Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 64, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 April 1904 — Page 2

BELLS OF EASTER MORNING

THE SENTRY’S CLOAK. Md In the' starlight Jerusalem sleeps. With her white tcmple-upreared to the sky; as the night wind that plaintively •weeps } O’er the weird shades that on Calvary He. who has heard the dear lips that are still ■ Vanquish with lore the vain Pharisee throng, Walts at the tomb on the wind beaten hill {Through the night watches, so dark and so long. Lonely Is she, for the sentinels doze. Wrapped In their cloaks, upon buckler and sword; AM save one Roman, who, spuming repose. Guards the dark grave of the crucified Lord. Wet on the Cross Is he thinking to night, But on the wife and children at home) Loved ones whose smiles were a fathers delight : I In that far cot of Imperial Rome. Krue unto Caesar and Pilate is he; Firm is his footstep and stern la his brow; He who to Him never lowered a knee Feels not a thrill at the sepulchre MW. Hark! from the gloom comes a sorrowful cry, from a heart that is bursting with pain. Files the mailed hand to the sword on his thigh, "Nay," he exclaims, “ ’Tis that woman again—- " She who with tears yester-even was here. Pressing her babe to her rag-covered breast, [Watching this cavern of Arlmathaea, Where the bold ?>’azarene now is at restl” Seizing the camp torch he hastes to the form, Baying. "The night breeze is chilly and wild; **Take thou my cloak It Is heavy and warm Cover thyself and thy shivering child." Mindly he fondles the baby that bides In "the thin robe of that watcher sincere, rhen to his dreaming companions he strides. From his dark cheeks roughly dashing a tear. Bright dawns the sun upon Olivet's brow, Bringing from Heaven the first Easter Day; Duty and Faith both are slumbering now— She on the mantle and he on the clay. One standing near that bright Form from the dead See's the lone woman In sleep’s heavy yoke, Cries, as he- wrenches the robe from her head, "What dost thou here In the Infidel's cloak?” Then from the lips of the Savior there come Words full of tenderness, sorrow and pain—- " Lo. of My mission the substance and sum, By you poor soldier told over again!" -—Thomas Frost.

ODD THINGS ABOUT EASTER.

gll People Appear to Celebrate the Spring Festival. All peoples appear to celebrate Easter tn one shape or another, the festival signifying a rejoicing at the reawakening of nature in spring. Though associated in thia manner with the vernal equinox, it to nevertheless particularly a moou-fes-tlval, and most of its folk lore has to do with the lunar orb in one way or another, The Council of Nice, in the year 351 A. D., decided that Easter day should be the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox; and if the full moon fell on Sunday, then Easter Sunday was to be the Sunday after. The moon suggests a likeness to an egg. which is the symbpl of resurrection, and the rebirth of things. Now, the Chinese celebrate Easter by ■asking so-called ’’moon-cakes," and indulging in various amusements that are supposed to have to do with congratulating or rewarding the moon. In their celestial cosmogony the orb of night represents the female principle in nature, and they believe that a beautiful woman Bvee there—the goddess of the palace of the moon. __ —i On a gold throne, whose radiating bright-

At Eastertime, with radiance rare, In all her glory, faultless, fair. On promenade the maid appears No traces left of Lenten tears, An object gay and debonair. His heart is dizzy with despair, That stylish hat, those violets daro To nod their heads and domineer,

ness Dazzles the eyes, enhaloing the scene, Sits a fair form, arrayed in snowy whiteness. She is Chang-o, the beauteous Fairy Queen. Rainbow-winged angels softly' hover o'er her, Forming a canopy above the throne; A host of fairy beings stand before her, Each robed in light and girt with meteor zone. The above is a translation from a Chinese poem, describing the Woman in the Moon.

The Chinese believe that a man, a frog and a hare also dwell in the moon, and the last-named afiimal constantly appears in their art and in that of Japan, painted upon the disk of a lunar orb. Nearly all over the world the hare is associated with the moon mythologically, and it is on this account that the rabbit has so much to do with Easter.

