St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-02-22
The True and the False.
BY MRS. F. K. KYLE.

us into brave company. We hold our
breath to see the dry names which used
to trouble us in our history lessons ris-
ing up from the dead page, and, like
the bones in Ezekiel's vision, becoming
clothed with sinews and flesh-stand-
ing up before US living men. There is
no ghostly look upon their faces; the
children gather around and listen with
pleased eOuntenance to the stories they
have to tell. Delicious bits of gossip
come to lis in the morning with our
coffee. We make great Orations to
them, as at Bennington, at Saratoga, at
Philadelphia we remark the quaint
cut of their garments; we notice the
fine outline of face and form their
great souls look out through their eyes
at US.
We of Vermont are to-day especially
grateful for Ethan Allen, and John
Stark, and Seth Warner, and Jonas Fay,
and Thomas Chittenden, and that whole
army of ''fierce republicans" who refused
to become tenants to any one, and in
sisted on owning the land they should
occupy, whose "whole conversation was
tainted (?) with Cromwellian politics" )"
and who Sin forming their churches left
out of the Cambridge platform that part
in respect of using the civil law to the
support of the gospel )" and who, in
forming their state put into the Consti-
tuition in those times of slavery that
slaves could not live in Vermont :
The moment they should breath our air
| That moment they were free.
We could not all attend the memorial
days at Windsor, at Bennington, bit
| Il hot
by the spell of the poet and the orator,
are not lightly laid. Up and down these
green hills they loved so well they still
wander fondly and the humblest fire.
side may be honored by their visits
the merest school boy may get words OF
greeting from their lips.
They are not the only ones who come
to MS from the past : Vermont no
longer an isolated sovereignty receives
the nations guests. The heroes of the
Revolution, the undaunted settlers of
the wilderness who lived here in the
times that tried mems souls, and proved
their own, pure gOld,-these come, and
| they bring along with them their friends
from over the sea, and these again
bring others lit is Il thread that pulls
and winds and never eDds,-histOry
grows fascinating as we study indicid-
uals; and so it comes about that from
the ranks of Puritans and cavaliers,
from PrOtestants and ROmanists, from
every country in Christendom, and even
from countries beyond Christendom we
gather the elect of the earth.
The gathering is large for one hun
dred years cannot limit us. Is date
of any significance Yes, as key that
unlocks many doors.
History is Il great, rambling, intricate
structure built up by all sorts of work
men in all sorts of times, and | marvel
much to find the American key of July
4, 1876, unlocking Johns England AT
June l5, 1915; and again the time of
Charles l., at June 30, 1928; still more
when | see issuing from that opened
door of the 18th century, a company of
'sturdy English barons clad in coats of
mail, with pennOns and banners with
the voice of tTumpets and clamoring
bugles," bearing their Magma Charta
and from the lower door the members
of that memorable parliament naughty
and determined as royalty itself-wav-
ing their granted Petition of Right, both
companies coming down the aisle of
centuries to shake hands with the plain
men who signed our Declaration of Iu-
dependence,
| marvel, but begin to understand
when on Sunday in the Bible lesson |
get glimpse of Mars Hill ut Athens
and hear proclaimed there in voice
that sounds through 1900 years: "God
hath made of one blood all nations of
men for to dwell on all the face of the
EARTH"
Dates fix our memorial days the
orator on these occasions with magic
spell calls up the past and sets before
us what and whom he will-times OF
the near remote or long ago men OF
those times who are mighty yet. With
"magic spell ?"-the words are not
worthy back of all cannot we see the
hand of Him who spoke to Ezekiel
hear the voice of his Spirit command
ing the man whose mouth he has made
saying: prophecy upon these dry
bones and they shall live. Prophecy
unto the wind and say come from the
four winds, o breath, and breathe upon
the slain that they may live p;
Let us walk softly for our time is full
of significance. Is it nothing that right
in the midst of these anniversary years
we have been set as never before to
studying Bible history, Bible biogra-
ply p Moses, and Samuel, and Saul,
and JerObOam, and Elisha, and Gehazi,
right along with Washington, and
Franklin, and Allen, and Arnold, and
Burr fright along with the pioneers
struggling to found their own peculiar
churches in the wilderness, the behavior
and experience of Paul.
How these men of the Bible help us
to understand the others. Some OF our
histories are bunglingly written the
key IVtN-~f- Geography ID lUSo =
wonderful how a scrap from this old
Hebrew literature will set things right
for us. l remember at a reception
among my books last winter, how sOme-
thing OF the kind was done for me.
Dear Mr., Carlyle was scolding about
the world-you know how indignant
the righteous old Scotchman gets about
meanness, and quackery of all kinds,
and skepticism 'Half truth and hear
say are called TRUTH" he was saying.
"Truth for most men means only plausi-
bility to be measured bv the number OF
votes you can get-the time is going to
waste for want of honest men,"
l cannot tell you how thoroughly he
spoke my mind for l was almost in de-
spair at some developments of depravi-
ty in the neighborheod. had been
listening to him for nearly an hour and
his words fell with a sound like eartl
on coffin lid, when suddenly became
aware of another presence: Opposite
the table "a man sat watching US will
fierce burning eyes. His hair was lone
and there was queer, rough mantle
about his shoulders.
"Once," he began as the other ceased
and the ferceness melted out of hi.