Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Lovell Bearse Pemberton, A Modern Pilgrimage to Palestine, bahai-library.com.
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MODEL OF THE BAHAI TEMPLE AT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
/Ifcobern pilgrimage
to

Palestine

X. . pemberton

Will UluBlrattoitB from pr,QtoorjirjB bg tl|r atrtlior

DORRANCE AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS PHILADELPHIA MCMXXV
COPYRIGHT 1928
DORRANCE Ok COMPANY INC

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
preface
The reader whether he be of the
busy, gentle or
otherwise variety has
undoubtedly noticed that almost
every book is decked out with a preface, and not wish
ing to overlook any of the customary rules or amenities,
we will endeavor "to
keep within the etiquettes."
In a general way a preface seems to be a sort of
bulwark behind which the author hides, and hastening
to set up thereon the names of everybody he can blame
for having been implicated in any way whether by
urging, advising or assisting the author in writing his
book.
Looking at it in this way, our task is comparatively
easy, as these pages would have remained unwritten
if a certain diminutive but persistent editress had not
extracted the promise of the first instalment. In this
respect ourposition is not unique, as the same thing
has often happened before from the very beginning of
sacred history the lady has been to blame!
We also wish to warn the reader that before reaching
The End of the Trail a chapter will be found labeled
Hints to Travelers, which we trust will not be taken
too seriously. Our only object in mentioning this is to
prevent the reader from forming the same opinion as
that of a New York critic, who writes that "The Hints
to Travelers are most practical!" They were certainly
not meant to be so, but were supposed to be taken
cum grano salisl
preface

Finally, it is to be hoped that the following pages
will be appreciated and enjoyed by two classes of people,
viz.: those who travel, and those who do not. Some of
the former, who may enjoy revisiting old scenes; and
a better
many of the latter, who possibly may have had
time by staying comfortably at home, avoiding the
monotony of omelettes and spaghetti and the inquis-
itiveness of the ubiquitous official.
customs

Should anyone else, failing to come under either of
the above classifications, happen to straggle along, they
are equally welcome to climb aboard. For after all the
old Spanish proverb is not far wrong when it says:
"He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies
must carry the wealth of the Indies with him."
L. B. P.
Contents
CHAPTER PAGE

I The First Step 13
II London in February 22
III In Gay Paree 27
IV Through Switzerland 33
V Impressions of Italy 40
VI On the Mediterranean 49
VII In the Land of the Pharaohs 56
VIII From Egypt to Palestine 66
IX The New Bahai Temple 74
X What the Bahai Movement Is 82
XI Haifa to Tiberias 90
XII Interviews With Abdul Baha 97
XIII Snapshots on the Sea of Galilee 105
XIV From the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem 110
XV In Jerusalem 117
XVI Jerusalem Continued 130
XVII Mosque of Omar and the Via Dolorosa 137
XVIII A Day at Bethlehem 143
XIX From the Mount of Olives to Mount Zion ... 150
XX Last Days in Jerusalem 155
XXI From Jerusalem to Cairo 161
XXII Here and There in Cairo 166
XXIII Cairo to Alexandria 172
XXIV How the Pyramids Were Built 178
XXV Woman's Sphere in the Orient 184
XXVI The Future of Bahaism 190
XXVII On the Good Ship Esperia 198
XXVIII From Naples to Paris 202
XXIX A Glimpse of Paris 209
XXX Playgrounds of Children and Kings 218
XXXI From Paris to New York 225
XXXII Hints to Travelers 230
XXXIII Transportation Problems 240
XXXIV Dress, Tips and Guides 252
XXXV The End of the Trail 260
ICfst of Uttustratfons
Model of the Bahai Temple at Chicago, Illinois. .
.Frontispiece
PACING PAGE

Looking Down From the Ruins of the Palaces of the
Caesars 44

Garden of Rizwan, Near Haifa 92
Abdul Baha 100

The Garden of Gethsemane 121

Statue of Joan of Arc in The Madeleine, Paris 205
H flfoobem pilgrimage to Palestine
I

The First Step

Everyone who makes a journey, if only to the next
county, makes a record of the fact. This may take the
form of a hurried personal letter, or a picture postcard
on the restricted margin of which is found such trite
remarks as, "Well here we are!"
perhaps, "Having
or

a glorious time," or something like this, "Just leaving
here for X ," all of which is supposed to be read with
avidity (and possibly with envy) by the dear ones
at home!
The point is, travelers write about their travels! At
least I have been told that this is the by many case

people, including a few publishers (who are undoubtedly
well-informed in such matters), by publishers' editors
and agents, and by eminent critics, to say nothing of
ordinary laymen. In fact, having been told the same
thing so many times, and by so many different persons,
I have come to the conclusion that it must be true!
And I have written the following.
so

might as well be stated here and now that the
It
ensuing pages were originally written with two objects
in view: to enlighten the home folks on present con
ditions abroad, and to enliven the columns of our local
paper.
Having served to a limited extent its original dual
purpose, the "busy reader" is now supposed to take the

[13]
A Modem Pilgrimage

place of the "regular subscriber," and without stopping
to comment on whether or not it is the "first step that
counts," or expatiate on the proper way to write an
introduction, we will haul in the gang-plank of apology,
and proceed with our journey.
Arriving in New York on January 11th we found the
thermometer hovering around ten degrees above zero.
A biting gale with it making things very lively espe
cially around the old Flat-Iron Building.
Our party at that time consisted of Mr. Bourgeois,
a prominent architect of New York, and his wife, the

eldest daughter of the late Paul de Longpre, and the
writer who had been hibernating in California for

nearly twenty years.
Our cabins had been engaged on the famous German
lineriImperatur, thelargest steamer then afloat. Owing
to heavy storms which had continued during its entire

voyage over from France, it had barely time
to dock,

make repairs and stock up in time to leave on the return
trip. We were four hours late in leaving, but we had
no sooner lost sight of land than the weather became

mild, and for the whole voyage we had sunshine and

regular California climate for which my friends gave
me due credit. Our only disappointment was the poor
time we were making, due to poor coal with which the
vessel had been supplied. After the first day we made
about three hundred miles per day, and consequently
were nine days in reaching Southampton.

Here we boarded a funny little train for London a
train of toy-like cars which might have been the inspira-

[14]
The First Step

tion of a certain man who has built several millions of
popular automobiles in Detroit, which are now so uni
versally used and abused that we saw them in every city
we visited, even observing them rambling along the Sea
of Galilee. On the journey to London we
greatly were

impressed by the number and
variety chimney-of the
tops. An ordinary cottage would have anywhere from
twelve to twenty of them, and looking over the villages
which were old and very picturesque there was
everywhere a forest of chimney-tops of all shapes and
sizes.
In our hotel in London we found that every room
had its fireplace, and all these millions of chimneys
were sending up little wreaths of smoke into the dull
sky. Sometimes all this smoke returns to earth as we

discovered adaysfew later.
During our stay in London the sun was kind enough
to shine, or rather made a gallant attempt to do so, for
a total of about half an hour each day. Between times
we were treated to cold fogs and drizzling rain. Under
these conditions sight-seeing was rather difficult, but
we did our best and went to St. Paul's and twice to
Westminster Abbey, although we were unable to see

the ceilings of either building on account of the obscur
ing gloom and haze. After visiting a few other places
of interest, we decided to move on and try to find a

little warmth and sunshine.
On themorning of our departure, we woke up to
find ourselves enveloped in a real London fog some
thing that cannot be exaggerated. It was of the famous

[15]
A Modern Pilgrimage

"pea soup" order, absolutely impenetrable to the human
eye, and boasting a peculiar flavor not pleasant to taste.
Sitting in the taxi it was impossible to see the radiator
of the car, and how we managed to safely reach the
railroad station will always remain a mystery. We
learned later that it was the worst fog Londoners had
known for twenty years. The police reported two hun
dred accidents on the Strand alone, two street cars

collided at Victoria Street Station and over ninety peo
ple were injured. All the libraries and museums and
many business houses closed for the day and traffic
was suspended. We were very grateful, however, that
the London weather should have run so more than true
to form for our benefits.
From London we took the train to Dover and crossed
the Channel to Calais, expecting to have a few un

pleasant thrills on the way, as the weather had been
very rough, but again we were pleasantly disappointed.
The water was smooth as a mill-pond and after an
hour's ride we reached Calais in good condition. We
encountered an army of porters at the
dock, our first
experience with
foreign customs officials, which was
thereafter to be oft repeated and much dreaded. For
tunately both of my friends spoke French and finally
our baggage was inspected, passports vised and we were

on our way to Paris. We were on a local train, as the
regular boat-train had left with all seats and standing

room taken by passengers who proposed to stand five
hours rather than wait for the next train, so great was
their desire to reach Paris! As that way of traveling

[16]
The First Step

did not appeal to us, we waited a couple of hours for
the next train and finally landed at the Hotel Lutetia in
Paris at eleven o'clock at night, very tired and exceed
ingly hungry. Since the usual breakfast of porridge and
marmalade, taken in London, we had been able to secure
nothing but a glass of milk and some rolls, so we started
out to see what we could find.
We soon discovered that in the interest of economy
all business houses in Paris closed early and all the res
taurants were dark and deserted. Finally we found a
Brasserie a place where beer is sold and prevailed on

the attendant to make us some coffee and sandwiches.
Our trip from Calais to Paris was our first introduc
tion to the European custom of dispensing with dining-
cars, or even stops for meals everyone being expected
to either take their provender along, or fast. Later on
we also learned that on certain lines sleeping cars were

to be had three times per week, and on other nights,

if you wished to sleep, you could do so sitting up, pro
vided you had a good conscience and were sufficiently
exhausted.
After a refreshing sleep on the most wonderful beds
in the world started out to explore Paris, and here
we

we must short-cut; as to attempt a description would
take more space than this chapter would permit. Every
thing was so wonderful and the people so charming,
that Paris remains the most delightful of all the places
we visited, and the one place of which I, personally,
would never grow tired. Our schedule called for a stop
of five days in Paris, which was increased to nine, with

[17]
A Modem Pilgrimage

a promise of three or four more days on the return trip.
From Paris we went to Geneva, Switzerland, motored
along Lake Geneva to the foot of Mt. Blanc, visited
the celebrated watch works and the League of Nations
Building, then on to capital of the Swiss
Berne, the
Republic, where they were holding Parliament in three
languages Italian, French and German. Here we vis
ited the old bear pit, where four animated emblems of
the Swiss Federation are confined. We inspected the
famous old clock towers, and in the evening enjoyed a
German opera at the Stadt theatre. We found Berne
a charming and lively place, more German than French,
and very picturesque. Leaving by a morning train, we
had a beautiful trip through the snow-covered Alps,
and after plunging through twenty-two tunnels among
them the famous St. Gotthard we came out into Italy.
"Beyond the Alps lies Italy!" But somehow it did
not measure up to our high expectations.
On reaching Milan, we stopped at the Grand Hotel de
Ville, an old "palazzo" converted into a hotel, and after
settling ourselves started out for a stroll. After saunter
ing along for a few blocks we reached an open square
where the great Gothic Cathedral of Milan rose up
before us in the moonlight one of the real thrills of
the trip.
After visiting the Castello, Art Galleries, Museums
and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele an arcade formed
in the shape of a cross, with
shops on all sides and the
whole covered with glass we took an evening train to
Venice, in our haste neglecting to take along any pro-

[18]
The First Step

visions except a few oranges and some chocolates. Con
sequently, when we arrived at Venice and boarded
a

gondola, we were not in any condition to enjoy our

midnight ride of three-quarters of an hour to our hotel
on the Grand Canal, where we succeeded in persuading

our host to serve us lunch in our rooms.

Engaging a gondola the next morning, we passed St.
Mark's and the Doge's Palace, visited the Murano Glass
Works, the famous Lace Works, and other places of
interest. We soon discovered that the smaller the canal
the greater was the odor, until finally we were com

pelled to return to the
hotel, as the odor was not only
disagreeable but overpowering. We were assured by our
host and others that in two or three months the tide
would turn, clean out all the canals and eliminate the
odor.
But as our time was somewhat limited, we proceeded
to Florence, where we spent five very pleasant days and
met many charming people. It is claimed that Florence
is the intellectual center of Italy and destined to be
the birthplace of a "world Renaissance." After having
become convinced of this it disconcerting to learn
was

that three days after we left the city a riot broke out;
machine guns were planted in the square in front of our
hotel; all trains and street car traffic suspended, the
city placed under martial law and no one was allowed
to leave.
From Florence we went to Rome. Arriving in the
evening we decided to see St. Peter's by moonlight.
It was not an easy task to explain to the cabman that

[19]
A Modern Pilgrimage

we wanted simply to take a ride out to St. Peter's at
that time of night, but we finally managed to put it
across and started. Just before we reached there, how
ever, the moon hid behind a cloud and remained there,
so that the cabman's doubts as to our wisdom in making

the trip were fully justified.
On the following day we visited a few of the eleven
thousand rooms of the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and
St. Peter's, with its immense circular colonnade. But
most of the three hundred and sixty-five churches which
are scattered all over Rome we had to pass by and
content ourselves with inspecting the old ruins the
Coliseum, Baths of Caracalla, Caesar's Palaces and the
Forum.
We stood on the spot, now covered with ruins, where
Caesar stood amidst the Roman Senators on the fatal
day when he was stabbed. A few hundred feet below us
the old Appian Way, its battered triumphal arches and
fragments of marble columns sad commentaries on the
transitoriness of earthly power and grandeur! At the
same time we were struck with the providence of the

Romans in preserving so many old things for the pleas
ure and benefit of the modern world acres of ancient
ruins, art galleries, museums and gorgeous churches in
which only one or two services are held each year; but
open at all times to every sight-seer.
From Rome to Naples is a pleasant ride of four hours
by train; but with the exception of the Bay and Mt.
Vesuvius, we found nothing there to claim our particular
interest not even a night drive down Spaghetti Alley,

[20]
The First Step

from which Dante might have gathered much inspira
tion for his Inferno!
From Naples we took the steamer Milano across the
Mediterranean, and after delightful voyage
a of four
and a half days landed at Alexandria, Egypt, where we

enjoyed our first contact with the Orient.

[21]
II

London in February

proceeding with our journey it might be well
Before
to pause for a moment and gather up a few experiences

and impressions of the countries through which we had
just passed. Naturally, these must be somewhat cursory,
as our limited time did not permit us to study any of

these countries in detail, but by careful consideration we
soon learned to economize and cover considerable ground

in a short time.

Our usual procedure on arriving at a new hotel was
to fill out the necessary blanks required by the police

department, stating our names in full, age, name of
father and mother, birthplace, present home address,
name of place from which we had just come, destination,

the reasons for our coming and going, and various other
knotty and stupid questions. This took some
apparently
little time, as, except in England, the blanks were

Italian.
Finally, if in
printed in either French or we

tended staying beyond a certain time, usually from three
to five days, our passports had to be handed over for
inspection by the police department.
While these preliminaries were being arranged we
had set the concierge busy securing a guide and con
more satisfactory to fee the
veyance, having found it
and let him hire everything and
concierge properly,
settle all bills, as there is everywhere a strong tendency

[22]
London in February

to overcharge and occasionally short-change the unwary
stranger. Then with the aid of the guide and concierge
a list was prepared of the finest streets, most prominent

buildings and other places of interest, together with the
most direct way of reaching them.
After a two or three days' tour, conducted along these
lines, a good general idea of the city was obtained, and
afterwards we were able to browse around more leisurely
and intelligently by ourselves.
But we started out to say something about conditions
which we found existing in the various countries, and
before doing so wish to state that we are recording
simply our impressions and the things we happened to
see whichno doubt will differ from what anyone else

may have experienced. Any little criticisms that may
creep in are intended, not as fault-finding, but as foot
notes to actual showing what particularly
occurrences,
impressed passing group of
a inquisitive Americans.
In London except for the big fog, which was the
piece de resistance, the principal thing that attracted our
attention was the tenacity of the English in clinging to
old, and to our minds, antiquated, methods of doing busi
ness. Their monetary system of pounds, shillings and
pence requires pencil, paper, complicated calculation
and considerable time to make up an ordinary bill; while
the Bank of England notes, printed on tough but plain
white paper increasing in size as the denomination in
creases make an awkward and bulky package in con
trast to our currency. If you step on the
drug-store
scales to be weighed, you marvel at registering
only

[23]
A Modem Pilgrimage

40 which you find is stones, and must be translated
into pounds before you can determine whether you are

gaining or losing.
In London we had our first introduction to narrow

thoroughfares, many of them with sidewalks not over
three feet wide, while the street itself measured from
ten to twelve feet from curb to curb. Naturally the
pedestrians took to the middle of the road and chances
in dodging the cabs and taxis.
Greater still was our surprise, in walking through the
shopping district, to see the store windows being
stripped of everything at closing time and heavy, corru
gated iron shutters pulled down over the windows and
locked for the night making the shops look like a row
of warehouses, illuminated only by the dim gas lights
on the street. Window shopping in the evening is out
of the question all through Europe and in Egypt, as
practically all the stores were equipped with these iron
shutters.
One London custom very perplexing to us, and
was

only after a narrow escape from being run down did we
fully realize that traffic regulations in England are the
reverse of ours vehicles passing along the left side of
the street and turning to the left, instead of to the right.
We were surprised at the number of "Bobbies"
stationed in the middle of the street, on the street cor
ners, and in the middle of the blocks.
In fact, you never

seemed to get out of sight of a policeman in downtown
London. All of which was very convenient, as they
were very civil and ready to answer questions or give

[24]
London in February

directions.Occasionally they had an amusing habit of
pompously turning on their heel and, with extended
palm, remarking, "I've done ye a favor, 'aven't I?" a
question which was mos,t satisfactorily answered by a
small coin.
The enormous street traffic in London is remarkably
well handled and we seldom saw a jam or collision of

any sort which was little short of miraculous, consider
ing the multitude and variety of vehicles pouring into
the main thoroughfares at all angles. While there are
several streetcar lines, mostly in the outlying sections,

and a few subways, the main downtown traffic is handled
by cabs, taxis and two-story busses, from the tops of
which a good view of the streets can be had. But, to
the stranger, it is rather confusing, as these busses are

equipped with identical signs at both ends, and you
don't know whether they are coming or going, unless
you make inquiries.
It was somewhat surprising to see smoking permitted
in the subways and a fine of eight pounds for "spitting
on the floor," other parts of the car evidently free
for all! This seemed very mild in comparison with the
New York subways, where both smoking and expecto
rating are prohibited under penalty of five hundred
dollars fine or imprisonment or both. These are of
course small and trivial things, but simply show the

difference in customs little details that attracted our

attention.
We were also impressed with the fact that, so far as

personal liberty was concerned, everyone was permitted

[25]
A Modern Pilgrimage

to go about and do pretty much as he pleased. There
was neverany brutal show or incivility on the part of
those in authority, and this feeling of absolute freedom
was one of the most pleasant features of our stay in

London.
We saw of the recent war except
little to remind us

the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial, not far from Tra
falgar Square, and the grave of the Unknown Soldier in
Westminster Abbey, both of which were banked with
beautiful flowers and continually thronged with hun
dreds of visitors. One other incident recalled the war
to our minds. Returning from Buckingham Palace we
passed a large and impressive building at the entrance
to Waterloo Place, and were curious to know what it
was. We asked a "Bobbie," who explained that it was
"Kaiser Bill's Palace," and added with a grin, "But he's
not occupyin' it just now."
Here, as in every city we visited, some particular
the
thing seemed to stand out prominently and typify
embodied in
place. To me the spirit of England
was

the four huge lions by Landseer at the foot of Nelson's
Column in Trafalgar Square. Those impressive beasts,
the mass of
looking placidly out over the Square and
people moving about in all directions, vividly impress
on one's mind the dignity, solidity
and power of the
continues on its way
English nationwhich quietly
regardless of all obstacles.

[26]
Ill

In Gay Paree

Our recollections of France will always include a

humorous picture presented itself
that as we were

landing at Calais. glided up to its anchor
As the boat
age, we discovered the pier lined with a hundred or
more porters in caps and long blue blouses, shouting in

French and wildly gesticulating. This mass of blue
blouses kept bobbing up and down, the men animating
them trying to attract the attention of the passengers
and all the time pointing to a large disc, containing a
number, suspended around their necks. It reminded one
of a Punch and Judy show, only it was a lot noisier.
The old chap we selected rushed on board and was
not satisfied with draping himself about with seven
suit cases, two overcoats, two Boston bags, one brief
case and an umbrella, but also insisted volubly that
there was plenty of room about him for a few cameras,
a roll of drawings and several other small pieces of hand
luggage. It was extraordinary to see long lines of these
porters staggering along under huge iron trunks, and
I can readily believe they would tackle anything up to a
grand piano.
Our next impression on finally reaching Paris was

far from humorous; in fact, it was one of sadness. If
there ever was such a place as "Gay Paree," it was no
longer in evidence and I am of theopinion that the

[27]
A Modem Pilgrimage

general idea of Paris, held especially among Americans,
is entirely erroneous.
While everyone seemed intent on his own business,
there was no lack of courtesy, and there was also no

evidence of frivolity or anything approaching it. Taken
on the whole, Paris was by great odds the cleanest,
most beautiful and most interesting city we visited on
our whole trip. Utility seemed always combined with
artistic beauty. Smooth, clean streets lined with beau
tiful buildings of uniform height generally with man
sard roofs, making the buildings seem lower than they
really are, and rows of shade trees at each side, even in
many of the business streets showed with what rare
ability the city had been planned, especially when the
streets opened out on beautiful gardens and parks filled
with statuary, or on public memorial squares.
As in London, the streets were filled with a seething
swarm of cabs, taxis and motor busses; but, fortunately

for us, they all passed on the right side of the street,
and the only difficulty was for the pedestrian to break
through. This generally required two operations, the
first jump to the safety islands in the middle of the
street, followed by a later rush to the other side.
Street cars, or trams, as they are called, operate out
side the main business section only, and are conducted
by brisk women in natty uniforms, who are replaced at
night by young men or boys.
The subways are somewhat better than those in Lon
don or New York, cleaner, brighter and better ventilated,
while the cars run more smoothly and with less noise.

[28]
In Gay Paree

The only real difficulty we had in Paris was in getting
accustomed to their petit dejeuners, or light breakfasts,
which consist of coffee and rolls a rather insufficient
ballast with which to commence the day's work. It re

quired a lot of conversation on our part to convince the
waiter that really wanted something to eat; but at
we

any other time of the day the meals were limited only
by the price we wished to pay. The quantity, quality
and service left nothing to be desired and the cooking
was excellent, but when it came to the patisserie it was

easy to see why the French are famous for their pastry.
My personal preference between a patisserie shop and
a book store could only be decided by the time of day

and whether or not I had just dined. And the confiserie,
or sweet shop! No one who has ever tasted their marron

glace can possibly resist it.
In the restaurants we marveled at first at the leisure
with which the French consumed and enjoyed their mid
day meal. This was soon explained by the fact that the
banks and principal business houses close from twelve to
two p. m. daily, and even the sidewalk vendors pack up

their wares and suspend operations long enough to
enjoy a quiet lunch. In addition to this daily breathing
spell Monday is generally observed as cleaning day
all public buildings are closed for the day and in the
larger stores it is not on this account a favorable day
forshopping.
Sunday was one of the best days for sight-seeing
indoors, as all the public museums and galleries are

[29]
A Modem Pilgrimage

kept open as long as, or longer, than on week days, and
are thronged with visitors.

One thing in Paris that interested me greatly was
the number and variety of book stores, in which we
occasionally saw a good collection of English and
American books on sale, in authorship ranging from
Dickens to Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Most unique of all
these was an outdoor book store on the Seine embank
ment not far from the Gare D'Orleans. This narrow but
lengthy establishment consisted of a long row of shallow
boxes covered with galvanized iron and attached to the
coping of the stone embankment. It extended along
the sidewalk for a distance of five or six hundred feet.
Overhead was the blue sky showing through the budding
branches of the overhanging trees; just below was the
Seine, beyond which lay the Louvre and the Garden of
the Tuileries. A charming place to stop and browse!
And here impecunious bookworm was constantly
the
seen, passing along from box to box, poking around
a varied collection which seemed to contain
among
almost everything that had ever been published, from

cheap, paper-covered novels to rare old editions, not to
mention engravings, colored prints and sheet music.
I happened to pass by there one day just as it was
starting to rain, and the proprietor was showing extraor
dinary and unexpected speed as he rushed along shut
ting down the lids of his long book store, then parking
himself under an umbrella to wait until the storm had

passed by.
Another interesting scene was the markets of peasant

[30]
In Gay Paree

women in the boulevards adjoining the residence sec

tion, one of which happened to be on the beautiful
Boulevard Raspail near our hotel. Two-wheel push
carts, loaded with all kinds of fruits, vegetables and
fresh meats, were hauled by these sturdy women from
their homes in the country and lined up at daybreak
ready for business. Although some of them, the potato
carts in particular, looked like a good load for an average

horse, and had been trundled for miles, the husky pro
prietors looked fresh as daisies, and were bustling
around disposing of their wares so as to reach home in
time to start back with another load for the next morn

ing. When busy
not with customers
they filled in the
time by making up a supply of paper sacks out of old
sheet music, newspaper and other odd bits of paper, and
thus getting even with the sack trust.
All over France the word THRIFT seems to be spelled
with capital letters. There is no waste either of time
or materials.Everything is picked up and worked up.
All through the country every house has its neat garden
and a few fruit trees; the walks are clean and the roads
look as if they had just been swept with a broom. When
a tree is chopped down in the forest, even the twigs
are tied up in neat bundles and sold to the bakers for
baking bread, while every square foot of tillable ground
is under cultivation. Compared with the wasteful and
slovenly methods which obtain in the rural districts
of our own country, such national habits of neatness

and economy pointed a very valuable object lesson.
And now we are about to step off into rather deep

[31]
A Modem Pilgrimage

water; but it seems a necessary step, as no article on
Paris would be complete without a few words on the
subject of fashions particularly fashions in feminine
apparel. While the writer does not profess to be a con
noisseur, or to have had any special training as a fashion
expert, a few words will sum up his observations in this
direction, and we have no hesitation in saying that, in
the matter of dress, we found New York more Parisian
than Paris, or what we expected Paris to be. With the
exception of the tourists, the women's dresses were
simple, plain and conservative, while, most surprising of
all, there was an almost total absence of facial make-up.
Wishing to see a typical French audience, we chose
a Sunday evening to attend a performance of Faust at
the famous Grand Opera House. You can imagine our
surprise, when we entered the gorgeous auditorium, and
saw it filled with men in ordinary business suits and
women in black; not a decollete costume in the whole
theatre, with the exception of those worn by perhaps
forty elaborately dressed English and American tourists.
These, as someone remarked, wore costumes "suitable

either for an opera or an operation."
On the streets and elsewhere, the Parisians themselves
dress conservatively.
very By this I do not mean
shabbily, for although the men in general seemed to
pay little attention to their personal appearance, the
women invariably look stylish and charming.

[32]
IV

Through Switzerland
Compared with France our trip through Switzerland
was devoid of incidents our sensations being somewhat
like those of a person used to a regular table d'hote
when he finds himself face to face with a lunch counter.
Switzerland's long suit consisting of scenery, one is
unless he hap
apt to get fed up in a very short time,
pens to outdoor enthusiast and willing to keep
be an

on raving over a procession of barren but well
advertised

peaks covered with snow.
Our first stop was Geneva, and Sunday afternoon we
strolled down by the lake and studied the natives, who
were all out for an airing on the Quai du
Mont Blanc

a wide promenade lined with a sort of sycamore trees
with flat, scraggy tops, that look very odd and pictur
esque. These Genevans were a husky, ruddy-cheeked
lot, and their favorite form of outdoor sport seemed to
be wheeling enormously high baby carriages.
While the view of Mont Blanc failed to produce much
of a thrill, the lake was very beautiful.
I had one very amusing experience at Geneva, the
of which was not apparent until I
full significance
reached home. On presenting a sheaf of letters at the
hotel desk I was told they were temporarily out of
leave the letters stamps would
stamps, but if I would
amount added
be procured, the letters mailed, and the

[33]
A Modern Pilgrimage

to my bill. You can imagine my surprise when I dis

covered, on reaching home, that the smallest stamp
known to the Swiss P. O. had been affixed and each of
my friends had to pay eight cents overdue postage for
the questionable pleasure of hearing from me. When I
stood a few days later in Berne, admiring the beautiful
statue they had erected to the Postal Union, I did not
realize at that time to what base uses the thrifty hotel-
keeper at Geneva had put this glorious Postal Union, in
order to extract thereby a few petty centimes!
When visiting the famous watch works of Vacheron &
Constantin, founded in 1785, and apparently winners of
all the medals and prizes ever awarded since 1840, we
were astounded at the marvelous machinery, operated

largely by women and a few men who had grown grey
in the service. Plainly there was no "hire and fire"
system in vogue here, and the superintendent explained
that the trade was handed down from father to son and
that was the reason of their great success. Owing to
the fact that the cheapest watcli they make is sold for
seven hundred and fifty francs f. o. b. factory, we decided
to look a little further before making any purchases.
We observed that many of the hotels at which we
stopped had formerly boasted formidable German names,
such as the Schtwizerhof, etc., which were now camou
Suisse or Hotel des
flaged as the Hotel International,
doubt, to some miscalculations made
Princes, owing, no

three four years ago by
or the general staff at Berlin.
Nevertheless, the hotels were good and well conducted,
even if they did skim
off a little extra in the matter of

[34]
Through Switzerland

postage or their favorite item of chauffage, when the
only fire had been at all interested in
we was the one

in the kitchen range.
In passing through the country everything looked neat
and clean and even the fields
tidied up as though
were

everybody expecting company. As this part of the
was

work is attended to by the peasant women, it was, of
course, a thorough job.
In Berne it was rather odd to see a man and his dog
harnessed to. a cart, jogging along through the streets
with the morning's supply of milk or other produce.
We found it very interesting to visit the street market
in front of the famous old clock tower, which is flanked
on each side by picturesque old buildings that look as if
they might have been erected very soon after the found
ing of the city in 1191. Stretched in the middle of the
wide street were long tables piled up with all kinds of

produce which the gaily attired peasants had brought in
for sale; while along the curb rival peddlers and a few
fakers were prepared to relieve the peasants of their
newly acquired coin, or do business with any passerby
who happened to be susceptible.
The city of Berne has carefully preserved its old-world
charm and considered "the heart of Switzerland."
is

Among the attractive medieval features are its bridges,
towers and gates, as well as its buildings and quaint,
red-tiled houses, nestling on the hillsides along the river
Aar. The view from the high terrace back of the Parlia
ment Buildings, with the river winding below and the
snow-covered Alps in the distance, Jungfrau looming up

[35]
A Modem Pilgrimage

in the center, make a picture long to be remembered.
In the guide book the visitor is requested not to miss
seeing the W eltpostdenkmal, Zahijngerdenkmel, Erlack-
denkmal and Bubenbergdenkmal, the Stampfli and Haller-
denkmal, but whether we saw them all I will never tell,
and, if so, I do not remember them by their full names.
The Arcades form an interesting feature, as the upper
stories of the buildings rest on massive columns and
arches and extend out to the curb line. This arrange
ment, however, is more artistic than practical, as the
little stores and shops are consequently poorly lighted.
At Geneva we spent an evening listening to a comedy
they had opera in German, and
in French, but at Berne
must have got down to business early in the evening,
as the front of the house was deserted when we arrived
and it was like breaking into jail to find anyone to show
us to our seats. The performance was very enjoyable
and apparently well done, as the rest of the audience
seemed to approve. What interested me particularly
was the immense orchestra, a large number of whom
were womenand all playing together in perfect har

mony ! The opera was based on an incident that occurred
during the French Revolution, and it was a rather queer
coincidence that we should see the same thing, but by a
different author and under another name, sung in Italian
at Florence a few evenings later.
schools. Attendance
pride of Switzerland is her
The
to the age of
at the primary schools is compulsory up
also compul
fourteen years, and supplementary courses,

sory, bring the
backward ones up to the required stand-

[36]
Through Switzerland

ing before their military service begins. They claim
that inability to read and write is unknown. These
schools are free of charge of any kind, either for tuition
or materials. It was interesting to learn that the dead
languages have given place to modern tongues, and that
English is now taught in place of Greek. In some can
tons the school term runs along for forty-five weeks,

although in the Alpine districts it is shortened to from
twenty-four to thirty weeks. The Swiss point with pride
to the fact that it is not unusual for an agricultural com

mune, with only two or three thousand inhabitants, to
build a school building costing a hundred thousand
dollars.
As there are three national languages, Italian, French
and German, it would seem that a Swiss school teacher
must be something of a linguist.
As Berne preponderantly German, we found it
is
almost impossible to do any shopping, except with the
aid of the French members of our party; in fact, the
knowledge of French is a valuable asset and everywhere
on our trip we found it to be practically a universal

language.
Our exit from Switzerland, at Chiasso, was as amus
besides
ing as had been our entrance in France, at Calais,
throwing a side light on the characteristics of the genus

Americano.
The size of our party had increased at Paris, now num
increased
bering four, and our array of luggage had
but with the aid of a few valorous porteurs
accordingly,
on the inspection tables
our luggage was soon spread out

[37]
A Modem Pilgrimage

ready for the ordeal of a customs examination, when I
heard close by a commotion between a courier for the
A. E. F. and a bewhiskered inspector. The latter was
recklessly reeling off yards of Italian and German and
the former was indulging in vigorous U. S. vernacular.
The row was over four packs of cigarettes, not declared
by the owner, but which the said inspector had found
on opening his suit case.

Neither one could understand the other, the offender
offering, with violent protests and many vigorous oaths,
to pay the necessary duty and penalty, while the other
was reiterating the fact that he would have to pay. The
object of the soldier was obviously to divert the mind
of the inspector and get his valise closed up again as
soon as possible. The inspector was jubilant as he
finally marched the lad over to the pay counter; but the
joke was really on him, as the young man who hap
pened to be a Los Angeles boyconfessed to us a little
later that he had sixty other packs of cigarettes con
cealed in his valise, which he succeeded in getting across
the border free of duty.
I heard of another little incident which shows how our
fellow countrymen go about things when they
mean

American rushed into
business. In this case a bustling
of first-class car where two English
the compartment a

men were seated, and presently, pulling out an old,
to enjoy a smoke. One
highly pipe, proceeded
flavored
and in
of the Englishmen offered vigorous objection
to
formed him that he ought to know it was contrary
As this had no
the rules to smoke in a first-class car.

[38]
Through Switzerland

effect, he threatened to call the guard and have the
offender put off the car. At the next station the Amer
ican managed to see the guard first, and informed him
that an Englishman in his compartment was traveling
first-class on a second-class ticket, whereupon the guard
proceeded to remove the gentleman to another car, and
quiet reigned.
Presently the other Englishman remarked: "That was
deucedly clever of you, old chap, but how did you hap
pen to know he had a second-class ticket?"
"Easy enough," replied the American, as he filled his
pipe again, "his ticket was the same color as mine!"

[39]
V

Impressions of Italy
When we
purchased our through tickets from Paris
to Naples, the agent advised us to travel second-class in
Switzerland, thereby saving a few francs, but by all
means to go first-class through Italy. We found his
advice excellent, and although we remained in the same
car, found, as soon as we crossed the frontier, that
we

we now traveling strictly first-class.
were This was
accomplished by simply changing a small label by the
door of our compartment. Later on we learned that
on regular
a Italian train conditions at the best
were

poor enough, and at the risk of being a little too realistic
I will mention a few particulars.
In the first place, there is but one RiHrata, or wash
room, to the car, and it belongs to whoever happens
to

get there first. This room contains but one fixture, a

dirty corner wash basin that lets down from the wall,
into which you pump water, if there happens to be any;
but usually, an hour or so after starting on your jour
empty, and remains so. This, with
a
ney, the tank is
a fixture was
large round hole in the floor, to which
once probably attached, is all the room contains, except
half an inch or so of water, which sloshes around
over

the floor. If you happen to become thirsty or dirty,
reach your destination, as no
you remain so until you
soap, ice water, drinking cups or any other con
towels,
veniences are found anywhere beyond the Alps.

[40]
Impressions of Italy

Practically all European cars have a long corridor the
full length of the car, and are divided into compartments,
each one seating either six or eight persons, classed in
Italy as fumatori and non-fumatori. If you are in the
latter class and wish to smoke, you can either stand in
the corridor and smoke, or bribe the guard to let you
have his seat at the end of the car. Fortunately, I found
that lira, four cents,
one usually gets his seat, and a few
matches as well.
As coal is scarce in Italy, it is not unusual to see a
tender attached to the locomotive loaded with cordwood,
supplying fuel for the train. The cars and equipment
generally are in a very bad condition, and with the
present rate of exchange, the price of new equipment
and repairs is prohibitive.
Owing to the scarcity of cars the ladies are fortunate
if they can all secure seats, while the men gallantly stand
outside in the corridor, or perch on the stray pieces of
luggage that are stacked here and there. But no one
grumbles, and if the train starts half an hour late it
will only be half an hour late in arriving, provided it does
not lose another hour or so on the way, which is usually
a good, safe bet.

Anyway, we made our entrata into Italy, and were
rolling along briskly it being down grade! Below us
were beautiful valleys and occasionally we caught a
glimpse of a narrow, white stripe revealing an old Roman
road. Here and there were quaint old houses of stone,
roofed with thin, irregular slabs of split stone, and sur
rounded with old vineyards, the vines trained on wires

[41]
A Modem Pilgrimage

forming fantastic arbors. Even the fence posts in this
part of Italy are of stone slabs drilled to support wire
fencing. There was nothing combustible except the
meagre furniture inside the houses, and I imagine that
insurance agents are an unknown as well as an un

necessary quantity in this section of the country.
In a little over two hours after leaving the Italian

frontier at Chiasso we arrived at Milan, and then our

troubles began. We all wanted ice cream, and none of
us knew the proper name for it in that country. But
we bravely struck out and fortune smiled on us, as we
soon found a place where the waiter understood a little
French. As we entered, the orchestra struck up the
al Factotum from the Barbiere di Siviglia, and
Largo
we all felt quite at home! But the interesting and edu
cational part of the performance came when we tried
to pay our bill. The waiter looked at both sides of the
money, held it up to the light, and finally took it to the
we concluded there must
manager for his approval, so
be some spurious currency afloat, and were thereafter
on our guard.
One of the principal attractions we had been looking
forward to in Milan was a performance at the La Scala
celebrated in
Theatre, one of the largest and most
Europe, where so many famous
artists have appeared.
we found it had been closed
for some time
Unfortunately,
with hearing
for repairs and had to content ourselves
later.
the company at Florence a few evenings
Of all the countries we visited, Italy
makes by far
the railroad stations,
the bravest show of soldieryat

[42]
Impressions of Italy

onthe streets and in the trains, soldiers seemed to be
moving about everywhere, and certainly make a strik
ing sight with their grey uniforms and long military
capes.
We were by the great number of clocks
struck next
to be seeneverywhere, building after building; but
on

they are evidently intended only as ornaments, as none
of them were running. The next most frequently en
countered sight, especially in Rome, were bands of
various religious orders, marching in different colored
vestments and with such odd-shaped hats one would
never imagine a piece of masculine headgear could be

molded into so many different contraptions. I was often
"joshed" by the other members of our party because of
my desire to make a collection of native hats, especially
the old and interesting ones; but when I saw this wide
variety I lost heart, as I remembered that the ocean
liners restrict you to twenty cubic feet of baggage, and
thought it more feasible to take up some other line, such
as moderate-sized pyramids or some of those noisy little

Italian motor cars of the kindergarten type.
While there was a prevalence of soldiers, clocks and
monks, there was a great scarcity of good bread, fruits,
refined sugar, fresh meats, etc. bread, while it
The
war bread, was much
of our own
forcibly reminded us
had ever been, and the fruit,
poorer in quality than ours
especially the apples and pears, was such as could not
be graded in an American packing house; but no matter
how small and knotty they happened to be, the flavor
was always surprising.

