A Beautiful Custom

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 16, 1875

A Beautiful Custom.

In the mountains of Tyrol, it is the custom of the women and children to come out, when it is bedtime, and sing their national song, until they hear their husbands, fathers, and brothers, answer them on their return home. On the shores of the Adriatic such a custom prevails. There the wives of the fishermen come down about sunset and sing a melody. After singing the first stanza, they listen awhile for the answering strain from off the water, and continue to sing and listen, till the well-known voices come borne on the tide, telling that the loved ones are almost home. How sweet to the weary fisherman, as the shadows gather around him, must be the songs of the loved ones at home, who sing to cheer him; and how they strengthen and tighten the bonds that bind together these humble dwellers by the sea! Truly it is among the lowly of this world that we find some of the most beautiful customs in practice. —Sel.