St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1884-03-15
The Ancient Druids.

oulottulldtSlts Oti1 le" pii tiSuiaiS VA
such rites have come down to Us,
though we learn from the sixth book of
Caesar Commentaries n good deal
about Druidical privileges. These an
cient Britons of the sacerdotal class
did not pay taxes like the rest of the
community, one reason which might be
urged in favor of revival, objection
able on other grounds. They are said
to have preferred committing to
memory long strings of verses to en-
gaging in the frequent combats OF the
period, and. with the exception OF a
taste for baking their fellow-creatures
in wicker ovens, were OF mild and
gentle disposition. According to the
great Roman warrior historian, num-
bers of young men were in the habit
of resorting to them for instruction,
and. it may be, to avoid the unwel-
come attentions of the early British
tax-gatherer. When the arch-Druid
died the most popular of his followers
succeeded him, provided any one in
divilual had won the hearts both of
teachers and taught; otherwise the
office was put up to election, and the
Druid who headed the poll became
President, and marched in front of the
procession of mistletoe-cutters, each
armed with hts upright hatchet of
brass. According to. StGkeley's "Me-
dallic History of Carausias,' the '.most
respectable festival of the Druids was
called le-tide, when mistletoe, which
they named all-heal. was carried in
their hands and laid on their altars as
an emblem of the salutiferous advent
Of Messiah" The procession of
Druids and bards, armed with their
golden sickles, must have been q pretty
sight.
In Hitchin's History of Cornwall
there IS the story of farmer who had
the misfortune to lose large number
of cattle by disease and from other
causes. Finding the local farriers un-
able to cope with the malady. he be-
thought him of an ancient tradition. OF
which he had heard in his youth, as
having been handed down from genera
ton to generation in the district. Con-
sulting with his ignorant nNghbors, he
and they agreed that the only way to
stop the calamity would be by the
burnt offering of his best beast. This
stupid old rustic gathered his friends
and acquaintances together one day.
They lighted a big fire, and laying hold
of the finest calf on the farm, drove it
into the midst of the flames. Armed
with pitchforks, they prodded the poor
tortured beast every time he tried vain
ly to escape from the fire. I'm this
state" writes the historian, .'amidst
the wounds OF pixies, the shouts of un-
feeling ignorance and cruelty, and the
corrosion of flames, the dying victim
poured out its expiring groan, and was
consumed to ashes. 1t is scarcely pos
| sible to reflect on this instance of super
stitiOus barbarity without tracing a
kind of resemblance between it and the
! ancient sacrifices of the Druids
The old Halloween bonfire festivities
| of Perthshre were clearly derived from
Druidical customs. The people used
/ to make fagots of heath and broom
tied round with flax. A man would
| take one of these torches fixed to pole.
and carry it alight round the village.
| When it burned out another would be
\ i'm readiness, and sometimes a number
of men walked or ran in torch-light
procession. In the same county, on
All Saints eve bonfires were burned in
every village, and the ashes gathered
together and sprinkled on the ground
in form of a circle. Then every one
concerned in making the bonfire places
q stone in the center of the circle. and
all 90 home to bed. Next morning they
are up betimes to see if anything has
happened, and should it be found that
one or more of the stones is injured or
out of place, he who may be called the
owner of the stone is always surprised.
though seldom annoyed, to find him
self alive and well next All Saints eve.
To fulfill the superstition properly he
should be dead and buried. Now every
one who knows anything about the
manners and customs of the ancient
Druids-which no one does--will agree
that the custom is manifestly of Druid
ical descent. Telegraph.