[43]
A Modern Pilgrimage

One thing in Milan, however, struck us as being ade
quate, a bronze statue in front of the Academy. It
represents Napoleon as a Roman Emperor; but the
sculptor, Canova, in order to symbolize the fame and
power of his subject, gives him a splendid but imaginary
physique several times too large for the Little Corporal.
There are many other very beautiful statues, especially
the of Leonardo da Vinci in the Piazza de la Scala,
one

which is a wonderful and impressive piece of work. And
here in the Santa Maria delle Grazie is this artist's most
celebrated painting, "The Last Supper," now unfortu
nately almost faded away.
Passing on to Venice, we found at least one feature
there that was right up to our highest expectations, for
their gondoliers are all that has ever been claimed for
them, a fine, sturdy, good-natured lot, who act as guide,
officer all
megaphone-artist, engine, pilot and traffic
rolled into one.

As you glide along one of the narrow canals, you
see

but on
ahead a hopeless jam of barges and gondolas;
reaching the spot, you hear a little vigorous language
room enough for you
and, in some miraculous way, just
to glide through is made, and
then perhaps you whirl into
the corner of a build
a still narrower canal, just missing
of a quarter of an inch. But
ing by the narrow margin
that although they come
the interesting part of it is
is
to miss, and so skillfully
close, they always manage craft
the gondolier and his
it managed that it seems
Their deep, guttural cry, announcing their
are one

approach and indicating in which direction they expect

[44]
LOOKJNd DOWN KKOM THE RUINS. Ol'' TIIK PALACKS OK THK C.KSAU
Impressions of Italy

to turn, echoes weirdly down the narrow streets, and, in
the moonlight, is strangly moving and romantic.
We were surprised to find how much of Venice could
be seen without the use gondolas. There are only
of
about one fifty canals in the whole city,
hundred and
over which there are about four hundred bridges, and

the intervening spaces have streets much like any other
Italian city. From this time on it was part of the day's
work to become used to odors, as each city maintains
its own peculiar aroma, and very often this never-to-be-
forgotten fragrance differs from block to block, so that
the wayfarer, though he be deaf, dumb and blind, could
not be mistaken in his whereabouts.
We often found ourselves wondering if the American
public is not a little over-particular and super-sensitive
in the matter of disinfection and sanitation, especially
when we noticed the open-air comfort stations in. some
of these Italian cities placed in the alley, not over ten feet
from the main street and consisting merely of a narrow
a building, connected with a hole
groove in the side of
in the pavement. This is sometimes, but rarely, shielded
on the street side by a narrow
slab about one foot wide
it needs no sign to designate it.
by four feet high; but
we learned in Italy, that the ideas we
had
One thing
formed ofthings needed considerable revision.
many
of
Among other surprises was the general appearance
the country. Instead of the neat little farms, or beau
tiful old villas surrounded by flowers, orange trees, etc.,
we found much of the
land uncultivated and not even
one the impression of a new
inclosed by fences, giving

[45]
A Modern Pilgrimage

and undeveloped country rather than an ancient one
presenting the appearance of an old mine almost worked
out and practically abandoned. In no part of Italy did
we see the intensive farming of France, or the quaint
cottages and well-kept gardens.
Florence and Rome were each so rich in history and
incident that to tell of them would require a separate
article, so we will pass on to Naples and then resume
our journey.

In going anywhere in Italy, or the Orient, it is well
to inquire if the train you wish to take runs on Sunday,
as many of the train schedules have a sudden respect for
the Ten Commandments and suspend operations on the
Sabbath day.
At each step of our journey we added some piece of
information to our slender store. Just now it happened
to be in regard to the way hotel reservations are handled
"over there." Before leaving Florence, we had tele
graphed ahead to Rome ; but were coolly informed by the
concierge on our arrival that there were no vacancies.
We asked for the manager, who appeared and acknowl
edged that he had received our telegram, but expected
us on the morning train, and as we had not arrived then

(which was impossible) he had rented our rooms. How
ever, he kindly placed his one remaining room at our
disposal, and when we remonstrated that this was hardly
feasible for a party consisting of a man and his wife and
two other men, he hotly retorted that we could all go
and sleep in the Pincio, a public park, etc., etc.!! Finally
matters cooled down, and we were fitted out with his

[46]
Impressions of Italy

one remaining room and temporary beds in a back
parlor until the next day.
Finding that telegraphing ahead for hotel rooms was
not entirely satisfactory in this part of the world, we
decided to trust to luck at Naples, and found, on reach
ing that city, that because we had not telegraphed they
were unable to accommodate us. After a little inquiry
we found a very good hotel with an elevator which ran

long enough to get us up to our rooms. This is not
altogether unusual on the Continent at present, as this
part of the hotel equipment generally operates only long
enough to accommodate the incoming guests, and then
immediately goes out of business until the next day,
when a new batch of arrivals appear. In the intervening
hours you are expected to read the "Out of Order"
sign and trudge up and down four or five flights of stairs.
After a few more experiences we learned there was
another interesting consequence to engaging your hotel
accommodations in advance; you were always charged
the highest rates.
In addition to getting a varied experience along com
mercial lines, we thoroughly enjoyed the art and archi
tecture of Italy, which are worthy of anyone's attention,
whether particularly interested in these lines or not.
But I could not make myself believe that the sky is any
bluer, or the sunsets any more gorgeous than those on

the Pacific especially when viewed from the terraces

of our own home town!

[47]
VI

On the Mediterranean

Before leaving Naples we must not overlook two

other little incidents that throw an interesting sidelight
on our impressions of Italy.
One of the first chores we did at Rome was to take
our passports to the Police Department to secure per
mission to leave the country; but the matter dragged
along, and finally we were told that we had made a
serious mistake in not reporting in person to the police
soon enough after coming into Italy, and it would be
necessary for us to return to the frontier and do it all
over again. As the boat on which we had secured our

passage sailed in two days, things began to look rather
serious. Finally the guide managed to signal us to slip
him fifteen lira (sixty cents), which he passed to the

police official, and we were surprised to see all objections
suddenly waived, and our passports handed to us in less
than an hour. It was amazing what quick results so
small a bribe could accomplish!
But this Roman official was a mere novice, a clumsy
amateur, compared with another member of the force
at Naples, who, instead of being contented with a mere

trifle, planned on taking the whole pile. This second
incident occurred on the boat.
After my passport had
been inspected, I was accosted by a rather surly-looking
gentleman in uniform, who wanted to inspect my pocket-

[48]
On the Mediterranean

book and look all my private papers to see what I
over

was taking of
out the country. To all this I demurred,
until the agent of the Steamship Company assured me
that the man was acting within his rights, and I had
better comply with his request. So I produced my big
black pocketbook and saw him contemptuously pass over
my perfectly good American, English and French money,
and finally lift out nearly one thousand lira of paper
money (worth about forty dollars in United States
currency), which he laid on the table in front of him,
curtly informing me that according to law I had no right
to take any money out of that country. He then
motioned for the next man in line to advance and be
held up, whereupon I reached over the table, picked up
my little old one thousand lira, walked out of the room,
and stayed out ! ,A couple of hours later, when I assured
myself from a place on the upper deck that the
safe
officials leaving the boat, I came down and was
were

told that the aforesaid police official had been inquiring
for me; but as he had not been able to find me, he had
kindly consented to let the matter drop. I feebly ex
pressed my appreciation of such courteous treatment
from one who was a total stranger, and began to feel
relieved, as I saw that our boat was now actually leaving
the soil of Grande Italia. An hour or so later I felt still
more relieved when all I could see was the smoke curling
up above Vesuvius, and below it the dim outline of
Pompeii.
While we deeply regretted being unable to stop at
Capri and visit the Blue Grotto, we planned on rolling

[49]
A Modem Pilgrimage

out about four o'clock and Stromboli in action, so
see

we retired rather early, expecting to be called. But
that
they were evidently out of four o'clock calls on
boat, for when I awoke about six a. m., we were entering
the Straits of Messina, and presently Mt. Aetna loomed
up in the distance. With a faint wreath of smoke con
tinually heaving out of it, one could readily see how

appropriate it was as a trade-mark for various insurance
In
companies, especially those dealing with fire-risks.
this respect it seemed to have an edge on Gibraltar,
while its majestic appearance makes Mt. Vesuvius look
likea sideshow attraction.

So far, in fact, all the way to Alexandria, the sea
was calm and beautiful, the air cool and crisp, like
California in winter.
Our first stop was at Catania, Sicily, where we tarried
for four hours, while they loaded enough brimstone on
our vessel to start a fair-sized inferno. Finally, to our
great relief, the hatches were battened down and we

proceeded on our way.
During our stop at Catania we strolled some distance
down the pier to inspect one of those painted carts for
which the peasants of Sicily are famous. While admiring
the elaborate carving, the figures and landscapes painted
on the body of the cart, and the highly decorated har

ness, etc., a crowd of curious natives also gathered to
inspect the crazy foreigners who were making such a
fuss over nothing. This crowd attracted the attention
of a gendarme, or whatever they call them in that
country, who proceeded to inquire from us who we

[50]
On the Mediterranean

were, where we came from, what we were doing there,
and what we meant by collecting a crowd. They are
evidently not in favor of crowds there,
over while heso

was considering what would be the best thing to do

with us, we suddenly decided to settle the matter by
beating a hasty retreat to the boat, with the officious
policeman tagging at our heels.
Unfortunately we did not reach Syracuse until six
o'clock in the evening, too late to visit the ruins and the
old Greek and Roman theatres there.
This part of our trip seemed to go by fours, as we
were four hours late in leaving Naples, stopped four
hours at Catania, four hours at Syracuse, were delayed
four hours at Alexandria and it required a little over
four days make the voyage.
to
But this gave ample time for making acquaintances,
which is the principal attraction of traveling on the
water, when the elements behave themselves, and you
do not have to worry over what is about to happen to
you, or be kept in suspense as to whether you would
prefer to exchange the of the present for the
agonies
doubtful torments of the hereafter.
Speaking of acquaintances, we had at our table during
the Mediterranean trip a noted archeologist and his wife,
on their way to Palestine to perfect arrangements for

excavating a buried city; Father B a prominent
,

and superior-general of the Paulist Fathers in
priest
New York City; facing us an archbishop of Beyrout,
and at our right a brother of the ruling Pasha of Egypt
and former commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army,

[51]
A Modem Pilgrimage

who was just returning from a six years' exile to Spain,
where he had been interned by the English. The latter
was avery well-informed man, and we had several in
teresting chats on world conditions, during which the
merits and manifestations of Bolshevism and socialism
were discussed. I especially interested in his plan
was

for the prevention of wars, and at the risk of digressing
a little will briefly describe it: During a former campaign

in Egypt his army was encamped near a well in the
desert, on the opposite side of which lay the forces of
the enemy. An arrangement had been made whereby
the soldiers of each army might visit this well at differ
ent hours in order to get water. Happening to visit
this well one day, he found his soldiers and some of the
enemy exchanging cigarettes and sitting around telling
stories and joking together. Thinking the matter over,
he came to the conclusion that these private soldiers had
no desire to kill each other, on the contrary, seemed to
be the best of friends. All this set him to philosophiz
ing as to the real cause of wars and whether or not it
would be possible to prevent them. Finally he con
cluded that the best remedy would be to have the kings,
or whoever
happened to be at the head of the govern
ment, the prime ministers and all the leading politicians
on both sides man the front line
trenches, and when
everything was properly arranged give the order to fire !
If this were done it was his opinion that there would
be very. few wars in the future. Anyway it would be
interesting to see it tried for a few hundred years.
One of the most delightful memories of our Mediter-

[52]
On the Mediterranean

ranean trip was the long walks and talks with Father
B on the promenade deck in the moonlight. Being
a genial, middle-aged man, and an extensive traveler,
his conversation was both entertaining and instructive.
Above all his kindness won a way into my heart, and

anyone in my condition at that time would always keenly
remember it.
The condition referred to was the result of a little
episode that happened in Venice about two weeks pre
viously, when the lady of our party privately remon
strated that my old pipe was getting too highly flavored.
I promised that, if it was offensive to her, I would dis

pense with it. A few minutes later, as our gondola was
drifting along in front of the Doge's Palace, she asked
me to hand her my pipe, which I saw quickly disappear

overboard. Once on board the boat, the old longing
returned, and I secretly pined for my old companion and
solace, which was resting, peacefully, I hope, and doing
its bit to add to the fragrance of the Grand Canal.
When Father B inquired if I smoked, I told him
the sad story, and he nobly came to my rescue. Having
laid in a good supply of cigars before embarking, and
having often, in his travels, been in a tobaccoless condi
tion himself, he insisted that I share with him, and
therefore sociability greatly
our increased.
Theonly excitement we had on the voyage was fur
nished by a lady passenger who claimed she had been
robbed of a necklace, variously valued at from ten to
fifty thousand pounds, and accused the femme de
chambre of purloining the same. This caused a thorough

[53]
A Modern Pilgrimage

search both of the boat and the suspected young lady,
as well as a four hours' delay and police investigation
at Alexandria, before anyone was allowed to disembark.

During this delay we had our first view of the Orient,
and ample opportunity to inspect the motley array on
the pier. It was easy to realize that we had touched
a new and different section of the world. Bright red
tarbushes and long white cotton robes were to be seen

bobbing around among the sombre, conventional cos
tumes of the Europeans. Brown-faced and bare-legged

specimens of the poorer classes lounged about the pier.
Spirited horses dashed by, attached to arabiyehs, a sort
of surrey with a calash top, driven by a swarthy Arbagi,
whose feet generally protrude conspicuously over the
dashboard, asthe space between the driver's seat and
the dash is packed full with fresh alfalfa a day's supply
for the two steeds. Water carriers in bright costumes
with large earthen vessels suspended from their shoul
ders wandered about clashing their brass cymbals.
Negroes, Sudanese, all the races of the world seemed to
be represented, and all reflected the true Oriental spirit
in a total absence of hurry! Large, high-powered auto
mobiles dashed into the crowd, which in some mysterious
way managed to let them through without anyone being
run down. Here and there, perched on the edge of the

pier, were poorly clad natives contentedly fishing, but
evidently not expecting to catch anything.
Finally the gang-plank was run out, and the passengers
filed out, escorting their baggage to the customs house
where, owing to the stolen necklace incident, every

[54]
On the Mediterranean

solitary article was taken out and carefully examined.
After levying a duty on each separate and collective
article of luggage, our persons were carefully searched
for the missing necklace.
Then came the long, rambling drive to the hotel, and
our first experience with Oriental street brawls, which

are amusing enough in the daytime, but seriously inter

fered with our sleep at night. It was easy to see that some
thing was brewing in the political pot over in that part
of the world, and that Italy was not the only country
possessed of smouldering volcanoes.
It was difficult for us to realize that we were in the
city founded by Alexander the Great about 400 B.C.,
and at one time containing more than half a million
inhabitants, as very little remains now to remind one
of the glorious period when Antony and Cleopatra held
revel here, and the city boasted of a library containing
nine hundred thousand scrolls.
Pompey's pillar, a real granite column nearly nine feet
in diameter and over sixty feet high, stands on the
ruins of the old Serapeum in the midst of a public park,
but nothing was in evidence to suggest the wonderful
city that existed during the time of Hypatia, or a few
centuries earlier when Alexandria was the center of the
commerce of the world.

[55]
VII

In the Land of the Pharaohs

The distance from Alexandria to Cairo is one hun
dred and thirty miles, the trip requires four hours and
the fare is one hundred and seventy-five piastres, first
class (equaling seven dollars in United States currency,
and three dollars and fifty cents second class). These

good idea of railroad conditions in Egypt,
figures give a

as far as price and speed are concerned. The quality
of the service was surprising as it was the best we had
enjoyed since leaving England. In fact, you could almost
believe that you were on the Southeastern & Chatham
Railroad, the equipment being practically the same, and
everything clean, comfortable and sanitary thanks to
British management! They even run dining or restau
rant cars, as they are called.
Nearly the whole journey from Alexandria to Cairo
is through the fertile delta of the ancient Nile, although
at present there remains only two of the seven mouths
that once emptied into the sea, the others having been
silted up long ago, and are now replaced by a vast
network of irrigating canals.
As far as the eye can see, in every direction, stretches
a level, fertile plain, on which a great army of workmen

labor in primitive fashion and with the crudest of
a

tools. Adonkey and bullock hitched to a curved stick
is their idea of a first-class farm implement, and stranger

[56]
In the Land of the Pharaohs

still, their purpose, as there are thousands of
answers

acresunder cultivation. The farmhouses match their
wooden ploughs, consisting of mud huts grouped in
little villages, like the pueblos in New Mexico and
Arizona. The only visible adornment is the village
cemetery, which sometimes happens to contain one or

more shade trees, the only ones in sight. Anyone admir
ing the "simple life" could find it here in its most un
adorned simplicity, moving along in the grooves that
were fashioned fifty centuries ago.

As we journeyed along we noticed that a great many
people seemed to be either out for a ride or going some
where, and we began to wonder if we would find any
body there when we reached Cairo, as everyone was
journeying towards Alexandria. It was amusing to see
them jogging along on "broiler-size" donkeys; the rider
usually in a long white robe, sitting far back on the
donkey's rump, swinging his feet in and out in true
Oriental style. Now and then a train of donkeys would
come ambling along loaded down with such a variety

of commodities that we concluded it must be some port
able Oriental emporium looking for a new location, or
keeping on the move to avoid paying rent.
Entering Cairo, our train stopped in a large and up-to-
date station, alive with noisy Arab porters and guides,
all rather confusing to a stranger. But we had arranged
with the American Express Company to meet us, as we
feared our knowledge of Arabic, which at that time
amounted to a mere "chemical trace," might not be suf
ficient to meet the requirements. So we managed to get

[57]
A Modern Pilgrimage

safely to our hotel, located on the Opera House Square,
a large and sumptuous hostelry with a large terrace
filled with tables and potted palms, overlooking the
Esbekiyeh Gardens. (I use the word hostelry advisedly;
as "the Egyptians call their houses 'hostelries' on ac

count of the short time they inhabit them ; but the tombs
This hotel was
they call eternal dwelling-places.")
with an elevator, which actually ran most of
equipped
the time, provided you had leisure enough to wait for
it; but as we were only stopping there a few days, we
generally climbed five flights of stairs and often won
dered why they had to make the ceilings so high!
Cairo has been called "the diamond stud on the handle
of the fan of the Delta," and we found it all of that.
In fact, next to Paris, it was the most interesting and
fascinating city we encountered and one of which
volumes could be written.
Naturally our first expedition was to the pyramids
of Ghizeh, which can be reached by auto in a little over
half an hour, or by tram car in about forty minutes.
When about one hundred and fifty yards from the
pyramids, the good road suddenly stopped and so did
our little party (owing to a punctured tire), and rather

than plough through the sand we negotiated for four
camels, which, after the customary amount of protest,
finally knelt down for us to climb on. So much was
easy; but it required some dexterity and vigilance to
stay on while these long-legged animals up-ended them
selves, and got under way. These unclean and pathetic
animals slouched along like a negro with sore feet, and

[58]
In the Land of the Pharaohs

in about twenty minutes more we were brushing by
Cheop's pyramid, on which, it is said, one hundred thou
sand men labored three months each year for twenty
years the period when the Nile is on its yearly rampage.
Like everyone else who sees this monument for the first
time we marveled at the immense blocks of stone of
which it is composed.
Anyone of an inquiring mind is permitted to explore
the interior of this pyramid by going around to the
north side and climbing up thirteen tiers of stone, each
one about three feet high, then getting down on all

fours and crawling through a dark and slippery passage
about three and a half feet high by four feet wide, breath
ing meanwhile an atmosphere that smells strongly of bats.
After crawling along for a distance that seems fully as
long as a city block, the inquiring and persistent person
comes finally to the Great Hall and the King's Chamber,

which at present contains nothing but an empty and
mutilated sarcophagus and an Arab fortune-teller, who,
with his index-finger marks out a wheel in the sand and
for five piastres a throw will tell you what the future
has in store for you. After the veil of the future has
been momentarily lifted, all that remains to do is crawl
out again, and brush off the cobwebs. As none of our

party seemed anxious to go indoors, we continued on
our way about two hundred yards beyond the big pyra

mid and dismounted in front of the Sphinx. This famous
monument was hewn out of the natural rock at least
five thousand years ago. As the original rock was

slightly deficient in places, additional blocks of stone

[59]
A Modern Pilgrimage

were added to form the shape of a recumbent lion with
the head of a man, supposed to be the likeness of King
Khepren, by whose orders the work was done. At one
time it was supposed to represent a sun-god, and that it
was sculptured to guard the entrance to the Nile Valley;

if so, its name was Hu. While on the subject of pyra
mids, we learned that the Arabic name for a pyramid is
haram, while the Mohammedan's name for his wives, up
to four, is spelled harim. Whether there is any etymo
logical significance in the similarity of these two words
we were unable to have
thoroughly and satisfactorily
explained.
From the pyramids we crossed to the opposite side
of the city, where the Tombs of the Caliphs are located,
just north of the Mokattam Hills, whose quarries fur
nished much of the rock used in the construction of the
pyramids. Here we found some wonderful specimens
of Arabic art and architecture, but nothing to compare
with the superb mosque of Sultan Hasan, which is con
sidered the finest existing monument of
Egypto-Arabian
architecture, or the recently completed Rafaiyeh
mosque, which, in the judgment of our humble party,
was the one
perfect specimen of Oriental architecture
among the thousands which adorn the sky-line of Cairo.
This latter mosque contains the
family burial vault of
the Khedive Ismail, who did many
great things for Cairo
(and, incidentally, for himself), his ambition being to make
that city the rival of Paris. He was
getting along beau
tifully and had succeeded in
appropriating to his own
use one-fifth of all the arable land in
Egypt and had

[60]
In the Land of the Pharaohs

increased the public debt to about three hundred and
seventy millions of dollars when he was finally deposed.
The city of Cairo is fertile in mosques and we plucked
up courage enough to climb to the top of one of the
tallest minarets and take a bird's-eye view of the city
and its environs, and our sympathy goes out to the poor
old nmezzin who has to make that climb five times each
day.
On our secondday in Cairo we visited the famous
Egyptian Museum, one of the most wonderful of its
kind in the world, and while it is highly interesting, it can
hardly be called a place for pleasurable sight-seeing. In
one gallery you are introduced to the
Royal Mummies,
and find yourself standing at the side of Merenptah, the
Pharaoh of the Exodus (who, by the way, has not been
"unrolled" yet). In a case near by is his father, Rameses
II, the Pharaoh of Oppression mentioned in the first
chapter of Exodus, whose features are not exactly pleas
ing to look at. But after you have strolled along farther
and find one whose honeycombed skull shows that the

royal owner was carried off with smallpox, you decide
that Rameses was not so bad looking after all. From
the royal specimens you pass on to a varied assortment
of mummified monkeys, dogs, cats, gazelles and croco
diles, as well as bunches of flowers and fruits that were
gathered fresh
something like forty or fifty centuries
ago. But mummy-gazing is not exactly an enlivening
pastime, and a couple of hours of it is generally suffi
cient for the average individual, when he is perfectly
willing to move along and examine the jewelry that the

[61]
A Modern Pilgrimage

queens and royal princesses wore when they motored
over to see how the pyramids were progressing, or
strolled out on the ancient Rialto.
Especially fine and elaborate are the ornaments and
jewels of Queen Ahhotep, the mother of King Amosis,
who ruled 1580-1557 B.C. Rings, bracelets, necklaces,
earrings, etc., were considered the proper thing even in
those days, and while vanity cases were not yet in vogue,
the lady's mirror is on exhibition.
One of the charms of Cairo (on a cool day) is a visit
to the Mouski along which the best of the native bazaars
are located; but it is well to beware of the Tunis and
some of the other
congested bazaars in the heat of the
day, as the odor increases with the
heat, and you could
hardly find a more ideal breeding place for cholera or
any other form of pestilence. Some of these old places
have evidently never been properly cleaned since Moses
was found in the bulrushes, and a modern vacuum
cleaner would probably have nervous prostration if called
upon to function in that part of the city.
You can never be lonesome in Cairo. As
you soon as

step out the street you are assailed by guides and
on

street vendors of all kinds, who want to sell you any

thing from a New York Herald to a genuine scarab
made in Germany; but we soon learned the proper anti
dote for beggars and street merchants, who follow you
around for blocks, refusing to take "no" for an answer,
thinking you will buy presently if they keep on lowering
the price. We learned that by firmly saying, "Ma feesh
filoos (There is no money) !" they would all scatter

[62]
In the Land of the Pharaohs

like chaff in a high These dealers in spurious
wind.
antiques have a serious way of trying to convince you
of the genuineness of their wares by pulling down their
lower eyelids and repeating their favorite oath, "By my
eye!" In that country, where there are so few good
eyes, we decided that they were putting it as strong
as

all
they knew how. Ophthalmia is a serious problem
through the Orient, and the stranger must be continually
on his guard if he wants to leave the country with two

perfectly good eyes. It is pitiful to see even babies with
diseased eyes, and the mother with perhaps only one
out of order.
eye in operative condition, and that slightly
Somebody has facetiously remarked that this country
must be where the Russellite cult originated, as millions
of these people will certainly never see death or any

thing else!
There is something else the newcomer has to contin
ually be on his guard against, and that is not to confuse
the sexof the waiters in the restaurants, who all wear
long white robes with bright red sashes or tarbushes.
And when you get to coffee, you are sure to get cafe fori
in Arabian style, and find yourself drinking black mud
instead of coffee such as you are accustomed to drink.
If you decide to take a ride on the street car, you
find they are divided into first, second and third classes,
with an enclosed compartment marked Dames, which,
if you happen to enter and a veiled lady also happens
to board the car, you are supposed to vacate imme

diately, as the same roof must not cover persons of

opposite sex. For this reason the soldiers nicknamed

[63]
A Modern Pilgrimage

these black-robed, black-veiled ladies "submarines," and
steered clear of their special compartments. Fortunately
you are not compelled to patronize street cars, as the

city is alive with Arab cabs, and you no sooner step out
of the hotel than one appears as if by magic, and a
swarthy Arab throws back the calash top and waits
for you to climb in.
Moving day, which seems to be any day at any time,
is one of Cairo's chief sights. If the moving is on a
small scale an Arab will be seen walking down the street
with a dresser on his head, followed by another Arab
with the marble top balanced on his head; while a third
will have a few chairs hung around on his person. If
the movee happens to be a person of some importance
and social standing, one who has accumulated consider
able of the world's goods, he secures an ordinary jolt-
like a hay-rack, on which
wagon, with a large, flat bed
he loads his several wives and other female dependents,
three or four along each side with feet hanging down
the his household effects in the
over edge, piles up
middle between them, ties the family cow to the rear
of the wagon, where it is attended by the juvenile mem
bers of the family, while he, the lord and master of the
household, seats himself up on the high seat alongside
the driver.
Funerals also are barometers of social standing in
consist of
Egypt. The usual ones seen on the street
the deceased carried in a regulation box on the shoul
ders of a group of pallbearers, followed by the lamenting
harem and a few friends, the whole procession on foot.

[64]
In the Land of the Pharaohs

In a short time the box is brought back empty and ready
for the next call.
But in spite of all the strange customs and odd sights
there is a fascination about the city of Cairo which is
irresistible but hard to explain. At first you feel dis
gusted with the filth and odors, you dislike being an
noyed by insistent guides, street peddlers and beggars.
The ragged, sore-eyed, emaciated and generally run
down condition of the natives makes you feel that it
is about time to wipe off the slate and start a new score.
But eventually the lure of Egypt creeps through your
system, and your whole mental attitude changes. You
begin to feel a little sympathy with the old-timers who
tell you that they "simply love the filth and odors of
the Orient," and you gradually grow to enjoy the
peculiar flavor of Oriental life and your stay becomes
one of constant interest and
pleasure.

[65]
VIII

From Egypt to Palestine

Just before leaving Cairo a little incident occurred
that enlivened our departure. A few hours before train
time Mr. B decided to pay a final visit, and in order
to save run no risk of getting lost, called a
time and
cab and gave the cabman the directions, which he pro
fessed to understand. Time passed; it was getting dan
gerously near train time, when suddenly a cab pulled up
in front of the hotel, Mr. B dashed out excitedly,
and after a few hot words, handed the cabman a small-
sized bank note, which he looked at and contemptuously
threw onground. The hotel cab-starter picked up
the
the money and handed it to him again, when the Arab
launched forth in a loud harangue, stretching his hands
up toward the sky, beating his breast, and again throw
ing the money on the ground, whereat a nearby Sou
danese slipped quietly down from his cab, pocketed the
spurned money and climbed back on his seat with a
satisfied and expansive grin. In the meantime a crowd
had collected and with it a policeman, all of which made
the noisy cabman more noisy and vehement than ever
(as their theory seems to be that the loudest man wins),
until finally the policeman led him over and parked him
on opposite side of the street with instructions to
the
cool off and quiet down. While all this was going on,
I had managed to glean from Mr. B that the Arab

I 66 2
From Egypt to Palestine

had driven him over half of Cairo, everywhere except

to the right number, which he never did reach, although
it was not over ten minutes' walk distant from the hotel,
and on one of the principal streets, and that the cause
of all the row was his refusal to pay a full fare for the
afternoon's ride around the city.
Before leaving the subject of Cairo we should be
remiss if we failed to mention the Bahais who did so

much to make our stay a pleasant one, and of whom
I expect to have more to say at another time.
Leaving Cairo at six-fifteen p. m. we proceeded by
rail to Kantara, on the Suez Canal, on the opposite side
of which the military railroad, built by Lord Allenby
during the late war, has its southern terminus.
After a round with the customs officials and a tire
some siege with the passport officers, we secured porters
and started in search of the train for Haifa. This
seemed to be a sort of mirage, but we trudged on in the
darkness, crossed the bridge over the Suez Canal, were
halted now and then by sentries, who scanned our pass
ports, and after a hike of over half a mile, finally over
took a train of sleeping cars on a sandy siding, into
which we climbed, completely exhausted, about midnight.
The train was much better than we had expected, and
the management seemed especially solicitous for the
personal appearance of the
traveling public, as it had
neat little framed notices inthe cars stating that "the
conductor will brush and polish the shoes of the pas
sengers if so requested." The white-jacketed porters,
so familiar in American Pullmans, are here
conspicuous

[67]
A Modern Pilgrimage

by their absence, and although there are plenty of
Ethiopians in this part of the world, they have not yet
invaded the sleeping car payroll. The solitary conduc
tor does not bother much about your tickets or any
thing else, and appears in the morning only long enough
to make up your berth and collect the linen.
When traveling in a party, these European compart
ment cars are ideal, as you have absolute privacy, and
no one disturbs you, even to announce the stations; it

seems to be up to the passenger to keep track of the

train's whereabouts, to see that he gets off at his proper
station, and to do his own yelling for a porter to carry
his luggage. But if your party is not large enough to
fill the compartment, the case is entirely different, as
you are likely to have your peace of mind and body
disturbed by the pervasive and unsavory presence of the
less desirable type of native, with his own ideas of
ventilation.
In Palestine these International Wagon-Lits, or sleep
ing cars, are operated by a company whose full name
is the Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits et des
Grands Express Europeens, and are fairly good-sized
cars. They have to be, in order to get the name of the
company on one side of the car without too much
abbreviation, or the necessity arises for wrapping the
rest of it around the other side of the voiture. They
on

have only one row of berths opening onto a side corridor

running the full length of the car. In the daytime these
coaches resemble the ordinary Continental cars, except
that each pair of compartments has a little semi-circular

[68]
From Egypt to Palestine

built-in washroom, done in beveled glass and Lincrusta-
Walton, a very convenient feature. The weakest thing
about it is the water supply, as after two persons with
tiny hands and a very small face have washed, the rest
of the party must be content with using the damp end
of the towel, unless they get out a search warrant for
the conductor, who will obligingly furnish a small pitcher-
ful of water. It is very necessary for the traveler in
these parts to remember that he is supposed to supply
himself with soap and towels, as in so doing he will
automatically avoid a great deal of inconvenience. The
reason given in Italy for the failure to
provide these
articles is that anything so easily removed never remains
long in place. Such a condition is surprising in Rome,
which once boasted the finest and largest baths in the
world; but where the natives must have gotten washed
up for all time, as the present indications show that
bathing is not in vogue, soap and towels are kept under
lock and key. But here in the Orient, where ablutions
are a religious
obligation and are required of the faith
ful five times a day (before prayers), we naturally ex
pected- better facilities. Indeed, we failed to see how
this duty could be discharged unless, by special dispen
sation, the inhabitants were allowed to avail them
selves of the religious regulations of the
desert, where
"the faithful are permitted to use sand for their religious
ablutions" a of
dry wash!
sort

Getting back to the car again: each
compartment has
two very comfortable berths, an upper and lower; but
the regulations state that "each sleeping car cabin is

[69]
A Modem Pilgrimage

available for three first-class passengers after eight a. m."
what becomes of the third passenger during the night
time, and whether he gets any sleep depends, I presume,
on whether he is a stronger or a better man than either
of the other two.
Fortunately the most unattractive part of the journey,
that through the desert of El Tih, was accomplished
during the night, and the next morning found us in the
narrow, but fertile valley that skirts the eastern shore
of the Mediterranean Sea, which at one time was the
most frequented and fought-over section of the world,
but is now a scene of ruin and desolation. Except at
rare intervals there is nothing for miles and miles to
indicate that this part of the world is even inhabited,
and you begin to wonder if you have by mistake been
switched off into some new and undiscovered country.
Being assured that we were really in Palestine, we
began to look about for some signs of Zionists, who,
we had been led by our home press to believe,
were

in force. We continued to look
invading these parts
the Suez Canal to
long and earnestly all the way from
the northern end of the Sea of Galilee for a glimpse of
these colonists about to reclaim their native land, and
make the desert and rocks of Palestine blossom like
the rose. A week or so later, from Haifa to Tiberias,
we did discover two or three instances of unusual
activity. The English are busy installing a system of
than
good roads in Palestine, so that something
more

about from
donkey or a caravan of camels can
move
a
some degree of speed, com-
one place to another with

[70]
From Egypt to Palestine

fort and safety. These roads are being built according
to the specifications of John Macadam, and the rocks
are broken up by husky young Jewesses, while the grad

ing is done by their husbands, brothers and sweethearts,
under the direction of English engineers. They seemed
to be a happy and industrious lot, but rumor says that
as soon as they draw down sufficient cash, they hasten

to buy a return ticket for their former homes.
The only evidence of permanent colonization we saw
was the little German settlements dotted here and there,
which formed a pleasing contrast with the surrounding
desolation and showed that industry and perseverance
will work wonders even in this forsaken corner of the
globe.
Our curiosity was aroused by a large pipe-line which
we saw cropping out occasionally along the railroad
south of Ludd, and learned that this was installed dur
ing the English military operations along with the rail
road, and that water was now piped through it to
Jerusalem, thus fulfilling the ancient prophecy that one
day the sweet waters of the Nile would be conveyed to
the Holy City.
After passing through the Plain of Philistia, the train
halts at the railroad station of Ludd, about a mile dis
tant from which lies the ancient city of Lydda, which
should be especially interesting to all Englishmen, as it
was the native
place of St. George, the patron saint of
England. His tomb is still shown in the old church, a
sort of two-family house, as one end of the building

belongs to the Greeks, while the other is walled off and
used as a Mohammedan Mosque.

[71]
A Modem Pilgrimage

Ludd is prominent junction point, if nothing more.
a

To the right lies Jerusalem, forty-two miles away, and
to the left you can see the orange groves of Jaffa,
twelve miles distant. These groves have unique burglar-
proof, rust-proof fences composed of a dense growth
of prickly pears.
Jaffa is the ancient Joppa, the place where Jonah is
said to have set sail on his tempestuous voyage, and a
few centuries before that was called Iopa, where, in

mythological times, Andromeda was chained to the
rocks to be devoured by the cruel monster, when Perseus
happened along, killed the monster and proposed to
the young lady. The surroundings were probably more
romantic than they are now.
After leaving Ludd we enter the Plain of Sharon.
Here and there we saw a solitary palm or fig-tree, or
a pomegranate and a few clusters of low, black tents,
indicating that some Arab was making a temporary
home for himself with a few cattle grazing around him.
When you see this you have seen about all that remains
of the wonderful Plain of Sharon, of which Solomon
sings so enthusiastically. And you find that the Rose
of Sharon wasn't a rose after all, but a narcissus, and
into silence until the train ap
you relax and relapse
Caesarea, which we dimly remembered as the
proaches
chief town of Judea in Roman times, having been built
and named for
by Herod the Great in sumptuous style,
of its former
Augustus Caesar. It has lost every trace
has been used only as a
grandeur, and for many years
used in buildings elsewhere. It is
quarry for rock to be

[72]
From Egypt to Palestine

inhabited only by a few Bosnian exiles, who manage
somehow to live a quiet and secluded life among the
ruins.
About twenty miles farther across the Plain of Sharon,
we passed around the head of the Mt. Carmel of Biblical

times and just under the caves of Elijah, and entered
the Bay of Acre, at the southern end of which lies the
beautiful little city of Haifa and at the northern ex
tremity the historic City of Akka.
In size and shape it resembles our Santa Monica Bay,
but here the resemblance ceases, as the country between
these two cities is silent and deserted and there is noth
ing to indicate that about eight hundred years ago this

spot was the battle ground of the Crusaders, and that
at one sixty thousand Christians were slain here
time
or sold into slavery. In more recent times, Napoleon
encamped on what is still known as Napoleon's Hill, and
unsuccessfully beseiged the City of Akka.
At last, after a jaunt of over ten thousand miles, not
including the distance we had tramped through art gal
leries, museums and mosques, or journeyed by autos,
cabs or other minor means of conveyance, which would
be incredible if totaled, we reached what I supposed
was the end of our journey; for Haifa is the home of

Sir Abdul Baha, the head of the Bahai movement, whose
influence is now being felt in every civilized country.

