The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-04-12

MA 3SSs 4 y .s III
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9 tApril y has sent forth her angels Of
II Resurrection One lof them, the angel
y pe the spring time Is standing with one
foot on the land and ono on tho sea.
y blowing a trumpet that Is not heard
but that bids every seed wake and grow
bids every bougt burst into bloom bids
&s every branch have It's bird song and
~ every husbandman 60 forth into the
moist burrows to SOW, that later he may
reap the sheaf.''
n u April,s epic in field and forest has It's
II a1lswcriin the resurrection festival Of he
q church and the month, which men call
XII Easter. 1t Is welcomed In with hymns
" Of praise and gladness with the voice
Sa OF the throngs that assemble In tho
houses of worship to Join In the spirit
zof alteration and OF toy
l19 ~ Richmond Is called church going
tt city. Whether tho reputation is de-
4 served on other days may be questioned.
" but ION yesterday old and young, men
and women find their way to their ac-
n customed seats In churches made fra
s frant and beautiful to commemorate the
Immortality OF a risen Saviour.
st3 The affairs OF the Richmond churches
4 speak loudly Of the fact that hope, has
become frultionE in the floral world, and
& that tho human heart pours some Of its
II aspirations and much Of It's love into the
II noral treasures with which these affairs
h are heaped 5on Easter Sunday. Stately
& palms lift their fronds within the sane
ituary; white blossoms In their purity
4 and red In their passion tell the story Of
suffering ended Of death swallowed up
u IN life, while the organ steals upon the
n senses in throbbIng undertone with the
n singing OF clear young voices sounding
above It In tho words : 4,
ssS On thine altnr laid we leave them n
$$ga Christ present them, God receive them. y
S.is I'LL The 5Eas ter music has gathered into its
d nnea ming and expression all that is grand
81 est and truest In human faith and hope.
u he Richmond church chors have been
working hard all during the weeks of lent
Il and the results of their efforts will lie
III apparent In the pleasures they will give
II others Today. for nothing so uplfts the
N soul and frees the mind from the fret Of
II earthly cares as the worship that takes 4
A the form Of music. INK .g
tf3 ga ter$tss an open doorway. But when
4 one passes through, the door swings
y close behind. 81 Lent Is shut out and the
I air1is full OF; brightness and gaycty. The
a Easter season Is one of the most beau
"A tiful In Richmond social life and opens
this year with unusual promise, the
Easter germans and the many brilliant
entertainments In connection with the
Confederate Bazaar, to say nothing Of a
\ very large number of Easter weddings,
interesting all classes of society.
The Easter procession. so marked
feature OF Easter day In the twentieth
I programme in Richmond. When the
church services are over and the benedic-
$ ton pronounced the long stream of
smartly gowned Faster maids and ma
irons accompanied by the equally ire
Il proachable masculine contingent, stream
Z forth in the sunshine and the Easter
\ procession" begins.
Ss!s A goodly procession It is, with happy
faces and bright smiles, with graceful
z nd no t{n6 tpo1 Ia
4 which has made the beauty OF Richmond
women proverb through many years.
,$t6 In other places different Easter customs
& prevail. notably In the little N1oravian
q community OF Salem. North Carolina.
and in that Of Bethlehem Pennsylvania
u where the day break OF Easter witnesses
a celebration to which no other obser-
Vance Is comparable
Just as the curtain OF darkness Is lifted
d by the approach Of morning the silence OF
III these Moravian towns Is broken by the
i silvery blast Of a buge. The people
u gather with the church choirs. and are
lied by& the Bishop to the centre OF the
n cemetery. There a hollow square Is
formed In the midst OF which the Bishop
takes his stand and reads from the
& Gospel of how Christ rose " from the
4 dead. Then the ritual Of the church
I follows, the responses being made by the
y people. Afterwards the choir sings and
as tho sun is rising the voice of the
4 Bishop Is heard saying: II am the resur-{
& rection and the lfe." A benediction Is
4 bestowed and the people dispense In
silence.
The Easter Angels.
A great painter once prayed that God
would guide his hand and enable him to
z give to the world true conception of
Z 'The First Easter Dawn" s
The painters prayer was heard. When