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psalm-singing and other ceremonies continue, so that the festivities often last til midnight. In a most excitable mood and with the merriest conversation the company then separate, as if they came from a ball or a gay banquet. Thus, after the long winter, the first act of one of their most beloved festivals has been performed with suitable honors.

Another noted festival is the so-called Feast of Tabernacles, as is well known an important one, commanded by the Mosaic Law (Leviticus xxiii: 33-44) and which till now is celebrated in all Jewish communities with solemn evening and morning services. The remnant of a peculiar, poetical glimmer, which from those primeval days has surrounded this festival, interwoven so with customs appealing to the senses, bas clung to it through all the changes of time and opinions, and in many parts of the country we hear it called by the Christian population the "green Feast" of the Jews. Originally in Palestine it was a great national festival, the whole people streamed out of all the towns and villages towards Jerusalem, which, in memory of the former dwelling of the Jews in tents during their desert-wanderings, was transformed into one entire camp of fresh embowered buts. This signification has gradually retired, after the dissolution of the Jewish States, behind another, grounded more in community and family life, and relating more to the course of the years and the seasons.

The Feast of Tabernacles falls in that month of the Judaic calendar which now extends from the seventeenth of September to the seventeenth of October, and must be designated as a peculiar festival month in the Jewish year. The first ten days of this month are called the ten fast-days. They begin with the festival of New Year's day of the Jews, and close with the highest and holiest of all Jewish holy days, the so-called Atonement-day. When this time of serious meditation and deep emotion, with the plaintive melody of its supplicating and penitential hymns, with its strict fasts and solemn assemblages, with shrouds for garments, and its sad remembrances, when all this is over, then the father of the family, on one of the soon following days, comes out into his yard or garden, or if he has only a hired house,

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out to some spot of earth selected for this purpose, and with his joyfully helping children begins a peculiar labor.

Posts are planted in the ground, boards are brought, nails are driven, and the work of adjusting, hammering and joining is continued, till a neat, airy, little house, covered. above with fir tree branches or other green boughs, arises, which now, according to the means and the taste of the owner, is adorned inwardly with all care, the walls often papered, is provided with tables and chairs, and ornamented with suitable Hebrew Bible verses, with colored lanterns, paper garlands, gilded apples and nuts, and especially with those remaining bright autumn flowers, which in the midst of all joy may warn us so solemnly of the waning summer. These little houses, the pride and joy of Jewish children, are occupied at meal times during the whole festival by the family, and here are performed also all the accompanying ceremonies.

The Feast of Tabernacles begins on the fifth evening after the close of the Atonement day and lasts full nine days, of which the first two and the last two are so called holy days, the five middle ones only half holy days. After the service in the synagogue, the family return to the hut to partake of the abundant meal together in the charming tasteful green arbor, where the same benediction over the bread and wine and the other ceremonies before mentioned, are observed. But the view of all this among the green bowers is one of the most pleasing which can be seen. In the larger as well as the smaller towns, it was formerly the custom on this evening for the whole Christian population to be abroad to visit the "bowers." After the religious ceremonies are observed and the prayer before eating is pronounced, then the sojourn in the "bower" is made a time of gayety, and till a late hour is heard the voice of song, lively chatter and laughter of merry maidens in the bright little houses.

Besides these bowers, this Feast has another ancient custom, also enjoined by the Mosaic Law, the Festival-Bouquet, which consists of tall palm branches interwoven at the lower part with myrtle and water-willow, and to which also a so-called Paradiseapple belongs, named in the Bible "Fruit of the tree Hadar." This bouquet, in spite of

its high price, is yet procured by every devout Jew; it belongs at the Tabernacle Feast to the necessities of an honorable family, and Christian as well as Jewish traders make every year a profitable business with it in the various European commercial cities, and especially with the Paradise-apple. Also in the service of the synagogue the bouquet is used; it is carried around in the procession, and the leader waves it and turns it, during the singing of the various psalms, with a peculiar movement towards the various quarters of the world. Different Rabbis have attempted an explanation, and many others have seen in it, on account of the combination of so many productions, a symbol of concord and unanimity, or of equality of all before God. But we think there is no other significance than the beautifying of the Festival by green adornments.

