The National tribune., 1903-05-28

was planted at the grave of virgin, and
her chaplet was tied with white riband in
token of her spotless innocence. though
sometimes black ribands were intermin-
gled to bespeak the grief of the survivors.
The red rose was occasionally used in re-
membrance of such as had been remark
able for benevolence, but roses in gem
eral were appropriated to the graves Of
lovers"
Drummond, the Scotch poet, had the
following cOuplet placed over his grave:
Here Drummond lies, whose song did
sometimes grace
The murmuring Esbe. May roses shade
the place"
In Wales when a young girl dies her
coffin is wreathed with flowers, and the
youth and maidens plant white roses over
her grave. The graves Of little children
are covered with lilies and snowdrops,
and those of maturer years have roses
placed about them. Gwillyne, Welsh
poet. writes of this custom:
so, 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 fair
est .ame; humbly will lay them on the
grave of lvOr."
In France the magnifcence of the
tombs and monuments is only paralleled
by the magnifcence with which flowers
are lavisied upon the dead. Adherents
of a house or line of royalty strew flowers
above the dust of the mouldering Kings
and shed tears for vanished glories. The
tomb of Napoleon, in the Hotel des In
valides. in Paris, is seldom without nose
gays of violets.
In Turkey, the virgin who dies has a
rose sculptured at the top of her mOnu-
ment. The Chinese scatter roses above
their dead and mingle with them the ly-
coris and anemone. Tripolitans place
about their dead roses. myrtle. jessamine
and orange flowers. In far-off Persia the
basil tuft waves its fragrant blossoms over
tombs and graves, and
''Roses, the brightest the earth ever gave"
blossom everywhere. In Egypt the basil
tuft is also esteemed, with the lotus,
lily and rose. In Germany and Switzer-
land the dianthus, pink, myrtle and or
ange blossoms are placed about the dead.
In Norway the fir is used to protect the re-
leased soul from evil spirits. In Italy
the periwinkle is dedicated to the graves
Of little children.
The Mahometan matrons repair at stat
ed anniversaries with fairest flowers to
sweeten the sad grave. The ground tombs
| are often Dut thc
meanest heap of turf has also its visitors
to chant a requiem, light n little lamp,
suspend little garland or drop rose rs
an affectionate tribute to departed love.
separated friendship, or the memory OF
the unknown in their great Cities OF 81
lence."
The ancient Jews pulled grass as they
turned away from the new-made mounds
and threw it behind them, saying, ''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 mallow
were planted in all ancient cemeteries, as
it was popularity believed that they nour-
ished the dead. The North American In
dians attribute funereal character TO
the fragrant flowers of the sacred Cham
pak The Flathead mother buries her
child in 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 a grave and above the
leveled earth lays the little toys and scat
ters some bright berries.
Ours is the only country that has a
stated Memorial Day, though the people
of almost every nation observe the Gus
tom at some period of the blossoming sea-
son, which of course varies with the eli
mate. But from April to August the sun
shines upon succession OF tneSe SAD an
niversary days. In one respect the 30th
of May Memorial stands separate and dis
tinct from the custom as observed in any
other country. Our Memorial Day is held
in honor of the patriotic dead. No other
Nation on earth so consecrates the graves
of her heroes.
Another distinctly American feature, and
the most pathetic of all the Memorial Day
ceremonies, is that of decorating the cross
in memory of the Unknown dead. There
is something tangible in the mound heaped
above a pulseless heart, though that heart
never throbbed the quicker for your COM
ing. but in the history of the world there
is nothing to parallel the simple pathos of
that cross with its outstretched suppliant
arms telling the mute story of the thou
sands who must sleep
"Unknelled, uncoffined and unknown"
until the reveille on the resurrection morn
wakens them for the last grand review