Easter Music and Its Symbolism
I I ages and aee what connection
mere is uevweru mv ,uudwu
Eastertide, nature and music. It
la not a, bard study. Look with
me at yonder drama which was to bo the
consummation of a principle, for which a
man the Son of Man was about to die,
and which has given to the world what la
now called the Christian religion.
On a cross yonder the Savior of the world
is being crucified. Not In a square In the
city, not In a public thoroughfare. Other
men have died for a principle and have met
death upon a scaffold, in a courtyard. In
palacea and In royal prisons; but Jesus of
Naaareth was crucified upon "a green hill
far away."
And so we find that the city Is not chosen
as the site of the world's great sacrifice,
where He of the spotless and blameless life
was crucified tor mankind's benefit; and
today the messages which are cheering
mankind are the words which were spoken
by Him many years ago. In fields and on
shores by Him who loved nature, by Him
who saw God in nature.
When He was discouraged He went for
relief to the bosom of nature; when He
would rest, it was beside a well, or on the
mountain side.
It was In the city that He was tempted
and tried by the Pharisees and the Herodl
ans. One of the greatest lessons which He left
for our Raster contemplation, and the les
son which la embodied in our Easter music,
and the lesson which ofttimea the church
appears to be forgetting, is this, where He
says: "God is not the God of the dead, but
of the living." And we are told that the
people were all astonished at His doctrine.
. 8
And so at Eastertide we have this great
lesson brought home to us. In nature
more than anywhere else. The brooks
which have slept in winter's fast embrace
have awakened to new life. The birds of
the field have awaited patiently this return
of life to the world, to sing their morning
carols of hope and cheer and Joy. the lilies
of the field have raised their heads and
breathed forth the truth of the word
"resurrection;" the trees have garbed
themselves In choicest raiment, and the
blossoms, fruit-promising, have shot forth
triumphant from every spray, and each ono
sings with the lambs In the pastures, and
the colts and the young cattle, "Hallelujah!
for God is not the God of the dead, but of
the living."
And the church is today emphasizing the
lessons taught in the "life" of Christ, more
frequently than It accentuates the "bleed
ing, mangled form." Golgotha is not so
clcee to us, does not affect us so deeply aa
does Galilee, blue Galilee, with Its lessons
of love and sympathy and kindness, or even
Gethsemane, the place of discouragement,
the garden we all must enter some time.
The Christ of nature is not the Christ of
the dead, but of the living.
Do you enjoy that bird singing In the
tree, that beautiful sunset, that rippling
I the New York Times, of a Texan
local exhorter who wished to offer
prayer when the vigilantes were
preparing to hang a horse thief.
"Your prayer may be all right merely
as a supplication," said the critical one.
"I have no fault to find with the prayer
as a prayer. But it la plumb Inconsistent
to pray at this time and place."
"Why ro?" inquired the preacher. "Thla
man Is about to go Into eternity, and be
should be comforted and hia soul saved if
pcsuible."
"Saved coining." said the other. "You
want to send up a petition to get this
felon into heaven when we are hanging
him because he Isn't fit to live in Texas!"
A lawyer who spent the briefless daya of
his career in New York City and Is now a
successful practitioner In Milwaukee, told
at the Fifth Avenue the other day of the
debt he cwea to Justice P. Henry Dugro
for teaching him to curb and tame the
tumultuous voice with which nature has
endowed him.
"I was a vociferous cub," said the lawyer,
quoted by the Mail and Express, "until one
day Justice Dugro lifted me- Into the sev
enth heaven of Judicial approbation and let
me down suddenly Into the inferno cf ridi
cule. " 'I am sure my argument must ccnvlnce
your hcr.or." I said, after a trn-mlnute assault-en
the ear drums ot the court.
" 'It is oerwhelming,' remarked Justice
Dugro, quietly, and my chest expanded.
" 'Indeed, my ears are still buaxlng,'
added the Jubtlce. 'I deny your motion.'
"A ad I slipped out ot court chastened in
spirit." .
An licr.ee t farmer, so a Puck stcry goes,
went to a lawyer for some advice. He was
in no particular need of advice, but be
thought it would be a good thing to have
In the house.
The lawyer wrote a few words on a bit
of paper, which he gave to the farmer,
charging him $10.
When the farmer got home it waa pretty
brook, that broad expanse of green carpet
which nature has spread on your meadow?
