Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1905-04-20

day. it still grieves, in somber attire.
with bowed head, and still each petal
ever sheds a pearly tear,
The oXalis, or wood solrel, was
standing at the foot of the cross and
received some drops of the precious
blood. These she bears even to this
day. The Italians have this same le-
gend about the oXalis, which they call
"allelula," to indicate that the little
blossom is clarifying God for its great
privilege. The scarlet anemone, too,
is said to bear the stains Of Christ's
blood
The poppy yet carries the memory
of the cross deeply craven in her
heart. The banana, too, preserves the
cross in the center of it's fruit For
this reason, the people of the Canary
Islands will never cut through a ba-
mana as we do; if they ever use a
knife to it, they slice it on lengthwise.
The aspen still shivers with re-
morse because, when Christ passed it
on the way to Calvary, it boldly faced
the heavens, instead of paying HON.
age, as the other trees did. The will
loW was uOCd LII oNOhl 500 anu ONNl
since it has bowed its branches in
sorrow. The elder is commonly sup
posed to be the tree upon which Ju-
das hanged himself. 1t is not to be
used even for firewood. However, it
is a safe refuge in time of storm, for
not even lightning will deign to strike
it. A fungus that grows on the elder
and is now known as Jews ear, was
originally called Judas ear. The &C.
dar, the pine, and the box are all
connected with the crucifixion. Differ
ent authorities vary in just what
woods did form the cross. Bede says
the cypress, the cedar, the pine, and
the box; but Saint Chrysostom quotes
| from Isaiah 1X:13: 'The glory of
Lebanon CEDAR shall come unto
thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and
! the box, together to beautify my
: sanctuary" The church fathers con-
sidered four woods necessary to the
cross to symbolic the four quarters
of the globe over which it's influence
would spread. One tradition says that
the cross was made of apple wood,
the inference being obvious.
An old English legend carries the
cross back to the days of our first
parents. Adam sent Abel to an angel
to petition him to show them the path
back to Eden. The angel gave Abel
three seeds, saying that from their
trunks would spring the path to Para
disc. The seeds were planted, and
one tree, at least, a magnificent &C.
darS was flourishing at the time Solo.
mon erected his temple. This glori-
GUS king had the tree cut down to
furnish a ridge pole, but after it was
brought in, it was found to be too
short. Then it was cast aside and lay
waste by the pool of Bethesda until
it was taken to form the cross.
The old legends may seem to us
now relics of a superstitious age, and
yet they indicate a step in our own
civilization. They represent the time
when man considered all things made
for himself Their peculiar traits, or
formation, people believed, must
show some connection with his his.
tory, or imagery, if we have to-day
risen to the higher epoch, where wo
see that each created thing lives for
its own development and not to min
lister to our needs, it is because of the
many more casters we have expert.
enced since our ancestors days.
Katherine Chandler in Los Angeles
Times.