BETHLEHEM, or Blirr-LauAm, meaning "house of bread." celebrated in Scripture as the birthplace of our blessed Saviour, and of king David, is now a small unwalled village, situated at a distance 5 in. s. of Jerusalem. The pop., about 3000 soils, is wholly Christian—that is, Latin, Greek, and Armenian. The village is situated in the center of. a most interesting country; and the roof of the Latin monastery—the only public building of any importance, inclosing the cave which is the alleged place of our Lord's nativity—commands a beautiful and extensive view of the surrounding country: in the distance. e., are the mountains of Moab and the plains of the Jordan; s., stands the bill of Tekofth, familiar as the scene of the pastoral life of the prophet Amos; beyond, and rather more to the e., lies the wilderness of Engedi, to which David retreated for the purpose of concealing himself against the pursuit of Saul, and where the allied armies of the Amorites. Moabites, and others, encamped when they came forth against Jelloshaphat; n., is the road to Jerusalem, with the mountains of Judea and Rachel's tomb. '1'lle convent of the Nativity, which Meioses the supposed manger, etc., is a large square building. more resembling u fortress than the quiet habitation of the recluse, was built by thc empress Helena, 327 A.D., but destroyed by the Moslems in 1236, and, it is supposed, restored by the crusaders. Within it is the church of the Nativity, which, like and in connection with the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusa lent, is subdivided among: the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians, each community having it separate portion of the edifice foe devotional purposes. The. church is built in the
form of a cross; the nave, which is by far the finest part of the building, belongs to the Armenians, and is supported by 48 beautiful Corinthian columns of solid granite, each between 2 and 3 ft. in thickness, and about 17 in height. The other portions of the church, forming the arms of the cross, are walled up. At the further end of that sec tion, which forms the head of the cross, and on the threshold, is a sculptured marble star, which the Bethlehcmites say covers the central point of the earth I Here a long intricate passage descends to the crypt. below, where the blessed virgin is said to have been delivered. The walls of the chamber arc hung with draperies of the gayest colon; and a silver star, with the words, " ifie de rirPne .Maria .Iesus Chriotus nata$ est," marks the spot of the nativity. The manger stands in a low recess cut in the rock, a few feet from this star.
The other objects of interest in the church are the chapel and tomb of St. Jerome, who became a monk of this convent towards the end of the 4th c. ; the chapel and tomb of Santa Paula, a Roman lady, and the founder of several nunneries at Bethlehem; the tomb of St. Eudosia; and the pit into which it is supposed the bodies of the murdered innocents were cast. B. is under the jurisdiction of - the pasha of Jerusalem. The Betillelicmites chiefly gain their subsistence by the manufacture and sale of crucifixes, beads, boxes, shells, etc.. of mother-of-pearl and olive-wood. Much wine is made at B., which is considered all over Palestine next best to the Lebanon wine.