THE MANGER.
In his next letter to his mother Frank described the visit to the Grotto of the Nativity and the church above it. "We first," said he, "looked at the silver star, to which the eyes of the whole Christian world are turned, and after several minutes spent in front of it our attention was directed to the Chapel of the Manger. It is a little to the right of the place of the Nativity, and is a recess cut in the rock. The tradition is that Christ was once laid in this manger, and a few feet away from it is the Chapel of the Magi, where the three wise men came to adore him.
ADORATION OF THE WISE MEN.
"The whole grotto is about forty feet by twelve, and the ceiling is ten or twelve feet high in most places. There are several passages and chambers connected with it; in one of the chambers is the Altar of the Innocents, which is supposed to be erected over the spot where the children slain by order of King Herod were buried. In another chamber are the altars and tombs of Jerome and Paula, who founded the Convent of the Nativity; along the sides of the principal grotto there are several oratories, which are said to correspond to the stalls in the original stable where the animals were tied.
"Every inch of the walls of the grotto is covered with richly embroidered cloth, and it is difficult to believe that the place was hewn from the rock. There are many lamps hanging from the ceiling, several of them adorned with jewels, and evidently costing a great deal of money. They are the gifts of kings and princes, and it is said that there is not room enough in the grotto to display a quarter of the splendid things that are sent here.
"Before we left the grotto we had an opportunity of seeing how the different sects regard each other. The Latins were holding a service at the Altar of the Nativity, and while they were engaged at it the stairway on the right, which belongs to the Greeks and Armenians, was crowded with the monks of those orders. Their manner was anything but reverential; during the service they whispered and laughed, and several times their laughter was not only visible but audible across the grotto to where we stood.