ns are seen
rapidly approaching from all quarters. One rushes forward to hold
the horse, while a second grasps the stirrup; a third and a fourth
present their arm to help you to dismount; and in the end the whole
swarm unanimously stretch forth their hands for "backsheesh." In
cases like these it is quite necessary to come furnished either with
a multiplicity of small coins or with a riding-whip, in order to be
delivered in one way or another from the horrible importunity of the
diminutive mob. It is very fortunate that the horses here are
perfectly accustomed to such scenes; were this not the case, they
would take fright and gallop headlong away.

The little convent and church are both situated near the town, and
are built on the spot where the Saviour was born. The whole is
surrounded by a strong fortress-wall, a very low, narrow gate
forming the entrance. In front of this fortress extends a handsome
well-paved area. So soon as we have passed through the little gate,
we find ourselves in the courtyard, or rather in the nave of the
church, which is unfortunately more than half destroyed, but must
once have been eminent both for its size and beauty. Some traces of
mosaic can still be detected on the walls. Two rows of high
handsome pillars, forty-eight in number, intersect the interior; and
the beam-work, said to be of cedar-wood from Lebanon, looks almost
new. Beneath the high altar of this great church is the grotto in
which Christ was born. Two staircases lead downwards to it. One of
the staircases belongs to the Armenians, the other to the Greeks;
the Catholics have none at all. Both the walls and the floor are
covered with marble slabs. A marble tablet, with the inscription,

"HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST,"

marks the spot whence the true Light shone abroad over the world. A
figure of a beaming sun, which receives its light from numerous
lamps kept continually burning, is placed in the back-ground of this
tablet.

The spot where our Saviour was shewn to the worshipping Magi is but
few paces distant. An altar is erected opposite, on the place where
the manger stood in which the shepherds found our Lord. The manger
itself is deposited in the basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome.
This altar belongs to the Roman Catholics. A little door, quite in
the background of the grotto, leads to a subterranean passage
communicating with the convent and the Catholic chapel. In this
passag