedness of the bargainings of the money-changers and those who bought and sold the sacrifices1 and cried aloud in words of burning denunciation1 8,my house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer but ye have made it a den of thieves60 ,little wonder that the scribes and ,pharisees looked aghast at the crowds that pressed to hear as ,he taught daily in the temple1 or that they demanded by whose authority ,he did these things and asked each other helplessly what they could do1 since 8the people were very attentive to ,him10 and 8the whole world had gone after ,him40 ,in the temple courts how keen were ,his answers to their clever questioning designed to condemn ,him1 so keen that after awhile none dared ask ,him any more questions4 ,yet when the teaching was over and1 leaving the half-hostile1 half-admiring crowd1 ,he went out to the ,mount of ,olives to pray--then ,he knew that ,he must die4 ,it all seemed very real as we sat looking down upon the ,city4 ,so real that we dreaded to read of the days before ,him1 of the hard way that the rulers of the synagogue1 because of their jealous conservatism1 the desire to make their own places secure1 the fear lest the people should follow ,him as prophet and leave them as priests1 had already in their hearts condemned ,him to go4 ,so we closed the ,book4 ,leaving the carriage again at the ,damascus ,gate we wandered back past the convents1 through ,christian ,street4 ,the city was becoming a very live thing to us4 ,the children smiled at us as we passed through the narrow arcade to our hotel4 ,oranges and dainty soft spring flowers from the valley were in our room4 8,i have lived thousands of years today10 said my friend4 8,i have been fighting all the battles from the days of ,king ,david to the days of ,king ,george and ,i am weary40 ,i smiled in sympathy1 for one does not live in days or years in ,palestine but in centuries4 ,the march of events over broken cobblestones1 past walls crumbling with age1 catches one in its onward sweep and leaves him breathless as he hurries on from what has been to what is1 and from what is to what is to be4 ,we took up our ,american mail4 ,the steady tread of history's myriad marchers halted for a moment4 ,the clippings from the papers told us of the wedding of a girl whom we love4 ,across the top of the clipping was written in the girl's own hand1 8,unspeakable happiness4 ,the greatest day of my life60 ,names of guests1 the most minute details as to flowers and gowns followed4 ,in another clipping we read of the divorce of a girl we had known in school4 ,she had been married twenty years4 ,i remembered the account of her wedding4 ,in the hall we heard laughter4 ,marie was listening to the extravagant compliments of ,alphonse4 ,a letter from a boy of eleven asked for stamps from ,egypt and ,palestine4 8,i want them more than anything in the world10 he wrote4 ,the next letter brought a clipping making passing reference in six short lines to a critical misunderstanding in the ,far ,east4 ,while we were reading it1 a woman came to tell us a story of great sorrow and desperate need4 ,the wild storm of human wrath and revenge that swept over ,russia had left her1 who had never known anything but love1 happiness and plenty1 stranded1 utterly alone1 with not even a ruble of her vast estates4 ,it is a confusing world4 ,great events and small jostle each other along its highways4 ,wrapped securely about with affairs of self1 old and young fail to see the momentous hours of human destiny as they pass--pass so swiftly1 to leave them on some future day dumb with surprise1 aghast at the significance of the things which1 having eyes1 they saw not and1 having ears1 they heard not4 ,it is a most confusing and perplexing world1 but alas for him who does not love it1 pity for him who does not believe in it1 shame upon him who will not share the task of saving it4 ,tomorrow would be ,sunday and we would go to the ,garden4 ,i ,,go ,,to ,,the ,,garden ,who fathoms the ,eternal ,thought8 ,who talks of scheme and plan8 ,the ,lord is ,god6 ,he needeth not ,the poor device of man4 ,i walk with bare1 hushed feet the ground ,ye tread with boldness shod2 ,i dare not fix with mete and bound ,the ,love and ,power of ,god4 ,ye praise ,his ,justice2 even such ,his pitying love ,i deem3 ,ye seek a ,king2 ,i fain would touch ,the robe that hath no seam4 ,ye see the curse which overbroods ,a world of pain and loss2 ,i hear our ,lord's ,beatitudes ,his prayer upon the ,cross4 --,john ,g4 ,whittier4 ,i ,,go ,,to ,,the ,,garden ,light clouds hung over the city that ,sunday morning when we looked out at the tower of ,david1 one of the oldest monuments of ,jerusalem1 standing directly across the open space in front of our balcony4 ,it still looks the part it long played as a watch-tower and a place of refuge and strong defense4 ,the people call it the ,citadel1 and until the coming of the ,british it served as a garrison for ,turkish soldiers4 ,during our first days in ,jerusalem we had walked about ,mount ,zion1 had read of the various controversies waged over exact locations1 had gone into the ,house of ,caiaphas1 the ,house of ,annas1 and had looked at the upper room4 ,they may or may not have been the exact spots made tragic or sacred by that last week of the ,great ,life4 ,it did not matter to us4 ,the stone courtyards1 the little chapels1 the marks of ,crusaders' crosses1 the burial stones made us conscious indeed of the triumphs and tragedies of men and nations that had written themselves from that hilltop into the history of ,palestine and so into the making of the world4 ,it was very easy1 standing in that upper room1 bare now save for an ancient picture1 to imagine the long table1 the couches1 the reclining disciples4 ,one is almost overwhelmed as he realizes the effect of that simple supper of bread and wine upon the characters of succeeding generations of men4 ,what breaks in the ranks of ,christendom the varied interpretations of its significance have made6 ,to what heights of spiritual power1 to what depths of shame1 sorrow and repentance has it led those who1 following ,his request1 have celebrated it in remembrance of ,him4 ,in wonderful cathedrals1 in rude chapels1 in the lonely spots of earth1 in the jungle1 in the desert1 on the islands of the sea1 in the hospitals1 in prison1 on the fields of war kneeling before improvised altars within sight of the no man's land which tomorrow would be their graves1 men have heard the words3 8,as oft as ye eat this bread and drink this wine--0 ,how intensely ,he struggled1 in those hours in the upper room1 to make them understand that ,he loved them1 to lead them to a comprehension of the meaning of service1 to help them to accept the great commission ,his death would leave them to fulfil4 ,illustration3 ,copyright1 ,underwood ,underwood ,out there on the wind-swept hills1 without priest or altar1 we could better understand the words of the ,book4 ,we could almost hear the voice of our ,lord saying3 8,behold the hour cometh1 yea is now come1 that ye shall be scattered every man to his own and shall leave me alone3 yet--,i am not alone because the ,father is with me4 8,these things have ,i spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace4 ,in the world ye shall have tribulation1 but be of good cheer4 ,i have overcome the world40 ,it was easy to see ,peter standing by the fire in the place which they showed to us and to hear the cowardly words1 8,i never knew him10 but easier still1 as though a beam of light had fallen upon a dark picture1 to hear ,jesus saying1 8,tell my disciples and ,peter4444 ,peter1 lovest thou me8444 ,peter1 feed my sheep40 ,from the background of ,mount ,zion we went to the ,garden1 not to the formal garden of ,latin or ,greek1 with their chapels1 their neat little gardens1 their oranges and their olive trees planted about with fragrant flowers and green grass1 though they are very beautiful1 terraced there upon the steep sloping hillside4 ,we went instead to the ,armenian ,garden1 kept as nature made it1 a wall with the vine leaning over it1 a fallen trunk covered with doll moss1 and the olive trees1 large and small1 gray green with twisted boughs ages old1 grass as in a meadow1 with lilies of the field nodding here and there in sunny spaces1 though it was still winter4 ,a soft mist hung about the hill and settled in low lines over the ,garden4 ,in one of the trees1 hugging a branch1 was a tiny gray bird4 ,we could hear its song in the silence4 ,the friend who had come with us had been often in the ,garden4 ,he told us of the beautiful service of the ,relief ,workers here on ,easter morning1 of the night after ,allenby entered ,jerusalem when the workers filled with joy over the manner of the victory came to this sacred spot to pray in gratitude and for strength for the long wearying days of toil which lay ahead4 ,he told us of the ,armenian girl1 kneeling early one morning in the damp grass1 trying to repeat ,gethsemane's prayer4 ,she was a graduate of the ,american ,woman's ,college1 was teaching in a girls' high school when deportation orders came1 and from then until her rescue had been an ,arab's slave in his dirty tent4 ,it was very still4 ,the walls of the city shut out its sounds1 and it was too early for regular traffic along the road to ,bethany4 ,a ,british ,tommy climbed over the wall and sat upon a great rock under a gnarled old tree1 his hat in his hand4 ,pictures of the old masters painted on walls of cathedrals1 hanging in great galleries1 hymns tender and sweet that had thrilled the souls of thousands1 poetry that had comforted man in his deepest hours of need1 shadowy forms of ,crusaders who had dared the perils of sea and land1 hunger and thirst and the swords of the enemy1 the monk1 the pilgrim1 the student searching for truth3--all these passed before us under the olive trees and went out into the mist4 ,suddenly the day seemed to fade and that night of centuries ago came stealing into the ,garden4 ,kneeling there under the olive trees1 we saw ,love make its supreme sacrifice and were not ashamed of the overwhelming emotion that stirred our souls to greater depths than ever had been touched before4 ,we read the words softly--8if possible--if possible--nevertheless thy will be done40 ,the rest of the picture was not so hard to look upon for ,he had triumphed4 ,he rose from ,his prayer a ,conqueror4 ,there was more than one grassy hollow near the sheltering wall where the disciples might have slept in the open1 as did many at the time of the ,passover4 ,regretful1 ,he wakened them4 ,the ,roman soldiers with staves and smoking torches were coming down over the hill4 ,his doom was sealed4 ,what the law gave them no right to do1 misunderstanding1 cunning1 and craft had done4 ,judas kissed him4 ,we read the rest of the story from a little book that made it very plain4#a ,then we prayed1 but not with words--there were no words4 ,footnote #a3 ,by an ,unknown ,disciple--,hodder and ,stoughton4 ,on the little bridge that crosses over the ,kedron to the ,bethany road we stood for a long time looking back1 loathe to leave4 ,we remembered the white crosses of yesterday standing in long rows over there on the other side of the mount4 ,he was not alone in the ,garden6 ,with ,him there had gathered through the centuries an understanding multitude1 young and loving life as did ,he1 who had met their own ,gethsemanes and gone out from them bravely to die4 ,again we went through ,st4 ,stephen's ,gate and along the path where the ,roman guards had led their prisoner4 ,we stopped at ,pilate's ,hall4 ,like a king indeed he met the false testimony of his accusers1 the cynical questions of ,pilate1 the jesting soldiers who had seen many a man condemned to die but none who met the madness of a multitude that cried 8,crucify6 ,crucify60 with such dignity and calm4 ,no wonder ,rousseau cried aloud as he studied the story1 8,socrates died like a philosopher1 but ,jesus died like a ,god60 ,with what ardent devotion have the great artists of the past attempted to paint for us those scenes4 ,so vivid were they as we stood there in ,jerusalem1 looking up at the tower of ,antonius where ,jesus suffered the scourging1 that their reality pierced our souls4 ,when the fickle crowd left the hall shouting curses as they had shouted hosannas1 they moved along the narrow street which still bears the name ,via ,dolorosa4 ,opposite the ,pretorium is a convent4 ,in it are orphans and stray waifs picked up about ,palestine4 ,the ravages of war have added to the usual number and the place is crowded4 ,on this ,sunday they were at service1 and the clean happy faces as they sang made us feel that it was because of the ,sorrowful ,way over which ,he had walked that they were sheltered and fed4 ,although intended for ,jews1 ,turk and ,armenian1 ,jew and ,gentile sat together in the ,chapel of ,love and ,forgiveness4 ,it is under this convent1 many feet below the level of the present street that one finds bits of the old ,roman pavement over which the multitude1 curious1 cruel1 mocking1 followed ,him to the place of crucifixion4 ,each spot along the ,via ,dolorosa is marked--the place where the ,master took up ,his cross1 the turn in the narrow street where in answer to the tears and prayers of the women ,he said1 8,daughters of ,jerusalem1 weep not for me1 but weep for yourself and your children10 the spot where1 staggering from weakness1 ,he fell beneath ,his cross and ,simon lifted it and