Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-01-11
Leaning TOWer of Pisa.

Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Rev. RICHARD NEWTON, D. D., Of Phila
delphia, is now travelling in the Holy Land.
When he was in Italy he stopped some time
in Leghorn and witfisseme- frieDd ds made the
half-h hours railroad ride tosthe old town of
Pisa, This Is whatihe writes TO the Child 5
World
: This town of Pisa contains some very
Interesting buildings Of these the most
curious one is the leaning tower, of which
| wish now to write. Almost everybody has
heard about this famous tower It Is seven
hundred wears old having been built nearly
three hundred years before COiumh bus dis
covered America Ii Is lT9 feet high, and
is built of solid marble. There are six high
stories in it, each Of which Is supported by
a circular row Of marble columns. There
is flight Of stone stairs inside the tower,
leading to the top Of IL and these stars
contain 294 steps The tower is built near
a large church. to which it belongs. and is
used Is the bell tower Of the church, OF
instead of steepe On the top of 1t are
a number of bells. the largest of which Is
said to weigh twelve thousand pounds. But
the most curious thing about this tower l..
that instead of standing straight up, as tow
ers generally do, it leans ovsT on one side,
just as if it were going to fall, This Is
what has given it the name it bears-the
leaning tower Of Pisa. And it leans not
little either If q straight line were let
down on the leaning side, from the.tap OF
the tower to the bottom, 1t is SAID there
would he a difference of about l3 feet he
tween the top and the bottom | mean by
this. that the top of the tower leans over
thirteen feet from where IL would be If IL
were straight. This Is great Geul for such F..
q high tower to lean.
But perhaps some Of You may be ready TO
ask. How came this tower 70 lean SO ?'
All that IS a question which great many
people have asked. Every one who visits
the tower asks this question But it is
much easier to ask ii than to answer it. /.
The fact is, nobody Is able to answer it. .
There Is no one living now who can tell how
the tower came 70 lean as 1t does. Some
think that the foundation Of the tower has
sunk on one side, and this Is the reason why .
II leans. Others that IL was built from the
beginning 10 lean, lust as II does now and .
that the builder wanted to see how much he .
could make a tower to lean without falling
over. Which Of these opinions Is the right .
one cannot pretend 70 say: but one thing
is very certain, the tower does lean The .
tower in Pisa IS q IsaaiHy tg5ceT-
Well. bur what good VIII il dn TO see this .
tower, or what use can be made OF il, by
writing about il in the C4iidS World? (
While / was looking at that leaning tower, 4
il led me II think d good deal about that
Tower thar does net lean. Jesus Is spoken I
OF In the Bible Is such tower David calls I
him hi- :. A-.b tower Psalm xviii: l.
And lt .lrcstin- TO think of some OF
the points q difference between this tower
OF Pl-l and the Tower of the Bible. OF be .
tween thc tower that leans. and the Tower .
that does not lean.
The FrSf ofHeralse 9streea them IS az thar
position. Tie one leans, while the other Is
straight L Is a very curious thing t0 come
and look at a leaning tower. but If we had
to live on II, we should feel very awkward.
1t would make US feel very unsafe all the
time. When | got tn the upper part OF this
tower. | would not have gone round the
walk on the outside where there was no
railin. between the columns. for all the
wealth IN Pisa. It seemed as though enc
would certainly slip of ana tall down and
this Is a very uncomfortable feeling to have
on tower But when we come 10 Jesus,
the Tower OF which the Bible tells us we
need have no fear of this Kind. This tower
is straight Those who get on it are safe
Jesus puts bis everlasting arms under them,
and spreads his sheltering wings over them.
lie becomes their keeper. and this Is what
makes them safe.
The second difference 5st,csen these tlco t0tc-
zTS IS IN their age. The tower of Pisa was
built seven hundred years ago. That Is
ong time TO look back to. BU' 1t is nothing
to the age OF the Bible Tower
This never had beginning. Ii anybody had
gone to Pisa more than seven hundred years
ago he would have found No leaning tower
there then But there never was a time
bar, .,F+ be Rikla did moi kyss
Jesus says Of himself. that lie was q" set up
from everlasting, from the beginning, OF ever
the earth was. Prov. viii .. And the
apostle tells us that - He was in the begin
ning with God John >.
The third difference 5shreen these l0jCerS IS
in the length Of time they ,rill last. ! cannot
tell how long the tower in Pisa viii last
But it looks very old. II IS very old. Time
and the weather have done it much harm.
Many of tue stones are very much worn
away. One Of these days Ii must fall and
then there will be no leaning tower in Pisa
But Jesus, the Tower of the Bible, does not
grow old. Time makes no difference with
him. He Is the " same yesterday, to day,
and forever
And then tie fo,srtb difference bsttceen these
tOlCcrS IS IN fheir uses. The tower in Pisa is
only of use for t,Co things-one is to ring
bells on the other Is 10 look al. No one
lives on it. No one ever thinks Of going to
it for shelter or defense, for help or comfort.
But how diferentsit is with Jesus, the
blessed and glorious Tower, about which we
read in the Bible Jesus is a tower for his
people to live in. And he not only gives
lite to those who come TO him, but pardon
and peace, protection and shelter, help and |
comfort, and every blessing they need to /
make them happy, both whHe they live in
this world, and when they come TO die. Let 4
Us all get on this Bible Tower, and we shall 4
find that the words of the hymn viii then /
be true in reference TO US, for,
90 There safe we shall abide.
And sweet VIII be our rest,
And every longing satisfied,
With full salvation blestn