Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-11-17
Tie Fi7e ss q Divine JuIgnent.

/
Der, has some words on the special
providence question which are ~;
good as they are timely:
If the explosion Of the worn boiler
Of the =" cst!ie.d, on Sunday, and
the consequent destruction Of life,
is n sign Of the Divine displeasure
and a judgment upon sin, what is
the explosion Of the worn boiler Of
the Slarbuck upon 4 week day, and
the consequent destruction of life:
1t Was on Saturday evening that
DR.. Gannett,a Unitarian. and Dr.. Ma
son, a Baptist, two clergymcn uni
versally respected for the purity Of
theirlives and the benignity Of their
teachings, were instantly killed
upon the Eastern railroad, was it
judgment for travelling at alp
Why was it not a Judgment upon
DIR. Gannett for being a Unitarian,
or upon DIR. Mason for being a Eap-
tist? Why not judgment upon
the community for tolerating rail
road? Why not sign of divine
wrath with those passengers who
had eaten too much dinner, or with
those who were going too grecdiIv
to supper? If an event which is
very simple and very explicable,
however terrible and saddening, is
to be regarded as Judgment, then
every event may be so regarded.
and, therefore, the significance Of
all events is wholly lost. And if
it be judgment, who shall inter-
pret it? No man is bound to ac-
cept his neighbours view of it
Here, for instance, upon the West.
field, was some poor couple, oblig:
ed to work hard early and late
through the week, and whose little
child, puny, sick, whitening in the
close air OF the city, was ofdered
by the doctor. as the only chance
for life, to taste the fresh air Of the
sea. 1t is q small expense. but one
that the poor young parents feel;
yet what they can do shall be done
to save their darling. So they car
ry him to the steamboat upon tho
only holiday they have-holy day,
indeed, which they devote to saving
their child-and as they sit upon
the deck, waiting to 90, the little
eyes open with tresher lie as the
blood feels the breath Of the sweet
er air. Instantly God touched them
all, and they slept. Then one man,
a devout Christian, says that it is
Judgment for seeking enjoyment
upon the Sabbath. But his neigh
Dor, also Christian, says that
God of love, who died for the sins
OF his children, would not angrilv
lestroy these children for loving
heirs. And another asks, if it be
he glory Of Christianity that it
abollshes the terror ot' death, why
do you call death judgment, as il
it were dreadful doom? Last
Tuesday, silly said a newspaper
long ago. a clergyman Of Ipswich
was standing upon the frame Of
Deacon Joncs's house. which was
| ust RAISED, and unfortunately fall
NC, he was killed. Itis an impress
sive warning against standing on
the frames Of unfinished houses on
Tuesdays. 1t was wide sarcasm.
for is there any end to this cheap
Interpretation? Yesterday morn
ing little girl going to school slil-
ped upon piece Of orange peel and
broke her thigh. What PROV
Dental admonition to little girls
not to 90 to school IN the morning.
Last week Obadiah Screws mare
ran against a scythc left in the pas
ture, aud cut herself SO severely that
she died. The day before Obadiah
Screw ate baked blue-ish for din
ncr. Let those who are fond of
baked blue-tish reflect in time upon
this warning. This is no more ab-
surd than to find in an eclipse
sign Of divine displcaSure. or in the
explosion Of the Westfcld and
Ocean Wave the punishment of sin
ncrs. care all sinners, and what
ever i'll betalls us may, therefore,
be AS truly accounted a punishment.
\ burned finger, a sprained ankle.
an indigestion, are, in this sense,
judgments. And there is one other
point upon which the good people
who so nimbly pronounce a calami-
ty to be a punishment and warn
ing seem to have reflected little
Why should the sin Of the poor
young parents who took their child
upon the Westticld, in the pious
hope of saving its lie, be, as You
say, punished i'll so sudden and
startling a manner, while the sin of
robbers and raScals who break the
hearts of widows and grind the
poor and demoralizc a community
is not punished at all in cur ewes.
but is rewarded with unboundcd
atfluencc, comfort, luxury, and often
with long, painless life? Take care,
icrvent friend, that in explaining
the celestial counscls rs if vou had
been admitted to them, you do not
bring the celestial power itself into
doubt and contempt. OF the two
NNiiN '"'SN WV : iiiNh W NV WHY
killed upon the eastern road, and OF
the poor young parents whom We
have supposed, upon the WestEeld,
you say that the sudden death was
Gods Judgment upon sin. Perhaps,
perhaps. But is it not as Christian,
as religious, rs true. to say, like
men who cannot read tie mysteries
of events, but who vet feel that all
is wisely and tenderly ordered, God
giveth his beloved sleep!
Ida Lewis is married, and her
legal name is now Wilson, but she
still uses her maiden name. She
is living ut Lime Rock, where she
made her reputation, with her
mother, who is in i'll health, and Of
whom she is very fond. The total
number of lives saved by Ida Lewis
| is eleven.
The cditor OF the New York
Commercial says he read it Just
torty-seven times in for;v-cight
hours that "Chicago will arise like
a phTnix from the ashes" Ii any