barbarians held their ostra, or spring 

 festival. 



So wedded to this festival had the 

 people become, that even after Chris- 

 tianity came to be a power the old 

 ceremonies were observed, and the 

 festival of the spring was moulded 

 to conform to the new truths, and we 

 have our Easter, the most sacred and 

 most hopeful festival of the Christian 

 year. 



The ceremony of dressing wells has 

 come down from the time of the 

 Druids. 



A pretty survival of this festival has 

 for many years been observed at Tis- 

 sington, in England, where the wells are 

 dressed on Ascension Day. Wreaths, 

 and flowers and leaves arranged in 

 fanciful devices, and interwoven with 

 symbols and texts, are laid on the open- 

 ings of the wells, and are allowed to 

 remain there through all the day. In 

 28 