[73]
IX

The New Bahai Temple

One of the prime responsibilities of each member of
our party during our journey eastward was to look to
the safety of a certain roll, about six inches in diameter
and four feet long, containing the plans and prospectus
of the new Bahai Temple at Chicago, which was on its
way to Abdul Baha, the master and head of the Bahai
Movement.
Particular and exacting as that charge was at the
time, it seems easy compared with the present task of
attempting to describe what was contained in the
precious roll.
It is hardly necessary to emphasize the fact that
these plans were exquisite examples of architectural
drawings, and the large water-color perspective a work
of art; yet it was not until I returned to Chicago and
saw the huge model of the building that I began to

realize the wonderful beauty of this new creation, and
even then it was necessary to become somewhat familiar

with its symbolism to grasp its full significance.
This is
masterpiece in that it represents in
unique
Revelationa con
plastic form the teaching of the new

crete expression of a spiritual conception. It is safe
to say that never before in the history of architecture
has such a thing been attempted and executed with
such complete and marked success.

[74]
The New Bahai Temple

As is well known, all great religions have brought
into existence a new type of architecture; so that archi
tecture may be truthfully said to have been born in the

temple. Each religion has also adopted or originated
a certain figureor symbol; such as the swastika, the
earliest religious symbol, used in prehistoric times from
China to Western Africa; the gammadion, or voided
Greek cross; the seal of Solomon, consisting of two
triangles superposed and forming a six-rayed figure (also
used by the Vedantists and Theosophists) ; the Moham
medan symbol of the crescent and five-pointed star, and
finally, surpassing them all, the nine-pointed star, which
is the symbol of the Bahais.
All of these emblems have been wrought into the
decoration of this Temple, presenting a history of re
ligious symbolism from the earliest times. Interwoven
with them is a system of geometrical lines and figures,
original with Mr. Bourgeois, by means of which he
obtains endless line, and as you look at his decora
an

tion you are reminded of the wave of sound evoked by
the master from the violin "an uninterrupted wave of
crystallized sound!"
While one could truthfully say that this specimen of
architecture is "frozen music," yet, on the other hand,
it has extraordinary life and movement. It produces
a variety of emotion in different onlookers, and while

all agree that it is a marvelous creation, some go into
raptures over it; while others are moved to tears. One
of the greatest architects in New York has stated that
"it is the first new idea in architecture since the thir
teenth century."

[75]
A Modern Pilgrimage

ThisTemple is to be called the Mashreq' ul-Azkar
(also spelled Mashrak El Azkar), an Arabic term which
means "the dawning place of the mentionings of God."

A place of prayer and praise and one from which is to
go forth actual and unselfish service to humanity.
In plan it resembles a nine-pointed star, the number
nine being used by the Bahais as the symbol of this
Revelation, as it contains all the others and is the sign
of completion. The nine faces of the Temple are made
on an inverted curve, which has the effect of two open
arms inviting all who approach to enter. The nine
entrance doors are at the center of each of these curves
and symbolize the heart.
The crowning glory of the Temple is the massive and
'

inspiring dome, on which is carved all the religious sym
bols; beginning at the base with the swastika, the
Buddhists' symbol, the seal of Solomon, the Cross, the
crescent and star, and finishing at the top with the nine-

pointed star, the symbol of the Bahais, all wonderfully
interwoven with geometrical tracery that gives it an
indescribable richness and charm.
All of this decoration on the dome is not only carved,
but is pierced or cut through, and will present, espe
lace work
cially when illuminated, a piece of architectural
This
that will surpass anything of its kind in existence.
type of perforation was originated by
Mr. Bourgeois
and featured by him in California over twenty years ago.
and
The shape of the building reminds one of a bell,
to dis-
it has been called "the new Liberty Bell, calling

[76]
The New Bahai Temple

tressed and separated humanity." Others liken it to a
beehive betokening activity in perfect order.
In the elevation of the Temple we are confronted with
more symbolism, as it is built up in three stages, form

ing a trinity such as is found everywhere, in man and
all the works of nature.
The architectural forms of the past have been worked
into its design, the first story being reminiscent of the
old Egyptian temples, with nine towers ornamented with
exquisite tracery and perforated to form spiritual light
houses. The doors and windows are Romanesque in
form with a touch of Gothic and Arabic tracery. The
second story is Gothic in form, interlaced with Roman
esque and early Byzantine motifs. The third story is
Renaissance in treatment and leads up beautifully to the
dome, the great and crowning feature of the building,
ninety-five feet in diameter and one hundred and sixty-
two feet high. Within this outer dome will be an inner
dome of opalescent glass to take care of the rain or
snow, a space of three feet to be left between them for

electric light display at night and for a system of forced
steam heating for melting snow and ice.
The of the first story, as well as the
nine towers
minarets of the second story, will also be perforated
and illuminated at night. But the most spectacular
electrical effect will be found at the apex of the dome,
where the nine ribs come to a common point, repre
senting hands joined together in prayer. These hands
leave an open space between the fingers and thumbs
from which powerful searchlights will throw nine beams

[77]
A Modem Pilgrimage

of light into the sky, forming a nine-pointed star in
space, visible for many miles.
From a psychologist's standpoint this Temple presents
an interesting study, as Mr. Bourgeois declares he is
"only the channel through which it came," and proceeded
with the work only as it was given to him.
The first thing he did was the doors and windows of
the first story, a wonderful piece of architectural design,
symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit. After fin
ishing this he got the entire form of the lower story
and sketched it out in an hour's time, but he realized
when the sketch was finished that the idea could not be
properly expressed in a drawing on a flat surface. So
he proceeded to make a plaster model. Then the second

story dawned on him and he modeled that, but being
deeply perplexed all the time as to whether it would be
possible to design a suitable dome, one rich enough
to

the vision that had already been given him.
complete
Then the quiet and restful third story appeared, which
added still more to his perplexity and brought several
to produce a
days of grave doubts as to his ability
feature worthy to complete the structure. One morning
and saw
he was awakened suddenly at three o'clock
sketch out.
before him the dome, which he hastened to
is given
Thus all the credit for this wonderful creation
by the architect to a higher Power,
which simply used
him as an instrument, and much in the
same way as he

used hispencil and modeling tools.
One morning in the spring of 1901 (twenty years ago)
were taking a stroll on
Mr. Bourgeois and the writer

[78]
The New Bahai Temple

the Mission Hills at Santa Barbara, California, when he
related at some length that his mission in life was to
build a large temple to be dedicated to Truth, which
was to surrounded by other buildings devoted to
be
Art and Science and the welfare of humanity. Just
where these buildings would be located he was not sure,
buthoped it might be somewhere in sunny California.
A few months later I happened to call at the De
Longpre residence at Hollywood and was shown by M.
De Longpre two newspaper clippings reporting that our
mutual friend had been taken to a sanitarium near Pitts
burgh with pneumonia and three days later had
passed on.
Having read all this in the Associated Press dispatches,
I naturally believed it was true and was hardly prepared
for the shock I received about eight months ago, when
I saw in the Architectural Record an article on a new

Bahai Temple at Chicago designed by Louis Bourgeois.
So I lost no time in writing him to inquire if he had
been here all this time, and requesting some sort of an
explanation.
Hisreply was to the effect that he was still here, and
planning a trip to Europe and Palestine, in which it was
my good fortune to join and incidentally
add to my

experiences the richest chapter of my life.
But the strangest thing of all is that his dream, re
lated to me twenty years ago, is being realized in the
Bahai group now being erected at Wilmette, near
Chicago.
From a human standpoint, the designing of this

[79]
A Modem Pilgrimage

temple presents another interesting phase, as when the
problem of designing the building presented itself, Mrs.
Bourgeois volunteered to co-operate by buying a little
notion store at West Englewood, New Jersey, where
they were living, and while the artist-architect was
working on the model she was occupied with selling ice
cream and candy. Instead of being able to finish the
model in a few months, as he at first thought, it re
quired three years, but finally in an atmosphere of love
and cheerful co-operation the great work reached a suc
cessful termination.
The model was designed for a building four hundred
and fifty feet in diameter and three hundred and sixty
feet high and would cost approximately twenty-five mil
lion dollars. The one now under construction in Chi

cago is on smaller scale and will be one hundred and
a

and sixty-two
sixty-two feet in diameter, one hundred
feet high and will cost about three million dollars. It
Michi
will be situated on the only bluff in sight on Lake
nine which is circular on three
gan, in a plot of acres,
wall five hundred feet
sides. This will be inclosed by a

in beautiful gardens
in diameter and will be laid out
having nine avenues and nine large basins of water with
illuminated fountains. The water from these basins will

be gathered into the center basin, facing Acca,
Palestine,
lake forty feet below.
and will then be cascaded into the
at night.
This cascade will also be illuminated
The municipality of Wilmette
has purchased the land
the site of the Temple for park purposes,
so
adjoining

[80]
The New Bahai Temple

that it will have a park on one side and the circular part
will face on the great Lake.
Around the Temple it is proposed to erect accessory
buildings devoted to the study and propagation of the
arts and sciences, and, as Abdul Baha says, "when these
institutions, college, hospital, hospice and establishments
for the incurables, university for the study of higher
sciences and advanced educational courses and various

philanthropic buildings, are built, its doors will be open
to all nations and all religions. There will be drawn

absolutely no line of demarcation. Its charities will be
dispensed irrespective of color and race. Its gates will
be flung wide to mankind, prejudice toward none, love
for all. The central building will be devoted to the pur
poses of prayer and worship. Thus for the first time

religion will become harmonized with science and science
will be the handmaid of religion, both showering their
material and spiritual gifts on all humanity."
To one who is not familiar with the Bahai movement,
the question naturally arises as to what it means and
what is behind it all.
As I had the great honor and pleasure of meeting
Abdul Baha, and having several interviews with him,
I have taken the opportunity of investigating the Bahai
teachings.

[81]
X

What the Bahai Movement Is

In the teachings of the Bahais we find nothing radical
or revolutionary. They do not seek to introduce new
forms or ceremonies and have nothing mysterious, occult
or abstruse about them. One looks in vain to find any
thing that must be accepted "on faith," such as is defined
by the little Sunday School girl as the "act of trying
to make yourself believe what you know is not true!"
It is not an organization and has no paid clergy. It
is not an attempt to supplant or supersede any of the
old established religions, but is rather an inclusive move
ment that numbers among its adherents members of
is represented by
every known religion and creed, and
from civilized country on the globe.
people every
Christians, Buddhists, Mohammedans, Theo-
Jews,
sophists, Freemasons, Spiritualists, all find their highest
aims in this cause, as it contains the essence of the

highest ideals of the present century.
It constructive rather than iconoclastic and its
is
laid down by
teachings are based on twelve principles,
his
Baha Ullah about sixty years ago, and expounded by
in the Orient as "the Master"
son, Abdul Baha, known
of them:
and the "Center of the Covenant." He says
"All the teachings which have been given during past
Revelation of Baha Ullah,
days are to be found in the
has certain new
but in addition to these this Revelation

[82]
-

What the Bahai Movement Is

teachings which are not to be found in any of the
religious books of the past."

THE TWELVE BAHAI PRINCIPLES

1 The Oneness of Mankind. "Baha Ullah addresses
himself to mankind, saying: 'Ye are the leaves of one

tree and thedrops of one That is, the world
ocean.'
of human existence is no other than one tree, and the

nations or people are like unto different branches
thereof. Thus Baha Ullahpresented the fact of the
oneness of the world of humanity, while in the reli

gious books of the past humanity has been divided
into two parts, one part looked upon as belonging to
the faithful, the other as belonging to the irreligious
or infidel; the first assigned to the Mercy of their
Creator, the second considered objects of the Creator's
wrath. But Baha Ullah proclaimed the oneness of
the world of humanity he submerged all mankind in
the sea of Divine Generosity."
2 Independent Investigation of Truth. "Men are com
manded not to follow blindly the ways of their ancestors.
Nay, each must see with his own eyes, hear with his
own ears, investigating the Truth for himself that he

may attain the Truth by himself."

3 The Foundation of All Religions Is One. "The foun
dations of all the Religions of God are one and the
same foundation, and that Oneness is the Truth, and
the Truth is One, and cannot be made subject to
division and plurality."

[83]
A Modern Pilgrimage

4 Religion Must Be the Cause of Unity."Religion must
be the cause of unity, harmony and accord amongst
men. If Religion be the cause of inharmony, or leads
men to separate themselves each from the other,
creating conflict between them then Baha Ullah de
clares that irreligion is better than Religion."

5 Religion Must Be in Accord With Science and Reason.
"If a religion is not in conformity with science and
reason, then it is superstition.
Down to the present

day it has been customary to accept a thing because
it was called religion, even though it were not in accord
with human reason."

"The world of
6 Equality Between Men and Women.
one is woman and the other
humanity has two wings
man. Not until both wings are equally developed can
becomes
the bird fly. Not until the world of women
of virtues
equal to the world of men in the acquisition
be attained
and perfections can success and prosperity
as they ought to be."

Be
Forgotten. "Preju
7 Prejudice of All Kinds Must
dice and fanaticism be it religious, sectarian, denomi
the foundation
national or patrioticis destructive to
men should release
of human solidarity; wherefore,
in order that the one
themselves from such bonds
become manifest.
nessof the world of humanity may

nations should make
8 Universal Peace. "All men and
Universal Peace amongst
Peace, that there shall be
a

[84]
What the Bahai Movement Is

governments, Universal Peace amongst Religions,
Universal Peace amongst races."

9 Universal Education. "All mankind men and women
everywhere should acquire secular and spiritual
knowledge. The education of each child is obligatory.
If there are no parents, the community must look
after the child."

10 Solution of the Economic Problems. "Just as the
rich man enjoys his rest and his pleasures surrounded
by luxuries, the poor man must likewise have a home,
be provided with sustenance, and not be in want.
Until this is effected happiness is impossible."

11 An International Auxiliary Language. "An inter
national auxiliary language shall be adopted which
shall be taught by all the schools and academies of
the world. A committee appointed by national bodies
shall select a suitable language to be used as a means
of international communication and taught in all the
schools, in order that everyone shall need but two
languages, his national tongue and the international
auxiliary language."
12 An International Tribunal. "A universal tribunal
under the power of God, under the protection of all
men, shall be established. Each one must obey the
decisions of this tribunal, in order to arrange the diffi
culties of every nation."

The above meagre outline presents the Principles pro
claimed by Baha Ullah, something like fifty years ago,

[85]
A Modern Pilgrimage

before Esperanto, the League of Nations, Woman's Suf
frage or the Inter-Allied Church Movement had entered
on the stage of human affairs, much less been permitted

to take their places anywhere near the forefront.
That they present a practical and much-needed plat
form, no fair-minded person can reasonably deny, and
that they provide a satisfactory working basis is proved
by the fact that in the Orient the many adorers of the
Sacred Cow and their mortal enemies who abominate
the unclean Pig have forgotten their animosities and,
under the Bahai standard, are living and working
together in perfect peace and harmony. It has erected
a new Mashreq, or meeting place, into which all
aside
parties and sects can enter and comfortably lay
their prejudices.
In our various interviews with Abdul Baha he laid
the
especial emphasis on the necessity of actually "living
instead of about it or holding beautiful but
life," talking
barren beliefs.
He has laid down the following rules for the guidance
of those who wish to become Bahais:

To be no cause of grief to anyone.
them with
To be kind to all people and to love
a pure spirit.
to to bear
Should opposition or injury happen us,

kind ever we can be, and through all,
it, to be as as

to love the people. Should the direst calamity
for these things are the gifts
descend, to rejoice,
and favors of God.

[86^
What the Bahai Movement Is

To be silent concerning the faults of others, to
pray for them, and to help them, through kindness,
to correct their faults.
To look always at the good and not at the bad.
If a man has ten good qualities and one bad one,
look at the ten and forget the one. And if a man
has ten bad qualities and one good one, to look at
the one and forget the ten.
Never to allow ourselves to speak one unkind
word about another, even though the other be our
enemy.
To do all our deeds in kindness.
To cut our hearts from ourselves and from the
world.
To be humble.
To be servants of each other and to know that
we less than anyone else.
are

To be as one soul in many bodies; for the more

we other, the nearer we shall be to God;
love each
but to know that our love, our unity, our obedience
must not be by confession, but of reality.
To act with cautiousness and wisdom.
To be truthful.
To be hospitable.
To be reverent.
To be a cause of healing of every sick one, a

comforter for every sorrowful one, a pleasant water
for every thirsty one, a heavenly table for every

hungry one, a star to every horizon, a light for every
lamp, a herald to everyone who yearns for the

kingdom of God.

[87]
A Modern Pilgrimage

There is a vast amount of literature on the Bahai
cause, which is very interesting as well
instructive,
as

and yet only a small portion of it has been translated
into English, as the Persian imagery and idiom can
hardly be expressed in a language which is devoid of

suitable words to express the exact meaning of the
original.
The works of Baha Ullah are written in the Oriental
style, and abound in beautiful imagery; while those of
Abdul Baha are clear and concise and can easily be
understood by the Occidental mind.
Judging by the nature of the questions which have
been asked me regarding the Bahai Movement, it would
seem that many persons expect some new kind of phil

osophy, or mystic "something-new" religion evidently
overlooking the fact that there is not so much need for
a "new" religion as there is for a
renewal and revitaliza-
tion of the old essential teachings. All the great
teach

ers taught practically the same thingsimply suiting
whom it
their message to the needs of the people for
was intended, depending on
the stage of their develop
ment.

outpouring all creeds and religions
"In the first
the spirit.
Were pure, and full of the power of
Then comes the act of human defilement;
What was good became base, the pure perverted,
with tinsel,
The robe of Truth is embroidered
And outward form replaces true worship."
has been epitomized by Baha
The Bahai cause

[88]
What the Bahai Movement Is

Ullah in the following quotation, which has become a

classic:
"We desire but the good of the world and the
happiness of the nations; that all nations should
become one in faith and all men as brothers; that

the bonds of affection and unity between the sons
of men should be strengthened; that diversity of
religion should cease, and differences of race be
annulled.
"These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars, shall
pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come.
Yet do we see our kings and rulers lavishing their
treasures more freely on means for the destruction
of the human race than on that which would con

duce to the happiness of mankind. These strifes
and this bloodshed and discord must cease and all
* * *
men be as one kindred and one family.
Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his coun

try; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind."

[89]
XI

Haifa to Tiberias
On reaching Haifa, our sense of the romantic received
a jolt, as we were conveyed from the railroad station

to Pilgrimage House in the small kind of "touring-
the
car-made-in-Detroit," making us feel that we had not
traveled very far after all, and that this particular kind
of car was getting to be like "the poor, who are always
with us."
Pilgrimage House we were the guests of Sir
At the
Abdul Baha Abbas, who happened to be just then at
Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. We were in doubt as to
whether any or all of us were tocontinue on our way
to Tiberias, or whether he would return to Haifa.
But

two dayslater a messenger from him arrived with in
Baha
structions for us to visit Behje and the Tomb of
after that
Ullah on the following Monday, and the day
for all of our party to proceed to Tiberias.
attended serv
The intervening day being Sunday,
we

which is located on the
ices at the Tomb of the Bab,
the city of Haifa. Here
side of Mt. Carmel, just above
for the first time. Lis
we heard real Oriental chanting
and spontaneous music was
tening to this kind of weird
for us, and had a thrilling effect
on
a new experience im
our Occidental ears. It was rendered particularly
manner of Sheik Mohamed
pressive by the wonderful occasion.
on that
Ali, who officiated

[90]
Haifa to Tiberias

On Monday morning we took the train for the his
toric city of Acca (also spelled Akka, and located about
ten miles from Haifa), which, in the time of the Cru
saders was a royal city and the port of the Kings of
Jerusalem. It is located at the northern end of the
Bay of Acre, along whose shores are found the Murex
shells, from which the ancient Tyrians extracted their
famous purple dye.
On reaching Acca we decided to walk to Behje, a
distance of about two miles, across a level plain, lux
uriant with large crimson poppies and other wild flowers ;
but like nearly all the country of Palestine, devoted
merely to pasturage and the convenience of the Arab
herders, whose low, black tents are scattered here and
there throughout the valleys.
Just before reaching Behje, we met a caravan of
camels under the ruined arches of an old Roman acque-
duct, and passed a watering trough where a group of
women were doing their laundry, just as they have been
in the habit of doing for several thousand years. Herds
of goats were browsing around among some old ruins,
the ensemble presenting a pastoral scene that would
please the heart of an artist ; but a scene that had formed
the original set several thousand years ago.
On reaching Behje, which is a town in name only, we
saw the old Governor's palace, where Baha Ullah was
allowed to pass the last few years of his earthly life,
and near which is his tomb, a place to which pilgrims
resort from all parts of the world.
From Behje we crossed the plains and continued

[]
A Modem Pilgrimage

around Napoleon's Hill, from which the Little Corporal
unsuccessfully bombarded Acca in 1799, finally reach
ing the Garden of Rizwan. This is a beautiful spot,
though now somewhat neglected. Here Baha Ullah
composed some of his later writings, in a small room
over which towers a wonderful rose tree, the finest and
largest specimen I have ever seen. It is indeed a place
of peace and quietude. A little stream runs through
the Garden, and with the bright flowers, "the gnarled
and antlered trees" and the clear blue sky above, the
place was worthy of its name, Rizwan a Persian word
meaning Paradise.
From Haifa we traveled by train to Semakh, a small,
mud-hutted town on the southern end of the Sea of
Galilee, passing through the Plain of Esdraelon, near the
few
village where Deborah once held forth and within
a

miles of Nazareth, which lies among the hills to the
north.
jogging along for about twenty-five miles,
we
After
a fertile but
entered the valley of the River Jordan,
which the
almost entirely uncultivated valley, through
the "Ford at the Cross
rickety train meanders, passing
exercised his ministry. We
ing" where John the Baptist
six hundred and eighty
finally reached Semakh, about
Mediterranean. At this point
feet below the level of the
motor and after a two hours
boat,
we transferred to a
arrived at Tiberias, a town
ride on the Sea of Galilee,
hundred years ago, and dedi
built by Herod nineteen
It was once the chief
cated to the Emperor Tiberius.
hand-
of Galilee and boasted many
city of the Province

192]
Haifa to Tiberias

size, in
some buildings; but it is now greatly reduced
of about four thousand souls, three-
having a population
fourths of whom are Jews.
of
The Hot Baths, located about a mile or so south
the
the town, and mentioned in the Old Testament
as

Baths of Hammath, are the city's principal attraction.
cure for rheumatism,
They are celebrated as an infallible
his faith,
and anyone who has nerve enough to back up
a bath in the deserves to be cured. Visitors
risking place,
from the hotel generally visit these Baths at six o'clock
in the morning, as soon as the
are open, for
doors
flock in, and by
to
shortly after that the natives begin
have been tested
noon the curative powers of the
water

to the limit, and the pool has reached something
near

the point of saturation.
Mr. B
The second day after our arrival at Tiberias,
which is about four
and I decided to visit Magdala,
Wishing to avoid an hour's
and one-half miles away.
asked the livery man to name
haggling about rates, we

his lowest at once,
price which he gave at one hundred
and seventy-five piastres (seven dollars in U.
S. money).
When we called the deal off and started away, he fol
lowed us for a block, wildly begging us to make him
first price
offer, after he had insisted that his
was
an

bed-rock. His exorbitant demand reminded us of the
retired Irishman from Jeru
story they tell of a wealthy
or elsewhere, who was visiting
these parts and
salem,
the
wanted to see the exact spot where they walked
on

water in Bible times. He arranged with a boatman to

row him out for two dollars,
but when he was ready to

[93]
A Modern Pilgrimage

return was told that the price would be ten dollars, at
which he threw up both his hands and exclaimed: "No
wonder they walked on the water in those days!"
Anyway, to make a long story short, Mr. B can

celed his part of the trip and I was forced to shoulder
my camera and proceed along the highway which skirts
the shore of the lake to Mejdel, or Magdala, the birth
place of Mary Magdalene. At present this is a wretched

village of about twenty mud huts and less than half a
dozen houses of stone which might be classed as resi
dences. Winding through the village was a dusty road
filled with dirty half-clad urchins who assailed me with
persistent cries of "bakshish!"
Just at the entrance to the village a native was mak
ing a half-hearted attempt at cultivating a patch of
tomatoes with a wooden plough attached to a diminutive

donkey, while the partner of his joys and sorrows was
crouched down on the newly ploughed ground and
be
showing no interest in anything in particular. Just
which Jesus
yond the village is a small plain the
one to

of the loaves and
repaired after performing the miracle
fishes.
Some distance to the left of Magdala, on the cliffs,
are

of
the ancient caverns of Arbela, once the stronghold
robbers which Herod the Great overcame by lowering
cages filled with
soldiers down into their stronghold.
The level plain below is the Land of Gennesaret.
In the distance, rising out of the
fertile plain, is a
on its summit two
curiously shaped volcanic hill, having
Karn Hattin, or Horns of
peaks or horns, now called

[94]
Haifa to Tiberias

Hattin, said to be the place where the Sermon on the
Mount was delivered. On the steep hillside, close by,
a flock of goats was clambering around, occasionally
jarring loose a shower of stones that rattled down into
the roadway. Over the tops of the hills a few buzzards
were circling around; along the hilly road that follows
the shore of the lake an occasional rider was to be seen,
jogging along on a small donkey and driving two or
three others, or a coupleof camels could be seen lei
surely carrying produce to the markets of Tiberias. Far
ther along towards the northern end of the lake is
another small plain, dotted at present with the white
tents of a small military camp, which is said to have been
the scene of the Feeding of the Five Thousand.
In the middle of the Plain of Gennesaret, which is
about three miles long and one mile wide, could be seen
indications of a new era which is dawning over this won
but long-neglected region. Here were
derfully fertile
detachments of tanned and husky young men with pick
and shovel, grading for a new system of good roads,
while groups of equally muscular young women were
seated on long piles of rock which they were successfully
pulverizing for the macadam surface. On the grade
at

the farther end of the valley were long trains of horses

and military wagons, winding over the hills to a new

location.
On the following day Abdul Baha placed his carriage
at our disposal and we drove again through this
coun

end of the lake to Bethsaida
try and around the northern
and almost to Capernaum. We were informed that

[95]
A Modern Pilgrimage

plans have been made for a new city on the site of
Bethsaida, commanding a wonderful view down the lake,
which is over twelve miles long and six miles wide at
its widest point; but at present all is desolation.
In visiting these places the traveler who is familiar
with the Scriptures will recall the words of the Saviour,
who said: "Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty
works which were done unto you had been done in Tyre
or Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sack
* * *
cloth and ashes. And thou, Capernaum, which
art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell."
As we looked about us we concluded that this proph
ecy had been literally fulfilled, and "the line of confu
sion" successfully stretched over this entire region.

[96]
XII

Interviews With Abdul Baha

Before going further it might be well to explain that
the three outstanding figures in the Bahai world are
Ali Muhammad, known as the Bab (meaning the Door
or Gate) ; Huseyn Ali of Nur, afterwards called Baha

Ullah (pronounced Buh-hah Oo-lah, accented on the
second and fourth syllables and meaning the "Glory of
God"), and Abdul Baha (pronounced Ahb-dool Buh-hah,
accented on the first and last syllables, and meaning
literally "Slave or Servant of the Glory"). The latter
is the son of Baha Ullah, and is the present head of the
movement.

Among the Bahais these three personages are regarded
respectively as the Messenger, the Manifestation and the
Expounder of the cause. Of these, the first was martyred
in 1850 at the age of thirty, in the public square at
Tabriz; the second, Beha Ullah, after being persecuted
and imprisoned for nearly forty years, finally departed
this life in May, 1892, at Behje, near Acca, where he is
buried. Before his death he appointed his son, Abdul
Baha to be the "Center of the Covenant," and author
ized Expounder of his writings. The only claim that
Abdul Baha makes for himself is that he is a great
educator, and the Servant of God in this Revelation.
Sir Abdul Baha Abbas (as he was recently knighted
by the English government), was born in Teheran,

[97]
A Modern Pilgrimage

Persia, May 23, 1844, and is consequently in the seventy-
eighth year of his age. He is a genial, kindly man of
medium size, somewhat stooped, with long, snow-white
hair and beard. His face is browned and seamed with
many lines that at first would seem to indicate a man
of more advanced age ; but in his movements he is active
and alert, while his majestic bearing gives one the im
pression that he is a person of prominence and power.
You are immediately attracted by his large grey eyes
that have a kindly, but searching look, and seem to take
in everything at a glance. His mental and physical
faculties are in full vigor. He wears a long, brown robe
of silk and camel's wool, with wide, flowing sleeves, and
his massive head is crowned with a pure white turban.
In speech he is ready and apt; his expressions concise
and exact, and his genial talks lead up to a point and
convey a lesson, which his
hearers cannot fail to grasp.

During the early stages of our trip I had entertained
see this important person (as
vague hopes that I might
I had not yet received permission to visit him), and
often wondered if I would really meet him. You can
inter
imagine my surprise when I was invited to daily
views with him during our short stay in Tiberias, and

the honor I felt in being accorded a private interview
of three-quarters of an hour's duration.
When ushered into his presence, you are greeted with
are you ?" in English, strongly
a kindly smile and "How

accented on the second word. If you reply, "Very

well!" he laughingly repeats it in Persian, which is very
like the English expression, and invites you to be seated;

{98 1
Interviews With Abdul Bahai

after which he usually inquires of each one, "Are you
well and happy?" Then, after a few preliminary remarks,
he begins his
talk, which lasts from twenty to thirty
minutes. You listen, or answer the questions directed
to you, until he has finished, when he rises, shakes hands
all around, and ends the interview. As he speaks very
little English, his talks are in Persian, and translated by
his secretary, Azizullah, who has a ready command of
English as well as Persian, Arabic and other languages.
In the first interview, which was given in his room
in the tower of the hotel at Tiberias, he commented on
the beauty of the scenery of Palestine, and related how
the Lord told Abraham that it was the finest in the
world and if there was anything better He would have
given it to him. He then likened it to California, its
climate, the contour of the hills, its flowers and foliage
being much the same, and in this respect he called
California "the Holy Land of America." He concluded
his talk with the story of the man who wanted to be
come a Bahai.

Some years ago, he said, he was traveling through
Persia, in company with several others, one of whom
was a merchant known to him as a man of rather
questionable reputation. The caravan stopped at a cer

tain town, and numbers of the people flocked out to
meet Abdul Baha. From there they proceeded to
another town, where more people came out to meet him; then
to another town, where the same thing was repeated. After
this had occurred a number of times, and every
where crowds of people had invariably rushed out to

[99]
A Modern Pilgrimage

meet him, the merchant called him aside and told him
he wished to become a Bahai. On being asked why,
he said, "You are a Bahai, and wherever you go great
crowds of people flock out to meet you, while no one
comes to meet me ; so I wish to become a Bahai." Asked

if that was the real reason, he replied, "I also think it
will help my business, as I will have all these people
come to meet me." Then Abdul Baha told him, "Do not
become a Bahai. It is better for you to remain as

you are."
The moral to this little story was too obvious to need
any explanation.
The next day Abdul Baha spoke of the essential and
non-essential things of life and illustrated his remarks
with the story of the young Arab woman who preferred
not to live in thecity. It seems that a wealthy man
who was traveling through the desert happened to meet
a young Arab woman, and being struck
with her youth
and beauty, begged her to accompany him to the city,
other
offering her many inducements to do so. Among
adorn her with silk and
things, he offered to person
should have the
costly raiment, promising that she
beautiful
daintiest and most expensive morsels to eat; a
to wait her. After
palace to live in, and servants upon
he had exhausted his glowing arguments, the young
Arab woman at him and said, "Why should I
laughed
be a your expensive
prisoner, and shut myself up
in

walls? Why should I worry with your silks and fine
have all that I need.
raiment? Here I am happy and
and I have the pure
The whole blue sky is above me,

[100]
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ABUL'I. BAHA
Interviews With Abdul Bahai

air to breathe. Why should I give up my freedom?"
Early one morning I visited Magdala, and returning
at about eleven o'clock I noticed that Abdul Baha was

seated alone in the parlor of the hotel. As I passed,
he came to the door and beckoned me to enter. While
he was saying, "Come in!" his gestures indicated the
opposite direction; but as I had been informed before
hand of this lack of co-ordination in his signals, I en

tered. After the usual salutations, he called in his secre
tary and said, "You have been to Magdala! How did
you like it? expressed the desire, I would
If you had
have placed my carriage at your disposal." He mar
veled that I had walked so far; but I explained that on
the steamer we had made it a practice to walk twenty
miles each day, in order to keep in good condition. He
took a handful of shells which I had just picked up on
the beach near Magdala, and commented on their beauty
and then inquired if I would like to hear the history of
Mary Magdalene. On being assured that I would, espe
cially from him, he proceeded to relate the history,
which in substance is as follows:
Magdala, the little village I had just visited, was the
birthplace of Mary, known as the Magdalene. She was
a beautiful girl in the habit of coming often to Tiberias,

where at that time many Roman soldiers were located.
Here she attracted the attention of a young Roman
officer, with whom she later lived on terms of intimacy.
In the course of time, this officer was transferred to
Rome, and was advanced to a position of trust in the
affairs of the Roman Empire being well liked and en-

[101]
A Modern Pilgrimage

joying the favor of the Emperor. After his departure
from Tiberias, the well-known events occurred that
changed Mary. She forsook her former life,
the life of
embraced the faith and became an ardent Christian.
In those days, immediately following the crucifixion,
the Jews were being severely persecuted by the Romans,
and Mary was chosen to go to Rome and intercede for
them. On her arrival at Rome, one of the first persons
she met was the young officer who had been her lover
in Tiberias, and who was overjoyed at seeing her think
ing that her great love for him had induced her to make
the long journey. He lost inviting her to
no time in
come with him; but she refused, saying that she was

not the same woman he had known at Tiberias. He
then inquired why she had come to Rome if not to see

him? To which she replied, "To see the Roman Em
peror!" This somewhat astounded the young officer,
who thought she was making sport with him. Finally
all
she convinced him of her sincerity by telling him
that had happened in the Holy Land since his departure,
how she had of her former life and become a
repented
Christian. The young man was so touched by her
for her
recital that he offered to secure an interview
his high posi
with the Emperor. This, on account of
and in few days she entered
tion, he was able to do,
a

the presence of the Emperor, who
met her kindly and
for her. To which she re
inquired what he could do
Somewhat per
plied "For myself, I want nothing."
had sought interview with
plexed, he asked why she
an

and she answered, "I have come to ask you in the
him,

[102]
Interviews With Abdul Bahai

name of the Christians to stop the persecutions of the
Jews in Palestine." The Emperor exclaimed, "I have
been doing this as a favor to the Christians to punish
the Jews for crucifying your Christ !" But Mary assured
him that the Christians did not want this; that their
religion was based on love not revenge.

This idea was so new to the Emperor that he asked
her to explain to him more about this strange new creed,
and in the end agreed to comply with her request. At
the close of the interview, the Emperor ordered her to
be well cared for, and showed her many honors during
her stay in Rome.
"This," said Abdul Baha, in closing, "shows the power
of the Spirit. Here was a poor and ignorant woman,
who in her youth had been a girl of the street and re
spected by no one, but whose life had been transformed
and illumined by the Spirit. From a lowly station she
had been elevated by the power of the Spirit, until she
was received and honored by an Emperor. Other things
pass away, but the power of the Spirit is sure and
eternal !"
His talk the following day was on the folly of devot
ing one's life simply to the accumulation of money. As
an illustration he cited an incident that occurred during

his visit to New York City in 1912:
A noted banker had been making a collection of rare
Persian and Oriental manuscripts and invited Abdul
Baha to come at a certain hour and give him an opinion
as to whether or not they were genuine. At the ap
time he was conducted to the banker's library
pointed

[103]
A Modem Pilgrimage

and soon after his arrival was informed by a messenger
that his host was detained, but would arrive presently.
After some time, a second messenger arrived, expressing
his regrets that an urgent business meeting had prevented
the banker from arriving on time, but that he would
come very Then Abdul Baha said that he was
soon.

sorry he could not remain longer, as he, too, was a
busy man.
"Thus," he said, "a man who is spending his time
trying to amass great riches, is not a free man, but is a
slave to his wealth. After all, if wealth was the prin
cipal thing, then Christ would have devoted His life
to money-getting, as He had a brain undoubtedly equal
to the task; but He realized that other things are of
more consequence, and that the things of the Spirit are

the only ones that are eternal."
In our final interview the next morning, he spoke of
the pleasure our visit had given him. He wished us
success in our work and promised to pray for us in the
with
silent hours of the night. He urged us to go forth
of
renewed courage, and a determination to live a life
of color, race
service; to be kind to everyone regardless
or condition; to be "a cause
of healing for every sick

one, a comforter for every sorrowful one, a pleasant
for every
water forevery one, a heavenly table
thirsty
to everyone who yearns for
hungry one, and a herald
the Kingdom of God."

