Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/545

* DRUID. 475 DBTJM. At a certain time of the year the Druids assemble in tlio territory of the Cariiutes, wliieh is be- lieved to be the centre of all liaul, in a sacred place. To that spot are gathered from every- where all persons that have quarrels, and they abide by their judgments and decrees. It is believed that this institution was invented in Britannia, and thence transplanted into Gaul. Even nowadays those who wish to become more intimately acquainted with the institution gener- ally go to Britannia for instruction's sake. '■The Druids take no part in warfare: nor do they pay any taxes like the rest of the people; they are exempt from military service and from all jniblie burdens. Attracted by such rewards, many come to be instructed of their own choice, while others are sent by their parents. They are reported to learn in the school a great number of verses, so that some remain there twent.v years. They think it an unhallowed thing to commit their lore to writing, though in the other public and private alVairs of life they frequently make use of the Oreek alphabet. . . . Beyond all things they arb desirous to inspire a belief that men's souls do not perish, but transmigrate after death from one individual to another: and they hold that people are thereby most strongly urged to bravery, as the fear of death is thus destroyed." This powerful priesthood did all they could to uphold the national cause against the Roman conquerors, and urged the people to rebellion. The Emperor Claudius found it necessary to inter- dict formally the practice of druidieal rites, which seem, however, to have continied down to the extinction of paganism. Besides being priests and teachers of religion, the Druids ap- pear to have been adepts in the magic arts, and were versed in the mysterious powers of animals and plants. The oak-tree was especially sacred among the Druids, and they frequently performed their rites in oak groves. They also had a spe- cial reverence for mistletoe Avhen growing on an oak. According to the elder Pliny, a Druid, clothed in white, mounted the tree, and with a knife of gold cut the mistletoe, which was re- ceived by another standing on the ground, on a spotless cloth. The same author gives a curious account of the 'serpent's egg* worn as a distin- guishing badge by the Druids. It was formed, he says, by thff poisonous spittle of a great many serpents twined together. Gathered at moon- light, and afterwards worn in the bosom, it was a mighty talisman. All these particulars refer properly to the Druids of Gaul, but C.T.sar's testimony leaves no doubt that the Druidism of Britain was essentially the same. In all the countries anciently inhabited by Celts, there are found rude structures of stone, one of the most conmion forms of which is the so-called rfo/mcii (q.v. ). The older archieologists assumed that these were druidieal altars: but there is no proof that such was their purpose or origin. Similar structures are found in Scandi- navia and many parts of Germany, and to assume in all these countries the presence of Celts seems too hazardous. The same doubts prevail as to the larger monuments of this kind — the supposed druidieal temples of Avebury, of Carnac in Brittany, and of Stonehenge (q.v.). Consult: Ca'-ar, Dc Bello Onlliro, vi. 1."?, 14: Ramsay, Fniin^ntiotis of Fttqlnnd. vol, i. (London, 1804) : d'Arbois .Tuhainville, Introduction a Vrtudr dc la Ultirature ccttUiiic (Paris, 1883) ; Bonwick, Vol. vi.— 31. Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions (London, 1804) : Rhys, Lectures on the Origin and Oronth of Hcligion us Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom (London, 1888). See Celtic Peoples. DKUIDS, OiiDEi! OF. A secret organization for imrposes of mutual aid and protection, estab- lished in London in 17S1. introdxiced in the city of New York in ISS.*!, and in Germany in 1872. In England a number of independent lodges sprang fi-om the parent organization; in the United States the Order assumed a more na- tional character, the first grand grove (the name lodge was discontinued) having been established in 1840. The society included, in 1002, 16 grand groves and 40(! sub-groves, with a total member- ship of 17,3.54: in the same year it had paid out in benefits some !?.5,000,000. Many of the mem- bers of the organization are German or of Ger- man descent. DRUM (Dutch from, Ger. Trommel, dial. dromni, from OllG. trumba, trunipa, trumpet. It. fromba, Fr. trompe, Eng. trump; connected ulti- niately with Lat. triumphus. triumph, Gk, Spia/i- /Sos, thrinmbos, Bacchic jirocession). A musical instrument of percussion, consisting of a cylinder of wood or brass over one or botli ends of which a membrane is stretched tightly by means of wooden hoops. There are four kinds of drums — the side drum, only diflTering from the snare-drum (q.v.1 in the absence of gut strings across its umlcr side; the bass-drum (q.v.), and the kettle-drum (q.v.). With the exception of the last, drums cannot be perfectly tuned, and hence are of use only to mark or vary the rhythm. Drums of vari- ous forms were early used in Egypt and India. An EgyjJtian instrument corresponding to the modern African tom-tom can be traced back to about B.C. UiOO. The tiiinpanum of the Greeks and Romans resembled a small modern kettle- ilrum, though it could not be timed to any exact pitch. From India the tise of drums spread west- ward, being introduced into Europe either by the Moors or through the Crusades. See Musical IXSTKUMEXTS. DRUM, or DuriiFisn (so called from the dnimmiiig noise). An.v of several fishes of the family Sciicnid.'e. most of the species of which make a noise under water variously called croak- ing, drumming, snoring, grunting, etc., but which mo.st resembles the roll of a muffled or distant drum. This noise is commonly thought to be pro- duced by the transfer of air to different compart- ments of the air-bladder. The fishermen fre- quently attribute it to the rubbing together of the broad pharyngeal teeth, which are arranged like a cobblestone pavement, and are often pre- served as a seashore curiosity. These remarks more particularly apply to the salt-water drum of the Atlantic coast of the I'nited States [Pago- nins ehromis), which has been known to exceed 100 pounds in weight, but ordinarily is not half that weight. It is a heavily built fish, with poor flesh, large scales arranged in diagonal rows, and a large number of short barbels hanging from the lower jaw. It frequents ba.vs and shallow coastal waters, in search of the mollusks upon which it mainly feeds, and may often be heard at night 'drumming' steadily for a long time be- neath an anchored boat. It is a great pest to the oy.ster-planters about Xew York, destroying an- nually a vast amount of cultivated oysters, the fish crushing into fragments hundreds more than