There has been much dispute as to why the hare should have anything to do with the moon, but nobody has arrived at any satisfactory conclusion on the subject. It is evidently a folk-lore notion of extreme antiquity, which partly accounts for its wide distribution. The rabbit is nocturnal in habit, coming out at night to feed, and that may have

j. At Eastertime. He knows how much this whole affair Makes, doubly sure the subtle snare; He is not jealous, has no fear That he will lose her love, the dear, The bills are what makes papa swear At Eastertime. —Herbert Haves.

started the idea. It is asserted by students of such matters that the left hind foot of a graveyard rabbit killed in the dark of the moon represents the last quarter of the moon, and on-that account is lucky. A legend accounting for the rabbit in the moon is of Hindu origin, and was introduced into China with Buddhism. Buddha, according to this narrative, was a hare at one stage of his existence, and lived in friendship with a fox and an ape. Indra came to them disguised as a hungry pilgrim, and the for and ape procured food for the god. But the hare was not able to capture anything suitable for the table, and, sooner than be inhospitable, he threw him Self into the fire in order to become food for the guest. As a reward for his self-sacrifice Indra translated him to the moon, where he sits at the foot of a cassia tree, pounding drugs for the genii in a mortar.

One Old Custom that Survives.

An ancient custom which still survives was to roll eggs down a hill, the one which reached the bottom intact winning the rest. A survival of this custom is found in Washington, where the children gather in the White House grounds on Easter Monday ami roll eggs down the grassy slope in front of the building.

EASTER ISLAND.

A Curious Story About One of the Polynesian Group, Far away in the Pacific ocean lies a lonely volcanic island which is called Easter island from the fact that it was discovered on Easter day, 1722, by a navigator named Roggcreen, a Dutch admiral. Its real name is Rapa-Nui, and its Polynesian inhabitants are fast dying out. Comparatively few explorers have visited it, and, contrary to the joyous spring name it has, it is a deserted place. What makes Easter island of interest are the numbers of curious colossal stone heads and busts, called moai, which abound there, evidently the work of the natives hundreds of years ago. A few of these are erect, but many have fallen. The legend says that King Tukuihu settled in Rapa-Nui and retired into a cave, where lie carved and cut all the gigantic heads, which removed themselves to their present position on the island.

When he became old, he did not die, but was turned into a butterfly, which is called in that country by his name. Tukuihu used to search for eggs in the nests of the sea birds, and when he lost his human form the chiefs who wished to succeed him agreed to search for a certain number of eggs and the first to collect them was appointed king. It seems singular that eggs without any especial significance should have been so important on Easter island. — Chicago Inter Ocean.

An Easter Parable.

Once In a sheltered garden there bloomed a beautiful flower so sweet and pure that the south wind forsook all other spots to sweep ceaselessly, caressingly around it, whispering soft words of love. But one day the flower faded, nor could the south wind with warm kisses revive its drooping head. Then came the gardener through his garden, who, seeing the dying flower, plucked it from-'its stem nnd, tearing out its golden heart, buried it deep in the black earth. “Cruel, cruel man!” shrieked the south wind, because it understood not. All winter long the cold white snow lay on the heart of the flower, and over it the south wind sobbed its rage at thtf pitiless gardener. But when the spring came, behold, the flower arose, more beautiful than before!

And the south wind, understanding, kissed the bronzed cheek of the gardener in joyous penitence. For kind of heart is the gardener of tlie universe, though man, foolish and fickle as the south wind, understands him not, and, as one who loves all growing things will stoop to brush a little blemish from tho humblest flower, so stoops he to remove the smallest sorrow from the tiniest blossom in his great garden of light petaled stars.

The Lesson of the Season.

Ages pass, but each returning Easter brings again its lessons of sacrifice, of unselfishness and of great love for humanity. Great snowy banks of lilies, emblems of purity, are offered in remembrance of the greatest self-abnega-tion in the history of the world. In vast cathedral and modest chapel vibrates the majestic music of praise for that most wonderful resurrection, upon which is based the faith of the mightiest peoples of the earth.

Easter Pastime and Benevolence.

A Hungarian Easter custom is the Knlaka. It is a custom witli something besides either foolish superstition or perverted church legends behind It. The farmers of a certain district get together and give one of their number, the poorest man in the place, a day's work. After the day of communistic labor is over a supper and a dance are given.

