Harper's Young People, April 11, 1882 An Illustrated Weekly

Name: Harper's Young People, April 11, 1882 An Illustrated Weekly
Author: Various

by Various

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Language: en230 downloads on Project Gutenberg

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Children's periodicals, American

In: Short Stories·Children & Young Adult Reading·Poetry

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #56741.

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"FOR LO! HE HATH ARISEN."

BY S. S. CONANT.

The sun in heaven was darkened when Christ the Lord was slain, And in the holy Temple the veil was rent in twain; And all His sad disciples in sorrow bowed the head; They thought His reign was ended; was not the Master dead?

Within the tomb they laid Him; the Roman watch was set, And there were moans and weeping where'er His followers met; All hope was dead within them; the Star of Bethlehem Had set in utter darkness, and what was left for them?

In sorrow and in mourning the Sabbath passed away; But early on the morrow, just at the break of day, To seek His tomb the Marys went silently and slow, Who by the cross had waited, and were the last to go.

They carried precious ointment and spices rich and rare, The body of the Master for burial to prepare; Their hearts were sad and heavy, their weeping eyes downcast, And not a word was spoken as toward the tomb they passed.

But when they stood beside it, what wonder struck their sight? Behold, a glorious angel, in robes of shining white; They heard with joy and wonder the gracious words he said: "Why seek ye here the Master, the living with the dead?

"For lo! He hath arisen--behold where He hath lain-- From death He hath arisen for evermore to reign; Go, tell His sad disciples, that they may weep no more; In Galilee then seek Him, where He hath gone before."

'Twas in the early morning, just at the break of day, He rose to drive the darkness, the night of sin, away; And on this dawn there follows no darkness and no night; He lives and reigns forever, the Lord of life and light.

EASTER IN JERUSALEM.

BY LYDIA M. FINKELSTEIN.

Nearly nineteen hundred years ago there dawned in Jerusalem, that once-favored city, the glorious morning of the Resurrection. This Holy City has not vanished from the face of the earth, but still stands a silent witness of the scene so dear to humanity that was once enacted there.

All over the Christian world, wherever it is celebrated, Easter brings its wondrous tide of joy and gladness, but in Jerusalem it is observed with great rejoicings. That city is now, even as it was of old, the resort of thousands of pilgrims from every quarter of the globe, who come to spend Easter within its ancient walls. These visitors differ from one another in ideas, manners, language, and costume, and yet have a certain unity in the purpose for which they have assembled.

Every pilgrim wends his way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is, according to tradition, the tomb of our Saviour. This church is a large building, with beautiful belfries, its front is richly sculptured, and though time-worn and gray, it presents a magnificent appearance. It is now always crowded with pilgrims from every clime, of every race and color, worshipping at the various shrines.

Six different denominations--Roman Catholic, Greek, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, and Maronites--perform their services in their own rites and language in this church, so that a spectator can see almost every nationality represented there in its own peculiar costume.

Jerusalem is a little world in itself at this time of the year. The streets are very gay and crowded. Merchants from Damascus and other places come hither, bringing wares of various kinds, which they display in the stores. Life and activity are the characteristics of this season.

The Mohammedans, also, celebrate the death of Moses at this time, and the streets are filled with their pilgrim processions, consisting of men and boys with drums, tabors, cymbals, and tambourines, which combine to produce a peculiarly barbarous sound. Then come dervishes, with long dishevelled hair, carrying spears and hatchets, dancing, leaping, and feigning to cut themselves with swords. Following all these is a mixed crowd of men, women, and children shouting, singing, and clapping their hands. Thus they proceed to the supposed tomb of Moses, which the Mohammedans have located on the western side of the Jordan.

Eggs beautifully colored are seen in almost every store, and hundreds of children crowd round them, buying as many as they can. Then they get together, and see who can win the most eggs by breaking both ends with one strong egg. These eggs are hard boiled, and when broken are eaten by the children, or sold to each other for a mere nothing.

On Good-Friday the Protestant residents (German, English, and American) go out to the Garden of Gethsemane, and hold a short religious service under the ancient olive-trees, singing favorite old hymns. Easter-morning services are held in the quaint Gothic English church, which is then often crowded with American and English tourists. The hymn "Jesus Christ is risen to-day, Hallelujah!" is sung with fervor; and when the clergyman reads the lesson for the day, one can almost picture to himself how Christ, nineteen hundred years ago, walked through this very city, blessing just such little children as those who now throng the streets selling bright flowers.

In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre services are conducted all Saturday night until Sunday at dawn, when hundreds of bells ring out their chimes that the Saviour is risen. The church is so crowded as to leave barely standing room, and the vast multitude, led by the priests and accompanied by the rich peals of the organ, sing the hymn of the Resurrection. After the blessing is pronounced, the congregation salute each other with "Christ is risen!--may we live to celebrate this feast another year!"

