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r l I yyßfcwijas b “*• " • ■'»-- -- «--waMßßß»is«rt-* .-«■ ..... ,-?gata<hgtatE-jMrcMfc J —wa«»—»* iwwiiimum h.m m wu'miwiiiiiM —i wbw i-i ■' a*?u_«r •«--»^”‘mmr r nrimin T -i -i nm .1. '< ■■-«.i. .._!---■ . 1 u ~iw<mjiiwjj._ . ._TI7Z ———m* ~~* ****■»■ m T. L. MITCHELL, Publisher. Vol. 7,—No, 3. For Woman’s Wobk. EASTEft. Bright Easier morn, it is of thee And all that thou dost bring, Os peace and hope and love to me, Glad morn, of thee I sing. When all the mighty powers of hate United in the doom Os God’s own Son, with Him our fate Was buried in the tomb. And when He rose, arose on high, The bands of death were riven, And evil powers all conquered lay— Back into darkness driven. Take courage hearts that almost break, Where fierce and hard the strife, The victory’s yours, for His dear sake, The end. Eternal Life. Hannah E. Taylob. For Woman’s Wobk. EASTER. BY SHILOH FATNK LANGFORD. j HE forty days preceding Easter, which are observed by fasting and solemnity, is an ancient custom of the Christian Church, and is in commem oration of the miraculous abstinence of Je sus, when under temptation. It is called Lent, from the Saxon word lengtentide. And it was Pope Gregory who caused this lenten season to begin on what has since been called Ash Wednesday, from the Catholic ceremonies on that day. The ashes used in these ceremonies were made of the palms consecrated on the Palm Sun day of the previous year. This is to re mind the faithful that they are dust and ashes. The last week beginning with Palm Sunday (“On the next day much pec pie that were come in to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jeru salem,took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet Him, and cried: ‘Hosanna 1 Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord,’” —John xii., 12- 13), and ending with Easter (“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the sep ulchre,”—John xx., 1), is called Passion Week. This is because it is the anniver sary of Christ’s Passion—when his man hood was at strife with his divinity. Fol lowing his triumphal entry into Jerusa lem, came the driving of the money-chang ers from the Temple; His controversy with the Herodians, Pharisees and Saddu cees; His prophesy on the Mt. of Olives, of the destruction of Jerusalem; Judas selling him to the high priests and elders for thirty pieces of silver; His evening visit to the two sisters, Mary and Martha, at Bethany, and the breaking of the ala baster box of precious ointment, whose perfume has come down to us through 2,oooyears, with the Master’s words, ‘‘She hath done what she could.” She had anointed Him for the sacrifice. Then the “Last Supper” in that “Upper Chamber,” and the memorable washing of the feet, followed by the visit to Gethsemane. “AU those who journey, soon or late, Must pass within the garden’s gate; Must kneel alone in darkness there, And battle with some fierce despair. God pity those who cannot say, 'Not mine but thine,’ who only pray, ‘Let this cup pass,’ and cannot see The purpose in Gethsemane.” Jesus sweated great drops of blood as he prayed: “If possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” And so, as God willed in His love for humanity, it came to pass; and the soldiers came and took Him, and be fore the morning light Peter had denied his Lord thrice. On Friday the supreme tragedy of the world took place; when the Jews nailed our Saviour to the cross, cry ing: “His blood be on us and on our chil dren.” Taunting Him:—Hail, King of the Jews; * * * He saved others, himself He cannot save.” They went out and gathered thistles to make Him a IT DONES’T REQUIRE MUCH TO MAKE HAPPINESS—ONLY CONTENTMENT. ANDITHIS IS THE HEART'S PRIVILEGE. ATHENS, GEORGIA, MARCH, 1894. mock crown; and with the thistles they gathered a little flower, which had been growing among them since the time of the first Adam, to adorn the brow of the sec ond Adam. As Adam and Eve were be ing driven from the garden of Eden, the Angel, (watching the couple going forth, hand in hand, into the misty unknown; Eve’s eyes, filled with longing and heart ache, turned ever back to the Eden from which her sin had driven them) let fall great tears of sorrow for them. These tears fell among thistles, there to spring into life as flowers, and bloom unnoticed for 4,000 years; and then to fulfill their mission, and to live in fame and story for ever after, as the Passion Flower. • * » • * But what strange thing was this; an earthquake was on them, rocks were rent, I . • ■ I ■ J • -■■■■» «• & •" • 1 f > ■ C ‘ ; #••••.