STORM DOES DAMAGE.

CHICAGO AND VICINITY HIT BY WIND AND RAIN. Several Killed and Many Hurt—Suburbs from North to South Swept by Fury of Gale and Flood—Tornado Describes Circle About City. A cyclone, the worst for years, visited the outlying districts of Chicago about 7:30 o’clock Thurqjiay night, killing three persons, fatally injuring many others, and destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of property. Wires were torn down in all directions, so that many* of the outlying towns were in darkness throughout the night, and Chicago herself was practically cut off from all telegraphic communication with the outside world. The storm, which was followed by torrents of rain and blinding lightning, passed over the entire northern portion of Illinois and Indiana, felling houses, wires, poles and trees as if they had been straws, and then as suddenly as it descended jpassing on to work fresh havoc elsewhere. The rain added to the already extensive floods, and wrought almost as much damage as the wind. The storm was most serious in the Calumet region, the towns of Indiana Harbor, Hammond and East Chicago suffering severely. The most reliable Information to be obtained from Indiana Harbor was that twenty-four houses had been wrecked, two men killed and fifteen seriously hurt. Reports from East Chicago told of four buildings being damaged, including a school house and Tod’s opera house, the latter a three-story structure, the largest in the town. No lives were lost at East Chicago. The path of the storm was a meteorological freak. It described a wide curve around the city, extending from Waukegan, Crystal Lake and other points on the north through the north side and, taking in the western suburbs of Riverside, May wood, Lyons, Melrose Park, La Grange, Hawthorne, Clyde and Berwyn and then sweeping south to Morgan Park, Dauphin Park, West Pullman and still farther south to Hammond and the adjacent Indiana towns. v In the brief space of fifteen minutes the tornado, which left scarcely a mark in Chicago, wreaked destruction on the towns in its pathway. Trolley lines were swept down by the wind and street car traffic blocked so completely that hours elapsed before the damage could be repaired. Electric light plants were tied up and thousands of stores and homes were plunged in darkness. In Washington Heights and Morgan Park ten houses were blown down, one woman was hurt, and the tracks of the Rock Island Railroad were blockaded by fallen telegraph poles for miles. The utmost fury of the storm was felt at Thornton, where a church was wrecked and many persons were injured by falling buildings. The Gorman baithetan Churcl} was lifted from its foundations and fairly blown to pieces, the roof being torn off and the structure ruined. A saloon, crowded with men, was blown down and it is remarkable that no one was killed. Several were injured, however. A house was blown from its foundations and another was hurled into a stone quarry and demolished. As far north as Crystal Lake the force of the wind was strong enough to unrcof many buildings, demolish store fronts and carry away outbuildings. Forty head of fine cattle were killed on the Bryant stock farm near Crystal Lake by the bam collapsing under the wind.

The Political Pot.

What the addition to the total number of voters in the country is likely to be this year is very hard to conjecture, for the reason that between 1896 ami 1900, so far as the election returns show, there was practically no gain in tho number of electors. From 1876 to 1880 there was a gain of 800,000; from 1880 to 1884, a gain of 1,000,000; from 1884 to 1888, a gain of 1,300,000; from 1888 to 1892, a gain of 500,000, and from 1892 to 1896, a gain of 1,900,000. Between 1876 ami 1896 the popular vote for presidential electors increased 65 per cent, or from 8,100,000 to 13,900,000. Apparently owing to tho fact that q vast multitude of voters did not go to the polls nt all in 1900, tho total popular voto in that yenr was only 40,000 greater than it was in 1896; ami, if anything like a full vote is polled next fall, there should be an enormous nnd unprecedented Increase in the total vote. In the eight years ended with November, 1896, this vote increased 2,400,000 and, ns the population of the country has been steadily expanding since 1896, the total vote this yenr should show a far greater Incrense than that of” 1888-96. It is none too enrly'for politicnl leaders nnd managers to grasp the fact that “first voters" nre likely to constitute a more important factor in tlie approaching campaign than ever before and, ns a consequence, that they nre likely to prove a greater unknown quantity thnn has ever been the case hitherto. Evidently both of the great politicnl parties will need to do a vast amount of missionary work if they hope for victory in November.—New .York Commercial.

