xtends the length of the chamber. This marble is much worn by the
millions of kisses that have been tearfully and reverently pressed upon
it by the pilgrims of many centuries. Two score of golden lamps,
continually burning overhead, shed a soft but brilliant light upon the
tomb. Our visit to the interior of the tomb was short; for not more than
five persons may stand in it at one time, and other pilgrims from
other lands were waiting their turn to enter.

[Illustration: A CRUST IN HER HAND, A GRIN ON HER FACE.]

[Illustration: WE WALKED THROUGH THE NARROW VIA DOLOROSA.]

For a small fee the local guides provided us with tapers, for some of
the chapels and grottoes within the vast cluster of the buildings of the
church were dark, and in the gloomy recesses the holy places could not
be seen without a light. In the dark grotto of the Syrian chapel our
tapers shed a dim light on two tombs, which the guide said were those of
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

"This is the Chapel of the Apparition," explained the guide, after
leading us to another part of the church. "Here the Lord appeared to
Mary, His mother, after the Resurrection. In a niche beside the high
altar is a hole in the wall. If you hold your taper up to it you may see
within the wall a part of the column to which the Savior was bound
during the Flagellation. You may touch the sacred column with this round
stick, provided for the purpose, if you wish to do so. The stick, being
worn smooth by the numberless kisses that have been pressed upon it by
the pilgrims after touching the holy column, can do it no harm."

In a vestibule outside the chapel a star in the marble floor marks the
place where Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection,
and a second star a few feet beyond marks the spot where Mary stood when
she recognized the risen Lord.

We passed from the rotunda into the Church of the Crusaders or Greek
Church, through a wide opening directly opposite the door of the Holy
Sepulchre. In this large chapel the walls and ceilings, the seats of
the choir, the high altar, and the seat of the Patriarch in the rear
of the altar, are composed of precious woods beautifully carved and
ornamented with gold and silver and jewels. Hundreds of superb golden
and silver lamps, varying in form and design, hang suspended from the
ceiling at various heights. In the centre of the chapel, standing in the
middle of a fancifully designed circle on the checkered m