“I don’t know that it does any harm,” replied Miss Lee; “but it always seemed to me like a heathenish practice. Did you know that the old pagans used to mark themselves in that way, in honor of their idols?”
“What, did they prick Indian ink into their hands, as we do?” inquired Ronald.
“Sometimes they pricked the marks in,” replied Miss Lee, “and sometimes they burnt and cut them into the flesh. If a man devoted himself to Jupiter, he marked himself with a thunderbolt, on the palm of his hand, or his wrist, or neck, or upon some other part of his body. If he chose Mars for his god, then the mark was a helmet or spear. Soldiers and slaves used sometimes to be marked in the same way, to show to what commander, or to what master, they belonged. Some tribes of savages, at the present day, are very fond of such ornaments, and tattoo their faces all over, by pricking dyes into their skins. There are several allusions to this custom in the Bible, and the Jews were forbidden to practise it.”
“It’s wicked, then, to make such marks, isn’t it?” inquired Otis.
“No,” replied Miss Lee, “so long as you do not make them in honor of any false god, nor with any bad motive, there is no sin in the act. The worst that can be said about it is, that it is a foolish custom, and a relic of paganism and superstition.”
“I’m going to see if I can’t wash mine out, before it dries in,” said Ronald, and he hurried off to the pump, followed by Otis.
For a few minutes the boys worked as hard to rub out their new ornaments as they had labored, a little while before, to imprint them upon their hands. But water, soap, and even sand, were all in vain. The stars shone as brightly at the end as at the beginning of the effort. While thus engaged, Oscar came along, and, on seeing what the boys were about, indulged in a hearty laugh.
“Why, you little fools!” he exclaimed, “what are you trying to wash the ink out for?”
“Because we don’t want it in,” replied Ronald.