CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION 



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great pity and almost profanation to 

 relegate this ancient and historic em- 

 blem to the class made tip of four-leaf 

 clovers, wishbones, horseshoes,' rab 

 bits' feet, etc., etc. These harmless 

 superstitions are well rooted and have 

 been dignified with age as we of to-day 

 count the years ; but to take from the 

 swastika the mystery, the important 

 place given it in history, to so belittle 

 it as to call it an emblem of good luck 

 after the vital things it has stood for 

 through the ages, seems to me a sacri- 

 lege. Although little about it can be 

 stated with certainty, antiquarians are 

 pretty much agreed as to its having 

 been a religious symbol, that it was 

 one form of the cross and there is good 

 reason for believing that in some form 

 in both ancient Egypt and Mexico, it 

 symbolized eternity. In more modern 

 times it has been used not a little as 

 one of the symbols of wisdom, and this 

 is not inappropriate, for it gave birth 

 to the art of ornamentation and has 

 been an object of much study and re- 

 search. There are some who think it 

 had something to do with the secret 

 religious rites of prehistoric times; this 

 may account for its still remaining one 

 of the unsolved riddles of history; it 

 may be the reason the meaning is a 

 secret to this day, as it seems to have 

 been through the ages. 



Among all ancient people in India 

 China, Japan, Egypt, Scandanavia 

 Mexico and Peru, the swastika ap- 

 pears on almost everything man has at- 

 tempted to embellish from little 

 trinkets to magnificent edifices, espec- 

 ially among the things that have lain 

 buried for centuries. There were few 

 ancient temples that bore no trace of 

 it, and this fact probably gave rise 

 to the belief in its religious significance 

 I should be sorry indeed to see it gain 

 in popularity as an emblem of good 

 luck ; we have enough of these. Let it 

 remain a symbol of wisdom; until we 

 know more of its origin it has served 

 as such for many years, and certainly 

 the wisest of scholars from all over 

 the world have given much time and 

 thought to its study. 



Very sincerely yours, 



Nathalie Alexandre. 



P. S. Of course you know Buddha 

 taught that to be good one must be 

 wise. To attain to knowledge was the 

 duty of mankind. That Universal wis- 

 dom would lead to universal brother- 

 hood and happiness. Christ's two 

 "greater commandments" and the 

 golden rule summed up the Buddhistic 

 religion. The swastika in some form 

 is inseparable from almost all Buddhist 

 temples. 



How a Crow Breaks Clam Shells. 



To one unaccustomed to watching 

 the antics of crows, the incident ob- 

 served the other morning near Com- 

 modore E. C. Benedict's mansion was 

 quite interesting". The aforesaid crow 

 was seen flying in a circle over the 

 rocks by Indian Harbor, something 

 shiny in its bill. This proved to be 

 a soft shell clam which the bird 

 had picked up on the shore. The crow 

 finally dropped the clam, and the per- 

 son who observed it, went closer, and 

 saw that the clam had dropped on a 

 flat rock. Mr. Crow thereupon dove 

 down to the rock, gave the shell a 

 shake, saw that the clam and the shell 

 were still inseparable, and seized 

 them both and made another ascent, 

 whirled around and dropped the clam 

 again. This was repeated a third time 

 before the crow mounted a tree trium- 

 phantly holding the clam, minus the 

 shattered shell, in its bill, and with an 

 appetite for the sea food, it is believed, 

 well-earned. — Greenwich News. 



Blessed are the men and women 

 whose minds are centered on the ac- 

 quisition of knowledge ; who possess 

 sweet and amiable tempers who cul- 

 tivate truthfulness and other similar 

 virtues ; who are free from vanity and 

 corruption ; who enlighten the minds 

 of those who are in ignorance; whose 

 chief delight consists in promoting the 

 happiness of others by the preaching 

 of truth, by generous distribution of 

 knowledge without fee or reward ; and 

 are engaged in altruistic work.— 

 Swami Dyanand. 



