“Tke angel opened forth her roll, and sang:
‘Behold ! He hath arisen !’ ” and the song
Swept mountain, moor, and silent sea, and ra
Within the black tents on the desert sands !
Then all things beautiful in earth awoke—
The wayside flower smiled, and loving hands
Sought, lovingly, to do some loving deed!
Behold ! He hath arisen !—and we know
There is no death ! He calls us, and we go !
1
JESSICAS LILY
Jessica had a dream. Often oi a
Sunday morning. when she sat in
etureh with her great blue eyes fixed
uo Steadfastly on the minister's lace,
slip was dreaming it.
H was to have a lily to care for and
love until it grew to he tall and
graceful with a beautiful white ldos
r.mi on to;>, then with her own hands
take it to church on Easter morning
an t r»la* e it on the pulpit step.
The morning of Jessica's birthday
tiie postman left a little square box
addressed to her. Inside, wrapped in
many folds of tissue paper, sue found
an add looking object, something like
an ill-shaped onion it. layers of dried
brown leaves. Outside the box, these
words: “Easter lily bulb.” Then
•she Knew it was a gift from the min
ister, aiid that he wished her dream
to come true.
VVha a happy girl she was! She
went to the florist's and had a pot
tilled with earth, then with careful,
loving liands she patted the bulb
down safe in its bed of earth and set
it away far back in a dark, cool closet.
By and by four tiny green sacks
commenced to grow on top that
swelled larger ami larger, until the
green case began to crack and the
very night before Easter Jessica had
four beautiful sweet white lilies.
Now' all that remained to fulfil tlie*
dream was to carr> it to church, no
easy task for a little girl like Jessica,
but early in the morning she started
out. hugging it close in two stout,
loving little arms, that often acned
under their beautiful burden. Once
Bho sec if down on the sidewalk to
rest her arms. She pulled the paper
away fioin the top and looked into
the blossoms They looked to her
like beautiful white, gold-throated
bells She felt sure they were a set
of dower chimes, and when the breeze
set them swaying gently, she imag
ined slip could hear the music-.
But the tapping ou the window op
posite was not imagination. Jessica
wa. a little frightened. Then she
saw the girl.
won c you let me iook at it, just a
minute?" Urn girl asked, in a thin,
high voire.
Jessica lifted the lily and carried
it .-cross the street; then she braced
it up against the rickety fence.
"You may smell it if I can come
in a minute," she said
There was a cry from the girl.
“Oh! granny! hurry! hurry!” and
the next minute Jessica found herself
in the bare little room, and the lily
set on tae floor and the poor, mis
shapen mite of humanity bending in
awe over it.
Finally site leaned back in her chair
witti c'oseil eyes end said: "It must
tie right, from heaven!"
There was a very tender smile on
Jessica’s lips as she leaned over her
beloved lily ami kissed each blossom,
but a tear tricked down into one
golden throated cup.
"I will give it to you." she said,
moving it yet nearer the girl. *T
guess God w ill see it here quick as he
would in church.”
Aftpr service Jessica and the min
ister walked down the street, hand in
hand, and she told him about the girl
and the lily lie was silent, so silent
she thought tie was offended.
“I ain sorry if l did wrong." Jos
sica said. "But she was so poor and
sick, and—"
The minister looked down at her
and there were tears in his eyes,
which she thought very strange in
deed.
"Wrong?" he said. "Why. my
child, you placed that lily on the very
topmost step of God's throne!”
Jessica gave his hand a happy little
squeeze, and her feet would skip, for
the world is such a beautiful p ace
wnen one's dreams come true.
AN EASTER VISION
It was Easter Sunday. The streets
were thronged with well-dresssed poo- I
pie on their way to chureh, and t ie
spring air was full of the joyous
sound cf bells.
“What a hollow mockery!" thought
one sad-faced woman as she stood I
amid the worshipers in the crowded
i transept.
The priest stretched out his hands
j toward the kneeling flock and spoke i
| of the butterfly and the chrysalis, the
marvel of revivified and blossoming j
; earth. Yet his words were meaning- ,
j less, cold and empty in t re ears of i
I the sad. biack-robed woman who :
j sought in vain for consolation.
W. re they indeed those mansions
! of God of which the rector spoke?
Had taese people fount them? Why.
| then, were tney barred to her? Ah. in
! her bitterness, she doubted if she
i really eared for such joys. All she
yearned for was the one tender,
human smile which t..ey told her was
forever banished. Her heart rose up
; in a spasm of rebellion. It could nnt
| be true that anything so good was
j irrevocably gone.
“Christ is risen—is risen from the
dead!” sang the choir; but the sad
and lonely woman turned and left the
j church.
j That afternoon she walked along
country roads, through tie delicious
onors ot the spring-filled air. As she
; tr0(i the brown meadows the sky was
! aglow with the dulling gold of the
, sunshine and the wind bore to her the
| scent of fresh hyacinths.
mill she wandered on, unheeding,
I absorbed in tae bitterness of her own
; heart, until she saw before her a
i country churchyard, where a woman.
I black-robed, like herself, bent sobbing
above a new-made grave. Drawn by
; some intangible chord of sympathy,
I she walked over to where the other
j «. peeled at the tomb.
