pot to the home of one of the players and I went to bed. Early the
next morning while eating breakfast at the home, on looking through the
door I discovered that one end of the house was a cow stable. Going from
the house all that was necessary was to follow the crowd, for people
seemed to be coming from everywhere. Passing through the winding, narrow
streets, soon the large theater building was reached.

This building is one hundred and forty feet square. The roof is
supported by six gigantic arches that are sixty-five feet high in the
center. The floor is built on an incline so that every one of the four
thousand seats is a good one. The stage reaches entirely across the
building and is in the open air, the whole end of the building open. At
each end of the stage are small buildings representing the Palace of
Pilate and the Palace of the High Priest. Back about twenty feet from
the edge of the stage is a covered stage with a curtain and in which the
tableaus are arranged. There are fourteen entrances to the building.

The large orchestra is just in front of the stage but lower than the
people, so unless one happens to be near the platform the musicians
cannot be seen at all. The end of the entire building being open, the
rain beats in and the cheapest seats are those where one is likely to
get wet should it rain. The orchestra is kept dry by a large canvas that
is pulled out when the rain begins. Back in the inner covered stage is a
network of ropes, pulleys, lances, arms for Roman soldiers, dishes for
banquets, costumes and wardrobes for the players, all in perfect order
and ready for use at a moment's notice.

The play itself occupies about eight hours. There are six hundred and
eighty-five people in it, but only one hundred and twenty speaking
parts. The principal actors are not many, but during the play there are
many children as well as old men and women take part. There are
twenty-two tableaus; seventy-six scenes and in all eighteen acts. The
tableaus represent Old Testament prophecies of the events portrayed. It
must be remembered, however, that the play represents only the events
that occurred during the last week of Christ's life.

The music is simply wonderful. For generations these mountain people
have been developing a tenderness and pathos that really grips one's
heart. The music was composed by a man by the name of Dedler, about one
hundred years ago, and while it gives expression to the composer's
te