To satisfy himself that this spot was really the centre of the earth，a sceptic once paid well for the privilege of ascending to the dome of the church to see if the sun gave him a shadow at noon．He came down perfectly convinced．The day was very cloudy and the sun threw no shadows at all；but the man was satisfied that if the sun had come out and made shadows it could not have made any for him．Proofs like these are not to be set aside by the idle tongues of cavilers．To such as are not。bigoted，and are willing to be convinced，they carry a conviction that nothing can ever shake。
If even greater proofs than those I have mentioned are wanted，to satisfy the headstrong and the foolish that this is the genuine centre of the earth，they are here．The greatest of them lies in the fact that from under this very column was taken the dust from which Adam was made．This can surely be regarded in the light of a settler．It is not likely that theoriginal first man would have been made from an inferior quality of earthwhen it was entirely convenient to get first quality from the world’Scentre．This will strike any reflecting mind forcibly．That Adam wasformed of dirt procured in this very spot is amply proven by the fact thatin six thousand years no man has ever been able to prove that the dirt wasnot procured here where of he was made． It is a singular circumstance that fight under the roof of this samegreat church，and not far away from that illustrious column，Adamhimself，the father of the human race，lies buried．There is no questionthat he is actually buried in the grave which is pointed out as his—_therecan be none--because it has never yet been proven that that grave is notthe grave in which he is buried． The tomb of Adam!How touching it was，here in a land of strangers，far away from home，and friends，and all who cared for me，thus tO discover the grave of a blood relation．True，a distant one，but still a relation．The unerring instinct of nature thrilled its recognition．Thefountain of my filial affection was stirred to its profoundest depths，andI gave way to tumultuous emotion．I leaned upon a pillar and burst intotears．I deem it no shame tO have wept over the grave of my poor dead relative．Let him who would sneer at my emotion close this volume here，for he will find little tO his taste in my journeyings through Holy Land．Noble old man——he did not live to see me——he did not 1ive to see his child．And I—I—alas．I did not live to see him．Weighed down by sorrow and disappointment．he died before 1 was born-six thousand brief summers before 1 was born．But let US try to bear it with fortitude．Let UStrust that he is better off,where he is．Let US take comfort in the thoughtthat his loss is our eternal gain．