carried it to the hill of ,death1 dumbly sharing the ,saviour's pain4 ,at each place of suffering as we passed1 we saw men and women praying and making the sign of the cross4 ,all men walked silently4 ,via ,dolorosa1 since the coming of the ,british1 is scrupulously clean4 ,the houses of stone with beautiful doorways and old carvings on the doorposts make a solid unbroken wall on either side1 and very early the street is quite dark4 ,narrow and not even a mile in length1 it stands out in the memory above all the great highways of the world4 ,we did not follow the narrow streets to the ,church of the ,holy ,sepulchre where reverent worshipers were at that moment kneeling before the tomb1 or kissing the stone upon which are the marks of the three crosses4 ,it seemed incredible to us at first that this small church could cover both the spot which was called ,calvary and the tomb in the garden of ,joseph of ,arimathea4 ,within the church are the chapels of the ,greeks1 the ,romans1 the ,armenians and the ,copts4 ,in each are beautiful shrines with very precious lamps studded with jewels1 lamps that burn in honor of each of the four ,christian groups4 ,once there were four great doors of entrance to the ,church of the ,holy ,sepulchre1 but so frequent were the quarrels of those coming to worship that these doors were closed leaving only one way of entrance4 ,the key to this door is still held by a ,mohammedan according to the command of ,general ,allenby1 in memory of the fact that the ,caliph ,omar spared and continually protected this ,church4 ,priceless jewels are hidden within it1 the gifts of ,pilgrims from every land4 ,its treasury is the richest in the world4 ,jamil saw it when it was shown to the former ,german ,emperor for whom he interpreted1 but could never find it again1 so devious were the ways that led to it4 ,the ,kaiser's gift1 presented as with impressive ceremony he knelt to pray1 was of great value--in gold4 ,but it was not to this church of the ,holy ,sepulchre with its wonderful shrines1 its most sacred associations reaching back into the long past1 filled with memories of devout men and women1 rich and great1 poor and lowly1 young and strong1 weak and old1 who had reverently worshiped before the rent in the rock1 the place where the soldiers parted ,his garments1 the tomb in the solid stone down in the very bowels of the earth1 worn smooth as glass by the feet of pilgrims who1 like ,peter and ,john1 must stoop to enter it1 and ,golgotha1 reached by winding steps cut in the rock and leading up almost to the roof of the church--it was not this place which we sought as we came from the garden of ,gethsemane1 following ,him along the ,sorrowful ,way4 ,it was out on the hills beyond the ,damascus ,gate to the spot called ,gordon's ,calvary that we went1 not because we cared to enter into all the reasons why many believe it to be the place of suffering1 rather than the other1 but because out there on the wind-swept rocks under a darkening sky1 with a garden in the little valley and the tombs cut in solid rock1 their 8great stones0 lying near--out there with no priest and no altars it was easier to read the words of the ,book and try to understand them4 ,it was on this ,mount of ,calvary1 looking down upon the city1 that there came to us an overwhelming sense of the sin of selfishness and greed4 ,in the ruins of ,belgium we had felt it1 in the tumult of war on the battlefields of ,france we had seen what it could do1 in the records of the desperate struggles of the ,peace ,table we had caught glimpses of its power1 in ,china we saw its work1 in ,korea we looked upon its suffering victims1 and here on ,calvary the weight of the world sorely wounded and dismayed by sin1 pressed hard upon us4 ,it would not have been possible to bear had we not read also of the stone rolled away and the great triumphant ,victory4 ,a deep conviction settled down upon us until it possessed every muscle and fiber of body and mind1 until it possessed our souls--the thing that ,he preached and that only can save the world4 ,his great command that man love his ,god and serve his neighbor--this principle alone can rescue humanity from the abyss of chaos into which blind greed1 individual and national1 has plunged it4 ,as the pilgrims knelt at the ,holy ,sepulchre1 we knelt there under the open skies on the hill that is called ,calvary to accept again ,his first great commandment1 and the second that is like unto it1 in repentance and humility to pray for