Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1876-09-02
COMMUNICATED.
ON THE HALF. SHELL
BY DEACON nloGENES.
HOPE.

HOPE.
Hope Of ali passions, most bcfriend us
here;
Passions of proudcr name befrcnd uSlcss.
JOY has her tears, and transport has her
death;
Hope like cordial, innocent, though
strong,
Mans heart At once mspirt> and scrcneS.
/ Brethren: When that sad pair were
driven into outer darkness, lighted only
. 10y the glare OF :he fiery swords threat
enng nj their backs; when their ears no
longer caught the rustling of the leaves
4 Of Paradise or the flow OF lis living wa.
terS, thon Hope issued from celestial
bowers and lighted the thorn grown
pathway before them. Ever since that
sad time it has radiaied the dark places
of life, aud has lifted many honnder-
irg, drowning, mortal above the da1,
destroying billows Of despair. Amid
the trying scenes of the present, when
grim misfortune wraps MS in the wind
ing sheet of misery. hope, traces on the
canvas of the future such scenes of
beauty that in our delight at their con
temptation we forget the dark scenes
around us. 1t stands at the threshold
OF our existence and introduces us to
the world. Ii hovers above our sublu.
nary ball and points us to a better
sphere beyond.
My brethren, what would we be with
out hope? For the moneyless il hangs
a dollar in the darkness OF tGturity and
theuufortunate pursues the igau Iaium
amid the boys OF difficulty and the
breaks OF dsappointmeDt,lill death rows
him over the river TO country where
dollars are unknown.
The maid sees a husband afloat upon
the waves of the ruilled sea of matri.
mony aud waits impalienlly for years
hoping that a landward breeze might
bring him 10 the shore, but alas, her
hopes are like ships that sailed for
sunny isles and never more returned.
The ambitions man sees in the logs
of the future the bays Of fame which
will adorn his brow, but rs ire steals
on apace, stern realization crowns him
with the dead aud wthered leaves of
disappointment.
How sad, how dark, how dreary, must
this world be TO those who live without
hope; and yet my brethren, how many
human hearts arc the burial places of
biightcd hopes! Alas, how often is il
that after long dark night of disap-
pointments and trials we rejoice 10 sce
the rising daystar of happy promise
drape our dark horizon IN "A siIvery veil
aud we wait impa,iently the coming OF
the bright, full food OF the coming day,
when the star recedes behind the moun-
tain mists of disappointment and We
sadly bury a cherished hope by the liu
gerng light of its dying ray.
With many hope IL always present, IL
keeps their boat atloat on the rufllrd
bosom OF life's sea and is their anchor
when storms assail and waves run high.
| Arm in arm with faith il smoolhs the
rugged way Of life and lightens the
/ burden that weights the back Of decay.
Ing mortality by strengthening and in
spIriting the soul.
creatures Of hope, aud we love TO in
dulge in il even 10 the extent of rear
ing gorgeous airy castles, which by The
way Is very pleasant pasiimc yet il
will never be justified by tha, Said old
fellow, Common Sense. This pasi:nc
may be innocent when we have nothing
else TO do, but why should we fret and
stew when our airy structures, touched
/ by the hand Of realization, cruublc
from turret 10 corner stone Rather
let us laugh at our ioOlishness aud pull
mp our sleeves, wet our hands, and lake
hold of the realities Of life like n sturdy
laborer, and when we hope let ns hope
for something reasonable. beneficial AMI
substantial, remembering that while We
thus hope ,aat earnest Labor viii accom-.
plsh It's realization.
repeat my brethren, always Jet our
hopes be reasonable, and as We hope, let
US labor If this was the rule aud not
the exception we would not see 80 many
graves OF buried hopes all along the way
side Of life.
If the man hopes FOR a partner to
share his joys and disappointment, let
him WOO with constaney aud pciseycr-
ance. Ii man hopes for dollar or
two, let him 30 10 work and it. Ii the
farmer hopes for good prices toI his pro-
ducts; let bin join grange. If the
laborer hopes for better wages, Jet bin
raise them-If be can. II We all hope
for better times, let each make l,im.cl!
better. And finally. my brethren, if we
hope for better hereafter, let ns prac-
tice in spirit and truth the preccpts Of
christianity, and in the end, hope, rob.
bing dca;h Of its sting and the grave Of
its boasted victory, will bear us to where
the wicked cease from troubling aud the
weary are at rest.
brethren sing
Edward ). Stokes, the slayer Of
James Fisk, now claims forty days
communication for the time he was under