Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-04-04

among those who sit near him clear back In
the church undor the galleries. and at the
ferry gates whore he comes in knocking the
snow from his shoes, and threshing his arms
around his body to revive circulation, on
some January morning. But il he should die
tomorrow there would not be n hundred
people who would know about it. He will
never have his name in the newspapers but
once, and that will he the announcement of
his death, if some one will pay for the IN
sertion, so much line for the two lines. But
he will come up gloriously on the other side,
and the God who has watched him all through
will give him a higher seat and a better man
sion and a grander eternity than many man
who had ON earth, before his name, the word
honorable, and after his name LII. d. and
F. r. s Christ said in Luke the sixth chap
ter, that in heaven some who had it hard here
would laugh there. And | think a laugh of
delight and oongratulaton will run around
the heavenly circles when this humble one Of
whom ! spoke shall go up and take the pre-
cedence Of many Christians who in this world
felt themselves to be of ninety-nne per cent.
moro importance. The whisper will go round
the galleries of the upper temple: Can it be
possible that that the weigber in our
store" "Can it be possible that that was the
ca, driver on our street." Can it be posi-.
bic that was the sexton Of our churchr'
Can it be possible that is the mau that
heavcd coal into our celarT 81 never could
have thought it, What a reversal of thingsl
We were clear ahead of him on earth but he
is clear ahead Of us in heaven. Why, we had
ten times more brains than he had We had a
thousand times more money than he had we
had social position mile higher than he had,
we had innumerable opportunities more than
he had, but il seems now that he accomplished
more with his one talent than we did with
our ten;n while Solomon, standing among the
thrones overhears tho whisper, and secs the
wonderment and will, with benignant and
all suggestive smile, say, YES it is as | told
the world many centuries ago better is small
faculty actively used thar great talent I'M
employed, better is living dog than a dead
lion "
THERE ARE PLENTY OF DEAD LIONS.
The simple fact is that the world has been,
and the world is now, full of dead lions.
They are people OF great capacity and large
opportunity, doing nothing for the improve
ment of society, nothing for the overthrow
of evil, nothing for the salvation Of souls.
Some of them are monetary lions. They have
accumulated 50 many hundreds OF thousands
of dollars that you can feel their tread wher.
Ihey walk through any street or come lhuo
any circle. They can by one financial move
upset the money marhet. instead of the ten
per cent. OF their income which the Bible lays
down rs the proper proportion Of their con
trlbution to the cause of God, they do not
give five per cent, or three per cent, or two
per cent, or one per cent, or half per cent,
or a quarter per cent. That they are lions,
no one doubts. hen they roar, Wall street,
State street, Lombard street and the Bourse
tremble. III few years they Will lie down
and die. They will have great funeral, and
long row of fine carriages, and miShtiest
reqmems VIII roll from the organ, ana polish
ed shaft of Aberdeen granite viii indicate
where their dust lies, but for all use to the
world that man might as well have never
lived. AS an experiment as TO how much he
can carry with him, put ten cent piece III
the palm of his dead hand, and five years
after open the tomb and you Will find that
he has dropped even the ten cent piece A
lion! Yes, but dead lion! He left all his
treasures on earth, and has no treasures in
heaven What shall the stonecutter put
upon the obelisk over him! ] suggest, let il
be the mans name, then the date of his birth,
then the date of his death, then the appro-
l