The last day is called the Day of the Joy of the Law, and is celebrated in the synagogue by bearing around in procession the Thora-rolls, (the five books of Moses) and in the houses by jubilee and dancing, by jovial meals and unrestrained merriment. It is also a festival for the children. With gay flags, on which are fastened burning lamps, they appear in the synagogue and march in the front of the procession.

Now if we ask what significance such a festival has in the consciousness of modern Jews, we believe we are not in the wrong if we maintain that it has not yet lost all its innocent lustre, and the brightness of its earlier poesy. It is still celebrated as a thanksgiving for the harvest, and also as the closing festival of the summer cycle of Feasts. For the five chief feasts of the Jews fall all in the summer, and from the Tabernacle Feast which borrows its ornaments from the flowers of the late Autumn, to the Passover Feast at Easter time, when the first green shoots of early Spring appear on the table, there is during the whole Winter not a single Jewish holiday. The Feast of Tabernacles, therefore, closes a beautiful and inspiring season, and with its already shortening days and lengthening nights stands close to the portal of the dark and gloomy days of winter; it connects itself, therefore, with all those feelings of depression and those graver moods, which so often affect the souls of men

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Once, when my youth was in its flower, I lived in an enchanted bower,

Unvexed with fear or care,

With one who made my world so bright,
I thought no darkness and no blight
Could ever enter there.

I have no friend like that to-day,
The very bower has passed away;

It was not what it seemed;

I know in all the world of men
There is not and there ne'er has been,

That one of whom I dreamed!

And one I loved and called my friend, And hoped to walk with to the end,

And on the better shore, Has changed so cruelly that she, Out of my years that are to be,

Is lost forevermore.

With his dear eyes in death shut fast,
Sleeps one who loved me to the last,

Beneath the churchyard stone;
Yet hath his spirit always been
Near me to cheer the world wherein
I seem to walk alone.
There was a little golden head
A few brief seasons pillowed

Softly my own beside;

That pillow long has been unprest
That child yet sleeps upon my breast

As though she had not died.
And seeing that I always hold
Mine earthly loves, in love's sweet fold.
I thus have learned to know,
That He, whose tenderness divine
Surpasses every thought of mine,

Will never let me go.

Yea, Thou, whose love, so strong, so great Nor life nor death can separate

From souls within thy care;

I know that though in heaven I dwell,

Or go to make my bed in hell,

Thou still art with me there!

THE DISTINGUISHED DEAD OF MT. AUBURN.

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THE DISTINGUISHED DEAD OF MT. AUBURN. | music, and during his apprenticeship was a

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No. L.

BY T. H. SAFFORD.

Rev. Thomas Whittemore.

NUMBER of the distinguished clergymen of the Universalist denomination are what are termed self-made men, not having had, when young, the facilities for obtaining a college education.

Among the number whose genius has overcome all obstacles, and whose names are known throughout the civilized world, may be mentioned those of Rev. T. Starr King, Rev. E. H. Chapin, and A. A. Miner, D. D Thomas Whittemore, whose name stands at the head of this article, was surrounded with innumerable difficulties in the way of his advancement and intellectual progress; but by the aid of superior talents, great energy and perseverance, accompanied with firmness of mind, and, moreover, a pleasing manner, Mr. Whittemore succeeded in forcing his way to a prominent and conspicuous position as a religious leader in the denomination to which he belonged, and also in the business relations of the community in which he resided.

Not possessing sufficient knowledge of the science of Phrenology to judge accurately of its general merits, I will here remark that there was one conspicuous phrenological development upon the head of Mr. Whittemore that was favorable to the claims of the professors of that science, as the external indications corresponded with the character of the man. I refer to the organ of language, or verbal memory, which pushes out the eye and gives it prominence, especially its lower portion. This organ in the case of Mr Whittemore, and also in that of the late Governor Everett, was remarkably large.