[104]
XIII

Snapshots on the Sea of Galilee
Before taking final leave of the Province of Galilee, I wish
to sketch in two or three more details to help complete the
picture and possibly add a bit of local color.
One afternoon I strolled down in that section where the
native bazaars pollute the city of Tiberias, incidentally break
ing into some Moslem's filthy backyard in order to get a
better view of a tall palm tree, that had been pointed out to
us by Abdul Baha from the hotel window, as marking the
spot where Jesus called Peter to follow Him and "become
a fisher of men."
I wandered on down the narrow and tortuous lanes, when

suddenly I saw approaching me a feminine fashion-plate that
looked like a recent importation from New York or Los
Angeles. A jaunty wide-brimmed hat and a swagger-stick
completed an animated picture which was making the lazy
Orientals sit up and take notice. I was somewhat dazed at
first, but managed to keep on my way until I arrived at the
outskirts of the city, where I found a film factory, with a
crowd of real camels, donkeys and other Oriental accessories.
I concluded that the vision I had just met in the bazaars was
a movie queen returning from a day's work devoted to Art

and the Unspeakable Drama!
As there was a fine view of the lake from the hills back
of the hotel, I was in the habit of strolling up there just
before dinner, and had noticed on several occasions a wild

[105]
A Modern Pilgrimage

young Arab woman flying up the road ahead of me and

disappearing in a patch of greenery. When my curiosity was
sufficiently aroused, I made a closer investigation. I found
the young lady in question had cross-eyes and carried a carv

ing knife, with which she cut stalks of chicory, seated herself
and proceeded with her "al fresco" meal. In a few minutes
the repast was finished and she was tripping back to the city
as happy as a lark gorged with lady-bugs. This little incident
offered a solution of a problem we had often discussed, as to
how any man on an ordinary income could support a respect
able sized harem in these days of expensive living. It was
now easy to see that a fairly large harem might be
maintained
were properly trained and
very reasonably, provided they
satisfied with such a simple vegetarian diet as the lady under

discussion.
That the women of the Orient are trained, whether properly
or not, was borne out in several
other instances. It was not
household riding
unusual to see the lord and master of the
mouse-colored donkey, seated far
into Tiberias on a runty
sockless feet encased
back on the animal's rump, his swinging
of his wives (I presume
in loose flapping slippers, while one
barefooted at the
the favorite one), was trotting along
master's high red boots, to
animal's heels, and carrying the
the city.
be worn when he reached
a liberal supply of empty
The women of Tiberias, aided by
water
five-gallon oil cans, also provide pipe line to convey
a

As this water brigade
fL the lake for domestic purpose,
is plenty of water
n

s kept in action
all day long, and there
to be settled to
of a water supply seems
me lake the question

^faction of the Tiberians. In some cases of great

[106]
Snapshots on the Sea of Galilee

urgency, some of these balance a five-gallon can of
women

water on their heads, and carry one in each hand.
For the sake of ease and convenience the family washing
is still carried down to the lake, where the clothes are rubbed
and pounded on the rocks. Some modern conveniences are,
however, gradually coming into use, as the dining-room of
our hotel had two or three windows equipped with fly screens
and one screened door, which was always kept open. But
the flies are not yet accustomed to these innovations, refusing
to leave the dining-room through the open door, and pre

ferring to fall in the soup or decorate the flypaper doilies
on the tables and window sills.
One evening, whichhappened to be the seventeenth of
March, we were seated the hotel terrace enjoying a post
on

prandial smoke, when an unusual commotion arose just
around the corner. This was followed by wierd singing and
a little later developed into a torchlight procession, consisting

of candles, kerosene lamps and torches, and illuminating a lot
of red "tarbushes." All we could get out of the natives was,
"The birthday!" and we wondered if the Patron Saint of
Ireland was also revered in this Province. Later in the eve
ning some guests at the hotel returned, and we learned from
them the rest of the story. It seems that they had been invited
to attend a wedding feast at the home of a prominent Moslem

just back of the hotel. This Moslem, who was very rich, was
also a fine mathematician, and he had figured it out that by
giving this wedding feast on the night of Mahomed's birth
day, one lot of lights and refreshments would answer for both
occasions. So while some were celebrating his offspring's

[107]
A Modern Pilgrimage

wedding, the others could commemorate the birth of the
Prophet, and all at a minimum of expense.
There is a large, though somewhat dilapidated, Turkish
mosque in Tiberias, located about half a block from our hotel.
The second morning after our arrival, I was startled by an
unearthly cry and jumped up, thinking that perhaps the
premises were on fire. Finally I traced the outcry to the
muezzin, who, from the top of his minaret, was sending his
call to prayers to the four quarters of the earth.How many
of the faithful heeded, performed their ablutions and recited
their prayers, it is impossible to state, as there was not any
visible response.
Another unique character was a young Turkish bootblack,
who had a little box affair just inside the front door of the
hotel, but who spent most of his time sitting in an automobile
parked outside, droning a Turkish love song which contained
one thousand or more verses. On the foot rest of his box he
had a little call bell which he jingled as he finished each shoe.
He was always ready with a broad smile as he pocketed your
two of
pieces and whether they were half piastres or
money,
there were
whole ones seemed to make no difference, provided
two of them.
With all its drawbacks and lack of modern
conveniences,
to visit, and if
Tiberias is an interesting and pleasant place
the plans of the English are allowed
to mature, the place will
its own. Plans have already been made
some day come into
of the present one. A new
for a new city to be located back
the system of good roads is
wharf is to be built, and when
take on new life. As to the
finished, the city will undoubtedly
in such a wretched condition that
old part of the town, it is

[108]
Snapshots on the Sea of Galilee

its only hope lies in liberal quantities of dynamite. The only
wonder is that something stronger and more dangerous than
malaria is not germinated within its unsanitary borders. But
the surrounding scenery is fine and the lake is beautiful,
although at times it can become quite rough and tempestuous,
as we discovered the day after our arrival, when the cold wind
whistled down from the snow-covered peaks of Mt. Hermon,
which stands on the northern boundary of Palestine, about
fifty miles away. In a few hours the lake was too rough for
navigation, and continued so for a couple of days, so there is
no doubt about its ability to put up a good storm on short

notice. For my part, I was rather glad of the disagreeable
weather; we had already been treated to a jolly good fog in
London, and were fortunate enough to witness, a few weeks
later, a real storm on the Sea of Galilee.

[109]
xiv

From the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem

Our three hours' ride by train from Semakh to Haifa was
not exactly hilarious, owing to the fact that we had become
very damp during our trip across the lake. Although the boat
was provided with a roof and side curtains, they had both

seen better days, and the rain seemed to collect and form little
rills that trickled down on the passengers who were closely
packed inside.
The next morning was showery, but I decided to take a
chance and visit the Caves of Elijah, as his adventure with
the ravens was one memory of my Sunday-school days which
had made an indelible impression. Although it is recorded
that the affair occurred at the brook Cherith, near Jerusalem,
I realized that there might have been an encore elsewhere;
at any rate the Latin Carmelites seemed to think so, as they
have built quite a large monastery over the cave the entrance
to which is under the high altar.
At the side of the mountain, which is about five hundred
feet high, are several other large caves, one of which is called
the Cave of the Prophets, where Elijah hid "one hundred of
the Lord's prophets by fifty and fed them with bread and
water." In some of these caves are wonderfully constructed
cisterns, but as the monks explained that there has been a
continuity of religious guardians to this mountain since the
time of Elijah, it seems highly probable that these cisterns
were hollowed out of the
solid rock at a later date, perhaps
who located there about 400 A. D.
by the Greek hermits

[HO]
From the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem

The interior of the caves shows that the mountain is com
posed of limestone in stratas about a foot in thickness, which
are marked by thin veins or nodules of flint.
The Holy Family are supposed to have rested somewhere
near here on their flight to Egypt, and it is often mentioned

by the writers of the Old Testament Solomon comparing the
beauty of his spouse to the summit of this mountain.
The place seems to be regaining some of the "excellence"
ascribed to it by Isaiah, as the mountain and valley presented
a beautiful appearance on this particular Sunday in March.

The sides of the mountain were covered with luxuriant
wild flowers and foliage; a short distance below stood the
Tomb of the Bab, with its sentinels of tall cypresses, sur
rounded by orange and lemon trees, among which roses and
other bright flowers were in full bloom. Still lower in the

valley, spread out along the shore of the bay, lay the city of
Haifa, with its white stone houses and red tile roofs nestling
among orange, olive, palm and eucalyptus trees. Beyond the
town stretched the calm blue Mediterranean, with its snow-
white beach, like a crescent, that merged into the white city
of Acca at the further end of the bay. About the middle of
the crescent a large grove of tall feathery palms extended
down almost to the water's edge, back of which lay the Garden
of Rizwan.
While busily engaged in admiring the panorama that
stretched out before us, a sudden shower broke loose, and by
the time we reached Haifa we found ourselves soaked a second
time. But the view was worth it to say nothing of the
historical interest attached to the places visited.
In the afternoon we again attended services at the Tomb

[111]
A Modern Pilgrimage

of the Bab, and, being strangers, were served with tea and
refreshments, as were also a few of the very old men who
were present.
In line with Oriental customs, the women meet in a separate
room; but in deference to Western ideas, our party, after
removing their shoes at the door, was allowed to remain
together. We enjoyed the chanting of Sheik Mahomed Ali,
who seemed to outdo himself on this occasion.
The following day, March twenty-first, was the Feast of
Nawruz the Persian New Year, which has been celebrated
in Persia for the last five thousand years. In its native haunts,
it is a long affair, lasting about two weeks, and all labor is
suspended during the time which is given over to visiting and
feasting.
We were all invited to attend this feast, which was given
at the "big house" the home of Abdul Baha. After an hour
of social converse, with several rounds of Persian tea and
nogul (a delicious candy), we adjourned to the dining-room
aplainly furnished but immense room, where we sat around
a long table and enjoyed an excellent lunch. It consisted of
the customary pilau (a savory dish composed of rice, flavored
with grated orange rind, chopped meat, raisins, etc.), fruit,
Syrian bread, cafe fort, and pudding made of rice flour.
Afterwards, we were taken to another room and shown the
only existing portraits of the Bab, Baha Ullah, with other
reverence by the
pictures and relics which are held in great
Bahais.
The morning after the Feast of Nawruz, we bade farewell
the train for Jerusalem.
to the friends at Haifa, and took

[112]
From the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem

It was not an easy task to say "good-bye," as the friends in
Haifa seemed nearer to us than any we had met.
In going from Haifa to Jerusalem, it is necessary to return
to the junction at Ludd, and change to the train coming from

Jaffa. As travel to the Holy City happened to be very heavy
(it was near Easter), we found ourselves in a compartment
taxed to the limit by the presence of a huge monk, accom
panied by two fair-skinned, blue-eyed, but fully-grown-up
sisters and one young man, which reinforcements, added to
the four in our own party and our combined baggage, made
the quarters rather too close for comfort. As the compart
mentwas on the hot, sunny side of the car, and the ample

German monk and his sisters had organized a continuous
lunch-party, I soon compromised by standing outside in the
corridor, trying to extract a little comfort from a new pipe
I had brought from Egypt to replace the one that had ended
its fragrant career in the Grand Canal at Venice.
We found very little to enjoy in the way of scenery, as the
"plummet of emptiness" seemed to have been successfully
lowered over the whole country.
We passed the Crusader's Tower at Ramleh, and saw,
beyond a low range of hills to the left and some eight or ten
miles away, the Plain of Ajalon, where Joshua had com
manded the sun and moon to stand still. A few miles further
on we entered the Valley of Sorek, famous as the birthplace

of Samson, and the scene of his subsequent adventures with
Delilah.
The scenery continued to grow more savage and wild, and
shortly after leaving Dier Aban we entered the jaws of a
to the highlands near Jerusalem.
gorge that forms the pass

[113]
A Modem Pilgrimage

Near here is the famous spot where Samson is said to have
lost his temper, but forthwith found the jawbone of an ass
with which he slew a thousand men, which would seem to

exceed the present population of the entire country by at least
nine hundred and ninety men.
A few minutes later our train stopped to take on water, and
our attention was attracted to three men overseeing some three
score women carrying rocks balanced on their heads, from a
valley about fifty feet lower, up to the railroad cars on the
siding. These women all wore shoes whose soles are sup
posed to grow thicker with age and use, and formed a con
tinuous procession up the steep hillside an ancient but suc
cessful system of telpherage.
As the train made an average speed of less than fifteen miles
and rocky
per hour, winding mile after mile through barren
out under the
gorges abounding in small caves hollowed
shelves of limestone, we were not sorry when we reached the
Vale of Rephaim, where David smote the Philistines, and
finally entered the railroad station at Jerusalem, which is
located some little distance outside the walls and something
over half a mile from the Jaffa Gatethe principal
entrance

into the city from the south.
The first view of the city which presents itself to the
particularly
is not attrac
stranger, coming from this direction,
tive.
The hills on all sides are immense mounds of limestone,
on

the glaringwhite side of which are shallow terraces, one above
another, held in place by row after row
of rock-retaining
walls laid up loosely, so that the outskirts
of the city resemble
an immense rock quarry in full operation and able to fill
unlimited orders.

[114]
From the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem

The roads are inclosed by stone walls from five to eight
feet high and from two to four feet thick, and still the harvest
of rocks has not been completely gathered.
Each one of the terraces supports one or more straggly
olive trees surrounded by a small patch of pasturage which
seems to take care of itself, as nowhere in any
of the fields

werethere workers visible.
of the city
Across the valley of Hinnom, the ancient walls
loomed up, and the massive tower, erroneously
ascribed to
Gate.
King David, stood guarding the Jaffa
At the right of the city lies the deep valley of Jehoshaphat,
and still further away
beyond which is the Mount of Olives,
in the distance, the mysterious mountains of Moab rise

wrapped in a purple haze.
the Hill
To the right of the railroad station stretches away
Iscariot met the emissaries and
of Evil Counsel, where Judas
of which
bargained to betray his Masterthe eastern slope
is now marked by the "Potter's Field."
While we were absorbed in viewing the surroundings,
our

our luggage in front of the
porters had been busy assembling
cabmen.
station and holding exciting interviews with waiting
that all the cabs were engaged; but we
Finally they reported
to have some kind
insisted that it was very necessary for us
one of them dis
of a conveyance. After a little persuasion,
in about a quarter of an hour re
appeared over the hill and over and over that
turned with one rickety cab, explaining
we climbed into the creaky affair,
there were no more. So
around the driver, and hoping for the
piled our suit cases up
flock of porters trotting along behind.
best jogged off with a
hill and over a large stone bridge, at
Passing down a steep

[115]
A Modern Pilgrimage

the left of which is the old Pool of Gihon, we wound around
under the walls of Mt. Zion, the southwestern corner of the
city.
These walls thirty-five to forty feet in height are built on
the solid rock which crops out from fifty to one hundred feet
above the roadway. The ancient portion of the wall is easily
traced by the Immense size of the stones, the upper and later
sections being composed of smaller rocks and showing inferior
workmanship.
Finally, after painful toiling with the odds largely against
our weather-beaten conveyance, we arrived at the Jaffa Gate,

where we were very much interested in a modern addition in
the shape of a clock-tower, the dials of which indicate both the
English and Turkish hours. This clock is an ingenious affair,
which strikes twice for the Turkish hours and at sunset points
to twelve o'clock. As the hands were getting around toward
this point we lost no time in looking up a hotel.

[116]
XV

In Jerusalem

One of the first things that impresses a visitor in
Jerusalem is its small size, for in the short space of an
hour, one can walk around the walls of the entire city.
This feeling is followed by one of disappointment, as
the city in which you are interested is not visible, but
is buried from thirty to one hundred feet below the
surface. The only part of the old city that we ever
saw was in the basement of a church where they have

uncovered few square feet of pavement, said to be
a

the courtyard of Pontius Pilate's palace. This pave
ment had possibly been used by soldiers or other persons
of leisure, as some of the stones had small, irregular
squares scratched on them, as if they had been used for
playing games.
We were thrilled by the thought that possibly Roman
soldiers were onthis very spot while the Cross was
being carried along the Via Dolorosa, which lay just a
few feet away; then we were suddenly reminded that
landmarks had been obliterated by Titus less than a
century after the Great Tragedy (even to the foundation
of the buildings), and it absolutely impossible to
was

tell whether this might not be the Tower of Antonia
or some other place, instead of Pilate's palace. The only
thing we could be reasonably sure of was that we were

looking on a small piece of the original pavement of
the ancient city.

[117]
A Modem Pilgrimage

The present walls of Jerusalem inclose an area of only
two hundred and ten thirty-five of which are
acres,
occupied by theHaram, Temple, inclosure. The
or

original city was built on four hills, once separated by
deep valleys, but now largely filled up by the debris
resulting from the various destructive disasters which
overwhelmed and almost completely obliterated it.
The position of the city has not remained stationary,
as the north wall has been changed three times, and

now runs about half a mile beyond the original boun

dary. The south wall has also been moved north, so
that Jerusalem in the time of Christ, and up to its
destruction by Titus, was at least a third larger than at
present. The city is now divided into four quarters,
each one occupied by people of a different religion; the
Mahomedans occupy the northeast, the Christians (Greek
and Roman Catholics) the northwest, the Armenians the
southwest, and the Jews the southeast section of the
city.
Outside the walls, the north and northwest sides,
on

a large area and
a modern city has grown up, covering

more inhabitants than the city inside
the walls.
boasting
About ten years ago, the population, which is gradually
was estimated at sixty-eight thousand,
of
increasing,
thousand
whom eight thousand are Mahomedans, ten

Christians and fifty thousand Jews.
this little city
For the practical, matter-of-fact person,
all the
contains many surprises and disappointments
information given, as well as the sights shown, apare

and are either based on deduction, or
proximate only,

[118]
In Jerusalem

unreliable tradition which has shifted from time to time
to suit the exigencies of the occasion, and the conveni
ence of the pilgrims. When the visitor is shown some
thing of vital interest and inquires if this is really the
place, etc., the guide feebly admits that the real place
must have been somewhere near here, but is now buried
from forty to a hundred feet below the spot at which
he is looking!
The massive structure, shown as the Tower of David,
was not built by him; but probably by King Herod,
something like a thousand years later. The Mosque of
Omar, the one beautiful building in Jerusalem, is not a
mosque, and it was not built by Omar; it is simply a
shrine to cover the Holy Rock, a place revered alike by
Christians and Moslems. To cite a few more instances:
When we were visiting the
Coenaculum, the traditional
place of the Last Supper, I was foolish enough to in
quire if this was really the room where the Last Supper
was held, and was told that the real room was per
haps forty feet lower than the room
we were where
standing; but could not be visited because a harem
occupied the lower part of the building. You walk along
the Via Dolorosa, and note the different Stations of the
Cross arbitrarily marked by bronze tablets on the walls;
but you are inwardly tormented by the thought that
the exact location of the original Way is unknown; that
it is supposed to be somewhere in this locality, but from
forty to seventy feet lower than the pavement on which
you are walking. You are taken to the Tombs of the
Kings, and find there is no evidence or even probability

[119]
A Modern Pilgrimage

that any kings were ever buried there. In despair, you
ask to be taken to the Garden of Gethsemane, walk
reverently along the gravel walks and among the
gnarled and aged trees, finally to learn that the Greeks
have a rival garden near by, which they staunchly main
tain is the true one. You are shown the tomb of
Absolom, David and others, but by this time you are
a little incredulous and balk at the tomb of Adam, which

is pointed out in the Holy Sepulchre!
The foregoing remarks are not to be considered irrev
erent, as they are not so intended. They are made

merely to show how impossible it is for the average
visitor in Jerusalem to accept seriously many things
that have no real claim to probability,
although blindly
believed by thousands who do not stop to investigate.
Many people, having come a long distance "to see the
sights," would be sorely disappointed if they were not
accommodated, so they are taken on the regular round.
I do not wish to dwell too much on this, but the
following incident is worth telling: The primary object
of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem is to visit the Holy
Sepulchre, and I will describe faithfully (but truthfully),
little party. On
just how this was accomplished by our
the Wednesday morning preceding Easter, we were
con

ducted to a place outside the walls near the Damascus
of a cliff depicts
Gate, where the rough, rocky formation
a human skull. The hollow eyes and gaping features
and it is known as Skull Hill, or
are plainly discernible,
"the of the skull." This knoll is said
place
Golgotha,
where criminals
to be the "House or Place of Stoning,"

[120]
'

*?

THE HARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
In Jerusalem

were executed in former times. On the top of the hill
is Moslem cemetery, and about one hundred yards to
a

the left, a walled-in garden, which we entered. It was
well kept, and from a rock at the eastern extremity
the skull is visible, as well as several well-defined rifts
undoubtedly caused by an earthquake. In the western
end of the garden are traces of a large building (said to
be the ancient Church of the Resurrection), and in the
solid perpendicular rock of the hillside is a tomb, con
taining an ante-chamber and two graves only one of
which was ever finished or occupied. At one side of
the low door is a narrow window opening into the
inner tomb and in front is the groove for the rolling
stone.
The attendant, a middle-aged woman, explained that
this was the garden of Joseph of Arimathea, and pointed
out how the different features tallied with the Biblical
narrative. As we were leaving the garden, convinced
that we had seen and entered the tomb of our Lord, the
guide hastened to say, "I will now take you to the real
Holy Sepulchre what we know and believe is where
Jesus Christ was buried!" And so we quietly followed
him through the Damascus Gate, along a narrow but
picturesque lane to the church generally known as the
Holy Sepulchre.
I had heard that in olden times anyone who had made
a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre was entitled to be
called a Hadji, but we could not help feeling that this
title was somewhat obsolete, or at least needed revision.
For on the same morning we had visited two Holy

[121]
A Modem Pilgrimage

Sepulchres, each having equally good and plausible
arguments in its favor, except that the latter was more
widely known and recognized and had a greater age to
its credit.
In order to finish all the dark and unattractive side
of the picture first, we will briefly recall another in
cident.
We found that even as the walls of the city had been
moved about, so had the Holy Places been changed
from one part of the city to another, in order to suit
the convenience of pilgrims, and had been renamed from
time to time to conform to whatever religion happened
to be in power. Mt. Zion, which was originally on the
eastern hill, is now at the southwestern corner of the

city,and the Turk, who still occupies the lower
obliging
fitted up the
part of a prominent building there, has
of which has been moved the
upper rooms, into one
as the
tomb of David, while the adjoining one is shown
Coenaculum. All of which, for a few piastres, can be viewed

by the pious or otherwise.
The Sacred Rock (inclosed in the
misnamed Mosque
a footprint,
of Omar) has some indentations resembling
which are pointed out as the footprints of Jesus, though
attributed to the
under Mahomedan rule they
were

foot of the Prophet.
pressure of the
one comes to the
After a few days of sight-seeing,
is as interesting and
conclusion that a visit to Jerusalem
of golf-you travel over
fascinating as an amateur game
the course even if you
feel you are not making much
of a score!

[122]
In Jerusalem

We reveled in the antiquity of the place, gazing at the
massive walls, trying to realize that three thousand years
have elapsed since King David selected this site as the
Capital of the Kingdom of Israel, and wondering which,
if any, of these huge stones were standing in their
original locations. But we are suddenly brought back
to earth by learning that the present walls were built

by Sultan Suleiman, the Magnificent, as recently as 1542
A. D., so we pass on down the narrow streets crowded
with little bazaars, from which music issues forth. But
we refrained fromentering any of these dingy shops,
fearing ourmight be regaled with a phonographic
ears

record purporting to be the voice of Miriam leading the
daughters of Israel in her celebrated choric song exult
ing over the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea.
It is hard to become reconciled to the fact that Jeru
salem is regarded as a Holy City by all the warring
religious sects, by Christians and Moslems alike, who
jealously protect their rights at the point of the spear
or the sword. The Mahomedans claim that one prayer
said in Jerusalem is worth twenty-five thousand said
elsewhere and have computed that one prayer at Medina
is as good as fifty thousand offered elsewhere, while
Mecca is rated still higher at one hundred thousand.
At the Dome of the Rock, you are shown the hoof-
prints of the Prophet's horse, El-Burak, as it sprung up,
carrying its rider to heaven. According to the tradition,
the Rock started to follow the Prophet and his divine
steed; but the Angel Gabriel, with a
mighty effort, laid
hold of the Rock, and succeeded in staying it after it

[ 123 ]
A Modem Pilgrimage

had moved only a few feet. In so doing, deep prints of
his fingers were made, which are still visible.
But we pick up the slender narrative thread of
must
our adventures and relate the wanderings of our little

party in and around the City of Jerusalem during Holy
Week of 1921 A. D.
As stated before, we had reached the Jaffa Gate, our
weather-beaten cab still intact, and while our non-
Arabian steeds were more or less winded, the rear guard
of porters was still trotting along in good form.
We were mistaken in thinking this wide entrance was
the Jaffa Gate (which stood modestly near by); the
was cut through the walls to allow the
larger opening
German emperor, dressed in the white garb of a Cru
sader, to ride through in state during his visit in 1898,
ostensibly to dedicate a few German churches. Among
these was the monumental but unattractive church on
the modern Mt. Zion, which, we are told, had some

its walls and
ceiling. one In
wonderful decorations on

the German conception
panel the painter had portrayed
of Deity, and in the companion panel was shown the
German emperor. The Psalmist was- also pictured, with
moustache upturned in the approved German style. The
everything
and
processions were doing the goose-step
was brought down to date and to the glorification of the
German emperor and his people. However, we were
as we were unable
obliged to accept all this on hearsay,
to wake up the attendant
and have the church's portals
there a few days later.
unlocked when we called
this
But to return to the Jaffa Gate. Driving through

[124]
In Jerusalem

new entrance (prior to its construction vehicles were

not able to enter inside the walls), we drove to the
Grand New Hotel, and were preparing to descend, when
we were informed that the "standing-room only" sign
was on exhibition inside. We were taking counsel to
and
gether, when an obliging guide happened along
offered to conduct us to "the best hotel in town!" We

decided to take a chance, and off we started, our pro
cession now consisting of a guide in front, our chariot,
of
platoon reinforced by several
porters
supported by a

others who were trying to break into the party, and
followed by a number of small boys.
With this noisy escort, we attracted considerable
attention as we jogged along, and were not sorry when
we reached our destination, which happened
to be the

Hotellerie de Notre Dame de France, a religious hos
Fathers
pice conducted by the French Assumptionist
just outside the new gate, called Bab Sultan Abdul
Hamid, at the northwest corner of the city.
The place appealed to us as having possibilities. Hav
this
ing put up at a variety of hotels on our way,
seemed
Hotellerie, with its hint of monastic simplicity,
to offer a sure haven. On entering, we noticed a tiled
motto in the floor reading, Deus custodiat introitum
tuum et exitum tuum, which, as nearly as I could
re

member, would mean that "God guards your going in
and your going out." At one side of the inner entrance
door will
door, a sign in French informed you that "this
to after eleven and a half hours
not be opened any person
of the evening." After trying to put in a few evenings

[125]
A Modem Pilgrimage

in the city, we found that hour to be plenty late enough.
guide had preceded us down the stone corridor,
The
almost a block long, up several flights of stairs, and
down another long corridor to our rooms, which looked
out over New Calvary and the Damascus Gate. We
found, on entering our room, that it was large enough
to hold a narrow iron bedstead, small washstand, a
a

tallow candle and one chair. The floor was red tile, the
walls stone. only wood in sight, except the fur
The
niture, was by which we had entered, and a
the door
wooden cross suspended on the bare wall. Nothing was
lacking, or more correctly speaking, nothing had been
added, to spoil the monastic effect.
For the first time since we had left our native shores,
there were no blanks to fill out for the police depart
ment, and no register in which to enter our names. This,
bythe way, was partly explained when we left, and had
difficulty in getting a written bill, which was not re
ceipted, as a receipted bill required a government stamp,
and that would entail the outlay of a few piastres!
After performing our ablutions, we found it still lacked
a couple of hours before we could expect dinner,
and
in a unanimous prayer for refresh
we all not only joined
ments, but also proceeded to locate the dining-room. By
some freak or fatality we were always
famished when
ever we arrived in a new and strange place,
and this

time was no exception to the rule. So we stated our

case strongly as possible, and our arguments seemed
as
to be seated, and
to have some weight, as we were told

presently a middle-aged daughter of
Israel brought us

[126]
In Jerusalem

a pot of lukewarm tea. When protested, she de
we

murred that the tea was warm, and it was impossible to
make it any warmer as there was no fire. But we were

firm, and while she was away, ostensibly brewing fresh
tea, we took a glance at our new surroundings.
The refectory was true to monastic form, with stone
floors and walls, and rows of large stone columns, sup
porting a flat-arched ceiling. The tables were long
affairs seating from twelve to twenty people, and

gratuitously supplied with numerous bottles of red wine.
Portly monks, with bald crowns and dressed in long,
brown robes and girdles, moved in and out, their sandals
clicking on the stone floor.
After our hot tea, augmented by a bottle of the wine,
had given us renewed life, we were approached by a
guide, who offered to show us all the sights, furnish
carriages, pay bakshish, and all incidental expenses dur
ing our stay, for the modest sum of six hundred piastres
(twenty-four dollars), which he claimed was the regular
charge. As this seemed very reasonable we closed the
deal; but as a cab was only furnished on two occasions
(once on a trip to Bethlehem and once to the Mt. of
Olives), while the remainder of the time was trudged
on foot through the narrow lanes of the city, we dis

covered that the gentleman with the red tarbush, other
wise Joseph, had made a very good bargain, and half
that price would have been about the proper charge.
During the dinner hour the large refectory was filled
with soldiers, monks, tourists and pilgrims, and the bare

[127]
A Modern Pilgrimage

walls echoed with the hum and chatter of all kinds and
classes of people,
conversing in all languages.
Back of me sat two friars from Argentine, South
America, Spanish Roman Catholics, who had been fellow
passengers across the Mediterranean, and who had also
bobbed up at the same hotel in Tiberias. In front was
a long table entirely occupied by English officers, while
near by was an attractive young lady who, I afterwards

learned, was a French professoress from Alexandria,
Egypt. Scattered about the room were the usual types
of tourists.
After dinner we strolled out to see what Jerusalem
looked like by any other kind of light,
gas, electric or

but found there was nothing on tap but moonlight. The
shops closed and the streets dark and deserted.
were

Someone suggested the cinema, but we found there were
two of one inside the walls, the other in the
them,
only
The latter happened to be the only one
West End.
like "Ten
in operation, and was showing something
was not the name
Nights in a Bar-room," only that
with about
of it; they were just then struggling along
The entrance to this theatre is
the fifteenth episode.
around and
through a livery stable, and after poking
decided we didn't want
failing to see the front door,
we

to see a show anyway, and
returned to our Hotellerie,
time scheduled for its
which we reached long before the
closing. , ,

After our return came the amusing part of the day s
Mr. B, who was not very enthusiastic
experiences.
stuff," had insisted on having a
about "this monastic

[128]
In Jerusalem

fire in his room, and when reached his door, we
we

found that someone had left there a rickety old oil stove,
probably handed down from the Jebusites, which was
strong on odors but weak onheat-giving qualities.
Without a fire the room was almost freezing, and with
the stove going we were nearly choked by the fumes.
So, with firing it up, putting it out, airing the room,
relighting it and beginning the performance all over
again, we put in a busy evening.
Finally, leaving him to figure out which was the lesser
of the two evils, we retired to our own unheated cell
and turned in, our imagination at least warmed by the
thought that we were sleeping somewhere near the spot
where Titus had encamped on the night before he en
tered Jerusalem, in 70 A.D., at which time he drove out
all the inhabitants and left not one stone on top o1 the
other, excepting only the tower of David, which he used
as garrison for his soldiers, and left as an object les
a

son to posterity, to show how mighty a city the Roman

valor had subdued.

[ 129 ]
XVI

Jerusalem Continued

On the following morning, Joseph appeared at the appointed
time to conduct us around the Capital of Israel ; but without
carriages, as he explained that this morning we were to go
on foot.
So we proceeded first to New Calvary and the Garden Tomb
(which has been already described). Passing through the
Christian quarter and finally turning into the Old Street of
Palms, we came to a stone-paved court in front of the Holy
Sepulchre. This place is so well known, having been pictured
and described so many times, it would seem superfluous to go
into great detail. The edifice, which has no claim to architec
tural beauty, is an accumulation of buildings built about 300
A. D. by the Empress Helena, the mother of the first Christian
Emperor, Constantine. When you have entered and looked
around, you feel that it is not a church at all, but rather a
sacred Exposition Building, filled with chapels, altars, shrines,
hills, caves, etc., commemorating all the events mentioned in
the Bible that could by any possibility have taken place at or
near Jerusalem.
Among the many places shown are thefollowing: The
Sepulchre of Christ; the summit of Mt. Calvary; the places
where Christ was scourged, crowned With thorns, and anointed
for burial; the point where the true Cross was found; the
place where Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene; the spot
where the Centurion stood during the crucifixion, and (the

[130]
Jerusalem Continued

most ancient feature of all) the grave of Adam ! This is quite

a remarkable collection of relics to be
found in one building.
entered was the Stone of
The first thing pointed out as we

Unction, where the body of the Saviour was laid for anointing
the
when taken down from the Cross. This is not exactly
ruins
real stone (which is perhaps buried somewhere in the
placed here in 1818, since
underneath), but is another stone

which time it has been kissed by thousands of pilgrims.
A few steps further on is a stone enclosed by a railing.
either
This is supposed to mark the spot where Mary stood,
while the body of Jesus was being anointed, or else while

she was watching the tomb.
the
Continuing a few steps we entered the Rotunda, in
center of which stands the Holy Sepulchre, or what has been

considered as such for several centuries. The sarcophagus
lies in a srriall chapel built of Santa Croce marble, which you
can enter, by stooping, through a small doorway
about five
feet high. The space inside measures about six by seven feet,
but nearly twenty square feet of this is occupied by the marble
Outside stand
sarcophagus, which is shown as the Tomb.
six massive candlesticks, and overhead are festoons of lamps
in bizarre and Oriental shapes, the whole setting having an
almost theatrical effect that is far from pleasing, and much
less impressive than a simple and more dignified treatment.
In a vestibule to the east, called the Angel's Chapel, is part
of the stone which the angels are supposed to have rolled from
the door of the tomb.
Next we visited the Chapel of the Syrians, beside which is
a rocky grotto containing several tombs. Lighting our candles
we entered and were shown the tombs of Nicodemus and
Joseph of Arimathea.
[131]
A Modern Pilgrimage

Returning to the Rotunda, we passed around to the north
of the Sepulchre into the Latin vestibule, which is paved with
marble slabs radiating from a central stone marking the spot
where Mary Magdalene stood when Jesus said to her
"Woman, why weepest thou?"
Ascending a few steps we entered the Latin's Chapel of the
after His
Apparition, where the Lord appeared to Mary
resurrection. As our visit happened to be on Wednesday of
the Scourging. This
Holy Week, we saw here the Column of
is said to be a piece of the column to which Christ was bound
on this
when scourged by order of Pilate, and is only exhibited
one day of the year.
shown the
Passing along to the Greek section,
we were

of Christ, where He was said to have been
incarcerated
Prison
prior to the crucifixion, and
near by the Chapel of the Division
of the Vestments.
and entered the Ar
We now descended about thirty steps
niche in the low wall
menian Chapel of St Helena to view
a

were excavating for the
where Queen Helena sat while they
one happened to remember or
mention
true cross, although no
after the event. In this room
it until one hundred years
or so
and the
to the penitent thief, Dismas,
are two altars, one

other to Queen Helena.
we reached the Chapel
Descending about a dozen steps more,
and were shown three holes
of the Finding of the Cross,
mark the location where they were
chiseled in the ceiling to
the calendar "The Invention of the
found. This is called in

CritSis interesting to note that this chapel is owned jointly,
the right and the Latins the left
side.
the Greeks claiming

[132]
Jerusalem Continued

We now reclimbed the forty odd steps and passed into the
Greek church, which is much larger and more gorgeously deco
rated than any of the others. In the center is a short column
marking the center of the earth, and on the ceiling are some
disfigured frescoes that date back to the twelfth century.
Ascending another narrow flight of steps we arrived in
Calvary, about fifteen feet above the main floor of the Sepul
chre. At the end of this chapel is an altar, under which are
holes or sockets, which are pointed out as the location of the
three crosses, and anyone wishing to do so, is allowed to put
his hands in these sockets. Near the altar is a long brass plate
covering a Rent in the Rock (which has been stained red),
and is said to have been made by the earthquake at the time
of the crucifixion. Through this rent the blood of the Saviour
was supposed to have trickled down on the Tomb of Adam,

located directly underneath; the idea being that "the blood of
the atonement was destined to fall on the head of the first
transgressor" all of which would seem more poetic than
probable !
In order not to overlook anything of interest to the pilgrim
the tomb of Melchizedek has been located in another chapel,
and near it the tombs of Godfrey de Bouillon and Baldwin I,
although these were desecrated by the Saracens over six hun
dred years ago and totally destroyed by the fire of 1808 A. D.
All these wonderful exhibits gathered under one aggrega
tion of roofs, are the joint property of the Greeks, Roman
Catholics, Armenians, Syrians, Abyssinians and Copts. Al
though each nationality, at its alloted time, takes its turn in
making processions to the holy places and worshipping at the
sacred shrines, each sect has selected certain chapels and sta-

[133]
A Modem Pilgrimage

tions at which it worships, simply passing by or ignoring the
others. The Rotunda itself is common to all the sects, but the
rest is divided and exclusively reserved. Prior to the English
occupation, a Turkish guard constantly on hand to see that
was

none of the sects encroached on the rights of the others, or

overstayed the time alloted to them.
Such, in brief, was our visit to this Holy Place, which has
been an object of great interest for many centuries and among
all nations. Turk, Infidel, Crusader thousands of lives have
been cheerfully given, and rivers of blood have been shed,
to have and to hold this very place.
In pondering over all this and calling to mind the jealousy
and deadlyhatred of the different peoples now in possession
of the premises, we were forcibly reminded of the words of
Abdul Baha: "Religion must be the cause of fellowship and
love. If be the cause of enmity and rancor, if it
religion
should prove the cause of alienating men, then assuredly
non-

religion would be better."
the dream of
So, without touching on the Holy Fire,
traditions
Helena or the many other ancient and interesting
will wander on
that hover about the Holy Sepulchre,
we

at least, we found
through the Bazaars, which, in
one respect

from any we had seen. They were compara
very different
the pervasive odors of those m
tively clean, and free from
This was quite a surprise,
Cairo and elsewhere in the Orient.
were formerly noted
for their
as the bazaars of Jerusalem
were
the streets in some places
filth and corruption, and
are clean
now the booths generally
almost impassable. But bake shops
Christian quarter, where the
especially those in the
and candy stores were spotless.

[134]
Jerusalem Continued

Under English rule, these rocky lanes (which are called
streets), are swept regularly and evidences of a general house-
cleaning are here and there apparent. But in the Jewish
quarter and among the Moslems it will require some education
and perhaps a generation before they are permanently weaned
away from their accustomed ways.
As Jerusalem has always been thought of merely as a place
of religious pilgrimage, many other interesting and remark
able things appear never to have received the attention they
deserve. One of these, which interested me particularly, was
the massive stone work. While the Copts have captured the
praise and admiration of the world for their pyramids, the
monuments of Ghizeh are "easy picking" compared with the

heavier work performed by the stone masons of Israel, where,
in a quarry in northern Palestine, a huge rock has been dis
covered that measures sixty-eight feet long, fourteen feet high
and fourteen feet broad, and is estimated to weigh nearly
twelve hundred tons.

Owing to a sudden strike, evasion, or perhaps some change
in the building ordinances, this immense stone was abandoned
1700 years ago, and is still to be seen in the quarry.
While the blocks found at Jerusalem do not measure up to
this giant, one stone in the Wailing Place measures twenty-
four feet long by seven feet high and rests nearly eighty feet
above the original surface of the ground. In the Haram wall
is another thirty-eight feet long, weighing at least eighty tons.
In the same wall is a course of masonry six feet high, and at
the corner of the Haram inclosure is a huge stone that weighs
at least one hundred tons.
As these walls now show a height of seventy feet and extend

[ 135 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

eighty feet below the present grade, it means that some of the
immense stones were possibly elevated one hundred and fifty
feet, which would be no small task even in these days of power
ful machinery. It would be interesting to know whether these
weighty blocks we're hoisted perpendicularly and placed in
position, or were handled in the same manner as they were at
the pyramids.
The point I wish to emphasize now is that from the children
of Israel sprang not only, the greatest prophets, poets, law
givers and a religion that has encircled the entire globe, chang
modern times; but
ing the history as well as the calendar of
in addition to these, great stone-workers. From an engineer
deserve a greater con
ing standpoint, the walls of Jerusalem
sideration than they have heretofore received.

