The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-04-18
SUI Y BLoDAU CWAL|A
The Arch.Druid Of Wales on Flower
Sunday.
A NEW WELSH RAILROAD LINE
MIR. and Mrs Gladstone the First Pas.
sengcrs from liawardcn to Liver
pool by tho First Passcn.
ger Train.

One OF the most beautiful ancient
British modes of teaching divine lessons
which has come down to US Is the GUS
tom of decorating graves with flowers
on the first day of spring. | say first
day Of spring, for that is the time of
the year indicated, but by following
the moons movements, instead of the
so-called movements of the sun, the
time of observing the floral rite of flow
ering the graves is constantly shifted
as to The date. The moon time comes to
us from the Jews. Their year was, and
Is still regulated by the moon, and the
new moon" was the time in March
and September %. S. or Nissan and
Tishri, when they commenced their
sacred and civil years. At the COM
mencement of the sacred one they
killed the Passover ram, and at the be-
ginning of the civil year they killed the
billygoat. But the custom of Towering
graves is a broad sunlight custom, and
has nothing sanguinary about 1t. 1t
has more of the greatly-libeled Cain
about 1t than of Abel. The last named
by his practices resembled Typhon. the
Egyptian Pluto, far more than the for
-mer, and -Plufnnic people still hate the
floral lessons OF Cain, and throw every
In practicing it. The plea Of the OBJ
structionists is that the people are ami
mated by competitive spirit in decor
ating graves with flowers on Flowering
s'unday. Would there were more COM
petition IN doing good, and in the prac-
tice Of beautiful ancient customs! 9th
ers object to 1t as popish. This objec-
tion Is monstrous. What would we have
had today were 1t not for the Roman
Catholic church? Let us revere her for
her past mighty services to mankind,
and heartily forgive her the mistakes of
her fdllible priests. But 1t is not pop
ish custom. 1t is a pure Druidic or
Bardic, survival of grand period when
all British people studied the things
that were made and seen with a. view
to understand the unseen things of the
Highest. The ancients had no books,
but they had the pages of the seasons
which were unfolded before their eyes
by an Unseen Hand Those pages were
untarnshed by the hand Of bigotry,
prejudice, impudence and ignorance.
Each page seemed to say. "The Hand
that made us Is divine" What beau
tiful page Is that of spring. 1t Is dec
GRATED with snowdrops, lilies, myriads
OF daisies and daffodils, that come be-
AStS tNS SWoAtoNS uctcs DstduIl-
full sprout. bud and flower OF spring
smiled the charming smile Of hope in
the haunts Of men. Mrs. Hemans
heard the sweet song Of spring, and her
words were:
I come, ] come! Ye called me long,
come DER the mountains with light ani
song:
Ye may trace my steps Ger the wakenins
earth.
BY the winds which tell Of the violet.
birth.
BY tho primrose.stars, in the shadow,
grass,
BY the green leaves. opening as I pass.
II have looked on tho South, and tn,
chestnut flowers,
by thousands, have burst from the fores
bowers;
And the ancient graves and the fallsr
Are veiled with wreaths on Cambriar
plains.
But the ancient bards heard . still