The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-01-03
CANTON. OHIO, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1889

fast to the tire of the wheel with great
nervousness, lest we be hurled into eter-
nal felicity and light, with all sorts of
optical instruments peepiRg through
the cracks and keyhOles of heaven, and
afraid to have both parlOr doors of the
celestial mansion swung wide open be-
around amid the apOthecaTy shops OF
this world, wondering If this is good for
rheumatism, and this good for neural
gia, and something else good for the
cough, let me be transported to a land
of immortal health, where the inhabit-
ants never say. 81 am sick" What great
fools we all are to prefer the circumfer-
ence to the centerl What a dreadful
thing it would be for US if we should
have to get right out of this winter into
the Maytime orchards of heaven, as If
our pauperism of sin and sorrow could
be too suddenly broken up by the pre-
sentatiOn of one of the EmperOr's cast
les, surrounded by parks, with fountains
and paths with angels walking up and
down them two and two. We are like
persons who should stand on the cold
steps of the National picture gallery at
London, under an umbrella in the rain,
afraid to go in amid the Turner's and the
Raphaels and the Titians. say to them
why do you not go in?" "Oh," they
reply, eve are certain we can get in.
say, "dO you not see that door is Opon %
well, we have been so long on these
cold steps we feel quite attached to
them" they say, well, it is far more
attractive inside the gallery" l say.
Yes, but we know how it is here, and
we don't exactly know how it is there"
they say. So we seem to prefer discOTd
to cantata, cold drizzle to genial sun
shine, sackclOth to royal purple. SO we
seem to prefer an atmosphere full of
feveTs and chOleras and malaTias and
diptherias, to one where for a million Of
years there has not been a sickness. So
we stick to this world as though earth
and heaven had changed apparel, and
this world had put on bridal array and
heaven had gone into mourning for her
waters, all stagnant, and her harps all
unstrung, and her chalices cracked at
the dry wells, and as if all her lawns
slOping to the river had been plOwed
into graves with dead angels under the
burrows. 1 tell you the sooner we get
to heaven the better, and while there
are especial blessings in longevity, there
are especial blessings in breVity.
IL this be so, then how cOnsOled you
ought to be about those of your family
who die early. What glorious scape
they had! How glad we ought to be they
Will never have the long fight we have
had; they only had time to get out of the
cradle and run up on the spring time
hills of this world little while to see
how he looked, and then went on to a
better stopping place. They were as
ships that put into st. Helena only long
enough to let the passengers go up and
see the barracks of NapOleOn's exile and
then hoist sail for the port Of their ma
tive land. They only take this world in
tTansitu. If this sermon be true, in
stead of signing and gTOaning about
the quick passing of another year, get
down on one knee and read the letters
on the milestone, and thank God you
are 365 miles nearer home. Do not go
about with morbid feelings about your
health or your prospective demise. In
stead of living according to the Old-time
maxim, as though each day were your
last act, as though you were to i've for
ever as you win. Do not get nervous
lest you have to move out from shanty
into an Alhambra. Last Monday you
remember was Chi istmas, and l saw
something very thrilling. We had in
the morning just distributed the Christ
mas presents, and were having as live
ly time as possible, when there was an
awful shrek of distress in our hall, for
a neighbOT's child had rushed in to say
lLcA ldbubl was ubdu1 Ouly llIb6 uUOl5
away, think we were there in two min
utes. There was the old retired sea-cap-
taiU, his face upturned toward the win
dow, as though he saw the Headlands
and was going into port. The fact was,
he had already gone through the Mar
rows. Long ago, just after his craft
had escaped being run down by an ocean
steamer, he had made his peace with
God, and Capt. PendletOn was as good a
man and as kind a neighbOr as you could
find this side of heaven. Well, without
second of warning last Monday at
o'clock the pilot of the heavenly harbOr
met him just off the hghtship. 1 often
heard him tell how good the Lord
had been to him, and how one time
coming near New York harbOr with his
vessel from Liverpool, something i'm
pressed him that he must put out to sea
again. Under the protest of all the crew
he put back, although he himself was
alarmed lest his own reason were fail
ing him, for it seemed so unreasonable
that he put back. Back to sea they went,
he telling his mate to call him at 10
O'Clock that night. He went to sleep.
At IL o'clock he was aroused and said to
his mate: "Here it is IL o'clock, and j
told you to call me at TO-" 81 did call
yOu," said the mate, land you rose uu
and then laid down and went to Sleep
The captain went on deck, and lOl amid
the rift OF the storm he saw a wreck
and many lives hanging on to thai
wreck Had he been earlier or later al
| that point he could have been of no use L
them. He was just in time to take thu
poor fellows on board, and when they
began to bargain what they should pal
for their rescue and for the provisions
Capt. PendletOn said: my lads, yOI
can't pay me anything; help yourselves
all 1 have on board is yours" May tn
God of that glorious old sea captain b
our GOdl Amid all the stormy seas o
this life may we have some one to lOol
after us kindly and tenderly as the cap
tain looked after the drOwningcrew, ,ant
may we go into the hirbOr with as lit
tie pain and as bright hope as he had
and if it be a Christmas morning Will
the presents are distributed, and we ar
celebrating the birth of him whu cam
to save shipwrecked world, all the BET
ter; for what brighter Christmas presen
could we have than heaven2
"Bill, what's become Of Lem johnson