The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-04-04
We count three hundred, but we miss.
There is but one, and that forever.


There is but one, and that forever.
Giles Fletcher in "Christ's Victory
and Triumph" when he comes to de-
scribe Christ's triumph after death
at the morn of the resurrection, rep
resents the floods as clapping their
hands, "the pleasant valleys singing
for delight" while the fields
s'Struck with the heavenly light,
Set all their flowers smiling at the sight"
To Fletcher, as to Herbert, the day
on which Christ arose from the grave
garlands the entire year. The "en-
gladdened spring" forgets to weep,
earth sticks her habit "full of daisies
red" and the birds pipe sweeter
lay, the flowers give the incense Of
their perfume, and all nature seems
to shout in notes of glad rejoicing,
"Christ is risen." 1t is in the same
spirit and comprehending the full
| joyousness of this greatest of Chris
tian festivals that heaven is some
| times described as ''an eternal Easter
tide" that is ever fresh and full of
| joy with the zest that lies at begin
nings, in the dawn of day, the bud
ding of the rose, the dewy freshness
of the morning. Augustine adds:
eve mean consideration to the full
ness and perfection of that JOY,
namely, that in heaven and at the
eternal Eastertide the Christian shall
be where never any man shall come
in that loves us not, nor go from us
that does"
AS an indication of the honor in
which Easter was formerly held it
may be said that the French COM
puted their year from Easter until
1864, and looking at the subject both
from practical and a religious point
of view it would seem eminently
proper that the year should begin
with the festival which announces
not only, at least in our latitude, the
beginning of spring, but also the
greatest recorded fact in the history
of revealed religion.
Keble, the poet who has garlanded
the Christian year with a rosary of
song, on Easter morning bids his
soul awake to high desires, land
earlier light their altar fires"
The best of his long poem on that
great day of the Christian year is in
the first three stanzas:
OH day of days! shall hearts set free
No "minstrel rapture" find for thee?
Thou art the sun of other days,
They shine by giving back thy rays
Enthroned in thy sovereign sphere
Thou shed'si thy light on all the year;
Sundays by thee more glorious break.
An Easter day in every week.
And week days following in their train,
The fullness of thy blessing gain,
Till all, both resting ami employ,
Be ons Lords day of holy joy.
The Pifferari, Italian peasants, who
come to Rome and play their native
airs in the streets on Christmas and
Easter days have often been de-
scribed, but must at least be men
toned in any attempt at indicating
the poetry that to the Christian world
halves these two greatest of festivals.
The Easter singers of the Vortal-
berg in Tyrol emulate the Pifferari.
On the evening of Holy Saturday, the
bells on all the Tyrolese mountains
are set ringing and everywhere are
sights and sounds of rejoicing. On
Easter morning, "Bands of musi-
cians," says one account, traverse
every valley, singing the beautiful
Easter hymns to their guitars, call
ing out the people to their doors, who
join them in the choruses and alto
gether rejoice on this glad anniver-
sary. Their wide brimmed Spanish
hats are decorated with bouquets of
flowers; crowds of children accom-
pany them, and when the darkness of
night comes on, bear light torches
of the pine wood, which throw gro.
tesque shadows over the spectators
and picturesque hats"
CINCINNATI, o.