Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-05-27

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Wreaths that endure affiiction's heaviest shower
And do not shrink from sorrows keenest wind"
The Romans burned juniper berries about
their dead. believing that the fumes benumbed
the influence Of malign spirits. The early
Greeks and Romans also offered peoples on the
shrine of the dead: They crowned sleep with
| peoples. and IN their mythology death was
the child OF night and the twin brother of
| sleep.
Care charmer Sleep. son Of the sable night.
brother to Death. in silent darkness born"
They deemed that the poppy. with its sense
| subduing perfume, brought consolation to all
| concerned.
| Many beautiful myths connect the birth of
flowers with the death of the young, and since
| from innocence the children Of nature sprung
1t seems fitting that they should in turn be-
come the tribute Of love to innocence in
death.
There were flowers until the first child died.
No 6slmy breathed heartsease. no roses"
Wrote one sweet singer, and this from Omar
hhayyan, Is In the same lovely strain:
ri ri sometimes think tn neye, blows 80 red.
That every hyacinth the garden wears
Dropped in her lap from some once lovely head. -"
| Shakespeare follows out the idea at the grave
| Of Ophelia and shows that Denmark accepted
the beautiful symbol when Laertes is made by
| him to say:
| Lay her in the earth
May violets SPRING"
Tennyson in his I'm Memoriam" para
phrazed Shakespeare:
And from his ashes may be made
The violet o: his native land"
CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY ENGLISH
The burial customs of the early English were
evidently adapted from those Of the Greeks and
Romans. more especially those pertaining to
flowers. In Yorkshire there was a quaint Gus
tom long preserved connected with the burial
| OF the maiden and youth. When a virgin died
| the one most like her in the village carried a
pair of white gloves and a garland of white
roses before the casket in the procession and
| afterward these we're hung in the church from
| that portion OF the ceiling directly over the
pew once occupied by the dead girl, and
| there they remained indefinitely. The gloves
and roses were made Of paper. hence practi-
cally undying. Miss Cook speaks Of the Gus
tom as one familiar to her childhood and it is
| yet observed in some villages.
| Now the low beam. with paper carlands hung
m hri memory MOI OF some village youth or maid;
The gloves suspended by the garland's side
NH Hn,.e ~ rs SNOWY flowers With ribands tied;
Simple memorial of the early dead.
Evelyn tells us that "the white rose was
planted Mt the grave of virgin. and her chap
let was tied with white ribbon in token Of her
|
ribbons were intermingled to bespeak the grief
| OF the survivors. The red rose was OCCASION
| ally used in remembrance OF such as had been
remarkable for benevolence, but roses in
general were appropriate to the graves Of
lovers"
Drummond the Scotch poet. had the follow
ing couplet placed over his grave:
Here Drummond lies. whose song did sometimes
The lnurmuring Esk. May roses shade the place"
In Wales when young girl dies her coffin is
wreathed with flowers. and the youth aud
maldens plant white roses over her grave. The
graves OF little children ar covered with lilies
and snow drops, and those of maturer years
have roses placed about them. Gwillvm a
Welsh poet. writes of the custom: "OhI while
the season OF flowers and the tender SPRAYS
| thick of leaves, remain / will pluck the roses
from the brakes. to be offered to the memory
OF child OF fairest fame; humbly will | lay
them on the grave of Ivor."
in France the magnificeuce of the tombs and
monuments is only paralieled by the munif-
cence with which flowers are lavshed upon the
dead. Adherents of n house or line of ROYALTY
stew flowers above the dust of the Wondering
kings and shed tears for the vanished clories
The tomb of Napoleon in the Hotel des Inva-
lides In Paris is seldom without nosegays of
violets
In Turkey the virgin who dies has rose
sculptured at the top of her monument The
Chinese scatter roses above their dead and min
gle with them the lycoris and anemone.
Iripolitans place about their dead roses,
mvrtie. jassamne and orange flowers. In far
off Persia the basil tuft waves its fragrant bios
SONS over tombs and graves and
Roses the brightes. the earth ever gave
blossom everywhere. In Egypt the basil tuft
is also esteemed, vieing with the lotus lily and
roses. In Germany and Switzerland the dian
thus, pink myrtle and orange blossoms are
nlnpa1 nhnnf a In @ha g..
used to protect the released soul from evil
spirits. In Italy the periwinkle is dedicated to
the graves of little children.
MoHAMMEDANs AND JEWS.
The Mona mmedan matrons repair at stated
anniversaries with fairest flowers to sweeten
the sad grave. The grand tombs are often
splendidly illuminated, but the meanest heap of
turf has also its visitors to chant requiem,
light little lamp, suspend little garland or
drop rose as an Gffectionate tribute to de-
parted love. separated friendship or the men,
mory OF the unknown in their great ''cities of
silence"
The ancient Jews pulled grass as they turned
away from the new-made mounds and threw il
behind them, saving: They shall flourish out
Of the city. like grass upon the EARTH" to show
their belief that the body, though dead should
spring again as grass. The asphodel and mall
low were planted in all ancient cemeteries, as it
was popularity believed that they nourished the
dead. The North American Indians attribute
a funereal character to the fragrant flowers of
the sacred champak The Fathead mother
buries her child in bark cradle hung from the
branches of the sobbing pine, its foster mother,
so her sad heart believes, or, when trees are
not near. she digs grave, and above the
leveled earth lays its little toys and scatters
some bright berries.
Ours is the only country that has q stated
memorial day, though the people Of almost
every nation observe the custom at some period
varies with the climate, but from April to Au-