The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-01-20
Our 0lio.
A Modern Sermon.

A Modern Sermon.
The following, which very fairly hits off
the style in which many discourses of the
day are constructed, we are sure will be
enjoyed by the clergy as we'll as by the
general reader. 1t is necessary to state
that the text is taken neither from the Old
or New Testaments.
Brethren, the words of my text are:
Old Mother Hubbard she went to the cupboard.
To get the poor dog bone,
But when 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 to analyze their meaning,
and to apply it, lofty as it may be, to our
every day life.
Old Mother Hubbard she went to the cupboard,
To get her poor dog bone.
Mother Hubbard, you see, was old; there
being no mention of others, we may pre-
sumo she was alone, widow friendless,
old solitary widow Yet, did she despair?
Rid she sit down and weep, or read novel,
or wiring her hands No! she went to the
cupboard, and here observe that she rent
to the cupboard. She did not hop or skip
or jump or use any other peripatetic arti
flee, she solely and merely acem to the cup
board.
We have seen that she was old and
lonely, and we now further see that she
was poor For, mark, the words are the
cupboard Not one of the cupboards, or
the left-hand cupboard, or the right-hand
cupboard, or the one above, or the one be-
low, or the one under the floor, but just
the cupboard The one humble, little cup
board the poor widow possessed. And
why did she go to the cupboard? Was it
to bring forth golden goblets or glittering
precious stones, or costly apparel, or feasts,
or any other attributes of wealth 1t aoas
to get her poor dog a bone. Not only was
the widow poor, but her dog, the sole prop
of her age, was poor too. We can imagine
the scene The poor dog crouching in the
corner looking wistfully at the solitary cup
board, and the widow going to that cup
board-in hope, in expectation may be-to
open it, although we are not distinctly told
that it was not half open or ajar, to open
it for the poor dog,
But when she got there the cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
And when she got there. You see, dear
brethren, what perseverance is. You see
the beauty of persistence in doing right
She got there There was no turnings and
twistings, no sGppings and slidings, no
leanings to the right or gatherings to the
left. With glorious simplicity we are told
she got there
And how were her noble efforts re-
warded? The cupboard was bare. There
were to be found neither oranges, nor
cheese-cakes, nor nuts, nor lucifer matches
The cupboard was bare. There was but
one, only one solitary cupboard in the
whole cottage, and that one, the sole hope
of the widow and the glorious lode-star of
the poor dog, was bare. Had there been
leg of mutton, loin of lamb, a fllet of
veal, the case would have been different,
the incident would have been otherwise.
But it was bare, my brethren, bare as
bald head.
Many of you will probably say, with all
the pride of worldly sophistry, the widow,
no doubt, went out and bought dog bis
cult All, mo- Far removed from earthly
ideas, these mundane desires, poor Mother
Hubbard, the widow, whom many thought
less worldlings would despise, in that she
only owned one cupboard, perceived-or [
might even say saw-at once the relentless
logic of the situation, and yielded to 1t
with all the heroism of that nature which
had enabled her without deviation, to reach
the barren cupboard. She did not at
tempt, 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 explain what she did not under
stand. She did nothing. The poor dog
had none. And then at this point our in-
formation ceases But do we not know
sufficient? Are we not cognizant of
enough? Who would dare to pierce the
veil that shrouds the ulterior fate of old
Mother Hubbard, the poor dog, the cup
board, or the bone, that was not there ?
Must we imagine her still standing at the
open cupboard door, depict to ourselves
the dog still dropping his disappointed tail
upon the floor, the sought-for bone still
remaining somewhere else? All, no, my
dear brethren, we are not SO permitted to
attempt to read the future. Suffice it for
us to CLEAN from this beautiful story its
many lessons; suffice it for us to apply
them, to study them, as far as in us lies,
and bearing in mind the natural frailty of
our nature, to avoid being widows; to
shun the patronymic of Mother Hubbard +;
to have, if our means afford it, more than
one cupboard in the house, and to keep
stores in them all. And, oh dear friends,
keeping in recollection what We have
learned this day, let us avoid keeping dogs
that are fond of bones. But, brethren, if
we do, if Fate has ordained that we should
do any of these things, let us then go, 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 hungry dog and an empty cupboard,
may future chroniclers be able to write
also of us, in the beautiful words of our
text: And so the poor dog had none.
DENOMINATION of PoiIwou Tios