Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-05-23

-NGt44tcf. .
Modern Sermon.
The following exhibits the metho
upon wich the average parson construct
his delectable discources
Bretheren. the words OF my text are
'Old Mother Hubbard she went 10 the cupboard
To get her poor dog bone.
Eut whea she got there the cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none'
These beautiful words, dear friends
carry with them a solemn lesson. pro
pose this evening 10 analyZe their mean
ing, and 10 apply it, lofty as it may be
10 everyday life.
''old Mother Hubbard, she went to the cupboard
10 get her poor dog bone
Mother Hubbard, you see, was old
there being no mention OF others, we maj
presume She was alone; widow:
iriendless cid solitary widow Yet did sh,
despair Did she sit down and weep
or read 4 novel, or wiring her hands ? No
~, .,tlt Z, N, rup5Oayd. And here oh,
serve that she wtlH to the cupboard. She
did not hop, or skip, or run, OF jump, oi
use any other peripatetic artifice; She
solely and merely wtM 10 the cupboard
We have seen that She was old and
lonely, and we now further see that she
WAS poor. For, maIk. the words are
"th. cupboard" Not one of the cup.
boards, or the right hand cupboard g
or the 'lett-hand cupboard, or the one
above, or the one below, or the one un.
der the floor. but Just he cupboard. The
one humble little cupboard the poor
widow possessed And why did she 20
10 the cupboard Was it To- bring forth
golden gobletS or glitiering precious
stones, or costly apparel, or tea,ts, or
any other attributes OF wealth II Ul> 10
gttA.y Doo5 2p1 II BON, Not only was
the widow poor, but her dog, the sole prop
of her age, was poor too. We can mag
inc the scene. The poor dog crouching
in the corner, looking wistlully At the
solitary cupboard, and the widow going
to that cupboard-in hope, in expecta-
lion may be-to open il, although we are
not distinctly told that it was not half
open or ajar, TO open it ior that poor dog.
Bat when she got there. the cupboard was bare,
And 20 the poor do. had none"
when She got there" You see, dear
.rethren, what perseverance is. You
see the beauty OF persistence in doing
right .Shs qyt h5rc There were no
turnings and twistlings. no slippings and
slidings, no leaning TO the right or falter-
ing 10 the left. With glorious simplicity
we are told she got Hcrc.
And how was her noble effort reward
ed?
The cupboard was bare"' 1t was
bare There were TO be found neither
oranges. nor cheesecakes, nor penny
buns, nor gingerbread, nor crackers, nor
nuts, ror lucilcr matches. The cup
board was bare, There was but one,
only solitary cupboard in the whole of
that cottage. and that one, the sole
hope of the widow, and the glorious load
star OF the poor dog, was bare! Had
there been a leg of mutton, 4 loin OF lamb,
a iillet OF veal, even an ice from Gatti's,
the case would have been different, the
incident would have been otherwise But
it was bare, my brethren, bare as bald
head, bare as an infant born without a
caul.
Many Of you will probably say, witt
all the pride of worldly sOphistry
widow, no doubt, went out and bought
dog-biscuit.n All, no, Far removed
from these earthly ideas, these mundane
desires, poor Mother Hubbard, the widow,
whom many thoughtless worldlings would
despise, in that She only owned one cup
board, perceived or | might even say
at once the relentless fugic OF the situation,
and yielded to it with all the heroism of
that nature which had enabled her with
ont deviation to reach the barren cup
board. She did not attempt, like the stiff
necked scoffers of this generation, to war
against the inevitable; she did not try,
like the so-called men of science, TO ex-
plain what she did not understand She
said rothing. The poor dog had none 2n
And then at this point our information
ceases. But do we not know sufficient ?
We not cogniZant Of enough?
Would we dare TO pierce the veil that
slrouds the ulterior fate OF old Mother
Hubbard-pOOr dog-the cupboard-or
bone that was not there Must we i'm
agine her still standing at the open cup
board door, depict TO ourselves the dog
still dropping his disappointed tail upon
the floor. the sought-ior bone still re-
naming somewhere else ? All no, nv
lear brethren, we are not so permitted to
attempt TO read the future. Suffice il for
Us 10 CLEAN from this beautiful, story its
many lessons; suffice it Tor us to apply
them, to study as tar as in us lies, and
bearing in mind the natural fraiiy OF our
nature, 10 avoid being widows 10 shun
the patronymic OF Hubbard to have, il
our means afford it, more than one cup
board in the house and to keep stores in
them all. And, Oh dear friends, keeping
in recollection that we have learned this
day, let Us avoid keeping dogs that are
fond of bones. But, brethren, il we do;
if tate has ordained tina. we should do
any Of these things. let US then 90, as
Mother Hubbard did, straight, without
curveting. or prancing, to our cupboard,
empty though it be-let us, like her. ac-
cept the inevitable with calm steadfast-
ness; and should we, like her, ever be left
with a hungry dog and an empty cup
board, may future chrOniclers be able to
write also Of Us in the beautiful words OF
our tcXt-"And 50 the poor dog had none"