[136]
XVII

Mosque of Omar and the Via Dolorosa
In the cool, crisp air of the following morning, we started
out to visit the famous shrine of the Moslems, usually called
the Mosque of Omar, not the Omar whom Fitzgerald has so
widely introduced.
Since the English occupation this has become a simple
matter, but prior to this, it was necessary to secure a pass,
employ a Kawas from the consulate of the country to which
the traveler belonged, and be accompanied by a Turkish
soldier. These formalities have all been done away with, and
all you do now is let the attendants slip some loose canvas slip
pers over your shoes and walk in.
The site of this structure is that of the Temple designed by
King David and built by Solomon, before which stood the two
mystic pillars, "thirty and five cubits high," which were called
Joachin and Boaz. This wonderful building was burned down
and rebuilt ; others were also built and destroyed, until finally
in 688 A. D., the Moslem,s took possession of the site and built
the Dome of the Rock. Many traditions are current regarding
this Sacred Rock, which is located on Mt. Moriah, and is at
least one spot in Jerusalem of whose authenticity there can
be no doubt. Among the Jews it has always been revered as
the spot where Melchizedek offered sacrifice, where Abraham
brought his son Isaac as an offering, where the Ark of the
Covenant stood, and where Jacob's Ladder rested.
The Moslems believe it was from this rock that Mahomed's

[137]
A Modem Pilgrimage

steed sprang when it carried the Prophet into heaven while
both Moslems and Jews regarded it as the Foundation-stone of
the world. The Mosque, or Shrine, stands on a slight terrace
in the center of an open area of thirty-five acres, called the
Haram inclosure. The building is octagonal in shape and
has four doors opening to the four cardinal points ; the whole
exterior is covered with soft, dull-blue porcelain tiles, and the
frieze, also of tiles, is ornamented with passages in Arabic
from the Koran. Leading to the platform or terrace are
wide steps, and four gates or arcades, facing to the north,
south, east and west. In the interior the arches are decorated
with glass mosaics, also passages from the Koran in Arabic.
The Rock is immediately beneath the dome, and is inclosed
by a fine grille of French hammered iron work dating from
the twelfth century. Inside the grille-work hang curtains,

partially concealing the irregular Rock, which stands from one
to nearly five feet above the floor. This Rock, on which once
rested the Holy of Holies, is a bare, rugged unhewn rock
about sixty feet long by forty-five feet wide, which looks as
if it had received hard usage, and in its present condition shows
had
little resemblance to what it was in the days when Onan
here his threshing-floor.
in the
After viewing the footprint of Mahonled, which
was shown as the footprint of Christ,
and
twelfth century
of the Angel
noting the deep, highly-polished finger-prints
the Rock from fol
Gabriel, whose prompt action prevented
and making sure that the
lowing the Prophet into heaven,
at the north end, (the
three and a half nails were still in situ
there were nineteen nails, of
legend being that originally
all but three and a half,
which the Devil has already extracted

[138]
Mosque of Omar and the Via Dolorosa

and when the last one disappears, the end of the world will
come) ; after pausing at the praying places of Abraham,
David, Solomon and Mahomed, and encircling the celebrated
Rock, walking on rare carpets of rich, Oriental pattern and
of great price, we passed out, shedding our canvas slippers at
the door.
At some distance from the Mosque is a marble fountain
called El Kas, or The Cup, near which we halted, waiting for
Joseph, who had remained behind to dicker with the attend
ants. Having nothing else to do, I foolishly lighted my pipe,
whereupon guards rushed up from several directions, with
wild gestures and wilder exckntations, until Joseph hurried
to my rescue and explained that I was still on holy ground.
So (rather than go to jail), I pocketed my offending pipe,
and proceeded to the Mosque of El Aksa originally the
magnificent Basilica founded by the Emperor Justinian in
honor of the Virgin about fourteen hundred years ago, but
a few centuries later appropriated by the Moslems, who con

verted it into a mosque.
Here we were shown the tomb of the sons of Aaron; the
last resting place of the murderers of Thomas a' Becket, and
the beautiful pulpit of Saladin, made of the cedar of Lebanon
and inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. Near the pulpit
is the praying place of Moses, while back of the pulpit is a
stone said to contain a footprint of Christ; close by are two
pillars,so near together that only a very slender person could
pass between them. In former times, every pilgrim was sup

posed to try it, as those who succeeded were sure of a place
in heaven; but for those who failed the case was considered
doubtful. Owing to the fact that some years ago a portly

[139]
A Modern Pilgrimage

pilgrim, in trying to squeeze through, got wedged and expired
on the spot, stanchions were placed between them, and we

were obliged to look further, and for some other test, in

order to settle the important question of our eternal futures.
Underneath this portion of the inclosure are located Solo
mon's stables, and here he had "forty thousand stalls of horses
for his chariots"; but as this structure only dates back to
Roman times, it is probably the stables of the Knights
Templars.
From this point a wonderful view is obtained. Below is the
Valley of Jehoshaphat, a mass of graves and memorial stones,
as it is the wish of all devout Jews to be buried here, where

the Messiah is to come "and sit to judge all the heathen round
about." To the south lies the Village of Siloam, the Virgin's
Fountain and the Pool ; across the valley is the Mt. of Olives,
and at its foot, on the edge of the valley of the Kedron
(whose dry bed shows that the Brook is now only a temporary
affair), a small walled-in garden is seen, containing a few
cypress and olive trees, the reputed
Garden of the Gethsem
ane. A little to the left of the Garden is the road to Bethany,
and winding over the hills still further to the left is the road
to Jericho.
About the center of the east wall of the inclosure stands the
Golden Gate, which it is supposed the Saviour entered
through
It is now walled up, and there
Palm Sunday.
Jerusalem on

is a tradition that when He returns, He will make the trium
wrest the city from the
phal entry through this Gate and
Moslems. In the inclosure, north of the Gate, is a small
Throne of Solomon, where it is said he
mosque called the
was found dead. The character of Solomon, by the way, pre-

[140]
Mosque of Omar and the Via Dolorosa

sents a peculiarstudy, when viewed at close range. Here on
the spot where we were standing he built the wonderful
Temple to Jehovah, while just across the valley, and connected
with it by a great causeway, he erected a temple to Venus on
what would seem to be well-named, the Mt. of Offense. Here,
in view of the Lord's Temple, he kept his seraglio of
plain
young and well-selected beauties, with whom he spent
his time
when not composing Canticles or issuing words of wisdom.
In other words, while he said many wise things, he also did
many vain and foolish ones, and in the end died ingloriously.
All of which leads one to believe that he spoke from personal
experience when he casually remarked that "all is vanity and
vexation of spirit."
Passing out of the inclosure by the northeast gate, we
walked by the Pool of Bethesda, now dry and clogged with
rubbish. Continuing, we reached the Via Dolorosa, called by
the natives, "The Street of the Serai," which leads from the
Government House to the Holy Sepulchre. The Via Dolorosa
is a narrw, roughly paved street, spanned by several pic
turesque Roman arches. It is a shock, however, to learn
that it was not selected or so named until the fourteenth cen
tury. In this street are located nine of the fourteen Stations
of the Cross, which are marked by bronze tablets attached to
the high walls which inclose the street on both sides; the
other five Stations are within the walls of the Holy Sepulchre
already described.
The first Station, the Scala Sancta, or holy steps, we had
seen in a church at Rome, but the place where they once were
is pointed out. Near by is the second Station, the place of
the Binding of the Cross upon the shoulder of Christ.

[141]
A Modern Pilgrimage

A few steps further on we came to the Ecce Homo Arch,
a partof which extends out over the street, and is said to be
the spot where Pilate said unto them, "Behold the Man!" At
the junctionof this street with the one leading from the
Damascus Gate is where He is said to have fallen for the first
time. From this third Station, the visitor, if sufficiently inter
ested to complete the course, is shown where the Virgin
fainted, the place where Simon took the Cross, the house of
Veronica, which recalls the legend regarding the Holy Hand
kerchief, the so-called Gate of Judgment, where He fell a
second time, where He addressed the daughters of Jerusalem
who accompanied Him, and the ninth Station, which is at the
door of the Coptic Monastery. While it is claimed that these
Stations were known to the Roman Catholics in the twelfth
century, we were unable to find that any of the pilgrinfc of
that time mentioned them: so that, unless the visitor is en
dowed with a large amount of what is distinguished as "reli
in
gious" faith, a walk down this little street leaves his mind
anything but a calm and satisfied condition.
when we
Many times since this cool morning in March,
toiled over this Stony Way, the words of Abdul Baha have
come to my mind: "No man should blindly
follow his an

cestors and forefathers. Nay, each must see with his own
and investigate truth in order that
eyes, hear with his own ears,
he may find the Truth." But in doing so, what a difference
it makes in the verdict!

[142]
XVIII

A Day at Bethlehem

After several days of tramping over the narrow, stony
streets, looking at doubtful antiquities, we grew some
what weary, and were relieved when Joseph appeared
and announced that the carriage was waiting outside.
Now, we thought, our opportunity had come to get
out and see something real, some of the pictures we
had formed of life in the Holy Land. We even had a
vague hope that our eyes might somewhere rest on a
replica of "the solitary gleaner," who once "stood in tears
amid the alien corn"; but who at the suggestion of her
mother-in-law kept only one eye on the corn and the
other on the aged but susceptible Boaz, who we are told
finally succumbed, and gladdened "the sad heart of
Ruth."
But after journeying a short distance, we discovered
that it was out of season for any kindof gleaning, so
we began looking about for some modern Rebekah at a

well, waiting to say, "Drink, and I will draw- water for
thy camels also." But this, too, seemed out of fashion,
since a certain Canadian engineer at Kantara, with the
aid of a filtering plant and a twelve-inch pipe line, was
pumping unheard-of quantities of the "sweet waters of
the Nile" into a large reservoir inside the walls of the
ancient city.
Regarding this event, which we have already men-

[143]
A Modem Pilgrimage

tioned, we heard another version of a Turkish tradition,
prophesying that the Turk would remain master of
Jerusalem "until the waters of the Nile flowed into the
Holy City." To their minds, this was evidence that they
would remain there indefinitely. But General Allenby,

basing his efforts "on the justice of our cause and faith
in the sustaining help of the Almighty," had brought
about this unexpected event, and the surprised Turk
had no other alternative but to evacuate the stronghold.
Although fulfilling one prophecy, General Allenby side
stepped another by refusing to allow them to remove the
masonry which blocked up the Golden Gate ("until
the
Deliverer should appear"), but quietly entered the city
through the Jaffa entrance (prepared a few years pre
viously for the German Emperor), and without any pomp
or flaunting of foreign flags in the faces of the inhab

itants of the "occupied territory."
How expert the English are in these matters, and how
carefully they refrain from inflaming the hearts of the
natives is also shown by the fact that at the present
time the flag of the conqueror is seen nowhere, except
over the residence of Governor, and that is on the eastern
side of the Mt. of Olives, quite a distance outside and
out of sight of thecity. By a strange irony of fate, the
Governor has taken up his abode in what
was formerly
the Empress Auguste Viktoria Sanatorium, inaugurated
Prince in 1910. It is a large and
by the German Crown
of stone buildings, surrounded
substantial looking group
which incloses a well-kept garden
by a high stone wall,
with trees and flow-
of several acres, liberally supplied

[144]
A Day at Bethlehem

ers. From the tower of the main building there is a
wonderful view: on one side is the Dead Sea (nearly
thirteen hundred feet below the level), and on the
sea

other side, the Holy City (about twenty-five hundred
feet above sea level) ; to the north the mountains stretch
away towards Bethany and Jericho;
while to the south
lies the town of Bethlehem, a panorama that takes in
many of the most important places in the religious
history of the world.
Before leaving the subject of water supply, we might
add that what is now conveyed by the daughters of
Israel and their neighbors is still carried on their heads,
in the ancient fashion, but in five-gallon tin cans the

picturesque being sacrificed for the modern and more
practical containers dispensed by the Standard Oil Co.
But, as I started to say at the beginning of this chap
ter, our guide announced that our carriage was waiting,
and that we would now visit the little town of Bethle
hem the mostwidely-known town of its size in the
world! Leaving the city by the Jaffa entrance, we pro
ceeded down the Valley of Hinnom along the familiar
road leading to the railroad station, but continuing due
south, past the Hill of Evil Counsel, where Caiaphas
the High Priest had his summer residence and bribed
Judas to betray his Master, and passing the traditional
tree on which Judas later hanged himself. We continued

along the glaring white road where Mary and Joseph
traveled when, failing to find lodgings at Jerusalem, they
continued on to Bethlehem.
Farther along, by the side of the road, is the Well of

[145]
A Modern Pilgrimage

the Magi, where the Wise Men paused, and seeing the
reflection of the Star in the well, followed it until it
stood over where the young Child was.
A short distance beyond we paused to visit the tomb of
Rachel, a modern structure supposed to stand somewhere
near where the ancient tomb was. The interior bears some
resemblance to a hotel register, as the white walls are
completely covered with names, scribbled everywhere
within reach of the scribbling public, so that either
step-ladders will have to be provided for next season or
the walls given a new coast of whitewash.
Finally we reached Bethlehem, a town of about eight
thousand inhabitants, situated on a long hill six miles
from Jerusalem. It presents a rather picturesque appear
ance, as the hill is terraced and well covered with vines,
fig and olive trees. The streets are generally too nar
row for vehicles to pass each other, and are steep and
slippery. While they reminded us somewhat of the
Canals of Venice, navigation is more difficult here, as
traffic can only pass in one direction at a time, and you
have to take your turn along with the droves of sheep
and camels and other vehicles. The houses are square,
solidly built of stone, with cupolas and balconies, form
ing a pleasing picture, with the groves and terraced
gardens below them.
The inhabitants of Bethlehem are supposed to be

celebrated for their beauty and turbulence, but as our

short visit did not permit us to see any shining examples
of either class, we cannot vouch for either the one or

the other.

[146]
A Day at Bethlehem

to be the
The principal industry of the town seems
manufacture and sale of souvenirs in the shape of
made
rosaries, crucifixes, cigar holders, etc., which
are

This
of olive wood, Dead Sea stone and mother-of-pearl.
business is carried on very earnestly and with great
persistence, and strangers are besieged by shopkeepers
who follow them with warnings not to buy at the other
man's store and be robbed, but to come into their store
here
where the job would be done properly, the prices
being at least double those in Jerusalem.
The center of interest, however, is in the huge, fortress
of the
like building or buildings at the eastern edge
is said to be
village the Church of the Nativity, which
in the
the oldest monument of Christian architecture
in the year
world, having been erected by Constantine
330 A. D. The roof was renewed by King Edward IV,
and is of oak. Adjoining are three convents
English
who
belonging to the Romans, Greeks and Armenians,
are joint-owners of the church.

The Grotto of the Nativity, which is a cave in the
rock twenty feet below the main floor, is reached by two
feet
staircases, and is thirty-three feet long by eleven
and
wide. The walls are covered with Italian marble,
the little room is profusely decorated with lamps, figures
end of
of saints and embroidery. In a recess at the east
indicates the
the grotto, a silver star on the pavement
where was born, and which the pilgrims who
spot Jesus
desire to do so may crawl to and kiss. In the upper
the star, fifteen silver lamps
part of the shrine, above
are continually burning six of them belonging to
kept

[147]
A Modern Pilgrimage

the Greeks, four to the Romans and five to the Arme
nians. In another recess is the Chapel of the Manger,
which the Roman Catholics claim is the place of dis
covery of the wooden manger, now shown at one of
their churches in Rome. Here is also shown the tomb
of St. Jerome, who spent more than thirty years of his
life in a cell in this church and died there.
A short distance south of the church is another low
cave or grotto, called the Milk Grotto, where it is claimed
the Holy Family was kept in seclusion before their flight
into Egypt, and during which time a drop of the Virgin's
milk accidentally fell on the floor and turned the whole
cave white.
In walking about the church we noticed an occasional
armed guard sitting behind a pillar or in some shady
corner, for an immense treasure of gold and silver and
jewels is contained in the lamps and decorations of the
various altars. As we were leaving the Grotto where
Christ was born, our curiosity was aroused by a tri
floor.
angular-shaped carpet and diverging lines on the
It was explained that these were merely to show the
of the church. As this
property lines of the joint-owners
failed to fully enlighten our ignorant minds, it was
further explained that in the past this place had been the
scene infrequent blood
of much friction, strife and not
were finally laid
shed ; that this carpet and the lines
on the rights
down so that one sect would not encroach
of the other, and if they now
crossed the line even so
risk of their lives!
much as an inch, they did so at the
To our minds this seemed a peculiar
untheological

[148]
A Day at Bethlehem

condition to exist at the birthplace of Him who came
to proclaim "Peace on Earth and Good Will unto Men,"
and our thoughts reverted to what Abdul Baha had said
in speaking of the new Bahai Temple at Chicago: "The
and edifices for adoration
purpose of places of worship
is simply that of unity, in order that various nations,
divergent races, varying souls may gather there, and
among them amity, love and accord may be realized."

[149]
XIX

From the Mount of Olives to Mount Zion

There are several ways of going to the Mount of Olives
from the city, but as we were to visit some other places en
route, we took the roundabout way, passing along the north
wall until we reached the Damascus Gate, where the road
branches in three directions.
Taking the way to Nablus (the ancient city of Shechem and
once the capital of Palestine), we passed by the new German

Hospice of St. Paul's and behind it the new Calvary and
Garden Tomb. Near by is the large church of St. Stephens,
recently built by the French, and a little further on the English
school and church of St. George, where the residence of the
English Bishop is located.
Stopping here we visited what has long been known as the
Tombs of the Kings. Being unable to learn exactly what
to look the matter
kings had ever rested there, I took the pains
up, and found that instead of kings, they must have meant
of Queen Helena of Adiabene is promi
queens, as the name
that she died in the
nently mentioned, the inference being
in this very
first century, and was buried somewhere, possibly
place ! A sarcophagus bearing
the name of Queen Sarah was
also found there.
Considering that none of the kings have introduced any
it would seem that the queens
evidence at all on their side,
so far.
have a little the best of the argument
After viewing the interior
of these rock-hewn tombs, which

[150]
From the Mount of Olives to Mount Zion

the upper
are veryinteresting, we renewed our journey along
barren of hills on
Kedron valley and crossed a low, range
after
which is located the English cemetery, filled with
row

row of white crosses, marking the graves
of the soldiers

who fell in the late war.
where
Gradually we ascended the ridge of Mount Scopus,
which
in ancient times Alexander the Great encamped; over

"the come down like a wolf on the fold,"
and from
Assyrians
From here
which various other despoilers invaded the city.
is perhaps one of the best views to be had of
the city and

of the Jordan valley and the Dead Sea.
the summit
Finally we reached a small, modern village on
of Olivet, and left our carry-all to wait for us at the foot of
The principal object of interest is the Place of
the hill.
Ascension. A large building, belonging to the Moslems,
stands on the site which from the fourth century has been
shown as the place from which Christ ascended into heaven.
In the center of a courtyard is a small Chapel, called
large
the Chapel of Ascension, -containing a rock with a footprint,
shown as the footprint of Christ.
South of this building is the spot where, it is said, He taught
had a
the Disciples to pray, and here a French princess has
chapel erected, called the Pater Noster, in the court of which
are thirty-five panels, each containing
the Lord's Prayer writ

ten in a different language. Her mausoleum of white marble

is also shown here.Further north, surrounded by a small pine
and Priest's House, and near by
grove, is a Russian Chapel
from which
the Russian Tower, with a spiral staircase inside,
obtained of the whole surrounding
an extensive view may be

country. Near the corner of the Chapel is a round rock.

[151]
A Modem Pilgrimage

protruding about a foot and a half above the ground, and
inclosed by an iron railing. This is pointed out as the spot
where Jesus is said to have often rested on his way to
Bethany. At the edge of the bluff, we looked down nearly
five thousand feet below into the Dead Sea, fifteen miles away.
This remarkable body of water called by the Arabs, Bohr Lut
(Lot's Sea), is thirty-six miles long by over nine miles wide,
and covers an area of over four hundred square miles. Its
depth varies from thirteen to thirteen hundred feet, but with a
mean or average depth of one thousand and eighty feet. All
the old notions that no bird could fly over it, and that no per
son could breathe its poisonous exhalations, as well as many
other extravagant statements, have been long since exploded ;
but it is still the most depressed sheet of water in the world,
as it lies thirteen hundred feet below the level of the Mediter
ranean. It is estimated that six million tons of water empty
into it daily, and its only outlet is by evaporation, so that one
find its climate torrid. On both sides
may reasonably expect to
of the sea are precipitous mountains rising from the water's
al
edge, and near the southern end is a large peak consisting
salt. The water is strongly im
most entirely of pure rock
and
pregnated with the chlorides of sodium, potassium mag
is great that a person can
nesium; while its specific gravity so

as on a couch.
lie on the surface of the water almost
the sea and the point
On a hillside, about half way between
little Moslem village, once
where we stood, lies a wretched
little hamlet is, however,
called Bethany. This dirty, sleepy
wide awake enough to invite the stranger to a place called
another place said to be the house
the Tomb of Lazarus, and
lived.
where Mary and Martha

[ 152 ]
From the Mount of Olives to Mount Zion

After gazing at the scene for many long minutes, we walked
down the steep and rocky white road that leads to the foot
of the mountain, where, since the fourth century, the Garden
of the Gethsemane has been located.
Soon we reached the Tomb of Absalom, which is filled to
overflowing with small stones which the devout Jews have
heaped on what has been localized as the grave of David's
ungrateful son. From this point we continued on down the
valley to another spot which has been made familiar to every
one by Bishop Heber's classic, but misleading hymn:

"By cool Siloam's shady rill
How sweet the lily grows, etc."

We had often during our trip hummed these well-known
words, and I had fully decided that, when we reached that
place, the guide would be blindfolded, or
sand-bagged if
necessary, while one or more of those wonderful lilies were
added to our collection of floral souvenirs. But when we
reached the "shady rill" which would seem to be another
name for the Virgin's Fountain it was very evident that the
guide was in no danger of violence at our hands, as there were
no lilies or any other species of flowers to be seen in any direc
tion as far as the eye could reach, and while once it might
have been very fair, it now looked like an ideal "habitation for
dragons and a court for owls," and a place where the stayr
could "call to his fellow," and feel perfectly at home about it.
Our next visit was to the modern Mount Zion, where three
points of interest are located. First, we called at the impos
ing edifice recently dedicated by the German Emperor, and

[153]
A Modem Pilgrimage

named the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin. This name
is based on a belief that some extraordinary mystery about
the death of the Virgin is implied in the Book of the
Apocalypse, where it is stated that "to the woman were given
two wings of an eagle." We continued on to the Coenaculum
and the Tomb of David, touched upon in a previous chapter.
Being unable to penetrate the room supposed to be the scene
of the Last Supper as it was some forty feet below the one
we had entered, and was at present occupied by some Moslem's

harem we proceeded to the Palace of Caiaphas, the High
Priest. This place has also been filled in until the present floor
level of the court is well up toward the top of the first floor
arches. The courtyard is paved with stone slabs, marking the
ecclesiastical dignitaries.
graves of priests, bishops and other
This is said also to be the place where Peter stood when he
denied the Lord, and a small pillar is shown whereon the cock
stood when he crew to warn him. Below, on the opposite
slope of the hill,is Aceldama, or the Potter's Field, which is
sometimes claimed to be the one which the chief priests bought
with the of silver which Judas returned to them
thirty pieces
before he went and hanged himself.

[154]
XX

Last Days in Jerusalem

In summing up our impressions of Jerusalem, we were
surprised. We had looked at so much, and had seen

so little. In trying to account for this we blamed our
lack of proper theological training, and the absence of
that necessary faith that would have enabled us to be
thrilled at everything we were shown, and to believe all
we were Notwithstanding this handicap we had
told.
thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and would gladly welcome
another and longer stay in this city of so many varied
and peculiar attractions.
While reviewing and attempting to fix in our minds
the events of the last few days in the Holy City, our
thoughts naturally reverted to Haifa, Acca and Tiberias,
where we had just seen another religion in the making,
and we were not slow in realizing how fortunate we had
been to make our trip at this time, to meet and talk
with the great leader of this movement, and to visit
the scenes in which he was actually living. On the Sea
of Galilee, not far from the little hamlets where Jesus
spent the greater part of His life, we had met and talked
with another man, who, since his boyhood, has been
called "the Master"; who was living the Christ-life, and
had formulated a new set of sane and practical rules for
making the world better for those who are now living
in it. We had seen how these teachings had, in less than

[155]
A Modem Pilgrimage

half a century,penetrated to every corner of the globe,
and persuaded men of every sect to lay aside their petty
jealousies and work together in a common cause the
betterment of the world today! In the midst of the in
sincerity and superstitions that hover around the Holy
Places in Jerusalem, it was refreshing to turn to the
plain and wholesome ways of the Bahais.
On the afternoon of our last day in Jerusalem, the
other members of our party found themselves somewhat
fatigued and suggested that we all take a good rest;
but I remarked that it was Good Friday and I intended
going to services at the Holy Sepulchre.
The idea seemed all right, but as our guide and ency
clopedia, Joseph, had completed his contract and been
dismissed, how was I going to find my way about? I
assured my fellow-travelers that I had found my way
in larger cities than Jerusalem. Anyway the bluff
worked, and the others decided that if I was sure I
could find the way, they would join me.
So, taking upon myself Joseph's duties, but my own
hat and mantle, I set off with the party in tow. Just
passing through the Damascus Gate I noticed
a
after
to a native in a combination
young lady excitedly talking
of French and Arabic. As my heart was naturally
touched at seeing a young and very good-looking young
the nature of her
lady in distress, I paused to inquire
that she
trouble. She replied in none-too-fluent English
the to the Holy Sepul
had several times inquired way
but that none of the natives had apparently ever
chre,
even heard of it !

[156]
Last Days in Jerusalem

I tried to relieve her anxiety by telling her that we
were on way there and if she would join us, I had
our

no doubt we would all reach the place, sooner or later.
At first she rather doubted my ability, as I failed to
look the part of a professional guide, but on being
assured by the rest of the party that I knew the way
perfectly, she decided to take a chance. Her English
and my French were equally good or bad but we

managed somehow to surmount the barrier of language.
Having thus cracked the ice of convention, we sauntered
along through the bazaars. The young lady, I soon
learned, was not only well educated, and a devout
Catholic, but was also a professoress of French Litera
ture in a college at Alexandria, Egypt, and was taking

advantage of her Easter vacation to visit Jerusalem for
the first time.
Fortune seemed to smile on my efforts as a guide,

and in due time we arrived at the Holy Sepulchre, just
as large procession was marching out of the entrance.
a

Working our way through the crowd, we entered and
stood near the Holy Tomb.
As this was the period allotted to the Franciscans, the
services were conducted in Latin, but the responses of
the congregation, which had gathered from all quarters
of the earth, were made in French, English, Latin and
other tongues which I was not linguist enough to recog
nize. Presently a male choir of about twenty voices
sang the chorus, Le Prophete with an effect truly
magical. Never have I heard a group of men (some of
them were of middle age and others turning grey) with

[157]
A Modern Pilgrimage

such marvelous voices. Add to this the spiritual associa
tions which cling like a veritable atmosphere about the
place, and the result was an experience never to be
forgotten.
Viewing this little incident from another angle, it im
pressed me anew with the strange things that can sud
denly enter into our lives. If anyone had told me on
Christmas that on the coming of Good Friday I would
be conducting a strange French lady from Alexandria,
Egypt, along the streets of Jerusalem to the Holy
Sepulchre, I would certainly have thought that individual
headed for a padded cell, or at least in need of the
services of a psychiatrist.
While we were in Tiberias, the most spectacular
feature we witnessed torchlight procession on
was the
Mahomed's birthday; but at Jerusalem the great excite
ment was the arrival of Lord Randolph Churchill.

Being in the vicinity of the Jaffa Gate about five
o'clock in the afternoon, I noticed the streets and house
tops packed with humanity and the policemen unusually
that
busy trying to keep the road clear for something
was about to happen. Squads of mounted horsemen
of soldiers were
were dashing around and companies
down the road toward the railroad station. I was
filing
unable make any headway in finding
to out what
was

with either
going to happen. Not being able to juggle
Arabic or Yiddish idioms, I put in the time gazing down
the street which everybody else was gazing down; but
as it was the dinner hour, I decided my
approaching
name was not Job, and sauntered back to the hotel.

[158]
Last Days in Jerusalem

There I saw a man who had seen the Egyptian Gazette,
and he said it stated that the English Foreign Secretary
was due to arrive and that was probably what the crowd
had collected to see. So after a hurried dinner we all
went out again to see the rest of the show.
Sentries were now stationed about one hundred feet
apart along both sides of the street. They seemed to
be species of Boy Scouts, dressed in a sort of abbre
a

viated summer uniform that left a portion of their legs

exposed to the inclement weather as they stood, their
teeth chattering, holding long poles with streamers on
the top. In the cold wind we found a sweater and
overcoat failed to make us comfortable, so we walked
briskly up and down on the lee side of the city wall for
another hour or so, and still nothing exciting happened.
How and when the English Secretary ever got into
Jerusalem, we never learned, being denied the pleasure
of welcoming him. We were relieved when the Scouts,
by this time almost petrified with the cold, were called
in at nine o'clock. We had the pleasure of seeing the
Secretary frequently on the boat a few days later.
The next morning, if our Hotellerie had possessed
such a thing as a clock, it would have been striking four
a. m., when we rolled out, finished our packing and
started off in the moonlight for the railroad station. In
the gray dawn we passed by the Tower where the
Jebusites had taunted David by placing on the wall "the
blind and the lame," and wound down the hill by the
Pool of Gihon, which David, now a successful and pros-

[159]
A Modem Pilgrimage

perotisking, had made famous by happening to see
Bethesda bathing there.
At six o'clock our dingy little train began to move,
and in a few minutes the City of David passed into the
realm of recollection.

[160]
XXI

From Jerusalem to Cairo

In studying the map of Jerusalem in its early days
and comparing its topography with that of the present
time, one is astonished at the changes that have taken
place there during the last few thousand years. Originally
the city was built on four hills, and a deep, precipitous
valley separated the eastern from the western part,
making two really distinct cities. Believing it only right
and proper to give every man his just dues, we wish
before closing the account, to pay our respects to that
person (or persons) who acted in the capacity of city
engineer of Jerusalem for the last twenty-five hundred
or three thousand years.
From what we could learn, it appears that each time
the city was captured and destroyed, the ruins were
thrown into the several valleys with which the city was
conveniently provided, and the accommodating city en
gineer simply set up his transit, if he happened to have
one, and established a new grade, which was official
until the next despoiler came along and left some more
debris. Then the grade was again raised to meet the
new condition, and so on until the valleys practically

disappeared, and the portion of the city within the walls
became comparatively level.
While the city engineer was covering himself with
glory and the stone masons were doing their good work,

[161]
A Modem Pilgrimage

the architects failed to keep up with the procession,
and have produced practically nothing worth while. As
we looked around on the commonplace buildings, we

were reminded of the remedy proposed by one of Eng

land's Prime Ministers, who, in lamenting the lack of

any beautiful buildings in London, suggested that an
architect or two be hanged occasionally, on the theory that
"no profession has ever done its duty until it has fur
nished its victim," and that "terror has its inspiration,
and might succeed where competition has failed."
Just now, however, there is no more demand for an
architect in Jerusalem than there is for a Methodist
preacher, as there is no possibility of getting a building
for new houses.
permit, although there is a great demand
But the Moslems, who are still in charge of the local
realize
government, are playing a little politics. They
will not
that every building means new residents who
be Moslems and enough new residents will mean a

the lid has been
change in the city officials, consequently
on any further con
clamped down and the door closed
struction.
piece of property changes hands- every
It is true, a

out that had
few hundred years (I had one piece pointed
it is evident that real
actually been sold recently), yet
in this climate, and the
estate agents do not thrive
is one, is located in a
Chamber of Commerce, if there
sub-cellar and conducted in
a quiet and unobtrusive
in Jeru
manner. The only real live-wire "boosters"
souvenir post cards and
salem are engaged in selling

[162]
From Jerusalem to Cairo

Oriental curios most of which have been
imported
from Germany!
The Jordan valley from the Sea of Galilee to the
Dead Sea is only sixty miles long, but the river itself
is two hundred miles in length, winding back and forth
across the valley until at times it seems to be running

uphill; and it falls six hundred feet in the sixty miles.
It is interesting to know that the only recorded instance
of greater fall is in our own Sacramento River, which
falls eight hundred and forty feet, but in a distance of
four hundred and fifty miles.
While the Valley of the Jordan is only a very small
affair, the soil is deep and has the appearance of being
very fertile, and seems to be patiently waiting for a real
steel plow to come along and till its richness, which
has been fattening for thousands of years.
At present the only inhabitants in the valley are the
migratory Arabs, who pitch their tents wherever they
choose, without the formality of a building permit, and
in a few days or weeks move on to new and fresher
pastures. The Arab's objection to owning land is two
fold. First, he would have to stay in one place; and
second, he would have to pay taxes, to which he is con
stitutionally and unconditionally opposed. In many
respects his conditions and frame of mind are similar to
those of the native Californians before the Gringoes came.
Here in Palestine we came nearer to the real Arab
than anywhere else; grew interested in them and
we

their native haunts, which they are said to have inhabited
since the Flood, some of the tribes claiming direct

[ 163 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

descent from one or more of the eighty persons who

made the voyage with Noah in the Ark. Having made
a safe landing, they have been playing safe ever since by

simply holding their own in their own way.
The nations around them have amassed great riches,
built wonderful cities and speeded along on the main
boulevard of civilization and power. But in the end
they have paid the penalty for their so-called progress
and sunk into ruin. While the wily Arab has persisted
in clinging to his tents and is still neither greater nor
less than he has ever been. Though always on the move,
he has remained stationary; he is still enjoying his free
dom, he has never conquered, and feels that he
been
never will be. Of some things perhaps he has a right
character in
to be proud, as Lord Beaconsfield makes a
one of his romances say,
"the Arab is the only race that

never and "the Creator of the world has never
withers,"
an Arab!"
spoken to anyone, except
Our trip from Jerusalem Cairo was interesting
to

but uneventful. It was enlivened somewhat by the
attractive young Belgian woman in
presence of a very illu
was able to relate many
our compartment, who

minating and tragic first-hand
war experiences.
the jurisdiction
When we arrived at Kantara, leaving
of Egypt, this young
of Palestine and entering that
had failed to visit
woman found to her sorrow that she
and
secure permis
the police department in Jerusalem Officer
and the Passport Control
sion to leave Palestine,
This was not only
refused to allow her to proceed.
but it looked like the end of our
seriously aggravating,

[164]
From Jerusalem to Cairo

pleasant little party. But after a long quiz, augmented
by a great deal of persuasion on our parts, the officer
became convinced that the omission was due to igno
rance on the young woman's
part, but as a penalty
confiscated her passport. So when the train arrived
we smuggled her across, into the car, and proceeded to
Cairo, where we arrived safe and sound a few minutes
before midnight.
Here another pleasant surprise awaited us. Notwith
standing the lateness of the hour, a number of Bahai
friends were on hand to meet us, and from that time
on spared no pains to make our stay in Cairo a pleasant
one. Thereafter we learned more and more that Bahai
is another name for "cheerful service," and nothing was
allowed to come between them and the stranger who
was sojourning among them.
In contrast to the Western world, where business and
money-getting take precedence over everything else, the
unselfish hospitality of the Bahais at Cairo made a deep
and lasting impression.

[165]
XXII

Here and There in Cairo

The morning after our return to Cairo being Sunday and
Easter (a day not largely celebrated in these parts), we were
one of the most promi
taking a brief rest, when Dr. S ,

nent physicians in Cairo as well as one of the finest Bahais
in the world, called and invited Mr. B and myself to a
real Egyptian lunch at the Aly Hassan El-Haty.
The menu was a two-column affair, one side in French and
the other in Arabic, but the Doctor, being a native Egyptian
was equally
and a graduate of the Lyon University in France,
at home in either column and presided
in a way that left
we proceeded a few
nothing to be desired. After lunch
parasangs to a Cafe
on the Opera House Square, where I
which the natives
had m*y first and only lesson on a narghile,
seem to enjoy anywhere
from half an hour to half a day at
that the only easy
a stretch. My experience was, however,
is while you are waiting for the slave
part of the performance
to fix up a wad of Turkish
tobacco about the size of a boiler-
on top of it, and hand you
the
maker's fist, lay some live coals
when you are supposed to
ivory-handled end of "the snake,"
for half an hour or more
do the rest. After pulling away
a fairly
some headway and producing
I was beginning to make

good S; but presently my brain began
I
to act like a
had merry^
tak en ether
d and I felt very much
as if

a tooth extracted.
So I slacked up a bi^and
was about to have and I
then fresh coals were brought
Tud the nre went out;

[166]
Here and There in Cairo

was told to draw hard. Everything began to grow hazy as
the dizziness increased and a slight nausea added itself to the
other alarming symptoms. So I quietly coiled up "the snake"
and suggested that we get out into the fresh air, where I
wondered if anybody had ever actualy finished one of those
wads of Turkish tobacco and lived to tell the tale.
The following evening we were invited to dinner at the
home of a Persian grain merchant, giving us the opportunity
to see more of the Oriental home life. Arriving a little before
seven in the evening, we were shown into a large living-room
handsomely carpeted. The walls were bare except for a few
framed mottoes in Persian and some choice pieces of silk
seemed to be the
tapestry hanging here and there. The latter
decoration in all the houses we visited in the Orient
prevailing
framed pictures being nowhere in evidence.
Shortly after we arrived tea was served in dainty glass
cups, the beverage being
made from the flowers of the tea
instead of the leaves, amber in color and very delicious
pale
as This refreshment was repeated at inter
well as harmless.
vals of half an hour until nine o'clock, when dinner was an
nounced. After everyone was seated, there were six and no
ladies present, the host rose at the head of the table and
delivered a neat little speech, saying that he was very happy
to have us with him ; that it was an evening
he would always

remember, and his only regret was that he had not
more to

offer us.
This making of neat little speeches seems to be an Oriental
Persians had called at
habit, as earlier in the day two young
more than a dozen
the hotel, and although I had not spoken
words to them, one grasped my hand on leaving and said

[167]
A Modem Pilgrimage

very earnestly, "I am very happy to meet you. I love you
very much, and I am only sorry I cannot talk more with
you!"
The following day, accompanied by a young Persian, I went
again to Heliopolis, a modern suburb of Cairo, more nearly
resembling California than anything I have seen. The wide
streets are paved with asphaltum, the buildings are new and
modern as well as being excellent examples of Arabic archi
tecture. The street cars are fine and clean, with large plate
windows, and altogether are a trifle better than anything we
have here, although we are supposed to have the best in the
world.
As usual, there is a reason for all this. A few years ago
a company of capitalists built the city of Heliopolis and spared

no expense, as they expected it to outrival as
well as outshine
Monte Carlo. These beautiful interurban cars were intended
to haul out their flush patrons in good shape, even
if they did
had every assurance
happen to return broke. The company
but the wheel
that a gambling license would be granted them;
and sufficient pres
of fortune changed before it was installed
to bear that the
government deemed it un
sure wasbrought
the permission. Thus a group of
wise to give necessary
were left with a perfectly good city
and a fine street
capitalists
car system on their hands. #

taste for Orien
As I had acquired a recent, but pronounced,
to stroll opposite the
tal chanting I took every opportunity
Arab woman, sitting on an old
Opera House, where a blind
turned her sightless eyes
niece of carpet about a foot square, I
uo to the sky and
chanted from the Koran. In passing
elicit out-
her hand, which would an
would lay half a piastre in

[ 168 ]
Here and There in Cairo

burst of chanting that was wonderful to hear. As soon as it
subsided, I would turn and place another half piastre in her
other hand, which insured another joyful paean of praise to
Allah. As the cost was only two cents an outburst, it was alto
gether the cheapest musical entertainment I had ever listened
to, as well as the weirdest. The performances reminded me
of that of the old colored woman in Kansas, who was praying
the Lord to send her a loaf of bread, when an irreverent
neighbor passed her shanty. Hearing her noisy supplication,
he thought he would play a joke on her. So he brought a loaf
of bread and threw it into the room, saying:
"Here's your loaf of bread, mammy, but the Lord didn't
send it. I brought it myself and you know me."
"Dat's all right," she replied, "I knows you, but de good
Lord sent it jus' de same even if He did have de devil
fetch it!"
At another time I was startled by a different kind of music,
caused by two Arab bootblacks who were trying to settle a
little difference by butting their heads together. When, at the
end of ten minutes neither head nor neck had been broken,
they shut off the music and finished by chewing each other's
ears.

