The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-05-03
Drui(iS.

Long, long ago before Christ came
into the world, man named julius
| Caesar sailed away from France, with
q great army, to a land that was then
called Britia /, but which we know in
our modern days as England, or the
British Isles.
When Caesar landed he found q
wild barbarious people, who were con-
stantly fighting among themselves
aud with their neighb0rs, and who
were "fierce, cruel and bloodthirsty."
But, like all other nat. .ons, no matter
how wild .or savage, they had their
religion, and the ministers or priests
of this religion of the Britons were
called "Druids." These druids had
the greatest influence over the people,
so that even their princes were obliged
to obey them.
Like all heather nations, the Brit
ons had many strange superstitions
and customs. For instance, they
thought that snakes were sacred and
they reverenced the mistletoe, vine
with spiky leaves and white berries,
which is common in England, and
which think most of you must have
seen here at Christmas time. This
strange plant is called parasite,
which means plant growing not
out of the ground, but out of another
plant The mistletoe grows out of the
oak trees and winds about their BRAN
ches. The Druids thought the mislle-
toe cure for all poisons, and when
vine was discovered they would collect
in great crowds, clad in white robes,
b. nnn nf tho tpt, ifn- aIoH
priests would 60 up the oak and with
golden sickle cut the vine from the
tree, and as it was falling to the ground
two other Druids would step quickly
forward and catch it in white cloak.
Then two pure white heifers were i'm
mediately killed and offered for
sacrifice, and tue remainder of the
day would be spent in rejoicing.
The Druids did not have any church,
es such as we have in which to hold
their services, but they had temples
which was built in this way: Great
blocks of stone were stood OH end, at
some distance from one another, in
the form of circle, and then other
stones were laid over the top, forming
a kind of railing. There was gener-
ally two of these circles, one within
the other.
On Salisbury PLAIN, in England,
stands to this day the ruins of such a
temple. 1t is called Stonehedge.
which means changing Stones" and
many people think that these ruins
are the remains of one of those very
Druid temples which Julius Caesar
found when he came sailing to Britain
almost nineteen hundred years ago.
The Druids sometimes built their
temples and worshiped in great groves
under the spreading branches Of the
splendid oaks for which Engand is
famous to this day, and which the
Druids thought the most sacred of all
trees. 1t seems to me a very beautiful
idea to worship God under his trees
with his own sweet sunshine stream
ing through the green leaves; but, alas!
the worship of the Druids was any
thing but beautiful, and in many
cases most cruel and terrible. They
would often offer human beings-men
and women-as sacrifices to their God.
These poor people were usually pris
oners taken in war or who were sup
posed to have comitted some crime.
These were put 10 death in the most
cruel and dreadful ways, for the
Druids pretended that the more they
tortured the better their Gods were
pleased.
Does it not seem very horrible that
Gods lovely groves should have ever
been put to such use? But we are
thankful to know that long ago the
worship of the Druids came to all end;
and though, sad to say, there are
still places in the world where our
God, the only God, is not known or
worshIpped, they are every year be-
coming fewer in number, for the mis-
sionaries are preaching the glad It'd
ings of great joy; and where those
tidings are preached the dreadful cruel
ties Of the heather religions come to
all end.-Morning Star.