Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-05
'He is risen. He is risen,

glaQ tlQlngS OF the resurrection OIL our
Lord. He hath conquered death, and
reigns supreme as the King of Glory
Anthems which recount His triumph will
engirdle the globe today, and cherubdm
and seraphim within the gates of para
disc will repeat the songs of the church
militant. Together men and angels are
telling that the grave no longer holds
its dead; the stone is rolled away, and the
prophecies are fulfilled. The whole uni
verse voices the wondrous story of the
risen Christ, Good Friday, with its
gloom and sorrow, is behind us; Easter
even. with its sealed tomb. has passed
away, and upon the expectant earth has
burst the splendor of this Easter day.
spring blossoms, the tender green of
budding tree and shrub, all join in tell
ing the story that death and sleep are
gone, and that in the fulness of quick
ening life the glad Easter has come Like
pearly censers, the lilies sway in the
spring sunshine; the organs peal the joy
Gus tidings of a triumphant Lord, and
the glorious notes float through arch
and nave and rest like a benedioitlon up
on the worshiping multitudes of earth.
The cry first uttered far back in the CEN
turtles, Christ is risen," is today voiced
by all -Chrstendom, and the angels who
crowd the battlements of the skies send
back the answer, struck from golden
HE who slumbered in the grave,
Is exalted now to save;
Now through Christendom il rings
That the Lamb is king of kings
Alleluia!'
There seems to have been evolved
from the recent agitation within the
ranks of the Salvation Army very de-
plorable personal antagonisms among
the highest officials and an apparent
= greed for power and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
that puts one to serious wondering If in
any condition of life an effort towards
better and purer living could rid human
ity of this weakness. The desire for per-
sonal power and advancement is one of
the attributes of all strong natures, as
experience and observation teach us, but
it is a sad thing to be forced to believe
that all our better instincts are domi-
mated by. this one and held in allegiance
by IL under all circumstances. Tine rec
ords of the Booth family furnish re-
markable instance of this fact This
family. Judging from all accounts
of it-prejudiced and unprejudiced-is
wonderfully endowed with force and will
power, a certain amount of intelligence,
a desire to accomplish good, some execu-
tive ability and large share Of religious
enthusiasm. The members of it have ac-
complished more for depraved humanity
than can ever be reckoned. They have
occupied field that long waited for Gull
tivation, and they have reaped harvests
therein that have surprised doubling
world. With all these things in their ia
vor, with paramount wish to still save
the great masses, to whom the gospel is
never otherwise preached, they are now
appearing before us in the unenviable
light of each contendng for the mastery
in the conduct of the organization known
as the Salvation Army, and that branch
of it which recently seeded and Is now
called Goods American Volunteers.
Brothers and sisters are arrayed against
each other and a tyrannical old father.
spoiled by success, is making of his chill
dren a spectacle which will have a ten
dency to lessen their influence for good.
Preachers and preachers wives are nee
essarily human and must remain so as
long as they continue in the flesh, but it
is a tremendous pity that the marvellous
work of this aggregation of religious en-
thusiasts should be injured by the bick-
erings and struggles for authority and
power which now threaten to work per-
manent evil.
AS an indication of the devotion Ct the
Salvation Army men and women. the pa
thetic story of the death of the infant
child of Mr. and Mrs. Booth-Tucker
sta nds out in bold relief. In response to
the orders promulgated by General Booth
bis daughter and her husband came to
America. Mrs. BoothTucker arriving
first. her husband only few days ago.
When Mrs, Booth Tucker sailed she
brought with her two children, but left
behind her delicate ba by only weeks
old. This child died shortly after the
mothers departure. and the kilograms
tell us ''she was prostrated by the sad
news" When woman becomes such a
religious fanatic that in her zeal for 9TH
er peoples children she neglects her own
and puts the ocean between herself and
her sick child. she has made the most I'M
fortunate step of her religious life, A
woman who is careless about the welfare
Of her own children need not attempt to
preach any kind of gospel to other moth
ers- The touch of nature that makes all
women akin puts into the heart of every
woman the belief that such a woman is
something of a fraud, to use no severer
term.
A writer thus speaks OF tine miracle of
fire which is said to occur at Easter tide,
and also of the manner In which the
great festival of Easter Is kept at Rome:
"On Easter eve 1t was usual for the
Jews to make a bonfire in the open air
into which all leavened bread was cast
In Jerusalem at the present day cere-
mony is performed which is called the
Miracle OF the Easter Fire. The Latin
churches have not taken part in this GER
eniony for the last 300 years. The Ro-
man Catholics protest against 1t, and 1t
is now managed entirely by the Greek
and other churches of the Orient.
The Greeks say that the miracle has
beeis celebrated ever since the days or
the Apostles. Most of the pilgrims of the
eastern churches believe that the fire
actually comes down from heaven, and
that they are able to ignite their can
dies from flames sent by God. This holy
fire appears at precisely 2 o'clock in the
afternoon every Easter Saturday in the
tomb Of the holy sepulchre. All the lights
of the church have been put out before
hand and the people stand for hours and
wait for the holy fire. There are holes
in the walls Of the sepulchre itself, and
through these candles are passed to the
patriarch of Jerusalem. who is inside.
lie lights them with the sacred flame
md hands them out burning. Other cam
dies are lighted from these, and messen-
gers, running. carry the holy fire all over
Palestine, 10 Bethlehem and to Naza-
: feth TO the Sea Of Galile and to the diff.
ferent parts of the earth from which the.
pilgrims come The interest In this cere-
nony II as great as that which sur
rounds the passion play at Oberammer-
gau. The night before the miracle hum
dreds sleep in the different chapeIs and
In the rotunda Ia order to hold good
places for the morrow, and during the