The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-06-07
Then died of thirst because there was no moro


did Napoleon. After conquering nations
by the force of his sword, he lies down to
die, his 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 ap-
plause of all intelligent lands through his
wonderful genius, sits down in restaur-
ant in Paris, looks to the other end of the
room and wonders whose that forlorn and
wretched face is; rising up after awhile,
he finds that it is Thackeray in the mirror.
Oh, yes, this world is cheat. Talk about
man gaining the worldl Who ever
gained half of the world? Who ever
owned a hemisphere? Who ever gained a
continent? Who ever owned Asia? Who
ever gained city? Who ever owned
Brooklyn? Talk about gaining the world /!
No man ever gained it, or the hundred
thousandth part of it. You are de-
manding that 1 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 he? You call up
q oul fOyOl, Will LID ColupdSo Cllu
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
property? No! You do not want any
surveyor, with his compass and chains.
That is not the way you want to measure
that mans property now. 1t is an UNDER
taker 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 and
one-half 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-
terry. 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 a 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? Will
he meet this PAYMENT"
Now, when you are offered this world as
a possession, l want you to test the mat
ter. do not want you to go into this bar
gain blindly. want 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 1 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 a 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 / 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
roars and tears soon destroys itself; but
silent machinery is often most effective.
Now, SO 1t 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 it's 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 Won
The soul is all quiet. 1t is so
delicate an instrument that no human
hand can touch it. You break bone, and
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 1t circles the universe, and over
vaults the throne of God. Why, in the
hour of death the soul is so mighty it
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
immensely. Oh, it is a soul superior to all
material things! No fires can consume it;
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
to 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?
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 a
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. 1t
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; it 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.
You can not test the full power of the
soul for happiness in this world. How
much power the soul has here to find en-
anti I've IL.