It is faster. said the second
I woman, mechanically lifting her
, heavy eyes, “and he is dead.” A
sudden comprehension came to her
! glance; she reached out her hand
j and touched the stranger's gown,
j “You understand!' she cried. “You
too—"
res. I understand, answered the
first woman, monotonously. "Your
etory is also mine. He is dead.”
"They are gone from us forever,”
cried the woman at the grave, with
a burst of wild weeping. “Ah, for
one sign of inimorta....y, for one hope,
one dream tnat it is not forever—that
they but sleep to live again!"
And then for both these sorrowing
souls was wrought a miracle! Life,
for the instant, threw aside its mask
of death and revealed itself in its
serene majesty of reality. The sky
became more vivid and opaline; the
wind blew more freshly, bearing a
ousaud scents; hepatlcas were
blooming at their feet; a bird soared,
singing, from the ground.
For the moment they seemed to
feel the swirl of the earth on its axis,
the stars revolving in their spheres,
the mignty heave of the great oceans
of life, and knew that there was
r.oihing in time nor space nor exist
ence. but change, motion and vitality.
*n that one brief moment they felt
| and knew the presence of their dead
j infinitely near and comforting, and
! were assured beyond ali doubt that
| there was
j The freer step, t ie fuller breath, the
wide horizon's grander view.
The sense of life that knows no death,
the life that maketa all things
new.
And then the vision passed, the
j scales fell upon t leir eyes, their ears
once more grew dull. And yet its
i memory remained. They stood to
gether in the worid, as they had
! known it, alone; but nevermore deso
J iate.
BUDS OF EASTER.
The florists are looking happy. A<
cording to experts, this Easter will
create :■ new record tor the flower
market.
I ast Easter's flower prices indi
cated that, nearly DUO,000 was ex
pended in New York city alone for
cut flowers and plants, and there are
florists wau confidently predict that
even this sum will he overtopped this
season.
The lily, both cut and potted, is
queen of the Easter market. This
year florists are making a specialty of
set pieces made of Japan lilies. In
one of the most beautiful of these a
shallow basket or tub Is lined with
moss in which are buried the stems
of the lilies.
‘•Plants.” said a florist, "are more in
demand at Easter than cut flowers,
and next to them In popularity are
fancy baskets filled with cut flowers.
The baskets are of many shapes.
“A favorite design resembles a
small hamper of lilac rough straw, the
cover held back with a broad satin
ribbon tied in a bow between the
hinges. This is filled with roses of
the valley standing upright.
■ A three-cornered, open-faced bas
ket of white and golu straw finished
with a tall, slender handle, is a nov
elty. The handle is wound with flow
ers r.nd smilax and tne flowers in the
basket are arranged to droop grace
fully to one side.
"A very beautiful receptacle for
violets is a flat tray-like oblong bas
ket suspended by a wide satin ribbon.
Wide ribbons of gauze, satin and taf
feta are again a distinctive feature
alike of the Easter plants and made
pieces, preference being given to
white, nink and mauve.”
if Easter spells prosperity to the
flower growers, it is equally a boon ta
the confectioners. To be strictly up
to date, one must send a present of
candy enclosed in a handsome Easter
box and indeed in many cases the
candy is used only as a medium for
the bestowal of a gitt really worth
having.
Anions me more mniit-uun' ui me
boxes !s a variety made of a sort of
papier mache in imitation cream and
of pale ecru leather, which is orna
mented with embossed sprays of
flowers in their natural tint and the
heart of each flower sparkles like a
jewel.
Anottier variety of box is covered
with satin—white, pale blue, pink,
mauve or yellow—and hand painted
with flowers and with birds and foli
age.
A third style is of ecru silk em
bellished with vines and flowers of
raised embroidery done with applique
segments of s..„ and gauze in gay
colors.
Some of these boxes are quite large
and of many shapes, the square per
haps having most admirers. Boxes of
finely woven, tinted straw are also
included In the display, trimmed on
top with artificial flowers.
Although less costly than the silver
ed, gilded, enameled and jeweled bon
bonniers, which are also conspicuous
in the confectioner's Easter stock, the
boxes are by far the more popular.
The Lesson of the Season.
Ages pass, but each returning Eas
ter brings again Its lessons of sacri
fice. of unselfishness and of great
love for humanity. Great snowy banks
of lilies, emblems of purity, are of
fered in remembrance of the greatest
soll'-abnegaticn in the histo-y of the
world. In vast cathedral a id ttodest
chapel vibrates the majestic music
of praise for that most wonderful ,'es
urrection, upon wdiich is based the
faith if tire mightiest peoples of the
aitb.
rie is arisen, the tiod in Man, who strove
Throng’ll the long ages with his bestial past.
He is arisen, anil through the gates of love.
Hath entered to his heritage at last.
And Death, the shadow that his footsteps fled.
In terror of the asphodel and tomb.
Is robbed of all his panoply of dread,
And garbed in glory of the lily's bloom.
Oh, Ion*? had earth been a Oethsemane,
Oh. long’ had man worn red crown of pain.
