Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-12-27
Unconscious Influence.

thoughts back through many ages, till
they rest upon scene in the city ol
Jerusalem. Without pausing before
the magnificent temple, let us enter
the gloomy cell in which Peter slept;
with stony floor for a pillow as bound
with iron, he lay, only waiting for the
dawning morn to be led forth anG
murdered by the king. So deep is the
dreamer's sleep, that he is all uncon.
scious that an angels footsteps are
drawing near, and that the stony walls
of the cell which had never seen O
sunbeam are ablaze with light that
shines from the presence of the celes-
tial messenger.
Suddenly, ne is awakened by the
touch of the angels hand. Bewildered
with the radiant light cast upon him,
he hears voice commanding-"Arise,
grid thyself'-"bind on thy sandals
feast thy garments about thee'--
"follow me-" Unconscious of the in
f1ueuce that is being welded over
him, he obeys each command, never
once ceasing to gaze with dazzled eyes
at the stranger. Thinking not of the
wondrous events that are passing, but
bewildered and wondering he follows
the angel guide through the iron gates
as one in a dream, till he finds him
solf- free in the streets of the Holy City
where, upon the morrow, the fanatical
populace will clamor in vain for their
victim.
In these times of ours, we have nc
visible angelic visitations no pathway
of light reaching from.eartli Ii to heaven,
with angel bands passing to and fro, to
guide us, by their heavenly influence,
safely through life's perilous journey.
But we erring ones of humanity exer-
else a mighty influence over those
about us, or "sadder far than death !"
for. III
"Many a shaft al random sent, h''
Finds mark The archer little meant!
And many awofd at random spoken,
May soothe, or wound, IL heart that's broken.
This power is gift of heaven, and
as we'll might we strive to gather the
sands of the seashore, as well strive to
bind the free winds, or stop the wild
dashings of Niagara, as to prevent the
unconscious power that each moment,
is swaying our destiny. Long after
we sleep under the sod of the valley,
the chords which our unconscious fin
gers have touched will vibrate. This
influence of ours may be harp of
sweetest melody, making glad the
heart of the world, or it may cause
only discord, and awaken the passions
of mankind to tempestuous strife and
hatred, just as the pOssessor wills. "It
is like the rod of Moses, that was Ell
ther an instrument of woe or a pana-
cea to Danish evil from the land, as
the inspired will of it's grand master
determined" Many years may flow
into the ocean of eternity ere we find
that our course upon the tide Of life
casts any light or shade upon those
around us. 1t is, as the poet thinks,
like standing upon the green sward to
shoot an arrow into the air-we watch
it's upward flight till it cleaves the sky,
but so swift is its fall that we know
not its resting place. We search in
vain, giving it up as lost; but long,
long afterwards in our wanderings we
find the lost shaft, still unbrOken, in
an aged oak. Or we breathe a song
into the alr--it falls, we know not,
where; but long after we find it in the
heart Of friend.
1t is thus with our influence for good
or evil. We may be unconscious for
years, and may be forever, of the pos
sibility of our having cast pebble
into the sea of humanity, whose ever
enlarging influence may circle into
the misty realm of the future.
Surroundings show themselves in
all the vast productions of the mind.
Violets cannot bloom upon Mont
Blanc's summit of eternal snow, and
I. ha ncst Of
Norway, no debut Highland Mary" f"
and the "Banks and Braes of Bonnie
Doom" had been unwritten.
Milton arose to his starry splen-
dorn and sang of paradise Re-
gained" while he drank in breezes
that came mingled with the perfumed
breath of flowers, unsurpassed in Eden
itself The renowned men whose
praises we celebrate in the lOftiest
strains of harp and song, were sur
rounded in childhood by pure and holy
scenes that cast a divine spell over
them and fashioned their lives into "a
thing of beauty and a joy forever"
The haunts of vice and all kindred
scenes that alone are known in the
child-life of many, weave into their
lives an unconscious influence that
places them on the side of darkness,
shutting from their gaze the golden
gates and sapphire walls of the city
that hath everlasting foundations.
In the southern part of Andalusia
| there stands beautiful castle. The
| hand Of Time has not marred its gran
deur; not one of its splendid columns
has been displaced; not an arch OF Its
colonnades has given away. Unharmeo
| it withstood wars and sieges, anl
stands, after the lapse of centuries, al
most as fresh as when from the hanC
of the Moslem artist. When its cor
ner stone was laid, q spray of ivy wa!
| planted near it, and now over its mas
sive walls it has creptand intertwinet
till the castle seems thing of life
venerable and beautiful. May no
that ancient castle, with its ivy-growI
walls, represent the noiseless yet pow
| erful influences of the Sabbath School
Like the ivy about the castle, its beni
| ficent influence beauties and strength
ems the sublime and imperishable fab
| ric of Christianity. Within its some
times almost obscure walls, immOrta
minds are fashioned for the heavenl,
palace. Its power is the electric cur
rent that plays, unconsciously, in tn,
great dram of life.
The cynic may smile at the idea ant
the infidel laugh to scorn the nobl
intention; but there is many q germ
of genius destined, by the aid of tn
Sabbath School, to rise to the pinnacl
of human glory. The thrilling elo
quence of the statesman and the powe
that has sometimes moved the hear
of q nation, may often be the fruitiol