The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-10-07

to lead me so far into the fight that may
strike one good blow with this sword OF
mine" Do not think so much Of what facul-
ties you have lost as of what faculties re-
self felt in three worlds while you help the
earth and balk hell and win heaven, Arise
from your Encouragement O men of de-
p.eted or crippled physical faculties, and see
what, by tho special help of God. you can
accomplish.
The skilled horsemen stood around Bu.
eenhalus, unable to mount or manage him, so
wild was the steel. But Alexander noticed
that the sight of his own shadow seemed to
disturb the horse. So Alexander clutched
him by the briile and turned his head away
from the shadow and toward the sun and
the horse's agitation was gone and Alexander
mounted him and rode Off to the astonsh-
ment of all who stood by. And what you
people need is to have your sight turned
away from the shadows OF your earthly lot,
over which you have so long pondered, and
your head turned toward tho sun, the
glorious sun # GOSPEL consolation and Chris
tian hope and spiritual triumph.
And then remember that all physical dis
advantages will after awhile vanish. Let
those who have been rheumatismei out of
foot or cataracted out of an eye or by the
perpetual roar of our cities thundered out of
an ear, look forward to the day when this
and better one shall be rebuilded. The
resurrection morning will provide you with
better outfit. Either the uustrung, worn-
out, blunted and crippled organs will be so re-
constructed that you will hardly know them,
or an entirely new set of eyes and ears and feet
will be given you, Just what it means by
corruption putting on interruption we do
not know, save thet it will be glory ineffable;
no limping in heaven, no strainins Of the
;rhf - linz Iiff1o off.
putting of the hand behind the ear to double
the capacity of the tympanum but faculties
perfect, all the KEYS of the instrument attuned
for the sweep of the fingers Of ecstasy. But
until that day of resumption comes let us
bear each others burdens and so fulfill the
Law nf Christ
Another form Of disadvantage under which
many labor is lack of early education There
Will be no excuse for ignorance in the next
generation. Free schools and illimitabe op-
portunivy of education will make ignorance
crime. believe in compulsory education,
aud those parents who neglect TO put their
children under educational advantages have
but one right left, and that is the peniten-
tlary. But there are multitudes of men and
women in mid life who had no opportunity.
Free schools had not yet been established, and
vast multitudes had little or no school at
all. They feel it when, as Christian men,
they come to speak or pray in religious as
semblies or public occasions, patriotic or po-
litical or educational. They are silent, be-
cause they do not feel competent. They
owe nothing to English grammar or
not know participle from pronoun if
they met it'many times day. Many Of the
most successful merchants of America and
men in high political places cannot write an
accurate letter on any theme. They are
completely dependent upon clerks and depu-
ties and stenographers to make things right.
| knew literary man who in other years in
Washington make his fortune by writing
speeches for congressman or fixing them up
for the Congressional Record after they
were delivered. The millionaire illiteracy
of this country is beyond measurement.
Now, suppose man finds himself in mid
life without education, what is he to do? Do
the best he can The most effective layman
in former pastoral charge that
themes could within five minutes OF
exhortation break all the laws of English
grammar and if he left any law unfractured
he would complete the work of lingual devas-
tation in the prayer with which he followed
it But I would rather have him pray for
me il I were sick or in trouble than any
Christian man l know of, and in that church
all the people preferred him in exhortation
ard prayer to all others Why? Because he was
SO thoroughly pious and had such power with
God he was irresistible, and as he went on in
his prayers, sinners repented and saints
shouted for joy, and the bereaved seemed to
get back their dead in celestial companion
ship. And when he had stopped praying,
and as soon as l could wipe out OF my eyes
enough tears to see the closing hymn
ended the meeting fearful that some long
winded, prayer meeting bore would pull US
down from the seventh heaven. Not word
have to say against accuracy of speech or
fine locution or high mental culture. Get
all these You can. But do say to those who
were brought up in the day of poor school
houses and ignorant schoolmasters and no
opportunity, you may have SO much
of God in your soul a1d SO much OF
heaven in your everyday life that
| vol will be miehtier for good than
many who went through all the curriculum
of Harvard or Yals or Oxford. yet never
graduated in the scho d of Christ When you
get up to the gate of heaven no one will ask
you whether you can parse the first chapter
Of Genesis, hut whether you have learned
the fear OF tho Lord which is the beginning
of wisdom; nor whether you know how t.
square the circle, but whether you have lived
square life i'll round world. Mount Zi>n
is higher than Mount Parnassls.
But what other multitudes there are under
other disadvantages Here IS CHRISTIAN
woman whose husband thinks religion sham,
and while the wife prays the children one
way the husband swears them another. Or
here is Christian man who is trying to dc
his best for God and the church and his wife
holds him back and says on the way home
from prayer-meetng where he gave testi.
mony for Chris: "What fool you made Of
kesp still" Aud when he would BE-
benevolent and give fifty dollars, she
criticizes him for not giving fifty cents
must do justice and publicly thank God
that never proposed at home to give any
| tn ng lor any caIs, OF humanity or religion
but tae other partner in the dome tic firm
approved it. And when it seemet beyond
my ability, and faith in God was necessary
she had three .fourths the fs. tn But know
men who, when they contribute t. charita
BILE objects, are ara d that the wife will find
it ont. What a withering curse such q
woman must be to good man..
Then there are others under the great dis
advantage OF poverty. Who ought to gel
things cheap est: Nou say those who have
little means. But they pay more You bu,
ccal by the ton. They buy it by the bucket
You buy toar by the barrel. They buy. il
by the pound. You get apparel cheap be
cause You pay cash. They pay dear because
they have to get trustel. And the Bible wa
right when it said: 'The destruction of th'
poor is their poverty"
Then there are thos, who made mistake
| III early llLe anu tEtb dii shcA
DAYS. DO you not know that that man wa
on in prisonH' is whispered. Or do yol
know that that man once attempted suicide!
Or "Do you know that that man ono
ais ,ondei" Or do you know that tina
man wai once discharged for dishonesty
Perhaps there was only one wrong deed il
til, mans life and that one act hauuts the sub
sejuent half century of his existence.
OF iers have unfortunate predominen ce o
some mental faculty and their rashnes
throws them into wild enterprises, or thei
trepi lation makes them decline great oppoI
tunit es, or there is vein of melancholy i
their disposition that defeats them, or the
have an endowment of over mirth that give
the impression of insiucerity.
Others have mighty obstacle in their Pc
sonal appearance, for which they are not RI
sponsible. They forget that God fashione
their features and their complexion and the
stature, the size of their nose and mouth an
hands and feet and gave them tn eir gait an
their general appearance; aud they forg'
that much of the worlds best work and tt
church's best work has been done by homel
people, and that Paul, the apostle, is said
have been hump-backed and his eyesig'
weakened bv ophthalmia while many of Il
finest in appearance have pasSei their tin
before flattering looking glasses or in stud
ing killing attitudes and in displaying Il
richness of wardrobes, not one ribbon {
frll hf,t -tri.,