Lundy (Isle of the Grove) and Heligoland (Holy Land) will immediately occur to all readers as conspicuous examples of ancient island shrines. Of hill top shrines there are no dearth. The arrangement of the Chinese Imperial grave, and of s million other graves in China, preserve its essential features. The altar faces south and the main approach is from the south, while the crest of the hill protects the altar or grave from the dark and evil forces that emanate from the north. Somewhere before the altar, ike the poles before a Chinese yamen and the winged pillars before the Imperial Palace in Peking, are the pillars by which the movements of the celestial luminaries are guaged, The early Christian mission~ aries in Europe took more delight in overthrowing these "pillars of Hercules," or erminsul as they were known to the Germanic races (surviving in the May pole) than in any other gesture against idolatry. In some German towns the annual custom still survives of setting up these pillars in the high places" and of knocking them down with: stones Altars and pillars were, however, of much less importance in the sight of the Ayrans than the holy trees. Just as the totem beasts of the Indo-European folk have always been beasts of prey—the dear, wolf, lion and tiger, the eagle, raven and vulture, in various countries—s0 have the more majestic and stalwart trees been sacred in various climes. We all remember how Ezekiel said: "and they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering." And again their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill......under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols." Jeremiah, in condemning the corruptions of Judaism, also has much to say upon the high hills and the green trees, "whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills." The green tree whose worship alarmed the Hebrew prophets was the terebinth. In Arabia the most sacred was the acacia, among the Druids the oak. The word beech is most widely diffused and probably the oldest word known to humanity. Among the Teutons and Celts there were nine sacred trees—the nine spokes of the sun-wheel—though no one seems to have identified them and they may have varied with environment during migrations. The ash was particularly sacred to the Scandinavians; and their tree of life, Ygdrasil, was an ash. Others that figure in Indo-European tradition are the elder, alder hazel, haw, sloe, pine, fir and juniper. we
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.