Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-05-17

up to heaven aud across to the stars,
when it all flashed into me that he
meant to pray until everybody was
seated, SO his wife could begin au-
spiciously. And ho did. Where he
got all his words from ! wondered
at. I think he eould.have kept on
until the day Of judgment if neces-
sary. When quiet was restored he
ceased, and having opened the door
to worship, he descended from the
rostr,,m and left Lady Livcrmore
king and queen OF the platform
She stepped forward and announced
her texts without the use Of Bible
or notes. Her selections related to
her subject, "Human Life and I'm
mortality" and were chosen from
Paul's epistle to James, fourth
chapter and part of the fourteen
verse, and q part of the second
verse of the third chapter of the
first epistle to John, "Now we are
the sons Of God," etc.
From the first word to the last
she uttercd-snd'sh spoke for an
hour-no one lost q word. Her
mechanical execution as a speaker
could hardly be improved. And
she puts SO much heart and feeling
into her speech that her words 60
straight to the hearts of her hear
ers, while her logic at the same
time converts the mind. She frank
ly admitted at the outset that if hu-
man life was comprenended between
the cradle and the gravc-begin-
ming at birth and ending with
death-the gift were t:uly not worth
accepting. But, to prove the inde-
structability Of the soul over death,
she adduced her evidence from the
life Of to-day-what she and all of
us have witnessed. Her illustra-
tions were so thrilling, so pathetic,
SO melting and SO eloquent, that at
times scarcely dry eye was to be
seen, and at others only a fitting
regard for the day and the occasion
kept down the most rapturous APP
plause. Americans applaud SO in-
discriminatory Whatever seems
to sti- them, be it grave or gay,
ridiculous or sublime, pathetic or
funny, it is quite all the same. If
an angel were to sail down in their
midst and sing them a heavenly
song they would clap and stamp
and cheer, unless, indeed, it hap
pened to be on Sunday. The priest
ess of the East, standing before the
people so like an inspired prophet
ess that the narrowest-headed fool
in the world would never have
thought he. out. Of her "sphere," :"
spoke as man or woman seldom
spake. If she can preach like this
every Sunday, whittier will vanish
the laurels Of Collyer, Of Beecher,
and Hatfield? In her way she paid
a most fitting tribute to Abraham
Lincoln. or all men she had ever
known, none reminded her so much
Of Christ as did hc--so meek, SO pa
tient, so forgiving, so free from
stain and wrong. She had seen
him on one occasion when he grant.
ed u woman pardon for her hus-
band who had been condemned to
be shot. The poor creature tell in
a dead faint at his feet. And then
she told how he lifted her up in his
arms, and laid her on sofa, and
with look on his face no sculptor
or painter ever caught, said softly:
81 am glad l did that" Then she
recalled that most touching and
sublime incident of the Pacific Mills
horror-how, after the terrible
crushing in Of human bodies and
timbers, the flames from below leap
ed up to finish with their fiery ton
CUES that fearful story ofoverwhclm-
ing care!cssncss, q sweet voice,
pure, and from girlish lips, sang
out in the triumphant song:
I'm drifting home to heavenly shore,
I'm going home to die no more
Thank God, to die no more;
and another and another took up
the refrain, sending that wonderful
evidence Of the souls victory over
death, out, over, and above and be-
yond the flames, the shrieks and the
awful despair Of the scene.
Walking home in the clear, still
moonlight with Anaximander, who
had come on to spend with me my
last Sabbath in Washington, he
said, after few moments of si-
lcncc:
"To me, in these later days, no
one speaks with the inspiration of
women. The days seem to be up
on us when Gods spirit is poured
out upon his handmaidens. It is
wonderful; am glad of it; am
willing they should preach-they
ought to preach; willing they should
vote. too. if they want: willing they