Sharp County record., 1888-07-05

hv the force Of his sword, he lies down to
die. his entire possession the military
| boots that he insisted on having upon MS
feet while he was dying. So it has oeen
with men who had better amoluon,
Thackerav, one Of the most genial anu
Ioyable souls. after he had won the ap-
n1arse of all intelligent lands through MS
wonderful genius. sits down in reStaur-
ant in Paris, looks to the other end OF tne
room and wonders whose that torlorn anu
wretched face is; rising up after aWhue,
he finds that it is Thackeray in the mirror,
Oh. YES. this world is a cheat. Talk ABOUT
a man gaining the world! VINO ever
Gained half Of the world' Who ever
owned hemisphere? Who ever gained a
continent? Who ever owned Asia! VINO
ever gained city? Who ever owned
Brooklyn? Talk about gaining the word.
No man ever gained it, or the hundred
tbousandth part Of it. You are de-
mauding that I sell my soul, not for the
world. but for fragment Of it. Here IS
man who has had large estate for forty
or f4ty wears. He lies down to die. You
saw iThat man is worth millions ana
millions of dollars !" Is he? You call up
a surveyor, with his compass and CHAINS,
| and you say:
There is property extending three
miles in one direction, and three miles III
another direction"
Is that the way TO measure that man 5
property? No! You do not want any
surveyor, with his compass and chalns'
That is not the way you want to measure
that mans property now. 1t is an under
taEer that you need, who will come and
put his finger in his vest-pOcket, and take
out a tape-line, and he will measure hVe
feet nine inches one way, and two and
| one-balf feet the other way. That IS the
mans property. Oh, no; forgot; not so
much as that, for he does not own even
the place in which he lies in the ceme-
terv. The deed to that belongs to the
executors and the heirs. Oh, what prop
erty you propose to give me for my soul
If YOU sell bill of goods you go into the
counting-room and say to your partner:
''Do YOU think that man is good for this
bill? Can he give proper security! VIII
he meet this payment"
Now, when you are offered this world as
a possession, want you to test the mat
ter. l do not want you to go into this bar
gain blindly. Iwant you to ask about the
title, about the insurance, about whether
men have ever had any trouble with it,
about whether you can keep it, about
whether you can get all, or the ten-thou-
sandth, or one hundred-thOusandth part
of it.
There is the world now. shall say no
more about it. Make up your mind for
yourself, as l shall before God have to
make up my mind for myself, about the
value of this world. can not afford to
make mistake for my soul, and you can
not afford to make mistake for your
| soul
Now, let us look at the other property
the soul. We can not make a bargain
without seeing the comparative value
The soul? How shall l estimate the value
of it? Well, by its exquisite organization
1t is the most wonderful piece of mechan-
ism ever put together. Machinery IS OF
value in proportion as it is mighty and
silent at the same time. You look at the
engine and machinery in the Philadelphia
mint, and, as you see it performing its
wonderful work, you will be surprised to
find how silently it goes. Machinery that
.yohrs and tears soon destroys itself; bu'
silent machinery is often most effective
| Now, so it is with the soul of man, with all
its tremendous faculties-it moves in
silence. Judgment, without any racket,
lifting its scales; memory, without any
noise, bringing down all its treasures;
conscience taking its judgment seat with
out any excitement; the understand
ing and the will all doing their work
Velocity, majesty, might; but silence
silence. You listen at the door Of your
heart. You can hear no sound
The soul is all quiet. 1t is so
delicate an instrument that no human
hand can touch it. You breaka bone, and
with splinters and bandages the surgeon
sets it; the eye becomes infamed, the
apothecary's wash cools it; but soul off
the track, unbalanced, no human power
can re-adjust it. With one sweep of its
wing it circles the universe, and over
vaults the throne Of God. Why, in the
hour of death the soul is so mighty 1t
throws aside the body as though it were
toy. 1t drives back medical skill as i'm
potent. 1t breaks through the circle of
loved ones who stand around the dying
couch. With one leap, it springs beyond
star and moon and sun, and chasms OF
immensity. Oh, it is soul superior to all
material things No fires can consume 1t;
no floods can drown it; no rocks can crush
it; no walls can impede it; no time can
exhaust it. 1t wants no bridge on which
10 cross chasm. 1t wants no plummet
with which to sound depth. A soul so
mighty, so mighty, so swift, so silent,
must it be priceless soul?
I calculate the value Of the soul, also
by its capacity for happiness. How much
Joy it can get in this world out of friend
ships, out of books, out Of clouds, out Of
the sea, out of flowers, out of ten thousand
things; and yet all the joy it has here
does not test its capacity. You are in
concert before the curtain hoists, and you
hear the instruments preparing-the
sharp snap of the broken string, the
scraping of the bow across the viol
"There is no music in that" you say. II
| is only getting ready for the music. And
all the enjoyment of the soul in this
world, the enjoyment we think is real en-
joyment, is only preparative; it is only
anticipative; il is only the first stages of
the thing; it is only the entrance, the be-
ginning of that which shall be the
orchestral harmonies and splendors Of
| the redeemed.