Then If you consider the source you are
worshiping God, in spirit and In truth. Can
you feel unkind now? Couldn't you, now,
forgive that thing that bothers you?
Couldn't you let that little matter pass
away now Into oblivion?
This is the lesson of Eastertlmo, and If
you are stirred with those feelings aud
prompted by those impulses, you are in
deed worshiping God, I care not what your
creed Is or whether you have any, and you
are listening to the words of that great
. teacher who told them that day, over In
Jerusalem, after he bad ridden in meekly
on an ass's colt, and upon a carpet of tree
branches, that "God -vas not the God of the
dead, but of the living."
The symbolism of Eastertide. Let us
look at tho most beautiful titles applied to
this man of Nazareth. We will pass over
the prince and king, and the high priest,
and those titles which perhaps may not
mean so much to us. But when It comes
down to the titles of nature and we think
of this Christ who has made the Eastertide
that we know, our bouIs like to dwell upon
the "Good Shepherd." the "Lamb of God."
"The Branch," "The Vine." "The Tree of
Life," "The Lily of the Valley," "The Rose
of Sharon," "The Shadow of a Great Rock,"
"As Rivers of Water in a Dry Place," "As
a Tender Plant," "As Rain Upon the
Mown Grass," "As An Hiding Place From
the Wind."
Where can we get more beautiful symbol
Ism than these, when applied to the prin
ciples He set forth, His own life. His gen
tle Influence, which can be felt today by
anyone who really wants to feel.it, without
protruding His own personality.
And then He was always alluding to
nature and the peaceful pursuits of the
country, drawing lessons from the simple
things that every one knew about:
"Behold the fowls of the air; for they
sow net, neither do they reap nor gather
Into barns; yet your heavenly father feedeth
them."
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow."
"Do men gather grapes of .thorns or figs
of thistles?"
"Even so, every good tr brlngeth forth
good fruit, but a corrupt tree brlngeth forth
evil fruit," etc., etc.
"The foxes have holes, and the birds of
the air have nests," etc.
"Pray ye thereforo the Lord of the harv
est, that He will send forth labourers Into
His harvest," etc.
That beautiful American poet, Sidney
Lanier, has given us a beautiful Illustration
of the Cbrlst-in-nature thoughts which ap
peal to us as an Easter meditation on the
thought "God is not tha God of the dead,
but of the living."
He calls it a "Ballad of Trees and the
Master:"
"Into the woods my Master went.
Clean forspent, forspent.
Into the woods my Master came.
Forspent with love and shame.
Gleanings From the
late, and bis boys and the hired man had
about decided not to haul la the hay.
"We'll haul it In," said the farmer. "I
have consulted a lawyer, and while I
haven't read hia advlco, I have no doubt
he tells me never to put off till tomorrow
what I can do today."
Accordingly they all pretty nearly broke
their backs and hauled In the hay. But It
did not rain that night. Instead, the barn
.took fire and burned to the ground.
The next morning the farmer thought ha
would read the lawyer's advice. Just fcr a
cod.
It ran something like this:
"Keep up your Insurance."
In the marble room of the senate Is a
blackboard, upon which each morning dur
ing the sessions different colored chalks In
dicate the temperature and general weather
conditions prevailing throughout the coun
try. Senator Hale, while talking to a con
stituent, unconsciously backed up against
this board, and a little later started for
the senate chamber, covered with green,
red, yellow and white dust.
"Why. senator, you are a sick man and
ought to bo la bed," said Senator Dubois,
with anxiety In his voice.
"What's the matter with me?" asked the
Maine man, passing bis hand over his fore
head. "Any man," explained the Idaho senator,
laughing and tapping the other on the back, .
"who Is ss cold between the shoulders and
as hot over tha kidneys as you are certainly
needs a doctor."
When Mr. Brown first went out to Caracas
as the United States minister, rrlatra the
Saturday Evening Post, President CaUro
called on him cue af:ernoon. Tbs two
went into the garden and Mr. Bowea waa
expressing his amazement at the rapidity
of all vegetable growth In that climate.
"A seed planted over night wou d re u't In
forty trees the next day," was the laugh
ing remark. Just then " an Amerl an
photographer passed and asked to 1'ko at
picture of the two distinguished mei as
the stocd among the flowers. As he snipped
the camera he made some laughing, dis
But the olives they were not Mind to Him,
The little gray leaves were kind to Him;
Tho thorntree hnd a mind to lllm,
When Into the woods lie came.
