Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1890-12-04

sons. ana IL tuSFc Dc sONS utrc
present. and your parents be far away. why
not bow your head i'll repentance. and ut the
close of this service go to the telegraph
Office and put it on the wing Of the lightning
that you have turned from your evil ways?
Before another twenty four hours have
pass ed. take your feet OFF the sad hearts at
the old homestead. Home to thy Col, q
prodigal!
Many. many letters do I get in prrE ort
saying: My son is in your city: We have
not heard from him for some time we fer
something Is wrong; hunt him up and say u
good word to him: his mother is almost
crazy about him: he is child of many
prayers But how can hunt him up unless
he be In this audience? Where are you, my
boy? On the main floor. or on this platform.
or in these boxcs.or in these great galleries?
Where are you? Lift your right hand.
have a message from home. Your father is
anxious about you. your mother is praying
for you. Your God Is calling for you. Or
will you wait until Eli falls back lifeless,
and the heart against which you lay in in
fancy ceases to beat2 What story to tell
in eternity that you killed herr My God!
Avert that catastropc.
But turn from this Shiloh Of Ellis sud-
den decease under bad news from his boys
and find close by. what is called the ''Mca-
dow OF the Feast" While this ancient city
was in the height Of It's prosperity, on this
..Meadow OF the Feast" there was an annu-
clapping cymbals and blarc OF trumpets.
danced in q glee. upon which thousands OF
spectators gazcd. But no dance since
the world stood ever broke up in such a
strange way rs the one the Bible describes.
One night while by the light of the lamps
and torches these gaieties went On, two
hundred Romantics. who had been hid
den behind the rocks and among the trees,
dashed upon the scene. They came not IL
injure or destroy, but wishing TO set up
households OF their own, the women OF their
own land having been slain in battle, and
by preconcertcd arrangement each one OF
the two hundred Bcnjaminitcs seized tho
one whom he chose for the queen OF his
homo, and carried her away to large estate
and beautiful residence, for these two hun
drcd BenjamiteS had inherited the wealth
OF a nation.
AS today near Shiloh we look Mt tho
"Meadow OF the Feast" where the maidens
danced that night aud at the mountain
gorge up which the Romantics carried
their brides. we bethink ourselves Of the
better land and tho better times in which
we live where such scenes are an impOssi-
b1lity. and amid orderly groups. and with
prayer and benediction and breath OF Orange
blossoms and the roll of the wedding march,
marriage Is sOlemniZcd, and with oath re-
corded i'll heaven, two immortals st art arm In
arm on journey, to last until death do them
part. Upon every such marriage altar may
the solitary in families" Side by side on the
path of life! Side by side In their graves!
Side by side in heaven.
But wo must this afternoon, our last day
before reaching Nazareth, pitch our tent on
the most famous battlefield OF all time
the plain Esdraelon. What must have been
the feelings of the Prince of Peace as he
crossed 1t on tho way from Jerusalem to
Nazareth! Not flower bic oms there but
has In Its veins the inherited blood OF
flowers that drank tho blood OF fallen
armies. Hardly a foot of the ground that
has not at some time been quilted with war
| chariots or trampled with tho hoofs OF
cavalry. 1t is a plain reaching from the
Mediterranean to the Jordan. Upon 1t look
down the mountains OF Tabor and Gilboa
and Carmel. Through it RACES at certain
| seasons the river Kishon, which swept
down the armies of Siscra, tho battle oc-
curing In November when there is almost
always q shower of metcors so that "the
stars in their courses" were said to have
fought against Sisera Through this plain
drove Jehu. and the iron chariots of the
Canaanites. scythed at the hubs OF the
wheels, hcwing down their awful sw athes of
death-thOusands In q minute. The SyriaD
armies, the Turkish armies, the Egyptian
armies again and again trampled it. There
they career across It. David and Joshua,
and Godfrey and Richard Occur de Lion,
and Baldwin and Saladin-a plain not only
famous for the past. but famous because
the Bible says the great decisive battle Of
the world will be fought there-the baltic
OF Aimageddon.
10 me the plain was the more absorbing
because OF tho desperate battles here. and
In regions round. In which the Holy Cross.
the very two pieces Of wood on which
Jesus was supposed to have been cruciied.
was carried as standard at the head of
the Christian host; IND that night closing
my eyes In my tent on the plain OF Esdrae-
lon-for there are some things we can see
better with eyes shut than open-the
scenes OF that ancient war came before mo.
The twelfth century was closing and
Saladin at the head of eighty thousand
mounted troops was crying. ''Ho for Jeru-
salem. Ho fer all Palestinc!' And be-
fore them everything went down, but not
without unparalleled resistance. In one
place one hundred and thirty Christians
were surrounded by many thousands Of
furious Mohammedans. For one whole day
the one hundred and thirty held out against
these thousands. Tennyson's six hum
dred' when ''some ono had biundered,"
were eclipsed by these one hundred end
thirty fighting for the Holy Cross. They
took hold of the lanccs which had pierced
them with death wounds, and pulling them
out of their own breasts and sides. hurled
| them back again ut the enemy. On went
the fight until all but one Christian had
fallen. and hc mounted on the last horse.
welded his ba tile axe right and left till his
horse fell under the plunge OF tho tavelins.
nad the rider, making the sign OF the cross
toward the sky, gave up his life on the
points OF u score OF spears. But soon after
the last battle came. History portrays it.
poetry chants it, painting colois 1t. and all
ages admire that last struggle to keep in
possession the wooden cross On which jesus
was said to have expired. 1t was battle
In which mingled the fury Of devils and the
grandeur Of angels. Thousands OF dead
Christians on this side. Thousands OF dead
Mohammedans on the other side. The bat
tie was hottest close around the wooden
cross upheld by the Bishop OF ptolemais.
himself wounded and dying. And when
the Bishop OF Ptolemuis dropped dead the
Bishop OF LYDIA seized the cross and again
lifted it. carrying 1t onward into wilder
and ferccr fight. and sword against jave-
lin. and battle axe upon helmet. and pierre
| Ing spear against splintering shield Horses
| and men tumbled into heterogeneous
| death. Now the wooden cross on which tho
| armies OF the Christians had kept their
| eyes. begins to waver, begins to descend.
1t falls, and the wailing of the Christian