The Russellville Democrat., 1888-08-09

You say. ''rhe throne of tho Lord God Almighty and the Lamb" No doubt about it. What is the next highest throne in Heaven? While speak it seems to me that it will be the throne of the drunk ards wife, if she. with cheerful patience, endured all her earthly torture. Heroes and heroines.
 | l find in this roll the heroes Of Chris tian charity. We all admire the George Peabodys and the James Lenoxes of the earth, who give tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to good objects. But am speaking this morning of those who out of their pinched poverty, help others-of such men as those Christian missionaries at the west who are living on two hundred and fifty dollars that they may proclaim Christ to the people, one of them, writing to the secretary in New York, saying:
 'T thank you for that twenty-five dol- lars. Until yesterday we have had no meat in our house for three months. We have suffered terribly. My children havo no shoes this winter"
 And of those people who have only a half loaf of bread, but give piece of it to others who are hungrier; and of those who have only scuttle of coal, but help others to fuel; and of tho,e who have only dollar in their pocket, and give twenty five cents to some body else; and of that father who wears a shabby coat, and of that mother who wears faded dress, that their children may be we'll sp- pareled. You call them paupers, or rag amuffins, or emigrauts. l call them heroes and heroines. You and I may not know where they live, or what their name is. God knows, and they have more angels lowering over them than you and l have, and they will have a higher seat in Heaven.
 They may have only cup of co Id water to give poor traveller, or may have only picked a splinter from under the nail of child's finger, or have put only two mites into the treasury, but the Lord knows them. Considering what they had, they did more than we have ever done, and their faded dress will become white robe, and the small room will be an eternal mansion, and the old hat will be q coronet of victory, and all the applause of earth, and all the shouting of Heaven will be drowned out when God rises mp to give His reward to those humble work CTS in His Kingdom, and to say to them: "Well done, good and faithful servant.' You have all seen or heard of the rui n of Melrose Abbey. l suppose in some respects it is the most exquisite ruin on earth. And yet looking at it. was not 50 impI essed; you may set it down to bad taste, but was not SO deeply stirred as was at a tombstone placed by Walter Scott over the grave of an old man who had served him for a good many years in his house--the inscription most sig nificant, and I defy any man to stand there and read it without tears coming into his eyes, the epitaph: "Well done, good and faithful servant Oh, when our work is over. will if be found that be- cause of any thing we have done for God, or the Church. or suffering humanity, that such an inscription is appropriate for us? God grant it.
 Who were those who were bravest and deserved the greatest n;onument-Lord Claverhouse and his burly soldiers, or John Brown, the E Edinburgh carrier, and his wife? MT Atkins, the persecuted minister of Jesus Christ in Scotland, was secreted by John Brown and his wife, and Claverhouse rode mp one day with his armed men and shouted in front of the house. John Browns little girl came out He said to her;
 "Well, miss, is Mr. Atkins hereg" She made no answer. for she could not betray the minister of the Gospel.
 "HaW Claverhouse said, then you are a chip of the old block, are you? I have something in my pocket for you. It is nosegay. Some people call it a thumb screw, but call it n nosegav."
 And he got off his horse, and he put it On the little girls hand, and began to turn it until the bones cracked, and she cried He said:
 ''Don't cry, don't cry; this isn't a thumb screw; this is a nosegay." And they heard the child's cry, and the father and mother came out and Claverhouse said:
 ''Ha! it seems that you three have laid your holy heads together, determined to die like all the rest of your hypocritical, canting, sniveling crew; rather than give up, good MT. Atkins, pious Mir. Atkins, you would die. l have te lescope with me that will improve your vision" and he pulled out a pistol. "Now," he said, you old pragmatical lest you should catch cold in this cold morning of Scot land, and for the honor and safety of the King, to say nothing of the glory of God and the good of our souls, will proceed, simply and in the neatest and most ex- peditious style possible, to blow your brains onto
 JOHH BToWu icil ufou HIS khcoS uiiu DV- gan to pray. "Ah," said Claverhouse, Hook out; if you are going to pray, steer clear of the King, the council, and Richard Cameron"
 70 Lord" said John Brown, "since it seems to Thy will that should leave this world for a world where I can love Thee better and serve Thee more, I put this poor widow and these helpless, fatherless children into Thy hands, We have been together in peace good while, but now we must look forth to a better meeting in Heaven; and as for these poor creatures, blindfolded and infatuated, that stand before me, convert them before 1t be too late, and may they who have sat in judgment in this lonely place on this blessed morning upon me, poor, de- fenseless fellow creature, may they in the last judgment find that mercy which they have refused to me, Thy most un- worthy but faithful servant. Amen"
 He rose up and said; "Isabel, the hour has come of which spoke to you on the morning when proposed hand and heart to you; and are you willing now, for the love of God, to let me die?" She put her arms around him and said:
 "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away Blessed be the name of the Lord!"
 "Stop that snivelins," said Claverhouse. q have had enough of it. Soldiers, do your work. Take aiml FireW And the head of John Brown was scattered on the ground. While the wife was gathering up in her apron the fragments of her hus- bands head-gatherlng them up for burial-Clayerhouse looked into her face and said: 'NOw, my good woman, how do you feel now about your bonnie manf
 "Ohl" she said, 'I always thought weel of him; 1 had no reason to think any thing but weel of him, and think better of him now"
 O, what a grand thing it will be in the last day to see God pick out His heroes and heroines. Who are those paupers of eternity trudging of from the gates of Heaven2 Who are they9 The Lord Clayer-