Out of the woods my Master went.
And He was well content.
Out of the woods my Master came.
Content with death and pnumo.
"When Drath and Shame would woo Him
last,
From under the trees they drew lllm last:
'Twas on a tree they slew lllm last
When out of the woods He came." '
And that dear writer of childhood, Ku
gene Field, says, In one of his little 'Trof
itatlo Tales," something along the same
Hues, and which I cannot forbear to copy
here:
"One day the Tree heard some one com
ing through the forest. Hitherto the angel
had hastened to its side when men ap
proached; but now the angel strode away
and atood under the cedars yonder.
'Dear angel.' cried the tree, 'can you
not hear the footsteps of some one approach
ing? Why do you leave me?
" 'Have no fear,' said the angel, 'for He
who comes Is tte Master.'
"Many times after that that Master came
to the forest, and when He came. It always
waa to where the tree stood. Many times
He rested beneath the tree and enjoyed the
shade of its foliage, and listened to the
music of the wind as It swept through tha
rustling leaves. Many times He slept there,
and the tree watched over Him, and the
forest was still, and all Us voices were
bushed.
"Ever and anon men came with the Mas
ter to the forest, and sat with Him in the
shade of the tree, and talked with Him of
i matters which the tree never could under
stand; only it heard that the talk was of
love and charity and gentleness, and It saw
that the Master was beloved and vener
ated by the others.
"The Master came one night alone Into
the forest, and His l'ace was pale with an
guish and wet with tears, and He fell upon
His knees and prayed. The tree heard Him
and all the forest was still, as It It were
standing in the presence of death."
Then the slery goes on to tell about the
commotion In the forest when a band of
strange men came there with swords and
staves and loud voices and came to the
tree, and cut It down mercilessly and
stripped It of Its foliage, and the poor trcs
was eeen no more by the forest.
"But the night wind that swept down
from the city of the great king that night,
to ruffle the bosom of distant Galilee, tart
rled in the forest awhile to say that it had
seen that day a cross upraised on Calvary
the tree on which was stretched the body
of the dying Master."
And so at Eastertide, the day which cel
ebrates the resurrection of this Master,
nature puts on her best array and gives
forth her immortal voice singing "AUelulla
forth In duteous praise," while we, the
children of man, shall say:
Almighty Christ, to Thee our voices sins;
Glory for evermore; to Thee we bring
An endless AUelulla!
Story Tellers'
paraging remark about the picture being
the long and short of It. Mr. Bowen Is six
feet four Inches and President Caatro
reaches about to hia shoulder. Tha presi
dent did not like the unkindly eompar
slon and looked up quickly at the new
American minister with a frown.
"Ah, Mr, President." said Mr. Bowen.
"I was very small when I got here, but I
shot up over night la this marvelous cli
mate of yours."
.
Associate Justice Holmes of the supreme
court relates the following dialogue which
he once bad with a colored man who was
a witness:
" 'My drsr sir, whst Is your name?
" 'John Smith, air.'
".'Now, Mr. Smith, what business do you
follow or what work are you engaged la?'
" 'Notbln,' sir.'
" 'Surely you must do something. What
are you?
" 'I'm a Smith.'
" 'Yes, yes. but what kind of a smith?"
" 'Nothln' but a black Smith.'
The presiding Judge at this Juncture
could not resist making; a remark, and he
aald:
" This proves that a white Smith may
be a blacksmith, but a colored Smith must
be a black 8ml to.' "
Much that la going on In the political
world recalls aa Incident of the general
election which resulted In making Abraham
Lincoln president, relates the New York
Times.
'Twas la Vermont, then, as now, and
always, what la known as "Republican,"
only then the prefix "Black was Invariably
added by those "not so." There wsa a
mass meeting In one of the smaller towns.
Two ot three speakers, all ot them of the
Immediate neighborhood) had delivered their
testimouy In favor of Lincoln. One (I will
call him "Jim Blake") was speaking, and
over, and over again referred to the candi
date ho favcred aa "Honest Old Abe." At
a pause iu his speech, "to wipe his heated
brew," "Tom Haines," -sitting on a rail
fence across from the speaker, quietly remarked:
What the Day and Its Songs
Signify to Mankind
Ever since the year 374 A. D., when thai
sainted old bishop of Milan, Anibroslus,
wrote his Tauter hymo, "This Is the very
day of God," there has been rolling down
through the ages an accumulated wealth of
hymn literature, about the Kaalcrtlde.
