Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1848-11-17


"You may be anything, or do anything.
that you please" said the doctor, -"any
thing that does not imply physical or
moral imposslbilily. All that you need is
faith, and frmness Of purpose. What,
think you, did the Man Of Nazareth mean,
when he said 10 his disciples, If ye have
faith like grain Of mustard seed, ye shall
say unto this mountain, Remove hence TO
yonder place and ii shall remove; aud
nothing shall be impossible unto you z
81 don't know" said Robert Hudson,
81 am not much Of ,heologian, aud there
appears to be something dark about that
saying"
mot at ALL" said the doctor "it is as
plain as any passage in the book; it is a
first-rate common-sense text, true TO the
very letter"
"Do you then suppose that men can re-
move mountains 2"
mo doubt of it, 6gura,iveIy speaking
for ii is 6gurotye language"
"Ilow do you know that :"
because Christ never spoke of doing
Z anything literally, that could answer no
good end-neyer performed miracle, but
for some wise and mercilul purpose. Lit
orally, the text cannot be understood; but,
| 6guratively, it conveys a sublime lesson
a lesson every day acted upon, and wheth-
er perceived or not it has been the means
Of making many great man, and of doing
many wonderful things. In short, the les
son taught in that one text, has been the
great lever by which the world has adyanc-
ed from age to age Faith in a true prin-
ciple, with manly perseverance, overcom-
eth every obstacle; whether that principle
be Of physical or moral character, scien-
tifc or religious. Had FULToN possessed
no more faith in the powers Of steam than
did the world around him, how long be-
fore rivers, lakes, and oceans wave would
have been iraversed,
Without sail or oar, gainst winds and tides =
That which would have been absolutely i'm.
possible without faith, by faith. resting on
truth, has been triumphantly successful
When the railroad was frs, projected, the
faithless were ready with their favorite
Impossible = The deep rayine and the
mountain barrier we're in the way but
faith said, The mountain barrier must he
broken through-the valley must be cxalt-
ed, the rough places made smooth, and the
crooked places straight. and il was done.
Next came the man MoRsE, saying that he
could send message thousand miles and
! receive an answer in FIVE minutes He
was considered 'moon-ma3,' but the mar
had discovered a scientific truth, and the
ridicule Of the infidel could not shake hi.
faith. Difficulties were in the way, but
sustained by sublime confidence, he met
and conquered all. Not only have noun
tains been removed, and valleys exalted
but time and space are all but annihilated
Such have been the triumphs Of faith rest
ing upon true principles, that the man i
: both bold and ignorant, who now talk
about impossibiities. Those gigantic proof
of the power and efficacy Of faith are no
solitary-they only appear more sirikin
on account Of their magnitude, and III
mighty results that have followed ever
inch Of progress made by the most obscur
individual, is in consequence of the sam
principle. am acquainted with man
men who ten years ago could not CON
J mand the second dollar, now living in Opt
lence, and some who ten years ago hardl
J knew the first letter in the book, now hole
h ing high places in the literary world"
But" said Hudson, "what do you max
of the context? This kind comes not OF
" but by prayer and fasting"
y, "a at is equally plain" replied the docto
s. land means that extraordinary difficuti'
z, can only be overcome by extraordinary e
S, forts, including mental labor and physic
on privation."
4. "You may be right" said H;
know that faith and perseverance are ne
essary, in order 10 accomplish anything
st but time is also necessary, and ! am no
~ ~ too old-it is now too late"
so "Better late than never, sir. True, "
be have spent half the promised term Of Ill
- in folly aud madness, chasing shadows al
dreamy nothings. But your age, so
AN from being an excuse, is strong reas'
'as why you should redouble your diligence.
up your object is right. If your desires a
merely after the riches of a present wor
IL. about which the mass are every day beco
is, ing more and more insane,-l say insaI
III for if anything stamps 'lunaiic' upon
"D' brow Of humanity, it is the untiring de-
to lion of SOUL body, and spirit, TO The
the things that perish beneath their hands, a
,ct. which at best they can only look upon, a
out then leave foreyer,-if your ambition
will no higher object than dollars and cents
and have no advice 10 give. You must go
nan the muck-worm, to The miser in his den
'H. filth and misery, or to the fool that spel
n, his strength for nought. But should !
81 feel within desires of higher order
ndwellings of nobler nature-a GRAY
mo after mental wealth and moral riches--tl
:. | say neither age nor circumstances on
y to deter you. Every onward step, secu
y an unending good. a something that can
be lost and were your spirit ready TO I
from its house of clay, would still |
struggle to gain yet another idea, in
vance Of the store already acquired. &
.F% 2. achieving, still pursuing is The true MI
. oi for man. Let me tell you story =
Al. When ! was lad Of some fourteen
N E fifteen years Of age, there lived about
-. a mile from my fathers man by the NJ
mes, of SANDERS. He was poor man,
poor-had been SO all his life. At The
= Of eighteen he could neither read nor W
> and think have heard il said that q
= and was not a book Of any description in
4 IL