pardon for past failures and strength for new endeavors4 ,that night at evening service in clear soprano voice a boy in the choir sang3 ,there is a green hill far away ,without the city wall ,where the dear ,lord was crucified ,who died to save us all4 ,oh dearly1 dearly has ,he loved ,and we must love ,him too1 ,and trust in ,his redeeming blood ,and try ,his works to do4 ,there was no other good enough ,to pay the price of sin3 ,he only could unlock the gate ,of ,heaven and let us in4 ,oh dearly1 dearly has ,he loved ,and we must love ,him too1 ,and trust in ,his redeeming blood ,and try ,his works to do4 ,the echo of the last line followed us home4 ,there is work to be done--challenging1 mighty world-building tasks--and for the doing of them those who call themselves servants and followers of ,him whose brave1 suffering footsteps we had traced from the ,garden along the ,sorrowful ,way to ,calvary have waited too long4 ,i ,,go ,,down ,,into ,,egypt ,the strings of camels come in single file ,bearing their burdens o'er the desert sand2 ,swiftly the boats go plying on the ,nile ,the needs of men to meet on every hand4 ,but still ,i wait ,for the messenger of ,god who cometh late4 --,author ,unknown4 ,i ,,go ,,down ,,into ,,egypt ,it was sitting on a housetop overlooking ,jerusalem on the last day of our visit to the ,holy ,city that we heard in detail the story of the official entry of the ,british forces4 ,the woman who told us had spent the years of the war as well as most of her life in ,jerusalem though she is an ,american4 ,her children were born there1 she speaks many of its languages1 she knows its people and she loves it4 ,she is one of the women appointed by ,lord ,samuel1 the ,high ,commissioner1 to serve on an advisory council to assist the government in establishing policies for the protection and betterment of women4 ,she is the ,christian representative1 the others being ,mohammedan and ,hebrew4 ,the story1 as she told it1 revealing all the fear and anxiety of those hard years1 the pressure of uncertainty1 the daily1 hourly struggle for food with sufficient nourishment to keep the children and the old people alive1 made us feel again1 as so many times before1 the sharp stab of the fact that it is not those who bear arms alone who go to war4 ,little faces1 whose right it is to be round and rosy1 covered with smiles1 must be pale and wan1 yes1 must even forget how to smile1 as millions of little ones have forgotten since nineteen hundred and fourteen4 ,old faces1 whose right it is to bear the marks of peace and contentment after the struggle of the years1 must be left instead with marks of pain and anguish as have millions of the aged since nineteen hundred and fourteen4 ,he is a cruel monster1 ,war1 and if man1 after what he has seen these past years1 does not imprison him1 starve him1 and leave him to die1 then man deserves the bitterness of the fate that will be his4 ,illustration3 ,when we opened our eyes1 the ,nile lay almost at our feet4 ,threatened deportation1 first by the ,german1 then by the ,turk1 had been again and again postponed for the little group known as the ,american ,colony but finally word came that in ten days all must go4 ,the men of military age1 though neutral1 had been ordered away a week before and were expecting the arrival of a ,turkish officer at any moment1 to tell them the time had come4 ,food was very scarce1 there was no sugar1 little flour1 and no fats4 ,the woman who told us the story was herself doing all-day and sometimes all-night duty as a nurse in the ,red ,crescent ,hospital which was our present hotel4 ,some of the letters she showed to us proved what a consolation she must have been to the young ,british soldiers1 who lay with the ,turks1 prisoners1 and sorely wounded4 ,the thundering of the guns had been drawing nearer but1 despite rumors that crept into the streets and the hospital wards that the ,turks were slowly losing ground1 they themselves reported progress4 ,great airplanes droned over the city1 cannon roared in the hills4 ,one afternoon there was unusual commotion in the open space before the hotel and1 standing by the window1 our friend saw the ,germans making hurried preparations for leaving4 ,signal wires1 telephone wires1 rugs1 removable furniture1 tons of supplies1 went out through the ,jaffa ,gate4 ,the ,turkish ,general visited her--he must leave the wounded in her care4 ,the ,german doctors would go with the troops4 ,he would leave two days' provisions and