"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.
"One thing that jarred heavily on our feelings was the presence of two Turkish soldiers with bayonets fixed on their rifles; they belonged to the guard that has charge of the church, and two of them are constantly on duty in the Grotto of the Nativity, and close to the altar. The rest of the company was above in the church, and ready to be called upon at any moment to quell a disturbance. While the Latins were holding their service the men on duty were relieved: the tramp of the soldiers down the stairs and along the grotto, together with the clash and clang of their weapons, sounded strangely with the chant of the monks paying homage to the founder of our religion. Isn't it dreadful to think that only by force can order be maintained in this holy place?"