And the hymna of lasting Importance are
those which remind us that "Ood is not
the Gcd of the dead, but el the living."
Compare this hymn, which a decrepit ortho
doxy liked to dwell upon, with tho ona
which follows it:
Lord! nnd am 1 yet eHve
Not In torment, not In hell!
Still doth Thy good pplrlt rtrlve
With the chief of sinners dwelll
Turn aside, a sight t'admiiv, '
1 the living wonder am!
Se a buth that burns with fire,
Unconaumed amidst tho ttamet
O, the miracle of grace 1
Tell It out tJ sinners, tell!
Men, ard fiends, and anmla gnse
1 am, l am out of hi ll!
And this, from the early part of the sixth
century:
Welcxmo. happy morning! age to ago shall
say:
Hell today Is vanquished, henv'n Is won
today;
Ix! the dead Is living. Gad forevcrmore!
Him. their true Creator, all Ills worka
adore.
Earth her Joy confesses, clothing her for
spring.
All fresh gifts returned with her return
ing King;
Bloom in every meadow, leaves on every
boiiRh,
Speak His sorrow ended, hall Ills triumph
now.
Here Is another of the old materlallstlo
style which was supposed to be so very
spiritual:
My Savior's pierced side
Poured out a double Hood;
By water we are purified.
And pardoned by bis blood.
Called from above I rise.
And wash away my sin;
The stream to which my spirit file
Can make the foulest clean.
It runs divinely clear,
A fountain deep and wide;
Twas opened by the soldier's spear.
In my Redeemer's side!
This Is more sanguine and loss sangui
nary: Sing, with all the sons of glory.
Sing the resurrection song!
Death and sorrow, earth's dark story.
To the "former days" belong.
Even now the dawn la breaking.
Boon the night of time shall ceana
And. in God's own likeness waking;
Man shall know eternal peace.
I
Life eternal! Heaven rejoices;
Jesus lives who once was dead; .
Join. Oh man, the deathless voices;
Child of Ood. lift up thy head.
Patriarchs from diwtant ages,
Saints all longing for their heaven.
Prophets, psalmists, seers and Bagea,
All await the glory given.
Tha voices of nature and the voices ot
mankind and the voices of the angels unite
today In one grand Easter anthem and their
theme is this:
Hallelujah! God Is not the' God of the.
dead, but ot the living! Hallelujah! .
THOMAS KELLY.
Pack
"Jim, tell the boys why you call klna
Honest Old Abe.' " .
Blake undertook to establish the claim to
the title with Its specific adjective. Then
be stopped. The question was repeated
with emphasis on "Why?" Again Blake
went over the usual, ' natural, and very
appropriate reasons, when he was stopped
by Haines.
"Oh. I know all that, but Juat tell tha
boys 'why' you call him 'Honest Old Abe?' "
"Well," replied Blake. "I don't know
any other reasons than those I have al
ready given."
"Ah! I thought so," said Haines. "Shall
I tell the boys?"
"Yes, if you know better than I do."
"To distinguish him from all the rest of
the party."
They are telling a Joka on a certain
over-ambitious young lawyer who lives not
many miles from Chicago. He has met with
aome success and In the charging for ad
vice has followed the assertion made by
veterans In all professions that the higher
the bill the greater the confidence ot Jho
publie in the skill of the man concerned.
Not long ago a young woman who Is de
cidedly handsome, but who may boast of
little money, came to tho young lawyer
with a suit, not complicated, but of much
Importance to ber. Tho evidence waa all
la her favor and tho suit waa won. The
lawyer, however, took much credit upon
. himself for cleverness In bringing the oaso
to a successful close for his client and
forthwith sent her a bill for (1.000.
The next day tho young woman called at
his office. "Mr. J," sho said soberly,
"were you really In "tamest In proposing to
me?"
The lawyer looked at her a moment In
astonishment and then exclaimed rather
excitedly:
"In proposing to you, madam! Why, I
didn't propose to you!"
"No?" she said calmly. "Well, your let
ter of yesterday asked me for my fortane
and I thought you'd perhaps have tho grace
to take mo with It."
The bill was cut to 1500.