The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-12-07

sinned death, woud nave new Ar anterad our
world Death was in tho VIC ria before Adam
came, Geology teaches that plsnts and animals
died then as they do nor We do not tb;p,,
Gods statement to Adj m ain the dav tbou
eatest thereof thou p ,aIt surely die - referred
10 pnysicai dea.h' Adam did not die physically
on the day that he transgressed--he lived
many years a. .er-but he died spiritually on
tna' Gay. q was banished from Gods pres
ence; /" as was spiritual death. So FAR as we
KNOW, she normal condition or things in this
/, the flowers. the birds, the fishes. mature and
die. What would become of the people il they
were not TO dep Every foot OF our planet,
both land and sea. would in . few generations
| become more crowded than is this house to-
night. A translation scheme Far more extern
sive than that which prevailed IN the days Of
Elijah would needs be instituted! II It were
not for Adams sin we probably would all 90
mp In chariots Of FIRE! In opposition to this
view, We affirm that death is just a. natural ~
birth. No skill osn thwart this law Of God.
Experiments Of trausfusng blood from the
veins OF youth to the veins OF age have all
failed OF the result intended. This was found
I TO the bough after God had said to it. "fall"
When Charles Sumner was in his last illness
he received the best medical treatment in the
world. physician in Paris sent prescriptions
to Washington by telegram, but Massachu-
setts great senator must die. And the death
that is 80 natural now has ever been natural.
Sin may have given terrors to death, but we do
not agree with Milton that sin has brought
physical "death into the world"
In view or this, we ask you to discard some
OF the horrible representations Of death. The
old picture OF Death was frightful skeleton
with scythe in one hand and an hour-glass in
the other To remind them OF death, the
Egyptians at their feasts had skeleton placed
! at the head of the table. The Indians do not
like to look on the face of the dead they do
not like - see the changing features. They
bury their dead after their form as soon as they
can. Some tribes painted the face Of the dead
red, so as to conceal the transformation OF the
features that death effects. Our literature
speaks of ''ghastly Skeletons" death ago
Mes" but the Bible talks OF gathered TO his
fathers. I" fallen asleep The terrible pictures
Of death find no place in the Scriptures. Cur
teachings and superstitions for ages with re-
gard to our demise are cleaned from heathen-
ism rather than christianity. When we look
upon the death Of our body az just as natural
as the fading and falling of leaf in late Au-
tumD, then the friyhtful pictures Of death
taught us in childhood and represented from
ten thousand pulpits to-day, are seen to be
idle fancies Of superstition.
2 The leaf falls after it has finished its work
1t has fulfilled the mission that God has given
it; 1t has seen its best days; it has seen the
summer come and 20 ; nothing now remains
but bleak winter now it is right for it to fall.
Indeed. it would seem out OF place for the
leaf to remain longer. You will sometimes
fnd on tree in winter one leaf all alone,--its |
companions are all fallen. There it remains
still clinging to the bough. For the leaf to thus
lipger on after 1t is Of no more use is abnormal
There is now aud then picture ;analagous to
this seen in human society. ] know one who
is 20 old that he is both blind and deaf he has
lost his mind he has long since accomplished
his work. But there he sits in the old arm
chair still cliDging to the bougb. Oliver Holmes
has these verses on q The Last Leaf:
/ saw him once before ..F
AS he passed by the door;
And again
The pavement stones resound
As he totters DER the ground
With his camel
But now he walks the Streets
And he looks at all he meets
SO forioru;
And he shakes his feeble mead |
And 1t seems as IL he salds
.rhey are gone"
Tie mossy marbles rest
On tue lips that he has pressed
In their bloom;
And the names he loved TO hear
Have bean carved for many year
On the tomb.
TT should live to he
The last leaf upon the tree,
In the spring,
Let them smile as do now
At the old forsaken bcugh
Where cling.
The leaf falls without attracting much at
tention. There is slight tremor Of the leaf
itself, then it let's go its grasp Of the bough
and comes gently down to the ground. on its
way down it may jostle some OF its neighbors
80 as to disturb them little farther than
this the leaf g fall attracts no attention-its
companions that were made to tremble because
OF its fall soon return to their former position
as if nothing had happened; the winds whistle
through the boughs of the old tree, the branch
es bend TO and fro in the storm, night and day
come, and all things continue as they did when
the leaf IN life hung upon the bough. DO you
not know that your death and mine will not
attract much more attention than the falling of
leaf? The few nearest to US by kindred ties
may be disturbed little, but soon they even.
like the leaves jostled by falling companion,
will return to their former position: the heart
ache will heal and all will be forgotten; your
widow will shed few tears at your funeral and
then. in year or two, she too will go the way
OF al, the earth--go after another mani
There is n deep-felt desire to be reunem-
bered For this purpose monuments are erect
ed and institutions founded. A tyrapnical