第28章

Wewerecompelledtojumpoverupwardsofeighteenhundreddonkeys，andonlyonepersoninthepartywasunseatedlessthansixtytimesbythecamels。Thisseemslikeapowerfulstatement，butthepoethassaid，"

Thingsarenotwhattheyseem。"Icannotthinkofanything，now，morecertaintomakeoneshudder，thantohaveasoft­footedcamelsneakupbehindhimandtouchhimontheearwithitscold，flabbyunder­lip。

Acameldidthisforoneoftheboys，whowasdroopingoverhissaddleinabrownstudy。Heglancedupandsawthemajesticapparitionhoveringabovehim，andmadefranticeffortstogetoutoftheway，butthecamelreachedoutandbithimontheshoulderbeforeheaccomplishedit。Thiswastheonlypleasantincidentofthejourney。

AtNazarethwecampedinanolivegroveneartheVirginMary\'sfountain，andthatwonderfulArab"guard"cametocollectsomebucksheeshforhis"services"infollowingusfromTiberiasandwardingoffinvisibledangerswiththeterrorsofhisarmament。Thedragomanhadpaidhismaster，butthatcountedasnothing——ifyouhireamantosneezeforyou，here，andanothermanchoosestohelphim，youhavegottopayboth。Theydonothingwhateverwithoutpay。Howitmusthavesurprisedthesepeopletohearthewayofsalvationofferedtothem"withoutmoneyandwithoutprice。"

Ifthemanners，thepeopleorthecustomsofthiscountryhavechangedsincetheSaviour\'stime，thefiguresandmetaphorsoftheBiblearenottheevidencestoproveitby。

WeenteredthegreatLatinConventwhichisbuiltoverthetraditionaldwelling­placeoftheHolyFamily。Wewentdownaflightoffifteenstepsbelowthegroundlevel，andstoodinasmallchapeltrickedoutwithtapestryhangings，silverlamps，andoilpaintings。Aspotmarkedbyacross，inthemarblefloor，underthealtar，wasexhibitedastheplacemadeforeverholybythefeetoftheVirginwhenshestooduptoreceivethemessageoftheangel。Sosimple，sounpretendingalocality，tobethesceneofsomightyanevent！TheverysceneoftheAnnunciation——

aneventwhichhasbeencommemoratedbysplendidshrinesandaugusttemplesalloverthecivilizedworld，andonewhichtheprincesofarthavemadeittheirloftiestambitiontopictureworthilyontheircanvas;aspotwhosehistoryisfamiliartotheverychildrenofeveryhouse，andcity，andobscurehamletofthefurthestlandsofChristendom;aspotwhichmyriadsofmenwouldtoilacrossthebreadthofaworldtosee，wouldconsideritapricelessprivilegetolookupon。Itwaseasytothinkthesethoughts。

Butitwasnoteasytobringmyselfuptothemagnitudeofthesituation。

Icouldsitoffseveralthousandmilesandimaginetheangelappearing，withshadowywingsandlustrouscountenance，andnotetheglorythatstreameddownwardupontheVirgin\'sheadwhilethemessagefromtheThroneofGodfelluponherears——anyonecandothat，beyondtheocean，butfewcandoithere。Isawthelittlerecessfromwhichtheangelstepped，butcouldnotfillitsvoid。TheangelsthatIknowarecreaturesofunstablefancy——theywillnotfitinnichesofsubstantialstone。Imaginationlaborsbestindistantfields。IdoubtifanymancanstandintheGrottooftheAnnunciationandpeoplewiththephantomimagesofhisminditstootangiblewallsofstone。

Theyshowedusabrokengranitepillar，dependingfromtheroof，whichtheysaidwashackedintwobytheMoslemconquerorsofNazareth，inthevainhopeofpullingdownthesanctuary。Butthepillarremainedmiraculouslysuspendedintheair，and，unsupporteditself，supportedthenandstillsupportstheroof。Bydividingthisstatementupamongeight，itwasfoundnotdifficulttobelieveit。

ThesegiftedLatinmonksneverdoanythingbyhalves。IftheyweretoshowyoutheBrazenSerpentthatwaselevatedinthewilderness，youcoulddependuponitthattheyhadonhandthepoleitwaselevatedonalso，andeventheholeitstoodin。Theyhavegotthe"Grotto"oftheAnnunciationhere;andjustasconvenienttoitasone\'sthroatistohismouth，theyhavealsotheVirgin\'sKitchen，andevenhersitting­room，wheresheandJosephwatchedtheinfantSaviourplaywithHebrewtoyseighteenhundredyearsago。Allunderoneroof，andallclean，spacious，comfortable"grottoes。"ItseemscuriousthatpersonagesintimatelyconnectedwiththeHolyFamilyalwayslivedingrottoes——inNazareth，inBethlehem，inimperialEphesus——andyetnobodyelseintheirdayandgenerationthoughtofdoinganythingofthekind。Iftheyeverdid，theirgrottoesareallgone，andIsupposeweoughttowonderatthepeculiarmarvelofthepreservationoftheseIspeakofWhentheVirginfledfromHerod\'swrath，shehidinagrottoinBethlehem，andthesameistheretothisday。TheslaughteroftheinnocentsinBethlehemwasdoneinagrotto;

theSaviourwasborninagrotto——bothareshowntopilgrimsyet。Itisexceedinglystrangethatthesetremendouseventsallhappenedingrottoes——andexceedinglyfortunate，likewise，becausethestrongesthousesmustcrumbletoruinintime，butagrottointhedivingrockwilllastforever。

