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Show I SACRED LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS j Most of Those Which Center About the Life of Christ Had Their Origin During the Middle Ages. -T-IIE countless legends which center 1 about the lifo of Christ whilo upon I earth, came Into popularity, for the i most part, during tho mlddlo nges, and ; wero given unbounded credence by tho Ignorant, superstitious peoplo of ' " that day, whoso beliefs wero yet I I tinged by tho influence of paganism. ill Upon thoso sacred legends aro based 1 many of tho most JamouB paintings In 1 tho world, and not a little of its poetry I and song. I Tho traditions concerning the cross & l upon which tho Savior was crucified w r have como down to us in varied forms. 1 A Greok legond tells that when Adam (l was oxpe led Irom tho garden of Eden. I ho took with him a staff niado from n 4 brand! of tho Treo of Knowledge. Dur- I ing his wanderings he reached tho Bite of Jerusalem, and thrusting tho staff j into tho earth it took root and flour- Ml , ished. And, when, yearB later, It wbb '$ - cut down, it Berve'd as tho cross of jL tho crucifixion, Tho story of tho mlstlotoo is better known how onco it was a tall, stout, iv tree but how, after being used for the l!Si)r- j, cross, It becamo accursed, a mero Cn, weak parasite. Tho legend that tho ', ' sBpon treo was used for tho cross Is assigned to tho Germans, who bo- v ' lieved that, out of remorse and fear. Us leaves wero mado to shlvor per- petunlly. To cedftr wore Ills plercod foot nailed soro: To beams of sacred palm Ilia outstretch .,, ed lianda: A cypress tree Ills tortured body bnrc, ' On ollvo wood Ills kingly tltlo stands. . t Hut the logend of tho cross most ; widely spread nnd most generally be lieved in tho olden tlmo is as follows: 1 .. Adam, having lived to a great Tigo, . and feeling that death was not far . distant, bade his son Soth bring to 1 him cither tho fruit of llfo which grew ' in the garden of Edon, or tho oil of " i! mercy which flowed there and which j had been promised to Adam upon his I expulsion from tho garden. Scth mado 1 his way to Paradise by tho footprints of Adam and Evo, over which no grass had over grown. Tho angel to whom Seth made known'hls errand gave him, tree seeds, from tho fruit of tho treo , of which Adam had eaten, and di rected that they bo placed under Adam's tonguo just before his burial. In tho courso of tlmo Adam died and . tho angel's Instructions wero carried I eut. I Soon there sprang from Adam's grave in Hebron three trees a cedar, n cypress and n plno treo. These long 1 - grew together, forming but ono trunk. which came to bo regarded ns a Bymbol "" of tho Holy Trinity. This treo, trans planted by Moses and later by David, ' . grow to bo vory beautiful, Hut oven 1 ' . Its beauty did not prevent Solomon - from cutting It down In order to coin- pinto his temple, for which a beam of fr enormous slzo was lacking, nut each j. fimo that the beam cut from this tree v woh fitted, It would bo cither too largo i or too small, and Buch a strange clr I ' rnmstance was taken ns a sign that It i should not bo used, ,; Some tlmo afterward, most versions ji ngreo, tho beam was burled whoro tho Si pool of Dotlippda was at a later tlmo discovered. During Passion week tho n wood roso and floated on the surfaco of tho pool, and Iho Jews used It for tho crucifixion cross. I Tho legond of tho Holy Grail has an Important placo in llteraturo and art. ' According to tradition a descendant ' of Adam nnd Evo found ono of the j Vwge emeralds from tho crown of Lucl ." ffrr-nn nngel who had been expelled fV .heaven and mado from It a beautiful cup. This cup came Into the possession ot Joseph or Arlmathea, In whose homo ChrlBt koyt tho feast of tho Passover with his disciples. At tho crucifixion Joseph received u- few drops of Christ's blood into tho cup, which thereafter