Easter-tide in Jerusalem is the children's great festival, more so than Christmas, because they receive more presents at this "Great Feast," as it is there called. Every child, rich and poor, has a new outfit made for this day, and cakes and candies in abundance. Besides the gorgeously tinted eggs there are bright-colored cards and other tokens suitable to the day, and amusements of every description are arranged.

Easter picnics continue during the two following weeks. The fields are at this time of the year all green with half-ripe grain, and bright flowers are seen everywhere. Nature is clothed in her gayest robes of beauty. In order to make these picnics more enjoyable for the children, many families and schools have a fashion of hiding brilliant eggs, colored in red, blue, yellow, pink, purple, and gold, among the mossy rocks and in the green grass amongst the flowers. The children are then sent to hunt for them, and a great deal of merriment is excited as they eagerly rush about, each one trying to find the most.

So to a Jerusalem child Easter is always associated with a crowded city of strangers from all parts of the world, clear blue skies, and bright green fields filled with beautiful flowers. Everybody rejoices and commemorates the glorious resurrection of the Son of Man, who, like themselves, was once a child in this very city, and witnessed similar scenes, when strangers came from afar to celebrate the Feast of the Passover at Jerusalem.

Reddy had laid his plans so well that all the intending partners were where they could easily be found on this evening when Toby's consent was to be won, and Ben Cushing was no exception. On the hard, uneven floor of his father's barn, with all his clothes discarded save his trousers and shirt, he was making such heroic efforts in the way of practice, that while the boys were yet some distance from the building they could hear the thud of Ben's head or heels as he unexpectedly came in contact with the floor.

When the three visitors stood at the door and looked in, Ben professed to be unaware of their presence, and began a series of hand-springs that might have been wonderful if he had not miscalculated the distance, and struck the side of the barn just as he was getting well into the work.

Then, having lost his opportunity of dazzling them by showing that even when he was alone he could turn any number of hand-springs simply in the way of exercise, he suddenly became aware of their presence, and greeted his friends with the anxiously asked question as to what Toby had decided to do about entering the circus business.

Bob and Reddy, instead of answering, waited for Toby to speak; it was a good opportunity to have the important matter settled definitely, and they listened anxiously for his decision.

"I'm goin' into it," said Toby, after a pause, during which it appeared as if he were trying to make up his mind, "'cause it seems as if you had it almost done now. You know, when I got home last summer, I didn't ever want to hear of a circus or see one, for I'd had about enough of them; an' then I'd think of poor Mr. Stubbs, an' that would make me feel awful bad. I didn't think, either, that we could get up such a good show; but now you fellers have got so much done toward it, I think we'd better go ahead--though I do wish Mr. Stubbs was alive, an' we had a skeleton an' a fat woman."

Reddy Grant cheered very loudly as a means of showing how delighted he was at thus having finally enlisted Toby in the scheme, and Bob, as proof of the high esteem in which all the projectors of the enterprise held this famous circus-rider, said:

"Now you know all about circuses, Toby, an' you shall be the chief boss of this one, an' we'll do just what you say."

Toby almost blushed as this great honor was actually thrust upon him, and he hardly knew what reply to make, when Ben ceased his acrobatic exercises, and with Bobby and Reddy stood waiting for him to give his orders.

"I s'pose the first thing to do," he said at length, "is to see if Jack Douglass is willin' for us to have his hoss, an' then find out what Uncle Dan'l says about it. If we don't get the hoss, it won't be any use to say anything to Uncle Dan'l."

Reddy was so anxious to have matters settled at once that he offered to go up to Mr. Douglass's house then, if the others would wait there for his return, which proposition was at once accepted.

Mr. Douglass was an old colored man who lived fully half a mile from the village; but Reddy's eagerness caused quick travelling, and in a surprisingly short time he was back, breathless and happy. The coveted horse was to be theirs for as long a time as they wanted him, provided they fed him well, and did not attempt to harness him into a wagon.

The owner of the sightless animal had expressed his doubts as to whether he would ever make much of a circus horse, owing to his lack of sight and his extreme age; but he argued that if, as was very probable, the animal fell while being ridden, he would hurt his rider quite as much as himself, and therefore the experiment would not be tried so often as seriously to injure the steed.

It only remained to consult Uncle Daniel on the matter, and of course that was to be attended to by Toby. He would have waited until a fitting opportunity presented itself, but his companions were so impatient, that he went home at once to have the case decided.

Uncle Daniel was seated by the window as usual, looking out over the distant hills as if he were trying to peer in at the gates of that city where so many loved ones awaited him, and it was some moments before Toby could make him understand what it was he was trying to say.

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