medicines1 after that-- ,when he had gone1 half afraid to believe it1 she whispered the word to the ,british patients4 ,they were nearly mad with joy1 and there was little sleeping that night4 8,when8 ,when80 they would whisper as she or her helper passed them4 ,she could only answer1 8,i do not know4 ,we have provisions for two days40 ,very early in the morning1 before it was fully light1 the ,mayor of the city1 one of the direct descendants of ,mohamet1 sent her a message saying that he was about to surrender the city4 ,at half-past eight that morning the outposts saw the white flag approaching4 ,general ,shea was the officer sent by ,general ,allenby to accept the surrender of the city4 ,at half-past twelve ,jerusalem had passed into the hands of the ,british1 guards were placed at all public buildings1 and instructions given to the ,chief of ,police4 ,the joy of the people--,jew1 ,christian1 and ,moslem--was shown in the crowds that filled the street1 the tears and embraces1 the shrill cries in many tongues4 ,even the ,turkish sick and wounded in the hospital showed relief4 ,for the twenty-third time in its history ,jerusalem had surrendered4 ,but this time there were no cries for mercy1 no bitterness1 no wailing1 no terrible fear of the conqueror4 ,outside the walls the guns banged and hammered at the ,turkish defences4 ,much had to be done before ,jerusalem was safe from attack1 but although1 spurred on by advices from ,germany1 the ,turks made an attempt to recapture the ,city1 it was a disastrous failure4 ,one of the young men joined us on the roof and contributed his share of the description of the next thrilling days4 ,it was on ,december #aath1 #aiag1 that ,general ,allenby1 ,commander-in-,chief1 took formal possession of the ,city4 ,he would not enter through the break in the old wall made when the former ,kaiser with his great retinue entered as a ,crusader4 ,indeed orders have been given to have the break closed4 ,allenby would carry no flag4 ,on foot and accompanied by a ,guard that altogether numbered about one hundred fifty1 he stood on ,mount ,zion on the steps of the ,citadel at the entrance to ,david's ,tower4 ,he had been met outside the narrow gate by the ,guard representing all branches1 faiths and races that make up the ,british ,army4 ,behind him1 as he stood on the steps with his staff1 were the leading men of the ,city1 ready to listen to the reading of the ,proclamation4 ,there were no shouts of victory1 no trumpets1 no evidence of the spirit of triumph over a foe4 ,the ,proclamation was read in ,arabic and ,english1 in ,hebrew and ,greek1 in ,russian1 in ,french and ,italian4 ,as the people1 standing respectfully in the open spaces and upon the housetops1 heard each in his own tongue that all men might 8pursue their lawful business without fear10 and the promise that 8every ,holy ,place1 revered and held sacred by any faith1 will be defended and protected10 a look1 first of incredulity1 then of confidence1 passed over their faces4 ,many ,mohammedans ran from the square to repeat the words in homes from which some fearful ones had not dared to come4 ,murmurs and gestures of approval were given on every side4 ,the windows of the ,red ,crescent ,hospital were filled with faces of those who1 though very ill or badly wounded1 could not miss this significant moment of the ,great ,war4 ,all the promises made that day have been sacredly kept1 our friends told us4 ,in the old ,turkish barrack square the ,commander-in-,chief met the heads of all the religious communities4 ,the sheikhs in charge of the ,mosque of ,omar1 the representatives of the ,priests and ,patriarchs of the ,latin1 ,greek ,orthodox1 ,armenian1 and ,coptic churches who had been deported by the ,turks1 the heads of the ,jewish communities1 the ,syrian ,church1 the ,greek ,catholic1 the ,abyssinian and the ,anglican ,churches1 all were there4 ,it was indeed a cosmopolitan company as to religious faiths4 8,the bright color of the holiday dress which most of the people had put on1 ,i can see in detail at this moment10 said our friend4 8,not one step in that simple ceremony shall ,i ever forget4 ,in two hours1 leaving guards over all holy places1 with ,mohammedan officers and soldiers from the ,indian regiments to guard the ,mosque of ,omar1 the ,general walked back through the ,old ,jaffa ,gate as he had come1 received the salute of his troops1 entered his car and went down to the fighting area40 ,the relief workers took up the heavy burden of bringing food