Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-09-13


Are The beauties and advantages 81
the night appreciated as they should
be? Have we all considered with that
seriousness that becomes the subject.
the fact that infinite wisdom has ap-
pointed time Of rest as well as a
time Of labor? Have We paid due re-
gard to the force as well ~ the bean
ty of the ScriptuaI precept, "Worlx
while il Is called today knowing
that the night cOmeth when no man
can work
''Night 10 the time 20 sleep;
IT'S sweet when lab9Fs close,
To gather round the aching breast
The curtain Ofrepose.''
SO sang Montgomery and thus en-
bodied in his beautiful rhyme, what
is really a philoscphic truth. The
man who dissipates away the impor-
tant time that is wisely appointed for
rest and sleep, and catches an uncer-
tain substitute for it during the day,
does not live according to the laws Of
nature and will pay the penalty some
time or other. he cannot escape
from it.
But when we speak Of night as the
time of rest, we do not wish to be
understood as referring to the whole
time that invervenes between the set
ting and rising Of the sun. This pc
liod might probably be styled the
night. When the great king of the
day has withdrawn his presence and
the shadows are falling around US,
new state Of things has been intro
duced and we feel the change. It is
no longer day. That interval has
commenced when labor ought to
cease. And it does cease, ordinarily,
for there is no law which requires our
working men to labor longer than
from sunrise to sunset. But we do
not expect to remain on this planet
for ever, and are pretty well satisfied
there ia another and better home
somewhere else in reserve for US. We
like to see and hear as much and en-
Joy as much here as we can, SO that |
when we reach that fairer country we
can represent an honest contrast. We
would not for all the treasures it con-
taIns depreciate the world we live in.
1t il beautiful world and the pres
ent is a most advantageous and de-
srable time to live in it. We are here
on trial, and we ought TO make all |
the capital out Of our trial state we
can. If we do not. we have only half |
discharged our duty. When we say |
this is desirable time to live here
we have simple reference to the fact
that SO much has been learned by the |
light of science, and such wonders
have been accomplished in the march |
Of human improvement that il we
were to stop right here, we would |
stand in need of nothing else to trace
out and present to vision and iudg.
ment the wonderful outlines of the
eternity of which we form a part and
which is both infinite and endless in
its duration.
Mnen We leave this world we will
enter into the next; and which ofthe
multitude that roll over our heads,
will we choose for our habitation Or
if that choice is taken away from us,
which Of them, we might ask, will be
chosen for US? The night gives us an
opportunity to look up and view those
worlds, as they shine in all their
beauty and grandeur in the blue con-
cave. Will we make our choice be-
fore we die? That choice may not be
a wise one. There is difference be-
tween them. Some may have a hot
and others NAV have a
cold one. We would not like either
to burn or to freeze. Then how are
we to make choice, after we are done
living here that will better our con-
dition hereafter? If we depend upon
ourselves We are in the dark. There
IS nothing more certain than that.
We can escape the dilemma by de-
pending upon this, II 90 to prepare
place for you, that where en- We
may be also. We can get into no
better company than with the One
who uttered these words, and when
night comes with its starry world, we
can only look up ard guess, and won
der, but We had better let Him
choose.
Ec- A teacher said to little girl