The weekly union record., 1865-03-11
Sermons in Stones.


4 rough stone wall, in any situation, is an
object Of interest 10 a thoughtful mind. The
different shapes Of the stones. their varied min
eral character. the diversity Of ,ints. texnres
and lines which occur in them. all suggestiyeI
of inquiry and reflection. Sermons may thus |
be found in stones more profitable. perhaps
than many printed or spoken onss. which bel
who runs may read. The smallest appearances
link themseles with The grsndest phenomena !
minute speck supplies text around which,
may cluster many striking thought; and by !
means of a hiat derived from a mere hue or Incl
10 little sione-almost iuappreciable 10 theI
general eye-Uay be reconstructed seas aud
continents tha, passed away thousands OF agesI
ago--vIsious of landscape Scenery to which The |
present aspect ol the globe presents no parallel
This fexure Of the sicne tells me Of violent
volcanic erupiions. by which the soft. newly
deposited stralum-ihe muddy precipitate OIL
ocean waters heaved and undulated hike cornI
IN the breeze that lamination, of which theI
dark lines regularly alternate with the gray
speaks eloqaently of gentle waves ripping
unsteady over sandy shores and the irregulsrI
proinberances which | see here aud there overI
the stone. are the casts Of hollows or cracks
produced in aucient tide beaches by shriukageI
similar appearances being often seen under
our feet as We walk over the pavement of
almost any Of our towns. Youder smooth aud
siraiiened surface Of granite is the Runic
writing Of the northern Frost king. transporting
me back in fancy to that wonderful age OF ice
when glaciers sid over mountain rocks, aud
flowed through lowlaud valleys, where corn
now grows. and the snow seldom falls. And III
there be block of sandstone, it may chance 10
exhibit not only ripple marks Of ancient seas,
bat also footprints OF Gnknown birds aud strange
tortoseS that sought their food along thcj
waters edge; and sometimes memorials ofl
former things more accidental and shadowy
than even theSe-such as fossil rsindrops. little
circular and oval hollows with their CASTS
supposed to be impressions produced by rain
and bail, and indicating by their varying ap-
pearances the character OF the shower and the
direction oi the wind that prevailed when it
Was falling. Every one has heard of the crazy
Greek who went about exhibiting a brick as q
specimen Of the building which he wished to
sell but in the structure Of each geological
system every stone is significant Of the whole.
Each fragmen', however minute, is a record of
the terrestrial changes that occurred when it
was formed ing aimed IN every hue and line is
the story of the physical conditions under which
il was produced. The ten commandments were
uot ubure ciedIiy tugfaNeu Oh l1e '"o 'aoies VI
stone than the laws Of Dature that operated 10
its formation are impressed upon the smallest
pebble by the wayside. Its materials furnish
an unmistakable clue TO its origin, and its
shape unfolds lis subsequent history. God has
impressed the marks OF the revolutions of the
earth not merely upon large tracts Of country
and enormous strata of rock and mountain
range-diffcut of access and iuconvenient for
study-but even upon the smallest stone. so
that the annals of creation are multiplied by
myriads of copies, and can never be lost
Hugh MEier.