Funeral Of A Druid

Far away soem the times and the rites of the Drnids; even under the mistletoe at yuletide- the time of Yowling. Theirs was one of the most ancient and primitive of religions, and its cult ia greatlv shrouded in mystery. Yet it is not altogether dead. Ainong the hills of Wales many strange relies of the past remain. There may be no "fragments of forgotten peoples," but there are legends and customs and songs and social and religious rites preserved unchanged from the days of Artlmr and Merlin and Taliessin. There are probably not a few seers who, like Glendower, "can summon spirits from the v&sty deep," though whether or not they will come is yet a mooted'question. And as for the Druids, their line is yet unbroken, and their weird rites are still celebrated as of old. The death occurred at Llantrissant of Dr. William Price, who held the distinguished office of archdruid of Wales. He was something more than 93 years old and might have passed for one of the old time bards who perished in King Edward's reign, so rugged and antique was his appearance. Six or seven years ago, it may be remembered, an infant that had been born to hiiú in his old age died, and its body was publicly cremated by him with Drnidical rites. For this he was arrested and brought to trial. Brit af ter a hot contest in court he was acquitted, and a decree was tronounced írom the bench. establishing the entire iegality of this form of funeral. Aceordingly when Dr. Price himself died a similar ceremony was enacted without thought of interference. The ceremony took place on the summit of a high liill at Caerían, the very spot where the body of the infant had been burned. Several hundred tickets were issued to the friends and former patients of Dr. Price, entitling them to enter the inclosure and witness the burning. The hoor first set was noon. But public curiosity rose to so high a pitch that, to avoid being overwhehned by a mob of sightseers, it was at the last moment decided to change it to 7 o'clock in the morning. So in the gray lig-ht of that early hour the strange "procession made its way tothe hilltop. Jio mourning garb was to be seen. The closest friends of the deceased Draid were attired in the ancient costames of the Welsh people. The body of Dr. Price was clothed in the Druidical robes he had worn in life and was then placed in a coffin of torated sheet iron. On the hilltop two stone walls had been built, four feet apart, each being about 10 feet long and 4 feet high. A nuniber of iron bars extending froni one to the other formed a rade grating between them, some distance above the ground, and upon these bars the coffln was placed, the head being toward the east and the feet toward the west. Á clergyman of theEstablishedchurch was present and read the ordinary service for the dead in Welsh. The vestments of the chureh contraste d as strangely with the Drnidical garb worn bysome of the attendants as did the words of the prayer book with the strange rites. Some slight changeswere made in the service, such as the body being "consigncd to the flames." Then under and over and all around the coffin was piled a great lot of wood, perhaps a whole cord of it, and to this were added several tons of coal. Many gallons of parafñn oil were thrown upon it. thoroughly saturating the entire pile. Then. at about 8 o"clock, two of the closest friends of the late Druid carne forward from the throng and applied torches to the wood, one at each end of the mass. In a moment it was all a raging fui-nace, and the hill literally flared like a volcano. A brisk breeze was blowing, which fanned the fire and carried the flame and smoke far into thd heavens. For many miles the strange spectacle was clearly seen, and thousands of people came flocking thither froni all parts of Glamorgansbire. Seven or eight thonsand of them gathered in a ring about the pyrc, as close to it as possible, and watched it with eager interest all day long. Some hours after dark that evening the flames had died down, and there was only a dull glow froni the coals. Then with long hooks they dragged the coffln from the furnace, when it was diflcovered that it had been literally burned through in many places, and 'when the lid was uncovered the receptadle was absolutely empty without the faintest trace within of the remains. The coffin was subsequently conveyed on a bier, followed by an immense crowd. and deposited on the couch in the deceased's residence, where a few davs previouslv