The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1876-06-11

1srnlng Star aG5 Gatkel,c ssassenger.
INV oEIS1as. soHDAE JUHF q, isss. =
ST yoHR'S xaI. !
In an early stage Of Su0ies u every
+ .onntry. signal or beacon ares were la
scmrnon use, either for tha &nldAnca ol
travellers. or to alarm tho GOuntry in anV
: snadan emergency. Fires were also lighted
+ an certain festival days; and rhase n8hted
4 IN Che eve Of st. John, the twenty Fourth of
June, are stii continued rhreughcna
prevalent in that country that the
res lighted in pagan times on the frst o.
Ssv were transferred by Sc. Patrick to
6e twenty. fourth of June, in hoaov of Sc.
Ohm the Baptist, on eve of whose festival
hey still light boDfires in every county in
Ireland, and not on the first OF May, except
"a Dublin, where they continue. to light
hem on the fret of May aleos The spots,
avs joyce, where signal on festival fires
5ssei to be lighted, are stilis IN many cases,
ndicated BY the namee, though in almost
4 I'M these places the custom has for ages,
allen into disuse.
a cbronfcler, of thirty years age, stated
ssat in the south of Ireland, on st. Johns
ye,, it was an invariabfe custom among
|ae peasantry to light immense fires in the
treets and lanes of small towns and vii
ages. Round these, men, women, and
children congrsgated in hundreds, aud
5 pent the night in reyelry and dancing to
the sound of snch rude instruments as the
afforded The sheets of
aame ascending to the sky-the countless
faces, rendered ghastly by the glare of the
re-the half-naked figure sperforming
Bheir various evplutions& with perfect grace
and agility--the shouts that occasionally
.--e n
eddie and the equeaking of the bag pipes, |
combined to form scene strangely wild and |
picturesque. At the period alluded to, the |
prevailing customs of the occasion and the |
btate of the. country Were blended into
homely and popularly poetical language
BY one of the most gifted Of modern bsrds,
James Clarence Msngap, who put into the
If the Bonfire; or the Baptist's Ewes"
THE Baptst's Eye-ths Baptists Eve
And may the saint in heaven receive
Ferestlhe tolls q other dsys-
Whtie thus We meet. Wish whirling feet,
Thine Eve 70 greet, St. John.
He was burning. shinine q light,
With hsartsso warm, and fires SO bright,
Tho9gh We through every seasons change II
"A life Of pain drag on, Id
Thy hIes around, St. J"hnl
We've toiled tbis long long .uumer's day,
And sosros our tyrants scanty pay t
Bnt We have hearts that will not shrink le
whs 1hns s1ps as bonnd ss os %nsios sound
Thy free around. st. John
"The bird may feass amidst the corn, =
The bee may suck the fowers-
But Of the land whero were born q
But may that air. with swelling breeze
Our Ieans atill watt Oh, &
That NOUNS @ 'as oS high. hisS.es s. :3s Jsss ssY
The bone the saxon,s hand has plok'd- q
The trembling slave may dare to Grave, q
And these to night he burns; q
Look down and smlle on this rude pile p
That lights our isle. st. Johni n
"Ths future shall NOT dim the light fl
For he whom adore to.n,g6t y,
The Bsptl..'s Eve. The Baptists Eve. o.
rss s s ss:. sr tess issssss
Thy name TO praise, st. John" te
The Feast Of st John the Baptist was u
lied as midsummer day and was In former +
mes generally celebrated not only by bon % .
es, but by professions bearing lighted ~
rches, as an emblem ofthe sanity precur- ~
+ who was burning and shining light. ~
pom this occasion the people leaped ~, 10
rough the flames, and this custom-per- " ~
pe through innocent ignorance or r.
iElt OF TeVelry-Was continued to a late +b
y, although canon was issued against ed
by the Council of TruIlns. For typical 81. eu
lson OF the regeneration of nature, the ia I
INNER solstice was celebrated by various O.
tons from the remotest antiquity, by g.
nfres. As an additional emblem Of the =; =;
d, was customary in England to bind co ~,
old wheel round about with straw and oU U
: 20 take it to the top of some hill at CO.
fht, TO act fire to the com bustibles and SO
y Teli 1t dow the declivity. an an
fOl
-a'..----- -,.--------- mi
rhe Cincinnati ERqEirer of recent date yo
atatns the following notice of the arrival '0'
the learned and widely-known Father