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"Will you let a house to him? - to a Universalist clergyman? to a man whom you think is doing so much harm?" inquired young Whittemore of his employer.

"Sure pay, Thomas," was the laconic reply of Mr. Baker.

Residing under the same roof, Mr. Whittemore soon became acquainted with the eminent clergyman who was now Mr. Baker's tenant, and after a short time joined the choir at Mr. Ballou's church, and employed his leisure in the study of the Bible with the view of becoming a minister. He commenced preaching previous to the expiration of his term of apprenticeship, and when that closed he entered the family of Mr. Ballou and commenced studying for the ministry, and had leisure for pursuing theological studies, a science which he now loved so well that the Bible engaged his thoughts, and his waking hours were spent in studying its pages, comparing its different interpretations, and perusing commentaries that had been written by men belonging to different churches. He

Mr. Whittemore was born in Boston in the year 1800. The family subsequently removed to Charlestown, and at seven years of age Thomas was sent to school in that city. His father died when he was fourteen years of age, and after a number of changes, young Whittemore was articled to Mr. Baker, a boot-maker of the latter city, and he remained with him until he attained his majority. Mr. Whittemore was remarkably fond of devoted himself to study with all the eager

ness, zeal and enthusiasm of the most ambitious college student who is working for the purpose of gaining rank in his class. He made rapid advancement in the studies pertaining to his profession, and laid the foundation of his future eminence.

After completing his studies, Mr. Whittemore preached at a number of different places, and then engaged for the term of one year at Milford, where he became acquainted with and was married to Miss Lovice Corbett, an estimable lady, now his widow.

Mr. Whittemore wrote, or prepared, an Epitome of Scripture Doctrine, and sent a copy of it to that distinguished philosopher and statesman, Thomas Jefferson, and received the following characteristic reply:

"MONTICELLO, June 5th, 1822.

I thank you, sir, for the pamphlets you have been so kind as to send me, and am happy to learn that the doctrine of Jesusthat there is but one God-is advancing prosHad perously among our fellow citizens.

his doctrines, pure as they came from himself, never been sophisticated for unworthy purposes, the whole civilized world would at this day have been but a single sect. You ask my opinion on items of doctrine in your Catechism. I have never permitted myself to meditate a specified creed; these formulas have been the bane and ruin of the Christian church, its own fatal invention, which through so many ages made of Christendom a slaughter-house, and at this day divides it into casts of inextinguishable hatred to one another. Witness the internecine rage of all the sects against the Unitarian. The religions of antiquity had no particular formulas of creed,

those of the modern world none, except those of the religionists calling themselves Christians, and even among these the Quakers have none, and hence alone the harmony, the quiet, the brotherly affections, the exemplary and unschismatizing society of the Friends, and I hope the Unitarians will follow their example. With these sentiments of the mischiefs of creeds and confessions of faith, I am sure you will excuse my not giv. ing opinions on the items of any particular one, and that you will accept at the same time the assurance of the high respect and

consideration which I bear to its author, Rev. Mr. Whittemore.

THOMAS JEFFERSON.”

Mr. Whittemore received a call from Cam. bridgeport, which he accepted, and engaged to preach, alternately, at that place and West Cambridge. He also delivered a course of lectures at East Cambridge. In 1823 be was installed at Cambridgeport. Subsequently he was for a number of years elected as a member of the State Legislature from Cambridge. At this period, by the laws of Massachusetts, every man was obliged to contribute for the support of some church. Mr. Whittemore was earnest and energetic in his efforts to procure the repeal of this obnoxious law, and he was successful in his exertions; it was stricken from the Statute Book and never revived. He was editor of the Trumpet for more than one-third of a century.

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In 1830 he published his " History of Universalism;" in 1832, "Notes and Illustrations of the Parables;" in 1840, “ Plain Guide to Universalism." In 1854 he wrote the me moir of Walter Balfour, and in 1855 the life of Father Ballou. His autobiography ap peared in 1858.