to the people whose thin bodies and pale faces showed the effect of months of starvation diet4 ,all supplies must come up over roads muddy and torn by heavy traffic1 crowded with army food and equipment that must have right-of-way4 ,the task was one that taxed patience and energies to the utmost4 ,the health commission assumed the equally great task of clearing the streets of unspeakable filth left in the wake of the ,turkish rule1 our friends shouldered their burden of securing medical attention and food for the sick1 helpless and wounded men4 8,only gradually10 said our friend walking up and down on the roof1 her cheeks flushed by the memories of days so vividly recalled1 8did we come to realize that this ,holy ,city was free4 ,it was as though we had been going about in heavy chains that1 suddenly taken from us1 had left us too dazed to move4 ,we unconsciously looked for old restrictions1 old threats1 old taxes suddenly to be laid upon us4 ,despite the glory of its past10 she added1 leaning far over the parapet to look out upon it1 8the ,city in all its long history was never so truly the ,city of ,zion as now40 ,when we went back to our hotel1 standing at the windows from which the wounded had looked1 we felt that though other scenes of many cities in many lands would fade with the years1 the description of that day when a victorious army under the leadership of a great ,general1 a true soldier1 and a ,christian gentleman had1 beneath the shadow of the ,tower1 proclaimed a message of possession more truly in accord with the word and teaching of ,jesus than any ever recorded in history1 would never leave us4 ,the sunset that night was more glorious than any we had seen4 ,the hills were on fire with it1 the ,gate was gold4 ,then the valleys darkened1 the streets were still1 the crowd of ,arab and ,greek1 ,jew and ,moslem1 the shepherds1 the merchant with his camels1 the shopmen and the traveler1 all sought shelter4 ,it was night1 and we looked for the last time out on the hills to the place where the stars shone over ,bethlehem4 ,never did more reluctant pilgrims leave a ,holy ,place4 ,the train1 going twice each week down from ,jerusalem and connecting with the train for ,cairo1 had begun to carry both sleeping compartments and dining car4 ,we boarded it late that night at the foot of the long hill4 ,before it was light1 we had pulled out of the ,jerusalem station and did not get even one more glimpse of the city set on a hill4 ,instead when we opened our eyes we were almost out of the ,judean ,hills and soon were moving along through desert-rimmed lowlands4 ,then the desert itself lay about us for hours1 livened by occasional caravans that also were going down to ,egypt4 ,once an airplane flew over us and on into the glare of the cloudless sky4 ,we thought often of ,joseph and ,mary and the ,child fleeing through this lonely desert1 to find in alien ,egypt refuge from the jealous wrath of the ,roman king4 ,how rapidly the world has learned to cover time and space since then6 ,how slow has been its progress toward the kingdom the ,child1 whom ,herod feared1 had come to build4 ,god grant that now over the new paths through old ,palestine messengers bearing ,good ,will may come with all speed4 ,at ,kantara we saw a company of ,jews sent by the ,zionists into ,palestine4 ,they were a weary group1 their faces bore marks of deep suffering4 ,they spoke ,russian only1 so we could not talk with them4 ,they were going by train to ,haifa4 ,we could only hope that their sorrows were over and that in the land of their fathers they would find peace1 a chance to forget1 shelter1 food and a home4 ,but we could not feel sure4 ,the threatening words we had heard from the lips of the ,arab1 the protests on the part of the ,jews that there was not land enough in ,palestine capable of bearing crops to give food to those who now struggled to live1 the bitter race hatreds and religious feuds very near the surface always ready to burst into flame1--these things made us doubtful4 ,the transformation within a generation of this land of ,palestine into a safe and happy home for all the ,jews of all the world seems but the futile day dream of children when one faces conditions as they are4 ,many lands have done many things to the ,jew who once in simplicity worshiped the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob and tried sincerely1 not only to obey the great commandments of ,moses1 but to teach them to his children4 ,whether again they can gather