St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-12-25

| pie can not see the llSht, Whlle sons nttle
child beholds the star Of pardon, the star
of hope, the star of consolation, the star of
Bethlehem, the morning star of Jesus.
mot many mighty men, not many wise
men are called; but God has chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the
mighty; and base things and things that
are not to bring to naught things that are.'
Oh, do not despisc the prattle Of little chill
dren when they are speaking about God,
and Christ, and Heaven! You see the way
your child is pointing; will you take that
pointing, or wait until, III the wrench Of
some awful bereavement, God shall lift
that child to another world, and then it
will beckon you upward! Will you take
the pointing, or will you wait for the beck
oning? Blessed be God that the little
Hebrew captive pointed in the right direc-
ton! Blessed be God for the saving min
istry of Christian children!
No wonder the advice of this little He
brew captive threw all Naaman's mansion
and en-hadad's palace into excitement.
Goodbye, Naaman! With face scarited
and rigid and infamed by the pestilence
and aided by those who supported him on
either side, he staggcrs out to the chariot
Hold fast the fiery cour5ers of the royal
stable while the poor sick man lifts his
swollen feet and pain struck limbs into the
vehicle. Bolster him up with the pillows
and let him take a lingering look at his
bright apartment, for perhaps that He
! brew captive may be miTtaken, and the
next time Naaman comes to that palace ne
! may be a dead weight on the shoulders Of
/ those who carry him-an expired chieftain
seeking sepulture amid the lamentations Ct
an admiring nation. Goodbye, Naaman!
Let the character drive gently over thH
l., H., - 1D.>+ NO .,t5t q
Here goes the bravest man of all his day d
captive of a horrible disease. AS the ala-
! bulance winds through the streets of Da~
mascus the tears and prayers of all the
people go after the world renowned inva-
| lid. Perhaps you have had an invalid 80
! out from your house on q health excursion.
| You know how the neighbours stood around
and said: "Ah, he will never come back
again alive" Oh, it was solemn moment,
l tell you, when the invalid had departed,
and YOU went into the room 70 make the
| bed and to remove the medicine walls from
the shelf, and to throw open the shutters
| so that the fresh air might rush into the
! long-closed room. Goodbye, Naaman!
| There is only one cheerful face looking
! at him, and that is the face Of the little
! Hebrew captive, who IS sure he will get
| cured, and who is SO glad she helped him.
As the chariot winds out and the escort OF
mounted courtiers, and the mules, laden
with sacks Of gold and silver and embroi-
dered suits of apparel, went through the
| gates of Damascus and out on the long way,
the hills of Naphtai and Ephralm look
| down on the procession, and the retinue
| goes right by the battle-telds where
! Naaman, in the days Of his health used to
rally his troops for fearful onset; and then
the procession stops and reclines awhile in
the groves OF olives and oleander, and Gen
eral Naaalan so sick-so very, very sick!
How the countrymen gaped as the pro-
cesson passed! They had seen Naaman go
past like a whirlWind in the days gone by,
and had stood aghast at the clank of his war
equipments; but now they commisserate
him. They say: "Poor man, he will never
get homa alive! Poor MANI General
Naaman wakes from a restless sleep in the
chariot and he says to the charioteer:
Chow long before we shall reach this
Prophet Elisha'sF' The charioteer says to
the waysider: "How far is it to Elisha's
houses" He says: 1.-TWO miles, "Two
miles" Then they whip up the lathered
/ and fagged-o out horses They drive up to
the door of the prophet. The characters
shout: "Whoar' to the horses, and the
tramping hoofs and grinding wheels cease
shaking the earth.
Come out, Elisha, come out, you have
company; the grandest company that ever
came to your house. The fact was, the
Lord had informed Elisha that the sick
Captain was coming and just how to treat
him. Indeed, when you are sick and the |
Lords wants you to get well, He always |
tells the doctor how to treat you; and the |
reason we have SO many bungling doctors |
is because they depend upon their own |
siren 9th and in StrnptiOnC and not the |
Lord God and that always makes NAL !
practice. Come out Elisha, and attend to |
your business. General Naaman and his |
retinue waited, and waited, and waited. |
The fact was Naaman had two diseases
pride and leprosy; the one was as hard to
get rid of as the other. Elisha sits quietly
in his house and does not go out. After
awhile, when he thinks he has humbled
this proud man, he says to a servant: Go
out and tell General Naaman to bathe
seven times in the River Jordan, out yon-
der five miles, and be will get entirely
we'll"
The message comes out. ''Whatr: says
the Commander-in-C Chief of the Syrian
forces, his eye kndling with an animation
which it h, not shown for weeks, and his
swollen foot stamping on the bottom Of the
chariot, regardless of pain "What! Isn't
he coming out to sec ME? Why, l thought
certainly he would come and utter some
cabalistic words over me, or make some
enigmatical passes over my wounds. Why,
I don't think he knows who am. Isn't he
coming out? Why, when the Shunammite
woman came to him he rushed out and
cried: is it well with thee? Is it well
with thy husbands Is it well with thy
childP And will he treat poor unknown
woman like that, and let me, titled
parsonage, sit here in my chariot and
wait and waltz won't endure it any lon
ger. Charioteer, drive on! Wash in the
Jordan! Hs' ha! The Shiny Jordan-the
muddy JOrdan-the mOnotonous Jordan. [