I extract from the discourse of Rev. C. A. Skinner the following remarks of Mr. Whittemore, made on his death-bed :

"I have nothing to take back-nothingnothing. I am almost surprised at my frame of mind, that I view my approaching departure with so little dread, but my faith is as strong as ever it was. I have got so far on the way, I do not know as I want to be called back again." And then he repeated the beautiful lines of the well-known poem commencing,

"Vital spark of heavenly flame.""

His funeral was attended by a large concourse of people, and addresses were made by the present President of Tufts College, Rev. Dr. Miner, and also by Rev. T. J. Greenwood.

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The lot of Mr. Whittemore, where his remains now repose, is situated on Sorrel Path. where an uncommonly elegant monument has been erected to his memory. It consists

of an oblong granite plinth, surmounted with a base, ornamented with rich mouldings and bold Corinthian foliage. It also has the name Whittemore chiselled in raised letters on the front. This member is surmounted with a die deeply paneled and moulded, and on its front is a bracket upon which rests a Bible, opened to the following passages:

"Yea, though I walk through the valley and the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me."

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

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The broad, deep, thundering river." O sings Barry Cornwall, and the words were chiming in my brain to an accompaniment of paddle-wheels as we glided away from the pier at Linz, going down the Danube to Vienna. But before the day was done, I was fain to confess that the poet must have seen more of the river than we did. Doubtless far in the east, in Hungary and in the Principalities, it merits his description. All that we saw may be expressed in the title of one of Strauss' loveliest waltzes, " An der schronen, blauen Donau,"-" the beauti. ful, blue Danube." In some respects it was a reminiscence of the Hudson, but never so grand. The shores slope gently to the river, sometimes thickly wooded, sometimes grassy lawns. Here and there is a village, and rarely, a castle. About dinner time we were passing the superb monastery of Molk. It stands on a cliff two hundred feet above the

The die is succeeded by a beautifully chiselled monumental tablet, with numerous embellishments, among which may be enumerated floral decorations, inverted funeral torches, urns and Corinthian leaves, and also a medallion bust of Mr. Whittemore remarkably true to nature and to the original por. traits. This tablet is surmounted with a Roman cross, which completes the structure, its foot standing in a recess of the tablet. The following is the front inscription on a raised panel of the tablet : "Thomas Whittemore. Born, Jan. 1st, ❘ river, with a little village nestled at its feet. 1800. Died, March 21st, 1861."

Rear:

"Thomas Whittemore, a minister of Jesus Christ. During a life distinguished for its earnestness and industry, he was a zealous defender of the doctrine of the final salvation of all mankind. Embracing this faith in his youth, and guided by a constant and unwavering trust in God, he defended it with all the powers of a strong mind and a deeply religious nature. It satisfied an acute intellect and an earnest heart, and did not fail to sustain him in the dying hour. His memory is precious in the hearts of those who loved him, and those who profited by his teach. ings."

-THE fowl that flies low is quickly taken, but that which soars aloft is neither entrapped in the snare nor entangled in the lime bush. So the soul, whilst hovering about these earthly vanities, and stooping down to catch at worldly preferments, is easily and quickly ensnared by Satan; but when it soars and mounts aloft in divine meditations is seldom taken in the snares of temptation.-Spencer.

The buildings were erected a hundred and fifty years ago, on the site where once a heathen stronghold, and later, a castle and church belonging to the ancient margraves of Austria, the predecessors of the Habsburgs, overlooked the river. It is the property of the Benedictine order, and about ninety brothers make up the list of the monastery; but in reality more than half of these are non-residents; those who remain are busy, in their idle way, with the instruction of a few lads, who are sent to them from some of the noblest families in Austria. In the time of the first Napoleon, their revenues were confiscated, and it is said that their cellars furnished something like one hundred thousand gallons of wine for the use of the French army encamped in the neighborhood. These losses were afterwards made good, and the Abbot and his monks yet live merrily and take their ease.

Towards the middle of the afternoon we came in sight of Cœur de Lion's prison, the castle of Durrenstein. It is only a mass of shattered masonry, with outlying walls, reaching down to the water's edge, and as

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