Dodge City times., 1888-05-03

IN Calent ana position, putting over you lta
crown. 0, for moro Of the arins in
eur lives aud less Of the wormwooi!
| What is true Of iuiiv!duals is true Of
nations, God sets thsm up TO revolve Us
stars, but they may fall wormwood. Tyre
-tbe atmosphere Of the dessrs, fragrant
with spices coming in oaravans to her fairs ;
all seas cleft into foam ~ the kesis Of her
laden msrchapt,nen; her markets rich
with horses and c.msls from Togarmah,
her bazaa-s flied with upholstery from
| Dsdsn, with eusralds and cersl and agate
from Syria. with wines frerl Helbou, with
| smbro;dored work from Ashur and Chill
mad. Where now the gleam of her tow
ers, whore tho roar Of her chario,s, whero
the ulasts OF her shipsl Let the fishermen
who dry their nets where snce she stood,
| let the >oa that rushes upon the barrenness
| where once she challenged the admiration
| Of all nations, let tho barbariais who set
| their rude teuss whore once her palaces
glistered answer the question. She was y
star, but by her own SIN turned to worm
wood and has fallen.
Hundred gated Thebes-for all time to be
the study Of auiiqu .rian and heirogly PHI st
her stupendeus ruins spread over
twenty seven miles; her sculptures pss-
ssnsias in figures Of ware or and chariot
the victories wish which tae now forgotten
kings Of Egypt sAook tho nations; her ohe-
hsks and columns; Carnac and Luxor, the
| s.upend~us temples Of her pride. Who
can imagine the greatness Of Thebes in
those days whon the hippodrome rang
with her sports and forsign royalty bowed
at her shrines and her avenues roarsd with
Ma wheels OF professions IN the wake Of
returning conQusrors.
What dashed down the vision Of charots
and temples and throsss! What hands
pulled upon the columns Of her g!oryi
That ruthlossness dcfaced her sculp.ured
wall and broke obelisks and left her In
dsscribab!s temples great skeletons OF
granite! What spirit Of destruction spread
the lair Of wild beasts in her royal sepul-
cherS aud taught the miserable Gotta gers
o! to-day to build huts IN the courts Of hsl
temples and sent dssolatiOn and ruiz
skulking behind the obelisks and lodging
among tho sarcophagi and leaning against
the columns and stopping under the arches
and wsepiug in the waters which go
msurnfully by rs though they were carry
ing the tears Of all agesl Let tho num-
mics break their long silence and come up
to shiver in the desolation and point ts
fallen gates and shattered statues and de-
faced sculpture, responding: ''Thebss
built not one temple 20 Cod Thebes hated
righteousness and loved sin. Thebes was
star, but she turned t. wOrmwood and
has fallen"
Babylon-with her two undred and fifty
towers and her brazen gates and her em-
battled walls, the splendor of the earth
gathered within her palaces, her hanging
gardens built by Nebuchadnezzar to please
his bride Amyistis, who had been brought
up IN a mountainous csuntry aud could not
endure tho hat country r0und Babylon,
these hanging gardens built, terrace above
terrace till at the height OF four hundred
feet thore were woods waving aud foun-
tAlns playing. the verdure, the foliage. ths
glory Looking as il u mountain were on the
wing. On the tip-top King walking with
his Queen, among statues snowy white,
locking up at birds brought from distant
lands, and drinking out Of tankards Of pure
gold, or looking of over rivers and lakes
upon nations subdued and tributary, cry
ing: lis not this great Babylon which l
have bulls"
What batrering ram sno:e the wallsl
What pioughshare upturned the gardenss
What army shattered the brazen gates!
What long. fierce blast Of storm put out
this light which lllumined the world! What
crash Of discord drove down the music
that poured from palace window and gar
den grove and called the badQuctsrs TO
their revels and the dancers TO their feetl
l walk upon The scene OF Lesolation to
find an answer and pick UP pieces OF bi-
tumeu and brick and broken pottery, the
remains OF Babylon, and as in the silence
Of the night hear the snrging Of that BIZ
low Of desolation which rolls over the
SCENE. hear the Wild waves saying: ''Bab-
ylon was proud. Babylon was impure.
Babylon was star, but by SIN she
turnsd to wormwood and has fallen"
From ths persecution Of the pilgrim
fathers and tho Huguenots in other lands
God set upon these shores q nation. Tho
council fires Of the abOr,gines went out in
tho greater light OF FREQ Government
The sound Of the war whoop was ex
changed for the thousand wheels Of enter
prise and progress. The mild winters the
fruitful summers, the heNlthful skies
charmed from other lands !; race Of hardy
men who loved God aud wanted to be free
Before the wOOdman's axe forests fell and
rose again into ships masts and churches
piila:-s. tiles on the banks Of lakes begin
TO rival cities by the sea- The land quakes
with the rush of the rail car and
the waters are churned whIts with the
steamers wheel. Fabulous bushels Of
Western wheat meet on the way fabulous
tons Of Eatern coal. Furs from the North
pass on tho river, fruits from the South.
And trading in the same market is Maine
!ulnberman and South Carolina RICE mar
chant ami Ohio farmer and Alaska fur
dealer. And churches aad schools and
asyllms scatter light and love and mercy
and salvation upon sixty millions OF people.
Ipray that our Nation may not copy the
crimes OF the nations THAT have perished
and our cup Of blessing turned to worm.
wood and like them we go down. am by
nature and by grace an Gptimist, and ex-
pect that this country VIII continue to al
vance until the world shall put on miilen-
nial era and that when Christ comes again
He will set His throne somewhere between
the AIieghenies and the Sierra Nevadas.
But be not deceived. Our only safety is in
righteousness toward God and justice
toward man. If we forget the goodness OF
the Lord to this land and break His
Sabbsths and improve not by the
dire disasters that have again and again
come to US as Il people, and we learn say
ing lessons neither from civil war nor rag.
ing epidemic, nor drought nor nildew nor
scourge OF locust ami grasshopper, ii the
political corruption which has poisoned the
fountains OF public virtue and brsliEled
the high places OF authority, making free
government III times Il Kissing and by
word IN all the earth, il the drunkenness
and licen.iousness that stagger and bias
pheme in the streets of our great cities as
though they were reaching after the fame
Of (,nry,tb nd 81 low, pot oI
Of we will see the smok, Of our
Nations ruin; the pillars of our National
and State capitals will fall more disas-
trOuSiY than when Samson pulled down