Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-05-16
The Old Dutch Bell,

One hundred and forty years ago, at
a foundry in Amsterdam, Holland, some
good people stood by as q church bell was
taken from the molten metal. The bell
was the gift of n devout man who had left
a legacy for the purpose. The mission of
the bell was to ring out the Sabbath joy
from the Dutch steeple in Nassau street,
New York. 1t served its purpose there,
and afterwards rang the same tones from
the Dutch church on Ninth street, and still
later from the spire of the church on La
Fayette Place. And now it hangs in the
bell-tower of the magnificent church cor
ner of Fifth avenue and Forty. eighth
street, where, last Sabbath. it rang out the
same notes which were heard by five gen.
erations.
AS the glowing fluid was entering its
mold, the by ISLANDERS thought Of the holy
service for which it was destined beyond
the sea, and to enrich and sweeten the
notes, they cast unknown quantities of sill
yer coin into the mass. We have no list
of tn, Sc coins; we know not their number;
the names of those donors are unrecorded.
And as we hear that bell, we have no pow
Ell to catch and separate the silvery element
of sound from the ring of baser metal.
Those things, one and all, are known only
to God. And so the world has been hear
ing for century and half glad sounds
of grace. whose sweetest element is meas
ureless and nameless.
The old Dutch bell is but one of II mil
lion things which are sweet and inspiring
to us to-day, while we know not the
sources Of their influence. Voices are fall
ing on our ears; great impulses fill Our
souls; lofty ambitions beck0n us on; re-
straints stand round us, strong and tower
ing; but these influences have IN analysis
which only divine chemistry can prove.
The real powers which grasp and hold So
ciety are nnmeless. The silver coin which
has mingled in the mass of social force
WAS dropped in so quietly, and it melted
so quickly out of sight, that no man can
search it out.
1t is grand idea which comes back to
us rs we hear that bell, that the sweetest
and most lasting things in human life have
no earthly register. That upright Judge
wins our applause, but God knows that
the honest ring of his judgment is only
the silver coin which his gody mother
cast into his child life.
That statesman who has power to rise
in simple majesty above the politician may
not be fully conscious that the blood of n
noble ancestry is thrilling in his veins.
That Christian missionary who worked his
day out on the coast of Africa, and then
died in obscurity, was proving what wealth
beyond silver and gold-of God-like pity
had sunk down into his nature.
And so it is that as the molten mass of
character is running into form, there are
standing over it those who cast in their
treasures of holy example, sweetening and
sanctifying human life. God sits in silent
patience, "a retiner of silver" watching
the processes which make up life and
character and power. He writes down the
names of quiet women, who, nameess on
earth, are pouring the wealth of their life
into those who shall live after them. He
makes note of all those humble, honest
services, meant only for His eye, which
are the real and only lasting glory of our
life.
He saw the sculptor chiseling the back
part of the statue which was to stand in
the cathedral, where only the front could
be seen, and He heard that sublime rea-
son: " made it perfect behind, because
| knew that God would see it!'
Go on, holy men and women; cast in
your coin; God will see the act, and He
will detect the silver tone which your piety
secures. Go on, ye sculptors for eternity;
God will watch every stroke of your CHS
ell, and those careful tinishings of your
work, which man can never see, will all
be viewed by celestial witnesses. Go on,
weary and worn out toilers; no matter
where you are or what you do; no matter
if your service wins no notice and no APP
proval; no matter if even you yourselves
cannot think it worthy of regard, 90 on
working, waiting, suffering; and be sure
that all the silver you cast into human life
will ring clear, sweet and loud in the ears
of the Omniscient God.-N. Y. Observer.