National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-03-08

universe, turning round some one great
center, the center so far distant IL Is beyond
all Imagination and calculation; and II, as
some think, that great center in the dis
lance is heaven, Christ came far from home
when He came here. Have you ever
thought Of the Inconsistencies OF Christi
Some OF you know what homesickness is,
when you have been only few weeks alb
sent from the domestic circle. Christ was
thirty-three years away from home. Some
Of you feel hOmesickness when you are q
hundred or a thousand miles away from the
domestic circle. Christ was more millions
Of miles away from home than you could
calculate II all your life you did nothing
but calculate. You know what II Is to be
homesick even amid pleasurable surround
ings: but Christ slept In huts, and He was
a-thirst, and He was a-hungered, and lie
was on the way from being born in another
mans barn to being buried in another
mans grave. / have read how the Swiss,
when they are far away from their native
country, at the sound Of their national air
get so homesCk that they fall into mel
ancholy, and sometimes they die under the
homesickness. But oh, the homesickness
Of Christ Poverty, hOmeslck for celestial
riches. Persecution, homesick for Uosanna.
WEAKNESS, homesick for rest. Homesick
for angelic and archangelic companionship.
llomesick to go out of the night, and the
that hOmesickness suffered to get us home
At our best estate we are only pilgrims
and strangers here. "IIeaven Is our home.n
Death will never knock at the door of that
mansion, and In all that country there Is
not single grave. How glad parents are
in holiday times to gather their children
home again. But have noticed that there
is almost always son or daughter absent
absent from home-perhaps absent from the
country; perhaps absent from the world.
oh, how glad our Heavenly Father will be
when he gets all OF his children home with
him In heavenl And how delightful IL will
be for brothers and sisters to meet after
long separation Once they parted at the
door of the tomb; now they meet at the
door OF Immortality. Once they saw only
through glass darkly, now II is face to
face; corruption, interruptions; mortality,
immortality. Where are now al their sins
and sorrows and troubles? Overwhelmed
in the Red Sea Of Death while they passed
through dry shod.
Gates of pearl, capstones OF amethyst,
thrones of dominion do not stir my soul so
much as the thought of home. Once there
let earthly sorrows howl like storms and roll
like seas! Home! Let thrones rot and empires
wither. Homel Let the earth die In earth
quake struggle, and be buried amid process
sion Of planets and dirge Of spheres.
Homei Let everlasting ages roll irresist-
ible sweep. Home! No sorrow, nocrying.
No tears, no death. But home, sweet home;
home, beautiful home, everlasting home;
home with each other, home with angels,
home with God.
One night, lying on my lounge, when
very tired, my children all around about
me In full romp and hilarity aud laughter
on the lounge, half awake and half asleep,
l dreamed this dream: was In far coun-
try. 1t was not Persia, although more than
oriental luXurlance crowned the cities; 1t
was not the tropics, although more than
tropical fruitfulness filled the gardens; 1t
was not Italy, although more than Italian
softness filed the air. And l wandered
around looking for thorns and nettles, but
l found that none Of them grew there; and
| | saw the sun rise, and / watched to see II
set, but II sank not. And l saw the people
In holiday attire, and said, "When will
they put off this and put on workmen's
| garb, and again delve in the mine or sweter
at the forgeY But they never put off the
holiday attire. And wandered In the sub
urbs Of the city to find the place where the
dead sleep, and looked oil along the line
of the beautiful hills, the place where the
| dead might most blissfully sleep, and
l saw towers and castles, but not q
mausoleum or n monument or q white
slab could / see. And l went into the
chapel Of the great town and Il said !:
the hard benches on which they sit ?" And
| the answer was made me: awe have no
| poor in this country" And then wan
dered out to find the novels of the des-
| titute, and found mansions of amber and
ivory and gold. but not tear could see,
not sigh could ] hear, and / was be-
| wildered, and l sat down under the
branches of great tree and | said
"Where am / =? And whence comes all
this scene Yn and then out from among the
leaves, and up the ilowery paths, and
across the bright streams there came q
beautiful group, thronging all about me,
and as l saw them come l thought knew
their step, and as they shouted thought i
knew their voices; but then they were so glo-
| rlously arrayed, in apparel such rs had
never before witnessed, that | bowed as
stranger TO stranger But when again they
clapped their hands and shouted "Welcome,
welcome !" the mystery all vanished, and
found that time had gone and eternity had
come, and we were all together again In our
new home In heaven. And looked around
and / said, "Are we all here?n and the
voices Of many generations responded,
GAN here !" And while tears of gladness
were raining down our cheeks and the
branches Of the Lebanon cedars were clap
ping their hands, and the towers Of the great
city were Ginning their welcome, we all
together began to leap and shout and sing;
"Home, home, home, homeW
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