There was no water nearer than the torrent in the deep hollow half a
mile below, therefore extreme labour was required in mixing the mortar
for the walls; the jars in which the necessary water was conveyed upon
men's shoulders up the precipitous rocks appeared to be influenced by
some adverse, but unseen, agency, as they constantly slipped from their
hold and broke. During the night the work which the masons had
accomplished in the day fell down, and was discovered every morning as a
heap of ruin; the building could not proceed. In this perplexity the
Church was relieved by a supernatural interposition. Early one morning a
jar of pure water was discovered in the sharp angle of the hollow
between the hills, exactly below the rachkooba, where I am now writing.
It was evident to the priestly mind that an angel had placed this jar of
water to denote the spot where some hidden spring might be developed,
which would be a favourable site for the new monastery. They dug, and
shortly discovered the expected source.
It was therefore resolved that instead of erecting the monastery close
to the effigy in the cave, where bad luck had hitherto attended their
efforts, it would be more advisable to commence the building upon a
favourable spot, where a level already existed, in the angle between two
mountain slopes within a few yards of the spring; it would be easier to
convey the small effigy to the new building than to erect the monastery
close to the effigy.
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