Itisanimposture——thisgrottostuff——butitisonethatallmenoughttothanktheCatholicsfor。WherevertheyferretoutalostlocalitymadeholybysomeScripturalevent，theystraightwaybuildamassive——almostimperishable——churchthere，andpreservethememoryofthatlocalityforthegratificationoffuturegenerations。IfithadbeenlefttoProtestantstodothismostworthywork，wewouldnotevenknowwhereJerusalemisto­day，andthemanwhocouldgoandputhisfingeronNazarethwouldbetoowiseforthisworld。TheworldowestheCatholicsitsgoodwillevenforthehappyrascalityofhewingoutthesebogusgrottoesintherock;foritisinfinitelymoresatisfactorytolookatagrotto，wherepeoplehavefaithfullybelievedforcenturiesthattheVirginoncelived，thantohavetoimagineadwelling­placeforhersomewhere，anywhere，nowhere，looseandatlargealloverthistownofNazareth。Thereistoolargeascopeofcountry。Theimaginationcannotwork。Thereisnooneparticularspottochainyoureye，rivetyourinterest，andmakeyouthink。

ThememoryofthePilgrimscannotperishwhilePlymouthRockremainstous。Theoldmonksarewise。Theyknowhowtodriveastakethroughapleasanttraditionthatwillholdittoitsplaceforever。

WevisitedtheplaceswhereJesusworkedforfifteenyearsasacarpenter，andwhereheattemptedtoteachinthesynagogueandwasdrivenoutbyamob。Catholicchapelsstanduponthesesitesandprotectthelittlefragmentsoftheancientwallswhichremain。Ourpilgrimsbrokeoffspecimens。Wevisited，also，anewchapel，inthemidstofthetown，whichisbuiltaroundabouldersometwelvefeetlongbyfourfeetthick;thepriestsdiscovered，afewyearsago，thatthediscipleshadsatuponthisrocktorest，once，whentheyhadwalkedupfromCapernaum。Theyhastenedtopreservetherelic。

Relicsareverygoodproperty。Travelersareexpectedtopayforseeingthem，andtheydoitcheerfully。Weliketheidea。One\'sconsciencecanneverbetheworsefortheknowledgethathehaspaidhiswaylikeaman。

Ourpilgrimswouldhavelikedverywelltogetouttheirlampblackandstencil­platesandpainttheirnamesonthatrock，togetherwiththenamesofthevillagestheyhailfrominAmerica，butthepriestspermitnothingofthatkind。Tospeakthestricttruth，however，ourpartyseldomoffendinthatway，thoughwehavemenintheshipwhoneverloseanopportunitytodoit。Ourpilgrims\'chiefsinistheirlustfor"specimens。"Isupposethatbythistimetheyknowthedimensionsofthatrocktoaninch，anditsweighttoaton;andIdonothesitatetochargethattheywillgobackthereto­nightandtrytocarryitoff。

This"FountainoftheVirgin"istheonewhichtraditionsaysMaryusedtogetwaterfrom，twentytimesaday，whenshewasagirl，andbearitawayinajaruponherhead。Thewaterstreamsthroughfaucetsinthefaceofawallofancientmasonrywhichstandsremovedfromthehousesofthevillage。TheyounggirlsofNazarethstillcollectaboutitbythedozenandkeepupariotouslaughterandsky­larking。TheNazarenegirlsarehomely。Someofthemhavelarge，lustrouseyes，butnoneofthemhaveprettyfaces。Thesegirlswearasinglegarment，usually，anditisloose，shapeless，ofundecidedcolor;itisgenerallyoutofrepair，too。

Theywear，fromcrowntojaw，curiousstringsofoldcoins，afterthemannerofthebellesofTiberias，andbrassjewelryupontheirwristsandintheirears。Theywearnoshoesandstockings。Theyarethemosthumangirlswehavefoundinthecountryyet，andthebestnatured。Butthereisnoquestionthatthesepicturesquemaidenssadlylackcomeliness。

Apilgrim——the"Enthusiast"——said:"Seethattall，gracefulgirl！

lookattheMadonna­likebeautyofhercountenance！"

Anotherpilgrimcamealongpresentlyandsaid:"Observethattall，gracefulgirl;whatqueenlyMadonna­likegracefulnessofbeautyisinhercountenance。"

Isaid:"Sheisnottall，sheisshort;sheisnotbeautiful，sheishomely;sheisgracefulenough，Igrant，butsheisratherboisterous。"

Thethirdandlastpilgrimmovedby，beforelong，andhesaid:"Ah，whatatall，gracefulgirl！whatMadonna—likegracefulnessofqueenlybeauty！"

Theverdictswereallin。Itwastime，now，tolookuptheauthoritiesforalltheseopinions。Ifoundthisparagraph，whichfollows。Writtenbywhom？Wm。C。Grimes:"Afterwewereinthesaddle，werodedowntothespringtohavealastlookatthewomenofNazareth，whowere，asaclass，muchtheprettiestthatwehadseenintheEast。AsweapproachedthecrowdatallgirlofnineteenadvancedtowardMiriamandofferedheracupofwater。Hermovementwasgracefulandqueenly。WeexclaimedonthespotattheMadonna—likebeautyofhercountenance。Whitelywassuddenlythirsty，andbeggedforwater，anddrankitslowly，withhiseyesoverthetopofthecup，fixedonherlargeblackeyes，whichgazedonhimquiteascuriouslyasheonher。ThenMorerightwantedwater。Shegaveittohimandhemanagedtospillitsoastoaskforanothercup，andbythetimeshecametomeshesawthroughtheoperation;hereyeswerefulloffunasshelookedatme。Ilaughedoutright，andshejoinedmeinasgayashoutasevercountrymaideninoldOrangecounty。Iwishedforapictureofher。AMadonna，whosefacewasaportraitofthatbeautifulNazarethgirtwouldbea\'thingofbeauty\'and\'a