Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-06-22

with the strange people from Damsscu'
and Egypt and Sapphoris and Syria, who
in caravans or on foot passed through hi
neighborhood, the dogs barking at theil
approach at sundown AS after ward ht
was q perfect man, IN the time of which
| speak he was q perfect boy, with thu
spring of a boys foot. the sparkle of 6
boys eye, the rebound Of a boys life
and just the opposite Of those Juveniles
who sit around morbid and unelastic, ole
men at 10. warrant he was able TO take
his " part and to take the part OF
others. In that village Of Nazareth
am certain there was what is found in al
the neighborhoods Of the earth, that ter
ror Of children, the bully, who seems
born to strike, 10 punch, to bruise, &c
Overpower tie less muscular and robust.
The Christ who sfterward in no limited
terms denounced ~hypocrite and Pharisee,
warrant, never let such juvenile villains
impose upon less vigorous childhood and
yet go unscathed and undefended. At &c
years he was in sympathy with the under.
lings, as he was at 80 and SO. ! want nc
further inspired or u%ninspired informa.
ton TO persuade me that he was a splen.
did boy, a radiant boy, the ~grandest,
hottest, mightiest boy of all the ages,
Hence ! commend him as a boys Christ.
What multitudes between 10 and Is years
have found him out as the n just suited
by his own personal experience to help
any boy.
Let the world look out how it tresds
on a boy, for that very moment it treadi
on Christ. You strike a boy, you strike
Christ; you insult a boy, you insul
Christ. 1t is an awful and infinite mis-
take TO come as far as manhood without
a Christ when here is a boy Christ. Tha,
was one reason, / suppose, that Jonathan
Edwards, afterwards the greatest Amer
can logician and preacher of his time,
became a Christian at z years Of age; and
Robert Hall, who afterwards shook
Christendom with his sacred elo9uence,
became a Christian at IL years of age;
and Isaac Watts, who divided with
Charles Wesley the dominion Of holy
song, became q Christian al Q years Of
age; and if in any large religious assem-
blage ii were asked that all the men and
women who learned 10 love Christ before
they were IS years Of age would please
lift their right hand, there would be
enough hands lifted to wave a csrena.
ton. What is true in g religious sense is
true in s secular sense. Themistocles
amazed his school fellows with talents
which in after years made the world
stare. Isaac Newton, the boy, by driv-
ing pegs in the side Of q house 10 mark
the decline of the sun, evidenced a dis
position towards the experiments which
Al Geo 10 Al -, ,hn-aI tho potinno how fha
worlds swing. Robert Stephenson, the
boy, with his kite on the commons ex'
perimented with electric currents and
prophesied work which should yet make
him immortal. Get out Of my way
said a rough man to Q boy, get sut Of
my way what are you good for, any
The boy answered; They
men out of such things as we are.
Hear il, fathers, mothers! hear II, philsn'
thropists and patriots; hear il, al the
young! The temporal and eternal destiny
Of the most Of the inhabitants Of this
earth is decided before IA years Of age.
Behold the Nazareth Christ, the village
Christ, the country Christ, the boy Christ.
But having shown you the divine lad
in the fields, | must show you him IN the
mechanics shop. Joseph, his father,
died very early, Immediately after the
famous trip 10 the temple, and this lad
not only TO support himself but support
his mother, and what that is some OF you
know. There is a royal race OF boys on
earth now doing the same royal thing.
They wear 40 crown. They have no
purple robe adroop from their shoulders.
The plain chair on which they sit is as
much unlike a throne as anything you
can imagine. But God knows what they
are doing and through what sacrifice
they go, and through all eternity God
will keep paying them for their flial
behavior. They shall get full measure of
reward, the measure pressed down,
shaken together and running over. They
have their example in this boy Christ
taking care Of his mother. He had been
taught the carpenters trade by his
father. The boy had done the palmer
work at the shop while his father had
put on the finishing touches of the work.
The boy also cleared away the chips and
blocks and s~havings. He helped hold
the different pieces Of work while the
father joined them. In our Gay we have
all kinds Of mechanics and the work is
divided up among them. But to be a
carpenter in Cnrist's boyhood days
meant to make pIows, yokes, shovels,
wagons, tables, chairs, sofas, houses and
almost everything that was made. For
tunate was 1t that the boy had learned
the trade, for, when he head of the
family dies, it is 8 grand thing to have
the child able TO take care
Of himself and help take care
of others. Now that Joseph,
his father, is dead and the responsibility
Of family support comes down on this
boy, | hear from morning to night his
hammer pounding, his saw vscillating,
his ak descending, his glmlets boring,
and standing amid the dust and debris OF
the shop l find the perspiration gathering
on his temples and notice the fatigue OF
his arm, and as he stops q moment 70
rest see him painting, his hand on hia
side, from the exhaustion. Now he goes
forth in the morning loaded with imple'
ments of work heavier than any modern
kit of tools. Under the tropical sun ht
swelters. Lifting, pulling, adjusting
~cleaving, splitting all day long. A
nightfall he goes home to the plain sup
per provided by his mother and sits dowl
too tired to talk. Work! work! work
You cannot tell Christ anything nov
| about blistered hands or aching ankles o
bruised fingers or stiff joints or rising il
the morning as tired as when you lai,
down. While yet q boy he knew it al
he felt il al, he suffered il all. The DO,
carpenterl The boy wagon maker Tn
| how bn,,ca ,;lJo ~ (h,tcf uo hou