< B # V 1 3 * •• i t ! -■ / / . . I * I p ■ j graves opened, and the dead that were in them came forth, and the veil of the Tem ple was rent in twain. Crying unto His Father in Heaven, “Into thy hands I com mend my spirit,” Christ died; proving His divinity even by His death, for crucifix ion was naturally a long, painful death. And when the centurions came to Him, He was already dead. But His words have never ceased ringing in men’s ears, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall save it.” And so they have gone to Him, through fire and water and tortures indescribable. All powerful in their love for, and faith in the lowly Naz,arene. Saturday found the Pharisees exultant, and the disciples desolate, scattered as sheep without a shepherd. The next morning, while it was still dark, two lone • women went towards the tomb to anoint > the body with spices, wondering as they > went who would roll the stone away for them. But when they reached the sepul chre they found the stone rolled away, and an angel sitting on it, who said to them : “He is not here; He is risen.” ■ “In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me; As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on. “He hath sounded out the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the souls of men before the Judgment seat; O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him,be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on.” ***** A legendary history of the Holy Cross was published in a book in Culenborg, in 1483. It was something like this: When Adam was about to die, Seth went to the gate of Paradise to implore oil from the Tree of Mercy, but instead, was given a branch of the Tree of Knowledge, by the Archangel Michael, who told him that when the tree bore fruit, his father would be cured. After Adam’s death, Seth plant ed the branch, and it grew into a large tree, which was cut down by Solomon for his temple. It could not be used, so was thrown aside, and served as a bridge over a pool of water. The Queen of Sheba, KATE GARLAND. Editress. who probably crossed it on her visit to Solomon, warned him (prompted by avis ion) that one who would be suspended on that tree would, by his death, be the over throw of the Jewish Empire. So Solo mon had the tree buried in the earth. The pool of Bethsaida rose on the spot, and its medicinal qualities may well be supposed to have been imparted by the tree which was “lor the healing of the nations.” The wood rose to the surface at the appointed time, and was used for the cross. After the crucifixion it was again buried in the earth, where it remained till discovered by the Empress Helena, by angelic interposi tion. ***** In the second century a dispute arose between the Eastern and Western church es as to the proper time for the celebra tion of Easter. The Eastern church cele brated the 14th day of the Jewish month or moon, considering it equivalent to the Jewish passover. The Western church celebrated it on the Sunday after the 14th day, holding that it was the commemora tion of the resurrection of Jesus. The Council of Nice, 325 A. D., before whom Constantine brought the question, decided in favor of the Western usage, and author itatively declared for the whole church that Easter should always be the first Sun day after the full moon which occurs on, or next after March 21st. And if the full moon happens on a Sunday, Easter will be the next Sunday. A great many of the Easter observances are of Pagan origin, the Boman church giving a Christian significance to such of the customs as could not be rooted out. In the ancient church, the celebration of Easter lasted eight days. After the el av en th century it was limited to three days. It used to be the time for baptism. The courts of justice were closed, alms given to the needy, and slaves received their free dom. On Easter day tne people saluted each other with a kiss, and exclaimed, “He is risen,” to which the answer was given, “He is risen indeed.” The most characteristic Easter rite is the use of Pasch eggs. They are colored with dye—woods, herbs, gay pieces of cal ico, and chemical dyes, and presented to friends. They are sometimes kept as am ulets, sometimes eaten, and sometimes games are played by striking them against each other. In some moorland parts of Scotland it was once the custom for young people to go out early on Pasch Sunday, and search for wild fowls’ eggs for break fast; it was considered lucky to find them. The use of eggs at this time is symbolic of the springing forth of life in spring. The Jews used eggs at the feast of the Pass over, and the Persians present each other with colored eggs at the festival of the New Year (in March). This feast of Eggs is considered by Christians as emblematic of the resurrection, and of a future life. “Behold, your Lord hath risen from the tomb.” Miss Mary Carey Thomas, who has re cently been elected president of Bryn Mawr College, near Philadelphia, is a Baltimore woman. For many years, Miss Thomas has been interested in educational questions. In 1877 she took a degree of A. B. at Cornell University, then she stud ied two years at the Johns Hopkins. In 1879 she went to Europe and attended lec tures at the University of Leipsic. After wards, at the University of Zurich, she re ceived the degree of Ph. D., where she also won the highest honor of that Institution. Later, she studied at the Sarbonne and at the College of France. When Bryn Mawr opened, she was elected dean of the College. She was also made Professor of English, which position she still holds. Miss Thomas, with the former President, James E. Rhodes, did much to build up the Institution, and to make it, as it now ranks, one of the best of colleges for wom en. 50 Cts. per Year,