One of the charms of Cairo is the diversity of phases of
As you pass along the streets you see ragged
life found there.
Arabs sprawled full length across the sidewalks, sound asleep,
while people of wealth and fashion walk carefully around
them. The half-clad and half-blind lead the blind. High-
powered automobiles honk for a pack-train of donkeys or a
drove of sheep to release a part of the right of way. A
modern trolley car (Westinghouse system) clangs its gong

[169]
A Modem Pilgrimage

for a loaded caravan of camels to clear the crossing some of

the camels, perhaps, with large baskets attached to each side
from which dark-skinned and darker-eyed daughters of the
desert look out on the city for the first time. A group of
natives squat on the curb rminching away on a cake of native
bread about the size of an American pie and as elastic as a
piece of Indian rubber; while near by at Groppi's you find a
garden filled with small tables and crowded with as fashion
able a gathering as you would find on the boulevards of Paris.
Just outside the garden, native women move along with babies
astride their shoulders (the baby clutching the mother's hair
for support), all dressed in the fashion of Pharaoh's daughters
when they tripped down to the river's edge with the royal
laundry and found the infant Moses among the bulrushes,
while his little sister loitered on the bank to suggest that she
could find a good nurse for the hungry child.
In the hotel lobby adainty Japanese prima donna, with her
while a
European maid, fondles some sort of exotic poodle,
on furlough, chat with their wives.
group of English officers,
Arabsthe
The hotel terrace outside is crowded with turbaned
chiefs of the villages roundaboutdressed
in long robes of
of
broadcloth of all colors, talking excitedly to a delegation
who have
impassive sheiks from about Damascus and Medina,
been summoned to meet the English Foreign Secretary.
cars passes, loaded
In the street a three-car train of electric
to the guards with noisy young Egyptians
shouting, "Fall the
a shot is heard
English! Egypt for Egyptians!" Presently behind a
and scurry to shelter
and a group of Arabs scatter
row of cabs along the
sidewalk. A lorry dashes up and un-

[170]
Here and There in Cairo

loads a detachment of soldiers to clean out the square. And
so the scenes are continually shifted.

Everywhere is contrast and color, light and shade; the old
and the new, mixing, but not mingling. In every direction
is life and activity, until you are moved to exclaim: "Surely,
Cairo is a city where age cannot wither nor custom stale her
infinite variety!"

[171]
XXIII

Cairo to Alexandria

Our last evening in Cairo furnished one of the most
unique experiences we met with on our travels, although
it necessitated our breaking one of the iron-clad rules of
the Orient that the same roof must not shelter two
persons of the opposite sex unless they are man and wife.
The stage was set as follows: The ladies, properly
veiled, repaired to the house of a "friend" during the
afternoon, removed their veils when indoors, and re
mained there until the evening, when the rest of us put
in our appearances. We were greatly surprised in more
ways than one; but after all the test was hardly a fair
one, as the ladies were highly educated and spoke
Arabic, Persian, French and English. Considering it
was unusual for them to be entertaining strangers, they
carried it off very successfully, and the experience was
as it was perhaps as novel and excit
mutually enjoyable,
ing for them as for us.
To me it was interesting, showing that human
very
the only
nature is practically the same the world over,
of our idioms
difference in this case being that some
to them,
and attempts at humor were naturally strange
able
but by a little repetition and explanation they
were

and so the evening passed
always to grasp the idea,
very pleasantly.
Cairo is the cordial recep-
One delightful thing about

[172]
Cairo to Alexandria

tion given to Americans. Very often I was accosted
by a native with, "You Engleez?" as he critically sized
me up. One being told, "No, Amerikani !" his face would
light up and he would become effusive, repeating, "Ah!
you good fellaw. I like you!" And they were always
anxious to do something for you, hoping, of course, that
you will maintain the American's reputation for gen
erosity. You would be continually reminded that
"Amerikani have plenty money not stingy!" I was
surprised at how many trips some of our most prom
inent men must have made to Cairo, as nearly every
guide claimed to be personally acquainted with one of
our leading bankers. "Very rich! Have show him all
over Egypt!" And they all spoke very affectionately of
his liberality.
But acquaintances ripen quickly in this climate. The
little Greek, who kept a tobacco store at which I left a
few piastres occasionally, almost wept when I told him
I was leaving Cairo. His only consolation seemed to
be that perhaps he would sell out soon, and come to
California, and see me there!
This reminds me of another incident that led me to
believe that the art of salesmanship in the Orient has
reached a high degree of refinement. When traveling in
Europe and the Orient, a man who uses tobacco has as
many troubles as a person taking care of twins. The
customs officials pick on him unmercifully and he is kept
continually busy figuring how he can be out of tobacco
when he reaches the frontier, and still have a smoke
after he has crossed the border. And when you do lay

[173]
A Modern Pilgrimage

in a supply, you wish you hadn't, as you rarely get any
thing fit to smoke.
As we were to be in Cairo for a few
days I decided
to stock up, and passing a tobacconist's shop on a

prominent street, my heart was made glad by the sight
of a large can of American tobacco prominently dis
played in the window. I lost no time in entering and
pointed out the can I wanted. The proprietor began
showing me one brand after another while I was still
insisting on my first choice. Finally, having lost all
patience I asked him why I could not have the can I
indicated, when he confessed that that was the only
can he had of that kind, and it was empty! he was

using it as a decoy to get the passing "Amerikani" into
his store. When I told him plainly what I thought of
his scheme, he replied that a large shipment had reached
I
Alexandria, and would be in his store in a few days.
and to
told him I would be back in Cairo in four weeks
reserve me two cans. When I called
about a month later,
was unable to say
the shipment had not arrived and he
can had also dis
what had become of it, but the empty
appeared from his window!
in Heliopolis we were
While calling on some friends
in this strange land
introduced to another new feature
was the people's firm belief
of many surprises, and that
is to
Almost everything that happens
in prophecies.
of ancient prophecy
some
them simply the fulfillment
that "one day there would
We were told of a prophecy
and the ninth one would be called
be nine cities in Cairo,
if it did
of which had come true, even
Heliopolis"-all

[174]
Cairo to Alexandria

require a group of foreign capitalists, who were trying
to found a second Monte Carlo.
A telegram reminds them of the time of Job, when it
was said, "Canst thou send lightnings, that they may
go and say unto Thee, here we are?"
A humble "flivver" calls up a prophecy nearly three
thousand years old that "The chariots shall rage in the
streets, and jostle one against another in the broad
ways"-their headlights being the "torches" and their
reckless speeding the "lightnings" referred to.
And so on without end, everything seems to have been
foreseen and foretold.
The World War and consequent social unrest calls up
the command of Daniel "to shut up the words and seal
the book even to the time of the end," which means that
a new dispensation will be given and the "Most Great

Peace" will arrive; the world will begin to realize that
a purely material civilization has been a failure, that
strife and world wars are folly, and will be willing to
embrace the idea of universal brotherhood and strive to
make the world better for the ones who are now living
in it. All this, when properly backed up by statements
and statistics, is very interesting.
Our boat was to sail from Alexandria on April first,
and passports, police permits, etc., must be attended to
as well as the medical authorities satisfied that we were

in reasonably good healthparticular, free from
in

cholera germs. After the usual haggling, everything
was arranged and we left Cairo on a special boat train

at quarter of ten in the morning, and after once more

[175]
A Modem Pilgrimage

crossing the delta of the Nile, reached Alexandria at
one-thirty in the afternoon. Here the railway, which is
under English management, has a rule forbidding porters
to enter and remove luggage, so it was up to
the cars

me to take several well-loaded suit cases down from
our

the racks and hoist them out through the window to the
porters on the platform below. All went well until the
last, which had a broken handle, was allowed to swing
against the inner window of our compartment. There
was a crash of broken glass. Immediately a guard was
at my elbow demanding fifty piastres, which I handed
to have
him, thinking that would end it, and lined up
my passport examined.
In a again saw the guard approach,
few minutes I
accompanied by a tall, crimson-faced Englishman
adorned with a still redder tarbush. Being identified as
the culprit, I was requested to hand over twenty piastres
more. bobbed up and insisted that I had
At this Mr. B
know who
paid for that window once, and wanted to
the person was, and what right he had to come along

and demand more. The big Englishman swelled up,
and was so near choked with rage that all he could say
was, "I am an Englishman!" His melodramatic attitude
struck being supremely funny, while we all felt
us as

tweed-clad Briton with
sorry for him a big, raw-boned,
to burst with anger. As a
a bright red tarbush, ready
him if there were
parting shot, Mr. B asked any more

whether it was all settled now?
Englishmen around, or

was laughing, and our red-
By this time everyone
but look-
faced friend retired with his twenty piastres,

[176]
Cairo to Alexandria

ing as if he was about to enjoy an epileptic fit. And so,
without more ado or further mishap, we handed the
customs officer one hundred and five piastres, boarded
the good ship Esperia, and at quarter after three in
the afternoon, headed for Naples, realizing for the first
time that we were really homeward bound.

[177]
XXIV

How the Pyramids Were Built

As we are about to leave the land of the Pharaohs, it would
seem an appropriate time to exploit a theory which dawned
on me during our sojourn there,
regarding the probable
method which was used by the builders of the pyramids.
Aware that many theories have been advanced by eminent
Egyptologists, men qualified by great learning and extensive
research to speak with authority on such a subject, a simple
and practical way occurred to me as I stood sizing up one of
these immense pieces of masonry. As the solution seemed so

easy, I wondered why it had not been thought of before. For
if it has, the treatise is certainly not in general circulation.
I have no intention of applying for "letters patent" on the
future pyramids that
process, or of asking royalties on any
this method, partly because someone else may
may be built by
have established a prior claim, and because the demand for
seem to
pyramids has fallen off considerably. In fact, they
are the
have gone out of style entirely, and small mud huts
that meets with gen
only style of suburban architecture
now

eral favor in Egypt.
We were told that each one of the ninety or pyramids
more

the Valley of the Nile, started
forming huge triangles along
with a small unit built first. This was
commenced as soon as
that even in those days
a king ascended the throne, showing
and wished to make sure of an
they believed in preparedness
eternal resting place.

[178]
How the Pyramids Were Built

As human life has always been uncertain, and political
revolutions more or less plentiful, the kings chose a size which
they felt reasonably certain could be finished "in the rough"
before they shuffled off, it being the practice to leave to their
"heirs, executors, administrators and assigns," the job of
putting on the polished surface of the exterior after the
funeral services were over.
We will suppose that after consulting the actuary and feel
ing the political pulse, a king decided it would be safe to start
a pyramid one hundred feet square. Stone masons were hired
at the rate of so many bushels of onions and garlic roots per
annum and started the work. These men had what is known
in railroad parlance as a "steady daylight" job, and worked in
the cool shade of the quarries from one year's end to another,
knowing that if they delivered the rocks they were sure of a
job. For if their present employer died another would take
his place, and another pyramid would have to be started at
once. So they had nothing to do but work.
By the beginning of June, these stone masons would have
enough stone ready for transportation to the site of the pro
posed pyramid. The Nile had begun to overflow and all
work in the fields consequently suspended. So the king would
declare a three months' holiday, commanding all his subjects to
report for work on his pyramid.
As soon as this army of common laborers appeared they
were set to clearing off the site; the Royal Engineer was al

ready on the lot with blueprints, and having set up the royal
transit, proceeded to stake out the foundation exactly facing
the four cardinal points.
For convenience in figuring and because the king had al-

[179]
A Modern Pilgrimage

ready decided the matter, the structure is to be one hundred
feet square. And if the aforesaid king lives long enough and
manages to hold his job, more layers will be added from time
to time so that its final size will be an index to the length of
his reign.
While the site was being cleared, a good solid road was con
structed from it to the quarries. The surface of this road was
covered with smooth polished stones, which (according to the
last stone slab in the specifications) "on completion of the
outer shell is to be carefully removed and used as filling the
interior of the structure, the road to be left broom-clean and
to the satisfaction of the owner and engineer."
As soon as the road was completed, large blocks of stone
were moved out of the quarries. Just how or by what means
is not stated in the specifications. The road over which they
were moved was probably about sixty
feet wide, and was some
the Cheops
times built entirely of polished stone. The one at
in and according to
Pyramid was forty-eight feet high places,
in building the
the best accounts, ten years were consumed
highway alone. until
On reaching the site, the stones were carefully placed
they covered the allotted space,
and on completion level
a

hundred feet square, and about
layer of stone is found
one

The second layer, we will say for
three and a half feet high.
was made perhaps ninety
feet square, thus leaving
convenience,
a five-foot margin all around.
of beams acting as levers, the stones
By an ingenious system first layer
were hoisted from
the roadway onto the top of the
and a half feet, and rolled into place. The
a distance of three
was made eighty
feet square, again leaving a
next layer

[180]
How the Pyramids Were Built

margin of five feet all around and the stones were hoisted from
the roadway onto the ledge formed by the first layer, and
from there by another set of levers, raised on top of the
second layer, and rolled into place. As the next layer was
seventy feet square, the one above that sixty, and so on, the
pyramid, when finished in the rough, consisted of a series of
steps, and the blocks of stone needed only to be hoisted one
step at a time, a distance of three to four feet.
On reaching the last small square at the top, a polished cap
was put in place, and the entire structure left in the rough
to be covered later with polished stone work, beginning at the

top and working down until the ground level was reached.
While the great pyramid at Gizeh was originally nearly
five hundred feet high, no stone was ever lifted over four feet
at a time, and the whole operation becomes comparatively

simple and much easier than would at first appear.
In case a pyramid was not built step-fashion, it would
only be necessary to have a tier of steps on one side for use
in hoisting the stones. This could be broken up later and used
for filling the interior, as the outside layer only was composed
of large stones, inside of which small stones, earth and rubbish
were utilized.
As a matter of statistics, as well as to get an idea of what
the union considered a fair day's work in the days of King
Cheops, I took the trouble of making a few calculations, and
to the best of our knowledge and belief, each thousand men
were required to place twelve blocks of stone in place each

working day, amounting to about five hundred cubic feet of
stone, or about eighty pounds per man per day, which would
be equal to one modern brick per man per hour.

[181]
A Modem Pilgrimage

By applying the method above outlined to the walls of
Jerusalem, the building becomes a comparatively easy opera
tion. Instead of lifting these huge blocks vertically for a
height of one hundred and fifty feet (which would be a stu
pendous proposition), the plan was more likely as follows:
A temporary tier of steps was located at the northwest
cornerof the wall, where the highest ground around the city
is found. Here a tier of twelve steps enabled them to raise
the top course of stone work to the required height, and when
once on top of the walls, a block could be rolled along to its

proper place.
My hypothesis seemed to be working all right until I unfor
tunately discovered several sections of masonry laid at an
angle of about twenty degrees. This was very amazing, but
I presume with a liberal amount of profanity these few sec
tions could be managed somehow.
I am still sorry they did those little stretches that way, as
it "threw a monkey wrench into the machinery" of a perfectly
on for a long time !
good
^ theory, and one I had been working
home of the free and the
Finally, after getting back to the
to look up what could be
land of public libraries, I decided
After considerable
found on the subjectof pyramid-building.
Father of History")
searching I found that Herodotus ("the
and in the first history ever
had visited Egypt about 450 B. C,
and duplicated my scheme
written had stolen all my thunder,
that in this manner the pyramids were
exactly stating as a fact
that my version is a little
constructed. So it would seem
Herodotus beat me to it by nearly
late in appearing and that
But that is not entirely my fault,
twenty-five hundred years. hun-
as I didn't see
them any sooner, and anyway twenty-five

[182]
How the Pyramids Were Built

dred years is only a short space of time in a land where it
never rains, and where the beams and timber put in place at
least five thousand years ago are now only beginning to show
signs of decay and will have to be replaced within the next
thousand years or so.
Anyway I was glad to know that my theory was backed up
by such good authority, and that in my ignorance I happened
to hit on the right scheme; but judging from the evidence,
the process may be safely considered as public property and
free to any and all who may desire to build a summer pyramid
anywhere along the banks of the sunny Nile.

[183]
XXV

Woman's Sphere in the Orient

Judging from a brief and limited investigation, it would
seem that women's activities in the Orient are not only
very circumscribed, but of very short duration, as they
consider themselves old at twenty and without much to
live for after that age. We were also told that many of
them never
go outside of their homes after marriage
until they are removed for burial. Thus the life of the
average woman in the East is one of unrelieved mo

notony. There is no social or club life, no civic activity
or diversion to occupy the feminine mind. Time is
principally spent in sitting indoors, eating sweets and
indulging in the fragrant cigarette.
In the better class of villas (at Heliopolis, for instance),
the houses are provided with flat roofs, used as roof
gardens, and are also surrounded by gardens, inclosed
by high "eye-proof" walls, where the lady, or ladies, as
the case may be, may walk, enjoy the sunshine and
remain safely unexposed to the gaze of the stranger.
To an Oriental woman, a woman from the West, who
as she pleases, is an
goes about, dressing and acting
objectof curiosity, and it is beyond her to under
great
stand how she can mingle publicly with strangers. She
is shocked, but at the same time envies her Occidental
sister, and is not only hoping, but is actually planning
to secure a little of that liberty for herself. Especially

[184]
Woman's Sphere in the Orient

is
is this true in Egypt, where an extensive movement
now under way, the climax of which promises to occur
very soon, and is awaited with
considerable interest.
As is well known, the practice of wearing veils dates
back to very earlytimes (it is casually mentioned in
of
the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis), but the women
Egypt think the time has now arrived for dispensing
with this ancient adornment, and are quietly forming a
nation-wide and unique "union." When the time is
considered ripe, these veils will all be cast into the
discard. At present there are two kinds of veils worn
by the Moslem women. One a heavy black affair that

you cannot see through with a telescope, worn by the
a thin, white gauzy subter
poorer classes; the other,
fuge, about the size of a ladies' handkerchief, worn by
the wealthier and more aristocratic women. This has
been increasingly transparent, thinner and smal
growing
ler, until now, instead of concealing the face, it tends
rather toheighten the color and brilliancy of its wearer's
black eyes, and at the same time conceal the coarse
texture of her features, a state of complexion due no
doubt to the sedentary life and saccharine diet.
are worn only by the followers of the
veils
Though
Prophet, the .condition of the female sex among the
Oriental Christians and Jews is little better than among
the Moslems, where they are regarded as mere chattels.
The Moslem even dislikes to see his wives praying or
concerning herself with religious matters; the churches
are with a separate place for them to worship,
provided

[185]
A Modem Pilgrimage

in case they insist on doing so, and when they die they
are buried in a nook by themselves.

It was surprising to learn that divorce cases are prac
tically unknown in this country, and I took the first
opportunity to discuss the matter with a prominent
judge in Cairo, who explained it by saying, "Why
should there be? There is no need to go into court
about such an easy matter!"
It is all very simple, for the husband has only to say
three times in the presence of witnesses, "I divorce you !"
and the deed is done. But he must properly provide
for the cast-off wife and her children, and the former
retains her marriage portion.
If the wife seeks a divorce, the matter is more com
and must go
plicated; she loses her "dot" and alimony,
to court about it. But no woman ever does this, as it
for the
is much simpler to make things so disagreeable
and
head of the house that he will call in a witness
words that will untie the
pronounce the three magic
marital knot.
There are other and deeper reasons which perhaps
in other
make conjugal infelicity rarer in the Orient than
are arranged in
countries. In the first place, marriages
a different way, the
usual process being somewhat as
arrives at a marriageable
follows: When a young man
like
his mother that he thinks he would
age he informs
if this is agreeable to her, she
to have a wife, and
to think
matters. In case the son fails
agrees to arrange
of it first, his mother
reminds him of the fact, and the
the same. The mother then
proceedings go on just

[186]
Woman's Sphere in the Orient

makes up a list of eligible young ladies, and by a process
of elimination finally settles on one or more of the
most desirable. Not satisfied with her own judgment,
she calls in a council of half a dozen or so old women

of her acquaintance, lays and the matter before them.
sleuthing is now in order, and the habits, dis
A little
position and idiosyncrasies of the candidate are carefully
looked into, particular attention being paid to the follow
ing qualifications: She must be good looking, neat and
clean in her habits, of good character and competent to
manage the affairs of the house. In due time a choice
is made, and the mother reports back to her son that
everything is arranged and reminds him to be on hand
at a certain time for the marriage ceremony.
In the meantime the bride has been notifed, and believ
ing it is her destiny to be married to someone at some
time in her life, no doubt feels a little relieved, and per
haps flattered because she is the one that has been
chosen (so far!) to marry this certain young man, whom
she has never seen.

Everything arranged in a cold-blooded, impersonal
is
manner. Nothing is left to chance nor to the caprices
of the romantic attachment called love.
An incident which was related to us as actually to
have happened will throw some light on the religious
superstitions of these people.
A doctor in in eye diseases, was
Cairo, a specialist
visited one day by a peasant woman and her daughter
who she feared was going blind. After a glance at the
patient, the doctor decided he did not care to treat the

[187]
A Modern Pilgrimage

case, but the mother pleaded so persistently that he
finally consented, providing she would take the girl
somewhere and wash the filth and infectious matter from
her face. The mother burst into tears and explained
that such athing was impossible, as according to their
religion it was forbidden to put water on a girl's face
until after she was married! How she expected to find
a husband for her daughter in that condition, it would

be hard to imagine; but they left the doctor's office
without washing the girl's face or receiving treatment,
showing that religion was esteemed above health or
common sense. Thus through ignorance this poor
woman and all the other members of that sect had
reversed the teachings of El-Islam, and were not only
blindly following it themselves, but were causing their
children to go blind also.
One would naturally conclude that what was needed

in this country was education, but here was another
the women has proved
paradoxso far education among
and discontent. The daughters of
a source of sorrow
to Europe or to
the wealthier class are usually sent
receive an
French convents in their own country; they
after getting a broader
education, a taste of freedom, and
and settle down to a life
outlook of life, return home
and do some
of stagnation. They long to be something
forced to settle down in the
thing in the world, but are
old groove.
Imagine the thrill that falls
to(or ladies) ol
the lady
master decides to give a
the house when the lord and
his friends! All the female mem-
dinner party to a few of

[188]
Woman's Sphere in the Orient

bers of the family, including wives, daughters and female
servants, are kept carefully out of sight, and perhaps
from an room (through a crack in the door
adjoining
way), get a glimpse of the festivities and overhear odd
bits of the conversation; but have no more chance of

joining in the repartee or enjoying the good things of
the feast than a mummy in the Egyptian Museum.
Although a man seems to have a little the best of the
bargain, yet it is not all smooth sailing for him, as oc
casionally one happens to acquire a bunch of quarreling
wives, or wives that grow lean and unattractive, instead
of fat and fashionable.
After becoming acquainted with conditions in the
Orient, I began to realize that an immense step was
taken by the Bahais in laying down their Sixth Principle
Equality Between Men and Women. To the people
of the West, it seems simply a matter of fact, but it must
have made the Oriental world gasp to hear that "the
world of humanity has two wings one is woman and
the other man. Not until both wings are equally de

veloped can the bird fly. Not until the world of women
becomes equal to the world of men in the acquisition of
virtues and perfections, can success and prosperity be
attained as they ought to be."

[189]
XXVI

The Future of Bahaism

While crossing the Mediterranean from Naples to
Alexandria on our way to Palestine, we had as a fellow
passenger an Egyptian Prince, whom I have already had
occasion to mention. Having made his acquaintance
and finding him an agreeable and well-informed man, we
had several long talks together, in one of which we
discussed teachings of "that wonderful man of
the
Haifa" (Abdul Baha), whom the Prince intended to
visit as soon as it could be arranged, as he was greatly
interested in him and the Bahai movement.
As I knew very little about Bahai matters at that time,
I was glad to let the Prince do most of the talking,
while I assumed the role of listener. After considering
the Bahai doctrines from several angles, and airing
his views ingeneral, the Prince remarked that it was
his religion;
asking a great deal of a man to give up
Orient each nation had its own religion,
that, in the
hundreds of years;
which had been handed down for
that the people were satisfied
with it, and he doubted
if they could ever be persuaded to give it up.
find something
I ventured to suggest that they might
new and better.
is nothing newer or bet
"But," he protested, "there
the same
ter All the great religions teach practically
revelation contains no new truths.
thing The Bahai
or better to be had."
There is nothing newer

[190]
The Future of Bahaism

In conclusion, he stated that in his opinion there was
absolutely no hope of the old religions being supplanted
in the Orient.
"But," he added, "in your country, where there is no
old established religion, where the people are democratic
and progressive, where every language, race and creed
isrepresented, there, no doubt, is a great future for the
Bahais. Some great religion will undoubtedly spring up,
make its home there, and weld all these different creeds
into one. In the Orient, where conditions are different,
I can see no hope; but in America such a thing is possible!"
significant, coming, as it did,
This, I thought, was

from a well-versed in world affairs, and one who,
man

from his position and long experience, was competent
to take a broad view of the matter, especially from
an

Oriental standpoint.
Had I been better posted, I might have informed him
that no one, on becoming a Bahai, is required to dis
card his former belief; thirty
that some thousand
Orientals had already suffered martyrdom for the cause,
and that probably one million more are now living the

life of a although in many places in the Orient
Bahai
this must still be done secretly.
But what interested me particularly was the Prince's
statement that the ideals of the American people and
those of the Bahais were identical, and his prophecy
that this country would be the scene of their greatest
activities. Here, I concluded, was food for thought.
As to his claim that there is nothing new in the Bahai
revelation, and that Abdul Baha is teaching the same

[191]
A Modem Pilgrimage

things that Christ taught, and the same that Mohamed
and all the other great teachers of the East have taught,
I was unable to make a more pertinent remark than that
all the great religions are fundamentally based on the
same general truths, and so far we were all agreed.

But now comes a friend who takes exception to our
conclusions and claims that five minutes' investigation
will show that they are all wrong. So, at the risk of
unloosing another theological discussion, and begging
the reader's pardon, we will state briefly what the Bahai
advocate has to say.
In general, he claims the Bahai revelation is the first
set of doc
to come forward with a sane and practical
in parables,
trines from beginning to end ; one not given
and incapable of
but easily understood by everybody
in a variety of different ways. That
being interpreted
from being a breeding
its simplicity renders it immune
That it has no that
features
sects.
place for various
because contrary to reason.
must be accepted on faith
is taught in other
And finallythat it contains all that
and advanced precepts not
new
religions besides many revelation.
touched upon in any former
as one of the
latest and greatest
Taking Christianity doctrines
friend pointed out how the
rel gions my Bahai those of
have been superseded by
of the Old Testament
^ew ^^^^ZIo'Z
Testament,

ZZ^Z^*
Jr Zs persecution;
for
political the Nazarene: That
that governments were sim-
the people; that taxation was
p7y7nstrutions for undoing

[192]
The Future of Bahaism

robbery; that poverty was a sort of virtue and wealth
a crime. Again and again His followers are taught to
despise on earth the things that are offered as a reward
in heaven; asked for debts to be forgiven without pay
ment; advocated breaking loose from all home ties;
advised quitting work, and helping yourself to your
neighbor's larder and repaying him by stating that "the
laborer is worthy of his hire!"
Besides these doctrines of doubtful value, Christianity
as formulated by St. Paul is based on hair-splitting
differences, that have given rise to hundreds of different
sects. He divides the people of the earth into two
classes, one to be consumed by the wrath of their Cre
ator and the other to ascend into heaven. In many
cases, tosupport what could not be proved by reason,
Paul called to his aid "religious faith."
Compare these doctrines with the principles laid down
by Baha Ullah nineteen hundred years later.
The twelve basic Bahai Principles have been set forth
in a previous chapter and may be briefly summarized as
follows :
The great purpose of the Bahai movement is to unite
and harmonize all the races and religions of the world.
War is to be abolished and international differences
settled by a council of arbitration.
Everyone is to practice some trade, art or profession.
Begging is strictly forbidden, and work must be pro
vided for all.
There is to be no separate paid priesthood, and the
practice of asceticism is prohibited.

[193]
A Modem Pilgrimage

Monogamy is enjoined.
Education for all, boys and girls alike, is commanded
as a religious duty.

The equality of men and women is upheld.
A universal language as a means of international com
munication is to be formulated and adopted.
Gambling, the use of alcoholic liquors as a beverage,
the taking of opium, cruelty to animals and slavery are
forbidden.
Some of one's income must be devoted to
portion
charity. The administration of charitable funds, pen
sions for widows, the sick and disabled and for the edu
cation and care of orphans to be the business of the
state.
After repeated backing and filling, and going over
considerable ground, we found that Abdul Baha had
we were dis
already fully disposed of the very points
in the little booklet
cussing in an incident recorded
on

Divine Philosophy, where he says:
"Certain of the clergy in America said, 'Many of the
been forgotten. Baha Ullah
truths in our religion have
of them.'
has come to remind us
"One clergyman said before a large congregation,
old beliefs but he has brought us
'Baha Ullah revises the
These truths are already found in the
nothing new.

sacred books.'
'I am going to quote you some
"Then I arose and said,
of Baha Ullah's instructions for this day and you will
sacred book they are to be found.'
show me in which
men to free their minds from the
"Baha Ullah exhorts

[194]
The Future of Bahaism

superstitions of the past and to seek independently for
truth, putting aside ali dogmas. Religions are one. Let
us banish creeds that the reality may become unveiled.

In which sacred book do you find this?
"He heralds the hour of unity which has dawned on

all mankind. All are the children of one Father; all
the inheritors of that future peace on earth. He ad
monishes men to banish prejudice; religious, patriotic,
racial preconceptions must disappear, for they are the
destroyers of human society. Where is this written?
In which part of the Bible, Old or New Testament?
"Religion must be the cause of affection. It must be
a joy-bringer. If it becomes the cause of difference, it
were better to banish it. Should it become the source
of hatred, of warfare, it were better that it should not
exist. If a remedy produce added illness, it were far
better to discard the remedy. A religion which does
not conform with the postulates of science is merely

superstition. In which sacred book do you find this
thought? Tell me.
"Baha Ullah declares the absolute equality of the
sexes. The male and female in the mineral, vegetable
and animal kingdoms share alike the natural bestowals.
Why should there be a difference in the human kingdom?
Verily, they are equal before God, for He so created them.
Why should women be deprived of exercising the full
est opportunities offered by life? Whosoever serves
humanity most is nearest God, for God is no respecter
of gender. The male and female are like the two wings
of a bird and when both wings are reinforced with the

[ 195]
A Modern Pilgrimage

same impulse the bird of humanity will be enabled to
soar heavenward to the summit of progress. In which
sacred book is this written?
"Education holds an important place in the new order
of things. The education of each child is compulsory.
If there is not money enough in a family to educate
both the girl and the boy, the money must be dedicated
to the girl's education, for she is the potential mother.
If there are no parents the community must educate

the child. In addition to this widespread education each
child must be taught a profession, art, or trade, so that
every member of the community will be enabled to earn
his own livelihood. Work done in the spirit of service
is the highest form of worship. Where do you find this
statement ?
"Baha Ullah's solution of the social question provides
for new laws, but the different social classes are pre
served. An artisan remains an artisan; a merchant, a
a banker, a banker; a ruler, a ruler; the
dif
merchant;
ferent degrees persist, so that each can render
must
has
service to the community. Nevertheless, everyone
is to
the right to a happy and comfortable life. Work
there will be needy ones to be
be provided for all and no

seen in the streets. The vocational labor adjustment
provided by Baha Ullah precludes there being people too
poor to have
the necessaries of life on the one hand, or
sacred book do you
the idle rich on the other. In which
find this provided for? Show
me.

between
"In order to facilitate complete understanding
auxiliary language will be adopted
all people, a universal

[196]
The Future of Bahaism

and in the schools of the future two languages will be
taught the mother tongue and this international aux
iliary tongue, which will be either one of the existing
languages or a new language made up from words from
all the languages the matter to be determined by a
confederation met for the purpose which shall represent
all tribes and nations. This international tongue will
be used in the work of the parliament of man, a

supreme tribunal of the world, which will be permanently
established in order to arbitrate international questions.
The members of this arbitral court of justice will be

representatives of all the countries. It is incumbent upon
the nations to obey the commands of this tribunal, for
such a tribunal will be under the power of God and for
the protection of all men. In all of the sacred books
where do you find such a statement?
"The purpose of these new laws is to destroy antago
nism by finding a point of agreement. We cannot in
duce men to lay down their arms by fighting with them.
If two individuals dispute about religion, both are

wrong. The Protestants and Catholics, the Moham
medans and Christians war over religion. The Nesto-
rians claim that Christ was merely a slave, a man like
the rest, but God put His spirit upon Him. The Catholics
say that He was one of the trinity. Both are wrong!"
In conclusion he says: "Baha Ullah's teachings are the
health of the world. They represent the spirit of this
age, the light of this age, the well-being of this age, the
soul of this cycle. The world will be at rest when they
are put into practice, for they are reality."

[197]
XXVII

On the Good Ship Esperia

It has just occurred to me that some few chapters
back our party boarded the steamer at Alexandria, and
as the
good ship Esperia happened to be a fast boat, and
proposed to land us in Naples in two days and three
nights, it lost no time in getting under way. So we
hurried on deck to get a last glimpse of Egypt, a land
which had proved so fascinating, and which in the mat
ter of lure seemed to be better supplied than almost any
other country we had visited. As we leaned over the
rail and watched the low shore-line disappear, many
thoughts and various emotions chased each other along
the vacant corridors of our minds.
In the distance was fast fading out the land where
science, art and originated; where the
architecture
human mind had struggled through all the stages of
writ
picture-writing, pictorial phonetism and alphabetic
in
ing; a land where in early days they put gold rings
of their sacred crocodiles, and where the
man
the ears
when his cat died.
of the house shaved off his eyebrows
for anyone in
A fair enough land in those olden times
for the sick, who were
good health, but not so happy
blood and milk
dosed with concoctions of nitre, beer,
boiled up and swallowed hot.
It was that they decided, probably fifty
here also
human being consisted of
centuries or more ago, that a

[198]
On the Good Ship Esperia

six parts: A body, soul, intelligence, a name, a shadow,
and a "ka," or vital principle, which was the most
troublesome of all, as it remained with the mummy and
required food and perpetual apartments similar to what
it had been accustomed to before it "shuffled off this
mortal coil."
Here, it is claimed, originated ages ago the belief in
the immortality of the soul and the physical resurrec
tion of the body, which accounts for the fact that at
one time over hundred millions of mummies were
seven

tucked away in the sands and rock-hewn tombs in the
valley of the Nile, all waiting for the summons that
never came,which may be the reason the old Sphinx
continues to smile in the same inscrutable way, because
the whole lot of them had been fooled, and at least one-
third of them carted away and used as fertilizer!
Here was not only a fair land but, it would appear,
an unusually attractive one for bankers, with its
modest

rate of interest of six percent per month, compounded
A thrifty land also for
every time, the moon changes!
surveyors, as landmarks are more or less obliterated
and leaves its coat
every year when the Nile overflows
ing of slime over the valley.
Far away in the distance lay Cairo, a city where, in
uncommonly wet seasons, as much as one inch of rain
A place where everything that dies turns
is liable to fall.
to dust, and floats in the air until blown away.
A busy,

hustling city, while up to its very edge creeps the
desert where all is death and silence. Here and there

loom up those huge triangles, the tombs of kings; but

[199]
A Modem Pilgrimage

there in the city itself, on its paved streets, under the
glare of its lights, all is life and activity. Here one day
is like another and the weather, being always the same,
is a total loss as a topic of conversation. Here umbrellas
and cravanettes, ear-muffs and galoshes, are not to be
found on special sale at any of the haberdashery shops,
and millinery stores and beauty parlors are about as
common as Palm Beach suits in Patagonia!
In this land a long cotton tunic and a head-dress con
sisting of a cloth wound seven times around the head
for a
(which has been found to be sufficient and handy
shroud in case of an emergency), and sometimes a pair
of loose slippers, completes the costume of thousands of
the natives, who go through life "hoping for the perfect
age of one hundred
and ten years," and are always as
or a Kafoo monkey.
happy and carefree as an Ani ape
The half never be told of this
But why continue? can

done in such
wonderful country where things were once
were built with the
a superlative way; where statues
where they piled up in
features magnified thirty times,
foot
one pyramid sufficient
stone to build a wall one

two-thirds of the way around the globe!
square to the
Our only stop wasSyracuse, where, owing
at
in the bay for three hours.
low tide, we came to anchor
to
be made for two reasons;
This long stop seemed to
to be taken ashore,
allow a score or more of passengers
musicians to row alongside
and to allow some native
usual serenade. While the pas
and regale us with the
small percentage
them with coins, only
a
sengers pelted
musicians or fell into the boat,
the
of which either hit

[ 200 ]
On the Good Ship Esperia

they retaliated with Oui, Marie, and a few native songs,
which, like the jokes in a circus, are always the same,
and in this consists their principal charm. What with
dodging the coins, scraping away on their violins and
trying to sing, they seemed to be having a -perfectly
good time, and finally when the shower of small coins
had subsided, they rowed for shore, as happy as if the
gate receipts were sufficient for one course of spaghetti
and a bottle of rosso ordinario.
Now came Saturday night, the last one of our voyage!
A very busy night, too, with a grand ball on board, and
the Straits of Messina in sight. A beautiful sight in the
early evening with the shores on both sides of the nar

row Straits dotted with myriads of electric lights the
Scylla and Charybdis of our schoolboy days!
The next morning at seven o'clock, the engines
abruptly slowed down, and we were sidling up to the
pier at Naples, right on schedule time. Then came the
doctors and passport officials, and a wild scramble to
get ashore; for we had still the ordeal before us of pass
ing the customs officials and a carriage ride across the
city to the railroad station, and a scant half hour to
do it in.
Thanks to the energetic efforts of the American Ex
press representative, everything was arranged and we
had five or ten minutes to spare in which to take a fresh
breath, but were cautioned while doing so to keep one
eye on our baggage. Evidently we were getting back
to civilization again!