becamo known as tho Snngraal, Sangreal, or Holy Grail, bo-causo bo-causo the blood had not only sanctified sancti-fied It, but had given miraculous powers pow-ers as well. On every Good Friday morning theso powers wero ronowed a dove coming down from heaven and depositing In tho cup a consecrated wafer. Many n tlmo did tho chaltco aid and sustain Joseph nnd his little band of followers, who took It with them to England, whoro Ihoy established estab-lished tho first monastery at Glastonbury. Glaston-bury. Hut Bin finally appeared nmong tho flock and angels carried tho Holy Grail away. In Palcstino thoro grows a creeping plant with long, hard thorns tho Spina Chrlstl which mny have furnished fur-nished material for tho crown of thorn placed on tho Savior's head. Ono of tho legends says that tho willow was used for this purpose, and that, in sorrow for causing so much agony, It drooped and wept, Its sharp thorns changing into soft leaves, that they might never again causo any palp. And ever slnco it has been known ns tho weeping willow. Other legends relate mt this change In tho willow came becuuso Ha bronchos wero used as n Bcourgo upon tho Savior's back. In Germany, Franco and England, It was generally belltvcd that tho crown was mado from hawthorn twigs. In Italy tho barberry, In tho West Indies tho cashoV treo, and clsowhero tho brier rose, ncanthuB, wild hysson and acacia bear this stigma. A great deal of bird lore 1b linked with the stories of ho Passion. There Is a Danish legond that as Christ was Buffering on tho cross three birds enmo and nllghted upon It. Ono cried, "Styrlk ham. styrlkham!" (Strengthen him, strengthen him!), nnd slnco that tlmo tho stork has bec.n known ns n bird of strength and blessing. The second, It was Interpreted, cried "Svnl ham, svnl ham!" (Refresh him, re-frrsh re-frrsh him), and tho swallow was likewise like-wise thought to bo a bird Of blessing, nut tho third cried, "Puen ham!" (Torture (Tor-ture him!), and so from that hour tho lap-wing has been accursed amrfng birds. Tho Swedish legend Is tho game, wJth tho addition of n fourth bird, tho turtle dove, which, flying thither, cried. "Kyrlo, Kyrlo!" (Lord, Lord!) nnd Its voice has ever since been limited to that clnglo word of lament. An owl, according to tho Spanish, was bo dazzled by tho .sunlight It did not perceive that It had alighted upon tho cross, nut as night camo on It saw, and, frightened, called, "Cruz, cruz!" (Cross, cross!) as It flow away. And from that moment the owl has kept repeating this cry nnd has been nblo to soo only after darkness falls. Tho crossbill, In nn unsuccessful clfort to draw out ono of tho nails which fastened the Savior to tho cross, twlqtcd Us beak and dyed Its plumago with tho Martyr's blobd. Concerning tho robin thoro Is n. aim ilnr tradition, expressed in verso, as follows. To the Ravlor'a throbhlni head F'-o fondly Btrovo. Ills blood, 'tis said, Jjyed ah her tonder bosom red, Klnce then no hand disturbs jmr nes No prowling beasts her young molest-That molest-That sacred bird of ruddy breast. Somo of tho oarly Italian pnlnterB have In tho foreground of their crucifixion cruci-fixion Bcencs tho white wood sorrel, purple-stained, which Is said to have grown at the foot of the cross, and to havo been colored from the blood which dropped upon Jt. Tho fact, as Ruskln points out, that the leaf of this plant pQsscssod tho power of quenching thirst, mny havo been another an-other reason for Its Introduction Into tho pictures, Ono species of tho orchid, which In Chcshlro 1b called GethBomane, and whoso petnlB nro marked wltluulnrk stains; tho passion flower, symbolical of the crown, tho scourge, tho spear and tho nalU; tho arum, tiger Illy and scarlet ai.omone nil, It was bellovcd. wero mute witnesses of the crucifix ion, And tho white Illy, emblem ot purity, has always beeu connected with tho storloB1 of the Virgin and of Christ. f |