Evening star., 1919-11-30

was Just TO cut some Christmas green
cry. but there was a lot more to IL.
At St Nazaire. Nantes, Tours; ut La
Rochelle, Brest and Bordeaux: at
Havre, Roucn and in the suburbs OF
Paris, and northward through all Bel
GUM TO the edge of Holland. and
eastward through Alsace to the Rhine
and southwark to the Mediterranean
and the edges of Spain and Italy, the
boys went out into the woods, or
chards, meadows and riversides. To
climb a tree and cut bough--and, in
so doing. they performed an act of
strictly racial character unique among
all such doings.
In England. they put a knife into
our hands and bade us frankly:
"Come-cut mistletoe. You're cous-
ms"
Are we cousins?
y 4 4
Every American who did the thing
on tho spot, and those who missed
their chance with regret. and those
who read the story now at home. with
dreamy pause as something vaguely
sympathetic or familiar, have good
chance to possess In their blood
strain Of tho old race Of Gaul and
Britain-a most particular old race.
The thing includes all France. Bel
gium. England and Ireland. 1t in
cludes Alsace. 1t stops, absolutely, at
the Rhine.
Three thousand years ago these
folks who were part of our folks
were cutting mistletos as a holiday
ceremony of terrific Importance, sem
timental. gay. mysterious and solemn.
Julius Caesar. in his well known
book, is full Of it. although the Druids
in his day. 1000 years ago. were al
ready evolving into a species Of be-
neyolent municipal uncles. And the
mistletoe. remaining mystic. never
forgotten. always in honor. has con-
tinued cheerful. hopeful and romantic.
straight down through the ages to
our own times.
An excuse for kissing?
Yes. but also the mystical, historical
badge Of the Gallo Celtic -Briton race.
or this old strain Of blood In folks,
Vicent Blasco Ibanez. clearest seer
OF the world war. makes the cousin
from Berlin lin the -Four Horse
menu say this queer thing:
"The French revolution was merely
q clash between Teutons and Celts,
the nobility Of France having de-
scended from Germanic warriors es-
tablished In the country after the in
vasion Of the so-called barbarlans.
The middle and lower classes were
the Gallo Celtic element. GalIo-Celt-
ism was the inventor Of democracy.
Now the hour of Germanic retaliation
Is about to strike." ETC.. etc.
\ 4 \
1t struck a bone.
Gallo Celtic blood Is the secret o,
Alsace. Hansi. master painter OF
Landscape. that Alsatian patriot turn.
ed cartoonist by patriotism long wears
before the war. was indicted for trea.
son by the Berlin prosecutor, for saw
ing these things In 1913. In this Ellis
tory OF Alsace for Little Children" on
which he lavished pictorial treasures,
Uncle Hansi rubbed 1t in that the
Asatians have the blood of Gaul,
The cult Of the mistletoe, says Han
sl did not cross the Rhine. But AL
SAGE was as full Of it as France and
England. as proved by Caesar, Taci-
tus. Pliny and a cloud of witnesses.
There is nothing in the appearance of
the plant to account for so deep a hold
on racial sentiment, but its curious habit
OF growth explains the start IL got. In
prehistoric days men were of necessity
close observers Of nature. although they
did not always interpret correctly what
they saw. They were deeply struck by
the fact that while other plants grow
OF themselves out Of the ground, it was
never so Of the mistletoe. Instead. it
was always firmly rooted in the branches
OF trees-apple. pear. maple, elm. ash,
lime. willow. thorn. poplar and, less fire.
Quently. the oak. That trees so widely
uHerent should produce the mistletoe
must surely have completely puzzled
them.
Ghe oak. among the ancient Druids.
was Always held sacred. Many Of their
rites were performed in oak groves. and
since they noticed that only rarely did
the mistletoe appear on this sacred tree.
they regarded the plant Of such a parent
With peculiar reverence.
1t was cut on New Year day. with
pomp. The Arch Druid. In white. as
cended the tree-to which stairs and
piatform haS been erected. Beneath.
sne people awaited picnic banquet.