[201]
XXVIII

From Naples to Paris

A German thinker once discovered that there is a

great difference between reading a bill of fare and eating
a regular meal; we likewise learned in a casual sort of
way that making out an itinerary on paper bears very
little resemblance to taking the actual trip, especially
in Italy at the present time.
When the Express agent in Cairo glibly mapped out
our return trip, it looked as complete and up to date

as this year's almanac. We were to connect up with a
certain White Star steamship called the Olympic, sail
had simply to
ing from Cherbourg on April sixth. We
take the special boat-train from Cairo to Alexandria,
to Naples, the
connecting with the fast boat Esperia
Rome to Paris
local train to Rome, then the de luxe
in Paris in thirty-six
Express, which would land
us

hours.
We got to Naples all right on schedule
time; but there
Rome to Paris Express train
ran
we learned that the
and its next appearance would
only three times a week,
the day we were due in
be on the following Tuesday,
make connections with the
Paris, if we expected to
steamer on which our
reservations had been made.
the face: That boat-train
Three things stared us in
would surely pull out on
from Paris to Cherbourg
m.; we were nearly
Wednesday at nine forty-five
a.

[ 202 ]
From Naples to Paris

fifteen hundred miles away from it, and something had
to be done quickly. Mr. B did not register much joy
as he thought of someone else sailing away in the
elegant cabin on which he had made a deposit of six
hundred dollars, and for my part, I was greatly disap
pointed in losing out on that "de luxe" train, as I was
looking forward to learning at first-hand how these
words were construed in Italy.
The railroad cars we had seen had been far from
"de luxe," in fact, we had never been able to find a
polite expression that would begin to describe them.
But there we were, and there wasnothing to do but
forge ahead, trust to luck and get to Paris in the quick
est way possible.

Our first lap, from Naples to Rome, was not very en
couraging, as everybody seemed to have run down to
Naples the night before in order to go back on the
morning train. The train was not only crowded, but
got started half an hour late, and little by little kept
adding to its lateness. Everyone seemed to feel that it
was a very natural
thing for a train to be late, and if
it kept losing time, it would be only that much later
in arriving. Only three people on that whole train
seemed to be at all impatient or in a hurry, which made
it all the more aggravating. After jostling around for
six hours in the "standing room only" part of the car,
we reached Rome. We had barely time to transfer to
the train for the north, take a full breath, and thank
our lucky stars that at last we had a quiet compartment

[ 203 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

where could sit down, when the conductor tooted
we

his little brass horn, and we were off.
Presently it occurred to me that we were in Italy
again (several little things had suggested that fact), and
I remembered that unless you have tickets for dinner,
you do without anything to eat, so I started out to make
a few reservations. No one seemed to know what I
was talking about, so I continued from one end of the
train to the other, only to find it had no dining car; that
it did not stop anywhere for meals, and that sleeping
cars were also considered superfluous.

The few oranges and a small box of chocolates which
Mrs. B always managed to have stowed away soon
disappeared, but our hunger remained. Adjourning to
the vestibule of our car, we waited hour after hour as

the train whizzed past little stations, until after nine
o'clock, when it halted in an important looking station
with a buffet, to which I
dashed, grabbed some hard,
dry sandwiches quarto fiasco of Chianti.
and a We
arrived at Turin the next morning, tried, hungry, sleepy
and dirty!
To make it still more interesting the water supply had
been depleted early the evening before, and no one had
taken the trouble to replenish it. For fourteen hours
water had been as absent as soap, towels, drinking cups,

or any other conveniences usually found on a railroad
train.
Luckily we had eight hour's stop-over in Turin, and
made up for lost opportunities by cleaning up, and haw
ing a bountiful breakfast, followed a couple of hours

[ 204 ]
STATIK OF JOAN OF AgC IX THE MADELEIXK, PARIS
From Naples to Paris

laterby a still more bountiful lunch, and also laid in
enough provender to last us for the next twenty-four
hours.
Feeling again on rather better terms with the world
in general and Italy in particular, we set out to fill
in the time, and see something of Turin, which proved
to be one of the greatest surprises of our trip. Not
expecting much we found a great deal to admire and
enjoy; for here was a beautiful city, very picturesque
and laid out like a miniature Paris. It is perhaps the
only city in Italy which is conspicuous for the regu
larity of its streets. They open out into spacious squares,
and (what is remarkable for Italy!) everything is neat,
clean and orderly.
Nature has done a great deal for Turin by giving it a
superb location. Along the eastern edge winds the
River Po, beyond which rises a range of beautiful hills
covered with attractive villas. Parks, gardens, public
monuments and well designed buildings give it a modern
and up-to-date appearance. This city is evidently the
Detroit of Italy, as we passed many automobile factories,
the Fiat, Scat, Itala and another very popular car, in
which we became greatly interested, because we thought
we might some day have money enough to purchase it.

These cars, which were cavorting around in every direc
tion, looked like overgrown motorcycles or a lot of
infant Fords. In spite of their small size, they showed
considerable speed, and developed quite as much noise
as a full-grown car. An ideal thing for a souvenir, but
suit cases were more than full already.
unfortunately our

[ 205 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

At first glance it would seem strange that the city
of Turin should be associated with the name and ex
ploits of Hannibal, but such is the case, and students of
Roman history will recall how that General, after he
had the dream in which he saw so many snakes, started

on his invasion Italy. He crossed the Alps and
of
pounced down on this city of Torina (which was then
called Taurasia), completely destroyed the place and
put the inhabitants to the sword, hoping by this act to
strike such terror into the natives that they would be
comes his allies, and help him in his pet scheme of con

quering Italy with the swords of the Italians themselves.
While it was rather hard on Turin to be wiped out of
existence because of a grudge they had against Rome,
it was probably a good thing in the long run, as the
Emperor Augustus had it rebuilt in a proper way. The
name of the party to whom was entrusted the work of
laying out the new city is perhaps unknown, but who
ever he was, he deserves a medal as being the only city
engineer in Italy who could run a street in a straight
line for any distance, and make it wide enough for a
street car line, a row of carriages at each side and side
walks.
Three hours after leaving Turin, we reached the north
ern frontier of Italy at Modane, where we passed through

the customs ordeal for the tenth time since arriving in
foreign lands. While some of the previous experiences
had been sufficiently nerve-racking, they were as mild as
a Sunday-school picnic compared with the struggle we

were about to engage in.

[ 206 ]
From Naples to Paris

At eight-thirty the next morning we reached Paris,
happy to be once more in the city of our heart's delight,
but exceedingly sorry that our stay must be limited to
twenty-four hours. Much of this time was consumed in
making our necessary arrangements, getting steamer
and railroad tickets, so we had very little opportunity
for sight-seeing, although we managed to slip away to
the Madeleine and admire the wonderful statue of Joan
of Arc once more. We found it illuminated by the
afternoon sun, which was streaming down on her up
turned face. The pure white marble had the color and
warmth of life, and was one of the most beautiful and

inspiring things we had seen on the whole trip!
After visiting several hundreds of churches, mosques
and shrines, we found a a thrill in the Madeleine, which
we failed to get anywhere else. The atmosphere seemed
charged with some powerful force, like the air of a
cool, crisp morning when the earth is covered with
snow, and our nerves tingled as when you enter the
field of a powerful electric machine. Scattered about
here and there knelt wives and mothers in deep mourn
ing, pouring out their grief and seeking consolation
from that Power that watches over the destinies of men
and nations. In one of the chapels a service
beingwas

conducted; women in black continually going as
were

others were coming to their devotions, and groups of
strangers, like ourselves, were passing around noise
lessly.
Within these walls, which were originally intended as
a temple of victory, the real spirit of victory had de-

[ 207 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

scended, and we felt its invisible but actual presence.
Victory and Invincibility!
With hearts full of pity for the French people, who
have suffered sogreatly, we quietly withdrew, feeling
that we had stood for a moment in a place where
religion was deep and sincere.
As we looked back for the last time, the sunlight was
still streaming down on the beautiful upturned face of
Joan of Arc, whose lips seemed to be repeating the
words the angel had whispered to her, in the garden
at Dom Remy "La pitie qui estoit au royaume de France!"
(Pity for the realm of France!)

[ 208 ]
XXIX

A Glimpse of Paris
On the outbound part of our trip, we gave scant notice
to Paris, hoping on our return to spend at least another
week there; this was later reduced to two days, and
finally dwindled down to twenty-four hours. But as a
distinguished person once remarked, "The moving acci
dent is not my trade," and certain steamers have a way
of leaving at a certain time, and there was nothing to do
but get aboard!
Our short visit thus gave us the opportunity of visit
ing only some of the most important places and that in
a hurried sort of way; yet a description of even these
could not be compressed into single chapter, and our
a

first impulse is to pass the whole thing by, and con
tinue on our way. On the other hand, it would hardly
be fair to ignore the place that proved the most inter
esting and attractive of all the famous places we visited;
a place which I hope to see again some day, and in a

more leisurely way. For if I should ever be permitted
to take another trip, and could go to only one foreign

city, that city would be Paris! And this for the simple
reason that almost everything that can be found else

where is found there, and if anyone is interested in art
or architecture, or is simply looking for a good time,

there is no one place in the world that has so much to
offer. And here comes the great difficulty: while other

[ 209 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

cities have certain outstanding attractions, in Paris there
are so many and varied things of interest, that it is
difficult to decide what to leave out and where to begin.
For the firstday or so, one is apt to be content with
wandering up and down the Boulevards, gazing into the
shop windows, occasionally stopping to sit in front of
some cafe, and watching the endless flow of traffic,
wondering why the women have so much beauty and
charm, while the men seem so indifferent.
After getting somewhat acclimated and having ac

quired a little confidence, the next thing that suggests
itself is a ride motor-omnibus, of which there are
on a

nearly fifty lines, reaching to almost any part of Paris;
through the Arch de Triomphe, and out into the solitude
of the Bois de Boulogne a park of over two thousand
acres, with winding roads, lakes and streams so nearly
counterfeiting nature that you could hardly believe it
to be the work of man. Returning you can pass by
the Trocadero, the Eifel Tower and the famous Champ
de Mars.
Starting from the terminus of St. Lazare on the Cein-
ture railway, you can procure a Paris-a-Paris ticket and

in two hours encircle the city within the fortifications.
In the evening, starting from the Place de la Concorde,
in the center of which rises the Obelisk of Luxor (on
the spot where the guillotine stood during the Reign of
Terror), nothing could be more enjoyable than a walk
of the
along the banks of the Seine, past the garden
Tuileries to the Pont des Arts, where, in moonlight, the
best view of the Seine is obtained. Then crossing over

[210]
A Glimpse of Paris

to the Quai d'Orsay, back to the Pont Alexandre HI
a good three-mile walk give one a better
which will
idea of fairyland than any other one place in the world.
As you pass the hazy and indistinct gardens, or stand
on one of the bridges and gaze on the thousands of

colored lights reflected in the water, you cannot believe
you are in the center of a city of nearly three million
inhabitants.
Certain tourist agencies recommend to you their
"Driving Excursions" "which enable visitors to see as

much of Paris in two days as they could otherwise see
in a week." Also "to meet the wants of those who

prefer to take
things easily,"
more five-day itinerary
a

is provided and you are finally informed that "if double
this time is devoted to visiting Paris, so much the
better."
After putting in ten strenuous days and nights at full
for meals and a very little sleep,
speed, stopping only
we concluded that one to three months would be needed
for a good general idea of Paris and its environs, and at
least a year could be spent there, with the last months as
fully occupied as the first.
The most important public building and the one first
visited is the Louvre, which derives its name from an
ancient hunting chateau once situated here in the midst
of a by wolves, and hence called Louverie.
forest infested
A week could be profitably spent in this immense build
ing alone, as it contains the most complete collection of
Egyptian specimens in Europe, an Assyrian museum,

[211]
A Modern Pilgrimage

Greek and Roman galleries (where the original Venus de Milo
may be seen), and many other interesting departments.
There are over two thousand pictures of the highest
rank on exhibition, representing every school of paint
ing andincluding hundreds of famous works from the
Marriage at Cana, the largest canvas in the Louvre
measuring about twenty-two by thirty-two feet, down
to the small but more famous Mona Lisa, once more hanging
in its old place, a guard stationed at each door to see
that it stays there.
After gazing intently at a few hundred of these won
derful paintings your neck and eyes ache and you wonder
why the artists of olden times painted women and horses
with such small heads and large, voluptuous bodies, and
you are curious to know where Rubens could possibly
have seen the originals of those infants and young girls
of his, with their muscles developed like those of a
prize fighter.
Then the fact dawns on you that you have seen

and it is time to look at the
enough art for one day
blue sky or something else for a change; then you
realize for the first time that you are very tired with
so you hunt up a cafe
so much walking and looking,

and order some ice cream and cakes, only to find that
in Paris ice cream has its season, like game and salads,
and that in April glace is not to be had, but cafe au lait-
patisserie? Oui, monsieur.
that is to be visited is the Grand
The next place
theatre in the world, covering
Opera House, the largest
three acres. Between four and five
an area of nearly

[212]
A Glimpse of Paris

hundred houses were demolished to provide the site, and
over nine millions of dollars were spent on the site and
the building. In the interior the two striking features
are the grand staircase and the grand foyer, neither of
which has ever been surpassed. The auditorium itself
is very ornate and richly decorated, but occupies a rela
tively small portion of the immense building, contain
ing only a little over two thousand seats.
Another surprise in this magnificent building is the
arrangement of the cloak rooms and the sanitary quar
ters which must have been left to the office boy, and a

very young and inexperienced one at that! The archi
tect's time was perhaps taken up in trying to please his
Majesty, as you notice a circular ramp and elaborate
porte cochere, by means of which the Emperor could
drive into the Opera House in his coach and four, but
unfortunately for him, when the building was completed,
the Empire had become a thing of the past.
Probably the next point of interest will be the Hotel
des Invalides and the tomb of Napoleon. This covers a
site of thirty-one acres, and was originally intended for
an old soldier's home, but only a few decayed veterans

are found there now, the place being occupied largely

by the war department and as a museum. The central
part of the building consists of a church and the dome
under which rests the sarcophagus of Napoleon I. Over
the entrance to the vault is inscribed in French the fol
lowing paragraph from his will:

"I desire that my ashes may rest on the banks

[213]
A Modem Pilgrimage

of the Seine, in the midst of the French people whom
I have loved so well."

The next historic place to be visited is Notre Dame,
one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture to be

found in this land where this style originated and has
been carried to its greatest perfection.
A few steps away, on the highest ground in this part
of the city, stands the Pantheon, another perfect speci
men of architecture, but in the classic style.
This build

ing occupies the site of the tomb of St. Genevieve, the
used as a grand memo
patron saint of Paris, and is now
rial temple dedicated to the glory of the men of France,
and filled with paintings, statues, tombs, etc.
here are
Among the many interesting frescoes
of Arc, and
Lenepvu's series illustrating the life of Joan
here. In the
her statue by Dubois has also been placed
vaults* underneath are the tombs of Victor, Hugo,
Voltaire, Rousseau, Zola and many other distinguished
Frenchmen.
du Luxem
A short distance to the left is the Palais
and for many years
bourg, built by Marie de Medici,
used as the royal residence, but now occupied by the
of modern paintings,
Senate. It also contains a gallery
a sort of purgatory
for the works of modern artists be
the great masters
fore they can hope to be hung among
in the Louvre. This because of a rule that the works
into the Louvre until
of painters are not admitted
ten years after the artist's death,
when, if the fact can
dead and his picture is con-
be established that he is still

[214]
A Glimpse of Paris

sidered worthy by the jury, the artist has reached the
height glory, although, unfortunately, he is not in a
of
condition to appreciate the fact.
Returning to the main part of the city, the visitor
the French
passes the Palais de Vlnstitute, the home of
whose members are known as the Les Im
Academy, forty
mortals. Adjoining is the famous Ecole des Beaux Arts, the
foremost school of painting, sculpture and architecture in the
world.
Crossing the Seine and passing through the gardens
of the Tuileries (so called on account of the tile-kilns
which wereonce located here), we reach the Rue de
Rivoli, lined from one end to the other with hundreds of

jewelry stores. A short distance away you enter the
Rue de la Paix, the dressmakers' famous street, where

you note the establishments
of Worth, Paquin and
others, where the fair sex can, for a large amount of

money, acquire a small piece of goods attached to an
expensive label.
It is also worth while to visit the Grande Magazins du
Louvre, the largest general store in Paris, where they
not only have reading and writing rooms and a buffet
where refreshments are served gratis, but charming
young ladies who have
elevated salesmanship to a fine
art. It is certainly a pleasure to be relieved of your

money in such a delightful way,
and you no longer won
der that this store has branches all over Europe and in

Egypt.
Next in importance and size is the world-famous Bon

Marche, a little out of the way, but somewhat cheaper

[215]
A Modem Pilgrimage

than the others; then finest of all the beautiful store
with the flowery name, Au Printemps, a unique building in
the Art Nouveau style, but very successfully done.
In wandering around Paris it is well to keep in mind
how and with what ease a street will change
frequently
its name from time to time. For instance, you walk a
few blocks on the Boulevard des Capucines, and sud

denly find it has changed to the Boulevard des Italiens, which
in a few more blocks becomes Montmarte, then Poisonniere,
and so on. One street in the city is not satisfied until it has
changed its name twenty-three times, and by that time it is
back to the place where it started.
Although very fickle in the way of names, the
streets
for the reason that
are everywhere generously lighted;
from
it pays to provide a city that will attract people
for
all parts of the world, who in the end not only pay
as well.
the lighting, but for many other things
The streets are also liberally supplied with signs.
would never know
They have to be or otherwise you
The gendarmes,
when one left off and another began.
who are as plentiful as priests
in
Rome, always
are glad
civilian answers your
to direct you; while the average
and polite way.
inquiries in a pleasant
usually first in the minds of those visit
Lastly (but
which the newcomer
ing Paris), there is the night life,
is to Paris anyway, and
often believes is about all there
If such is the case our visit
must be seen by all means.
as the Moulin Rouge,
must have been a miserable failure,
the Dead Rat, Black Cat
and a few other notorious

places were closed shortly before our arrival. Whether
up

[216 j
A Glimpse of Paris

this was done especially for our protection, or on account
of the unpleasant notoriety given to them by certain
movie stars who had preceded us, we did not take the
trouble to inquire.
What impressed us about the whole thing was that a
mere handful of such places could acquire a world-wide

fame, and blacken the reputation of the whole city,
which had permitted them to exist solely to amuse those
visitors of depraved taste who craved such things, and
would be satisfied with nothing else.
But the heartless authorities have seen fit to douse the glim
and stop the rotating arms of the Red Mill, and it is no longer
apropos to speak of "gay Paree," which to many people
nowadays seems about as lively as prohibition New York.
The average, healthy-minded person, however, whose
brains compare at all favorably with his pocketbook need
not feel discouraged, as there is still much to see and

enjoy in this great and wonderful city.

[217]
XXX

Playgrounds of Children and Kings
Two of ourmost charming days in Paris were spent
outside the city, which is a rather inexact way of put
ting it, but they were spent in the banlieue or les environs de
Paris, all of which means about the same thing, I take it, only
a little more so.

At the time there was no idea of pointing any morals
or adorning any tales; it just so happened that we went
on a certain Thursday to Robinson, and on the follow
ing day (which this year came on Friday) we visited
Versailles. Naturally I knew of Versailles, without
really knowing very much about it; but I had never
heard of Robinson, which made our visit there all the
more delightful, as it added surprise to pleasure.

We discovered this little place because Mrs. B was
going to visit an uncle of hers who lived there, and not

wishing to lose the only woman in our party, we all pro
ceeded to escort her to the home of her relative, a

old artist who, like her father, specializes in
famous
painting flowers.
To reach this place we took the train to Sceaux,
a

then de
distance of about seven miles from Paris,
a

mile, to
lightful walk along the high road of nearly
a

wooden
where the road forks. And there stands a large
and all, just as we
effigy of Robinson Crusoe, umbrella
us to his
last remembered him, seeming to welcome

[218]
Playgrounds of Children and Kings

home town. In the
background rises a high wooded
hill and all around are playgrounds with swings, trapezes
and all kinds of appliances for amusing the youngsters.
Little garden cafes, with platforms built among the
branches of immense chestnut trees (some of them five
stories high), cosy arbors, sheltered seats and grottoes,
all form a picture that could have originated only in
the mind of a Frenchman. One is apt to fancy that he
has suddenly dropped into the favorite haunts of Perault,
and that here he conceived his stories of Cinderella,
Little Red Riding Hood and various other stories for
children that have made him famous.
As our visit was in
February, most of the places were
closed and we could only imagine what a gay place
it would be in the summer season, especially on a Sunday
or holiday, with its jolly crowds of children, attended

by mothers, nurses and governesses, flocking out from
Paris to enjoy themselves in this shady nook of Fairy
land this immense stage with all the scenery and acces
sories, even to the high, wooded hill in the background.
No matter in what direction you looked, you found
everything in harmony. The artistic spirit also extends
to the village, where there are just the right kind of

houses, cozy little cottages with red tile roofs, little
miniature chateaux which fit into the landscape admira
bly.
What a difference between this quiet, pastoral scene,
the playground of childhood and innocence, and the
one on which we gazed the following morning, as we
entered the Ave. de Paris and looked across the Place

[219]
A Modem Pilgrimage

d'Armes at the Palace of Versailles! All the bloody orgy
of the French Revolution with its Reign of Terror, all
the reckless intrigue, extravagance and scandal that pre
ceded the downfall of royalty, rushed into our minds,
for down this very street on which we were walking
came that infuriated mob, composed largely of women
armed with scissors, knives and pitchforks, and on the
iron balcony at the center of the palace King Louis
XVI appeared and agreed to return with them to Paris.
After gazing at this scene for a few minutes one is
affected curiously, and is apt to make a rash resolution
to reread all of Mulhbach's historical romances, especially
Marie Antoinette and Her Son, as now it will seem more real.
Since that wild day when the Royal Family moved
slowly and sadly towards the Tuileries near which a

the spectators
young sub-lieutenant, Napoleon, standing among
exclaimed, "How is this possible? Has the king no cannon
to destroy this canaille?" since that time this immense
playground of the king has been deserted, and the palace
uninhabited except on occasions.
state

As you pass the iron railing and enter the Court of
Honor, you face a colossal statue of Louis XV on
the
horseback, made of bronze cannon brought from
of Dugueslin,
Rhine, while on each side are large statues
celebri
Chevalier Bayard, Cardinal Richelieu and other
ties of French history.
of a
The Palace is an immense affair, over one-third
not
mile long, built at different times, and represents
but recalls
only several different styles of architecture,
some of the most dramatic eras of French history.

[ 220 ]
Playgrounds of Children and Kings

The central and oldest part, built of brick and stone,
is the original chateau or hunting-box of Louis XIII;
the adjoining wings were constructed by Louis XIV, who
began to transform it into an immense palace; on the
right Louis XV added a theatre and a chapel, while on
the left a corresponding pavilion was added by Louis
XVIII.
We are originally the site of Versailles was
told that
for a town, and still less for a park, but
hardly favorable
that made little difference with the king, as he grew
tired of living at St. Germain, looking continually at the
burial place of his royal ancestors.
Voltaire called the place "the abyss (politely speak
ing) of expense," and it does somewhat resemble the
bottomless pit, as the palace and parks cost the enor
mous sum of over one hundred million dollars, at a

time when millions were not so common as now, and

the annual cost of maintenance was over five hundred

thousand dollars.
The story of the erection of this sumptuous palace
and the laying out of the grounds reads like a chapter
from the Arabian Nights: thirty-six thousand men and
six thousand horses were employed at one time in
the park,
building the terraces of the gardens, leveling
the wide boulevard to Paris (a distance of
constructing
ten miles), and building an aqueduct from Maintenon,
monarch added
thirty-one miles away. Each succeeding
to the size and luxuriousness of the palace,
until finally

it reached a length of over nineteen hundred feet, and
could easily accommodate ten thousand inmates.

[221]
A Modem Pilgrimage

Many historical events have been staged in the Palace
of Versailles, among which was the signing of the treaty
by which England recognized the independence of the
United States in 1783.
Six years later the Tiers Etat
(The Third Estate) began their sittings here, and took
the first step on the way to the Revolution by forming
itself into a separate body called the Assemble Nation-
ale. In 1791 Louis XVI, the last royal inmate, left there
to become a prisoner in the Tuileries, and since that
time it has been uninhabited. A few years later it was
converted into a munition factory and in 1815 it was
pillaged by the Prussians.
In 1855 Queen Victoria was received there by
the Ger
Napoleon III, and in 1871 it was occupied by
man forces, and there King William of Prussia was pro
claimed Emperor of Germany. After the departure of
of the
the Germans, it became the seat of government
Republic, and continued so until 1879.
at Ver
To detail all the events that have occurred
to
sailles would fill a large volume, so we will proceed
enter the Palace and briefly describe a few of the many
interesting things it contains.
and acres of
After looking at hundreds of statues
the salons of Venus,
paintings, and passing through the Galerie des
into
Diana, Mars, etc., you are usherd
two hundred and thirty-five
Glaces, a magnificent room
feet long, thirty-five feet wide
and forty-two feet high.

On one side are large arched windows over
seventeen
while on the opposite
looking the park and gardens,
number of immense beveled
side of the room are an equal

[ 222 ]
Playgrounds of Children and Kings

mirrors. The walls are of the finest marble, and the
ceiling is richly decorated with paintings and gilded
stucco. In this Hall of Mirrors the great Peace Con
ference of 1919 was held, and you are shown the spot
where President Wilson sat, and the positions of Clemen-
ceau, Lloyd-George and the German delegation.
From this room you pass on to the apartments of
Louis XIV, and are shown his bedroom, wig-room and
bath, which by the way, does not show much wear, as
the great king never used it but twice. The second
time was immediately after a hearty meal, and it made
hisRoyal Highness so sick that he refused to dally with
such new-fangled innovations any more!
Next comes the grand apartments of the queen, the
bed-chamber of Marie Antoinette, the hall of the Swiss
Guards, and on through room after room, walls and
ceilings of which are paintings, expensive
filled with

tapestries and elegant One finally comes
decorations.
to the Galerie des Batailles, a magnificent hall nearly
four hundred feet long, filled with immense paintings
of the French nation
showing the military successes

from the earliest times. After gazing at so much decora
tion and so many works of art, it is refreshing to step
out on the terrace and look across the lawns and gar
den called the Tapis Vert (green carpet), down the Grand
Canal with its basins, its maze of walks with fountains, statu
ary and shrubbery.
walk of about
Passing down the Allee de la Reine, 3.

three-quarters of a mile, you reach the Grand Trianon,
built by Louis XIV for Madame de Maintenon, where

[ 223 ]
A Modem Pilgrimage

he was fond of coming and entertaining a select circle
with dinners, balls, sports and comedies. Beyond this
are other gardens, beautiful with cascades and foun
tains. Carriages, where
You pass on to the Musuem of
they have on exhibition the state coaches of
Napoleon,
Charles X and others, besides the exquisite conveyances
used by Marie Antoinette, Madame de Maintenon, Pom
padour and others.
Not far from the Musee des Voitures stands the Petit
Trianon, built by Louis XV for Madame Du Barry, with
its up-to-date dining-room, provided with a trapdoor
through which the table appeared ready-laid. Adjoin
the English
ing is the famous garden planned out in
rustic cottages
style for Marie Antoinette, with its
where the queen and
grouped around an artificial lake,
court ladies played at the life of peasants.
Here was
the miller;
the old mill, where the king acted the part of
the dairy house, to which, after the queen and noble
carried the milk in
milkmaids had milked the cows, they
it out in
white buckets with silver handles and poured
on tables of white marble.
pretty white pans standing
stands a lovely
You cross a little rivulet, near which
around lie the remains of
Temple de V Amour, and all
of the few years of
the original garden to remind you
the royal couple and then-
idyllic life indulged in by
court before the storm of
the Revolution broke and

carried them all to the guillotine.

[ 224 ]
XXXI

From Paris to New York

On a certain Wednesday morning in April we set out
rather earlier than usual, our minds confused with con

trary feelings; we were glad to be entering upon the
last lap of our journey to our native land, and at the
same time we were extremely sorry to be leaving Paris.

How we longed for another two or three weeks or
months or even a year! But it was no use, this was
to be our last morning in Paris.
The Gare St. Lazare stands immediately behind the
Hotel Terminus, at which
we were stopping, a very
satisfactory place, by the way, first class, reasonable in
price and very conveniently located. So, after a short
stroll and a little final shopping, we secured a porter
and started out in search of the special boat-train for
Cherbourg. This boat-train is chartered by the steam
and afforded us by long odds the most
ship company
comfortable railroading we experienced anywhere in
Europe. At the gate you are told the car and com
partment that has been assigned to you, and on reach
ing them you find a large card hanging on the door
with your name on it; meal tickets are also issued, giv
ing you a reserved seat in the dining car at a certain
time. Everything works like a hundred dollar clock,
and the train does not stop until you reach Cherbourg,
a distance of two hundred and thirty miles, after a ride

[ 225 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

of six and a half hours. And what a delightful ride it
was! Green fields, flowers, fruit trees in bloom, all the
charm of springtime in this beautiful section of France,
which is like a continuous garden. The roads, fields and
forests were tidied-up; every tiny bit of land
clean and
was under cultivation and everybody busy. After pass
ing through the barren lands of Palestine and Italy, the
scenery of France seemed like a little Paradise.

Arriving at Cherbourg we found ourselves on a
soon

tug steaming out to the big Olympic that lay in the
outer harbor the largest British steamer in His Maj
esty's service. Never before did I fully realize the im
mense size of a big ocean liner. Our tug, which was no
small affair, looked like a peanut shell as we came
alongside with over eight hundred passengers and a
train load of baggage.
As throughout our trip, the ocean was calm
whole
and the weather almost uniformly delightful, except for
a little rain and two days of heavy wind,
which caused a
little uneasiness among several of the passengers, espe
cially poor Mr. B who, having made up his mind that
this would be his last chance to get seasick, curled up
in his steamer chair and felt as miserable as anyone
could and still live.
in a
The seventh and last night out was wrapped
cold and just after we had
heavy fog; the air grew icy
horse-car
turned in the engines slowed down to about
were in the neighbor
speed and suddenly stopped. We
hood of icebergs, and the temperature was headed for
zero. Suddenly the thought dawned on us that it would

[ 226 ]
From Paris to New York

be much sensible to be up and dressed, in
more case of
an emergency, and we began to wonder how long a

person could live in that ice-cold water, in case we did
collide with a berg. But it was so cosy and warm under
the extra blankets that while arguing the matter with
ourselves, sleep overtook us and the next thing we heard
was loud rapping on our cabin door and a familiar
a

voice saying, "Your bawth is ready, sir!" awoke us to
the fact that the big boat was still safe and sound and
we had enjoyed a good night's sleep besides.

Every evening during the voyage we had been treated
to some sort of festivities; a ball, vaudeville entertain
ment, musical or concert. But the last evening was
the most festive of all, for at midnight the bar was to
be closed, and like a modern disappearing bed, no trace
of it would remain in the morning.
At seven o'clock in the morning we arrived at the
Quarantine Station; the engines stopped, and everybody
assumed an air of expectancy that they were forced to
maintain for two mortal hours, waiting for the doctor
to appear for inspection. Everybody grew impatient,
disgusted and hungry (as breakfast is not served until
after inspection) ; everybody, that is, except a few wise
ones who had taken the precaution to have some refresh

ments served in their cabins before the attendants lined
up for inspection.
Finally the doctor arrived and we marched by him in
single file, as he gave us one brief glance from head to
foot to decide whether or not we were infected with

cholera, typhus or any of the other ills which flesh is

[ 227 ]
A Modem Pilgrimage

heir to. We all marveled at the sagacity of that repre
sentative of the medical profession, who could accom
plish so much in a single glance; but were thankful
that one look was sufficient, and hurried down to our
belated breakfast.
After another hour or so, the whir of our engines in
dicated that we were under way, and presently the
sky-line of New York City loomed up. The Goddess
of Liberty. was standing in her accustomed place, hold
ing her torch aloft to welcome us to the home of the
brave and the land of prohibition all of which caused
many caustic remarks from divers individuals
who felt
that the latest Constitutional Amendment was doing
them an untold injury.
I will not attempt to describe our feelings as the im
mense skyscrapers loomed up, the most impressive
man-

made panorama in the world! The Singer Building,
the Woolworth beautiful and
(the most
the Municipal,
of others,
perfect of its kind in existence), and hundreds
too numerous to mention, towered up through the smoke

and haze, gleaming in the noonday sun.

A thousand vessels, ranging in size from huge ocean
liners down to busy little tugs that swarmed in
and out

of the harbor, and ferryboats like huge shuttles gliding
forth the channel, were coming and
back and across
after pier behind
going on the Hudson. Leaving pier
us, on past Jersey City,
then Hoboken, finally White
Star Pier No. 60 loomed up, where after
considerable
came to a
maneuvering and twisting about, our big ship
and we moved down the gangplanks for our
standstill,

[ 228 ]
From Paris to New York

final customs examination. Our trip was nearly over

and the return part of it was remarkable as it had been
one of the quickest on record. In thirteen
days we
had traveled from Cairo,Egypt, City, and
to New York
had stopped over twenty-four hours in Paris and eight
hours in Turin, Italy.
"Impossible!" an old lady insisted on hearing our
record. "I have crossed the ocean twenty-six times,
and have been around the world twice, and it can't be
done in any such time as that !" yet there we were, able
to answer to roll-call; but when I assured her that in all
our trip I had
never been seasick or missed a meal
(when it was possible to get one), the old lady looked
at me with a quizzical glance that indicated very plainly
I was set down in her estimation as a lineal descendant
of Baron Karl Friedrick Hieronymus von Munchausen,
and eligible to membership in a first-class Ananias Club.
According to our Bradshaw we had traveled very close
to six thousand miles in those thirteen days, had crossed
the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and had
been bumped around on six different railroads and passed
the customs ordeal five times. Quite enough excitement
to crowd into less than two weeks!

[ 229 ]
XXXII

Hints to Travelers

In order to set ourselvesright with the reader at the
outset, we wish to warn him that the following chapter
promises to be as interesting as Bradshaw's Book of
Continental Time Tables, or a page selected at random
Record. It to
from our own Congressional proposes
full
deal strictly with matters of business, to be packed
of dry information, and show up in a state of actual
whose
nudity many facts invaluable to any tourist
had
knowledge of traveling is confinedas the writer's
been for a number of years to a local ride in a jitney,
or an occasional trip in a trolley
car. In addition to
reader
these few explanatory words we wish to warn the
who has survived thus far that some of the following
hints are not to be taken too seriously.
first requisite,
Before starting on a trip abroad, the
of cash, a passport and a
in addition to a liberal supply
few other necessary incidentals to be
mentioned later, is
what we are often told a traveler
no longer requires
namely, a knowledge of foreign languages, preferably
and a smattering of
French, German, Italian, Spanish
are not
Arabic. Gaelic, Greek, Russian and Chinese
are not
absolutely necessary,provided these countries
confine your travels
included in your itinerary, and you
strictly to the following places: England, where in some
form of English is spoken; the beaten
parts a modified

[ 230 ]
Hints to Travelers

paths of France, where some of the people seem to
understand their own language when you speak it very
slowly, with a proper accompaniment of signs and ges
tures; Italy, where you will always find porters and
guides who assure you they understand French, English
or almost any other language you may mention, but

nevertheless insist on using their native tongue, as it
matches the scenery better; Egypt and Palestine, where
a few simple Arabic phrases, sufficient to shoo off the

beggars and insistent natives, will be about all that is
necessary. Certainly a trip abroad can be made by a
monoglot, but only after a fashion; and he must be
satisfied to be put on reduced rations so far as pleasure
and convenience are concerned. He must expect em
barrassments to beseige him without ceasing, and the
finer frills of the trip to continually eluding him.
be
It often occurred to me trip abroad
that one's first
is largely occupied with learning the game and finding
out how he may exact some pleasure out of it should
he ever go over the same ground again. For, on the
first trip, you never know what to expect, or when to
expect it, or from what direction it is coming, which
naturally gives you more or less of a thrill. You are
kept in a state of suspense which, in the end, acts as a
sort of halo to the remembrances of your trip.
This glamour is lacking in your subsequent trips, un
less the stage happens to have a new and different setting
which is often the case and the program is rendered
with new variations that keep you guessing why things
are not coming along as you were expecting them.

