The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-05-10

tuougn ana nave enough 10 cry aDoub. 0ou
bless all skilful punstels, all reparteeists, all
propounders of ingenious conundrums, all
those who mirthfully surprise us with un-
usual juxtaposition of words, Thomas Hood
and Charles Lamb and Sidney Smith had
divine mission. and so have their successors
In these times. They stir into the acid pever-
age OF life the saccharine. They make the
cup OF earthly existence, which IS sometimes
stale, effervesce and bubble. They placate
animosites They foster longevity. They
slay follies and absurdities which all the
sermons OF all the pulpits cannot reach.
They have for examples Elijah, who made
fun Of the Baalites when they called down
fire and it did not come, suggesting that their
heathen god had gone hunting, or was of
vociferation could wake him, saying: Cry
aloud for he Is god; either he is talking or
pursuing or peradventure he sleepeth and
must be awaked." They have an example in
Christ. who with healthful sarcasm showed
up the lying, hypocritical Pharisees by sug.
gesting that such perfect peopio like them
neves needed no Improvement, saying: The
whole need not physician, but they that
are sick.n
But what use are you making OF your witt
Is it besmirched with profanity and uncean.
ness! Do you employ it in amusement at
physical defects for which the victims are
not rssponsiblei Are your powers of mimicry
bunch of nettlesome invective' Is it bolt
Of unjust scorn' Is it fun at others mis-
fortune! Is it glee ut their disappointment
and defeat! Is it bitterness put drop by drop
into cups Is it like the squeezing of arte-
misia abSinthium into draught already dis
tastefuly pungents Then you are the star
Wormwood. Yours is the fun of rattle
snake trying how well it can sting. 1t is the
fun Of a hawk trying how quick it can strike
out the eye of dove.
But will change this. and will suppose
you are star of worldly prosperity. Then
you have large opportunity. You can en-
courage that artist by buying his picture.
You can improve the fields, the stables, the
highway, by introducing higher style Of
fowl aud horse and COW and sheep. You can
bless the world with pomological achieve
ments in the orchards. You can advance
arboriculture and arrest this deathful icono-
clasm of the American forests. You can put
piece Of sculpture into the niche of that
public academy. You can endow a college.
the winter frost. You can build church.
You can put a missionary Of Christ on that
rorelgn snOre. 7 ou can neip r,Asom a woria.
A rich man with his heart right. Can you
tell me how much good James Lennox or a
George Peabody or a Peter Cooper or a Will
lam L. Dodge did while living, or is doing
now that he is deadl There is not a city,
town or neighborhood that has not glorious
specimens of consecrated wealth.
But suppose you grind the face OF the poor.
Suppose when mans wages are due YOU
make him wait for them because he cannot
help himself. Suppose that because his
family is sick and he has had extra expenses
he should politely ask you to raise his wages
for this year, and you roughly tell him If he
wants better place to go and get it Sup
pose by your manner you act as though hs
were nothing and you were everything.
Suppose you are selfish and overbearing and
arrogant Your FIRST name ought to be At
lila, and your last name Atti!a, because you
are the star Wormwood and you have EN-
bittered one-third, if not three-thirds, OF the
waters that roll past your employees and
operatives and dependents and associates,
and the long line of carriages which the un-
dertaker orders for your funeral in order to
make the occasion respectable, will be filled
with twice as many dry, fearless eyes as there
pail bearers may make the gates of yopr
sepulcher quake by striking your silver
handled coffin against them, but the world
will feel no jar as you 60 out OF it.
There is an erroneous idea abroad that
there are only few genuses. There are
millions of them; that is, men and women
who have especial adaptation and quickness
for some one thing. 1t may he great, it may
be small. The circle may be like the circum-
ference Of the earth or no larger than a
thimble There are thousands of geniuses
here this morning, and in some one thing
you are star. What kind of star are
you? You will be in this world but few
| minutes. As compared with eternity the
stay of the longest life OH earth is not more
| than minute. What are we doing with
| that minute! Are we embittering the domes-
tic, or social, or political fountains, or are
we like Moses, who, when the lsraelites In
| the wilderness complained that the waters
| of Tab nd Il
not drink them, their leader cut off the
branch of certain tree and threw that
branch into the water, and it became sweet
and slakel the thirst of the suffering host!
Are we with branch OF the tree OF life
sweetening all the brackish fountains that
we can touch! Dear Lord, send us al out
| on thy mission. All around us embittered
lives embittered by persecution. embittered
by hypercrit;cism, embittered by poverty,
embittered by pain, embittered by in
Justice, embittered by sin. Why not
60 forth and sweeten them by smiles.
by inspiring words, by benefactions,
by hearty council by prayer, by
that if we are wormwood to others we are
wormwood to ourselves, and our life will be
bitter and our eternity bitter The Gospel
of Jesus Christ is the only sweetening power
that is sufficient. 1t sweetens the disposi-
ton 1t sweetens the manners. 1t sweetens
| llIe. IL SWeeUenS mysterious ITOSfueHSoS'
1t sweetens Affections. 1t sweetens death.
1t sweetens everything. have heard people
asked in social company: ''lf You could have
three wishes gratified what would your three
wishes be Z" If l could have three wishes
met this morning tell you what they would
be- First-More of the grace of God: Sec
ond-More of the grace of Col. Third
More of the grace Of God. In the door yard
Of my brother John, missionary in Annoy,
China, there is a tree called the emperor
tree, the two characteristics of which are
that it always grows higher than its sur
roundings. and its leaves take the form of
crown. II this emperor tree be planted by a
1 rose bush it grows little higher than the
bush, and spreads out above it crown. II
it be planted by the side of another trce ii
| grows a little higher than that tree and
spreads above it a crown. Would God that
| this religion of Christ, a more wonderful
emperor tree, might overshadow all your
lives; are you lowly in ambition or circum
stance putting over you its crown; are you
its crown. Oh. for more OF the saccharine
in our lives and less of the wormwoods
| What is true of individuals is true of ma
tions. God sets them up torevolve as stars
but they may fall wormwood.
Tyre-the atmosphere of the desert fra
! grant with spices coming in caravans to her
| fairs; all seas cleft into foam by the keeis Of
/
with horses and canals, from Togarmah
her bazaars filled with upholstery from
Dedan, with emeralds and coral and agate
from Syria, with wines from Helbon, with
embroidered work from Ashur and Chill
mad. Where now the CLEAN of her towers
where the roar Of her chariots, where the
masts of her shipsl Let the fishermen VINO
dry their nets where once she stood, let the
sea that rushes upon the barrenness where
once she challenged the admiration of all ma
tions, let the barbarians who set their rude
tents where once her palaces glittered, an.
swer the question. She was star, but by
her own sin turned to wormwood and has
fallen.
Hundred gated Tnebes-for all time to be
the study of antiquarian and hieroglyphist;
..,er stupendous ruin spread over twenty
seven miles. her sculptures presenting in
figures of warrior and chariot the victories
with which the now forg tt,n kings of Egypt
shook the nations her obelisks and columns
Carnac and Luxor. the stupendous temples
Of her pride Who can imagine the greatness
Of Thebes in those days, when the hippodrome
rang with her sports and TO eign royalty
bowed at her shrnes and hrr venues roared
with the wheels of professions n, the wake Of
returning concuerorsl What tashed down