"Wait a little," said the Doctor, with a smile. "We haven't fairly begun yet, and you may see some hard times before you are through with the country. Quite likely we may have a storm some night, and if it proves to be a regular old-fashioned Syrian storm, such as I once saw here, you'll have all you want." Ali interrupted them to say there would be sufficient time before dinner to visit the "Milk Grotto," which was quite near their camp. Accordingly they went there, and found a cavern that was reached by a flight of steps from the ground above. The roof is eight or ten feet above the floor, and the room, which is fitted up as a chapel, is about ten feet by fifteen. The tradition is that the Holy Family was concealed here during its flight into Egypt, and consequently the place is visited by most of the Christian pilgrims that come to Bethlehem. [Illustration: VIEW IN BETHLEHEM.] They returned to the camp to dinner, and then went to the Church of the Nativity. Every step of the way they were beset by peddlers of ornaments made of olive-wood, mother-of-pearl, and other things, just as they had been surrounded by the same class of men in Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Bethlehem drive a large trade among the pilgrims, and are chiefly engaged in the manufacture and sale of souvenirs of the place. The Church of the Nativity is not of itself a large building, but the convents connected with it, and belonging to the three rival sects of Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, cover a broad area. The church measures about a hundred and twenty feet in length by a little less in breadth. It is divided by Corinthian columns supporting horizontal architraves in such a way that the interior consists of a nave and four aisles. It is one of the oldest churches in the world, as it was erected in the beginning of the fourth century, and, though repaired from time to time, it is generally believed to retain its original form and characteristics. The building is now in a somewhat dilapidated condition, and the roof, which has been several times restored, threatens to fall in. At least that was the case when our friends went there, and one of the boys asked, very naturally, why it was allowed to be in such a condition, when it was one of the most venerated churches in all Christendom, and there ought to be no lack of money for its preservation. "The trouble is," the Doctor answered, "the religious sects are so jealous of each other that they prevent the repair and preservation of the church. No two of the three sects--Greek, Latin, and Armenian--will consent that the third shall have the honor of repairing it, and they will not agree upon an architect to whom the work can be intrusted without interference from any of them.