The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-12-03

come the blessing Of Him ''whc setteth the
solitary in familiesr' Side by side on the
path Of life Side by side in their graves!
Side by side in heavenl
But we must this afternoon, our last day
before reaching Nazareth, pitch our tent on
the most famous battlefield Of all time-the
plain of Esdraelon. What must have been the
feelings of the Prince of Peace as He crossed
it on the way from Jerusalem to Nazareth?
Not flower blooms there but has in its veins
the inherited blood Of flowers that drank the
blood Of fallen armies. Hardly foot Of
ground that has not at some time been gull
lied with war chariots or trampled with the
hoofs Of cavalry.
1t is a plain reaching from the Mediter-
ranean to the Jordan. Upon 1t look down
the mountains Of Tabor and Gilboa and Car
the river Kishon, which swept down the
armies Of Sisera, the battle occurring in No.
vember when there's almost always shower
OF meteors, 80 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, hewing down their awful
swathes Of death, thousands in q minute.
The Syrian armies, the Turkish armies, the
Egyptian armies again and again trampled
it. There they career across it. David and
Joshua and Godfrey and Richard Coeur 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 battle of Ar
mageddon.
To me the plain was the more absorbing
because of the desperate battles here and In
regions round in which the holy cross-ths
very two pieces Of wood on which Jesus was
supposed to have been crucihed-was carried
as a standard at the head Of the Christian
host, and that night closing my eyes in my
arc some things we can see better with eyes
shut than open-the scenes Of that ancient
war come before me. The twelfth century
was closing and Saladin at the head Of eighty
thousand mounted troops was crying: "Hol
for Jerusalemn "Hoi for all Palestine r and
before them everything went down, but not
without unparalleled resistance. In one
place one hundred and thirty Christians
were surrounded by many thousands of furi.
GUS Mohammedans For one whole day the
one hundred and thirty held out against
these thousands. Tennyson's ''six hundred"
when 'tsome one had blundered," were
eclipsed by these one hundred and thirty
fighting for the holy cross. They took hold
Of the lances which had pierced them with
death wounds, and pulling them out of their
own breasts and sides hurled them back again
at the enemy.
On went the fight until all but one Chris.
tian had fallen and he, mounted on the last
horse, welded his battle az right and left till
his horse fell under the plunge of the iave-
lins and the rider, making the sign of the
cross toward the sky, gave up his life on the
point Of score Of spears. But soon after the
last battle came. History portrays 1t, poetry
chants it painting colors It, and all ages ad-
mire that last struggle to keep in possession
the wooden cross on which Jesus was said to
have expired. 1twas battle in which min
gled 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 battle was hot
test close around tie wooden Cross upheld by
the bishop Of Ptolemsis, himself wounded
and dying And when the bishop Of Ptol-
ennis dropped dead, the bishop Of LYDIA
seized the cross and again lifted it. carrying
it onward into wilder snd fercer fight, and
sword against javelin, and battle az upon
helmet and piercing spear against splinter
ing shield. Horses and men tumbled into
Heterogeneous death. Now the wooded
kept their eye begins to waver, begins to
descend. It falls! and the wailing Of the
Christian host at its disappearance browns
the huzza of the victorious Mos!ems.
But that standard Of the cross only seemed
to fall. It rides the sky to-day in triumph.
Five hundred million souls the mighhest
army Of the ages, are following 1t, and where
that goes they will 60, across the earth and
up the mighty sleeps Of the heavens. In the
twelfth century it seemed to go down, but in
the nineteenth century it is the lnightiest
symbol OF glory and triumph, and means
<bo- ~ ,oto, I,a%b %bayri i,,-
scribed with eagle, or lion, or bear, or star,
or crescent. That which Saladin trampled
on the plain of Esdraelon lift to day for
your marshaling. The crossl The crossl
The foot Of 1t planted In the earth 1t saves,
the top Of 1t pointing to the heavens to which
It will take you, and the outspread beams of
it like outstretched arms of invitation to all
nations. Kneel at its foot. Lift your eye
to its victim. Swear eternal allegiance to
its power And as that mighty symbol Of
pain and triumph is kept before US, we will
realize how Insignificant are the little crosses
we are called to bear, and will more cheer
fully carry them.
Must Jesus boar tile cross alone.
and the world 20 free7
No. there's cross for every one,
And there's cross for me.
As I fall asleep tonight on my pillow in the
tent on the plain Of Esdraelon reaching from
me mouirerranean 70 Jne Jordan, Tne waters
of the river Kishon soothing me as by luh
laby, hear the gathering Of the hosts for the
last battle of all the earth. And by their
representatives America is here and Europe
is here and Asia is here and Africa is here,
and all heaven is here and all hell Is here,
and Apollyon on the black horse leads the
armies of darkness and Jesus on the white
horse leads the armies Of light, and I hear
the roll Of the drums and the clear call OF the
clarions and the thunder Of the cannonades.
And then hear the wild rush as Of million
of troops in retreat, and then the shout OF
victory as from fourteen hundred million
throats and then song as though all tho
armies of earth and heaven were joining 1t,
clapping cymbals, beating the time-''Ths
kingdoms Of this world ara become the king
doms Of our Lord and Of His Christ, and He
shall reign for ever and ever"
WE read thata Frenchman has man
ufactured kind Of biscuit containing
all the Ingredients necessary to sup
port human life. Portable food tab
lets, we understand is the name of the
new product. Armed with this compact
and convenient form Of victuals, equally
good, be it remembered, for breakfast,
luncheon, dinner, supper, or any hy'
brid meal, one can set off on long e1-
cursions with security that he never
had before. A young fellow with a
stout pair of legs under him would be
able to spend whole days trayersing the
hills, for example, without being COM
PEELED to seek an indigestible meal in