Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1871-10-19
OUR FREE LCTCH.

- 1t is veIy dangerous for any man
I" find any spot that is sweeter to him
thar his home.
There is a great deal we never
think Of calling religion that is still
fruit mt" God, and garnered by Him
in the harvest The fruits of tho
spirit are love, jay, peace. long suffer
my, gcn'Ieness, patience as a woman
nursing n tre,fnl child. or as a man
attending to the vexing detail Of
ha~'n"ss, or as physician following
the dark mazcs of sickness, or as
mechanic fitting up Joints and valves
of y locomotive; being honest and
true besides, You bring forth truth
n"to God - Robert CoHyer.
49, Religion is adapted to all our
faculties, and {" the varied phase, of
lite. II vii! grace the counting hons,
aud the mart uf trade ms well as the
sanctuary; II repudiates narrow
hounis ; its field is the world where
sin Is found there will il exert its
c"un'rracting iIfnerce. In its origin
II u heavenly; in it's nature, divine.
II lncarnatcs the grandes' thoughts of
God Na'nr" reveals much ; it is ell
"qucnt for God, hnt it has no Christ
and 10 cross. The Bible contains
the most wonarous revelations which
man has ever received. Ii alone sat
ishes the soul.
We have seen how anguish of
the heart "disasters " the cheeks" and
inrrows the face and writes npun IL
the epitaphs of buried hopes and We
have seen faces tramp'ed as high
way by the hoops Of pain and op-
preston. Everyone is familiar with
the fact that sorrow engraves it's story
in the countenance. But look also
into III" faces that glare at you from
the dens OF in'amy faces that seem
to contain the ruins Of the ten com.
mandmenis; faces that hurt you more
than blow ; faces where from the
eyes the spirit wildly pecps;" faces
lik" petriicd vices, not finger touch
of God left whole upon them; and
you will realize that vice as well M
misery makes it's trade mark upon
the visage while it ravages the heart.
Somehow our friends who be.
lierr in Spiritnallsm forget that thr
chief beauty Of our Christianity con.
sists in making this life a preparation
for the next; in looking forward tn
the unseen. This subornatine tho
spiritual and divine 10 mere material
things, is a depreciation to the soul
How can we feel about n world which
sends down it's angelic inhabitants tn
clatter tarnbourines aud write illegible
scraw's IN da,keued room. Our
life, indeed. is woiold; but, in the
nature Of thing, the real ends where
the unseen begins Tho implicit
faith which We have hnd from child.
hood in q better life loses all that
hean'ites and glori6es it, by this
ningIipg Of the gross with the rare
aud fine. We strike ont the beautiful
anti'hrsea between temporal and spir-
Itnal things, between morality and re.
liginu, between the world aud God.
i was reading the other day, that
IN the shores Of the Ad,iatic Sen,
the wives of fishermen whose bus.
bands have gone far out upon the
deep, are in the habit Of eventide Of
going down to the seashore, and sing
ing, a women's voices only can, the
FIR, s,anya Of beautiful hymn
After they have sung il they listen
ill they bear, borne by the wind
arrn-s the desert sea, the second
stuza rs sung by their gallant kns-
bands, as they are tosscd by the gale
n'r,n 'he waves, and both are happy.
a1pS il we could listen, We too,
near nu this desert world of
$ s"anc sound, some whisper borne
Il "a aIlr, ~ remind US that there is
! h"aycr aud home, and when We
sit4 thr HYMNS upon th. shores Of
rert'', pcrhaps We shall bear its sweet
rrh"rs breaking in sweet music upcn
rlle sands Of time, and cheering the
hearts Of them that are pilgrims md
strangers and look for city that ha,L
foundations.
1t il a universal statement mi
vcrsaIy believed | have scarrhn9
the graves of twenty graveyard,
aud not mat bic slab or shaft, plain
lv wrought, or chisellei in costly de
sizn. bore this immortal assertion. I
have prayed above hundred cofir.,
and watched the faces Of the mourn
er@ anSiously; rot one BETRAYED
knowledge Of this sentence. hayc
carried bright face TO the funelal
chamber, and spoken the words G
cheerful faith; and mer have msr
veled, revealing their skepticism /,
their surprise. baye found it hard
to persuade men that death ia sunrise
but when | compare the conditions o
this life with :hose Of the next whcn
| set the body sensual over ngainst
tho h.ly S,trituaf tho mind T., bout