[231]
A Modem Pilgrimage

To be sure there are a number of valuable guide
books to be had, which are filled with a mass of infor
mation that may or may not have any bearing on your

problem. Your guide book, for instance, may tell you
very accurately what to say to the cabman in order
to engage him, and how to call the police should some
difficulty arise between yourself and the cabman which
This valuable
you have just succeeded in engaging.
information is followed a splendid list of hotels and
by
existence,
in
pensions, many of which are no longer
to be
together with the rates which are supposed
that
charged, and which you will find are so reasonable
the proprietors have long since forgotten them. Then
a chapter on art, ancient history, religion,
you are given
there is
and a list of health resorts and hospitals. But
of that intimate information which would mean
so
none

much to you in the early springtime of your journey.
are contemplating a
So, for the benefit of those who
the following hints are
trip abroad for the first time, be
offered, in the hope that some help may possibly
derived therefrom by the uninitiated
the experienced
needs no coaching. It should be
traveler of course

borne in mind, however, that
these few simple sugges
the help
tions are not intended to entirely supplant
more than a
offered by the regulation guide book, any
with the necessity of a
tube of tooth paste does away
dentist they are merely supplementary.
on the tact
Sufficient emphasis is not usually placed
to plan your trip carefully
that it is absolutely essential
most minute details. In this
in advance, down to the

[ 232 ]

Hints to Travelers

way you will have the pleasure of planning many inter
esting things which you will never experience; but you
will have had the pleasure of anticipation, anyway. The
longer you think it over, the more enjoyment you will
get out of the trip in this way, and if you can keep
on thinking of little things that had not occurred to you

before, so much the better.
I have known several very intelligent persons who, in
their spare moments, continued to plan a trip abroad for
ten, twenty and even thirty years; finally, feeling that
they had gone far enough, they decided to stay at home,
and never regretted it!
So, by all means, think it over the longer the better!
But there is another method that is sometimes fol
lowed, that oftaking the
trip thinking it over
first and
afterwards. This
happened, by force of circumstance,
to be the one adopted by the writer, who ten days be
fore starting had no more idea of going to Europe and
the Orient than of joining a relief expedition to Mars
in fact, he had definitely decided that his traveling days
in this incarnation were practically over.
The advantage be derived from this review-after-
to

the-fact method is that you are absolutely free from all
pre-conceived notions, prejudices or expectations, and
soaks
your mind, being, as it were, a blank, thoroughly
in all impressions, and even if you miss many things
that you should have seen, whatever you do happen to
see comes as a fresh and pleasant surprise.
Take the customs, for example. Each time you go

through that ordeal you realize that it is a matter you

[ 233 ]
A Modem Pilgrimage

had never taken very seriously before, and had no idea
it could be served up in so many different and unattrac
tive ways. It had never entered your "stream of con
sciousness" that on the ordinary railroad trains on the
Continent you are not supposed to require any nourish
ment or a proper place to sleep. And so on, you keep

adding one experience to another, while one thrill keeps
treading on the heels of its predecessor, as you maintain
the more or less even tenor of your way.
Many people make the serious mistake of spending a
great deal of time in reading up about a certain place
or thing, raising their expectations to
such a pitch that
than they would have
disappointed
they are even more

been if they had absolutely nothing about it
known
in
beforehand. After all, the joy of traveling is not
is to
what you see or where you go; the great thing
wherever
have the right kind of companions, who will go
as long as you desire, and always
you wish to go, stay
the rest is
do whatever you have in mind ; then easy.

As a matter of fact, you might be in fairly congenial
at home, and possibly have just
as
company and stay
But if you are
much fun at a great deal less expense.
soon discover one thing:
actually on the trail, you will is
that to travel alone or with uncongenial companions
as whitewashing a barn
or serv
every bit as enjoyable
ing a term on a Federal jury.
about at the last
Another important thing to think
from experience
moment is your baggage, and, speaking
to take plenty of it, and
I would strongly advise everyone
different kinds and sizes of
have it done up in as many

[234]
Hints to Travelers

packages as possible the more the merrier! A person
who has not tried it would hardly believe what a joy
it is to keep track of thirteen pieces of hand-luggage
them all whenever
every time you change cars, and open
you pass through the customs.
This is a serious problem, and I
baggage question
that it
found from repeated inquiry and observation
has still not been solved. It does not seem to be
or two
definitely settled whether it is better to take one
large trunks or an assorted collection of suit cases, bags,
a few odd bundles of various shapes and sizes, including
several hat boxes, preferably ones with vivid stripes.
But no matter which of these methods you adopt on
next trip to try
your first trip, you will decide on the
the other.
Regarding umbrellas which are seldom needed but
are such a comfort to carry around it is never
wise

to only one, as you are sure to lose it
start out with
hot, dry day, when you really didn't need
to
some
of umbrellas, it is
have it along. In addition to a relay
of
advisable to carry a couple of typewriters, as one

overlook
the important things that you cannot afford to
letter
is your correspondence, and to make an occasional
to your friends at home, what could be better
legible
than a typewriter?
Absolutely essential are several pairs
of ordinary, in
reason for more than
expensive rubber goloshes the
are usually kicked off
one pair being that such things

under the car seat, or left in some corner,and, like the
evanescent umbrellas, have a confirmed habit of being

[ 235 ]
A Modem Pilgrimage

always left behind. The same thing, with equal force,
might be applied to a plurality of whisk-brooms, tooth
brushes, bedroom slippers, etc., but none of these are
quite on a par, or make as good a showing as an extra
fur overcoat, a mackintosh or a bundle of steamer rugs.
As to a collection of cameras, we will only mention them
here as a valuable adjunct in connection with the fore
going articles, all properly draped about your anatomy
crowded gang
you struggle and squeeze down
as a

plank, or try to hoist yourself up the steep and narrow
steps of a railroad car.
All of which paraphernalia adds to the picturesque-
a certain
ness of your appearance, and lends to you

amount of dignity as you flock into a first-class hotel,
and attempt to fill out your registration blanks.
mention is
Another item we had almost forgotten to
of favorite volumes
a package of bookssome your
which you love to dip into occasionally,
and by all
a half-dozen or so of the very
latest popular
means
to
novels, and a few of the highest-priced magazines,
on a high plane,
show that, mentally, you are traveling
to date. This makes
and a person who keeps strictly up
a rather bulky package;
but it serves an N. B. to all
are independent of the
excellent library on board
that you
of books is offered
the ship, where a choice collection
have the further and fre
free of charge, and you will
to every customs official
quent pleasure of explaining with
which you brought
that these are your own books,
etc.
you from home
for your own use on the trip,
and unimportant details,
Before getting down to small

[ 236 ]
Hints to Travelers

we must not overlook another vital matter an attitude
of faith, to which should be added a certain amount of
nerve. If these two essentials are lacking your trip will
as well for you to leave
be a failure, and it would be
bank at four percent, or take
your money in the savings
a chance in promising oil stock, the prospectuses
some

of which are enough to convince any credulous individual
that the world is either full of optimists or apt disciples
of Ananias.
The novice who packs his grip and starts to foreign
lands is in practically the same condition as a brave
and trustful couple who, in the face of everything, em
bark on that supposedly "tranquil and placid matri
monial sea, whose shores are fringed with midnight
squills, squalls and paregoric trees!" He has no idea
of the trials and tribulations that await him; but he is
informed in due time that the law of compensation is
at work here as everywhere else in the world, and he
can safelymake up his mind that for every one pound of
he overtakes, at least sixteen ounces of grief
pleasure
must be passed through.
After all, for a middle-aged or nervous individual,
perhaps the safest and most comfortable and certainly
the least expensive method of traveling is by the stere
a book of explanations and
oscope system, where, with
a set of views, you can sit quietly at home
and at your
leisure see many things with greater comfort and quite
as much profit as you could by crossing the seas, and

following the average guide.
Speaking of taking things leisurely brings up another

[ 237 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

point whether it is better for you to take your time
when traveling and see a few places thoroughly, or rush
along as if you were on your way to a fire. And here
again tastes and opinions differ.
After you have reached dry land, the quickest and
decidedly the most expensive way is to jump into an
automobile, tell the driver to step on the throttle, and
do your sight-seeing on the fly. Of course, you go so
rapidly that you are not able to see things very dis

tinctly; but you can surely cover a lot of ground, and
can honestly tell your friends that you saw such and

such a place without going too much into details.
A cheaper and less nerve-racking way is to engage a
rickety cab and an invalid horse that seems to know its
driver is being paid by the hour, and why should it
worry? In conclusion, there is the ancient and un
fashionable practice of going on foot.
Each of these methods has its own advantages and
limitationsso that the whole thing is, perhaps, best
the case.
regulated by the time, place and nature of
There are some places you cannot get through quickly
well afford to linger
enough, and others where you can
the course
longer; anyway, after you have gone
over

once you will know better what to do about it the next
time.
and your education is
But after all is said and done,
will probably feel
rounded off by foreign travel, you
with yourself, and come
like holding a quiet pour parler
finest place in which to spend
to the conclusion that the
is that certain parcel of land lying
your declining years

[ 238 ]
Hints to Travelers

between the Atlantic and Pacific, the Great Lakes and
the Rio Grande a land where you can travel more than
twice the distance from London to Naples without
being once haled into a
dingy customs house, and with
but a single change of cars!

[ 239 ]
XXXIII

Transportation Problems
Before administering the anesthetic and proceeding to
dissect some of the minor afflictions that
dog the foot
steps of the inexperienced traveler, we will touch lightly
on a few other topics that ought to be discussed some

where, and perhaps it would be as well to do it now!
For, sooner or later, you will have to consider transpor
tation problems, and decide when, and on what parts
of the trip you will go by boat, train or airplane, or
whether you will finally decide to put on your slippers,
light up your pipe and compromise on an imaginary trip
in an overstuffed rocker by your own fireside.
As you probe into this matter, you will find that
much of it is not nearly so difficult as it appears at first
glance; in fact, the very nature of the case often sug
gests its own solution. In order to make a start and
get into action, it is sometimes advisable to lay down
a few hard and fast rules or first principles anything
to get at the subject in a logical way.
As a broad and general proposition, we believe that
the best means of crossing the ocean or any other large
body of water is by boat preferably by steamboat, and
the larger the boat, the more expensive the passage. The
next thing to decide is whether to go first, second or
third class the distinguishing features of the different
classes being about as follows:

[ 240 ]
Transportation Problems

Ingoing first class on a large boat you have the
privilege of associating for at least seven days with a
select class of people, many of whom will carefully refrain
from cultivating your acquaintance. There are always
a few dukes, countesses and ultra-wealthy New Yorkers

aboard, whom you will never see, as they remain secluded
in their luxurious parlor suites. You will have the

opportunity of making the acquaintance of a dozen or
more ordinary human beings, whom you will find very

pleasant and agreeable.
In the second class you will find the menu card is a
little abbreviated, and passengers are supposed to fur
nish their own music. They are also expected to be
more sociable and have a better time than the first-
class passengers provided they confine their efforts to
a certain restricted section of the boat. They are free
to talk, laugh, sing and give impromptu concerts, and
to get as seasick as any of the other passengers at

exactly half the price of a first-class ticket.
In the third class you have the privilege of mixing at
close range with a lot of unpretentious people who are
frequently referred to, in political campaign speeches, as
the "salt of the earth," and among whom there is
usually a number of noisy and boisterous children, and
one or more kinds of contagious diseases. The food in
the third cabin is said to be poor and scanty, yet you
will notice that nearly everyone is constantly eating.
While the third-class
passengers are more rigidly
confined, and in the most undesirable part of the boat,
yet they have a little longer stay on board than any

[241]
A Modern Pilgrimage

others, as their medical examination comes last. They
are usually held in quarantine for a week or two, while

the other passengers are hurried off as quickly as pos
sible, and sent on their way without this extra experience.
One thing to bear in mind is that second-class
accommodations on one of the large liners is equally
as good (at least our waiter said so), as a first-class
passage on one of the smaller boats of from ten to
fifteen thousand tons, although there is about two days
less of it on a large boat. The small boats, particu
larly in rough weather, have amuch wider latitude and
longitude of motion than the larger vessels, and a pas
senger on a small boat can reasonably expect everybody
on board to be as seasick as he is himself, and there is
no small amount of comfort in that one thought alone.

Before coming to a definite decision in this matter,
however, you should not fail to ponder over the name
of your vessel, if by chance you should be partial to
names, happen to be a little superstitious, or for
or

patriotic, religious or other reasons have any particular
preference in the matter.
After revolving these matters in your mind for a few
weeks and being unable to come to any conclusion, the
only sensible thing to do is count your cash a couple
of times, decide the date you wish to sail, look up some
responsible booking agency, and let the clerk pick out
your steamer and fix up your tickets, while you merely
hand over the proper amount of cash, and forget all
about it.
And now you are almost started provided you have

[ 242 ]
Transportation Problems

secured a clearance from the income tax collector, a

if
sailing permit, and most important of all passport,
a

to be an American citizen. This may intro
you happen
in
duce another chance for a few unhappy moments,
case you happened to have been born
a good many years
and out in some rural district, where they
don't
ago,
know what birth certificate looks like.
a Nevertheless,
certain facts must be shown to the satisfaction of the

State Department at Washington ; first, that you were
and that
second, were born somewhere in the
born, you
United States of America, and these claims must be prop
erly substantiated by a birth certificate which probably
never existed.
In such a case, the family doctor can be appealed to,
and
the one who attended that first important function
remembers all the requisite details. But if that worthy
has long since hung up his saddle-bags and passed
on

together with most of his
to the happy hunting ground,
knew you in your ex
patients and everyone else who
have the final recourse of looking
treme youth, then you
has known you intimately for the last
up someone who
to
fifteen years, and can swear that you are not trying
leave the country on account of some crime, or
for other
to mention some of your
sinister purposes, not forgetting
habits and a few other personal traits that occur to
good
him. Armed with this evidence, legally acknowledged,
together with an affidavit of your own, explaining why
entitled to a passport, and accom
you think you are
friend to swear that you
panied by a prominent personal
are the identical person who
made the affidavit and the

[243]
A Modern Pilgrimage

selfsame individual who is desirous of securing a pass
port, you visit your local Consul, lay down ten dollars
and ninety cents, and are told to come back in twenty
days.
The next move before leaving New York, or what
everport you have decided to sail from, is to visit the
Consuls of the different countries which you expect to
visit, and these gentlemen will for a matter of any
where from two and a half to five dollars visk your
passport. This operation is effected with a rubber
stamp, and is an indication to all the world that, so far
as these gentlemen are concerned, you are at liberty to
go ahead and use the ticket you have already bought
and paid for.
All that remains now is to be on hand at the proper

pier, on a certain day, at least two hours before the time
of sailing, pass through the customs house, leave your
sailing permit and trip up the gangplank.
Of course the steamer does not sail at the hour speci
fied, but is liable to do so anywhere from three to
four hours later; but you are there anyway, and can fill
in the time by waving your handkerchief indiscrimi
nately at the crowds of people who, having come down
with baskets of fruit and flowers, now line the end of
the pier waiting to see someone else off. This makes
no particular difference, however, as no one knows to

whom you are waving, and your departure becomes just
so much heart-rending the longer and more vigor
more

ously the performance is kept up. After a few hours
of frantic waving you are ready to heave a sigh of

[ 244 ]
Transportation Problems

the
relief when the big boat finally pushes away from
pier.
that
When you arrive in London in case you go to
in few days,
city you will probably decide to move on a

should it happen the weather is chronically rainy
or

On a few inquiries you learn there are
foggy. making
several ways of reaching Paris, and that the quickest
and most expensive is by air. By a little mental calcu
lation, you find it only costs one-third as much by train,
and you have over five hours longer to ride; so, if you
look at it in the same manner as a Chinaman buying his
for the
high boots, getting the largest pair he could
least money, you will probably go by train. If you do,
be sure to secure your reservations in advance, as other
wise will probably have the option of standing
you
from Calais to Paris; or waiting for the next slow
hours later.
train, which will land you there several
Before taking either one of these trains, you will do
well to remember that neither of them has a dining car
or stops for meals, and unless you are anxious to
reach
Paris in a famished condition, you will provide yourself
with a well-filled lunch basket.

Another very important thing, although we are rather
late in mentioning it, is how to best carry your money
en route. As it is unwise and inconvenient, as well as

unsafe, to carry a large sum of money on your person,
even in a money-belt, for which you are often searched
on the frontiers, it is customary to have either a letter
of credit, or some form of traveler's checks, often spelled
"cheques." But the spelling will make no particular

[ 245 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

difference, as no matter how they are spelled, you will
experience no difficulty in making them disappear even
more rapidly than you had expected and dreaded. The
hotel-keepers seem particularly fond of them, and have
no hesitation in accepting them in any amount.

In addition, your pockets should always be filled with
the small change of the particular country through which
you are passing.
After you have settled on how best to carry the bulk
of your wealth, it is well to learn the value of the dif
ferent coins which are passed out to you and which you
must in turn speedily pass out again in the different
countries through which you journey.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty in this respect is met
with in England, where pounds, shillings, pence, bobs,
guineas and sovereigns require a slide-rule or a good-
sized sheet of paper and pencil to figure up the price of a
meal or total a few purchases at an ordinary store. It is
also confusing to see articles priced at so many guineas
and find that there are such coins in existence, and
no

that it is just a little pleasantry on the part of the mer
chant, who expects you to convert this price into some
other denomination which is in circulation. The English
custom of varying the size of the bank notes according
to their value is another cause of confusion.
On the Continent, matters of exchange are much less
complicated, as the decimal system is used, and you are
told that in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and
Greece, five franc pieces are legal tender everywhere.
This greatly simplifies matters.

[246]
Transportation Problems

French, Belgian and Swiss small silver coins are sup
but not the copper or
posed to pass indiscriminately,
nickel centimes. These small silver coins have tem

porarily retired, and left the field open to torn and
less consoling to
dirty paper money, which is more or

are spending real money,
you, as you do not realize you
but are merely parting with something which you are
very glad to get rid of. The smaller Italian coins are

good only in their own country, and it is well to remem
ber that on the northern border of Italy you are intro
duced to a wonderful output of some of the best printing
has no intrinsic
presses of Europe. Unfortunately, this
value, unless it can be slipped in by some unscrupulous
when making change, otherwise it is used for
person
labels for beer bottles, etc.
I was about to advise the necessity of looking up the
official regulations as to the amount of money a traveler
is allowed to have on his person when passing a frontier;
but on thought this is hardly necessary, as a
second
little co-operation on the part of the hotel and shop
keepers and souvenir venders will arrange all this, so
that you will be lucky to reach the border with enough
change left to pay your porter and the customs dues.
No matter where or how you are traveling in Europe,
whether by train, subway or street cars, you will still
be confronted with the first, second and third class
systems, problem
a on which you have
already been
obliged spend
to some thoughtful moments.

On the ordinary railroad trains even first-class service
will appeal to you as being none too good, especially in

[247]
A Modem Pilgrimage

Italy, where vacuum cleaning and disinfection seems to
be unknown or taboo.
While it is advisable to provide yourself with soap,
towels and other toiletconveniences, it is hardly worth
while to bother about sanitary drinking cups, owing to
the fact that there is neverany ice water on the trains
and the ordinary supply of un-iced water is generally
used up before you have time to develop a thirst.
No one wishes to find fault or unduly criticize the
peculiar customs of foreign lands. This would be de
cidedly ungracious, reflecting on the traveler's good
sense, as the purpose of his trip is to come in contact
with unusual and different phases of life. But in taking
a snapshot it is impossible to eliminate a few unattractive

objects that have a tendency to mar the artistic effect
of an otherwise pleasing picture, and so in traveling on
the railroads in Europe, you feel that you have suffered
a degree of discomfort which makes a word or two re

garding the aversion of the natives to fresh air excusable.
Especially on a very hot day, the cars are all her
metically sealed, as open windows cause draughts, which
are conducive to colds, pneumonia and other deadly
diseases that Americans know nothing about!
For this reason, if for no other, you are happy to
reach Venice, step into a gondola and glide away over
the Grand Canal and other waterways. At last you
have found a kind of transportation which is romantic,
ideal, soothing, perfect. You are unable to find a flaw
anywhere in the system, until you lean out to inhale a
breath of the glorious air, when, whew! the odor of

[ 248 ]
Transportation Problems

decaying vegetables floating on the water, the aroma of
sewage and other uncatalogued odors you to
causes

hastily cover your nostrils and reach for the smelling
salts.
Having become thoroughly familiar with the intricacies
and inconveniences of all the modes of transportaion
common to Europe, you will be ready, by the time you

reach Egypt, to hunt up some picturesque old camel,
and take a few lessons in a kind of locomotion which is
in a class all by itself.
You will find a drove of camels lying in wait for you,
in the shade of the lebbakh trees at the end of the
avenue, just before you reach the Pyramids of Gizeh.
No sooner have you posed as an expert and picked out
your favorite animal, than begins to snarl and
he

grumble, exhibiting signs of a horribly mean disposition,
as if trying to frighten you into changing your mind and

picking on one of the other brutes. If you persist in
sticking to your first choice, and climb on board, he
emits growls more savage than ever, and shows symp
toms of hydrophobia. Then you notice that he is
horribly filthy, and rich in unsavory odors, and just as
you are about to climb off, he rears up on his front feet.
You lean forward and hang to the saddle-horn for sup
port, when, without warning, the other end of the
animal elevates itself, and you nearly take another trip
through space in the opposite direction. In the mean
time the onlookers have had a good laugh at you, and
everybody, except your disgruntled camel and yourself,
has enjoyed seeing you flounder around to keep from

[ 249 ]
A Modem Pilgrimage

turning a somersault onto the boulevard in front of you,
or landing in a bunch of "tules" in a ravine a dozen

yards behind you. All the other camels have by this
time joined in a sort of Anvil Chorus, and a few donkeys
have set up a vociferous braying, and you feel thoroughly
ashamed of yourself for having stirred up all this com
motion.
Finally, your "ship of the desert" becomes reconciled,
and starts off on an easy, slouching gait, and the con

ditions become favorable for a little romantic meditation.
You think of all the wonderful people who have econ
omized gasoline and motored around in this fashion
on

since Father Noah coaxed a couple of these animals
down the gangplank; you think of the romance of the
desert and dream of the poetic glamor of the caravan
and "the tinkling of the camel's bell!" By and by you
take a look at the dirty animal on which you are riding,
inhale a whiff or two of its powerful odor, and come
to the conclusion that the camel is much more attractive
in picture and story than it is in real life another case
where distance lends enchantment, and familiarity breeds
once in
a query: Why don't they disinfect these camels
a while?

As you return from the Pyramids the accommodating
driver, wishing to introduce you to the final thrill, urges
This automatically
your unwilling beast into a trot.
recalls to your mind the fact that a caravan camel is

regarded as a poor investment, they
as good for only
are

three or four years; you wonder why they do not jolt
themselves to pieces much sooner than that, and con-

[ 250 ]
Transportation Problems

elude that the only reason is that they seldom go on

a trot.
Your final thrill disembarking, when it
comes on

behooves you to be vigilant again, watch which end of
your camel drops first, and brace yourself accordingly,
otherwise you still have a chance of soaring off on an
unexpected tangent. But no matter one should not
find fault or utter a word of complaint; for it was for
these very things you took a trip abroad: to come in
contact with unfamiliar experiences, and otherwise have
a glorious time!

[251]
XXXIV

Dress, Tips and Guides
The problems of transportation and other
various
vexing questions having been already (happily, we
hope!) disposed of, we will proceed to other matters.
Of course, it would add greatly to one's comfort if
everything could be fully settled beforehand, but such
complete anticipation of trouble is not always possible
nor desirable.
But sooner or later you must devote some thought
to your raiment.
Whentraveling, the matter of dress may be roughly
said to be contingent on several established facts;
whether you are traveling first, second or third class;
whether you are married or single, and, if married,
whether you happen to be on your honeymoon, or
quietly celebrating your fortieth or more anniversary.
Some regard is also due to your social standing, and
how many stars are attached to your rating in Dun's
or Bradstreet's.
Regarding how to dress when traveling on the Conti
nent, there is a wide diversity of opinion. Many people
index of
prefer to make their personal appearance an
their bank account, provided it is a fancy one, expecting
thereby to attract more attention, secure better service,
and make a much larger splash in the social puddle.
On the other hand, plain clothing, even bordering on the

[ 252 ]
Dress, Tips and Guides

smooth and shiny stage, has its advantages, as the more
prosperous you look and the more expensive your lug
gage is, the more apt you are to attract some light-

fingered pickpocket, or become the target of one of the
Band of International Thieves, who will track you to
your hotel, and later call, during your absence, and
rifle your high-priced luggage. A shabby purse has

discouraged many an observant crook.
But to get back to the matter of dress as tastes and
inclinations, as well as the allowances available for this
purpose vary so widely with different persons, it is per
haps as well to settle the matter by letting the last word
be spoken by the interested party himself or herself, as
the case may be, and pass on to other equally perplexing
topics. In this way we will save ourselves the humilia
tion of offering advice which no one would follow any
way, and also escape the imprecations that would be
heaped upon our heads by anyone who might literally
follow our directions.
Without question, the one real and vital problem that
confronts you, stands at your elbow, and assails you
from the rear, in every country, and at every turn, is
what, when and how much to scatter around in "tips."
One thing you may as well admit first as last. Namely,
that it is the custom, and that when you are in Rome, it
is wise to do as the Romans at least in so far as tips
are concerned!
That this source of grief is more real than imaginary
is shown by the fact that many tender-hearted landlords
are coming to the rescue, so that in almost every city

[ 253 ]
A Modem Pilgrimage

you can find hotels in which employes are forbidden to
accept tips, and the guests are requested not to offer
any as the management intends when you leave to add
ten percent to your bill for service. At the Swiss hotels
they are especially solicitous for you to have real good
service, so they make it fifteen percent.
Unfortunately, there is a suspicion that little or none
of this surplusage ever reaches its alleged destination,
and is only a convenient method of increasing your hotel
bill, and making you realize more keenly than ever what
a wonderful time you have had!
Nevertheless, this no-tip system robs your trip of a

well as more less aggrava
great deal of charm as or

tion and your departure is tame compared with what it
is in hotels where tipping is still in vogue.
Say what you will, there is a decided thrill in seeing
of servants line to bid you
a good-sized squad up
Adieu!many of whom you have never seen before.

You have no idea of their rank or calling, or the size
of their expectations; added to this your uncertainty
as to the value of the strange
coins you are passing out,
and the feeling that you are giving the right amounts
are making a
to the wrong persons, you realize you
mess of it, and rush along
the line, making still more
who opens the
blunders, until you reach the little slave
door for you, and who has smiled and saluted you regu
have been there. In despera
larly every morning you
have left,
tion you hand him all the small change you
the taxi-starter
without stopping to think of the concierge
or

outside !

[ 254 ]
Dress, Tips and Guides

After jumping into the taxi and wiping your perspir
ing brow, you feel relieved to think it is all over. But
presently you wonder why you are not moving, and on
making inquiries in vain from the cabman (who has not
gotten his yet), and the starter (whom you have over
looked and who has suddenly lost all interest in you),
you finally appeal to the concierge (who mumbles and
seems very downhearted), and finally the light dawns

upon you. You have left nothing for the elevator man
in the back hall and the two porters who are to bring
down your luggage, and the cabman does not wish to
go without your luggage that would never do!
So you furiously hasten to buy or borrow more
change, and properly salve the injured parties, slipping
the cabman a few in advance, begging him to hurry
lest you miss your train.
And so it goes, like a serial story in a daily news
paper it occurs regularly and continues from day to
day. But, after all, when you get accustomed to the
tipping habit, and have learned the game, you grow
to like it, and there is no denying the fact that you get
better and more painstaking service where you pay-
when-you-go. The American tip-as-you-go kind of serv
ice is spasmodic, and there is not the same feeling of
being properly and continually cared for, as under the
European system; but of course everyone is entitled to
his own preference.
And now we approach one of the great joys of travel
ing the guide! A joy forever, though not necessarily
a thing of beauty.

[ 255 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

Naturally, there are many kinds of guides, and in
choosing one many considerations bob up to influence
your decision. You may feel sympathetic, and take an
old reprobate, or one who is crippled, and cannot get
over the ground very well. Or you may pick a later
model, whose swagger air will lend a little class to your
entourage. But no matter whom you select or whether
.

he has alittle if any real knowledge, provided he has
a vivid imagination, and can answer questions promptly

and furnish you with a mass of details, you will feel
that you are being properly conducted.
In the United States it is customary for a man who

"gone broke" or is a general, all-around failure,
has to

become a painter or drive a hack. But in Europe, he
launches out as a first-class guide, and becomes a choice
mine of misinformation! When his knowledge becomes
hazy, he suddenly fails to understand your language;
lead you
but, in spite of all his failings, he can usually
to the places you wish to visit, or to
others just as good
else
if not better, and when at a loss to do anything
can take you an incredibly long
distance to see the tomb
illustrious of whom you have never
of some person
heard.
earmarks of a good
Perhaps one of the most reliable
remind you not to hurry him
guide is a slight limp, to
the hour, he prefers
around too lively. Being paid by
as to bring you back
to the
taking things leisurely, so
same place tomorrow to
finish up a few odd things that
well have seen today. Altogether, he is
you could as
on the front seat of the
never so happy as when sitting

[256]
Dress, Tips and Guides

cab and conversing with the driver, as you trail back
and forth across the city, past the various objects of

interest which, unless continually reminded, he fails to
point out to you.
It adds a touch of piquancy to have your guide under
stand very little English usually he professes to know
this language very well, but as soon as you have engaged
him, he suffers a severe attack of aphasia, so that his
answers fail to co-ordinate with your questions and there

is a general vagueness to his conversation, which helps
to keep you in a delightful state of suspense. The only
safe and satisfactory thing to do is to follow along and
keep on asking foolish and irrelevant questions, to which
you get equally immaterial and unintelligible answers.
This shows him that you are alive and interested, and
does not prevent you from referring to your guide
book from time to time, when you want any real in
formation.
In Rome, no matter what the nature of our inquiry,
we were always told that it "dated back to the Sixteenth
Century, and all the new churches were built with mate
rials taken from the old ones" and after a while we got
so we believed it!
Once, however, as we were stand
ing in the piazza of St. John Lateran, and noticed a high

bridge that appeared, from where we stood, to connect
the Vatican with the dome of St. Peter's, our guide
varied the monotony by explaining that this bridge was
used by the Pope, on very special occasions, to go from
his apartments directly to the big church.
The next day, when in the neighborhood of St.

[ 257 ]
A Modem Pilgrimage

Peter's, we called his attention to the fact that this
bridge was several miles beyond the Vatican and in
quired whether the Pope jumped onto that bridge or
used an airplane. poor guide became imme
But our

diately afflicted with a sudden attack of sensory and
amnesic aphasia, which was both painless and pathetic!
Anyway, a guide is invaluable to show you the lay of
the land, and entertain you in his own inimitable way.
But the real sport comes a few days later when you
poke around by yourself through the unfamiliar streets
and allow your mind to become filled with all kinds of
wonder. In Rome, for instance, you wonder why on
tied
Sunday morning old women with bunches of twigs
to a street-sweeping; you try to count
stick do all the
up all the religious
confraternities that are continually
of their
parading the streets and marvel at the variety
all the other
headgear; then you try to figure out why
in
able-bodied men in Rome are marching around town
There are thousands of things at
soldier's uniform.
which you can wonder!
of guides
A great deal more might be said on the subject
for you
without much danger of making it any clearer,
can never see the guide industry
in all its glory until
and have to explain to every other
you reach Cairo,
man you meet on the Opera
House Square that you
in need of a
not These tactics have the
guide.
are
the relief is only
desired effect for the time being, but
temporary, and unless you
are accompanied by a guide,
will the next day and every day
happen
the same thing
as long as you stay in that city.

[ 258 ]
Dress, Tips and Guides

Fortunately, the guides in Cairo are rather better
than the average guide on the Continent. They under
stand the rudiments of the English language and are
to
proficient in the gentle art of conducting a stranger
as foul and ill-smelling bazaars as you could hope to
find anywhere in the world. They also seem to know

intuitively all the spots where fake fortune-tellers are
that
lying in wait to reveal to you all the good things
the fickle goddess has been holding back from you.
At first you will probably be more or less disgusted
by the filth and odors; but never mind! In a few days
transformation
your whole nature seems to undergo
a

and you will become fond of the very things that for
merly filled you with a kind of nauseadisgust. The
and

longer you stay, the more you will be fascinated by the
place and its strange combination of Oriental and Occi
dental life and customs. You will find that Cairo, next
to Paris, is the one city that never loses its charm, and

that it has a way of presenting the kaleidoscope of life
in such a variety of sparkling colors that the eye never
grows weary or the mind satiated.
If the foregoing directions are carefully followed, your
trip should have a lasting and
living meaning to you
instead of having been an idle waste of legal tender.
It is with this hope that the above hints have been
thrown out, in a careless sort of way, and we trust they
will not meet the ordinary fate of bread cast on the
waters; but that, instead of becoming mouldy they may
emit a phosphorescent glow to light the footsteps of the
traveler through some of the dark and perplexing prob
lems that might otherwise cast a gloom over his

pathway.
[ 259 ]
XXXV

The End of the Trail

In coming to this, the final chapter of our story, we
find it the most difficult of all to get under way, and for
a variety of reasons. Perhaps it is because we are nearer
home, and things, being familiar to everyone, are more
easily checked up, or because they are on this account
less interesting.
It is also difficult, after rambling along so far and for
such a long time, to know when, where and how to
come to a sudden stop. Everyone has, perhaps, noticed
is
how easy it is to start something, but how difficult it
to bring it to a satisfactory and successful completion.
In addition to all the other handicaps, it is never easy
and before
or pleasant to say "Good-bye" gracefully,
the hope that
coming to that point I wish to express
our rambles
all and sundry who may have followed
of the
from chapter to chapter have received something
that the writer experienced
pleasure in reading of them
in attempting to record them.
With these preliminaries, we will proceed ring up
to

the few details
the curtain and adjust the spotlight
on

in the main tent, as
which will conclude the performance
taken in among the
well as the digressions we have
sideshows. .

in the
A few chapters ago, I left myself standing
for some
customs house at New York, where I remained

[ 260 ]
The End of the Trail

time waiting for my last suit case to be brought ashore,
before calling an inspector.
Having heard many weird stories about the rigid ex
amination and how many people return by way of
Montreal to avoid it, I was naturally rather nervous,
and wondered how long it would take, and whether I
could ever get all the junk back into my suit cases again.
But I was somewhat relieved and felt my troubles were
insignificant when my good-looking neighbor remarked
that she had sixteen mammoth trunks to open up and
had lost her husband in addition, who had not entirely
recovered from "celebrating his liberty" the night before
before the bar room closed! But fortune, who had
been with us more than once on the trip, smiled again
and in a few minutes all was over and
rollingwe were

away to our hotel Washington Square.
on

The air was balmy, the trees just putting forth their
leaves, and for a moment we imagined we were back in
France again. But only for a moment, as a block from
the hotel, Fifth Avenue begins and the tall skyscrapers
loom up on all sides, so there was no doubt that we
were in the great and only city of its kind in the
world.
For several days our time was put in making com
parisons; especially we commented on the wide, clean
streets with real sidewalks, the brisk, clean-cut and
highly decorated people on the streets a composite of
all the races in the world. We noted the lack of Oriental
odors, and finally came to the matter of architecture.
While forced to admit that many of the buildings, even

[261]
A Modem Pilgrimage

on the prominent streets, were very commonplace, and
could make no pretentions to beauty or good design,
yet here and there one would strike you like a burst
of sunlight through a cloudy sky. Of course, everyone
does not go to New York to study architecture, and there
are many other thingskeep the visitors interested.
to

growing weary parading up and down Fifth
After
Avenue, gazing into the magnificent shop windows, and
taking an occasional squint at the magnificent shoppers,
we took a jaunt on top of one of the busses out River
side Drive, past General Grant's tomb and on, seem
ingly half way to Albany or in hailing distance of Fort Ti-
conderoga.
Unfortunately the third day after our arrival the sup
turned cold,
ply of good weather gave out it rained,
and rained some more!
After four or five more days of attempted sight-seeing,
the sun was
it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps
"hit the trail."
shining in California, and I
We were all particularly and financially interested in
a "special-fare" train,
the fact that we were traveling on
minute the train is
where you get a refund for every
and as a
late But there was no chance for any refund,
was poor policy
money-making proposition we decided it
to gamble with the old Pennsy
railway, as they have
and when they charge
their business down to a fine point,
and sixty cents extra to get you to
you three dollars
be sure the odds
Cincinnati at a certain time, you may
and none of your coin will
ever come
are in their favor,

back!

[ 262 ]
The End of the Trail

Nearly thirty years had passed since I took my last
look at Cincinnati, and I was sorry afterwards that I
looked in again, as my impressions of my "home town"
were not improvedby an attempted hold-up by a drunken
tough the only time I had been molested on the whole
trip !
In the country everything is about the same, only a
little worse for wear and tear. The roads are in a little
worse condition than they were thirty years ago, and the

fine old forests have nearly all disappeared. The school-
houses are a little scarcer, and instead of building new
ones, the old ones are being closed here and there
throughout the country on account of the scarcity of
pupils.
After visiting the little brick schoolhouse where I
had tried to teach my first school, consisting of about
fifty demons of all ages and sizes who were supposed to
receive instruction in everything from A B C's to algebra
and music (for which I received the magnificent sum of
thirty-two dollars a month), the rainy season managed
to open up again with a continuous performance. After
for several days I managed between
being marooned
showers to board a midnight train in Cincinnati and
woke up in Chicago.
The principal object of my visit was to see the large
model of the New Bahai Temple now being built at
Wilmette, and in company with Mr. B I headed at
once to the Academy of Fine Arts, where the model is

It well worth the trip,
on permanent exhibition. was

and anyone going to Chicago should not fail to see this
wonderful of architecture, inspired work
specimen an

[ 263 ]
A Modern Pilgrimage

from start to finish, beautiful down to the finest detail
and, most wonderful of all, an inanimate thing that
actually seems alive!
Its originality of design and unique treatment leave
nothing to be desired, and one can readily see why the
Bahais selected this model in the face of powerful com
petition.
The only regret I felt was that this Temple was not
to be erected on some prominent site overlooking Los

Angeles instead of in the suburbs of Chicago.
In fact I would be willing to live at least fifty years
on the
longer if I could look on such a building standing
truncated hill opposite Mt. Washington, a landmark to
be seen everywhere in the neighborhood of Los Angeles,
in plain view of the thousands of people daily journey
of pilgrimage for vis
ing to and from Pasadena, a place
the Taj Mahal
itors from all parts of the worldrivaling
at Milan!
and more beautiful than the great Cathedral
and tropical
Such building, surrounded by palms
a
the continent
foliage would be worth traveling
across

to see' But now it is high time to be getting
some

San Fran
where the Dearborn Station, where the
near
waiting for the
cisco limited is contentedly puffing away,
and the last lap of our long
complete
signal to pull out

"And now, in the words of the old Persian poet:

"Your ode you've sung, your pearls you've
strung;
Hafidh mine;
Come chant it sweetly,
That as you sing the sky may
fling
The Pleiades' bejeweled band."

[ 264 ]
The End of the Trail

The above would have been more appropriate if had been
expressed a little differently, but even at that, is no more
irrelevant than a great many other things that have
appeared in the preceding chapters.
the colored "king of the
Anyway, about this time,
Pullman" appeared with a whisk-broom and a broad
Dis
smile, and briefly announced, "Brush up, sah?
am

Los Angeles!"
And so, after an absence of four months, during which
we had journeyed nearly twenty thousand miles, our

little jaunt was ended!

END

[ 265 ]