And many a soul had fared to Calvary
Hearing’ its cross of wretchedness and shame.
No more, no more, into the voiceless dark
Sinks he to rest, fearing the dreamless night.
I or Christ is risen, and the immortal spark
Of Cod in him hath kindled heavenly light.
The Origirv of the Cross
The origin of t 'e cross as a symbol
is shrovded in ihe dim mists of
almost prehistoric antiquity. Centur
ies before the Gallic and Cymric Celts
swarmed over England. centuries be
fore the lowly Naxarene began pro
mulgating his doctrines, centuries be
fore the beginning of the Old Testa
ment history, the cross was an im
portant factor In the lives of men. It
forms u?r> of the lore of the most
ancient of religions. Never is a great
excavation made but that many varia
tions of the cross forihs are exhumed
and under circumstances which prove
that they have been religious sym
bols.
There are many evidences to prove
that prior to the time of Christ the
Cross was with the Jews a sign of
sahation. The brazen serpent was
Moses instructed the people of Israel
to mark their doorposts with the
blood of the sacrificial lamb he told
them to make the mark in the form
of a cross.. The s i" n of the cross is
frequently found on ancient Jewish
monuments near Perseapolls.
What became of t.ie true cross is
one of the greatest miracles of all
time. It is true that mere are in
many Old ar.d New World cathedrals
bits of wood purporting to be part of
the true cross. In some cases, notably
that which concerns the fragment tff
the tablet placed over the <toss by
Pilate’s order, and which is now in
the ancient church of Sar.ta Croce
at Rome, their authenticity seems
fairly well established: but so min
ute ari- the fragments that, according
to one ancient writer, if all were col
lected and put together they would
only make a block 01 wood about
twenty inches long, eight inches wide
and three inches thick.
it was three cer.turies after the
crucifixion of Christ before the cross
was found, its discovery was due to
the devout Helena, wife of the Em
peror Constantine, who abolished
crucifixion and to whom the Chris
tian religion owes the original adop
tion of the cross as a symbol. Over
the spot where the cross was discov
ered a chapel was erected and the
sacred wood was retained hy Helena
in Jerusalem and deposited under
tne great church or basilica erected
by Constantine over the plate of
crucifixion and burial. For three
nnndred peaceful years the cross
remained in tne custody of the Bish
op of Jerusalem. Every Easter it was
oxhihited to the pilgrims who throng
ed the Holy City. Then came three
hundred years of comparative obscur
ity. from which the cross emerged to
become the center of upheavals that
convulsed the entire civilized world,
arrayed the West agaiust the East,
and caused the spilling of oceans of
blood—the wars of the Crusades.
The story of the valiant crusaders
and their series of attempts to rescue
the holy wood from Moslem hands is
well known. After a series of vieissi
tiides, victory finally perched on the
banners of the Saracens, who, under
the groat Saladin, defeated the Chris
tians at Hattin, in a battle of fright
ful carnage. On that day, the 5th
of July. 1187, the cross was lost to
the Christians. It was never again
recovered. Richard the Lion Hearted
and many other warriors went to the
rescue, but to no avail. Finally tne
| cross disappeared. Of its fate noth
! ing is known. For hundreds of years
a search was maintained, but without
! success. It is generally believed that
I the superstitious Moslems, fearing
j the powers of the cross, destroyed it
j in order to prevent its possible re
capture by the Christians. Tills, in
brief, is all that is known of the his
tory of the true cross itself.
After the crucifixion over three cen
turies elapsed before the cross as a
symbol in any form became a part
of the church observance, and seven
centuries passed before tne crucifix
was finally adopted. This prolonged
delay proceeded from two main
causes. The early Christians had
not fully eradicated the old prejudice
against the cross, and they thought
the scene of the crucifixion too sacred
to he pictured in images.
Prior to the fourth century the
holiest of Christian symbols was the
monogram of Christ. It was woven
into all ecclesiastical vestments and
formed a prominent feature of other
decorations. About tne year 393 the
first crucifix was introduced into the
church. It was made of dark red
wood and at the intersection of the
two parts bore the figure of the
ianih. the objection to the using of
the actual figure of Christ being still
strong.
Somewhat later came the Greek
crucifix, one of the most beautiful
of all the forms, and which many
contemporary divines contend would
form a more fitting part of church
ceremonials than the one in common
use. This Greek cross was meant to
typify the triumph over death, but in
such a manner as to divest as far as
possible the entire subject of its
gruesome and morbid aspect. It
blossomed with flowers of gold and
silver and was richly studded with
gents. In 693, during the reign of
Justinian, the Council of Trullo was
held. The object of the famous con
ference was to devise a means by
which to circumvent the mysticism
and symbolism that were threatening
to undermine the Christian religion
and deprive it of Its true meaning, it.
was pointed out that the signs and
symbols used in the service were be
coming more and more important
than the things they stood for. and
that to.the ignorant mind the story of
the life and sufferings of Christ he
gan to he only a sort of myth, an
allegory. It was resolved to substi
tute the actual human figure of the
crucified Christ for that of the sym
bolic laiub. This act resulted in the
creation of the orthodox crucifix of
to-day.