The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-05-11


perty, with which everybody who has taken
It as possession has had trouble Now, !
know a large reach Of land that 10 not built
on. I ask what Is the matter, and they reply
that everybody who has had anything to do
with that property got into trouble about it
It Is just so with this world; everybody that
has had anything to do with IL, as posses
sion, has been in perplexity. How was 1t
with Lord Byroni Did be not sell his Inn
mortal soul for the purpose OF getting the
worldf Was he satisfied with the posessioni
Alasi alasl the poem graphically describes
his case when 1t says:
Drank every cup of joy.
Heard every trump Of fame;
Drank early, deeply drank,
Drank draughts which common millions might
have quenched,
Then died of thirst because there was no more
to drink.
Oh, yes, he had trouble with It; and 30 did
Napoleon. After conquering nations by the
force of the sword, he lies down to die; bis
entire possession, the military boots that he
insisted on having upon his feet while he was
dying. So it has been with men who had
better ambition. Thackeray, one of the most
genial and lovable souls, after he had won
the applause Of all intelligent lands through
his wonderful genius, sits down in a restau-
rant in Paris, Cooks to the other end Of the
room, and wonders w.osc that forlorn and
wretched face is; rising up after while, he
finds that it is Thackeray In the mirror. Oh,
yes, this world is cheat. Talk about man
gaining the worldi Who ever gained half
of the world2 Who ever owned a hemis-
phereG Who ever gained CONTINENT Who
ever owned Asiaa Who ever gained cityl
Who ever owned Brooklynl Talk about
gaining the worldl No man ever gained it,
or the hundred thouandth part of 1t. You
are demanding that l sell my soul, not for
the world, but for fragment Of it Here is
a man who has had a large estate for forty
or fifty years. He lies down to die. You say:
"That man is worth millions and millions
Of dollars" Is he7 You call up surveyor,
with his compass and chains, and you say:
"There is property extending three miles
In one direction, and three miles In another
direction" Is that the way to measure that
mans propertyi Mol You do not want any
surveyor, with his compass and chaina That
Is not the way you want to measure that
mans property now. 1t Is an undertaken
that you need, who will come and put his
finger in his vest pocket, and take out a tape
line, and he will measure five feet nine inches
one way, and two feet and half the other
way That is the mans property. Oh, no,
forgot; not so much as that, for he doesnot own
even fireplace in which he lies in the GENE
terry. The deed to that belongs to the execu
tors and the heirs. Oh, what property you
propose to give me for my soull II you sell
a bill of goods you go into the counting room
= -
man is good for this billi Can he give
proper securityl Will he meet this paymentT
Now, when you are offered this world as q
possession, want you to test the matter.
do not want you to go into this bargain
blindly want you to ask about the title,
about the insurance, about whether men
have ever had any trouble with 1t, about
whether you can keep it, about whether you
can get all, or the ten-thousandth or one
hundred thousandth part Of IL.
There is the world now. shall say no
more about it. Make up your mind for your
self, as shall before God have to make up
my mind for myself, about the value of this
world. cannot afford to make mistake
for my soul, and you cannot afford to make
a mistake for your soul --..
Now, let us look at the other property-the
soul We cannot make bargain without
seeing the comparative value. The soul
How shall estimate the value of it, Well,
by its exquisite organization. 1t is the most
wonderful piece of mechanism ever put to-
gether Machinery is of value in proportion
as it is mighty and silent at the same time
You look at the engine and the machinery in
the Philadelphia mint, and, as you see
it performing its wonderful work, you
will be surprised to find how ST.
lently 1t goes. Machinery that roars and
tears soon destroys itself, but silent ma
chinery is often most effective. Now, so it
is with the soul of man, with all its ire
mendous 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 without any excitement; the
understanding 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
break bone, and with splinters and band
ages the surgeon sets 1t; the eye beomes in
famed, the apothecary's wash cools It; but a
soul of the track, unbalanced, no human
power can readjust 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 a
toy. 1t drives back medical skill as impo-
tent 1t breaks through the circle of loved
ones who stand around the dying couch
With one leap, 1t springs beyond star and
~. 80
Oh, 1t is q soul superior to all material thingsl
No fire can consume it; no floods can drown
it; no rocks can crush it; no walls can i'm
pede 1t: no time can exhaust it. 1t wants no
bridge on which to cross chasm. 1t wants
no plummet with which to sound depth. A
soul so mighty, SO swift, SO silent, must be o
priceless soul ....- ... .-...-.
I calculate the value of the soul, also, by
its capacity for happiness How much JOY
1t can get in this world out Of friendships
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 q concert before
the curtain hoists, and you hear the instru-
ments preparing-the sharp snap Of the
broken string, the scraping of the bow across
the viol ''There is no music in that" you
nay. 1t is only getting ready for tbs music.
And all the enjoyment Of the soul In this
world, the enjoyment we think is real enjoy
ment, is only preparative. it is only anti
cipative; it is only the first stages Of the
thing; it is only the entrance, the beginning
of that which shall be the orchestral har-
monies and splendors Of the redeemed.
You cannot test the full power Of the soul
for happiness in this world. How much
power the soul has here to find enjoyment in
friendshipsl but, oh, the grander friendships
for the soul in the sllicsl How sweet the
flowers hercl but how much sweeter they
will be therel l do not think that when
flowers die ON earth, they die forever. !
think that the fragrance Of the flowers is the
spirit being waited away into glory. God
says there are palm trees in heaven and fruits
in heaven. If SO, why not the spirits Of the
dead fowers9 In the sunny valleys Of heaven,
shall not the marigold creepi On the hills
Of heaven, will not the amaranth bloomi On
the amethystine walls of heaven, win not
the jasmine climb7 "My beloved 10 come
down In his garden to gather lilies" No
flowers In heaveni Where, then, do they
get their garlands for the brows Of the
righteousi
Christ is glorious to our souls now, but
how much grander our appreciation after q
whileI A conqueror comes back after bat
tie. He has been fighting for us. He comes
upon the platform. He has one arm in q
sling, and the other holds a crutch. As he
mounts the platform, oh, the enthusiasm Of
the audiencei They say: "That man fought
for us, and imperiled his life for u.s." and
how wild the huzza that follows huzzai
When the Lord Jesus Christ shall at last
stand out before the multitudes Of the re-
deemed Of heaven, and we meet him face to
face, and feel that he was wounded in the
head, and wounded in the hands, and
wounded in the feet, and wounded in theside
for us, methinks we win be overwhelmed.
We will sit some time In silence until some