The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1880-03-10
An Essay ON Hope.

''The vista Of years seeks it's gala day
in hope. Its absence forms of earth's
dim shades dark midnight. There is
bliss derived from the belief of posi-
tive fulfilment that must follow every
anticipation. Hope is the antidote to
despair-the cure of dependency. 1t is
only natural the heart should feed itself
on such honey that like the bee it gath
crs from fragrant flowers, which are
marked with decay, and are sure to
turn to dead leaves. This is the solace
OF mankind, its sweet calm. 1t is the
enchantment that lends beauty to
frailty; the magnetism Of feeting joy
that perishes at the evening sunset.
Happily for mortals the future is
covered with curtain that conceals
the finale.
( Hope has no prospective vision, its
optics are near-sighted, blind to the
hereafter closed against time to come
Around it clings purity for hope is
not generally formed of sin, nor of
guilt, it is stained by no evil intention
nor blurred by any wicked designs. 1t
is the sister of faith and charity. 1t
claims something higher, nobler than
common fate, it would wear an angels
robes and be tinted by celestial hues.
Who INDUCES in hope of woe, who
dwells in hope of trouble, who hopes
for any untimely evil. Hope bases it.
self on sacred corner stone, it would
ascend upward toward God, not down.
ward toward man. 1t scars above earth
swards, its graves and its tombs, to
alight as near the royal throne as it can
soar, content to be only on the first
step Of the regal dais. Hope aspires to
something better than present position
or condition. The poor mans rank is
enriched, the humble spirit becomes
exalted, the heart of woman lives on
its completion; it is the lever of ambit-
ion, the incentive of fame, the power to
endure, the courage to suffer, the strength
to bear. 1t is never lying dormant in
the human breast; like dove of peace
it hoyers around the dropping affections
to still anguish, to quiet grief, the lull-
ably of rest, the cradle hymn of love.
The watcher who sits on the tower of
hope and has expected long the ships at
sea to arrive into safe harbor, strong
in the faith that they will sail unship-
wrecked, undismasted, freighted with
foreign treasures, is buoyed up in his
patience by this patent agent. The
ventures OF life are all fraught with
hopes star in the ascendant schemes
are projected; speculations made forget
full of blast and ignorant of blight. with
certainty Of perfect success because
hope is high in the blue armament.
Hope only can give zest and encourage
ment to all worldly designs and plans,
keeping the bark of distrust floating far
away on the stream Of time, regardless
of ruin or disaster. The experience that
man proposes and God disposes is never
considered until all mortal fabrics are
frustrated by the unseen hand of Provi-
dence.
The mariner on the vast ocean of
life's voyage would be without a captain
or pilot if it Were not for hope, for
seldom is perceived the rocks and shoals
that constantly are concealed IN the
seas channels. We feed our hungry
souls on husks, satiate our thirst at
tainted fountains, hug in close embrace
the cheat of affections because we hope
they are genuine and trustworthy.
Alas if it were not for this God given
hope, humanity would be most
wretched, knowing no lighthouses with
electric lamps to illumine them on
their pilgrim pathway. There is a
sphere where it is unknown; it's name
unheard, for in the golden inheritance
of heaven it has no abiding place, real
itv and fruition are exchanged for it's
uncertainty and insecurity. The Lord
allows us to cherish hope here when
famine comes, when drought appear.
when we are sore dismayed by sad dis
appointment, we can look to the home