Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-01-28
&eliaions department.
A Storm Hero.

| - lew "OOhS ee9Os q iiCof y ohoN-
storm, which came without warning,
swept over New England. 1t came
on Saturday night, and still fell heav-
lily on Sunday morning. A ftful
wind piled up drifts into beautiful
motion difficult both for man and
beast. 1t was Sunday which SEEM
ed to furnish a providential excuse
for staying away from church. At
least many people interpreted it in
that way; and for those advanced in
years, and who could not command a
conveyance, the excuse seemed more
than ordinarily valid.
1t was not surprising, therefore,
that a church on the outskirts of the
city, on an exposed elevation, though
surrounded by church-going popula-
ton, was comparatively empty that
morning. In a large number of
pews, the cushions remained undust-
ed by any Sunday-go-to-meeting
clothes. To one attendant, however,
the service was more than usually in
teresting and inspiring. There was
good sermon from the pulpit, but the
main sermon of that day was preach
ed from pew. 1t was not preached
in words, but by the force of good
example. On one side of the church
sat an old gentleman whose age runs
far up into the seventies. He was
entirely alone, no member of his fam
lily having ventured out to contend
with the storm. He was not robust,
his face was pale, and his hair had
something of the whiteness Of the
snow. Unaided, he had made his
way through the binding storm and
the heavy drifts, to take his accus-
toned place in the old church.
Yet the greatest barrier he exper
fenced was not one he encountered,
but one that he brought with him.
He could plough through the storm to
the Westinghouse, but by no posi-
bility could he hear the sermon after
he got there. For several years the
blessings of hearing have been denied
him. Endowed with an active intel
lect and taking deep interest in all
religious discussions, there is no way
in which the hardships of this infrm-
ity have bronze more heavily upon him
than in his inability to unravel the
gospel message which the preacher
waves on the air. If there is anything
which should form valid excuse for
staying away from church, the inca
pacity of hearing the sermon or
large part of the music furnishes it.
But the gentleman referred to has
never gloried in his infirmity for any
such purpose. From week to week,
as sure as the Sunday come. he may
be seen at his usual place. For near
~ seventy years he has been accus-
toned to go to church and now,
though the gate of hearing is nearly
shut, he still fills his seat in the meet
ing-house.
Faith, the apostle says, comes by
hearing. No longer is it so to this
venerable brother; but he could read
the hymn-book, and find faith in
sight, if not in hearing. To such a
man, who ever since childhood has
been accustomed faithfully to attend
and reverently to worship in the
house of God, there are still other
channels to the soul. The very at
mosphere of prayer breathed in the
sanctuary aerates the currents of
spiritual life. Influences are uncon-
scously absorbed. A chain of asso-
Citations seventy years in length con-
meets that life with every service it
has previously attended. He has
stored up power of manhood and
character. The sacred hour and the
sacred place, hallowed by these asso-
Citations, kindle the soul with their
own warmth. Though he could not
hear the sermon or the soft melody of
the hymn, yet does any one doubt
that he found satisfaction in that
morning service which made the rest
of the day seem more hallowed?
But one attendant at that service
thought less of the good which the
old man may have received than of
the good which he did by his pres
ence in the pew. He had come not
merely for his own pleasure, but be-
cause he believed in supporting to the
very end the institutions of religion
to which he had always been loyal.
How weak and effeminate seems the
limp indifferentism of the scores of
young men who prefer to stay at
home and read the Sunday paper
rather than to wade through the
storm to the house Of worship Is
there not some need of the old Puri-
tan grit, of their loyalty to religious
institutions, of that spirit which de-
termines to support the Church be-
cause it is regarded as an institution
which exists for the good of the COM
munity in which it is reared?
1t was worth going to church that
Sunday for the sake of the sermon
which was preached in that pew
Christian Register:
The INSTANCE given below from the
PRESBYTERIAN Observer is but one of a
thousand similar ones. What richer
legacies can parents leave their chill
dren than earnest petitions in their
hohalf2 ssSurely AMONG all DraVerS |