CHANCEL OF THE CHURCH, AND ENTRANCE TO THE GROTTO OF THE NATIVITY.

used to ride on horseback into the very church. The door therefore was made small to protect the church from this sacrilege.

Once inside, we see we are in a very ancient structure. Part of the masonry dates from the time of Constantine, who built a magnificent basilica on this site, about the year 330 of our era. All we can see of the oldest work, however, probably dates from not later than Justinian’s time, about 550 A.D. In any case, the church is a venerable building, atnd it has witnessed some stirring scenes. In it Baldwin the Crusader was crowned king of Jerusalem. It has been repaired a number of times; and once, when it needed a new roof, King Edward IV of England gave the lead to make one. This was about the year 1482. The lead roof did good service for about two hundred years, and might have lasted much longer had not the Mohammedans melted it up to make bullets. However, another roof was soon provided.

Inside, the building consists of a nave and double aisles. The aisles are separated by two rows of columns made of red limestone. These columns have plain bases, and are surmounted by Corinthian capitals. They are nineteen feet high, and at the top of each a cross is engraved. The church is now owned by the Latin, Greek, and Armenian Christians.

Religious services will be held all night in the Latin chapel of St. Catherine. At midnight a solemn mass will be said by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The chapel is full of people, many of whom are sitting on the floor.

Before the procession descends into the Grotto of the Nativity we make our way there, so as to have a better view.