castles on the Rhine and Danube, and with a little play of the imagination he may think he is looking at the crags of Drachenfels or the ruins above the Iron Gate. But as he ascends the last of the hills, and passes the massive gate-way leading into the streets, he finds that Bethlehem is not unlike Jaffa, Jerusalem, and the other towns of the Holy Land that he has visited.

Ali had sent the tents ahead in the morning, and when our friends arrived everything was ready for them. There is no hotel at Bethlehem,

TENT LIFE IN THE HOLY LAND.

317

and consequently travellers must sleep in tents, or be lodged at one of the convents. It was the time of the Christmas festivities, and all the convent accommodation had been secured by pilgrims and others, so that the camp became a necessity for Doctor Bronson's party.

This was the first glimpse of tent life in the Holy Land for Frank and Fred, and they were delighted with it, but at the same time a trifle disappointed. "I thought we would have to 'rough it' in this country," said Frank, "but I don't see much rough work in this."

"Nor I either," replied his cousin, as he examined the tents and their equipment. "Just look at it," said he, "and say whether this meets your ideas of wild life."

Together they made an inventory of what was before them. There

were three tents for the six travellers, and each tent was large enough for amply accommodating two persons with space for dressing and moving about. One tent was arranged for a dining-room, and the dinner was nearly ready to be served. There was a table large enough for six to be seated, and there were camp-chairs for all. Ali explained that after dinner was over the table would be removed, and two beds set up, as in the other tents. The height of luxury seemed to be reached when Frank pointed to the carpet which covered the ground beneath each tent, and was a welcome protection for slippered feet.

"Real beds, chairs, tables, carpets, and all the comforts of a home," said Frank; "there isn't hardship enough here to make it interesting."

"I thought," said Fred, "we might have to sleep on the ground in the open air, or beneath a tent like the shelter of the Bedouin. Then we could eat dates which we gathered ourselves from the trees, or perhaps we could get some of the grapes that we see in the pictures in our Sunday-school books. Here we are on fare like what we get at the hotel, and it isn't wild life at all."

"Wait a little," said the Doctor, with a smile. "We haven't fairly begun yet, and you may see some hard times before you are through with the country. Quite likely we may have a storm some night, and if it proves to be a regular old-fashioned Syrian storm, such as I once saw here, you'll have all you want."

Ali interrupted them to say there would be sufficient time before dinner to visit the "Milk Grotto," which was quite near their camp.

Accordingly they went there, and found a cavern that was reached by a flight of steps from the ground above. The roof is eight or ten feet above the floor, and the room, which is fitted up as a chapel, is about ten feet by fifteen. The tradition is that the Holy Family was concealed here during its flight into Egypt, and consequently the place is visited by most of the Christian pilgrims that come to Bethlehem.

They returned to the camp to dinner, and then went to the Church of the Nativity. Every step of the way they were beset by peddlers of ornaments made of olive-wood, mother-of-pearl, and other things, just as they had been surrounded by the same class of men in Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Bethlehem drive a large trade among the pilgrims, and are chiefly engaged in the manufacture and sale of souvenirs of the place.

The Church of the Nativity is not of itself a large building, but the convents connected with it, and belonging to the three rival sects of Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, cover a broad area. The church meas