from all lands and bring with them the best who shall say8 ,it may be that the fervent exhortations of rabbis1 the wisdom of judges1 the training of educators1 the science of agriculturists1 the modern irrigation miracles of engineers1 the proper placing of peoples1 will make of ,palestine a modern state where the dream of economists1 political and social1 will one day be demonstrated in action4 ,the only spot we saw that seemed like the coming of the day was ,ramallah1 the city that had to be taken by storm before the troops could reach ,jerusalem and visited by us to see the splendid work of the schools of the ,quakers who for long years have given learning and new life to children of ,syrian and ,armenian1 and now and then to a ,moslem or a ,jew4 ,from that little town between six and seven hundred ,jews and ,syrians had emigrated to ,america4 ,since the war many had returned and were rapidly building the city4 ,others had sent money to rebuild the homes of their families4 ,these homes were of stone built two stories high with the flat roof but with plenty of space for light and air4 ,gardens surrounded many of them and trees were being planted everywhere4 ,the children were well nourished1 well clothed1 and well trained4 ,it helped us to have more confidence in the dreams with the fulfilment of which all ,christendom is in sympathy4 ,if only patience and unselfishness can be set as watchmen over against the door of enthusiasm6 ,we were told that the ,hebrew ,high ,commissioner of ,jerusalem looks to ,ramallah as a prophecy4 ,we sat for a while on the journey from ,kantara to ,cairo with a ,british officer and a nurse who had seen hard service during the war and is now in charge of a number of stations where the native nurses meet her to report progress and receive further instructions4 ,she helps them to understand the care of mothers and young babies and trains them to fight the terrible diseases of the eye that result in a staggering percentage of blindness4 ,the native girls are taking up their work with enthusiasm1 even the little children are sharing in the campaign against flies4 8,that is a far harder campaign than any we have ever waged when you consider the people you have to train to fight10 said the officer4 ,and remembering the flies on our days at ,suez and ,port ,said1 we could agree with him4 ,it was nearly midnight when she left the train at a little station in the sand4 ,her man-servant was waiting with her horse and we watched her ride off to her hospital out there somewhere in the blackness4 8,no finer women on ,god's earth than those who wear that uniform10 said the officer4 ,a half hour or more and he left us4 ,he was a lover of the desert and almost made us forget how pitiless1 how cruel1 how destitute of all that makes life for most of us1 it is4 ,he knew the names of all the stars and when they would appear in the velvet sky over his great stretch of camps4 ,he loved the cold of the night and was not afraid of the heat of midday1 he loved the sunrise and sunsets and 8the desert-folk worth many times the puny men of cities40 ,he1 too1 rode off into the darkness4 ,at last--,cairo--and we left the train through the long station1 bright as day4 ,a car was waiting4 ,the luxury of our room made us feel that we had entered fairyland4 ,it had been so long since we had seen the things for rest1 comfort and cleanliness that had in our past been common necessities1 that now after these months of journeying about the world they seemed extravagances indeed6 ,the next morning we looked through the open ,french windows with their rose hangings1 out upon the ,pyramids and the ,nile4 ,the river lay almost at our feet4 ,the beauty of it was intoxicating in the soft light of the rising sun4 ,when my friend broke the silence she said1 8,it is indeed beautiful10 then smiling she added 8but1-- ,if ,i forget thee1 ,o ,jerusalem1 ,let my right hand forget her skill4 ,let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth1 ,if ,i remember thee not1 ,if ,i prefer not ,jerusalem ,above my chief joy4444 ,awake1 awake1 put on thy strength2 put on thy beautiful garments1 ,o ,jerusalem1 the holy city4444 ,shake thyself from the dust2 arise1 sit on thy throne1 ,o ,jerusalem4--,peace be unto thee1 ,o ,zion40 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,transcriber's note3 #a4 ,silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #b4 ,retained anachronistic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings as printed4