W. 11. Thptnpson han declined to be n candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Nebraska. • , The New Jersey Republican State convention will be held at Trenton on May 10, nnd will elect delegates to the national convention. The Connecticut Republican State central committee has issued n call for lhe State convention to meet in New Haven May 10 nnd 11. Foraker men bolted the Republican convention in the Fourth Congressional District convention in Ohio nnd nominated candidates of their own.

THE WEEKLY HISTORIAN

One Hundred Years. Ago. The famous code of Napoleon was adopted by France. Napoleon issued an edict requiring every person in Paris above the age of 15 years to carry an identification card containing his personal description. Moro than sixty t'houans were executed at Bressuire, France, because they had no passes to leave their native province. The House of Representatives passed a bill providing for the protection of American seamen and ships by armed -forces' from the attacks of the Barbary powers! Tlie Emperor of Russia ordered the translation into the vernacular of the works of Tacitus, this being taken as au indication of increasing civilization in Russia. A bill to remove the seat of government to Baltimore was agit at cd in Coagross on the ground that property, rents, living and hotel accommodations were too high priced in Washington. Seventy-five Years Ago. Steamboasts were being built to ply between Green Bay on Lake Michigan and the portage of the Wisconsin, for Hie purpose of carrying lead from mines in the upper Mississippi valley to eastern markets. Lands belonging to the Cherokee Indians in the South Atlantic States were being rapidly settled by the whites. There were reported 130 cotton factories in the State of Rhode Island. The Legislature of Mexico passed a special law expelling all Spaniards from the country. Violent earthquakes occurred in Spain. Fully 6,000 persons perished, and Marcia and other villages were devastated. Schuylkill coal sold for sls a ton in the yards in New’ York. Fifty Years Ago. The confidential correspondence between the Czar and the English government regarding the fate of Turkey was laid before Parliament. The House of Representatives had 23-4 members, and there w’ere 62 Senators, representing thirty-one States. A mutiny broke out on the American clipper ship Sovereign of the Seas, en route from Australia to Liverpool, which was put down by guns and bayonets. Heavy failures were announced in London, Manchester and Glasgow, beginning a period of extraordinary commercial disaster. . There was an exciting debate in Parliament over the rights of British negro seamen in the Southern ports of tlie United Stntes! "The government of Prussia absolutely prohibited the transit of arms from ita territory. Forty Years Ago. The property of eight citizens of Superior, Wis., was confiscated by the United States government because of their Confederate sympathies. Gen. U. S. Grant formally took command of the United States army at Nashville, Tcmi. Arkansas citizens voted for State officers under the newly reconstructed government. The National House of Representatives appointed a commission to select the site for a United States navy yard on the Ohio river. Vote was taken in Congress on proposition of Representative Harding of Kentucky forbidding the use of any'part of the army appropriation to pay negro troops. Great droves of buffaloes were reported in the Cheyenne river valley, followed by hundreds of Indians. Thirty Years Ago. Queen Victoria opened the British Parliament with a speech announcing ths end of the Ashantee war, the Indian famine, and serious labor troubles in England. News first reached the United Staten that Prince Kalaknua had been elected King of the Sandwich Islands, to succeed Lunalilo. Mrs. Do Geers, the temperance crusader, Issued an appeal to Mayor Colvin of Chicago to veto the Sunday saloon license law. The funeral of United States Senator Charles G. Sumner was held in Boston, John G. Whittier and Ralph Waldo Emerson attending. Twenty Years Ago. Gen. James W. Singleton of Illinois nns proposed as Democratic candidate for President of the United States. British Parliament was expected to dissolve owing to split in cabinet over Gladstone’s Egyptian policy. Enemies of Postfnastcr General Gresham were accused of trying to embroil him and Senator (later President) Banjamin Harrison by a petition asking that the former be appointed federal judge. The national House of Representatives voted on the bill for the proposed new congressional library on Capitol Hill. The rush of gold miners for the newly discovered Coeur d'Alene district was begun. Friends of Senator John A. Logan met in Chicago, with E. L. Jayne presiding, to launch his presidential boom.