New Ulm weekly review., 1885-04-08
Relic Worship
In the lonely forest depths We nota
from afarsthe summit of Soma huno

from afarthe summit of some huge
dome of: solid brickwork, and on
nearer approach find that it. is sur
rounded by some wonderfully carved
stone pillars and stairs, and everv-
thing to prove how unsparingly
human. labor has been lavished upon
it; and then we learn that all this
honor is bestowed on the collar bone,
or some. other portion of Buddhist
saint. But as to the reputed tooth of
Buddha himself, its history, and the
wars which have been fought for the
honor of its custody would fill
yotume Even at the present day the
worship of the tooth is a strikingly
picturesque scene, with surroundings
of priceless, quaint ecclesiastical
jewels, and other temple properties,
yellow-robed priests, gorgeously at
tired Cingales mobiles, richly caparison-
ed elephants. aud graceful pilgrims,
male and female, approaching in
crowds, each bearing an Offering of
fragrant flowers carried high above
the head, to be laid in alteration be-
fore the Holy Tooth. Gifts of more
permanent value are not lacking,
though the offering of costly jewels is
less frequent than of yore. Far away
to the north, among the mountains of
Ehibet, Buddhist relic worship takes
another form. On the death of good
Lama, whose sanctity may allow
reason to believe that he has attained
to the Buddha-hood, OF some approach
to that exalted perfection, his body is
burned by his priestly brethren and
the ashes being mingled with clay, are
worked up into balls. and then form
ed into sacred medallions, which are
preserved in the temples with reverent
care. All this seems natural enough
when we regard it as part of the system
Of false creed. But when we recol-
lect how strangely similar to this is
the practice of two great branches of
the Christian Church--the Greek and
the Latin--we can not fail to perceive
that here is something which we are
wholly at a loss to reconcile with the
simple teaching of Christianity as in
culcated by Its founder. When we
think of the hydra-headed martvs
whose heads, hair, limbs, fingers,
even toe-nails, are treasured as price,
less relies in so many different church
es-of the miracles supposed to have
been wrought by them of the toll
some pilgrimages undertaken by the
devout to enable them to worship and
present their offerings before the
shrine so richly endowed, and to claim
the intercession OF the dead and
when we know that all this is going
On around us at the present day we
teel that in no sense can ancestor
worship be said to have died out
among us. Looking back to the days
Of Constantine, we learn that the
veneration Of relics was carried to such
a pitch that it was solemnly decreed
in council that all altars beneath
which none were found should be
demolished, as a church without
relics could not be consecrated. And
even in the present day the church of
Rome requires that some holy tooth,
hair, or nail, shall, on the consecra-
ton of every new church, be carried
in solemn procession by the priests to
the altar, and therein, in duly pre-,
pared niche, shall be deposited by
the bishop, (who stands mitreless tc
) receive that precious reliquary, and
, who may possibly hope that his own
bones may some day receive similar
honor.) Having duly offered incense,
be anoints the covering stone with
holy oil. and so seals the relic tomb
while sol :aln anthems rise and pray
!, srs are outy said.-Quarterly Revie1o
No Money in Base Ball.
"There is no money in base bal
nowadays said j. E. Allen, one O
3 the Directors of the Providence Club
at the recent base ball meeting in thi
: city. "The time was when a man who
put his money into a club was quite
. sure of coming out more or less ahead
I but that is past. When the Nationa
9 League had control of all the bes
players in the country few years ago
and had no opposition, salaries were
low, and a player who received 81, 5O(
for his seasons work did we'll. II
1881, when the American Association
was organized in opposition to th'
League, the players salaries at once
began to go up, as each side tried t.
outbid the other. When the two or
1 CARNATIONS formed what is known as
the National Agreement the clubs re
tanned their players at the same sala-
: ries.
Several other associations were the1
1 organized in different parts of tn,
country and were admitted under th'
: protection of the national agreement
: This served to make good players, es
0 pecially pitchers, scarce and forcee
salaries up still higher, until at th'
present time a first-class pitcher will
J not look at a manager for less thai
s So, 500 for season. Radbourne, of las
a years Providence Club, received tn
I largest amount of money that has eve1
$ been paid to ball player. His won
5 derful pitching, which won the cham
! pionship for the club, cost about S., 900
i as he did the work of two pitchers ant
received the pay of two.
''Some of the salaries which bas
. ball players will get next season are
. O'Rourke, Gerhardt, Deasley, Ewin!
:. and Ward of the New York Club, SO,
: 600 each. Mullane was to have playe,
a q with the Cincinnati Club for 4,COO
= Dunlap has contract with the ney
T III